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“He started gripping the bat today and practicing with a tennis ball”

Umar Farooq22-Dec-2020Pakistan’s head coach Misbah-ul-Haq is optimistic that the injured Babar Azam will be available for the team’s second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, although a final call is likely to be taken only after a medical assessment in Mount Maunganui in three days.Pakistan have already lost the T20I series in New Zealand without Azam, though they managed a consolation victory in Napier thanks to Mohammad Rizwan’s 89. Without Azam, Pakistan experimented heavily with their line-up, even throwing in the inexperienced Abdullah Shafique, who failed to make an impact, being dismissed for two successive ducks.

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“We are hopeful that Babar will be fit for second Test,” Misbah said. “He started gripping the bat today and practicing with a tennis ball. You can’t really predict much with injuries like that but I just hope he gets better in five or six days and he has about eight days or so to get ready, which would be a big boost for us.”Both Azam as well as opener Imam-ul-Haq were injured in nets after receiving a blow to their respective thumbs during a throwdown session in Queenstown last week. With the pair ruled out of the first Test, the uncapped 24-year-old Imran Butt was called up as a possible replacement in the 17-man squad. Butt was the leading run-scorer in the 2019-20 Quaid-e-Azam trophy, with 934 runs at an average of over 62. However, it is likely Pakistan will use the experience of Haris Sohail in the XI instead, with Abid Ali as the opener and Azhar Ali at No.3.Over the last three years, Azam has become a pivotal figure for Pakistan across all formats, and his injury not only hurt the team’s chances, but disrupted their entire strategy that currently revolves around him. Since his ODI debut against West Indies in 2016, Azam has missed just three out the 32 games Pakistan have played.In his debut series, Azam got in the side to fill in for Younis Khan, who was temporarily out with dengue, but eventually had to make way for the senior batsman. Azam also went on to play five Tests in 2016. He would go on to play every single Test in 2017 and 2019, and was playing every Test this year as well until he broke his thumb. Azam averages 45.44 in Tests from 29 matches, with 2045 runs and five centuries.

The allrounder has recovered from a hand injury to bring the Thunder back to full strength

Andrew McGlashan30-Jan-2021Daniel Sams has been passed fit to play in the BBL Knockout final against the Brisbane Heat, giving the Sydney Thunder a significant boost and returning their middle order to full power.Sams suffered a bone and tendon injury in his right hand when he fell awkwardly fielding off his own bowling against the Hobart Hurricanes earlier this month and missed the last three regular-season games which saw the Thunder qualify third in the table.While they covered for his absence effectively in the bowling attack through Brendan Doggett’s impressive form at the back-end of the tournament, Sams’ batting has been a point of difference for the Thunder this season.Related

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He is striking at 191.34 from seven innings for his 199 runs – propelled by his thumping 65 off 25 balls in the group match against the Heat – placing him second overall for the season behind team-mate Nathan McAndrew. He has been a key part of the Thunder’s strong performance in the Power Surge – the two overs of fielding restrictions which can be taken by the batting side after the 10th over – where they lead the way with a run rate of 12.69.Sams himself has scored 69 runs off 31 balls during the Surge, which places him fourth behind team-mate Ben Cutting at the top (91 off 40), Brisbane Heat’s Jimmy Peirson (82 off 50) who will be in the opposition on Sunday and Jordan Silk (79 off 45) from the Sydney Sixers.”All the stuff that I needed to [do] yesterday, I was able to tick it off without any problems really. We’re actually a little bit surprised with how good it’s turned out,” Sams said. There’s a little bit of awareness of pain. But, I’ll be able to go out there and bat as I usually would.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sams has also taken 10 wickets with his left-arm pace but it was his ability to be at full tilt with bat in hand that was the main decider over his fitness”His batting was the main thing we looked at,” Thunder coach Shane Bond said. “There’s always a couple of risks that are associated with an injured hand, so the main concern was his batting. The good news is he had no problems and is ready to go.”Sams’ availability will leave Bond with a tough selection decision after the impact Doggett has had with the ball and the all-round skills that McAndrew brings to the side.”It’s a good headache,” he said. “It’s nice to have a fully fit squad at this time of the season. It’s an unusual situation, but it’s definitely welcome.”In terms of our bowling, I think in the last three games we’ve started to really see our game plan come to fruition because we’ve bowled really well. If we can do that again in this game it will be great.”Our batting has been good and consistent throughout the tournament, but it’s tremendous to see that our bowling has picked up.”The two group matches between the Thunder and Heat were shared one apiece. The Thunder chased down 179 with seven balls to spare at Manuka Oval – the venue for the Knockout – thanks to Sams’ brilliance, and then the Heat successfully chased at the Gabba although Sams again made an impact with 37 off 18 balls before having to be subbed out with concussion.

