Out of the XI for long periods with Australia recently opting for conditions-based attacks, the seamer showed he has plenty to offer

Andrew McGlashan07-Jan-2023It had been two years since Josh Hazlewood bowled a delivery in Test cricket on his home ground. He could barely have produced a better display to mark his return.It would be stretching things to say that Hazlewood needs a good performance – there is plenty of credit in the bank with 217 Tests wickets at 26.16 before today – but there is certainly competition for Australia’s fast-bowling spots, especially when only two are included. Scott Boland, holder of Test average 12.21, is watching from the sidelines this week.For Hazlewood this has been another frustrating summer interrupted by a side strain as the 2021-22 Ashes also played out. This is only his sixth Test in two years with conditions-based selection also keeping him out of the XI.However, before this game he was confident the pecking order remained intact and this display was vintage Hazlewood.With his second ball an edge from Dean Elgar flew wide of third slip and the South Africa captain was twice beaten before the over was complete. In Hazlewood’s next over, a similar pattern with two skimming past the outside edge.Related

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Hazlewood then took the edge from the first delivery of his third, with Steven Smith diving low to his right to hold what would have been one of great slip catches only for the third umpire, Richard Kettleborough, to decide after much deliberation that it was not quite a clean take. “I had a pretty good look and thought it was definitely out and think most the people out there did,” Hazlewood said.But Elgar, who has had a forgettable tour, was living on borrowed time. He almost fell to Pat Cummins when he fended a short ball off his gloves and it dropped just in front of short leg.However, Hazlewood would not be denied. In the fifth over of an exacting spell he produced a brutal short ball from around the wicket which Elgar could only glove through to a leaping Alex Carey. With one innings left for the tour, Elgar held an average of 9.20 having been South Africa’s main hope of standing up to Australia’s bowlers.It was reward for high-quality Test bowling, but Hazlewood was modest about his return performance.”Was quite windy at times and it swirls here and it can be quite tough to get your rhythm, we probably saw a couple of no-balls from me and Patty, maybe due to that, but felt decent all day,” he said. “Think your first hit-out back, you start blowing a bit quicker than normal just with a bit more excitement. It’s different in a game to the nets so it’s good to get that day out of the way and zero in tomorrow.”Dean Elgar was bounced out by a snorter from Josh Hazlewood•Getty ImagesHazlewood had one more over in his first spell and thought he had got through Henrich Klaasen but on the DRS there was ruled to be inconclusive evidence as to whether he had hit it, and it looked to be striking outside the line as well.He was held back briefly after tea, but it did not take long when he was brought on to add to his success. In the channel outside off that has been the hallmark of his career he drew Temba Bavuma into a poke.How many Tests in a row Hazlewood can string together remains uncertain and will depend on the conditions which present in India. Mitchell Starc is touch-and-go for the opening Test in Nagpur, but when he is available it is him and Cummins who will be first-choice if only two are picked, judging by how Pakistan and Sri Lanka played out.While those sorts of decisions can only be made when they see what’s in front of them next month, it may be worth Australia recalling how the 2004 side earned their series victory in India with a three-one attack of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne.Although the weather in Sydney has not allowed the pitch to break up as it might, the way that South Africa struggled against the brilliance of Hazlewood and Cummins suggests that Australia might have been better served with Boland to call on but there is a belief spin will still be key.”Think it’s the right call,” Hazlewood said on the balance of the attack. “Would have been interesting to see the wicket after a full four day’s play, think it would have been a nice wicket to bowl spin on. Still think it will be, but with a lot more traffic on it…think it’s the right attack and the ball spinning into the bat is more dangerous.”If the fourth day was any indication, Hazlewood and Cummins will have a hefty workload as Australia seek to enforce the follow-on and take the 14 wickets that would secure victory. Neither will shirk the challenge and, after watching others take the spoils in the preceding four Tests, Hazlewood will no doubt savour his chance to at the centre of the action.”You are there in that XI to win that Test match,” he said of a potentially heavy final day. “Whatever it takes to win it, then you see how everyone’s pulled up afterwards. In the back of your mind a little bit is we have three weeks off so we can burn ourselves tomorrow.”

At most times, Russell would have backed himself to face the final ball of a close chase, but here he had enough faith in Rinku’s abilities

Sreshth Shah09-May-20232:07

Dasgupta: Russell’s faith in Rinku reflects KKR’s confidence

Andre Russell has done the improbable with the bat for Kolkata Knight Riders for over half a decade. As long as Russell is in the middle, the possibilities are endless. When Russell is gone, so are KKR’s hopes.That’s one of the reasons why, possibly, Russell walks back looking frustrated, angry and disappointed when he gets out during a close finish. But against Punjab Kings on Monday evening, Russell did no such thing despite being run-out on the penultimate ball of the match. He was a picture of calm walking back after scoring 42 in 23 balls, even though KKR were one ball away from potentially being out of the playoffs race.That’s because Rinku Singh was still there, and on strike, for that last ball. Rinku did not disappoint Russell, or KKR, finishing the game with a four. It was a moment that not only displayed Rinku’s growing stature as a finisher but also the passing of the finisher’s baton in KKR.Related

