Shaheen Afridi returns to Galle after year of misery and joy

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

A year after his freak injury, Shaheen is back playing Test cricket as Pakistan search for a win after four losses and two draws

Danyal Rasool14-Jul-2023He shuffled uncomfortably as he showed up at the check-in desk at Premier Inn. His knee still gave him trouble, and he needed it to be looked at by a specialist. His father-in-law had helped set up a consultation with a doctor in London. None of it would be cheap, but for now, the 22-year-old man was paying for everything himself. He was far away from home, and it all felt very lonely. He wasn’t a man used to solitude of this kind; he had grown up as the youngest of seven brothers in Pakistan. He had always had people around him. But, as one of the best fast bowlers in the world unpacked in his modest hotel room, he only had his thoughts, fears, and doubts for company.Shaheen Shah Afridi is one of the most recognisable men in Pakistan, but after a freak ligament injury in Galle in July 2022, the way his employers, the PCB, handled his rehabilitation bordered on the farcical. After being ruled out of the second Test against Sri Lanka, the PCB announced that he would travel to Rotterdam with the national side while he recuperated, receiving rehab while he travelled, presumably because getting in and out of aeroplanes and buses was the best way to treat the injury. They hoped he would shake off the injury in time for the Asia Cup, that was around the corner.But this was a potentially career-threatening injury, not a Taylor Swift song, so, unfortunately, the Asia Cup didn’t happen. We only found out the seriousness of the injury thanks to a PCB social-media clip where Shaheen, warmly greeting Virat Kohli, told him what the issue was. By now, criticism of how the injury was being handled was mounting, and this novel medical practice of travel recuperation was quickly shelved.Related

Shaheen is dreaming about his 100th Test wicket

After Shahid Afridi went public about the lack of assistance Shaheen was receiving in the UK, the PCB responded: “It goes without saying that the PCB has always been and will continue to be responsible for arranging medical care and rehabilitation of all its players requiring any treatment,” even though most things which go without saying don’t need to be said via press releases.But Shaheen – young, fit and driven – was receiving professional medical care, and Pakistan’s goal of getting him fit for the T20 World Cup was realised. It was a mark of his resilience that he was back to his best almost immediately upon his return, though he did warn after the game against Netherlands that full recovery would take time. But Pakistan were in the semi-finals, where Shaheen delivered another match-winning performance to become Pakistan’s top wicket-taker in the tournament. With this tournament the priority, the PCB appeared to have completely got away with mishandling the whole thing.The right knee buckled as Shaheen Afridi completed the catch to dismiss Harry Brook in the 2022 T20 World Cup final•PA Photos/Getty Images

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Pakistan have posted a below-par total and, not for the first time, left the bowlers to carry them home. Shaheen is chief among them, of course, and when he cleans up Alex Hales in the first over, this is him at his white-hot best. As England stumble in the chase and the last five overs approach, Pakistan know they have Shaheen to bowl two of them. Perhaps he’ll finally put Ben Stokes, limping along at 28 off 35, out of his misery.But Shaheen’s suddenly limping, in a very literal way. He landed awkwardly taking a diving catch to remove Harry Brook a few overs earlier. It’s eerily similar to the injury that began it all in Galle, and after bowling one more delivery, he hobbles off in tears. Perhaps this injury would have occurred regardless of how his rehab was managed, but Pakistan’s luck with their cavalier approach to treating their biggest star has finally run out when it matters most.Only Pakistan know how they conjured up a combination of medical management so poor that Iftikhar Ahmed is bowling a death over to a well-set Stokes, and yet the talent such that’s it’s actually happening in a World Cup final. It’s often said that Pakistan’s chaos in World Cup tournaments offers the most exhilarating outlet for their raw ability to shine through. This time, talent has returned the favour, offering up the biggest platform in cricket for the chaos to take centre stage.It goes as well as you’d expect. Shaheen’s loss is the turning point. Pakistan lose the final, and then lose Shaheen for the entire winter red-ball season. In his absence, Pakistan fail to take 20 wickets in any of the five Test matches they play as Stokes’ England inflict a first-ever 3-0 home whitewash upon them, before they cling on to two draws against New Zealand.His time with the Pakistan side has been miserable, so Shaheen turns his attention to other things. His relationship with the PSL franchise he leads, Lahore Qalandars, is less complicated, one of near god-like adulation. He led his side to the title the previous year, and for all the things he has lost of late, this is one he doesn’t want to give up. It shows throughout the tournament and hits a crescendo in the final, where he is the top wicket-taker.Shaheen Shah Afridi claimed four wickets in his opening over in the T20 Blast ahead of the Sri Lanka tour•Getty ImagesBatting isn’t as hard on the knee so he’s had time to hone a fast-improving craft. He plays a match-winning innings, too, an unbeaten 44 off 15 balls, leading Lahore to 200. They will need every one of those runs as they scrape home by one. Shaheen may be the prince of Pakistani fast bowling, but as he lifts that title once more, it is here in Lahore that he truly feels like royalty. And in a year of tremendous highs and lows, there’s much to look forward to beyond cricket, too. In a year where several high-profile members of the Pakistan side tie the knot, he gets married to Shahid Afridi’s daughter in the cricketing wedding of the year.

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There’s so much Shaheen has done this year – feats that others might count as career highlights end up as annual footnotes. Ahead of Pakistan’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, he is casually breaking records in the T20 Blast in England, becoming the first bowler to take four wickets in the first over.But Galle looms once more, like that suppressed trauma that must finally be confronted. It’s almost as if this unusual series, mirroring Pakistan’s two Tests at this venue last year, have been set up to provide closure to a dark chapter in Shaheen’s career. He hasn’t played a Test since that stumble in Galle, and in a year that’s taught him patience above all else, it’s perhaps appropriate he’s been left stranded on 99 Test wickets.In the year he’s waited for that one more wicket, Pakistan have waited for a Test win. It’s fitting, perhaps, that in the time when a little bit more administrative care might have saved Shaheen from a world of hurt, the cricket board has seen three different chairmen come and go.It’s a repaired knee and a changed man, but it’s the same old bowler at the same venue that sunk him to his deepest low. But if anyone can truly shake it off, it’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, this week, in Galle.

