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Chennai Super Kings seem to thrive in times of difficulty. At one point this season, they were hanging by a thread to stay alive and now they’re just two wins away from a third straight title

The Report by Siddhartha Talya23-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Led by their captain MS Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings knocked out Mumbai Indians•Associated Press

Chennai Super Kings seem to thrive in times of difficulty. At one point in this season, they were hanging by a thread to stay alive and now they’re just two wins away from a third straight title. They didn’t flinch after losing two wickets in two balls in the second over, they didn’t allow a few quick wickets in the latter half of their innings to affect the tempo built by an impressive counterattack. Instead, they took the fightback to a higher level, led by their captain MS Dhoni, whose blistering assault left Mumbai Indians scarred on their way out of the competition. Super Kings’ determination and tenacity proved too much for Mumbai Indians, a promising campaign ending in disappointment.Asked to bat on one of the most productive tracks this season, Michael Hussey and S Badrinath rode on some fortune to help their team recover from trouble and Dhoni then assumed that attacking avatar that had made him a sensation when he hit the international scene. The efforts of those three, together with Dwayne Bravo’s late surge boosted Super Kings just as Mumbai Indians dropped their guard with the ball. Only Dwayne Smith’s early attack in the chase gave them some hope, but that didn’t last long.Some late swing played a hand in Dhawal Kulkarni’s two early strikes and Harbhajan Singh was miserly with the new ball, but Hussey and Badrinath took the challenge head on. Both were initially fortunate to find boundaries off edges with the seamers still finding some movement. But they also middled a few, and found the gaps consistently despite the field being pushed back after the Powerplay. Both drove well, Badrinath cracking Kulkarni past mid-off and Hussey creaming Lasith Malinga through extra cover. When Harbhajan brought his medium-pacers on – his ploy to shuffle the bowling backfired – Super Kings ensured the flow remained unaffected. Kieron Pollard was pulled for two fours in an over, the 10th of the innings, after the first timeout – the cue, presumably, for Super Kings to step up further.Harbhajan was himself smashed for two sixes before Hussey took RP Singh for two boundaries. The first four overs after the timeout yielded 47. Hussey, Badrinath and Ravindra Jadeja, however, fell in a space of 11 deliveries, but the last eight overs of the innings were to produce 105 runs.The man largely responsible for that was Dhoni, who flicked his first ball for four over midwicket. Though he has come to exercise far more restraint in his batting, the approach today betrayed no signs of that recent tendency to accumulate steadily before opening up. To his advantage, Mumbai Indians doled out a spate of length balls that he wasn’t willing to spare. James Franklin was dispatched over long-on for the biggest six of this tournament, Kulkarni was thrashed down the ground and past cover, and he even had time to make room and cart RP over extra cover.The stand-out shot was his favourite whiplash, imparting tremendous force against a length ball from Malinga that found itself in the deep-midwicket stand. Bravo, in that penultimate over, launched Malinga – who bowled his most expensive spell of this season – over midwicket and extra cover before finishing off with two sixes off Kulkarni. One of them was battered flat over wide long-off, off-balanced, the power and disdain behind the shot summing up the domination of bat over ball in those late overs.Some of that contempt for the bowling was also on display in Smith’s early ambush of Ben Hilfenhaus – the same bowler who was taken for 14 off the last three balls by Smith in Mumbai Indians’ thrilling win in an earlier meeting. He used his wrists well, pulled, flicked, swept and found the boundary with ease in a quick opening stand of 47.But Shadab Jakati, brought in for this game in place of seamer Yo Mahesh, bowled with discipline at the other end. He bowled a tight line, and his fielders backed him up well. Some superb fielding by Jadeja at point caused a mix-up between Smith and Tendulkar, who was run out, and Smith soon followed, spooning a catch in the same region. Albie Morkel, who got some away movement, had Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma nicking to the keeper, and Ambati Rayudu fell slog-sweeping against R Ashwin. When Franklin was dismissed in the 14th over with 84 still to get, the task was even beyond Pollard. Mumbai Indians’ depth in batting promised a close fight, but the pressure of a big chase in a must-win game proved too big to overcome.

