Their top seven produced their worst combined performance in 11 years, averaging just 18.95 for the series

Mohammad Isam10-Dec-2022Bangladesh’s ODI series win against India will remain an outlier. Their No. 8 batter bailed them out twice with two unbelievable knocks, while their bowlers made decent contributions. But otherwise they won 2-1 despite their top seven batters producing their worst combined performance in 11 years. They have never won an ODI series batting this poorly. Bangladesh’s previous lowest top seven batting average in a series win was 31.07, a full 12 points more than this series’ 18.95.A typical ODI side has six specialist batters but for the better part of the last 15 years, Bangladesh have stretched their line-up to include seven, and sometimes eight, specialist batters. They could do so because of the presence of allrounders such as Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah. In this series, it was their fourth allrounder, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who played two critical knocks. Among the specialist batters, only Mahmudullah’s 77 in the second game was worth a mention.Captain Litton Das got three starts but didn’t capitalise on any of them. He looked good in Chattogram too, but dinked Mohammed Siraj to mid-off when he was on 29. Shakib stuck around for 43 but never looked like settling down for the long haul. In the end, Bangladesh’s top seven faded away by the 28th over of the chase.Related

• 'Nothing wrong with our ability but we need to be more gritty' – Rangana Herath

• Kishan 210, Kohli 113; India 409, Bangladesh 182

• Mushfiqur and Taskin return for first Test against India

Apart from Litton, Bangladesh’s top three haven’t really provided a foundation or protection to the middle order. Najmul Hossain Shanto scored two fifties during the T20 World Cup in Australia but has an ODI batting average of 14 after 15 games.Anamul Haque’s tally of 33 runs is his joint-lowest for an ODI series where he played at least three games. This was his second series after he returned to the 50-over side following a gap of three years. Although he struck two fifties against Zimbabwe in August, the knives could once again be out for him.”Everyone likes to score runs,” Litton said in defence of his players. “What Miraz did, if a top-order batter had done that, we would have had an easier time. [But] I am not worried about it. Both games in Mirpur had different scenarios. We batted second today, but if it was a 300-350 game, it would have been a different ball game.”I don’t think there should be a concern. India’s batting collapsed too. The wicket was behaving in that way. It was a big chase today so there was no point trying for 300-320. We wanted to bat to win, but our attacking cricket didn’t work. Next time we face this situation, we will play the same type of attacking cricket.”

“Today, it was a good batting wicket, but we couldn’t cope with the run rate pressure. There’s a lot to learn from this type of game. We have the skill to chase down 300 runs”Litton Das

