Abhishek Nayar, a five-time Ranji Trophy winner, talks about the players he hero-worshipped as a youngster and the breezy irreverence of Mumbai’s current generation

Abhishek Nayar09-Nov-2017 (Mumbai should be seen in your eyes. It should reflect in your eyes that you play for Mumbai)Amol Muzumdar opened my eyes straight away. Amol was the epitome of the school of cricket Mumbai has been famous for for decades. When I heard that for the first time I did not understand what he was saying.Then I thought it bloody means I have to bring that spirit to the game. I have to make that difference when everyone feels nothing is happening. Amol, Nilesh [Nilesh Kulkarni], Sai [Sairaj Bahutule], Ramesh Powar – all these guys used to just kill the domestic circuit. During the days we heard tales about how sometimes Nilesh was like Courtney Walsh was bowling left-arm spin and getting that kind of bounce. How Sai and co. would pack off Saurashtra in three days. It was unreal to watch them destroy the opposition in tandem.These guys would walk in to the game with an attitude that was ruthless. (It is a four-day match. By lunch on the fourth day, we should finish the game, have biryani, and go home.)” And all you heard in the dressing room was: we have to win the Ranji Trophy. Not winning the next match or something. It was always about winning the tournament.For youngsters like me and others of my batch we just had blind faith in what seniors like Amol and Nilesh would say and do. We were just in awe of these guys. We youngsters would talk about how Amol would stand at silly point without a helmet or how Nilesh could consistently hit the handle of the bat with his left-arm spin. We just wanted to live up to their expectations and hopefully fulfill ours.If you look at the Mumbai dressing room now it is full of youngsters. When I entered the dressing room I was sharing it with guys who were used to winning, dominating the domestic circuit. It was about how I could do something to play the next match, how I can survive in the dressing room.The pressure was not just from the seniors but also the pressure of just doing well. If you did not win it outright then the feeling was you had not had the best game. Winning outright, at least at the Wankhede, running through an opponent was the norm.

These guys would walk in to the game with an attitude that was ruthless. ” (It is a four-day match. By lunch on the fourth day, we should finish the game, have biryani, and go home.)”

Acceptance in a dressing room is always important and earning respect of your teammates in Mumbai is very difficult. My first year was truly baptism by fire, but it hardened me and has taken me where I am today. My first year was not the best. I had got three consecutive ducks so I was not expecting to win any friends. Two of the ducks in the same match as a nightwatchman, in our final league match against Maharashtra, which they won outright. By the second year Pravin sir [Pravin Amre] had taken over as the coach and he supported me.But the turning point for came when Ajit Agarkar gave a glowing compliment having seen me play against Rajasthan at Wankhede. I had scored an attractive 86 and picked up five wickets in the match. Ajit liked what he saw of me and told Milind Rege sir (selector) that “this guy is a very good player. Where was he all this time?”We won that season and Amol, who was the captain, started believing in me and told me that my attitude would take me a long way and I had played a role in Mumbai winning the title. Guys like Amol and Nilesh actually brought the best out of me. I got that drive to perform because I was asked difficult questions by my seniors. It taught me what it takes to play for Mumbai and perform and rub shoulders with the best.Today I have won the Ranji Trophy five times. I know I now belong. It took years of toil. I am now a senior in the Mumbai dressing room, which is completely different to the ones I was part of previously.I was overawed by my seniors, like I said, but today’s youngsters, as much as they respect me, are not overburdened by the legacy created by hundreds of Mumbai players in the past. A Prithvi Shaw can easily crack a joke and be cool with it. In our last match, in Odisha, Prithvi was my roommate. Usually it is Shreyas [Shreyas Iyer], but he was away playing the New Zealand T20 series. So one of the nights Prithvi, feeling cold, moved from his single bed into my bed. Another night I was forced to go and sleep on his bed since I was pushed halfway out of my bed.After so many years of playing I have developed a sort of limp in my walk. Prithvi is not shy to point it out and joke, ” (Your time is up).” It is a different breed now.Getty ImagesWhen I shared a room with Nilesh during my younger days, I remember how it was left spic and span. I would not even touch the remote. (quietly) I used to sit. Once Amol picked me up from the DY Patil Stadium and took me to the Mumbai Cricket Association office and I was telling the town about it for the rest of the day.But now that hero worship is not there. They do want to play for the pride of Mumbai, but the youngsters today want to kind of set their own legacy. They want to create a name, brand, destiny. A Shreyas Iyer, a Siddhesh Lad, a Shardul Thakur – they do want to listen what Amol, Nilesh and others did in the past, but they want to win trophies for Mumbai, score 1000 runs in a season, they want to have their names in the record books. That is what this era believes in. That is brilliant and I encourage such a mindset.It does scare me sometimes, the freedom with which they play. A lot of times I heard them saying ” (Hit out)” I have to laugh out. I have to tell them that I have done what you are doing, but someone has to oversee, guide and arrest them from getting carried away.Times might be changing, but one thing I am confident about is some of these young men will in their own flamboyant way take Mumbai cricket forward. It is a good bunch of players with different talents. There is Akhil Herwadkar, a hardworking, player who will do everything for the team, a contrast to the flair and sort of arrogance of Shreyas and Prithvi; there is Siddhesh Lad, slowly becoming a crisis man; there is Aditya Tare, the captain, a perfect role model, who will give youngsters the space, but can bring back the old school attitude to reign them in.My message to the young lot is simple: respect the game and respect your talent. A lot of these guys in the Mumbai team are so talented, but at times they take it for granted. In the past an Amol Muzumdar or a Nilesh Kulkarni optimised his talent to the hilt. Hard work, work ethic, the attitude they walked into the ground with, you could never question them ever.That is what I tell these youngsters: never take this team and what is done in the past for granted. Because when you wear the Mumbai Lions on your chest there is more to it than just going there and showing off that you can score a hundred, but that double or triple that the team requires. You do what the team needs. And Mumbai always want to win.

