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Gary Kirsten talks about the increasingly important role of the coach in the shortest format

Interview by Tim Wigmore13-Jan-2018Is the coach’s role more important in T20 than Test cricket?
T20 cricket is a modern game, so it’s more in line with professional domestic sport around the world, more in line with the demands of entertainment in sport. Leadership in that space requires creativity, it requires decision-making at a fast-paced level compared to Test cricket. I think it’s incredibly relevant because there’s a lot to cover before you move on to your next game, which is often a fairly quick turnaround.Can a coach add more value to a team in T20?
My experience of that is: definitely. There’s a lot more to do in a T20 group. Test cricket just takes a long time to unfold, the levels of skill that are required are probably very different. The game’s moving very quickly in a T20 game, requiring a lot of different skills and also decision-making.There’s always a question mark over the role of a coach in cricket. Cricket is moving closer to modern sports. If you take Major League Baseball, if you take NFL, if you take basketball around the world, if you take football around the world, you just have to look at the role of the coach or manager within those sports. They play a fairly significant role. I think cricket’s moving in that direction, in T20 cricket.The other thing is, we’re building piles and piles of data that are becoming available for us because of the amount of T20 cricket that’s being played, and the data’s becoming incredibly relevant – so the better you can use and decode that data, then you can be on your way.How important is data in T20 coaching?
It’s becoming more relevant. There is some information that’s becoming compelling, in my view. The question is how you decode the information to build it into your team strategy. I think coaches and teams are getting really good at that. The other thing is that, as long as the information is compelling, you can run with it.

“Guys are going to focus their attention on one format and they’re going to say, ‘I’m going to become as good as I can at this format so that I have time to upgrade my skills to get myself ready for these types of competitions'”

In Test cricket, is dealing with data harder because there’s actually less of a sample size for individual players?
Yeah. Test cricket unfolds in a different way. There’s a history of the game that has stood the test of time, and players, coaches and experts will always default to what those patterns and trends have been. It hasn’t really changed over many, many years. You do get some great teams that have tried to shift it a little bit, but it’s kind of pretty much stayed fairly stable for a long period of time.How hard is it to build a culture in a T20 team, when you might only arrive ten days before the season starts?
It does help being with a team for a decent period of time. If you take someone like Justin Langer, who’s had five or six years with a team, you get to know players, so that does make a difference. You do rest on the leadership within the group to build a culture or create an environment that you want. There are challenges there.The upside is that you can come in with fresh thoughts and fresh views. That can often help and make a difference. It does take time. The biggest challenge I’ve had as a coach in T20 cricket in the Big Bash is that it’s my first time at it, so you don’t always necessarily understand the players that way, what you’re going to get out of them mentally, and also what specific skills they have that are going to make a difference in a game. So that really helps to have a base to be working with, but then every coach has started somewhere and then built from there.How much scope is there for technical coaching in the middle of a T20 tournament? Is that impossible?
No, not at all. The question is, can you bring in a new, or upgraded, skill in the middle of a tournament? I’m not sure of the answer to that. I think you potentially can. I still think there’s a fair amount of technical work that can unfold, but I think it’s difficult for players – they’re playing three formats of the game, so for them to be working on their T20 skills in the middle of a Shield season is not easy. So everyone comes together for a short period and then they start working on their skills like two weeks before the tournament starts.I think there’s definitely going to be a move in the game where guys are going to focus their attention on one format and they’re going to say, “I’m going to become as good as I can at this format so that I have time to upgrade my skills during the year to get myself ready for these types of competitions.””The biggest challenge I’ve had as a coach in T20 cricket in the Big Bash is that it’s my first time at it, so you don’t always necessarily understand the players, what specific skills they have to make a difference”•Getty ImagesEven within T20, how different is coaching at club level versus coaching at international level?
I think at international level the stakes are higher. There are more stakeholders that are attached emotionally to the results. Domestic cricket is more accountability to your region, potentially to one owner or one person above you or a small group, so there’s a big difference between the two.Is there more scope to improve players in domestic cricket and tinker with players and selection, or are the fundamentals pretty similar?
There’s a real opportunity to be creative in that space and to tinker with players, because you know that you’re with them over a T20 season, which is great.Is the relationship between the captain and coach in T20 a delicate one, especially if the coach’s role is expanding? Can that create tensions with the captain?
That’s still the most important leadership relationship in any team. That relationship is very important – there needs to be trust in it, there needs to be value-add in it. If it works well, it can make a massive difference. You’re two leaders, you’re making decisons across the whole group and you need to trust each other in that space. The stronger that relationship the better.On a match day, do you just pass to the captain?
You are involved in decisions. It’s a fluid process – you’re in the game the whole time, you’re making decisions the whole time. You’re doing it with the captain; if the captain’s on the field, you’re making decisions on behalf of the leadership group. You are a decision-maker as a leader, so there’s a responsibility attached to that.Do you have a say on bowling changes and the batting order during the game itself?
Absolutely.Who decides the batting order?
It’s decided within the leadership group, so our strategies are put together well before the game starts and we will go with Plan A. And if Plan A doesn’t work and you have to move to Plan B, then you will make those decisions on tap, you’ll make them straight away. You’ll make a snap call or turn in one way or another. It’s on the back of a plan that has been thought out well before the game. These are not just ad hoc decisions that you just go on a hunch. You’re giving it your best thought in your planning.If you think someone should be bowling to a particular batsman during the game, and the captain’s not doing that would you try and get a message to the captain?
It’s very difficult if the captain’s made the decision to go with a bowler and you don’t think its the right decision – you don’t have time to get a message out there. My tendency there is to say, back the captain in the decisions he makes. Afterwards, if you thought there was another way then just take the learning and move on.

