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He is leading the run-charts for Saurashtra for the second straight season

Hemant Brar in Rajkot29-Feb-2020″You scored 700-800 runs last season…””Eight hundred and fifty-six [854].””This season also…””Approaching 750.””So, what do you think is lacking for an India A selection?””I guess you should ask that to the selectors whenever you meet them next.”This was Saurashtra’s Sheldon Jackson after a measured 69 not out on the first day of the semi-final against Gujarat in Rajkot.The day had started with Gujarat opting to bowl and Chintan Gaja putting the Saurashtra openers in trouble by consistently taking the ball away from a fourth-stump line. Twice Gaja was unlucky not to have Kishan Parmar’s wicket; the first time he overstepped when the batsman was caught in the slips, and then later Roosh Kalaria dropped a simple chance at long leg.Despite that, Gujarat managed to reduce the hosts to 102 for 3, with two wickets in back-to-back overs. With his side in a precarious situation, Jackson walked in. While the new-ball threat was over, Axar Patel was not only bowling miserly but also looking increasingly threatening, and had figures of 16-10-12-2 at one stage.It was a typical Axar spell, attacking the stumps and hurrying the batsmen with his pace. Jackson had a tricky task at hand. He not only had to avert the Axar threat but also stabilise his team. And how did he do that? In typical Jackson style, smashing two sixes in the spinner’s next two overs.Parthiv Patel brought Gaja back from the other end, and the seamer once again got purchase from the pitch. Jackson, though, showed great restraint against him, by either defending or shouldering arms. At one point, he had played ten dots in a row against Gaja.Playing at No. 4, Vishvaraj Jadeja supported Jackson well and the two took Saurashtra to 162 to 3 with their 60-run stand. But Arzan Nagwaswalla’s two wickets in two balls left Jackson with another rescue task.This time he found an ally in Chirag Jani. The duo faced a slew of dot balls during their unbroken stand of 55 but Jackson kept finding the odd boundary to keep the scoreboard moving. In the process, he brought up his half-century as well, and took the side to 217 for 5 at stumps.On a day, when an otherwise batting-friendly Rajkot pitch assisted seamers, Jackson’s knock kept the hosts in the contest. But with the second new ball only six overs old, even he knows the job is half done. But what he doesn’t know is why he hasn’t been selected for India A despite a good last season.He was the leading run-scorer for Saurashtra with a tally of 854 runs at an average of 47.44. In fact, no Saurashtra player made the cut for India A despite the side reaching the finals, and that led to an outburst on Twitter. This time, he is currently on 749 runs at an even better average of 57.61.”Because I don’t know [why I don’t get selected for India A] and I don’t want to get into all that, but next time, whenever you meet them [selectors], do ask them and if they give an answer, tell me as well.”But did he ask the selectors himself?”No, not formally, not even informally. I haven’t asked anyone why I am not getting picked.”Perhaps it’s the competition?”How many players score 700-800 runs consistently every year, can you give me a record of that,” Jackson argues. “How many such players are there in India? Not even a handful. You see Jaydev [Unadkat], [on a] flat wicket he takes five, seaming wicket he takes five, turning track he takes five. We are doing our bit. Getting picked, not getting picked is not in our hands.”Talking about the ongoing match, Jackson said with the top order not sticking around for long, and Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja unavailable, he had to shelve his aggressive game.”You see we get Chintu [Pujara] and Ravindra very on and off. When they are there, I can play my game and express myself more. When they are not there, I have to play these kind of innings where I have to construct and have to carry certain players with me because the more I bat, the more I make others bat, the more the team benefits.”But is he happy with his team’s position?”I will say 20-30 more runs would have made the total look decent. Had it been 240-245, we would have been happier. Let’s see how it pans out from here.”

Bumrah’s yorker, Jordan’s ‘long’ run, Agarwal’s effort in the deep, Ferguson’s rockets, and more

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Oct-2020Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, DubaiBumrah nails Rahul with a yorker – 17.3 overs
This was the ball that swung the match the Mumbai Indians’ way. It was the 18th over. Jasprit Bumrah had been hit for 15 in his previous over. KL Rahul was on 75 and in command. The Kings XI needed just 27 from the last three overs. Off the third ball, Bumrah went wide off the crease, and pitched the perfect yorker with a hint of reverse swing. Rahul moved in line to cover off stump, but the almost-149-kph ball swerved past the outside edge of the closed bat-face to hit off stump.Coulter-Nile denies boundary to Hooda – 19.1 overs
The Kings XI now needed just nine runs from the final six balls, and Trent Boult lined up to bowl. Deepak Hooda moved quickly wide outside his off stump to pick a fuller-length delivery that was angled away. Hooda thought he had flicked firmly as the ball was flying over square leg for a certain boundary. Except it did not – Nathan Coulter-Nile flung himself to his wrong side (left) to stop it, even attempting to pluck the catch with a reverse cup. Had Hooda succeeded, the target would have come down to five from five. But Coulter-Nile kept the Mumbai Indians in the contest.Chris Jordan took a long route while trying to complete the second run•HotstarJordan takes circuitous route – 19.6 overs
The Kings XI needed just two runs from the final delivery to win. Getting close to the stumps, Boult delivered a yorker at Chris Jordan’s toes. Jordan did well to push the ball to the empty mid-on area and immediately called for two even as Kieron Pollard, standing well inside the boundary at long-on, charged in. And Jordan, instead of running in a straight line after completing the first run, decided to take a long route back, which gave Quinton de Kock enough time to neatly collect a powerful throw from Pollard and whip off the bails. A straight dash, and Jordan should have made it. The match was a tie. It was the second Super Over on Sunday, the first time the IPL had experienced two on the same day.Mohammed Shami bowled the Super Over for Kings XI Punjab•BCCIShami’s own super over – Super Over 1
De Kock and Rohit Sharma just needed to get five runs. Mohammed Shami ran in for the first ball, went wide off the crease, and pitched the perfect off-stump yorker that de Kock could only nudge for a single. Having seen Bumrah succeed with the yorker and the low full-toss work in Mumbai’s Super Over, Shami’s aim, as Rahul revealed after the match, was to bowl six yorkers. He bowled five of them perfectly… It was one of the best overs of fast bowling, done with a smile and without any apparent show of nerves.KL Rahul runs Quinton de Kock out•BCCIRahul runs out de Kock – final ball, Super Over 1
It came down to two to win off the final ball for the Mumbai Indians, with de Kock facing Shami. He stuck to the wide yorker, and de Kock did well to chip it to the right of short cover where Ravi Bishnoi dived but failed to intercept the ball, allowing the batsmen to turn back for the second. Nicholas Pooran charged from the deep, but his throw was not on the stumps. But in a moment of brilliance, Rahul, who stood out in the field with the Orange Cap (for most runs this IPL) on, moved in front of the stumps, went down on his right knee to collect the off-target throw, and then flicked the ball back on to the stumps in the nick of time to beat the dive from de Kock. On to Super Over Part II.Mayank Agarwal converts a six into two with an acrobatic fielding effort•HotstarAgarwal denies Pollard 6 – Super Over 2
Jordan had done really well allowing just nine runs from his first five balls to the pair of Pollard and Hardik Pandya. Pollard was on strike for the final delivery, which turned out to be a low full toss. Pollard, ready deep in his crease, flicked the ball powerfully to deep midwicket, where Mayank Agarwal was stationed. As the ball looked set to go well over him, Agarwal used all his core strength to leap powerfully and somehow – stunningly – managed to connect with the ball mid-air and parry it back into the field of play. “Phenomenal,” Simon Doull, the commentator, burst on air – a befitting description of Agarwal’s fielding. It meant Pollard and Mumbai got just two runs instead of six and the target was 12.Chris Gayle puts one away in the second Super Over•BCCIGayle goes bam – Super Over 2
Chris Gayle did not waste time. The first ball from Boult was a low full toss, in the slot, and Gayle hacked it over deep midwicket for a big six. The pressure was off straightaway, and Agarwal finished the job with two crisp boundaries to put an end to a long but memorable Sunday.Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Abu DhabiUh oh… one of the most worrying sights for Eoin Morgan – Andre Russell looks like he’s injured himself•BCCIHobbling Russell takes match to Super Over – 19.6 overs
If the night was breathtaking, the evening had set things up nicely. Andre Russell has been hurting this IPL – both physically, and with his struggles on the field, especially with the bat. On Sunday, Russell had flopped with the bat again, hurt his hamstring in the field, but was sent back to bowl the final over of the match. The Sunrisers Hyderabad needed 18 runs. Their captain David Warner was at the crease with the young Abdul Samad. Russell’s first ball was a free hit. Warner then cracked three consecutive boundaries to bring the equation down to two runs from the final ball. Russell jogged in to hurl a 132-kph delivery into Warner’s pads. Warner attempted to hit down leg, but getting up taking just one leg-bye. Mumbai had just started batting in Dubai, as the match in Abu Dhabi entered the Super Over.Lockie Ferguson and Shubman Gill combine to dismiss Abdul Samad•HotstarFerguson-Gill combo denies Samad a six – 18.6 overs
This was the last over of the previous over. Samad had played a brilliant cameo, picking 23 from 14 balls. The last from Shivam Mavi was an easy low full toss that Samad hit flat towards deep midwicket. Lockie Ferguson, at deep square-leg, ran to this left, positioned himself sideways to pouch the catch safely with two hands just inches inside the boundary line. But with momentum threatening to put him off balance, Ferguson noticed Shubman Gill was close enough, so he lobbed the ball neatly to his team-mate, who completed the catch even as the New Zealander crossed the boundary line.Fast, furious, irresistible – Lockie Ferguson rearranges the stumps•BCCIFerguson rocks Sunrisers with three-ball trick – Super Over 1
Looking like a contestant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ferguson knocked the Sunrisers out in just three deliveries in the Super Over. First, he pitched a length delivery in the high 140s to knock back Warner’s off stump, and two deliveries – and two runs – later, bowled Samad with a brilliant change of pace. The target for the Knight Riders was just three runs.

