There is no chance that Paul Skenes is happy with how the first two seasons of his MLB career have gone, at least on a team level.

Personally, the LSU product has thrived, following up the 2024 Rookie of the Year award with the ‘25 National League Cy Young. Skenes has solidified himself as one of baseball’s elite pitchers in short order. Of course, one player can only do so much to turn around a basement dwelling team like the Pirates, who have gone 147–159 in their two seasons with Skenes in the rotation.

Even through those struggles, Skenes has said all the right things. After capturing his first Cy Young, he even tried to paint an optimistic picture about a season that saw Pittsburgh fall out of contention early on, and how it could wind up being a silver lining for his development, according to Associated Press writer Will Graves.

That is little salve for the two brutal seasons that Pirates fans have endured, but it is a fair point—especially for a tinkerer like Skenes who is always looking to continue upgrading his arsenal.

Paul Skenes threw seven pitches through the 2025 season

A look at Skenes’s pitch data, per Baseball Savant, shows how Skenes developed from year one to year two.

Skenes’s devastating four-seam fastball is still his bread-and-butter pitch, which he threw over 39% of the time in each season. In 2025, he relied more on his sweeper and change-up than his rookie season, and added a “splinker”—a combination splitter and sinker that he throws just under 10% of his time. Meanwhile, his splitter remains a key pitch but was thrown less frequently than in ‘24, and he has a curveball and slider that can keep hitters offguard.

Last February, Skenes was also working on a two-seam fastball and a cutter, further indiciation that he isn’t done yet trying to perfect his already impressive pitch mix.

Paul Skenes stats through two MLB seasons

The face of J&K cricket opens up on administrative issues, young talent, cricket through strife and a standout Ranji season

Interview by Shashank Kishore20-Feb-2020Tell us about the system you came through?
For fifty years, J&K cricket stalled. Our facilities remained the same. There were just two big venues, two turf wickets. Even today, one venue, Srinagar, remains out of bound for three months during the monsoons and three months during the winter because of snow. So half the year, it’s inaccessible. How can you produce players when you aren’t able to provide wickets, basic infrastructure? There is no indoor facility yet. This has been the story for the last many years. The selection system was dysfunctional. Ahead of the season, the players used to only get 10 days to prepare. Camps used to be called hastily, players would be informed through newspaper ads. Now, who reads newspapers, English ones, in interior Kashmir? There was no concept of district trials or tournaments. So essentially, whoever turned up formed part of the probables and they used to pick teams from that. How could expect results in a system like this?How has the court-appointed committee helped grow the game in Jammu & Kashmir?
Since 2018, we’ve had professionals run the show. Irfan Pathan came in as player-mentor. Someone with international experience like him went door to door, district to district, remote ones even, where there was only violence. He conducted trials, open nets, spent days looking for players. He, along with coach Milap Mewada, conducted pre-season camps, trained and lived with the team for two months. It was through one such camp that we we found Rasikh Salam in Kulgam district in 2019. He had been coming to trials for three years, but kept getting rejected.Irfan saw him bowl and immediately asked the JKCA to bring him into the system. Imagine, Mumbai Indians, a championship winning team, noticed something and picked him and let him train at world-class facilities, while our own administrators turned a blind eye because he wasn’t “talented”. Rasikh is now in Mumbai, I think the franchise is taking care of him while he serves out the two-year ban. Here, there was no concept of “looking after” players until two years ago, but that has changed. Take the example of Abdul Samad. He is from Kalakote. Imagine, he’s being picked in the IPL from a place where there’s no cricket ground, forget a turf wicket. Two years ago, there was Manzoor Dar, who was with Kings XI Punjab. So there is talent. And administrators have to change their process of finding it if they have to grow the game. That is slowly starting to happen now with professionals coming in. The message is clear: ‘If you perform, where you come from doesn’t matter.’ You will be backed, you will get opportunities. The administrators aren’t cricketers, but they’ve got a vision, and have let people who know the game run the show. That is the biggest difference.

“We didn’t even know if we will play the season. Phones were blocked, I couldn’t even contact my neighbour. Some boys were stuck without electricity, some were stuck in interior areas. All along, even though there was so much political turmoil, you could still see kids playing cricket in the gullies and open grounds. That passion can’t be taken away. That passion we’ve shown as a team as well.”PARVEZ RASOOL

