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Rashid Khan, one of T20’s hottest properties, will team up again with Jason Gillespie when he joins Sussex in the first half of the T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2018Rashid Khan’s whirlwind career will blow him into Hove for the T20 Blast. Rashid, the Afghan legspinner who has become one of the hottest properties in T20 cricket and lifted the stature of Afghanistan cricket in the process, will play for Sussex for the first half of the tournament.Rashid will join Sussex with confidence because he teams up again with Jason Gillespie, the county’s new head coach, who was in charge of Adelaide Strikers when they won this season’s Big Bash.Rashid was one of the Strikers’ chief assets, finishing joint top of the wicket-taking charts with 18 wickets in 11 innings at a startling economy rate of 5.65 runs per over – the most meagre in the tournament. He missed the final because of international duties, but Adelaide survived without him, comfortably beating Hobart Hurricanes.A stint in the IPL will dominate his thinking before he arrives on the south coast of England. At the recent IPL auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad paid US$1.4m for his services, leading him to be dubbed by some as “the million dollar baby”.At 19, his brief career has also taken him to the Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League as the advance of T20 – not the discussions of international administrators in sparking-water filled committee rooms – promises to become the main driver for global opportunity.Gillespie needed a lift after losing both Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan to the IPL, so deflating Sussex’s promotion challenge from Division Two of the Specsavers Championship before it has begun. But the prospect of Rashid and Archer, a key performer in Hobart’s BBL campaign, teaming up in T20 will give Sussex one of the most talked-about bowling attacks in the competition.Sussex have become the sixth domestic T20 side to snap up Rashid Khan•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We are delighted that Rash has agreed to join us at Sussex,” Gillespie said. “His form for Afghanistan and the T20 teams he has played for over the last couple of years has been phenomenal. I have worked closely with Rash at the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL and have been incredibly impressed with his attitude, work ethic and team-first mentality.”We look forward to welcoming him to the Sharks where I’m sure he will quickly become a fan favourite.”Amongst bowlers who have bowled at least 500 deliveries, Rashid has the lowest average (13.82) in the history of international T20 cricket. His economy rate of 5.86 runs per over is the second lowest of all time.Sussex’s relatively small boundaries will offer up a new challenge, especially the tight boundaries square of the wicketSussex’s director of cricket, Keith Greenfield, expressed his delight at the signing. “Rashid is the most sought-after spin talent in the world,” he said. “He has made a significant impact in all the teams he has played for to date, so to make this move happen is fantastic.”

