Shahidi and Asghar Afghan also stitched together Afghanistan’s first 300-run partnership in the format

Sampath Bandarupalli11-Mar-20211 Hashmatullah Shahidi (200*) became the first Afghanistan player to score a double-century in Test cricket. Asghar Afghan briefly held the record for the highest individual score for Afghanistan with his 164 before Shahidi overtook him. Before Thursday, Rahmat Shah’s 102 against Bangladesh in the 2019 Chattogram was Afghanistan’s only hundred in their first five Tests.307 Partnership runs between Shahidi and Asghar for the fourth wicket, the highest for any wicket for Afghanistan. Their previous highest was 139 between Ihsanullah and Rahmat for the second wicket against Ireland in 2019.1 Number of partnerships in Test cricket in the UAE higher than Shahidi and Asghar’s 307. The South African pair of Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers had added 338 for the fifth wicket against Pakistan in 2013. The 307-run stand between Shahidi and Asghar is also the third-highest partnership for any wicket in Test cricket against Zimbabwe.0 Countries before Afghanistan with a triple-century partnership and 500-plus total in their first ten Test matches. The previous record for the fewest Tests required by a team for a 300-plus partnership was 16 matches by Pakistan, while Zimbabwe, with 544/4 in only their 11th match, held the record for the fewest Tests for breaching the 500-run milestone.6 Matches Afghanistan took to record their first individual double-century in Test cricket, the joint-fewest by any team. West Indies had also got their maiden Test double-centurion in their sixth match when Clifford Roach struck 209 against England in 1930.2016 Last instance of No. 4 and No. 5 batsmen scoring 150-plus runs in the same Test innings before Shahidi and Asghar. The Indian duo of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had scored 211 and 188 respectively against New Zealand in the first-ever Test at the Holkar stadium in Indore.

Shouting at the umpires can only do so much but ground dimensions are firmly on analysts’ radars

Cameron Ponsonby23-Aug-2021Over the last ten years of the Blast (or its predecessor, the FLt20), of the 40 quarter-finals played, exactly 20 have been won by the home side and 20 by the away.That feels weird. Surely, even in a format as short and volatile as T20, there must be some form of advantage to playing at home? Otherwise, what’s all the fuss about in securing a home quarter?In 2005, the international bestseller narrowed down home advantage essentially to how close your fans are to the referee; if they yell at him or her enough, human nature will kick in and they will give you more close decisions than they won’t. Basically, peer pressure and bullying works. Which is nice.But that study related mainly to sports such as American football, soccer, ice hockey, basketball, etc. Sports where playing dimensions and surfaces are standardised and not, as is the case in cricket, sports where pitches can be doctored or where outfields can vary greatly in size and shape.For instance, at Nottinghamshire’s Trent Bridge, the new stand that runs parallel to Bridgford Road cuts across the outfield in a way that means the playing area resembles a circle that someone has snipped an edge off. It creates a very short part of the boundary that, combined with an excellent batting surface, leads to high scoring contests.Related

Harrison four-for helps Notts polish off Durham

Wright advocates staging Blast 'in a block' as quarter-finals loom

Teenager Lenham rides his luck during 'crazy' debut season

On Wednesday, Nottinghamshire will host Hampshire in the second quarter-final. They have lost just one game of T20 cricket at home over the last two years.”We know the dimensions of our ground”, Nottinghamshire captain, Steven Mullaney, says, “and we know how we want to play cricket at Trent Bridge.””Batters come here and they fancy it [the short boundary], but at the same time their bowlers come here and they’re not used to defending it. So I think that is an advantage.”It’s a sentiment that Lancashire’s spin consultant Carl Crowe agrees with.”It’s about adapting,” Crowe says, ahead of his side’s away quarter-final at Somerset. “That’s as a team and as an individual. The best teams and the teams that win the tournament are the best at that. Yes, you’ve got half your games at home but you’ve also got half your games away that are just as important.”Both Mullaney and Crowe express a notion that, rather than home advantage being anything explicitly tangible, it’s just something that lingers over a game. You’d rather play at home because of course you would. You sleep in your own bed, you’re comfortable on arrival, it’s your fans not theirs, the club gets the gate receipts, you know the woman at the gate and you know the bloke at the bar. It’s, well, home.And currently in the Blast, home advantage doesn’t always seem to exist at all. This season was the first group stage since 2017 to see more home wins than away. However, whilst at first appearing like a standout statistic, it doesn’t quite account for the fact that in general good teams are good (so win home and away), and bad teams are bad (so lose home and away). But, it paints a picture similar to a sentiment expressed by Mullaney.”I don’t think [advantage] is the right word”, he says, “Obviously it is a home advantage but I don’t think it’s an advantage as in – it’s not a manipulative advantage – it’s just that you know what to do at your ground.”But, shouldn’t it be a manipulated advantage? It’s your house after all, so why not play to your rules?Recruitment in particular seems to be an open goal where teams could maximise their chances at home. If you play at a small ground, recruit high end boundary hitters. Big outfields? Need people who can run two. Spin-friendly pitches? Need batters who can play against spin.So how much do teams tend to factor in ground dimensions and quirks to their recruitment?”At the moment, not a lot,” Somerset analyst Scott Thomas says. “But that’s definitely my biggest plan for the next three-to-four years.””I just did my Masters dissertation on that kind of stuff using player impact ratings in T20 cricket. I compared and contrasted how valuable overseas players are. How do they impact games of cricket in a positive way and not being worried about stuff like averages or old school traditional measures, but how do they win you games of cricket full-stop.”That’s my winter’s work because the summer is just so busy. Even if that’s trying to change some opinion in the club about how recruitment could be done a bit better, because I think cricket is so far behind in that sense.”There are obvious difficulties facing counties in this regard that aren’t faced by, say, a franchise side, whether that be in the Hundred or the IPL. Counties aren’t exclusively T20 teams and players are often developed as opposed to recruited. But, it is on the radar of analysts, meaning it will be on the radar of the game as a whole before long. And who knows, in five years’ time the statistics next to the home wins column may look very different.In the meantime, if you’re a home fan at one of this week’s quarter-finals, just yell at the ump from a 100 yards away. Worth a go.

