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Almost 80% of the league stage games will be in and around their home city, but the Mumbai Indians have last played there in 2019

Hemant Brar23-Mar-20221:34

Jayawardene: ‘Ishan was bought with a lot of factors in mind, but I don’t think he feels the pressure from his price tag’

Mumbai Indians are scheduled to play 11 of their 14 league matches in IPL 2022 across three venues in Mumbai, but both Rohit Sharma and Mahela Jayawardene, the captain and coach, believe there will be no home advantage for the five-time IPL champions.”It’s a relatively new team, a lot of new guys have come in,” Rohit told the media on Wednesday. “Seventy to 80% of the squad hasn’t played in Bombay before. Only myself, Surya [Suryakumar Yadav], [Kieron] Pollard, Ishan [Kishan] and [Jasprit] Bumrah have played in Bombay, others have not played [that much]. So there is no such thing as an added advantage. We all are playing in Bombay after two years. In fact, the other franchises played in Bombay last year. We didn’t get to play.”Jayawardene echoed that sentiment and pointed out that it was, in fact, the opposition teams who had more experience of playing in Mumbai especially the first half of the last season when Mumbai Indians played their first seven matches at away venues.”I don’t even remember when last we played in Mumbai,” Jayawardene said. “That was about two-and-half or three years ago. I think a lot of the other teams played here in the last season. And some of the guys who played for Mumbai over the last few years are now with other franchises. So they have that advantage if you look at it.”Related

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It is the pitches, Jayawardene said, that would make it a level-playing field and it was for the teams to ensure their players executed their skills efficiently. While all three venues in and around Mumbai – the Wankhede Stadium, the Brabourne Stadium, and the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy – are red-soil surfaces, the MCA Stadium in Pune is made up of black soil. “We need to approach this as a neutral tournament, play the best cricket possible and be there at the business end of the tournament, which is playoffs and try to achieve what we all want to achieve,” Jayawardene said.1:29

Rohit on new rule changes: ‘I think this a good move. The teams will have some flexibility to use their reviews’

Both Rohit and Jayawardene would be the first to agree that Mumbai’s task for the new season is cut out with their new squad. According to Rohit, the biggest challenge would be to give them clarity about their roles in the side.”[Tymal] Mills, [Jaydev] Unadkat, and all those guys, yes, they’re new to this franchise, but they’re not new to this game,” Rohit said. “They have played this game for a number of years now, and they know exactly what needs to be done. Our role here will be critical as to how we give them the understanding of what they need to do for us in this team. They have played for different franchises, different countries, and their role was different to what we want them to do here. So I think, for us, that will be a challenge. And that is something that we’re working on with these guys. We’re trying to give them the role clarity as to what we are expecting from them, what sort of role they need to play here.”I think every time you build a new team, this is the challenge that you always face of having a new group of guys, and taking them forward and getting into your system and your style of play. These guys have played the game for so many years, they do understand that aspect of playing for different franchises. This is very much work in progress, we are trying to understand what their strengths are, what they want to execute on the field, and we’re trying to work with them on those aspects.”Jayawardene compared this scenario to the one they faced after the 2018 mega auction. “We had Bumrah and a completely new bowling attack and we had to rebuild,” Jayawardene said. “But I think our planning and the way we approach the opposition is not going to change. What will change is, because of the new bowlers, their strengths are different to the bowlers we had in the last three years. We always work with the strength of the bowlers and see how we can adjust to that, given the opposition and the conditions. So nothing changes for guys like Rohit, Polly, Bumrah and now with Ishan and Surya. So I think they will do most of the work, of getting these guys to that level of playing and making them calmer out there, making them much more comfortable and creating that environment on and off the field.”Mumbai’s auction strategy this time around was very intriguing, considering they went full throttle to buy back Kishan for a record sum of INR 15.25 crore on the first day and then signed Jofra Archer for INR 8 crore on the second day despite knowing that the injured England quick will not be available this IPL. Rohit said that the auction was one of the toughest for the franchise, which also had to release brothers Hardik and Krunal Pandya, a duo integral to their success.Rohit said that the loss of Hardik, who is the new Gujarat Titans captain, was big but the retention rules had put franchises in a tight spot. “Hardik was a very key member for us without a doubt,” Rohit said. “But again, the rules don’t allow us to keep all the players. His contribution to this franchise will never be ignored, or never be unseen. I think he had a huge impact, played a huge role for us to get the success we had while he was here. He played his role to perfection; not many people can play that role.”