England, in training, in batting, in self-appraisals, are beginning to sound just a little bit soft

George Dobell in Sydney06-Jan-2018If you burn your toast once it’s an accident. But if you keep doing it… well, you might change the settings on your toaster.So it is with England’s bowlers. There are now four men associated with this England team – Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood – who have all thought they had taken a maiden Test wicket only to see the joy snatched from them with the realisation they have bowled a no-ball.There are various theories as to why this might be happening. One of them, suggested by Jonny Bairstow at the close of play on Saturday and James Anderson earlier in the series, was that the adrenalin inherent in playing such a big match lures bowlers into straining just a little more than normal. Another suggests that on-field umpires at most levels of the game have prioritised other facets of the job so rarely check for no-balls with the rigour they once did. As a result, bowlers can slip into bad habits.There’s some logic, no doubt, in both theories.But if something keeps happening, it can’t be dismissed as an aberration or accident. It has become a pattern. And if a pattern has emerged, it is time for the coaching staff to take action to change it.Nobody who regularly watches England training can be surprised by these no-balls. The bowlers habitually overstep in the nets. Almost every delivery. While there are times when a coach might stand in the position of the umpire and ensure the bowlers’ front foot remains behind the line, it happens rarely. As a result, those bad habits can become engrained.It seems an oddly sloppy approach to such an important part of the game. After all, England would have increased the percentage of wickets they claimed on the third day in Sydney by 50 percent if Crane had not overstepped when bowling to Usman Khawaja.In a discipline like bowling where repeatability is valued, it stands to reason that it should extend to run-ups. Most modern bowlers measure their run-ups with tape before games, so why not ensure they are identical in training? And why not groove that run-up, like a hurdler or long-jumper, in a bid to cut down the number of no-balls? Why not approach the issue with discipline and attention to detail and try to prevent a fifth bowler joining the club?England were not impressed by the no-ball decision against Mason Crane•Getty ImagesGiven the sheer number of support staff travelling with the England squad these days – the butcher, the baker, the tropical fishmonger – you would think one of them could be employed to stand in the nets, watch the front line and bellow “no ball” when required.Maybe it wouldn’t entirely rid England of the problem, but it might well improve it. And it costs nothing.If you burn your toast once it’s an accident. But if you keep doing it… well, you’re a bit of an idiot.”In an ideal world everyone is behind the line but it’s not the first time it’s happened and it definitely won’t be the last,” Bairstow said.Meanwhile Bairstow – amid praising Moeen Ali for his “outstanding” bowling, Anderson for his “lovely” bowling and Crane for bowling “nicely”; really you wonder how many Australia would score if England bowled poorly – said that, given his time again, he would still elect to forego a nightwatchman on the first evening of this match and come out to bat.”I genuinely don’t regret it,” he said. “I’ve faced the new ball many times and you’ve got a nightwatchman who has not faced Mitchell Starc. I had 18 balls to survive. I’m backing myself to face half the balls, if not all of them. There was a new ball, they had two guys in Starc and Josh Hazlewood who use it effectively.”Bairstow also defended the stroke that brought his dismissal – pushing firmly at what turned out to be the final ball of the day.”No one was complaining when I hit the one for four two balls earlier,” he said. “It got me out and was skilfully executed. Live by the sword, die by the sword. I don’t think it’s a massive issue.”As England spent another day in the field, though, as they faced the prospect of yet another first innings that stretched beyond 150 overs, the thought occurred: Australia’s batsmen sell their wickets far more dearly than England’s.Nobody tells them they are promising when they are dismissed for 25. Nobody pretends that is good enough. England, in training, in batting, in their self-appraisals, are starting to sound just a little bit soft.

Putting a spate of injuries and “freakish” bad luck behind him, Deepak Chahar is finally showing the world all of his abilities as a swing bowler

Deivarayan Muthu24-Apr-2018Manpreet Gony, Sudeep Tyagi, Mohit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Shadab Jakati… and Deepak Chahar. Chahar has become the latest uncapped Indian bowler to deliver for Chennai Super Kings. While Gony, Tyagi, Mohit, Pandey and Jakati were all unknown names before their stints with Super Kings, Chahar shot to prominence in 2010, after bagging 8 for 10 on Ranji Trophy debut to bundle out Hyderabad for 21 – the lowest total in Indian domestic cricket – at just 18 years of age. In his first Ranji season, he carried Rajasthan to their first title with 30 wickets at 19.63. He was subsequently signed by Rajasthan Royals in 2011, but a spate of injuries and illnesses saw him fade away.This doesn’t mean he was sloppy. On the contrary, even after the end of his training sessions with Rajasthan, he’d go and do sprints in the dark to keep himself fit. Chahar’s problem is that he is “freakishly unlucky.” Or at least, that’s how Hrishikesh Kanitkar, his first Ranji Trophy captain, puts it. Once, during a practice match, Kanitkar drove a ball back to him, Chahar stretched his hand out instinctively and earned a split webbing for his trouble.He reunited with Kanitkar in 2016 at Rising Pune Supergiant and was even developing a knuckle ball when injury ruled him out of contention. After being seen as a first-choice pick, he played only five matches for Rising Pune in 2016 and 2017 and took one solitary wicket.In October 2017, he was initially named in the Board President’s XI squad for the warm-up games against the visiting New Zealand side, only for the BCCI to fix the “inadvertent” error and pick his brother Rahul Chahar instead.After several false dawns, things are finally looking up for Chahar this season. He was the top wicket-taker in the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 19 scalps in Rajasthan’s maiden run to the final. He showed he had added an extra yard of pace and grabbed 5 for 15 against Karnataka; twice he was on a hat-trick in that match. His performances caught the eyes of Chennai Super Kings in the auction.”When he came on to the domestic scene, Chahar used to bowl around 130kph, but now he has pushed his pace above 135kph because he wanted to play a higher level of cricket,” Kanitkar told ESPNcricinfo. “He did not rush into it and, like Bhuvneshwar, he has upped his pace gradually. In one of the IPL matches, I noticed he hit 140kph but swing will be his strength.”These are still early days in IPL 2018, but Chahar seems to have become MS Dhoni’s go-to bowler in the Powerplay. Dhoni’s preference for swing bowlers at CSK is well known – Gony, Tyagi, Mohit, Pandey all had good outswingers. Chahar can move the ball both ways and now he has the confidence to bowl the knuckle ball he had practiced at Rising Pune. Case in point: the variation that fooled Ajinkya Rahane and hit the top of off stump.CSK coach Stephen Fleming was thrilled to see how far Chahar has come along: “He’s been developing over the last two years. He had a very good domestic season. His skill set was something we were very impressed with since the first day. He’s actually a handy batsman as well. We think he’s a fine cricketer. The fact that he swings the ball is important. Lots of trends in the game, obviously wristspinners and swinging the ball are very effective at the moment. And he does that and he does it at good pace too. At the moment he’s around 140 kph, 143 tops. He’s gone really well. He’s got to find and maintain consistency and that will come with experience. “In his last two games, Chahar has bowled uninterrupted four and three-over spells with the new ball, opening up the middle order for the change bowlers. His spell against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday was particularly delightful. He began with a wicket-maiden, and the wicket itself was a perfect set up. Outswinger first. Inswinger next. Outswinger again. Batsman caught at slip for 0. In his next over, he dismissed Manish Pandey with one that move away again before getting Deepak Hooda with a change-up. At that point, Chahar had delivered 13 dots in 14 balls. Eventually, he finished with 3 for 15 in four overs to pave the way for another last-over CSK win.Most teams would have figured out by now that all of Chahar’s seven IPL wickets, including six this season, have come in the Powerplay at an economy rate of 8.6. How can he adapt to that and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s rollicking top four on an easy-paced, hit-through-the line, Chinnaswamy pitch?

