On a green surface, Southee backed his openers to grind it out – there are few better than Conway and Latham for that job anyway

Danyal Rasool02-Jan-2023The first Test hadn’t yet finished when talk of the strip this Test would be played on began. Interim chief selector Shahid Afridi promised a “green” pitch, and on the eve of the second Test, pictures on the PCB’s social media account showed enough grass to barely distinguish it from the outfield. On the morning of the game, Shakil Shaikh, a member of the PCB’s (not very) new-look management committee, declared that the pitch problem had been resolved “in a wink” on a “new, lively surface”.When Tim Southee walked out to the middle for the toss, he paid no attention to any of this. Not just because he probably doesn’t hang on to every word Afridi says, and he certainly doesn’t follow Shaikh on Twitter. But he couldn’t ignore the look of the pitch itself, which, while not quite as emerald green as pictures from the previous day suggested, had a distinct greenish hue that hadn’t been in evidence on any surface used for international games all season. He batted.

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New Zealand are second from bottom in this cycle of the World Test Championship and haven’t won a Test since February. They have lost four of their last five matches. There aren’t too many things they have done well in the format since lifting the WTC trophy 18 months ago. But in Devon Conway and Tom Latham, they possess an opening pair that might just go on to become the envy of the world.Related

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Since the start of 2016, no pair averages more for the first wicket than the 67.25 Latham and Conway (minimum 500 runs) have. While this was just their eighth innings together as an opening pair, their credentials in the top order are rock solid. When Conway dropped down to No. 3 in New Zealand’s home season last year, he amassed 388 runs in six innings, including two centuries against Bangladesh and a 92 against South Africa.That was why, on a green surface that retained a fair bit of moisture, Southee showed no hesitation in backing his openers to see the first hour out. There are few better equipped to grind out an opposition bowling attack, their partnership in the first Test a perfect exhibition of their abilities. Pakistan appeared to have bought into the hype around the pitch, dropping a spinner [Nauman Ali] for an extra fast bowler [Naseem Shah], one whose fitness has been questioned of late.Conway and Latham can do the grind, but are also astute enough to know when to choose belligerence. A green surface and three fast bowlers invariably meant Pakistan would go searching for something; 46 of the 115 deliveries bowled by the fast men in the first session were overpitched. And while the swing faded away fairly rapidly, the run-scoring when Pakistan erred did not; balls that were either short and/or wide or too full went for 45 in 53 deliveries.But when Babar Azam turned to Agha Salman as early as in the seventh over, the bowler found the turn too slow, and New Zealand milked the spin at over four runs an over. Conway took a particular liking to Abrar Ahmed, using his feet to hit him down the ground, plundering him for 60 runs in as many balls, with eight fours and a six.”With the nature of the grass on the surface, it had maintained a bit of pace in the wicket,” Conway, who scored 122 to Latham’s 71, said after the day’s play. “When the ball’s harder, it comes off the bat a bit better as well. We were rewarded for good cricket shots that went for boundaries. We managed to get off to a quick start.”Agha Salman got purchase off the surface as the day wore on and picked up three wickets•Associated PressIt might sound simple enough in theory, but none of this is easy. After all, the two became the first New Zealand opening pair to put on consecutive century stands away from home. They are the first visiting openers to register successive century stands in Pakistan; only one other pair had managed two in the same series. That was over 25 years back.The game might have turned in more ways than one in the final session, but Pakistan might find an imposing enough total by the time they get a chance to bat. Salman’s three wickets and the speed at which the ball spun in the final session might have encouraged them, but New Zealand have fielded three spinners, and should have the resources to exploit any such liveliness.”It’s starting to change,” Conway said. “After tea, there was a bit more turn on offer, which is showing the nature of the wicket drying out and assisting the spinners a little bit more. It’s skidding on a little bit more, and there isn’t as much carry as the morning, so it’s interesting to see what the wicket will look like on the last three days”.Some sides might have viewed a toss won on this surface against a three-pronged seam attack as an automatic bowl-first. New Zealand, instead, saw it for the opportunity. They cut Mir Hamza when he strayed wide and drove Naseem while the bounce was true and the trajectory straight. They milked Agha around the square and smashed Abrar around the park. They kept the runs ticking along, and the wickets column dry.For that, you need a quality opening pair, and in Conway and Latham, New Zealand are well sorted.

