Joe Root is one short of Don Bradman’s unwanted record as an Ashes captain

Sampath Bandarupalli08-Dec-20212 – Pat Cummins became only the second Australian to claim a five-wicket haul on captaincy debut in men’s Tests. George Giffen picked up 6 for 155 in England’s second innings in his maiden Test as captain in 1894 in Melbourne. Overall, Cummins is the 14th player to bag a five-for on men’s Test captaincy debut and first since Rashid Khan in 2019, who had five-fors in both innings against Bangladesh.1982 – Cummins is the first captain to claim a five-wicket haul in the men’s Ashes since 1982 when Bob Willis had 5 for 66 at the Gabba against the hosts. Cummins is also the first Australian skipper with a five-for in the Ashes since Richie Benaud’s six-wicket haul in 1962, also at the Gabba.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 – Instances of a wicket falling on the very first ball of a men’s Ashes Test series (where data is available), including Mitchell Starc castling Rory Burns on Wednesday. The other occasion was back in 1936 at the Gabba, when England opener Stan Worthington was dismissed caught behind off the bowling of Ernie McCormick.6 – Number of times England have lost a wicket on the first ball of a Test (where data is available). Before Burns, Andrew Strauss was the last batter to be dismissed on the first ball of a Test, caught off Dale Steyn in 2010 in Johannesburg.England’s worst starts to a Test series in the last 100 years•ESPNcricinfo Ltd147 England’s total in their first innings in Brisbane. It is the fifth-lowest all-out total for England in the very first innings of a Test series in the last 100 years (excluding one-off Tests). Only once they bagged a lower total after electing to bat in this period – 134 against Australia in 1958 in Brisbane.3 – All-out totals lower than England’s 147 in the first innings of an Ashes series in the past 100 years. Australia were bowled out for 116 at the Gabba in 1968 and 118 at Edgbaston in 1997, while England posted only 134 at the Gabba in 1958.7 – Number of all-out totals of less than 150 for England in Tests this year. Only two teams got all out under 150 more often in a calendar year – Australia in 1888 and West Indies in 2000, both eight times.6 – Number of ducks for Burns in Tests in 2021, the most for an opening batter in a calendar year. Pankaj Roy (in 1952) and Michael Atherton (in 1998) had five ducks each. Burns is also the only player with more than five Test ducks in a calendar year while batting in the top seven.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 – Ducks as a captain for Joe Root in the Ashes, the joint-most for England alongside Mike Brearley. Don Bradman, with five ducks, holds the unwanted record for most ducks as a captain in the Ashes. Two more Australian captains – Joe Darling and Ian Chappell – also have four ducks in the Ashes.

Royals’ thrilling three-run win may perhaps have been less significant than the tactical battle that played out at Wankhede

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Apr-20225:05

Should Stoinis have come in earlier?

What will the future of T20 look like? Well, it might look something like Sunday night’s game between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants. Royals eventually won a thrilling contest by three runs, but for the neutral, the result may perhaps have been less significant than the tactical battle that played itself out at the Wankhede Stadium.LSG unleash their allrounders

International commitments left LSG without Jason Holder for their first two matches of the season, and without Marcus Stoinis for their first four.Related

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On Sunday, both were finally available, and Stoinis came straight into the side, even if it meant leaving out Evin Lewis, who has already won LSG one match off his own bat.It was clear from LSG’s auction strategy that they wanted to build a side with multiple allrounders, which would give them depth and flexibility with both bat and ball. Against Royals, Super Giants had five allrounders in their XI: Holder, Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda and K Gowtham.Despite that, LSG only used five bowlers on the day, with Krunal, Stoinis and Hooda not required. KL Rahul, their captain, explained in his post-match press conference that he felt Krunal’s left-arm spin might have been a risk given that Royals had an explosive left-hander in the middle in Shimron Hetmyer from overs nine to 20.The point of having so many all-round options isn’t necessarily to use all of them all the time, but to have favourable options in most situations. The offspinner Gowtham, for instance, has come into the XI for LSG’s matches against Delhi Capitals and Royals, two teams with a significant presence of left-handers in their top orders.Gowtham played a key role on Sunday, taking two wickets and only conceding 14 off 14 balls to Hetmyer, who scored 45 off the other 22 balls he faced.Royals push Ashwin up the order

Even before the season began, it was evident that Royals had one big weakness to cover up. They had a strong top five on paper, and a strong bowling attack (barring end-overs options) but not a lot of proven muscle at Nos. 6 and 7. In this game, R Ashwin – who has five Test hundreds but who’s a touch player rather than a biffer of the ball – was slotted at No. 7.He eventually ended up at No. 6, walking in to join Hetmyer in the tenth over of Royals’ innings. This pushed Riyan Parag, who is perhaps better suited to end-overs hitting than to rebuilding an innings, down to No. 7.It was a clear example of the growing realisation within T20 that batters’ point of entry matters far more than their slot in the batting order.2:15

Retired out – yay or nay?

Ashwin retires out

In a game full of tactical intrigue, this was the biggest moment – a moment fans had been waiting years and years for. Two balls into the 19th over of Royals’ innings, Ashwin ran off the field, becoming the first batter in the IPL to retire out. The idea, it turned out, had been discussed within the Royals think tank, and Ashwin had bought into it fully.It was just what you might expect from a man who has added multiple variations to his bowling repertoire – and has even tried to master an entirely different style of bowling – to stay one step ahead of batters in T20, and a man who has zero qualms about running non-strikers out when they back up too far. Ashwin has always been at the forefront of innovation in all formats of cricket, and he’ll probably be proud of his involvement in this moment too.The reason for the decision, of course, was to have a more accomplished six-hitter at the crease at this point in the game. ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster bumped up Royals’ projected score by seven runs when Ashwin retired out, from 152 to 159. With Hetmyer going berserk and Parag hitting a last-over six, they ended up with 165.Boult goes around the wicket

