All posts by h716a5.icu

There is a crisis in Bangladesh, and tough decisions need to be taken to reach a long-term solution

Mohammad Isam19-Nov-2024As the world raves about Harry Brook, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kamindu Mendis and Rachin Ravindra, it’s fair to wonder if any young, emerging talent in Bangladesh can be mentioned in the same breath. A few promising batters have broken through to the national team over the last several years, but none of them has put up the consistent numbers that would put him in a list such as that.As a result, Bangladesh are still dependent on three batters who are far from young. Mushfiqur Rahim is now in his 19th season as a Test cricketer. Mominul Haque and Litton Das are of more recent vintage, but are both in their 30s now. Among the slightly younger lot, Najmul Hossain Shanto has hit a rough patch after showing promise last year, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz, an allrounder, is widely regarded as the team’s most improved batter.The scariest part is that there hasn’t even been a false dawn. No one has looked the part, the sort that would hold down one position for a length of time.Related

Bangladesh are used to chaos, but Shanto wants out

Injured Shanto and Mushfiqur out of West Indies Tests

Salahuddin hopes to leave his imprint in short stint

Prolific run-getter Amite close to Bangladesh Test call-up

As for the immediate future, the selectors have picked Shahadat Hossain and Mahidul Islam Ankon as replacements for the injured Mushfiqur and Shanto, who are out of the Test series against West Indies that begins on Friday. Shahadat is making a comeback after failing to impress in his first four Tests, while Mahidul, who made his debut against South Africa last month, is the third-choice wicketkeeper and a back-up batter.Slim pickings then.The 26-year-old Shanto is the best of the younger batters.After making his debut in 2017, it took him four years to find a regular spot in the team. Even then, it was only in 2023 that he found a regular spot in the Test side. He has the ability to score all around the wicket, with his punches and drives through the off side the main barometers of his confidence and rhythm.But just when he was establishing himself, the BCB decided to reward him. They made Shanto Bangladesh’s Test captain in November 2023. He started well with a century in the Test win against New Zealand in Sylhet, but it has been downhill from that point. After enjoying his best year as a batter in 2023, scoring three hundreds and averaging in the 50s, his form nosedived: this year, he has scored 317 runs at 21.13, with just the one fifty in 15 innings.The situation came to a head when, in the middle of the South Africa series last month, Shanto informed the BCB that he wanted to quit the captaincy. The BCB convinced him to continue in the role, and he was named captain for the Afghanistan ODIs and the West Indies Tests.Has captaincy played a role in Najmul Hossain Shanto’s dwindling returns?•Associated PressOne reason for Shanto’s struggles is the batting around him. Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Zakir Hasan have occupied the two opening slots this year, and Shadman (23.09) is the only one of them to average above 20. These three will now form Bangladesh’s top three in the West Indies with Shanto out injured.Joy, who recently turned 24, began his career promisingly, with runs in New Zealand and South Africa, but has blown hot and cold ever since, proving to be a nervous starter.Zakir struck a debut Test century against India two years ago, but hasn’t done much since.Shadman is the oldest of the trio, and made a strong comeback to the side with a 93 in Pakistan and a half-century in India, but has had issues against the short ball and struggled in the home series against South Africa.Among the other batters who made their Test debuts after the pandemic, Yasir Ali made a promising start before being dropped on the basis of white-ball performances. Mohammad Naim has played only one Test, while the jury is still out on whether Shahadat can deliver on his Under-19 promise.Bangladesh’s batting coach David Hemp initially joined the BCB as the head coach of their high-performance unit in 2023. He worked with several young batters including Joy, Shahadat, Shamim Hossain and Tanzid Hasan.Mahmudul Hasan Joy looks good when he gets going, but he can be a nervous starter•PCB”I believe that there are several challenges which may include higher skill level in bowling with greater consistency in execution, therefore greater pressure for longer periods of time,” Hemp said about the Bangladesh batters’ struggle when moving up to the highest level. “Certain surfaces but in particular those with pace and bounce [trouble them more]. Managing bowlers with pace like 145-150kph will always be a challenge but if you are not facing that too often in domestic cricket then it can take time to adjust.”National squad selection is a fantastic moment but with that selection comes greater attention and expectation. So managing this from an individual perspective can be an additional challenge.”One of the ways to mitigate the steep jump from domestic to international cricket is A-team tours. The BCB, however, has only made the rare effort to organise these tours. They usually play one or two series per year, and Test players often make up most of the XIs.This year, however, the BCB made the wise decision to send