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“In any other game, with any other batter, I’m not sure if I would run [a bye in the penultimate ball],” Russell told reporters after the match. “I’ve never really done those things before. I would back myself to bat the last delivery and get the job done. But when you have a guy like Rinku, who has been so successful in the last couple of overs for us, and when you have such a fearless player who has a shot to counter any delivery, I was definitely confident.”I gave him a hug and said, ‘listen, bring home the bacon for us; at the end of the day, we need you at this point’, and he said, ‘okay, big man, no worries’. Happy days.”Russell and Rinku had just got themselves set when Arshdeep Singh was tasked with bowling two of the last three overs. KKR needed 36 in 18, and even though Arshdeep conceded ten runs in the 18th over, one four from Rinku was a streaky one, and the bowler’s assortment of wide yorkers and short balls made it tough for the two batters to tee off.Then, with 26 needed off 12, all Arshdeep needed was for Sam Curran to leave enough runs for him to defend in the 20th. Russell looked to hurt Curran, and succeeded with six, six, dot, six in the space of four balls. That over went for 20, and the target of six in the last over made KKR overwhelming favourites.”Sam Curran was trying to bowl into my body so that I hit the big side of the boundary, that was their plan,” Russell said. “I hit him for two sixes over the big side but as a bowler, because I think like a bowler too, so I knew he wasn’t going to bowl in that area again. The short ball that he bowled, I missed out on it, but when he bowled the slower cutter into the wicket, I just gave myself that little room and just used my hands to get it over the field.”He didn’t have any third man, it was the short side, and that wasn’t part of their team plan. But when you conquer a team’s bowling plan, then their Plan B is in the batter’s zone most of the time. So T20 is tough and you have to make sure you, as bowlers and batters, stay calm in any situation.”But Arshdeep executed his plan perfectly for the first five balls of the last over.Russell was welcomed with a yorker, followed by a wide yorker that he could only slice behind square. Rinku then found a thigh-high full toss too tough to put away and Russell followed it up with a drive to cover for two. That made the equation two off two, and with Russell on strike, the penultimate delivery was high stakes.Arshdeep bowled a terrific wide yorker that was too good for Russell. He swung at it and missed as the ball bounced to the keeper. But Rinku had sprinted across to the other end to ensure he would face the last ball. Russell, slow to take off, was run-out, leaving KKR still needing two off the final ball.But Rinku on strike. The Eden crowd, which was until then cheering for Russell, started their “Rinku, Rinku, Rinku” chant.Arshdeep went with a leg-side plan for the final ball. The leg side was the shorter side and there was little chance of KKR’s batters making it back for two if the ball went there to a fielder. The bigger off-side region had big pockets for twos, so Arshdeep was not going to go there.Rinku Singh leaps in joy after hitting the winning boundary•BCCIKnowing all that, Rinku moved to the leg side even before Arshdeep delivered the ball. If Arshdeep bowled the ball he wanted to, it would have landed around leg and Rinku had the option of going inside out over cover for two. Instead, Arshdeep missed his length, his attempted leg-stump yorker becoming a thigh-high full toss, and Rinku swivelled a shot off his hips that went for four past fine leg. Like after his celebrations against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Rinku opened his helmet and ran towards the dug-out, with his team-mates mobbing him for his match-winning unbeaten 10-ball 21.”The key to Rinku’s performance is being very calm,” Russell said. “As a batter, you have to have an open mind and be relaxed. You can’t expect just a full-pitched delivery. You have to expect the slower ball, the yorker, the short ball at the head, and Rinku has a shot for every delivery. That’s the key to his success. His technique is very simple… and I’ve been encouraging him whenever I get a chance to talk to him to stay humble.”Because no matter how many people keep shouting ‘Russell, Russell, Russell’, I always just stay humble. Because when you get swell-headed, that’s when you lose it. He’s a great guy, I love him like a brother, and I hope he keeps doing what he’s doing.”

In a difficult season, the franchise has backed the same players to deliver even if they hadn’t quite done that earlier

Shashank Kishore20-May-20232:21

Should Jitesh be India’s next T20I wicketkeeper?

The more things change, the more they remain the same. This common refrain perhaps best sums up Punjab Kings season after season; IPL 2023 was no different.Take the last six seasons for example. They’ve had four designated captains – R Ashwin, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and now Shikhar Dhawan – and four head coaches – Brad Hodge, Mike Hesson, Anil Kumble and now Trevor Bayliss.This merry-go-round at the top can be unsettling for the players, at least the young Indian uncapped lot. But in what has been an anomaly, there’s been a growing sign of the team backing the same players to deliver even if they hadn’t quite done that earlier. Now, as they reflect on another season gone by, there’s an opportunity for them to build on these investments as they begin to bear fruit.Related

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Prabhsimran Singh joined the franchise ahead of 2019 but had only played six games across four seasons. This year, he had the role clarity. To give them explosive starts and allow Dhawan to anchor the innings. It wasn’t a blockbuster season, but his 358 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 150.42 provided more than glimpses of his ability.His 65-ball 103 on a Kotla deck against Delhi Capitals where most batters struggled on the two-paced nature of the surface told you of a special player who is capable of taking pitches out of the equation when in his element. Prabhsimran’s backing is unlike what the Kings have done, but here’s is a chance for them to help elevate his game.”I think the talent was always there with him, the maturity has changed,” Kings’ bowling coach Sunil Joshi said. “He started thinking about the game. He started thinking and respecting the bowlers also. That has helped him a lot, staying calm in different situations.”Then there’s Shahrukh Khan who has been branded a finisher for years now and has been with Kings for three seasons. The raw numbers will tell you he doesn’t have a T20 fifty across 33 innings in the IPL.He has failed more than he’s succeeded, and perhaps that’s simply down to the nature of his role, but the one common factor has been the team’s faith in him. This year, he featured in all 14 games but only once batted over 20 balls in an innings.On Friday night, he delivered, albeit belatedly. His 23-ball 41 not out at No. 7 gave Kings a total they didn’t look like getting at one point. In doing so, he gave more than a glimpse into his methods.It wasn’t like he was blindly swinging at every delivery. He came into bat in the 14th over and saw out Yuzvendra Chahal’s threat, fully knowing he could inflict damage later on a small ground. And against a wonky attack that has struggled in the death overs, he unleashed those big hits in the end.Shahrukh doesn’t premeditate; instead, he reacts to the ball and trains for it the same way. “I think my practice is paying off. I am reacting properly at practice to each and every ball I play. That’s the reason it’s paying off here,” he said during the season. “If I go too cheeky, I don’t think it will work for me. So, I just have one thing on my mind. I look to play straight. If anything is here and there, I try and adjust.”Jitesh Sharma ended the season with 309 runs at a strike rate of 156.06•BCCISuch clarity isn’t rare, but the ability to stick to methods that work for him and to have the belief that it will pay dividends, is.Then there’s Jitesh Sharma, whose rise has perhaps been a direct byproduct of the faith and opportunities the franchise has given him. He broke through last year after being scouted by Kumble and has shown a quality few Indian batters have – a no-holds barred approach, the ability to get go right from the outset with a fair degree of success.His power game and calmness at the same time have come in for plaudits. Like it did on Friday night, when he walked in with Kings 50 for 4 in the seventh over. Now, this can cause a few doubts to a few. Jitesh was clear the scorecard wasn’t a reflection of the surface and tried to pick his spots almost immediately.Sure, it didn’t come off, but the intent to go for it was unmissable. He somewhat made up for his relatively slow beginning – 30 off 23 – by taking apart Navdeep Saini for a sequence of 4,6,4 with each of the hits peppering different parts of the ground. In going for a fourth, he was out. But you could see he backed himself to go big once set. He ended the season with 309 runs at a strike rate of 156.06.It’s as much credit to Dhawan as it is to the team management that they’ve been willing to back players in roles they thrive at, even if it hasn’t always paid off. Dhawan himself has had a tough first full season with the Kings, and their history is replete with constant chopping and changing.Now is an opportunity for them to nip that in the bud and punt on this core that has given them an inkling of what is to come in the future with some backing and plenty of opportunities.