But it is hard to deny that most of the top seven failed in this series. Afif Hossain made the fewest runs among the top seven, finishing with just 14 from three innings. Still, the main focus will be on Mushfiqur Rahim.In an ODI series where he has batted in the top five at least three times, Mushfiqur’s 37 runs here is his lowest aggregate since 2011. He has failed to total 100 runs in four series in a row now, having tallied 77 against Zimbabwe and 96 against Afghanistan. In between, he had 20 runs from two innings against South Africa. These series, though, came after his best bilateral outing, when he made 237 runs at 79 against Sri Lanka last year.Mushfiqur’s retirement from T20Is after the Asia Cup could have been an indication that his powers are on the wane. He has done reasonably well in Tests this year, but a string of low-scoring ODI series is far from an ideal situation. Bangladesh have work to do and Litton knows it.”We are not the best team in the world,” he said. “So we can work on these factors: top-order batting, bowling, and fielding. My dropped catch [of Virat Kohli when he was on 1 on Saturday] was costly. I know this type of catch is expected of me. If I had held on to the catch, they would have been under a bit more pressure. [But] the improvement will only come through a lot of practice.”Batting in Tests hasn’t been easy either. Apart from the first Test this year, which they famously won against New Zealand, they have mostly struggled for consistency. After winning the ODI series in South Africa, their bowling prospered in the Test series but their batting didn’t come to the party. The same happened at home against Sri Lanka, and away in the West Indies.It was largely because of their No. 8 batter Mehidy Hasan Miraz that Bangladesh won the series•Associated PressIt could be a similar story for the upcoming Tests against India. Mominul Haque and Mahmudul Hasan Joy struggled for runs during the domestic season, while Shanto has scored just one fifty in eight Tests this year. A lot will rest on Shakib, Mushfiqur and Litton, out of whom Mushfiqur will be under considerable pressure once again.Many believe that Bangladesh’s biggest disadvantage is that they play most of their home games at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, where the pitches are either raging turners in Tests or slow decks with a bit of uneven bounce in white-ball cricket. Chattogram offers them the best bet of playing in conditions similar to those on offer at next year’s ODI World Cup in India. Litton said that they will learn more about setting up 300-plus totals or chasing them down in the coming months, but didn’t say anything about playing more matches in Chattogram.”We didn’t play entirely bad cricket in Mirpur. It is true that the pitch wasn’t playing even. Today, it was a good batting wicket, but we couldn’t cope with the run rate pressure.”There’s a lot to learn from this type of game. We have the skill to chase down 300 runs. India’s wickets and outfields are good, which was the case today. I think if we play more regularly, we will get into this groove.”Litton, however, said that it was a proud moment to win his first series as captain. “I am quite happy at the way everyone helped me. I never felt pressure in the field. As a first-time captain, there’s nothing better than winning a series. It would have been better had we won today as well, but it wasn’t bad.”When I did the first press conference, I had the belief in my team. Someone asked if I wanted the trophy, and I said, ‘Yes, definitely.’ As a captain and a player, it is quite natural to want to win such a big series. There’s nothing bigger than a series win.”There’s merit in allowing batters to play on pitches like Chattogram, so that they can get their mojo back, which many believe has been lost since 2016 when the team management first decided to go for raging turners in almost all formats. But the current team management also has to weigh their options – whether to give batters a bit of security, or get wins under their belt. The good thing perhaps is that the series win will give them confidence, and allow them to think proactively about the floundering batters.

England’s white-ball coach on his first year in the job: winning a World Cup, losing bilaterals, and not getting his best XI at all times

Matt Roller01-Jun-2023″It’s weird,” Matthew Mott says. “It’s not like I’ve never had time off before – but it’s usually been in the winter.”Mott is speaking to this writer in a Cardiff bakery, grappling with the bizarre nature of his job as England men’s white-ball coach. Outside, the city is soaked in early-summer sunshine and during our conversation, a handful of Glamorgan players wander in for coffees on a rare day off for them, two months into the county season.But while the rest of English cricket is gearing up for mid-summer, Mott’s main goal is “to try and stay connected”. His team’s next fixture is a T20I against New Zealand on August 30, five and a half months after their most recent one, a long-forgotten 16-run defeat to Bangladesh on March 14.He has been driving around the country to watch his players in the T20 Blast, and has kept a close eye on their progress at the IPL. “We have meetings quite regularly, and there’s a bit of admin to do. But the physical nature of throwing balls to people isn’t there, and I miss that. It’s about trying to keep yourself busy without creating work for the sake of work.”A year has passed since Mott took the job after seven years with the Australia women’s team. He and his family are settled in Cardiff, where he spent three years as Glamorgan coach from 2011. Mott has spent many hours watching his 14-year-old son Jai playing cricket locally and his six-year-old daughter Milla has just enrolled on the ECB’s All Stars programme.They have recently bought a house, and Mott gives the impression of a man who is in for the long haul: “It’s been a great adventure for us all so far. We’ve really enjoyed the lifestyle and have some great friends here. We haven’t set any time frame but I signed for four years. I’d love to, at least, fulfil that – if they’ll have me.”Related

• 'England have created a new set of rules in white-ball cricket'

