How often have both captains taken five-fors in a Test?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

And what is the highest unbeaten individual score in a 50-over match?

Steven Lynch24-Jul-2018How many times have a pair of openers reached 50 in both innings of a Test, as Sri Lanka’s did in Colombo? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa
That double by Sri Lanka’s openers in their victory over South Africa in Colombo – Danushka Gunathilaka scored 57 and 61, and Dimuth Karunaratne 53 and 85 – was the 15th time a side’s openers had both reached 50 in each innings of a Test. The previous instance was for Australia against Pakistanin Sydney in 2016-17, when Matt Renshaw scored 184 and David Warner 113 in the first innings, then Warner 55 and Usman Khawaja 79 not out in the second. (This is one of three occasions included in the 15 mentioned in which three men were involved, as there was a different opener in the second innings.)Both captains took five-fors in the recent Test at Kingston. How unusual is this? asked Leroy Codrington from Jamaica
Jason Holder took 5 for 44 for West Indies in Kingston last week, then Shakib al Hasan returned the favour for Bangladesh with 6 for 33. This was only the second time in Test history that the rival captains had both claimed five wickets in an innings in the same match: it also happened in Dacca (now Dhaka) in 1958-59, when Richie Benaud took 5 for 93 for Australia and Fazal Mahmood 5 for 74 for Pakistan.Holder added six more wickets in the second innings, and his final match figures of 11 for 103 were the eighth-best return by a captain in all Tests. It was only the 19th time a captain had taken ten or more in a match (Imran Khan did it four times, and Intikhab Alam twice). For the full list, click here.What is the longest fourth innings in any Test match? asked Chris Harrison from England
The longest by far was the final innings of the famous Timeless Test in Durban in 1938-39. England’s 654 for 5 – they were chasing 696 to win, but were thwarted by rain late on the tenth day – lasted 218.2 eight-ball overs, or 1746 legal deliveries (there were also three no-balls).Next comes England’s valiant effort against West Indies at Lord’s in 1950: they only scored 274, but used up 191.3 overs (1149 balls). Sonny Ramadhin sent down 72 overs and Alf Valentine 71 in West Indies’ victory.The longest fourth innings to win a Test was Australia’s 336 for 5 to beat South Africa in Durban in 1949-50, which lasted 123.6 eight-ball overs (990 deliveries). Australia pulled off a five-wicket victory despite being dismissed for 75 in their first innings.For the full list of the longest fourth innings in Tests, click here.Fakhar Zaman’s recent 210 was the second highest unbeaten score of over 200 in ODIs•AFPWas Fakhar Zaman’s 210 against Zimbabwe the highest not-out innings in a 50-over game? asked Irfan Ahmed from Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman’s onslaught for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo the other day was the 25th double-century in List A (senior one-day) cricket, and the 12th in which the batsman was not out at the end. Four of those were higher scores, including one in a one-day international: Martin Guptill smashed 237 not out for New Zealand against West Indies in Wellington in a 2015 World Cup quarter-final.The other higher not-out scores were Ben Dunk’s 229 for Tasmania against Queensland in North Sydney in 2014-15, Graeme Pollock’s 222 for Eastern Province against Border in East London all the way back in 1974-75 (a 60-over match), and Ben Duckett’s 220 for England Lions against Sri Lanka A in Canterbury in 2016. For the full list, click here.Apparently one of the competitors in the later stages of the British Open is the son of a Test cricketer. Who is it? asked Robin Norton from England
This golfer, a relative newcomer to the professional circuit, is Sean Crocker, who was born in Zimbabwe in August 1996 but now represents the United States. In his first Open Championship he did well to qualify for the final two rounds, and despite a disappointing final round of 76 at Carnoustie, eventually finished tied for 47th.Sean’s father is Gary Crocker, a combative allrounder who played three Tests and six one-day internationals for Zimbabwe, including their inaugural Test, against India in 1992-93, when he was a late call-up after an injury to another player, and had to drive through the night from his home in Bulawayo to Harare, around 275 miles (440km) away. In his first ODI, a few days after his Test debut and also against India in Harare, Crocker followed 4 for 26 with 50. At the time, only six others – including Viv Richards and Ian Botham – had reached a half-century and taken four wickets in the same ODI, although it has been repeated quite a few times since, including three instances by Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi: for the full list, click here.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Wait goes on for James Anderson in epic Virat Kohli tussle

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

When Kohli survived a very tight lbw appeal things got a little heated in the middle

