They now have the experience of putting up a total at this ground, to add to their know-how of chasing one from the Pakistan game

Alex Malcolm06-Nov-20225:02

Dravid: ‘It’s not easy to be consistent with the kind of strike rate Suryakumar has’

If, and it is a big if for no other reason than this World Cup has been unpredictable, India do make it to the final at the MCG on Sunday, then they might have a significant advantage.Melbourne’s inclement weather has allowed just two completed games at the MCG in this tournament, and India have played and won both. There has been only one other game where a ball was bowled when England lost to Ireland via rain, Duckworth, Lewis and Stern.Related

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• Suryakumar leads India's charge to top of Group 2

More than that, India have been able to experience both sides of the conditions at the MCG, part by luck and part by design. Rohit Sharma won both tosses. They bowled first and chased against Pakistan. Against Zimbabwe, they opted to bat first and defend.”We just wanted to experience what it was to set a score in these kinds of conditions,” India coach Rahul Dravid said after the match. “Also, we felt that if we batted first, it would give us an opportunity to play 20 overs and just get into that ability of still trying to get a par or par-plus score batting first.”They did just that. On a fresh MCG pitch, with the experience of seeing both top orders collapse in the India-Pakistan epic, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli negotiated the nipping new ball and paced the first ten overs superbly to set up an assault in the last ten.Thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s special, India plundered 107 runs off the last ten overs to post an above-par total of 186 for 5.They preyed too on Zimbabwe’s inexperience at the ground. Rahul’s excellent half-century might have been cut short on 30 had Wellington Masakadza known where to stand at deep midwicket.India’s bowlers got an invaluable outing, defending late into the evening as batting got easier•Associated PressThe MCG is so big square of the wicket that easy twos can be picked off to the sweepers in the deep, but fielders must hedge their bets to protect the boundary as well. The threat of two had Masakadza in too close, and he committed the cardinal sin of allowing a catchable ball go over his head and land inside the rope. It was a harsh lesson to learn for Zimbabwe, whose only previous experience of the ground in a practice game had not prepared them adequately.”We played a warm-up game here against Sri Lanka before the World Cup actually started and the MCG was a very different picture than what it was tonight,” Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine said.”Such an electric atmosphere… It’s quite difficult when you’re on the field because you can’t even shout to anybody [even if they are] close to you, because they’re just not going to hear you.”One of the things we learned was you’ve got to keep your eye on the keeper obviously, and me at all times, to understand where to go. I think it’s very easy to get caught up in all the noise.”And that’s another advantage India have. It has been their noise and their cauldron in this World Cup so far. Should they reach the final, they will be the only team to have experienced it twice, with Pakistan having experienced it once.Pant got his first game of the World Cup, while Ashwin found his groove picking up 3 for 22•Getty ImagesIndia’s bowlers also got another invaluable outing, this time defending late into the evening as batting got easier. Spin is usually a great weapon at the MCG on the drier January pitches in the BBL. But in October and November, it has been hard graft. Axar Patel had another expensive night, but R Ashwin found his groove picking up 3 for 22.”For the spinners, I think you needed to understand the pace and how you can’t bowl at one pace or one length,” Ashwin said after the match, “and you need to be able to change it up and keep bowling and keep staying in a fight. Because there are going to be good shots being played on this pitch because batters do know once they get off to such a start that they have to attack the spinner.”India also got the chance to experiment with their side having already locked up their semi-final spot pre-game thanks to South Africa’s collapse against Netherlands. They selected Rishabh Pant instead of Dinesh Karthik and he batted at No. 5.It’s obvious India are aware of the spin threats remaining in the tournament. From Adil Rashid to Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan, they all turn the ball away from the hitting arc of India’s right-hand batters. Axar was promoted against Pakistan at the MCG with no success. Pant missed out against Zimbabwe because of a brilliant catch from Ryan Burl at long-on. But it was a worthwhile exercise to see what it looked like.Dravid, though, was quick to point out it was not an indicator of anything to come. “Everyone is available for selection,” he said. “Just because somebody missed out in this game doesn’t mean that we can’t go back to him.”There are still a lot of ifs, buts and maybes before it is decided who will grace the MCG for next Sunday’s final. But India have banked some knowledge. And in a tournament of complete unknowns, it’s worth something.

A look at the stats after a dazzling innings from the India batter

Sampath Bandarupalli07-Jan-20233 Centuries for Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is. Only one player has scored more tons than him in this format – Rohit Sharma (4). Three other batters have scored three hundreds in men’s T20Is – Glenn Maxwell, Colin Munro, and Sabawoon Davizi.ESPNcricinfo Ltd45 Balls Suryakumar needed to complete his hundred in Rajkot. It is the second-fastest century for India in T20Is. The quickest is by Rohit, who scored a 35-ball century against Sri Lanka in 2017 in Indore.3 All three centuries by Suryakumar in T20Is have taken fewer than 50 balls. His previous two T20I hundreds were scored in 2022 – against England off 48 balls in Nottingham and against New Zealand off 49 balls in Mount Maunganui. Only one other batter has multiple T20I hundreds in under 50 balls – David Miller (2).ESPNcricinfo Ltd0 Players to score three hundreds while batting at No. 3 and lower in T20Is, before Suryakumar. Two of his three centuries came at No. 4, while another ton when batting at one-down. Four batters, including Suryakumar, have multiple T20I centuries while batting at No. 4 and lower.9 Sixes by Suryakumar during his 112 not out in the third T20I. These are the second-most sixes hit by a batter for India in an innings in men’s T20Is. Rohit is ahead with ten sixes hit during his century against Sri Lanka in 2017.112* Suryakumar’s score in Rajkot, the highest for a batter in the decider of a T20I series comprising three or more matches. Only two players before Suryakumar have had centuries in a T20I series decider – Rohit (100*) against England in 2018 and Muhammad Waseem (107*) against Ireland in 2021.8 Fifty-plus scores by Suryakumar out of his 16 in T20Is have come at 200-plus strike-rate, the most by any batter. The strike rate of 141.66 during the second T20I in Pune was Suryakumar’s lowest for a fifty-plus score in this format.

It’s not just the home advantage. Ashwin has constantly added new layers to his skillset right through his career

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Feb-20232:53

Can Warner overcome the Ashwin challenge?

