Ashes head-to-head-1
How well do you know the records of players in Australia and England’s Ashes squads?
ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2015
How well do you know the records of players in Australia and England’s Ashes squads?
ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jul-2015
Jerome Taylor and Jomel Warrican impressed with the ball but the batsmen failed miserably with West Indies managing only one fifty partnership in the series
Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Oct-2015
Jerome Taylor (6 wickets at 23.50)Raced in spell after spell in the heat of Galle, as Sri Lanka amassed a huge total, and was a consistent troublemaker for the hosts at the P Sara. Taylor didn’t beat so many edges, but unsettled the batsmen with short bowling instead, and even got wickets that way. Had rattled the Sri Lanka top order in both innings at the P Sara, which bought the spinners time to settle at the crease, when they were brought on.Jomel Warrican (6 wickets at 21.50)Warrican wasn’t particularly proud of his four wickets in the first innings, but they did keep Sri Lanka to a manageable total. He arguably bowled better in the second dig, and can partly be credited for the wickets that fell at the other end. A canny, consistent bowler who is unafraid to attack, Warrican looks a good addition to West Indies’ bowling stocks.
Kraigg Brathwaite (103 runs at 25.75, 6 wickets at 7.16)Batted astutely for his 47 in the first innings at the P Sara, then came up with a staggering 6 for 29 in the second innings, as Sri Lanka’s batsmen continued to attempt big shots against him. The bowling was doughty rather than indomitable, but the breakthroughs just kept coming and he kept West Indies in a match that had been slipping quickly away from them. Incredibly, he had only had three first-class wickets before that performance. Jason Holder may use this hitherto-unsuspected weapon more often in the future.
Darren Bravo (144 runs at 36)West Indies’ best batsman of the series, and he didn’t average 40. Bravo seemed the most at ease against Rangana Herath, but even still, he fell to him twice. Made a measured 50 in Galle before being caught spectacularly by Dinesh Chandimal, then hit a sparkling 61 in the failed P Sara chase. As ever, he seems the batsman around whom the middle order will pivot in years to come, but the fifties need to become big hundreds if West Indies are to make headway in Tests.Jason Holder showed discipline with the ball but has plenty to learn as a captain•Associated PressJason Holder (3 wickets at 22.33, 65 runs at 16.25)Holder’s control with the ball was unparalleled by any seamer in the series, but that didn’t translate into wickets on dry surfaces. He did however, sharpen the menace of the men he bowled in tandem with. Made no major contributions with the bat. His first series as captain was made tougher by the suspension of coach Phil Simmons, who he had spoken fondly of before the series. The result was a muddled strategy with bat and ball, which was often too defensive. He has plenty of years to learn, but he’ll improve quicker if he is better supported during this delicate stage of leadership.
Jermaine Blackwood (123 runs at 30.75)The sheen was taken off Blackwood’s excellent numbers this year by a 16 and 4 at the P Sara. In Galle, he had defended sagely in the early part of his second-innings knock, then accelerated when wickets began falling at the other end, finally perishing with a hundred in sight. Didn’t seem to have glaring technical weaknesses, but his shot selection remains a work in progress.Devendra Bishoo (5 wickets at 44.40)His figures are underwhelming given the pitches were helpful, but Bishoo also had chances grassed off his bowling, particularly in Galle. Bowled a few too many loose balls to create consistent pressure, and was occasionally put off his lengths by attacking batting – especially from Sri Lanka’s left-hand batsmen. He did hasten the end of Sri Lanka’s innings in Galle, but the hosts had already made a tall total at that point.Kemar Roach (2 wickets at 51)Bowled better with the old ball than the new, but didn’t create many chances with either. The lack of movement from Sri Lanka’s surfaces hampered his style of bowling, but at least his discipline was good throughout. Bowled his best spell on the first morning in Galle.Denesh Ramdin (58 runs at 14.50, 8 catches and a stumping)Made no scores of consequence during the series, and was equally frail against seam and spin. His glovework though, was tidy, even during that long stretch in the field in Galle.Shai Hope (68 runs at 17)Hope would perhaps have made a better fist of the series if he had played more shots. He hit some delicious boundaries in his short stints at the crease, but was eventually dismissed by one that turned or bounced more than he expected. West Indies have a real shortage of talent in the opening positions, and Hope needs to develop a better defensive game if he is to stay atop the order long term. He did have a share in West Indies’ only fifty-plus stand of the series, with Darren Bravo.Shannon Gabriel (1 wicket at 76)Delivered energetic spells during that first, laborious day in Galle, but went unrewarded that day. Claimed the wicket of Kusal Perera the following day, but was dropped in favour of an extra spinner in Colombo.
Marlon Samuels (30 at 7.50, 1 wicket at 84)Last time Samuels was in the country, he played one of the great T20 innings to win West Indies the World T20. He must have used up all his good fortune then, because this tour could hardly have gone any worse. The leaden-footed batsman who was out for 13 and 6 at the P Sara seemed incredibly short of confidence. To top it all off, his action was reported, and he now faces a biomechanical Test to prove its legality.
