Displaces Jason Holder at the top after his Mohali masterclass against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2022Ravindra Jadeja is the new No. 1 allrounder in Test cricket, following his epic show with bat and ball in Mohali.Jadeja scored 175 not out and took a match haul of nine wickets to help India to an innings victory over Sri Lanka and displace West Indies’ Jason Holder at the top of the rankings. Holder held the No. 1 spot since February 2021.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This is the second time Jadeja has reached the summit of the Test allrounder rankings: he was No. 1 for a week in August 2017. Jadeja also moved up three places to No. 17 on the bowling rankings, and from 54th to 37th on the batting table.Coming in at No. 7 after India had got to 228 for 5, Jadeja batted 228 balls for his unbeaten 175 – a strike rate of 76.75 – with 17 fours and three sixes included, to have India moving along swiftly. He strung together a century stand with R Ashwin, before India eventually declared on 574 for 8.Jadeja then went on to take a five-for as India bowled Sri Lanka out for 174, finishing the innings off with two wickets in two balls. He could not complete the hat-trick the second time around, but claimed four more as Sri Lanka were bundled out again. Jadeja was the one to break Sri Lanka’s longest period of resistance in the game – 17 overs – with the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva, and quickly followed up by taking out the other set batter Angelo Mathews to leave India in sight of victory on day three.He remained in contention for a match haul of ten all through, missing out right at the end as the final wicket went to his spin partner Ashwin. Had he claimed that wicket, Jadeja would have been the first player to record a score of over 150 and take ten wickets in the same game. As it were, he became only the sixth to score 150-plus and take a five-for in the same Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Virat Kohli, who scored 45 in what was his 100th Test, moved up two spots on the batting rankings to No. 5. Rishabh Pant, who hit a dizzying 96 off 97, moved up one spot to break into the top ten.Rawalpindi Test: Azhar Ali up to 12th
There was movement in the batting rankings courtesy events from the run fest in Rawalpindi as well. Pakistan piled up 476 for 4 declared and later 252 for 0, and Imam-ul-Haq, key to that performance with twin centuries, moved up to a career-best 63rd.His maiden Test ton in the first innings came in a partnership of 208 with Azhar Ali, who hit 185 runs of his own and subsequently moved up ten places to No. 12.Travis Head, who was the only one among Australia’s top six to score less than 48, moved down from No. 5 to No. 7.

Only Zimbabwe and Netherlands have won fewer ODIs in this World Cup cycle than Babar Azam’s men

Danyal Rasool30-Mar-2022

Big picture

If there were optimists who believed the ODI series would gradually pick up interest once the ball was rolling, what the first game threw up will have done plenty to extinguish that kind of positive thinking. In a textbook example of why the 50-over format continues to struggle for relevance despite the advent of the World Cup Super League and an ODI World Cup on the horizon, Lahore witnessed a complete mismatch. Australia capitalised on a lacklustre start from the hosts and never quite let that advantage go, while Pakistan’s chase gave off the impression they were still playing cricket stuck in 1998, the year when, as everyone has surely cottoned on by now, Australia were last here.That it looks like the second game is on is something of a relief in itself, after further Covid-19 cases in the Australian camp put them on the cusp of falling below the minimum threshold of players (13) required to continue a tour. Ashton Agar’s positive result before the first ODI raised fears of further absences, but all members of the travelling party tested negative on Wednesday, and, for now, it looks like the tour will go ahead.Unlike the Test series, this one-day leg isn’t quite making front page headlines, not least due to political drama in Islamabad that has captivated the nation for some time now. It was what necessitated the moving of the white-ball series from Rawalpindi to Lahore, and from the front pages to back pages. If that’s where cricket stays over the long run, it should be something of a win for Pakistan, for it would mean the sport is treated with the normalcy most other nations take for granted.As for the cricket itself, Pakistan will have to be careful not to get sucked into a scrap for qualification to the 2023 World Cup. Only Zimbabwe and Netherlands have won fewer games in this cycle, and should they fail to get across the line this series, their road to India may end up going through Zimbabwe (where the qualifiers will be held).For Australia, it was simply the perfect ODI, and an extension of their stranglehold over the hosts this tour. After making all the running in the Test series, there was no sign of a let up in the first ODI, despite a squad that’s down to skin and bone. Indeed, it never really felt like Australia got out of third gear to pull off the win, and against feeble Pakistani resistance, they never quite needed to.

