Nick Hockley: 'We won't rest until we are truly representative of the community we serve'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Newlands ball-tampering scandal: “We forget the lessons of that time at our peril”

Andrew McGlashan22-Jun-2021What were your thoughts when you arrived in the midst of a once-in-a-hundred-year crisis?
I didn’t have too much time to think about it, if truth be told. At the time, I’d been dealing with the situation around the men’s T20 World Cup, so I was certainly right across all of the Covid-related issues. As I said at the time, it was a complete surprise, quite a shock. Not sure if we spoke too much but I was probably a bit like a rabbit in the headlights. The situation we found ourselves in certainly focused the mind. Very quickly, we established four priorities: get the CA team back to work, to deliver to the summer safely, deliver for our partners, and then bring the game together, whether that was the states and territories or the players’ association. Think a feature of the last summer is that we have all pulled together, everyone has had a hand in delivering the season and, hopefully, that puts us on firm footing as we come out of this situation.There was uncertainty and tension throughout the season, perhaps one of the more visible moments was how the India Test series would finish in terms of venues. Was there ever a moment where you had to be strong on how it would play out?
It was a very uncertain time. What we did very well was bide our time in terms of decision-making. It was a case of every single day; I remember tuning into New South Wales press conferences at 11am [to see the latest Covid-19 numbers]. It was always our intent through the whole summer to play the series as scheduled and that was really because from the outset the lens we looked through was the cricketing public. There were times when there were calls to stay in Melbourne but we couldn’t deprive the public of NSW who were suffering through the Northern Beaches situation through no fault of their own. Similarly, this notion that we wouldn’t carry on to Brisbane, we couldn’t deprive that public. But, by that stage of the season, what was most pleasing was we had relationships with all the jurisdictions, we had very solid bio-security plans, and everyone came together – including the BCCI. What wasn’t so pleasing was the result, but for a Test series to come down to the last 20 minutes is pretty epic.

“It brought back a lot of pain, but it also caused us to reflect that it’s always going to be there. We forget the lessons of that time at our peril”Nick Hockley on the return of the Newlands scandal to the headlines

You have put a figure of A$ 50 million on the cost of Covid-19 last summer. The hopes are the 2021-22 season will be smoother, but how much can the game absorb?
At the moment, we are hoping for the best but planning for the worst. Planning for a continuation of border closures but we are hopeful come the summer, providing there are no cases in the community, that we will be able to have freedom of movement and players will have more freedom. Equally, we now have the intellectual property and the relationships if we need to move quickly to enact contingency plans. I certainly feel for the winter codes; the disruption is extremely costly. Probably the big difference for cricket compared to the winter domestic competitions is the number of international teams coming. Last year, we had two teams, this year we are bringing six teams in. The two weeks’ mandatory quarantine and setting up training facilities so players can train to come out in a fit condition to play, that comes at a cost and is extremely complicated. It requires support of government at every level. It’s probably the biggest summer in the game’s history here; in a normal course, an Ashes is a high-revenue year so that goes some way to offsetting the costs, but the range of cost outcomes is very much dependent on the situation as it unfolds.Now that you no longer have “interim” next to your name, are there any areas you particularly want to focus on?
What Covid has done is shine a light on where capability lies across the whole sport. We were restricted from traveling, so a large proportion of our workforce had to stay at home for the season and that showed that we can work remotely, we can work as a collective across state and territory associations, so certainly look to take that agility and efficiency. And something I’ve spoken very passionately about over time is making sure we are the most inclusive sport we can be, that we continue to invest and aren’t taking backward steps. I’m excited that we have two multi-format series for the women’s team leading into a World Cup and a Commonwealth Games. Think we’ve seen a really rich talent pipeline coming through the WBBL, but it’s making sure we are being very inclusive in the whole pathway and whole sport to make sure it’s really representative of contemporary multicultural Australia. We are also really gearing up around the postponed men’s T20 World Cup in 2022, which I think is a really important event. A bit like the women’s World Cup was a great opportunity to change the game from a gender perspective, the men’s World Cup is a great opportunity to build relationships with the expat communities across Australia.”What wasn’t so pleasing was the result, but for a Test series to come down to the last 20 minutes is pretty epic”•Bradley Kanaris/Getty ImagesHow to do you think Australian cricket has dealt with the broader social issues – racism, diversity, inclusion – that have been at the forefront around the world in the last year?
We’ve made great strides. Our vision is to be a sport for all Australians. If you take, for example, our Reconciliation Action Plan, we’ve grown indigenous participation tenfold in eight years, we’ve got some fantastic role models. We do great work in the all-abilities space, but are we as a sport truly representative of the community we serve? Not yet. And we won’t rest until we are. We’ve made massive strides from a gender perspective. The events particularly in England over the last few weeks [around historic tweets] only serve to emphasize the role sport plays and that the public holds sport to a very high account and we have a real leadership role to play. We must continue to work on ensuring that the game represents the very best of community. That means having respect for everyone and making sure they feel like they belong.One of the key things on the horizon is the next MoU about how the players are paid. Are you hopeful it will be smoother than last time?
Absolutely. When you step back, the entire sport is aligned in wanting cricket to be as strong as possible and to have sustained growth. Both the players and administration have a really big hand in that. While we haven’t been able to spend too much time face-to-face because people have been in bubbles, we have had to work more closely than ever. We are having constructive discussions around what’s important, what are the things that are really going to grow the game and how does the playing group contribute to that, but also how can we support the players throughout their careers. The other thing I would say is I think the MoU has stood up well during Covid because it is in essence self-correcting if we have a revenue impact.

“I’m a great believer that more people playing cricket at the elite level can only be good for the health of the game. It’s exciting that we’ve got an expanded T20 World Cup but equally there are more opportunities to play [the one-day] World Cup”Nick Hockley

Can you update us on the situation with Channel Seven?
We are deep in dialogue for planning for the upcoming season. The discussions that we have had have been really constructive. We’ve had some very honest conversations about the challenges of last 12 months, which were quite publicly documented, but certainly the latest meetings have been all about how we work together to deliver what is going to be a massive summer. We’ve been working through some innovations and ensure how the WBBL and BBL is really relevant to the contemporary youth audience and delivers on its promise to attract a new audience to the game.What do you make of the next ICC calendar with global events now set to be played every year?
I think it’s really exciting that there are more World Cup opportunities for more countries. I’m a great believer that more people playing cricket at the elite level can only be good for the health of the game. It’s exciting that we’ve got an expanded T20 World Cup but equally there are more opportunities to play [the one-day] World Cup. I believe the formats do have a relationship with each other and think if countries can only play T20 at the world level, they are missing out on core skills for the longer formats. What is exciting is the potential to host some of those major world events in emerging markets; they just won’t be limited to the traditional countries.Related

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The health of the game in Australia is about much more than just the two main national teams, but they are the most visible part of the sport. How would you judge where they stand?
The Australia women’s team are remarkable. This summer they’ll be targeting getting a monkey off their back – I was there in Derby for the [50-over World Cup] semi-final against India in 2017 and I know from speaking to the captain and the coach how much that hurt. Think they are as hungry as ever and they are also very excited about the Commonwealth Games. What is particularly exciting is the young talent, some great young leaders, coming through and challenging what is a very settled side.On the men’s side, this is a really big moment. By their own admission, they were extremely disappointed about the last home summer particularly coming off the back of a previous home defeat against India. I know first-hand when we were unable to tour South Africa just how devastated the players were. It was reassuring for to see that disappointment, they just wanted to get back on the horse so there’s a huge amount of hunger. There’s no better opportunity than this upcoming summer to fulfil their potential as a side.How is the relationship now with Cricket South Africa?
We’ve had lots of constructive discussions around how we schedule moving forward and how we make up for those postponed tours. South Africa were due to tour here as per the FTP this summer [for white-ball matches] but due to logistics around quarantine they are unable to do. All the latest discussions have been entirely constructive and, as we said, we are committed to rescheduling that tour as soon as it’s safe to do so as it fits into the future schedule.Did the return of the Newlands scandal to the headlines recently surprise you?
It really did surprise me. What it did, it brought back a real strength of feeling. It brought back a lot of pain, but it also caused us to reflect that it’s always going to be there. We forget the lessons of that time at our peril. The progress the team under new leadership over the time has been phenomenal, they have really put culture and how they play absolutely at the core. Particularly going into the home summer that we’ve got, think it is better to acknowledge it is there and think about how the group comes together and what they want to be remembered for than forgetting about it. I had many conversations on the subject and went back and restudied the events of the time. We must never forget those learnings.