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2015The openers were then dismissed in consecutive overs, and Bangladesh were subsequently reduced to 98 for 4 by the 15th over•Associated PressBatting at No. 3, a scratchy Anamul Haque anchored the innings with a 51-ball 47, steering Bangladesh to 135 in 20 overs. He was the ninth batsman out in the last over•Associated PressNeville Madziva picked up two wickets for 25 runs, and would go on to play a more crucial role with the bat later in the evening•Associated PressZimbabwe were off to a poor start with the bat, as they lost their top order cheaply•AFPAl-Amin Hossain was responsible for rattling Zimbabwe early on, as he dismissed Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams off his first two deliveries•AFPThe visitors eventually slumped to 39 for 5, as Arafat Sunny removed Elton Chigumbura for a duck•AFPMalcolm Waller and Luke Jongwe then put Zimbabwe’s chase back on track with a 55-run stand, scoring at over eight runs per over•AFPAs Waller and Jongwe fell in the last five overs, Madziva struggled against Mustafizur Rahman in the penultimate over, but then smashed 18 runs required to win off the last over to help Zimbabwe edge out the hosts by three wickets and one ball to spare, to level the T20I series 1-1•Associated Press
ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2016… but he was frustrated at falling when well set on 48•Getty ImagesAlex Hales took up the cudgels with 57 from 47 balls•Getty ImagesHe became Marchant de Lange’s first international wicket since January 2015•Getty ImagesJoe Root anchored England’s innings with a typically lively 52•Getty ImagesJos Buttler was promoted to No.4 with devastating effect•Getty ImagesHis last ODI innings was an England record 46-ball hundred in Dubai …•Getty Images… and he duly brought up his fourth England hundred, from 73 balls•Getty ImagesBen Stokes carried over his Test form with a hard-hitting 57 from 38•Getty ImagesChasing 400, South Africa lost Hashim Amla early in their innings•Getty ImagesFaf du Plessis found his form with 55 from 44 balls•Getty Images… while Quinton de Kock continued where he had left off with another brilliant display•Getty ImagesHis ninth ODI hundred came from 67 balls to keep South Africa firmly on track•Getty ImagesHowever, a blinding one-handed catch from Stokes extracted the dangerous AB de Villiers•Getty ImagesMoeen Ali picked up key wickets to keep South Africa behind the Duckworth-Lewis par score•Getty Images
India Women’s captain Mithali Raj on the team’s recent success going into the World T20, and utilsing opportunities to raise the game’s profile
Interview by Gaurav Kalra05-Mar-201611:30
‘The BCCI should support our participation in the Women’s Big Bash’
The Indian women’s team has been on a high in recent months. After a historic T20 series win in Australia in January, they have continued their impressive form at home by whitewashing Sri Lanka in both the ODI and T20 series. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, captain Mithali Raj reflects on the reasons behind the team’s strong performances, the emergence of top-class young players, the improvements at domestic level, and the steps needed to raise the profile of the game in the country.Things have been going well of late for India.
The Australia tour was very important and all of us knew that it would be very challenging to beat them at home as very few of our players had experience on those fast tracks. Winning the T20 series was a good experience for the whole team and it has given a lot of confidence to the players. We have come good as a unit. Winning before the World Cup was good timing as well. Can you elaborate on the transformation that has taken place in the last few years? And what do you put the team’s improved performances down to?
The team has been together for two years and most of the players have played for Indian Railways, who I captain [in domestic cricket]. We are together round the year. That develops a bond and I don’t have to work too much. Earlier, our batting never clicked in T20s. Only one or two players would score and the team was dependent on them. Now, we have every player contributing to the team’s performance and that has made a lot of difference. Our top order scored runs in Australia and our fielding was really good.
“Since we have done well against Australia and Sri Lanka, the people’s expectations have risen, and it is important that we use this platform to promote women’s cricket in India”
There was a time when England and Australia were far ahead of the pack. Do you think the field has evened out after your win against Australia?
I think it has, after our wins in the last two series. We are strong contenders for the World Cup. Earlier, it used to feel like those two teams are way ahead of the rest, but now with the transformation in the Indian team – West Indies has been doing well and New Zealand have done well against Australia – the gap is closing.Do you feel a lot more younger girls are now pushing for national honours?
Yes, because we have our domestic structure in place and the ICC Championship has done a lot of good. We get to play every team before the World Cup, touring in different conditions besides a few series at home. It gives a lot of opportunities to the youngsters. As we play more, we get to see who a quality player is and what plans and strategies would work for the team. Whenever you undergo transformation, a couple of good players always emerge, like Smriti Mandhana and Anuja Patil, which will only increase the depth for the team.Players are centrally contracted now. Has that made a difference?
Yes, because there are players who come from middle-class or lower middle-class backgrounds and struggle to buy a kit and earn a living. They completely depend on the state association. With central contracts, you are very well looked after by the board. You do not have to be bothered about anything else. Just put in the hard work and do well for the country.The World T20 is in India. You have done so well on tours. Suddenly there is pressure that you will be holding the trophy at the end of the tournament. Is that the kind of pressure you’re coming to terms with since you’re one of the favourites?
The World Cup, as an event, carries a lot of pressure, irrespective of the number of caps you have earned, and the pressure doubles when you play at home. Since we have done well against Australia and Sri Lanka, the people’s expectations have risen, and it is important that we use this platform to promote women’s cricket in India, because it is the best opportunity. The team has good momentum and all the players are confident, so it is the right time for us to play a good brand of cricket for people to appreciate in India and to market the sport.”Winning the T20 series [in Australia] was a good experience for the whole team and it has given a lot of confidence to the players”•Getty Images Do you think playing your matches besides the men has helped, as will be the case in the World T20?
The double headers generated a lot of viewership and promoted women’s cricket around the globe in a better way. I think the Big Bash or an IPL-style tournament would give an impetus to women’s cricket. Women’s cricket can stand alone as a brand, but right now it needs men’s cricket to support it. One aspect of television coverage is that in the men’s game you get a lot of information about your rivals. In your case, is it harder to tactically plan against opposition?
It is when you haven’t played an opposition for a long time, like we didn’t know much about the South African team when we played them a couple of years back, because we last played them in 2009. We struggled then but with the ICC Championship, we play every team. So we have a video analyst coming with the team and we have the footage, but it’s difficult when you play a team after a long time. In terms of the support staff, apart from the video analyst, there is also a strength trainer. Have things changed dramatically since you first started playing?
