In three months’ time begins the road to the ODI World Cup in India and Gill might already be on it

Sidharth Monga23-Aug-20223:01

Takeaways: Gill and Axar’s steady progress in ODIs

The last three runs felt like they would take forever to get. A heart-stopping lbw appeal where a faint inside edge saved him but his partner Ishan Kishan ran himself out. Then an inside edge that missed the stumps and brought him a single. Then Deepak Hooda got out to a beauty from Brad Evans. The hundred finally came up serenely with a single through the covers, in the third ODI.Sweet relief for Shubman Gill, but not as though he was getting desperate for it. In fact, he sent back his good bat when he reached 50 in order to ration it. The remaining 80 runs came with a bat that was a little less special although in the 90s Gill did get conscious that he had been there twice before in international cricket without actually getting to a hundred.Related

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Hard as it is to believe but at the age of 22, a maiden international hundred for Gill has been a long time coming. It is a testament to Gill’s skill and potential that it has seemed to observers that it has been too long to get to three figures even though it has been just 11 Tests (where he is yet to get the role he is best suited for: middle order) and nine ODIs. He is after all a batter who left Virat Kohli in awe: “I was not even 10% as good as he is at this age.”Almost every time he has played an ODI, though, Gill has looked like he can get one. This one has brought him his second-consecutive Player-of-the-Series award. The quality of bowling he has faced is what it is but there are early unmistakable trends in how Gill has batted.Just like with Kohli, 50 overs is the format that comes the most naturally to Gill. So it is fitting that his first international century has come in an ODI. He is a traditionalist in that he seeks to eliminate risk from his batting. As he told the host broadcaster, “I was just trying to minimise the dot-ball percentage. If you look at my innings, I didn’t try to hit the ball. I just tried to time and tried to pick the gaps as much as possible.”This risk aversion sometimes keeps him from realising his potential in T20 cricket, but Gill is not your typical top-order batter who will score hundreds at an even pace in ODIs. Even in T20s, his least strong format, Gill doesn’t let spinners bowl. In ODIs, his strike rate in the middle overs is 112.22 as opposed to just 85.95 in the powerplay.Shubman Gill thoroughly enjoyed himself out in the middle•AFP/Getty ImagesIf Gill keeps this up against better attacks – there’s every indication he will albeit at a lesser frequency – he will just be the natural evolution of the India ODI run machine: similar efficiency with added dynamism. As Axar Patel said at the post-match press conference, Gill sweeps, reverse-sweeps and doesn’t mind the odd big hit in the middle overs.”The way he plays, ones and twos keep coming,” Axar said of Gill. “He doesn’t play many dot balls. That is his biggest positive. He keeps taking ones and twos and then converts the bad balls into boundaries. He plays spin very well. When there are five fielders in the circle in the middle overs, he uses sweep and reverse-sweep well to keep getting boundaries.”Zimbabwe’s attack might not be the toughest India will face but the conditions were not the easiest. Early-morning starts in this series have given the chasing teams a huge advantage. India won all three tosses and decided to challenge themselves by batting first in the dead rubber.Just take a look at what happened at the other end. Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan all struggled to time the ball because of the moisture-induced tackiness in the pitch. While Gill scored 130 off 97 balls, the other batters managed just 149 in 204 balls.In three months’ time begins the road to the ODI World Cup in India. Gill might already be on it.

The rivalry has produced some fantastic games over the years, although meetings have become less frequent

