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Loss of new ball could have unsettled veteran, instead it was catalyst for another key display

Vithushan Ehantharajah25-Aug-2022James Anderson stands at the top of his mark, new Dukes in his hand, braced to deliver the first ball of a Test match at the James Anderson End. And those of us foolish enough to think India’s no-show at Emirates Old Trafford last year had scuppered one last appearance for England’s greatest quick at his home venue gladly chomped down on those sentiments.He is as ready and able as he ever has been, 18 dismissals at 20 in the summer so far, enough to not dare predict an end for the 40-year-old. His first ball is so comically down the leg side, even he sees the funny side. With that out of his system, Anderson goes on to bowl three for 32 from 15 overs, as South Africa are skittled for 151 on day one of this second Test.As much as this was business as usual in his 100th Test appearance at home, Anderson’s performance began with the kind of jolt that had not been felt for generations. As he was going through his warm-ups on a practice strip after Dean Elgar decided to bat first, Stuart Broad sidled up to do the same, just as they had done for their previous 130 matches together over the last 14 years. And ahead of what was to be the 200th time the pair had opened the bowling together, the usual conversation ensued.”Are you happy at that end?” Anderson enquired, gesturing towards the Brian Statham End. “I’m not taking the new ball,” Broad replied.”It was the first I knew about it,” Anderson said in his press conference at stumps. The laughs accompanying the anecdote said it all: a disbelief that had still not dissipated, seven hours and 81.2 overs of play later.For the first time since January 2010 at Cape Town, the Branderson collective were not opening up a first innings despite both being in the XI. And while it was tactical back then, with Graham Onions getting the chance ahead of Broad, Thursday felt more of a seminal moment with Ollie Robinson the one to knock Broad back to first change.This was a reluctant but necessary step towards the future. Robinson, aged 28, is a man returning for a spot that, even only 10 Tests in, is rightly his. Fitness issues overcome, he showcased all the skills that had garnered 39 dismissals at 21 so far, and immediately set about putting to shame Broad’s work in the first five Tests in the Stokes-McCullum era (18 wickets at 35.61). In his first seven-over spell, Robinson’s average seam movement of 0.93 degrees was higher than any of Broad’s previous nine this summer. That he finished with just one for 48 was a reminder of the game’s inherent unfairness. He deserved much more.Broad bided his time at mid on, offering wisdom or scampering around at midwicket, seemingly hell-bent on providing visual proof there is plenty of road to come. Unfortunately for him, the continued pontification about Anderson’s retirement has resulted in Broad being dragged into the same conversation. Is he closer to retirement than Jimmy? Yeah, probably. And it was hard not to feel that way with the new ball out of his possession. A player irked at constantly being lumped in with Anderson – four years his junior – has finally been unseated from his status in the team. It all had a Touching The Void feel to it, with Broad the one dangling over the edge. Then, 10 overs into the match, he replaced Anderson. And, just like that, he was back on top of the mountain.It took just 11 balls to get into the game: Elgar, on the verge of nuggeting his way into a set position, was set up for an uncharacteristically flustered dismissal. A couple of rejected lbw appeals had the opposition skipper wanting to press forward, and some familiar nip away drew an edge that nestled into Jonny Bairstow’s hands low at third slip. Midway through Broad’s next over, Joe Root’s hands were pounded at first as extra lift and more accompanying nip left Keegan Petersen short of options but to defend in vain.Both of Broad’s celebrations were dripping in emotion. Not the kind suggesting disappointment being exorcised, but almost as if he was reaffirming something to himself. When informed by Stokes that he would be giving up his new-ball privileges, he responded positively, which perhaps reflects an environment in which the team comes first, but the person is just as important. And beyond picking off Kyle Verreynne for overall figures of three for 37, Broad’s influence when the ball was in other people’s hands was every bit as noteworthy.If he was not sacrificing his body, he was offering chunks of his grey matter, too. Anderson’s lbw dismissal of Simon Harmer was celebrated immediately with a point to Broad at mid-off.”The ball before, he [Harmer] actually lunged at me and got a good stride in,” Anderson explained. “Broady said, ‘put your square leg back, but bowl the same ball’. So I put square leg back thinking he might think I’m going to bounce him. Then his stride was much shorter and he was sort of stuck on the crease.”I didn’t think about it, so it was good that he was thinking about the game and thinking about field positioning. It’s nice when something like that comes off.”Related

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There was more to come when Keshav Maharaj was sent back to the dressing room with the very next ball. At the top of his mark to Kagiso Rabada, Anderson admitted to excitement at the prospect of a first Test hat-trick. Again, Broad offered a word of advice and the mother of all humblebrags: “He came over and said, ‘when I took my two international Test hat-tricks… I just went full and straight’. Anderson tried but sent his effort down the leg side.By the close, the cameras were transfixed on Broad padded up in the dressing-room: ready, shadow-swishing in preparation for the much-vaunted Nighthawk cameo. The prospect of quick late runs was enticing given how quickly he might have hacked into the 40-run deficit that Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow will be eyeing up on Friday morning. But there was something amusing, poetic and intriguing about the fact that a day that began without Broad was ending with all eyes on him.The new England dressing-room has reignited his sense of self, partly because it is more closely aligned to the character of a man who believes he is capable of anything. And while we may never actually see the Nighthawk in action, the faith being put in his batting at present is a new crutch. All of 157 Tests into his career and he has emerged – heck, reimagined – as something of a playable wildcard.In many ways, it perpetuates his standing as a cult figure within the game. He may have to get used to life without the new ball, but this new role – indeed this new way of being – may just stave off the impending sadness of an England cricket team without Stuart Broad.