Can Sunrisers' bowling might take them all the way?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Questions over the lack of power in the middle and lower order remain for a team that is formidable in all other aspects

Saurabh Somani21-Mar-20197:09

Bowling-heavy Sunrisers seek middle-order lift

Where they finished in 2018: Runners-up in the tournament, and on top of the league table with 18 points in 14 games
StrengthsAs with seasons past, this year too Sunrisers Hyderabad’s main strength is their varied and potent bowling attack. The duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan almost guarantee eight overs that the opposition will have to tread carefully, but the support cast is what makes Sunrisers’ bowling so good.There’s Khaleel Ahmed and Siddharth Kaul, who have both been on the periphery of the Indian team in recent times. There’s the exciting Basil Thampi, who burst onto the scene as a yorker specialist but now has an excellent Ranji Trophy season behind him too. There’s also Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan, both with proven T20 credentials, while Billy Stanlake provides a pacy and incisive option among the overseas contingent.Sunrisers also strengthened their spin attack with the addition of Shahbaz Nadeem, and it won’t be going too far to say that, as far as bowling goes, they have the personnel to account for any opposition or conditions. Since 2016, the year their formidable attack took shape and they won the title, Sunrisers have had the best economy rates in the Powerplay and death overs. In the middle overs, they are second, their figure of 7.88 only marginally behind Mumbai Indians’ 7.78. Not only do they keep the runs down, but they also pick up wickets. They are near the top in averages for the Powerplay (third) and middle overs (second with 27.98 to KKR’s 27.75), and the best at picking up wickets in the death overs.WeaknessesSunrisers made a smart trade in getting the trio of Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhishek Sharma for Shikhar Dhawan, but Dhawan’s departure adds to their batting worries. David Warner will be back this season, but whether he finds his old touch straightaway or not remains a question, as does the identity of who will partner him at the top.Kane Williamson or Jonny Bairstow seem like the likely candidates, and between them the three do form a good top order, though one that isn’t used to working together as much perhaps.The middle and lower order, though, has lacked firepower for Sunrisers. Manish Pandey had a poor run last season and while Yusuf Pathan is still capable of sending balls into crowds, he does so less regularly now. Their auction picks – Bairstow, Martin Guptill and Wriddhiman Saha – don’t really address that, but Vijay Shankar’s arrival could help, though they might still need to depend on the likes of Deepak Hooda and Ricky Bhui to step up as finishers.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe overseas questionThree overseas spots are sealed – Williamson, Warner and Rashid. Warner might be rusty, but he will certainly get a long rope at the top even if he fails in the first few games given his past record for the franchise. Williamson and Warner will have to shoulder a large part of the batting responsibility. Rashid, of course, has rapidly become one of the world’s top bowlers in the shortest format. The men who will vie for the fourth overseas spot, at least at the start, are likely to be Jonny Bairstow, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi. Given that the bowling is already strong, Shakib might have to miss out since Sunrisers already have Shahbaz Nadeem as a left-arm spinner. Between Bairstow and Nabi, team balance would indicate a preference for Bairstow, since he can don the keeping gloves. That means a top order of Warner, Bairstow and Williamson – as good as any in the world.AvailabilityLike all teams, Sunrisers will have to deal with early departures, in their case of Warner and Bairstow, with both CA and ECB having said that their World Cup players will be withdrawn from the tournament on May 1. In Guptill they have a readymade replacement for Warner, and having bought back Wriddhiman Saha, they are covered as regards keeping too. Replacing Bairstow’s dynamic batting will be more difficult, though. The other thing they’ll be hoping for is that Williamson recovers from his shoulder injury well, and quickly.SquadESPNcricinfo LtdThe best XI1 David Warner, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem, 10 Siddharth Kaul, 11 Khaleel AhmedHead coach: Tom Moody. Bowling coach: Muttiah Muralitharan. Mentor: VVS LaxmanWill they make the playoffs?The truism in cricket that bowlers win you matches has been shown to hold in T20 cricket too, especially by Sunrisers. They have always had a couple of holes in the batting but have still made the playoffs in the last three years, winning in 2016, achieving fourth place in 2017, and being runners-up in 2018. They should make it four out of four this year.Poll

India live the Test dream, Australia get the elusive World Cup, and Bangladesh suffer ignominious defeat

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

In our second batch of report cards for 2021: India, Australia, England, Bangladesh, South Africa, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe

03-Jan-2022

India

by Sidharth Monga
India started 2021 by batting 131 overs in the fourth innings to save the SCG Test with half their side injured. In the next match they scored more than any side has ever done in the fourth innings at the Gabba and consigned Australia to their first loss in 32 years there. They ended the year by sending South Africa to only their third defeat in 27 Tests in Centurion. In between they bowled England out in 51.5 overs in a sensational fifth-day turnaround at Lord’s.A series win in Australia, on track for one in South Africa, and a 2-1 lead that ensures they can’t lose the incomplete one against England away. You won’t find many arguing with the claim that this was India’s greatest year in Test cricket. Some might bring up the lost World Test Championship final and, when discussing the other formats, their early T20 World Cup exit.That India don’t rule the world in limited-overs cricket despite running the best and most competitive T20 league in the world is an aberration that the new team management combination of Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma will look to address in coming years, but don’t use one final to knock the Test team down. Virat Kohli’s (and at times, Ajinkya Rahane’s) team does and will compete against more teams in more conditions than any other going around.High point
India were many kinds of special at Lord’s, The Oval and in Centurion, but how do you top winning a Test at the Gabba against an all-time great Australian attack with a total of four Test caps among your bowling attack? That it came in a series decider made it extra special.Low point

India were unlucky at the World Cup, losing tosses in two crucial matches in a tournament that significantly favoured sides winning the toss. It didn’t matter that they won their other three because they were unable to make it out of their group. Still, they have, for a while now, looked like a side that needs to take that extra step in limited-overs cricket.Results
Tests: P14 W8 L3 D3
ODIs: P6 W4 L2
T20Is: P16 W10 L6Pat Cummins found himself unexpectedly thrust into the captaincy weeks before the Ashes, and led Australia to a resounding win•AFP/Getty Images

