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He was the next big thing, and then he wasn’t, but the New Zealand batter has bounced right back with a phenomenal sequence of scores

Hemant Brar07-Sep-2022Early 2021. Tom Bruce was having sleepless nights. He had played 17 T20Is for New Zealand but had fallen out of favour. However, it was his red-ball form that was haunting him. He hadn’t scored a first-class hundred for four seasons despite being one of the main batters for Central Districts. Worse, he no longer knew what his identity as a batter was.The dip in form wasn’t sudden. Bruce was still scoring runs, and managing half-centuries, but the returns were diminishing. Then, during the 2020-21 Plunket Shield, it plummeted – he scored just 275 runs in 13 innings at an average of 25.00. Eighty-one of those runs had come in just one innings, his only 50-plus score that season.Bruce hadn’t dealt with such a slump before.

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Bruce had burst on to the New Zealand domestic scene during the 2014-15 season. Making his debut as a 23-year-old for Central Districts, he smashed 88 off 65 balls against Otago in the preliminary final of the Ford Trophy, New Zealand’s premier List A tournament. At the receiving end of his onslaught, which included five fours and six sixes, were Neil Wagner, Jacob Duffy and Mark Craig.Related

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ESPNcricinfo reported Bruce’s arrival thus: “Not much about Bruce is common knowledge at present – not his age, not his place of birth, not his previous cricket pedigree, and not his playing style.”But soon, everyone took notice as he carried his form into red-ball cricket too, tallying 632 runs at an average of 57.45 and a strike rate of 70.30 in his first Plunket Shield season. In 12 innings, he scored six fifties and a hundred.In fact, his first three seasons were like a dream. On the field, he scored runs across formats. Especially in T20 cricket, with his inventive strokeplay. Off the field, he spent a lot of his time playing golf with Mahela Jayawardene, who was with Central Districts then. A call-up for the national side was imminent.In 2016, Bruce came close to making his ODI debut, but not for New Zealand. He has a British passport through his father, who was born in Edinburgh, and that made him eligible to play for Scotland. “I happened to be playing club cricket for Netherfield in 2016. Scotland was a few hours’ drive north and I had a connection there with Grant Bradburn [the former New Zealand player who was the Scotland coach then]. So we tried accessing that avenue of playing out of Scotland.”In May 2016, in his first outing for Scotland Development XI, Bruce scored an unbeaten 132 against a touring Durham Academy side. A debut against the touring Afghanistan team looked on the cards. He even had the support of New Zealand Cricket and Central Districts – he knew his chances of playing for New Zealand in the future wouldn’t be affected.

“It got to a stage where I would get to 50 and start counting down to 100. I would forget what I should have been doing, which is watching every single ball as hard as possible and making the best decision from there”

But he did not fulfil an ICC criterion: he had not lived in Scotland for long enough to represent them.”Sometimes, these things happen for a reason,” Bruce said. “As it happened, I came back to New Zealand the following season and I ended up representing the Black Caps in T20Is. So even if I had taken the field for Scotland, it would have been pretty short-lived.”Bruce’s T20I debut was against Bangladesh in Napier in January 2017. Luke Ronchi handed over the caps to him and his fellow debutants Lockie Ferguson and Ben Wheeler.”The message [from Ronchi] was pretty simple: just keep playing the way you have been playing at the domestic level,” Bruce recalled. “I was a bit of a free spirit back then – it was just sort of see the ball, hit the ball. And it seemed to work for me.”I took a catch early on in the game, and I remember the crowd [Bangladesh fans] sort of shouting at me, trying to stuff it up.”It was a good game as we chased down the target. I remember batting with Kane Williamson. We had an unfortunate run-out where I was left stranded. But I said to him, ‘Surely that means you got to stick with me for the next few games now.'”In the next match, Bruce struck an unbeaten 59 off 39 to help New Zealand seal the series. However, in the following 12 innings, he managed only one 30-plus score and was subsequently dropped from the side.He made a comeback with the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2019 and scored 53 off 46 balls in a last-over win for New Zealand. But during his knock, he hurt his knee and was ruled out of the next game.Tom Bruce attempts an unorthodox shot during his half-century against Sri Lanka•AFPHis next outing for New Zealand came only in early 2020, against India at home. He played the final two T20Is of the five-match series, and was dismissed without scoring in both.”It was not easy,” Bruce said. “In the last two games against India, I wasn’t in a great headspace. My form had dipped and I was playing against probably the best team in the world at the time. So, it was going to be pretty tough to be successful.”Soon after that, the Covid-19 pandemic brought the sport, and the world, to a halt. And when cricket resumed, Bruce found himself out of the squad for the West Indies T20Is.”That was a pretty tough time,” he said. “I had been part of the last T20I squad before Covid, and then we had this big long break, and when the next T20 squad was announced, I never got a phone call or anything like that. It was sort of… not a dumping, but I just felt sort of left out. I knew my form didn’t warrant being picked. But it’s still nice to know [from the selectors ahead of the announcement] you are not going to be in the next squad even though you were in the last one. I held on to that for quite a bit. And it probably affected my next season.”