Delhi Capitals seemed in control, but two double-wicket overs from the New Zealand quick dismantled their chase

Sidharth Monga02-Apr-20222:00

What makes Lockie Ferguson so effective?

Shubman Gill’s lone hand with the bat nearly went in vain but Lockie Ferguson put in a spectacular bowling performance to drag Gujarat Titans to only the third successful defence in this IPL, and the second under lights.Gill scored a personal best 84 off 46 in a breath-taking yet silken innings; the others, including extras, managed just 87 off 74 balls. Titans’ 171 for 6 was a strictly middling total, which Capitals looked like cruising past on two occasions, but an accurate and quick Ferguson twice produced double-wicket overs to dismantle the chase with figures of 4-0-28-4.Gill was particularly severe on spin, scoring 45 off 21 balls from Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, who conceded just 24 in the other 27 balls they bowled, giving them reason to believe they actually controlled the middle overs. The Capitals batters would have thought they were in control, too, but once it gets up to 145kph and above – even some of Ferguson’s offcutters were that quick – and above the chest, funny things happen. Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel and Mandeep Singh all fell to his short-pitched deliveries.Shubman Gill waits and watches…•BCCI

Gill plays a different game
It was like watching two different matches when Gill batted. Matthew Wade fell trying to ramp Mustafizur Rahman in the first over. Vijay Shankar struggled through his 20-ball 13. It took Hardik Pandya, batting at No. 4, 18 balls to go past a run a ball; he ended up with 31 off 27. And yet the score at the fall of his wicket was 109 for 3 in 14 overs. That’s because Gill was batting like a dream at the other end even if deprived of support and strike.Gill has been guilty in the past of scoring at a middling strike rate, especially for an opener who gets the use of field restrictions. This, though, was arguably his best T20 innings, and definitely his best score in the format. The intent was spot-on, and the method was more timing than strength. ESPNcricinfo’s metrics valued this knock of 84 at 109.54 smart runs.By the time he was done hitting four sixes and six fours, Gill had taken Titans to 145 for 4 in the 18th over. The finish was neither great nor terrible with David Miller and Rahul Tewatia somehow taking Titans to 171 despite Mustafizur conceding just four runs and taking two wickets in the final over.Pandya the opening bowler
Not long ago Hardik’s India future was in doubt given his lack of bowling fitness. The argument was that India couldn’t afford a specialist death-overs hitter. Two matches into the IPL, and he has walked in to bat in the third and seventh over, and has twice bowled his allotment of four overs. In this one, he even opened the bowling. And he struck first ball, dug into the surface and sitting up on Tim Seifert. Capitals 8 for 1 in 1.1 overs.Ferguson’s first intervention
Still, Mandeep and Shaw got Capitals off to a healthy enough start, taking them to 32 for 1 in four overs, taking a toll on Mohammed Shami. Enter Ferguson. The first ball was right at Shaw’s throat. He committed to hooking, but the ball got to him quickly, rushing him into the shot, taking a top edge to long leg. Mandeep’s defeat was even more comprehensive. He was caught hopping away from the line, looking to use the pace, but the extra bounce took his top edge to Wade.Pant matches fire with fire
There was a distinct change in the time available to play Ferguson when Pant walked out. Pant started off by pulling him through midwicket and then lashed at one outside off, getting four through the edge. Varun Aaron, who conceded just seven in his first over, was sidelined by a niggle, and Capitals went after the change bowlers. Shankar’s 12th was taken for 14 despite Lalit Yadav being run out. Tewatia’s 14th went for 13. Now just 54 were required off the last six.Twice in the match, Lockie Ferguson struck twice in an over•BCCI

Ferguson gets involved again
Hardik didn’t have much of a choice but to go back to Ferguson in the 15th over. He went around the wicket, bowled an offcutter-bouncer at 145kph first ball, and bowled it wide enough that Pant had to drag it to access the leg side. There wasn’t enough time to do so, and the top edge settled with long leg.That wicket took Capitals’ win probability down from 64% to 62%, which suggested the wicket might have come too late.What if Ferguson took one more, though? He did so with another fast, short offcutter, this time with a tickle down the leg side. Now there was a dip in the win probability to 54%.Rashid, Shami finish it off
There was was Rovman Powell at the wicket, and with just 46 required from 30 you couldn’t count out a big hitter. Powell set out to play out the one over each left for Rashid Khan and Ferguson. Rashid, though, proved to be too good for Shardul Thakur, trapping him in front with the last ball he bowled.Powell still kept Capitals alive by seeing off Ferguson with a steered boundary, bringing the equation down to 30 in the last three overs. Now Hardik would have decisions to make. Ferguson and Rashid were bowled out. Shami wasn’t having a great night. Two other overs needed to be squeezed in, one of which Hardik could bowl himself.If Powell managed to take down Shami, though, there would be pressure on the last two. The small leg-side boundary was tempting, but Shami was accurate and quick with his offcutter to get Powell lbw, and end the contest for all practical purposes ended in the 18th over.

