All posts by h716a5.icu

It’s a question that could quite quickly look silly, but at the moment it feels relevant

Andrew McGlashan12-Oct-2022Ben Stokes can do things on the cricket field that few others are capable of, but is he among the best seven T20I batters in England?It’s a question that could quite quickly look silly being asked, but at the moment it feels relevant.On the international stage, it has been the least convincing of the three formats in Stokes’ career – currently a batting average of 19.08 and strike-rate of 133.52 from 30 innings – but it’s now one of two he plays having retired from ODIs during the home summer.It is natural for England to want Stokes in the team, but right now it doesn’t quite seem an easy fit. He has won an ODI World Cup for his country and his influence, as has been seen with the Test side this year, amounts to much more than purely runs and wickets. In this game there was the additional funkiness of him bowling the first over of a T20 innings for the first time.But he’s never really found his role in the format and, little more than a week out from the T20 World Cup starting, there is a sense that it’s still being searched for, although No. 3 or No. 4 – depending on the game situation – is the task he has been earmarked for.Related

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The opening T20 of this series in Australia was the first time he had picked up a bat in the middle for a month and even someone of Stokes’ ability needs time to get back in the groove. However, he has played unconvincingly in Perth and Canberra.In the first game he came in at No. 3 after the rollicking opening stand between Jos Buttler and Alex Hales and couldn’t really maintain the momentum. He fell for 9 off 9 having also taken a blow on the chin for his troubles when he tried to reverse sweep Daniel Sams.In Canberra the end product was 7 off 11 when he missed a sweep at Adam Zampa and threw his head back in frustration. This time he had come in at No. 4, inside the powerplay, and did have some time to construct an innings but during his stay he collected just seven singles.This was also the first time England got to look at the No. 3-4 combo of Stokes and Dawid Malan after the latter was shunted down the order in Perth. Stokes is taking a few deliveries to get himself set – and, currently, is not being able to go on from there – which is a style that has been attributed to Malan for parts of his T20 career despite some outstanding overall numbers.There was data that emerged from the Hundred earlier this year that showed Malan’s intent in his first 10 balls and increased markedly. He struggled for the most-part in Pakistan on the slow surfaces, but in Canberra was much more at home, as he has been in the past on Australian surfaces, with more pace to play with. In an interesting contrast to Stokes, in the first five balls of his innings he had a four and a six.If Stokes is going to soak up a number of early deliveries before he feels he can launch, it becomes even more imperative that Malan maintains that brisker early tempo especially if the pair find themselves together. Malan finished with a superbly-constructed 82 off 49 balls, reading the situation expertly from 54 for 4. A penny for Steven Smith’s thoughts on that.Ben Stokes makes a spectacular save on the boundary•Getty ImagesIt feels very unlikely that Stokes is left out of the World Cup starting XI, but Liam Livingstone may yet have a part to play. At the moment, the assumption is that if his ankle comes good then he will slot in at No. 7 for the opening game against Afghanistan in Perth, followed by four bowlers. But there is a balance of side that sees them play with one batter fewer – as they have done in this series so far – and utilise an extra bowling-allrounder. Sam Curran may not have been in the original starting plans but is hard to leave out now.The other aspect to factor in, is an unquantifiable one: Stokes on the big occasion. Ideally he needs a substantial innings in the last game in Canberra on Friday or the warm-up against Pakistan in Brisbane but, in reality, it might not matter when he’s in the heat of the battle in a game that matters.It’s a point of debate whether he’s among England’s best T20 batters but, as epitomised by the gravity-defying boundary save at long-off, you suspect if things get tight over the next few weeks there’s few others Buttler will want by his side.

With two months to go for the T20 World Cup, Harmanpreet Kaur’s team is being tested by Australia’s strong line-up

S Sudarshanan15-Dec-20222:16

India’s bowling depth a concern

After losing the third T20I against Australia to go 2-1 down in the five-match series, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted her side is missing a bowling coach but was happy with the way the bowlers are taking charge of the situation.When Ramesh Powar was head coach, he used to take care of the bowling department, but India have not had a full-time bowling coach since he moved out of the role. Renuka Singh, who made her debut just over a year ago, is the leader of the pace attack, having played 30 internationals.Related

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All of the first three games have had scores in excess of 170. While India couldn’t defend 172 in the opening match, they conceded 187 in the second game and 172 in the third.”I know we are missing a bowling coach but our bowlers are taking charge,” Harmanpreet said after the 21-run defeat on Wednesday. “They are participative in bowlers meetings. They have full responsibility and today [it was] all their plans and they were leading the way, I was just supporting them in the middle.In the absence of an experienced seamer in T20Is – read Shikha Pandey – Renuka has been thrust into the role of being India’s prime bowler. Only two fast bowlers – both from UAE – have taken more T20I wickets than Renuka since her debut.”Renuka has the experience because she has done well in the past six-seven months and has got good results,” Harmanpreet said. “Whenever we set plans for pace bowlers she takes the lead and our video analysts give us a lot of information.”Talking about spin bowlers, almost all spinners have played a lot of T20 cricket like Deepti [Sharma], Radha [Yadav], Rajeshwari [Gayakwad]. Devika [Vaidya] is new to the team but she also has the experience of international cricket and has done a lot of homework with respect to international cricket.”It’s a tricky situation for a team aiming to win its first world title at the T20 World Cup next year. With less than two months to go before India take on Pakistan in the opening game, they are still zeroing in on their bowling attack. Minus a bowling coach that is.Anjali Sarvani celebrates after bowling Tahlia McGrath for her maiden international wicket•BCCIAfter India’s tour of England last August, Powar had emphasised on creating a fast-bowling pool, after which Renuka and Meghna Singh got their maiden call-ups for the tour of Australia in September.While Renuka is a shoo-in, Meghna, who made her ODI debut last year but only played her first T20I earlier this year at the Commonwealth Games, was part of the first two matches against Australia before making way for Gayakwad in the third. In her nine T20Is so far, Meghna has bowled her quota of four overs only once.India’s reluctance to use a seam-heavy attack in white-ball cricket has resulted in Meghna often missing out on a spot in the XI. Until recently, Jhulan Goswami used to lead the attack in ODIs with Renuka and Pooja Vastrakar for company. In T20s, Renuka and Vastrakar often used to comprise the two-seamer attack.Vastrakar was a key figure in India’s seam-bowling plans but her injury has left India short of resources. As a result, Harmanpreet has had to rely on spin more than she would have liked in the penultimate series ahead of the T20 World Cup in February.”[We are missing] Pooja for sure. On these tracks you need a medium pacer,” Harmanpreet said. “Definitely when you bowl back-to-back spin bowling, it allows opposition batters to settle easily. We are definitely missing Pooja because she has the experience of death-overs bowling. We tried Meghna in the first two games but it didn’t click.”In a bid to strengthen the pace department, India gave a debut to Anjali Sarvani, who became the first left-arm seamer to play a women’s T20I for India. She came off a good domestic season, topping the bowling charts in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy as well as the Senior Women’s inter-zonal T20s. After going wicketless in her first two games, Sarvani picked up two wickets in the third, which included a perfect inswinger to bowl Tahlia McGrath for her maiden wicket.Australia scored only 26 for 2 in the first four overs, bowled by Sarvani and Renuka. “The way we bowled in the powerplay, especially Renuka and Anjali [was commendable],” Harmanpreet said. “They were swinging the ball and bowled according to the plan. They were not giving easy runs to the batters.”The squad India pick for the tri-series in South Africa, also featuring West Indies, is likely to be the one that goes to the T20 World Cup, where India will hope to better their runners-up finish from 2020. While Vastrakar’s return will bolster their attack, they will hope they have more experience in their ranks and guidance from the dugout.

