New York, new challenges as Sri Lanka begin a long road

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Wanindu Hasaranga was hopeful conditions wouldn’t be too far removed from home

Sidharth Monga03-Jun-20241:20

Will Hasaranga be the gamechanger?

Puff of dust. Not on the pitch but on the outfield. That’s the first thing you notice about cricket at the Nassau County International Cricket Ground just outside New York City. The next thing you see is that the ball plugs in it. It doesn’t zip off like we are used to seeing in pretty standard conditions in cricket on TV these days. It is a sandy outfield where fielders won’t be queuing up to dive.Then there is the drop-in pitch. In the warm-up game between India and Bangladesh held two days before the ground hosts its first World Cup match, the ball seamed around and also sat in the surface. Yet again, these are anything but standard conditions. And because of reasons not explained to the South Africa and Sri Lanka teams, they go into the match without any training session at the actual venue.Related

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This is precisely why South Africa requested for at least a fielding session on the actual outfield after they were done with their nets at the Cantiague Park, another facility outside New York City. Even during the India-Bangladesh match, their coach Rob Walter and bowling coach Eric Simons made it a point to come to the venue and check the conditions out.Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will visit the venue for the first time when they come in for the match. They even cancelled their nets session at the Cantiague Park. They have decided what they saw of the warm-up game on the TV is all they need to know. That is not as dramatic as it sounds because conditions are a little similar to Sri Lanka: sticky pitch, heavy outfield. That is what they have seen in their other practice sessions as well.”First of all, we prepared really well,” Sri Lanka’s captain Wanindu Hasaranga said. “We came two weeks early to North Carolina, and we had practice sessions there. And we played two practice matches in Florida. And I think as a team, we prepared really well. And conditions are similar to Sri Lanka. So, I think as a team we have prepared really well.”Wanindu Hasaranga was confident his side were ready•AFP/Getty ImagesYou can detect some sulkiness with Sri Lanka, though. Firstly, their flight into New York was delayed by seven hours. Then, unlike India and South Africa, they are staying in downtown Brooklyn, which makes it quite a trek to the ground. Their hotel’s swimming pool is closed for the rest of the year, a repeat for them from the 2019 World Cup in England. In fact when asked about adjusting to early-morning starts this World Cup – to cater to the TV audience in India – Hasaranga didn’t omit to mention the travel to the ground.”No, if we played under lights, then we have to prepare, with the field and everything under the lights,” Hasaranga said when asked if they needed to make adjustments to early starts. “Then the only concern is we have to come early to the ground. We have to come at 7.30 in the morning because we are so far from the ground. It will take like one-and-a-half hours to the ground. That’s the only concern we have.”Hasaranga is not incorrect. During the warm-up match, almost everyone had trouble getting to the ground with the police closing down the entrances to Eisenhower Park, which houses the stadium. Everyone is hopeful there is better co-ordination between the police and the ICC come match day when the roads will be closed at 7.30am for everyone except the team buses.2:01

South Africa batters vs Sri Lanka spinners

And then there is the frequent travel for them. Along with Netherlands, Sri Lanka are one of the only two teams that will play all their four first-round matches in four different venues. So they will be in a loop of match-travel-train-optional train-match through then first round.We can sometimes not appreciate the small little challenges that can accumulate with these daily things. For example, when you are asked to train at another venue a day before the match, this is what happens: you load the cricket kits in the hotel at the team bus, then you unload them at the training facility, then you load again and go to your hotel, then you unload in the morning at the ground and load again because you have to travel immediately and don’t have the luxury of playing another match at the same venue.South Africa were more philosophical with the logistical challenges that are part of coming to a new country, which on top of that is not used to hosting cricket, but they do get to play three matches in New York. Even they were bemused they had to train elsewhere. They didn’t know a reason why. Asked if they would have rather they trained at the venue of the match, their captain Aiden Markram said: “It’s hard to say because I’m not sure what [training facility] is there [at the venue of the match], because I haven’t been there. This facility is incredible to be honest, so we don’t mind training here either.”

Aunshuman Gaekwad knew to put guts over glory, and that is no small thing

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

He will be remembered as much for his courage against fearsome fast bowlers as for his role in helping India move into the era of professionalism

Suresh Menon01-Aug-20246:24

Manjrekar: ‘Indian cricket should be grateful to Gaekwad’

Aunshuman Gaekwad – “Charlie” to friends – had that mix of toughness (as a player) and likeability (as a person) that is rare not just in cricket but in life itself. He was one of the youngest captains on the Indian first-class scene in his time, but was never in the running for the national captaincy. This was partly because he appeared in only 40 of the 90 Tests India played during his decade-old career, and partly because a younger man, Kapil Dev, took over the job. His father, Dattajirao Gaekwad, had led India on a tour of England in 1959.Gaekwad’s understanding of the sport and his knowledge of its nuances were not lost to Indian cricket, however. As manager, selector, and member of the BCCI’s apex council, his was a voice – gentle and persuasive – that helped shape Indian cricket in many ways.He was crucial in two periods of transition. When he made his debut, the Indian team was rebuilding itself after a disastrous tour of England and had just deposed Ajit Wadekar as captain. It was necessary to have a batter with courage, who didn’t give up easily and made the bowlers work hard. Gaekwad fit that role. Opening with Sunil Gavaskar, he gave the batters who followed the kind of respite they had not been used to during the phase when the nation debated the question: Who can partner Gavaskar?Related

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Then, after his playing days, as an administrator, Gaekwad saw the transition towards an era of greater professionalism and self-belief as Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and others held the Indian flag aloft.He was only 32 when he played his last Test, coming full circle in Calcutta, where he had made his debut. The more attacking Krishnamachari Srikkanth was preferred in the next match. As often happens in cricket, like in other areas of endeavour, the skills of the pioneer and consolidator were seen as excess to requirements. What was needed was to go beyond consolidation and take charge. Gaekwad never complained, and looked for other avenues where his experience and superior grasp of the game would serve the country.5:23

