A low-key five-for against Ireland helped Broad remind England of his enduring quality

Vithushan Ehantharajah01-Jun-2023Joe Root was the last one to go in for a hug, but for good reason.Such was the angle of Stuart Broad’s patented wobble seam nipping back into the right-hander, the ball had deflected off Mark Adair’s off stump and raced to the third boundary. Only when the players congregated to congratulate Broad did anyone realise it was missing. Off Root went to seek it out while Broad embraced his teammates one by one.Root returned moments later to hand the dull red Dukes to Broad, who received it like a pound coin someone else had dropped rather than the ball responsible for his 20th Test match five-for.Broad did not raise it to the crowd as a starter pistol for their adulation at his feat, instead shining it as he walked back to his mark. There was a reluctant wave towards someone who had caught his eye in the Tavern Stand. Other than that, a quick check of the headband and in he went for the final delivery of his 17th over, which Fionn Hand pushed into the covers for no run.There was applause when umpire Kumar Dharmasena returned his wide-brimmed hat, and a meatier ovation when he led the team off once Matthew Potts had closed out Ireland’s first innings for 172. But as far as milestones go, this could not have been more subdued.Broad leads England off the field•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesUnderstandable? Yes and no. Ireland don’t really need to be here, England couldn’t really not be here, with both eyeing what lies beyond these four days. Get in, get out, shake hands and off to the World Cup Qualifier and Ashes we’ll go. For Broad, however, even if his lack of celebration said otherwise, there was something real to play for.Sure – when is there not, as far as he is concerned? Along with 581 dismissals, English cricket’s walking meme-machine has amassed a cult following, with the right kind and number of enemies, by approaching each of 162 Tests with, if not the same energy, then certainly enough mischief to fill the gaps. But with his 37th birthday looming next month, this was a necessary display that re-stated his worth even with the caveats.Ireland coach Heinrich Malan was not wrong when he said “a guy with 600 Test wickets showed us he was a pretty decent bowler”. But there’s a little more to it than that. Which is the reason why it says “re-stated” above rather than “underlined”.Because while only James Anderson (45) has more than Broad’s 44 Bazball wickets, the two are in very different spots right now. A pair once bound together by their brilliance are now further apart than ever. A once fruitful opening partnership has been split, and it speaks of what is to come this summer that the one to have retained their “banker” status is not playing here, instead using the morning to test out a strained groin.Related

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Even if Anderson did not have his niggle, Ollie Robinson’s ankle was clear and Mark Wood’s second child was not born last week, it is likely all three would have been preserved for the first Test against Australia on June 16. Just last week, Broad revealed his drop in status when articulating he would not have the luxury to choose to sit this Test out. As it happened, he would not have taken that option if it was afforded to him. Just as well, really.The first for Broad was England’s first Test wicket of the summer, trapping opener PJ Moor bang in front of middle, on his way to a first five-wicket haul at Lord’s in 10 years, and a first at home in three. Soon, his name will be inscribed into the Honours Board for a fifth time, given that he had long since completed that rare hat-trick of five-for (on two previous occasions), ten-for (against West Indies in 2012) and century (against Pakistan in 2010).It was while playing here for Nottinghamshire against Middlesex earlier this summer that Broad revealed his tuning-up was much for spirit as body. The new gather and outswinger – which nabbed Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie for a duck here – were getting road tested throughout his County Championship stint, which included matches against Somerset, Lancashire and Essex. But it was at a near-empty Lord’s, in a far quieter pavilion, that Broad visualised what it might be like on this day.Even when he was out in the field battling the April chill, he looked up at the then-empty second tiers and imagined them teeming with activity. Activity which was now a reality, and at his whim, under the kind of gorgeous blue skies that enhances days like this.The first celebrappeal of the English Test summer: Broad traps PJ Moor lbw•Alex Davidson/Getty Images”Today was a great start because I actually felt probably in the best rhythm that I have of the summer so far,” Broad said. “I bowled nicely for Notts, particularly in that first game [against Somerset] and at Lord’s. I didn’t bowl great versus Lancs and then found a good stride pattern against Essex.”To come into the first game of the international summer and to really hit my straps and feel like I was on the money is a great start for me. I don’t rely on confidence now at my age, I know I can bowl well and where ball is going. But it’s always a nice lift when you have some wickets behind you.”The tweaks, grooving and tapering into the international summer are all part of Broad fitting in. You might think all this suits Broad’s persona, but the greater trust in what is around him has come from greater belief in the whole. It has been a seamless shift for a player who has thrived on perpetuating the sportsperson’s lie that success is a lifelong friend answering only his calls.Since being axed for the Caribbean tour that followed the 4-0 Ashes defeat, his approach is altogether more holistic: not looking too far ahead, not taking any of this for granted. And all the while, not losing his incisiveness even if he has forgone a degree of bloodlust to play everyone, everywhere, and everything, all at once.”As long as I am fit and fresh, I have done my job,” he said, with menacing zen when looking ahead to the Ashes. “I want to be ready to be called upon at whatever stage I am needed. It’s one of those environments that if I don’t play at Edgbaston for example, I might play a bigger part at The Oval.”It was against New Zealand here at Lord’s in the first match under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum that Broad took it upon himself to play the part of cheerleader out in the field, whipping the stands into a frenzy. A year and 13 matches into a bolder more expansive era, Broad was far more reserved, even pulling punches on a few celebrappeals. The crowd still moved to his beat, he just knew to save the up-tempo stuff for later.That’ll no doubt come once he lines up against Australia. Which, given how Thursday has panned out, could be sooner rather than later. If question marks remain over members of the ‘first-string’ attack by the time Edgbaston comes around, the selectors should have no qualms in putting him in from the get-go. Even on a muted Thursday, it was hard not to leave wondering if Broad is brewing something spectacular.