Islamabad-Multan diary: While the focus on safety is very understandable, it regrettably drains the travelling reporter’s experience of authentic local flavour

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Dec-2022It was probably when heading outside for my first cigarette in Multan that I realised the true nature of this tour.Islamabad was fine, the spectre of heavy security easy to ignore given the scale of the Serena Hotel, the drives to the ground, and the occasional manufactured dalliance into the real world. But lighting up and seeing four police officers form a square around you as if they are about to start up an impromptu game of rondo was a reminder of the lengths local law-enforcement people need to go. Everyone here harbours a collective responsibility to do their bit for this England tour of Pakistan. They thought I might try and leave my hotel, but I knew better than that after the way they panicked when a colleague tried to go for a wander. No one can leave without police presence and getting out at night is a straight no-go. Hopefully that softens, but I’m not holding out much hope.Related

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Since arriving in Pakistan at the end of November, the sense of local pride at hosting England for a first Test tour since 2005 has been abundantly clear. But in Multan, you can feel the anxiety.Cricket has only just returned to this city after 14 years, following a few ODIs against West Indies in March, and it is clear the PCB isn’t keen to take the training wheels off the place just yet. And fair enough. These international tours, costing US$ 2 million a pop, are so reliant on Western sensitivities. If the choice is between making your guests feel frustrated and safe and liberated and exposed, then, yeah, why wouldn’t you choose the latter?There is a sense among the travelling press corps that those who have never been to Pakistan before, like myself, won’t get to see the real Pakistan before we leave. As important as the cricket is on this occasion, it largely defeats the point of touring.The previous week in Islamabad was heavily cricket – one-of-a-kind cricket, to be fair – but for a visit to the British High Commission. It was pegged as one of the few places to openly consume alcohol in the city, and barring the plush setting and three levels of security clearance required, it basically ended up with all the English media packed into what was a glorified cricket club bar talking loudly, playing pool and asking if they had anything else other than BrewDog (they did – plenty). Just as that night was winding down, an invite came for a jaunt into Islamabad. Specifically, a house party.No, this was not simply another manufactured Anglo comfort rouse. A friend of a friend had an in, and three of us were cool by association. An hour later, we found ourselves in the kind of house that would be the final boss on MTV Cribs.If the choice is between making your guests feel frustrated and safe and liberated and exposed, then why wouldn’t you choose the latter?•Getty ImagesIt was surreal for many reasons, but perhaps the most heartening was the breadth of those in attendance. The kind of bolshy creative types responsible for layers of culture among younger generations. Quite apart from being made to feel totally welcome was the gratitude of getting an opportunity to glimpse into a side of Pakistan that is rarely considered. This, we were told, was the start of Islamabad’s party season. Many in attendance were prominent members of niche yet thriving industries, some of whom were back from abroad to catch up with old friends in their old haunts. All older, worldlier, and a little more appreciative of home and how it forged them.During the 3am ride back to the hotel through the dark empty streets of Islamabad, the glee at finally seeing something real beyond those who come to cheer in the stands reinforced something: there are many personalities of Pakistan, but they will only reveal themselves to you if you’re willing to meet them more than halfway.As I recall that thought now, on the eve of the second Test, maybe a cricket tour is one of the worst ways to do that, especially with England? None of this is inauthentic, but also none of this is real. Perhaps other opportunities to embrace the real Pakistan will come before I head home, especially with Karachi on the horizon. My aim for now is to at least shake its hand in Multan.

Despite batting lower down the order, he provides huge value and consistency while playing a high-tempo game

Sidharth Monga07-May-2023For a long time in Punjab Kings’ innings against Mumbai Indians on May 3, it looked like it was not going to be possible to hit a six off the spinners. The canny Mumbai spinners, Piyush Chawla and Kumar Kartikeya, were not firing it in, they were keeping it away from the batter’ reach, and the slowish pitch was helping them out.Then Jitesh Sharma came out to bat at No. 4 in the 12th over. The fourth ball of spin he faces, Jitesh showed both the intent to take the risk and the skill to pull it off. He advanced at Kartikeya, creating momentum, and then went hard at it. The complexion of the game changed once he came out to bat: Kings scored 120 in the remaining 50 balls even though Mumbai went on to chase 215 down.Related

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Jitesh is early into his career, and there will be challenges as he continues being successful, but he is a rare Indian batter. Among Indians with 2000 T20 runs, only Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav – both top-order batters – are faster.Batting as he does lower down the order, Jitesh plays fewer deliveries than the superstars of T20 do. He doesn’t have the luxury of getting his eye in or assessing the pitch. Since the start of 2021, only two batters around the world – Tim David and Liam Livingstone – have been quicker than Jitesh in innings of under 30 balls.Nobody who has scored 750 runs in all of T20 cricket has been as quick as Jitesh when batting outside the top three. Andre Russell is a good 11 runs per 100 balls behind at No. 2.These are pretty cool numbers to have, but that’s not what make him unique. Hardik Pandya managed to do this for Mumbai for a season or two before becoming an anchor batter. Rahul Tewatia has slotted nicely into the late-order hitter role. Unlike others, Jitesh averages 37 while striking at 177 per 100 balls from No. 4 onwards. That’s what makes him rare: low number of balls per innings, high impact, remarkable consistency when playing a high-tempo game.ESPNcricinfo’s stats team put more refined numbers to Jitesh’s qualities. Since the start of 2021, Jitesh has begun his knock in the back half of the innings 27 times. Over the same period, 525 batters have started batting in the second half of the innings 15 times or more. None among those 525 strike as quickly as Jitesh’s 193.8. Rilee Rossouw comes close with 192.2, but he averages 19.9. Jitesh has been scoring 43.8 runs per dismissal in these innings. Only one among the 525 – Cam Fletcher of New Zealand – averages higher than Jitesh, but his strike-rate is 150.Jitesh Sharma is generally always on the move from the moment he walks out•BCCITo make sure this is not just too many not-outs inflating Jitesh’s average, ESPNcricinfo looked at the number of innings of 30 or above at a strike-rate of 150 and above. Only AB de Villiers (eight out of 26) and Adam Hose (five in 15) have managed such efforts more frequently than Jitesh, who has done that in eight out of his 27 knocks.These numbers match the visual evidence from his two seasons in the IPL. Nor does a glaring weakness stand out. No style of batting is an obvious match-up from the IPL ball-by-ball data. Legspin seems to be his favourite: he has struck at more than two a ball against 47 balls of legspin bowled at him in the IPL. The only place less than hot on his wagon wheel is the area between short third and point where he has struck at 130. His favourite areas are down the ground and through midwicket and covers, but when he does strike behind square, he takes full toll.It is early days yet and teams will come up with better plans to test him, but Jitesh might just be the T20 batter India have been looking for in the mold of Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson. Unlike Pant, he has played just 17 first-class matches, and only three since 2016. Nor does he have a great record in List A cricket. But he is not likely to be confused about his tempo when the inevitable India call-up arrives.Here’s hoping Jitesh doesn’t start playing differently like many others once he starts playing for India. There is something in that team environment that turns hitters into anchors that he himself and the management will need to protect him against.

Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson, Peter Siddle and Adam Voges on Steven Smith’s genius

Interviews by Alex Malcolm and Andrew McGlashan05-Jul-20232:51

Steven Smith joins an elite club

What is Smith like to bat with?

Usman Khawaja (10 century stands with Smith, partnership average 60.51): He doesn’t really say much and I know what he’s like. I don’t really speak to him much. ‘How are you going?’ ‘Good’, ‘Anything?’ That’s as deep as our conversations get unless something really sticks out. Smithy really locks in, he zones in, I know he does so I just let it be. We’ve batted pretty well together, had a lot of partnerships since I’ve been playing for Australia. I understand when Smithy is batting you just let him be.Shane Watson (Two century stands, partnership average 62.37): Steve is just so assured of his game that whatever anyone threw at him, he knew he had the skill to combat it. He was always very, very assured of what he needed to do, what the conditions were, and how they were trying to bowl to him. That confidence was always there. A quiet confidence.You just knew that the bowlers are going to have to do something pretty special to get him out. It wasn’t an over-the-top energy, or arrogance, or anything like that. You can tell he had it and was ready to just go out and take them on.Related

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Adam Voges (Three century stands, partnership average 60.33): The main thing that stood out was just his ability to understand what the opposition were trying to do to him and be able to combat it. You always felt that he had things under control when you were batting with him. That was the general sense that I got with him. And when you feel like your partner is in that space it probably helps you as well.Peter Siddle (Three half-century stands, partnership average 37.25): Batting with him at Edgbaston [in 2019] and just seeing first hand the frame of mind that he gets into and the space that he’s in when he’s out in the middle, it’s different. It just becomes all about batting.He just gets so focused that even the chats between overs were very limited. It was usually me doing the chatting and I think he just gets into a different place. Obviously, he feels comfortable in the way that he knows how to make runs, and it does feel like he’s in a different place than all of us when he’s out there batting. It just felt like he was at a different level in terms of his ability to understand how the game was being played and how he could go about it, and the rest of us just went on for the ride.Adam Voges on Steven Smith: ‘You always felt that he had things under control when you were batting with him’•Getty Images

What makes Smith so special?

Watson: The thing that probably stands out to me the most is just his ability to be able to adapt his game to how bowlers are bowling to him.For example, if a bowler starts bowling a little bit more to middle and leg stump then he’ll just shuffle across to the offside a bit more and just keep working into the legside. If they start to bowl a bit shorter then he’ll just make his adjustment to be able to either get inside of the line or just make little adjustments in his setup, so he’s got access to the ball.Most other batters will just continue to bat the same way, react and trust their instincts and trust that that will be good enough to be able to get through different plans of attack from the opposition bowlers. So that’s the thing that has always stood out to me, is just how adaptable his game is depending on the conditions or how the bowlers are trying to bowl to him … it’s a freakish skill and it’s a reason why he has been able to find ways to get through different situations of games and come out on top a lot of the time.Voges: Contact points. He is able to hit the ball under his eyes from a technical point of view. He gets himself into a position where he is able to then manipulate the ball where he wants it to go. And that’s the art of scoring. Being able to hit the ball where the fielders aren’t, and that’s his great strength, his ability with his movement patterns, with his hands, with where he hits the ball, that just gives him that unbelievable ability to hit good balls and be able to score off them.Khawaja: Consistency, averaging 60 after 100 games. And his average hasn’t dropped, other than the start where he was batting lower. He’s been unbelievably consistent. For me that’s why, in my personal opinion, he’s the best Test batter in my era. It’s hunger, work ethic, understanding the game, understanding your skills. He’s got a very good cricket brain, especially when it comes to batting, understanding bowlers and what they are trying to do. He’s also got a skillset to back that up. He’s just got that something extra which a lot of players don’t have, hence why players don’t average 60 throughout their careers.Usman Khawaja says Steven Smith doesn’t talk very much when batting•CA/Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesWatson: He just hits a lot of balls. He has an insatiable appetite for hitting balls. I didn’t play the Test match, but he got 215 at Lord’s in 2015 and before the second innings of the Test match, he still had an hour’s net of throw-downs, which blew me away considering he had batted for a long period of time and batted incredibly well to get 215. He wasn’t saying ‘I’m going to freshen up’ or ‘I’m good, I’m hitting the ball nicely.’ He still wanted to do what he needed to do in the lead-up to that second innings in the morning. It’s obviously one of the reasons why he’s able to bat for long periods of time. And he’s unrelenting with it.

What’s it like watching opposition bowlers try to get him out?

Siddle: It’s quite phenomenal to see how the game changes when he’s out there. The confidence in the opposition definitely drops a lot when he’s in, especially once he’s been in probably for 20 balls. Initially, they probably think they’re a chance but once he’s locked in and that first little period is done the confidence in the whole group drops.They go to plan B, plan C and they just kept changing. He just goes about his business and I think that’s probably the thing that makes him so great, is when the opposition change plans and try different things it does tend to draw out different shots and make you play in a different way. But Steve has that ability to continually play his way and it sort of draws teams into bowling in the end how he wants them to bowl, which I guess is why he’s been so successful.Peter Siddle on Steven Smith: ‘The confidence in the opposition definitely drops a lot when he’s in, especially once he’s been in probably for 20 balls’•Associated PressKhawaja: I’ve only been on the opposition a few times. He scored a hundred in one of them. It’s funny, Smithy just makes the game look very easy at times. Even watching him at the World Test Championship, he scored a hundred first innings and he batted beautifully. In the second innings I batted for an hour and thought it was a bit of a grind, but he just made that wicket look so easy and it wasn’t. It was going up and down a bit. India have good fast bowlers but he made them look like club cricketers for about an hour and a half. We looked up and he was 30 off 30 balls. That’s Steve Smith, when fast bowlers are bowling he makes them look so slow. It’s a skill to have.Siddle: He is weird to play against. It’s hard to keep your consistency as a bowler. He’s just so patient. And he waits for you to make mistakes. The way he bats tends to make you make more mistakes as well. He’s getting into positions where you think you can search a little bit more and get him out a certain way. And then next minute he’s hit a couple of boundaries off you, you’ve leaked and he’s away and the partnership is away. It’s very frustrating.Voges: You can understand why [bowlers try and bowl straight to him] because if he does miss it, he’s out. But he just never misses. So the temptation is always there. And it’s clever from a tactical point of view. Bowl there if you dare to, knowing that it was a genuine strength. He always puts the temptation there in front of the bowler to go straight and he doesn’t miss.

