All posts by n8rngtd.top

The reason why we expect Sri Lanka will make something of the Tests against India is because in his own unobtrusive way, Karunaratne has made it so

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Mar-2022There is a stepdad-of-the-year vibe to Dimuth Karunaratne’s leadership. When he got the job in early 2019, the Sri Lanka captaincy – never not a theatre of high drama – was in a particularly toxic place. Dinesh Chandimal had not merely been replaced as captain, but also been dumped from the team entirely.In the previous four years, three others had led the side, on top of which Chandika Hathurusingha, the coach at the time, was not only facing serious heat from the board and the sports minister himself, but Sri Lanka’s most senior player Angelo Mathews was also at an open war with him.Karunaratne came like a light rain to tone down – if not quite extinguish – the fire. Just an affable guy. You know the type. A kind word here, an arm around the shoulder there. Not the fire-and-brimstone stepdad who will erupt when you tell him about the flunked exam. Instead, he’ll peer over his glasses past his gardening magazine, bend an ear, let you figure your own life yourself.Related

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What is clear is that Sri Lanka’s Test team desperately needs Karunaratne in the picture, because remember what happens when he isn’t? In January last year, he hit a terrific second-innings century in Johannesburg but picked up a nasty fracture in his hand during the course of that knock, and had to miss the upcoming England Tests at home because of it.Sri Lanka have had some bad old times in the past few years, but nothing was more embarrassing than series. On day one of the first Test in Galle, they were all out for 135, collapsing to some profoundly innocuous offspin from Dom Bess. It was like watching someone trip over their shoelaces before being gnawed to death by a hamster, which Bess is. In their last innings of that series, Sri Lanka failed even more abysmally – all out for 126, thus sealing a 2-0 series loss.So what happens when Karunaratne comes back? They draw two Tests in the West Indies, win a series at home against Bangladesh and then beat West Indies 2-0 at home. Not the most challenging assignments in Test cricket, sure, but when the alternative is shameful capitulation, you’ll take three wins and three draws from six Tests.The reverse-sweep to get out of jail when he hasn’t hit a conventional sweep all game: Karunaratne against India in 2017•Associated PressKarunaratne himself thinks – and his thoughts are not without merit – that Sri Lanka are building to something. Building. Not frantically keeping their noses above churning water; not lurching from disaster to elation. Building. Our guy has led the charge himself. Since 2019 – and in an era that has been notoriously unkind to opening batters – Sri Lanka have had seven century stands for the first wicket. No one else has had more than five. Lahiru Thirimanne has featured in five of those; Pathum Nissanka in two. Karunaratne in all.Which in a roundabout way brings us to India, because while Karunaratne has hit hundreds against all but two of the oppositions he has faced, his best innings came against India – on the filthiest of filthy turners in Sri Lanka, the spiritual home of the filthy turner. He barely swept R Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja – they shared 14 wickets between them in that match – but in his own unobtrusive way, he clawed to 141.Whips through midwicket, cuts that look pretty good but somehow don’t quite get to the boundary, drives that don’t pierce the gap in the sense that a diving mid-off can get a hand to it but can’t stop it completely and the funny-looking reverse-sweep to get out of jail when he hasn’t hit a conventional sweep all game: this is the house Karunaratne has built.In the past year, it has looked like a half-decent house actually, because his own batting form has coincided with a happy stretch for the Test side. He cracked 902 Test runs from 13 innings at an average of 69.38 in 2021. But, okay, most of those runs came against West Indies and Bangladesh. Playing India in India is a big step up, which means that 2022 is starting with probably the toughest assignment in all of Test cricket. Here is what he had to say about that.”I have only played three Tests in India, and I wasn’t able to make a lot of runs. I’m very determined that this series will be my best series in India. It’s ok that this year starts with a really tough series. It’s from the tough starts that you learn things about yourself. I’ve left my good 2021 aside, and am focusing on getting a good start this year and making it as good as last year. Contributing to a team win is what’s important.”Read that quote again. Because it’s concentrated Karunaratne. There is an awareness of his failings. An acceptance of less-than-ideal circumstances. A grim determination. Stepdad of the year.There is some expectation now that Sri Lanka will make something of this Test series. Karunaratne knows that. And he expects it himself. And the big reason why he, and we, expect it is because in his own unobtrusive way, he has made it so.

Veteran will provide constant presence as Lancashire host Essex in Blast quarter-final