The sweet feeling of watching Pakistan beat India in the World Cup for the first time

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

There was no last-minute panic, no agonising self-destruction, just a straightforward win playing better cricket

Danyal Rasool25-Oct-2021I looked up in disbelief, mortified by how unfair things seemed. Six-year-old me had just been told, in fairly unequivocal terms, that no, I couldn’t be allowed to stay up well past midnight to watch the game right through to the end. It was much too late. That might sound fair enough, but it was June 8, 1999. Pakistan were playing India, and well, Pakistan were going to beat them.Or so I thought when I went to bed that night at the halfway stage, spending the night dreaming of a routine Pakistan win. India had set Pakistan 228; below par, one felt, even in 1999. Besides, aside from an inexplicable loss to Bangladesh in a dead rubber a couple of games before, Pakistan had sailed into the Super Sixes in red-hot form, beating West Indies, New Zealand and Australia in a World Cup classic.Related

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India, meanwhile, had begun the campaign with losses to South Africa and Zimbabwe, and only sneaked into the Super Sixes. Four days earlier, Australia had thumped them by 77 runs. It didn’t feel like they had the runs, or indeed the bowlers, to seriously challenge Pakistan – not to my six-year old self anyway.I checked the score first thing next morning. Apparently, Venkatesh Prasad had done again what I’d been told he’d done three years earlier in a World Cup quarter-final between the sides. Pakistan, who would finish top of the Super Six table, had been hammered by the side that would end up bottom; it was the only match India won against a Super Six side. My introductory experience of Pakistan vs India was perhaps the first time it really began to feel like a jinx.

****

Over the next two decades, these games – nine of them, to be precise – took on a bizarre, amnesic shade, each World Cup contest hyped and promoted as if the previous one had never happened. It was a marketer’s dream; in Pakistan, the fans were sold hope -which they bought by the crate load. In India, it was another chance to have that sweetest kind of fun – the kind that came at Pakistan’s expense. Tickets sold out in minutes, were scalped and rebought at obscene prices. The day arrived, people tuned in by the hundreds of millions, or even a billion, depending on which ratings metric you chose to believe. India cruised to victory, the cycle continued.The T20 World Cup in 2007 saw this curiously one-sided streak extend to a second format, with a group stage win in a bowl-out – which now feels like one of those science experiments too ludicrous to be allowed to happen – followed by a five-run victory in a gloriously agonising final. Misbah-ul-Haq had looked like he was making amends for the group stage with a heroic one-man counterattack but would end up giving India one of its most iconic moments of sporting triumphalism, and provide the origin myth for the advent of the IPL.It seems a long time ago, and not just because it was 2008, that Sohail Tanvir pulled one through midwicket to win his side the IPL final. At the time, this inclusive, nascent competition promised to usher in a fresh era in Indo-Pak relations. Hindsight would tell you that’s as good as it got for Pakistanis at the IPL. Or, indeed, for Rajastan Royals.Relations soured, and Pakistan found their players locked out of the IPL. The cricketing gulf between the two countries widened, both in terms of administrative power and on-field performance. By now, an Indian win over Pakistan didn’t feel like a jinx so much as it did the right cricketing result.Misery for Misbah: India win the 2007 World T20•Saeed Khan/AFPEven if the pain had been numbed by repeated exposure to it, a bruising semi-final defeat at India’s hands in Mohali stood out. It had its classic Pakistani cast of characters – Wahab Riaz playing the bowling wizard with a five wicket-haul, the highlight of which involved Player of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh being yorked for a golden duck. There was the scapegoat – poor Misbah again for supposedly batting too cautiously in the chase. There were the fielders happily putting down anything Sachin Tendulkar hit right at them. There was the conspiracy theory of Tendulkar’s non-lbw, a rabbithole best avoided here.And above all, of course, there was a Pakistani defeat and an Indian victory that saw MS Dhoni – who might have looked perfectly at home in a Pakistan side of the ’80s – lead his side to a World Cup trophy. Five further World Cup games yielded five heavy Pakistani defeats, with a famously bizarre victory in the 2017 Champions Trophy final the only balm for Pakistan’s psychological wounds.It was that context in which Babar Azam and Virat Kohli’s sides stood side by side for the anthems in Dubai on Sunday. Even when Pakistan won what looked a vital toss and began brilliantly, India’s dominance over this fixture meant it was difficult to really feel comfortable from a Pakistan perspective. Sure, the exhilaration of Shaheen Afridi’s first over was considerable, but that’s more of a universal experience, like a Jasprit Bumrah yorker or a one-legged Rohit Sharma pull. Sure, 151 in Dubai was perhaps a below-par total, but so was 227 in Manchester 22 years ago, remember?I interviewed Babar last month. It was a cordial enough chat, but there was one occasion where he’d allowed irritation to flicker on his face. I’d just asked him if opening alongside Mohammad Rizwan was indeed the most progressive thing Pakistan could do.”Yes, absolutely,” he said, irritated by the audacity of the query. “Look at how well that’s gone, at our performances in the past year, at the records he has broken. The year’s not done yet and he has already scored the most-ever T20I runs in a calendar year. What more do you need, really?”

Two men who weren’t born the first time India beat Pakistan in a World Cup match had helped Pakistan remove a stone from their shoe that had been chafing away for 29 years

If it was any other opposition, or any other tournament, you’d have known six overs into the chase that Babar and Rizwan had an unassailable, vice-like grip on this contest. The target didn’t require explosive hitting, the ball was coming onto the bat nicely, and there were no hiccups at the start. These two are the most prolific T20 opening pair since the start of the year by some distance; in April, they’d put on 197 in under 18 overs at Centurion to help chase down 205. They were in that sort of mood. But India were the opposition, so you couldn’t quite see it just yet.But the runs kept getting knocked off. Bumrah was negotiated with maturity; the whole chase in general was being pursued with a sort of cold ruthlessness completely alien to Pakistan and their supporters. Even as the asking rate was dragged down over by over, it felt as if the game was in a holding pattern; what really mattered was what happened once a wicket fell. Following the game on your smartphone was a different experience altogether, WhatsApp groups abuzz with nightmarish worst case scenarios from Pakistan fans looking to inoculate themselves from the pain when (or was it “if”?) their side found a way to muck up this chase.That, mercifully for Pakistan fans, was a sporting experience they didn’t have to endure. In the 18th over, the excitement levels rising to a crescendo, Rizwan walloped Mohammad Shami for six over fine leg. Four balls later, Babar whipped one through the leg side, called his partner over for two, and that was that. Two men who weren’t born the first time India beat Pakistan in a World Cup match – all the way back in 1992 – had helped Pakistan cricket remove a stone from their shoe that had been chafing away at them for 29 years. There is much that divides Pakistan, but for a few days, the country can bask in a therapeutic moment of harmony, fleeting and illusory as it might be.So how, then, did it feel? Well, somewhat numbing for how it happened. There was no last-minute panic, no agonising self-destruction, no letting the pressure of a nation weigh them down. There was no salvaging of national pride, no one-upmanship in a bitter rivalry. Pakistan had just beaten India in a cricket match in the only way it was possible to do so – by playing better cricket on the day.”What more,” as Babar might put it, “do you need, really?”