With India beginning a new cycle in the World Test Championship, we look at some crucial questions that could arise in the next few years

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Jun-20232:17

What’s India’s roadmap for their Test future?

India’s first assignment in the new World Test Championship is a series in the West Indies this July. By the time the two-year cycle culminates in the final at Lord’s in 2025, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin will be 38; Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane 37; Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja 36; and Mohammed Shami 34. That’s more than half of India’s first XI in Tests.Beyond how India manage the next two years with or without some of these players, there is a more pertinent question to be asked: do they have a succession plan to manage the transition that will inevitably come?Related

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ESPNcricinfo looks at the big questions that whoever is in charge after this year’s ODI World Cup – the coach, the captain, the selectors, the BCCI top brass and the senior players themselves – will have to face with regard to the Test team.

How long do Rohit and Kohli plan to play Test cricket?

At some point this year, Kohli (8479 runs) is likely to become India’s fourth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket, overtaking VVS Laxman (8781) and behind only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar. Kohli needs 1521 runs to join the top three as the only Indians with 10,000 Test runs, and he could achieve that during the new WTC cycle, but do the decision-makers in Indian cricket know whether Kohli plans to play beyond 2025?He had succeeded Tendulkar as India’s No. 4 in 2013, having already shown the talent and temperament for the responsibility while making runs at No. 5. The situation is different now, though. Kohli doesn’t have the No. 5 that Tendulkar had 10 years ago, with Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill tipped as the best options.India need time to groom Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s successors•Getty ImagesShreyas, however, doesn’t have the body of work in Test cricket yet, and he recently underwent back surgery, which will delay his Test return until India tour South Africa in December. There are whispers that some people in the team management are keen to move Gill to No. 4, but it remains to be seen whether they trial him in the middle order during the series in the West Indies. But first, it is pertinent to begin a conversation with Kohli to see if he intends to prolong his Test career by limiting his white-ball workloads.That same question needs to be asked of Rohit, whose Test career has been stop-start because of selection and form in the early years and, more recently, fitness issues. As an all-format captain who opens the batting, Rohit’s position is unique and all-important. Can he continue playing all formats or do the selectors believe he should focus on Tests and ODIs, which could prolong his career and give him time to groom his successors – both as captain and opener.

Future India Test captain – who are the options?

Hardik Pandya’s success at Gujarat Titans has made him the frontrunner to replace Rohit as India’s T20I captain, and possibly in ODIs too, if his body can handle the workloads of the 50-over format. The identity of India’s next Test captain isn’t as clear.Before he suffered the car crash last December, Rishabh Pant would have been an option. Gill is a contender but he hasn’t been stress-tested yet on overseas tours. There is also Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in the one-off Test at Edgbaston in 2022 and is understood to have strong captaincy ambitions. But he recently had a back surgery and it remains to be seen if he can cope with the workload of playing all three formats.India need to identify a deputy who is young and can grow into becoming a long-term captain. Rohit needs to know what the BCCI and selectors think so he can plan the final phase of his career in a way that benefits the team.Will Jasprit Bumrah play all three formats? Will India look at Mohammed Shami as a Test specialist?•AFP

How to keep Bumrah and Shami fresh and fit for as long as possible?

At 29, Bumrah has a lot of good years ahead of him. Since missing the 2022 T20 World Cup, he has been eager to resume playing, but recurring problems with his back meant he had to undergo surgery in March.Bumrah will be eased back into action so that he can play the ODI World Cup in October, as well as the T20 World Cup next summer, but what of Bumrah the Test bowler? Is it viable for him to shoulder workloads of all three formats? A 50-over Asia Cup precedes the ODI World Cup, which is immediately followed by a tour of South Africa for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is, after which India host England for five Tests before IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.The uncertainty is that even Bumrah doesn’t know how his back will cope with the increasing workload. As a unique fast bowler with an unconventional action, Bumrah is crucial for India. It is important to know what he wants so that India can plan to get the best out of him.Shami, in contrast, has been relatively injury-free but, at 32, the challenge for him is similar. He will be a key part of India’s bowling line-up for the ODI and T20 World Cups, but if he is looked at as a Test specialist after that, it will allow him to stay fresh for that format for longer. James Anderson and Stuart Broad have shown they can be match-winners despite their age, but both were told clearly by the ECB they were going to be Test specialists.

What about Pujara and Rahane?

Two good friends who are constantly under scrutiny despite being match-winners and match-savers. Both were dropped during the previous WTC cycle but fought their way back into the team by making lots of runs. They will most likely be on the flight to the Caribbean in July, but there are several young batters in domestic cricket waiting for their shot at Tests.Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have fought their way back into the team after being dropped•AFP/Getty ImagesAbhimanyu Easwaran has been making top-order runs for India A, Bengal and in the Duleep Trophy for several years now. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan have scored heavily for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Rajat Patidar’s performance for Madhya Pradesh earned him a place in India A’s middle order. Tilak Varma, who has played three red-ball matches for India A, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have shown enough promise for the longer format.Two days prior to the WTC final against Australia, India head coach Rahul Dravid’s advice for Rahane was to play as long as he keeps performing, something Pujara has been doing in county cricket. But young batters will need time and space and chances to fail, before India hit upon their middle order for the future.

Spin succession: who after Jadeja and Ashwin?

