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Fun, fast, fearsome Archer carries Royals bowling load

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His numbers are stunning despite lacking the kind of support Bumrah and Rabada have had

Vishal Dikshit31-Oct-2020Jofra Archer runs in to bowl as casually as you would if a kitten was after you. But he delivers the ball as fiercely as you would if you were to bounce out a tiger shark charging at you.Archer has been doing this all tournament now – running in at a pace you think is not his quickest, picking wickets as regularly as you’ve been attending Zoom meetings recently, bouncing out top-order batsmen for fun, returning in the death overs to scare the lower order and the tail, and then going back to play his XboX. And just like that, he has 19 wickets from 13 games for the Rajasthan Royals with a stunning economy rate of 6.69, which is far better than even Kagiso Rabada’s 8.13, Jasprit Bumrah’s 7.18 and Mohammed Shami’s 8.67, who are all marginally ahead of him on the wicket-takers’ list.But there’s one thing each of those bowlers has that Archer doesn’t: strong bowling support from the other end. The Royals’ over-dependence on Archer shows in many ways. It’s evident in the statistics, in their use of Archer against the opposition’s top batsmen, in the way oppositions look to see his spell off and target the other bowlers, and how the Royals seem handicapped when they need one more over of tight bowling from the other end to sustain the pressure when Archer has just finished his over. But there’s nobody to turn to.If Rabada has Anrich Nortje to share the responsibility, Bumrah is flanked by Trent Boult and James Pattinson, and Shami has had Arshdeep Singh of late in the powerplay or Chris Jordan at the death. Archer is standing tall and alone at the top for the Royals. Their next best bowler (Shreyas Gopal) on the wicket-takers’ list is not even in the top 20 overall, and their next best quick bowler is not even in the top 30: it’s 19-year-old Kartik Tyagi, who has impressed but can’t be expected to share such a responsibility at this stage of his career. The more experienced Jaydev Unadkat has four wickets with an economy rate of nearly 10 an over, and Ankit Rajpoot has only two while leaking 11.70 runs per over.In short, Archer’s 19 scalps are exactly half of the 38 wickets the Royals pace bowlers have picked this IPL, and while his economy rate is well under seven, the others collectively concede 10.51 per over. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Starts, Archer’s bowling impact is also twice as good as the next best Royals bowler in IPL 2020.This over-dependence was briefly evident on Friday night against the Kings XI Punjab when the Royals wanted Archer to bowl his raw pace to Chris Gayle upfront. And to make that happen too, they needed Archer to strike early because Gayle has been batting at No. 3 this IPL. With his same casual-looking run-up, Archer bounced out Mandeep Singh with a ferocious 144kmh delivery at the end of the first over, and out walked Gayle. Even more casually.Jofra Archer whistles a bouncer past Chris Gayle•BCCIArcher must have been itching to bowl his next over to Gayle, hoping that he would retain strike. Instead, he gets a boundary off an inside edge, and Archer has to bowl to KL Rahul again. He waits long, for another five balls, before Rahul finally takes a single and he can bowl to Gayle. Archer bangs the ball in, it whizzes past Gayle’s chin as he drops his hands and Archer’s two overs are done after having bowled only one delivery to Gayle.The Royals have needed Archer’s two overs so desperately at the death that they haven’t bowled more than two of his even once in the powerplay this IPL. The temptation is there to make him bowl a third in a row this time. Gayle is still fresh; get him early and the middle order could stutter. The season is on the line. Two legspinners have to be bowled later, and Gayle will pounce on them.But Archer is taken off. It’s probably to contain the damage at the end.”There’s always a consideration to bowl Jofra in many phases of the game but he’s got only four overs and we’ve got to position that in the best way we see,” the Royals coach Andrew McDonald told the commentators during the game on Star Sports. “It’s always a consideration to get two great overs upfront and then the third over is always going to be questionable but we need a couple of other bowlers in support there. We saw Varun [Aaron] almost got the breakthrough as well, so it’s always bowling around him (Archer) most importantly.”Lack of support from the other end has also meant the Royals can’t use him the way the Delhi Capitals bowl Rabada or how the Mumbai Indians employ Bumrah. Because of Nortje and the spinners for the Capitals, and Boult and Pattinson for Mumbai, Rabada and Bumrah bowl just one over in the powerplay, one just after the halfway mark, and two precious overs at the death. Archer, on the other hand, has mostly been bowling two in the powerplay and two at the death, leaving a lot of space in the middle overs for oppositions to cash in on.On Friday, the Royals managed two points because their batting has stepped up in the last couple of games. Now, they have just the one game left to reach 14 points which can possibly get them a playoff spot. With this being Archer’s best IPL – in terms of both wickets and economy rate – all the Royals need is for someone to bowl with the same intensity as Archer for one more match to not let their season end on Sunday.

