Stats highlights from a special Boxing Day bonanza between New Zealand and Pakistan

Gaurav Sundararaman30-Dec-2020 4218 Days between Test Centuries for Fawad Alam. The last one he scored was way back in 2009 when he hit 168 on Test debut against Sri Lanka while opening the innings. Since then Alam has played just six Tests having made a comeback in 2020. Only Warren Bardsley (5093) and Mushtaq Ali (4544) have a longer gap between two Test centuries. Alam’s century is also the only one by a Pakistan batsman in the fourth innings of a Test in New Zealand.ESPNcricinfo Ltd 9 Batsmen who have played more than 250 deliveries in the fourth innings after coming in to bat at No. 5 or below. Only five faced have more than the 269 that Alam did. The last player to achieve this feat was Moeen Ali against Sri Lanka in Leeds. Only six players have achieved this in New Zealand and just two since the turn of the century. 380 Balls faced by Alam and Mohammad Rizwan during their 165-run partnership – the second-longest stand for Pakistan in Tests where ball details are available. The highest is still Shan Masood and Younis Khan’s 400 deliveries faced against Sri Lanka in 2015. 3 Partnerships that have added more runs than Rizwan and Alam’s 165 in the fourth innings for the fifth wicket In Tests. The pair of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes and AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis added 169 and 205 respectively against India in 2018 and 2013 respectively. This is also the second-highest stand by a Pakistan pair away from home in the fourth innings and the fourth-highest by any pair in New Zealand. 123.3 Overs faced by Pakistan in the fourth innings of this Test. Only four times has a team survived more overs in New Zealand. Pakistan have played more overs only on three other occasions in their Test history. Only once did they manage to draw the game though. 16 Unbeaten Tests for New Zealand at home. Their last loss came in 2017 against South Africa while their last loss against an Asian team was way back in 2011 against Pakistan in Hamilton.ESPNcricinfo Ltd 9 Instances in Test cricket where five bowlers took exactly two wickets each in a Test innings. The first such instance took place in 1883 while the second happened almost a hundred years later in 1981. 3 Bowlers to have taken 300 Test wickets for New Zealand. Tim Southee joined Daniel Vettori and Sir Richard Hadlee on the list during this Test. Southee reached this landmark in 76 Tests – second-fastest for New Zealand behind Hadlee who got there in 61 Tests.

All the records Glenn Phillips and New Zealand broke on Sunday

Shiva Jayaraman29-Nov-202046 – The number of deliveries Glenn Phillips took to hit his first T20 international hundred. It’s the quickest for New Zealand in the format. Colin Munro’s century off 47 balls against the same opposition and incidentally at the same venue in 2018 was the previous best. Click here for the fastest hundreds in T20Is.171* – New Zealand’s previous-highest partnership in T20I. Back then, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson achieved this feat for the opening wicket against Pakistan in 2016. The 184-run stand between Devon Conway and Phillips is now the highest.182 – The most runs added by a non-opening pair in T20Is before this match was by Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan for the third wicket against New Zealand in 2019. Phillips and Conway hold that record. Click here for a list of the highest non-opening partnerships in T20Is.154 – Runs scored by New Zealand in the last 10 overs – the third highest ever by a team in T20Is. The highest of 159 was scored by Sri Lanka against Kenya in the first World T20 in 2007. Afghanistan had made 156 runs in the last ten against Ireland in a T20I in Dehradun last year, which is the second-highest.2 – New Zealand have made two totals higher than their 238 in the second T20I against West Indies. Their best of 243 for 5 was also against the same opposition at the same venue in January 2018. They had equaled that score in another T20I against Australia the next month. Click here for the highest totals by New Zealand in T20Is.0 – Among the top teams, no one has made more than Phillips’ 108 while coming in to bat in T20Is after the powerplays. The previous highest was David Miller’s 101 against Bangladesh. Miller had come in to bat in the 10th over in that game. Phillips came to the crease in the 7th over in this match at the fall of Guptill’s wicket. Overall, Belgium’s Shaheryar Butt holds that record for his unbeaten 50-ball 125 after walking in to bat in the eighth over in a T20I against Czech Republic.

