“Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya knocked on my door and gave me a big hug and they asked for a big treat”

Shashank Kishore18-Feb-2021K Gowtham, the offspin-bowling allrounder, had just landed in Ahmedabad with the Indian team and had settled into his hotel room when his name came up for bidding at the IPL 2021 auction. Having been released by the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) after just the one season, he was anxious, pacing up and down as the bids kept flying. By the end of it, after a tug of war, he was with the Chennai Super Kings, for INR 9.25 crore (US$ 1,273,000 approx.).That made him the most expensive uncapped Indian cricketer at an IPL auction, surpassing Krunal Pandya’s INR 8.8 crore by the Mumbai Indians in 2018.Related

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“It was nerve-wracking, I was very anxious, watching on TV,” Gowtham told ESPNcricinfo soon after he had found a new team. “We’d just landed in Ahmedabad and I’d just switched on the TV and my name came up. Emotions were changing every minute. Then, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya knocked on my door and gave me a big hug and they asked for a big treat.”It was a very happy moment, we were all smiles, it was like having my family with me at that very moment. They were all so happy for me.”Gowtham’s base price was INR 20 lakh, and he was quickly the focus of a fierce bidding war between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Sunrisers Hyderabad, before the Super Kings swooped in with a late bid. Some 1400 kilometres away in Bengaluru, Gowtham’s parents and wife were on the other side of a video call soon after it was confirmed that he would be part of MS Dhoni’s team. “My parents had tears, happy tears,” Gowtham said. “It’s hard to describe that feeling. It’s all just sinking in. Obviously this isn’t the first time I’ve been part of the auction but every time your name comes up, the kind of butterflies in your tummy is unimaginable. So they were equally eager and anxious to see me. But I think towards the end, they were also very happy. I could see that.”

“I’ve managed to chat with him a couple of times, haven’t really had long chats, they have just been short and simple. I’m waiting to now join the set-up and have many fruitful conversations with him. It’s an exciting feeling to play for CSK”K Gowtham can’t wait to pick MS Dhoni’s brains

For Gowtham, being part of the Super Kings is thrilling enough, but playing under Dhoni “will be unbelievable”. Three years ago, he had queued up with a few other uncapped players to get his bat signed by Dhoni after an IPL game. It was somewhat like his first meeting Shane Warne, when he joined the Rajasthan Royals in 2018. When Warne linked up with the team, Gowtham expected nothing more than a few pleasantries. Instead, he was welcomed with “KG, you’re my spin project for this IPL!” With Dhoni, though, chats have so far been very limited, and he can’t wait for more.”The first time I met him, I asked MS what I needed to do to take my game to the next level,” Gowtham recalled. He can’t remember what Dhoni told him because he was so star-struck, but the autographed bat remains a prized possession. “It was a fanboy moment. After that, I’ve managed to chat with him a couple of times, haven’t really had long chats, they have just been short and simple. I’m waiting to now join the set-up and have many fruitful conversations with him. It’s an exciting feeling to play for CSK.”K Gowtham is currently with the Indian Test team as a net bowler•PTI The auction is the latest episode in what has been a massive surge in Gowtham’s career lately. At 32, he’s still uncapped, but continues to remain on the fringes of the Indian team. He’s currently a net bowler with the national team for the England Test series, and is an India A regular. At the IPL, he’s been part of the Royals for two seasons and had a very brief stint with the Punjab side – where he featured in just two games – before being released.”It was tough sitting out, yes there weren’t too many opportunities, but I tried to make the most of my time,” he said. “You’re in a bubble, you’re restricted in a way, you have just a few things to focus on and when you’re not playing it can get tough. But I worked on my fitness, worked hard on improving my skills in the nets and making the most of learning from Anil Kumble and other senior coaches so that I could be ready whenever the opportunities comes. That is the kind of person I am, you have to keep learning and improving every day.”His confidence and understanding of his game and circumstances is very different from five years ago, when he was full of self-doubt, not knowing if cricket would give him a proper chance. He had been reported for a suspect action that needed remodeling, he was not even deemed good enough to be part of his state team Karnataka when his bowling action was deemed legal. It hasn’t been easy, but he has made it work.”That’s the aim, keep giving your best. Every day is a new opportunity,” he said philosophically. “My aim is to be a better version of my previous self. Day by day, keep getting better. It’s just that simple.”