Somerset will not be taking legal action against Chris Gayle for breach of contract

George Dobell04-May-2012Somerset will not be taking legal action against Chris Gayle for breach of contract. Gayle had signed to play for Somerset in this season’s FLt20 competition but, after resolving his differences with the West Indies team management, has made himself available for the limited-overs section of their tour of England.”We have taken legal advice and we have decided that it is not in the best interests of Somerset or cricket to take legal action,” Somerset’s chief executive, Guy Lavender, told ESPNcricinfo.”We wish Chris well and hope to see him back playing for the West Indies this summer.”While Somerset felt they did have strong grounds for action, they also felt the cost of proceedings – both financially and to the reputation of cricket – would outweigh any benefits. They have also acknowledged Gayle’s honesty and communication throughout.Somerset have already agreed a deal to bring in South Africa allrounder Faf du Plessis as a replacement for Gayle.

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has said that his team got it wrong by inviting Pakistan to bat first after winning the toss

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Colombo30-Jun-2012Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has said that his team got it wrong by inviting Pakistan to bat after winning the toss on the first day of the second Test at the SSC.”The score tells it very clearly that we got it wrong,” said Ford at the end of the day after Pakistan had amassed 334 for 1. “The thought behind it was that there are a lot of experienced men in our group and they know this surface pretty well. I don’t think any of them thought that pitch would play so well on the first day.”The decision wasn’t taken lightly and there were lot of discussions and I think just about all the wise heads and captains and ex-captains, involving the coaching staff and the team and everybody felt that it was worth having a crack with the ball. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way we were hoping.”There was something in the pitch in the first hour and with Pakistan not having started too well in the two innings in Galle, if we could strike early with the new ball, it would have got us in a pretty positive place and hopefully get them into a negative place. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything here as everybody thought.”We have to give a lot of credit to the way they batted. They dug in and batted superbly.”Ford said that there were various strategies that they tried throughout the day – initially looking to attack and get wickets, before becoming more defensive when they found that the pitch was not offering much assistance.Ford said that batting well in the first innings was crucial for Sri Lanka. “Test match cricket goes over five days and we need to respond really well. We’ll have to come back and get into our work nicely tomorrow. On hindsight, the way the game is played certainly we’d have got in and had a bat. But unfortunately, that’s not the way cricket works and you’ve got to make decisions. I think lot of the thought behind the decisions, was solid and the research was done with the stats etc.”

Ben Hilfenhaus wants Australia to prove why they are the top-ranked ODI side ahead of next year’s return to England for the Ashes

