Barring injury, Australia’s bowling attack and wicketkeeper are nailed on for the first Test against India but the same can’t be said about the top order

Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2018The incumbentsAaron FinchAt the end of the Test series in the UAE Finch appeared a lock for the first Test against India but he has hit a significant form slump in ODIs and T20s since. Scores of 1, 0, 3, 1, 5, 41, 11, and 7 have caused alarm and he has spoken of the challenges the change in formats have posed to his technique. He only has three T20s and one Shield match to find some touch. Further complicating matters, his record opening the batting in first-class cricket in Australia is poor. He was well suited to opening on the low slow surfaces in the UAE but Australian conditions are a different beast and very few makeshift openers have succeeded in Australia in Test match cricket. Most of his success in first-class cricket for Victoria has come batting at No.5. He looks certain to play. Where he bats is still to be finalised. Victoria coach Andrew McDonald told radio on Wednesday that he was planning to bat Finch in the middle order against Queesland and had not received any instructions from the selectors over where to bat him.Usman KhawajaFitness is the only question mark for Australia’s best batsman. He had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee on October 23. He is back running and replicated some running between the wickets over the weekend. He was set to face bowlers for the first time this week. The last Shield round before the Test starts on November 27 and he expects to be fit for that. If all goes to plan he will play in Adelaide. He should bat at No.3 but there may be some consideration given to him opening in light of his excellent record at the top of the order.Shaun MarshAny doubts about his Test place have been erased. His form since returning home has been sublime. He made 80 and 98 in Shield match against Tasmania at the WACA where the bowlers dominated. He followed that with a supreme 106 against a high-quality South Africa ODI attack in Hobart. Eight days later Marsh peeled off 163 not out to help Western Australia chase down 313 against South Australia at Adelaide Oval, the venue of the opening Test against India and the scene of a century against England last year. The four failures in the UAE are a world away. Despite his success at No.5 in last summer’s Ashes, on current form he is the best equipped to bat in the pivotal spot while Steven Smith is absent.Travis HeadLike Finch, Head showed promise in the UAE and appeared almost certain to retain his place in Adelaide. But like Finch, his form since has given the selectors pause. He was strategically left out of Australia’s T20 assignments. He missed out in his only Shield innings before a nightmare one-day series against South Africa put his Test place under pressure. That may have eased somewhat with a good Shield performance in Adelaide against WA where made a fluent 87 in the first innings and was unfortunate to be lbw. He was equally unlucky to be strangled down the leg side in the second innings for 0. The lack of runs from the other contenders has helped his cause but conversely the ability of South Africa’s paceman to expose him technically, albeit in short-form cricket, has meant a home Test in Adelaide is not absolutely guaranteed.The bolters

Glenn Maxwell has gone from a contender post the UAE series to a genuine outsider to be picked for Adelaide. The schedule of T20s, ODIs and T20s have done him no favours. But his inability to make some sound situational decisions at the crease saw him slide further down the order in the ODIs and as a result he has slid right out of Test calculations for the time being.
Marcus Stoinis started the season superbly in both 50-over and Shield cricket and his stocks continued to rise during the ODI series against South Africa. But his overall body of work doesn’t stack up against some of the other options with just four first-class hundreds to his name and none in the last two Shield seasons.
Alex Doolan has been a forgotten man. He played four Tests in 2014 and scored 89 on debut at Centurion against an attack of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander but was dumped on the tour of the UAE and never considered again. He is the stand out batsman this season with scores of 115, 10, 76, 6, 53, 90, 0 and 94 putting him in contention.
Tom Cooper would be a surprise selection but he has scored back-to-back Shield centuries this season, including 178, against Queensland. Langer asked for hundreds and Cooper has provided them.

Mitchell MarshAustralia’s new vice-captain remains a divisive figure. After the failures in the UAE the 27-year-old was left out of Australia’s matches against South Africa and the T20 series against India to get valuable time in Shield cricket. It was the clearest indication that he is still a mainstay in Australia’s Test team. He made a statement scoring 151 batting at No.4 against Queensland and he also bowled 30 overs in the match claiming the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne. He followed that a second innings 44 against South Australia which was vital in the context of the game but Daniel Worrall did breach his defence in the same manner Mohammad Abbas had in the UAE. He looks likely to play given the Australian attack will need extra bowling support but unlikely to bat higher than No.6.Marnus LabuschagneDespite some promising performances in the two Tests in the UAE having been picked seemingly on potential, he appears likely to miss out on Adelaide. Like Matt Renshaw, his Shield form has not helped his cause with scores of 3, 28, 10, 11, 52 and 4 perhaps forcing the selectors hands despite the half-century coming against Australia’s Test attack. Given what he showed in the UAE with bat, ball and in the field, a case could be made to stick with him long-term. But Australia’s dire results of recent time may not allow for such long-term thinking.The contendersMatt RenshawAfter his omission in the UAE he appeared almost certain to open the batting in Adelaide but his form has not made his selection a certainty. He made an unbeaten 145 on immediate return from the UAE for his premier cricket team Toombul in Brisbane and made another on November 10 but his Shield form has been far less productive. He was dismissed for 3 and 0 against South Australia in Adelaide by both an inswinger and outswinger from Joe Mennie. He made 89 and 21 against WA on an Allan Border Field surface where two players made scores of 150 plus and six others made half-centuries. He followed that with 21 and 6 against the Test attack, nicking Nathan Lyon in the first innings and being adjudged caught behind attempting to cut Josh Hazlewood in the second.Marcus HarrisThe left-hander has put himself firmly in the mix for Adelaide through not only a great start to the domestic season but solid performances over the previous two years. No man has scored more runs or centuries in Shield cricket since the start of the 2016-17 season than Harris. He announced himself with 250 not out against New South Wales and has backed that up with scores of 65 and 67 in the next two games. He stands up under pressure, with two of his nine first-class hundreds coming in Sheffield Shield finals. The 26-year-old has matured into a very dependable opener for Victoria, and any queries over his ability to bat time and make sound decisions consistently have been quashed this season.Peter HandscombHe remains in the frame after he was omitted from the UAE squad on form. His JLT Cup run was excellent and he produced an impressive Shield century against South Australia at the MCG. But he has left a few starts on the table with scores of just 27, 48 and 23 in conditions where team-mates have made significant scores. The selectors will have taken particular note of his move up to No.3 for Victoria. It has been a wise move to put his technique under pressure against the quicks up front, which has been the question mark against him. Whether he’s done enough for a recall remains to be seen.Joe BurnsAfter mysteriously dropping off the radar for the UAE series he has re-emerged as a contender for Adelaide. In a team crying out for experience, his three Test hundreds opening the batting in Australia and New Zealand certainly count in his favour. He also debuted against India last time they toured, making twin half-centuries in Sydney, and his excellent Shield season last summer should stand for something. His Shield form this season won’t count against him but he hasn’t smashed down the door. He made 64 against South Australia but was one of Lloyd Pope’s seven victims, then made 49 and 80 not out in Brisbane against WA albeit on a road. He copped a poor decision in the first innings against NSW but then did all the hard work on the third evening against Hazlewood, Starc, Cummins and Lyon only to edge a ball first up on the fourth morning to be out for 38.Matthew WadeHe has become a legitimate contender to play in Adelaide as a specialist batsman. England have proven two wicketkeepers can play together in a successful side. He made three centuries last Shield season, the equal most of any player, and has started this summer with four consecutive Shield half-centuries and 137 against the best Shield attack in the country, Victoria. He has two Test hundreds and one came batting at No.6. Tasmania captain George Bailey believes he should be considered given how well he is batting at the moment, particularly his ability to bat with the tail and shift up and down the gears depending on the match situation.

