All posts by n8rngtd.top

Stats analysis of Alastair Cook’s 243 against West Indies at Edgbaston

Bharath Seervi18-Aug-20174 – The number of double-centuries for Alastair Cook – the joint-second most among England players. Only Wally Hammond (seven) has more double-centuries for England; Len Hutton also hit four double-tons.258.75 – The average of Cook scores when he goes past 200. His average runs per innings in 200-plus scores is third-highest among 24 players with four or more double-hundreds. Only Virender Sehwag (262.83) and Brian Lara (259.89) have higher runs per innings.3 – The number of openers to have more double-centuries than Cook’s four. Marvan Atapattu and Sehwag lead the list with six double-hundreds followed by Graeme Smith with five. Gordon Greenidge and Hutton also scored four doubles at opener.1990 – The last time an England opener scored a double-century in the first innings of a Test, before Cook in this match. Graham Gooch scored 333 against India at Lord’s then. Overall, this is only the sixth such double-century for England openers. The last time any opener scored a double-century in the first innings of a Test in England was Smith’s 277 at Edgbaston in 2003.89.39 – Cook’s strike rate against Alzarri Joseph, having scored 59 runs off 66 balls. This is his highest strike rate against any bowler facing 50 or more balls in an innings. His previous highest such strike rate was 84.74 against Mitchell Johnson in his innings of 189 at the SCG in 2010-11 Ashes.1974 – The last time an England player made a higher score against West Indies than Cook’s 243 – the 262 not out by Dennis Amiss in Kingston. Cook’s is the fifth-highest individual score for England against West Indies.1 – Only once Cook has had a higher strike rate in his ten 150-plus scores: 61.63 in his 173 in Chittagong in 2010. Overall, this century at strike rate of 59.70 is Cook’s sixth-highest among his 31 centuries.

Only twice before had two or more bowlers picked up four or more wickets for a side in a Women’s World Cup game

Bharath Seervi02-Jul-20174/0 Dane van Niekerk’s figures – the first instance of a bowler taking four or more wickets without conceding any run across all internationals (men’s and women’s cricket included). Three for none has been achieved twice in women’s ODIs and once in women’s T20Is and only once in men’s internationals. Van Niekerk’s figures are also the best by a captain at a Women’s World Cup.190 Number of deliveries bowled in the game – which makes it the fourth-shortest completed women’s ODI. Pakistan and Australia played out the shortest game – 119 balls were bowled – at the 1997 World Cup in Hyderabad.48 West Indies Women’s total – their second-lowest in women’s ODIs and second-lowest for any team against South Africa. West Indies’ lowest total is 41, against England in 2008.6.2 Overs needed by South Africa Women to complete the chase. That makes it the third-quickest successful chase in women’s ODIs. They won with 262 balls remaining which is the third-largest win in terms of balls remaining in completed women’s ODIs.1997 The last time a total lower than West Indies’ 48 was witnessed in Women’s World Cup cricket. Pakistan slumped to 27 all out, the lowest total in the tournament’s history, against Australia Women. Overall, 48 by West Indies is the sixth-lowest in Women’s World Cup.3 Instances of two bowlers picking up four or more wickets for a side in a Women’s World Cup game. Marizanne Kapp picked up 4 for 14 and van Kiekert took 4 for 0 for South Africa in this game. Incidentally, these two figures are also the best two performances for South Africa Women in World Cup.

History or no history, with or without #MisYou, Pakistan’s final-day collapses have been a constant since August last year

Osman Samiuddin in Abu Dhabi02-Oct-2017The impulsive response would be to frame this collapse as merely the afterthought to the departures of the greatest hashtagged middle order duo that ever played for Pakistan. What else would Pakistan do in the first Test they played without Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan other than crash, limp and whimper their way to 114 chasing 136?You don’t replace these guys overnight; you can’t just buy that kind of experience; you can’t score the runs they’ve scored without going through the careers they’ve gone through.Greybeards will sit back and chill (and maybe Netflixing might not have been a bad option today). One hundred and fourteen chasing 136 sits comfortably in the dark, cold halls of Pakistan’s chasing history, a brief sample of which is here. This is just how they roll. It is the penance to be paid for those other days (you know which ones).The accurate response, however, would be to acknowledge that it is a condition that has become acute over the last year. History or no history, with or without MisYou, this is what Pakistan’s batting has been doing since the Edgbaston Test last August.