Australia

by Andrew McGlashan
A year that at times saw the men’s team on the verge of disarray ended with a maiden T20 World Cup title and the Ashes retained in crushing fashion. Whether it’s the start of another golden era remains to be seen, but the last few months have gone better than many thought possible despite some big hurdles.In January 2021, Australia were upended thrillingly by India, their Gabba record blown to dust (it was back to business when England arrived) and cracks soon emerged, especially between head coach Justin Langer and the senior group of players. A Test tour of South Africa was called off due to Covid-19; that and an over-rate penalty meant they missed out on the World Test Championship final. The Test side did not play again until December.It meant a lot of time for things to fester, especially with losses in T20 mounting – though they did not have a full side together until the World Cup. There were series defeats against New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh which left low expectations heading into the tournament, although throughout it all the refrain was “Wait until the gang’s back together.”No one really believed it, especially when batters who largely played in the top order (Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade) were asked to become finishers and they went for a new No. 3 in Mitchell Marsh. It appeared their hopes would be shattered by a crushing loss to England, but in a manner that even Hannibal Smith from would have been proud of, they really did love it when a plan came together.Back home to prepare for the Ashes, there was more drama when Tim Paine resigned after the emergence of explicit text messages from three years ago, parachuting Pat Cummins into the role. He and Steven Smith were revealed as the new leadership duo while they were still in quarantine in Queensland.However, any thoughts that the Ashes campaign would be derailed were dispelled on the opening day (in fact, largely by the first ball from Mitchell Starc) and even Cummins’ close contact with Covid caused barely a ripple. But with tougher challenges to come overseas and the future of Langer still uncertain, 2022 promises to be eventful as well.High point
The T20 World Cup knockout against Pakistan. When Shadab Khan spun through the middle order in the semi-final it looked like it might be over, but Stoinis and Wade repaid the faith in their new roles with a thrilling partnership. In the final Marsh sealed a triumphant story as Australia’s men finally claimed their missing piece of limited-overs silverware.Low point
For the second time in three years, an Australia Test captain resigned in tears. No one came out of the Tim Paine texting saga unscathed, from those involved in the past to the current set-up, and though for a while Paine clung to the hope of playing the Ashes, he soon took time away to manage his mental health.Results
Tests: P5 W3 L1 D1
ODIs: P3 W2 L1
T20Is: P22 W10 L12That kind of year: Bangladesh lost all five of their games against Pakistan in 2021, and didn’t do much better against other sides•AFP/Getty Images

Bangladesh

by Mohammad Isam
Bangladesh aren’t going to look back fondly at 2021. The biggest event of the year, the T20 World Cup, went disastrously for them. They couldn’t recover from their shock loss to Scotland and lost all five of their matches in the Super 12s. They seemed the weakest team in the main event.Bangladesh have now lost their last ten international games, including three T20Is and two Tests against Pakistan at home. The year ended with them losing the Dhaka Test despite two and a half days being rained out.Although Bangladesh started the year with a 3-0 win over West Indies in the ODI series, they squandered a strong position in the Chattogram Test against the same opponents, which culminated in Kyle Mayers hitting a fourth-innings double-century to take his side to an improbable win. In the match after, West Indies outspun Bangladesh in Dhaka.Series losses in three formats in New Zealand and Sri Lanka, were followed by wins against Sri Lanka (in a home ODI series) and Zimbabwe. Then came a 4-1 win against Australia and a 3-2 one against New Zealand in home T20I series, but they didn’t mean much in light of the debacle that followed in the World Cup.Rather than building on their success in the mid-2010s, Bangladesh are now a team in freefall, with an aimless cricket board and a brittle team management in charge.High point
It later became the butt of all jokes after Bangladesh’s poor T20 World Cup campaign and Australia winning the trophy, but the big win in August against Australia was Bangladesh’s zenith in 2021. They wanted to win with spin, negating the batters’ impact, and they did it.Low point
The poor showing in the T20 World Cup exposed several negative aspects of the game in the country. The fact that they are a one-track wonder – only comfortable playing on spinning pitches at home – is the biggest worry going into a busy 2022.Results
Tests: P7 W1 L5 D1
ODIs: P12 W8 L4
T20Is: P27 W11 L16Joe Root’s personal best year in Test cricket coincided with an abysmal one for England in the format•Getty Images

England

by Andrew Miller
The “How it started vs how it’s going” meme might have been conceived with England’s 2021 journey in mind – a year that began with a very genuine hope that the Test team had cracked it, but ended with them cracked across the MCG like a basket of rotten eggs, after quite possibly the most pitiful Ashes challenge of all time.Between the highs of England’s three consecutive Test wins in Sri Lanka and India in January and February, and the lows of a 12-day Ashes drubbing, lay a tale of mismanagement, misfortune and missed straight ones. And by the end of it, the verdict was unanimous: England’s Test cricket has never been at a lower ebb.The reason why this fact was not clear from the outset lay in the preposterous, gravity-defying form of Joe Root, a man whose 1708 runs at 61.00 ended up being the third-highest tally for a calendar year in Test history, and more than three times as many runs as Rory Burns (530), the team’s next highest contributor.Such was Root’s serenity that a modicum of support could have kept England competitive. But with the spectre of Covid hanging over a packed schedule – coupled with England’s desire to mount a serious challenge for more white-ball silverware at the T20 World Cup in November – England’s Test focus wavered fatally during an arduous tour of India in February and March, and that winning feeling was lost before it could become a habit.Dispiriting home campaigns followed against New Zealand and India, the two best teams in the world, and though the latter does not yet count as a series loss due to the Covid outbreak that scuppered the fifth Test, by that stage Root’s lack of batting support had been exacerbated by wider concerns about the depth of England’s playing pool.As if the batting wasn’t sufficiently concerning, Jofra Archer succumbed to the first of two bouts of elbow surgery – a grievous blow to England’s hopes in both the Ashes and the World Cup – before Ben Stokes, the team’s talisman, took an indefinite break to manage a badly healed finger injury that he at one stage feared might end his career.Stokes returned at the eleventh hour for Australia, a tour that had been shrouded in similar doubt due to the country’s stringent Covid protocols. But like the team as a whole, his campaign never got out of the blocks.At least the white-ball squad maintained its high standards – had the toss not been such a crucial factor at the World Cup, they might have fared better than their semi-final finish, while the scratch ODI side that beat Pakistan 3-0 in July, following a Covid outbreak in the main squad, provided probably the most uplifting performance of the year. It wasn’t a whole lot of good news to fall back on.High point
Root’s flawless double-century in the first Test in Chennai. It was his third massive, match-winning hundred in the space of three Tests and we were barely a month into 2021.Low point
The Boxing Day Test in its entirety. A surrender so unconditional that England even managed to smuggle their best day of the series into a two-and-a-bit-day debacle. Roll on the whitewash.Results
Tests: P15 W4 L9 D2
ODIs: P9 W6 L2 NR1
T20Is: P17 W11 L6South Africa won four of five games at the T20 World Cup, but lost out on making the knockouts on net run rate•Matthew Lewis/ICC/Getty Images