Breaking into this white-ball side is a tough task, but this was a bid for highest honours

Matt Roller16-Jul-2021Imagine you’re a national selector or a franchise’s general manager. Who is your dream T20 player?Ideally, he’d be an allrounder who can offer something with the bat, the ball, and in the field. He’s got experience in five different global leagues, slotting into teams and adapting to several different conditions. He prefers batting at the top of the order, but is just as comfortable in the middle. He’s a gun fielder in the outfield. He offers you a bowling option in all three phases of an innings. Oh, and he can bowl offbreaks and legbreaks in the same over.England’s fringe players have long described their white-ball teams as the hardest sports teams to get into in the world but Liam Livingstone is bucking the trend. As the T20 World Cup comes into view, he has locked in a seat on the plane – his versatility means that he is the ultimate squad player – but it is increasingly hard to see how they can leave him out of their starting XI.”T20 cricket at Trent Bridge is pure entertainment,” Ben Stokes tweeted as England were going round the park. Eoin Morgan noted afterwards that it would provide them with ideal preparation for any World Cup games hosted at Sharjah later this year, where the average score batting first in the 2020 IPL was 178 and the boundaries are equally short.Due to a quirk of scheduling, Trent Bridge had not hosted a T20 international since 2012, but in the intervening time Nottinghamshire have embraced the carnage and blitzed their way to two Vitality Blast titles in the last four years, while England’s ODI gunslingers have twice broken the world record here. With one square boundary of 57 metres and a pitch flatter than the Radcliffe Road, this was T20 after three double vodka-Red Bulls, simultaneously doubling the heart rate and removing any inhibitions.Livingstone arrived at the crease – with a new bleach-blond haircut emulating Paul Gascoigne and Phil Foden – in the fifth over, with England 48 for 3 in a chase of 233 and after conceding 24 from his two overs of all-sorts spin. Jason Roy was flying on 30 off 10 balls, but they were scoring below the rate and losing wickets. The old-school method would be to nudge the ball around and get Roy on strike as much as possible, but Livingstone is as modern as they come.Related

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His fourth ball brought a stroke of luck. Looking to heave Haris Rauf into the leg side, he offered a chance to Mohammad Hasnain via a thick outside edge, but he could only parry him over the rope at deep third. Seizing his moment, Livingstone took a deep breath, then nailed the next two balls for four and six through square leg.Immediately after the powerplay, Pakistan turned to Shadab Khan, who had enjoyed some success against Livingstone in their PSL meetings (36 balls, 35 runs, two dismissals). But one of Livingstone’s great strengths is his ability to play with a clear mind: he was greeted by two drag-downs, and mowed both of them into the stands. In his next over, his eyes lit up once more: a wristy thump down the ground, a pull for four through midwicket and a swipe over long-off, bringing up England’s fastest T20I fifty – off 17 balls – in the process.There was, briefly, some respite. From 61 off 20 balls, Livingstone hit nine of his next ten for singles, occasionally losing his shape as Pakistan’s seamers found a hint of reverse-swing thanks to the ball getting scuffed after flying into the stands, and Shadab hid the ball wide outside his off stump.Then, with a whip through midwicket off the exceptional Mohammad Hasnain, he was back, turning 70 off 30 into a 42-ball hundred. Any error in execution from the seamers was met with a crack of the wrists or a free swing of the arms and when he slugged Shadab over long-on to reach his hundred, he refused even to smile, thumping the England badge on his chest with 50 still needed off 22 balls. He holed out to long-on one ball later and dragged his feet as he trudged off, but this was not a night for regrets.Livingstone’s improvement since his first two T20I appearances in 2017 has been stark and he is clear in his convictions that he has come a long way since then. He represents much of what is right about the English game: born in Cumbria, developed by Lancashire, refined in global leagues and returning to international cricket as a vastly-improved player to the version first seen four years ago. Morgan described it as equal to any innings he had seen from an England player in the last six years and there was no evidence of hyperbole.The challenge now is how to fit him into a first-choice England team, with so many batters fighting for a handful of spots and with Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes both missing tonight’s game through injury. But tonight’s evidence was unequivocal: Livingstone is too good not to play the first game of October’s T20 World Cup.

The England series will be a litmus test for him, but he has already shown that he can adapt his attacking style to the demands of the format

Aakash Chopra28-Jul-2021Rohit Sharma is one of only 15 Indian men to have scored a hundred on Test debut. In fact, he made two centuries in his first two Tests.Since his international path followed a slightly different trajectory from the norm – that is, he got a Test cap only after establishing himself in white-ball cricket – two hundreds in his first two Tests ought to have kick-started an equally promising Test career. His superior batting skills were there for everyone to see. It was only a matter of converting that white-ball form into Test runs, and he did that in style in his first couple of outings.But unfortunately, that’s not how his Test career panned out. He was in and out of the team frequently. In fact, the idea of making him open in Tests, like he did in white-ball cricket, was viewed as the last throw of the dice to revive his career.It worked. So why wasn’t it tried earlier? Also, more importantly, how is a batter who is considered somewhat loose suited to opening the innings in Test cricket?Related