• England's grit, depth and brilliance shows success is no flash in the pan

• England hopeful of tempting Ben Stokes out of ODI retirement for World Cup defence

• Mott hits right notes with Buttler as coach lifts second World Cup at the MCG

• Sam Curran eager to state World Cup case as competition ramps up

Mott’s first year in charge has been a mixed bag in terms of bilateral series results: four series wins (two each in ODIs and T20Is), one drawn series and six defeats (three each in ODIs and T20Is). Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket and Mott’s boss, made it clear to him early on that his success would be defined by silverware, and so far he is one from one at World Cups.”I don’t think any of us are completely happy with the overall year that we’ve had,” he says. “We’re definitely trying to get a lot better. But if you’d said to me, ‘You’re a year into the job, the results are what they are but you’ve won a World Cup?’ I’d have said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take that any day.'”It has taken some time to get used to. With Australia, Mott was “so consumed… I’d been working pretty much ten to 11 months of the year and when we weren’t with the team, we were doing camps and so on. In this one, there’s more of a balance – and an opportunity to put your head up and look further along the line.”He plays down the contrast between working in the women’s and men’s game: “I don’t think there’s too much change. I really don’t. The mindset is pretty similar; both teams are very confident in their ability and they back themselves a lot. I haven’t found too much different at all.”The one thing about this role, which I probably hadn’t expected, what just how blocked it would be…”And I probably hadn’t prepared enough for not having all your best players available all the time. That’s something new to me. But as long as everyone’s on the same page and the communication is good, I think we can all get through it pretty well.”

“We want our dressing room to be everyone’s favourite, where people turn up and are excited to be there. Financially, sometimes, it’s not going to be as good as some of these franchises”Matthew Mott

There were moments last year when Mott must have wondered what he had got himself into – none more so than in the aftermath of a 90-run defeat to South Africa in a T20I at the Ageas Bowl. After an initial “honeymoon period” in the Netherlands, England played a dozen white-ball games in 25 days in July and won only four of them, with one no-result and seven defeats.Mott suffered by comparison to Brendon McCullum, whose red-ball team was in red-hot form at the start of his tenure. He also found himself blooding a new leader in Jos Buttler. Eoin Morgan, England’s long-serving captain, announced his retirement a matter of weeks after Mott took the job.”It wasn’t a huge shock,” Mott says. “I knew he wasn’t going to be around for a heap of time. Even during the [recruitment] process, he asked questions like, ‘What happens if I’m not around?'”He blames me! We had a conversation in London before we went off to Holland, and he was saying then, ‘I’m not sure when the right time is.’ I said, ‘You’ll wake up one day and just know you’re done.’ And he felt that after the second game in Holland.”On the non-stop schedule last July, he says: “It all seemed to come thick and fast. We came up against some really good teams [India and South Africa] in a bit of a rush, and we were all trying to find our feet: new captain, new coach, some players that hadn’t played together for a while.”Over the following six weeks, Mott had a watching brief. A number of players went down injured at various stages: Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan and Liam Livingstone would miss the seven-match series in Pakistan, Jofra Archer’s absence for the T20 World Cup was confirmed, and Jonny Bairstow broke his leg on the golf course.England with the ODI series trophy in Bangladesh: injuries, player rotation, and franchise commitments have meant Mott hasn’t always had full-strength squads to work with. And this year, England have no white-ball cricket between March and the end of August•Getty ImagesBut as England boarded the plane to Karachi in mid-September – with a recalled Alex Hales in the touring party – Mott sensed a shift: “That was probably the turning point,” he says. “It was a moment where we galvanised together and played some tough cricket – and in some tough conditions as well.”Sometimes in home series, you can go your separate ways a little bit. But in Pakistan we were locked down, and the group seemed to really grow. Apart from players getting out for golf, it was pretty much a case of getting around each other in the hotel. That had a huge impact on me getting to know the players, them getting to know me, and all the coaching staff and management really bonded there as well.”One such relationship formed between David Saker, who Mott brought in as bowling coach, and Sam Curran. “Halfway through the summer, we dropped him [at Trent Bridge],” Mott says, “and to his credit, he asked for some conversations with me and Jos. He just wanted some clarity on what he needed to do to get back in there.”When Sakes came in, they clicked straightaway. I remember him saying to me from the start, ‘He’s going to be one of the best bowlers in the world in this format.’ He was adamant about it: every time we would throw around names for teams, he was like, ‘Sammy Curran, first pick.’ And Sam was a revelation for us.”Curran was named Player of the Final and the tournament for the T20 World Cup, but to get there, England had to overcome a surprise early defeat to Ireland. On a damp Thursday afternoon, their performance was as flat as the MCG was empty, and they succumbed to a five-run defeat via DLS.For Mott, it was familiar territory. “Over my seven years with the women’s team, a lot of people talked about the dominance but during World Cups, we often dropped a game early and were under the pump. Those experiences helped me a lot – to maintain that balance. It was like, ‘Okay, that was pretty bad. Let’s not play like that again.’