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Bruce’s white-ball form was still okay, if not spectacular. But not being able to score a hundred in red-ball cricket was weighing him down.”The first couple of seasons it wasn’t as much of a struggle because I knew I had scored a hundred the previous year. But then it got to a stage where I would get to 50 and start counting down to 100,” he said. “So when I would get to 60, I would be, right, I’ve got 40 runs left. I would get to 70, I would be, right, I have got 30 runs left. With this build-up of wanting to get to a hundred so badly, I would forget what I should have been doing, which is watching every single ball as hard as possible and making the best decision from there.”So it took a toll every time I got to 50. I was just counting down and, as most batters would say, that’s probably not a good method. But that is what my mindset was. I needed to get to those three figures.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”To achieve that, I found myself trying to be so defensively minded, which actually was to my detriment. I was trying to be someone that I wasn’t, and that took probably more toll when I was out there in the middle. So I would probably reach 50, but it was such a toll mentally that I would feel as if I had already batted for a long time.”For four seasons, I hadn’t performed to the level that was expected of me, or I expected of myself. And what everyone else was probably saying about me, I was saying it ten times worse to myself. I had sleepless nights knowing that I wasn’t performing and was letting everyone down.”Bruce was “pretty lucky” that he was afforded lots of opportunities, and he repaid the faith in style.In the 2021-22 Plunket Shield, not only did he end the century drought but also became the first batter in the tournament’s history to score double-hundreds in back-to-back innings. His last three knocks in the season were 90*, 208* and 204* as he finished with a chart-topping 858 runs at an average of 143.00.The first double-hundred was against Northern Districts in Whangarei. It was a good batting pitch but Northern Districts had quality bowlers in their line-up: Wagner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Brett Randell (the joint-leading wicket-taker of the season), and offspinner Joe Walker.The second one came against Auckland in Napier, where his team was 11 for 3 when he came out to bat.”I got into the season to find out who I was as a batter,” Bruce said. “I was still struggling a wee bit, but more than anything I was searching for my identity again as a player. It is a work in progress but with that strong season, I got back to being in a better headspace in my cricket and off the field.”To get over the line with a hundred and then turn it into a double-hundred and then do the same in the following game, it was actually more of relief rather than anything else. Obviously, I was really happy, but at the same time, I knew I hadn’t done it for the last five years. So when you look at it in that context, yes, it was a pretty bleak sort of time. Hopefully, it’s not another five-year break before the next one.”