Holding: ‘Anshuman was a proper gentleman’

Gaekwad earned his reputation as a player of grit and substance early. As a 22-year-old when he walked out to play that first Test, against West Indies, he crossed the incoming batter who was returning after being hit in the face by Andy Roberts. This was his hero and captain, Tiger Pataudi. Gaekwad made an important 36 in a low-scoring match, which India won, and was run out for 80 in the next, which too India won. He had won his spurs with a century against the tourists for Combined Universities where he drove off the front foot with elan. Later, as he began to open the batting and faced fast bowling consistently, he became more proficient off the back foot.In the West Indies next season, in the “bloodbath” in Kingston, Jamaica, which saw five batters absent hurt in the second innings, Gaekwad helped Sunil Gavaskar add 136 for the opening wicket before he was forced to retire following a nasty blow to the ear from Michael Holding. He needed surgery. He had batted on with a broken finger earlier, using one of the remaining to communicate with Holding in a gesture universally understood.Gaekwad’s highest Test score, 201 against Pakistan, took over 11 hours, which didn’t surprise anyone.India have produced more attractive batters than Aunshuman Gaekwad, better catchers at slip, and perhaps – we don’t know this for sure – better captains. But for sheer courage and for taking on the world’s fastest bowlers with little more than a strong heart and indomitable courage, Gaekwad stands alone. To be remembered for guts and tenacity rather than batting or bowling figures is not such a bad thing.

Athapaththu and Sri Lanka manifest destiny to become champions

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Self-belief has been be an important aspect of their cricket lately and it came in handy against India

Madushka Balasuriya28-Jul-20242:58

Sri Lanka show they aren’t solely reliant on Athapaththu

It was around an hour after the winning runs had been struck, and the once packed-to-the-literal-brim 16,000-capacity Rangiri Dambulla stadium had filtered clear. A pocket of fans, largely kids, had been let onto the ground, near the players’ dugouts.Standing behind a minimal police cordon, they called out for “Chamari [older sister]”. They were at it for almost 10 minutes straight, when suddenly the decibel levels rose exponentially. Chamari Athapaththu – still on the ground, acquiescing to every bystander, every interview request, every interaction really – had finally made her way through to her adoring young fans.She walked up to them raised one hand, and held the Asia Cup trophy in the other. If this was a dream come true for those kids, could you just imagine what it might have felt like for Athapaththu?Here she was in the twilight of her career, standing in a moment that she, maybe even two years prior, could have hardly conceived. India, an opponent that had seemed almost untouchable, had been vanquished. A new set of players now ready and willing to take on the responsibility, a responsibility that had for so long been hers and hers alone to bear. And most importantly, women’s cricket finally getting its due.This was no token viewing, no passing crowd. This was pure emotion, unadulterated joy, and total entertainment. This here was change in its most tangible form. There’s a girl tomorrow that will pick up a bat because of this, a parent that would encourage it, not dismiss it. This was a dream manifesting into reality.

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Rewind two hours and you would have forgiven Athapaththu wondering if her dream was busy transitioning into a nightmare.Related

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Sri Lanka ace record chase for first Women's Asia Cup title

It had all been going according to plan up until that point too. Seeing how strong India’s batting had been leading up to this final, there was a sense that Sri Lanka really needed to win the toss and chase. As events would conspire, they ended up losing the toss but still wound up chasing since India felt a third-use pitch might only get tougher for batting later on. Sometimes you write your own scripts, other times it’s simply written for you.And so it was that Athapaththu, as she might have visualised heading into this game, was spearheading Sri Lanka’s unlikely chase to a first-ever major trophy. Sure, she had lost Vishmi Gunaratne early – a run out that Athapaththu admitted was largely her fault – but now she had Harshitha Samarawickrama by her side and things were going well.With India’s 165 square in their crosshairs, the pair had maintained the required rate at around eight an over for the entirety of their 63-ball 87-run stand, and Athapaththu in particular was batting as well as she had done across the tournament. But with 72 needed, the plan was ripped from her hands; with 48 balls left, she was back in the dugout, bowled around her legs.Chamari Athapaththu hit 304 runs at an average of 101 and a strike rate of 147 in the Asia Cup•Sri Lanka Cricket”I wanted to get at least another 20-30 runs, because I knew if I brought the target closer the team would be able to do the rest,” Athapaththu said after the game. Her concerns were warranted. Against Pakistan in the semi-final, a similar thing had happened. There Athapaththu fell with 21 needed from 21, and the team proceeded to lose three more wickets before squeezing through with one ball to spare.