Andrew McGlashan05-Sep-2022Melbourne 2004: The trophy was given a strong start under the roof at what was then called Telstra Dome (now Marvel Stadium). Australia were clear favourites with three overs to go, New Zealand needing 30 to win. However, it all went pear-shaped for Michael Kasprowicz, who conceded 22 – including five wides – against Hamish Marshall and Brendon McCullum, who, you will notice, becomes a theme of these matches. With five needed from six balls, McCullum scooped Shane Watson to fine leg and New Zealand got home with two balls left.Sydney 2004: Three days later, there was another thriller, even though the scoreline suggests it was more comfortable. Australia had recovered from 161 for 6 through Darren Lehmann and Brad Hogg, and then with New Zealand 86 for 6, the game looked over. However, New Zealand’s lower order kept the chase alive with Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills adding 70 for the ninth wicket. When Vettori was run out with 26 still needed, an injured Chris Harris came out at No. 11, having dislocated his right shoulder in the field earlier. It came down to 18 off 18 balls when Glenn McGrath removed Harris to level the series.Mick Lewis runs out Kyle Mills to complete a dramatic victory•Getty ImagesWellington 2005: A breathtaking finish to a high-scoring epic. From 101 for 4, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke added 220 for the fifth wicket, Symonds hitting eight sixes in his 127-ball career-best 156. A number of useful contributions, led by Lou Vincent’s 49-ball 71, kept New Zealand in touch but the target always appeared distant until McCullum cut loose. It came down to six needed off the last over with two wickets in hand. The bowler was debutant and supersub Mick Lewis. McCullum was brilliantly run out by Clarke, and then with three needed off two deliveries Lewis managed to collect a parried drive from Mills and complete a run out at the non-striker’s end.Christchurch 2005: Did we mention breathtaking finishes to high-scoring epics? Let’s try that again. Three days later it was New Zealand who got over the line with a stunning lower-order performance. Mike Hussey’s 88 off 56 balls from No. 7 had bolstered a stuttering Australia, but from 61 for 3 in reply Scott Styris’ century guided New Zealand’s effort. Still, when he and Jacob Oram fell in three balls to Stuart Clark it left 74 needed off seven overs with two wickets in hand. Then along came McCullum and a vital hand from Vettori. With 20 needed off the last two it probably still favoured Australia, but this time Lewis was taken down as McCullum reached a 25-ball fifty and the home side did it with an over to spare.Craig McMillan and Brendon McCullum engineered a remarkable victory•Getty ImagesAuckland 2007: Clearly went too early with the notion of high-scoring thrillers. Australia were going through some pre-World Cup issues this time and had been trampled by ten wickets in the opening match of the series. Hussey, who was captain, scored a century, Brad Hodge 97, and Cameron White 42 off 19 balls to lift Australia to a vast total. Ross Taylor anchored the reply with a measured century, while Peter Fulton (76 off 65) and Craig McMillan (52 off 30) got things moving in the latter stages with a dose of McCullum, once again, to help finish things off with eight balls in hand.Hamilton 2007: New Zealand completed a whitewash in astonishing style. It meant Matthew Hayden’s unbeaten 181, during which he suffered a broken toe, finished on the losing side. The home side seemingly had no chance of getting near the target after falling to 41 for 4 in the tenth over. However, McMillan built a 67-ball hundred, firstly in the company of Fulton and then, in a stand of 165 in 24 overs, with McCullum. Still, when the eighth wicket fell, 44 were still needed. Mark Gillespie smote 28 off 15 balls before being run out, but McCullum was able to get the strike for the final over with seven required. The first delivery was a knee-high full-toss from Nathan Bracken which McCullum sent over fine leg.Mitchell Johnson and Scott Styris share a few words•Getty ImagesPerth 2009: A change of pace from the run-gluts above with a low-scoring, controversial tussle that came down to the last ball. The major talking point came when Neil Broom was seemingly bowled by Clarke, but replays showed that, firstly, Brad Haddin had taken the ball in front of the stumps – which is a no-ball – and that the keeper’s gloves dislodged the bails. It led to some heated comments from both camps that went on long after the game, which was decided when Vettori slashed away the final delivery from Bracken after New Zealand had been comfortably placed at 168 for 5 in the 47th over.Napier 2010: Another case of New Zealand’s lower order getting them across the line. A flying opening stand between McCullum and Peter Ingram set up the chase and Taylor’s run-a-ball 70 kept things under control, but it was slipping away at 246 for 8 in the 47th over. However, Styris, who was not meant to be playing until Vettori was a late withdrawal, held firm alongside No. 10 Shane Bond, who struck two boundaries in the 49th over to level the scores.Kane Williamson sends Pat Cummins straight down the ground•Getty ImagesAuckland 2015: By now the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy had become a much rarer event and was up for grabs in this one-off group game at the 2015 World Cup. It was a ridiculous occasion that was completed inside 55 heart-stopping overs. Australia were 30 for no loss after 13 balls when Tim Southee castled Aaron Finch, and again 80 for 1 in the 13th over when Shane Watson fell to Vettori. Trent Boult tore through the middle and lower order in a second spell of 5-3-3-5. Haddin’s 43 gave Australia something, but when McCullum surged to 50 off 21 balls it barely seemed to matter. Mitchell Starc caused a wobble either side of an interval, but at 131 for 4 the game appeared decided. Then things got silly. Corey Anderson gave it away against Glenn Maxwell, setting the scene for a devastating burst from Starc which left New Zealand nine down and needing six. Boult survived two balls from Starc (who had one over left) and at the other end Kane Williamson had seen enough. Facing Pat Cummins, he lofted him straight down the ground for six.Auckland 2017: Back at Eden Park two years later and New Zealand survived a magnificent innings from Marcus Stoinis, who almost single-handedly stole victory. Australia were in tatters at 67 for 6 chasing 287 and even after James Faulkner and Cummins had held firm alongside Stoinis, 61 were still needed in seven overs when No. 11 Josh Hazlewood came to the crease. Over the next four overs, Hazlewood did not face a ball as Stoinis went to a century and 35 came off the 44th and 45th overs. When he plundered Southee for consecutive sixes, Australia needed seven. Southee produced a full delivery which Stoinis dug out towards Williamson, who had brought himself in at short mid-on, and with some brilliant awareness the New Zealand captain under-armed it into the non-striker’s stumps with Hazlewood unable to get back.