All the statistical highlights from the third T20I of the four-match series

Sampath Bandarupalli14-Apr-2021122 – Runs scored by Babar Azam in the third T20I in Centurion. It is now the highest individual score for Pakistan in T20Is, overhauling 111* by Ahmed Shehzad against Bangladesh in the 2014 T20 World Cup. Azam’s 122 is also the highest T20I score against South Africa, beating 117 by Chris Gayle in 2007.1 – Individual scores higher than Azam’s 122 while chasing in T20Is. Evin Lewis scored an unbeaten 125 while chasing against India in 2017. Azam also holds the record for the highest score in a T20I chase by a captain.197 – Partnership runs between Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the opening stand. It is now the highest partnership for any wicket in a T20I chase surpassing the unbeaten 171-run opening stand between Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson against Pakistan in 2016. The 197-run partnership is also the highest in T20s while chasing, going past 194 between Aaron Finch and Jason Roy for Surrey against Middlesex in 2018.204 – Target chased by Pakistan in the third T20I against South Africa. This is now the highest target successfully chased by Pakistan in T20Is, surpassing the 189 chase in the first match.ESPNcricinfo Ltd0 – T20I partnerships for Pakistan higher than the 197-run stand between Azam and Rizwan. It is, in fact, the first ever 150-plus partnership for Pakistan in T20Is, also the fourth-highest for any wicket in this format. The 197-run stand is also the highest against South Africa in T20Is, surpassing 167* between Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan for the second wicket last year.3 – Fifties for Aiden Markram in the T20I series against Pakistan. He is now only the second player with a hat-trick of 50-plus scores for South Africa in men’s T20Is. Hashim Amla was the first player with this feat, in 2016. Markram was involved in a 108-run partnership with Janneman Malan, the first century opening stand for South Africa in T20Is since February 2016.2 – 200-plus totals conceded by Pakistan in T20Is including the 203 for 5 by South Africa on Wednesday. The highest T20I total for any team versus Pakistan is 211 for 3 by Sri Lanka in 2013.

It’s the most stunning ball in white-ball cricket. Four staffers weigh in on who sends it down the best

27-May-2021Shaheen Shah Afridi

The best measure of a yorker, everyone knows, is YouTube views. Other metrics are useful, such as the quality of batters it is bowled to, the consistency and accuracy with which the right length is hit, its strike- and economy rates, the ability to bowl it at will and to know when and to whom to bowl it to.But until and unless a bowler’s yorker has produced a warehouse’s worth of compilation clips – all of which play around with the same eight or nine deliveries and in reality are competing on headlines – then it hasn’t arrived. YouTube views are the yorker’s real currency, and by that measure, Afridi is making his way to the hallowed territory that is, specifically, The Pakistani Yorker on YouTube: marvel at the Guldozer, bow to the legend of the Ws, go extreme with Shaibi, pay homage to Imran.Already on YouTube, Afridi is battling with Mitchell Starc: “Shaheen Afridi vs Mitchell Starc Top 7 yorkers – Who is Yorker King?” has nearly 2 million views. There’s a five-minute video of Afridi – filmed from the stands – practising yorkers with other Pakistan bowlers that has nearly a quarter of a million views.The one wicket you will find in most of these videos is a beast of the genre, to Jonny Bairstow, in the third T20I on the 2020 tour of England. By seam position it’s set for inswing, as the clip to leg Bairstow attempts implies. It does shape that way too until the very end, when suddenly it goes straight instead, maybe even swerves away, landing at the base of off stump. The best yorkers are deceptive, and duly, Bairstow indicates he didn’t pick it.If you’re not convinced, watch this one. Bog-standard yorker, angling in from round the wicket, but check the victim: his father-in-law-to-be. How many yorkers do you know can do that?What sets Jasprit Bumrah apart from other current yorker bowlers is that he has the slower, dipping variant•Matt King/Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesJasprit Bumrah

Look, it had to be Lasith Malinga, but the commission for this piece has disqualified him because he has not played serious cricket in a year and therefore does not qualify as a current bowler. I nevertheless believe that if you put Malinga in a suit, give him a bank job and then ask him to bowl an over in his lunch break, he’d still nail them yorkers.And he had a variety of them – the searing quick one, the wide one, and the lethal slower, dipping one with which he ended the 2019 IPL final.In Malinga’s absence, his spiritual heir in limited-overs cricket, Bumrah, possesses the best yorker today. Like Malinga, Bumrah has honed the hyperextension in his forearm to become a deadly accurate bowler. That’s why you rarely see him bowl a half-volley when he is going for the yorker.His idiosyncratic action and a late release, just like Malinga’s, mean the batter picks the trajectory of the ball late. That’s why when Bumrah bowls the yorker, you see batters are late on it, though the radar doesn’t show extraordinary speeds. If he errs and sends down a full toss that is between knee and waist, you still see batters short on time.Bumrah is also happy to try yorkers with the new ball, red or white. What really puts Malinga and Bumrah in a league of their own – ahead of the others in this article and bowlers such as T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult – is the slower yorker.Ben Stokes had no answer to Mitchell Starc’s yorker in the 2019 World Cup•Michael Steele/Getty ImagesMitchell Starc