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Sep-2018The epic bout resumed at 4.40pm on Saturday afternoon. James Anderson versus Virat Kohli. A hush fell over The Oval.Kohli had already skipped his way to 16 having survived some testing deliveries from Sam Curran. Once again India needed Kohli to stay strong. England needed Kohli to start thinking of 4-1 series win. But no one wanted Kohli like Anderson.Both men knew the other’s plan. Kohli has not budged despite being troubled on more than a handful of occasion. Anderson has walked back to his bowling mark and returned with a strong desire to defeat the opponent. Neither has budged, making their duel that much more compelling.Until this afternoon Anderson had delivered 246 balls to Kohli and beaten the outside what felt like a million times. Both men would retire to their corners after every over to recharge.Anderson nearly had Kohli first ball. An 81.8mph delivery that pitched on length, around the fourth stump probably. Since he was standing out of the crease, the length Kohli was playing was slightly fuller so he pushed at the delivery and was beaten by the late away movement. The English fans let out a collective sigh. Kohli retreated to the corner of the pitch. Let his bat relax between the legs. Loosened the stress in his hands. Re-strapped his gloves, twirled his bat and walked back to his batting mark.Anderson pushed the second delivery slightly fuller. Kohl leaned forward and pushed in front of square. No run. Anderson was bowling with the seam slanting towards the slips. Kohli was waiting for the ball to swing in. But he was not ready for the way it would come in.Anderson came from closer to the stumps and swung the ball with the shine this time on the outside. The ball started on the fifth stump, but swerved in at Kohli. The ball hit the outside of Kohli’s front pad. Kohli’s toes and his bat face were pointing straight. Anderson jumped in delight, flipped back, raised both hands, pointed both index fingers in the direction of the umpired, roared “howzat” and kept roaring till he nearly went breathless. He was joined in unison by all the other Englishmen on the field and the fans watching. Kumar Dharmasena did not budge.The battle•ESPNcricinfo LtdThere was little doubt the review would follow. Kohli was saved by the umpire’s call as the ball struck him just outside the line. Anderson was shaking his head as he walked past the umpire. At Edgbaston, in India’s, Anderson had forced Kohli to edge twice, both times floored by Dawid Malan in the slips. He was later denied an lbw by the umpire’s call, too. Once again the script was repeating. Anderson was hurting.Distracted, Anderson bowled a rare bad delivery down the leg side, which Kohli duly punished with a firm flick for a four. Anderson was annoyed, obviously. He walked back to his mark still shaking his head. Although he improved his line for the final two deliveries, Kohli played them safely.But Anderson had not yet had his last word. You did not need to be an expert at lip reading as Anderson said “you should have given that out” to Dharmasena without looking in his eye as he almost snatched back his jumper. He would keep muttering as he walked to his fielding position.Dharmasena was not impressed by Anderson’s reaction and indicated as much. He called captain Joe Root to have a word. Just then Kohli got involved, too. He walked around the umpire towards Anderson, making gestures, and, probably telling him to focus on his bowling. Anderson was ticking. Joel Wilson, the other on-field umpire, asked the players to resume play.Six minutes of intensity, skill and theatre. This was what fans paid the money to watch. This was the top billing of this five-Test series. Anderson would bowl 18 more deliveries at Kohli and three balls before the end of his spell find a leading edge which didn’t reach point. He was then replaced by Ben Stokes and in the closing moments of the day Kohli’s edge was taken: caught Root, bowled Stokes.Anderson v Kohli. There is one final bout left. Anderson needs three wickets to pass Glenn McGrath as the most prolific pace bowler of all time. If you can, come and watch in the next two or three days the final chapter of this epic duel.

'Holy scccchmoly! What a Test match!'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

A memorable finish in Abu Dhabi got many talking about the longest format on Twitter

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2018Pakistan were 130 for 3 chasing 176. Then came the incredible collapse. New Zealand turned the tables after conceding a first-innings lead to clinch a four-run win. The memorable Test got many talking about the longest format on Twitter.

Pakistan kept their supporters on the edge, but they’re used to that, aren’t they?

Spare a thought for their coach Mickey Arthur.

Many fans in New Zealand would’ve stayed up late.

Unfortunately, there were hardly any to witness the match at the ground in Abu Dhabi.

Does that explain the result?

De Kock bursts through still waters after drought-breaking ton

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

He’s not a cricketer who lets emotions bubble to the surface, but getting to a Test century after two years meant plenty to the wicketkeeper-batsman