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Of course, his litmus test as an opener is ahead of him – in India’s five Tests in England and three in South Africa, but let’s look at the question about why he wasn’t tried as an opener earlier.Sharma’s style of batting is really attractive and effective but it’s also likely to give you the impression it is a little loose. His feet don’t move much and he has been guilty of reaching out to balls with his hands but not moving his feet enough.Still, can you blame him for playing like that? Scoring in white-ball cricket is all about staying away from the ball and allowing the hands to wield the bat freely. Moving your feet too much can slow you down, and you can’t score double-centuries in ODI cricket if you are slow.His ability to score lots of runs in white-ball cricket seemed to have pigeonholed him as a batter suited to the shorter formats. Every dismissal, attacking or otherwise, was regarded with cynicism and used to build the case that he didn’t have Test match temperament. And to be fair, back then, that belief wasn’t totally misplaced. And so the reluctance to try him at the top.I remember writing myself about Sharma’s struggle with understanding the rhythm of scoring in Tests. He would look like a million dollars – when does he not? – and then he would play a shot that would leave you scratching your head. You would wonder what made him play it when everything was going smoothly. Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn’t playing any first-class cricket because of India’s packed white-ball calendar.So what has changed now? Or more specifically, has something changed in his Test batting?Since he started opening in Tests, there has been a change in his batting. The front-foot stride has become a little longer and the hands are staying closer to the body. Though he didn’t get a big score in the World Test Championship final, he made a sincere effort to modify his game to suit the conditions in both innings. Even while the front-foot stride was significantly longer, he didn’t look to play through the line or on the up. He defended patiently off the front foot, waiting for the ball to be really full or short, and then he cashed in.The WTC final wasn’t an isolated incident illustrating the difference in Sharma’s approach in Tests. His century in Chennai and half-century in Ahmedabad, against England earlier this year, and his double-century in Ranchi against South Africa in October 2019 showed those patterns.Shot-making is at the core of Sharma’s batting, and so balancing caution and aggression is a tightrope walk for him; too much of either can spell trouble.I really enjoyed his approach in Chennai, which was, arguably, one of the most difficult pitches to bat on on day one. For someone as skilful (I’m avoiding the word “talented” here on purpose) as Sharma, there must be an inherent desire to hit your way of trouble. That tends to work very well in white-ball cricket because if you win that battle, you win the war – for that battle the war in limited-overs cricket. But Test cricket follows a different pattern and it looks like Sharma is willing to change tack to suit its demands.Will he never play a loose shot again? He probably will, but when he does, nobody will be passing a verdict on his Test career in a rush. And that will help.Only time will tell whether he will score runs in England and end the debate about his efficiency as a Test opener overseas, but going by the evidence of his recent outings, it’s fair to assume he’ll give it a good shot.

Allrounder bounces back from being dropped after two games for unlikely starring role at No. 3

Matt Roller14-Nov-20213:12

Moody: Credit to Langer and Finch to galvanise this Australian team

Mitchell Marsh stands tall in his stance, collar popped. This is Marsh’s first World Cup final and when the first ball arrives, he is in the midst of a storm: Australia have lost Aaron Finch early on and Adam Milne, New Zealand’s fastest bowler, is ready to test out Marsh’s perceived weakness against hard lengths.Milne bangs his first ball in halfway down at 89mph/144kph, straying on to Marsh’s hips. Glenn Phillips is riding the boundary at deep-backward square-leg and sees Marsh’s pull heading in his direction, then cranes his head to see it fly into the 20th row of the lower tier.Milne’s second ball is quicker and shorter, 92mph/147kph and nipping away off the seam. Marsh rocks on to the back foot, opens the face, and steers it away fine, beating deep third to his left.His third is banged in again, 88mph/141kph and back of a length, and Marsh smears it away on the pull, beating Phillips to his left. In the space of three balls, New Zealand’s early stranglehold has loosened.Related

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Eighty minutes later, Marsh has 77 not out off 50 balls, hitting both of New Zealand’s spinners – once his kryptonite – for towering sixes on his way to the highest score of his T20I career. Glenn Maxwell reverse-sweeps the winning runs and Marsh runs towards him screaming, lifted off his feet in celebration.Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa, his close friends, are the first two Australia players running on and they embrace him like proud parents. “I feel like a lot of people say this but I don’t really have words right now,” Marsh said, on collecting the match award. “What an amazing six weeks with this group of men. I absolutely love ’em to death – and we’re world champs.”Six months ago, Marsh was pulled aside by Australia’s coaching staff at the start of their tour to the Caribbean and told he would be given a chance to bat at No. 3. Even with several senior players missing, it came as a surprise: Marsh had filled the role in the Big Bash but his T20 international opportunities had come as a finisher, with limited success.Cricket on ESPN+

Match highlights of the Men’s T20 World Cup final is available in English, and in Hindi (USA only).

