The South Africa batter says he finds the format “tiring”, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it means nothing to him

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2023If you want to know whether Quinton de Kock cares about ODI cricket, watch his reaction after he scored his 50-over World Cup ton against Sri Lanka. There’s the power of the pull shot and then the passion of the wide-legged stance, the fist pump, the raised bat and the roar, followed by the pathos of the glint in the eye. Was it sweat or a tear? We may never know but we know enough: that hundred meant .”It was big,” de Kock said, typically poker-faced in Lucknow, ahead of South Africa’s next match against Australia. “Not just because it was a World Cup, but because I’ve been wanting a hundred for a while. I’ve got a couple of starts and then obviously I was not capitalising so just to get one again was pretty nice.”Before South Africa’s tournament opener, de Kock’s last ODI hundred came 20 months and 18 innings ago. Since then, he has scored three fifties, reached double figures 13 times, notched up a first T20I century, signed up for leagues including the MLC and the Big Bash and announced his retirement from the 50-over game. This World Cup is his last dance in the format in which he is, by a distance, the leading run-scorer of this generation of South Africans. He has 6276 ODI runs; the next most in the squad is David Miller, more than 2,000 runs behind. Overall, de Kock is seventh on South Africa’s all-time list and only Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs have more ODI hundreds than him. Whatever else happens in this World Cup, de Kock will go down as one of South Africa’s most celebrated white-ball cricketers.Related

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Potentially, his farewell in the format also puts a(nother) question mark at the end of the sentence about the future of this format, although the man himself believes there is life in it.”I’m not going to speak on behalf of everyone. For myself, I find it quite tiring, but I’m sure there’s still a lot of guys, a lot of youngsters coming through from school, who would love to play this format,” he said. “I highly recommend that they find a way to keep it going, because there are a lot of guys with big ambitions who want this format to carry on. I think they need to find a place and a time for it to happen.””They” are the administrators, with whom de Kock has not always had the best of relationships but who may still be interested in his thoughts over the longevity of ODI cricket and the value of it. Ultimately, it was ODI cricket that made de Kock, after his three centuries against India in 2013, long before he was a T20 star. The longer limited-overs version allowed him time to build both his innings and his confidence and though cricket and its skills development has changed in the decade since de Kock debuted, he is an example of the kind of player ODIs can produce. He is also an example – maybe one of the last ones – of what ODI cricket can mean to players.For de Kock and this generation, a 50-over World Cup trophy is still the ultimate prize, even as the lure of T20s grows stronger. De Kock is one of those who have hung around, hoping for success in ODIs, when he could have walked away. He cares about it, even though his usually deadpan expressions and monotone and sometimes monosyllabic answers to questions, make it easy and lazy to assume he doesn’t.Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock – the three centurions against Sri Lanka•ICC via Getty ImagesDuring the recent series against Australia, de Kock spoke to the host broadcaster about his decision to focus solely on the shortest format and said that his loyalty to the national cause was what kept him on the ODI stage for the last five years. By his calculations, he could have walked away in 2018, cashed in on the T20 circuit and had his feet up by now.Instead, he is putting the fishing on hold to play his third 50-over World Cup and has started by showing he is willing to give it his all. His hundred against Sri Lanka laid the foundation for South Africa to break the World Cup batting record and, along with Rassie van der Dussen, provided the stability for Aiden Markram to score the fastest tournament hundred. And de Kock wasn’t the only one who let his emotions out that day.

“We’re doing really well as a batting unit and we’ve worked really hard on our game over the last couple of years but it’s only one game into the World Cup”de Kock doesn’t want South Africa to get too carried away by their start

All three South Africans who scored centuries against Sri Lanka were more animated than usual. That may be because the sense of belief in their own abilities is building but de Kock is still cautious.”We’re doing really well as a batting unit and we’ve worked really hard on our game over the last couple of years but it’s only one game into the World Cup,” he said. “So it’s hard to say how we are really going even though we managed really well in our last couple of games. The batting form hasn’t been over the course of years, it’s only been over a month or a couple of months. In order for us to be the best, we still need to be a bit more consistent, especially in tight games, like World Cups. That will determine how good we actually are.”South Africa’s only measure for how good they actually are, so far, is that they have not won a World Cup. For a squad that has always oozed talent that is something they want to change, especially as their most talented players, like de Kock, may not play in this format for much longer. Does that add extra motivation to this campaign? De Kock was not convinced.”I’m pretty much the same whether I’ve announced that I’ve retired or not retired,” he said. “I don’t really know how it happened. It was just a matter of working on one or two things and going out there and getting it done.”As simple as that.

