All posts by n8rngtd.top

The Mariners left All-Star pitcher Bryan Woo off their AL Division Series roster ahead of Game 1 against the Tigers Saturday.

Woo hasn't pitched since Sep. 19 as he's dealt with pectoral inflammation, which will now keep him out of Seattle's first postseason series. Should the Mariners get past the Tigers and advance to the AL Championship Series, he'd be able to return if he's ready to go.

Woo's absence is a big blow for Seattle as the righthander started 30 games and had a 15-7 record in the regular season, earning his first All-Star nod along the way. He has a team-best 2.94 ERA among starters and also leads the team with 198 strikeouts.

Seattle hosts the first two games of the series and will give the ball to George Kirby in Game 1 as Luis Castillo is expected to start Game 2 against Detroit's ace Tarik Skubal. Castillo made 32 starts this season with a 18-11 record, 3.54 ERA and 162 strikeouts. Kirby started 23 games, notching 12 wins and striking out 137 batters with a 4.21 ERA.

First pitch between the Mariners and Tigers to open their ALDS matchup is slated for 8:38 p.m. ET Saturday at T-Mobile Park as Troy Melton toes the rubber for Detroit before Skubal gets the ball Sunday.

Also: what is the record for sixes by a team in one innings in an ODI, and a T20 international?

Steven Lynch22-Sep-2020How often have wickets fallen to the first two balls of an ODI innings? asked Robin Jackson from England

That Mitchell Starc double at Old Trafford last week – he dismissed Jason Roy and Joe Root – was the fourth time the first two balls of an innings have produced wickets in one-day internationals.It also happened in Brisbane in 1988-89, when Australia’s Terry Alderman bowled Ramiz Raja and Aamer Malik of Pakistan with the first two balls of the day, then Pakistan turned the tables in Durban in 2012-13, when Mohammad Irfan accounted for Hashim Amla and Colin Ingram with his first two deliveries.But the top prize goes to the Sri Lankan left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas, who took a hat-trick with the first three balls of Bangladesh’s innings in Pietermaritzburg during the 2003 World Cup, dismissing Hannan Sarkar, Mohammad Ashraful and Ehsanul Haque. After a four and a wide, Vaas removed Sanwar Hossain with his fifth legal delivery to leave Bangladesh reeling at 5 for 4. It was the only time the No. 6 batsman has faced a ball in the first over of an international match.Have Nos. 6 and 7 ever scored centuries in the same ODI before, as Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell did the other day? asked Michael Carter from Australia

That double by Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell during the entertaining final ODI of the English season at Old Trafford last week turns out to be the second time this has happened in official one-day internationals. The other occasion was an unusual one, during the Afro-Asia Cup in Chennai in June 2007. The Asian XI were struggling at 72 for 5 before No. 6 Mahela Jayawardene was joined by MS Dhoni – but they both scored centuries, and put on 218. The eventual total of 331 proved just too steep for the Africa XI.Dane Cleaver scored 201 and made nine dismissals in a recent match in New Zealand. Has any wicketkeeper ever scored a double-century and taken more dismissals in the same match? asked Kenneth Malcolm from Australia

The Central Districts wicketkeeper Dane Cleaver achieved this remarkable double – 201, eight catches and a stumping – against Northern Districts in Napier in February 2020. No wicketkeeper has ever scored more than 200 in a match (even counting both innings) and made ten dismissals – but, remarkably, a non-keeper has. Playing for Gloucestershire against Surrey in Cheltenham in 1928, Wally Hammond made 139 and 143, and also took ten catches, eight of them off slow left-armer Charlie Parker.Eoin Morgan hit a record 17 sixes in his 71-ball 148 against Afghanistan in the 2019 World Cup•Getty ImagesWhat is the record for sixes by a team in one innings in an ODI, and a T20 international? asked Riz Naik from India

England set the record for the most sixes in a one-day international innings during last year’s World Cup, when they crashed 25 against Afghanistan at Old Trafford. That included 17 by Eoin Morgan, the individual record. England held the previous best, too – four months earlier, in February 2019, they had clobbered 24 sixes against West Indies in Grenada – which broke the week-old record of 23, set by West Indies in Bridgetown, in a match they still lost.In T20Is the record is 22 sixes in an innings, hit by Afghanistan against Ireland in Dehradun in February 2019. That beat the old mark of 21, which has happened three times now.The recently retired Ian Bell took 100 catches in Tests. Is he the only one with this round number? asked David Adele from Kenya

Ian Bell, who has just retired from first-class cricket at the age of 38, took 100 catches in his 118 Tests. He is indeed the only man to stick on exactly 100, although South Africa’s Jacques Kallis took 200, four of them for the World XI. David Boon took 99 for Australia. Two wicketkeepers also took 99 catches – Nayan Mongia of India, and Junior Murray of West Indies. Mongia also made eight stumpings, and Murray three. One of Murray’s catches came in the field.Viv Richards and Sourav Ganguly both took exactly 100 catches in one-day internationals.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Playing only in his 24th first-class match, the 22-year-old showed impressive maturity and aggression

Andrew McGlashan07-Jan-20211:28

Hussey: Pucovski looked very composed at the crease

It felt like a moment the game had waited a long time for: Will Pucovski presented with the baggy green cap. In fact, it has been only four years since he made his first-class debut and three since his maiden century. This Test against India is his 24th first-class match.Even from before he played for Victoria, it has felt a matter of when, not if, for Pucovski, although there have been plenty of obstacles put in his way. There have been nine concussions, the most recent of which was last month and delayed his debut by two Tests. He has taken multiple breaks away from the game to manage his mental health.Related

• Australia's batting ills continue despite Steven Smith ton

• Will Pucovski: 'Probably my favourite day of cricket to date'