It’s a curiously Pakistani problem, and even when it isn’t, there’s still the issue of such pitches masking the brittle nature of a batting line-up in transition

Danyal Rasool10-Dec-2022He’s bowled 18 overs, this Jack Leach. He’s got one wicket for 70. Saud, meanwhile, has looked supremely comfortable in the middle. How many wickets did our man Abrar Ahmed have when he’d bowled 18 overs? Can’t remember exactly, but it was a lot more than one. We’ll check later, but for now let’s enjoy this overwhelming show of batting dominance.Better up that scoring rate, though, Saud. You’re 59 off 104. We didn’t have much to do this summer, so we watched the way England bat. We couldn’t quite believe it, so we made sure we watched it up close in Pindi. And now we find this sort of scoring rate dull.Boom! Did you see the way he chipped that over the offside? His use of the feet against this supposedly brilliant spinner who somehow has 99 Test wickets? How did we never notice how harmless he is? Saud’s going to do this again, you know. Look, there he goes!Related

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The length was shorter this time, maybe this Leach bloke has a trick or two up his sleeve. Anyway, James Anderson’s running after it. He’s never getting there, he’s Pakistan probably wasn’t even a democracy yet when he made his debut. Oh, wait, he’s got there and caught it?Well, at least Rizzy ‘s still there, even if his intent is as reliable as a New Year’s resolution by the time February rolls around. Come on, Rizzy . We’ve defended you when people say you’re conservative but 6 off 41 balls? By 41 balls, the English start thinking about some chap named Gilbert Jessop. If I never hear about him again, it won’t be a moment too soon.Now we’re talking! Did you see that skip down the pitch, that caress back down the pitch, as sleek and powerful as an Italian racecar? But what’s this Leach gone and done? He’s turned a ball, beaten the edge, and cleaned Rizzy up? It seems to happen a lot to him now, doesn’t it?

****

Those two dismissals might have been very different in style, but they represented something of a sliding doors moment, coming as they did in the space of four overs as the smoggy Multan morning gave way to watery winter sunshine. As Pakistan crept into the ascendancy, Saud Shakeel went after a ball he didn’t get to the pitch of and had no control over. Mohammad Rizwan, meanwhile, had played two attacking shots in 42 balls, and Leach had to vary little as he probed with the length ball, searching for the extra grip to beat Rizwan’s bat.They would herald a collapse that saw Pakistan lose seven wickets for 37 runs – more to a slew of inexplicable shots than anything spectacular the bowlers did – thrusting England into an ascendancy they are unlikely to relinquish.In a way that’s amusingly specific to this cricket team, Pakistan somehow find themselves in a situation where they prepare too many flat pitches, and yet also collapse in a heap on them. In the last nine months alone, this side have been rolled over for 148 on a pitch in Karachi on which Australia had managed 556 for 9 declared, collapsed in Lahore from 248 for 3 to 268, and then lost all ten wickets, after being 77 for no loss, on the final day of that game to cede the series to Australia. A similar collapse followed against Sri Lanka on the final day in Galle, where Pakistan succumbed from the relative comfort of 176 of 2 to fold well before stumps for 261. In Rawalpindi earlier this week, on a wicket so moribund the Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq called it “very flat” and the PCB chairman Ramiz Raja termed it “embarrassing”, Pakistan capitulated spectacularly after tea, losing their final five wickets for nine runs.Multan might have been watching this – Pakistan’s latest hit in an album no one asked for – in the flesh for the first time, but by now it’s become something of a familiar sight. Azhar Ali’s dropping, a decision made on the eve of this second Test, demonstrated Pakistan’s recognition that a problem needs solving, but the strength of an omission invariably hinges on its replacement. That is why Asad Shafiq’s departure was more easily smoothed over. Fawad Alam came in, showed he belonged – and, ironically, might have been the ideal batter to have in the middle order on a spinning track such as this. Azhar’s batting shoes, after all, are giant ones to fill, and his replacement Mohammad Nawaz isn’t really geared to filling them anyway.Rizwan might be like a student in class whose grades you needn’t worry about, but concerns are beginning to surface on that front too. The panoply of issues that plague Pakistan’s Test side mean the wicketkeeper’s form isn’t the most pressing, but in his previous 20 innings, he’s only managed two scores in excess of 50, and averages 22.88 across his last nine.Just as damagingly, some of the more benign pitches have masked the scent of decay in a batting line-up experiencing its greatest transition since MisYou collectively walked away. Imam-ul-Haq, despite his average of 54.75 over the past year, remains unproven at this level, with little evidence to suggest dropping him for Abid Ali in 2019 wasn’t the right call – and that average is propped up by two legendarily poor pitches in Rawalpindi, without which it drops to the mid 20s.Abdullah Shafique’s inexperience adds another variable to a batting line-up that’s increasingly fluid, while the middle order duo of Saud Shakeel and Salman Ali Agha is tasked with carrying a workload recently borne by Azhar, Shafiq and Fawad. It’s easy to recall Pakistan’s struggles when Misbah and Younis stepped away, and Pakistan will be disquieted by the reminder that Azhar and Shafiq, the princes of Pakistan’s middle order, didn’t quite step up to replace them as had been originally hoped. And unlike Azhar and Shafiq, there are no princes this time; the line of succession is suddenly barren.As England tot up a significant lead, it’s impossible not to feel the fourth-innings target they set has already broached the territory of the insurmountable. And on days like today in Multan, it’s perhaps easier to laugh at it all rather than worry about it.

