India’s head coach explains the secrets behind a high-performing unit that beat Australia in Australia and then humbled England

Karthik Krishnaswamy07-Mar-20218:06

Ravi Shastri on India qualifying for the WTC final from a bio-bubble: ‘I cannot say enough how proud I am of my team’

It’s hard to fully understand what life in a bio-secure bubble is like if you haven’t been in one, but for India’s cricketers, it must feel like swimming in a fishbowl, an exhausting combination of confinement and hyper-visibility.It’s the only life they’ve known for many months now – it began as early as August 2020 for those involved in IPL 2020 in the UAE – and through it they’ve pulled off two outstanding Test-series victories and reached the final of the World Test Championship. Ravi Shastri, their coach, couldn’t be a prouder man, and through this journey he’s also discovered some of the positives that a team can accrue from being in a bubble.He says, for one, that it’s brought the players closer together.”They have no choice,” Shastri said a day after India had completed their 3-1 series win over England. “There are restricted areas, there are team areas, so you can’t go out anywhere, you can’t meet anyone. If you want to get out of your room, go into a team area, where you’ll meet other players.5:09

R Ashwin praises India’s dressing room environment

“So what it’s done is, it’s made players meet each other more often after playing hours. And when you meet more often, somewhere down the line there will be conversations regarding the game, which used to happen in our time. When you finished the game, you’d still be sitting in the dressing room a good hour after the game, talking cricket. So I think the best thing that’s happened is talking cricket, amongst the team members.”And they had no choice, they were forced to do it, and that’s been a big help. They’ve got to understand each other better. They’ve got to understand each other’s backgrounds, mental state, where they come from, where they are in life – settled, unsettled. It allowed them to open themselves to their colleagues a lot more, discuss personal issues more freely. Win more trust from the team members. A lot of positives came out because of this bubble.”It must have helped India that they were winning, of course, but they won each time from positions of adversity. India began their tour of Australia with back-to-back defeats in the first two ODIs, and began the Test series by getting bowled out for 36 in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. They began their home Test series against England with a resounding defeat in Chennai.You can imagine the impact such defeats may have on players who can’t step into the outside world to distract themselves. Many of these players, moreover, came back to cricket after months of being in strict lockdown as India struggled to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, so they were perhaps rusty and not necessarily in the best physical shape either. All this, therefore, led Shastri to approach these two bubble tours with an understanding that he and the rest of the team management had to be more empathetic towards the players.Ravi Shastri decided not to be hard on the India players when their cricket resumed after lockdown and he says that has been key to their success•Getty Images”You had to be patient, more than anything else,” Shastri said. “See, we started [the tour of] Australia with two losses in the one-day games. In normal circumstances, you can be a little aggressive, you can be more straight to the point with the individual and tell him, pull up your socks. But I’d made up my mind with my team management very early that we’re going to show empathy, because for six months a lot of the guys had not got out of their flats.”No one lives in farms and houses in India. Some do, some don’t. Luckily I have a place outside Bombay so I could stay there and roam freely. But a lot of the other boys were in flats, and they’re professional sportsmen. So when you can’t get out and do the job you have to do for six months, which you’ve done all your life, it’s not easy. Whereas in Australia, New Zealand, the rules were relaxed. People would go out, train. Australia even went out and played in England.”So I knew very clearly that it will take time. Now how much time do I be patient? That was my call. And it didn’t take long. We were in quarantine for two weeks, and [suffered] two losses in another week, so three weeks [in total]. By that time the boys had trained a bit, and I knew we needed one result our way for things to turn around very quickly, because of the work we had done over the last 4-5 years as an Indian cricket team.”We had realised that this team takes pride in winning. This team doesn’t mind losing as long as they throw punches. So it was a matter of just being patient for that one switch of results. And it happened in the third game, the one-day game, through some brilliance from Hardik [Pandya] and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja). And then you didn’t look back. From that day, once we won that game, we matched Australia day for day. We lost the one-day series, we won the T20 series, and we won the Test series. You can’t have a tour like that. Unreal.”From lockdown, to get unlocked and then pull off something special was very special. So that’s where the empathy came in, where instead of being hard on the guys, you said, let’s be patient, understand the mindset where they’ve come from, six months of lockdown, what they’ve gone through, what the rules are in this place you’ve gone to.”And it was hard, because things were being shifted. Things that were promised weren’t happening. Let me be straight here. Because of one case here, one case there, they could bend the rules.”India found a host of new young players ready for Test cricket this season•BCCIWhat Shastri calls bending of rules – relating to quarantine regulations in Australia, particularly in the lead-up to the fourth Test in Brisbane – others might term as caution in the face of a global pandemic. Whichever way you look at it, the global impact of Covid-19 on cricketers also extended to the way the World Test Championship finalists were identified. With a number of series getting cancelled, a simple ranking on the basis of points totals gave way to one based on the percentage of points earned from series contested.India were one of only two teams to not have any of their series cancelled, so they had to play more, and win more, to seal their place in the final. This rankled with their captain Virat Kohli, and it rankled with Shastri too.”Please don’t shift the goalposts mid-stream,” he said. “I’m sitting at home in Covid [lockdown] in the month of November, or October. You have got more points than any other team in the world, 360 at that time. Suddenly, a week later, without playing cricket, there’s some rule that comes that they’re going to go on percentage system, where you go from number one to number three in a week.”Fine, that’s because of countries not wanting to travel, to countries that are in the red zone or whatever. All acceptable, fine. Now I want to understand the logic behind this because what is the way forward for me? I have two tours left. Sitting on top of the table, comfortably, leading by 60-70 points as opposed to any other team. They say, no, you have to go to Australia. I say, okay, what have you to do in Australia? You have to beat Australia.Ravi Shastri says India became a more close-knit team as a consequence of living in bio-secure bubbles•AFP via Getty Images”Now how many teams in 100 years or last 10 years have gone to Australia and you can guarantee will beat Australia? Now the reason I’m saying this is, you’re sitting on top of the table, 360 [points], percentage system, you have to go to Australia to beat Australia. You don’t beat Australia, you come back home and beat England 4-0, you get close to 500 points, you still don’t qualify.”So we have had to dig deep, we have had to go down every hole that’s needed to find water. We’ve found it, and we’ve earned our stripes to be in the final of the World Test Championship, the biggest trophy in the world, with 520 points.”Along the way, they experienced a freakish injury crisis too, which led them to play their last Test in Australia with their bowling attack consisting of two debutants, two fast bowlers who had played just one Test apiece, and one who had played two. India couldn’t field all of their first-choice players against England either. But by being forced to try so many of their reserves, India discovered a number of players with the skills to succeed in Test cricket.”That’s the most positive thing to come out of the bubble,” Shastri said. “Because of the bubble, you had to go with enlarged squads. Normally you would go with 17-18 [players], but because of the bubble and because of the quarantine laws that exist, you had to go with 25, 30, 35 in certain cases, as a result of which you had to dig deep and pick your best 30 players, and as luck would have it, we were left with no choice but to play each 30 of them, and you found out who’s good and who’s not good.”So it’s a good headache to have, it’s something that worked well. You would have never imagined the number of players that would have played for India, six months ago. If you think [T] Natarajan would have played a Test match, no way you’d have said he would have played a Test match. Will Washington Sundar play a Test match? No way. These are things you would not imagine, but circumstances make it happen, and I’m glad the youngsters who got the opportunity have grabbed it with both hands.”