• Australia on strong footing after Will Pucovski, Marnus Labuschagne fifties

• Talented Will Pucovski's tough road to the baggy green: a timeline

In normal circumstances, the morning of a Test debut is also one to savour of friends and family, but these are not normal times. Cameron Green was fortunate early in the series to have family in Adelaide, but the closed border between Victoria and New South Wales has prevented Pucovski’s from being here. Andrew McDonald, Australia’s assistant coach and Pucovski’s first coach at Victoria, presented the cap.”It was very special. We’ve been through a lot together,” Pucovski said. “One of those moments where it was nice to share it with someone with someone I do have such a close connection with.”I would have loved mum and dad and my girlfriend to be up here to celebrate with me and my mates, but they obviously couldn’t make it with the Covid restrictions but other than that, obviously it was still a very, very special moment. I was a tiny bit sad, especially dad who has just been there the whole way and been a massive support to me. A bit disappointed that he couldn’t make it up, but only give that one per cent. It was 99 percent elation.”And so, shortly before 10.30am, Pucovski walked out to the middle alongside David Warner with the task of reinvigorating Australia’s batting after two Tests of struggle. He took first strike, his opening delivery in Test cricket from Jasprit Bumrah wide enough for him to watch go by, and comfortably saw out a maiden. Next over he was off the mark with a tuck to fine leg – no duck to start with, which has been the fate for three Australians in their first Test innings.Will Pucovski punches one off the back foot•Getty ImagesHe soon lost Warner, edging a booming drive to slip, and his first boundary was a top-edge hook but well away from the field. The next stroke was a push straight off mid-on, summing up the simplicity and compact that is a hallmark of his shot selection.Then came three hours to contemplate those early exchanges as steady drizzle cut into the day. Two balls into the resumption there was an appeal for lbw that looked reasonably close with Pucovski coming well across his crease from a leg-stump guard. The next delivery was an elegant push through mid-off.For the next hour, he and Marnus Labuschagne steadily laid a foundation but things livened up in the period into tea. Pucovski’s two clear-cut lives courtesy of Rishhab Pant – the thin edge off R Ashwin and gloved pull against Mohammed Siraj – were moments of fortune few outside of the India team would have begrudged him. A better piece of fielding by Bumrah might have seen him run out on 38 as well.Pucovski started the final over of the session on 45 with fellow debutant Navdeep Saini finally given a bowl in the 31st over. The first delivery was short and wide, dispatched through the covers, and then he pulled a short delivery wide of mid-on to reach his half-century to an ovation from the socially distanced SCG crowd.As he moved into the 60s early in the final session, thoughts were just turning to what might be. And then Saini pitched one up at the stumps which Pucovski tried to flick away but missed. It looked stone dead at first glance although the impact would prove to be umpire’s call. It therefore wouldn’t have wasted a review had Pucovski chosen to, but to his credit he was not talked into it.He had also been involved in the first period of the series India lost control of the scoreboard, runs coming at over four-an-over, and in no little part down to Pucovski.”On the back of a little bit of a momentum shift from Pucovski before the tea break, [Steve] Smith has come out and been ultra aggressive,” Ricky Ponting said on . “This is much more like the Australian way to play. They had to get back and play the Australian way, which is to be aggressive, which is to put pressure back on the bowlers. I think they’ve done that for long periods of today.”The last three Australia openers to make a half-century on debut are Aaron Finch, Cameron Bancroft and Ed Cowan. Each, for a variety of reasons, have very interesting career stories. But there is no need to think ahead to where Pucovski’s career might go despite the overriding view that he has what it takes to make it. This was a young man who has dealt with more in 23 years than some do in a lifetime to reach the pinnacle of the game. And for one day, that’s what mattered.

New Zealand’s bowling coach on the quality of the pace attack and his favourite matches

Interview by Mohammad Isam06-May-2021Shane Jurgensen is the quiet but meaningful presence behind New Zealand’s pace battery. He was 32 when he was first appointed as the team’s bowling coach in 2008. He served for three years before taking on the same role with Bangladesh, and then returned in 2016, when the New Zealand pace attack was gathering steam. With his contract now extended to 2022, he is New Zealand’s longest-serving coach. We spoke to Jurgensen about how he has helped shape arguably the best bowling attack in New Zealand history.You have witnessed real change within the team over the last 13 years as the longest-serving coach in New Zealand cricket history.
It all comes down to the players, really. From around 2009, it started with Daniel Vettori wanting to constantly improve and push outside the comfort zone. The attitude to work hard and get uncomfortable are some of the small improvements over the last ten or 11 years.The systems in place, not just around the team but also in selection, have been a strong asset for this side.In terms of performances on the field, I think another big area is the foundation built around the success of the Test side for a number of years. With that success in the toughest format, you have the opportunity to create depth. An important factor has also been that a lot of the players really challenge each other to get better.Given their quality, how much of your work involves offering technical help to Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner?
My role constantly changes around understanding their technique and what drives their success [technically]. It can be from the simple bowling action they have, what they do when they are performing well, and how it looks when they have challenging days. My role is to understand them individually as bowlers.Related

• Neil Wagner: 'I pride myself in playing a role when things are tough'

• Swing, smile, repeat: the secrets of Trent Boult's success

• Stead: 'New Zealand players may leave for UK from Maldives over the weekend'

• Trent Boult: 'Reverse swing is a string I want to add to my bow'

• New Zealand replace England as the No. 1 side in ODI rankings

It also includes their physical preparation around how many overs they will bowl and how they prepare for not just a match or series but the whole home summer. There’s a lot of planning that goes on behind the scenes, working with other members of the support staff and head coach Gary Stead.For example, how does their bowling action look for certain deliveries? Tim [Southee] and Trent [Boult] are outstanding outswing bowlers, so we are ensuring they are executing that as well as they can, ensuring the little technical things they do before delivering the ball and getting it right.How hesitant or not are you to introduce changes in their bowling action when, for example, you spot something that needs attention?
We play a lot of international cricket at a very high intensity. The guys probably play ten months of the year for New Zealand and in the IPL. So slight little errors might creep into their bowling. Or it might be that they are coming back from a bit of a break. So little things, like a bowling action might be starting too early in relation to their run-up. A front arm isn’t operating as powerfully as they normally would. Or they are not following-through in a certain manner to deliver an outswinger, a yorker or a slower ball.A major part of my role is to identity those things. More importantly, work with the player so they trust I have their best interest at heart to ensure they are executing [their skills].

