And who will accompany Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the bowling department?

Sidharth Monga14-Dec-2020As India travel from Sydney to Adelaide, a few selection questions will be on top of their minds. The middle-order batsmen – Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari – and the two fast bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami – select themselves, but the other five positions are open with equally reasonable arguments for the various options available.OpenersMayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw are the incumbents, but India didn’t get a single significant partnership at the top the last time India played a series, in New Zealand. The outsider is Shubman Gill, who will be making his Test debut should he play. All three have batted positively in the warm-ups even though Shaw managed just one decent knock in four innings. The last time they batted, Agarwal and Gill both looked good for hundreds, but the SCG pitch had eased out significantly by then.WicketkeeperAt least for the first Test, the middle order is sealed. Rishabh Pant is India’s incumbent wicketkeeper and No. 7 as India have preferred him to Wriddhiman Saha in series outside Asia. The logic for Saha’s inclusion in home Tests is to provide the spinners with a more accomplished gloveman. Pant has been India’s wicketkeeper on their last three tours outside Asia: England, Australia and New Zealand. On the last of those tours, Saha was fit and available. However, Pant has been losing favour gradually this year. It will be interesting to see if that extends to Tests too.Last two bowlersBumrah and Shami are sure to play, leaving the final two bowling slots open. R Ashwin has started India’s last three tours outside Asia and should be the favourite, except there is a fair chance India might not play a spinner. Spin has averaged 49 runs per wicket in day-night Tests in Australia, and that is despite a superlative average of 25 for the home spinner Nathan Lyon. So it won’t be unreasonable if India choose not to play one. If India do play, Ravindra Jadeja is out of the equation, and Ashwin’s competition is left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, who took a five-for the last time he played in Australia, prompting the coach to say he was the No. 1 choice in overseas Tests.Umesh Yadav has to be the favourite as the third fast bowler: he looked good in the first tour game, has been the No. 4 behind Ishant Sharma, Bumrah and Shami for a long time now and has the experience of bowling in a day-night Test before. The other options are Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj, both yet to play a Test.

Also, with Mayank Agarwal not playing, why did Chris Gayle not open?

Matt Roller24-Oct-2020Why did Gayle not open?With Mayank Agarwal missing – he suffered some bruising in the last match and is likely to be available for their next game – the Kings XI brought in Mandeep Singh to open, opting to leave Chris Gayle at No. 3.ESPNcricinfo LtdThat decision was likely influenced by two Gayle match-ups: one good, one bad. Sandeep Sharma has had the better of Gayle whenever he has bowled to him in the IPL, dismissing him four times in 59 balls. Given Sandeep had bowled three powerplay overs in two of the Sunrisers’ last three games, it made sense to shield Gayle from him.Meanwhile, Gayle has been one of the few men to achieve sustained success against Rashid Khan: he had hit 79 runs from the 45 balls he had faced from him in all T20s before tonight, while the Kings XI’s other middle-order batsmen Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran had both struggled to score against him.The decision appeared to have worked when Gayle avoided facing Sharma, and hit Khan’s fifth ball for six over wide long-on – though when he fell to Jason Holder just at the halfway point in the innings, it left two overs of Khan for the rest of the batting line-up to negotiate.Is time running out for Maxwell?This was the 80th match of Glenn Maxwell’s IPL career, and his stats in the competition do not make for pretty reading: he averages 22.04, and while his overall strike rate is an impressive 155.01, it has been a sluggish 102.00 this season.ESPNcricinfo LtdAttempting a rebuild with Nicholas Pooran, he knocked the ball around for 12 balls, before holing out to David Warner at wide long-on with his first boundary attempt. Maxwell has now faced 100 balls in the season without hitting a six, and nobody who has faced that many balls has scored at a slower pace.It will be interesting to see whether he keeps his place against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the next game – though with several left-hand batsmen in the opposition, his offspin can come handy.Why did Jordan come in for Neesham?After a solid contribution in the win against the Delhi Capitals, James Neesham was left out for Chris Jordan. It was a move that strengthened the Kings XI’s bowling but weakened their batting, with Jordan slotted at No. 7 and four genuine tailenders after him. The issues with that move were laid bare when Maxwell and Pooran found themselves having to knock the ball around after KL Rahul and Gayle fell in successive balls, knowing that they did not have the batting depth required to keep attacking in their usual gung-ho way.Perhaps the decision was made in the knowledge that Maxwell would have less of a role with the ball. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow both have superb records against offspin, meaning that Maxwell – who had opened the bowling in the Kings XI’s last three games – had to be held back. As a result, the Kings XI opted to play five frontline bowlers rather than splitting four overs between allrounders Maxwell and Neesham. It proved to be an excellent call, with Jordan coming up trumps at the death to finish with 3 for 17 from his four overs.Warner’s fast startFaced with a low target and the opportunity to improve the Sunrisers’ net run rate, Warner got off to an uncharacteristically fast start this season. So far in the tournament, he had struck at just 97.70 in his first 15 balls, generally getting himself set and trying to bat through the innings while letting Bairstow fly out of the blocks.But tonight, he decided to attack early and take the required rate below six as soon as possible: he hit two sixes in his first eight balls, lofting Mohammed Shami over extra cover and slog-sweeping Arshdeep Singh over square leg.He was dismissed in the seventh over, gloving a reverse sweep through to Rahul, but by that point, the Sunrisers had a 96.17% chance of victory, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster. It was also the first time since May 2014 that Warner had been dismissed without reaching a half-century against the Kings XI, a run which saw him put up nine consecutive fifties against them.What has happened to Bairstow against legspin?Last season, Bairstow was dismissed by legspin in each of his first five IPL innings – although he made 39, 45, 114, 48 and 16 in them. But all told, he was brutal against leggies in his first IPL season, scoring at a belligerent strike rate of 189.88 against them.ESPNcricinfo LtdThis year, it has been a different story. He has managed only 73 runs in 63 balls against legspinners, being dismissed four times in the six innings he has faced them. His issues against them were evident tonight as he struggled to read M Ashwin out of the hand, making 12 off 12 balls against him before being bowled around his legs while sweeping the first ball he faced from Ravi Bishnoi.What was Pandey thinking?Following a superb, match-winning innings against the Rajasthan Royals, Manish Pandey’s turgid knock of 15 off 29 balls was almost inexplicable. Coming in with 71 required off 82 balls, perhaps it was understandable that he didn’t come out all guns blazing, but according to ESPNcricinfo’s data, he didn’t attempt a single boundary.He struggled against Bishnoi in particular, scoring only six runs from the 12 balls he faced from him. While the pitch became slower and slower as the innings went on, Pandey’s innings undid the work that Warner and Bairstow had done in breaking the back of the chase against the new ball, and when substitute J Suchith took a spectacular catch at long-off, the required rate was above seven.Why was Holder not used to counter the spinners?Since 2018, Jason Holder had scored at a strike rate of 147.39 against spin in all T20s, and just 110.66 against seamers coming into this game. For Vijay Shankar, those numbers are almost inverted: 106.56 against spin, and 146.31 against seamers. As a result, it seemed like a strange call to leave Holder in the lower-middle order rather than promoting him to counter Bishnoi and Ashwin.With such a fine margin between victory and defeat in the end, and with Holder struggling against the seamers in his innings of 5 off eight balls, it could have been the crucial difference.