The all-format trip starting next month is set to include Colombo, Kandy and Galle

AAP10-May-2022Cricket Australia is monitoring fast-growing unrest in Sri Lanka but remains confident next month’s tour of the country will go ahead as planned.Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday night, following months of protests after the nation was plunged into its worst economic crisis in decades.His resignation followed an attack by government supporters on protesters, leading to a countrywide curfew and armed troops being deployed in the capital of Colombo.According to Associated Press, a ruling party lawmaker and three other people died in the violence.Related

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Australia’s men are due to arrive into Colombo in three weeks for the start of their tour, which includes three Twenty20s, five ODIs and two Tests between June 7 and July 12. They will spend 16 of those days in Colombo, where the current violence has unfolded.CA officials had until this point been certain the tour would go ahead, and remain confident. Head of security Stuart Bailey completed a reconnaissance tour of the country last month in the midst of the economic crisis, and it was cleared as safe to visit.CA officials will now start to monitor the situation more closely following Monday night’s violence, but are still confident the tour will proceed.There is also a thought that Australia touring Sri Lanka, where there have been significant food shortages and power cuts, could assist economically.The tour of Sri Lanka will begin a busy 18 months for the Australian team. It has been confirmed they will travel to India for three T20 matches before the home World Cup where they are defending champions, as well as host West Indies in a series in Australia.A schedule for the home summer is also due out at the end of this month, and will include Test series against West Indies and South Africa.
Australia also have Test tours of India after the home series and an away Ashes next year, before a 50-over World Cup back in India later in 2023.A make-up tour of South Africa also looms between the Ashes and ODI World Cup, after the three-Test series was postponed last year due to Covid-19. There is a chance that format could change to include at least some white-ball cricket, or potentially become limited-overs matches only in the lead-in to the World Cup.

International commitments cause availability headache as counties seek stand-ins

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2022Jason Behrendorff, the Australia left-arm seamer, has joined Middlesex for this season’s Vitality Blast campaign as a replacement for Shaheen Shah Afridi, whom the club has confirmed will not be returning this season due to his international commitments with Pakistan.Behrendorff, 32, claimed a career-best 5 for 44 at Lord’s during the 2019 World Cup, when Australia beat England during the tournament’s group stages, although his career to date has been limited to 12 ODIs and nine T20Is. He will link up with the club as soon as his IPL stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore is complete – they play Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator on Wednesday.In a further change to Middlesex’s original line-up for their Blast campaign, Behrendorff’s fellow Australian Chris Green will rejoin the club in early June, as a partial replacement for their original overseas signing, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is due to take part in Afghanistan’s three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe but will still play at the start and end of the group stages.Green, 28, was impressive with both bat and ball for Middlesex in last summer’s Blast campaign, playing in seven of the club’s South Group matches, and like Behrendorff has also tasted success in the Big Bash League, winning the title with Sydney Thunder in 2017.Afghanistan’s tour to Zimbabwe has caused a headache for several counties. ESPNcricinfo understands Rashid Khan will only arrive at Sussex after that tour in time for their ninth Blast fixture, with Mohammad Rizwan and Josh Phillipe filling their two overseas slots at the start of the season while Rashid is at the IPL.Related

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Rashid’s Gujarat Titans team-mate Rahmanullah Gurbaz is also likely to miss most of the Blast, with Leicestershire lining up New Zealand’s Hamish Rutherford as a replacement. Naveen-ul-Haq and Qais Ahmad, the other Afghanistan players involved in the Blast, have both arrived in the UK ahead of stints with Leicestershire and Kent respectively.”We are delighted to have added Jason and Chris to our T20 squad for the forthcoming Blast campaign,” Alan Coleman, Middlesex’s head of men’s performance cricket, said. “With Shaheen heavily committed to international duty with Pakistan we needed to bring a quality seamer into the attack for our Blast campaign, and in Jason we have a left-arm seamer of proven international class.”With Mujeeb also leaving on international duty, we were keen to ensure that we were covered in the spin department, and we all know what Greeny is capable of in the short form of the game. He fit in brilliantly last summer and can play a match-winning role for us, so we’re really looking forward to welcoming him back into the dressing room.”With more international cricket now being played it is becoming increasingly more difficult to secure the long-term availability of international players of the quality that you need over an extended period of time, and we are delighted that we’ve been able to secure players of the quality of Jason and Chris in the periods that we need them for. “

