He was already feeling the pressure of captaincy when a stray question about Virat Kohli, and his non-answer to it, blew up social media

Madushka Balasuriya13-Nov-20232:35

Maharoof: Sri Lanka’s batting has been a massive letdown

Imagine the scene. You’re the captain. A captain who had been thrust into the role a couple of matches into a World Cup. And your team? They have just lost two games on the bounce. Actually, five of the last seven. The latest one was against India – a perfectly in-sync, cricketing destroyer of worlds. In that, your team was not just routed, but ground into the Wankhede dust.What’s worse, it’s the second straight game against them in which your side has suffered such a humiliation. The memes make themselves, the social-media trolls are on a tear, and even the fans – hesitant to accept the undoubted superiority of this Indian juggernaut – reach the only conclusion they can: your team is rubbish. And they are not afraid to let you know it.With all this swirling between your ears, you tune out the world. Stay away from the socials, as the kids say. Focus on the job at hand. Which, at this point, happens to be a media briefing in front of the world’s cricket media, ahead of a game that is a must-win for your side. Addressing the media isn’t really your thing either, English a very second second-language.Related

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And so you sit, expecting questions about your next opponents, translating the questions from English to Sinhala and the answers from Sinhala to English in your head, just to try and exude a positivity that you’re not even sure you feel. And suddenly, somebody asks you a question… about congratulating Virat Kohli on his 49th ODI century. You’re bemused at first: have they come to the right presser? And then it all comes rushing back – the memes, the trolls, the abuse, the absolute mockery in your mentions tag.And so you blurt out: “Why would I congratulate him?” Laughing all the while. This is a Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh pre-media press briefing after all, why are they asking about Kohli?Well, Kusal Mendis soon found out. Angering Sri Lankan fans is one thing, angering their northern neighbours quite another.”After that I copped a lot of abuse. Everyone knows how good a player Virat Kohli is so, yeah, I probably should have wished him at that time,” a reflective Mendis said on Sunday, as he provided rare insight into the mindset of a player who is often on the verbally economical side.”That day we went first for practice, after which there was the presser. The day after was the Bangladesh game. When I went there I had no idea how much Virat Kohli had scored, all I knew was that there was a game. So when I was asked that question, I was initially confused because this was a media conference with regard to Bangladesh-Sri Lanka game. But looking back I know I was probably wrong in how I reacted, because scoring 49 centuries is no easy feat. As a batter, I know how difficult that is, but at that point I wasn’t really clear on what was being asked.”Kusal Mendis’ form went down after taking on the captaincy•Associated PressMatter closed then? Yeah… for now. See, for Mendis, this isn’t new at all.A Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year and Under-19 World Cup captain, fast-tracked into the national side, and one that within a year of debuting for Sri Lanka had struck 176 on the way to a rare Sri Lanka Test series win against Australia. Mendis was living the dream.But this was a Sri Lanka side post-2014 and the batting had already begun its downward trajectory following the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Barely out of his teens, Mendis was hardly the polished final product, but Sri Lankan cricket and its adoring public was crying out for a new hero. And that knock against Australia certainly fuelled the flames of expectation.So when the eventual troughs in form did arrive, Mendis became a lightning rod for criticism – particularly social media, where much of the discourse had begun to shift.”As far [as] the stuff that’s being posted on social media, when we’re doing badly is when we need the most support. If a player is doing badly, if you can post some encouragement that would be better,” Mendis said. “A few years ago, this exact same thing happened to me, where I suffered a lot of abuse online. As a young player, growing in the game, it causes a lot of hurt. And it’s very difficult to recover from that. Sometimes, even when I’m on the road, I’ve heard people say things behind my back.”