Paul Edwards06-Jul-2022Croft of Lancashire. It has a ring to it; an intimation of loyalty beyond question and certainly beyond contracts. It was the same with Stewart of Surrey (both of them), and one would like to think it will be the same with Fletcher of Nottinghamshire and Abell of Somerset. Some of the very best things in life are non-negotiable and it’s surely absurd to think of Steven Croft representing a county other than Lancashire.It’s hardly likely to happen, of course. Crofty is 37 now – that seems even dafter, by the way – and on Friday evening he will play his 224th T20 game when Lancashire host Essex in the Vitality Blast quarter-final. Those statistics include a record 148 consecutive appearances, the most by any player in English cricket and second in global terms only to Suresh Raina’s 158 appearances for Chennai Super Kings. Since he made his short-form debut for Lancashire in 2006, Croft has scored 4810 runs at a steady average around 30, he has pouched 130 catches and he has taken 78 wickets with his occasional off-spin. (His CV includes eight matches for Auckland in 2008-09 but those games hardly change the overall picture.)This year the off-spin has become very occasional indeed; in fact, there’s only been one over of it and maybe this is not surprising in a team that has often included Matt Parkinson, Liam Livingstone, Tom Hartley and Tim David. But if Croft’s bowling hasn’t been needed as much in 2022, his batting has become ever more valuable. He is Lancashire’s leading scorer with 422 runs at an average of 35.16 and he has notched three fifties, two of them at Blackpool, his old club. Going in at No.3, he has almost had time to build innings and to score important runs, even in a side that has included Livingstone, David, Salt, and Jos Buttler for one game.”My role’s changed a little bit,” Croft said. “I’ve always enjoyed batting at No.3 in the Blast, I’ve done a bit of it in the past and it’s nice to go in when the ball’s a bit harder. It suits my game to bat in the opening overs and I’ve been enjoying it. You think you’ll be in early and I always see that as an opportunity to stay positive. There’s not much of a lull after the Powerplay these days, everyone just keeps going. You might pick your bowlers and your ends but you go hard all the way through.”That reference to going hard runs a little counter to Rob Key’s view, which was expressed a few years ago, that twenty overs is longer than people might think. There is, so Key implied, time to take stock. But Croft’s career can be seen as a prism through which the development of English cricket can be viewed and T20 is now a format in which quiet overs are wasted overs. What’s more, everyone is expected to be able to bat and field and if you can chip in with a couple of cheeky overs of something funky, that’s all the better. And the need for all players to be able to bat was made clear on Sunday evening when Hartley marked the arrival of a new bat by hitting his first sixes in professional cricket, blows which ensured Lancashire bagged a home quarter-final.”It has been coming for Tom,” Croft said. “He’s always had that potential with the bat and he works on it but it was nice to see him get us over the line. But all the lads work on multiple skills and that includes the fielding as well. Even at 9, 10 or 11, you have to find a way to score and it’s the same with the ball. I’ve taken a back seat with that this season but I may need to do a little more on Friday.”Lancashire’s need for Croft’s all-round skills has been heightened by the fact that Livingstone, Salt, Parkinson and Gleeson have all been named in Buttler’s England squad for the three-match T20 series against India. Essex have not been weakened at all by international calls but maybe that balances things out a bit. After all, Lancashire have not lost a home T20 match for two years and Croft is grateful that he won’t be spending a big chunk of two days on a coach down to Chelmsford, a ground where he recalls the atmosphere being “boisterous to say the least” the last time Lancashire played a quarter-final there in 2010. They were hammered by eight wickets on an evening when New Writtle Street bore a passable imitation to Upton Park.”Being unbeaten at home for 14 games is a great feat and I think we’re up there in terms of matches won,” Croft said. “So we can go into this match with a degree of confidence, not just in historical terms but also based on our recent record. We’ve played some really great cricket at Emirates Old Trafford this season.Related

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• Tom Hartley applies the long handle as Lancashire leap into home quarter-final

• One of the great county rivalries, stripped of all that's good about the game

• Forget Bazball, Adam Hose is leading Edgbaston's Bearsball revolution

“But it’s also useful in terms of preparation because we don’t have to get on the coach again or spend another night away from our beds. It’s saved a lot of miles on the round-trip and we’ll also have a couple of days practice at home. It’s nice to be back at Old Trafford where we all have our own space and our own lockers.”As to the absences, Croft insists Lancashire have coped with such things before but he acknowledges that T20 is such a skittish game that one over or even a couple of balls can transform a match. Just ask Hartley.”If you get out of your group, anyone can have a field day against you in the shorter formats,” Croft added. “All you can do is be on it all the time but even the best teams in the world have a win rate around 60%.”And should Lancashire qualify for their ninth Finals Day, Croft hopes that England’s next white-ball series – a 50-over series against India – will not prevent any county fielding its strongest side.”There’s an England match either side of T20 Finals Day but that Saturday in Edgbaston is one of the biggest occasions in the calendar,” he said. “You want to play with the best against the best and then no one has any excuses. It’ll be disappointing if our England lads aren’t available but we understand that there’s a hectic international schedule. At the same time, I’d love to see everyone available to play in front of a packed house at Edgbaston.”

Where sides have stumbled, it has been on selection

Ian Chappell06-Nov-2022Australian World Cups when played this early in the season are generally exciting because the pitches give bowlers a chance. Conditions have to be taken into account, and on seam-friendly pitches it’s more difficult to score quickly early. A higher net run rate is often achieved by having skilful players at the crease later in the innings.Upsets and the weather always play an important role in the excitement of T20, but cricket is a better game when the bowlers are a feature of the entertainment. The good sides that bowled well have prevailed.Another important point in the round-robin section is to win by a decent margin, but if you lose, make it a small defeat.Related

• Williamson says it's time to reflect as New Zealand confront 'changing landscape'

• Injury scare for Rohit Sharma during nets ahead of the semi-final against England

