All posts by h716a5.icu

There will be October baseball in Beantown.

Needing a win to clinch a postseason berth, the Red Sox battled back from a 3-1 deficit on Friday night to walk off the Tigers 4-3 at Fenway Park. Ceddanne Rafaela played hero, mashing a triple off the wall in center field in the ninth to bring home Romy Gonzalez and punch Boston's ticket to the playoffs.

Four of the six playoff spots are decided in the American League now that the Blue Jays, Mariners, Yankees and Red Sox have all clinched. The two remaining playoff spots will be decided in the final two days of the regular season as the Tigers, Guardians and Astros jockey for position.

The Tigers, who held a 10.5-game lead in the AL Central at the beginning of September, could have clinched a playoff berth Friday night with a win combined with an Astros loss. The good news for Detroit? The Guardians also lost, falling 7-3 to the Rangers, as did Houston in a 4-3 loss to the Angels.

Despite the loss, Cleveland, which owns the tiebreaker over Detroit, still sits in first place in the AL Central with an 86-74 record. The Guardians can clinch a division title Saturday night with a win over the Rangers combined with a Tigers loss.

The Tigers and Guardians can both clinch a playoff spot Saturday night with a win another loss by Houston to the Angels.

Elsewhere in the American League, the Mariners lost 3-2 to the Dodgers on Friday night. That means the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs belongs to the AL East champion—either the Blue Jays or Yankees, who remain tied with identical 92-68 records.

Here's how everything stands following the Red Sox' big win:

American League Playoff PictureAL DIVISION LEADERS

TEAM

RECORD

x – Toronto Blue Jays (AL East)

92-68

x – Seattle Mariners (AL West)

90-70

Cleveland Guardians (AL Central)

86-74

AL WILD CARD

TEAM

RECORD

GB

x – New York Yankees

92-68

+6

x – Boston Red Sox

88-72

+2

Detroit Tigers

86-74

—

—

—

—

Houston Astros

85-75

1

After missing nearly four months, the Astros will gain designated hitter Yordan Alvarez back in the lineup on Tuesday vs. the Rockies, the reported. He last played on May 2.

What was supposed to be a short stint on the injured list turned into something much more for Alvarez. He suffered a "very small" right hand fracture instead of just a strain. After about two months of recovery, Alvarez faced a setback in his process, which has prolonged his return.

Alvarez returned to baseball a week ago when he began a rehab assignment at the Double A Corpus Christi Hooks. He went 7-for-15 in four games with the minor league team.

Before landing on the IL, the three-time All-Star was averaging .210/.306/.340 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 29 games.

The Astros are gaining their designated hitter back at a crucial time in the season as Houston holds a 1.5-game lead above the Mariners in the AL West. The Astros have 31 games left in the regular season to compete for a playoff spot.

The Blue Jays host the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night, with a shot at taking down the reigning champions and winning their first title since 1993.

While this year’s Blue Jays have had their fair share of “team of destiny” moments already in the postseason, the challenge of the Dodgers is simply on a different level. Los Angeles sports a lineup that can go bat-for-bat with Toronto, and a pitching staff the likes of which the Jays have not yet faced in the postseason.

Taking the mound for the Dodgers in Game 1 is two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who so far this postseason has pitched 21 innings and given up just six hits and two runs while striking out 28. Will the Blue Jays be able to break through against Snell? Or will the lefty continue his dominant run with another great start on the road?

Below we take a look at how some of Toronto’s best bats match up against Snell.

All stats come with the help of StatHead.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is in the midst of one of the greatest postseason runs we have ever seen from a hitter, and looking worth every dollar of the $500 million contract extension he signed back in April. Vladdy is slashing an absolutely absurd .442/.510/.930 so far this postseason, with six home runs, 11 runs scored and 12 RBIs. He has struck out just three times.

The Blue Jays will need Guerrero to keep up his hot streak if they are going to take the title, but the slugger will have his work cut out for him against Snell on Friday night. Guerrero is just 2-for-9 in his career against Snell, with three walks and no strikeouts. He has not produced a hit against Snell since the 2020 season.

Obviously we are working with small sample sizes here, and it’s possible that Guerrero’s current hot streak is more indicative than any stats on previous plate appearances vs. Snell could be, but it’s worth noting that Toronto’s best hitter will be facing his toughest competition yet on the mound.

