In-built resilience to this India side separates it from their recent global-tournament predecessors

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Oct-20231:58

Kumble: KL Rahul looks like he’s back to his original self

2 for 3. If you’re an India fan, you probably saw flashbacks of 6 for 2 and 5 for 3 when you watched Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood cut through your top order on Sunday.Not again, you may have pleaded, beseeching whichever force you believe shapes the day-to-day destiny of the universe. Please, not again.This wasn’t a Champions Trophy final or a World Cup semi-final. This was India’s opening match in a World Cup whose format allows teams to bounce back from early setbacks. But you had no desire to witness this, no desire to revisit the trauma of the not particularly distant past.This match, though, was not like those other matches in significant ways, and this became increasingly apparent as Virat Kohli – who survived a nervy early period that included a loose drive at a 13th-stump delivery and a dropped chance from a top-edged hook – and KL Rahul steered India out of trouble with a fourth-wicket stand of 165.Related

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At a fundamental level, two things about this India side are different to those of 2017 and 2019.One, India had the perfect attack for the conditions. This certainly wasn’t the case during the 2017 Champions Trophy, where they lacked outright wicket-taking ability in the middle overs. It cost them when they played on flatter pitches: Sri Lanka chased down 322 against them in the group stage, and Pakistan, sent in to bat in the final, cruised to 338 for 4.The bowling was less of an issue in 2019, but in that semi-final at Old Trafford, their pace attack perhaps suffered in comparison to New Zealand’s since they lacked a fourth fast bowler in overcast, seaming conditions.Now, on a sharp turner in Chennai, India had three seamers – with Hardik Pandya a significantly better bowler than he was four years ago – and three spinners of entirely different styles who combine stifling accuracy with the ability to give the ball a rip. This was a turning pitch that rewarded Test-match virtues, and R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are all accomplished Test spinners; most other spin attacks at this World Cup are made up of white-ball specialists. Australia have a major headache given they only have two frontline spinners in their squad, and that’s if you consider Glenn Maxwell to be one; Adam Zampa’s lack of control in this match was a key reason why India won so comfortably in the end.The control Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep exerted on Australia stifled their scoring long before they collapsed from 110 for 2 to 119 for 5. David Warner, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne added a combined 105 for the second and third wickets, but took 24.5 overs to do so. This was the kind of pitch where it was fraught with risk to hit good-length balls against the turn, and India’s spinners hardly ever veered from a good length while constantly keeping the stumps in play.The quality and experience of this attack ensured that India kept Australia down to well below what might have been a testing total. Even at 2 for 3, India knew two good partnerships would put them back on track.KL Rahul has occupied No. 5 consistently in the build-up to the tournament•Associated PressWhich brings us to the second major difference between this India and the India of 2017 and 2019. In 2017, the early loss of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli brought an ageing and well-past-his-best Yuvraj Singh to the crease. The batters to follow were MS Dhoni, who was beginning to show signs of slowing down, Kedar Jadhav, who had only batted 12 previous times in ODIs, and Hardik Pandya, who had only batted seven times.By 2019, Dhoni was two years older and playing what turned out to be his final ODI. Their middle order also included Rishabh Pant – who hadn’t been part of their original squad and was their fourth No. 4 of the tournament – and Dinesh Karthik – a reserve keeper who came into the side as a specialist batter after sitting out the bulk of the league phase. Their line-up in the semi-final looked nothing like the line-up they began the tournament with.On Sunday at Chepauk, India had Rahul at No. 5 – a position he’s occupied consistently in the build-up to the tournament, and where he averaged 50.43 coming into this World Cup – a Hardik who has vastly improved his innings-building skills over the last few years at No. 6, and Jadeja and Ashwin at Nos. 7 and 8. This may not be the most power-packed middle and lower-middle order at this World Cup, but it’s certainly one with quality and experience and batters playing roles they’re comfortable in.India could still have lost Sunday’s game, of course. Any team can lose from 2 for 3. But the India of 2023 are better set up to recover from that sort of situation. Their bowling, particularly on turning pitches, probably won’t concede too much more than par; and their batting has far fewer holes. This is why they’re favourites to win this World Cup.That, of course, is no guarantee of actually doing it. India could still get to the semi-finals or final and lose to a quality opponent. But that opponent might need to play at the very limits of their ability to make that happen, because there’s an in-built resilience to this India side, born of the quality and experience running through it, that separates it from their recent global-tournament predecessors.

The three-match series could give an indication of Chapman’s ability to fit into WIlliamson’s World Cup spot

Deivarayan Muthu16-Aug-2023Kyle Jamieson is finally back
After having recovered from back surgery, fast-bowling allrounder Kyle Jamieson is set to play his first international game in more than a year and first T20I since March 2021. With Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, and Blair Tickner all not part of the UAE series, this is Jamieson’s opportunity to prove his fitness and be the enforcer in the attack.Related