Australia’s offspinners took eight wickets in Nagpur. So did R Ashwin.But where Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy bowled a combined 96 overs to take those eight wickets, Ashwin took his in a mere 27.5 overs.In strike-rate terms, that’s a wicket every 72 balls versus a wicket every 21 balls.Related

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It may have deteriorated over time and become especially challenging to bat on by the time Australia began their second innings, but Lyon, Murphy and Ashwin bowled on the same pitch. Why, then, did Ashwin look so devastating, and Australia’s offspinners so much more manageable?Home advantage is a big part of the answer, of course. Ashwin knew the conditions intimately, and had a feel for them. Where Australia’s spinners had a broad idea of how they needed to bowl on Indian pitches, Ashwin was able to quickly figure out how to bowl on Indian pitch, and quickly make the granular adjustments he needed to make, having played on others similar to this during his previous 51 Tests and 94 first-class games in India.Lyon, meanwhile, was playing his eighth Test and 10th first-class game in India, and Murphy was making his maiden first-class appearance in the country.On Saturday, Ashwin made a visible effort to bowl full and invite drives from the Australian batters. It was clear right from the first over he bowled, when Usman Khawaja drove a half-volley for four, and edged to slip three balls later when Ashwin got a similar-looking ball to dip on him and turn viciously.After the match, India’s ex-head coach Ravi Shastri quizzed Ashwin about the fuller lengths on Star Sports.”Ravi , I thought this wicket was pretty slow,” Ashwin said. “Like I’ve been saying all through this Test match, the wicket has been really slow and you need to get the batsmen driving on this. [It’s] not one of those pitches where you might get the gloves ripping up to short leg and silly point.”So I thought giving them one or two balls to drive was a good way for me to lure them into shots, and probably induce the other half of the bat as well. So I just felt this was one of those pitches, because of the carry and the bounce that seemed to be a little low.”The intention to lure batters into drives was evident in Ashwin’s fields as well. To David Warner, for instance, he pulled his mid-off two-thirds of the way back to the boundary, signalling that a pushed or driven single was available to him if he wanted it. By inviting Warner to look for that single, Ashwin hoped to draw his bat away from his body and increase his chances of being beaten on either edge.Ashwin had to bowl fuller to be able to draw these errors, but he also had the luxury of a big India lead, which allowed him to pay the price of the odd half-volley while looking to hit that dangerous area just short of a driving length.R Ashwin became the fastest Indian to 450 Test wickets`•BCCIIt wasn’t as if Australia’s offspinners hadn’t tried to bowl full. They did, and Rohit Sharma drove Lyon for three fours through the off side during the final session of day one. But Australia had been bowled out for 177, and Lyon and Murphy didn’t have the cushion of runs that would have allowed them to keep trying that attacking length. On day two, they plugged away on a good length and were part of a collectively disciplined Australian display that at one stage threatened to keep India to a manageable lead.It didn’t happen, but Australia’s choices with the ball were forced on them by their low total, and their spinners tried to make the best of what they had to play with.But there was something slightly mechanical about how Lyon and Murphy plugged away as well, as if they were following an instruction manual on how to bowl on Indian pitches. Ashwin varied his pace a lot more, even venturing into the low 80s on occasion – Lyon and Murphy seldom dropped below 90kph – and seemed to try different things against different batters. It was that feel thing again.And while Ashwin got to bowl to far more left-hand batters than his Australian counterparts, Lyon and Murphy made more of an impression on India’s right-hand batters than they did against Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. They kept the runs down, conceding just 83 off the 253 balls they bowled to the two left-hand batters, but took just one wicket in those 253 balls.They were tiring by the time they bowled to Jadeja and especially Axar, but this was still a pitch with plenty of turn and natural variation to exploit.For all that, Murphy’s performance was one of the best by a first-timer in India – never mind a debutant – over the last decade or so. To bowl 47 overs and go at less than three an over were impressive enough feats, given he had only played seven first-class games before coming on this tour; that he took seven wickets was remarkable.Lyon, a bowler on his third Test tour of India, bowled 49 overs and took just one wicket. Of all the performances that made up Australia’s defeat in Nagpur, perhaps none would disappoint their team management as much as Lyon’s. As in his last Test match before this tour, against South Africa in Sydney, where he took two wickets in 55 overs in a rain-affected draw, his bowling commanded respect from the opposition but didn’t look like much of a wicket threat. The common thread between Sydney and Nagpur? A lack of bounce.In an era where DRS has made fingerspinners target bowled and lbw more than ever, Lyon is something of a throwback, his wicket-taking threat directly proportional to the bounce on offer. The 2016-17 tour of India was a case in point. Lyon played a largely supporting role to Steve O’Keefe in Australia’s unexpected win on a Pune dustbowl, where sharp turn and natural variation were the main threats rather than bounce, and he bowled only 46 overs to O’Keefe’s 77 – while conceding nearly a run an over more – in the drawn third Test on a slow and low surface in Ranchi.

“The reason that he’s able to extract a lot from the pitch is because of the skillset that he has. And obviously he’s a very studious guy, likes to keep working on his game, likes to understand his game and take it to the next level, that is what he is”Rohit Sharma on R Ashwin

When bounce became a factor, Lyon became an entirely different bowler.On day one in Bengaluru on that tour, the combination of early moisture in the topsoil and Mitchell Starc’s follow-through at the other end gave him footmarks to work with, and he made the ball turn and jump out of them to take eight wickets. In the fourth Test on a Dharamsala trampoline, his first-innings five-for gave Australia a genuine chance of victory before India’s lower order and bowlers snatched it away.Whenever the conditions were somewhat reminiscent of Australia, Lyon was exceedingly dangerous. On pitches where bowled and lbw were likelier modes of dismissal than bat-pad catches or edges flying to slip, his threat was greatly diminished.Lyon’s record in India reflects this duality: he has three five-fors in eight Tests, but he averages 33.31. Ashwin averages 21.78 in the eight Tests Lyon has played in India.Ashwin, meanwhile, has played 10 Tests in Australia, where he’s taken 39 wickets at 42.15. Not very impressive, you might think, but in those ten Tests, Lyon has taken 32 wickets at 42.40. Ashwin’s performances in Australia have improved with each tour, to the extent that he has outbowled Lyon on India’s last two tours in 2018-19 and 2020-21, averaging 27.50 to Lyon’s 37.83.Ashwin did this not by trying to bowl like Lyon, but by finding ways to make his own style work in Australian conditions. He has constantly added new layers to his skillset right through his career, experimenting even when the world has told him not to fix something that isn’t broken, and it’s this quality that Rohit picked out when asked, during his post-match press conference, why Ashwin was able to get so much more out of this Nagpur pitch than Australia’s offspinners.”Ash has played so much cricket in India,” Rohit said. “He’s closing in on playing 100 Test matches now, and I’m pretty sure he’s played more Test matches in India, and not to forget his first-class games as well, before he made his debut, so a lot of cricket, a lot of overs have gone into his skills, for him to do what he’s doing now.”To be able to extract something out of the pitch is not easy, unless you have that experience, and having that idea as to what you need to bowl on certain kind of pitches – and obviously he’s got so much skill as well. He can bowl that carrom ball, he can bowl that slider, that topspinner as well, the guy’s got everything.”The reason that he’s able to extract a lot from the pitch is because of the skillset that he has. And obviously he’s a very studious guy, likes to keep working on his game, likes to understand his game and take it to the next level, that is what he is.”If you see him, he’s getting better and better as you see him every time. He looks a different bowler, looks – I wouldn’t say improved bowler, because he was always a good bowler – but he looks a different bowler every time he plays Test cricket. That is what good cricketers do, they try and up their game and try and reach that next level.”Lyon has done this too, of course. He is a far, far better bowler in Indian conditions now than the one MS Dhoni tonked around the park a decade ago in Chennai. But where Lyon is now a better version of the same bowler, more or less, the Ashwin of 2023 is unrecognisably different to the bowler who dominated that 2012-13 series. This, in essence, is what separates them.