Trent Boult’s modus operandi with the new ball is simple and time-tested. Slant the ball away from the right-hand batter from left-arm over, get it to swing back in, and target bowled and lbw.On Sunday, however, he began from around the wicket. He’s only done it once before in the IPL, in 2018, and that was also against the same batter, Rahul. Perhaps he’s seen something in Rahul’s technique to believe he has a greater chance from that angle? Perhaps, but at the post-match presentation, Boult revealed the idea was suggested to him on the morning of the match by his Royals and New Zealand team-mate James Neesham.Wherever the idea came from, the execution was brilliant: full, swinging in late, and stumps splattered as Rahul played all around the ball.LSG show off their flexible batting order

Ashwin’s promotion came out of necessity, thanks to Royals’ lack of batting depth. LSG have no such issues, blessed as they are with so many allrounders.Just as with the ball, it gives them flexibility with the bat. At the fall of Rahul’s wicket, they sent in Gowtham – who has a strike rate of nearly 168 in the IPL – as a pinch-hitter.It didn’t work, as Boult had him lbw off the first legal ball he faced. Who would come in next? You might have expected it to be Stoinis, who often bats in the top three in the Big Bash League and for Australia. Or Hooda or Ayush Badoni, both proper middle-order batters.Instead, it was Holder, who can strike a long ball, but also has a technique that’s brought him three Test hundreds. In the circumstances, it was possibly the latter quality that earned this promotion. It didn’t quite come off, with Holder scoring 8 off 17, but again, the move showed off the flexibility of LSG’s line-up.What’s not to love? Yuzvendra Chahal picks up wickets – two, three, even four – when he bowls•BCCITwo left-handers at the crease

LSG lost their fifth wicket at the end of the 12th over. They now needed 92 off 48 balls. At this point, Krunal walked in to join Quinton de Kock. It was the first time in LSG’s innings that two batters of the same kind – two left-handers in this case – were at the crease at the same time.Like all teams, LSG value left-right partnerships, but they may have broken the rule here for a specific reason. At that point, the offspinner Ashwin had one over left to bowl – which he immediately delivered – and the legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal two overs.LSG’s attack includes Ravi Bishnoi, an unusual legspinner who prefers bowling to left-handers. Chahal is a more traditional legspinner, delivering the ball with a low-ish arm and bowling legbreaks far more frequently than wrong’uns.Chahal’s record against left-handers is excellent – since the 2019 season, his economy rate against them (7.30) is only slightly worse than it is against right-handers (7.19) – but LSG were trying, perhaps, to maximise whatever marginal gains they could get.They may also have wanted to delay Stoinis’ entry, and backed his six-hitting ability in the closing stages of the match.As it turned out, Krunal’s promotion delayed Chahal’s re-introduction slightly – his third over was the 16th of LSG’s innings – but he dismissed both left-handers in that over.Holding Stoinis back, however, nearly allowed LSG to pull off an improbable win. His hitting – and useful contributions from Dushmantha Chameera and Avesh Khan – brought the equation down to 15 off the last over. The match, eventually, was won by Kuldeep Sen – who was making his debut for Royals – who conceded only one run off the first four balls of the final over, using the wide line outside off stump expertly to keep the ball away from Stoinis’ hitting arc.

The Bangladesh batter opens up about playing multiple formats, understanding the game better, the famous win in New Zealand, and more

Mohammad Isam22-Feb-2022There is a bit of swagger about Litton Das. It is there in the way he walks to the crease, tucks up his sleeves and plays some of his shots effortlessly. It is there in his fluent wicketkeeping, too. Litton always seem to have a bit of time in hand. He has carried himself gracefully off the field, mostly staying out of the limelight. However, some see all of this differently. The swagger is often misinterpreted as pride. Which is why Litton’s lean patches come under a lot of scrutiny.Regarded arguably as the best batter of his generation in Bangladesh, he is also highly rated by the seniors in the side. But Litton spent the first two years of his career promising a big knock. That came in his second coming in the Bangladesh team, and only recently, in the last 12 months, has he shown real signs of consistency, as he was Bangladesh’s leading run-getter in Tests in 2021.Related

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There was a lull in his form last year when Bangladesh focused too much on spinning tracks at home, resulting in his poor T20 World Cup. Litton was dropped as punishment during the T20I series against Pakistan, but he has come back strongly. He got a maiden century in the Tests at home, before playing a crucial match-winning knock in the Mount Maunganui Test last month. He also scored a century in the second Test in Christchurch, before helping Comilla Victorians to their third BPL title last week.His next assignment is the ODI series against Afghanistan that begins in Chattogram on Tuesday.When you talk to Litton, rather than the swagger, his clarity of thought comes through. He believes that opening the batting in ODIs requires a level of self-assessment rather than planning too far ahead.”The bigger challenge in ODIs is preparing yourself,” Litton told ESPNcricinfo. “You can dominate the bowling once you get set. You know what you are going to get batting in the top order in ODIs. Every bowler wants to hit the top of off-stump. They have a slip and a gully. They want to get you bowled, nick off or lbw. The bigger challenge is in Test cricket where you can’t play a big shot if you just wanted to. You have to survive certain phases and get out of it.”Liton however has to constantly adjust to the three formats, being one of the few Bangladeshi cricketers now who plays all the formats. With the pressure of performing, he has had to figure out exactly how to slip from one format to the next. Litton said one must understand his or her role and be prepared for every situation.”It depends on what my role is. I am a wicketkeeper who bats at No. 7 in Tests. I play predominantly as a top-order batter in ODIs. I don’t usually keep wickets, so I have to field well. I have a similar role in T20Is. There are times when I suddenly have to keep wickets, maybe after break of few months. One has to adjust very quickly.”Even the best players are faced with challenging phases in international cricket. A lot depends on how much of a comfort zone you have been able to create for yourself. If you are scoring runs continually, things are easy for you. When you are off form, international cricket can be a tough place. You will find it hard to cover such times at that level.”Liton on the victory against New Zealand last month: “We never thought we’d win in such a dominating manner”•Getty ImagesLitton is one of the three Bangladeshi cricketers who have played more than 100 international matches in the last four years. Certainly the senior quartet are in their mid-thirties, meaning the likes of Mominul Haque and Litton are having to step up from time to time in leadership positions. Mominul is the Test captain while Litton’s regularity as the wicketkeeper shows glimpses of a future full of responsibility.But Litton insists that he has always been the type who offers his advice to the captain, whether it was his debut game or now.”Didn’t I have responsibility before? I believe that there was responsibility on me when I made my debut. Even at that time, I tried to give my input from whatever knowledge I had. It is the same thing now. Some want to take on the responsibility, some don’t. It depends from person to person, but I always had responsibility.”It showed during the Test win against New Zealand in January. Litton changed the mood of the game on the third day with his stroke-filled 86. His four-hour stay at the crease took Bangladesh to the lead, but more than that, his shots started Bangladesh’s domination. Litton said that they never really thought that they could beat New Zealand, but could certainly push them all the way to the end.”It was great to start the year with such a massive achievement. We celebrated on the day we won, and now it is in the past. But I wouldn’t call it a bizarre result, but certainly we never thought we’d win against New Zealand in a dominating manner.”Our motive was to take the Test to the fifth day, since we usually lose Tests in three or three and a half days in New Zealand. We are talking about the No. 1 team in the world in their home ground, so that was always something we considered.”At this juncture of his international career, Litton doesn’t want to make any tall claims. The last seven years have made Litton realise that, despite taking a bit of time, he has improved in his understanding of cricket, particularly Tests. For now he is happy with this bit of critical progress.”I won’t say that I have reached any new levels, but I have realised that a player needs 15 to 20 Test matches to grow into the game. Maybe someone with more talent needs fewer games but I needed a bit of time to know what Test cricket truly is. A lot of situations vary. I feel I am getting better at understanding Test cricket, which I think this is the big change.”