Daniel Brettig06-Jul-2012Ben Hilfenhaus is a man of few words, so to hear him speak passionately of a desire to avoid a third consecutive Ashes defeat is to gain a rare glimpse of the Tasmanian’s drive. A valiant performer in England in 2009 but a less illustrious one in Australia in 2010-11, Hilfenhaus let his usual public guard down when casting his mind forward to 2013.Having reconstructed his bowling action and added diversity to his approach following a horrid tilt at England last time around, Hilfenhaus is now a valued part of Australia’s Test side. He is a more peripheral character in ODI cricket, as demonstrated by his sitting out the first two matches of this series. Nonetheless, Hilfenhaus has found reconnaissance value in the trip to England, and two defeats have clearly stirred up the pain of previous Ashes encounters.”I definitely think we’ve got unfinished business,” Hilfenhaus said. “I’ve lost two Ashes series now. I definitely don’t want to be a part of a third losing one that’s for sure, and I think there are a lot of blokes who feel exactly the same way. I’m not looking too far ahead at this stage, but it will be a pretty big series for us.”You always love to beat the Poms. We didn’t have the ideal start to the one-day series and I think in the last two games of the series we’re definitely going to show them what we are made of, that we are the No.1 team in the world. It’s nice to be playing in these conditions and get a feel for them again, and just have a little reminder of the things we need to work on.”Accompanying Hilfenhaus and the rest of Australia’s bowlers on the tour is the Tasmania bowling coach Ali de Winter, a contender for the full-time role vacated earlier this year by Craig McDermott. Hilfenhaus and de Winter have developed a rich understanding over the years and, after McDermott identified several problem areas following the last Ashes series, de Winter was the man to put his bowling action back together, with the aid of extensive fitness and strength work following two years of knee niggles.”He noticed my action had changed a little bit and realised what we needed to change to get back to where we wanted it. He definitely played a very big role in that,” Hilfenhaus said. “I had a bit of time off and got the body strong again and slowly worked on it, and still will continue to work on it every day to make sure old habits don’t creep back in.”I find the body is weird. Just about every fast bowler’s got niggles and whatever else, but in my case my action changed a little bit because of that, without me ever knowing. That was a bit of a wake-up call to keep an eye on those things, to make sure in the future it doesn’t happen again.”Waqar Younis is another authority on fast bowling to have raised his hand for the Cricket Australia job, and like McDermott would offer a wealth of knowledge derived from bowling in Test matches. De Winter’s path to the same job is rather different but Hilfenhaus said his mentor was as adept at tactical advice as technical tweaks.”I personally find that he is very good technically to me, he understands the way I bowl pretty well, and he picks up things really easy,” Hilfenhaus said. “Tactically he is very good as well, but for me personally it is more the technical side of things. I am sure he is having a look at everyone else’s actions as well and trying to find ways to help them improve.Ben Hilfenhaus had a tough time during the 2010-11 Ashes•Getty Images

“If I am doing things technically correct, that will help my chances at the other end, and some other people might be different. Some people need to be told all these tactics about bowling and these sorts of things, someone like myself I need to be told to keep things technically correct to give myself the best chance to perform my skills.”I rate Ali pretty highly and I’m sure once the other blokes have had a bit more to do with him, they’ll say exactly the same thing.”George Bailey, the Tasmania captain and a fellow England tourist this year, has said that Hilfenhaus has at times needed to be convinced of change being worthwhile in order to carry through with it. In the past 12 months he has done plenty of learning, including a successful stint in the IPL, and so far is reaping rewards from a more open-minded approach.”To be honest I do like staying in my comfort zone a little bit, I like sticking to the things that I know work,” Hilfenhaus said. “I still have a few things to prove in the shorter form of the game, I’ll keep chipping away and hopefully my skills can get to the stage where I’m a permanent member.”A permanent member of the one-day team, and an Ashes winner, perhaps.

Unmukt Chand has said winning the World Cup in Townsville was a fitting end for an Under-19 side that began its journey over a year ago and has enjoyed so much success along the way

