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Australia’s fast bowlers averaged 18.35 runs per wicket, which is the best by either team in an Ashes series since 1890. Read on for more stats highlights

S Rajesh07-Jan-2014At tea on the opening day of the Gabba Test, Australia, after choosing to bat, had been reduced to 153 for 6. For all those who had witnessed Australia’s top-order struggles in England only a few months earlier, this seemed to be a familiar story repeating itself all over again. Then, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, quite fittingly, put together Australia’s first significant statement of the series, adding 114 for the seventh wicket, before Johnson started working over England’s batsmen. Over the next six weeks, the pair scripted many more game-changing performances that so thoroughly demoralised England that it seems scarcely believable that the visitors would’ve envisaged being 1-0 up from their tea-time position on that opening day in Brisbane.The difference between the two Ashes contests held over the last six months is stark. England won 3-0 at home, but the Australians were at pains to explain that the difference between the two teams wasn’t as much as that. The series stats suggest as much as well: England averaged only about three runs more per wicket than Australia, and scored one more century. With the ball, they took four more wickets than Australia’s bowlers. The brand of cricket they played was attritional; it had served them well over the last few years, and it worked here too: they scored their runs much slower than Australia, but they batted longer, gave their bowlers longer periods of rest, and won all the key moments. It didn’t feel like 3-0, but it was.In Australia, it felt like 5-0, and it 5-0. The stats reveal the gulf between the two sides. Australia scored ten centuries, which equals their record for an Ashes campaign, while England had one, their lowest in an Ashes series in the last 40 years. England averaged 21.58 runs per wicket with the bat, their lowest Ashes average since 1950-51, while Australia’s average was a healthy 41.41.The Australian batting wasn’t always top-class, but the bowling was terrifying – they took 100 wickets for the first time in a five-Test Ashes series, and the strike rate was their best in an Ashes series since 1896. The bowlers took 99 wickets (one was a run-out) at the rate of one every 45.2 balls (while the overall strike rate for the team was 44.8 balls per wicket); the last time they bettered that was in 1896. Australia’s run rate of 3.75 illustrates the aggressive brand of cricket they played, compared to England’s run rate of 2.99 when they won at home last year.

Ashes 2013-14 series stats

TeamRuns scoredWkts lostAverage100s/ 50sRun rateBowl SRAustralia31897741.4110/ 153.7544.8England215810021.581/ 102.8966.3

Ashes 2013 series stats

TeamRuns scoredWkts lostAverage100s/ 50sRun rateBowl SRAustralia27358930.734/ 133.3767.4England28568533.605/ 132.9954.7Aussie domination
In this series, the ratio of batting averages of the two teams was 1.92: Australia’s average of 41.41 runs per wicket was 1.92 times England’s average of 21.58. In the entire history of Ashes contests (excluding one-off Tests), this is the fourth-largest ratio between the averages of the winning and losing teams. The highest was in 1886, when England won a three-Test series 3-0; they averaged 31.02 with the bat and 13.20 with the ball. Australia take up the next four positions in the table below, with all those wins happening in the last 25 years. In 1989, when they won 4-0 in England, they averaged 57.86 with the bat and 27.71 with the ball; in the 2006-07 clean sweep, they averaged 52.77 with the bat and 26.35 with the ball, a ratio of 2.00. When England won 3-1 in Australia on their last tour, their batting average was 1.75 times the bowling average.In their only other 5-0 Ashes triumph, in 1920-21, Australia’s ratio was 1.63 (batting average 46.13, bowling average 28.35).

Highest ratio of averages in an Ashes series*

SeriesWin teamBat aveLos teamBat aveRatioSeries margin1886, in EnglandEngland31.02Australia13.202.353-01989, in EnglandAustralia57.86England27.712.094-02006-07, in AustraliaAustralia52.77England26.352.005-02013-14, in AustraliaAustralia41.41England21.581.925-02001, in EnglandAustralia49.11England26.441.864-11888, in EnglandEngland15.10Australia8.451.792-12010-11, in AustraliaEngland51.14Australia29.231.753-11946-47, in AustraliaAustralia52.71England30.811.713-0The Haddin factor
Australia were by far the superior team, but one aspect of their game that wasn’t convincing was their top-order batting. Repeatedly they were five down for not too many, and needed Brad Haddin and the lower order to bail them out. Australia’s scores at five down in their first innings in the five Tests were as follows: 100, 257, 143, 112 and 97; except in Adelaide, their top order struggled every time. Yet, England failed to drive home the advantage, as Haddin found at least one batting partner each time to rescue the team.The table below lists the averages of Australia’s batsmen overall in the series, and in the first innings. The table shows Haddin’s contributions in even better light, as 407 of his 493 runs came in the first innings, when England were still competitive in the match. Haddin scored at least a half-century each time he batted in the first innings: his scores were 94, 118, 55, 65, and 75 – 407 runs at 81.40. Steven Smith was the other batsman whose first-innings contributions stood out: he scored two centuries in the series, and both were in the first innings. His failures were in the second innings when Australia were generally under less pressure.However, most of the other Australian batsmen struggled in the first innings. Five of them averaged less than 40, including Michael Clarke, whose 148 in Adelaide was his only meaningful first-innings contribution. David Warner, Chris Rogers and Shane Watson all averaged less than 35, while George Bailey had a shocker, aggregating 64 in five innings.Of the ten centuries Australia scored, six were in the second innings, including two each by Warner and Rogers, and one by Watson. Given that Australia had a first-innings lead of 130-plus in four of the five Tests, the one instance where second-innings runs were scored under pressure was in Melbourne, when Australia chased a target of 231 and won comfortably, with Rogers getting 116 and Watson getting 83.England’s batsmen were poor throughout, but Michael Carberry did much better than the rest in the first innings, scoring 181 runs at 36.20; in the second innings, he scored only 100 in five tries. Kevin Pietersen managed only 115 in the first innings, while Ian Bell scored 121 – though he was unbeaten once, in Adelaide.