Charlotte Edwards seeks to add Hundred title to impressive CV after masterminding Brave’s maiden campaign

Matt Roller20-Aug-2021The Edwards factor
Charlotte Edwards’ reputation as a coach has burgeoned over the last two years and it would be no surprise to see her succeed Lisa Keightley in the England job before too long. She captained Southern Vipers to the inaugural KSL title in 2016, coached them to the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last summer, and there is every chance she will make it a treble in the Hundred.Her role in recruitment has been particularly key – Mahela Jayawardene, her men’s counterpart, joked that he “didn’t know how Lottie managed to get that top order together” – and she has galvanised the dressing room, encouraging batters to play without fear of being dismissed.”I was pretty clear from the start that I really wanted to work with her,” Anya Shrubsole, their captain, said. “She was my first England captain and we’ve always got on. She’s really quite inspiring to work with and you want that in your corner. Her knowledge of the game is obviously really good and we’re both to the point, but pretty relaxed.”Drafting Dunkley
Edwards drew up a wishlist of players after being appointed coach and while she was only 21 at the time, Sophia Dunkley’s name was at the top of it. “I remember her calling me when I was in Portugal and I was dancing round the swimming pool when she said she’d play for me,” Edwards laughed.”I knew what a talent the girl was going to be and we offered her a top-four batting spot, which nobody else did. That’s how we got her: we believed in her and we knew what she could do.”Sophia Dunkley has been a revelation this summer•Harry Trump/Getty ImagesIt became clear in England’s multi-format series against India earlier in the summer that Brave had made a wise move but Dunkley’s performances in the Hundred have still surpassed expectations: she made 244 runs in the group stages, with an average of 48.80 and a strike rate of 143.52 demonstrating her ability to combine heavy-scoring with a high tempo from No. 3.Vipers core
Dunkley and Shrubsole are exceptions that prove the rule as two of the only players in the Brave squad without a tie to Southern Vipers, the regional hub based at the Ageas Bowl who previously competed in the KSL. “We were really keen to keep a core of domestic player that Lottie knows and that play down here at the Vipers,” Shrubsole said.Edwards added: “Anya knows I’ve got a lot of knowledge about the domestic structure and she’s trusted me in terms of our selections domestically, which have proved to be really, really good ones. A lot of it was about people we knew had played with this group and a big part of this group has been the fact we gelled together really quickly.”The biggest part of it has been that our domestic players have stood up. You expect England players and overseas players to win you games but we’ve actually had really good performances from our domestic players: Lauren Bell and Maia Bouchier have been two of the standouts.”Bouchier has only faced 55 balls in the tournament due to Brave’s top-order strength but has batted positively, making 85 runs off them at a strike rate of 154.54. Following her match-winning stand with Dunkley against Northern Superchargers, Danni Wyatt described the pair as “stars of the future – that’s going to be the future of English cricket right there.”Bell, meanwhile, is Brave’s second-highest wicket-taker with her hooping inswingers and has impressed both in the Powerplay and the middle of an innings. She has claimed some big scalps – Nat Sciver, Hayley Matthews, Sarah Taylor and Jemimah Rodrigues among them – and Dinesh Karthik, the former India batter, said on Sky Sports that she has “everything going for her as a fast bowler”.Lauren Bell celebrates with Stafanie Taylor•Getty ImagesTwo of their three overseas players have Vipers links: Stafanie Taylor has anchored in the middle order and chipped in with her offbreaks, while Amanda-Jade Wellington – a late replacement for Amelia Kerr – is their leading wicket-taker, having played under Edwards with the Vipers and in the WBBL with Adelaide Strikers. She was initially expected to miss the final due to state commitments but has been allowed to stay on.Batting depth
Wyatt’s opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana – who has left for some time at home ahead of India’s Australia tour – was dream-team stuff, with their complementary styles making them hard to attack with the new ball. Both scored at strike rates above 130 across the group stage, with Wyatt explaining that the message from Edwards had simply been: “Play your natural game.”They were able to do so because of the resources that Brave deployed beneath them, with Dunkley, Taylor and Bouchier offering a cushion in the rare occasions that both openers failed. Their allrounders have hardly been used: Shrubsole hit 40 not out off 30 balls in their opening game but has only batted once since, and Wellington – a handy lower-order hitter in the WBBL – has faced 10 balls in the competition.Saturday will provide a big test, with Mandhana’s absence putting more pressure on the rest of the top order to perform; Gaby Lewis, the Ireland international replacing her, is an attacking opener but struggled for rhythm in her first innings against Oval Invincibles on Monday. If they can remain positive and trust their batting depth, their bowlers should be strong enough to get them over the line.

