Given their already-strong net run rate, a win here will prop up West Indies’ semi-final chances
Sruthi Ravindranath09-Oct-2024
West Indies bounced back with a big win against Scotland•Getty Images
Bangladesh vs West IndiesDubai, 6pm local timeBangladesh squad: Nigar Sultana (capt, wk), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Dilara Akter, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani, Disha BiswasWest Indies squad: Hayley Matthews (capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle (vice-capt, wk), Ashmini Munisar, Afy Fletcher, Stafanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Qiana Joseph, Zaida James, Karishma Ramharack, Mandy Mangru, Nerissa CraftonTournament guide: After a win in their first match against Scotland, Bangladesh crumbled to a loss against England on a surface that aided spin. West Indies, meanwhile, lost their first match to South Africa but bounced back with a dominating win against Scotland thanks to an all-round show from Chinelle Henry.Related
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News brief: Left-arm spinner Zaida James suffered a blow to the jaw while fielding off her own bowling in the match against South Africa and subsequently missed the Scotland game. A West Indies statement said she “fortunately does not have breaks and fractures” and continues to be monitored by the medical team.West Indies earned a massive net run rate boost after their win against Scotland, and winning this match will strengthen their semi-final chances. If Bangladesh lose this match, their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals will take a big hit given their negative NRR. This will be West Indies’ first game of the tournament in Sharjah.Despite being used to spinning tracks back home, Bangladesh – after a fine outing with the ball – were undone by England’s quality spin attack in the previous game in Sharjah. This match, too, will come down to how well the teams counter spin. The average first-innings total at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium this tournament is 119, and only twice have teams won chasing.Player to watch: Bangladesh’s batting unit has not been up to mark in both games, but one player who’s stood out is Sobhana Mostary. She helped Bangladesh put up a competitive total scoring 36 against Scotland, and once again top-scored with 44 against England. Coming in after an early wicket against England, she dropped anchor as regular wickets at the other end piled the pressure on her. She hit a four and a six in her 48-ball stay on a slow surface against tight bowling and kept at it till the 19th over, but the target of 119 was too much of an ask in the end.
The fast bowler made the announcement as the team returned from Sri Lanka where they lost 2-0
ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2024
Tim Southee has struggled for wickets this year•Getty Images
Tim Southee has stepped down as New Zealand’s Test captain following the series defeat in Sri Lanka, and will be replaced by Tom Latham, saying he believes it is in the best interests of the side.Southee led the team in 14 Tests with a record of six wins, six losses and two draws since taking over from Kane Williamson in 2022. New Zealand lost a hard-fought first Test in Galle but were soundly beaten by an innings in the second making it four defeats in a row either side of the Afghanistan fixture which was abandoned without a ball bowled. New Zealand’s next assignment is a three-Test series in India later this month.Related
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“Captaining the Blackcaps in a format that’s so special to me, has been an absolute honour and a privilege,” he said. “I’ve always tried to put the team first throughout my career and I believe this decision is the best for the team.”I believe the way I can best serve the team moving forward is focusing on my performances on the field and getting back to my best, to continue taking wickets and helping New Zealand win Test matches.”I will, as I’ve always done, continue to support my team-mates, especially the exciting young bowlers making their way on the international stage. I wish Tom all the best in the role and he knows I’ll be there to support him on his journey, as he has done for me over the years.”Southee said that it was his own decision to step down as captain. “Yes. We have discussions with Gary [Stead] like we do at the end of every series,” he said at the Auckland airport after having arrived from Sri Lanka. “It was my decision to move aside and it’s Tom’s time to keep moving this team forward. [We have] got six Test matches to look forward to and I’m excited about that.”I love Test cricket and it’s a game I care deeply about. I love playing, so yeah will be nice to be part of the six Test matches moving forward.”Southee’s own form has been in the spotlight this year. He has taken just 12 wickets in his last eight Tests and, though he played both matches in Sri Lanka, there was a chance he wouldn’t feature throughout the upcoming India series depending on the make-up of the attack.Now, without the captaincy, he will return to the selection mix alongside Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke and Ben Sears. O’Rourke was impressive in Sri Lanka while Henry, who was outstanding in the last home summer, and Sears did not feature.Southee isn’t taking the franchise T20 route yet and has reaffirmed his commitment to New Zealand Cricket for now. “I guess it’s all options but I’m committed to New Zealand Cricket for now and Test cricket is a format I love playing and really enjoy.”Latham has previously captained the Test side on nine occasions between 2020 and 2022.Head Gary Stead praised the selflessness of Southee’s decision and said he continued to see him as a key part of the Test side as he searches for the 18 wickets he needs to be just the second New Zealand bowler to take 400.”Tim’s a fantastic player and a very good leader who is held in high regard by the players and support staff,” he said. “He’s been a great servant of New Zealand Cricket over nearly 17 years playing on the international stage, and I’d like to acknowledge his humility in stepping down from the role as Test captain.”It’s not easy giving up something you love, but Tim is a true team-man and he’s made the decision with the team’s best interests at heart. He’s one of our greatest ever players and we still very much see him playing a part in our Test side moving forward.”NZC CEO Scott Weenink added: “It’s a measure of the man that he continues to put the team interests ahead of his own and, despite his obvious personal disappointment, wants to do the best thing possible for everyone else. To me, that’s the sign of a true leader in every sense of the word.”New Zealand’s 15-player squad for the three-Test tour of India will be confirmed in the coming days.