Left-arm wristspinner has developed the hard way to seize chance with Birmingham Bears

Matt Roller21-Jun-2021There is no good time to test positive for Covid-19 but for Jake Lintott, Sunday was a particularly frustrating one. He is due to miss at least three Birmingham Bears fixtures in the Vitality Blast while self-isolating, and the fact that the first ended in defeat underlined his importance to the side since the start of last year, during which time he has been their leading wicket-taker.Lintott, a 28-year-old left-arm wristspinner who bowls nearly as many googlies as stock balls, had played three T20s for Gloucestershire in 2018 and a single one for Hampshire the year before, but as he headed into his late 20s, appeared destined for a career playing club, minor counties and second-team cricket, which he combined with a job as director of cricket at Queen’s College, Taunton. His success for the Bears – Warwickshire’s T20 moniker – in the Blast seemed a long way off 15 months ago.Lintott had been due to travel to La Manga on Warwickshire’s pre-season tour last March after Ian Westwood, the 2nd XI coach, had talked him up following some impressive performances the previous summer, but when the UK went into lockdown, he was furloughed from his job and uncertain about what lay ahead.Related

• Lintott's frugal spell keeps Bears in Central Group contention

• Lintott four as Birmingham romp to crushing win over Northants

• Stokes in the thick of it as Durham give Bears sore heads

“I was in a bit of a grey area,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I didn’t know where counties were going to come out financially at the end of it, and everything was a bit uncertain. When I got furloughed from the school job, I tried to use lockdown as a big opportunity to focus on me and invest as much time as I wanted to in myself.Having struggled to find time to focus on his fitness while working during the week and playing every weekend, Lintott took up running and lost nearly three stone (18kg). “When you’re in a full-time working environment, it can be really hard to find time for yourself. I’ve always moved quite well, even as a biggish lad, but to lose weight, it means the perception disappears and it’s another box ticked. I think it was the last thing I had to do [to earn a contract].”He had spent time on Zoom with Graeme Welch, the club’s bowling coach, working on his action – “it sounds bizarre that he was coaching me through a computer screen” – but turned up to a second-team game before the Blast and left the coaching staff taken aback: “I think I looked like a completely different person, having lost all that weight.”On the first day of the 2020 group stage, he signed a short-term contract to cover the five weeks of Blast cricket, which he combined with his job at Queen’s, regularly driving 130 miles up to Edgbaston and then 130 more back down to Taunton. While the Bears missed out on the quarter-finals after letting a winning position slip against Northamptonshire in their final group game, Lintott’s return – 10 wickets in nine games, with an economy rate of just 6.30 – marked him out as one of the season’s breakout stars.After discussions over the winter – during which time he briefly trained with Jack Leach while working as a pathway spin coach for Somerset – Warwickshire offered him his first professional deal in February, which he is combining with his job at Queen’s this season. He took eight wickets in his first five games in the Blast and since 2020, only three spinners – Matt Parkinson, Danny Briggs and Dan Moriarty – have taken more wickets in the competition; all three have a higher average and economy rate than Lintott.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”I’ve trained a couple of days a week since February up in Birmingham: travelled up, stayed overnight, two days of training, back to the school,” he said. “To be honest, I’ve had no days off since April. It’s tough work but it’s all worth it.”For a while I felt like I’d been a bit unfairly treated. It’s quite hard to break into the county system once you’ve reached a certain age, and that was a good example of it. I felt like I was good enough but my age was holding me back. Because I do lots of coaching I understand that people develop at different ages, but I’m not sure the system here allows players to come in late. The fact I’m different and you see how big wristspin has become in T20 has always kept me going but it has taken a lot of determination. It would have been easy just to give up.”Naturally, he attributes much of his success to his novelty factor. Tabraiz Shamsi, Kuldeep Yadav, Zahir Khan and Noor Ahmad have made reputations for themselves around the world, and the percentage of balls bowled by left-arm wristspinners in T20s around the world has grown fourfold over the last eight years, according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data. But they remain as rare as Fabergé eggs in England, a graveyard for unorthodoxy: Lintott is already the all-time leading wicket-taker among left-arm wristspinners in the Blast’s history.”I think I’m the only contracted one in the country,” he said. “D’Arcy Short does it for Hampshire on a part-time basis and there are young lads in the academies at Northants [Freddie Heldreich] and Yorkshire [Sam Wisniewski] but there’s really not much of it about. That’s definitely an advantage: it’s just different, isn’t it? And that’s a big thing in T20, being unpredictable. It makes me harder for batters to line up, because they’re not used to it. It’s good fun, as much as anything.”While Lintott has had to put up with various coaches suggesting he revert to bowling left-arm orthodox, wristspin has always come naturally to him. When he was nine years old, he naturally bowled out the back of his hand while masquerading as a seamer, and once he had realised wristspin was a viable option, he pursued it seriously. “It’s nice to be able to spin the ball both ways. That’s the best thing about it: my job is to take wickets and make batters look a bit silly.”

“I’m a really ambitious guy and want to take my cricket as far as I possibly can. That’s shown in how hard I’ve had to work to get here”Jake Lintott