The series against Afghanistan with good death bowling, set batters finishing the chase, and holding on to their catches are signs of things coming together for them

Mohammad Isam17-Jul-2023Bangladesh’s season of change in T20Is finished with a high in Sylhet. Their four-wicket win against Afghanistan gave them their first bilateral series win against a side who usually dominate them in this format. To go by their theme this year, Bangladesh dominated the powerplays with both bat and ball. They bowled well at the death and had set batters finishing the chase. They also caught almost everything that came their way.Bangladesh’s series wins against world champions England, Ireland and Afghanistan are proof of a visibly more open-minded approach in T20Is. They call it a bold approach in Bangladesh, but it is basically playing catch-up with the rest of the world. Batting powerfully in the powerplay. Having a strong pace attack. Having enough bowlers. Using big-hitters in the back-end who don’t just look blindly for sixes. A lot of things are coming together for this team.Bangladesh’s search for a powerful top three in the batting line-up also seems to be over. Litton Das, Rony Talukdar and Najmul Hossain Shanto are their top three scorers this year but the likes of Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan and Shamim Hossain have also scored important runs.Taskin Ahmed has led the bowling attack with not just wickets, but by also being an enforcer. With his pace, bounce and movement around the corner, opponents have had to look for runs against the other bowlers. But those have also included Shakib who has combined well with Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud.Their catch-to-drop ratio is 33 taken and six dropped since March this year, a huge improvement compared to how they have fielded in the last two years.This T20I form bump also comes at an interesting time for Bangladesh. They have lost two of their last three ODI series, also against England, Ireland and Afghanistan. It is rare for a side that prides itself on their home bilateral record in ODIs since 2014. The T20I side is no match but losing only against Pakistan at home since 2019 isn’t a bad record too.Shakib, who was adjudged the Player of the Series against Afghanistan, has led the side during this period. He is said to be one of the masterminds behind this revival since the T20 World Cup last year. Shakib said that the current bunch of T20I players, many of whom are in the ODI set-up too, can take this confidence of doing well in this format to the two big tournaments in a couple of months.Shakib Al Hasan: “The bowling group’s job is to make life easier for the batters. It is a good combination between our pacers and spinners”•BCB”Most of the T20I players are in the ODI squad so they can take this confidence along with them,” Shakib said. “We will face Afghanistan in the Asia Cup and in the first game of the World Cup, so taking this feeling along will help us. This will be a big confidence boost before those tournaments.”It is satisfying when our plans are reflected in the field. Players are executing it in the middle, and we are getting results. What better can there be? We hadn’t done well against Afghanistan in T20Is in the past so it is a good feeling to win this series. I feel it will give us a lot of confidence in the near future.”Shakib was impressed with the way the bowling attack complemented each other in this game against Afghanistan. Taskin took two early wickets before Shakib and Mustafizur took two each. Although Hasan Mahmud didn’t take wickets, he combined well with Taskin with the new ball to concede just 20 runs in his three overs.”I thought Hasan bowled better than Taskin,” Shakib said. “The bowling group’s job is to make life easier for the batters. It is a good combination between the pacers and spinners. It is also a healthy competition between the two types of bowlers. I think it is helping the team.”Shakib said that sticking to the same group of players since the T20 World Cup last year has paid off with these series wins. He added that within this group, the batters and bowlers have had to switch between different roles, which is only going to make them stronger as cricketers.”Towhid Hridoy is one of the few additions since the last Asia Cup or the World Cup. We have kept almost the same team. There have been two or four players who have come and gone, but that’s part of the process. We have a lot left in our quest to find the best combination. But the way we have done according to the conditions, it is going well. We have to adjust to new conditions in the future.”Flexibility is useful in T20s. An opener and a No. 7 may have to do the same thing in this format. If an opener bats for 15 overs, he would have to bat in the last five overs. If a batter can adjust to every situation, then they will take a difficult situation in their stride. The same with bowlers. If they bowl in a tough situation, then nothing will be new to him.”

Home and away fixtures? A 34,000-seater stadium in New York? If the league can build on the momentum it has already generated, why not?

