Cricket has come a long way since the days of Lord’s preventing women from entering its pavilion, but the events of Monday night are a reminder that it has a long way to go

Daniel Brettig04-Jan-2016Last night I went to dinner near the SCG, and spoke to the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland. We talked about women’s cricket, about how the WBBL was growing, how ‘s television coverage was a breakthrough, about how we’d been to far too many dinners, drinks and functions where the women’s game was dismissed as a sideshow. “The biggest thing that needs to change in women’s cricket,” he said, “is how men think about it.”Last night, after we settled into our tables, I sat down alongside the WACA chief executive, Christina Matthews. We spoke about writing, and about how her partner had picked up a new book, The Keepers, in recognition of Matthews’ years wearing the gloves for the Australian women’s team. There was a Matthews listed in the index, her partner said, but a sense of anticipation was let down when this turned out to be a man.Last night I heard the new CA chairman David Peever say a few words as the centrepiece of the dinner, put on by the LBW Trust chairman Darshak Mehta. Peever mentioned how his mum and dad had cricket in the house on television and radio throughout his childhood. He also mentioned how his mother knew little of cricket, but when the coverage began, she could be heard to say “there’s Richie”. Peever closed by saying he hoped to see a day when close to half of Australia’s cricket participants were women.Last night after dinner, I noticed a missed call from the West Indies media manager. It was about Chris Gayle, and his words with the broadcaster Mel McLaughlin. I found a video of the exchange – to call it an interview would be to wrongly suggest that Gayle actually answered questions – and watched how McLaughlin grinned and bore the first intimation of something outside work, then closed her eyes and put on a mask of indifference at the second.Last night I logged onto Twitter and saw the responses to these words. There was outrage and frustration, but also indignation that anyone should be expected to talk about cricket, and not spew rubbish pick-up lines, when being interviewed about it. I saw ‘s own account initially respond to Gayle’s words with the hashtag #smooth, and I saw the Australian footballer Tim Cahill tell Gayle he had been “on fire tonight brother”. I also saw Taylor Walker, the Adelaide Crows captain, say this: “A bit of fun by @henrygayle everybody relax – no one hurt, injured or dead!” He was right on two counts.Last night I called a female journalism colleague, a skillful and tireless operator, and listened to her speak of the episode not with shock or anger, but with weariness. I heard her say that she hated what was happening, but also that she hated the inevitable backlash when speaking up about it. I heard her say that nobody wants to be “that girl”, like the one who called out harassment by the former David Jones chief executive Mark McInnes, or the DFAT official who raised concerns about the behaviour of the now former Government Minister Jamie Briggs. I heard her exasperation.Last night I spoke to other female friends working in media, who offered up strikingly similar thoughts. One offered this: “I honestly left sports journalism because I thought it’d never be satisfying. No matter what females in sport achieve, it’s all undermined by d*ckheads at the pub who don’t listen to what women say because they’re too busy marking them out of 10 for their looks. Mel shouldn’t have had to cop that. It was humiliating and he didn’t stop when she was clearly uncomfortable. I just hate that now this will be what people talk about, because she’s a pro and better than that.”Last night I called the CA head of public affairs, who had just been on the phone to Anthony Everard, the head of the BBL. Everard said this: “I heard Chris’ comments and they’re disrespectful and simply inappropriate. We’ll certainly be talking to him and the Renegades about it. This league is all about its appeal to kids, families and females. There’s just no place in the BBL – or, for that matter, cricket anywhere – for that sort of behaviour.”Last night I wondered how cricket, and sport, could so alienate half the population. Cricket has long struggled to attract a female audience, as befits a game where the home pavilion at Lord’s did not permit women to enter until 1999. It has come a long way since that most basic of reforms, but still has so far to go. As Sutherland told the ABC, “I think the support we are seeing through television ratings is really important, but I think more important is the psyche around the fact that cricket is a sport for girls too, and I really sense that people are starting to understand that.” Starting to.Last night, I concluded, is not tomorrow.

A day that began with a gritty batting display turned into a rare off day with the ball for Rangana Herath

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dunedin12-Dec-2015

Southee hails ‘world-class’ Watling

Tim Southee lauded the efforts of wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling, who claimed six catches in the innings for the second time in his career. Ian Smith has the New Zealand record with seven catches against Sri Lanka in 1991, but no other New Zealand keeper has taken six or more on two separate occasions.
“Brendon speaks about fielding being an attitude. The keeper sets the standard and BJ has set a hell of a standard over the last couple of years,” Southee said. “He will try very hard at anything you give him – that’s just his personality. The keeper plays a massive part for a bowler. We get the accolades for the wickets but it’s quite often not only BJ, but the rest of the fielders, as well, who contribute.”
Southee also delivered a glowing endorsement of Watling’s batting, though he has been in modest form of late, making a top score of 32 in the series against Australia. “He’s turned himself into a world-class keeper-batsman. For someone who started his career as a Test opener to now be arguably the best keeper-batsman going around the world in Test cricket is no mean feat.”