Kishan has made a compelling case with three straight ODI fifties, but Samson could get another go in the Asia Cup if Rahul isn’t fit

Shashank Kishore02-Aug-20230:45

Is Kishan now India’s first-choice back-up opener?

Ishan Kishan vs Sanju Samson.In an ideal world, if KL Rahul is fit, Kishan’s Player-of-the-Series performance in the Caribbean would have possibly settled the second wicketkeeper debate for the World Cup. But because Rahul is still uncertain for the Asia Cup along with Shreyas Iyer, there’s a small window of hope for Samson.For now, here’s what we know about Rahul and Iyer. That they have “resumed batting in the nets and are undergoing strength fitness drills.” This is also perhaps why Kishan and Samson were both tried out in the ODI series in the Caribbean.Related

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Kishan was accommodated at the top of the order in place of Rohit Sharma, and he may have made a compelling case to be a reserve opener with a chart-topping 184 runs at a strike rate of 111.51 and a best of 77, in the 3rd ODI in Tarouba on Tuesday.Samson was slotted into the middle in place of Virat Kohli, and became the third No. 4 India tried out in the series after Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel. He displayed more than his bristling batting form and six-hitting prowess in a 41-ball 51 in the decider. After 12 ODI innings, Samson now averages 55.71 with 390 runs, including three half-centuries. He could get a few more opportunities in the T20Is in the Caribbean and USA to build on it.Now, here’s the thing. India’s top three for the World Cup is all but set in stone: Rohit, Shubman Gill and Kohli. The earliest Kishan can slot in is at No. 4 should he play as wicketkeeper, a position he has been tried in, didn’t excel in with 106 runs from six innings, but one where Samson has much of his success. So, there’s a decision to make if Rahul isn’t available, and the team management has to be prepared for this possibility.In that case, do India still punt on Kishan to be their first choice wicketkeeper knowing very well that he’ll have to move to a slightly more unfamiliar position? Or do they back Samson, who has the experience of batting there, should he make a compelling case in Ireland where he’ll have three more opportunities, even if in a different format?As that old cliche goes, Kishan has controlled the controllables quite well. In Bridgetown, where the surfaces for the first two ODIs were challenging, Kishan shelved his typically robust game to suit the demands of the team and dropped anchor.1:23

Did Samson have the right approach for a No. 4 batter?

