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A four-wicket haul from Mitchell McClenaghan, followed by fifties from Martin Guptill, Rob Nicol and Craig Cachopa helped Auckland sink Canterbury by seven wickets at Eden Park Outer Oval. Canterbury, opting to bat, began brightly as Henry Nicholls (60) and Neil Broom (54) both raised half-centuries during a 108-run stand for the second wicket.Canterbury were well-placed at 127 for 1, but Broom’s wicket in the 26th over triggered a slide that saw the team lose their last nine wickets for just 72 runs. McClenaghan picked up 4 for 39, while Colin de Grandhomme and Tarun Nethula snared two wickets apiece to bundle Canterbury out for 199 in 45.3 overs.Auckland were comfortable throughout the chase, and two 50-plus partnerships saw the team home inside 33 overs. Guptill (55) and Anaru Kitchen first put up an opening stand of 68, but both batsmen were dismissed by the 16th over. However, Nicol and Craig Cachopa’s 81-run association for the third wicket helped complete a straightforward win. Craig Cachopa was removed towards the end of the chase for 51, with eight fours and a six, but Nicol stayed unbeaten on 59, with five fours and three sixes.An all-round effort from Nathan McCullum helped Otago edge past Wellington at Queenstown Events Centre. McCullum first slammed 119, and then picked up three crucial wickets, as Otago won by 16 runs. Otago, after being inserted, were struggling at 65 for 4 following a burst from Grant Elliott (4 for 46), but McCullum and Iain Robertson (62) counterattacked with a 150-run, fifth-wicket partnership. That stand, followed by a 20-ball 30 from Josh Finnie propelled the team to 286 for 8.Wellington lost three early wickets in their chase, but Grant Elliott and James Franklin steadied the innings with a 61-run stand. Otago fought back with two more quick wickets, but Franklin and A Day once again wrested the initiative with a sixth-wicket association which yielded 88 runs. At 231 for 5 with seven overs still left, Otago would have fancied their chances, but Day’s wicket for 50 in the 44th over turned the tide, as the team lost four wickets for just four runs. Sam Wells collected 3 for 41, including two wickets in the 45th over, as Otago were restricted to 270 for 9, and Franklin left stranded on 98.A century from George Worker went in vain, as Central Districts fell short against Northern Districts by 13 runs. Chasing 298, Worker’s 100 and his 95-run partnership with Will Young (65) had Central Districts well-placed at 184 for 2 in the 33rd over. However, once Worker was dismissed by Ish Sodhi, Central Districts lost their way, with their final eight wickets falling for just 100 runs. Jono Boult was the pick of Northern Districts’ bowlers, taking 3 for 64, while Sodhi, Scott Kuggeleijn and Mitchell Santner shared six wickets between them.Earlier, Northern Districts had recovered from a shaky start to power their way to 297 for 9. Their innings was built around half-centuries from Jono Hickey (67) and Santner (86), and their 85-run partnership for the fifth wicket. For Central Districts, Seth Rance (3 for 45) and Andrew Mathieson (3 for 67) took three wickets apiece.

Cricket Australia’s operations manager and Big Bash League boss Mike McKenna confirmed today that the BBL would not be expanding beyond its existing eight teams until at least Network Ten’s broadcasting deal expired in 2018-19.”It [team expansion] would never be any earlier than that [the next TV deal]. That’s the absolute earliest you’d ever think about it,” McKenna told the . “We’ve got to convince not only ourselves but all of our stakeholders, including state associations, that if we do expand it’s going to be beneficial to everyone.”There’s been research done. One report we saw around soccer showed how the A-League, J-League and Major League Soccer in the USA all had a dip around the 5-7-year mark. That’s where you can get complacent. Take your eye off the ball and you go backwards. We’re very conscious of that, so we want to make sure we really lock this in before we think about taking the next step.”McKenna also said that any new teams would not be located in the state capitals. “There are big regional centres who don’t get access to international cricket and the Big Bash is a way of taking the game at the elite level to those areas. But if you don’t have a ground that’s capable of playing, we’re not in a position to build them so that limits you. There aren’t many grounds that are ready for cricket.”Increasing the number of overseas players per team from two to three is also something Cricket Australia is considering along with potentially redesigning the finals structure, with the Sheffield Shield schedule said to be open to change.Meanwhile, Network Ten have promised that they will broadcast all of next season’s BBL matches live in all states after facing criticism for delays in Queensland and South Australia.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVinay Kumar recorded his third five-for of the season, and moved within two scalps of the season’s leading wicket-taker Shardul Thakur’s tally of 48•PTI