Coach says ECB medical team ‘talking about how we deal with this long-term’ after quick missed two Tests

George Dobell07-Mar-2021Jofra Archer has emerged as an injury doubt for the T20I series in India – and perhaps beyond – after suffering a recurrence of an elbow problem.Archer missed the final Test in Ahmedabad due to an elbow issue which first became apparent ahead of the Cape Town Test at the start of 2020. The injury was subsequently diagnosed as a stress fracture and ruled Archer out of England’s originally scheduled tour of Sri Lanka and the IPL; both events were subsequently rescheduled due to Covid-19 restrictions.While Chris Silverwood, the England head coach, dismissed talk of surgery at this stage, he did admit the ECB’s medical team “are talking about how we deal with this [issue in the] long-term”.Related

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He also said they will be “monitoring” Archer’s fitness before any decision is made on whether he is fit to participate in the T20I series which begins on Friday and promised he will benefit from “every resource” in England’s attempt to ensure he enjoys a long Test career.”Jofra’s elbow did flare up a little bit and the medical staff are managing that at the moment,” Silverwood said. “Obviously we’ll monitor his progress. The medical staff are talking about how we deal with this long term.”He’s trained today with the white-ball squad. We’ll be monitoring his situation.”Archer also missed the second Test in India due to the issue although the England management said at the time the injury was not linked to any previous condition.The timing of the injury might be of particular concern. Archer bowled only five overs in the third Test and only 35.1 in the entire series. To suffer a recurrence of the problem having been lightly used is sure to increase concerns over Archer’s future at Test level, in particular. As one of the world’s most valuable T20 players, he could make a fine living without risking further damage to his elbow from the strains of the red-ball game.”I’ll be guided by the medics,” Silverwood replied to questions about workload management for Archer. “We’ll see where we end up with him. I want Jofra to be fit for all forms of cricket. I want him to have a long, successful Test career.”Could we limit the number of overs he bowls? It’s not something I would go out and predict but we’ll find out in the course of time. The important thing for me at the moment is that Jofra gets every resource we can provide to make sure he does have a long and successful Test career.”I’m not sure surgery has come up yet. I’ll be guided by the medics on that. I wouldn’t say I’m concerned, no.”Jofra Archer is suffering from an ongoing elbow problem•BCCI

While England are sure to want Archer fit for the home Test series in England, which starts in August, their real aim is likely to be the T20 World Cup and the Ashes towards the end of the year. With that in mind, if they feel he needs prolonged rest or even surgery, it is likely to take place sooner rather than later. That could raise questions about his availability for this year’s IPL, which starts in April and runs until the end of May.Silverwood confirmed on Sunday that England players involved in the knock-stages of the IPL would not be required back before the end of the tournament. With the final due to be played May 30 and the first Test against New Zealand starting on June 2, that could rule out several first choice Test players. The Rajasthan Royals squad, for example, contains Jos Butter, Ben Stokes and Archer.”They will be staying for the whole IPL as it stands at the moment,” Silverwood said. “We’ll be looking at the New Zealand Test series, working our way back and seeing what preparation time we need. We haven’t done that at this time, but it’s something we will be doing.”

Opener says the pitch holds no demons and it’s batting mistakes that have put Bangladesh in a spot

Mohammad Isam12-Feb-2021Bangladesh went into the second Test against West Indies with a spin-heavy attack, but two days into the game, the tactic hasn’t worked, with the home team finding themselves 105 for 4 in reply to West Indies’ 409 all out.Tamim Iqbal, who was dismissed in the last session of the second day for 44, said that the pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium hasn’t matched his side’s all-out spin plan, and although the surface couldn’t be blamed for the four wickets Bangladesh lost on the second day, the mismatch has had a bearing on their overall strategy going into this game.Related

