They shared nine wickets to help the visitors bowl Bangladesh out for 365 in the first innings of the Mirpur Test

Mohammad Isam24-May-2022When they arrived in Bangladesh earlier this month, Kasun Rajitha and Asitha Fernando wouldn’t have expected to form a bowling partnership. Vishwa Fernando’s concussion in Chattogram, however, brought them together, and the two fast bowlers have delivered impressively for Sri Lanka.If Ebadot Hossain wasn’t run-out to end Bangladesh’s innings on the second day of the Mirpur Test, Asitha and Rajitha would have been the first fast bowling pair from Sri Lanka to share all ten wickets in an innings. Rajitha picked up his maiden five-wicket haul and Asitha missed his by one wicket. But the two helped their side bowl Bangladesh out for 365.They might not have vast experience to draw from but they showed maturity by keeping an upright seam, and bowling tight lines and lengths. While they largely bowled an attacking line around off stump, they didn’t hesitate to use bouncers. In fact, they overdid the latter on the second day, but that was probably Sri Lanka sending the home side a message.Before the Mirpur Test, Rajitha had played exactly ten Tests, ten ODIs and ten T20Is. Asitha had four Tests and four ODIs. The nice symmetry aside, it mainly shows that neither has really nailed a place in the national team in any format. The last ten days, however, might be the corner that Rajitha and Asitha were looking to turn.When Suranga Lakmal retired from international cricket earlier this year, Sri Lanka didn’t really have a real successor. Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa were being groomed to take over the baton but Kumara’s career hasn’t really kicked on while Chameera is more of a white-ball bowler.Asitha Fernando celebrates dismissing Mominul Haque•AFP/Getty ImagesIn this phase of uncertainty, these two rookies have put their hands up. After impressing in the first Test, Rajitha as a concussion substitute no less, they exceeded expectations in Mirpur, even stepped in when the Sri Lanka spinners couldn’t quite provide breakthroughs.When Rajitha removed Mosaddek Hossain on the second morning, it was not just his maiden five-for. It was also the first by a Sri Lanka fast bowler since Lakmal took one more than a year ago. At the Shere Bangla National Stadium, it was only the second five-for by a fast bowler in the last eight years.Asitha has been around since his ODI debut in 2017, but he made his Test debut only last year because when Lakmal was playing, Sri Lanka generally picked out-and-out fast bowlers, like Chameera or Kumara.Rajitha is slightly more experienced, having started his Test career in 2018 with 11 wickets in two Tests against West Indies. In the seminal South Africa series in 2019, he was Sri Lanka’s second-highest wicket-taker behind Vishwa, with nine wickets at 23.22. But in the following South Africa tour last year, Rajitha had bowled only 2.1 overs before a groin injury ruled him out for the rest of the year.He always had the height and ability to move the ball off the seam, but what stood out in these two Tests is his consistency in bowling probing lengths. Even more impressive was how he was able to extract help from the usually unresponsive Chattogram and Mirpur pitches. These are enough reasons to believe Rajitha has come back from injury as a better bowler.In the past too, Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers, like Chameera, Kumara and Vishwa, have made instant impacts in Test cricket, but following it up has been a major challenge. Specifically, fitness has been a concern. Rajitha too had his share of fitness issues in 2021. So, that’s one thing he has to be careful about.Sri Lanka play most of their Test cricket in conditions that favour spinners. But this series must have given them the confidence to prepare tracks that have something in them for fast bowlers too.

Internationals, development tours and booming franchise leagues will stretch talent pool, says Mo Bobat

Matt Roller21-Oct-2022Next month, more than 60 English men’s cricketers will be in the UAE simultaneously. England’s 15-man Test squad will go head-to-head with England’s 15-man Lions squad in a three-day match, while around 30 Englishmen take part in the Abu Dhabi T10 and a handful of seamers continue their rehabilitation programmes.In early 2023, England’s player pool will be stretched even further. There are three full men’s tours in the space of six weeks – three ODIs in South Africa at the end of January, two Tests in New Zealand in February, three ODIs and three T20Is in Bangladesh in early March – and a Lions tour to Sri Lanka from late January to late February, comprising two four-day ‘Tests’ and three 50-over games.Meanwhile, at least 40 players will be involved in the inaugural season of one of the two new franchise T20 leagues: South Africa’s SA20 and the UAE’s ILT20. As it stands, there are 26 England-qualified players with ILT20 deals and 19 in the SA20; some will pull out due to injury or international commitments but others will sign as replacements.”It is a real challenge,” admits Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director, whose role over the winter is to help perform a delicate juggling act. “I’d add to that dynamic that we have an Under-19 series in Australia too. Some of our best high-potential players will be involved in that, and that will be another strain on our talent pool.”Related