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The foundations for this victory, though, had been laid much earlier, by about 18 months, when Rumesh Ratnayake was appointed as women’s head coach. That term – appointment – is being used loosely here because, to date, Sri Lanka Cricket are yet to acknowledge it. Ratnayake was brought in on an interim capacity prior to the 2023 T20 World Cup and has remained in the role ever since.His impact on this side has been nothing short of transformative. This is after all pretty much the same side – barring a few changes – that was brushed aside by India in the 2022 Asia Cup. However over the past year, each subsequent victory has served to feed that ever-growing belief.”The staff has given us huge support,” Athapaththu said. “They’ve brought in so much in terms of thinking positively, keeping certain things in the past. If a catch is dropped or if there’s a marginal call on a decision, we don’t discuss those things. We only look at how to score better in the next game, how to make sure we take the next catch that comes.”It may sound simple, but that’s because it is. Belief after all is a tenuous thing. When you have it everything is golden, but holding on to it, that part is tricky. Many professionals go through good and bad periods in terms of self-belief, but right now this Sri Lanka side is riding the wave.Athapaththu: When I was batting with Harshitha [Samarawickrama], I told her… if I get out you’re going to have to be the one to finish it.•ACCThis mindset was certainly put to the test against India. Smriti Mandhana, dropped by Harshitha Samarawickrama on 10, went on to score a 47-ball 60. Samarawickrama’s day then got even worse when she dropped Richa Ghosh when she was just on 5, and to aggravate matters further, on 9, Ghosh was given not out despite having clearly nicked behind.The India wicketkeeper went on to smash Kavisha Dilhari – Sri Lanka’s best bowler to that point – for 18 in the penultimate over, and India, who had been looking at a total of around 150 were suddenly in line to clear 170. Only an excellent final over from the ageless Udeshika Prabodhani prevented that.”Once something like that happens, you can’t live with that feeling. You gotta just focus on what needs to be done next. We have to look at what we can and can’t control. Yes, Harshitha dropped some catches but she came out and played a match-winning innings.”I spoke to her at that point and said ‘that’s over, focus on the next thing’ because we needed her in the right mindset to bat.”When I was batting with Harshitha, I told her not to doing anything rash. I’ll play my natural game, but if I get out you’re going to have to be the one to finish it.”And finish it she did. With Dilhari by her side, Samarawickrama brought up just her sixth T20I fifty in 59 innings, as the pair took Sri Lanka home with eight balls to spare. Dilhari’s six down the ground to win the game, a perfect encapsulation of how far they had come, not just on the field but in terms of their own self-belief.Sri Lanka players celebrate with the Asia Cup trophy•ACC

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Ten out of 10, no 100 out of 100. That’s probably how many times Harmanpreet Kaur would have snaffled up the catch that was presented to at mid-off in the 16th over. Samarawickrama was on 45 at the time and both she and Dilhari were just starting to roll. A wicket there and the whole complexion of the chase might have changed, with two new batters at the crease. Pakistan all over again.But while this was an ordinary catch, it also wasn’t. Because an entire stadium was rooting against it. Sixteen thousand people, all around Harmanpreet, were manifesting her to drop it. And when she did, there was an explosion, as if it wasn’t just a cricket ball that had hit the floor but a grenade.An explosion of joy. An explosion of relief. A kindling of a feeling. A feeling that maybe this was meant to be.But spare a thought for Harmanpreet. If this sort of atmosphere was new for the Sri Lankan players, it was equally so for this Indian side. Sure, they’ve played in front of packed crowds before but there can’t be many times when they’ve faced one so hostile.When Harmanpreet spoke after the game, she was able to analyse it rationally. Yes, India hadn’t been at their best. With the bat they were quieter than usual, and with the ball they weren’t as penetrative as they would have liked. For them, this is an unfortunate speed bump on the road to the greater prize of October’s T20 World Cup.But let that not take anything away from Sri Lanka, nor let it be the end of the story. 1996. 2014. And now 2024. This will no doubt go down as one of the finest cricketing achievements by a Sri Lankan side, but if their own mantra is anything to go by, they won’t have long to look back on it. To quote Athapaththu, that’s over, now focus on the next thing.

The Bosch family live their dream as Corbin's big day arrives

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s all been worth it for a household that has been through everything

Firdose Moonda24-Dec-2024Timing, as they say in sport, is everything, and it was about a year ago that Corbin and Eathan Bosch went through some of their father Tertius’ things.Tertius had passed away in tragic circumstances in 2000, when Corbin was five and Eathan not yet two. The pair knew him only through the memories of others, including their mother Karen-Anne, who held on to a lot of Tertius’ playing kit. Among the things the brothers found was a 1992 World Cup shirt. “It was pretty special,” Eathan, a cricketer in South Africa’s domestic set-up, tells ESPNcricinfo. “And also just to see what the kit looked like back then and what it’s like now. I must say I wouldn’t be able to play in that kind of kit. It’s just so thick and heavy.”Related

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At the time, Eathan didn’t think he’d ever have reason to put the shirt on, but kept it with him anyway. Two days ago, that changed. He was invited to a hospitality suite at the Wanderers for Corbin’s ODI debut and decided on his outfit as he walked out of his front door. “It was a pink day so I thought I was going to wear a pink shirt, but then at the last second as I was leaving I remembered I had the [1992] shirt and I thought, ‘let me wear it.’ When I got to the stadium, I just put it on,” Eathan says. “I just thought it was a special occasion, and what better way to celebrate Corbin’s debut than wearing one of my dad’s shirts?”