The arrival of Briggs, the slow left-armer who is the Blast’s all-time leading wicket-taker, at Warwickshire has worked in his favour, with their bowling styles and personalities naturally complementing each other. “I’m quite emotional and eccentric and like to get into the battle, whereas he’s chilled and level-headed. He never really gets hit which means players have to start coming hard at me; that brings me into the game, spinning it both ways.”I’ve been working on being more effective to left-handers: generally people think of me as spinning the ball away from them and into right-handers, but I bowl a lot of googlies – near enough a 50:50 split. With right-handers trying to slog me leg-side, I get wickets and dot balls going across them, whereas with left-handers, my legspinner doesn’t rip quite as much as my googly, just because of my angles. I make it a big part of my routine to do analysis on where opposition batters like to hit boundaries, and where I can get dot balls to them.”Things have clicked for the Bears so far, joint-top of the North Group halfway through the group stage, with two players in particular standing out for Lintott. “I’m obviously biased, but how Sam Hain has not played for England is remarkable: he’s easily the best white-ball batter in the country at the moment. Carlos Brathwaite has added a lot to the group as an overseas player, too – in terms of character, and obviously match-winning performances with bat and ball.”It was Brathwaite, a Manchester United fan, who came up with the idea for Lintott’s newly-minted celebration: fists together with the thumb and forefinger pointing out to make a ‘J’ and an ‘L’, evoking midfielder Jesse Lingard’s trademark ‘J-Lingz’ pose. “A few lads got their hair cut before we were on Sky but I don’t need to worry about that… I guess T20’s all about fun, isn’t it?”Propelling the Bears to a top-two finish in North Group after returning from self-isolation is his immediate focus, with a ‘wildcard’ spot in the Hundred or opportunities with Warwickshire in the Royal London Cup potentially down the line. “I know if I keep taking wickets I’ll be in with a shout,” he said. “I’m a really ambitious guy and want to take my cricket as far as I possibly can. That’s shown in how hard I’ve had to work to get here. I’m just happy to finally be settled with a county: I’ve got three years to invest in Warwickshire, because they have invested in me.”

And what is the record for the most overs bowled by a player on debut in his first Test innings?

Steven Lynch30-Nov-2021Bangladesh’s top three were all out for 14 in the Chattogram Test. Was this the highest identical score by the first three batters? asked Azweer from India

The trio of 14s by Shadman Islam, Saif Hassan and Nazmul Hossain against Pakistan in Chattogram last week was the highest such coincidence of scores in a Test. In the 1985 Ashes at Edgbaston, Andrew Hilditch, Graeme Wood and Kepler Wessels were all out for 10 in Australia’s second innings.In all international formats, the highest identical score by the top three is 17, by AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar and Jacques Kallis for South Africa in an ODI against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 2005.The most identical scores in a Test innings (excluding ducks) is six instances of 2. The first of those was by Australia against South Africa in Durban in 1949-50; India had six scores of 1 against West Indies in Ahmedabad in 1983-84.The highest identical score made by three batters in the same innings (not specifically the top three in the order) is 50, by Easton McMorris, Willie Rodriguez and Wes Hall for West Indies against India in Port-of-Spain in 1961-62. This was equalled by Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson and Tim Southee for New Zealand against Pakistan in Sharjah in 2014-15. In ODIs it’s 64, by Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah for Bangladesh against West Indies in Chattogram earlier this year.In the first Test against India, Tom Latham was stumped by a substitute. Has this ever happened in a Test before? asked Alan Richards from England

Tom Latham was stumped in Kanpur by Srikar Bharat, after Wriddhiman Saha went off with a stiff neck. Latham is the third man to suffer this unusual fate in a Test. The first was the South African Sibley “Tip” Snooke, in the second Test against England in Durban in 1909-10. He was stumped by Neville Tufnell, who was deputising for Herbert Strudwick, who had been hit in the face: “I had a blow just over the eye,” Strudwick wrote. “A ball from [George] Thompson pitched on the leg stump and got straight up!” Tufnell hadn’t played a Test at the time, but he did make his debut in the final match of the tour, in Cape Town, keeping wicket even though Strudwick also played.The second instance came in Lahore in 1964-65, when Bevan Congdon of New Zealand deputised for the unwell Artie Dick against Pakistan, and stumped the left-arm spinner Pervez Sajjad off what turned out to be the last ball of the match. New Zealand’s captain, John Reid, had kept earlier in the same innings, and taken two catches behind the stumps himself. The successful bowler, Barry Sinclair, was turning his arm over for the only time in his 21 Tests, and recalled: “They didn’t bounce a lot.”Who has taken most wickets for England in the Ashes? Is Jimmy Anderson likely to go top in the coming series? asked Michael Roberts from England

Ian Botham leads the way for England in Tests against Australia with 148 wickets, although strictly speaking only 128 of those came in Ashes matches (he played four against Australia in which the urn was not at stake, in 1979-80 and 1980). The lower figure is more likely to fall in the coming series to Stuart Broad, who currently has 118 wickets against Australia in Tests; Jimmy Anderson has 104.In all, 21 bowlers have so far taken 100 or more wickets in Ashes Tests; Shane Warne leads the way with 195. The most likely addition to this list from the upcoming Ashes series is Nathan Lyon, who currently has 85. For the list, which includes all Tests between England and Australia, click here.Stuart Broad needs 11 more wickets to go past Ian Botham’s 128 against Australia in Ashes Tests•Getty ImagesHave New Zealand ever won a Test match in India? I can’t recall one! asked Ahson Atif from India

Before the current series got underway, New Zealand had played 34 Test matches in India. Of those, they had lost 16 (including the last six) and also drawn 16. That leaves the two matches New Zealand have won: by 167 runs in Nagpur in 1969-70 (only their third Test victory away from home, after two in South Africa in 1961-62), and by 136 runs in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1988-89, with Richard Hadlee taking ten wickets.I noticed that Sri Lanka’s Suraj Randiv bowled 73 overs in the first innings of his Test debut. Was this the most by a bowler in his first match? asked Arquam Siddique from India

The Sri Lanka offspinner Suraj Randiv toiled through 73 overs in the first innings of his debut Test, against India in Colombo in July 2010. He finished with 2 for 222, which is the most runs conceded by a bowler in an innings on debut (next comes Australia’s Jason Krejza, with 8 for 215 against India in Nagpur in 2008-09), but one debutant did send down more overs. In his first Test, in the Ashes at Old Trafford in 1964, the England seamer Tom Cartwright delivered no fewer than 77 overs, including 43 on the first day alone. He finished with 2 for 118, and 32 maidens, many of them bowled to Australia’s captain Bob Simpson, who made 311 in nearly 11 hours. Cartwright told his biographer Stephen Chalke: “I was going for under two an over, so I never felt under any pressure. In fact, I rather enjoyed it… It was just a long grind.”Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