ESPNcricinfo’s staff pick their Test, ODI, T20 and women’s teams of the year

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2022It has only been six months since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took charge of England’s Test side, but the turnaround in fortunes has been dramatic and that dominance is reflected in ESPNcricinfo’s Test team of the year. Four England players feature in it, as do four players from Australia, the team currently leading the World Test Championship table.ESPNcricinfo LtdJoe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Stokes, who form the XI’s middle order, were among the top six run-scorers of the calendar year. Two others from that list of prolific batters, both Aussies, are also in our XI – Usman Khawaja opens the batting, while Marnus Labuschagne comes in at No. 3. Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies’ sole representative in the side, partners Khawaja up top.The fast-bowling attack consists of England’s James Anderson, who has appeared indefatigable in his 40th year, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, and Pat Cummins of Australia. Our XI might be tested in subcontinental conditions given it has only one frontline slow bowler, Australia offspinner Nathan Lyon, although he will get support from Root, who bowled over 140 overs of spin in the year.India may be second on the WTC points table, but our staff combined to pick only one player from the side in the Test XI – Rishabh Pant, who takes the gloves.ESPNcricinfo LtdBabar Azam, who was prolific in 50-over cricket in 2022, making three hundreds and five fifties in nine innings for Pakistan, leads our ODI XI and bats at No. 3 below openers Travis Head and Shubman Gill. India’s Shreyas Iyer, with over 700 runs at an average of 56, slots in at No. 4, followed by New Zealand keeper-batter Tom Latham and two offspinning allrounders, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Both made unbeaten hundreds in home wins, Raza getting two in a series win over Bangladesh in Harare, and Miraz getting his while handing India a series defeat in Mirpur.They will lend support to our canny bowling attack in which Adam Zampa brings the wristspin option, while Trent Boult offers left-arm variety to Alzarri Joseph and Mohammed Siraj’s right-arm pace.ESPNcricinfo LtdOur men’s T20 XI contains several title winners from 2022 – Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and Sam Curran (Player of the Tournament) lifted the T20 World Cup for England; Hardik Pandya, David Miller and Rashid Khan won Gujarat Titans the IPL trophy in their maiden season; Haris Rauf was red-hot for Lahore Qalandars, who won their first PSL title this year; Wanindu Hasaranga chipped in with bat and ball, and was the Player of the Tournament when Sri Lanka won the T20 Asia Cup in Dubai in September; Hales was also part of the Trent Rockets side that won the men’s Hundred.Suryakumar Yadav didn’t win any team trophies this year, but would you really keep a batter as inventive as him (who had a strike rate of 176 and over 1500 T20 runs) out of the side? He bats at No. 4, below Rilee Rossouw, who also struck above 170 and played for the PSL’s losing finalists Multan Sultans.Seamer Josh Little, who played for Manchester Originals, the losing finalists in the Hundred and took 2 for 16 in Ireland’s victory over England in the T20 World Cup, rounds out our men’s T20 XI.ESPNcricinfo LtdOur women’s XI this year is a combined white-ball side; performances and stats from ODIs, T20Is, the WBBL, the CPL and the Hundred were considered in compiling it.Alyssa Healy, who made a world-record 170 in the 50-over World Cup final in April, would be the first pick in most XIs. Close second would be the other batter who dazzled in the final – if England had a realistic chance of overcoming Australia’s 356, it was only because of how Nat Sciver, who made 1600 runs in 2022, fought back with an unbeaten 148.Healy bats at No. 3 in our XI, below openers Smriti Mandhana and Beth Mooney; the latter was the leading run-scorer of this season’s WBBL. At No. 4 is Laura Wolvaardt, who scored over 400 runs for WBBL winners Adelaide Strikers and topped the Hundred’s run-scoring charts with 286 runs for Northern Superchargers.There are plenty of bowling options in the XI: Sciver, who took 25 wickets at an economy of 5.6 from 42 white-ball matches in the year, can support fast bowlers Shabnim Ismail and Renuka Singh, while Amelia Kerr can chip in with legspin to go with the left-arm slows of Sophie Ecclestone, currently the No. 1-ranked bowler in ODIs and T20Is, and the offspin of allrounder Deepti Sharma.The team is led by India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored over 1600 runs in the year.More in our look back at 2022

