All posts by h716a5.icu

Murali Kartik was a complete bowler for every format and should have ended up with more than 300 Test wickets

VVS Laxman14-Jun-2014One of my favourite stories about Murali Kartik concerns his name. My wife would always address him as Murali. His response, delivered in that soft yet firm tone, would be: “Murali is my father’s name. My name is Kartik.”Kartik has this knack of getting close to certain people. I do not really know when and how we became such close friends. I guess a lot has to do with the common interests we share. Both of us are spiritual and religious. Both are devotees of Satya Sai Baba; Kartik’s father, in fact, does voluntary service at the Satya Sai Baba Trust in Puttaparthi. Over the years, from the time he made his Test debut in 2000, we have shared a good rapport.One big reason for me to open up to him and like him was that Kartik is a genuine person. He speaks his mind, not only on the cricket field but off it also. When that happens, you feel comfortable with a person. This feeling was mutual, as evidenced by this lovely tribute from him when I retired.Over the years, as we started getting closer, I saw that Kartik was a very likeable character who would do anything for his friends. He was one of the few people I would call for his opinion on various issues. He is a knowledgeable guy – not only about cricket – and that is why I always pick his brains to get inputs or a different perspective.Considering our relationship extends to over 15 years now, it is inevitable that we have shared several ups and downs. I remember the time in 2002-03 he was dropped for the ODI series in New Zealand. I cajoled him and asked him not to get disappointed. Soon afterwards, I found myself not picked for the 2003 World Cup!Both of us were obviously disappointed when we found ourselves on the India A tour to the Caribbean. I was the captain and we had a nightmare of a series. I told him I was never going to cajole him any more, since it was landing me in trouble too!As a player, my first impression of Kartik was how talented and skilful he was. This was in 1997, when we played against each other in successive tournaments – the Karnataka State Cricket Association tournament in Bangalore and then the Buchi Babu Memorial tournament in Chennai, with Kartik playing for India Cements and me representing Indian Airlines.His most outstanding characteristic is his confidence. From the first day I saw him till his last match his body language and his never-say-die attitude never changed. That is a great quality to have for any cricketer to succeed at any level. It becomes much more important for a spinner because the way the modern game has progressed, it is getting tougher for a slow bowler to leave his mark. There are not many orthodox spinners left in the game – people who are willing to flight the ball, deceive the batsmen in the air, don’t mind getting hit for a boundary, are always on the prowl, looking for a wicket. Kartik always possessed those characteristics and never compromised on them.He is an intelligent person, a quality he brought to his cricket too. He is a good student of cricket and read the game, batsmen and situations well. He is a complete bowler for every level and all formats.His primary strength is his skill. In my book, a spinner is dangerous when he is not defensive but always attacking and eyeing wickets. Kartik always had the desire to take wickets. And even if there were occasions when the batsman was on top, Kartik would never admit it. I never saw him bowl a bad spell. He might not have got wickets but he always had control; that and his variations allowed him to stay on top.

He is a good student of cricket and read the game, batsmen and situations well. He is a complete bowler for every level and all formats

In my eyes, the best spell Kartik bowled came during the Irani Cup against Mumbai in 2000, when he grabbed nine wickets in the second innings to win us the match. I was leading Rest of India and allowed Kartik to bowl unchanged on the fourth morning from the Tata End. It was unfortunate that he did not become the fifth bowler in Indian first-class cricket to achieve the feat of taking ten wickets in an innings. Kartik was always a wicket-taking bowler, someone a captain could rely on, and to me he was always a match-winner.While Kartik had the potential to become a match-winner, unfortunately during his heyday he underwent a lot of disappointments. In 2007 he had a very good ODI series against Australia in India. He finished as the second-best Indian bowler, including taking the Man-of-the-Match award in the final match of the series, in Mumbai. On the back of such a good performance he was looking forward to travel to Australia to play in CB Series. To his utter disappointment he was not even picked in the squad. I know for a fact that he was devastated by that experience.On the outside Kartik can come across as a bold and aggressive man. But he is very sensitive. And so it is just brilliant the way he has handled various tough experiences throughout his career. He always put up a brave face.Kartik has endured a lot, all through his career. Until you experience it, you cannot understand how tough it is to always carry on fighting. On the inside you are disappointed, you are frustrated, the pain is deep. And you think: Why does it always happen to me? I thought Kartik might occasionally feel bad, angry at the injustice; but he never showed it. Only to a select few did he reveal he could have been treated better. He never let the disappointments affect his game and the way he carried himself on the field. And that was the hallmark of his career.Kartik is a philosophical man. He learned through his experience that whatever happens does so for a reason. And he always took the positives – at least he played for India, played for Railways, played in county cricket, had the respect of his team-mates and opponents.One has to also understand that Kartik played for a team like Railways in the Indian domestic circuit where the facilities have always been sparse. But though he did not get his due at the international level, he always went back to domestic or county cricket without ever letting the disappointment discourage him from performing.He took a lot of pride in performance, no matter who he was playing for, or whether it was a competitive match or just a net session. He never let the batsman play with freedom.Once he realised that his chances of playing again for India had evaporated, he turned his focus to giving back what he had learned to his Railways team-mates. He fought for their rights with the authorities. He always had a soft corner for the team; last year, he took up the captaincy just so he could mentor the youngsters.I have relied a lot on Kartik to get inputs on domestic players when picking players at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. It was he who suggested that I pick Karn Sharma and Amit Paunikar.Despite his disappointments, Kartik has remained selfless and has been open to sharing with youngsters his inputs and insights. Recently, Akshar Patel excelled during Kings XI Punjab’s run to their maiden IPL final. I am certain Kartik must have played some role in Patel doing well. It did not matter to Kartik that he was sitting on the bench despite being the more experienced spinner.When he called me earlier this week to tell me that his time was up, it was a sad moment. But I can understand his decision. Kartik was unfortunate that he played when Anil Kumble and Bhajji [Harbhajan Singh] were in their prime. But maybe when Anil retired, Kartik could have been given more opportunities. He is a bowler who should have taken more than 300 Test wickets. Indian cricket has missed out on a match-winner.