2021 featured lots of early starts, memorable conversations, a new cricket format – and a fair bit of golf

Mark Nicholas03-Jan-2022London, England
5am, January 15, 2021
The kettle boils and Joe Root sweeps. The tea brews and Joe Root cuts. The toaster pops and Joe Root drives. The England captain is on his way to 228 in Galle, a place that may as well have been on another planet from the dank winter morning at home in London. I tuck in and so does Root. Jonny Bairstow plays nicely for 47, Dan Lawrence – strong through the leg side and cock-of-the-walk – puts together 73. Sri Lanka aren’t very good. England end up winning by seven wickets.Around about this time, India beat Australia in Brisbane – unheard of – and win the series. Blimey. Without Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and others who are household names and commercial giants back home. It’s the Shubman Gills, Washington Sundars and Mohammed Sirajs who pull off this heist. What a coup. One of the great series wins in history and a valuable promo for the Test match game.5am, January 24
These early mornings are tough. Root is run out for 186. I move the dial on the underfloor heating to 22 degrees. England win by six wickets. Root says the Sri Lankans are a good side and difficult to beat at home. Really? Whatever – his batting is sublime. Work done during the days of lockdown to eradicate the faults that creep into a busy man’s game has paid off handsomely.Related

What we've learnt from cricket's second Covid year

How closely did you follow cricket in 2021?

