Also: how many women have scored World Cup centuries in a losing cause?

Steven Lynch08-Mar-2022Sakibul Gani followed his 341 on debut with 98 and 101 in the next match. Has anyone scored more runs after three first-class innings? asked Azweer from India, among many others

That astonishing start from Bihar’s Sakibul Gani has seen him score 341 against Mizoram in Kolkata (the record score for anyone on first-class debut), followed by 98 and 101 not out against Sikkim at Eden Gardens (the first match was at the Jadavpur University Campus).Gani’s 540 runs is a record for a player’s first three first-class innings, surpassing 494 (12, 290 and 194) by the New Zealander Bill Carson for Auckland in 1936-37. Gani made 38 and 23 in his next match, so did not pass the Australian Bill Ponsford’s records of 616 runs after four-class innings, and 724 after five. The records for six and seven innings – 831 and 900 runs – were set by the Afghanistan batter Bahir Shah in 2017-18. Ponsford reached 1000 runs in his eighth innings, the record at the moment.Sophie Devine scored 108 in the World Cup opener, but still lost – how many other women have scored a World Cup century but finished on the losing side? asked Deborah Mitchell from New Zealand

That hundred by New Zealand’s captain Sophie Devine in the opening match against West Indies in Mount Manganui last week was the sixth time that an individual century had not been enough to bring victory in a Women’s World Cup match. The seventh was not long coming: Nat Sciver scored an unbeaten 109 for England as they ran Australia close next day in Hamilton.Devine was the third New Zealander on the list, after her current team-mates Suzie Bates, with 102 against Australia in Cuttack in February 2013, and Amy Satterthwaite, who hit 103 a week later against England in Mumbai.There have also been two cases for India: Harmanpreet Kaur made an undefeated 107 in vain against England in Mumbai in 2013, and Punam Raut 106 against Australia in Bristol in 2017. The other instance – and the highest such score – was made by Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, with 178 not out against Australia, also in Bristol in 2017. Despite Athapaththu’s remarkable effort, Sri Lanka managed only 257 for 9 in their 50 overs, which Australia chased down with some ease; Meg Lanning hit 152 not out.In the men’s World Cups, it has happened on 40 occasions.I heard that Shakib Al Hasan is the only batter in ODI history whose average never fell below 30 in his entire career. Is this true? asked Fahim from Bangladesh

Well, it’s partly true: Shakib Al Hasan currently averages 37.62 in one-day internationals, and the lowest his average has ever been was 30.91. But, given a qualification of 30 innings, there are no fewer than 31 other men whose average has also never been below 30 (including Eoin Morgan, who once averaged exactly 30). Of these, three have never averaged below 40: Imam-ul-Haq of Pakistan, whose lowest to date is 49.18, and the retired Australian pair of Michael Hussey (47.89) and Michael Bevan (42.33). This record is perhaps overly dependent on someone making at least 30 in their first ODI innings.Shane Warne played 145 Tests without ever representing Australia in a T20I•Jack Atley/Fairfax Media/Getty ImagesWho has played the most Tests without ever playing a one-day international, and what’s the equivalent record for T20s? asked David Knight from England

Leaving aside players like Godfrey Evans, who won 91 Test caps but had retired before the first one-day international in 1971, the ODI record is held by England’s Mark Butcher, who won 71 Test caps without ever featuring in England’s one-day team (this always struck me as slightly odd, as he had a very respectable record in List A cricket). Next comes the New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner, who has so far played 58 Tests without a single white-ball appearance. The former England captain MJK Smith played 50 Tests, but no ODIs, although his international career only just stretched into the ODI era. Of players who made their Test debut after ODIs started, Butcher and Wagner lead the way, then come the Sri Lankans Kaushal Silva (39 Tests) and Tharanga Paranavitana (32), alongside England’s Rory Burns (32 Tests).Moving to T20Is, Shane Warne played 145 Tests without appearing in a 20-over international, which started towards the end of his great career. Considering only players who made their Test debut after the first official T20I early in 2005, the leader is Cheteshwar Pujara (95 Tests), ahead of Azhar Ali (91), Dimuth Karunaratne at 75 and Kraigg Brathwaite and Dean Elgar bracketed together on 74. All of these players did play some ODIs.What are the best bowling figures by a captain in ODIs and T20Is? asked Ramaswamy Gohel from India

The best by a captain in ODIs is 7 for 36, by Waqar Younis, for Pakistan against England at Headingley in 2001. Next, rather surprisingly perhaps, comes Viv Richards, with 6 for 41 for West Indies against India in Delhi in 1989-90. There have been three more six-fors, by Dwayne Bravo (2012-13), Gulbadin Naib (2019) and Waqar again, with 6 for 59 two days later in 2001 at Trent Bridge.There are a further 21 instances of a captain taking a five-for in a one-day international. Waqar did it three times in all, and Greg Chappell, Jason Holder, Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram twice.In T20Is the best figures by a captain are 6 for 18, by Argentina’s Hernan Fennell against Panama in a World Cup Americas Region qualifier in Antigua in November 2021. Next comes Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, with 5 for 6 against New Zealand in Pallekele in September 2019.There are four other cases of a captain talking a five-for in a T20I, by Moazzam Baig (Malawi), Charles Perchard (Jersey), Ahmed Raza (UAE) and Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh).Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

The RCB allrounder has been setting the pace with both bat and ball this season

Hemant Brar08-May-2022Algebra and calculus have troubled Bengal and Royal Challengers Bangalore allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed more than any opposition bowler or batter has.In 2011, Shahbaz’s father enrolled him in a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, but until last year he couldn’t get past Mathematics 101, a subject from the first semester. It was only last season, when he was playing in the IPL for RCB, as it happened, that he took the exam for it online and passed. “So you can say I have completed my engineering,” Shahbaz says.Apart from that, he has also been working hard to upgrade his cricketing skills. Here, too, the results have gone largely in his favour.Related