The full round-up of records from England’s first-innings total of 657 in 101 overs

Sampath Bandarupalli02-Dec-2022657 England’s total in the first innings in Rawalpindi. It is the fifth-highest total in Test cricket for England and their highest against Pakistan, surpassing 598 for nine in 2015 in Abu Dhabi. It is also England’s second-highest total away from home, behind 849 all out against West Indies in Kingston in 1930.ESPNcricinfo Ltd6.50 England’s run-rate during their mammoth 657 all out. It is the highest run rate for any team in a Test innings of 100-plus overs. The previous highest was 5.36 by Sri Lanka during their 555 for five in 103.3 overs against Bangladesh in 2001.1 Number of Test totals against Pakistan in Pakistan, higher than England’s 657. India’s 675 for five in the 2004 Multan Test remains the highest ever against the home team in Pakistan. England’s 657 all out is also the fifth-highest total conceded by Pakistan in Test cricket.ESPNcricinfo Ltd398 Runs scored by England off boundaries, the fifth highest by any team in a Test innings. They are also the most boundary runs scored by England in a Test innings, surpassing the 372 against South Africa in 2016, and the most scored by any team against Pakistan. The tally rises to 402 with the four overthrows that Jack Leach received to get off the mark on Friday.115 Balls Harry Brook needed for his 150. It is the fourth-fastest individual 150 in the history of Test cricket and the fastest for England. The previous quickest for England was by Ben Stokes, off 135 balls against South Africa in 2016.ESPNcricinfo Ltd27 Runs scored by Brook in the 83rd over off Zahid Mahmood, the most scored by an England batter in an over in Test cricket. The previous highest is 24 runs, shared between Ian Botham (off Derek Stirling in 1986) and Brook himself, when he hit six fours in an over off Saud Shakeel on Thursday.235 Runs conceded by Zahid in the first innings in Rawalpindi are the most by a bowler in an innings on Test debut. The previous highest was 222 runs by Suraj Randiv against India in 2010. The 235 runs by Zahid are also the fourth-most conceded by a bowler for Pakistan in a Test innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd7.12 Zahid’s economy rate during England’s first innings. It is the worst for any player to have bowled 150-plus balls in a Test innings. Only one bowler before Zahid had an economy of more than six runs – 6.15 by Yasir Shah against Australia in 2019 at the Adelaide Oval.

Stokes rings his changes and keeps attacking intent, but moribund surface is winning so far

