All posts by h716a5.icu

'Younis is a superstar'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Current and former Pakistan players were among those who took to Twitter to congratulate Younis Khan on his achievement of 10,000 Test runs

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2017

Fear of collapse helped Tamim and Shakib rebuild

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Two wickets in five balls might have been the tip of the iceberg in a Bangladesh collapse in years past, but harsh memories spurred Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan to buck historical trends

Mohammad Isam25-Mar-2017Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan had just taken 11 runs off Lakshan Sandakan’s seventh over as Bangladesh moved to 182 for 3 in 33 overs. Both batsmen had been picking the length of each Sri Lankan bowler quite easily and were getting into the groove as they approached the slog overs.With seven wickets in hand, both batsmen were in the right mindset to start the big hitting early. But then something strange happened. Tamim and Shakib simply knocked it around for the next 11 overs, accumulating a further 59 runs in a period during which both reached personal milestones.Tigers get special phone call

Members of the Bangladesh team were huddled near a mobile phone soon after they had completed the 90-run win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Dambulla.Tamim Iqbal later revealed there was someone very special at the other end of the phone: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had made a congratulatory call.
“Our Prime Minister had called,” Tamim said. “We were talking to her after the game. After we had won the Test in Colombo, I couldn’t talk to her. She spoke to Shakib and Mushfiqur. After we had won today, she called the board president’s phone. Many of us got to speak to her. She congratulated all of us. It is a great feeling when the country’s Prime Minister wishes you well.”

If this were 2014, calls of selfish play would have sounded legitimate. After all, it was one of the worst years in recent memory for Bangladesh and even players like Shakib and Tamim were roughing it out. Bangladesh were losing so many games that year, that if a player was called out for playing for his place, they were mildly praised because at least they were doing something to stay in the team.Edginess grew as it appeared that Sri Lanka were also quite ordinary during this period. They were not taking the best decisions, and the outfielders were giving away runs quite regularly. So what was making batsmen as experienced as Tamim and Shakib hang back for so long?What seems to be a plausible explanation is that they were batting conservatively to avoid the pitfalls of the previous nine ODIs. Against Afghanistan, England and New Zealand, Bangladesh have given away good starts with the bat by losing wickets in clusters.Even when they won games during the last three bilateral ODI series, they regularly had a period when their batting fell from comfort to panic, to be bowled out for a lesser total than projected. And such a collapse always came after a sizeable partnership had ended. It set complacency in the dressing room as the next few batsmen couldn’t connect with big hits early in their innings.It had even spilled over to the Test arena, and there was even one threatening to happen in the first innings of the Colombo Test. During this game in Dambulla too, a five-ball spell soon after the 90-run second wicket partnership had Bangladesh losing Sabbir Rahman and Mushfiqur Rahim.Shakib and Tamim had to go through painstaking rebuilding to get Bangladesh back into the fight so they were not about to give it away. It was actually very smart batting if they were sticking to a predetermined plan, something Tamim indicated was the case as he set out to rebuild with Shakib following the double strike.”When I was batting in the 40s, I thought I was struggling,” Tamim said. “But if I had got out during that period, we wouldn’t have put up such a big score. You must have seen Mashrafe bhai coming outside and telling me to play long. Not everything will go according to your plan when you’re playing a long innings. You go through a difficult patch but you overcome it. Shakib played a superb innings. If he got one or two more overs, he would have got a hundred too.”The 11-over period from the 34th to the 44th sure looked ugly at times, as Tamim and Shakib restrained themselves. Tamim had the anchor role but Shakib too was playing conservatively. As their reined-in mentality ate into the last ten overs, anxiety rose.That is until Shakib tore into Lahiru Kumara for three fours in a row in the 45th over. He hammered one into Suranga Lakmal’s body in the next over before launching him over long-on for the first six of the Bangladesh innings. He fell next ball, but had shown Tamim to the unlocked door: now it is your turn.Tamim obliged too, hitting two fours and a six, the latter of which came via a drop at deep square leg, a lucky break for the tiring opener. He fell next ball, having made a solid 127 off 142 balls. It was more Gary Kirsten than his favourite Sanath Jayasuriya, but it worked for both Tamim and Bangladesh.He batted without any added ego through two very important partnerships – 90 for the second wicket and 144 for the fourth wicket. Sabbir got 54 out of those 90 runs, and at times Tamim looked very much like the background man. He is now a senior player in the team, having just become the first Bangladeshi to complete 10,000 international runs.Once Mushfiqur got out, he had to keep the scoring rate intact while Shakib settled in. While it looked odd to see Shakib take 37 balls to find his first boundary, it was clear that both had a set role. As soon as Shakib was hitting them well, Tamim focused back on being the anchor.During their fourth wicket partnership too, Shakib outscored Tamim by six runs. The pair added the 144 runs at 6.08 per over for 23.4 overs. What followed was also part of Bangladesh’s overall plan, but seldom do two very fast partnerships follow two substantial ones in a Bangladesh innings.Yet Tamim and Mosaddek fired 25 off just two overs before Mahmudullah joined the younger batsman to add 35 off the last 2.1 overs. In total, they took 60 off the last 25 balls, a very un-Bangladesh like ending to an innings.Tamim said that he would expect anyone else in Bangladesh’s top six to play a similar role in the future, if the situation demands.”We know that in ODIs, one batsman among the top six has to carry the bat,” Tamim said. “I have scored a lot of fifties but haven’t been able to convert to big ones. I will try to make every good start count.”He said that scoring a hundred which helps the team to win has a special feeling, and he was happy that he contributed to the win by also being involved in two big partnerships.”I am very satisfied,” Tamim said. “We batted first in hot weather. We did all the hard work. Sabbir played brilliantly. Shakib and I had a really good partnership. They were bowling well during a period, and we rotated the strike and looked for the odd boundary.”We planned our innings very well. Getting the hundred, and winning the game is the best feeling you can ever get.”

