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The toss may again prove crucial, lending a distinct advantage to whoever bats first

The Preview by Ankur Dhawan02-Dec-2018

Big picture

After everything that could go wrong, went wrong for Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, everything that could work, worked like a charm for them in Dubai. In many ways the hosts have stayed true to their reputation of blowing hot and cold, epitomised by the dramatic batting collapse in the first Test and an equally compelling win, orchestrated by a spell of legspin bowling that had all the necessary elements of a magic trick – drift, drop and turn.But you wouldn’t want to clap yet, because New Zealand have shown an eye for picking up clues, evidenced by a much-improved second-innings batting effort in Dubai, which they would hope to replicate in the decider.However, it is not through their batsmen that they have competed overseas in the last three years. Leaving aside their tour of Zimbabwe, their batsmen have put up a total of over 300 only once, which was in the second innings of the last Test. Their only away win (barring Zimbabwe again) came in Abu Dhabi in the first Test, and much of it was a consequence of keeping pace with Pakistan through disciplined bowling, allowing tension to build, before the hosts’ implosion gave them the series lead.Craig McMillan has urged his batsmen to come up with clear and precise plans against Yasir Shah, but truth be told, if he bowls like he did in the first innings in Dubai, New Zealand will need their bowlers to match him by producing a different kind of magic, one that’s synergistic in nature, a combined effect greater than the sum of its individual parts. The toss may again prove crucial, lending a distinct advantage to whoever bats first.

Form guide

New Zealand LWDWW (Last five Tests, most recent first)
Pakistan WLWDL

In the spotlight

Shaheen Afridi has been drafted into the squad for the injured Mohammad Abbas. Large boots to fill, figuratively, given Abbas’s impact in recent Test matches, but in a short international career Shaheen has shown he could be the perfect fit. He tormented New Zealand in the ODIs, picking up nine wickets in three matches, and his first-class numbers are even more impressive, highlighted by a record-shattering 8 for 39 on debut. His height and pace, in tandem with Yasir’s dip and turn, promise to pose a unique challenge to the visitors.Despite a modest record in Asia, Ross Taylor has played some of the stand-out innings for New Zealand against spin, particularly a rollicking hundred in Bengaluru and a match-winning one in Colombo. Both those knocks may now seem like fables from a medieval past, but in the absence of Brendon McCullum, who through his intrepid approach laid the foundation for a series-levelling win the last time New Zealand were here, Taylor is the one New Zealand batsman capable of replicating those heroics. He may not be one to dance down the track and deposit bowlers over the sightscreen like McCullum, but he possesses a delicate cut and a powerful sweep that could be equally effective tools when it comes to manipulating the field against Pakistan’s spinners.Yasir Shah delivers a ball from wide of the crease•AFP

Team news

Pakistan are going to be without Mohammad Abbas, who has been ruled out of the decider due to a shoulder injury. Shaheen Afridi will replace him. But Pakistan might consider another change, which is the inclusion of allrounder Faheem Ashraf to bolster the lower order and bowl seam in place of Bilal Asif.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Bilal Asif/Faheem Ashraf, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Yasir Shah, 11 Shaheen AfridiWith the series on the line and 20 wickets paramount, New Zealand may be lured into replacing Colin de Grandhomme with the experienced Tim Southee, who much like Taylor has produced a couple of outstanding performances in Asia in the past. Although effective with the new ball, de Grandhomme is rendered just a support bowler once the shine wears off, and his batting, with a highest score of 14 in four innings in this series, has hardly warranted continued selection. However, at least on paper, that switch would lengthen New Zealand’s tail, so another option could be to keep faith in de Grandhomme and replace Neil Wagner, who has only three wickets in the series, with Southee.New Zealand (possible): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Jeet Raval, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Ajaz Patel, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

Six of the last seven Tests in Abu Dhabi have gone to the side batting first, and the other was drawn. The return to Abu Dhabi, which also hosted the first Test, would please the seamers on both sides, as its pitch offers at least a modicum of assistance: the quicks have taken seven five-wicket hauls here, compared to just one in Dubai.

Stats and trivia

• If New Zealand manage to win the third Test, it will be their first series win in seven away/neutral series against Pakistan. The last time they won a Test series away from home against Pakistan was in 1969-70.
• Yasir Shah is five wickets away from becoming the quickest bowler to 200 Test wickets, and bettering the current record-holder by a fair margin. Yasir has 195 wickets from 32 Tests. Clarrie Grimmett took his 200th wicket in his 36th Test.