Vithushan Ehantharajah02-Dec-2022It doesn’t matter if you score 657, as England did in Rawalpindi, or even 1,000, as Zak Crawley joked they might on the evening of day one. Big runs get you headlines – and a few records – but wickets win you matches.Even a stranger to the format can work out: if Test cricket allows you an endless supply of one and just 20 of the other, the latter is clearly more valuable. It’s like scaling a mountain. Getting to the summit in double-quick time is cool and all. But you can only say you’ve conquered it once you’ve got down in one piece. And as remarkable as England’s first innings is, beating any of their previous scores in Asia and at a world-record run-rate, coming out victorious will make it that little bit more worthwhile.But, as Pakistan closed on 181 for 0 – taking the pitch’s tally to 828 runs in two days for the loss of just 10 wickets – the prospects for the concluding three days of the match were veering towards the tedious. Getting to the bottom of this one might be like trying to get down a flight of stairs designed by MC Escher.Not that England are thinking this situation is beyond them, certainly not yet. As Ben Stokes spoke to the umpires when bad light took the players off once more, leaving Joe Root to flick off the bails at the Pavilion End and complete the formalities of an early close, England’s spirits were seemingly undimmed, if not their bodies.”It is [flat],” confirmed Will Jacks, who hit 30 from 29 balls, then bowled 12 wicketless overs for 50 in his first on-field day as a Test cricketer.. “But I guess there’s a little bit there, maybe? It’s only two days, there are three long days ahead of us. A little bit of grip, so we hope that will increase over the next few days.”It’s easy to overlook the bowling aspect of this era, and understandably so when the other suit is so breathtaking, but in many ways, it’s the most crucially considered aspect of this new England regime. If the batting is broadly defined by an absence of thought – “it’s only you and the bowler there … just watch the ball,” as Jonny Bairstow succinctly put it at Trent Bridge last summer – then the curation of England’s efforts in the field is where the real thinking goes.Throughout the English summer we saw consistent attacking fields: slips kept in for longer than usual, catchers employed in peculiar areas, bumper plans – more refined than previous versions, it should be said – opted for sooner rather than later. “It’s great for me,” James Anderson said, and you’d think he has bowled to every conceivable field across his 19 years at this level. “It’s given me a slightly different mindset with the ball. Trying to always take wickets, not just trying to hold up an end or keep the economy rate low.”That Anderson rests overnight on figures of eight overs, two maidens, 0 for 16 is not reflective of a change of tactics, or a regression to an old, conservative norm. England were funky from the off.Will Jacks insists England will keep pushing for the win, in spite of the tough nature of the pitch•Getty ImagesBoth Anderson and Ollie Robinson were afforded three slips, before the third was deemed redundant. Ben Duckett spent most of their collective opening spell stationed at leg slip, finer for Imam-ul-Haq given a left-hander’s penchant for tucking off the hip. There was a catching midwicket and straight silly mid-on employed, and indeed a short leg to the seamers. At times those positions in front of the batter were doubled, and it was notable early on that Stokes put himself at a three-quarters cover: at times he walked in so far he could have probably shaken hands with either Imam or Abdullah Shafique by the time the ball was released.Following a 20-minute mini-session before lunch, the spinners were brought on in the afternoon session, similarly reinforced with bat-pads and short legs for the right- and left-hander. Jack Leach, emboldened by Stokes’ faith in him over the summer, tried a few different release points, while Jacks would eventually swap a straighter line for some consistency outside off. Leach was even afforded a leg gully, who was close enough to the action to warrant wearing a helmet.The day ended with Stokes sending down three overs split between two tactics. He started short, with bouncers at both batters before searching for reverse-swing with a fuller, straighter examination of Shafique. By then, all England could hold on to was the fact that the bounce is getting a little more unreliable. They could do with that degrading as quickly as the sun sets in Rawalpindi. While their batting has bought them time in this match, bad light has already taken out 32 overs from two days’ play.Is there scope for anything different? It’s hard to say, especially so early in the tour. The morning moisture might assist a ball that still seems to be holding up pretty well. Perhaps the only thing they might wince at is the lack of a point of difference or two, on a pitch that even PCB chairman Ramiz Raja lambasted as “embarrassing” during his Friday lunchtime media rounds. Perhaps an express quick and a wrist spinner? Sadly the former, Mark Wood, was ruled out of this Test well before a virus ran through the squad. The latter, Liam Livingstone, joined him in the changing room just before tea after jarring his knee while fielding on the boundary.Luck is also handy, and England might consider that the two missed opportunities to remove Shafique in the space of seven deliveries were a case of misfortune rather than straight-up negligence.The first – on 54 – was a glove down the leg side off Anderson that Ollie Pope did well to reach but could not gather cleanly. Might a fit Ben Foakes have got there? Again, it’s hard to say, but it’s a hypothetical that does a double-twist when you consider that without Jacks – a late addition after Foakes felt unwell on Thursday morning – the gap in the bowling left by Livingstone’s absence would have been considerably greater. Then, on 56, Leach leapt in expectation when Shafique guided a length delivery into the midriff of Keaton Jennings (on as a sub) at short leg. The timing on the shot, however, allowed it to burst straight in and out.Related

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“We’re going to have to take a few worldie catches and have a few crazy moments go our way to win,” Jacks admitted.”There’s only one team that can win it. Pakistan look like they are happy with a draw, the way they are batting. With this team environment we’ve got and our leaders, we’ll be pushing for the win, no matter what happens.”You have to admire that enthusiasm because it is sincere and it speaks to how quickly new blood has been inculcated in this side. Stokes will spend the evening racking his brains for ways to get more creative, primarily through schemes in the field but maybe also through trying to engage Pakistan in a bit of a stand-off. Whatever patience England need to adopt will have to be reciprocated ten-fold by Pakistan’s batters, who are still 476 behind with three days to play.On Monday, Brendon McCullum, speaking on behalf of his captain at the start of the week, said there would be no draws. “If we get beat, Pakistan, we know, will have played well. I expect us to play well and if we get outplayed, that’s okay too.”For now, it looks like both sides are going to finish second to this pitch, which looks like walking away with all the joy and a second demerit point in nine months. Unless, of course, something spectacular happens. Which, given England’s recent history, is not totally out of the question.

There were two main components to the charge, and the CDC was convinced on neither point

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Apr-2023ECB chair Richard Thompson described it as “the most complex and thorough regulatory investigation and disciplinary process” English cricket has ever seen. As such, when it came to the most high-profile component of the Cricket Disciplinary Committee (CDC) hearings over racism at Yorkshire, the grey areas were simply too grey.The key difference between the case against Michael Vaughan by the ECB following Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of discriminatory language and those levelled at five other former Yorkshire players was on the scale of detail. It relied on proving a specific sentence was uttered by Vaughan at a specific time – prior to the start of a T20 match between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in June 2009 and post the team huddle. This was the only charge against Vaughan, as opposed to the others – and it failed to stick.The first reason for that was because full, exact phrase could not be ascertained. It was noted within the final report produced by the CDC panel -consisting of Tim O’Gorman as chair, Mark Milliken-Smith KC and Dr Seema Patel – that while the beginning of the alleged comment Vaughan made to Rafiq and three other Asian players (Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan) had been consistent in Rafiq’s accounts leading up to the disciplinary hearing – “There’s too many of you lot” – the end varied from either “we need to have a word about that” or “we need to do something about it”.Related