George Binoy in Townsville26-Aug-2012India’s captain Unmukt Chand has said winning the World Cup in Townsville was a fitting end for an Under-19 side that began its journey over a year ago and has enjoyed so much success along the way. The World Cup was the fourth tournament Chand’s team has won, after two quadrangular titles and a shared Asia Cup trophy.”It has been a great journey and a great finish I can say,” Chand said after scoring an unbeaten century in India’s chase of 226. “We don’t know when we will play again [as a team], probably we won’t play again together, so that’s a bit of an emotional thing as well. Really happy that we could pull it off and finish it on a high.”India’s World Cup campaign was not entirely smooth: they lost the first game against West Indies and it wasn’t until the semi-final that their batting began to show collective promise. “That’s the good part,” Chand said of the challenges India had overcome. “Initially we have had a few jitters but we carried on really well and that’s what matters the most. We peaked at the right times and that’s a quality of good teams.”In the final, the bowlers, after reducing Australia to 38 for 4, had a rare off day and India’s batsmen needed to achieve the highest successful chase of the tournament at Tony Ireland Stadium to win the World Cup. Chand, however, praised his bowlers for keeping Australia to a total as low as 225 for 8.”It happens at times. Our bowlers have done really well in all the previous matches and I guess they bowled really well today as well,” Chand said. “You can’t expect a bowling side to restrict the opposition to 150 all the time. 225, we have restricted them to a very low target I feel.”India’s chase got off to a poor start, when Prashant Chopra was caught down the leg side in the second over. That changed quickly, though, when Baba Aparajith joined Chand and gave a masterclass in driving on the off side. They added 73 in quick time and gave India a buffer in case they lost quick wickets, which they did.”It’s only a matter of one partnership. One good partnership on this wicket, it was a dream wicket to bat on,” Chand said. “We knew that we would pull it off if we had one good partnership and that’s what I was telling the other batsmen with me. To back yourself, believe yourself and keep communicating.”India went from 75 for 1 to 97 for 4, though, but Chand found another steady partner in Smit Patel, who had scored a fighting half-century in difficult conditions against West Indies in the opening group game. Both were dropped, when Chand was on 38 and Smit on 2. India needed 91 off 90 balls when the batting Powerplay had to be taken but Chand and Smit did not change their approach much, scoring only 18 off the first four overs during the restrictions.”What I was thinking inside, and I had heard Dhoni speak of this before, that in the 38th over I won’t take a risk because the bowler is not under as much pressure as he is in the 46th or the 47th over. I was just thinking that I should take it to the last moment, because you know six, seven or eight runs, you can get anytime in an over. The important thing was to save wickets. If you have wickets in hand, even eight or nine [per over] on this track was not a difficult task.”As it so happened, Chand carted Ashton Turner’s off-spin over the midwicket boundary in the last over of batting Powerplay, the 40th. After three more overs of accumulation, India needed 49 off 42 when Chand chipped Alex Gregory to midwicket, where William Bosisto dropped the chance. Chand hit a six down the ground two balls later.”I was not thinking anything at the time,” he said about the drop and the following six. “I was just thinking to get to 226. I was talking to Smit, I didn’t look at the score … I didn’t know I had scored a century until the crowd shouted and that’s when I took out my bat and all. I was in … what do people call it? The zone? I was trying to stop Smit from hitting unnecessary shots, I was going and speaking to him and telling him to play within his limits.”The boundaries came quickly after that as India made a dash for the target, Smit achieving it with a pull to the midwicket boundary in the 48th over. India’s coach Bharat Arun said their success was in part due to the manner in which his team approached the final. The Indians had appeared remarkably relaxed on the field in the lead-up to the toss. Arun, Chand and Kamal Passi were in conversation while sitting on the grass, and a few of the others were having low intensity warm-ups and drills.”We felt we needed to be absolutely relaxed. We’ve been insisting right from the beginning,” Arun said. “You cannot ask the boys to relax and then be intense with these guys, so you’ll have to be cool. Unless they are relaxed they won’t focus on the process, if they are pressurised the process goes kaput.”We said today’s game was just another game for us. There was a big tag attached to it, added pressure, I guess we played by what we decided we would.”

Yorkshire’s quest for one of the victories which would be likely to secure promotion was looking a lot healthier at the end of the first day at Headingley than it was half way through it.

Les Smith at Headingley04-Sep-2012
ScorecardSteven Patterson’s four wickets helped bowl Glamorgan our for 272•Getty Images