Under the radar but in-form South Africa exude quiet optimism

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

No one seems to be talking up South Africa’s chances, but Bavuma’s side head into the T20 World Cup in very good form

Firdose Moonda20-Oct-2021

Big picture

This is the first time South Africa will enter a major tournament completely under the radar. Unlike in the 1992 World Cup, they are not a new inclusion, who the world is waiting to see. Unlike at the 1999 World Cup or 2009 T20 World Cup, they don’t appear to have the potential to boss the event and unlike at the 2015 World Cup, theirs is not a squad filled with superstars. This is a group of industrious players, who are considered adequate without being outstanding, and who very few people expect to return home with a trophy. That means the usual World Cup pressure is off, but there are many others to consider.This is also the first time South Africa are being led in a major tournament by a black African. Temba Bavuma was appointed in March, has enjoyed relative success but is coming into the competition after suffering a broken thumb on South Africa’s last tour, to Sri Lanka in August. He is expected to be fully fit for their opening match and will want to lead from the front, especially as he follows a successful first black African rugby captain, Siya Kolisi, under whom South Africa won the 2019 World Cup.Bavuma’s race is important because South Africa have only just begun to reckon with the implications their segregated past has had on this sport and will continue to do so through the tournament. Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation-Building hearings resume on the same day the tournament starts – October 18 – and is expected to provide significant disruption. After a two-month recess, testimony will now be heard from those who were adversely implicated in the first round held between July and August. This includes current director of cricket, Graeme Smith, and the current national coach, Mark Boucher, who has already submitted a responding affidavit.

Recent form

As good as it can be. South Africa enter this tournament on the back of three successive series wins, albeit that two were not against teams in the main draw. But, say what you like about them beating Ireland and Sri Lanka, you can’t scoff at their 3-2 victory over a full-strength West Indies, who are also the defending champions.

Batting

South Africa have often appeared a batter short in this format, choosing to fill the XI with bowling options and top-load the line-up with openers. This squad includes four – Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks – and there is only room for three in the XI, while being light on middle-order hitters and big-finishers. If the top three or four come off, South Africa have been able to post decent totals and chase targets but if their innings starts poorly, recovery has proved challenging. In particular, the time it takes Rassie van der Dussen to get going and David Miller’s form are the biggest concerns.Temba Bavuma is expected to be fully fit for their opening match•AFP/Getty Images

Bowling

The era of the fast bowler has evolved into an embrace of the slower stuff for South Africa, and they have included three specialist spinners in this squad. Two of them, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj, are almost certain starters but none of the trio is a genuine allrounder. Instead, South Africa will choose between seam-bowling allrounders Dwaine Pretorius and Wiaan Mulder, which could only leave room for two out of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje. The seamers have all learnt the value of pace off the ball, but they’ve been criticised for not bowling the yorker to good effect, especially at the end of an innings. And therein lies South Africa’s real issue: they have no designated death-bowler, with Andile Phehlukwayo confined to the reserves and Sisanda Magala not picked.

Player to watch

A worthy successor to Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi has both the crazy celebrations and the ability to control the game and has emerged as South Africa’s trump card in shorter formats. Since 2019, Shamsi has enjoyed a more sustained run in the national team and has become consistent in delivering his stock ball while also perfecting his variations, particularly the googly. He has moved from being an out-and-out attacking bowler to one who is comfortable with a containing role if need be. Shamsi is the leading T20I wicket-taker in 2021 and could extend his lead with a good T20 World Cup.

Key question

Usually, South Africa go into major tournaments with only this question: Is this the one?This time, with much less expectation and no one really expecting them to win the tournament, the real question is: how bad could it get? South Africa had their worst result at a major tournament in the 2019 World Cup, which led to Ottis Gibson’s termination a brief flirtation with the idea of a team director (Enoch Nkwe was appointed in an interim capacity for the tour to India in 2019) before a coaching overhaul, in which Boucher was installed. It’s been a bumpy ride for Boucher with inconsistent results and the shadow of the SJN looming, and a first-round exit could spell trouble for him. On the flip side, if South Africa reach the knockouts and, don’t say it too loudly, the final, it could be a major turning point for cricket in this country.

Likely XI

1. Quinton de Kock, 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 David Miller, 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Anrich Nortje/Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Can a mix of experience and youth take Sunrisers Hyderabad forward?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

David Warner and Rashid Khan are no longer in the team, but Sunrisers boast a potent bowling attack. Will that be enough?

Shashank Kishore23-Mar-2022

Where they finished

Sunrisers Hyderabad finished last in a season where little went right. David Warner lost his place midway, with Kane Williamson taking over the captaincy. Then there were the off-field murmurs over their handling of Warner and benching of youngsters even after they were eliminated. All of this may have led to Trevor Bayliss’ exit along with a slew of other changes in the coaching staff. This season has started on a controversial note already with Simon Katich resigning as assistant coach after being unhappy over their auction strategy. Can the Sunrisers turn it around on the field?

Potential First XI

1 Rahul Tripathi, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Aiden Markram, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 T Natarajan, 11 Umran Malik

Player Availability

Injury management, not player availability, is the bigger concern. Williamson has a long-standing elbow niggle. T Natarajan is returning from long stretches of rehabilitation for knee troubles. Washington Sundar is returning from a hamstring injury he picked up in February during the West Indies ODIs at home. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also had a troubled two years with various injuries.Related

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Batting

For all their riches earlier, there was a sense of dependency around Warner and Williamson to do the heavy lifting. They’ve given a huge boost to Abdul Samad by retaining him, along with the likes of Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma, who have been bought back. Role clarity will be key for their younger players as they seek to identify a new template that helps them put behind the disappointment of 2021. Rahul Tripathi’s inclusion comes as a massive boost in their quest to identify this early.Aiden Markram and Washington give them multi-skilled abilities, while Pooran, who has had the experience of playing on Indian wickets for a while now, is expected to keep wickets and shore up the middle order.They also have the uniquely different Glenn Phillips. Apart from being an excellent keeper and a bristling batter, he can offer overs of offspin, both with the new ball and at other times, something he has done for New Zealand. This is a definite possibility because the Sunrisers’ squad composition allows them the luxury of picking primarily an Indian attack.Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for IPL 2022•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bowling

Bhuvneshwar is the new-ball specialist, Natarajan the death-overs king. Umran Malik’s hustling pace adds to the exciting variety. They have the all-round abilities of Washington, Samad and Markram to boot. Marco Jansen is coming off an impressive maiden home season as an international cricketer, and will be looking to build on his initiation. If they go slightly left-field, they can look at Romario Shepherd, who offers a fast-bowling option and handy lower-order hitting.The absence of a pedigreed legspinner – no Rashid Khan, remember – could be a bit of an issue. They do have Shreyas Gopal in the line-up, but the Karnataka legspinner has been up and down on form, and hasn’t been the same potent force he was with Rajasthan Royals a few years ago. Although this could be an opportunity for him to make a name for himself.

Young Players to Watch Out for

Umran Malik was raw and unpolished when he burst into the scene late last year. Since then, he’s become more aware of his body, the technicalities of his action, load-up, follow through and other areas having trained for a better part of the last three months under National Cricket Academy coaches. He has also been a net bowler with the Indian team, and had a stint with Jammu & Kashmir during the domestic season. Can he build on his impressive initiation?Abhishek Sharma was part of India’s Under-19 World Cup winning batch of 2018, but hasn’t always garnered the same kind of attention as the more-established Shubman Gill or Prithvi Shaw. Having worked on his bit-hitting – he was always a clean striker – under Yuvraj Singh, Abhishek comes with renewed hope and confidence of impressing, like he has for Punjab in domestic cricket. Key to getting the best out of him will be to give him a role and back him with games, which hasn’t always happened in the past

Coaching staff

Tom Moody (Head coach), Dale Steyn (bowling coach), Brian Lara (batting coach), Muttiah Muralidaran (spin bowling coach), Hemang Badani (fielding coach)

Carnage and fun – the madness at the death in T20 cricket

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The agony and ecstasy of this part is really what differentiates T20 from every other form of the game