“We never go into a match looking to lose, we always play for the country and ourselves. We’re always looking at how to win. So my humble request to the fans is that they support us as much as possible”Kusal Mendis

In the case of Mendis, though, many may find it difficult to feel sympathy. In 2020, he was involved in a motor accident in which a 64-year-old cyclist was killed. The matter was closed after a settlement. A year later, he was one of three cricketers banned for breaching bio-bubble protocols when Sri Lanka toured England.But, upon his return from that ban, Mendis discovered some of the best form of his career, and now has been entrusted with the captaincy – for however long that may be.He has also been refreshingly forthright about the pressures surrounding the role, going into detail about his slump in form since taking over the ODI side – prior to that he had struck 76 and 122 against South Africa and Pakistan respectively.”In the South Africa game, it was hard for me to play my normal game, which is to play a few balls first and get in [because Sri Lanka were chasing 429 for victory]. So what I tried to do was see how I could score quick runs. That made a difference in the first game, so in the second game [against Pakistan], along with the momentum from the first game and the practice matches, I was able to continue in the same vein.Kusal Mendis scored 76 and 122 in his first two World Cup innings, but scored only 96 in seven innings after that•AFP/Getty Images”But that’s not my game. So after that, when I was made captain, I do think the pressure might have gotten to me because I am human. I wasn’t expecting to get the captaincy, so when you look at my game after that, I felt that I couldn’t play in the same manner as the earlier games.”In terms of captaincy alone, I didn’t feel all that much pressure. I only really felt the role once I went on to the field, but there I received a lot of help from my team-mates. When I went out to bat, I didn’t think much about the captaincy initially, but after losing the first two games and then knowing the team needed to win… I think that along with the captaincy perhaps impacted how I approached my game. But I want to clarify I don’t feel a lot of pressure from the captaincy itself.”And now he has used his position to speak out on the epidemic of abuse athletes across sports suffer.”It’s very difficult to get up when you fall,” he said. “We never go into a match looking to lose, we always play for the country and ourselves. We’re always looking at how to win. So my humble request to the fans is that they support us as much as possible. There are videos of our players getting wickets, videos of our batters scoring runs – share those. And just try and spread some positivity in difficult times like this.”With discussion around mental well-being increasing each day, Mendis’ request should be something fans – and others – should try to get behind. It’s not too difficult.

Captain is a delegator by profession but a warrior at heart

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Mar-20242:52

Would England have benefited with Stokes bowling through the series?

By the time his team-mates arrived to congratulate him, Ben Stokes was already stomping back to his mark to bowl his second delivery in 251 days.Some were laughing. Even James Anderson, who had toiled in a wicketless morning session. Mark Wood was one of many in disbelief, hands on his head, having been rinsed for 39 from his first six overs of day two by Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.Stokes had just begun his first competitive over since July at Lord’s against Australia, ending a streak of 15 innings without turning his arm over. Following knee surgery at the end of November after the 50-over World Cup, he has slowly built himself back up in India, teasing a trundle from the second Test onwards, before finally pulling the chord here in the fifth and last match of the series. He marked the occasion by taking out the India captain with his first ball.Related