Those who had watched Tertius were now reminded of him when they watched Corbin bowl, consistently hitting speeds of 140-plus kph. He picked up the wicket of centurion Saim Ayub and went on to score a defiant 44-ball 40, batting at No. 8.Four days on, Corbin will get to do it again, in possibly even more special circumstances. He has been named in South Africa’s XI for the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, where Tertius began his first-class career just under 38 years ago.”It couldn’t be more fitting that where he played all of his cricket will be the place where I make my Test debut,” an emotional Corbin told reporters at SuperSport Park. “I love this place, the atmosphere is always fantastic, and it’s a ground that I’m so well accustomed to, so I couldn’t be more happy. It’s my home, and it’s where he played most of his cricket before going down to Durban, so I cannot be more grateful and thankful to spend such a momentous occasion here.”Tertius rose to prominence as a dental student at the University of Pretoria, and began his domestic career in the summer of 1986-87. He made a name for himself as among the quickest in the country, on par with Allan Donald. Five years later, he was part of South Africa’s first ODI World Cup squad and played one match against New Zealand, and shared the new ball in South Africa’s first Test post-readmission. HE was only 33 when he died, and his wife Karen-Anne did everything she could to nurture their two sons’ love of sport.Kagiso Rabada and Corbin Bosch took contrasting paths to South Africa’s senior team after starring together at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup•AFP/Getty Images”I take my hat off to my mum,” Eathan says. “She had two boys that were crazy sports fanatics that just did sport after sport after sport. We owe a lot to her because she would take us to extra lessons, whether it was cricket, swimming, hockey, anything. And the amount of backyard cricket we used to play was absolutely ridiculous. We broke tiles because of the amount of times we would tap the bats on a certain spot. No matter where we went, we always found a place to play some garden cricket.”Corbin schooled at Pretoria Boys alongside Aiden Markram and the pair made South Africa’s Under-19 World Cup squad together in 2014. They were among the standout performers of the team’s title-winning campaign. Markram was South Africa’s leading run-scorer and Bosch the Player of the Match in the final for his 4 for 15. He was also the team’s second-highest wicket-taker, behind Kagiso Rabada.Ray Jennings, the coach of that side, remembers the trio as his “brains trust” at the tournament. He tipped all of them for greater things. “Corbin was one of the senior guys of that side and a really underrated allrounder,’ Jennings tells ESPNcricinfo. “He could really hit a ball in the lower order, and has a really good cricket brain. He was also very consistent in his pace. He was one of my brains trust – him, Rabada and Markram – they were my three guys who helped me make the opposition struggle on the field. I’m sad that he wasn’t identified sooner.”While Rabada and then Markram got provincial contracts, Corbin was unable to hold down a place in the Northerns team. In 2016, a year after Rabada got his first South Africa cap and a year before Markram got his, Corbin moved to Brisbane to see if he could make it in Australia. He played first-grade cricket for Northern Suburbs Districts and spent time with Andy Bichel and Phil Jaques but wasn’t getting as far as he hoped. By November 2017, Corbin was back in South Africa, and had decided he would try his home country again with one notable difference: he was quicker. “After he came back from Australia, he was just determined to always try to bowl nice and fast,” Eathan says.Corbin made his franchise debut that summer and has been in and around the professional set-up ever since, but never with the kind of numbers that screamed “select me.” Instead, he found some prominence in the leagues and was a replacement player at Rajasthan Royals in 2022 before signing deals at the CPL and the SA20. All the time, he has bubbled under.His big break came when he was included in an SA Invitation side to play England Lions earlier this month, and he scored 33 off 45, batting at No. 8, and bowled five overs with a return of 1 for 21. South Africa’s Test coach Shukri Conrad was there, specifically to see Corbin, as he grappled with a slew of injured seamers. At that point, the reality of Corbin being in line for an international call-up, drew significantly closer. In double-quick time.When Ottneil Baartman became the seventh seamer to go down over the summer, Corbin was parachuted into the ODI squad. He was capped by his schoolmate Markram, who recognised that Corbin “had to do it the hard way” and had “waited many years for the opportunity”.

“I don’t think he ever gave up,” Eathan says. “He’s someone with a hell of a lot of self-belief. There’s obviously times in anyone’s career where you don’t believe it but he is just someone who just kept working hard and just kept sticking to what he wanted to do. His biggest dream was to play for South Africa, and I don’t think he wanted to stop until he did it.”But there was one thing Corbin wanted more than an ODI debut. “The cap I most really wanted out of all the international caps was the Test cap,” Corbin said. “Test cricket is something that means the most to me, so I cannot wait to get onto this field in a couple days’ time.”By the time Corbin found out he would be in the Boxing Day XI, Karen-Anne and the Boschs’ stepdad Brian van Onselen had already gone to their holiday home in the coastal town of Kenton-on-Sea when they got a call to say they should head upcountry instead. “Shukri pulled me aside yesterday and gave me the news that I could tell my parents that they can fly up, so I can ruin the Christmas holiday,” Corbin said.For Karen-Anne, this is the best way her break could be interrupted. “She said she wouldn’t miss this moment for the world,” Corbin said.Eathan has continued down to the Eastern Cape, and will “make sure that wherever I am, I’ve got some sort of stream on or something,” but is happy to take the back seat for this one. “I’m really glad I had my moment on Sunday, and it was me and him,” Eathan says. “It’s only fair that my mom and my stepdad have this moment with Corbin as well.”And somewhere, someone else might be enjoying it too. “We’re really proud,” Eathan says, “and obviously dad’s really proud of him too.”

Stats – Sri Lanka's lowest-ever Test total, and the second-shortest Test innings ever

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Stats highlights from Sri Lanka’s first innings in Durban where they were bundled out for 42

Sampath Bandarupalli28-Nov-202442 Sri Lanka’s total in Durban is their lowest in Test cricket. Their previous lowest was 71 all out against Pakistan in Kandy in 1994.It is also the second lowest by any team in the World Test Championship, behind India’s 36 all out against Australia in 2020.ESPNcricinfo Ltd13.5 Overs batted by Sri Lanka during their 42 all out. It is the second-shortest all-out innings in the history of Test cricket, behind the 12.3 overs by South Africa during their 30 all out against England in the 1924 Birmingham Test.41 Number of balls bowled by Marco Jansen for his seventh wicket against Sri Lanka, the joint-fewest bowled by any bowler for their seventh wicket in a men’s Test innings. Hugh Trumble also bowled 41 balls against England in the 1904 Melbourne Test, finishing with seven for 28 in the 6.5 overs bowled in the fourth innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 Sri Lanka’s 42 all out is the lowest total by any team against South Africa in Tests. The previous lowest was 45 all out by New Zealand in the 2013 Cape Town Test.It is also the third-lowest total in Tests by any team in South Africa, behind the home team’s 30 all out in the 1896 Gqeberha Test and 35 all out in the 1899 Cape Town Test, both against England.13 Runs conceded by Jansen for his seven-wicket haul. Only three bowlers conceded fewer runs in a men’s Test innings while bagging seven or more wickets. The fewest is by George Lohmann, who took 8 for 7 against South Africa in 1896.7 Jansen dismissed all seven batters for single-digit scores. Only two other bowlers have dismissed seven or more batters for single-digit scores in a men’s Test innings since 1970 – Stuart Broad against New Zealand in the 2013 Lord’s Test and Mitchell Johnson against England in the 2013 Adelaide Test.