Ashwin said recently he had feared that the home series against Australia earlier this year could be his last because of the knee pain he suffered on the tour of Bangladesh in December. He changed his action to give his knee some relief, and ended up being the joint Player of the Border-Gavaskar Series. The man who shared that award with him, Jadeja, had knee surgery last September and was unsure at one point whether he could handle bowling long spells in a Test match.How much more do their bodies have in them? And what if India are suddenly without either of them in Test cricket? Other than Axar Patel, India have not played another spinner consistently. Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar and Rahul Chahar have been part of the bench and India A tours in recent years, but are they the right bowlers to take India’s rich spin legacy forward in Test cricket?

His numbers against top sides are not those you’d expect from such a skilful bowler, and holding him back till the 15th over of a middling chase – as was the case against India – hardly helps

Matt Roller13-Oct-20232:49

Why Rashid isn’t at his best against the big teams in ODIs?

It was an incongruous sight. As Rohit Sharma raced to 76 off 43, making light of Afghanistan’s 272 for 8, Rashid Khan prowled around the outfield under the Bishan Singh Bedi Stand at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. India were cruising to an eight-wicket win, yet the opposition’s best bowler was at deep midwicket.By the time Rashid finally came into the attack to bowl the 15th over, India were 125 for 0. He dismissed both openers, having Ishan Kishan caught at cover and bowling Rohit after being taken for three consecutive boundaries, but those wickets served only to underline the peculiarity: why did Afghanistan use five other bowlers before Rashid?Jonathan Trott, their coach, could only suggest it owed to Hashmatullah Shahidi’s “gut feel”, saying: “That’s a captain’s prerogative. There is a case, when the ball gets a little bit older, for Rash to bowl with it, and it gets a little bit more turn; it doesn’t skid on as much.”And yet, Trott could not help but make his own view clear: “Certainly, you want a guy like Rash in the attack as soon as possible,” he said, conceding that the game was effectively over as a contest by the time Rashid had bowled his first over. “It’s always something we’ll look at.”Related

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It was the latest installment in Rashid’s unusual and underwhelming World Cup career, which is now 11 matches old. At 25, he already holds elite status as a white-ball bowler: at some stage next year, he will overtake Dwayne Bravo as the leading wicket-taker in T20 history. And yet, that success has generally eluded him in 50-over cricket.In aggregate, his ODI record is superb: he has 174 wickets at 19.91 in 96 matches. But over 100 of those wickets have come against Ireland and Zimbabwe; in his dozen appearances against nations in the top six of ICC’s rankings, he has taken only 13 at 44.30 each.In T20, nobody has played Rashid better than Shane Watson. Watson faced 73 balls from Rashid across 11 matches, scored 108 runs and was never dismissed by him, most memorably scoring a match-winning century for Chennai Super Kings against Rashid’s Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 IPL final.Watson believes that Rashid’s struggle to convert his T20 form into 50-over cricket owes to the specifics of the format: with only four fielders permitted outside the 30-yard circle in the middle overs of an ODI, he has less protection in the deep. “When batters feel like they need to take Rashid Khan on, that really does bring him into the game,” Watson told ESPNcricinfo.Rashid Khan dismissed Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma after coming on in the 16th over of the chase•ICC/Getty Images”With four people out, batters do not have to take a risk: they find it easy to be able to find the boundary or rotate the strike. Everyone knows that Rashid Khan is the major weapon for Afghanistan, so the game plan will always be around making sure they negate him. And if he gets it slightly wrong, there are low-risk boundary opportunities available with four men out.”When facing Rashid, Watson shifted his stance across so that he covered his off stump. “It was a bit like facing Shahid Afridi,” he recalled, “because they’re a lot faster through the air [than most wristspinners] and more direct… they’re not really trying to get you out through flight, more from the ball skipping off the wicket.”The ball where he gets most of his wickets is his wrong ‘un… so I would set up to be able to hit the ball dead straight or into the leg side, with the ball mainly coming in. He’s not a big turner of his legspinner. I thought, if I was on off stump, I was comfortable knowing that he wasn’t really going to spin the ball past me on the outside of the bat.”Throughout their T20 encounters, Watson noticed that when Rashid went wicketless early in his spell, he would “start chasing wickets” by bowling fuller than his natural length. “He’s going to try and bowl more miracle balls… try to bowl a bit slower, or a bit fuller, which means there are more scoring opportunities for the set batters.”That pattern played out on Wednesday night. After Rashid was cut for four by Rohit, his next ball was a fraction fuller and straighter, and was dispatched over the leg side for four more. His follow-up was a googly, targeting the stumps; Rohit swung it away over the leg side for six.

“The ball where he gets most of his wickets is his wrong ‘un. So I would set up to be able to hit the ball dead straight or into the leg side, with the ball mainly coming in.”Shane Watson spills out his secret of tackling Rashid Khan

On Sunday, Rashid will come up against an England side who will look to put him under pressure. All of their batters have played with or against Rashid in international or franchise cricket; four years ago, they plundered 110 runs off his nine overs in Manchester, including 11 sixes.It seems implausible that Shahidi will hold him back as long as he did against India – even if that decision fitted the general pattern of Rashid’s ODI career, which has seen him bowl only two powerplay overs this year. “Once the ball has stopped swinging, I’d be getting him on,” Watson said.”Afghanistan has to take early wickets to try and get into the middle order, and he’s absolutely their best wicket-taking opportunity. Even if it’s just one or two overs in the powerplay, get him into the game early. You’d prefer to ask a few questions, compared to getting him into the game when it’s nearly too far gone.”Rashid’s schedule has been relentless this year – he has featured in six different franchise leagues – and he has been carrying a back niggle for several months. His status as Afghanistan’s most prominent cricketer means that he cannot simply switch off when he is not playing.This week, he announced that he would donate his match fees for this tournament to the relief effort following the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan, and his foundation has launched a fundraising campaign for its victims. Cricket can never be his sole focus – even during a World Cup.And yet there are few sights in the sport that can bring more joy than Rashid at his best, grinning after beating a batter or wheeling away with his arms outstretched in celebration. Afghanistan will hope they prove to be the defining images of his 2023 World Cup.