“You’ve got to love the one you’re with. I work for the ECB, so definitely, I hope Baz and Stokesy and the boys get the win”Mott on who he will support in the men’s Ashes

“In some ways, it released a lot of that fear. We knew we could still control our own destiny, so we didn’t panic. There were a lot of key characters around that: Stokesy was very important; Moeen Ali, with the way he keeps everyone balanced; and then Jos’ sheer determination to get things right.”A washout against Australia and wins over New Zealand and Sri Lanka were sufficient to set up a semi-final against India in Adelaide; even with five first-choice players out injured, England thrashed them by ten wickets, then snuck home in a tricky chase against Pakistan in the final. “World Cups are pretty fickle,” Mott says, “but it felt like we achieved something special.”The six months since then have been very different. England stayed in Australia for three ODIs – “there’s no way we could have competed properly” – and have only played nine times since, losing an ODI series in South Africa and winning another in Bangladesh before being whitewashed in the T20Is. The tours epitomised the direction of travel.In South Africa, with the vast majority of their players arriving from franchise leagues, England scrapped their warm-up games and barely trained before the start of the series – which lasted only six days. In Bangladesh, they were proud to win the ODIs but by the end of the tour were fielding an imbalanced T20I team because their batters were either resting between a Test tour and the IPL, or had declined selection to play in the PSL instead.”There’s a good understanding among you guys in the press, commentators and our playing group around expectations,” Mott reflects. “We literally can’t put our best team on the park and we’ve just got to find a way to compete. The schedule is what it is, and it’s not going to change over the next couple of years.Mott on bowling coach David Saker (left) backing Sam Curran (right): “I remember him saying to me from the start, ‘He’s going to be one of the best bowlers in the world in this format’. And Sam was a revelation for us”•Munir uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images”It’s almost like football,” he says. Mott was recently invited to speak at a coaching seminar through the Football Association, and spoke to England manager Gareth Southgate before it started. “I asked him about access to players. He said, ‘I don’t really get it at all – it’s like two or three days before we go away, and that’s it.’ The days of having a lead-in and preparation are gone. There’s nothing we can do about that.”It’s very different to what I – and most coaches – have been used to. We just need to adapt. We have to be prepared – and it doesn’t feel right to say – to lose in order to win the long-term battles. When you’re in the moment, it doesn’t sit that well with you but sometimes you have to make decisions that are looking well ahead.”The root cause is simple: the recent trend of Indian investment in global franchise leagues has undermined the status and relevance of bilateral international cricket, offering players an alternative source of income to their national contracts. “In the last two or three years, they [franchise leagues] have expanded rapidly. Everyone is fighting for their little space,” Mott says.”We often talk about this, and Jos is big on it: we want our dressing room to be everyone’s favourite; the one that everyone wants to be in. We want to maintain that culture where people turn up and are excited to be there. Financially, sometimes, it’s not going to be as good as some of these franchises – and I’m not sure we can compete with that.”But what we can compete with is that it’s international cricket. Look at Sam Curran: a lot of his success [in leagues] is on the back of a great World Cup campaign. Players need to make a living, to look after their families, to pay their mortgages, but the lure of playing for World Cups is something that no franchise can compete with.

