Often seen as a stylist, the Sri Lanka batter produced an innings of rare substance in Galle

Danyal Rasool27-Jul-2022It was a damp December week in Rawalpindi in 2019, one of myriad rain delays in Pakistan’s first home Test match in a decade. It was the fourth day, with the first innings of the Test still only halfway through. That particular morning had seen no play at all, and none was expected for the foreseeable future, so there wasn’t much to do, and plenty of time to do it in.”Who’s the most elegant batter from either side,” we wondered idly. Before long, the poll was up on ESPNcricinfo, with followers from both countries weighing in animatedly. To avoid ending up with one of the more obvious results, Babar Azam was excluded from the poll altogether.It was Dhananjaya de Silva who topped that poll for Sri Lanka, no doubt having won over a fair few Pakistanis across the previous three days. He’d come in with his team struggling on day one, and immediately set out imbuing the innings with the sort of delicate grace that almost felt indecently out of place in any attritional innings.Related

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There was, of course, a buoyant Pakistani pace bowling attack on the prowl, but he didn’t so much tame them as draw them into an orchestra only he seemed to be conducting. Their quality, their menace, was simply the backdrop against which he was doing his best work, with a liquid ease that didn’t make it feel like work at all. Even with the frequent rain and bad light interruptions which made the accrual of any rhythm impossible.Praising a cricketer for being elegant can often sound like a backhanded compliment, as if there’s a concomitant lack of substance that must necessarily accompany the style. (To further drive that point home, it was Asad Shafiq who won the poll from the Pakistan side that day). Such players, it is easy to think, exist to decorate rather than influence games, to adorn instead of win them. They are thought to lack the grit to get down and dirty and the heart to claw out results.When de Silva walked out to bat on Tuesday in Galle, he had just watched half his side fall for 117, the lead still a precarious 264. In the last six weeks, five totals in excess of that have been comfortably chased down in Test cricket. Just last week alone, at this very venue, Pakistan stunned Sri Lanka by gunning down 342 in the fourth innings, and looked very much on track to repeat the feat with a Test that was shaping up similarly here. This was time for a craftsman, and here Sri Lanka were, sending out an artist.Dhananjaya de Silva brought up his ninth Test century•AFP/Getty ImagesNaseem Shah was steaming in, the only fast bowler who has threatened with both old ball and new. In front of him was a batter who, in 13 innings this year, was averaging just over 26, managing only one half-century. De Silva wasn’t favourite to win this battle, especially when he was in the middle of his most significant drop in performance levels since 2018. Plus, in all three prior innings this series, his method of dismissal has been bowled, with Naseem the man to uproot his middle stump with the ball of the series on the first day.Against Australia the previous game, he fell cheaply to first Mitchell Swepson and then Travis Head. They might be tricky enough bowlers on their day, but self-respecting South Asian batters don’t want to give wickets away to middle-of-the-road spin bowlers. The Test before that, he had Covid-19, and missed entirely. It has not been an easy time for a man to whom everything tends to come so easily.De Silva was in a scrap. He saw off that early threat, but as in Rawalpindi three years ago, there were stops and starts. Poor light ended the third day off early, and back he came the next morning to begin all over again. He worked Hasan Ali away off the first ball for a single, and then didn’t score a run for the next 8.4 overs. A dab off Yasir Shah to third man was his next productive shot more than half an hour later. All the swishes and flicks put away, the wizardry set to one side as de Silva went into hand-to-hand combat for his side.The lead inched past 300, and then 350. Dimuth Karunaratne, with a significantly loftier reputation for attrition, departed before lunch, but de Silva plugged away, leading his side out of Pakistan’s reach. The bowlers that had prowled under the gloom the previous evening, and schemed their way through the fresh optimism of a crisp Galle morning, were beginning to recede into the backdrop. De Silva pranced down the ground, whipping Mohammad Nawaz through midwicket with the footwork of a dancer and the jab of a flyweight boxer. He got down on one knee to sweep Agha Salman for four, before beating point for yet another to bring up his ninth Test hundred.It was his orchestra once more, and he had Pakistan playing to his tunes. By the time he raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd, he looked once more like a maestro soaking in an enchanted audience’s applause. There was no mud on his shirt, no sweat on his brow. At that moment, it was so easy to forget that Dhananjaya de Silva had gone into battle, and controlled a game all the while looking as if he were merely embellishing it. You don’t just get there by playing pretty cover drives and winning ESPNcricinfo polls.