Wadekar was appointed to the role of India captain on a whim, and rewarded the faith placed in him with two iconic series wins

Suresh Menon16-Aug-2018Indian captains fall into two categories – great and significant. Ajit Wadekar was one of the latter, giving the final touches to the team built by MAK Pataudi by leading India to series victories in the West Indies and England. In 1971, India had pretensions to being the No. 1 team, with the brilliant South Africa barred for the country’s apartheid policy. Indians didn’t mind how it came and what calculations were used. Wadekar went from being a quiet, soft-spoken left-hander to a captain celebrated across India.In 1992 he returned as the national coach, and while watching Pravin Amre score a century on debut in Durban at 24, recalled his own late entry into international cricket. It is an interesting story. Wadekar played no cricket at school and expressed a desire to be an airline pilot before deciding on a career in banking. He had to wait about a decade after making his first-class debut to play international cricket, but in four years was leading India.He was that rare creature, a left-hander at No. 3 in the years when India’s openers were often mere guest artistes sent out to smile at the fast bowlers and put them in good humour. It wasn’t until the arrival of Sunil Gavaskar – a key figure in the renaissance of Indian cricket – that Wadekar had regular respite from an early arrival at the crease, but even so there usually was a problem with the other opening slot. He was unusual in another area too – a brilliant catcher at slip with great powers of recovery when those around him sometimes went for the edge and then withdrew.In Jamaica he hooked when Uton Dowe bounced, and at Lord’s he did the same to John Snow in an innings of 85 that announced India’s intent on that famous tour.

Wadekar also nurtured the batting genius of Gavaskar, whose “See you, skipper” when going out to bat was met with “Not for a long time”

After a home win against England in 1972-73, he was the captain who could do no wrong. Till the tour of England in 1974. That series was marred by infighting (sometimes physical), and a 0-3 loss that included a low of 42 all out at Lord’s. On return to India, knowing his days were numbered, Wadekar took a deal with the cricket board, who gave him a benefit match in the West Indies series that followed in return for his announcing his retirement. He was only 34.Wadekar was both a lucky captain – for being in the right place at the right time – and an unlucky one. Had Vijay Merchant not exercised his casting vote as chairman when a selector couldn’t make it to the meeting, Wadekar might never have led India, since the man he unseated, Pataudi, was younger than him. In fact, Wadekar had asked Pataudi to put in a good word for him to be a member of the team bound for the West Indies – the captaincy battle was between Pataudi and Chandu Borde. When he was named captain, Wadekar reached out to Pataudi, expressing the hope that he would agree to remain in the team as player. But the Nawab was hurt and stayed out, although he returned to play under Wadekar in the home series against England before taking over as captain once again when Clive Lloyd’s West Indies arrived in India.A small island of Wadekar surrounded by a sea of Pataudi in the captaincy story has meant that the man from Mumbai never received his due for what he accomplished. When he took over, it was Pataudi’s team; when he quit it was left to Pataudi to rebuild (India lost a wonderful series 2-3 to West Indies, then emerging as a world power).Yet it was Wadekar who insisted on Dilip Sardesai accompanying the team to the West Indies in 1971, against the wishes of Merchant. Sardesai made 642 runs and was the rock on which Gavaskar (774) and, by extension, India’s batting built itself. Wadekar understood the importance of mixing experience with youth. ML Jaisimha and Salim Durani were on the first tour, and Abbas Ali Baig and Farokh Engineer went to England. Durani’s dismissal of Garry Sobers and Clive Lloyd in the Trinidad Test that India won, and Engineer’s batting at The Oval were key factors in India’s wins. In those early days Wadekar also nurtured the batting genius of Gavaskar, whose “See you, skipper” when going out to bat was met with “Not for a long time”.Ajit Wadekar makes his way through the crowd to the presentation at The Oval in 1971•Getty ImagesIt was also Wadekar who chose the team on balance, not standard practice then. His best batsmen were Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath, but it was the spin bowling that required intelligent selection. He didn’t play Erapalli Prasanna in England in ’71, leading to much criticism and heartbreak for Prasanna, who till then had been the spearhead of the attack and its most successful bowler, with 100 wickets in his first 20 Tests.Wadekar’s kingpin in England was Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, with Prasanna’s rival Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Bishan Bedi alternating as the support cast. It was sound in theory for a team that lacked a meaningful opening attack. It was decades, however, before anyone acknowledged that, initially putting it down to the defensive “Mumbai” streak in the captain whose first instinct was to eliminate defeat before thinking of victory.Wadekar’s batting record (37 Tests, average of 31, one century) meant that he underachieved in a period when his talent suggested he might finish as a top batsman. His triple-century against Prasanna and Chandrasekhar in the Ranji Trophy is spoken of with awe. The former Karnataka coach Keki Tarapore often described that innings as the closest to perfection he had seen.Wadekar the successful captain turned successful coach (14 undefeated home Tests) was also India’s first ODI captain, in 1974, admitting frankly some years later that he and his team “had no clue” about playing the format then.There was much to admire about him. His simplicity, his pragmatism, his loyalty, his diplomacy, his empathy for the less gifted, and his sense of humour. He delighted at after-dinner speeches in South Africa on India’s first tour of that country, speaking not fluently or in a practised manner but deadpan and with a lot of heart.He oversaw Indian cricket’s transition from an also-ran to a world power. He wore that achievement lightly, responding with a lopsided grin when anyone spoke about it. The surface softness hid a certain determination and awareness. That sometimes made opponents take him lightly; they usually paid for it.Wisden India Almanack

With a lot of top players away in the next two months, some of the Ranji sides will get the chance to try a new crop of players