Australia’s batsmen in the series

1st inningsBoth inningsBatsmanRunsAverage100s/ 50sRunsAverage100s/ 50sBrad Haddin40781.401/ 449361.621/ 5Steven Smith28256.402/ 032740.872/ 0Michael Clarke19338.601/ 036340.332/ 0David Warner16332.600/ 152358.112/ 2Chris Rogers15631.200/ 246346.302/ 3Shane Watson14428.800/ 134538.331/ 2George Bailey6412.800/ 118326.140/ 1

England’s batsmen in the series

1st inningsBoth inningsBatsmanRunsAverage100s/ 50sRunsAverage100s/ 50sMichael Carberry18136.200/ 128128.100/ 1Alastair Cook12224.400/ 124624.600/ 3Ian Bell12130.250/ 123526.110/ 2Kevin Pietersen11523.000/ 129429.400/ 2Ben Stokes8020.000/ 027934.871/ 0Joe Root4511.250/ 019227.420/ 1First-innings partnerships for each wicket for Australia and England•ESPNcricinfo LtdAustralia’s lower-order rescue acts
The partnership stat further illustrates how even things were between the two teams through the first half of their first innings. It also shows clearly the areas Australia will need to address before what’s likely to be a tough tour to South Africa. In their first innings, their average stand for the first wicket was 20, for the third 21.80, for the fourth 23.20 and for the fifth 23.80; among the top five wickets partnerships in the first innings, only the second one made substantial runs. The opening stands in the first innings were 12, 34, 13, 19 and 22, numbers that don’t inspire confidence when the next challenge will be against Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.England’s opening partnerships in the first innings were actually more substantial than Australia’s: in Perth, Cook and Carberry added 85, before the rest of the batting crumbled. Add up the average stands for the first five wickets in the first innings, and Australia’s score is 142 for 5; England’s 124 for 5. Not a whole lot to choose between the teams there.Look down the second half of the partnership tables, though, and huge differences emerge. Australia’s average stand for the sixth wicket in their first innings was 98.80; the sum of the average stands for the last five wickets for England was 70. Australia’s last five, on average, added 220. That 150-run difference completely altered the balance of the game.Australia’s sixth-wicket stands in the first innings were 32, 200, 124, 10 and 128, with Haddin being a common factor in all those stands. Out of nine century stands for Australia in the series, Haddin was involved in four. Out of the 1780 runs that Australia scored in their first innings over the entire series, 811 runs – or 45.56% – were scored when Haddin was at the crease. That’s a whopping percentage of runs for a No. 7 batsman to be involved in, and it made all the difference between things being even after the first innings, and Australia getting a huge advantage at the halfway mark.England, on the other hand, were hurt badly by the lack of significant contributions down the order. Also, the top order got starts, but failed to push on towards substantial scores: there were only two 50-plus stands in the first innings, but seven partnerships between 44 and 49. In the second innings, England had one century stand – their only one of the entire series – and six half-century partnerships, but it was still too little too late.One century stand is also England’s poorest effort in an Ashes campaign since 1950-51. In the 2013 series in England, both teams had six century stands.

Average partnerships for Australia

1st inningsBoth inningsWktAverage100/ 50 standsAverage100/ 50 stands1st20.000/ 041.901/ 22nd53.001/ 145.502/ 13rd21.800/ 147.111/ 24th23.200/ 036.120/ 25th23.800/ 138.751/ 26th98.803/ 069.123/ 07th52.601/ 155.281/ 28th21.400/ 120.660/ 19th16.200/ 015.330/ 010th31.500/ 027.200/ 0

Average partnerships for England

1st inningsBoth inningsWktAverage100/ 50 standsAverage100/ 50 stands1st35.200/ 125.000/ 22nd26.000/ 027.100/ 13rd19.600/ 030.501/ 14th26.000/ 127.600/ 25th17.000/ 027.100/ 16th12.200/ 022.300/ 17th14.800/ 016.900/ 08th8.800/ 013.700/ 09th9.400/ 011.000/ 010th24.800/ 014.600/ 0Pace like fire
In the 2013 series in England, there had been little to choose between the pace attacks of England and Australia. Australia’s fast bowlers took more wickets – 69 to 58 – but the averages were almost the same – 30.04 for Australia, 30.89 for England.In the return series, led by a rampaging Mitchell Johnson, Australia’s pace attack was all over England’s batsmen. Of the 99 wickets taken by Australia’s bowlers, 79 went to their fast bowlers, at an average of 18.35 runs, and a strike rate of 42.4 balls per wicket. England’s fast bowlers didn’t do too badly, averaging a respectable 34.86, but their batting was so poor that they didn’t stand a chance. The average of 18.35 is the best by an Australian pace attack in an Ashes series since 1890, when they averaged 18.28 and took 14 wickets in two Tests. In fact, it’s the best by the pace attack of either team in an Ashes series since 1890.In the first innings, especially, Australia’s quick men were unstoppable. Johnson took 21 wickets at 12.33, Ryan Harris 11 at 17.27, and Peter Siddle nine at 18.55. England didn’t do too badly in the first innings either: Stuart Broad’s 17 wickets cost 22.88 each, Anderson’s 10 came at 34.60 and Ben Stokes took 10 at 27.80, but then Australia’s first-innings bowling was so strong, and England’s batting so feeble, that by the time the second innings came along, Australia already had such a big lead and England’s bowlers had had so little time to put their feet up, that the second innings was a no-contest.In the second innings, Anderson took just four wickets and each of them cost him 67.25 runs, while Broad’s four wickets cost him 47.25 each. Johnson, meanwhile, took 16 second-wickets at 16.12.England’s spin department did them no favours either. That was a battle they had won convincingly in the home series, but in Australia, Nathan Lyon completely outbowled England’s spinners: Australia’s spin accounted for 20 wickets at 30.80, while England’s took 14 at 72.42. In the second innings, when the pitches started helping spinners more, Lyon proved quite a handful, but England’s spinners were completely ineffective, and the match situations and lack of pressure on the Australian batsmen didn’t help either.

How the bowling attacks compared

1st innings2nd inningsWicketsAverageStrike rateWicketsAverageStrike rateAus – pace4415.4538.93522.0046.9Eng – pace4129.3454.71946.7867.7Aus – spin640.6782.31426.5745.0Eng – spin689.16143.0859.8789.1The head-to-head battlesJohnson dominated almost all the England batsmen right through the series, but the one batsman who withstood his onslaught and didn’t get out to him even once was Ian Bell: in 98 balls Bell scored 48 runs without being out. However, the Australian attack worked as a pack, and if Johnson didn’t have Bell’s number, then Harris and Siddle did: both dismissed Bell three times each, and gave very little away.Siddle took the least wickets among Australia’s three fast bowlers, but did wonderfully against England’s two main middle-order batsmen, Bell and Pietersen. Both scored at less than two runs per over against him, which kept up the pressure on England’s batsmen and ensured that there were no easy runs on offer at any stage of the innings. Shane Watson took only four wickets in the series, but three of those were of Carberry’s, who averaged five against him. There was thus at least one Australian bowler who had the wood on each of England’s top-order batsmen.