He overcame an accident when he was five years old and resistance to playing cricket at home to make it to the IPL

Ashish Pant and Nikhil Sharma08-Apr-20233:48

The Dhruv Jurel story: ‘If you want to be No. 1, you do things differently’

When 22-year-old Dhruv Jurel walked out to bat as an Impact Player in his debut IPL game, there would certainly have been questions over why Rajasthan Royals had sent him in ahead of a seasoned international like Jason Holder.Royals needed 74 off 30 balls at the time against Punjab Kings and he had only three T20s worth of experience . They eventually fell five runs short with Jurel unbeaten on 32 off 15 balls, an innings full of eye-catching stroke play. It was his first time in the raucous, high-pressure finish of an IPL thriller, but he wasn’t fazed by the environment.”When I went to bat, I was not nervous at all because I had seen those scenarios, having been on the bench last year. The crowd, people cheering loudly, the opposition sledging, the hype, all the things,” Jurel tells ESPNcricinfo. “It wasn’t challenging for me. This is my second year for Rajasthan, and I just wanted to get one chance.”At every step of his cricketing journey, Jurel has yearned for that chance and made it count. He racked up big runs during Uttar Pradesh’s title-winning run in the 2018-19 Cooch Behar Trophy; he led India Under-19 to victory at the 2019 Asia Cup; and he scored 249 in just his sixth first-class game.Jurel’s journey to the IPL has not been straightforward. He was five years old when his left leg came under the tyre of a bus in Agra and required plastic surgery. He wanted to join the Indian Army, much like his father Nem Singh Jurel, a Kargil war veteran, before cricket became his ambition.” [My father was in the Army and he never really supported me playing cricket.] He wanted me to get a government job, a secure job,” Jurel says. “One day, he was reading the newspaper and suddenly told me, ‘There is a cricketer that goes by the same name as you, and he has scored these many runs.’ I got scared and did not know how to tell him this cricketer was me. I was just scared that he might ask me to leave cricket.”Jurel knew cricket was his future soon enough, but when he wanted a kit at the age of 14, his father asked him to focus on his studies. His mother sold off a gold chain to fulfil her son’s wishes.”I asked my father to buy me a Kashmir willow bat, around INR 1500-2000. Even that was expensive, but my father bought the bat. But when it came to the entire kitbag, that was too expensive.”I locked myself in the bathroom and told him I would run off if he didn’t get me the cricket kit. This made my mother emotional and she gave her gold chain to my father and asked him to sell it and get me the kit. At that time, I got very excited but when I matured, I realised how big that sacrifice was on their part.”Dhruv Jurel was vice-captain of India’s Under-19 team for the 2020 World Cup in South Africa•ICC via GettyJurel made rapid strides in age-group cricket in Agra, but there was limited scope for him to improve. He decided to move to Noida on the ourskirts of Delhi and enrolled at Phoolchand Sharma’s Wonders Cricket Club. He initially shuttled between Noida and Agra, but once the travelling got hectic, Jurel shifted base with his mother.There was a time when for two years, between 2015 and 2017, Jurel did not play competitive cricket. Then came UPCA’s Vaibhav Memorial tournament in Meerut in 2017, which he says was a life-changing one. With the selectors watching, 16-year old Jurel smashed a 38-ball 87 in the final, leading his side to the title.”That was a life-changing match for me at the Vaibhav Memorial,” Jurel recalls with a smile. “I was not getting matches, but I was sent up the order in the final. From there I went to play for the state, then I made a comeback.”Jurel was vice-captain at the 2020 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, where India finished runners-up. But Covid-19 struck soon after and cricket took a backseat again. Jurel did not enter the IPL 2020 auction, where his U-19 team-mates Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi and Kartik Tyagi went for big money, and was unsold when he did enter the auction in 2021.Did that leave Jurel frustrated? Maybe. But he focused on getting fitter and built a home gym with the money he had earned at the U-19 World Cup. In 2022, Jurel was picked up by Royals at base price. A wicketkeeper-batter, he is a big AB de Villiers fan, and idolises MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.”It was a surreal feeling when I first met them,” Jurel says. “I haven’t spoken to them, I just got photos clicked. But that moment was very special. I have been watching these guys since I was a kid, and now they are standing next to me.”Now that the debut game is out of the way, what next for Jurel? “I am just taking it day by day. Whenever I think too much, I stress a lot. I want to do the right things and keep my basics clear.”

Spinner feared career was over after release by Middlesex, now he’s back with a point to prove

Matt Roller26-Aug-2023Nathan Sowter remembers sitting in the away dressing-rooms at Billericay Cricket Club last September, thinking his professional career had just come to an end.He had just played his final game in a Middlesex shirt, for their 2nd XI, and did not have a contract lined up for the following summer. “I was pretty much by myself, with a sense that it was probably all over,” Sowter recalls. “You’re packing up your kit and thinking about how you got to that situation.”A year on, he is sitting in the Bedser Stand at The Oval, speaking to ESPNcricinfo ahead of the biggest game of his life. After landing a contract with Durham during the English winter, Sowter has had the most prolific summer of his career and will play for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred final on Sunday night – at his old home ground, Lord’s.”Playing in a final at Lord’s is something you dream of, isn’t it?” Sowter says. “I’m going there with full confidence, and no excuses. I know how to bowl at Lord’s. I did it for eight seasons with Middlesex, so I feel very confident that, whoever we come up against, I can hopefully have a good day out.”Related