Five overs before lunch, Rangana Herath, swaddled in wool, rib protector defining a little outline through all the layers, ducked into a Tim Southee bouncer that hadn’t climbed as it should have. Southee and the New Zealand fielders wore concerned looks. A few put caring hands on Herath’s back. Then, once the ringing from the blow on the back of the helmet had subsided, the hurling of balls at Herath’s head resumed.Hours later, standing at mid-on, another ball came Herath’s way. This one was off Martin Guptill’s leading edge and was dying through the air. You could almost hear a clunk as Herath’s leaden legs pushed off. He didn’t so much attack the ball as wade through molasses in its direction. Even a top fielder would have struggled to get to the ball, but they might just have done better than go into orbit around it, which is what Herath almost did. He ran a circular route, then trod over to the bowler with a half-apology.Not long after that, Herath was at the top of his mark, ball flitting between his hands. Martin Guptill slid back in his crease to crack the last ball of the over through point. Next over he slinked out on two occasions, first fetching a four over mid on, then a handsome straight six.Herath’s whole Saturday was made up of these little struggles. With bat, ball and in the field, he found himself in pressure situations – the team looking to him for something special, as they often do when the opposition becomes so dominant.The batting was the part he handled best. Herath survived for 74 deliveries, taking crucial time out of the match, with rain expected on day four. He shelved his slap-happy disposition, along with half of his shots, which is to say two of them. The reverse-wallop and sweep were not on show. The pull and drive brought him most of his 15 runs. New Zealand’s seamers tried taking out his stumps at first, sending swinging balls full and straight, but soon put two men behind square and a third catcher on the leg side, to test him with the short ball.”He was playing so well on the front foot we had to try something different,” Southee said. “We went with the short ball for a few overs. It’s never nice when you hit someone, but it’s nice to know he got through it all right and carried on batting.”He provided some stability with the bat, but the blows to Herath’s bowling sent Sri Lanka way off kilter. Even at the southernmost venue in the world, even on a green pitch, he is the linchpin of an even greener attack. Angelo Mathews relies on him in all situations, whether oppositions need to be reined in or ripped through. Today, they needed both, but Herath could barely provide one. His ball to get Guptill pitched on a good length, then shot towards middle stump, never rising more than two inches off the ground. Was it a new-fangled variation? Probably not. That wicket gave Sri Lanka a little respite, but the rest of Herath’s deliveries did not. He sent down eight overs, at an economy rate of 4.87. So rattled were Sri Lanka by this that they used seven bowlers to get through their 48 overs. New Zealand, in 117.1 overs in the field, had used one fewer.”He’s a great bowler, but these pitches are suited to seamers,” was Dinesh Chandimal’s assessment. “Unfortunately they batted really well against him.”That Herath has been Sri Lanka’s most consistent match-winner since Muttiah Muralitharan has rarely been in doubt, but in this game so far he has been like the leopard taking shelter from the monsoon. It is the drier Hamilton surface that excites him, and on which he thinks he might successfully hunt. Many others in the team seem to agree.If the rains materialise on Sunday, Sri Lanka have a chance of going to that Test on level terms. New Zealand are on 308 now, and Herath is the visitors’ best hope of delaying a declaration. Even if he can’t take wickets, Sri Lanka will hope he can lock up one end, and sharpen the menace of the man bowling from the other end. It is a lot to ask of a bowler, to be both spearhead and workhorse, but Herath has been doing both for so long it is jarring when he has an off day. They might need a little more of his grit with the bat as well.

Two years after Kagiso Rabada and Mustafizur Rahman burst into world cricket’s consciousness, the Under-19 World Cup returns to shine the limelight on the game’s brightest young talents

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong26-Jan-2016On the eve of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, Kagiso Rabada, the star of the previous edition in the UAE, bowled South Africa to victory in the Centurion Test against England with a 13-wicket haul and announced his arrival as a fast bowler to reckon with in world cricket. Rabada became the youngest South African to take a Test-match ten-wicket haul and his figures of 13 for 144 were the second-best for his country.Mustafizur Rahman is another pace-bowling sensation to emerge from the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. The left-armer burst onto the international stage with 11 wickets in his first two ODIs, against India. Rabada’s fizz off the pitch and Mustafizur’s variations wouldn’t have surprised anyone who watched their exploits in the Under-19 World Cup. Likewise, the 2016 tournament could give fans their first glimpse of a number of future superstars.The eleventh edition of the Under-19 World Cup comes at a time when many teams are hoping for new talent to come through quickly. The tournament will offer a glimpse of the future of cricket at the highest level, through how the players tackle new challenges on and off the field.Already, a lot of players are excited by the fact that 20 games will be televised live. For