Bangladesh’s failures on their West Indies tour were compounded by outmoded tactics and timid selections born of insecurity

Mohammad Isam20-Sep-2014When they stepped out of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday, the Bangladesh contingent emerged in batting order. First out of the VIP gate was Shamsur Rahman, who couldn’t locate his car, followed by his opening partner Tamim Iqbal who smoothly got into his and left the scene. Next came Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh’s most prolific No 3 and their manager during the West Indies tour, alongside Mushfiqur Rahim, to speak to reporters gathered in the parking lot.Mushfiqur’s eyes were bloodshot while most of the other players looked mildly disheveled after the long flight from St Lucia that took off almost two days ago. The majority of these players have a week’s rest before they go to Incheon next weekend to defend their gold medal in the Asian Games.While there is enough prestige in the competition to add to the existent pile of pressure, the foremost concern surrounding the team is the tactical issues that cropped up in West Indies. They were found wanting with their selections, their toss decision, their reading of conditions, their reactions to situations and their over-reliance on outdated tactics.From a selection point of view during the West Indies tour, the benching of Abdur Razzak in the first ODI and the use of eight batsmen and just three bowlers in the first Test have confounded many. At the Dhaka airport, Bashar, who is also one of the three selectors, said the team management were trying a new combination in these two matches since the team wasn’t winning.There is some justification for a struggling team to rejig their combination but both selection calls ended up half-cooked. In the first ODI, Razzak’s exclusion meant Sohag Gazi was the only spinner – Bangladesh made him open the bowling. It seemed a strange move, since they were defending 218, more so since the seamers were troubling the batsmen early on. Later on, with not many overs left from Gazi, Mushfiqur’s rotation of his bowlers became haphazard.The decision to play eight batsmen in the first Test was much more lop-sided, especially once Bangladesh decided to bowl first on a batting-friendly pitch. The selection and the toss decision seemed to be based on their insecurity as a batting unit, and the batting failure in the first innings went on to justify them in a strange sort of way. Predictably, though, it also exposed the limitations of the bowling attack.When a team has a thin bowling attack and a batting line-up short of confidence, selections have to be decisive, with both eyes on the big picture. Half-cooked decisions, in such circumstances, can have a demoralising effect.Bangladesh’s mental shortcomings were also apparent on a number of occasions. They batted over-cautiously in the first ODI because they were unsure of the pitch, but in the same venue in the next game, they went to the other extreme, went for their shots and collapsed from 42 for 2 to get bowled out for 70. They lacked planning against Denesh Ramdin, and by the time they could react to his onslaught at Warner Park, with its short boundaries, the West Indies captain was hammering sixes at will.Bangladesh also let go of chances to redeem themselves. In the second Test in St Lucia, their decision to bowl first was praiseworthy. They had reverted to the 7-4 combination with four specialist bowlers, but the three-man pace attack bowled poorly when a green pitch was at its freshest, on the first morning. They were far better on the second day, but by then West Indies had done enough with the bat.Twice in the same match, Bangladesh’s batsmen could not brace up to a sustained attack of pace and bounce. It was mostly a cerebral battle, with the bowlers preying on their patience to reveal technical frailties. Shamsur Rahman’s approach in the second innings was a prime example of how Bangladesh often look to hit themselves out of trouble in such situations, and are unable to stop themselves from playing too many shots.Lastly, Bangladesh seem to be hell-bent on using left-arm spinners against right-handed batsmen and offspinners against left-handers, no matter the situation of the game. It has cost them momentum on many occasions, with Mushfiqur seeming to lack confidence in his spinners to exercise control even when they are turning the ball into the batsmen.Similarly in the case of rejigging the batting order to have a right-left combination at the crease. It makes sense if the batsman promoted has the skill level to do the job, but not otherwise. When Bangladesh sent in Taijul Islam ahead of Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam in both innings of the second Test, it seemed as if they had become too attached to an archaic notion. Taijul more often than not backed away from of the line of the ball against the pace bowlers, and seemed afraid of getting hit. Shafiul and Robiul are tail-enders but possess far better technique.The lessons from West Indies have come the hard way – 3-0 and 2-0 defeats in the ODIs and Tests respectively. On the way, a large chunk of their confidence has ebbed away, and nine months have now passed without a significant win. To be proactive, a player needs assurance from the top that they will be persisted with, whether it is Mushfiqur as captain or any of the out-of-sorts batsmen and bowlers. But to be practical, they only have to look at their past mistakes and try hard not to repeat them.

Also, most runs in boundaries in a Test innings, and ODI debuts in the World Cup

Steven Lynch09-Dec-2014There were 396 runs in boundaries in New Zealand’s total in Sharjah. Is that a record for a Test innings? asked Steve Rafferty from Hong Kong
New Zealand’s 690 against Pakistan in Sharjah recently included 66 fours and a record 22 sixes, a total of 396 in boundaries. It turns out that there have been four higher boundary-counts in all Tests: India hit 101 fours and a six (410 runs) in their 705 for 7 dec against Australia in Sydney in 2003-04; Pakistan’s 643 against New Zealand in Lahore in 2002 included 422 in boundaries; and Australia’s 735 for 6 dec against Zimbabwe in Perth in 2003-04 featured 434 runs in fours and sixes. But the record was set by Sri Lanka, in the course of making the Test-record total of 952 for 6 dec against India in Colombo in 1997: their batsmen struck 109 fours and two sixes, or 448 in boundaries. For the full list, click here.Thisara Perera is approaching 1000 runs, after 87 one-day internationals, and has already reached 100 wickets. What is the record for the fastest double? asked Ali from the United States
After 87 matches (I’m writing after the third game of the current series against England), Thisara Perera was 51 runs short of completing this double – he’s already got 108 wickets. He’s not going to beat the overall record: Shaun Pollock completed the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in his 68th one-day international, Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan did it in 69 matches, and Pollock’s South African team-mate Lance Klusener in 70. Six other players got there in fewer than 87 matches. However, Perera should comfortably set a new record for Sri Lanka: currently their fastest double was achieved by Farveez Maharoof, in his 99th match. Of the 56 players who have done this double so far, the slowest was Sourav Ganguly, who completed it in his 311th and last match, in November 2007.Brendon McCullum’s triple-century against India earlier this year came in his side’s second innings. Has anyone ever done this before in a Test? asked Michael Phillips from New Zealand
Brendon McCullum’s 302 against India in Wellington earlier this year was only the second Test triple-century in a side’s second innings. The first was scored by Hanif Mohammad, who made 337 to stave off defeat after Pakistan followed on 473 runs behind against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58. Someone who came very close was Martin Crowe, with 299 – New Zealand’s previous-highest Test score – in the second innings against Sri Lanka in Wellington in 1990-91. There have been only 32 scores of 200 and above in Test second innings. Only five of those have come in the fourth innings, in which George Headley’s 223 for West Indies against England in Kingston in 1929-30 remains the highest.Taijul Islam took a hat trick on his one-day international debut recently. Has anyone ever done this before? asked Cherise Asha Clarke from Trinidad
Slow left-armer Taijul Islam, playing against Zimbabwe in Mirpur last week, took the 36th hat-trick in one-day internationals – the fourth for Bangladesh – but the first by anyone on debut. The Pakistan paceman Jalal-ud-Din’s hat-trick – the first in one-day internationals – against Australia in Hyderabad in 1982-83 came in only his second match. Australia’s Anthony Stuart took one in his third ODI – against Pakistan in Melbourne in 1996-97 – and rather surprisingly never played another one. Three bowlers – Maurice Allom (England), Peter Petherick (New Zealand) and Damien Fleming (Australia) – took hat-tricks on their Test debuts.Is Mohammad Hafeez the first player to be dismissed in the 190s twice in Tests? asked Ibrahim Kamara from Sierra Leone
There have been 72 scores between 190 and 199 in Tests now, eight of them not-outs. Mohammad Hafeez – who followed 196 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2012 with 197 against New Zealand in Sharjah recently – is the 13th to register two, after Mohammad Azharuddin, Ian Chappell, Rahul Dravid, Herschelle Gibbs, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar (one not out), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell (both not out) and Younis Khan. But there are three batsmen who have three to their names: Mohammad Yousuf was out for 192 against England, then 192 and 191 against West Indies, in the space of four Tests in 2006; and Kumar Sangakkara was out for 192 against Australia in Hobart in 2007-08, then made 199 not out and 192 in successive Tests against Pakistan at Galle and Colombo in 2012.Are there any players who have made their ODI debut in the World Cup? I can’t think of any from India, asked Anurag Manke from India
There have actually been 194 players whose first official one-day international has come during a World Cup. Most of those are either from early on, when there weren’t many ODIs going on elsewhere – there were 39 debutants in the first World Cup in 1975, and 27 in the second in 1979 – or come from Associate teams, which didn’t have a programme of matches outside the World Cup until quite recently. Things have settled down now: in 2007, the only debutant from anywhere was the West Indian Kieron Pollard, while in 2011 there were seven – Devendra Bishoo, Kirk Edwards and Andre Russell of West Indies, the Canadian pair of Tyson Gordon and Karl Whatham, Imran Tahir of South Africa, and Holland’s Berend Westdijk. Overall, six players from India have made their ODI debuts in the World Cup, but none since 1992: Mohinder Amarnath, Anshuman Gaekwad and Karsan Ghavri in 1975, Surinder Khanna in 1979, Navjot Singh Sidhu in 1987, and Ajay Jadeja in 1992.

