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Key players, squads, schedule and salaries – all your questions answered in one place

Sruthi Ravindranath03-Nov-20208:20

Women’s T20 Challenge: A stage for young Indian talent to shine

When and where will the Women’s T20 challenge take place?This tournament, like previous editions, will take place during the IPL playoffs. The three teams – Supernovas, Velocity and Trailblazers – are set to play three matches between November 4 and 9 in Sharjah, with the final scheduled on November 9 at the same venue. Three matches start at 7.30 IST (6pm local time). The only day game will be the second one, which will begin at 3.30pm IST (2pm local time), on November 5. Like the eight IPL franchises, the women’s contingent also underwent a mandatory six-day quarantine at the team hotel in addition to being tested at regular intervals. They were allowed to train only after that.Why is this year’s edition important?Though short, this tournament is significant for women’s cricket. The T20 World Cup earlier this year was a huge success and was expected to have a knock-on effect for the women’s game around the globe. Last year’s T20 Challenge was in Jaipur and had a good crowd turnout. However, the coronavirus pandemic meant everything came to a standstill. The India Women’s team hasn’t played any competitive cricket since the T20 World Cup final against Australia on March 8, and it increasingly began to look like the players wouldn’t have any top-flight cricket for the remainder of the year. This tournament, then, could be one of the few competitive games they play.For the longest time, it was also unclear if the tournament was on until the BCCI confirmed the squads in October. This could have probably been a bigger event – the BCCI said in February it would involve four teams – had it not been for the pandemic. Mithali Raj, one of the three captains, welcomed the tournament, despite its clash with Australia’s WBBL, calling it a “relief”.The T20 Challenge is a platform for talented players to make a mark and spend time with non-India internationals. Teenager Shafali Verma was among the brightest players in last year’s tournament; it got her a maiden T20I call-up for the series against South Africa later that year and she has continued to impress since.Smriti Mandhana goes for the big one•BCCIA title sponsorFor the first time ever, the tournament will have an exclusive sponsor, with Jio bagging the rights. Getting a title sponsor could hint at the BCCI possibly exploring the branding potential of the tournament. If successful, it could mean bigger things to come.How does the clash with the WBBL affect the T20 Challenge?The WBBL, which began on October 25, features several of the game’s top players from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; all of them will miss the WT20 Challenger. Players from Australia – the largest overseas contingent in the one-off exhibition match in 2018 – and South Africa had missed the 2019 edition too. However, Bangladesh, West Indies, Sri Lanka and England players will feature this season. Seven of the 12 overseas players will feature in the tournament for the first time.What are the three teams like, how do they stack up against each other? Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj will once again lead the three teams – Trailblazers, Supernovas and Velocity.Two-time champions Supernovas have a strong Indian batting line-up led by Kaur, with Jemimah Rodrigues, who was Player of the Series in 2019, offspinner Anuja Patil and wicketkeeper-batter Taniya Bhatia. Their spinners Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav are among the top 10 in the T20 bowling charts. Their overseas contingent has Sri Lankan captain Chamari Atapattu and former captain Shashikala Siriwardene, experienced West Indies seam bowler Shekera Selman and the South Africa quick Ayabonga Khaka.Supernovas squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues (vice-capt), Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka, Muskan Malik
Coach: Mamatha MabenLast year’s runners-up Velocity are a mix of youth and experience. Captain Raj aside, they have the likes of middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy, wicketkeeper-batter Sushma Verma and pace-bowling allrounder Shikha Pandey, all India caps. They will team up with South Africa’s Sune Luus, New Zealand’s Leigh Kasperek, England’s Danni Wyatt and Bangladesh’s Jahanara Alam. The uncapped Meghna Joshi has been named a replacement for India pacer Mansi Joshi, who had tested positive for Covid-19. They also have Verma and 21-year-old uncapped offspinner Sushree Dibyadarshini.Velocity squad: Mithali Raj (capt), Veda Krishnamurthy (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Sushma Verma (wk), Ekta Bisht, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Sushree Dibyadarshini, Manali Dakshini, Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, Sune Luus, Jahanara Alam, M Anagha, Meghna Singh
Coach: Suman SharmaMandhana’s Trailblazers have England’s Sophie Ecclestone, the No. 1-ranked T20I bowler, West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin, Bangladesh captain Salma Khatun, and India fast bowler Jhulan Goswami in their ranks. They also have Thailand batter Nattakan Chantam, who made an impression with her strokeplay during her team’s maiden T20 World Cup appearance in Australia earlier this year. The Indian contingent includes allrounder Deepti Sharma, opener Punam Raut and youngsters Harleen Deol and Richa Ghosh.Trailblazers squad: Smriti Mandhana (capt), Deepti Sharma (vice-capt), Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D Hemalatha, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simran Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Nattakan Chantam, Deandra Dottin, Kashvee Gautam
Coach: Nandita AdhiyaShafali Verma clubs one to the off side•BCCIWhat is the schedule of matches?Supernovas vs Velocity, November 4
Velocity vs Trailblazers, November 5
Trailblazers vs Supernovas, November 7
Final, November 9The second game is the only one which takes place on an IPL match day, with the first Qualifier set to take place on November 5 between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals. That is why this will be the only day game in the Women’s T20 Challenge.Who are the uncapped India players to look out for?Kashvee Gautam (Trailblazers): The 17-year-old Chandigarh pacer made headlines after she picked up all ten wickets – including a hat-trick – in an innings in the Women’s U-19 One-Day Trophy earlier this year. Having done well in U-19 and U-23 tournaments before, this is her first appearance in the T20 Challenge.Ayushi Soni (Supernovas): The 20-year-old Delhi allrounder captained a successful India B side at the U-23 Challenger Trophy last year.Sushree Dibyadarshini (Velocity): The offspinner made a mark on her T20 Challenge debut last year when she snuffed out West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor in her second over and finished with figures of 3-1-14-1. The 23-year-old features regularly for India A.Can we expect big scores?The Sharjah pitch was a batting paradise for teams in the first half of IPL 2020, which saw totals in excess of 200. However, there was a marked slowing down of the surface as the tournament went on.How much are the players being paid?ESPNcricinfo understands that the match fee of a section of overseas players is estimated to be around USD 2500 per player per game, and a daily allowance of around INR 5000 INR (USD 67 approx.). All Indians, uncapped or otherwise, were understood to have been paid a base amount of at least INR 1 lakh last year as match fee, but the numbers for this year are not known.