A phenomenal batting line-up, seven bowling options, some excellent fielders… that’s our XI for IPL 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2021 year sounds silly, but Harshal did, didn’t he?Varun Chakravarthy was one of the key reasons for Kolkata Knight Riders’ progress to the final•BCCI10. Varun Chakravarthy (18 wickets, ave 24.88, ER 6.58, Best 3-13)
It was almost impossible to get Chakravarthy away, right through the IPL, for the second IPL in a row, in fact, and in tandem with Narine, he formed a sensational pair in the middle overs, drying up the runs and setting Knight Riders up for one unlikely win after another. Chakravarthy picked up wickets with some regularity, but his great achievement was definitely in the economy department.11. Avesh Khan (24 wickets, ave 18.75, ER 7.37, Best 3-13)
Avesh enjoyed a true breakthrough season. Second only to Harshal in the wicket-takers’ tally, it was almost as if Avesh would get a wicket each time he came on to bowl, in every stage of the innings. Still uncapped at the international level, though he is on the fringes, Avesh showed how he has improved in the past couple of years, still hitting the deck as he always did, but now with more control, and at what pace. He can hit 140kph, but also has a bagful of slower deliveries, and bowls both in the powerplay and at the death.
Almost there: Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Andre Russell, Yuzvendra Chahal, Anrich Nortje.

In bouncing back from Covid-19 and doing his job with aplomb, India’s Under-19 captain has shown tremendous character at the World Cup

Sreshth Shah04-Feb-2022If you’re representing India at an Under-19 World Cup and have a bumper tournament, your career gets a major jumpstart. And if you are an U-19 World Cup-winning captain, your name is etched in history. Yash Dhull was aware of that entering the competition. After reaching the West Indies, every morning, he would call his coach of eight years, Rajesh Nagar, to discuss his game. To ensure he was doing everything right.But on January 19, cricket was not the topic of discussion when the youngster called.Covid-19 was.Dhull had tested positive, along with many others, and the previous three years of hard work – with the goal of playing at the World Cup – looked like it was going up in smoke.Related

Yash Dhull hits 113 on first-class debut to lead Delhi charge against Tamil Nadu

There was no pressure, because 'we were prepared for everything' – Yash Dhull

Deep and varied attack leads India's quest

Tom Prest hails England's character after epic semi-final

Qasim Akram makes history as Pakistan take fifth place at Under-19 World Cup

Dhull was alone. Devastated. It took a day for reality to sink in. But there’s one magic phrase that Dhull has grown up hearing from Nagar: “control the controllables”. On the phone, Nagar said it again.From the third day of isolation, Dhull was at it again, and began his preps. Every day, he spent nearly two hours shadow batting in his room, recording it all on his camera, going back to watch it. He received a shot in the arm when VVS Laxman told him that he would return to the XI wearing the captain’s armband as soon as he was ready.When he returned, he scored an unbeaten 20 in a tricky quarter-final chase. That got him valuable playing time. The short innings left people wanting more, but the small target didn’t offer the scope to see Dhull’s full range.However, his counter-attacking 110 in the semi-final was worth the wait. And it showed why those who follow schools cricket in north India have long considered him a prodigy.

****

Dhull’s journey to becoming the man entrusted with bringing home a fifth U-19 World Cup title started when he was ten. He had joined the Bal Bhavan school in Dwarka, an institute famous for its cricket structure; their academy is now run by Delhi Capitals.By the sixth grade, he was playing over 15 games a month under Nagar’s watchful eyes, and the coach says Dhull must have played nearly 2000 matches already. He has played all around north India, of course, but before hitting 16, he had also toured and played in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Nepal. In Nepal, he was Player of the Series in an U-19 tournament at the age of 15.A young Yash Dhull receives one of his many age-group competition trophies•Rajesh NagarAll those runs against older bowlers cemented Dhull’s place in Delhi’s competitive age-group set-up, and by 16, he was playing for the state U-19 team. Batting at No. 3, he started analysing Virat Kohli – who grew up less than six kilometres from his house – on how to bat the whole 50 overs.”He builds his innings just how Kohli starts off, with singles and doubles, before accelerating,” Nagar told ESPNcricinfo. “Playing mostly at No. 3, you need to know how to bat if one opener falls, and also know how to play the middle overs or find boundaries at the death. He doesn’t bat like Virat Kohli technically, but plays like him in terms of how an innings is built.”When Yash bats, he seems to be in control of the game’s scenario. He adjusts himself according to the situation. Even in the semi-final, despite India losing two early wickets, his runs weren’t stopping because he can take runs well and can even make the non-striker run harder in his presence.”At every stage, Dhull has upgraded himself. He brings out his class the more pressure there is. What he did in the semi-final, he has done that many times in local tournaments. It was easy for him to bring India out of trouble, all from practice.”Captaincy, however, was somewhat fortuitous. In schools cricket, the captain is merely a vessel for the coach’s thoughts from outside the field. It was the same for teams that played under Nagar, but an inter-school tournament in Dehradun changed that.”Yash was a stand-in captain since Dev Lakra, the Delhi Under-19 player, was not fit. That day, I was amazed… that whatever I was thinking, he was doing that on the field before I could tell him,” Nagar said. “Even IPL players like Anuj Rawat and others all supported him, they said they’ll play under his captaincy so that he becomes mature.”He is Dwarka’s star. Even before he played for India, every kid in Delhi’s academies knew Yash Dhull. He has played five-six years of state cricket, and he has dominated. Too many players in state cricket keep their places without dominating, he is not one of them.”For a spot in the U-19 World Cup, though, Dhull needed a top show at the U-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy in September-October 2021. Despite Delhi not going past the group stage, Dhull’s 302 runs at an average of 75.50 and a strike rate of 103.42 was enough for the selectors to name him captain for the Asia Cup and the World Cup.

****

Dhull had some nervous moments before his first press conference on the eve of India’s opening World Cup match, but he overcame them in characteristic fashion.”He told me before the first game, ‘they will speak in English, and ask questions in English’,” Nagar recalled. “He was getting worried, so I told him that should be the least of his concerns. That boosted his morale.”He is different. The way other kids would bunk, stop practice and go sightseeing, he wouldn’t. His grandfather was in the army, and his father used to play local cricket. So his home discipline was very good. I was his coach in the school and academy, so I would see him walk in at 7.30am and I’d see him wrap up training at 7.30pm.The runs in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy led to Yash Dhull being named captain for the World Cup•ICC via Getty Images”He has gone through situations where kids become weak. His grandfather was his closest family member, but he passed away in 2018. He would bring Yash to academy every day, and he would spend whole days in grounds around Delhi watching Yash. So Yash was extremely affected back then, both mentally and with his cricket.”However, since those first few public interactions, Dhull’s public personality has blossomed. In the first game, he seemed to hold himself back during team celebrations and appeared – from the outside – as if he was hands-off when it came to bowlers setting their fields. After the Covid-19-enforced break, that seems to have changed.In the quarter-final against Bangladesh, every time a wicket fell, he celebrated as much as his bowlers, appeared proactive while changing the field, and one could even hear some of his instructions on the stump mic. As wickets fell, he got more attacking with his field placements. He even set the standard on the field with diving efforts and a sharp run-out.Looking back, Dhull has probably led India in their trickiest U-19 World Cup campaign in recent history. Never before has so much uncertainty surrounded an India squad. And with India reaching every final since 2016, the pressure on the incumbent captain only rises with every edition.That’s why Dhull’s 110 against Australia was so special. At 37 for 2, he was one wrong move away from triggering a batting collapse in the semi-final. But he absorbed it all, took responsibility, and counter-attacked. The final may or may not go India’s way, but as long as Dhull controls the controllables, this World Cup could be the stepping stone for bigger and better.