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Bought back by Royal Challengers at the auction in February, Shahbaz made over 25 in each of his first five innings in this year’s IPL. That’s some consistency for a player who bats mainly at No. 5 and 6. He hasn’t been as successful with his left-arm fingerspin but has bowled a couple of handy spells.Shahbaz’s stronger suit is batting but in 2020, his first season with Royal Challengers, he played only two games and faced just one ball. The next year he got a longer run but could score only 59 runs in seven innings at an average of 8.42 and a strike rate of 111.32.While his returns with the bat were not stellar, he gained valuable insights about his craft. “I realised I was struggling to hit against fast bowlers,” Shahbaz says. “Whenever I tried big shots, I was ending up in an open-stance position. Simon Katich [then Royal Challengers head coach] and Mike Hesson [director of cricket at the franchise] sir told me if I can maintain my shape, I can score in any situation. That’s something I have tried to address this time.”At RCB, he has also had the opportunity to pick the brains of two of the best hitters in T20 cricket. “Big players such as AB de Villiers sir and Glenn Maxwell sir don’t talk much about technique,” Shahbaz says. “Whenever I spoke to them, it was about planning, conditions, and how to plan for different conditions. What the good boundary options are against fast bowlers and spinners. Or how to keep the scoreboard moving irrespective of the situation and build a platform from where we can win the match.”Shahbaz enjoys batting with Dinesh Karthik: “With him you don’t feel any pressure as he can change the momentum of the game in one over”•BCCIAll that culminated in one crucial knock after another this season. And his strike rate against pace zoomed from 125.00 last season to 143.01 this time.In the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, he went in at 62 for 4 and scored 27 off 20 balls to put his team ahead in a chase of 129. Against Rajasthan Royals he entered at the same scoreline. This time RCB were chasing 170. He smashed 45 off 26 balls and along with Dinesh Karthik (44 not out off 23), took the side to a win.Batting first against Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers were 75 for 4, which soon became 92 for 5. Shahbaz and Karthik then added 97 in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand, lifting Royal Challengers to a winning total.”I enjoy batting with DK [Karthik] . He is so cool and calm even in those pressure situations,” Shahbaz says. “He just says we have to take the game deep. If I play a rash shot, he would tell me that this is not needed at this stage. Only if I get a loose ball I should try for the boundary. Else, I should take a single, or even if it’s a dot ball, it’s okay. With him, you don’t feel any pressure as he can change the momentum of the game in one over.”Shahbaz mentions the Rajasthan Royals match, where Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin had stifled the batters on a pitch that was taking spin. “I wasn’t able to figure out how to take the game deep. Ashwin had an over left, and I was thinking of playing him out as it was easier to score against fast bowlers. Then DK came and attacked Ashwin. In that one over, the game completely changed.”RCB spin-bowling coach S Sriram suggested Shahbaz work on a faster run-up, which helped him find his rhythm and increase his bowling speed•Royal Challengers BangaloreWith 82 needed off 42 balls, Karthik hit Ashwin for three fours and a six in a 21-run over. It was another lesson for Shahbaz in his cricketing education.

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When he was struggling with the bat in the 2021 IPL, it was his bowling that kept Shahbaz in the frame at RCB. He picked up seven wickets, including a game-changing 3 for 7 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, at an economy of 6.57.This year he has been assigned the role of fifth bowler, alongside Maxwell. While he has been a bit expensive at times, he also bowled a spell of 4-0-25-0 against Lucknow Super Giants. Against Gujarat Titans he took the wickets of Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya to bring his side back into the game, and in his most recent match, against Chennai Super Kings, he broke the opening stand by dismissing an in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad.Shahbaz credits S Sriram, the Royal Challengers batting and spin-bowling coach, for giving him belief. “When I first came to the IPL, I had doubts if my bowling skills were good enough for this level. But in the last two seasons, I have learnt a lot from S Sriram about how to bowl to each batsman and get them out. He knows my bowling inside out.”The biggest improvement, Shahbaz says, has been in his rhythm, which he had struggled with. Sriram suggested making his run-up faster, which helped with that aspect. It had another benefit as well.”Earlier, my bowling speed was too slow. If you bowl that slow in the IPL, batters can always attack you. So my biggest worry was how I can increase my speed by 4-5kph. As I worked on my rhythm, my speed also increased.”Now I aim for 94-95kph for my normal ball, and my slower ball is at around 88-89kph. If I can maintain 95kph, it helps a lot in these conditions. Otherwise, on these flat Mumbai wickets, it is very difficult for spinners.””There will be a time when I will have to finish games on my own. I am prepared and waiting for that time”•BCCIIn T20s, the conventional wisdom is that a left-arm fingerspinner isn’t as effective against a left-hand batter. But Shahbaz has been trying to up his game against left-hand batters as well.”Ever since I started playing, I bowled from around the wicket. It’s a good option but now I am bowling over the wicket as well, to left-hand batsmen. Because that gives you a lot of options, and the more options you have, the more you can control the game.”If you are bowling over the wicket, you can bowl wide outside off. If there is some turn available, then you can turn from outside off. Then the leftie has only one option – to hit down the ground. The leg-side option is no longer available.”From over the wicket, you can bowl the leg-stump line as well, which is effective this season because most games are being played on side wickets due to limited venues. So one square boundary is generally bigger than the other. That makes it difficult for left-handers to hit on the leg side [if that’s the bigger boundary]. This also creates more wicket-taking options.”While Shahbaz is tightening up his bowling, it’s batting he enjoys more and wants to make more of an impact with. At the top of his to-do list is to see games to the end with the bat.”In domestic cricket, I have finished a few close games, so I have that experience. Against KKR, we were chasing 127 [129], and I scored 27 in a tough situation but then I got out. Akash Deep [Bengal and Royal Challengers team-mate] said to me, ‘You could have finished this game but you lost your wicket to a bad shot. What happened?’ I told him this was my first innings in the IPL where I had batted well. The more experience I get of batting in this position, the more games I can finish for the team.”Right now, I am mostly playing a supporting role to DK , but there will be a time when I will have to finish games on my own. I am prepared and waiting for that time.”

The emergence of Umran Malik has put the spotlight on the state’s quick bowlers. Are there more like him? The answer seems to be a resounding yes

Interviews by Mohsin Kamal27-Jun-2022When Umran Malik made his IPL debut last year, people began asking, “How many more undiscovered Umrans in Jammu and Kashmir?” The conversation grew more animated this season as 22-year-old Malik lit up the IPL. He sent down three of the five fastest deliveries of the competition (the fastest of them at 156.9kmph) and took 22 wickets – the second highest by a fast bowler in the season, just one behind Kagiso Rabada.Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have been among the weaker sides on India’s domestic circuit. They have made it to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals just twice in their 62-year history. But fast bowlers have always made a mark. A quick survey of the current J&K squads reflects this. In their 21-member squad for Ranji Trophy 2021-22, there were as many as eight fast bowlers. The numbers were similar in the various age-group teams.Related

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At the IPL, apart from Umran and Rasikh Salam, who was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad before he was ruled out with an injury, four other J&K fast bowlers served as net bowlers for franchises – Sharukh Dar and Umar Nazir at Sunrisers Hyderabad, Basit Bashir at Punjab Kings, and Auqib Nabi at Gujarat Titans.We spoke to a few former J&K players and coaches about the past, present and future of fast bowling in the region.

Why is fast bowling so common in Jammu and Kashmir?

Samiullah Beigh, former J&K captain: The major reason is that the infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir is not comparable with other places. For batting and spin bowling, you need a lot of equipment, skilled coaches and other facilities, but fast bowling is all about natural raw talent. We are physically better built because of our eating habits.Irfan Pathan and Baroda-based coach Milap Mewada (right) have been instrumental in finding and highlighting fast-bowling talent in Jammu and Kashmir•ESPNcricinfo LtdThe other thing I believe is the passion for cricket here. A few years back I was playing in Mumbai and a lot of players there told me, “In Azad Maidan, you can see a factory of players playing.” Then I showed them a scene of our Eidgah ground [Srinagar], where on a single pitch, about two to four teams play together – two on the vertical side and two on the horizontal side.Abdul Qayoom, former J&K captain and coach: In 1984 I was playing as a wicketkeeper-batsman in junior cricket and I went to Jammu for the CK Nayudu Trophy trials. I kept wickets for a couple of days in trials but on the evening of third day, I was bowling to tailenders for fun. There was a coach named Gautam sir. He came to me and said, “Abdul, from tomorrow you won’t keep wickets but bowl fast!” I was surprised, but as he was our coach, I agreed. That day onwards I became a fast bowler and went on to play for J&K for years. I don’t know whether it was my physique or height or whatever that made him convert me into a bowler. This is the case with almost every one of us – we are kind of naturally built for fast bowling. I also believe it is because we belong to a high-altitude region, so our stamina and physique is better than, say, someone from Delhi or Mumbai.