South Africa’s batsmen outperform bowlers, Australians below par, and Rashid flies high

Sruthi Ravindranath13-Nov-2020England take the honoursEngland’s players made a huge impact for their respective sides in IPL 2020, scoring high on several Smart Stats parameters. Among countries who had five or more players in the tournament, England’s players had the highest average impact per player per match – an impact rating of 37.1. Their batting impact rating of 38 was also the highest for any country, while their bowling impact rating of 17.86 was the second highest, among countries with at least five representatives.ESPNcricinfo LtdJofra Archer, who was IPL 2020’s Most Valuable Player, had a Smart Economy of 4.24, the second best overall and the best among pace bowlers. He took 20 wickets in the tournament, which were worth 26.8 Smart Wickets. Archer carried the Rajasthan Royals bowling almost single-handedly, but his England and Royals team-mates Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes made some important contributions with the bat. Buttler had a Smart Strike Rate of 150.88, whereas his conventional strike rate was 144.49. The only England player with a better Smart Strike than Buttler was Eoin Morgan, who had a Smart Strike Rate of 152.45, the tenth best among all batsmen in IPL 2020, given a minimum of 100 balls faced.Sam Curran was the standout performer in the out-of-sorts Chennai Super Kings team this season. He excelled with both bat and ball, a fact brought out clearly through Smart Stats. His 13 wickets were worth 16.6 Smart Wickets, while his Smart Strike Rate of 139.2 was the second best for the Super Kings, given a minimum of 20 balls faced. Among the England players who didn’t hit top gear but had a couple of good outings nonetheless were Jonny Bairstow and Chris Jordan, while the likes of Moeen Ali, Tom Banton and Tom Curran warmed the benches for a majority of the tournament.Ain’t no party like a West Indies batting partyNobody does T20 batting better than the West Indies players, and even the numbers say so. The West Indies players in IPL 2020 had an average Smart Strike Rate of 166.44 this season, miles ahead of other nationalities. Given at least five representatives, the second best Smart Strike Rate from a country was South Africa’s 150. Kieron Pollard’s eye-popping conventional strike rate of 191.42 translated to a Smart Strike Rate of 224.06, the best in the season – without qualification. Archer is next with 203.7, but he faced only 63 balls this season. Nicholas Pooran is the only other batsman with a Smart Strike Rate of over 200, clocking in at 200.73, whereas his conventional strike rate was 169.71. Most of the West Indies brigade scored high on Smart Strike Rates. Shimron Hetmyer and Sunil Narine both finished at over 140, while Andre Russell, who didn’t have as much impact as expected, still had a Smart Strike Rate of 155, with his cameos coming in crucial phases, even if they didn’t last too long.ESPNcricinfo LtdChris Gayle made a belated, but spectacular, entry into the second half of the tournament. His inclusion sparked a turnaround for Kings XI Punjab, who won five straight games once he was included in the XI, before losing the last two. Gayle’s only real failure came in the last league match against the Super Kings, when he laboured to 12 off 19. That caused his Smart Stats numbers to dip a little, and his eventual Smart Runs (287) and Smart Strike Rate (132.22) were slightly below his conventional numbers (288 runs at 137.14).Boult keeps the New Zealand flag flying highNew Zealand’s bowlers had the most impact (minimum five players from one team) on their respective sides this season, with a bowling impact rating of 24. Trent Boult ruled the powerplay this season with 16 wickets in the phase, and was significant in Mumbai Indians’ triumph. Expectedly, he was one of the major contributors to the high rating. His 25 wickets this season were worth close to 31 Smart Wickets, since he consistently dismissed top-order batsmen early. New Zealand’s five bowers took a total of 35 wickets in the tournament, which were worth 42.51 Smart Wickets. Lockie Ferguson instantly impressed after being brought into the Kolkata Knight Riders’ starting XI in their ninth game, and he also contributed to the impact New Zealand’s bowlers had, with his Smart Economy of 7.16.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe New Zealand batsmen didn’t fare as well though, with their average batting impact rating of 20 being the lowest among countries who had at least five representatives. Kane Williamson was consistently good, though, as both his Smart Runs (331.7) and Smart Strike Rate (140) show, both higher than his conventional runs and strike rate (317 and 133.76).Udana, the lone representative from Sri LankaSri Lanka had just one representative in the tournament in Isuru Udana, who was signed at his base price by the Royal Challengers. He featured regularly for them this season, and made useful contributions with the ball. The eight wickets he took were worth 9.16 Smart Wickets, but his Smart Economy of 10.67 was much higher than his conventional figure of 9.72.Rashid Khan, the unstoppable forceWithout considering any cut-offs in terms of number of players from a country, Afghanistan led the charts thanks to the superlative performances of Rashid Khan. Although Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also featured in IPL 2020, they played just three matches combined and went wicketless in them. Afghanistan’s high rating is all down to Rashid, with a bowling impact average of 42.85, and a player impact average of 45.00. Rashid picked up 20 wickets, worth 22.54 Smart Wickets. His conventional economy rate of 5.38 was stunning enough, but his Smart Economy figure of 3.81 was astonishing. Not surprisingly, he had the best Smart Economy in the tournament.ESPNcricinfo LtdSouth Africa bowlers make merry…but impact?Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje finished with a combined 52 wickets, Quinton de Kock piled on more than 500 runs, Faf du Plessis was the Super Kings’ highest run-scorer, Chris Morris gave the Royal Challengers’ bowling a much-needed lift and AB de Villiers was, well, AB de Villiers. However, the Smart numbers say that not all these performances were equally weighty. South Africa’s bowlers took 74 wickets in the season, but that translated to only 70.91 Smart Wickets, which meant they were the only country whose Smart Wickets tally was fewer than the conventional one.Rabada was the highest wicket-taker of the season, but according to the Smart Stats algorithm – which quantifies the pressure, the opposition batsman/bowler and the situation the player finds himself in at every ball of the innings – his tally of Smart Wickets (26.54) is lower than the actual wickets he took (30). That is because Rabada got a lot of wickets towards the back end of the innings, where they usually count for a lot less than at the start. Similarly, Morris’ Smart Wickets and Nortje’s Smart Economy also see a dip against their conventional numbers.The batting held up, thanks to de Villiers and de Kock’s spectacular returns. South Africa had the third-best average batting impact, behind England and West Indies, clocking in at 31.8. They also had the second-best Smart Strike Rate at 150. The value of de Villiers’ knocks is evident when his already elite conventional strike rate of 158.74 translated to a stunning Smart Strike Rate of 174.82. He scored 454 runs in the tournament, which swelled to 500 Smart Runs. de Kock also had better Smart numbers than conventional ones. He had 523.51 Smart Runs (503 runs) and a Smart Strike Rate of 146.23 (strike rate 140.5).A dull season for the AustraliansAustralia had the largest overseas contingent this season with 17 players, but their impact was spread thin. The Australians’ batting impact was a middling 25.79 and their bowling impact of 9.43 was the lowest among all teams. The batting impact suffered due to several big names not having great returns in this season. David Warner started tepidly and then found his groove, but the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Josh Philippe had a tournament to forget, while Steven Smith and Shane Watson had only the odd good performance.Australia’s bowlers also proved expensive, with 12 bowlers tallying a combined Smart Economy of 8.75, the most expensive for teams with at least five representatives. Pat Cummins went wicketless in eight of 14 matches for the Knight Riders, while the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa did well but didn’t get too many opportunities due to team combinations. Chris Lynn and Billy Stanlake didn’t get a single game, although the Mumbai Indians’ fast-bowling duo of Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Pattinson had decent outings.The player that stood out was Marcus Stoinis. The allrounder made 352 runs in 17 matches at a Smart Strike Rate of 159.71 (conventional strike rate 148.52), the highest among all Australians. He also picked up 13 wickets in as many matches but was on the expensive side, with an economy rate of 9.54, which translated into 10.42 in Smart Economy terms.

