Tag Futebol

Steven Smith, Pat Cummins, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc and Justin Langer on mental health

Daniel Brettig20-Nov-2019‘I’ve got to get away from cricket, or else it captures my whole life’Pat Cummins: I can only speak for myself but it’s hugely important for me. With cricket, being on tour, it isn’t just individual tours, it’s basically our life. We spend 10-11 months of the year on the road, so when I’m touring I’ve got to get away from cricket, or else it captures my whole life. When I can get little breaks I do, and those four weeks were great for me to step away from cricket, not really watch cricket, just live a normal life, have a normal routine, because I don’t think I could do it for 10-15 years just with 12 months of the year all focused on cricket. Other guys might be different, they may play a little bit more, a little bit less. But for me as important as being really focused at training and games is trying to switch off and change my focus to something else every now and then.The last 12 months JL’s been really good at trying to identify breaks where we can. I’ve heard him say a few times ‘I wish I could give you guys a longer break but we’ll have to delay that’. It’s a general conversation. For me the priority’s obviously international cricket and I want to maximise as much international cricket as I can. We try to look through the diary between JL, the support staff and myself and try and map out a plan. But the priority after the Ashes, the non-negotiable, was to have a few weeks off bowling and then the conversation’s around ‘okay, how does that look in terms of games I’m going to miss, how long can we extend that break, can we get it out to four weeks’, so it’s a general conversation between all of us.Steven Smith: I think that’s something that we’re getting a lot better at. Communication with the coach, relevant people that are involved who we can have those honest conversations with about how we’re tracking. It is a pretty hectic schedule nowadays. It’s bloody tough to sustain it for long periods of time, particularly I think for the fast bowlers. It’s extremely difficult what they put themselves through. It’s great that those conversations are happening and we’re trying to keep guys as mentally and physically fresh as they can be.Tim Paine chats with Justin Langer•Getty Images

‘The biggest improvement since I started is the amount of support’Smith We fill out daily how we’re feeling, how we slept … the sleep gets a big red every now and again. We fill out a wellness thing every day. The coach and psych and head of team performance look at our markers daily and it’s upon us to be honest in the way we go about that as well. They can see how we’re tracking and if there’s a change in behaviour, if you’re feeling ill or not sleeping well or feeling a bit off, they’re aware of it. That can sort of start a conversation. Why’s your sleep bad? What’s going on? Why are you feeling a bit off today? It’s good that they do that. It’s good for guys’ mental health and wellbeing.Cummins Lloydy [Australian team psychologist Michael Lloyd] has just about been full-time on tour for the last few years. Lloydy’s brilliant, I’ve known him since 17 or 18 years old and he’s always on tour, if he isn’t he might be away for a week or two, but there’s definitely times where I pick up the phone and speak to him about different things. We’ve got great staff, through the ACA, the player development officers around the states, everyone’s got good contacts with them.That’s probably the biggest improvement I’ve seen since I first started was the amount of support you have around. It’s still up to the player sometimes to pick up the phone and pick up that conversation, but we’re lucky how many resources we have and always trying to optimise that. We get asked about it a lot, how we want it to look like and how we can make improvements. I think if it’s three or four negative things, it goes [from the wellness app] to a group of people and that might have the physios, coaches, mental health, psychologists, and whatever it is, that normally instigates a conversation with the player.ALSO READ: ‘Shows incredible courage to talk about mental health’
‘The only opinions who matter are the ones close to me and the team’Mitchell Starc: I got off social media. Getting older and going through all that the last 12 to 18 months I have been mindful about being pretty level. In terms of opinions, the only ones who matter are the ones close to me and the team. Going in and out of the team early in my career and going through that as a young cricketer [helped me]. The game has changed since I started. Social media stuff comes into it. We have two broadcasters now so there are more demands on the players. Guys are reading and taking note of more opinions now as well. I can only speak for myself but that is what helped me most over the past 18 months was not caring what people think and not reading it and taking that away from my lifestyle and it’s been a lot clearer and a lot more positive.Pat Cummins claims another scalp•Getty Images