Saurabh Somani31-Oct-2018Four groups, 37 teams, 160 matches, and a mind-boggling 647 scheduled match-days. That is what the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 season will comprise, the biggest ever in the tournament’s 84 years, with more teams, and consequently more matches, venues and playing days. Every Ranji season comes with its own set of challenges and aspirations for players, this one will have it magnified given its unprecedented scale. Here’s a look at what the key talking points from this season are likely to be.India, India A and the Ranji TrophyWith the Indian team touring Australia soon, and India A going to New Zealand, the cream of the crop will be missing. The Indian team has always been occupied with international assignments during the season, but with India A too off, it will affect some teams starkly. Mumbai, for example, will lose Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw, apart from Shardul Thakur’s injury. Karnataka will be similarly hit with all of Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, K Gowtham and R Samarth absent for large parts.While Mumbai and Karnataka might still get by – they have learned to live without these players at varying times in the past few years – how much will Parthiv Patel’s absence affect Gujarat? Will Vidarbha’s title defence hold up without Rajneesh Gurbani – and of course no Umesh Yadav either? Shubman Gill and Anmolpreet Singh were Punjab’s vanguard of young talented batsmen, but they won’t be around either. And will Delhi be just as much of a force without Navdeep Saini, their best bowler last season? Andhra, too, will find it tough with Hanuma Vihari and KS Bharat missing, as will Jharkhand without Ishan Kishan and Shahbaz Nadeem.Batsmen waiting to break throughOne aspect of this Ranji season is that the rewards, in terms of higher honours, cannot be immediate. The Indian squad for the Tests in Australia has already been picked, and India aren’t playing any more Tests till the end of next year’s World Cup. The earliest likely Test cricket will then be in August 2019, barring a possible one-off Test against Zimbabwe at home in February or March. However, what a blockbuster season in the Ranji Trophy can do is get people to notice you. Not just selectors, but those in the Indian team too. If the Australia series leads to more batting failures, then those on the fringes will fancy call-ups for the next series. Nair, in particular, will have plenty to prove as will Mayank, but so will other hopefuls like Gill, Anmolpreet and Ankit Bawne.Spin stocksR Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are established as India’s first-choice spinners for the longer format. What of the next rung though? There are several contenders, without one name standing head and shoulders above the rest. Jharkhand’s Nadeem has been a domestic giant, without getting international recognition yet. Jayant Yadav is still a contracted player, but spent half of last year injured. His comeback, though, has been quietly effective, with several key performances for Haryana in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He did play for India A too, in the lead-up to the domestic season, but was omitted from the A squad for New Zealand. Then there’s Jalaj Saxena, who has been a domestic star brighter than any other perhaps whether he was playing for Madhya Pradesh or as a professional for Kerala now, but still doesn’t always make it to the A squads.AFPYuzvendra Chahal isn’t going to be available when India play white-ball cricket, but if the selectors want to widen their search for a legspinner, there is Madhya Pradesh’s Mihir Hirwani. Legspin is of course in his genes, but he has been taking the wickets to justify that too. Among the younger crop, the left-arm spin duo of Siddharth Desai (Gujarat) and Anukul Roy (Jharkhand) have shown much promise, at both Under-19 and senior levels.Qualification to knockoutsThe process to qualify for the knockouts will remain the same as it was for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Groups A and B will form a kind of supergroup, and the top five teams from there will qualify for the quarter-finals. This means that it is possible, for example, that all five teams that qualify are from only one of those groups. The only division of the supergroup will be that the nine teams in each of Group A and B will be only amongst themselves. But it will not be enough for a team to be close to the top in their own group, they will have to keep watch on what’s happening in the other group as well.Joining these five will be the top two from the 10-team Group C, and finally, the team that finishes on top in the Plate Group, that comprises the nine newcomers. The seedings, so to speak, for the quarter-finals will have the five teams from A and B as one to five, followed by the Group C teams in order, and then the Plate Group topper.For next season, two teams that finish at the bottom for the A and B group will be relegated to Group C, with the Group C winners earning a promotion. The team that finishes bottom in Group C will go down to the Plate Group, while the Plate Group winner will earn a promotion to Group C.The newcomersHow will the new teams from the north-east fare? This was asked as soon as it was finally apparent that the new teams would be taking part, and after a month of one-day cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the questions haven’t disappeared. Bihar, Uttarakhand and Puducherry finished in the top three, and form, experience and quality point to that happening again. But while there may be the occasional mis-match, and the Plate Group topper might face the prospect of heavy defeat in the quarter-final too, the move to have nine new teams in India’s premier domestic competitions is one whose inclusiveness should be lauded. Sure, some matches will have lopsided results, but in the long run, cricket in the country will benefit.

India and Pakistan haven’t met since the Champions Trophy final last year. The sleeping giant of a rivalry is itching to renew itself on a much grander scale at the Asia Cup