The India opener took part in every training session leading up to the Super Four game against Pakistan, and batted long hours

S Sudarshanan09-Sep-20231:44

Gill on the challenge of facing Pakistan’s bowlers

It is like the process you followed for your math exam. Prepare hard, solve a few problems – the more complex the better – to ready yourself for the toughest questions.In Colombo, Shubman Gill has been that guy. India had two optional nets and one full session under lights in the days leading up to their Asia Cup Super Four game against Pakistan. Gill took part in every one of them – even the optional training on Thursday and Saturday – and batted long hours. After all, he will be keen to perform better than the last time he faced Pakistan, which was in the group stage where he made 10 off 32 balls.Face left-arm throwdowns, work consciously on the forward stride, look at footage, chat with the batting coach, and repeat. Gill had his nets routine pretty much set on each of the first two days. Last week was the first time he had played against Pakistan in senior men’s cricket. Given India could play them at least three times – if both teams make the Asia Cup final – in the next couple of months, he left no stone unturned to be ready.Related

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So much has Gill faced Nuwan Seneviratne, India’s left-arm throwdown specialist, throughout the tournament that it wouldn’t be a surprise if he had the Sri Lankan on speed dial. The indoor nets on Thursday was all about getting his footwork right against left-arm over-the-wicket angle and, importantly, not falling over while playing deliveries straightening into him.”[Seneviratne] has been with us for the past seven-eight years,” Gill said before training. “We have two right-arm throwdown side-arm specialists, and as a variation, we also have a left-arm side-arm specialist. It helps in various conditions.”On Saturday, it was a tad different. His training on the eve of the India-Pakistan match was about the hard lengths. It was perhaps the shortest batting stint he had had in the nets all Asia Cup.Shubman Gill made 10 off 32 in the opening match of the Asia Cup•Getty ImagesHaving survived probing spells from Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, Gill fell to first-change Haris Rauf in the last meeting against Pakistan. It was an in-between length that he inside-edged onto his stumps.He worked on picking lengths early and putting them away. He received a good mix of full and hard-length deliveries, and a few bumpers along the way. It was not the prettiest Gill net to watch: he was beaten on both edges, edged a few balls, and lost his off stump once. He had a short chat with batting coach Vikram Rathour and continued for about 15 minutes more.”Shaheen swings the ball more. Naseem relies more on pace,” Gill said. “If he gets help from the surface, he hits good areas. Both are different bowlers and pose different challenges.”Before getting to [international] level, every batter would have faced left-arm bowling at some stage. Whenever you play a new bowler it makes a difference, [more so] because we don’t play Pakistan as often as we do some other teams. Coming up against a quality bowling attack like Pakistan’s, [not having played them that often before] makes a difference.”Sometimes there’s no technical flaw as such. Bowlers are also there to bowl, and you might get some good deliveries. You might get some unfortunate dismissals. When you are playing well there might be a few things going your way. You have to trust your game, back yourself and get those quick runs.”The prep’s done, and Gill will hope it translates into runs as he faces Sunday’s big test.

Ben Stokes is back from ODI retirement and Joe Root’s recent form isn’t inspiring. But England remain among favourites

Matt Roller29-Sep-20232:49

Can England defend their World Cup title?

World Cup pedigree: England are in uncharted territory as defending champions, sneaking past New Zealand on boundary count to win their maiden title at Lord’s four years ago. Once the laughing stock of one-day cricket – from 1992 and before the 2019 semi-finals, they hadn’t won a single knockout game at a 50-over World Cup – they are now among the favourites at every limited-overs ICC event.Recent form: This squad’s only meaningful preparation was last month, when they came from 0-1 down to beat New Zealand 3-1. England had only played nine ODIs in the preceding 13 months, and the entire World Cup squad rested during their recent 1-0 win against Ireland. Bilateral results have been considered low priority since Matthew Mott’s appointment as white-ball coach last year; after all, in 2022, his side peaked at the right time to lift the T20 World Cup in Australia.Selection: Ben Stokes returns as a specialist batter after a brief ODI retirement, while Harry Brook was a late replacement for Jason Roy. England have picked six seamers, anticipating niggles and a variety of conditions across their nine group games in eight different cities, while Jofra Archer will travel as a reserve.Related

