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The fast bowler has prioritised Test cricket for years now and is four away from taking 300 wickets in the format

Andrew McGlashan15-Dec-2022Mitchell Starc has the chance to bring up a significant landmark at the scene of where his Test career started and where he produced one of his most iconic moments.A little over a year ago, he swung the first ball of the Ashes back behind Rory Burns’ pads to take leg stump. England were probably never going to win that series (Bazball was still six months away from being first uttered) but it was even more unlikely after that opening delivery. Now, as Starc prepares to face South Africa, he is four wickets away from being the seventh Australian to 300 in Tests.Related

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“I’m not sure I’d get one wicket let alone 300,” he said on Thursday. “It’s been an interesting but very enjoyable journey. Hopefully there’s a bit more left in it.”The Burns ball is a useful reference point, not just because of the wicket itself, but because not for the first time Starc had entered the season with some questions hanging over him. Since then he has been Australia’s only frontline quick to play in every Test, a medal of honour for his durability as a three-format bowler even factoring in the break he gives himself by continuing to ignore the IPL.”It’s not been great for the back pocket, [but] it certainly helped my body,” he said. “If I look at the last couple of years of Test cricket, that decision has certainly helped it. They’ve probably been my most consistent couple of years in Test cricket.”Australia were never realistically going to leave Starc out of the start of that Ashes, but his 2020-21 season against India had been underwhelming – all the quicks ran out of steam by the Gabba – and the cancellation of the South Africa tour due to Covid left his form as a somewhat unanswered topic.But it wasn’t too long before that when Starc been left out – for four Tests of the 2019 Ashes as Australia went for a horses-for-courses approach in English conditions. The one match he played, at Old Trafford, Australia won to retain the urn after the shock of Headingley.In a way, it’s hard to believe that Starc’s form – and the question of whether he has been the most vulnerable quick in the side – has been part of so much of his career. He’s someone who can bowl left-arm at 145kph with late swing. There have been peaks and troughs as with almost any cricketer, but after settling into Test cricket, his year-by-year returns have been remarkably consistent. Last season he was named the Allan Border Medallist.Starc himself, though, picks out a turning point dating back to 2018 when he decided to stop listening to what was said about him. The numbers since suggest it may have helped, and certainly hasn’t hindered: from the start of the 2018-19 season, Starc averages 25.60 in Tests compared to 28.52 before then.

“He’s had a lot of ups and downs which I think just makes you stronger as a cricketer and as a person in general. He doesn’t listen to much of the white noise.”Usman Khawaja on Mitchell Starc

“I was someone who listened to and read everything,” he said. “And then that year we had multiple broadcasters start, everyone coming in with radio and whatever, that’s when it really doubled down on the noise and it really got away from [me]. That’s where I learnt best to let things go and only worry about the groups that mattered most to me. That was a point where it changed a fair bit, where I chose not to read things and it’s continued on where it doesn’t matter.”There is also the general maturing and growing up that has gone on over the years. Along with that, in more recent times there have been some technical tweaks including the introduction of a wobble-seam delivery and greater overall control. But he has never lost that ability to bowl a magic delivery, as witnessed by the ball to take out Jason Holder’s off stump in Adelaide.Usman Khawaja has seen Starc’s career from up close, both as a team-mate and as a domestic opponent. They played grade cricket together and were at Australia’s academy at the same time – “I thought, this guy’s got something special that can actually take them next level,” Khawaja recalled – then he was part of New South Wales when Starc made his Sheffield Shield debut in 2009 and also his Test debut against New Zealand at the Gabba in 2011.”I saw him when he was a youngster … I saw him in the dumps in 2nd XI and then he debuted at the end of the year. [He was a] very emotional young kid and he knows that, I always give him a bit of stick about that,” Khawaja said. “I give him stick because it’s nice to see the journey. He always had the skills but it was more about what was going up there for him which is a lot of the case for all international players and he’s found a way through it.”He’s had a lot of ups and downs which I think just makes you stronger as a cricketer and as a person in general. He doesn’t listen to much of the white noise. He knows what he has to do. He’s actually got a lot more skills now than before. He just used to try to swing it and when the ball stopped swinging he really didn’t have much else. Now he can swing it in, bowl wobble seam, he’s got a lot more accuracy.”Starc’s technical changes, which he said came from a lot of knowledge sharing between himself, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, have come about at a time where he has focused more on long-form cricket even while remaining a key part of the ODI side and returning to being a T20 regular, albeit controversially omitted at the end of the recent World Cup. During the England ODI series that followed, Starc reiterated that Test cricket remains far out in front for him. He will, sooner rather than later, shelve a format but it won’t be this one.But however much success Starc continues to have in Test cricket, there is one part of the story that will never have a conclusion: whether he and Shane Warne could have made peace. Warne was one of Starc’s fiercest critics, and often believed it helped motivate a player, but in an interview with News Corp shortly before his death, which was unpublished at the time, he said it was never personal with Starc and he hoped to be able to share a beer.”It’s part of cricket, you’re going to have your critics and everyone is entitled to have an opinion,” Starc said. “The disappointing part or the sad part is that we never got to have that conversation. I guess we’ll never know.”