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Bobat started speaking to players in June about their winter plans, trying to help them “make well-informed decisions that connect to England needs”, he says. “Gone are the days where you can just go: ‘What’s our Lions squad? Let’s just announce it.’ You can’t do that anymore. You need to have really intimate and meaningful conversations with every player around what you think of them and their aspirations, and our needs as an England team across formats.”Players appearing in overseas leagues during the English winter is nothing new, but the emergence of the SA20 and ILT20 has accelerated the trend. “Some of them might choose to engage with Lions experiences instead of those more lucrative financial opportunities in white-ball cricket; others might have a bit of a mix in their programme, where they play a certain part in the Lions series, having already experienced some white-ball cricket,” Bobat says.”And some might decide that, given the red-ball emphasis of the Lions trip, they might want to focus on their white-ball opportunities and take on the challenge of playing in a franchise competition as an overseas player and the pressure and scrutiny that goes with that. I can see value in all of that, and I certainly won’t judge players for their choices.”Some players opted against travelling to the UAE for the Lions camp before Christmas, instead opting to spend the start of the winter training at home. Dom Sibley is set to travel to Sri Lanka for the spring tour but will spend November at The Oval as Surrey, his new county, start their pre-season, while Matt Parkinson will work on his action with Carl Crowe at Lancashire.Bobat insists, however, that players are still excited by the prospect of playing for the Lions. “I’ve not had any conversation with any player that makes me feel disheartened in that sense,” he says. “They all want to play for England, across formats. If the Lions is a mechanism for them to develop their skills, be tested, and also be observed and assessed by us, they want to do that because they want to bang on the door.”The tour to Sri Lanka in the new year will be particularly important, with England due to play a five-Test series in India in early 2024. “It’s an important time for us to get players out there and get them used to playing in subcontinent conditions,” Bobat says. There may also be a fixture against Australia next summer before the Ashes, though that may be mothballed if they reach the World Test Championship final.The ECB are still working through the Lions’ forthcoming schedule but made clear in the recently published High Performance Review that there will be an increased red-ball focus, with the proliferation of short-form leagues around the world already providing players with opportunities to develop outside of the English summer.”Many of them engage in franchise cricket overseas which has proven to be a real catalyst for their development,” Bobat says. “A lot of the white-ball gap-bridging is already happening overseas, from opportunities in franchise cricket. Instead of competing with that, we need to look at it as a complementary fit.”Instead of the Lions and international pathway putting on cricket that butts heads against that, we might as well provide something that doesn’t exist. That is red-ball development experience in a best-vs-best environment.”

And who played the most Tests without ever bowling?