On Tuesday, Kishan the marauder was out in full flow, throwing his hands at anything wide, pulling with ferocity and taking the attack to the spinners immediately by using his feet. He was given an early life on 9 when he was put down at backward point, but for much of his knock, there was positivity and bristling energy typical of him. There was a tempo he was keen to set and he ensured he wasn’t letting the bowlers off the hook.There was decisiveness when he was taking on the short ball, whether it was trying to pull or simply help it down to long leg. The whip behind square for six off Romario Shepherd, in particular, was a stunner. Initially looking to duck, Kishan realised it was worth a go, and quickly got inside the line while using his wrists to pull behind square. It’s a shot that only incredible hand-eye coordination could have made possible. It brough up his fifty off 43 balls. The beauty of Kishan’s game lay in how quickly he had judged the surface to be a belter and adapted accordingly.However, Kishan would have been gutted to have missed out on a hundred for the taking, but for now, he has done everything that has been asked of him, something coach Rahul Dravid alluded to after the Barbados leg of the ODI series.Now to Samson, an enigma in T20 cricket. A batter with unbelievable power and skill for someone who started off as a touch player over a decade ago, incidentally handpicked by Dravid at Rajasthan Royals. Samson’s issue, though, has been consistency.In Tarouba, he needed runs to justify the faith. And at No. 4, he came in with a platform set up for him, at 154 for 2 after 23 overs. The pressure was off, even though it’s possible he may have felt the jitters from within. In the second ODI, he scored just 9 and was part of a batting meltdown that could have been averted with a little bit of caution. That didn’t seem to play on his mind in the decider as he came out having fun, swinging for the hills, clearing his front leg and seemingly hell bent on depositing the ball into Port-of-Spain. He started with two sixes off his first four balls against legspinner Yannic Cariah.It seemed as if sustained aggression was his mantra. Samson was picking deliveries off his pads, flicking them over the ropes, lofting deliveries inside-out and on one occasion, stayed inside the crease to open up the off side and cut behind point to a delivery he could have driven. Samson was manipulating fields with sky-high confidence.Samson was equally excellent while using his feet to get to the spin against the legspinner and go straight downtown. He launched his fifty off 39 balls and looked to go big, and perished in the process, hitting a slower delivery straight to mid-off.You could look back and wonder if he missed a chance to convert. Or you could say that he attacked his way through and played with an intensity and purpose which was the need of the hour. Perhaps it’s what they may need on a flat Ahmedabad track where maybe 330-340 will be par, especially with dew likely to play a massive part.Samson now has three straight T20Is in Ireland to present his case further for that middle-order spot. Of course, a lot will depend on how Rahul and Iyer pull up too. There’s a school of thought that the World Cup XI should play the Asia Cup opener against Pakistan on September 2 in Pallekele, barring the one odd spot. And if Samson needs to find himself there, he’ll need an extraordinary run of games in Malahide, showing more than just glimpses of what he did in Tarouba.For now, it’s reasonable to infer that Kishan holds the aces, but Samson is very much in the running. If he does leapfrog Kishan, it could be because of a massive surge in form that convinces the team management of his readiness to play the middle-order enforcer better than Kishan. Either way, it’ll be a tough call for the selectors to make.

Spinner’s non-stop schedule epitomises the nature of the T20 franchise circuit

Matt Roller31-Jul-2023Rashid Khan looked tired. There were bags under his eyes as he sat in a hotel room in North Carolina and logged onto a Microsoft Teams call. No wonder.In the last eight months, Rashid has played 69 games for eight different teams in eight different countries, across innings lasting 10, 20 and 50 overs. Since the start of the Covid pandemic, he has played 199 games with full T20 status, the most of any player in the world – and it’s not even close.Two weeks ago, Rashid played a T20I in Sylhet, Bangladesh one day, and in Major League Cricket in Dallas, Texas the next. “Straightaway, from the ground, I went to the airport then flew from Sylhet to Dhaka, Dhaka to Qatar, Qatar to here,” he explained. “I reached the hotel, I took a shower and changed in 15 minutes, went to the meeting, then straightaway to the game.”Such is the life of a T20 globetrotter who, at 24, has already played more than 500 professional games. “It was very hard,” Rashid reflected, “but mentally it was a good preparation. That was a flight of more than 20 hours and still I was feeling very fresh, like I’m ready to go and can deliver for my team.”That team was MI New York, one of the three Mumbai Indians affiliates – along with MI Cape Town and MI Emirates – who have been formed in the last 12 months. Rashid has played for all of them; in between times, he played against Mumbai Indians themselves three times in IPL 2023, taking 2 for 33 to help knock them out in the second qualifier.Rashid played a key role in MI New York’s victory in the MLC•SportzpicsIt is unsustainable, a scenario which sums up why franchises are increasingly keen to tie players to year-round contracts. “Sometimes you are in the same team; next, you are in the opposite side,” Rashid said. “It’s the same with the national team: playing with them, then tomorrow in the leagues, you’re playing against them. That’s what T20 is all about. It’s a great franchise to be part of.”Rashid was speaking as part of the launch of KP Snacks’ community cricket pitches initiative, which will fund 100 new pitches over the next three years. It is part of a tie-in with the Hundred, where he was due to represent the defending champions Trent Rockets on Tuesday night – another quick turnaround, having claimed 3 for 9 to help win the inaugural MLC final late on Sunday night. Related