Goodbye Ted, free spirit, cricket thinker, renaissance man

Oh, to have been in Galle among the Sangakkaras and the Jayawardenes; to have wandered the narrow, bustling lanes, lingered at the markets, and had the senses heightened by exotic spices and brightly coloured frangipani.I ring Ted Dexter, who wrote to Joe about the downturn in his technique and gave it to him pretty straight. Joe was a bit put out by the tone but since has brightly acknowledged the immense help that email gave him. Ted is thrilled watching now and particularly marvels at the range of sweep shots. This call prompts a fortnightly Zoom meet with Ted, who was my sporting hero. He’s not so well physically but full of chat and opinion.2.30am, February 5
The sound of the alarm truly shocks me. Shower, shave, dress and go. A car whisks me to the Times building, which is situated between Borough Market and the Shard. The night is bitterly cold. Bang on 3.30am London time, Root wins Kohli’s toss of the coin, announces that England will bat and is soon walking to the wicket where he makes another double-hundred. So this is what Australians felt like when Bradman carried all before him. In Chennai, with the stadium empty, Root plays an innings of such complexity, such mastery, that it seems almost transformational. Indeed, England go on to win by 227 runs – a barely believable margin against a team as good as India.The green, green grass of Galle: the author in Sri Lanka in less turbulent timesAt the Talksport studio in Borough, we call this on radio, ball-by-all, as if it is a mirage. The pictures come down the line from the local broadcaster on huge monitors and we eulogise them from our little Covid-secure Perspex cubicles. Coffee and bacon rolls are devoured before the sun comes up. One morning we send out for sushi, another for curry: both were later deemed failed experiments. Outside, snow falls on the rooftops and the market beneath us.Darren Gough, ever the enthusiast and as good a pro as I’ve worked with in 26 years of covering the game, suggests that India fell foul of complacency and the empty stadium.At the same field but on a very different pitch, the Indians are a very different team a few days later. One Test match apiece then in Chennai. Followed by England scores of 112, 81, 205 and 135 across the next two Tests in Ahmedabad. In short, England are spun to disaster and lose the series 3-1. Even Root runs out of puff.What next? The IPL, of course.April 2
British Airways flight 54 to Chennai, where the Covid cases are rising fast. I check in at the Taj Coromandel and am taken to my nice room and told that the front desk will keep the key. This, then, is one week of quarantine proper. Good fun too. Lots of music – Springsteen and Dylan, yes, the Beatles, of course, and a raft of contemporary stuff introduced to me by my 15-year-old daughter whose crush on Harry Styles does not prevent her from exploring other avenues. Olivia Rodrigo, Paolo Nutini and Lana Del Rey are very good. All by my lonely self I’ve discovered a band called Wolf Alice, for whom I have developed my own crush. Two mates email me the task of picking 70 favourite songs to join hands with theirs and become a playlist for anyone interested. So I go to work. In breaks between guitar solos, I read by Ben Macintyre and by John Boyne – both compelling and rather brilliant – and set up a circuit-gym thing, which I stick to for an hour each day.Honestly, don’t know how to fit it all in. Then a man comes back with the key. That was quick, and off I go for a swim in the thick Chennai air.Another day, another swab up your nose•Getty ImagesBubble life is a bore because it revolves around a list of restrictions that are applied as if we are schoolchildren. Outside the ground-floor lift there is a roped-off walkway to the breakfast room. This doesn’t stop anyone walking past us, but it does stop a heavyweight walking into you. In short, we can’t do this and we can’t do that. For example, we can use the pool and/or gym during two given two-hour session times, the second of which is the early evening, when we are invariably working on a match. But the tournament wouldn’t go ahead without the various bubbles, so there you have it – you want in or you want out? In? Put up or shut up.April 21
Less than three weeks later I have left the country. As the number Covid cases went through the roof, India was placed on the UK’s “red list” for incoming travel. That, and a personal issue that needed urgent assistance, saw me home few days before the tournament was suspended indefinitely. In the rush to beat the red-list deadline, I leave my phone in a Chennai cab. That’s the phone with flight details, e-tickets, essential Covid documents, etc. Don’t ask. I make it home 22 hours before the UK’s ten-day-airport-hotel quarantine isolation rules kick in.6pm, May 8
Another Zoom call with Dexter, who is looking less well at an alarming rate. For the first time he sounds croaky too and is reluctant to have his usual large whisky. I don’t give up my gin. He changes his mind on the scotch. We have introduced mystery guests to these fortnightly frolics, among whom have been the Michaels Atherton and Vaughan (Ted says Vaughan is his favourite England captain ever) and Sir Tim Rice. On one of these calls Ted doubts that county cricket can survive as is and that the damage done to batting techniques by the attention given to the short formats of the game will, soon enough, cost England dear. Not bad for an 86-year-old, huh.We come up with the idea of eight first-class teams travelling the country for clearly defined periods of the summer each year, ideally when the England players are available. Less is more, he says, and from fewer teams will come a higher standard of cricket and larger crowds. He thinks that a strong 50-over competition and the T20 Blast could sustain the counties but that everything else will have to be paid for by private investment. We agree on that too. He likes the Hundred, as do I.June 19
Hampshire have given me two tickets for the second day of the World Test Championship final and I zip down to the Ageas Bowl in great excitement to be a spectator at a Test match for the first time in 35 years. The last occasion was on England’s 1986-87 tour of Australia, when I watched the whole of the fifth Test from the Brewongle Stand at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Now I’m in temporary seats behind the bowler at the Hilton-Hotel end of the Ageas. It’s bloody cold but me and a mate have the best time. Rohit, Shubman, Kohli, Southee, Boult et al, plus a beef sandwich and a pale ale. Wonderful.In a tight, low-scoring match, New Zealand become worthy and popular champions, having previously won English hearts with their reaction to defeat “by the barest of margins” in the 2019 World Cup final. What’s not to like about Kane Williamson?Finals day at the Hundred: Jax Jones performs ahead of the women’s and men’s title matches•Getty ImagesJuly 23
The Hundred begins and I’m chairman of Southern Brave. We lose the first two games. In the third, the first at home, James Vince makes 60 from 38 balls – thereby outwitting Liam Livingstone’s 68 from 44 – and we beat Birmingham Phoenix with three balls to spare. Then we sneak a win from nowhere at Lord’s and proceed to remain unbeaten to the end, when Vince lifts the trophy to the delight of surprisingly engaged fans.I have done very little except to appoint the coaches and suggest directions of travel. Mahela and Charlotte Edwards were the real deal, and Charlotte deserved more than to see her terrific team lose only their second game in the final. What a double that would have been!Mahela is hugely impressed with Vince’s captaincy and remains quite taken aback that England cannot see him as a batter of the highest class in all formats. In a world of sliding doors, perhaps Vince would be England captain, Root his second lieutenant, and the two most elegant batters in the land would be making life easier for supporters of English cricket. I know Vincey had his chances, but believe me, he’s different gravy when encouraged to be exactly that.We are also surprised by sales of merchandise. At the home games every cap and shirt is sold out within 15 minutes of the break between innings. The more stock we order, the more we sell. And we were thrilled by the support given to the women – some 6000 people at the last two home games, who much enjoyed their exciting brand of cricket.I thought the whole thing a triumph. Obviously it overcrowds the calendar, but in the right hands, it could become a game-changer for the quality, structure and balance sheet of first-class cricket in England. This is a view that leaves further explanation and illustration for another day but this onlooker is convinced. One thing to add: the players loved it.August 15
I am a guest of the MCC chairman for the second England-India Test. The chairman’s hospitality box at Lord’s is alongside the president’s. The president is, of course, Kumar Sangakkara, whose ground-breaking appointment was met with tremendous excitement. We have a jolly day and it’s interesting to watch from side-on rather than down the barrel from on high in the commentary box. The game appears faster, harder, slicker, and the players leaner, quicker, stronger. Later that week I have dinner with Kumar. He likes the eight-team, four-day cricket idea too.Ted Dexter was among those cricket lost in 2021•Ben Radford/Getty ImagesWe are asked back for the next day: the potentially tense final day. England are in the box seat but blow it. I stay only till lunch, whereupon I hurry to the Ageas Bowl on the South Coast to see the Southern Brave women and men win in style. I’m loving being back “on the other side” and interacting with the players and coaches. It is a privilege.At Lord’s I left Mike Brearley, Mike Gatting and Ed Smith debating Root’s tactics as the Indian tail wagged ferociously. Smith was removed from his position as national selector at the start of the summer, a mistake in my view. Chris Silverwood was given a supremo’s responsibilities. Another mistake, I feared. I can’t fathom coach and national selector being the same person, not in cricket.The morning’s favourites are slam-dunked by Siraj and company: either side of tea England are dismissed for 120 in 51 overs and five balls to lose by 151 runs.August 25
Ted Dexter has died. You had to have seen this guy to understand how good he was and how charismatic. At least he didn’t suffer for too long. My heart goes out to his wife, Susan, who asks me to speak at the funeral. It is a polymath of a sort that I talk about, for Ted greeted Wes Hall’s bouncers with the same sense of adventure that he applied to his love of racing – cars, bikes, dogs and horses – golf, flying, music and marriage. I miss him already.September 20
Atherton calls me to say that, in the name of Covid security, England have just cancelled their two-match T20 tour to Pakistan. This is shameful, especially because Pakistan supported England with a six-week visit in the first, horror, year of Covid. Ramiz Raja, the newly appointed CEO of the Pakistan board, fires every bullet in his gun and is greeted with wild applause. England were wrong to have pulled out of South Africa late in 2020 too. Who is behind this stuff? In the , Athers, the paper’s cricket correspondent, goes flying in, every bit as critical as Ramiz. Soon after, the chairman of the ECB, Ian Watmore, resigns.September 30
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, an annual golf extravaganza for which an invitation is the moment of the year. Phew, I’ve got one. Each amateur plays with a European tour professional golfer for three days and the top 20 teams of two make the cut and play on the final day. My pro is a splendid Salford lad, Marcus Armitage, and a damn good player. He makes the cut in the pro event; he and I miss it in the amateur event. (Who could possibly be to blame for that?) On the first day at St Andrews we play in a four-ball group with Ian Botham – that’s Lord Botham of Ravensworth, trade envoy to Australia. Next day at Carnoustie with Vaughan, and then on the third day with Shane Warne at Kingsbarns. It is such fun.The World Championship final: good news for New Zealand at last•Adam Davy/PA Photos/Getty ImagesWarney plays great and makes the cut on the mark with Ryan Fox, the big-hitting Kiwi. Next day he plays even better, better than ever before in his life, and comes within a single shot of winning the whole damn thing. His score of two under par gross – off nine handicap, by the way – is utterly brilliant, and with Fox making plenty of birdies, their better ball score is 16 under par. Oh, how they deserved to win after that! He’s a fine putter is that Shane Warne and a mighty competitor, just in case you hadn’t noticed.October 15
EK 006 to Dubai for the ICC T20 World Cup, which begins with another week of quarantine, but this time I’ve got a balcony, yay! Same rhythm – music, books, gym circuit – that includes an outside lap, of sorts. The Radisson is not the Taj, however, and its position alongside the freeway and a next-door building site makes for a thick layer of dust every day. Mind you, it’s too hot to be outside for long, and anyway, that chap is suddenly back with the key and we are out, and in… to the bubble. Grr.Salvation comes in the form of a move by everyone in the commentary team to the Al Habtoor polo resort, which gives acres of green grass and a pool. Will do nicely! How lucky we are.Long breakfasts with Sunny Gavaskar and others are matched by a memorable dinner on the terrace – special dispensation granted – with Jeff Crowe, who is staying elsewhere, and Danny Morrison. We talk a lot about Martin – the talent, the demons, the long, slow burn of cancer that got him so young. Each of us loved him in our different ways.Australia stole up to win the Cup, having looked like beginners at the format in their group match against England. In fairness, I should point out that before the toss in their first game, the captain, Aaron Finch, told me that they had the best all-round team and would win. Good on him. Pakistan were the best team. India looked knackered. England missed a beat in the semi and it cost them dear.December 2
Raging Omicron threatens India’s tour of South Africa, where I work for Supersport. BT call about the Ashes, which begins in six days, as they are planning to broadcast the first two Tests from the studio in London – off tube, as it’s known – rather than take the Fox feed from Australia because Michael Vaughan is in it. They would like me on board. I can do the first Test but they don’t call back. Then I hear the idea has been binned.After which, India agree to go to South Africa but delay the first Test till Boxing Day. This means Christmas away from home for yours truly.To the slaughter, once more: Haseeb Hameed and Jos Buttler lead England out in Melbourne•Quinn Rooney/Getty Images5am, December 8 onwards
There is a dreadful symmetry between now and the start of the year. In a cosy dressing gown, I’m on the early tea-and-toast run in order to watch England get hammered. It’s bad enough in daylight but in pitch black, with sleet hitting the windows, it’s appalling. Root is again holding the fort, this time alongside a gutsy Dawid Malan, who wasn’t in India. Warne is trying to appraise England’s mediocrity with a balanced eye but otherwise it’s all in down under.December 25
Well, here we go again. Have checked into the Hyde Park Southern Sun in Johannesburg and had a quiet Christmas dinner with Sunny G and Mike Haysman. Since South Africa’s readmission to international cricket in late 1991, India has been faithfully at their side (England, note). Tomorrow Kohli will call from Dean Elgar’s toss of the coin. In Calcutta 30 years ago, Clive Rice and Mohammad Azharuddin shook hands at the toss – neither of tomorrow’s captains had reached their fifth birthday – and India went on to win a low scoring one-day international by three wickets.After more than 20 years in isolation, and never having played against India before anyway, the otherwise hard-nosed Rice summed up the incredible emotion of the moment perfectly: “I now know how Neil Armstrong felt when he stood on the moon.”December 31
England have lost the Ashes in less than 12 days of completed cricket. All hell has been let loose. The front page of Sydney’s has run a full-size shot of the victorious Australian team with a strap across it that reads, “Need a rapid test? Play the Poms!” Harsh but fair.December 26
At Supersport Park in Centurion, about 35 minutes’ drive from Johannesburg, Kohli wins the toss, and the match. The pitch is tricky and the Indians that bit better. Quinton de Kock announces his retirement from the Test match arena. Such a natural player and entertainer, he will be sorely missed.Goodness knows what happens in 2022. Fewer swabs up the nose, I hope!More in our look back at 2021