George Springer

The three, and James Anderson, have been in the spotlight this summer

Mark Nicholas13-Aug-2020Stuart Broad has been much in the news – his runs and wickets the result of a special talent, his fine and demerit point the result of petulance. His father Chris, the match referee in this case, answers for both. Stuart is 34, too old for either, you might argue, and something of a Peter Pan. He talks about the possibilities of life as if it is just beginning and accepts challenges without the doubts that hover above most others who have been around since the days before Lalit Modi announced “Lights, camera, auction” in the build-up to the first IPL in 2008. Broad made his debut as an England one-day cricketer in 2006 and followed with a Test cap in 2007. It’s a long time ago for one still steaming in. He has become an example to the rookies around him who see a man 14 years on from his first ball in the colours of his country and who still so desperately cares.An attraction in this England side is the wide range of ages. The bright faces of youth cannot help but display enthusiasm and joy at their luck; Jimmy Anderson, now 38, cannot help but emit irritation at his lack of it. It seemed reasonable for Anderson to point out that he had one bad game, though closer analysis of recent figures suggest that the kryptonite is taking hold. To some degree he is a victim of his own success: after all, 600 wickets creates high expectation. Almost inevitably, he is now trying too hard and has therefore found his usually efficient rhythm elusive.This is perhaps the most infuriating thing about sport: the more you know, the less able you are to apply it. Tiger Woods holes fewer putts now than in his pomp because he is tight. Why should that be? Because he now knows the result of failure and because the next one – the one back in the old days – is no longer a given. At times in the last Test, at Old Trafford, Anderson appeared to be trying so hard that it hurt. Rhythm comes from relaxation in the moment of effort. Anderson has forgotten how to, or dare not, let go. Someone should remind him to loosen off those shoulders and find the rubber in that wrist before it is too late. Selectors tend not to find sympathy for age. Ask Broad.ALSO READ: Joe Root backs James Anderson to make amends for Manchester strugglesThree weeks ago, Broad was seething or, in his own words, “frustrated, angry and gutted”. Fair enough. Ben Stokes, captain for that first Test against West Indies, said he had no regrets about leaving out a bloke with 485 wickets and added how pleased he was with Broad’s punchy response. Broad, of course, was only revving up the engine when he spoke. Picked for the second Test, he took three wickets in each innings and made 11 not out – a significant innings against good fast bowlers. More of that in a moment, but for now, point made. The next Test led to one of his most memorable and satisfying games in an England shirt. There was a reason for this. Or another reason beyond the proof of his point.Who could have envisioned Ben Stokes climbing up from the ignominy of that Bristol bar fight onto a pedestal reserved for the greats of the English game?•Jon Super/Getty ImagesTo unravel the Broad of the last month we must go back to the same ground in 2014 when Varun Aaron hit him in the face. Twice in consecutive balls Broad had hooked Aaron for six but, rather as was the case with Andy Roberts, Aaron had another gear. The third ball in this trifecta was noticeably quicker and finding its way between the grille and peak of his helmet broke his nose and gave him a black eye worthy of the name. Worse, it gave him nightmares in the weeks and months which followed. Worse still, it put the development of his batting into reverse.Before that match, Broad had 2144 Test runs from 72 matches at an average of 23.82. (In 2008, nine Tests into his career, he averaged 37.) Since then, he has made 1164 Test runs from 68 matches at 13.85.”I have had nightmares about it. I have had times when I have felt the ball just about to hit my face in the middle of the night,” Broad has openly said. “After my operation – I don’t know if the drugs had anything to do with it – I would wake up feeling like a ball had actually hit me in the face. Often I see balls flying at me. My jaw clicks from it. Yes, it has affected my batting, but I am working with a psychologist on the process to deal with it.” That’s pretty heavy stuff. There’s no explaining the reaction: some get back on the bike, others just can’t.Cricket brings two fears, mental and physical. Dealing with one is okay – a rite of passage to all but a very few – dealing with both is a problem. They fight with each other and the mental usually wins. Broad’s batting became increasingly feeble until it was embarrassing. He knew it, we knew it. He tried new techniques but none with anything but the same humiliation when it came to lights, camera, action. A man who made 167 in a Lord’s Test match couldn’t make a trick.ALSO READ: Stuart Broad, England’s spring-heeled superstarThen, just the other day – the 25th July – he smashed nine fours and a six in a score of 62 that came in just 45 balls and included all the old free swings of the bat and gorgeous timing. His high backlift and open bat face are made for this sort of counterattack, and attack he did, as if possessed by a new mind. Confidence flowed from a performance that defiantly backed up the wickets on his return to the team and fuelled the engine for those who came next. Ten wickets came next, including the mark of 500 in total, the Man-of the-Match award and the don’t think of dropping me again statement. Oh confidence, you temptress! One moment there, the next gone to some other hungry fellow. Ask Jimmy. Come to think of it, ask Ben.Although captaincy has weighed on his batting, Joe Root (first from left) has grown into the role and cuts a calm figure on top•Gareth Copley/ECB/Getty ImagesWitness Stokes out of the box and batting as if each ball was the accuser. Witness Stokes bowling with pace but not quite with the full gamut of his personality. In the matches immediately post-courtroom, Stokes was understandably wary. Like all of these guys, he was on show and to be judged. Wisely, for a Test or two, he lay a little low. That’s hard, because as others question you, so you start questioning yourself. Throwing off the shackles of self-doubt is the magic trick. To be yourself is to be anyone and to achieve anything, even the magic. Put another way – inside the shell there is darkness, outside the shell there is light.It didn’t take Ben long, one discipline stoking the other, press conferences made easier, folk in the street all dewy-eyed again. Within 11 months he was a national treasure, heroically winning the World Cup final and the Headingley Ashes Test with performances of staggering quality, precision and self-belief. Taking him across the summer of 2019, has anyone ever played better cricket for England? Lord Botham perhaps. Andrew Flintoff? Probably not. This stuff rubs off on the others. Allrounders feed allrounders until they are all at it – Stokes, Chris Woakes, Ben Foakes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran et al. And Stuart Broad. Mainly, good figures in one discipline will fire up the other but in Buttler’s case, a miserable match with the gloves inspired a brilliant one with the bat. It is, of course, where Anderson misses out. Why, he even dropped a sharp chance in the gully, one he’d reckon to take eight out of ten.Pulling these powerful men together is the captain, Joe Root, whose longer hair appears to have brought him gravitas. Root bats, bowls, catches at slip and calls the shots; he is crucial to the team’s equilibrium and widely respected for his honesty and loyalty. He stuck close by Stokes during the courtroom drama and wanted him on the field the minute it was done. “We are as one” was the message this sent, and it ensured that the impetus for the decision was shared rather than apportioned.ALSO READ: Joe Root’s legacy as captain remains undetermined, but he has credit in the bankHe has grown into the captaincy, as many do if it comes to them early. Graeme Smith says it took him four years to grasp the complexities of the job, and most particularly, the relationship between his responsibilities to the players and to himself. Root’s 42 in the run chase last weekend was a thing of beauty in its construction and pace, both setting the standard and offsetting the fear. When he was third out with the score on 96, he must have wondered if he had blown it. It niggles Root that the high scores have deserted him since his elevation to the captaincy. So eager is he to fashion the game that he forgets its tendency to look away.This is something Stokes does well. Root seems wedded to his chosen style of confrontation with each opponent, Stokes is more willing to think on his feet and adapt. They are quite a pair, captain and vice-captain, two superb cricketers who rank with any in England’s long history.Such a judgement applies to Anderson and Broad, of course. Anderson has been a master craftsman, one for the ages. Broad claims to be improving, an observation with which I would agree. His fuller length is more consistent than at any time in his career, and now that, eureka, he has seen the value in bowling straighter for longer, he will get greater return for movement both in the air and off the seam.The best things about these players is that they continue to learn. Broad has adjusted his run-up and wrist position in the last 18 months, initiatives that take courage and work. From knowledge comes understanding and from understanding comes power. He is an intriguing cricketer and one of the smartest bowlers to have played the game. Maybe the trick is to keep writing him off.