Yes, the approach to fitness is a lot more professional and there is a physio who deals with rehab and injury. The player’s knowledge of their body and how to go about in and outside a competition is far better than what it was when I started.
“Earlier, it used to feel like Australia and England are way ahead of the rest, but now with the transformation in the Indian team, the gap is closing”
The women’s Big Bash League was a huge success and England is looking to follow suit. As one of the leading players in the world, would you like the opportunity to be part of such leagues?
Yes, because when you play with the best and interact with them, there are cultural interactions. You learn a lot by just mingling and it gives the young players – someone like Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur or Veda Krishnamurthy – the chance to develop as cricketers and mature very quickly, which is what India needs at the moment. So that is something for you to tell the BCCI?
I think the BCCI will definitely be very supportive, because we don’t have the IPL. If the Aussies or England want us in the tournament, the BCCI should be positive enough to support us, because it will benefit them and help the players get experience. When you see them in the next T20 World Cup, they’d be different players. You see a lot of young Indian girls do really well these days, like Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal. Do you hope to see the profile of women’s cricket reach that level?
It should, and there is a possibility if our matches are televised. That attracts a lot of brands and corporate sponsorships for individual players. If only a few games are televised and you don’t have a follow-up, like no live coverage of the Sri Lanka series after the Australia series, where we did so well, things will not improve.”If only a few games are televised and you don’t have a follow-up, like no live coverage of the Sri Lanka series after the Australia series where we did so well, things will not improve”•Getty Images You have played only ten Test matches. Would you like to see more Test cricket for women?
I definitely want to play them as it is the ultimate challenge for any cricketer to excel in that format. It challenges your skill, mental ability and physical endurance.Are there any changes you would like to see at the domestic level?
I think Star Sports covered the T20 Super League and got a good response. If the domestic T20 Super League or the one-day Super League is televised, it will get a lot of attention. What should we expect from the Indian women’s team at the World T20?
With the kind of momentum we have, we should at least qualify for the semi-finals. From there, it’s anyone’s game.
Australia’s chance of overturning a 1-0 deficit will depend on how they manage a bowling attack that will feature a debutant apart from showing better application against spin
Daniel Brettig in Galle03-Aug-20162:23
Brettig: Australia up against history in Galle
In their efforts to overcome Sri Lanka this week in Galle, Australia will not just be battling the vagaries of Asian conditions and the skills of Rangana Herath, Kusal Mendis and Lakshan Sandakan. Steven Smith’s men will also be confronting history – almost 140 years of it.Never in all their years of Test matches, dating back to 1877, have Australia come back from 1-0 down to win a three-match series. The last time Australia successfully overturned a 1-0 deficit in any series was during the 1997 Ashes in England, where a heavy defeat in the first match at Edgbaston was overcome 3-2 by Mark Taylor’s team. That encounter was fought over six Tests: a luxury the current side does not have.The size of the task ahead is not lost on Smith, nine matches into his captaincy and five days distant from a first defeat. “I guess it would be nice to create some history then, wouldn’t it?” Smith said. “We’re still confident that we can win this series. We’re going to have to play well, we’re going to have to play better than we did in Kandy, but I’m hopeful that we can do that.”Matters of how to achieve this success boil down to a pair of challenges: dealing more effectively with the array of spin bowling presented by Sri Lanka on a dry Galle pitch in order to build big innings, and getting the best out of a bowling attack that will feature a spin debutant in Jon Holland alongside Nathan Lyon, and a pair of potentially explosive pacemen in Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.Smith wants to see his batsmen play to cover balls hitting the stumps in order to try to avoid the surfeit of lbw and bowled dismissals that bedeviled them in Pallekele. He also acknowledged the advice of the former captain Ricky Ponting to avoid being trapped on the crease by good length deliveries.”It’s obviously different to batting against spin back home, [where] you can trust the bounce and trust what the ball’s going to do as such,” Smith said. “For us, we haven’t done it overly well in the last couple of years. Looking at the dismissals in the first Test match, the balls that skid on are generally not half-volleys; they’re generally pretty good length balls.”In saying that, it’s hard to sometimes distinguish which ball is going to skid and which ball is going to spin. So it’s about trying to one get the bowlers off their lengths as much as you can, make them a little bit uncomfortable, but at the same time if they do get in a good rhythm and you are playing from the crease, particularly against someone like Rangana [Herath] its playing for that ball that is going to skid on. If it spins and you nick one so be it, but we didn’t lose any wickets on the outside of the bat in the last Test match, so I think you can live with that.”One of the more revealing elements of Australia’s preparation was the fact that Starc and Hazlewood were kept away from the nets on their main training day, instead doing one-on-one work with the bowling coach Allan Donald on a centre wicket. Donald was working with South Africa when they recently defeated Sri Lanka on this ground, when reverse swing proved as dangerous as any spin. Smith wants greater economy from his bowlers, and both Starc and Hazlewood should be better for the run last week.”Looks pretty dry, I daresay it’s going to take some spin, which at the same time there’s quite a big breeze so I think it will drift a lot for the spinners,” Smith said of the conditions. “Talking to Allan Donald who was here with the South African team in that game, he said the ball reversed quite significantly from both ends.”[Morne] Morkel had it going away from the right handers and [Dale] Steyn had it going into the right handers, so we’ve got Starc who can do [away swing to right handers] and Hazlewood can do [in swing] and Mitchell Marsh bowls good reverse swing as well, so we’ve got the bases covered. It’s just about going out there and making sure we do the right things this Test match.”As for Holland, he and Smith have already spoken at length about how best to bowl in Sri Lanka. “I had a few chats to him about paces and the seams that work here,” Smith said. “Playing in Australia, the spinners that seem to do well there are the ones that get over the top of the ball.”The ones who seem to do well in the subcontinent are the ones that actually come under the ball and bowl with that side seam. He’s been working on that over the last couple of days and he’s bowled pretty well in the nets. He’s got that little bit of extra height, he’s quite tall. It’s hard to pick up the length which is pretty key in these conditions.”To turn this series around, Australia will need a lot to go right. History, or humiliation, beckons.