‘Having something else in my life it would have alleviated some of the pressure I put on myself’Tim Paine: It can be difficult [to have perspective] and I think it comes as well with experience. I think it’s something you do need to go through at times to come out of it with that knowledge and know-how. I look now at that period of time where I was out injured or I was really struggling now as a real positive in my life, not only in my career. I think it’s made me a much better person. I think obviously going back to when I was 16 or 17 I wish I knew what I knew now and I would have been a lot better at school, because I think having something else in my life it would have alleviated some of the pressure I put on myself to perform. It would have allowed me to go out and play a little bit more fearlessly which I would have loved to be able to do but I’ve never allowed myself to do because I’ve always had all my eggs in one basket. It was a difficult time, but in the end it’s turned out to be a real positive. Cummins: It was really difficult [battling injuries at a young age]. Probably looking back I now realise how much more difficult it was than when I was going through it for the first time – I was a little bit naive. The most obvious example was that every single summer of my life I’d played cricket and suddenly I was a professional cricketer but I was spending my summers not playing cricket, and I just wanted to do what I love doing. I try to keep realising that while I wasn’t playing, I was hanging out with my mates, I was going to the cricket ground and training, so there was a life as a cricketer I was still able to have and Cricket Australia were brilliant with New South Wales, the support staff especially who were my main contact in cricket. They were the ones who kept me motivated and instilled patience in me for those couple of years.‘Health is much more important than another game of cricket’Justin Langer: I’ve learned a lot over however long I’ve been coaching. I’m dealing with young men all the time, so hopefully I’ve got a pretty good feel for how guys are going. But it’s a complex issue – it’s like concussion. There’s a really clear protocol on concussion now and I’m really hopeful, in a really complex matter of mental health, that we can get to a point where there’s really clear protocols and there’s no stresses about it, there’s no indignity in saying ‘I’m not okay’.And then we work out how guys can return to play, whether it’s in the shorter term or in the longer term. I’m sure that’s what we’re all searching for, to make sure that we get that protocol right. I said it one of our players today, at the end of the day the health of our players and the wellbeing is much more important to me than another game of cricket. We saw it with Steve Smith – we would have loved Steve Smith to play the third Test of the Ashes, of course. But it was so clear that he wasn’t right, it was an easy decision. We lost a tough game but it was a no-brainer, and I hope we can get to that point with mental health as well.

Loughborough marched onto their fifth win in sixth matches as their overseas stars took command of a stiff run-chase

ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2018Loughborough Lightning 174 for 7 (Villani 61*, Haynes 53) beat Southern Vipers 172 for 6 (McGlashan 55*) by three wickets

ScorecardAussie stars Rachael Haynes and Elyse Villani powered Loughborough Lightning to a fifth win in six matches to stretch their lead at the top of the Women’s Kia Super League and make their qualification for Finals Day look almost a formality.Haynes posted her second half-century of the competition before, in a dramatic finish, Villani crashed four and six off New Zealand all-rounder Suzie Bates after Lightning, chasing a challenging 173 to win, had gone into the last over still needing 11 more runs.Lightning had lost two wickets in the penultimate over as Jenny Gunn holed out to long-off and Lucy Higham was run out, but Villani kept her nerve to finish unbeaten on 61 after lofting Bates for a towering maximum backward of square to complete victory with two balls to spare.It was tough luck on Vipers, last year’s runners-up and the 2016 champions, who produced their best batting performance of the series in a bid to end a run of four straight defeats and keep alive their hopes of reviving their season.Vipers veteran Sara McGlashan posted her highest KSL score with some powerful striking in an unbeaten 55 off just 28 deliveries, including six fours and three sixes, with England’s Danni Wyatt weighing in with 34 as Vipers justified skipper Bates’s decision to bat first by recording their biggest score of the season.Lightning’s hopes of limiting their opponents to a much lower total were high after Vipers lost their two most dangerous batters for single-figure scores inside the powerplay were dismissed both Bates and Tammy Beaumont for single-figure scores inside the powerplay overs.Bates was caught on the mid-wicket boundary when she tried to go after Gunn, then Beaumont, back in the Vipers side after missing two matches because of a concussion injury, top-edged a pull-shot against Sophie Devine, Sarah Glenn safely pouching the catch.Wyatt and Mignon du Preez added 39 for the third wicket yet after Wyatt had holed out off a Glenn full toss in the 10th over and Du Preez had pulled a short ball from Georgia Elwiss straight to mid-wicket in the 13th, Vipers had lost their top-four batters for 83.But McGlashan took charge immediately, punishing former teammate Linsey Smith with four boundaries in an over as the left-arm spinner’s customary control deserted her.A nightmare over from Gunn cost 16 runs as the England seamer conceded 11 in wides, including five from each of two consecutive deliveries.Smith was on the receiving end again as Arran Brindle struck three fours in an over and though Elwiss broke the partnership when she trapped Brindle in front for 26 in the penultimate over, the pair had added 71 in 7.2 overs.McGlashan, the former New Zealand batter and wicket-keeper who retired from international cricket in 2016, finished with a flourish, smiting three huge sixes and a four off the last seven balls she faced, her second maximum off Devine’s last over completing her half-century from the final ball of the innings.Devine was an early casualty as Lightning began their reply but Haynes out on a display of high quality strokeplay and controlled power at the top of the innings.Haynes made 53 off 34 balls and shared a partnership with Amy Jones that helped Lightning to 55 for 1 in the powerplay, laying the foundation for victory.Jones fell for 31 from 18 balls, after which the onus rested on Villani’s shoulders to put her experience to good use.But she was well supported by her partners, who thwarted Vipers’ best efforts to keep Villani off strike and in the end her aggressive hitting, which brought her seven fours and two sixes, made sure her compatriot Haynes’ efforts did not go to waste as Lightning celebrated a third win in five days at the Haslegrave Ground.