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But last season, Middlesex saw things differently. They decided to use the Blast to give opportunities to Luke Hollman and Thilan Walallawita, and Sowter was told a week before the tournament that he was surplus to requirements. He joined Durham on loan, and left Middlesex at the end of his contract.”I just got phased out,” Sowter explains. “That was obviously their decision, and a difficult period of my career. At the time, I was the second leading wicket-taker in Blast history for them. Maybe I didn’t have the success that I wanted in red-ball cricket, but they kind of froze me out a bit.”The person I was five years ago would’ve kicked up a bigger storm: I’d have gone down with a blaze of glory. But obviously by releasing me, they’ve given me the opportunity to show what I can do. I like it when I’ve got my back against the wall and I can show my true character.”In November, Sowter learned that Durham were offering him a deal for 2023 after an impressive loan spell in the Blast; a few days later, he got a call from Tom Moody, Oval Invincibles’ coach, offering him a retention for the third season of the Hundred, despite playing only four completed games across the first two years.Sowter was Middlesex’s second leading wicket-taker in Blast history when the club ‘froze him out’•Getty ImagesAnd he has quietly been a revelation in both the Blast and the Hundred. Across the two competitions, Sowter has taken 34 wickets this summer – the most of any spinner, and the equal second-most of any bowler. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” he reflects.His favourite scalp in the Hundred is Jos Buttler – “it always tastes a bit sweeter when you get the big dogs out” – and he has been used as a strike bowler by Sam Billings. At Edgbaston, he was thrown the ball in the Powerplay, and had Ben Duckett caught as he lined up the short leg-side boundary.You might not guess that Sowter was a professional athlete if you bumped into him in the street. He is short, slim and wiry, and fidgets throughout our conversation. He is part of an Invincibles dressing-room with an unmistakable Surrey strut, and concedes: “I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t struggle a bit with that in the first couple of years.”Yet he is one of seven players who has featured for Invincibles in all three seasons. The pedigree of the other six – Sam and Tom Curran, Billings, Will Jacks, Sunil Narine and Jason Roy – shows just how highly Sowter is regarded by the management and his team-mates.

The worst thing that can happen is they hit you for six, isn’t it? And if they hit you for six, someone’s cheering in the crowd; at least I’ve made someone else happySowter on managing his anxiety in big matches

Sowter now feels at home at The Oval, but has battled with anxiety for several years. “I definitely still deal with it,” he says. “I was getting my hair cut yesterday [Wednesday] and was sitting there fretting over the final. The game’s not until Sunday! But when you have that time to think, you get all this nervous energy that starts building.”A couple of games ago, everyone else was warming up and I just sat in the middle of the ground, just having to take a few deep breaths with the physio to reset myself, and make sure I was ready to go and perform at my best. It’s an ongoing battle; it’s not something I’ll ever really get over. But I’ve got things in place that mean I can control it.”He has made a conscious effort to throw himself into the changing-room. “This year, I’ve come in and I’ve been quite loud,” he says. “I like getting in amongst it. That’s one of my coping mechanisms: I can kind of withdraw myself, or I can get really stuck in as well. The boys have been really good at understanding my situation too.”I’ve tried to take the pressure off myself: the worst thing that can happen is they hit you for six, isn’t it? And if they hit you for six, someone’s cheering in the crowd; at least I’ve made someone else happy. I know I’ve got the skill: I just need to let loose and take the shackles off to allow myself to perform.”Sowter’s challenge is to take that mindset into a final on Sunday. His dad is preparing to wake up at 3am in Sydney, where Sowter grew up – “He’s already got his lounge-bed set up, with all his snacks; I think he’s more nervous than I am” – and his girlfriend’s family will be in the crowd at Lord’s.”I’m trying to see everything as a bonus,” Sowter says. “Twelve months ago, I didn’t think I’d be playing cricket, let alone preparing for a final at Lord’s.” Casting his mind back to Billericay in September, he reflects: “The feeling will be a lot different on Sunday evening when, hopefully, we hold that trophy aloft.”

He can whack, he can bowl, he can keep, he can leap – and he can rebuild an innings on a slow track with his side under immense pressure too

Deivarayan Muthu18-Oct-20231:07

Bond: Pleased with how Phillips batted today

Glenn Phillips is a man of many hats. He played both hockey and football at school before becoming a professional cricketer. He is also into archery, hiking, surfing and mountain-biking. He even has a flight simulator back home and dreams of becoming a commercial pilot after he finishes his sporting career.Phillips is also New Zealand’s do-it-all man on the cricketing field. He has opened the batting alongside Rachin Ravindra in Under-19 cricket. He can tee off from the get-go in the middle order. He can finish an innings. He can also keep wicket, though a back condition has somewhat restricted that skill. His outfielding skills need no introduction. He can also bowl quickish offspin. He is also an innovator.All of these skills have made Phillips a sought-after package in T20 cricket. But there were some questions around Phillips’ ability to build – or rebuild – an ODI innings, despite his unbeaten 63 against Pakistan in Karachi in January earlier this year. Those questions resurfaced after New Zealand had slumped to 110 for 4 against Afghanistan on a tricky, two-paced Chepauk pitch.Related

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Azmatullah Omarzai was getting the ball to skid and zip off the surface. Rashid Khan was doing his thing. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was also turning the ball both ways. At one point, New Zealand went 64 (legal) balls without a boundary. Phillips absorbed all of that pressure along with his captain Tom Latham in a 144-run fifth-wicket partnership, acing yet another role for New Zealand.When Omarzai found late inward movement, Phillips accounted for it and shelved his big shots. He was prepared to wait for the loose ball in a passage of play that was straight out of the ’90s. His footwork was also decisive against the spinners: he was either right forward or right back. Phillips needed 69 balls for his half-century – his slowest in List A cricket. But this was arguably the most vital among his six List A fifties.While Phillips’ batting against spin is largely untested in international cricket, he has excelled on Chepauk-style turners at the CPL after having worked closely with Ramnaresh Sarwan during a stint at Jamaica Tallawahs. Regular trips to the Caribbean helped him understand his game against spin better.”It’s [about] understanding where my strengths and weaknesses lie,” Phillips said after winning the Player-of-the-Match award. “I guess the way a lot of boys play over here – sweeping really well and reverse-sweeping really well – but unfortunately I don’t have that quite in my game plan or to the level I’d be happy to use it consistently in a match.Glenn Phillips started slow but helped stem the flow of wickets•Associated Press”So for me it’s about sticking to my strengths: play from the crease and I do have power. So I can wait for the guys to miss [their line or length] a little bit more. But also the beauty of batting at No. 6 means that you have the opportunity to soak pressure or mount pressure [on the opposition] depending on the time you come in. So, [it’s] about being able to flip between the two depending on what the team needs.”After having seen off the spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb and Mohammad Nabi, Phillips found a favourable match-up against his IPL team-mate Fazalhaq Farooqi and swatted him for two imposing leg-side sixes in the 45th over. One of those was off a blameless slower ball into the pitch.”At that point of time, our game plan was we had wickets in hand, with six overs to go,” Phillips explained. “For us, it’s the perfect time for us [Phillips and Latham] to both launch. I’ve faced a lot of Farooqi in the [Sunrisers Hyderabad] nets albeit with the new ball most of the times. But I do know he’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve and he’s a really talented bowler. So to be able to get those two away off him, and to have a big over to start our launch, that was really crucial to get to 289 [288] as opposed to 260.”Phillips wasn’t done just yet. With the ball, he operated from around the wicket and bowled darts, denying the Afghanistan batters access to the shorter boundary. He then fronted up to the media, grinning from ear to ear.There’s nothing that Phillips can’t do.