Since Starc does not play T20s regularly, we do not get to enjoy his yorker as much as we’d like, but just watch the last two ODI World Cups and you will see how special his yorkers are. Since the start of 2015, Starc has bowled 515 yorkers in international cricket and taken 49 wickets. The next closest wicket-taker with yorkers is Bumrah, with 24.Starc does not bowl yorkers just at the death. If there is a bit of swing available, he can be lethal with an inswinging one at the start of an innings, even in Tests.Two Starc yorkers stand out for me: the one against Brendon McCullum in the 2015 World Cup final that set up the game for Australia, and this one against Ben Stokes at Lord’s in the 2019 World Cup. In both cases, the batter was helpless despite picking the length.Can’t stop it if you can’t see it: Lockie Ferguson dismisses Faf du Plessis with a rocket at the 2019 World Cup•Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesLockie Ferguson

“If you execute it, [the yorker] is the hardest ball to hit,” Tymal Mills told me earlier this year. “But it can also go wrong just as easily.” Even the most reliable yorker bowlers in the world struggle to land them reliably, and the margin for error is minuscule: T Natarajan, who bowled more than twice as many yorkers as anyone else in the 2020 IPL, concedes more than 12 runs an over when he misses them and bowls full tosses or slot balls instead. Half of the skill is finding a way to avoid going round the park when the delivery doesn’t quite go to plan.That’s the main reason I’ve chosen Ferguson, whose slot balls and full tosses remain relatively hard to hit. The perfect illustration of his effectiveness came in the 2019 World Cup, during the group-stage match against South Africa at Edgbaston. He rushed Faf du Plessis with a 149kph bouncer, leaving him camped on the back foot, then speared through a 148kph yorker to clean him up. A combination of raw pace and his idiosyncratic action makes it tough to pick the toe crusher, and harder still to score runs off it.Ferguson’s yorker highlights reel also includes dismissals of Manish Pandey in the 2020 IPL and Shikhar Dhawan in a 2018-19 T20I series, but even the balls that come out slightly wrong don’t go for many. In T20Is, his 13 full tosses have cost only eight runs and his 54 full balls have brought four wickets and 59 runs.

The batter’s decision to step down after the T20 World Cup raised several questions. ESPNcricinfo attempts to answer some of them

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Sep-2021Was it Kohli’s own decision or did BCCI play a role? The BCCI media release suggests the board has been in conversation with Kohli regarding this for a while now, and that it is the BCCI that “announced” Kohli’s decision to step down as T20I captain. In actual fact, that release came more than an hour after Kohli had tweeted out his statement, in which he suggested it was a decision he made in consultation with coach Ravi Shastri and heir apparent Rohit Sharma.Related

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That board secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal denied reports that Kohli was going to step down as white-ball captain after the T20 World Cup might suggest that the timing of Kohli’s announcement might have caught them unawares.What is true, though, is it was not an overnight decision. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Kohli has been having extensive discussions with Shastri and Rohit, with talks intensifying after India’s defeat against New Zealand in the World Test Championship final in June.What were those discussions about?
While exact details have not come out, Shastri, who has been coach for a majority of Kohli’s captaincy reign, did point out to him that he needs to focus on his batting. Kohli has not looked out of form across the three formats, but the big scores haven’t come around, which has possibly left him disgruntled. It is possible that Shastri initiated these conversations at the behest of the BCCI, who would want a smooth transition in the leadership as Shastri’s tenure comes to an end.But then, why has Kohli decided to give up captaincy of just T20Is?
Kohli cited the “immense workload” playing the three formats as the deciding factor. The immediate question majority on the outside are asking is: do India play too much T20Is? Since the start of 2017, when Kohli replaced MS Dhoni as the T20I captain, India have played 67 matches, the joint-most along with Pakistan in that format. Kohli has featured in 45 of those; in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, Kohli played 10 matches each. So far this year, India have played just five T20Is. In the same period, between 2017 and this IPL, Kohli has played 60 out of 63 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore where he is the captain as well. Also, the IPL conveyor belt is non-stop for virtually two months every year where the workload becomes a bigger talking point.After the T20 World Cup, India are scheduled to play at least 21 T20Is as per the ICC’s FTP. That does not include the 2022 T20 World Cup, scheduled for October-November next year in Australia. It is entirely possible Kohli does not want to be saddled with the amount of decision-making involved in planning before and during a T20I. While he remains a key batter in India’s top order, Kohli perhaps wants to release himself from the pressures of everyday planning. And he believes in Rohit, India have a ready leader to replace him in T20Is.MS Dhoni is believed to have been roped in to help the team leadership with planning, tactics, and if needed, selections•Getty ImagesBut will Rohit be happy to take over as leader in just one format?
Firstly, it is not known if Rohit will be offered the vacant spot considering neither Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, nor Shah even alluded to that in Thursday’s media release. However, Rohit, who is currently the vice-captain in the white-ball formats, has been one of the most successful captains in T20s. With another T20 World Cup in 12 months’ time, both the selectors and the BCCI would prefer an experienced hand leading India. Whether Rohit will accept leading in just one format is anybody’s guess.Equally, though, it is not yet clear if it is just the T20I captaincy that is up for grabs: while Kohli expressed his desire to continue leading in ODIs and Tests, the BCCI release made no such commitment. And the trend in split captaincy usually is for the limited-overs captain to lead in both the formats.Is Dhoni’s appointment part of a larger BCCI plan?
Ganguly has said in the past that while Kohli’s India have become the best Test team, the absence of global title remains a focal point. Under the Kohli-Shastri combine, India have played three world tournaments, finishing runners-up at the 2017 Champions Trophy and the inaugural World Test Championship, and losing in the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup. Some privy to the developments have told ESPNcricinfo that the board wants MS Dhoni to bring what might be missing at these events: a calming influence that helps the Indian team leadership with planning and tactics, and, if needed, selections.By when will BCCI announce Kohli’s replacement as T20I captain?
The decision will be made soon within the BCCI set-up if it hasn’t been already: India are scheduled to play three T20Is at home in the New Zealand series, which starts immediately after the T20 World Cup.