It may be dressing-room psychology rather than statistics that is leading him to come in late

Dustin Silgardo04-May-2018

Hey MI. There’s this guy in the dugout. First name Rohit, last name Sharma. #KXIPvMI

— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) May 4, 2018

Much needed win for Mumbai Indians, keeps them in the hunt and also hood for the tournament. Rohit Sharma, whenever he is there unbeaten at the end, he invariably takes his side home. Punjab were 15-20 short at this ground #KXIPvsMI

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 4, 2018

Why didn’t Rohit bat at No. 3?At the midway point of Mumbai Indians’ chase, there was disbelief that Rohit Sharma had not come out at No. 3. By the end of the game, he was getting an award for it.Rohit said he knew the ground well – he scored a century against Sri Lanka in December in Indore – and wanted to be there at the end as he knew where to hit boundaries at the death. Was it the right decision?Logic suggests that Rohit can make most use of his skills by batting in the top three. He takes his time to get set and can score centuries – he’s got four of them in T20s, all when batting in the top three. But perhaps the reasons for Rohit batting lower down are based primarily on dressing-room psychology rather than statistics. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan probably feel more secure at the crease knowing Rohit is still to come. The Pandya brothers and even Kieron Pollard, who missed the game against Kings XI, may benefit from having Rohit at the other end in the last stages of a tense chase. All three of them have a partnership average of more than 35 with Rohit.Mumbai are lucky enough to have two in-form openers and proven late hitters in the Pandya brothers and Pollard, but ultimately, it’s where and how Rohit bats that will probably dictate their progress.ESPNcricinfo LtdAshwin’s gamble doesn’t pay offWith Mumbai needing 57 off five overs, Ashwin made the bold move of bringing on his death-over specialist Andrew Tye when many captains would have tried to get in an over from someone else and save Tye for the 17th and 19th overs. Tye did his part, taking the wicket of Hardik Pandya and going for just seven. But then, Ashwin had to get in two overs from Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Marcus Stoinis, who had not bowled in the death at all this season. Stoinis has bowled mostly length this tournament and has a habit of overpitching and delivering full tosses, just what the batsmen wanted on a slow pitch. His 20-run 18th over turned the game in Mumbai’s favour.Ashwin will need to think about his team’s death-bowling options before the next game and may consider bringing back Mohit Sharma, who bowled a fine last over to win Kings XI their home game against Chennai Super Kings earlier in the tournament.Why Yuvraj was sent in at No. 3Everyone’s talking about your poor form and how it may be “the end”, you get dropped, then you catch a break as your replacements don’t do much better than you did. And just when you think you’ve slipped back in to the team without too many people noticing, your captain shoves you in to the spotlight by promoting you to No.3. That’s just the way it goes when your name is Yuvraj Singh.ESPNcricinfo LtdSo why did R Ashwin promote Yuvraj? Kings XI have problems with their middle order. Before this game, they were striking at just 113.5 when neither Chris Gayle nor KL Rahul was in, so Ashwin must have been intent on shaking things up. Yuvraj has never been someone who gets going quickly and of late has been taking even longer than usual. In IPLs since 2015, he strikes at just 114.00 for the first 20 balls he’s at the crease. From balls 20 to 30, his strike rate is 155.1 and then after 30 balls, it shoots up to 204.3. That means that whenever Yuvraj has faced 30-plus balls in an innings, since IPL 2015, he strikes at 140.61.So the idea was to give Yuvraj 30-plus balls to face. The problem is, he’s only done that five times in 39 IPL innings since 2015. He often ends up playing a momentum-stopping innings, such as the 14 off 14 balls one he did against Mumbai.Why did JP Duminy bowl?Mumbai Indians have six frontline bowlers, yet for the second game in a row, Rohit Sharma used part-time offspinner JP Duminy. He’s been doing it to get the ball turning away from left-handers – Mumbai don’t have a frontline offspinner. With Chris Gayle and Yuvraj at the crease, he brought on Duminy before Krunal Pandya was introduced.Here’s what the numbers say on turning the ball away from the batsman. In IPL matches before this one, left-handers struck at 135.50 against bowlers who spun it in to them compared to 126.67 against those turning it away, a significant difference considering the number of matches played. Right-handers don’t seem to have as much of an issue with the ball turning away, striking at 119.67 against left-arm and legspin compared to 122.17 against offspinners and left-arm wristspinners.Those numbers are also the reason Kings XI promoted left-hander Axar Patel to face the left-arm spin of Krunal Pandya.