Smith’s new role as opener has created an unbalanced batting order with an uncertain top order and too much aggression in the middle

Ian Chappell24-Mar-2024Australia’s bowling, which features a settled and successful top four, is a major plus, but the batting is a concern for the current World Test champions.They are missing the ebullient David Warner’s ability to harass opponents with his aggression as an opener. There is no like-for-like opener to replace Warner and what Australia have now is an unbalanced batting line-up.By promoting Steven Smith to open so they could include two allrounders, they are now left with a query at the top and an overabundance of aggression in the middle order.The preference is to have a strong top six, but it’s ideal when that batting order is balanced.Smith is still Australia’s best batter but at No. 4, not opening. As former Australian captain Tim Paine wisely noted: “If I’m the opposition, I want him [Smith] opening.”Related

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Smith, like all players, is more vulnerable against the new ball. He’ll occasionally succeed because he’s a very good player, but he’s unlikely to produce the consistently high scores he did in his heyday in the middle. An Australian order with Smith at No. 4 has the solid look that provides confidence that things will still be okay even if they go astray at the top.The problem is if Smith bats at No. 4 where do you play Cameron Green, who is a must for Australia? Who would then open? Australia’s most perplexing selection headache is the opening situation – there are no obvious replacements for Warner.Test opener Usman Khawaja, who bats in the middle order for Queensland, is proof there is a paucity of top-order candidates at state level. However if you pick a new opener and play Green while batting Smith at four, then the likelihood is you have to omit Travis Head. Head has had success in the Test side but Green is a better proposition both for the present and the future.The pairing of Head and Mitchell Marsh means Australia’s middle order is heavily reliant on attacking batting. The fall-back position that Smith provided – an ability to rebuild methodically – is missing.

Australia’s most perplexing selection headache is the opening situation – there are no obvious replacements for Warner

The reason both Marsh and Head vigorously attack the opposition is because their aggression covers up their technical failings. Their aggression has worked against the lesser sides, but will it succeed against strong sides like India?If Marsh and Head have to try and dig Australia out of trouble against Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, that will be a concern. Rest assured a vulnerable Australian top order will find itself in trouble if that Indian trio is fit and firing.This is a situation with which the modern bowlers have to cope. They are going to face more aggressive batting from the opposition and that is a part of a modern Test bowler’s life. At the moment the best bowlers are most likely to cope, but teams need to focus on unearthing lesser performers who have found a method that deals with the aggressive approach.Relentlessly attacking the new ball and succeeding against good bowlers is an extremely rare skill and this was one of Warner’s strengths. That’s why Australia are desperately missing his undoubted talent.Another aspect of the Australian team that will encourage opponents was their batting failure against the West Indies pace attack, especially newcomer Shamar Joseph. Once that type of susceptibility is established, it’s very difficult to reverse the trend as it encourages opponents. This was a situation that rarely existed when Smith (at No. 4) and Warner were dominating Australia’s batting.The Test success of India, Australia and, more recently, England highlights the financial problems that torment the long form of the game. If the Big Three are able to continue rewarding their Test players handsomely but the remainder struggle financially, it does nothing for the competitiveness of an already ailing long form of the game.The World Test Championship is a grand idea. However it will quickly lose glamour status if the Big Three dominate the coveted battle for the winner’s mace.

Accurate and near unplayable, the England spinner played hard on the field but always had room for a beer after a well-fought game

Ian Chappell21-Apr-2024There are some humorous and often applicable nicknames in cricket but none more suitable than “Deadly” for Derek Underwood.Derek was a deadly accurate bowler and a fierce competitor who sadly died recently from dementia complications. Despite being a feared competitor, he was a respected opponent.Always – and I mean every night – Underwood was available for an after-play drink in the dressing room. When it came to cricket, two of his main loves were bowling and beer.He employed an extraordinarily long run-up for a spinner and operated nearer medium pace than the typical speed of a slow bowler, but boy, he was accurate. Too speedy to use your feet to, and difficult to drive, he was the hardest spinner to score off who I played against.Related

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Right-hand batters had to scrounge for every run. The highly skilled West Indian Viv Richards was one of the few right-handers who had the courage and the skill to loft him over cover.Nevertheless batters had one thing in their favour. Underwood wore his heart on his sleeve: you knew when he was pissed off. And he was most aggrieved by the sweep shot.Having retired from first-class cricket, I shared a London cab with him in 1977, when only the players knew about the existence of the highly secretive World Series Cricket (WSC). Without divulging much, I said to him, “It’s on again, mate.”Underwood knew exactly what I meant and replied, “That bloody broom – I thought I’d seen the last of it.”The broom was a reference to my penchant for sweeping Underwood. I discovered that was one of the few ways to score off him and, as I said, it annoyed Deadly.He was deservedly pissed off at the Oval in 1972 but for an entirely different reason. A West Indies supporter of Australia in that game constantly called out when Underwood was operating: “Bad-wicket bowler. Don’t let him get you out.”

Batters had one thing in their favour. Underwood wore his heart on his sleeve: you knew when he was pissed off. And he was most aggrieved by the sweep shot

In his self-deprecating manner, Underwood described spin bowling as “a low-mentality profession: plug away, line and length, until there’s a mistake”.As a batter he was not the most gifted but he was determined. He and England’s Tony Greig had a useful partnership at the Gabba in the first Test of 1974-75 before I turned to our golden arm, Doug Walters.Walters dismissed Underwood with his first ball, and when we gleefully congratulated the bowler, he produced a typically smart-aleck retort: “A lesser batsman wouldn’t have got a bat on it.”However it was Underwood’s bowling that deservedly gained him a glowing reputation. On dampish pitches he was nigh unplayable, and his ally Alan Knott was a master wicketkeeper, especially on treacherous pitches. Underwood specialised in the superman ball – up, up and away – but Knott, in typically expert fashion, handled the difficult task of gathering those deliveries easily.It was on such a pitch at Adelaide Oval in 1975 that he took the first seven Australian wickets. Gritty opener Ian Redpath battled his backside off but eventually was incorrectly given out in the final over before lunch. Sitting in the dressing room an exasperated Redpath spat on his bat. The mirth of that moment did not detract from the fact that it had been an engaging sight to watch two highly competitive players involved in such a herculean struggle.In 1975-76 a mixed team of Australians and cricketers from other countries played in an International Wanderers tour to South Africa captained by my brother Greg Chappell and managed by the revered Richie Benaud. A dignitary at a cocktail function in Soweto welcomed the “Australian” team to the city, so I went to Underwood and said, “Congratulations on finally representing a good team.” His answer was unprintable but it definitely included “piss off”.Underwood later signed for WSC and also represented England on the 1981-82 rebel tour of South Africa. His defiant decisions were a mark of his single-mindedness but also of his belief that a professional cricketer should be paid his worth.In a distinctive life after retiring from cricket, the universally popular Underwood was appointed president of the MCC in 2008.It was a privilege to compete against such a tough but exemplary opponent.