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Squad: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (capt, wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Harry Brook, David Willey, Reece Topley and Gus AtkinsonKey player: He has hardly played 50-over cricket in the last four years, but Joe Root was England’s leading run-scorer at the 2019 World Cup, and his fortunes as their fulcrum at No. 3 may decide their progress. Root is England’s best player of spin, and spent two months preparing for this World Cup while running drinks for Rajasthan Royals at the IPL earlier this year. Root will hope that tailored preparation can help him overcome a lean run in ODIs, having played just 19 of them since the 2019 World Cup, with three half-centuries and no hundreds.Rising star: Although an established all-format international and already an IPL millionaire, Sam Curran is the second-youngest player in England’s squad at 25, and is more likely to play a significant role than Brook, the designated spare batter. Curran has only played 26 ODIs, and his numbers do not stand out either, but he proved in Australia last year that he revels on the big stage. Expect him to be used in a variety of roles across the tournament.World Cup farewells? Where to start? Only three players in England’s squad are younger than 29, and most members will be in their late 30s by the time the 2027 World Cup comes around. There will almost certainly be a substantial changing of the guard after this tournament, and several members of the touring party are unlikely to feature in ODIs again, including Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.

With quiet confidence, they are continuing to announce their presence at the World Cup

Firdose Moonda12-Oct-20231:40

Steyn: South Africa bowlers had the energy that Australia lacked

Kagiso Rabada was not so much laughing at Steven Smith as with technology when the big screen flashed three reds. It confirmed that the delivery Rabada bowled, which straightened from middle stump and struck Smith high on the pad would go on to hit leg stump, something very few people, other than Quinton de Kock, thought would happen.It was on de Kock’s nod that Temba Bavuma decided to review what seemed an appeal for appealing’s sake. On immediate assessment, the ball appeared to be missing leg even going over the stumps. Rabada himself was “hoping for an umpire’s call,” so South Africa could retain the review and Smith would be temporarily stopped from taking him on. The previous two balls were hit for four and Smith looked in imperious form but with the help of the DRS, his stay was cut short and Rabada created an opening into Australia’s middle-order. It was as good a time as any to have a chuckle.Related

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The significance of that wicket lies both in the fact that it was Smith who was dismissed and that it was Rabada who did the dismissing and the events it triggered. The pair have history, of course, dating back to 2018 when Rabada’s shoulder made contact with Smith as he celebrated removing him in a Test match at St George’s Park. Then, the incident sparked the unraveling of Australia in a series now known as Sandpapergate. This time, it also prompted a collapse: Australia lost four wickets for 20 runs starting with Smith and Rabada was responsible for three of them.He cleaned Josh Inglis up – a wicket that was clearly a wicket – and had Marcus Stoinis caught behind off the bottom glove, which may or may not have been in contact with the top glove. Technology, again, smiled on South Africa.But it would be grossly unfair on South Africa to attach their win to the gains they made on the DRS – though it is worth mentioning that the only time Australia asked for a review on the field half-heartedly was when they thought Quinton de Kock had nicked off Cummins and UltraEdge showed only a flat line – and not give credit to a flexible batting blueprint backed up by potent attack. Unlike in Delhi, where South Africa could capitalise on the last 10 overs, where they scored 137 runs against Sri Lanka, on a surface that slowed up in Lucknow, they had to start well and did.De Kock and Temba Bavuma are now South Africa’s most successful opening pair by