Liam Brickhill in Johannesburg13-Jan-2019Quinton de Kock doesn’t seem to be the sort of cricketer to over-think things. His batting has a laissez faire air to it, and away from cricket it’s the simple things that seem to make him happy. If his social media feeds are anything to go by, he lives an uncomplicated, happy life with his wife Sasha and jack russells Gia and Mia, going fishing as often as possible, adopting the odd nyala antelope and generally kicking back Mzansi-style. On the pitch, he’s not enjoyed much success with the bat in cricket’s longest format over the last 18 months, but if his form was a concern to him, he hid those worries well.But still waters run deep, and it may be that de Kock’s diffidence is in some way part of an on-field persona: that he, perhaps, thinks and cares more than he sometimes lets on, that his reticence masks a fierce desire to succeed, and that his Test drought has been a concern. His 129 against Pakistan at the Wanderers was de Kock’s first century in Test cricket in just over two years, his fourth overall, and his very first in the second innings. When he finally got to the mark, having gone 39 innings without reaching three figures, just for a moment the emotion spilled forth from one of the game’s most low-temperature cricketers.This was a hundred that really meant something, and that with it came a huge sense of relief. The instinctive freedom that has made de Kock so devastating in limited-overs cricket has not translated into Test success – at least, not yet, and certainly not in the last year or so. In 2018, he averaged just 20.41 before Pakistan arrived, but over three Tests he’s clicked once again in the longest format.Cathartic hundreds aren’t often easy ones, although the way de Kock cruised through the early exchanges this morning, rifling drive after drive through the arc between point and mid off with a languid, flowing ease and racing to fifty from 49 deliveries, suggested that this three-figure knock was fated. But even a player as laid back as de Kock wobbled just a touch in the nervous 90s.His favoured cut took him to 98, and a flick through mid-on for a single left him on the brink. Suddenly, a cricketer who has thrived on trusting his instincts in the heat of the moment seemed to be thinking an awful lot about how he might find his next run.If de Kock seemed a tad nervous, things were no more calm up in the press box, where the situation in the middle evoked memories long buried – 20 years long, in fact – but not forgotten by Shaun Pollock, who compared the atmosphere to that of the Klusener/Donald kerfuffle in the semi-final of the 1999 World Cup.Certain similarities were in plain view: a left-handed batsman on strike, a fast bowler at the other end, one run needed, and the feeling that there might be an extraordinarily thin margin between glory and disaster.Facing up to Faheem Ashraf on 99, a touch over two years since he last lifted his lid and raised his bat to all corners in a Test match, de Kock missed out on a full toss, punching it straight to mid-on. Then came a straight drive that would have done the trick, had Kagiso Rabada’s right heel not got in the way of it, deflecting the ball to mid-on with de Kock making a rapid turnaround having made it halfway down the track already. While everyone else on the field – Rabada included – could see the lighter side of it all, de Kock looked as if he might burst out of frustration.He pinged the off side field three more times in the over, surviving a direct hit at the striker’s end just to ramp up the tense atmosphere even further before it was all released with another straight drive that this time beat the bowler, the stumps, mid-off and Rabada’s boot to bring up the ton. Then there were still waters no more, with all the emotions bubbling to the surface.He wasn’t done there, and now unchained by the burden that indifferent form inevitably places on the shoulders of even the most chilled out cricketers, de Kock cut loose. Clearing his front leg and reverting to the style that has built his formidable limited-overs reputation, he thumped Hasan Ali repeatedly through cover, shrugging off an edge that was dropped by Sarfraz Ahmed behind the stumps with a smile, and then immediately laying into the bowling again. Having set South Africa up with his 102-run stand with Hashim Amla, de Kock pressed home their advantage with a 79-run partnership alongside Rabada, launching his team beyond 300 by smoking a slog sweep onto the grass banks.This was vintage de Kock, which is perhaps a bit of an odd thing to say about a player who is only 26, but points to the profound impression he has already made on South African cricket. A household name by the age of 21, de Kock is a product of the highveld, and his sharp eye, quick hands and light feet are most suited to the pitches one finds in these parts, which are usually fast and bouncy. The ball flies in Johannesburg, both off the pitch and off the bat.Over the last two years, de Kock might have struggled to strike the balance between carefree and confident in his Test game, but with a drought-breaking hundred under his belt at the Wanderers, he once again found that most vital element: freedom.

Gollapudi: What Vijay Shankar brings for India at No. 4

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

There are two men directly in competition for his spot in the XI, but as long as he applies himself well and plays to the situation, Vijay holds a distinct advantage