In the absence of Rohit, Hardik and Jadeja, India’s long-standing problems were amplified in South Africa

Hemant Brar24-Jan-20224:15

What went wrong for India against South Africa?

India went into the ODI series against South Africa with the mindset of starting to build the team for the 2023 World Cup. But not only did they lose the series 3-0, they are also probably no closer to finding solutions for what ails them in the format.Over the last couple of years, India haven’t had a wicket-taking threat in their bowling, their middle order hasn’t come to the fore when needed, and they haven’t had a regular sixth bowling option. All these issues haunted them in South Africa as well.The wicket-taking threat issue is worth looking into a little deeper since it’s an aspect that helped their ODI game between 2017-2019. Since the 2019 World Cup, though, they have the worst average and the worst economy in the powerplay.One possible reason for that is Bhuvneshwar Kumar blowing hot and blowing cold in his appearances between injuries. The teams, meanwhile, have also found ways to negotiate Jasprit Bumrah without giving him wickets upfront.Related

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The knock-on effect of not striking in the powerplay is that when the spinners come into the attack, there are usually two set batters in the middle. With Kuldeep Yadav losing his form and place, and Yuzvendra Chahal losing his novelty, India have struggled to pick up wickets in the middle overs as well.R Ashwin made an ODI comeback in South Africa, after more than four years, but he didn’t present the point of difference India might have been after.India, however, did seem to show some awareness of the need to hit the wicket harder – something England and Australia tend to do for wickets in the middle overs – and went for the tallest bowler in Prasidh Krishna when it came to experimenting. They fared slightly better in the third ODI with change of personnel and strategy.Deepak Chahar came in for Bhuvneshwar and struck early with the new ball. In the middle overs, the Indian seamers bowled much shorter lengths as compared to the first two ODIs. With the ball holding into the pitch, they picked two wickets with the short ball. It will be interesting to see in the coming ODIs if India are going to implement this strategy more consistently.In the batting department, KL Rahul opened the innings in the absence of Rohit Sharma despite having achieved great success at No. 4 and 5 in the last two years. The move, though, opened up a middle-order slot and India tried Shreyas Iyer there.Shreyas Iyer made scores of 17, 11 and 26 in the three ODIs•AFP/Getty ImagesShreyas batted at No. 5 in all three ODIs and on each occasion had the time to build his innings. India would have hoped for better than the scores of 17, 11 and 26, especially in the first and the third match when they needed him to steer the chase. Dravid said after the series that if the players were being given an extended run, he expected “really big performances” from them. Shreyas failed in that aspect.As far as Rishabh Pant is concerned, his 85 off 71 balls in the second ODI was arguably the best knock by an Indian in the series. With India having lost Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli in quick succession, Pant presented a rare case of rebuilding an innings at a strike rate of almost 120.Once Rohit returns, Rahul can move down the order, lending the middle order a bit more experience and stability. Once he and Pant get together there, they promise a solution.Another long-standing issue is that India’s batters don’t bowl, and their bowlers cannot be relied on for runs. During this series, Shardul Thakur and Chahar showed promise with the bat, but is Thakur a first-choice bowler or does he get in because he bats? Also, the first problem remains unsolved, and Hardik Pandya’s lack of bowling fitness has a part to play in that.In Pandya’s absence, India tried Venkatesh Iyer as their sixth bowing option but didn’t give him a single over in the first ODI. He bowled five in the second before being left out for the third.India tried Shreyas as their sixth bowling option in the final ODI. He bowled legspin to right-handers and offspin to left-handers but lacked control. Still, it’s an option that hasn’t been explored so far and if Shreyas can work on his bowling, it could provide India some relief. But India will also be hoping for Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to regain their fitness and form by the time the World Cup arrives.So while you wouldn’t want to read too much into one series where the team went in with the intention of trying out a few things and also had a couple of key players missing, Rohit and Dravid will know there is still quite a bit of work to do.

With Siraj leading the pace attack, India will also be on the lookout for a left-arm seamer, but who will make the XI?