He ended his innings on Friday with 1001 maximums to his name, 311 ahead of second-placed Kieron Pollard

Bharath Seervi30-Oct-2020When Chris Gayle tonked young Kartik Tyagi over the lengthy leg-side boundary for his seventh six of the night, for the Kings XI Punjab against the Rajasthan Royals, it took him up to an incredible 1000 career sixes in T20 cricket, the first to get to the mark. Already more than 3000 runs in front of Kieron Pollard when it comes to most runs in T20s, Gayle has – again – gone where no man has in the shortest format, stretching his lead at the top of the sixes’ chart to 311 by the time he finished up, with Pollard second at 690.”A thousand maximums – another record? Oh, man,” he joked when asked about the achievement on Star Sports. “I don’t know, I just have to give thanks. Have to give thanks for hitting it well at age 41. A lot of dedication and hard work has paid off over the years. Still here, still doing it, same way. Very grateful.”ESPNcricinfo LtdHere’s a look at Gayle’s incredible achievement, through numbers.1001 – Sixes for Gayle in T20s. His first six came playing for Jamaica against Bermuda in the Stanford 20/20 in 2006. He has 1041 fours in the format too, just 40 more than his number of sixes.349 – Number of sixes by Gayle in the IPL, which are the most by a batsman in any T20 league. He also has the most sixes in the CPL (162), Bangladesh Premier League (132) and T20 World Cup (60).263 – Sixes by Gayle for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the most he has hit for a single team, followed by 124 for the Jamaica Tallawahs, and 105 sixes for West Indies (in T20Is).61 – Sixes Gayle has hit against the Kings XI Punjab, his most against a single opposition. He has also smashed 84 sixes for Kings XI since he joined them in 2018.135 – Sixes hit by Gayle in 2015, his most in a calendar year. He next best is 121 in 2012. Overall, he has hit 100-plus sixes in six different years – 2011 to 2017, barring 2014.18 – Most sixes by Gayle in a T20 match, for the Rangpur Riders against the Dhaka Dynamites in the BPL final in 2017. He hit 17 sixes in his knock of 175* for the Royal Challengers in 2013. No other batsman has hit more than 16 sixes in a T20 match.17 – Sixes for Gayle against Dwayne Bravo in T20s, his most against a single bowler. He has hit 12 sixes against Imran Tahir and 11 each against Piyush Chawla, Rashid Khan and Shahid Afridi.18 – Number of times Gayle has hit ten or more sixes in a T20 match. No other batsman has done it more than three times – Evin Lewis, Andre Russell and Shreyas Iyer.