Form guide

Pakistan LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWLWL
Zahid Mahmood provided a good account of himself in the first ODI•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

Pakistan will struggle to draw much encouragement from the first game, but in an individual capacity, Zahid Mahmood might feel he had a day he could build on. Perhaps unlucky to miss out on all three Tests as Pakistan’s frontline spin options failed to impress, there were glimmers of true quality in Mahmood’s spell on Tuesday. The legspinner conceded 30 off the first three while Australia’s opening partnership was in full flow, but once he removed Aaron Finch in the third over, he was, by some distance, the pick of the Pakistan bowlers. He applied something of a squeeze through the middle overs and managed enough drift and turn to keep Australia on their toes. On another day, perhaps Thursday, he might be able to play the role Adam Zampa has almost patented for Australia.It’s hard to look too far past Cameron Green these days. After a superb Test series where he was often the bête noire in Pakistan, particularly with the ball, his form with the bat has come to the fore in Lahore. It has translated very neatly to the white-ball game, his unbeaten 30-ball 40 picking up the impetus once more for Australia after Pakistan had fought back through the second half of the innings. The 22-year old allrounder’s growing importance to this side was reflected in Finch handing him the new ball. In an Australian side that has been hampered by Covid and injury, it’s difficult to place a value on his versatility.

Team news

Shaheen Shah Afridi should return if he can shake off the knee injury he sustained while batting in the nets before the first ODI. In that case, Hasan Ali is the likeliest to make way.Pakistan (possible): 1 Fakhar Zaman 2 Imam-ul-Haq 3 Babar Azam (capt) 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Iftikhar Ahmed 7 Khushdil Shah 8 Mohammad Wasim Jnr 9 Haris Rauf 10 Zahid Mahmood 11 Shaheen AfridiFor Australia, it’s a case of play who’s available at the moment, with the side just about able to field an XI.Australia: 1 Aaron Finch (capt) 2 Travis Head 3 Ben McDermott 4 Marnus Labuschagne 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Cameron Green 7 Alex Carey (wk) 8 Sean Abbott 9 Nathan Ellis 10 Adam Zampa 11 Mitchell Swepson

Pitch and conditions

The weather remains hot and dry, and the wicket is expected to be conducive to big runs once more.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won the last ten ODIs against Pakistan, and 16 of the last 17.
• The last time Pakistan beat Australia at Gaddafi Stadium came all the way back in 1988. Craig McDermott, whose son Ben is now part of the Australian squad, played that day, as did current PCB chairman Ramiz Raja. The game was technically a tie, with both sides scoring 229, but Pakistan were awarded the win because they lost one fewer wicket.

Cricket Australia and Australian Cricketers’ Association reach one-year pay agreement for 2022-23