South Africa

by Firdose Moonda
With as much action on the field as off it, South Africa endured another difficult year with middling results, long gaps between play, and more administrative issues.Inconsistency is the word that sums up their performances, with a Test series win over an under-strength Sri Lanka and in West Indies but comprehensive defeats to Pakistan away and India in the Boxing Day Test, which may yet prove decisive in India winning a first series in South Africa.After dropping points against Ireland, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, South Africa remain in a precarious position on the World Cup Super League table and notched up their worst win-loss record in the format since 2004. The only area of their game that demonstrated some sort of progress was T20, where they reeled off seven consecutive T20I wins, including three series wins (over West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka), equalling a record set in 2009.They remain a squad in the rebuilding phase: they handed out three new Test caps, four new ODI caps and seven T20 caps as they sought to recover from big-name retirements. The last of those came when Faf du Plessis stepped away from Test cricket in February and was not selected in white-ball formats, while Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers announced their all-format retirements.Behind the scenes, a new, mostly independent board took office and their most notable action was their instruction to the national team to collectively take the knee and their following through with the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) hearings.High point
Against all expectation, and the backdrop of camp chaos when Quinton de Kock refused to take a knee at the T20 World Cup, South Africa won four matches in a row and put themselves on the brink of the knockouts. They missed out on net run-rate, which usually would not be cause for celebration, but this was a team that barely put a foot wrong after losing to Australia. Most importantly, there was no choking.Low point

There are many to choose from, both on and off the field, including Australia’s non-arrival for the four Test series in March-April, the tentative findings of the SJN committee, which necessitate another investigation into some of the biggest names in the game, and some heavy defeats. Questions about whether things had reached rock bottom were raised when South Africa lost an ODI to Ireland as widespread unrest rocked the country along with a brutal third wave of the pandemic.Results
Tests: P6 W3 L3
ODIs: P10 W3 L5 NR2
T20Is: P23 W15 L8It was a difficult year for Afghanistan off the field and the Taliban’s takeover could affect their future in 2022•ICC via Getty

Afghanistan

by Peter Della Penna
For much of their modern existence, cricket structures in Afghanistan thrived despite the turmoil in the country. The team’s nomadic existence – they have never played an international on home soil – was undesirable, but it insulated them from the daily chaos experienced by the rest of their countrymen.However, the politics of Afghanistan became firmly intertwined with that of the cricket team in the second half of 2021 following the complete withdrawal of the American military presence in the country after nearly 20 years. The Taliban’s ensuing swift return to power had a major impact on cricket affairs. Both the ACB board chairman and CEO were replaced. Rashid Khan resigned as T20I captain before he ever led the team onto the field, citing his dissatisfaction over selections for the T20 World Cup squad, which he said he was never consulted about. And the majority of the coaching staff, led by Lance Klusener, did not have their contracts extended beyond the end of 2021.An Afghanistan team that doesn’t even exist on paper became the biggest discussion point of all. The women’s squad, which was awarded Test and ODI status despite never having played an ICC-sanctioned match, became a lightning rod for debate when the new government regime made clear their opposition to women competing in sport. The policy then became used as a reason for Australia to cancel what would have been their first Test against the Afghanistan men’s team. By the end of the year, Afghanistan were in the news more for the cricket they didn’t play – which also included a cancelled ODI series against Pakistan – than the games they did.High point
Sweeping a three-match ODI series against Ireland in January in Abu Dhabi to claim maximum points in the ODI Super League.Low point
The cancellation of what would have been Afghanistan’s maiden Test down under, in the wake of political upheaval.Results
Tests: P2 W1 L1

ODIs: P3 W3

T20Is: P8 W5 L3Zimbabwe’s ten-wicket win over Afghanistan was only their 13th in the format since their debut nearly 30 years ago•Abu Dhabi Cricket

Zimbabwe

by Firdose Moonda
Despite the pandemic, Zimbabwe fulfilled all but one of their scheduled series on the FTP. They travelled to play against Afghanistan and Ireland, and hosted Pakistan and Bangladesh, but the results didn’t go their way.But of the 28 matches they played, they won just eight – and only one each in Tests and ODIs. A welcome change was their T20I form – they played more games in the format than in any other calendar year and achieved their best results, including their first bilateral T20I series win (featuring more than one match) – against Scotland in September.Zimbabwe did not feature in the T20 World Cup after missing the qualifying event due to the temporary suspension of their board, but their form bodes relatively well for their chances of advancing to the 2022 edition.Conversely, the likelihood of them achieving direct entry into the 2023 50-over World Cup is slim. They are at the bottom of the 13-team Super League table, with only two wins from their nine matches, and it is all but confirmed they will need to play in a qualifying event.The year also marked the end of an era as former captain and Zimbabwe’s senior-most player, Brendan Taylor, retired from international cricket. Test captain Sean Williams also said he was stepping away but appeared to be reconsidering. Several senior players are understood to be unhappy with coach Lalchand Rajput, and their future with the team hinges on whether he stays on or not.Zimbabwe’s biggest cricket headline was the eight-year banning of former captain, coach, and arguably their best known cricketer. Heath Streak admitted to breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code and will play no part in the game until at least 2029.High point
The T20I series win over Scotland ended the year well for Zimbabwe but their crowning moment of an otherwise difficult 2021 came when they beat Afghanistan (though lacking Rashid Khan) by ten wickets in the first Test in Abu Dhabi. Zimbabwe bowled Afghanistan out for under 150 in both innings, Blessing Muzarabani took six wickets in the match, and Williams’ century set them up for the win.Low point
Losing the second Test against Afghanistan, after being forced to follow on, with Rashid taking 11 wickets in the match. Zimbabwe also went on to lose the T20I series 3-0.Results
Tests: P5 W1 L4