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It was the huge first-up loss to New Zealand that caused Australia’s run-rate to plummet and eventually bring them heartache. However, a look at the overall results shows that Australia’s bowling was their Achilles’ heel.While a big defeat is more unexpected than an upset, it is too simple to blame Australia’s predicament on one huge loss. Their selection during the series was puzzling and reflected an uncertainty about their best combination.Selectors need to be careful about a player’s success in domestic tournaments. Australia suffered on this count and found out it pays to test players before a World Cup to ensure they can succeed against the best opposition.New Zealand and South Africa prospered on the back of very good bowling. In particular, South Africa’s fast bowling, spearheaded by Anrich Nortje, has been their strength. However, their sometimes fragile batting and a reputation for imploding in vital World Cup matches make them a dicey proposition in the semi-finals.New Zealand continued to prosper in a World Cup by backing a familiar formula – they fielded brilliantly and competed at every turn. They added to the formula with the exhilarating batting power of Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips. If this World Cup follows a similar pattern to previous encounters, New Zealand’s steadiness under pressure and South Africa’s well-documented ability to crumble will play a part.While India, after a hectic win over rivals Pakistan, have progressed to the knockout phase, their bowling and selection are a concern. The exclusion of Rishabh Pant is inexcusable. If you ask opponents about dangerous players, his name will always be high on the list. Another factor in Pant’s favour is his ability to take an attack apart at any time during the innings, not just at the death. If there’s any further doubt about his selection, Pant’s keeping is easily the best in the Indian squad.It has been shown that an accumulator is important under Australian conditions, as proved by Virat Kohli of India and Kane Williamson of New Zealand. Although Kohli is the more accomplished six-hitter, Williamson did a job for New Zealand by ensuring they had stability in the innings while their enforcers hammered away.Kohli’s ability to score heavily from traditional cricket shots confirms his value as a batter in any format. His mantra to not to let fancy shots infiltrate his Test game should be heeded by all cricketers. The odd player like England captain Jos Buttler are endowed with the ability to play fancy shots regularly, but his capabilities aren’t shared by many. Buttler manipulates the field beautifully and also has the power to post big scores, but it’s telling that in Australia his innings built to a peak.England’s spin bowling hasn’t been convincing and they need to improve in the semi-finals. Nevertheless, in a tight finish, the steady nerves of Sam Curran’s accurate medium pace will be important; he has been one of England’s unsung heroes.The Australian World Cup has provided the usual T20 upsets and has shown the value of bowlers on friendly surfaces. The in-form teams have fared well but the knockout stage is hard to predict, confirming that T20 cricket loves upsets.

Despite starting slow, India’s No. 6 pounced on his opportunities and attacked spin better than any of his team-mates

Vishal Dikshit04-Jan-20230:59

Hooda: While batting as a No. 6, I had to do the finisher’s job

When Deepak Hooda came out to bat in the opening T20I against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, India had been strangled by spin, reduced to 77 for 4 in the 11th over. The pitch wasn’t a standard Wankhede surface, where batters could freely play their shots and rely on boundaries.Maheesh Theekshana was bowling flat, short of length and not giving any width. One such delivery trapped debutant Shubman Gill lbw on the back foot for 7. Sanju Samson went after Dhananjaya de Silva’s offbreaks in the seventh over to up the scoring rate, but he miscued one to short third for 5. When Wanindu Hasaranga came on with Ishan Kishan attacking, he sent down one googly after another and had the batter caught at deep midwicket off a slog sweep.Related

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After 11 overs, Sri Lanka’s spinners had bowled five for just 22 runs, and bagged three of the four wickets. India were on a precarious 78 for 4 and ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster predicted a total of around 152, which would be below par on a ground with short boundaries, especially with dew expected later and Arshdeep Singh slidelined with illness.Hooda was beaten on the first ball he faced, another wrong’un from Hasaranga, before he patiently took singles off his next eight balls, six of which were bowled by spinners. With five overs to go, India were only 101, now with Hardik Pandya also back in the dugout. The forecaster predicted 142.Theekshana returned to finish his last over and bowled a rare loose, short ball. Hooda had faced nine deliveries by then without a single boundary, but he was ready. The nature of T20 cricket is such that even if your team is on the back foot, you must seize the moment if you spot an opportunity. Hooda didn’t have time to go deep in his crease, but he transferred his weight enough on the back foot and pulled a mighty six.Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel helped India accelerate at the death•BCCINext ball, perhaps to compensate for the short one, Theekshana pitched too full and Hooda was ready again. This time, he leaned into the ball and blasted it for another six in the same direction. India’s run rate shot up from 6.73 to 7.37 and they were on course for 157 now, according to ESPNcricinfo’s predictor.”That was his [Theekshana’s] last over and there was a loose ball also, and in T20, you have to keep your intent high all the time to hit the ball if it’s in your area,” Hooda said after the game. “So Axar and I thought that was the perfect time to target the bowlers. And that’s what we executed.”That over marked a clear shift in momentum, and Hooda swung it further India’s way by going after the bowlers who had contained his team-mates.Hasaranga conceded only four singles off the first five balls in his final over, but he erred with his last delivery. And Hooda was waiting. The short ball, at 95.4kmph, was much quicker than Theekshana’s, yet Hooda found the time to rock back, open up his body towards leg, and pivot for such a powerful pull that he ended up facing deep midwicket at the end of his follow through.