Yet another abject first-innings performance against top-class opposition has left the team management with more headaches

Daniel Brettig in Abu Dhabi17-Oct-2018For a stadium in the middle of the UAE desert, some 12,000 km from Sydney and Melbourne, there was an awful lot familiar to Australians on the second day in Abu Dhabi.On the public address system was a playlist of pub rock hewn straight out of FM radio, from AC/DC, Midnight Oil and Powderfinger, to the inescapable strains of Darryl Braithwaite and Jimmy Barnes. Underfoot was a pitch still with a smattering of live grass, enough for seamers and spinners to gain deviation and pace from if good enough. And on the scoreboard was an Australian Test team producing a substandard first innings for the fifth match in a row. Unsurprisingly, none of them has ended in victory.While the Dubai version, losing 10 for 60 having been 0 for 142, was more dramatic, the steady slide to 145 here answered one question left hanging after the first Test: how would this lineup fare on days when Usman Khawaja goes cheaply?His early exit on the first evening, to a leg-side strangle caught wonderfully by Sarfraz Ahmed, gave Pakistan their opening, and further clarified the gulf left by the banned Steven Smith and David Warner. Aaron Finch continued to make a useful fist of his delayed start to Test cricket before being successfully worn down for the third time in as many innings, but the rest fell swiftly and in fashions that were largely reminiscent of the sorts of challenges faced by batsmen in Australia.In the right hand of the wonderfully skillful Mohammad Abbas, the red Kookaburra ball nibbled a little bit each way off the aforementioned live grass, with enough carry to result in Shaun Marsh and Travis Head falling to the first two slips catches off the pacemen for the series. Flung from the cocked wrist of Yasir Shah, the same ball bounced and turned just enough to ensure the vice-captain Mitchell Marsh’s open bat face offered another catch to slip. All dismissals might have taken place as readily in Adelaide as Abu Dhabi, something further underlined by how Nathan Lyon had utilised top spin on the first day. Another experienced member of the Australian attack, Peter Siddle, will wonder why he was unable to be as effective as Abbas.In some ways, the conditions the Australians faced were a long way from those they had spent two weeks preparing for at the ICC Global Academy in Dubai. Certainly, the grass on the surface had caused the captain Tim Paine and the tour selectors Justin Langer and Trevor Hohns enough pause to wait until match day before deciding to keep the same XI they had fielded in the first Test. Batsmen who had trained for reverse swing, low bounce and slow turn found nothing of the sort here, particularly in the morning session, when overnight dew appeared to both liven up the surface and slow down the outfield.But that same grass and moisture is far more common to cricket in Australia than in Asia, meaning that the touring team should have gained some sort of advantage from them. And perhaps they would have, without another example of an endemic problem in terms of batting quality when confronted with high-class performers from around the world. When he was quizzed about Australian batting collapses in the wake of the Dubai escape, the assistant coach Graeme Hick had pointed out that while starting an innings was difficult in Asian climes, this team’s problems with losing wickets in a rush was far from a problem confined to this part of the world. “I’m not saying we’ve only had collapses in the subcontinent. It’s been pretty rife.”That rifeness, which included seven instances of 10 wickets falling for fewer than 100 runs in the little more than two years since the 2016 tour of Sri Lanka, has also featured another more recent trend, stretching back to the start of the fateful South African tour. Since the first Test of the series in Durban, Australia’s first-innings tallies have been 351 in 110.4 overs, 243 in 71.3 in Port Elizabeth, 255 in 69.5 in Cape Town, 221 in 70 in Johannesburg, 202 in 83.3 in Dubai, and now 145 in 50.4 in Abu Dhabi.Even including Kingsmead, that means a rounded average of 236 per innings. Over the long and eventful history of Test cricket, the average first-innings score by winning teams is 376. In Asia, it is higher still, at 388. Either way, the Australians have fallen well short of the mark, and they started doing so at the time a mentally and physically fatigued Smith and Warner began dropping off from the sort of productivity the rest of the team had become used to. With no prospect of recalling either until April next year, the spotlight is then left upon the rest who, apart from Khawaja, look either to be still developing or struggling to match the required standard.Getty Images”I think that first innings is always key to set up the game,” Finch said. “We’ve seen Pakistan in the first Test go really big in the first innings and that gives them freedom in the second innings to play as aggressive as they want or as conservative as they want and then the game’s in your hand. You can pull out when you want and declare. Same again in this game, we’ve left ourselves a little bit too far behind the game.”So as soon as [Fakhar] Zaman comes out and plays aggressively and takes the game away in a few overs, then all of a sudden you’re unsure whether to keep your catchers in or retreat and try to control the scoreboard. That’s the beauty of going big in your first innings, you control the game. It goes a long way to winning games. Traditionally, wickets do get harder and harder to bat on, so we’ve probably left ourselves a little bit too much work to do at the back end of games in the past, which no doubt we’ll address and, hopefully, going forward we can keep improving on that.”For Langer, in particular, this will mean a few searching questions about several of the players he has identified as critical to the intervening months, none more so than Shaun and Mitchell Marsh. In the corresponding six Tests, they have cobbled their runs at averages of 14.27 and 18.27 respectively, with the younger brother’s 96 at Durban the only score beyond 50 for either. It was a statistic about reaching scores above 30 that caused rumbles following the selection of Australia’s Test squad, but another at the international level places the Marsh brothers in still harsher light.Among all players to have played Tests for Australia since 2011, Mitchell Marsh (42%) and Shaun Marsh (38.98%) both make the top five in terms of highest percentage of single-figure scores in that time. By comparison, Smith (22.02%) and Warner (21.17%) round out the top 10 despite being the only two players to have compiled more than 100 innings over the same period.The boom-or-bust nature of these figures will beg the question of whether Australia, with the team’s current profile, can sustain such inconsistency in the hope that the big innings Shaun and Mitchell Marsh do occasionally provide will result in victories. On commentary, Mike Hussey suggested that Shaun Marsh may be better suited to No. 5, where he batted successfully during the Ashes last summer, and Mitchell Marsh to No. 6 – both positions, of course, were theirs in a world where Warner was opening and Smith was No. 4.For the remainder of day two, there were more wearyingly familiar sights and sounds for Australians – the bowlers in particular. Mitchell Starc, clearly sore and stiff from his exertions already in the series, could manage only one spell with so little recovery time, while Pakistan took progressively more liberties with Siddle. Lyon and Jon Holland bowled decently, but without any scoreboard pressure to help them. And Marnus Labuschagne was unable to repeat the breakthroughs of day one.Another tune had rung throughout the stadium during the lunch break, at a time when the Australians had already given up their first-innings advantage. It was Holy Grail by Hunters and Collectors, beloved by the producers of sporting montages but actually a rather downbeat set of lyrics about the abortive retreat of Napoleon’s army from Russia in 1812. In the familiar hole the Australians found themselves in, they could reflect on the song’s bridge:

Four Vidarbha players, two from Saurashtra, and a cricketer each from Rajasthan, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat make it to our team of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-20191. Priyank Panchal (Gujarat) – 898 runs, 17 innings, average 59.86The season’s highest run-getter during Gujarat’s march to their maiden title in 2016-17, Panchal shrugged off an indifferent follow-up season to top his state’s run-charts this time around. That he did so with the added responsibility of captaincy in Parthiv Patel’s absence for the most part lent greater weight to his performances. His four hundreds and five half-centuries propelled Gujarat to the quarter-finals, and also brought him back into the India A mix for the unofficial Tests against England Lions.2. Abhimanyu Easwaran (Bengal) – 861 runs, 11 innings, average 95.66The 23-year-old made a compelling case to be considered as the third opener for the Test team. He didn’t feature in the first part of the season because of a stint with India A in New Zealand. The confidence of playing a higher level of cricket showed, as he racked up three hundreds and as many half-centuries. His unbeaten 201 kept Bengal in the hunt for a knockouts berth until the last day of the group stage, as he helped convert a 260-run deficit into a 132-run lead, before they ran out of time to push for an outright win. A game earlier, he struck an aggressive 211-ball 183 not out against Delhi as Bengal hunted down 322, their highest chase in Ranji Trophy history.3. Wasim Jaffer (VIdarbha) – 1037 runs, 15 innings, average 69.13Ten Ranji finals, ten titles. How’s that for conversion rate? While many of his contemporaries have exchanged bats for mics in the commentary box, the 40-year-old showed no signs of slowing down, not just scoring runs for fun but also mentoring Vidarbha’s next generation of batsmen. He remains the only batsman to have made 1000 or more runs in two separate Ranji seasons. If not for the two runs he missed against Saurashtra on a Rajkot turner, Jaffer could have recorded four successive hundreds this season.Shubman Gill in Ranji Trophy 2018-19•ESPNcricinfo Ltd4. Shubman Gill (Punjab) – 728 runs, nine innings, average 104Player of the tournament at the Under-19 World Cup, a breakout IPL season, and a breakout first-class season – that was Gill’s 2018 in a nutshell. More than the runs he made, the manner in which he struck them, at a bruising strike-rate of 104, exhibited tremendous self-confidence. The runs didn’t go unnoticed as he earned an India cap exactly a year after scoring a match-winning century against Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup semi-final. His 268 against Tamil Nadu was a standout performance in a game where no other batsman made a hundred.ALSO READ: Gill’s meteoric rise through the India ranks5. Rinku Singh (Uttar Pradesh) – 953 runs, 13 innings, average 105.88Rinku Singh, whose claim to fame before this season was a big IPL paycheque, turned out to be the crisis man for Uttar Pradesh. A left-hand batsman who doesn’t hesitate to play his shots, he often put opposition teams on the back foot with his counter-attacks. Playing according to his strengths and not letting the match situation dictate terms, he hit four hundreds in the tournament, second only to Milind Kumar’s mark.6. Akshay Wadkar (Vidarbha, wk) – 725 runs, 16 innings, average 60.41, 27 dismissalsHe hit a century and the winning runs in his debut season last year, and followed it up with an equally impressive tally in 2018-19. He isn’t an imposing batsman, but his dour methods and tenacity to fight through tough spells – like he did to arrest a top-order wobble to make a gritty 48 against Railways – has impressed the team management. Behind the stumps, he wasn’t just a chirpy presence but also extremely reliable, particularly impressive with his nifty footwork against spin.7. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (Saurashtra) – 59 wickets, 19 innings, average 27.16, best: 7 for 55He has been around for quite some time now but this was the breakout season for left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. Leading the Saurashtra spin attack in the absence of his namesake Ravindra, his 59 scalps put him fifth on the all-time list of wickets in a season. Often touted as someone who only takes wickets on the spinning tracks of Rajkot, he proved that notion wrong as well. Twenty-nine of his 59 wickets came at away venues, and at a better strike rate (48.9) than at home (53.2).8. Aditya Sarwate (Vidarbha) – 55 wickets, 19 innings, average 19.67, best: 6 for 43Two left-arm spinners in an XI can be one too many, but the weight of Sarwate’s match-winning 11-for in the final couldn’t be ignored. In addition to his wickets, his 49 to revive a floundering second innings in a low-scoring match was invaluable. Far from a permanent member in the XI when the season started, he ensured there were little doubts over who Vidarbha would turn to should they feature just one spinner going forward.Aditya Sarwate raises his bat after reaching his century•PTI 9. Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra, captain) – 39 wickets, 14 innings, average 17.17, best: 7 for 86Bowling aside, Unadkat makes the XI on the strength of his leadership and the ‘brand of cricket’ he’s tried to bring into the Saurashtra set-up. He took over the leadership from the retired Jaydev Shah midway through the season, and immediately left his mark. His empowering of young players like Vishwarajsinh Jadeja, Harvik Desai and Snell Patel, and their response to a receptive leader, augurs well for the team’s immediate future. With the ball, Unadkat dispelled notions of him being merely a T20 bowler. Bowling with improved speeds with the ability to reverse the old ball, his long spells and intensity always kept Saurashtra in the game, like in the semi-final and final against Karnataka and Vidarbha respectively.ALSO READ: ‘I am going to work my pants off and do well’ – Unadkat10. Umesh Yadav (Vidarbha) – 23 wickets, six innings, average 12.26, best: 7 for 48How to channel the disappointment of Australia, where he played just one Test? By bowling his side to victories with Man-of-the-Match efforts in the quarters and semis. First, he vanquished inexperienced Uttarakhand and then sent Kerala packing on what he termed the ‘spiciest pitch I’ve bowled on’ in Wayanad. His 12-for blasted Kerala out in precisely four sessions. He couldn’t feature in Vidarbha’s triumph last season, but at the first sign of availability, he bowled with venom and intensity that made him such a fearsome red-ball bowler two years ago when Australia toured India.ALSO READ: Car mechanic to pace merchant – the rags-to-renown story of Tanveer-ul-Haq11. Tanveer-ul-Haq (Rajasthan) – 51 wickets, 20 innings, average 18.52, best: 6 for 42One half of a formidable left-arm pace combine with Aniket Choudhary, Tanveer brought his A game to become the first Rajasthan bowler to take 50 wickets in a season. He lacks pace, but his ability to trouble batsmen with subtle movement off the deck made him a tough proposition. Rajasthan lost the quarter-final to Karnataka in a tight finish, but Tanveer’s season was stellar – an average of 18.52 and a strike rate of 40.3, while bowling more overs than anyone else in the team.