Five talking points from the Test series between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe

Sreshth Shah15-Mar-2021Afghanistan’s over-reliance on Rashid KhanAfghanistan have three players who rub shoulders with the world’s elite on a regular basis, but of them, Mohammad Nabi (retired) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (more of a white-ball specialist) are not Test players like Rashid Khan is. Khan was sorely missed in the first Test, which he sat out nursing a finger injury. Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan within two days.In the second, Khan played, and ended up doing the work of two bowlers. The other bowlers picked up nine wickets to his 11, but they never really troubled the Zimbabwe batsmen in any major way. As a result, and because Afghanistan added a batsman and cut a bowler after the first Test, Khan ended up bowling 99.2 of the 240.2 overs Zimbabwe faced at a stretch – in their first innings and then after being asked to follow on. A match haul of 11 wickets is an excellent return – especially in a win – but it came after bowling the most overs in a Test this century; that’s not flattering for the bowling unit as a whole. And it shows the captain trusts just one bowler to do the job, even at the risk of burning him out.Which brings us to…… Asghar Afghan’s captaincy choicesThe 164 in the second Test aside, there wasn’t much Asghar Afghan (and the team management) did that stood out. In a positive way.The choice of just the one seamer, Yamin Ahmadzai, on a green-ish deck in the first Test was a miscalculation. Then debutant batsmen Abdul Malik and Munir Ahmed were dropped for the second match despite every Afghanistan batsman with the exception of Ibrahim Zadran failing in the first Test – it couldn’t have helped the confidence of the young players (or Abdul Wasi, who was also left out after a poor debut).Then, to compensate for the poor batting performance in the first game, Afghanistan chose to play an extra batsman on a batting-friendly deck in the second Test, leaving only three specialist bowlers in the XI. Then came the follow-on, which meant the already thin bowling attack had to grind it out for over 260 overs at a stretch, which could well have cost them the win.Not to forget Afghan’s own batting position in the two Tests. During the struggle in the first Test, Afghan came out to bat at No. 7 both times. On the flat surface in the second game, he was up at No. 5 with the team coasting at 121 for 3 in the first innings, and scored a big hundred. Shouldn’t the captain, the senior pro in the line-up, take more responsibility when the going is tough?Sean Williams – captaincy suits him, doesn’t it?•Abu Dhabi CricketThe rise in Sean Williams’ stocksSean Williams, on the other hand, was in the thick of things. With Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara and PJ Moor unavailable for this reason or that, Williams had to step up, and he did so with great success. His two centuries in three innings came in trying conditions or situations.In the first Test, the ball was zipping around after hitting the deck. In the first two innings of that game, no batsman from either side scored a fifty, but Williams used his unconventional batting technique to score 105 in 174 balls in a team total of 250.Related