She’s had a patchy run since the 2016 T20 World Cup final, but on Friday, the West Indies allrounder put in a performance to remember against New Zealand

Annesha Ghosh04-Mar-2022It was almost as if Hayley Matthews was sending out a message in the first five overs of the 2022 ODI World Cup opener: “Save the legs, I’ll do it in fours.”After all, at one stage, she had raced to 21 in 15 balls, just one of those runs not a boundary.Almost like she was asking us to remember her name, and her range, that was most memorably on view that day six summers ago, which you probably remember for another name.Related

• Devine 108 in vain as Matthews powers WI's opening-day upset

• 'When Dottin says give me the ball, you just give her the ball'

On April 3, 2016, just hours before Carlos Braithwaite scripted a heist for the West Indies men’s team, fellow Barbadian Matthews, too, had achieved cricketing immortality. With a 45-ball 66 in the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup, she unseated Australia from the T20 throne, thwarting their hopes of a fourth straight title in the format.One of the narratives that emerged on that heady April evening of West Indies’ twin T20 World Cup triumphs in Kolkata was of Matthews’ likely dominance on the international stage in the foreseeable future. She was clearly destined for even bigger things, for herself and for her team.In the six years since, West Indies have somewhat fallen short of expectations that 2016 T20 World Cup-winning campaign set for them. They made the 2018 T20 World Cup semi-final at home but crashed out in the league stage in the 2020 edition, and their performances in the 50-over format especially have been on a downward spiral. Since their 2016 high, they have won 22 of their 49 T20Is and tied one; in ODIs, they have won 18 out of 55 games, including the win on Friday over New Zealand, and tied two.After an unbeaten hundred against Pakistan at home last year, Matthews scored only 12 runs in five innings as opener•CWI”I guess our batters probably like the shorter format of the game and find it more exciting,” captain Stafanie Taylor had said before the latest World Cup when asked why West Indies, finalists in the 2013 edition, have struggled to get going in ODIs more recently.Inconsistency has long been Matthews’ problem, too. In the last 20 T20Is, for example, she has a high score of only 32. Having debuted in ODIs in 2014, she made three fifties in her first three matches, but she has made 50 or more only seven times in the 58 innings that followed. More recently, after an unbeaten hundred against Pakistan at home last year, she scored only 12 runs in five innings as opener, following which she was pushed down to No. 5.In the opening match of the World Cup on Friday, Matthews was back in the opening position but only because the regular opener, Rashada Williams, was out, recovering from concussion. Partnering Deandra Dottin, Matthews scored 16 in her first four scoring shots to set the tone for her maiden ODI World Cup century.”Obviously, I’ve been shuffled around the order a little bit over the past maybe eight or nine months. But at the same time, I think my job is to do as best as I possibly can for the team wherever they need me,” she said after West Indies’ thrilling three-run win over New Zealand in Tauranga. “When I got the call yesterday that I had to go up the order, it was just about me going out there and doing as best as they possibly could. And, yeah, I got some (runs) today.”

“You talk about playing on the biggest stage, you talk about World Cups… To be able to put on a really good all-round performance obviously means a lot to me”Matthews on leading her side to an opening victory in the World Cup

Pivotal to West Indies’ total of 259 – their third-highest score in a 50-over world tournament – were Matthews’ three fifty stands in the middle-order – with Taylor, Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation. Along the way, she struck 17 boundaries, with a solitary six, measuring 75 metres, against Sophie Devine.”Initially, going out there to open, I probably thought I try to take it a bit steady, obviously; [I] haven’t opened the batting in a couple of months,” she said. “But when we got out there and saw how good the wicket was playing, I was able to capitalise without trying too much.”That’s pretty much how I just played my whole innings – taking it ball by ball, setting small targets with my partner, always looking for partnerships. That happened to work really well and then we were able to push pretty hard at the end.”Asked of her up-and-down batting performances across limited-overs formats since the 2016 T20 World Cup final, Matthews said, “I feel like that’s what I’ve been doing over the last couple of years. Maybe I guess some people might say I haven’t hit the expectations I’ve wanted to.Remember the names! Carlos Brathwaite and Hayley Matthews pose by the sea in Mumbai after West Indies’ double triumph in 2016•Getty Images”But at the same time, I feel like over the last one year or two, I’ve really been able to improve. Yeah, just show what it takes, and yeah, hopefully I can continue doing that.”It wasn’t only with the bat that Matthews left a mark in West Indies’ final-over victory, twice pegged back as she was through the day by a hamstring niggle.First, Matthews dealt New Zealand a critical blow with the wicket of the in-form No. 3, Amelia Kerr. Her bowling forearm strapped with Kinesio tape since the start of New Zealand’s chase, Matthews pushed Kerr deep into the crease with just her second ball and trapped her lbw for 13. Later, in the 35th over, she had left-hander Brooke Halliday caught at first slip, the mix of Matthews’ high-arm action and generous revolutions in her offspin too good for the New Zealand No. 7.An innings of 119, and 2 for 41 with the ball from ten overs: did she ever have a more memorable all-round outing?”Probably not,” she said. “I think you talk about playing on the biggest stage, you talk about World Cups. First game, obviously – really, really big for us against the home team. To be able to put on a really good all-round performance obviously means a lot to me and even more to the team seeing that we got the win.”