Before hailing stump mics as the cure to a persistent but minor irritant, cricket must pause to consider the side effects

Sambit Bal18-Feb-2019It’s hardly cricket’s gallery of shame – for there’s match-fixing and various forms of cheating and instances of graver misconduct – but in the first two months of this year, cricketers have brought varying levels of embarrassment on themselves and the game through the words they have spoken on and off the field.It has led to bans and suspensions and, crucially and somewhat alarmingly, exposed several levels of prejudices – sexism and misogyny in the case of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, racial profiling in the case of Sarfaraz Ahmed, and oblique homophobia in the case of Shannon Gabriel – among elite cricketers. On a wider level, it’s a reflection of the gap between expected behaviour and prevalent behaviour.The boundaries of acceptable behaviour and conduct have been redrawn in this more global, connected, but decidedly elite world the cricketers now inhabit. But it is one they are ill-prepared for on account of a combination of factors – background, lack of opportunities to develop societal skills, and the insularity that celebrity brings.Given where and to whom it was addressed, it was staggering that Sarfaraz was unable to grasp the terrible nature of his lapse – even assuming that it was a general venting of frustration, and he hadn’t intended for Andile Phehlukwayo to understand the meaning of .Just as in the case of Pandya – and to a lesser extent, Rahul – who couldn’t have excused his performance on the grounds that it was an extension of boy banter in a casual setting, it would have been no defence for the captain of Pakistan that the term isn’t as pejorative in the subcontinent where the abhorrent practice of coining nicknames from skin colours or other physical attributes isn’t uncommon, and those at the receiving end are resigned to it.

“The keys at the moment are in the hands of the home broadcasters and, in many cases, the live feed is produced by the home board. As it stands, it’s open to manipulation, or at the very least to accusations and perceptions of manipulation.”

It was right for the players to cop the punishment, but the question remains whether the accountability shouldn’t extend to their employers.As society evolves, lines are constantly redrawn. With a contemporary lens, a lot of on-field banter now part of cricket folklore becomes, at the very least, cringe-worthy. Consider this exchange – perhaps apocryphal – between Ian Botham and Rodney Marsh, among cricket’s most celebrated sledges.But who’s going to drum this in to the players, who come from different backgrounds and cultures, and don’t receive the same education or sensitisation, but who must always be judged by a uniform code of behaviour?Cricket treats itself as a corporate entity on most counts and, apart from being heroes and celebrities, cricketers are highly remunerated employees of cricket boards and franchises. Enormous resources are spent – rightfully so – on developing their primary skills, but since they are also the game’s primary ambassadors judged for their conduct both on and off the field, should they not be adequately prepared? Franchise cricket has done its bit in exposing players to different cultures, but how much institutional training do the cricketers receive?Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were banned for their controversial comments in a TV programme•Getty ImagesTwo of these three instances were brought to light because the stump mics were turned on, and given the nature of the transgressions, it’s difficult to feel sympathy for the players in question. But however tempting it might be to draw obvious conclusions, we must assess these two issues – on-field verbal transgressions and broadcasting of the chatter – separately.The ICC is now an enthusiastic advocate of the idea of keeping the mics on, which has received the unqualified support of Moeen Ali, who claimed in his recent autobiography to have been at the receiving end of a racial taunt that was not caught by mics.It is a persuasive argument. Switched-on stump mics have the potential to cut down personal abuse and bring greater accountability from players. The game needs its tensions and emotions, but once players are aware of repercussions, they are likely to stay within the line.And it can make the game both more accessible and entertaining for fans. MS Dhoni behind the stumps to spinners provides the perfect mix of insight, wisdom and hilarity for the television viewer who can now feel part of the plot. And for a sport in constant pursuit of finding new ways to engage the fans, this is an attractive option.

‘However tempting it might be to draw obvious conclusions, we must assess these two issues – on-field verbal transgressions and broadcasting of the chatter – separately.’

However, cricket must be wary of the potential dangers. To start with, it would only be natural, as FICA articulated, if players were concerned about the inconsistency of its application.The keys at the moment are in the hands of the home broadcasters and, in many cases, the live feed is produced by the home board. As it stands, it’s open to manipulation, or at the very least to accusations and perceptions of manipulation.During their last tour of India, the Australian cricket team complained about the selective airing of an exchange between Mathew Wade and Ravindra Jadeja. The reverse happened in Australia when the home broadcasters clipped out a mild spat between Jadeja and team-mate Ishant Sharma during a drinks break. The Indian team management felt it was mischievous.More interesting was the practice of making the stump mic the primary feed during certain overs. It produced some entertaining exchanges between Rishabh Pant and Tim Paine, which culminated in that photo Paine’s wife posted on Instagram going viral. But the fact remained it was the broadcasters who chose the overs, and a feeling persisted in the Indian camp that Pant, a young player on his first tour to Australia, might have been set up as easy prey.Just as in the cases of ball tampering, which are now invariably unearthed by the broadcasters and almost always expose the touring players, the selective use of stump mics has the potential of attracting accusations of bias.And finally, stump mics have limited surveillance value. They cover only a fraction of the ground, and as demonstrated in the case of Joe Root and Gabriel, the recording can sometimes be partial – it was that which prompted Gabriel to release his part of the conversation. ​Most of these incidents, of course, occur in the vicinity of the stump mics, the stumps being the focus of cricket’s central confrontation. But that doesn’t mean no infractions take place in other parts of the field, and those these mics can’t capture.Those who abuse as a tactic will simply get smarter about it. Already, there are examples of players muttering under their breath, or with their hands covering their mouths. Finding a way around the stump mic is unlikely to be an insurmountable challenge. It could also encourage entrapment of gullible cricketers – not everyone has the wit or the felicity of language to respond in kind to provocations – by those more adept at the art of sledging.Before hailing stump mics as the cure to a persistent but minor irritant, cricket must pause to consider these side effects.