Fan Following: A night to rejoice at Eden Gardens

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

A hat-trick, runs for Kohli and a raucous Kolkata crowd cheering India on to victory

Sabyasachi Chowdhury22-Sep-2017Choice of game
An India-Australia clash generates a fair amount of buzz and I didn’t want to miss out on witnessing the match live at the Eden Gardens. There’s always immense pleasure in watching a contest with a packed house at one of the most renowned stadiums in the country.Team supported
Virat Kohli’s men have simply been stupendous in limited-overs cricket and have also been able to roll their oppositions over without much fuss. On the other hand, Eden Gardens hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for India in ODIs as they have lost quite a few games at the iconic venue. However, I still prayed for them to dictate terms to the visitors and register their second victory of the series.The climate
In the days leading up to the match, it rained cats and dogs in Kolkata. During the Indian innings, the clouds and the sun seemed to play hide and seek way too often.Dark clouds hovered over the stadium for the entire length of the innings when India batted. It rained eventually, but thankfully it wasn’t menacing enough to force a reduction in overs.Wow Moment
Kuldeep Yadav’s googly to dismiss Patrick Cummins, which fetched him the hat-trick. After Kuldeep got rid of Matthew Wade and Ashton Agar off consecutive deliveries, everyone waited in anticipation of what he would dish out in his hat-trick delivery.The left-arm wristspinner bowled a wrong’un to Cummins. The batsman pushed tentatively at the ball, more in hope than with conviction, and it took the outside edge of his willow.One thing I’d have changed
Virat Kohli’s dismissal, against the run of play, was the only thing I would have liked to change in the game. The pitch wasn’t a batsman’s paradise, but Kohli made batting look extremely easy. He blended caution with aggression and hardly played any extravagant stroke, which could have led to his dismissal.Every shot he played had a stamp of authority on it and he hardly looked out of touch during the course of his knock. It’s unfortunate that after doing the hard yards, the Indian skipper missed out on the three-figure mark.Crowd meter
It wasn’t a full house at the Eden Gardens, but it didn’t affect the decibel-levels. The atmosphere was absolutely electric and so was the crowd. There wasn’t any dearth of enthusiasm in cheering for their favourite team.Crowd comment
Over the past few years, several comparisons have been drawn between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. However, this time around another member of the Indian cricket team has been compared to the Master Blaster.An Indian fan, sitting on the row behind me, commented that Kedar Jadhav is somewhat similar to Tendulkar. It was a statement which left me completely perplexed as I had absolutely no idea of the reasons behind the comment.Face-off you relished
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah bowled exceptionally well in the first ten overs. While Kumar nipped out the wickets of David Warner and Hilton Cartwright, Bumrah bowled with venom and ferocity to maintain the pressure from the other end.However, Steven Smith and Travis Head weathered the storm and didn’t allow the Indian opening bowlers to get under their skins. An array of streaky boundaries flowed and they eventually survived the new-ball bursts from Kumar and Bumrah.Shot of the day
Marcus Stoinis’ six on the leg-side off Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling was the shot of the day for me. Bumrah is an out-and-out fast bowler and clearing the boundary off his bowling is not a walk in the park. Bumrah went for an attempted yorker, but it went horribly wrong for him. It turned out to be a full-toss on the pads. Stoinis made a proper connection and the ball cleared the ropes by a fair distance for a flat six.Marks out of 10
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Record-breaking Pujara, Saha stand out

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Ishant contributes in Delhi’s win, Nair belts second successive ton, Raina’s poor form continues