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Jamieson’s tall frame and propensity to generate extra bounce has been a point of difference for New Zealand’s attack in Test cricket and ODIs, but he is yet to crack the shortest format. He has played eight T20Is so far, conceding almost ten runs an over. Can he remedy those numbers and fare better in what will be his first white-ball international away from home?NZ’s next gen is here
Auckland legspinner Adithya Ashok and South Africa-born Otago batter Dean Foxcroft are the new faces in New Zealand’s squad for the three-match T20I series in the UAE.Ashok, 20, has played only 15 List A and 19 T20 games so far, but he has already been earmarked to become a future star for New Zealand. Ashok has a big-turning wrong’un in his repertoire and will slot in straight for senior legspinner Ish Sodhi, who is currently with Trent Rockets in the Hundred. Having recently played club cricket for Colchester & EECC in Essex, Ashok will have to quickly adjust to the Dubai conditions, where dew is usually a major factor.”I still don’t think it has sunk in,” Ashok told NZC media in the lead-up to his potential debut. “It’s slowly sinking in…things like getting my kit and training – that’s when it starts to feel a bit more real. It’s a kid-in-the-candy-store type vibe and it was really cool, special moment for me. Also being away from home and things like that it’s pretty cool to go on a journey where it’s not like it’s quite expected as well, so the surprise is really pleasant.”Foxcroft, 25, had thought that his New Zealand career was over when he was locked out of the country when Covid-19 hit. What was supposed to be a six-week visit to South Africa eventually turned out to be a frustrating two-year-long stay because of the pandemic. Foxcroft is now on the brink of making his long-awaited international debut for New Zealand after having dominated the most recent Super Smash T20 tournament with his big-hitting and quickish offspin. Foxcroft has also had T20 – and T10 – exposure outside of New Zealand, with stints in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Oman D10 league.Adithya Ashok has played 15 List A and 19 T20 games so far•ICC via GettyChapman’s chance to push his WC case
The last time Mark Chapman batted for New Zealand in a T20I, he played a blinder in Rawalpindi, his 57-ball 104 forming the centerpiece of a successful chase of 194 against an attack that included Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Shadab Khan. That innings put Chapman in New Zealand’s ODI World Cup frame. With Kane Williamson unlikely to start the World Cup for New Zealand, a batting spot is up for grabs. If Chapman produces similar powerful performances in the UAE and the UK, he could be a contender for that slot in India.UAE are a familiar opponent for Chapman. Overall, he has played six matches against them – all for Hong Kong – scoring 336 runs, including an unbeaten 124 in Dubai in 2015.More international exposure for UAE
It’s not often that UAE get to host two Full-Member nations in a span of two months. After making West Indies work hard for their 3-0 ODI series win in June earlier this year, UAE are gearing up for the New Zealand challenge with some new faces as well as old ones.Allrounder Mohammed Faraazuddin and left-arm fingerspinner Jash Giyanani are the two newbies in the side, with the selectors rewarding them for their good performances for the A team in the ACC Men’s Emerging Cup in Sri Lanka. But there is no room for legspinner Karthik Meiyappan.Fingerspin-bowling allrounder Aayan Afzal Khan and captain Muhammad Waseem, who were both in action in the recently concluded Global T20 Canada, are among the UAE players to watch out for in this series.

Brave’s local core have stepped up after big-name departures – but can they finally win the trophy?

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Aug-2023Since the Hundred began in 2021, Southern Brave have been a constant presence in the women’s final. This Sunday, they will be hoping it is third time lucky.A 48-run blowout in 2021 was followed by an equally chastening loss by five wickets with six balls to spare in 2022.Both came at the hands of Oval Invincibles – and specifically, their South African allrounder Marizanne Kapp, who was player of the match on both occasions. This time, however, the defending champions are nowhere to be seen, knocked out in the group stages by – yep, you’ve guessed it – Brave.It was a victory head coach Charlotte Edwards believes was cathartic for a core who had been on the wrong end of an all-too-familiar nemesis. And though they await a new final boss at Lord’s on Sunday after beating Manchester Originals on Wednesday to assume the number one spot outright, they won’t be planning any differently.”We’re not going to do anything differently,” Edwards tells ESPNcricinfo, “and we’re not going to talk about it. Because I don’t think we need to.”The girls know what’s at stake. And if we don’t win, it’s been unbelievable because in a tournament like this, winning as many games as we have… The players play the game, I don’t. I think they deserve to win a trophy, they massively do when you look at our record for the last three years. But that doesn’t mean anything on Finals Day. We just hope we turn up.”Marizanne Kapp has been Southern Brave’s nemesis in Hundred finals•Getty ImagesThat record Edwards speaks of is an impressive 20 wins out of 25. They have only ever lost one group stage game in each of their three campaigns, with 2023’s coming against Welsh Fire in their second match.Despite their undoubted pedigree, Brave came into this season with a degree of trepidation. They were rocked by the March’s draft, losing dynamic England batter Sophia Dunkley to Welsh Fire and Australian legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington to Manchester Originals: 437 runs at 36.51 across 16 innings and last year’s leading wicket-taker with 17, respectively.”We were probably hit quite badly in the draft in terms of some of our main players being taken away,” reflects Edwards. “If you’d have told me straight after the draft that we’d be in the final leading the group, I would have been quite surprised. You never know how a new group are going to knit together, but I’ve just been so impressed by how the players have just stood up into different roles.”Those players are homegrown staples of Edwards’ domestic team, Southern Vipers. Maia Bouchier’s 264 runs – the second-most in the competition – has compensated for Dunkley’s absence, while the unlikely offspin of Georgia Adams has replaced Wellington in the XI and at the top of the Hundred’s wicket-taking charts with 16 dismissals.Maia Bouchier is Brave’s top run-scorer this season•Getty ImagesBouchier’s emergence as a top-order batter has been recognised by England, who will use her as an opener for the upcoming limited-overs matches against Sri Lanka. This Hundred, she boasts a strike rate of 138.21 and has strung together a number of key innings, including a standout unbeaten 63 to chase a target of 105 against London Spirit in an 85-ball affair at Lord’s. Her 47 not out took Brave over the line against Originals.None of this is a coincidence in the eyes of Edwards, who had firm belief in Bouchier’s potential against the new ball: “We had a conversation at the start of the season and I said, ‘look, I think you can open the batting for England.’ So she opened the batting for Vipers at 50-over and T20.”I couldn’t get her in here [for Brave] opening, because Smiriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt have been so good. But I said to her, ‘you’re going to be No. 3 and are going to have a massive platform to show everyone what you can do.'”I genuinely believe at the moment she is the most rounded player in that top order. She can hit straight down the ground; she’s got lots of options; she’s technically very, very good. And there’s no surprise England have said we want to open with her in the series coming up against Sri Lanka.”