Mahidul Islam Ankon has received a maiden national call-up as the wicketkeeper-batter’s replacement
Mohammad Isam28-Oct-2024
Jaker Ali made a half-century on Test debut but will miss Bangladesh’s next match•BCB
Jaker Ali has been ruled out of Bangladesh’s second Test against South Africa with a concussion.Mahidul Islam Ankon has been named his replacement. Jaker suffered a concussion during training at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Sunday.”Jaker Ali suffered a concussion while batting in practice yesterday [Sunday],” Bangladesh’s physio Bayjedul Islam Khan said. “He has a history of concussions and is still showing symptoms. Given his previous concussion record, recovery may take some time. Based on the clinical findings, he has been ruled out of the second Test.”Wicketkeeper-batter Jaker made a fifty on Test debut in Bangladesh’s second innings in the first Test against South Africa.Related
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He has also played 19 T20Is, having made his debut in the format earlier this year.This is wicketkeeper-batter Mahidul’s maiden call-up to the Bangladesh side. He has played most of his first-class matches for Dhaka Division, hitting all three centuries for the NCL team. He has also played one game for Bangladesh A against Pakistan A in August this year.Mahidul comes into the squad on the back of good form, having struck 118 against Sylhet Division last week.Earlier the selectors also called up pace bowler Khaled Ahmed to replace Taskin Ahmed.
“We’ve won one of the two series, we’ve won various games in both and we’ve seen more players”
Cameron Ponsonby18-Nov-20241:38
‘I hope Bethell play in New Zealand’
Selection headaches await for England, but they won’t be for Marcus Trescothick. With his time as interim head coach over, Trescothick is clearing the way for England’s new, new white-ball era to begin under Brendon McCullum.”We’re waiting for the finalised side of what happens from January onwards,” Trescothick said of when the ultimate call will be made on what the coaching set-up will look like. “I think when Brendan and Rob [Key] get together, they’ll finalise that probably during New Zealand.”Trescothick has been in charge for England’s series against Australia in September and now their tour of the Caribbean, the latter of which he described as “perfect” and leaving the team in the best place possible to be taken over by McCullum.Related
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“If you look at the end result,” Trescothick said, “we’ve won one of the two series and we’ve won various games in both series that we’ve played and we’ve seen more players. So you sit back and you look at it on paper and go: perfect.”Because of the crammed schedule, England had taken several young players out to West Indies, with four making debuts across the tour. The balance, Trescothick argued, was to blend winning with learning – an objective that was achieved.”Of course, you always want to win. But I think if we’d have had one objective on this trip, more than anything else that was to see the players we’ve seen and see whether they’re going to be good enough next week, next month, next year, or for three years’ time.”The shiniest new toy that awaits McCullum is Jacob Bethell. The Bajan-born left-hander looks the real deal. During the ODI series, he became the third youngest half-centurion for England in the format’s history, and across the four T20s, he made two fifties, averaged 127 and struck at 173.97. Job done.McCullum will be able to get to know Bethell sooner rather than later, with the 21-year-old set to be the reserve batter on England’s tour of New Zealand. That despite a meagre first-class record where he has zero centuries in 20 appearances.”All the attributes are there,” Trescothick argued in favour of Bethell’s chances of transferring his white-ball ability across. “If you had markers to be able to go, right, you need to do this, this and this, he’d be knocking on the door for that.Jacob Bethell impressed at No. 4 in the T20I side•Getty Images