West Indies have been a pretty ordinary ODI team recently, and the absence of some frontline players – especially bowlers – could hit them hard in the World Cup

Bishen Jeswant02-Feb-20159 West Indies’ frontline batsmen (Nos. 1 to 7) have been scoring a duck every nine innings, on average, since 2013. This is the most frequent rate of scoring ducks for batsmen from Test-playing nations. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe batsmen only score a duck every 11 innings, while Indian and Australian batsmen score one every 18 and 16 innings respectively.4 West Indies players from the current World Cup squad who have played more than 100 ODIs each: Marlon Samuels (167), Chris Gayle (263), Denesh Ramdin (120) and Darren Sammy (119). Six of the remaining players have played less than 50 ODIs each, with Jonathan Carter and Sheldon Cottrell having played only five and two respectively.52 Percentage of West Indies’ total wickets since 2013 taken by Dwayne Bravo (53), Sunil Narine (36), Ravi Rampaul (27), Tino Best (15) and Kieron Pollard (6). They have taken 137 of 266 wickets taken by West Indies in this period, but none of them are part of the squad for the upcoming World Cup.45 Marlon Samuels’ batting average in 25 ODIs since 2013, the highest for any West Indian batsman. He has also scored three centuries, the most. However, Darren Bravo has scored the most runs (1098), having played nine more ODIs than Samuels.

Most runs by West Indies batsmen in the current squad since 2013

PlayerMatRunsAveSR10050DM Bravo34109835.4173.4929MN Samuels2594645.0473.0533D Ramdin2669941.1197.0823LMP Simmons1963333.3176.0805DJG Sammy3263130.0497.37041 Number of frontline West Indian bowlers in the current squad who have 100-plus wickets; Jerome Taylor, with 106 wickets, is the only one. Chris Gayle has 158 wickets from 263 ODIs bowling his part-time offspin. Among available bowlers, their highest wicket-taker since 2013 is captain Jason Holder with 37 wickets.

Most wickets since 2013 by West Indies bowlers in the current squad

PlayerMatWktsAveEconSR4JO Holder263730.215.5532.62KAJ Roach202432.704.7841.01DJG Sammy321656.254.6672.30AD Russell131438.356.3136.40NO Miller61024.204.4832.4118.7 Chris Gayle’s batting average since 2013, the poorest for any frontline batsman (Nos. 1 to 7) who has played at least 20 innings in this period. Each of the other 60 batsmen who have played at least 20 innings in this period average more than 20.1 Number of times West Indies have made it to the semi-finals in the last seven editions of the World Cup. Every other top-eight nation, except England, has played in at least three semi-finals. England have played in two (1987 and 1992), winning both, but going on to lose both subsequent finals.16-16 West Indies’ win-loss record in the last five World Cups. Every other top-eight nation has won more matches than they have lost.8 West Indies’ bowlers concede a boundary every eight balls, when bowling in the last ten overs of an ODI innings (since 2013). This is the lowest frequency at which bowlers from any Test-nation concedes boundaries at this stage of an ODI. England, Bangladesh and New Zealand concede boundaries most frequently.28.6 Average opening stand for West Indies since 2013, the second worst for any Test team after New Zealand (21.2). They have eight 50-plus stands in this period, with only New Zealand (5) and Zimbabwe (4) having fewer.