the Bangladesh A team to Pakistan before the Test series in that country. They also sent the high-performance squad to Australia. However, the likes of Mushfiqur, Mominul, Zakir and Joy took up batting spots in the ‘A’ side in Pakistan, and it made sense, since they needed a preparatory period ahead of the Test series. When they left for the Test matches, the others had limited opportunity for game time with the second four-day game in Islamabad mostly rained off.What is the ideal balance between giving younger players exposure and preparing Test players for tough assignments?”I wouldn’t necessarily put an exact number on it as it often depends on the situation at a particular moment in time,” Hemp said. “A-team tours are naturally a great vehicle for younger players to be tested and develop their skills, but other considerations often revolve around national players returning from injury or fringe players that have had limited playing opportunities that need match time leading into a series.”The likes of Jaker and Mahidul made Test debuts after appearing for the ‘A’ team this year, while Shadman and Shahadat earned recalls after taking the same route. None of them, so far, has made a significant impact.Bangladesh’s most impressive young white-ball batter, Towhid Hridoy, still awaits his Test debut•ICC/Getty ImagesOther candidates, meanwhile, wait for their turn. The selectors haven’t yet tried Towhid Hridoy in Tests. He has been Bangladesh’s best young batter in the white-ball formats in the last two years, and also has an interesting first-class CV, with an average of 45.65 after 15 matches. He batted for more than ten hours for his maiden century, which was a double-hundred. He also made a quick 165 last season.Then there’s the case of Amite Hasan, who crossed the 500-run mark in the National Cricket League this week. The selectors have suggested that Amite needs to score more runs for the high-performance and A’ teams before he gets his Test call-up.What happens once these young players get into the Test side is also instructive. Batters can always expect overseas conditions to challenge them; with Bangladesh, even home Tests aren’t a straightforward proposition, with the team playing most of its games on turning pitches at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. It’s a strategy that has made the team competitive against top teams at home, but it has come at the cost of batters’ long-term development.Ultimately it is up to the BCB to create the right atmosphere, where it prioritises red-ball cricket. The previous BCB regime believed that raising match fees and the value of red-ball contracts would do the trick, but you need more than money to produce batters in the class of Brook, Jaiswal, Kamindu and Ravindra, to name just a few. It needs a strong domestic first-class system and an A-team programme that exposes players to at least two or three different sets of conditions in a year. If the BCB can’t get the bigger boards to play them more often, they could even engage with Associate nations interested in red-ball cricket.Bangladesh have faced a similar batting crisis once before in their Test history. It was around the 2007-08 season when Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar were coming towards the end of their careers. It gave a large group of youngsters their opportunities. The selectors were patient with them, often to the annoyance of observers. They then began to perform and win games for the team, and Bangladesh benefited for a decade and a half.There’s a lesson to be learnt there, but the future can only begin to brighten if those in charge take tough decisions in the present.

Muddled selection, fading stars, a lack of familiarity with the format – and no easy answers for either the ECB or Brendon McCullum

Vithushan Ehantharajah27-Feb-20252:16

Buttler: Have to work out whether I’m part of the problem or solution

When Brendon McCullum promised entertainment from England’s white-ball sides, he probably did not envisage this: with England on the wrong side of the two best games at the Champions Trophy so far, down and out with a match to spare, as the rest of the cricketing world laughs. Brought in to sprinkle some of his Test magic on the limited-overs set-up, the talismanic head coach has lost nine of his first 10 matches at the helm.The smile McCullum promised to bring back to Jos Buttler’s face, which the England captain had been practising in the mirror, is not just upside down but on the floor. Buttler spoke disconsolately of his future at the Gaddafi Stadium, an acceptance that this must surely be the end of his tenure. Saturday’s final Group B fixture against South Africa may well be his last ODI.It is clear both McCullum and Buttler have their share of blame to take from this third successive failure at a white-ball tournament. Most of it is collective, centering around the composition of the squad and the XI.Two enforced changes through injury highlighted muddled thinking around the initial 15. Tom Banton, a keeper-batter, was brought in for Jacob Bethell, a batter who bowls left-arm spin. Leggie Rehan Ahmed replaced seam-bowling allrounder Brydon Carse. As for the starters, a batting line-up that looked handy on paper did not produce on grass (two 300-plus totals notwithstanding). And a pace-heavy but ultimately one-dimensional bowling attack came unstuck for both a lack of variety against Australia and brittleness against Afghanistan.Related