Steven Finn has been confirmed as Chris Woakes’ replacement in England’s Champions Trophy squad

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-20171:50

‘Finn’s experience will come in handy’

Steven Finn won’t be worrying too much about his economy rate if he gets his Champions Trophy chance against New Zealand on Tuesday having been confirmed as Chris Woakes’ replacement.Woakes was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a side strain in the opening game against Bangladesh at The Oval. He managed just two overs before leaving the field.Finn was the most significant omission from the original 15-man squad and was called up for the final ODI against South Africa at Lord’s last week. He has since played two matches for England Lions against South Africa A in which he has taken five wickets.Finn, who has 102 ODI wickets from 69 matches, will immediately come into the reckoning for a place in the XI against New Zealand in Cardiff on Tuesday with a number of England’s other pace resources under scrutiny.Jake Ball has conceded over 80 in two of his last three outings while David Willey struggled to make the white ball swing in his one outing against South Africa. There also remain question marks over Ben Stokes’ ability to get through 10 overs due to his ongoing knee problem and Finn believes he can boost England’s wicket-taking threat.”Taking wickets is always something I try to do. I never take a backward step and try to be negative or defensive,” he said. “I think trying to take wickets is the mantra we have tried to adopt as a one-day bowling side and I can help that.”I think I’ve got a good record in one-day cricket. I think I am slightly taller than the other guys and can therefore get a bit more bounce. I’ve played a lot of ODIs. There is experience there. I think we have got a really well balanced squad and hopefully my personal attributes can bring something to that.”England could be keen to retain the balance of five quick bowlers alongside Moeen Ali because of the short, straight boundaries in Cardiff which make it a challenge for spinners. In their previous two ODIs at the ground they played just one frontline spinner – Adil Rashid against Sri Lanka and Liam Dawson against Pakistan – so Rashid, who was omitted against Bangladesh, could be sidelined again.Finn was part of the three-match one-day series in West Indies during March which were his first ODIs in 18 months. He admitted feeling a little pressure during Saturday’s Lions match before getting the tap on the shoulder from national selector James Whitaker to confirm his call and also revealed he had to shake off a stiff back in recent days.”It was just a case of making sure my back was 100%. It was a result of doing a bit of travel and bowling on top of each other in the last few days. I knew that James Whitaker and [selector] Mick Newell were there watching me. You feel that pressure I suppose knowing that they are watching you to call you up for this game. But that is no different from every time I pull on an England or Lions shirt.”Finn was always the frontrunner to replace Woakes although Toby Roland-Jones, who made his debut against South Africa, and Surrey’s Tom Curran could have been other options.