The greatest IPL performances, No. 2: Shane Watson's 117 not out vs the Sunrisers Hyderabad

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When Watto went from slow starter to ruthless punisher

Deivarayan Muthu07-May-20216:26

Tom Moody, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson relive the match-winning 117 not out

We polled our staff for their picks of the top ten best batting, bowling and all-round performances in the IPL through its history. Here’s No. 2Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, final, 2018
With the Chennai Super Kings returning from a two-year suspension, emotions ran high among players and fans. Even the usually unflappable MS Dhoni almost teared up at an event while speaking about his side’s return to the IPL.Both Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming agreed that only experience could counter the effects of the emotions and pressure. So, at the IPL 2018 auction, the Super Kings packed their squad with over-30s players, including Shane Watson.Fleming, who was coaching the Melbourne Stars then in the BBL, liked what he had seen of Watson in the 2017-18 Australian tournament. Watson was the fifth-highest scorer that season, tallying 331 runs for the Sydney Thunder in ten innings at an average of 36.77 and strike rate of just under 140. But at 36, could he reprise those heroics in the IPL, ten years after he had emerged MVP in the inaugural season, back in 2008?That question came up again in the 2018 final, when Watson went scoreless off his first ten balls in a chase of 179 at the Wankhede against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had started with a maiden over in which a big outswinger ripped past Watson’s outside edge, and he continued to challenge the edges. Watson was also carrying a hamstring strain that hampered his running between the wickets. Faf du Plessis was gone and Suresh Raina wasn’t quite the IPL stalwart he once was.In the sixth over, Watson broke loose with a six and four off Sandeep Sharma, and when first-change Siddarth Kaul darted one on to the pads the following over, Watson lunged at it like a caged animal released, clearing the square-leg boundary with a full-blooded whip. In Kaul’s next over, Watson sent a knuckleball over long-on for six. Then lined up Sharma again in the 13th, clobbering him for a hat-trick of sixes in a 27-run over.Flow like Watto: absorb, assess, attack•BCCIIn all, Watson ruthlessly took 74 off 27 balls from Kaul and Sharma. His stunning transformation even allowed Ambati Rayudu to play a maiden in the 15th over, bowled by Rashid Khan. They could afford it: CSK only needed 33 off 30 balls after that over, with eight wickets in hand. From 0 off ten balls, and a run-a-ball 19 at the end of the powerplay, Watson cranked up to his century in 51 balls.Other players might have panicked after such a slow start with the title on the line, but not a T20 veteran like Watson. Other teams might have panicked if their home base had been moved after just one game, but not Dhoni’s CSK. After the franchise moved to Pune (and their fans moved with them), Watson adapted to the conditions and struck a century against his former team, the Rajasthan Royals.Pilloried as Dad’s Army for picking too many over-30s – and retired – players, CSK eventually won the title thanks to a hundred from a 36-year old who was largely batting on one leg.

The numbers

1 Watson’s score, 117 off 57 balls, is the highest in an IPL final

555 Runs scored by Watson in 2018, his most prolific IPL season

108 Runs Watson has scored against Rashid Khan at a strike rate of 147.94 being dismissed, in all T20 cricket. No other batter has a better record against the legspinner in the format

“This year we’ve really valued experience and also around the world you see experienced players consistently do well,” Fleming had said after the auction in 2018. “MS and I are both on the same wavelength that that experience counts. There’s room there for young players to come tomorrow, but it was one of our directions as CSK comes back in, to get an established experienced side to join the likes of [Ravindra] Jadeja and [Suresh] Raina and a couple of other young players. That was the plan.”The plan worked perfectly for CSK as they beat the Sunrisers 4-0 that season to seal their third IPL title and one of the most remarkable comebacks.The Greatest IPL performances 2008-2020

Taskin Ahmed lifts Bangladesh amid gloom

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He brings heat, passion and energy to the middle. And Bangladesh need it now