For the second time in as many weeks, the opening day of a major Ranji Trophy match saw the fall of a heap of wickets. Karnataka were involved in both but unlike the last week’s semi-final against Mumbai, the defending champions were far from sitting on top at the end of day one at the Wankhede Stadium.Karnataka elected to bowl first on a greenish track and bundled out Tamil Nadu for 134 in the first innings, before losing four top-order batsmen for just 45 runs. With Test opener KL Rahul having retired hurt following a left hamstring strain, Karnataka would be banking on Karun Nair and Abhimanyu Mithun, who came in as nightwatchman for the second match in succession, to stage a rescue act on the second day.The opening day’s script panned out much like Karnataka’s semi-final. At Chinnaswamy, 21 wickets had fallen, besides Abhishek Nayar being absent out. Wankhede saw 14 batsmen perishing, in addition to Rahul retiring hurt on the season’s liveliest wicket in Mumbai. Just like last week, Karnataka’s star of the day was captain Vinay Kumar, who made optimum use of favourable conditions to record his third five-wicket haul of the season.The only striking difference between the proceedings at Chinnaswamy and those at Wankhede was the approach of the batsmen. While Karnataka’s batsmen remained positive and went for runs last week, their Tamil Nadu counterparts simply did not attempt to break the shackles, which resulted in them being bowled out for a total that might prove difficult to defend, especially in a five-day match.Had it not been for L Balaji’s inspiring burst with the new ball, Tamil Nadu may have been staring down the barrel at stumps. Balaji started the mini-collapse, with Karnataka losing three wickets in 13 balls. The collapse began a ball after Rahul, completing a single, returned to the dressing room after hurting his hamstring for the second time in the day. He had earlier done his hamstring while sliding to stop the ball near the boundary in the second session.R Samarth, who opened the innings with Rahul since Robin Uthappa had to be rested after keeping wickets in the absence of CM Gautam, tried to leave one outside off, but the ball climbed on him and he edged it to Murali Vijay, who completed a low catch at second slip.In the next over, left-armer Prasanth Parameswaran got Shishir Bhavane, who replaced Kunal Kapoor in the team, to nick one that moved away for Baba Indrajith to complete a clean catch at third slip. Balaji came back from the other end to force Uthappa, who came in at No 4, to chase a wide one for Indrajith to take his second catch in as many overs.At 16 for 3, Manish Pandey and Nair had to see the day off. But Balaji forced Pandey into making a mistake 15 minutes before close – the batsman’s attempted flick resulting in a top-edge to Baba Aparajith at covers, to leave Karnataka reeling at 31 for 4. Mithun then restored some parity with three cracking drives to help Karnataka end the day 89 runs behind TN’s total.But it was Vinay who emerged as the star of the day. The head of Karnataka’s pace triumvirate, that has accounted for 116 wickets in the season coming into the game, led from the front again. With a green top greeting them, Karnataka bolstered their pace attack by including HS Sharath in place of Gautam, who failed the fitness test in the morning.Mithun should have got the first breakthrough, but Pandey spilled Abhinav Mukund’s catch at second slip when the Tamil Nadu captain was on 3. But in the seventh over, Vinay gave his team the prize scalp of M Vijay by getting the ball to jag back in and trap the India opener plumb in front.In his next over, Vinay produced a peach of a delivery that came in and snaked through Aparajith’s defence to hit the top of off stump. Tamil Nadu continued to lose wickets regularly thereon; Aswin Crist edged Vinay to the keeper 28 minutes after tea to get Vinay within two scalps of the season’s leading wicket-taker Shardul Thakur’s tally of 48.None of Tamil Nadu’s batsmen made an attempt to break the rhythm of the pace quartet, and that helped them stick to bowling in the channel of uncertainty. The ball of the day came from the man of the day in the second session.Abhinav had survived for well over three hours after the early reprieve. And the Tamil Nadu captain got a ripper from his Karnataka counterpart. The ball was pitched way outside off and Abhinav shouldered arms only to see the ball shaping in sharply off the seam and crashing into the stumps.