The Netherlands seamer, who will be playing against England this month, talks about his late start and circuitous route to international cricket

Matt Roller14-Jun-2022Fred Klaassen laughs at the end of a sprawling five-minute answer about his route into international cricket. “It’s certainly not the same as most players,” he says in a thick New Zealand accent, “but that’s just how it’s worked out.”Many cricket fans view the idea of nationality in binary terms but Klaassen is a living, breathing counter-example: born in Sussex, brought up in New Zealand and Australia, representing Netherlands. Associate cricket is filled with players who have similar stories, including many other players in the Dutch squad who will play England in three ODIs in Amstelveen over the next week.As his surname suggests, Klaassen’s ties to the Netherlands are strong, even if he did not set foot in the country until the age of 16. He has had a Dutch passport since birth. “My Dutch heritage has always been part of my life,” he says.His grandfather was born in the industrial southern city of Eindhoven. “They were a pretty poor family,” Klaassen says. “His mother actually died after he was born, so he was brought up by his sister and then his father met another woman: he ended up having 14 siblings who lived in one house.”He fought in Indonesia with the Dutch during World War Two, and when he went back home to the Netherlands, he realised that his life had been pretty s**t. He wanted a new life and in 1955 he got on a boat, like a lot of Dutchies did around that time. He migrated to New Zealand, where there’s a massive Dutch community. It’s a young country, so lots of people have migrated from somewhere – it’s only ever two or three generations away.”Related