A committee tasked with undertaking a comprehensive review of South Africa’s domestic cricket structures will not look into the Ram Slam T20 competition, which will undergo a separate analysis in the hope of increasing its commercial appeal

Firdose Moonda18-Apr-2016A committee tasked with undertaking a comprehensive review of South Africa’s domestic cricket structures will not look into the Ram Slam T20 competition, which will undergo a separate analysis in the hope of increasing its commercial appeal. The committee’s focus, therefore, will be more intensely trained on the second-tier provincial semi-professional competitions, which are believed to have been neglected in recent seasons.South Africa’s domestic structure is split into two sections: the professional franchise structure which consists of six teams and a semi-professional tournament which includes 13 provincial teams and Namibia. Both divisions play a first-class, List A and 20-over competition although the franchise’s first-class fixtures are held over four days and the provincial teams play over three.”This is something that has been a serious concern for people involved in management, because we lose a lot of players who don’t want to play in the semi-professional structures,” an insider told ESPNcricinfo. “From the time players finish school to the time they get franchise contracts, they can be in limbo. We want to look at how we can incorporate those players.”Both sections will be reviewed by a different team to the one that has been appointed to conduct an investigation into the national sides which is much smaller. While the national teams committee is a four-person panel, the domestic review team includes 14 people, headed by the director of strategy at auditing firm EY, Michael Lalor. It includes CSA’s national academy coach, Shukri Conrad, two franchise coaches, Warriors’ Malibongwe Maketa and Titans’ Rob Walter, two national selectors Ashwell Prince and Hussein Manack, one franchise captain Omphile Ramela, a selection of commentators and a journalist.”Nobody really knows how they came up with this group, but we are all waiting to see what they come up with,” the source said. While CSA has not put a time frame on the review, the panel are expected to reveal their findings by mid-year and it is expected to focus heavily on the provincial structures.”One idea that has already come up is that the provinces play less 50-over cricket and more T20s. There is also some talk of increasing the number of teams and the number of contracted semi-professional players,” the insider said.Currently, the provincial sides play 10 first-class, six 50-over matches a season and four T20s a season and the imbalance could be corrected with this review. Provincial teams contract seven players but the number could increase to 10.A franchise expansion from six to eight teams has also been mooted although if that was to be approved it would only happen in the 2017-18 season and not next summer. Kimberley, East London and Potchefstroom are believed to be in the running as franchise bases.Instead, next season will be the one in which CSA hopes to increase the impact of their T20 tournament, which lags behind some of the other global leagues. The Ram Slam has routinely struggled to attract big names both because of the weakening Rand and the scheduling – it often clashes with South Africa’s own international fixtures.Next season, CSA will make national players available for the tournament and have moved a home Test against Sri Lanka from December to January to accommodate for this. They are also looking to sign several international stars and “find ways to commercialise the competition, because it can’t be done in any other format.”

Titans bounced back from being all out for 123 to beat Brisbane Heat by four runs in the most exciting finish of this year’s tournament

The Report by Mohammad Isam24-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMarchant de Lange bowled Alister McDermott to win the game for Titans•BCCI

Less-than-perfect batting and excellent bowling usually make for tight contests and today was no different, with both teams being dismissed on a fast Mohali pitch. Titans bounced back from being all out for 123, to beating Brisbane Heat by four runs, in the most exciting finish of the tournament so far. The loss, the Heat’s second, drastically reduced their chances of making the semi-finals.Heat had lost their first match in similar fashion, too, failing to chase Trinidad & Tobago’s 135. Today’s pursuit posed a similar challenge, but they disintegrated against controlled fast bowling. They needed 10 of the final over, bowled by Marchant de Lange, but they lost three wickets instead, two because of run-outs. The match ended with de Lange bowling Alister McDermott.Titans needed a strong performance to defend a low total and de Lange led the way, pulling his team out of the batting rut with pace and verve. Debutant Matthew Gale’s four wickets had put the Heat in a strong position, but their wayward batting cost them on a quick surface, the kind Australian sides are supposed to be familiar with.Titans captain, Henry Davids, once again opened the bowling with Roelof van der Merwe’s left-arm spin, but it was Rowan Richards who provided the breakthrough by dismissing Joe Burns. De Lange then hurt the chase by striking twice in his first over: Peter Forrest’s uppish clip was caught at square-leg, and Cutting top-edged an 89-mph ball he didn’t know much about.James Hopes, the Heat captain, and Daniel Christian attempted to revive the innings, and they almost did with a 44-run stand for the fourth wicket, but they fell in quick succession. Christian’s stumps was shattered by Richards, while Hopes fell to van der Merwe after having survived a missed stumping the previous ball.The rising asking-rate needed to be brought down but the Heat lower order continued to struggle against pace. Morne Morkel and David Wiese bowled well too, picking up a wicket each, but de Lange and Richards were the most impressive. De Lange finished with three wickets, including bowling a tense last over.Heat’s batting failure followed a dramatic Titans collapse after the South African side had made a strong start. Gale dismissed Jacques Rudolph in the second over, but Davids and Heino Kuhn counterattacked immediately during the fielding restrictions. They were particularly harsh on Alister McDermott, who conceded 16 in his first over, the sixth of the innings.The second wicket had added 69 in quick time when Kuhn skied Ben Cutting after making 31 off 27 balls. Davids followed soon after for 39 off 31 balls, run out while attempting a risky single.Wickets tumbled quickly thereafter, with the big one – AB de Villiers – also getting run out after a mix-up with Farhaan Behardien in the 15th over. The rest of the batsmen threw their wickets away, with the last three falling in the 19th over bowled by Gale. A total of 123 seemed below par at the time, but Titans’ quicks proved it was just enough.