“You’re a year into the job, the results are what they are but you’ve won a World Cup? I’d have said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take that any day'”

“And we need to have a positive look at these franchises too. They provide a huge development opportunity for our players. The more we can work with them to find an equal balance – rather than saying, ‘We don’t like it’ – then we’ll create better cricketers in the long run.”Mott brings up the example of the T20 World Cup semi-final, when Moeen – who has just won his second IPL title after six seasons in the competition – was the driving force behind England’s decision to chase against India. “He was convinced. ‘No, we need them to have to set a score. We need them not to chase,'” Mott recalls. “Those are things that you don’t pick up unless you’re in those environments.”Key made clear when recruiting last year that he was open to England’s coaches working in franchise leagues, and Mott, who spent the first two IPL seasons as Kolkata Knight Riders’ assistant coach, admits it is “definitely a goal to get back there at some point”. He was approached by a WPL franchise but the dates clashed, and has turned down an offer from another league in recent weeks.But in the immediate term, Mott’s focus is on England’s preparations to defend their 50-over World Cup title in India later this year. “With an Ashes and a World Cup in the same year, there’s going to be some stress points, I’m sure. But I’ve got really great trust in Keysy and Baz [Brendon McCullum] to help have those conversations.”Ideally Mott would like to field his strongest 50-over team against New Zealand in September but accepts that might not be possible. “You have to keep a really open mind because there will be compounding impact from the Ashes,” he says. “We have to look at the World Cup, work our way backwards and manage individuals as best we can.”Mott is at Lord’s this week to watch England’s Test team play Ireland and is relishing a “fascinating” men’s Ashes series. “Like every cricket nuffy, I just can’t wait for it to happen. I don’t think there could be a better time for those two teams to come up against each other. At home, England are hard to beat even when they’re not at their best but they’re going in at the top of their game. But I think Australia are confident.”As for his allegiances, “I’ve got great friends in both camps, so it’s a tough one,” he says with a wry smile. “But I always said from the moment I took this job, you’ve got to love the one you’re with. I work for the ECB, so definitely, I hope Baz and Stokesy and the boys get the win.” And for the women’s Ashes? “I’ve got lifelong friendships with a number of those people in there,” he says of the Australia camp. “That’s a hard one for me…”In the meantime, it is just a question of staying busy. “I’m really enjoying the home time at the moment. My daughter was just starting to have a crack at me about being away too much but that’s settled down a bit; I think she’s pretty keen to get rid of me now.”

Quick bowler goes from T20 debut in June to international call-up just 70 days later