Akshay Gopalakrishnan04-Nov-2017Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed ShamiThe India Test pair teamed up to effect four dismissals. Saha was involved in half the Himachal Pradesh wickets across both innings, netting 10 catches to set a new tournament record. Promoted to open the innings in Bengal’s fourth-innings chase of 141, Saha had a shot at the target with an unbeaten 34 off 42 balls. But Bengal lost four quick wickets at the other end and had to settle for a draw.Shami, left out of India’s squad for the limited-overs series against New Zealand, finished with his second successive match haul of eight wickets. He initiated Himachal’s slide in the first innings, where they lost their last eight wickets for 82 runs and conceded a 213-run lead. He then scooped up five wickets in the follow-on, with scalps at the top, middle and lower down.Suresh RainaThe Uttar Pradesh captain’s iffy form this season extended into a third straight match. Tentative and bereft of confidence, Raina returned with scores of 10 and 16. He was a part of UP’s middle-order slide in the first innings that saw them move from 157 for 2 to 185 for 5. He made a more aggressive start to his second dig, sprinting to a run-a-ball 16 before nicking behind off his opposite number Ishant Sharma.Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Rishabh PantIshant reaped the benefits of tight lines to finish with identical figures of 3 for 38 in both innings. He was responsible for ending a burgeoning third-wicket stand in UP’s first innings. He then played a part in limiting UP’s overall lead to 251 by snaring three of the four wickets they lost inside the first nine overs. Delhi eventually chased down the 252-run target with four wickets in hand.Gambhir’s aggressive half-century set the tone for Delhi’s reply to UP’s first-innings 291. He had made 86 of the 125 runs Delhi had made at the time of his dismissal. But Delhi unraveled rapidly after Gambhir’s dismissal despite Dhruv Shorey’s stoic resistance. They eventually fell short of UP’s score by 22 runs, with Shorey left stranded on 98. Gambhir was Delhi’s first loss in their chase, as he slashed medium-pacer Ankit Rajpoot to the keeper for 1.Pant middled the ball well but fell short of converting his form into a substantial score in both innings. He struck a typically aggressive 30 off 23 balls in Delhi’s first innings before medium-pacer Mohammad Israr found his edge. In the second innings, he hastened Delhi’s march towards their target with 26 off 34 balls but failed to see them through, playing Mohammad Saif onto his stumps.Karun NairThe middle-order batsman struck his second century in two matches this season as Karnataka buried Maharashtra under a colossal 628 for 5 declared en route to an innings win. Nair partnered triple-centurion Mayank Agarwal in a third-wicket stand of 279. He cut pacer Pradeep Dadhe through the covers to become the third centurion of Karnataka’s innings. Nair perished to his favoured reverse sweep for 116, shortly before R Vinay Kumar called for the declaration.Ajinkya RahaneThe India Test No. 5, playing his first game of the season, fetched mixed returns. He struck a solid 49 and partnered centurion Prithvi Shaw in a 136-run second-wicket stand on a back-and-forth opening day against Odisha. Slow for the most part, Rahane fell after a period of tentativeness when he sent a thick edge flying to the wicketkeeper off an attempted cut. His second innings was less fruitful as he bagged a five-ball duck – his first in 46 innings in the tournament since the 2008-09 season.Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar PujaraThe Saurashtra powerhouses played their second match together this season. Pujara underpinned Saurashtra’s 553 for 9 declared with his 12th double-ton, the most by an Indian in first-class cricket. His 355-ball effort spanned a whopping 566 minutes, making for the second-longest innings by a Saurashtra batsman in the Ranji Trophy. Pujara was sent ahead of Robin Uthappa to open Saurashtra’s second innings, but was one of the four batsmen to fall in their small chase of 59.Jadeja, coming into the match on the back of a double-century and seven-wicket match haul against Jammu and Kashmir, had a rare off game with the ball in Rajkot. He ended with combined match figures of 2 for 131. With the bat, he made 42 in Saurashtra’s first innings and stemmed the bleeding in their chase to seal a six-wicket win.Umesh YadavThe India pacer played a part in sealing the first-innings lead for his team by dismissing half-centurions Rahul Singh and Vikas Yadav. He then opened the gates in Services’ chase of 292 by sending back opener Ravi Chauhan for a two-ball duck. Services crashed to 99 all out and lost by 192 runs.

Starc's chance to make South African mark

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

He has never played red-ball cricket in the country, but after some time off recovering from a heel injury, he is raring to go

Daniel Brettig in Johannesburg26-Feb-2018A remarkable amount of Australia’s most memorable displays of fast bowling – in recent times – have taken place under South African skies. Jason Gillespie emerged as a force here in 1997, Glenn McGrath had his way with the Proteas batsmen in 2002, Stuart Clark did likewise in 2006. Mitchell Johnson achieved the rare distinction of dominating two Test series, in 2009 and 2014, during which Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and a courageous Ryan Harris all had their moments.In between those two trips, came perhaps the most striking performance of them all – certainly the most unexpected. A teenaged Pat Cummins bolted from club cricket to the New South Wales domestic scene to the Test squad and a Johannesburg debut in 2011. His combination of hostility and maturity helped win a see-sawing classic for Australia, even if Cummins’ body was at least another five years away from being able to cope with regular Test match punishment.Absent from this honour roll, however, are Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Neither of them were fit or selected for the past two tours despite already being in the Australian set-up. Both of them were in a Test squad to face South Africa as far back as Ricky Ponting’s final Test, in Perth in 2012, but the Johnson resurgence alongside Siddle and Harris left them surplus to requirements.