The work he has put in on his wrist position and length has begun to pay off

Aakash Chopra25-Aug-20184:27

Chopra: Best I’ve seen Ishant bowl

If a captain was asked to put down what he most wants from his bowlers, they’d read something like this: 1. Wickets, 2. Economy, 3. DisciplineOver the years, Indian captains have never had the luxury of their wishes being anywhere close to being granted by their fast bowlers. At most, they would have one bowler ticking the boxes, but invariably they would have to compromise on the rest of the attack. One would provide wickets but they would always come at a cost. Another would be disciplined but his wickets column wouldn’t make pretty reading. It was usually a toss-up between rudderless aggression and a modicum of control.This tells you why Ishant Sharma has had the long but less-than-fulfilling international career he has had. Even though he didn’t take wickets as often as the captain and the fans expected, he provided the control and predictability that a captain always wants, and that’s why there haven’t been too many breaks in his Test career. He has always been the workhorse an Indian captain looks for, especially overseas.In the subcontinent, fast bowlers have a fairly limited and defined role to play – bowl with the new ball (more in the hope of taking wickets than belief), bowl a restrictive spell before the ball starts reverse-swinging, and then one or two incisive spells once the ball does indeed start reversing.This lack of belief about picking up wickets with the new ball invariably shapes you as a bowler. You prefer bowling lengths that aren’t conducive to swing bowling, for the new SG Test ball rarely moves in the air, and playing on the up and through the line on full-ish deliveries isn’t seen as being as risky as it is in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia.It helped that Ishant was never a swing bowler and that his natural length was the ideal length to bowl defensively with the new ball. His strengths were his height and the high-arm action that ensured he got extra bounce from the surface (the point of release is directly proportional to the bounce you get after pitching), which also made bowling a little shorter more sensible. The combination of his strengths and the fact that the majority of his Test cricket came at home meant that Ishant didn’t invest time in developing a new skill. Maybe he didn’t have to.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
ESPNcricinfo LtdHe also happened to be among the rare breed of Indian fast bowlers who would give his captain 18-23 overs of discipline with regards to economy every day, day after day. It’s an asset that doesn’t get quantified by cold numbers, for bowlers are generally judged by strike rate and average in Test cricket. But the value Ishant brought to the table was never lost on his captains.There are a number of similarities between Ishant and Stuart Broad. Both are tall, hit the deck hard, and are predominantly seam (not swing) bowlers. Ideally both of them should have similar figures in countries with conditions helpful to seam bowling, but that’s not the case. Broad has taken more wickets at both a better strike rate (55.4 to Ishant’s 71) and average (27.8 to Ishant’s 41.1). Even if we were to discount the fact that playing more than half his cricket in England will have helped Broad’s confidence, the difference in the effectiveness of both bowlers has been stark. So what is it that Broad does that Ishant isn’t or wasn’t doing?The key to Broad’s success is his ability to roll his fingers over the ball just about enough to make it move laterally away from the right-hand batsman after pitching. The control with which he can bowl legcutters allowed him to bowl fuller, and also he bowls in the channel that makes batsmen poke at it.On the other hand, Ishant would mainly bring the ball back in after pitching, with the odd ball straightening occasionally – and since that didn’t happen at will, it wasn’t possible for him to use the incoming deliveries to set up the caught-behind dismissals.The problem with bowling a lot of legcutters is the lack of control over the genuine inswinging delivery, because the muscle memory of wrist and fingers doesn’t allow the ball to be delivered with the seam bolt upright. Broad had his issues with this and Ishant too went through an extended phase where, no matter how hard he tried, the ball simply wouldn’t come out of his hand with the seam upright. So much so that in some ODIs, he bowled only cross-seam stuff.About seven months before the tour to England, Ishant rediscovered the magic formula to keeping the wrist firmly behind the ball. Now the seam was no longer scrambled after release, and that one change made a significant change in the way he operated. He looked a lot more in control of what he was trying to achieve – though the ball wasn’t swinging still and his length was still a little short.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe difference was seen in the Test match against Afghanistan, where the ball wasn’t just seaming after pitching but genuinely swinging in the air. This was the first time I saw Ishant make the ball move laterally in the air consistently.He had also started bowling a lot fuller. Earlier, the bounce he generated made him look a lot better than he was actually bowling, because the batsmen would either leave or get beaten, and the keeper would collect the ball with his gloves pointing upwards. While that looks pretty on TV screens, it’s not effective enough to take wickets. By bowling fuller and swinging the ball in the air, Ishant not only made batsmen look for the deviation but also got lbw and bowled dismissals into play.He also had a leg-side catching trap against Afghanistan: a short midwicket and a catching fielder just behind square, which spoke of the hard yards he had put in on the county circuit. He seems more aware of what he was doing and the possible outcomes.In the current series in England, about 20% of his deliveries have been full, compared to only 8% in the 2014 series. Batsmen can no longer leave his deliveries on length, for significantly more balls are finishing within the line of the stumps.Now that he is able to swing the ball, the next step should be developing the ability to roll his fingers once in a while to extract away-going movement after pitching. The day he starts doing that at will, his incoming deliveries will be more potent. Ishant is almost 30, and if anything, will get a little slower in the air as he goes along. Developing the ability to swing the ball will not only make him more effective but will also help him prolong his career.

Shakti Gauchan, who has played for Nepal since 2001, finally hung up his gloves after his, and Nepal’s, first ODI

Peter Della Penna02-Aug-2018He’s spent more than half his life representing Nepal on a cricket field, starting with his first match captaining an Under-17 side against Bangladesh in February 2001. So it’s understandable that 34-year-old Shakti Gauchan’s legs might have felt a bit weary as he took the field as one of Nepal’s first eleven ODI cricketers on Wednesday.He was stationed at short midwicket, having already finished a four-over spell of 0 for 15, when the Netherlands captain Pieter Seelaar nailed a slog sweep. There wasn’t too much time for Gauchan to move, so he randomly stuck out his left paw and a split second later realised he had pulled off a spectacular catch. All of a sudden, the legs had power again as he raced around the outfield with a megawatt smile from ear to ear. It took a while for his team-mates, just like it had done for time, to catch up with him.”Usually when I took a wicket, I run around all over the boundary,” Gauchan said later. “I usually do but I got halfway around and the boys caught me and they all hugged me. I think that part is amazing and why I love cricket.”Even though Nepal captain Paras Khadka starred with the ball, taking four wickets on the nation’s ODI debut, he had Gauchan lead the players off the field at the innings break. He had announced before the tour that he was retiring and the 200 or so travelling Nepal fans provided a rousing show of their support as he walked towards them, right through a guard of honour from his team-mates.”Shakti has been incredible,” Khadka said after the match. “He’s the senior-most cricketer. He’s really set examples. He’s one of the most hard-working cricketers that I’ve ever seen or known. I think this was his last international game. He wants to retire back home with an official game but we never know when we’re going to get a home game. So we thought try and give him the best possible reception from our side that we can and hopefully I think Shakti Gauchan has served Nepal cricket and Nepal for the last 18-19 years and he deserves a lot more from everybody back home as well.”I just hope people realise the kind of sacrifices that he has made along with his family. Moving forward we’ll be missing him for sure. In the dressing room, he’s somebody whom we can always go to for advice, somebody who has put in so many match-winning performances. For Nepal cricket to become an ODI nation, he has played one of the most important key roles over the years.”The guard of honor wasn’t a pre-planned gesture, according to Khadka. But during the course of the Netherlands innings, he let Gauchan know that this was his chance to savour the moment. A last one even with Nepal’s coaching staff keen to use the final ODI in Amstelveen as an opportunity to blood younger players ahead of the Asia Cup Qualifier in Malaysia starting on August 29. The gesture clearly touched Gauchan as he broke into his trademark smile as if he was almost embarrassed by all the attention.”It was amazing,” Gauchan said. “When we were leaving after the first innings off the ground, suddenly Paras and Basant tell me, ‘Today is your last foreign tour match so we are giving you a guard of honor. Please stand there, we are going just for the boundary line up. Just come slowly. We are giving you a guard of honor.’ At that time, that is the best part of life when you may be retired as a cricket player. So it was amazing that they have given me guard of honor.”Gauchan’s day wasn’t entirely done, of course. He strode out to bat with his team on 104 for 6 chasing 190, and in days gone by, there may have been hope of his pulling off a miracle. After all, he was the second Nepal player to score a century, doing it from No. 4 against Italy in 2005. Gauchan tried to stretch the match out until he was the only man left. Netherlands did win the match, but Gauchan would not succumb, fighting to the end to finish unbeaten on 9.His ODI career may only include one match, but it’s significance was profound, starting as it did with Gauchan exchanging his sweaty and weather-worn Nepal cap for a bright and shimmering one. It had “3” sewn into the side, recognising his seniority after captain Paras Khadka and vice-captain Gyanendra Malla were given caps embroidered with No. 1 and 2.”I think that cap ceremony has given us more responsibility for Nepali cricket, whether or not I come on future tours,” Gauchan said. “Those who are getting this cap, they are getting the responsibility of Nepali cricket to grow up and up. We are thinking now for the next level of cricket and the next level is Test playing nation.Shakti Gauchan walks through the guard of honor formed by his teammates•Peter Della Penna”Before when we were playing in World [Cricket] League or other championship, we were thinking about ODI [status]. Today we became an ODI nation so the next part is to become a Test-playing nation. In that moment, everyone is thinking, ‘So we are getting today this ODI cap. Now the next cap is our Test cap and [becoming] a Test nation.'”Nepal are now being propelled by the likes of teenage legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane and he may achieve more fame than any other cricketer from his country thanks to his litany of T20 contracts. He’s already played in the IPL. He was part of a World XI squad that met West Indies at Lord’s. And he will soon be representing the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League.Lamichhane appreciates the foundation that Gauchan laid for him to achieve such personal heights, not to mention collective team honors for Nepal. “Growing up as a kid, it was really really enjoyable to watch him on TV. The way he celebrates all wickets and the way he gives his 100%, his dedication to Nepal cricket, his immense love from his side to Nepal cricket. It was a fantastic moment when I made my debut with him as well two years back against Namibia. My dream came true playing with him.””I feel lucky because if somebody asks me, ‘Who was Shakti Gauchan?’ I can proudly say I made my debut under him, Paras dai, Basant dai, Gyan dai, Sharad dai and other players,” Lamichhane said. “It gives me lots of strength whenever I watch him. I salute to him his dedication to Nepal cricket because I’ve never seen any other player who is honest to his cricket and to his passion for cricket and everything. He’s one of the idols for every player who wants to play cricket in Nepal.”This respect that Gauchan commands is in no small part due to his performance in the 2014 World T20, when he masterminded victories over Hong Kong and Afghanistan, inspired more and more youngsters to take up spin. But his fondest memories of playing for Nepal was the journey itself, rising up through the Associate ranks to become a team with international status.”Whenever we qualify for a big tournament, that is very very memorable for me,” Gauchan said. “Either T20 World Cup or qualify for ODI nation or qualify for World [Cricket] League, I think that part is very memorable for me. At that time we enjoy it and we support each other so that part I am missing as a player and I’ll miss all of these things.”As for what the future holds, Gauchan says he is contemplating a role in cricket administration instead of carrying on with his side job as a development coach because that is where the country needs the most help. The Nepal board is currently suspended by the ICC.Whatever he decides to pursue, Shakti will be bringing the power of his smile with him. “The big smile on his face shows he has that strength,” Lamichhane said. “He can kill everybody with his smile. His name as well, ‘Shakti The Power’, he has that power I feel. Sometimes it feels really bad he’s leaving us in his last tour, but this is cricket and one day you need to leave everything. I think he’ll continue his journey in any part of Nepal cricket.”