“We pride ourselves in being a threat to the opposition regardless of the situation of the game. We are trying to be consistent all the time, challenging ourselves and pushing our limits as a bowling unit”

How does Trent Boult manage to switch between formats so often?
With his success in the three formats, he has developed a lot of self-belief in his skills. Trent can basically [switch] very quickly through keeping things quite specific and simple. He has been able to stay in the game for a long period because he is extremely fit. He has a huge focus on his fitness. It has enabled him to bowl long spells in Tests and then adapt to ODI and T20 cricket. He is always a threat. His wicket-taking ability has been a major reason why he has consistently played and done very well in the three formats. What’s your approach with Neil Wagner, who can sustain high-intensity bowling all day long in Tests?
Wags has certainly been very successful over a long period at challenging the batter’s footwork. He works closely with the senior team-mates, like Kane [Williamson]. When he starts to really challenge the batter, it is about the timing of it and making subtle adjustments in the field.To his credit, a lot of wickets in the last 12 months have been through his desire to constantly improve and evolve as a bowler. Along with his attack of banging it in, particularly this summer, he has taken a lot of wickets with his outswingers to left-handers and inswingers to right-handers. That’s down to Neil constantly wanting to improve.I try to manage him with his overs because he loves to bowl. I try to ensure that his bowling action is solid through all those overs. Make sure he is nice and strong, which is a key asset to his overall balance when he delivers the ball.”Along with his attack of banging it in, particularly this summer, Wagner has taken a lot of wickets with his outswingers to left-handers and inswingers to right-handers”•Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images Tim Southee, a bowler you encountered as a youngster in your first stint as coach, is now the senior statesman of the side. How has he managed his role in the bowling attack?
He has certainly evolved as a cricketer and person over a long period to complement his bowling. Recently you have seen him fill the role as T20I captain. He is a very good leader in the bowling group with his experience and success over a long period. He provides some really good messages to the side.A lot of Tim’s success comes down to his resilience and overcoming adversities. He is extremely fit. He is able to adapt and find ways to take wickets. To complement his very good outswinger, now he is well adapted to T20 cricket with various slower balls. He always had a very good yorker. He is extremely accurate at challenging the batsman. He is a very skilful bowler.You have this habit of walking around the ground and speaking to the bowlers from the boundary line. What sort of things are you saying?
We are obviously providing water, but another part is to provide a sounding board for certain players if they are a little frustrated at things when it may not have gone to plan. I might ask them a question about whether they have considered something in particular in their attack – a type of delivery or a field placing.Honestly, it can simply be supporting the player and being someone who listens. A lot of the ideas come from the player, so they talk it through. All of a sudden, they think of something. Or it might be to ensure that they have confidence in what they are trying to achieve. I am just there to provide that support.

“The 2019 World Cup semi-final against India was a unique situation played over two days. I was really proud of the way the bowlers challenged India in defending a 240-odd total”

Does having Boult, Southee, Kyle Jamieson and Wagner, and the string of other fast bowlers around the country make it feel a bit like the West Indies attack of the 1980s?
I saw the four-pronged West Indies pace attack when I was a very young man. I think Boult, Southee, Jamieson and Wagner are similar. It is a real testament to them as a group. They really work hard together. They talk a lot of things through. They have a lot of trust and bonding among themselves.I think they are four different types of bowlers. A batsman is challenged by Kyle Jamieson’s height and length, the swing of Tim and Trent, one being a right-armer and the other a left-armer, Neil’s ability to adapt between being an aggressive hit-the-wicket bowler and constantly improving as a swing bowler. They certainly bring four very different challenges, which puts a lot of pressure on the opposition batter.How does Mitchell Santner fit into this bowling attack, especially at home? Do you work a lot with him as well?
During the first innings of a Test match, he can certainly flick the switch between providing a period of support when the bowlers need a rest and in the second innings when there’s a bit of turn. He is extremely accurate, which is why he has had his success.I was really impressed by his role in our Test win over Pakistan [in December last year]. It was late in the game and we really needed him. He bowled very well.I think he has a very important role. I get a lot of support from head coach Gary Stead and Paul Wiseman with the spinners, as it is a big job with a number of different bowlers.”The bowlers really work hard together. They talk a lot of things through. They have a lot of trust and bonding among themselves”•Kai Schwoerer/Getty ImagesNew Zealand’s pace stocks are probably at an all-time high. How do you assess the spin department? Santner is No. 1, but do you see it as a bit of a concern looking ahead to the T20 World Cup?
There are no concerns about the spin stock. We have quite an established bowling group. A number of players have put their hands up for a while. We have had Ish [Sodhi] and Santner. They have been really good T20 bowlers over the last two years. Todd [Astle] has taken his opportunities and done well.In domestic cricket, we have also had success with a number of young players. We have had success with Will Somerville and Ajaz Patel in the Tests in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan in 2018.During the season, Stead singled out Scott Kuggeleijn for special praise after he filled in as the hit-the-deck bowler for Lockie Ferguson. Similarly there was praise for Blair Tickner. But they were relegated to the bench again when the main bowlers returned. How do you deal with those bowlers on the fringe?
I think it is a real credit to the players themselves for coming in and executing the role given. They understand the situation, having been brought in when players are injured or rested. The guys take it really well. They look to do everything that supports the team. Credit also goes to the system in place that supports the players.Where do you rate the New Zealand pace pack currently, compared to India, England, Australia and Pakistan?
The New Zealand bowling unit has been consistent for a number of years in all the formats. We pride ourselves in being a threat to the opposition regardless of the situation of the game. We want to focus on being a threat to all teams. We are trying to be consistent all the time, challenging ourselves and pushing our limits as a bowling unit. If we keep improving, we can be a threat to all teams around the world.