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Klaassen is a late developer by cricket standards: he signed his first Kent contract shortly before turning 26. As he points out, that is the average age at which county cricketers leave the game, according to the Professional Cricketers Association. His dream to play professional had “faded a little bit” in his early 20s as he struggled for opportunities, before then spending time playing club cricket in the UK and the Netherlands.”Growing up, I always wanted to be a professional cricketer but I didn’t get the opportunity in New Zealand,” he says. “I finished school and university there and after my degree, I did a bit of gardening and worked in a couple of cafés doing hospitality work – pretty mundane jobs.”After about 12 months in the Netherlands, I realised there might be an opportunity to play for the Dutch side. There was a new coach coming in, Ryan Campbell, who is probably the biggest influence in my cricket career to date. He gave me the opportunity and in my year with the Dutch side, my cricket really improved – probably because I was in that sort-of-professional environment which I’d craved from the age of 17.”When I got my opportunity with the Dutch side, I just decided to put all my time and effort into cricket and see where I ended up.”I’m 29: most of the guys my age are senior players or captain, or have played for England, but my career is very different. I still feel quite young as a cricketer because I haven’t had a long professional career. I need to learn on my feet a bit quicker. I don’t have ten or 15 years.”After making his Netherlands debut in 2017, Klaassen played two T20 friendlies against Kent a year later and took 4 for 44 across his eight overs, including the wickets of Carlos Brathwaite and Joe Denly. Kent liked the look of the tall left-arm seamer and wondered if he could provide their attack with a point of difference; after a brief trial, he signed professionally later that year.Since then he has been a key player in their T20 team: he was their second-highest wicket-taker when they won the Blast in 2021, earned a contract extension until the end of 2024, and was retained by Manchester Originals after a solid season in the inaugural Hundred.Klaassen was Kent’s second-highest wicket-taker in their victorious T20 Blast campaign in 2021•Ashley Allen/Getty ImagesKent have given Klaassen a level of financial security that is near-impossible to find in Associate cricket but the drawback is that his county commitments have limited his availability for Netherlands. He has been named in the squad to play England but when we speak, he only expects to be available for the third ODI and is due to arrive in Amsterdam on the morning of the game, the day after playing against Gloucestershire in the Blast in Canterbury.In theory, counties have to allow their players to play for their Associate teams in ICC events, qualifiers, the ODI Super League, and any ODI or T20I against a Full Member; in practice, players and boards accept that enforcing that protocol would result in some players losing their county deals, and others retiring from international cricket altogether.”It’s a bit different for the Netherlands compared to, say, playing for England,” Klaassen says, “especially this season because there’s a heavy Dutch fixture list right in the summer of English cricket. It makes it really hard. It’s pretty chaotic, but I love playing for the Dutch side.”You don’t get the chance to play international cricket all the time, especially coming up against some of the Test-playing nations that they’ve got this summer. I want to be part of as many as I can, but unfortunately, it’s tricky. It’s the nature of playing county cricket in England and then trying to play in the Dutch side as well, and obviously there’s a few other guys in the same boat that haven’t been available.”Kent have been pretty fair in the last couple of years in letting me play, but properly clashing this season makes it so much harder. At the end of the day, Kent pay my salary and you have to look after the hand that feeds you. The nature of Dutch cricket is that there isn’t a lot of money there, and probably not a whole lot of power.”Earlier this year, several players who were in the final years of their respective contracts missed Netherlands’ tour to New Zealand in order to spend pre-season with their counties. “We need to look after our careers first,” Klaassen says. “Each individual has to juggle it themselves. It’s not easy.Manchester Originals have retained Klaassen for the Hundred this season•Stu Forster/Getty Images”Missing the experience of Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Timm van der Gugten – it’s a big loss. But in saying that, the younger Dutch squad that played without the county players against West Indies did bloody well. They were unfortunate not to get a win actually, especially in that last game. It’s great experience for them.”Among those players, Klaassen highlights two 19-year-olds in Vikramjit Singh, the stylish opening batter, and Aryan Dutt, the offspinner who dismissed Nicholas Pooran three times in as many innings against West Indies. He has high hopes for Bas de Leede, the 22-year-old allrounder, too: “He’s the best thing coming through Dutch cricket at the moment… he’s got a s**tload of talent. He could really go to the top.”They’re only going to get better when they jump in at the deep end. That’s my biggest takeaway from professional cricket. You think that players are so far ahead of you or you watch them on TV and put them on a pedestal. Then you come up against them and play them some more and you start to realise you can compete.”Ryan Cook, the interim head coach, will continue to take charge against England. ( Campbell has been sidelined with heart trouble.) Netherlands’ next major assignment will be the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe next month, and they will look to put a surprise exit in the initial group stage in 2021 behind them.As for their chances of causing an upset, as they did in the 2009 and 2014 T20 World Cups? “The next step for us is putting a full team performance together,” Klaassen says. “We saw Ireland defeat England in 2020 and in the past two T20Is against England, the Dutch knocked them over. It’s a bit of a banana skin, you could say.”The new England coach, Matthew Mott, probably has a bit of expectation and a bit of pressure on him – he doesn’t want to lose to a non-Test-playing nation, especially with [Brendon] McCullum just winning the first Test. On the Dutchies’ day, if everyone clicks, we could definitely get a win.”

While Mandhana has expanded her repertoire of strokes, Rodrigues has come out of a career slump with heightened self-awareness and clarity

Shashank Kishore06-Aug-2022When Smriti Mandhana started playing cricket as an 11-year-old, she wanted to bat like Matthew Hayden. However, she quickly remodelled herself around Kumar Sangakkara and Sourav Ganguly once coaches told her that timing, and not brute force, was her forte.The same coaches would have watched Mandhana’s daredevilry at India’s CWG 2022 semi-final against England with delight.Related