“There’s no reason why he can’t break through and succeed, because he’s flourished in both formats that we’ve seen in the recent period of time. You could almost see him being the next youngster after Harry Brook, the real exciting one coming through for the next journey this group will take.”Saqib Mahmood was also singled out for his “superb” performances and was arguably the only player already established within the England set-up to cement his spot moving forward. His nine wickets across four matches earned him the Player-of-the-Series award.McCullum’s appointment will also present captain Jos Buttler with the first real opportunity to mould a team in his image. Since taking over in 2022, Buttler has largely ridden the momentum of the Eoin Morgan era – which carried them to their T20 World Cup victory – before attempting to get the band back together for one last ODI dance in 2023, only for it to all fall apart.Now, however, as Buttler targets the final years of his career as potentially the most “rewarding”, he has the chance to start afresh with a new group of players.After four months out, Buttler returned to form almost immediately, with 83 in his second innings and captaining with a smile on his face throughout. His fields were inventive and often hyper-aggressive, with two slips and a short-leg in position thanks to Mahmood and Jofra Archer taking early wickets in the powerplay.”You can sort of see it falling back into place for him almost,” Trescothick said of Buttler. “A little bit where it’s hopefully some more enjoyable times coming forward with the growth of the team, but also with other other players coming back in and a bit more settled structure with the coaching as well.”The question of ODI returns for Ben Stokes and Joe Root will be the ultimate litmus test. Both are still fantastic players, but arguably represent a step backwards if, after pursuing a policy of youth, you return to two men who have been absent since the 2023 World Cup.That, however, is also easier said than done. The ODI side was desperately lacking experience, with the absence of a Root or Shai Hope-style player from England’s line-up glaring across the series.”I don’t know exactly,” Buttler said of whether the pair will be back in February. “It’s conversations for the next few weeks with the guys in charge. The guys here have played really well. Some of the young players have done themselves no harm at all. There are people who aren’t here who will have aspirations to be in the white-ball side as well. It’s really exciting.”Whatever happens next, the latest new era is set to begin.
The ACB said Younis will join the team in Pakistan for a conditioning camp ahead of the Champions Trophy, and stay on for the duration of the tournament
ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2025
Younis Khan will be back working with Afghanistan during next month’s Champions Trophy•Getty Images
Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan will return to the Afghanistan set-up as mentor for the Champions Trophy 2025. Younis had worked with Afghanistan in 2022, at a 15-day training camp in Abu Dhabi with an expanded squad of 25.The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said in a statement that Younis will join the team in Pakistan for a conditioning camp ahead of the Champions Trophy, which is set to begin on February 19 in Karachi, and stay with the team till the end of the tournament.This is the third global tournament in a row where the ACB has appointed a mentor for the team from the host country: they had Ajay Jadeja as mentor for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, and Dwayne Bravo as bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. In the first of those, they finished sixth – with wins against England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and a near-upset of Australia – to seal automatic qualification for the Champions Trophy. In the T20 World Cup, they made it all the way to the semi-finals for their best-ever showing in a global tournament.ACB chief executive Naseeb Khan said of Younis’ appointment: “Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was required to assign a talented and experienced player as mentor from the hosting country. We already had efficient experience with hosting countries’ mentors in ODI World Cup 2023 and T20I World Cup 2024.”Observing the conditions, therefore, we have appointed Younis Khan as mentor for our national team for the upcoming mega event and wish him best of the luck in his crucial assignment.”Afghanistan are in Group B at the Champions Trophy, with Australia, England and South Africa. The tournament is set to be primarily played in Pakistan, with only games involving India to be held in Dubai.Younis, who retired from international cricket in 2017 with the experience of 118 Tests, 265 ODIs and 25 T20Is to his name, took to coaching thereafter and was involved with the Pakistan senior men’s set-up as batting coach in 2021, albeit briefly due to differences with the PCB.