And how much did Tim David’s drop cost Mumbai Indians? Luck Index puts it at 23 runs

Sampath Bandarupalli26-May-2023129 – Shubman Gill’s score against Mumbai Indians, the highest by a batter in the IPL playoffs, bettering Virender Sehwag’s 122 for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) against Chennai Super Kings in 2014.It was also the third-highest score in a T20 playoffs game, behind Chris Gayle’s 146* for Rangpur Riders in 2017 and Tamim Iqbal’s 141* for Comilla Victorians in 2019, both against Dhaka Dynamites in the finals of the Bangladesh Premier League.233 for 3 – Gujarat Titans’ total against Mumbai Indians in Ahmedabad, the highest by any team in a playoffs match in the IPL. The previous highest was 226 for 6 by Kings XI Punjab against Chennai Super Kings in the qualifier in 2014. It was also the highest total for Titans in the IPL.ESPNcricinfo Ltd94 – Runs scored by Gill in the middle overs (7 to 16) off the 36 balls he faced. Only two batters have scored more runs during middle overs in an IPL innings – 108 by Gayle during his 175* against Pune Warriors India in 2013 and 107 by Sehwag against Deccan Chargers in 2011.3 – Centuries for Gill in this IPL. Only Virat Kohli (2016) and Jos Buttler (2022) had more in a single IPL season than Gill, scoring four each.All his hundreds this season have come in his last four innings, joining Michael Klinger (T20 Blast, 2015) as the only players to score three centuries in four innings in men’s T20s.ESPNcricinfo Ltd851 – Runs by Gill in this IPL so far, the third-highest season aggregate for a batter in the IPL. Kohli scored 973 runs in 2016, while Buttler scored 863 runs last year.23 – Luck Index’s calculation of the runs Tim David’s drop – of Gill when he was on 30 off 19 balls, including the single off that ball – cost Mumbai Indians. Luck Index says that the other batters would have scored 76 off 40 had the catch been taken.12 – IPL centuries against Mumbai Indians, including Gill’s 129, the most conceded by any team. Six of those 12 centuries have come since the start of the 2022 season.6 – Number of 200-plus totals conceded by Mumbai Indians this year, the most by any team in a single edition of the IPL. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings conceded five each this year, the second-most by any team. In all T20s, only Southern Punjab (eight in the National T20 Cup in 2020) have conceded six or more 200-plus totals in a single tournament before this.

We assess the Division One contenders in our County Championship preview

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2023EssexLast season: 4th in Division One
Head coach: Anthony McGrath
Captain: Tom Westley
Overseas: Simon Harmer, Doug Bracewell
Ins: Adam Rossington (Northants)
Outs: Adam Wheater (retired), Jack Plom (released)Essex were nothing if not entertaining last season, in an up-and-down campaign that never really threatened to become a serious push for their sixth red-ball title in seven seasons. Two one-wicket wins – at Taunton and Headingley – as well as a 12-run margin against Hampshire showed the resilience of Tom Westley’s side, which has not changed a great deal since their 2016-2020 golden period. But they only won one of their first five games and there was a fragility to the batting, never more evident than when they were bowled out for 59 chasing a target of 98 to beat Lancashire on a spicy Chelmsford deck that drew a curt verdict from the visitors.That Alastair Cook, now in his 39th year, remains their key batter is not quite the comforting thought it once was for Essex fans – though they will be banking on at least one of Westley, Dan Lawrence and Matt Critchley averaging more than 30 this year. The club’s decision-makers obviously retain their faith, having signed two overseas allrounders – the first, Will Sutherland, had to withdraw due to injury – to supplement Simon Harmer’s perennial guile. The bowling looks strong, as ever, although Jamie Porter will be looking to rediscover his mojo after managing just 19 wickets at 30.89 in 2022.One to watch: Feroze Khushi made his first-team debut as a 21-year-old in the Bob Willis Trophy but has had to keep knocking at the door. Last year, he made career-best scores in all three formats, including a maiden first-class hundred that he extended to 164 during an innings win at Canterbury. Like most of his top-order colleagues, his was plagued by inconsistency, scoring 86 runs in nine other Championship knocks – but he clearly has the talent to push for a regular starting spot. Alan GardnerRelated