ODIs: P6 W1 L4 NR1

T20Is: P17 W6 L11Stats current as of December 30, 2021Read the other team report cards here. More in our look back at 2021

Hardie, Sangha and more – four new names in Australian cricket

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Also keep an eye out for a left-arm seamer named Johnson, and the BBL’s Player of the Tournament

Andrew McGlashan07-Aug-20232:25

George Bailey: Ideal world would have two captains, not three

Aaron Hardie (T20I and ODI squad)Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green and now Aaron Hardie. Australia are being well served by allrounders from Western Australia. Hardie has pushed his claims strongly with red and white ball. Initially it was in four-day cricket where he caught the attention, hitting an unbeaten 174 in the 2021-22 Sheffield Shield final against Victoria to steer Western Australia to the title.Although he struggled to quite hit those heights last summer, he struck a century for Australia A against New Zealand in April. However, he also had a breakout campaign in the BBL for Perth Scorchers where he was the tournament’s leading run-scorer having found a new home at No. 3. His pace bowling is useful with a first-class average under 30.Related

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Cummins set to be fit for ODI World Cup despite wrist fracture

Tall, left-arm and fast: Spencer Johnson grasps his second chance

“One of the silver linings of not being able to bowl much in last year’s Big Bash was it allowed him the opportunity to bat up the order,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “We saw how destructive he was batting a three for the Scorchers – and think he’s batted everywhere from three to seven – [and] he’s got some good power. So whether that role is in finishing off an innings with his power hitting or he does get an opportunity a little higher up the order, we’ll see.”We make no secret of the fact we like our one-day team to have a number of guys who can bat in the top seven who can bowl some overs. It gives you the ability to structure up differently.”Spencer Johnson (T20 squad)Time for another Australian left-arm quick named Johnson? Twenty-seven-year-old Spencer Johnson is one of the most fascinating stories currently in the game. He has enjoyed a rapid rise up the pecking order after impressing for Brisbane Heat in his first full BBL season where his ability at the death stood out, holding his nerve in consecutive games against Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars. He then claimed his best figures of 3 for 28 in the Challenger against Sydney Sixers. He rounded out the season with impressive returns for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield and went on the A tour to New Zealand.That all came after battling a recurring stress fracture in his foot, which first occurred on his debut for South Australia in 2017, and left him fighting for his professional career. “It was just such a rare bone to get a stress fracture in,” he told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year. “There was no evidence that [surgery] would work but after 12 months of it not healing, it was the only option to try and put in a couple of screws.”He is viewed as a potential replacement for Mitchell Starc when he begins to wind up his white-ball career after the ODI and T20 World Cups, and there could be more beyond that. “Spencer is on the radar for all formats, he’s a pretty exciting talent,” Bailey said. “There’s some genuine pace there, a pretty handy skillset in being able to swing the ball. It is always nice when you have someone bowling left-arm, it’s just a little bit different and can add some real variety to your attack.”First and foremost we’ll get a really good look at him in the T20 series, which is probably the format he’s played the most. But the little bit we’ve seen of him in one-day cricket and even four-day cricket, we like that skillset as well, so he’s one we are keen to invest a bit of time into.”Tanveer Sangha, despite having just five List A matches to his name, could very well make Australia’s World Cup squad•Getty ImagesTanveer Sangha (ODI squad) It is close to a year since Tanveer Sangha, the 21-year-old legspinner, last played cricket. He missed the entire 2022-23 Australian domestic season with a stress fracture of his back, but the Australia selectors have certainly not forgotten him. To the extent that he is only a couple of selection calls away from making the final ODI World Cup squad despite having just five List A matches to his name.When fit, Sangha has put his name up in lights in the BBL for Sydney Thunder with a 21-wicket haul in 2020-21 earning him a place on a T20 tour of New Zealand. He followed that with a further 16 wickets in the 2021-22 BBL before his injury-enforced layoff.”He’s been on our radar for a long time,” Bailey said. “His Big Bash form when he’s been fit has been excellent so he’s one that we are really impressed with. The common comment around Tanveer is that is he’s very mature on the field and a great thinker about how he goes about it. He had an unfortunate injury last year which meant he lost a bit of a game-time but the age he is, and the skillset he has, I don’t think that’s going to set him back much.”Matthew Short notched up a 50-ball 80 recently for Washington Freedom in MLC•BCCIMatthew Short (T20 squad)Matthew Short was the BBL’s Player of the Tournament last season after scoring 458 runs and taking 11 wickets for Adelaide Strikers, backing up a 2021-22 campaign where he had made 493 runs. His standout performance came against Hobart Hurricanes where his unbeaten 100 from 59 balls carried Strikers to a record chase of 230.On the back of those returns, Short was picked up as a replacement player by Punjab Kings in the IPL although he found the going tougher with 117 runs in six innings. However, he recently made 80 off 50 balls playing for Washington Freedom in MLC and on Sunday struck 73 off 36 balls for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred.With David Warner and Cameron Green, who were Australia’s previous T20 opening pair last November, rested for the South Africa tour, and Aaron Finch retired, Short has a strong chance of finding himself alongside Steven Smith at the top of the order. With Adam Zampa the only frontline spinner, Short’s offspin will also likely be called on. He has often bowled with the new ball in the BBL.