Quotes

“If you look at Asian venues teams prefer to bat first and the advantage is that if you score a big total then you don’t need to bat in the fourth innings so obviously any team playing here thinks winning the toss is good.”
“I guess it was about 45 minutes of madness against someone like Yasir Shah who came out with an outstanding performance and put us under pressure to turn around the Test around from then on.”

Fakhar Zaman and KL Rahul became the new No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, while Babar Azam, Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell slipped to occupy the spots right below the top three

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2018Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch has jumped three places to vault to the top of ICC T20I rankings for batsmen, while Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman and India’s KL Rahul rose to the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively. Finch also became the first player ever to break the 900-point barrier in the T20I rankings but ended the series with a final tally of 891 points.The new top three in the ICC rankings for T20 batsmen•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Babar Azam, Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell all slipped, occupying the three spots below Finch, Zaman and Rahul.Finch had a prolific run in the tri-series against Pakistan and hosts Zimbabwe, piling on 306 runs in five games at a strike rate of over 200, which included a world record 172 off 76 balls.Zaman moved up 44 places on the table and reached 842 points following his own incredible form in Zimbabwe, which featured a career-best 91 off 46 balls in the final that helped Pakistan seal a record chase against Australia in Harare.Rahul touched a career-high 854 points following the first match of the T20I series in England – which the visitors won 2-1 – where he scored a match-winning 101, but a dip in the next two games saw him finish with 812 points.D’Arcy Short, Finch’s opening partner, entered the top 10 rankings for the first time. He made 165 runs at an average of 41.25 in the tri-series, including a 53-ball 76 in the final. The others who garnered career-best rankings following the two series were Jason Roy (No. 15 with 641 points), Jos Buttler (No. 17 with 614 points) and Zimbabwe’s Solomon Mire, who rose a staggering 202 spots to 25th place on the table.Among the bowlers, legspinners Rashid Khan and Shadab Khan retained the top two positions but there were movements down the table. Andrew Tye rose 41 places to seventh spot and Adil Rashid moved up four places to ninth.

Ben Stokes, the England allrounder, has put his name up for next month’s IPL auction in an attempt to use the experience of playing in overseas T20 leagues to expand his game

Arun Venugopal in Pune13-Jan-20173:26

Morgan the driving point of our ODI goal – Stokes

Ben Stokes, the England allrounder, has put his name up for next month’s IPL auction in an attempt to use the experience of playing in overseas T20 leagues to expand his game. Should he land a deal, he will become the third player from the current English side, after captain Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, to feature in the lucrative eight-team tournament.Stokes’ only tryst with a foreign league came in 2014-15, when he was left out of England’s World Cup squad following a prolonged slump in form, and was instead signed by Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash as a replacement for the injured Jesse Ryder. He made an immediate impact by smashing a 37-ball 77 in his opening match against Hobart Hurricanes, and finished the season as Renegades’ third-highest run-getter with 128 runs from four innings.Stokes’ stock in India soared during last year’s World T20, when he was one of the stars of England’s inspired run to the final (albeit he bore the brunt of Carlos Brathwaite’s unforgettable onslaught in the decisive over in Kolkata), and his aptitude in Asian conditions was again demonstrated before Christmas when he starred with bat and ball in the Tests and ODIs against Bangladesh, before carrying some of that form into an otherwise tough Test series against India.”This year’s IPL is a chance, not just for myself, but a few of the other English guys to go ahead and experience what it’s like. Get a different side of T20 cricket, rather than just play in England,” Stokes said in Pune, in the lead-up to the first ODI against India on Sunday. “I won’t say I am lucky, but in terms of the English summer, it is quite hard to get away and go and experience what it is like to play in these foreign T20 leagues.”Stokes’ enthusiasm for foreign leagues comes at a time when the ECB is keen to launch a high-profile T20 league of its own from 2020. An ECB delegation recently met with Big Bash authorities to study the successful BBL model and absorb the right lessons while, at a playing level, Trevor Bayliss’s tenure as coach has enhanced the sense that white-ball cricket is at last being treated as an equal priority.”It’s one of the things that we want to happen in England… to become like a franchise sort of thing,” Stokes said. “Many of the countries are doing it, so we’re looking forward to seeing if I get a chance to go and see what it’s all about.”Referring to the positive appraisals of players who have been part of the Big Bash or the IPL, Stokes said English players, and as an extension, the team would be better for the experience. “You end up playing against the best players in the world, albeit in T20 cricket. But, look at the guys who’ve gone away and played franchise cricket in Australia and India as well, they’ve all come back and said very, very good things – said it has massively helped their cricket,” he said.”The guys you get to work with as well, not just players but coaches as well. They’ve all come away with really good experience and they’ve all said they think they’ve become better players from doing that. The more chances that we get, I think that is going to do us a world of good.”England have a packed season of white-ball cricket leading up to the Champions Trophy, with three ODIs in the Caribbean in March, a two-match ODI series against Ireland in the first week of May, followed by three ODIs against South Africa. There is also a training camp planned in mid-May. In the event of Stokes securing an IPL contract, he said he was comfortable with being asked to cut short his league commitments to report for the ODIs.”I am an England player. So the decision will get made on what would happen then,” he said. “I’ll just go with whatever… if they feel that it is best for the English guys who go out there to stay over there, then we’ll follow that. And if they want us to come back to represent England, which is what our job is to do, then we’ll come back and have no complaints.”