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Bet365: 5/1HampshireLast season: 3rd in Division One
Director of cricket: Giles White
First team manager: Adrian Birrell
Captain: James Vince
Overseas: Kyle Abbott, Mohammad Abbas
Ins: Benny Howell (Gloucestershire)
Outs: Lewis McManus (Northamptonshire)
Hampshire won more matches than any side in Division One last season (nine), although their four defeats compared with champions Surrey and Lancashire brought them undone, as shown in the 77-run loss at home to Kent in September which crushed their title hopes. So there is an air of atonement about 2023 and with an highly experienced core of James Vince, Liam Dawson, Keith Barker and overseas stars Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas, they have the goods.Throw in the return of another seasoned campaigner, Benny Howell, who began his career at Hampshire before joining Gloucestershire a decade ago, and last year’s form batter Nick Gubbins, who scored centuries in both innings against a Lancashire line-up featuring none other than James Anderson, and they should be contenders again. Ben Brown made a seamless transition after moving from Sussex to be the club’s fourth-highest run-scorer with an average of 38.66, while Felix Organ’s move to the top of the order brought rewards – more of the same will aid Hampshire’s cause.One to watch: Will this finally be the summer that Aneurin Donald hits the big time? With two injury ravaged seasons behind him, this attacking middle-order batter is primed to deliver on the promise that saw him once thrash 234 off 136 balls as a teenager with Glamorgan. Made an encouraging 398 runs from nine outings last year but will be looking to go better. Valkerie BaynesBet365: 4/1Ben Compton enjoyed a stellar 2022 campaign•Getty ImagesKentLast season: 5th in Division One
Director of cricket: Paul Downton
Head coach: Matt Walker
Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas: George Linde, Arshdeep Singh
Ins: Joey Evison (Nottinghamshire), Michael Hogan (Glamorgan)
Outs: Ollie Robinson (Durham), Matt Milnes (Yorkshire), Harry Podmore (Glamorgan), Darren Stevens (released)
Ben Compton set Kent off on the right footing, racking up four centuries by mid-May and not scrimping on the fifties either as he made his way towards becoming the second-highest run-scorer for the season in Division One. He has extended his contract and spent the English winter playing first-class cricket in Zimbabwe. Also renewing with the club were stalwart Joe Denly, promising 22-year-old opener Tawanda Mueye, Hamid Qadri and Nathan Gilchrist, Kent’s leading wicket taker in the 2022 Championship.George Linde, the South African spin-bowling allrounder, will return for the second half of his two-year stint as an all-format overseas player in a bowling line-up bolstered by the signing of Arshdeep Singh, India’s left-arm swing bowler who has agreed to play five Championship games through June-July. Allrounder Joey Evison makes it official after joining Kent midway through last season on loan as part of the Darren Stevens succession plan. He will be looking to make the most of opportunities which were thin at Nottinghamshire.Meanwhile, the availability of captain Sam Billings from the start of the Championship after he opted out of this year’s edition of the IPL could provide a big, early boost as Kent look to build on their four wins of last year.One to watch: Tawanda Muyeye is averaging 29.57 after 10 first-class matches, having made his debut in 2021. His season-high 85 as Kent defeated Somerset by an innings and 151 runs last September was an encouraging way to end 2022, a year in which he also broke into Vitality Blast reckoning, although he may have to fight his way back into the starting XI this summer. VBBet365: 16/1LancashireLast season: 2nd in Division One
Director of cricket performance: Mark Chilton
Head coach: Glenn Chapple
Captain: Keaton Jennings
Overseas: Dane Vilas, Colin de Grandhomme, Daryl Mitchell
Ins:
Outs: Liam Hurt (released)There is comfort to be had for Lancashire fans at finishing second two years on the bounce – though you could argue 2022’s position was not entirely accurate given they finished a point ahead of Hampshire by beating a Surrey team well into their title celebrations during the final round. Nevertheless, theirs is a squad full of red-ball campaigners with varying claims for England call-ups -and the international programme this summer is such that their depth won’t face too stern a test. Even the fact they begin without Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt (both at the IPL) is tempered by the presence of James Anderson for the first six rounds, provided England don’t fancy wrapping him up in cotton wool ahead of the Ashes.Keaton Jennings, Division One’s top-scorer last season, was a tourist in the operative sense in Pakistan and is unlikely to move beyond a squad opener this summer. Josh Bohanon, the next cab in the previous Test regime, has moved a little further back down the rank. Factor in the signing of Daryl Mitchell (913 in his last nine Tests, of which 538 came in England last summer from six innings) and the experience of Colin de Grandhomme, and you’ve pretty much got an international batting card. And we haven’t mentioned Luke Wells (991 runs in 2022), Steven Croft (837) or Dane Vilas (567), who should be liberated by handing over the captaincy to Jennings.The loss of Hasan Ali to Warwickshire is a blow though Saqib Mahmood’s availability after last year’s back stress fracture brings similar incisive qualities. Tom Bailey, 51 and 52 first class wickets in 2021 and 2022 respectively, will be eyeing up another half-century. The towering seamer is building a reputation not too dissimilar to his coach as one of the best operators on the circuit seemingly out of sight of the England selectors. In Kiwi Will Williams, he has the ideal front-pad targeting new-ball partner to complement his back-of-a-length ways. The county have also yet to really reap the benefits of an allrounder of Luke Wood’s class. First title since 2011, anyone?One to watch: The last 12 months have been dispiriting for Matt Parkinson. An England Test debut in June, after Jack Leach suffered concussion at Lord’s, a sixth T20 cap in July against India, and then nothing. Perhaps even less than nothing: last month, after a quiet winter, Parkinson went undrafted in the Hundred. At 26, he is at a fascinating juncture in his career – once the future of English legspin and now seemingly out of sight and mind. Missing the Pakistan tour was compounded by the emergence of shiny new thing Rehan Ahmed, who has charmed hipsters and mainstream audiences alike; Parkinson only really had command over the latter. A stint in Zimbabwe for Mashonaland Eagles helped him tick over in pre-season and, armed with something to prove, expect a naturally combative cricketer to dial it up a few notches this summer. Vithushan EhantharajahBet365: 5/1James Anderson will be available for Lancashire’s first block of games•George FranksMiddlesexLast season: 2nd in Division Two
Head of men’s cricket: Alan Coleman
First team coach: Richard Johnson
Captain: Toby Roland-Jones
Overseas: Pieter Malan
Ins: Ryan Higgins (Gloucestershire)
Outs: Eoin Morgan (retired), Nathan Sowter (Durham)A season of heightened scrutiny would appear to be on the cards following Middlesex’s admission of financial difficulties – the legacy of both the pandemic and an error in pension payments. But if the chief executive Andrew Cornish’s optimistic outlook is to be believed, then that is in no small part down to the endeavours of the playing staff, who helped to swell the coffers in forging a path back to the top flight last season, for the first time since 2017.Whether their squad is strong enough to stay there is a different matter, however. The signing of South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj could have offered a seasoned spin option to their seam-dominant attack, but he suffered a dramatic Achilles tendon rupture while celebrating a wicket against West Indies last month, and is out for the foreseeable. In his absence, the likes of Thilan Walallawita and Luke Hollman may need to step up. Toby Roland-Jones offers a wise old head as the new red-ball captain, with Tim Murtagh moving into a player-coaching role, while the likes of Tom Helm, Ethan Bamber and Blake Cullen should ensure that the wicket-taking side of the bargain is met.With the bat, the former England openers Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman make a compelling alliance, alongside Stephen Eskinazi, whose recent Hundred deal was confirmation of the extent to which his stock has risen in recent years, and Middlesex’s other South African import, Pieter Malan, retained after his role in the 2022 promotion push.One to watch: Ryan Higgins’ departure from Middlesex in 2017 was symptomatic of the club’s post-Championship-winning malaise – a hugely promising young allrounder, frustrated by a lack of opportunities, and seeking pastures new while the team slumped towards relegation. He’s proven his point in the intervening seasons, driving Gloucestershire’s promotion push in 2019 as well as their T20 Finals run in 2020, but now – after a loan spell last summer – he’s back at Lord’s for good, and this time as a seasoned pro at the age of 28. His established middle-order flair and attack-balancing medium-pace could be just the tonic the squad needs.Bet365: 20/1NorthamptonshireLast season: 6th in Division One
Head coach: John Sadler
Captain: Luke Procter
Overseas: Sam Whiteman, Chris Tremain, Lance Morris
Ins: David Willey (Yorkshire), Ollie Sale (Somerset)