Jarrod Kimber16-Apr-2022Nicholas Pooran pulls a six, and it is such a powerful hit that it seems to change the recent perception that he is overrated by the T20 hipsters of the world. That is what big hits do. What big moments do. You smash a six to win a game, and people take notice. Sunrisers needed 28 from 18 against Gujarat Titans, and Kane Williamson was out and Rahul Tripathi had limped off. And it was Pooran and Aiden Markram who did the job.T20, like basketball or netball, is inclined to produce close games; a short-form sport where each team has an equal amount of opportunities to score, and so we get a lot of matches that finish near the end. Plenty of clutch moments, pressure-cooker finishes – all the clichés you hear about.And so when a player pulls off something like what Pooran did against Titans, it becomes the story for a little while.Related

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The future is tall

But last season Pooran was in another close match, and Markram was his partner again, albeit for a different team. In that game against Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings needed ten runs from 15 balls with eight wickets in hand.It should have been easy, as Chris Morris was bowling for Royals, and he got the yips and started bowling full tosses. He delivered three of them, one which almost bowled Markram as he ducked thinking it was going to hit him. Another one of those shocked Pooran so much that he could only push it for one.Then they needed eight from 12, and Mustafizur Rahman was bowling to Pooran, and bowled two deliveries from wide of the crease. So wide that the umpires probably should have checked for back-foot no-balls. Instead, Mustafizur got through the over conceding only four runs, and had Markram dropped as well. But it meant Kings needed four from the last over.Kartik Tyagi came on to bowl this last over. He had done this twice in the IPL before and gone for nine and 27 runs.Tyagi started with a full toss, Markram found a fielder and there was no run. Next ball, Markram tried to finish it in one hit from a full ball but tanked it to square leg for a single. The next delivery, Pooran tried to run one off the face, which he did successfully, but straight to the wicketkeeper. Deepak Hooda was the new man in, three off three were needed for Kings to win and ESPNcricinfo’s win predictor still had them at a 100% chance of winning.

Tyagi bowled a wide, but it wasn’t called because Hooda had moved across. Next ball he bowled another, Hooda didn’t move across as much, and edged behind. So far in this over there had been one full toss, two potential wides, one wicket and a single.Now Kings needed three runs from one ball. Tyagi delivered wide – but legally so – as Fabian Allen missed it, and Royals won. Tyagi delivered two wides and a full toss, and yet went for only one run in the over.If you look at the entire 15-ball stretch, there were four full tosses, three different bowlers, four batters, two balls outside the wide line, two potential back-foot no-balls, seven singles, two wickets and eight dot balls. There was some good bowling in there, but there were more than enough bad balls and wides for Kings to win the game easily.But sometimes mad things like this happen at the death of a T20 game. It is such a different form of cricket, the most like baseball of any cricket in how close it is to the simpler binary equation of strikes and home runs. Consolidation, keeping wickets in hand, bowling normal lines and lengths – they all go out of the window.Batters are swinging off their feet, bowlers can bowl four great balls and two average ones, and find their overs going for 14. We call it the death because it is the end of the innings, but it has the kind of finality about it that death does. A good over can be three runs; a bad over, 20. The agony and the ecstasy of this part of the game is really what differentiates T20 from every other form of the game.There was a tremendous example of this when West Indies took on England for the fifth and deciding T20I in Barbados a few months ago, where Jason Holder took four wickets in four balls in the final over of the series.Holder bowled a collection of poor balls but ended with four wickets in four balls against England in the final T20I this year•Getty ImagesHolder was defending 20 runs, and Sam Billings and Chris Jordan were at the crease targeting a short leg-side boundary. Because England were six down, and that many were still needed, West Indies had to be firm favourites.Jordan has always had all-round talent, but in T20s, he has never really mastered hitting boundaries. And then last year, he went berserk, and started smashing it everywhere. Billings is more of a middle-overs anchor, but he has power. Last year alone he hit 28 sixes, almost one a game. Oh, and he was 40 from 26 at this point. So England had a good outside chance of winning this.Holder has turned himself into a death bowler in the last three years, and he is very good at taking wickets in this period. Since the start of 2019, he has the fourth-best average in the last four overs for a minimum of 250 balls bowled: 13.29.First ball, Holder was going at Billings, and it was a wide full toss that Billings mishit to long-on. It was also a no-ball. So Holder delivered a wide, no-ball full toss, but Billings tried to drag it to the short boundary, and this double mistake only cost Holder two runs. Although it did mean that it was now 18 from six. With a free hit to come.The extra ball was wide and full, and was a fine free-hit delivery, but Jordan left it assuming it would be called wide. It wasn’t.The next ball was another full toss, and again Jordan tried to clear the short side, but mishit the ball, and the catch was taken right on the boundary. But that was okay, as they still had Billings, who would now be on strike.Holder went for the wide yorker, but missing his length, delivered a half-volley. Billings had already committed to the short leg-side boundary, he hit it straight up and found the leg-side fielder. Holder had missed his length twice but both set batters were gone.With Adil Rashid facing, Holder tried a slower ball that was miscued to the midwicket fielder again. It was a good length to hit, though the change of pace helped him. A better-set batter could have savaged it.

The death is a scramble. It is often messy. Bad balls win games, good shots get caught, and so much is going on that we are just trying to process the results, and often forget about the process.

Holder’s final ball was his first really top delivery in this over. He bowled Saqib Mahmood to end the game. West Indies won, Holder was given the Player-of-the-Match award, almost completely for this over. And it wasn’t a good over. He wasn’t even bowling that well earlier in the match. He had conceded 25 runs from his first two overs, and his only other wicket had been off a half-tracker to Moeen Ali.Rather, it was Akeal Hosein who had changed the game. He took 4 for 30, destroyed England’s middle order, and also had to bowl at the death as a left-arm finger spinner. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Impact metric, Hosein was the best player by a distance, and Holder was the eighth-best.Holder’s was a collection of poor balls that were helped by the fact that England needed 20 runs, were fancied with the short boundary, and that a couple of lower-order batters were thrown in afresh.It is hard to hit boundaries. It is even harder when your team is behind, and you are obsessed by only one boundary. But we remember the wickets as good, and not as per the situation.Which brings us back to Sunrisers’ win over Titans the other night. With 18 balls left, 28 were needed. The first of those balls, from Lockie Ferguson, was a short one to Pooran who mistimed a pull off the toe of his bat. Ferguson had to do a hand-brake turn to get back to where the ball was dropping, but ultimately he shelled it.The next two balls from Ferguson were down the leg side – one was called a wide, the other flicked away for a free boundary. Next ball, Ferguson went short again and Pooran flick-pulled it for six. After this, Ferguson nailed some yorkers; then Mohammad Shami started with hard lengths to ensure that only singles and a double could be scored.Many six-attempts aren’t sixes; they are mishits or just misses•BCCIBut when Shami went short to Pooran again, he top-edged over the wicketkeeper’s head for a boundary. To finish the over, Markram nailed a four off an attempted yorker from Shami that just missed its mark.Ferguson went short again to start the last over and Pooran hit it back to Trinidad, and the game was over.There were more good balls from Ferguson and Shami than Royals delivered in that game last season. They could have dismissed Pooran twice, and Markram struggled right until he got one off the middle.The same two batters who couldn’t manage ten from 15 with a bunch of full tosses and wides last year, needed only 13 balls to get 28 off much higher quality bowling.We look for clutch and pressure performances, and overlook that both teams are often going so hard, mad things will happen. Average batting – or very lucky bowling – can win you a game sometimes. The death is a scramble. It is often messy. Bad balls win games, good shots get caught, and so much is going on that we are just trying to process the results, and often forget about the process.It is really hard to bowl a delivery that can’t be hit for a four or a six. It is not easy to try and hit a six every ball. These are high-risk acts. Most six-attempts aren’t sixes; they are mishits or just misses.When you see this much drama, do you really want to check that the story was told correctly? Or do you want to scream at Pooran’s six, Holder’s four in four, or Tyagi’s record-breaking over?Because when you take a forensic look at the death overs of a T20 game, what you often find is utter carnage. And fun times.