Mohammad Isam19-Nov-2021Taskin Ahmed brings a whole lot of energy to the Bangladesh team. When he gets a wicket, he spreads the joy. His Shoaib Akhtar-like take-off and infectious smile lets his team-mates join in. And he celebrates every wicket, in every situation.He took 2 for 31 on Friday against Pakistan, making him one of the bright spots in Bangladesh’s four-wicket loss in the first T20I. Taskin removed Babar Azam in the fourth over, and when he had Fakhar Azam caught behind in the 15th, he broke a 56-run fifth-wicket stand between Fakhar and Khushdil Shah that set the stone of Pakistan’s revival.Both wickets felt like big events. His team-mates’ reaction, the crowd’s reaction and the opposition’s reaction told you so. Taskin’s energy resonates across the ground. Part of their admiration for him stems from how he has proved everyone wrong to bounce back from multiple setbacks when it appeared as if his career was over.All said, there wasn’t the usual air of expectation around the Bangladesh team on Friday even though the crowd sensed the need to give them a lift. And they cheered for every run saved – every stop – even though things remained difficult on the field.But the defeat compounded Bangladesh’s misery after the T20 World Cup debacle. On the field, the changed top order hardly made much of a difference to their approach or their score. The middle order quickly caved in too, leaving the lower order to get them past the three-figure mark for the first time in three matches.Bangladesh also were left to rue a poor end-overs performance that blew away their strong start – they reduced Pakistan to 24 for 4 in defence. A late big-hitting onslaught from Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz ended the home side’s hopes of a late revival. Mustafizur Rahman’s 15-run over off the 18th gave Pakistan the spring to push over the line.Having to chew on another tough loss, Mahmudullah once again was drawing on crumbs of comfort. “I wasn’t frustrated [about the late onslaught],” he said. “I think we bowled well. We took wickets up front. These things can happen in the death overs when batsmen are chancing their arms.”Our bowlers tried hard, especially Mustafizur. They [Pakistan batters] played some good shots there in the end. I think Mahedi [Hasan] has been performing well for the team, both with the bat and ball. Taskin has been outstanding. Afif [Hossan] and Sohan [Nurul Hasan] batted well. I still think we could have done better with the bat.”Mahmudullah will feel under pressure if Bangladesh can’t pull one back in the second of the back-to-back T20Is on Saturday. There have been several points of criticism, including his bowling changes and his inability to finish the game against West Indies in the T20 World Cup. The latest in what is growing to be a long list of issues is his silence over selections, like Mushfiqur Rahim’s axing from this series.Another aspect he may have to potentially look at is letting his trail of thoughts filter through to the bowlers. Someone like Mustafizur, as experienced as he is, largely keeps to himself. He does his bowling, quietly fields and isn’t the type who will proactively walk up to his captain with suggestions and advice.This is where someone like Taskin can spruce things up. He gives Mahmudullah some breathing space. Every captain wants a genuine fast bowler in his attack and in Taskin, Mahmudullah has someone who can bowl 140kph on a regular basis. He loves being in the thick of things. He brings heat, passion and energy to the middle. And Bangladesh need it.

Odean Smith models ambition 'to be one of the world's top allrounders' on idol Andre Russell

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“We can do similar things: he hits the ball a long way and bowls fast, and I can do that”

Matt Roller20-Jan-2022A Jamaican allrounder who hits 100-metre sixes and bowls at 90mph/145kph will represent West Indies against England this week – but it isn’t Andre Russell.While Russell takes part in the Bangladesh Premier League, Odean Smith will be tasked with closing out the innings with both bat and ball in the five T20Is in Barbados. Smith, 25, was among the young players introduced into West Indies’ white-ball set-up after their World Cup debacle in the UAE, and will be given opportunities to impress in his first T20I series on Caribbean soil.Last week’s ODI series against Ireland brought mixed emotions for him. A surprise 2-1 defeat meant the team started 2022 on a low note, but Smith had personal success in his maiden series: he hit 84 runs off 47 balls across three innings – surprisingly held back to No. 10 – and chipped in with three wickets.He was also involved in the series’ viral moment, when he hit Josh Little for six over cover only to see it land on the roof of his team-mate Sheldon Cottrell’s bright-blue Range Rover. “I was praying for that ball to go over the car,” he laughs. “He made a post about it, but you can’t park there. It was just unfortunate… he’s not going to make me pay.”