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It was, well, vintage Stokes. Full force into the crease, seam angled towards gully as soon as it left his right hand, hitting the pitch, leaving Rohit – 103 to his name – playing down the wrong line and taking out off stump to end a stand of 171, 110 of which had come in the morning session. The cameras picked up Brendon McCullum on the sidelines covering his eyes and shaking his head. Even a man who made a career out of inspiring through remarkable feats was stunned by what his skipper had just pulled out of the bag.”He’s a freak, isn’t he?” beamed assistant coach Jeetan Patel. “It was almost written in the stars that he was going to bowl a jaffa first up and get Rohit Sharma out who was on 100.”It’s quite funny because he came on to bowl when the English crowds are waking up – they’re flicking on the TV and the first thing they see is Ben Stokes bowling a really good delivery to Rohit Sharma.”For those tuning in, Stokes’ lack of celebration would have alerted them to the match situation. India were 275 for 2, ahead by 57, having started the day 76 behind. He had broken the pinky promise made to England physio Ben Davies that he wouldn’t even consider bowling in a match on this tour, but India were breaking all English spirits. Their first-innings lead is now 255 and counting.Ben Stokes bends his back•Getty ImagesIn the lead-up to this fifth Test in Dharamshala, with the series gone, Stokes reiterated the bowling attack he had chosen was picked without considering himself as a bowling option. That has been the approach since that Lord’s Test. Taking the ball for the second over after lunch – telegraphed by emerging earliest from the break and warming up with a few deliveries to Patel – will buoy many an England fan at the prospect of Stokes reprising his valuable allrounder role this summer. But it was also as close as you will get to an admission that England have been a seamer light for all but the opening Test.The good vibes from Rohit’s dismissal kicked up a notch seven deliveries later when Anderson moved to 699 career dismissals, bowling Gill for 110, with no further runs added to the scoreboard. England sensed an opportunity to turn the tide with Devdutt Padikkal and Sarfaraz Khan new to the crease. And that is when Stokes brought an altogether different vibe.He did not take another wicket in his eventual five-over spell but did draw a couple of mistakes, both from Sarfaraz, that kept the pair in check. The first was a tough return catch that Stokes shelled when the batter had just 2, though he had overstepped the front line. On 7, Sarfaraz was turned inside out by a similar delivery to the one which did for Rohit, only this one was wide enough to leave the stumps untroubled after beating the outside edge.The tone of the match had changed considerably, and not just because Stokes had turned the air blue with a “f***” caught by the stump mics after his caught-and-bowled attempt. England have had been in the ascendancy on the field at various points on this trip, but this felt different.An edge drawn from Paddikal was the debutant’s first – and favourite – boundary, and drew a blood-red glare from Stokes. After the left-hander struck through the covers for his second in Stokes’ next over, he dabbed a single to third to keep the strike and had Stokes for company all the way to the non-striker’s end. Sarfaraz did his best to ignore Stokes’ pressing for a reaction, and it was perhaps that unwillingness to engage that meant a usually destructive batter was at one point nursing 9 from 30 balls.But Sarfaraz exploded out of his shell, blazing to a half-century, with Paddikal notching the same in a stand of 97 for the fourth wicket. By the time they were split, India’s lead was 158, before the tail added 97 more. Their charge, devastating as it was, beginning when Stokes’ had brought his spell to an end.Rohit Sharma got a jaffa from Ben Stokes•Associated PressShoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley whittled away at the tail, with a lot of good energy in the field. But, in a way, it made the atmosphere Stokes created with the ball stick out a little more. It was, edgy, more confrontational, giving India a sense England were not just there to graft, but to fight. Not since that final day in the first Test at Hyderabad have England been able to concoct that sense of unease. Either side of it, India were the ones throwing all the punches.There are mitigating factors for the collective ineffectuality either side of Stokes’ spell. The pitch was more docile than anticipated. The early movement not as prevalent as the day before – which says more about Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s brilliance, even if they went wicketless. Even the ball went soft surprisingly early, despite holding up well throughout this series. None of this seemed to be in play when the captain was bowling, mind.In his 2016 autobiography “Firestarter”, Stokes was almost apologetic when explaining the hostile mood purveyed when bowling: “I tend to get really angry with myself. Once adrenaline and competitive spirit combine, the red mist tends to descend, and it’s nothing to do with whether you like the bloke you are up against.”Beyond “Stokes, the allrounder” adding some extra balance and thrust to England’s two- or three-spin attacks, you wonder if that competitive edge could have helped the team succeed in the pressure moments spurned over the last eight weeks. He has been bullish in the field, and challenged his players to push themselves throughout. All, in their own ways, have responded. But it’s hard not to imagine, given his inspirational qualities, that seeing their leader truly fired up in the heat of battle would have drawn a more cold-blooded approach from them.Maybe it could have coaxed more from the man himself. Stokes has never hidden the fact that he is at his best when he has “double the chance to change the course of matches.” As much as captaincy scratches that itch, nothing motivates him more than the “you versus me” battle.He is a delegator by profession but a warrior at heart. Yet the only opportunity to go toe-to-toe comes with his batting, where the burden of captaincy weighs heaviest, as Joe Root and Alastair Cook can attest.Since starting out with 70 in his first innings, he has looked uncharacteristically timid for the rest of this trip. Often caught on the back foot deep in his crease against spin, including on day one to Kuldeep Yadav for a six-ball duck. At the time of writing, an average of 21.88 will be the lowest of his three tours of India.The numbers are too awkward to crunch to determine whether Stokes bats better after he bowls. But anecdotally at least, we can look to Headingley 2019, and the mammoth 24.2 overs in Australia’s innings that preceded the miracle 135 not out to chase down 359. And, seeing as we are on the foothills of the Himalayas, why not posit the self-flagellation led to reaching a higher plane?Sadly, none of it is that simple. “It was nice to see him back at the crease, but we’ve just got to be careful we don’t push him too far,” urged Patel, with a bucket of cold water. “It’s still early days for him.”By the summer, Stokes will be back as a fully fledged allrounder, with a newly fixed knee and as fit as he ever has been. It bodes well for the coming two years leading into the next Ashes. But as another major series passes England by, it is hard not to think what might have been over the last two months.