A round-up of the second day of Group C matches in the seventh round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2016Snehal Kauthankar’s second first-class century – and maiden double ton – helped Goa recover from 190 for 6 to 413 against Haryana at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Ghaziabad. Goa had started the day on 197 for 6 with Kauthankar on 80 and Shadab Jakati on 4. The two stretched their seventh-wicket stand to 64 with Jakati contributing 28. After Jakati’s dismissal with Goa on 254 for 7, Reagan Pinto, who had retired hurt on 25 on the opening day, returned and helped add 73 for the eighth wicket with Kauthankar. Pinto struck 58 before he became left-arm spinner Ashok Sandhu’s fourth first-class victim. Amulaya Pandrekar, Goa’s No. 11, spent over an hour at the crease and batted out 40 balls to help add 67 more for the last wicket with Kauthankar. Pandrekar contributed just 5. Kauthankar was the last man dismissed, for 225 off 374 balls, which contained 30 fours and four sixes. Harshal Patel and Amit Mishra did the bulk of the damage, taking four wickets each.Haryana made a strong start to their reply, with Nitin Saini, not out on 76, taking them to 110 for no loss in the company of Shubham Rohilla, who was unbeaten on 32. Haryana ended the day trailing by 303.Kerala‘s bowlers fought back after their team was bowled out for 219 by Andhra in Guwahati. Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla and offspinner Rohan Prem, along with Basil Thampi, the right-arm medium pacer, took two wickets each to leave Andhra 173 for 6 at stumps.The day had begun with Kerala 188 for 8 in their first innings. KS Monish (14) – resuming on 4 – and Thampi (15) used up 76 balls between them and took them to 219. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt dismissed both batsmen. DP Vijaykumar, who had taken a six-for on the opening day, ended with 6 for 47, his best innings returns.Andhra began solidly with Srikar Bharat and Prasanth Kumar both hitting half-centuries and putting on 81 for the first wicket. Abdulla broke through, having Bharat caught behind for 54. He followed it up with the scalp of Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari for 3. Prasanth stuck on to add 63 more with Ricky Bhui for the third wicket before being stumped off Prem. That dismissal began a procession with Andhra sliding from 152 for 2 to 170 for 6. Bhui stayed not out on 47. Andhra trail by 46 runs.In Surat, Rishi Dhawan’s five-wicket haul triggered a collapse as Services, resuming on 276 for 3, were bowled out for 401 by Himachal Pradesh. Services lost Nakul Verma, the overnight centurion, for 117 when he was bowled by Dhawan in the third over of the day. From there, Services lost two more quick wickets to slip to 288 for 6. That they got to 401 was courtesy Vikas Hathwala, who struck 69 and added 42 for the seventh wicket with Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (18) and 56 for the final wicket with Raj Bahadur (11 not out). Dhawan finished with 5 for 82.In response, Himachal ended the day 182 for 4. Paras Dogra top-scored with 70, while Prashant Chopra (47) and Ankit Kalsi (23) got off to starts, but none of them could convert into a big score. Robin Bist was unbeaten on 34 at stumps and had Mayank Dagar (3 not out) for company.At the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in Valsad, Hyderabad lost six wickets for 84 runs to get bowled out for 351 by Chhattisgarh. Hyderabad began the day on 267 for 4 with BP Sandeep not out on 73 and Mehdi Hassan giving him company on 10. Hassan was caught and bowled by right-arm medium pacer Pankaj Rao, while Sandeep missed his century by four runs, becoming the eighth man dismissed, to the right-arm medium pace of Abhishek Tamrakar. Rao, playing his sixth first-class match, took his second five-wicket haul, ending with 5 for 89.Chhattisgarh responded strongly, with their openers Sahil Gupta and Abhimanyu Chauhan notching up identical scores of 55. Gupta was trapped lbw by right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj, before Chauhan took Chhattisgarh to 124 for 1 along with Sumit Ruikar. Chhattisgarh are behind by 227 runs.At the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Jammu & Kashmir‘s bowlers reduced Tripura to 193 for 6 after they were bowled out for 315. J&K resumed on 270 for 6 with Aditya Singh on 65 and Samiullah Beigh on 35. Aditya added just nine to his overnight tally before being caught behind off Rajib Dutta, while Beigh raised a half-century and was the eighth man out, for 54. Tripura’s new-ball pair of Manisankar Murasingh (4 for 75) and Dutta (3 for 74) took seven wickets between them. Ajoy Sarkar took two wickets and Gurinder Singh had one wicket.Like Tripura, J&K’s bowlers hunted in a pack with each of the five bowlers they used making an entry into the wickets column. Opener Bishal Ghosh struck an unbeaten 86, but Tripura were hurt by the inability of several of their batsmen to convert their starts.

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has said that the one-day specialists and seamers in the side countered Sri Lanka’s spinners by ‘adapting really well on some of the toughest ODI pitches’

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2016Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has said that the one-day specialists and seamers in the side countered Sri Lanka’s spinners by ‘adapting really well on some of the toughest ODI pitches’, helping the visitors seal the ODI series after a 3-0 whitewash in the Tests.”We have had the advantage, the one-day players getting the advantage to see what the Test pitches have played like and coming here with a clear gameplan,” Wade said. “Myself and George Bailey and a few others have just come over for the one-dayers, we have had a clear plan and it has worked so far.”The wickets have been some of the toughest you’ll get in one-day international cricket, we’ve come from the West Indies, which took spin. You don’t usually play on used wickets back to back in one-day internationals. It hasn’t been suited to the way we play but we’ve adapted really well. We are playing a few more quicks than what they (Sri Lanka) are, but with variable bounce and reverse swing, we’ve countered their spinners.”Despite not being picked as Australia’s designated wicketkeeper for the following T20 series against Sri Lanka, Wade acknowledged he is contributing more to Australia now compared to a few years ago.”Every time you don’t get picked for Australia is disappointing, but that’s the way it goes,” he said. “I’m not a 100 % sure of the reason. (Peter) Nevill played the T20 World Cup and I was told he was going to bat lower, so they wanted to go with his keeping. I’ll just keep playing the way I play in ODIs.”I feel my game is at a level now where I can contribute in ODIs. There was a period of time where my game wasn’t in order three or four years ago, where I felt I wasn’t contributing enough. At the moment, I feel my game is in good order. I want to get picked for every tour, every match because I feel I can do the job.”After Australia’s tri-series win in the Caribbean, stand-in coach Justin Langer challenged Wade to become the best wicketkeeper in the country by following a diligent work ethic. More than two months later, Wade said his keeping is as good as it has ever been.”It came as a bit of shock to me that it came out in the press like that. I spoke to JL (Langer) after and understood what he was trying to say,” Wade said. “I’m under no illusions that I need to work harder and get better at my game. If I want to play Test cricket again, I have to work harder.”I’ve improved with my glovework over the past 3-4 weeks in the subcontinent. I went to England and kept playing, that makes a huge difference in the off-season: going home or just training indoors or going to Brisbane to get work done. This time I went to England. I feel like I’m keeping as well as I’ve done for a very long time.”