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Take for example that six off Issy Wong in the third over. A pull in front of square to a short ball whose length she picked up in a jiffy. Even though the boundaries at Edgbaston had been brought in considerably, the shot would have gone for six at most grounds.It was another example of the transformation Mandhana’s has undergone. She has tried to consciously work on her power-hitting, ever since becoming a regular in the WBBL. A debut season for Brisbane Heat in 2016-17, in which she managed all of 89 runs in 10 innings, proved to be an eye-opener.On surfaces with bounce, Mandhana realised she needed to find new ways of scoring, and not just trust her on-the-up drives. She began working hard on her pull. Her height would allow her to get on top of the bounce most times; it was just a matter of having control over the stroke without losing her balance. Today, Mandhana has one of the best pull shots in women’s cricket.And as with most good players, she has expanded her game in multiple directions. She has frequently brought out the conventional sweep, and on Saturday, perhaps for the first time in a big game, you saw her playing the scoop and the delicate paddle.Smriti Mandhana has turned herself into one of the best pullers in the women’s game•Getty ImagesYou may ask why a player of her calibre needs to try and get inventive behind the stumps when she has all the shots in front of it. Well, according to her captain Harmanpreet Kaur, this was Mandhana’s way of pushing boundaries and trying to “think out of the box” for the team’s benefit.Mandhana’s 23-ball half-century against England spoke of her intention to dominate from the get-go. Her assertiveness in the very first over, against Katherine Brunt, laid down a marker. England may have expected Shafali Verma to take the attack to them. Instead, Mandhana decided this was her stage to set on fire with some breathtaking shots – none played in anger.This meant Shafali quickly slipped into a support role, flipping the script of several of her earlier partnerships with Mandhana.It isn’t just Mandhana who has grown significantly as a batter over recent months. India’s innings against England also showcased the evolution of Jemimah Rodrigues, who gave the innings its finishing touches.Rodrigues’ career has hit a number of speed bumps since she broke through as a prodigiously talented 18-year-old. When she was in form, there were no vacancies in the middle order. And when she went through a prolonged run of poor scores, she admitted to being lost.When the pandemic set in and threw cricket calendar off the rails, Rodrigues was a constant presence on the internet with her smash hit YouTube show along with Mandhana. The pair interviewed several sports personalities and added their own touch of humour and colour to long lockdown hours.It was during one such conversation with Rohit Sharma that Rodrigues happened to touch upon the topic of consistency. Rohit spoke of his struggle to deal with expectations in the first 5-6 years of his career, and how he overcame that by building a “shield” around himself, and on relying on family and friends to distract him from the game.A defining feature of Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten 31-ball 44 was her inside-out hitting through the covers•Associated PressRodrigues has since spoken about how this chat with Rohit – and other conversations with others including Rishah Pant – helped her deal with her own struggles.The current version of Rodrigues is defined by her awareness and clarity of thought, which she has shown right through the past week at the Commonwealth Games. In a must-win game against Barbados, she anchored India’s innings with an unbeaten half-century. Against England, with the stakes even higher, she produced a masterclass in strike rotation to make an unbeaten 31-ball 44. At frequent points during her innings, she stepped to the leg side to hit inside-out and access the cover region, both off spin and medium-pace.Rodrigues knows she isn’t a power-hitter, but she is aware of the damage she can inflict by relying on her old-school virtues of timing and hand-eye coordination, which she attributes to her fondness for hockey.India may have been dreaming of at least 180 when they were 64 without loss after the powerplay, but those hopes quickly hit a roadblock. Rodrigues was in the middle at a stage where the innings needed calm. She provided that, and when it was time to tee off, she did so while trusting in her own methods. It proved to be the difference between India finishing with 145 and making 164.The contributions of Mandhana and Rodrigues, good friends and team-mates at West Zone long before they played for India, have provided a glimpse into a potential shift in India’s overall T20 game, away from conservatism and towards a more forward-looking approach.This approach has taken them into the gold-medal match; if Mandhana and Rodrigues can deliver in that game on Sunday, they may just usher in a new chapter in Indian women’s cricket.

Familiarity of Fire’s self-immolation is admirable amid competition’s inherent volatility

Cameron Ponsonby24-Aug-2022I would like to announce that records have, indeed, begun. A new competition breeds opportunities for many: players, coaches, scouts, and most importantly, the fine people at the Guinness Book of World Records. As with every passing match a new best or worst of all-time is logged.The highest total in the history of the Hundred. The highest-ever chase. The best figures. Everything record-breaking, all of the time.But, unfortunately for Welsh Fire, amid a sea of volatility and variance, their record-breaking nature has so far come through unwanted consistency.Heading into Wednesday night’s fixture at Lord’s, they were the only team in Hundred history to have lost five games in a row. And despite only playing 13 matches in the competition in total, they had managed the feat twice. London Spirit last season went six without a win, but were spared that ignominy by a no-result.And now, following their 17-run defeat to Spirit here at Lord’s, they have become the only team to have lost six in a row. Welsh Fire, record-breakers.Related