He struck at only 103.38, but coach believes his struggles were down to just one bowler – Bhuvneshwar

Firdose Moonda21-Jun-20225:24

Dale Steyn: ‘Four games don’t make Temba Bavuma a bad player’

South Africa are not concerned about Temba Bavuma’s T20I strike rate, which over the last year has dropped to being the lowest among opening batters in the top-six ranked teams, and believe his difficulties in India were largely due to one bowler.”Temba struggled during the tour. There’s no doubt,” Mark Boucher, South Africa’s coach said. But he only really struggled against one bowler and that was [Bhuvneshwar] Kumar. Most of the guys struggled against him. Let’s give him credit where it’s due. Kumar is a fantastic bowler in those conditions.”Bhuvneshwar, who opened the bowling and moved the ball both ways, was the second-highest wicket-taker in the series with six strikes from five matches at 14.16. He also had the lowest economy rate among bowlers who had played all five games in this series – 6.07 runs per over – keeping South Africa to three of their five-lowest powerplay scores against India.”There were times when the ball was swinging a lot which makes him very, very dangerous. Also the ball was up and down a lot, especially with the new ball,” Boucher said. We look at it as coaches and say how do we have a look at that particular bowler and how do we give him [Bavuma] more options? It’s quite difficult for him to change up during a series where you basically travel-play, travel-play. To come into a series, T20, as an opening batter, you’ve got to go from the get-go, that was always going to be quite tough for him, especially against Kumar. With other bowlers his strike rates are fine. There’s no issue there.”Related

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Bavuma scored 61 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 103.38. Of South Africa’s specialist batters, only Quinton de Kock scored fewer runs and Bavuma’s strike rate was the lowest. He scored just 13 runs off 25 balls he faced from Kumar in the series, with one dismissal, at a strike rate of 52.00 and 48 runs off 34 balls he faced from the rest of India’s attack, at a strike rate of 141.18, proving Boucher’s point. The challenge facing Bavuma now is how he can ensure he is still able to score off bowlers like Bhuvneshwar and Boucher has a plan, which is not just for Bavuma.Temba Bavuma injured his elbow in the fourth T20I against India•BCCI

“We’ve had conversations about the first 10 balls that you face. What’s your goal? Is it [to score] 10 off 10 or 14 off 10?” Boucher said. “It’s one boundary extra that you’re looking at and 14 off 10 is going at 140. The margins are not as big as what people actually think. It’s maybe just another scoring option. We did it last year with regards to scoring all around the wickets. You would have seen reverse-sweeps come in, guys who have never lapped before, they’ve got the lap option. If you give batters one or two more options to try and take the strike rate a little bit higher than what they’ve got at the moment, it’s challenging players and it’s pushing them to become the best in the world. If you look at it in its entirety you might think it’s near impossible for a guy to get to a strike rate 140 if he is at 120 but it could just be merely just adding another shot to his whole repertoire that could change that.”But to do that, Boucher would like to see a slight shift in mindset among his batters. “You need to have the technical know-how on how to play a shot,” he said. “Once you get the confidence of adding that extra shot to your batting, or ball to your bowling, it’s having the mindset to go out there and really trust it.”And once the players have the belief that they can bat big and bat quickly, Boucher believes the South African line-up can become as explosive as teams like India or England. “Ultimately, you’re not going to win World Cups with a mindset where you are tentative,” he said. “You’ve got to go out there and play. There’s been other teams in the world – India have showed us the way they play, England and the way they play- that’s really the way forward, especially in the shorter version of the game.”The next question is whether Bavuma is going to be on track for the World Cup after suffering an elbow injury during the India series, when he fell while completing a single in the fourth match on Friday. He will undergo scans on Tuesday after sitting out Sunday’s decider. “We were really worried after the actual injury because he couldn’t bend his arm at all,” Boucher said. “But the next morning, he was able to bend it, so that was some good news.”South Africa’s next assignment is an all-format tour in England, with the white-ball sides due to depart on July 8. They are expected to name the squad next week.

