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Patrik Schick's future at Bayer Leverkusen has blown wide open after his agent confirmed that the striker would love to join AC Milan.

Schick's future at Leverkusen uncertainAgent confirms he wants to play for MilanAdvices Serie A giants to pull off a coupFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Schick's agent, Pavel Kuka, provided some interesting information regarding the striker's future at Bayer Leverkusen and dropped a potential transfer bombshell, revealing that the player would love to mark his return to Italy by signing for AC Milan. Kuka urged the Serie A giants to make a "coup" by snapping up Schick, adding that his current valuation is well within their reach.

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Ever since joining Leverkusen in 2020, the Czech Republic international has earned a reputation as a proven goal scorer, racking up 81 goals in 168 games for Die Werkself. What's more, he is not unfamiliar with the Italian top flight, spending half a season at Sampdoria and then representing Roma for two years.

Back in January, there were rumours that Juventus were considering signing him on loan, while his agent confirmed that Manchester United have also made attempts to sign him in the past.

WHAT PAVEL KUKA SAID

Speaking in an interview with , Kuka said: "Patrik still has a two-year contract with Leverkusen. We'll see what happens in the future. Although anything is possible. Personally, I think it's difficult for him to leave this summer because Leverkusen has already sold so many players. From a sporting perspective, it would be a serious blow if, in addition to the players who have left, the club also sold one of the strongest players who remained in the squad like Schick.

"He'd like to go to Milan, no matter when. And for the Rossoneri, having a player like the current Patrik Schick would be a real coup. For a player with his undoubted qualities, the price tag isn't expensive. Could Milan afford him? I think so. Other clubs? There are always a lot of rumours in football. It's true that there are a couple of clubs that would like him. It's just my opinion, but Patrik is one of the best players in the world right now.

"Anything can happen… he had already been in talks with Manchester United in the past. But the sporting side is crucial, and at Bayer Leverkusen he fought for and won the Bundesliga, adding the German Cup. There he won the double… coming within a whisker of the treble. At the BayArena he also plays in the Champions League… transfer money and salary aren't everything. That said, I wouldn't rule out a move to Milan this summer."

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR PATRIK SCHICK?

A move to Milan, as confirmed by Schick's agent, may not materialise this summer, with Massimiliano Allegri's team already looking to sign Dusan Vlahovic to bolster the forward line. It is likely Schick remains at the BayArena, with Leverkusen already losing Florian Wirtz and speculation suggestion that Victor Boniface could also depart.

Stats highlights on day 1

Kanishkaa Balachandran21-Jan-2006Day 5 Pakistan’s match aggregate of 1078 runs is the highest by a single team in a five-day Test. The combined match aggregate of 1702 is the fourth-highest for five-day Tests as the table below indicates.

Highest match aggregates in five-day Tests

Aggregate / Wickets Match At

1764 / 39 Australia v West Indies Adelaide, 1968-69 1747 / 25 Australia v India Sydney, 2003-04 1723 / 31 England v Australia Leeds, 1948 1702 / 28 Pakistan v India Faisalabad, 2005-06For the full list of highest match aggregates, including timeless Tests, click here. Harbhajan Singh will want to erase the first two Tests of this series from his memory, having bowled 486 balls without taking a wicket. Only three other bowlers have bowled more deliveries in a series without success, as the table below indicates; interestingly, all happen to be offspinners.

Most balls without a wicket in a Test series

Player Tests Balls Runs Against

John Emburey 4 642 222 Pakistan, 1987 Robert Croft 3 522 211 South Africa, 1998 Arshad Ayub 2 516 300 Pakistan, 1989-90 Harbhajan Singh 2* 486 355 Pakistan, 2005-06 Younis Khan’s dream run against India just got better after he scored his fourth century in as many Tests. In fact, this is only the sixth instance of a batsman scoring four or more consecutive centuries against a particular opposition.