Virender Sehwag has been appointed captain of North Zone for their Duleep Trophy game against West Zone that begins in Chennai on October 6

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2012Virender Sehwag has been appointed captain of North Zone for their Duleep Trophy game against West Zone that begins in Chennai on October 6.Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were also included in the 15-man squad. The decision was taken at a zonal selection meeting at the Delhi and District Cricket Association on Monday. Sehwag had earlier been named the captain of Delhi’s Ranji Trophy squad for the 2012-13 season.The five internationals are currently on national duty in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the selection committee also announced their replacements, should India qualify for final, which is on October 7. The replacements are Ian Dev Singh, Rahul Dewan, Uday Kaul, Vipul Sharma and Gurvinder Singh.North Zone squad: Virender Sehwag (Delhi, captain), Gautam Gambhir (Delhi), Virat Kohli (Delhi), Yuvraj Singh (Punjab), Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi), Paras Dogra (Himachal Pradesh), Rajat Bhatia (Delhi), Mayank Sidana (Punjab), Harbhajan Singh (Punjab), Nitin Saini (wicketkeeper, Haryana), Ishant Sharma (Delhi), Parwinder Awana (Delhi), Harshal Patel (Haryana), Vikas Mishra (Delhi), Rishi Dhawan (Himachal Pradesh).

A solitary half-century, a near king-pair, an average shading 20.00 and three different opening partners in his first five matches indicate how patchy Abhinav Mukund’s baptism into Test cricket has been

Nitin Sundar29-Aug-2011A solitary half-century, a near king-pair, an average shading 20.00 and three different opening partners in his first five matches – the numbers are indicative of how tough Abhinav Mukund’s baptism into Test cricket has been, but he is encouraged by the way he has come through.”The results don’t show how much progress I made,” Abhinav told ESPNcricinfo. “I have definitely got the belief that I could do well and there’s so much that I have learned. It was a tough couple of tours [West Indies and England], but I can take a lot of confidence out of them.”Abhinav was far from the reckoning at the start of the season but injuries to Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir gave him a chance in the West Indies alongside his Tamil Nadu opening partner M Vijay. His performance on that tour sealed the third opener’s slot for England ahead of Vijay, but Abhinav insists he will always look up to his “senior partner” in whose company he has amassed runs for his state.”I’ve been opening with Vijay since I started playing at the domestic level [so] it was really good to open with him in my first three Tests,” Abhinav said. “Both of us know that there is competition, but that doesn’t affect our equation. He has helped me a lot in the domestic set-up, where we have had long partnerships and spent a lot of time in the middle.”Abhinav dropped out of the XI with Sehwag returning for the last two Tests against England, despite his century batting at No. 3 in the tour game against Northants, and he played no further part in the tour. The setback did not affect Abhinav, who admitted that shoehorning him into the XI for Edgbaston would have upset the team’s combination.”I batted at No. 3 in the tour game only to give Dravid a break,” Abhinav said. “I wanted to get a few runs and put some pressure on the management. At the end of the day, I believe that opening batsmen should open. [However] I don’t really mind playing lower down the order if slots open up there and I can contribute.”Abhinav’s debut coincided with that of the new India coach, Duncan Fletcher, who he says has had a positive influence on his batting. “Duncan hadn’t seen me much before the West Indies tour,” Abhinav said. “There were a lot of pointers he gave me, small things. The wickets in West Indies were a lot bouncier than I expected – especially Jamaica and Barbados. He showed me how to play much closer to the body, which was very helpful for someone like me who has grown up batting on South Indian wickets. It is something that I can use when playing on wickets with bounce and movement.”Walking out with different partners on a regular basis did not, he said, affect his mindset. “You can’t control injuries, especially on-field ones as happened to Gautam,” Abhinav said. “I had played with Dravid before [in the West Indies], and opening with him wasn’t a big difference since he comes in at No. 3.”Abhinav’s biggest challenge in England came at Trent Bridge where he chose to take first strike in the second innings despite being on a king pair. “I really wanted to take the first ball, no matter what,” he said. “I wanted to back myself and taking first strike was a positive move. It was very important that the openers showed a sign of solidarity, since the team revolves around the start the openers make.”Like in the first innings, Abhinav edged his first ball into the cordon, but Tim Bresnan put down a simple catch. Abhinav could not cash in, though, and managed only three as India sank against a bouncer barrage.”It was a really good ball,” Abhinav said about the James Anderson outswinger that nearly gave him the ignominy of two first-ballers. “Considering it was a good ball, I could have got a king pair but I didn’t. At the end of the day, though, I didn’t get too many either. I should have carried on.”Abhinav’s batting has reminded several cricket followers of the former Tamil Nadu and India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh. Abhinav said his team-mates, including Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, refer to him as ‘Taki’, which used to be Ramesh’s nickname. “Apparently, even my mannerisms off the field are similar to his,” he said. “It is nothing conscious, since I haven’t seen Ramesh bat much. By the time I got my break into the Ranji side, he had moved on to other things.”