A look at how the eight teams stack up for the USACA T20 National Championship

Peter Della Penna02-Apr-2015Group ACentral East
The squad wound up on the receiving end of some very harsh beatings in last year’s tournament. On paper, they have the weakest team in the group mainly owing to a lack of overall depth. At the top of the order, they are led by captain Fahad Babar, who was USA’s leading scorer at last October’s ICC WCL Division Three in Malaysia. Central East also hold one of the country’s best slow bowlers in offspinner Muhammad Ghous. They are also boosted by the presence of former USA wicketkeeper Ashhar Mehdi, but they will be heavily dependent on Babar to keep them competitive in matches.Central West Central West competed hard at this tournament in 2014 but ultimately ended winless. They may find it hard going again this year with Usman Shuja and Orlando Baker absent. The region’s talent drain took another big hit with the retirement of Sushil Nadkarni and the departure of young allrounder Ryan Corns, who has relocated to Australia. On the plus side, they have former Tamil Nadi Ranji Trophy representative Dhandapani Devarasan back for the second year in a row. The squad also contains the promising fast bowler Shuja Naqvi, who spent the winter training in Australia at the Darren Lehmann Academy. They’ll be coached once again by former Pakistan international Asif Mujtaba.New YorkDespite being without Massiah and Marshall, New York are traditionally rich with talent and still remain a contender. Adam Sanford, who took three wickets in the curtailed final, is missing this year but has been replaced in the squad by another former West Indies Test bowler in Jermaine Lawson. Current USA allrounder Karan Ganesh should play a key role in their fortunes while Akeem Dodson, Barrington Bartley, Nicholas Standford and the big hitting Quasen Alfred will all be pushing hard to get back into the USA squad for next month.USA Development XIThis squad is a mixed bag. It features several Los Angeles area talents including last year’s USACA T20 Nationals MVP, Nisarg Patel. Former Gujarat legspinner Timil Patel, who toured with USA in Malaysia last year, is also a key component and can provide middle-order runs as well. Two players to keep an eye on who are consistently on the doorstep to selection are fast bowlers Jasdeep Singh, who impressed last year with the Central West, and Hammad Shahid.Group BAtlanticAtlantic boast one of the better bowling attacks in the tournament, including two good spinners in Ryan Persaud and Danial Ahmed, as well as experienced pacers in Imran Awan and Adil Bhatti. Their batting, which was slightly weak last year, is boosted by the addition of former USA international Andy Mohammed. Charan Singh and Raj Bhavsar will be eager to build on encouraging performances they had in 2014.North EastThe weakest team in Group B, they may wind up going winless with a squad that is largely inexperienced. Hard-hitting Sharaz Baksh and former Karnataka player Aditya Mishra, their opening combo from last year, are not in this year’s traveling party with Mishra now playing for North West. The squad does have a few players with the ability to clear the ropes in captain Twain Walter, Akil Husbands and Jonathan Bonner but the deck will be stacked against them.North WestAfter finishing with two wins from three games last year, North West have gotten much stronger and enter as the clear tournament favorites. Two major additions to the team are wicketkeeper Ritesh Kadu, who played last year for South West, and Mishra, who turned out for the North East in 2014. They are the two players with the best chances of filling the vacancies left in the USA squad by the retirements of Nadkarni and Aditya Thyagarajan. The team is a phenomenal fielding group and has outstanding depth with captain Srini Santhanam, Pranay Suri, Saqib Saleem, Krish Goel, Pranay Suri, Naseer Jamali, Vibhav Altekar all having represented USA at junior or senior level.South EastBehind the solid captaincy of Japen Patel, South East made a surprising run to the final in 2014. Anything less than a semifinal spot would be a disappointment with the core of last year’s team returning. Besides the explosive Steven Taylor, the team also boasts a solid crew of young talent in Dunae Nathaniel, Shaquille Forbes, Kushal Ganji and Omari Williams. While they will miss last year’s USACA T20 leading wicket-taker, former Windward Islands legspinner Camilus Alexander, the squad’s batting strength is enhanced by the return of opener Timothy Surujbally.

Selection chairman Rod Marsh and Cricket Australia are extremely eager to ensure that the glow of home victories does not allow the team to take their eyes off the main game of sustained success away from home

Daniel Brettig30-Mar-2015So Australia have won a World Cup they expected to win, and celebrated it with gusto. Now the team’s planners are turning immediate attention to earning the tag of greatness – something that cannot be done with victories at home, no matter how many or by how great a margin.When the chairman of selectors Rod Marsh unveils the touring squads for the West Indies and England, the list of Cricket Australia contracted players and the squad for an Australia A tour of India, they will all be geared towards the objective of much improved overseas performance.No amount of World Cup winners’ beer or champagne can wash away the memories of Ashes defeats in England in 2005, 2009 and 2013, nor that of hidings at the hands of India on the subcontinent in 2013 and Pakistan in the UAE last year. Marsh was a befuddled observer in the stands during the latter three defeats, and has spent as much of his time this summer pondering the best combinations for the West Indies and England as he has on the more immediate challenges of the World Cup.During the Boxing Day Test, Marsh told ESPNcricinfo how CA and the selectors were extremely eager to ensure that the glow of home victories does not allow the team to take their eyes off the main game of sustained success away from home. In doing so, he acknowledged that this would be a far harder nut to crack.”The minute we take our eye off the ball with the West Indies for example, the minute we start getting funky with selections or the way we play against the West Indies, you know exactly what’s going to happen, you’re going to get beaten,” Marsh said. “That’s not what we want to do going into the Ashes, we want to win every series we play.”Until such time as we do that, we won’t be a great side. We want to get better at playing at home, but we also want to get a hell of a lot better at playing away from home. We’ve just got to do it if we want to be a great side, and we’ve got to find a way to do it.”Whether we have a close look at the players we select and think ‘righto, if we go to the subcontinent we’ve got to find our best players of spin bowling’, how do we do that, we’ve got to find out how many good players of spin bowling we have. And that can be on A tours or can be on replicating conditions at home.”To that end, the A tour selections for India, a tour to take place towards the back end of the Ashes series in England and ahead of a third Test tour of the year, to Bangladesh in October, will take on added importance. Never again does Marsh want an Australian team to look so inept and so shell-shocked by the experience of India as was the team of Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur in 2013, when their on-field confusion led to the breakdown of the team off the field and the regrettable episode dubbed “Homeworkgate”.Australia’s thrilling victory in South Africa following the 2013-14 Ashes whitewash was the most significant overseas success of recent years, but it came in conditions the team of Clarke and Darren Lehmann are most familiar and comfortable. In fact, their loss of the second Test of that series in Port Elizabeth arrived on the slowest of the three surfaces, a reminder of how much work there is to be done on Australia’s play in such climes.The West Indies will provide a useful lead-in to the Ashes, but its conditions will be challenging enough in isolation. The 2012 tour of the Caribbean was punctuated by desperately sluggish surfaces, and a series margin of 2-0 appeared more comfortable than the reality. And though England are presently down on confidence, it will take a performance of consistently high standards to retain the Ashes – survivors of the 2009 series such as Clarke, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin will attest to that.Expectations for the Test squads include the naming of 16 players for the West Indies and 17 for England, with Ryan Harris to join the tour after being at home in Australia for the birth of his first child. The likes of Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar find themselves vying with the Sheffield Shield’s most accomplished performers Adam Voges and Fawad Ahmed for inclusion. Maxwell and Agar went to India and England in 2013, and should they find themselves on the plane to the Caribbean will have a chance to show how much they have learned since. Australia’s graduation from good to great may well hinge on it.Possible West Indies/Ashes squad: Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Chris Rogers, Steven Smith, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris (England only), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar/Fawad Ahmed, Peter Siddle/James Faulkner, Peter Nevill, Shaun Marsh.