average and have shared four century stands. De Kock, freed from the burdens of continuing in this format post the World Cup, is playing as well as he has ever done but that does not mean he is doing it recklessly. In fact, his starts have become more circumspect, his shot selection more careful and his understanding of his scoring areas more clear. Today, he targeted the short boundary, just 63 metres square of the wicket and played a selection of reverse-sweeps just wide of that in a display of pinpoint placement.That de Kock is having a good World Cup so far after South Africa’s poor showing in 2019 bodes well for the team; that Rabada is, is even better.Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi were on fire with the ball•Getty ImagesFour years ago, Rabada was bowling in an attack that was supposed to be led by Dale Steyn, who ended up having to withdraw with a shoulder injury. Now, he is supposed to lead the attack – which is without its most intimidating quick Anrich Nortje and its death bowling specialist Sisanda Magala – and is also supposed to do it from first change. South Africa have made what Rabada called a “team decision,” to open the bowling with Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen in a search for any early swing. That paid off handsomely in Lucknow.While the heat of the day was leaving the city, it found a home in South Africa’s new ball bowlers, Ngidi in particular. His opening spell of five overs included two scoreless ones and the wicket of David Warner, cost nine runs and was consistently delivered at 144 kph. He stuck to back of a length and maintained tight lines and said after the match that he feels fitter and stronger than before. Given who South Africa are missing, that’s good news.South Africa are also demonstrating qualities of adaptation that are needed in a long tournament across various venues. In Delhi, they picked four seamers and a spinner, in Lucknow, they opted for a three-two combination on a surface that was expected to, and did, offer some turn. By the time Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were called on, the bulk of the damage was already done and there may still be questions over how quickly they cleaned up the Australian tail. For Rabada, South Africa played ‘pretty much the perfect game.”Over the last seven years, they have an exceptional record against Australia and had beaten them in 15 out of 20 ODIs before today, including winning a recent home series 3-2. That was the only competitive cricket South Africa played between April and this World Cup. Australia, on the other hand, have competed in an Ashes, a white-ball series in England and South Africa and played ODIs in India before the tournament and could, understandably, be spent. Their fielding performance suggested as much and the crowd kept a tally of their missed chances and displayed them on a banner to remind them how much they were getting wrong. It would also be that given the recent results, South Africa have figured Australia out. But there’s another option here. It could also be that South Africa have finally figured themselves – the squad that came to this World Cup – out.Their bowlers came into this tournament with some big names and reputations but without Nortje and Magala were very much seen as the supporting cast to their stellar top six, who are expected to set the tone. It’s helped that they were put in to bat in both matches and have yet to be tested in a chase. It has also helped that they have come in under the radar in both their own country and this one. South Africans are focused on the Springboks – who play a Rugby World Cup quarter-final against hosts France – this weekend and in India, the focus is on the home team, on England, on Pakistan and now, on whether Australia can get back on track.Perhaps quietly, that has given South Africa the opportunity to have a laugh amongst themselves as they continue to announce their presence at this event. But is it too early to dare to dream? Obviously.”We’re still a long way away but there are plenty of positives to take. It’s just about leaving this behind once we leave that behind and focus on the next game, that’s it,” Rabada said.And for now, that’s it that we’ll say about South Africa.