In the summertime, when the weather ain’t fine, people across Ahmedabad organise themselves into leagues to play night cricket

Sharda Ugra18-Jun-2019The final bits of the recent profile of Jasprit Bumrah – who he is and where he comes from – required me to travel to Ahmedabad this summer.Gujarat cricket is in its golden age, with a string of first-time national titles. A number of their most successful players in generations – Bumrah, Parthiv Patel, Axar Patel and monster first-class run scorer Priyank Panchal – all regularly have their names in lights in international and domestic cricket.All year round, dozens of young cricketers turn up morning and evening at the Sardar Patel Stadium in central Ahmedabad to train, where Sumer Singh, whose name frequently pops up in conversations about Gujarat’s modern and forward-thinking coaches, runs the M’Power Academy. Established in July 2010, the academy has about 200 boys across two batches. Before every session, the M’Power kids, between five and 20 years of age, take a pledge about playing fair, taking responsibility, respecting each other and enjoying cricket. Youngest to oldest, they introduce themselves to each other, shaking hands. When the session is done, Singh also gets handshakes, instead of the practice traditional in India of students touching the teacher’s feet.Sumer says the general outlook towards cricket in Gujarat has changed considerably over the last few years. “Because lot of players from Gujarat have moved up to play for India. The IPL has [also] made a big impact – it has helped to connect lot of kids to cricket.” The league, he says, has made kids take a global view of the sport. “In our academy, lots of them follow foreign players also.”Gujarat’s most famous national players have been two Patels, offspinner Jasu, who played seven Tests for India in the 1950s, and wicketkeeper Parthiv, who has played 25 Tests so far, the latest in January last year, but the state has never been a traditional hub of the sport churning out quality talent.The IPL has triggered huge interest in the game among children in Ahmedabad, and academies like M’Power are taking advantage•Sharda Ugra/ESPNcricinfo LtdYet, a new variant of the game, running parallel to and sometimes intersecting with the structures of the more formal game, has caught Ahmedabad’s fancy: summertime night cricket.It is played under floodlights in large spaces across the city with leather or tennis balls, often with prize money on offer. Some tournaments feature only recreational players, others a smattering of full-time pros. These tournaments are now played all over the state, I was told, with higher entry fees and bigger prizes. Temperatures may rise over 40°C – in May 2016, Ahmedabad hit 50°C – but the cricket never stops.

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It is a short drive from Ahmedabad airport on the northern arc of the city’s outer ring road to the beautifully manicured and floodlit SGVP Cricket Ground, where the 2019 edition of the Gurukul Premier League (GPL) is on. This “All India Open Night Cricket” tournament lasts 78 days, an exhausting duration for an event on a single ground.”There is no other event like this in India,” claims Bharat Patel, secretary of the SGVP Surya Sports Academy, which organises the tournament. In its publicity material, the GPL calls itself the state’s biggest cricket event, with “200 teams and 3000 players”; even if that count is halved, the GPL still clocks impressive numbers. Originally hostel rector at the SGVP School, Patel now runs the event with a seven-man team. The league offers a total of Rs 4.5 lakhs (about US$6500) in cash prizes; the team winning the elite division gets Rs 2.5 lakhs and the runner-up Rs 1.25 lakhs ($1800).GPL matches tick every box for a professionally run cricket event: players, umpires, scorers, commentators and sponsors. Its leather-ball elite division has 16 teams, the plate division 24, and the tennis-ball event that follows after the leather-ball one contains a melee of 67 teams. SGVP stands for the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam Surya Sports Academy, a religious trust that runs, among other institutions, a school, a hospital, and a charitable organisation promoting the study of Sanskrit and ancient Indian scripture.Night time is the right time: cricket at Aslali•Sharda Ugra/ESPNcricinfo LtdThe GPL began as a four-team intra-school cricket league during the school term of the SGVP International School, in whose campus the ground is situated. The ground and its facilities would remain unused during summer holidays, until a senior administrative staffer at the school decided to invite the city’s cricket-crazy population to come and play. A 24-club team event was held under temporary lights in 2011. By 2014, permanent floodlights had been installed.The GPL is now in its ninth year, with teams from around Gujarat, two from Delhi (Malik Sports and a team from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office), and one each from Chennai (Jangid CC) and Visakhapatnam (Indian Navy SSC). The plate league even has a team from Nepal. Teams from out of town are accommodated in the school’s hostel. Former India seamer Sudeep Tyagi and Kerala batsman Sachin Baby played in this year’s event, as did Gujarat’s record-breaking opener Samit Gohel . Jaydev Unadkat, Siddharth Trivedi and Bumrah have also played in the tournament before.Thirty kilometres south, far removed from the grand domes and sweeping staircases of the Gurukul, by the side of National Highway 64, a match is in progress at the public ground in Aslali. Motorcycles and scooters parked are around the venue, and friends and families of players sit around, cheering the game. The rented floodlights are working well, and fluorescent lights illuminate the 30-yard circle. Large container trucks hurtle by on the highway while the Aslali Youth Night Cricket tournament (“super knockout”, 12 overs-a-side tennis ball matches) takes place next to it.Three matches are played every evening in the two-month long tournament, which is open to any team that can pay the Rs 4500 (about $65) entry fee. The winner gets Rs 35,000. The tournament is organised by a local youth group called the Aslali Yuvak Mandal, who say they turned this ground from a patch of scrub and rubble into a cricket ground about seven years ago before the civic body took notice.Bharat Patel, chief organiser of the GPL, says the tournament attracts 200 teams and 3000 players over the course of its 78 days•Sharda Ugra/ESPNcricinfo LtdHere too, there is a commentator and a scorer, sitting on a platform made of bamboo poles and straw mats, calling a match between Bapji XI and Ya Ali Madad XI on the evening I visit. There’s a cold drinks and ice cream stall, and another vendor on hand to churn out omelettes if you’re feeling peckish.I get talking to Nirav Patel, who is a regular spectator here. He reckons that teams turn up from a catchment radius of 40km around Ahmedabad and the town of Anand. While everyone in Aslali knows that there are tournaments that are bigger and richer than theirs (“Khambat’s entry fee itself is Rs 50,000,” says Nirav), there is a quiet pride in what Aslali offers. “People come here to relax, meet friends, have fun, let off some steam. It’s all ages, all backgrounds, from students to 30-year-olds.” On finals day, Nirav says, more than 300 could turn up. (“Check it out on YouTube.”)Even large wedding venues in Ahmedabad host cricket matches. These grounds, “party plots”, are leased out to teams when it’s off-season for the wedding market. It is here that community-based leagues as well as profession-based ones – premier leagues for doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants – hold their games.Former Gujarat Under-23 batsman Meet Shah, who runs a popular scoring and networking app called Cricheroes, catering to all these recreational players, takes me to one such party plot where a Lohana (an affluent merchant community in Gujarat) league pre-practice match is going on. An impressive set of sedans is parked outside, and players mill about spaces marked “For the bride” and “For the groom”, using them as change rooms.In a city where the entrepreneurial is everyday, it’s not surprising that people have managed to conjure up entertainment (and big business) even in the most punishing season of the year.

