Of McCullum and Co, Jonny B, and more. And what’s a good pitch anyway?

Mark Nicholas17-Jun-2022Hampshire won on Wednesday, which had not seemed likely for most of the match. Batting first, Yorkshire made 428, to which Hampshire replied with 410. And then came the third-innings yips. From the despair of 103 for 6, the Yorkies cobbled together another 75, leaving Hampshire 197 to win on the last afternoon. Which they did. Happy Hants indeed. Surrey crept over the line too, so the County Championship has those two winners at the top of the table – Surrey 127 points, Hampshire 124. For a one-time Hampshire player, this is exciting stuff.You might well wonder what this has to do with the editor’s requested reflection on England’s staggering performance at Trent Bridge. Maybe not much, is one answer; maybe a great deal, is another. In England’s shadow, James Vince’s team clawed their way back into a game that a less ambitious team might not even have considered. The Hampshire players will have had their eye on Trent Bridge and marvelled at the brilliance on show: at the sense of possibility, which so quickly became probability; at the fearlessness. It may only be subliminal but from such a show comes inspiration and from inspiration comes the making of great deeds. In the glory of England’s amazing victory came Hampshire’s unlikely and thrilling win. A game that at the halfway stage needed saving became a game that could be won. And it was.It has been a good couple of months for county cricket. Generally good weather has helped the preparation of firm and dry pitches, the consequence of which has been longer, tougher Championship matches often played out in the final session on the fourth day. The feeling of hopelessness after England’s dismal tour of the Caribbean has been replaced by a lighter mood that has improved blood flow in the game’s arteries.Related

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County cricket can be a grind and its mood has long had the tendency to reflect as much. The point doing the rounds right now is that Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have freed the minds of the England players, thus allowing them to play with an amateur’s sense of adventure and joy.It is true that playing fully professional sport leads to more structured performance. Foremost among the reasons for this are fear of failure (and therefore job protection); linear coaching, often designed to limit error; and layers of support staff and management that can lead to mediocrity. The more people there are to report to, the less clear becomes the message.Most English cricketers are surrounded by the dirge of a profession made from the currency of runs and wickets. Bad shots and poor deliveries are the subject of analysis and often paralysis. People are in work because they do the hard yards – throwing balls, hitting catches, making videos, applying stats. This fear of failure has long haunted professional cricket and continues to do so. In England, the old pros always preached defence over attack; the fought-for draw over the risky win; tight, flat offbreaks over high-flighted legbreaks. T20 cricket began the breaking of the mould; the IPL looked to shatter it but still the English couldn’t quite let go. Until Eoin Morgan took over the white-ball teams, and then the penny dropped. Who was the genesis of Morgan’s ethos? McCullum. After the appointment of McCullum, pound coins appear to be falling from the skyWhen I was a lad, we admired Geoff Boycott and John Edrich for their technique and discipline, but we loved outliers such as Ted Dexter and Ian Botham for their devil-may-care, almost reckless, attitude. Dexter and Botham reported to no one but themselves; John Snow, David Gower amd Kevin Pietersen the same. Stokes is of the same stock. He urges a policy of “no fear” and during the tea break on Tuesday, said something like “We win or we lose, the draw is not an option.”Jonny Bairstow has been a prodigious talent, but he has not always been handled well by the England management•Stu Forster/Getty ImagesThere is a lesson here. English cricket is not as bad as some say it is and not as good as others have sometimes thought. But it could be. Two swallows threaten to make this summer. If they do, the call for change will take a different direction and the target will be less the players and the structure of the first-class game than the uncertain and nervous governance of the board and its stakeholders. A new chair and CEO are due. The “risk” taken in appointing McCullum – whose blue-sky thinking is a revelation/revolution long overdue – needs to be backed up by charismatic leadership, clarity of thinking and simple, positive messaging.It is remarkable what can be achieved with the right mindset at all levels of management and governance. McCullum sees the big picture and encourages performance for a better game to both play and watch. He is not up for the death of Test cricket; rather, he is looking to breathe life into it.