The Bangladesh fast bowler talks about his comeback to the national side, and being in the vanguard of his team’s pace attack

Interview by Mohammad Isam17-Mar-2023Since his comeback in 2021, Taskin Ahmed has gone from cautionary tale to leader of Bangladesh’s fast-bowling attack, having played a part in several of Bangladesh’s most momentous wins, including most recently their 3-0 sweep of England in T20Is at home. In this interview he spoke about his comeback and the improvement that made to his mental health, and how he wants to be among the best fast bowlers in the world.Since your last interview with us, shortly after you played your comeback game for Bangladesh, it has been a remarkable time in your international career.
I have always wanted to be a complete team man since I made a comeback during Covid – as a bowler, batter and fielder. I want to give my best, but of course, it won’t happen all the time. I have a strong belief that if my process is in place, I can take on any opposition. Everything is decided on those 22 yards, regardless of who you are playing against, so whoever the opposition batter, I want to properly execute my strength. When that happens, life won’t be easy for the batter.Related

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Mark Wood said recently that you impressed the England team and that their bowlers picked their lengths from you, and you kept their batters under pressure.
He is no doubt one of the best in the business. I want to be right up there. I appreciate what he said, but what he talked about is essentially my duty.One of your best spells recently came in the T20 World Cup game against India. No wickets, but you stuck to your guns in those four overs.
Wickets aren’t really the measure of good bowling. Sometimes you don’t bowl well but end up with three or four wickets. It is all about execution. End of the day, I have to ask myself if I have given my 110% in the field – how my execution was, what areas I can improve on. These are personal check boxes. When these three fields are ticked, I am not too bothered about wickets. That was a spell that went according to the team’s requirement in those conditions. It is a team game, so if you can execute the team’s plan, you are a good player.

“When your process is in place, your self-belief eclipses any worry you have about the opposition. You know you are honest off the field with your preparations. Homework done, I am well prepared, so why won’t I do well?”

Three years ago, did you think you could become the leader of the Bangladesh bowling attack?
Whoever has the ball in hand is the bowling leader. I am not competing with my team-mates. We are family. If a group of us are improving together, we will become a threat to opponents. We are around 60-70% there. I want to compete with the top fast bowlers in the world. I am preparing myself physically, mentally and skill-wise.All the steps you took three years ago, at the start of the pandemic, have helped, would you say?
When I started [to train] at the start of the pandemic, I wasn’t in the national team. I tried to find what I was lacking. I had below-average fitness. I wasn’t there skill-wise. I wasn’t fielding or batting well. It was hard to comprehend how I was going to play for Bangladesh again. But I had the belief that I could play – I didn’t just think about it, I turned it into action.It was [during] Covid, so it wasn’t possible to take coaching, but [physical trainer] Debu opened up his gym for me. I remember he and I used to be in the gym alone after .After a few months my fitness was developing, but what about my depression, anxiety, negativity? Those weren’t going away. I went to mind-trainer Sabit Raihan. I am still working with him. I am trying to develop my mentality. I am still fearful of being left out of the team, but I am working on how to get rid of the fear of failure. You can never win if you fear losing before the contest even starts.I want to be positive in every aspect of my life. Negative company, negative words, really irritate me. My system has changed, so when someone is being negative, I either change the topic or leave. Working with Sabit and Debu was really enriching. I had phone conversations with [BCB director Khaled Mahmud] Sujon sir and [former bowling coach Mahbub Ali] Zaki sir.I used places like the garage and the staircase of my house for training. I took gym equipment from the BCB. I did bowling drills, wristwork. Those were the small steps. I ran in the sand after early morning prayers. I had insane gym sessions after fasting the whole day [during Ramadan]. The trainer used to push me to the point where I thought I would break, but I didn’t give up. I thought to myself, I am dead inside seeing the team play on TV. I thought this is it – whether I break or I die, whatever happens, I will wear the red and green jersey again. I have come to believe that if someone really wants something from the heart, it can turn into his strength.In July 2021, Taskin and Mahmudullah put together a stand of 191, the second- highest Test partnership for the ninth wicket, in a win against Zimbabwe•Zimbabwe CricketI don’t think logic applies to everything. [They say] you are not supposed to train hard after fasting all day – you are hungry and dehydrated. But it is your desire. You have to get out of your comfort zone. My main target was to get back in the Bangladesh team after proper training. Now the target is to slowly rise in the rankings. When you are below 100, it doesn’t show [on the ICC rankings]. I was out of the top 100 in all formats. Now I am coming into the 50s, and if Allah wants, I will be in the top ten. Or No. 1. It will happen, Inshallah.There are two ways of asking Allah for what you want. Firstly, when you are not prepared for the exam, you can ask Him to save you. The other way is [to say], Allah I have prepared myself really well. You be with me. When your process is in place, your self-belief eclipses any worry you have about the opposition. You know you are honest off the field with your preparations. It is a huge gut feeling for a player. Homework done, I am well prepared, so why won’t I do well?Mental health comes from off-field preparations. Honesty and hard work are my main weapons. If the self-belief is in the right place, my skills will keep improving. Mental health is very important.Commentators and opponents these days talks about how you are a threat. Do you see batters viewing you as a threat?
Out in the field, I back myself fully. When I am executing properly, I see the batter, regardless of how good he is, questioning himself. They will have days when they will play great shots. Some days will be bad. But I try to keep up my end of the bargain, which is executing my skills properly.What do you think are the highlights from these two years since the comeback?
Winning Player-of-the-Match awards in two World Cup games and the Player-of-the-Series award in South Africa.The Test win against New Zealand.My 191-run stand with [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai in Zimbabwe. The close game against India in the T20 World Cup was another highlight.

“Bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood, these guys will become legends by the end of their careers. I want to be regarded how they are regarded”

About that Test win against New Zealand – you seemed to enjoy Ebadot’s wickets in that Mount Maunganui Test.
My comeback raised my love for playing for Bangladesh. Representing the nation is a matter of huge pride. Having team feelings automatically means you enjoy team-mates’ success. His performance is helping the team win.I still remember Ebadot bowling after tea. I was standing at third man, making some calculations looking at the scoreboard. I thought, if we can bowl them out by lunch tomorrow [the fifth day], we can create a chance. If we can’t, then we have to find a way to draw this game. Suddenly he takes three wickets. I was like, what is happening?He took three more the next morning. I took three wickets. We shared nine wickets in the second innings. That’s it. We won. Beating New Zealand in their backyard is a massive achievement.Tell us the story of the five-wicket haul against South Africa.
I got a call from Lucknow Super Giants during that ODI series – I was denied the NOC [for the IPL]. We had Tests against South Africa at the time. Everyone dreams of playing in the IPL. I was a little sad about missing the opportunity. I told myself that I have to keep my focus on playing for the national team.I was overthinking the night before the third ODI, the series-deciding match. I kept thinking, if I play badly in the third game, the public will think that I played badly because of not getting the NOC. If I did well, I would be satisfied that I did well in this situation. On the field, you can pretend that you are confident with body language and reaction. You can pretend your way into genuine confidence. Everyone feels pressure before a big match.On the morning of the match, I was a little upset with a family matter. It happens to everyone on a long tour. Just imagine, I had to say no to the IPL. Then this family thing. The team bus leaves in half an hour. On my way to the ground, I thought I was going to put my emotions aside, bowl with all my heart. Whether I get hit for 80 in ten overs, or take five wickets, I will mean every ball. I did my warm-up, measured my run-up before everyone. Then I bowled the first ball, wide. Second ball, wide. I was questioning myself whether I was overexcited or not. I still told myself that I was going to mean every ball. A little later, it happened. Five wickets. We won. Everything worked out in the end.On being conscientious about his training: “I don’t think logic applies to everything. You are not supposed to train hard after fasting all day, but it is your desire. You have to get out of your comfort zone”•Associated PressYour mind and body won’t be 110% every day. But your desire, whether you are pretending or it’s coming for real, helps a lot. I try to give it my all every day. I am not the best fielder, but I try to take a catch. I try to bowl my best ball. I try to contribute with the bat. I want to have an impact as a team player.Talking about dropped catches, there have been plenty off your bowling. You don’t often react, do you?
A man can react maybe once or twice out of a hundred times ().Nobody drops a catch willingly. It is about luck. [Yasir Ali] Rabbi took a good catch in the slips in the World Cup. [Najmul Hossain] Shanto took two good catches in the slips against England.In a way, it is a positive that you are creating so many chances.
Yes, the main thing is creating the chances. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Some days I will get whacked. It is about consistency. Chances are created due to proper execution, movement and extra bounce. I bowl according to the field.You are rested from time to time, too. You didn’t play the third ODI against England. The team management wants you to be fit for the big games.
It is the body, you know. I want to play every game. I wanted to play the third ODI too but the coach and captain thought there’s a lot of cricket ahead. I played the first two ODIs with a groin niggle and back soreness. Fast bowlers will always have these things. Physios, trainers and coaches try to maintain the workload.There’s no point asking you what your favourite format is.
You are right. I really can’t pick a favourite format. It is slightly difficult to adjust between formats. Lengths vary. You have to go through the delivery variations. If you perform in all three formats, then you have done something. I want to be a player of that class.Who are the world-class bowlers that you aspire to being like?
Legends like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Wasim Akram are my heroes. Bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood, these guys will become legends by the end of their careers. I want to be regarded how they are regarded. There’s no point in working hard if I can’t reach that level. I have to take myself to their level.