Is fast bowling new to J&K or has it always been there?

Beigh: J&K has been blessed with fast bowling from the very beginning. Our cricket history suggests that in 90% of the matches that we have won so far in Ranji Trophy and other domestic competitions, pace bowlers have contributed the most. Our batting and spin bowling has always been weaker than our opponents’ but it’s the fast-bowling department where we are on top.I will share an interesting incident: back when Bedi sir [Bishan Singh Bedi] was here, he was of the opinion that no matter what the pitch offered, a team should always bat first. So one day he asked us what we would do if we won the toss. I was supposed to be the captain that year and I was the only one who said we should bowl first. He got a bit angry and gave his reasons but I explained to him that J&K has always banked on its fast bowlers. And the best condition for pacers to bowl is the first session of the first day.Four J&K bowlers were drafted as net bowlers in IPL 2022, among them Basit Bashir, of whom people expect great things•Basit Bashir/InstagramQayoom: When I used to bowl, everyone outside J&K would say, “” [He’s a horse, he never gets tired]. Before me, Abdul Rauf, Abdul Qayoom Khan, Mehboob Iqbal, also used to bowl fast and they would hear similar things. So we took it from them, and then the upcoming generation learned it from us and it is continuing even now. I mean, in J&K, fast bowlers have been the role models. They are the ones who have achieved big things.Abid Nabi, former J&K fast bowler and India U-19 player: When I was playing, there was no sign of a speedometer. You could only check your speed if you played at international level. But I think J&K always had bowlers who bowled extremely quick. There was a J&K bowler named Surendra Singh Bagal. He made it hard for even international players to bat against him. There were also Abdul Qayoom, Asif Peerzada and many others in the past.

How is J&K’s fast-bowling talent different from the rest of India’s?

Milap Mewada, J&K senior team coach from 2018 to 2020: The entire pedigree of fast bowlers in J&K is very different. Everyone you come across wants to bowl quick. There are so many seam bowlers that even someone like Umran didn’t make it to the team sometimes, as there were already a lot of senior bowlers performing well.The major difference is in stamina. I am currently working with the Hyderabad Ranji team. I came across a couple of guys who are also bowling fast. If I make them bowl for too long, they will break. They can bowl fast but can’t sustain, but if I compare them with someone like [senior J&K fast bowler] Mohammed Mudhasir, they are nowhere. He never says no to fast bowling. Whenever you ask him, “Mudhi, three overs”, he always raises his hand. He’s a very senior player, so imagine what he was like as a young bowler!Former J&K captain Samiullah Beigh: “I was part of the zonal team six times in my career but I used to carry drinks despite having the highest wickets among the bowlers.”•Samiullah Beigh

Why haven’t many bowlers from J&K made it big?

Beigh: The simple reason is that till around 2013, the system of selection was wrong. It used to only favour big cricketing teams like Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka. No selector used to watch Plate group matches of Ranji Trophy. The maximum reward for doing well was a place in the zonal team but the captain of these teams would always be someone from a place like Delhi. They would refer players from their own states. I was part of the zonal team six times in my career but I got to play just once in Duleep Trophy, that too after my bus had passed. I used to carry drinks despite having the highest wickets among the bowlers. It happened to me and it must have happened with Abid Nabi, Abdul Qayoom. I think the same would have happened to Umran but thanks to the IPL net-bowling stint, he was spotted at the right time.Nabi: There was no one to talk about us earlier. No one would put an arm around our shoulders or guide us. I remember in 2004, I was in England playing county cricket and the Indian team was also on tour there. Many of their fast bowlers got injured and I had clocked 151.3kmph while playing U-19 around then. But no one recommended my name, so I never got to play.

Will Malik’s emergence change things?

Qayoom: After watching Umran, I truly believe that a lot of youngsters will take up the game more seriously. We are currently holding a talent hunt in J&K and I can already see many kids trying to bowl fast. They now think that if they bowl quick, they will be noticed. I visited Anantnag in south Kashmir and Baramulla in the north and a lot of pace bowlers are showing up. Despite having zero infrastructure here, a talent like Umran emerged. So if we improve facilities, a lot of Umrans will come to the forefront.Nabi: If Umran Malik plays at international level and does well even in one match, it will help J&K’s upcoming fast bowlers. In the past there used to be talk that J&K has good fast bowlers but nobody believed it. But now after watching Umran, India and the rest of the world will finally accept it and see for themselves. During my time, nobody would look at us. I finished as the highest wicket-taker in U-19s quite a few times but I wasn’t even considered for zonal teams initially. I think all of this will change after Umran’s success.Mewada picks fast bowler Mujtaba Yousuf (extreme left) and bowling allrounder Auqib Nabi (extreme right, back) among his players to watch•Sahil Magotra

What do the BCCI and the J&K cricket association need to do to ensure the state’s fast-bowling talent doesn’t go in vain?

Mewada: I believe the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) has to go to the ground level and bring out the talent. This is what they are there for; the association itself is a part of the BCCI. They have enough funding, so they can hire professionals and try to utilise them to the best.I, as a coach, will keep Umran in the top category and prepare two more guys for his back-up. When I think I need two more Umrans or Mohammed Mudhasirs, I won’t get them suddenly, so to identify and train them I need to form a system. It should be a continuous process.Beigh: I believe J&K is a gold mine of fast bowlers and a lot of bowlers from here can serve India, but the BCCI has to do one thing to ensure that: they need to appoint a permanent fast-bowling coach and a fast-bowing trainer, not part-time or for a single season. They should then work with fast bowlers here every single day; do conditioning in the morning and coach them in the evening. This is the only way the crop of raw pace bowling will be reserved and we will see many more Umrans.

Which upcoming J&K fast-bowlers should we keep an eye out for?

Mewada: Mujtaba Yousuf and Basit Bashir, two very young and talented bowlers, Akash Choudhary from Jammu, and a very talented fast-bowling allrounder Auqib Nabi. They are really good.Beigh: Mujtaba Yousuf – I like his bowling action and run-up. Sharukh Dar – he’s already a net bowler with Sunrisers Hyderabad. He swings the ball both ways at pace. I am quite hopeful that he will play at the higher levels. Third one is a young guy from Kupwara: Basit Bashir. I have predicted that if he improves a few things, he may play for India within a few years. He is a terrific bowler with pace, swing and height.