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In the second Test, with Zimbabwe looking to avoid an innings defeat and set Afghanistan some sort of target, Williams hit an unbeaten 151 in 305 deliveries, and stitched a 187-run eighth-wicket partnership with Donald Tiripano. Williams eventually ran out of partners but did as much as he could have to try and bat his side to a series win. Although that didn’t happen, he took home the Player of the Series award for his dogged batting.Some people thrive when given more responsibility. Williams has scores of 18, 39, 107, 53*, 105, 8 and 151* as Test captain.Another two-day Test, but…The curator had left grass at both ends in the first Test, and Zimbabwe’s pace-bowling trio of Blessing Muzarabani, Victor Nyauchi and Tiripano feasted on it. They shared 16 of the 20 Afghanistan wickets, dismissing the opposition for 131 and 135.Muzarabani’s height was a big factor, and his bounce, whether extra or less-than-usual off the deck, troubled Afghanistan’s batsmen frequently. Nyauchi’s ability to get the ball to swing into the right-handers tested their defensive techniques too, while Tiripano earned rewards for sticking to a stump-to-stump line. It was a clear case of Afghanistan’s batsmen being unable to navigate the spicy pitch.The game ended in two days, and naturally, the surface had a role to play in it, but there was very little noise surrounding the result, in contrast to the debate that surrounded the pitch for the third Test between India and England in Ahmedabad, where spinners had called the shots in another two-day finish.In this case, like that one, Afghanistan might have got their XI wrong, fielding just one seamer. In Ahmedabad, England included just one specialist spinner, and saw part-timer Joe Root return a five-wicket haul.Ibrahim Zadran gave a fantastic account of himself in tricky conditions in the first Test•Abu Dhabi CricketGood signs for the futureZadran, the tall 19-year-old opener, made 208 runs in four innings. With a solid defensive technique and the skills to hold his own against the short ball, Zadran made 76 on that difficult first-Test track. He followed that up with 72 in the second Test, setting up a base that Hashmatullah Shahidi and Afghan built on to post Afghanistan’s highest Test score of 545 for 4 declared. After eight Test innings, Zadran’s average is a healthy 44.50.Amir Hamza, the left-arm orthodox spinner, was consistent with the areas he targeted. He took ten wickets in the series, including a personal best of 6 for 75 in the first Test. He troubled Zimbabwe’s right-handers across both matches and ensured runs did not leak from his end. In a well-rounded bowling line-up where no bowler is overworked, Hamza has the potential to be a Test regular for Afghanistan.Muzarabani, the tall fast bowler, also stood out as easily the most penetrative quick on both sides, especially if the pitch has a little something for him. His high release generates extra bounce and he angles the ball in sharply because of how wide he goes on the crease. His four-wicket haul in the first innings of the first Test went a big way in setting up Zimbabwe’s win, and if he can become more useful on less-responsive pitches, Zimbabwe might just have a proper fast bowler in their ranks.

“I’d see myself anywhere in the top four, probably more comfortable up-top for the time being,” he says

Firdose Moonda31-Mar-2021A long, long time ago, in the age BC (Before Coronavirus), South Africa played an ODI series. And won. Really.In March 2020, they swept Australia 3-0 at home, prompting suggestion of a tide being turned, that came to nothing. Just consult the results and boardroom shenanigans of the last few months as proof.But a long, long time before that, in the age of, let’s call it BB (before Mark Boucher took over as national men’s coach), Aiden Markram played an ODI. South Africa won that one too but by then they had lost so many others that they registered their worst performance at a World Cup and returned home disgraced.Markram scored 34 in that match but hasn’t played a white-ball international since, losing ground through injury and the other players’ form. Understandably now that we are entering the age NN (New Normal), in preparation for three white-ball World Cups in as many years, he said being part of a limited-overs group felt “a bit foreign” because he wasn’t banking on being part of South Africa’s squad.Related

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“I wasn’t expecting it at all. I understand my white-ball game for the Proteas hasn’t been where I would have liked it to be. In general you never expect selection but more so in this case for myself,” Markram said.Though Markram’s domestic record is outstanding – he averages 63.04 in 22 matches for the Titans and has scored seven centuries – he has not been able to translate that to international level. In 26 ODIs, his average is 27.95 and he has not brought up one three-figures score. On one hand, that may be because he was burdened with the stand-in captaincy two matches into his ODI career in a series against India (which South Africa went on to lose 1-5); on the other, he has been shifted around the top four with little indication of if or where he may settle permanently.The series against Pakistan is an opportunity to change the latter, even though South Africa have a bottleneck of top-order players in the squad. Incumbent openers Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan are likely to start the series, but when de Kock leaves for the IPL after the second match, Markram may get a chance to open, which he will gladly take.”The few discussions I’ve had with the coach and Temba (Bavuma) are to try to be quite versatile. I’d see myself anywhere in the top four, probably more comfortable up-top for the time being,” Markram said. “I’d still like to get to know numbers three and four a little bit more but certainly something I am open to doing. As a player, you’d be happy to take any spot that’s available in the team.”Markram acknowledged that there is a pecking order which includes captain Bavuma, who has also laid claim to a position in the top four, and allrounder Jon-Jon Smuts. “I still need to do a lot,” Markram said. “It’s just been about getting back to the game plans I used when things were going well for me, albeit at franchise cricket. It’s just about addressing plans from a mental side of things. I don’t think technically too much changes.”But there is much else about South Africa’s set-up that has changed. Since Markram last played ODIs, South Africa have moved from a Faf du Plessis captaincy through a de Kock one and now, to Bavuma. In that, Markram was overlooked for a leadership role he is thought to be destined for, not least because he took South Africa’s Under-19 team to World Cup glory in 2014.Markram may still get the job in future but until the 2023 World Cup, he is happy to be a foot soldier in Bavuma’s army and is impressed by what the new captain has offered so far. “He has been brilliant this week in guiding the brand of cricket he would like the Proteas to play,” Markram said.To date, South Africa’s new style of play has not been revealed but Markram indicated it will be built on meticulous plans. “Temba will be doing a lot of planning before a game so that when we are in the game he has got options to fall back on. Quinny (de Kock) is quite a free-spirited person and quite a free-spirited captain and was able to develop plans as they go. I’m not saying Temba can’t do that but his preparation might be different to Quinny,” Markram said. “We’ve got a couple of years to build on something and hopefully when 2023 comes, each player knows his role under the brand of cricket Temba wants.”And so South Africa enter the age of operation 2023, in a bid to become more of the team they were when they beat Australia BC and to finally get their hands on a WC. That’s World Cup, by the way.