Six months ago, he was almost certain to be India’s No.4 at the World Cup. But a poor run of form, coupled with the emergence of Vijay Shankar, ended his dream

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Apr-20190:50

‘Vijay Shankar offers three different dimensions’

How and why did Ambati Rayudu fail to secure a spot in India’s World Cup squad? How did someone who, only six months ago India captain Virat Kohli said had put an end to the never-ending hunt for the No.4 batsman, was the right buffer in the middle order who could offer balance and experience, slip out of contention?Going by pure numbers, Rayudu is the fourth-highest among runs since making his return to the Indian dressing room during the Asia Cup last September. Between then and the home series against Australia earlier this year, India played 24 matches, and Rayudu featured in 21. In this period, he scored one century and four fifties.He played only two ODIs on the tour of Australia, but was the highest run-getter for India in the ODIs on the tour of New Zealand, with 190 runs in five innings at an average of 63.33 and a strike rate of 82.25. In 20 innings since his comeback, Rayudu batted at No.4 on 14 occasions, scoring 464 runs at an average of 42.18 and a strike rate of 85.60.Getty ImagesClearly, then, you might assume Rayudu was not exactly struggling. However, scratch beneath those numbers and you begin to see some cracks. Of the 20 innings he has played since 2018, he has been dismissed below 25 on nine occasions. In fact, his 90 against New Zealand on a seaming pitch, which came in challenging conditions, was the only half-century he got outside the subcontinent.Even the Indian think tank seemed to have doubts. In January, Kohli said the team was looking to “solidify” the No.4 slot. The certainty about Rayudu had begun to slowly thin. Then Rayudu was dropped for a few matches during the home series against Australia. Even though MSK Prasad, the chairman of the Indian selection committee, said that IPL form was not factored in, Rayudu has managed just a solitary fifty in the tournament so far, though he has had to bat on slow pitches in Chennai.As Rayudu’s form wobbled, the selectors, by accident, found a favourable alternative in Vijay Shankar. The Tamil Nadu allrounder impressed the selectors not just with his fluent technique, batting in the middle order, but also bowl medium pace. Add to that his fielding, which was a weak point for Rayudu; he was dropped after being selected for the limited-overs leg of the UK tour last year because he failed the yo-yo fitness test.

Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup ..

— Ambati Rayudu (@RayuduAmbati) April 16, 2019

Also, Rayudu has not bowled since his action was reported during the ODI series in Australia. So, overall as a package, Vijay offered more than Rayudu did.”It’s not anything that went against him,” Prasad said on Rayudu’s absence from the World Cup squad. “It’s only the thing that went in favour of Vijay Shankar because he adds a bit more dimensions to that role and with his fielding and bowling abilities. That’s where he scored ahead of him.”As convincing as the reasoning goes, it is hard to figure how someone who had been drummed up as a key player in the batting order could be left out? Were the Indian think tank, along with the selectors, too hasty in reaching conclusions about Rayudu last year?Rayudu is bound to feel disappointed. He was initially picked for the UK tour last year, based on his powerful form in the 2018 IPL with Chennai Super Kings, who won the tournament. In between, he had given up playing first-class cricket for Hyderabad to focus all energies on fulfilling the desire of playing at the World Cup. A year later, with his form patchy, his confidence low, he finds himself at a crossroads.

Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager, cricket, looks back at the World Cup and ahead to the World Test Championship