The message was simple: to impose himself on the game and make the most of the opportunity to face fast bowlers in the powerplay. Marsh had worked hard to improve his range against spin and was still dismissed by West Indies’ spinners four times out of five – but his tally of 219 runs, three fifties and a strike rate of 152.08 made him Australia’s player of the series by a distance.His record in Bangladesh – 156 runs off 158 balls in five innings – hinted at a struggle but he was Australia’s leading scorer again, 99 clear of anyone else. On slow, low pitches he found a way to survive against spin after hours of work in the nets against Australia’s spinners. “He’s the one guy at the moment, facing spin, [who] I’m really comfortable about,” Zampa said.Marsh’s emergence – and the management’s hunch that Australia could survive with allrounders as their “fifth” bowler – was enough for them to rip up a long-standing structure of five frontline bowlers, with Marsh given licence to go hard at No. 3. But after an innings of 11 off 17 in their opening game against South Africa and a Thanks For Coming against Sri Lanka, Justin Langer told him he would be left out against England in Dubai.”I politely said ‘no worries, mate’ and walked back into my room,” Marsh told Fox, “and I screamed into my pillow.” With only six specialist batters, Australia were timid, rendered unable to attack after losing early wickets. They were thrashed, losing with 50 balls to spare, and causing Aaron Finch to bemoan their lack of attacking intent. “He was obviously disappointed, but he knew that it wasn’t a performance thing,” Finch said. “It was only a structural change.”Five days later, Marsh was back in the side with licence to attack, with Finch and Langer emphasising their focus on playing “really aggressive” cricket. The cushion of Matthew Wade at No. 7 meant the value of top-order wickets decreased, which Marsh recognised, taking early risks in order to maximise Australia’s powerplay.Mitchell Marsh runs towards old friends Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis to celebrate the win•ICC via Getty ImagesAgainst Bangladesh, he crunched Taskin Ahmed for four then six to seal a crushing win, against West Indies two days later, he hit 53 off 32 balls to confirm qualification. “We were comfortable with being able to fail being aggressive, because we know that’s when we play our best,” Finch said after the final.In the semi-final, Marsh was thrown into the heat of the battle in Shaheen Afridi’s first over, trapped on the pad first ball only for the umpire’s call to save him. After a nervy start, he drove Afridi through extra cover for four, then struck Haris Rauf for six and four in consecutive balls to keep Australia up with the rate.Marsh has never lacked for critics, derided by many as a player whose opportunities have owed as much to his father and his promise as any track record of performance. “Most of Australia hate me,” he laughed two years ago after taking his first Test five-for. “There’s no doubt that I’ve had a lot of opportunity and haven’t quite nailed it, but hopefully they can respect me for the fact I keep coming back… hopefully I’ll win them over one day.””He’s the nicest person you’ll ever meet in your life,” Finch said. “He’s obviously a special player. To be able to put up with the critics for so long when his performances haven’t been bad, by any stretch of the imagination, in any format of the game. For him to keep coming back and keep improving when people keep doubting him shows how much of a quality person he is.”Marsh’s match-winning hand in the final epitomised the tangled process behind Australia’s success: a fortnight ago, he was running the drinks but four games of backing talent, power and aggression to the hilt have seen them lift the trophy. When Australia wakes up on Monday morning, they will have an unlikely new hero.

The New Zealand leggie on advice from Mitchell Santner, his match-winning spell against India, and his friendship with Rashid Khan

Matt Roller06-Nov-2021Two years ago, Ish Sodhi endured one of the most chastening series in T20I history. Over the course of a five-match series against England, he took three wickets in 15 overs and leaked 11.73 runs an over; never before or since has a player bowled more balls in a bilateral T20I series with a worse economy rate.The challenge was brutal, bowling legspin to a destructive batting line-up on some of the smallest international grounds in world cricket, but even so, the figures were damning. At 27 and as a purveyor of a skill where players peak late, Sodhi had time on his side to reflect on what had gone wrong, and sought out his long-time team-mate Mitchell Santner for advice.”I knew his ability to be aggressive and defensive at the same time was something I definitely had to learn from,” Sodhi recalls, speaking to ESPNcricinfo. “We speak about spin bowling quite regularly – I’m probably the one that’s instigating it most of the time, but having the bowler at the other end to bounce ideas off is great.”Since then, Sodhi has improved markedly in T20I cricket, averaging 17.09 with an economy rate of 7.72, despite playing the majority of games at home. The key, he says, has been stopping worrying about emulating others. “I’ve thought about that [England] series quite a lot over the last two years,” he says. “I remember speaking to a few people about it before I came away [to the T20 World Cup] and where the development had come from.