Peter Della Penna02-Aug-2023When considering that USA’s first home ODI in September 2019 only drew 19 people, that too for games staged in the country’s only ICC-accredited venue at the time, in Florida, the bar of expectations couldn’t have been set lower for what constitutes success when it comes to getting fans to turn out for a domestic cricket event in the USA. In a sense, the only way to go was up when starting from that foundation.That’s all the more reason why the events of the last three weeks, in which the first season of the Major League Cricket T20 franchise tournament routinely played to sold-out venues in North Carolina and Texas, were all the more startling. What many people, including the organisers themselves, thought might take several seasons to gain momentum in terms of fan attendance and player buy-in wound up being more supercharged than a case of Red Bull in season one.Related

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“My thought was we’ll start slow, we’ll get some fans in, we’ll entertain them, we’ll put out a good product, and then we’ll build upon it year on year,” MLC co-founder Sameer Mehta told ESPNcricinfo after the conclusion of the tournament final in Texas. “I feel like we’ve skipped a couple of years now in our journey and we can start doing the things now which we’d be doing two years from now.”According to MLC tournament director Justin Geale, league officials were counting on the opening night and the final to be sold out, but had no expectations as to everything in between, particularly from the seven match days in Grand Prairie, Texas. What unfolded was way beyond his cautiously optimistic expectations. On average, Grand Prairie Stadium wound up playing to more than 80% capacity across the nine match dates held at the 7,200-capacity venue, while the six-day slate of fixtures at the 3,000-capacity Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, all sold out. It meant that more than 70,000 fans – generating $2.8 million in ticket sales revenue – came through the gates to watch season one of MLC, a staggering number for any matches on US soil not involving India’s routine visits to Lauderhill to play T20Is against the West Indies.The Texas Super Kings were by far the best-supported franchise in year one, with all their home games selling out•SportzpicsPerhaps the most remarkable part of all of this is that these numbers were possible in spite of dismal attendances for the three afternoon games held as part of scheduled double-headers at Grand Prairie Stadium, which were shoehorned into the calendar in spite of the oppressive daytime heat – temperatures regularly hovered over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (mid 40s Celsius) – in order to squeeze the tournament into a tight window following the end of the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe and before the start of the Hundred in England. Addressing that is a key priority heading into season two.Two solutions have been floated by MLC officials, either moving the afternoon match back to an early-morning start on days where two matches need to be played, or scheduling double-headers in different cities on the same day, one in the east coast time zone in the late afternoon or early evening before coming back to Texas for a 7:30 or 8 pm start. The fact that a split-venue double-header is even plausible despite the added broadcast production costs – one source tabbed it at a minimum of $350,000 – shows how supercharged the plans are for season two just days after the conclusion of season one.Now that MLC officials have the proof of concept that they can sell out a 7,200-seat venue multiple times in the space of a week, they aren’t holding back with bigger-picture ambitions. Among those is a goal to “piggyback” off the proposed plan put forward by the ICC last week to have a 34,000-seat pop-up venue in New York City at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. If that proposal gets greenlit by NYC officials for the ICC to proceed with as one of three venues in the USA when it co-hosts the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Mehta says he is already in discussions to make it the home venue for reigning champions MI New York in MLC season two next July, immediately after the T20 World Cup final scheduled for June 30.”That would be very very desirable for us and we have indicated as much to the ICC,” Mehta said. “We’d love to collaborate with them not just on venues, but also in marketing and other aspects. If 2024 is going to be a watershed year for both MLC and the ICC, from our perspective a longer season and a much more impactful season and a season where we have some time and space to properly market and properly showcase the product. From the ICC’s perspective, the World Cup is a huge event. So we’d just love to collaborate with them on venues and marketing and a few other elements. And they’ve indicated a reciprocal desire to want to make sure that we utilise next summer to completely evangelise the sport here.”The crowds that poured in to watch season one far exceeded MLC Tournament Director Justin Geale’s (middle) pre-tournament expectations•Peter Della PennaThe Texas Super Kings were by far the best-supported franchise in year one, with all their home games selling out. But the sold-out final – in which an extra 800 standing-room-only tickets were put on sale in the 48 hours before play began, to expand capacity by another 10% to accommodate a late surge in demand from MI New York fans – highlighted the biggest priority of all for the next few years of the league, according to Mehta. Long-term stadium infrastructure plans are now of paramount importance in the short term if the league is going to not only sustain but build on this year’s success.”We need home and away venues,” Mehta said, alluding to the lowest-attendance match of the season between San Francisco Unicorns and LA Knight Riders at the end of the first week of matches in Texas, which saw approximately 2,500 fans turn out in Grand Prairie. “I think all the team owners saw it clearly. It’s one thing to put it up in a presentation and to raise funds. It’s another thing for team owners to see directly themselves that here’s what happens when you have a home venue, because all American franchise sport is built around home venues and a home-and-away concept.”So they are far more enthusiastic now and now that they’ve seen it firsthand about building home venues and quickly building them. So that’s been the number one benefit of this season. The reception the Texas Super Kings got was frankly something that all the owners had to see for themselves to understand that now they need to put their plans into action very quickly.”There were other teething issues that the league adapted to on the fly during season one. But often they were good problems to have – and certainly not the kind that US cricket administrators have ever thought they’d encounter – such as fans waiting too long in lines to get through the entrance gates. Other fan experience enhancements were added as the season progressed, whether it was a T-shirt-launching cannon shooting freebies into the crowd during breaks in play or free giveaways to fans coming through the gates.The fervour shown by the fans, though, is something money can’t buy. For anyone who thought MLC was going to be a one-and-done afterthought, think again.

It was a performance of ups and downs that further endears you to a cricketer

Vithushan Ehantharajah07-Aug-2023The sun shone throughout the evening in Manchester, and it’s important to put that on the record given the last few weeks here.An entire men’s Ashes was ruined by two days of rain at the end of the fourth Test, followed by a Manchester Originals home opener against London Spirit scuppered in both competitions. The blokes managed to get on for 80 balls, of which Jos Buttler thrilled for 32 of them. Ultimately, it was for nothing.Proximity to such an engaging seven weeks of England and Australia duels means the Hundred needs to thrive more than ever. Even before the parallel men’s and women’s Ashes, there was an understanding at HQ this third season had to harness the power of what was always likely to be a public-enrapturing block of international cricket. And while pockets of the country remain untouched by the harsh, bright hues of the Hundred’s colour palette, the cities exposed to this flash jamboree needed to make it count.Part of that requires attachment. And for the longest time, before the Hundred even got off the ground, you wondered how those in the stands could truly vibe with nebulous concepts. Yet as Emirates Old Trafford welcomed an eventual 11,692 for the men’s portion of this doubleheader, the parochialism from the stands hit you like grapes on Ricky Ponting.The cheers for Buttler’s boundaries were loud. The palpable disdain when replays of the direct hit run out from Moeen Ali showed Buttler might have grounded his bat over the line even louder. They chuntered when Phoenix opener Ben Duckett inadvertently got in the way of a shy at the stumps after popping one into the leg side during the third set of the chase. Moeen, cheered to the rafters here three weeks ago when gliding to a half-century in whites for his country, was jeered off after being trapped by a vicious yorker from local boy Richard Gleeson. They even booed Kane Richardson simply for being Australian.Related