Steven Lynch16-Aug-2022I was sorry to read that Trent Boult was winding down his international career. Has any other left-arm bowler taken more international wickets, apart, perhaps, from Wasim Akram? asked Bruce McKenzie from New Zealand
You’re right in thinking that Wasim Akram leads the way: he took no fewer than 916 wickets in international cricket – 414 in Tests and 502 in ODIs. Trent Boult currently sits in seventh place among left-armers with 549, but might yet move up, as he is still expected to appear in some formats. Boult currently has 317 wickets in Tests, 169 in ODIs and 63 in T20s. The other seamers ahead of him are Chaminda Vaas (761), Zaheer Khan (610) and Mitchell Johnson (590), while spinners Daniel Vettori (705) and Shakib Al Hasan (631) are also in front. Mitchell Starc is currently only four behind Boult, with 545.Who had the most innings in Tests, having been bowled in all his visits to the crease? How about the other modes of dismissal? asked Andrew Browning from England
Only one man has been out bowled in each of the five times he was out in Tests – the Nottinghamshire offspinner Sam Staples, who played three Tests in South Africa in 1927-28. Nine people have been out twice in Tests and lbw both times; no one managed three. But Reginald Hands played one Test for South Africa, against England in Port Elizabeth (now Gqerbha) in 1913-14, and was stumped in both innings. The unfortunate Hands was killed in the First World War; a tribute to him, instigated by his father, led indirectly to the tradition of two minutes’ silence to honour someone’s passing.The record-holder in this particular regard is the Sri Lankan spinner Milinda Siriwardana, who had nine innings in his five Tests, and was out caught in all of them.England Lions racked up 672 against South Africans last week. What’s the highest total against a touring team in England outside a Test match? asked Gerry Latimer from England
England Lions did indeed score 672 in their innings defeat of South Africans in Canterbury last week, but it won’t make it on to any records list as it was not a first-class match (both sides chose from more than 11 players). But for this irritation, it would have come in a close second: Harlequins (whose cap would soon be made famous by Douglas Jardine) amassed 676 for 8 declared against West Indians in Eastbourne in 1928. This was something of a recovery from 162 for 5: Kent amateur John Knott hit an unbeaten 261, while Nos. 7 and 8, Reginald Bettington and John Evans, both passed 120. The record by a county is Surrey’s 645 for 9 declared against the New Zealanders at The Oval in 1949, when Jack Parker made a career-best 255.In Tests, England piled up 903 for 7 declared against Australia at The Oval in 1938 (Len Hutton 364), and 710 for 7 declared against India in Birmingham in 2011 (Andrew Strauss called a halt when Alastair Cook was out for 294).Wasim Akram has 916 international wickets, over 150 more than the next left-arm bowler on the list, Chaminda Vaas•Getty ImagesI believe that Eoin Morgan’s 17 sixes against Afghanistan is the record for a one-day international. But is it also the most in any one-day game? asked James Rowley from England
Eoin Morgan thrashed 17 sixes in his 148 from 71 balls for England against Afghanistan at Old Trafford during the 2019 World Cup. That broke the existing record of 16 sixes in an ODI innings, shared by Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle.One other man has hit 17 sixes in an innings in List A (senior one-day) cricket: Gerrie Snyman, during his 196 for Namibia against the United Arab Emirates in Windhoek in 2007-08 (this was not an official one-day international). But one man is well clear of both of them: playing for Western Australia against Queensland in the Australian JLT One-Day Cup in Sydney in September 2018, Darcy Short launched no fewer than 23 sixes during his 257, the third-highest innings in any List A game, and the highest in Australia.Who played the most Tests without ever bowling? asked Abhishek Kunjal from India
It’s probably not a great surprise to find a wicketkeeper on top of this list: Ian Healy played 119 Tests for Australia and never got on to bowl. But the men in second and third spots were outfielders: New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming played 111 Tests without ever bowling, and Andrew Strauss 100 for England. Healy’s successor, Adam Gilchrist, comes next with 96 Tests, ahead of the England wicketkeepers Alan Knott (95) and Godfrey Evans (91). Then comes Jonny Bairstow, who has played 87 Tests so far (49 as the designated keeper) without being given a bowling spell.The record-holder in ODIs is Kumar Sangakkara (404 matches). The top non-keeper is a tie between Herschelle Gibbs and Eoin Morgan, who both played 248 matches without bowling. Morgan is also top in men’s T20Is with 115, although for the women Alyssa Healy has so far played 132 for Australia, and Tammy Beaumont 99 for England.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

With Chandrakant Pandit as their new coach, Knight Riders could well make some out-of-the-box buys from the Indian domestic circuit

Ekanth19-Dec-2022Who they’ve got
Kolkata Knight Riders were very active ahead of retention day, letting go of a bunch of players, and trading in Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. They currently have a 14-man squad, with four pace and two spin options in the bowling department. They have reliable first-choice top-order batters too. But there are a lot of gaps to fill and not a lot of money in their pockets.Follow the 2023 IPL auction LIVE

You can watch the auction live in India on Star Sports, and follow live analysis with Tom Moody, Ian Bishop, Wasim Jaffer and Stuart Binny right here on ESPNcricinfo.