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Jonny Bairstow was on the front page of major newspapers on Wednesday morning and his team-mates were spread across many more pages at the back. England played football against Hungary on Tuesday night, the match beginning just a short while after the heroics at Trent Bridge, and lost 0-4. The press piled into that too but from a different angle.When Bairstow was 13, he played in a charity match for Sir Michael Parkinson’s team against Parky’s local club, Maidenhead and Bray. The son of David, Jonny was cock of the walk even then and took guard with the air of a lad about to take control of the game, which is exactly what he did. Mike Gatting and I were at slip and watched with interest, no little amusement, and ultimately some astonishment. Jonny didn’t see the joke – he just creamed it around the ground and ran like a whippet between the wickets. If ever I saw a young boy more certain to go on to great things, I don’t remember it.On Tuesday at Trent Bridge, he was the architect of one of England’s greatest ever victories. Had he known he could have beaten Gilbert Jessop’s fastest hundred for England, which came from 76 balls, he would have done so easily. As it was, Jessop still has him by a ball. No one will be happier than his mum, Janet, who raised Jonny and his sister, Becky, after the death of their father when Jonny was 8. The reason for David’s suicide remains a mystery, or more probably, remains a private matter for his family. Jonny has lived with it uncomfortably, fighting the demons that confront those who have been spurned but who deeply want to be loved. He deserves the greatest credit for coping with personal distress and, at times, professional mismanagement. Too often he has been overlooked in favour of personalities who require less maintenance.Fans enjoyed free entry on the final day at Trent Bridge, and got to witness a priceless winning moment for England•Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty ImagesWhat a difference a year makes: England turned down a chase of three an over against New Zealand at Lord’s last year. What a difference a couple of months make: disjointed and low on confidence in the Caribbean, the England players now smile and strut, happy in their work.Rob Key, the new managing director of England cricket, told us to buckle up for the ride. In McCullum’s first interview, he said he’d like to get the guys mentally well-enough organised “to go and do their thing”. Has a team ever turned itself around so quickly? It’s like magic, really. The full house at Trent Bridge partied hard. It might not always be like this but when it is…While writing the paragraph above, I received a text from Dexter’s wife, Susan. It reads “Wish he was here, what a day’s cricket!” She meant Ted, and he would have loved such free-spirited play, but she could be talking about David too. This was a day for the Bairstows and nothing can ever take that away from them.

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A belting pitch allowed this wonderful expression of talent but it was not a one-sided pitch. The first-innings scores were high, hugely so, but 35 wickets fell over five days and ten catches were dropped.What is the best cricket pitch anyway? Is one man’s coffee another man’s tea? Do indigenous qualities – good and bad – make for interesting and varied cricket or do they encourage economy with the truth about preparation and requirement?In general, Trent Bridge has provided excellent and often exciting pitches for both first-class cricket and Test match cricket. There is a reason why Messrs Anderson and Broad like bowling there, and why Joe Root scores so many runs. That reason is the fair balance between bat and ball, the good bounce and pace of the ball, and the tendency for it to move around, though not lavishly. The best players thrive at Trent Bridge and the surface is malleable to their skills.The Trent Bridge pitch was on the flat side, but it still provided an even and engaging contest between two good teams•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesIn 1982, Nottinghamshire bowled out Hampshire for 70 and 56 and won by a mile, though they only made 180 in the first innings themselves. The pitch was indistinguishable from the outfield. Irritated by the greentop in Durban that helped Mike Procter’s Natal team beat Clive Rice’s Traansval and go on to win the Currie Cup, Rice adopted the well-grassed pitch plan for his adopted county. He had Richard Hadlee, Mike Hendrick, Kevin Saxelby and himself to take advantage of the conditions, along with Eddie Hemmings, who was a superb attacking offspinner, especially when the top order had already been cleaned up.I mention this because the 1982 pitch looked exactly like the 2015 pitch on which Stuart Broad took 8 for 15 against Australia. Of all the things I’ve watched live, across more than 300 Tests, nothing beats Broad that morning (I didn’t see Bairstow live on Tuesday). Was it right and proper that England created such an advantage for themselves against the Australians? No, not really, but an indelible memory was left for all who were lucky enough to have either been in the stands or on the sofa at home. Broad’s reaction – hands to mouth, eyes wide and startled, in a show of shock and something near embarrassment – when Stokes pulled off one of the truly great catches to get rid of Adam Voges is a moment frozen in time. Australia made 60. Root then made 130. England 391-9 declared. Go figure. Before play began, Broad – who sort of lives down the road – told Alastair Cook, his captain, that England should bat first. Thankfully, Cook disagreed.Was the head groundsman asked to prepare such a surface? Most likely, yes. And in trying to satisfy the England camp, he rather overdid it. Had Australia won the toss, the history books might tell us a very different story. So painful was the loss that at the end of the match, Michael Clarke announced his retirement to take effect from the end of the series.Two and a bit years later, Australia and England batted out the dullest of draws at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Cook made a daddy double-hundred as the usually vibrant Melbourne crowd drifted away from their characterless pitch.So we have greentops some days and flat decks on others. Neither work really, nor do dustbowls or lifeless, low-bouncers on the subcontinent and in the Middle East. The world is full of cricket-pitch mysteries. Trent Bridge this past week was not flat. It was fair to batters and bloody hard work for bowlers. But, I repeat, 35 wickets were taken and ten catches dropped. Had the West Indian attack circa 1976-1992, the Australians of 1994 to 2007, or Pakistan with Imran, Akram, Waqar and Qadir bowled on it, you’d have seen a different match. Mark Waugh likes to say, “There is no such thing as a flat pitch, only a flat attack.” We know what he means.