Four or more consecutive centuries against single opposition

Centuries By Against From To

6 Don Bradman Eng Melbourne, 1936-37 Leeds, 1938 5 Jacques Kallis WI Johannesburg, 2003-04 Georgetown, 2004-05 4 Everton Weekes Ind Delhi, 1948-49 Kolkata, 1948-49 4 Neil Harvey RSA Cape Town, 1949-50 Port Elizabeth, 1949-50 4 Don Bradman Eng Melbourne, 1928-29 Leeds, 1930 4 Younis Khan Ind Kolkata, 2004-05 Faisalabad, 2005-06Day 4 Irfan Pathan has hit quite a purple patch with the bat. In his last seven Tests, including the ongoing one at Faisalabad, Pathan averages 47, with an aggregate of 376 runs, including four half-centuries. After this innings, his overall batting average has moved up to 29.59, an increase of nearly three runs in seven matches. The partnership of 210 between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan is the second-highest for the sixth wicket against Pakistan. The highest is the 238 that Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer put together at Hobart in 1999.Day 3 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who got to his century off 93 balls, has scored the fastest hundred by an Indian wicketkeeper and the fourth fastest overall by wicketkeepers. This follows Kamran Akmal’s world record in the first Test at Lahore. The unbeaten 160-run partnership between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan is the highest for the sixth-wicket by India against Pakistan, beating the previous highest of 143 between Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin at Calcutta in 1986-87. The old firm of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have staged several crucial partnerships in the recent past. Including this innings, the pair have aggregated 2463 runs in 46 innings averaging 60.07 (runs per completed partnerships), with nine century stands and six half-century partnerships.Day 2 The 251-run fifth-wicket partnership shared between Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq is the third highest for Pakistan in Tests. After Inzamam and Afridi put on 163 overnight, Afridi was joined by Razzaq after Inzamam retired hurt and the two added a further 88 runs. The second highest fifth-wicket stand for Pakistan is 258 between Salim Malik and Inzamam-ul-Haq at Wellingtonwhile the highest is 281 between Asif Iqbal and Javed Miandad at Lahore against New Zealandin 1976-77. Inzamam-ul-Haq, who scored his 25th Test century, has earned himself a place in the list of top ten century makers. He is also the leading centurion among Pakistan batsmen.Day 1 Pakistan’s 379 for 4 is the highest total by a team on the first day at Faisalabad. India’s score of 334 for 7 in 1983is in second place while Pakistan’s 300 for 4 against England comes next.

When Anil Kumble takes the field for the final Test at Ahmedabad, he will become the second spinner to have played 100 Tests

George Binoy17-Dec-2005

Anil Kumble’s 100th Test is just another indicator of his commitment and resolve as a cricketer © Getty Images
When Anil Kumble takes the field for the final Test against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad, he will become the second spinner, after Shane Warne, to have played 100 Tests. Kumble is the second longest serving member of this Indian side after Sachin Tendulkar, and his contribution to Indian cricket has been simply immense.It takes a remarkable standard of fitness and resolve for a bowler to earn 100 caps and just six others, before Kumble, have passed this landmark. Only a handful of current bowlers have played more than 90 Tests and, with the exception of Shaun Pollock, all their stats in the last 25 matches are better than their overall career figures. Muttiah Muralitharan has a staggering 141 wickets from his last 20 games and Kumble is only four behind Warne’s tally of 118 scalps.

Performance in last 25 Tests

Bowler Wkts Average/SR 5w/10w

Muttiah Muralitharan 141 18.64/47.4 12/3 Shane Warne 118 22.77/46.1 7/2 Anil Kumble 114 27.05/53.8 9/4 Glenn McGrath 97 20.20/47.7 4/0 Chaminda Vaas 76 24.51/53.8 4/0 Shaun Pollock 75 27.65/65.3 1/0Kumble may not figure in India’s one-day plans anymore but, in Tests, he has only gotten better as the years have rolled by. Kumble’s strike rate, at 53.69, in his most recent games, is far better than his career equivalent of 65.1. His average is also a couple of notches lower at 26.53 and with eight five-wicket hauls in the last 19 matches, Kumble is enjoying one of the most productive phases of his career.

Kumble’s performance in blocks of 20 Tests

Matches Wickets Avg/SR 5w/10w

0-20 99 24.79/65.91 5/1 21-40 69 35.49/80.80 4/0 41-60 102 26.29/64.74 6/2 61-80 100 29.48/66.32 7/1 81-99 108 26.53/53.69 8/4How India fares in a Test depends a lot on Kumble’s form. In games that India have won, Kumble takes wickets at a mere 18.47 apiece. On the other hand, Kumble has taken only four of his 30 five-wicket hauls in matches that India have lost and his average skyrockets to 42.34 in these games.

Kumble’s figures in matches won/lost/drawn

Result Matches/wkts Average/SR 5w/10w

Won 34/233 18.47/45.61 17/5 Lost 24/88 42.34/85.40 4/0 Drawn 41/157 34.19/82.75 9/3A major argument, and one that was certainly justifiable, against Anil Kumble was his ordinary overseas record. After the tour of West Indies in 2001-02, Kumble had 109 overseas wickets from 34 games at an average of 40.40 and a strike rate of a wicket every 16 overs. But since then, he has improved significantly. In 13 Tests, beginning with the England tour in 2002, Kumble has taken 67 wickets at a respectable strike rate of 55.85.

Overseas record

Span Matches/wkts Average/SR 5w/10w

Upto May 2002 34/109 40.04/95.4 4/0 After May 2002 13/67 28.84/55.85 4/1An Indian win masterminded by Kumble in the fourth innings of a home Test is a familiar tale. A spinner should, in theory at least, have better figures as the match progresses and Kumble most certainly confirms to it. In the second innings, he averages 24.85 compared to 30.56 in the first. And if he’s bowling in the last innings of a match, that figure drops to 20.32.