“He’s definitely revolutionised legspin bowling. The way he does it is unique: it’s not so much the old 90s way that we grew up watching – legspin with two fingers up, two fingers down and trying to get drift and dip. He’s very much into the wickets and relentless with his lines and lengths.”Sodhi on Rashid Khan

“If you look at Imran Tahir, Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, all those great legspinners playing a lot of their cricket in Asian conditions, they’re spinning the ball both ways, bringing the stumps into play, I think that’s always been a blueprint for what legspin should look like in T20 cricket. Up until that point, that’s how I based my game in New Zealand – even though most of the time the wickets don’t really allow for much turn.”That series was definitely a reminder that bowling in New Zealand, compared to anywhere else in the world, is unique for any bowler – even more so for a legspin bowler. Playing on small grounds is something we really need to get used to, and it means that having those defensive options is really important. These days in T20 cricket, anyone from No. 1 to 8 or 9 can hit sixes; being a spinner and not having the ability to peg someone back with a bouncer or something like that, it means you have to be really clinical in your lengths.”Sodhi was due to travel to the IPL as Rajasthan Royals’ team liaison officer earlier this year, effectively becoming a standby replacement player and net bowler, but logistical complications meant his winter instead involved a stint at Worcestershire in the T20 Blast. “There were a few things I was working on in the nets over the winter in cold conditions, so it was nice to be able to test those under pressure, and great for my development.”Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner have a bowl in the nets•Getty ImagesIn New Zealand’s opening game of this World Cup, against Pakistan in Sharjah, Sodhi was due to miss out on selection but came into the side at short notice when the ICC confirmed Adam Milne would not be cleared as Lockie Ferguson’s replacement in time; he responded by dismissing Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan.As a result, he kept his place for their must-win game against India in Dubai. He made use of the bigger boundaries, having Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli caught at long-on to return 2 for 17 and take Player-of-the-Match honours on his 29th birthday. “It was quite a cool day,” he says, smiling. “Any time you play against India the atmosphere is pretty grand and there’s a big population of Indians out in Dubai. The way that we played was just fantastic.”After comfortable wins against Scotland and Namibia, New Zealand have set up an effective quarter-final – from their perspective, at least – against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Aside from the pressure of a must-win game and the prospect of semi-final qualification, Sodhi is relishing the opportunity to lock horns with his legspin agony uncle.”I’ve spoken to Rash [Rashid Khan] quite a few times,” he says. “It’s good with social media, and I’ve connected with him a few times when I’ve had some questions during some cold winter in New Zealand, when I’ve been working on certain deliveries or my pace. He’s always been great to talk to and it’s great to have that sort of legspin community, when you come across guys like that and can pick their brains and try to improve your own game.”He’s definitely revolutionised legspin bowling. The way he does it is unique: it’s not so much the old 90s way that we grew up watching – legspin with two fingers up, two fingers down and trying to get drift and dip. He’s very much into the wickets and relentless with his lines and lengths. He’s been such a great player for Afghanistan and has done so well around the world in all formats: we know he’s a huge threat for them.”

He may only have himself to blame for the indiscretions that seem to have cost him his career, but we can still feel a tinge of sadness for him

Andrew McGlashan26-Nov-2021Not long ago one of the pre-Ashes narratives was whether Tim Paine might get the chance to finish his Test career in an Ashes victory on his home ground in Hobart.With doubts over whether Perth could host the final Test of this season’s series due to border restrictions, the Tasmania government made a strong push for the match. It was always likely to be a long shot, but it did carry the emotional attachment of the captain’s story.Now, on the day that Pat Cummins was announced as the new Test captain, there is a very real chance that Paine has played his last game for Australia, having taken an indefinite break from cricket to manage his mental health.Related