“On the field, you can pretend that you are confident with body language and reaction. You can pretend your way into genuine confidence. Everyone feels pressure before a big match”

How have fast bowling coaches like Ottis Gibson and Allan Donald influenced you during your comeback years?
They have definitely been influential. They both had roles to play. Our local bowling coaches are good too. I speak a lot to Sujon sir about my bowling. Ottis Gibson helped me in certain areas. Allan Donald is a well-known coach. He talks to us. But at this level, you have to know what you must do yourself. A coach helps you fine-tune, but you have to do the rest of the work.Chandika Hathurusingha is back as our coach. He thinks differently than the other coaches. I like his style of coaching. His game awareness is going to help our players. The team management, in general, is really helpful towards me. They want me to keep doing well.Your comeback story in a way is a catalyst for the improvement of fast bowlers, and specifically why Bangladesh is now relying more on fast bowling. There was a time when they didn’t even pick a single fast bowler in a home Test. Now fast bowlers are match-winners. In this pack of fast bowlers, how do you see yourself?
It is a matter of pride. I want to carry it for a long time. I want to set the trend of fast bowling. How to come back and maintain it. I have more responsibility now. I have been able to inspire people, so I want to finish my career in a way that everyone remembers me. I hope I can help build a proper fast bowling culture. I want more fast bowlers to come through. Fast bowlers have to be built from the Under-15s. I had to reach this stage after a lot of ups and downs.We have the Bangladesh Tigers programme now. There will be fast-bowling camps in the future. Things will get easier. I did it on my own during the Covid pandemic. But now if someone wants to start from a young age, the path will be smooth. I want a fast bowler to know about proper discipline. He should be aware of his diet and training pattern. He must be aware of his own body, how it behaves in different situations. He will get help from the coaches, so when he can build all this into his system, he will be a better player.I want to take myself to a different level as a fast bowler, to give more to my country. I want to be more skillful and fit. I want to finish my career as a legendary player.

He has been expensive, but at the same time brings with him the ability to take wickets

Deivarayan Muthu11-Apr-2023In the absence of Dwayne Bravo, who is now Chennai Super Kings’ bowling coach, he has fronted up to bowl at the death. Then, when Super Kings lost Deepak Chahar to injury one over into the match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede, he fronted up to bowl two overs in the powerplay and bowled Rohit Sharma with a beauty. With Ben Stokes and Mukesh Choudhary also injured, Tushar Deshpande has become Super Kings’ go-to seamer.Deshpande was a net bowler with Super Kings in IPL 2021 after having gone unsold at that auction. Two seasons on, Dhoni trusts him to bowl the tough overs.There’s a bit of Shardul Thakur about Deshpande. He can be expensive, but at the same time, he brings with him unpredictable variety and the ability to take wickets. Tim David walloped him for 6, 4, 6 but didn’t expect a grippy slower offcutter next ball, and ended up dragging a pull to deep midwicket. Deshpande can also crank it up to 140kph and surprise batters with extra pace.Related

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“We believe in him,” MS Dhoni said after the game against Mumbai. “Also what happens is when you’re new, you have a different sort of pressure, but if you’ve already played IPL for a few games, then it becomes like a comeback. I feel, as a cricketer, it’s one of the worst feelings to have. But he had a very good domestic season and that helped.”We have been constantly talking to him about what needs to be done. He is very good at execution, but in the last couple of games, he had bowled no-balls and that’s not a very good feeling to have. When you’re at your bowling mark, that’s something you don’t want to have in your mind. I feel he’s improving; the delivery that Rohit got out to was a fantastic delivery. So, he has that potential, he can be much more consistent and we’re just hoping that he takes that added responsibility.”Deshpande had a rough start to the IPL 2023. As the first-ever Impact Player in the IPL, he leaked 51 runs in 3.2 overs against defending champions Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Then, against Lucknow Super Giants at Chepauk, where he said the “crowd was so loud that I couldn’t hear anything”, he bowled an 11-ball over in the powerplay, which cost 18 runs.