Do you see players from small centres now having more confidence now?
This year, for the first time, we had a player from Kishtwar district, It’s a hilly area. Henan Nazir got picked for our Under-23 team from here. He scored back-to-back hundreds there and then we got him to the Ranji squad. He was nerveless, and scored 66 on debut against Assam, Abid Mushtaq comes from Doda district. Earlier, people used to come from just two centres, whether they performed or not. Aquib Nabi is from Baramulla, Umar Nazir is from Pulwana, I am from Anantnag. Now, the environment is such they know where they come from doesn’t matter. That is a great sign. And all these guys are game-ready, because they’re now playing a lot more. I haven’t had a bigger selection headache than I’ve had this year, because these boys are all match-tuned. It’s been hard to leave out people. That is the kind of transformation we’re talking about. I’m not by any means saying things are back to being at their best or that things are wonderful and everything’s rosy, but yes, there has been a massive change in confidence and attitude of players and administrators.What has pleased you the most this season?
The boys have reached the knockouts despite the challenges which everyone’s well aware of. We didn’t even know if we will play the season. The political climate was such that there was uncertainty. Their mental resilience is unbelievable. Phones were blocked, I couldn’t even contact my neighbour. Some boys were stuck without electricity, some were stuck in interior areas. Our CEO contacted news channels, local TV, newspapers. He sent police vehicles to bring us to Jammu. All along, even though there was so much political turmoil and a tense atmosphere, you could still see kids playing cricket in the gullies and open grounds. That passion can’t be taken away. That passion we’ve shown as a team as well. To get here is a message in how to make the most of what you have. Credit to our CEO Bukhari saab, and of course our coaching staff. They’ve instilled incredible amount of confidence and self-belief.Has the team ever been intimidated this season?
Irfan’s played a big role in taking the fear out over the last couple of years. He says ‘Why look at other teams? You’ve won six games to get here, others should be looking at you.’ That is the line of thinking now. We have a combination of some wonderful young players and a few seniors. The average age is 23-24, the youngsters are hungry, they have that spark.How have you carried the pressure of being the face of J&K cricket for the last decade or so?
I don’t look at it as pressure. It’s a proud moment for me that as a senior, who has played at a higher level, I’m in a position to give back to the state. I want to bring that experience and share it with the youngsters. It’s not like I had something more than what these youngsters have in terms of ability. It’s just that my father was a district cricketer, who played local tournaments. So I had that backing from my family, which some of these guys don’t have. That is the difference. You have to give them that belief, back them and show some patience. They will make mistakes, but as a senior, I try to tell them that is how you learn. I tell the boys, if nobody notices you, make them chase you. Win games single-handedly. This group has a chance to make history in the years to come.Parvez Rasool in India colours•Getty ImagesHow have you channeled the disappointment of not playing for India a lot more?
I was hurt. In my debut tour to Zimbabwe in 2015, 14 of the 15 players in the squad got a game. I didn’t. It was tough, but it wasn’t like I was meant to be a passenger. I got there because I took wickets and runs prior to that in the Ranji Trophy. I didn’t lose my confidence, but it made me more determined to contribute. Again, I had a good follow-up season, got a game on the tour of Bangladesh on a flat wicket, where I dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim and Animal Haque. In 2016-17, I scored 629 runs and 38 wickets, and then got one game against England, where I dismissed Eoin Morgan. So yes, there’s a sense I didn’t get the chances I would’ve liked, but if I get bogged down, I can’t set an example for the players here. I can’t tell them to forget about selection and play freely if I personally feel low or disappointed. How I look at it is, it’s nice to be the first player from Jammu & Kashmir to represent India. If I can use that tag to make a difference, that will make me happier. Bishan Bedi often said ‘control the controllables’. It’s really as simple as that.What is the best compliment someone gave you?
What I am today is because of Bishan Bedi. If I am an off-spinner today with 250-plus wickets, it’s because of him. I remember, when he first became coach and walked in to our Ranji nets and watched me bowl, he casually remarked to one of our selectors about how clean my action was and how I was getting the ball to turn and dip on the batsmen. Our selector laughed it off saying ‘Sir, he is a batsmen, he can’t bowl.’ Bishan sir told him, ‘How is this possible? Just watch, if there’s anyone from here who can play for India in a few years, it’s him. This boy is the best off-spinner in your state’. That much confidence he had in me, I didn’t have so much confidence in myself at the time. I hadn’t played Ranji Trophy, others felt he was mad. But a season later, the same guys told him, how right he was. That backing helped me a lot.Despite the challenges, was cricket a natural transition for you?
I was lucky because my father was a district-level cricket. I come from Bajwara, the nearest turf wicket was in Srinagar, 50 kilometres away. I used to take two buses to get there to train. We used to stand in the sun all day. Sometimes at trials, you had just six balls to bowl or bat. You had to show your spark there. No one gave you refreshments or water. No one recognised people from smaller districts. But if you said you were from Srinagar or Jammu, you were looked at differently. So I grew up thinking I’m competing with 1000s of others with my same skillsets, even if I may be better than them. My father’s backing was key to pursuing the game. My elder brother has also played domestic cricket, so that influence rubbed off on me.

“There’s a sense I didn’t get the chances I would’ve liked [with India], but if I get bogged down, I can’t set an example for the players here. I can’t tell them to forget about selection and play freely if I personally feel low or disappointed.”PARVEZ RASOOL

What is the legacy you want to leave when you finish?
Personally, I want to give back to the area I come from. It’s easy saying I want to make a difference to J&K cricket, but I want to start from where I come from. Two years back, from my own pocket and with some contributions from my close friends, we built two turf wickets, purchased rollers and other ground equipment by investing 8-10 lakhs, only because I had to develop the same ground where I grew up. We pooled in money and have started conducting tournaments. We formed a small association – Bijbehara Cricket Association in the area, which I head. I talk and train with the kids when I am around at home. This is the first turf wicket there. I want to give them a facility to train. Last year, 12-13 year-olds played a tournament for the first time. We conduct senior and junior matches regularly. At the nets, the kids don’t often get the concept of running between the wickets. They all hit the ball hard. How do you channelise that? By conducting matches. T20 matches are an overkill, they don’t have temperament to play 40-50 overs, so we conducted matches with two new balls and proper one-day rules so that they learn and develop game sense. These are small steps, which I hope will make a big difference some time in the future.

They’ve taken 65 runs off the first five overs of the powerplay, pasting Starc and Bumrah. Whom do you throw the ball to?