Watch on ESPN Player in the UK

WATCH the first India vs Sri Lanka T20I replay

The pull was Hooda’s most productive shot in the first T20I, fetching him 13 runs off just three balls. There was also a huge gulf between him and the other India batters when it came to facing spin: Hooda scored 26 off 13 balls (with three sixes) while his team-mates scored 31 off 41 balls (one four). His unbeaten 41 off 23 balls and partnership of 68 off 35 with Axar Patel lifted India to a 162.Hooda knows what’s expected of him at No. 6 and how to go about his job.”It was very clear that we had to build partnerships after we lost early wickets,” Hooda said. “You have to be ready for such situations when you’re batting in the lower order, at No. 6. There can be a collapse any time and it was not a collapse today as such, we were in a good position early on. But yes, that’s the role of a No. 6 or 7.”That’s what the game demands: that you play according to the wicket and post a decent total. That’s what I was thinking while batting as a No. 6 that I had to do the finisher’s job.”

Former Sri Lanka bowler also disagrees with Dhoni’s suggestion that Pathirana “shouldn’t even get close” to red-ball cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-May-2023Lasith Malinga, now a bowling consultant with Rajasthan Royals, has been watching Chennai Super Kings’ games with particular interest. Matheesha Pathirana, CSK’s death-overs specialist, not only bowls with the same, unusual round-arm action with which Malinga dominated the IPL for many years, but is also in a sense a protege. Over the last three years, Malinga has worked sporadically with Pathirana in Sri Lanka’s high performance centre, and has advised him on what he needs to do to build a career.In this interview with ESPNcricinfo, Malinga shares his insights on the 20-year-old’s technique and progress. And he couldn’t disagree more vehemently with MS Dhoni’s suggestion that Pathirana “shouldn’t even get close” to red-ball cricket.When did you first hear about Matheesha?
I found out about Matheesha Pathirana after the Under-19 World Cup [in 2020], when I got a call from Mahela Jayawardene, who was working as a consultant with SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket). He said: ‘Mali, there’s a boy from Kandy, who bowls just like you, and he bowls fast. But it’s hard to play him in a match because he bowls two sides of the wicket and doesn’t have the control. Can you do something with him?’So he sent Matheesha to me, and we met at Khettarama. He didn’t have a lot of experience. But I knew straight away that he’s a fearless and strong cricketer. That’s really important. I started off very simply with him, and I told him this: ‘Don’t think about picking formats yet. You have to play whatever Sri Lanka needs you to play. If you get injured and then have to pick formats, that’s a different thing. But you’ve been bowling with this action since you were little and you haven’t had problems. So I don’t think it’ll be that difficult for you.’Related

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• Karunaratne makes a comeback as Sri Lanka build for ODI World Cup

• How Chennai Super Kings filled the Dwayne Bravo-sized hole in death overs

You know this action better than anyone. What did you think about the way he was bowling?
In terms of skill, I told him he needs to learn how to bowl with the new and old ball, not just one. With this kind of action, you need the same skillset for Tests, ODIs, and T20s. It’s just that the way you use different skills varies for each format. He doesn’t really swing the ball, because his wrist is too straight as the arm comes around. I told him he has to raise that wrist about an inch-and-a-half. That’ll take him about two or three years, because he has bowled the way he’s bowling for 19 years.For now, he can manage with what he has. He can bowl good yorkers, but he didn’t have a lot of consistency. I told him how to bowl the slower one as well. Because he bowls with my action, it’s easy for him to dip his slower balls. So I told him: ‘Let’s work on the dipping slower one.’ Now he bowls it pretty well. Still, he needs a bit more control, but it’s in a good place.What do you think of his success this season? ()
He’s bowling well in the IPL, but he needs to improve a bit to be ready for international cricket. You don’t get to play 12 players in internationals, like you can in the IPL this year. They use him as a death bowler only at CSK. But if you play for the national team you’re definitely going to have to bowl some powerplay overs. That’s where he needs the swing, which he doesn’t have right now.It goes back to his wrist position. The advantage of that wrist position is that you get good dip, and you can swing balls into the ground. But you won’t swing balls from side to side. You won’t get it to tail into the batter’s legs. He needs to start creating that angle with the seam, where it comes out diagonally, rather than horizontally. If he fixes that, he can do some great things.He needs bowling intelligence too, because after a few matches the opposition will work out who you are, and you need to learn how to survive from that point onwards. I think the best thing for that is playing 10 Tests. That’s how you build your bowling fitness. I’ve played 30 Tests, and that was vital to me building up bowling fitness for ODIs and T20s, because when you’re bowling 25-30 overs an innings, you have to sustain your skill through all those spells.2:59