Nagraj Gollapudi25-Jun-2019On Saturday, against Afghanistan, Vijay Shankar batted at No. 4 for the first time in his ODI career. It was the most hotly debated position when the Indian World Cup squad was announced in April, and ended – at least officially – when Vijay got there ahead of the other contenders. Now, although he has played just two matches in the tournament so far, the Indian think tank has opted to invest in Vijay, who is primarily being looked at as a batting allrounder.Let’s see where he stands at the moment and what can he do to make that role his.Did Vijay prove his worth at No. 4?If you are looking for a yes-or-no answer, then nope. But he showed enough promise for the team management to remain optimistic. Before the Afghanistan match, Vijay had batted only six times in ten matches for India. He had the starts, but he hadn’t converted them.In Southampton last Saturday, Vijay walked in at a crucial point in the game. Rohit Sharma had gone very early, and KL Rahul had pulled a stroke from his T20 toolkit to abruptly nip in the bud a developing partnership with Virat Kohli.Kohli would likely have told Vijay: “Stay with me. No need to panic.” Vijay paid heed. He was patient and did not do anything silly or fancy. He scored his first boundary – a firm cover drive off Rahmat Shah – on the 22nd delivery he faced. There was an early scare, though, when Rashid Khan pitched a googly in his first over, but an inside edge defeated Afghanistan’s review. Many batsmen fail to read Rashid off his hand, but Vijay did that comfortably, on the whole, mostly defending on the front foot and using his wrists deftly. Having played with Rashid at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, Vijay probably had a fair grasp of Rashid’s wiles.And then?Vijay failed to convert the start – again – just when he was on the cusp of playing the defining knock he would have wanted to, dreamed of. The kind of innings Kohli expected.Let us talk about the shot: Vijay had spotted Rahmat (the bowler) placing a fine leg inside the circle, closer to square leg. He moved outside the line of the ball to sweep fine, missed, ball hit the pad and he was trapped lbw despite reviewing, more in hope than anything else.So another chance wasted?If you dig into Vijay’s numbers, you’ll notice that there’s a pattern to his dismissals. Vijay’s dot-ball percentage in his first 20 deliveries is a healthy 42.3%, which is actually low at the start of an innings. In the last two years, only four other batsmen average a lower dot-ball percentage than Vijay in that phase. Among those to have faced at least 100 balls across innings, Hardik Pandya is the next best Indian within that parameter.Yet, despite getting off the blocks in a safe fashion, Vijay’s strike rate is just 92. Is that enough for a No. 4 who needs to be a bit more robust in ticking the score over? Unfortunately, the best No. 4 India can have is their best batsman, who prefers to bat at No. 3 – Kohli. If Vijay continues to bat at No. 4, one thing he cannot afford to carry on doing is stack up the dots in the second half of the innings, something MS Dhoni has been guilty of doing in the recent past.So does he have the temperament for a No. 4?Let us hear an expert.”Vijay Shankar is a nice package for India and can contribute nicely in all three facets of the game. But I am not convinced that No. 4 is the best position for him to bat,” Michael Hussey said. “No. 4 is a crucial position reserved for one of the most complete players, good players of pace, spin, good under pressure, someone with experience to handle all the different situations that that position throws up. Perhaps Vijay Shankar could develop into that player in the future.”Will India stick with Vijay?The other two choices are Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant. However, India are likely to stick with Vijay because he can deliver a few good overs in helpful conditions, as he showed against Pakistan, and is a good fielder. The key for Vijay would be to bat with a free mind – not think about his spot. He has a fluent technique and good wrists to manouevre spin. The short ball is still work in progress, but Vijay has the ability to accelerate and can clear the boundary.His challenge then is?Bat with a clear mind.

'Pakistan keep the dream alive!'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Former and current players react to Pakistan’s win over New Zealand, which kept their hopes of making the semi-finals alive

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2019Pakistan kept their hopes of making the semi-finals alive by handing New Zealand their first defeat of the tournament. Shaheen Afridi stood out with the ball, while Babar Azam and Haris Sohail steered the chase.

The support was electric at Edgbaston.

It was a maiden World Cup hundred for Babar – his 10th overall in ODIs.

Well, the comparisons continue.

What say, Pakistan fans?

And your four for the semi-finals are…

How the next generation of Thai women's cricket is being shaped in Pune

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Coach Harshal Pathak recently put Thailand’s batters through an intensive training regimen ahead of their maiden appearance at the T20 World Cup next year