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But it was Usama Mir, one of Originals own as of, well, a few weeks ago, that was the most evocative presence this Monday night. Most of it good, some of it bad, all of it endearing. A performance of ups and downs that further endears you to a cricketer, if it is even possible to have greater admiration for one who fizzes leg spin and smokes boundaries.Uncapped in T20s for Pakistan, and with just six appearances in ODIs, Mir essentially undertook an overseas Vitality Blast gig with Worcestershire with a view to breaking into the Hundred. A route in looked tricky given only domestic players can be Wildcard picks, but 19 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 7.29 impressed Buttler enough to ratify his inclusion after Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga pulled out for the second year in succession.”We had Hasaranga down to come, and Usama Mir was playing for Worcester and doing brilliantly, so bring him in,” said Buttler at stumps, after a 49-run win had been banked thanks to the 27-year-old’s 32 off 14 and 2 for 27.It felt like Originals – and the competition more broadly – fell on their feet when Usama came out at 105 for 6 with 24 balls to go. A tournament that relies on highlight reels has another walking one, it seems.Usama Mir interacts with fans after the game•ECB/Getty ImagesThe wily Benny Howell dipped into his box of tricks and pulled out a slower, length ball he had to go fetch after it was carted over cover. Richardson was then swung over mid off before being short-arm flayed over midwicket for six two deliveries later. Even Adam Milne, who can usually get by on fear of his pace when bowling to the lower half of a batting order, was reverse-ramped twice. At times it looked like Mir had extra joints in his arms, such were the angles created and areas accessed.That feel for the game did not quite carry onto the field, at least not straight away. Will Smeed was shelled on six, after skying a pull around the corner off Josh Little, leading to Mir running back and failing to take over his shoulder. The fall to the ground, as he attempted to clasp it a second time, was comical.The second drop – Jamie Smith on 15 – was even worse, looping to him off a regulation edge after a smart cutter from Paul Walter. An error compounded by the fact Smith had carted Usama’s second and third deliveries for six. But Walter got his man with the very next delivery – caught long on. And when Mir trapped Dan Mousley lbw followed by Shadab Khan, his rival for Pakistan’s leggie allrounder spot, we knew whose day it was. Particularly given Mousley did not review his decision despite impact outside the line after the umpires had made an error in chalking off Phoenix’s review when Moeen’s unsuccessful one came back with an umpire’s call.That review was only reinstated with 25 balls to go, by which point this game was long gone with 75 runs still to get. The deficit would eventually be whittled down to 49 runs, with subdued glee from the Originals “faithful” as Phoenix were dismissed for 111. In a season primarily of rain and tight finishes, we have our second blowout.Ironically, it was one of Lancashire’s own, Liam Livingstone, who was likeliest to make this tighter than it was. It was at this corresponding fixture in the 2021 season – the first Hundred match at Emirates Old Trafford – that Livingstone was booed. This time around, the man who carried the inaugural season on his back managed just 27 off 25, before county team-mate Tom Hartley dismissed him caught-and-bowled. Those cheers carried a genuine sense of a dangerman snared, rather than a pantomime villain vanquished.Through surprise packages and familiar faces, something is brewing among the Originals. It might be that local fans are feeling this new competition. It might be that Manchester just likes its cricket. It might be that it wasn’t raining.The next fixture here is in 13 days (the derby with Northern Supercharges), immediately followed by another three days after versus Southern Brave – the last two fixtures of the group stage. By then, we will know whether Originals are in it to win. And maybe also if this local support is something real.

Simple message brings devastating results as quick rips through Australia with 5 for 34

Vithushan Ehantharajah06-Jul-20230:32

Does Mark Wood think he can reach 100mph?

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are about simple, clear messaging. Cricket is a complicated enough sport, and English cricket a pressurised enough environment without introducing anything that may elicit doubt. Especially at a time when England need as few distractions as possible to overturn a 2-0 deficit.Ahead of this third Test at Headingley Chris Woakes, for instance, was told “you do you” before his first Test in 16 months and did exactly that. With his usual accuracy and nip off the pitch, the 34-year-old picked up three vital wickets in Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and centurion Mitch Marsh in Australia’s first innings.Mark Wood’s instructions were even clearer. Long before he had the ball in hand for the seventh over from the Pavilion End, even before he went to bed on Wednesday evening ahead of his first match of the English summer, and first Test since December 2022 in Pakistan, Stokes relayed a straightforward brief. Bowl rockets, don’t fret about the runs. A simple message brought devastating results as Wood ripped through Australia with 5 for 34.This was not just about wickets, even if they were pretty spectacular. Usman Khawaja lost his leg stump at the end of a four-over opening spell where no delivery dropped below 91mph. Then an entire tail was lopped off inside 16 balls to snuff Australia out for 263. Yet the real power and truest glory of Wood’s exploits today was the emotion he evoked.Related