England’s white-ball captain opens up about the evolution of his short-form game

Matt Roller07-Oct-2022The stage is set for Jos Buttler. He turned 32 last month and is at his peak as a T20 batter heading into the World Cup in Australia, his first as England captain. He is mentally fresh after a calf injury and if he finds his best form, he has the ability to win the trophy almost single-handedly.He spent England’s recent tour to Pakistan throwing balls and carrying drinks but is expected to return to the side in Perth on Sunday, the first of four warm-up games – three against Australia, one more against Pakistan – before the main event. Even for a team with England’s batting resources, his return will be transformative.”I’ve had confidence in my game for a while now,” Buttler tells ESPNcricinfo. “I feel like I have good experience and a good understanding of the T20 game.” Earlier this year he produced one of the greatest-ever IPL seasons, scoring 863 runs including a record-equalling four centuries, and his career record now compares favourably with the format’s all-time greats.When Buttler broke through at Somerset over a decade ago, it was his innovation that set him apart. He played the most audacious shots English cricket had seen since Kevin Pietersen, reverse-slapping spinners and paddle-scooping seamers to create gaps and leave opposition captains feeling one fielder short.But since he started to open the batting on a regular basis in 2018, he has become more orthodox, particularly against the new ball. In the World Cup, you are much more likely to see Buttler finding a gap in the off-side ring with a back-foot punch or a cover drive than shuffling outside his off stump and ramping over short fine leg.”It’s changed because of where I’ve batted,” he says. “When you’re opening the batting, you don’t need to take as big risks to get the same reward. Obviously in the powerplay, there’s only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle so the bowlers’ hands are tied in that sense and if you beat the infield, there’s nobody on the boundary to stop it.”You don’t have to take such big risks in the powerplay to be able to score at a certain rate. It’s one really good thing for my game that I’ve spent a long time in the middle order and now a reasonable chunk at the top of the order as well: I feel like I can try and marry the two areas of the game up and try and bat for a long time in a T20 game.”Buttler has enjoyed remarkable, sustained success at the top of the order. Chris Gayle is universally accepted as T20’s GOAT but Buttler has the superior record as an opener: he is more consistent (averaging 43.04 to Gayle’s 37.94) and more destructive (striking at 149.34 to Gayle’s 146.67).In the IPL, he came close to achieving batting perfection as he took Rajasthan Royals to their first final since 2008. “I had some really good chats with Kumar Sangakkara [Royals’ director of cricket] about waiting for the time when you feel in, and understanding that you can still catch up after that if you need to,” Buttler recalls.”That period might come within five balls, but sometimes it might take 15 or 20 balls. We spoke about not worrying about that, knowing that I’m able to catch up later on if I have to, and that I can play differently once I feel more comfortable at the crease.Buttler made 863 runs in the 2022 IPL, including a record-equalling four centuries•BCCI”I think a lot of that is about swallowing your ego as a batter: not feeling like you’re out there having to prove anything, but just playing what’s in front of you and what’s required on that day; not looking back and thinking ‘I got runs yesterday, I must go and do exactly the same thing today’. It’s very much playing the game in front of you.”There were two clear features to Buttler’s approach in India. The first was a tendency to give himself three overs to get ‘in’ before accelerating during the second half of the powerplay, a method informed by conditions and by Royals’ lack of batting depth, with Trent Boult often carded at No. 8.”Early on in the tournament, it felt like the ball swung a lot more so it felt like it was a hard time to bat in the first couple of overs,” he says. “So tactically, it was about trying to come through that period of time, not to take too many risks when the ball was moving about and then cash in at the back end of the powerplay if there was less movement. Managing risk is a big part of batting.”The other was his ruthless targeting of bowlers, particularly when he spotted an inexperienced player he felt he could take down. Across his 17 innings, there were 12 occasions in which Buttler scored 15 runs or more in a single over, and four when he scored 20 or more.”It’s certainly something I’ve thought more about: those big overs, and trusting my six-hitting ability; looking at the West Indian players and, in general, how they hit more sixes than other teams. I’ve seen that as a huge positive and a way to take pressure off myself: to know that I have the ability to hit sixes.”That probably means I don’t take as much risk at certain stages because I feel like at any point in an innings, I could hit two sixes in a row and I look at what that would take my score and strike rate to. That’s been a way my batting has developed: I’ve certainly looked to back my six-hitting capability more than I used to in the past, or I wait for a ball that’s in my area.”Related

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Buttler has also changed his method while chasing, viewing a target in terms of how many boundaries he needs to hit rather than worrying about the required rate. “I heard a few guys talk about it like ‘there’s eight overs left, if we hit five sixes in that time, we’ll win the game’. It’s just a different way of thinking.”It actually came from Darren Bravo in the Bangladesh Premier League. He was in my team and I remember him running out and saying that to Marlon Samuels. I’d never really thought like that before. I’d always be thinking about how many runs we needed per over. I’ve just found it’s a way of taking pressure off.”The next step in the evolution of T20 batting, Buttler suggests, could be batters turning down singles to stay on strike when they think a match-up is in their favour. “It’s something you see at the end of an innings quite a bit – [MS] Dhoni used to – but maybe you’ll see that early in the innings as well.””I’m sure that will happen more and more often: when someone does it with good success, it will give other people confidence,” he adds. “The question is who wants to be the first mover.” Don’t bet against it being Buttler himself.Jos Buttler was speaking on behalf of Booking.com, whose new research shows over half of cricket fans would travel over 3,000 miles to watch their team.

With a penchant for sweeping and a love for the long-format, Mark Chapman is hoping to make the most of his time on tour with New Zealand A

Ashish Pant02-Sep-2022The last time New Zealand A fronted up against India A in a red-ball series, Mark Chapman was instrumental in helping his side take a huge first-innings lead in Christchurch. As the two teams face off again, this time in India, Chapman, at 28, is hoping to play more of a senior role and stake his claim for a Test spot.Brought up on a diet of white-ball cricket in Hong Kong, though, the longer format did not always come naturally to Chapman. Born to a New Zealand father and Chinese mother, he is one of the few cricketers to have played international cricket for two countries – Hong Kong and New Zealand. He made his T20I debut aged 20 and his ODI debut a year-and-a-half later, both for Hong Kong. In New Zealand, he had to learn the nuances of red-ball cricket on the fly. A sound technique and the ability to nudge the ball into gaps helped bed him into the Auckland set-up, and he has gone on to become one of their mainstays.”I do have strong ambitions in red-ball cricket. There is nothing more rewarding than scoring a hundred in a red-ball game or getting a first-class or Test win,” Chapman told ESPNcricinfo. “You can’t beat that feeling.”Growing up, most of the cricket that I played was white-ball and short-form, so that is where my experience sort of lay but as I began to play for Auckland a little bit more, we obviously played multi-day cricket – it’s something that I have had to learn on the go and something that I have really come to enjoy.”Chapman has played 35 first-class matches so far, in which he has 2287 runs at an average of 41.58, including 14 fifties and four centuries. Not shabby at all for someone who took to the longer game relatively late.”I have really come to appreciate the challenges of the red-ball game and really see it as the pinnacle of cricket in terms of mental application and mental test,” he said. “So, yeah, Test cricket is something that I would love to play.”Chapman’s style of play is a bit different from a lot of his New Zealand team-mates. Unlike those who look to play straight having grown up on bouncier surfaces, Chapman relies on the sweep a lot, which in a lot of ways is to do with him playing more in Asian and subcontinental conditions in his formative years.He hopes that his penchant for sweeping will help him on this tour of India, where New Zealand A are playing three red-ball and three white-ball games.