Sangakkara on Buttler's batting success: 'He's great at understanding what the game is telling him to do'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The Rajasthan Royals’ director of cricket on the making of Jos Buttler’s purple patch this IPL season and the reason he’s found success where other batters haven’t

Interview by Andrew Fidel Fernando05-May-2022A little over halfway in the IPL, Jos Buttler is by a distance the most prolific batter in the competition, having made 588 runs at a strike rate of 151. Rajasthan Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara talks about the season his team’s star batter is having.Jos Buttler is no stranger to success at the IPL, but this season he’s been far and away the best of the batters so far. Why do you think that is?
He’s been given a very clear role as an opener, without having to think about batting No. 4 or 3, or his role being questioned in terms of how the team might benefit from his position being changed.The franchise has also recognised that he’s been the best T20 opener in the world for the past few years. We’ve done our data and analytics for seven months. We had a separate analytics team that looked at player valuation quite differently and went into granular detail, and that helped us in terms of retention and in terms of auction strategy, and giving players clarity in their roles, and that’s helped Jos.Related

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  • The method in Jos Buttler's ton-scoring madness

  • Buttler: 'You're always looking for one over that you can really target'

In terms of his technique, he’s done a lot of work in identifying what his best hitting position is, and how he changes from the first two to three overs in the powerplay to that power-hitting position the moment he feels he’s got rhythm. That’s been really good.He tends to start somewhat slow…
Jos has realised that his strike rate right throughout the innings gets better and better, so he knows not to get fazed when the ball is swinging or seaming – to fight through those periods and give himself the best chance of success. If he’s batting in the 14th or 15th over, he’s well on the way to scoring a hundred. Last season the Sunrisers game was an example. He was about 35 runs off 35 balls and ended up scoring a hundred off 56 deliveries I think. He’s great at understanding what the game is telling him to do and the pitch is telling him to do. And giving himself the best chance of taking his innings deep and scoring the runs for the side. He’s got amazing skills, amazing hands and bat speed, so that does the rest of the job.Against Sunrisers Hyderabad last season, Buttler began with a run-a-ball 35 before accelerating to 50 off 39, then 100 off 56, and finishing with 124 off 64 balls•BCCI/IPLThen he explodes in the next ten balls to the point where balls ten to 20 are one of his most productive periods. Is this a game plan he has?
For him it depends on feel. If you take the first Mumbai game – Bumrah bowled a really good over, Daniel Sams not such a good over, and then Basil Thampi comes on and suddenly, I think he felt that was an over where he could really take him down. I think he took 26 or something in that over. When he gets that feeling, how he arranges his feet in terms of his ready position is really important for him to have that maximum output.He starts off in the normal fashion but changes into his power-hitting position when the moment comes along. When there’s another tough period, he changes back. He’s brilliant at reading the game. He knows how to switch back and forth. That’s been a hallmark of why he’s been so successful this season.No type of bowler seems to have had an advantage over him this season. What’s given him that unique edge?
He’s good against spin and pace, which is not always the case with even the great players. He also has a very good shot repertoire that he’s comfortable with. He paddles, sweeps, reverse sweeps. And he’s got great hand speed and a lot of power. He’s a very, very strong guy. You can see that even off a back-foot punch, how he clears the line. So when you have those shots and that strength in your armoury and those quick hands – it gives you a huge amount of confidence.When I was playing, I had to calculate a six, and reverse sweeps were not something I did naturally. I had certain ways of scoring. But Jos is exceptional because of his range of scoring. He’s all around the wicket. He paddles pace, he hits down the ground, and he hits over extra cover. There’s no real weakness, when he gets going [for you] to tie him down. The only thing that can affect him a little bit is sticky or slow wickets. But then when he fights through those periods, those attributes that he has really help him.He looks at his T20 innings as a long innings. He’s not a guy who’s just satisfied batting in the powerplay. He’ll take it to the 12th, 14th, 15th over, which really helps the side do well. That overall game arrangement that he has makes it tough for bowlers to tie him down.”He is exceptional because of his range of scoring – he paddles pace, he hits down the ground, and he hits over extra cover”•BCCI/IPLAs good as he has been against pace, he’s prospering even more against the spinners – he has faced 103 balls of spin in the tournament, been out just once, and scored at 9.9 runs an over against them, with almost a quarter of the balls he’s faced being boundaries. Could you break down his technique against spin?
It’s risk and reward, and he understands that very well. He will use his feet against certain spinners. He understands which spinners he’s struggling against, so he’s more than happy to take a couple of singles and give the strike over to the other guy. He hits off the back foot really well now over cover, and straight down the ground really well. In the first KKR game, he back-foot-punched Varun Chakravarthy into the sightscreen. The moment they go full, he hits down the ground off the front foot. There’s very little margin in terms of spin unless there’s a lot of purchase on the pitch. As a bowler, when your margins decrease, there’s a lot of pressure to be almost perfect, which, again, can lead to a lot of mistakes, and that again is an advantage to Jos.Spinners – except for a Rashid Khan or a [Sunil] Narine to an extent – have been able to bowl good balls at him, but they’ve not been able to tie him down or get him out. Sometimes we get carried away with the boundaries only, but the way he’s rotated the strike, minimised risk, and really taken down bowlers when he knows he can – that’s the kind of back-and-forth in his batting that’s really helped him against spin.He very famously once had “f**k it” written on the top of his bat handle. As a director of cricket, for you is he the kind of player that you just leave alone to prepare their own way?
Jos is someone who thinks about his technique and his batting quite a lot – much more than I expected he would. He’s always ready to learn. He talks about his batting with a lot of knowledge and authority. He has a very set way of training and keeping his body position. He works very hard at training.My job is really to show him what the results are and why that is happening. And to convince him to keep doing the same thing – not any less or any more. Just to build that tempo into his innings and understand that each day it’ll be different. That tempo could come at different times. It could be the second ten balls, or it could be from balls 30 to 40. Just to fight through the tough parts and give himself the best chance to be impactful for the side. There’s been times when he’s struggled through with a very average strike rate, and ended up with a 150 or 160 strike rate. Sometimes it’s over 200. My job is to get him comfortable in that and give him ownership.The medium is the message: is Buttler’s “f*** it” philosophy the secret to his purple patch?•Getty ImagesAre you finding that because he’s having such an incandescent season, the oppositions’ tendency to prioritise the match-ups against him, or use different bowlers while he’s at the crease, is having knock-on effects for the rest of your batters?
With the new balls they’ll always try to get him out with set ways, which he knows about. There’s yorkers, there’s change of pace, or two fielders on the leg side to stop him from using his paddle against pace. He knows what’s coming at him and he gets prepared for that. When you’re hitting a six, you don’t really care where the field is. You’re just trying to clear the field anyway. He’s got that really clear mindset.With a lot of the sides, if he’s going well, they will have to try and bring their best bowlers back on to try and get him out or to try and get someone else out. And that gives the rest of the batters a little bit of an easier time, facing bowlers that they might manoeuvre or find to their liking or take down. It’s had a positive effect on the side. The others have been able to bat in situations and positions that suit them because Jos has been so effective.Which of his innings have been the most important this season, for you?
That RCB game, he struggled through and managed to accelerate at one particular point. For me that reinforces his actual strength and shows him very clearly that if he fights through periods that are tough, he accelerates so quickly, he gets us to positions from where we should win. Those kinds of innings show him his real ability rather than scoring a hundred at a canter. He organises his game and his mindset in a way that benefits the side when the pressure is on. Innings like that are really crucial.He also hit a fantastic century against KKR, against a very good attack featuring Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Umesh Yadav. Could you break that knock down for us?
We all know his ability against pace – he plays so straight and his commitment to his boundary-hitting. I think the significance was that back-foot punch for six against Chakravarthy. That really put the KKR bowlers under threat, because Chakravarthy, whom we’d spoken so much about, was nullified. And then all the batters started taking runs off him, and Jos was leading that. That particular shot gave not just Jos but everyone else confidence as well.It’s not easy to get to 100 in T20 cricket. You can get to 50 or 60 and feel like you’ve done your job. But Jos is not like that. He’ll push through.