All the statistical highlights from one of India’s worst efforts with the bat in T20Is

Sampath Bandarupalli29-Jul-202181 for 8 India’s total in the third T20I was their third-lowest in the format and their lowest against Sri Lanka. India’s previous lowest T20I total against Sri Lanka was 101 all-out in Pune in 2016.81 for 8 It was also the second-lowest total made by a Full Member side while batting through all 20 overs in a T20I. The lowest is West Indies’ 79 for 7 while chasing 106 against Zimbabwe in 2010.4 for 9 Wanidu Hasaranga’s bowling figures were the best against India in men’s T20Is. The previous best was 4 for 11 by Mitchell Santner for New Zealand in Nagpur during the 2016 World T20.2 Hasaranga is also only the second player to take a four-wicket haul on their birthday in men’s T20Is. Imran Tahir celebrated his 35th birthday with figures of 4 for 21 against Netherlands in 2014.1 The 2-1 series win was Sri Lanka’s maiden T20I series victory over India. It is also Sri Lanka’s first series win in any format against India since their 2-1 victory in a home Test series in 2008.0 Sixes struck by India in the third T20I, the first time they failed to clear the ropes in a T20I after playing out the full 20 overs. They only hit four boundaries in all, their fewest in a 20-over innings in T20Is. Their previous lowest was eight boundaries (seven fours and a six) during the second T20I on Wednesday.3.30 Economy rate of Sri Lanka’s spinners, the second-best for a Full Member team’s spinners in a men’s T20I (minimum: 10 overs). Bangladesh recorded the best effort against Afghanistan in 2014, when their spinners bowled 12.1 overs for the cost of only 37 runs, at an economy rate of 3.08.4.72 The two teams’ combined run rate in the third T20I, the second-lowest in a completed men’s T20I game involving two Full Member teams. The lowest is 4.61 during the T20I between West Indies and Zimbabwe in 2010 at Port of Spain.

They were up against it after losing two key tosses, but their anchor-heavy, allrounder-light structure made it even harder for them to compete

Sidharth Monga01-Nov-20212:47

Gambhir: India have all the skills but not the mental toughness

There was a Virat Kohli press conference before Virat Kohli press conference. Kohli was asked if Rohit Sharma should be left out for Ishan Kishan. Kohli, speaking from a seat of power, mocked him at the mere thought. The reporter had no shout at a counter. Social media went berserk. King Kohli had “bodied” an ignoramus. Fire emojis. Taught him a lesson. Gangsta memes. What “self-control” from the skipper to not go harder at the gentleman.Related

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The joke, however, is on anyone who, in 2021, thinks it’s blasphemy to suggest that maybe, just maybe, a T20 XI is not big enough for both Rohit and Kohli. They are both anchors who have an ordinary record against spin in T20 cricket over recent years. If they bat together, both ends can get stuck. They work for their IPL teams because they are the only such batters in their XIs. Kohli has AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell to score quick runs. Rohit’s whole line-up is dynamic. Rohit and Kohli are important to an XI to guard against collapses and difficult pitches, but two of them is a luxury, and jeopardy if they end up batting together.To be fair to them, India are not on the brink of elimination because of them, but the fact that it is such a crime to even question their presence in a T20 XI tells you about the structure of India’s squads and attitude to T20Is.India were in luck this year, though. If ever there was a World Cup where their anchor-heavy structure could work, it was this one. This was a squad built for games where 150 is par. They had the bowlers for the slow pitches of the UAE, and the batters for risk-free accumulation. That’s why they were one of the favourites.In an ironic twist of luck, though, India found themselves in the group of sudden death, on pitches that changed character dramatically during the course of the match. These pitches were already used extensively during the IPL, but 6pm starts in October in desert conditions give chasing sides a huge advantage with heavy dew setting in after the first innings. By the time India lost to New Zealand, 13 of the 16 Super 12s games had been won by chasing sides. Of the three successful defences, two came against Namibia and Scotland, and the third against Bangladesh was won by three runs by West Indies.In a group with three clear contenders fighting for two semi-final spots, and where these three teams are facing each other at the start, there is no room for error or bad luck. If you lose a match early in the other group, you can hope for other teams to help you out. Here you’d need a major upset to get such help.2:04