Brad Hodge on the difficulty of sledging opponents you’re friends with, being an old-timer, and losing his pants on the field

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi18-May-2015You are one of a few 40-plus cricketers who are still active. What do you guys have that the 20-year-olds don’t?
Smart decisions. Once you get older and wiser, you make smart decisions. Once the pressure is on, experience holds you in good stead.What is the most difficult thing to do as a 40-year-old?
The hardest is to commit to training. Especially playing T20 [as a freelancer], you are not involved in a group and you have to take it upon yourself to train and make sure you do the right things. When you have a family and kids, you have to get them to school, and so your other commitments become more important.What one record are you most proud of?
Probably two. One, I was able to make a double-century for Australia. That is a really important milestone I was able to achieve. The other is playing over 250 games in first-class and T20. So for me to be able to maintain those levels for 20 years is pretty special. It just shows that you have been committed and you have been able to succeed, and your skills have lasted a fair amount of time.I made a big impact in T20. I made significant contributions in competitions like IPL year-in, year-out and I am proud of those achievements.Would you call yourself a T20 pioneer?
I did play in one of the first ever T20 matches – Leicestershire v Yorkshire in 2003. I would like to think I played a big part in shaping particular people’s skills in Australia. Aaron Finch, with whom I used to open the batting – you can see there are some similarities in the way we bat. We have talked about how we go about things. I share a lot of my knowledge playing around the world in T20 leagues and it is well respected. So, yes, I guess I was a little bit of a pioneer. And to represent your country at 39 in T20 is special.

“The game has become a lot more relaxed and slightly boring. A bit of fire has gone out of the game because everyone now plays together in different competitions”

You were the first to 5000 runs in T20 cricket. The format is not a gimmick anymore, is it?
It is pretty funny that we all – Chris Gayle, David Hussey, myself, Brendon McCullum – were neck and neck. It is not a gimmick by any stretch of imagination. In fact, the pressures of playing T20 and the expectations are huge, especially for international players in tournaments like IPL. There are so many good players out there, but you can get recycled pretty quick. So you’ve got to make sure your standards are high.What is one thing Hodge can do but Gayle cannot?
() Run between the wickets. Chris is such a strong, powerful man – his mishits go for sixes. I would probably think I hit the middle of the bat consistently more often than he does, but his mishits go 75-plus metres. And when he hits it from the middle they go 110 metres. When I hit, they go at most 95 metres. His range and power are different.What’s the safest shot in T20 cricket?
Hitting the bowler over his head with the full face of the bat. Any traditional shot, actually. Remember, there are good bowlers in T20 cricket and they are going to bowl good balls. So technically you need to still have a good defensive shot to deal with those good balls.You must thank Rahul Dravid for playing you lower down the order in the IPL in 2014?
It was an interesting move. I said to Rahul, “I should bat in the top.” He said, “Nah, nah, you should bat in the middle.” His exact words to me were that he had never seen anyone able to hit really, really good fast bowling – the Mitchell Johnsons, Dale Steyns – as well as I could. He said in Australia that you are brought up on punishing fast bowling, whereas in India batsmen are taught to punish spin bowling. In T20 all the guys who bowl the last two or three overs usually are good fast bowlers. So his theory was, if you are there on 5, 10, 30, 50 not out, you are going to be more valuable than one of the domestic players. It paid off for sure with Rajasthan Royals.What’s the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you on the cricket field?
Once, the drawstring of my pants broke as I was chasing the ball down to the boundary. My pants were hanging down to my ankles – embarrassing but quite funny.”Dravid told me that he had never seen anyone hit really, really good fast bowling as well as I could”•Getty ImagesWhat about injuring yourself while putting on your trousers while playing for Australia in a T20?
Yes! I was just pulling up my pants when I had a back spasm. I fell down and I couldn’t play for Australia. I was actually devastated.Tell us something we don’t know about you.
I race cars.With the back spasms?
Absolutely. ()The best Ashes?
2005. Edgbaston was pretty special.Who do you think are the favourites for this Ashes?
Australia will win easily.What has been your best response to a sledge?
I remember facing Glenn McGrath in domestic cricket. I played and missed a couple of times and Glenn just said: “Come on Hodgy, you’re rubbish today.” I said: “Who did you expect? Don Bradman.” McGrath and Warnie and Muralitharan were the best bowlers I faced.Do you reckon batting and the way players approach and play cricket overall has changed?
Definitely. And it is not necessarily for the good. The game has become a lot more relaxed and slightly boring. A bit of fire has gone out of the game because everyone now plays together in different competitions. You get to know people and their personalities. And it is very hard to sledge people and get the hardcore sporting atmosphere when your friendships are strong. It is an interesting dynamic you have to get your head around.

To quell the physical hiccups that have plagued his fledgling international career, the Australian quick is reworking his action. Will the move pay off?