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It was noted the final ECB charge went with “we need to have a word about that”, whereas a letter sent to Vaughan in February 2022 notifying him of the investigations went with “we need to do something about it”. During cross-examination, Rashid, a key witness, ended up using both versions which, in the eyes of the panel, made his testimony obsolete: “in respect of an allegation in which the words alleged are particular and important, this clearly has an adverse impact on the reliability and accuracy of the ADR’s evidence”.When questioned by Milliken-Smith, the ECB lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC acknowledged the “slightly messy” nature of the different versions but argued the subclauses did not change the meaning behind the sentence. The panel acknowledged as much, as well as that the incident occurred almost 14 years ago and so might not lend itself to clear recollection. This caveat they afforded to both sides.In their opinion, the consistency in the allegations and recollections of the first part of that sentence – “There’s too many of you lot” – constituted a ‘second limb’ to Vaughan’s charge. That moved the process along, allowing other evidence to the table, which, ultimately, brought down the ECB’s case against Vaughan.Shahzad, in a recorded interview with the ECB on 3 December 2021, was unequivocal that he “didn’t hear” the comment, at odds with Rafiq’s assertion it was “said loud enough for all of us Asian players and the other Yorkshire players to hear it”. Even though Shahzad was not present for cross-examination, weight was given to his testimony as one of the four allegedly targeted by the comment. That is in contrast to Naved-ul-Hasan, who declined the request of the ECB to engage with the process in January 2022, despite confirming to ESPNcricinfo that he would in November 2021.The key figure in Vaughan’s case was Jacques Rudolph, whose story in this incident has several layers. Rudolph was captain on the day, and as per the inconclusive Sky footage from the match, was stood between Vaughan and the four Asian players in the huddle. It is a position he was reasonably assumed to have remained in during a 19-second period when the broadcast cuts away from the huddle, in which time the comment was alleged to have been made.Vaughan and his Yorkshire team-mates lie in a huddle before their T20 fixture at Trent Bridge in 2009•Clive Mason/Getty Images Moreover, Rafiq’s witness statement in the case against Rich Pyrah mentioned that Rudolph was also referred to as “one of us” or “one of you lot” – an Asian player – because of his darker complexion compared to the white members of the squad. Thus, the panel reasoned, he would have been more sensitive to what was supposedly said. In an email to Brabners – Vaughan’s solicitors – in October 2021, Rudolph stated “categorically” that he “did not hear any comment made in that regard”.The words could not be proved. Historic tweets presented by the ECB – which Vaughan himself described as “offensive” and “completely unacceptable” – might have worked as supplementary evidence, particularly two from 2010, some 15 to 16 months after the incident. Further testimony from Shahzad – “I don’t remember him saying stuff like that…. He wasn’t that way inclined, you know, he definitely wasn’t” – along with the fact this was the only public accusation levied against Vaughan in what the panel called “a lengthy and high-profile playing career” were stronger assessments of his character. With little to ride alongside, the tweets were, ultimately, redundant.Evidently, offering himself up for cross-examination also worked in Vaughan’s favour. That is expressly clear in the summation of the cases against Pyrah, Andrew Gale, Tim Bresnan and John Blain. The panel drew “reasonable inference” that their failure to attend the disciplinary hearings was because they did not have “an answer to the ECB’s case which would sensibly stand up to cross-examination”. The same point was made about Matthew Hoggard, who admitted using terms like “Rafa the K*****”, P*** and “TBM” or “token black man”. Hoggard’s qualified admissions and that of Gary Ballance and Yorkshire were used as vital components against those four.In a statement, Vaughan criticised the “adversarial” nature of the CDC investigation. While there are legitimate questions to be asked about how all this has been conducted, especially how English cricket arrived at a point where this was rightly deemed a necessity, the process of squaring one man’s word against another, whether held in an Arbitration Centre or the high courts, is necessarily adversarial. Of course, the portrayal in parts of the media as all this being solely about Vaughan and Rafiq didn’t help. Though unavoidable, perhaps, given former England captain was the only one of the six charged to attend the hearings.In summing up Vaughan’s case, which occupies eight of the 82 pages of the CDC’s findings, the panel stated they did not conclude that anyone had lied or acted out of malice – which in itself feels like their way of dampening the “Vaughan vs Rafiq” framing of this whole affair. Their considerations centred squarely on whether the ECB’s case against Vaughan “was sufficiently accurate and reliable on the balance of probabilities, to rule out mistake.”Their conclusion: “It was not”.