Bumrah: We played a lot of attacking shots that didn’t come off

Batting first in T20s is considered a difficult task, but when conditions are such, you need to do extraordinary things to stay in the competition. Even West Indies – who possess better team structure and understanding of the format than India – have not been able to compete, winning one out of three games after losing the toss. Their win over Bangladesh was in an afternoon match, a possible equaliser India didn’t have access to because all their games are played at primetime.To ignore the role of luck in such a short format will be unfair on the teams. Against New Zealand India did try, within their limitations, to do what they could to counter the loss of the toss. They knew 140 was not going to be enough, so they were willing to risk 110 while looking for 170. They opened with Kishan to break up the two right-hand batters who allowed Pakistan to bowl two left-arm bowlers upfront. Just how Pakistan had Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imad Wasim, New Zealand had a similar combination of Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner who could tie right-hand batters up. Also, India wanted quick runs in the powerplay because they knew how difficult it could get in the middle overs.It didn’t work out, but there was clear attacking intent. Kishan and KL Rahul were slightly unlucky to find the only boundary rider on the leg side, but both Rohit and Kohli played uncharacteristic innings to look to balance the toss disadvantage. Rohit, who likes to get in before playing big shots, tried to hit a six first ball. Kohli, who barely attacked spinners in the middle overs in the entire UAE leg of the IPL, slogged the sixth ball he faced and kept looking to go inside-out through the covers as opposed to his usual approach of taking risk-free singles.Both eventually got out trying to hit sixes, which points to noble intent, but with their struggle it was also apparent they were playing unfamiliar roles, batting in a manner they would otherwise only reserve for worst-case scenarios. India’s team structure is not built for those scenarios. The pitch made it even more difficult.The biggest partnership of the innings was between Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, but when the selectors picked this squad, they were hoping for a different kind of partnership between the two. They were hoping they would regularly share four overs between them, saving each other from unfavourable match-ups. That hasn’t happened.Jadeja has made a remarkable comeback to India’s white-ball sides, but he’s probably being asked to do too much in this line-up. In his last 16 matches for Chennai Super Kings, he’s only bowled 49 overs, as one of usually six bowling options in their XI. Having those options allows Super Kings to use him when the match-ups are favourable. Because of the mystery surrounding Pandya’s fitness, however, India played Jadeja as a full-fledged fifth bowler. That leaves them with a thin attack that can make any captain look ordinary on the field.The BCCI needs to investigate why the selectors believed Pandya was fit to bowl four overs in each game when they announced the squad, and why Mumbai Indians were less than forthcoming about his fitness status. Did Pandya take his fitness tests at the NCA as others do when they come back from injury? Did Pandya’s IPL team tell the BCCI whether this was a new injury or a relapse?The uncertainty around Hardik Pandya’s bowling fitness left India with only five bowling options•AFP/Getty ImagesNot that India had all-round options knocking on the door once they learnt Pandya wasn’t going to bowl, though. The selectors had to choose between hedging their bets with a less-than-ideal allrounder and banking on Pandya’s primary skill, which is death-overs hitting. They went with the latter, which, in the circumstances, was not unreasonable.At any rate, no selection or structure can guarantee you success against the odds that sides batting first in this tournament have faced. You can only hope to be able to compete if you are asked to bat first. That India have not been able to compete is not down to lack of bravery, as Kohli said, but a lack of role clarity. The Super Kings and Mumbai Indians T20 empires run on the basic formula of identifying the right roles for their players and then letting them play that role again and again, never mind early failures.India’s post-Kohli T20 leadership will have to ensure the same. They will also have to ensure that they don’t select too many batters who fulfill similar roles in their IPL teams, leaving them wondering where to bat them. They will have to make it rewarding to do well in the middle order even though that may not result in numbers that are as sexy as those the openers churn out. They will have to re-evaluate how much their batters value their wickets. Finding allrounders, extreme pace and left-arm swing is a matter of luck, but they have Jasprit Bumrah and spinners to build around; can they tap into the potential of someone like Umran Malik?All told, the reality is that India are heading towards their first failure to make the semi-finals of an ICC event since 2012. But it is not a disaster for Indian cricket. It is a year in which they have achieved incredible things in whites. While mentioning the lack of an ICC title since 2013, do note that winning ICC trophies involves more luck than winning four-Test bilateral series away from home. It’s not to say that a restructure of India’s T20 cricket has not been long overdue, but only early tournament exits tend to facilitate such change.

Also: what is the record for the most ducks in a first-class innings?

Steven Lynch01-Mar-2022Yash Dhull played his first first-class match last week, and made 113 in both innings. Has this happened before? asked Sanjit Srivastava from Canada, and many others
In his first match since leading India to victory over England in the Under-19 World Cup in Antigua, the exciting Delhi prospect Yash Dhull marked his first-class debut by scoring 113 and 113 not out against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy in Guwahati.Dhull is the ninth to score twin centuries on his first-class debut, but the first of those to make the same score in both innings. The previous record for a debutant was two scores of 56, by Bert “Poddy” Davie for Tasmania against Victoria in Launceston in February 1922, almost exactly 100 years before Dhull’s effort.Overall, there had been 24 previous instances of a player making the same score of 100 or more in both innings of a first-class game. The highest such double is 146 (run out) and 146 (not out), by John Langridge for Sussex against Derbyshire in Worthing in 1949. The highest in Tests is a brace of 105s by Duleep Mendis for Sri Lanka against India in Madras in 1982-83.Who was the first man to score two centuries in the same Test? asked David Johnson from Ireland
Scoring two centuries in a Test has become relatively commonplace (it has been achieved 87 times now) but the first instance – and the only one in the first 45 years of Test cricket – was by the durable Australian Warren Bardsley, who made 136 and 130 for Australia against England at The Oval in 1909. Seventeen years later, aged 43, Bardsley carried his bat for 193 against England at Lord’s.In the first innings of a recent Ranji Trophy match, five Mumbai batters were out for ducks – was this a record? asked Siddharth from India
Mumbai’s five duck-makers in the first innings of their match against Goa in Ahmedabad last week might be relieved to know they are well short of the record. There are many instances of six ducks in an innings (the most recent by Sussex – who still totalled 300 – against Derbyshire in Hove last September), and 34 cases of seven, the most recent by Sui Southern Gas against Multan in Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Multan in September 2018.But there are eight first-class innings that contained eight ducks, most of them in the far-distant past. The most recent of these came in July 1942, when Barbados skittled Trinidad for 16 in Bridgetown, with medium-pacer Derek Sealy taking 8 for 8. Trinidad’s openers made 13 between them, but all the other batters were out for 0, apart from Gerry Gomez who remained undefeated with 3.The previous instance of eight ducks in an innings came during a famous County Championship match in 1922, when Warwickshire dismissed Hampshire for 15 at Edgbaston: Hampshire followed on, made 521, and won by 155 runs.Hazratullah Zazai’s 236-run stand with Usman Ghani against Ireland is the highest partnership for the first wicket in a T20 match•Getty ImagesMultan Sultans had two hundred partnerships in their innings in a recent Pakistan Super League match. How rare is this? asked Sheraz Muzafar from Pakistan
In the match you’re talking about, for Multan Sultans against Quetta Gladiators in the PSL in Lahore last month, Mohammad Rizwan put on 119 for the first wicket with Shan Masood, then 103 for the second with the South African Rilee Rossouw, who clouted 71 from 26 balls. This was the 12th occasion that a senior T20 innings had contained two separate hundred partnerships.Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers put on 229 for RCB in an IPL game in 2016. Is this the highest in any T20 match? asked Peter Manford from England
That partnership of 229 came for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Lions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2016; Virat Kohli hit 109, and AB de Villiers 129 not out. It’s the overall IPL record, and the highest for the second wicket in all T20s – but there has been one higher opening partnership. For Afghanistan against Ireland in a T20I in Dehradun in February 2019, Hazratullah Zazai (162 not out, with 16 sixes) and Usman Ghani (73) put on 236 for the first wicket.In all, there have been 15 partnerships of 200 or more in senior T20 cricket, three of them in international matches.And there’s an update to one of last week’s questions, from Sameeranga Patwari from India
“Regarding the question about the most runs added after the loss of the fifth wicket, in one-day internationals the highest is actually 267, by New Zealand against Sri Lanka in Dunedin in January 2015. They were on the back foot at 93 for 5, but recovered to 360 for 5 – so added 267 – mainly thanks to the No. 7 Luke Ronchi, who scored 170 not out.”This is correct, so I’m sorry for misleading everyone last week – I must have entered something incorrectly when I did the search for ODIs. There was another instance higher than the two I mentioned: in Chennai in June 2007, the Asian XI were 72 for 5 against Africa, before Mahela Jayawardene (107) and MS Dhoni (139 not out), lifted them to 331 for 8. For what I believe is now the correct list, click here.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Dour application and discipline from MP’s top four kept Siddarth Kaul and co. at bay