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2020Scenario: David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have gone berserk in the powerplay of an IPL game on a flat track in Hyderabad. They have scored 65 off the first five overs against your all-time IPL dream XI – Warner is on 35 off 16, Bairstow on 25 off 14. Mitchell Starc has gone for 24 off two overs, Jasprit Bumrah for 13 off one, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, playing for the all-time XI against his own team, for 28 off two. You can now select any IPL bowler, present or past (Sunrisers bowlers included), to bowl the sixth. Whom do you pick?Gaurav Sundararaman:
Warne is a master of setting batsmen up. Since this is the last over of the powerplay, there is a good chance the batsmen will continue to attack. Bairstow’s record against quality legspin in the IPL is not the best. He has been dismissed five times in ten innings. He and Warner are likely to respect Warne’s reputation, and that could work to the bowler’s advantage. Warne’s variations and mind games will at the least help control the scoring rate, even if he is not able to get a breakthrough.Matt Roller:
Much as I’m wary of bringing another seamer on, given three of the IPL’s best have been sent to all parts, Warner and Bairstow are as good as anyone against spin, so I’ll stick with pace on the ball. The second half of the powerplay is such a tough time to bowl – you’re generally coming on against relatively well-set batsmen, with the field up – so I’ll want a specialist, and a wicket-taker, at a time when I desperately need to break the partnership.Step forward, Mitchell McClenaghan. Over the last three IPLs, he has taken 11 wickets in the second half of the powerplay and has the best strike rate of anyone (among those who have a minimum of five wickets) in that phase of the game. McClenaghan is one of two IPL bowlers, along with Umesh Yadav, to have dismissed Warner more than once in the powerplay since 2015 and he should be a threat targeting Bairstow’s stumps: Bairstow matches up relatively poorly against left-arm pace in white-ball cricket and is fallible against a full inswinger.BCCIAlan Gardner:
First impression here is that quick bowling isn’t the way to go – if Starc and Bumrah are getting hammered, there aren’t many higher-calibre weapons to turn to. Much as I’m tempted to play the ultimate maverick card and call on Ravi Bopara’s dobblers, he’s not had much recent IPL experience, so instead I’m going to go for spin. Only four times in ten innings during the 2019 IPL were Bairstow and Warner separated inside the powerplay – three times it was a spinner doing the job. In fact, dig a bit deeper and only one bowler dismissed both Bairstow and Warner last year: Harbhajan Singh. Okay, Warner averages 50.82 against right-arm spin, so there’s an element of risk involved, but Bairstow is slightly more susceptible to it than other types of bowling. On top of that, in the last five years of IPL, no one has taken more wickets than Harbhajan’s six in the sixth over. As our recent interview demonstrated, CSK’s venerable doosra merchant remains one of the savviest T20 bowlers out there.Deivarayan Muthu:
With all my front-line quicks going for runs, I would turn to my frontline offspinner, Ashwin. The last time he came up against Warner on a similarly flat pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, he restricted him to 14 off 12 balls and had him hole out. Ashwin’s overall record against Warner in the IPL is pretty impressive as well, so I’d match him up with the left-hander once again.Harbhajan Singh has dismissed Warner more than anyone else in the league, but I’d still go with Ashwin because he can also take the ball away from the right-handed Bairstow. The England opener wasn’t too comfortable against legspin in the last IPL, which is why South Africa threw the new ball to Imran Tahir during the World Cup and removed him for a golden duck. If Ashwin gets a decent crack at Bairstow, I’d ask him to tease him with a couple of loopy legbreaks or drifters and then slide one back in to mess with his timing and head. Even if Ashwin doesn’t get a wicket, I’d back him to use the bigger square boundaries to his advantage and squeeze in a tight, defensive over.Saurabh Somani:
Both Warner and Bairstow have very good records in the sixth over of T20s when they have opened. The best bet against them is a right-arm pace bowler. Warner has fallen nine times to right-arm quicks in the sixth over of a match, from 231 balls faced. Bairstow has never been out in the sixth over when he has opened, but his strike rate against right-arm pace (171.33) is lower than against other kinds of bowling. Since Jasprit Bumrah has already been tonked for a few, the man I’ll turn to is Jofra Archer, whose extra pace I need on a flat track. He hasn’t bowled much to either man in a competitive setting, though Bairstow will be familiar with him, of course.If you have answers to the scenario above or suggestions for scenarios, please send them to [email protected]. To read more in the series, click here.

And who opens with Saeed Anwar? Our panelists discuss in the latest episode of Dream Team

Sreshth Shah03-Aug-202041:19

We pick a post-1990 Pakistan Test XI

In this episode of , Osman Samiuddin, Danyal Rasool and Ahmer Naqvi put their heads together to find Pakistan’s greatest Test XI since 1990. Watch to find out if your favourites make the cut.6:21

Shoaib Akhtar or Waqar Younis?

Nothing shouts “1990s Pakistan” like the image of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis delivering toe crushers in tandem. If their pace and wiles aren’t enough, throw in Shoaib Akhtar with his menacing speed, and the wristy magic of Mohammad Asif. Spare a thought also for Mohammad Zahid, whose brief career was good enough to earn praise from even Brian Lara. Plenty of contenders, but only three make it. Decisions, decisions.5:34

Fingerspinner or wristspinner?

Saqlain Mushtaq was at one point in this era the second-best spinner in the world. In the mid-90s, Mushtaq Ahmed was outstanding in England, New Zealand and Australia. Saeed Ajmal was a late bloomer, making his Test debut at 32, but swiftly rising to become one of the best offspinners of his generation. Danish Kaneria was great at his peak. And Yasir Shah has alternated between sensational and downright ordinary. Plenty of arguments to make for all five. Who do the pick as their chosen one?9:03

Does Babar Azam make it in the middle order?

Younis Khan provided Pakistan their batting backbone in the 2000s. Mohammad Yousuf once scored 1788 Test runs in a calendar year. Inzamam-ul-Haq’s claims cannot be ignored. Misbah-ul-Haq surprised you whenever you weren’t expecting it. Ijaz Ahmed and Azhar Ali are what people call underrated. Asad Shafiq has Sobers-like numbers at No. 6. And of course, there’s Babar Azam, who’s on his way to greatness. Which four from this lot make the team?More Dream Teams

Highlights of R Ashwin’s bowling from the first two Tests, including his two dismissals of Steven Smith