“I’ve been working on yorkers. I feel it does not come naturally. Even if it comes naturally, you need to have the guts to execute that when you are under pressure”Tushar Deshpande

Deshpande has had issues with overstepping in the past too, but he put that horror over behind him and executed the best-laid plans of Bravo when he returned to bowl at the death. When he came back, Super Giants were 150 for 5 in 15 overs, chasing 218, with Nicholas Pooran on 31 off 15 balls, having just reverse-swept Ravindra Jadeja into the top-tier over point.At the time out, the message from Bravo was to bowl wide yorkers and hide them away from the reach of Pooran. Dhoni gave him three fielders on the off-side boundary – deep point, deep cover and long-off – including two of his best in Mitchell Santner and Ben Stokes. Deshpande stuck to the plan and gave up just one run off the first two balls to Pooran. He then darted another wide yorker – possibly wider than another set of stumps – and had Pooran slicing it to Stokes at long-off. Just six runs off the over to go with the wicket of Pooran. Game over for Super Giants.Deshpande admits that the yorker doesn’t come to him naturally, but he has been learning on the job from one of the best in the business. On Monday evening at the Chepauk nets, Bravo had both Deshpande and Dwaine Pretorius bowling both wide yorkers and straight yorkers under his supervision.”I think bowling at the death is something that comes with great responsibility,” Deshpande told select newspapers in Chennai. “I’ve been working on yorkers. I feel it does not come naturally. Even if it comes naturally, you need to have the guts to execute that when you are under pressure. So I feel staying in the moment helps.”MS Dhoni talks to Tushar Deshpande during the match against Lucknow Super Giants•BCCIThe yorker is arguably the hardest delivery to nail. Overpitch it, it’s a full toss. Under-pitch it, it’s a half-volley. Even if you nail it, you can disappear for runs. Deshpande has embraced that challenge.”If you’re bowling in the death, you have to accept that someday you are going to get hit,” he said. “So you need to stay in the present even if you get hit for a six off the first ball. I have the next five balls to come back in the game or take the batter out. So staying in the present and in the moment is very important, and I personally feel that the next five balls are an opportunity for a bowler to get his mark back in the game. So that is what helps while bowling at the death.”Those who have followed Deshpande in Mumbai’s cricket circles speak highly of his commitment and fortitude. Just days after he had lost his mother to cancer, Deshpande rejoined Mumbai’s squad for the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Delhi in Indore and bowled them to victory with figures of 4 for 19. Ajinkya Rahane, his captain at Mumbai and current team-mate at Super Kings, is also impressed with his progress.”Tushar has been bowling really well and he had a great [domestic] season for Mumbai,” Rahane said after the match against Mumbai. “Even in the match before this [game against Mumbai Indians], his comeback was really great. The first over was not up to the mark in the last game but the way he came back and the way he bowled in the death overs was really good. I’m really happy for him. [These are] still early days for him and he will learn a lot by playing matches and when you’re playing under Mahi <bhai, you’re sure that you will learn every time you’re out in the middle.”At the IPL 2022 auction, Super Kings raised their bid up to INR 7 crore to buy back Thakur, but he ultimately got away from them. They have now found another Mumbai player who can perform the role that Thakur used to do for them with the ball. Deshpande is no Thakur with the bat, but the introduction of the Impact Player rule means he need not be.