Shashank Kishore14-Feb-2022After a one-sided ODI series that ended with India winning 3-0 and the two-day IPL auction, where 10 players from the team landed massive pay days, the focus shifts to the three-match T20I series beginning February 16 at Eden Gardens. West Indies are coming off a thrilling 3-2 series win at home over England and coach Phil Simmons believes they are “a little bit further ahead with our batting assessments in T20s than in ODIs” and could pose a bigger challenge.As India begin to train in Kolkata, all eyes will be on their team combination and style of play, aspects that have come in for sharp scrutiny since their group-stage ouster from the T20 World Cup in the UAE last October-November. India took baby steps in bouncing back to beat New Zealand 3-0 at home immediately in the aftermath of the World Cup disappointment but have a few talking points.Related

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Opening options
KL Rahul has been ruled out because of a left hamstring strain. That means Rohit Sharma, the captain, will have a new opening partner. Most likely, this could be a tussle between Ishan Kishan, the most expensive Indian buy at the auction, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has made a name for himself in T20s through his exploits for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Kishan, a clean stroke-maker, also offers the team management the flexibility of keeping wickets. This could allow them to consider resting Rishabh Pant, given India play Sri Lanka in three T20Is followed by two Tests on the bounce with little downtime.If India are looking left-field option – it may not seem so for Kolkata Knight Riders – they could consider Venkatesh Iyer, the allrounder. Venkatesh, who made his debut in the New Zealand series, has had all his IPL success at the top. This was key to the Knight Riders’ stirring run to the final in 2021. The team’s struggle to find a combination up top in the first half of the tournament got them to consider Iyer for the UAE leg. He finished it with 320 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 125; only Gaikwad (407) scored more runs in this period. With India constantly on the lookout for bowling contributions from the top six, Iyer could tick that box, too.Lower-order batting depth
If Venkatesh is used at six, India will have to possibly decide between one of Suryakumar Yadav or Shreyas Iyer for the middle-order spot. The only way both Suryakumar and Shreyas make the XI is if Pant rests.The presence of Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel lends formidable lower-order depth. Thakur and Chahar have been batting aplenty in the nets, apart from honing their primary skill of being swing bowlers. Harshal is no mug either, having taken up batting in a big way since 2018. In 2019-20, he was Haryana’s highest run-scorer in the T20 competition as an opener, making 374 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 165.48. He provided a peek of his batting improvements in his only outing for India in November, when he made a polished 11-ball 18 along with Chahar as the pair revived India from 140 for 6 to a match-winning 184 for 7.For now, all indications are it could be a toss-up between Thakur and Chahar for one spot, given how similar they are in terms of their primary skill sets. “Both of them are batting well,” batting coach Vikram Rathour said. “The reason for that is both of them work really hard on their batting. It’s not now but from the the past few years they’ve been working hard on their batting and now you can see the results. So, it’s really good to have two allrounders.”It gives us a lot of flexibility in terms of what kind of team we want to play with. It’s good to see that competition happening in the team as well. They’ll be competing, and they are batting well. Both of them are bowling well as well, it gives us a lot of flexibility as a team.”Washington didn’t train two days prior to the series opener. The BCCI later confirmed that a hamstring strain had ruled him out of the T20I series, and that Kuldeep Yadav would replace him in India’s squad.T Natarajan hasn’t played for India since their tour of Australia last year•Getty ImagesSiraj the leader of the pace attack
With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami resting, Mohammed Siraj becomes the automatic leader of the pace attack, with a number of options – as mentioned above – forming a line-up India will be reasonably happy with. In the spin department, they have got Yuzvendra Chahal’s bankability and Ravi Bishnoi’s quick leg breaks to choose from. They have also called upon Kuldeep Yadav and Harpreet Brar into the squad as net bowlers. Like Deepak Hooda, Brar is also seen as handy lower-order batting option to go with his left-arm spin.The team continues to remain on the lookout for a left-arm pacer. T Natarajan has battled form and injuries lately and is on his way back up to top-flight cricket, having last played for India on the tour of Australia in January last year. India last fielded a left-arm seamer in a T20I in Sri Lanka when they turned to Saurashtra’s Chetan Sakariya in what was a second-string squad. Natarajan brings with him a good yorker and accuracy, Sakariya prides himself on swinging the new ball and delivering excellent slower variations, including a potent back-of-the-hand one.The latest left-arm pacer who has made his way into the extended squad is Uttar Pradesh’s Yash Dayal, who brings with him raw pace. Dayal was part of the net bowling contingent for the ODIs before leaving to join his state side for the upcoming Ranji Trophy. Then there is the in-form Jaydev Unadkat, who last played T20Is in 2018, and Khaleel Ahmed, who has fallen off the radar alarmingly. Both bowlers continued to be in high-demand tough, with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals overcoming a bidding war to secure their services.

Thousands gathered in Galle to protest the government which has led them into economic chaos