We assess the Division One contenders in our County Championship preview

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2024.DurhamLast season: 1st in Division Two
Director of cricket: Marcus North
Head coach: Ryan Campbell
Captain: Scott Borthwick
Overseas: David Bedingham, Scott Boland
Ins: Colin Ackermann, Callum Parkinson (both Leicestershire)
Outs: Liam Trevaskis (Leicestershire), Harry Crawshaw, Luke Doneathy, Ross Whitfield (all released), Tom Mackintosh (retired)The home county of Ben Stokes were, appropriately enough, the most Bazballingest across both divisions of the County Championship – scoring their runs at a rate of 4.39 an over and storming to seven wins out of 14 to secure Durham their longed-for return to the top tier after a seven-year absence. As with Stokes’ England, their resurrection was overseen by an affable Antipodean, Ryan Campbell enjoying immediate success with his manifesto of attacking cricket and living your best life.Durham narrowly lost to Sussex in the opening round but went unbeaten through the rest of the season to finish 66 points clear of their nearest challengers, Worcestershire. Alex Lees, an original Bazballer, topped the Division Two run charts with 1347 at 70.89, while Ben Raine and Matthew Potts were out on their own as the two most-prolific bowlers. David Bedingham passed 1000 runs, Ollie Robinson proved an inspired signing, but perhaps the greatest testament to Campbell’s impact was Graham Clark, previously pigeon-holed as a white-ball batter, who played every game and averaged 58.42.With Callum Parkinson and Colin Ackermann arriving to add to the spin stocks and middle-order batting respectively, as well as Australia seamer Scott Boland joining for the first half of the season, they look well equipped to shake up Division One.One to watch: Top-order batter Ben McKinney made a handful of first-team appearances last year and will be pushing for further opportunities. England’s captain and top-scorer at the Under-19 World Cup over the winter, McKinney has been in the Durham system since the age of 10. Impressed on the pre-season tour of Zimbabwe, scoring his maiden first-class fifty. Alan GardnerRelated