Outs: Brandon Glover (Durham), Nathan Buck, Ben Curran, Charlie Thurston (all released)Northamptonshire have been a fascinating red-ball outfit in the last 10 years: engaging and cavalier bordering on reckless. Crap shooters with big hearts, both traits admirable though hardly conducive to sustaining themselves in the top-flight. That was until last season when, for the first time in four attempts, they were able to survive after earning promotion from Division Two.Achieving that feat relied upon taking fewer chances. Wantage Road was deliberately flat – in turn, Northants picked up six of their seven draws at home. At the same time, you could see they were adopting a more workmanlike approach to their red-ball cricket, almost in the image of Luke Procter, who leads them into the new campaign after Ricardo Vasconcelos stepped down midway through last season. The former enjoyed stellar form with the bat (961 runs at 53.38) while the latter (576 at 25.04) dramatically underperformed for his undoubted talent and will hope less weight on the shoulders will lead to freer arms. The reliability of their seam bowling is carried by the relentless Ben Sanderson and late bloomer Jack White, the pair combining for 78 wickets between them.The club have recruited well on the overseas front, exclusively with Australians: prolific Sheffield Shield run-scorer Sam Whiteman is on board until August, while Chris Tremain (first three games) and exciting speedster Lance Morris (the next three) will reinforce the bowling stocks. Surviving another season in Division One will be tough, but Northants love nothing more than sticking it to the doubters.One to watch: This could easily have been a section reserved for Emilio Gay, an exciting left-handed batter who looks ready to step up and make some big noise after a breakthrough 825 runs last season. But with Gay out until the middle of May following surgery on a stress fracture of his left knee cap, let’s talk about Rob Keogh. Yes, there’s the 1570 runs split fairly evenly over the last two summers. But it’s his spin bowling that warrants inclusion in this section. He finished as Northants’ third-highest wicket-taker in 2022, with 34 dismissals at a respectable average of 30.23 for a guy who hasn’t always taken the craft seriously. Observers note his action is stronger, tactics more refined as per his 5 for 31 which helped beat Kent last July for one of Northants’ two wins. VEBet365: 25/1Olly Stone has made the move from Edgbaston to Trent Bridge•Nottinghamshire CCCNottinghamshireLast season: 1st in Division Two
Head coach: Peter Moores
Captain: Steven Mullaney
Overseas: Dane Paterson
Ins: Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Tom Loten (Yorkshire)
Outs: Joey Evison (Kent), Zak Chappell (Derbyshire), Sol Budinger (Leicestershire)
In the midst of his international career revival, Ben Duckett seems likely to start the season for Notts in his familiar No. 3 spot despite looking set to open for England against Ireland at Lord’s in June. With opener Haseeb Hameed second on the Division Two run charts last season and Duckett and captain Steven Mullaney also in the top 10, Nottinghamshire are solid with the bat – albeit that they will be tested more concertedly and for longer in the top tier.South Africa seamer Dane Paterson was right up there in the bowling department along with Liam Patterson-White, who enjoyed a standout 2022 as the division’s most successful spinner, taking 41 wickets at 27.95. The county’s successful bid for promotion came after two winless years in 2019 and 2020 and a gut-wrenching third-place finish under the conference system used in 2021 – Notts shook off the demotion on the return to two divisions and produced a campaign that brooked no arguments. They are a side that have consistently show they are on the up and, if they can call on the formidable Stuart Broad when England Test duties allow, their trajectory looks even better.One to watch: A wretched run of injuries puts Olly Stone under the microscope – not least from an England point of view. His comeback from a back stress fracture was punctuated by a finger injury and followed up with a move from Warwickshire, with whom he couldn’t secure a long-term extension. But he showed glimpses of a return to form with England and at the SA20 over the winter and will hope early season contributions for his new county can put him in the Ashes frame. VBBet365: 8/1SomersetLast season: 7th in Division One
Head coach: Jason Kerr
Captain: Tom Abell
Overseas: Peter Siddle, Matt Henry, Cameron Bancroft
Ins: Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire), Sean Dickson (Durham), Shoaib Bashir (unattached)
Outs: Marchant de Lange (Gloucs), Ollie Sale (Northants), James Hildreth, Max Waller (retired)There was an end-of-era feel to Somerset’s 2022 campaign. So near and yet so far over the previous decade and more, last summer they were left scrambling for salvation in a Championship campaign that began with three consecutive defeats and would surely have resulted in relegation but for the steadfast leadership of Tom Abell. His five centuries dragged them kicking and screaming out of the bottom two and, had it not been for injury, he would have been rewarded over the winter with an England cap.Instead, his primary mission is to galvanise a rejigged team, one that will – for the first time in 20 seasons – be lacking the services of James Hildreth following his retirement last autumn. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, eager to impress after his departure from Yorkshire, is an excellent candidate to fill his sizeable shoes, while Sean Dickson – latterly a Durham stalwart – is another shrewd signing. On the bowling front, Peter Siddle and Matt Henry offer a potent Antipodean pairing, to give extra heft to a seam attack also featuring Craig Overton, Lewis Gregory and the ever-improving left-arm allsorts of Tom Lammonby.One to watch: As Rehan Ahmed has already demonstrated, the talent lurking within England’s age-group set-up is itching to break into the big time, and few batters come with a higher standing than James Rew. His 95 in last year’s Under-19 World Cup final rescued his team from a sickly 91 for 7 against the eventual champions, India, and he’s since gone on to feature for the England Lions in Sri Lanka. Though still only 19, the timing of Somerset’s reboot could well work in his favour. Andrew MillerBet365: 12/1Surrey will again rely on a strong squad for the title defence•Getty Images for Surrey CCCSurreyLast season: 1st in Division One
Director of cricket: Alec Stewart
Head coach: Gareth Batty
Captain: Rory Burns
Overseas: Kemar Roach, Sean Abbott, Tom Latham
Ins: Dom Sibley (Warwickshire)
Outs: Hashim Amla (retired)Squad depth to the Nth degree saw Surrey triumph in 2022, but the defence will test just how strong and deep the reserves truly are. The loss of Hashim Amla to retirement and Jamie Overton for most of the summer to injury robs them of a consistent performer and a difference-maker, respectively. Will Jacks will also begin the season on the sidelines, nursing a thigh injury picked up on England duty. They are also without Sam Curran until June, and maybe further afield if England call.Dom Sibley returns home to fill the Amla-shaped gap. The move away from south London in 2017 was ultimately through a lack of opportunities and there is something quite neat about Sibley coming back with greater respect on his name. The time away could not have been more productive: 3875 first class runs, 12 centuries and an average of 44.03 for Warwickshire, as well as 22 England caps. The availability of Ollie Pope (who will bat at No. 3) and Ben Foakes for the first six rounds before the first Test of the summer against Ireland at the start of June is also a boost. By that stage of last season, Surrey had three wins and three draws – two with full bonus points – establishing a 16-point lead at the top. Given Surrey play Lancashire (2nd in 2022) and Hampshire (3rd) twice – who only play each other once – a similar start is required if they are to go back-to-back.An Overton-less pace attack does lack a bit of oomph, though Sean Abbott could plug that gap. The absence of Jacks, whose emergence as a handy offspinning allrounder resulted in an England Test call, disrupts what had been an enviable balance. The lack of a Curran – Sam is at the IPL, Tom injured after announcing an indefinite break from red-ball cricket – and uncertainty over how much Championship cricket is on the agenda for Reece Topley chips away at options. After a fine start to his Surrey career as leader of the attack, Dan Worrall will have more on his shoulders this time around.One to watch: It may seem contradictory to talk of a 25-year-old’s career just getting started, but fast bowlers get that leeway and Gus Atkinson is just that. How fast? Well, fast enough. He earned wider repute for Desert Vipers in his 10 appearances at the ILT20, building on his Blast form with Surrey. But there is plenty to excite the traditionalists with a strong, repeatable action, a natural away-swinger and a developing ability to manipulate his lengths without too much of a tell. He has played just nine first class matches, but the last four in 2022 reaped 13 Championship dismissals at 28.84. It felt like the beginning of a coming-of-age story for a player who has had an unfair share of injuries. Recently added to a scouting longlist of prospective England players, there is every chance he moves further up it this summer. VEBet365: 10/3WarwickshireLast season: 8th Division One
Performance director: Gavin Larsen
Head coach: Mark Robinson
Captain: Will Rhodes
Overseas: Hasan Ali
Ins: Moeen Ali, Ed Barnard (both Worcestershire), Chris Rushworth (Durham)
Outs: Dom Sibley (Surrey), Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire), Adam Hose (Worcs), Matt Lamb (Derbyshire), Ryan Sidebottom (released)They survived the drop by the very skin of the teeth in 2022, with Liam Norwell’s stunning final-day nine-for clawing the club over the line against Hampshire at Edgbaston, and so condemning Yorkshire to relegation instead. But the euphoria of that get-out could not distract from a worryingly limp campaign from the reigning champions, especially given that Norwell himself managed just four matches in another injury-plagued season. Bowling reinforcements have arrived in the off-season, with the surprise signing of Durham legend Chris Rushworth offering a quick fix as he approaches the last hurrah of his fine career, and allrounder Ed Barnard joining his team-mate Moeen Ali in making the trip up from New Road – although Moeen, of course, is a white-ball-only signing. However, the arrival of Pakistan’s Hasan Ali, following his telling displays for Lancashire last summer, is perhaps the strongest statement of intent from a club that expects much more than previously delivered.With Paul Farbrace transferring his duties down to Sussex, New Zealand’s Gavin Larsen takes over as performance director, and plenty of focus will be on Warwickshire’s batting too, which leant heavily on Sam Hain’s 1137 runs last summer but has been shorn of Dom Sibley’s services following his return to Surrey. In Sibley’s absence, Will Rhodes and Rob Yates are likely to resume their Championship-winning opening partnership, while Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley – bit-part campaigners last year but England Under-19 starlets of recent vintage – may be among those expected to step up.One to watch: In the summer of 2021, Rob Yates looked the real deal at the top of Warwickshire’s order. His 907 runs at 39.43 included five teak-tough centuries, including an outstanding unbeaten 120 against Essex in April that involved blunting the deadly Simon Harmer to seal a fourth-innings run-chase. Last year, however, his form fell off a cliff … right up until the moment it mattered most when, in the final match of the campaign, he produced a third of his season’s runs in a single innings of 104 against Hampshire, to set up the win that saved Warwickshire’s bacon. At the age of 23, time is very much on his side to reaffirm his credentials, but there’s no time like the present to make the case. AMBet365: 14/1