Five matches give plenty of time for various strands to play out and here are a few things to watch for

Andrew McGlashan21-Feb-2021Australia’s finisherThere’s no shortage of options to bat at the top of Australia’s order – it’s almost a problem of plenty – but the big question is whether they can bed in a stable No. 6 ahead of the World Cup. Mitchell Marsh was recalled for the final match of the series against England last year and struck an unbeaten 39 to secure a consolation victory in the troublesome position. He has not played since, however, due to an injury which kept him out against India. If he’s able to bowl he brings further balance to the side so may get the first crack in New Zealand. Ashton Turner, the Perth Scorchers batsman, is another option having earned a place in this squad largely on the strength of being seen as a specialist finisher. There will likely remain some flexibility over who takes the role on a match-by-match basis depending on the circumstances of an innings, but Australia would like some clarity on their first-choice option.Martin Guptill’s formHe is under some pressure heading into this series having not made a T20I half-century in his last 10 innings and scoring 85 runs in five innings against West Indies and Pakistan this season. Four innings in the Super Smash last month brought three single-figure scores before injury curtailed his tournament and put him doubt to face Australia. Guptill’s overall record will buy him credit, but with the development of Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert plus the uncapped Finn Allen pushing very hard after a prolific domestic campaign a slump in form could prove costly – Ross Taylor has already been moved aside from the T20I squad this season. “Gup is a class player,” coach Gary Stead said ahead of the series. “If you watched him bat in the nets [on Saturday] you wouldn’t have known there was any issue at all. He hit it like a million dollars.”Related

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Plentiful pace bowlingPace bowling is another area where Australia do not lack for options. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are not on this tour because they had been due to be touring South Africa, but this squad features two recent IPL millionaires in Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, the experience of Kane Richardson and the left-arm pace of Jason Behrendorff who has impressed in white-ball cricket for Australia before. Daniel Sams and Andrew Tye, the latter having found an extra gear to his bowling, have also enjoyed considerable BBL success. Even if the World Cup squads need to be larger later in the year due to Covid-19 there is huge competition for spots. Cases can be made in this series.Who makes way for Ferguson?New Zealand will have a bit to ponder as well when all their players are fit. Lockie Ferguson, who took 5 for 21 against West Indies late last year, is sidelined with a stress fracture of the back but will likely be a first-choice pick when fit. With two spinners almost a certainty in India, there will probably only be room for three frontline quicks – at most – in the final XI. Trent Boult will be a lock, so Tim Southee (nine wickets in his last four T20Is), Kyle Jamieson (another big IPL earner) and Hamish Bennett, plus a few from outside this current squad, including Adam Milne who was recently at the BBL, could be playing off for positions.Are the gloves on or off?Matthew Wade will be the first-choice Australia wicketkeeper in this series and would now appear to have the inside track for the World Cup following the dropping of Alex Carey (who was included in South Africa tour squad) during the series in England. It would now appear that Australia will look to have their wicketkeeper in the top three, although that’s still far from certain given the absence of David Warner and Steven Smith from this series. If Josh Philippe scores runs in New Zealand he will make a strong claim for further selection after two prolific BBL campaigns. Ben McDermott can also take the gloves but would appear to be a back-up on this trip and still an outside chance of the World Cup.New Zealand’s seam-bowling allrounderThis is Jimmy Neesham’s position at the moment but it’s a role that could come under scrutiny for the World Cup and it could come down to how New Zealand balance their side. Colin de Grandhomme, who isn’t part of this series, has been sidelined for much of this season and has only recently returned to bowling in domestic cricket but his T20I strike-rate (143.23) makes him an attractive option in the middle order although his last five T20I innings (albeit a long time ago) were 7,6, 0, 3 and 5. However, it could be that they look to Jamieson, who has yet to face a delivery in T20Is, and there is likely to be close attention paid to how his batting goes at the IPL as much as his bowling.

This may have been England’s most disappointing batting display of the series

George Dobell04-Mar-2021If you wanted to be positive – and you gotta be positive, right? – you might argue that England showed some signs of improvement on the first day of the fourth Test.They scored 200, for goodness sake. They hadn’t done that in their previous five innings. And, in making 205, they surpassed the 193 runs they made in both innings combined in the third Test. The especially upbeat might even take comfort in the likelihood that this game, unlike the previous one, will go into a third day. Indeed, there’s a chance India’s first innings might still be in progress by the time it does.But just because Titanic probably bounced a little when it hit the ocean floor, it doesn’t mean there was reason for celebrations on the poop deck. For this felt like a significant missed opportunity. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the pitches in the previous couple of Tests – really, let’s not get bogged down with that here – there could be no reasonable complaints about this surface. Indeed, offering something to bowlers of all types and a fair opportunity to score for batsmen, you might well argue it has been an excellent pitch to this point. And if a team wins the toss on such a surface, they surely need to be compiling a first-innings total in excess of 300 and batting into the second day.Related