Innings break-up

Innings Wickets Avg/SR 5w

1st 133 32.40/73.6 8 2nd 133 28.71/67.8 8 3rd 150 27.72/59.9 12 4th 62 20.32/53.3 2

While the Indian team savours another victory away from home here’s the occasion to celebrate the return of Test cricket as we once knew it

Sambit Bal at Trent Bridge31-Jul-2007

While the Indian team and their fans savour another victory away from home, here’s the occasion to celebrate the return of Test cricket as we once knew it. © Getty Images
There is a danger of jelly beans, that nondescript and harmless English sweet, hijacking this Test – there were more references, in some of the English papers, to England’s schoolboy antics than to Zaheer Khan’s virtuoso performance and the issue dominated Michael Vaughan’s post-match press conference. However, despite the margin, which would suggest one-sidedness, this has been a cracking match featuring some of the old-fashioned skills that so endears Test cricket to its loyal supporters.The Australians have redrawn the definition of attractiveness in Test cricket by spectacular batting based on unrelenting aggression. To this end they have been helped by the general feebleness of bowlers around the world and the fashion of flat pitches. The role of television cannot be understated: stroke-making makes good viewing and batting pitches ensure matches last the distance. The standard definition of a good pitch has come to be one that is suitable for batting.Not surprisingly, the great pace bowlers of this era have been shaped by their circumstances. Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock are masters of minimalism, bowlers who have relied on their command of line and length and prey on the patience and the character of batsmen rather than tempting them to indiscretion. Mohammed Asif, the next potentially great bowler, belongs to their ilk.This summer, though, in cloudy and heavy conditions, the art of swing bowling has come to the fore. Ryan Sidebottom has been England’s best bowler of the summer, including periods when Steve Harmison was available. And it’s been traditional new-ball swing and not the reverse swing Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones deployed to bring the Australians to their knees in 2005. Late into the summer, the ball hasn’t stopped swinging.It has made for fascinating cricket. It has encouraged bowlers to pitch the ball up, and it has forced batsmen to reassess their options. Driving on the up hasn’t been easy, batsmen have had to play late, adjust their strokes and be vigilant at all times. Runs have had to be earned, and so been far more valuable. More than anything else, it’s been a contest. It is the nature of cricket, and no one will know this better than Sachin Tendulkar, that hundreds in lost causes are not often accorded the status they may merit if skill was the only criteria Apart from the first two sessions at Lord’s, the Indian bowlers – barring the hot and cold Sreesanth – have been exceptional. Zaheer has used his experience and the knowledge of English conditions to perfection. In the first innings at Trent Bridge, he relied on the conditions, overhead clouds and moisture on the pitch. On the fourth day, greater skill and variety was demanded. While the pitch had eased up, however, swing was still available and he used the angles left-handers alone can manage with the canniness that has been a refreshing addition to his bowling. And when the release was right even RP Singh, playing only because Munaf Patel stayed home injured, produced some great balls.Years later, when fans look at the bowling card, they might not be able to appreciate the quality of Vaughan’s innings. But it must surely count as one of his best. He made batting look easy when the pressure was immense and the conditions were demanding. It is the nature of cricket, and no one will know this better than Sachin Tendulkar, that hundreds in lost causes are not often accorded the status they may merit if skill was the only criteria. If a comparison was to made, however, this was a superior performance to his 197 against India at the same ground five years ago. That was a more flowing innings featuring more gorgeous strokes. This one tested him far more. And the moment he was out, batting seemed a far more hazardous task for his colleagues. And while there was incredulity when Kevin Pietersen described his hundred at Lord’s as his best ever, it wasn’t just a case of Pietersen’s trying to hype up his latest performance. Batsmen know when they have been put through the grind.Seen in isolation, the fourth day’s play at Trent Bridge would count among the best days of Test cricket in recent times. The conditions were roughly even: batting was challenging, not impossible, and the bowler had to do more than just put the ball in the right spot to get wickets. Both runs and wickets had to be earned and Vaughan and Zaheer provided two masterclasses.India dominated the Test on all five days but it was never easy. That they scored 481 without a century would point to an all-round performance. Even though it was founded on an opening partnership of 147, the middle order had to scrap for every run and Tendulkar’s battle against Sidebottom on the third morning will soon be the stuff of folklore. Had Tendulkar perished then, it was conceivable that India would have collapsed.While the Indian team and their fans savour another victory away from home, which mercifully for them is much more frequent now, here’s the occasion to celebrate the return of Test cricket as we once knew it.