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jul-2022There are kids up on the fort at Galle, on the ramparts overlooking the cricket ground.A woman had brought her five-month old in a frontpack. There are children in prams, which parents had to lift over bollards to get up on to the fort’s ramparts. There are toddlers, kids of primary school age, sometimes with their parents and their grandparents.Families chanting, yelling, holding up signs, clapping, cracking jokes. The kind of multi-generational crowd cricket boards all over the world desperately want at their matches.But no one is here for the cricket. A Test merely happens to be in the background.The last few months in Sri Lanka have been extraordinary. A harrowing economic crisis has crushed livelihoods, taken lives, sapped a nation, and inspired unthinkable fury towards the leaders that brought the island to this precipice. For months people have agitated nationwide for the removal of these leaders, but they have obstinately remained in place.Worse, they have aimed the state’s power at these protests. This was a minor infraction in the big picture, but last week, protesters were removed from the fort at Galle by police and military, who cooked up bogus reasons to justify their actions (they claimed batters were being distracted by the signs). On day one of this second Test, no spectators were allowed on the fort’s ramparts at all. This part of the fort is public space. Taxpayer rupees maintain it.When the Test began on Saturday, only cops and military patrolled the ramparts. But this would be no ordinary Test match day. This was a day when Sri Lanka’s public, battered endlessly, but not defeated, took back what was theirs.Protesters gather outside the main gates to the Galle cricket ground•AFPTwenty minutes after the start of play, a crowd of thousands has gathered near the bus station outside the ground, where the protests were set to be held. Many of them had arrived on the back of packed lorries, and had hoped to travel on to Colombo, where the biggest protests in Sri Lanka’s history were about to happen. But the government has cancelled buses and trains to prevent their travel, so they are stuck in Galle. They can’t take Colombo. So they take the fort instead.Almost spontaneously, this loud, colourful throng charges around the ground to the fort’s entrance. Chanting, arms raised, lungs emptied, and emptied again. These are not the kind of purists that are looking to quietly admire a fast bowler’s wrist position, or a spinner’s angled seam. They burst through the fort’s main arch. Through sheer numbers, they turn gun-toting military men into statues. There was no turning back a movement of this magnitude.Within minutes, a larger crowd than any that has been seen at the Tests all series, packs out the top of the fort. They rail against the government, wave their black protest flags, and the Sri Lanka flag, taking in the cricket, but taking no notice of it. “Look at them, huddled in a corner,” one woman says of the men carrying 10-rounds-a-second automatic weapons, who have meekly moved to the very edge of the ramparts, well out of the protesters’ way.

How joyfully we watch cricket, usually. But to watch cricket, there has to be a country left for us to watch it in, no?A Sri Lanka fan taking part in the protests

In normal times, this would be a joyous Test-match session. Sri Lanka take the five remaining Australia wickets quickly. They put themselves in a position from which victory is still conceivable – no small thing for a side due to bat last in Galle.One cricket fan I speak to, sees a wicket go down (Pat Cummins out lbw on review), and says this: “?” [How joyfully we watch cricket, usually. But to watch cricket, there has to be a country left for us to watch it in, no?]A few minutes, later, she finds me again, and asks out of interest what the score is. I’m a cricket writer, ostensibly here to cover the match. I had to look up the details for her online.As chants continue to go up, the Sri Lanka team stare up from their celebratory wicket-huddles. The umpires, and the Australia batters glancing up between the overs as well. Then the crowd decides to move downwards, off the fort where they cannot gather in a cluster, and back down to Galle’s central intersection – the protest’s epicentre.On the way down, I hear a young guy call my name, having recognised me. “Me and my friends came from Matara (about 50kms east) with the little petrol we have in our bikes,” he said. “Normally, I’ll read or watch everything about cricket.” I ask him whether he’d wanted to stay up on the fort. “Today we all have to be on the roads. Another day, there will be time.”The protest came down into the middle of town, right outside the stadium’s gate, grew right through the morning, and stayed thousands-strong until dusk. After the people had taken back the fort in the morning, tens of thousands stormed the president’s residence in Colombo, back-flipping into the presidential swimming pool, rifling through the kitchens, old ladies taking turns having a seat on the president’s furniture, in the vast living rooms paid for by their taxes.There was only a smattering of local spectators actually inside the ground all day. But the stadium was nevertheless electric, chants, speeches, and songs pouring out of the protests just outside.Sri Lanka had their best day of the series, and it was not as if the thousands who came did not want to care. They were just fighting for a future in which they could.

This IPL has seen a few feisty reunions, featuring Warner, Rashid, Kuldeep, Chahal, and others