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Seen in that light, this may have been England’s most disappointing batting display of the series. Again, whatever the rights and wrongs of those previous surfaces, few would dispute they have been hugely demanding. And while England’s scores – 134, 164, 112 and 81 in their last four outings – were no doubt inadequate, they were many mitigating factors. Batting has, at times, been desperately tough.There were few such mitigating factors here. Yes, this India attack is terrific. Mohammed Siraj, gaining movement both ways and generating a sharp pace, performed so well that Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t even missed. But you pretty much expect high-quality bowling at Test level. The points is: there were no puffs of dust when the ball pitched here; there were no devils lurking in this pitch.But perhaps there were in the minds of a few England players? Certainly Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes still seemed to be anxious about the one that turned sharply when they missed the one that went straight. And Zak Crawley looked so determined to hit Axar Patel off his length that he became the bowler’s second wicket within 11 balls of being introduced into the attack. On this surface, there was no need for a high-risk approach. On this surface, the percentage shot was less dramatic.And for all the talk about being “fearless” ahead of the match, there wasn’t much sign of confidence in England’s team selection. Instead, it suggested a lack of confidence in the ability of the specialist batsmen to get the job done. It looked as if they were still coming to terms with the challenge in the previous Test and over-compensating to the faults of selection in that game. You wonder what message such a selection sent through the team; it felt like seeing your pilot strap on his parachute.To make this performance more galling from an England perspective, they enjoyed some significant fortune in winning the toss. Had they been obliged to bowl first, the gamble of going into this game with only two seamers – one of whom hasn’t bowled 10 overs in a match, let alone an innings, since July – would have been exposed. It may yet be on the second day.There were some positive signs. Ollie Pope again looked quick on his feet and generally played the spin well, while Dan Lawrence looked busy and confident in registering the second-highest score of the innings. Most of all, Stokes looked, for a couple of hours, as if he were coming to terms with the conditions and the bowling more with each innings.Dan Lawrence started positively on his recall•Getty ImagesStill, it’s 10 innings in succession without reaching 40 for Pope now, while Lawrence’s dismissal, nowhere near the pitch of the ball after coming down the track, was just a bit soft. As Stokes accepted afterwards, scores of 50 don’t define Tests. England may have learned a little from their tour, but there’s clearly plenty more to learn.If England were going to claw their way back into the series, they really needed to make full use of this pitch at its most benign and post a match-defining first-innings total. As it is, they have allowed India an opportunity to bat before the anticipated deterioration has begun in earnest. They may already have surrendered the advantage of winning the toss.The truth is, you don’t always have to be positive. Not if it means taking chances and backing your attacking game, anyway. Very often, on good surfaces, you can simply be competent if you trust your defence. England had a terrific opportunity at the start of this day. They will know they failed to take it.

From Jos Buttler to Dom Sibley, we take a look at whose star has risen and which players missed out