Current squad: Shreyas Iyer (capt.), Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Tim Southee, Nitish Rana, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Umesh YadavWhat they have to play with
Knight Riders have the smallest purse among the ten teams – INR 7.05 crore (USD 850,000 approx.) – and a maximum of 11 slots to fill, three of which could be overseas players.What they need
An adaptable Indian opening batter to, possibly, partner Gurbaz, and either tee off or set the platform based on the team’s requirement. Venkatesh Iyer has been retained, but a back-up option would help. A death-bowling specialist, along with a back-up option given Andre Russell’s history with injuries and fluctuating form with the ball. An Indian batter who can also be a wicketkeeping option, a floater in the batting order, especially seeing that Sheldon Jackson and B Indrajith have been released and Sam Billings has opted out. Back-ups for some of the first-choice players – finding options for all first XI picks might be tricky seeing their small purse.The likely targets
Phil Salt is an attacking option at the top of the order, and KKR could possibly buy him at a low cost.They might have an eye on N Jagadeesan and Mayank Agarwal, but both of them are likely to interest many other teams, and all of them have more money than Knight Riders.David Wiese could join Russell to bolster both power-hitting and death-bowling departments.Knight Riders might look at little-known, uncapped Indian players, partly because they don’t have a lot of money, and partly because their new coach, Chandrakant Pandit, knows everything there is to know about the Indian domestic circuit.

Everything you need to know about the inaugural Women’s Premier League

Vishal Dikshit03-Mar-2023Right, so finally we have the Women’s IPL! Wait, or is it called something else?
It’s called the Women’s Premier League or just WPL.Cool, WPL. So when does it start and where?
It starts on March 4 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, with Mumbai Indians taking on Gujarat Giants. Before you ask, there are five teams, 22 matches in all, including the final on March 26 at the Brabourne Stadium at the other end of the city.So all matches are in Mumbai? What’s the format?
Yes, all in Mumbai. Technically, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, which also comes under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. All the games will be played at just the two grounds mentioned above.The five teams will play each other twice in the round-robin stage. That makes it eight games per team and 20 league games. Then, the team that finishes on top cruises straight into the final and watches the teams placed second and third battle it out in an eliminator that decides the second finalist.Related

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What time are the matches?
Most matches will start at 7.30pm IST, except on double-header days, when the first match will begin at 3.30pm, like in the IPL. The WPL has four such double-headers.Interesting. Who owns these teams again?
Three owners of IPL teams also bought teams here – Reliance got Mumbai Indians, the JSW and GMR group got Delhi Capitals, and Diageo bought Royal Challengers Bangalore. There are two new owners – Adani Sportsline bought Ahmedabad-based Gujarat Giants and Capri Global, a non-banking financial services company, took the Lucknow-based UP franchise, UP Warriorz (yes, that’s with a Z, not S).Who are the five captains?
We have two Indians and three Australians in charge:ESPNcricinfo LtdIs there the usual rule of four overseas players per XI, like in the IPL?
That’s right. Except that if a team has an Associate player – she could be played as the fifth overseas player in the XI. Capitals were the only team to buy an Associate player at the auction: Tara Norris, a left-arm quick, from USA.Who are the players to watch out for overall?
Among the big players, you have the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Beth Mooney among others. We have also put together a list of seven unknown players who could be future superstars.What do the five squads look like?
As per the rules, each squad has 15 to 18 members, with six overseas players each. Here are the five squads in full detail, along with their strengths and weaknesses.Why aren’t these teams all playing at their home grounds then?
The BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on the day of the players auction that the tournament may expand to more cities later on, but for now it’s all in Mumbai for logistical reasons – the fact that the tournament has been planned in a short period of time, only in the last few months.So what happens if more than two teams finish on the same number of points for any of the top three places?
Take out your calculator. Once the points are tied, the team with the most wins in the league stage will be placed higher. If the wins are also the same, the team with the higher net run rate will be placed higher. If the NRR is also equal, the team with the higher number of wickets taken per legal balls bowled in matches with results will be considered higher. Hopefully we won’t get that far.What happens if a match, say the final, is tied?
You can throw that calculator out, we’re not counting boundaries. If the scores are level in any game, then a Super Over will be played. If the Super Over is also tied, subsequent Super Overs shall be played until there is a winner. If it’s not possible to play or complete the Super Over, the match will be tied and both teams will be awarded one point each.If the Super Over is not possible in the eliminator or the final, then the team which finished higher on the table after the round-robin stage will be declared winner.And what if there’s a rain-curtailed match, given all games are being played in and around Mumbai?
Fair enough. Let’s also take climate change into account because it doesn’t (usually) rain in March in Mumbai. If it does, both teams need to bat a minimum of five overs to get a result, and the usual DLS rules apply.Will the DRS be available?
Yes. Each team will be allowed a maximum of two unsuccessful reviews per innings. UltraEdge and HawkEye technologies will be available to the third umpire for edge detection and ball-tracking.And we have the usual rules around concussion replacements and third umpires keeping tabs on bowlers overstepping?
Yes, it’s all business as usual.Is there free entry, like it was for some of the India vs Australia matches in December, or paid tickets like the IPL?
As of now, there is free entry for women at both grounds. Boys and men have to purchase tickets starting at INR 100 (USD 1.2 approx.).