Yorkshire’s quest for one of the victories which would be likely to secure promotion to Division One of the County Championship was looking a lot healthier at the end of the first day at Headingley than it was half way through it. After Glamorgan’s openers put on 124 Yorkshire worked their way doggedly through the remainder of their side and dismissed them for the addition of only 148 more runs. Adam Lyth and Joe Root then saw out six uneventful overs while chipping 20 runs out of the visitors’ lead.With the September early start, and a green tinged pitch, Andrew Gale, upon winning the toss, chose to field. At lunch time, with bottom side Glamorgan 103 without loss, he must have been wondering whether that had been a wise choice, and the plethora of desperate and unsuccessful lbw appeals in the 40 minutes before and after the interval spoke loudly of Yorkshire’s frustration. However, by the close of play and as a result of a dogged display in the field, they had worked their way into a position from which to build confidently tomorrow.Ryan Sidebottom came into the Yorkshire side at the expense of Adil Rashid, but neither he nor Steven Patterson threatened significantly during their opening spells. Indeed by midday Gale had turned to off spinner Azeem Rafiq, with no immediate success.The Glamorgan trail was blazed by Will Bragg, who played beautifully on both sides of the wicket. His partner Nick James was content to prop up his end, and by lunch time, benefitting from one of three missed chances close to the wicket in Glamorgan’s innings, had scored 32 to Bragg’s 69.20 minutes after lunch Yorkshire finally broke through, James edging Sidebottom to give Andy Hodd the first of four straightforward catches in the innings. Bragg moved on to 92, his best first class score of the season, before edging Steven Patterson behind. What followed was a collapse that put into perspective the excellence of the opening partnership.Young David Lloyd, making his first class debut, fell to the same Patterson and Hodd combination without scoring. Australian Stewart Walters made 42, but only after being dropped in successive overs by Gary Ballance and Andy Hodd. Adam Lyth soon sent him on his way, though, taking a very sharp chance one handed at slip off Azeem Rafiq.After that three wickets fell in the space of 20 balls. Anthony McGrath chipped in with two of them, Joe Allenby falling to another outstanding Lyth catch after the ball deflected off the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Allenby had looked dangerous, whacking his fourth ball from Rafiq straight for six, and then cover driving the same bowler for four, but he was one of several who made a start but was unable to capitalise on it. Graham Wagg was one of three Glamorgan players to fall without scoring, and although skipper Mark Wallace made his way to 29, he was caught brilliantly at forward short-leg by Phil Jaques off Rafiq. While the last two wickets added 36 runs the total of 272 was still some way below par.

Kevin Pietersen’s management has issued a statement expressing his disappointment at his exclusion from the England squad for the Test tour of India

George Dobell18-Sep-2012Kevin Pietersen’s management has issued a statement expressing his disappointment at his exclusion from the England squad for the Test tour of India.Pietersen was not considered by the England selectors following the revelation that he had exchanged messages with members of the South Africa touring party that contained derogatory remarks about Andrew Strauss and after it became clear that Pietersen’s relationship with other members of the England side had deteriorated to an unhealthy level.While Pietersen and officials at the ECB have been in dialogue in recent times, the managing director of England cricket, Hugh Morris, said “as there are issues still to be resolved Kevin has not been considered for selection for the India tour.”The statement revealed that Pietersen had apologised in person to Strauss and officials at the ECB, while also reaffirming his commitment to playing international cricket for England.However Pietersen also insisted that, contrary to some reports, he had at no stage exchanged “tactical advice” with anyone in the South Africa camp about any colleagues in the England team.”Kevin Pietersen is very disappointed about today’s decision having gone to great lengths to reach a reconciliation with the ECB,” the statement read. “Pietersen has met with and apologised to Andrew Strauss.”He has also met with Alastair Cook to stress his commitment to England and he has met with ECB Board members including face to face meetings with Hugh Morris, David Collier and Andy Flower prior to his departure to Sri Lanka.”At all times Pietersen has wished his meetings with the ECB to remain private so as not to inflame an already difficult situation.”His recent silence was not an admission of any wrong doing. He wanted to explain and apologise to the ECB for the messages exchanged with members of the South Africa team.”He has also made it absolutely clear to the ECB and the England team that despite unsubstantiated allegations to the contrary and repeated media speculation he did not offer any tactical advice to the South Africans. Pietersen remains available for England.”