They dismantled Pakistan with pace, persistence, a hint of movement, and more than a hint of pent-up frustration

Alex Malcolm23-Mar-2022Finally. After 13 days of backbreaking toil in this series. After 13 days of waiting for the pitches to do something. After 13 days of hoping the chosen ball would reverse. After 13 days of relentless but slow run-scoring. After 13 days of watching hard-earned nicks hit the turf.Finally, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc said enough is enough and took matters into their own hands. They huffed and they puffed and they blew away Pakistan’s batting line-up with sheer pace, persistence, a hint of movement, and more than a hint of pent-up frustration to put Australia in command.Cummins became just the fourth Australian quick in history to take a five-wicket haul in Pakistan. Starc became just the third quick in the series to bag four wickets or more in an innings. Pakistan lost eight wickets for 54 runs in 30 overs to hand Australia a critical 134-run lead with two days to go.It was a Herculean effort from Australia’s two fast men.At one stage in the afternoon, it looked like an impossible task. Lahore’s surface was offering precious little. Azhar Ali and Babar Azam’s bats looked as broad as ever after Abdullah Shafique had again batted for what felt like days. There were very few signs of the prodigious reverse-swing that Naseem Shah had extracted the previous day.Australia had frivolously burnt three reviews, two in pure hope and exasperation that they might not hit another pad for days despite neither looking close to out.Steven Smith had dropped three catches, one each of Shafique, Azhar and Babar. None were easy, though, all incredibly difficult given how close to the batter he has stood at times, but all told he has missed six chances in a series where chances have been few and far between.

At one stage midway through the 13th day of the series, all five of Australia’s bowlers were striking at more than 100 for the tour and Starc’s wicket tally of three was level with direct-hit run-outs for the series

Nathan Lyon bowled 30 overs unchanged for little reward. He did claim Shafique thanks to Australia’s only successful review, scratching the outside edge of his broad bat with one that went straight on. He could have had Babar too, who drove hard out of the footmarks and edged fine of the wrong-footed Smith at slip. Mitchell Swepson too produced a chance off Azhar – which Smith was unable to grasp – but was unable to extract much else as the surface offered less spin than the one in Karachi.At one stage midway through the 13th day of the series, all five of Australia’s bowlers were striking at more than 100 for the tour and Starc’s wicket tally of three was level with direct-hit run-outs for the series.Australia needed a lion in Lahore and they found one in their captain. Out of nowhere, in a short burst at Azhar, Cummins induced a false stroke. A well-struck drive that was not kept down. Cummins fell to his left in his follow-through, reached to his right, and plucked a stunning catch. He threw it in the air as he rolled to the ground and finished on his knees roaring with delight.”That’s why he’s No. 1 in the world,” Starc would say of Cummins after the day’s play. “He started it for us.”Australia had an opening.Cummins threw Starc the ball post-tea with Fawad Alam far from settled and Starc rammed his way through with sheer will.This wasn’t the spectacular high-velocity reverse-swing that he showed in the first innings in Karachi. Instead, it was a showcase of his fitness and willpower. Starc can be maligned for his sometimes wild radar and his lean spells as he had experienced on this tour as well. But one thing he is given very little credit for is his ability to sustain 140kph speeds across a backbreaking series. His pace has never dropped during this arduous tour. And it didn’t on the 13th day. He finally got the reward when he delivered the perfect length and line to Alam with a hint of reverse-swing back to crash through a gaping gate between bat and pad and smash into off stump.Pat Cummins held a stunning return catch to remove Azhar Ali•AFPStarc smelt blood in the water. He trumped that delivery to Alam with an even better one to remove Mohammad Rizwan. From around the wicket, he again hit the perfect length, angling towards off stump and tailing away a touch to beat the outside edge and crash into the top of off.”It’s having a really calm approach,” Starc said. “Patty’s been fantastic in his captaincy. There have been times where they’ve built partnerships and played really nicely. It’s about staying calm and not letting that scoreboard get out of control and take our chances and moments when they come.”Pakistan’s tail was now exposed and Cummins sensed the moment. He brought himself back on in tandem with Starc and in 20 deliveries they took 5 for 4.Cummins and Starc ratted the stumps twice more and thundered into the front pads of Nauman Ali and Babar. Starc pinning Pakistan’s captain on 67 was proof that no one could stop Australia’s steam train from running down the track. Not even DRS could overturn this one as it was just clipping the outside of leg stump.Only one of the nine wickets the duo took required a fielder’s assistance, with Smith taking a nice low catch of Hasan Ali at first slip having moved back to a conventional position behind Alex Carey.”Once we get a sniff we want to try and ram that home,” Starc said. “So to work in a fantastic partnership for those few overs is what we’re about.”For the second Test running, Australia have done the hard yards to set up the game in their favour and they can thank Cummins and Starc for it. Now they need to finish the job.

“As a man, it’s kind of frowned upon to show mental weakness or a bit of softness,” he says after a ‘very special’ knock in Christchurch

Firdose Moonda25-Feb-20222:48

Sarel Erwee: ‘I was a phone call away from calling it quits’

Sarel Erwee was going to quit. It was the summer of 2019, he’d been playing cricket for a decade, was approaching his 30th birthday and thought his dreams of being an international cricketer were over. He had reason to. Erwee had gone almost two years and 30 innings without a first-class century and averaged 28.63. Even before that, his average across 75 matches hovered just above 35. He had just had enough.”I was a phone call away from calling it quits,” he said after becoming South Africa’s newest Test centurion in Christchurch.But then came an intervention. “I had huge support, when I sat down with my family, with my parents and they picked me up. I saw a sports psychologist and we worked through it daily. It was a hard slog to try and get motivated again, to give my best after wanting to give up,” he said. “All the years of hard work felt pointless and worthless at one stage.”Until they didn’t and the sessions Erwee went to worked.He went on to score two hundreds in two matches in early 2020 and to double his average to 54.80 in the last two years. He was selected for the South African squad to play Sri Lanka at home, then to tour Pakistan, West Indies and against India at home and, despite Aiden Markram’s waning form, didn’t get a game. It was only when Keegan Petersen contracted Covid-19 and was forced out of the visit to New Zealand and Markram was granted the concession of moving to one-drop, that Erwee got his opportunity and two Tests in, he has made the most of it.