England weren’t poor by any means, but what they tried didn’t seem to come off for them the way it did for Pakistan

Jarrod Kimber at Lord's25-May-20181:49

Changing slip corden not behind dropped catches – Bairstow

Ben Stokes is charging in, Jos Buttler is flying, and Dawid Malan is desperate. Stokes has just come on to make something happen. What he’s delivered is a short of a length ball outside off stump, and Asad Shafiq tries to steer it. But it’s too big, and he can’t keep it down. The ball flies through gully. Buttler launches himself to his left, and the ball slams into his hands, but then pops back out. Malan reacts to the ball looping in front of him, but he’s just too far away and the ball lands on the turf. Stokes made something happen, it just didn’t work.In the first 15 overs Pakistan played and missed more than England did. England were in control of the ball 76% of the time, Pakistan a shade under at 74%. England bowlers – oft-lambasted for bowling too short – bowled fuller than Pakistan’s line up did. The bowlers were good, it just didn’t work.England had clear game plans for the batsmen, and they stuck to them. For Azhar Ali, it was to stay outside off stump. Usually he scores 52% on the leg side, this innings he only made 28% of his runs there, but he still stayed put for over 200 minutes. For Babar Azam it was the short ball which, according to CricViz, he averages over 40 against in Tests. They didn’t take his wicket, but it was the short ball that eventually made him leave the field injured. They stayed true to their theories, it just didn’t work.While the ball was still moving, and Pakistan barely holding on, England bowled short and around the wicket at Azhar. Mark Wood is superb at bowling right arm around the wicket short stuff, but Azhar is as good playing it. There was merit to trying it, it just didn’t work.They brought Dominic Bess on the first time last night for the penultimate over before stumps. Then they waited until the 43rd over to bring him on, when both of the left-handers were gone. Early in that second spell, the batsmen looked like they were trying to implode against him, before looking at the scoreboard and realising they could milk him. Bess worked hard, but the ball didn’t spin much, he wasn’t accurate, and he’s a 20-year-old with not much experience to use. They took a punt on him; it just didn’t work.That doesn’t include the fielding, there were perhaps seven missed opportunities. Last night Stokes tried to take a pearler, dropping it and stopping Malan from completing an easy chance. Alastair Cook missed a low one to his right. Buttler’s flying spill at gully. Cook missed one – or Jonny Bairstow did – when Cook and Bairstow left a wasteland between each other. And Cook dropped another one the next over. There was also the time when Buttler had a ball fly high and to his left, while he went low and to his right. And a Bess run out that might have been close if he’d hit the stumps.Ben Stokes celebrates the wicket of Asad Shafiq•Getty ImagesIn seven balls England missed a catch, allowed an easy four, dropped a catch and conceded overthrows. After Cook’s two misses, he was taken from slip to short leg, Anderson took over at slip, before Cook went back to slip an over later. Later he moved out again before going back. England’s fielding was stuck on shuffle. According to CricViz Cook catches 69% of his catches at slip, a good slip fielder should be at over 80%.So what do you do when your plans don’t work and your fielders can’t catch? You turn to Stokes. Because, Stokes.Early on Stokes was okay; his first six overs went for 13 runs, but he didn’t break through. After a big rest in the middle of the innings, he came back on with the old ball. He bowled so well they gave him the new one ahead of Anderson.It was Stokes who played on the ego of Sarfraz Ahmed just before tea. He bowled fast and short to him, he tempted him, and then Sarfraz got sucked in and was caught at fine leg. It was Stokes who kept bouncing Babar, well after it looked like that was a poor plan, and while he didn’t dismiss him, he retired him with a stinging blow on the arm. And when BFFs Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf were steering the game out of England’s reach, it was Stokes who removed Shadab.Stokes was in one of those moods that scares the villagers. Even when the speed didn’t say he was that quick, it felt like it. The game was slipping away from England, and he was in proper “Ben Stokes aint gonna let that happen” mood. Stokes bowled the fastest ball today for England, despite Wood. Stokes made the breakthroughs, despite Broad. Stokes took the new ball, despite Anderson. Had Stokes wanted to, you could see him bowling a couple of offies to show up Bess as well.The ball after Buttler’s drop, Stokes was back at Shafiq. Right at him, if the last ball got big, this one got Godzilla. It grew and grew, and went straight for the throat of Shafiq. This time Shafiq couldn’t play it, and got smashed on the fingers and the ball coughed up gently to slips. The ball was brutal, the reaction to the drop equally so. Stokes made it happen, he kept England in the game.But Pakistan were ahead in the game when Shafiq was dismissed and by the time Stokes got Shadab, Pakistan had a proper lead.Stokes did all he could, it just didn’t work.