Vithushan Ehantharajah17-Aug-2023There is much to be said for John Turner’s call-up for England’s four-match T20I series with New Zealand. But perhaps the most relevant jumping-off point is the speed in which this latest pace talent has been fast-tracked.There were just 70 days between his debut in the format outright for Hampshire – taking 3 for 30 against Middlesex – and Tuesday’s call from national selector Luke Wright. The in-between has been packed; 21 Vitality Blast wickets, deliveries logged above 90mph, impressions made on England scouts, and a Hundred debut on Monday in which he bowled Jonny Bairstow for his maiden dismissal for Trent Rockets. A 22-year-old’s life is rarely slow-moving, but even Turner acknowledges the fast-forward of the last two months has been “unbelievable”.That’s certainly how it was for his parents, who live in Johannesburg, South Africa, where Turner was born. He possesses a British passport through his mother, born in Zambia to English parents – her father was working for the British Government at the time. Both thought something was wrong when Turner called in disbelief before worrying someone was playing an elaborate joke on their son.”When I told them they were shocked, they didn’t have any words … probably similar to my reaction when Luke Wright phoned me,” Turner says. “They were shocked but obviously at the same time really proud and really happy.”Turner had a vague idea something like this was in the offing. Hampshire director of cricket Giles White and bowling coach Graeme Welch gave him a heads-up that a national scout would be watching him against Sussex (he took 2 for 30). England’s interest had been piqued last year, when Turner took 20 wickets in the 2022 One-Day Cup. Good pace, and surprising bounce from a high release point meant Turner’s name was added to a list of prospective talents last month, as soon as he had served the required residency period to satisfy the ECB’s selection criteria.John Turner celebrates a wicket for Hampshire•Getty ImagesThat period began at the end of 2020 after the UK re-opened its borders following the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Turner reckons that strange era in which life came to an abrupt halt may have convinced his father to let him see if he could make it in the game.”It took a lot of convincing for them to let me come over and pursue cricket here,” Turner says. “It was probably during Covid my dad was like, ‘you know what, go over, give it a go – if it’s a year or two and it doesn’t work out, it’s fine’. Then probably the end of 2021, 2022, is when he started realising I might actually be good enough to make cricket a profession.”Turner’s part of the agreement was to attend Exeter University to study Economics and Finance by way of curricular insurance. Now the progression of his extra-curricular pursuit has created some uncertainty over his third year, which was due to commence in September.The move over to the UK came with no guarantees but was far from a punt. Current Gloucestershire coach Dale Benkenstein was Turner’s head of cricket at Hilton College in South Africa, and had ties at Hampshire following a stint as the club’s head coach. “He was the link and kind of got us in contact,” explains Turner. “I did two weeks at Hampshire while still at school, kind of to see what professional cricket was like and for them to see me. And since then, they were always interested.”He initially joined Hampshire as a triallist for the first half of the 2021 season, moving onto the staff when that summer’s Royal London Cup came around. It was in that competition he took his maiden professional wicket – none other than Sir Alastair Cook, caught at midwicket.”Probably not my greatest ball,” he jokes. Nevertheless, it remained a favourite, though Monday’s now offers competition: “Jonny Bairstow the other night, the top of off, was pretty cool. Whenever I hit the stumps, I enjoy that – anything that’s stumps-related and they fly out of the ground.”Stumps out of the ground, the fast bowler’s calling card. Except Turner doesn’t quite have the full-blown speedster’s ego purveyed by the likes of Dale Steyn, who happens to be his idol. Partly because even pushing the speed gun to the upper eighties and beyond is a new development.”It’s a good question,” he answers when asked when he became aware of his speed, “because I still struggle to think that I am [quick].Related

John Turner stars with three wickets on debut as Hampshire hold off Middlesex

John Turner leads destructive bowling performance as Hawks thrash Gloucestershire