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And finally, bravo to the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, which gave spectators free entrance to the ground on the last day and ensured a full house for the fireworks. A lesson in their generously spirited administration and smart marketing. Give the kids free lemonade, and if they like it, they’ll ask Mum and Dad where and when they can have some more.

Batter hit 117 at No. 4 filled with shots that defied limitations of physics and human strength

Sidharth Monga10-Jul-2022Before we knew physics or angles or athleticism or strength or fitness, most of us have visualised ourselves playing shots nobody plays to hit balls into areas nobody hits. Then we grew up and learnt of the limitations physics and human strength impose on batting, of how well bowlers can make batters hit to spaces they have fielders in. Despite all the ramps, scoops and even the Ollie Pope sweep with his back foot in front of the front, we are aware of certain limitations to batting.At Trent Bridge, Suryakumar Yadav was that child inside us, challenging the limitations we have learnt exist on batting. One of them is that you can’t hit a full ball on leg stump for a six behind point without getting into an unorthodox position. It is a fairly reasonable assumption. Except that Suryakumar made a little room, collapsed the back leg, scythed the ball with a face so open that only the trailing edge was visible from front-on, and used his wrists at an impossibly late moment to make sure it went away from that deep point fielder.And it went deep into the stand. He had no business getting the elevation or the distance that he did. It was a ball that might have perhaps yorked him had Suryakumar played well forward. It was an almost perfectly executed delivery bowled to Chris Jordan’s field. Instead he created the time and the angle and whippage to send it over square third.Related

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It was a shot that defied all we have learnt. And yet it was not the only one. There was a similar six off Richard Gleeson, but, more mundanely, it went over cover-point. There was a sweep off David Willey early doors. The drive over extra cover to Jordan’s perfectly executed hard length was sensational. One short-of-a-length legbreak from Liam Livingstone landed over short fine leg.All this done not in the nets or a lab but out there in the middle, in a chase of 216 in which nobody other than Suryakumar went past 28. He scored 117 off 55 balls in near-perfect fashion, playing only five false shots. In all T20 matches that we have control data for, there have been only five hundreds with fewer mistakes. Only three of those have had a strike-rate higher than 200.This was an innings that challenged the whole idea of batting. To manoeuvre the ball into vacant places – often behind square – you need to take risks. Rishabh Pant is another Indian batter who does it incredibly, but he takes risks for it. Suryakumar batted with the efficiency of someone coasting through the middle overs of an ODI but at a pace befitting a T20 at a ground that has made mockery of all standards of the pace of run-scoring.Suryakumar Yadav’s knock reintroduced us to the child in us who used to day-dream of playing shots that nobody else tried (for good reason)•Getty ImagesSuryakumar’s captain, Rohit Sharma, was left in awe of what he saw. “One of the best in the T20s that I’ve seen,” Rohit said of Suryakumar’s innings. “Especially when you’re chasing a score like that and you come out and bat the way he did shows the quality of the batsman. We were three down and we wanted to dig in, get that partnership going and bat as long as possible.”He pretty much did everything right today. Just that, I’m pretty sure he’s slightly disappointed that he couldn’t be there right till the end, but taking nothing away from that kind of knock. You don’t get to see that every day. So we will take that with both hands as a team and pretty sure he will be very happy with how he responded to that situation. We know the quality of him. He’s got shots all around the ground, as you saw clearly… manoeuvring the field, playing all sides of the ground. It’s a very rare quality that a batter can have and Surya definitely has all of that.”In the end, in the face of nearly insurmountable asking rate, Suryakumar tried one improbable shot too many. With 40 required off the last two overs and with no specialist batter left for company, Moeen Ali kept trying to hide the ball wide outside off and just short of a length. The shots that are logically on for these deliveries get you one, two or four in the arc from extra cover to square third, but looking for a six, Surya tried to muscle the ball down the ground. He had neither the length nor the pace to work with, but by the end of it he had dispelled any doubts there might have been on who should be the first name in the middle order come the T20 World Cup in Australia.It was a bonus that it was an innings of such high quality that it left the whole ground on its feet, and reintroduced us to the child in us who used to day-dream of playing shots that nobody else tried (for good reason).

New captain doubles down on gung-ho approach but needs ice-cold Joe Root to finish job