Queensland left-arm seamer makes use of UK passport to sign as a local player
ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2025
Liam Guthrie celebrates a wicket•Getty Images
Northamptonshire have signed Queensland left-arm seamer Liam Guthrie on a three-year contract. Guthrie, 27, holds a UK passport and will be registered as a local player.His arrival follows that of new head coach, Darren Lehmann, who described Guthrie as a “genuine pace” option who can swing the ball. The pair worked together previously during Lehmann’s time coaching Queensland and Brisbane Heat.”I’m truly excited about the opportunity to play for Northamptonshire.” Guthrie said. “Competing in the UK has always been a goal of mine, and I am eager to embark on this new chapter.Related
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“I’m looking forward to reconnecting with Darren Lehmann, whose influence on my cricket has been significant since our time working together in Queensland.”Guthrie, 27, made his first-class debut for Western Australia in 2018 but struggled for regular opportunities. He made his Big Bash League debut for Brisbane Heat in 2021, subsequently winning a state contract with Queensland.In 18 first-class matches, he has taken 50 wickets at 37.82, to go with 27 at 27.62 in List A cricket and six at 34.00 in T20s.Lehmann said: “We’re really excited about Liam joining us as a local player for the next three years. He brings left arm swing, genuine pace and having worked with him at Brisbane Heat and Queensland, his attitude is excellent and he has real wicket-taking abilities.”He’ll fit right in with the group who I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with so far.”
Third-placed NSW needed to win to have any hope of reaching the final
AAP15-Mar-2025
Jordan Silk raises his bat in his 100th Sheffield Shield match•Getty Images
Jordan Silk struck an unbeaten 94 to give Tasmania the first-day honours in their pink-ball Sheffield Shield clash with NSW at Bellerive Oval.Silk (94 not out off 186), Tim Ward (64 off 158), Caleb Jewell (45) and Jake Doran (39) all chipped in to lift Tasmania to 309 for 7 before rain brought the opening day to an early finish.Third-placed NSW entered the match knowing they needed to win to have any hope of reaching the final, which will be hosted by South Australia.The strong first-innings total by Tasmania means NSW have plenty of work ahead of them to get a positive result.Tasmania slipped to 44 for 2 after Jake Weatherald (nine) was caught a slip and Nivethan Radhakrishnan (10) was trapped lbw by Ben Dwarshuis.But a 65-run stand between Ward and Jewell, followed by a 82-run stand between Ward and Silk put Tasmania into a strong position.Silk has the chance to post his 12th first-class century when play resumes on Sunday.Tasmania sit in last spot on the table and are no hope of reaching the final.But it’s all on the line for NSW, who must beat Tasmania and then rely on second-placed Queensland failing to get a win against ladder leaders South Australia.South Australia went to stumps on day one at a dominant 359 for 4 against Queensland, giving NSW even more incentive to turn the tables on Tasmania when play resumes.The match also represents another opportunity for NSW opener Sam Konstas to put his name up in lights ahead of Australia’s Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.Konstas made a stunning Test debut against India in the Boxing Day Test, but his topsy-turvy form of late has been a big talking point.The 19-year-old rebounded with an important half-century in last week’s Shield draw with WA at the WACA, and his performance against Tasmania will be highly scrutinised as Australia’s selectors mull over who should partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
Kerr was also the women’s T20I and ODI Player of the Year, while Henry won the honours for Test and ODIs too
ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2025
Amelia Kerr won her third successive Debbie Hockley Medal•ICC/Getty Images
Amelia Kerr and Matt Henry won top honours at the New Zealand Cricket Awards on Wednesday. Kerr won the Debbie Hockley Medal for being the women’s cricketer of the year while Henry took away its men’s counterpart, the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal.Kerr, 24, won the top honour for an unprecedented third consecutive year in a row. She starred in New Zealand’s maiden Women’s T20 World Cup win last year. She finished with 15 wickets, the most in the competition, and 135 runs, the third-most for New Zealand. She was named Player of the Match in the final and took home the Player-of-the-Tournament award as well and later was named ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year, winning