Another mind-numbing batting collapse from Bangladesh meant that they lost the Nelson ODI and along with it the series to New Zealand

The Report by Mohammad Isam28-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:14

Isam: Spirit has been sucked out of Bangladesh batting

Another mind-numbing batting collapse from Bangladesh meant that they lost the Nelson ODI and along with it the series to New Zealand. They only had 252 to chase, and at one point were 105 for 1 but ended up losing the remaining nine wickets for only 79 runs. This meant that Neil Broom, who made his first ODI century nearly eight years after his debut, had something special to savour.It was déjà vu for Bangladesh. Back in October, they were on course to chase England’s 309 in Mirpur. After Imrul Kayes and Shakib Al Hasan added 118 runs for the fifth wicket, the hosts needed just 39 runs in the last 8.3 overs. But they ended up losing their last six wickets for 17 runs in the space of 39 balls. It seemed Bangladesh had carried the baggage from that game to their tour of New Zealand.

Hayder reprimanded for breaching code of conduct

Bangladesh allrounder Tanbir Hayder has been reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during his international debut – the second ODI against New Zealand in Nelson.
Hayder, who failed to pick up a wicket in eight overs and managed only two runs in the team’s 67-run loss, was found to have been in violation of Article 2.1.4, which relates to “using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an international match.”
The incident concerned his reaction after the last ball of the 19th over, when he used obscene language after being pulled to the midwicket boundary by Neil Broom, who pressed on to make his maiden ODI hundred.
Since Hayder admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Chris Broad, the match referee, there was no need for a formal hearing.

There was a rosy period, as with most Bangladesh batting collapses. After New Zealand were restricted to the first score under 300 batting first at home against Bangladesh, Kayes and Sabbir Rahman added 75 runs for the second wicket.Kayes showed good patience, nudging singles off the wicket-to-wicket balls and taking full toll when he was given width. The pull also came out a number of times and when part-time seamer Colin Munro dropped him on 19, New Zealand would have been worried. Sabbir, from the other end, confidently cut and drove the fast bowlers as Bangladesh seemed to take control. They needed 146 runs off 163 balls with nine wickets in hand.That was when the first domino fell, via a tragicomic run-out. Kayes pushed the ball into the covers and set off for a quick single. Sabbir responded initially before changing his mind. Kayes kept on running, and ended up reaching the non-striker’s end before Sabbir who had turned him away. That meant the throw at the strikers’ end essentially led to the the non-striker’s run out.Then, in the 26th over, an inswinging yorker from Lockie Ferguson toppled Mahmudullah’s middle stump.Three overs later, Shakib Al Hasan cut Kane Williamson to backward point. In the next over from the part-time offspinner, Mosaddek Hossain chipped a catch to mid-off.Five balls later Kayes drove lazily at a Tim Southee delivery and Bangladesh’s best hope for stemming the collapse was gone. He made 59 off 89 with six fours.Bangladesh lost six wickets in 10 overs between the 23rd and the 33rd and were eventually bowled out for 184. One more damning sign of their collapse was that it was a part-timer, Williamson, who took the most wickets – 3 for 22.It completed a highly satisfying series win for New Zealand after their torrid tours of India and Australia. One that might not have happened if the selectors hadn’t thawed Broom out of ice. He had to wait six years to restart his ODI career, but ended 2016 with a maiden century that proved match-winning on a day bathed in sunshine, and on a pitch slower than normal at Saxton Oval, New Zealand struggled to bat at their usual high tempo.Only Broom applied himself to any effect. He was particularly good driving through extra cover and used the sweep liberally – both shots were used to upset the spinners. His team was nine down when he was on 99, but Trent Boult hung in there just long enough and Broom finished unbeaten on 109 off 106 balls with eight fours and three sixes.The rest of the New Zealand batting line-up faltered with Martin Guptill falling leg-before to Mashrafe in the first over. Kane Williamson was dismissed for 17 by Taskin Ahmed for the second time in as many games and the Boxing Day centurion Tom Latham, was lbw for 22.Broom and James Neesham added 51 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter was stumped for 28, giving wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan his first ODI dismissal. Munro, another hero from Christchurch, lasted six balls before Mashrafe got one to scythe between his bat and pad and hit the top of off-stump. Luke Ronchi added 64 for the sixth wicket with Broom to push the total past 200 and in the end, it proved more than enough.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc who beat Saqlain Mushtaq’s 19-year record to become the fastest ever to 100 ODI wickets has played down the landmark