Andrew Miller04-Jun-2022This is the way we play. Positive. Proactive. Aggressive. We are the England. The mighty mighty England. Hear us roar.So, then. What, exactly, is the way this team plays? Even as a hugely spirited victory hangs tantalisingly within reach, there’s no immediate answer, because no one has really worked it out yet. We’re one Test into England’s red-ball reset sorry, “blank-slate” summer, and so it’s inevitable that there’ll be some teething problems along the way. If this team already had an identity, after all, they wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place.By the end of another frenetic day at Lord’s, however, the answer was beginning to swim into view – and like a vision from some dodgy psychic at the bottom of a mug of cold tea, the interpretation had been rather informed by the carelessly scattered prejudices that had contributed to it.”I see … a tall dark, no, blond stranger… a great disturbance … two… no, four… no, five disturbances … yes, Ben, you may believe that all hope is lost! But only when you look within yourself at a moment of great fortune, will you find the truth you are looking for… and the true friend who will help to light the way…”All of which would be a roundabout way of saying that the more things change, the more this England team will turn to Ben Stokes and Joe Root for guidance. The new captain, the old captain … it really doesn’t really matter who has the badge of honour. Like Sanga and Mahela, or Sachin and Dravid of yesteryear, there’s a vastness to the stature of that middle-order pairing that transcends reinvention. And so – win or lose on Sunday – after some unconscionably hairy moments on the third afternoon, the reaffirmation of that fact was perhaps the most important lesson that this team could have learned.”There’s no one who’s come to watch this game over the last three days who would leave disappointed,” Stuart Broad said at the close. “It’s had a bit of everything. It’s up to us as a group of players to do everything we can to get over the line, and it would be very special, but if it doesn’t work that way, we step up to the plate in Nottingham. But I’ve got a really good feeling about tomorrow.”Related

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As well he might with a certain kingpin still in situ. The most extraordinary aspect of England’s 18-month tale of woe has been Root’s refusal to buckle to external pressure, somehow producing his greatest body of work with the bat even while carrying the can for a team that has been plumbing depths not visited for 20 years.You suspect that, had it not been for a quiet nudge in the ribs from Rob Key, he’d still be ploughing on as captain now – Boxer the carthorse with the pig-headedness of Napoleon, cracking onwards and upwards towards 10,000 Test runs and oblivious to the brickbats for his leadership.But, much like the man who’s now taken over his role, Root neither coveted the captaincy, nor took the honour lightly. All that has ever mattered to either was that the team was in the best hands possible, and true to type, Root’s return to the ranks is already serving up one of the most impressive innings of a highlights-studded career. He needed no tea-leaves to tell him how to pace his chase, as he marched through to the close on 77 not out from 131 balls, with Ben Foakes taking his cue in the second-least chaotic innings of an 11-wicket day.”Joe Root is one of the calmest, England’s best-ever batsmen, and Foakesy I thought settled really nicely,” Broad added. “And then it’s going to be up to the lower-order to chase these runs, so it’s set up to be a brilliant morning.”But whether England seal the deal or not – for what would actually be England’s second 277-run chase in three summers, after achieving an identical target against Pakistan in 2020 – their sliding-doors moment in the 27th over will need to be acknowledged as the single most significant act of the match, over and above other such contenders as Broad’s team hat-trick or Matt Potts’ sparky debut.For if Root was continuity personified, Stokes was something else entirely. As wired as a man who had been partaking in far too many of his endorsement energy drinks, and so desperate to retro-fit the manic displays that had preceded his arrival that he somehow exceeded their artlessness with the most sketchy, streaky, formless slog of his post-superstardom career – for his first 19-ball innings at least.

“It was Tres who had an earpiece in. Tres just went ‘it’s a no-ball, it’s a no-ball!’ and we all looked up at the screen and saw Stokesy turning around”Stuart Broad