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He made a big mistake with the explicit image he sent in 2017. Cricket Australia still has questions to answer about the initial investigations. There is a strong argument to make that Paine should not have kept the captaincy in 2018, although that point being made by the current CA board was not helpful.Paine is not victim in all this. Subsequently revealed messages from the exchange in question showed he knew he was putting himself in a situation that could unravel. After his resignation he admitted to knowing the exchange could have become public at any time over the last three years.But, regardless of where you sit with regards to this whole mess, the phrasing of the tweet from Paine’s manager James Henderson earlier today was worrying. “We are extremely concerned for his and [wife] Bonnie’s well-being,” it read.Less than 24 hours previously he had been named in Tasmania’s one-day squad to face Western Australia as he was completing his return to action from neck surgery with a four-day 2nd XI outing. He had failed twice with the bat but kept nicely. The plan was to get another day of cricket, at a higher level, before heading up to Queensland to join the Test squad.Overnight things changed and at the time the rest of the players were informed of the decision over the captaincy, they were told that Paine would not be joining them. For now it is an open-ended situation, and there was genuine warmth when Cummins spoke of hoping to welcome Paine back, but nothing about this works in Paine’s favour. Even if he feels ready to return over the next few weeks, there is no long-form cricket now that the BBL is about to start, and it would be tricky to select a new wicketkeeper and then leave them out.There was always a risk it would play out this way after the events of last Friday. Team-mates, naturally, spoke glowingly of Paine’s imminent return over the previous 24 hours – Nathan Lyon going into some detail about what made him, in his view, the best wicketkeeper in the world – but it would have been a huge challenge for Paine to walk out at the Gabba.Paine’s senior team-mates Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins have spoken in support of him•Jono Searle/Getty ImagesIf this is it for his Australia career it will have come to an end at the Gabba with last January’s defeat against India, the team’s first loss at the ground in 32 years. It meant a second series loss to India under Paine’s captaincy following one by the same 2-1 margin in 2018-19. On that occasion there was more leeway as the team rebuilt after the ball-tampering scandal, but last season’s loss was a body blow. Outside of those two India series, Paine had won every home Test – against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand – but he needed this Ashes to bolster the record.His overall record as captain reads: played 23, won 11, lost eight, drawn four. His finest hour came at Old Trafford in 2019 when Australia retained the Ashes in England for the first time in 18 years. The lead-up to that match, following Ben Stokes’ extraordinary display at Headingley, during which Australia lost their composure, was impressive in bringing the team back together. That the series ended 2-2 was another blow to a more definite legacy but to secure the urn 18 months after the debacle in South Africa was a significant achievement.Much has been said about Paine the batter and quite a lot of it is misplaced. The lack of a Test century is a hole – his best of 92, against India in Mohali, coming in his first brief incarnation as a Test cricketer in 2010 remains his top score – but over the last two seasons at home he has averaged 37.00. Early in his captaincy he saved a Test in Dubai with an unbeaten 61 alongside Usman Khawaja. He was no Adam Gilchrist, but then no one else has been. His Test average as keeper of 31.97 is comparable to Jos Buttler (29.36), Brad Haddin (32.98), Matthew Wade (28.58) and Niroshan Dickwella (33.80) to pick out a few contemporaries.To some, none of this, the numbers and statistics, not being able to end a career on his terms, or at least on the Test field, will matter. There will, understandably, be a lack of sympathy from many. But it’s also possible to acknowledge his foolishness and still feel a tinge of sadness. If Paine has played his last game of cricket, it is to be hoped that in time there is still a place for him in the sport.

It’s unfair to criticise South Africa after one defeat, but their team balance does look like it needs fixing

Firdose Moonda23-Oct-2021It had to happen. A World Cup. Australia versus South Africa. A thriller. And a run-out.This one is less significant than the most (in)famous one of them all, in 1999, but possibly more comical. Keshav Maharaj bunted Pat Cummins to point and the fielder shied at the non-striker’s stumps and missed. On 83 for 6 in the 15th over, South Africa were desperate for every run, so Maharaj tried to take advantage with a single. Aiden Markram, the last recognised batter left in the line-up, had his back turned and didn’t see Maharaj advance. When he did, he sent Maharaj back but from two-thirds of the way down the track, it was always going to be difficult. Then Maharaj slipped as a wide throw came into Matthew Wade. The time it took Maharaj to get up and begin making his way back allowed Wade to gather the ball and take aim at the stumps. Maharaj was run-out by some distance.South Africa were 83 for 7, with 34 balls left in an innings in which almost everything had gone wrong.Temba Bavuma enjoyed his speediest start to an innings since recovering from a broken thumb but it was shortlived. Rassie van der Dussen’s century in the warm-ups has been eclipsed by his Test-match style dismissal in this match. But it was Quinton de Kock’s slow-motion playing onto his stumps from which South Africa could not recover, and that’s before we get into David Miller’s lack of form and Heinrich Klaasen being a virtual passenger.