A failed sweep did not stop him from playing an imperfect sweep, which did not stop him from sweeping a bad ball for four

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Sep-2024First ball of spin New Zealand face in the first innings, Tom Latham presses gently onto the front foot, transfers weight smoothly back, and punches the ball through cover point for a couple.The bowler is Dhananjaya de Silva, who is far from the biggest turner of the ball in the opposition. But on a pitch on which even Glenn Phillips was ripping it on day one, less confident batters might have preferred to wait and see what the ball was doing. Occasionally, on tracks such as this, the hard seam bites off the dry surface and turns hard.For Latham, this was a stress-free checked square drive for two. It clearly wasn’t tentative. But it wasn’t an eye-catching statement of intent either. It was assured, run-seeking batting.Related

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His judgement of length was brisk. His feet moved fluently enough to take him back into the crease. He timed it nicely, without hitting the leather off it. This is where good batting against spin lives. New Zealand’s top order batted like a team that knows all that.We’re about to get deep into batting-nerd territory here, but you really can’t do justice to the big picture unless you hone in on the molecular. We’ll stick with Latham for a bit, since he played day two’s most substantial innings. In the 15th over, he missed a sweep against Ramesh Mendis, generally Sri Lanka’s biggest turner of the ball. He missed it because he had played over the ball and rolled his wrists. Of all the ways to miss a sweep, this is the safest – even if you under-edge it, it would hit the pitch straightaway, or thud into the wicketkeeper’s boot. You’d have to be quite unlucky to drag it onto the stumps.You’ve missed that ball, but don’t sweat it. You can’t stress not sweating it enough. On turning tracks, balls will be missed. But the job is to make runs. No one cares if you miss the fewest balls.Daryl Mitchell is one of the most conscientious reverse-sweepers in the game•Associated PressLatham, at this stage in his career, is a proficient player of spin. So next ball, Ramesh bowls a similar line, and Latham sweeps again, this time over-correcting, and getting the bat under the ball a little. It goes off the top half of the bat, but because he’s only paddled it, it loops off into vacant space around short fine leg, and Latham gets two. Fifth ball, he gets a ball that pitches on around middle and leg, and this time Latham is all over it, sweeping it fine, along the ground, for four.The first failed sweep did not stop him from playing a second imperfect sweep, which in turn did not stop him from sweeping a bad ball for four. Latham’s playing of spin is partly built around his being able to play variations of conventional sweep nicely. But other New Zealand batters have their own ways of countering spin.Where in previous decades, teams from SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) were often caught in horrendous, traumatic cycles of spin-playing ineptitude, and in response issued team diktats such as “be more aggressive”, “sweep more often”, “come down the pitch more” etc… the approach has more recently shifted. Now it’s about equipping batters with a wider repertoire of shots, encouraging them to either go back or come forward and not get caught in between, encouraging them to seek the run-scoring opportunities, but vitally, having them find their own way.Rachin Ravindra’s strategy was to go back into his crease to create length and club the balls he could in front of square. Daryl Mitchell, who came in late in the day, is one of the most conscientious reverse-sweepers in the game, frequently rolling his wrists on the shot, and almost always playing over the ball, and as a result, sending the ball into the ground inside three metres. Never bogged down, almost always playing with the spin, Mitchell’s 41 not out off 60 was the kind of innings that would make a modern batting coach’s heart sing.We have T20s to thank for fitting batters with a space-age arsenal of strokes, of course. But then the likes of Latham, who is not a white-ball star the way Mitchell is these days, have also found success. Looking for runs is key, he said.

“My plan in these conditions is to be proactive and to use the sweep shot as I’m sure you saw… That’s my mode in terms of how I operate in these conditions”Tom Latham

“In this part of the world, when you’re facing a lot of balls, when you can’t get off strike, it does become harder,” Latham said. He was caught in the deep sweeping in what would have been the last over before tea.He’s got to have regrets about that, right? “No, not really. My plan in these conditions is to be proactive and to use the sweep shot as I’m sure you saw. Other days it doesn’t go to the fielder on the boundary. Today it didn’t work out. But that’s my mode in terms of how I operate in these conditions.” It’s hard to argue with a guy whose score of 70 on Thursday actually brought his average in the country down a touch.That the likes of Latham, and Mitchell, and Ravindra are figuring out their own ways of getting runs in conditions they are not used to, speaks to a fun new evenness of skills in the game. (This article has skirted around Kane Williamson’s 55, because there is no real point talking about Williamson’s spin-playing, when he had arrived more or less fully formed as a batter, as if from a way better universe than ours.)Other SENA sides – England and Australia especially – have also raised their games significantly in an era in which big-turning pitches have been normalised in places like Sri Lanka and India.For New Zealand, getting to 255 for 4 at Galle was especially meaningful. This was their first Test in a five-match sequence in what is likely to be big-turning conditions – one more match in Galle, then games in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai to follow.On their first day of batting on this long South Asia tour, they’ve suggested they will do much better than has often been expected – that they are not going to crumble meekly against spin.