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Undoubtedly, everyone here witnessed the best day of the series so far. So much of it was in keeping with the last 11 days’ play: just as either team looked like they were getting in front, the other pulled them right back. On balance, Australia have the ascendancy, leading by 195 after removing three of the host’s top order.Just as in England’s attack, the point of difference was a bloke charging in and slinging down such fire it made the heat emanating from the Western Terrace feel like a cool breeze. Wood was seen as the ideal weapon to unleash against Australia after the last few days of English discontent following the final exchanges at Lord’s. In the end, he was edge-of-your-seat distraction.Stokes used him in bursts: four overs then two before lunch, before three in the middle session and 2.4 at the end. For a player who has subsisted on those workloads this year, with a last competitive outing coming in the IPL on April 15 for Lucknow Super Giants against Punjab Kings, it was the only way he could be used. And Wood responded by bringing his best, averaging 90.7mph across his 11.4 overs and, moreover, covering for four dropped catches that allowed Australia to regroup from 85 for 4.It wasn’t all his own way, particularly in the middle session when Marsh swung him away in front of square for six. Though even that period had a whiff of showdown about it. As the Western Australian put it, an upbringing on fast Perth decks made him all too aware this was a moment where he had to sink or swim. Wood was the only bowler to drive him to such limits.Mark Wood blasted out Pat Cummins for a duck•Getty ImagesTo watch Wood anyway is to sense a bloke charging to the crease like this may be his last delivery. The ankle and elbow surgeries, and the other parts of the body fast bowlers break and rebreak for our entertainment will eventually overpower his spirit. But based on today’s efforts and outcome, we are not as close to that point as previously feared.The ferocity of his deliveries was such they did not simply rap glove (both of the batters and Jonny Bairstow) or crack timber (bats and stumps) but stripped the context of the moments in play with the brutality of flesh blasted off bone.A routine developed among those in the stands for every delivery from the 33-year-old’s first four overs. A look to the person to your left or right to make sure they saw it too and you weren’t dreaming, then a glance at the big screen to check the speed. The “whoops” and “ooohs” for each reading finally turned to meaningful roars when Khawaja’s leg stump was taken out emphatically with the final act of that spell.People often talk about how pace bowling was better in “their” day, as if the current generation are too weighed down by oat milk and the crippling weight of a world around them falling to bits to either purvey or appreciate this lost craft. The truth is, few cherish it more than those watching this generation of cricket. Partly because the game is slowly tearing itself apart. But mostly because, well, bowlers have never been quicker.A case in point: those initial four overs from Wood came at an average pace of 92.90, which slots it into No. 2 of the fastest spells in an English Test since 2006 (when accurate ball-tracking data was available). He has four of the top six in that category – Brett Lee has the third and fourth – all from a single Lord’s Test against India in 2021 in which Wood returned previous best home figures of 3 for 51. No. 1 was 93.41mph which Wood was on course to bettering before the last two deliveries in that sequence.Throw in the fact he also sent down the fastest four-over spell in T20 World Cup history in a group game against Afghanistan in 2022 and it is clear while the gap between appearances are frustrating, the upside is unrivalled. For a man from Ashington who grew up in a world of swing, seam and elbow grease, lusting for Ferrero Rocher and possessing what his closest friends describe as “noodle arms”, it is a remarkable feat of endurance above all else. When considering the greatest speedsters over the last 20 years, he must feature.Ultimately, being part of those conversations are what it is to be at this level of sport. But the man himself acknowledges his case is not as strong as others. When told his opening burst had set an Ashes record, bettering Brett Lee’s 92.4mph offering at Old Trafford in 2005, Wood cherished the feat and the company but understood where the true measure of worth lies: “I’d rather have his wickets.”The Australian’s 310 are unreachable, given Wood is still five away from triple figures. But Thursday represented an important step towards rectifying a peculiar quirk of being far more effective away from home.Considering the Dukes is an English bowler’s best friend, it has never quite taken to Wood’s charm. The previous 14 appearances at home left him with an average of 39.63, while his 49 overseas dismissals have come at 24.18, six lower than the career average of 30.57.Even with the love of Test cricket in this country, it still suffers from the usual issues of distance and timezones dictating relevance. Wood might have impressed on the previous Ashes tour with 17 wickets and an impressive 6 for 37 in the final Test at Hobart, but performing through the winter nights ring-fenced his brilliance from the broader conscience. It also did not help that it was a chastening and utterly forgettable campaign from an English perspective. Stuart Broad even tried to void it.As Wood strode off with the match ball for the first time in England, raising it for a fourth time in his career but first towards his mother, Angela, and father, Derek, it felt like we were witnessing a personal moment for an individual and public relief for the team.Mark Wood holds up the ball after claiming a magnificent five-wicket haul•Getty ImagesHaving taken the winning wicket at Trent Bridge in the 2015 Ashes – a photo of the Nathan Lyon dismissal takes pride of place in his home – he missed the entirety of 2019 after tearing his side in the World Cup final. An injury picked up during the last of his 10 overs before making it worse when he put in one of the worst dives in humankind as he attempted to cross the line at the nonstriker’s end for the winning run.He was desperate to play the first Test of this series at Edgbaston only for Stokes to decide to save him for the second. Then, in the lead-up to Lord’s, the right elbow operated on twice last year began swelling. With the extra week’s grace, he has put in what could prove to be his most impactful display for his country.England has always come first for Wood. So much so that when Lucknow were preparing for an IPL fixture against Chennai Super Kings, he was reluctant to reveal too much about how to combat two of their upcoming opponents, Stokes and Moeen Ali.Here at Leeds, he has done them a huge favour by, for now, covering up some shortcomings. Drops of Smith, Head (off Wood in his pre-lunch dart), Marsh and Carey are, at this juncture, not as terminal as England’s previous 13 missed chances across the first two defeats. And they managed to largely contain Australia – Marsh notwithstanding – despite being a bowler light after Ollie Robinson left the field midway through his 12th over with a back spasm.That’s the key thing about breathtaking pace. It strips context, enriches the game, lifts your team-mates, scares your opponents and, well, always gives you a fighting chance. Exactly what England need from here until this Ashes is over.