Smith was part of the West Indies Under-19 squad that won the World Cup in 2016 but has only burst onto the scene in the last six months, a period which has represented a breakthrough in his career. He impressed for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) – Smith finished as the joint-second-highest wicket-taker in 2021 – and came into consideration for the T20 World Cup squad, reportedly missing out on fitness grounds.Related

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“I had put in a lot of work going into that CPL, so I was quite confident,” he says. “That was a big part of why I did well: I was very confident in my body, physically, and that’s where it all started. I just went out there and expressed myself.”Fitness is something I’ve worked a lot on. I’m quite a powerful guy but you need to do a lot of running in this game, so that’s somewhere I’ve done a lot of work – not so much on being strong, but just trying to get a lot of miles in the legs. Once I’m fit and feeling well, I’m going to perform at the highest level. Nobody has to tell me that – I know it already.”Ian Bishop was impressed by what he saw while covering the CPL as a broadcaster. “He needs to refine his skillset – a couple of yorkers here and there, refine that slower ball,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “And refine his batting, because his batting is still raw – but it is powerful as heck. If someone gets a hold of him and refines his game, he’s a very exciting prospect.”Late in the CPL, a call came through from Sunil Narine, asking if Smith would be interested in joining Kolkata Knight Riders’ camp in the UAE as a net bowler; he jumped at the chance.”It was a very, very good experience,” he says. “I knew I wasn’t going to play but it was an opportunity to train with a lot of experienced guys. After the first training session I didn’t bowl much because I had hit somebody – it was Ben Cutting – on the head, so they had to rub my name off the board. After that nobody wanted to bat against me, but the coaches were very helpful, especially with my bowling.”He also had the chance to catch up with Russell, who has acted as something of a mentor for him. “He’s always been my idol in cricket,” Smith explains. “We can do similar things: he hits the ball a long way and bowls fast, and I can do that. He’s a busy guy – he’s doesn’t really answer messages – but whenever he’s around, he’s somebody that I talk to, somebody I look up to and somebody that in the future I’d hope to be like.Andre Russell (centre) and Odean Smith were part of Deccan Gladiators side that won the 2021 Abu Dhabi T10•Abu Dhabi T10″I’m somebody that learns by looking. I watch what he’s doing and I’ll try it for myself. [I watch him] hitting sixes, getting a good base at the crease, trying to stay as still as possible, keep his eyes on the ball as long as possible. That’s something I’ve seen him do and tried for myself in the nets.”They were reunited a month later at the Abu Dhabi T10, playing in Deccan Gladiators’ title-winning side. Smith’s role – “just to express myself” – suited him well: he hit 139 runs off 49 balls across the tournament, and felt as though his death bowling improved immeasurably in the face of ultra-attacking batters.From there, he travelled to Pakistan – where he had made his T20I debut as part of an under-strength side in 2018 – for the T20I series, where West Indies felt as though they made strides despite losing 3-0.”There’s a few new faces [in the upcoming England series], and they’ve trying to figure out where everyone fits,” Smith says. “The guys need games together… we haven’t played much T20 together, so these five games are going to be very important.”Phil Simmons and Kieron Pollard, West Indies’ coach and captain, have been publicly supportive. “We’ve seen what his strengths are: he has a lot of pace when he bowls and he’s getting his yorkers in a lot more, and it’s something we’re working hard on with him,” Simmons said. “And he can change a game with the bat for any team he’s playing for.”

“I’ve watched a lot of IPL games. Mumbai [Indians] was one of the teams that I really liked growing up”Smith hopes he too can play in the IPL

“I’m very, very proud,” Pollard said of Smith and Romario Shepherd, his friend and CPL team-mate. “They have come in and they have shown that they want to be at the international level. Obviously they are a bit rough on the edges […] but you can see the raw talent.”After the England series, Smith can expect to be part of the squads for the limited-overs tour to India, which will be interrupted in the middle for the IPL auction. He has put his name forward, and will be watching nervously on February 12 and 13.”I’ve watched a lot of IPL games. Mumbai [Indians] was one of the teams that I really liked growing up – I like someone that hits the ball, and I’ve seen Pollard, who hits the ball real far. Then when Andre Russell came through, I went over to [support] KKR. It’s a league I’ve always wanted to play [in], but you have to be really up there to get into it.”Smith is clear, though, that international cricket is his priority. “When there’s no West Indies cricket, I’m available for other leagues and I’ll definitely play in them. But if I have to choose, I’m going to choose international cricket. Playing for my country, my region, is always going to come first.”My ambition is to be one of the top allrounders in the world,” he says. “Hopefully, I could play some Test cricket also – I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to – but my aspiration is to be one of the best allrounders going around, in all aspects of the game: T20, 50 overs and Test cricket.”