The rebuilding of the national side, young players to watch out for, and other talking points

Firdose Moonda30-Oct-2020Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj and Rassie van der Dussen will be on an audition of sorts when South Africa’s four-day franchise competition kicks off on Monday. The quintet is considered to be in the running for the national Test captaincy and although only Bavuma is leading his franchise, the form and influence the rest have on their teams may play a role in who new convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang chooses for the most prestigious job in South African cricket.Mpitsang, who starts work full-time on Monday, will also be looking for an opening batsman after last season saw Pieter Malan fill in for an injured Markram, an opening bowler after Vernon Philander’s retirement, and potentially a middle-order batsman depending on how much longer Faf du Plessis wants to play international cricket. All that makes this season’s domestic competition even more crucial for the rebuilding of the national side. Here’s our team-wise preview and what to expect when things kick off.LionsThe defending champions have bulked up their squad with bowlers from the Cape, including Sisanda Magala and Lutho Sipamla from the Warriors and Tladi Bokako from the Cobras. They already have Beuran Hendricks, Dwaine Pretorius and Kagiso Rabada in their ranks, which gives them an arsenal of fearsome quicks to call on at the spiciest pitch in the country, the Wanderers. Though they won’t want it to be too green and mean as many Lions batsmen need to be among the runs for the national side. Bavuma, who played only one Test last summer, leads the pack but van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks are not far behind.Last season standing: WinnersCaptain: Temba Bavuma Coach: Wandile GwavuKeep an eye on: Wiaan Mulder did not feature for South Africa in any format last summer as he battled injury, and his team-mate Dwaine Pretorius got the Test allrounders spot and Andile Phehlukwayo the white-ball role. But at 22, and with a strong skillset, Mulder is one to watch out for the future.TitansThe Titans lost their coach Mark Boucher to national duty in the middle of last season but managed a strong second-place finish under Mandla Mashimbyi, who has taken over full-time. They are the franchise that could hold the key to the Test top-three, with Markram, Elgar and Theunis de Bruyn all calling SuperSport Park their home. Further down the order, Heinrich Klaasen also has national ambitions. Lungi Ngidi headlines their attack which includes the experience of Junior Dala and the youth of Lizaad Williams, Okuhle Cele, Dayyaan Galiem, Matthew Arnold and Ryan Cartwright.Aiden Markram pulls•Getty ImagesLast season standing: Runners-upCaptain: Grant ThomsonCoach: Mandla MashimbyiKeep an eye on: Thando Ntini moved upcountry from the Cape over the winter and the Highveld conditions are expected to bring out the best in him. But we may have to wait a while to see what Ntini has to offer as he is nursing a hamstring injury.WarriorsJon-Jon Smuts’ elevation to the national team meant the Warriors selected a new four-day captain for this summer. Yaseen Vallie, who is also among the senior-most members of the squad, has been asked to lead the franchise’s red-ball team. The line-up also features last summer’s second-highest run-scorer Edward Moore, who opens the batting, Rudi Second, who brings experience, and youngsters Sinethemba Qeshile and Matthew Breetzke, both of whom are regarded as future internationals. Having lost Sipamla and Magala to the Lions and Andrew Birch to retirement, the challenge for the Warriors will be to have an attack that can step up. Anrich Nortje, Wihan Lubbe, Mthiwekhaya Nabe’s roles will be crucial in that regard.Anrich Nortje lets out a roar in celebration•BCCILast season standing: ThirdCaptain: Yaseen VallieCoach: Robin PetersonKeep an eye on: Glenton Stuurman has been touted as a ready-replacement for Philander because of his ability to move the ball both ways and his miserly average.KnightsThe only franchise with a new coach this season found the highest-profile one they could. Allan Donald has returned to Bloemfontein to take on his first head coaching gig at home and has a talented group of players to work with. Young tearaway Gerald Coetzee, who was named as one of ESPNcricinfo’s 20 players to watch in the 2020s, will lead the attack, which also includes Migael Pretorius, who has moved from Johannesburg. Equally exciting is their batting line-up which has the experience of Pite van Biljon and Farhaan Behardien, who had left the Titans to go Kolpak but has since returned to South Africa, and youngsters Matthew Kleinveldt, Jacques Snyman and Wandile Makwetu.According to Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee has the potential to be a ‘South African great’•Getty ImagesLast season standing: FourthCaptain: Pite van BiljonCoach: Allan DonaldKeep an eye on: Raynard van Tonder was the leading run-scorer of the tournament last season and must be among the contenders for a Test call-up, whether as an opener or a No. 3.DolphinsIn Durban, the Dolphins have been steadily building towards becoming a more competitive unit and they have the ingredients to be serious challengers this summer. David Miller has expressed an interest in pushing for a Test spot but Keegan Petersen, who was selected for net sessions under Jacques Kallis’ tutelage last summer, may beat him there. Their attack revolves around their spinners, which include Maharaj, last season’s leading wicket-taker, Prenelan Subrayen, and two-time Test cap Senuran Muthusamy, but there’s a batch of quicks bubbling under. Almost two-metre tall Kerwin Mungroo, Daryn Dupavillon and Lifa Ntanzi make up the pace pack.Keshav Maharaj celebrates a wicket•BCCILast season standing: FifthCaptain: Marques AckermanCoach: Imraan Khan Keep an eye on: Ackerman and Grant Roelofsen were respectively the third and the sixth leading run-scorers last season and although neither of their names has come up in the public discussion around the Test team, the numbers may do the talking for them and force their case.CobrasAs the only team that did not win a single four-day match last summer, the Cobras will enter this season with a point to prove. They’ve revamped their squad with the acquisitions of top-order batsman Tony de Zorzi, allrounder Corbin Bosch and offspinner Imran Manack, all from the Titans, and allrounders Calvin Savage, from the Dolphins, and Onke Nyaku, from the Warriors. They’ve also ploughed their own depths to sign Jonathan Bird, Ziyaad Abrahams and Isma-eel Gafieldien. In the Malan brothers, Janneman and Pieter, new captain Zubayr Hamza and Jason Smith, the Cobras have all the makings of a strong side but they’ll want victories to show for it.Zubayr Hamza in action for the Cape Cobras•Cape CobrasLast season standing: SixthCaptain: Zubayr Hamza Coach: Ashwell PrinceKeep an eye on: George Linde was named the South African Cricketers’ Association’s (SACA) Most Valuable Player last season, in recognition of his all-round excellence across formats. Linde earned a Test cap in India last October and although Maharaj will be difficult to dislodge from the South African side, Linde provides strong competition.