The uncapped ones: Shahrukh Khan, Umran Malik and more

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

From power-hitters to speed demons, this IPL has the potential to be a showcase of bright young talent

Yash Jha24-Mar-2022The addition of two new teams this IPL has opened a lot of doors for a lot of young Indian players. ESPNcricinfo has handpicked a dozen of them to keep an eye on.

Shahrukh Khan

Punjab Kings

Having already built a reputation as a power-hitter, Shahrukh Khan got his IPL break in 2021 but it proved to be a frustrating season with Punjab Kings. He got ten hits and returned 153 runs at a strike rate of 134.21, but it felt like he was batting too low in the batting order and wasn’t getting enough chances to influence the game.What did he do next? He took the domestic calendar by storm, across formats: 101 runs off 64 balls in six innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s – including knocks of 19*(9) and 33*(15) to seal last-over victories in the quarter-final and the final respectively – 253 runs at a strike rate of 186.02 from seven outings in the Vijay Hazare 50-overs Trophy, and 285 runs from four innings in the Ranji Trophy (strike rate 102.88). Chennai Super Kings went all out to try and secure the Tamil Nadu man at the auction, but Shahrukh will return to Punjab – for INR 9 crore (USD 1.2m), this time – who, surely, can’t repeat their mishandling of the finisher.Arshdeep Singh’s skills at the death have been eye-catching•BCCI

Arshdeep Singh

Punjab Kings

Punjab did back Arshdeep Singh though – he was one of only two retained players at the franchise ahead of IPL 2022. Through 2019 and 2020, the left-arm seamer had modest returns – 12 wickets from 11 games while leaking 9.38 per over. In 2021, Arshdeep turned a corner with 18 wickets from 12 outings, conceding 8.27 per over. Even more impressive was his skill at the death: between overs 17 and 20, Arshdeep took eight wickets in 80 balls while keeping the scoring down to 9.67 per over – only six bowlers took more wickets at the death in IPL 2021; among those who bowled at least ten overs in the phase, only five had a better economy rate. A certain starter now, Arshdeep – and Punjab – will hope to build on the gains this season.Anuj Rawat has been around a while but hasn’t set the IPL alight just yet•BCCI/IPL

Anuj Rawat

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Three seasons, two appearances, one ball faced – Anuj Rawat has been around the IPL for a while (at Rajasthan Royals), but it’s safe to say this will be his first real break in the competition. The bare numbers don’t say much – 501 runs in 22 T20 innings, strike rate 121.01 – but there’s a reason why Royal Challengers Bangalore had to go all the way up to INR 3.4 crore (USD 453,000), fending off interest from Sunrisers Hyderabad and then Gujarat Titans, to make him theirs: Rawat is a left-hander who bats in the top-order and can take down spin. Given the constants at No. 1 and No. 3 for RCB, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, and their fairly similar frailties (read: attacking spin), the 22-year-old becomes a potentially key cog in the wheel. He also doubles up as a back-up wicketkeeper, although that might not be required much given the presence of Dinesh Karthik.Rajvardhan Hangargekar: bowls fast, hits long•ICC/Getty Images

Rajvardhan Hangargekar

Chennai Super Kings

Of the five India Under-19 World Cup winners to get maiden IPL contracts, only one fetched a higher auction price than Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who went to Chennai Super Kings for INR 1.5 crore (USD 200,000). The teenager from Tuljapur, Maharashtra boasts the one important skillset that every T20 team needs – serious pace, touching 140kph – and another that is highly valued – lower-order muscle (at the U-19 World Cup this year, Hangargekar hit six sixes off the 28 balls he faced). Deepak Chahar’s absence opens up a slot for at least one of the Super Kings’ several domestic pace options, but Hangargekar’s utility can tip the scales in his favour ahead of Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary and KM Asif.Abhinav Manohar rose to prominence at the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s in 2021•Abhinav Manohar