Alex Malcolm12-May-2022Cricket Australia will expand the Women’s National Cricket League to a full home-and-away season under a new 12-month Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Australian Cricketers’ Association.The acrimonious negotiations of 2017 were avoided with CA CEO Nick Hockley and ACA CEO Todd Greenberg working closely together over the last 12 months, including travelling to Pakistan together in March, to deliver a new MoU that sees the 50-over WNCL expanded by four rounds alongside the 14-game WBBL season.Australia’s female domestic players contracted in both the WNCL and WBBL will now earn a base average of AUD$86,000.Australia are the reigning women’s ODI and two-time reigning T20 World Cup champions but there had long been a push for more state cricket.”Our female players are superb role models and as we continue to focus on increasing the participation of women and girls in cricket, a full home and away WNCL season is a logical step,” Hockley said.CA requested that a 12-month MoU be signed in the short-term due to the impacts of Covid, with another agreement needed to be reached for 2023-24 and beyond. The Australian cricket television broadcast rights, the key pillar in CA’s revenue and the players’ share, are to be renegotiated in 2024.”This is an excellent result for Australian cricket and I look forward to working with Todd and the Players’ Association for the next long-term MoU,” Hockley said. “Despite the impacts of Covid, the MoU has delivered an outcome for players that is beyond expectations.”We thank all the players for their enormous efforts in such a demanding time. To think that we managed to play every international game and the vast majority of domestic fixtures last season and enjoyed one of the most successful periods in our history is an extraordinary achievement from all involved.”The revenue share model, which was the cause of the rift when the last MoU was being negotiated, remains in place with the players, both men and women, to receive 27.5% of forecast Australian cricket revenue alongside a performance pool of 2.5%. The players’ retainers and match payments have been increased by 1% across all playing groups. The ACA has agreed to allocate $4 million to CA to assist in managing the ongoing impacts of Covid.Greenberg has been firm on the partnership model between the players and CA remaining in place and was pleased with the outcome.”It has served Australian cricket well in responding to the impacts of Covid, where player payments and benefits self-adjusted as the games’ revenues fluctuated, avoiding the challenging re-negotiations faced by other sports,” he said.

Callum Parkinson has testing first day as Leicestershire’s new red-ball captain

ECB Reporters Network19-May-2022Worcestershire 159 for 2 (Ali 60*, Haynes 42*) lead Leicestershire 148 (Barnard 3-45) by 11 runsCallum Parkinson experienced a testing first day as Leicestershire’s new red-ball captain after his decision to bat first backfired in the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Worcestershire at New Road.The Running Foxes were dismissed for 148 in 52.2 overs with Worcestershire’s loan signing, Matthew Waite, picking up two wickets.They struggled to deal with a disciplined attack who had secured maximum bowling points by the 42nd over.Jack Haynes and Azhar Ali, with his fourth successive half-century, pressed home Worcestershire’s advantage with an unbroken stand of 106.Parkinson, has stepped up from vice-captain to lead the County Championship side for the rest of the season, replacing Colin Ackermann, who will remain as T20 skipper, with Lewis Hill continuing to captain the club’s 50-over side.Related

• Callum Parkinson replaces Colin Ackermann as Leicestershire four-day captain

Waite has joined Worcestershire on a short-term loan move from Yorkshire as a replacement for Joe Leach, who has a back injury.Waite has not played for Yorkshire since featuring in the Vitality Blast quarter-final against Sussex at the Emirates Riverside last August.Parkinson won the toss and elected to bat but his side were soon on the back foot against the probing Worcestershire attack.Leicestershire would have been reasonably content to lose only one wicket in the first hour – Hassan Azad lbw to Pennington – on a slowish wicket with some up and down bounce.But then Charlie Morris and Ed Barnard turned the game in Worcestershire’s favour with four wickets between them for just three runs in the space of 32 balls.Rishi Patel was undone by a delivery from Morris which stopped on him and popped up a catch to short mid wicket.His dismissal brought Ackermann to the crease in need of runs after only 24 in the previous six innings, including a pair against Middlesex. But his poor run of form continued as he made only a single before nicking Barnard to first slip.Lewis Hill went leg before to a Morris delivery swinging into him and Wiaan Mulder departed after a brilliant catch by Josh Baker at third slip off Barnard.Rehan Ahmed became the 500th player to play first-class cricket for Leicestershire but it was not a day he will remember fondly. He went to pull Pennington and top edged to Pollock at first slip without troubling the scorers.Ben Mike and Harry Swindells decided attack was the best form of defence before Waite was rewarded with two wickets in two overs.Swindells got in a tangle and ballooned the ball onto the offside where Jack Haynes, running across from second slip, took the catch and Mike (16) played down the wrong line and was bowled.When Ed Barnes chopped on to Josh Baker, Leicestershire were still two runs shy of a hundred but resistance came from the last-wicket pair of Parkinson (22) and Chris Wright (27 not out) who added 50.Barnard claimed his third scalp when Parkinson presented Pollock with his third catch of the innings.Pollock was in typically aggressive form with a series of boundaries when Worcestershire launched their reply.Jake Libby, a century-maker against Derbyshire, also looked in good nick as the pair put on 48 in 9.3 overs.Mulder checked their progress when trapping Libby lbw for 17 and he followed it up with the wicket of Pollock (32), who picked out Ed Barnes at deep backward square leg.But Azhar and Haynes featured in a century partnership for the third successive match. The duo had shared in stands of 195 versus Durham and 187 against Derbyshire.Azhar produced some delightful drives and cut shots and brought up his half-century from 71 balls with six fours. Haynes also continued the form which had brought centuries in the previous two games.