Yorkshire were presented with a homely welcome for their opening game of the Champions League T20 qualifier as they won the toss and chose to bowl first against Uva

The Report by Alex Winter09-Oct-2012Yorkshire 151 for 5 (Miller 39*, Rashid 36*) beat Uva 150 for 7 (Kandamby 29) by five wickets
ScorecardAdil Rashid made his best Twenty20 score as he guided Yorkshire’s chase•Getty Images

Yorkshire were presented with a homely welcome for their opening game of the Champions League T20 qualifier against Uva, the Sri Lankan champions. Cloudy skies, following rain earlier in the day, and a green pitch were as close to Headingley as they could have wished for in an overseas tournament.But it was Yorkshire’s South African overseas player, David Miller, who got them over the line in a chase that should have been more straightforward than it proved as Yorkshire stumbled against the spin of Dilshan Munaweera. Miller returned from a nasty blow to the face from Umar Gul to win the game with a blast of 17 runs in six balls to get Yorkshire home when 18 were needed from 10 balls.Munaweera bowled the second over outside the Powerplay, which yielded 57 runs. Phil Jaques, who played 11 Test for Australia but now plays English cricket under a British passport, had smashed 32 in 21 balls but backing away to drive Munaweera’s third ball down the ground, chipped a catch back to the bowler. Gary Ballance, who enjoyed his best season in 2012, was then bowled first ball backing to leg.Adil Rashid survived the hat-trick and held the innings together with his best Twenty20 score. It would have been a pleasing knock for Rashid who endured a difficult domestic season, being dropped from the County Championship team for the first time in his career.For a while it was Rashid or nothing for Yorkshire. Miller received a quick bouncer from Umar Gul that crashed into his face and forced him from the field with a bloodied nose. It was a delivery that demonstrated the pace of the wicket. It left Rashid and Dan Hodgson, the wicketkeeper who had previously played six list A matches for Yorkshire, to take up the chase. Hodgson could only work a run-a-ball supporting innings and it was Rashid that had to find the boundaries with 48 required from 30 balls.He lifted Jacob Oram, who went for 42 in four overs, for six before adding two fours off Gul to leave 18 from 12 with Hodgson on strike and Munaweera bowling the penultimate over. A dot ball forced Hodgson to charge the bowler. He missed, was stumped, and provided the opening Miller needed to add to his run-a-ball 22.First ball, he reached out to a full delivery and cracked it over point, almost for six. The next ball did carry over the ropes, taken from outside off over long on, before a third boundary – four past extra cover – left only three needed from the last over. Too few even for Gul to defend.The win was relief for Yorkshire who should have cruised home on a hard, fast wicket after restricting Uva to a below-par total. As a result of the green wicket and cloud cover, Andrew Gale decided to bowl first but Yorkshire were far from their best in the field or with the ball.Striking through the line appeared to be the best way to play with the ball coming onto the bat nicely but only two batsman utilised that advantage and both innings were too brief to help build a commanding total. Munaweera, one of three Uva players fresh from the World T20, opened the batting content to use his feet to the seamers and hit over the off side. He lifted Steven Patterson for six in his first over but after another three fours, tried to play the same lofted drive without moving his feet and found a diving David Miller at cover.The failure to trust the surface enabled spin to play a larger part than it should have. Azeem Rafiq in particular was economical, conceding 25 in his four overs, as the batsman resorted to nudging and deflecting. There was a lack of clean hitting with Andrew McDonald and Jacob Oram both failing.Shivnarine Chanderpaul is not big hitter but used his touch game to be the mainstay of the innings: shuffling, angling, flicking, sweeping, all a little ungainly but reliably effective for 27 at above a run-a-ball. He and McDonald added 38 in 31 balls but neither led the innings and Uva ended up 20 runs short.The should have made more against an attack that was at times wayward, seven wides were sent down, and often too short, particularly the seamers early on: Uva scored 41 in the first five overs. The pick of the bowlers was Moin Ashraf who found his line better than Ryan Sidebottom or Steven Patterson. But his figures were greyed by Thilina Kandamby finding his range in his final over, the 19th of the innings which went for 14. It was late progress that pushed Uva’s total to a useful score.The total was aided by several lapses in the field that Yorkshire could have lived to regret – a lift down the ground from McDonald landed between fielders, Patterson also spilled a caught and bowled chance and fumbled a ball over the third man rope after a long chase. But despite their shortcomings, Yorkshire held together for an opening win.