The UAE captain’s ability to clear the ropes has earned him places in the franchise leagues, but he’s setting his sights even higher

Ashish Pant04-Apr-2024Who is the first player to have hit 100 sixes in a calendar year in international cricket?’If you were asked this in a pub quiz, what would your answer be? One of Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle or Suryakumar Yadav, possibly?The holder of the record is UAE captain Muhammad Waseem. At the end of 2023 he had 101 sixes in international cricket that year – 47 in ODIs and 54 in T20Is. To date he remains the only player to have done so in a calendar year.Growing up in Pakistan, Waseem had a natural ability to clear the ropes at will, even when he wasn’t really looking to. “My aim right from the start has been to time the ball,” he says.”Even when I was younger, I used to notice that if I was lofting the ball over the fielder’s head in the circle, my timing would be such that it would invariably go for six. When I am clearing the boundary, I rely on my timing rather than brute force.”Waseem’s training sessions do involve range-hitting at times, but he doesn’t follow a specific routine to consistently hit sixes. He does credit playing tape-ball cricket as a youngster for his free-flowing ability to hit big. Tape-ball cricket is played with a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape to give it more weight; this sort of ball is used extensively in street cricket in Pakistan.”For someone who has played tape-ball cricket, hitting sixes becomes slightly easier because the flow of their bat is much cleaner,” Waseem explains. “The last match I played in Pakistan was a tape-ball tournament. All the players who have played tape-ball cricket, you see their power-hitting will be really clean. Technically sound players, when they clear the rope, the ball doesn’t [always] go deep into the crowd. But tape-ball cricketers can send the ball miles if they connect cleanly.”

****

Waseem calls the UAE his home now, but like for most players from the subcontinent, his cricket journey started on the streets of Multan with friends. It was only when he won a player-of-the-tournament award in a school competition that he decided to take up the sport seriously.

“When I was debuting for the UAE team, I had already played with most of the players in domestic cricket for at least the last one or two years. It was a seamless transition from domestic to international cricket.”