5 Sri Lanka batters with ducks in the first innings in Durban, the joint-most for them in a Test innings. Five Sri Lankans bagged ducks in a Test innings against India in the 1990 Chandigarh Test and against New Zealand in the 2006 Wellington Test.149 South Africa’s first-innings lead in Durban, the highest for any team after being bowled out below 200 while batting first. The previous highest was 118 for Australia in the 1981 WACA Test against Pakistan. Australia got bowled out for 180 while batting first in that Test but restricted Pakistan to 62.17 Tests Prabath Jayasuriya has taken to complete 100 wickets. He is the joint second-fastest to reach the milestone in terms of matches taken. George Lohmann, who got there in 1896, remains the quickest, needing only 16 Tests. Charlie Turner, Sydney Barnes, Clarrie Grimmett and Yasir Shah all got to 100 wickets in their 17th Test.

Manchester brings up old ghosts as India battle to stay alive

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

This is the birthplace of “45 minutes of bad cricket” that cost India the 2019 World Cup semi-final and once again they are down in a series they have done well

Sidharth Monga22-Jul-20253:49

Who replaces Nitish Kumar Reddy in India’s XI?

There is likely a lot of confirmation bias involved in the following statements. Cricket fans tend to not forget dates and places. Among cricket fans, Indian cricket fans particularly tend to cling on much more. You can’t bring up November 19 without sending them spiralling into darkness. A drizzly Old Trafford can trigger – not to make light of real world mental health issues – PTSD in many India fans.A drizzly Old Trafford is, after all, the birthplace of the phrase “45 minutes of bad cricket”. To be clear it was not bad cricket in those 45 minutes in the ODI World Cup semi-final in 2019. India were caught in the perfect storm of seam-friendly conditions and some awesome bowling from New Zealand.The larger sentiment – be it the image of Richard Kettleborough’s look of astonishment at Martin Guptill’s direct hit from deep square leg in Manchester or the stunning catch from Travis Head in Ahmedabad – is that India dominated those tournaments, which is why those losses hurt more.A day before India’s second Test at Old Trafford in 35 years, a venue where they have never won, it drizzled the same way it did on the second half of day one of their 2019 World Cup semi-final. Not hard enough to take players off but just enough to prevent resumption of an already stopped contest.Related

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It is hard not to see some similarities between those “45 minutes of bad cricket” ruining the memories of entire tournaments and this ongoing Test series. India are averaging 42.96 with the bat as against England’s 38.09, but they find themselves trailing in the series 2-1. India have batted at 85% control as against England’s 78%. India have got a wicket every 12 false shots when England have needed to induce fewer than ten, and this is with India batting more carefully than England.These are not dominating numbers, although at one point at Lord’s they were. But in most series of decent lengths that can even out extreme results, they should ensure you are not in deficit. India’s batters have made fewer mistakes, their bowlers have held lengths for longer, and if they can keep on doing it, they should still back themselves to come out ahead by the end of five Tests.What about the frequent “45 minutes of bad cricket”, though? India have frequently made errors – either unforced or through lack of experience – that have cost them dearly to put them in this place: be it the collapses through casual shots at Headingley, the nightmare mix of milestone anxiety and quick single resulting in a run out just before lunch at Lord’s, or a ball-change request that could perhaps have been avoided.The Indian think tank – head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Shubman Gill•Getty ImagesIt is these teams’ privilege that they get a five-Test series to correct those errors. Other teams often get just two-Test series, and have no room for these errors: you do that in one Test, and boom, it is an unassailable deficit. With the privilege, however, also comes scrutiny and schadenfreude. People can see the mention of lack of experience or luck as an excuse.It is to India’s credit that they were able to repeat their skills at both Edgbaston and Lord’s after they lost the unloseable Test at Headingley. That is the difficult bit. That is what you train for. In Tests, more than other formats, that is actually enough to win matches: you bowl more good balls, you keep out more good balls, and you win Tests. Sometimes, as at Headingley, you have catastrophic half hours, you tell yourself you won’t repeat casual shots, and then find a new way of letting the opposition back in, like at Lord’s.In an ideal world, the ideal response is to not think about these moments and focus more on training yourself on your basic skills and fitness. A human mind, though, doesn’t work in a vacuum. There is now a series on the line, and now it is the same scenario as it is for other teams who don’t have the privilege of playing long series.In 2018, when the general sentiment was that India didn’t deserve to lose 4-1 – some actually thought they could have won with a toss or two going their way – India averaged 25.23 and England 30.74. This series is actually closer to that sentiment. India are yet to win a toss, they have created more chances and pressure with the ball, and yet they are down 2-1.Of course, there is still time for India to be able to go ahead and put on numbers that actually deserve a deficit. There is also time to come back and repeat what has gone right with them. About now will be a good time to win a toss and/or be more ruthless and avoid actually living up to the 2018 assessments.