“It’s such a massive tournament for women’s cricket. And I think it’s been another brilliant year and it would be a mistake if it was taken away.”Charlotte Edwards on the Hundred’s future

As for Adams, who has also pitched in with 109 runs in the middle order, her bowling has exceeded expectation. “I think quite surprised,” jokes Edwards. “I think what teams have done in the past is probably underestimate her. I don’t think they have now. But she’s been pivotal.”I signed her last year thinking she’d be our sixth bowler. Now she’s a guaranteed new-ball bowler. Her strike rate is brilliant and the economy is great. She’s been unbelievable – and at No. 4 as well, she’s played some crucial knocks.”Remarkably, Brave have only used 12 players so far. They might have only needed 11 had Lauren Bell not been rested for the first two matches to manage her workloads off the back of the Women’s Ashes.18-year-old Mary Taylor filled in more than capably, taking 3 for 18 against Trent Rockets on her Brave debut. At the other end of the career spectrum, Anya Shrubsole, who will retire after Sunday’s final, has been ever-present as captain.Anya Shrubsole will sign off from professional cricket at Lord’s on Sunday•ECB/Getty ImagesMissing Saturday’s Eliminator at the Oval, which will be played out between Northern Superchargers and Welsh Fire, ensures Shrubsole’s continued presence in the XI. “We didn’t want to play the Eliminator for Anya, because we didn’t think two days back-to-back would be good,” explains Edwards. “So she will be raring and ready come Sunday.”Picking from a small pool has been the Edwards way throughout her coaching career. Most recently, in the inaugural Women’s Premier League, she relied on 12 to guide Mumbai Indians to the title.”If you look at a lot of the teams I’ve been involved in, there’s not been much movement. I’ve tried to stick with players. A lot of people were saying about Freya Kemp only scoring a few runs – we all had the belief in her that she was going to go out there and do something magnificent.” It came in that victory against Invincibles, when she hit a vital 41* off 21 balls.”I made a conscious effort this year of actually putting some real youngsters on the sidelines. We’ve got some of the Under-19 World Cup finalists. I wanted to look at the future a little bit. I think the worst thing you can do is have on your bench people who think they should be playing. And I think I’ve had that in previous years. So I’ve tried to blood a new group of players coming through.”Related

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As the final weekend approaches on what has been the Hundred’s best season across the men’s and women’s codes, based on attendances, merchandise sales, digital engagement and, crucially, on-field quality, speculation about its future rages on.In Edwards’ opinion – one which carries weight as one of England’s greatest batters, captains and, now, coaches – any changes to the competition, especially getting rid of it outright, would be “a massive mistake”.”If anyone has been to any Southern Brave home games, every game we’ve had 10,000 people there. We’ve got massive support down there, the players love it, I love it. It’s such a massive tournament for women’s cricket. And I think it’s been another brilliant year and it would be a mistake if it was taken away.”The eight regions are driving the women’s and girls’ game now and I think it’s proved in the last three years how much improvement we’ve seen with the youngsters coming through. We were on the verge of beating Australia, which hasn’t happened for a while.”It’s working. We’ve got to stick with it and hopefully everyone will invest in the women’s game, from counties to regions. This is a massive platform for these girls and it prepares them for international cricket I believe.”

Tactics board: Where the second semi-final between Australia and South Africa, in Kolkata, could be won or lost

Sidharth Monga14-Nov-20235:37

Finch on Australia’s champion mentality in World Cup knockouts

Australia are the second-quickest starters with the bat, and the second-most miserly starters with the ball. South Africa have been slow starters with the bat – even slower than Pakistan and Afghanistan – but explosive with the ball, taking more powerplay wickets than any other team. South Africa have recent form on their side, having beaten Australia in their last four encounters, including once in the group stages of this World Cup. Australia, though, have the momentum of having won seven matches on the trot, plus some knockout ghosts to remind South Africa of. These are some of the tactical moves to watch out for as they face off in Kolkata.What to do at the toss?
No secrets there. South Africa want to avoid chasing, and Australia want them to chase. Even when winning against Pakistan and Afghanistan when chasing, they huffed and puffed their way through. All their four recent wins against Australia have come batting first.There might be some respite for South Africa though. There is a forecast for some rain in the evening. If this forecast convinces Australia to chase or cuts short the duration of South Africa’s chase, it could mitigate South Africa’s chasing troubles.Related