83 tells a classic underdog story and tries to make myths out of memory

Nishi Narayanan28-Dec-2021It has been nearly 40 years since India’s first World Cup title. That must feel like ancient history to fans who came of age this century, who have been spoilt by three world titles and the rise of a team that not only wins but dominates abroad. For those viewers, watching the movie is probably like looking into a bizarre parallel universe, where no one gives their side a chance in hell.I was born not long after India won the World Cup, so in a way it’s a chapter of history for me too, like studying about the Mauryas or the Mughals. Every time a World Cup comes along, I go back to India’s first title, looking up scorecards and players’ accounts of the event, often as part of my work at ESPNcricinfo. If you ask me what I thought about it, I’d probably say something like: India’s victory changed the course of the game itself. Maybe not entirely incorrect but certainly a reductive opinion.Still, while watching the film, which chronicles all eight of India’s matches at the World Cup, it struck me: this journey was so incredible, it could easily have been dreamed up by a scriptwriter, one with a fondness for high drama. Even if you ignore all the times India’s underdog status is waved in your face like a giant flag and underscored by inspirational music, it’s hard not to wonder: how did they do it?Related

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India, whose only win in World Cups till then had come against a cobbled together East Africa side in 1975, were grouped with Australia, world champions West Indies, and Zimbabwe, in the tournament, scheduled to play each team twice before the semis. They opened with an unexpected win against West Indies and beat Zimbabwe, but were thrashed by Australia and (quite literally) bloodied by West Indies. Under pressure to win their fifth match, against Zimbabwe once again (a “do and die” as Kapil Dev, played by Ranveer Singh, says in the movie), they slipped to 17 for 5 before… if Ron Howard heard this pitch, he’d be dreaming of another Oscar already.When film-makers adapt books, like the series, or , or the Harry Potter ones, they take and transform what till then has only resided in the fan’s imagination. Recreating a real-life event, especially one as popular as a sporting tournament, must be trickier. The retelling is always going to be a visually paler version of the original, and there is no payoff to build towards because the outcome is already known – often by a larger number of people than have read a book, in the case of novel-to-screen adaptations.Tense times in the pavilion•Getty ImagesWhile a movie like , which has some similar odds-stacked-against-them themes, could get away with amateurish-looking cricket because its Indian protagonists are meant to be novices and their English opponents aren’t pros either, the suspension of disbelief is harder in . It’s a bit jarring to watch a bowler complete his action, the ball land on the pitch, and then whoosh past the batter as three separate shots. The longer-range shots are more watchable than the close ones, but at no point can you slip into believing you’re watching a cricket match as opposed to a film.The film-makers probably understood that showcasing an elite level of the game would be beyond them. It feels like they instead chose to use cricket as a tool to tell a classic underdog story, focusing more on the little character moments than the big action.If you have watched YouTube videos of various 1983 squad reunions over the years, you’ll be familiar with many of those little moments we see in the film: Kapil’s team meetings in his idiosyncratic English (“Cheeka, you hit; Sunny, you bat; Yashpal, you are a lion; Kiri, you have to keep”). Kris Srikkanth talking about how many of them had seen the World Cup as just a stopover on the way to a holiday in New York. Sandeep Patil’s role as the team’s entertainment director – “the night captain”. (In a nice touch, Patil’s son, Chirag, plays his father in the film, and Mali Marshall is cast as his dad, Malcolm.)Players