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“The wicket is extremely good even when we went out to bat today,” Tamim said. “None of our batsmen got out to great deliveries or due to something out of the wicket. All four were errors by the batsmen. If we were two down, we would have felt that we were in a better position. Since we lost four wickets, they are on top. We will get back into the game if we can have a 100 or 150-run partnership.”Like they have done in the past five years in home Tests, Bangladesh picked an XI with three spinners and one pace bowler in this game too. But over the first two days, they have only found slow turn with a bit more bounce than the pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium where the first Test was played.”Our plan wasn’t for this wicket,” Tamim said. “When a home team is picking three spinners, it is not rocket science to know that we expected from the wicket. We went ahead with a plan, but now that the wicket didn’t support the spinners, there’s bound to be talk about it. We went with the same combination against West Indies in 2018, and we were very successful.”The opener also credited West Indies’ batting, which has been on an upswing since a remarkable chase of 395 to win the first Test.”We wanted to take early wickets today but the wicket was really good,” he said. “It didn’t help our spinners. They also batted exceptionally well. (Alzarri) Joseph played well for his 80-odd, and the wicketkeeper (Joshua Da Silva) did well. Not everything happened because of our mistakes. Credit where it’s due.”They played some exceptional cricket on the last day in Chattogram, otherwise we were on top for the first four days. However, they have played better cricket than us in this Test.”The nature of the surface offered hope for Bangladesh’s middle order to rescue the team, with the team relying on the fifth-wicket pair of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun to stitch a substantial partnership together.”The wicket hasn’t behaved in a way that should worry us,” Tamim said. “Our first session is very important. We have lost four wickets, and we don’t have much batting left. A lot depends on this partnership, which will have a bearing on the rest of the game for us.”You must have the belief. Liton is a very capable batsman. Mehidy had a good first Test. It is our fault that we are in this situation. We are in this position because of our errors.”Tamim, who blamed himself for playing an uppish drive off Joseph after he had been set on 44 off 51 balls, said that positive intent was the way to go for the Bangladesh batsmen.”I didn’t think I was aggressive. I had good intent,” he said. “Apart from the shot that I got out, I probably didn’t play too many false shots. I thought we shouldn’t go into this innings with a very defensive mindset. If you keep on playing to the merit of the ball, you are going to be fine. But the shot that I played, was not on.”

“We are starting to click together and performances are coming from every player,” Wolvaardt says

Firdose Moonda21-Mar-2021Captain Sune Luus praised South Africa’s new-found fearless style of play, which she credited with their double success in India. South Africa won the ODIs 4-1 and sealed the T20I rubber with a game to play, to pick up a first-ever T20I series win over India.”Our confidence levels are where we want them to be. The girls are backing themselves and playing fearless cricket and in T20s, that’s what you want,” Luus said at the post-match presentation.Not only did South Africa claim the T20I trophy, but they pulled off their third-highest chase in the second match, which was also among their most nerve-wracking. They needed 19 runs off the last 10 balls, nine off the final over and six off the last two balls, and Laura Wolvaardt was at the crease to ensure they got them all. She faced all but two deliveries in the 20th over, including the no-ball from Arundhati Reddy that she took two runs off on what would have been the penultimate delivery of the match, and said that eased the mounting pressure.Related

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“A couple of balls before that then there was a full toss which was almost a no-ball and I didn’t hit it very well. I thought to myself, ‘did I just not score off a full toss?’,” Wolvaardt said, referring to the third ball of the final over that went for one. “But then when the [second] full toss came, and we had an extra ball, we didn’t need a boundary anymore. For the last ball, we needed one and I said to Nadine (de Klerk) that whatever happens, I am just going to try and get some bat on it. I’m glad it worked out.”South Africa’s victory came with an inside-edge off the last ball, avoiding a Super Over, though Wolvaardt admitted things didn’t need to get that close. “I didn’t start my innings as quickly as I would have liked so I put some pressure on myself, but I knew with a fast outfield, we were in with a chance if we took it deep. I’m glad I was there at the end to do it,” she said.Wolvaardt scored two runs off the first six balls she faced, which included a dropped chance, but with Lizelle Lee on the other end, South Africa were mostly able to keep pace with the required run rate. When Lee and then Mignon du Preez were dismissed, it was up to Wolvaardt and de Klerk to see South Africa home. That they did sends a strong message about the depth in the South African squad.”It’s so good for our future,” Luus said. “We know that if on the day we can’t play Marizanne Kapp, Shabnim Ismail or Lizelle Lee, there are players coming in and we back them, they back themselves.”South Africa won this T20I series without Kapp, who was rested for the past two matches, and without regular captain Dane van Niekerk and allrounder Chloe Tryon, who are recovering from lower-back injuries. They were also without Luus for two of the ODIs, when she picked up an illness, and Wolvaardt took over the captaincy. In doing so, she also experienced the improvement in the quality of players beyond South Africa’s big names.”In the past, that was one of the gaps between us and the big nations – if we had Dane missing the tour, we would do badly,” Wolvaardt said. “Now there is some healthy competition going forward and we are raising the bar for each other. This is also the first time in a long time we are all feeling it (confidence) together. We are starting to click together and performances are coming from every player. If we can ride this wave, that would be awesome.”They have one more opportunity to do that on this strip, with the final match in the series to be played on Tuesday. “There’s a chance for us to make it 3-0 and that will be even bigger than a series win,” Luus said.