Shashank Kishore04-Nov-2019Nattakan Chantam and Nattaya Boochatham, two of Thailand’s best-known women cricketers, go down in a bow in unison, greeting me with warm smiles as we sit down for a chat at Pune’s PYC Hindu Gymkhana. The gesture is an ice-breaker – any language barrier is thrown out of the window right away.”India trip finishing, tired now,” says Chantam and the two laugh as we sit down with a cup of tea. Harshal Pathak, the Thailand women head coach, pats them on their backs and says, “Well done.”The team are close to finishing a month-long batting camp in Pune, part of Pathak’s intensive programme to get them ready for the biggest moment of their careers – Thailand’s maiden T20 women’s World Cup, in Australia next February.While this trip was restricted to the core group of batters, the full team will return in December for a camp, followed by a set of practice matches against various state teams in India. For the moment, Chantam and Boochatham have a bit more expertise and lots of happy memories to take back home.We sit in the plush PYC lobby, overlooking the majestic gymkhana grounds with their old-world charm. Pune’s monsoon calls for steaming cups of tea and plenty of hot snacks. Chantam, 23, nicknamed Jeans, is bubbling with the enthusiasm and eagerness of a young cricketer enjoying the local cuisine in a foreign country. “I enjoy and ,” she says, before sheepishly looking at the coach. I ask Pathak in jest if he has objections to the opinions expressed. “As long as you hit sixes, it’s all good,” he laughs. “Butter chicken and butter naan too,” Chantam says, “but now coach says, ‘No naan’, so we eat .”Boochatham, nicknamed Fon, is the vice-captain. At 32, she’s the senior statesman, and obsessed with cricket. She was so mad at missing Harmanpreet Kaur’s epic 171 not out in the World Cup semi-final against Australia that she ensured she had a cable connection set up at home in time for the World Cup final.Here in India, she watched Virat Kohli’s majestic unbeaten 254 during the recent Pune Test. “She kept asking questions, she was very inquisitive,” Pathak says. “We were sitting together along with Harshad Khadiwale, the Maharashtra opener. The three of us were chatting away non-stop. For the girls, seeing four slips was a culture shock. They saw Kagiso Rabada let it rip. Kohli playing the pull to a bouncer thrilled them.”Every now and then, I’d ask them: what would you do if you were captain? What field would you set? And every time she would have an answer.”***For a month, both players were engaged in an intense routine far removed from their life back home, where Chantam loves playing softball in the afternoon or just sleeping in. Boochatham is the more adventurous; she enjoys snorkelling, scuba-diving, whale-watching, and spending time on the beach. “Here, we haven’t had much time, it’s cricket, cricket, cricket,” she says contentedly.Chantam with Thailand women coach Harshal Pathak•Shashank Kishore/ESPNcricinfo LtdBack home too, it is much the same. When not engaged with the national team, Boochatham goes from school to school, across provinces, trying to teach young kids the basics of the game with a plastic ball, and with the hard ball for those who take the next step. This has led her to being a contracted coach too, during the off season: she is a player, vice-captain, offspinner, middle-order batter and talent scout, all in one.For now, she is happy to be taught, and the lessons learnt in Pune, from centre-wicket practice, match simulation, facing quick bowlers in the range of 130kph, and playing with the Under-19 boys’ teams has been enlightening.In Pathak they have a friend and mentor whom they affectionately address as “Coach”. At the same gymkhana grounds many years ago, Pathak trained a young Harmanpreet to become a complete batsman that she is today. He has been involved in coaching for over a decade, with the age-group structure in Maharashtra. He was assistant coach when Maharashtra last made the Ranji Trophy final in 2014-15.Pathak took over as coach of the Thailand women’s team in November 2018, when Venkatapathy Raju, the former India spinner, recommended him to the Cricket Association of Thailand. A trip to Bangkok satisfied Pathak of the potential, and the facilities on offer, and he took up the role.”On the first day of the camp last year, I told them, ‘We’re not having nets. It will only be centre wicket practice,'” Pathak says. “That’s largely a method I’ve followed. Here in Pune, every day I challenged Jeans and Fon. We had specific targets for ten overs, and slowly we increased the number of runs they have to score. It’s a battle: there’s something to play for, rather than aimlessly hitting balls at the nets.”These match-simulation drills were their start to the girls’ days in Pune. They were followed by a short break, after which Pathak would put them in an open net, and pair them up with Maharashtra and India Under-19 cricketers. Among the regular visitors were Khadiwale, a Ranji Trophy veteran, and Jay Pande, the Maharashtra batsman.”I’d give them targets like 30 off 12 balls, give them fields – only four fielders inside the ring, three outside on one side,” Pathak says. “If they don’t bowl to the field and the batsman hits to the open leg side, the bowler has to fetch it. This was just a way of trying to get them bowl to the fields.”The pair would regularly be confronted with brisk pace, 130 clicks and upwards. They struggled, but are better off for the experience. Pathak kept reminding them Ellyse Perry and Shabnim Ismail wouldn’t lob gentle deliveries at them.”I have bruises on my knee despite wearing batting pads,” Chantam says. “First day, I was scared, because I was hit thrice. I had only played 90kph speeds, so I had to develop quick hands to time the ball. First day, I couldn’t put bat to ball. Now I am more confident.”A core group of batters attended the training camp, including captain Sornnarin Tippoch, left. The full team will come over in December for more training and practice matches•Shashank Kishore/ESPNcricinfo LtdOne intense match simulation and open net later, they would break for lunch. Afternoon naps were out of the question, because that time was for spoken-English classes. It wasn’t forced upon them, but something the pair willingly wanted to put their time to. They would spend three hours with a private tutor, and return late afternoon for an hour’s rest before hitting the gym.Rainy evenings in Pune left them with one final session at the indoor nets, before going to bed at 9pm. The programme was so rigorous and time-bound that a week into the trip, they didn’t need alarms to wake up for the light yoga sessions that kicked the day off.”Off the field, we encourage them to do a lot of yoga, meditation and visualisation,” Pathak says. “Calm minds make better decisions, and batting is about decision-making. You’re facing the fast bowlers, you’re facing your fears. You have to react in a split-second. And that decision will determine your success. They’re taught breathing techniques to help them retain their calmness. The mantra is ‘positive off the field, aggressive on the field’.”Weekends were reserved for matches with the boys’ team. The girls would be on opposing sides, often leading. Pathak would walk around the boundary, observing their mannerisms and tactics, and chip in if needed. “I’ll ask them why they’ve set one particular type of field. If they convinced me, I’d be okay with that,” Pathak says. “They should know why they’re doing it.”Tactically both of them, and the rest of the team has grown leaps and bounds.”The intense routine took a toll on the girls’ minds at times, and Pathak received helpful inputs from his wife, Shweta Mishra, a former opening batter for Madhya Pradesh, who now coaches Pondicherry’s Under-19 and Under-23 sides. “Sometimes, she’d chip in and tell me if I’ve been harsh with my training routines, to understand the mindset of the players,” Pathak says. “Sometimes, she would offer them tips and suggestions, make them feel comfortable, talk to them, hear them out.”At the end of the day, you don’t just coach them to be better players but better people too. For me, this experience of coaching Thailand has been about understanding what players feel good about, what makes them tick, what their training routines are like on a match day, how much pressure to put them under, how to put them in situations where they’ll find a way for themselves.”Pathak is clear in his vision. “We have to practise our methods at higher intensity – batting against higher speeds, facing up to better spinners, bowl against tougher batters, where there’s little margin for error. Right now, these girls are at the proficiency of an Under-16 men’s team. I want to take it to the Under-19 men’s team. How far they’ve come is credit to their hard work and commitment. Now it’s about ensuring they become household names in their country and inspire the next generation of kids.”