Moeen Ali demonstrated that he had learned from his experience at Chittagong, but England were lucky to be let back into the game
George Dobell in Mirpur28-Oct-2016There have been many memorable comebacks in cricket. Headingley 1981, for example. Or Koltata 2001. Or the remarkable tale of Middlesex’s Harry Lee, who, at the Battle of Fromelles in 1915, was captured by the Germans after spending three days bleeding and broken in no-man’s land. He defied the doctors, and even a memorial service held by his nearest and dearest, and went on to play one Test during an injury crisis on the South Africa tour of 1930-31.By comparison, England’s comeback on day one in Dhaka seems pretty tame. But, after a wretched first three hours when it appeared they might be facing a vast first-innings score, they could feel pretty satisfied in restricting Bangladesh to a first-innings total of 220. Certainly when they were 171 for 1 and England’s bowlers were struggling to hit the cut strip, it seemed as if things would be much, much worse. To take the final nine wickets for the addition of just 49 runs did, at least, show some character.But impressive though the comeback was, encouraging though the bowling of Ben Stokes, in particular, continues to be, this was a performance that will not have left them quaking in India.If England bowl like this in India, they will be thrashed. They will not be able to afford a session as bad as the first one here and they will not be let back into the game as easily as Bangladesh allowed them back here. The India batting is too strong, too ruthless and too motivated to allow England to get away with such loose cricket.For England got away with it here. From the moment Imrul Kayes thrashed a Chris Woakes long-hop to point in the day’s third over, England benefited from loose Bangladesh batting. While Tamim Iqbal batted beautifully, the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Shuvagata Hom will reflect on their dismissals – wafting outside off stump – with little joy. Bangladesh may still have provided the defining innings of this game, but they will know they have risked letting England back into this game when they should have closed them out completely.There was some progress discernable for England. Moeen Ali, in particular, demonstrated that he had learned from his experience at Chittagong to claim the second five-wicket haul of his Test career. His Test bowling average dipped below 40 as a consequence.We already knew that, on such surfaces, he presented a terrific challenge to left-handed batsman. But none of his five victims in Chittagong was a right-hander and, given the India top-order is packed with them, that was a concern.Moeen Ali claimed the big wicket of Tamim Iqbal for 104•Associated PressHere, by bowling round the wicket, he maximised the benefit of any natural variation. He aimed at leg stump, brought the leg slip and short leg into play if the ball turned and the keeper and slip into play if it did not. And, most of all, he knew that, if the batsmen missed, he was in with a good chance of gaining an lbw decision.Moeen modestly admitted afterwards that he had not bowled an intentional arm-ball but, reasoning that if he didn’t know which ones were going to spin and which ones were going to drift away, the batsmen had even less chance. In all, he claimed the wicket of three right-handers, though the wickets of the left-handers Tamim and Mominul Haque with deliveries that skidded on were perhaps the most satisfying.”It was just natural variation,” he said. “I don’t feel I bowled great. I just tried to bowl tight, which I don’t really do normally. I said to Cooky ‘If I’m not bowling maidens, just take me off.’ It’s something I need to do better.””I did all right. I don’t really have much success as a spinner, but I think the pace I bowl helps and I’m trying to be more consistent. I’m nowhere near where I want to be as a spinner, but I’m trying to be accurate and the 30 games I’ve played have helped me a bit.”Moeen also admitted that Stokes had been England’s “main man”. And it is true that Stokes had, once again, defied the slow surface to hurry batsmen with his strength and pace and defeat them with his control of reverse swing. To have hit Mushfiqur Rahim with a bouncer on such a surface was remarkable. Both Moeen and Tamim described him as “brilliant” and he now has a Test bowling average of 16.33 since January 10. He is no batsman who bowls; he is the real thing as an allrounder. India will have taken note, but perhaps also taken note of England’s over-reliance upon him.Perhaps they will not be so reliant in India. The last time England looked as hapless in the field as they did in the first session here was the Edgbaston Test of 2012 when Stuart Broad and James Anderson were rested. It might be optimistic to expect Anderson to play much of a part in India, but Broad’s absence was felt keenly here. There is no way he would have bowled with so little control.Moeen also revealed that the coach, Trevor Bayliss, urged the team to refocus when they came in at lunch.”He just said that we’re going to have sessions like this in the winter and we’re going to have to get better at recognising it and understanding how to change it,” Moeen said. “He wasn’t really angry. He was just a bit disappointed but he never shows when he’s angry. He just made us focus a bit more on what we needed to do.”And what they needed to do was bowl maidens. Or at least apply some control. Not until the 27th over bowled by spin, did any of England’s trio manage a maiden. It is no coincidence that, with both Stokes (who conceded only 13 from 11 admirably controlled overs) and Moeen bowling with impressive control, the wickets started to fall. It won’t be so easy in India, but it did at least show the direction of travel they must take.None of that disguises the faults. It doesn’t disguise the struggles of Zafar Ansari, who might be excused on the grounds of nerves, or Adil Rashid. And, most of all, it doesn’t disguise the continuing struggles of the top order. So far this series, England’s third wicket has fallen on a score of 21, 28 and 42. They might get away with that in Bangladesh; they are most unlikely to do so in India. But, for now, it did just about keep them in this game.