“As a man, it’s kind of frowned upon to show mental weakness or a bit of softness. There’s a lot of work still to be done. I am in that process every day, every week, every month, where I am trying to better my mental wellbeing.”

He is the first South African opener to score a century in a year, since Markram in Pakistan. He shared the highest opening stand in 18 innings and helped the team score more runs on one day than they did in the entire first Test. His was an innings defined by the discerning leave – Erwee did not play at a third of the deliveries bowled to him – and the well-timed drive, and it was an innings that played out in front of his sister, Chantelle, who has not seen him for four years.Related

Sarel Erwee: 'England is where you learn Test cricket as an opener'

Dean Elgar: 'My character as a leader is not to take the easy way out'

Away from home and written off, Dean Elgar's South Africa showcase resilience of the good old days

The Test hundreds may not be there, but Bavuma is close to being SA's best batter right now

'You need to score runs', Dean Elgar's stern message to 'vulnerable' Aiden Markram

Erwee “got a lump in my throat,” and wiped a tear from his eyes when he was asked what it was like to score a century alongside the batter he is likely to replace in the medium-term, Markram, and with a member of his family in the audience.”It was extremely special. They (Dean Elgar and Markram) are two good guys. They’ve taken me under their wing and helped me through this journey. It was lovely to be there with them and lovely to celebrate and get that hundred in front of my family. My sister lives here in New Zealand,” he said, as his voice cracked. “Sorry, I’ve got a lump in my throat here. She’s been through a tough time here, so it’s nice for her to have something to smile about.”Honest emotion, heightened by the global pandemic that has kept people away from each other for the last 24 months, is still rare in professional sport, especially among men. But Erwee has spent too long and worked too hard to hide his feelings. In the same week that a well-known South African rapper, Riky Rick, died by suicide, Erwee put mental health in front and at the center of the conversation and asked for it to be given more attention.Sarel Erwee struck his maiden international century•Getty Images”It’s a big thing and I don’t think we focus on it enough in South Africa, not just in cricket but in all sports,” Erwee said. “And in general life. As a man, it’s kind of frowned upon to show mental weakness or a bit of softness. There’s a lot of work still to be done. I am in that process every day, every week, every month, where I am trying to better my mental wellbeing. It’s a big part of my life and probably will be for a long time.”For someone in their second Test match, who has just achieved a century, to demonstrate the composure to discuss a topic so serious spoke about Erwee’s maturity, as a person and a player, and provides a reminder that Erwee is no overnight sensation. He is 32 and has done years in the often-overlooked-and-under-rated domestic game and maintained that it is a satisfactory training ground for the biggest stage.”You’ve got to get on with it at domestic cricket. You’ve got to prepare yourself. Whether it’s your first year or your sixth year, you’ve got to prepare yourself for international cricket if that’s what you want to do,” he said. “You’ve got to front up and show up every single day and make sure you get better. I am very fortunate that I had a year to settle into the squad and find my feet preparation-wise, and find out what it takes to do half decently or do well at this level. That’s just the help from team-mates. Preparation and fronting up is key.”Elgar also used the words “front up,” when he explained his decision to bat first – the only captain in 11 Tests to make that choice. On a pitch with less bounce than the first Test and strong winds making it difficult for the bowlers, his top three have so far proved him right but for Erwee, it’s not so much conditions as it is mindset that fueled South Africa’s performance. “We are here to win a Test match. We want to be one-all leaving the shores here. You’ve got to front up and that’s what we did today. We’ve got a goal in mind. If that means you have to bat first on a greenish wicket or a wicket that does something, so be it. That’s the nature of this game.”

They have dropped 24 out of the 69 catches in Tests this year

Mohammad Isam18-Jun-2022A little while after Bangladesh figured out that they could’ve had Nkrumah Bonner if only they’d thought to appeal, they saw another edge from the same batter go between wicketkeeper and first slip. There was a loud cry, possibly from the bowler, but it could have been from anyone.After being bowled out for 103 on the previous day, Bangladesh dropped three catches on the first afternoon. On the second morning, the bowlers started creating chances again but a lack of luck, awareness and intent from the fielders ruined all that good work. Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz took pretty good catches later in the day to keep West Indies’ lead to 162. It could have been lesser had the easier chances been taken earlier in the innings.All told, Bangladesh dropped five catches and missed a definite nick through to the keeper. Their use of DRS was iffy too. Jermaine Blackwood would have been out lbw for 39 had they opted for a second opinion, but they didn’t, and he went on to make 63.Kraigg Brathwaite, who top scored with 94, survived chances on 0, 16 and 63. This is a batter who has dominated Bangladesh for 11 years. It was careless to give him so many reprieves. Bonner, meanwhile, made only 33 but he added 62 for the third wicket with Brathwaite. He was on 14 when the edge wasn’t spotted and on 22, when the ball flew between wicketkeeper and first slip, where Najmul Hossain Shanto stood.Related

• Cricket returns to Windsor Park as WI, Bangladesh fine-tune T20 World Cup plans

• Incisive West Indies pounce on self-defeating Bangladesh's brittle batting

• Joseph strikes twice after Brathwaite, Blackwood fifties to continue West Indies dominance