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Still, expect both sides to risk the dew or the rain because the advantage to be gained by batting first is too big to ignore.Weighing up team combinations
Unlike India and New Zealand in the first semi-final, these teams have one selection doubt each. Australia have to choose between Marnus Labuschagne and Marcus Stoinis. Labuschagne brings more solidity to the middle after the explosive top three whereas Stoinis in theory brings both powerful hitting lower down the order and a sixth bowling option. Current form – and indeed sentiment – is with Labuschagne, especially with some solidity required in the middle overs, but expect Australia to play him only if they are confident in Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh helping out with the ball as their fifth bowler is Glenn Maxwell. Also, Labuschagne’s record against left-arm spin can go against him because he will have to face a lot of Keshav Maharaj in the middle.South Africa played Tabraiz Shamsi in their league game in Kolkata. Shamsi didn’t have a great game, but they did read the conditions well: there was enough in the pitch for him and other spinners. This will be a conditions-based toss-up between Shamsi and Gerald Coetzee, the latter bringing some hitting lower down the order.Put pressure on Starc
Mitchell Starc hasn’t had many chances to bowl with a moving ball this World Cup, which partly explains his economy rate of 6.55 and average of 43.9. It hasn’t swung or seamed much in Kolkata either. So, especially if they are chasing, South Africa might want to target Starc because we have seen that generally if you fall behind in a chase this tournament, there is no way back.Australia might go for Marnus Labuschagne over Marcus Stoinis as he brings more solidity to the middle•AFP/Getty ImagesMaxwell before Zampa?
In his last three matches against South Africa, Adam Zampa has averaged 63.25 and gone at 8.43 an over. Expect Australia to go to Maxwell before Zampa not least because Quinton de Kock hasn’t quite liked offspin of late. His strike rate against offspin this World Cup has been 78.37; his release shot against them, the reverse-sweep, has got him out twice in six attempts.The problem for South Africa is that Temba Bavuma has even worse numbers against offspin. If there does come a situation where de Kock is stuck against Maxwell, they will need Rassie van der Dussen and those following to compensate.Reverse-swing on the cards
South Africa’s plan has been to start steadily and keep constantly accelerating. They have been the most explosive side at the death. However, do remember that Pakistan found reverse in Kolkata. That means the square is dry. Getting the old ball going will be a must for Australia if they don’t take early wickets.South Africa will look for the same if they end up bowling first. So watch out for a lot of cross-seam bowling, and umpires stopping fielders from returning the ball on the bounce.Target Jansen
Marco Jansen has been one of the big reasons South Africa have been successful in this World Cup. Even when he is not swinging the ball, his height gives him a big advantage. However, there have been two games where he has gone for more than 90. Once when Kusal Mendis got stuck into him, and once when he started waywardly, possibly out of nerves, and then Rohit Sharma took advantage.The trends suggest that Jansen is a handful if he gets into his groove. Australia will likely want Head and Marsh to go after him and see if he cracks, while David Warner bats normally at the other end. The first ten overs of Australia’s innings promise to be delicious either way.Maharaj key in the middle
South Africa will hope that the quicks have got past the top three by the time they introduce Maharaj because Steven Smith and Labuschagne don’t quite prefer left-arm spin. Ravindra Jadeja got them both out in Chennai, and Mitchell Santner managed to shut them off in Dharamsala. Even Josh Inglis, who comes in after the pair, is a right-hand batter. In the last match between these two sides, Maharaj dismissed Maxwell and Labuschagne.

Days after SA and NZ faced each other in an epic Rugby World Cup final, the two countries meet again at the Cricket World Cup

Firdose Moonda31-Oct-20232:16

Van der Dussen: Taking ‘massive inspiration’ from the Springboks’ feat

The match that matters most has already been won. By South Africa. 12-11 on Saturday night in the City of Lights to make them world champions for a record fourth time. Yes, this is a cricket website. No, nothing about this part of the story is about cricket.In rugby’s fiercest rivalry, the Springboks and All Blacks met at the World Cup final in Paris during the weekend in a match that has been lauded as one of the greatest games the sport has ever seen. It was a nerve-shredder, as you can probably tell from the score-line, and ended with both teams down to 14 players and plenty of tears.Four days later, these two countries meet again, though the stakes are much lower this time. South Africa and New Zealand sit second and third on the points table respectively and a lot would have to go wrong for either of them to miss out on the semi-final, where they could play each other again. That’s not to say it’s impossible for things to unravel but it would also be fair to look at this as a dress rehearsal rather than a do-or-die. And for South Africa it could actually be the start, because the country’s attention will now shift to cricket and the expectation that was largely absent from their campaign is going to pile on in multiples.With two months left in 2023, South Africans are starting to think it may finally be their time because this has been a year of unprecedented success. “All the momentum within the sport was started by the women in the start of the year, with them getting into the [T20 World Cup final],” Temba Bavuma, South Africa men’s captain, said after their win against Pakistan in Chennai. “I think it’s been a bit of pressure for us as the Proteas to keep the momentum going. We’re doing well so far and we’ll take the inspiration and motivation from all those performances from our other national teams.”Related