England batsmen v Australian bowlers

BatsmanBowlerRunsBallsDismissalsAverageIan BellMitchell Johnson48980-Alastair CookMitchell Johnson73128418.25Stuart BroadMitchell Johnson255646.25Ian BellPeter Siddle31102310.33Ian BellRyan Harris64132321.33Michael CarberryShane Watson154135.00Michael CarberryMitchell Johnson66146322.00Kevin PietersenPeter Siddle72218324.00Kevin PietersenRyan Harris52114317.33England’s bowlers had a few head-to-head battles to cherish – like Broad’s domination of George Bailey and Anderson’s successes against Watson – but they weren’t nearly enough in a five-match series.Rogers scored only 27 runs from 107 balls off Graeme Swann, but handled the pace of Stokes and Anderson far more comfortably. Haddin won most of his battles against England’s bowlers, averaging 108 against Anderson, 76 against Broad, and not falling once to Swann or Panesar.

Australian batsmen v England bowlers

BatsmanBowlerRunsBallsDismissalsAverageGeorge BaileyStuart Broad367349.00Shane WatsonJames Anderson71130417.75David WarnerStuart Broad136153434.00Michael ClarkeBen Stokes4698315.33Brad HaddinJames Anderson1081261108.00Brad HaddinStuart Broad76126176.00Chris RogersJames Anderson98262198.00Chris RogersBen Stokes1241691124.00Brad HaddinSwann+Panesar1181750-

As Kevin Pietersen watched on, Gary Ballance produced a maiden century with many qualities of the man he has replaced, Jonathan Trott

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's15-Jun-2014Kevin Pietersen was back at an English Test ground on Sunday. And he was very close to the ECB. Two hospitality boxes away to be precise. It was, therefore, unfortunate timing that England produced a floundering batting display, especially as Pietersen left the ground well before Gary Ballance completed the rescue mission by reaching a maiden Test hundred with a six.Pietersen began his day by tweeting his hopes for what lay ahead. “Going to Lord’s today. Want to see SL out 460 & ENG bat positively to a 380 lead then declare…entertain today pls, Cook’s men!”His numbers were remarkably prescient: Sri Lanka were bowled out for 453 and England ended with a lead of 389 although the declaration did not arrive. With his 104 Tests of experience, he should be well aware that plans do not always come together perfectly.At 121 for 6 it was far from perfect for England, who were grateful for every one of the 122 runs they led by on first innings. Ballance, though, kept them steady, with further help from the lower order – an impressive display after his somewhat skittish display in the first innings. The split of his fifties was telling: 130 for the first and 54 for the second, while he went from 67 to his hundred in 17 deliveries.And of more significance to Ballance than to whether Pietersen was still in his seat, his parents and brother had flown in from Zimbabwe a few days before the Test. “It’s special to score a hundred in front of them,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, can’t really describe it to be honest, just very special. I’m over the moon.”But while the Ballance was very much right for England, there will again be questions over whether Alastair Cook got the balance right. He decided the chance for a maiden Test hundred (personal stats are of the utmost importance to most cricketers, whatever they may say) and a few extra runs outweighed the advantages of having a bowl this evening.Maybe Middlesex’s mammoth chase of 472, achieved for just three wickets, was preying on the mind. It came against Yorkshire and three of the England side – Ballance, Joe Root and Liam Plunkett – played in the game. But you sincerely hope that was not the case. That match was played on the edge of the first-class square with a very short boundary and captains should not be swayed by freakish results.

Going to Lord's today. Want to see SL out 460 & ENG bat positively to a 380 lead then declare…entertain today pls, Cook's men! #lords

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) June 15, 2014

When Matt Prior fell shortly after tea the lead was a precarious 243, but once it had passed 300 England were far more secure. Cook was proactive in the field on Saturday, but today he was not about to take a leap of faith, although giving Sri Lanka 20 minutes before close would hardly have been jumping into the abyss. Ballance will be forever thankful to him.He has barely batted at No. 3 in his professional career and while too much can be made of the difference in batting positions he is learning on the job. The man who has left the hole that needs filling, Jonathan Trott, would have been proud of the way he built the innings although Ballance showed acceleration that Trott may have struggled to reproduce. It was the first hundred by an England No. 3 since Trott made 121 against New Zealand, in Wellington, last March.The way he handled himself against Mitchell Johnson on his Test debut in Sydney earned praise – although partly because so much else around him was feeble – and a strong start to the season for Yorkshire meant he was not one of those jettisoned, although coming into this match his position felt the most awkward of the top order.Still, a few pieces to the jigsaw have slotted into place for England, from Root’s double century, Prior’s successful recall and Chris Jordan’s lively debut. It would be ideal if Moeen Ali could winkle out a couple of wickets on the final day.”I learnt a lot over the winter and then started well with Yorkshire,” Ballance said. “I was in good form in the one-dayers but didn’t get the big score, then to get the chance to bat three for England I wasn’t going to say no. It’s quite daunting batting anywhere in your first Test at Lord’s but at three I was in quite early in the first innings so didn’t have much time to worry about nerves.”After being caught behind driving in the first innings Ballance left studiously this time although he admitted a “heart in mouth” moment when Sri Lanka went up for an edge on 36 and used the DRS. But outwardly there appeared precious few nerves as he approached his hundred, racing through the 80s and 90s with drives, reverse sweeps and the occasional bludgeon, all the while knowing the close was approaching.”Luckily I got a few boundaries away and got to three figures,” he said. “With one over to go I needed three, I think, and didn’t want to nurdle around in singles so thought I’d go with the slog sweep I hit it out the middle but the breeze was blowing down the slope so I thought I might not have got enough of it but when I saw it go over the rope it was a great feeling.”Pietersen could not have done it better himself.

A stats review after the only women’s Test between India and England at Wormsley

Bishen Jeswant16-Aug-20140 Number of Tests, out of eight, that India have lost against England in England. They have drawn six, and won their second today. A scheduled ninth Test at Shenly in August 2002 was abandoned on Day 3 and an ODI was arranged at Beaconsfield instead.20 Number batsmen dismissed lbw in this Test, a record for a single match. Eight Indian batsmen and 12 English batsmen were dismissed lbw in this Test.62 Runs scored by Jenny Gunn during England’s second innings. This was the second highest score by an English player batting at No. 8 or below. The English record is held by Mandie Godliman, who scored 65 at Taunton in 2002, also against India.8 Number of years since the Indian women’s cricket team last played a Test match. That was also in England, in August 2006, and India won by five wickets on that occasion.2 Number of players to have ever taken five wickets in an innings and also posted a 50-plus score in the same Test. Ellyse Perry of Australia was the first player to do this when she scored 71 runs in Australia’s first innings and took 5/38 in England’s second innings of the Ashes Test at Perth this year. Gunn returned figures of 5-19 in the first innings of this Test and also scored 62, thus becoming the second woman to achieve this feat.4 Number of times in Tests that the Player-of-the-Match award has been given to a player from the losing team. Apart from Ellyse Perry, the other three instances have involved English players – Claire Taylor, Clare Connor and now Jenny Gunn.626 Total runs scored by Mithali Raj in Test cricket. During her innings of 50-not out, she went past Gargi Banerji and Sudha Shah to go fourth on the list of most Test runs scored by an Indian. The record is held by Sandhya Agarwal, who has scored 1110 Test runs.50 Runs scored by Raj in India’s second innings to help achieve the target of 181 set by England. This is only the second instance of a captain taking the team to victory by posting a 50-plus score in the fourth innings of a Test. The only other player to have done this is Alex Blackwell of Australia, against England at Sydney in January 2011.51 Runs scored by Smriti Mandhana during India’s second innings. This is the first time in 15 years that an Indian opener has made a 50-plus score in the second innings of a Test. The last time was when Anju Jain, the then Indian wicket-keeper, scored 59 runs against England at Shenly in July 1999.2 Number of Tests hosted by Sir Paul Getty’s Ground, Wormsley. The first Test here was played one year ago, in August 2013, between England and Australia. This is the world’s newest Test venue. The last Test venue to be added to the women’s game was the Bradman Oval at Bowral in February 2008.