Astonishing final-afternoon acceleration seals contest in barely an hour’s play

Andrew Miller27-Jun-2022England 360 (Bairstow 162, Overton 97, Boult 4-104) and 296 for 3 (Root 86*, Pope 82, Bairstow 71*) beat New Zealand 329 (Mitchell 109, Blundell 55, Leach 5-100) and 326 (Blundell 88, Latham 76, Mitchell 65, Leach 5-66) by seven wicketsJonny Bairstow came barrelling out of the dressing-room with the impatience of a man who’d endured a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay, as he and Joe Root rampaged to a 3-0 series win on the final afternoon at Headingley in just 15.2 overs of pedal-to-the-metal action.For the third time in as many matches, a supposedly daunting target – 296 on this occasion, compared to 277 at Lord’s and 299 at Trent Bridge – was hunted down with preposterous haste. Bairstow, following back-to-back centuries in his previous two innings, rushed along to a 29-ball fifty, England’s second-fastest in Tests, and by the time he ran out of road on 71 not out from 44 balls, he’d chewed up Root’s chances of emulating Daryl Mitchell’s feat of centuries in each of the three Tests.It says something for England’s current mood that even a score of 86 not from 125 balls is no longer enough to dominate a stiff run-chase, not even when that includes another variation on Root’s ramp stroke, this time a deflection for four through fine leg. Root, of course, will not care a jot for that, and as he and Bairstow raced to a seven-wicket victory with a 111-run stand from just 87 balls, he was able to reaffirm his own majestic vein of form with a final series tally of 396 runs at an average of 99.Bairstow, however, almost managed to lap Root’s tally despite a relatively standing start. After scores of 1, 16 and 8 in his first three innings of the series, he has gone into world-beating overdrive in his last three visits to the crease – 369 runs from 293 balls, including 46 fours and ten sixes. Root, however, was later named as England’s Player of the Series – a reflection of the huge stature he brings to this team as the undisputed No.1 batter in the world.After a murky morning of rain all across Leeds – and an early lunch – the contest resumed with manic impatience. Tim Southee scalped Ollie Pope with his fifth ball of the day, an ominously pinpoint seamer that zipped back off the deck to pluck out his off stump and deny the batter his second hundred of the series. Pope fell having added a solitary run to his overnight 81.But if England might ordinarily have responded to such excellence with respect, Root and Bairstow opted instead for contempt. Trent Boult has been the outstanding seam bowler on either side this series, but his first over of the day was slashed for 17 – back-to-back cuts from Root, notwithstanding a zippy first ball that climbed from a good length, and consecutive deflections from Bairstow, off the pads and through third man, with his white-ball nous coming to the fore.That, frankly, was the end of the day as a contest. Though Southee in particular continued to challenge the edge with his conventional skill in seaming conditions, England’s determination to keep accelerating through the threat was extraordinary. Bairstow belted Boult for another four through point, and when he extended his arms through a Southee length ball to launch him back over his head for six, he’d romped along to 21 from his first 12 deliveries.With 66 runs left to defend, Kane Williamson turned back to his spinner, Michael Bracewell, who’d been ransacked for 70 runs in 11 overs on day four, and Bairstow greeted him with a sweep for four through square leg. One over later, he drilled a straight six so fast and flat that it ended up wedged between two seats in the Football Stand.Bairstow biffed along to his fifty with another dismissive drive through mid-on off Southee, and when New Zealand burned their final review on a catch that was shown to have looped off his forearm, he barely paused for reflection. Bairstow secured a fitting end with back-to-back boundaries off Bracewell, a chop off the back foot for four then a muscular mash high over wide long-on for the series-sealing six.It was left to Stokes, surplus to requirements in the chase, to raise the series trophy after England’s first 3-0 series sweep since the tour of Sri Lanka in 2018-19, and their most dominant home series scoreline since beating India 4-0 in 2011.”When I took over this job, it was more than results for me,” Stokes said. “It was about changing the mindset of the lads towards Test cricket, about having fun, and enjoying the fact that you’re out there representing your country, and the results look after itself.”But to say that we’ve done it so quickly is just unbelievable,” he added. “To walk away with a 3-0 series win over the best team in the world is a pretty special start. I’ve got to show a huge amount of testament to the team over these three games. They’ve been absolutely phenomenal.”