Buttler goes down with the ship as England journey comes full circle

McCullum: Buttler's successor will need 'right support' to lead rennaissance

Jos Buttler quits as England's white-ball captain after Champions Trophy exit

All-but-through SA hope to pile more misery on out-of-contention England

McCullum rejects 'factually incorrect' criticism of England's preparations in India

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. On Wednesday, Mark Wood, who was carrying an issue with his left knee into the new year, succumbed to it in worrying fashion. Buttler, who had come into the match seeking 10 overs outside his four frontline bowlers, was forced to pick up the pieces and find a few more. Afghanistan duly blitzed 113 from their final 10 overs.McCullum will have his own sifting to do through the rubble of England’s white-ball dynasty – one which, it should be remembered, won World Cups in both limited-overs formats. There will also be uncertainty over how Wood and Carse (returning home with a toe injury) might be restricted for Test assignments against India and Australia.Rob Key has a part in all this, of course. The managing director of men’s cricket took the blame for the failure at the 2023 ODI World Cup, citing the focus on Test cricket at the white-ball game’s expense. He subsequently promoted the drive to have the same players – and notably quicks – across all formats, which has backfired. As for the decision to give McCullum the keys to all three teams, time will tell how that pans out. McCullum’s newly extended deal will take him through two more ICC events and two Ashes, which already feel like competing interests.And what of Harry Brook? The likeliest successor to the captaincy, as the incumbent vice, happens to be England’s busiest cricketer, with the most appearances (89) across all formats since his Test debut in September 2022. With Brook’s white-ball returns trending the wrong way, and blockbuster Test series on the horizon, captaincy would be a risk at a critical juncture in his career. It might have to be taken anyway.Follow the leader: Rob Key may have a tough decision to make on the captaincy•Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty ImagesCloser alignment across all teams was supposed to bring clarity. But everywhere you turn there is collateral damage.Buttler should be considered an unfortunate part of that collateral, never mind his shortcomings as a captain. That the greatest white-ball cricketer England have ever produced was left wondering if he was “part of the problem” was a jarring moment that demanded everyone take stock. A global star has been dulled into confronting his own mortality. Truth is, the problems extend beyond his tactical shortcomings and run deeper than his lack of a poker face.The fall since the 2019 World Cup success has been sharp. And though large parts of that 2015-2019 machine under Eoin Morgan carried through on fumes to 2022’s T20 World Cup glory, the paint job was chipping and the chains were starting to rust.It is hard to pinpoint a specific reason for the decline, particularly in ODIs, with 18 defeats in 25 since 2023’s dismal title defence. But there are a few, and most pertain to shifts within English cricket beyond the control of those who have failed so spectacularly over the last 18 months.There is no longer a meaningful List A county competition because the Hundred clashes with the One-Day Cup by design. The 50-over fundamentals ingrained in the 2015-19 crop were learned in a class that simply does not exist anymore. It was willfully naive – bordering on arrogant – to assume this would simply be passed down to the next generation without any meaningful exposure to the format.Brook won the first of 24 ODI caps in 2023, four years after his last List A appearance for Yorkshire. Jamie Smith, promoted to No. 3 for the Champions Trophy, had only ever batted there once in 50-over cricket. Banton’s appearance against India earlier this month was his first List A match since he featured against Ireland during the 2020 Covid summer.Phil Salt may well be the clearest example of the “knowledge gap” all are struggling to bridge. He has only faced more than 30 balls in five out of 30 ODI innings, and only once in his 19 against sides at this Champions Trophy. Encouraged to play his natural game, his returns reflect that of an established T20 opener trying (and failing) to make his mark on a bigger canvas.T20 cricket has had more far-reaching consequences than simply the returns of one powerplay thrasher. The format’s proliferation through global franchise tournaments has made it as lucrative for boards as players, whether trying to create their own or ensuring it appears regularly in the itinerary. There is a reason the ECB and BCCI agreed on a schedule that featured five T20Is and just three ODIs ahead of this Champions Trophy.