Yash Jha07-May-2022A player-franchise association of years breaks down every few years. Now with a new home side, a player meets his old friend and turns up big against them. It’s a script that plays out often and with much interest around it. Like in football, the IPL, now that it is a decade-and-a-half into existence, is seeing its own share of feisty reunions, and a fair few players have turned the heat on their past employers this season. We pick the most notable such contributions so far in IPL 2022:David Warner (Delhi Capitals): 92* (58) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Brabourne StadiumDavid Warner scored a match-winning knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad•BCCIIt’s hard to think of a more publicly acrimonious fallout in the IPL than the one between Sunrisers and Warner in 2021: team legend, he led them to the 2016 title, three Orange Caps in six completed seasons alone for Sunrisers, and yet reduced to a reserve.Warner quashed any arguments of how much was left in the tank with a Player-of-the-Tournament medal in Australia’s title win at the T20 World Cup that followed the IPL season last year. Well into this IPL campaign came his chance to take on his team of the previous seven years.He grabbed it with both hands, playing that quintessential Warner knock that had heralded so many Sunrisers victories in the past: cautious to begin with, unaffected by wickets at the other end, upping the gears with ease, and batting it out till the end. He took his time and picked his battles – 15 off 13 balls against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but 47 off 25 versus Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi combined – and was the fulcrum of Capitals’ charge to 207 for 3, which proved too good for his old team.Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans): 31*(11) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Wankhede StadiumRashid Khan finished on 31 in 11 balls•BCCIThe absence of Rashid from Sunrisers’ list of retained players ahead of the 2022 auction sparked off the most blazing debate with many questioning the franchise owners and team management’s logic.It turned out to be an evening to forget for Rashid when he came on to bowl against Sunrisers. It was probably the familiarity that helped Sunrisers’ batters taking Rashid apart: he conceded 40-plus runs for only the third time in the IPL, with Abhishek Sharma smashing him for 34 from just 15 balls.But Titans – who had gleefully lapped Rashid up as one of their three draft picks – would have the final laugh.The tie seemed beyond Titans with 56 needed from the final four overs when Rashid joined Rahul Tewatia in the middle. The equation became 37 off 14 after Rashid hit his first six – a helicopter flick off Bhuvneshwar – and some blows from Tewatia brought it down to 15 off four, with Rashid on strike, facing Marco Jansen. Six, dot, six, six: a stunning sequence left Sunrisers seething, the usually-calm Muthiah Muralidaran fuming, and Titans extending their stay at the top of the table.Wriddhiman Saha (Gujarat Titans): 68 (38) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Wankhede StadiumWriddhiman Saha reached fifty in 28 balls•BCCIThat Titans were still in the hunt in the back-end of that chase was down to another ex-Sunrisers man. Saha got a late entry into the XI after the move to play Matthew Wade at the top didn’t work, and he hadn’t done much in his first two outings (11 off 18 and 25 off 25).But he took the attack to Sunrisers, comfortably outscoring Shubman Gill in a strong start to Titans’ pursuit of 196. The openers faced 18 balls each in the powerplay – Saha scored 39 and Gill 15. Saha brought up a 28-ball fifty and continued to motor on, leaving Titans with 74 to get off 40 balls by the time he was done.Saha was fluent against his former Sunrisers team-mates, taking 10 from seven balls off Bhuvneshwar and 13 off six off T Natarajan, while taking Marco Jansen to the cleaners: 26 off nine balls, laced with four fours and a six.Kuldeep Yadav (Delhi Capitals) : 4 for 35, Brabourne Stadium and 4 for 14, Wankhede Stadium, both vs Kolkata Knight RidersKuldeep Yadav was a thorn in KKR’s side•BCCIFrom 2019 to 2021, Kuldeep Yadav had bowled 270 balls for Knight Riders in the IPL and picked up just five wickets. By the time he bowled his 27th delivery against them this season, the Capitals’ lead spinner had crossed that tally, and he is the second-highest wicket-taker this IPL right now.The first rubber was a high-scoring clash at Brabourne, and Kuldeep had gone wicketless while conceding 28 runs from his first 16 balls – but his last eight deliveries would decisively turn the game in Capitals’ favour. He had Shreyas Iyer stumped for 54 off 33 before dismissing Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine and Umesh Yadav in the space of four balls – the last an excellent caught-and-bowled effort.Kuldeep took it to another level 18 days later. After getting rid of B Indrajith and Narine off consecutive deliveries in his first over, he got the wickets of Shreyas and Andre Russell in his third. It could have been more than a four-for, but Capitals – for some reason – didn’t bowl out Kuldeep’s quota.Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals): 2 for 15 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Wankhede StadiumYuzvendra Chahal also struck against his former side•BCCIChahal’s exclusion from Royal Challengers’ shortlist was one of the talking points when the retentions were announced ahead of the mega auction. Between 2014 and 2021, Chahal picked up 139 wickets in 113 games for Royal Challengers; no bowler took more wickets in the IPL in that period.That provided enough intrigue as the legspinner lined up against his old unit early in the 2022 season, and although his new team – Royals – couldn’t get the win, Chahal was arguably the best bowler on the night. He returned superlative figures of 2 for 15 from his four overs, accounting for Faf du Plessis and David Willey, and also playing a part in the run out of his former captain Virat Kohli.Rahul Tripathi (Sunrisers Hyderabad): 71 (37) vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Brabourne StadiumRahul Tripathi brought up his half-century in just 21 balls•PTI With 397 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 140, Tripathi was key to Knight Riders’ run to the final last season and second only to Gill on their run-scoring charts. Knight Riders did stay in pursuit of him till the INR 6-crore mark at this year’s auction, before seeing Sunrisers eventually acquire the 31-year-old for INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.1 million approx.).Tripathi walked out early in Sunrisers’ chase of 176, and took the attack to Knight Riders. Sunrisers went from 15 for 1 at the end of the third over to 105 for 2 after 11, with Tripathi flaying 53 of those runs off just 23 balls. He was particularly severe on Varun Chakravarthy, taking 19 runs from six balls off him, including two magnificently-driven sixes on the off side.Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran (Sunrisers Hyderabad) vs Punjab Kings, DY Patil Stadium
Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran took their side home•BCCIMarkram and Pooran had been part of the Punjab Kings line-up that found ways to not finish over the line in 2021. The pair, most notably, was in the middle for that Kartik Tyagi over last year when Kings contrived to lose to Royals in Dubai.So what could be more IPL than the same duo being tasked to finish off a chase against Kings? It wasn’t the most nerve-wracking equation – 75 needed from 57 balls when Pooran joined Markram in the middle – but they assembled knowing there wasn’t a lot to follow for Sunrisers. Shashank Singh, who hadn’t batted in the IPL until then, was slated at No. 6, and J Suchith at No. 7.They took Sunrisers home with little trouble. Markram was fluent in his 41 off 27, Pooran solid in his 30-ball 35, and Sunrisers were over the line with seven balls to spare.

A lack of ruthlessness – what a thing to say about any Australian side – that might yet do for them at this T20 World Cup

Danyal Rasool04-Nov-20221:56

Moody: This performance a reflection of Australia’s campaign

“It’s just that New Zealand game.”That was Australian assistant coach Daniel Vettori’s taciturn response after his side’s four-run win over Afghanistan to a suggestion there might be wider issues for a side that now sits one game from elimination at the T20 World Cup.Australia’s humbling at New Zealand’s hands on the opening day of the Super 12 stage might have been surprising for the opposition it came against: New Zealand had not beaten Australia in Australia in any format since 2011, and found themselves comfortably outclassed when the two sides contested last year’s final. But New Zealand’s sensational 89-run win not only got Australia’s title defence to the worst possible start, it hobbled the hosts’ net run rate and has very likely cost them a semi-final place.Related

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While that evisceration might have been an exception, few have ever been convinced of Australia’s impregnability in this format, even on that run to the title in the UAE. Because T20 World Cups don’t necessarily throw up the best team as the winner so much as the side that manages to string enough knockout games together. In 2021, when an Australian unit that had, just four games ago, been thrashed by England with 50 balls to spare lifted their inaugural T20 World Cup title, it only seemed to underscore that point.A year isn’t a great deal of time between World Cups, but even so, this Australian side is strikingly similar to the one that won it all last November. Ten of the 11 who played against Ireland also started the World Cup final last year, and the 11th, Steven Smith, played today against Afghanistan. Whatever issues that side had has effectively carried over to this particular campaign, in completely different conditions. Also, it’s perhaps unsurprising a squad that already had the highest average age at last year’s World Cup began to see niggling injuries pile up; during that game against Ireland, three players went off the field nursing hamstring strains, and two of them would end up ruled out against Afghanistan.2:59