Harmanpreet Kaur to lead, Meg Lanning, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews make the cut

S Sudarshanan27-Mar-2023
Hayley Matthews – Mumbai Indians
Her player-of-the-series outing in the inaugural WPL makes Matthews an overwhelming pick. She went unsold in the first round of the auction, eventually being picked up in the accelerated rounds. On the ground, she made an immediate impact, kicking off the WPL with a six and then never looking back. She was also effective with the ball, picking up 16 wickets in ten innings and also the Purple cap.Related

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Yastika Bhatia (wk) – Mumbai Indians
Even if she didn’t always convert her starts into big scores, Bhatia’s fluency at the top of the order helped Mumbai get off the blocks quickly. In fact, Bhatia’s 214 runs are the most in the WPL without a single half-century. She was a safe wicketkeeper and one of the few who contributed well with the bat.Meg Lanning – Delhi Capitals
Lanning carried Capitals’ batting though the tournament, scoring runs in almost every game. She finished as the leading run-getter in the WPL and looked on course in the title-clash too. She continued to middle the ball in the final despite Capitals losing regular wickets – her back-to-back fours off Nat Sciver-Brunt in the third over were all class. Lanning and Shafali Verma’s opening combination was an enviable one in the WPL.Nat Sciver-Brunt – Mumbai Indians
Cometh the big game, cometh the big name. Sciver-Brunt showed why she caused a bidding war in the auction. She occupied a crucial No. 3 spot in the batting order and owned the space, being as comfortable against spin as she was against seam. With the ball, she bowled the second-most deliveries – 114 – in the first six overs and had an economy rate of 5.63. Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 38-ball 72 in the Eliminator helped Mumbai romp into the final, where she anchored the chase and saw the team through, remaining unbeaten on 60.ESPNcricinfo LtdHarmanpreet Kaur (capt) – Mumbai Indians
Harmanpreet longed for the winning feeling and ensured she got it by being consistent with the bat. She got the WPL off to a flying start with 65 off just 30 balls against Gujarat Giants, and finished the season as fourth-highest run-getter. Harmanpreet led Mumbai with aplomb, ringing in changes and using the resources at her disposal optimally. In the final, she came in to bat in a tricky situation and calmly defused it with a 72-run partnership for the third wicket with Sciver-Brunt. She only fell with the win almost assured.Dayalan Hemalatha – Gujarat Giants
One of the few bright spots for Gujarat Giants, Hemalatha only enhanced her credentials as a finisher, something she has done quite frequently for Railways in the domestic circuit. Her strike rate of 157.29 for Giants was only second to Sophia Dunkley’s.Shreyanka Patil – Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore had a disappointing campaign overall, but Patil’s outings with both bat and ball were attention-grabbing. She started the tournament with a crisp pull shot and then showed her wares with the ball, particularly at the death. Patil was unflinching in the face of mounting attacks and can be looked at as a long-term player for Royal Challengers.Shikha Pandey impressed across all three facets of the game•BCCIShikha Pandey – Delhi Capitals
Pandey had a terrific all-round WPL. She finished with the third-most wickets among all pacers in the WPL, threw herself around in the field, and her cameos with the bat often gave Capitals useful impetus from the lower order, not least in the final. India’s captain Harmanpreet also made note of Pandey’s efforts and said, “Shikha was bowling brilliantly throughout the tournament. And today [in the final] when the team needed her batting, she took time and then executed it brilliantly.”Issy Wong – Mumbai Indians
Wong started the tournament with a first-ball six and also picked up the first hat-trick in the WPL. She used her pace and generated enough movement to get the better of the batters and also smartly used change-ups. Wong’s energy on the field often drew wild cheers from the crowd.Parshavi Chopra – UP Warriorz
Chopra had a limited role but left a lasting impact. Her figures of 0 for 35 in her first WPL outing against Mumbai didn’t do justice to the way she bowled. Against Giants, she truly showed her worth, using the wrong’un to dismiss both Hemalatha and Ashleigh Gardner. Part of a team that pushed Indian players to the forefront, Chopra sure grabbed her chances.Saika Ishaque – Mumbai Indians
Ishaque is perhaps the find of WPL 2023. A regular in the domestic circuit for Bengal, her disciplined left-arm spin by attacking the stumps got her rewards in the first half of the competition. After being a bit expensive in a couple of games in the second half, she held her own in both the Eliminator and the final, despite not having a truckload of wickets to show in them.