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The “other” national teams also include the national women’s football team, who became the first senior side to advance out of the group stage at the football World Cup but is dominated by the Springboks, who have unified South Africa in a way nothing and no-one else has been able to. And for the cricketers that is something to strive to emulate.”We take massive inspiration from them, – massive learnings and lessons from them as a team; from how they go about things, what they stand for and the purpose they play for,” Rassie van der Dussen said ahead of the New Zealand match. “Siya (Kolisi – the Springbok captain) mentioned in a press conference that if you’re not from South Africa, you don’t really understand what it means or what sporting achievement means for us.”So what does it mean and why is it different to anywhere else? Surely winning is an opioid of the masses everywhere? Not so, explains van der Dussen. “What the Springboks and sport shows is when you get things right and you do things the right way, what you can achieve. Good things happen to good people. And that Springbok team – that’s what they are. They are all hard-working, good South Africans with a real humility about them, and a real hunger for success and it shows when you are willing to put differences aside what is possible for a country like ours.”South Africa have been on a roll in this World Cup•ICC via Getty ImagesAnd that’s the rub of it. Beyond having well-functioning systems that result in collective achievement, sport in South Africa is one of the most front-facing parts of society that speaks to the legacies of division and slowly and painfully, some cohesion. Sport was an essential part of the politics of Apartheid, which kept racial groups segregated and saw all-white teams take the field, and the resistance against it, when people of colour continued playing despite all the obstacles put in their way and with the knowledge they would never represent the country. Cricket was the first (and to date only) sport that has had a reckoning with race and it was recent. The Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings took place just over two years ago and tore the game apart. It has started to come back and to borrow the Springboks slogan, it appears that the cricketers are stronger together.”The situations we’ve faced in the past three years – Covid-19, BLM, SJN and various political stories we have had back home as a team, forced us to pull together,” van der Dussen said. “It’s had the effect of us being really tight off the field as well. Between any two members of the squad there is a real connection. We are blessed in a sense that we are in a good space now because we’ve had to deal with a lot of controversy over the past three years.”But could all of that, along with the very fresh success of the Springboks, combine to make this also the cricketers’ year? Coach Rob Walter tried to play it down. “I don’t think it [the expectation] has become any more because the Boks have won,” he said. “It’s an inspiration as to how they won and hopefully that can catalyse us moving forward. Maybe the media attention will shift to us now. We’ve spoken about it as a team as to what we can take as opposed to how it impacts us for a pressure point of view. Rugby is rugby and they have been very successful over a long period of time. We are trying to take care of our own business here.”2:38

Are expectations high from SA after the country’s Rugby World Cup triumph?

That’s sensible and sobering because while the Springboks have won four World Cups, the Proteas have not even reached one final and despite all the warm and fuzzies South Africans are feeling now, it’s too early to be thinking about that. The immediate challenge is three more group games, starting with New Zealand, a team South Africa have been poor against at World Cups.South Africa have lost five of their last World Cup encounters against New Zealand, including at the 2011 quarterfinal and 2015 semi-final, and six of eight all told. They last beat New Zealand at the World Cup in 1999.The same statistic was true for Pakistan (though they did not play them in 2003, 2007 and 2011) and when they looked shaky on 250 for 8 chasing 271 in Chennai, people were clearing their throats to say the word choke and bringing up South Africa’s storied and scarred World Cup history.

“You realise that fans have been really scarred by previous performances and you really can’t criticise them for feeling that way”Rassie van der Dussen

Almost all South African squads have said the ghosts of tournaments past do not haunt them and most are believable to a point – the point where they crash out. This side, still very much in, is perhaps the most believable because of how they see the reasons that people keep bringing up their previous failings.”You realise that fans have been really scarred by previous performances and you really can’t criticise them for feeling that way, and for criticism to come from a place of hurt,” van der Dussen said. “But personally, and it goes for most of the people in the squad and management team, we haven’t lived that. So it’s not really applicable to us. It’s things that have happened and they love replaying the scenes whenever we take the field and that’s fine but it’s not something that is affecting us. It’s part of history. But it’s certainly not part of us as a team.”And so they move forward, as a team looking to carve out their own identity in a year where being “South African” has taken on more meaning.As for New Zealand, despite getting to the last two finals and losing them, they don’t face the same scrutiny, have even less media coverage than South Africa at this event, and as a playing group, don’t even seem too affected by the All Blacks defeat. They’ll also take some cues from their more famous and successful sporting counterparts which makes the narrative around Wednesday’s match more about two countries’ sporting stories than just two cricket teams.”When you look at the All Blacks as a whole, they’ve played some great rugby throughout this World Cup. The Kiwi way is we look to scrap the whole way,” Tom Latham said. “Obviously faced with a little bit of adversity in terms of being down to 14 men, but it’s something we talk about in our team as well, we scrap right to the end regardless of the situation.”

In his second game after a two-month break, Kohli serves a reminder with an explosive innings at Chinnaswamy

Hemant Brar26-Mar-20242:11

Moody: Kohli showed all his gears

The boisterous Chinnaswamy crowd had gone quiet towards the end of Punjab Kings’ innings as Shashank Singh carted Alzarri Joseph for two sixes and a four in a 20-run final over.That lifted Kings to 176 for 6. Given the average first-innings total in Bengaluru last IPL was 196, it felt below par. But this was not a typical Chinnaswamy pitch where you could hit through the line. It had just enough grass covering and help for both seamers and spinners.Just like the RCB bowlers, Sam Curran also found movement with the new ball, and drew a false shot from Virat Kohli first up. But the thick outside edge did not carry to short third.Related

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On the next ball, Kohli was even luckier. This time the outside edge burst through Jonny Bairstow’s hands at first slip. Usually, the first-slip fielder stands one metre behind the wicketkeeper, but Bairstow was right next to Jitesh Sharma and, therefore, had little time to react.From there on, it was a Kohli innings like no other. On the third ball of the over, he came down the track, cut the movement, and creamed it through the covers. By the end of the first over, he had found two more boundaries, and the Chinnaswamy faithful went “Aaar Ceee Beee! Aaar Ceee Beee!”Next in the firing line was Kagiso Rabada. Before Monday, Rabada had dismissed Kohli three times in 24 balls while conceding just 27. Here, on Rabada’s very first ball, a length delivery around off stump, Kohli jumped out of his crease and smashed it over extra cover. In the next over, he meted out the same treatment to Arshdeep Singh.In his first 15 balls, Kohli had hit eight fours and raced away to 33. It was the most runs he had scored off his first 15 balls in a T20, and his eight boundaries were the joint-most by an RCB batter after four overs in an innings.And he was not slogging. He rarely does. When Arshdeep slipped in a slower ball, he delayed his shot and opened the face at the last moment to steer it past a diving Bairstow for four.In the sixth over, Kohli got another reprieve when he mistimed Curran to the left of short midwicket, but Rahul Chahar could not latch on to it despite a full-length dive.1:46