It was, unarguably, by any measure reasonable or unreasonable, the biggest win in the hitherto limping Lions franchise’s history, and Alviro Petersen knew it

Telford Vice10-Sep-2010There is plenty to ponder when a David like Alviro Petersen breathes the same rarefied air as the Goliath who is Sachin Tendulkar. And the Highveld air was indeed rare at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, where Petersen’s Lions played Tendulkar’s Mumbai in the Champions League Twenty 20 opener.Lo and behold, David’s dapper dazzlers stuck to the Biblical script by slaying Goliath’s giants by nine runs. Let the atheists among us quiver in disbelief: look in the Book. It was, unarguably, by any measure reasonable or unreasonable, the biggest win in the hitherto limping Lions franchise’s history, and Petersen knew it.”It’s a great start,” he said after the game. “It’s all we could ask for. We were underdogs, but we were a family out there. On paper, the Mumbai Indians are probably the better team. But we focused on what we had to do and our bowlers came through beautifully in the end.”Tendulkar did his bit with a sparkling 69, but it wasn’t enough on the night. Not that Petersen was about to admit that the Mumbai skipper was an unusually large thorn in the Lions’ paws. “Whether we play against Sachin Tendulkar or just an ordinary guy, we play with the same intensity.”For all that, Petersen has first-hand knowledge that Tendulkar is anything but ordinary. They first met on the field in Kolkata, in February this year, when the South African marked his Test debut with an innings of 100. Tendulkar made 106, the 47th of his 48 centuries in the 166th of his 169 Tests.Neither had a memorable first one-day international in Jaipur, but the second match of that series, in Gwalior, will forever be remembered as the game in which Tendulkar took one-day batting into a galaxy far, far away with his monumental 200 not out. Petersen scored nine.The trend looked set to continue at the Wanderers on Friday. In the fourth over of the Lions’ innings, Petersen and Jonathan Vandiar scooted for the same end of the pitch. Petersen was declared dead on arrival for 12 when the bails were removed leisurely at the other end.Tendulkar looked dead in the water for six when Ethan O’Reilly struck him plumb in front in the second over of the Indians’ reply. Asoka de Silva was among the few in the ground who reckoned otherwise. A blink of an eye later, Tendulkar was bumbling about mid-pitch when a frozen rope of a throw whizzed past the stumps. “I just put it behind me and thought about the next ball,” Petersen said about the near miss. “The next ball is the important thing.” Three overs of next balls after that, a shy that might have run Tendulkar out for 18 hit him instead.By the time Shane “Cheese” Burger knocked out two of Tendulkar’s stumps, in the 15th over, the momentum was firmly with Mumbai. Only for Burger to snatch the advantage back for the Lions by yorking Kieron Pollard, a ball after the West Indian had launched him over long-on for six. JP Duminy and R Sathish also became casualties as the Lions surged to their famous victory.”Hats off to the Lions bowlers. They were exceptional in the last four overs. Until then, we were very much in the game,” said Duminy, who had been sent to the post-match press conference instead of his captain. “He [Tendulkar] played extremely well, but it’s a team sport and we all have to chip in. Unfortunately, we ended up a few runs short.”Vandiar, who rose from the ashes of his moment of madness with Petersen to score a 71 that bristled with pugnacity and verve, showed he has a few things to learn about diplomacy off the field as well as on it. Asked what he thought about batting as well as he had against an attack studded with bowlers of the stature of Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh, Vandiar said, “They’re world class, but they’re just guys.”Petersen, who went to some trouble to explain that his team remained the tournament underdogs, despite their fine win, might want to have a word with the youngster about that. After all, the Lions captain has up close and personal knowledge of what world class players can do.