The 10 wickets lost on the final day today was the fifth time it had happened to them. On one occasion they lost nine in a day. They have done it around the world, to all kinds of bowlers and bowling, in all kinds of conditions, in all kinds of circumstances.At Edgbaston, they were done in by reverse swing, when a draw was their only option. In Hamilton, their own indecisiveness in planning a chase and a combination of pace and spin did them in. At the MCG, when a draw again was their only option, their middle order gave way to Nathan Lyon, on a concrete strip of a surface with nothing for no bowler.At Bridgetown, they could at least point to a deteriorating surface, but 81, when chasing 188? To a pace attack of – no disrespect intended – Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder? In Sydney, with the series long gone and only a draw to play for, they lost nine wickets on the last day to spin and pace. And now, Abu Dhabi, where they had not ever lost a Test, on a surface that had deteriorated in no extraordinary way, against a side ranked lower than them and coming off one of their worst runs of form ever.All of which is to say that it has happened enough times and in enough different ways for specific situations and conditions to not be relevant. Pakistan batting, final day – a disaster foretold. They are no nearer to locating a root cause let alone presenting a solution and it is an epidemic. These days can scramble the mind so much that in trying to answer why it was happening, Mickey Arthur first said:And then, pressed about whether it was a trend:So which will it be? That a young line-up explains it or that it isn’t and shouldn’t? To be fair, Arthur is not the first Pakistan coach who has had trouble making sense of these collapses. If history is a guide, he won’t be the last. And to be even fairer, there is no simple answer.Pressure. Poor game sense. Bad decisions. Concentration lapses. Poor judgment. Failures of technique at key moments. Poor starts – Pakistan’s middle order usually finds itself, but it can be no coincidence that five different opening partnerships played in the six examples mentioned. In these last-day situations, a poor start – whether in loss of wickets, or lack of intent – is fatal. This isn’t it. There must be much more.Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, the core of this batting order now, have played through all of these final days. Given how long each of them has been around, why do they not appear any closer to working out what goes wrong for them on days such as this? Why were Misbah and Younis, with all their experience, unable to turn these days around and pass it on to these men? Babar Azam and Sami Aslam, the future, have now played in five and four of these final days respectively. How deep, Pakistan should worry, are those cuts going to go?

A short explainer on who Navdeep Saini is, what his attributes are, and his performances leading to his call-up to India’s Test squad against Afghanistan

Akshay Gopalakrishnan11-Jun-2018Who is Navdeep Saini?A tall right-arm quick who hits speeds upwards of 140kph, Navdeep Saini broke into the Delhi squad in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy at the age of 21. Saini’s sharp pace has attracted the attention of the national selectors for some time now, and his credentials were further validated when he had his breakout first-class season in 2017-18.Hailing from Karnal in Haryana, Saini had a tough initiation into cricket owing mainly to his financially poor background. Not being able to afford coaching at a cricket academy, Saini grew up playing tennis-ball tournaments and used the cash rewards from his success there to enroll into the Karnal Premier League, a tournament conducted by the Dehi seamer Sumit Narwal. It was Narwal who spotted potential in Saini and brought him to Delhi.Saini earned an India A cap for the tour of South Africa in 2017 and returned seven wickets in two matches. He was then selected to play in the Duleep Trophy the following month and also turned out against New Zealand A at home.What is his bowling style?Saini has both the physical and technical attributes that make a successful fast bowler. He is tall and wiry, has a quick run-up and even quicker arm-speed. The jump is a product of a sharp trigger movement and he can manage subtle variations with his supple wrists. Saini’s early experience of bowling with tennis balls programmed him to perfect the yorker. As a result, his trajectories can be pretty deceptive: batsmen often stay back because of his height, but Saini largely bowls on the fuller side of a good length. In addition to skidding the ball into the batsman’s body, he can also reverse it.What is his claim to fame?Saini was one of the driving forces of Delhi’s march to the final of the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy, where he was their highest wicket-taker with 34 scalps. But his defining performance came in the semi-final of the tournament, against Bengal. Mohammed Shami, the man Saini replaces in the Test squad, had produced a six-wicket haul that had kept Delhi’s first-innings lead to 112. With just the third day in progress, many results seemed possible. But Saini shut out the game in under a session, snaring 4 for 35 to send Bengal packing for 86 and consign them to an innings defeat. Saini cut through the heart of the Bengal batting, taking out Sudip Chatterjee and Manoj Tiwary, before adding the wickets of Aamir Gani and B Amit. He followed it up with a five-wicket haul in the final, but Delhi succumbed to a superior Vidarbha attack.Recent performancesSaini hasn’t done anything substantial since the high of the Ranji season. He took eight wickets in six matches, including a four-wicket haul, in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. He had a quiet Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking four wickets in as many matches as Delhi made the final, but gave away just 84 runs in 15 overs. He also made the India A squad in the Deodhar Trophy and the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup.Saini’s domestic exploits drew the attention of the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling coach Ashish Nehra, and fetched him an IPL contract worth 468000 USD approx (INR 3 crore). However, he did not get a game in IPL 2018. Most recently, he was named in the India A squad for the four-day game against England Lions in Worcester in July.