“I have really enjoyed trying to read the game and playing the situation that is in front of me. There is no better and more rewarding feeling than being there at the end and hitting the winning runs.”Mark Chapman

“I played in Asia growing up, and the sweep shot was something that I needed to use to be able to access boundaries and score some runs, particularly in slightly slower conditions,” Chapman said. “It’s been something that I have always had, and something I have worked hard on particularly for this tour, because in New Zealand, where the wickets are slightly better and don’t turn a lot, you may not necessarily use it.”Playing in my early days for Hong Kong, I was a little bit smaller, so I had to become pretty efficient in rotating the strike and that [sweeping] was, I guess, my way of keeping my strike rate up with the odd boundary.”Chapman made his international debut for New Zealand in a T20I against England in 2018, and got his first ODI for them later the same month. Since then, though, he has been part of just a handful of internationals and a Test call-up remains elusive, but Chapman insists he isn’t in a “desperate rush”.”This generation of New Zealand cricket has been really strong, and we’ve made a lot of World Cup finals and done well in the Test Championship. The competition for the places in the team has been really competitive,” he said. “I have just been chipping away at my game. For me, it is just about being a better cricketer every day regardless of the outcome and just enjoying my cricket as well, because it can be a long hard slog at times particularly when you are travelling a lot and not necessarily playing as much as you would like.”He’s had a good 2022. Chapman started off the year propelling Auckland to their second Ford Trophy title in three seasons. He was instrumental in helping New Zealand record their highest T20I total of 254 against Scotland in July, and then hit his second ODI century – seven years after scoring his first for Hong Kong – a couple of days later.”Obviously, ambitions are to really nail the [national] spot in a format or two – you love to be playing as much as you can,” he said. “Particularly in the more recent years, I have really enjoyed trying to read the game and playing the situation that is in front of me. There is no better and more rewarding feeling than being there at the end and hitting the winning runs.”If he can do just that in India, it could be a huge stepping stone in his path from the fringes towards a coveted Test spot.

“We ebb and flow at times really well,” Carey says of his association with Cameron Green after they put together their latest big partnership

Alex Malcolm28-Dec-2022There was a telling moment when Alex Carey brought up his first Test century.While Carey had his head down, sprinting for the first of three runs after square-driving Marco Jansen, his batting partner Cameron Green had both his arms aloft in celebration. Carey’s own celebration was fairly understated, especially when compared to David Warner’s on day two. But Carey had much to be proud of. He was the first Australian wicketkeeper to score a Test century since 2013 and just the seventh overall.But showmanship and self-adulation are not in Carey’s DNA as a cricketer. He is more likely to boast about his highlights as a one-time professional Australian Rules footballer. Understated is who he is as a cricketer. He has become the drummer in Australia’s band and an incredibly reliable and much-loved one at that.Related

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There were concerns about how Australia would replace Tim Paine ahead of last year’s Ashes. There was even an undercurrent throughout Australian cricket querying whether Carey was the right choice despite being the long-time understudy, given the raw talent of Josh Inglis or the consistency of Jimmy Peirson. And that undercurrent has remained even after a year in the job.But it will have disappeared now after a classy century that has all but put the MCG Test in Australia’s safekeeping. In reference to replacing Paine specifically, for the quality of Paine’s glovework and his performance as leader in a difficult period, Carey always represented a significant upgrade as a batter both in his record at first-class level and his skillset.Carey’s first Test century showcased all those skills. His elegance, power, and wide array of strokes were all on display.Carey unfazed as wickets fall around him

Admittedly, he had the benefit of feasting on a weary South African attack. He had walked out at 363 for 3 in the 85th over at the end of a 37-degree day with Australia leading by 176. But there was a point early on day three where Australia’s innings might have fallen in a heap. Anrich Nortje ripped through Travis Head and David Warner in consecutive balls and then Kagiso Rabada had Pat Cummins caught behind four balls later. Carey was just 16 not out as he watched it all unfold, with Australia 213 in front.But Carey was unperturbed and unfurled one of the shots of the match. It was a part-Gilchrist, part-Lara flashing square drive with anchored feet, off a Nortje rocket at that. From there he produced the full array. There were uppercuts over third, controlled check-drives down the ground, reverse-sweeps and sweeps off Keshav Maharaj, and pulls and cuts galore.He formed a superb partnership with Green, who fought bravely with a fractured finger to post an unbeaten half-century and share a 117-run stand with Carey to demoralise South Africa.Alex Carey celebrates after scoring his first Test century•Getty Images”I actually didn’t think he was going to walk out the race today,” Carey said of Green after play. “But to see him put on a brave face, bat beautifully and allow me at the other end to bat as well… allowed us to put on a really good partnership.”The two complement one another beautifully and it shows. In ten innings together at Test level, they have combined for 511 runs at 51.10 per stand with two century partnerships. It is the perfect blend of yin and yang. A shorter left-hand batter and a tall right-hand batter make them a difficult duo to bowl at. But their personalities and game styles blend very well. Green is a worrier, constantly asking questions of his partner about what the bowlers and the pitch are doing. Carey is the complete opposite, keeping things simple and keeping Green calm. But Green’s attention to detail keeps Carey locked in. Carey’s busyness and intent to rotate and score brings Green out of his shell. The quality and stubbornness of Green’s defence at times reminds Carey to find the right Test-match tempo to his batting and that he doesn’t need to score off every ball.”I think we ebb and flow at times really well,” Carey said. “Today it was probably on me to score a bit (and) more on him to grit through and he did that amazingly. I don’t really know how to explain it. I think just with certain guys, you just have that calmness and confidence. It’s been fun so far, and hopefully a few more big partnerships and no doubt he’ll get his ton.”They produced match-winning stands in Lahore and Galle earlier this year and this, too, while not the defining partnership of the match, is still likely to result in an Australia win.The stroke that took Cameron Green to his half-century•Getty ImagesCarey remains team-first, and the team loves him for it
It is those shared partnerships that led to Green’s spontaneous celebration for his mate’s milestone. But also, there is a recognition of how unselfish Carey has been as a Test batter. People have been quick to point to his average at times as a measure of why Carey’s place as Australia’s wicketkeeper should not be assumed, particularly as there have been critics of his glovework.But Carey’s unselfishness with the bat has not gone unnoticed within the team, even if it has elsewhere. Four times in his first 12 months of Test cricket, he has sacrificed his wicket cheaply trying to advance the game for his team. If you remove those innings from his record, he would average over 40.And his glovework remains his number-one priority. Prior to day three at the MCG, even though he was not out with the bat overnight, he spent the first part of his warm-up doing specific keeping work catching spin in the nets in preparation to keep long periods to Nathan Lyon in the second innings.Carey later took an excellent catch down the legside off Cummins to remove Dean Elgar. But his century now gives Australia options given they are set to lose Green at No. 6 for the Sydney Test.Three of Carey’s first-class centuries have come batting in the top six as has his lone ODI century. He has a first-class century batting at No. 5 for South Australia against a New South Wales attack featuring Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Lyon. Australia haven’t had a wicketkeeper picked specifically to bat at No. 6 since Matthew Wade nearly a decade ago.”Whatever opportunity I get for the Australian cricket team I’ll put my hand up to do,” Carey said.He remains team-first at all times, and his team is grateful for that.

Determination not to lose at all costs defeats the purpose of inviting the big teams to play

Danyal Rasool05-Dec-2022It was a scene of high comedy, and yet also the most succinctly damaging assessment of where Pakistan’s Test cricket sits. With half an hour to go in the Test and the sun sinking rapidly beneath the Shoaib Akhtar Enclosure, No. 11 Mohammad Ali decided to pop off to the bathroom, timing it to coincide with the end of the final drinks break, desperate to drain a few more seconds out of this Test match.As fourth umpire Asif Yaqoob frogmarched Ali swiftly back to the middle as England waited impatiently to finish Pakistan off, the optics were brutal: Pakistan would literally rather hide in the toilet than set up to win a Test match.