Joe Root's resignation compounds power vacuum at ECB

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No coach, no managing director of cricket, no selector and now no Test captain

Matt Roller15-Apr-2022″There’s no coach, no managing director of cricket, no selector.” Eoin Morgan did his best to sum up the power vacuum at the heart of England’s men’s teams in an interview with ESPNcricinfo last week but now Joe Root has thrown the Test captaincy into the black hole, too.Even before Root’s resignation on Friday, England were in a mess. They had won one of their last 17 Tests and spent most of last summer treating home fixtures against the world’s two best teams – India and New Zealand – as “preparation” for an Ashes series that they lost four-nil.Against West Indies, the team felt increasingly out of sync with the wider mood. As England slipped to a 1-0 series defeat, Root insisted that they were making “big improvements” in his final television interview in the role, in which he was grilled by an increasingly short-tempered David Gower.The two highest wicket-takers in their history, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, are frustrated by the lack of communication they have had with their employers since they were surprisingly omitted for the series defeat in the Caribbean. “There’s nobody in those positions permanently,” Anderson said earlier this week. “I’m presuming that is why I’ve not heard anything.”Related

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There were mitigating factors throughout, with the demands on England’s leading players heightened by the effects of Covid on both their schedule and their day-to-day lives with the suffocation of bubble life catching up with them. But when results turned, so did public opinion; by the final day of Root’s last Test as captain in Grenada, his predecessors were queuing up to call for him to be sacked.”Why now – why not 20 years ago?” a reporter asks in a episode when Krusty the Klown announces he is quitting show business. The same could be asked of Root’s resignation: why wait until mid-April when it has been clear for three months that his time is up?Root said in his statement that during a rare break after the West Indies tour, it had “hit home how much of a toll [the captaincy] has taken” and the impact it has had on his life away from the game. It is a reminder of just how gruelling England’s schedule has been that he did not have time to make that realisation in the weeks after the Ashes.It was telling that Tom Harrison, the chief executive, was the only senior figure left to pay Root tribute in the ECB’s statement, rather than a coach, a managing director or even a chairman, and even he appears to be on his way out. Andrew Strauss, the interim MD, has been calling the shots for the last two months but his family circumstances mean he will only be a short-term appointment.Joe Root’s resignation adds to a long list of vacancies in England cricket•Getty ImagesThe immediate speculation will be around Root’s potential successors but at least two key appointments will come first: the managing director and the head coach – or head coaches, if the role is split in two. There may well be a new selector, too.Rob Key has become the favourite for the managing director role almost by default. Several leading options either opted not to apply (Alec Stewart, Ed Smith and Mike Hesson) or pulled out of the running (Marcus North) and the reported on Friday afternoon that he will be appointed next week.Key was critical of Ashley Giles’ decision to concentrate power in the hands of Chris Silverwood. He suggested before the West Indies series that the ECB should return to a split coaching set-up and “some form of selection panel”, and said that Stewart would be “perfect” as a short-term coaching option.He has also mentioned Jos Buttler as a potential captain – Key was critical of Root’s leadership – but Ben Stokes is the obvious successor. That Root jumped, rather than being pushed, makes him more likely to accept the role if offered, and his decision to pull out of the IPL auction to focus on the Test team now looks almost prescient.England’s first Test of the summer, against New Zealand at Lord’s, is under seven weeks away. There are few breaks in their schedule from that point onwards. They play seven Tests this summer (three each against New Zealand and South Africa, one against India) and five over the winter (three in Pakistan, two in New Zealand), while multi-format players have regular bilateral white-ball series and another T20 World Cup to fit in.The volume of cricket would be daunting for any team; for an England side without a captain, a coach or anyone in place with the long-term authority to appoint them, it is ominous. For whoever comes in, at least things can hardly get worse.

Who should open with Quinton de Kock? Dwaine Pretorius, the first-choice allrounder?

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Also, Klaasen, Verreynne or neither? Firdose Moonda on the questions facing South Africa in ODIs