many, it is a first chance to play in front of cameras, in front of crowds, and in Test venues. The players will experience unprecedented levels of security, especially with the Bangladesh government providing state-level security in the wake of Australia’s pullout.Each team will have a different objective. New Zealand have already said they would like to emulate the playing style of their senior team, and adopting the role of go-getters in every contest. With a large proportion of first-round matches expected to be one-sided, a proactive, entertaining side could well gain a lot of fan interest. New Zealand certainly have a team that can go deep into the tournament. Players such as Josh Clarkson, Glenn Phillips and their captain Josh Finnie already have first-class experience, while Christian Leopard recently made headlines with a 61-ball hundred against the Pakistan Under-19s in the tri-nations tournament in the UAE.India, coached by the legendary Rahul Dravid, have some names that are already well-known within cricket circles. Sarfaraz Khan is playing his second Under-19 World Cup, and has already turned heads with his batting blitzes in the IPL. Armaan Jaffer, the nephew of former India batsman Wasim Jaffer, is a more sedate version of batsman, but like Sarfaraz hails from Mumbai. Avesh Khan, Rishabh Pant and Ricky Bhui have all played first-class cricket, as has their captain Ishan Kishan who has a first-class hundred and has recently received captaincy advice from MS Dhoni.For those from India and Pakistan, myriad opportunities await through this tournament. Of all the teams, it is India’s players who can hope for the speediest journey into the limelight, and not just via a call-up to the national team. IPL contracts are a major attraction, and scouts will be watching eagerly with the tournament just months away. Pakistan have a history of fast-tracking talented youngsters from the Under-19 stage, and their players now also have the Pakistan Super League to look forward to.Much is expected of England, many of whose players already have County contracts. The legspinner Mason Crane and batsman Dan Lawrence are talked up as future international stars, and plenty of eyes will be watching keenly for Sam Curran, who had some success for Surrey and England Lions last season. The left-arm quick is the son of the former Zimbabwe cricketer Kevin Curran, while Tom Moores of Nottinghamshire is the son of former England coach Peter Moores. Their captain Brad Taylor was the youngest player to appear for the Hampshire first XI since 1867, playing a Yorkshire Bank 40 match against Lancashire at the age of 16 years and 154 days.For Bangladesh, this is a tournament for the players to show the depth of talent in the country beyond the senior side, which enjoyed a run of good performances in 2015. There is tremendous pressure on the players, but while that can be seen as unfair, there is no escaping it with the World Cup being played at home. Bangladesh’s performances in junior cricket also warrant the expectations.In the last 12 months, the top five run-scorers and top four wicket-takers in Youth ODIs are all Bangladeshis. The captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who bats right-handed and bowls offspin, is on both lists, and he, along with the likes of batsman Nazmul Hossain Shanto and left-arm spinner Saleh Ahmed Shawon, will shoulder plenty of responsibility over the course of the tournament.Sri Lanka’s under-strength senior side could do with an injection of fresh talent, and the country’s cricket fans have invested plenty of hope in the likes of Shammu Ashan, who hails from Ananda College, which produced Arjuna Ranatunga, and Lahiru Kumara, who is from Kandy’s Trinity College, famous as Kumar Sangakkara’s .The tournament will also give the West Indies an idea of what their future might look like, and whether the next generation will be able to change the fortunes of the struggling senior side. Among the players hoping to catch the eye are their captain Shimron Hetmyer, who has already played first-class cricket, and Kirstan Kallicharan, who in 2014 made 404 in a 35-over school game in Trinidad. He was only 14 at the time.Just like Zimbabwe, and perhaps surprisingly so, South Africa may also need to dip into their junior ranks to invigorate their senior side, which has suffered back-to-back series losses against India and England, and find themselves in a transition phase. Where the last Under-19 World Cup was Rabada’s platform to excel, this one could see the rise of their captain Tony de Zorzi, allrounder Wiaan Mulder or left-arm spinner Sean Whitehead.Among the players from the seven qualifying teams, the occasion itself is massive, particularly for first-timers Fiji. There will also be special interest in Nepal, the latest nation to embrace cricket in their hearts.Among the Associates, Afghanistan have a slightly higher profile, with the players potentially in the radar of scouts from the BPL, PSL and other domestic leagues. Ihsanullah, their captain, is the younger brother of the former Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal, and the legspinner Rashid Khan has already played international cricket, having appeared in seven ODIs and 4 T20s. Rashid and the chinaman bowler Zahir Khan should make for a potent spin combination.In four Bangladeshi cities over the next three weeks, cricket will see its future. For a number of sides, what happens here will be as important as the fortunes of their senior players.January 27, 2016, 0526 GMT: The article earlier stated that this is the ninth edition of the Under-19 World Cup. It is the eleventh edition. The error has been amended.