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He was locked in to play three games for Rockets this season before flying to Pakistan for a three-match ODI series, as Afghanistan ramp up their preparation for the Asia Cup and the World Cup beyond – but, on the eve of the opening game, he pulled out of the tournament at the 11th hour due to an unspecified injury.Even before his withdrawal, Rashid conceded that he could use a break. He missed two ODIs against Sri Lanka last month with a back injury that he says is “still to be fully recovered” and his upcoming schedule is relentless. “There is so much cricket,” he said. “Asia Cup is there, World Cup is there. We have 20-21 ODIs in the next two or three months. It’s a big task.”So why does he do it? “You just need to look after yourself, and try your best to make sure you enjoy your skills,” he explained. “That’s what I have been doing. Every day is the best chance for me to entertain the crowd, entertain the fans all around the world and that is something which gives me the motivation and makes me prepared for the next game.”Trent Rockets won the 2022 Men’s Hundred, despite Rashid’s limited involvement•ECB via Getty ImagesWherever Rashid goes, Afghanistan fans follow. “It gives me so much energy on the field when I see my own flag and the people in the stands cheering for me. That is so beautiful – even here in the US as well. It’s the same in the UK. It’s a positive energy for me when I see them in the ground. I just try my best to give something to make them smile.”Rashid was the only Afghan player due to be involved in the Hundred this season, and hopes that will change in future. “As the T20 captain of Afghanistan, I feel if we get more batters in the Hundred and they get the opportunity to get better and better, it’s going to be a massive help – and also great for the fans in the UK, where they come to see the best players.”[Rahmanullah] Gurbaz has been playing around the world. Ibrahim [Zadran] has been delivering so well so far. There is lots of young talent as well in the Under-19s… Hazrat Zazai is there as well. Good talent is there but it’s just about the opportunity. I feel like the best opportunity for them is now the Asia Cup and the World Cup where they show their talent and everyone is watching.”This will be Rashid’s – and Afghanistan’s – second 50-over World Cup, but he is still chasing his first win. “It’s the best conditions you can ask for, as a team who has a very good spin attack,” he says. “We have been contributing in the World Cups, but we don’t have many wins.”This year, we are not just going to be part of the World Cup. We are going to be a team which win games – and not only one or two. If you see the schedule, we have most games on good tracks where it spins as well. I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for us where we can beat the teams and we can create history.”KP Snacks are funding 100 new community cricket pitches over the next three years. To find out more and search for a pitch visit: www.everyonein.co.uk/pitchfinder

He has progressed from not being able to get into the Surrey side to Buttler telling him mid-game that he was impossible to bowl to

Cameron Ponsonby20-Dec-2023″It was a confusing morning,” Phil Salt reflected. The mixed emotions evident after a day where he was left on the rack for the IPL, then hours later became the first English player in history to score consecutive T20I hundreds.”That’s all I’ll say on it,” he continued. “I was expecting to be picked up….but it can happen.”Salt is used to being told no. Despite a professional debut at 18, his route to the top is unusual in that it features no pathway cricket. Today it may have been the IPL, but for the duration of his teenage years it was Surrey.Related