With the 14-game regular season completed among the 18 counties, here is a look back at some of the highlights

Andrew McGlashan04-Jul-2022Tim David (Lancashire)
David produced numerous displays of his now well-known middle-order prowess, being particularly impressive in the first half of the group stage. He made 60 off just 25 balls to transform a stuttering innings against Worcestershire then unfurled 66 off 32 balls, including six sixes, in a high-scoring Roses encounter against Yorkshire which his team clung on to win. With Lancashire in the knockouts he has more chance to make a decisive impression amid the ongoing debate about how he fits into the Australia T20I side ahead of the World Cup.Nathan Ellis (Hampshire)
The wickets don’t stand out for Ellis, but his economy rate does. Conceding just 7.01 runs per over made him the most economical frontline quick bowler during the group stage. Missed a few matches with a groin niggle that probably prevented him being called into the injury-hit Australia squad in Sri Lanka.Chris Green (Middlesex)
A handy all-round tournament for Green, after he ended up replacing Mujeeb Ur Rahman throughout, in another Middlesex T20 season that fell flat. Had a good outing against Kent at Lord’s where he took 2 for 18 off his four overs in one of the team’s four victories and made two 40+ scores although both came in defeats.Hayden Kerr (Derbyshire)
Another part of Kerr’s rapid development over recent months after signing an all-formats deal with Derbyshire to replace Suranga Lakmal. Although the economy was on the high side, he chipped in with wickets throughout to the extent he ended the group stage as the team’s third-highest wicket-taker. Derbyshire have reached the quarter-finals so his tournament isn’t over yet.Chris Lynn (Northamptonshire)

The star performer among the Australia contingent, Lynn let his bat do the talking after his departure from Brisbane Heat and speculation as to whether he will be picked up by another BBL club. On all bar one occasion that he reached double figures he went on to score at least a fifty. That included a 106 off 66 balls against Leicestershire and 113 off 57 deliveries against Worcestershire but his pyrotechnics were not enough for Northants to progress.Ben McDermott is among those who will be part of the quarter-finals•Getty Images

Ben McDermott (Hampshire)
A middling group stage for McDermott but he may have come out from a run of five-single scores just in time for the quarter-finals after making 50 and 30 in his last three knocks. Enjoyed a solid run earlier in the tournament which included a ferocious 83 off 30 balls against Middlesex.Michael Neser (Glamorgan)
Reliability from Neser in a campaign where Glamorgan couldn’t find consistency. He claimed three three-wicket hauls, including a career-best 3 for 13 against Essex. He was also the team’s most economical bowler.

T20 Blast quarter-finals

July 6: Surrey vs Yorkshire – The Oval

July 7: Birmingham vs Hampshire- Edgbaston

July 8: Lancashire vs Essex – Old Trafford

July 9: Somerset v Derbyshire – Taunton

Daniel Sams (Essex)
There were moments of impact for Sams, not least his astonishing 71 off just 24 balls against Sussex in a high-scoring game at Chelmsford. It was the first time since his unbeaten 98 against Melbourne Renegades in the last BBL season that he had reached 20. His bowling economy would sometimes blow out, but he took 2 for 22 off his four overs against Kent to set up a win, and his season-best of 3 for 20 came in the final group match after Essex had plundered an eye-watching 254 for 5 against Glamorgan. The sort of player who could win a knockout match.Peter Siddle (Somerset)
A useful contribution from Siddle as Somerset reached the knockouts which included an important performance against Gloucestershire to help secure victory. He also came within a delivery of pulling a game out of the fire when he almost denied Surrey with three wickets in his final over, but his last ball was sent to the boundary.AJ Tye (Durham)
Another good bag of T20 wickets for Tye and he finished the group stage tied fourth overall despite only playing 10 matches. Took an important 3 for 29 against Lancashire in what became low-scoring scrap (he was there at the end with the bat, too) then bagged 5 for 38 against Leicestershire but that came in a defeat.Other Australians who have appeared this seasonJason Behrendorff (Middlesex), Hilton Cartwright (Derbyshire), Dan Christian (Nottinghamshire), Aaron Hardie (Surrey), Matthew Kelly (Northamptonshire), Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan) James Pattinson (Nottinghamshire), Josh Phillippe (Sussex), Ashton Turner (Durham)

Vikramjit, Cooper, and Edwards brought the hosts close, but could not take them over the line