New Zealand’s chances revolve around their slow men. By Brydon Coverdale

Brydon Coverdale06-Sep-2007

Daniel Vettori will have his work cut out for him as captain and lead bowler © Getty Images
Another World Cup, another missed opportunity. New Zealand’s failure to progress to the decider in the Caribbean was the fifth time they had stumbled at the semi-final stage, and post-tournament changes were inevitable. Stephen Fleming quit the one-day captaincy, John Bracewell’s position as coach was reviewed, and four members of their initial World Cup squad were overlooked for the Twenty20 version.Bracewell has stayed since but Fleming, James Franklin, Michael Mason and Daryl Tuffey have made way for Chris Martin, Gareth Hopkins, Bradley Scott and Nathan McCullum.It is Daniel Vettori’s first engagement as the full-time limited-overs captain and on-the-job training may be required, as his only Twenty20 experience is a solitary match for Northern Districts two years ago.Home truths
Only England have played more Twenty20 internationals than New Zealand’s five – which resulted in two wins, two losses and a tie – and the concept has been embraced at domestic level. Each provincial team played two matches in 2005-06 and the program was expanded significantly last year. In addition to a full round-robin tournament, a Southland Twenty20 competition was held in Invercargill over a weekend in November.Strengths
Quality slow bowling has become an important weapon in Twenty20. Batsmen are then forced to create the pace and contrive shots. New Zealand have potentially the most difficult spin duo of any team: Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel will use every piece of guile they can muster to tie down and frustrate the opposition. Vettori is a proven match-winner in one-day internationals with his subtle variations in line, length, flight and turn, and Twenty20 should be no different. Patel has become an effective foil and bowling in tandem they race through overs in the middle of an innings. Patel’s Twenty20 record – eight games, nine wickets at 16.77 and an economy rate of 6.20 – is excellent.They will follow the always dangerous Shane Bond, which means even the best sides will have to work hard to rack up a big score against New Zealand. New Zealand have a great spearhead, andthey also have great depth and variety in their bowling, which is second only to Australia’s Ian ChappellWeaknesses
It’s just as well New Zealand are good at restricting their opponents, because posting a huge total themselves will be a challenge. Lou Vincent, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram are all dangerous strikers, but they struggled to click as a unit at the World Cup and their only decent totals came against minnows. The batting lacks the depth of more fancied sides and the line-up remains far from settled.In Fleming’s absence McCullum could again be pushed up to open, although that ploy has been unsuccessful in ODIs. Teams will also target New Zealand’s second-tier bowlers. Mark Gillespie and Chris Martin have their moments but at times they leak copious amounts of runs. The newcomer Scott, a left-arm fast-medium bowler, concedes nearly ten an over in domestic Twenty20.Player to watch
Thanks to his time in county cricket, Styris is the most experienced Twenty20 player in the squad. He is in form – he was easily New Zealand’s best batsman at the World Cup with 499 runs at 83.16 – and he could be the platform around which the likes of McMillan and McCullum launch their attacks. The only concern is that he returned from Durham with niggling back, knee, and calf problems, and losing him mid-tournament would be a major setback.Dark horse
It will be interesting to see how Hopkins, the back-up wicketkeeper, is used. New Zealand believe Hopkins and McCullum can play in the same side and after Hopkins made 514 first-class runs at 85.66 last summer, who can argue? He had a taste of ODI cricket three years ago, and at 30 he has enough experience to suggest he will not be overawed by the occasion. Hopkins will be desperate to pass this audition as he pushes for a batting spot in the one-day team.

Scott Styris needs to be the middle-order rock around whom the big-hitters play © Getty Images
Ian Chappell’s take
New Zealand are mainly a side of veterans who have been around in international cricket for a long time. The only unknown aspect about their cricket is the captaincy of Daniel Vettori, who takes over from long-term leader Stephen Fleming. How the left-armer adapts to the difficult role of being a bowler-captain is crucial to New Zealand’s chances in the tournament.The two big question marks surrounding New Zealand cricket are the ones that have been around for a long time – their vulnerable top-order batting and their ability to fall at the final hurdle with the winning post in sight. If Lou Vincent plays consistently well, the top order will be enhanced, which improves New Zealand’s chances immeasurably as they have ample power in the middle order. Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan and Brendon McCullum have the power, precision and thought processes to make New Zealand’s middle order as dangerous as any, including Australia.With Shane Bond licensed to dismiss, New Zealand have a great spearhead, andthey also have great depth and variety in their bowling, which is second only to Australia’s. They back up their strong bowling line-up by being resourceful and athletic in the field.If they bat well at the top, and Vettori handles the extra responsibility ofcaptaincy, then New Zealand could very well make the finals as long as theydon’t freeze in sight of the prize. Rating: 7.5/10

Ross Taylor hit a breathtaking century on the second day at Old Trafford and left England firmly on the back foot