Stats highlights from the first day of the third Test between South Africa and West Indies in Cape Town

Bishen Jeswant02-Jan-2015391 Test wickets by Dale Steyn, the second best by a South Africa bowler. Only Shaun Pollock, with 421 wickets, has taken more wickets. Steyn went past Makhaya Ntini who has 390 wickets and is 12th on the overall list of highest wicket-takers in Tests.4 Number of consecutive Tests where South Africa have had at least one player making his debut. Simon Harmer is making his debut in this game. South Africa’s debutants in the previous three games have been Temba Bavuma, Stiaan van Zyl and Dane Piedt.2 Number of times that Kraigg Brathwaite has been dismissed in single figures since the start of 2014. No opening batsman who has scored at least 500 Test runs has been dismissed in single figures less frequently during this period.5 Years since Shivnarine Chanderpaul has made four consecutive scores of less than 25 in Tests. This happened in 2009 when he returned back-to-back scores of 6, 0, 4 and 23 against England. His scores in the current series are 21, 4, 7 and 9.1 Number of South African spinners, before Simon Harmer, who – in the last 20 years – had taken three or more wickets in an innings against a top-eight side on debut. Harmer currently has figures of 3 for 67. Paul Harris returned figures of 4 for 129 against India, in 2007, also in Cape Town.2 Number of times that Chanderpaul has now been stumped in his Test career, with the first in June 2014. He had never been stumped in 20 years of Test cricket prior to that.1 Number of West Indian batsmen who have been dismissed stumped against South Africa. Chanderpaul became the first when he was stumped on nine off Harmer’s bowling.53 Runs scored by Denesh Ramdin, making it the fourth-highest score by a West Indian wicketkeeper in South Africa. The top three scores were all made by Ridley Jacobs in 1999 and 2003.5 Number of West Indian batsmen who have made scores between 40 and 60 during the first innings in Cape Town. The only other time this happened was nearly 50 years ago, when five West Indies batsmen made scores in this range against Australia in Port of Spain.

Dav Whatmore is ready to try where many have failed: to turn around the fortunes of Zimbabwe. And, despite the short time he has before the World Cup, he sees cause for confidence

Firdose Moonda21-Jan-2015In an era where cricketers regularly fling themselves, faux-fly almost, to save a single run, an act as routine as running from fine leg to save a boundary immediately after bowling an over is no longer something to be impressed by, except in certain circumstances. Like the one Dav Whatmore saw when he got to Zimbabwe.”I was watching one of Zimbabwe A’s matches against Canada and Tawanda Mupariwa was bowling. He was doing well, putting in a lot of effort and then came back to fine leg and as soon as the ball was hit, he was on it. To get that frame down and stop the boundary took some doing but there was real commitment there. I remembered it,” Whatmore told ESPNcricinfo.Although Mupariwa is no Morne Morkel, he has found a way for his fielding to stand out, and that’s not the only way he sets himself apart.* Mupariwa was the fastest Zimbabwean to 50 ODI wickets, snaffling them in just 28 matches, but then dispatched to the heap of discards Zimbabwean cricket has collected. Although he aggressive, Mupariwa was also erratic. With a cricketing structure that had the same problem, it was difficult for Mupariwa to develop but all that could be changing as Zimbabwe Cricket tries to turn the page. Again.Their numerous attempts to start over have the same drowsy feeling you get, when reading a book late at night when you are squinting your eyes open and straining to stop the hardcovers from falling on our faces. Whatmore felt none of that when he was approached and agreed to take charge of a unit that had been blanked 8-0 across Tests and ODIs in Bangladesh with only six weeks to go before a World Cup.”I got a sense of genuineness to turn things around, especially from the players. They seem to think enough is enough and what they want to do better and I was pleased that they want to turn things around,” Whatmore said. “They want to move on.”The first step on that journey might be the most difficult because it takes place at on the biggest stage: the World Cup. Apart from the pressure of a major tournament, Zimbabwe are poor travellers, who have lost everywhere from New Zealand to West Indies since their Test comeback four years ago. That leaves Whatmore with a lot of work to in very little time, especially if he hopes to get them out of the group stage and into the knockouts.”I am always an optimist but I am going in with my eyes wide open. They can play and they are tough enough. They’re just looking for more of what they need to perform. I hope to make a difference in terms getting their performances to improve,” he said. “Even though it’s a World Cup and important matches, it’s still a game. When the umpire says play, you have to relax and play or it’s not going to work.”Whatmore’s challenge is to get Zimbabwe to “play” for the full length of a 50-over game. Often, as was the case in their the triangular series last August, in which they hosted South Africa and Australia, Zimbabwe kept pace with their opponents for two-thirds of the game before getting overtaken. “They need to stay in the game until the last five or ten overs. That’s when they fall away,” Whatmore said. “The longer you’re in the game, the more chance you have of winning it.”For that, they need a line-up that can bat deep and Whatmore believes they are able to tick that box. “Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza are experienced guys who know what’s required of them and there are a lot of talented players around them, guys like Sean Williams.”Williams was recalled after missing out on the tour to Bangladesh following a dispute with the selectors and is one of several players, including Stuart Matsikenyeri, who will use the World Cup to make a comeback.More crucially, Zimbabwe need an attack who can do more than just keep the opposition quiet. They need wicket-takers and that is where Whatmore feels they will improve. Among their pack is Prosper Utseya, who has been included even though he is banned from bowling offspin because of an illegal action. “Prosper has remodelled himself. He can bowl medium-pace, cutters, seam-up, wicket-to-wicket. He could be the difference between winnings and losing,” Whatmore said.So could the captain, Elton Chigumbura. His first stint in charge came with a dip in form that would have led some to believe he was unsuited to leadership, but Chigumbura has grown up and is ready for the extra responsibility. Whatmore expects him to play a significant role, especially with the ball.”He must contribute with the ball. He is a main cog in the bowling attack,” he said. “We also have Tinashe Panyangara, who knows where the offstump is. He is not the quickest but he looks like he is in control. Tendai Chatara has pace. And then there’s Mupariwa.”If nothing else, he will be the man prowling the outfield, putting his body on the line for the ones he could let simply go by.*This article was corrected when the details of Mupariwa’s height were clarified.