“The guys have prepared quite well in terms of trying to deal with mental pressures. I can’t remember a time when our batting has collapsed like that. It’s not every day when your top seven, bar Aiden Markram, all fail. It was an execution thing”Temba Bavuma

South Africa’s top-heavy-but-still-a-batter-short strategy is coming home to roost. It’s a limitation that they overcame against opposition like Ireland and Sri Lanka but it was always going to be difficult against an attack like Australia’s, especially after falling to 29 for 3 in the powerplay. That’s South Africa’s worst powerplay in 34 matches, dating back to February 2019, and played perfectly into Australia’s hands.Australia gambled by playing three quicks and leaving out Ashton Agar, who has played in 12 of their 15 T20Is this year, and who Marcus Stoinis believed would have a part to play at some point in the tournament, but it paid off. It allowed them to use Glenn Maxwell, perhaps more than planned. He opened the bowling and delivered a full quota of four overs for the first time since 2018. The idea was that Maxwell would threaten the left-handed de Kock but he ended up getting Bavuma, who missed a delivery that turned a touch.And then there was Josh Hazlewood. Recently reinserted into the Australian team, he was the headliner, with his longer-format lengths and wicket-maiden in his second over. He would have finished with even better figures than his 2 for 19 if not for South Africa’s 17th over aggression, which cost him 12 runs. In the end, Australia only needed to use the five frontline bowlers with Mitchell Marsh and Stoinis surplus to requirements. South Africa did the same, but their team balance looked off.It’s harsh to criticise the South African attack, after they kept their side in a game they had no right to remain in and poked holes in an Australian line-up that will have the same questions they came into this tournament with, but there are some areas of concern, most notably in their make-up. They opted for two frontline quicks, two specialist spinners and one of their seam-bowling allrounders, which sounds like a reasonable combination but only works if all five are firing and the fielding effort is flawless. For the most part, they were.Their bowlers kept South Africa in the contest, but just didn’t have enough runs to play with•ICC via GettyKagiso Rabada found some better form than he has had recently, Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi conceded only 45 runs in their eight overs (exactly the same as Maxwell and Adam Zampa), Anrich Nortje applied constant pressure and Markram and Klaasen pulled off two sensational catches. Dwaine Pretorius did his bit and only gave away 16 runs in three overs when he was tasked with defending eight off the last over. In hindsight, Rabada should probably not have bowled the 17th over, which cost 11 runs and left Australia needing 25 off the last three overs. A few big hits from Stoinis put paid to any South African hopes for heroics and registered another heartbreak-by-Australian-hands for them. Maybe it was always going to happen.Bavuma spoke on the eve of the match of the anxiety running through the South African camp, seven of whom are at their first World Cup. He also reminded his team, and everyone else, that there was no bigger motivation for South Africa than taking on their second-oldest and fiercest rivals, Australia. In the end, he didn’t blame the nerves but the execution.”The guys have prepared quite well in terms of trying to deal with mental pressures,” he said after the game. “I can’t remember a time when our batting has collapsed like that. It’s not every day when your top seven, bar Aiden Markram, all fail. It was an execution thing.”But he conceded they fell well short of expectations: “118 was definitely not a par score. Anything around 150-160 would have been competitive.” On the evidence of Australia’s batting, even 135 may have been enough on the day, in those conditions, but all the what-iffing in the world is not going to change that South Africa have already given themselves a mountain to climb over the next two weeks, and Australia have already issued a small warning to the rest that they are here to play. As always.

Within the space of three games, the Australia quick has become an irreplaceable piece in the RCB jigsaw