Phil Salt on fast track behind trailblazer Jason Roy

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

England’s rookie opener cites influence of “destructive” senior batter

Matt Roller18-Jun-2022Jason Roy will win his 100th ODI cap in Amstelveen on Sunday and there is no clearer embodiment of his influence on a generation of English white-ball batters than his opening partner in this series.Phil Salt, who hit his first international hundred in the first of three ODIs between England and the Netherlands on Friday, was 18 when Roy broke into the England side seven years ago and has clearly taken after him in his approach. “He’s very much in the Jason Roy mould,” Jos Buttler said after Friday’s game, with a grin of approval.Roy’s ODI average has hovered around 40 but it is his strike rate (107.08 across his career and second only to his regular opening partner Jonny Bairstow) that sets him apart. Eoin Morgan has always valued Roy’s selflessness and his willingness to attack in the powerplay, taking risks against two new balls in order to get England off to fast starts; three key innings in a row when returning to the side in the 2019 World Cup underlined his worth.Salt’s own attacking intent was evident on Friday as he raced to 38 off 29 balls inside the powerplay, despite Roy’s early dismissal (bowled through the gate by his cousin, Shane Snater). Salt was given a life on 40 when Snater shelled a chance at deep point, but never looked back from there.Related

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He punched the air and kissed the England badge on his helmet when he reached three figures and eventually fell for 122 off 93 after an innings which showed his dominance down the ground, particularly with an early punch past the bowler straight out of Roy’s playbook.”J-Roy has definitely been an influence,” Salt said. “I’m lucky to have people like that around who are willing to give up their time and have those chats and want to see you do well. I love chatting the game through with J-Roy because he’s so clear and so destructive in what he does.”Morgy has been very clear with how he expects people to play if they want to be in an England shirt and that’s something that I’ve bought into from day one of being around this team. It’s pretty self-explanatory what you need to do if you want to play for England. He sets the goalposts very clearly.”Salt’s inclusion in this squad was a significant vote of confidence from the new England hierarchy: he was the only player from No. 1-8 on Friday without some kind of central contract (Liam Livingstone has an incremental deal) and was picked ahead of James Vince, Sam Billings, Tom Banton and any number of other young batters.He has shown his versatility in his fledgling England career, hitting a 22-ball 50 from No. 6 on his T20I debut, and hopes that his performances can help him become an obvious choice as the ‘spare’ batter in a full-strength squad, as well as the first reserve in case Roy or Bairstow is unavailable.”I’ve only had three ODIs before this, against Pakistan, and there were some players who played well in that series who missed out,” he said. “So to be on this trip, I’m very grateful for that. Hopefully I can keep performing and proving them [the interim selectors] right.”Every time you put on an England shirt is an honour so I want to keep doing that. It’s as simple as knowing that when I get the opportunity, I’ve got to perform and I’ve got to do well: that’s how it’s going to work if you want to have a long England career. If I can keep doing stuff like that and keep putting my name in the hat, hopefully I will give the selectors a headache.”Roy’s own place has come under threat at various points in his ODI career, most obviously in 2017 when he was dropped during the Champions Trophy, but he has generally responded emphatically. He has had a few quiet months, taking a break from the game after his mysterious ban for an undisclosed misdemeanour which has still not come to light.He will not be concerned about the prospect of Salt overtaking him in the pecking order just yet: he has a huge bank of work behind him and is a senior player in England’s group, and this series, squeezed into a week between two Tests, is typical of the schedule over the next nine months (they are set to tour five different countries over the winter). It will be impossible – in some cases, logistically as well as realistically – for multi-format players like Bairstow to play every game, so strength in depth will be key.Roy’s greatest legacy is that there will come a time when the generation of young English openers that he inspired are so good that he is no longer needed. But for now, that moment lies somewhere in the middle-distance.

How many batters have scored four or more centuries in three successive Tests?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

And is there a Test cricketer who also played tennis in the Davis Cup?

Steven Lynch12-Jul-2022Jonny Bairstow has scored four centuries in his last three Tests – how many people have matched (or even beaten) this? asked Charlie Bowen from England
This purple patch by Jonny Bairstow has brought him 589 runs from 578 balls in his last five Test innings. After being out for 8 against New Zealand at Edgbaston, he added 136 in the second innings, then hammered 162 and 71 not out in the third Test at Trent Bridge. After that, he hit 106 and 114 not out against India at Edgbaston.Two other Englishmen have scored four centuries in three Tests: Wally Hammond in 1928-29, and Graham Gooch in 1990. Overall, only ten other players have done it: the Australians Doug Walters (1968-69) and Ricky Ponting (2005-06), but not Don Bradman; South Africans Alan Melville (1938-39 to 1947) and Jacques Kallis (2007-08); two of the West Indian Three Ws, Everton Weekes (1948-49) and Clyde Walcott (1953-54 to 1954-55), but not Frank Worrell; the Pakistan pair of Mohammad Yousuf (2006-07) and Younis Khan (2014-15); India’s Sunil Gavaskar (1970-71); and Aravinda de Silva of Sri Lanka (1997-98). Weekes actually made five centuries in successive innings over four Tests, the first of them against England in 1947-48, the rest in India the following year.England scored at almost five an over hunting down 378 against India. Was this the fastest such chase in a Test? asked Stuart from South Africa
England rattled along at 4.93 an over in that remarkable chase at Edgbaston last week. Only two successful fourth-innings chases of more than 300 were completed more quickly, and neither involved quite as many runs: Pakistan’s 302 for 5 to beat Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 2013-14 came at 5.25 an over, while West Indies’ 344 for 1 against England at Lord’s in 1984 came at 5.19 an over.However, England’s 299 for 5 to beat New Zealand at Trent Bridge a few weeks ago came at a higher rate than any other successful chase of 200 or more – an unmatched 5.98 an over.Imtiaz Ahmed played in all of Pakistan’s first 39 Tests before missing one. I believe this was a record at the time – is it still? And what is the record for each country? asked Najib Ahmed from Pakistan
You’re right that the long-serving wicketkeeper Imtiaz Ahmed appeared in all of Pakistan’s first 39 Tests, from their inaugural match in 1952-53 to the first Test in England in 1962. That was indeed a record at the time, but has since been surpassed by Alistair Campbell, who played in all of Zimbabwe’s first 56 Tests; Andy Flower appeared in their first 52 as well. Next come Habibul Bashar, a fixture in Bangladesh’s first 30 Test matches, and the Zimbabwean Grant Flower (also 30).For the other countries, Ranjan Madugalle appeared in Sri Lanka’s first 18 Tests, Jack Blackham in Australia’s first 17 (the first 17 of all Tests), Clifford Roach in West Indies’ first 16, and Curly Page in New Zealand’s first 14. Amar Singh, the legendary CK Nayudu and Wazir Ali all played in India’s first seven Tests. William Milton and Charles Vintcent played in South Africa’s first three, while Tom Emmett and George Ulyett both appeared in England’s first three Tests before missing the fourth.Asghar Afghan and Rahmat Shah have played in all six of Afghanistan’s Tests to date, while Andy Balbirnie, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Paul Stirling and Stuart Thompson have appeared in all three of Ireland’s.Carlos Brathwaite’s 113 is the record for a List A hundred from No. 9, while Andre Russell holds the ODI record for the highest score from that position for his 92 vs India•AFPIn the recent Irish one-day competition, Barry McCarthy scored a century from No. 9. Has anyone else made a higher List A score from No. 9 or lower? asked David Evans from Ireland
Barry McCarthy’s 110 – more than twice as many as he had made in any other senior innings – came for Leinster Lightning against Northern Knights in Ireland’s Inter-Provincial one-day tournament at Pembroke CC in Dublin last week. His runs came from 59 balls, and included ten sixes.There has been only one higher score from No. 9 or lower in a List A match: for the West Indians against the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI at the Colts ground in Colombo in October 2015, No. 9 Carlos Brathwaite pounded 113 from 58 deliveries. The tourists had been in some strife at 109 for 7, before Brathwaite piled on 193 in less than 17 overs with Andre Russell, who hit 89 from 54 balls. Russell himself holds the ODI record for a No. 9, with 92 not out for West Indies against India in Antigua in June 2011.Is it true that someone once played for Australia in Test cricket and tennis’ Davis Cup? I can’t work out who it is… asked Jamie Millican from Australia
It isn’t true – but someone did come very close: Leslie Poidevin was Australia’s 12th man for the first Ashes Test in 1901-02 and, after England won by an innings in Sydney, was in line for a probable debut in the second match in Melbourne. But he picked up a finger injury in practice, and was replaced by Reggie Duff – who scored a century on debut as Australia squared the series. Duff claimed a regular berth, and Poidevin’s chance was gone.Poidevin went on to play several seasons in England, first for WG Grace’s London County and then for Lancashire. A good all-round sportsman, he was selected for the Australasian Davis Cup tennis team in 1906, alongside the future Wimbledon champion Tony Wilding, a New Zealander. They lost in the semi-final to the United States. Poidevin also competed at Wimbledon in 1909 and 1910, when he reached the semi-final of the men’s doubles. An interesting account of his varied life was published by Red Rose Books in 2021.Only two Test cricketers have also played Davis Cup tennis – Cotar Ramaswami (India) and Ralph Legall (West Indies). Wicketkeeper Legall’s Tests came at home in 1952-53, against an Indian side managed by Ramaswami. The pair share another unusual distinction: the exact date of both their deaths is unknown.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Is Tim David ready to take the baton from Kieron Pollard for Mumbai Indians?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