A look at the Australian batter’s 32nd Test century by the numbers

Sampath Bandarupalli29-Jun-202332 Centuries for Steven Smith in Test cricket are the joint-second most for Australia in the format. Ricky Ponting tops the list with 41 hundreds, while Steve Waugh also has 32 tons.ESPNcricinfo Ltd174 Innings Smith needed to score his 32nd Test century, the fewest among the 12 players with the feat. The previous quickest was Ponting, who scored his 32nd Test ton in the 176th innings he batted.22 Hundreds for Smith in the first innings of Test matches, the most for any batter, surpassing Ponting’s 21 tons. Seven of Smith’s 22 centuries came when the team was put into bat, the joint-most, alongside Jacques Kallis.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 Test hundreds for Smith in England, the second-most by any visiting player in the country, behind only Sir Donald Bradman’s eleven tons. Smith has seven of those eight centuries against England, while another came against India in the WTC final earlier this month.12 Test centuries for Smith against England. Only Bradman (19 against England) and Sunil Gavaskar (13 against West Indies) have more triple-digit scores versus an opponent in Test cricket than Smith.1 Number of players to complete 9000 Test runs in fewer innings than Smith’s 174 innings. Kumar Sangakkara is the fastest to the 9000-run milestone, needing only 172 innings. Smith, however, is the fastest in terms of Tests played to complete 9000 runs, as he needed only 99 matches, while the previous fastest was Brian Lara in 103 games.ESPNcricinfo Ltd12 Smith’s hundreds in the Ashes. Only Bradman’s 19 tons rank higher in the Ashes, while Jack Hobbs also has 12 centuries. Smith is also now the fourth-highest run-getter in the Ashes with 3176 runs.2014 Test runs scored by Smith in England. Only three other visiting players have scored 2000-plus runs in England – Bradman (2674), Allan Border (2082) and Viv Richards (2014).416 Australia’s total in the first-innings is the highest for a visiting team at Lord’s since Australia’s 566 for 8 in the 2015 Ashes. Australia’s run rate of 4.13 is also the highest for any visiting team to make 400-plus in a Test innings at Lord’s.

He has the smarts, maturity and stroke-play to fill up a spot that was occupied by two greats for almost three decades

Shashank Kishore24-Jun-20232:22

Has Cheteshwar Pujara played his last Test?