Up and at ’em lads! The vibe from the England dressing-room has been unmistakeably positive, undeniably upbeat. Unequivocally, it is a message that they must not now shrink from – and nor can they, with a living, breathing risk-reward ratio such as Brendon McCullum in their corner to egg them on.But with this philosophy still in its infancy, the top of England’s innings was a frightening carousel of chaos – from the decapitation of Alex Lees’ off stump as he lost his bearings amid his constant switching between an off and leg guard, to Zak Crawley’s latest nick to the cordon, to Ollie Pope’s deeply unconvincing extraction for 10, albeit by the ball of the day from Trent Boult.And surely, it seemed, the most culpable of the lot, Jonny Bairstow’s witless slog through the line off Kyle Jamieson, a dismissal as bristling and telegraphed as Kane Williamson’s earlier signal for Tim Southee to start warming up. One more ball, Jonny, and New Zealand’s most menacing weapon would have been back to grazing at fine leg. A match-up to remember, this was not.Stokes, however, emerged in a mood to mitigate those failings. It was as if, at this crunch moment of his coronation Test, he did not dare to play it safe for fear of shaming his team-mates into reticence – his idea of leading from the front was to bring up the rear: “Bad luck lads, but that’s the right attitude… here, watch me show you how it’s done.”Except that he most emphatically did not show how it should be done. Before he could settle, New Zealand turned to the nibbly Colin de Grandhomme – the perfect weapon to frustrate a man in a hurry. By his second delivery, Stokes was giving him the charge; by his sixth, he’d drawn the false stroke. A thick-edge off Southee burgled his first run from his 14th ball, before the horror shot to end all horror shots. A gallop, a thwack, a pirouetting under-edge into the stumps. Stokes threw his head back aghast, but at 76 for 5, with more than 200 runs still required, the skipper had just sunk his own ship.Except… it wouldn’t be Stokes against New Zealand at Lord’s without a preposterous slice of good luck. Just as Boult had trodden on the rope in the World Cup final, just as Martin Guptill’s shy had deflected off his bat in that crunchy final over – a moment that he would inadvertently recreate with the exact same angles later in his stay – so Stokes’ agonised trudge was halted by a call from the third umpire, and the stage was set for England’s revival.Emotions reversal – Colin de Grandhomme had Ben Stokes bowled only to be told by the TV umpire that he had overstepped•Getty Images”There was big energy. I can’t play that down,” Broad said, recalling the reaction within the England dressing-room. “It was Tres [Marcus Trescothick] who had an earpiece in. Tres just went ‘it’s a no-ball, it’s a no-ball!’ and we all looked up at the screen and saw Stokesy turning around. Of course that gives the whole changing-room a lift, we’ve been on the flip side of that a few times. It does hurt.”The let-off didn’t immediately change Stokes’ approach – before the same over was completed, he’d have run himself out with a madcap single to mid-on had Will Young’s shy been true – and before de Grandhomme’s miserable day could be capped by a heel injury, Stokes was forced to mutter an apologetic “good call, mate” to Root after being sent back for another impossible single.Root’s reply was not recorded for posterity, but in the spirit of the times, England’s Iceman might have been tempted to channel his Top Gun OG: “It’s not your flying, Maverick, it’s your attitude. The enemy’s dangerous, but right now you’re worse…”But then came the tea break, and a merciful chance to retake England’s stock. Stokes didn’t exactly emerge a reformed character – one wild over from Ajaz Patel, featuring two huge sixes and a third hack across the line that all but bowled him saw to that – but something, clearly, had settled within his mindset. His dismissal to an uppercut off the ever-lethal Jamieson now came as a surprise, rather than an inevitability, which made it distinct from the four wickets that had preceded it. But in willing himself to a fifty, in a priceless stand of 90, he’d given his team a puncher’s chance.”He’s a situation player, isn’t he?” Broad said. “Jos Buttler is really similar – it really suits him when the situation’s laid out for him, and he’s almost got a target to chase. He’s played some incredible knocks in the first innings of Test matches, but he’s at his best when he’s got the game on the line. And that’s always a sign of a world-class player, and a world-class character.””There’s opportunities for players tomorrow to show that again. We’ve got five wickets left in the in the changing room and someone can really show their character tomorrow.”It’s far too early to say whether England as a whole will have shown their true character by the end of it all, however. Whatever state the collective roar ends up taking, and no matter how much clearer Stokes’ own vision may now be, right now his team is simply raw.

On a tough pitch, and having been given a few lives, Mumbai batter sets aside his natural instinct to play the long innings his team needed

Srinidhi Ramanujam14-Jun-2022″Don’t play any shot after getting dropped.”Sometimes, all you need is for someone to tell you what you already know, to refocus on the bigger picture. This is what happened with Yashasvi Jaiswal on Tuesday. A simple message from Mumbai coach Amol Muzumdar helped the opener make the most of the lives he was given on the first day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final when he scored his second straight first-class hundred and propelled his team from 24 for 2 to 260 for 5.”Initially, it was difficult, the ball was moving, and they [Uttar Pradesh] were bowling well,” Jaiswal told ESPNcricinfo after the day’s play. “I needed to respect them, and I just needed to get them tired and play that session when they are bowling well. The whole day, the ball was moving. I had to focus well to leave the balls. I was just trying to build partnerships. It was good. I enjoyed it.”Related