Shashank Kishore in Dubai18-Sep-2018They will tell you the first India-Pakistan clash on Wednesday is all but meaningless. They will tell you the two sides will anyway meet in the Super Four stage, unless Hong Kong upset India. They will tell you how both teams should experiment. Yet the same people are also asking, ‘Where is Virat Kohli?’ The same people have ensured the match is a sellout; not even the high-end hospitality seats are available.The organisers are expecting such a rush that a two-layer check-point system has been installed along the two-kilometer route to the Dubai International Stadium, instead of just at the entry to the stands. The gates will be thrown open at noon, three-and-a-half hours prior to the first ball. So much for billing this as an India-Pakistan clash without the extra spice.Context or no-context, individually, the players are all aware of being one performance away from being a hero. It doesn’t matter that Shikhar Dhawan failed in the England Tests. A hundred on Wednesday will undo two months of the ‘instinctive half-forward press and poke to the slips.’Fakhar Zaman catapulted his way to superstardom at the Champions Trophy final last year, when he bruised India’s attack to make a match-winning hundred.Hasan Ali was on the podium kissing the trophy after playing key roles in dismantling South Africa, Sri Lanka, and England in the semi-final, where he ensured Pakistan weren’t hurt by Mohammad Amir’s absence because of a back spasm.Then in the final, he drilled the final nail into India and celebrated all night. Only two weeks earlier, he had dropped Yuvraj Singh at long-off in their opening game, and then watched him wallop their famed fast bowling with sage-like calm. It was Hasan’s first-ever outing against India, a moment he may have thought about all his life, but one that also left him needing to forget it very quickly.Only a year prior to that Champions Trophy game, at the Pakistan Super League, he had heard a journalist ask his team manager: ‘Who is this guy and why have you brought him to the press conference?’ At The Oval that night, Hasan was the toast of the nation. From ‘Tell us about yourself’, the theme had changed to ‘Can we please have an interview?’Pakistan’s celebrations take off•Getty ImagesAsk Mohammad Kaif. After a horrendous group game where India were shot out for 125 by Australia at the 2003 World Cup, angry fans threw black paint on the front walls of his home in Allahabad. Two weeks later, after he had starred in a match-winning partnership with Sachin Tendulkar in that famous Centurion game, the same people returned to repaint his house and repair damage. Glass panes lay shattered in MS Dhoni’s house in Ranchi after India’s first-round exit from the 2007 world cup. Six months later, after he led India to the World T20 title by beating Pakistan in the final, they were waiting for hours outside the airport for his arrival to hoist him on their shoulders.This is the essence of the India-Pakistan rivalry, one that evokes passion, hunger, the win-at-all-cost mentality. At times there have been frayed tempers, exchanges of words, angry glances and stares on the field. The players, however, have mutual respect for each other. When Shoaib Malik, a couple of days ago, walked up to greet MS Dhoni and have a long chat after training, there was chatter about life, family and much else. Anything but cricket. Rohit Sharma and Sarfraz Ahmed shared a joke, whispered into each other’s ear and laughed heartily at the pre-tournament press conference when Angelo Mathews was asked about the ‘Naagin dance.’Twelve years ago, Rohit and Sarfraz were starry-eyed teenagers trying to make a transition from age-group cricket to their domestic teams. International call-ups were still some distance away. Sarfraz had just masterminded Pakistan’s Under-19 World Cup title by snatching a win from under India’s nose in the final. Rohit, India’s No. 3 then, was out to a devious inswinger from Anwar Ali for 4, and the team folded for just 71. This was the first imprint Sarfraz left as a leader. Their Champions Trophy conquest over the same opponents was still over a decade away.On Wednesday, Rohit will take the field with the knowledge that he is captain supreme on this tour. He has carved for himself an impressive track record since first being recognised as captain by Ricky Ponting and the Mumbai Indians team management. He has masterminded three IPL titles – in 2013, 2015 and 2017 – and has also led India to an ODI series win against Sri Lanka followed by the famous Nidahas Trophy win earlier this year.Sarfraz, meanwhile, has managed to maintain the stability Misbah-ul-Haq maintained for over seven years since taking over after the spot-fixing scandal of 2010. Sarfraz is now Pakistan’s undisputed leader, their pilot, with coach Mickey Arthur the co-commander. It’s a partnership that prioritises fitness, ability, form and trust – in that order.The UAE has been home to Pakistan since 2009. India once loved coming here every summer for a tri-series until the match-fixing scandal in 2000. The country was unofficially blacklisted by the BCCI, with only a hastily-arranged two-match series, with Rahul Dravid and Inzamam-ul-Haq as captains, scheduled in 2006. Then, when they needed to reschedule IPL 2014 because of general elections in India, the old love story was rekindled. Even after that, it has taken four years for India’s players to land up in Dubai for cricket, and not just in transit or for property hunting. That 2006 series was lost upon Rohit, who possibly isn’t a statistics or trivia person. However, he knows it was here that his captaincy was seriously tested for the first time during the IPL in 2014, when Mumbai lost all their five games before returning for the India leg.As it was then, it’s his batting order that he is most likely to have to try and determine as India build towards the 2019 World Cup. The match itself will be a dress rehearsal before a dress rehearsal – yes, the teams could play each other as many as three times should they reach the final, making it a mini India-Pakistan series. Pakistan are already pondering managing Amir’s workload, and have three other left-arm fast bowlers in their line-up. It’s more than likely that their spinners will have a bigger role in the dry heat and slow surfaces. In reality, can both teams actually treat it as a ‘normal game’ that they so often insist?There’s also a huge commercial angle to watch out for. The question most asked, by the baggage handler or the taxi drivers, is: ‘Why is Kohli not here?’ Star, the official broadcasters, reportedly wanted to renegotiate their broadcast deal given the absence of India’s most commercially viable cricketer currently. If you’re outside the venue, though, you’d be made to believe the World Cup final is here and the entire universe has descended. Everyone is making a beeline for tickets.The flags, horns, drums, , conch, version of the vuvuzela – they’re all doing brisk business. A hawker warns how the same conch will cost you twice the price on match day. They’re all there – speaking fluent Marathi to Punjabi to Pashto – asking you for custom-made imprint for the big day, more than 24 hours in advance. The sound system was on test, as were the water sprinklers, the security personnel were all briefed by their superiors for an hour-long meeting ahead of the big day, even as they were in preparation for India-Hong Kong.This is India-Pakistan. A sleeping giant of a rivalry that is itching to renew itself on a much grander scale, minus the politics. This is the rivalry that propelled a generation of cricketers, and administrators and governments have an opportunity to ensure the current generation isn’t denied the thrills and spills that an India-Pakistan match brings. For now, the coming week is as exciting as it comes.

England struggle to combat vagaries of Antigua wicket, but battling half-centuries give them something to play with