the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy.At the NZC awards, Kerr also swept away the Women’s ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards. She averaged 33 with the bat and returned 14 wickets in ODIs. She captained Wellington Blaze to the title, and her 441 runs along with 15 wickets earned her the Women’s Super Smash Player of the Year.”Melie’s consistency, skill, and passion for the game are an inspiration to us all, and I couldn’t be prouder to see her name etched alongside mine once again,” Debbie Hockley said while announcing the winner.Apart from the men’s cricketer of the year honours, Henry was also named New Zealand Men’s Test Player of the Year. He picked up 25 wickets at an average of 20.08 in five matches, including eight wickets in the Bengaluru Test against India last year. Henry was also named the ODI Player of the Year, thanks to his 24 wickets at an average of 15.50. He was instrumental in New Zealand finishing runners-up at the Champions Trophy.Matt Henry completed 100 Test wickets on the tour of India•BCCI
Jacob Duffy was named the Men’s T20I Player of the Year after his 21 wickets at 9.71 made him No. 1 in the ICC men’s T20I bowler rankings. Kane Williamson won the Redpath Cup for men’s first-class batting, while Henry won the Winsor Cup for men’s first-class bowling.Eden Carson picked up 40 wickets in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, New Zealand’s 50-over domestic competition for women, and starred with an unbeaten 59 off 43 balls for winners Otago in a thrilling final. That saw her being named the Women’s Domestic Player of the Year.The Bert Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding service to cricket was awarded to historian Francis Payne. It was in recognition of his contributions to the documentation and preservation of New Zealand cricket history, most notably through his long-standing, 42-year role as co-editor of the New Zealand Cricket Almanack, a publication regarded as the definitive resource for followers of the Kiwi game.Chris Gaffaney, who is in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires for 2025-26, was named the Umpire of the Year.2025 New Zealand Cricket Awards winnersDebbie Hockley Medal – Amelia Kerr Sir Richard Hadlee Medal – Matt Henry Bert Sutcliffe Medal for Outstanding Services to Cricket – Francis Payne Test Player of the Year – Matt Henry Men’s ODI Player of the Year – Matt Henry Women’s ODI Player of the Year – Amelia Kerr Men’s T20I Player of the Year – Jacob Duffy Women’s T20I Player of the Year – Amelia Kerr Men’s Domestic Player of the Year – Brett Hampton Women’s Domestic Player of the Year – Eden Carson Super Smash Men’s Player of the Year – Tom Bruce Super Smash Women’s Player of the Year – Amelia Kerr Redpath Cup (men’s first-class batting) – Kane Williamson Ruth Martin Cup (women’s domestic batting) – Maddy Green Winsor Cup (men’s first-class bowling) – Matt Henry Phyl Blackler Cup (women’s domestic bowling) – Eden Carson New Zealand Umpire of the Year – Chris Gaffaney
India’s T20I captain “can’t wait to be back” with the team set to tour Bangladesh in August 2025
ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2025
Suryakumar Yadav’s next assignment will be a T20I series against Bangladesh in August•PTI
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav had a successful hernia surgery in Munich, Germany and is currently in recovery.Suryakumar was last seen at IPL 2025, where he was a crucial part of Mumbai Indians’ run into the playoffs. The 34-year-old middle-order batter set a new world record for consecutive 25-plus scores (16). On the back of that, he finished with a total of 717 runs, the highest by a non-opener in IPL and the highest by an MI batter in a single season.India’s immediate assignments are the ongoing Test tour of England, which carries on until August 4. Then they shift focus to a white-ball tour of Bangladesh, which contains three ODIs and three T20Is. Suryakumar isn’t a regular for India in 50-overs cricket – he hasn’t played the format since the 2023 World Cup final. Given this schedule, he had some free time on his hands to complete the surgery and his recovery before he takes charge of the T20 line-up in Chattogram on August 26.
Suryakumar took over leadership of India in T20Is after they won the World Cup in June 2024. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired at the end of that tournament, creating room for the IPL generation to take over and since then India’s batting has reached new heights. A team that prioritises quick scoring and batting depth was able to routinely break the 250-run barrier. They went as high as 297, against Bangladesh in October 2024, which is the third-highest total in T20Is.