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“I couldn’t get in,” he laughed earlier in the tour when recalling the days he spent trying his best to break into one of the nation’s biggest production lines.It’s not that Surrey didn’t know who a teenage Salt was, nor that he was battling to be in the same absurd age-group that contained the likes of Sam Curran, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Pope, Will Jacks, Ryan Patel and Amar Virdi. It was just that Surrey didn’t care. Salt played district cricket, the level below full age-group, and had a vocal advocate in former Surrey spin bowler Keith Medlycott, who was his coach at school, but nevertheless the county were happy to say thanks, but no thanks.And they had good reason to. At 16, he had a season for Guildford Cricket Club where he averaged 11 in the first team. A record that was so good it earnt him four goes in the 2s as well.The die appeared to be cast. Salt was a talented player, who had a future ahead of him ruining people’s Saturdays by slogging a hundred, but little more. Which, to be fair, has turned out to be true. It’s just that rather than ruining the Saturdays of Weybridge and Sutton. It’s West Indies. And then three days later, he ruined their Tuesday as well.”I’ve always been good at hitting the sight screen and going over the leg side,” Salt reminisced about his favourite bits of his second century in three days. “But it’s something Jos [Buttler] said to me today when Jason Holder took the pace off wide and I hit over the off side, he just said ‘teams can’t bowl to you’.”Educated at Reed’s in Surrey, a school whose indoor centre features PitchVision with each net rumoured to replicate a different continent – a fact that provides the excellent scenario where a kid in the 3s might be phenomenal in India but just keeps nicking off in England – there is a case that Salt represents the best and worst of the impact that private schools have on cricket in England.On the one hand, you have a kid who was born in Wales and grew up in Barbados, plucked from obscurity and given a scholarship. A scenario that meant when Surrey weren’t interested, a player with ability, but whose development didn’t match what a professional outfit wanted, was able to continue playing, continue grafting and eventually live out his dream of playing for England. Stop crying in the back. But on the other hand, it is a tale that is only possible for the lucky dip winners. This is not an indictment of Reed’s, nor Medlycott, nor Salt. All of whom were committed to an unlikely dream that has been rewarded. But an acknowledgement of a tale that is only possible through the opportunities private education provides. Of course, whether that is cause for private celebration or public commiseration is down to your own political proclivities.Phil Salt helped England to their highest T20I total•Associated Press”Medders was brilliant,” Salt said of his mentor at Reed’s. “I was at school in Surrey, parents were in Barbados and Medders and his wife MJ really opened their doors to me. It was almost like I was part of the family at times.”I still see him quite a lot and he’s got a wealth of knowledge. If I do well, he’ll be the first message. And if I do badly, he’ll be the first message as well. I’m very lucky to have had him in my corner.”With Surrey not interested, Salt’s attention turned to Sussex who provided the second turning point of his career after the move from Barbados to England. Salt was roughly 17, and despite having never been part of the junior programme just a few miles north on the A3, was a year away from a professional debut thanks to performance manager Keith Greenfield.”Keith was the exact same. I didn’t have a base in the UK but he’d give me digs down in Brighton and throw balls at me hours on end. Both of them were very influential figures in my development.”As of 2021, 61% of England’s Test batters in the past 20 years had received private education, compared to 27% of bowlers and allrounders (batting figures include those who received private scholarships at Sixth Form such as Joe Root). Statistics that are a result of batting’s status as cricket’s nurture to bowling’s nature. Batting can be trained. Hit thousands of balls over and over and you’ll improve. Compare this to the story of Salt’s England team-mate Tymal Mills, who first picked up a cricket ball at 14 and had the physiological ability to immediately be the fastest bowler in his league. In short, the theory goes that great batters are made, but fast bowlers are born.Salt’s work ethic is exemplary. The anecdote of a decade ago was that he was a talented cricketer who came back after a winter spent nothing but netting, and revolutionised his game. Ten years later and his continued technical work led to England’s greatest ever white-ball batter Buttler telling him mid-game that he was impossible to bowl to. The brain is also combined with brawn, with him currently on an extreme diet in a conscious effort to bulk up and clear the ropes.He’s a deserved England player who, for what it’s worth, is also considered to be one of the nicest.Salt was provided an opportunity that few are, which was combined with a desire that few have. The argument is that in a country where cricket considers itself to be a national sport, it is only the latter that should matter.