George Dobell at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium01-Feb-2019It was, for sure, a bruising day for England.By the end of it, five of their batsmen had suffered blows while batting and their chances of clawing their way back into the series had receded sharply. Sides who score 187 in the first innings don’t win many games.But maybe a glance at the scorecard doesn’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t tell us what a par score might have been in this first innings – Kemar Roach reckoned 250 – and it doesn’t reflect how difficult batting was at the start of the day, in particular.First-class cricket tends to be at its most entertaining when ball holds a slight advantage over bat. Nothing is more likely to drive spectators away than games where 600 is followed by 700, and we have seen, in previous Antigua Test matches, several very slow, flat wickets which have encouraged horribly attritional cricket. So we have to be careful when criticising surfaces that try to redress that balance.But you want to retain meritocracy. And here, as some balls leapt from a length, you wondered if that was still the case. Nobody was seriously suggesting the Test be abandoned – it wasn’t anywhere near that bad – but it wasn’t especially safe and it wasn’t especially good. There really wasn’t a great deal Joe Root could have done to avoid the ball that reared and struck him on the gloves on its way to the slip cordon. It’s probably reasonable to expect a bit better than that.Both sides are on the same pitch, though. And while you suspect winning the toss was quite an advantage – the pitch seemed slightly damp on a length at the start – England have to accept it is not so long ago that they won eight tosses in a row. Rough with the smooth, and all that. This was not unfair.And maybe England failed to harness the conditions in quite the same way when they bowled, anyway. Only two deliveries in the first eight overs of West Indies’ reply would have hit the stumps and one of those was a leg-stump half-volley. Clearly that is a very rough guide for measuring the quality of bowling, but it does underline the impression that England failed to make the batsmen play as often as they might. Root confirmed he, too, would have inserted had he won the toss, but would his bowlers have taken advantage?It will be fascinating to see how this pitch plays on day two. One theory is that it will have dried out and eased a little. But the manner in which Stuart Broad gained lift and Sam Curran gained swing suggested there was still plenty of life in the evening session and England felt the extra grass and slight ridge in the surface would prove relevant throughout. West Indies may yet regret not using the heavy roller ahead of their innings: had they done so, the indentations created in the first innings might have been rolled out. As it is, they may now have been baked into the pitch for the rest of the game.But evidence from the England innings suggested the ball became a bit softer – and as a consequence, a bit easier to bat against – after about 40 overs. West Indies’ openers have done a fine job in seeing them to stumps without loss.Moeen Ali dug in for a vital innings•Getty ImagesThat England remain in the game is largely due to counter-attacking half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali. If Bairstow’s was little surprise – he seems to be at his best when doubted or under pressure – Moeen was a most unlikely hero.This was only his second half-century since the start of the Ashes in November 2017, after all. In the 12 Tests – and 24 innings – since, he had averaged just 17.56 and suffered five ducks including a ‘pair’ in Barbados. Since the start of England’s winter tours, the downturn had become even more pronounced: he came into this Test averaging 9.75 from four Tests.And, sure enough, the first few balls of his innings promised little. Clearly wary of the short ball, he was reluctant to get forward. And when the short ball did come, his attempt to hook seemed just a little hurried. His first three balls from Shannon Gabriel, who really has developed into a fine strike bowler, saw him snatch a hook just short of two fielders out for the stroke before being struck on the helmet.But he got back in line every time and he battled through. And when, at last, Roach and Gabriel gave way to Roston Chase and Jason Holder – offering just a little respite – his policy of calculated aggression was perfectly reasonable. Twenty-eight of his runs came against the pair, while he scored just three against Gabriel.Yes, the end looked ugly – he spooned a catch to mid-on – but that variable bounce probably made the stroke look worse than it was. This was a welcome return to form from Moeen and a reminder of his value. He may never be reliable and he may sometimes infuriate, but his seventh-wicket stand of 85 with the admirable Ben Foakes is, at present, the only partnership in the game worth more than 30.Bairstow’s innings felt more secure. He appears to be adapting to the demands on the No. 3 position – notably playing and leaving the moving ball – very well. In particular, he is waiting for the ball to come to him a little more and resisting the urge to push for it. While the percentage of boundaries in his innings was eye-catching – 42 of his first 50 came from such shots – it was his judgement in leaving the ball outside off stump that allowed him to attack anything he felt was over-pitched or short. By the time he made his half-century, he had scored 51 of England’s total of 71 for 4 and he was the only man in the top six to reach 15.You suspect he did not much mind donning the keeping gloves again, either. Foakes sustained a blow to the right hand in the process of being dismissed: an attempted pull resulting only in an awkward deflection off his gloves on to the stumps”I’m chuffed with the way I played,” Bairstow said later. “There’s not a tougher day-one pitch I’ve batted on that springs to mind, though there are different types of tough. But seeing as I’ve only played three Tests batting at No.3, it was an innings that was definitely up there. I was pleased with how my defence is improving. I’ve been working on that.”Several of his colleagues could learn from his approach. While nearly all of them received fine deliveries, nearly all might feel they could have done a little better. Jos Buttler edged a prod, for example, while Rory Burns edged one that bounced a little. Both might have been better served leaving the ball.But these were tough conditions, expertly harnessed by West Indies’ relentless four-man seam attack. While Ben Stokes, too, might reflect he could have left the ball that dismissed him, it was delivered from very wide on the crease, around the wicket from Gabriel. Angled in sharply to the batsman, it drew a stroke before leaving him off the pitch. It was, by any standards, a fine piece of bowling and desperately tough to negate for a batsman.It is for that reason England are, just about, still in this game. If conditions remain the same, they have the opportunity to use them in the same manner on day two. It promises to be a key day in this series.

The Bangladesh quick is set for another comeback and knows he has to try and rediscover his pace, form and attitude from his initial years in international cricket

Mohammad Isam02-May-2019Within a span of five years, Taskin Ahmed went from being Bangladesh’s next big pace hope to finding himself on the sidelines, almost forgotten by the selectors. Within these five years, he was suspended from bowling in international cricket due to an illegal action and, once he overcame that hurdle, was dropped from the side within a year due to poor form. He watched other pace bowlers like Abu Jayed, Khaled Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain move ahead of him and, a couple of weeks ago, reacted emotionally following a World Cup snub. His addition to Bangladesh’s squad for their tri-series in Ireland was, thus, a lifeline for the 24-year-old who hasn’t yet fulfilled his promise of being a quality fast bowler.Although Taskin is not the team’s first-choice, he still has the tools to stake a claim in Bangladesh’s playing XI. His chief weapon – pace – is an asset to any team in international cricket, more so in the case of Bangladesh. However, whether he has the capacity to tackle another international comeback depends on how he perceives this opportunity. Taskin admitted he will be under pressure in Ireland.”There will be lots of pressure on me to perform in Ireland,” Taskin told ESPNcricinfo. “I will have to do well. I am trying to reduce the pressure on me. I think if I stick to the right process, things will fall into place.”When asked if he was putting too much pressure on himself, or if he felt the pressure from his fans, Taskin said it was a matter of delivering on his expectations.”It is my expectation to do well. I want to do well. My fans have always been positive, mostly, but it has nothing to do with them,” he said.A timeline of Taskin’s career