The Bangladesh head coach opens up on his time at the helm so far and the challenges that lie ahead for him while coaching one of the most mercurial sides in world cricket

Mohammad Isam19-Sep-2018At some point early in Bangladesh’s innings in Dubai on Saturday, Steve Rhodes must have felt he’d been transported back to early July in Antigua. Back then, West Indies had bowled out the visitors for just 43 runs, the lowest Test total in 44 years.In Dubai, Lasith Malinga removed Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan in the first over before Tamim Iqbal retired hurt. Bangladesh were effectively 3 for 3 in the second over. It all ended well, though, Mushfiqur Rahim’s powerful 144, Mohammad Mithun’s maiden ODI fifty and an excellent bowling performance leading Bangladesh to a resounding win.Things turned out very differently in Antigua. At one stage, Kemar Roach picked up Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah – three-fourth of Bangladesh’s senior brigade – in the same over to reduce them to 18 for 5 within the first 30 minutes. Whenever the camera focused on the Bangladesh sitting area, Rhodes sat still, looking straight.It was his first match day as Bangladesh head coach, his first job in international cricket. Rhodes’ new job was, at that moment, the least desirable in world cricket. What helped him cope, though, was his CV: a former England wicketkeeper who became a leading county coach at Worcestershire, a life of professional cricket.”I wonder whether any of the coaches has had a baptism like this in international cricket,” Rhodes told ESPNcricinfo in a lengthy conversation before the Asia Cup. “Nobody could have imagined an opening day like that. But I have been involved in cricket for a long time. I understand that you have good and bad days, whether it is park, club, county or international cricket. It was a bad day for us.”Previous Bangladesh coaches have also overseen poor starts to their tenure. Jamie Siddons lost his first series badly in New Zealand in 2007-08; Stuart Law’s first assignment in Zimbabwe in 2011 was a humiliating loss while Chandika Hathurusingha, too, made a losing start in the West Indies in 2014.This time, Bangladesh recovered to beat West Indies in the ODI and T20I series – a remarkable turnaround given the Test drubbing and given West Indies’ relative strength in the shorter formats. Rhodes didn’t come in for too much public praise from the players but he understood how everything shifted once the ODI regulars, particularly captain Mashrafe Mortaza, arrived in the Caribbean.”I could see that after the inclusion of some of the one-day players who arrived. There was a different vibe around the place. I think it was good to have some energy back in the dressing room. It was almost like [the Test series loss] was put to bed, which is what I wanted, and a fresh start with the one-dayers.Steve Rhodes and Mashrafe Mortaza lend audience to Neil McKenzie•BCB”We believed we could win the T20s but the rankings were far apart. They are the world champions. [Beating them] was very special indeed. We finished on an incredible high. Although it was low when it started, there’s a bit of realism in that, so I was happy that the tour went. I am not sure the last time we won two series away but it was very special for me with Bangladesh,” said Rhodes.The overall win in West Indies and Bangladesh’s resounding win over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup must have come as a relief to the BCB, who had spent the first half of 2018 looking for a new head coach. After Hathurusingha’s sudden resignation in October last year, the board faced refusals by Tom Moody, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Andy Flower, Justin Langer, Paul Farbrace and Geoff Marsh.They called Richard Pybus and Phil Simmons to Dhaka for interviews but called neither back. Negotiations went into the final stages with Marsh and Farbrace, but both turned down the offers. When Gary Kirsten was approached, he suggested a consultancy role. The BCB then asked him to recommend coaches; Rhodes featured in both the BCB’s and Kirsten’s list, and the appointment was swift. Apart from his vast coaching experience, the venue for next year’s World Cup also came into consideration for BCB and Kirsten.”It was the challenge and excitement for myself, personally, of being involved with an international team knowing that there was a World Cup in England coming up,” said Rhodes. “But I am also fully aware of the passion that this country holds for cricket. There’s a lot of people who work extremely hard for a living in Bangladesh. But there’s one thing in common in the 120 million people: their love for cricket.”That passion, desire and excitement that they’ve got is sometimes daunting as a coach. But actually, what if we did something special? And if we do something special, what a smile we can put in the faces of 120 million people. I think it is a big thing for me to give this a go.”Hathurusingha’s three-year reign was testament to how much power Bangladesh’s foreign head coach can enjoy if he has the BCB bosses on his side. The cricket operations chairman’s position was changed twice during his time after he had a run-in with Naimur Rahman in 2015. The selection policy was completely revamped to fit him in as a selector the following year, prompting the resignation of Faruque Ahmed, the highly successful chief selector. Hathurusingha was known for regularly overlooking the BCB’s cricket operations committee, and going right up to the BCB president Nazmul Hassan for minor to big things.Whatmore and Siddons enjoyed a bit of power as they were credited with the rapid progress of the one-day side, as well as the rise of a second batch of cricketers including the likes of Shakib, Tamim and Mushfiqur. Pybus fell out with BCB directors during his brief reign as head coach in 2012. Shane Jurgensen resigned in 2014 after some BCB directors said they were actively looking for a new coach after Bangladesh did poorly in the Asia Cup and World T20 that year.In his first three months, Rhodes has seen how unpredictable the Bangladesh cricket team can be. It is a similar situation off the field too. If things go wrong, as many former foreign coaches have found out, it can rapidly escalate into a crisis. But, as Hathurusingha saw all too often, success on the field is all that matters and, so far, Rhodes’ successful start as Bangladesh coach should serve him this exact lesson.