disagree with the authenticity of each other’s recollections in these videos, but over time, many stories have solidified into narratives – like Srikkanth saying all the players thought Kapil was mad to suggest India could win the World Cup, and how that showed you the depth of his self-belief. And now, with the film, those memories will probably ascend to the level of myth, where many fans will struggle to believe it could have happened any other way.Among the most legendary of the milestones before the win is Kapil’s 175 not out at Tunbridge Wells, made all the more captivating here because it largely resides in the imagination of fans – the BBC didn’t telecast the game*. The scorecard itself tells a pretty incredible story. India went from 9 for 4, when Kapil walked in, to 17 for 5 and 78 for 7, before getting all the way to 266 for 8. The script chooses to gloss over the fact that Zimbabwe, playing their first World Cup, would have been considered underdogs in this contest, focusing instead on the emotions of those experiencing Kapil’s innings.Yash and Kiri have a moment: Jatin Sarna (left) plays Yashpal Sharma, and Sahil Khattar wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani•Getty ImagesMight the re-enactment replace parts of what you have conjured up of the 175 in your mind’s eye? Did Potter fans feel the same way when they saw Daniel Radcliffe in the role for the first time? And would that be aggravating?I thought it was going to be, but although I was wary of being emotionally manipulated by the histrionics, I got a fleeting sensation of what Kapil’s innings would have meant to those who watched it that day at the ground, and that appealed to me. If even a second-grade imitation could move me all these years later, how special must the original have been.It’s the peeks inside the dressing room, the camaraderie between the players, that delighted both the cricket fan and the movie fan in me. The charming detail of team manager PR Man Singh, blocked by the tall Ravi Shastri, leaning to his left to be visible in the squad’s photo, and the camera cutting to the actual photo. Yashpal Sharma and Kirti Azad panicking when Lala Amarnath calls on the phone looking for his son, Jimmy. Kapil getting annoyed with his wife (played by Deepika Padukone) for demanding extra tickets to the final for their acquaintances but gently acquiescing to Sunil Gavaskar’s request for the same.I began to imagine listening to such anecdotes from today’s cricketers – jokes between Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant; Mohammed Siraj clowning around in the dressing room and Jasprit Bumrah secretly feeling jealous of all the attention he’s getting; Cheteshwar Pujara pretending he’s dreaming about cricket when he was really dreaming about lunch. Which obviously made me wonder: which modern Indian series would translate well into a movie? Desert Storm in Sharjah? The 2000-01 Australia series? The 2007 T20 World Cup? It might be recency bias, but none of those seem to offer emotional highs and lows quite like the 2020-21 tour to Australia does- a hostile setting, countless misfortunes, protagonists who are bruised but not beaten, and a climactic will-they-won’t-they ending. That’s going to be my elevator pitch, if anyone’s interested. Working title: .How closely must a sports movie be linked to the real event to appeal to you? What sort of cinematic license are you willing to give the film-makers? Like life, sport can often be random and disorderly while it happens and later arranged by us into slick little stories that make sense. is like that, a neat little tale of no-hopers triumphing against the odds – fiction and reality bleeding into each other even in the minds of those who lived through it. That doesn’t take away from what Kapil and Co achieved, but it makes it harder to tell the story any other way.*December 28, 2021, 7.32 GMT: A previous version of the article stated that no television footage of the match exists because of a strike at the BBC. This has been changed

A habit of making false starts at the Gabba threatened to undermine England once again