India’s best all-format bowler talks about the knuckleball, and why Sunrisers Hyderabad has the best bowling attack in the IPL

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi19-May-20182:11

Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman talks about Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s workload, investing in good Indian talent, and the benefits of showing faith in youngsters

Would you say this current Sunrisers attack is the most complete T20 bowling unit you’ve been part of?
 It is a very good bowling attack. What is good about this unit is, whenever anybody has been asked to deliver he has done it – Basil Thampi played a couple of matches and he did whatever the captain asked of him or the team needed.It is an attack that has defended small targets. Like in the away match against Mumbai Indians, where you defended 118. When you defend such a small total, what does the bowler need to focus on?
Everyone knows that when you defend a small target there is not much room to make any mistake. The good thing is, whenever we have defended a low total, we have always taken wickets.I was not in Mumbai, but when I spoke to the guys who played in that match, they said that everyone wanted to focus on bowling the dot ball at the beginning. The batsmen made mistakes or went after the bowlers as the dot balls increased, and that is how we kept taking wickets at regular intervals. So the bowlers were not going after the wickets, they just wanted to bowl dot balls.How difficult is it to defend small targets like those?
It is difficult to defend a low total because there is no pressure on the batting side. One or two good overs and they know then they’ll only need [about] a run a ball. When you are defending a low total, the key is, all bowlers need to be on the same page: either you go for wickets or you contain the run rate. Either option could work. If you go for wickets, you could contain the run rate, or you could get wickets by containing the run rate.Is it good to be attacking while defending a small target?
It totally depends on the bowlers, the team. Like, in the Mumbai match, our bowlers were just defensive. They wanted the batsmen to make mistakes, because sometimes batsmen can relax while chasing a low total, since they know one over can change the whole game. But when you keep bowling dot balls, they come under pressure and commit mistakes, and that is what happened in the Mumbai match.

DeliveryOversRuns% of ballsW% of WEconDot%Knuckleball9.310430.667510.9528.07Yorker143.2112.54.0050.00Moved in8.54928.5112.55.5552.83Slow ball0.442.2006.0025.00Legcutter0.331.6006.000Straight2.4188.6006.7537.50Moved away5.54218.8007.2060.00Bouncer0.341.6008.0033.33Reverse Swing0.241.10012.0050.00Full toss0.5142.70016.800

While chasing a big target, batsmen usually try and hit the first ball of the over for a boundary, to put pressure on the bowler. As a strike bowler what is your mantra for the first ball?
For a bowler it doesn’t matter whether it is a first ball or a last ball. We always want to take a wicket or bowl a dot ball. Yes, when you get hit on the first ball, you are always under pressure because you still have to bowl five more balls and the batsman has got the upper hand. For a bowler all six balls matter. You might bowl five dot balls and then get hit for a boundary off the last delivery.Yesterday, against Daredevils, you were taken for 17 runs off the last over of the innings. You rarely leak so many runs at the death.
Exactly. I have not given so many, but whatever bad balls I bowled, the batsmen converted. When you are going through a good patch, even if you bowl bad balls, batsmen might only convert 50% of those deliveries.You are the only Indian bowler to have a five-for in each of the three international formats. The last time you picked up a five-for was in the T20 series in South Africa. Three of the wickets in that match came off the slower ball. How important is that variation for you?
It is very important, especially in the T20 format, because everyone goes after the bowler straightaway, but when you have a variation, the batsman thinks twice before hitting you. Overseas, most times the ball comes nicely on to the bat and batsmen always want to hit you square of the wicket if they are good at the cut and pull. So if you can take the pace off the delivery, you can contain the strengths of the batsman.Say about five years ago, what percentage of your deliveries were the slower variation?
I do not remember what percentage, but it depends on the situation, ground conditions, and the batsman. A few batsmen are very good against the slower ball, a few are very good against the yorker, so you don’t want to bowl those variations against them. But a slower ball is a necessary variation because when the batsman is in his flow, all he wants is pace on the delivery. So when you bowl the slower ball, it becomes effective.Is the slower ball reactive?
In the T20 format you have to be proactive instead of reacting to things. Yes, it can be a reaction if you get hit for a boundary or a six, then you can bowl a slower one, depending on the conditions. But even if you go for runs, it is better to be proactive.Bhuvneshwar Kumar in recent IPL seasons

In the last four IPL seasons (from 2015), Bhuvneshwar is the leading wicket-taker in the last five overs, with 49 wickets at 15.46, and an economy rate of 9.11. The next-highest wicket-taker is Dwayne Bravo with 40

Only Bravo, with 503 balls, has bowled more deliveries at the death in this period than Bhuvneshwar, who has bowled 499 balls.

Among the 14 bowlers who have bowled over 35 overs at the death in the last four IPL seasons, Bhuvneshwar’s average is the best, and his ER is fourth best.

In the current IPL and the 2017 edition, Bhuvneshwar has taken eight (23.5%) of his wickets with knuckle balls and seven (20.6%) with slower balls, which makes it a total of 44.1% from these two variations.