The Bank of Colin Graves is closed for business. Never mind the financial crash of 2008, that announcement must have sent shockwaves around the world of Yorkshire cricket.Self-reliance has always been a watchword for traditional Yorkshire folk and self-reliance was again what they must have imagined they were facing as Graves, Yorkshire’s outgoing chairman, now heading for an even greater challenge as chairman of the ECB, announced that “the club needs to stand on its own two feet and generate cash”.The first test of Yorkshire cricket’s ability to pay its way will be whether the public turns out at Headingley over May Bank Holiday for the second Test against New Zealand. The World Cup runners-up are in town. The least they owe him is to fill the ground. But history suggests there will be more than a few taking umbrage at something and staying away: Alastair Cook perhaps, or even Kevin Pietersen.Graves’ loans to Yorkshire extend to £11m, either personally or via a family trust. They amount to roughly 50% of Yorkshire’s debt – a debt largely built up because of the need to buy Headingley in an attempt to put the county on a firmer footing.That largesse was enough for Graves to be handed a silver county cap at the annual meeting at Headingley, in recognition 13 years unstinting service to Yorkshire. He never received a cap for playing for Yorkshire, although by all accounts he was a belligerent left-handed batsman for Dunnington in the York Senior League.”The Bank of Colin Graves has gone,” Graves told members. “This business has got to stand on its own two feet and generate cash. The new chairman and the Board are fully aware of their responsibilities.”We have a debt of £23 million, although hardcore debt is roughly £20 million. People forget that from that £20 million, we paid roughly £13.5 million to buy the ground. That is a pure asset. If you knock this lot down and build houses or a supermarket, I can assure you the asset value of the ground is worth more than £15 million.”As Graves presses for a more financially viable English professional game, he is aware that there will be sniping that he is representing Yorkshire’s interests. He is determined that he cannot fairly be accused of a conflict of interest.”From a personal point of view, my loan of £5.5 million is being put back in via my family trust,” he said. “Colin Graves’ personal money is coming from the trust in the future. I have no conflict of interest going forward.”At the end of the day, you’ve got a situation where they are looking at it as a pure investment. People don’t have to worry.”

Mushfiqur Rahim was surprised to get the Man-of-the-Match award after Friday’s first ODI against Pakistan. He had scored a century, that too the third fastest by a Bangladeshi batsman in an ODI, and taken a catch. He was also involved in Bangladesh’s highest ODI partnership for any wicket with Tamim Iqbal. Still, Mushfiqur felt that it was Tamim’s 132 which had more impact on Bangladesh’s highest-ever score in an ODI of 329 for 6. However, the judges thought differently.”I tried to remind him of one thing,” Mushfiqur said of Tamim after Bangladesh’s 79-run win on Friday. “He used to get out in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I told him he cannot go for the shots until the last five overs because a new batsman can’t come and start hitting from the onset. He took calculative risks. I was very surprised to get the Man-of-the-Match award. He deserved it.”This was Tamim’s first ODI hundred in two years. He had broken his Test century hoodoo in the series against Zimbabwe last year, after which he looked relieved. A knee injury hampered his World Cup preparation and he made one significant score in the tournament, ending it with 155 runs at an average of 25.66. Every low score was greeted by derision on social media. Internet trolls and memes vilified Tamim, while there was always the odd question through traditional media about his place in the team.There was an understanding that given his run of low scores, he shouldn’t have played the warm-up match in Fatullah. He made just nine, further denting his confidence on the eve of the match.Yet Tamim struck back on Friday with his fifth ODI hundred, a match-winning one at that. The duo of Mushfiqur and Tamim added 178 runs in just 21.4 overs, completely changing the course of the game as Bangladesh were 67 for two when Mahmudullah fell at the end of the 20th over. By the time Tamim got out, Bangladesh were looking towards a 300-run score.Tamim didn’t come to the post-match press conference so Mushfiqur and Shakib Al Hasan had to field many questions related to Tamim. Shakib praised Tamim’s effort and said that it was one of the best innings he had seen of the batsman.”It was an extraordinary innings,” Shakib said. “To be honest, he was under some pressure but his batting didn’t show any nerve. It is definitely one of his best innings. The way him and Mushfiqur batted, it was the turning point in the game. I think Tamim played the way he usually plays.”Mushfiqur said that he enjoyed Tamim’s celebration which included a gesture towards the stands for the amount of talk on him. He said that patience should be shown with Tamim, because even though he has been going through a lean trot Tamim’s last big innings wasn’t too long ago.’I think it was easy to understand [his celebration],” Mushfiqur said. “There was a lot of talk about him in the last 4-5 months. I believe there are very few accomplished batsman in Bangladesh. He got out to good balls in the last few games. People get out to bad balls. A batsman can go through a bad time.”There were many batsmen in the World Cup who didn’t score more than 200 runs. He had one very important score in the World Cup. We couldn’t have won that game against Scotland had he not done well in that game. If we lost that game, we probably wouldn’t have made it to the quarterfinals. It is not entirely the media’s fault. There will always be criticism. We don’t need support in a good time, rather we need it in bad time. I think his celebration was great. I liked it. I hope Tamim will play more big innings in the future.”