Worcestershire build first-innings lead after early Derbyshire collapse

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2022Worcestershire 141 for 5 (Kashif 52) lead Derbyshire 130 (Dal 55, Pennington 4-36) by 11 runsDillon Pennington’s burst with the new ball and Kashif Ali’s half-century on his first-class debut earned Worcestershire the initiative on the opening day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Derbyshire at New Road.Pennington reduced Derbyshire to 14 for 5 with four wickets in the space of 18 balls after they had been put into bat and, despite a half-century from Anuj Dal, they were bowled out for 130 in 51.1 overs.He clearly enjoys bowling against Derbyshire after registering career-best figures of 5 for 32 and a match return of 9 for 76 in the corresponding game last season.Worcestershire also had initial problems when they launched their reply but Kashif seized his chance following a mountain of runs for the second XI and they closed on 141 for 5 when bad light and then rain halted play at 5.35pm.Related

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Kashif was the first product of the South Asian Cricket Academy to sign a professional contract with a first-class county earlier this season.
Three hundreds and four fifties in his last seven knocks for the seconds was a testament to his potential and he reached a 72-ball half-century.But he became one of several players during the day who surrendered their wicket to careless shots although there was enough movement on a greenish pitch to keep the seamers interested.Worcestershire handed a debut to Pakistan pace bowler, Mohammad Hasnain. Club captain Brett D’Oliveira was ruled out with a back injury and vice-captain, Jake Libby, led the side while Derbyshire were unchanged from the team which drew with Nottinghamshire.Libby won an important toss on a green tinged wicket and his bowlers soon justified his decision to put Derbyshire into bat. Joe Leach struck with the last ball of the opening over as Harry Came was plumb lbw to a ball of full length.But it was Pennington who broke the back of the Derbyshire top order with a superb opening burst of 4-2-3-4. Brooke Guest was bowled offering no shot to a ball angled in and then Wayne Madsen, who began the day needing 32 runs to reach 1,000 for the season, did not reduce that tally as he edged as delivery which nipped away to Josh Baker at fourth slip.Luis Reece and Hilton Cartwright were both caught behind by Gareth Roderick, after pushing forward to Pennington. Derbyshire captain, Leus du Plooy, opted for an aggressive response and dominated the scoring during a sixth-wicket stand of 39 with Dal.But Ed Barnard, who is to join Warwickshire on a three-year deal from next season, made further inroads with wickets in successive overs.Du Plooy, on 38, played with an angled bat at a delivery and gave Baker another catch, this time at third slip, and Mattie McKiernan offered no shot but inside edged onto the stumps. Derbyshire were then 53 for 7 and in danger of being bowled out before lunch but resistance came from Dal and Ben AitchisonThey added 56 in 22 overs before Barnard came back into the attack and had Aitchison nibbling at a delivery which was safely pouched by Roderick. Dal mixed solid defence with some classy shots and two cuts for four off spinner Josh Baker enabled him to complete a 104-ball halfpcentury with eight boundaries.Hasnain had bowled two threatening spells without any luck but cleaned up the tail in classic fast bowler’s fashion as he yorked both Sam Conners and Dal.Worcestershire also ran into trouble against the new ball and found themselves 23 for 3 in the fifth over. Conners knocked out Libby’s off stump with a ball which nipped back and Ed Pollock, having struck Aitchison for six over midwicket, tried to upper cut his next ball and was caught behind.Taylor Cornall flicked at a leg-side delivery from Conners and also found the gloves of Guest. But the momentum of the game switched into Worcestershire’s favour as Jack Haynes and Kashif counter-attacked during a stand of 97 in 18.4 overs.Haynes reeled off a succession off delightful cover drives and flicks off his legs why Kashif produced a series of back foot punches which pierced the field. The pair took Worcestershire into the lead only to then both surrender their wickets to loose shots.