Australia will be keen to quieten the noise in what is an Ashes year, so for Sam Konstas (and Cameron Green to a slightly lesser extent), the next couple of weeks are hugely important
Andrew McGlashan29-Jun-2025
Sam Konstas had a terrible time of it against Shamar Joseph in Barbados•Randy Brooks/Associated Press
Ahead of the opening Test against West Indies, Sam Konstas was enjoying what Barbados had to offer: the food, the beaches, the lifestyle. Then things got real.Two innings of 3 and 5, the latter an especially difficult 38-ball stay, where he twice fell to in-duckers from Shamar Joseph, means the spotlight will remain squarely on him as the series moves to Grenada.On the one hand, this is very tough on a 19-year-old playing just his third Test. He was confronted with extremely difficult conditions. It was just his 18th first-class match. But Australia have set themselves, and Konstas, on this course amid the trouble they have had trying to replace David Warner.Related
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Konstas’ debut knock against India at the MCG – which included four plays and misses in the first over of the match against Jasprit Bumrah before the pyrotechnics began – helped change the mood of the series, but currently it feels more like a millstone than a milestone.An interesting titbit from an interview Konstas gave to ahead of the Barbados Test was that he had been advised by his batting coach Tahmid Islam to remove from his phone the highlights of the century he scored against the Indians for the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, full of scoops and ramps, in what effectively became a one-day game.Konstas is still trying to work out the type of batter he needs, and wants, to be – that is hardly surprising for someone yet to turn 20 – or at the very least reconnect with the tempo that was evident in the back-to-back Sheffield Shield centuries that initially got everyone talking last season and drew comparisons with Ricky Ponting.”The players are the harshest critics really when all is said and done,” head coach Andrew McDonald told reporters the day after Australia’s 159-run victory. “We’ve had some conversations around potentially if you’re in that situation again what does that look like and that’s what experience is. It’s learning from previous events and trying to implement a way through that.”It felt like he was stuck at times and he was over-aggressive and then [he] underplayed. It’s really that balance and tempo. He’s got that there and that’s a step up to Test cricket. He’s got a really good partner down the other end [in Usman Khawaja] that over time, I think, will play out. That’s all we ask for – a bit of patience and time with a young player coming into Test cricket.”Australia are committed to Konstas for this series at least. He will, barring injury, play the next two matches. A substantial score would go some way to settling things ahead of the Ashes, and if the pitches remain as spicy as Barbados, it would not need to be a hundred. But otherwise, it will likely be another open season heading into the summer.Unsurprisingly in an Ashes year, Konstas’ performances have not gone unnoticed in England – and not in a flattering way. None of that has to matter, of course, it’s all part of the phoney Ashes war, which is an undercurrent to this series and the England vs India contest which began in such epic fashion at Headingley. But, from Australia’s perspective, they will be keen to quieten the noise, so for Konstas (and a slightly less extent Cameron Green), the next couple of weeks are hugely important.1:12
Cummins lauds middle order: ‘Those three were brilliant’
The technical challenges Konstas faces from the delivery coming in also pose an interesting question. Is it something so significant that it should have been ironed out in domestic cricket first? It was evident at the Under-19 World Cup last year and for New South Wales. Bumrah then delivered a repost at the MCG by dismissing him in that manner in the second innings.”I think on that type of surface [in Barbados] it’s an issue for everyone,” McDonald said. “He’s been on the record around working on his technique in the winter and some small adjustments and how they play out in training versus under extreme pressure is always a different sort of pattern.”He knows his deficiencies but, from a batting perspective, I encourage all players to learn to play with their deficiencies. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect technique. If that’s what you’re looking for then I think you’re looking in the wrong place.Beau Webster is an example of a player who has made the step-up to Test cricket after years of domestic toil and appears to have the tools to make the most of it•Randy Brooks/Associated Press
“He’ll learn to play with what he’s got. We’re a team that encourages run-scoring. Did he lose his intent at certain times in that innings? Was he looking at his defensive layers rather than potentially putting some pressure back on? I think that’s really the balance he needs to strike. I think he’s good enough. It’ll just take some time for him to adapt.”There is a significant contrast in the Australia side between two of its recent newcomers: Konstas and Beau Webster, who made their debuts in consecutive Tests. The latter, with years of domestic experience behind him, has scored three half-centuries in five outings – two on incredibly tricky pitches plus another against a very good South Africa attack – and the step up has looked less daunting, notwithstanding what Konstas did in his first Test innings.”We’re always going to have varying degrees of experience within that order and we like to have a balance of that,” McDonald said. “In one basket, you’ve got Beau Webster, who’s played a lot of first-class cricket, and you say that’s the way to go. And then, in the other one, you’ve got Sam Konstas and Cameron Green, who learn on the job.”I don’t think there’s any perfect lead-in to Test cricket and I don’t think we should look for that. But what I will say around [Webster] is that he knows his game. He’s enjoying the problems at hand and he’s solving them with great intent and temperament. At times he looks technically compromised and we saw that at Lord’s. He’s going to be challenged with that, but he’s a run-scorer. He’s made an art of it.”