I knew I’d be a little bit sore from having two weeks off and having to bowl a fair bit, but it hasn’t hit me that hard yet. The heel’s feeling pretty goodMitchell Starc on his return from injury

So it is with plenty of curiosity as well as enthusiasm that Starc embarks upon this assignment as the most experienced member of what the Australian captain Steven Smith has taken to calling “the big three”, alongside Cummins and Hazlewood. If he joked about Cummins’ choice of late-night viewing material this week, it was with a serious undercurrent about using the recollections of others to compensate for his own lack of experience in South African conditions.”I think he was chasing up some footage from his Test match here as he falls to sleep,” Starc said of Cummins. “We’ve got a good bowling meeting coming up when we get to Durban [on Tuesday]. We’re talking to him through his bit of experience there, Nathan Lyon’s played a bit here as well, and pick a few of the batters’ brains as well as to what a few of the wickets might do, because a few of us haven’t played too much here.”It’s going to be exciting to be a part of and as viewers as well I reckon. We don’t focus too much on them [South Africa], a lot of what we can do and focus on our strengths. A lot of that’s coming from the summer and how we all complement each other a lot. We’ll chat about the batters in detail, maybe a little bit about how they approach their bowling in these conditions, but a lot will be on what we can do to the best of our ability to take 20 wickets each Test.”Beware Josh Hazlewood in fading light•Getty ImagesStarc’s most recent Test appearance was at well below full fitness. Having suffered a bruised heel during the decisive WACA Ashes Test in December, he missed Boxing Day at the MCG but insisted on taking his place in the team for the final match of the series on his SCG home ground. Having rushed back into action, Starc was short of his best early in the match before gradually improving, but the after-effects of it all were evident in some decidedly unthreatening ODI displays.Like numerous other members of the Test side, Starc clearly needed a break, and after two weeks of relaxation and travel to South Africa, he was able to deliver a far more hostile level of speed in the Australians’ only warm-up fixture at Benoni. “I’ve had five days out of the six bowling, so it’s been good for the body, good to get a couple of wickets,” Starc said.”I’m one of the ones who hasn’t played any red-ball cricket here,” he said. “So it was nice to have a good three days hit out. [I feel] probably a hell of a lot better than I was after the bruised heel. The two weeks has been really good for the heel. I knew I’d be a little bit sore from having two weeks off and having to bowl a fair bit, but it hasn’t hit me that hard yet. The heel’s feeling pretty good, so hopefully it’s good signs for the rest of the series.”There was one neat subplot to the final day of the warm-up match, as the tourists got the chance to make the newly selected South Africa batsman Wiaan Mulder feel as unwelcome as possible as the fixture headed towards an Australian victory. Starc was central to this attack, hurling down plenty of bouncers on a pitch offering uneven bounce, with the unashamed intention of giving Mulder something to think about should he be named to play the Kingsmead Test on Thursday.”We thought we’d give him a little bit of a taste of what he might have to face if he gets a game through the series,” Starc said. “I think a few of us said they might have announced their squad a day too early. It was nice to take the handbrake off for a few overs and show him what he might be facing if he gets a crack through the series.”Mulder, of course, did not need to be facing Starc to know that Australia’s pacemen have invariably felt at home in this part of the world. There is all the aforementioned history, captured in a heap of television footage on YouTube and elsewhere, to tell him that.

Mystery teen Mujeeb Ur Rahman tipped to star at Hampshire

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Callum Ferguson’s record-breaking debut, plus former Middlesex player caught up in Windrush scandal