****

Early winter had just crept in and cricket season was starting. The square at Rawalpindi Cricket Ground was just about ready, having seen off a first-class season that offered an engrossing contest between bat and ball. This was the first time this particular strip would be used for a Test match since the format returned to Pakistan in 2019, and it couldn’t look readier. There was enough grass on this wicket to suggest lessons had been learned from the debacle nine months ago, when this venue had accumulated 1,177 runs and one demerit point. The next morning, the England contingent landed at Islamabad airport from their training base in Abu Dhabi to presidential-style security and cordoned-off roads. Amid the frenzied activity around the visitors, it was easy to miss something equally significant taking place at the place they’d spend much of the next week. By the time they arrived at the cricket ground, there wasn’t a blade of grass to be seen on the surface.Over the next five days, England ensured Pakistan were left as nakedly exposed as the pitch they had prepared. Showing what was possible even in the most unconducive conditions, England found one more move every time it seemed Pakistan had set them up for stalemate.Azhar Ali, hampered by a finger injury, failed to complete the job of saving the game•Getty ImagesWhen Pakistan pushed their field out, England simply hit it over them. When Pakistan looked to shut up shop, England brought their fielders up so close it would have breached 2020’s social distancing guidelines. When the ball didn’t swing, England scuffed it up by thumping it short into the lifeless surface, reaping the rewards with late movement on the fifth afternoon. No sooner had Pakistan found a hiding place than England flushed them back out yet again. Pakistan took every precaution to prevent what they feared would be a humiliating defeat, and yet, the victory England conjured up was more chastening than any three-day thumping could have been.Pakistan have spent the best part of two decades trying to lure the big teams, or the “Western bloc”, as Ramiz Raja pointedly put it last year, back home. So when a deal was struck that saw Australia, England and New Zealand agree to play Test cricket in Pakistan in the space of ten months, it was more than either fans or administrators could have imagined in their wildest dreams just a few years earlier. Since then, however, the surfaces Pakistan has prepared for these series would make younger fans in Pakistan wonder what they’d been missing anyway. What was the point of playing at home against the best teams if it was deliberately designed to be the worst possible spectacle?Before being appointed chairman, Ramiz had one of the most-followed YouTube channels in Pakistan, known for regularly entreating the side to play with more (bravery) and lambasting them when they didn’t. That fiery, truculent attitude was reflected in his first press conference since becoming chairman, and he cannot be accused of changing his tune in the following months.Related

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Repeatedly, however, this Pakistan side under the stewardship of Ramiz, Babar Azam and this team management have shown that they’re willing to wound, but afraid to strike. The neutralisation of the first Test against Australia could be justified to some extent, what with Australia’s pace battery and Pakistan missing key fast-bowling personnel. But the three Tests that followed have shown it up for the cravenly conservative template that it was, rather than the shrewd tactic the team management wanted us to believe.Australia is a kind of mythical sea-monster for Ramiz, anyway, one to be spoken of in hushed tones rather than competed with in full flow, but against an England side whose seam attack posed none of the same menace, Pakistan could not find the within themselves to compete on even terms.Bazball might be as tired a cliché as , but at least England actually stay the course with it. Pakistan spent the previous evening insisting they were here to win this match, suddenly finding their voices after England’s munificent declaration seemed to take a draw out of the equation.But on the fifth morning, that Pakistan talk of victory felt increasingly like a fever dream. Out there in reality, they spent the first 14 overs scoring just 13 runs, with England bowling eight maidens in the 12 overs before drinks. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson kept the pressure, and the field, up, while Pakistan blocked, nudged and left. They had made clear they wanted nothing less than a draw from this match, and despite England’s best offers, nothing more than that, either. If ever there was an exhibition of contrasts – in style, philosophy and ambition – this Test was it.England’s will to win overcame Pakistan’s determination not to lose•AFP/Getty ImagesIt isn’t just the chairman though. Babar Azam’s own penchant for conservatism, much like his presence in the Pakistan side, straddles all three formats. Mohammad Yousuf was already in Multan today, apparently to have a chat with the pitch curator. Saqlain Mushtaq is likely figuring out how to balance the scales of cosmic justice rather than balance the team he improbably finds himself in charge of. The circlejerk of enablement is complete.Even when Pakistan took control of individual passages of play, England recognised them for the aberrations that they were. With Azhar Ali, a man living on borrowed time anyway but the only recognised batter standing between England and an inexplicably long Pakistani tail, England brought one more fielder up. When he did fall with the job unfinished – as he was destined to, perhaps, as his career drags towards its unseemly close – Pakistan’s defences were fatally breached.Soon, England would have 11 fielders close to the bat as they scrambled to triumph in a game Pakistan had tried to ensure was unwinnable (but more importantly, unlosable). Rawalpindi might be a stone’s throw from the seat of power in Pakistan, the place where every decision that matters to this country is made. But it was Ben Stokes’ men who felt at home against a Pakistan set-up that, at present, barely seem able to comprehend England’s philosophy, let alone replicate it.England were the ones struck down by illness before the start of this Test, but the malaise that afflicts Pakistan shows no signs of being short-term.

Trio of world-class wickets briefly steals the show, but Pakistan battle back before the close