Andrew Miller10-Oct-2021WinnersJos Buttler
More than anyone, Buttler epitomises the stand-off that England and Australia have endured in the run-in to this Ashes squad announcement. Of all the players who were uneasy about the quarantine restrictions in store, no one felt it more than England’s vice-captain – an integral member of the T20 World Cup squad, and also the father of two young daughters, the second of whom was born last month. With the prospect of three months on the road, his apparent refusal to travel unless the players’ families were factored into the plans was critical to a number of concessions being granted – even if a few “critical” details remain to be resolved. In a purely playing capacity, Buttler’s recent Test form is not a lot to write home about. He has passed fifty once in 10 innings in 2021 so far, although when he made his return to the Test team in 2018, you suspect that England’s Ashes tour was always the endgame. Rather like the absent Stokes, some characters are just the sort you need for the toughest assignments.Dom Bess
It’s been a rocky road for Bess in the past year. His anguish in India in the spring was palpable, as he became a rather unfortunate fall guy for England’s wider failings on spinning surfaces at Chennai and Ahmedabad – despite never looking at his best, he had fronted up with 17 wickets in England’s three consecutive wins in Asia, after all, including a five-for at Galle in his first outing of the winter. He never came close to a recall this summer despite being included in a handful of squads later in the summer, but then neither did his former Somerset spin-twin Jack Leach, as England chose to field a seam-only attack for their first three Tests, until an abortive return for Moeen Ali against India. But now, with Moeen retired, Bess has an unlikely chance to reassert his status as England’s No. 1 spinner – Australia is an unforgiving venue for such a comeback, particularly as a fingerspinner. But England admire his all-round package, including a compact and combative batting technique in the lower-middle order. In the absence of Stokes, Moeen, Sam Curran et al, the need for de facto allrounders may yet tip the scales in his favour.Dom Bess won a place in England’s Ashes squad•PA Images/GettyJoe Root
Talking of anguish, you could see it in Root’s features when he spoke to the media at the height of the Ashes impasse a fortnight ago. As England’s captain, his desire to present a united front on behalf of his players was visibly at odds with his “desperation” to take his sensational batting form back to the most notable country in which he has yet to make a Test hundred, and set about making amends for England’s 4-0 beating in 2017-18 – a tour which ended with him retiring with exhaustion during his final unbeaten half-century of the campaign in Sydney. At the age of 30, and with the World No. 1 batting ranking under his belt, Root travels as England’s best prospect of upsetting the odds – and as the Barmy Army have helpfully pointed out, he does so with more Test runs this year than his opposite number Tim Paine has amassed in his entire career. There’s nothing perfect about the circumstances of this tour, but for Root himself, this may be his greatest shot yet at Ashes glory.LosersBen Stokes
For the second time in the pomp of his career, Stokes looks set to miss an Ashes tour of Australia, one of the ultimate highlights for any England cricketer. In 2017-18, his availability – or lack thereof – was the subject of an intense and destabilising period of speculation in the wake of his arrest outside a Bristol nightclub, and so England have nipped all doubt in the bud this time round with a very to-the-point statement that he is “not available for selection”, given his ongoing break on mental health grounds. Nevertheless, after an apparently successful follow-up operation on his injured left finger, the ECB did state that he would undergo “intensive” rehabilitation “for the next four weeks” – an oddly specific timeframe given England’s departure date in early November.Dom Sibley
Eighteen months ago, Sibley looked like the coming man in England’s Test ranks. At a time when Chris Silverwood, newly promoted to head coach, was re-emphasing the virtues of batting time and posting 400-run first-innings scores, his bloodless crease occupation was just the ticket for a team whose middle order was still pumped with post-World Cup adrenalin and were rather grateful for the chill he brought to their tempo. A gutsy maiden hundred in Cape Town helped turned the tide on a thrilling South Africa tour in January 2020, and six months later he added another against West Indies – again enabling his team to come back from a first Test loss. This summer, however, his strokelessness became his undoing – in particular his inability to rotate the strike and release the pressure on his batting partners. He was ditched after two Tests of the India series, and despite a return to form in Warwickshire’s County Championship victory, he’s not yet being trusted for a return. Zak Crawley, in particular, can be grateful for the perceived higher ceiling to his talent, after his year from hell with the bat.James Vince made a memorable half-century in opening Test of the 2017-18 Ashes•Getty ImagesJames Vince
Let’s face it, it’s the one name we all secretly thought might be in with a shout on this tour. Dawid Malan is back in favour, after all, having proven relatively successful on the 2017-18 tour with a century in Perth, but without having featured in Test cricket since the subsequent summer. Similarly, Vince has been lying in abeyance ever since that trip too – and who knows how different history might have been had he not been run out for 83 on the first day of the series at Brisbane? After an innings of such pure and unfettered strokeplay, you wonder if he might still be batting now but for that direct hit. His most recent Test innings was 76 against New Zealand at Christchurch four months later, and he played a walk-on part in the World Cup win since then too. But despite some flickers of destructive intent for Hampshire this summer, including a lacerating innings of 231 from 220 balls against Leicestershire, and a maiden international hundred in the ODI series against Pakistan, it seems that Vince’s return, at the age of 30, would have been just a little bit too back to the future.

The New Zealand quick defied a slow and low pitch to produce a spell for the ages

Sidharth Monga26-Nov-20212:21

Vettori: ‘New Zealand need a big lead to keep India spinners out of the game’

How do you come to India and win a Test really? You can win the toss, bat first, post a big total and bury them under the runs and reverse-swing, like England did in Chennai. Except that has happened only once in the last nine years. Or you can win the toss on a Bunsen, like Australia did in Pune. Another once-in-nine-years thing. There is also the odd green top to capitalise upon like South Africa did in 2007-08. But the most sustainable route is to have two spinners in great form and at least one world-class quick using reverse-swing as England did in 2012-13.Watch live cricket on ESPN+ in the US