Allrounder takes 3 for 17 in 10 overs as Ed Barnard’s 85 not out goes in vain

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2022Ian Holland ripped through Worcestershire Rapids’ top order as Hampshire began their Royal London Cup campaign with a 44-run victory.Australian-born USA international Holland picked up 3 for 17 to leave Rapids 37 for 5 after Hampshire had scored 236 thanks to 40s from Ben Brown, Fletcha Middleton and Scott Currie.A Worcestershire List A record sixth-wicket partnership between Warwickshire-bound Ed Barnard – who ended with a brave unbeaten 85 – and Taylor Cornall helped the hosts recover, but Felix Organ and Currie, who took 3 for 36, tidied up the tail in front of a healthy 3,100 crowd at the Ageas Bowl to bowl Worcestershire out with five overs to spare.Related

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If Hampshire’s start of 51 for 3 was poor, the Rapids; was catastrophic. Holland bulldozed the top order with his nagging line and length: he had Ed Pollock slog sweeping to deep square to his first ball before Gareth Roderick attempted to cut a ball which gained some extra bounce to edge to slip and Jake Libby pushed to the same fielder Prest. Holland’s opening seven-over spell returned 3 for 11 and included two maidens.Currie had pinned Pakistan international Azhar Ali in the third over and John Turner entered the attack to have Kashif Ali also nudging to Prest and leaving his side 37 for 5. Cornall and Barnard went from giving the Rapids respectability to putting the victory back on their radar with an effortless accumulation of runs.Their 130-run stand set a new Worcestershire record in List A cricket, beating the 121 put on between Phil Neale and Steve Rhodes in 1988. To underpin his importance to their middle-order, Barnard has been involved in the record stands for the fifth, sixth and seventh wicket – his fifth format fifty coming in 72 balls.Felix Organ finally broke the partnership after almost 30 overs when Cornall swept to long on and had Leach pinned in front in his following over. Nineteen-year-old debutant Henry Cullen skied straight up in the air, Adam Finch swung to deep square and Ben Gibbon was lbw first ball to end the contest.Earlier, Hampshire’s top order got bogged down and couldn’t build partnerships having been put in on a pitch which offered some decent bounce. Leach, Gibbon and Barnard all picked up a wicket each to leave the hosts floundering – Nick Gubbins chipping to mid-on, Aneurin Donald bowled and Prest nicking off.Brown and Middleton set about the recovery carefully, with the pair only scoring eight boundaries in their 85-run stand. Middleton – whose father Tony made his List A debut against Worcestershire in 1989 – dominated through the midwicket region whether it was on the front foot pull or clip off his legs, while Brown dabbed and pushed to recalibrate the innings.Both looked en route to half-centuries but both fell agonisingly short of the milestone. Middleton tickled behind on 49 before Brown chased a cut shot to point. Organ survived a caught and bowled but not a clip to long on and Holland chip to midwicket, but Currie came in to give it a whack, during a 54-run stand with Toby Albert.The allrounder gave the death overs impetus with seven crushing fours to ease to a professional career-high 43 not out and take Hampshire to an around par 236 – with Albert, Jack Campbell and Turner all departing late on.