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford24-May-2008
‘I think most batsmen, unless you have 20-30 hundreds, you’ll be nervous but I think I’d have been a lot more nervous if I hadn’t already got one’ © Getty Images
Most of New Zealand’s cricket so far on this tour has been described as ‘grafting’ and ‘workmanlike’, an assessment that even coach John Bracewell didn’t disagree with. There is nothing of either word in the way that Ross Taylor bats; ‘flamboyant’ and ‘adventurous’ would probably work better.Taylor was one of five New Zealand players to spend time at the Indian Premier League, before joining up with his team-mates two weeks into the England tour. While he was in India he spent time chatting with Rahul Dravid and Shivnarine Chanderpaul about the skills needed to succeed in England. He clearly didn’t listen too much, because it’s highly unlikely that either of them would have suggested trying to belt the cover off the ball.Both toured England last year with West Indies and India. While Chanderpaul enjoyed a prolific time, making 446 runs at 148.66 in three Tests, he never threatened to tear an attack apart in the manner Taylor did during his third fifty, which took 42 balls. Meanwhile, Dravid’s final Test innings on India’s tour was a tortuous 96-ball 12 at The Oval. Taylor’s second Test century took only 34 more deliveries.However, there has been a noticeable evolution in Taylor’s batting during the few days between Lord’s and Old Trafford. His strike-rate for the Bangalore Royal Challengers was 183.95 and he began this tour unable to rein in his attacking mindset at the beginning of an innings. The warm-up matches were characterised by flashy dismissals after a couple of attractive boundaries, then at Lord’s in the first innings he tried to pull a good length ball from Stuart Broad, and only managed to top edge to second slip.”I was very disappointed with the way I got out,” he said in his Cricinfo diary. “I was a little nervous when I walked out to bat, but playing across the line as I did to a shorter ball from Stuart Broad was not part of my game plan. Test cricket has its own special tempo and I was too rushed. I’ll learn from that, as I do each time I bat in Test cricket.” And learn he certainly has.”I played straighter, that’s the game plan I took out there,” he said after Daniel Vettori’s two late strikes left New Zealand in control. “I know if they bowl in other areas that, if I have a base of playing straight, my natural instincts will take over. A lot of people probably thought I was nervous at Lord’s, but no more so than playing at another other ground. I just felt a little bit out of sorts, but I’ve work hard over the last few days and it made me feel a lot more relaxed.”Taylor is a naturally attacking batsman and there will always be an element of risk to his play. It is how he manages those risks that will determine how successful he becomes. The fact that he appears to be a quick learner will help his cause no end, but it is also a good sign that, even with a couple of failures behind him, he had the confidence to continue is own game.England could easily have run all over New Zealand on the opening day, but Taylor’s counter-attack redressed the balance almost before the home side could think they’d gained control. On the second morning the challenge was slightly different, consolidate and try to carry the game away from them. The loss of two team-mates to run outs didn’t help, but by the time he was joined by the bowlers he was seeing the ball so well.There was a hint of Nathan Astle and a sprinkle of Chris Cairns – not bad role models for an aggressive middle-order batsman – in the way he carved up England’s bowlers in the later stages on his innings. It was one-day cricket – “The IPL helped me with those last 20 to 30 runs,” Taylor said – and England needed to respond with some one-day style bowling. However, it’s difficult to remember a single yorker that was attempted and Taylor was quite happy to swat length into the stands.Andrew Strauss, who made a 60 that would have suited the grafting description, preferred to praise Taylor rather than suggest it was England’s shortcomings that played a part. “Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition and when someone doesn’t allow bowlers to settle,” he said. “As a bowler you feel like you have a chance against people like that, but if they get in and get on top it’s hard to stem the flow of runs. I thought he played exceptionally well and you have to take your hat off to him.”Taylor has only played Tests against two nations; South Africa and England. He was found out by the bouncy pitches in Johannesburg and Centurion Park, but here the short ball was easily dispatched. He has formed a liking to English bowlers over the last few months. The series in New Zealand brought 310 runs at 51.66, including his maiden Test century at Hamilton. That was a rather more prosaic innings, taking 185 balls to today’s 130, but Taylor said the memories of that first hundred helped today after he got stalled in the 90s.”I think I probably batted better in this game and also the game situation it makes it a little bit better as well. I think most batsmen, unless you have 20-30 hundreds, will be nervous but I think I’d have been a lot more nervous if I hadn’t already got one.”The list of top-order batsman New Zealand have lost in recent times shows the talent that has disappeared; Astle, Craig McMillan, Stephen Fleming and Scott Styris to name four. It hasn’t proved easy trying to find suitable replacements, but in Taylor they have someone with a long career in front of them and he is certainly more then the grafter.

Stats highlights from South Africa’s historic eight-wicket win, which gave them their first series win in Australia