Moody: Much more to Starc’s exclusion than it being a tactical selection

Australia’s use of the resources they still had turned out to be a bit baffling too. All of which came to a head in a performance that, if not just as ordinary as that New Zealand showing, certainly finished a close second. Mitchell Starc has been struggling for form for the best part of three years, but having tied themselves in knots with how best to use him this tournament, they stumbled upon a novel solution: dropping him altogether. In a game Australia needed to win by – to use the technical term – lots and lots of runs, ditching perhaps the world’s best inswinging yorker bowler left everyone from Tom Moody to Michael Clarke to even Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott completely nonplussed.In addition, no international team has a worse T20I average against left-arm pace this year than Afghanistan, scoring 16.2 runs per wicket. Left-arm pacers take an Afghan wicket every 13.7 balls, the second-best strike rate among all sides. They only concede runs at 7.1 runs per over; no side struggles to score as much against that kind of bowling. The replacement, Kane Richardson, might have a better overall death-overs record than Starc, but taken apart for 48 runs as he was, did little to justify the tactical epiphany Australia appeared to drop their most explosive pacer on.Having eschewed arguably the most aggressive bowling option, opting against promoting Glenn Maxwell further up the order in a bid for a bigger score appeared equally perplexing. Tim David came into this tournament as Australia’s X-factor, but hasn’t quite seen things go his way. There was perhaps little Australia could do but recall Smith to start, but sending him in after David Warner fell with the fielding restrictions still active continues to show Australia’s inability to buy into a philosophy of all-out, fearless attack. That he fell for four off as many deliveries perhaps meant little damage was done, but what happened next appeared to surprise the side’s most lethal power hitter as much as anyone attuned to watching modern, progressive T20 cricket.Glenn Maxwell was strangely held back in a game where Australia needed big runs•Associated Press”We lost the first wicket and I came out thinking I was five,” Maxwell would say post-match. “But I was told I was at six, so I said okay. I left my gear and I went back inside. There wasn’t a whole lot of conversation around it, I knew it was going to be a fluid batting order.”When Maxwell eventually did come in, he smashed an unbeaten 54 off 32, by far the highest strike rate of his team-mates. But for a man who looked in sensational touch at the nets the previous day, not to mention the high ceiling a Maxwell in form offers, being deprived of the chance to face even more deliveries to pile on the runs hinted at an impression of stifling inflexibility that has never quite escaped this Australian side.To boot, Maxwell would admit the knowledge of limited batting to follow played a part in how gung-ho he chose to be with shot selection, a problem alleviated either by a promotion or the total abandonment of any fear of getting out in pursuit of high-risk runs. On both counts Australia came up short in the way that England – who, in their own must-win game against New Zealand, dropped Dawid Malan to No. 8 and posted their highest score of the tournament – likely wouldn’t have.It is that lack of ruthlessness – what a thing to say about any Australian side – that might yet do for them at this T20 World Cup. While they were clinical in making up for run rate dents against Bangladesh and West Indies last year, they blew a golden opportunity to do the same in Brisbane against Ireland, allowing them to post 137 after reducing them to 25 for 5. Against Sri Lanka, they would find themselves bogged down in a chase they ended up achieving at a canter, the early tentativeness costing them once again.This certainly isn’t the worst Australian T20I side, even as they stare elimination in the face. They have lost just one match all tournament, and were deprived of the chance to determine their own destiny by the Melbourne rain. But as the curtain draws down on a home World Cup Australia are likely to take no further part in, the idea it was “just that New Zealand game” appears thinner than ever. This is a side that will likely be dismantled before the next T20 World Cup comes around, and on current evidence, it’s perhaps about time it was.

There is also an extended IPL window from March to May in the ICC’s new men’s FTP for 2023-27

Sidharth Monga17-Aug-2022India, runners-up in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) that ended in 2021, have a relatively tough draw in the third and fourth WTC cycles, according to the ICC’s new Future Tours Programme for men that runs from 2023 to 2027.In the third WTC cycle, India play away series in South Africa, Australia and the West Indies; and in the 2025-2027 cycle, they will tour New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka as part of the WTC. With most teams being strong at home, away Tests become crucial for WTC points. Two out of three of India’s away opponents in the next two cycles have traditionally been strong at home, although India have won their previous two series in Australia.India’s home opponents in the 2023-25 cycle are Bangladesh, England and New Zealand; and in the 2025-2027 WTC cycle it is Australia, South Africa and West Indies.Related

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India are set to play a total of 141 bilateral international matches in the 2023-27 FTP, behind only Bangladesh (150), West Indies (147) and England (142). India will play 61 bilateral T20Is – the second most after West Indies; 42 bilateral ODIs – the second fewest ahead of South Africa; and 38 Tests – the third most after England and Australia.Having last played a five-Test series against Australia in 1991-92, India will go back to playing five Tests against them, making the Border-Gavaskar Trophy one of three marquee Test series along with The Ashes and India-England contests. India will tour Australia and England once each for five-Test series, and host them as well. The limited-overs matches between these teams – whether home or away – will be played during separate tours.The first five-Test Border-Gavaskar series will take place during the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle, when India tour Australia in the summer of 2024-25. Australia then tour India during the 2025-2027 World Test Championship cycle for five Tests in January-February 2027. India’s five-Test series against England are at home in early 2024 and away in 2025. There are no bilateral series between India and Pakistan scheduled in the FTP.India will also play eight five-match T20I series in the new FTP, which puts them among the busiest T20 international teams in the world. They also have an extended IPL window, during which very little international cricket has been scheduled, in April and May every year between 2023 and 2027.India’s emphasis on T20Is comes at the cost of bilateral ODIs. India will not be playing any bilateral ODI series longer than three matches in the 2023-27 FTP cycle.