West Indies are also in contention to make the semis, but their fate is out of their hands

S Rajesh24-Mar-2022The washout in Wellington means South Africa are through to the semi-finals as the second-ranked team, while England’s emphatic win in Christchurch puts them in an excellent position to qualify as well. Here is how the teams stack up, with two positions still up for grabs, going into the last four games of the league stage.England
England’s win against Pakistan in 19.2 overs means their net run rate has gone up to 0.778, marginally above India’s and the best among the teams in contention for the semi-finals. If they beat Bangladesh on Sunday, they will qualify regardless of other results, but whether they finish third or fourth will depend on the result – and margin – of India’s match against South Africa. A washout will be enough for England too, given their high NRR.However, if Bangladesh upset England and if India beat South Africa, then England will be knocked out. In that case, Australia, South Africa, India and West Indies will qualify. However, if India lose to South Africa, then England could qualify even with a defeat on Sunday, as long as their NRR is the best among the teams on six points.West Indies
The only way West Indies can qualify is if at least one of India or England lose their last game and stay on six points. If both teams win, or even if their matches are abandoned, then West Indies will be knocked out because of their poor NRR.India
The one point that West Indies have got from the washout has made the task tougher for India: it is now highly unlikely that they will qualify if they lose to South Africa. For that to happen, England will need to lose to Bangladesh, and finish on a lower NRR than India.On the other hand, even one point from their last game will be enough for India to qualify.New Zealand
With three teams already having more than six points, and England and India on six with much better NRRs, New Zealand are pretty much out of it. Even if they score 300 and beat Pakistan by 200 runs, their NRR will only improve to 0.427. Both England and India will have to lose by around 75 runs for their NRRs to drop in the vicinity of New Zealand’s.Bangladesh can theoretically get to six points too, but their NRR is poor (-0.754) and their last two games are against Australia and England.