Days after SA and NZ faced each other in an epic Rugby World Cup final, the two countries meet again at the Cricket World Cup

Firdose Moonda31-Oct-20232:16

Van der Dussen: Taking ‘massive inspiration’ from the Springboks’ feat

The match that matters most has already been won. By South Africa. 12-11 on Saturday night in the City of Lights to make them world champions for a record fourth time. Yes, this is a cricket website. No, nothing about this part of the story is about cricket.In rugby’s fiercest rivalry, the Springboks and All Blacks met at the World Cup final in Paris during the weekend in a match that has been lauded as one of the greatest games the sport has ever seen. It was a nerve-shredder, as you can probably tell from the score-line, and ended with both teams down to 14 players and plenty of tears.Four days later, these two countries meet again, though the stakes are much lower this time. South Africa and New Zealand sit second and third on the points table respectively and a lot would have to go wrong for either of them to miss out on the semi-final, where they could play each other again. That’s not to say it’s impossible for things to unravel but it would also be fair to look at this as a dress rehearsal rather than a do-or-die. And for South Africa it could actually be the start, because the country’s attention will now shift to cricket and the expectation that was largely absent from their campaign is going to pile on in multiples.With two months left in 2023, South Africans are starting to think it may finally be their time because this has been a year of unprecedented success. “All the momentum within the sport was started by the women in the start of the year, with them getting into the [T20 World Cup final],” Temba Bavuma, South Africa men’s captain, said after their win against Pakistan in Chennai. “I think it’s been a bit of pressure for us as the Proteas to keep the momentum going. We’re doing well so far and we’ll take the inspiration and motivation from all those performances from our other national teams.”Related

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The “other” national teams also include the national women’s football team, who became the first senior side to advance out of the group stage at the football World Cup but is dominated by the Springboks, who have unified South Africa in a way nothing and no-one else has been able to. And for the cricketers that is something to strive to emulate.”We take massive inspiration from them, – massive learnings and lessons from them as a team; from how they go about things, what they stand for and the purpose they play for,” Rassie van der Dussen said ahead of the New Zealand match. “Siya (Kolisi – the Springbok captain) mentioned in a press conference that if you’re not from South Africa, you don’t really understand what it means or what sporting achievement means for us.”So what does it mean and why is it different to anywhere else? Surely winning is an opioid of the masses everywhere? Not so, explains van der Dussen. “What the Springboks and sport shows is when you get things right and you do things the right way, what you can achieve. Good things happen to good people. And that Springbok team – that’s what they are. They are all hard-working, good South Africans with a real humility about them, and a real hunger for success and it shows when you are willing to put differences aside what is possible for a country like ours.”South Africa have been on a roll in this World Cup•ICC via Getty ImagesAnd that’s the rub of it. Beyond having well-functioning systems that result in collective achievement, sport in South Africa is one of the most front-facing parts of society that speaks to the legacies of division and slowly and painfully, some cohesion. Sport was an essential part of the politics of Apartheid, which kept racial groups segregated and saw all-white teams take the field, and the resistance against it, when people of colour continued playing despite all the obstacles put in their way and with the knowledge they would never represent the country. Cricket was the first (and to date only) sport that has had a reckoning with race and it was recent. The Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings took place just over two years ago and tore the game apart. It has started to come back and to borrow the Springboks slogan, it appears that the cricketers are stronger together.”The situations we’ve faced in the past three years – Covid-19, BLM, SJN and various political stories we have had back home as a team, forced us to pull together,” van der Dussen said. “It’s had the effect of us being really tight off the field as well. Between any two members of the squad there is a real connection. We are blessed in a sense that we are in a good space now because we’ve had to deal with a lot of controversy over the past three years.”But could all of that, along with the very fresh success of the Springboks, combine to make this also the cricketers’ year? Coach Rob Walter tried to play it down. “I don’t think it [the expectation] has become any more because the Boks have won,” he said. “It’s an inspiration as to how they won and hopefully that can catalyse us moving forward. Maybe the media attention will shift to us now. We’ve spoken about it as a team as to what we can take as opposed to how it impacts us for a pressure point of view. Rugby is rugby and they have been very successful over a long period of time. We are trying to take care of our own business here.”2:38

Are expectations high from SA after the country’s Rugby World Cup triumph?

That’s sensible and sobering because while the Springboks have won four World Cups, the Proteas have not even reached one final and despite all the warm and fuzzies South Africans are feeling now, it’s too early to be thinking about that. The immediate challenge is three more group games, starting with New Zealand, a team South Africa have been poor against at World Cups.South Africa have lost five of their last World Cup encounters against New Zealand, including at the 2011 quarterfinal and 2015 semi-final, and six of eight all told. They last beat New Zealand at the World Cup in 1999.The same statistic was true for Pakistan (though they did not play them in 2003, 2007 and 2011) and when they looked shaky on 250 for 8 chasing 271 in Chennai, people were clearing their throats to say the word choke and bringing up South Africa’s storied and scarred World Cup history.

“You realise that fans have been really scarred by previous performances and you really can’t criticise them for feeling that way”Rassie van der Dussen

Almost all South African squads have said the ghosts of tournaments past do not haunt them and most are believable to a point – the point where they crash out. This side, still very much in, is perhaps the most believable because of how they see the reasons that people keep bringing up their previous failings.”You realise that fans have been really scarred by previous performances and you really can’t criticise them for feeling that way, and for criticism to come from a place of hurt,” van der Dussen said. “But personally, and it goes for most of the people in the squad and management team, we haven’t lived that. So it’s not really applicable to us. It’s things that have happened and they love replaying the scenes whenever we take the field and that’s fine but it’s not something that is affecting us. It’s part of history. But it’s certainly not part of us as a team.”And so they move forward, as a team looking to carve out their own identity in a year where being “South African” has taken on more meaning.As for New Zealand, despite getting to the last two finals and losing them, they don’t face the same scrutiny, have even less media coverage than South Africa at this event, and as a playing group, don’t even seem too affected by the All Blacks defeat. They’ll also take some cues from their more famous and successful sporting counterparts which makes the narrative around Wednesday’s match more about two countries’ sporting stories than just two cricket teams.”When you look at the All Blacks as a whole, they’ve played some great rugby throughout this World Cup. The Kiwi way is we look to scrap the whole way,” Tom Latham said. “Obviously faced with a little bit of adversity in terms of being down to 14 men, but it’s something we talk about in our team as well, we scrap right to the end regardless of the situation.”