Starc’s career-best figures of 6 for 48 saw India fold for 180 before the batters kept Bumrah and Co at bay

Deivarayan Muthu06-Dec-2024Mitchell Starc’s sizzling spell with the pink ball headlined the opening day of the day-night Test in Adelaide as Australia responded to their 295-run drubbing in Perth by dismissing India for 180.Jasprit Bumrah then got rid of Usman Khawaja in the twilight but the under-pressure Marnus Labuschagne and rookie opener Nathan McSweeney navigated a tricky passage of play to guide Australia to stumps without any further damage. Their unbroken 62-run partnership helped Australia cut their deficit to under 100 and ensured that the first day belonged to them.The first ball from Starc was a portent for what was to follow. He struck in the first over of each of his three spells, asserting his supremacy in pink-ball Tests. He came away with career-best Test figures of 6 for 48, which extended his pink-ball tally in Australia to 72. It is twice as many as Pat Cummins (36) has taken and 29 more than what Nathan Lyon, Starc’s closest contender in pink-ball Test cricket in the country, has managed.It all started with that first ball to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had told Starc that he was “coming on too slow” in Perth. On Friday in Adelaide, Starc let rip a full, fast one that threatened to angle down leg before swerving back into the line of the stumps and seaming in the other direction off the pitch to beat the attempted flick and thud into front pad. It was so plumb that Jaiswal didn’t even bother to review. Starc roared at the departing Jaiswal and had the Adelaide crowd, which grew to 50,186 by the close of play, roaring with him.Related

• India meet the Australia of their expectations

• Starc gives Australia just the day they needed

• Stats – Starc gets to Adelaide fifty, Bumrah to 2024 fifty

• Cummins hopes for more proactive Labuschagne in pink-ball Test

Shubman Gill, who returned to India’s Test XI after missing the Perth Test with a hand injury, and KL Rahul then briefly settled India’s innings with a 69-run stand for the second wicket. Gill showed little signs of rust and laid into drives whenever Australia’s quicks veered away from their lengths and the stumps.At the other end, Rahul was more circumspect, playing out Cummins for three maidens, before fending at Scott Boland’s first ball, which reared up to threaten the shoulder of his bat. Rahul walked off, thinking he had nicked it behind but a front-foot no-ball from Boland earned him a reprieve. There was nothing on the Snicko either. Five balls later, Boland hit Rahul’s outside edge but Khawaja grassed the chance at first slip.Rahul’s luck, however, ran out when Starc returned for his second spell and struck with his fourth ball. He extracted extra bounce and had Rahul edging to gully for 37 off 64 balls. In his next over, Starc took out Virat Kohli for seven off eight balls with a similar prancing delivery. Soon after, Boland nipped one into Gill’s pads as India lost 3 for 12 in a chaotic 15-minute period before the dinner break.India’s slump continued after resumption, with Boland pinning Rohit Sharma’s pads this time. Playing in his first Test match in over a year, in place of the injured Josh Hazlewood, Boland kept it on a good length, or just back of it, and kept gleaning seam movement. Rohit, who had slid down the order to No. 6 to accommodate Rahul at the top alongside Jaiswal, fell for 3 off 23 balls.Cummins then joined the fun when he bounced Rishabh Pant out, with a back-of-a-length delivery that kicked up at his ribs, for 21 off 35 balls. It meant so much to Cummins that he celebrated it with a big roar. The Australia captain had looked underdone in Perth and wasn’t at his sharpest with the new ball on Friday, but redeemed himself with the big scalp of Pant.Nitish Kumar Reddy pulled a Joe Root on Scott Boland•Getty Images