How many types of slower ball do you have?
Offcutter, legcutter and knuckleball.And you bowl them all with same grip?
The grip remains mostly the same – just a slight change for the knuckleball. I bowl the cutters with the upright seam; the only difference is how you roll the fingers. It is not a mystery. The batsmen can see whether it is a legspin or offspin.When it comes to the knuckleball what is different about the grip?
I just try to hold the ball by the tips of my fingers. A few bowlers grip it with the knuckles, but I am not comfortable doing that. The seam is always upright and not scrambled. That is how I started, learned, and have practised since then.Do you remember how it was the first few times the knuckleball left your hand?
I was not comfortable because you are used to holding the ball with both fingers [and thumb] with a good grip, whereas when you are bowling the knuckleball you are gripping with the fingertips. It would slip. In fact, I remember, the first few times I tried the knuckleball, it would pitch near my legs or lob over to the wicketkeeper. It took nearly a week to start pitching it properly.I think it was two years ago when I tried it for the first time on the big stage. It was during the IPL.How do you practise it in the nets?
I do not bowl too many knuckleballs in the nets. I usually bowl that delivery against a single stump in the centre – that is how I get more ideas about the delivery.Former South Africa fast bowler Charl Langveldt was amazed at how easily and how soon you learned to master the knuckleball. He himself took several years.
I think he was the first guy I noticed bowling the knuckleball. He used it bowl it very well. Unfortunately no one picked it up till Zaheer Khan tried it, and now many bowlers  use the knuckleball.Langveldt also thinks your knuckleball almost floats.
I don’t know about that, but the good thing is it goes with the seam and swings.How is the delivery different for you from how others bowl it?
It is difficult to read it because there is no change in my action, no change in my wrist position.”A slower ball can only be deceptive if it is different, if it is floating, swinging”•AFPThe knuckleball is a wicket-taking ball. When you bowl offcutters and legcutters, batsmen can pick them from the wrist, but the knuckleball they have not been able to read. They might pick it in the air or after pitching. That is why a knuckleball is very effective, because it looks like the ball is coming at the same [good] pace, and the batsman gets beaten. So they cannot see anything different in my loading, in my run-up. Only once I release it, they notice the change.In terms of putting doubt in a batsman’s mind, the bowler has to think. It’s not possible to teach that, is it?
You cannot teach that. That is what experience teaches you. You have been in those situations many times before, so you know the possible outcomes if you try something. Also, it is about doing the process right and not thinking what is going to happen. If you do that, then sometimes your body can get tense and you will not be able to deliverA slower ball of any kind basically is deception. How did you teach yourself that?
Anything that a batsman cannot pick from the wrist is deception. Almost every bowler bowls a slower ball, but not many can be deceptive. A slower ball can only be deceptive if it is different, if it is floating, swinging. If you look at [Dwayne] Bravo’s slower ball, it is deceptive because it floats and dips.Ben Laughlin floats his knuckleball and it swings. If you ask me whether I can bowl the way these guys deliver, I cannot, because their actions are different. I might want to bowl the slower ball like Bravo but I can’t.Does the pitch matter?
Of course, it does. If you bowl a slower ball and the pitch is slow, then it will be difficult for the batsman to hit. If it is a flat wicket and nothing is happening, it is easier for the batsman to pick to the slower ball.Any particularly memorable wickets that you’ve taken with the knuckleball?
Upul Tharanga in Sri Lanka. It was a normal outswinger and Tharanga attempted to flick and was beaten by the pace.What do you need in order to be brave as a fast bowler in T20 cricket?
You need wickets to be brave. When you get wickets, you can try anything. But when you don’t, you always hesitate to try a few things because it is not always about giving runs and getting wickets.Azhar Mahmood, the current Pakistan bowling coach, said bowlers win you tournaments. Do you agree?
I agree. You see teams buy a lot of batsmen for a lot of money because they are good batsmen. But you also need good bowlers to get them out or contain the runs. If you bowl first and you can get the opposition out for 130-140 then it is a good total to chase. If your team has made 160, a par score in T20, you can help win the match. In T20 cricket, bowlers win you matches.

From not being in the team to being thrown into the leadership role, plus a winless tour of England and a chance encounter on a Chicago baseball field – Tim Paine’s journey has been far from ordinary

Daniel Brettig02-Dec-2018Tim Paine thought he was having a pretty good morning, as he looked out across a vacant Wrigley Field in Chicago, home to the 2016 World Series-winning Cubs. Australia’s Test captain was there with a Cricket Australia delegation in August to learn about the systems and habits of one of the world’s most revered sporting clubs.The schedule called for a guided tour of the venerable stadium, before the group met members of the Cubs’ front-office staff ahead of watching that afternoon’s game together. But as tour began to break up, Paine received a tap on the shoulder from a former Cubs catcher, John Baker. “He said, ‘You don’t want to go with them, you want to come down with us, don’t you, and get around the players, see how they go about it.’ I said, ‘Yep that’d be great,'” Paine recalls.”It was a 1pm game, I think, and they started rolling in from about 9am doing their prep, so I just sat in around the bullpen and went out to the outfield, went into the batting cages and watched for about three or four hours. It was brilliant.”Paine spent most of his time with the Cubs’ All-Star catcher Willson Contreras, comparing and contrasting the arts of catching, batting and wicketkeeping. “It was awesome. Any time you get to cross-over sports and see how other world-class athletes go about things and how they prepare, you’d be silly not to try and learn as much as you can,” Paine says. “To see someone like that, who’s an All-Star, and a lot of the skill he has is catching and hitting – so, similar sort of stuff to what I do.”They’re super-professional in the way they recover and the way they prepare for each game, and it’s impressive to watch when you think they’re doing it over 100 times without much rest in 110 or 112 days. They’re highly skilled but the one-percenter type stuff they take to a new level, and I think you’ve got to, to be able to turn up and play day in, day out like they do.”Observing the pitchers work the bullpen and the batters in their cages, Paine was struck by how much they had in common. “It was so similar to cricket, how they come in,” he says. “It was almost like having throwdowns, then going on to a machine, then into some stuff out in the middle.

“I do need to be myself. I need to keep an eye on that. If I do change a little bit in my behaviour or I’m trying or training too hard, [Langer] just gives me a tap on the shoulder”

“Even the level they go to, the homework they do on the opposition pitchers, the level of detail they have in what they know that pitcher can throw and when he’s going to throw it, and what to look for in his load-up and all that sort of stuff, it was quite exceptional.”A few hours later, as the crowd filed in for the game, Paine returned to the rest of the travelling group, with something to remember Contreras by. “I’ve got a bat off Willson that he signed. I’ll hold onto that, hopefully by the end of his career he’s an all-time great and it might be a bit of a pool-room item…”***Paine has had an eventful 12 months in cricket. From a point where he was not even Tasmania’s first-choice wicketkeeper, he found himself being recalled to Australia’s Test squad for the Ashes, then assuming the captaincy amid the maelstrom of the Newlands scandal. In the eight months since, he has been among the key figures in the leadership as it wrestles with the fallout while also attempting to forge a new Australian team from out of the chaos.As if that was not enough change, Paine and his wife Bonnie became parents for the first time in mid-2017, and welcomed their second child into the world weeks before the UAE Test tour to face Pakistan. The last two weeks have allowed Paine and his family something of a breather in Hobart, thanks to Tasmania’s consecutive home fixtures in the Sheffield Shield, but he laughs when revealing even that time has included another adjustment.”It’s been a good couple of weeks, but again now we’re moving house, so that’s another dimension to it,” he says. “Having two young kids for Bonnie at home by herself has been quite challenging. It’s been really busy but back to as normal as it can be this time of the year.”It’s been a big 18 months, from where I was when we were talking about having a family, and having that all lined up pretty well, and then to be picked in the Ashes has in a good way thrown everything out. It’s been a really hectic time in a cricket sense and a family sense. It’s starting to settle down, which is nice, so I’m looking forward to this summer.”‘I’ve got a job to do as captain, Justin’s got a job to do as coach, and it’s pretty simple. It’s something you try not to overcomplicate, keep it simple and be yourself’•Getty ImagesIn the increasingly febrile environment of the Australia Test team last season, Paine’s calm and perspective shone through on the field and off it. His performances with the gloves and the bat brought a sense of reassurance to those around him. Memorably, he was the man in the middle of the David Warner-Quinton de Kock stairwell bust-up in Durban, physically restraining Warner from turning the encounter into something more than a verbal one. Then in unprecedented fashion, Paine found himself summarily appointed captain the morning after the ball-tampering scandal, and held the fort while Steven Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned, Darren Lehmann resigned, and a stunned team staggered through the final Test in Johannesburg.While Paine has always spoken well, carrying himself impressively even as a young cricketer when he debuted alongside Smith against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, he admits now that the weight of the job and the circumstances in which he assumed the role took him away from being himself. This was most evident on the mid-year limited-overs tour of England, when he and the new coach, Justin Langer, travelled with high expectations only to see the team atomised by Eoin Morgan’s fearless aggressors.”That was probably because it was my first tour as captain of Australia,” Paine reflects. “I think trying to set the standard and I probably did overtrain, and tried too hard in a way to perform and didn’t let myself be free and express my skill as much. As well being a bit physically and mentally tired from overtraining, overthinking and trying to be the Australian captain rather than just be myself.”In the aftermath of the tour, and on the study tour of the United States that followed, Paine and Langer worked at making sure the captain was not losing sight of where he came from. “One of my key things as a captain and a cricketer is, I do need to be myself,” Paine says. “If I do change a little bit in my behaviour or I’m trying or training too hard, he just gives me a tap on the shoulder.”We’ve had a good relationship over a number of years, so we can talk pretty honestly about that. I’ve made some other people aware of it around the group as well, to keep an eye on it. At times there’s so much going on that you’re just always on the go and you forget to take a step back and relax a little bit. It’s important I continue to do that to keep myself fresh and ready for game day.