Our correspondent gets acquainted with Australian fauna, and refuses to answer questions about his wardrobe

Sidharth Monga12-Jan-2015December 22
If South Australians are crow-eaters and Queenslanders banana-benders, Victorians are Mexicans. Name given by New South Welshmen. Because Victoria is south of the border.December 23
Melbourne trams have changed since 2012. No ticket-vending machine on board. Instead, got to buy a prepaid “Myki” card, similar to the Oyster in London. Massive fines if seen without a properly scanned Myki on board. Notice three ladies get on and get off immediately. Notice a ticket-checking officer. Confirms suspicion they were hoping to travel ticketless. Can’t fine a person until tram has begun to move.December 24
India resume training. Time only for bowlers and M Vijay to bat before it starts raining. Difficult practice pitches on offer. Mohammed Shami troubles everybody. Vijay has had a full stint without middling one ball in Shami’s net. Ishant Sharma jokes after his batting session about how he kept gardening to eat up batting time so he had fewer deliveries to face. Good camaraderie between the young quick bowlers.December 25
Walk from Flinders Street station to MCG is by the Yarra river. Called a river that runs upside down because of its muddy colour. Mainly due to soil erosion and industrial pollution.If you walk in the afternoon, you get to hear the Federation Bells. Set of 39 harmonic bells – world’s first. Different compositions at different times, including those by established Australian composers George Dreyfus and Tony Gould. Beauty is, anybody can write music and have it played on the bells.William Barak Bridge between the MCG and Federation Square has small speakers on either side playing music from different parts of the world. They call it a shifting soundscape with different forms of music from 52 different countries playing off each speaker, the sounds merging into each other. Over the bridge, music of a different kind will be created in two days’ time.December 26
Boxing Day Test. Seventy thousand at the G. In the fourth over of the Test, debutant KL Rahul misfields, and the voice of cricket at the MCG, Bill Lawry says, “Dear, oh dear.” Bill is here only for one Test, because he doesn’t want to travel, preferring to be with his wife, who is unwell, but when he goes “Dear, oh dear”, all seems fine with the world. He has the enthusiasm of a child and the empathy of an old man. As Shane Warne says in the Channel Nine tribute video to Lawry, “Nothing happens at the MCG until Bill says so. When Bill bursts through the gates of the MCG on Boxing Day, anything can happen. And most certainly will.”Have a chat with Lawry about life as a pigeon fancier. Ignorantly ask him to mock-call the home stretch of a pigeon race. He smiles and patiently explains how it is not quite a spectator sport where all the pigeons fly towards a finish line.December 27
Watch Brad Haddin overcome the short ball and score a counterattacking fifty from the maligned member’s area. A typical Mexican wave is punctuated with a boo whenever it crosses the members, because they won’t get up. Might not be the coolest section of the G but the toilets sure are. Every urinal has a mirror in which you can watch the cricket unobstructed while relieving yourself.December 28
Top row of the MCG stands is almost 200 metres from the action. Even with binoculars the players look like ants. It’s intimidating to imagine going out and playing there. Poor KL Rahul has to do it, and at No. 6, not his customary position. Nerves are apparent as he holes out moments after he has been dropped. Centuries from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, though, lead a strong Indian reply to Australia’s 530.The Federation bells: make your own music•Sidharth Monga/ESPNcricinfo LtdDecember 29
When you are high enough in the stands, the Spidercam begins to obstruct your view. It’s an intruder. You spend a long time to get to a seat behind the bowler’s arm, and in between you and the keeper comes this unholy creature. Forget distracting the fielders or getting hit by a high ball, the Spidercam also seems to have scared away regular visitors at Australian cricket grounds: the seagulls.December 30
Australianism, as defined by John Arlott: “Single-minded determination to win – to win within the laws but, if necessary, to the last limit within them. It means where the ‘impossible’ is within the realm of what the human body can do, there are Australians who believe that they can do it – and who have succeeded often enough to make us wonder if anything is impossible to them. It means they have never lost a match – particularly a Test match – until the last run is scored or their last wicket down.”Here, Australia draw a Test before the last ball is bowled. First they delay the declaration so much – initially to bat India out of the series, then to see Shaun Marsh to a hundred – that they give themselves only two sessions to bowl India out. Then with four wickets standing – India’s nine, ten and jack are no good – they shake hands with four overs to go. Nothing to lose for Australia here. Just strange to give up. Fans can’t get their heads around it, nor does Steven Smith have a proper explanation for it. Completely un-Australian.December 31
Just past midnight on December 30. After the Test, after his post-match press conference, MS Dhoni has informed the world through a media release sent by the BCCI that he has retired from Test cricket. Always expected him to do this without fanfare, but this, coming in the middle of a Test series, is surprising even by his standards. It’s typical Dhoni: to do what you expect of him but at a time you least expect it.January 1
Drive from Melbourne to Sydney. Stop for refreshments in the shire of Strathbogie. On the freeway, outside a hotel, is a mural of Ned Kelly and the Gang. This is Ned Kelly country. It’s part of the tourism industry now. Euroa, one of the towns in the shire, is the site of one of the Kelly Gang’s more daring acts, their robbery of the National Bank.A hero in the Robin Hood mould, or just a thief and callous murderer? Sunshine, his father used to call him. Angry letters he used to write to the newspapers, with full details of how he would make an example of those who help the police, “by the light that shines pegged on an ant-bed with their bellies opened, their fat taken out, rendered and poured down their throats”. When he was finally sentenced to death, Kelly told the judge, Redmond Barry, “May God have mercy on your soul. I will see you there when I go.” Twelve days after Kelly was hanged, Judge Barry died too, unexpectedly, from a carbuncle.January 2
Back to the SCG. Test match still four days away. Sit by the Kippax Lake. Absolutely quiet but for the sound of birds. Gentle breeze provides relief from insane heat. Had Dhoni made it here, his retirement would have been totally understandable, because this is the sort of place that can bring about thoughts of retiring.Back when the modern stands hadn’t come up, legend has it that Doug Walters hit one into the lake across the road. Apparently it bounced outside the stadium, and continued into the lake. There is another theory that it stopped just metres before the water. Ashley Mallett’s book on Walters quotes the man himself: “It is a huge carry and it couldn’t have possibly landed in the lake on the full. But the ball returned wet.”January 3
A hoarding outside the SCG advertising the series has Harris, Siddle, Watson, Pattinson, Clarke, Johnson and Haddin. Only one of them is fully fit right now. Three back-to-back Tests and the heat have taken their toll.Watson is asked what he thinks of Michael Clarke’s presence in the Channel Nine commentary box. He says, “I don’t listen to commentary. Not when I am not doing well.” Always knew Watson would have good sense of humour. You need it when you are so abundantly talented but haven’t realised your potential.January 4
“If there weren’t cockroaches, it wouldn’t be Sydney,” says the welcome note in the house I am living in. Also moths and spiders. The Brisbane house had possums. Some parts of Australia refer to New South Welshmen as cockroaches.Houses in Australia all have many TVs. A big one in the living room to watch cricket. A small one in the kitchen so as to not miss cricket when cooking. Even bedrooms have one each. When they work on their gardens, they take radios along, or rely on Bill Lawry’s screaming to alert them to anything dramatic happening.January 6
Miss meeting Martin Crowe, who was in Sydney earlier in the week. His invitation to come meet him said: “Won’t have much time but always make time for beige lovers.” Martin is fighting cancer, has given up chemo, talks of death, but has been taking time out to write cricket pieces. In a press conference in Auckland, he picks New Zealand and South Africa as favourites to play the World Cup final. Says he wants to be remembered as “genuine, real, authentic, not false, not masked”.Run into another beige lover, Danny Morrison, whose sane avatar has arrived at the Sydney press box for sane radio commentary on a Test match. Get into a people’s-eyebrow contest with him and lose. Danny’s good with the brow. That’s the look Kohli should be giving his bowlers, who have been ordinary again and have conceded 2 for 348 on the first day.The Spidercam: a menace to fielders, fans and flocks of seagulls•Getty ImagesJanuary 7
“Oh, you are wearing the same shorts again,” says Sunil Gavaskar, now doing commentary here. “Somebody said the same thing to me at The Oval about your shorts, but I told him, ‘How do you know he doesn’t have many pairs of the same?'” Better if the mystique remains.January 8
Steven Smith drops Rahul. A sitter. Lost it in the wire of the Spidercam, which, apparently, more than being a Channel Nine gimmick, has been insisted upon by Cricket Australia. Now that’s a can of redbacks opened by the Australian captain. Rahul goes on to score a century, redemption of sorts after nervous first showings with the bat and in the field. Kohli, too, scores a century. Match headed for a draw.January 9
Kids playing cricket outside the SCG. One of them hits a six, screams “That’s Phillip’s score” and goes down to kiss the patch of land next to him. Warner did that on day one of the Test, to the spot where Phillip Hughes fell more than a month ago during a first-class match. How kids learn from what players do on the field. Something for Warner and Kohli to keep in mind before they send someone off the next time.Nor is India’s bowling worth emulating. They concede 251 in 40 overs to give Australia a shot at an overnight declaration, and 90 overs to bowl India out.January 10
India hang on to a draw thanks to Vijay, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, three batsmen who have carried the team through the series. All of a sudden Kohli is respectful of Australia. Says in press conference that India’s bowlers need to learn from Josh Hazlewood. Says he respects that Australia went for the win in Sydney. Kohli doesn’t know, but Smith – waiting for his press conference – is listening. Nods in approval. After all the nastiness on the field, there is respect. Possibly because it is the end of the series. All bitterness and hostility seem to have been forgotten. That’s the beauty of sport. They no longer go to other dressing rooms and share beers, but there are always handshakes.