Northern Diamonds begin quest to go one better, but other contenders could emerge

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2021Southern VipersLast season: Winners
Director of Cricket: Adam Carty
Coach: Charlotte Edwards
Captain:Georgia Adams
The Vipers stormed to the title in the inaugural season of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, winning all six group games and defending 231 in the final against Northern Diamonds at Edgbaston. They had the competition’s leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in Georgia Adams and Charlotte Taylor respectively, and were the dominant force throughout the season.The challenge this year is to back those performances up when England players are available for a greater proportion of the season. The Vipers will be boosted by the returns of Danni Wyatt and Georgia Elwiss but it will be a major test for their less experienced players to come up against internationals on a more regular basis.Both of those returning England players bring intrigue. Wyatt, a T20 firestarter by trade, has never quite cracked ODI cricket and has struggled for international runs since the start of 2020. She was given Lisa Keightley’s backing despite a lean series in New Zealand earlier this year, but comes into this season under scrutiny; with Adams anchoring the innings alongside her, she should have licence to play her shots. Elwiss, meanwhile, has not made it onto the field in an England shirt since July 2019, and missed the whole of last summer with a back injury. She will be desperate to provide a reminder of her all-round worth.Key player: The biggest test of the season will come if Adams’ domestic form is rewarded with an England call-up. Her captaincy last year – in combination with Charlotte Edwards’ leadership as head coach – galvanised the squad and her consistency with the bat has not gone unnoticed. She might well have been considered for England’s tour to New Zealand over the winter but for shoulder surgery, and if she is named in the squads for the India series – likely to be announced in within the next two weeks – then the Vipers will feel her absence keenly.One to watch: Lauren Bell is a tall seamer who bowls hooping inswingers and finds sharp bounce from a good length. She took seven wickets in four appearances last season, spending most of the summer in England’s training group in the Derby bubble, but should have the opportunity to lead the attack alongside Tara Norris throughout this year. Still only 20, she is one of England’s best young seam-bowling prospects, alongside Central Sparks tearaway Issy Wong.Georgia Adams lofts one over the leg side•PA Images via Getty ImagesNorthern DiamondsLast season: Runners-up
Director of Cricket: James Carr
Coach: Danielle Hazell
Captain: Hollie Armitage
Beaten by Southern Vipers in the final, the Diamonds are looking to go one better this year. Having reached 74 for 1 in the decider, the Diamonds’ collapse to 96 for 6 hurt them as they were bowled out for 193 inside 43 overs at the hands of Charlotte Taylor’s stunning six-wicket haul.If they can take advantage of having the likes of England stars Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver in their ranks for the early part of the season, the Diamonds should be able to inflict some damage on their opponents. From there, it will be down to those that are left to kick on once international duty calls.Among them, Jenny Gunn provides vast all-round experience, Beth Langston was their leading wicket-taker last year with 12 at 19.41 and Dutch player Sterre Kalis offers big run-scoring potential. After three ducks in a row last season, Kalis struck three consecutive fifties to lead the team ahead of Hollie Armitage and Gunn. If Kalis can press on from the outset, it will stand her side in good stead.Key player: Lauren Winfield-Hill is on a mission to make an England opening berth her own again and she started well with an unbeaten 140 for England Women A against England Women in a pre-season warm-up earlier this month. Time in the England squad bubble restricted her to just three matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last season, with a highest score of 72 in her overall tally of 93 runs. Having finally settled into a treatment regimen in recent months for Crohn’s disease, she is feeling and performing better physically, which can only mean good things for the Diamonds, if not England.One to watch: Bess Heath, the 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, signalled her early form with a quick-fire 30 off 20 balls in a recent pre-season friendly against England Academy, including four fours and a six. Home-schooled throughout her secondary education, often through hands-on outdoor learning, Heath’s love of cricket was forged through playing the game with her three older brothers. With eight catches, she had the most dismissals of any keeper in the competition last year.Lauren Winfield-Hill hopes a good start with Northern Diamonds will lead to England selection•Getty ImagesWestern StormLast season 2nd, South Group
Director of cricket Lisa Pagett
Coach Mark O’Leary
Captain Sophie LuffWestern Storm spent the Kia Super League years vying with Southern Vipers to be considered the dominant force, and that rivalry extended into the inaugural RHF Trophy. Storm won four out of their six matches in the group, but twice went down to the Vipers, who pipped them to top spot and went on to lift the title after an unbeaten campaign.Although the squad has changed a fair bit since the KSL days, and highly rated former head coach Trevor Griffin is now at Sunrisers, Storm retain an air of white-ball knowhow: margins of victory by 86 runs, 47 runs, seven wickets and six wickets in their other group games hint at how strong they were. In captain Sophie Luff they had the tournament’s third-leading run-scorer, while few sides could match the all-round depth provided by Georgia Hennessy (209 runs, 11 wickets), Fi Morris (115 runs, 11 wickets) and Alex Griffths (141 runs, three wickets).Experienced offspinner Claire Nicholas is on maternity leave, but with their three England players available for the opening half of the tournament – captain Heather Knight taking her place in the ranks and Anya Shrubsole and Katie George primed for action after injury-disrupted winters – Storm are once again likely to be among the leading contenders.Key player: Still waiting for a chance with England, Luff is a giant of the domestic scene in the West Country. Storm’s No. 3 has shone in the pre-contract era, twice a KSL winner and mainstay with Somerset. At 27 and playing as well as ever, there is still time to make an unanswerable case for inclusion at the next level.One to watch: Nat Wraith, 19, is a “wicketkeeper who gets on with it with the bat”, according to Knight. Bristol born and currently studying at Cardiff University, she cites South Africa’s Quinton de Kock as her favourite player. Wraith played all six games in last year’s RHF Trophy, tallying 111 runs at 22.20 – including 68 off 75 against the Vipers – and winning an ECB domestic deal.Sophie Luff clears the front leg•Getty ImagesCentral SparksLast season: 2nd, North Group
Director of cricket Laura MacLeod
Coach Lloyd Tennant
Captain Eve JonesThe Sparks finished runners-up behind RHF finalists Northern Diamonds in 2020, and were the only team to beat the Headingley-based outfit during the group stage. Opening batter and captain Eve Jones led from the front, although they were perhaps over reliant on runs from the top order – only Jones, Marie Kelly and Gwenan Davies managed to pass 100 for the campaign.To kick on, the Sparks will hope for greater returns from a clutch of young batters including Poppy Davies, Chloe Hill – the pair who made sure of victory over the Diamonds with an unbroken 46-run fifth-wicket stand at Headingley – and Milly Home. Allrounder Clare Boycott was fourth in the run-scoring with a mere 53, and she was also joint-leading wicket-taker with eight, alongside legspinner Anisha Patel. On their day Liz Russell, who claimed 4 for 28 against the Diamonds, and Issy Wong, wrecker of the Thunder top order at Edgbaston, could be match-winners with the ball, too.The availability of their England pair, aggressive wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones and legspinner Sarah Glenn, who is also looking to burnish her allrounder credentials, should give them even greater cutting edge. Ria Fackrell, a top-order batter and offspinner who arrived over the winter from Lightning, also adds to their options.Key player: With 334 runs at 66.80, including a century and two fifties, to finish fourth on the competition run-scorers’ list, Eve Jones was in fine form last season. If she and namesake Amy (no relation) get going against the new ball, it could be a case of keeping up with the Joneses for opposing teams this year.One to watch: Look no further than Issy Wong. The 19-year-old joined England’s tour to New Zealand over the winter in a development capacity, and as a pace bowler has ambitions to hit the 80mph mark – never previously achieved in women’s cricket. With her penchant for a funky haircut and ability to solve a Rubik’s cube in circa 30 seconds, there’s plenty to like.Issy Wong appeals•Nathan Stirk/Getty ImagesSouth East StarsLast season: 3rd, South Group
Director of Cricket: Richard Bedbrook
Coach: Johann Myburgh
Captain:Tash Farrant
The Stars’ first season in the regional domestic structure was a mixed bag: they were beaten home and away by the top two in the South Group, but cruised to wins against bottom club Sunrisers to finish third. They used a competition-high 18 players, and the result was that there were few standout performers: Tash Farrant, the captain, won an England recall thanks to her nine wickets in six games, but no batter managed to score 150 runs across the season.As a result, improvements with the bat will be crucial to their chances this summer. They have two teenagers with great potential in Chloe Brewer and Alice Capsey, while Aylish Cranstone – who will have made significant strides forward over the winter as a contracted player and Susie Rowe – back in the game after several years focusing on her hockey career – bring some experience. Sophia Dunkley, who is almost certain to receive more England opportunities this season, will be vital in the early stages.Related