Ajay Ratra, the former Indian wicketkeeper, has decided to call time on his 16-year playing career

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2015Ajay Ratra, the former India wicketkeeper, has decided to call time on his 16-year playing career. Ratra last played a first-class game in 2013 for Tripura.Ratra, who made his international debut in 2002, played six Tests and 12 ODIs for India. His maiden Test century against West Indies in Trinidad – an unbeaten 115 – made him the fifth-youngest Indian player and the youngest wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred. He played 99 first-class matches, scoring 4029 runs at an average of 30.29, which included eight hundreds and a double-century. He also played in 89 List A games, scoring 1381 runs at 22.63.Ratra is the second Indian player to retire in the space of two days, following Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s retirement on Wednesday.”Both Hrishikesh and Ajay were hardworking cricketers and thorough professionals,” Anurag Thakur, BCCI secretary, said. “I have no doubt that they will display the same qualities in their chosen vocations.”Ratra was part of the Indian U-19 team that won the Youth World Cup in early 2000, and the following season, he captained them to victory against England.”On behalf of the BCCI, I congratulate both Hrishikesh and Ajay for memorable careers, and wish them all the best for the future,” Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the board, said.

Even as he fell for 248 with 32 deliveries left in the India A innings, Shikhar Dhawan could not help but realise he could have become the first man in the world to make a triple-century in a one-dayer

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013As he ravaged South Africa A for 248 off 150 balls, Shikhar Dhawan knew he had achieved what only Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag had before – a double-century in limited-overs cricket by an Indian. But even as he finally fell with 32 deliveries still left in the India A innings, Dhawan could not help but realise he could have become the first man in the world to make a triple in the format.”I was aware of the record and it felt really special to score these runs,” Dhawan told . “When I got out in the 44th over it occurred to me that if I had batted till the end I had a chance to score a triple hundred. I am happy with what I scored though.”The way Dhawan went on and on, the India A coach Lalchand Rajput thought the triple was within sight. “Shikhar batted exceptionally well,” Rajput told ESPNcricinfo. “I haven’t seen a better innings in one-day cricket than this one. The way he batted today, I thought he would get 300. They were clean hits, all proper cricketing shots. He pulled, he cut, he drove. He played all shots today and it was a real treat to watch.”While Dhawan was pleased to be mentioned alongside Tendulkar and Sehwag, he was quick to dismiss comparisons between the knocks. “It did cross my mind that I joined Sachin and Viru in scoring a double-century in a one-day game,” Dhawan said. “However, those were two of the greatest innings in cricket history and they came at the international level. So, they are much bigger than my innings.”I’ve always loved watching them bat. But I love my batting as well. So, it’s difficult for me to pick one favourite knock of the three. This will remain one of my favourite matches because I scored 200 for the first time in a 50-over game. Unfortunately it didn’t come live on television but that’s fine because I loved batting.”It was a must-win game for India A if they had to meet Australia A in the final of the tri-series. Their batsmen had come up short on both occasions in tall chases against Australia A but had taken South Africa A for 309 in 38 overs in a rain-hit victory three days ago. Dhawan had made 85 in that game and said he wanted to make a larger score today.”I had scored 85 in the previous match and I wanted to score a big hundred for the team because our batsmen were all getting out in the 80s and 90s,” Dhawan said. “A big century was necessary for giving a good total to the team. Once I crossed 100, I was in a different flow. I thought I made a smart choice of shots and things went my way.”I especially enjoyed it as it came against a South African side in their own backyard. They are very tough to play at home and they play good quality cricket.”

Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson will be in danger of a suspension during the ODI series in the West Indies after he and his team were fined for a slow over-rate in their triangular series final victory at Adelaide Oval

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval08-Mar-2012Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson will be in danger of a suspension during the ODI series in the West Indies after he and his team were fined for a slow over-rate in their triangular series final victory at Adelaide Oval. After a tense match, won by 16 runs, the ICC match-referee Chris Broad calculated that Australia were one over short of the required rate over the course of Sri Lanka’s innings, meaning each member of the team lost 10% of their match-fee while Watson was docked 20%. Under the ICC’s code of conduct, Watson will now effectively be on probation for the next 12 months, with another over-rate transgression while he is captaining in an ODI leading to a one-match suspension – the fate that befell India’s captain MS Dhoni earlier in the triangular series.The transgression was the one pitfall of a night on which Watson led Australia shrewdly in the field, and helped restrict Sri Lanka in their pursuit of a middling target on a slow pitch. After lifting the series trophy he said the team had finally come good in the field, following a patch of poor form.”After getting 231 we knew we were going to have to bowl and field extremely well to defend that and we certainly did that through the whole 48-49 overs,” Watson said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about, to actually put it all together, and we were able to do that and that is very satisfying.”We didn’t always bowl to our plans over the last couple of games; in the first final in Brisbane we let it slip a bit, and nearly lost that game. So we needed an all-round bowling performance. We also needed a good fielding performance to keep the intensity throughout the 50 overs. It is brilliant to see that when the guys really set their minds to it we can do it, and we set a standard tonight.”Australia’s squad departs for the West Indies via Sydney in the early hours of Friday morning, and Watson said the team would celebrate its victory as heartily as possible before the long-haul flight to the Caribbean. The squad has shown considerable signs of fatigue towards the end of a successful, if draining, summer, and now has more cricket ahead rather than rest.”That’s going to be the biggest challenge [to refresh themselves],” Watson said. “You’ve certainly got to enjoy the good times and the good wins. I think we have a 5.15am departure from the hotel, so there could be a few tired blokes after celebrating tonight. So as long as it’s not too crazy and too hectic the guys have a bit of time to freshen up on the flight and make sure that once we get to the West Indies we’re ready to go next Friday.”Watson, standing in for the injured Michael Clarke, has a remarkable thin resumé as a captain but, in the third final, showed an ability to lead by example with the ball, while also moving the field around in a suitably thoughtful manner.”It’s been a very exciting time for me; to be able to see the game from a different perspective has been a lot of fun,” Watson said. “I suppose normally standing out on the fence you’re trying to deflect a bit of banter that’s coming your way, so actually being there around the bowlers all the time, communicating with them is a lot of fun, and it’s nice when everyone sticks their hands up like they did tonight.”Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Cricinfo previews the final of IPL 2010 between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians

The Preview by Sidharth Monga24-Apr-2010

Match facts

Sunday, April 25
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)The biggest question on the eve of the final: Will Sachin Tendulkar play or not?•Indian Premier League

Big Picture

Pitches have tired, outfields have grown barer during an unforgiving Indian summer, but for 45 days the players have braved sapping conditions, excruciating travel (made more excruciating by security concerns), IPL parties, inane interviews and columns, explosions outside the stadium just before a match, injuries, cramps, fines and reprimands to keep this league rolling. On the way some of them have played in the breathtaking environs of Dharamsala, many of them have put in special performances, some of them have announced themselves, some have shown aspects of their game others didn’t know existed, some have found second winds. Two teams, though, have one final issue to settle before we move onto more pressing matters like the World Twenty20 and ascertaining how clean the IPL is.
The image of the third IPL, though, will remain MS Dhoni upper-cutting himself in the jaw like a pumped-up boxer, upon having hit a match-winning six from Dharamsala into McLeodganj. Nobody has seen Dhoni react so emotionally on a cricket field, and Dhoni has quite a body of work behind him to draw that cool, composed image from. And about a fortnight ago, when Dhoni’s team was asphyxiating a Mumbai Indians chase in the merciless Chennai humidity, Sachin Tendulkar, short on fluids, retired hurt, saw what resembled a choke and came back to try and win what was then just another match for Mumbai, with their semi-final place not under much doubt. Both men, one perhaps India’s greatest cricketer, one who has the makings of India’s greatest captain, represent how much this means to their teams.