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New Zealand have none of this going for them. They have lost the toss, their spinners haven’t been threatening, and this is a low and slow pitch that is going to turn in the second half of the match. There is a still a long way to go for New Zealand – remember they ended day two of their last Kanpur Test at 152 for 1 in response to India’s 318 – but they have taken the unlikeliest of routes to give themselves a good chance.You have to really strain to think of the last time a fast bowler bowled as well as Tim Southee did without much help from reverse swing or a green top or the highly uneven bounce of a second innings. Southee got Cheteshwar Pujara out on day one by going wide on the crease and reversing it away from him, but that was a brief window of reverse swing. All his other four wickets were classic swing and seam bowling on an unhelpful surface, which should make this an extremely cherished piece of bowling.In recent times, or at least since Kyle Abbott’s five-for in Delhi in 2015-16, only Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been this effective without help from reverse swing or the pitch. Southee is similar in that he swings the ball in the air. A veteran of 79 Tests, he has mastered the art of moving it just enough, doing it for long enough, using the angles, and getting something out of the older ball even if it is not reversing. Unlike Bhuvneshwar, Southee doesn’t have the inswinger, but he makes up for it with the wobble-seam ball, which accounted for Axar Patel in Kanpur.Tim Southee got a five-for on the second morning in Kanpur•BCCIForget the results and wickets, they are a byproduct. Just watch again how he bowled to Ravindra Jadeja at the start of the second day, and you will know it was a master at work. Southee had given his side a fitness scare on the first day, walking off with a tight groin. Once assured by medical staff it was not muscular but probably a tendon, he came back. Gingerly.During that period, India punished the lesser bowlers and went to the final session without losing a wicket. Both Shreyas Iyer and Jadeja had half-centuries to their name when play resumed on day two. Southee had a four-over old ball, but not much else in his favour. There was no movement off the surface or big swing in the air.Southee went round the wicket and began widish but on a good length. Slowly he worked his way in closer and closer. Four leaves, and then the right-to-left natural swing, and a pretty close lbw appeal that Jadeja survived on umpire’s call. Back wide again, and then getting closer and closer, with the seventh ball bang on the stumps and swinging past his defence.This was high-quality swing bowling, but not swing bowling that bursts through line-ups. His fifth wicket came in his 25th over. He had to persevere. He had to create angles and confusion. The control was immaculate. He conceded just six runs on the leg side to right-hand batters.That Southee is the one to execute such a rare event should not be a big surprise. In 12 Tests in Asia, he now averages 23.86, which is better than his overall average of 27.99. Among pace bowlers, only Zaheer Khan has taken more five-fors in India this century than Southee’s two, level with Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Dale Steyn. Since 2018, Southee averages 16.39 with the old ball – overs 40 to 80, that is.Tim Southee has an excellent record in Asia•AFP/Getty ImagesWhile all data indicates Southee should do well in India, visual cues suggest otherwise. He doesn’t have the speed in the air that Steyn works with. He doesn’t have the height that Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Glenn McGrath benefited from. He has just used his experience to become a master of control and then little variations here and there.This is Southee’s third Test tour of India to go with two each to Sri Lanka and the UAE. These days he keeps a red ball handy when he travels for white-ball tours, the IPL or the World Cup even. Just to get a feel of it “whenever possible”. In the nets he bowls a lot with the old ball. He can’t exactly point out what he is doing differently to previously when he used to average 30.81 with the older ball.”Not too sure what exactly,” he said. “Just a shift I made without really knowing. Training and working a lot harder with the older ball. You bowl a majority of balls with the older ball. That shift at training to actually working more with the older ball. When the ball swings, it is my main skill. When it is swinging, you are more dangerous, but you still have to find a way to be a threat with the older ball.”All this experience will be called upon if New Zealand are to continue to stay competitive in the series, but for now cherish this spell of mastery with the second new ball rarely seen in India, nursing a niggle and his side one hour from being batted out of the contest.

Why the Australia captain represents an unusually evolved cricket leader for his age

Osman Samiuddin03-Mar-2022″To all past players, I want to say this: Just as you have always stuck up for your mates, I’m sticking up for mine.”As sign-offs go, this one on the Justin Langer saga is one heck of a finish.Not unlike, if you think about it, a Pat Cummins wicket. No frothing, no foaming. No energy wasted. All very concise, very precise. The flourish of the message lies in its economy and its devastating finality.Related

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Like that ball to Joe Root at Old Trafford in the 2019 Ashes. You may be England captain, the ball acknowledges, and this may be the Ashes, it adds, but I’m being delivered by Patrick Cummins, it warns, and I’ll sell you an inswinger, it promises, and I’ll land on a perfect length, it winks, and then I’ll straighten and hit the top of off, it laughs, as it casually drops that conversation dead.Read the entire statement all through to that payoff. It’s a Pat Cummins spell. Pacy: it takes just under two and half minutes to read. Lays out basic principles clearly: “I believe in respecting the sanctity of the change room and proper process” is making sure to hit the top of off stump, ball after ball. Occasionally, something’s thrown in to make sure you’re paying attention: “Justin has acknowledged that his style was intense. And it was”, is the one that beats either edge and needs replaying or re-reading a couple of times.Then the chef’s kiss.Another Root dismissal comes to mind, this one from the Gabba at the 2017-18 Ashes. Cummins has talked about that set-up, how, over nine balls, he’s gradually pulling Root’s front foot across with a fifth-stump line. He wants to drag him out, then trap him leg-before as he falls over with one that ducks in.Me and all my mates: Could Cummins be the conduit to a more enlightened Australian team?•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesCummins’ control stats are stunning, and for most of those ten balls he hits that off-stump line impeccably. In between he slips one that comes back, but Root lets it go. For the tenth ball, having got that front foot where he wants it, Cummins bowls a sharp inswinger. He knows this carries risk, because there’s always the danger it will slip harmlessly down leg side, or be clipped for runs. This is Cummins, though, and it’s perfect. Root duly falls across and is leg-before: finish as you mean to set it up. Cummins does this all the time on the field. So regularly, in fact, that his genius runs the danger of becoming normalised.Like that inswinger, that statement also comes across as a risk, although it does also feel, undeniably, like a in modern Australian cricket.