Vithushan Ehantharajah11-Dec-2022You know you’re leaving Multan city centre when you get to the fruit stalls that line the road, just before the open expanses take over en route to the cricket stadium. Yet even among the many overflowing with sweet oranges, you will struggle to find any on a par with the three Jaffas dished out after lunch on Sunday of the second Test.Only 20 percent of the oranges grown here get exported, compared to the generations of fast bowlers forged from these soils, who get sent the world over to share the glory and craft of pace. Thus, the local palettes are finely attuned. Only the quickest speeds, the latest swing, the most lavish moment, and immaculate wrists will do. Combine all that to knock out the stumps as if they’ve stolen something and, well, you’ve got a direct line to any Pakistani’s heart.For 12 overs within a period of 14 at the start of the second day’s middle session, those switchboards were jammed with calls from James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood, all offering different amounts of each with dismissals that ensured England maintained a solid footing in this match.The best and most juicy of the three came first. Anderson, a 40-year-old veteran enjoying a new lease of life under the resident fun-loving minimalists of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, produced a delivery to rival even the very best of his 674 wickets. For this England regime, the stripping-away of the stresses of Test cricket has come through simplifying its most important parts, and as England resumed after the first interval, wicketless after Pakistan had chipped 64 runs in 15 overs off a target of 355, the oldest swinger in town had ball in hand for the first time in the innings.This was only the third time since 2009 that Anderson hadn’t taken the new ball at the start of an innings, but the second time in a week, so we may soon have to stop dwelling on that. His role has evolved in this side to such an extent that he is both leaning on his experience to act as a mentor to his counterparts, but has also reverted to being something on a strike bowler. Here, England needed to produce something out of nothing. Anderson delivered the goods within five deliveries of the restart.Babar Azam had his off stump pegged back by Ollie Robinson•Matthew Lewis/Getty ImagesYou knew it was a good one because even the victim, Mohammed Rizwan, effused his love for Anderson at the end of play. He seemed to relish the fact that he was the punchline for this moment; his Stockholm syndrome condensed within the fractions of a second the ball was released, seam-perfect on an off-stump line before jagging away just enough to leave Rizwan’s blade on read. “I love him because of his bowling,” Rizwan beamed, “and obviously I had no answers of his questions.”The wicketkeeper-batter had turned makeshift opener in Imam-ul-Haq’s absence, and even quipped it was as if he had been done with a Dukes ball. The Kookaburra is not quite the kryptonite to Anderson that it is to other English seamers, and nor are these conditions. In the last ten years alone, Anderson averages 20.65 in Asia which, remarkably, is lower than his average at home during this period (20.91). That figure is still a stellar 22.94 if you factor in his pivotal, if less statistically remarkable, role on England’s victorious Test tour of India, in which MS Dhoni, no less, said he was the difference between the teams.On a pitch where the tunes are getting harder to come by, as each turn of the heavy roller compacts it further to deaden the bounce and movement, Anderson made that delivery sing.You don’t always get wickets with balls like those, but anecdotally it seems that Anderson does more than most. Perhaps, because he produces so many of them, probability works in his favour. It makes you wonder how many have been lost to the annals of time simply because they failed to clip a bit of wood – edge or stump – or a front pad.So, the tone had been set and the parameters were clear. Special things were required, and quickly. Three overs later, Robinson stepped up.When Robinson first trained with England as part of an enlarged group in 2020 to mitigate for Covid restrictions around training, he earned the nickname “McGrath” for his unerring accuracy. Funnily enough, he is a very good mimic of bowling actions, and McGrath’s not a bad one to replicate. He often experiments in training: during the Ashes last winter, in a bid to try a few new things, he spent the best part of a net session bowling like Mohammad Shami after watching him in action during India’s series with South Africa the night before. And off the back of his senior partner’s brilliance, he too produced a Jaffa worthy of export.Mark Wood bowled Abdullah Shafique to turn the screw•Matthew Lewis/Getty ImagesExcept, he did it his own way. Having played around with his angle at the crease – wide to offset the right-hander’s head position, then tight to the stumps to further upset his bearings – Robinson arrived in between for the penultimate ball of the 19th over. The release, as ever, was perfect. The merest whiff of reverse took it in, but not so much as to be threatening the stumps. Then it pitched.One of Robinson’s key facets is he seams the ball more than anyone in England. Despite his relative lack of pace, the logic – right at the start of his Test career – was that the energy he imparts on the ball is such that he is bound to do something, on even the most unresponsive tracks abroad. So it was no surprise to the England management that Robinson was able to make the ball talk in these conditions. It was a bit more of a surprise to the batter, mind you, who had made his mind up to leave just after release. The fact it deviated by a foot almost excuses the lack of shot. If you worried about deliveries out there, you wouldn’t leave the house.This was, by the way, the third time Robinson has bowled a batter who has offered no shot. That works out at a percentage of 5.2 percent of his 58 dismissals to date. By comparison, of Anderson’s 294 victims since 2015, only four have been done in similar fashion – 1.4 percent.Oh, and it wasn’t any ordinary batter, either. It was Babar Azam. You know, the crown prince of batting, leader of the opposition, possessor of a technique so immaculate you could eat your dinner off it. And here he was, being made to look foolish in his own backyard (where he averages 60), in front of his own people (for whom he can do no wrong with the bat), by the man who had taken him out 24 hours earlier as well. In so doing, Robinson became the first seamer to bowl Babar twice in a match. He is midway through only his 12th Test cap, is currently averaging less than 20, and is already doing things others can’tThe final offering came from Wood. That the Test side have been able to call on his pace for the first time since March was as much a boost to the locals, wowed by his exploits during the T20I series a couple of months back, and anticipating his fire with the red ball this time. Every scuttle to the crease was accompanied by crescendo-ing hums from the stands. Though he would take out one of their own at the start of the 29th over, the hollering that pushed through the disappointment was loud and clear. And why not – he had satisfied the carnal urges of a pace-savvy audience with the first uprooted stump of the tour.Related

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Clocking in at 87.1mph, it was slow by the standards that Wood set on day one when he ticked over 97mph in the seventh over of Pakistan’s first innings. Making up for the 10mph drop, however, was the slightly lower, more catapult-like right arm which exaggerated the reverse to such an extent even the impressive Abdullah Shafique, set on 45 with his eye in for all of 93 balls, had no answer for the 94th, which cut through a previously impenetrable defense with ease.Wood’s immediate celebration was directed at the floor, having bowled himself off his feet in a bid to hit the pitch hard, as Anderson and Robinson had done before him. Though the trio of wickets were all different, the thread running through them was aggressive accuracy.Just 16 runs were conceded in their 12 overs tagging in and out of the attack: 60 of their 72 deliveries were either on a good length or just short of that, ensuring batters got little to drive. Their precision was such that, at times, only a leg slip was employed alongside wicketkeeper Ollie Pope. The stumps were the primary target – everything else was an aside.It highlighted the strength of having a bowler as captain, even one whose official designation is an allrounder. At lunch, Stokes gauged the ball would start to move that little bit more through the air and emerged with a clear plan. It is worth noting he tailored the plan during Anderson’s opening over. Prior to the removal of Rizwan, Jack Leach had been warming up to take the Stadium End, but during the celebrations of the ball of the tour, Robinson was instead told to take the next over. Leach’s left-arm spin would have to wait to make its own crucial difference four overs before the close.We are in the midst of citrus season here in Pakistan, so maybe it was only right that the home batters would be the recipients of England’s most fruitful period on a day that, ultimately, belonged to the hosts. Pakistan will return on Monday just 157 away from their target of 355, with batting still to come. The juice from that early squeeze quenched England’s desire for a clearer route to the tail. Nevertheless, the risk of a bitter aftertaste remains.

South African cricket has not exactly been switched on for the past few years, but there is every hope that could slowly change

Firdose Moonda07-Jan-2023When the lights come back on after a power cut in South Africa – and they happen as often as four times a day – people cheer. They don’t do it because they’re particularly pleased (who would be, given that the country is into its 16th year of rolling blackouts?), or even with a sense of irony – they do it because they’re relieved that their two-and-a-half hour outage has ended on time, and in the light.”People feel it’s a dark time right now,” Faf du Plessis, in his role as captain of the Joburg Super Kings said, and he wasn’t talking about the electricity.Just like its power utility, South African cricket has not been switched on over the last few years, and their problems are worsening. The Test team is currently in Australia, facing the possibility of being swept 3-0 there for the first time since 2001. Less than two years ago, du Plessis was the most experienced batter in that side. Now, he is a T20 league specialist and part of the brigade that has promised to bring the light back into the country’s game through the SA20. “We need this competition for the game to grow,” du Plessis said. “Hopefully it will make people very optimistic about the future of South African cricket.”Related

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CSA to conduct review into South Africa's performance at T20 World Cup