The winds of change are here.For a better part of the last 28 years, India have had two rocks at No. 3 in Test cricket – Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara, who played 267 Tests between them. Their style of play is a throwback to classical ways: mind over matter, technique and hard grind over flamboyance, and crease occupation as important as runs on the board.They made a single look sexy. Think back to Sydney 2008 or Jo’burg 2018, when they elicited wild applause from the crowd for scoring a run after a succession of dots and leaves. They had that effect on you. Leaving the ball was like muscle memory, a sound defensive game their USP. It’s this layer to their game that brought them a combined 20,483 Test runs and 55 centuries.Related

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Six players who could debut for India in the next WTC cycle

Pujara dropped; Jaiswal and Gaikwad in India's Test squad for West Indies

Now, with Pujara left out for the start of India’s new WTC cycle, beginning with the two-Test tour of the Caribbean in July, India have three batters to choose from to replace him. Among them, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal have earned maiden call-ups. Then there is Shubman Gill, currently an all-format opener.Irrespective of who they pick, one thing is certain: unlike previously, India will be picking a T20 superstar to fill up one of the most critical batting positions. For now, most indications are that a newcomer will be allowed to ease into the role and it’s likely to be Jaiswal, the 21-year-old from Mumbai who has built a solid body of work for the past three seasons.On the face of it, it’s easy to assume Jaiswal is an IPL pick. No uncapped batter has scored more in a single season than the 625 runs he made in 2023, including the tournament’s fastest fifty, off just 13 balls. He pulls and hooks some of the most fearsome fast bowlers for fun. He mimics Jos [Buttler] ‘s scoops and ramps at training and spends hours off the field talking T20 batting with him.Those who know Jaiswal vouch for that inquisitive nature being a reflection of his personality. A go-getter who constantly seeks help in refining himself. “I realised only if you ask for help, you will get it and when there are so many people willing to, you have to make that effort as a youngster,” he told ESPNcricinfo last year. “Later I realised, it wasn’t just my T20 batting that improved. My English got better too.”Earlier this month, Jaiswal was part of India’s WTC contingent for the final as a reserve player after Gaikwad opted out. And after losing the final, when Rohit Sharma touched upon playing a certain “brand of cricket” and how they needed to find those who have done well in domestic cricket, it was as much hint as one could have that the transition phase was about to get kickstarted into motion.Yashasvi Jaiswal has an impressive first-class record, with 1845 runs from 26 innings•ICC via Getty ImagesThis brings us to Jaiswal’s selection. His record in first-class cricket makes for impressive reading: 1845 runs in 26 innings at an average of 80.21. He has converted nine of his 11 half-centuries into three figures. That’s a peek into his insatiable hunger for runs. It’s the kind of hunger that once had him sleeping in tents as a newcomer to Mumbai; it made him realise if someone made 100, he perhaps needed 200 to get noticed.But without for a moment romanticising this “struggle” those from Mumbai often speak of, it’s impressive enough that Jaiswal has managed to carve an identity for himself over the past year alone. Let’s be clear: Jaiswal is unlikely to be your stonewaller; a first-class strike rate of nearly 70 tells you he’ll be anything but that. Jaiswal has developed into a free-stroking batter without compromising on his technique.It’s an uncomplicated approach. There are no exaggerated trigger movements apart from a tap, and brief back-and-across movement for balance that allows him to easily transfer weight forward or back. Jaiswal almost always meets the ball with his eyes right over. And fluid footwork against the short ball allows him to ride the bounce and look increasingly comfortable while tucking deliveries safely into the square.What sets him apart though is the capability to hit similar deliveries into the long leg fence by getting inside the line. With Jaiswal, there’s no one method. His ever-evolving game is a series of minor tweaks made over time. Yet, he can be stodgy when you need him to be. Like in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal last June against a decent Uttar Pradesh attack.Playing in only his third first-class game ever, Jaiswal was dropped twice, on 33 and 37. The first was a lazy swish at a fifth-stump line delivery that had him nicking. Then he flashed one to gully where a tough chance was put down. From beyond the ropes, Mumbai coach Amol Muzumdar sent a clear, but stern message. “You have two options: get a single, watch the next 15 minutes from the non-striker’s end or don’t play any shots even if the ball is there to.”For the remainder of the day, Jaiswal embodied composure and walked back after batting for 353 minutes and getting to a century, his second in first-class cricket, to a polite but satisfied “sir, I followed your instructions” note to his coach.It underlines Jaiswal’s maturity, which for someone just 21 is refreshing. As such, the prospect of filling a position occupied by two greats for close to three decades can be daunting. Jaiswal, though, is equipped to not be burdened by that and embrace sterner challenges that will come his way.