A five-for on his first appearance of the tournament might encourage India to rethink their team balance

Shashank Kishore22-Oct-20231:29

Pujara: Shami is ‘always mentally ready’ for games

Mohammed Shami’s numbers at the 50-overs World Cup make for impressive reading: 12 matches, 36 wickets at an average of 15.02 and an economy of 5.09. They’re the kind of big-tournament numbers teams yearn for. Teams go any lengths to wrap such performers in cottonwool for the fear of injury.There’s little doubt that Shami is one of India’s main fast bowlers. But so far at the 2023 World Cup, he hadn’t quite been one. Until Sunday, of course, in Dharamsala, when he left an indelible mark against New Zealand: immaculate control up front bookended by death-overs mastery. Not even a sublime Virat Kohli innings couldn’t quite shade Shami’s second World Cup five-for under the Himalayan mist.From being an out-and-out strike bowler across phases, Shami has had to watch much of the early parts of the campaign from the sidelines, not because he’s less skilled than those preferred above him, but because the team management has drawn comfort from having some batting insurance at No. 8, provided by Shardul Thakur.Related

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Last month, in the run-up to the World Cup, India were forced to abandon a chase of 352 against Australia in Rajkot because of the lack of batting depth. Rohit Sharma turbocharged to 81 off 57, Kohli made a near run-a-ball 56 and Shreyas Iyer 48. They only needed one other batter to go big. Eventually, Ravindra Jadeja was forced to treat the end game as an extended net because their lower-order batting was too thin.For Sunday’s match, an injury to Hardik Pandya forced the team management to make one change at the very least; but they made two. While Suryakumar Yadav for Hardik seemed straightforward, playing Shami for Shardul was a bolder call because they were sacrificing this batting depth, which has been a bugbear, against a gun line-up that had the wood over India in ICC events.But as New Zealand’s innings progressed, it became clear why they’d preferred Shami, even if they wouldn’t have perhaps realised immediately the potential this move can unlock for the rest of their campaign. After all, there was a target to chase – 273 no less – under lights against Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, protagonists of their biggest heartbreak in recent memory.India could’ve so easily have been chasing 320, but for Shami reining in an innings that seemed set to go into overdrive; they were gasping in the end. The trigger was the dismissal of a set Rachin Ravindra for 75.With Kuldeep Yadav having been taken for 48 off his five overs, India may have been yearning for a sixth bowling option. But an over into his second spell, Shami’s subtle variation – a cutter into the pitch that seemed to hold up a fraction more than we’ve seen in the previous games – proved devious as Ravindra picked out long-on.Mohammed Shami picked his second World Cup five-wicket haul•Associated PressIt wasn’t a typical fast bowler’s wicket, but in the set-up lay Shami’s understanding of the surface and the adjustment he made. The end result wasn’t so subtle. That Shami wicket, which broke a threatening 159-run stand, had a trickledown effect on the rest of the bowlers, most definitely Kuldeep, who bounced back to end strongly with 2 for 25 off his next five overs. In all, India picked up New Zealand’s last six wickets for 30, Shami claiming three of them.How did he do it? Mostly by staying true to his virtues of trying to hit the stumps. In the death, going cross-seam appeared a prudent call on a two-paced deck. But there’s more than an element of skill involved in executing deliveries you plan in your head at the top of your mark, as Shami showed. Mitch Santner is a big hitter, and a six here or a four there in the 48th could’ve potentially added a few more to New Zealand’s total.But Shami bounded in to deliver the prefect yorker from around the stumps, one that kept curving back, cutting through thin air at 140 clicks to crash into the furniture before Santner could bring his bat down. Simply facing bowlers with skillsets such as Shami’s can be pressure enough. You know what’s coming, like Santner did, but it truly crushes you when you can’t do anything about it.Henry found that out next ball. He was perhaps watching for his toes and hanging back, until he realised just how quickly a length ball had angled in and decked back further to beat his swing. This was proper fast-bowling royalty, delivering the kind of visceral thrill we knew Shami can deliver but didn’t know if he would at this World Cup.All the hoopla around Shami’s magic may have yet vanished into thin air had India stumbled in their chase. They did have their fair share of nervy moments, like when KL Rahul and Suryakumar were dismissed in quick succession with the target still 83 away. But Jadeja’s composure backed India’s rip-roaring top order and could yet mean Shami may have a bigger role to play as the World Cup veers past the halfway mark.Yes, it may cost them lower-order potential. But what if the lower order isn’t needed at all, like it wasn’t against New Zealand? It’ll be a big call either way, and Shami hasn’t made it easier.

The New Zealand captain brings up a century of appearances in each format in Christchurch. Will another pace bowler ever do it?

Alex Malcolm06-Mar-2024There is a tree native to the Northland region in New Zealand called the kauri. It grows fast and naturally, before maturing to become tall, stable and ever-present. They are one of the longest-living tree species in the world and among the largest.If Kane Williamson is New Zealand’s bedrock, Tim Southee, a Northland native, is their kauri.Just three men have played 100 Tests, 100 ODIs, and 100 T20Is for their country: Ross Taylor, Virat Kohli and David Warner. Southee will join them on Friday in Christchurch. But he will stand alone as the first bowler when he leads New Zealand in his 100th Test match.Related