The inaugural WSL went a fair way towards providing England with a women’s competition between county cricket and the international game
Raf Nicholson29-Aug-2016It’s the second week of the new women’s Super League. Southern Vipers are playing Yorkshire Diamonds at the Ageas Bowl and the game is finely poised, with Diamonds 32 for 2 after seven overs, chasing 119. Vipers captain Charlotte Edwards, unsure where to turn, brings a 21-year-old left-arm spinner called Linsey Smith into the attack.Her first over is a wicket-maiden. Two overs later she removes Alex Blackwell with a brilliant head-high reflex catch. She finishes with 4 for 10, the best figures by any spinner in the entire tournament.Smith has never worn an England shirt, probably never hoped to wear one. She was not even named in the original Vipers squad; there is no handy profile of her to be found. ESPNcricinfo still has her down as a medium-pacer, although she switched to spin a while ago. The BBC commentators are baffled.Another day, another Vipers game, and an ECB employee – who shall remain nameless – wanders into the press box. After watching the opposition’s innings, he turns to me and says: “Who is that keeper, and why isn’t she playing for England?””That keeper” is 22-year-old Carla Rudd, who was dropped from the Academy last year and is now fighting to remain in England contention.The Women’s Cricket Super League was designed for players like Smith and Rudd.
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“Bridging the gap” has been the Super League’s catchphrase ever since its conception in June last year. “This is the game-changer,” said Clare Connor at the tournament announcement, “for as many talented cricketers to be the best they can be; to drive a high-performance culture.” Edwards agreed: “We’ve been crying out for this for a number of years, to bridge that gap between international cricket and county cricket.”To understand that gap, it is important to be aware of the current domestic structure of women’s cricket in England. It is entirely amateur: no money to be made by players; none available for paid coaches, none for support staff. The women’s County Championship is played on Sundays (because players have jobs or studies during the week), on club pitches that are often not of the best quality. Some of these players barely train during the off season. Indoor net sessions are expensive when you don’t have a ground to call your own. It’s hard to see this as a sustainable model to create the England players of the future.Vipers coach Nick Denning, who had been the coach of Berkshire Women for several years prior to his appointment with Vipers, is well placed to compare the women’s county set-up with that of the Super League: “Professionalism is the main difference. We get our strength and conditioning coach, we get our physio, we get all these extra coaches, we get great facilities at the Ageas Bowl. You cannot replicate that in an amateur environment.”Vipers’ Georgia Adams put it more succinctly: “It’s another level.”For Vipers batsman Georgia Adams, the chance to bat in front of a crowd was an incredible experience•Getty ImagesThis is where the ECB’s £3 million worth of investment has gone. This is money well spent. This is the start of bridging the gap.It is not just about facilities. Connor has repeatedly said that the aspiration is for the Super League to provide a level of cricket that is semi-professional. And professionalisation is partly about pressure: how you handle it, what you do with it, whether it makes or breaks you in a match situation. The Super League provides that pressure.It has a different feel to county cricket. The stakes are higher – prize money and match fees – and the crowds are far, far bigger. For Adams, playing in front of 2240 spectators during the first Vipers game at the Ageas Bowl was an incredible experience: “Looking out and seeing so many people, it’s completely new to me. I’ve never played anything quite like this. It’s brilliant.”Some players thrived under the spotlight. Adams made 41 in that first game at the Ageas Bowl. Loughborough Lightning’s young allrounder Paige Scholfield followed her lead in Lightning’s very first home game, against Lancashire Thunder, entering the fray at 88 for 7, with her team chasing 165. The third delivery she faced was cut for four; England seamer Kate Cross was quickly dispatched for four boundaries in an over; and then there was a glorious six off Deandra Dottin. Eventually Scholfield was bowled, and Thunder won by six runs. It could have been a lot more.Scholfield admitted to being nervous walking out to bat in front of the 600-strong crowd. “But,” she said, “the women’s game is growing, so I guess we’ve got to get used to it if we want to play at that higher level. And it’s nice to have the home crowd behind you. For me I was nervous at the start, but then once we got going, it was a good backing behind us, and it almost builds your confidence really.”Other players struggle to deal with the pressure. In Bristol against Western Storm, Surrey Stars lost a game they looked certain to win, thanks to a poor performance in the field: leaked runs and dropped chances. “Just at the end,” said captain Nat Sciver as she reflected on the defeat, “when we needed a bit of composure, we put down a couple of catches. This has been a really good standard of tournament. It really shows what the step up is and for some of the county girls it is a little bit different. It is definitely a learning curve.”But she promised to “have a chat with the team and let them know that a bit of composure and calm can help”, and in their very next game Stars pulled off three run-outs – the best a neat piece of work from 20-year-old Cordelia Griffith at short fine leg. The players were learning, game by game, what it meant to step up and deliver.They also learned from their team-mates – the six international players (three England, three overseas) in each of the squads. “Sharing knowledge” became another Super League catchphrase – as exemplified in several of the opening partnerships across the tournament.There was Adams, promoted to open with Suzie Bates at the last minute following an injury to Edwards. Adams paid tribute to Bates after the game: “Her knowledge of the game and of the bowlers that we were facing – it just helped so much to keep me calm, keep me level out there… Suzie guided me through that innings.”There was 18-year-old Bryony Smith, who looked in no way out of her depth alongside opening partner Tammy Beaumont as she played classical drives and cheeky ramp shots, taking on bowlers left and right, including the ferocious Katherine Brunt. “Being around some of the girls here is just amazing,” she said, after making 31 at The Oval. “It gives you something to aim for.”And then there was Emma Lamb, also 18, who opened in every game for Lancashire Thunder alongside her captain, New Zealander Amy Satterthwaite, and who – with scores of 25, 26, 34, 27 and 10, all at a strike rate of over 100 – was the only non-international player to feature among the top ten group-stage run scorers. “To see the young ones like her blossom in this tournament has been really great,” said Satterthwaite. “Bryony Smith played similarly for Surrey and that’s just what England will want to see from those players.”These players were asked to shine among the world’s best. Those who managed it surely are the stars of the future.