He’s got more than 16 tons and he’s going to sing about it

Alan Gardner14-Oct-2020While the shadow of Covid-19 lingers for many of us, the world’s leading cricketers continue to go above and beyond in attempting to provide for the gaiety of nations. Not only are many players becoming accustomed to spending their lives locked down in hotels, brewing their own coffee like 19th-century Italian street urchins, and providing each other with haircuts that are only occasionally laughable, all in order to get a game on – several seem keen to contribute to the light entertainment industry in their spare time, too.For some, the competitive urge remains overwhelming, as seen in the table-tennis turf wars being played out by Australia’s women in their Sydney bio-bubble; or the games room head to head between Jos Buttler and Joe Root – pitched by the ECB social media team as a -style contest, but really a lot closer to , with Mark Wood in the Fred Trueman affable-northern-presenter role. Much more in the way of governmental budget cuts and the BBC could seriously be looking at something like this as a viable format for Saturday night TV.Others have discovered a more artistic side, such as Ashleigh Gardner with her aboriginal dot paintings. The Light Roller is holding out hope that we will soon learn of Faf du Plessis and his new-found passion for pottery, or Niroshan Dickwella revealing an aptitude for life drawing.Then we get to the song-and-dance men. David Warner’s conversion to hip-swinging, lip-syncing TikTok teddy bear has already been documented in these pages. Meanwhile, at the ongoing IPL, Chris Gayle has so far been involved in more music videos than actual matches. Root, spurned in his previous attempts to get an invite to T20’s biggest gig, has perhaps realised the need to hone some new skills that will make him more attractive at auction, having popped up with his guitar on a recent episode of the Tailenders podcast.But unarguably the main event in cricketer side hustle this month has been Steven Smith’s debut as a budding country-and-western troubadour. The song Smith picked for his Instagram jam was called “All I Need to See” – and, without being too harsh, it’s probably fair to say we don’t need to see any more. The David Brent vibes were unavoidable, though it would be something of a surprise to hear of Smith referring to his captaincy style as “chilled-out entertainer” around the Rajasthan Royals dressing room. Then again, he is the original joker in the pack:”If you were to ask me to name three batting geniuses, I probably wouldn’t say Bradman, Tendulkar… I’d go Randall, Haynes, Inzamam. Walters.”Not that we are knocking Smudge, far from it. Sometimes the sight of a multi-talented sportsman turning their hand effortlessly to a new skill can leave the rest of us mortals feeling a little despondent. Imagine if Smith could carry a tune as effortlessly as he carries Australia’s batting? That would be too much. So strum on, Steve, and thanks for making us all feel that bit more adequate.

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While social media has allowed us to get closer to players, it can also provide insights that are less valuable. Such as into the minds of the people behind the Hundred, the fourth format cricket never knew it needed (but is going to get anyway). Having lain dormant since April, @thehundred burst back into life on Twitter last week, firing off a stream of gibberish about “completing” Netflix and Amazon, overdosing on GIFs, and generally playing up to the idea that the account is run by a 14-year-old out of their bedroom – which, of course, it isn’t, because Gen Z wouldn’t touch this stuff with a barge pole. That said, perhaps repeatedly being ratioed on Twitter will be good practice for the team by the time they roll out their 100-ball piñata next summer.

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T20 might not be the future anymore, but it didn’t deserve such a soggy send-off. For understandable reasons, T20 Blast Finals Day was pushed back to October to try to ensure it took place in front of a crowd, but the move backfired. First, the UK government shelved plans to allow spectators back into sporting events due to rising infection rates; then the sort of autumnal deluge that tends to occur at this time of year duly gave Edgbaston a soaking and led to the first washout in the competition’s 17-year history. Even the mascot race, which always treads the fine line between comedy and tragedy, was called off. Three shortened games were eventually held on the reserve day but here was an important reminder: well done for taking on a pandemic, but don’t mess with the English weather.

The Tampa Bay Rays found themselves staring at an 8-0 deficit in the second inning of Wednesday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles. It would have been easy to mentally concede the contest and chalk it up as the type of lopsided loss that can happen when you play 162 games a year. But the home team kept fighting, chipping away at the O's lead inning by inning until it disappeared and the Rays took control en route to a 12-8 victory.

The Rays scored three runs in the third, one in the fourth, four in the fifth and five more in the seventh to match the largest comeback in franchise history and the most impressive rebound from any team in Major League Baseball this season.

“Pretty amazing. I don't know if I have the words,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said from the victorious clubhouse. “I'm really impressed with them, proud of them. They stayed at it.”

The unbelievable rally gave Tampa Bay their 20th win in the last 27 tries and continued a torrid stretch that has allowed them to pull within 1.5 games of the New York Yankees in the American League East. The Yankees lost their sixth straight game on Wednesday night.

As improbable as the Rays' come-from-behind win was, it is perhaps surprisingly nowhere near the largest in MLB history as three different teams have erased 12-run holes and four more 11-run holes. Ten others have trailed by 10 runs and navigated their way to victory.