Abhinav Manohar

Gujarat Titans

He only made his professional debut in November last year, but Titans shelled out INR 2.6 crore (USD 346,000) to secure the services of Abhinav Manohar. The 27-year-old has shown appreciable versatility, even considering a low sample size of four T20s: on debut, against Saurashtra, Manohar walked out with Karnataka at 34 for 3 chasing 146, and hit an unbeaten 70 off 49 balls to secure a final-over finish; in the Syed Mushtaq Ali final a week later, against Tamil Nadu, he entered at 32 for 3 and scored a measured 37-ball 46 that helped Karnataka reach 152 – which almost proved enough. Manohar’s range could be essential for Titans, whose batting wears a rather thin look.R Sai Kishore is yet to play an IPL game despite having a solid domestic record•R Sai Kishore

R Sai Kishore

Gujarat Titans

Few players can claim to have a more impressive track record on the domestic circuit and yet be without any IPL caps, but that may soon change for R Sai Kishore. He was picked up by Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2020 auction following a stellar Syed Mushtaq Ali campaign – 20 wickets in 12 games, economy rate 4.63 – but with Ravindra Jadeja a fixed starter, Sai Kishore couldn’t force himself into the playing XI. The 25-year-old’s frugal left-arm spin – a career economy of 5.46 after 38 T20s – could prove to be the ideal foil to Rashid Khan in the Titans set-up. Sai Kishore’s ability to bowl in the Powerplay could also enable Titans to free up some overs of Mohammed Shami and Lockie Ferguson to utilise elsewhere.Sheldon Jackson may get a proper go this IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders•kkr.in

Sheldon Jackson

Kolkata Knight Riders

All of Sheldon Jackson’s four IPL appearances came in 2017, for Kolkata Knight Riders. Five years on, at the age of 35, he’s on the cusp of a first ‘proper’ stint in the tournament – and it comes on the back of his best year in T20 cricket. In 2021, through two Syed Mushtaq Ali campaigns, Jackson smashed 513 runs in 11 matches, striking at 147.83 and averaging 73.28 (up from career figures of 110.52 and 22.17 in 54 T20s prior to 2021). With Aaron Finch, Pat Cummins, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine the expected overseas quartet (when available), there may not be room for Sam Billings, leaving Jackson as the only wicketkeeping option. Knight Riders will hope he can carry his recent T20 surge into the IPL.Abhishek Sharma bats well in the top order and Sunrisers may take advantage of that this season•BCCI

Abhishek Sharma

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Abhishek Sharma has been with Sunrisers for three seasons, but he has only just begun to his true potential. The left-hander from Punjab averages 31.37 while striking at 141.57 when batting in the top three, compared to an average of 15 and a strike rate of 131.75 lower down the order. The last two games of IPL 2021 were the first time Sunrisers batted him in his best position, and he smashed 33 off 16 against Mumbai Indians. Having shelled out INR 6.5 crore (USD 866,000) to get him back at the auction, Sunrisers are likely to stick with Abhishek at the top, along with Rahul Tripathi and Kane Williamson. Given he can bowl a bit of left-arm spin as well, including a remarkable little backspinning legcutter, the 21-year old makes for an attractive first-team option.Umran Malik, who can bowl 150kph, has the chance to learn from the best in the IPL•BCCI

Umran Malik

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Umran Malik was still waiting to debut even as IPL 2021 went into its final week of the league stage. He got a go in the last three games Sunrisers played; two months later, he had the distinction of being the player to have featured in the fewest IPL matches before being retained. The speedometer instantly came into focus once Malik arrived on the scene – in his second match, he bowled the fastest delivery by an Indian in the tournament’s history, clocked at 152.95kph. High pace remains an exclusive club in the IPL; high pace, from an Indian, who is still only 21, marks Malik as the rarest of the rare – and explains the retention. Expect him to feature prominently, especially on the speed lists.Tilak Varma scores his runs rather quickly•ICC via Getty

Tilak Varma

Mumbai Indians

Nineteen-year-old Tilak Varma is yet to play in the IPL, but already has a glowing endorsement from an all-time great: Mahela Jayawardene, Varma’s coach at Mumbai, labelled him a “massive talent” ahead of the season – and Mumbai’s squad composition suggests this talent is set to get his opportunity. Varma has enjoyed a productive start in domestic cricket: he made 215 runs at a strike rate of 147.26 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22 – of the 20 batters with 200-plus runs in the tournament, only four scored faster – to follow his returns of 391 runs (average 97.75, strike rate 97.26) in the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy. The left-handed batter could shuttle between No. 3 and No. 4, helping Mumbai maintain a left-right combination in their top four.Sanjay Yadav could fill the Krunal Pandya shaped hole in the Mumbai squad•TNPL

Sanjay Yadav

Mumbai Indians
Five years in the domestic grind have seen Sanjay Yadav travel from Tamil Nadu to Meghalaya to Tamil Nadu again; he’s also found squad spots at Sunrisers and Knight Riders, but his quest for an IPL debut could finally end at Mumbai – where he could be looked at to fill the Krunal Pandya role from the last few years. He’s no big hitter (T20 career strike rate 124.12 from 23 innings) but he’s more than handy with the bat, as evidenced by a first-class average of 46.38 and a List A average of 45.50. He doesn’t take a lot of wickets either, at least not in T20s (16 in 27 outings), but his slow left-armers go at 6.65 per over and give Mumbai the match-up card, when needed.Yashasvi Jaiswal is a work in progress but his talent is undeniable•BCCI

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Rajasthan Royals

One of four uncapped players to have been retained ahead of IPL 2022, Yashasvi Jaiswal has had the backing of the Royals for a few seasons now. To be part of a retained trio featuring Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson at such a nascent stage of his career is an exhibition of the faith. While he didn’t take the tournament by storm in 2021, the left-handed opener showed glimpses of his destructive abilities in several cameos – none more emphatic than his 19-ball 50 against Super Kings in Abu Dhabi, which included an incredible assault on Josh Hazlewood (38 off 12 balls). At 20, he remains a work-in-progress, but there’s little doubt he’s set for a lengthy run at the top of the Royals line-up.All USD figures are approximations where 1 USD=75 INR