“There was a club in my district. They said, ‘You are playing over there, why don’t you play with us?’ I started playing for them, and slowly realised I am good at this, and that I should do this for a living,” he says.He played cricket at district level in Pakistan but felt there wasn’t much room for him to progress and decided to look elsewhere. His first opportunity came through a friend. The cricket season in the UAE is during the holy month of Ramadan and Waseem was invited to play for his friend’s club in one such tournament in 2016, did well, and soon decided to make a permanent move.He played a lot of club cricket in the UAE after that, and was also part of the winning 2019 Maratha Arabians squad in the Abu Dhabi T10, though he did not get a game. His first big break came in the same tournament in 2021, when he was with Northern Warriors. In just his second game, he smoked a 34-ball 76, with seven fours and six sixes. Two days later he topped that knock by smashing an unbeaten 56 off 13 against Pune Devils. Seven balls were carted for sixes, three went for four, and 35 of those runs came in one over, off left-arm spinner Monir Hossain.Waseem also played a crucial hand in the final to give Warriors the title. But he was so nearly not part of the tournament at all.”It is a funny story. There was a tournament going on at the time when the T10 draft was on, and almost all of us who were part of the draft were there. We were playing a match and could hear someone shouting whenever a player was picked.”Initially I was not picked by any team. There was some error in my name. A different Muhammad Waseem was shown on the screen, who had a different age and everything else.”After the draft, Robin Sir [Robin Singh, Warriors head coach] called me up and I told him that I had registered [but there was a snafu at the auction]. He immediately called up our team analyst. They had one pick remaining and added me into the squad.”Waseem was instrumental in UAE sealing a historic victory over New Zealand in a T20I in August 2023, their first win against those opponents in any format•Emirates Cricket BoardWaseem qualified to play for the UAE in April 2021 after completing the ICC’s three-year residency requirement, and soon made his international debut, against Namibia. In his fourth T20I, against Ireland, Waseem smashed 107 off just 62 balls – only the second T20I century ever for a UAE batter.Was it a big change, moving from club cricket to international cricket? Surely, there were nerves?”Not really,” says Waseem. “When I was debuting for the UAE team, I had already played with most of the players in domestic cricket for at least one or two years. There was no pressure as such. It was a seamless transition.”Barely four months later, he became the first UAE batter to record two T20I centuries, and later that year he was one of four domestic players signed by MI Emirates for the inaugural ILT20. Waseem finished as the fourth highest run-getter that first season and bagged the blue belt, an award given to the most outstanding UAE player in the competition. In 2024, he won the blue belt again as MIE claimed their maiden title under Nicholas Pooran.Waseem says he now gets calls from franchises all over the world, something he couldn’t have imagined a few years back. He played one game for Chattogram Challengers in the BPL this year. He has also been approached by Islamabad United and Multan Sultans in the PSL, and Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL, but has not been able to go because of national commitments.”It [ILT20] has helped me expand my range by a great deal. Even if I say that I don’t have much time, they [other leagues] ask me to come over for one or two games,” he says. “There has been a huge change from last year to now. The ILT20 provides such a great opportunity for UAE players. It is such a big league, all the big-name players from across the world come here.”

“I used to try and whack every ball. Now I get fours and sixes, but I don’t go searching for them, and I tend to collect more boundaries. When you go searching for those sixes, the chances of mishitting one are much higher”