After the veteran scratched around, his mind seemingly clouded, Mumbai Indians’ new recruit was all poise and confidence as he fashioned a late flourish

Shashank Kishore06-May-20223:30

Are Pollard’s powers on the wane?

Great sporting teams prepare for a period of transition.Watching proceedings on Friday at the Brabourne Stadium, you wondered if Mumbai Indians were in the middle of one. Kieron Pollard, finisher supreme, white-ball destroyer and bonafide T20 legend, seemed a pale shadow of the big-hitter he once was.Related

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Tim David, among their costliest signings at the mega auction, meanwhile stepped up to play the kind of role Pollard has for more than a decade. It made you wonder why he has played just four games. Remember, Mumbai fielded just three overseas players in one match, and two in another.Where Pollard stuttered to 4 off 14, David blasted 44 not out from 21 balls. Where Pollard was diffident against spin – it seemed inevitable that Hardik Pandya would bring on Rashid Khan almost immediately as he came out to bat – David muscled the ball fearlessly despite the knowledge that it was on him to revive a stuttering innings, albeit on a belter of a surface.Pollard vs spin has been a no-contest this season. His overall strike rate of 109.32 this year is his worst since his maiden IPL season in 2010. Against spin, it gets worse: five times, he has been out to the slow stuff, while striking at a touch over 70. When you’re in such a downward spiral, even a half-decent spinner stands a chance of tying you down. Rashid Khan would have been licking his lips.Walking in with Mumbai 111 for 3 in 12 overs, Pollard did have a minute to steady himself – an over each of Pradeep Sangwan and Lockie Ferguson – before Rashid came on. By that point Pollard was on 4 off 9, with Ferguson having mixed up his pace to tie him down. He then tried to see Rashid off. For his part, Rashid stuck to his tried-and-tested mantra of bowling ripping legbreaks from a length. Pollard wasn’t taking any chances.In his pomp, Pollard picked lengths in a jiffy. Here, he didn’t seem sure whether to go forward or to play from the crease. If it was spinning away or sliding in. He also seemed to be playing for the wrong ‘un. When your mind is clouded to this extent, it’s already half the battle lost.Pollard duly got a legbreak that beat the edge. He played down the wrong line and the ball took the top of off. He was gone for 4 off 14. In the 2.5 overs he had been around at the crease, Mumbai managed just eight runs. A projected score that had touched 200 was suddenly toned down to 169.

“Everybody I know in the circle I worked in asked where Tim David was when he wasn’t playing. Mumbai Indians, when they reflect, will have to say we didn’t get it right with some of the selections we made in the first half of the tournament.”Ian Bishop on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out

“He’s struggling, he really is,” Ian Bishop observed on T20 Time Out, ESPNcricinfo’s analysis show. “He’s trying everything, and there are weaknesses that are coming through every time. Someone holds back a wristspinner of some kind to bowl to him, and it’s not the first time this season.”He’s either got to reinvent his game, because he’s been given a really long time this season by Mumbai. So he’s got to try and reinvent himself. I don’t like the catch-up, but the minimum you have to go at is a run a ball. Four off 14, 14 off 24, that’s too much. You can’t do that.”Even as Pollard cut a forlorn figure, David looked at ease and in the zone right from the outset. It was as if he had been practicing range hitting elsewhere, just before walking in. In the five preceding overs, Mumbai had managed all of 23 runs while losing three wickets. Pressure? There was no sign of it as he calmly shuffled from outside leg, set his base on middle and coolly drilled Mohammed Shami past mid-off to rev up.Next ball, he quickly jumped on a short ball, sending it soaring to the square-leg boundary. Having bowled full earlier, it was a perfect reaction from a snarling fast bowler to pepper the batter with a short one. Except, David was into position in a jiffy. Suddenly, he had broken the shackles with two fours.David then showed his smarts by playing out Rashid’s final over, milking singles with Tilak Varma, before he took on Alzarri Joseph. The arc between long-off and deep midwicket would be his preferred hitting zone as he blasted four sixes off the last 11 balls of his innings.Tim David watches one race away in the closing minutes of Mumbai Indians’ innings•BCCIHis modus operandi was simple and efficient: he set himself a strong base around middle, to be able to access both parts of the ground. Short, he was ready with the pull. Full and wide, he accessed long-off. Full and angling in, he had deep midwicket. It gave Mumbai important runs at the death. From looking good for 200 to suddenly appearing as if they’d get only 165, David had dragged them to 177.”Everybody I know in the circle I worked in asked where Tim David was when he wasn’t playing,” Bishop said. “He’s shown in these two games why he should have been playing. Mumbai Indians, when they reflect, will have to say we didn’t get it right with some of the selections we made in the first half of the tournament.”David said himself he’d love to bat up the order. He’d love the chance to go early and set himself up. He’s young. He is heading towards the prime of his career. Let us not pigeonhole this guy and let him blossom into something dynamic.”The late assault did not surprise Daniel Vettori one bit. “It’s such an impressive innings,” he said as part of the T20 Time Out panel. “It’s Shami, it’s Lockie Ferguson, he made it all look easy. Not one ball did he slog. It’s a big, tall man using his strength and using his ability. Forty-four off 21 when they were under a little bit of pressure. It would be fascinating to understand why a player of his class was left out when they had two available [overseas] slots.”David has done this before in other leagues when he sat out a little bit. He’s putting together this resume where he should be the one who’s first selected. Australia are going to be looking at him with the power that he has. There’s a lot going on to be impressed with. You just don’t see such clean hitting with such pure shot making at the back end of an IPL innings.”It’s safe to assume Mumbai are out of the playoffs race. They have four games left. That means four more opportunities for David to potentially build on his credentials. Potentially four more for Pollard to end a nightmare of a season on a high.If he does – and he’s capable of it, you only need to think back to the 2019 final – Mumbai will gladly take it with both hands. If he doesn’t, David has quietly made all the right moves to take over the baton.