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I spoke to Linsey Smith after her 4 for 10 for Vipers. She seemed shell-shocked, perhaps unable to quite believe that she was the story of the day. I might just have been the first journalist to ever ask her for an interview.I won’t be the last. Suddenly everyone knew her name. A review of the inaugural Super League is not complete without a mention of Smith. When she came on to bowl on Finals Day, everyone sat up, knowing that this was a player who could make things happen. It was the kind of scrutiny that some of these players had never experienced before, but which, as the women’s game grows, they will need to learn to deal with.Smith seemed to be handling it just fine, thanks. “I feel amazing,” she said. “It’s a massive honour to be part of the Vipers, with such a huge variety of players at such different levels, and some world-class players. To get out there on a big stage like this is great.”The Ageas Bowl, she says, is her new favourite cricket ground.
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Some Super League players will grow into international cricket. Others will not. But all have had an opportunity never before on offer to English domestic female cricketers.For Smith, nothing has ostensibly changed: she went back to county cricket last weekend, and is headed back to university in September. But everything has changed, too. “As a player,” she said, “it has helped me get better and better. It’s a huge opportunity.”That is the power of Super League. That is bridging the gap.
With an application rarely seen in their batting performances overseas and a constant willingness to believe, Pakistan made history, and yet didn’t quite make it
Jarrod Kimber at the Gabba19-Dec-2016The local cafes have been packed for days, but on the fifth day, there is no queue to get your ten-dollar lunch specials. There is no police outside the ground making sure cricket fans don’t get run over. Neroli Meadows and Merv Hughes have almost the entire Woolloongabba Place Park to themselves for some TV work. Only a handful watch Pakistan in the nets. Most of the people walking around the ground are not fans but Cricket Australia, Queensland Cricket or Brisbane Lions employees. The plastic bollards to give the crowd extra walking space are being taken down even as a few spectators walk past them.That is because no one really believes Pakistan can win.Off the second ball of the day, Asad Shafiq plays and misses. Yasir Shah plays a flash uppercut soon after, and you can feel Australia will just get one right, and the lack of crowd will be justified by a quick finish. But Australia don’t get many right.A single guided to deep point is just one of the 490 needed, but it brings the target to under a hundred and cricket makes that a noteworthy occurrence. Shafiq is farming the strike, making sure that Yasir doesn’t have to face too many balls. Apparently, he hasn’t watched Yasir in the nets over the last two days, because he has looked more assured than Younis, more in-form than Misbah and technically superior to Sarfraz Ahmed. Shafiq plays and misses again at one; that may have hit a crack. Will this heroic defiance be ended by simple day-five deterioration?But as Yasir plays some effortless cover drives, and Shafiq stops playing and missing, the first signs of tension start to show on Australian faces. A graceful push through cover compels David Warner to throw every part of himself at stopping the ball. Instead, it eludes him and gently nudges the boundary triangle. The total crosses 400, another pointless landmark, another moral victory for Pakistan. More belief.Yasir plays an offside waft, not even a real shot; the field is up, and he was sucked into the wrong shot. The ball is passed to Steven Smith who sighs for what seems like seven seconds. Yasir backs up his weak shot with an ordinary stroke that misses the ball by about a foot, and instead hits the ground. Matthew Wade and Smith show some excitement, but it’s not a real appeal, it’s just the hope of a real appeal. It’s now half an hour, and the game is different than before: there are two set batsmen, one frustrated captain, two tiring strike bowlers and one ever-softening ball.A section of the crowd made the Gabba Test feel like a home game for Pakistan•Getty ImagesIan Healy talks to the Pakistani fans, of which there are few, but they are loud enough for it to feel like a home game. One fan claims they will win, not only this Test, but all the Tests. It is different from the passionate pessimism of regular Pakistan fans, but even gung-ho patriotism aside, you can see his point.Australia seems to have no definite plan, no grip on the contest, and now Jackson Bird is warming up. Bird has bowled well and has earned his spot by taking wickets, but he’s at his best with a new ball, winkling out top-order batsmen. His first ball seems gentle and apologetic, and is guided with grace and no effort by Shafiq, who happily lets Yasir face Bird, in a way he never did for Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood. Nathan Lyon comes on and Shafiq pushes him away effortlessly as well, and has no qualms about Yasir facing him either – this despite the fact that Yasir is almost dismissed from an excellent Lyon ball straightaway.During a Bird over, Warner comes excitedly to talk to Smith at slip. Next ball, Bird hits a crack; it’s probably not true, but I like to think that Warner said, ‘all we need to do is hit that crack a lot’. The ball flies past the one floating slip, and Smith reacts by putting out a fly slip, who is so square he’s almost a fly gully. Yasir responds with a push through the covers for two. Warner chases after it like no man has ever chased after a two in the covers. There is such power in his running, such desperation, and yet it was always going to be two. It was as if Warner thought that by running fast, he could change Australia’s new fate, of being on the wrong side of the biggest chase in cricket.At the one-hour mark, our stats team point out that only once in Pakistan’s Test history before this have their numbers 7 to 10 scored over 20 in the same innings.Smith tries something new: a short leg, a short midwicket; fly gully goes back to standard gully and Bird tries to go straight. On a morning of almost no obvious plans or proactive calls, this one is quite clear. Yasir reacts by drop-kicking the straight ball over square leg’s head like he’s operating Viv Richards in a computer game. Forget belief, Yasir now has swag.Lyon beats Yasir and appeals for a caught behind; Wade takes the bails off, and he asks for a stumping. Half the team appeal to one umpire, half to the other, some for a catch, some for a stumping, and probably a few for lbw. It’s not an appeal for a wicket; it is not out in any of cricket’s ten dismissal laws. It’s an appeal for help.After a memorable ton, it needed something even more special from Mitchell Starc to remove Asad Shafiq•AFPIt is then, with what might be thousands but could be just hundreds of people in the ground, I suddenly realise; I could be at one of the single most amazing days of cricket in history. Pakistan still need heaps, Australia still only need two balls, but it doesn’t feel like that. All my cricket background is saying, this will stop, that they’ll get a good ball in, or Pakistan will struggle when the overwhelming nature of chasing 490 gets down to a handful of runs. But I don’t care. Now I believe.When a strong drive from Shafiq crashes into the non-striker’s stumps, there is a sudden panic, as Yasir doesn’t have his bat down. But when you see the replay you see a ball heading for Bird’s hand, only to take an exaggerated dip. Now it might have been spin on the ball that made it do that, or the game now deciding that Pakistan must win. I decide the dip existed, and that it was a sign of a supernatural presence – Mother Cricket – guiding it away.Starc comes back on, Yasir flays, and Shafiq goes down to tell him not to. Yasir pushes Starc through cover; Starc looks at Smith, and Smith shrugs back at Starc. Everyone is talking to someone, every ball. Ian Gould talks to Yasir about something, and suddenly I need to know what is going on: why are they talking, what does it mean, why can’t I hear them? Every single small moment, a lingering look at cover and point, or a back pat between the batsmen is now the single most important thing I have ever seen.