April 2014: Makes international debut in 2014 World T20 match against Australia

June 2014: Takes 5 for 28 on ODI debut against India

March 2015: Takes nine wickets in the 2015 World Cup

March 2016: Suspended for illegal action during 2016 World T20

September 2016: Cleared to bowl after test in Brisbane

September 2016: Takes 4 for 59 in a match-winning spell against Afghanistan

October 2016: Takes 3 for 47 in another telling spell against England

January 2017: Makes his Test debut

April 2017: Takes ODI hat-trick against Sri Lanka

October 2017: Takes only two wickets in six matches on South Africa tour

January 2018: Dropped from Bangladesh team

March 2018: Plays the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka, before being dropped again

Given the truckload of expectations that surround a Bangladeshi cricketer, putting himself under more pressure might not help Taskin at the highest level but the bowler is honest about what lies ahead. Perhaps his impressive performances in this year’s Bangladesh Premier League, followed nearly immediately by fitness issues, have driven those expectations.He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the BPL, with 22 wickets at an average of 14.45 for Sylhet Sixers. However, days after being named in the Bangladesh ODI squad for the New Zealand tour, Taskin suffered an ankle injury, which took a long time to heal and limited his appearance in the Dhaka Premier League to only three matches last month.As a result, at the time of picking the squads for the World Cup and the Ireland tri-series, the Bangladesh selectors felt Taskin hadn’t recovered sufficiently. It was a body blow for the bowler, who broke down in front of the media on the day of the squad announcement.That breakdown was another instance of Taskin reacting emotionally, an issue for which he has had to lean on several of Bangladesh’s senior players, including captain Mashrafe Mortaza, in the past. He has been chastised by his team-mates and coaches a number of times, including on the field, for showing too much emotion. His social-media posts, too, have attracted criticism as being too revelatory, even as a few senior figures in Bangladesh cricket have advised him to dial it down. The more central problem for Taskin, however, has been the loss of pace, one of the chief reasons he lost his place in the Bangladesh side.AFPIn his last international appearance, during the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka last year, Taskin bowled at speeds of 120-125 kph, a decline from his earlier pace of 135+ kph. A fitness issue was also evident during the Sri Lanka tri-series, when he struggled to beat the bat.Moreover, he was affected by a spate of injuries and Taskin says he now understands that to do well at the highest level, he will have to bowl like he did in his first couple of years in international cricket.”I would also like to bowl like I did in the past. It is a tough challenge to come back into the team having not played so many matches. In cricket, sometimes when you lose your place someone else takes it and does well, so it is always hard to come back,” Taskin said.His ODI career began with a five-for on debut against India in 2014, and he was the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup, with nine dismissals. Initially, he was picked only for limited-overs cricket so that his body, battered by a back injury in 2013, could gradually get better at withstanding the demands of international cricket.His world, however, came crashing down following the suspension in March 2016. He worked hard to remedy his bowling action and on his return, six months later, took seven wickets against Afghanistan in the home ODI series.He made his Test debut in early 2017, but didn’t have as significant an impact as in the ODIs. Things got worse in South Africa where he picked up only two wickets across formats on a long tour. Some of his team-mates were heard criticising him for being too slow in the field, and there were also murmurs of the coaching staff and senior players being dissatisfied with his efforts.What has kept Taskin going is his hunger to play for Bangladesh, which he can achieve if he can keep bowling fast, with emotional control and physical well-being. Bangladesh will also be keen to have him back, with the kind of attitude and the consistency he showed in his first 12 months of international cricket.

How ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary recorded the moments that made up Jasprit Bumrah’s hat-trick

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-20198.2 Bumrah to Bravo, OUT, taken low at second slip! Bumrah remains unplayable to this West Indies top order. Length ball swinging away from middle stump. He had no choice but to play at that. Didn’t even look to push at it or anything. It’s off the high part of the outside edge and KL Rahul lunges low to his right to grab onto this. Bumrah got Campbell and Bravo identically with inswingers last match. He’s got them identically with outswingers this time.
DM Bravo c Rahul b Bumrah 4 (8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.008.3 Bumrah to Brooks, OUT, lbw appeal and given! Brooks reviews. That looked dead on front. Length and swung in from outside off. It’s hit his back pad…but was there front pad first? Yes, but that doesn’t matter. He was looking to go across the line, was trapped in front of middle stump and that is hitting leg. Review lost, wicket lost.
SSJ Brooks lbw b Bumrah 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.008.4 Bumrah to Chase, OUT, Kohli reviews an lbw decision. It’s a full inswinger that raps Chase above the toe in front of middle stump as he looks to flick. Kohli was the only one interested in that review. It swung a long way down, did the others think it was going down? Well, they were wrong if they did! That is hitting leg stump. All three reds! Jasprit Bumrah has a hat-trick! You could hear Kohli screeching that there wasn’t an inside edge on that. it’s paid off. What a bowler. Chase was pinned with a stride across. He didn’t even want to review!
RL Chase lbw b Bumrah 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

High on confidence and with the backing of his team, Agar could be key to how Australia balance their side in India