Brendan Taylor did everything in his last match to give his side a real chance of stunning India, and all he could do was watch it slip away. In so many ways, the theme of his Zimbabwe career

Abhishek Purohit in Auckland14-Mar-20152:03

‘Sad to leave my home country’ – Taylor

The ball looped gently in the air for so long that Hamilton Masakadza had enough time to set himself up under Suresh Raina’s top-edged sweep. Brendan Taylor had enough time to crane his neck to his right and wait for the simplest of catches to be taken. A catch that would have seen India reduced to 157 for 5, and left them needing 131 from the last 15 overs. The catch was spilled. The near-exclusively Indian crowd in New Zealand’s largest metropolis roared. The drinks break, in Taylor’s last international game before his move to county cricket, was taken immediately after.Taylor walked slowly towards Masakadza, and then stopped some way short. He lay down on his back and spent the rest of the interval getting some stretching done on his legs. He had batted for two-and-a-half hours to make 138 off 110 and then kept wicket for nearly the same length of time, in addition to leading Zimbabwe. He had done everything he possibly could to give his side a real chance of stunning the defending champions. And he was now watching it slip away from right behind the stumps. Valiant forever but ultimately helpless. Story of his Zimbabwe career, leading to his eventual move to county cricket.Taylor turned 29 last month. He is at the peak of his quite considerable batting prowess. He has already played 11 years for his country. It is unimaginably cruel to be forced to give up your national colours – “this red shirt” – so that you can provide for your wife and child playing domestic cricket in a faraway land with the remaining years left in you. Years that could have brought more glory to that red shirt. The colour the Flower brothers wore. The colour Heath Streak wore. The colour Brendan Taylor loves so much.As the Zimbabwe national anthem played at Eden Park this afternoon, some of the players sang loudly along. Taylor was not one of them. He was mouthing those words softly. This was it. The final time he would hear the anthem on the playing field in that red shirt. It was like he had taken a deep breath and was holding it to not get overwhelmed by the emotion. As the end came, the others stopped singing, too. Taylor exhaled with visible effort, almost relieved he had not broken down.Brendan Taylor’s innings was a blur of incredibly clean, sustained hitting but the result did not go his way•AFPHis innings was a blur of incredibly clean, sustained hitting against an attack that became the only one to bowl six sides out of six in the group stage of this World Cup. Was this the best he had batted in an ODI? “I think so, yeah,” considering the stage and the quality of the attack. But Zimbabwe did not win, he pointed out. Another hundred in a losing cause, he qualified. “Then it doesn’t feel so sweet.” Story of his career, he might as well have gone ahead and said.Taylor’s final Zimbabwe press conference was in two parts. Part one where he talked about Zimbabwe’s familiar issues – poor fielding, lack of match awareness, inability to build an innings – and about how good India were was professional and matter-of-fact.Part two, when he was asked about his career, was where the emotion came out. What would he miss the most about being an international player? The voice quavered for an instant.”To be wearing this red shirt of mine,” Taylor said. “I guess it’s every international cricketer’s dream is to put on their country’s shirt. That’s why we play the sport. We’re lucky enough, we’re privileged enough to do that. I will certainly miss that. I’ll miss my teammates, the camaraderie that we have amongst each other, the good times, the bad times we go through. That’s all part of it. I’ve had it for 11 years and I wouldn’t change that for anything. It’s been some special times through good and bad.”He will not change those 11 years for anything. All the money in the world cannot give him what those 11 years have. The satisfaction and recognition of being one of the finest cricketers his nation has ever produced.The Indians probably cannot even comprehend what it is to leave your national team so that you can make a little money and secure your and your family’s future while you are still able to. For them, the national team is the gateway to a lifestyle hundreds of millions of fellow Indians can only fantasise about. They are the selected superstars of an emerging economic superpower.That did not stop three of them from running over to Taylor after he was dismissed and congratulating him for a fantastic innings, and an international career that deserves respect.”Shikhar [Dhawan], Virat [Kohli] and Suresh [Raina] came up to me. That really was quite touching for me. They didn’t have to do that. They’re very established players, and yeah, that was a very nice touch that they did.”Taylor’s comments reflected the gulf between him and those three – not in class but in circumstance. Not in ability but in fortunes. Had Taylor been an Indian, he would have been a superstar too. He would not have been allowed to play limited-overs cricket in another country by his board. He would also have had no need to.His counterpart is among the biggest superstars in the cricket world. As MS Dhoni swatted a four to long leg to move to 72, the asking-rate went under run-a-ball for the first time since the fifth over of the chase. The crowd noticed that on the giant screen and went wilder. Taylor, bent over behind the stumps, stared at the ground, and held that pose, as if to let the finality of one last defeat sink in.As Taylor was leaving after applause in the press conference, he ran into the arriving Dhoni outside. The two captains shook hands. “See you sometime in England,” Dhoni said. Both knew the irony in those words. Life can be cruel. But, as Taylor said, “I guess life goes on.” It will. It just will not be in that red shirt again.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2015Anureet Singh dismissed Smith for a 13-ball 26, the ball crashing onto the stumps after ricocheting off Smith’s arm•BCCIBrendon McCullum, however, didn’t stop attacking. He smashed his way to a fifty in just 32 balls as Super Kings were 97 for 1 after 10 overs•BCCIMitchell Johnson had a forgetful day on the field, dropping McCullum and Suresh Raina to go with a couple of misfields•PTI Karanveer Singh managed to get a hand to a straight drive from MS Dhoni to run out Raina at the non-striker’s end, but the hosts had more than enough in their tank to motor to 192 for 3•BCCISuper Kings’ spinners dominated the Kings XI batsmen after the seamers gave the early breakthroughs, with Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin snaring five wickets between them. Kings XI did not even put up a fight and were kept to 95 for 9, meaning Super Kings moved to the top of the table with a 97-run victory•PTI