India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand look primed to take semi-final slots, despite Afghanistan’s climb up the ranks

Ian Chappell05-Nov-2023The first objective in a World Cup is to qualify for the semi-finals. The best result then is to meet your preferred opponent in a knockout match.As we reach the climax of the round-robin stage, the most likely semi-finals look to be India vs New Zealand, and South Africa vs Australia. For two of the tournament favourites, India and Australia, this would be their favoured semi-final match-ups, if the actual finishing order of the top four does result in those contests.While there have been a number of upsets so far – England’s utter collapse being monumental – there have been no real surprises in terms of the best way to win 50-over matches.Related

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Taking early wickets and then maintaining momentum in the middle overs is a surefire way to restrict an opponent. If the best batters are back in the pavilion during the death overs of the first innings, you are likely to be chasing a reasonable target. Having good, wicket-taking spinners is important.Picking the right thing to do on winning the toss is critical. The toss-winning captain faces a challenging decision. One thing you don’t want is to send the opposition in and then find yourself chasing a huge total. Having a decent score on the board is a positive result, especially when the match decides who progresses and who goes home.For that top four finishing order I laid out above to occur, there are still a few crucial games. India, despite remaining undefeated in the round robin, have to stay ahead of South Africa on points. Victory over the South Africa in their group match is still a must, though India are now 7-0 up, after humiliating Sri Lanka.Australia are now almost assured of a third-place finish (which could help them avoid India in the semis) as long as they keep winning. With the unexpected injury to Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh’s untimely absence, this could have been a difficult exercise, except that their arch-rivals, England, have played like headless chooks.

Afghanistan have won a lot of fans with their aggressive approach and continuing improvement in skill. It also doesn’t hurt that their spinners maintain line and length under fire and seek wickets at every opportunity

New Zealand, though they lost to Pakistan on Saturday, and are tied on points with them, are ahead on net run rate.Pakistan, though they have overcome the first of their last two hurdles before the semi-finals, still need to beat their last opponent, England, by a handy margin and have other results go their way.Despite being easy to barrack for and producing a clinical win over Netherlands, Afghanistan have a tough job to sneak into the final four. While mathematically they could finish ahead of New Zealand on points, they have two huge obstacles in their way.Firstly they have a brutal finish, with hard games against Australia and South Africa. That is a difficult enough task, but they are also well behind New Zealand and Pakistan on net run rate, which means Afghanistan have to both bat and bowl outrageously well in those last two matches if they are to have a chance. Nevertheless, they have won a lot of fans with their aggressive approach and continuing improvement in skill. It also doesn’t hurt that their spinners maintain line and length under fire and seek wickets at every opportunity.New Zealand find themselves in a precarious position. They had a reasonably gentle early schedule, considering the absolute disintegration of England. They’ve also suffered some serious injuries along the way, but it is their fielding frailty – normally a strength – that has been a worry of late.South Africa stumbled badly against Netherlands. Australia will hope they commit a playoff crime by producing another inexplicable mix-up to bow out of the World Cup with a poor semi-final performance.Apart from England’s collapse and South Africa’s surprisingly good form, the tournament has progressed as the superpowers, India and Australia, would like. This is an ongoing headache for the ICC if they don’t resolve the current financial imbalance in world cricket.

Bowlers let the team down last year but the likes of Harshal Patel and Chris Woakes have strengthened the attack

Ekanth17-Mar-2024Where Punjab Kings finished last seasonEighth, with six wins. They were tied with KKR on points, but had a lower NRR.Kings squad for IPL 2024Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, Ashutosh Sharma, Shashank Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Chris Woakes, Harshal Patel, Vishwanath Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Prince ChoudharyRelated

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Player availabilityKings have all their players available for the season. However, if they make the playoffs – and also the final, which is expected to be played on May 26 – they might be without Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran, who could be instead playing for England in a five-match T20I series against Pakistan at home, which begins on May 22.What’s new with Kings this year?Harshal Patel. He brings with him the ability to bowl in the middle overs and at the death. Capable of bowling 24 slower balls, he can vary his lengths depending on the pitch. Harshal strengthens the pace department that also has Kagiso Rabada, and the left-arm duo of Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh.Rilee Rossouw and Chris Woakes are top-order and new-ball back-ups, respectively. Rossouw can be a dangerous batter across phases. Woakes, though, didn’t feature in the last three editions of the IPL, but has enough experience to make handy contributions with the ball and bat.Harshal Patel’s presence will be a huge boost for Kings in the bowling department•AFP/Getty ImagesThe good: Several all-round optionsKings have multiple bowling allrounders, like Curran, Rishi Dhawan and Sikandar Raza, who are strike bowlers and also lengthen the batting. It allows them to use an Impact Player as a bonus rather than as a necessity.They also have a well-rounded Indian bowling contingent. Arshdeep, Harshal and Rahul Chahar have experience, and offer variety in the attack. Harpreet Brar’s left-arm spin and Vidwath Kaverappa’s pace offer Kings a conditions-based selection call. So they can go into each game with six or seven bowling options.The bad: lack of Indian middle-order battersKings do not have a strong Indian core in the middle order. They let go of M Shahrukh Khan and brought in Shashank Singh, albeit with some confusion at the auction.Jitesh Sharma, who impressed as a finisher last year, will be key, but Kings might still be over-reliant on their experienced batters Dhawan, Bairstow and Livingstone to come good this season. Though Livingstone can clear boundaries at warp speed, he is coming off a poor SA20 campaign, where he scored just 109 runs in nine innings.Kings also have Raza in the squad, but might have a headache fitting him in the XI, with Curran, Livingstone and Bairstow being the first-choice overseas starters, along with Rabada. They will also hope Shikhar Dhawan stays fit and has a good season because their probable XII is thin on captaincy candidates.Schedule insightsKings will start their season on March 23 against Delhi Capitals with the comforts of home, albeit a new one – the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, which will host its first-ever IPL match. Two days later, they play Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru. That is followed by five-day gaps between both their games against Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans, both on the road.The big question