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Bet365: 12/1EssexLast season: 2nd in Division One
Head coach: Anthony McGrath
Captain: Tom Westley
Overseas: Simon Harmer, Dean Elgar
Ins: Jordan Cox (Kent)
Outs: Alastair Cook (retired), Dan Lawrence (Surrey), Aron Nijjar, Josh Rymell, Eshun Kalley, Will Buttleman (all released)It’s been several seasons now since Essex were indisputably the best red-ball team in the country, but they continued to punch above their perceived weight in running Surrey close in 2023. It remains to be seen whether Tom Westley’s men can remain quite so competitive in the wake of two seismic departures, and yet – on paper – they seem to have landed a pair of incredibly worthy stand-ins for Alastair Cook and Dan Lawrence.Dean Elgar, the former South Africa captain, is about as close to a Cook clone as exists in the world game, while the young thruster Jordan Cox regards the ambition around Chelmsford to be a step-up from the stagnation he had been feeling down at Canterbury.On the bowling front, Essex’s title challenge will once again be spearheaded by their holy trinity of Sam Cook, Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer, the prolific South African spinner who played a pivotal role in Elgar’s recruitment. Such a streetwise attack is the main reason they are the bookies’ likeliest challengers to Surrey, who they kept pace with until the penultimate round last year.One to watch: It’s been said so often before, but this could be a crucial summer for Sam Cook, Essex’s new vice-captain and a man with complete command of his brief as a stump-threatening fast-medium seamer – as shown by a first-class record of 265 wickets at 19.94, including 48 at 19.60 in the 2023 campaign. At the age of 26, time is still on Cook’s side if he’s to make his Test debut – especially if England are thinking seriously about succession-planning. Andrew MillerBet365: 5/1 Dean Elgar will be aiming to fill an Alastair Cook-shaped hole at Chelmsford•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesHampshireLast season: 3rd in Division One
Director of cricket: Giles White
Head coach: Adrian Birrell
Captain: James Vince
Overseas: Kyle Abbott, Mohammad Abbas, Michael Neser
Ins: Ali Orr (Sussex)
Outs: Aneurin Donald (Derbyshire), Ross Whiteley (Derbyshire), Mason Crane (Glamorgan, loan), Scott Currie (Leicestershire, loan), Jack Campbell, Harry Petrie (both released)Hampshire have been thereabouts for three years now with a hat-trick of third-place finishes. They matched the eight wins of champions Surrey and defeated them in the last game of the season in 2023, having also beaten second-placed Essex in the penultimate match. But by that time it was too late with a mixed bag of earlier results proving costly. That said, they won one more match than Essex and finished just four points behind them, backing up their credentials.They have a vastly experienced team including proven wicket-takers Kyle Abbott, Keith Barker and Mohammad Abbas, as well as captain James Vince and Liam Dawson, the latter having shelved all England ambitions to pursue silverware with Hampshire and franchise opportunities. Add in the prospect of young right-arm quick John Turner, who has already caught the eye of England selectors, with five wickets from his two Championship games last year including a best of 3 for 23 against Essex in July, plus the recruitment of a highly rated young opener from south-coast rivals Sussex (see below), and Hampshire appear to have the ingredients for success. They just need to put it all together.One to watch: Ali Orr was a revelation at Sussex after making his debut in 2021. An injury-hampered 2023 season and departure to a new club will no doubt leave him keen to make an impact once more, which could be very exciting for Hampshire fans yearning for a boost at the top of the order. Valkerie BaynesBet365: 10/1KentLast season: 8th in Division One
Director of cricket: Simon Cook
Head coach: Matt Walker
Captain: Daniel Bell-Drummond
Overseas: Wes Agar, Beyers Swanepoel
Ins: Matt Parkinson (Lancashire), George Garrett (Warwickshire), Michael Cohen (Derbyshire)
Outs: Jordan Cox (Essex), Michael Hogan (retired), Alex Blake, James Logan (both released)Kent will want to stay up in much more convincing style than last season, where a nail-biting wait of more than an hour on the result of Nottinghamshire versus Middlesex to learn their fate left nerves shredded. Having lost the enterprising Cox to Essex and not recruited voraciously they may come to rely on the usual suspects for runs in the reliable Ben Compton and exciting allrounder Joey Evison, along with captain Daniel Bell-Drummond and Zak Crawley (when available). If Jack Leaning can improve on his 563 runs at 25.59 last season, it’s a plus.Bowling-wise, they’ve signed ex-England legspinner Matt Parkinson from Lancashire looking for “a new challenge and environment” after a successful loan spell in the 2023 One-Day Cup and he brings a wealth of experience and match-winning ability with him. The relatively inexperienced George Garrett and South African-born Michael Cohen boost Kent’s seam-bowling stocks, while Wes Agar is back from Australia for a good chunk of the season and he showed what he could do last year with 21 Championship wickets, including a best of 5 for 63 against Northamptonshire. But they will need all departments firing if they are to go from holding on by their fingernails to serious contenders.One to watch: Jaydn Denly, the 18-year-old nephew of Kent stalwart Joe, made his debut in last year’s One-Day Cup and went on to tour India with England’s U19s and play in the U19 World Cup in South Africa. A first-class debut this year would be another significant step in his development and Kent’s future planning. VBBet365: 22/1Josh Bohannon was the leading run-scorer in Division One last season•Getty ImagesLancashireLast season: 5th in Division One
Director of cricket: Mark Chilton
Head coach: Dale Benkenstein
Captain: Keaton Jennings
Overseas: Nathan Lyon, Tom BruceIns: Mitchell Stanley (Worcestershire)
Outs: Matt Parkinson (Kent), Danny Lamb (Sussex), Rob Jones (Worcestershire), Richard Gleeson (Warwickshire), Jack Morley (Derbyshire, loan), Dane Vilas (retired)Lancashire managed 55 points fewer than champions Surrey last season, drawing five games out of five at Emirates Old Trafford, and their disappointing mid-table finish prompted an overhaul over the winter. Glen Chapple’s long association with the club has come to an end, with Dale Benkenstein an intriguing choice as his successor after overseeing Gloucestershire’s winless Championship season in 2023. With several homegrown players leaving over the winter, they look like a team in transition.The most eye-catching arrival is Nathan Lyon, whose signing prompted plenty of column inches before he has even played after Tom Hartley’s breakthrough on England’s tour to India. Brendon McCullum is among those hoping that Lyon will not block Hartley’s opportunities – though Cricket Australia’s decision to limit Lyon to seven games should play in England’s favour.Tom Bruce, the journeyman New Zealand batter, has also signed across formats and will effectively replace Dane Vilas, who left the club at the end of last season. Phil Salt made a couple of hundreds last summer but will be unavailable for most of the Championship campaign due to England and IPL commitments.One to watch: George Bell’s young face belies a tough competitor and a true allrounder: he took a Championship wicket with his offbreaks last summer but will compete with Matthew Hurst for the wicketkeeping gloves in Salt’s absence. Bell was part of the England team that reached the Under-19 World Cup final two years ago and spent his winter playing grade cricket for Bankstown in Sydney – this could be his breakthrough season for Lancashire. Matt RollerBet365: 8/1NottinghamshireLast season: 6th in Division One
Director of cricket: Mick Newell
Head coach: Peter Moores
Captain: Haseeb Hameed
Overseas: Dane Paterson, Will Young
Ins: Jack Haynes (Worcestershire), Josh Tongue (Worcestershire), Dillon Pennington (Worcestershire)