S Rajesh30-Dec-2008
At the age of 27, Graeme Smith already holds the record for most number of runs scored in successful run-chases © AFP
South Africa’s nine-wicket win ended Australia’s 16-year unbeaten run in home series. The last time they’d been beaten was by West Indies in 1992-93, which was also the last time they’d lost successive games at home. For South Africa, it was their first win in Melbourne in five attempts since their readmission to Test cricket, and their third in 14 Tests in Australia during this period. They end the year with a 11-2 win-loss record, easily the best among all teams. South Africa’s 11 wins in 2008 is also a record by any team in a single year, and a feat that has only been achieved twice previously – by West Indies in 1984, and by England in 2004. Australia’s best is ten, which they’ve achieved three times – in 2002, 2004 and 2006. South Africa haven’t lost a Test series in more than two years, during which time they’ve won nine series and drawn one: their last defeat was to the Sri Lankans in a two-Test series in July 2006. The chase of 183 made it ten successful run-chases of 175 or more in 2008, with South Africa contributing exactly 50% of those. They finished the year almost exactly like they started it: in their first game of 2008, they chased down 185 against West Indies in Cape Town, losing three wickets. Graeme Smith had led that run-chase too, scoring 85 and sparking off a fourth-innings sequence which is quite incredible: in six innings this year he has scored 85, 62, 3*, 154*, 108 and 75. His matchwinning 75 in Melbourne lifted his aggregate in fourth-innings victories to 919, which is the most by any batsman. Matthew Hayden is next with 913, while Ricky Ponting has 835. Smith’s knock also lifted his aggregate for the year to 1656 from 15 Tests at an average of 72. Only two batsmen have scored more in a calendar year – Mohammad Yousuf accumulated 1788 in 2006, while Viv Richards made 1710 in 1976. With so many South African batsmen in superb form this year – four scored more than 1000 – it’s hardly surprising that they dominate the partnership stats too. Smith and Neil McKenzie put together the most number of partnership runs – 1552 – followed by Smith and Hashim Amla (1090). In fact four of the top eight pairs of the year are South Africans.

They may have “fewer battle scars”, but few would bet on New Zealand to pull off their first win in in Australia in 23 years when the first Test gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday

Mathew Varghese19-Nov-2008
Will Daniel Vettori stamp his all-round mark on the Australians? © Getty Images
They may have “fewer battle scars”, but few would bet on New Zealand to pull off their first win in Australia in 23 years when the first Test gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday. In 28 Tests since that Perth victory in 1985-86, New Zealand have won only three times – all at home – drawn 12 and lost 13. It’s been 15 years, or 17 Tests, that New Zealand have been winless against Australia. They last won in March 1993 in Auckland, and have suffered 11 losses since. (Click here to view New Zealand’s past results in Australia.)Another hurdle that faces New Zealand is the Gabba, a venue where Australia have been unbeaten for 19 Tests. Since West Indies beat them in 1988-89, Australia have won 14 Tests, with four victories in the last four seasons. Daniel Vettori and his team, though, would rather prefer to look back to that series win in 1985-86, when they won by an innings and 41 runs in Brisbane, New Zealand’s biggest win over Australia. New Zealand also drew all three Tests during their visit in 2000-01, and since then Australia have failed to win a Test in a series just once: the recent debacle in India. Only India have drawn three Tests in Australia since 2000 – they have played nine to New Zealand’s five – while losses dominate the records for the rest.Australia’s record in 2008 may not be too daunting – three wins, three losses and three draws – but New Zealand haven’t performed any better: they have won four and lost four of their ten, but three of those wins came against Bangladesh. Only five of each side’s players have faced their trans-Tasman rivals in a Test before.

New Zealand players against Australia

Player Tests Runs Average Wickets Average

Daniel Vettori 10 368 30.66 45 31.02 Chris Martin 6 9 1.50 8 102.12 Brendon McCullum 5 145 16.11 – – Iain O’Brien 2 10 3.33 2 98.50 Kyle Mills 1 33 33.00 1 99.00

Australia’s players against New Zealand

Player Tests Runs Average Wickets Average

Ricky Ponting 11 808 73.45 – – Matthew Hayden 9 626 41.73 – – Brett Lee 6 139 23.16 32 20.81 Michael Clarke 5 141 37.20 2 12.00 Simon Katich 3 188 62.66 – – One big plus for Australia is the return of Andrew Symonds; his average of 74.37 in six Tests is the best for them this year: Simon Katich is the only other batsman with an average over 50. The worrying fact for the hosts is that their bowlers (apart from Jason Krejza with 29.83) have all gone at over 30 this year, with their fast bowlers unable to make an impression in India. For New Zealand, it’s Vettori who’s been their stand-out performer this year. Only Ross Taylor has scored more runs than him, and Vettori also leads the bowling charts, with 39 wickets at 25.53. The encouraging fact for New Zealand is that Iain O’Brien, Chris Martin and Kyle Mills have also been in the wickets, and even if you exclude Tests against Bangladesh, New Zealand’s bowling unit have performed better than Australia. (Australia’s bowlers, though, have played in tougher conditions in West Indies and India, while New Zealand played at home and in England.)Brett Lee struggled in India; however, he had 40 wickets at an astounding average of 20.57 in Australia’s home series against Sri Lanka and India last summer: he won the series prize for both. Symonds took 11 wickets at 25.27, and Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson had over 20 wickets each at over 30 apiece. Symonds was their main force with the bat, with 513 runs at 85.50, and four of their batsmen averaged over 60.Toss
Australia have only lost four of the 28 Tests when they have won the toss at the Gabba. On the other hand, opposition teams have won only four of the 22 Tests when they have won the toss. Australia have won 17 of the 32 Tests when they have batted first; New Zealand have lost all four doing so. In eight Tests since 2000, Australia have won the toss twice, fielding first and winning against West Indies in 2000-01 and batting first against England in 2006-07. Whenever the opposition has won the toss, they have put Australia in, resulting in four defeats and two draws.