“Sometimes in the intensity of international cricket, people can start focusing a bit too much on themselves because you’re just so desperate to perform. I think guys can become a little bit insular”

“The more complicated you try to make it, the bigger and harder the job becomes. I’ve got a job to do as captain, Justin’s got a job to do as coach, and it’s pretty simple. It’s something you try not to overcomplicate.”***Away from the dressing room, Paine has a couple of mentors, one from within cricket and one from without, though he prefers not to say who they are. Bonnie has also been critical to keeping him balanced, alerting him if she feels he is disappearing too deeply into the cricket bubble. “Now having two kids as well is another blessing in disguise. You can come home and have a few hours with the kids and you actually haven’t got a chance to think about cricket because you’re so busy. That’s been a real benefit for me.”The virtues of balance could be seen in the contrast between England and the UAE. Where the first tour featured intensive preparation, the second saw Paine spending as much time as possible at home to be with his wife for the birth of their second child, Charlie, and subsequently missing the majority of the team’s pre-tour camp. Jumping more or less straight from parenthood in Hobart to captaincy in the UAE might appear jarring, but Paine now thinks that it helped him a great deal.”Sometimes I can actually train too hard and I get to games and, without knowing it, am a little bit tired and a little bit flat,” he says. “For me to have a little bit less of a run into it may have actually worked in my favour, particularly in those hot conditions, and I had the benefits, particularly with my wicketkeeping, of being able to stay quite sharp and concentrate for long periods in those conditions and keep really well.”Now I know that I don’t have to overtrain all the time. With a Test match, I need to be completely immersed in it. when I’m thinking of other things at times it can be hard, but the great thing with Test matches is, you can’t take your phone in. So once you switch that off for the day, I’m pretty good at being able to go into just cricket.”In Dubai, Paine kept immaculately throughout, before summoning all his mental and technical reserves to help Usman Khawaja guide Australia to safety. The telling images at the finish – a forward defence, a fist pump, then a gesture to the Australian viewing area to “keep a lid on” the celebrations – were exactly the sorts of deeds that will shape the team under Paine and Langer’s leadership.Paine rose admirably to the challenge of keeping Pakistan at bay with gloves and bat in Dubai•Getty ImagesThe following week, of course, Australia gave up a dominant first-day position to be well beaten by Pakistan, in a reminder of the challenge ahead of them. Facing India under the full glare of the home spotlight will present another challenge, but one that Paine is insistent upon facing without letting his players retreat into themselves. The “gilded bubble” discussed in the Longstaff review is not to be his way.”In terms of the bubble, I think it’s just that sometimes as much the individual, not so much the Australian Test team, there is so much on and it becomes a bit overwhelming that people just become a bit insular,” Paine says. “We try to keep each other out of that and make sure we keep giving back to the fans and people that come and watch the games.”Sometimes in the intensity of international cricket, people can start focusing a bit too much on themselves because you’re just so desperate to perform and it’s such a tough game that’s critiqued really heavily as well. I think guys can become a little bit insular, so we’ve got to try as much as we can to give back and open up a bit more.”One of the observations made by the Australians at Wrigley was how the notion of captaincy is nowhere near as prevalent in baseball as it is in cricket – the Cubs have in fact declined to name a leader since the retirement of Sammy Sosa in the early 2000s. More than anyone, Paine now knows the necessity of sharing the load.”I try to be quite inclusive, involving our senior players because they’ve played a lot of Test cricket and I also want to involve the younger guys because we want them to develop into leaders down the track,” he says. “That style is another good way of me being able to conserve a bit of energy.”

New Zealand won by four runs, handing Pakistan their narrowest defeat in Test cricket

Bharath Seervi19-Nov-20184- The margin of victory for New Zealand in the Abu Dhabi Test, which is the fifth smallest in Test history; the smallest being West Indies’ one-run win against Australia in Adelaide in January 1993. For Pakistan and New Zealand, this was their narrowest defeat and narrowest victory respectively.ESPNcricinfo Ltd24- Runs for which Pakistan lost their last six wickets, which is their third worst in a chase. They collapsed from 147 for 4 to 171 all out. They had suffered worse collapses against Australia: they had lost 6 for 18 at SCG in 1972-73 and later 6 for 23 at WACA in 2004-05.1- Number of smaller scores defended by New Zealand than the 176 in this Test. The only time they defended less than 200 before the Abu Dhabi Test was against England in Wellington in 1977-78, when they bowled England out for 64 in a chase of 137.5- Number of times when New Zealand have taken the last six wickets for 30 or fewer runs while defending in the fourth innings. Incidentally, three of those have come in last three years. They had picked up 6 for 26 against Pakistan in Hamilton in 2016 and 6 for 20 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in August 2016.3- Number of times Pakistan have failed to chase down targets of less than 200 since 2017. They had lost by 106 runs chasing 188 against West Indies in Barbados and by 21 runs chasing 136 against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, both last year.136- Runs accumulated by the last five wickets in this Test across the four innings – the lowest in any Test since 1980, when both teams batted twice. The runs added by last five wickets in the four innings of this Test were 30, 53, 29 and 24.

Team Last 5 wkts runs From ToNew Zealand first innings 30 123/5 153New Zealand second innings 29 220/5 249Pakistan first innings 53 174/5 227Pakistan second innings 24 147/5 1715/59- Ajaz Patel’s figures in the fourth innings: the second best by a New Zealand spinner on Test debut. Alex Moir had taken 6 for 155 against England in Christchurch in 1951, which is the best. Ajaz was also named Man of the Match, which makes him fifth New Zealand player to win the award on Test debut.3- Number of bowlers who have taken five-wicket hauls in the fourth innings on Test debut this year: Lungi Ngidi against India in Johannesburg, Akila Dananjaya against Bangladesh in Dhaka and Patel in this Test. Incidentally, no bowler had achieved this in six years prior to 2018.