Rapid fire review: A 10/10 innings from Virat Kohli

It is after the powerplay that Kohli generally drops the anchor. Since the start of 2020, his middle-overs strike rate in the IPL is 117.53. But on Monday, he kept playing attacking cricket and scored at a strike rate of 150 in the middle overs.Previously, he had scored only 32 runs off 37 balls against Chahar in the IPL. Here, the first ball he faced from the legspinner, Kohli smashed it over extra cover for a six.Kohli brought up his fifty in 31 balls – his 100th score of 50 or more in T20s. But there was no celebration – just a thumbs-up to acknowledge the applause from the dressing room. The reason was that while Kohli himself was off to a flying start, RCB were behind the asking rate. Moreover, they had lost Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green for a combined six runs.Harpreet Brar then bowled Rajat Patidar for a run-a-ball 18 and Glenn Maxwell for 3. But Kohli singlehandedly kept RCB alive.When Kohli was India’s captain, one of the things he demanded from his batters was intent, even in Tests. “Intent does not mean you have to go out and start playing shots from ball one,” he once explained. “Intent is there in a leave. Intent is there in defending as well. Intent is about being vocal out there in calling.”That may be true in Test cricket, but in T20s, intent means only one thing: playing your shots. And that is exactly what Kohli did against Kings. As per ESPNcricinfo’s logs, he attacked 11 balls in the powerplay, the most he has ever done in T20 cricket. In the middle overs, he attacked 14, the second-most in his career.

“I know my name is nowadays quite attached to just promoting the game in many parts of the world when it comes to T20 cricket. But still got it, I guess.”Virat Kohli

There could be a couple of reasons behind it. With the T20 World Cup in June, this is the way the Indian team wants him to bat. Secondly, RCB’s batting depth might also have freed him up. Green joined them before this season; Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik had made handy contributions in the previous game; they had an extra batter in Mahipal Lomror, slotted at No. 8, against Kings.Kohli eventually fell for 77 off 49 balls, slicing Harshal Patel straight to deep-backward point. RCB still needed 47 from four overs at that point, but Karthik and Lomror took them home with four balls to spare.”I was very disappointed I could not finish the game; that ball was in the slot,” Kohli said after being named the Player of the Match. “But yeah, not a bad start for playing after two months and getting into the tournament.”Talking about his mindset while batting, he said: “In T20 cricket, as I am opening here, I try to give the team a blazing start. But if the wickets fall from the other end, you have to understand the conditions as well.”The wicket was not as placid as Bangalore usually is. It was a bit two-paced. And I thought I needed to play correct cricketing shots. Playing across the line was not quite working; I tried a few.”What about his lofted cover drives after coming down the pitch to Rabada and Arshdeep?”They know I play the cover drive pretty well,” he said. “So they are not going to allow me to hit through the gaps. And with guys like KG [Rabada], and Arshdeep as well – he is also tall, if they are hitting [good] length, you have to create some momentum into the ball. Once you are closer to the ball, you kind of negate the bounce; you meet it earlier.”You have to come up with a plan here and there, and try to keep improving your game. I know my name is nowadays quite attached to just promoting the game in many parts of the world when it comes to T20 cricket. But still got it, I guess.”Who could have disagreed?

With New Zealand playing Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India in the subcontinent over next four months, their young batters were focusing on playing spin

Deivarayan Muthu01-Jul-2024Two days after New Zealand’s golden era ended in Tarouba, some members of their next generation were hard at work in Chennai. The city in south India has become something of a satellite office for New Zealand cricket in India, thanks to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) connection.Spin-bowling allrounder Dean Foxcroft, top-order batter Tim Robinson and wicketkeeper-batter Mitch Hay, three of New Zealand’s brightest young talents, were countering local spinners with a variety of sweeps at both the indoor and outdoor nets at the Super Kings Academy. The trio spent two weeks in Chennai with an old friend Sriram Krishnamurthy, the former New Zealand A and Wellington coach who is currently the coach of the Super Kings Academy at CSK, and Paul Wiseman, NZC’s talent ID manager, getting exposed to black- and red-soil pitches and playing T20 games against Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) sides.With New Zealand in rebuild mode following the first-round exit at the T20 World Cup – and with the team scheduled to play Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India in the subcontinent over the next four months – this was a good time for the next-gen New Zealand batters to spend the winter on slow, turning pitches.Related