The India batter makes his comeback against Pakistan on Sunday and says that he is “feeling light” after his break

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-202222:42

Virat Kohli on Ind vs Pak: ‘Atmosphere on the outside very different to any other game’

Virat Kohli has opened up about his recent struggle to cope with expectations, workload and mental fatigue, saying he came to the realisation that he had been “trying to fake intensity a bit” in his determination to keep playing. India’s first Asia Cup match against Pakistan on August 28 will mark Kohli’s return to international cricket after a 42-day break following the conclusion of the tour of England in July.”This is the first time in ten years that I have not touched the bat in a whole month,” Kohli told Star Sports during an interview with Jatin Sapru. “When I sat down and thought about it, I was like I haven’t actually touched a bat for 30 days, which I haven’t done ever in my life. That’s when I came to the realisation that I was kind of trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. ‘No, I can do it’… being competitive and convincing yourself that you have intensity but your body is telling you to stop. Mind is telling you to just take a break and step back… You can neglect it by saying you are fit, you are working hard on yourself, and you will be fine because you are fit mentally.”I have been looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong, and I am, but everyone has a limit, and you need to recognise that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. So this period actually taught me a lot of things that I was not allowing to come to the surface. When they did, I embraced it. , there is much more to life than just your profession. And when the environment around you is such that everyone looks at you through your professional identity, somewhere you start losing perspective as a human being.”Related

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On Sunday, Kohli will play his 100th T20 international, and become only the second cricketer after New Zealand’s Ross Taylor to play 100 matches in every format of the game – an indicator of the workload he has shouldered since his debut in 2008. And since 2020, no other Indian cricketer has played more internationals than Kohli’s 62 matches.Kohli said that the demands of his schedule had affected his love for training, something that “disturbed” him and made him realise he needed “to step away” for some time. “I have always been a guy who followed his heart from day one… I never wanted to be or tried to be someone else, which in this recent phase I have been. I have tried to keep up to the demands and the expectations, not really felt my inner being completely, which this phase [away from the game] allowed me to do. I was experiencing that I was not excited to train, I was not excited to practice, and that really disturbed me because this is not who I am, and I literally needed to step away from that environment.”Virat Kohli: “I was experiencing that I’m not excited to train, I wasn’t excited to practice, and that really disturbed me”•Getty Images