“The last two ICC one-day tournaments have highlighted contrasts between ODI cricket and T20 that are far greater than popular wisdom within the ECB had assumed”

The pull of T20 has pushed ODIs to the bottom of the list as far as broadcasters are concerned. Much of that is to do with the fact teams like England regard them as a nuisance set against their main interests, which in this case is Test cricket.Only five members of the Champions Trophy squad featured on England’s November tour to the Caribbean, what with it being sandwiched between Tests in Pakistan and New Zealand. It followed a broader pattern of second-string squads for bilateral ODI series.The warning signs were there even in the afterglow of the 2022 T20 World Cup success. A ludicrously scheduled three-match one-day series against Australia began four days after the final, leading into a rearranged tour after Christmas against Bangladesh.The vibe of the 2022 Australia tour was off – not helped by a 3-0 pasting – and many of those without central contracts went on to make themselves unavailable for Bangladesh. Given the clash with a two-Test tour of New Zealand, the ECB needed to make up the numbers and several more-senior players who previously waited patiently for their opportunities took a stand. The underlying sentiment was they would be doing the board a favour without furthering their international cases in any meaningful way. Limited-overs caps were quickly being devalued. As one player put it recently, the pride in the ODI shirt disappeared when it became a box-ticking exercise. If the ECB shows the format no love, why should the players?That sentiment won’t sit well with fans, particularly when so many cricketers chase the franchise coin. Many of the players who spurned that Bangladesh tour, such as Alex Hales, Sam Billings and Liam Dawson, took up lucrative gigs at the PSL instead. Now, what depth there is in white-ball cricket is used to prop up an array of different leagues – particularly the ILT20 and Abu Dhabi T10 – rather than the national team.It will be tempting to cry “mercenary” at this point, but these are different times. What undoubted loyalty and commitment to the cause there was between 2015 and 2019 was helped by fewer franchise distractions.The IPL regularly shunned English talent, partly due to the ECB’s reticence to make their players available for the entire season given the clash with the home summer. It was only in 2018 that a significant number of the 2015-19 core were picked up. Even that came with strict caveats when it came to international duty, and prevented them from being mainstays at those franchises.English talent features regularly in T20 leagues around the world•PCBIt is worth remembering the upshot from the Bangladesh tour was discussions at the ECB about upping match fees to make playing for your country more lucrative. That never came to pass, with more money pumped into the central contracts instead.The IPL is now the only competition which overlaps with the summer where players are granted an automatic No-Objection Certificate to participate, regardless of their red-ball commitments. Even those further down the chain are permitted to take up deals in the winter at the expense of developmental tours. The recent Lions trip to Australia at the start of the year, led by Andrew Flintoff, was noticeably less-experienced than previous squads because of the clash with the ILT20 and SA20.That brings us to another important factor. Because the knock-on effect of the huge financial shifts has been an intriguing societal phenomenon – a missing generation of players between the ages of 27 to 32. English cricket’s own “yuppie” class, seemingly removed from the pyramid like a Jenga block.England’s 2019 World Cup winning group had 12 in this bracket. This Champions Trophy group has seven, of which only Ben Duckett and Jofra Archer had any worthwhile 50-over experience.Even beyond the squad, the gap is noticeable. Can you, reader, name another top-six batter capable of pacing an ODI innings, a seamer who has the craft to operate in three phases of the innings, or a balancing allrounder who would have guaranteed England a better chance? The most popular answers – Sam Hain, Luke Wood (both 29), Sam Curran (26) – carry their own uncertainties.The only clear answer as an improvement to the squad is Dawson, though his patience with the current management group has long gone. The Hampshire allrounder recently revealed he had been told by England men’s selector Luke Wright that he was going to be picked in the 2023 World Cup squad. The next day, he received a call informing him he had not made the cut.So, what now? The good news is England will be fine in T20Is, as they have been. But the last two ICC one-day tournaments have highlighted contrasts between the formats that are far greater than popular wisdom within the ECB had assumed. Making up those differences requires actual change – none straightforward, some improbable.The One-Day Cup will only fade further into the background as the newly monied Hundred flexes further – unless counties take the initiative to rejig the schedule and move it to the beginning of the season to prevent a clash from 2026 onwards. New Hundred owners would be amenable to clearer real estate in the calendar, and counties get something more to offer their members. Longer term, everybody wins.Of course, franchise competitions will continue to offer players lucrative alternatives to international cricket. And the 50-over format will not suddenly enjoy a resurgence in context, certainly not while McCullum’s focus is primarily on the Test side. Just as red ball performances suffered during the 2015-19 cycle, the white will continue to be an afterthought with priorities flipped.At least until the next 50-over tournament rolls around. By then, if English cricket is lucky, the 2027 ODI World Cup will be part of a redemption arc that will start with next year’s T20 World Cup.For now, the first steps towards that rest with a coach who may have bitten off more than he can chew, and a captain who has had enough.

Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance made up for Indian errors, while providing a reminder that he cannot do it all on his own

Sidharth Monga22-Jun-20252:53

Aaron: ‘Jasprit Bumrah as good, if not better than Wasim Akram’

India will hopefully learn lessons of relentlessness in Test cricket from the experience of this match. By the time they have to play without Jasprit Bumrah, likely the third Test at Lord’s, they will hope to put up a much more efficient performance in all three departments of the game. Until then, though, they have Bumrah to keep them alive. Even though they really did test his patience with their catching and the areas that the third and fourth seamers bowled.Without Bumrah, the mistakes made by India on the last two days – with bat, ball and in the field – would have played them out of the match. It will be a rotten feeling in the change room given Bumrah is not going to be available for all the Tests. That shouldn’t keep anyone from relishing another masterclass of seam and swing bowling.Not just in the India side, Bumrah has been streets ahead of everyone on show in this Test. For somebody who must have a bit of self-preservation on his mind, Bumrah was the sharpest in pace: consistently the fastest bowler on display despite having to bowl slower balls on this relatively unyielding pitch and also among the three fastest deliveries in the first two innings of the match.Related

Bumrah: 'I will keep trying to take India forward'

One short but no picnic for India: How Brook's onslaught changed the Test

Brook 99 and Bumrah five-for set up one-innings thrash

Bumrah draws level with Kapil; Brook gets lucky again

At the same time, Bumrah was also the best line-and-length bowler: bowling 53.33% of his deliveries in the 6-8m zone. Nobody else hit the 50% mark. It is as if magically he knows what lengths to bowl. Not that it needs a scientist to tell you that 6-8m is the best length to bowl on most pitches, but more so at Headingley, which is not a hit-the-deck surface.While we can make it sound simple that Test cricket is all about hitting good lengths at good pace, not everyone can do that so effortlessly. Only Mohammed Siraj and Chris Woakes came close to Bumrah’s accuracy in this Test. Neither of them did so immediately. Landing the ball is the basic skill. Moving it is what makes it threatening. The combination produces chances. Bumrah created 44 false shots. Only Siraj did more, but he also bowled more.Then there is the build-up to wickets because you can’t just keep bowling good ball after good ball, especially in what seemed essentially like a 2.5-man attack. More so when you need to watch how much you bowl. The Zak Crawley wicket at the end of the first over of the innings was the most beautiful. That was the widest Bumrah went in that over, about a couple of feet wider than the previous ball, but bowled an outswinger that moved 2.394 degrees. As it is, Bumrah has the widest average release of the bowlers in this match, which makes you play at more deliveries than you should, but this, released wider, was wicked. On top of the swing, it seamed away 1.583 degrees, making Crawley’s closed bat face look silly.

“You understand that you can’t really sit down and cry. You have to move forward with the game. So that’s what I look to do. Not to take it too far in my head and try and quickly forget it, because all of them are also new to the game, first time over here, sometimes the ball is difficult to sight”Jasprit Bumran on the dropped catches