Wiese, who has played nearly 300 T20s, speaks about the 21-year old’s captaincy skills and his own form this PSL season

Umar Farooq27-Feb-2022Lahore Qalandars allrounder David Wiese believes Shaheen Shah Afridi is a ‘fantastic captain’ and that he always ‘leads from the front’. Shaheen, in charge of a team for the very first time at senior level, has led Qalandars to the final of the Pakistan Super League, and Wiese, who has played nearly 300 T20s, feels the 21-year old has been successful because he’s been trusting his instincts.”Shaheen and myself have a good relationship,” Wiese told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve been playing together for a long time now, and he’s still a young captain and he is still learning. He’s not shy to come to senior players and myself and whoever if he needs advice and he is always open to suggestions. I think he’s done fantastically well.”Before the season began, Shaheen met Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who was delighted to see another fast bowling captain on the cricket circuit and encouraged the youngster to make the most of the opportunity. Shaheen was picked up by Qalandars as a teenager in 2018 and over the years he has become an integral part of the franchise. Since his international debut, he has also become one of the most prominent fast bowlers in the world, representing Pakistan in 21 Tests, 28 ODIs and 39 T20Is. He is Qalandars’ all-time highest wicket-taker, with 72 strikes – including 17 this season so far.”It’s first season as captain, you know, he goes with his instincts a lot of times,” Wiese said. “There are a lot of times that that’s the way to go. I’m really fortunate to have played this game for a long time now and to have ample experience and it’s nice to be able to pass that knowledge on to him. He is a fantastic leader and the guys really respect him in the team and he has done an amazing job as captain this season.”

“Sometimes, death hitting and coming in at the end, it just doesn’t work out for you and you’ve just got to stay patient and you’ve just got to have the faith”David Wiese

Having played in T20 leagues in India, West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and England, Wiese has been happy to offer Shaheen his support, but adds that he hasn’t really needed it.”As a captain, you always want to lead from the front, but also you need to be able to show people that you’re in control of things – that you are calm and collected and that you are actually not panicking or anything like that,” Wiese said. “He leads from the front and we saw that overnight and you know, he’s really passionate, he’s got a lot of energy out there, and he’s just going to get better and better as a captain. It’s not about me, it’s basically just coming to me just for reassurance the whole time. And I just keep telling him, you know, whatever you decide, just pick back your decision and everyone’s behind you and it’s worked out for us.”Shaheen’s progress is being carefully monitored by Qalandars, who are keen on making sure he does not burn out.On a personal level, Wiese was pleased he could come good when it really mattered, walloping 27 runs in the last over of a knockout game against Islamabad United. He won the Player-of-the-Match award for his efforts, which secured his team a berth in the final against Multan Sultans on Sunday at Gaddafi Stadium.David Wiese has played T20 cricket all over the world•ICC via Getty”That was one of those games where, you know, the momentum kept switching among teams,” Wiese said. “It was like up and down the whole time. You know, it could have gone either way at any stage. We lost a couple of early wickets, had a good recovery. They lost the wickets again and they got some at the end and had a good powerplay. It was just, you know, one of those unbelievable T20 games that I think kept everybody on the edge of their seats until the final ball.”I kind of knew that we hadn’t scored enough in the first innings and that 150 wouldn’t really be a winning score. So, you know, I knew that we’d need to have a couple big overs at the end to put ourselves in a position for the boys to defend it. And, you know, fortunately for me, it hasn’t come off for myself in the tournament. But last night there were one or two balls that I was fortunate enough to capitalise on.”The first one [six in the last over] was a good one because that kind of got the crowd behind me, that got the atmosphere going in, and I think that that put a little bit more pressure on the bowler at that stage. You know, it’s quite intimidating when the club starts cheering for the batsman and you just feel like everyone’s against you there. It just puts the pressure back on the bowlers. And then after that, like I said, they had one or two balls in the slot and I was able to capitalise on it.”Wiese is yet to score big this season – he has made 140 runs in 12 matches – but it hasn’t shaken his confidence.”To be honest I didn’t doubt myself,” he said. “It might not have been a great season for me, putting scores on the board and stuff, but I still felt like a big score was around the corner and now I just haven’t quite had that opportunity. Sometimes the bowlers nail their skills and I felt like the last couple of games the bowlers have been on top of me nailing their yorkers and just not giving me anything score.”It’s not like I was always thinking that I’m out of form, anything like that. It just hasn’t been working. Sometimes, you know, death hitting and coming in at the end, it just doesn’t work out for you and you’ve just got to stay patient and you’ve got to just have the faith that you’re putting in the hard work of training and that you need to back your skills and abilities. And you know it’s getting lucky for me, it came off in the big game.”

He also lends the XI more balance, which will be welcomed by the team management after a lack of batting depth was shown up in South Africa

Shashank Kishore06-Feb-20222:44

Washington: ‘Focusing on what I could do to improve myself as a cricketer’

In 2017, when Hrishikesh Kanitkar, a member of Rising Pune Supergiant’s coaching staff, recommended Washington Sundar as a replacement for the injured R Ashwin, it was assumed a batting allrounder would be replacing a frontline spinner. Until then, Washington was a top-order bat in age-group cricket, and for India too at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. Kanitkar, though, who also coached Tamil Nadu back then, had seen something in Washington’s bowling that he felt was of value in T20 cricket.While Washington wouldn’t take wickets by the truckload, he would keep things tight. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy that Tamil Nadu won that season, Washington managed just four wickets, but his economy of 3.27 across six games showed his value. These traits served him well in his maiden IPL season, where he was one of the key figures in Pune’s run to the final. In 11 innings, he conceded just 6.16 runs per over bowling largely in the powerplay, and took eight wickets.But that is in the past. Now, Washington’s game is in the midst of a transformation that has come about courtesy a lot of awareness of his craft as well as the ability to read situations better. From being an offspinner who bowled flat and fast, looking to largely be restrictive as a new-ball bowler in the powerplay, he is working on conditioning himself to be an all-weather bowler.Related

• Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal spin India to comfortable victory

• Washington Sundar can bowl to right-handers too

• Washington to return to action with Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