Beware, England. Jasprit Bumrah has arrived

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

India’s first training session of the tour reinforced the idea that their spearhead could be the most pivotal player on either side even if he won’t play all five Tests

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Jun-20251:15

Watch – Shubman Gill’s India hit the nets ahead of England Tests

Jasprit Bumrah’s was the loudest voice heard around the Kent County Ground in Beckenham on Saturday. India’s premier bowler was full of energy as he not just made the ball do things but also engaged in spirited chatter with his team-mates and coaches on a windy afternoon that was alternately sunny and cloudy.It was the first day at training for India’s Test squad, which landed in London on Friday ahead of their five-match series against England, which starts on June 20 in Leeds. The one player on either side who can tilt results singlehandedly is Bumrah. He knows it. There is no arrogance in this.England has been a mostly happy place for Bumrah. In his first Test in the country, in 2018, he bagged a five-for in a comfortable India win at Trent Bridge, which helped them rebound from 2-0 down.Related

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Trent Bridge was also the venue of Bumrah’s only other five-for in the country, in the first Test of the 2021 tour; India might have felt they had a slight edge going into the final day, which was rained off.In the next Test at Lord’s, in one of India’s most memorable Test wins, Bumrah stunned England with his… bat, putting on an unbroken 89 for the last wicket with Mohammed Shami before doing his usual things with the ball, including – who can forget? – the slower ball to Ollie Robinson, who might still be replaying it in his head.This is what Bumrah does. He lives in the batter’s mind. He comes to you in the middle of the night and jolts you awake. As Usman Khawaja admitted after the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy: “I was just Bumrah-ed.”What’s worse for the batters is that Bumrah doesn’t forget.2:30

Gambhir: ‘Enough quality in squad to replace Bumrah’

At training on Sunday, Bumrah could be heard telling India bowling coach Morne Morkel about his two Trent Bridge five-fors, and about how the Dukes was doing things in swing- and seam-friendly conditions on his first trip in 2018, and how, on his later tours, it became less responsive. But Bumrah has shown he has the ability to take conditions out of the equation. In Beckenham, Kent’s second home venue, Bumrah extracted good seam movement and continually tested the outside edge while keeping batters rooted inside the crease with his yorker-length deliveries.Watching him from 40-50 yards away, from behind his bowling arm, you would have never known this was the same bowler who was forced to stop bowling on the second afternoon of the New Year’s Test in Sydney owing to what was initially diagnosed as back spasms, but was eventually understood to be a stress reaction in his lower back.To avoid any worsening of the injury, the BCCI’s medical staff, in coordination with the selectors and team management, have decided Bumrah would need to be handled extremely carefully. So, on this England tour, he will not play all five Tests. As much as the fun will be rationed, the experience of watching Bumrah bowl at full tilt, filled with , is one to treasure.India, England, and Bumrah know that this once-in-a-lifetime bowler could be the most defining factor in this marquee series, soon to be christened the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Bumrah is ready for the England summer.

Was Australia's 511 at the Gabba the highest Test total without a century?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

And was India’s 20 straight losses at the toss an ODI record?

Steven Lynch09-Dec-2025Nathan Lyon was left out at Brisbane after playing every home Test since 2012. Was this a record? asked Kane Lincoln from Australia
The surprise omission of offspinner Nathan Lyon for the second Ashes Test in Brisbane ended a run of 69 consecutive home Test appearances since he missed the third Test against India in Perth in 2012. That puts him third overall, but another Australian is ahead: Allan Border played 83 home Tests in a row between 1978-79 and 1993-94.Top of the list is Alastair Cook, who played in all 89 of England’s home Tests between 2006 and 2018. Hashim Amla played 67 consecutive home Tests for South Africa, and R Ashwin 65 for India.The highest individual contribution to Australia’s 511 at the Gabba was 77 – was this the highest Test total without a century? asked Deepak Krishnan from India, among others
Australia’s 511 against England in Brisbane was the fifth-highest total in Tests not to include an individual century. Top of the list is Sri Lanka’s 531 against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2024, when the highest score was Kusal Mendis’s 93 (Kamindu Mendis made 92 not out, and there were four other half-centuries). Mitchell Starc’s 77 was the highest contribution to Australia’s innings at the Gabba. The only higher total with a lower top score was India’s 524 for 9 declared against New Zealand in Kanpur in 1976, when Mohinder Amarnath made 70.Several readers pointed out that all 11 of Australia’s batters reached double figures. This was the 16th such instance in Tests, but in none of the previous cases was the lowest score as high as Brendan Doggett’s 13 in Brisbane.India have lost 20 successive tosses in one-day internationals. This must be a record? asked Vikram Mahradi from India
You’re right, India’s current streak is easily a record: they have now lost 20 tosses in a row in ODIs since Pat Cummins guessed correctly in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad in 2023. The next-longest sequence in men’s one-day internationals is 11 in a row, by Netherlands between March 2011 and August 2013. In women’s ODIs, Ireland lost 12 successive tosses between May 2017 and November 2021.The most successive lost tosses in Tests is ten, also by India, between December 2009 and October 2010. In women’s Tests Australia lost 11 in a row between February 1984 and January 1990. The record for men’s T20Is is ten, by Nepal and Vanuatu.If you lump all three formats together, the men’s record is 15 successive lost tosses, by India between January and July 2025, a run that included all five Tests in England. For women, it’s 12 by New Zealand between July 2018 and January 2019.The last time India won a toss before their latest ODI against South Africa was at the 2023 World Cup semi-final•ICC via Getty ImagesMark Wood rarely seems to play two Tests in a row, although I know he has sometimes. What’s the longest Test career of anyone who never did this? asked Martin Wilkins from England
The England fast bowler Mark Wood has now played 38 Tests, and only 21 of them have come without him having missed the previous one. Among players with 30 or more caps, only five have a “consecutive percentage” lower than Wood’s (21 out of 38 = 55.26%). The New Zealander Matt Henry is currently lowest of all, with only 15 consecutive Tests among his 33 caps (45.45%), although I’d expect him to play more regularly now some senior pace men have retired. Only 16 of Kumar Dharmasena’s 31 Tests for Sri Lanka were consecutive (51.61%), while the England pair of Mike Hendrick and Derek Pringle both won 30 caps, of which only 16 came in successive matches (53.33%). Another Sri Lankan, Dilhara Fernando, played 40 Tests, only 22 (55%) in succession.And to answer your question, there are five players who all won five Test caps, none of which came in successive matches for their side, four of them legspinners: England’s Tommy Mitchell (1930s), the West Indians Willie Rodriguez (1960s) and Rawl Lewis (between 1997 and 2008), and Todd Astle of New Zealand (2012-2020). The fifth member of the quintet is the Pakistan medium-pacer Ehteshamuddin (1979-1982).Who took only six wickets in his Test career – including a hat-trick? asked Vivek Seth from the United Arab Emirates
The bowler with this peculiar record is Bangladesh’s legspinning allrounder Alok Kapali, who took a hat-trick against Pakistan in Peshawar in 2003, but otherwise picked up only three wickets in 16 further Tests.A close second is the controversial South African fast bowler Geoff Griffin, whose career was effectively ended when he was no-balled for throwing during the 1960 Lord’s Test. Almost his last act in his second and last Test was to take a hat-trick, and he finished with only eight wickets.The tall England fast bowler Maurice Allom, who took a hat-trick on his Test debut, against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1930, finished his Test career with only 14 Test wickets. “Allom sent down an over which ranks on a level with the best ever bowled in New Zealand,” wrote team-mate Maurice Turnbull. “Four wickets in five balls with the score at 21 and including the hat-trick!”Another legspinner, Jimmy Matthews of Australia, took two hat-tricks against South Africa at Old Trafford in May 1912, but he took no other wickets in that match and finished with 16 in his eight Tests. The New Zealand offspinner Peter Petherick, who began his Test career with a hat-trick against Pakistan in Lahore in 1976, also ended up with 16 wickets in a six-match career. For the full list of Test hat-tricks, click here.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