His resilience and ability to think on his feet while under extreme pressure have been a big part of his success in recent times

Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Nov-20232:04

Rohit: Kuldeep is not afraid to get hit

Kuldeep Yadav grew up wanting to be Wasim Akram. His life changed when his first coach, Kapil Pandey, advised him to give up fast bowling and try instead to become a left-arm Shane Warne.On October 22 in Dharamsala, Kuldeep briefly lived his first cricketing dream, sending down a cross-seam thunderbolt – at 113.7kph, it was roughly 33kph quicker than his previous ball – that smacked into Daryl Mitchell’s right bicep as he attempted an ill-advised reverse-sweep. It seemed at first that the batter had given Kuldeep an early sighter of his intentions, but watch it again, freeze the video at the point of Kuldeep’s release, and it isn’t obvious at all that Mitchell was shaping to reverse. Kuldeep, it would seem, had been looking to bowl this quick’un all along.This was Kuldeep’s sixth over in this India-New Zealand game, and it was a pivotal time in the contest. This was the first match of this World Cup where India were without Hardik Pandya, which meant they had no sixth bowler to step in if one of their five frontline options was enduring a bad day. Kuldeep, at that point, seemed to be enduring a decidedly bad day. His first five overs, all wicketless, had cost him 48 runs, and Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra had already combined to hit him for four sixes.Related

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At the start of Kuldeep’s sixth over, the 33rd of the innings, New Zealand were 167 for 2 and looking at a total of 292 according to ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster.They ended up all out for 273, and Kuldeep played a key part in restricting them to this extent, picking up two wickets and conceding just 25 in his last five overs.It was a performance that showcased Kuldeep’s resilience and his ability to think on his feet while under extreme pressure. Speaking at a mixed-zone interaction three weeks later, after India’s last league game, Kuldeep went back to this contest against New Zealand and spoke of how he’d bounced back through his last five overs.”Sometimes the batsman can get [on top of] you, and you have to change your tactics very quickly, and that’s what I did in Dharamsala,” he said. “I thought the wicket was very flat there, no spin there, small ground, so always better for the batsman to go straight, so sometimes you have to change the line and length to make them guess where you’re going to bowl, and that’s what I did in Dharamsala.”Ball-by-ball data from the Dharamsala game reflects how well Kuldeep’s change of plan worked: in his first five overs, New Zealand’s batters hit him down the ground (through or over the mid-on and mid-off regions) 14 times and took 30 runs off those balls. Mitchell, who used his feet to Kuldeep whenever he got half a chance, hit him for three straight sixes.In the back half of his 10-over quota, Kuldeep made every possible effort to deny New Zealand’s batters the opportunity to hit him straight. The cross-seamer to Mitchell was a sure sign of this, a sign in flashing neon.In his last five overs, Kuldeep only allowed New Zealand’s batters to hit him down the ground on seven occasions, for the cost of nine runs. Four of those runs came via a spilled catch from Jasprit Bumrah on the long-off boundary, when Mitchell miscued him in that direction. This was off a wrong’un dangled wide outside off stump, another ball designed to be difficult to hit down the ground.In a World Cup where he hasn’t gone at more than five an over in any of his other eight games, this performance against New Zealand, where he went at 7.3, has somehow come to exemplify Kuldeep’s best qualities. New Zealand, who at that stage had four wins from four games, had come out with what looked like a method to get on top of an India attack that had until then looked irresistible, and targeting Kuldeep seemed to be central to this method. They got right on top of him too, but he didn’t let them stay there for long.Kuldeep Yadav has 14 wickets and an economy of 4.15 in this World Cup•Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty ImagesKuldeep has always been a resilient character, supremely confident in his own ability, but it’s perhaps over the last two years or so, coinciding with his comeback to India’s ODI squad following a spell out of the side, that he’s fully developed the defensive tools that have allowed him to stay in games like the one in Dharamsala.The Kuldeep of the 2019 World Cup, who lost his status as guaranteed starter after England took him apart at Edgbaston, may not have had all these tools at his disposal. Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep’s captain, has seen how much he’s evolved as a cricketer in the interim.”Kuldeep obviously missed out on a few games in between, but since he’s made a comeback, you see a different sort of Kuldeep in terms of his attitude, wants to front the situation, front the challenge, take the responsibility upon him[self],” he said on the eve of India’s semi-final against New Zealand. “All those kind of things I can clearly see with him.”He is not afraid to get hit. [The Dharamsala] game was a perfect example where the batters were trying to put him under pressure. But he eventually got those couple of wickets for us. With him, it doesn’t matter that he goes for runs, but his job, he knows that he has to go out there and get the team into good situations, try for breakthroughs, if there’s a partnership. And yeah, he’s not afraid of getting hit. And that’s the beauty of spin bowling.”If you are afraid, things do not fall in place in terms of the strategy of the team as well. You don’t mind getting hit in a few overs, but the will to come back and finish off really strong is what matters. And that is what he did in Dharamsala. They were in good position at one point and they probably ended up getting 270-280. So that was a good comeback [from India] in the last 10 overs.”I mean like we always say, the game is not over till the last ball is bowled. So even though you get hit for a few boundaries, few sixes here and there, in a few overs, there are 10 overs, 60 balls that you have to bowl and you have to come back. And that is the attitude that Kuldeep has, even if he is put under pressure at the beginning, he knows he has to come back and he will come back.”On Wednesday India will play New Zealand again, at the Wankhede Stadium, the least hospitable venue to spinners in the competition so far. At no ground at this World Cup have spinners had a worse average (70.09) or economy rate (5.99). The boundaries are short, particularly down the ground, the bounce is true, and batters can often hit through the line with impunity. New Zealand will have their plans as always, including various ways of going after India’s spinners.After missing out on playing the World Cup semi-final four years ago, Kuldeep will be ready for whatever they’ll throw at him, relishing the chance of another high-intensity scrap.