All the stats from Bangladesh’s big win in the fifth T20I against Australia

Sampath Bandarupalli09-Aug-202162 Australia’s total in the fifth T20I against Bangladesh, their lowest ever in the format. Their previous lowest was 79 all out against England in 2005, which was only their second T20I appearance.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 It is also the lowest score by any team against Bangladesh in T20Is. Afghanistan’s 72 all out in the 2014 World T20 game was the previous lowest T20I total against Bangladesh.82 Australia’s innings on Monday lasted only 82 balls, their shortest all-out innings in all International cricket. Their previous shortest innings 87 balls against England during the Southampton T20I in 2005.102 Shakib Al Hasan completed 100 wickets in T20Is, with his four-wicket haul in the final T20I. He is now only the second player – after Lasith Malinga (107) – to bag 100 wickets in men’s T20Is.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5.85 Runs per six balls by Bangladesh and Australia in the five-match series. It is the lowest in the history of the 96 bilateral series of 100-plus overs in men’s T20Is. The average per dismissal of 14.73 in this series is the second-worst among those 96 series.ESPNcricinfo Ltd60 Bangladesh’s 60-run winning margin is their second-biggest (in terms of runs) in T20Is. Their biggest win came in 2012, when they defeated Ireland by 71 after scoring 190.3 Australia’s three lowest unsuccessful T20I chases came in this series. They failed to chase down 123 in the fifth T20I, 128 in the third match and 132 in the opening game. Simultaneously, Bangladesh’s lowest three lowest totals successfully defended came in this series.

It is a journey into an unknown world for both Australian cricket and Cummins himself, who will have to juggle a number of responsibilities

Andrew McGlashan20-Nov-2021In the middle of last week – a moment that now feels a long time ago – Pat Cummins was asked about the likely need for Australia to rotate their fast bowlers during the Ashes.While in one breath saying he thought it unlikely that all the quicks could play the five Tests, he then added: “I certainly won’t be putting my hand up to be rested unless I’ve got something going wrong.”If what is highly expected to happen in the coming days is confirmed, and Cummins is named as Australia’s next Test captain following the sudden departure of Tim Paine, then it may not even be up for discussion.Related

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It is a remarkable part of the Cummins story that he has become Australia’s most durable fast bowler. Since his return to Test cricket in 2017, only Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Nathan Lyon and R Ashwinhave bowled more overs. A major success story for sports science after Cricket Australia saw the talent they had but held him back from Test cricket for six years following his stunning debut – which marked its 10th anniversary just a few days ago. But that durability will now be tested to the full.There is recent evidence that Cummins can withstand the strains of the five Tests which are largely back-to-back from early December to mid-January. He was the only one of Australia’s fast bowlers to play all five Tests in the 2019 Ashes as the team embraced rotation although conditions in England are not as brutal as those that can play out in this country.However, if his elevation is rubberstamped it is a journey into an unknown world, both for Australian cricket and Cummins himself. The previous fast bowler to captain an Australia men’s side in any format was Ray Lindwall who did it for one Test in 1956. Having a wicketkeeper in the role was going against the grain, too, even if not quite so much and it does raise a question about whether an on-field leadership void has opened up in the Australian men’s game.History is not without specialist quicks (the list is widened if allrounders are included) who have held the position over the longer-term – Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram and Bob Willis among them – but it remains a select group. Bowling fast is the toughest job in the game, physically at least, and there is the added challenge of a bowler-captain needing both a singular focus and a wider view of the game when they have ball in the hand.For a batter, the traditional custodians of captaincy in the game, all they need to worry about at the crease doing their main job is the next ball and that innings. The other questions don’t go away, but they are more easily parked when the team is at the crease.The other factor for Cummins will be knowing when not to bowl. He was Paine’s go-to man last season against India, particularly by the time the series reached the final Test, but he will need to resist the temptation of feeling he has to be the one to take the ball on all occasions. When Andrew Flintoff was named England captain in 2006 he bowled himself into the ground, peaking at 68 overs during a Test against Sri Lanka in Lord’s after which he was never the same again.Pat Cummins will be the first fast bowler to captain Australia in any format since Ray Lindwall in 1956•Getty ImagesWriting in newspapers, Greg Chappell said that Cummins had some natural advantages that other quick bowlers may not.”The captain traditionally fields close to the wicket to control proceedings,” he said. “Cummins is such a brilliant all-round fielder that he can be close to his bowlers, instead of the outfield pastures usually favoured by fast bowlers. My biggest fear? The workload, which could preclude him playing a full, five-Test series, without a rest. So, it would be interesting to see who is appointed as his deputy. Cummins will also have to learn to use himself judiciously and neither over-bowl nor under-bowl. It is imperative that the seniors in the team advise him, in a timely manner.”That is not say Cummins won’t be able to make a success of it, he is a hugely impressive cricketer with a terrific mind – and, perhaps significantly, a broad range of interests beyond runs and wickets – but there is precious little on-field evidence to go by. His professional captaincy experience is four one-day games for New South Wales last season, a role he was given with the future national leadership in mind although not quite so soon.He was good in those domestic one-day matches but was not overly taxed by too many situations. And, with due respect to the Marsh Cup, the consequences of it not going so well were minimal. That certainly won’t be the case come next month in Brisbane, not to mention the weeks leading up to that first ball which will test his leadership given the situation in which he is set to be appointed.