“The systems in place, not just around the team but also in selection, have been a strong asset for this side”

How much of your coaching is data-driven and how much is experience-driven?
We look to use the combination of data and our experiences together with the players’ strengths. Data is always useful and we use as much as we can. If you only have a small amount of information, that’s not really useful unless it is something that really stands out.I think that’s the key with data. You want to pick up on trends and match-ups and anything that really stands out. You balance it out with your experience and the skill set of the bowlers and what we are trying to achieve as a cricket team, and formulate it into one package.What would you say are your top three matches from your time as New Zealand bowling coach, ones where you were really proud of the work put out by the pace attack?
I think three games stand out straight away.First is the 2019 World Cup semi-final against India. It was a unique situation played over two days due to rain interruptions. We had some specific plans and options for the bowlers. I was just really proud of the way they adapted and really challenged India in defending a 240-odd total.The second game is the home series against India in 2020. They are a superb cricket team over a long period, so to defeat them 2-0 in the Test series was amazing. Particularly in the second match, in Christchurch, we executed beautifully for two innings. It is a very special memory.The third one goes back to the 2010 T20 World Cup, against Pakistan in Barbados. I think Pakistan needed two runs to win and we took the wicket off the last ball. It was just a heart-stopping thriller of a game. It was a hard-fought victory. Little things that happened throughout that game and how the guys just hung in there. They put pressure on Pakistan and got over them by just one run. Back then I was just a young bowling coach who had worked a couple of years at the international level.”There are no concerns about the spin stock. A number of players have put their hands up. Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner have been really good T20 bowlers over the last two years”•Kai Schwoerer/Getty ImagesHow much has your experience with Bangladesh shaped your general point of view as a coach?
Coaching in Bangladesh gave me such amazing and valuable experiences. It gave me a different angle, and respect for the international game. I saw the game from a different point of view, in terms of the different styles of the players that I was working with.It was extremely helpful in my development as a coach. I really enjoyed the successful times there. The guys were very talented and worked really hard to overcome so many different backgrounds to become international players.How do you think have you grown as a bowling coach?
Mike Hesson and Gary Stead trusted me, empowered me, and gave me the opportunity to develop a bowling programme. It is an honour and a special opportunity for me to have such a flexible work environment where I can develop the bowling plans. I am working closely with Kane and the senior bowlers to develop systems and programmes around our bowling.I get to work with bowlers at a number of different levels, which means I get to know them before they are in a position for selection for international cricket. It has helped me to develop good working relationships over a long period. It is such a privilege.

He might not be seen as a big-hitter, but the numbers show he’s been doing the job for the Super Kings

Deivarayan Muthu24-Apr-2021The Kolkata Knight Riders are bowling to the Chennai Super Kings. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy flicks out a carrom ball in the powerplay. It’s only fractionally short and wide, but Faf du Plessis rocks into a back-foot cut, bringing his fast hands into play and scything it away past the right of Andre Russell at backward point for four.Then, in the 19th over of the Super Kings’ innings, Pat Cummins bangs a hard-length offcutter wide of off. The Australia seamer does well to cut his pace down to 123kph and take it away from du Plessis’ swinging arc. However, the batter makes it look worse than pineapple on pizza by pumping it in the air to the left of extra-cover and right of wide long-off for six. du Plessis’ weight is on the back foot, but the hands – and the front shoulder – generate all the power. Even Russell, among the elite T20 hitters, is amused.du Plessis isn’t bracketed with those hitters, but he does the job by piercing the gaps in the infield and hitting over the top. Speaking to his former opening partner at the Super Kings and good friend Shane Watson on the T20 Stars podcast last year, du Plessis revealed that almost every coach tried to push him away from his usual technique, saying his hands were too far from his body. During his first season at the Super Kings in 2011, even Steve Rixon pointed out the same, telling du Plessis he’d “struggle to hit through the off side”.Related

• RCB and CSK grapple for top spot in clash of fire and ice

“Oh! It’s actually one of my strengths is to hit through the off side,” du Plessis had responded back in the day. “For me, it’s possible. I’ve found a way over the years to work with what I’ve got in my technique to get the best out of technique. To change it – and to be like someone else – would’ve been the wrong this for me to do. I think the coaching manual is becoming less and less important. It’s about seeing what someone has and working with that to maximise in their own unique way.”The “hands-only” technique has had du Plessis nicking off in Test cricket, where the red ball swings for extended periods, but in limited-overs cricket, where the white ball doesn’t do so for as long, he has found a way to use it to up the ante. He isn’t just fluent on the off side, but can also access the “V” in front of and behind the wicket. Also, when he’s batting at the top, he often dashes out of the crease or away from leg stump to mess with the lines and lengths of bowlers. All of this was on display during his unbeaten 95 off 60 balls against the Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium.Thirty of those runs were rattled off in the powerplay, a phase in which the Super Kings struggled last season. In isolation, du Plessis had adapted well to the UAE conditions in the powerplay in IPL 2020, but lacked enough support from those batting behind him. The addition of a similarly free-flowing Moeen Ali and the return of Suresh Raina this season has allowed du Plessis to bat with greater freedom at the top. Plus, the Super Kings have two other big-hitting left-handers in Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja to close out the innings.ESPNcricinfo LtdSure, the Super Kings bat all the way down to No. 11 now, but they couldn’t utilise their depth in their season-opener against the Delhi Capitals. Then, in a slim chase against the Punjab Kings, CSK needed only a subdued effort from du Plessis (36 off 33 balls). Against the Rajasthan Royals, du Plessis provided his side a faster start with 33 off 17 balls and set them up for 200. But Dhoni and Raina couldn’t sustain the momentum as they ended up with 188 for 9. Then, against the Knight Riders, du Plessis batted through the innings, showing off his gears and embodying the Super Kings’ bold approach.Since the start of IPL 2020, du Plessis has struck at 139.26 in the powerplay, averaging 33.25. Among batters who have faced at least 50 balls during this phase, only Suryakumar Yadav (150.37), Manish Pandey (144.75) and Ben Stokes (139.37) have had a better strike rate than du Plessis in the first six overs. In all, he has faced 191 balls in the powerplay since the start of the last season, and, according to data logged by ESPNcricinfo’s scorers, he has been defensive against only 21 of those.du Plessis’ hands have given the Super Kings a big leg-up, so much so that their coach Stephen Fleming believes that they’ve already exceeded early expectations at the Wankhede Stadium. The Super Kings, though, need supporting hands if they are to re-establish themselves as bona fide title contenders. On Sunday afternoon, they run into a Royal Challengers Bangalore team that already looks like one. The winner will go top of the points table.