Firdose Moonda24-Jul-2022A bilateral ODI series that doesn’t count for World Cup Super League points in a non-World Cup year could easily leave us wondering what the point of it is, but for South Africa, whose next few ODIs are crucial in their quest for World Cup qualification, these matches have given them some food for thought.After forfeiting their games in Australia (scheduled for January 2023) to start a T20 franchise league at home, South Africa are likely to find themselves in must-win Super League series soon. They face India in October, England at home next February and Netherlands in two matches that are yet-to-be-rescheduled after being postponed when the Omicron variant of Covid-19 appeared last November. That means this England series was their best opportunity to experiment and get their combinations right for the challenges ahead.They weren’t helped by the absence of regular captain Temba Bavuma, who is out of the tour with an elbow injury, or by two washouts, but there are some takeaways. Here’s what they’ll be mulling over ahead of big contests later in the season:Who is de Kock’s best opening partner?
Janneman Malan has an ODI average of 55 and could be the fastest South African to 1,000 runs in the format (he has 896 runs from 19 innings and the current quickest, Quinton de Kock, got there in 21 innings) so this could immediately come across as too harsh, but should South Africa scrutinise the pace of their starts?Malan’s strike rate of 85.75 does not feature in the top fifty opening batters since he made his debut in February 2019. In the last year, he is 16th on the list, behind both England’s openers, for example, but ahead of David Warner, Aaron Finch and Fakhar Zaman.With de Kock at the other end, South Africa may not need to consider this too deeply but if they want more explosive openings, there might be an option. It’s not Reeza Hendricks who carried drinks in these three matches and strikes at 76.76 or Bavuma, who is used at No. 3 when fit to play. But what about Rilee Rossouw?With the door re-opened to him in the T20I squad, Kolpak a thing of the past and Rossouw having the highest strike-rate among recognised specialist batters in last season’s domestic one-day cup, it’s an idea that could pay off as South Africa seek to seal qualification for the 2023 World Cup. Though used mostly at No. 3, Rossouw has opened 21 times in List A cricket and has an average of 46.14, his most profitable batting position. At the least, it’s worth a try.Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj have formed a good spin-bowling partnership•Getty ImagesThree seam, two spin for the win
It still seems a little unusual to see a South African attack that is not heavily pace dependent but it’s become the norm for this team to field two specialist spinners – Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj – and not just because one of them has had to stand in as captain. The pair have played 16 ODIs together since Maharaj’s debut in 2017, and eight under Bavuma’s leadership. Together, they maintain an economy rate of under six runs an over (5.25 between them in this series) and take enough wickets (six between them in this series) to also demonstrate a decent ability to threaten.With three Super League matches in India, a possible qualifying event in Zimbabwe (known for slow, low surfaces) and (they’re hoping) a World Cup in India, South Africa are likely to stick to this formula. That leaves the question of how they’re going to choose their two best specialist quicks and which allrounder they prefer.Andile Phehlukwayo’s concussion, sustained in the first match, meant that he was unable to stake a claim for the role and Dwaine Pretorius made excellent use of his opportunity, which will make it difficult to displace him. Lungi Ngidi’s use of variations have made him a versatile option which could leave Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and left-armer Marco Jansen (who did not play in this series) competing for one spot.Heinrich Klaasen hasn’t crossed fifty in his last 10 ODI innings•Getty ImagesKlaasen, Verreynne, or someone else in the middle?
There’s a bottleneck in South Africa’s middle order in terms of who accompanies David Miller at the end of innings. The two closest competitors are Heinrich Klaasen and Kyle Verreynne, with Khaya Zondo also included in the squad on this tour.Zondo has only played one ODI since being re-selected and that was in the washout against Netherlands, so it’s fair to assume he was included as back-up for now. Klaasen, who scored a half-century and a hundred in the warm-ups, was preferred over Verreynne but apart from making the most of his chance to annoy England in the second ODI, he didn’t get much opportunity to make a bigger impact.The actual question should be when did he last make a big impact? Klaasen hasn’t crossed fifty in his last 10 ODI innings dating back to the pre-pandemic series against Australia in March 2020. Verreynne, on the other hand, scored two fifties in his last four innings, both in South Africa’s previous home summer. Verreynne may consider himself unlucky to have missed out here and even more unlucky if the whole debate becomes moot when Bavuma returns at No. 3 and everyone from Rassie van der Dussen moves down one spot and then there is no room for either him or Klaasen.

'Having my mother and brother in attendance made it more special' – Sudharsan after maiden List-A ton

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The Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Titans batter has 243 runs in three innings so far in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

Daya Sagar and Rajan Raj16-Nov-2022Tuesday was an unforgettable day in the life of Tamil Nadu opening batter Sai Sudharsan. Not only did the 21-year-old score his maiden List-A century in his team’s 14-run win over Chhattisgarh in Alur in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans also opted to retain him for the 2023 season.Sudharsan’s innings had an added significance because his mother, Usha Bharadwaj, was also in attendance, having made the 500-kilometre trip from Chennai to watch her son play. She has watched Sudharsan in all three Vijay Hazare Trophy games this season, with the left-hander serving up scores of 121 off 109, 73 off 75 and 49 off 38.Related