Ankur Dhawan in Mumbai10-Jan-20202:12

‘Challenge is to continue to improve in away conditions’ – Finch

A player who wasn’t part of Australia’s World Cup squad and last played in the format in 2018 could be key to how they balance their ODI side in India. Ashton Agar is tipped to take over the allrounder’s spot in the top seven, a role that has in recent times featured Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner.With both Stoinis and Maxwell dropped after a poor World Cup, and Faulkner not in the fray currently, Australia’s fifth bowling options appeared thin when the squad was announced.A cursory glance at the squad posed the question of whether they would have to split ten overs between two batsmen who bowl a bit of part-time spin: D’Arcy Short, who earned a late recall as the injured Sean Abbott’s replacement and Marnus Labuschagne, who has been prolific in Tests but is yet to play an ODI.But how would they fit both Short and Labuschagne, both top-order batsmen, into the XI? And, should they manage to do that, will the plan overburden the quicks who are coming off five home Tests in demanding conditions?But a closer enquiry reveals that Australia are looking at Agar as the panacea for these problems.”I think the package that he brings with his batting and his left-arm spin bowling is going to be a really important part of the make-up of our side,” captain Aaron Finch said. “He is someone we are hoping can start to fill the role of the allrounder more often.”On his return to the side in the home T20Is against Sri Lanka and Pakistan late last year, Agar not only formed a formidable partnership with lead spinner Adam Zampa, but in fact outbowled him. In six matches, Agar picked up seven wickets at an economy rate of under six, whereas Zampa – in five matches – finished with five wickets at 6.57 an over. Impressive though the numbers are, they weren’t good enough to fetch him an IPL contract.Ashton Agar played a solid innings•Getty ImagesFurthermore, the surfaces in India should suit him more than the pace and batting-friendly ones back home. That was perhaps another reason why Agar was chosen ahead of a seam-bowling allrounder like Stoinis, who in his nine matches in India across two tours averages a tick over 87 with the ball. Besides, against an India line-up that isn’t always as assured against spin as teams of the past, a second spinner isn’t necessarily a risk.Zampa, who played all five matches in India when the teams met ahead of the World Cup last year, was the second-highest wicket-taker in the series. The presence of a possible four right-handers in India’s top order also gives the fingerspinner, who turns the ball away from the bat, something to dip into.”In particular, probably the one difference in the squad is that allrounder’s spot,” Finch said. “For this trip we have gone with the spinning allrounder, as opposed to the medium-pace, fast-bowling allrounder that we had in Stoinis at the World Cup and now we’ve gone with Agar. That’s just the main difference when you are picking a squad for certain conditions.”The tougher challenge for Agar, whose earliest claim to fame was his 98 from No.11 against England on Test debut, is likely to be as a batsman. Stoinis, a regular on the ODI scene until the World Cup, enjoyed success as a batsman in India. In 2017-18, Stonis was the third-highest run-getter for Australia in India, behind only openers David Warner and Finch. Overall, he averages 58.60 with the bat in India.But Agar, who has always shown promise in that department, has numbers to prove for it recently. He played a key role in Western Australia lifting the domestic one-day Cup, with an unbeaten 29 in the final against Queensland, as he and Shaun Marsh steered them home in a tricky chase. In the Sheffield Shield, Agar’s bowling may have been off the boil, but his batting has been a revelation with two fifties at an average of 52.40, making this his most prolific season in the competition with the bat.High on confidence and with the backing of his team, Agar now has a chance to establish himself as the pivot around which Australia’s ODI fortunes revolve.

Not so long ago, it seemed England had forgotten how to bat time, had few spin options and little idea how to strike with the Kookaburra ball

George Dobell in Port Elizabeth20-Jan-2020It’s amazing how a couple of weeks can change things.A couple of weeks ago, after defeat in Pretoria, it seemed England had forgotten how to bat time, had few spin options and little idea how to strike with the Kookaburra ball.Now? Well, you still suspect that, were this England side to arrive in Australia for an Ashes series tomorrow, they would struggle. Maybe they still will in 22 months. But it feels as if they are, at least, heading in the right direction.The basic statistics are these: an England team that has struggled to claim wickets in overseas Tests has now claimed 20 in three games in succession. An England side that has struggled to build substantial totals has now scored 391 for 8 and 499 for 9 in successive innings, while an England side that has struggled to win away from home has now won successive Tests in South Africa for the first time since 1956. And they’ve won an overseas Test by an innings for the first time since January 2011, too. These are significant achievements. They deserve credit for them.There are two key factors at the heart of this resurgence and, to some extent, the new coach, Chris Silverwood, deserves credit for them both. The first is the very obvious change of approach with the bat; an acceptance that all that talk of positivity and aggression that accompanied the previous regime’s efforts to build a Test side was naïve. This side, with Dom Sibley setting the tone at the top of the order, is much more inclined to take the old-fashioned approach to innings building: slow and steady, with an acceptance that the middle-order can accelerate far more easily if the shine has been taken off the ball and the bowlers are into their fourth or fifth spells. They are all the better for it.The second factor is the decision to trust young players. Four men aged under 25 have either scored a century (Ollie Pope and Sibley) or taken a five-wicket haul (Jofra Archer and Dom Bess) in this series to date. A couple of others, Sam Curran and Zak Crawley, have contributed important performances. In Pope and Archer, in particular, you would think England have found players who will represent them for years to come.Ollie Pope was player of the match•Stu Forster/Getty ImagesThis influx of new faces has had a secondary benefit. It has also challenged the more experienced players – the likes of Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow – to work harder to improve if they are to extend their Test careers. It has freshened up an England side which sometimes looked just a little cosy.Certainly the middle-order – from Joe Root at No. 4 to Ollie Pope at No. 6 – now looks strong and settled. You suspect Jos Buttler may need an outstanding Test at Jo’burg to prevent a change at No. 7 – there appears to be every chance that Ben Foakes could win a recall for Sri Lanka with Buttler’s future in white-ball cricket, perhaps as ODI captain – while Joe Denly needs a significant score to retain that No. 3 position. Bairstow made a century from there in England’s most recent Test in Sri Lanka, after all.Selection for that Sri Lanka tour will be intriguing. It seems, at this stage, as if England will rest several of their specialist seamers – including James Anderson and Stuart Broad – and leave the seam bowling in the hands of all-rounders such as Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran. And while Dom Bess and Jack Leach, if fit, are assured of two of the spin positions, there are still decisions to be made about the other spot. Moeen Ali, at his best, probably still represents the best option England have – even though he, like Root and Bess, is an off-spinner – but Liam Dawson may come into the equation, too. Suffice to say, there are still issues with the development of spin bowling in England.We do have to acknowledge the modesty of this South Africa side, though. The weak state of the economy has led to a mass exodus of players from the country and, as a result, the international team looks as poor as at any time since readmission. And you could argue the words ‘since readmission’ are generous.There are no easy solutions to such challenges, but it might make sense to look at the costs associated with the Mzansi Super League – which isn’t especially super – and instead divert some of that money to better pay for players. One or two of those Kolpak refugees might well be ripe for return if South Africa can match their earnings in England or New Zealand or wherever else they may have flown. Either way, we have to accept this result has been achieved against a side in a state of something approaching crisis. Tougher opponents, much tougher opponents, lie ahead.ALSO READ: ‘It’s my team, guys are listening to my message’ – RootNone of that need concern England right now. Just as Australia or India or West Indies rarely paused for pity of poor England sides, it is now their turn to be ruthless. It felt as if the Stokes-Pope partnership was the tipping point of the series; the moment South Africa knew they were beaten. England have a great chance to seal this series in Jo’burg where South Africa will be weakened further by the absence of Kagiso Rabada and England may well be boosted by the return of Archer, possibly in place of the spin of Bess. An attack containing Archer and Mark Wood on one of the fastest pitches in world cricket is an attractive prospect for a team who have been crying out for a fast bowler for years. Suddenly they have two.Whether either man is available remains uncertain. Archer is bowling again in training but is not back to full pace while Wood last played back-to-back Tests in July 2017. He finished the second of them with none for a hundred and plenty. And if you had any doubt about the amount required of fast bowlers in these matches, just consider these statistics: Wood ran 38 km during this Test; that’s just under 24 miles. While his top speed was 30kph – somewhere approaching 19mph – he exceeded 25kph in 167 separate sprints and 3.4km was run at a speed of over 20kph. That’s beyond the maximum speed of most treadmills. The scheduling of back-to-back Tests is brutal and no doubt compromises the quality of fast bowling.On the subject of scheduling and administrative decisions, this was another Test that underlined the value of five-day Test cricket. Had this been a four-day game, the weather would have had the final word. Not for the first time, the thought occurred that those charged with a duty to protect and nurture the game’s future – in England, at least – are those most obsessed with embracing commercialism to the exclusion of other considerations.This England team will not worry about that. Not now, anyway. Many of them are still fresh to these experiences and are relishing every new challenge. Nobody is claiming they are anywhere near the finished article but they now have almost a year until the India tour and almost two years until the Ashes. They have something to work with and time to improve. Those might be the green shoots of recovery peeking through.