Simmons attacked just five off his 35 balls, leaving Gayle, Hetmyer, Pollard and Russell little time to cover up

Deivarayan Muthu26-Oct-20212:58

Moody: West Indies played too mate dots, were 20 runs short

You are an opener in T20 cricket. Your job is to maximise the powerplay, more so in the UAE, where it is fiendishly difficult to get the ball away in the slog overs. If you are an opener in a line-up that has Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo in the middle order, you can give it a no-holds barred whack at the top.Okay, that no-holds barred approach backfired for West Indies in their opener against England at the same venue but holding yourself back so much that you barely attack could also hurt your team as much.Lendl Simmons faced 35 balls – of which he attacked five, including the one off which he was bowled for 16. Nineteen of his 35 balls dots and all of his 16 runs came via singles. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, which lends context to every performance, Simmons’ runs had a negative impact of minus 36.77.Temba Bavuma had thrown the new ball to Aiden Markram, letting the offspinner have a crack at both Simmons and the left-handed Evin Lewis. Simmons fell to offspin, trying to clear the midwicket boundary, in their opening game against England as well in the warm-ups against Afghanistan. Two days out of the match against South Africa, head coach Phil Simmons said the management was wary of similar dismissals and that they had discussed it with the entire group.Perhaps, that was why Simmons was skittish off the four balls he faced against Markram. But then again, Simmons was literally and figuratively slow against the rapid pace of both Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada. He could’ve been dismissed off the 13th ball he faced when Nortje got one to seam away and snag the outside edge near the shoulder of the bat. However, Heinrich Klaasen, who had stepped in for Quinton de Kock, dropped the chance, with the ball wobbling away from his reach.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe chorus for the option to retire out in T20 cricket also got louder. Simmons’ go-slow, however, continued, as did West Indies’ struggles. Lewis had just cracked three sixes in six balls, but was under pressure to raise the tempo further as he holed out. Nicholas Pooran, who was promoted ahead of Chris Gayle, stepped out to his first ball reverse-swept his second for four. He had to take one risk after another to make up for Simmons’ lack of intent and execution. Much like Lewis, Pooran holed out trying to clear the boundary.In the next over, Simmons swung for the hills and was bowled by an in-to-the-pitch offcutter from Rabada. West Indies were 89 for 3 in the 14th over and ended up with an under-par 143 for 8, which South Africa chased down with eight wickets and 13 balls to spare.Pollard refused to blame Simmons alone for West Indies’ batting meltdown and instead put it down to a collective failure. All told, they ate up 54 dots in a pattern that was fairly similar to their opening game of the tournament where they played out 59 dots out of 86.”These things happen,” Pollard said at the post-match presentation. “Yes, he got stuck; after six overs he was there and we wanted to bat a couple of more overs without losing wickets. But, having said that we’re not going to sit here and pinpoint anybody. You’re not going to get me here, throwing my team-mates under the bus.”But, at the end of the day he was out there trying to do a job for us. Yes, he couldn’t get it done. When you look at it, Rassie (van der Dussen) played for them and the only difference is he came out not-out, but the strike rate was low as well. So, you’re not going to get that from me. I thought it was a total disappointing batting effort in terms of not getting 160-plus.”Although Phil Simmons did not go so far as to say he regretted leaving Roston Chase out against England, it is, perhaps, time for West Indies to use him as a failsafe and restore some balance to the line-up. “The man who should be in for the next game brings a helmet on for Pooran,” Ian Bishop said of Chase on the TV commentary when the allrounder was performing the 12th man duties in the chase.West Indies’ next match is against Bangladesh who could potentially have three left-handers in the top five. Chase could line them up with his offspin but for that West Indies first need to line up Chase in their XI.

Long gone under the radar among the superstars of the IPL, he is now producing results that no one can fail to notice

Karthik Krishnaswamy16-Apr-20224:46

Jaffer: His attitude separates Tripathi from other uncapped Indian players

At one level, batting in T20 has grown increasingly specialised. There are powerplay hitters and end-overs hitters, pace hitters and spin hitters, and the most successful teams line up all their specialists in a way that gets the best out of their specific skillsets.Every now and again, though, a batter will come along who defies easy categorisation. What box, for instance, do you put Rahul Tripathi in?This graph features a small collection of batters who’ve faced at least 150 balls of pace and 100 balls of spin in the IPL since the start of 2020, and who have strike rates of 120 or above against both styles of bowling. If your favourite player isn’t in this graphic, he’s failed to meet at least one of these criteria. Shimron Hetmyer, for instance, has a strike rate of 183.33 against pace but has gone at just 113.46 against spin.Related

• Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad face off in bid to move past mid-table crush