Youngster backs up first-innings 39 with 41* in match-winning stand with Steve Davies

ECB Reporters' Network02-May-2021Lewis Goldsworthy completed a memorable first-class debut as Somerset clinched a four-wicket LV=County Championship victory over Middlesex at Taunton.Having contributed an invaluable 39 to his side’s first innings, the 20-year-old Cornishman shared an unbroken match-winning stand of 86 with Steve Davies to take the Cidermen to their target of 207 soon after lunch.Goldsworthy finished 41 not out and Davies unbeaten on 44, while Tim Murtagh had figures of 4 for 53 at the end of an absorbing contest, sadly played out in front of empty stands at the Cooper Associates County Ground.Somerset took 21 points from their third group win in four games, while Middlesex, who had bossed much of the game, had to be content with seven.The home side began the final morning on 104 for 4, needing a further 103 to win. Tom Abell, unbeaten on 43 overnight, got the run-chase underway with a two through midwicket off Murtagh.George Bartlett launched his innings with a sweetly-struck off-side boundary in Tom Helm’s opening over. On 47, Abell survived a confident shout from Murtagh for lbw, umpire Ian Gould remaining unmoved. Bartlett’s second boundary was another well-timed stroke, this time pulling Helm through mid-wicket.Abell edged Murtagh just short of second slip before Gould upheld a second lbw appeal from the same bowler, with the Somerset skipper one short of a half-century and 89 runs still needed.Murtagh’s next over saw Bartlett depart in the same fashion for 12, playing across the line, and at 123 for 6 Somerset looked in serious trouble.It was another major test for the temperament of diminutive debutant Goldsworthy as he was joined by the experienced Davies. As in the first innings when coming in at 98 for 4, the youngster passed with flying colours, getting into line with solid defensive technique against some probing seam bowling.Murtagh completed a fine eight-over spell from the River End before Davies lifted some of the pressure with two cover-driven fours in the same Martin Andersson over.Goldsworthy produced the shot of the day, savagely pulling Steve Finn to the mid-wicket boundary for four, with the sound of a pistol crack as bat met ball.Both batters demonstrated the patience to await a loose delivery and, while each played and missed occasionally, they gradually sucked the life out of the Middlesex seam attack.Goldsworthy brought up the fifty stand with a boundary to thirdman off the returning Murtagh.By lunch the partnership was worth 65 and Somerset were within 19 runs of what for more than two days had seemed a highly unlikely victory.After the break, Middlesex turned to legspinner Luke Hollman in a last throw of the dice.But Davies and Goldsworthy remained unperturbed and the latter sparked loud celebrations on the home dressing room balcony when striking the winning boundary off a Hollman full-toss.

The England quick, who underwent elbow surgery last week, insists he is placing no timeframe on his recovery