A wave of yellow washed over the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and CSK and RCB treated their fans to another high-scoring thriller

Shashank Kishore18-Apr-2023The M Chinnaswamy Stadium was predominantly yellow. Hours before the marquee match between RCB and CSK, hundreds of fans had queued at the ticket counter. They fully expected to be rejected, but wanted to try anyway.Earlier, there was similar fervour at the team hotel two kilometres down the road. Security personnel were told to reserve entry only for hotel guests once fans packed the coffee shop on the ground floor. They were waiting for one man, and the moment he stepped out of the elevator and onto the long walkway leading to the team bus, the coffee shop emptied quickly. Everyone had made a beeline towards MS Dhoni.With CSK’s fan army descending on Bengaluru in huge numbers, you could have mistaken this to be the Chepauk or anywhere in Chennai.Related

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It was Dhoni versus Virat Kohli, after all. Perhaps for one last time in the IPL, given the two sides don’t have a second league fixture this season, unless of course they meet in the playoffs.The only real ‘home advantage’ that RCB enjoys is their crowd support. Not the flat pitch or the small boundaries. Going by the number of yellow jerseys at the Chinnaswamy, that crowd support had been eroded to 50-50 at best. It was the first time the two sides were playing in Bengaluru since the pandemic; and this fixture has usually been an explosive, high-scoring contest.Monday night was no different. For the second time, CSK and RCB smashed the most sixes – 33 – in an IPL game. The previous occasion was in 2018, when Dhoni walked into the chase with 132 needed off 66, and smacked seven maximums on his own.Mohammed Siraj had suffered that night, going for 48 in four wicketless overs. His failed attempts at nailing wide yorkers dispatched repeatedly by Dhoni’s powerful bat swing. The much-improved Siraj who steamed in last night, however, was perhaps the reason RCB were chasing 227 and not 247. Coming into this game, his economy in the powerplay was 4.70 and he was even more economical against CSK, taking 1 for 6 in his first two overs.Rough estimates suggest that CSK had more support than RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium•BCCIDevon Conway is the most recent of CSK’s deceptively destructive openers, much like M Vijay, Mike Hussey and Faf du Plessis – now the opposition captain – before him. His 45-ball 83 set the tone for this high-scoring contest, and eventually earned him the Player of the Match award.Shivam Dube loves playing RCB ever since they released him after spending INR 5 crore to buy him at the 2018 auction. Last night was more of the same. His method was simple: stand-and-deliver to balls in his swinging arc. Each of his five sixes during his 27-ball 52 was different, but all were smashed whistle-clean onto the roof, near the DJ console, into the second tier, and the hospitality boxes.Despite the powerful batting performance, Dhoni was slightly testy on the field. Did he expect the defence to be any different? In the second over of RCB’s chase, two balls after Maheesh Theekshana dropped a catch at mid-off, Dhoni himself put down a chance. It was the kind of catch he’d take 99 times out of 100, but he didn’t even lay a glove on the ball.Du Plessis made him pay. His and Glenn Maxwell’s sensational six hitting threatened to blindside CSK. Wincing in pain because of a bruised rib that needed regular medical attention, du Plessis raced to his fifty off 23 balls. Maxwell got there in 24. The ferocity of their chase had Hussey, CSK’s batting coach, sitting in the dugout with his hands on either cheek. You couldn’t have found a better expression than that to describe a jaw