Form guide (most recent first)

Mumbai WLWWW
Chennai WWLWL

Team talk

There’s no decision yet on whether the injured Tendulkar will play, but if he can hold the bat, expect him to open for Mumbai. “It’s his call,” was all their coach, Robin Singh, could offer. “If he is not available, we have our back-up plans.” Kieron Pollard is fit. Mumbai will be tempted to think about Ali Murtaza ahead of Abhishek Nayar because of the nature of the pitch. In that light, JP Duminy weighs over Dwayne Bravo.Mumbai (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar (capt.), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Saurabh Tiwary, 4 Ambati Rayudu (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Ali Murtaza/Abhishek Nayar, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lasith MalingaOn a turning pitch, Chennai have no reason to divert from the three-spinner attack.Chennai (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 5 S Badrinath, 6 Albie Morkel, 7 S Anirudha, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Doug Bollinger, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Shadab Jakati

Previously…

Mumbai 3 Chennai 3
On a flat pitch at the Brabourne Stadium, Chennai failed to defend 180, but on a more difficult Chennai pitch, they defended 165 with aplomb.

In the spotlight

Law of averages says Matthew Hayden is due a single-handed match-winning blast. In an illustrious career, a Man-of-the-Match performance in a big tournament final is missing. In 12 innings since his Mongoose-charged 93, Hayden’s top score has been 35, and his strike-rate has been 117.2. Neither Chennai nor Hayden expects this, and he will want to set things right.Dhoni v Tendulkar Twenty20 games, if not won by a single-handed blasts, usually come down to captains, finals more so than others. These two captains also happen to be important batsmen of their line-ups. If Tendulkar has been remarkably consistent, setting up matches, Dhoni has been mercurial, retrieving lost matches. That holds true for their captaincy too.Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan have been the understated stars of Mumbai’s campaign. Of all teams of the IPL, you don’t want to be needing 10 an over against Mumbai: these guys are mean, accurate and wily. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni, Hayden and Co. go against these yorker machines. They do tend to make a bit of a mockery of spinning tracks.

Prime numbers and trivia

• Suresh Raina, with 1318 runs to his name, has overtaken Adam Gilchrist as the leading scorer in all IPL matches. Tendulkar is fifth with 1122 runs.
• Raina also holds the record for most catches, 26, for a non-wicketkeeper.

Chatter

“We have been doing well with our fast bowlers, so how does it concern me?”

“It gives us a slight edge that Mumbai have never been in a final before, and we have.”

Somerset opener peels off boundaries during century stand with James Rew

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay08-Sep-2025Somerset’s Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit a typically aggressive half-century against his old club as only 42 overs were possible on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match with Yorkshire at Taunton.The home side had reached 155 for 3 after losing the toss when a thunder and lightning storm engulfed the Cooper Associates County Ground at shortly after 2pm, Kohler-Cadmore having made 76 and James Rew 54 not out. George Hill claimed two of the wickets.Heavy rain left the outfield saturated. Umpires Rob Bailey and Mark Newell inspected at 4.30pm, but decided conditions were not fit for play to resume.Yorkshire’s decision to field first looked set to reap dividends when Hill struck twice in the opening ten overs of the match. Archie Vaughan edged through to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow and departed for 10 with the total on 20. Then Tom Lammonby played down the wrong line to a ball angled into him and saw his off stump sent cartwheeling.That was as good as it got for the visitors in the morning session. Rew overcame a scratchy start, while Kohler-Cadmore was not afraid to advance down the pitch to seam and spin alike in moving to a 55-ball half-century.Twice the former Yorkshire player lofted ex-Somerset offspinner Dom Bess back over his head for six as he and Rew took the total to 114 for 2 off 30 overs at lunch. The shortened afternoon session saw Rew bring up his fifty, off 91 balls, with eight fours.Kohler-Cadmore took one chance too many when advancing to a delivery from Jordan Thompson and edged a sharp shoulder-high catch to Hill at first slip to make 147 for 3. He had faced 110 balls and extended his boundary count to 11 fours and two sixes.Tom Abell made a watchful start and only eight more runs were added before the first crash of thunder sent the players to the pavilion with black clouds closing in.