Munro 66*, Turner death bowling lift Rockets to vital win

Ben Stokes returns to England ODI squad ahead of World Cup defence

“I think it’s probably early this year; everything, action-wise, has clicked. I was decent pace last year and the year before but nothing to get me selected just pace-wise. I did a lot of work with Graeme Welch, my bowling coach at Hampshire – we did one or two things action-wise and I think timings and all of that has just come to fruition now, and everything is kind of clicking.”Even these stellar performances in the shortest format are a bit of a surprise. Turner’s metronomic ability to hit a length – Benkenstein often compares him to Australian great Glenn McGrath – meant he was always earmarked for the red ball. To date, he has just three first-class appearances, against a Sri Lanka Development XI last year, and two County Championship fixtures this summer, with 10 wickets at 10.50 overall. Naturally, the appetite is to establish himself across all formats.”Going back to what Dale Benkenstein said, he’s never seen me as a white-ball player and I’ve probably never really seen myself as a white-ball player. So to break into the T20 side first at Hampshire, that wasn’t really the goal for the season. It was more the red-ball stuff. And now for England, that’s obviously something I never saw coming. But I think long-term-wise I’d look all formats.”By his own assessment, the extra bounce, hitting the bats harder than most and the accuracy – ergo, an ability to nail specific deliveries at the start and end of an innings – is what has worked well for him so far. And clearly there is a lust for the tough moments, which Turner explains as a desire to “make a difference”.”I think I quite enjoy pressure situations, for instance, the Hundred game the other night, being given the ball to bowl the last set, I really enjoyed that. Strangely, I felt really calm in that situation, a lot calmer than I thought I would have.”Perhaps at another time, Turner might not have been drafted into the England set-up so soon. These T20Is have a dual purpose: for those in the 50-over World Cup squad to tune up before easing their workloads in September, while offering a chance to assess England’s bench strength, particularly their pace alternatives such as Turner, fellow uncapped quick Gus Atkinson and left-armer Luke Wood, with more established names like Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills overlooked for now.As much as Turner’s story carries aspects of serendipity, none of this has happened by accident. His rapid emergence is the product of hard work, risk and abundant talent. If anything, it is England who should count themselves lucky.

He was happy with the batters’ progress as the series went on, but said “it was an eye-opener for the bowling unit”

Firdose Moonda03-Sep-2023The South African season is only five days old but they have already seen how much work they need to do to match up to the top teams in the world.Yes, South Africa were testing some new combinations, but they were blanked 3-0 in the T20I series by an experimental Australian side. After the third match, their white-ball coach Rob Walter admitted “our next best have got work to do”.”The game is riddled with risk,” he said of the T20 format. “Sometimes it’s going to pay off and other times it isn’t. I was happy with the progress we made.”That statement applied specifically to the batting: after being bowled out for just 115 in the first T20I, South Africa made 164 for 8 and 190 for 8 in the second and third, respectively. But across the three matches, Reeza Hendricks was the only South Africa batter to make a half-century; Australia batters scored five, two of them by their new captain Mitchell Marsh. Still, Walter saw “some light at the end of the tunnel” in terms of how South Africa went about their innings in the third T20I, specifically in the way they recovered from 12 for 2.But, the only newcomer to contribute with the bat was Donovan Ferreira, who struck 48 off 21 balls on debut, while Matthew Breetzke (one innings) and Dewald Brevis (two innings) scored five runs each. Brevis’ much-anticipated arrival to the international stage, after he topped the run charts at last year’s Under-19 World Cup, did not go as expected. He holed out in the opening game looking to clear long-off and was caught behind for a first-ball duck in the second before being benched for the third.Walter, however, is looking forward to his future involvement with the senior side.”Dewald didn’t get many runs in his two opportunities but there is no doubting his quality and ability,” he said. “The positive was to give him an opportunity to test the waters in international cricket, so he has now got a good sense of playing a good team – what does that feel like.”Breetzke, who came out to bat in the first over on Sunday – after Temba Bavuma got a first-baller – and fell trying to take on the boundary fielder, also received praise from Walter for his approach.Donovan Ferreira made an impressive debut•Gallo Images/Getty Images”Matthew didn’t get many runs but it was great to give him an opportunity to make his debut,” he said. “Watching him go through his work and his training throughout this series, I am excited about what he has to offer. Even his dismissal – the courage to make a play in that situation is sometimes worth more than the actual result.”Ferreira’s knock was the standout as he “showed something special on debut”, as Walter put it. “To play like that and to hit the ball like that – it is exciting if we have these types of players in the ranks.”South Africa’s only bowling debutant was Gerald Coetzee. He has already been capped at Test and ODI level, but here he had a tough time. He picked up three wickets in as many outings but conceded 10.98 per over.By contrast, Australia’s new caps all impressed individually, starting with 21-year-old legspinner Tanveer Sangha. He took 4 for 31 on debut, barely more than 24 hours after arriving in South Africa, and was the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the series despite sitting out the second game. Matthew Short scored a match-winning 66 off 30 balls in the second match as Australia chased down a target of 165 with 31 balls to spare. Spencer Johnson took 2 for 33 in the first match and was the most economical bowler on either side in the third.The difference in the quality of contributions from the younger players was not lost on Australia’s batting coach Michael di Venuto. “Maybe our fringe players are slightly ahead of where the Proteas players are at the moment,” he said, but quickly cushioned his answer with a confidence booster for the hosts. “That’s not to say they can’t catch up quickly. I wouldn’t be panicking if I was in their dressing room.”Among the mitigating factors for South Africa appearing undercooked is that they have not played international cricket in almost five months since hosting West Indies at the end of last summer. It’s oft-repeated that what takes place in training cannot replicate the intensity in the middle, and this series was further proof of that. Though South Africa’s batting line-up was the most untested department, it was their bowling attack that struggled to consistently threaten Australia despite its experience.Lungi Ngidi, the leader of the attack in the absence of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, went wicketless across the series. His variations proved ineffective as he ended up with an economy of 13.78. Lizaad Williams, Coetzee, Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin all conceded more than ten an over; Aiden Markram (8.33) was the only one from the South African camp to go for less than ten. As a result, the bowling attack never looked like one that could win a series, and Walter did not shy away from that reality.”There’s no running away from it – their batting skill was better than what we had to offer with the ball,” he said. “We got a hard lesson in terms of not executing our skills. It was an eye-opener for the bowling unit.”South Africa are yet to appoint a bowling coach for their white-ball outfits after using former internationals Rory Kleinveldt and Quinton Friend in bit-part capacities but Walter confirmed that Eric Simons will accompany them through the ODI series and the World Cup. Simons is a former national coach and has years of experience with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and their franchise subsidiaries across the world, and South Africa will lean heavily on his knowledge of subcontinent conditions as they prepare for the ODI World Cup.Their squad for the tournament will be named on Tuesday.