Andrew Miller08-Dec-20211994-95
Quarantine is a relatively modern word in cricket parlance, although it was all the rage on Mike Atherton’s 1994-95 tour, which – then as now – had begun with England hoping to unleash fast-bowling fury on their hosts, only for circumstances to change the team dynamic somewhat. Devon Malcolm had wrecked South Africa with figures of 9 for 57 in his previous Test at The Oval. Now, he was laid low with chickenpox, so a different game plan was called for. Keep it tight, line and length, offer nothing to get Michael Slater’s juices flowing … cue Phil DeFreitas’ first-ball long-hop, carved with glee through the covers. By the close, Slater had romped to 176 in a first-day total of 329 for 4.2002-03
Nasser Hussain’s fateful call at the toss has taken on mythical proportions in the past two decades – as well it might with Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting on hand to clatter Australia to 364 for 2 by the close. And while the reasoning at the time might have had some merit – there was a green tinge to that first-day Gabba pitch, and Andrew Caddick, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones had the skills to exploit it – the decision reeked of defeatism, a fundamental lack of faith from Hussain in his batting, which quickly permeated the entire performance. The most devastating blow came midway through the morning, when Jones – with the wicket of Justin Langer with his ninth ball – ruptured his knee ligaments in a gruesome fielding injury. After that, the spark went out of the attack.Steve Harmison’s first ball heads for second slip•Getty Images2006-07
One delivery doesn’t set the tone for a series … does it? There’s been enough evidence in this particular contest down the years to suggest that it just might. And certainly in 2006-07, the only way was down after Steve Harmison’s infamous radar malfunction, all the way to a 5-0 whitewash. Two years earlier at Lord’s, Harmison had been the man of the morning with his savage spell to Langer and Ponting, whom he left bloodied with a bouncer straight into the grille. Now, with that 2005 team stripped of so many key names, and with his best mate Andrew Flintoff leading a patched-up outfit in a hugely hyped rematch, his response was a wide whang of a first ball, straight into the skipper’s hands at second slip. “Only four players turned up,” Harmison told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the last Ashes tour. “And of the three or four senior players who didn’t turn up, I was probably top of the tree.”2010-11
Just to prove that there can be salvation, even in the bleakest of circumstances, the 2010-11 Gabba Test stands out as a beacon of optimism for any Englishman planning to still be cracking on through the night come day five. England had the team, and the preparation, to surmount all circumstances on that particular trip, but Brisbane has an ability in inveigle its way into the most solid of mindsets. Andrew Strauss, England’s captain, discovered that on a ferocious first morning. His eagerness to feel bat on ball in Ben Hilfenhaus’ first over translated into an over-ambitious prod to the gully, where Michael Hussey clung on with glee. Before the end of the day, Peter Siddle had deepened their gloom with a birthday hat-trick. And yet, second-time-around, life proved rather more serene… 517 for 1 and all that.Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott take the applause after their record stand•AFP2021-22
It took an unusual length of time for the wheels to come off on England’s last two visits to the Gabba – Stuart Broad’s five-for in 2013-14 and James Vince’s what-might-have-been 83 four years later saw to that. But as if to make up for lost time, England’s start this time around might yet trump the lot. Both teams were as raw as red meat coming into this contest, which made Joe Root’s correct call at the toss something of a Hobson’s choice, and certainly Rory Burns didn’t seem ideally aligned as he walked across his first ball from Mitchell Starc, a late-swinging half-volley, to lose his leg stump for only the second series first-baller in Ashes history. Dawid Malan poked loosely to the keeper three overs later, and when Root himself followed up his annus mirabilis with the second duck of the morning, England were 11 for 3 inside the Powerplay first six overs, and sinking fast. Penny for Nasser’s thoughts in such circumstances?

All the stats and records from Bangladesh’s biggest win in T20Is

Sampath Bandarupalli21-Oct-202139 – Wickets for Shakib Al Hasan in T20 World Cups. These are the joint-most for a bowler in this competition. Shahid Afridi, who last played in 2016, also has 39 wickets.2 – Shakib is just the second player with the double of 40-plus runs and over four wickets in a T20 World Cup game. Dwayne Bravo became the first player when he backed up his four-wicket haul with an unbeaten 66 against India in 2009 at Lord’s.2 – Previous instances of Shakib scoring 40-plus runs and taking four or more wickets in the same T20I – against Zimbabwe in 2013 and West Indies in 2018. While Shakib now has three such all-round efforts, no other player has achieved it more than once in men’s T20Is.<!–#cricinfo_inserttype: sidebartitle: Watch highlights on ESPN+nonbulleted_text: If you're in the USA, watch the Bangladesh vs PNG highlights in English here and in Hindi here6 Four-plus wicket hauls in T20Is for Shakib, the joint-most by any player in men's T20Is alongside Umar Gul. Three of those by Shakib came in the T20 World Cup, joint-most for a bowler with Saeed Ajmal.4 for 9 – Shakib's bowling figures in this match are the second-best for Bangladesh in T20 World Cups. Only Mustafizur Rahman recorded better figures when he took 5 for 22 against New Zealand in 2016.84 Bangladesh's win margin against Papua New Guinea on Thursday is their biggest in terms of runs in T20Is. Their previous biggest win was by 71 runs against Ireland in 2012 while defending 191.29 – Runs scored by PNG at the fall of the seventh wicket against Bangladesh. Only one team lost their seventh wicket at a lower total in Men's T20 World Cup – Afghanistan, at 25 against South Africa in 2010 and 26 runs against England in 2012. Afghanistan were 80 all-out on both occasions.46 – Kiplin Doriga's unbeaten score is now the highest individual score by any player in the men's T20 World Cup while batting at No. 8 or lower. The previous highest was 44 by Gulbadin Naib for Afghanistan in 2012 against England.