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On Friday, Cummins will become the first Australian to lead his side in a Test on Pakistan soil in over 23 years. This is a moment too. There’s much to say about that absence, little of it complimentary of Cricket Australia, but now is not the time for it. Now is the time to reflect on the bigness of this moment.In some ways, this tour is similar to Australia’s tour to Pakistan in 1959-60, their first proper one here (they had played a solitary Test in Karachi three years previously). At the time this part of the world was thought to be neither especially attractive nor particularly important as a destination; in 1956 it was a pitstop on the way back from an Ashes series. But in 1959, Australia were touring the subcontinent during their own domestic season and though some players didn’t want to tour, they were told by the Australian board they had better, or else.Because it was the first real visit and because it took place at the height of the Cold War, the captain, Richie Benaud, contacted the Australian prime minister and met with a top diplomat to make sure he knew what was what before he got out there. Pakistan had just had its introduction to military dictatorship and the US president was scheduled to visit during the tour (and though he did end up watching, he wasn’t there to watch cricket but to firm up a Cold War ally). The tour needed delicate navigation and even now, nearly seven years after Benaud passed, over 60 years after the tour, it’s easy to imagine how well he would have steered through it, sharp on the field, sensitive and charming off it.On Australia’s first tour to Pakistan in 23 years, Cummins will have to juggle many hats•AFP/Getty ImagesYou’d think, 60 years on, no way the geopolitical sensitivities would be quite as heightened again but, well, perhaps you haven’t yet taken a casual doomscroll down a social media timeline. But Cummins has much to put right in Australian cricket, rather than worrying about broader political equilibriums. Repairing Australian cricket’s image within Pakistan for one, or, like Benaud, starting all over. But it’s also a little bit about righting Australian cricket’s pandemic-era withdrawal. It’s their first tour of Pakistan in 23 years, but it’s also their first Test tour other than England since 2019. So in an as-yet unspecified order, Cummins will be fast bowler, captain, leader and ambassador all tour.Australians have long intuited it, but to the outside world he has emerged recently as just the man for it, a captain who will not only make sure he does not say or do anything stupid but a leader who might actively say and do the right things.A word of caution: we can’t ever really know our public figures, no matter how much we claim we might. We pretend we do, by drawing profiles based on interviews that aim to condense a life into an hour, or through their autobiographies, or by ascribing them traits off the back of their on-field deeds. And in these divisive times, we readily reduce them to easy, binary caricatures.This applies to every public figure but is especially relevant considering the experiences of the last two Australian Test captains, built up as solid, all-round great guys until they were revealed to be – gasp! – simply guys. We think we know them. Time and again we learn that we don’t.All that we can know is that they must work off some inner peace or tumult, some unknowable urges or apathies exactly like the rest of us humans do; their lives propelled by the usual motivations and machinations of humans, except they operate inside glass houses where everyone’s looking in and at the ready with stones.In Cummins’ case, it feels doubly necessary to throw in the caveat of Sandpapergate and its implications for Australia’s attack that day. That still feels unresolved, until at least as long as the Loud, Baffling and Ongoing Silence of David Warner continues.Three captains, two expensive lessons in holding the captaincy to impossible standards•Getty ImagesThis, then, is proffered with the greatest trepidation: that Cummins represents an unusually evolved leader for cricket in this age. Not just placed against the missteps of Tim Paine or Steve Smith, but of most captains.Because just as you might watch Cummins best deliveries, listen to his thoughts on racism (or read them here). He’s not indulging in some groupthink, box-ticking here. There’s active self-education at play, as well as an understanding of how it ties in with historical issues at home – to do with Australia’s treatment of its indigenous population.Or read his column on the climate crisis. That awareness too comes from personal experience, spurred by the birth of his first child. He wants to leave the world in better shape for the people who come after him: it’s not so much a pose as basic manners.

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It’s tempting to see that statement on Langer as the full stop not only to his coaching tenure but that entire era; a full stop, that is, between Australia’s goldenest generation and all subsequent ones, who, by definition, cannot be as golden; those are your mates, these are mine.It’s more complicated than that, of course, and eras can never be so neatly demarcated. But if one of the consequences from this is that a more enlightened Australia team emerges, one less self-righteous, one less fussed about that wretched “line” and the ethos around it that its predecessors were so hung up on, then that is outright a good thing.But a more immediate consequence is that a fair bit is riding on this series, or any that Cummins is going to lead in for a while. A loss here and you can imagine some of those former cricketers waiting to wade in. Not far behind them, a wider commentariat too. Because the issues that Cummins has chosen to speak on are so polarising, not least in Australia, that he has already been cussed out in some quarters as a woke poster boy leading a merry team of snowflakes. He should concentrate only on cricket, this numbskull thinking goes, and not, you know, have thoughts about the planet he inhabits or the people who inhabit it around him.On such issues, we see time and again, the blowback can be intense and unpredictable. Which is the precarious thing about Cummins on this trip. For a man whose only career blemishes so far amount to the yearly moustache he grows (and for the good cause of Movember at that), stepping into Pakistan represents uncertain terrain not only literally, but figuratively.