The Ben Duckett played-on was the result of over after over of good bowling. It is what Bumrah calls money in the bank for all the good balls that don’t go to hand. Like the one he bowled to Ollie Pope early: even more wicked than the one that got Crawley, released from wider, swinging and seaming away, but also kicking at him.Just before he faced what turned out to be the last ball of his innings, Joe Root asked Pope if the 46-over-old ball was tailing. A little, he was told. Usually such lateral movement is used to swing the ball in. Bumrah flipped the darker side outside, and Root – possibly conscious of the tail – committed to playing it. This ball didn’t swing at all, Root had it tracked, but it seamed away half-a-degree to take the edge.Mark Wood, whom we would ideally have on the field rather than in the media box, just casually dropped a wonderful line on Sky Sports when Bumrah misfielded on day two. “He’s human,” Wood said. “I knew it.” Further signs of being human were on display when he bowled successive no-balls deep into the second day – one of them a wicket ball – and an indifferent spell with the second new ball.Bumrah admitted to not being used to bowling up or down the hill. He said that when you are tired, it can push you ahead of yourself. On the third morning, he was mindful to not let that happen. He maintained his pace when running downhill, and bowled no no-balls on day three.Jasprit Bumrah celebrates his fifth wicket•Getty ImagesStill, Bumrah couldn’t do anything about the fielding errors. In all, three catches went down off his bowling. All three batters hurt India. Famously, with the 2019 IPL final on a knife’s edge, Bumrah went and consoled Quinton de Kock after he let through four byes off a regulation take. Here, he displayed frustration ever so slightly.”Yeah, just for a second, but you know, you understand that you can’t really sit down and cry,” Bumrah said. “You have to move forward with the game. So that’s what I look to do. Not to take it too far in my head and try and quickly forget it, because all of them are also new to the game, first time over here, sometimes the ball is difficult to sight. And nobody is dropping the catches purposely. Everybody’s trying really hard. It does happen. So I don’t want to create a scene or put more pressure on the fielder that, you know, I’m angry, I’m kicking the box, or I’m doing something.”Scenes can be created with the ball in hand as well. Having bowled just four overs with the second new ball, often slipping down leg, Bumrah came back to end the late charge of Woakes with a full ball. Immediately he dropped back to good length, and bowled Josh Tongue.Just in the nick of time, Bumrah had completed a five-for to give India a slender lead. It is quite something to announce beforehand that you will be playing only a certain number of matches and then go out and inflict maximum damage in those matches.Bumrah was asked if it made these three matches more urgent for him. He replied that adding extra importance to these matches would mean extra baggage. “That’s very difficult to carry,” he said. Given the carry job he has been doing of late, are you sure, Jasprit?

He made the most of the new ball on a flat Ranchi pitch and kept some of the batters guessing with his variety even though he leaked runs

Alagappan Muthu01-Dec-20254:46

Takeaways – Kohli in his comfort zone, Jansen, Kuldeep and Rana sparkle

India’s best XI in any format starts with Jasprit Bumrah. He will lead the bowling attack at the 2027 World Cup, guaranteeing 10 overs of magic.Mohammed Siraj is second in charge. He can be hit or miss in white-ball cricket. He missed the Champions Trophy but was such a hit in an Asia Cup final a couple of years ago that the opposition scorecard looked like this.Hardik Pandya, who is returning to competitive cricket for the first time since his injury in September, will be crucial to balance the team in overseas conditions. That leaves one specialist fast-bowling spot open for Harshit Rana (28 List A matches), Arshdeep Singh (40) and Prasidh Krishna (75). All of them have a lot to learn but they’re still familiar with high-pressure white-ball situations thanks to the IPL.Related

Harshit Rana reprimanded, handed demerit point, for Dewald Brevis send off

Kohli, Harshit, Kuldeep star to give India 1-0 lead

'They are brilliant, and they are performing' – Kotak on Ro-Ko at 2027 World Cup

Kohli: 'If I'm arriving somewhere I'll arrive at 120%'