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Playing his third first-class match ever, and second of the season, Jaiswal took Mumbai out of the woods and fell immediately after scoring 100 off 226 balls. But by the time he departed, the score had gone past 200. A late push from Hardik Tamore (unbeaten 51) and Sarfaraz Khan’s quickfire 40 also lifted the team to a respectable total after early jitters.Tight bowling from Uttar Pradesh saw Mumbai post just 58 for 2 in the first session. They lost Prithvi Shaw to the third ball of the innings from Yash Dayal, when he went for an ambitious drive and was caught at point. Soon, No. 3 Armaan Jaffer perished while playing across the line with minimal movement. He was trapped lbw.Uttar Pradesh, despite starting well on a green Just Cricket Academy pitch, couldn’t apply pressure when the sun came out. This was evident with Mumbai adding 92 runs in the next 27 overs after lunch.Apart from the rare rush of blood and a few slices of luck, Jaiswal’s calm head and whirring bat were the highlights of the day which kept Mumbai on course for a competitive total. In a team of Prithvi Shaws and Sarfaraz Khans, he showcased the other side of batting, the art of hanging on and surviving difficult periods. The youngest in the Mumbai camp, he batted for a total of 353 minutes.”I needed to respect them, and I just needed to get them tired”•Special ArrangementThe innings wasn’t without its flaws. Just after lunch, Jaiswal got a reprieve at 33 in Ankit Rajpoot’s second over of the session, when he nicked a ball that was pitched on a fourth-stump line and was caught by the wicketkeeper, or that’s how it looked, initially. The UP players kept belting their appeals but the umpire was unmoved. Replays eventually suggested that Jurel hadn’t gathered the ball cleanly. By then, Suved Parkar (32) and Jaiswal had begun the rebuilding act.He was dropped again, at 37, when he went for an uppish shot and Rinku Singh at gully couldn’t hold on.”I got a really nice message from Amol sir at that moment,” Jaiswal said. “‘For the next 15 mins, I want you to play no shots and if you want, you can take a single and get off strike.’ He said there are two options. ‘Don’t play any shot after getting dropped. Just keep playing. The second is, be at the non-striker’s end for 10-15 mins. Just see through this period’. Because he [Rajpoot] was bowling really well at that moment. I did that and got out of that situation. It was really nice of him to send me that message, and then I applied it and we were in the game.”After the battle with Rajpoot, Jaiswal changed his approach a bit. He took fewer risks. He began playing down the ground more. He hit just two fours in the next hour. He was biding his time. Then, after getting to his fifty, which took 150 balls, he signalled a shift in Mumbai’s intent by rattling off three quick boundaries.Jaiswal continued to target the gaps with eye-catching drives and back foot punches. Overall, he hit 15 boundaries. He also shared three crucial fifty-plus partnerships with Parkar, Sarfaraz and Tamore during the course of his stay.”Focus on what you can control” can be a cliched line coming from a player, but, on Muzumdar’s advice, that’s just what Jaiswal did, and as a result Mumbai came out on top.

The heat of the UAE has mirrored the intensity of the teams, who all have one eye on Australia in October-November

Shashank Kishore26-Aug-2022″If anyone asks how you are, the coach suggested we say, ‘well done’, because the weather here is like that.”Speaking ahead of the start of the Asia Cup, Bhanuka Rajapaksa made an entire room laugh by likening the experience of Dubai’s oppressive heat to that of meat on a grill. Daytime temperatures have touched 46 degrees Celsius, leaving teams needing to find a balance between going full-tilt and conserving energy.India have trained in the late evening, Sri Lanka have preferred the afternoon heat to acclimatise better, and Bangladesh have gone on into the middle of the night, while Pakistan and Afghanistan have mixed and matched. Hong Kong have already played a week’s cricket in the qualifiers in similar conditions across the border in Oman.Related