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Dunkley is one of a number of players who could be lost to England duty, and international call-ups could well have a significant impact on the Stars’ season. Farrant, Freya Davies, Alice Davidson-Richards and Bryony Smith may all miss fixtures at some stage, leaving a big hole in the bowling attack. As a result, it is vital that they hit the ground running while all of them are available and hope their uncapped players can cover the gaps later in the summer.Key player: Farrant’s performances and subsequent England recall last year were crucial in demonstrating the clear new path from domestic success to international cricket, but also set the tone for the rest of the Stars’ attack with the new ball. Her ability to chip in with some lower-middle-order runs and her captaincy will be vitally important, too – though if she is picked for England’s series against India, she will be a huge loss.One to watch: “If you want to know who’s going to be opening the batting for England in five years’ time, have a watch of the London Cup live stream right now,” the journalist Raf Nicholson tweeted last summer. “Her name is Alice Capsey.” Still only 16, Capsey is particularly strong hitting down the ground and through midwicket, as she demonstrated in a nerveless 73 not out off 75 balls in a successful chase against Sunrisers last summer. Having batting at No. 4 last season, she may shuffle further up this year.Alice Capsey flays through the off side•Getty ImagesThunderLast season: 3rd, North Group
Director of Cricket: David Thorley
Coach: Paul Shaw
Captain:Alex Hartley
Thunder got the better of Lightning twice in as many meetings last year, although that proved to be of more meteorological than RHFT significance, as both sides finished off the pace in 3rd and 4th place respectively in the North Group.If Thunder are to improve on that showing in 2021, then you can expect their gun spinner Sophie Ecclestone to be in the thick of the action. Still only 22, Ecclestone has risen to the top of the ICC’s T20I rankings, having married impact and economy to devastating effect, and in what is still a young squad, her experience will be invaluable.Regardless of how many games Ecclestone is available for, the Thunder squad won’t be lacking spin options. The skipper, Alex Hartley, is another left-arm purveyor, as is Hannah Jones, who played all six of their RHFT matches last season and was awarded a full-time professional contract in the winter. And then there’s Liberty Heap, a 17-year-old offie whose 3 for 34 was instrumental in the second of their wins over Lightning.But the squad’s success is likely to be defined by their other departments – notably the batting, which never really fired in 2020, with just three half-centuries, two of which came in their opening fixture as they posted 200 for the only time in the competition. Much will be expected of Emma Lamb, earmarked to bat at No.3, and Ellie Threlkeld, the wicketkeeper and No.4, as well as powerful Laura Marshall at the top of the order.Key player: Kate Cross has been there or thereabouts in the England set-up for years now, but with Freya Davies now edging ahead of her in the pecking order, she may well be on hand to lead Thunder’s seam attack through their campaign. If the pitches at the first-class venues turn out to be true, spin alone may not cut it.One to watch: Given the whippersnappers in her midst, Natalie Brown is a relative old sweat at the age of 30. But she was the team’s most consistent source of runs throughout the 2020 campaign, with 189 at 31.50. And what’s more, she passed 25 in five of her six innings, but made a top score of 52, which implies there’s more to come if she can apply herself with similar discipline this time around.Kate Cross in action for Thunder during the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy•Getty ImagesLightningLast season: 4th, North Group
Director of Cricket: Ian Read
Coach: Rob Taylor
Captain: Kathryn Bryce
A tough campaign in last year’s RHFT, marked by the loss of a glut of tight contests, was enlivened only by Lightning’s twin victories over their Midlands rivals, Central Sparks, as they finished rock-bottom of the North Group. However, theirs is a squad with sufficient pedigree to make a better fist of things this year, not least thanks to the Sister Act on which their 2020 campaign was pinned.Captain Kathryn Bryce was the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps at 15.42, and chipped in with 141 runs at 28.20, while her younger sister and fellow Scotland international, Sarah, bossed their runs-charts with 395 at 79.00, second only to Southern Vipers’ trophy-winning Georgia Adams.And, assuming Bryce Minor maintains those levels, then the prospect of her teaming up with the returning England star, Tammy Beaumont, at the top of the order is mouthwatering. Kirstie Gordon, another Scot within the Lightning squad, albeit one who has long since pledged her allegiance to the Sassanachs, claimed just three wickets with her left-arm spin but was the squad’s most economical performer.Kathryn and Sarah Bryce talk mid-pitch•Getty ImagesKey player: Beaumont was available for just two Trophy fixtures last season due to the concurrent West Indies series, but she proved her eye is still in on the recent tour of New Zealand, averaging 231 in the ODIs with three consecutive half-centuries, before a further matchwinning 63 in the second T20I.One to watch: The South Africa-born Michaela Kirk, 21, has hopes of using her dual-passport to one day play for England, but for the time being she arrives with a big reputation and a big opportunity to seize the limelight, having also been signed as one of Trent Rockets’ overseas players for the Hundred. A hard-hitting batter in the mould of her mentor Mignon du Preez, she’s been playing top-level domestic cricket since making her debut for Northerns as an offspinning 13-year-old in 2012.SunrisersLast season: 4th, South Group
Director of Cricket: Danni Warren
Coach: Trevor Griffin
Captain: Amara Carr
A young Sunrisers side – they range in age from 17 to 29 – went winless throughout the 2020 season but Danni Warren, their director of cricket, believes they will have grown from experience and exposure in the competition as well as six months training in a fully professional set-up, which includes Trevor Griffin, coach of reigning WBBL champions Sydney Thunder and a two-time KSL-winning coach with Western Storm.Up-and-coming England spinner Mady Villiers and Fran Wilson, with 64 international appearances to her name, add depth alongside the likes of full-time contract holders Naomi Dattani, Cordelia Griffith and captain Amara Carr who are all former England Women’s Academy members.Right-arm seamer Sonali Patel, who has just turned 18, was the team’s leading wicket-taker last season with seven, including 4 for 52 against South East Stars, while fellow right-arm seamer 20-year-old Katie Wolfe also took seven wickets, which bodes well for the future.Cordelia Griffith is one of five Sunrisers to earn a full-time professional domestic contract•Getty ImagesKey player: Jo Gardner, Sunrisers’ leading run-scorer last year with 193 at 32.16, is among five women in the team who are expected to take the next step in their careers as full-time professionals. Gardner also claimed seven wickets with her off-breaks and is no slouch in the field. A keen golfer, Gardner has also secured a spot with Oval Invincibles for the Hundred.One to watch: Now just 17, Grace Scrivens was second on Sunrisers’ run-scoring charts last season with 137 at 22.83 and a highest score of 72. She also claimed three wickets with her off-spin and will undoubtedly have benefited from her experience playing all six matches of Sunrisers’ campaign. This season, Scrivens scored 191 runs in six matches, including an unbeaten 94 off 62 balls against Surrey, as her Kent side went undefeated to win the Women’s County T20 South East Group.