West Indies stand-in captain Roston Chase was left impressed by Ackeem Auguste’s maiden T20I fifty against Bangladesh in Chattogram. The visitors completed the 3-0 whitewash in a comprehensive five-wicket win, with more than three overs to spare. Auguste was one of three changes in the West Indies side, after they rested regular captain Shai Hope, and the out-of-form Sherane Rutherford for the dead rubber.Auguste treated the packed crowd in Chattogram with some impressive hitting particularly on the leg-side. He struck Rishad Hossain for three sixes in the 13th over, and having been dropped in between the sixes, it shifted the match’s momentum in favour of West Indies completely. Auguste and Chase added 91 runs for the fourth wicket, after Amir Jangoo, who warmed the West Indies’ bench for most of this Bangladesh tour, struck a few blows in his 23-ball 34.Chase, who also made a half-century, said that Auguste is an improved cricketer than what he had seen couple of years ago.Related

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“I thought he had a great innings,” Chase said. “I have played with him in St. Lucia in the last couple of years. He has improved steadily. The Ackeem I used to know, would play some exciting shots and then get out for 20 or 30. I find out that he is maturing very much. He is understanding how to build the innings now. The sky is the limit for him. I think he has a very rare ability to strike the ball. He has a clean swing. He has to continue doing hard work and keep believing.”Chase said that the difference between the two sides’ in the third T20I was the partnerships. Bangladesh had a 63-run stand between Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hassan, but Tanzid did most of the scoring in the home side’s innings.”I think Bangladesh never really had a big partnership, or one partnership where two batters stood up. It was only the left-hander, while all the guys were getting out around him,” Chase said. “The plan was to bat normally, get six to seven runs per over till the 15th over. But as me and Ackeem got in on the wicket, it became easier to play our strokes. The ball was coming on to the bat. I think it was the best wicket of the three games. We capitalized on the balls in our area.He also gave a shout out to the West Indies bowlers who performed strongly in the T20I series, in particular Romario Shepherd who finished with seven wickets in the three matches, including a hat-trick in the third game. Moving forward, though, he wanted the fielding to be better.”Actually I was so focused on the game that I didn’t realise he had taken the hat-trick,” Chase said. “I didn’t remember that he had taken a wicket in his previous over. I am happy for him. I think he executed well in all three games.”We dropped too many catches. The bowlers were spot-on with their plans. I want to congratulate them on their performance.”

Will Celtic appoint a new manager during this international break?

Following Sunday’s 4-0 Premiership victory over Kilmarnock, interim manager Martin O’Neill honestly admitted that he does not know whether or not he will still be in charge when the Hoops are next in action against St Mirren in Paisley a week on Saturday.

Reports this week suggest the board are intensifying their search for Brendan Rodgers’ long-term replacement, currently in London holding talks with candidates, with a leading target having now emerged.

Whoever takes charge, considering Celtic will play 11 matches, including a League Cup Final, before the transfer window opens, will need to get the best out of the Hoops’ current squad, so could landing their dream target be good news for the club’s best attacker?

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However, their dream candidate all along has been Bodø/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen, who, according to a report by TEAMtalk, ‘remains a frontrunner’.

They claim that a move to Glasgow is viewed as the ‘perfect next step’ for the 57-year-old, who is out of contract in the Arctic Circle later this year, having worked miracles with Bodø/Glimt since being appointed in 2018.

His team demolished Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic 5-1 on aggregate in a Conference League tie back in February 2022, so could he soon be returning to Parkhead, only this time in the home dugout?

And would his arrival help to get the best out of Daizen Maeda?

Why a change of manager could revive Maeda

Earlier this season, Maeda revealed that he had asked to leave Celtic this summer to take the next step in his career, but was not allowed to do so, following the sales of Nicolas Kühn and Adam Idah, while no replacements for them were even brought in until the final hours of the window.

Well, after scoring 33 goals last season, the Japanese forward has not been at his scintillating best this time round, scoring only four goals so far, most notably nodding home the stoppage time winner against Motherwell, also on target against Killie last weekend.

Overall, most of Maeda’s statistics have decreased this season, as the table below highlights.

Goals

0.6

0.5

Assists

0.4

0.3

Shots

1.8

2

Conversion rate %

32.65%

21.43%

Big chances missed

0.6

0.83

Chances created

1.5

1.2

Big chances created

0.35

0.28

Forward passes

3.6

2.1

Touches

43.2

44.8

Touches in the box

6.6

6.6

Average rating

7.31

6.87

As the table documents, the majority of Maeda’s numbers have endured a downturn this season, including goals, shooting accuracy and chance creation, missing more big chances on a per-90 basis too.