After starting his Sunrisers stint with three low scores, he smashed a 55-ball century as an opener

Sreshth Shah15-Apr-20232:28

Moody: Brook is a sensational talent in all formats

When it came to Harry Brook, it was never a question of “if”; rather, only “when”. Having built a sensational body of work in his early international career, before making his IPL debut, there was a sense of inevitability.It didn’t happen in the first three games, in part because Sunrisers Hyderabad struggled in two of those and Brook had to mould his game accordingly. But on Friday against Kolkata Knight Riders, Brook showed why he’s being billed as a superstar for the future. Having been promoted to the top order, he scored the season’s first century – and his second T20 ton – off only 55 balls.There had been plenty of things going against him. Kolkata welcomed him with the day’s temperatures touching 41, humidity levels at almost 100%, and an Eden Gardens crowd aching to see him fail a fourth time. With scores of 13, 3 and 13 in his first three IPL innings, the price-tag pressure of INR 13.25 crore (approx. US $1.61m) mounted. Checking his social-media mentions after those three failures didn’t help him either.Related

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“I was putting pressure on myself a little bit for the first few games,” Brook said after his unbeaten 100 took Sunrisers to victory. “I went on to social media, people were calling me rubbish, and you start to doubt yourself a little bit.”The pressure was not apparent on the field, though. Brook began his innings by smacking four fours and two sixes in the first three overs of the game, bowled by Umesh Yadav and Lockie Ferguson.The two fast bowlers stuck to an off-stump line but Brook sent those balls to three distinct places. His quick skips to the leg side sent cuts through point for four. When he walked towards off, he got low to scoop those same balls over short fine leg. When he didn’t move, his full face of the bat sent the ball to long-off. At one stage, he had raced away to 31 off 11.But for Brook, this was a relatively new job. In 93 T20 innings before the IPL, he had opened only three times. His imperious T20 numbers – an average of 34.14 and a strike rate of 147.77 – have been built from Nos. 4 to 6 with England, Yorkshire, Northern Superchargers, Lahore Qalandars and Hobart Hurricanes.Harry Brook hit the pace bowlers for 66 off 26 balls at Eden Gardens•AFP/Getty ImagesHowever, the middle order was not the right fit for an IPL rookie like Brook. He was struggling against spin – a strike rate of 80, and an average of 6 told the story – in the middle overs, and teams were beginning to target him with that match-up. So when regular opener Abhishek Sharma was briefly out with injury and Anmolpreet Singh didn’t impress, Brook was asked to open. On Friday, the start was promising.Brook’s burst had given Sunrisers such a headstart that Knight Riders were forced to introduce spin early. This was going to be his acid test and he passed it by tossing the strike over to Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram and Abhishek, who are all more adept at playing spin. Brook didn’t hit a boundary between the sixth and 14th overs; it was the boundaries from the other end – in particular from Markram during his half-century – that kept the score ticking towards 200.But when most of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy’s overs were done, Brook re-emerged. Knight Riders brought pace back in the form of Ferguson, and Brook charged at him to hit for four fours and a six in the 15th over. Suyash Sharma and Shardul Thakur weren’t spared either as Brook reached his century with a single to long-on. Brook looked exhausted but flashed a smile.There was also a sense of satisfaction in his smile. He had perfectly executed the plan, playing to his strengths and letting others show off theirs. He took 34 runs off 29 against the spinners, while smashing the pacers for 66 off 26.

“I have had quite a lot of success batting at No. 5 and made my name batting at No. 5, but I’m happy to do this”Harry Brook doesn’t mind a shift up the order

“I went out with an ‘I-don’t-care’ mentality tonight, and thankfully it paid off,” Brook said. “Indian fans out there are probably going to say ‘Well done’ tonight, but they were slagging me off a few days ago. Glad that I could shut them up.”A lot of people say that opening the batting in T20 is the best time to bat; you’ve only got two fielders out. But I’m happy to bat anywhere. [I] have [had] quite a lot of success batting at No. 5 and made my name batting at No. 5, but I’m happy to do this. Unfortunately my four Test hundreds will have to be above this one, but this is definitely up there.”In the post-game press conference, Abhishek revealed that the decision to bump Brook to the top was taken by head coach Brian Lara and the management after his own injury. Abhishek said that that Brook’s struggles against spin were acknowledged in the set-up, and therefore he was moved up the order.It resulted in Abhishek moving down the order, but he was fine with the decision. Abhishek said he knew about Brook’s talent from way back – they were India Under-19 and England Under-19 captains respectively when the two teams had met during a tour of the UK in 2017.There was just one thing missing in Brook’s perfect day, and that was his parents not being there to witness it. They had travelled with Sunrisers for three games, but left for the UK before the Kolkata fixture. Brook said that he had a funny feeling that fate would have a cruel way to now give him the gift of runs. And we have a feeling that his parents will get plenty of opportunities in the years to come.

Joyful tour of New Zealand ends in historic defeat, but buoyant mood is the ultimate takeaway