Bangladesh’s catching has hurt them in all formats this year. In T20 cricket, they have dropped one-third of all the catches that have gone their way: 84 taken and 39 dropped. The number is similar in Tests where they have dropped 24 out of 69 chances.This won’t be solved until each individual decides to step up. Bangladesh employ Shanto, Yasir Ali (currently injured) and Litton (when he is not keeping wicket) in the slip cordon. But Shanto has dropped five of the 11 chances that have come his way over the last three years. This has added to the criticism of a player who has scored just one fifty in his last 17 Test innings.It is clear there is a real problem. But any time the subject comes up, the BCB and the team management turn defensive. The fielding coaches probably know what’s going on but they’re rarely put up in public to explain anything. Bangladesh have turned to several experts in recent times – Ryan Cook came and went. Rajin Saleh was used for one series on a temporary basis. Now it’s Shane McDermott – but nothing is making a difference.Najmul Hossain Shanto has been a regular in Bangladesh’s slip cordon•AFP/Getty ImagesIn March this year, head coach Russell Domingo blasted the fielders for dropping nine catches in five white-ball games against Afghanistan. But Domingo also admitted he didn’t know why this keeps happening.”It is unbelievable when you think about it,” he said. “If we knew what [the problem] was, we probably wouldn’t be doing it. Whether it is concentration, confidence or dealing with pressure, I am not 100% sure. We just have to make sure we try to improve. We make too many mistakes in the field that have cost us. It cost us in the World Cup, here, Test matches. Just too many dropped catches. You can do all the drills in practice but the players have to catch the balls in the games. That is the bottom line.”Selector Habibul Bashar has a theory though. Last year, during the T20 World Cup, he said the fielders were making mistakes because the pressure was getting to them.”You can have a bad day in batting or bowling, but we have to be more consistent in our fielding. It becomes more pertinent in big tournaments. Misfielding ruins the team’s tempo. We are a better fielding side, but I really want to see a lot of improvement in this area.”We do a lot of fielding during training. When we play at home or in a big tournament, it is important to handle the psychological pressure. I think we miss out on handling that pressure. Some of our best fielders dropped the catches. We have to work on how to handle pressure moments, and take important catches in these moments.”Bangladesh, like many other Test teams, have struggled with DRS. Mominul Haque, the previous Test captain, had a tough time answering questions about why so many of his reviews turned out to be poor. Now it’s Shakib Al Hasan’s turn.A bowling line-up that doesn’t have an X-factor – like a bowler with 90kph pace or someone really world-class – needs to be patient to take wickets. But that only works if you have a good fielding unit, one that can compensate for missing skillset by taking all its catches.Winning Test matches is hard enough when your batting is as inconsistent as Bangladesh’s. Now their fielding standards are in decline too, leading to a situation where the captains are exasperated and the coaches are dumbfounded. Cricket is a team game but this is an individual problem. Unless each and every player in that dressing room commits to being better, there will be more edges missed, more catches dropped and more reviews wasted.

Armaan Jaffer and Sarfaraz Khan joined in the fun as Mumbai ended day one in a commanding position

Himanshu Agrawal06-Jun-2022You don’t have to watch Suved Parkar for long to be reminded of Ajinkya Rahane.There is the elbow guard, of course, but also the chin nudging the raised left shoulder while watching the bowler run in. And on Monday, the resemblance perhaps seemed even greater because it was Rahane’s birthday. But beyond the mannerisms, there’s the shared characteristic – the understated calm. Debut first-class century in the bag, Parkar took off his helmet off and raised his bat to the dressing room, no big show. Otherwise, too, he radiated equanimity.Parkar had arrived at the crease when Mumbai were 64 for 2, with both openers surrendering good starts. His first ask was to see out the eight balls that remained until lunch. He got a single. Easily done.For company, Parkar had the young – and also inexperienced – Armaan Jaffer. Initially, they focused on steadying the ship. So Uttarakhand captain Jay Bista, no stranger to being around Mumbai batters who can grind the opposition to the ground, to direct Akash Madhwal to shift to a short-ball strategy; 20 overs into the innings, he stationed a leg gully, a backward short-leg, a fine leg and a deep square-leg, while getting Madhwal to operate from around the wicket to both right-hand batters.Madhwal banged it in short. Jaffer and Parkar were being cramped for room, but they managed to keep the ball down each time Madhwal got one to climb at them. There was no apparent discomfort, and in the 23rd over, Jaffer pulled Madhwal to the deep square-leg boundary. That put an end to the short-ball barrage plan.Spin was introduced for the first time after 24 overs, and when left-armer Swapnil Singh dropped one short from around the wicket, Jaffer pulled him for six, with the ball threatening to land on a car parked beyond the boundary.Century-makers Darfaraz Khan and Suved Parkar have a mid-pitch conference•ESPNcricinfo LtdThis was a partnership built on the foundation of blocks and leaves, but every now and then came a shot of aggression. If Jaffer creamed a cover drive and punch-flicked a back-of-a-length ball wide of mid-on, Parkar opened his bat face deftly to pick up a boundary behind square.Both rode their luck on the way. On 35, a drive away from the body from Jaffer, found the outside edge only for the ball to evade first slip’s reach. There was no one at second slip. In the next over – the 36th of Mumbai’s innings – Swapnil tumbled to his left and dropped a catch off his own bowling when Parkar was on 18. With only six first-class matches for Jaffer before this one and none for Parkar, this was just the fortune they needed to be brave.At the start of the 43rd over, when their stand was worth 75 in 164 balls, Jaffer and Parkar shifted gears. The next three overs, bowled by Dikshanshu Negi and Mayank Mishra, brought 31 runs, as Jaffer pulled, lofted and drove, while Parkar twice went over the bowler’s head and cleared the straight boundary.Jaffer crossed fifty in the process; he had earlier smashed 125 in Mumbai’s innings win against Odisha in the group stage. Another quiet phase followed, after which Jaffer ended up edging Deepak Dhapola to second slip for 60. That ended a partnership of 112 in 37.2 overs.It was just the cue for another to begin.Sarfaraz Khan arrived at the crease and clattered three boundaries in his first seven balls. Not influenced, Parkar continued to tick the scoreboard over, playing his own game at his own tempo.After that frenetic start, Sarfaraz quietened down as Uttarakhand’s discipline improved over the next dozen or so overs. But for how long can you really keep Sarfaraz quiet? From 24 off 50 balls, he raced to his half-century, scoring 26 off the next 23 balls.At the other end, having busied himself with the task of accumulating singles and ensuring Mumbai didn’t lose their way, Parkar faced Madhwal when on 94. Madhwal pitched short and wide of off, and Parkar rose on his toes and punched to beat deep backward point to his left to move to 98. Three balls later, Madhwal went full and on the stumps, and Parkar clipped it wide of mid-on; or, more precisely, drove it wide of mid-on, with the full face of the bat meeting the ball right under his nose. Another little flash of Rahane, in the way the ball sped off his bat despite there being little to no follow-through.Sarfaraz Khan has scored 620 runs this season, at an average of 155.00, and he shows no signs of stopping•PTI Mid-on gave up the chase, and just beyond the boundary, Mumbai’s players rose to their feet. Off came Parkar’s helmet, and up went his bat.Four overs later, Parkar walked off the field, unbeaten on 104 off 218 balls. With him was Sarfaraz, batting on 69 off 104. The two of them and Jaffer had put Mumbai in a commanding position at 304 for 3.Jaffer is often remembered as his uncle Wasim’s nephew; but as he did as a 13-year-old back in 2010, he could yet smash records with the sort of skill and temperament he displayed against Uttarakhand.Sarfaraz, another schools-cricket prodigy back in the day, came into this game with scores of 275, 63, 48 and 165 in his four previous Ranji Trophy innings. By the end of the day’s play, he had 620 runs for the season – at an average of 155.00 – and was only four runs away from displacing Chetan Bist on top of the season’s run charts.By scoring a century on first-class debut for Mumbai, Parkar emulated a feat Rahane had achieved 14 years ago. Rahane apart, Parkar joined a list featuring Sachin Tendulkar, his captain Prithvi Shaw, and his coach Amol Muzumdar, among others.If he felt he’d done something special, he didn’t show it. “There is nothing different, you just have to show patience,” was how he summed it up.Parkar is only 21, while Jaffer is 23 and Sarfaraz 24. Who knows what the future holds?