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Usha was herself a volleyball player in her youth. She has become a fitness trainer since and guides her son too about his fitness routine.”More than being emotional, I am quite happy today,” Usha says. “The way he [Sudharsan] has been working hard, this century was just a matter of time. He would have got there in the previous match itself but he got run out. He may have got a three-figure score today, but our conversations will be completely normal. We speak to him more on days when he fails to perform.””I am very happy because I have been looking forward to scoring a century for a long time,” Sudharsan says of his knock. “To do it with my mother and brother in attendance just makes it more special.”Sudharsan’s entire family has strong sporting connections. His father R Bharadwaj was a sprinter and represented India at the 100m event at the 1993 SAF Games in Dhaka. His elder brother Sai Ram played football and cricket at competitive levels, and was also present at the Alur ground to watch his sibling bat on Tuesday.The last one and a half year has been surreal for Sudharsan. On his Tamil Nadu Premier League debut in July 2021, he smashed 87 off 43 balls. He scored five half-centuries in eight innings and finished the season with 358 runs, second on the run-getters list, ahead of more experienced batters like Shahrukh Khan, Vijay Shankar, N Jagadeesan, Baba Aparajith and Baba Indrajith.Sai Sudharsan scored 145 runs in five innings in IPL 2022•BCCIThis performance brought the attention of IPL teams upon him, and he also got his first taste of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Tamil Nadu. New franchise Titans picked him at the auction, and he scored 145 runs at an average of 36.25 and a strike rate of 127.19 in his debut season. He didn’t have a great Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (170 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 121.42) but in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, has accumulated 243 runs in three innings so far, at an average of 81.00 and a strike rate of 109.45.Sudharsan’s parents have had a big role in his success. Being sportspersons themselves, they emphasised the importance of “discipline in sports” from his early years.”He was about eight when he first showed an interest in sport,” Usha says. “My husband was an athlete too and we were keen that he should also be associated with some sport. We didn’t know then that cricket would be his sport of choice. But we supported him wholeheartedly once we realised it would be cricket.”My husband and I make sure we take care of his physical and mental fitness. In the past couple of years, there wouldn’t have been too many days when he hasn’t devoted some time to meditation and yoga. He goes to bed only after preparing a list of things to do the following day. This would be details of meditation, yoga, sprints, on-field training and net practice. He also maintains notes of what he has done well and what he could improve upon.”Sudharsan concurs. “I maintain a note of my daily targets and also what I want to improve upon,” he says. “I will also analyse this century, because while I did put up a score, there were areas that I could have improved upon.”Apart from this, I also write other observations about myself. I do some different kinds of sprints, and also run longer distances for 15-16 minutes every day. My parents guide me through this. My father has represented India and knows what it takes from a fitness standpoint.”Sudharsan understands that his cricketing journey has just begun, and he still has a long way to go. That’s why any questions about his IPL future or the prospect of a Ranji Trophy debut this season are met with a simple statement that all he wants to do for now is to help his team win the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Tim David puts on power-hitting masterclass on Abu Dhabi T10 debut

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

He smashed 42 off 18 balls to help Delhi Bulls off to a winning start

Aadam Patel24-Nov-2022Australia made one change from the XI that won the T20 World Cup final last year for their opening game of this year’s tournament. Tim David came in for a certain Steven Smith.David had made his debut for Australia just a month earlier – he had earlier turned out for Singapore in 14 T20Is – but such was potential that the management believed he warranted a place in the starting XI for Australia’s title defence.Related

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They failed to make it to the semi-finals, but the selection of David was in itself an indication of the direction the game is travelling in. David has never played a first-class match and is the first man this century to be picked for the Australia national team without either a state or a national contract.To date, he has played for ten teams in T20 leagues around the world, including the IPL, PSL, BBL and the Hundred. In the IPL this year, 16 of the 86 balls he faced for Mumbai Indians went the distance. That’s some way to go about repaying the INR 8.25 crore he was sold for at the auction.On Thursday evening, he made his debut in the world of T10. That it was his innings that helped Delhi Bulls to victory in their opening game against Northern Warriors in Season 6 of the Abu Dhabi T10 came as no surprise.42 runs. 18 balls. Five fours. Two sixes. Job done. Onto tomorrow.It is a format that suits him to the tee. “Yeah for me, it’s a similar tempo to T20, to be fair,” said David. “There’s maybe a bit more clarity in that once you get in, you’re trying to hit every ball for six. It probably doesn’t get much more complicated than that.”Dwayne Bravo’s Bulls fell short last year at the final hurdle, but now they possess one of the world’s most destructive batters and Thursday was a potent reminder of what the David can do.