Daya Sagar07-Jun-2022The first four overs of the day were all maidens. The first 11 yielded just 14 and not a single boundary. By the time a four was struck in the 30th over, the score had swelled to a grand total of 56 for no loss.In era of T20 cricket, the way Madhya Pradesh went about their batting would probably be classified as “super-slow”. The KSCA stadium in Alur is hosting three quarter finals of the Ranji Trophy, and while they just can’t stop scoring at Mumbai-Uttarakhand, Karnataka-Uttar Pradesh is just producing wickets by the bucketful. Over on the corner ground, there are no such events worth talking about between Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.For the Punjab bowlers, the lack of wickets was not down to lack of effort, but for their opposition, the slow run rate was a clear sign of game awareness and a considered strategy. One that helped them push ahead in the contest in the closing stages of the second day.For Punjab, the experienced new-ball pair of Siddarth Kaul and Baltej Singh started well after their batters had put together 219. There was a generous cloud cover and a breeze blowing cross-field, and Kaul and Baltej kept bowling in a good channel outside off, varying their lengths ever so slightly, to keep Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri quiet. A wicket looked imminent at all times. Punjab would have to wait till the 33rd over for their breakthrough, though, as Dubey fell to an injudicious slog-sweep against Mayank Markande.That was half of all the success Punjab would have as a bowling side on the day, with Madhya Pradesh finishing the day at 238, with a handy lead of 19. With eight wickets in hand and three whole days to play, they have the perfect opportunity to put this match beyond the reach of Punjab. While Madhya Pradesh managed a century, an 89 and a pair of round 20s on the day, the manner in which they scored these runs were a throwback to the best traditions of red-ball batting. They left as many balls as possible while it was new, and scored at a fairer clip once the bowlers had tired and the ball had softened. For Chandrakant Pandit’s wards, this was the perfect game-plan given the conditions and the match situation.The right-handed Dubey faced 89 balls for his 20 and didn’t hit a single boundary. He left so many deliveries outside off that it drove the Punjab bowlers to offering some loose balls, which his left-handed partner Mantri pounced on. Mantri was the more enterprising of the two, striking Vinay Choudhary for a couple of sixes in the first session. However, it was only after tea that he exhibited a wider repertoire of cuts, drives, flicks and inside out shots. His 89 was his first half-century in first-class cricket, and he would have been disappointed with his mode of dismissal, when in sight of a century, stumped off Markande.Their best batter of the day was No.3 Shubham Sharma, though, who struck nine fours and a six in a 211-ball 102 which oozed both control and discipline. Shubham had only three centuries in his first eight years since his debut in 2013, but this year he has already struck his third hundred in five innings. Like his predecessors, Shubham wasn’t ‘excessively slow’ in his approach and took full toll of all scoring opportunities at his disposal. Against the quicker bowlers, he was happy to respond with cuts, drives, back-foot punches, pulls and flicks, but used his feet well against the spinners.He was lucky too, with a couple of edges falling short of fielders when he tried to take the attack to the spinners. As they say, fortune favours the brave. Or in the case of the Madhya Pradesh batters on Tuesday, it smiled on the traditional and the disciplined.

“The next three or four weeks is going to be about challenging ourselves outside of our comfort zones,” says the middle-order batter

Firdose Moonda21-Nov-2022South Africa’s red-ball batters are trying to make themselves as uncomfortable as possible as they prepare for their three-Test series in Australia next month. All the Test batters, with the exception of white-ball captain Temba Bavuma, who has been given time off, will play in at least one of the three rounds of domestic first-class matches taking place before the squad leaves in early December.For Rassie van der Dussen, who is returning from a finger injury, which sidelined him for over two months, his training is as much about runs as it is about readying himself for a hostile reception in Australia.Related

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“The next three or four weeks is going to be about challenging ourselves outside of our comfort zones,” van der Dussen told ESPNcricinfo at the launch of the SA20 league recently. “When you go to Australia, from a skill point of view, they have some of the best in the world. Their bowlers hardly bowl any bad balls and keep you under pressure. And then, from a pressure point of view, the media, the crowds, it’s those kinds of things you need to expect when you go there, from what I have heard. So the next few weeks will be about pushing myself out of my comfort zone and making sure I address all those factors so, when I get there, I know I have done the hard yards and the uncomfortable yards in practice.”Van der Dussen, like most of the line-up barring captain Dean Elgar and Bavuma, has never played a Test match in Australia. South Africa have not toured Australia over the Christmas-New Year period since the 2008-9 season, when they won a series there for the first time. They have not lost a series in Australia since, but haven’t played Tests there since late 2016.That may suggest South Africa head to Australia with some advantage. But Australia are currently the top-ranked team on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. South Africa sit second, and one of the main reasons for it has been their bowling unit. In the current WTC cycle, South Africa’s attack has the best bowling average (22.98) and lowest strike rate among all teams, taking a wicket almost once every seven overs. Contrastingly, their batting has struggled. Only Bangladesh and West Indies have scored fewer runs than South Africa since July 2021, during which time South Africa have only crossed 300 five times in 19 innings, and gone past 400 just once. They have been bowled out for under 200 eight times and have the fewest number of centuries: two.

“Numbers-wise, we haven’t done what we have wanted to, which is to score more hundreds and get the team to 400-plus, but the Test Championship table shows that we’ve done all right”Rassie van der Dussen

Van der Dussen acknowledged that the numbers have not been up to standard, but he suggested that difficult conditions were somewhat to blame. “If you look at the averages of the batters, it’s not up there. But you have to see the context, in terms of the conditions we’ve played in for the last two years – it’s been very bowler-friendly. For example here (in South Africa) against India and in New Zealand and England.”Numbers-wise, we haven’t done what we have wanted to, which is to score more hundreds and get the team to 400-plus, but the Test Championship table shows that we’ve done all right. We’re sitting second and we will definitely look to improve.”Asked if the line-up’s inability to convert their starts into big scores was an indicator of a systemic problem, van der Dussen moved to quell serious concerns. “I am not worried. I know what we are about as a batting unit. I refer to some characters and backgrounds. I know the types of people we have in our batting line-up and the resilience we’ve shown,” he said. “There’s got to be a time when it’s going to click. We’ve got to keep doing the same things in training, keep doing the hard yards and the uncomfortable work and we’ve got to believe we are one innings away from your next big innings.”It feels like the idea of runs being just around the corner is a line South Africa consistently use. It was used when asked about South Africa’s dearth of hundreds or more recently, Bavuma’s form in T20 cricket and specifically at the recent World Cup. After missing South Africa’s tour to England because of an elbow injury, Bavuma returned to score 70 runs in five World Cup matches, the least among South Africa’s specialist batters, and with the lowest strike rate, apart from Tristan Stubbs (31 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 100.00).Rassie van der Dussen is hoping to get his white-ball place back after missing the T20 World Cup with a broken finger•Getty ImagesVan der Dussen backed Bavuma, and said strike rate could be over-rated at international events, where temperament was more important. “In domestic tournaments, strike rate, boundary count is a big thing. But sometimes the value of a calm head gets overlooked. I think people make too much of it at international cricket,” he said. “In domestic leagues, it’s a big thing, people want to see sixes being hit and a lot of action but when the pressure is on in an international tournament, I believe we need guys with calm heads and clear thoughts.”That’s what van der Dussen hoped that the likes of Bavuma, Elgar and he would provide to a Test squad that heads to Australia without their No.3, Keegan Petersen, who tore his hamstring in the domestic T20 competition. They also have an interim coach, Malibongwe Maketa, following Mark Boucher’s departure. They have added two back-up batters in Heinrich Klaasen and Theunis de Bruyn, who have 13 Test caps between them but have been playing professionally for a decade and eight years respectively.”If you look at the squad, we have guys who have been seasoned domestic cricketers for years and years,” he said. “It’s guys who have been around the block, maybe not in terms of number of Test matches played but we are hardened first-class cricketers and we are going to lean on that going to Australia. We hardly have any youngsters in the batting line-ups so it’s up to us to step up.”Klaasen, Elgar and wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne all warmed up with centuries in last week’s round of fixtures, where van der Dussen made his comeback. He scored 45 and 10 in his first match back and his progress is on track for the first Test in Brisbane which starts on December 17. “I’ve been batting for the last four weeks and I’ve been back to facing full bowlers for the last two weeks. It went better than I expected.”He was also aiming to get his white-ball place back after missing the T20 World Cup as he recovered from a broken finger, and would be in action for MI Cape Town in the SA20 before pushing for a place in South Africa’s ODI squad. “I like to think I will be back in the mix, seeing that I am fit again now,” he said. “I love white-ball cricket and I love the challenge of T20, and the tactical and strategic part of T20.”