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It is an extraordinary feat. But extraordinary is not a word that you would associate with Southee. Unassuming might be a better description. Unicorn might be even better. He might be the first and last New Zealand seamer to play 100 Tests.Very few players have played in an Under-19 World Cup semi-final and a Test match within a month. But that was Southee’s entrance to Test cricket in 2008. His first wicket was Michael Vaughan. His next two were Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen on the way to a debut five-wicket haul.He played in a Test match alongside Stephen Fleming, who debuted in 1994. He has played in a Test match with Will O’Rourke, who was born in 2002.In that first foray into Tests, his batting was on display too. He smashed 77 not out off 40 balls including nine sixes. Test cricket appeared to come very easily.But there were some harsh lessons in those early days coming straight out of U-19s. His third and fourth Tests were in Australia in 2008. Although he had success in swinging conditions in Brisbane, bagging Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting, he got a heavy dose of reality on a flat track in Adelaide when he bowled 27 wicketless overs, with just one maiden, and gave up 100 runs in an innings for the first time in his fledgling first-class career.What has made Southee so impressive is his ability to adapt and survive. The cheeky kid from a farming family in Whangarei had cruised through under-age cricket thanks to his physical size, self-belief and ability to swing the ball around corners. Kane Williamson joked that he hadn’t seen the inside of a gym before playing Test cricket. But he had to learn to thrive in all conditions. He did so like any son of a farming family would, through hard work and determination.Southee has endured through an era where fast bowlers appear to have gone through some kind of genetic mutation. Dale Steyn was a swing bowler at warp speed. Australia produced three monsters, each with differing skill sets. Kagiso Rabada looks like he was built in a laboratory. Jasprit Bumrah is from another planet.He has been true to himself. Those who have faced him say the swing can be prodigious. He’s always at the batter, asking questions. But no one fears the pace or even the bounce like they do the swing.Those who have kept to him say it is a heavier ball than most would think. They love the carry he gets even though the pace is not at the level of others.Tim Southee burst onto the scene with five wickets and an unbeaten 77 on debut•Getty ImagesBut with skills that seem suitable only in certain conditions, he found a method to be successful for in all conditions. It’s no shock that he has two six-wicket hauls at Lord’s. But he took his best Test figures of 7 for 64 in Bengaluru on a surface where India’s two spinners bagged 13 wickets between them.Later that year, he took eight wickets in a Test win in Colombo. He averages 15.47 in Sri Lanka, 28.70 in India, and 23.71 in the West Indies where his 3 for 28 in the fourth innings in Bridgetown helped New Zealand seal a famous series victory.Part of adapting that method was developing a three-quarter seam ball. It made his stock outswinger more effective, whilst giving him a weapon when the swing wasn’t there.It’s hard not to think of Southee as part of a double act with Trent Boult. The mention of one was ubiquitous with the other. The two of them formed the backbone of the New Zealand attack through a golden era. While Kyle Jamieson took the plaudits in the first innings of the 2021 World Test Championship final, it was Southee and Boult who shared seven wickets in the second to set up the winning chase.But while Boult chased greener pastures, Southee stayed where his roots were and ascended to the Test captaincy. It hasn’t gone entirely smoothly, but Southee endures. No matter the scenario, win, lose or draw, he remains phlegmatic. His temperament is a lauded feature of his leadership internally.Southee’s achievements should not be undersold, particularly the endurance they require, but there are questions being asked as he heads into his landmark game. He’s taken eight Test wickets in his last 10 bowling innings at a cost of 52.75 apiece, while striking at 101.7.Even with his batting, the promise of his first Test has never flowered into something more. His innings against England remains his highest score. His six-hitting prowess has never abated. His name stands out on the list of most sixes hit in Test cricket. He’s struck more than Viv Richards in 22 fewer matches yet averages under 16 overall. While he cheekily niggles Brendon McCullum privately, suggesting his New Zealand record isn’t safe, one wonders whether his talent with the bat hasn’t quite been fulfilled.But his commitment to his main craft remains strong. Two days out from his 100th Test, with 33,178 international deliveries in his legs, he cut a lone figure on the outfield at Hagley Oval doing some old-school shuttle runs. Much younger international cricketers would have needed a strength and conditioning staffer to oversee it. To count every metre and monitor every second.But like the kauri trees in Northland, Southee can adapt and survive on his own. On Friday, he will stand tall as the first New Zealand fast bowler to play 100 Test matches and the first bowler worldwide to play 100 games in each format. It is a mighty achievement.

Ashwin, Jadeja and a group of quality fast bowlers have made India near-unbeatable in home Tests, but it won’t last forever

Sidharth Monga19-Jan-2024Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed cussedly saw off 50 of the 150 overs England needed to bat out to save the Visakhapatnam Test of 2016-17. England went into the final day needing to bat out 90 overs with eight wickets in hand. An hour of intense interrogation of technique and luck later, England were two wickets poorer and still looking at having to bat out another 90 overs, or possibly more, because India had bowled 21 overs in that one hour. And there wasn’t a cloud in sight.Just imagine how dispiriting it can be to take a brief break after 21 overs of breathless concentration and application, of trying to keep out two of the greatest spinners of all time, and finding out you have actually not moved anywhere in terms of bringing down your target. That’s Test cricket in India. Or, to be more precise, just one hour of Test cricket in India.Related

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Jurel wants to use India experience to develop 'mental fortitude'