Mohit Sharma had kept at it, behind the scenes, and made sure he was ready for his moment when it came, ready to make it his

Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Apr-20230:52

Tewatia: ‘Mohit has been working really hard in the last two years’

There’s been a retro flavour to IPL 2023. MS Dhoni is smacking it at a 200-plus strike rate. Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla and Karn Sharma are taking wickets and reminding the world that no team is complete without a chubby legspinner.Thursday night in Mohali was yet another retro night. Gujarat Titans were fresh off a shock defeat in which one of their young quicks, Yash Dayal, had been hit for five successive sixes in a dramatic final over. They took Dayal out of the firing line for this game against Punjab Kings, and replaced him with a 34-year-old, whose last season as an IPL regular was in 2018. He’d played one game in 2019, one in 2020, and nothing since.Mohit Sharma. Purple Cap winner in 2014. World Cup semi-finalist in 2015. He had disappeared from our TV screens for years and years, and he was back now.Related

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He was back, and from a spectator’s distance he seemed to be the same bowler he has always been. He was doing the same things he’s always done, and he was doing them well.Mohali served up an interesting pitch for this game – Titans captain Hardik Pandya suggested afterwards that it was a hard pitch where the new ball came on to the bat beautifully, but so hard that it quickly roughened up and softened up the ball. This meant that by the time Mohit came on, in the 11th over of Punjab’s innings, the ball was in just the sort of shape to behave a little unpredictably off the pitch.Mohit is a natural at maximising that sort of unpredictability. He hits an awkward, bail-trimming length – too short to drive on the up, not short enough to pull. And he’s always been adept at hitting that length while shuffling through his variations – on pace, either with the seam upright or scrambled, or off pace, delivered either as an offcutter or out of the back of the hand.

Everything about his comeback screamed pragmatism. At this time last year, Mohit was travelling around the IPL with Titans as a net bowler. Mohit had gone unsold at the auction, and he’d jumped at the chance to train and work on his bowling when Titans coach Ashish Nehra had offered him the net-bowler role

On a pitch that’s a little bit two-paced, or when he’s armed with an old ball that’s gone a little soft, Mohit can be extremely hard to hit.Punjab discovered this on Thursday, and it was a gradual realisation rather than a sudden jolt of knowledge, a realisation that dawned over a succession of dot balls and half-timed singles to deep fielders. By the time he was finished, with figures of 4-0-18-2 next to his name, their innings had stalled and stultified.Mohit dismissed Jitesh Sharma in his first over, the ball straightening ever so slightly from that in-between length to brush the outside edge of an attempted back-foot punch. Sam Curran joined Bhanuka Rajapaksa at the crease, and Punjab had a left-left pair at the crease all the way until Mohit’s final over.Mohit took his second wicket in that final over, the 19th of the innings, hitting the pitch hard with an offcutter-bouncer and daring Curran to hit against the angle, against the deviation, and towards the longer leg-side boundary. Curran took on the shot, and picked out deep midwicket. This was the perfect Mohit wicket, full of skill and smart playing of percentages.

“If you have to upgrade your cricket or better it in any way, you need competitive practice. I felt, what am I going to do sitting at home? I was here and doing competitive practice instead, I kept myself involved in cricket, and I think it was a good time for me”Mohit Sharma, on spending IPL 2022 as a net bowler with Gujarat Titans

The right-handed Shahrukh Khan walked out to the crease, and this was immediately followed by what may have been the day’s first sighting of Mohit’s most famous party trick, the back-of-the-hand slower ball.This is the ball that made Mohit’s name, a dipping topspinner that emerges with the seam miraculously upright. It’s a more spectacular variation than his offcutter, and comes out of his hand with a far bigger drop in speed, but on this day, he shelved it for most of his spell because he was bowling mostly to left-hand batters and wanted to use the variation that deviates away from them. Another illustration of the smart, pragmatic cricketer Mohit is.Everything about his comeback screamed pragmatism. At this time last year, Mohit was travelling around the IPL with Titans as a net bowler. Mohit had gone unsold at the auction, and he’d jumped at the chance to train and work on his bowling when Titans coach Ashish Nehra had offered him the net-bowler role.Mohit Sharma, in his comeback game in the IPL, returned 2 for 18•BCCI”I had had a back surgery, and a lot of people weren’t sure if I had played enough domestic cricket [to be signed at the auction],” Mohit said when he was interviewed by between innings. “I got a call from Ashu , saying I should be with the team, and if someone gets injured I’d get a chance.”Obviously, if you have to upgrade your cricket or better it in any way, you need competitive practice. I felt, what am I going to do sitting at home? I was here and doing competitive practice instead, I kept myself involved in cricket, and I think it was a good time for me.”You may think that a cricketer of Mohit’s experience and stature might balk at being a net bowler, but he didn’t see it that way.”It’s not a bad thing to be a net bowler,” he said. “You get very good exposure, you get to play alongside good players, and if you don’t do competitive practice, your cricket won’t evolve.”Mohit Sharma. He had all but disappeared from our TV screens for years and years, but he’d never really gone away. He’d kept at it, behind the scenes, and made sure he was ready for his moment when it came, ready to make it his.