Despite wickets falling at the other end, Nitish Kumar Reddy remained unfazed and rolled out the big hits. When Starc pitched one too full, Reddy audaciously drilled him over extra-cover for six and in the next over he lined up Boland for a sequence of 6,4,6. The first six was jaw-dropping reverse-swat over the slip cordon, which cleared one of the biggest boundaries at the ground at deep third. It even put a smile on Bumrah’s face, but the joy was short-lived as Starc combined with Cummins to wrap up India’s innings.After having top-scored for India in his debut innings in Perth, Reddy did the same in the first innings in Adelaide, finishing with 42 off 54 balls, including three fours and a six. Reddy was the last Indian batter to be dismissed, with Starc having him hole out to mid-off.R Ashwin, who was picked ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, looked good during his run-a-ball 22 before Starc made him look silly with an inch-perfect inswinging yorker with a 39-over-old ball. The blow to his foot kept Ashwin off the field for the start of Australia’s innings, but India’s team management must have been relieved when he bowled the penultimate over of the day without any apparent discomfort.Bumrah was potent with the new ball and produced India’s only breakthrough on the day when he went around the wicket and had Khawaja jabbing behind with a beauty for 13 off 35 balls. India also had a chance to dislodge McSweeney cheaply when Bumrah found his outside edge, but a diving Pant shelled it. Rohit, at first slip, couldn’t grab it on the rebound either, with the ball hitting his wrist and going down.McSweeney was on 3 at that point, having got off the mark after 17 balls. At the other end, Labuschagne, who is facing considerable heat for his recent lean run, took 19 balls to get off the mark. A freebie on his pads from an erratic Mohammed Siraj then got him going.Harshit Rana lobbed some verbal volleys at the Australia batters and banged the pink ball into the pitch. But McSweeney was ready to fight fire with fire and firmly pulled the chirpy Rana over midwicket for four. After having seen off the new-ball spells of Bumrah and Siraj under twilight, McSweeney picked away five fours off Rana and Reddy and set Australia up for a batting day against the older ball under natural light on Saturday.

Nadine de Klerk’s 60 was the only real bright spark in a South Africa total of 185

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2023Half-centuries from Sidra Ameen and Bismah Maroof led Pakistan to an eight-wicket win in the final ODI and prevented South Africa from sealing a 3-0 series sweep. After failures in the first two ODIs, Pakistan’s top order came good, taking charge of a chase of 186 and completing the task in just 38 overs.Ameen put on a 39-run opening partnership with Safaf Shamas, before Maroof joined her in a 110-run second-wicket stand that put Pakistan firmly in control. Both reached their half-centuries before Ameen was lbw to Nadine de Klerk for 68 off 82 balls.Aliya Riaz’s entry was a cue for Pakistan to hurry to their target; she hit three fours in a Masabata Klaas over and raced to an unbeaten 19 off 14, while putting on an unbroken 37, off just 31 balls, with Maroof, who finished not out on 60 off 98. It was the former Pakistan captain’s 19th ODI fifty.South Africa chose to bat, and lost their captain Laura Wolvaardt before they had put a run on the board, with Sadia Iqbal bowling her in the first over. Tazmin Brits and Laura Goodall steadied the innings with a 35-run partnership off 41 balls, but the complexion of the game changed when Goodall retired hurt in the eighth over.Lara Goodall retired hurt briefly•PCB

By the time Goodall came back in the 17th, South Africa had lost Brits and Sune Luus, and the returning No. 3 was out just two balls later to leave South Africa 64 for 4.Marizanne Kapp and de Klerk helped them recover somewhat with a 36-run stand for the fifth wicket, but Pakistan kept a lid on the scoring: there was only one boundary hit from the 14th to 30th overs. It was in an effort to break out of this strangle that Kapp fell, failing to clear mid-off off Iqbal.Delmi Tucker added a further 37 with de Klerk, but the innings began to unravel thereafter, as South Africa slipped from 137 for 5 to 145 for 8, with a run-out costing them the wicket of keeper-batter Sinalo Jafta.Nos. 10 and 11 stuck around at the crease, with Ayabonga Khaka and Klaas spending a cumulative 29 balls at the crease while adding 15 and 25 with de Klerk, who was last out for 60 off 95 balls. South Africa were bowled out in 48.1 overs, with Sadia, Nashra Sandhu and Nida Dar picking up two wickets apiece.