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Mar-2023There was no big debrief following England men’s 1-1 series draw with New Zealand. The second Test was confined to the annals of history quickly – albeit very high up.Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes spoke of their pride at how the last month had gone: the professional victory in the first Test at the Bay Oval, their commitment to cause on a thrilling final day of the second at the Basin Reserve. As counterintuitive as it may sound on the outside, the message was to take pride in contributing to a spectacle that encouraged so many to attend and even more to tune in.And just like that, they were off. McCullum for a round of golf with his former Blackcaps captain Stephen Fleming, equal parts tune-up for his appearance in the New Zealand Open in Queenstown and tune-in to the wavelength of the CSK head coach, whom hope will look after the Test captain during his forthcoming IPL stint. Stokes himself went back to Christchurch to spend some time with his family. Other players set off on their own jaunts with their partners who have been a noticeable presence on tour, in keeping with a focus on making the players as comfortable as possible. Ben Duckett, off the back of another sound showing upon his return to the fold this winter, headed to Dubai with his partner before he goes back east for the T20I series in Bangladesh. The grind never stops.A lot was made of the bonhomie of this series. These two nations have come up against each other so often in the last few years, across three Test series and two T20 World Cups since the start of 2021. Even friends and family are on a first-name basis with those on the opposition. One such anecdote sums this up: two opponents were play-fighting at a joint-gathering a few tours ago, only for one of the kids to take exception and jump in, unaware the altercation was light-hearted.At the end of the thrilling Battle of the Basin, as both teams’ end-of-tour drinks merged, the number of connections rekindled through County Cricket stints alone were such that you needed the difference in attire – New Zealand were still in their whites, England mostly in training gear – to tell the two groups apart. This match, and others, proved that such inter-squad camaraderie has not affected the competitiveness on the field.Joe Root and Kane Williamson are all smiles at the presentations in Wellington•Getty ImagesTo see James Anderson’s wry smile at the end of his 179th Test with a wry smile, despite having been the last to fall in England’s one-run defeat, said it all. When both he and Stuart Broad were axed for the Caribbean tour last March, one of the reasons given was the need for the dressing-room to grow in their absence. Their status within it was deemed a problem: the two big personalities were supposedly an intimidating presence, particularly when things went wrong with the bat. However England were going to redefine themselves after the Ashes, the presumption at the time was that they would have to do it without two bowlers who had been central to the team’s positivity for most of their careers. Getting rid of them was seen as a solution.Now, both are deemed integral to both England’s present success, and their ongoing transition. Anderson and Broad took 10 wickets apiece in the series (Anderson at 16.80, Broad at 26.10). They threw themselves about in the field (uncomfortably at times), and mucked in with the wider group with renewed enthusiasm. Broad finally got to give the Nighthawk a run-out, while Anderson swapped his reverse-sweep for a charge-and-smack off Neil Wagner to bring England ever closer to the winning post in Wellington. Even if the man himself had been ambivalent about finally hitting the winning runs in a Test match, everyone in the team wanted to see it happen. Alas, the wait goes on.Back in 2014, Anderson was reduced to tears after falling in the final over on the final day at Headingley against Sri Lanka. This time his competitive fires were evident as he questioned the non-awarding of a leg-side wide, moments before he nicked Wagner low to Tom Blundell, but the fact that he could be so phlegmatic after the event was, in its own way, a reflection of a tour quietly being deemed a success.McCullum and Stokes have long preached that England must focus on playing engaging cricket for the masses and let the result take care of itself. And as much as that remains hard to square with the intensity of international sport, the reason for this approach became abundantly clear throughout February. It’s been a while since a group of Englishmen have enjoyed playing Test cricket so much, and even longer since the results have been this good. The two could not be more linked.It is why McCullum asked the group to convene in New Zealand two weeks before the first Test at Mount Maunganui, despite settling for just a two-day warm-up match in Hamilton. His plan, which he workshopped in Abu Dhabi ahead of December’s Pakistan series, was to replicate the sort of off-field VIP treatment he had seen work wonders in the IPL.Related

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Players not involved in the South Africa ODIs flew out as early as February 27 and were treated to a day of golf in Auckland before heading to the South Island for a week in Queenstown and Arrowtown. Even as cricket entered the agenda in Hamilton, McCullum, who lives an hour or so away near the town of Matamata, went into overdrive on tour-guide duties, with recommendations of things to do and places to visit for players and media. Understandably, only the former got an invite to the barbecue hosted at his place that Sunday afternoon, which was originally supposed to be day three of the warm-up match against an NZC XI at Seddon Park.”It’s been busy,” McCullum said at the time. “A lot of demands on me. It’s not one of my fortes, either, organising things.” But it was an important discomfort to endure for the greater good.Broad, on his fifth tour of New Zealand, spoke of this being the most he had seen of the country beyond “cricket grounds and airports”. “It has been the most enjoyable ten days I have had pre-tour in my whole career, which is Baz’s mantra.”Broad’s words, along Anderson’s smile, highlight a rejuvenation. It’s one thing for newcomers to be enamoured by the trappings of playing cricket at Test level. But for the two men who have been here on more occasions than all but a handful of long-retired legends, it’s a handy reminder of what a privilege this career truly is.That manifested itself in different ways. For all the extra-curricular activities on offer, England’s training sessions were often so intense that the local net bowlers spent most of their time watching from the sidelines rather than offering support, with batters keen to be tested by coaches slinging down from 18 yards instead of club players from 22.When Stokes decided upon picking Anderson, Broad and Ollie Robinson in consecutive matches – with confirmation of their fitness coming via text message on the morning before the Wellington Test – it was a statement in two parts. All three bowlers, no matter how established, wanted to show they could be trusted to go back-to-back ahead of a summer where they’ll be asked to do that with six Tests in 60 days. And that if Matthew Potts and Olly Stone were to be selected, it would be because they were in the best XI rather than as understudies. It was a far cry from previous eras where players were earmarked for specific matches rather than looking at the wares and picking the best team for right now.The competitive spirit of the Test series was plain to see even if it was all smiles off the field•AFP/Getty ImagesTherein lies perhaps the true benefit of this shift among the group as a whole. There are no clear cliques, and an appreciation of the importance of looking out for one another, whether it’s celebrating Harry Brook setting records or getting around Zak Crawley who is enduring more tough periods. And yet those in the XI are desperate to stay where they are.It was after the series that McCullum allowed himself to speak openly about the Ashes on the horizon. For the players, who had always had it in their mind’s eye, it was almost a sense of relief.England’s next Test outing is against Ireland, but Australia are the real acid test. McCullum and Stokes have created a brilliant thing, re-engaging the English public with a format that – until the start of last summer – had been going through the motions and moving further from the national consciousness.Now, though, we will find out how robust the principles of enjoyment and carefree play are, in a series when the individual’s internal emotions will be harder to shield. All this is easier when you’re winning a lot, and occasionally losing in style.So much of the messaging had been to enjoy the pressure, enjoy the struggle, enjoy the days in the dirt, enjoy the grind. The hope from Stokes and McCullum is they have given their charges the confidence to go into the next few months enjoying the anticipation and anxiety of being England’s best hope of winning the urn in eight years.

An astonishing onslaught against Australia showed all the hallmarks of his white-ball evolution

Firdose Moonda16-Sep-2023Heinrich Klaasen spent Friday night either watching the highlights of his 83-ball 174 or looking after his nine-month old daughter Laya; or maybe juggling a bit of both as he soaked in what he hinted was the most enjoyable match of his career.”It was special and a lot to take in. I will go tonight and watch a bit of the highlights,” a visibly emotional Klaasen said afterwards, though he later turned on dad mode when asked what keeps him motivated. “Having a family has changed things for me. The little one doesn’t care what I’ve done tonight. I saw she’s awake already so it might be a long night.”It was likely a long one either way as Klaasen tried to make sense of a blistering knock that he approached with a Midas touch.Related

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As it was happening, he tried not to think about it and forced himself to stay in every moment of the match, so much so that when offered the chance to sit out the first part of South Africa’s fielding innings, he refused, so that could be on the park with the rest of the team.”What’s changed in my career is that I am playing every ball as it is and for me to stay in that mindset, I don’t recap what I have done the previous ball or think of what I might do the next ball,” he said. “Tim David asked me how many sixes I hit and I said I didn’t know. It shows my mindset was good and I was only focusing on what’s coming in that moment. I have to go back and look at it. It was awesome out there and you don’t often get that feeling – maybe once or twice in your career.”He used the word changed because Klaasen wasn’t always such an in-the-zone player. He admitted that in his early days, he tried to do much and emulate players he admired but that it didn’t always work.”You look up to some role models and you want to be like them – like AB de Villiers. You want to play all the shots but the genius behind guys like AB was knowing when to play them,” Klaasen said. “For me, I explored a lot with it and it didn’t work. It was about maturing into my game and knowing my options are.”That level of fine-tuning only happened when Klaasen was dropped after a series against Sri Lanka in 2021. He missed matches against India and Bangladesh in early 2022 and went back to his domestic team, the Titans, based at SuperSport Park. “The coaches said to me, ‘You are using too many options. Let’s limit yourself,’ he explained.