Outs: Stuart Broad (retired), Samit Patel (Derbyshire), Jake Ball (Somerset)Another season of transition at Trent Bridge, with the exit of a core of seasoned campaigners, including the captain Steven Mullaney, who is the new player/coach of the second XI. Despite his own modest campaign in 2023, Haseeb Hameed takes over as red-ball skipper, while Joe Clarke’s T20 captaincy is his first taste of leadership since the infamous WhatsApps scandal that has cast a pall over his career.Notts’ new blood comes in the form of a trio of Worcestershire imports in Josh Tongue, Dillon Pennington and Jack Haynes, all of whom have international aspirations having played key roles in their former club’s promotion. Tongue is already firmly on England’s radar, perhaps all the more so since Stuart Broad’s retirement, but with no Test cricket until July, his desire to make a strong impression could make him a shrewd investment. On the batting front, Ben Duckett will doubtless offer a taste of early season Bazball, while New Zealand’s Will Young provides a stamp of overseas class for the first block of Championship matches.One to watch: Of all the attributes that earned Peter Moores two shots at the England head coach role, it was his ability to work with young batters that really stood out. In Haynes, he has at his disposal a richly promising strokemaker whose first three first-class hundreds came in consecutive matches at the start of the 2022 season. Despite a tougher campaign last time out, he still bookended his season with two further centuries. At the age of 23, time is very much on his side to take the next step up. AMBet365: 9/1 Josh Tongue is one of three former Worcestershire players to have joined Notts this year•Getty ImagesSomersetLast season: 7th in Division One
Director of cricket: Andy Hurry
Head coach: Jason Kerr
Captain: Lewis Gregory
Overseas: Matt Renshaw
Ins: Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
Outs: George Bartlett (Northamptonshire), Steven Davies, Jack Brooks (both retired), Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire)It was a familiar story for Somerset in the Championship last season, with their batting line-up’s inconsistency resulting in a third consecutive mid-table finish. James Rew, who turned 20 in January, was the third-highest run-scorer in Division One but found limited support, and the early-season absence of Tom Kohler-Cadmore – who is running the drinks for Rajasthan Royals – will put further pressure on the rest of Somerset’s batters to fire.Tom Abell has resigned the captaincy in order to focus on his own form, with Lewis Gregory taking over after spearheading their T20 Blast triumph last summer. Matt Renshaw, the spare batter in Australia’s Test team, will return for the first couple of months of the season to cover for Kohler-Cadmore’s absence, with George Bartlett and Steven Davies both moving on over the winter.England will be watching the progress of Somerset’s spinners closely. Jack Leach underwent surgery after sustaining a knee injury during their victory in Hyderabad and his likely absence in the early stages should open up Shoaib Bashir’s opportunities in the early summer. If not, head coach Jason Kerr has signalled that he is open to loaning Bashir out in order to ensure he gets regular gametime.One to watch: Tom Lammonby was 20 years old when he hit centuries in three consecutive Bob Willis Trophy fixtures in 2020, including the final against Essex, but has only managed three more since then and is yet to average above 30 in a full County Championship season. A stylish left-hander, he is brilliant to watch when in top form; Somerset will hope that he can reach those levels more consistently this year. MRBet365: 11/1SurreyLast season: 1st in Division One
Director of cricket: Alec Stewart
Head coach: Gareth Batty
Captains: Rory Burns
Overseas:Kemar Roach, Sean Abbott
Ins: Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Outs: Dan Moriarty (Yorkshire)The news that Alec Stewart will leave his post at the end of the summer gives extra motivation to a side who have had plenty over the last few years. A tilt at a third consecutive County Championship title – something no county has achieved since Yorkshire in the 1960s – will come with even more feeling in 2024, which should alarm the rest, who have collectively managed just three wins against Surrey in the last two campaigns.The return of Sean Abbott and Kemar Roach bolsters homegrown expertise, characterised by Jordan Clark, whose 48 wickets – joint-top for the club with Dan Worrall – and 427 runs were the backbone for 2023’s triumph. Along with Jamie Overton, who is eyeing up a spot in England’s T20 World Cup squad, they are not lacking for high-calibre bowling allrounders.Dan Lawrence’s arrival from Essex, the most high-profile county transfer in recent times, allows Surrey to boast a front six of Test experience even with Will Jacks at the IPL. Jacks’ absence will also allow Lawrence to ramp up his bowling, but it is with the bat he will seek to make the most noise as he continues a two-year-long knocking at the door of Ben Stokes’ Test side. Such is the talent within the squad that allrounder Aaron Hardie’s withdrawal from a two-month stint at the behest of Cricket Australia was met with a shrug.One to watch: The wicketkeeping berth is the one clear Test spot up for grabs after England’s 4-1 defeat in India, with Jamie Smith already attracting attention. An engaging stroke-maker, even against the red ball, last season’s 736 runs came at a strike rate of 65.30. The one stumbling block is that England incumbent Ben Foakes is Surrey’s designated keeper, but noteworthy scores from Smith can more than cover for that. Vithushan EhantharajahBet365: 13/8Surrey will be hoping to give Alec Stewart a winning send-off•Surrey CCC/Getty ImagesWarwickshireLast season: 4th in Division One
Performance director: Gavin Larsen
Head coach:Mark Robinson
Captain: Alex Davies
Overseas: Hasan Ali
Ins: George Garton (Sussex), Richard Gleeson (Lancashire)
Outs: Ethan Brookes (Worcestershire), Henry Brookes (Middlesex), George Garrett (Kent), Manraj Johal (released)Warwickshire’s ability to sustain a title push for as long as they did last season owed plenty to the wise old men of their attack. Chris Rushworth (37) and Oliver Hannon-Dalby (34) bagged 107 dismissals between them. With neither showing any signs of tailing off and the reliable Ed Barnard likely to pick up where he left off following 29 wickets in 2023, the bowling should take care of itself, especially if they are able to squeeze a combined 10 games out of Chris Woakes and Hasan Ali around their international obligations.The batting, however, remains a live issue given the club did not seek reinforcements in the offseason despite managing the third-fewest bonus points in the division (18). Sam Hain made it beyond 700 runs (just) and Will Rhodes was the only other batter to pass 600. The former was responsible for three of the county’s seven centuries, and the former eventually decided to relinquish the captaincy after averaging a lowly 30.90. Alex Davies picks up the armband, but he, along with the likes of Rob Yates and Dan Mousley, must pick up the slack if Warwickshire are to avoid a less flattering position come September.One to watch: Part of the Edgbaston set-up since 2021, Durham University graduate Michael Booth hails from Zimbabwe and was a former age-group cricketer at KwaZulu-Natal Inland in South Africa. A fast bowler with good pace and skills, as well as being a handy lower-order batter, Booth made his county debut last summer in the One-Day Cup. VEBet365: 7/1WorcestershireLast season: 2nd in Division Two
Director of cricket: Ashley Giles
Head coach: Alan Richardson
Captain: Brett D’Oliveira
Overseas: Jason Holder, Nathan Smith
Ins: Josh Cobb (Northamptonshire), Rob Jones (Lancashire), Tom Taylor (Northamptonshire), Ethan Brookes (Warwickshire), Yadvinder Singh (SACA)
Outs: Jack Haynes (Nottinghamshire), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire), Dillon Pennington (Nottinghamshire), Pat Brown (Derbyshire), Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire), Taylor Cornall (released)Worcestershire enjoyed a smooth path in returning to Division One for the first time since 2018, securing the two points needed on a weather-hit second day of their final fixture of 2023, against Yorkshire. The next challenge will be to stay there after their previous stint in the top-flight was short lived. Losing three key players to Nottinghamshire, including England bowler Tongue, could raise concerns but Rob Jones’ arrival from Lancashire will bolster the batting line-up. Allrounder Tom Taylor adds to their seam-bowling options after joining from Northamptonshire, although he was being monitored for shoulder and knee problems after a friendly fire collision with team-mate Ben Gibbon while taking a return catch in a Seconds Championship match earlier this week. Gibbon suffered a concussion in the incident.In Jake Libby Worcestershire had the third-highest run-scorer of Division Two last year, with 1153 runs at 57.65 and a highest score of 198, while Joe Leach was the joint-third wicket-taker. Winter flooding means Worcestershire are not expecting to play at New Road until May 24, when they host Nottinghamshire, with their first two home games to be played at Kidderminster.One to watch: Former West Indies captain Jason Holder has arrived for the first five games of the season on a quest to win back his Test place through domestic red-ball cricket so he’ll have plenty to prove ahead of his return home for the T20 World Cup. He’s at Worcestershire for a good time, not a long one, so it will be intriguing to see if he can make the most of it. VBBet365: 28/1