The resident of Lyari has made giant strides in the sport, after having been discovered by PCB’s age-group programme when he was 12

Umar Farooq22-Feb-20196:27

‘Wasim Akram was my role model growing up’ – Ghulam Mudassar

Another fast bowler from Pakistan, but what’s different about Ghulam Mudassar?Not just another fast bowler, because Mudassar hails from Lyari in Karachi, traditionally a region which produces only footballers.A native of Haripur Hazaran, in the northern part of Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Mudassar grew up in Lyari, an area of Karachi which had a vicious reputation for gang-related violence but was also known as Pakistan’s footballing hotbed. Lyari has a vibrant culture and has also given the country bodybuilders and boxers, but a 19-year-old left-arm fast bowler is something new.What has he played so far?In 2011, Mudassar was spotted by PCB’s U-16 programme at the age of 12. He played for Karachi but did not make much impact with three wickets in four games that were part of the programme. That was the youngster’s first time away from home, and he travelled nearly 1000 km away to Lahore. He returned to play inter-district U-19 cricket for Karachi and when he turned 13, Mudassar was picked up by Port Qasim Authority to play the inter-department (three-day tournament) in 2012. Barely a teenager, he earned 18 wickets at 26.27 including an eight-for on debut at Islamabad’s Diamond Cricket Club.So, any first-class cricket under his belt?Despite never being selected for the Pakistan U-19 side, he has played domestic cricket from a young age. He made his first-class debut in 2015 for Karachi Whites and finished the season with 31 wickets at 34.67 in eight games. In all, he has played 19 first-class games – 14 for Karachi Whites, four for National Bank of Pakistan and one for Pakistan A – bagging 65 wickets with 30.81. In 33 List-A games, he has 41 wickets at 37.56.His numbers aren’t great, so how is he in the PSL?Numbers, perhaps, don’t reflect his talent. He was selected after a Lahore Qalandars trial in 2017, where he participated under the ‘Rising Stars’ category. There he worked with Aaqib Javed and Mudassar Nazar. Back then, he wasn’t selected in the XI for any game, but has since become one of Pakistan’s top young players. In 2017 and 2018, he represented Pakistan in the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup.He consequently earned a BPL contract in 2017, playing only one game where he conceded 31 runs in two overs. For PSL 2019, he was picked up by Quetta Gladiators and has become an integral part of the team, sharing the ball with fellow quicks Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Irfan.What’s the best thing about him?For him, fast bowling is ‘madness’, and a bit of control can make him a standout pacer. He possesses a natural inswinger but is also adding the slower ball and yorker to his stock. He grew up watching his idol Wasim Akram on TV and wants to emulate the former Pakistan captain.

Everything about Chris Gayle’s 87 against New Zealand is what one has come to associate with him in recent years, but was that his final big effort in ODIs?