Alagappan Muthu10-Aug-2015James Pattinson is 25 years old and he is in love, has been for a while, and hopes to stay this way for at least another decade. Even if the thing he loves has broken him, made him feel “lonely”, and even pushed him to tears. Fast bowling, it is not for the faint of heart.It can be rewarding though. Pattinson’s bowling average of 27.07 after 13 Tests is better than Wasim Akram’s 27.43 or Dale Steyn’s 30.33 at a corresponding time in their careers. He has 51 wickets presently, which means he has taken only three more Tests than Dennis Lillee to the mark. Talent? Check. But durability?Pattinson had suffered two severe back injuries in the space of 10 months since the 2013 Ashes. In the course of correcting that, he tweaked his hamstring in 2015. In November 2012, there was a rib complaint so severe that he hadn’t been able to breathe. Before that, he’d hurt his foot and didn’t play another Test for three months. Far too much turbulence for a career only 13 matches old. So it was time for change, and Pattinson had to abandon a front-on action with which he has bowled all his life.”I’ve spent probably the last couple of years trying to get a bit more side-on,” he said. “Just to stop the counter rotation on my back, which stops the stress fractures [of the back] from reoccurring.”Pattinson has been working on the remodel at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, and has had help from Australia fast bowling coach Craig McDermott, Victoria bowling coach Mick Lewis and his junior coach Tim McCaskill.”The thing is if you do change your action, when you go into games, you sort of still have it in the back of your mind. But I’ve come back this time and I haven’t been thinking about my action. Everything is sort of second nature now,” Pattinson said. “I think the hard thing is just taking your time. There are days where it can be really frustrating and you don’t think it’s working, but again you just have to know that in the end everything is going to be fine as long as you put in the work and then hopefully the results will come.”That doesn’t mean there isn’t any risk attached. Even the smallest changes to your action can bring about ripple effects. Steven Finn was asked to try a shorter run-up and that didn’t work at all. Before he was forced to adjust his action, Saeed Ajmal was a world beater; now he is no longer part of the Pakistan side. In Pattinson’s case, the concern is he might lose his natural outswing.”It’s obviously one of the things you’re worried about when you change your action,” he said. “But I still do a lot of work on getting my wrist in the right position. Being side-on just means I have to finish off a bit more, finish off means to get my wrist through towards where I want the ball to go.”If the man in the mirror has been causing problems, when Pattinson looks over his shoulder, too, he’ll find hurdles to overcome with any number of young quicks gunning for a spot in the Australian team. With the Ashes lost, there are likely to be vacancies, but he can’t afford to be anything but his best to squeeze his way in – Australia like their fast bowlers fast, so much that Peter Siddle was relegated once he couldn’t summon enough pace and even the batting allrounder Mitchell Marsh bowls 140 kph.Pattinson certainly fits the bill. In the A team tri-series currently underway in India on slow, placid decks, he and his reworked action have clocked up 145kph regularly and swung the new ball too. Good signs if the selectors are looking at him for the upcoming one-day series in England.But his return has to be timed perfectly. “The first time I got injured after the Ashes in 2013, I probably rushed a little bit,” Pattinson said. “I tried to change actions, but I only spent three months doing it. I came back and I thought I had changed a bit, but it was pretty much the same so I had a stress fracture a second time.” That was in May 2014. He hasn’t played international cricket since.He was training with Pat Cummins at the time Ryan Harris retired from Test cricket and Australia needed a replacement, but wasn’t in contention because his body wasn’t at the level where it could handle the five-day game. He never wants that to happen again and has begun training smarter.”Being a young fellow, I used to run in 100 percent all the time and try to bowl 150kph in the nets, but over the last couple of years I’ve sort of prepared my training sessions better. Like ramp it up for a few overs and then work on other things. So I’m actually not going 100 percent all the time in the nets.”The way I prepare, my gym work, rehab, recovery and everything, that’s all routine now. I’m doing the same thing to make sure my body adjusts to everything and nothing is outside of what my body knows, nothing is a bit of a shock to it.”There is also emphasis on a mental checklist to ensure his comfort. “You have your routines in your mind [while training], and knowing that you’ve ticked them off, you can go out on the field with a clear mind and you know that everything has been done off the field to perform on the field.” That was a trick Pattinson learned from watching Ricky Ponting, he said, and he’s one of those who rarely got injured.Before that, Pattinson learnt from watching his big brother Darren bowl, and had been bowling the same way since he was 16 years old. Now he is realising continuing the same way could derail his career. Change was necessary, but will change be good?

M Vijay opens up about what makes him happy, the life lessons he taught himself as a teenager, and his approach to batting

Interview by Arun Venugopal21-Sep-201520:29

‘My simple thing is if you are good enough you’ll play’

How’s the hamstring?
I have been working on my rehabilitation. I think three weeks. I am in a good state now.Is it particularly frustrating to be injured at this point of your career when your batting is on the upswing?
Definitely. When you miss something at a crucial juncture of your career it’s tough at times, but you cannot do too many things about it because injuries do happen in any sport. You’ve got to take it in your stride and move forward.In the last couple of years, is there one particular innings or a session which you look back on and think, “This is where I turned things around”?
The Chennai Test match in 2013, the second innings, I really gave it a thought as a person and as a cricketer. I had been getting starts and giving it away, and there were different reasons, lots of variables behind it. At the end of the day, I was disappointed with not applying myself. You get opportunities at the international level what many people are craving for and you are missing out on it. All these factors came into my head and I got my answers in Hyderabad.How difficult was it to process all those thoughts and respond?
At that point I was really disappointed and had four-five days gap before the next Test match. I was hoping to get an opportunity there. The moment I got the feeling that I was going to play, I said, “This is it. This is for me. I just don’t want to do something really out of the box.” I just wanted to stick to my plans and if a good ball comes, so be it.I just wanted to go in and be as tight as possible, and I felt happy after that knock because I really gave it a thought and I did not play the way I wanted to play, but still got my runs.”I never think about what others say, or what you say about me”•AFPJust before the England tour you spent a lot of time with your coach, Jayakumar. Could you elaborate on what you were working on?
I was just thinking about my fitness and the conditions we would be playing in, the venues and stuff like that. That was going to be my first experience and I always wanted to play in England, at Lord’s especially, and it was just about to happen and I didn’t want to miss out by not being fit. I was concentrating on my fitness, and batting-wise I was checking on my basics, and he really helped me out during that particular phase.What were the specific things you did to cope with the moving ball?
I couldn’t get the same kind of feel in Chennai because the conditions are entirely different, but all I could do was to practise early in the morning when there is a little bit of moisture on the wicket.You used the plastic ball?
I don’t really use the plastic ball, but bowling machines helped me get an idea of how it’s going to go and how you maintain your shape.You are comfortable leaving the ball, but a lot of batsmen love to feel bat on ball all the time. Is leaving the ball as natural for you as it looks or did you have to work on it?
Every time I walk in to bat, I want to play as many balls as possible, but if it is not in my range, I will leave it. My intention is to play, but maybe I’m a little more cautious about my off stump. Maybe I could play a little more freely. If I can get 100 off 100 balls, I’m going to take it any day. I am just waiting for that moment to come.

“I wasn’t a great student. People around me were brilliant. I wouldn’t call myself a dumb guy, but I was not interested in it [academics]”