Danyal Rasool16-Aug-2022
Pakistan were nearly made to pay for leaving a few runs out there in the first innings, but sensational death bowling from their three pacers bailed out the batters and saw the visitors close out a 16-run win over Netherlands. The foundation for the victory was laid by a 168-run partnership between Fakhar Zaman, who stroked a majestic 109, and Babar Azam, who chipped in with 74.Netherlands started their pursuit of 315 brightly but were always hampered by regular loss of wickets. Half-centuries from Vikramjit Singh and Tom Cooper kept them in the hunt, and Scott Edwards’ fourth successive fifty ensured Pakistan were made to sweat. But with the skipper not finding support from the other end, Pakistan’s bowling was a touch too good for the home side to match an ever-ballooning asking rate.While Pakistan had started off sedately, Netherlands knew any chance of victory would involve significant risk-taking. They brushed aside the early losses of Max O’Dowd and Wesley Barresi – the latter a picture-perfect dismissal as he left a Rauf inswinger that clattered into off stump. Cooper injected impetus into the innings as Vikramjit anchored, but before long, both began to take the attack to the bowlers.Vikramjit Singh, along with Tom Cooper, showed resistance after Netherland lost early wickets•PCB

Pakistan found success whenever they pitched it up full, with debutant Naseem Shah the pick of the lot. He was the one who went full most frequently, always threatening – and often hitting – the pads and keeping lbw in the game. But as the Cooper-Vimkramjit partnership grew, Netherlands found themselves well ahead of where Pakistan were at the corresponding stage. Significantly outnumbered by Pakistani fans, a small pocket of Dutch supporters began to dream in Rotterdam.But just as the stand approached a hundred, Rauf undid Cooper with a perfectly disguised slower ball which the batter top-edged to Babar at mid-off. With Vikramjit Singh miscuing a sweep soon after, the Netherlands found themselves having to rebuild. With a 55-run sixth wicket stand, they did just that, with in-form batter Edwards continuing where he left off against England. A six and a four off Nawaz had the Netherlands believing once more, and it was followed up by successive boundaries against Shadab Khan.But Pakistan had the pace trio of Wasim, Naseem and Rauf with overs up their sleeves, and the raw pace and high skill began to demonstrate the gulf between the two sides. Where Pakistan had been allowed to score 88 in the final eight, Netherlands found getting the fast bowlers away significantly harder. Logan van Beek gave Edwards stellar support, but when he holed out against Rauf, it was essentially Edwards against Pakistan. Despite the captain’s quality, that, in the end, was too hot to handle.Earlier, on what looked a particularly tempting surface to bat on – both Babar and Scott Edwards said they fancied setting a target – Pakistan won the toss and went in first. They began excessively cautiously, scoring just three runs in the first four overs, and slipped to 10 for 1 when an off-colour Imam-ul-Haq was trapped in front by Vivian Kingma.Babar Azam joined Fakhar Zaman to add 168 runs in 170 balls•PCB

Babar’s arrival settled some nerves, though he, too found it difficult to start, with Bas de Leede, by some distance the best Dutch bowler on the day, beating the outside edge on a couple of occasions. Once set, however, three fours in the tenth over gently tugged the momentum towards Pakistan.Netherlands looked particularly toothless in the middle overs – though in fairness, most bowling sides do against Pakistan’s top three. Fakhar displayed ominous rhythm, and when he heaved Kingma over the on side for the game’s first six in the 26th over, only for Babar to follow it up with one in the next over, the huge score Pakistan were tipped to post looked a formality.That would change when an ill-timed hit from Babar over mid-off off Logan van Beek found Tom Cooper, the Pakistan captain falling 26 short of another hundred. Fakhar made no mistake in getting his in the next over, smashing Aryan Dutt for three fours, only for an ill-judged bit of running to send him back for 109. With Pakistan’s shaky middle order exposed, de Leede and Tim Pringle were able to establish a modicum of control.But Shadab had other ideas for the death. Capitalising on Netherlands’ sloppiness both with ball and in the field, he smashed four fours and a pair of sixes en route an unbeaten 28-ball 48 as Pakistan struck 88 off the last eight overs. Only de Leede was spared punishment, as the bowler’s unrelenting accuracy and control was difficult to get away from even in the 50th over, in which Pakistan squeezed out just seven. It gave them just about a good enough score to keep the home side at bay, though in the remaining two games, the bowlers might ask the batters to leave them a little more breathing room.