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2021Jofra Archer says he is “quite prepared” to miss England’s five-Test series against India in August and September in a bid to be ready for his twin targets of the T20 World Cup and the Ashes next winter, after undergoing what he described as a “career-defining” elbow operation on Friday.Archer, who has been managing his elbow problem ever since being diagnosed with a stress fracture on the tour of South Africa in January 2020, was forced to withdraw from this year’s IPL after playing through the pain during England’s tour of India, and required a cortisone injection to get him through the five-match T20I series in March.The ECB confirmed that he had undergone Friday’s operation, after Archer had failed to come through his return to bowling for Sussex earlier this month. He bowled 29.2 overs in his comeback for Sussex’s 2nd XI, but only managed 18 overs in his County Championship return against Kent two weeks ago.He will now undergo “an intensive rehabilitation period”, according to the ECB, with a review in approximately four weeks to determine his readiness for bowling. That puts him in a race against time to be fit for the first Test against India, at Trent Bridge on August 4, but Archer insists he himself is placing no timeframe on his recovery.”One thing I am determined about post-elbow operation is not to rush my comeback,” Archer wrote in his column in the Daily Mail, “because my primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year.”Those are my targets. If I come back before then and manage to play in the home Test series against India — then fine, so be it. If I don’t, I am quite prepared to sit out the summer.”The way I am looking at things is that I would rather miss a few weeks of a year so that I have a few more years in my career.”While England would dearly love to have their strike bowler available for the Tests against India, the timing of his operation shows that the ECB also recognise where Archer’s priorities should lie. As the MVP at the 2020 IPL in the UAE, his skills in T20 cricket are second-to-none, and his fitness would be a major asset for a side that hopes to add the 20-over World Cup to the 50-over crown that he was instrumental in winning two years ago.And then there’s the Ashes in Australia in December and January, where England know from past experience the importance of having an arsenal of 90mph bowlers at their disposal. However, Archer is aware that the delicacy of the operation on his elbow demands a cautious return to action.”I just want to get this injury sorted once and for all and that’s why I’m not looking that far ahead or at dates for a return to action,” he wrote. “Because if I don’t get this right, I won’t play any cricket. Period.”I am not going to do myself any good by coming back before I’m fully fit, so I will take my time and do what is best for me and my life.”Related

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Archer confirmed that the bandages were already off in the wake of the operation, but that everything was still “very fresh” and that he remained sore after the procedure.”Surgery was always the last option and we wanted to exercise every possible strategy before we went down that route,” he added. “It was the last thing on the list. It is not always a fix and in four weeks we will find out how things have gone.”I must retain faith that this now sorts out the issue for good, although there’s always room for another surgery if needs be. At the age of 26, I am still pretty young.”However, my attitude right now is that the less thought I put into things like that, the better. I just want to throw myself into the rehab.”I remain committed to playing all three formats for England and to winning big series. But it has been quite a while since I bowled completely pain-free.”

New Zealand’s last five wickets added 114 compared to India’s 61, and proved to be the difference

Sidharth Monga22-Jun-20213:59

Does Jasprit Bumrah need to learn to use the crease more?

A defensive masterclass from Kane Williamson all but eliminated a defeat for New Zealand in the World Test Championship final, but India were resolute in the session they got to bat, losing just two wickets and ending the penultimate day 32 runs ahead. It needed Tim Southee’s genius to prise out the openers in arguably the best conditions of a Test that has proved to be torrid for batters. So torrid that we can still think of a result despite only 225 overs of play in the five regulation days of the Test.As was the case in the two-Test series between these two teams in New Zealand, the contribution from the lower order proved to be the difference: New Zealand’s last five wickets added 114 to India’s 61. Yet their lead was only 32.New Zealand began the day – an hour after time because of a drizzle – 116 behind with eight wickets in hand, but India’s bowlers made sure New Zealand didn’t run away with the game. It was a masterclass in controlled bowling in helpful conditions, giving New Zealand nothing to score off and finding enough wicket-taking deliveries in between.In the second half of the innings, though, Williamson found support from Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, whose risks against a now-tiring three-man seam attack came off. New Zealand’s last five added 114 in 29 overs, which defied the prevailing run rate of around two in the rest of the match.Before the lower order got away from them, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma put in quite a shift to make sure New Zealand didn’t bat them out of the contest. They did it the hard way: not looking for magic balls but drying up runs with sustained, intense good bowling. Between them, the three bowled all the overs in the first session followed by a half-an-hour lull leading to the second new ball in the second session.A good indicator of the quality of bowling and the surface is the rate at which Williamson is scoring because he is a masterful batter who plays according to the situation. His 49 off 177 balls was his slowest innings of 20 or more balls. The last time New Zealand scored fewer than their 152 here in the first 80 overs in an innings was way back in 2002.In the whole first session, you could count the number of ordinary balls on one hand: two inswingers down the leg side from Ishant that went unpunished and a half-volley each from Shami and Bumrah. Just 34 runs came in that session for the wickets of Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls and BJ Watling.Taylor swung hard at the sight of the first full ball he got and ended up chipping to mid-off. Nicholls followed an around-the-wicket awayswinger. Watling got a peach from Shami, which pitched middle and hit top of off.Kane Williamson picked up his scoring pace in the second session•Getty Images