In the pandemic-hit world, Test cricket outside the big three ends up losing the most because it is the most disposable

Sidharth Monga24-Nov-2021Pandemic-like crises can hasten the process of evolution. Those who are anywhere below the “fittest” have to adapt, and often compromise, to survive. Test cricket outside of the big three is going through that process.Related

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Even as England have two sides playing each other in Australia three weeks before the Ashes in order to prepare, even as India send one of their first-choice Test players to India A’s shadow tour to South Africa, the World Test Championship winners, New Zealand, start the defence of their No. 1 Test ranking against a side that has not lost a home series in ten years after finishing a T20 World Cup in the UAE on November 14, starting a T20I bilateral series in India on November 17, playing three matches in five days, and getting in two practice sessions after reaching the venue for the first Test on November 22.This is not to say New Zealand would definitely have won had they played warm-up matches or had time to acclimatise better, but they would have given themselves a much better chance. Especially when India are resting Virat Kohli (for the first of two Tests), Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. That India can rest so many players and still start as favourites speaks to their depth but also to the reality of today’s cricket in bio-bubbles and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand’s not being part of the big three.To remain in bubbles and play to such tight schedules, which means day after day of just hotel-ground-hotel travel, is not sustainable anymore. Naturally, Test cricket outside the big three ends up losing the most because it is the most disposable. The IPL teams get their camps, the T20 World Cup has warm-up matches, Australia, India and England get extended preparation when they play Tests, but the world champions of Test cricket try to defend their No. 1 ranking on a whistle-stop tour.1:34

Daniel Vettori picks his New Zealand XI

That they are still the fortunate ones – international cricketers able to ply their trade when so many have lost livelihoods – is not lost on them, though. “I suppose, in an ideal world, you can choose your preparation,” Kane Williamson said of the peculiar lead-up to the Test series. “No doubt the scheduling has been pretty tough. But, having said that, there is a lot outside your control that comes into some of those decisions.”At the same time, we are looking to prepare as well as we can. And we are excited about the challenge that lies ahead, which is a very strong Indian side, and playing in a country that is one of the biggest challenges in the sport.”Williamson himself sat out the T20I series in order to be fit and ready for the Tests, but Trent Boult and Rohit picked the T20Is instead. KL Rahul would probably have been fit and ready had he not played the T20Is and picked up a thigh strain, in all likelihood a stress-related injury. In another world, the players wouldn’t even have had to make that choice because there would not even have been that T20I series. Instead, New Zealand would have played against a Board President’s XI in a warm-up game, in which two or three fringe Indian players would have staked their claim too. Perhaps Ajinkya Rahane would have played such a game to look to regain his form.That India start as favourites despite not having many regulars speaks to their depth but also to New Zealand’s not being part of the big three•Associated PressThat other world has been phased out during the pandemic. At least Williamson is not naïve enough to not know the commercial importance of the T20I matches that preceded this series.”Very challenging schedule after a World Cup,” Williamson said when asked of the relevance of a bilateral T20I series. “Credit to both teams going out and putting their best foot forward and competing in a big way. It was interesting and unique but at the same time it was special to have crowds watching those games. Players all really enjoyed those matches as well.”In these times, it has been challenging to [not] have the schedules that we would have liked, and it has panned out with things outside our control. We are all fortunate to be here playing international cricket. Being in India and playing cricket here is one of the more special things we can do in this format.”So Test cricket shall adapt to this time of crisis in order to survive, but do watch out against the normalising of these schedules. For those who don’t want the bloated – according to them – Test schedules, have tasted blood and might want this repeated even when the pandemic is behind us. If you show them you can work from home, they start wondering if it is worth spending on office desks when things open up.

South Africa captain lauds his match-winning spinners, but wants to move back to “style where fast bowling is our prime source of attack”

Firdose Moonda04-Apr-2022New South Africa, who dis?Never mind that this was the first time since 1970 that they chose to play two spinners in a home Test, it is also the first time ever that only two South African bowlers have taken all 10 wickets in an innings. Those two bowlers happened to be spinners.”How awesome was it to see two spin bowlers bowling in tandem and have it on a string and absolutely dominate the opposition,” the captain Dean Elgar said, having made the decision to use both spinners to open the bowling in fading light on the fourth afternoon rather than giving the new ball to a seamer.”It was great to see both of them competing at such a high level. Most batting line-ups would have had a tough ask against them. The pure skill level and intensity they brought along with their consistency was amazing to witness.”Related