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2020R Ashwin has been one of India’s key performers on the tour of Australia, taking 10 wickets across two Tests. These five dismissals show how he has deceived the Australia batsmen with flight, variations and hitting the perfect length.Steven Smith c Ajinkya Rahane, Adelaide, 1st innings
Through the first two Tests, Ashwin has hit the in-between length, not too short or too full, which makes the batsman come forward but not get to the pitch of the ball. He has also varied his pace and flight, bowling some slow and loopy and some flat and quicker. On the second day in Adelaide, he bowled a slow one on that length that turned in to Smith, then landed one on a similar spot but this time flatter and with the seam horizontal, which makes the ball go straight. Smith chose to go back to the ball and played for the turn, and the ball took his outside edge and went straight to first slip.Travis Head c&b Ashwin, Adelaide, 1st innings
Ashwin once again beat the batsman with flight, getting Head to press forward but not get to the pitch. Head was looking to on drive, but the ball gripped, stopped a bit and turned away from him, and he ended up just popping it back to Ashwin.Steven Smith c Cheteshwar Pujara, Melbourne, 1st innings
It was flight, dip and bounce that did Smith at the MCG on Boxing Day. Ashwin has attacked the stumps all series but this one was pitched on middle and turning down leg. Smith got forward, but the ball dipped on him, so he had to adjust his hands as the ball spun into his pads. He tried to play with the spin and work the ball behind square on the leg side, but a bit of extra bounce meant the ball hit high on the bat and carried to leg slip. Smith had to walk back for a duck.Tim Paine c Hanuma Vihari, Melbourne, 1st innings
Yet again, it was the flight and length that brought this wicket. Tim Paine had been Australia’s best batsman in Adelaide, and at 155 for 6 on the first day in Melbourne, they needed more runs from him. Seeing the ball flighted, Paine took a big forward stride, but the ball was not full enough to drive. He tried to adjust and flick the ball into the leg side but sharp turn meant he ended up hitting it too fine and straight to leg gully.Marnus Labuschagne c Ajinkya Rahane, Melbourne, 2nd innings
A beautiful curve ball dismissed Labuschagne at a crucial moment of the Melbourne Test. Ashwin went around the wicket and released the ball with the seam horizontal. The ball actually swung a little in the air away from the batsman before pitching and going on with the angle. Labuschagne played back to the delivery and edged straight to first slip.

A lean week for Australian batsmen, including a familiar dismissal for David Warner

Andrew McGlashan26-Oct-2020Cummins doubles his tallyIt had been a lean tournament with the ball for Pat Cummins before he faced Delhi Capitals – three wickets in 10 outings. He had played a part at times with his economy (and with some handy innings) but as a strike bowler wickets need to be part of a big-money deal. Things clicked for him straightaway when he pinned Ajinkya Rahane lbw first ball and then he produced a terrific delivery, at 147kph, to remove the in-form Shikhar Dhawan. By the time he returned to add Kagiso Rabada as his third the game was long-since over, but it capped an outstanding night with the ball for Cummins which also included 16 dot deliveries. Now Kolkata Knight Riders will hope it heralds an end-of-tournament surge.David Warner, Jofra Archer…you know the restThis one can probably be left to the ball-by-ball commentary:0.4 and he has got him again. Never mind the format, the team, the colour of the ball, the colour of the jersey. Archer gets Warner all the time. And great captaincy to have that second slip in. This length ball seams away from him, takes a healthy edge, and Stokes dives to his left, full length, to take it. Archer to Warner in all formats this year: 7 innings, 45 balls, 32 runs, 6 dismissals.It’s worth adding that Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to secure victory, despite the best efforts of Archer, but in their next match, after Warner had struck 35 off 20 balls, they made a horrid mess of a chase against Kings XI Punjab. It looks unlikely that Warner will see the playoffs.

Why does David Warner have a hard time against Jofra Archer? #TalkingPoints

A look into the factors https://t.co/WBfqSWFdp1 #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/tHsFp5g0xY

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 23, 2020

Start stop for FinchAustralia’s limited-overs captain has got himself in most times during the tournament but he hasn’t kicked on with just one half-century in 11 innings. This last week summed things up for Aaron Finch when he fell for 16 against KKR, edging behind against the rapid Lockie Ferguson, and then making a brisk start against Chennai Super Kings only to fall to a Sam Curran bouncer. With the limited preparation he’ll have before facing India late next month Finch would like to finish the tournament with a few decent contributions.Fifty-less weekThere wasn’t a single half-century from an Australia batsman over the last week of the tournament. Alongside Warner and Finch, Steven Smith made scores of 26 not out, 19 and 11 – in the last of those innings falling to Australia team-mate James Pattinson – while Marcus Stoinis made two single-figure contributions and Glenn Maxwell’s lean IPL continued although he did manage 32 off 24 as Kings XI chased down a target against the Capitals. Given the power Maxwell so often brings to sides he plays for, it is a fairly extraordinary statistic that he has yet to hit a six in this year’s competition.

Glenn Maxwell's strike rate at #IPL2020 is just 102.00. He has faced 100 balls this season without scoring a six.

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 26, 2020

End of the road for Watto?Despite being the team’s second-highest run-scorer this campaign, Shane Watson has been left out of CSK’s side for their last two matches as any slim chance they had of making the knockouts evaporated. MS Dhoni has said that the end of this edition will be about looking to the future, so could this be the end of one of the great IPL careers? If he doesn’t play again, his numbers will stand as: 3860 runs at 31.12 a strike-rate of 138.35 alongside 92 wickets at 29.15.

Pakistan’s bowlers controlled the day for longer, but you would hardly guess that from the scoreboard

Danyal Rasool04-Jan-2021Whether or not it is validated by a berth in the World Test Championship final, this was the kind of day that illustrated why New Zealand are in the mix for that spot. There are few days in this format when the axis of a game turns so markedly within the space of a session even while appearing to have occurred by stealth. That Kane Williamson was at the heart of such a silent ambush is of little surprise, but, to borrow a phrase more commonly pressed into service in football, the one-sided scoreline didn’t really reflect the ebbs and flows of a delightfully entertaining day’s play.That New Zealand ended the day just 11 shy of Pakistan’s 297 having lost just the three wickets is little short of an insult to the first two sessions, a period of cagey, nervous New Zealand batsmanship quite distinct from the breezier approach Pakistan adopted the previous day. After Tom Latham and Tom Blundell were worn down by the nagging consistency of Pakistan’s quicks and Ross Taylor’s Christchurch blues condemned him to another failure, New Zealand suddenly found themselves receiving a dose of the medicine they had so effectively served Pakistan at Bay Oval.Watch cricket on ESPN+