Waseem is also effusive in his praise of the MI franchise. “Over the last four to five years, I have played a lot of cricket in leagues in various countries, but have never seen such a professional franchise. The freedom the players get is unparalleled,” he says. “The atmosphere is good. The coach, the captain, they all treat you as a friend. Some of the West Indian players naturally keep the atmosphere light and easy.”Another pivotal change in Waseem’s UAE journey came when he was handed the captaincy of the ODI side in February 2023. He took over the reins from CP Rizwan at a turbulent time last year, with five games remaining in the Cricket World Cup League 2.Rizwan was removed barely seven months after assuming full-time captaincy of both the T20I and ODI sides. Under him, UAE lost five of eight ODIs and eight of 11 T20Is and were languishing in sixth place on the league’s table out of seven.Waseem organised a team dinner the day after he was appointed captain, to make sure everyone was on board. “I just told them [the team], ‘What’s happened has happened.’ I just tried to motivate everyone and asked them to right their wrongs. After that, I felt the boys started to get better, and here we are,” he says.Six months later he was named UAE T20I captain. In his first series in charge, UAE beat New Zealand in a T20I in Dubai, and came ever so close to a series win. It was the first time in 39 matches that New Zealand had lost to a non-Test-playing nation across formats.”That was one of the proudest moments in my career, as a player, as a team,” Waseem recalls. “There was also a tinge of regret, because there was a time when we were about to win the series. We almost managed a series win against Afghanistan also. We are happy that we are doing well against the good teams.”Waseem says that he did not have a mentor when he came to the UAE, just a few friends who taught him a few things about cricket. But the one person he does give massive credit to after making his UAE debut is Robin Singh. The former India cricketer was UAE’s director of cricket between 2020 and 2023 and has helped shape Waseem’s career in a big way.Waseem has been the winner of the blue belt at the ILT20, awarded to the best-performing UAE player, two years in a row•ILT20″He was the one who got me into that T10 tournament. After that he was also the UAE coach, and then I made my debut under him. All the technical changes I have made in cricket are down to him.”The one major change was that even in that T10 tournament [in 2021], I used to play a lot of cross-batted shots. I used to try and whack every ball. But after that, I practised with him. Now I get fours and sixes, but I don’t go searching for them, and I tend to collect more boundaries. When someone goes searching for those sixes, the chances of him mishitting one are much higher. Now I just focus on my shape, balance and try to use my timing to hit the ball. That is one big difference.”I have learned a lot from him. Sometimes, even when he is not around and I am stuck with something, I send him a clip and ask him where I am going wrong. He either tells me or if he is here, he keeps a practice session.”It has not all been rosy for Waseem the captain. UAE failed to qualify for three World Cups last year – T20, ODI, and the U19 World Cup. Not qualifying for the 2024 T20 World Cup still haunts Waseem: UAE had an unbeaten run in the group stage of the qualifiers, only to lose to Nepal in the semi-final.”[You know how people ask] if you are allowed to do one thing over in your life, what would that be? I really want that semi-final to happen again,” Waseem says. “That is one regret I have.”UAE haven’t started 2024 on a high either. They failed to win a single game in the Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series against Scotland and Canada, and then went down 2-1 to Scotland in a T20I series last month. But with new coach Lalchand Rajput coming in, Waseem is hopeful as UAE get ready to play the Asia Cup qualifiers in the second week of April.”The next goal for us is the Asia Cup,” he says. “When someone new is appointed, I have seen them showing a lot of aggression, but that is not the case with Rajput. He is handling everyone really well. I have a feeling we are taking the right step with him at the helm.”What about on a personal level?”I want to play in all the big leagues,” he says. “My target is three leagues: IPL, PSL and CPL. But the priority is to play for the country.”

If the visitors need any advice about local conditions they can turn to Daniel Vettori but success on this tour shouldn’t be taken for granted

Alex Malcolm28-Feb-20241:33

Cummins: ‘Shifted a few of our plans’ after Wagner’s retirement

The Australians know more about the conditions at Wellington’s two most famous golf courses, Royal Wellington and Paraparaumu Beach, than they do about the city’s famous Test ground, having played both more recently than they have a Test match at the Basin Reserve.Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have been Test cricketers for more than 12 years and neither have played a Test match in New Zealand, let alone Wellington.But they do have a pretty knowledgeable resource to use into ahead of their first Test in Wellington in eight years, with former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori working as Australia’s assistant coach.Related