South Africa return to India without fear of the Turnado

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

South Africa are sensing a more even fight as India trade turners for true surfaces

Firdose Moonda11-Nov-20251:47

Phillander: South Africa’s young team has had ‘phenomenal preparation’ for India tour

India’s turnado years are over, or at least that’s what South Africa believe as they seek to win their first Test in the country in 15 years and maybe even a first series in 25. Unlike on their tour in 2015, when surfaces crumbled at the sight of a cricket ball, or on their tours of Bangladesh and Pakistan recently, South Africa expect the contest to be more balanced as India redefine home advantage in the wake of last year’s 3-0 home defeat to New Zealand.”I don’t think it will be as spin-friendly as we experienced in Pakistan,” Keshav Maharaj, South Africa’s first-choice left-arm spinner said from Kolkata. “I think it will be good wickets that deteriorate as the game goes on. If you watched a bit of the West Indies series, it went to day four and five. The narrative is changing in terms of getting wickets. You want to give yourself the best chance when you’re in home conditions, so maybe it’s felt that let’s play on good cricket wickets and let the game deteriorate as it goes on.”Related

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As ESPNcricinfo had reported earlier, reverse swing is anticipated at the Eden Gardens and South Africa’s seamers will be pleased to hear that. The West Indies series serves as empirical evidence after the Delhi Test went to a fifth day even though India scored over 500 in their first innings and West Indies close to 400 in their second.So, it’s South Africa’s batters who will be happiest, with the ghosts of the last two series certain to re-emerge. In 2015, South Africa, then No.1 in the world and on a nine-year unbeaten run away from home, were bowled out for under 200 all but once in four Tests and the once was a rained-out draw. The Nagpur pitch, which hosted the third Test where India sealed the series, was rated poor. In 2019, South Africa, on the cusp of a major internal meltdown, fared slightly better and topped 400 once but still lost 3-0.Now, South Africa are back at No.1, they have won (Bangladesh 2024) and shared a series (Pakistan 2025) in other parts of the subcontinent, and they feel more equipped to deal with spin-friendly conditions especially when it comes to batting. “The line-up has come a long way,” Maharaj said. “Our hundreds are shared amongst each other, which is important because at any given time, someone stands up and really takes that responsibility. Sometimes a 60 in the sub is worth 150 in other conditions. Taking that responsibility is something that they’ve really embraced and it’s starting to show from a results point of view.”2:58

Philander: Harmer, Maharaj are world-class but Muthusamy will be the real talking point

In Pakistan, only Tony de Zorzi scored a century but there were fifties from Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis and even Kagiso Rabada. In Bangladesh, de Zorzi, Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder and Kyle Verreynne all raised their bats to three figures. All those players are on this tour and though they will play Tests in India for the first time (apart from Rabada), they understand what it takes to be successful in less familiar conditions.They have also shown an ability to adapt to changing situations: from being on the ropes at home against Sri Lanka and Pakistan last year to sweeping the summer and qualifying for the WTC final and then fighting back against Australia at Lord’s to win the mace. South Africa want to build on that success in a new cycle, which includes tougher assignments than previous one and with this India series, what they see as the toughest.”There’s a real hunger and desire to beat India in India. It’s probably one of the toughest tours, if not the toughest tour on the Proteas calendar through various generations and some people were fortunate enough to cross the hurdle,” Maharaj said. “As a unit, we feel like it’s one of our biggest tests. And it will be a wonderful opportunity to grade ourselves, to see how far we’ve come. Slowly but surely, we started to conquer other parts of the subcontinent, and I feel like this is one assignment that we really, really want to take.”South Africa’s last Test win in India came in Nagpur in 2010 and their only Test series victory was in the year 2000. They have won five out of 19 Tests in India and none of their last seven matches there.

Have England ever been bowled out twice more quickly than they were in Perth?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

And has anyone else made a fourth-innings hundred on the second day of a Test as Travis Head did?