Paul Bolton05-Jun-2018Afghanistan’s teenage mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been predicted to make a huge impact in his first stint in county cricket with Hampshire in the Vitality Blast.Andy Moles, the former Warwickshire opening batsman, has worked closely with Mujeeb since he was appointed Afghanistan’s A team and Under-19s coach last September.In that time Mujeeb, a shy 17-year-old from Khost in the east of Afghanistan, has made rapid progress from Afghanistan’s Under-19 team to become the first male international cricketer to be born in the 21st century and the youngest-ever player in the IPL.Along with legspinner Rashid Khan, at Sussex, and allrounder Mohammad Nabi, who has signed for Leicestershire, Mujeeb will be among the first Afghanistan internationals to play county cricket and Moles believes that Hampshire have recruited a match-winning spinner.”He’s had a remarkable 12 months. Last year he was just a member of our Under-19 team but he was outstanding at the Asia Cup, then in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. He went from the World Cup to Sharjah, where he made his international debut at 16, and then he went and played in the IPL where he showed good temperament with Kings XI Punjab,” Moles said.”He comes from a poor background so it’s a life-changing experience for him. He’s a shy but very likeable kid. He’s still only 17 so he needs to manage his success and maintain his work ethic to keep improving but the signs are that he is doing that.”I think he will make a big impact with Hampshire. He’s a match winner because he is so different to other bowlers. He bowls everything, offspin, legbreaks, sliders – but he flicks them out of the front of his hand so it makes it very difficult for batsmen to read him.”****Former Middlesex fast bowler Wes Stewart remains one of the Windrush generation of immigrants anxiously waiting to discover whether they will finally be granted a British passport.Stewart was ten when he arrived in London in 1955 and has lived here ever since, paying taxes for more than 50 years.When he returned to Jamaica to visit his ill mother in 1968 Stewart was granted an emergency British passport which expired while he was there. He got a Jamaican passport – which gave his country of residence as England – to enable him to return.Stewart applied for a British passport seven years ago so that he could visit family and friends in Jamaica but was told he was an overstayer.His case has been taken by Kate Osamor, the Labour MP for Edmonton, but despite her help and calls to a hotline set up by the government in April, Stewart has heard nothing from the Home Office.”I’m still in limbo I haven’t heard anything from them. I phoned the hotline number but I still haven’t heard anything back,” Stewart said.”I’ve been paying taxes here since I left school. They have got my National Insurance number. I’ve been using that since 1961 so there should be no problem in them checking that.”Stewart joined the MCC Young Professionals straight from school, played a match for Gloucestershire at the start of the 1966 season but was then signed by Middlesex and played 52 first-class and six List A matches for them between 1966 and 1968.***Callum Ferguson enjoyed a stunning Worcestershire debut•Getty ImagesCallum Ferguson’s 192 for Worcestershire in their Royal London Cup victory over Leicestershire at New Road was the highest by a county debutant in List A cricket.The Australian surpassed the previous record held by Travis Head, coincidentally the man Ferguson has replaced as Worcestershire’s overseas player, who made 175 for Yorkshire also against Leicestershire two years ago.Worcestershire supporters who wondered what Ferguson might do for an encore did not have to wait long for an answer. He made 159 not out against Northamptonshire in his next appearance at New Road to keep them in contention for a second consecutive appearance in the knockout stages.Worcestershire face Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Thursday in a shoot-out for a semi-final place.***The end of the Royal London Cup cannot come soon enough for Glamorgan, who will finish bottom of the South Group, but not their batsman Kiran Carlson.Carlson has just completed his first year studying civil engineering at Cardiff University and exams have taken priority over cricket in recent weeks. Having spent two weeks cooped up in the university library, Carlson enjoyed himself on his return to cricket with a 40-ball half century which set up victory over Sussex at Sophia Gardens.***Spectators enjoyed the delights of outground cricket in the Royal London Cup, with sizeable crowds reported at Merchant Taylors’ School, Beckenham, Oakham School, Swansea and Eastbourne – where 4000 were crammed in for Sussex’s defeat by Essex on Sunday – during a busy half-term week blessed by decent weather.Leicestershire were also encouraged by a crowd of 1500 at Oakham – the alma mater of Stuart Broad – for their return to Rutland after a ten-year absence for the match against Lancashire. “We hope this will be the start of re-establishing the annual relationship again with Oakham,” Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan said.Hampshire chose to bat first at the St Helen’s ground•Getty Images***If there was to be an award for Stalwart County Cricket Supporter, Derbyshire’s David Griffin would be a strong contender.Griffin – well known on the county circuit for wearing shorts whatever the weather – has supported Derbyshire for 45 years during which time he has served the county as honorary secretary and club photographer. He has now been appointed project manager for the Proud To Be Derbyshire Heritage Project which aims to create an extensive permanent archive to safeguard and promote the history of cricket across the county.As part of the project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Griffin and other volunteers have been conducting a series of filmed interviews with past and present Derbyshire players, including Kim Barnett, Geoff Miller, Bob Taylor, Wayne Madsen and current captain Billy Godleman, whose recollections will be preserved for posterity.

Jos Buttler's vice-captaincy earmarks him as future Test leader

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

At the start of the season Buttler wasn’t even in the Test team and now he has replaced James Anderson as Joe Root’s right-hand man

George Dobell at Edgbaston31-Jul-2018Jos Buttler’s promotion to the vice-captaincy of the England Test team sustains his remarkable resurgence over recent weeks.Heading into this English season, Buttler’s best hopes of a Test recall were in scoring heavily for Lancashire in the final weeks of the county season. But that hurdle was skipped. Instead, he was recalled for the early-summer Test series against Pakistan on the back of some excellent form in the IPL and now, just two Tests later, finds himself as not only Joe Root’s right-hand man but identified, it would seem, as a future England Test captain.That was the impression given by Root at the pre-Test press conference, anyway. “Looking at very long term – I’m thinking five to 10 years – I see him as someone who can really drive this team forward,” Root said. “I see him as a crucial part of that.”He is obviously vice-captain of the white ball sides. He thinks extremely well about the game and has a lot of respect in the dressing room.”Root was at pains to stress that Buttler’s elevation should in no way be portrayed as a slight of James Anderson. Anderson was appointed to the role ahead of the Ashes – where he did an admirable job in trying circumstances – and retained the position for the Pakistan series.But he is 36 and Buttler is 27. It is pretty obvious who is the better long-term bet as captain should Root step down or be removed from the role.”It’s not a reflection on anything Jimmy has done,” Root said. “It’s not a way of pushing him out of this team. He’s still a massive part of driving it forward over the next couple of years.”We’re looking way down the line. This is a chance for us to grab a core group of players who are playing across all formats to really drive this team in a strong direction and in abetter direction than we have been going.”It is worth noting, however, that the appointment has been made only for this series. Ben Stokes was vice-captain until the end of the 2017 summer – which means Buttler is the third vice-captain within 10 months – and could be again if he is cleared of the charge of affray that he currently faces.And Buttler, for all his talent, still has some questions to answer over his suitability for Test cricket. He has played 20 Tests, after all, without making a century and his first Test innings – an unbeaten 85 against India in July 2014 – remains his highest.The England management clearly have great faith in his talent, however, and by making this appointment no doubt hope his own self-confidence may be boosted further.He has a decent record as a captain in the limited-overs formats already. England have won three of the four ODIs in which he has captained – including a really impressive performance as leader in Bangladesh when Eoin Morgan declined to tour due to security fears – and, in those games, he has averaged 78.66 with the bat. He seems to revel in the responsibility.Buttler’s elevation is also consistent with England’s current policy of respect for limited-overs performances. Just as Adil Rashid has been selected largely on the basis of the maturity and confidence he has exhibited in white-ball cricket, so Buttler has been promoted on the back of the calm positivity and leadership skills he has demonstrated in limited-overs cricket. He has never captained a side at first-class level.”The limited-overs teams have had huge amounts of success and it would be wrong not to tap into that,” Root said. “We’re not trying to replicate it, but this gives us a different way of looking at things and maybe grabbing a few things from the one-day side.”It’s a different route to the vice-captaincy, for sure. But most of what Buttler does has been different. As he keeps showing, that doesn’t mean it won’t work.