“My biggest fear? The workload, which could preclude him playing a full, five-Test series, without a rest. So, it would be interesting to see who is appointed as his deputy.”Greg Chappell on Cummins’ challenges

As Chappell pointed out, the identity of the vice-captain is arguably just as intriguing. Steven Smith is a strong candidate although that would put him one injury away from taking the captaincy again and it remains to be seen if, in the current climate, that is something Cricket Australia wants. Beyond that, it becomes a rather thin field, particularly in terms of experience.David Warner is not an option as he remains banned from any leadership position in Australian cricket for life – although there is a push to have that reconsidered – and it feels too early for Marnus Labuschagne. Travis Head is a previous vice-captain but is not assured of his place in the middle. Usman Khawaja has the experience and standing but is fighting for the final batting spot with Head. During the era of dual vice-captains, Josh Hazlewood also had the title. If ultimately it is decided that Paine can’t keep his position in the team and Alex Carey takes the gloves, he would be a candidate even on Test debut. Nathan Lyon, with 100 Tests to his name, would seem worthwhile of consideration.Whoever is the deputy, Cummins faces an even tougher transition into the job than Paine did. When the ball-tampering unfolded at Newlands, there was very little expectation that the final Test in Johannesburg would be anything other than a car crash for Australia and so it played out. By the time their next Test came around, six months later, there had at least been time to take stock even if the fallout would still be felt for a long time. This time there are barely days to pick up the pieces before the series that so often defines Australian cricket.

A look at the players who could be future stars for Pakistan

Umar Farooq01-Mar-2022Zaman Khan
A right-arm fast bowler, Zaman Khan was the only player from the emerging category to play all the games for his team in the season. He was first spotted in a Multan Sultans camp back in 2018. It led him to play for Pakistan Under-17 before he made a name playing for Rawalakot Hawks in the Kashmir Premier League last year.He was the most sought-after player in the emerging category and Lahore Qalandars picked him at the first opportunity. He didn’t disappoint them and finished third on the wickets tally with 18 scalps, behind only Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan. Out of four maiden overs in the whole tournament, he bowled two.Against Islamabad United, with 12 needed for a win, he conceded just three against Asif Ali and Azam Khan. His 4 for 16 against the Karachi Kings and two crucial middle-order wickets in the final against Multan Sultans made him a potential future star for the country.Mohammad Haris
A dashing opener, Mohammad Haris announced himself with a match-winning 49 off 27 balls for Peshawar Zalmi against Kings on his PSL debut. He was drafted into the playing XI after the Karachi leg, replacing Zalmi’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal after he had tested positive for Covid-19. Such was Haris’ impact that even when Akmal returned, Haris stayed in the XI.He hit another match-winning 32-ball 70 against United to further stamp his authority and ended the season with 166 runs at a strike rate of 186.51, the highest by any top-order batter this PSL.Yasir Khan
Yasir Khan, 19, hails from Bannu, a city in the southern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but played cricket in Rawalpindi for five years. He shot into the spotlight for his stint playing Grade-2 cricket for KP 2nd XI after his run-feasts in city cricket for the Bannu region.Opening the batting on his PSL debut he took many by surprise with his 12-ball 30 against Quetta Gladiators. Two games later he struck 35 off 24 balls from No. 3 against United. However, with Akmal returning to the side after recovering from Covid, Yasir got to play only one more game.Salman Irshad is thrilled after knocking over Alex Hales•AFP/Getty ImagesSalman Irshad
Salman Irshad is a product of the Lahore Qalandars development program, having come through their ranks in 2018. Though he made the Qalandars’ squad for the 2020 season after replacing the injured Haris Rauf, he went unpicked in 2021 due to his poor form for Northern, giving away runs at an average of 33 and an economy rate of 9.90.He appeared to be in a bit of a rut until Zalmi picked him ahead of this season, and Irshad repaid their faith in gold. Irshad signed off PSL 2022 with 15 crucial wickets, a strike rate of 12.80, and an average of 17.60. He was the team’s leading wicket-taker, and the second-highest overall, finishing just five scalps behind Shaheen Shah Afridi’s 20.Irshad’s career has followed a zig-zag trajectory so far, but having accounted for several dangerous batters this year like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Alex Hales and Rilee Rossouw, his star is likely to shine brighter in upcoming seasons.Qasim Akram
One of the most sought-after players from the Under-19 circuit, Qasim Akram, unfortunately, didn’t make many appearances at the PSL this season due to his commitments at the Under-19 World Cup. Qasim, who captains the Pakistan Under-19 side, boasts a T20 strike rate of 152.04, even though he averages only 14.90 from 21 T20s.Qasim was on Islamabad United’s wishlist, and though they tried to get him on board, Kings used the right-to-match option to retain the allrounder. Qasim went on to make an impression in the game against United, scoring an unbeaten fifty to nearly drag Kings to victory. The five games he played this season weren’t nearly enough to showcase his true talent, but the 19-year-old is all set to have more opportunities ahead.