And where does Chris Cooke’s unbeaten 205 figure in the list of highest scores by a wicketkeeper-captain?

Steven Lynch28-Sep-2021Apparently Ollie Pope was averaging 100 at The Oval before he was out cheaply in the Test against India. What is his average there now? asked Richard Walker from England
Surrey and England’s Ollie Pope was averaging 100.71 on his home ground at The Oval before the recent Test against India, when he made 81 and 2, which reduced his average to 93.31. A subsequent Championship match there against Essex produced scores of 5 and 27 not out (the average was now 89.70), which meant Pope went into the last innings of the season – against Glamorgan last week – needing to make 275 (or 175 not out) to get his Oval average back into three figures. And he very nearly managed it: when he became part-timer Hamish Rutherford’s maiden first-class victim on the final day, he had scored 274 – one short of the magic number. It left him with the Bradmanesque average of 99.94 at The Oval.Only five men have managed a three-figure average on a single ground, given as many as Pope’s 18 completed innings. New Zealand’s Devon Conway currently averages 103.07 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, while that man Don Bradman averaged 103.17 in Melbourne. Vijay Merchant scored 5060 runs at 105.41 at the Brabourne Stadium in Bombay, while George Headley averaged 105.42 at Melbourne Park in Kingston, Jamaica. But the overall leader is something of a surprise: India’s Ashok Mankad averaged 106.30 at the Wankhede Stadium in Bombay, with 12 centuries (including two doubles) from 37 innings, 14 of them not out.What’s the highest score by someone in their first IPL match? asked Muammar Ahmed from India
The highest debut score came on the very first night of the IPL, back in April 2008, when Brendon McCullum smashed 158 not out, from 73 balls with 13 sixes, for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru. It remains the second-highest score in the IPL, behind Chris Gayle’s 175 not out (66 balls, 17 sixes) for RCB against Pune Warriors, also in Bengaluru, in April 2013.The only other debut century was by Michael Hussey, with 116 not out for Chennai Super Kings against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali in April 2008. That was also in the inaugural season of the IPL, when obviously many players made their debuts: other notable scores came from Shaun Marsh (84), James Hopes and Graeme Smith (71), Swapnil Asnodkar (60) and Gautam Gambhir (58).If we leave aside that initial season, the highest first-up scores since have been Owais Shah’s 58 not out for KKR against Deccan Chargers in Mumbai in March 2010, Devdutt Padikkal’s 56 for RCB against Sunrisers in Dubai in September 2020, and Ambati Rayudu’s 55 for Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai in March 2010, the day after Shah’s knock.The best bowling figures on debut are also the best in IPL history: the West Indian fast bowler Alzarri Joseph’s 6 for 12 for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers in Hyderabad in April 2019. Oddly, Joseph has so far played only two more IPL games – and failed to take a wicket in either of them. In the last, a week after his stunning debut, his three overs against Rajasthan Royals disappeared for 53.Where does Chris Cooke’s unbeaten 205 come in the list of highest scores by a wicketkeeper-captain? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England
Glamorgan’s captain – and wicketkeeper – Chris Cooke made a career-best undefeated 205 in a run fest against Surrey at The Oval last week, in the final round of 2021 County Championship matches. Meritorious as it was, Cooke’s innings is a little way down the list of the highest scores by keeper-captains, which is headed by the Australian Billy Murdoch, who made 321 for New South Wales against Victoria in Sydney in 1881-82. The only higher score than Cooke’s in the Championship is 266, by Dane Vilas for Lancashire against Glamorgan – captained, as it happened, by Cooke – in Colwyn Bay in 2019.The Test record is 224, by India’s MS Dhoni, against Australia in Chennai in 2012-13. The only other Test double-century by a keeper-captain came only a few days later, when Mushfiqur Rahim hit 200 for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka in Galle. There have been only 14 other hundreds: for the list, click here.Ollie Pope’s current average at The Oval, after his last innings against Glamorgan, is 99.94•Getty Images for Surrey CCCHow many men have been run out for 99 in a Test? asked Raju Suresh from India
Sixteen men have now suffered this fate in a Test. The first was the Australian opener Bill Brown, against India in Melbourne in 1947-48 (this was not one of the occasions he was famously run out at the bowler’s end). And the most recent instance involved another Australian, Shaun Marsh, also against India in Melbourne, in 2014-15. It’s also happened five times in one-day internationals.Rikki Clarke, who has just retired, played his last Test match as long ago as 2003. Has anyone played on longer in first-class cricket after their final Test? asked Mick O’Brien from England
The long-serving Surrey allrounder Rikki Clarke, who has retired just short of his 40th birthday, played two Tests for England, against Bangladesh in 2003-04. He signed off with 55 in the second match, in Chittagong (now Chattogram).Clarke played on for almost 18 years after his final Test, which is especially notable as he was a county regular for all the remaining time. There are around 40 men with longer apres-Test careers, but few of them were regular players by the end. One such was Warwickshire’s Willie Quaife, who played his last Test in 1901-02, but carried on at county level until 1928, when he was 56 (he scored a century in his only match, after a full season in 1927). Two others have longer spans: Lord Harris captained England in his fourth and final Test, against Australia at The Oval in 1884, and turned out for Kent against the Indian tourists at Catford 27 years later in 1911, aged 60 – but he had not played regular county cricket since the mid-1880s.The overall leader is the legendary Indian CK Nayudu, whose last Test was at The Oval in August 1936: he played a first-class match well over 27 years later, in Nagpur in November 1963, not long after his 68th birthday; he had been a Ranji Trophy regular until 1956-57, when he was 61.Clarke’s last match was the run-soaked encounter mentioned above, against Glamorgan at The Oval. Showing a wry sense of humour, Clarke tweeted after the second day, having fielded through Glamorgan’s total of 672: “Didn’t have 177 overs in the dirt planned for my last game.”Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Coach Pierre de Bruyn elated with the fight shown by his team to make the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup

Firdose Moonda22-Oct-2021Namibia is a country of 2.5 million people, nine cricket fields, five cricket clubs and 16 contracted players. And they’ve made it to the Super 12s of a T20 World Cup.Along the way, they’ve won their first-ever major tournament match and they’ve beaten a Full Member. Over the next three weeks, they will play against four others and they have automatically secured a spot at the next T20 World Cup too. Their performances will get people talking about the deserts and the desolate landscapes of the country they call home; a place where you can drive for hundreds of kilometres and not see another soul; of Africa’s last colony, with no major cricketing achievements to its name until now.Watch the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup on ESPN+

Sign up for ESPN+ in the US and catch all the action from the Men’s T20 World Cup. Match highlights of Namibia’s historic victory is available here in English, and here in Hindi (US only).