There are four matches to go and as we saw in 2005 and 1997, sides are capable of coming from behind to win Ashes series. There will be no complacency from England. But there will be confidence

George Dobell in Cardiff11-Jul-20154:01

Are new England the real deal?

It says something about the trepidation among England supporters, something about the years of hurt and disappointment, something about the number of times they have been stung by Ashes defeats that, even at the start of the fourth day, even with Australia requiring a record fourth-innings total, there was a sense of fear and foreboding around the ground in Cardiff on Saturday morning.It was not that they did not have confidence in their side. It was they did not dare have hope. It has, so often, been the hope that hurts.But there is hope for the future of this England side’s future now. By the end of a golden day – a golden four days – for England cricket, everything seemed possible. All of a sudden it seems reasonable to presume that, if you re-watch the DVDs today, Paul Gascoigne will make that slide in Euro 96, Mark Cueto’s try will stand in the rugby World Cup final of 2007 and Muhammad Ali won’t get up from Henry Cooper’s left hook at Wembley in 1963. After the Cardiff Test, almost anything seems possible in English sport.Maybe we should not be surprised. Australia’s record away from home is modest – they have now lost 11 of their last 17 away Tests and they have won only one of their last 15 Tests in England (or Wales) – while England have now won five of their last six home Tests. It is, after all, 14 years since Australia won the Ashes away from home.Suddenly, Australia are the side with all the problems. The cracks in their team – its lack of balance, its age, its injuries, its discomfort on slow surfaces, its three-man seam attack and its wicketkeeper living on past performances – can no longer be obscured. Certainly, they did nothing to disprove Jason Gillespie’s suggestion that they had a Dad’s Army look to them. In due course, we may reflect that they are, like the England side in Australia in 2013-14, at the end of their life cycle as a team.Perhaps it is too early to draw such conclusions. There are four matches to go, after all, and as we saw in 2005 and 1997, sides are capable of coming from behind to win Ashes series. There will be no complacency from England. But there will be confidence.The fact is, England looked the better side in this game. While it is true that they benefited hugely from the dropping of Joe Root in the first innings, they appeared to have more discipline with the ball and more application with the bat. In these conditions – and it is a long time since we have seen a quick Test wicket in England – their ability to bowl a “relentless” line and length, in Alastair Cook’s words, is a major asset. There is no more mileage in Australia complaining about the pitches here as there is England asking for a slower Perth wicket.Alastair Cook’s move to bring Moeen Ali back before lunch worked wonders, in a superb match for the England captain•Getty ImagesThe convenient narrative will suggest that England have been freed up by the promotion of Paul Farbrace and the arrival of Trevor Bayliss. And no doubt both have made important contributions.But this has been a performance that has been coming for some time. We saw in Antigua, in Grenada and at Lord’s that England were attempting to play a more aggressive style of cricket. We saw, from the time that Ben Stokes cemented his place in the side in the Caribbean, that England benefitted from the presence of four seamers offering slightly different angles of attack – swing, seam, pace and reliability – and offering more opportunity to keep the two strike bowlers just that little bit fresher.And we saw the benefit of a deep batting line-up with a man good enough to score an ODI century as an opening batsman coming in at No. 8. England now have depth with bat and ball and look less reliant upon one or two standout performances. There are still some questions to answer, but they are looking ever more solid as a team.That may have been the most pleasing aspect of this victory. Almost everyone contributed. Stuart Broad delivered perhaps his most consistently good performance for a long time – he has been excellent in patches, but rarely so good throughout a match – Gary Ballance and Ian Bell made the contributions they required to regain some confidence and the time England spent practising their catching practise in Spain (“we practised our catching from first thing in the morning to last thing at night,” Cook said) was rewarded with a series of outstanding efforts. Only one chance was missed; that was a significant improvement on recent efforts.Among the many positives to emerge from this match from an England perspective, one of the most surprising, was to see Cook out-captain Michael Clarke. Almost everything Cook attempted in the field worked: his decision to stick with Bell at slip was rewarded with some fine catches – and a player whose confidence was not further eroded by more demotion – while recalling Moeen Ali for the over before lunch on the fourth day brought the immediate wicket of David Warner with a fine arm ball.Equally, the decision to have a short-leg for Clarke – setting him up for the short ball – and then luring him into an unbalanced drive with his weight on the back foot was masterful. The short midwickets, the decision to give Root a bowl and the gamble with asking Broad to bowl on the third morning with the new ball just 10 overs away were all innovative and were all rewarded.Cook may well have to temper his style of batting if he is to get the best out of himself in the long term – he became a record-breaking player through accumulation, not aggression – but, in the field at least, he has never had a better game as leader.”We always tried to take the attacking option,” a modest Cook said afterwards. “But as a captain, you’re only as good as your bowlers and our bowlers were brilliant.”It was really important for this group of players to show we can compete with Australia. It shows that, if we do the basics well and play with that kind of attitude, we can put Australia under pressure.”It won’t work every time but if we can go out there and show off our talent – we keep talking about that – then we’re a dangerous side.”An entertaining one, too. All of a sudden the future looks a little brighter. All of a sudden, spectators are starting to share the team’s belief: England can win the Ashes.