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2016Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who beat Saqlain Mushtaq’s 19-year record to become the fastest ever to 100 ODI wickets, played down the landmark and described it as “something he could sit back and reflect later”.Starc achieved the feat in his 52nd ODI when he had Dhananjaya de Silva skewing a catch to midwicket off a deceptive slower delivery in Colombo on Sunday. Starc did not concede a boundary and finished with figures of 3 for 32, which laid the foundation for Australia’s first win of the Sri Lanka tour.”I guess it’s [being the fastest to 100 ODI wickets] something I could sit back and reflect on later on,” Starc said following Australia’s three-wicket win. “Quite frankly I’m glad it’s finished now, I don’t have to hear about it or talk about it anymore. I was just glad I could contribute to a win tonight. I guess it was a scrappy game, and once the series is finished or later down the track I could reflect on.”Starc was Australia’s lone bright spot during the 0-3 defeat in the Test series in Sri Lanka, taking 24 wickets at an average and strike rate of 15.16 and 25.80. No other bowler has picked up 20 or more wickets in a Test series in Asia at a better strike rate than Starc’s. He generated reverse swing from over the wicket as well as from around the wicket, which affirmed his status as one of the fiercest fast bowlers. Starc said the presence of former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald as the side’s bowling coach was “fantastic”.”I have enjoyed working with AD through this tour,” Starc said. Obviously worked with AD in the IPL [with Royal Challengers Bangalore] in the last couple of years and hopefully will in the years to come. Through this tour, he has been fantastic for us, his knowledge of playing in Sri Lanka, talking about reverse swing, it has been fantastic.”Starc also credited Donald’s predecessor Craig McDermott for setting him on track for the 2015 World Cup, where he returned 22 wickets at 10.18, the best average in a World Cup for a bowler who took at least 15 wickets. Starc ultimately bagged the Man-of-the-tournament award.”It [the turnaround in white-ball cricket] was work done before the World Cup with Craig McDermott especially, maybe 12 months prior to the World Cup and tinkering on a few things – my wrist [position] and swinging the ball and a tri-series [against India and England] before the World Cup,” he said. “I think everything started to click and it all felt really good. Then obviously the World Cup was a pretty special period for the whole group and for me it was nice just to get the ball in the right areas more often than I probably had in the past. The one little period that will always stand out was the World Cup. That was very special not just for myself but for the whole squad and the staff. That is probably going to be a hard one to top.”

Queensland cricket is in mourning over the loss of the state’s long-time chief executive Graham Dixon, who succumbed to brain cancer on Saturday night at the age of 61 after a battle lasting more than a year.