MSL review – Promising start bodes well for future editions

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

In terms of audience, the response was mixed, but CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe hinted that future editions of the MSL could have seven or even eight teams

Liam Brickhill17-Dec-2018Put together on an extremely short timeline, the inaugural Mzansi Super League was not without its glitches but was nevertheless groundbreaking. As Cricket South Africa chief executive Thabang Moroe put it: “It’s a plane that took off without wings, it managed to fly, and now it’s landed safely.”CSA had a couple of months to pull the first season off, and they now have a year to prepare for the next one. Below are five of the talking points from the first MSL, and hints of where it could go from here.Audiences were both better and worse than expectedThat sounds confusing, but hear me out. Attendances at the grounds themselves tended to be between 4000 and 7000, which can make big stadiums like the Wanderers – at 34000 capacity – seem very empty. Even for the final, at the beginning of the school holidays on a beautiful summer day, only 11000 people turned up at the 25000 capacity Newlands. Those numbers point to a disinterest in the league from the traditional cricket-watching public, but the television numbers suggest a different picture. As many as 3.4 million people tuned in to SABC to watch the opening weekend of the league, and according to CSA, the average television audience per game was 1.6 million in South Africa. So there is an audience, but it’s not the traditional one, and thanks to the legacy of spatial apartheid in South Africa, it’s an audience that tends to live disproportionately far from cricket grounds which, apart from Boland Park, are in the wealthier, central urban areas.As Cape Town Blitz coach Ashwell Prince pointed out on Twitter, even if entry to games was free, hurdles remain for the majority of South Africans. “The challenges that face a family of four or five, who doesn’t own a car, just to be able to get to the ground that is most definitely not situated in their neighbourhoods/townships is a major major challenge”, Prince wrote, adding “don’t mistake empty seats with a lack of interest”. In future, Cricket South Africa could look to partner with bus or transport companies to help overcome this challenge and subsidise transport to and from grounds.AB ain’t what he used to beIt’s obviously way too soon to call time on AB de Villiers’ greatness, but for a player with a reputation for being able to score in a 360-degree arc anywhere around the ground, the greatest innovation he brought to the league was that of communicating with his coach Mark Boucher via walkie-talkie in an early game – something that Hansie Cronje and Bob Woolmer tried 20 years ago. De Villiers’ availability from the very beginning of the tournament, when many other teams were still missing their Protea stars, should have given Tshwane Spartans an advantage, but aside from his fifty in Spartans’ first game and 93 not out in their last, de Villiers looked a little stale with the bat.AB de Villiers goes for an unorthodox shot•Getty ImagesHe wasn’t the only one. Hashim Amla also looked horribly out of sorts, though he may still have been struggling to recover fully from the finger injury that he picked up in the Caribbean Premier League. Fortunately, there was talent brightly shining elsewhere to light up the tournament despite the fading senior statesmen. And don’t discount a de Villiers comeback next season: he clearly has unfinished business.There’s talent on the fringesRassie van der Dussen picked up the best batsman award for his table-topping 469 runs at 58.62, at a strike rate of 138.75. He was remarkably consistent, scoring four fifties, and also displayed a particular nous for reading situations and pacing his innings accordingly. Elsewhere, Duanne Olivier was effective on a variety of pitches and conditions, leading with 20 wickets from 10 matches, while Spartans seamer Lutho Sipamla shone as a strike bowler both at the top of the innings and at the death with 16 wickets, showing a knack for knocking over big names in the opposition. Van der Dussen and Olivier have already played for South Africa, and Sipamla may well do so soon.Nono Pongolo takes off in celebration after hitting two sixes to win the match•Mzansi Super LeagueThen there is the story of seam-bowling allrounder Nono Pongolo, who was originally picked only as a backup option but ended up playing a key role in Jozi Stars’ title-winning campaign.Pongolo missed practice ahead of Stars’ opening game against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants with a side strain, and it seemed he could spend the rest of the tournament in the commentary box as he’d bagged a gig with the tournament broadcasters SABC. Then, everything changed.Pongolo was picked to play against Durban Heat and removed David Miller with his first ball. In the return game at Kingsmead, he smashed consecutive sixes off Marchant de Lange to seal a breathless, one-wicket win – Stars’ fourth on the trot, turning their campaign completely around after a wobbly start.He wasn’t done there, taking 6 for 20 – the best ever figures in a T20 at the Wanderers, and the second-best by a South Africa bowler in this format – against Spartans to secure a home playoff for Stars. His last act was to pull off a remarkable, acrobatic catch parried back into play at the third-man boundary to get rid of Farhaan Behardien, Cape Town Blitz’ last frontline batsman in the final, showing that he really can do it all. Pongolo’s fairytale story is exactly the sort that CSA was hoping to create by presenting the MSL as a platform for the development of fringe talent.Individual brilliance will win you games, but only a team can win a title The exceptional form of Quinton de Kock was both a blessing and a curse for Blitz. So potent was his hitting, when de Kock got in he won games virtually single-handed. But his numbers – 412 runs in eight innings, including a century and three fifties – stood in stark contrast to those of his team-mates. That fed into a belief, no doubt picked up by opposition teams, that if you can get de Kock early, the middle order might struggle, and that turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the tournament final, de Kock fell in the second over, and the rest of the batting limped to 113 for 7 without him.Quinton de Kock smashed the ball down the ground•Mzansi Super LeagueTheir opponents in that final, Stars, were also helped by the remarkable form of Reeza Hendricks and van der Dussen in their campaign, but vitally they also had players standing up in other areas.Pite van Biljon and Daniel Christian, with strike rates of 196 and 194.05 respectively – ensured that the advantage given by the top order was not squandered. While teams were content seeing Dale Steyn off defensively – as his economy rate of 6.48 suggests – that tactic couldn’t work against Stars. If Kagiso Rabada didn’t get you, Beuran Hendricks would, and behind them Olivier, Christian, Pongolo and Simon Harmer were waiting. The most complete team won the tournament.There’s room to growEncouraged by the ability to pull this tournament off on such a short timeline and the presence of a television audience, Moroe has hinted that future editions could have seven or even eight teams.”Why not?” answered Moroe when asked about plans to expand the league. “The plan is to expand by two more teams. We just need to re-do our calculations, have look at the budgets and forecasts, have a look at all the deals that we’ve signed and what is still there to be signed. Have a look at if we include the two teams in year three or year four, what does it really mean for us as CSA from a monetary point of view? What does it mean for the players? Which sorts of players would need to be involved? And then look at the cities that would be competing to host those two teams. Yes, we do want to expand by two teams. I don’t have an exact date as to whether we’ll do it in year three, year four, year five, but we definitely have plans for expanding.”Moroe also suggested that CSA would seek to include more foreign players next time around, including those from India who will be crucial in cracking the international market.”It’s definitely a reality, though I’m not sure how soon we can make that reality happen,” Moroe said of the inclusion of Indian players. “We continue to work very hard with our Indian counterparts, and not only them, we work very hard with the Australians and the English. I have a very good relationship with the CEOs of Afghanistan and Pakistan.”I’m working very hard with my counterparts to try and build what is a better picture for us and for this tournament. The bigger this tournament gets, the more it’s going to benefit all South Africans. It’s not just about what Thabang wants, or what CSA can possibly get out of it, it’s for everyone in this country. For the first time, South Africans have access to it, which is something that nobody can take away from South Africa.”