• Tripathi, Markram hit fifties as Sunrisers make it three in a row

• Carnage and fun – the madness at the death in T20 cricket

Of the batters who’ve met the qualification critera, only six – Mayank Agarwal, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw – have managed 140-plus strike rates against both pace and spin.Tripathi falls just outside this group, striking at 144.59 against pace and 138.69 against spin.In the same time span, only four batters who’ve faced at least 100 balls in both phases have managed to strike at 125-plus in the powerplay and 140-plus in the middle overs: Agarwal, Buttler, Shaw and, once again, Tripathi.And while he’s only got to face 42 balls in the death overs in these three seasons, Tripathi has shown he can handle the demands of that phase as well, scoring 78 runs at a strike rate of 185.71.If this versatility has made Tripathi a valuable asset at multiple IPL teams, it’s also kept him from having a settled role at – and becoming an indispensable member of – any of those teams. The versatility hasn’t been the only double-edged sword in his locker; his batting also exudes a sense of selflessness that is perhaps both cause and consequence of his relatively under-the-radar existence among the superstars of the IPL. Relatively, because he’s clearly valued by those within the game: Sunrisers Hyderabad shelled out INR 8.5 crore to beat off rival bidders at the auction in February.How do you quantify selflessness? Well, this season, Tripathi has a strike rate of 158.13 over his first 10 balls. He’s always been quick off the blocks, and was encouraged by his previous franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, to bat that way. Knight Rideres try to play that way right through their innings, and the fact that their batters haven’t scored a single hundred in the IPL since the inaugural match of the tournament is perhaps a consequence of that style of play.Tripathi, unsurprisingly, hasn’t crossed a lot of personal milestones in these last three seasons: just the four fifties in 32 innings, and an average of 29.55. KL Rahul, who in the same period has drawn a significant amount of criticism for his conservative approach in the powerplay and middle overs, has 13 scores of 50 or more in the same number of innings, and an average of 52.88. His strike rate (133.20) isn’t as good as Tripathi’s (142.50), of course, but while you can debate the relative merits of their approaches from the perspective of winning T20 games, nothing brings wider recognition – and international selection – quicker than scoring mountains of runs.Just for now, though, Tripathi’s sails seem to have caught the winds of a rare and heightened sort of ball-striking form, and his versatility and selflessness are combining to produce results that no one can fail to acknowledge. After five innings in IPL 2022, he has 171 runs at an average of 57.00 and a strike rate of 178.12. Among batters who have faced at least 50 balls this season, only Dinesh Karthik, Liam Livingstone and Andre Russell have better strike rates. In Tripathi’s wake sit Hetmyer, Shivam Dube and Shaw.Tripathi’s new-age virtues and new-age numbers are the products of a style that’s mostly but not entirely old-school. On Friday night, for instance, he tried, and failed, to lap-scoop Pat Cummins over short fine leg off the first legal ball he faced.At most other times, however, Tripathi brings to the crease a turbocharged version of longer-format virtues. Quick judgment of length, for one, and quick feet.When Andre Russell bowled a short ball designed to cramp Tripathi for room, he unweighted his front foot in an instant and swivelled on his back foot to pull it for a flat six.Tripathi’s new-age virtues and new-age numbers are the products of a style that’s mostly but not entirely old-school•PTI Then, when Varun Chakravarthy – who usually delivers flatter trajectories and shorter lengths than most spinners – seemed to develop a puzzling tendency to float the ball into the slot, Tripathi responded with three glorious, back-to-back lofted drives over extra-cover. As you watched the replays from side-on, however, you began to wonder if these balls were really that full, because Tripathi was stretching so far forward that he was ending up with his back knee on the ground.As impressive as the length of Tripathi’s stride was how he maintained his shape at the end of it, never lifting his head too early, and each time finishing with left elbow high and bat face pointing skywards.The shots kept coming, with no prolonged intervals of risk-free strike rotation. The first 10 balls brought Tripathi 22 runs, and by the time he’d faced 20 balls he was on 49. His fifty was the joint-second-fastest of IPL 2022, and when he was done he had left Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were chasing 176, just 43 to get off 34 balls.This was a special innings, certainly; it was one of those times when form and conditions – both teams suggested later that dew had made life considerably easier for Sunrisers’ batters – conspire to add an almost otherworldly layer of fluency to a batter’s efforts. But it was also, in its own way, a typical Tripathi innings: packed with skill and intent against both pace and spin, gathering pace even after the fields spread out, and entirely selfless.

They don’t play in the same role, but there are only so many batting slots and Karthik is this close to nailing one of them

Sidharth Monga21-Jun-20223:32

Jaffer: Pant in T20s will find it hard to get into a full-strength India XI

As you expect with contemporary wicketkeepers, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have intertwined careers. Pant’s Test debut came in England in 2018 after Karthik didn’t score too many in the first two Tests, thus ending one of the latter’s many comebacks in international cricket. On their next visit to England, Pant and Karthik found themselves batting together at 5 for 3, trying to save India’s dying World Cup dream.Now Pant captains one of Karthik’s former IPL teams, which is hard to avoid because Karthik has been around. And just as he has wandered around the IPL looking for a home, Karthik has been all over the India batting order looking for a role he can nail down.Related

• India need a left-hand batter in the playing XI, says Tendulkar

• Rishabh Pant: calculative and effective in Tests, unorthodox and out of breath in T20s

• In India's gauntlet match, Kohli must hit the right gears to stay in the fight

• Selection questions for India: Who's the wicketkeeper? Will Arshdeep and Malik finally get their chance?