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Foxcroft, 26, and Robinson, 22, have already played for New Zealand, while Hay, 23, is on the fringes of national selection, having impressed both in the four-day Plunket Shield and white-ball cricket for Canterbury. Hay averages over 46 after 19 first-class games, while he has a strike rate of almost 150 after 28 T20s. He is also a capable wicketkeeper, but sweeping spin isn’t something that comes naturally to him. He practices every variety of the shot, including the reverse, even in damp conditions following an overnight shower.”I wouldn’t say I’m a natural sweeper, but having the exposure here is a great opportunity to learn from the coaches,” Hay tells ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of a training session. “Sri [Sriram] has been amazing with his knowledge of conditions in both India and New Zealand. So it’s been a good challenge to learn some different shots and different strategies on wickets that are spinning a lot more than at home.”In New Zealand, you can potentially stand up and hit through the line easier. The biggest takeaway for me against spin is trying to get low because the bounce is variable. We’ve also been trying to use the crease, and as Sri alluded to, a lot of Indian batsmen are good from the crease – playing deep but also coming out on the front foot to get really close to the ball. For me, it’s about staying low, and when the length is there, get into a strong position on the back foot to manoeuvre the ball.”Robinson, who is bit of a Finn Allen clone, has also picked up cues to tackle spin and expand his game. “I think for the sweep, I like to get outside the line of the ball and try not to get in front of the stumps,” Robinson says. “I also think it’s quite important to commit to the shot quite late so you can adjust to the length of the ball and then your own stride.Sriram Krishnamurthy and Paul Wiseman were in charge of the New Zealand batters’ training sessions in Chennai•Super Kings Academy”For me, naturally at home in New Zealand, it’s a sweep-on-line thing, and the need to sweep is not as big there as it is here. So it’s something that we all are trying to develop, and it’s about using the right tools on the right wicket at the right time.”Robinson is a natural athlete. He won junior and senior titles in the javelin throw along with his brother Cam Robinson back in the day. In the most recent Super Smash, he had success throwing his bat at the ball for Wellington at the top, and was immediately called up to the New Zealand T20I squad for the Pakistan tour earlier this year in the absence of the IPL-bound players. Robinson admits that his life changed after he cracked 139 off 64 balls, with ten sixes, against Otago Volts in the Super Smash, the second-highest score in the tournament’s history. Robinson, though, might not have achieved the landmark without some help from Foxcroft.”Foxy dropped one at long-on, and he bowled the sixth over in the powerplay as well, which was a little bit of a kick-start (laughs). But no, I think it was just one of those things that came off and I had a little bit of a luck,” Robinson recalls. “I suppose that’s T20 cricket as well. You got to ride your luck and make it count when things do go your way. It was well and truly my day, but there was luck going my way and I ended up getting through it unscathed. But yeah, it was a life-changing sort of day for me.”Foxcroft is the most experienced among the trio, having also won the PSL with Lahore Qalandars and been part of the Oman T10 league. Covid-19 had locked him out of New Zealand for almost two years, but he is now making up for lost time, learning from every experience.Paul Wiseman chats with Dean Foxcroft at the Super Kings Academy•Super Kings Academy”Pakistan and India are a bit different in terms of conditions,” Foxcroft says. “In Pakistan, the wickets are bit skiddier than here. Wherever you go, you’ve got to adapt quick enough to the conditions and understand your game better, which will be helpful when I come back and play on these wickets.”Foxcroft bowls quickish offspin and tested it out against TNPL team Nellai Royal Kings during a T20 game. In the 2023-24 Super Smash, he bowled just 6.2 overs in ten matches for Otago, but is working towards becoming a genuine allrounder.”Yeah, it [the bowling] has been coming out nicely,” Foxcroft says. “It’s a great time to come out to India and work on it. I want to be the No.1 allrounder, [and contribute] in both departments. Hopefully, I can get a five-for and a Test hundred or whatever, but I want to keep developing [the bowling] and get better at it at every training. It’s great to learn from Sri, the Chennai Super Kings coaches, [and bowling] different variations and different lengths.”Foxcroft and Robinson go “Ooooh!” when Hay’s lofty first-class average is brought up. While Canterbury have produced a number of fast bowlers for New Zealand – right from Kyle Jamieson to Zak Foulkes – in the recent past, Hay could well be the next international batter from the domestic side.Dean Foxcroft bowls quickish offspin, and tested it out against TNPL team Nellai Royal Kings•Super Kings Academy”That’s the ultimate goal: to represent the country and play for the Black Caps,” Hay says. “But there’s also a lot of things before that. To improve my strengths and keep working on my weaknesses and get better overall as a player… those sorts of things. Selection will look after itself, so I guess in a way it’s nice to take the focus away from that and put it on myself to get better so that when I do get the opportunity, I’m ready to perform.”With Kane Williamson giving up his New Zealand central contract to become a freelancer, and a number of other players ageing, Foxcroft, Robinson and Hay will likely get their opportunities in the next few months.New Zealand’s lack of proper preparation for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies came into sharp focus last month, but their young batters might not be underdone when they would revisit the subcontinent for a longer trip later this year.

Cameron Green and Travis Head both earned player of the match awards in the IPL last week

Alex Malcolm13-May-20244:04

McClenaghan: RCB’s whole bowling unit made contributions

Green’s growth in a new role bodes well for Australia

Cameron Green has had an outstanding week for Royal Challengers Bengaluru to keep their playoff hopes alive playing a pivotal role in two wins over Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals. Against Punjab, Green made 46 off 27 at No. 5 with five fours and a six and shared in a 92-run stand with Virat Kohli that came off just 46 balls as RCB racked up a match-winning total of 241 for 7. He followed up that performance with an accomplished all-round display against Capitals, scoring 32 not out off 24, taking 1 for 19 from four overs and producing an excellent direct hit run out to earn player of the match honours. Green appears to be getting more comfortable with the unfamiliar and highly specialised No. 5 role. He has started brightly with five men out in his last two innings and has slowed down at the death as wickets have fallen around him. He was 27 off 16 against Capitals but could not find the rope in his last eight balls and only managed to score five runs.Cameron Green winds up for a big hit•BCCIHe still hasn’t quite unlocked the secret to death hitting but Australia’s coaching staff will be thrilled with his development in the role as it only adds to his versatility for the upcoming World Cup. He also bowled well against Capitals, conceding one boundary in four overs. His second over, the 11th of the chase, was his best where he conceded three singles and three dots and ran out Tristan Stubbs with a stunning direct hit having sprinted to the striker’s end to collect the ball in his follow-through before swivelling and hitting at the non-striker’s to beat Stubbs after he was sent back by Axar Patel.