Hardik Pandya made his way into the Indian team through strong performances in the IPL, where he was mentored by Ponting and Tendulkar. He talks about his journey this far

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi31-Jan-201610:09

Pandya: “I used to hear that after an IPL season a youngster can grow. That happened to me”

Let us go back to the day when Ricky Ponting, Mumbai Indians’ coach, gave you your first IPL cap before the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
It was amazing. I was expecting it every match. I was always the 12th man. But when I got the call I was expecting Ricky to tell me, “Hardik, sorry bro, you missed out.” But on this day he walked out of the dressing room with a cap in his hand. He just said: “Good luck, mate. Go and express yourself. I know you are going to do well.” And I did.You had already formed a good bond with Ponting by then. Can you talk about the first net session he conducted with you?
He walked up to me and said, “What do you want to improve?” I said: “[Facing] the short ball.” We did specific drills then. He explained the pull shot, upper cut, square cut, the hook.

“Before going into the IPL I was thinking: I am doing amazingly well in the domestic circuit, will I do the same in the IPL? I used to work out like anything. I drained myself out and lost three or four kilos”

Take the example of the pull. He asked me to pull the ball, after which he told me I was bending my leg too much and that in that position I could not pull properly. He told me my leg should be straight. Did Sachin Tendulkar tell you anything specific?
After a warm-up at the Wankhede Stadium, he told me: “The way you are playing, in one and a half years you are going to play for India. That capability you have.” I was like, whoa! That time I did not know I was going to play for India in seven to eight months. But when Sachin Tendulkar tells you that, I cannot describe what it felt like.He told me, “You can play shots, so you can take time.” Right now I am doing the same thing. I am not hitting sixes from the first ball. I am taking a good 15 balls before going for the big sixes. He used to tell me during the IPL that I can take time and cover up later. I did not understand what he meant then. Since I was batting at No. 7 the team would need something quick-fire, so I used to hit from the first ball. Now for Baroda, I am batting at No. 3, so I am getting a good amount of balls and time.On your IPL debut you played a role in Mumbai’s first win of the season, which came after losses in the first four matches.
Till the 18th over we had lost only three wickets. I was batting at No. 8. I did not expect I would even get to pad up. But then David Wiese took three wickets in an over. Rohit [Sharma] got out, Polly [Kieron Pollard] got out and then Rayudu ” (Enjoy yourself). He had watched me in the nets and was happy I was hitting big sixes. First ball: six. Bhajji pa, energetic and happy, said, “,” (You’re on a roll) he said. That shifted the momentum towards us.”I have been selected as a proper allrounder, so my aim is to fit that role. I can still improve my bowling. I have to work on my yorkers and slower balls”•Getty ImagesI remember Ponting saying after we won the final that people remember Hardik Pandya for the CSK game and the Kolkata one, but I still remember him for the RCB one, because we won the game by 18 runs.That eight-ball 21 against Chennai Super Kings had come in an away match when Mumbai needed 34 from the final three overs.
Before the match I did not want to play because I had a very bad catch in my neck. But the Mumbai trainer, Paul Chapman, said: “You seriously want to miss the game for this neck sprain? Who cares? Just have the painkillers and play.”Even 10 overs into the game I was not able to move my neck properly. But I had taken five painkillers. After the game I went to Chapman, hugged him and thanked him for pushing me and making me believe that pain does not matter. Imagine if I had not played that game. I don’t know what my future would have been like. That game was the turning point of my career.You took on Pawan Negi, Chennai’s left-arm spinner, quite easily.
[Dwayne] Bravo was bowling really well. We felt the game was getting out of our hands because the ball was gripping [the pitch] and Bravo was bowling slower ones. He had given only four runs in the 18th over. When we saw Negi come to bowl, Rayudu said: go for it. The first ball from Negi I hit for six over long-on. MS Dhoni immediately said: “Negi, ” (Negi, no, no, no). The next ball I tried to reverse-sweep and missed. Rayudu was shouting abuse at me in Hindi. I was laughing even while he was shouting. The next two balls went for sixes and the match was over.I’ve heard that Rohit Sharma, the captain, specifically asked for you to come in as the next batsman, instead of Harbhajan Singh, when he got out.
Bhajji first. I share a very good bond with him. My room was next to him and he used to walk in any time.After the match I was so excited at having won my first Man-of-the-Match award and the one for maximum sixes, I said: “Bhajji .” (Bhajji pa, I’ve got about Rs 2 lakh [US$3000 approx]). He and Nita ma’am [team owner Nita Ambani] burst out laughing. He said, you don’t get the entire money, you only get 20%.What were you hoping to learn from your first IPL season?
I wanted to gain confidence. Before going into the IPL I was thinking: I am doing amazingly well in the domestic circuit, will I do the same in the IPL? That is why I used to work out like anything. I drained myself out and lost three or four kilos. One day Ponting told me: “You are practising a lot, but take a day or two off and it will be good for your cricket.” I felt confident. I used to hear that after an IPL season a youngster can grow. That happened to me.How has your kit bag changed?
I am a bat freak. Even if I have one match bat I carry eight bats to make my kit look heavy. Same with gloves: seven to eight pairs. I used to borrow bats till two years ago. I did not have the money. I did not have a bat to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy before last year. I called Irfan bhai [Irfan Pathan] and he gave me two bats. Then last year I got a bat sponsor. Till then I was playing with whatever I had. You won’t believe but I used to make my bats last for at least two years, strapping them several times.Is it true that you were paid Rs400 ($6 approx) to play cricket till a few years ago?
Yes, two years back I was. There was no name for the tournament. It was just between villages. I would play for teams like Jhambuja XI. What was the fascination? Rs 400. My brother used to get Rs 500. For a week at least, life would be normal.Pandya’s innings against Chennai Super Kings turned his career around•BCCIDo you consider yourself a batting allrounder or a bowling allrounder?
A batting allrounder. Batting has always been my priority. Till last year I saw myself as 60% batsman and 40% bowler. But after that I worked on my bowling and now I focus equally on both.You have said you could be the batting allrounder India are looking for.
Definitely. I don’t feel shy to say that, but I have been selected as a proper allrounder, so my aim is to fit that role. I can still improve my bowling. I have to work on my yorkers and slower balls. I need to get stronger, which will help me bowl quick.Do you think people might think you are over-confident?
I back myself. You should be confident enough to go out there and express yourself. I don’t wear any mask. I am like this. But I was not like this four years ago. Back then I did not have the confidence to speak to people. But in the last two years I have started speaking more confidently and that’s because of WhatsApp. I have always wanted to speak in English. Even if I wasn’t fluent, I’d still speak. People used to make fun of me but I continued to speak. From those kinds of things I gained confidence.So Tendulkar was right in his prediction about you playing for India?
It’s only been nine months [since he said that]. I am sure I am going to make my debut. This is my first international trip. I made my passport about five years ago. This is the first time I’ll make use of it. I am well prepared. The challenge will be to get used to the bounce while batting. I am bowling good enough to make use of the Australian pitches. I am sure I am going to put on a good show.

Whether it’s a tale of continuity or reinvention, whichever side has progressed to the World T20 final will have a remarkable story to tell