• Jayant replaces Washington for South Africa ODI series

In T20s, the restrictive bowler in him takes over. He bowls wicket-to-wicket, attacks the stumps a lot more and looks to keep a lid on the scoring. In the longer formats, he has started looking to use a whole lot of tricks. He varies his pace, slows the ball up a lot more, bowls into the pitch to allow the ball to break, and occasionally tempts batters with flight, like he did on his return to India’s XI after nearly a year, during Sunday’s ODI against West Indies.Incidentally, his previous international fixture prior to Sunday was also in Ahmedabad, in March last year. Then, on a dewy evening where the ball turned into a soap bar every time it went into the outfield, he bowled just one wicketless over for 13. A finger injury in the summer against England set him back by four months, which meant he wasn’t fit enough to be picked for the T20 World Cup in October-November. When he was finally ready to play, he tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the team management to leave him out of the ODIs in South Africa.His absence seemed to have affected India’s team balance. Ashwin, who he has replaced now, made an ODI return for that South Africa series after four years. While he didn’t do too badly, he wasn’t at his most effective either. India collapsed twice in three games, with the lower order’s batting abilities tested to the hilt. This is where the Washington void was amplified even more – because of what he brings to the table as a whole package: neat, no-frills off spin and handy, lower-middle-order batting.On Sunday, Rohit Sharma elected to bowl hoping for dew to make a difference while chasing. This gave the spinners a better opportunity to come into their own. Washington was brought into the attack in the eighth over, and it took him just one delivery to come into the game. By beating Darren Bravo with sharp turn that spun across the bat face, he immediately got the batter thinking. Two balls later in the same over, he beat Bravo again with a teasing, loopy delivery that spun sharply to beat his forward stab. Then he went wider of the crease and bowled middle and off to beat Bravo with a different trajectory.Rohit Sharma congratulates Washington Sundar after a wicket•BCCIBy the time Washington came on for his second over, Bravo was already starting to become edgy. At the first sign of flight, he lashed one through the covers. Not wanting to become overly predictable, Washington went back to length deliveries for the rest of the over. The rewards for all the questions he had asked in the previous two overs were reaped in his third over.He beat Brandon King with the only delivery he would bowl to him in the game. By bowling one into the pitch and getting it to turn and bounce, he had King chip a catch to midwicket. Then after beating Bravo for the nth time with sharp turn, he had his man lbw. Where a length delivery stopped on King, the one to Bravo skidded through a touch to beat the inside edge and crash into the pad. After long deliberations, India reviewed and replays showed the ball would have hit the stumps. Three overs in, Washington had taken out two form batters to have West Indies in trouble.It was those early incisions that helped Yuzvendra Chahal to come into his own at the other end. For the rest of the afternoon, Washington continued to vary his pace nicely, even when he kept hitting good length or thereabouts: 51 of his 54 deliveries landed around this spot. The wickets he got in his first spell were brought about by subtle changes in pace over lengths. It’s one thing to get a surface that aids spin, it’s another to be able to use it to your advantage, as Washington did in picking 3 for 30 upon his return to international cricket. His addition has already lent a better balance to India’s XI.India is yearning for a batter from the top six who can bowl. Washington is by no means a finished product with the bat, but he’s just 22 and has shown enough potential to be able to make the climb up the order. If he can continue to do that while maintaining the same effectiveness with the ball, the possibilities are endless.

The offspinner brought down WI’s big-hitters with meticulously laid plans and inspired a famous win

S Sudarshanan21-Mar-2022Nida Dar was not happy. She had picked up two wickets against India, and scored a half-century that almost helped Pakistan over the line against South Africa. But her team was yet to shrug off their run of losses in Women’s World Cup, a count that had swelled to 18.Dar is confident and is seldom afraid of speaking her mind. She considers herself a role model and thrives under pressure. Case in point: each of her last three ODI fifties before the World Cup have come with Pakistan in a spot of bother – 87 versus Bangladesh in the Qualifier last year after coming in at 42 for 4; 55 against West Indies after coming in at 99 for 3; and 51 against South Africa after coming in at 58 for 3 and then watching it slip to 73 for 5.Related

Maroof: We need to work on forming partnerships and rotating the strike

Scenarios: England stay in contention for semis, NZ almost out

WWC 2022: South Africa's nerves of 'steal'

Dar helps Pakistan end 18-match World Cup losing streak

On Monday, in the Women’s World Cup encounter that would have ended Pakistan’s dreams completely had they lost, West Indies were asked to bat first in a rain-reduced 20-over contest. Deandra Dottin was off the blocks early on a pitch that wasn’t particularly easy to score on. Dar was manning the ropes and watching Dottin hit four fours – including three in an over – off Diana Baig and another one off Fatima Sana right after she had dismissed Hayley Matthews.When Dar was given the ball, Dottin had mellowed just a touch but was still 27 off 34 balls. On the very first ball, Dar managed to dismiss Dottin by taking a low catch off her own bowling. She celebrated by standing up straight, hands aloft, slight smirk on her face – a la Shahid Afridi, former Pakistan men’s allrounder. That was enough to open the floodgates.Nida Dar: I take pride in winning games for my team•ICC via Getty”When I was watching Dottin hit, I was wishing that I bowl to her and dismiss her,” Dar said after the match. “I was thinking about where and how I would bowl to Dottin, while I was fielding at the boundary. Even though the delivery wasn’t the best, I took a good catch and that plan of mine worked. I plan well against good players and try to stick to it and execute them.”Dar had gauged that the track was conducive to spin, with the ball gripping and holding a bit on the surface. Her action, which has quite a bit of shoulder force in it, means she has the ability to get even more out of such surfaces. And so she proved, deceiving Shemaine Campbelle, who scored a match-winning fifty against Bangladesh, in the air to beat her on the inside edge and get her stumped.”I tried to bowl each ball differently since West Indies batters use their feet well against spin,” she said. “As a senior campaigner my aim is to perform and do well for the team. My mindset was about bowling in good areas and I was fortunate to pick up wickets as per the needs of the team.”

After our women side’s memorable win in the #CWC22 today, here’s @baig_diana chatting with the side on their way back to team hotel#TeamPakistan #BackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/DmJBBVEaA4

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 21, 2022