You always talk about playing a particular delivery and then switching off. How easy is it to focus on the moment alone?
It’s very difficult, but that’s what you are practising for. You practise batting for two or three hours in a day, and if you don’t believe in that then you are never going to perform, so you obviously have to let your mind and body take over in the middle rather than thinking too much ahead of it.Off the field do you do something to achieve that? Do you meditate?
Just the belief inside you – like everybody says, you’ve got to be in the now. It’s very difficult to even think about it. But all I can do is be in a happy space, do the things you really like to do and talk to yourself, motivate yourself. Because there’s no one else to help you there [in the middle].Do you talk to yourself before every ball, psych yourself up?
Not in the middle. Just the day before or something like that. In the middle, you enjoy, go out there and express yourself. That’s what I try to do, watch the ball and focus. So long it has been good.How does your visualisation process work?
I like to see things before they happen and I get a feel inside. I enjoy that if I am in that space. For me to get into that space, I need to practise. If I have done every bit of it in my practice, I think I attain it more often than not. I never keep a target and I go with a blank mind. I could get a triple-hundred, why restrict it to a hundred?As an opener, who are your reference points? Who have you tried to imbibe from?
I always liked Mark Waugh. Because he made everything look easy. He played in a fashion where everything was in rhythm. I really liked him as a youngster.I had the opportunity to share the dressing room with some of the greats. I loved the way Sachin [Tendulkar] carried himself throughout his career. I had a great opportunity to interact with him and see how he does things in different situations, so he inspired me a lot. MS Dhoni for the way he handled himself in pressure situations. [But] I didn’t want to emulate Sachin or MS. You have to pick and choose [the best attributes from each of them] and do it in your own style.Looking ahead to the South Africa series, what are you looking to get out of it?
I’m pretty excited. The only one thing I’m concentrating on at the moment is my fitness. I’m on the right track and happy about it. But I am not thinking too far ahead because there’s a month and a half to go for the Test series. All I am trying to do is work on my batting basics, my fitness and my fielding aspect of where I am going to stand.”Myself and Shikhar Dhawan are very close friends off the field. We share a lot of things apart from cricket”•AFPHow exciting is this batting group you are playing alongside? Do you compete amongst yourselves?
It’s been unbelievable because everybody is talented. It’s a healthy competition. The season and a half where we played abroad got us together. The thought process was similar, and everybody wanted to go in one direction. A lot of good things happened to us. [Even when we were losing] the atmosphere never changed. That’s one good quality and a learning for me as well, because no one even showed any hint that he was down and out. Because everybody is on the same wavelength and the same age group, it’s easy to crack a joke in a tight situation.What do you guys bond over? PlayStation?
Yes, at the moment I’m into PlayStation because that’s the only way to get into my friends’ rooms. Because everybody goes and plays PlayStation, we just try to do that as a team. It’s been good.As a batting group, is there also friendly banter where you say, “Okay, I’m going to outscore you two guys”, or things like that?
I don’t know about that because I never think that way. If Shikhar [Dhawan] is getting runs, I would like to give him the credit, like “You are batting brilliantly”. And vice-versa. That’s what he does to me. There’s nothing like, “You get 150, I get 180.” It’s about going together and going for the same cause.As a unit we are more tight now. It’s a good journey for us. Staying away from home and everything else gave us an opportunity to mingle and go about things in the right way.How have your interactions with the coaching staff been?
They have really helped us in getting a good atmosphere in the dressing room because I feel you should feel comfortable inside the dressing room to do well outside.

“I believe in love, and it’s obviously helped me as a person”

Ravi Shastri is known to be very direct.
Ravi has his own style of putting it across. He lifts the mood 100%, the energy you get onto the table. I think he has come at the right time. It’s all fallen in place. Everybody is trying to do his best to give us the best atmosphere.You have also known Sanjay Bangar from your time at Kings XI Punjab. Has he picked up little things in your batting you might not have noticed?
Yes, we always try to have a conversation about batting because he’s one guy who is never tired of talking about a particular aspect. More or less everybody, when we are off [the field], we keep discussing, “Oh, we could have done this, we could have done that.” He has always been there for us which is good.There was a time when you were out of the national team. What was the most difficult aspect during that phase?
That’s when I really thought you cannot think too much about anything. What’s happened has happened. You’ve just got to take it in your stride but move forward in a positive way. That’s all you can do as a person, because everybody is going to face problems in their lives. Life is much bigger, sport is just a phase of it.Did you try to seek out the selectors and gather their thoughts on what you needed to do to get back into the team?
Obviously I was disappointed not to be part of the World Cup. I knew I needed to get answers for that in my head first than searching it outside. My simple thing is, if you are good enough, you’ll play. I didn’t find any desperation to go and ask someone. If you are good enough and if you are practising well, and if you think you are good enough to express yourself in the middle, it’s more than enough.Rolling back the years, as a 17-year-old you took the drastic step of moving out of your parents’ house after flunking your Class XII exams. How did your parents react, especially since you are very close to your mother?
Actually I should thank my dad, even now I do. () That particular phase, if he had stopped me, I would have been a different person altogether. Not protected, but maybe I would have chosen a different field or I would have not got into cricket. I would have done something else in another extreme, but I am never a safe person.Living in a single room with two other people and having to fend for oneself doesn’t quite sound like fun…
That’s what happened. I cannot change that, and I enjoyed it. I don’t have any regrets. There was no hardship. At that particular moment I thought I should experience life and learn because I wasn’t a great student. People around me were brilliant. I wouldn’t call myself a dumb guy, but I was not interested in it [academics]. My interests were different. That did not synchronise properly with my parents and everything.I really gave it a thought and said, “What am I doing?” I didn’t get through my 12th, so basically I didn’t know anything. My father was comforting me too much because whatever I asked, he gave me, and I didn’t like that too. I had one year to complete my 12th, so I thought, let me go and live alone and see how it is. Even my close friends ask me today what I was doing back then. It’s a good feeling and you can’t tell your experiences like, “This is what happened.” It’s a nice feeling that it happened and I enjoyed it.”I want to play as many balls as possible, but if it is not in my range, I will leave it”•Getty ImagesIs it more like a riches-to-rags-to-riches story for you then?
I never believe in being rich or being low. It’s just about the way you live your life and you should be happy. [This experience gave me] immense happiness, being alone, enjoying the freedom, there is nobody to go and fall back on.There is this persona of Vijay with the tattoos and the swagger. You said once that you felt you weren’t picked for the state side because you had long hair. Is it an accurate assessment that you are a rebel?
I don’t believe in judging anybody. That’s my personal learning. Everybody has their own perception and nobody has time to prove things to everybody. So then why talk about it? If someone has done something and you can appreciate it, appreciate it, or else just move on. I am no one to go and give my view on what he has done. I built my kind of life accordingly, and it’s giving me happiness. I don’t know the definition of happiness. I just want to be happy, feel happy. I don’t go deep into anything.Sometimes on the field there are some theatrics. Once in an airport you did a Michael Jackson impression. Are these things you do to make people accept you?
Are you trying to say if you are going to wear a funky dress you are trying to attract anybody or do you wear it for yourself? I never think about what others say or what you say about me. It’s just about what I feel at that particular moment, about what I want to do. If I can do it, I am happy. I don’t want to go into your space and say, “Come and look at me.” I don’t really enjoy that.Doesn’t this mindset come with difficulties? Do you think you are misunderstood often?
I don’t that way because I don’t really have that much time to think about what someone is thinking about me. If I’m at practice, I like to practice. If I am out with my family, I like to enjoy with them. It is easy if you think it’s easy. It [perception] will change. Everything has to change. That’s the only thing that is permanent. If you are silent, people think you are arrogant. If you are silent, then people think, “Oh, he is thinking about something.” Silence gives you so many answers for one small reaction.M Vijay scored two big hundreds against Australia in 2013, which was his comeback series•BCCIHow much have love and relationships mattered to you? How have they moulded you as a person?
I believe in love. It’s obviously helped me as a person, and I am thankful I am leading a good life at the moment because I went through hardships. I am thankful to the almighty because I believe in that, and I believe in time, so everything happened for a reason.What kind of character are you in the India dressing room? Are you the joker or the introvert, or are you the serious, brooding variety?
I really don’t know. I enjoy everything and everybody’s company. I like to be among them and see them laugh. I don’t like to sit in one place and be quiet. But I don’t know whether I’m a fun person. You should ask my team-mates.What are the things you have learnt from your team-mates about life in general?For example, myself and Shikhar [Dhawan] are very close friends off the field. We share a lot of things apart from cricket. We have a mutual liking for things and discuss particular topics. I like to discuss things rather than argue. If it’s an argument, I just call it a day. () I don’t want to get into trouble. I never confront anybody. If I know I have made a mistake, I will put my hand up and accept the fact.What are the things outside the game that help you get your focus back on cricket?
I honestly believe there’s life after cricket. There’s a lot to learn, a lot of things to see. It’s just a phase of my life I have chosen, so obviously I love to do something in a field I really love. And if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t matter to me really. Because I am honestly giving my effort and trying to learn things, and pushing myself to an extent where I can feel that I have done everything. The result is like a by-product for me.Do you have heroes outside cricket?
I like [the actor] Kamal Haasan. I am a great fan of him. Obviously Rajini sir [Rajinikanth] as well, but I like Kamal sir a little more. It’s just the connect. I don’t know much about acting. I hardly even see movies, but you know, the interviews where he has spoken about a similar topic that’s running in your head. All these factors overall make him special.What are the other things that keep you in the happy space you talk about?
I love to play other sports. I love snooker. Unfortunately I can’t play [now] because of my hamstring. I am not able to surf now because of that as well. I like to experience other sports and adventure sports that give me an adrenaline rush and make me challenge myself. I don’t want to miss out on those as well, playing one sport.Has your life changed with two young children? Are you a hands-on father?
They are keeping me on my toes. I am just trying to give as much time as possible. Changing diapers and singing rhymes is a learning too for me.