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Apr-20224:16

Cutting: Hazlewood exhibited his bowling range in T20s

Josh Hazlewood earns his livelihood in Test cricket by banging the red ball on hard lengths. His basic plan is to pitch the ball short of a length, ideally on the seam, with the aim to hit the top of the stumps. Batters find Hazlewood damn irritating – not only does he consistently hit the same spot, but he also consistently hits the top of the bat. And he does that tirelessly across long spells. Ask any top Test batter and he will count Hazlewood among the toughest fast bowlers to face.In the longer format Hazlewood has the time to plan his kill by steadily inching closer to the exact length that would defeat the batter. In T20 cricket he just has 24 deliveries, which are usually broken across two spells of two overs each. The first one is in the powerplay and the second comes at death. And as anyone who understands T20 cricket will tell, those are the two segments where matches turn significantly. These are also the phases where the majority of the batters play aggressively.Despite all that, in every match he has played this season, Hazlewood has dominated the batters in those two phases. On Tuesday again he took charge immediately. His job against Lucknow Super Giants – as for all the other fast bowlers – was relatively easier as they had found an ally in a bouncy DY Patil stadium pitch where the ball was flying off length. When that happens even the best batters are anxious.Like Quinton de Kock, one of the best players against fast bowling, was surprised when he got hit on the left hand after Mohammed Siraj got the ball to kick off the length in the first over of Super Giants’ innings. Hazlewood would deliver the third and fifth overs during the powerplay. The nature of the pitch along with the formidable target raised by Royal Challengers Bangalore allowed him to place aggressive fields including a slip.And it was there that an alert Glenn Maxwell pouched a brilliant catch after de Kock nicked a delivery from Hazlewood which was banged on length, rose sharply and quick to take the outside edge. To understand the smartness of Hazlewood’s plan, you would need to know that the previous delivery he had bowled to de Kock, the second of the over, he had pitched short of length and angled it away which the batter had pushed for a single. In a matter of two balls, Hazlewood had caught de Kock in his trap by adjusting his length wilfully by a matter of inches.By the time he started the fifth over, the Lucknow batters were under pressure as only 24 runs had come in the first four. KL Rahul would rap Hazlewood for spraying a short delivery down the leg side which he duly pulled for an easy six. But Hazlewood was not bothered. He tested Manish Pandey’s patience by bowling two deliveries on the fifth while continuing to stick to the hard length. Off the final delivery, Pandey would move back into the crease in his trigger movement attempting to take on the bounce, but the result was a weak push towards into the hands of short midwicket as the ball hit the shoulder of the bat.Hazlewood would then return to easily negate young Indian uncapped batter Ayush Badon’s plan to hit over the leg side, which he attempted by moving extravagantly outside off stump. Hazlewood followed Badoni and flummoxed him by running his fingers on the side of the ball to slacken the pace of the delivery which resulted in a leading edge being caught easily.He might be playing his first season for Royal Challengers, but Hazlewood had already become an asset for the franchise. In Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj, Royal Challengers already had two bowlers for the death overs. But Hazlewood’s experience and the accuracy have helped him maintain a calm mind and execute the plans well so far in those pressure overs.With 34 needed from 12 deliveries and the fearsome Marcus Stoinis standing deep in the crease, Faf du Plessis asked Hazlewood to bowl the penultimate over even though he had the option of Harshal, a proven death-overs specialist. First ball, Hazlewood got way with what should have been called a wide by Chirs Gaffaney. Stoinis couldn’t believe it was not called wide and got distracted talking with the umpire who felt the batter had moved towards the off stump. Next delivery Hazlewood followed Stoinis – who had shuffled outside off stump wanting to ramp it – but was instead played-on a fuller delivery.Speaking to the host broadcaster after the match Hazlewood said he was enjoying bowling at the venues this IPL and in particular DY Patil due to the bounce. “I am really enjoying in particular at the start (powerplay) and probably in particular this ground,” he said. “Wankhede has some bounce but here at DY it is unreal with the new ball. You can obviously go for runs if you get it wrong, but if you get it right you can create wicket opportunities in the first few overs and get the other team on the backfoot.”Hazlewood had done a similar job at defending champions Chennai Super Kings during IPL 2021, bowling the difficult overs first, and eventually becoming the go-to bowler. The big strength Hazlewood possesses is his ability to control the lengths, which Royal Challengers team director Mike Hesson said is valuable on pitches with springing bounce like DY.And that control is courtesy his conditioning in Tests. Fast bowlers have dictated play for most parts so far this IPL. Unassuming and simple he might be, but Hazlewood stands out among this select group of matchwinners.

Versatility of allrounder offers balance as England build towards next T20 World Cup

Matt Roller21-Jan-2022It looked for all money as though Liam Livingstone had produced the decisive moment in November’s T20 World Cup semi-final when he had Glenn Phillips caught at long-off, leaving New Zealand needing 60 more runs off 29 balls with no frontline batters left in the dugout. Livingstone let out a guttural roar of celebration before completing a tight final over to return figures of 2 for 22 in his four; if England’s death bowlers had held their nerve, it would have been remembered as a match-winning spell.It completed a fine tournament for Livingstone, despite the fact he had only faced 29 balls with the bat. Across the World Cup, he conceded 5.73 runs an over and only seven boundaries in the 90 balls he bowled. “People call him a part-timer. He’s not. He’s an allrounder,” Eoin Morgan said. “We trust his bowling a lot.”Livingstone’s emergence as a bowler – and his ability to bowl both legspin and offspin in a single over, depending on match-ups – allowed England to maintain a batting-heavy strategy throughout and also enabled them to bowl more spin in a T20 World Cup than they ever had previously. And while he will not be available for the first T20I in Barbados, after a bout of non-Covid-related sickness earlier in the week, his place in the first-choice XI is now assured.It remains to be seen whether a three-spinner, three-seamer strategy is viable in Australia but following Friday’s World Cup draw, England’s two biggest Super 12s fixtures – against Australia and New Zealand – are at the MCG and the Gabba respectively, both of which have been surprisingly spin-friendly in recent BBL seasons.