To travel to India and win a Test series is possibly the toughest challenge in competitive sport. In cricket it definitely is. It’s easier to win an ODI World Cup. There have been three of them since the last time a visiting team won a Test series in India. It’s easier to win a World Test Championship: the two WTC champions have not even come close to winning in India in their championship cycles.It has been more than 11 years since India lost a Test series at home, a period during which Australia have lost three at home, England two, New Zealand two and South Africa four. India’s domination has gone deeper than just winning series. There have been zero drawn series over this period, and only one has gone into its final Test still alive: against Australia in 2016-17, at the deep end of a long, exhausting season for India. In more than 11 years, India have lost just three home Tests, achieving a win-loss ratio of 12, nearly twice that of the next-best home team in this period, Australia.ESPNcricinfo LtdThis dominance is primarily down to two all-timers. It seems like an age ago when we questioned the future of India’s spin bowling in the aftermath of India’s last series defeat at home, against England in 2012-13. R Ashwin kept getting cut frequently, averaging 53 in that series. Ravindra Jadeja had just made his debut as a batting allrounder at No. 6. These were spinners who had already made themselves names in the IPL. We worried who would carry India’s proud spin legacy forward.More than a decade later, we are looking at two of Indian cricket’s greatest match-winners, who have shown the craft, the fitness, the longevity and the hunger for excellence to make India the most formidable force at home in the whole of Test history. Captains have changed – three full-time ones – and coaches – four of them – have come and gone, but these two have remained the constants.They have played 49 Tests together, taking exactly 500 wickets between them in those Tests at an average of a little over 20 and an economy rate of well under three. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh took 501 together.Forty of the 49 Ashwin-Jadeja Tests have come at home. In these matches a wicket has cost India nearly 19 runs less than it has the opposition. That’s only a little over half the story. The real cheat code is for bowlers of this ability to have averaged nearly 40 and 22 with the bat in these Tests, on consistently testing, result-oriented surfaces.ESPNcricinfo LtdOppositions have sometimes managed to compete to the extent of having India four or five down at a similar score to theirs, but that’s when the worms almost always start diverging. India’s spinners maintain the intensity for longer with the ball, and they make more runs with the bat.There have been duos more prolific (Vaas and Murali with 895 wickets together), more versatile (McGrath and Warne with 1001), more storied (Wasim and Waqar with 559), more intimidating (Ambrose and Walsh with 762), or more enduring (Broad and Anderson with 1039), but none of them have featured two allrounders helping free up an extra bowling position. Ashwin and Jadeja have been so good it should be illegal.It can be argued that these two have been so good that at least three of the countries they travel to have started preparing pitches that eliminate their whole discipline of bowling. In the recently concluded series in South Africa, the hosts didn’t bowl a single delivery of spin. New Zealand has historically been a tough place for spinners, and England is moving more and more towards pitches that hardly need spinners, especially when India are visiting.Because India have a good fast-bowling attack to go with these two great spinners, the pitches in India don’t eliminate the fast bowlers as drastically. Nearly a third of the 852 wickets India have taken at home during this dominant period belong to fast bowlers. No other venue offers so much to its team’s weaker suit.ESPNcricinfo LtdWeaker they might be compared to the spinners, but India’s fast bowlers have been far superior to the visiting pacers in these conditions. If India’s spinners have been roughly 20 runs per wicket better than those of the visitors, the fast bowlers are not far behind with a difference of 17 runs per wicket. This is what happened when, for once, Australia’s Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe matched India’s spinners in 2016-17. The fast bowlers proved to be the difference.Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have been phenomenal at home. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma have been more than serviceable when they’ve featured. Jasprit Bumrah has hardly played at home, which might be a relief to oppositions because he averages less than 16 here. Mohammed Siraj has the attributes that should make him a dangerous bowler at home.ESPNcricinfo LtdWe must celebrate and cherish this dominance because not long from now a team will come to India with two exceptional spinners and a sturdy pace attack, and will catch the hosts in transition and put an end to the greatest series-winning streak at home.There are already signs that the dominance is waning. India last clean-swept a series of more than two Tests back in 2019. They have lost two Tests over their last four home series, after going 12 series with just one Test defeat. They registered their narrowest win since 2013 – even if it was by six wickets – last year. In the last home series, the unimaginable happened when they won a toss on a square turner and still lost the Test.The bowlers England bring to India this season don’t have the pedigree that Australia’s did in 2022-23, but their new style of batting might pose a challenge to a great duo that is showing signs of wear and tear. Bangladesh and New Zealand will visit later in the year. India cannot take this year for granted, but we will have seen some enthralling cricket if they have stretched their series-winning streak at home to 19 by the end of it.

His spell of 2 for 19 against RCB in the Eliminator was a masterclass in understanding the angles

Karthik Krishnaswamy23-May-20243:12

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On Wednesday night in Ahmedabad, Rajat Patidar, batting on 1 off 2, may have tapped his bat, looked up, and found himself flummoxed by the picture in front of him. Everything was in its usual place, but where was the bowler?Then R Ashwin emerged from behind the umpire, ran up diagonally, towards the off side, and delivered from the very edge of the crease.Only a handful of cricketers in the sport’s history have had Ashwin’s feel for angles. In November 2021, in a Test match in Kanpur where the pitch was so slow and low that bowled and lbw were virtually the only dismissals in play, Ashwin used an extreme example of playing with angles to maximise the likelihood of both pitching and finishing within the line of the stumps. He went around the wicket, ran up at an out-to-in angle that put him in danger of colliding with the umpire, and followed through in front of the stumps and across them.Related