At the start of the second session, India had to relent a little as the new ball was seven overs away. This is where the scoring rate started to turn, but with the new ball Shami trapped Colin de Grandhomme with an inswinger from wide on the crease to make it 162 for 6. Jamieson, though, used his reach well to go after the bowlers. A ball after he hit the first six of the match, he top-edged a hook to fall to Shami for 21 off 16.New Zealand were still 25 behind, and Williamson now upped his intent a little. He upper-cut Shami for a four, started looking to open the face a little whenever allowed to go back, but still picked boundaries only off poor balls, which increased now that the three fast bowlers were close to bowling two sessions just by themselves.Williamson will be cross with himself that in such a situation he followed a wide ball from Ishant with an attempted back-foot drive, possibly leaving a few runs out there. Southee, though, made sure they took the lead past 30, hitting two sixes, going past Ricky Ponting to move to No. 15 on six-hitters’ list in Test cricket.However, it was Southee the bowler who kept New Zealand in the hunt for a win with highly skilful bowling. India began batting with the final session of the day, a situation reminiscent of their defeat in Christchurch where they lost six wickets in the last session of a day after the first innings of both sides had practically cancelled each other out.That pitch had steep and uneven bounce. This one was now finally settling down going into the third day of use. There wasn’t anything off the pitch available for the New Zealand bowlers, but the swing with the Dukes was still a challenging proposition. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill looked in control, but Southee was just a little better.Gill was removed in the 11th over when Southee followed up three outswingers with a change in seam position at the last moment, bowling his wobble-seam delivery, which swings in. Gill looked to flick to midwicket, which meant he was beaten on the inside edge and trapped in front.Rohit looked more assured, and in the company of Cheteshwar Pujara was headed for stumps when Southee came back for a testing second spell. They had had to endure the Jamieson examination before Southee took over. Fifteen minutes before stumps, he took Rohit out with the inswinger, but this time with a seam-up delivery, only with the shiny side outside. Rohit padded up, and was given out lbw.Virat Kohli and Pujara played out the tricky last 15 minutes, but knew they had serious work to do on the final morning, the reserve day.

The home side failed to reach 200 in four innings against South Africa

Firdose Moonda21-Jun-2021Captain Kraigg Brathwaite denied that the lack of a batting coach was to blame for West Indies performances in the Test series against South Africa and apologised to supporters for the team’s poor displays.West Indies were bowled out for their lowest total against South Africa, 97, in the first Test and failed to cross 170 runs in any of the four innings in the series but Brathwaite said the batters must take responsibility for their failings.”It isn’t a factor [having no batting coach]. The coaches here are doing a very good job. And as batters, we know where we went wrong,” Brathwaite said. “We didn’t bat well. Full stop.”He admitted that fans deserved better from their team following the series win over Bangladesh and draw against Sri Lanka. “We’re very sorry. We were disappointing. We’ve got to come back and show that fight. Sometimes it’s not all about winning but you want to see the fight and we didn’t show the fans the fight. We’ve got to come back better.”Related

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In Chattogram, West Indies successfully chased a target of 395 in the first Test and in Dhaka, they scored more than 400 in the first innings of the second Test while they saw off a Sri Lankan attack to draw the first Test in Antigua and totalled over 350 in the second Test and were able to declare to set Sri Lanka a target in the second.Against South Africa, the numbers were lower. West Indies’ highest partnership in the first Test was 46 between Roston Chase and Jermaine Blackwood and 64 in the second between Kieran Powell and Kyle Mayers. “Part of the plan obviously was to bat better and have consistent partnerships and big partnerships but we didn’t have any,” Brathwaite said.

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But Brathwaite managed to find a silver lining in the way his attack performed and credited them with providing West Indies best moments in an otherwise disappointing effort. “We were magnificent in the field. Kemar Roach was magnificent. Every time I asked the bowlers for a spell, they were always willing to do the job,” he said. “And we took some very good catches. The bowling unit must be commended for the effort.”West Indies have almost two months before their next Test assignment against Pakistan in August. Brathwaite said they will use the time to work on the technical and mental aspects of the game in a bid to improve their performances in their next Test outing.”During the series, you can’t work on anything technical and Test cricket is all mental,” he said. “But you always have something to work on as a player. We have a couple of weeks and we could work on a few flaws that we have.”