It looks set to be another summer of significant change for Tottenham Hotspur this year.

The Lilywhites didn’t get enough business done last year, and that, combined with a terrible run of injuries, has seen their domestic campaign go from bad to worse this season.

However, it’s not just incomings that could completely alter the team in the coming months, but outgoings, as it remains to be seen whether Ange Postecoglou will keep his job and several key stars have also been linked with an exit.

In fact, the club could even be at risk of losing one of their most important players in a move that would feel reminiscent of Christian Eriksen’s transfer in 2020.

Tottenham's potential exits

Without a doubt, the biggest story concerning an exit from Tottenham at the moment concerns Cristian Romero, as, after being linked with Real Madrid earlier this year, reports from the last few weeks have touted him for a £67m move to Atlético Madrid.

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Worse yet, those same reports have revealed that the Argentine would also like the move and has already held talks with Diego Simeone.

A far less damaging exit, and one likely welcomed by the fans, could be that of Timo Werner, as it was recently revealed that the North Londoners will likely not be making his stay permanent.

The RB Leipzig loanee has been underwhelming at best during his time at the club and has only been able to amass a haul of four goal involvements in 27 games.

However, a far more significant loss would be that of Dejan Kulusevski.

Yes, according to former Tottenham scout Mick Brown, the Swedish international is “going to be interested” in moving back to Serie A this summer.

Speaking to Football Insider, Brown revealed that AC Milan and Napoli are just some of the teams interested in him and that, due to him and other players feeling “frustrated” about how the season has panned out, it’s a move that’s genuinely “feasible even if Tottenham don’t want to let him leave.”

Losing the former Juventus ace would be a disaster for Spurs and a potential repeat of Eriksen’s departure five years ago.

Why Kulusevski could be Eriksen 2.0

There are, unfortunately, a few reasons why Kulusevski’s transfer this summer could mirror Eriksen’s in 2020, and the first is the fact that they are both sensationally gifted creative midfielders.

PL

226

51

65

UCL

29

5

7

UEL

22

5

5

League Cup

13

4

4

FA Cup

15

4

7

For example, during his time in North London, the former Lilywhites star racked up an incredible haul of 69 goals and 88 assists in 305 appearances, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.94 games.

For his part, the “world-class” Stockholm-born maestro, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has scored 25 goals and provided 29 assists in 138 appearances, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.55 games.

However, this season has seen him spend more time in the middle of the park than on the wings for the first time in his Spurs career, which has seen him produce 20 goal involvements in 42 appearances or one every 2.1 games.

The next similarity would be their destinations and the fact that Tottenham did not want to lose them, as the current Manchester United ace left North London to join Inter Milan and Kulusevski’s potential destination looking like it could be the black and red half of the city: AC Milan.

Finally, both players are key members of a Scandinavian national team, with Eriksen amassing a staggering 140 senior caps for Denmark and the Lilywhites star earning 45 for Sweden.

Ultimately, losing Kulusevski this summer would be a disaster for Spurs, so Daniel Levy and Co need to do all they can and give him what he wants to ensure he stays at the club.

He's a £101m star in the making: Spurs hit gold on "monster" Nuno signing

The incredible talent has a bright future at Spurs.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 7, 2025