“I see a bit of myself in him,” Lewis says of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who he is expected to open with at Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20

Deivarayan Muthu02-Jan-20231:41

Evin Lewis: ‘UAE players should use ILT20 as a stepping stone’

Evin Lewis has called West Indies’ first-round exit from the T20 World Cup in 2022 “a tough pill to swallow”, but says he has moved on and is ready for the inaugural ILT20, where he will represent Sharjah Warriors.During the T20 World Cup, Lewis had also sustained a hamstring injury, which sidelined him from the Super50, West Indies’ premier domestic one-day competition, but he is good to go now.Related

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“Yeah, it [the T20 World Cup] was a tough pill to swallow, to be honest,” Lewis told ESPNcricinfo. “I had the help of my family, which was the most important thing. When I came home, I tried not to dwell on it too much. These things can actually hurt you a lot if you go too deep into it. So, I had to give that responsibility to my family and the support that they’ve been giving me since I reached home… I’m very thankful for that.”I think I’m in a good space now – both fitness-wise and mentally. I’m happy with the way I’m going about my cricket at the moment. I think Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah – all these are pretty good wickets for batsmen. I think, as batsmen, we have to make the best use of it.”Lewis: ‘I see a bit of myself’ in Gurbaz
Lewis is particularly excited at the prospect of combining with Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top of the order for Warriors. Having watched him from close quarters at the CPL – Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Gurbaz played for Guyana Amazon Warriors last season – Lewis saw shades of his own attacking style.”I’m looking forward to batting with him [Gurbaz],” Lewis said. “He’s actually a great guy and as everyone knows, he’s a very aggressive batsman and probably someone who can take a bit of pressure off you [while] opening the batting. So, I’m looking forward to opening with him.”I see a bit of myself in him as he’s a guy who looks to get on with the game and tries to score as fast as possible in the powerplay to give the team a good start. So, I think that’s something teams look forward to as an opening batsman.”Evin Lewis and Rashid Khan were team-mates at St Kitts & Nevis Patriots last season•Getty ImagesLewis has played just 12 T20s in the UAE, returning 260 runs at a strike rate of 142.07, but he believes that his most recent T10 stint with Bangla Tigers in Abu Dhabi and the experience of having faced unorthodox spinners like Rashid Khan and Akila Dananjaya at the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots nets in CPL 2022 will hold him in good stead.”I haven’t played much T20 cricket in UAE, but I think the T10 has actually helped me a lot [to get used to conditions] and how to go about my innings,” he said. “You don’t have much time in T10, like in T20, but you always need to get a good start for the team, which is important.”Rashid is someone different when it comes to bowling legspin. I don’t think there’s anyone who is playing cricket like him at the moment. It’s difficult to pick when you’re batting [against] him, but I try my best to pick his mind at times; probably try to analyse which ball he’s going to bowl when. These guys [Rashid and Dananjaya] are professionals and they go about their games very seriously and I respect them for that.”Lewis: ILT20 ‘can open the way’ for UAE players
In a T20 World Cup warm-up game last year at Junction Oval in Melbourne, UAE made West Indies sweat for victory. Fast bowler Zahoor Khan, who picked up two wickets in that game, turned out for Kandy Falcons in the Lanka Premier League last December. Legspinner Karthik Meiyappan, who bagged a hat-trick in the T20 World Cup proper, will now be Lewis’ team-mate at Warriors. Lewis reckons that impactful performances in the ILT20 will open up more opportunities for UAE’s local players in franchise cricket.

“Sometimes, we, as batsmen, tend to focus more on strengths than weaknesses and it’s something we have to learn to do”Evin Lewis

“It would be great for cricket for these guys, playing a huge tournament like this,” Lewis says. “People all around the world will see what these guys can do and probably can open the way for them in terms of different franchises, so I think they should use this competition as a stepping stone more or less and just go out there and perform.”Earlier, Lewis was vulnerable to the incoming delivery, with his head often falling over, but he has recently tweaked his stance, which could serve him well on his return to the Emirates.”Yeah, I’ve worked on that,” he said. “Sometimes, we, as batsmen, tend to focus more on strengths than weaknesses and it’s something we have to learn to do. I made a slight change in my batting stance and not trying to shuffle as much. I try to stay as still as possible and I think that has been going quite well for me thus far.”I haven’t worked specifically with anyone on this. I just have a couple of friends – supportive friends who will go with me when I want to hit balls. Throw balls at me, use bowling machines – these guys have been very supportive in this aspect.”Warriors will open their ILT20 campaign against MI Emirates in Abu Dhabi on January 14.