At Visakhapatnam, 1196 runs were scored but the best partnership was of 90 runs – not a record, but almost there

Sampath Bandarupalli05-Feb-20248-3 – England’s win-loss record in fourth-innings chases since Brendon McCullum became the coach in May 2022. Prior to the Visakhapatnam Test, they had lost by one run to New Zealand and by 43 runs to Australia, both last year.292 – England’s total in the fourth innings was the second-highest for any team against India in India. Sri Lanka’s 299 for 5 in Delhi in 2017 is still the highest.97 – Test wickets for R Ashwin against England, the most by an Indian. The three wickets on Monday took him past BS Chandrasekhar’s tally of 95.4 – Instances of India losing the first Test match of a home Test series since 2010. Each time, however, they have bounced back to win the second Tests: vs South Africa in 2010, vs Australia in 2017, and vs England in 2021.10.11 – Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling average in the second Test against England, the second-best for an India pace bowler while taking nine or more wickets in a home Test. Ishant Sharma averaged 8.66 against Bangladesh in 2019 in Kolkata, where he took nine wickets for only 78 runs.The Visakhapatnam Test was the fourth time Bumrah took eight or more wickets in a Test for fewer than 100 runs. Only Ashwin (seven) has more such hauls than Bumrah among India bowlers.0 – After two Tests, no India spinner has a four-wicket haul. The best in these two Tests so far is Ashwin’s 3 for 68 in the first innings in Hyderabad. Bumrah alone has three better returns than that: 4-41 in the second innings in Hyderabad, and 6-45 and 3-46 in Visakhapatnam.1196 – Totals runs scored in Visakhapatnam, the third-highest in a Test match without a century stand. The 90-run third-wicket partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer in India’s first innings was the highest across the four innings.The 1993 Ashes Test at The Oval had 1225 runs scored with a highest stand of 88 runs, while the Pallekele Test between Sri Lanka and England in 2018 had 1215 runs with 96 the highest stand.1996 – The last instance of two batters aged below 25 scoring hundreds for India in a Test match was Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar against England in the 1996 Trent Bridge Test. Jaiswal (209 in the first innings) and Shubman Gill (104) did it in Visakhapatnam.

The pitches have provided considerable assistance in recent seasons which has left selectors adjusting how they assess batters