The legspinner has played just two ODIs this year, and there’s an Asia Cup and World Cup looming

Vishal Dikshit06-Aug-2023Yuzvendra Chahal hasn’t played an ODI since January 2023. He’s been a regular in India’s ODIs squads over the last year or so but doesn’t get much game time at the moment because of the preferred team combination.When playing away from home, India usually field only two spinners – Ravindra Jadeja as the spin allrounder and Kuldeep Yadav as the wristspinner.India are almost certainly going to pick one spin allrounder – Jadeja is first choice with Axar Patel as back-up – in the starting XI for the Asia Cup and World Cup. And with seven wickets in three ODIs in the West Indies, Kuldeep is staying ahead of Chahal in the pecking order for wristspinners.Related

Kuldeep on competing with Chahal for ODI spot: 'We're very relaxed'

Kishan holds the aces for World Cup spot, but Samson could still be in the running

Evolving Shardul Thakur not seeking limelight in search of 'impactful' performances

“The team combination is the most important thing for us,” Chahal said ahead of the second T20I against West Indies. “And it’s not just now. If you see, at No. 7 either Jadeja or Axar [Patel] plays. So depending on the wicket we play three spinners. Right now Kuldeep is bowling well, his rhythm is good, so he is getting to play. I just keep practising in the nets so that whenever I get a chance I can grab it.”Since his last ODI, against New Zealand in January 2023, India have played two ODI series – against Australia at home before the IPL and in the recent West Indies. Chahal was part of both squads but did not play a game. The first T20I against West Indies in Tarouba was his first international in over two months.”Firstly, I’m very happy I get to wear the blue jersey every day and I’m not sitting at home, I’m part of the team,” Chahal said. “It’s not an individual game, it’s a team game so only when 15 players work together you win matches. Only 11 can play at a time. I haven’t played two-three series. You have to see the team combination, and where you’re playing. Like if there’s a turning track, you can play three spinners as well, instead of one or two.