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Vettori played 21 Tests here for New Zealand and captained six of them during his 17-year Test career. It wasn’t surprising to see Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald tapping into that knowledge during a lengthy discussion in the middle on Tuesday.”We haven’t seen Dan this tour, he’s been hanging out with the Black Caps,” Cummins joked on Wednesday. “No, he’s got good insights. He’s played a lot here. Again, nothing groundbreaking about this venue, but it’s always good to hear the insights. He’s played a lot here, windy days, not windy days, different wickets.”I think that wind factor, can be real here and just some of the ideas on how to get through that.”Vettori has also clearly warned the Australian captain against making rash judgements on the Basin pitch based solely on how it looks. Neither team were able to sneak a peak at the strip on Wednesday as it remained under covers due to persistent rain. However, on Tuesday it was verdant and scarcely distinguishable from the rest of the lush green square and outfield until the groundsman painted the crease lines.But armed with Vettori’s knowledge, Australia know not to be fooled. In the last three Tests played at the ground the team winning the toss has sent the opposition in on similar-looking pitches and conceded first innings scores of 580 for 4, 435 for 8 and 460. The team that has lost the toss and been sent in has won two of those games with England losing the third by one run after asking New Zealand to follow-on.Daniel Vettori chats with Australia head coach Andrew McDonald•Getty ImagesUnlike the green pitches in Australia during the summer where bowling first was a preferred choice, here it is not as clear cut.”It’s a live option,” Cummins said. “I think coming from Australia, it’s rare to turn on the TV and see a green wicket that looks like the turf here. But over here it’s pretty normal. But I don’t think it’s as scary as perhaps what it looks. It seems like there’s been plenty of first innings scores that have been big. I think the range of first innings scores goes from 120 to 580 or something like that. So we’ll have a look tomorrow and make up our mind then.”The pitch and the conditions are just about the only debatable issues for Australia on this tour. There are no injury issues to speak of and no selection debates to be had.The sight of Australia’s selector on duty Tony Dodemaide pulling his golf clubs off the luggage carousel in Wellington airport was indicative of how settled they are. They are set to play with the same XI for the third straight Test and have only made one change in the previous five, with David Warner retiring and Cameron Green replacing him in a reshuffled batting order.Australia are so confident in their group that they have only brought three reserves with them to New Zealand in Matt Renshaw, Michael Neser and Scott Boland.”We feel in a really good position,” Cummins said. “The last couple of years have obviously been quite successful with these guys and also the other guys that are traveling with us, Neser, Scotty, Renners have all had a bit of exposure as well so we feel like even if anything happened we’re pretty well placed to bring one of those guys in. There’s real calmness around the group. Everyone’s played Test cricket. So it doesn’t feel like we ever need to reinvent the wheel.”And yet, Australia lost their last Test match to the West Indies at their once mighty fortress the Gabba.That they haven’t overacted to that off-colour performance speaks volumes about the environment Cummins and McDonald have cultivated in recent times. It is an environment that New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon revealed he greatly admired and copied within his National Party during last year’s election campaign.But while Australia are having a lovely time in New Zealand, enjoying the hospitality and the world-class golf courses on their way to a 3-0 T20I series sweep, the Test side needs to be paying attention.Will O’Rourke could be a threat to Australia•Getty ImagesWest Indies, and particularly Shamar Joseph, merely prised open some widening cracks that had been developing in Australia’s batting line-up for a while.There was some surprise within Australia’s camp that Neil Wagner was not selected for this series, but it is with good reason. Will O’Rourke’s emergence has been impressive. Australia should be wary. They also have plenty of intel. O’Rourke played twice against Australia A in first-class matches in Lincoln and Mackay last year and impressed the Australia A set-up on both occasions with his pace and bounce, which included Australia assistant coach Andre Borovec, Dodemaide and chair of selectors George Bailey.With their recent experience against Joseph and Pakistan’s Aamer Jamal, Australia’s batting has some scouting to do.”I had a little bit of a look,” Cummins said. “I think the batters will get together at some stage today, I’m guessing. Everyone does their own planning. Even a couple of the opposition batters we haven’t played a lot against and some of them are just starting out their Test careers. It’s always a sense of trying to get your head around a little bit of what they do. And then obviously, once you’re out there trying to adapt on the fly.”The golf clubs have been put away. Another challenge with a fair few unknowns awaits for Australia and they will not want to slip up again.

Analysis suggests that Sunrisers Hyderabad bowled him sparingly in the Powerplay and got more out of him

Shiva Jayaraman06-Apr-2024Since he burst on to the scene in 2017, Rashid Khan has arguably been the best spinner in the IPL. Batters have struggled to pick up his variations because of his quick arm action. And Rashid’s control over his lengths have made it even more difficult to score off him in the T20 format. Oppositions have preferred to play out his overs and attack his team-mates. There aren’t many better signs of respect than that for a cricketer. Lately, however, it looks like he is losing a little bit of his touch.Two days ago, Rashid went for 40 runs in four overs against Punjab Kings. A week before that, he gave away 49 in four overs to Chennai Super Kings. There is, of course, a mitigating factor. He had back surgery recently and this IPL season is the first real test of how his body has been holding up since then. But some of these trends pre-date his injury.Take his economy rate, for example. Until 2023, he could only be hit for about a-run-a-ball. Since then, it’s been a different story.