New Zealand have never won a Test series against South Africa. Can they change that this time?

Firdose Moonda14-Feb-2022Of the Full Member nations New Zealand have played Test cricket against (all except Ireland and Afghanistan), the only one they have not registered a series win over is South Africa. They’ve lost 13 out of 16 series against South Africa including all of the last six and ten out of 11 since South Africa’s readmission in 1991. In 45 Tests dating back to 1932, New Zealand have only beaten South Africa four times, their worst win-loss ratio against any team.We take a look at that quartet of victories and one other time New Zealand came close, as they attempt to breach their final frontier – South Africa – in a two-match Test series starting this week.Cape Town, 1962
New Zealand embarked on this tour with only one Test win to their name – over West Indies in 1956 – and things did not immediately look likely to improve for them. South Africa took the series lead in Durban, thanks to Jackie McGlew’s 127 and Peter Pollock’s nine-for before New Zealand showed the fight and drew the second Test in Johannesburg. Against expectation, they then squared the series with victory in Cape Town.John Reid (92) and Zin Harris (101) put on 93 for the fourth wicket before Harris and Murray Chapple (69) shared 148 for the fifth in New Zealand’s first-innings total of 385. In response, South Africa were shot out for 190, with Frank Cameron (5 for 48) and Jack Alabaster (4 for 61) sharing nine wickets between them. New Zealand were 61 for 4 at one point in their second innings but recovered to declare on 212 for 9 to set South Africa 408 to win. They were 100 for 2 and 201 for 3 as Roy McLean scored 113 but Alabaster claimed another four and South Africa were bowled out for 335, to give New Zealand only their second Test victory and first away from home.John Reid’s 546 runs at an average of 60.66 were instrumental in New Zealand levelling the series in 1961-62•Getty ImagesPort Elizabeth, 1962
South Africa responded to their defeat in Cape Town with an innings-and-51-run win over New Zealand in the fourth Test to put a series win out of their visitor’s reach but New Zealand could still share the spoils, and did.Paul Barton scored the first and only century of his Test career in a line-up where no one else crossed 46 and New Zealand’s first innings ended on 275. But again, they dismissed South Africa for 190 and took an 85-run lead. New Zealand were 50 for 3 at one stage in their second innings but Graham Dowling (78) and Reid’s (69) 125-run fourth-wicket partnership allowed them to post 228 and set South Africa 314 to win. Again, South Africa appeared to be on track at 101 for 1 before Eddie Barlow was bowled by Reid for 59 as South Africa lost 5 for 41 to teeter on 142 for 6. Peter Pollock’s 54 held the lower together but New Zealand kept chipping away and won by 40 runs to level the series 2-2.Reid finished as the leading run scorer of the series with a tally of 546, 120 more than the second-best McGlew. Some have assessed this series as his best, both as a batter and captain.Johannesburg, 1994
It would be more than 30 years before New Zealand had the opportunity to beat South Africa and they did so in the first meeting between the two teams post-isolation.Martin Crowe (83), Ken Rutherford (68) and Shane Thomson (84) scored half-centuries as New Zealand piled on 411 in their first innings before Dion Nash and Richard de Groen reduced South Africa to 73 for 4. Daryll Cullinan’s 58 prevented a complete collapse in the top six and Dave Richardson’s 93 took South Africa over 200 but nowhere close to 400. They were bowled out for 279, 132 behind. In New Zealand’s second innings, Fanie de Villiers took four wickets and Craig Matthews one to leave them 34 for 5 but Adam Parore’s 49 helped New Zealand build a target. Matthews (5 for 42) ran through New Zealand’s lower order and they were all out for 194, having set South Africa 327. Doull (4 for 33) and left-arm spinner Matthew Hart’s career-best 5 for 77 ensured South Africa were bowled out for under 200 as New Zealand earned a comfortable win.Simon Doull was the Player of the Match when New Zealand met South Africa for the first time after 30 years•Stuart Milligan/Getty ImagesBut they could not sustain the momentum from that match and were dismissed for under 200 in both innings in Durban, where South Africa won by eight wickets, and conceded too many runs in South Africa’s first innings in Cape Town and lost the series 2-1.Auckland, 2004
A decade after their Johannesburg joy, New Zealand beat South Africa for the first time at home, when they took the series lead in Auckland after a high-scoring draw in the first Test in Hamilton. After scoring 509 in their first innings of the first Test, New Zealand went many better with 595 in the second match, still their highest against South Africa. That was in response to South Africa’s 296, a total that should have been much higher after Graeme Smith (88) and Herschelle Gibbs (80) put on 177 for the first wicket. South Africa’s ten wickets fell for 119, with Chris Martin taking 6 for 76. He finished the match with 11 for 180, his career-best.Two other New Zealand players also reached their career highs in this match. Scott Styris (170) and Chris Cairns (158) both registered their highest scores as New Zealand took a 299-run lead.Smith was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Martin in the second innings. Gibbs (61), Jacques Rudolph (154) and Jacques Kallis (71) kept New Zealand at bay for a while but South Africa eventually lost 7 for 99 to leave New Zealand needing 51 to win. They got there to take a 1-0 lead but went on to lose the third and final Test in Wellington.Kane Williamson taps the ball to mid-off during his 176•Getty ImagesHamilton, 2017
South Africa inflicted another Wellington heartbreak on New Zealand when they took the series lead after a draw in Dunedin but New Zealand had a golden opportunity to level matters in Hamilton. They had South Africa 5 for 2 in the first innings before Hashim Amla (50), Faf du Plessis (53) and Quinton de Kock (90) built the total to 314. However, none of them could match Kane Williamson’s brilliance as he scored 176. New Zealand’s first innings ended on 489, with a lead of 175.With four sessions left in the game, the smart money would have been on the draw but South Africa were reduced to 80 for 5 in 39 overs on the fourth evening and looked rattled. It rained overnight and for most of the fifth day to deny New Zealand. Of the XI that played for South Africa in that Test, only Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada are part of the current squad. New Zealand have five players from that match in their group this time: Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry and Neil Wagner.