Seamer making headlines for the right reasons with maiden Test five-wicket haul

George Dobell06-Aug-2021Whatever happens over the next couple of days of this intriguing Test, England can take heart in the emergence of a cricketer who should serve them well for the next four or five years.But for England’s poor fielding – and we’ll come back to this – Ollie Robinson really should have taken a five-wicket haul on his Test debut at Lord’s. On that occasion, though, Stuart Broad put down Tim Southee at mid-off and Robinson was denied. So it was probably fitting that Broad, running around the fine-leg boundary and pulling off a diving catch, should take a substantially more difficult chance to complete the milestone here. There’s no reason at all it shouldn’t be the first of many.In between times, though, Robinson has seen his career flash in front of his eyes. Even as he was impressing on that debut performance at Lord’s, the existence of vile social media posts made by him several years ago was coming to light. No sooner was the game finished, then Robinson was suspended pending a disciplinary hearing. He admits now that, in those days, he feared his England career may be over.”I definitely had doubts over my career,” Robinson said. “There was a time I was speaking with my lawyers and we were looking at the fact I could be banned for a couple of years. That would have taken me up to the age of 30 and someone else could have come in and taken my spot. So yes I had doubts over my career. I thought I might never play for England again.”It was tough. Probably the toughest few weeks I’ve had in cricket to be honest, or in my life, actually. It affected not only myself but my family. But luckily it all came good today.”Ollie Robinson celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

In truth, there wasn’t much luck involved. Robinson has looked every inch a Test-quality bowler in both his performances to date and richly deserved this maiden five-wicket haul. While he is not especially quick – his stock ball tends to be somewhere around 130 kph (just over 80 mph) – his bouncer is notably sharper (up around 137 kph) and ensures batters aren’t able to simply get on the front foot. He’s tall, too – around six feet five (that’s 198 cms) – so gains bounce which threatens the shoulder of the bat even while he bowls a probing, full length.It’s no surprise at all to hear that his cricketing role-model, initially at least, was Glenn McGrath. It would be stretching a point to say that Robinson is good. But with an apparently easy action, an impressive control of line and length and the ability to hit the seam and move the ball both ways, the comparison is not ridiculous, either. Later he played Grade cricket in Australia with Josh Hazlewood. These are the best in the business and he has clearly learned his lessons well.It was noticeable that he was often preferred to Broad at key moments in this innings. At the start of the third day, for example, it was Robinson and James Anderson who Joe Root asked to bowl. Later Robinson also took the second new ball. He bowled more overs than anyone in the innings not just because he is younger but because he looked more likely to strike. He also conceded fewer runs per over (3.16) than either Broad (3.50) or Sam Curran (3.80). It would be premature to suggest he is ready to usurp Broad – given England’s schedule, there is plenty of room for several reliable seamers – but he did suggest there is, in that area at least, some depth. That can only be a good thing.None of this makes the social media comments OK, of course. But they were a long time ago – he was 18 at the time the most unpleasant of them were posted – and he has now been punished (he was fined £3,200 and suspended for eight games; five of them suspended) and rehabilitated with various courses and a commitment to work with the PCA (the Professional Cricketers’ Association; the players’ union) to ensure he shares his experiences. He doesn’t try to excuse what he did – there’s no mileage in that – but it is clear he is a very different man now.Related

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“I was a young, naive guy,” he says. “I made a lot of mistakes. Not just those tweets. I had negative press when I got sacked from Yorkshire as well.”But I’ve learned a lot. I have grown as a person in that time. I’ve tried to develop myself as a person in the last ten years. I am father now, as well, and I have just tried to make myself the best person I can be. I hope people will be able to see that.”Ultimately, Robinson will be judged by what happens from now onwards. But it was interesting to note that, even at a time when he might have felt under great scrutiny, he maintained the aggressive manner that has characterised his cricket at county level. So, there were plenty of grumpy stares in the direction of the batters and even something of a send-off once he dismissed Ravi Jadeja. This won’t be to everyone’s taste, of course. But, on hot days in Perth or Chennai, you suspect his captains might appreciate this competitive edge.”It was friendly banter,” he says. “I was trying to get them out of their bubble and play a few shots. They were batting well. But they were pretty defensive and I wanted KL Rahul to play some shots. It was all good fun out there.”But it was important for me to show everyone that I am the real deal on the field and try to get the scrutiny off me. It was a proud moment for myself and my family; a moment I’ll cherish for a long time.”And so he should. Robinson has made a lot of headlines in his short international career. Here, at least, they were for entirely the right reasons. You suspect there are many more positive stories to come.