Sidharth Monga24-Jun-2019At about 7.50pm – the most glorious 7.50pm of this initially gloomy tournament, on the day after the longest day of the year – it suddenly strikes you. Chris Gayle is walking back. Dodgy lower back, troublesome groin, walking gingerly, his every step measured, as if – if not careful – he could dismantle a body put together before every innings. Along with the pads and other armour, you know. His knees are fine at least. He has been managing that falling-apart body for a few years now.It is a slow walk. Gives you time to contemplate. By the time he reaches the 30-yard circle, the crowd rises for a generous standing ovation. He raises the bat. Takes off his helmet to reveal a black bandana and greying dreadlocks and beard.That’s when it comes to you. You might just have seen the last big innings of Christopher Henry Gayle’s international career. He is pushing 40. He has already announced this is his last ODI tournament. His side is on the way out. There isn’t much left. West Indies will come back strong, Gayle won’t. Not after this tournament. He lets you soak it in with that slow walk.Gayle is walking off with an entertaining 87 against New Zealand to his name. It is an innings that has given West Indies hope of resurrecting their campaign. It is an imperfect innings raging against the light that is fading on an imperfect career and an imperfect team campaign. Weather gods wanted to miss none of it; Manchester has turned out a beautiful sunny day, which leaves floodlights redundant even for an overtime finish.It has been a day where Gayle has shown amply what has become the hallmark of his resurgence years: acute awareness of his strengths and how to maximise them, and how to shield the weaknesses. He starts with the almost customary maiden. At one point he has scored just 5 off 23 deliveries. For close to two hours he bats, and his side takes only three couples (including leg byes) in that period. He leaves alone balls that others look to take singles off. You know, length, outside off. Not in his wheelhouse, not threatening his stumps either. He hardly even lifts his bat, forget moving his feet when he leaves them. There can’t be one wasted movement.New Zealand have looked to bounce him, and he has hooked them. Sixty-eight of his 87 runs have come in boundaries. One of the six sixes is a top edge, another is a mis-hit, but Gayle knows what he is doing. He knows he doesn’t have to absolutely nail it when he is trying to pump a left-arm spinner down the ground into the shorter straight boundary.It’s not that Gayle hasn’t run quick singles. He has done so often, sometimes hitting balls straight to mid-on, but also knowing better than anyone how hard he has hit them. Every time he does go, though, you worry. He doesn’t look quick but he knows the coverage of his strides. There is no misjudgment. There are few better judges of a run than Gayle. The last time he was run out in any form of official cricket was back in October 2018. The last time he was involved in an international run-out was last July. He has been run out only 18 times in 524 international innings. That’s the most universe-boss thing he has ever done. Not only does he judge the runs well, others around him adjust with him, trust him to make up for missed singles.Chris Gayle celebrates dismissing Ross Taylor•Getty ImagesAnd when Gayle steals a second run at Old Trafford, it draws the loudest cheer of the day. Bigger than when he hits sixes, which are majestic. Bigger arguably than when he bowled with his sunglasses on earlier in the day and took the wicket of Ross Taylor. He had a laugh at his own body when he pretended to have dislocated his shoulder when celebrating. Earlier in the tournament he bowled with a hat and sunglasses on. The fact that West Indies had to go to him shows desperation but he could find enough in the tank to roll his arm over.This West Indies innings turns out to be a reminder of Gayle’s career. The bright start, the lost years, and then that Carlos Brathwaite surge reminiscent of Gayle’s resurgence as the wise old sage of limited-overs cricket. This is a reminder of what just might have been if he had been looked after well, if there had been a board to pamper him, protect him and then demand the best out of him as the boards in India and Australia do. Of what might just have been if he wasn’t fighting a creaky body. And yet, despite all that, Gayle is walking off still a majestic and an intimidating batsman.Cruelly West Indies finish just short of a miraculous win. Cricket is cruel. World Cups are even more cruel. You get only one shot at one team. They take away players from us. It is a reminder Gayle will be gone not too long from now. Also, in all likelihood, MS Dhoni. A few others won’t even get a chance to say goodbye. If this is indeed Gayle’s last big innings, his last big show, he has done well to remind us: cricket can be cruel, you will encounter more failure than success in it, but don’t forget to have fun when you are there.