When the Japanese international is at his best, he is able to ferociously close down defenders and burst into space, as this goal in last season’s League Cup Final highlights, something he has not been allowed to do very often this season, hindered by the Celts’ stodgy style of play.

However, could that all be about to change, allowing Maeda to rediscover his best form?

The reason Knutsen is the outstanding candidate is that he has completely transformed Bodø/Glimt.

When he was appointed manager in 2018, the Yellow Horde were still in the Norwegian second tier, but they have now won four of the last five Eliteserien titles, chasing another with two games to go of this campaign.

Having said that, Bodø/Glimt have really made a name for themselves in Europe, reaching the Conference League quarter-finals in 2022 and last season’s Europa League semi-finals, qualifying for the Champions League group stages for the very first time earlier this year.

Michael Stewart believes Knutsen has done an “incredible” job in the Arctic Circle, while Jan Åge Fjørtoft praised Knutsen’s “clear philosophy” and “attractive” style of play.

Across his 351 matches in charge, Bodø/Glimt have always used a fluid 4-3-3 formation which, as outlined by Total Football Analysis, features attacking full-backs, thereby allowing the wide-attackers to drift inside and score goals.

Meantime, as documented by the Coaches’ Voice, Knutsen’s team consistently rank highly in terms of ‘most dribbles and 1v1 moments’, favouring quick interplay and direct attacks.

Well, all of this sounds like it would suit Maeda’s skillset, whether the Japanese forward was to be deployed centrally or out wide.

Concerningly, Maeda may still harbour hopes of a move away in January, with a World Cup on the horizon, but Knutsen, should he arrive, surely would not sanction the sale of Celtic’s best attacker, while his appointment may represent such a coup that the forward is convinced that the Celts are heading in the right direction once again.

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Chelsea are now ready to make an opening offer for Palmeiras forward Allan, but there could be competition for his signature from two of the world’s biggest clubs.

The Blues have already added one young Brazilian forward to their ranks in recent times, with Estevao emerging as a first-team regular this season, and the 18-year-old got off the mark in front of goal in the 2-1 victory against Liverpool last month.

With the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens also on the books, Enzo Maresca already has plenty of exciting youngsters at his disposal in attacking areas, and the west Londoners have now started running the rule over forwards with more top-level experience.

Maresca’s side are now ready to launch a January move for Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr, amid tensions with manager Xabi Alonso, although a deal could be on the expensive side, considering he is regarded as one of the best wingers in the world.

Chelsea ready to bid for Palmeiras forward Allan

Vinicius is not the only Brazilian forward Chelsea are looking to sign, however, with a report from Spain revealing BlueCo are also ready to bid for Palmeiras’ Allan, but there could be competition for his signature from Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The 21-year-old is protected by a release clause of nearly €100m (£88m), and with the Brazilian club determined to receive a large fee, akin to the money raised by selling Estevao and Vitor Reis, so a deal may need to break the bank.

With Palmeiras extending the youngster’s contract until 2029, however, they remain in a strong negotiating position for the time being.

The starlet has impressed at times for Palmeiras, being described as their “standout” player by journalist Leandro Boudakian earlier this year, and he is extremely versatile, having featured in central midfield, on both wings, and in attacking midfield for the Brazilian club.

Not only that, but the Florianopolis-born attacker has regularly displayed his dribbling and creative talents over the past year, ranking in a very high percentile on both metrics, when compared to his positional peers.

Statistic

Average per 90 (past year)

Successful take-ons

2.93 (99th percentile)

Progressive carries

2.93 (98th percentile)

Assists

0.42 (99th percentile)

That said, the Palmeiras academy graduate didn’t exactly set the world alight in the 2025 Brazilian Serie A, chipping in with just one goal and two assists in 21 appearances, which suggests he may be some way off first-team level at a club like Chelsea.

Allan is still very young, but the Blues have already signed a plethora of youngsters in recent times, including Gittens, Garnacho and Estevao, so it would not be the end of the world if they missed out on another.

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