Our team-by-team guide on Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2023AustraliaOverviewAustralia come into this T20 World Cup having lost just one match – and that was via a Super Over against India – since the start of January 2022 and 14 of those 18 matches were played away from home. Their depth has been unquestionable, which was evident in the way they played in Meg Lanning’s absence for a good part of last year and with her back at the helm, Australia will be a strong contender. They have been cricket’s perennial entertainers and achievers on the international stage, winning three of the last four T20 World Cups, and they will go all guns blazing to defend the title in South Africa.SquadMeg Lanning (capt), Alyssa Healy (wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia WarehamPlayer to watchIt’s hard to not put Tahlia McGrath in the spotlight. The allrounder has emerged as a vital cog for Australia. After Beth Mooney, she has the second-most runs for the team in T20Is since the start of 2022, amassing 463 runs in 18 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 142.02. She recently overtook her team-mates Lanning and Mooney and Smriti Mandhana to be the No.1 T20I batter after impressive knocks of 41* and 70 against India. McGrath’s big-match temperament was evident at the Commonwealth Games last year and, going by her current form, one can expect a similar performance at the World Cup.Predicted finish: ChampionsNew ZealandOverviewNew Zealand are on a positive run, even if against less robust competition than they are likely to face in this competition. After their bronze-medal finish at the Commonwealth Games last year, they downed West Indies 4-1, including a Super Over triumph, at home before blanking Bangladesh 3-0 in December. The only major concern they face is over the fitness of captain Sophie Devine, who is managing a stress fracture to her foot, an injury which kept her out of three unofficial practice games against England in Pretoria. Encouragingly, left-arm spinner Fran Jonas returned from a calf injury sustained while at the Under-19s World Cup to bowl in those warm-ups.SquadSophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea TahuhuPlayer to watchSuzie Bates heads into what could perhaps be her last T20 World Cup in red-hot form. Playing for Otago Sparks, she scored 293 runs in the Women’s Super Smash, the fourth-highest in the competition. Her strike rate of 128.50 was the best among the top five run-scorers in the tournament to the end of January. She also picked up four wickets with her offspin. With Devine returning from injury, Bates’ all-round form will be critical to New Zealand’s quest for a world title.Predicted finish: Semi-finalistsSouth AfricaOverviewDrama is never far where South Africa are concerned, especially at World Cups, and the build-up to this one has delivered. South Africa go into the tournament without their regular captain Dané van Niekerk, who was ineligible for selection after failing her two-kilometre time trial, prompting speculation about her, and her wife – star allrounder Marizanne Kapp’s – future. Without Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez, who both retired last year, and Trisha Chetty, who has a back problem, South Africa will rely heavily on Kapp, Sune Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Chloe Tryon and Laura Wolvaardt, who have formed the core of the squad in recent years albeit with mixed results. After reaching the 2020 semi-finals, then winning series against Pakistan and India, South Africa have beaten Ireland and recently won a tri-series involving India and West Indies.SquadSune Luus (capt), Chloe Tryon (vice-capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Laura Wolvaardt, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Delmi Tucker, Annerie Dercksen.Player to watchMarizanne Kapp has the potential to be a match-winner with both bat and ball and was South Africa’s most impactful player at the fifty-over World Cup last year. With the ability to find swing, she sets the tone with the new ball and even more so as a big-hitting finisher with the bat. She scored her second T20I fifty in the tri-series against West Indies and if used consistently in the top four could pose a major threat to opposition attacks.Predicted finish: Group stage. Their own goal is to reach the final but it’s difficult to see them getting into the semi-finals in a group with Australia and New Zealand.Sune Luus will be leading hosts South Africa in a T20 World Cup for the first time•ICC/Getty ImagesSri LankaOverviewAfter a forgettable Commonwealth Games campaign where they failed to win a match, Sri Lanka turned it around at the Women’s T20 Asia Cup. They only lost to India and Pakistan in the league stage before tumbling Pakistan in the semi-final to make the title clash, although they were thumped by India in the final. Moreover, they head into the T20 World Cup with no cricket behind them, having not played an international since that clash in Sylhet in October 2022.SquadChamari Athapaththu (capt), Oshadi Ranasinghe, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshi de Silva, Sathya Sandeepani, Kaveesha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Kaushani Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Vishmi Gunaratne, Tharika Sewwandi, Ama KanchanaPlayer to watchSri Lanka have long been over-reliant on Chamari Athapaththu. Harshitha Samarawickrama, who has played a couple of T20 World Cups and a 50-over World Cup, is one of their key batters in the middle order with experience to count on. She was the second-highest run-scorer in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup with 202 runs, including 81 against Thailand. In a line-up minus Hasini Perera, Samarawickrama’s returns could well decide how Sri Lanka fare, especially in the game against Bangladesh.Predicted finish: Group stageBangladeshOverviewBangladesh do not have a good history at T20 World Cups, winning just two of their 17 matches so far, and those victories were against Ireland and Sri Lanka (both in 2014). As far as their current form is concerned, they have won ten of 17 T20Is since the start of 2022, but they have faltered against teams such as India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan. That said, Salma Khatun and co. did give Australia a bit of a scare at the ODI World Cup last year, and one cannot take them for granted on their quest to rewrite history.SquadNigar Sultana (capt & wk), Marufa Akter, Dilara Akter, Fahima Khatun, Salma Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Shamima Sultana, Rumana Ahmed, Lata Mondol, Shorna Akter, Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Ritu Moni, Disha Biswas, Sobhana Mostary.Player to watchNigar Sultana has been a reliable figure in the Bangladesh batting line-up for a few years now. She was the highest run-scorer for the team last year in the shortest format, notching up 367 runs in 16 innings at an average of 28.23 and was also leading run-scorer for the side at the Asia Cup. That the wicketkeeper-batter has done reasonably well since taking over as captain last year augurs well for Bangladesh.Predicted finish: Tough to go past the group stage

Fast, skillful and entirely homegrown, the left-arm quick is Ireland’s brightest ambassador on the global stage

Matt Roller03-Apr-2023As Ireland’s squad gathered on Friday night, their first-ever win in Bangladesh was not the only cause for celebration.Instead, they crowded into the team room of their Chattogram hotel with a few Hunter beers for the first meeting of what captain Andy Balbirnie called “the newly-formed Irish Gujarat Titans supporters club”, toasting the achievements of an absent squad member.Eoin Morgan was the first Irishman to play in the IPL some thirteen years ago, but Josh Little’s debut for Titans on the opening night of the 2023 season was different: he became the first Ireland player involved in the competition, taking 1 for 43 as the defending champions started with a win.While Little suffered some rough treatment from Ruturaj Gaikwad and MS Dhoni, his maiden wicket – ripping out Ambati Rayudu’s middle and off stumps – demonstrated his ability. Most pertinently, his comeback after his first ball was swung over square leg for six in front of 100,000 people suggested that he has the temperament to perform on the biggest stage in franchise cricket.Related