With Kuldeep Yadav also in the mix, Ashwin might end up sitting out the Jamaica Test even if India choose to field two spinners

Karthik Krishnaswamy27-Aug-2019Seven Tests, 24 wickets, an average of 30.16. That was R Ashwin’s record during India’s run of overseas tours last year.How good are those numbers? Well, that average is the best among those of the eight spinners with ten or more wickets in South Africa, England and Australia since the start of 2016. In that time, Nathan Lyon has averaged 36.71 in these three countries, Moeen Ali and Rangana Herath in the 40s, and Yasir Shah 56.03. Ashwin’s economy rate of 2.38 is the best on that list too.Those numbers reflected the role Ashwin ended up playing on those tours. Through his career, Ashwin has been known for his strike rate – which remains the best among all spinners with more than 200 Test wickets – but India’s strike bowlers on those tours were their quicks. Ashwin, for one reason or another, ended up playing a holding role.Think back to Adelaide, where he conceded only 149 runs in 86.5 overs – nearly a full day’s Test cricket – across the Test match, and picked up three wickets in each innings, but without getting ball after ball to leap out of the rough like Lyon did.
Lyon bowled 16.5 overs less than Ashwin, but picked up two more wickets, including six in India’s second innings. He also conceded 56 runs more than Ashwin.How much of Ashwin’s bowling style – controlled and probing, but without the ripping turn and bounce that runs through sides – was down to design, and how much of it was down to his physical state?For any spinner, the amount of purchase they extract is proportionate to the work they put on the ball with their action. You can’t put as much body into your action if some part of your body is giving you trouble.The groin has been Ashwin’s problem area for a while. Soon after the 2016-17 home season – in which he bowled more overs than anyone ever has in a single season of Test cricket – he sat out the IPL to recover from sports hernia, a soft-tissue injury in the groin area, which is commonly seen among sportspersons who are required to put their body through repetitive twisting motions.The problem resurfaced on the England tour last year. Ashwin played despite being less than fully fit in Southampton – where Moeen, getting the ball to jump out of the footmarks in a way Ashwin didn’t, was England’s match-winner – and missed the next Test at The Oval. After his Adelaide exertions, Ashwin’s injury flared up again, and he missed the last three Tests in Australia.Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja came into the side, and ensured Ashwin wasn’t missed too much. He took seven wickets at The Oval, and five in a victory at the MCG. He also scored eighties at The Oval and the SCG. In Sydney, India played two spinners, and Kuldeep Yadav picked up a first-innings five-for.We can’t be sure how much of it was down to Kuldeep’s impressive bowling on a flat pitch, and how much to his impatience with Ashwin’s fitness issues, but India head coach Ravi Shastri, speaking to after the Australia tour, asserted that Kuldeep had become India’s “number one spinner in overseas Test cricket”.By the time the latest West Indies tour rolled around, therefore, Ashwin was in a fight to regain his place. There was room for one spinner in India’s combination in Antigua, and India went with Jadeja.Kuldeep Yadav is cheered by his team-mates after his five-for•Getty ImagesKuldeep may have been in contention, but his white-ball form had fallen away somewhat between Sydney and Antigua, and given that this was India’s first World Test Championship game, they may have wanted to pick someone with more experience, and perhaps more batting ability too. That left Ashwin and Jadeja.It couldn’t have been an easy decision to leave Ashwin out, given his outstanding career record, his numbers – with ball and bat – against West Indies, and his recent County Championship form for Nottinghamshire, for whom he picked up 23 wickets at 19.91 in three Division One games.But equally, Jadeja had made himself extremely difficult to drop. Since the start of the 2016-17 home season, his record with the ball has been neck-and-neck with Ashwin’s, while his batting returns have been significantly superior. In that time, he has been the world’s best allrounder in terms of difference between batting and bowling averages.In the end, Jadeja made a key contribution to India’s win in Antigua, scoring 58 and turning 189 for 6 into a first-innings total of 297. His bowling was less successful, with his two first-innings wickets coming either side of some stick from Darren Bravo, Roston Chase and Shimron Hetmyer – who scored a combined 46 off 55 balls against him – and his four second-innings overs going for 42 runs with Kemar Roach hitting three sixes off him.Spinners can sometimes end up with figures like that even when they have bowled well, and India won’t be unduly alarmed by Jadeja’s display in Antigua, especially when their quicks were so good. Now, unless India play two spinners – and perhaps even if they do – Ashwin will quite likely sit out the second Test in Jamaica too.It’s not an entirely unfamiliar situation for Ashwin – Jadeja briefly usurped him as the No. 1 overseas spinner back in 2013-14, and Karn Sharma played ahead of him in the 2014 Adelaide Test – but it will still irk him, given his status as one of India’s greatest match-winners, and given that so much of his recent struggle has come about thanks to factors not in his control. It can’t be easy to accept the Stuart MacGill role when you’ve been Shane Warne for so long.That said, the Ashwin-Jadeja dynamic is now perhaps more like the tussle between Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, which only resolved into a clear-cut hierarchy after the 2003-04 tour of Australia. Harbhajan returned home after aggravating a finger injury in the first Test, following which Kumble came into the side, picked up 24 wickets in the next three Tests, and became India’s undisputed No. 1 spinner. What further twists await us in the Ashwin-Jadeja story?