Bishop can’t wait to see Pathirana in three years’ time

CSK have asked him to do one job, and do it well…
He got a great opportunity because of the Impact Player rule. He can start bowling in the 12th or 13th over. So the weakness he has – bowling with the new ball – gets minimised. He’s also bowling when batters really have to take him on. When you bowl with this action, batters have trouble picking up the ball. And with the control he has for now, and because he’s mentally strong, he’s been able to do well. He’s also got a good captain who will set good fields for him.His yorker is 145kph and is fantastic. But he needs more control. If he bowls five yorkers, he’ll only land two correctly. But I’m sure if he keeps working on it as he is, he’ll nail it in about a year or two.You used to reverse-swing the ball into the ground, because of the way the ball came out of your hand. Is that how Pathirana is dipping it too?
Actually, he’s got an advantage over me there, because his arm comes even lower than mine. It’s really tough to hit a six off him, especially off the front foot. That’s his natural advantage. Especially in the subcontinent – and when there’s low bounce in the track – he’ll be really effective.What have you thought of the way MS Dhoni captains him?
MS has figured out that he can’t bowl with the new ball yet. He also uses him against local Indian batters at the crease – players who don’t play international cricket. With the 145kph pace, and his action, it’s hard for them to play him. That’s just MS’ 20 years of experience at work. He also gets him to lower his pace against batters who are purely power players. Against batters who use the pace – like a Rohit Sharma, or a Mahela Jayawardene, or a Virat Kohli – those players Matheesha might struggle against for now.Malinga on Pathirana: “I think in the next Test tour, try to get him involved, and give him some ODIs as well”•AFPDhoni has said Matheesha shouldn’t play Test cricket, but it sounds like you seriously disagree with Dhoni on that.
MS Dhoni is saying he should just play ICC tournaments. I wonder if he’s just saying that for fun (laughs). It’s hard to do that when you’re playing for the national team.I think anyone who tells him not to play red-ball cricket is doing that because they think he will get injured. I played red-ball cricket first. No one said anything like that to me. I played red-ball cricket between 2004 to 2010, but I had a 16-year international career, and I played a lot of IPL, plus Big Bash and all the other leagues. In all that time I never left the field after injuring a hamstring, or a groin, or my back, or my calf. Maybe a lot of people will oppose me, but I don’t think we should just presume that he will get injured. I’ve played cricket this way and bowled like him, so I know what the challenges are.But you did have major ankle and knee injuries…
You can get bone injuries, but that is down to the effort you put in every ball. But I would tell him: get your Test cap. Maybe you’ll play just one. Maybe you’ll play 10. Maybe you will play 100 – who knows? When he plays 15-20 Tests, he will develop not just his bowling fitness and his skill, but also figure out how to set batters up for dismissals, and how to put a spell together. That’s not something you can just tell him about. He has to do it to understand it properly. If when he starts playing Tests, his body starts reacting badly, then you can reassess.How should he be developed over the next little while?
I somehow want to make this guy even better than me. I think in the next Test tour, try to get him involved, and give him some ODIs as well. See how he plays in the next three years, and then see what the future course needs to be. If he plays 10 or 15 Tests in the next three years, that will be invaluable to his development.As an example: you know, I only learned that you can dip and reverse the ball at the same time in the last Test that I played, in 2010. Usually they bowl me from the Fort End at Galle, and it’s really easy to reverse the ball from that end with the wind coming across the ground. After six years, I finally got a good spell from the Pavilion End, and I learned how to dip and reverse a cricket ball. No one can tell when Matheesha will get those important revelations about his game.We’re talking about protecting him from playing for Sri Lanka, before he’s even properly played for Sri Lanka. He’s only 20 years old.

Ashwin, Styris, Moody, Labuschagne, Chopra and others react to the thrilling finish in Wellington

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2023A day-five thriller. Chasing 258, England slipped to 80 for 5 before a century stand between Joe Root and Ben Stokes brought them back. Neil Wagner made it 202 for 7 by removing the duo in successive overs. Ben Foakes then took England to within 10 runs of the target but he was the ninth to fall with another seven to get. It all made for compelling viewing.

What a test match in Wellington, tune in now! #NZvENG

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) February 28, 2023

And have England found a way to counter the extraordinary Steven Smith?

Mark Nicholas24-Jul-2023You’d be unlucky if it rained pretty much solid for two consecutive days in July, said someone. Really? In Manchester? And so it was that Clive Rice’s old barb about England having nine months of winter and three months of bad weather came to haunt Ben Stokes. This was the gods of cricket at their meanest.As Test cricket continues its fight for salvation in the face of the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that is all things T20 and private, 2-2 going to The Oval was what any level-headed lover of the game ached for. Such anticipation is rare: most five-match Test series are done before the scheduled denouement, upon which we hear all that witless rhetoric about playing for pride when we would prefer daggers. Still, in this instance The Oval will roar its emotion. The English feel cheated, claiming their team to be better than Australia’s, and gratifyingly, more entertaining. If the weather is a cheat, they may be right. If run rate is the benchmark, they are certainly so.The England team gave itself the best chance at Old Trafford by going at a lick for the 592 total and the 275 lead. In trying to write this without mentioning the “B” word, the players have been chosen specifically for the job. Years ago, in South Africa, Graeme Hick asked the England batting coach John Edrich how best to get out of his rut. “Keep buggering on,” replied the former Surrey and England grafter, as was his special subject in the days when batting was more about occupation of the lines than bursting out of the traps. That was the tour when Michael Atherton saved the Johannesburg Test with a valiant, unbeaten 185 across two days of gunfire from Allan Donald and Company. On return to the dressing room, he was seen punching the air, a rare moment of animation from one so introverted. Atherton faced 492 balls in that defiance, balls that included the first and the last.Related