Who would you pick?#SAvAUS #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/hwzsweJjlE

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 15, 2023

Fitness, preparation and wickets in abundance as death-overs specialist finds peak form

Vithushan Ehantharajah25-Aug-2023Half an hour after ticking off a must-win game with Southern Brave against Manchester Originals to reach Saturday’s men’s Hundred Eliminator at The Oval against the same opponents, Tymal Mills reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. “I’ve got a little cheat sheet,” he says with a smile.On the sheet are three columns. The first contains a list of all Originals’ batters in order. The second, headed “SCOOP” is followed by ticks and crosses. The third – “PACE”- has “ON” and “OFF” alternating all the way down.You don’t need to know of this “cheat sheet” to appreciate how diligently Mills prepares for every match (his handwriting, by the way, is immaculate). Doing your homework is part of the job for fast bowlers like Mills who operate primarily at the death. But carrying notes onto the field is a recent development for a cricketer eight shy of 200 T20 appearances.”I started doing it in the Blast this year [playing for Sussex Sharks] because there were more guys playing that I don’t know,” he explains. “There were a few times batters would come out towards the back end and I didn’t really know them. So I’d be shouting to our analyst or those on the bench: ‘Does he ramp or not?’ That’s all I really want to know – if a guy ramps, do I need fine-leg back, or should I keep him up?”Since then, I’ve adopted it. I know Mark Watt did it during the T20 World Cup last year [for Scotland]. I don’t know what he had written on his, but that’s just for me; whether they scoop and whether pace on or pace off is a better option for that person, just so I am not going into things blind.””Cheating” works, kids. Mills bowled balls 76 to 80 and 91 to 95 against Originals, removing Jamie Overton and Tom Hartley in the latter set to finish with 3 for 27. Their opponents were restricted to 130, which Brave knocked off with five balls to spare. According to CricViz, Mills’ 10 dismissals at the death (categorised as the final 25 deliveries) are the most in the competition, four clear of second-placed Daniel Sams. He takes a wicket every 7.5 balls in that phase, with a dot-ball percentage of 30.6. His 15 wickets overall are the most in the competition.Mills has been in form and at full fitness all competition•ECB via Getty ImagesThose impressive numbers are nothing out of the ordinary for Mills. You only need to look at the last three seasons of the Blast – 30 wickets at an average of 13.50 between overs 16 and 20 – to see this is merely a continuation of his excellence at the business end. Similarly, his deliveries at this stage of an innings – 62.9 percent are slower balls – are nothing new. The surprise is that, although batters now set themselves for change-ups, his are still effective.”I haven’t changed an awful lot,” he says. “I bowl a legcutter more now than I did back then, just to have a third variation as such. The legcutter is a bit quicker than the back-of-the-hand-er, so I’m using that as a bit of a middle ball.”We’ve played on some wickets which have been decent to bowl on. And by that I mean pretty slow. I prefer slower wickets to faster wickets. My pace often travels for runs on quick decks so I don’t mind bowling on tough wickets in terms of used wickets.”Towards the back end, it’s just trying to predict what the batter is going to do as much as I can, and mixing it up between back-of-the-hand slower balls, legcutters and pace-on deliveries. Just trying to outfox the batter and so far it’s been pretty successful.”All being well, Mills should double the eight dismissals he managed when Brave won the inaugural men’s Hundred back in 2021, which followed a winter in which he spent three months in a back brace following a stress fracture. It was a stint that earned him a call-up to England’s 2021 T20 World Cup squad. He played four matches, taking seven wickets, which was the team’s joint-highest, before suffering a thigh strain against Sri Lanka.Mills was disappointed to miss out on the T20Is against New Zealand, but says he ‘gets it’•Francois Nel/Getty ImagesHe missed 2022’s edition of the Hundred but found himself on the other side of the ledger as an injury alternate for 2022’s T20 World Cup. Reece Topley, Mills’ replacement in 2021, suffered an unfortunate ankle injury when he tripped over an advertising cushion during a fielding drill. Mills replaced him in the squad but did not play a game as England triumphed.A stint in the Big Bash League with Perth Scorchers last winter was cancelled in harrowing circumstances when Mills’ two-year-old daughter Delphi suffered a stroke at the airport before the flight to Australia. Thankfully, after 11 days in hospital following the incident, she has made a rapid recovery. Mills has entered this season’s BBL draft and is expected to be listed at the Platinum band (AUD$420,000).He should be in demand given form and fitness. Wednesday’s final Hundred group game was Mills’ 26th short-form match in the space of 90 days. The first 12 came in the Blast (22 wickets at 21.11) then a six-game stint for Bulawayo Braves in the Zimbabwe Afro T10 (six at 20.50) ahead of the Hundred.”I hate saying it out loud, but I’ve been fit all summer,” says Mills. “I played a full Blast campaign, went to Zimbabwe and played the T10 and now here. It’s just nice not worrying about my body, going about my business and having a nice routine.”I don’t believe in the gods and stuff, but I’m reticent to say yes,” he answers, when asked if he is operating at 100 percent. “But I haven’t missed a game through injury all year, which has been great. I struggled with a bit of a freak injury with my big toe, the skin and a bad laceration that kept reopening. I got that sorted and played 12 out of 14 Blast games for Sussex, and the two I didn’t play was just rest and rotation.”Related

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All this makes the timing of England’s T20I series against New Zealand, which begins next Wednesday, and Mills’ omission from the squad frustrating. Ahead of the 50-over World Cup in October, limited-overs coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler are opting to use those four matches, and four ODIs that follow, as a tuning-up period ahead of India. As such, T20 staples like Mills and Brave team-mate Chris Jordan were not selected.Mills gets it. Conversations with Mott and men’s selector Luke Wright, a former Sussex team-mate, have been upfront and honest. Nevertheless, Mills rues being unable to add to 13 international caps before the summer is out.”It was disappointing because, as I say, I’m bowling well, feeling great and there are England games coming up and I haven’t been selected. You feel like they’ve come at a perfect time and you want to play.”Luke Wright and Motty were clear with CJ (Jordan) and myself. We both had separate conversations and they’re using these T20 games as part of the whole month to prepare for the 50-over World Cup. With CJ and myself not featuring in the 50-over World Cup, they weren’t going to consider us for the T20 games.”It’s still disappointing and frustrating. I want to play for England as much as I can. But they said I’ll come back into consideration for the games in the Caribbean in December.”Mills emphasised that final point – loyalty to the national team – to Mott and Wright. The global franchise circuit may offer greater remunerations, but Mills has eyes for the T20 World Cup next June in the Caribbean and United States.”That was one of the reasons I was a bit disappointed. I understand, if everyone’s fit, I’m not guaranteed to be in that 15. So I want to try and get opportunities to get on there. I want to do what I can to try and be in the mix for World Cup selection next summer.”