What does KL Rahul need to do to take the next step?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

KL Rahul has made a start every time he has opened at the World Cup, but he is yet to make an impact. Is it a case of mind over matter?

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston29-Jun-2019″He’s been doing the same thing for as long as I can remember, since the time he started playing cricket. This is what he’s been doing, performing consistently. No matter what conditions, what wicket conditions, who the bowlers are, he always finds a way to get runs, always finds a way to put the bowlers under pressure.”That is KL Rahul offering his two-cent’s worth on Virat Kohli. After India’s win against West Indies in Manchester, where the India captain finished with the top score to grab his first man-of-the-match award in this World Cup, Rahul was asked why Kohli is so successful as a batsman.As he expanded on how Kohli does what Kohli does, which it seemed was nothing out of the ordinary, it is possible a thought might have passed Rahul’s mind: “Why can’t I do the same?”Yes, why can’t you, Rahul?It is by accident that Rahul became Rohit Sharma’s opening partner at the World Cup, after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out. Three times he has opened and all three times he has got a start. Yet, he has failed to make an impact. In his own words, he has “disappointed” himself.In those three matches, Rahul’s scores are 57 (78 balls), 30 (53) and 48 (64), against Pakistan, Afghanistan and West Indies respectively. His 136-run partnership with Rohit in the first match in which they walked out together, was the backbone of India’s winning total against Pakistan. Rahul was then involved in two 50-plus stands with Kohli. So why is he disappointed? The job of the opener is to set a platform, and wherever possible convert the starts. It is at this conversion that Rahul has faltered.Let us go through the numbers. In the first segment of his innings, the first 20 balls, Rahul has scored 30 runs at a strike rate of 50 with a dot-ball percentage of 70. In the next 20-ball segment (21-40), he has 45 runs from 60 balls at a strike rate of 75 and dot-ball percentage of 56.7. You would expect him to accelerate from there, but that is where Rahul has stuttered and stumbled, and got out. In the next segment (41-60) Rahul’s scoring rate has dipped, with him scoring 36 runs from 53 balls at a strike rate of 67.92 and dot-ball percentage of 50.9. And, on the two occasions where he has managed to bat 60-plus balls, Rahul has flattered to deceive: 24 runs from 22 balls at a strike rate of 109.09 and dot-ball percentage of 54.5. Among openers that have, on average, stayed at the crease for more than 10 overs, Rahul’s average (45) and strike rate (69.2) are the poorest.For the sake of comparison, let us look at Rohit once he settles down. Rohit, by his own admission, has found comfort through slow beginnings. But once he is settled, Rohit accelerates so quickly that he ends up scoring big runs, massive hundreds.In the 41-60-ball segment, Rohit has scored 49 runs from 60 balls at a strike rate of 81.67 with a dot-ball percentage of 45. That comes down to 40 once Rohit plays 60-plus deliveries, while his strike rate spikes to 112. 24 – he has scored 165 runs from 147 balls so far in this segment. Incidentally, Rahul’s balls-per-boundary figure is 7.33, which is similar to Rohit’s 7.34, yet he has got out just when he has started to score smoothly.Take that reverse sweep that he attempted off Mohammad Nabi, which resulted in a wicket that was against the run of play. Rahul had worked hard to deny Afghanistan any advantage after Mujeeb Ur Rahman had sent Rohit back in the fifth over of India’s innings. The Southampton pitch was slow and the Afghanistan bowlers were smart to slow down the pace, making batting difficult. Yet Rahul and Kohli were steadily taking strides towards a big partnership. And then Rahul suddenly reverse swept straight to the fielder at short third-man in the 15th over.Rahul tried to explain the thought process behind the shot. “That is what is the most difficult thing about batting, isn’t it. One, you might look like you’re not in any trouble for 100-120 balls, or 50-60 balls, and then sometimes you end up making a mistake,” he said in Manchester, after the win against West Indies. “Afghanistan was… I wouldn’t say it was a bad shot. It was a shot I play all the time. And more often than not I hit it for four, so I get it away.”But, unfortunately, I didn’t execute it. But the planning and the timing of that shot maybe was questionable, because I needed to stitch up a partnership with Virat. And, like I said, again, bat 30-odd overs and then look to accelerate. So these are the things that maybe I’ve done wrong in the few games.”So Rahul does understand how his impulsive decision-making can have a domino effect on the middle-order. It breaks the momentum and places undue pressure on Kohli, who then has to press the reset button with a new batsman, which means more overs are chewed up, thus placing a bigger burden on the lower order.Although he admits to his shortcomins, Rahul has made it clear that he will not “break his head” thinking about what he did wrong or not. Fair enough. In fact, perhaps Rahul’s biggest challenge is to free his mind.Even when he answers a question, Rahul takes a moment to reflect. He seems to bring the same contemplation to his batting. If you observe him at training, you can sense Rahul is trying to find something elusive, chasing something that he feels has not yet clicked. Often he bats twice during training sessions. Often you see him getting words of motivation from head coach Ravi Shastri and assistant coach Sanjay Bangar.Maybe Rahul needs to unshackle himself and play with a free mind. Opening is often the most difficult time to bat. Yet, Rahul has said he is happiest when he opens. He just needs to play more naturally once he is through with the opening act.We’re talking about the batsman who has smashed the IPL’s fastest ever half-century. He has two T20I centuries to his name. Rahul can be an impact player in a short space of time, and he knows it.So to go back to the question Rahul might have asked himself: what does he need to do to be consistent like Kohli? Just relax, believe, and free his mind, perhaps.