Andrew Miller in Delhi29-Mar-2016New Zealand 2015 was where it all began for England 2:0. New Zealand 2016 may yet be where their white-ball renaissance hits the buffers – for now. But as Eoin Morgan cast his eyes forward to England’s tantalising semi-final at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, it was hard not to cast the mind back to the events at Wellington, 13 months ago – an abyss so abysmal, the team was left with no choice but to haul its standards up and into line with the rest of the sport.It was excruciating at the time, on that sorry February evening in the Cake Tin, as Tim Southee drubbed Morgan’s men with figures of 7 for 33 before Brendon McCullum’s 77 from 25 balls sealed victory in the space of 12.2 overs. But, like their Raj-era forebears (or Christian “Shades of” Grey, for that matter), a damn good thrashing seems to have made England into the men they are today.”Can I believe how far we’ve come? Absolutely not,” said Morgan. “I’ve been asked the question a couple of times after every series that we’ve played, and I can’t quite believe how far we’ve come overall in our white-ball cricket.”It was apparent from his answer that Morgan is tired of rehashing the same old ground. England’s new forward-focussed and fearless philosophy has little time or inclination to hark back to the bad old days. Besides, to his cold and clinical mind, that era was banished from the moment it was confirmed, by Andrew Strauss last May, that he was not only to be retained as England one-day captain, but to have his remit extended to T20s as well.Nevertheless, the tale is worth revisiting one last time, simply because of the identity of England’s semi-final opponents. Their relationship, which gathered in complexity during a fascinating three-format tussle last summer, is about to come full circle. By tomorrow evening, whether it’s a tale of continuity or reinvention, whichever side has progressed to the World T20 final will have a remarkable story to tell.Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s impressive young captain, allowed himself a quiet chuckle when it was suggested that English cricket owed his team a debt of gratitude, but there can be no doubting the influence that New Zealand’s no-consequences vibe had on the timid also-rans of the Peter Moores era.It was clear, from the moment that England marched out for the first of their New Zealand one-day rematches, at Edgbaston on June 9 last year, that the lessons had been heeded and the battle-plans had been drawn. In astonishing scenes, unrecognisable to long-term followers of England’s antiquated “build a platform” approach, Morgan’s new-model army charged headlong into the World Cup finalists, battering them for a national record 408 for 9.Less than a fortnight later, they were on the rampage again – hunting down a hefty target of 350 in the space of 44 overs. The format may have been longer, but the key names in this T20 campaign remain the same: Joe Root, with hundreds in each of those games, Jos Buttler, with a 66-ball century, and Morgan himself – understated with the bat in recent weeks, but a nugget of calm-headed class whose pivotal moment may yet be to come.”I think that series was very important,” Morgan said. “Coming into the series we talked about emulating what Australia and New Zealand did at that World Cup. From where we were to where they were, we were miles away. In order to bridge the gap we had to try and emulate the fashion in which they played and the aggressive nature in which they went about their game, and particularly with the ball.”Throughout the World Cup their swing bowlers were fantastic and that encourages a positive mindset throughout. With the bat it can come more naturally, so they did play a key part, absolutely.”New Zealand have been superbly cunning at the World T20, led by the bowling of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner•AFPOn that particular point, however, New Zealand’s strategies have evolved and adapted with remarkable effect. Much of that, you sense, is down to Williamson, who has brought an impressive measure of nuance to the gung-ho legacy left to him by McCullum.This was never better exemplified than at Nagpur in their tournament opener against India, when New Zealand’s brains trust sized up the situation with impeccable clarity of thought, banished both of those Baz-era attack dogs, Southee and Trent Boult, to the margins and, with three spinners to the fore, whirled their way to a sensational, agenda-setting victory.Contrast that subtlety with the final act of the McCullum-led campaign at the 2015 World Cup – at the MCG against Australia where New Zealand vowed to go down swinging and emphatically did: the captain’s loose drive and third-ball duck torpedoed their game plan before it could hope to take hold. Though you won’t hear a bad word said against him in his homeland, you do wonder what might have happened with even the hint of a Plan B in their armoury.We might be about to find out from New Zealand 2:0, whose progress throughout a tough World T20 group and an even tougher itinerary (Nagpur to Dharmasala to Mohali to Kolkata and now to Delhi) has been the epitome of the “smart but aggressive” message that Morgan has been pumping into his own troops.”We’ve simply tried to pick horses for courses, our best team for the conditions against the opposition at any given time,” said Williamson. “That certainly won’t change.”Asked whether he felt at a disadvantage, given that England have played only in Mumbai and Delhi, where they’ve now been based for nearly a fortnight, his response was Kiwi to the core.”It’s great, we’ve been able to see more of India than most opposition sides. It’s one of those things. Surely it’s happened by coincidence and the guys have embraced it, embraced the flights and the variety of the hotels.”Williamson was happy, however – in the best New Zealand tradition – to shrug off the tag of favourites that their endeavours in the competition so far have earned them. Some old habits, it seems, die rather harder than others.”I think it’s almost impossible to give someone the favourite tag in T20 cricket,” he said. “It’s so fickle in nature that on any given day the team who plays the best wins, and anyone can beat anyone. Both pools were very strong and all teams had the desire to go all the way and believed that they could. It’s nice we’ve been playing some good cricket, and hopefully we can bring it out in a knockout game.”England, despite their well-documented woes at major tournaments, are not quite as allergic to achievement as their past record would suggest, and Morgan, in fact, has played in two previous ICC semi-finals and won them both: against Sri Lanka in 2010 en route to lifting the World T20 crown, and most recently against South Africa at the Champions Trophy in 2013.”In my experience in getting to the knockout stage in any tournament, you have done the hard work and it is almost now that you have earned a licence to go out and express yourself as much as you can,” he said. “To me that attitude means getting the best out of yourself. If you have guys coming out who are very relaxed about performing and performing on the big stage I think that takes a lot of weight off your shoulders.”There are quite a few similarities, he felt, between the classes of 2010 and 2016. “The main one would be how relaxed everybody is around the group. How much they are enjoying the challenge of playing international cricket at the moment, and their hunger to win.”It is alright having fun and enjoying what you are doing but, if you don’t have that inner drive to want to improve and win games of cricket, you are going to stand still for a long time.”And doesn’t he know it. After the stagnation of their efforts in the Antipodes last year, England know they are a team on the move. Whether New Zealand are still one step ahead of them, however, remains to be seen.

Plays of the Day from the IPL 2016 eliminator between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi