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“We had a tough chat after the last game,” Josh Cobb, their captain, said at the toss. “We have three opportunities to put some personal pride on the board.” Unfortunately for Fire, the pride did not appear.Ish Sodhi, who only arrived in the country last night, was the only man to impress with the ball claiming 2 for 19 off his 20 deliveries. And among their top order, it was just Ben Duckett who showed any glimpses with the bat: he struck five boundaries to drag Fire into contention before ultimately falling to the spin of Dan Lawrence, like surviving a fight with a lion only to be killed by a kitten.This season, Fire have used 18 players, a remarkable feat given a squad can only contain 17 at any one time. Their bankers in Duckett and Joe Clarke have failed, which happens. Their £125,000 punt on Tom Banton hasn’t come off either, which can happen too. And their England superstar Jonny Bairstow pulled out of the competition in order to rest for, err, England. It happens, mate. It just happens. What can you do?

“When I don’t necessarily know where it’s going all the time, the batter doesn’t really know either.”Dan Lawrence explains the secret behind his success with the ball

“We’re not a bad group of individual players,” Matt Critchley said in the aftermath of their defeat. “We’re just not playing well as a team which is quite evident to see. And today could’ve easily got a bit embarrassing, but at least we managed to salvage something to take it into the last over.”It’s a series of unfortunate events that no one party can really be blamed for, and yet, enough time is beginning to pass in this competition where blips are becoming patterns. And longer-term concerns are taking hold.”I don’t really know how the draft works and how many you can retain,” Critchley added, “but the quality of individuals is quite apparent in what the guys have done for their counties and their franchises. It’s just a case of trying to learn to play as a team.”Where Fire may hold some hope is that the team that beat them today and that now sit top of the table were last season’s whipping boys. Spirit, with the same core group as they had last season, have turned their fortunes around in a way that even they don’t have an answer for.”Not at all,” Lawrence replied, when asked whether anything had changed from last year to this. “The thing with T20 cricket is when you get on a roll of winning games, it’s really easy to find a formula and keep doing it over and over again.”I think we’ve got a team of people who are confident in all aspects. Maybe they [Fire] are not so much at the moment.”Dan Lawrence rattled through Welsh Fire•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesLawrence starred with both bat and ball, making his top score of the competition as well as claiming his best ever T20 figures (4 for 20) with the ball. Lawrence has one of the more eccentric actions on the circuit, arriving at the crease with a leap and grace that is more Pigeon Pond than Swan Lake. Critchley, his Essex teammate but Fire opponent, described it as “dodgy”, while his Spirit captain Eoin Morgan said he was more like Murali.”They had a lot of left-handers in their top five”, Lawrence, after snaring the wickets of three lefties in Jacob Bethell, Duckett and David Miller. “So whenever they came on I was always going to twist a few out. When we had Maxwell for the first few games he did a similar role and now that he’s gone, thankfully, I’ve taken over and done a good job.”It’s a bit of a Brucie Bonus, the bowling. It was a really nice wicket to bowl spin on. I love my bowling, and it’s something I take really seriously. When I don’t necessarily know where it’s going all the time, the batter doesn’t really know either.”An unexplained return to form and a bowler crediting a scattergun approach may give cause for optimism for Fire that the slot machine lifestyle of T20 cricket may finally land them on jackpot. But as Critchley said of the brief moments that Fire looked in the game this evening, “it’s the hope that kills you”.

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.

Pakistan captain faces whitewash but fails to recognise own part in team’s downfall