England's evolving ODI juggernaut

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

By confronting, and overcoming, the threat of elimination, they are now better prepared for a shot at ultimate glory than they were at the beginning of the tournament

Sambit Bal at Chester-le-Street03-Jul-2019The heart of English cricket, it is said, lives in the shires, and it was perhaps appropriate England should seal their World Cup semi-final berth in the most English of grounds, the idyllic and pastoral Chester-le-Street. Here the trees dwarf the open stands and you can see the top of the Lumley Castle, where the players go to be haunted.This is the northern most outpost of English cricket – Scotland is only an hour’s drive away – but supporters, with no sub-continental fans to beat them to the tickets, came from everywhere, and when Kane Williamson was run out, by a fingernail, literally, a dismissal as providential as it can get, the energy peaked in the stands. New Zealand had already fallen woefully behind but to the thousands attuned to World Cup misery this was a sign. The force was now with England. For the day at least.Make no mistake, even though England had been anointed certain semi-finalists before the tournament began, this is still a massive moment in their history. This has been their year, but the pains of the past are not easy to erase. England have not made it to the last four since their World Cup dream was snuffed by two magic balls from Wasim Akram in 1992, and the dread is natural. In most cases, it is the dominant emotion for supporters of English cricket. But with the sun smiling on their fortunes in Durham, fans were filing out to the bars long before the last ball was bowled; a celebration awaited, whatever remained of a cheerful day was not to be squandered.Jonny Bairstow scores his second consecutive century•Getty ImagesIt was a canter in the end, the New Zealand challenge melted away once Ross Taylor was run out moments after Williamson’s dismissal. But it has also been a tough – and stirring – week for England, and it has taken character to haul themselves up to their current perch. They have had some fortune – the weather cleared up to allow for pitches on which big scores could be mounted and the toss went their way in both these must-win matches where batting first became a massive advantage – but they overcame what is often the biggest impediment in these circumstances: the burden of pressure.And their trial in this final phase has perhaps primed them better for what lies ahead. Unlike New Zealand, whose campaign has whimpered as it has gone on, England are now, once again, the team with the buzz. Not smug or complacent – they are, in fact, more aware of their weaknesses then before – but steeled to fight their way through.What stood out in this game and the one against India was the way they won the opening battles with both bat and the ball. It was not merely the century partnerships Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow put on, it was the way they regained their mojo. In both matches, the significance of their contribution became even more apparent after their dismissal as those following them found their timing go awry as the surface grew progressively sluggish.Jason Roy got off to a flying start•Getty ImagesTheir assault on Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal – two bowlers India rely on for a full 20 overs – was deliberate, calculated and breathtaking. It left Virat Kohli with no option but to resign to the inevitable. Against New Zealand on a much larger ground, but on a pitch offering no movement, they reverted to their power-hitting basics: staying still and belting the ball.In Tim Southee’s second over, Bairstow hit him through midwicket from middle stump, thumped him over cover with an extension of the arms and pulled a ball coming for his eyebrows over midwicket. All three strokes played with virtually no footwork, but each creating the opportunity for the next.England’s first 20 overs against India brought 145 runs without a wicket. India managed 83 for 1. England’s first 20 overs today brought them 133 runs for one wicket. New Zealand crumbled to 87 for 4.Chris Woakes gave away eight runs in five overs for the wicket of KL Rahul against India. Against New Zealand, Jofra Archer had 1 for 15 in his first five. In both cases, the opening batsmen had caused the maximum damage they could, and the opening bowlers had exceeded their brief. To retrieve matches from here, the opponents would have to beat impossible odds. They couldn’t.Even the struggle that came after the opening charge is likely to fill England with a new kind of confidence. Against India they went from 180 for 1 in the 25th over to 245 for 3 in 40th, with the run rate dropping from 7.20 to 6.12. Against New Zealand, they went from 194 for 1 in the 30th to 241 for 4 after the 40th, the run rate dropping by 0.5 in this instance. A few matches ago, the gradual dip in run rate would have brought out more aggressive shots, and perhaps the loss of more wickets, for the pitches had slowed down.Smile, please: Jofra Archer sports a grin•Getty ImagesBut now, with the awareness of occasion, England found adaptability. Ben Stokes knuckled down in Edgbaston before a flourish took him to 79 off 54 balls and England to 338. Eoin Morgan was building up to a similar performance here before scooping a ball that stopped on him to cover. Morgan acknowledged this change himself after the match.The last fortnight has been some ride for England. But by confronting, and overcoming, the threat of elimination, they are now better prepared for a shot at ultimate glory than they were at the beginning of the tournament, when they had seemed destined to win.