Shashank Kishore25-May-2016Warner’s finger-breaker
Yusuf Pathan’s slower-through-the-air mantra on a gripping Kotla surface caused a few flutters initially in the Sunrisers camp. But David Warner quickly realised the best way to combat that threat was to attack. And so he attempted to flat-bat one straight back. Yusuf instinctively moved to his right in his follow through and put his hand out to pouch the catch on offer. His eyes were closed for a split second, enough for him to lose a bit of direction, and the ball hit him on the hand, leaving him clutching his middle finger in obvious agony. Play was stopped for a couple of minutes, but Yusuf eventually went on to complete the over.Kuldeep’s never-popper
Kuldeep Yadav’s second over was quite dramatic to say the least. Most young bowlers would have tried to fire the ball in after being slogged down the ground for six. But chinaman bowler Kuldeep isn’t a big fan of the idea, or so it seemed. While his pace was slower through the air, he shortened his length off his next delivery. Henriques, expecting the ball to skid on, set himself for a heave over midwicket and was through with the shot when the ball lobbed high off the back of his bat. Kuldeep called, and held on to the skier. If he wasn’t already pumped, he sure was when he got one to clatter into David Warner’s middle stump off the next delivery. Warner tried to fetch a sweep from outside off, but failed to account for sharp turn as the ball ripped back in to beat his swing. “Come on,” Kuldeep roared repeatedly as his team-mates swooped in to ruffle his hair and calm him down. By then, it looked like his nerves had nearly popped out and his face was flushed in jubilation.Yuvraj’s boot-blocker
As far as a comedy of errors goes, this might be hard to top. Naman Ojha was ball watching as he chopped a delivery towards point. Yuvraj Singh, assuming there was no reason to not take a single, was halfway down the pitch when he realised his only way out was to get to the keeper’s end and hope his partner moved out of his crease. Robin Uthappa, the wicketkeeper, swiftly moved to his right to collect the ball. All good, relatively speaking, until this point. Then Uthappa removed his gloves and was on the move when he sent in a weak throw, which was still likely to make it to the bowler’s end and be the end of Yuvraj, but the ball hit Yuvraj’s boot – no, he was not trying to impede the throw. As the ball deflected away towards Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj turned around and made it back to the non-striker’s end. But even the final act was riddled with confusion as Ojha finally headed out in Yuvraj’s direction, before they each moved back to their own ends.

With a bit of help from the conditions in Harare, Barinder Sran was showing what the selectors had seen in him when they included him in the squad for that Australia tour earlier this year

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Jun-2016Full, angling across the right-hander, swinging back in.. In his first tour as an India player, in an unforgiving Australian summer, Barinder Sran may have forgotten what swing looked like or felt like. He was still in the southern hemisphere now, but five months had passed, and this was Zimbabwean winter, an early morning start, and that mysterious atmospheric alchemy had got to work on his very first ball.It curled back in, late, and Chamu Chibhabha was in no position to play it. The bowler’s angle, from left-arm over, had dragged Chibhabha’s front leg across towards the off side, searching for the off drive. Chibhabha’s front leg had now become a barrier between the incoming ball and his bat. Denied a straight-line path, he had to bring his bat around and across, and by then he was too late. The ball struck his pad, low, as he overbalanced, falling over to the off side.It was the plumbest of lbws, and only Russell Tiffin, the umpire, didn’t think so.On his first ODI tour, Sran played three matches and took three wickets at an average of 56.66 while conceding 6.45 an over. It was a series played on flat Australian pitches where 300 was an inadequate, undefendable total.In Sran’s first two matches, George Bailey scored 112 and 76 not out. Sran should have had Bailey caught behind, down the leg side, off the very first ball he bowled to him, in Perth, but the Indian fielders barely appealed, and Richard Kettleborough ruled it not out. In those two matches, Bailey scored 37 off the 26 balls he faced from Sran.In that series, Bailey was experimenting with a new, unconventional stance, with his front shoulder pointing to extra cover and his front leg further across to the off side than his back leg. It proved wildly successful, and helped him cover the left-armer’s angle particularly well, but everything was simply going across him, with no change in direction. A bit of swing back in, and Bailey might have found himself uncomfortably, and dangerously, closed off. Like Chibhabha.Or like Peter Moor, who, off the last ball of that Sran over, got into a similarly closed-off position, and missed the inswinger as he tried desperately to play across his front pad. This time Tiffin raised his finger.Fifteen years ago, India took a 22-year-old left-arm quick to Zimbabwe, for his first full tour. In two Test matches against a far better Zimbabwe side, he picked up 11 wickets at 19.72, and much of his success was the result of the ball that swerved wickedly into the right-handers.Sran is a year older than Ashish Nehra was in 2001. He isn’t as quick or as skiddy, and is at a rawer stage of his development. But here, now, with a bit of help from the conditions, he was showing what the selectors had seen in him when they included him in the squad for that Australia tour. He has a long way to go, but he sure can swing it.

Stats highlights from the third day of the second Test between West Indies and India in Jamaica

Bharath Seervi02-Aug-20168 Consecutive Test series in which Ajinkya Rahane has made at least one score of 90 or more, starting from the 2013-14 tour of South Africa. He has scored centuries in six of those series, while scoring 96 in South Africa 2013-14 and 98 in Bangladesh in 2015. He is the only India player to do this in each of the last eight series. Monday’s century was Rahane’s third in four innings, after twin centuries against South Africa in Delhi and 22 in the previous Test.444 India’s previous highest total in Tests at Sabina Park, which had come way back in 1952-53. India’s 500 for 9 is the sixth-highest total for any visiting team at this venue and only the second total of 500 or more in the last 20 years. This was India’s fifth total of 500 or more runs in the West Indies, all of them having come since 2000.2 Number of times India have taken a first-innings lead of 300 or more in consecutive Tests. They had a lead of 323 in the previous Test, and 304 in this Test. The only previous such instance came in 2009-10 against Sri Lanka at home: lead of 413 in Kanpur, and 333 at Brabourne Stadium. This is only the fifth time India have had a lead in excess of 300 outside Asia.2008 The last time India made two or more totals of 500 or more in an away Test series – during 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. India have never made more than two 500-plus totals in any Test series.70.28 India’s average partnership for wickets one to seven in this series – their best in an away series where they had ten or more partnerships. In two innings in this series so far, India have had ten 50-plus stands from the 14 partnerships for wickets one to seven.3 Centuries for Rahane in Tests outside Asia at No. 5 – joint-most by an India batsman. Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Polly Umrigar also have three such centuries. Rahane is India’s first No. 5 to score a century in the West Indies since Rahul Dravid’s unbeaten 144 in Georgetown in 2002.1976 The last time a West Indies spinner took a five-wicket haul at home against India – 5 for 23 by David Holford in Bridgetown. Roston Chase, who took 5 for 121 in this innings, had gone wicketless in the previous match, his Test debut. In his four first-class innings at Sabina Park previously, he had taken just 2 for 84 in 24 overs.3 Number of higher totals for India, than their 500 for 9 in this match, with two or fewer centuries by batsmen. They had made 657 at Eden Gardens in 2000-01, 523 at Adelaide Oval in 2003-04 and 503 in Hyderabad in 2012-13 – all against Australia. In all three instances, there were two centuries, one of them being a double-century, unlike in this game where KL Rahul’s 158 was the highest.17 Sixes hit in this Test, at the end of India’s innings – already the most in a Test at Sabina Park. On two previous occasions, 16 sixes were hit. The most sixes in any Test in the West Indies is 22. India’s eight sixes in their first innings is their joint-highest against West Indies.3 Tests in the West Indies in which spinners from both sides took five-wicket hauls in the first innings. R Ashwin took 5 for 52, while Chase took 5 for 121. The first two occasions were: between the same teams at the same venue in 1952-53, and between Bangladesh and the hosts in Kingstown in 2014.2010 The last time three or more India batsmen were out for scores between 40 and 49 – versus Sri Lanka at Premadasa. In the first innings of this match, Cheteshwar Pujara (46), Virat Kohli (44) and Wriddhiman Saha (47) were all dismissed in the 40s. This was only their third such instance since 2000.