South African allrounder not keen on Hundred teams having to fit four overseas players into three spots

Alan Gardner04-Sep-2022South Africa allrounder Marizanne Kapp has said she is “not a big fan” of the policy of having four overseas players for three slots in the women’s Hundred, and that the dropping of her wife, Dane van Niekerk, who captained Oval Invincibles to the title last year, could have been handled better by team management.Kapp was once again player of the match in the final, as Invincibles beat Southern Brave at Lord’s for the second year running. This time around, however, Suzie Bates stepped up to lift the trophy after the New Zealand batter was preferred to van Niekerk, with Kapp and fellow South African Shabnim Ismail filling the other two overseas spots.Related

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• Bates, Kapp take Oval Invincibles into the Hundred final

• Kapp stars again as Oval Invincibles retain Hundred title

Bates, who was signed in the overseas wildcard draft, spoke earlier in the tournament about the unfamiliar experience of potentially having to miss out. In the end, Bates and Ismail played all seven of Invincibles’ games, with van Niekerk only featuring three times – skippering the side on each occasion – due to Kapp’s absence through injury or illness.”Honestly speaking, I’m not a big fan of that,” Kapp said. “I think it’s good to have that wildcard but what other teams did well is they kept that as a back-up player. I’m big on keeping a side settled and going with your same playing XI unless someone is really badly out of form or injured or all of that. So I’m not big on changing the squad and changing captains. It’s not something I believe in.”So it’s definitely a different experience. It helps that you have that fourth overseas, for when players get injured because, especially with us last year, myself and Shabnim, we were injured for quite a few games and obviously then your team-mates, it’s kind of unfair if they play the other teams and you have two international players not playing. So it’s a 50/50 but I’m not a big fan. I’m a big fan of having that overseas as a back-up, but chopping and changing is not something I really like.”The situation for Invincibles head coach, Jonathan Batty, was complicated by the fact that van Niekerk, who was player of the tournament in 2021, had not played any competitive cricket since the WBBL last November, having suffered an ankle fracture at the start of the year. The injury caused her to miss the Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand, as well as the Commonwealth Games, and Kapp said she didn’t think van Niekerk was given a “fair shot” at winning her spot back with Invincibles.Dane van Niekerk captained Invincibles in the three games she played•ECB via Getty Images

“I know it’s hard and it’s a team sport,” Kapp said. “Ultimately you want your team to do well and Batesy has been brilliant for us and she’s been in such good form. So I understand completely why she had to play. But for me, it’s just how it was done, more than anything else. We are all professional cricketers, and big enough to know if someone else is doing better or if someone is performing better, so we knew she [Bates] had to be in the playing 11. But I just feel like it could have been done better.”To be honest, if that was me, and I was coming here as last year’s MVP and captain and all of a sudden I’m just out without getting an opportunity, I would be pretty upset. I felt like she [van Niekerk] actually handled it well. I understand from the coach’s point of view, but there is that human element to it as well.”It’s been very tough on Dane. She’s been working so hard to get back into things and she probably didn’t get a fair shot at playing, so you don’t kind of know where she is form wise. But having trained with her in preparation for the Hundred, she’s been hitting the ball the best I’ve probably seen throughout her career, so I’m excited to see her back in action especially for South Africa, to remind the world of how good she really is. I’ve always said, everyone’s speaking about me but if Dane’s back and firing like what she used to, she is probably one of the top three allrounders in the world.”For now, Kapp is arguably in a league of her own, having collected the match award in the final of a major short-form competition for the third time in a little over 12 months. She missed the Commonwealth Games for personal reasons but there is the prospect of a home T20 World Cup on the horizon, when both Kapp and van Niekerk will likely be integral to South Africa’s chances of pushing for a maiden trophy success.”I’m just going off to the Big Bash again this year, so I have that to focus on again, playing for the Scorchers. But after that, yes, definitely, I’m really excited for that World Cup. I’ve not played an international game at my home ground in Port Elizabeth, so it’s something I’m really excited about and the form that I’m in, I really feel like I can contribute a lot more. I was really sad to miss out on the Commonwealth Games, especially the form that I’ve been in. I’m enjoying my cricket. Hopefully I can contribute a bit more towards South Africa when we play again.”