Another aggressive contribution by Phillip Hughes not enough to prevent South Australia from slipping behind Western Australia on day two of the Sheffield Shield match in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2012South Australia 6 for 209 (Hughes 92, Marsh 2-35) trail Western Australia 9 for 400 declared (Harris 114, Marsh 73, Coulter-Nile 52, Mennie 4-115) by 191 runs
ScorecardAnother aggressive contribution by Phillip Hughes not enough to prevent South Australia from slipping behind Western Australia on day two of the Sheffield Shield match in Perth.The Warriors went on from their overnight 7 for 327 to a declaration at 9 for 400, Mitchell Marsh’s 73 shepherding the tail.SA’s reply developed into a series of starts, Hughes the only man to pass 50 while the likes of Michael Klinger and Callum Ferguson squandered decent platforms as they closed on an unsteady 6 for 209.Marsh followed up his runs with the wickets of Ferguson and Dan Christian, while Hughes was run-out by Nathan Coulter-Nile for 92, leaving him without a first-class century for the Redbacks this season despite going close three times.

Tamim Iqbal has renewed the call for more Test cricket for Bangladesh as they go into a three-month break

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur11-Dec-2012Tamim Iqbal has renewed the call for more Test cricket for Bangladesh as they go into a three-month break. Their next assignment will be two Test matches against Sri Lanka in March, followed by two more against Zimbabwe in April. In 2012, they’ve played the least number of Tests in a year since their admission into Test cricket.Tamim said that the first Test against West Indies, which was their first in eleven months, showed that they know how to play the game but not how to finish a Test match. “If you don’t play enough Tests, you wouldn’t have an idea of how to play the game properly. Test cricket is all about habits and the more we will play, the more we will improve,” Tamim said. “We talk of improvement but the fact is, we have never taken a Test against a better opponent into the fifth day. It is the same as scoring a hundred: if you haven’t made one you wouldn’t know how it’s done.”Bangladesh were on top for the first four days of the Dhaka Test. We lost it in the final session of the game but we were playing after almost a year. I’m not making excuses for that defeat though. We should have drawn or won that game.”Despite the defeat in the Test series and the one-off Twenty20 against West Indies, Tamim believes that, across formats, this series marked Bangladesh’s best effort to date. “It was our best series. We were competitive in the Tests, we won the ODI series and we lost in the T20 after playing our best game,” he said. “It was a very positive series for us.”Tamim said he noticed a marked change in the self-belief among his team-mates, particularly captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah who played pivotal roles. The younger players too caught the eye, but the opener warned that the win shouldn’t be the end of their cricket education.”Our biggest gain has been the self-belief among the players, which is very important for a team like ours. We didn’t have Shakib [Al Hasan, who was injured], which was a big blow for us. I didn’t perform in the ODIs. But our team won because the captain, vice-captain and the younger players doing well.”We have a lot to improve on though. It doesn’t mean we have learned everything by just winning the ODI series. We have a lot of areas to improve on, especially the small things. Our success rate will go up if we stop making those small mistakes.”Personally, Tamim expressed his disappointment at not scoring hundreds for yet another year. His last international century was in Manchester in June 2010 and he has made 17 half-centuries since then, including the unbeaten 88 in the one-off Twenty20 on Monday.”I dream of scoring a hundred every day, but I get out through my fault 75% of the time. I am very disappointed because 50s are not counted at the world level [when identifying] big players,” he said. “I have to take myself to the next level, by scoring more hundreds. This is one area where I can improve, though I have to learn it on my own. I have to find out where I am going wrong.””In the meantime, I have spoken to great cricketers at home and abroad, asked them what I can do after scoring a 50 … I spoke to [India batsman] Wasim Jaffer a few months ago, about scoring hundreds.”