As one of their greatest batsmen of all time made arguably his last stand, Pakistan’s much-lampooned tail stood as one alongside him to set up a shot at glory

Jarrod Kimber13-Aug-2016Pakistan had a chance to lose today. It would have meant they not only lost the Test, and the series, but also their latest chance to go to No.1 in the world. It would have been a slap in the face to everything they have achieved, and to their hero, Younis Khan.When Sarfraz Ahmed fell, squandering another good start by nicking off for 44, Pakistan were only 69 runs ahead. Their lead was still short of the 103-run lead they had at Edgbaston, and that wasn’t enough. Now the Pakistan tail was coming in – and the best of them, Yasir Shah, had already done good work as a nightwatchman the day before. So it was left to the chaff. In the crucial last innings at Lord’s, 9, 10 and 11 had made one run between them.Right there, that is when it could have happened. The quick collapse, the shoddy bowling, the end of all hope. Younis Khan, walking off at the close of the day with nothing to show for it. Instead, Pakistan stood beside him.It was Wahab Riaz first – a man who can hit, and is not bereft of batting, but never a sure thing. At Old Trafford he was their second top-scorer with 39. Today he barely had to face a ball. The man at the other end did the work; all Wahab had to do was a face a couple of balls at a time and avoid doing anything stupid. For 11 overs he did his job as well as he could. Wahab made four runs, but the partnership was 37, and it took the lead beyond 100, beyond Edgbaston.Mohammad Amir can bat. He almost stole an ODI against New Zealand once. And although he has spent five years out of the game, it is fair to say he hasn’t spent the time getting throwdowns and working on his game. He hasn’t ever seen a ball he doesn’t want to slash through point. For 23 balls though, he was a monk, and only then, with the lead already at 130 and Younis already past 200, did he dare launch Moeen Ali over the rope. It was his first scoring shot, and England’s collective shoulders slumped at that moment.The tail that is a punchline has been standing up all series. Yasir’s innings at Lord’s gave Pakistan enough runs; 8, 9 and 10 outscored the top three in the second innings at Old Trafford, and Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali put together the second-biggest partnership on the last day at Edgbaston. Here Yasir batted for 17.3 overs, Wahab 11.3 and Amir 24.2 – a combined total of 43.2 overs.Younis Khan celebrates his double-century•AFPThe main difference here was they didn’t stand alone, they stood with a great of the game. Letting him down would be like letting down your father, your President, your King Khan. If Younis Khan tells you to block out a few overs and play smart cricket, tackle a bear family, or walk through a field of razor wire for 73 miles, you do it.Someone on commentary said this was the kind of innings in which you don’t remember a shot. If you can’t remember this innings, there is something wrong with your cricket emotions. Unless what he meant was that you didn’t have to remember it, you simply enjoyed it by osmosis, so all the shots – the cut off Finn, the quicksilver hands that swept Moeen, the sixes, all of them, of authoritarian glory and the sweet drives – were now just part of you having been in their presence.The six to bring up Younis’s 200 will be the shot that gets replayed for years to come. But it was the ball before that was Younis at his best. He should be in a commentary box, misremembering old cricket stories and mispronouncing current player’s names. But instead he keeps going into battle for his nation. Even when earlier in the series the game looked beyond him, he didn’t walk away, he stood and fought.So here was this old man, with all the fielders back, hitting the ball at the exact right angle, with the exact right weight, and then scampering through for two runs like a teenager trying to prove something. He has nothing left to prove, and he still keeps proving it. It was smart, it was skilful, it showed desperation, it had courage, and it was a testament to his fitness. The six, well that was just muscle memory, a spinner is bowling, he was nearing a landmark, why not hit this guy into row F, seat 27.At the press conference Younis dedicated this innings to Hanif Mohammad, a man of greatness like him. He didn’t have to dedicate it with his words; he had spent two days honouring Hanif with his bat. It was, in length, in importance, in style, in every single way, Younis Khan in Excelsis. This man who has played his games in empty stadia, outside his home, with people watching on illegal streams, was suddenly getting 25,000 opposition fans to stand up and celebrate him.The man who captained the World T20 triumph, the man who made a triple century the last time he was allowed to play at home, the man who has witnessed his team-mates being thrown in jail and his opposition being shot at by terrorists, the man who dragged Pakistan cricket up from its darkest times, and the man who just bats and bats for his country. That man deserves to go out knowing that his team did everything they could to fight for the No. 1 spot. That the thing he spent his whole life mastering, finally paid off.They all want to be the first Pakistani team to be the official World No.1. But they want to do it for Younis as well.By the time Pakistan’s bowlers had destroyed England’s top order, West Indies had already collapsed against India so their latest chance of going top had been delayed. But this time it wasn’t due to a Pakistan mistake. They were glorious, from first ball to last, they were as good as they could be. Pakistan had a chance to lose today; they have a chance to win tomorrow.Pakistan didn’t perform another ‘come from in front defeat’. They didn’t give up their chance of being No.1. Today they weren’t carried by Younis; they were as good as him. They stood with Younis. They were Younis.