“It was a great experience to be a part of a World Cup at home and it was brutal. We might not have been at our 100% best but we didn’t do a great deal wrong and we ended up getting knocked out.”Tim David

Across 14 T20Is for Singapore between July 2019 and March 2020, David faced 352 balls and smashed 76 of them to or over the rope.It’s somewhat remarkable to think that it was only last summer when David had his first experience with an overseas franchise and after Bulls’ victory in the second game of a triple-header on Thursday, he credited his breadth and depth of experience across the global franchise circuit for his dramatic rise.”I’m in a good place with my game. The IPL was great for my confidence,” the 26-year-old said. “You build a skill base of being able to start off with a new group which is obviously important on the franchise circuit as you’re always meeting new faces. You get to rub shoulders with some of the best players around and share ideas and pick things up from each other.”With Kieron Pollard calling time on his IPL career, David is perhaps in pole position to be his replacement at Mumbai, but for now his focus is on adding the T10 title to his CV.The past year or so has confirmed his status as a genuine power-hitter and now that he’s had that taste of playing for Australia at a major tournament, he’s keen to ensure that the opportunity comes again.”It was a great experience to be a part of a World Cup at home and it was brutal. We might not have been at our 100% best but we didn’t do a great deal wrong and we ended up getting knocked out,” said David.And for all his know-how in the franchise free market, David admitted that wearing the Australia colours added a whole new dimension to the game that even he couldn’t explain.”It’s definitely different to playing franchise cricket. It’s hard to put a pin on what exactly is different. T20 is a real inconsistent game and when you’re playing for your country, you want to win every game, so that’s one of the toughest parts,” said David.The story of Tim David is well known and undoubtedly different to the conventional pathway. He is the ultimate globe-trotting freelancer who has seized his opportunity and continues to do so. And as the landscape of the sport continues to evolve towards the shorter formats, David perhaps knows that he is ahead of the curve.

'Things we love to see' – Virat Kohli ends hundred drought in Test cricket

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Reactions to Kohli’s first Test hundred since November 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2023In the ongoing fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli scored his first Test hundred since November 2019. Here’s how social media reacted to it.

#75. Well played, Virat #BGT #IndvAus

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 12, 2023

Things we love to see …. A @imVkohli ton

— Niall John O Brien (@niallnobiobrien) March 12, 2023

Good to see @imVkohli back scoring a Test ton .. Love watching him Bat .. Over 3 yrs since his last one .. My guess is a few might come along now .. #INDvAUS #Kohli #100

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 12, 2023

The Best of the Best never disappoints. The long wait ends @imVkohli #INDvAUS

— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) March 12, 2023

A long wait is finally over …28th test for @imVkohli very well played

— Kamran Akmal (@KamiAkmal23) March 12, 2023

This is Virat Kohli the batter. Has the power and the tools, and knows when to use what. Well played @imVkohli #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/TSmEV2G2jD

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 12, 2023

Stats – Bazball renewal and Pope's Botham-beating double at Lord's

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Duckett and Pope bulldozed records stretching through the past century during their 252-run stand

Sampath Bandarupalli02-Jun-20236.33 – England’s run rate during their total of 524 against Ireland. It is the second-highest run rate in a total of 500-plus runs in Test cricket, behind the 6.5, also by England, achieved against Pakistan last December during their 657 all-out in Rawalpindi. No other team has ever scored 400-plus runs in a Test innings at run-a-ball.ESPNcricinfo Ltd207 – Number of balls Ollie Pope needed to bring up his double century. It is the fastest recorded double ton in Test cricket in England, breaking Ian Botham’s record, which came off 220 balls against India in 1982 at The Oval.Related

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11004 – Runs scored by Joe Root in Test cricket. He is now only the eleventh player to reach the 11000-run milestone and the second for England, after Alastair Cook (12742 runs). It took Root ten years and 171 days from his debut to get there, bettering Cook in the process, who needed ten years and 290 days from the debut.1 – Number of Test double centuries for England to have come quicker than Pope in 207 balls. The fastest is by Ben Stokes, who needed only 163 balls to reach his 200 against South Africa in 2016. Pope’s double century is also the seventh fastest ever recorded in the history of Test cricket.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Number of instances where England had a century partnership for each of their first three wickets in a Test innings, including their first innings at Lord’s. It is also the first such instance for them since January 1985, when they did it against India in Chennai.150 – Balls needed for Ben Duckett to complete his 150. It is the fastest individual 150 in Test cricket at Lord’s. The previous quickest was by Don Bradman, who took 166 balls for his 150 against the hosts in 1930. Pope equalled Bradman’s feat with his 166-ball 150.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – Previous instance of an England batter reaching his double century with a six, before Pope at Lord’s. Root achieved this feat when he struck a six, when batting on 196 against India in his 100th Test match.252 – Partnership runs between Duckett and Pope for the second wicket. It is the first double-century stand in Tests at Lord’s since 2015, and the first for England here since 2010. Duckett and Pope’s partnership is also the 13th highest for any wicket in Tests at this venue.

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