Shafiq’s bat has become something extraordinary, like it was made from a willow tree that was struck by lightning, crafted by Hattori Hanzo and one that he, and only he, could pull out of an enchanted stone
And Asad Shafiq. I mean what is happening there? He was supposed to be in poor form, still hiding down at six and not taking up his rightful place at three or four. He was barely involved in the first innings and now look at him. He seems to have worked out the exact mathematical dimensions of this ground to find every single or two he needs. He’s batting with Misbah’s mind and Younis’ self-determination, and prettier than either. Shafiq’s bat has become something extraordinary, like it was made from a willow tree that was struck by lightning, crafted by Hattori Hanzo and one that he, and only he, could pull out of an enchanted stone. With it, he calmly guides another ball away to the boundary, calmly like this isn’t the chance for perhaps the most incredible victory, but just a club game with some mates.Yasir slashes at point. Lyon launches himself as best he can without the athletic gifts that some of his team-mates have, gets a finger to it – just one which you can see bend as the ball crashes through. The other fielders clean up beyond him, the batsmen run three, the ball’s returned to Wade, who throws it up to mid-off, and Lyon is still on the ground. Shafiq takes a single next ball, and Yasir is back on strike. He leaves a ball after a shuffle down the wicket; it hits his back leg and on commentary, Mark Nicholas says, “They ask, they ask, they get it, they get it, they get it”. But just to prove that Yasir’s judgment all morning has been on song, he reviews instantaneously, and it’s overturned almost as quick.But the reviews show up something else, something which will be far more important: reverse swing. It’s not clear, until another one crashes into the pads, and yes, that’s what it is. Oh Pakistan, it had to be that, didn’t it?Starc’s next over has him around the wicket going at the batsmen. He gets one down the legside and Yasir moves across and it takes something as it goes through to Wade. Starc goes up to appeal, but the ball is trickling along the ground and Wade is desperately trying to pick it up, like he can make up for what has just happened. He gets up and seems to say to everyone, ‘it’s just pad’, or that it didn’t carry, but essentially, ‘it’s all cool guys’. The replays show there was bat, but the replays that needed to show whether the catch carried, never comes. Wade finishes the over by fumbling another ball and they don’t take the run. Wade walks down pitch trying to spin the helmet on his hand casually. It doesn’t spin well, it doesn’t look casual. It is barely repressed panic.Steven Smith’s deadly accuracy allowed Australia to breathe again•Getty ImagesThe panic shifts though with Shafiq’s first play and miss in an age. There is no doubt now, the ball is moving, the spell is breaking.Next over, Starc is around the wicket again, and a good yorker is just squeezed away by Yasir. Now it is Starc v Shafiq. Starc, like a chum-baited shark, isn’t the same bowler as earlier. The ball jumps up at Shafiq, fast and mean. The man who has been a Zen batting master is suddenly everywhere at once, in the air, facing the wrong way, each limb doing a different thing. But the ball has somehow ignored the chaos to find the leading edge, and it balloons up.It’s not that high, it’s not a tough catch, but it goes to Warner – the man who earlier tried to beat fate by running fast – on a platter with a champagne flute beside it. After the false dawns and optimistic cries of hope, the Australians wait for the catch to be completed, and when it is, they scream, the way you do when you have just realised you aren’t about to become the laughing stock of the world. Not Starc, he barely raises a hand.Shafiq is even more emotionless. Shafiq was stoic all innings, and his face is the same now as he takes his gloves off and starts heading off. That is until Yasir walks over and embraces him. Then it hits him, and it becomes obvious that up until that very moment, he believed. He believed more than Misbah, more than the loud Pakistan fan on Channel Nine, more than anyone could, or should. He takes his helmet off, and at first he isn’t even walking towards the dressing rooms, just drifting off the ground. Of all the things he had allowed himself to dream, the walk off the ground as a loser wasn’t one.Rahat Ali’s reputation as an entertaining batsman, for almost none of the right reasons, means that Yasir decides to hit out. He tries to slog Starc with no luck, and then he tries to hit a yorker. He makes contact, but he doesn’t know where, so he takes off, before realising it has gone behind him, and he turns. Smith at first just gently takes the dribbling ball, but then, like a gunfighter who sees a man drop his weapon, he goes for the kill. It was Smith who allowed Pakistan to dream, for Shafiq to be the hero, and now it is the same hands that end the match.Maybe it was reverse swing, Pakistan’s most dramatic superpower, that changed the balance, but it was quality fielding, their one eternal weakness, that finished them. It was 40 runs those who weren’t watching will say, not even that close. They won’t get it. Just like how those who didn’t believe in Pakistan didn’t get that they believed in the first place. And they may have lost, but after all that, you know they still believe.