Coming back after a 42-day break from cricket, he was India’s joint top-scorer without ever finding his fluency

Shashank Kishore28-Aug-2022The noise levels had soared by several decibels as Virat Kohli walked out to bat, third ball of India’s chase. As he stood marking his guard, the giant screen played a package of his imperious cover-driving against Mohammad Amir during the 2016 Asia Cup. Kohli took a fleeting glance at it before settling into his stance.As the first delivery tailed in, he left it alone, trusting the bounce. He looked at the spot from where the ball had lifted, giving it a wry smile. The surface was a little tacky. There was grip if the bowlers were willing to dig it in, like Hardik Pandya had done during Pakistan’s innings. Ravindra Jadeja had got it to turn sharply from leg to off. With India chasing only 148, maybe this was Kohli’s opportunity to dig in and not go after the bowling straightaway, despite the chatter around intent and India’s new batting template.Related

Virat Kohli: 'Time away from game taught me a lot, when I came back I wasn't desperate'

Kohli 'made a conscious effort to strike at a higher pace' but rush of wickets forced slowdown

Dravid: With Virat, people get a bit obsessed with statistics

India vs Pakistan – cricket, not hype, takes centre stage ahead of Round 2

Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli: one flies as the other fights

Kohli was returning from a month-long break where he hadn’t picked up a bat. His ferocious intensity can lift the team. It can lift the entire stadium. As it did when he was among the first players to bound out to the nets in India’s first training session four days ago.Starting Wednesday, whatever he’s done on the field has been closely captured, reeled, storied, and shared widely: his towering hits, his exchanges with Babar Azam, his 50-metre sprints, the goals he’s scored in warm-up football.On Sunday too, he was among the first to walk out for India’s pre-match routines. The pleasantries with the opponents were done. He was a picture of concentration amid the noise. He took throwdowns initially, and then proceeded towards the boundary edge to take some catches. Within 10 minutes, Kohli was in and out. He wasn’t going to drain himself in the afternoon heat.It was a big occasion. His 100th T20I. He was about to become only the second player, after Ross Taylor, to play as many games in all three formats. Rahul Dravid invited Kohli to give the team a pep talk. He spoke passionately, and the huddle dispersed with a chorus of claps. With that, Kohli’s comeback was officially underway.He had played just four T20Is this year prior to this game. He hasn’t been a part of India’s changing template consistently, and so there’s this matter of having to buy into the philosophy, and then fit into it, which can be easier said than done. Perhaps it would have been a cakewalk for the Kohli of 2016, when he could flick on a switch and kill chases with ridiculous ease. Or blast his way out of the blocks while batting first and smash both pace and spin.Back to the present, though.It’s the second ball of his innings. Kohli’s instincts draw him into a drive. Except the ball isn’t quite there and it hits the seam and nips away. By the time Kohli has played the ball, he knows he’s in trouble, but a diving Fakhar Zaman grasses the chance at slip to the collective despair of the western block of the stadium, which is dominated by Pakistan fans in green.You begin to imagine what could have been had the chance been taken. ‘Kohli out for duck after opening up about mental-health struggles’? ‘Kohli’s much-anticipated return ends in damp squib’? There was potential for an explosion of headlines, memes and judgments. But luck has smiled on Kohli and he gets off strike next ball with a nudge to fine leg. He is off the mark.Virat Kohli slowed down against spin before chipping Mohammad Nawaz straight to long-off•AFP/Getty ImagesNow he’s up against Shahnawaz Dahani, the reason why Pakistan are defending 147 rather than 135. Kohli plays out three dots and then mistimes a lofted hit that plonks into the outfield after beating mid-off. Dahani is quick and zippy, and Kohli hasn’t managed to get him away. Whether he feels it or not, you feel the pressure.Square leg is in, and fine leg is out. The short ball could be coming, and it does. Kohli belts out a roar after getting into excellent position to wallop it to the midwicket boundary. He’s up and running.Or is he? Next ball, Kohli gets a thick inside edge. On another night, this may have rolled onto the stumps. Tonight it rolls down to short fine leg. India, 10 for 1 after two overs, have made a nervy start.It remains that way. KL Rahul is gone, Rohit Sharma is scratchy. In the next over, Kohli top-edges Haris Rauf for six over the keeper’s head. More luck. Surely it’s his night?Kohli is chewing gum, smiling, fist-bumping Rohit. The ball isn’t always flying where he wants it to, but he’s still in the contest. There’s a sliced drive over backward point off Dahani in the fifth over. He had been looking to go over cover only for his bat to turn in his hands.Multiple times over the last two years, Kohli has played imperious innings that haven’t lasted as long as they promised to. This innings is promising to be different – scratchy but enduring. But then he flicks a switch and plays a majestic flat-batted pull over wide mid-on. He stands and admires the shot until the ball crosses the boundary, and turns back to look at the replay on the giant screen. He’s nailed it off the sweetest spot on his bat.It’s been a perfectly imperfect Kohli knock – hard to categorise in any way.But in some respects, we’ve seen this innings before. At the end of the powerplay, he’s batting on 29 off 24. Then the spinners come on and the fields spread. Against Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, he scores 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1. In that time, India lose Rohit. A seemingly straightforward chase is turning rather tricky.Then Kohli steps out, and chips Nawaz straight to long-off. Just like that, his stay is over. A perfectly imperfect end to a perfectly imperfect innings.