Ranchi was a high(ish)-pressure situation in the appropriate format and Rana rose to it. He picked up two wickets in an over, which eventually left South Africa 11 for 3 chasing 350. Ryan Rickelton was bowled on a defensive shot and Quinton de Kock was caught behind on the drive.”I think a lot of credit to Harshit also,” India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said at the post-match press conference, “For taking the early wickets because I think otherwise, for them, in so much dew, they would’ve found it very easy to score runs.”Beyond those results was the process. Rana didn’t waste the brief window, under lights, when a still new, still dry ball was willing to zip around. That alone was good work. The wickets (three) and the win will perhaps reinforce it.”He was moving the ball well,” Kotak said. “He was hitting the right area early in the innings because the Kookaburra only swings for the first four or five overs and I think he made the most of it.”Rana still gave away 65 runs in 10 overs though. This happens because he bowls to unsettle. Targeting the stumps. Then the helmet. Then taking pace off. Then going wide. Then going yorker. Then going wide yorker. Or wide and slower ball. It’s basically fast bowling on shuffle. Bangers mixed in with duds.Rana commits to this role, at the expense of his economy rate, and India are happy to pay the price because they have Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav as banker bowlers capable of creating and sustaining pressure from the other end. They must also value how Rana doesn’t flinch when things go wrong. On Sunday, he took a no-look six on the chin from Dewald Brevis in one over. Dismissed him in the next. He gritted his teeth when Corbin Bosch saw through his slower ball and sent it into the stands. Then killed the momentum with a couple of good yorkers. Rana still needs a bit of refining but there’s something there.Conditions for fast bowling in India vary from those expected at the World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Marco Jansen touched upon it after the first ODI when he said he had to keep reminding himself to get lower in his batting stance.Two years ago when India were in Centurion, they tried to lean into a pitch with pace and bounce by picking Prasidh in their Test team. His release from a high-arm action and ability to hit the deck hard were seen as an asset after South Africa had used a similar strategy to beat them on the previous tour. It didn’t quite pan out but not because it was poor logic.Arshdeep’s skills are more traditional and his left-arm angle can be a useful point of difference. There’s his composure at the death as well. He bowled a wicket-maiden in the 47th over when South Africa had brought the equation down to 38 off 24.The spotlight in that game and in any ODI that India play nowadays tends to be elsewhere, but these three are very different fast bowlers and the way they’re getting along makes for interesting viewing too.

The first Ashes Test ended in two days, with Travis Head and Mitchell Starc achieving significant landmarks

Shubham Agarwal22-Nov-202516:55

Eden v Perth: Equally bad pitches, or is there a difference?

2 days – The Perth Test between Australia and England was only the 26th Test match in 2608 to finish in two days. Seven of those have come in the Ashes. However, the previous time an Ashes Test finished within two days was 104 years ago – the first Test in Nottingham in 1921. Overall, 11 of the 26 two-day Tests have been in the 21st century.847 – The number of balls bowled in this match, the ninth lowest in a Test with a result. In Ashes history, it is the third lowest, only after the two Tests in 1888 which finished in 788 and 792 balls.In Australia, this is the second-shortest Test ever, after the Melbourne Test against South Africa in 1932 which took only 656 balls for a result.ESPNcricinfo Ltd69 – Number of balls taken by Travis Head to complete his hundred – the second fastest in Ashes history and the joint third fastest for Australia alongside David Warner, who also took 69 balls for his hundred against India at the WACA in 2012.Head also broke the record for the fastest fourth-innings hundred in Test cricket, surpassing Gilbert Jessop’s 76-ball hundred against Australia in 1902.60 – Percentage of runs scored by Head in the chase – 123 out of 205. Among the 140 successful 200-plus chases in Tests, it is the third-highest contribution by a batter. Only Gordon Greenidge (62.57%) and Mohammad Ilyas (62.37%) have contributed more in a 200-plus chase.7.23 – Australia’s run rate in the fourth innings is the highest for a successful chase of 200 or more. They broke their opponents’ record – England had chased down 299 at a run rate of 5.98 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in 2022.ESPNcricinfo Ltd10 for 103 – Mitchell Starc’s bowling figures in this Test. He achieved his career best 7 for 58 in the first innings and added three more scalps in the second. The last time an Australian quick took a ten-wicket haul in an Ashes Test was in 1991, when Craig McDermott took 11 for 157 at the WACA.123 – Number of balls taken by Starc to complete his ten-wicket haul, going past Pakistan legspinner Yasir Shah who completed a ten-wicket haul in 125 deliveries against New Zealand in 2018. Among fast bowlers, Stuart Broad had the fastest ten-wicket haul – 133 balls vs West Indies in 2020.0 for 1 – The scoreline in the first three innings in Perth – the first time the opening partnership didn’t add a run in the first three innings of a Test.Related

ICC hands down pitch rating for two-day Perth Test

England decline opportunity for pink-ball practice in Lions fixture

McCullum backs Crawley; calls on England to show greater 'conviction'