Tom Moody on Sunrisers' dream fast-bowling line-up: 'You should be able to take wickets in all phases of the innings'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach talks about Umran Malik, how the side ended up building an Indian bowling core, and more

Interview by Shashank Kishore05-May-2022After successive losses at the start of their IPL 2022 campaign, Sunrisers Hyderabad went on a five-match winning run. Unlike teams who have built their unit around batting, Sunrisers have a pedigreed bowling attack, largely Indian. Tom Moody, their head coach, who has been with the side for much of their journey in the IPL, explains what has gone into the making of their attack.Over the years, Sunrisers’ fast bowling core has largely been Indian. Has that been one of the big focus areas?
A lot of people have recognised over the years in T20 cricket that the 120 balls you defend are absolutely vital. I’ve always had the philosophy of making sure you should have the ability to take wickets in all three phases of your innings. With that in mind, ideally it’s nice to be able to secure Indian talent to fulfil those roles.Like for any specific role in the squad, you need to look at the supply and demand of what is available and make your judgement under pressure on auction day. So for us, having the familiarity of a couple of players we have brought back into the squad in 2022 was a no-brainer. Someone like Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar], who has done so much over a long period of time in IPL and India, we believe he still has plenty of years to come with his specific skills, that is to be able to bowl what I’d call the bookends of the game. And then you’ve got Nattu [T Natarajan] who has grown and grown as a mature fast bowler, gotten better and better. Yes, he had a slight hiccup with injury, but he’s not the first fast bowler to go through that.Natarajan has developed as this on-demand yorker specialist. Was he always one?
We knew of him as the yorker specialist from Tamil Nadu, and he’d had his success in the T20 League [TNPL] down there. But in his initial couple of years with us at Sunrisers there was a significant gulf between [his performances] in domestic cricket and IPL, but to his credit he has worked extremely hard on his skills and the physical side of fast bowling. He has continued to refine and perfect those skills he clearly had at the beginning. He just had to sharpen them a little further to provide that consistency at the IPL level and internationally.Related

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At 156.9 kph, Umran Malik records fastest ball of IPL 2022

Bhuvneshwar and Malik, the yin and yang of Sunrisers' attack

Some players can make the adjustment upwards and deliver their natural strength at the highest level; others find it difficult. Nattu has got better and better at refining his skill and remaining committed and authentic to who he is as a fast bowler. He hasn’t tried to do anything, but has got perfect at what he is really good at. In the T20 format, bowlers of his calibre are very rare.You’ve backed a number of Indian fast bowlers – Khaleel Ahmed, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Bhuvneshwar, Natarajan, Umran Malik… the list is long. Tell us about your scouting process.
Scouting is important but what we do recognise, particularly now with Indian cricket is, nearly everyone knows what talent is out there, even though there is an overwhelming amount of talent. But it’s very rare that you can uncover a hidden gem. We were very fortunate to be able to do that with Umran Malik, but those examples are rare. We also managed to do that with Abdul Samad, who comes from the same state [Jammu and Kashmir]. We first gave Umran an opportunity through net bowling and the rest is history. The actual finding of players of that calibre are rare. Often young fast bowlers who have had any sort of recognition are pretty much on some sort of pathway, whether it’s through their state or through the Indian high-performance centre. Everyone has got the same advantage. It’s a question of identifying which one you feel can fit your strategy and set-up.Moody says T Natarajan is among those players who are able to make adjustments upwards to deliver their natural skills at the highest level•BCCIIt’s one thing to see players, another to back them, isn’t it?
A lot of people have commented over the years on how we have tended to bank [on] a lot of Indian fast bowlers. I don’t think we have gone out there with a conscious approach to have a squad full of Indian fast bowlers. What we have done is, we’ve gone out there with a conscious effort to make sure we have those specific roles nailed down within our squad. We have not only guys like Bhuvi as a leader of the pack with the new ball, we’ve got someone who can come in if Bhuvi is injured for a game or two or whatever it might be. And our focus has leaned toward Indian pace.It’s also because when Sunrisers Hyderabad took over from the Deccan Chargers in 2013, we didn’t inherit a lot of Indian international batsmen. They [Chargers] had Rohit [Sharma], but he got transferred to Mumbai Indians [in 2011], so we lost a world-class batter there. We managed to retain Shikhar Dhawan, but basically we had an inexperienced batting unit. So we had to build our batting around international players because there were very few Indians in the market to fill that role.Talking specifically about Umran Malik, it must delight you to see the wicketkeeper and slip fielders standing at the 30-yard ring when he bowls?
Look, it’s not just me. He’s thrilling the cricketing world with his appetite for pace and natural flair. There’s nothing better than seeing someone turn up and bowl 150 clicks, unless you’re at the other end.Umran has been terrific. We know his journey has just begun and he will have his challenges, like any other cricketer. Whether that be continuing to evolve and develop as a fast bowler or other challenges, he’s got a strong unit around him at Sunrisers. He’s got a great mentor in Dale Steyn. He’s a very focused and hard-working kid, so there’s a lot of upsides for him with Sunrisers and for Indian cricket.A lot of Indian fast bowlers in the past have gone from express to line and length because of injuries.
I don’t think he’ll ever be a line-and-length bowler. He’s born in a Ferrari and he’s going to drive the Ferrari (). He, like any fast bowler, will have his challenges, with injuries or whatever else, but the knowledge around managing fast bowlers and managing their aggression as they develop in their early years is a lot better now, so it’s a case of making sure he’s getting the right guidance, the right mentoring, and that he’s surrounded by key people who don’t overcomplicate the process. Given he’s a part of the Sunrisers family, that’s something I and the likes of Dale Steyn will make sure we communicate constantly throughout the year with the key people – with him, at the state level, and also at the high-performance level, to make sure that we’re all on the same page, looking after a rare diamond.Might Marco Jansen be a genuine allrounder for SRH in the future?•BCCIHave you seen a marked difference in the bowler who left the IPL last year and the one who arrived for this season?
I’ve seen improvements just in the games he has played this year. He was getting a little bit of negative feedback with regards to how expensive he was. His economy was quite high in the earlier games, but I think people have got to understand that when you have speed in the short format, you’re naturally going to have a high price. You need to accept there’s going to be a high economy, but what you want is a positive wicket return. He is encouraged not so much to focus on the runs he’s going for but his attacking approach and how he’s looking to pick wickets. And we support him with that by giving him some tactical inputs and game sense around his approach, depending on where we’re playing and who we’re playing. He is forever evolving, improving and understanding the game, because he’s still very young and has a lot to learn. What kind of a person is he?
He’s pretty relaxed, hard-working. He’s a character, has a bright personality and is a popular member of the squad, so a lot of people naturally gravitate towards him. Over the last 12 months, his English has got better and better, and our communication has become lot more fluent. His English has got a lot better than my Hindi over the last 12 months. He’s a very likeable character. The one thing that impressed us even before he became a contracted IPL player is that even when he was a net bowler, he was eager to learn, he’d ask a lot of questions. If he had to use Abdul Samad as a translator, he wouldn’t be shy to do that. He was always eager to learn, about his action, run-up, what he needs to be doing in the gym with regards to his strength programme, his rehab, etc. He’s been very proactive in that regard, which is a great sign for a young cricketer – for him to naturally gravitate to that approach as against having to be encouraged to go down that path.Let’s talk about Marco Jansen, another fast bowler in your ranks.
He’s unique. When you’re 6’9″ and bowling left-arm and with the ability to swing the ball, there are a few things going for you. One thing we really liked about Marco was, his style brought a point of difference to the IPL. A lot of players are not used to that extra bounce someone of that height can generate, so it gives our attack a point of difference when you’ve got someone delivering from that height who can get steep bounce and movement. The other thing is, we have a lot of hopes on Marco with regards to his batting ability. We haven’t seen it in the IPL yet, but in the mid- to long-term, we see him as a genuine allrounder, someone who can fill a role for us in the top six or seven and have a great impact with the ball as well.Halfway into the season, how satisfied have you been with the bowling recalibration, especially since you don’t have the bankability of Rashid Khan?
Rashid is a unique bowler. Any team that secures his services is going to have a huge value with the 24 balls that he delivers. But for whatever the circumstances were with regards to the auction and retention, unfortunately we couldn’t continue that story. But we have got a different approach this year. We have had to rethink our strategy.With the retention of Umran we knew he was going to play a role for us in the middle overs. We’re addressing the middle overs slightly differently now, and Umran is the aggressor in that role. Generally there the wristspinners – [Yuzvendra] Chahal or Rashid, or whoever it might be – are the aggressors in a different way. We have a different approach. We’ve had to work around with our balance. Washington Sundar, who has missed a few games because of injury, plays an important role. He is someone who can bat and play a key role as spinner in powerplay overs or outside them, depending on the match-ups. We find the balance working for us but one of the most important parts about our success over the last few games is our impact as a unit in the powerplay, and also the way we’ve controlled and shut down the back end of the innings.