Zimbabwe fast bowler Tendai Chatara has been ruled out of cricket for nearly six months, after fracturing his left leg. Chatara, 24, sustained the injury last week while playing soccer during the domestic off-season.Chatara had collided with one of the goalkeepers, and though a specialist recommended that there was no need for surgery, an X-ray confirmed the player suffered an oblique fracture of the tibia (shin bone) and a transverse fracture of the fibula (calf bone).”I discussed with the specialist the available options,” Anesu Mupotaringa, Zimbabwe’s physiotherapist, said. “He advised conservative management, saying that compared to an operation, that treatment will have fewer side effects which will enable the player to have fewer problems when he starts practice and playing again. We also have a diet plan in place which is high in calcium to promote quick healing and strong bones.”Chatara will be in a full cast immobilisation for four weeks, and a below-knee cast immobilisation for six weeks, depending on the X-ray results after the first four weeks. A programme is also being set up for him to continue working on his upper body and core while his leg heals.Chatara played all six of Zimbabwe’s matches in the World Cup, emerging as their highest wicket-taker with 10 scalps at an average of 34.20.

Sri Lanka head coach Marvan Atapattu has said the absence of Saeed Ajmal was a psychological boost for the home side ahead of the three-Test series against Pakistan that begins in Galle on Wednesday.”The major change that I see in this Pakistan side is that Saeed Ajmal is not there,” Atapattu said. “He has been their main weapon and it’s somewhat unfortunate that things have fallen that way. Teams have to face such situations.”It’s a psychological thing when you know that Ajmal at his peak made not only the Sri Lankans but a lot of batsmen think,” he said. “He gave a lot of them sleepless nights. Now that he is not there it’s a psychological advantage to us but still you’ve got to respect the good ball and put away the bad ones. That’s the mentality I expect our players to be in.”I believe they’ve got bowlers who could win games but at the same time they haven’t done it yet.”Atapattu was, however, upbeat about Sri Lanka’s bowling, especially with the “coming of age” of their fast-bowling unit.

A new era for Sri Lanka

Atapattu said the upcoming series was important because it was the start of a new era for Sri Lanka cricket.
“We are getting into a new era without the two big guns Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara at some point in time in the series. It’s a new challenge for the players in different slots and hopefully they will grab them and hang in there for a long time,” he said.
Jayawardene has retired from all formats of the game at the conclusion of the 2015 World Cup while Sangakkara is expected to do so during the series against India coming up in August. Sangakkara is currently playing for English county Surrey and will join the Test squad in Galle.

“Our fast bowlers are more disciplined than a decade ago if you exclude Chaminda Vaas who was in a different class,” he said. “We are trying to bring in more discipline to our fast bowling unit and hopefully we will see results.”We don’t have anybody who bowls at 150kph at the moment but you really don’t have to. You don’t need to be fast to trouble a batsman. We are more equipped in our unit to combat situations.”Drop in fielding standards has been an area of concern for Sri Lanka in the last few months, following which the team roped in the services of Jonty Rhodes. Atapattu said the players have worked hard in that area.”Jonty Rhodes coming to Sri Lanka doesn’t mean that we are going to hold onto every catch that comes our way,” he said. “What we expected from Jonty was to give us new tips and techniques so that we can improve our players and to work on them, which we are doing through our local coaches who are capable.”Our fielding can improve not only because of Jonty’s contribution but it could be because the conditions are different here and more suitable for our guys. We know our conditions better than anybody else.”The majority of the players in the Lankan squad will be coming out of a three-month break from cricket which according to Atapattu was a long-felt need.”We’ve been playing cricket since November 2014 and it ran upto the March 18, 2015 without a break other than the 10 days we got between the New Zealand tour and the World Cup,” pointed out Atapattu. “It’s been good but on the other hand some players have been playing there cricket elsewhere like in IPL, and in England. Very few had nothing and actually had a rest of three months.”