“It’s a dream that’s come true. These players were six and seven year-old boys, dreaming of playing against teams like India and Pakistan. That dream has come true,” Pierre de Bruyn, Namibia’s coach said. “All they had in the last few years was to watch these guys on TV and dream about it. They will wake up knowing it’s real. I am just so pleased for them. I don’t think people really know how limited we are. We are not a cricket organisation with a luxury of great resources.”That’s no understatement. Two years ago, the Namibian national men’s team only had three contracted players. When they secured ODI status in April 2019, they were able to get 13 more. They still don’t have a stadium to call their own and play home games at a club ground, The Wanderers (not the one you think you know). De Bruyn, who has been coaching them from the start of that year, still lives in Centurion and commutes to Windhoek as often as needed. They don’t have a full time physiotherapist, a full-time strength and conditioning coach or a full-time team manager and between November 2019, when they qualified for this tournament and April 2021, they had no official fixtures.The Covid-19 pandemic would not have helped, of course, but it meant Namibia had no match-time against the kind of teams they would face at this event. “But, we’ve got a saying that we’ve got to find a way,” de Bruyn said. And they did.One of the first things de Bruyn did was to rope in an old friend, Albie Morkel, albeit also on a part-time basis, to join the coaching staff. “He is a guy I wanted from the start. We’ve known each other for more than 20 years and his expertise and calmness was something I thought we could use.”The next thing was to organise matches as often as they could. In the build-up to the T20 World Cup, Namibia hosted Uganda, a Zimbabwean Emerging side, a South African Emerging side and two South African domestic teams, the Titans, captained by the country’s Test skipper Dean Elgar, and the Knights. Namibia beat all those sides.David Wiese is congratulated by his team-mates•ICC via GettyAnd finally, they sought out a headliner: South African allrounder, David Wiese, who qualified to play for them through ancestry. Wiese’s father was born in Namibia and he had initially thought of playing for them early on in his career. Then, the Proteas happened. He went with them to the 2016 T20 World Cup and thought he would become established in the side but never did. He signed a Kolpak deal and when that system ended, started a journeyman T20 league career earning high status in the Pakistan Super League and the CPL.He had never played for Namibia before this tournament but in three matches, has put in two award-winning performances, though he did suggest that his accolade against Ireland should have gone to the Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus for his unbeaten 53 off 49 balls. “It was an unbelievable captain’s knock under pressure,” Wiese told the television broadcasters. “I’ll accept it but today’s his moment. They (the team) have put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes and they deserve every success.”Wiese’s modesty does not reflect his value to the team so far. After they were bowled out for their joint-lowest total in a T20I against Sri Lanka, 96, he scored a half-century to help them complete their highest successful chase against Netherlands. Then, he took 2 for 22, to keep Ireland to 125 for 8 on a slow Sharjah track before plundering 28 off 14 balls to accelerate the Namibian chase just as it may have stagnated. There were stages in their reply when it seemed that the pressure was growing on them, but for de Bruyn, the result was barely in doubt.”Our planning going into this game was calm. The conditions suit us. That’s what we get back home. We had a solid game plan and we made sure we stick with that game plan,” he said. “It was quite simple: don’t leave the stumps, play straight and take it deep. I think where Ireland got it wrong was after that powerplay, a devastating powerplay (Ireland were 55 for 0), the next four overs, they fell asleep. We just knew we had to take it deep, rotate hard, we ran much better between the wickets. The planning was something we discussed and also the opposition analysis.”Now, de Bruyn will have other opposition to analyse, a task he relishes as Namibia enter a tough Super 12 group. Although there may not be any expectations that they will progress further, the monetary gains from getting this far will make a significant difference to their ability to develop further. “We didn’t mind that [underdog] tag coming in but we had a lot to lose. We didn’t accept that we would have nothing to lose because financially it makes a big difference. We can upskill and we can invest a little,” de Bruyn said.They can also show some of the bigger nations what they are made of. “We are going into Group B as the underdogs and those guys will look at us and maybe see us as a pushover. We’ve shown the cricketing world over the last week that we are not a pushover. We are going to keep on competing, regardless of the results.”Because they’ve got 2.5 million dreams to live out in a different desert.

They dismantled Pakistan with pace, persistence, a hint of movement, and more than a hint of pent-up frustration

Alex Malcolm23-Mar-2022Finally. After 13 days of backbreaking toil in this series. After 13 days of waiting for the pitches to do something. After 13 days of hoping the chosen ball would reverse. After 13 days of relentless but slow run-scoring. After 13 days of watching hard-earned nicks hit the turf.Finally, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc said enough is enough and took matters into their own hands. They huffed and they puffed and they blew away Pakistan’s batting line-up with sheer pace, persistence, a hint of movement, and more than a hint of pent-up frustration to put Australia in command.Cummins became just the fourth Australian quick in history to take a five-wicket haul in Pakistan. Starc became just the third quick in the series to bag four wickets or more in an innings. Pakistan lost eight wickets for 54 runs in 30 overs to hand Australia a critical 134-run lead with two days to go.It was a Herculean effort from Australia’s two fast men.At one stage in the afternoon, it looked like an impossible task. Lahore’s surface was offering precious little. Azhar Ali and Babar Azam’s bats looked as broad as ever after Abdullah Shafique had again batted for what felt like days. There were very few signs of the prodigious reverse-swing that Naseem Shah had extracted the previous day.Australia had frivolously burnt three reviews, two in pure hope and exasperation that they might not hit another pad for days despite neither looking close to out.Steven Smith had dropped three catches, one each of Shafique, Azhar and Babar. None were easy, though, all incredibly difficult given how close to the batter he has stood at times, but all told he has missed six chances in a series where chances have been few and far between.

At one stage midway through the 13th day of the series, all five of Australia’s bowlers were striking at more than 100 for the tour and Starc’s wicket tally of three was level with direct-hit run-outs for the series

Nathan Lyon bowled 30 overs unchanged for little reward. He did claim Shafique thanks to Australia’s only successful review, scratching the outside edge of his broad bat with one that went straight on. He could have had Babar too, who drove hard out of the footmarks and edged fine of the wrong-footed Smith at slip. Mitchell Swepson too produced a chance off Azhar – which Smith was unable to grasp – but was unable to extract much else as the surface offered less spin than the one in Karachi.At one stage midway through the 13th day of the series, all five of Australia’s bowlers were striking at more than 100 for the tour and Starc’s wicket tally of three was level with direct-hit run-outs for the series.Australia needed a lion in Lahore and they found one in their captain. Out of nowhere, in a short burst at Azhar, Cummins induced a false stroke. A well-struck drive that was not kept down. Cummins fell to his left in his follow-through, reached to his right, and plucked a stunning catch. He threw it in the air as he rolled to the ground and finished on his knees roaring with delight.”That’s why he’s No. 1 in the world,” Starc would say of Cummins after the day’s play. “He started it for us.”Australia had an opening.Cummins threw Starc the ball post-tea with Fawad Alam far from settled and Starc rammed his way through with sheer will.This wasn’t the spectacular high-velocity reverse-swing that he showed in the first innings in Karachi. Instead, it was a showcase of his fitness and willpower. Starc can be maligned for his sometimes wild radar and his lean spells as he had experienced on this tour as well. But one thing he is given very little credit for is his ability to sustain 140kph speeds across a backbreaking series. His pace has never dropped during this arduous tour. And it didn’t on the 13th day. He finally got the reward when he delivered the perfect length and line to Alam with a hint of reverse-swing back to crash through a gaping gate between bat and pad and smash into off stump.Pat Cummins held a stunning return catch to remove Azhar Ali•AFPStarc smelt blood in the water. He trumped that delivery to Alam with an even better one to remove Mohammad Rizwan. From around the wicket, he again hit the perfect length, angling towards off stump and tailing away a touch to beat the outside edge and crash into the top of off.”It’s having a really calm approach,” Starc said. “Patty’s been fantastic in his captaincy. There have been times where they’ve built partnerships and played really nicely. It’s about staying calm and not letting that scoreboard get out of control and take our chances and moments when they come.”Pakistan’s tail was now exposed and Cummins sensed the moment. He brought himself back on in tandem with Starc and in 20 deliveries they took 5 for 4.Cummins and Starc ratted the stumps twice more and thundered into the front pads of Nauman Ali and Babar. Starc pinning Pakistan’s captain on 67 was proof that no one could stop Australia’s steam train from running down the track. Not even DRS could overturn this one as it was just clipping the outside of leg stump.Only one of the nine wickets the duo took required a fielder’s assistance, with Smith taking a nice low catch of Hasan Ali at first slip having moved back to a conventional position behind Alex Carey.”Once we get a sniff we want to try and ram that home,” Starc said. “So to work in a fantastic partnership for those few overs is what we’re about.”For the second Test running, Australia have done the hard yards to set up the game in their favour and they can thank Cummins and Starc for it. Now they need to finish the job.