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi28-Jul-2019The World Test Championships (WTC) begins on August 1, two weeks after the World Cup ended. Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager, cricket, looks back at the World Cup final, one of the greatest matches in the game’s history, and the WTC, which has been designed to help grow Test cricket and build newer audiences.Overall how do you rate the World Cup?
From a cricket point of view we were very happy. The teams were evenly matched and there was a chance that either team could win any game. When you are playing 48 matches that’s good situation to be in. The quality of the cricket, and the drama of the final, ensured it was an exceptional tournament.Record totals were predicted at the outset, but the scores were mostly modest. Did the ICC give the groundsmen any instructions about the pitches?
No special instructions were issued. Our usual instruction at an ICC event is to prepare the best pitch you normally do at that particular venue for the format of the game that is being played. We don’t get involved in the preparation of the pitches.We had first innings ranging from 105 to 397. What the pitches did do was test the skills and tactics of all of the teams, so that they needed to adjust to the conditions that were presented.The ICC received flak for not having rain covers that could cover the grounds fully. Did you factor in full ground covers at any point in the preparation period?
Generally if you have a venue with good drainage then the need for full ground covers is not as great as it might be in some other parts of the world, where either the volume of rain or the drainage characteristics of the outfield don’t allow the water to disperse as quickly. The drainage at the venues that were used in England and Wales was pretty good, and they managed weather interruptions and protecting the ground in the way they normally do when hosting international cricket. On most occasions we were able to get play moving fairly quickly after the rain stopped during this World Cup.There isn’t one solution that will work for every venue that can be applied uniformly across the world. That’s why we rely on the local venues and local boards to deliver our events using the methods they usually employ to cover the ground.The overthrow rule, which came into play in the World Cup final, was much discussed. Could the ICC match officials, including the match referee, have done anything different from what they did in the final?
The on-field umpires had to make a judgement call on the day as to whether the batsmen had crossed when the throw was released. After everything that went on during that delivery, they got together over their comms system and made their decision. They certainly followed the right process when making the decision.What is the regulated time under the playing conditions allotted to umpires to make up their minds in such instances?
No, there is no time limit. They were aware of the law when they made the judgement about whether the batsmen had crossed or not at the time, and the playing conditions don’t allow them to refer such a decision to a third umpire. The match referee cannot intervene either.The ICC’s chief executives’ committee was of the view, before the 2015 World Cup, that the World Cup final needs a winner, and that remained in place for the 2019 tournament, where many thought the title ought to have been shared•Getty ImagesDo you reckon the overthrow rule needs to be reviewed?
The ICC playing conditions mirror the MCC Laws of Cricket on this issue, and I am not aware if the MCC is thinking of reviewing the law that relates to overthrows as a result of what happened in the World Cup final.What about the tiebreaker rule? Kane Williamson said it was a shame New Zealand had to go home as runners-up. Eoin Morgan said it was unfair. Has the ICC asked the cricket committee to review the rule?
The cricket committee will consider any issues arising from the World Cup final when it next meets [in the first quarter of 2020]. A Super Over has been used to determine a winner in a tied match in ICC events since 2009 [replacing the bowl-out], and the tiebreaker after a tied Super Over needed to be derived from something that happened in that particular match. So it has always related to the number of boundaries scored in the match. Almost all the T20 leagues around the world also use boundaries as the tiebreaker in their Super Overs. We wanted to use the same Super Over regulations that are used across all professional cricket and that’s why it was the way it was. Whether it should be different is something that our cricket committee will consider at some point.Did the ICC’s chief executives committee (CEC) deliberate at the ICC annual conference recently on whether sharing the World Cup could be an option in future?
No, that wasn’t discussed. The consistent view has been that the World Cup final needs a winner, and a Super Over was in the playing conditions to decide a tied final in each of the last three World Cups.Kumar Dharmasena, one of the umpires who stood in the final, faced criticism for his decisions, not just in the final but also in earlier matches. Can you explain how umpires are picked for a key match like a final, considering Aleem Dar, a more senior official, was the third umpire?
We have a selection panel which reviews the performances of the umpires and ranks the Elite Panel of 12. Umpires within the Elite Panel will have good days and bad days, so one bad day doesn’t all of a sudden turn a very good umpire into a poor umpire. We do look at the performance of the Elite Panel over an extended period of time.When it comes to the final of a major event like a World Cup, we tend to pick the higher-ranked umpires. We also have to keep in mind the requirement for neutral umpires. At the moment we have four English umpires in the Elite Panel, so they could not have stood in the final when England was involved. As for Kumar Dharmasena, he had an exceptional year and that was reflected in him being voted as the Umpire of the Year for 2018. Over a period of time he has been one of our best decision-makers. He has stood in major matches before and he has been high in our rankings and that’s why he was appointed to the final.Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo LtdIs there scope and support for additional DRS reviews in ODIs?
Cricket is different to many other sports in that the opportunity to review an umpire’s decision is a scarce resource which needs to be used judiciously by the teams. Initially the DRS was introduced to correct the obvious error, but in recent times we see more speculative reviews, often unsuccessful, leaving teams without a review when they need one. This happened a number of times during the World Cup.We would need to weigh up the benefit of correcting the small number of incorrect decisions made when a team has no reviews left against the delays to the game caused by the additional reviews, some of which will only be requested because the team has reviews left over, not because the players think the original decision was incorrect.The World Test Championship takes off in a week’s time with the first Test of the Ashes. Virat Kohli has said that he has been looking forward to the WTC because it provides context to a contest. The players’ support must help?
Yes, it is very encouraging to hear those comments. I know players love playing Test cricket. For the first time there is a real context to the matches they play that extends beyond a particular series. I know the Test rankings have done a good job over a long period of time in the sense of identifying the best team, but to be able to compete on a points table and play for a spot in the final will add a new element to Test cricket and will make it more interesting to people from the countries not involved in that particular match.Also, for the first time, Test shirts will have numbers and names. How did that idea come about?
One of the discussions at the CEC in the last year was how we could differentiate WTC from bilateral Test series, and we could make it more engaging for newer fans. Hopefully anyone who watched the World Cup in the last two months will have an interest in cricket that extends to the longest form of the game. The way we were brought up watching the game: to know who a Test player is by his height, his build, how he walked, his batting stance – sometimes it is not easy for someone who is not well versed with cricket to work out who is who on the field, and the addition of names, and particularly numbers, will help.We also walk around cricket grounds and we see children wearing team shirts with their favourite player’s number on the back. That happens not just in cricket but in most sports. One thing we don’t see as often is children walking around imitating Test players, so wouldn’t it be great if we started seeing children wearing white shirts with their favourite Test player’s number on the back?A total of 120 points per series is at stake. But series will continue to be of different numbers of matches. Can you explain how the number of matches per series was determined?
When the competition was being put together by the member countries there were some existing series in the previous Future Tours Programme [FTP] which we made every effort to accommodate within the structure of the WTC. We also wanted to make sure that each country played a mix of higher-ranked and lower-ranked opponents.The view of member countries was that they wanted the competition cycle to last no longer than two years. When we went through the scheduling exercise to see how different combinations of the Test championship fit into the FTP, we found that six series over two years was the number that could be accommodated by all teams.Once the opponents had been determined and agreed by all the countries, then the two competing countries in a series, as part of their FTP negotiations, decided how many Test matches they would contest as part of that series, with the competition rules dictating a minimum of two matches and a maximum of five.Allardice: “Umpires within the Elite Panel will have good days and have bad days, so one bad day doesn’t all of a sudden turn a very good umpire into a poor umpire”•IDI/Getty ImagesWith regards to the points system, one general rule of any competition is that teams need to compete for the same number of points in total. With each team playing three series each at home and away, we decided on a consistent number of points for each series. The options were: you either just divide those points by the number of Tests being played in that series, so that every match counts, or you only count the first two Tests of a five-Test series, as an example. The overwhelming view of the member countries was they wanted every match to count.How will the ICC ensure that teams do not unduly exploit home conditions and influence the nature of pitches in the WTC?
The sanctions for venues that produce conditions that are either poor or unfit for international cricket are quite serious.Also, in the WTC playing conditions, if at any time a pitch that is unfit for Test cricket is produced and does not allow the game to proceed, then the points for a win will be awarded to the visiting team. A poor pitch, which is like a final warning, incurs the venue three demerit points. An unfit pitch incurs five demerit points. If a venue gets five demerit points over a five-year period, it loses its international status.So the onus is on the home board to prepare quality pitches for the Test matches played as part of the WTC.Slow over rates have been an issue in cricket for a long time. As a deterrent, the ICC’s cricket committee has now recommended that two points be deducted for every over a team fails to bowl. Can you explain the rule?
At the end of a Test match the umpires will perform an over-rate calculation across both innings. In the past captains were fined for slow over rates, which will continue in the WTC, too. But in the WTC not just the captain but all players in the team will also be fined at the same level. In addition, in the WTC, two points will also be deducted from the competition points won by that particular team for every over they are short of.What we are trying to do is to make sure every member of the team and their coaching staff is focused on making sure of meeting the minimum-over-rate requirement in all matches.The regulations we have in place in Test cricket seem to be working, because over the past few years we have only had three different Test teams fined for slow over rates. We are trying to make sure to improve the pace of play. Hopefully the idea that you will be giving away hard earned championship points if you don’t bowl your overs at an appropriate rate will incentivise teams to pick up their pace of play.What happens with slow over rates in bilateral Tests series outside of the WTC?
The fines system will continue for those Test matches. The cricket committee believed that suspending the captain wasn’t always a proportionate penalty, as there were two instances last year when captains were suspended after their team had won a game within three days, and the committee felt that suspending the captain was unjust, considering those teams had performed well and taken 20 wickets in a relatively short period of time.The other consideration was that suspending the captains from playing in international cricket, including the WTC, would be depriving the matches of some of the best players. We are trying to find different ways to deal with slow over rates in international matches. The points deduction in the WTC is the first of those measures.Will we soon see kids wear shirts with their favourite Test players’ names and numbers on the back?•Getty ImagesThere has been a proposal to use a stop clock to ensure time is not wasted on field. How does that work?
One of the things that we discussed at this cricket committee meeting was having a countdown clock visible during each innings of limited-overs matches. In a T20 innings, the clock would start at 85 minutes, when the first ball is bowled, and count down to zero. The aim is that players, umpires and fans should know that when the clock gets to zero, the bowling team should have started the last over.If there is a delay or interruption in the match due to an injury or a DRS review then the umpire will add time back onto the clock. Today, if there is a DRS review, the third umpire will make a note of the review taking, say, one minute and that will be added as an allowance in the manual over-rate calculation at the end of the match, but with a countdown clock, the third umpire will put that minute back on the clock immediately.Over the next nine months we will be looking to trial the clock in selected venues just to give the third umpires some experience as to how it might work, and to assess how effective it is and how easy it is implement before we consider any in-match over-rate sanctions in limited-overs cricket.The first new playing condition that will come in to play from August 1 is concussion substitutes. Are there any concerns over potential misuse of the rule?
To begin with, most players are going to be reluctant to come off the field in a Test match. When a request is received for a concussion replacement, there will be some judgement required on the part of the match referee to ensure that the nominated replacement player is a like-for-like player as far as possible. But the overriding principle would be that a team shouldn’t receive an excessive advantage by being allowed to replace a concussed player. It should be to allow the game to continue with the same number of players performing the same type of role. There should be a little bit of flexibility shown because touring teams will only have a finite number of potential replacements available within the squad.