The team has been stranded in Barbados for the last two days due to Hurricane Beryl

Edited PTI copy02-Jul-2024The Indian team is set to fly home via a charter flight on Tuesday evening after Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley said she expected the airport to become operational in the “next six to 12 hours”, ending the shutdown forced by a category 4 hurricane.The T20 World Cup-winning squad, its support staff, some BCCI officials and the players’ families have been stranded in Barbados for the past two days due to Hurricane Beryl, which hit the island on Sunday evening.”I don’t want to speak in advance of it, but I have literally been in touch with the airport personnel and they’re doing their last checks now and we want to resume normal operations as a matter of urgency,” Mottley told PTI.”There are a number of people who were due to leave last night late or today or tomorrow morning. And we want to make sure that we can facilitate those persons, so I would anticipate that within the next six to 12 hours the airport will be open.”Related

• Hurricane warning leaves India stranded in Barbados after World Cup triumph

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The Indian contingent is expected to leave Bridgetown at 6pm local time and land in Delhi on Wednesday at 7.45pm IST, according to a source. The players will be later felicitated by prime minister Narendra Modi but the schedule of that event has not yet been finalised.The window for the Indian team to leave Bridgetown is a narrow one as Mottley revealed “we have another hurricane coming on Wednesday”.Five of the players – Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed and Sanju Samson – were originally slated to travel to Zimbabwe for the upcoming five-match T20I series. But, Samson, Dube and Jaiswal will now travel to India with the rest of the T20 World Cup-winning side before leaving for Harare. The rest of the squad for the series left India earlier on Tuesday.Life-threatening winds and storms lashed Barbados and nearby islands on Monday. The country, with a population of close to 300,000, has been in lockdown since Sunday evening.”[We have] been working to ensure that everyone is safe in Barbados, Barbadians and all of the visitors, of course, who came for the cricket World Cup,” Mottley said. “We were very blessed that the storm did not come on land. The hurricane was 80 miles south of us, which limited the level of damage on shore. But as you can see, infrastructure and coastal assets have been badly damaged.”It could have been a lot worse, but now is the time to do the recovery and the clean-up.”

The fast bowler says the Brisbane pitch is “a little bit too firm” for the pink ball

Andrew McGlashan25-Jan-2024Mitchell Starc acknowledged that it was “humbling” to pass 350 wickets as a summer of landmarks continued for Australia’s Test attack, but he will only really sit back and reflect on personal achievements when he hangs up his boots.After Nathan Lyon’s 500th Test wicket along with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood crossing 250 this season, it was Starc’s turn to tick off another landmark on the opening day at the Gabba. When he had Alick Athanaze caught behind, he became the fifth Australia bowler to 350 Test wickets. He finished the day with 4 for 68 and is now four wickets away from overtaking Dennis Lillee’s tally (355), which would make him the country’s second-most prolific quick behind Glenn McGrath (563).”Numbers are nice, [it’s] something else to reflect on when I’m all done. Still got some wickets to take,” Starc said. “Nice to have an impact today, go past that one…Gaz [Lyon] was saying there’s another 150 to go.Related

• Da Silva, Hodge lead West Indies' recovery on see-saw day

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“They are all nice things to tick off and very humbling [to close in on Lillee] but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Need 20 wickets to win and we’ll all reflect on [the landmarks] when we are finished, sitting around with a beer at a golf course somewhere. At the moment we are just enjoying our cricket as a group of players.”Early in the season, during the opening Test against Pakistan in Perth, Starc made some mid-match adjustments and said he had been searching for “that perfect feeling” throughout the summer. He was pleased with his rhythm and the pace he was able to generate on the opening day in Brisbane.Three of Starc’s inroads came in the first session when Australia made good use of the new ball to leave West Indies 64 for 5. But life became tougher for the bowlers after that as the pink ball softened and it wasn’t until the second new ball that Starc struck again to remove Kavem Hodge.Starc’s record with the pink ball is outstanding – he now has 65 wickets at 18.09 from 12 day-night Tests – and he has come to believe that the key to the format is the pitch and its impact on the ball. This Brisbane surface, he said, was a little on the firm side to be ideal, which meant the ball became soft within the first hour, whereas Adelaide, which traditionally hosts the day-night encounter in Australia, has a more forgiving pitch.”It comes down to the wicket, which I think Adelaide has got right,” he said. “Because of the ball, we know it goes softer at certain stages depending on the wicket, think there’s a certain cushion to what they make at Adelaide, which is why it’s been such a good pink-ball Test in Adelaide.”Think this wicket is pretty similar to the game we played Pakistan [in 2016-17]. In that game [the ball] went soft pretty early, there were a lot of dead patches where it was hard to score and wasn’t much in the wicket for the bowlers. Pakistan were about 450 chasing 490. Feels a bit like a similar wicket where it’s a little bit too firm. Think it would be a fantastic red-ball wicket, but probably too firm for the pink ball.”