Featuring a look ahead to forthcoming editions of the competition where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Sep-2023The Asia Cup, which is the world’s premier cricketing tournament for countries that tell their friends they hate each other but constantly send each other “U up?” texts, has finally ended.As is standard for situationships of this nature, nobody is really fully happy with how it all went down.So let’s debrief. I guess.Oh god.RULES FOR THE NEXT JAYSIA* CUPFor several tournament cycles, the ICC has unashamedly put India and Pakistan in the same group, or created a round robin structure in which they were sure to meet, in order to maximise broadcast and sponsorship revenue in world tournaments.The Asian Cricket Council has tried to make as many Pakistan vs India matches as possible happen as well. But some idiot team, from a country called Sri Lanka, keep screwing up the schedule for broadcasters and sponsors, partly because of their rain.In light of these capitalist misadventures, here is a proposed list of rules for the next Asian tournament.- India vs Pakistan matches will always have a reserve day. This much is obvious.- If the reserve day is not enough to get a completed game, the match will go into a third day. Any matches between lesser teams scheduled on that third day to be played in the car park with a tennis ball or whatever they can find, who cares.- India and Pakistan always start in the same group, but also importantly always have the weakest opposition in the tournament in their group.- If Nepal become a formidable side by the start of next Asia Cup, the tournament expands to seven teams, and Nepal get put in the group with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc, and India and Pakistan play in a three-team group featuring, say, Mongolia.- In the Super Four stage, do away with the pointlessly complicated net run rate. If there are teams on equal points, country with highest population goes through.- This is unless Bangladesh officially pass Pakistan’s population numbers. In which case, we go back to NRR.- Each ACC member takes turns hosting the tournament. Meaning, they rotationally get the chance to guess the exact venues and schedule the BCCI wants, as that is what ends up happening.TEAM REVIEWSAfghanistanMarks out of 10: 432, as a tribute to whoever was doing the calculations in the team’s dressing room when they could have qualified with big shots against Sri Lanka in the last group game.High point: Almost beating Sri Lanka in a major tournament.Low point: Almost beating Sri Lanka, then learning that if they had had better information, they could have knocked Sri Lanka out.BangladeshMarks out of 10: 4, because while they seemed like a team that be able to challenge the traditional Asian powers, in this tournament the good performances came too late.High point: Beating India in the last Super Fours game.Low point: Doing the thing that most people expected them to do – kind of compete, but also fall well short.NepalMarks out of 10: Full marks for playing their part perfectly in this tournament, by letting Pakistan, then India, walk all over them.Low point: Losing by 238 runs against Pakistan.High point: At Himalayan elevations, everything is high.IndiaMarks out of 10: Who’s gonna argue with a 10 to India? I want to live.High point: Rohit Sharma jokingly asking those setting off fireworks outside the stadium to just wait till they’d won the World Cup.Low point: No, but really, are these guys safe?Sri LankaMarks out of 10: Let Dasun Shanaka pick this since he can get up to 10 and make a double figure score at last.High point: Charith Asalanka taking the team home, off the last ball, against Pakistan.Low point: Getting blasted out, for 50 all out in the final.PakistanMarks out of 10: Full marks to the seam bowlers. Not so many marks to the spinners.High point: Shadab Khan making Virat Kohli laugh during an exchange during the rain breaks of that first “Pakistan vs India final”.Low point: Having no faith they could do it again.*The Briefing condemns this spelling of the tournament name in the harshest possible terms, and invites ridicule on anyone who would sound it out as “Jaysia” while reading.

Boland and Murphy struggle for impact, as England stay alive in yet another cliffhanger

Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2023The margins of this series have been so tight that as Mitchell Starc, who had an outstanding Test at Headingley, ran in to bowl at England’s lower order, it was still possible to envisage him winning the game with three yorkers.Instead, Mark Wood played probably the shot of his career as he drilled a cover drive towards the Western Terrace. England suddenly needed seven to win. That shot was followed by a wide and a two out to deep point. Four to win.Then Wood got a top-edge that flew towards deep third. It looked like Scott Boland’s catch coming off the rope but Alex Carey – who has had an interesting couple of weeks but has been largely faultless with the gloves all series – ran after it, dived and couldn’t quite get there.By the standards that had preceded them, therefore, the countdown for those final three runs was almost sedate, although Woakes’ square-drive for the winning boundary – to the opposite side of the ground from Ben Stokes’ famous cut for four four years ago – sent the crowd into familiar scenes of delirium.Having come out on the right side of close finishes in the first two Tests, this time it went against Australia. As with Edgbaston and Lord’s there were so many moments, and small passages of play, that can be picked out as making the difference, but ultimately two had a huge bearing on Australia not quite having enough runs to play with.They had reduced England 142 for 7 at lunch on the second day but then leaked 95 runs in the next 10 overs. Then, batting under sunshine that evening, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith managed to hand their wickets to Moeen Ali when Australia’s lead was approaching 100. Conditions were tricky for batters throughout, on what was a top-notch Test surface, but with Usman Khawaja also being extracted in that period, it meant Australia were four-down when play eventually resumed under leaden skies on the third evening.Mitchell Starc trapped Ben Duckett lbw early on day four•AFP/Getty Images”Mitch [Marsh] got us back in the game and Travis [Head],” Pat Cummins said. “Then we lost 6 for 20. The next day their tail put on a good partnership with Stokes. Then [we were] ahead of the game batting on in sunlight on day two and probably missed that opportunity. [We had] various opportunities, but another great Test match.”In the end 251 was something to play with and, at times, it looked like it could be enough, especially when Joe Root and Ben Stokes both fell to leg-side catches and Jonny Bairstow dragged on to a big drive. But this time England did not need their heroic captain to get them over the line.When reviewing Australia’s overall performance, one element that stands out is how much they leant on Starc and Pat Cummins in the attack. England tend not to bat for long, but they bowled 63 of the 102 overs that Australia sent down in the match, taking 14 of the 17 wickets.Mitchell Marsh was handy with the ball on his Test return after his spectacular century on the first day, but Australia’s attack did not have the depth of earlier in the series. They overcame Nathan Lyon’s absence at Lord’s but here it felt very significant on the final day. Todd Murphy was given one over before lunch then another with 30 runs needed; it’s hard to believe that Lyon would not have had a more central role, even in conditions favouring the quicks.Murphy is a fine young spin bowler who should have a long career, but when Lyon’s calf went on the second after at Lord’s it felt like a major moment in the series. It could still be.”[It was] mainly just conditions-based,” Cummins said of Murphy’s lack of overs. “Didn’t quite spin as much as we thought it would. And [we] probably didn’t bowl as many overs as we thought we would as well. We bowled under 60 both innings. I would have liked to get Toddy into the game a bit more. But I’m sure next week in Manchester will be a bit more spin-friendly.”Related