Smith made a big play for the role last season but it remains uncertain if he’ll do it against India

Alex Malcolm17-Sep-20242:39

‘I’ll bat anywhere the team wants me to’ – Steven Smith

It’s the major debate in Australian cricket: will Steven Smith be Usman Khawaja’s opening partner for the Border-Gavaskar Test series against India in two months?Australia’s exit from the T20 World Cup in the Super Eight phase did not gain much traction back home, nor has there been a fervent following of the current white-ball tour of the UK for insights on the future direction of the T20I side or hints on how the ODI World Cup-winning side will look without the retired David Warner ahead of the Champions Trophy next year. There is still eight ODIs and three T20Is before Australia play Test cricket again.Related

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But such is the nature of how Australians follow the men’s team, the long-term replacement for Warner in the Test side is of significant interest. Smith’s four-match run as an opener has been roundly picked apart. Team-mates, former players, commentators, columnists and fans have, with the exception of the odd voice, said he should be moved back to No. 4 despite Smith being the one who requested to open in the first place.Smith’s move allowed Cameron Green to return to the side at No. 4 and he responded with a match-winning 174 not out against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in March. Smith, however, endured a difficult tour of New Zealand as an opener. Having made 91 not out in his fourth innings in the role against the West Indies in January, proof in his own words that he could succeed in the role, he returned scores of 31, 0, 11 and 9 in Wellington and Christchurch on pitches that were very helpful for new-ball bowlers.Steven Smith made 91 against West Indies but had a lean time in New Zealand•Getty ImagesHis comments on the opening position since have been noteworthy. Back in January, he spoke about a desire to open to give himself a fresh challenge late in his career and suggested that he was in for the long haul. Since then, he hasn’t explicitly backtracked, but he did publicly note Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne’s comments about their preference for him to return to No. 4. Khawaja was particularly pointed this week in doing Smith’s bidding.”He’ll just probably never say it, so I’ll say it for him,” Khawaja told . “Opening is a very important spot … I still think we have the best Test player of my era in the side, in Steve Smith, and his best spot has been No. 4. I feel like the best balance for our team is Labuschagne three, Smith four.”It puts Australia’s selectors in a bind. Coach Andrew McDonald said on last week that no decision had been made and discussions were ongoing, although he reinforced that, barring injury, the incumbent top six from the New Zealand series would remain as the top six for the first Test against India. There will likely be an indication of the plans when the multi-format players are available for Shield cricket next month.So, if it’s not Smith who opens alongside Khawaja, which it still could be, then who is it?Marnus Labuschagne’s moving up one spot could be an option•Getty ImagesMarnus LabuschagneThis represents the simplest and least disruptive option to the current status quo, although it doesn’t get Smith back to No. 4. Labuschagne and Smith could simply swap positions in the order. Labuschagne has opened 15 times in first-class cricket including as recently as May this year when he made 111 for Glamorgan against Middlesex. He has as much experience opening in first-class cricket as Smith, Green, Travis Head, and Mitchell Marsh combined, with Green and Marsh having never done it.Labuschagne only averages 34.86 opening in first-class cricket but he has scored two centuries, including one at the WACA back in 2016 when he was still trying to establish himself as a first-class player. He’s also walked out to bat eight times in Test cricket with his team yet to score and countless other times in the opening overs.Smith has eight Test centuries batting at No. 3 and averages 67.07 in that spot, higher than his 61.50 at No. 4, but he has not batted there since 2017. Part of Smith’s desire to open was driven by the fact he had become frustrated by waiting too long to bat at No. 4 and first drop could be a comfortable halfway house for him. It would also mean that Green, Head and Marsh stay in their preferred spots at Nos. 4, 5 and 6.But moving Labuschagne up from No. 3, where he has 11 Test centuries and averages 51.78, to open only to get Smith back to No. 3 might not appease the masses let alone Smith, Labuschagne and Khawaja.Giving Cameron Green a chance to settle in the middle order would appear the preferred outcome•Getty ImagesCameron GreenThere was a brief period prior to Warner’s retirement when there was a very real possibility that Green could open the batting. Green was preparing for it, spending time with batting coach Michael Di Venuto facing the new ball during Warner’s final Test in Sydney when the allrounder was running the drinks. The selectors were seriously weighing up the option in their desire to pick their best six batters and add a sixth bowling option. Green was only spared the monumental task when Smith put his hand up.Moving him to open just two Tests after he made a career-defining 174 not out at No. 4 in Wellington seems an undesirable option. Former Australia allrounder Shane Watson said earlier this year that Green had the skill to do it, with Watson having done it successfully as an allrounder. But captain Pat Cummins is already bracing for his two allrounders in Green and Marsh to have heavier bowling workloads in an intense and condensed five-match series against India.Asking Green to add the opening role to his heavy portfolio would limit his bowling availability. Green is also on record stating that No. 4 is his preferred position, having dominated in that role for Western Australia, saying he feels a lot more comfortable there than he does at No. 6.Could Travis Head carry is blazing strokeplay to the top of the order?•Getty ImagesTravis HeadKhawaja has nominated Head as the best option to partner him and allow Smith to move back to No. 4. It is a theory that is gaining legs publicly, particularly given Head’s white-ball wizardry at the top of the order and that he has opened the batting in Test cricket in India. But Australia’s selectors made it very clear at the time that it was a horses for courses move to allow Head to try and get his side off to a rollicking start in conditions where the new ball rarely shifts sideways and there is very little extra bounce.Head’s mediocre record starting against spin in the subcontinent was also a factor. He was shifted back to No. 5 the moment Australia left India and immediately pounded 163 in the World Test Championship final against the same opposition. Head could well open the batting in Sri Lanka later in the summer, but the selectors clearly prefer his counterattacking brilliance at No. 5 in home conditions.Head was asked last summer about potentially opening ahead of Warner’s farewell and said his preference was to remain at No. 5 in Australian conditions, although it is unknown whether his stance has shifted.It is understandable how Head has become a viable candidate in many people’s eyes given his dominance at the top of the order in limited-overs cricket over the last 12 months. But it needs to be remembered that’s Warner’s ability to translate a devastating limited-overs opening record into becoming Australia’s most prolific Test opener in history made him a unicorn in Australian cricket. Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist were outstanding ODI openers but remained counterattacking middle-order players in Test cricket for good reason.There is one global example that could give Australia’s selectors pause to consider Head as a full-time opener. India’s Rohit Sharma started his first-class and Test career as a middle-order player while being a powerhouse at the top in white-ball cricket. Now he has carved out an excellent Test record as an opener in all conditions. Moving Head would allow Smith to move back to No. 4 and Green can slot in at No. 5 where he also has an outstanding first-class record.Mitchell Marsh’s counterattacking has been key at No. 6•AFP/Getty ImagesMitchell MarshThe case against both Green and Head also applies to Marsh. The West Australian has also made it very clear he would not be comfortable moving to the top of the order after taking so long to find his happy place at No. 6. He was Australia’s most consistent Test batter last summer and rescued the side time and again with bold counterattacking innings coming in at four-down.He has also been explicit in saying that his technique is not suited to batting any higher in the order, let alone against the opposition’s best fast bowlers with a brand-new ball in seaming and bouncing conditions. Marsh’s record in Shield cricket is testament to that where he remarkably averages just 29.98 for WA across 95 innings and has never batted higher than No. 5.Like Green his bowling will be important across the summer, but his body is more fragile than Green’s and will need even more management and rest. It is for that reason he could potentially not bowl a ball on Australia’s 11-game white-ball tour of the UK.Like Head, Marsh’s form against the new ball in white-ball cricket has led to calls to use him at the top of order in Test cricket to accommodate Smith moving back down. Marsh would do anything for the team and would give it his best shot if he was asked to do it, but it is unlikely the selectors would put him in that position given they are getting career-best form out of him.

And have two Tests ever played out simultaneously in the same country?