New Zealand vs Pakistan is available in the US on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the series

While Pakistan had flirted with boundaries just after lunch on day one at Hagley Oval, New Zealand were significantly more laboured around the same time on day two, having barely kept their run rate bobbing above two. Pakistan were prowling, and Henry Nicholls, who has enjoyed a very productive summer, looked particularly exposed early on. New Zealand were trailing by over 225 runs, and the usefulness of Pakistan’s proactive approach with the bat the previous day became clearer by the over.As much as the day ended up belonging to the unbeaten 215-run partnership between the irrepressible Williamson and the gritty, if streaky, Nicholls, Pakistan have only themselves to blame for having had to spend the last six hours of the day bowling at the pair they will by now be sick of the sight of. When New Zealand had walked away with what could only be described as a steal of a series win against Pakistan in the UAE two years ago, these were the two men who topped their team’s run charts, averaging 77.20 and 57.40 respectively. It was the series that seemingly cemented Nicholls place in a very competitive New Zealand middle order. An assist from the same opposition looks set to help him begin 2021 in the perfect manner.

On a day when deadlock dominated the first half, the vision to seize the moment that broke the game open for his side was just as impressive as anything Williamson would go on to do with the bat

Shaheen Afridi had him nick off in the 33rd over with the score on 74, with Rizwan, as you might expect, completing a superb catch. Nicholls, who had walked off in the previous Test when he wasn’t actually out, was about to depart once more when the umpire declared Shaheen had overstepped. Hindsight tends to play tricks with the mind, but Pakistan have bowled 20 no-balls so far this series, and this felt like one that would really make them pay.Even so, Pakistan’s hold on the game hadn’t loosened much an hour later. With tea approaching, New Zealand had limped along to 106, and while Williamson and Nicholls were hanging in there, they had combined to score 32 of 111 balls. It was in marked contrast to the positivity Azhar and Rizwan had displayed under pressure in the middle overs, and Pakistan’s first-innings total still looked reasonably impregnable.Rizwan has hardly put a foot wrong either as keeper or batsman for the best part of six months, but four overs before tea today, he would throw the ball to part-timer Shan Masood. It might have been a gamble – Masood once removed Hashim Amla off the final ball of the day in Cape Town – or the seamers may simply have needed a breather. However, Pakistan did have a genuine fifth-bowling option in Zafar Gohar, who hadn’t yet sent down a single over.It was a momentary drop in both intensity and quality, but like a predator having hunkered down awaiting his moment, Williamson sprang to life. Masood to Williamson was a combination that happened for just six deliveries all day, but a man who had inched to 21 off 72, surviving another tough chance in the slips along the way, took 13 runs off them. The 50 partnership was up, and suddenly, as a Haris Sohail over sent the players in to tea, the scoreboard read a more assured 145 for 3.Related

Mohammad Abbas: 'Frustrating to drop chances against world-class players'

Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls help New Zealand dictate terms

From thereon, Williamson was a man uninhibited. He would score 91 off the next 103 balls, especially punishing the length deliveries he had spent gently negotiating before tea. Pakistan’s drop-off played its part, of course, and in many ways the first phase of Williamson’s innings equalled the second in the effectiveness with which it showcased his brilliance. Mohammad Abbas and Faheem Ashraf probed especially thoroughly before tea, but a casual viewer might have missed that for the ease with which Williamson kept them at bay. There were no plays-and-misses, no bats hung out to tempt the outside edge, and little reason for the in-field to become excitable to create a feedback loop of pressure. Those length balls saw the New Zealand captain score just 18 runs in 60 deliveries, with little warning of the incipient danger to Pakistan’s chances. After the 46th over, he would score 50 off 51 deliveries in the same area.Recognising that the pace had begun to drop and the scoreboard pressure that gave Pakistan such a hold over the game no longer existed, he spent the final session either getting in line and pulling the bowlers in front of midwicket, or waiting as late as only Williamson does and easing them behind point. It was classic, typical predictable Williamson, and in that sense there may be nothing remarkable about the innings that brought up his 24th century. But on a day when deadlock dominated the first half, the vision to seize the moment that broke the game open for his side was just as impressive as anything he would go on to do with the bat.By stumps, New Zealand’s scoring rate was 3.36, a shade below Pakistan’s 3.55 the previous day, despite having hovered around two for the first 45 overs. The latter parts of the day made the greatest impression on the scorecard, with New Zealand adding 131 in 35 overs as Williamson unfurled his dazzling repertoire of strokes. But on a day that Pakistan arguably controlled for longer, it was the timing of New Zealand’s onslaught that sees them take a vice-like grip of this second Test. Pakistan may rue the unforced errors and the occasional tactical misstep, but on a bright sunny day when the slightest let-up would have put Pakistan in control, Williamson’s New Zealand ensured they were left out in the cold.

Chepauk surface has been challenging from the outset, but what else did you expect?

George Dobell14-Feb-20213:57

Manjrekar – I don’t think anyone in his right mind will call this a good pitch

Well, what did you expect?Did you think England would go on a six-Test tour of Asia and find seaming wickets, a Dukes ball and cucumber sandwiches for tea?Since the dawn of time, home sides have prepared pitches to suit them. You could argue it would be negligent of them to do anything else. Complaining about this surface offering turn throughout is akin to going on holiday and moaning about the locals not speaking English or the lack of Coronation Street on TV.That’s not to say this Chepauk pitch has been a good surface. It would appear to offer disproportionate assistance to the side winning the toss and it would seem to weigh the balance between bat and ball too far towards the bowler. Indeed, from the first-innings dismissal of Ajinkya Rahane to the end of the England innings, the two sides lost 16 wickets for 214 runs between them. It would be an exaggeration to suggest that batting is a lottery, but it felt extreme for the second afternoon of a match.But many Tests in England see conditions – the pitch, the ball and the atmospherics – which provide substantial assistance to bowlers, too. It’s just the bowlers favoured tend to be seamers rather than spinners. And to some eyes, particularly those brought up on a diet of such conditions, that seems more palatable. That attitude probably requires reflection.There weren’t too many complaints when Ireland were bowled out for 38 at Lord’s in 2019. Or when England were bowled for 85 earlier in the same game. And there weren’t too many complaints when Australia were bowled out for 60 at Trent Bridge in 2015. Or when England went from August 2017 to July 2020 without registering 400 in their first innings of a home Test. Even on India’s most recent tour to England, they were put in at Lord’s in conditions that effectively decided the game within three hours. Isn’t it unreasonable to consider seam and swing acceptable and spin unacceptable?Related