Philosophy of Mott’s record-breaking Australian sides aligns with England’s attacking mindset

Matt Roller18-May-2022Pushing boundaries, hitting boundariesEngland’s white-ball revolution has been defined by aggressive batting and Mott has encouraged positivity throughout his coaching career. In the 50-over World Cup earlier this year, his Australia side made three of the four 300-plus totals, including a tournament-high 356 for 5 in the final against England. Before Mott’s appointment, they had never made 200 in a T20I; between March 2018 and October 2019, they did so four times.”I thrived under him,” Mark Wallace, who captained Glamorgan during two of Mott’s three seasons as coach, tells ESPNcricinfo. “I was a very standard county keeper who would bat at No. 7 but Motty came over and saw my strength was to play in a certain way: basically, to try and whack anything wide through the off side.Related

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“He told me to keep doing that and that if you get out a few times, that’s fine, but don’t put your strength aside because you might nick a few to the keeper or slash a few to gully. I ended up having some of my best seasons under Motty. He was brilliant for me as a cricketer.”Mott took a similar approach when working as Ireland’s assistant coach at the 2015 World Cup. “We had myself, [Ed] Joyce, [William] Porterfield, [Paul] Stirling, Kev [O’Brien], [Gary] Wilson – experienced players who knew what we were capable of,” recalls Niall O’Brien. “But he instilled confidence in that line-up to go out and play shots.”He challenged us to think big. We knew that playing in Australia, getting 260 wasn’t going to be good enough so he challenged us to get 300; we were definitely more aggressive as a batting unit in that tournament.”Against West Indies in Nelson, Ireland chased down 305 with 4.1 overs to spare, with O’Brien scoring 79 not out at nearly double his ODI career strike rate. “It was very evident that the boys were trusting their ability because we’d been backed to take teams down,” he adds.Mott will lead England’s transition away from the Morgan era•ICC via Getty ImagesManaging transitionMott has signed a four-year contract with England and his biggest long-term task will be breaking up the core of players who have spearheaded the white-ball sides’ transformation since 2015 – not least captain Eoin Morgan, who turns 36 before the T20 World Cup in Australia this winter.”The decision-making process was about finding someone who wasn’t going to come in and disrupt that environment – they have a very strong leader in Eoin Morgan – but also [someone who can] subtly enhance it along the way,” Key said. “And then whenever there is a transition in leadership, they are the right person to take it into the next era and Matthew Mott came out on top of the list for that.Australia’s women were reigning world champions in both 50-over and 20-over cricket when Mott was appointed and Key drew a comparison between their situation in 2015 and England’s men now. “What he has been able to do with them, I don’t think should be underestimated. He has made the gap greater between the rest of the pack in the women’s game and there’s a lot to be said for that.”He added that Morgan’s “philosophy” had filtered into the English system to such an extent that they were blessed with “a whole production line – of batsmen in particular – that play in that style”. Key said: “The coach is the one that has to be smart to work out who to invest in in the future. I think we’ve got the right person in Matthew.”Mott (left) spent three years at Glamorgan working with Wallace (centre)•PA Images/GettyRole clarityWorking closely with Meg Lanning, Mott has made a point of giving players clear roles in the Australia side and has been willing to change a winning side when conditions or circumstances dictate: against New Zealand in the World Cup, the experienced Jess Jonassen was left out to fit two legspinners and an out-and-out quick into the side.At Glamorgan, Mott used Simon Jones – the former England seamer – as a middle-overs enforcer in what proved to be his final season; he was not at his destructive best but chipped in with 10 wickets as they reached the YB40 final in 2013, their first one-day final for nine years.”He wanted to fit his players into a style and give them clarity to play in those roles,” Wallace explains. “[Jones] was given a role of bowling in the middle of the innings and trying to take wickets; nowadays, that seems like something that every team does but back then it was slightly different. It gave the batting side something to think about, especially being Simon Jones and with the name behind him and created a little bit more jeopardy in the middle of the innings.”Mott has been particularly analytical in his approach to T20 cricket, with the decision to omit Ellyse Perry for the Ashes T20Is against England informed by her sluggish strike rate. “Now we have this depth in Australian women’s cricket, we are able to make some more specific decisions,” Mott said.Perry was not considered to be part of Australia’s full-strength top three, and her scoring rate made her a poor fit for the middle order. “It’s not necessarily about picking the best batters in those No. 5, 6 and 7 spots… it’s the players with the ability to score 15 runs off 10 balls,” Mott explained. The parallel with Ben Stokes, whose T20I career has never really taken off, is clear.Mott was “very keen for team morale and camaraderie” at the 2015 World Cup, Niall O’Brien says•Getty ImagesTeam cultureNick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s CEO, immediately highlighted the culture that Mott had created around the side when paying him tribute. “[Mott] has played an instrumental role in the success of our incredible women’s team,” he said, “driving a team-first mentality and creating an environment that’s allowed the players to blossom into some of the world’s leading cricketers.”Shortly before the 2015 World Cup, Phil Simmons handed an Ireland training session over to Mott. “We didn’t do any cricket: he took us on a walk from Coogee down to Bondi,” O’ Brien recalls. “I remember thinking, ‘this is an absolute joke – we’ve got a World Cup game in five days’ time’ but it was actually a beautiful walk and we sat down as a squad and had some brunch.”Everyone sat around and thought, ‘you know what, we’re lucky to be here. This is a pretty good life.’ That took a little bit of the pressure off heading into a major tournament and it shows that he was flexible in how he wanted to do things. Motty was very keen for team morale and camaraderie, sitting around and having a drink at the end of a game.”That attitude was apparent in the early days of his coaching career. In the build-up to the inaugural IPL season, as Kolkata Knight Riders’ assistant coach, Mott was concerned about the form of Brendon McCullum – his new Test counterpart – and spent some one-on-one time with him in the nets.After an hour, “Mott decided to abandon the session and instead took McCullum to the hotel bar for a beer,” Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde write in . “That seemed to relax him: he scored 40 and 50 in consecutive warm-up matches… suddenly he felt like he belonged at the crease again.” Days later, he blitzed 158 not out off 73 balls.Lanning and Mott pose with the World Cup trophy•ICC/Getty ImagesLiving up to expectationsThe days of England going into major tournaments as no-hopers are long gone and there is a minimum expectation that they should reach at least the semi-finals of every World Cup they enter; despite the absences of several key players through injury, losing to New Zealand in the T20 World Cup semi-finals last year seemed like a major opportunity missed.Expectations were high throughout Mott’s tenure with Australia and he has experienced both sides, with shock defeats in the 2016 World T20 final and 2017 World Cup semi-final preceding victory in the 2018 and 2020 T20 World Cups and the 2022 ODI World Cup.Mott has admitted feeling “embarrassment” after the semi-final defeat against India in 2017 and used that game as an opportunity for a reset in the team’s culture and style of play, encouraging players to embrace their favourites tag. “Expectation is a good thing because it means you’re going pretty well as a team,” he said.In 2020, the prospect of selling out the T20 World Cup final at the MCG added another layer of scrutiny. “It was relentless,” Mott told . “Everywhere we went, everyone felt a duty to promote the final, even though we weren’t comfortable saying we’d be there.”In practice, they made the third-highest total of the tournament (184 for 4) against India – the first of consecutive dominant performances when batting first in World Cup finals. Australia’s ability to cope under pressure with Mott at the helm bodes well for England.Rob Key talks to the press•Adam Davy/PA Photos/Getty ImagesPlaying second fiddleKey made clear in a press conference on Wednesday that Mott will have to accept that there are occasions when England’s white-ball teams will be a lower priority compared to their Test side.”We made it very clear how it was going to work: at times, you may not get your best side – especially in the white-ball at the start,” Key said. “I’ll be very clear to the selectors and the coaches which series have precedence over the others at that point… we’ll try to be flexible with it but it will start from the top and head down.”Mott will face that challenge straightaway in his tenure: his first series, visa-permitting, will be England’s three ODIs in Amstelveen against the Netherlands which are jammed into the schedule between the second and third Tests against New Zealand, meaning no multi-format players will feature.That said, Mott himself was quick to recognise the divergence between formats in the modern era. When asked about the prospects of split coaches back in 2010, while working as an assistant coach for Australia at the men’s World T20, he was quoted by the as saying: “My personal opinion is that it’s going to go that way… the games are moving further and further apart.”