A generational flaying takes its place in England's Ashes lore

Head adds to career catalogue of mind-blowing knocks on the biggest stage

100 – This was Australia’s 100th Test win against England at home. No other side has won more matches against an opponent in a country. Australia is also second on this list with 57 wins against England in England.1639 – Number of balls taken by Scott Boland to complete 50 Test wickets in Australia – the quickest to 50 wickets in a country, with Vernon Philander (1383 balls), Kagiso Rabada (1548) and Marco Jansen (1633) ahead of him. Brett Lee (2061 balls) previously held the record for Australia at home.9 – Zak Crawley became the ninth England opener to bag a pair in Test cricket. The last England opener to bag a pair in Tests was Michael Atherton in Johannesburg in 1999. Atherton was also the previous England opener to make a pair in the Ashes (Melbourne, 1998).

Manchester United’s run of three wins in a row came to an end away to Nottingham Forest.

The Red Devils were held 2-2 by Sean Dyche’s side. A late goal ensured that Ruben Amorim’s side will travel back up to Manchester with a point.

It was the Red Devils who took the lead in the first half. United midfielder Casemiro got himself on the scoresheet for a second consecutive game, this time scoring a header from a corner, delivered by Bruno Fernandes.

Despite going into the break 1-0 up, United were soon trailing. Within five minutes of the restart, Forest took the lead. Morgan Gibbs-White headed home a cross from Rob Yates before Nicolo Savona got on the end of a scrap in the penalty box and tapped in from yards out.

It needed something special for United to find an equaliser, and luckily, that was provided to them by Amad. The Ivorian winger sweetly struck a volley from the edge of the area on his left foot, with his first-time effort nestling into the back of the net.

Despite the result, Casemiro’s performance will certainly please Amorim.

Casemiro's performance vs. Forest

Brazil international Casemiro has enjoyed a spectacular rejuvenation under Amorim. Once told to “leave the football before the football leaves you” by Jamie Carragher, United’s number 18 showed at the City Ground why he is such a key player.

After his goal and assist against Brighton last weekend, the experienced midfielder was back in the goals. His header came relatively unchallenged from Fernandes’ corner, although there is a debate as to whether or not a corner was the right decision. It is not clear that the ball went out.

His numbers across the game show how well he played. Casemiro completed 82% of his passes and created an impressive three chances. The former Real Madrid star also won 10 duels and three out of three tackles.

Steven Railston, Red Devils journalist for the Manchester Evening News, gave United’s midfield general a 6/0 for his efforts. He noted the “brilliant” goal and explained that it was his first 90 minutes of the season in the top flight.

Casemiro’s performance was certainly an impressive one. He has been able to turn his career under Amroim around and is now a key player.

However, he is not the only player in that mould who stood out at the City Ground.

Another Man Utd star has revived his career

There were certainly some strong performers in a United shirt despite the fact that they could only manage a draw in Nottingham. Casemiro was, of course, one of those players, and he ended up scoring a crucial goal.

At the other end of the pitch, it was another experienced player who stood out for the Red Devils. Luke Shaw has enjoyed a huge rejuvenation under Amorim this season, too, and his performance against Forest was commanding.

Operating in that left centre-back role once again, the England international was excellent off the ball, winning seven duels from nine attempted. As you would expect from a player with his technical quality, Shaw completed 61 out of 67 passes.

Touches

79

Pass accuracy

91%

Passes completed

61/67

Opposition half passes completed

26/31

Ground duels won

4/5

Aerial duels won

3/4

Tackles won

3/3

One person who saw how well Shaw played against the men in Garibaldi Red was United fan channel host Mark Goldbridge. He said the Red Devils’ number 23 was the “best player on the pitch” in the first half.

That certainly sums up how well the England defender performed at the City Ground. He was excellent off the ball and offered great progression when he had it. After a tough season with injury last year, the United defender has shone in 2025/26.

Shaw has certainly turned his career under Amorim around, becoming a key part of his back three. The game against Forest was a prime example of his class.

Amorim has homegrown Wharton in Man Utd star who had a "meteoric rise"

Manchester United may already have their own version of Adam Wharton at the club.

ByDan Emery Oct 31, 2025