Result by situation at the Gabba

Situation Tests Matches won Lost Drawn Tied

Australia winning the toss 28 18 4 6 Australia losing the toss 22 12 4 5 1 Australia’s dominance is clearly reflected in the average runs per wicket, with a yawning gap between them and the opposition during their unbeaten streak.

Average runs per wicket

Period Australia’s average Opposition’s average

Overall 39.51 26.33 1990 onwards 50.19 24.51 2000 onwards 58.29 24.02 Pace v Spin
The stats may not encourage Vettori too much, but being a spinner he might want to bowl in the fourth innings, although wet weather in the lead-up might prompt him to bowl first.

Pace v Spin at the Gabba – 1990 onwards

InningsWickets for pace bowlersAverageEconomy-rateWickets for spinnersAverageEconomy-rate1st13538.193.23051.93.02nd12732.952.954136.022.933rd9031.013.253333.732.764th4729.402.923225.462.69Overall39933.873.1013636.492.87

Katherine Brunt nearly gave up on cricket before deciding to persevere on. She may not be the fastest but who needs speed when you’ve got wickets to show?

Nishi Narayanan08-Mar-2010The 2008 World Twenty20 final. New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins, match-winner in the semis, comes to crease at the fall of Suzie Bates’ wicket. She gets two runs off Laura Marsh and takes strike for Katherine Brunt’s second over. The first ball swings in to the left-hander, who looks to drive but is beaten by the inswing and bowled. Brunt takes two more and New Zealand are all out for 85. England win by six wickets.Brunt, the Player of the Match for her career-best 3 for 6, rates that wicket of Watkins as the best in her six years in the international game, but says she was lucky. “I knew she was going to come out very aggressive, and she took me on very first ball. If she had played defensive, she’d have been in, but she decided to go after me and it swung back in and bowled her,” Brunt said while on tour in India. “It was probably the best ball I bowled all year – just happened to be at her.”Good fortune has been hard to come by in Brunt’s career, though. As a teenager she nearly gave up the game because of her weight issues. Then in 2006 she suffered a career-threatening back injury that forced her to reassess her bowling priorities.Brunt says she gets asked about her weight problem, and how she countered it, a lot. It is a compelling story. At 17, having played Under-15 and Under-17 for Yorkshire, she decided to give up the game because she was overweight and was not enjoying playing anymore.”It was really hard [playing] as a teenager. There wasn’t much help there in terms of nutrition and fitness. You were just left to your own devices.” But being overweight and not playing was not enjoyable either. “One day I decided I didn’t want to be fat and unfit anymore. I wanted to be lean like everyone else and fit and strong enough to be able to play international cricket. When I was large, I never wanted to be part of that – I wasn’t confident. When I eventually decided to do it I lost it all in three months. The instant I lost the last of the four stone, I got picked for England straight away. So it proves if you want something bad enough, you’ll get it.”Brunt clearly wanted that England cap badly enough, because a broken finger (2005) and a prolapsed disc (2006) didn’t stop her from making another comeback. The latter injury did, though, stop her bowling at top speed. Even when she returned, she was haunted by the injury, wondering whether the next ball would be the end of it all.”The first six months [after] I came back, I bowled slower and within myself. I didn’t want to bowl that bouncer or quicker ball because that’s how my injury happened – I bowled a bouncer at the captain, and although it was a good bouncer it wasn’t good for me. It took me a while to bowl that quicker ball but it eventually came to me.”She got quicker but had to give up her dream of being the quickest. Brunt, who had a mixed action – “my arm was front-on and my feet were side-on” – reworked it during her rehab and returned as a side-on bowler.”When I was a teenager I just wanted to be the quickest in the world. Now I’m 24 and I want to be the best bowler in the world. I want to be economical, I want to take loads of wickets, and I want to be the No.1.”People can bowl as quick as they want but without control. I want to bowl controlled and with swing. And if you bowl quick you don’t naturally get swing. Jhulan Goswami bowls up and down – she doesn’t get much swing. That’s because you either have to do one or the other. So she’s quite aggressive and good with that and I’m good with my swing. I chose to do that but if I wanted to be quick I could.”After this tour to India she may never feel the need for speed again, having taken 10 wickets in five ODIs – including a career-best 5 for 22 on a slow Bangalore pitch. She got the ball moving early in the innings and reduced India to 16 for 4 in 6.2 overs. England eventually won the match by three runs but lost the series 3-2.