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In the end, nothing can really prepare you for the gust of hot air hitting your face while running in against the wind, as bowlers have found out frequently at training in the open setting of the ICC Academy grounds.India have given their fast bowlers shorter and sharper stints, a luxury Sri Lanka haven’t had since none of their frontline fast bowlers have played T20Is; they have had little choice but to go all-out. Pakistan have held back, seemingly mindful of the injuries that have hit their camp, choosing to instead use local net bowlers to test their batters.The local liaison team have been at their busiest, arranging for kilograms of ice to be made available, sometimes at short notice, to help players recover post-training. The change rooms offer the cushiest seats and the best air conditioning, but it’s the ice bath that the players have tended to make a beeline for.The teams have also been able to mingle among themselves, exchanging banter and laughs – a constant feature over the past three days. Babar Azam and Virat Kohli have exchanged pleasantries, KL Rahul and Shaheen Afridi have enquired about each other’s injuries, and Rajapaksa has caught up with his Punjab Kings team-mate Arshdeep Singh.Bangladesh and Afghanistan are slotted alongside Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup’s Group of Death•AFP/Getty ImagesBut the fun and games have all been restricted to the sidelines. In the middle, the intensity has been cranked up several notches. This is the last chance for some of these teams to test their big-match temperament under pressure before the World Cup in Australia in October-November.India are missing their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from injury. This gives Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan an opportunity to vie for spots in the World Cup party. Pakistan will have to make do without Afridi, while Sri Lanka will want each of their uncapped fast bowlers to gain some exposure.Bangladesh’s challenge under a new coach and a returning Shakib Al Hasan, who takes over the captaincy, will be to return to winning ways in their least favourite format – they’ve lost 23 of their 35 T20Is since the start of 2021, and they’re coming off a series loss in Zimbabwe.While India and Pakistan may seemingly have it easy in Group A, with Hong Kong as the third team, they will be wary of taking them lightly. At the previous edition in 2018, Hong Kong came genuinely close to beating India. In Group B, one slip-up could be the difference between having potentially four more games to play and an early flight home for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.In many ways, the Asia Cup is a microcosm of the elite cricket world. The tournament changes its identity frequently, to suit the needs of the participating teams. It does much for the “smaller” nations of the Asian bloc – in terms of finances – without actually giving them adequate exposure.For example: between the previous edition in 2018 and this one, in 2022, Hong Kong have played a grand sum of zero matches against the Asian Full Members. Hong Kong, mind you, are among the ‘elite’ Associates. Oman, Kuwait, Singapore and even Nepal, who’ve had to grapple with multiple issues including an an ICC suspension, have it much worse. But this, perhaps, is a debate for another day.Will he quieten the debate around his form, or will he raise its volume?•Getty ImagesThe first four days on tour for all the teams have set the scene nicely. Sri Lanka open against Afghanistan on Saturday, and the hubbub will increase noticeably when India and Pakistan square off on Sunday. It could be the prelude to potentially two more meetings. At least the broadcasters and fans will hope so.The A-listers in Kohli and Babar have set tongues wagging without even facing a ball. They’re at opposite ends of the form spectrum, but anything they do – and don’t do – is amplified.For all the criticism over the lack of opportunities it provides the smaller teams, the Asia Cup has established itself as a tournament that gives viewers plenty. Games come thick and fast – perhaps not so ideal in searing August heat in the UAE – and high-octane content is guaranteed.Kohli could put an end to talk of bad form, or raise the volume of the debates. Shakib could make a statement on the field without worrying about who he shouldn’t be endorsing. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman could boot Sri Lanka out of their own party – technically they’re still hosts, remember.The fringe players are all potentially one big performance away from putting themselves on the radar for World Cup selection. Imagine if Mohammad Hasnain, Afridi’s replacement, dismisses Rohit Sharma. Or if Arshdeep nails five yorkers in the final over to defend 10 runs. Or Rahmanullah Gurbaz brings his T10 magic to the 20-overs format.The cricket promises to be high-quality. Heat or no heat, the interest surrounding the competition has picked up significantly. Without bio-bubbles restricting their movements, the teams have mingled freely with teeming fans who’ve gathered outside their training venues. All of it feels so familiar, yet so different. The next two weeks could just be a teaser for the blockbuster that is to come two months down the line.