• Stats – All-round Ashwin goes past Sobers, Kallis

• Stats – Ashwin's unique double ton, Foakes' strong record in Asia

• R Ashwin: 'I have got better at varying the seam position'

• India turn screw as R Ashwin rolls through England with five-for

• As it happened – India vs England, 2nd Test, Chennai, 2nd day

There are differences. In England, for example, the assistance tends to come from lateral movement. And, with players brought up in such conditions, England tend to capitalise on such assistance with the use of a Dukes ball and, up to a point, helpful surfaces. There’s nothing wrong with it, either. It has produced some richly entertaining cricket.The challenge is different on surfaces such as the one seen during this Test. With the top surface on the pitch unstable, the bounce of the ball may prove variable. In this game, the turning ball (though nothing from the seamers) has sometimes bounced much higher than might be expected. It has, as a consequence, tested techniques – and yes, fortune more than is ideal – in a manner the seaming or swinging ball might not. What the pitch here has not done – at this stage, at least – is keep low. That gives the batsman a chance, at least.Is that good enough? Well, people will make their own conclusions. Most might accept this track is flirting with the boundaries of what might be deemed acceptable. But touring has always involved competing in conditions which seem alien for the visitors. It has always involved adapting techniques and accepting differences. The moment the tourists start feeling there is something unfair about that challenge, the battle is lost. As Chris Martin put it, nobody said it was easy.There’s no evidence to suggest this England side are suggesting anything of the sort. Indeed, they deserve some credit for reacting to some idiosyncratic umpiring with nothing more than rueful smiles. Nobody is suggesting any conscious bias, but we have seen enough in this match to remind us of the benefits of neutral umpires. If nothing else, their presence takes a toxic narrative out of the equation.Axar Patel exults after claiming Joe Root for his maiden Test wicket•BCCIIndia took a bit of chance with this track. Reasoning that England had looked comfortable on the flat surface they encountered at the start of the first Test, they gambled on this pitch on the basis that their own batsmen and spinners would have the ability to take greater advantage of it than England’s. At this stage, it appears to have been a gamble that has paid off handsomely. If they had lost the toss, though, they would have given England a really good chance to capitalise. There’s a compliment in there somewhere.The toss was disproportionately important in the first Test, too. By winning it, England gave themselves a chance to bat on an unusually flat surface. They deserve credit for taking that opportunity – they had the same chance in 2016 but failed to fully capitalise on it – but it would be disingenuous to pretend the toss didn’t provide a substantial advantage.Indeed, you could argue the toss was more important in the first Test. On that occasion, the pitch was probably too easy for batting for a couple of days and then deteriorated to the extent where deliveries were scuttling and jumping in the fourth innings. In the second Test, the ball turned from the start. It has deteriorated, though, and will continue to do so. Winning the toss, as it so often is, was an advantage.So, how could England have improved their chances? Well, they could have cut out the loose deliveries in India’s first innings. Moeen Ali, for example, delivered 10 full tosses and 19 short-of-a-length balls in the first innings of the match. By comparison, in the 49.5 overs of spin bowled by India in England’s first innings, contained just one full toss. Had England been able to limit India to a score of around 250, they might have been able to compensate for losing the toss.India faced challenging batting conditions at Lord’s in 2018•Getty ImagesEqually, England’s batsmen needed to give themselves more of a chance. In both first innings, batting looked more straightforward as the ball aged and grew softer. But, by the time England had batted 25 overs, they were five down. While the fashion of the day would have you believe that positivity is the best response in such circumstances, England might have put away the sweep until the ball was a little older. Batting was tough, no doubt, but if they could have reached the 25-over mark just two down, perhaps 250 may have been in reach.Most of all, Rohit Sharma has made the difference. He seized this game with a match-defining century in the first innings and, one umpiring error aside, has looked relatively comfortable in the second. Nobody else has made batting look so straightforward. India’s spinners have been better than England’s too. Sometimes you just have to accept you’ve been outplayed.In the longer term, English cricket needs to review its attitude towards spinning wickets in the County Championship. It is ludicrous to penalise Somerset for preparing surfaces which are, up to a point, similar to this and then sending England on tours where their inexperience in such conditions is exposed. More than half of England’s winters are spent in such conditions; accepting that increased variety in county pitches would help their preparations seems a sensible first step towards progress.Indeed, England have encountered spinning surfaces every bit as challenging as this in Abu Dhabi, Dhaka and Galle in recent years. There is no mileage in being shocked and appalled each time it happens. Nobody is claiming such surfaces are ideal, but they do seem to be a fact of life. The only way to progress is to learn and adapt and encounter such conditions more often. We don’t want homogenisation of conditions, either.There was a time when England used to mistrust anyone who could reverse-swing the ball or bowl a doosra. Over time, as they have learned such skills, the scepticism has diminished. It’s time to embark on a similar journey with turning pitches.