'Kirket' before the cricket: Bihar, Jharkhand and the ghost of Dhoni

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

On the eve of the Ranchi Test, our correspondent went to a movie theatre to watch a former World Cup winner take the silverscreen

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Ranchi18-Oct-2019On the eve of the India-South Africa Test match in Ranchi, I’m watching .That isn’t a misspelling. It’s a movie, starring Kirti Azad, the former India allrounder of 1983 World Cup fame, and former Member of Parliament, playing himself in a fictionalised narrative of Bihar’s victimisation in Indian cricket. I’m watching it in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, the neighbouring state that is the principal villain in this narrative.Azad’s face, glaring out of posters for the movie, had been all over the roads leading to the JSCA Stadium in the days before the Test match. Curiosity had brought me, and maybe 15 others, to Plaza Cinema on the day of ‘s release.The story is held together by a loose skeleton of fact. Briefly: Bihar was split into two in 2000, with Jharkhand, its southern half, gaining full statehood. A year later, the BCCI recognised the Jharkhand State Cricket Association as a full member, and deaffiliated the Bihar Cricket Association.As Bihar, India’s third-largest state by population, languished without representation in India’s domestic competitions, Jharkhand, the 14th largest state according to the 2011 census, prospered.The starkest measure of the chasm that opened up between the two states was financial. The BCCI paid out INR 180.95 crores (upwards of USD 25 million going by the current exchange rate) to Jharkhand across the five financial years from 2012-13 to 2016-17. Bihar received INR 50 lakhs (USD 70,000 approximately) in 2012-13, and nothing in the next four years.It was only in 2016 that Bihar became a full member again, and only in 2018-19 that it returned to top-flight domestic cricket. Azad headed the Association of Bihar Cricket, one of three entities vying to gain the BCCI’s recognition. The ABC failed, as did the CAB (you can work out the full form yourself), with the BCA winning the three-way arm-wrestle. addresses all this only indirectly, via the vehicle of resentment, some of it no doubt justified, blown up to a shrill pitch of melodrama.

Ah, yes, Dhoni. He isn’t actually in the movie, but his ghost is all over it. Dhoni, the face of Ranchi, the face of Jharkhand. Dhoni, who has played all of four first-class matches for Jharkhand, and, before that, 23 for Bihar.Karthik Krishnaswamy on Kirket

At one point, a BCCI bigwig tells Azad, “Bihar mein cricket nahin, kirket khela jaata hai (They don’t play cricket in Bihar, they play kirket).”Kirket is how the non-English-speaking masses in much of north India, and not just Bihar, pronounce the word. Bihar, the bad guys keep reminding us, is full of yokels and thugs. At various points during the movie, even the good guys seem only too keen to embrace that stereotype.Beyond that, there’s caste and communal politics, selection intrigues, a TV sting operation, an amateurishly filmed T20 tournament, guest appearances from various former cricketers (Atul Wassan, Manoj Prabhakar, Maninder Singh, Vivek Razdan) and even a twist on the Misbah-Joginder moment from the 2007 World T20 final. The acting is terrible, the dialogues are all tell and no show, and if you want production values, you’ll get them in the ads during the interval. Like the one for an apparel brand featuring Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, and MS Dhoni.Ah, yes, Dhoni. He isn’t actually in the movie, but his ghost is all over it. Dhoni, the face of Ranchi, the face of Jharkhand. Dhoni, who has played all of four first-class matches for Jharkhand, and, before that, 23 for Bihar.Imagine an alternate reality where Bihar kept its BCCI membership in 2001, and Jharkhand had to wait until 2016. Where Dhoni had to move from Ranchi to, say, Patna. Where Bihar received 360 times the funding Jharkhand did, which helped pay for a state-of-the-art stadium in Patna, which is about to host an India-South Africa Test match.If all that had happened, we would not have . What we might have in its place is too terrifying to contemplate.

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