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• Ben Stokes rues Old Trafford rain after 'pretty much perfect' performance

• Zak Crawley bats like no one is watching

On Thursday last, Zak Crawley opened up, and out, for England, making four more runs than Atherton in 310 fewer balls. Of course, their ambitions were very different but the point is that neither could have done the other’s job. The Lancastrian was chosen for his resilience, concentration and accomplished technical skills against the new ball; the Kentish man for his strokeplay. Perhaps the most telling of all of Stokes’ comments on selection is: “We pick teams and players for what they can do on their best days”. It is a leap of faith.This was one of Crawley’s best days. He rode both his luck and the race at hand with a splendid sense of adventure. There really was no telling what would come next. He flapped around against Mitchell Starc pre-lunch and panned him into the bleachers post. He treated Pat Cummins like a medium-pacer, Josh Hazelwood like a has-been, and Travis Head as an imposter. If only the great Ted Dexter was still with us to rejoice. Ted loved Crawley’s batting and the reasons make for good reading.

• Zak sets up to attack and is therefore, in theory at least, in the best position to defend when required.
• His best form has come when he plays the ball alongside his body, a detail he should pursue always.
• He has a clear idea of the way in which he wants to play whatever is in front of him. This suggests a strong mind.
• He appears completely unfazed by the opponent and therefore plays the ball, not the man. This is not so easy as it sounds.
• On the outside, it appears as if he doesn’t much care what others think. Ted loved that.

In fact, it’s all quite Dexter. Richie Benaud used to say similar things about Norman O’Neill, the brilliant Australian batter of the 1960s. At the time, the two of them stood out: both tall and powerful right-handers whose games were based on an organised technique and a complete lack of fear. When they walked to the wicket, the spectators took their seats. There is no greater compliment. It will apply to Crawley now.In the face of criticism and the many feeble digs about the Kent opener being the luckiest England cricketer to have retained his place in the team, he has had to look within. His father, Terry, once said, “My dad was the toughest man I ever knew until I met my son.” Aha, so that fresh, boyish face is a disguise. And if you don’t trust his dad, ask the England dressing room; there are no cheap shots at him in there.It is not easy to stick with a method that is publicly scrutinised and frequently criticised. But having tinkered a little with his footwork along the way, he has done so and now has 385 runs in the series. Some innings that might not have seemed much have meant a great deal, not least the start at Edgbaston when he creamed the first ball of the match through extra cover and went on to 61 without raising a sweat. There have been other accomplished 30s and 40s against a fine new-ball attack that critics then complain about when he “nicks off”.Steve Smith hasn’t been at his best in this series, but expect some big runs from him at The Oval•Getty ImagesOf course, if you get in, you should go on. But if only it were that simple. The mindset of the current England players is for the moment, not its future. There were little somethings of Ian Botham’s two great, freewheeling 1981 innings in Crawley’s buccaneering assault on the Australian attack. It is an approach that all of us on the outside should buy into as enthusiastically as those on the inside. We continue to live, and judge, in a world pre-Stokes and McCullum, but we must awake to the zeitgeist.Somewhere in approach between the Atherton trot and the Crawley gallop is Steven Smith’s canter. Smith averages 58.56 in Test matches – a rare dip, he has been 60 and more for the most part. It is a number nothing short of mind-blowing once you have looked anywhere other than the Don Bradman page. He began as a legbreak bowler and No. 7 batter. They said he was the next Shane Warne; it turns out he was the next Bradman. This is a guy who concentrates like Atherton and can take you apart like Crawley. He can mark time or push on; defend gallantly or attack with venom. He is not one for the aesthetics but neither is his play unattractive. Rather, it is a fascination.Were you asked how many teams Smith had played for in his career at the top level, you might say six or seven. It is nearer 20. He has been from New South Wales to Worcestershire and Sussex and back again via Toronto, Antigua and Barbados, Bangalore, Rajasthan, Kochi, Delhi and many more. He is wedded to the game, one-dimensional perhaps but no worse a team man for that. In Australia he’d be known as a cricket tragic, which is mainly a compliment.At Lord’s, Smith peeled off a Smith classic – all angles and gaps and fidgets and squawks. He cover-drove better than ever, occasionally cut square, and otherwise manoeuvred the ball to the leg side with dancing feet and contorted wrists. He defies lbw like it was a law for everyone else, walking deliberately across his stumps and standing right there in front of all three as if it were French not Anglo-Australian cricket he was playing. Come to think of it, you could read Bradman’s The Art of Cricket and wonder if the Don and Smithy were even at the same game. For certain, they are two of the strongest minds to have played the game.England fans can take heart that their team has played entertaining cricket throughout the summer•Getty ImagesHas anyone ever batted like Smith before? Will anyone? Does he have the best hand-eye coordination of them all? Can it last forever? At both Headingley and Old Trafford, he has looked fallible. Is this simply the fading of the light or are we witnessing an unravelling? Have England found a way to counter this extraordinary, unorthodox talent?Some yeses and no’s there. Mark Wood trapped him lbw the other day, then bounced him out in the second dig. At Headingley, he nicked off against Stuart Broad and walked off embarrassed against Moeen Ali after a miscalculated chip into the hands of the man at midwicket. Four very different outs.England are right to bowl gun-barrel straight at Smith and pack the leg side. Heaven knows why everyone hasn’t been at it for years. Given the extreme trigger movements and the fact that he ends up in front of all three, lbw has to be brought into play. One former captain told me they didn’t dare bowl too straight because he picked them off so easily. I guess it depends who “they” are. A strength is invariably a weakness too. Stokes has posted fielders in both old-fashioned places (leg slip and gully) and new-fashioned places (square leg and midwicket sweepers, short mid-on, short square leg, short, fine third man) and Smith has had to adapt. By definition, the tactics have worked to good effect.Occasionally – Wood in the first innings at Old Trafford, for example – the England bowlers have switched to wide of off stump, drawing Smith across almost to fourth stump in his final position of guard. Upon which Wood zoomed in on middle and off and trapped his man. Given out by review, Smith looked perplexed not so much by the decision as by the place at which the replay showed his feet to be.This needed Wood’s fierce pace to be effective – remember Jofra Archer against him four years ago and imagine Harold Larwood thundering in to Bradman – because even a player this good is wary of looking to get back into the ball by edging forward, in case the skidding bouncer is up next. When we all bang on about the brilliant cricket we have seen in the series, such vignettes drive our excitement. Finding ways to outsmart Australia’s prolific No. 4 are uppermost in the minds of all opponents. Random hook shots have cost his wicket in this series; the bouncer is now on the list of options.Smith will come to The Oval bloodied but by no means beaten. Generally, with the true bounce it is a good place for batters, so he may well be licking his lips. This is not yet the fading of the light, not at 34 years and with energy to spare. It is reasonable to assume no one before has batted quite like him and worth adding how we will miss the often bizarre idiosyncrasies when they have gone.Right now, Smith is not listed in the top five run-scorers of the series. Expect that to be corrected in South London. Crawley, it is worth repeating, is top of that list. Don’t change a thing, Zak.