Danyal Rasool19-Dec-2022″The last few Test matches we’ve played we’ve dominated.”Babar Azam looked down at the press pack on the eve of the third Test, and then he said it. It was the nonchalance with which it was said, just as much as the substance in the words that had just escaped his lips. Much like a comedian always ready with a follow-up in case the punchline doesn’t land, the Pakistan captain insouciantly glided over his words, moving on as if it were filler material for his main point. It was a statement of such staggering delusion it might have been delivered from a Bucharest balcony in December 1989 than a Karachi press conference room in December 2022.It would, of course, be outrageous to compare Nicolae Ceausescu with Babar Azam. (Ceausescu, after all, never led his country to four successive home Test defeats.) But it took only four days from that balcony speech in Bucharest for reality to cut through 33 years earlier, and it will take exactly four days to avenge the affront it caused in Karachi. England might still need a further 55 runs to officially secure an unprecedented 3-0 whitewash on Pakistani soil, but this fortress has already been breached.Pakistan haven’t been a world-beating Test side for quite a while now. Since ascending to the top of the Test rankings in 2016, they have the worst win-loss ratio in the format after West Indies; once Tests against Zimbabwe, Ireland and Bangladesh are excluded, they have won 10 and lost 25 of their last 42 matches. But that cannot exculpate the malaise they find themselves in during this Babar era, when, having seemingly adapted smoothly to cricket back home in Pakistan from the UAE, they have now lost four home Tests for the first time ever.The bigger issue Pakistan have, perhaps, is not their failure to accept how much this Test side has decayed, but their seeming inability to do something about the things they can control. Bereft of their first-choice fast-bowling attack, Pakistan spent the entire series trying to balance their side in three different ways. They had about as much success as a sixth-former riding a see-saw with a toddler at the other end.Pakistan have never before lost four Tests in a row on home soil•AFP/Getty ImagesThey would do without their allrounders altogether in Pindi, insisting Salman Ali Agha was – in Saqlain Mushtaq’s words – “80% batter, 20% allrounder”. In Multan, both Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Nawaz were drafted in, before, like a bear in a Grimm Brothers fairytale, they found a combination they believed was just right. However, on a spinning track in Karachi, they decided to drop spin-bowling allrounder Mohammad Nawaz. That might have meant they really, really valued Faheem’s contribution with the ball, only for him to send down just one over out of 82 in England’s first innings. And Salman Ali Agha, that 20% allrounder? Ditto.The picture the past year or so paints is a particularly bleak one for Pakistan’s selection woes, but also, specifically, for Babar’s in-match captaincy. Turning to Mohammad Wasim on the second morning ahead of Faheem with England on the attack appeared to fly in the face of received wisdom around what each bowler’s respective strength is. Faheem’s unerring lines and lengths have tied down opposition batters, even against this otherwise belligerent England side, while Wasim Jnr’s reverse swing with the aging ball made him an ideal candidate for the back-end. Sure enough, Wasim’s first two overs went for 19; despite a fine old-ball spell, he would end up being Pakistan’s most expensive bowler of the innings.Babar’s use of spinners, meanwhile, has also come under scrutiny, particularly in an away defeat in Galle, as well as the drawn Test against Australia in Karachi this year. It’s thrown in sharp relief by Ben Stokes’ management of his own bowling resources, because it isn’t as if England’s team selections have made for straightforward decision-making. In Pindi, armed only with a 40-year old James Anderson and Ollie Robinson for pace resources and spin proving less venomous on the final day than England might have hoped, he would send down 20 overs by himself, dodgy knee and all.Stokes’ use of the part-time spin of Will Jacks, and more recently Joe Root – extending even to opening with the former England captain on Sunday – has yielded 11 wickets this series. Rehan Ahmed, meanwhile, was held back for 41 overs on the third day before being unleashed in the second hour of the afternoon; the teenager would end up becoming the youngest debutant to take five wickets and lead England off the pitch.Related

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Stokes opened the first-innings bowling with Jack Leach in the third Test – the first time in 101 years England have thrown their newest new ball to a spinner. Mark Wood – needing nursing in his own way – has been deployed to devastating effect in bursts through the last two Tests, most notably with a short-ball barrage in the final session in Multan. While Babar, seemingly on autopilot, continued to plug away at England’s lower-order with spinners that the visitors treated with disdain, Wood has been used to mop up Pakistan’s tail with clinical success.England’s position of strength on the final night of this series shines an even greater light on the gap between these two Test sides at the moment, one that – with the different directions these two are pulling in – is fast becoming a chasm. It is perhaps crueller to be played than killed off; perhaps even Babar would have preferred being put out of their misery today instead of having one more night to think about where this team – his team – is at, where he’s led them to.It’s difficult enough to solve problems in Test-match cricket, but infinitely harder when the existence of those problems is never acknowledged. Pakistan have not dominated the last few Test matches. But the problem with going to war with reality is the only weapon you have is your determination to shield yourself from it. Just because you refuse to see it does not mean others fail to see it, either, and certainly does not mean you’re inoculated from its consequences. It need not take a revolution for that basic fact to be acknowledged.