Ireland seamer returns record haul to help Manchester Originals qualify

Matt Roller01-Sep-2022Midway through Ireland’s T20I series against Afghanistan in Belfast, Josh Little noticed a notification on his phone. Phil Salt, who he had spent three weeks with Dambulla Giants at the Lanka Premier League last Christmas, had messaged him on Instagram to say that Simon Katich was keen to sign him as a replacement player for Manchester Originals in the Hundred.”He said that Kat was keen to get me in,” Little recalled, speaking to the BBC. “I said, ‘good one’. But then I got a call the next day and headed down after playing Afghanistan and came here.”Little, 22, has only bowled 44 balls for Originals since replacing Sean Abbott but is already their joint-highest wicket-taker, featuring in three consecutive wins and returning the competition’s best-ever figures, 5 for 13, in Wednesday night’s effective quarter-final against Oval Invincibles.It has been an improbable rise, one which has epitomised Originals’ unlikely run to the knockout stages after starting the tournament with three consecutive defeats. They have lost their star players – Abbott to Australia, Andre Russell to the CPL and Jos Buttler to injury – but unlikely match-winners have emerged in the form of Wayne Madsen, Paul Walter and Little.Related

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The planning behind Little’s record-breaking spell on Wednesday night was remarkably simple. Originals had discussed a theory that Invincibles’ top order was susceptible to short balls and with one boundary at Old Trafford significantly longer than the other, Little looked to bang the ball into the pitch and use the dimensions in his favour.”It was just about keeping it simple and trying to get them hitting towards the big side,” Little explained. “One side was short, one side was long, so I just tried to keep it as simple as possible. The wicket was offering a little bit so I was trying to use my pace up and then my skills at the end: slowies and yorkers.”He struck twice in his three balls in the powerplay, as Jordan Cox and Will Jacks pulled hard-length balls to deep square leg and short midwicket respectively, then turned the game back into Originals’ favour with the crucial wicket of Sam Billings, well-set on 53 off 32 and looking to pull him over the shorter boundary.”Laurie [Evans, their captain] said to me he would try to sweep my first ball,” Little explained. “I saw him walk across and tried to push it a bit wider.” Rushed by Little’s extra bounce from just short of a good length, Billings picked out Tom Hartley, running in from long-on. In his final set, Hilton Cartwright toe-ended through to Salt while ducking a bumper, and Matt Milnes miscued a short ball to mid-off.Little has already appeared in the LPL and the Abu Dhabi T10, and earlier this year spent two weeks at the IPL as a net bowler for Chennai Super Kings. His main takeaway, he told the Irish journalist Nathan Johns’ podcast earlier this year, was “to keep it simple and be good at what you’re good at”.”I’m just delighted to be a part of it,” Little said, after he had helped to secure Originals’ spot in Friday night’s eliminator against London Spirit at the Ageas Bowl. “It’s a great bunch of lads and I’m enjoying every minute. When things are going well, you want to run with it. I’m just hoping we can get another win down in Southampton after a long drive tomorrow.”Josh Little came into the Hundred on the back of strong T20I performances against Afghanistan at home•Sportsfile/Getty ImagesThere has been plenty of scepticism about the accuracy of the speed guns in the Hundred – Richard Gleeson, who has occasionally touched 90mph/145kph for England, was clocked at 93mph/149kph on Wednesday night – but Little has clearly rushed batters for pace during his walk-on role in the Hundred.”Someone like that is relatively unknown to franchises and overseas players,” Evans said. “He turned up and bowled with some real pace at me in the nets on his first day and I thought, ‘he’s not bad’. To come in and perform like he has… he’s got a lot of pace, and a lot of talent.”He has found an extra yard this year as the result of a technical change implemented while working with Ryan Eagleson, Ireland’s fast-bowling coach: looking to drive his back leg through straighter than he had been to help him maintain his momentum. The whip of his wrist on release can make him difficult for batters to pick up, and he has always been a hostile, aggressive bowler: England supporters may remember him bouncing Eoin Morgan out on his ODI debut in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup.And while Little’s success in the Hundred has been brief, it could yet be a significant moment for Ireland. Since they became a full ICC member, their players have been unable to appear as locals in English domestic cricket and have struggled – with the notable exception of Paul Stirling – to win opportunities as overseas players.As a result, Ireland have been forced to develop their own young players without relying on the county system; Little’s performances suggest that they are managing to do so. With a quiet international schedule next summer, do not be surprised to see much more of him in English domestic cricket in the near future.

South Africa’s hopes of reaching the WTC final were dented by their series defeat in Australia

Abhimanyu Bose08-Jan-2023Have Australia booked their spot in the final?With the 2-0 home series win over South Africa, Australia have 75.56% points and have all but secured their place in the final. The only scenario in which they will miss out is if they lose all their four Tests in India and Sri Lanka win both their matches in New Zealand.A 4-0 defeat in India will see Australia’s percentage drop to 59.65 and a series sweep in New Zealand will take Sri Lanka up to 61.11. If Sri Lanka win 1-0 in New Zealand, their percentage will only go up to 55.56, which will below Australia’s even if they lose 4-0 in India.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe minimum Australia need to do to not depend on other teams is to draw one Test in India, provided they don’t concede any penalty points. If they earn a draw and lose 3-0 in India, and don’t concede any penalty points, they will finish on 61.40%, marginally ahead of the maximum that Sri Lanka can achieve. However, a single penalty point will push them down to 60.96%.Related

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What do India need to reach the WTC final?If India win the home series against Australia 3-1 or better, they will qualify for the final regardless of the results in other series. Currently second on the table with 58.93% after their 2-0 series win in Bangladesh, they will go to 68.06% if they win 4-0 against Australia, 62.5% with 3-1, and 56.94% if the series ends 2-2.So, if the series ends 2-2 and Sri Lanka win 2-0 in New Zealand, India will finish outside the top two.India could also slip behind South Africa if they collect fewer than 21 points against Australia and South Africa win 2-0 at home against West Indies. Thus, India will stay ahead of South Africa even with a 1-0 series win or a 2-2 draw (24 points), but not with a 1-1 draw (20 points).India’s 2-0 series win in Bangladesh pushed them up to second in the WTC standings•Associated PressSo South Africa still have a chance?The 2-0 defeat in Australia has hurt South Africa’s chances, but the draw in a rain-affected match in Sydney was useful. They are currently fourth with 48.72%, and if they win both home Tests against West Indies, they can go up to 55.56%.For South Africa to go through to the final, they will need to win both their matches, Sri Lanka to only get one win in New Zealand or worse, and for India to get fewer than 21 points.Can Sri Lanka make the final?Yes, third-placed Sri Lanka do have a chance. Assuming they sweep New Zealand away from home, they will get to 61.11%. In that case, they would need India to either win 4-0 against Australia or for the series to end in a draw, or for Australia to win the series so they can finish above India.If Sri Lanka draw the series 1-1, they will finish on 52.78%. For them to qualify with that percentage, they will need India to get no more than 12 points from the series against Australia (3-1 or 1-0 series defeat), and for South Africa to get no more than 16 (1-0 series win).What about the rest?England, West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh are the remaining teams, and among them, New Zealand and West Indies are the only two teams among the lot to have fixtures left. For New Zealand, even maximum points from these matches won’t be enough for them to make the final.West Indies, with a 2-0 win in South Africa that would take their percentage to 50, can reach the final if Sri Lanka get fewer than eight points against New Zealand and India fewer than 10.England, with 46.97%, have an outside chance of sneaking into the final, but only in the unlikely event of India and Sri Lanka losing all their remaining games, and South Africa getting no more than two draws.