India are 410 for 7 – the second-highest team total after a full day’s play in women’s Test history

S Sudarshanan14-Dec-2023Silent treatment hurts. Dads know it. That’s why they give it when you’re desperate for their permission to go on that trip with your friends. Partners know it. That’s why they turn their heads when you’re trying to win them back after forgetting your anniversary.On Thursday, all Shubha Satheesh and Jemimah Rodrigues, two of India’s three Test debutants, offered was a silent raise of the bat. No loud celebrations, no running around. A warm hug followed by an acknowledgement towards the dressing room. It was their first half-century in their first outing in India whites. You could feel England’s hurt.A picture perfect cover drive – good forward stride, bent back knee and a straight bat – got Shubha off the mark in international cricket. Rodrigues was off in Tests with a push towards cover for a run. No fuss. Both Shubha and Rodrigues have had similar yet contrasting paths to the Test cap.Related

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• Beaumont: 'Not the right time for a women's WTC yet'

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• Stats – India Women score 410 in one day

Rodrigues made her Under-19 debut for Mumbai at 13, while Shubha did so at 12 for Karnataka. Rodrigues made a name for herself with her attacking play while Shubha was known to be an accumulator and an excellent timer of the ball. Shubha led the batting charts in the Under-19 Women’s Zonal One Day League in 2016 – 341 runs in five matches at an average of 113.67 – with Rodrigues second with 289 at 96.33.In the following season, Rodrigues scored 1013 runs in 11 Under-19 One Day League matches. All of this led to an international debut in 2018 but the Test cap had to wait. Shubha, meanwhile, continued to ply her trade for Karnataka at the top of the order, adding new strings to her bow including becoming an agile and athletic fielder.When India were set to play their first Test after seven years in 2021, Rodrigues was part of the squad but did not make the XI in either of the matches in England or Australia. Meanwhile, a couple of stellar seasons in domestic cricket saw Shubha named for India’s first home Test since 2014. And the DY Patil was where both made their Test bows.If there was any pressure when India slipped to 47 for 2 after winning the toss, it did not show in the pair’s body language. India were to treat the Test match as an extension of their white-ball game, but Shubha and Rodrigues showed immense patience, be it while leaving deliveries outside off or when defending the good balls. They were also quick to forget the super good deliveries that had them in trouble and regrouped quickly.Like when fast bowler Lauren Filer, who impressed with her high pace during the Women’s Ashes, surprised Shubha with a mean bouncer that she just managed to evade. Or when Filer beat Rodrigues’ inside edge with a nip-backer at 118kph. Their footwork, after being roughed up, was as assured as it was when they walked out to the middle.On either side of lunch, Shubha and Rodrigues got to their half-centuries – a straight drive with a half-forward stride back past the bowler got Shubha to her mark while Rodrigues unfurled a lovely extra-cover drive to get to hers.That England couldn’t create enough pressure or bowl consistently in the right areas helped Shubha and Rodrigues add 115 for the third wicket. Fifty of the 76 balls Shubha faced for her 69 were dots; yet she managed to score at a strike rate of over 96 with the help of 13 fours. She finished with a control percentage of 81, the same as Rodrigues did for her 68 off 99 balls.”We were just having normal conversations about our plans,” Shubha said later. “Jemimah and I have played a lot of junior level cricket, so we know each other from quite long. It’s just that we keep talking all the time.”It was a beautiful wicket to bat on. Jemimah and [I] were just talking about it – just have to play proper cricketing shots to keep going.”India had a lot of unknowns heading into a first home Test in nine years. They weren’t fancied to make 410 for 7 – the second-highest team total after a full day’s play in women’s Test history. But here they are thanks to the silent treatment their two debutants gave their much more experienced opponents.