Steven Lynch06-Aug-2024For a while last week there were two Test matches going on at the same time in the United Kingdom. Is there any previous instance of two men’s Tests in the same country at the same time? asked Russ King from England
You’re right that the one-off Test between Ireland and Zimbabwe in Belfast and England’s third Test against West Indies at Edgbaston were being played at the same time. Unlike Dublin, where Ireland played their inaugural Test in 2018, Belfast is in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, so two Tests were thus being played in the same country at the same time. This has never happened before, although there was a near-miss in India in 2019: India played Bangladesh in Kolkata from November 22-24, then Afghanistan took on West Indies at Lucknow on November 27.It’s not quite the same question, but there have been two occasions when England were playing Test matches at the same time in two different countries: in 1929-30, two of the four Tests of both England’s tours of New Zealand and the West Indies were played on some of the same dates. There was also a near-miss early in 1892, when an England side took on South Africa in Cape Town from March 19 to 22, and another team in Australia started the third and final Test against Australia in Adelaide on March 24.Zimbabwe’s new wicketkeeper Clive Madande conceded 42 byes in the first innings against Ireland recently. Was this the worst on debut? asked Blake Forrester from Australia
The unfortunate Clive Madande had a largely forgettable Test debut against Ireland in Belfast last month. First he bagged a golden duck when he batted on the first day, then conceded 42 byes in Ireland’s modest total of 250.That’s not just the most conceded by a wicketkeeper on debut, it’s the most by a keeper in any Test innings. The previous record was 37, conceded by England’s Frank Woolley in an Australian total of 327 at The Oval in 1934. Woolley did have an excuse: he was 47, and not a regular wicketkeeper – he’d been pressed into service after Les Ames injured his back.There are also two cases of a wicketkeeper allowing 35 byes in a Test innings: Dinesh Karthik for India in Pakistan’s 537 in Bengaluru in 2007-08, and England’s Matt Prior against West Indies (544) in Port-of-Spain in 2008-09.The previous highest on Test debut was 28, by Hanif Mohammad in Pakistan’s inaugural Test against India in Delhi in 1952-53. Perhaps taking the hint, Hanif soon gave up keeping and concentrated on his batting.I noticed that during Ireland’s Test win over Zimbabwe recently, all their players took a catch during the match. How often has this happened in a Test? asked Michael Bradbury from Ireland
You’re right that all 11 of Ireland’s players made a contribution in the field to their exciting win over Zimbabwe in Belfast last month. There’s only one other Test in which all 11 players on one side took a catch, by New Zealand in Wellington in 2022-23. Actually New Zealand went one better, as 12 men – including substitute Will Young – held on to a catch over both Sri Lanka’s innings. There are 19 instances of ten players taking a catch in a match, but no other 11s.Rashid Khan and Paul Stirling both took six-fors in the same ODI in Greater Noida in 2017•AP Photo/Tsering TopgyalAre there any one-day or T20Is in which two bowlers took six wickets? asked Graham McAllister from England
There’s a grand total of one white-ball international that fits the bill here. In an ODI in Greater Noida in India in March 2017, Rashid Khan took 6 for 43 as Afghanistan (who had earlier made 338) restricted Ireland to 304. You might expect Rashid to do this sort of thing, but the identity of the Irishman who did well with the ball earlier in the day might surprise you: it was Paul Stirling, whose offbreaks brought him 6 for 55. He’s taken 37 wickets in 160 other ODIs. There have been no such instances yet in T20Is, or in women’s white-ball matches.There also remains a solitary ODI in which two bowlers from the same side took five wickets apiece, and again the gentlemen concerned were hardly known as demon bowlers. For Australia against England at Edgbaston in June 1977, shortly before that summer’s Ashes series started, Greg Chappell took 5 for 20, and his fellow medium-pacer Gary Cosier 5 for 18. “We both, at our lower pace, made the ball bend in the air and seam off the pitch,” said Chappell, “and with the help of some undistinguished batting from the England batsmen, whose footwork often left a lot to be desired, we finished off the innings for 171.” Unfortunately for Australia’s captain, his own side’s batting was even more undistinguished, as they collapsed to 70 all out. “A humiliating scoreline – and I regretted bitterly that England’s bowlers had had this ego boost so early in the summer.”I noticed that Riyan Parag’s first three international wickets were all bowled. Was this a record? And what’s the longest such streak at any point in a bowler’s career? Bowled is after all a special form of dismissal! asked Rahul Vats from the United States
It’s true that the Indian legspinner Riyan Parag’s first three wickets in internationals – in his fourth T20 match, against Sri Lanka in Pallekele late last month – were all out bowled. But Parag has a fair way to go to break the record: the Pakistan seamer Khan Mohammad (in Tests in the 1950s) and Luxembourg’s Ankush Nanda (in T20s against Turkey and the Czech Republic in 2019) both started by bowling their first seven victims. The England left-arm seamer Frank Foster (in the 1911-12 Ashes) and Bhutan’s Tenzin Wangchuk (in T20s between 2022 and 2024) both began with six.The most consecutive bowled dismissals by a bowler at any stage of their international career is ten, by England’s George Lohmann, all in the same Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in 1895-96. Four men managed nine: Johnny Briggs of England (also in a Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth, in 1888-89), South Africa’s Sandy Bell (in Tests against England in 1929 and 1930-31), Dinesh Nakrani of Uganda (T20s in October 2021) and Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus in T20s in July 2023, including all his victims against China in Kuala Lumpur. His 7 for 8 that day remain the best figures in T20Is.And there’s an Irish-themed update to one of last week’s questions, from Dave C from Ireland
“Just to point out, you missed one in your list of two-country players who also appeared against their former countries: one of Boyd Rankin’s Tests for Ireland was against England.” You’re right – Rankin won his only England cap in Sydney in 2013-14, then played in Ireland’s inaugural match against Pakistan in 2018, and against England at Lord’s the following year. That means ten of the 17 two-country players played Tests against their first team. Apologies to all for the slip – especially Boyd Rankin!Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Which one do you pick: the Ben Stokes epic at Headingley against Australia, or the time New Zealand overturned a follow-on to trump Bazballin’ England?

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The ENG-AUS 2019 Leeds Test moves into the quarter-finals.The Stokes show at Headingley, 2019A Test that might not have otherwise stayed for too long in the memory, it was the unbroken 76-run stand for the last wicket between Ben Stokes and Jack Leach that lifted it to where the greatest Test matches in history are clubbed together.And, of course, the fact that in those 76 runs, one batter scored 74 (in 45 balls) and the other 1 (in 17 balls)! Not to forget that the winners had scored 67 in their first innings and then hit 362 for 9 in a Test where 246 was the next-best total.Australia won the first Test and the second was drawn, so England wanted to win this one at Headingley to stay in the Ashes contest. But after Australia were bowled out for 179 in the first innings, all England could put up was 67, with Joe Denly top-scoring with 12. Back to Australia, and this time they put up 246.Was the pitch getting better for batting? It didn’t seem so when England were 15 for 2 in their chase of 359, and then 159 for 4 with Joe Root gone, and then 286 for 9. Stokes, the No. 5, was on 61 at the time. Off 174 balls.But with last-man Leach for company, Stokes switched something on. He hit four fours and seven sixes from that point, keeping Leach away from the strike as much as possible, before finishing it off with a flay through the covers off Pat Cummins. Done and dusted!New Zealand go from follow-on to victory – Wellington, 2023New Zealand became only the fourth team in Test history to win after being asked to follow-on when they beat England by one run in Wellington.With Harry Brook and Joe Root scoring hundreds, England Bazballed their way to 435 for 8 declared. In response, New Zealand slipped to 103 for 7 before folding for 209, and were asked to follow on.The second innings was completely different. Led by Kane Williamson’s 132, Tom Blundell’s 90 and Tom Latham’s 83, they set England 258 to win.With more than a day left, England would have still fancied their chances. But they collapsed to 80 for 5 within 22 overs. Ben Stokes decided to drop the anchor, while Root did the bulk of the scoring. They took England past 200 but fell soon after.It came down to the last pair with seven to get. Jack Leach got off the mark with a single, as he had during the famous Headingley Test of the 2019 Ashes. But this time it was James Anderson, and not Stokes, at the other end. Anderson did smash a four but then edged Neil Wagner down the leg side for Blundell to complete a diving catch and the win.