The answer might depend on whether they are looking for short-term gains or if they have a bigger picture in mind

Sidharth Monga20-Aug-2022Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams are the best batters in this Zimbabwe XI. Not just now. They have been among the best over the last ten years. Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Ervine and Elton Chigumbura haven’t played – or didn’t play – as much as them in this period.Raza and Williams are also the most experienced batters in this Zimbabwe side.Now, in a top side, in normal conditions that ODIs are played in, it would be admirable for the two senior batters to take up the most difficult role in 50-overs games: when the field goes out, when the ball becomes soft, and scoring becomes difficult.Zimbabwe, however, are a side that has been struggling for runs from the top order. Even during their two superb chases of 291 and 304 against Bangladesh, they got off to abysmal starts. They have had scores of 31 for 4, 31 for 4, 18 for 4, 49 for 4, 6 for 2, 42 for 4 and 47 for 2 in their last seven ODIs. The early-morning starts and the movement for the first hour or so during this series have further compounded their top-order problems.Related

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India’s new-ball spells in both matches – aided by the movement available to them – have been top-notch. It is not hard to imagine more accomplished batters getting out to what was on offer. Zimbabwe’s problems, though, have extended to contests against Bangladesh and Afghanistan too.You watch from outside and the first thing you notice is that their best batters are batting too low. Always firefighting with little left after them. In such a situation and these conditions, you wonder if it would pay to have one or both of your best batters take charge and bat in the top order and let the newer batters ease themselves into international cricket. Right now, in these conditions, top three is the more difficult place to bat. There is more impact to be made there.However, it is not as straightforward as that. You can see why Zimbabwe might want to have some meat down the order. They don’t want to be in a position where if their best batters get out to the new ball, the rest just fold. They will point to the two chases against Bangladesh where the presence of quality down the order helped them recover.It can also be argued that what is at the top is the future of Zimbabwe cricket, and Raza and Williams were even being moved on before Dave Houghton took over as the coach. So pushing them up is not the long-term solution Zimbabwe are looking for. To make them bat out of position can be counterproductive. Raza last batted in the top three in List A cricket in 2015, and Williams in 2019.It is a difficult to be a decision-maker. Houghton recently told ESPNcricinfo that if you pick ten other best cricketers from among the domestic franchises, the ability will be hardly any different. So it is perhaps for the best that they stick with the guys who are struggling so that they can learn from their experience and be part of long-term solutions.Then again, it is tempting to wonder what if one of the two seniors were batting with them before it got to 29 for 3.

At the same time, having given so much to England, it is understandable he has chosen to sacrifice himself in less painful ways

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Aug-2022Ben Stokes isn’t one for soundbites. But on the eve of his sixth Test as the full-time men’s captain, one which England need to win to square the series with South Africa, he leant on what is becoming a familiar crutch.”I would never ask my team to do something I wouldn’t”.It is an admirable stance for a skipper to take, and perhaps Stokes is in the unique position as an allrounder where he can act it out. The short-ball tactic England employ – with mixed results – is basically all on him, as it was in the previous regime under Joe Root.With age, the effects of these bumper spells, the extra effort, and the multiplying force put through that front leg wear a little heavier, particularly on his left knee. However, such is his belligerence that even concern from good friend and former England cricketer Steve Harmison was dismissed as unnecessary. “It is something I can manage.”Related

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Interestingly, discussions on how he bowls himself and the associated risks did not elicit the familiar nugget. It was his batting: particularly the almost cavalier approach to the craft he has adopted under Brendon McCullum. There are shades of the Kiwi’s familiar two-step down the ground routine in among some outrageous shots that, so far, have reaped 259 runs at an average of 37 in this summer’s home Tests.It is not bad, but certainly short of his capabilities. There was a period from the start of 2019 to the end of 2020 when it seemed we were entering a new era of Stokes, the batter: he averaged 50 across 18 Tests, with four hundreds among them. At times, he looked the most technically accomplished in the line-up, which is saying something, given he sits next to Root.And yet at the same time, to focus on numbers and aesthetics is to miss the point. Stokes’ method, however madcap, is his way of embodying the extreme of how he wants the batting line-up to operate.Ben Stokes’ belligerence has had mixed results, but created a noteworthy turnaround and comeback wins•Stu Forster/Getty Images”I know when I play well it’s very good for the team,” he answered when asked if, perhaps, there is a regression to the norm. “Me being the leader, I would never ask my team to do something I wouldn’t, but there’s a bigger picture to that if that makes sense.”I’m sure there will come a time when it does have to mellow down a little bit but at this time right now, I feel I’ve got a big responsibility to be that person hitting the message home and almost people watching going like ‘he’s able to go out and do that in a difficult situation’.”If you will allow for some extrapolation with wildly different sample sizes, Stokes’ mantra is clear to see. Overall, he attacks deliveries twice as often as he did across the three home summers between 2019 and 2021. The biggest expansion is the approach to full deliveries, going after them 42.42% of the time compared to 11.54% in the above period.Similarly, he is striking length balls more than twice as often. It is no surprise his strike rate of 78.72 is comfortably his highest in an English season.After a trio of scores – 54, 46 and 75 not out – in his first four knocks of the summer, there have been plenty of starts that in the old days of a few months ago would have been filed under “thrown away”. Their purposes, however, were not for nothing, either shocking bowlers and the field for the benefit of the guy at the other end, or coming in next.Even the twin 20s in the innings defeat at Lord’s had a little more to them: the first innings a necessary counter, the second a hit-out as the last viable option for victory before being caught at midwicket trying to strike Kagiso Rabada for a six, thus becoming the ninth wicket to fall.”It’s about the language we speak as well in the group to set the tone of what we’re about,” Stokes on England’s approach•Getty ImagesMaybe because cricket is like this, but it is hard not to wince at the thought of Stokes wanting to be the canary down the mine, given he strikes gold so often. At the same time, having given so much of himself to England over the years and still only coming away with sub-par results – one win in 17, anyone? – perhaps it is understandable that he has chosen to sacrifice himself in other, slightly less painful ways.And it is certainly working to a point, with four wins and an overall run rate of 4.50 which is the highest of any team to play five or more games in a season.Ahead of the second Test against South Africa, nursing a 0-1 scoreline, Stokes took the opportunity to talk the talk once more, fully aware he will walk it from 11am on Thursday, and hopefully get others to follow as resolutely as they had before.”It’s about the language we speak as well in the group to set the tone of what we’re about, because when you are up against the wall – as we were in the first innings – it’s a lot easier to take a step back and go into your shell a bit more,” he said.”That’s something we don’t want to creep into this team at the moment. That game in particular we all hold our hands up and know we didn’t perform to where we wanted to, and there will be occasions when similar situations happen. But if they go out there with the confidence of having the backing of the dressing room is very powerful I feel.”Indeed, this match feels like more of an acid test than last week. Then it was about seeing how much of the ethos sustained after a long break. Now it will be about how much those players still believe after a first defeat.As for Stokes? Well, he might find himself in an interesting conundrum. Because as much as he still wants to lead the way, doing so here, with the series on the line, might require a more selfish approach.