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For that one ball to Patidar, Ashwin ran up the way he did, and delivered from as wide of the crease as he did, to create as much of an angle into the batter as he could, and shut out the off side as a scoring area. He did this because he was bowling at a ground with uneven square boundaries, and he was bowling from the end with the long leg-side boundary for the right-hand batter.Playing with his run-up angle was one of many things Ashwin did in Wednesday’s Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to use the asymmetry of the ground to his advantage. He bowled at speeds hovering around the 95kph mark and tried to deny batters room to free their arms, while either firing the ball into the pitch, on the shorter side of a good length, or pitching it right up near the batter’s toes. There wasn’t a lot of grip on offer, but he hit the pitch hard enough with his carrom and reverse-carrom balls to get them to straighten and induce mis-hits. When batters tried to create room to hit through the off side, Ashwin was almost always in step with their intentions, following them down the leg side as if he had installed a magnet in the ball’s core.He ended a masterclass of defensive bowling with figures of 2 for 19 in four overs and his first Player-of-the-Match award of IPL 2024. He took the wickets of Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell, off successive balls, and created a chance off Patidar too, getting him to slice one into the night sky only for Dhruv Jurel to spill the chance.Ashwin stymied RCB with his 2 for 19 from four overs in the Eliminator•BCCIAshwin will be the first person to tell you, of course, that wickets are only incidental. He attracted flak for his comment on his YouTube channel that “wicket-taking is becoming irrelevant in T20 cricket”, and he has since gone on to elaborate on what he meant.To boil his argument down, there’s a difference between what he calls “wicket-taking” – trying to force wickets through attacking bowling, which, for a spinner like Ashwin, might mean flighted deliveries looking to beat batters on the drive – and “wicket-happening” – where wickets come about as the by-product of denying batters quick runs.”T20 is where wickets happen,” Ashwin said. “Wicket-taking is a little over-rated. You can’t bowl in a wicket-taking way. There are certain phases when you can do wicket-taking. For example, if you’ve taken a wicket, you can go searching for a wicket off the next ball. With the new ball, when Trent Boult bowls, or Mitchell Starc bowls, there’s a window to swing the ball. The first two-three overs. And if it doesn’t swing, you’re pretty much looking for wicket-happening – how do I make the batsman uncomfortable?”Over the first half of IPL 2024, wickets didn’t happen to Ashwin: just two in nine games at an average of 159.00. His fortunes have turned since then, though, with his last four innings bringing him seven wickets at 15.57.Ashwin may have made several micro-level changes to his bowling over the course of the season, as he no doubt does in every series or tournament he plays, in any format. In broad terms, however, he has bowled in exactly the same way when wickets have happened to him as he has when they have not. He has tried to build pressure by drying up boundaries, making batters hit the ball where he wants them to, and tried to bring his team some sort of scoreboard control via the steady drip of singles to deep fielders.It isn’t spectacular to watch, and the numbers he generates tend not to be spectacular either. He sits low down among IPL 2024’s spinners if you measure them by wickets taken, and even his economy rate (8.31) isn’t remarkable. Sunil Narine (6.90) is in a league of his own by that count, but even traditional fingerspinners like Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Harpreet Brar have gone at below 8.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();

For the fifth time in the men’s T20 World Cup, a match ended in a tie

Sampath Bandarupalli06-Jun-20242:08

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5 Number of matches to have ended in a tie at the men’s T20 World Cup, including Thursday’s game between USA and Pakistan in Dallas. The game between Namibia and Oman in Bridgetown earlier this week was the previous tied match.2 Number of teams to have bagged wins in their first two matches at the men’s T20 World Cup, before the USA. South Africa won their first four matches, while Sri Lanka also won their first two. (Considering the results – win or loss – to have come after the tie-breaker – a bowl out or a Super Over)3 Instances of Pakistan losing to an Associate nation in a men’s International, including the defeat against the USA in the Super Over. Pakistan’s two previous defeats came at the ODI World Cup – against Bangladesh in 1999 and Ireland in 2007. Pakistan also played out a tied ODI against Ireland in 2013.3 Pakistan became the third Full Member to be defeated by the USA in men’s Internationals. USA won a T20I against Ireland in 2021 and beat Bangladesh 2-1 in a three-match T20I series last month.499 Difference in the T20I caps of playing XIs of Pakistan (706) and USA (207) on Thursday. Only one team has overcome a higher difference in experience to win a men’s T20I – 555 caps by India in successive matches against Ireland in August 2023.
It is also the highest difference any team overcame to win a men’s T20 World Cup game, bettering the 314 by Sri Lanka (347) when they defeated Ireland (661) in the 2022 edition.