Kohli said taking this break helped him rediscover his excitement for training and cricket once again. “When you are involved in such an environment, you are unable to see anything. When you remove yourself from there, then you realise what was happening… This has been an amazing break. I have never had this long a break, and the first thing I realised was that I was getting up in the morning excited to go to gym. It was not a thing like, ‘Oh I have to keep up with this.’ So that was my first mark.”You can tend to get carried away with so many demands nowadays… You have seen the results of what happened to Ben Stokes and Trent Boult… Moeen [Ali] retiring from Test cricket. These aren’t abnormalities; it’s a very normal practice for people who are in touch with themselves and know what they want in life.”As Kohli prepares to make his comeback, his form will once again come under scrutiny. He hasn’t scored an international century since November 2019, and his T20 form hasn’t been great either. Kohli has played only four T20 internationals since the World Cup last year, and he scored only 341 runs from 16 innings for RCB in IPL 2022 at a strike rate of 116. While elaborating on his mindset, Kohli said he had been trying to push himself “into a zone of competitiveness” because it “was not happening naturally” and that he was feeling better after the break.”I’m feeling light now for sure, and it wasn’t just about the workload of cricket,” Kohli said. “There were many other factors on the outside as well, which contributed to me going into that space.”You get to learn a lot of things. Things you are looking at from a certain lens because you are playing with passion, with heart, but on the outside, people don’t perceive it like that and they don’t understand the value of those things. They don’t look at you from that lens. That gives you a reality check that this is how things are and you can’t expect everyone to think and be like you. I got to realise that too.”And intensity, as you said, I didn’t even realise I was faking it. I was trying to push myself into a zone of competitiveness. But it wasn’t coming naturally to me. I am a person who wakes up and feels like, ‘Okay, let’s see what the day has for me,’ and be part of everything that I am doing doing through the day with absolute presence and involvement and happiness. And that’s who I have always been.”People ask me a lot about how do I do this on the field, and how do I carry on with so much intensity. I just tell them I love playing the game, and I love the fact that I have so much to contribute every ball and I would give every inch of my energy on the field and for me it never felt abnormal. A lot of people who on the outside watched me, and even within the team, they asked me how do I keep up with it? And I just say one simple thing: I want to make my team win at any cost and if that means that I’m gasping for breath when I walk off the field, so be it.”That was not happening naturally. I was having to push myself but I didn’t know it because I had become this ideal kind of a sportsperson to look up to. I am very grateful for the fact that so many people get inspired because of me, but you can’t stop being a human being because of that. You also have to understand why people love you and support you. It’s because you were yourself always, and even in these moments, I’m not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down and this is a very normal thing to feel.”I mean I’m a human at the end of the day, and that should be a thing or a space for people to say, ‘Hold on, if he can go through this, if he can experience the same, relax. It’s normal to feel this way; it’s not abnormal.’ Talk about it, discuss with people. No one is going to think you are weak, people will actually feel compassionate for you, and you will get help from sources you didn’t even imagine. But we don’t speak because we are hesitant. We don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak, or weak people. Trust me, faking being strong is far worse than admitting to being weak. And I have no shame in saying that I mentally feeling weak.”.

The New Zealand captain is “very much here” for international cricket for the time being

AAP05-Sep-2022Kane Williamson says there’s still a balance to be found between New Zealand duty and ageing greats leaving the national team set-up to play in lucrative domestic competitions.Williamson will lead New Zealand in a three-match ODI series against Australia in Cairns this week, beginning on Tuesday.The 15-man squad includes Trent Boult, who has recently been released from his New Zealand Cricket (NZC) central contract, but not Colin de Grandhomme, 36, who has also walked away from his deal. Both scored Big Bash League contracts which clash with national team commitments.Boult, 33, is ranked as the sport’s best ODI bowler and the T20 World Cup next month could be a possible send-off.Related

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Others may follow given the age of NZC contract holders. By Christmas, just two of 19 contracted New Zealand players will be under 30: Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson. Williamson said he understood the departures, but was taken back by the speed of changes.”It’s a tricky one because it is changing. So much seems to have happened so quickly,” he told reporters. “It does seem to be a movement in the landscape of the game. Every case is unique and every case has got their individual needs at different stages of their lives.”There are a lot of different franchise events happening and seeing players make decisions on their playing careers…suggests that there is a balance to strike and some things to work through.”The time may come where Williamson, himself 32 and hampered by injuries in recent years, may also consider a move – but not yet.”At the moment I’m very much here and looking to do my very best for the team,” he said. “I love being involved in this environment.”Williamson was part of the squad that last month toured the West Indies, claiming 2-1 series wins in both ODI and T20 formats. He sat out the final two 50-over matches with a quad injury, a move he labelled “precautionary”.”It’s nice to have those 10 days at home and the body is feeling good,” he said, adding a long-running elbow injury had also simmered down. “It’s nice to be training fully and batting for long periods in the nets.”The three-match series gives New Zealand the chance to end a 13-year run without a 50-over win on Australian soil.