• Why India should not tinker with Dinesh Karthik's IPL role

Karthik’s latest comeback comes with the best-defined role he has ever been in, which is why Pant’s performance has no impact whatsoever on his fortunes. However, three years after his ordinary return paved the way for Pant to begin a hugely successful Test career, Karthik’s successful return could jeopardise Pant’s chances of making the T20 World Cup a little bit. But not for the reasons you’d imagine.Their being wicketkeepers has got nothing to do with it. In India’s Plan A, they are competing for two completely different roles. Karthik has come in for a specific role where the team looks to ensure he walks in no sooner than the 14th over. Pant, on the other hand, is an enforcer earlier in the innings, afforded a little more time to get himself in. There is a temptation to open with him too, which is what he did so successfully in junior cricket, but it is not easy to give him a run there with so many other top-order batters around.Pant’s left-handedness gives him a valuable advantage over his competitors for the No. 4 slot•BCCIIt is only in a less-than-ideal scenario where India fail to find another finisher with Hardik Pandya that Pant or Suryakumar Yadav plays that floater’s role. Now that India have found the ideal combination – Pandya, Karthik and Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel making up the lower middle order – Pant doesn’t have that fallback option. Karthik fitting into the finisher’s role is great news for India but not so great for Pant and other middle- and top-order aspirants.Now if we imagine the eminently possible scenario of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli being untouchable, and with KL Rahul the first man to walk into an India T20 batting line-up, there is only one spot left in a full-strength India batting line-up for Pant, Suryakumar, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan to compete for. Under this team management, which likes role clarity, it is hard to imagine one of them pushing Karthik out and playing out of position.Pant has a lot going for him for that No. 4 slot. He is the best wicketkeeper insofar as the keeping matters, and despite many documented struggles he still doesn’t have bad numbers. He is among only 10 players to have averaged over 30 and struck at over 150 across the recently concluded IPL season. Eight of them scored 300 runs or more, and of those eight, Pant was the only one without a single 50-plus score.Which means no visible “match-winning” innings because his brilliance hasn’t had the length or the recency bias that traditionally stays in observers’ minds. These numbers suggest remarkable consistency but unfortunately that one over in which you took down the opposition’s main middle-overs weapon doesn’t stick in the memory if you don’t score 80 or finish a chase. Not that Pant sets out to score only 30s, but the strike-rate that he went at – a clear upgrade on his last two seasons – involved the risk of getting out any time. It is clear his teams want him to play in a specific way, and it is all right if he gets out in pursuit of quick runs as long as he has made sure the finisher is coming in only after the 13th over or so.For perhaps the first time in his long international career, Dinesh Karthik has a clearly defined role in the side•AP PhotoIt can’t be denied that the wide line has worked against Pant of late, but he will not be unmindful of it. He will work with Rahul Dravid and other coaches to counter the tactic. The international series against South Africa, of course, was not great for Pant, but this team management is not going to make knee-jerk decisions. Pant also happens to be a left-hand batter, which works massively in his favour if India do go ahead with a top three of Rohit, Rahul and Kohli.Whether Rohit and Kohli should both be in the XI is a story for another day. The conditions expected at the World Cup and their experience in those conditions work in their favour. Quicker, bouncier pitches can take some time to get used to, and T20 World Cups are notorious for teams getting knocked out early. Having said that, is it a luxury to have two similar batters who don’t score quickly in the middle overs?That is a tricky and unenviable decision to make for Rohit and Dravid, but if both Rohit and Kohli are certain starters, Pant and Suryakumar will likely be fighting for that final spot in the batting line-up. It will be harsh on one of them to sit out, but India will be glad they have found a specialist finisher, and will not have to push one of their middle-overs enforcers into a death-overs role.

Five ways in which Morgan the maverick revolutionised England’s white-ball cricket

Matt Roller29-Jun-20221:47

Roller: White-ball revolution will be Morgan’s lasting legacy

All-out attack
At the 2015 50-over World Cup, England played a style of ODI cricket that had long passed its sell-by date: their batters scored at 5.48 per over across the tournament, compared to champions Australia’s 6.82. The rule changes introduced in early 2013 – two new balls, and shifts in fielding restrictions – had altered the way the format was played but England did not seem to have noticed.Morgan was in charge for that World Cup but had been appointed so close to the tournament that he had scant opportunity to change England’s philosophy. In their first game of the 2015-19 cycle, they reached 400 for the first time in an ODI with a new-look, ultra-attacking side built on the principle that batting strength was a clear predictor of success in World Cups.Related

• Eoin Morgan takes his leave as England captain with one final act of self-awareness

• Eoin Morgan: Maverick, pioneer, game-changer

Crucially, Morgan stuck with his all-guns-blazing approach even in choppy waters. In the third ODI of the new era, against New Zealand in 2015, England were bowled out for 302 in 45.2 overs. “It doesn’t disappoint me,” he said. “I want the guys to continue with that [attacking] mindset and not worry about batting 50 overs: I think that makes guys hesitate and question their natural way of playing and I don’t want that to happen.”At the 2019 World Cup, England were the tournament’s fastest-scoring team by a distance and lifted the trophy at Lord’s.Building experience

Andrew Strauss commissioned a review into England’s white-ball cricket when he was appointed as managing director in 2015. One of its key findings was that ODI experience was a key contributor to success in World Cups, as measured by the number of caps in the squad: to win in 2019, Morgan and England would have to back a core of players over a sustained period of time.In the 2015-19 cycle, England gave at least 40 caps to 13 different players and backed their long-term planning rather than over-reacting to form. Jason Roy, for example, didn’t reach 40 against New Zealand in his first full ODI series, “but because he kept attacking, kept playing in the right way for his role in the team, he was kept in,” Paul Farbrace has recalled. “He started to get his runs later that summer, and has never really looked back.”Adaptability

Morgan recognised that England’s attacking style suited the flat pitches and short boundaries they normally found on home soil but left them vulnerable on slower surfaces. “The wickets are going to be slow, low, they will wear – that’s the nature of ICC events,” he said during the 2019 World Cup.England were tested on those pitches, losing to Sri Lanka at Headingley and to Australia at Lord’s, but faced with consecutive must-win games at the end of the group stages, they doubled down on their style, racking up 337 for 7 and 305 for 8 against India and New Zealand. In the final, they were bogged down by Colin de Grandhomme in the middle overs but scrapped their way to 241 thanks to Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes’ measured restraint, enough to force a Super Over.England were also adaptable when it came to selection, as shown by two major calls on the eve of the World Cup. When Jofra Archer, one of the world’s leading T20 bowlers, became available, he was selected at short notice ahead of David Willey. He was their leading wicket-taker in the tournament and sealed their win in the final, holding his nerve in the Super Over.The other was the decision to remove Alex Hales from the squad after news of a second failed drugs test came to light shortly before the tournament. Only six months earlier, Morgan – along with Joe Root, the then Test captain – had outlined a mantra of “courage, unity and respect” for England players to follow during a tour of Sri Lanka. Hales’ actions were deemed to have fallen short, and he was axed. It was a risk – not least because James Vince, his replacement, struggled in the World Cup – but it was ultimately vindicated by the trophy.Building depth