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Allied to that was Scott Boland’s wicketless match, with England’s batters once again scoring relatively freely from him, albeit not at the rate of Edgbaston where he went at nearly six-an-over. He has often bowled better than his figures suggest but being able to largely nullify Boland – except for the evening session under clouds at Edgbaston – has been one of England’s successes. His series now reads 2 for 231 from 47 overs, a far cry from his 18 wickets at 9.55 in the 2021-22 Ashes.Josh Hazlewood was rotated out for this match and he would likely have been a handful on this surface. As the runs required dipped into the 40s, Cummins gave Marsh another brief spell after he’d been effective after a ball-change earlier in the innings while Murphy’s one-over return cost seven. Once again, it was all on Cummins and Starc.The pair combined for Harry Brook’s wicket although there was almost a collision in the covers as both converged on the big top-edge. At that point 21 runs were still needed as Wood walked out to join Woakes. Two balls into the next over, Murphy pulled off a spectacular save at deep square leg, palming the back inside the field to Labuschagne while mid-air. Four runs conceded became one.Given the way this series has played out, it was the sort of moment that, even then, might have made the difference. But off the next ball Wood hooked Cummins for six. This time it was England who had enough.As in 2019, Australia came to Headingley knowing a win would retain the Ashes. This time it would also have given them a first series win in England since 2001. They have two more chances. For now history remains on their side, but they will hope they don’t look back on this as their missed opportunity.

Bavuma says South Africa are confident and won’t be haunted by the ghosts of 2022 when they step on the field against Netherlands

Firdose Moonda16-Oct-2023South Africa insist they are not bothered with the past and this time, they sound believable.As narratives around their victory over Australia last Thursday wound back to 1999 and Herschelle Gibbs’ dropped catch and found poetic justice in the fact that Australia, on their way to a second-straight defeat at this year’s tournament, had missed six chances, South Africa barely seemed to notice the parallels. Who can blame them? All of the current squad were only children back then, with only Rassie van der Dussen’s age in double digits, and Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee had not even been born.Unlike someone like Dale Steyn, who was 16 at the time, they won’t remember crying in front of the television. So it’s understandable that beating Australia did not come as a big surprise to a group of players who have been part of 15 wins in their previous 20 matches over Australia, including a series win in preparation for this tournament. Lucknow was a continuation, not a balm. This generation does not have those kinds of scars.Related