Race and role-definition collide as Zondo, Markram, van der Dussen jostle for one batting spot

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Innings defeat to England Lions should raise alarm bells but South Africa may not see reason to panic yet

Firdose Moonda12-Aug-20220:55

‘We have our own brand of playing’ – Markram sees no need for South Africa to emulate England

Defeat by an innings and 56 runs in a tour match, against a collection of the opposition’s next-best players, should raise alarm bells for any touring team, but South Africa may not see reason to panic just yet. Their heavy loss came with a second-string seam-bowling attack. That, of course, raises questions about their depth and the performance of the first-choice spinner, but also allowed them to assess all their options ahead of the three-Test series against England.The big concerns were that Keshav Maharaj came under attack from Harry Brook, and Keegan Petersen wasn’t among the runs. But there were some constructive showings, too, specifically in the middle order. Khaya Zondo, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram all made their cases for a spot in South Africa’s Test XI, with good scores.The three of them, along with Ryan Rickelton, are competing for two middle-order spots after Temba Bavuma was ruled out of the tour with an elbow injury. And neither van der Dussen nor Markram, who were regulars before the Bangladesh series they missed in favour of the IPL, can consider their places safe.Related

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Markram had already been replaced by Sarel Erwee in the opening role before the Bangladesh tour, while Rickelton debuted in van der Dussen’s place, on the back of a strong domestic season, and performed relatively well having also been in good form for Northants in a brief county stint.None of them emulated the Lions’ Brook or Ben Duckett by reaching three figures, and none of them batted with the intent of Sam Billings. But, as Markram said, South Africa have their own brand of cricket and don’t want to be caught in the trap of trying to emulate England’s approach.Theirs is a more considered, perhaps more stodgy style of batting, but it paid off in the white-ball series, where South Africa drew the ODIs 1-1 and won the T20Is 2-1. Markram and van der Dussen were in the runs there, and again in the red-ball warm-up, which may put them in prime position for places.Van der Dussen scored 75 in the first innings and shared in a 146-run sixth-wicket stand with Zondo, and was dismissed for 13 in the second. Zondo scored 86 in his first innings with a senior side in England, and is the most likely challenger. Markram, in a new position at No. 4, made 10 in the first innings and was looking well set on 88* in the second when he ran out of partners. Rickelton registered a first-ball duck and a second-innings 15, which may put him a little further back in the queue.Zondo acknowledged that it was worthwhile for him to get first-hand experience of conditions he is unfamiliar with. “It’s just nice to get out there and get some runs,” he said. “It’s nice to come to England. With all the talk you hear of the ball swinging and the ball seaming and the slopes, it’s nice just to get out and experience it and make sure you spend a lot of time at the crease, so that you are best prepared as a player.Khaya Zondo had a good outing the first time out against England Lions•Getty Images”I worked on my balance and worked on playing the ball late, because the ball nips a lot more. You never really feel like you’re in, you’ve got to make sure you’re always awake. As soon as you think you’re comfortable, that’s when the ball does something you don’t expect it to do and that’s when it catches you off guard.”When asked if he thought he had done enough to earn a spot, he was non-committal but optimistic: “I don’t know. There’s a lot of competition. It was my first practice game with the Test side so hopefully it shows that I can play.”That he can play is not in doubt, but whether he will play could become a talking point as the series goes on. Zondo, as readers might remember, was the catalyst for a letter written by black African players to CSA complaining about their non-selection in starting XIs. This was after Zondo went on tour to India in 2015 as a reserve batter and did not play a single game even when an extra batter was called for.That incident was subsequently the subject of the testimony at the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) hearings in which former selector Hussein Manack said he was pressured by then captain AB de Villiers into picking Dean Elgar, who was flown in ahead of the Test series, over Zondo in the deciding ODI against India.De Villiers responded by saying that he only ever influenced selection with the best interests of the team in mind.Zondo had also made a submission to the SJN, initially in private, but after Manack appeared, Zondo asked for his interview to be made public. It revealed the mental anguish and feelings of exclusion Zondo suffered. He was the only actively involved player to testify at the SJN, and it seemed to unburden him, as he went on to score his first red-ball double-hundred in the season that followed. He finished with 368 runs in seven innings at 73.60 in the domestic season.Only Pieter Malan and Rickelton played in the same number of innings and averaged higher, which boosts both Zondo’s and Rickelton’s chances of playing, though neither of them have the experience of van der Dussen or Markram.The main concern around van der Dussen is that he hasn’t been in good Test form recently. Last season, he scored 214 runs in nine innings at 23.78, with no fifties. South Africa need more than that at No. 4, especially in Bavuma’s absence.Markram has had it leaner and only scored 213 runs in his last seven Tests at 16.38, with one fifty. He would not have played in New Zealand if Petersen had made the trip, but he missed out after contracting Covid-19. Erwee debuted in Markram’s opening berth on that tour and Markram was moved to No. 3 where he scored 73 runs in four innings. He missed the Bangladesh Tests when he went to the IPL but would likely not have played in that series anyway.Rassie van der Dussen reverse-sweeps during his half-century•Getty ImagesWhen asked before the series if a middle-order role had been discussed for him, Markram confirmed that it hadn’t, though on the evidence of the tour match that has changed. Markram also said at the time that he didn’t expect to play, that he was unfamiliar in the middle order in red-ball cricket and would need some preparation if he was going to bat there. He has more or less stuck to that message since, although he has indicated that he is readying for a spot lower down the order. “We’ve done as much prep as we could have done so far. I’m not sure whether it’s going to happen or not but I am preparing for that,” he said. “We’ll see in the build-up to the match if I am going to play.”If Markram does play at No. 4 or No. 5 ahead of Zondo, it will be a throwback to a historical incident where similar issues of race and role-definition collided. In 2001, on a tour to Australia where the team had lost the series 2-0 with one to play, South Africa dropped Lance Klusener and the selectors wanted to pick Jacques Rudolph, a top-order batter, in his place. CSA’s president Percy Sonn over-ruled them and insisted Justin Ontong, a middle-order batter, play instead.Sonn also recognised that picking Ontong, as a player of colour, would be a nod to transformation. The headlines at the time focused purely on the issue of race-based selection and not the cricketing argument Sonn made, and neither Ontong’s nor Rudolph’s career went anywhere from that point. Rudolph took up a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire, and a decade later, returned to South Africa, where he was picked as an opening batter. But he failed.He was then moved down the order, creating no room for a player such as Thami Tsolekile, for example, before eventually being dropped. Ontong only played two Tests and made sporadic white-ball appearances before moving on to becoming South Africa’s fielding coach.Of course, neither Zondo nor Markram would want their names discussed in this context. But they will both know that is the reality of South African cricketers and that the burden on their shoulders weighs heavy. Markram, if given an opportunity, will know that unless he succeeds consistently, he may not find his way back into the Test set-up.Zondo, if he plays, will be under enormous pressure to succeed. If he doesn’t, chances are that his race will come into the discussions.Of the two, Zondo is probably the one more caught between a rock and a hard place, but he’s had it tougher. He has had to pick himself up from a place not many others have been in, and reckons he became a better cricketer because of it. “I am just watching every ball and hoping to get better and mix with the best,” he said.”The bowlers definitely tested us. They were always testing your technique. They’re always in a good area. As a batter you take confidence if you’re able to deal with it. I felt like okay cool, this is big-boy cricket.”

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