When I was a teenager I just wanted to be the quickest in the world. Now I’m 24 and I want to be the best bowler in the world. I want to be economical, I want to take loads of wickets, and I want to be the No.1

From here, Brunt will go to the West Indies for the World Twenty20 in May. And though a lot rests on her shoulders as the defending champions’ strike bowler, England now have the strength to bear that burden. And if she fails, she has the mental strength and maturity to bounce back.She also has a season of club cricket with her family to look forward to. As a youngster Brunt played with her father, and brother Daniel, in the Barnsley second XI. Her father, 63, is retired but has decided to pick up the ball again. Her brother, a batsman-keeper who got picked for Yorkshire but gave it up to play golf, will also play, so Brunt will return to Barsnley.”I felt quite comfortable playing with boys more than playing with girls because they were tough. I grew up in a family of six, so I am used to not being noticed or getting beaten up because I am the littlest. I used to enjoy it with the boys and it probably made me a stronger character. So when I came to women’s cricket I was a lot better for that.”

Ricky Ponting is losing control of everything he desires in cricket. His influence on the side is disappearing and his power over the selectors has waned.

Peter English at the WACA16-Dec-2010Ricky Ponting is losing control of everything he desires in cricket. His influence on the side is disappearing and his power over the selectors has waned. His batting is an imitation of the man who once swung at the same level as Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. Ponting is physically at his fittest and looks in fabulous shape, but his mind, 36 years old on Sunday, is winding down.His team is in even greater decline. Valued players let him down often and the new faces are not yet helping. Ponting is in charge during Australia’s most damaging crisis since the mid-1980s and the situation becomes worse by the day. Everything is going wrong: the wrong XI chosen, the wrong attitude employed and the wrong shots displayed after the coin fell England’s way.Australia did recover from a horror first session to post 268, but it will take something extremely special over the next four days to stop England from taking the 2-0 lead that would ensure they retain the urn. Ponting is already facing the prospect of becoming only the second Australian to lose three Ashes series. If that happens his hold on the captaincy will be weak and he is not a man who will play without the leadership. In this form, with 80 runs in five bats in the series, Australia wouldn’t want him to.The time has come to speak in the past tense of Ponting as a great batsman. Sparks may remain but the periods of sustained excellence have gone. Ponting walks to the wicket on reputation and has been leaving without regular results. He has played 24 Tests since the start of last year and averaged 39.87, including series against West Indies and New Zealand, and two against Pakistan. A No.3 who previously created fear has become a shadow.Ponting is meant to be the one Australian batsman who can change the game or wrestle back the series. Picking four specialist fast bowlers, omitting the spinner Michael Beer and then losing the toss made his task even harder. He was called to the middle after two overs following Phillip Hughes’ early legside wobble, and was lucky to last more than three balls.If England had four slips instead of three, Ponting probably wouldn’t have scored. Briefly, his fortune had changed.Boundaries from a pull and a flick to midwicket raced him to 12 off nine deliveries. He was aggressive and seemed in, but he could not tone down the high-energy tempo, a trait his batting partners also struggled to conquer. Four wickets fell in an opening session that required graft not glamour.Ponting used to love the bounce of Perth, a ground which hasn’t always treated him well. He was lbw, hit high on the thigh, when 96 on debut back when he was already destined for greatness. Last year he was struck on the left elbow by Kemar Roach here, forcing him to retire hurt after a painful, jumpy display. There were more jerky movements today as he attempted to get on top of the ball but couldn’t.To his tenth delivery he leaned on his back foot to James Anderson and pushed unconvincingly at the ball, which found his edge and shot towards Paul Collingwood at third slip. Collingwood launched himself to his right and the ball buried in his outstretched hand. It was a catch Ponting would have claimed a couple of years ago, but one that would surely escape his reach now.Ponting’s lips pursed as he watched the brilliant interception and he then turned his head in anger, disbelief and resignation. He left slowly, watching the replay on the way back, and seeing the score. Yes, he was really out, the victim again. The team was 2 for 17 and heading to an even worse start than the destruction of Adelaide. It would soon be 4 for 36 and 5 for 69 before the rally from Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson.Michael Clarke, the leader in waiting, went with a tame waft outside off and Shane Watson was beaten by a searing yorker from Steven Finn. Smith, a batsman Ponting didn’t think was good enough for the top six five months ago, tried hard but went tamely after lunch. Haddin is too low at No.7.In the second session Ponting sat next to his mate Justin Langer, who doubles as the side’s batting coach. They have a lot to fix but no guaranteed way of achieving answers.Usually when Ponting talks publicly he is so reassuring about his team, remaining convincing even during extended losing streaks. On the eve of the match he made a rare slip. When asked if his captaincy could survive another Ashes loss he said the choice was out of his hands. “The powers that be will make those decisions I guess at the end of the series, or after this Test match,” he said.Ponting was the one who brought forward his potential judgment day. He doesn’t want to leave the scene, as he showed with his funereal shuffle off the ground after his dismissal, but he knows the price of continual individual and team failure.