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It has already made people more interested in the game. The opening match between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals on Tuesday – which is also the first match with fans at Newlands in the post-Covid-19 era, is a sell-out. More than 20,000 people have bought tickets to the game. Who knows if the same number of South Africans woke up at 1 AM to watch their already-defeated Test team try to save face in Sydney?Ask around and you’ll hear that interest in the national team is lower than ever before. The combined embarrassments of losing to Netherlands and being booted out of the T20 World Cup, teetering on the brink of not being able to automatically qualify for the ODI World Cup and two successive Test series defeats – including seven innings where they could not cobble together 200 – has taken its toll.”That’s been the state of South African cricket for a while now,” Graeme Smith, SA20 league commissioner, told ESPNcricinfo.But Smith and the tournament he is putting together have taken it on themselves to change that.”One of the things we really wanted to do was to re-energise and revive the cricket fan. It’s a hard job in a negative climate,” he said. “Season one and that first week for us around the country is going to be big for us. I’m not sure when last we had a full house for a domestic game.”And for an entire competition? Maybe never.”Trying to sell out 33 games almost back-to-back is different for South Africa but we are seeing a very positive response,” Smith said. “The goal for us is to bring the cricket community together and to revive those dormant fans.”But they’re also looking to lighten the mood, after three heavy years that saw CSA fall into an administrative abyss, grapple with the much-needed Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings, and begin to rebuild, from the ground up. It’s been a time of introspection and angst, two words that were nowhere near the SA20 captain’s press conferences.Instead, there were jokes about du Plessis wearing a normal-sized (not “mannequin-sized”, as he likes to call the rest of his wardrobe) yellow-shirt, and being envious of David Miller in pink. “This feels like a fashion press conference,” du Plessis quipped at one point.There were giggles when Rashid Khan, the only foreign captain in a team, was asked a question about the Stormers (the Cape-Town based domestic rugby team) and whether MI Cape Town could draw on them for inspiration. “What is that?” Rashid asked, as he looked around at the other captains. “A ballerina,” du Plessis told him. Happily, Rashid was not fooled.Quinton de Kock brought his dry humour when he said his only hope for the Durban Super Giants team he will lead is that they “get some game time in,” referring to the rain that often cancels play at Kingsmead at this time of year and revealed his partnership with coach Lance Klusener has not yet involved much talking. As two of the least chatty cricketers about, they will know that that’s probably not likely to change. “We like to keep things relaxed,” he said.South Africa are on the brink of a 3-0 defeat in Australia for the first time since 2001•Getty ImagesWayne Parnell temporarily shed his identity as an out-and-out Cape Town influencer to head up the Pretoria Capital and already understands what’s expected of him.”Centurion is a place where there has been a lot of success. There’s pressure from the people of Pretoria to do well and we hope we can live up to that,” he said. And Aiden Markram admitted to being “refreshed” (and may also slightly relieved) after being dropped from the Test side and is ready to take a new role as the skipper of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Markram has cut a particularly dejected figure in his last few international outings and to see him upbeat was something of a metaphor for the new frame of mind.The six captains and Smith then headed off to the colourful Bo-Kaap, where they posed with the trophy, which has been designed by the same people who made the Test mace. In a video explaining the process by which the SA20 cup was conceptualised, there was an image of Smith, a decade-younger, holding the mace after South Africa became No.1 in the world in England.

“We want to play our role in reviving cricket. We want to get people into the stadium and cheering again.”Graeme Smith hopes the SA20 can do for South Africa what the IPL did for India

For a moment, time stopped.We were taken back to the glory days, when South Africa won series in England and Australia, challenged India at home, and looked as though they were heading towards a World Cup trophy. The 2010-2016 period was a golden age in the country’s game but they missed one massive step. CSA was slow off the blocks to launch a T20 league and then failed in their attempts to do so, twice. That meant the country’s domestic cricketers, in particular, were not exposed to the innovative thinking of league cricket, and the system has stagnated to the point where the players it produces cannot make the step up to the international stage successfully enough. The Test top six is a clear example of this but now, with them at their lowest ebb, that could start to change.”The professionalism that’s going to come from the franchises, who are the most experienced franchise teams in the world, brings huge credibility on and off the field in terms of coaching, management, medical staff, media,” Smith said. “All of that is now coming into South African cricket.”Much like the way the IPL allowed India to deepen and develop its talent pool, Smith hopes the SA20 can do the same for South Africa. “My wish is that there’s one or two great storylines that come from younger players, that they put in great performances and use this platform and make a name for themselves,” Smith said. “We want to play our role in reviving cricket. We want to get people into the stadium and cheering again.”

The hills are alive with the sound of Test cricket breathing – healthily but labouredly

Alan Gardner15-Jun-2023Talking about the death of Tests is a contractual obligation of cricket writing – even in the 1880s, learned scribes were worrying that it wouldn’t keep up with thrilling new forms of entertainment like hoop rolling and the can-can. But while the Light Roller enjoys indulging in doom-mongering as much as the next semi-humorous monthly column, the arrival of the English summer has brought with it renewed hope for the game.Following on from the hotly contested World Test Championship final – certainly a couple of the umpiring/selection decisions were hotly contested – this week we have the start of the Ashes. What a time (for the format) to be alive!The spectacle of Australia and India contesting the Test mace in England is, for some folk, the acme of international cricket; no plucky New Zealand to politely crash the party this time. To be honest, for those outside the Big Three, it probably feels as if this is the unavoidable endgame for international cricket (even if CA, the ECB and the BCCI aren’t quite as tight as they used to be). If there was any halfway legitimate excuse to make India an official participant in the Ashes, then you can be sure these guys would have tried it.Related

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Anyway, until the age-old rivalry takes a tip from the IPL and starts including a mandatory number of Indian players, we’ll work with what we’ve got – and the first Bazball Ashes promises to be an all-you-can-eat buffet of vibes and bluster. In one direction you’ve got Stuart Broad bantering harder than he’s ever bantered before, while Ben Stokes promises to “make memories for England” while dressed as some sort of athleisure vicar. In the other, Pat Cummins is pushing to oversee a “legacy-defining” twin success, as his countrymen queue up to question whether Bazball really exists at all.(Steve Waugh, old Mr Mental Disintegration himself, questioned whether England had a Plan B, without realising Plan B Bazball – as are plans C through Z.)There must be a genuine question around whether Test cricket can handle the next few weeks, given the hype around a) the men’s Ashes, and b) Bazball. It feels like a cricketing version of the Large Hadron Collider, with the game’s most-potent red-ball particles being fired at each other at incredible speeds – we might end up finally discovering the secrets of the format, or create a singularity from which nothing can escape.At which point, the players on both sides could get back to the thing that really motivates them: golf.

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“Hi there, welcome to the ICC. Let me show you around. Can you I get you a cup of coffee?Oh, what’s that, Geoff – we’re still waiting on the coffee beans? Didn’t we put that order in, like, six months ago?Okay, sorry about that. Anyway, our goal here at the ICC is to grow the game of cricket around the world…What’s that, Geoff? You saying you have a piece of paper there that says we’re now just India’s piggy bank? They shake us and money comes out of our a$$? Ah, okay, they’ve made that official now. I suppose BCCICC does have a ring to it…Well, we do have a World Cup scheduled for later this year. Shall I tell you about the planning for that? It starts in a few months, I think we have the fixtures here somewhere… Geoff? Geoff?”

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It’s not often that the Light Roller can look back through our archives and say: we called it. But there’s a first time for everything, and after predicting that was on its way back to the top, we were delighted to see the showrunners take the hint and bring back Zaka Ashraf, arch-nemesis of incumbent chairman Najam Sethi. Pakistan’s equivalent of the Chuckle Brothers, only with less impressive moustaches, Sethi and Ashraf played “to me, to you” with responsibility for the board through ‘s glory years. Now, with the current season heading towards its climax – can Pakistan prevent the Asia Cup from being wooed away by powerful suitors? – the two old stagers are squaring off in the wings. And what could be more helpful to the board’s capacity to stand up to the BCCI than a couple of administrators trading court orders and shouting at clouds?