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But that doesn’t mean they have none. Less than a year ago, ten members from the same squad who are at this World Cup were in the T20 group that were knocked out of the tournament by Netherlands: a team they had never lost to before and will face again on Tuesday.You’d think there has to be some historical pressure to ensure they don’t slip up against an Associate outfit whose touring party includes seven of their countrymen, right? Wrong.”The last time we played Netherlands was back home in South Africa and we needed those points to qualify for the World Cup. The performances that we showed were critical. Our victories there were emphatic, in my view. In terms of the confidence and belief within the team, without us being arrogant or loud about it, I think it’s still up there,” Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s captain said in Dharamsala.Quinton de Kock is one of ten South Africa players in this World Cup squad who were part of the 2022 T20 World Cup side that got knocked out by Netherlands•AFP/Getty ImagesIn March this year, South Africa had to beat the Dutch in their last fixtures of the World Cup Super League, where thanks to a combination of their own mistakes and their board’s, they found themselves outside the automatic qualification zone. On-field, they had lost series to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh and they weren’t able to get on the field against Australia after CSA opted to forfeit the series to launch the SA20. After beating England 2-1 in January, the two matches against the Dutch were must-win. So, if there were any ghosts from the T20 World Cup, they would have come back to haunt South Africa then.That they didn’t is partly a sign of the exorcism South Africa have been able to do and partly a change in format.”It’s a different format, a different ask in terms of your skills, and being able to do your skills for a longer period of time. That’s something that I think we all need to appreciate,” Bavuma said.It speaks to the idea that the shorter the format the closer the match-ups could be, and Netherlands see ODI cricket as a version that allows them to show their patience game.”We don’t get to play any Test cricket or anything like that, but we play a lot of fifty-over cricket, and we understand the consistency that needs to come with playing good 50-over cricket for long periods of time,” Ryan Cook, the Dutch coach of South African origins said.Unfortunately for the Dutch, the top-tier teams, led by England, have moved beyond seeing ODIs as a condensed form of Tests and adopted a far more aggressive approach to their batting. South Africa are among them and have promised to continue taking calculated risks with their powerhouse top six.Bavuma called it being “opportunistic as batters,” who are “looking to take the game on”. But he’ll know that even the pioneers of that approach – England – have recently been forced into a more tentative game plan and were beaten by Afghanistan, so anything is possible even though South Africa are determined not to be led down a memory lane of failure.”The past is the past. The only thing you can do is learn from it,” South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter said. “If we carry that burden, it uses up energy. [We know] if you don’t rock up on the day, you could find yourself under pressure. We don’t disrespect any opposition by viewing them as weaker opponents. We have very little focus on what’s happened and more emphasis on what we can control.”South African teams have said this before, usually with a touch of irritation in the tone and then we, as the listeners, knew it was getting to them and they, the opposition, knew which buttons to push.Now, there’s a neutrality to the conversation. South Africa acknowledge their embarrassing defeats like the one against Netherlands and own their errors. It’s the best way to make sure those mistakes don’t come back to own them.

Bashir Chacha, still hoping to get a ticket for the India vs Pakistan game, could be the only Pakistan fan in the stands

Yash Jha13-Oct-20235:40

‘Once the first ball is bowled, everything is back to normal’

Thursday, 5pm IST. Hundreds of locals have gathered under the Ashram Road flyover in Usmanpura, Ahmedabad. They are there to catch a glimpse of the Pakistan team as they head for training. There’s still 30 minutes to go before the bus leaves the hotel, but two days out from contest of the World Cup, anticipation is heightening and security cover is already at the level you’d see on most match days for other games.But this is a game like no other. India versus Pakistan. In India for the first time in seven years. In front of what could be a record crowd of more than 100,000 people. They played in front of 90,000 at the MCG in last year’s T20 World Cup. Expect this to be louder and far more partisan than anything these Pakistan players would have come up against in their careers.Before the Pakistan team bus leaves the hotel, out walks Mohammad Bashir, known more famously as Bashir . He was a crowd favourite in Hyderabad during Pakistan’s first two World Cup games, and now Ahmedabad locals get their first sighting of him. He could possibly be the only Pakistani fan at the game on Saturday. How’s that for a daunting position to be in?Related

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“,” Bashir asks of the crowd, having scanned the scene for a minute. “India ,” is the instant response, loud in volume but not visceral in tone. The mood is good natured enough for Bashir to counter with a shout of “Pakistan “. The locals gather around him for selfies and the media can’t get enough of the man who moved from Karachi to Chicago four decades ago.Bashir’s attire on the day – a combined Pakistan and India outfit – is in keeping with his life story: his wife is an Indian from Hyderabad and he’s got used to being sledged by her. Remember, India have a proud 7-0 record against Pakistan in ODI World Cups. ” (She told me I’m going to be embarrassed again [by Pakistan losing], I said it doesn’t matter, I have to be there [in Ahmedabad]).”As of Thursday, he didn’t have a ticket to the game yet, but he’s optimistic. In 2011, ahead of the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali, his plea for tickets was fulfilled by MS Dhoni. He says Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have arranged tickets for him on many occasions.

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