Plopping down in front of a TV set, rather than in the stands at Darren Sammy National Stadium, provided a sensational view of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing bowling exhibition

Karthik Krishnaswamy in St Lucia 13-Aug-20162:05

Manjrekar: ‘Bhuvneshwar wants to do well in all formats’

Sometimes it really is better to watch cricket on TV. On Friday, the largest section of the small crowd at the Darren Sammy Stadium was a scattering of around 80 people at the Johnson Charles Stand. They all had a square-on view of proceedings, and, as a result, would have had no way of telling how much Bhuvneshwar Kumar was swinging the ball, or even in which direction.If you miss that, you miss the essence of Bhuvneshwar.Take, for instance, the 90th over of West Indies’ innings. Marlon Samuels, batting on 48, had not faced Bhuvneshwar yet. Now he was facing him bowling with a nine-over-old ball. The first ball of the over was just short of a good length, on a sixth-stump line, and Samuels went on the back foot and poked it towards point. The second was fuller, along the same sort of line, and Samuels left it. Both balls had swung away from him.Through this series, Samuels has shown an inclination to leave balls outside off stump. He had done this particularly well while making 37 on a damp first-day pitch at Sabina Park. Perhaps Bhuvneshwar sensed the wider line would not draw Samuels into a shot, and bowled his next ball closer to off stump, and fuller. This was another outswinger, but did not do any more than merely straighten. Samuels came forward, and pushed it into the covers. Then came a near-identical delivery; according to the Hawkeye trajectory viewer on ESPNcricinfo’s scorecard, this ball pitched even closer to Samuels’ off stump, but swung further. Samuels watched it well and ignored it.It was a good leave, a tight leave. Perhaps that made Samuels relax for just a fraction of a second when Bhuvneshwar’s next ball started at least two stumps wider outside off stump. Samuels’ first instinct seemed to be to leave. It was only when the ball swerved into him, late in its trajectory, a few inches before pitching, did Samuels change his mind. By then it was too late, and the desperate chopping motion his bat made only deflected the ball onto the ground near his feet and then onto the stumps.Over the course of those five balls, Bhuvneshwar had displayed exquisite control. The first two balls had pitched along the same line, but one was shorter and one fuller. The second and third had pitched on the same length, but one was wider and the other closer to off stump. The third and fourth balls, as mentioned earlier, were near-identical, except one had swung a little more than the other. That, perhaps, was the only element not entirely in Bhuvneshwar’s control.Each ball was partly like and partly unlike the previous one. All four had demanded the batsman’s respect and full attention.The fifth ball was entirely different, but Bhuvneshwar had given the batsman little clue that it would be so. Zoomed-in, slow-motion replays showed a slight change in grip, with the middle finger applying a little more pressure on the ball while delivering the outswinger and the index finger taking over for the inswinger. They showed a slight change in the angle of the seam, but it wasn’t canted too far in either direction. It only takes the smallest slip in concentration for a batsman to miss cues that subtle.In his previous over, Bhuvneshwar had dismissed Jermaine Blackwood, caught at second slip. In this case, he built the dismissal up over a longer period of time, bowling 19 successive dot balls to him. The first 12 seemed exploratory, some wider, some straighter, mostly outswingers, a few darting in. Blackwood seemed comfortable against the balls that were at or close to his stumps, even if his hands seemed a touch too firm in defence, and perhaps Bhuvneshwar sensed some unease while leaving outside off stump, something in his body language that suggested he was happier hearing the sound of bat on ball.And so, in his next over, the 86th of West Indies’ innings, he bowled his outswingers noticeably wider outside off stump, almost daring Blackwood to play. There were five outswingers in all, and he ignored four but nibbled at one and missed. Then, in the 88th over, Bhuvneshwar returned to a fourth-stump line. The second ball was perfect. On a good length, pulling Blackwood forward, on a fourth-stump line, swinging away, and inviting Blackwood to feel for it. He edged, Virat Kohli snapped it up, and Bhuvneshwar had his first Test wicket in a year and seven months. That wicket would be the first of five in 51 balls.Bhuvneshwar was India’s best bowler on their tour of England in 2014, teasing away in the corridor, bending the ball both ways, and taking 19 wickets in five Tests at an average of 26.63. Between that tour and this one, he had only played one Test, in Sydney, where he returned from an ankle injury but looked short of pace and match fitness, and finished with match figures of 1 for 168.India had played ten Tests between Sydney and this one, and had used five other seam options in those matches. Bhuvneshwar had been part of their squad all that time. He just wasn’t as quick as four of them, and was perhaps not as good a batsman as Stuart Binny when India needed an allrounder.It needed a pitch like this one, with a bit of grass and the promise of carry, for India to call Bhuvneshwar off the bench in St Lucia. It probably also needed Umesh Yadav to underwhelm in the first two Tests. But as long as the wait was, and as frustrating as it may have been, it was over now. Bhuvneshwar was back, swinging the ball, bowling with a sense of artistry. It was great to watch, and even better on TV.