Some of Australia’s Test players will appear in the league after the SA series while Maxwell could be ruled out of the entire season

Andrew McGlashan11-Dec-20222:04

Zampa on Test selection: I’d like to throw my hat in the ring

So, when’s it on?
The competition begins on December 13, the day after the second Australia-West Indies Test in Adelaide is completed, with Sydney Thunder taking on Melbourne Stars in Canberra. It runs upto February 4. Through the regular season there are games every day other than Christmas Day.Hang on, January. Isn’t there a lot on?
You could say that. There is now a crunch of T20 leagues during the month with the inaugural editions of both the SA20 and ILT20 taking place. That has put huge demand on leading overseas players and both the rival leagues pay more than the BBL, although the gap was closed somewhat by the player draft earlier in the year. Still, a lot of the overseas players in the BBL will depart for those other two tournaments in early January.Related

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Remind me of the structure
It’s 61 games in all, with the teams playing each other twice, home-and-away, during the regular season. It has been a challenge to keep the show on the road in the last two Covid-19 summers, but things should be back to normal this time. There is then the five-teams final structure which runs like this: Eliminator (4th vs 5th); Qualifier (1st vs 2nd); Knockout (3rd vs winner of Eliminator); Challenger (Loser to Qualifier vs Winner of Knockout); Final (Winner of Qualifier vs Winner of Challenger).Do power surge, X-Factor and Bash Boost still exist?
One out of three. The Power Surge remains (and was also brought into the WBBL this season) but the X-Factor, which allowed a player to be subbed into the game at the 10-over mark of the first innings, and Bash Boost, which provided an extra point for the side ahead at the 10-over mark of the second innings, have been scrapped. Because of that, the points structure will revert to two for a win, one for a tie and no resultWill the Aussie players be available?
Yes…and no. The good news, if you want to term it that way, is because South Africa pulled out of their one-day series (to prioritise their own T20 league), Australia’s white-ball only players will be available for the entire tournament. So that means the likes of Aaron Finch (Melbourne Renegades), Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars), Adam Zampa (Melbourne Stars), Josh Inglis (Perth Scorchers) and Tim David (Hobart Hurricanes) will be on show from start to finish, unless any of them are included in the Test squad to tour India. Sadly Glenn Maxwell may miss the entire competition due to his broken leg and Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out after ankle surgery.Glen Maxwell could be out for the whole season for Melbourne Stars•Getty ImagesAs far as Australia’s Test players go, some of them will appear after the South Africa series. The big one is David Warner who has signed for Sydney Thunder, but Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja will both be available in a small window for Brisbane Heat, as will Nathan Lyon for Sydney Sixers, Travis Head and Alex Carey for Adelaide Strikers and Cameron Green for Perth Scorchers. As it stands, Steven Smith does not have a deal with Sydney Sixers which is proving rather controversial. The Test quicks – Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – will rest before India.How do the squads shape up?
This is as of December 10 and still subject to changesAdelaide Strikers Wes Agar, Cameron Boyce, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Ryan Gibson, Colin de Grandhomme (New Zealand), Travis Head, Adam Hose (England), Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Chris Lynn, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Henry Thornton, Jake WeatheraldBrisbane Heat Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Sam Billings (England), Max Bryant, Sam Hain (England – replacement), Sam Heazlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Will Prestwidge, Matt Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Ross Whiteley (England), Jack Wildermuth.Hobart Hurricanes Asif Ali (Pakistan), Faheem Ashraf (Pakistan), Iain Carlisle, Zak Crawley (England – replacement), Tim David, Paddy Dooley, Nathan Ellis, Caleb Jewell, Shadab Khan, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, James Neesham (New Zealand – replacement), Mitchell Owen, Joel Paris, Wil Parker, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Chris Tremain, Matthew Wade, Mac Wright.Melbourne Renegades Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Martin Guptill (New Zealand – replacement), Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Ruwantha Kellapotha (Sri Lanka – replacement), Nic Maddinson, Shaun Marsh, David Moody (replacement), Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Andre Russell (West Indies – replacement), Will Sutherland, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Jon WellsMelbourne Stars Trent Boult (New Zealand), Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sam Elliott, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron McClure, Tom O’Connell, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Luke Wood (England), Adam ZampaPerth Scorchers Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Faf du Plessis (South Africa – replacement), Cooper Connolly, Stephen Eskinazi (England – replacement), Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Peter Hatzoglou, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Adam Lyth (England – replacement), Hamish McKenzie, Tymal Mills (England), Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew TyeSydney Sixers Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Dan Christian, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Chris Jordan (England), Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Izharrulhaq Naveed (Afghanistan), Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England)Sydney Thunder Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan – replacement), Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (England), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Usman Qadir (Pakistan – replacement), Alex Ross, Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner, Sam Whiteman.Faf du Plessis will play for the Scorchers till January, when he will leave for the inaugural season of the SA20•Associated PressHang on, Faf, Dre Russ…didn’t they get ignored at the draft?
Indeed they did. But there have been plenty of moving parts since then. Andre Russell will make a cameo four-game appearance for Melbourne Renegades as a part-replacement for Liam Livingstone who was the No. 1-draft pick before being called into England’s Test squad (and now he’s injured in any event). Faf du Plessis has been signed by Scorchers as a replacement for Laurie Evans, the English batter, who failed a dope test last month. He will depart for the South Africa league in January.Any young guns we should be watching?Yes, plenty. While there is debate around the quality of the BBL there are a lot of talented cricketers in the Australian system. Just to pick out a few you can look at Josh Philippe (Sydney Sixers), offpsinner Todd Murphy (Sydney Sixers), Sydney Thunder’s new captain Jason Sangha, the ‘Wild Thing’ Lance Morris (Perth Scorchers) who has just earned a Test call-up, allrounder Will Sutherland (Melbourne Renegades) in the midst of a breakout season, 20-year-old batter Campbell Kellaway (Melbourne Stars) and Hayden Kerr (Sydney Sixers), one of last season’s standout performers.