Warner misfires on return while Fraser-McGurk’s scintillating form continues

Jake Fraser-McGurk hit the first ball he faced for a six•BCCIDavid Warner finally returned from his finger injury against RCB but it did not go as planned. He was unable to field due to the bone bruising that is still causing some discomfort but he was cleared to bat as the impact sub. He only lasted two balls. He was a little unfortunate as he nailed an arm ball from left-arm orthodox Swapnil Singh straight to a very well-placed man at wide long-on. Some more elevation would have seen it sail into the stands. His frustration was evident as he threw his head back after seeing Will Jacks pouch the catch.Related

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Meanwhile, at the other end Jake Fraser-McGurk continued his spectacular form and was unfortunate not to post another blistering half-century. Having thumped a 19-ball fifty in Capitals’ win over Rajasthan Royals last week where he torched Avesh Khan for 28 off an over, he looked on again against RCB. He flat-batted Swapnil for six first ball and then clubbed Mohammed Siraj over his head and through cover to race to 21 off 8. But he was cruelly run out backing up too far when a Shai Hope straight drive ricocheted off Yash Dayal’s fingers onto the stumps at the non-striker’s.Capitals have all-but been eliminated from the IPL playoff race, but Warner has one more chance against Lucknow Super Giants to find some time in the middle before the World Cup while Fraser-McGurk can put an exclamation point on his incredible debut season and push his case further for a World Cup travelling reserve spot.

Head’s heroics continue while Cummins keeps on keeping on

2:15

Rapid Fire Review: Head and Abhishek, or Salt and Narine?

Travis Head’s IPL form is reaching a ridiculous realm. He and his Sunrisers Hyderabad opening partner Abhishek Sharma produced the most brutal batting beatdown of the tournament to date against Justin Langer’s Super Giants, mowing down a target of 166 in just 9.4 overs. He made 89 not out off 30 balls with eight fours and eight sixes to finish player of the match.This came just two days after Head also made a comparatively pedestrian 48 off 30 in a losing effort against Mumbai Indians. Head is the IPL’s third-highest run-scorer with 533 runs in 11 innings. He is the only one of the top 12 run-scorers to be striking at a rate higher than 183, having scored his runs at a staggering 201.83 per 100 balls across the tournament. Only Abhishek (205.64) and Fraser-McGurk (237.41) have scored quicker across the tournament among players with 60 runs or more.Meanwhile, SRH captain Pat Cummins continued his solid form with a great all-round showing against Mumbai. He made an outstanding 35 not out off 17 balls with two fours and two sixes to lift his side from a deep hole with the bat, before being one of the few SRH bowlers to survive Suryakumar Yadav’s onslaught, taking 1 for 35 from four with a maiden. He was more expensive against Lucknow but mainly in his last over where he conceded 19 including four boundaries, although several came via skewed mishits into gaps.

There has been a stark drop in his numbers, but he has a chance to reverse that in the nine Tests in the upcoming season

Osman Samiuddin20-Aug-2024This is a big season of cricket for Pakistan, an unprecedented season in some ways. They play nine Tests, the most in a season since 1998-99. They host three bilateral Test series in a season, which they haven’t done before. They host an ICC event for the first time since 1996. Their two main grounds are undergoing the biggest upgrades since practically forever. And the PSL becomes the first league to go head-to-head against the IPL next year. It all feels a little bit seismic.It is also a big season for Babar Azam, their premier batter and, until recently, the biggest star in the Pakistan game and unquestioned leader of all three national men’s sides. But in the last year some of that authority has gone. He’s no longer the all-format captain. He remains their T20 captain, though even that isn’t guaranteed.He doesn’t quite command the team as he once did, and in Shaheen Afridi, for one, different centres of power are emergent. Once, Babar presided over a happy and united dressing room; the one he is merely a member of now isn’t quite as shiny, happy or smiley as the social media posts want you to believe.Above all, though, and far more a matter for concern, is that some of the lustre has slipped from his batting, whence his authority primarily flowed from. In T20s, the debate around his batting is an old and tiresome one. ODIs don’t matter, until they do. It is, instead, in Tests where a sharp dip in productivity has really hit home. It has also passed, by and large, unnoted.Related

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Which is strange because the numbers are pretty stark. From the start of 2019 until December 2022, Babar averaged nearly 60 in Tests. In that time, he averaged over 50 in Australia, nearly 50 in England and West Indies, nearly 70 in Sri Lanka, over 80 in Pakistan, and as if to troll the ZimBabar critics, only 1 against Zimbabwe. No statpadding here, thank you very much. Either the Fab Four needed to expand membership to include him, or someone within needed replacing.Since then, though, he’s been averaging a far more ordinary 37.41. This run includes a solitary hundred and three fifties in nine Tests. In his last Test series, in Australia, he averaged 21, his lowest in a series (excluding the Zimbabwe series of 2021) since 2017-18, well before he had established himself in the side.It’s not that he has looked out of form exactly, but it’s also true that he has rarely looked invulnerable. The Australia series is a great illustration of this. He got starts in five out of six innings, working really hard for them, but ultimately he could manage a highest of only 41. Four out of the six dismissals were to balls that hit like jaffas at first but which, upon reflection, revealed in Babar’s batting a lingering carelessness to incoming deliveries. Three of the six were bowled or leg-before, a mode of dismissal that is, perhaps, a thing.