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Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer took 14 wickets between them in the match – shared evenly – as they traded glory. The first innings was Harmer’s, as he made a comeback to Test cricket following a seven-year hiatus, most of it spent as a Kolpak player. The second was Maharaj’s, who surged back from going wicketless in the first to fast-forward the team to victory and put in his best performance at home.On a pitch that was merely slow – not a raging turner – both of them built their success on discipline rather than extreme spin, but good areas is where what they have in common begins and ends.Maharaj is a darling of South African cricket, who came in as a little-known player in 2016 and has unassumingly gone about his business while breaking records in the process. He has played in all formats, and even captained in white-ball internationals. He is now the country’s most successful spinner in Tests since readmission. He is dependable and determined with a heartwarming backstory of learning to play the game from his father, who was denied access to greater opportunities in the country because of the colour of his skin.Harmer is controversial, having walked away from the game citing uncertainty in a transforming system as a fairly ordinary talent and returning after headlining the county circuit, as an outstanding one. Although he revealed he was ridden with self-doubt in the Durban Test, since embarking on a career in England, Harmer has come across as uber-confident, to the point of labelling himself the best offspinner in the world. He backed that up by topping the first-class bowling charts on his return. Harmer then leapfrogged George Linde into the squad named to play Bangladesh and showed why, with his four-fer in the first innings.At first, it seemed the parable of the prodigal would come to pass. Harmer out-bowled Maharaj in the first innings and was humble in the aftermath, still questioning whether four wickets proved he was good enough to be back. Was Maharaj a little envious?”I understand that you’re not going to get wickets all the time. I was in a good space in terms of the way I felt the ball was coming out,” Maharaj said. “It does get a bit frustrating not getting rewards.”

“It shows a lot of character with regards to adapting and being put in conditions we are not familiar with. It also shows a lot of strength within our group that we have the resources to adapt”Elgar on South Africa moving away from their comfort zone

Was that why Maharaj celebrated with Imran Tahir-like gusto when he began running through Bangladesh in the second innings? Or was it something else? “I love playing cricket at Kingsmead. Kingsmead is my home,” he said. “To have my family witness me help the team over the line is even more special to me.”Among the fans in the ground on Monday morning was his dad, Athmanand, his mother Kanchan, his older sister Tarisma and her three children. When Maharaj was born, in 1990, his family would not have been allowed to sit in the presidents’ suite, from where they watched him today. Athmanand grew more animated with every wicket and the family gathered for a group photograph on the boundary-edge afterwards. Harmer also had a support squad. His brother and his wife were in attendance and that crew may grow later this week, when the series moves to Gqeberha, where Harmer played his domestic cricket.Could South Africa play two spinners again? Given the conditions and personnel at their disposal (sans the IPL six, four of whom – Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje – make up the frontline pace pack) it’s a distinct possibility even if it’s not Elgar’s preferred way of doing things.”It’s not the style of cricket we are generally used to or want to play. We still want to play Highveld cricket where you are playing three seamers, an allrounder and a world-class spinner and have that style where fast bowling is our prime source of attack,” he said.But, over the last five days South Africa have shown that they can play with a combination that haven’t always used.”It shows a lot of character with regards to adapting and being put in conditions we are not familiar with. It also shows a lot of strength within our group that we have the resources to adapt,” Elgar said. “We play quite a lot of cricket in the sub. It was great to expose our bowling attack to having two spinners operating in tandem. There’s so many positives out of that. There’s a lot of good things that happened in the last five days.”Keshav Maharaj – “I was in a good space in terms of the way I felt the ball was coming out”•AFP/Getty ImagesMostly that South Africa saw there is space for a different kind of attack, with two different kinds of spinners, who are also different types of people, in their Test XI.”Having Simon is a good thing,” Maharaj said. “It’s nice to learn how he sees things and I would think he likes to learn how I see things. He is good to have in the change-room, he is lots of fun, he’s got good ideas and he has matured a lot as a cricketer. We can see the way he is bowling, it’s world class – his shape on the ball, his trajectories, his lines and lengths and also the way he thinks about things on the field is quite remarkable and an asset to this team.”It also indicates there is more depth to the South Africa’s talent pool (perhaps thanks to Brexit and the new 15-team domestic system) than was suspected, which bodes well for a winter trip to England and their chances in this World Test Championship, although Elgar was careful not to get too far ahead of himself.”That has been an area that we’ve struggled in but the only way you get a taste or a feeling (for international cricket) is by exposure. I think we are getting there with regards to exposure but I don’t think we are there yet,” he said. “We’ve still maybe got a season or two to go that can really reassure our minds of being 100% confident with regards to having quite a big pool. It’s still a work in progress. In saying that, guys have experienced Test cricket and what it demands and the kind of cricket you have to play to get a victory.”