Steven Lynch25-Nov-2025Mitchell Starc improved his best bowling figures in his 100th Test, against West Indies, and improved them in his 101st Test at Perth. Has anyone done this later in a Test career? asked Ekambaram Raveendran from India
Australia’s Mitchell Starc took 6 for 9 – his best figures at the time – as West Indies were skittled for 27 in Kingston in July. That was his 100th Test – and in the first innings of his 101st, against England in Perth, Starc took seven wickets in a Test innings for the first time, finishing with 7 for 58.Unsurprisingly, this is easily the latest stage of a career at which a player improved his best Test figures in successive matches. Two Pakistanis come next: Wasim Akram had best figures of 6 for 62 after 50 Tests, but took 6 for 43 against New Zealand in his 51st, and improved that to 7 for 119 in his 52nd, in February 1994. Abdul Qadir started his 48th Test with a best return of 7 for 142, but took 7 for 96 against England at The Oval in August 1987, and improved that with 9 for 56 in his 49th, against England in Lahore in November 1987.The latest a batter has improved his highest score in successive Tests was by Australia’s Ricky Ponting in December 2003. After 72 Tests his highest score was 206, but he scored 242 against India in Adelaide in his 73rd, and improved that with 257 against them in Melbourne in his 74th match. His successor as captain, Michael Clarke, improved his previous-best of 151 with 166 in his 58th Test, against Pakistan in January 2010, then made 168 in his 59th, against New Zealand in Wellington two months later.Travis Head scored a century on the second (last!) day in Perth. Has anyone else ever made a fourth-innings century before the end of the second day of a Test before? asked Martin Bennett from Australia
That stunning innings by Travis Head, which decisively wrenched the first Ashes Test Australia’s way in Perth, was indeed the first time anyone had made a century in the fourth innings of a Test by the end of the second day. The only other time a team has reached 100 in the fourth innings on the second day of a Test was at Headingley in 1912, when South Africa made 105 for 7 against England – but the highest individual score was Louis Tancred’s 38 not out (he was out for 39 next morning).Head reached his century in just 69 balls, the fastest in the Ashes apart from Adam Gilchrist’s 57-ball hundred at the WACA in Perth in December 2006. The only other faster century for Australia in a Test was in 67 balls, by Jack Gregory against South Africa in Johannesburg in November 1921. David Warner also reached three figures in 69 balls against India at the WACA in January 2012.England faced only 67.3 overs in both innings in Perth. Have they ever been bowled out twice more quickly? asked Jon Morrison from England
England were bowled out twice in 67.3 overs – 405 balls – in the first Test in Perth. They have only been bowled out twice more quickly in Tests they lost on two occasions, the most recent of which was in March 1904, when they faced just 54.1 overs (325 deliveries) in being dismissed for 61 and 101 by Australia in Melbourne. Before that England were bowled out for 53 and 62 in 388 balls (97 four-ball overs) by Australia at Lord’s in July 1888.The fewest balls to be bowled out twice and lose by any side in a Test is 248 (49.3 five-ball overs) by South Africa (93 and 30) against England in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in February 1896.With his 109 not out against New Zealand, Shai Hope now has hundreds against every Test-playing nation, albeit across formats•AFP/Getty ImagesShai Hope has scored international centuries against all 11 possible Test-playing opponents. Has anyone else done this? asked Marlon Hoyte from Barbados
Shai Hope’s 109 not out in an ODI against New Zealand in Napier last week completed this particular full set: he’s scored individual international centuries (in Tests, ODIs or T20Is) against his 11 possible Test-playing opponents. Hope has scored four against England and India, three against Bangladesh, two against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and one against Afghanistan, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Only three of his hundreds have come in Tests: two against England at Headingley in August 2017, and one against India in Delhi in October.Seven players have scored international centuries against ten of their 11 possible Test-playing opponents: Hashim Amla (no hundreds against Afghanistan), Shikhar Dhawan (none against England), Martin Guptill (missing Afghanistan), Mahela Jayawardene (Ireland), Virat Kohli (Ireland), Rohit Sharma (Ireland) and Marcus Trescothick (never played against Afghanistan).How many times in Tests have a team won the toss, decided to bat first, been bowled out on the first day, have a deficit on the first innings but gone on to win the Test against the host nation, as South Africa did in the first Test in India? asked Andre Terblanche from South Africa
That’s probably the most specific question I’ve ever received! South Africa did do all this in the first Test against India in Kolkata earlier this month, but actually it was the third time it had happened this year – Australia did it against West Indies in Bridgetown in June, and Ireland did it to beat Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in February. This particular set of circumstances appears to have happened 32 times in all in Tests now. The first time was in August 1882, when Australia beat England at The Oval in the match that spawned the Ashes legend.There’s also an update from a question a couple of weeks ago:
In this column I answered a question about the players with the best averages in their last 25 Tests. In calculating the answer we considered only players who had won at least 50 caps – but actually that probably wasn’t the right way to do it. Two or three readers pointed out that the great England bowler Sydney Barnes took 170 wickets at 16.49 in his last 25 Tests – but he hadn’t shown up in our searches as he played only 27 matches in all.And so… we widened the search to include everyone’s last 25 Tests, even if they only played 26 (or 27 like Barnes). The efforts of Jasprit Bumrah in the first Test against South Africa actually gave him a better average than Barnes ahead of the second match of the current series – 125 wickets at 16.38 – but that may change: and in any case there’s someone who beats both of them, as the England offspinner Jim Laker took 120 wickets at 15.93 in the last 25 of his 46 Tests. Alec Bedser (136 at 18.68) and Curtly Ambrose (99 at 18.78) are fourth and fifth.Among batters Don Bradman remains way out on top (3468 runs at 105.09), but the West Indian Clyde Walcott comes in second, with 2651 at 67.97 in the last 25 of his 44 Tests, ahead of Kane Williamson (currently 66.67), Kumar Sangakkara (64.05) and Andy Flower (63.83).Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

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