The BCCI’s decision to grant full membership to Chhattisgarh, paving the way for their maiden appearance in the Ranji Trophy and other domestic tournaments, has delighted the state’s cricket administration. The Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) has assured it would invest its energies in channeling the potential of the state’s cricketers. “We are thankful to the BCCI who identified and recognised us,” CSCS president Baldev Singh Bhatia told ESPNcricinfo. “The government has helped us a lot. The stadium belongs to them, and they have provided it to us and the facilities are great.”Chhattisgarh have had their fair share of waiting to get here; after completing five continuous seasons as an Associate Member in accordance with BCCI norms, they pushed for full membership in 2014, but were thwarted by the tense election scenario in the BCCI. There was no positive response during the following year as well. “It’s a procedural thing,” Bhatia said. “There was continuous due diligence from the BCCI to monitor if we were adhering to all the norms – from administration to infrastructure to finance.”Apart from the five-year stipulation, the BCCI also judges Associate members on various other parameters, especially cricket at the grassroots. “They should have participated in BCCI tournaments for a minimum of three years,” BCCI’s general manager (game development) Ratnakar Shetty said. “We examine the facilities available at the venue and all the other grounds. Then the standard of district cricket and local cricket is evaluated as well.”What also worked in favour of the CSCS was that the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Naya Raipur had successfully hosted quite a few high-profile matches. It played host to Delhi Daredevils for two matches each during IPL 2013 and 2015, and was also allotted eight games in the now-defunct Champions League T20 tournament in 2014.Both Shetty and Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua said that the venue was of international standards. That the GMR group, which owns the Daredevils franchise, has business interests there has had a positive effect on both the team as well as cricket in Chhattisgarh.”We were looking at expanding the business and reach of DD, as obviously GMR has a presence there,” Dua said. “It’s one of the better stadiums around and the facilities are great. The government is very welcoming and the state association also went out of the way to welcome us.”By virtue of being a Full Member, the CSCS – whose annual grant from the BCCI till now was around Rs 75 lakh – now stands to earn in excess of Rs 20 crore. Bhatia said the elevation was a reward for consistently meeting the standards expected by the BCCI. “Inspections have happened two or three times in the past,” he said. “Even last month the entire committee was there. The BCCI was very confident of us which is why they allotted us IPL matches – usually Associate members are never given such high-profile matches.”Bhatia also pointed to the abundant natural potential in players from the interior regions of Chhattisgarh, and that the junior teams’ fine performances were big factors in the state securing full membership. “We were given the opportunity to host Associate matches, and the BCCI ascertained how we did there and what our standards were. They saw our team’s fine performance over years; our under-14, 16 and 19 boys have won the finals many times. They have beaten strong teams like Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. One of our boys, Amandeep Khare, was even part of India’s squad in the Under-19 World Cup”According to Bhatia, the association’s priority now is to develop a strong team for the Ranji Trophy and also to create a robust pipeline of talent. “We will work on it and bring new coaches. We will develop the infrastructure in interior places and search talent there and we will ensure that the boys progress,” he said.”We can now go to the interiors and play these boys all year. We can create special zones, and develop infrastructure and send coaches there. About four years ago, a Chhattisgarh Adivasi boy, who has never been to the city or had access to transport, captained a junior team to victories.”Bhatia said that several players like Jalaj Saxena, Jatin Saxena and Harpreet Bhatia, who are originally from Chhattisgarh, turn out for Madhya Pradesh. He said the CSCS would approach some of them to play for Chhattisgarh. “Har koi apne state ke liye khelna chahta hai [everyone wants to play for his state]. Our boys had to play elsewhere because they had no option,” he said. “We will definitely approach them. It’s their right [to play for this team].”

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s answer to the breakout success of Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League was unveiled today, with the announcement of the schedule and team names for this summer’s inaugural Women’s Cricket Super League.