Australia follow-on at home for first time in 31 years

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The last time Australia were asked to follow-on at home was against England in 1988

Bharath Seervi06-Jan-20191988 – The last time Australia were asked to follow-on at home, before India’s enforcing it in the fourth Test in Sydney. England were the last team to do so, also at SCG, in 1988. Australia had played 172 consecutive home Tests without following-on before this SCG Test.4 – Times India have asked Australia to follow-on. However, this was the first time since the 1986 New Year’s Test in Sydney. The other two instances of India asking Australia to bat again are from the 1979-80 home series, in Delhi and Mumbai.India’s biggest first-innings leads against Australia•ESPNcricinfo Ltd2005 – The last time Australia followed-on anywhere in Tests. England had enforced it at Trent Bridge. It is the only other instance in last 30 years that Australia have followed-on in Tests.322 – India’s first-innings lead in this Test, their second-biggest against Australia and the biggest in Australia. They took a 400-run lead at Eden Gardens in 1998 which remains their largest. The 292-run lead in the last Test at MCG is the fourth-highest lead for India versus Australia. Thus, India’s top-two leads in Australia have come in this series.5/99 – Kuldeep Yadav’s figures – the second-best by a visiting left-arm wristspinner in Australia. Johnny Wardle had picked up 5 for 79 at SCG in 1955. That’s also the only other five-for by an overseas wristspinner in Australia. It was Kuldeep’s second five-wicket haul in six Tests.