The clarity of Morgan’s message quickly filtered down into county cricket: scoring rates in the domestic 50-over competition, the Royal London Cup, climbed from 5.38 in 2015 to 5.99 in 2019. And players increasingly took opportunities to travel the world in the off-season and play franchise cricket in order to become more versatile and develop their skills overseas.Morgan embodied his belief that more England players should play franchise cricket, missing the first ODI after the 2015 World Cup – a washout in his native Ireland – in order to stay with Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL. By 2021, every member of the team England fielded in the T20 World Cup semi-final had played at least one game at the IPL in their career and most said the tournament had played a significant role in their development.Last summer, England’s first-choice ODI squad were forced to self-isolate following a Covid-19 outbreak, but a hastily assembled second-string side then whitewashed a full-strength Pakistan, playing in the same attacking style that Morgan had pioneered. By 2022, there were so many talented batters that Morgan could not command a place in the side based on his batting alone; the depth he had engineered rendered him surplus to requirement.Embracing diversity
Perhaps Morgan’s greatest legacy will be the extent to which he has championed diversity in his side. “I spoke to Adil [Rashid] and he said Allah was definitely with us. I said we had the rub of the green,” Morgan said after the 2019 final. “It actually epitomises our team.”In his final series in the role, Morgan was consulted about Rashid’s desire to skip fixtures against India in order to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. “There were no questions asked,” Rashid told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s a big credit to Morgs for making that environment… it’s been like that with England for the past seven years since 2015.”

It is 17 years since England’s last tour, but many of the squad have already had a taste

Matt Roller18-Sep-20221:26

‘PSL gave me chance to better myself as a player’ – Dawid Malan

On the morning of March 4, 2017, Dawid Malan and Chris Jordan had a decision to make. They sat in their rooms in a Dubai hotel texting family, friends and each other to work out whether or not they should travel to Lahore for the final of the second season of the Pakistan Super League.Eventually, they decided they would take the leap of faith, putting their trust in the PCB’s extensive security protocols and joining the second tranche of international players to travel to Pakistan since the attacks on Sri Lanka’s team bus in 2009. The game took place without a hitch and their side, Peshawar Zalmi, cruised to victory in front of over 22,000 fans.”It was a fantastic occasion,” Malan recalled in Karachi on Saturday. “I don’t think any of us thought that us coming over would have played such a big part in cricket coming back to Pakistan. It’s a cricket-loving nation who were starved of their star players for a long time… to play a small part in that has been very special.”Related

• Hales: 'I thought my chance would never come again'

• Hales' strained relationship with Stokes no barrier to T20 World Cup bid – Matthew Mott

• Masood credits his T20 evolution to Arthur's trust and Blast success

• England T20 squad living in the now with an eye on the future

• 'Adaptable' Curran embraces multi-purpose role at England with 'open mind'

The trip barely lasted 24 hours as the PSL took a tentative first step towards a return home after launching in the UAE the year before, but Malan and Jordan’s involvement was hugely significant: they were the first England cricketers to play professionally in Pakistan since the 2005 tour and paved the way for others to follow.The PSL is a popular product in its own right, widely regarded as the second-best short-form league in the world behind the IPL, but has also acted as a diplomatic vehicle to bring leading players – from England and elsewhere – back to Pakistan. As a result, boards can no longer hide behind claims that their players are unwilling to travel,”It did feel like a big push to get those international players involved,” Mickey Arthur, who coached Karachi Kings in the PSL’s first four seasons, recalled. “We needed individuals to come to Pakistan to help break the barriers down and the PSL was instrumental in that. It certainly helped in the perception of going to Pakistan.”The number of English players involved has grown year on year, to the extent that as many as 23 made at least one appearance in the 2022 edition. Exactly half of England’s 20-man squad for the T20I series that starts on Tuesday have played in Pakistan before; those that hadn’t spoke to their team-mates before the team’s departure to calm any nerves.”We’ve heard a lot from the PSL boys,” Sam Curran said. “I spoke to most of them to ask what to expect.” Jos Buttler said that the scale of English involvement in the PSL had “allayed some concerns” around the security situation: “They shared their positive experiences from being here – more than anything, how much the public here love their cricket.”English involvement in the PSL has not been limited to players. James Foster and Peter Moores have coached teams in it; David Gower and Nick Knight have commentated; Richard Illingworth and Michael Gough have umpired. Reg Dickason, the ECB’s security director, has also been employed as a consultant by the PCB.No Englishman has played more PSL games in Pakistan than Alex Hales•PSL”In many ways, the PSL has been a vehicle for the full return of international cricket to Pakistan,” Imran Ahmad Khan, who led player recruitment for the PSL from 2017 to 2021, said. “Just in terms of slowly changing perceptions across the cricketing world around being in Pakistan.”So many different international stakeholders get involved in the PSL’s ecosystem: players, coaches, support staff, production crew, commentators. They’ve all been able to experience Pakistan through the PSL and they’ve gone on to share that experience with others in their respective countries.”The benefits have been mutual: Pakistan has welcomed English players with open arms while the players themselves have had the opportunity to test themselves in unfamiliar conditions against high-quality players.”The PSL was a stepping stone for me,” Malan said. “It’s been fantastic for me: it taught me what I needed if I wanted to go one step further.” Countless others have benefited from the platform that the tournament has provided.Relations between the two teams are better than ever. Saturday night’s training session – the first of the tour to feature both sides – saw a number of players catch up with one another: Moeen Ali and Shan Masood, Liam Dawson and Asif Ali, Phil Salt and Shadab Khan. The bad blood that has characterised some previous tours will prove difficult to sniff out.And so, despite their 17-year absence, England are not going into this series blind. They are anticipating skiddy pitches in Karachi but sticky, bouncier ones in Lahore. “Having that experience of playing here before is a big thing,” Alex Hales, who has played more PSL games in Pakistan than any other Englishman, said.”England touring Pakistan hasn’t happened in a vacuum,” Khan said. “It’s been a result of stakeholders gaining that experience through the PSL and being able to build that confidence around playing Pakistan.” Whatever the result in Tuesday night’s series opener, the fact it is taking place at all is a victory for soft power.