That they managed to score 180 despite a wobble suggests the opportunity cost of going hard all the way is not that high

Sidharth Monga03-Apr-20221:30

Did Punjab Kings get their tactics spot on?

It was clear at the auction table the kind of cricket Punjab Kings were going to play this season. They went after big hitters, and managed to successfully put together an exciting team. Eleven matches into the tournament, they are the only team batting at more than 10 an over in the powerplay. In fact, their 10.94 is 2.11 an over better than the next best. They are averaging 11 sixes per innings, only 1.5 behind the leaders Rajasthan Royals on that count. They have also lost 23 wickets, which makes it higher per innings than any other team.Some of this proactive batting approach has been dictated by their losing two tosses out of three, which means they have had to undertake the task of putting on dew-proof totals on two occasions. On both occasions, they have given it a red-hot go. That they haven’t been able to post those above-par totals is a different story; they still have one win out of two batting first.But it is refreshing to see them adopt the same approach against Chennai Super Kings even after getting bowled out for 137 against Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous such attempt. In that match, only when they had lost five wickets did they do something conventional: hold Odean Smith back for the death overs. Having lost that match, it must have taken a strong commitment to that style, especially after they lost two early wickets against Super Kings.Related

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Liam Livingstone, though, unleashed an all-out attack to threaten to take them past 200. That they couldn’t post such a huge total will be a matter of a small concern for them despite managing to win by a massive margin of 54 runs. Kings are clearly one of the most exciting teams to watch this IPL, but if they are missing one thing, it is depth in batting.Jonny Bairstow’s arrival will add to quality in the middle overs, but it won’t stretch their batting line-up beyond No. 7, which is where Smith bats. When the pitches get slower, it might become a bigger issue for them, but they still acknowledge that they can’t afford to play conservatively especially when batting first.Mayank Agarwal, their captain, spoke of the importance to keep playing in this manner but having the “emotional intelligence” to not get bogged down if it doesn’t come off. Agarwal himself hasn’t had a great start to the tournament – scores of 32, 1 and 4 – but he has come out batting with the same intent.That they managed to score 180 against Super Kings despite the wobble in the second half of the innings is a good example that the opportunity cost of going hard all the way is not that high. If it does come off, though, they can get to the kind of totals that provide you insurance against the dew.If they keep batting this way, it goes one of the two ways. They can get better at it, and it starts to come off spectacularly. Even when it doesn’t come off, it isn’t necessary they always end up with a below-par score. That’s something they seem to be aware of. You can file it under emotional intelligence or avoiding panic at losing wickets or even a match or two because sides batting first are losing anyway.Once pitches start to slow down, it will be another story. That can wait.

The match had everything possible, almost – here’s a lookback at how the Hamilton ODI unravelled

Firdose Moonda17-Mar-2022It’s pretty much always a must-win game for you in a World Cup if it’s being played in your country. You have only scored 228 against a side undefeated in the competition, and has beaten you in your last three matches. In defence, you have let the opposition get to 156 for 2 after 34 overs. They only need 73 more. You have got 16 overs left to bowl. You get a break, to have a drink and regroup, and one of your team-mates asks: “Where else would you rather be?”If you’re New Zealand, the answer is “nowhere else”.That’s what Sophie Devine and her team-mates concluded when Frances Mackay spoke to them. “She spoke about how lucky we are to be involved in these sorts of games, and she’s dead right,” Devine said after the match. “It’s such a privilege to be able to be playing in this tournament – a World Cup at home. And to be in those sorts of pressure situations, that’s why we do all those horrific training sessions in the middle of winter, slamming the pavement, it’s for those moments.”After that, New Zealand rallied. They took three South African wickets for nine runs and left them needing 59 off 59. Then, they took another two wickets in two overs, and South Africa were on the verge of bottling it.