An India fan was forced to change plans last-minute to make the semi-final at Old Trafford, where a thrilling two-day match took place

Sudhindra Prasad11-Jul-2019The build-up (or Probability 101 failure)
The effects of having bunked probability theory class in college to watch a game of cricket at the Chinnaswamy Stadium?
Dismissing South Africa’s chances to defeat Australia, our plans were made for a road trip from Germany for a long weekend involving the second semi-final at Edgbaston and the final at Lord’s.Result?
That sinking feeling as Alex Carey holed out off Chris Morris and an almighty scramble to rejig travel plans. But that drove home the old adage: “Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties”!Choice of game
This was my tenth India game out of a maximum of 11 that I had hoped to attend when the tournament schedule was announced. After expecting India’s semi-final opponents to be Pakistan or England for the most part, a match-up against New Zealand was fitting, given their league stage match was washed out. Unfortunately, there will be no 11th match for India at this World Cup.Team supported
Having lost to Australia in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, I was hopeful India would make the final in this edition.Key performers
Matt Henry and Trent Boult were the absolutely vital to this New Zealand win. Under helpful conditions, their accurate line and length and constant movement fetched deserved rewards. They scythed through the India top order, exposing the vulnerable underbelly of this India team – the brittle middle order.One thing I would have changed
Day 1: Sunny weather all through the day.
Day 2: I would have sent in MS Dhoni at No. 4 or no later than No. 5. In such a chase, Dhoni’s recent scoring pace would have helped India weather the storm with minimal risk. Sending in Hardik Pandya at No. 6 and Dhoni at seven left India with no power-hitting options. Despite Ravindra Jadeja stepping up, the remaining batsmen couldn’t score quickly in the final overs.Shot of the day
Jadeja’s six off Lockie Ferguson was the shot of the day. It just seemed like a drive with exaggerated follow-through, but the shot had so much power that it cleared the long-off boundary.Accessories
Sky blue attire overall with 1991-92 Benson & Hedges World Series India jersey for my brother and myself, face paint, flaming hair-dos, a few India flags and the bugle that’s my constant companion at the cricket. My travel tea mug to assist with a severe bout of flu, and some supermarket food to avoid the horrid lines at food stalls, which had been a key feature at all India matches this tournament.ODI/TDI?
It was certainly a first to witness an ODI in person across two days. The only game I can recall of this nature was the England-India encounter in the 1999 World Cup, where India beat the hosts to seal a Super Six spot. Two-day internationals can be a concept in countries with poor attendances, if one team bats on day 1 under lights and the other team follows suit on day 2.AFPWow moment
With India’s batting resurgence gaining momentum around the 40th over, the tense India fans suddenly found their voice. After Dhoni hit Henry for a six, Old Trafford was absolutely buzzing. As Dhoni followed up his six with an ungainly glance to wide square-leg, the push for two certainly looked tight. Martin Guptill quickly swooped in on the ball and released it in quick time, hitting the stumps directly. From side-on the signs were quite ominous and it turned out that way as the replays were shown on the big screen. With that, Guptill had indeed stepped on the mute button at Old Trafford and Megadeth’s ran in my head, as India’s 2019 World Cup dreams ended right then and there.Fan index
While day 1 was very vibrant, loud and engaged, the second day was simply tense. Plenty of fans made the effort to return on the reserve day. I had to postpone my return to Germany and take an additional day off work. Others weren’t so lucky.(Self composed) Song of the day
To the tune of the Cuban classic “Guantanamera”
One KL Rahul
There’s only one KL Rahul (Replace with “Nam huduga, One KL Rahul” if KL is in earshot – which stands for “our lad, KL Rahul” in Kannada)
One KL Raaaaaaaaaaahul
There’s only one KL Rahul.Close encounter
During the long rain break, my eyes suddenly spotted a gentleman with a handlebar moustache, who calmly stood by an entrance in an Aussie jersey. It didn’t take too long to recognize the “Big Merv” Hughes, who was one of the most popular characters of the game back in the late 80s and early 90s. He looked comfortable interacting with the selfie- and autograph-seeking fans.Rainy corner
The stands at Old Trafford offered almost no rain cover and left much to be desired. While some fans squeezed in the limited room under the stands sipping some drinks, singing or partaking in the , others had no option but to get soaked or just sit in the open with their umbrellas. To make matters worse, there were several spots under the B stand where the water dripped through.AFPImprovisation
At Old Trafford, Stand D is an enormous temporary stand, which was built a few years ago and has since been left that way. The stand is all metal and is an extremely tall structure.Around the 45th over of the India innings, a sudden but loud noise started to emanate from stand D and this just continued to increase in intensity. Upon close review, the spectators were stamping on the metal floor to produce an enormous rhythmic noise. This went on for a few more iterations; a wonderful way to lend support to their team.Swansong
As the guitar at the stadium wailed out the main riff of Eric Clapton’s , Dhoni walked in and I wondered if the experienced campaigner had one last magic innings left in him to take India to the final. Although he tried his best, the free-stroking Dhoni of the old did not surface at Old Trafford. True to that song, MSD has brought opposition bowlers on their proverbial knees often over the years with his stunning batting and finishing skills. It would be safe to say that this was indeed his World Cup swansong, if not even for his ODI career. Thanks for the memories, MS.Like the eternal “Sachin Sachin” chant, we will continue to sing away the “Team of Dhoni” song and remember how it was to be “high on MSD”.”Team of Dhoni” (to the tune of by the Beatles)
We all dream about a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis
Number 1 Dhoni
Number 2 Dhoni
Number 3 Dhoni
Number 4 Dhoni
Heyyy

We all dream about a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis

Number 5 Dhoni

Number 6 Dhoni

Number 7 Dhoni

Number 8 Dhoni
Heyyy

We all dream about a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis, a team of Dhonis

Number 9 Dhoni

Number 10 Dhoni

Number 11 Dhoni

Number 12 Dhoni
Overall
The disadvantage of having to chase in big games continues for captain Virat Kohli (win the toss or otherwise). The quality of cricket in this game was brilliant and New Zealand fought hard, just like they did in the 2015 semi-final. India did not get rolled over and to see a certain “bits & pieces” cricketer prove a point was refreshing. Although I am gutted at India not being in the final, New Zealand were deserving winners on the day. It will certainly be nice to see new World Cup champions in New Zealand or England.Marks out of 10
Eight. That rain gripe and the result notwithstanding, the rejig and re-rejig of travel plans was well worth it. It was one of the most tense games of cricket I have ever witnessed. I am proud of the Indian team’s overall performance and display across the tournament. The middle-order weakness had to show up some day. As my brother and I travelled across England for the ten India games, we have been blessed with so many experiences, beautiful sights, new friends, getting a chance to meet old friends and so many memories that will go beyond this tournament. What next? Back to the travel board preparing for the next tournament. 2023 World Cup? Absolutely. The T20 World Cup in Australia? Hmm… unsure at this moment.Want to do a Fan Following report? Read our FAQ here.