They have a strong batting line-up but will that carry them through if pacers get injured or can’t step up?

Ashish Pant17-Mar-2024

Where Delhi Capitals finished last season

Ninth on the ten-team points table. Delhi Capitals lost their first five games of IPL 2023 and could never recover. They only won five out of their 14 matches.

Delhi Capitals squad for IPL 2024

Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), Prithvi Shaw, David Warner*, Mitchell Marsh*, Ricky Bhui, Swastik Chikara, Abishek Porel (wk), Yash Dhull, Jake Fraser-McGurk*, Shai Hope*, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Tristan Stubbs*, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Anrich Nortje*, Vicky Ostwal, Rasikh Salam, Jhye Richardson*, Ishant Sharma*Overseas players

Player availability – No Ngidi or Brook for DC

The biggest name in terms of player availability not just for Capitals but for Indian cricket is Rishabh Pant. The wicketkeeper-batter will be returning to competitive action for the first time since suffering a horrific accident in December 2022 and will lead the side.But Capitals have other injury concerns. They head into IPL 2024 without the services of Lungi Ngidi who is still recovering from a lower-back injury he suffered during the SA20 earlier in the year. They have signed 21-year-old Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk as his replacement.Related

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• What India need from the Indian Premier League

Capitals had earlier lost Harry Brook, who pulled out of the IPL for personal reasons. They are yet to name a replacement for the Englishman.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo last month, Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal had also said that the Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson is unlikely to be available for at least the initial part of the tournament. Richardson had suffered a left side strain at the BBL in early January and has since been on the sidelines.Capitals will also be sweating on the match fitness of South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje, who is coming off a long injury layoff. He has been out of action since September 2023 after suffering from a stress fracture of the back. Nortje only recently returned to competitive cricket in the opening game of CSA’s T20 domestic tournament, turning out for Warriors against Kwa-Zulu Inland, and will be under the watchful eye of South Africa white-ball coach Rob Walter through the IPL.

What’s new with Delhi Capitals this year – Pant is back

Lisa Sthalekar reckons Pant could get a bigger welcome-back roar than even MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli, but how the wicketkeeper-batter goes on the field after a 14-month layoff remains to be seen. Pant has been cleared to keep wicket by the BCCI’s fitness and medical teams, and he will also be captaining the Capitals franchise taking over from David Warner who led the team last season.At the auction in December 2023, Capitals splurged on Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra, getting him for INR 7.2 crore. Apart from being a hard-hitting batter, Kushagra could slot in as a back-up keeper for Pant. Capitals also went big for Richardson (INR 4 crore) and Haryana fast bowler allrounder Sumit Kumar (INR 1 crore), who has had a good few months in domestic cricket. Capitals could also look to unleash Fraser-McGurk who has made heads turn in the Australian domestic scene.

The good – A strong batting unit

Capitals have a power-packed batting unit with David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh and Pant slotted at the top of the order. They will also be keen on cashing in on Ricky Bhui and Tristan Stubbs’ form.David Warner and Prithvi Shaw are part of Capitals’ strong top order•BCCIBhui recently finished as the highest run-getter in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy and had a fruitful Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023 as well, where he scored at 184.25.Stubbs is coming into the IPL on the back of a triple-century, against KwaZulu-Natal Inland in CSA’s division one tournament. Before that, he finished the SA20 2024 as Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s highest run-getter in the SA20, helping them secure a second straight title.Kushagra and Sumit can also give the ball a fair whack.

The not-so-good – Where are the fast bowlers?

Ngidi has been ruled out of the tournament. Richardson is a doubtful starter. Nortje is coming in after a long injury layoff. Ishant Sharma has been short of match practice.Capitals’ fast bowling-roster seems to be thinning by the minute, which is why it was surprising that they brought in a batter in Fraser-McGurk to replace Ngidi. They could still bring a seamer in Brook’s place, but even so they are thin in the department. A lot of the fast-bowling load could fall on the shoulders of Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar, who haven’t always excelled in the T20 circuit. Capitals will desperately hope for Nortje to hit his straps from the get-go.

Schedule insights

With the Arun Jaitley Stadium hosting 11 WPL games right ahead of the IPL, Capitals have chosen Visakhapatnam as the venue for their first two home games, to give the pitches and ground in Delhi time to recover, according to Jindal.Capitals open their campaign in an afternoon game against Punjab Kings on March 23 in Mullanpur, Kings’ new home base which is making its IPL debut. They will then travel to Jaipur to face Rajasthan Royals on March 28 before hosting Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders on March 31 and April 3 in Visakhapatnam. Capitals face Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on April 7. The schedule for the rest of IPL 2024 will be released once the schedule for the national elections is revealed.

The big question