How do bowlers deal with dew? Dale Steyn and Ajit Agarkar tell us

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi and Raunak Kapoor23-Apr-20213:33

Dale Steyn – ‘I’ve seen many a bowler run in and bowl waist-high full tosses’

No IPL in India goes by without dew becoming a talking point. It has an impact on the toss and overall game plans. The 2021 tournament has been no different, with MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, saying the early start times (7.30pm as opposed to 8pm) give an unfair advantage to the team batting first because the dew is yet to set in. KL Rahul, the Punjab Kings captain, suggested teams bowling second be allowed to change a wet ball.What exactly is the problem that dew poses, particularly to fast bowlers in the death overs? We asked former international fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Ajit Agarkar to break down the challenges.What happens to the ball when it is wet? Ajit Agarkar, former India fast bowler: It’s leather, so the water keeps seeping in, the seam becomes greasy, and it is very difficult to hold the ball on the seam.Personally, because my foot landed at an angle and then there was a pivot, I used to struggle a lot if the bottom of the shoe was a little wet or greasy, or if there was a lot of mud on it. When the foot landed, it didn’t stick in the [damp] pitch for the pivot to happen; and when the foot slipped, I had no control of what happened at the other end.When the ball is slipping through your fingers, you don’t really have control over the length. You set the field for a particular ball but the execution doesn’t happen like you want it to.Plus, it skids off the pitch, which becomes a little bit easier for the batsman. To consistently bowl the balls you want becomes a lot harder.Dale Steyn, former South Africa fast bowler: I back everything he said. Your run-up becomes difficult when you land. You feel like you are a little bit unstable because you can slip. The ball becomes extremely greasy in your fingers. The seam and the leather just become extremely slippery.And once the ball hits the deck, it also loses that bounce, because it is now a little wet. So if you were to going to bowl a back-of-a-length ball, it often doesn’t get as much bounce, which means that if you like to hit the stickers of the bat, now you are hitting more of the centre of the bat, where you don’t exactly want to hit.The ball actually completely loses its swing. So if you are thinking at the back end of an innings to target a little bit of reverse swing or get the ball to dip, because it’s dry on one side and a little wet on the other, that goes completely out the window too.A slippery, greasy, wet ball is probably one of the most difficult things to control when it comes to bowling.Can you practise by getting the ball wet during training? Steyn: You can. It is less practice with the ball and more mental practice – training your brain that this is the situation. You can’t exactly create the same amount of dew in practice as you would have in a game. No two [wet] balls will be the same. You can’t be certain the ball is going to be wet as opposed to a dry ball, where you know, okay, I can run in and if I let it go like this, it’s gonna land exactly there. It is really just training your brain to understand that this is going to be extremely

“Jasprit Bumrah he looks like he just nails his yorker regardless. Lasith Malinga was another one that just seemed to, regardless of the dew, nail his lengths”Dale Steyn

When you are doing it in practice, and you get maybe seven out of ten, you do feel a little bit better as opposed to going out in the game and it being completely foreign to you. You are just thinking to yourself, “That’s it, this game is over”, when, effectively, you could get the ball in the right place having known you have done it in training.So you can’t exactly simulate the situation while preparing? Agarkar: Obviously not. Plus, the ground is not wet either [during training]. I mean, try bowling with a wet bar of soap. It can be practically impossible when there’s a lot of dew. It makes life easier for the batsman, but as a bowler it just becomes so much harder to land the ball on a spot. Then it becomes difficult to control the runs as well.Does the dew hurt more when you are bowling second? Agarkar: It gets progressively worse as the game goes on. That’s why one-day [day-night] games now start a bit earlier in India – at 1.30pm as opposed to 2.30pm. The team fielding second are at more of a disadvantage because it just keeps getting worse. It does not matter how much chemical is sprayed or how much the rope [to mop up the dew] goes around or [whether] the Super Soppers are used.How does dew tend to mess up bowling plans at the death?Steyn: Sometimes you are thinking of a particular way you want to bowl. You go “Okay, cool, tonight you know the plan is that to this batsman we are going to bowl yorkers.” And then you come across the dew factor. I’ve seen many a bowler running in and bowl two waist-high full tosses, almost shoulder high. And that’s it. You are out of the attack. It can really go pear-shaped.That’s when you have to start to think on your feet a little and drag your length back.Commentators or people watching the game might start to go: “Why did that guy bowl a back-of-a-length slower ball as opposed to running in and bowling a yorker when we know that, as an example, [Kieron] Pollard’s not good at [facing] a yorker?”That really is because you are scared that the outcome is not going to be what you want it to be. You have bowled one yorker and it’s a full toss. You have been given the warning. Now your captain comes to you and says, “Another one like that, my friend, and you are out of the attack.” So you start to change your thinking.Dew diligence: when dealing with a wet ball and a wet surface, bowlers often lose control of not only the ball but also the way their feet land•Arjun Singh/BCCISo what is the best length to bowl in such situations? Agarkar: It depends on the day. There might be days where it is wet but you are still getting the ball full enough or landing it well. I found it a little bit easier to bowl length. My [bowling] arm was anyway a little bit lower, so the ball did skid through and if I did bowl that in-between length, I had a chance of getting away with it if there was no real room or it wasn’t too short. Maybe the batsman can’t time it properly [against the skidding ball] if you are straight enough.The yorker is the toughest ball to get right when the ball is wet, because from landing on the crease to keeping your action depends on trying to bowl full and quickly. Cross-seamers are something that a lot of bowlers try because it becomes difficult to grip the seam [upright], but the control or execution of every ball then becomes a challenge.Steyn: I preferred to bowl a hard back-of-a-length. Bowling a yorker is hard at the best of times with a normal ball. And now you are trying to do that with this wet bar of soap. It becomes impossible.In T20 cricket, at least, you are using one ball. When you are playing one-day cricket, you can be bowling from the one end and the ball might not be as wet, and you are absolutely nailing your yorkers. But then your captain switches you to the other side. You run in, bowl a full toss and you just know you’ve got to completely change your game plan. I have to go cross-seam and bowl hard lengths. You really have to play it on how you are feeling out in the middle, explain it to your captain, get the right field setting, and you just have to back it and hopefully it comes off.Are there some bowlers, in particular, who have done well in these conditions? Steyn: I have never really played with somebody like Jasprit Bumrah, but he looks like he just nails his yorker regardless. Lasith Malinga was another one that just seemed to, regardless of the dew, nail his lengths. But I guess that was his go-to ball. He just felt confident he can do it. And maybe the guys who run in slightly slower. When they land on the crease, they are more in control of themselves. They are probably going to bowl at the same speed, but everything is a little bit more in control.And like Ajit said, when running in as a fast bowler and trying to bowl as quickly as you can, a little bit of a slip here, a little bit of a movement here – this game is by inches. You miss your yorker, it’s a waist-high full toss, and the ball goes out of the ground.So probably for Bumrah and Malinga, the dew never seems to bother them, but I can guarantee you, for the rest of the world, it’s always in the back of your mind.Some IPL captains have suggested the ball be replaced during the second innings to compensate for the dew. What do you think? Steyn: Yeah, it can be. But then, you know, teams are also going to be holding out against it because the team that batted first may not have had the ball swapped over as many times.What about a pre-decided change for both innings? Steyn: I guess so. Also, for the safety of the sport. You are going to be running in and looking to bowl yorkers. There’s a chance that the ball can slip out of your hand. When I played a game for the Royal Challengers last year, I actually asked the umpire: “Please, can we change this ball? This is a crucial time of the game and I feel like I’m going to bowl a waist-high full toss.” He opted not to. I had to bowl the back-of-a-length ball.It was the last batter. He got under it and got caught on the long-on boundary. Had they changed the ball and had it been a newer ball, it probably would have gone for six. So I was both lucky and unlucky at the time. Maybe if you are looking to come into the back end to bowl and there is extreme dew, changing the ball is the best way. But you’d be almost doing it once every two or three balls.Agarkar: That seems to be the best solution. How you get it done is a challenge. Certainly it is a completely different ball game when it is a drier ball in your hand.