Daniel Brettig29-Jul-2013Queensland cricket is in mourning over the loss of the state’s long-time chief executive Graham Dixon, who succumbed to brain cancer on Saturday night at the age of 61 after a battle lasting more than a year.Highly regarded among players, coaches and administrators for his tireless work and good sense, Dixon had formally stood down as CEO only a month ago. Starting work at the Gabba as the state’s general manager in 1991 then replacing Barry Richards as CEO in 1996, his tenure coincided with Queensland’s rise from years of frustrated ambitions to an era of unrivalled domestic success.The Queensland chairman Jim Holding said Dixon had left a major imprint on the game in the state. “Graham was Queensland Cricket to many people during his time.” Holding said. “He felt a strong sense of duty towards the organisation, which meant he set the tone when it came to imposing high standards and meeting or eclipsing them.”His dedication to developing our headquarters at Allan Border Field will be a lasting legacy while the friendships and networks he forged with current and past players, fellow administrators, employees, delegates, government at all levels and the grassroots will stand QC in good stead for years to come.”His actions endorsed his words too. I don’t know of too many CEOs who would, almost without fail, be up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning to go down to Deagon to help take the covers off the pitches and assist with preparing the grounds for the day’s play. Likewise, he was very modest about his own standing and stature in our game, deflecting praise and actively avoiding the spotlight to allow it to shine on those that had ‘earned’ it, as he would observe.””As a group, we will miss his counsel, his generosity, his willingness to embrace innovation and think laterally. He enjoyed a challenge and his determination to achieve the ‘right’ result will be a loss to the game.”Since claiming their first Sheffield Shield in 1995, Queensland have won no fewer than seven titles, plus five domestic limited overs crowns. And Brisbane Heat won last summer’s second edition of the Twenty20 Big Bash League.That success could not have arrived without Dixon’s assiduous work to establish a strong and stable association, including numerous key appointments such John Buchanan as state coach before the first Shield was won, and in more recent times Darren Lehmann to coach the state, a role that catapulted him towards the national job he now holds.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, also offered a warm tribute. “Graham came to cricket administration at a local level while still in his teens, had a lengthy career as a club player and went on to be a respected state cricket association CEO through an important era for Queensland cricket,” he said. “He was also a thoughtful and respected voice at the national cricket table when CA, state and territory cricket association CEO’s regularly came together.”Graham was strongly pro-Queensland but he also contributed strongly to the national reform debate that has seen Australian cricket increasingly think and act as a national game.”

A round-up of the fourth day’s action of fourth round Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2012
ScorecardHimachal Pradesh had moved into a strong position on the third day in Ranchi but couldn’t convert that into an outright win as Jharkhand’s openers put on a big stand. Akash Verma, playing his third first-class match, gave himself an early birthday present by making his maiden century. His opening partner Manish Vardhan didn’t complete a hundred, though, dismissed for 95. Their efforts, however, were enough to block Himachal’s hopes of victory. Himachal get three points for the first-innings lead, while Jharkhand get one.
ScorecardGoa took the enterprising decision of enforcing the follow-on after bowling out Kerala 27 overs into the day, instead of simply batting out till stumps, but weren’t able to force a victory in Malappuram. Kerala had never looked like overhauling Goa’s first-innings total of 512, and folded 215 runs short on the final morning. There was some brief excitement as Goa struck twice early in Kerala’s second innings, before VA Jagadeesh and Robert Fernandez calmly added 80 to scotch hopes of an outright win.

India batter keen to score “heaps of runs” and help an upcoming team flourish

Shashank Kishore26-Aug-2025India batter Hanuma Vihari has signed with Tripura as one of their three professionals ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season. Vihari, who finished as Player of the Tournament at the recently concluded Andhra Premier League, has been granted a no-objection certificate (NOC) by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA).ESPNcricinfo understands Vihari’s contract is for a season to begin with, and is extendable by mutual consent. It’s a decision, he says, that stemmed from a desire to play all formats, something Andhra couldn’t promise him.”I was keen on other opportunities since I believe I’m good enough to play all three formats,” Vihari told ESPNcricinfo. “Andhra made it clear they were looking at youngsters for the T20 format. That was why I decided it didn’t make sense playing even the 50-over format, so I sat out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. I also wanted to play in a new environment.”Related

• BCCI introduces 'serious injury replacement substitute' rule in multi-day competitions

• Rahane steps down as Mumbai's Ranji Trophy captain

• IPL star Priyansh Arya sets sights on Ranji Trophy

Vihari’s signing marks closure to a slightly tumultuous past few years with Andhra. A full-blown public spat after their 2023-24 Ranji campaign had left him “humiliated and embarrassed” at the treatment meted out to him by certain factions within the ACA. At the time, Vihari alleged “political interference” as one of the reasons for him stepping down as captain at the start of that season.Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Vihari was in talks to move to Madhya Pradesh (for a second year in a row) but was talked out of it by Nara Lokesh, general secretary of Andhra’s ruling party, TDP. Vihari’s u-turn had left the MPCA upset.”For the last two seasons, I’d been talking of going out [he’d been in talks with Madhya Pradesh], but I stayed back,” Vihari said of the previous season. “I felt given the circumstances around me, and also where my own cricket is at, this was the best time to sign with an upcoming team. This year they approached me first, and I felt it’ll be a challenge worth taking up.”