There were funky lines drawn on the practice pitches, a serious focus on the sweep shot, and an army of net bowlers on the job to help the batters

Alagappan Muthu30-Oct-2024There was something new at the India nets on Wednesday. They had commandeered four pitches on the square at the Wankhede Stadium. Two for fast bowling. Two for spin bowling. On each of them, two lines had been drawn, extending perpendicularly outward from the batting crease, one from the base of off stump and another from the base of leg stump. They hadn’t been there in Pune.These lines came in particularly handy when Washington Sundar got down to sweep the ball and Ravindra Jadeja appealed for lbw. Washington kept his front foot where it had been when he played the shot and it did seem fairly adjacent to off stump. Rishabh Pant found them beneficial, too. He could identify balls that weren’t in line with the stumps easier and as soon as he saw one, he went on the attack.India are in an almost unprecedented situation – having to prevent a home series whitewash, which has only happened once before, against South Africa in 1999-2000. And it reflected in the work they have been putting in to prepare for the Mumbai Test. It even showed in the work they had put in. The Mumbai Cricket Association, reportedly responding to a request from the team management, had trucked in 35 net bowlers. Many of them looked like school children, teenagers.Related

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An offspinner struck Sarfaraz Khan’s pad while he was defending on the front foot, but according to umpire Gautam Gambhir, the impact could have been outside the line of off stump. Sarfaraz erased that memory with a full-blooded sweep shot in front of square leg against a left-arm spinner next ball. There was a whole bunch of left-arm spinners, actually. Mitchell Santner couldn’t hope for a more heartfelt compliment.A lot of India’s wickets, in Pune in particular, were the result of batters being stuck on the crease. One reason for that might be the level of uncertainty that pitch helped in creating. One ball turned. Another from the same spot went straight on. Others scooted through really low. And with New Zealand making sure they targeted the stumps as often as possible, at times it didn’t feel like there were a lot of options for run-making.”You need to understand when certain balls are turning, certain balls are going straight, it tends to play with your mind,” Abhishek Nayar, India’s assistant coach, said on Wednesday. “So, at that point, it’s really important for a batter to then try and understand how the ball is coming out of the hand, which balls are undercutting [which have an increased chance of skidding through], which balls are overspinning [which are more likely to grip and turn]. I think that’s where you need to focus a little harder [on the bowler’s release].

“We all understand the sport and we all understand we’re going to go out there we’re going to win most times, lose some times. And the losing may be emphasised, but we know it’s part of the team. So, we just go out smiling and give our best all the time”Abhishek Nayar

“That’s the cricketing, technical side of it. But when that tends to happen, a lot of times it’s not so much about the batter who’s playing it, but it’s about the atmosphere outside because sometimes it can be intimidating when you see a ball turning and [another] going straight on. But I think, overall, everyone’s equipped [to deal] with that. You’ve gone through that in your career. When you play domestic cricket, you play on black-soil pitches. You’ve seen that. But, like I said, sometimes the conditions and the position that you are in, the form that you are in, can get the better of you. But the exact science to it is focusing more on the release points. That’s it.”The other thing that batters tend to do on pitches with variable turn is to deny the bowler easy access to good-length areas. Visiting teams turn to the sweep shot to accomplish this. New Zealand, for example, attempted 73 of them in Pune for the cost of three wickets. India typically prefer to combat spin by using their feet, either charging out to the pitch of the ball, or shifting back to exploit the depth of the crease. They played 37 sweeps in Pune, even though they have been encouraged to do so.Rohit Sharma addressed their reluctance to use the shot in the aftermath of the defeat in the second Test. “That’s one thing that we wanted to do as a team, try and play the sweep and reverse sweep because when you do those kinds of things, they have to take one extra man from the front and put it behind, and that allows you to then play straighter and hit those gaps. That is what New Zealand did.”2:06

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Devon Conway and Tom Latham, in particular, are excellent sweepers. They spend a great deal of time practicing that shot, which in turn enables them to see the risk associated with it differently. Even in Pune, where the lack of bounce was a significant deterrent to the shot. There was a Test in Delhi where Australia tried to get out of trouble by sweeping at everything but the ball kept scooting under the bat and crashing into the stumps. So going cross-bat doesn’t always work, but there is perhaps merit in having it as an option.India’s batters focused on that at training in Mumbai, with Yashasvi Jaiswal in particular taking every opportunity to get down on one knee. He went through virtually every variation of the shot, and its offshoot, the scoop, as well. Virat Kohli attempted to reverse Kuldeep Yadav early into his stint and nailed it. He went conventional against Jadeja who spotted it soon enough to shorten the length and get so much kick off these red-soil pitches that it hit the batter on the chest. There’s the other advantage India might gain if their batters are willing to go unconventional. The bowlers will have a better idea of how to deal with it in a match situation (not that they don’t already, of course).Axar Patel saw Washington shaping up for a sweep and looped the ball wider outside off stump. Kuldeep, with his wristspin, was able to get the ball to dip sharply enough that the sweep became problematic. R Ashwin pulled his length back and didn’t provide the room to pull off the sweep. That then forced the batters to adopt other means. Stepping out of the crease was a popular choice. The Wankhede pitch will test both teams. It looked dry. It lacked grass. Ajaz Patel said it is definitely going to turn, just a matter of when. But one saving grace might be that here, the batters will be able to trust the bounce.It’s true, there was some fun and games at the training session too•Getty ImagesIndia began their training on Wednesday with a huge huddle. That’s fairly normal, although this one did seem to go on forever. Then they had a smaller huddle and that seemed to go on forever too. It was around this time that the army of net bowlers descended on the pitches, measuring their run-ups with tape. (Jaiswal, a local boy, seemed to recognise a couple of them, he went and hugged them right at the end.) The team management had given the players a small break but they appear to have made the training sessions in Mumbai mandatory and Wednesday’s had a feeling of leaving no stone unturned, starting with the lines drawn on the pitch to reflect balls with an increased chance of hitting the stumps, to the effort every batter put in to try and avoid being caught on the crease. India haven’t always had to work this hard in a home series but they aren’t letting it get them down.”I think when India lost the [ODI] World Cup in India, that was a low point in Indian cricket for everyone, for the fans, for the players,” Nayar said, “In the same breath, a couple of months later, they were [T20I] world champions. So, I always feel sometimes low point in a cricketer’s, you know, I forgot the word, but through what a cricketer goes. And then coming back is always a great journey. That’s how stories are made. That’s how legacies are created.”So, hopefully, we can be part of creating something as special as that in the future. But the atmosphere is great. Still a lot of jokes and bubbly cricketers in the dressing room. And as you watch, you’ll see our sessions filled with fun and nothing’s changed. We all understand the sport and we all understand we’re going to go out there we’re going to win most times, lose some times. And the losing may be emphasised, but we know it’s part of the team. So, we just go out smiling and give our best all the time.”