To become a national treasure in South Africa, you have to be big, bold, beautiful, brave, believable, bashful and breathtaking. And if you are all of those things wrapped into one? You’re AB de Villiers

Firdose Moonda12-Nov-2015The Kruger National Park. Table Mountains. The Blyde River Canon. The Springboks. Hugh Masekela. Zola Budd. To become a national treasure in South Africa you have to be big, bold, beautiful, brave, believable, bashful and breathtaking. And if you are all of those things wrapped into one? Then you’re AB de Villiers.South Africa’s favourite son is a stirring combination of all those qualities and one other: bloody nice. As the locals would say, ‘a good oke,’; the kind you would invite to your , only for him to take over the flames, play with your kids, flirt with your wife and hand you a beer. That’s the way a proper South African does it and de Villiers, superstar status aside, is no different.He grew up like any small town South African kid on a wholesome diet of sunshine and sports. Mornings were spent at school during the week and church on the weekends. Afternoons were meant for playing cricket with his two older brothers, Jan and Wessels, and family friend Martin van Jaarsveld.AB was the youngest and the littlest of the quartet, and had to learn to muscle his way into matches early on. The big boys made him carry drinks for hours, and when he got the chance to bat, they would run in hard and aim for his head. It was as competitive as it was casual and it ingrained the culture of sport in de Villiers, which his parents encouraged. They watched as their youngest tried his hands and feet at everything.De Villiers dabbled in tennis and badminton, rugby and swimming and he was good at all of them. More than good, actually. At 13, he was offered a place at the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida to hone his tennis skills, but did not want to leave home. Cricket breathed a sigh of relief. As a teenager, he was offered to play for Blue Bulls rugby team, but he turned it down again. Cricket breathed a sigh of relief, and had him by then.De Villiers’ first realised his own desire to dominate when he was playing for the South African Colts team aged 16. He is quoted as wanting to be “the best” in his age group, on his fan site, and that became a mantra even as he redefined what the best was. That is actually why South Africans love de Villiers. He continually moves the bar and provides new reasons for fans to feel proud.South Africans do not have the same insecurities that are evident in much of the sub-continent, where cricket is seen as the area in which they can lead. But they have other uncertainties. Multiple tournament failings have burdened generations of South African cricketers with baggage about their ability to perform under pressure, but de Villiers has lightened the load.He is the record holder for the fastest fifty, fastest hundred and fastest 150 in ODIs. Thanks to him, South Africa has soared above totals of 400 on four occasions this year alone. He has scored a century on each of those occasions. South Africa may not have a World Cup to their name, but they have the best batsman in the format in their team.De Villiers wears his heart on his sleeve and isn’t afraid to show raw emotions, like he did after South Africa’s heartbreaking loss in the World Cup semifinal earlier this year in Auckland•ICCIn fact, they (and many others) will say they have the best batsman in any format in their team and the rankings confirm it. De Villiers currently sits at No.1 in both the Test and ODI rankings but the official confirmation is secondary to the stamp of approval he has received from his peers. Everyone from Glenn McGrath to Misbah-ul-Haq has used those words, “the best,” to describe him but perhaps the highest praise has come from within his own camp.”There are only two matches I dread in a year and that’s the two IPL games I play against AB in the IPL,” Dale Steyn said last December when he celebrated a decade as an international cricketer alongside South Africa’s current ODI captain. De Villiers has sent Steyn back over his head in stinging style in the past, in the same arena that hosts his 100th Test.It worked out nicely that the milestone will be achieved in Bangalore, de Villiers’ adopted home. Across India, chants of “A-B-D,” have resonated throughout this series after the awkward second of silence, when the home crowd tries to resolve their conflict of whether to cheer for de Villiers or their countrymen. In the end, they give in to their cricketing consciences, which makes his own people appreciate de Villiers even more.For years, South Africans have had to hear about the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting being among the greats without having one of their own feature in that list. Jacques Kallis’ name was always mentioned in passing, but he lacked the charisma to really claim a place, unfair as that was. De Villiers is entirely the opposite.He wears his heart on his sleeve and his emotions on his face. Just think back to the tears he made no attempt to hide after the 2015 World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand in Auckland or to the many statements he has made before and after endorsing his own team as the best in the world. De Villiers’ complete confidence in the people he plays with could be seen as glib, but it is issued so sincerely and acted upon with so genuinely that it isn’t. He tells it like he thinks it is and that applies to everything about him that is in the public eye.He does not hide who he is. A few years ago, de Villiers released some music he had recorded with a friend. The single was titled “Maak jou drome waar,” (Make your dreams come true) and the accompanying music video was of boy-band quality. It was generally reviewed as being cheesier than a Domino’s pizza and most people saw it as a chance to have a giggle at de Villiers’ expense. But even as they did it, they admired his chutzpah.These days, de Villiers is a husband and father who seems to keep his guitar for private use. His spare-time is spent doing what a lot of sports people do: playing golf, exploring the great outdoors and giving back. Among de Villiers’ many projects are his charitable ones. He was an ambassador for the ‘Make a Difference’ charity and he currently runs a series of free coaching videos in an attempt to share his gifts.It’s little wonder then, that he is the most followed South African on Twitter, with 2.68 million cyber-stalkers. That’s more than Trevor Noah (2.63 million), the comedian who who took over the Daily Show in the United States last month. Being a national treasure is about a lot more than funny business.