Alex Malcolm24-Jan-2024This was supposed to be a summer of cashing in for Australia’s batters.Pakistan and West Indies were returning to Australia’s shores having combined for 32 wickets in four previous Tests in Australia in 2019 and 2022 respectively. The home side made 500 in four of their six innings across those two series, with batters piling up triple and double centuries galore.But Australia’s batters have not had much fun against two very inexperienced attacks this summer so far, having been tested by debutants Aamer Jamal and Shamar Joseph.Only two players, Mitchell Marsh and David Warner, have averaged more than 40 and only two centuries have been scored, although Marsh has twice fallen in the 90s.Fairly or unfairly, it has led to questions about the form and composition of Australia’s top six, with the decision to open with Steven Smith in Adelaide proving a lightning rod for opinion.But what is going unnoticed is how difficult the pitches are for batting in Australia compared to years past, and how friendly they are to seam bowling.Captain Pat Cummins believes it is a welcome relief from some of the Australian pitches that were served up in his first full home summers in the team, between 2017 and 2021.”It’s nice,” Cummins said. “My first couple of summers it felt like even the games that we won, you were bowling 45 overs as a quick bowler. You were finishing on day five and you were pretty bruised and battered.”We haven’t really had that for the last couple of summers, which is great. It feels like, say the hundred that Trav [Head] got [in Adelaide] holds even more significance. You’ve got to earn basically every run you get. I love it. It feels like you’re always in the game. Even if you’re out of it or feel like you’re a little bit ahead, a quick half an hour can turn the game. I quite like the Test matches.”The numbers certainly back up how much more difficult it has been for opposition batters against Australia’s largely unchanged attack. Between October 2017 and October 2021, of the countries that hosted 10 Test matches, Australia was the third-easiest place to bat for travelling players as they averaged 25.98. But since October 2021, that number has dropped to 19.16.Some outstanding players have played in Australia in both periods and the decline has been marked. Eight visiting players scored more than 200 runs and averaged more than 40 in Australia between 2017 and 2021, including Joe Root and Babar Azam. None of the players to have scored more than 200 since have averaged more than 35, with both Root and Babar returning in that time.Australia’s batters have faced a similar decline at home. David Warner, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh all averaged over 66 at home between 2017 and 2021. Only Marsh has been able to maintain that since 2021 albeit his sample sizes in both periods are quite small. Travis Head and Usman Khawaja are the only mainstays to improve their home records but Khawaja has scored all three of his home centuries on very placid SCG pitches in that time and two of those have been not out when the team has declared to help that average. Head has been a complete outlier in terms of his success on lively home pitches. Khawaja and Green have vastly improved records overseas since 2021 than they do at home which is unusual for Australian players, especially given three of those tours have been in Sri Lanka, India and England.Smith agreed that the pitches have been tougher to bat on but has enjoyed the battles.”I think you can probably see that with the scores,” Smith said. “There are not too many 500-plus scores that we were getting three or four years ago pretty consistently. The games are ending a lot quicker as well. There has certainly been a lot more in it.The value of Mitchell Marsh’s runs have been high in tough conditions•Getty Images”The Kookaburra balls are staying harder as well. The new balls seem to have another coat of lacquer on them. Even after 80 overs on a couple of occasions there is still writing on the ball and you can see it still shaping and remaining reasonably hard. Maybe there is a balance between them. I feel like it has been pretty hard on the batters the last few years but it has still been fun.”Sheffield Shield pitches have also been incredibly seam-friendly in recent years. It has led Australia’s back-room staff to take a different approach to appraising the performances of the batters at both Test and first-class level, with traditional averages not carrying as much weight. Individual runs percentage contribution to an innings score is one measurement used, with 15% regarded as a good baseline for top four players and slightly less for Nos. 5-7, while runs above expected average is another.Australia coach Andrew McDonald reiterated the importance of putting context around batting averages and contributions.”On average, runs are coming down in Australia. Batting hasn’t been easy over the last couple of years,” McDonald told SEN. “So maybe some averages reflect that. We’ve got to put a bit more perspective around those averages.”But speaking after the Adelaide Test, which ended inside seven sessions of cricket with only two players passing 50, McDonald did not believe the pitches had become too seam-friendly”It’s a great debate, isn’t it?” McDonald said. “The wickets have offered more for seam bowling, and this wicket out here had a little bit of variable bounce as well. So I think it’s definitely evened up and is that a good thing or a bad thing? I think as long as you come to a venue and it’s showing consistent traits as a home team, you’re happy with that.”We’re encouraged by the seam. You’re never out of a game. Even if you’re in front of the game you’ve got to be really diligent in making sure that you maximize that position. I think it keeps everyone interested. This game probably sped up a little bit quicker than what the fans would have liked, than what probably the players would have liked, but in saying that, I think it was a balance. You earned your runs and you still had to work hard for your wickets as well.”Australia’s staff are constantly checking ball-tracking data as well to evaluate their batters’ performances.”You look at the scoreboard and it’s 5 for 144 which we were at and you put into place what you’re seeing in terms of the data that’s coming through and you understand this not easy for batting,” McDonald said. “So that just gives us an understanding of how difficult wickets are and what’s happening with the ball.”