Former England captain admits personal tragedy helped change perspective, as he prepares for Red for Ruth Day at Lord’s

Matt Roller28-Jun-2023Andrew Strauss has a strong claim to be England’s most successful Test captain of the modern era: Ashes victories both home and away, more than twice as many wins as losses in charge, and a rise to the top of the ICC’s Test rankings clinched with a whitewash against India.And yet, as Strauss reflects on his career, he has a lingering sense that his team could have achieved more than they did. “We felt like we’d achieved everything we wanted to,” Strauss said, “but there was something slightly missing. And it was that excitement, that feeling of pioneering, trying new things. If I had my time again, maybe I would do things differently.”That view is informed, in part, by Strauss’s career since his playing retirement in 2012. As England’s managing director, he was an instigator of their white-ball revolution. Last year, back in the role on an interim basis, he appointed Rob Key to his old, position, and Key in turn then chose Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes as Test coach and captain.”That’s a reflection I’ve had for many years, starting with the white-ball revolution in 2015: that there are different ways to play the game,” Strauss said. “As I’m a bit older and have less hair now, my thinking on this has changed a bit from, ‘It’s only about winning’ to, ‘It’s also about how you win’.”That’s what Stokes and McCullum have done now: they’ve won, but they’ve won with style. They’re questioning centuries-held conventions in the game – and doing it with good reason. The game has evolved and changed dramatically over the last few years.”Strauss admits his glory with England was about personal goals and ambitions, whereas the foundation is about ‘something greater than me’•Getty ImagesBut Strauss’s perspective has also changed by events in his personal life. Five years ago, his wife Ruth was diagnosed with an incurable lung cancer that affects non-smokers. She passed away later that year, survived by her husband and their sons Luca and Sam.Strauss set up the Ruth Strauss Foundation in 2019 to provide support for families and raise awareness of non-smoking lung cancers, and Thursday marks the fifth annual Red for Ruth Day at Lord’s.”Seeing her courage and her bravery, you completely change your perspective in life about what’s important, where you get fulfilment and where purpose lies,” Strauss said. “I was very proud of what I was able to achieve in an England shirt but, in many ways, that was about me achieving my own goals and ambitions.”This is something much greater than me. I know how hard it is for all those families. It just breaks my heart that every day, there are hundreds of kids being put in the situation that my kids were put in. We can’t change that, but we can make it a little bit easier. If we’re able to do that, that warms my soul and I know it’ll be warming Ruth’s soul too.”The foundation has raised millions of pounds through previous Red for Ruth days, but the money itself is not the point. As Strauss puts it: “The Ruth Strauss Foundation is not here to raise money. The Ruth Strauss Foundation here is here to help as many people as possible.”But the Ashes provides an opportunity that other series do not: “People are going through this from all walks of life in all parts of the country, many of whom have never heard of Cricket or the Ruth Strauss Foundation. The Ashes Test match is hopefully a time when people that perhaps aren’t always watching cricket are suddenly tuning in.”Related

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In the past 12 months, the foundation has rolled out peer support groups for both the children and surviving spouses of people with incurable cancer. “People feel a really strong kind of desire and yearning to talk to people who’ve been through something similar to them,” Strauss explained.”It’s great having professional help, but it’s equally powerful just to talk to other people who’ve gone through it. And I think that’s even more the case for kids: kids find it hard to speak to adults, but they find it easier to speak to other kids. More broadly, [it’s about] having a conversation about death, which we’re just not very good at in this country.”In Strauss’s own case, “It was one of those situations that my friends and family, they just weren’t qualified to help me. And so I did reach out to people that had been through something similar; I hung on their every word. And of course for people that have been through it, it’s a lovely thing to share their experiences but also to remember their loved ones.”There was no shortage of criticism for England on Wednesday: for their selection, their catching, their lengths, their body language, their willingness to speak to Australia’s players. As Lord’s turns red on Thursday, perhaps it will provide an opportunity to remember that there are more important things to worry about.For more information and to donate to the Red for Ruth Foundation, click here.