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.

And who has the highest individual score on IPL debut?

Steven Lynch04-Apr-2023Mark Wood took five wickets in his first IPL match the other day. Was this a record? asked Brian McMaster from England
The England fast bowler Mark Wood took 5 for 14 – his best figures in all T20 cricket – for Lucknow Super Giants against Delhi Capitals in Lucknow last weekend. However, it wasn’t Wood’s IPL debut – he played one match for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in 2018 (he failed to take a wicket, and his four overs cost 49).In any case, the best figures on debut in the IPL are 6 for 12, by the West Indian Alzarri Joseph for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad in 2019. Those are actually the best figures overall in IPL history: Wood currently sits joint eighth on that list.There was one notable record though: Wood’s figures were the best by an English bowler in the IPL, beating 5 for 25 by Dimitri Mascarenhas for Kings XI Punjab against Pune Warriors in Mohali in 2012.Has anyone made a higher score in the IPL season curtain-raiser than Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 92? asked Nilu Banerjee from India
That six-packed 92 from Ruturaj Gaikwad for Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad the other day was actually the third-highest individual score in the opening match of an IPL season. Back in April 2008, in the very first IPL game of all, Brendon McCullum lit up the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru with an undefeated 158 (still the second-highest in IPL history) for Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB. And in 2015, Rohit Sharma made 98 not out in the opening match for Mumbai Indians against KKR in Kolkata.Kyle Mayers hit 73 in his first IPL match the other day. What’s the highest score on IPL debut? asked Joseph Findlay from Barbados
Kyle Mayers hit 73 in his first match for Super Giants against Delhi Capitals in Lucknow at the weekend. That’s the highest score on IPL debut by anyone since the Brendon McCullum innings mentioned above – 158 not out for KKR against RCB in Bangalore in 2008, in the very first IPL match of all.Two others have made higher scores on IPL debut than Mayers’ 73 – both Australians, and both also in that inaugural season of 2008. The day after McCullum’s blitz, Michael Hussey hit 116 not out for CSK against Kings XI in Mohali, and a few days later Shaun Marsh made 84 not out for Kings XI vs Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad. So Mayers’ 73 was the fourth-highest individual score on IPL debut, and the highest since the first season.Travis Head is one of three batters to make five hundreds at home and none away•Getty ImagesI noticed that Mayank Agarwal has scored four Test centuries, all of them in India. What’s the most that one batter has made without any away from home? asked Devang Patel from India
At the moment there are three men who have scored five Test centuries, all of them on home soil: the old England captain Stanley Jackson, whose five hundreds all came against Australia, India’s Chandu Borde, and the current Australian batter Travis Head, who will no doubt be hoping to escape this particular list during the Ashes series in England later this year.Mayank Agarwal is one of five batters whose four Test centuries all came at home, along with Joe Hardstaff junior of England, Zimbabwe’s Guy Whittall, and the Sri Lankan pair of Roshan Mahanamaand Arjuna Ranatunga.What’s the lowest highest score in a completed Test innings? asked Jamie Lewcock from Ireland
If I’ve understood the question correctly, the answer is 7 – when South Africa were bowled out by England for 30 at Edgbaston in 1924, the highest individual contribution was 7, by their captain Herbie Taylor.The only other completed Test innings to include 11 single-figure scores was India’s 36 against Australia in Adelaide in 2020-21, when the biggest contribution was Mayank Agarwal’s 9.There have been several instances of ten batters failing to reach double figures in a Test innings. It includes Australia’s 35 for 8 at Old Trafford during the 1953 Ashes series.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

The South Africa batter says he finds the format “tiring”, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it means nothing to him