The WCSL teams

• Lancashire Thunder Lancashire Cricket Board with partners
  Loughborough Lightning Loughborough University
  Southern Vipers Hampshire Cricket with partners
  Surrey Stars Surrey County Cricket Club
  Western Storm Somerset County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, University of Exeter
  Yorkshire DiamondsYorkshire County Cricket Club

Six teams, comprising a total of 90 players from England and the rest of the world, will come together for a 16-day round-robin competition from July 30 to August 14, with a finals day at Chelmsford to follow a week later on August 21.The six teams are Lancashire Thunder, Loughborough Lightning, Southern Vipers (who will be based at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl), Surrey Stars, Yorkshire Diamonds and Western Storm, who will be drawn from the best players at Somerset, Gloucestershire and the University of Exeter.”Today represents another huge step towards delivering our vision of creating a dynamic, inspirational and high quality domestic women’s game in England,” said Clare Connor, the ECB’s director of women’s cricket. “This time last year the Women’s Cricket Super League was simply a concept, and now we have six exciting new teams, some innovative partnerships and a fixture list that includes at least 11 matches being played at seven different first-class grounds across the country.”The key aims of the WCSL, according to the ECB, include the development of ever higher standards for the England women’s team with greater competition for places, alongside inspiring more women and girls to play cricket at all levels. It will offer, the press release added, “new opportunities, a new narrative for the game and new role models, as well as a network of six new teams linked to their communities.””As each stage of the process unfolds, we keep striving to push new boundaries,” added Connor. “We are now looking forward to working with the six teams over the next few weeks to reveal their kits, colours and brands, as well as the central competition logo and branding.”In total, seven first-class counties, five non-first-class counties and three universities are involved in the project, which is intended to expand from T20 only in its inaugural year to both T20 and 50-over cricket in future seasons. All six teams have been awarded hosting rights for a four-year period from 2016-2019 inclusive.

Pakistan cricket team at a world event. Chaos. Defeat. Politics. Criticism. Over-reaction. The PCB chairman saying don’t expect much of this team. That the captain’s future is “evident”, that the coach’s contract ends in June, and that a reconsideration is imminent. In the meantime, on the field, Pakistan need to win every match. We have been here before. This is about time Pakistan magically become an irresistible force, right? A magic wand. Possessed Pakistanis. Cornered tigers. Great individual performances come out of somewhere. Bull manure, says Shahid Afridi. You just need good cricket here, he has said on the eve of their match against New Zealand, losing which will rule them out.”If you create a panic situation,” Afridi said, “everything becomes difficult to sort out. The straightforward plan has to be to stick to basics. You can’t rely on miracles. It doesn’t work that way. We need to cut down on our mistakes. If you keep repeating mistakes, it becomes difficult. It’s not like we are making huge mistakes, just small mistakes here and there. We are batting well, bowling well, but cricket matches are won by sides that make fewer mistakes.”Perhaps it has always been like this. Perhaps this is what changes when Pakistan get on their irresistible unstoppable roll. Just make fewer mistakes. It is not all that glamorous, but perhaps that’s how it starts. It’s just the fact that it has to come from a situation so dire that makes it so dramatic. All kinds of things have happened since Pakistan lost to India. A former cricketer has said Imran Khan, who was present in Kolkata, deliberately misguided this team into playing four quicks. Some other former cricketer has slammed Afridi’s move to bat at No. 3. Shaharyar Khan reportedly seems to have made up his mind on Afridi’s future at least.Afridi knows now only he and his team-mates can help each other. “Even before the tournament began, people began saying things,” Afridi said. “But I am keeping myself away from Twitter, Facebook, nor am I following any other media. I have distanced myself from everything. Whatever is happening there, let it happen. All I know is, I am here, my team is here. Whatever happens, what people are saying back home, we will see about that later. Now it is time to perform, and only that is in our hands.”As difficult as it is to be a Pakistan cricket fan, it must be just as hard to be a Pakistan cricketer, given the reaction every time they lose to India. Afridi just laughed off the fickle reactions. “Only those who love you get angry at you,” he said. “What we need to do is perform, and not make too much of their reaction because they love us in equal measure.”It is quite mature coming from a man not known for mature batting on most occasions. It is incredibly sane coming from a man who has survived Pakistan cricket for two decades. It is coming from a man who has seen it all. Afridi was asked to talk about how Younis Khan was pilloried at the start of World T20 2009 before Pakistan turned it around. “This cricket has made not just Younis Khan but many others cry,” Afridi said. “I have seen a lot of cricketers in tears. I have seen them leave because they can’t take it anymore. I am thankful to God that I have played for Pakistan for this long.”Except that there might not be much time left. There are two matches left. If Pakistan stop making those mistakes, it could become three. If they could make even fewer mistakes, it could become four. Who knows if those at the PCB asking for Afridi’s removal might join his friends and family and ask him to stay? Whatever happens it won’t happen through miracles. It will happen through mundane things such as fewer misfields at the boundary, through batsmen looking for the singles when the boundaries are hard to come. Afridi has played long enough to know that.