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It’s a game you had in control from the moment your strike bowler bowled the opposition’s opening enforcer, through the collapse – six wickets for 30 runs – your quicks triggered, and after your top batter registered a third successive half-century. You’re the captain and you’d also done your bit with a half-century and an 88-run stand that should have won your team the match.But, in a matter of minutes, all that unravels and your tail is left to take it home.Win, and you’ll be criticised for how you almost lost it. Lose, and it will be the c-word all over again.”It’s moments like that where you just appreciate the game of cricket and the players you are with,” Sune Luus, South Africa’s captain, said. “We’ve been away from home since the start of January. It’s difficult to be away from your family for so long and still perform and still turn up every day, giving your best and giving your all. When you get into situations like this your heart just gets very full and the blood just keeps on pumping. I can’t really put it into words. It’s just a lot.””I don’t think people outside understand the pressure that comes with a World Cup game and situations like this”•Getty Images

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Luus and the rest of the team sat on the sidelines watching Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka snatch a victory that probably was always theirs, but one that New Zealand almost pickpocketed.They knew they were not at their best. They knew they should have finished it earlier. But what they knew and what was were two different things and that’s sometimes how sport works.”You want your experienced players to take it to the end. It’s something you will address after this game to see how we can improve on that,” Luus said. “But I don’t think people outside understand the pressure that comes with a World Cup game and situations like this.”How could we?Most of us have been confined to our homes for the last two years, some of us unable to imagine even driving to the next town, never mind going halfway across the world only to be stuck in a hotel room most of our time, as has been the case for sportspeople.Although this Women’s World Cup has not been played in a strict biobubble, the weeks leading up to it, as Luus explained, were busy for most teams. They have been away from home comforts and the familiar faces of families and friends for months, but they have done it because, apart from it being their jobs, opportunities for women’s sport to showcase itself on the biggest stage don’t come around that often. They have done it because they want to test themselves against the best, and get as close as they can to winning a World Cup.”It just makes it very special when you step over the line and get that win,” Luus said. “It brings the group closer together. It’s motivating for us, when we do get home, hopefully after the final, and see our families and then when you look back, hopefully all the pressure and everything will be worth it.”With two to go, New Zealand have made it difficult for themselves to reach the knockouts•Getty Images

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For one player, it seems to mean all that and a whole lot more.Kapp is not just without her regular captain, Dane van Niekerk, on the tour, she is also without her wife. She and van Niekerk are partners, in life and in cricket, and play together for various franchise teams around the league circuit. One without the other seemed unlikely until van Niekerk broke her ankle in a freak accident in their new home, leaving Luus to captain and Kapp to play for both of them. She’s done it, and how! While well-known as one of the best seam bowlers in the world, Kapp has also taken on the role of finisher with the bat and has orchestrated successful chases against England and, now, New Zealand.”Marizanne has nerves of steel,” Luus said. “She takes it better than all of us could. She is the right person for that time of the game. She has a lot of experience. She has played all around the world in all these kinds of situations. She has a very calm head. She is just showing us all how to stay calm and back your own skill and finish the game off.”It doesn’t always look that way. Kapp has been known to yell at her team-mates in moments of high pressure, to show her emotions when things are getting tense, and didn’t even celebrate the New Zealand victory bar a scream and a scowl, before dropping to her haunches. She knew it should never have been that difficult.”She wears her heart on her sleeve,” Devine said. “She is an extraordinary athlete. She is super talented with bat and ball. We saw today, with the ball, she just doesn’t give you anything, and with the bat, it just shows her experience. I’ve played alongside her at the [Perth] Scorchers and saw first-hand how dedicated she is in wanting to be better and wanting to help her teams win. She put up her hand tonight and finished the job. She is a great player.”Kapp is indeed making a case to be considered the best allrounder in the game at the moment.”To be in those sorts of pressure situations, that’s why we do all those horrific training sessions in the middle of winter, slamming the pavement, it’s for those moments”•ICC via Getty

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You have just lost your third match of the five you have played, and with two to go, you have made it difficult for yourselves to reach the knockouts. You are being schooled by teams that have not beaten you in tournaments before, teams like West Indies and, now, South Africa. And all you can do is tip your hat.”They are a dark horse within world cricket. They have got one of the most experienced sides going around,” Devine said. “We faced that a couple of years ago. We were missing a few players and we weren’t at our best and they dealt with us. They fully deserve [the results] the way they’ve played in this tournament. They are showing the form that makes them the No. 2 side in the world.”As for your own chances, what next? “We win, that’s it.”Easier said than done, perhaps.

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You have won four matches in a row and lie at the top of the points’ table jointly with the tournament favourites, who you play next. Still, there is criticism over how close your team is taking all the matches and concern over whether you will be a match for Australia.You concede you have not been at your best, but you claim to be ready for anything. “We’re at a World Cup and I don’t think any games come easy. I think it’s getting harder, with Australia, West Indies to come,” Luus said. “We’re prepared to play every game hard, even if it’s tough every game and takes us to the last over.”Be careful what you wish for.