Tall seamer catches the eye with wickets of Hayley Matthews and Sarah Taylor

Matt Roller27-Jul-2021The Katherine Brunt-Anya Shrubsole axis has led England’s pace attack for more than a decade but succession planning is now underway. Several seamers have pitched their respective cases of late without nailing down a first-team place in either the ODI or T20I set-ups, and the introduction of 41 domestic contracts last year means that the talent pool is now broader than ever.With new-ball opportunities generally limited by the presence of senior bowlers in the side, one of the keys for any young seamers breaking through is an ability to take wickets in the middle of an innings. As a result, Lauren Bell’s performances in Southern Brave’s first two games of the Hundred will be keenly noted.Bell, a 20-year-old seamer who has been a part of England academy sides and was involved in the bubbles at Derby last summer, has all the attributes of a future international player. “Tall, lanky, high point of release: she has everything going for her as a fast bowler,” Dinesh Karthik said on Sky Sports during her first spell in the comfortable win against Welsh Fire in Cardiff, “and a perfect seam position, too.”And while Bell’s height is yet to translate into genuine pace – her speeds in the Hundred so far have generally been in the 65-68mph (105-110kph) region – her ability to find hooping inswing even when the ball is slightly older is particularly promising. “I think my action allows me to,” she explained afterwards. “I don’t hold the ball any differently, I just have a natural action that helps me swing it in. 100 balls is a short period of time, so most of the time it will continue to swing throughout.”Bell conceded eight runs from her first ten balls, all within a subdued Powerplay, but by the time she returned for her third set of five, Hayley Matthews had injected some life into the innings, hitting up and over extra cover off both the front and back foot on her way to 32 off 18 balls. Bell struck with the third ball of her comeback spell, pitching an inswinger up to entice Matthews into a booming drive which she outside-edged to short third.That brought in Sarah Taylor, England’s second-highest T20I run-scorer, but Bell was unfazed. “I was just thinking ‘bowl your best ball’,” she said, “and I had real clarity from my captain.” Taylor was drawn forward again, shaping to work into the leg side but beaten on the inside edge by the swing. She reviewed the on-field lbw decision, but it was upheld via the DRS.The hat-trick ball was a wide down the leg side, looking to repeat the trick, but two middle-phase wickets had pegged the Fire back significantly. All told, she finished with 2 for 19 from her 20 balls, with half of them dots, conceding a solitary boundary when Katie George stroked her through the covers in her final set at the death.Related

• 41 domestic players sign full-time regional women's contracts

• Smriti Mandhana leads Southern Brave cruise as Fire are doused at damp Cardiff

“She’s a quality bowler and a real weapon for us, not just with the new ball, but as she showed coming back, getting that wicket of Hayley was huge and then Sarah Taylor first ball was a real turning point for us,” Shrubsole said.”She’s obviously got great attributes. She’s tall, she wants to bowl quick, and has that inswing which is lethal at times. We saw when she came back that it still swung. She’s got a lot going for her.”Bell has displayed a happy knack of picking up big wickets in this competition. At Trent Bridge on Saturday she had Sammy-Jo Johnson, the Australian opener, caught at midwicket, before returning to dismiss Nat Sciver – set on 44 and going through the gears – with a back-of-the-hand slower ball which skidded into her leg stump.I first watched Bell bowl live two years ago, for Southern Vipers on Kia Super League Finals Day, when she removed Loughborough Lightning’s openers Amy Jones and Chamari Athapaththu in a probing new-ball spell. She struggled for rhythm and control as the day went on and was taken down by Heather Knight in the final, but it was the semi-final burst that stuck in the mind.Two years on, she has clearly benefited from the regional contract she was awarded at the end of last year and the time she has spent around senior players, both in the England bubble and in the early phases of the Hundred. “The bubble was really good, a great chance to work with and learn from some of the best players and coaches in England,” she said. “We’re settling into the tournament: I just listen to what I’m told and what the captain says.”There are various other young fast bowlers ahead of her in the pecking order at England level, not least the Central Sparks and Birmingham Phoenix pair Emily Arlott and Issy Wong, while Freya Davies and Tash Farrant have been given recent opportunities in the T20I side. But if Bell can continue her wicket-taking form in a successful Brave side, her time may come sooner than she expects.