What happens on the fields and in the pavilions will be the most interesting part, with unprecedented numbers of international players to take part, and with the depth of the women’s game newly tested with younger and less experienced players

Geoff Lemon04-Dec-20151:11

There are transferable skills from tennis to cricket – Barty

Even three or four years ago, you would not have imagined a whiz-bang women’s domestic Twenty20 competition would come around so soon. But with increased coverage and eye-catching performances, the sense of momentum in women’s cricket has only grown. Through the close succession of a 50-over World Cup, a World T20 and three Ashes series, we were suddenly at a point where the next step seemed inevitable.To their credit, the England Cricket Board and Cricket Australia each recognised that and acted on it. The Women’s Cricket Super League will launch in England in mid-2016, while the Women’s Big Bash League is about to precede it in Australia.While it is tiresome for cricketing women to always draw comparison with men, the male Big Bash League has laid out a brightly coloured template. Even the most ardent administrators would have been surprised by the BBL’s success with crowds and TV ratings, so the second time around there was no doubt that the women’s competition should follow the same structure.Don’t be fooled by the badging as a “rebel” tournament – the WBBL is official, it’s just confusingly sponsored by a sports retailer that doesn’t like capital letters. Eight city-based teams, twinning the existing men’s teams of Brisbane Heat, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Hobart Hurricanes, Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers. A league competition leading into a knockout finals series, with 59 games over the best part of two months.Only eight of those games will be telecast, with taking tentative steps to augment its broadcast of the men’s competition. It’s a start – a way for the concept to begin proving itself. Cricket Australia for its part is concentrating on the match-day experience, and will hope to use attendance to drive interest and enthusiasm for the women’s game among girls in the crowd, and among cricket lovers in general.That explains idiosyncrasies in the fixture: things like Melbourne Stars and Brisbane Heat playing each other twice on the same day to start the season. Turns out that’s a ploy to make at least one game available to people who might not be able to make the other, and to make the entire day into a carnival affair.Most games are grouped around weekends and have free entry, designed to draw as many spectators as possible. The eight televised games will be double-headers with the corresponding men’s teams, and entry to both comes with the same ticket. Then there’s the geographical reach: aside from the usual international venues there will be visits to the Junction Oval in St Kilda (Melbourne), Kingston Twin Ovals in outer Hobart, Blacktown Oval in Sydney’s west, Aquinas College in Perth, Drummoyne Oval by Sydney’s harbour, and Allan Border Field in Albion.Most Women’s BBL games are grouped around weekends and have free entry, designed to draw as many spectators as possible•Getty ImagesWhat happens on the fields and in the pavilions will be the most interesting part, with unprecedented numbers of international players arriving to take part, and with the depth of the women’s game newly tested with younger and less experienced players getting their chance to supplement the squads.New South Wales is the regional power in the 50-over competition: before losing this year’s final to South Australia the state had won ten in a row. But that group is now split across two Sydney teams, just as Victoria’s players have been in Melbourne. Things are going to even out very quickly.On paper, Brisbane Heat look the most impressive outfit. Jess Jonassen scored that memorable 99 in Australia’s Test match win in Canterbury, but started her career as a spinner and remains a threat. The tall Holly Ferling debuted for Australia aged 17 and remains one of the country’s best young pace prospects.Delissa Kimmince can open with bat and ball, and only missed the Ashes tour through injury, while her replacement was the powerful Grace Harris, who has already hit some of the cleanest sixes in the women’s game. England seamer Kate Cross bowled beautifully during the northern summer, including bags of wickets in the men’s Lancashire League. Round that lot out with former Australian captain and wicketkeeper Jodie Fields, as well as a project player in former tennis international Ashleigh Barty, and there’s a lot to watch.Not that Perth Scorchers don’t have a fearsome list. Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani are the Australian opening batting partnership in both forms, and while Villani has struggled internationally she has some monster scores at domestic level. England captain Charlotte Edwards has brought not only her leadership but her favourite fast bowler, Katherine Brunt. And while Brunt can hit a long ball down the order, she can’t match West Indies power-hitter Deandra Dottin, who has played some of the memorable innings of recent times.Melbourne Stars have the dual star power of both Lanning sisters, Meg and Anna, as well as Australian legspinner Kristen Beams and England’s brightest batting talent Natalie Sciver. The sport’s most prominent name, Ellyse Perry, has gone to the Sydney Sixers, and while she may not have the required quality around her on that list, she can win games on her own in either discipline.Women’s cricket is often an arm-wrestle, with bowlers remaining in the game throughout and any target a possibility to defend. It’s more about the fine touch and less about slogging out of trouble. So while attention gravitates to the batting, the most skilled units with the ball will likely do best. A pairing like international bowlers Sarah Coyte and Megan Schutt at the Adelaide Strikers might prove decisive.Just as exciting as watching the best players will be seeing which of the newer and younger set can step up. In the next few weeks, we’ll get to know a whole lot more about some of them. That’s what the expanding world of women’s cricket does: makes more space in the sky for stars.