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2023If you want to know whether Quinton de Kock cares about ODI cricket, watch his reaction after he scored his 50-over World Cup ton against Sri Lanka. There’s the power of the pull shot and then the passion of the wide-legged stance, the fist pump, the raised bat and the roar, followed by the pathos of the glint in the eye. Was it sweat or a tear? We may never know but we know enough: that hundred meant .”It was big,” de Kock said, typically poker-faced in Lucknow, ahead of South Africa’s next match against Australia. “Not just because it was a World Cup, but because I’ve been wanting a hundred for a while. I’ve got a couple of starts and then obviously I was not capitalising so just to get one again was pretty nice.”Before South Africa’s tournament opener, de Kock’s last ODI hundred came 20 months and 18 innings ago. Since then, he has scored three fifties, reached double figures 13 times, notched up a first T20I century, signed up for leagues including the MLC and the Big Bash and announced his retirement from the 50-over game. This World Cup is his last dance in the format in which he is, by a distance, the leading run-scorer of this generation of South Africans. He has 6276 ODI runs; the next most in the squad is David Miller, more than 2,000 runs behind. Overall, de Kock is seventh on South Africa’s all-time list and only Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs have more ODI hundreds than him. Whatever else happens in this World Cup, de Kock will go down as one of South Africa’s most celebrated white-ball cricketers.Related

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Potentially, his farewell in the format also puts a(nother) question mark at the end of the sentence about the future of this format, although the man himself believes there is life in it.”I’m not going to speak on behalf of everyone. For myself, I find it quite tiring, but I’m sure there’s still a lot of guys, a lot of youngsters coming through from school, who would love to play this format,” he said. “I highly recommend that they find a way to keep it going, because there are a lot of guys with big ambitions who want this format to carry on. I think they need to find a place and a time for it to happen.””They” are the administrators, with whom de Kock has not always had the best of relationships but who may still be interested in his thoughts over the longevity of ODI cricket and the value of it. Ultimately, it was ODI cricket that made de Kock, after his three centuries against India in 2013, long before he was a T20 star. The longer limited-overs version allowed him time to build both his innings and his confidence and though cricket and its skills development has changed in the decade since de Kock debuted, he is an example of the kind of player ODIs can produce. He is also an example – maybe one of the last ones – of what ODI cricket can mean to players.For de Kock and this generation, a 50-over World Cup trophy is still the ultimate prize, even as the lure of T20s grows stronger. De Kock is one of those who have hung around, hoping for success in ODIs, when he could have walked away. He cares about it, even though his usually deadpan expressions and monotone and sometimes monosyllabic answers to questions, make it easy and lazy to assume he doesn’t.Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock – the three centurions against Sri Lanka•ICC via Getty ImagesDuring the recent series against Australia, de Kock spoke to the host broadcaster about his decision to focus solely on the shortest format and said that his loyalty to the national cause was what kept him on the ODI stage for the last five years. By his calculations, he could have walked away in 2018, cashed in on the T20 circuit and had his feet up by now.Instead, he is putting the fishing on hold to play his third 50-over World Cup and has started by showing he is willing to give it his all. His hundred against Sri Lanka laid the foundation for South Africa to break the World Cup batting record and, along with Rassie van der Dussen, provided the stability for Aiden Markram to score the fastest tournament hundred. And de Kock wasn’t the only one who let his emotions out that day.

“We’re doing really well as a batting unit and we’ve worked really hard on our game over the last couple of years but it’s only one game into the World Cup”de Kock doesn’t want South Africa to get too carried away by their start

All three South Africans who scored centuries against Sri Lanka were more animated than usual. That may be because the sense of belief in their own abilities is building but de Kock is still cautious.”We’re doing really well as a batting unit and we’ve worked really hard on our game over the last couple of years but it’s only one game into the World Cup,” he said. “So it’s hard to say how we are really going even though we managed really well in our last couple of games. The batting form hasn’t been over the course of years, it’s only been over a month or a couple of months. In order for us to be the best, we still need to be a bit more consistent, especially in tight games, like World Cups. That will determine how good we actually are.”South Africa’s only measure for how good they actually are, so far, is that they have not won a World Cup. For a squad that has always oozed talent that is something they want to change, especially as their most talented players, like de Kock, may not play in this format for much longer. Does that add extra motivation to this campaign? De Kock was not convinced.”I’m pretty much the same whether I’ve announced that I’ve retired or not retired,” he said. “I don’t really know how it happened. It was just a matter of working on one or two things and going out there and getting it done.”As simple as that.