Zimbabwe’s Chris Mpofu on the team’s thoughts as they turned the third ODI against Afghanistan around, and the feelings of happy disbelief once the job was done
Firdose Moonda21-Feb-2017Chris Mpofu was still in a daze, more than two hours after Zimbabwe completed one of the greatest heists in their cricketing history. They beat Afghanistan by three runs and went from staring at a third successive series defeat to an Associate nation to plucking five wickets for five runs and successfully defending what looked like an utterly inadequate total of 129.Or maybe its the opposition who returned to their dwelling unsure of what happened.After their win in the first game and the second, members of the Afghan squad supposedly informed the receptionists at the Holiday Inn, where both teams are staying, of their success. But after the third?”The people at the front desk said they came in and just walked past without saying anything,” Mpofu, who made a point of asking the hotel staff whether the Afghans had relayed news of the day’s event, said to ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t think they could believe it. We also can’t believe it. It was just amazing.”At 114 for 5, with 24 overs still at their disposal, Afghanistan were in complete control. Seamer Mpofu, who had come on six overs earlier, had resigned himself to performing the last rites. “I was only brought on in the 21st over and I thought to myself that this is just to finish things off,” he said.His first over cost six runs, his second went for four and his third, which came after Afghanistan had lost their fifth wicket, also had four runs scored off it. Things were happening at a predictably pedestrian pace until Mohammed Nabi smoked the first ball of Mpofu’s fourth over for six. The veteran quick has begun to pride himself on maintaining a low economy rate so he wasn’t happy that he was the one being punished. “One thing I am really trying for now is consistency and I have been doing well in the last few matches,” he said.Nabi glanced the next ball to the leg side and Mpofu, frustrated, hurled in a short, wide delivery that Samiullah Shenwari could not resist cutting. He got a bottom edge to Peter Moor to give Mpofu some joy. Having seen the Afghan batsmen’s love of attacking, Mpofu stuck to the short-ball strategy, Najibullah Zadran pulled, and Moor chased the top-edge to the square-leg region.All that probably did was leave Zimbabwe with a lot of regret. Afghanistan had lost seven wickets but the hosts must have felt at that point that a few more runs to defend would have been handy – until Nabi gave them hope they may have had enough. He went after Sean Williams and tried to slap through the covers but gave himself too much room and was bowled. “We suddenly thought, ‘Hey, we could actually win this.’ They were eight down and they only the tail to come.”
“We joked with the batsmen that since we had been able to defend 130, maybe next time they could at least score 150. But, on the whole, we are going somewhere. If you watched us in these last few matches, you wouldn’t have said we were losing.”
The rest of Williams’ over went run-less and Mpofu began his fifth with Afghanistan potentially one shot – six runs – away from sealing the series. He decided it would be the short ball again. “Rashid [Khan] tried to take me on and he nicked off and then I was quite sure we had it,” Mpofu said. He went on to bowl a maiden as well, having claimed three wickets in five balls, and left it to Williams to defend six.”The first ball of Sean’s next over, [Amir] Hamza hit to our captain [Graeme] Cremer and he missed and it went for two and it seemed like maybe it wasn’t going to be again,” Mpofu said. “But then two balls later, he tried to go over the top and he was caught at short-third man. I actually had tears in my eyes, thinking, ‘How did we do this?'”Afghanistan were likely thinking the same thing. Mpofu confirmed there were “no demons” in the usually placid Harare pitch. “I was actually thinking it was even better than some of the strips I have seen here before,” he said. “It was just that both teams played the wrong shots. We saw when Tarisai [Musakanda] and Malcolm [Waller] were batting, that it was a good wicket.”Musakanda and Waller’s sixth-wicket partnership was worth 81 and rescued Zimbabwe from 40 for 5, a position worse than any they have been in in this series. The batting continues to let them down and Mpofu hopes some of the bowling self-belief and general good vibes will rub off.”We joked with the batsmen that since we had been able to defend 130, maybe next time they could at least score 150,” he said. “But, on the whole, we are going somewhere. If you watched us in these last few matches, even today, you wouldn’t have said we were losing. We thought we didn’t deserve to lose that first game. Ryan Burl got out the ball before the rain came [putting Zimbabwe behind on D/L] so we were just out of luck. The guys are prepared to fight for each other and the vibe is amazing.”Zimbabwe have been brought closer under Heath Streak’s coaching, which has also allowed Mpofu, now 31, to feel better than he ever has about his bowling even though he is not getting the new ball as he expected he would. “I don’t mind that. I am happy to be used wherever the team thinks they can use me because I feel like I am at the top of my game,” he said. “What changed for me was when Christo Spies [a South African mental-strength coach] came and had a few sessions with us. He is different from a psychologist and after seeing him I have started bowling with no fear. The problem was fear of failure. I used to think that when I played, if I didn’t do well in one game, I would lose my place for the next one but now I’ve let go of that. I’ve realised that if I just bowl with confidence, then whatever happens from that will happen. I am enjoying my cricket more than I ever have.”And he will only enjoy it more if Zimbabwe can go on to win the next two matches and steal a first-ever series win over Afghanistan. “This series is very important to us. Friday is going to be a big day. If we can get through there, we will have Afghanistan asking questions and we will answer some for ourselves.”