Both teams will be hurting from their early exit in the tournament, with little but pride and game time to be accrued on Thursday

Shashank Kishore07-Sep-2022

Big Picture

It’s a dead game as far as the tournament goes but try telling that to India and Afghanistan – both hurting after a series of heartbreaking losses. Now, before they hop on an early flight home, there’s pride and some game time to accrue as they build towards the T20 World Cup.Surely neither side would’ve thought this game would decide who finishes last in the Super 4s. So much for the general assumption and hype surrounding India vs Pakistan and their “three-match series.”The clash will be particularly tough for Afghanistan for obvious reasons. Physically, the heat and humidity would’ve taken its toll on the players because they will have to turn up fresh less than 18 hours after their potboiler against Pakistan in Sharjah. That isn’t all. There’s also a matter of trying to lift themselves mentally and emotionally after Wednesday’s heartbreak.Related

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As such, international cricket can be demanding, but their scheduling, in these oppressive conditions, has been anything but kind. But it’s likely Afghanistan, who’ve seen far worse in life and otherwise, will turn up and try to give India a run for their money.It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that victory by no means is a formality for India. They will still have to turn up and fight for every run, every wicket. It’s a reality check for them even as they grapple with selection challenges and template changes looking ahead to the World Cup. Against a world-class spin attack that can challenge the best in the world, this will be another big test.Afghanistan have twice lost games they have been in control of and will have another opportunity to fight jangling nerves to close out games. It’s just a question of trying to go a step further. Either way, expect an engaging contest with no clear favourite for this one.

Form guide

India: LLWWW (win-loss in last five games, most recent first)
Afghanistan: WLWWL

In the spotlight

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has had two poor outings, especially in the death overs. He’s been tasked with the tough penultimate overs, both against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They’ve costed 19 and 14 respectively. This meant young Arshdeep Singh had six to defend off the final over in both games. Bhuvneshwar will be hoping this slight dip is momentary, for India have the returning Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, and possibly Deepak Chahar, waiting to have a crack at opponents in Australia. Among them, it’s Bhuvneshwar’s tussle with Chahar that is like-for-like, given they’re both swing bowlers. Bhuvneshwar has the backing of Rohit Sharma and the team management, but there’s nothing like a good performance under your belt to make the world better again.Mujeeb Ur Rahman seemed to have lost a bit of his sting and X-factor due to form and injury concerns, leading to his T20 stocks taking a dip. But solid performances so far in the Asia Cup have helped him return as one of Afghanistan’s premier spinners alongside Rashid Khan in their first XI. He has so far picked up seven wickets in four games at an economy of 5.12 in the tournament. He’s been so good that Afghanistan have had to keep out Qais Ahmed, because they also have a third spin option in captain Mohammad Nabi. Mujeeb and Afghanistan will hope this surge continues leading into Australia.

Pitch and conditions

Surfaces are slowly losing sheen, and it’s becoming more helpful for the bowlers, especially if they’re prepared to dig it in. However, the same surfaces seem to get just a tad quicker at night, making it easy for the chasing team despite the absence of dew. Only two of the 19 games have been won by the team batting first since January 2020 here. That’s quite a damming statistic for the team losing the toss, because captains invariably choose to bowl first. Weather-wise, it’ll continue to remain hot and muggy, although the temperatures have dipped just a touch in the evening. From early 40s, we’re down to the late 30s (Celsius) at night.

Team news

Deepak Chahar was officially drafted into the squad on the eve of the game, replacing the ill Avesh Khan. Chahar has been a regular feature at training, and bowled full-tilt prior to the start of the Sri Lanka game. They could also bring in Dinesh Karthik and Axar Patel for Rishabh Pant Deepak Hooda.India (probable): 1 KL Rahul, 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 R Ashwin/Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Arshdeep SinghAfghanistan will have a tough call, depending on how the players pull up following their game against Pakistan.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Karim Janat, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Stats and trivia

Hayley Matthews briefly threatened in the chase but was cut off by a superb catch from Grace Harris

AAP18-Oct-2022Brisbane Heat openers Georgia Redmayne and Grace Harris have set a franchise-record opening stand to set up a 21-run win in the WBBL clash with the Melbourne Renegades.Redmayne and Harris combined for a stunning 165-run stand in Mackay that featured scintillating shots all around the ground and slick running between wickets. The partnership was the highest for any wicket in the Heat’s history and the third-best in WBBL history.Heat have a strong record against the Renegades and their 180 total was the fourth best in their history, with three of those coming against their Melbourne opponents.The powerful Harris gave the innings early impetus with three boundaries in the opening over. Redmayne, a stylish left-hander, started sedately but warmed to her task. Her timing and placement throughout the innings was impeccable. She started the final over within reach of a century but was at the non-striker’s end for the final two deliveries.Renegades began their innings with a flourish, opener Hayley Matthews racing to 35 from 19 deliveries. She was looking dangerous before Harris flung herself to the left to take a splendid diving catch in the covers.The required run rate blew out to over 12 with six overs remaining and the Heat cruised to their second win in a row. Impressive legspinner Amelia Kerr was the pick of the Heat bowlers.