Rohit Sharma has been rested for a change, while Angelo Mathews returns for the visitors

Deivarayan Muthu03-Jan-2020Sri Lanka specialist Rohit rests, Bumrah returnsIndia v Sri Lanka. Over to you, Rohit Sharma, the stand-in captain. For a change, Sharma has been rested from the upcoming three-match T20I series at home against Sri Lanka, and the focus will instead be on the comeback men and the fringe players, who will be looking to use this series as a springboard for the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia.Since Jasprit Bumrah claimed a blink-and-you-miss-it 6 for 27, including a hat-trick, at Sabina Park in September last year, he hasn’t played any representative cricket. Having recovered from a back injury, India’s spearhead has only bowled in the nets since, but his return spruces up an attack that has been struck by injuries.Longer rope for Saini and Thakur?No timeframe has been set for the returns of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar, which might mean more game-time for Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur, who were part of the injury list not too long ago.In the ODI series decider against West Indies in Cuttack, Saini had shown that his extra pace and zip could give India’s attack an edge even on flat tracks, while Thakur snapped a blazing stand between Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran, and followed it with a cameo with the bat to see off a tense chase.Navdeep Saini wheels away in celebration•BCCIThe second opener conundrumOn the batting front, there could be a direct shootout between a fit-again Shikhar Dhawan and the in-form KL Rahul for the second opener’s role behind white-ball vice-captain Sharma.In the absence of Dhawan, Rahul enjoyed a longer run at the top and reeled off scores of 62, 11, 91, 6, 102 and 77 in the limited-overs series against West Indies.ALSO READ: Rahul 2.0 makes strong case for regular limited-overs selection In 2019, Rahul had scored runs in almost every form of white-ball cricket he had played. Runs in the middle order at the World Cup: check. Runs at the top at the World Cup: check. Runs against West Indies: check. Runs at the top in the IPL: check. Runs in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy: check. Runs in the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: check. But despite ticking all boxes, Rahul might not be guaranteed an opening slot alongside Sharma in the T20 World Cup down under.And hello again, Shikhar Dhawan. He’s returning to the white-ball fold after a second major injury in 2019, and his experience and calmness are too hard to ignore. He was the top scorer in T20Is in 2018, with 689 runs in 17 innings at an average of 40.52 and strike rate of 147.22. Sharma had occupied second place on that list with 590 runs in 18 innings at an average of 36.87 and strike rate of 147.50.Dhawan was also at it in IPL 2019, emerging as Delhi Capitals’ highest run-getter, with 521 runs in 16 innings. The strike rate had dropped to 135.67 in the IPL as he had come up against very sluggish tracks at the Feroz Shah Kotla.Sri Lanka look to the futureAs for Sri Lanka, which version of their side will turn up in India? Soon after their second-string team had whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 in Pakistan, their first-string team were swept 3-0 in Australia, which will be the scene of the World Cup. The margins of defeats were alarming – 134 runs, nine wickets and seven wickets – but Sri Lanka have kept faith in their youngsters.When Bhanuka Rajapaksa was racking up the runs at school level, he was earmarked to be a future Sri Lanka star. After some (unexpected) success in Pakistan, the 28-year-old seems to be belatedly living up to the hype, having earned a T20 gig in the Bangladesh Premier League and a T10 gig in the UAE.Avishka Fernando had everyone going ga-ga over his rousing strokeplay in the 50-over World Cup last year, but his T20I strike rate of 94.87 after ten matches needs some buffing up. Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga has confirmed that Avishka would be opening the batting alongside Danushka Gunathilaka.Avishka Fernando was the top-scorer for Sri Lanka•Getty ImagesSri Lanka look to the pastSri Lanka have also recalled an old pro in Angelo Mathews, who last featured in the shortest format in August 2018.Despite not having bowled a ball in eight months leading up to the 50-over World Cup, Mathews floated a 115kph delivery and dismissed Nicholas Pooran to add to a list of a crazy Sri Lankan victories in 2019. Does the 32-year-old still have it in him in T20 cricket?Sri Lankan young ‘uns v gung-ho IndiaThen, there are exciting allrounders in Wanindu Hasaranga and Isuru Udana. Hasaranga, the legspinner who can bowl a mean wrong’un, had bagged a hat-trick on ODI debut in 2017 and more recently took back-to-back three-fors in the T20I series in Lahore.Left-arm seamer Udana, who has a surfeit of slower balls in his repertoire, has come a long way since being fast-tracked into Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup squad in 2009. He has evolved into a genuine wicket-taker and a powerful lower-order hitter, also attracting the attention of various T20 leagues around the world, including the IPL.India, too, have come a long way since their batting line-up was pinned down by Sri Lanka’s defensive bowling in the 2014 T20 World Cup final in Dhaka. They have now learned to adapt to the changing T20 landscape, and even did a West Indies on West Indies while batting first in the T20I series decider in Mumbai last month.Sri Lanka have lost their last five T20Is in India, but if their newbies stand up to pressure – like they did in Pakistan – they can spring a surprise on India.

Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold looks almost certain to depart Liverpool this summer, with his contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

The 26-year-old has largely been touted with a free transfer to join Real Madrid, with numerous publications already claiming that a deal is complete for him to join the LaLiga giants.

Such news has angered supporters, with his potential move leaving Arne Slot’s side shortchanged and unable to receive a fee for a talent who’s been a leading player in their success.

He’s made over 300 appearances for his boyhood side, playing a vital role in various levels of success, claiming one Premier League title, with another set to follow in the coming weeks.

The defender isn’t the only player to depart Anfield on a free in recent years, albeit in different circumstances to another player who captured the hearts of the fanbase during his spell on Merseyside.

Daniel Sturridge’s time as a player at Liverpool

Striker Daniel Sturridge formed a deadly partnership with Luis Suárez during his stint at Liverpool, with the pair firing the Reds to title contention under Brendan Rodgers over a decade ago.

The Englishman scored 67 times in his 160 appearances during his six-and-a-half years on Merseyside, producing countless moments of magic including his effort against former side Chelsea.

However, despite his goalscoring exploits, he was unable to prove his talent on a regular basis, with injuries massively plaguing his time and subsequently spending long periods on the sidelines.

During his stint on Merseyside, the now-retired striker suffered 15 separate injuries, missing a total of 121 matches – missing an average of 18.5 matches per season he was on the club’s books.

Such a record left the hierarchy with no choice but to offload him in the summer of 2019, but six years on, Slot has found a new version of the Englishman, desperately needing to offload him to avoid losing another talent for nothing.

Why Slot needs to sell Liverpool’s new Sturridge this summer

Despite Slot’s impressive first season in England, which has seen him take the top-flight by storm, he may have a job on his hands to sustain such a success next season.

Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah could all depart the club on a free transfer this summer, giving the Dutchman a huge task in replacing the trio given their importance to the side.

However, he may want to offload numerous other first-team members this summer, including Diogo Jota, who’s fallen well beyond the high standards he set for himself during his early days on Merseyside.

The Portuguese international joined the Reds in a £45m deal from Wolves in the summer of 2020, notching 34 goals during his first two years after his big-money transfer.

However, he’s struggled to achieve such levels in 2024/25, scoring just nine times across all competitions, with injuries starting to prevent his progress at Anfield.

Jota has only been able to start 12 league outings so far during Slot’s reign, leading to reports that the club were willing to cash in on him this summer to fund a move for a new talisman.

The 28-year-old has two years left on his contract, but with the former Atlético Madrid ace now entering the latter stages of his professional career, the upcoming window could present the last opportunity to recoup the majority of the fee paid for his signature.

Given his injury issues and lack of form when fit, Slot must look to offload him this window, joining Trent in not featuring in his plans as he looks to continue his impressive start as the club’s manager next season.

It may seem a brutal call, but the football industry is an unforgiving one, with decisions needing to be made for the better of the club, subsequently leading to fresh blood arriving to fill the void.

The next Michael Owen: Liverpool plot move for "phenomenal" £40m striker

Liverpool could be about to land a new version of Michael Owen this summer.

By
Ethan Lamb

Apr 9, 2025