Can Pakistan help Hasan Ali break early-career slump?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Pakistan’s lack of success with the new ball means one thing – for the quick to come good, the entire attack needs to come good

Osman Samiuddin in Nottingham02-Jun-20192:23

Misbah: Hasan Ali needs to adjust his lengths

The first time Hasan Ali really earned his international chops was an incongruous moment. He wasn’t an unknown in that few cricketers by that stage are truly unknown. He had been a breakout star in the first PSL the same year, so people had seen him bowl and made early assessments. But even there, infamously, a veteran Pakistani journalist had publicly ridiculed him by asking to his face at a press conference who he was and why he was there.ALSO READ – World record strip to be used for England-Pakistan matchHere now was an answer. It was Hasan’s final over of the innings in which he had gone for 69 already. That doesn’t sound great except that England, with an over to go, were 438-3. That’s right – game. Four-four-four.That final over, though, was fantastic, a mix of length deliveries with slight variations in pace, with some genuine slower balls thrown in, including one from the back of the hand. Jos Buttler was 85 off 47 at over’s start and Eoin Morgan 57 off 25. Hasan conceded just five off the bat. It was an over Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, in his mid-2000s, pre-mullet and hair transplant peak, could have produced. It was the smallest victory, but because it was only Hasan’s third ODI and came at the end of such an onslaught, it was an important one. This short, wiry kid who didn’t look like a fast bowler, could be a fast bowler.From there, through Australia (a first five-for in Sydney), through the Champions Trophy (the tournament’s leading wicket-taker) to the end of 2017, Hasan was the world’s pre-eminent ODI bowler. By some distance. Nobody, not Rashid Khan, not Adil Rashid, not Jasprit Bumrah, not Trent Boult, not even Kagiso Rabada.Maybe, as Alex Ferguson once quipped of Gary Neville, Hasan lacked a couple of inches to be a great fast bowler (in Neville’s case, a great centre-back) and didn’t have extreme pace, but these didn’t feel important. He was smart – remember the Eoin Morgan dismissal in the Champions Trophy? First over back, pitch one up, pitch one slightly shorter, both on off and tight and having sensed Morgan was itching to step out, a third one slightly wider and fuller to catch the edge.With it, the skills were in place: reverse-swing, a mean bag of slower balls, solid yorkers, and a skiddy bouncer.Hasan Ali poses for a photo•Getty ImagesSince then, however, things have turned. He returns to the scene of that final over, against the same opponents on Monday and where that game was the launchpad for his rise, he is here a bowler in an early-career rut. He’s still taken as many wickets as any Pakistani fast bowler since the start of 2018 but those numbers are different gravy, except in a bad way.

Hasan Ali in ODIs since 2017

Year Inns Balls Wkts Avg Econ SR2017 18 914 45 17 5 20.32018 14 679 19 34 5.7 35.72019 8 393 5 81.6 6.2 78.6In 2019 the numbers are even grimmer and have only passed unnoticed because of the focus on Amir’s form. Some of Hasan’s vim, some vitality has dimmed. Even that wicket-taking celebration feels like it needs a reboot. But then if you’re part of a side that’s lost 11 completed ODIs in a row, that’s a reasonable thing to have happened.What has happened? Pakistan insist he’s working as hard as he was before (and he is a ferocious trainer). They don’t think his performances have dipped that badly, although by numbers that is an impossible case to hold. Neither has his average pace dropped. According to , his average pace by year since his debut has been 131kph in 2016, 135kph in 2017, 136kph in 2018 and 134kph so far this year.It’s worth noting – though not drawing too much from just yet – that in this second phase, he has become a Test regular. And he’s actually grown with the red ball; it was overlooked in all the praise for Mohammad Abbas and Yasir Shah in Pakistan’s last home season that Hasan had a stellar series against New Zealand, taking 13 wickets.Logically, though, it makes sense to place his dip against the recent broader dysfunction of Pakistan’s ODI bowling in the same time. Amir had not, until the last game against West Indies, been taking wickets. Pakistan have inducted inexperienced bowlers such as Shaheen Afridi, Usman Shinwari and Mohammad Hasnain, in the process changing the nature of Hasan’s role. And it’s not said often enough but Rumman Raees’s injury-enforced absence and rehabilitation issues has taken a huge toll. It’s no coincidence that he last played an ODI in January 2018, the moment when the performance of Pakistan’s attack had fallen off a cliff.That has, at least, changed the situation into which Hasan usually arrives in an innings at first or second change. In that first phase of his career, Hasan would often have the relative luxury of coming on to bowl with a wicket or two down. Only seven times out of 24 innings, in fact, did he come on with the opposition opening pair still batting. In those games, he averaged 25.43 but when at least a wicket or two was down, his average fell to around 16.

Hasan Ali in ODIs since 2018 v the top 10 teams

Phase Inns Balls Runs Wkts Avg Econ SR1 to 10 12 138 168 1 168 7.3 13811 to 40 18 576 490 5 98 5.1 11541 to 50 11 187 284 10 28.4 9.1 18.7Since 2018, he’s come on to bowl with no wickets down as many as 11 times out of 21 innings. In those games his average has shot up to 63. His averages when one or more wicket is down improves (around 30) but again, it’s not at his pre-2018 levels.Pakistan’s lack of success with the new ball, in other words, has affected Hasan’s performances which, when you think about it, is an obvious finding: most bowlers are more dangerous when some wickets are down. It’s worth wondering too what a slight dip in Shadab Khan’s performances in the same time (since 2018), hitherto an ally during those middle overs, has meant for Hasan.But the lack of success with the new ball has actually pressed Pakistan into opening with Hasan. He’s only opened the bowling seven times in his career but three of those occasions have been in the last three ODIs – and that was the first time he’d done it since January 2018.A World Cup underway, more pressing than the reasons is the answer, which would appear obvious: for Hasan to come good, Pakistan’s entire attack needs to come good.

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