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It was a significant night for Irish cricket. For many years, their leading players have crossed the Irish Sea to further their ambitions in the game – either to play for England, like Morgan and several others, or to develop through the county system. Little, by contrast, is a product of the Irish pathway alone.”He’s come through the system, all the way up from under-age cricket – and hasn’t had to go to England to learn his trade which a lot of us had to do,” Balbirnie says. “He’s just come up through the ranks and naturally done well. I’d like to think it’s shown to a lot of youngsters back home that you’re never too far away. He’s a great ambassador for that next generation now.”The natural who lit up Pembroke
As a ten-year-old schoolboy at St Andrews Primary School, Little picked up a soft cricket ball and threw it hard and flat back at Andrew Leonard, now an established broadcaster but then a development cricket coach in Dublin. “I have a vivid memory of it,” Leonard recalls. “I asked him, ‘Who are you? Which club do you play for?'”He told him his name was Josh, and that he didn’t play cricket; Leonard insisted that he should follow his friend Sanil Gupta down to Pembroke Cricket Club in Sandymount, the affluent Dublin suburb he lived in. He called his boss, Brían O’Rourke, and told him, “you won’t believe this kid I found!”A week later, Little rocked up at Pembroke for the first time. “He ran up and bowled,” O’Rourke recalls, “and he just had everything. He didn’t need any coaching, just a bit of mentoring and the opportunity to play. He came straight into our Under-11 programme, and looked really good, really comfortable.”Before long, word started to spread about the young left-armer who was making an impression on everyone who watched him. Balbirnie, who rose through Pembroke’s ranks himself, remembers watching Little play for their Under-15s in an age-group final.”I actually felt that the game could have got dangerous with the way Josh was bowling,” Balbirnie recalls. “He was just so much quicker, so much better than the other team. I was a bit concerned about the welfare of the opposition.”Throughout his teenage years, Little was a keen player at Monkstown Hockey Club and even represented Ireland at age-group level. “We’ve lost that battle a few times over the years,” O’Rourke says, “but luckily we won it with Josh.”Little gets an extra yard of pace from his wrist snap at delivery•BCCIFord meets Ferrari
Two months after his 16th birthday, Little went to Bangladesh to play for Ireland in the Under-19 World Cup, where his 11 victims in the tournament included India’s captain Ishan Kishan. Later that summer, he was used as a net bowler when Sri Lanka toured for an ODI series.”I remember there was this young lad bowling left-arm, lively pace, swinging the ball nicely in the nets,” recalls Graham Ford, who was coaching Sri Lanka. “I overheard a few of our players asking him why he wasn’t in the squad.”It didn’t take long before he was: he made his T20I debut later that summer, against Hong Kong. Balbirnie believes that early exposure to international cricket was a major reason that Little ended up choosing cricket over hockey: “Being capped at 16 might well have swayed his decision.”But a year later, when Ford became Ireland’s head coach, he encountered a young bowler in his final year at school who did not resemble an international athlete. “I don’t think he fancied academics,” he recalls, “but he would use it as an excuse not to come to training.”As an 18-year-old, Little was more interested in his social life than thoughts of a professional career. “He went on holiday as soon as he finished school and he missed some training sessions because of that – which the hierarchy didn’t like,” Ford says.”He was out of nick, he put on weight. He missed an interprovincial game to go to Electric Picnic, the music festival. My common terminology for a bloke like that is, he was loose.”Before long, Ford decided to intervene. “I called him aside, and I told him, ‘you can make a lot of money playing this game. I’ve seen a lot of players in my time, and you’ve got what it takes – and it’s a far easier way of making money than having to study, or work, from 8 until 6 every day. With the talent you’ve got, you can live a wonderful life.'”Credit to him, because after that, it was like a switch had been flicked.” As Little recently himself told the : “That five-minute chat changed my entire perception of things… Ever since then I’ve been head down, just gym and cricket.”Josh Little bounced out Eoin Morgan on his ODI debut•Getty ImagesPerhaps the first sign of that turnaround came on Little’s ODI debut, which came in May 2019 against an England team preparing for an imminent World Cup. He took 4 for 45 in his eight overs, including the scalp of the returning Morgan for a third-ball duck, fending a sharp bouncer behind via the glove.”He wasn’t shy: he certainly didn’t care who Eoin Morgan was,” O’Rourke recalls. Ford adds: “He gets into the battle, switches on competitively, and he goes like hell. He’ll get into the scrap and is very happy to do that. You need to have that – particularly as a fast bowler.”Little’s competitive streak got him into trouble early in his international career. In 2020, he was reprimanded for a sweary send-off after dismissing Jonny Bairstow; a year later, he was adjudged to have made “inappropriate physical contact” with Quinton de Kock, barging into him with his shoulder.”He was a bit raw,” Balbirnie reflects. “The emotions can bring out the best in him, but he’s learned to control them a bit more. But I’ve never pulled him aside, and I’ve never really seen him cross the line. He still has that fire in his belly to do well, which is what makes him tick.”Over the last 18 months, Little’s stock has soared on the T20 circuit. He won his first franchise contracts during the 2021-22 season; after impressing in the Hundred and the T20 World Cup in 2022, he has been in high demand in 2022-23, picking up deals in the SA20, the PSL and the IPL.His point of difference as a bowler is his whippy wrist action, developed playing ‘stumpy’ – a variation on tape-ball cricket in which batters use a stump instead of a bat – in the Pembroke nets. “You bowl off 12 yards with a tennis ball, and have to snap your wrist to get some pace into it,” Leonard explains. “His extra pace comes from that.”Those who have worked closely with him describe a headstrong individual, who sees no point in preparing for the sake of it. “He will do the bare minimum,” O’Rourke says. “In his warm-up, he might bowl two or three balls to the keeper. If it’s coming out nicely, he’ll say, ‘that’s enough. I don’t need any more.'” At last year’s IPL, he left his stint as a net bowler with Chennai Super Kings – his opponents on debut – ahead of schedule, unhappy at his limited opportunities to impress the franchise’s coaches.Little’s stocks have risen after he impressed in the Hundred and the T20 World Cup in 2022•Getty ImagesIreland’s challenge is to keep hold of him. His IPL contract is worth INR 4.4 crore (€0.5 million approx.), around six times the value of his central contract; he is missing their first three Tests since 2019 in order to play for Titans, though will return home in mid-May for an ODI series against Bangladesh that Ireland must win 3-0 to qualify for this year’s World Cup.”It’s a situation that is going to have to be managed pretty well by the people above me,” Balbirnie says. “Money is always the elephant in the room when you’re talking about things like this, but it’s huge amounts – money that could take five, six, or even more years to earn while playing for Ireland. There is a fine balance there.”We want to have Josh available for our key games, but you can’t begrudge a player getting picked up like that.”Ford puts it simply: “If they played hardball and said ‘no, you can’t go’, then they’d lose him completely. They don’t want that; Ireland need to keep him in their system.”Back at Pembroke, Little’s rise makes him the club’s latest success story, representing them in the men’s national team alongside Balbirnie, Barry McCarthy and Lorcan Tucker. Kim Garth, who became a dual international last year after moving to Australia, is another graduate of their system. “Pembroke are very proud of all those five,” O’Rourke says.The club’s end-of-season dinner last year coincided with the final of the Hundred, where Little was playing for Manchester Originals. “The man was ringing the bell saying, ‘lads, the food’s on the table’,” O’Rourke recalls. “And everyone was saying, ‘no, no, Josh is into his second over here, we want to watch him!'”And so, he expects Pembroke’s bar to be busy during Titans’ games over the next few weeks: “It’s what sport is all about. You never forget your own.”