drop.After dropping one early on, MS Dhoni took two high-pressure catches off Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis•Associated PressUsually not a man of many words on the field, Dhoni was seen talking to his fast bowlers often last night. He’s used to having the experience of Dwayne Bravo and Deepak Chahar to call on, but now CSK had the inexperienced Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh and Matheesha Pathirana taking on the marauding RCB batters. Dhoni ran instructions to his rookies – wonky knees be dammed – and often patted them on the back. There was a match to win.And when the first chance at redeeming himself came along – a steepling catch off a Maxwell slog – Dhoni allayed any fears CSK fans may have had of Theekshana having to catch it, by calling for it himself and waving everyone else out of the way. He did not celebrate though, and instead walked over to the umpire to tell them how close the ball had come to making contact with the spider-cam cables.Dhoni then did something even more unusual. He reviewed a not-out lbw decision against Shahbaz Ahmed even though it was clear the ball from Theekshana had pitched far outside leg stump. At 143 for 3 in the 13th over, RCB were still ahead.Then came the turning point of the chase. Moeen Ali had just been walloped for two sixes, while bowling flat and short. You couldn’t tell what Dhoni told his bowler while the ball was being retrieved, but Moeen immediately began giving his delivery more air. Two balls later, he forced a top edge from du Plessis. Another steepling chance, extremely similar to the Maxwell dismissal, and once again Dhoni called and caught it.The Dhoni-est of Dhoni actions, however, was reserved for the finish, when he backed ‘baby Malinga’ to defend 19 in the final over in his first game of the season. And it was only as 20-year-old Pathirana closed out an eight-run victory and the crowd went berserk that a hint of a smile appeared on Dhoni’s face.

Fireworks, loud music, a near sellout crowd, and a special knock from a special player: the opening night had it all

Zenia D'cunha05-Mar-20236:29

A curtain raiser to rival the IPL opener?

The first match of the long-awaited Women’s Premier League (WPL) is at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, the venue that set the record for the highest crowd for a women’s cricket match in India last December.Walking up to the stadium from the main road, you can already feel the buzz. The buzz of the crowds lining up to enter, and the buzz of excitement to see what’s in store.If one had to paint a visual to describe this buzz, it would be blue.Related

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Blue, the colour of the Mumbai Indians’ jerseys worn by a large section of fans. Blue, of the Indian team’s jerseys a few others, are wearing. A whole shade card of blue in the usual knock-off kits being sold on the streets, both men and women trying the Mumbai Indians one for size. They belong to different editions of the IPL, but it’s the dress code of the day.The team flags, horns, tri-colour memorabilia, face-painters and long queues that circle the outside of any cricket stadium on match days are omnipresent as well.As far as signs of public interest go, this is a good one in Indian cricket.Blue was probably also what Gujarat Giants were feeling after an all-round capitulation against Mumbai Indians.But the crowd wouldn’t mind, they had after all come for two main things and they got exactly that: A historic occasion and a Harmanpreet Kaur special.”This is history in the making, it’s the first-ever women’s match like this and because it’s in Mumbai and this is our team, it feels very good. I’m getting goosebumps already,” one fan outside the stadium said. “It was decided, we had to come for the first match,” another one said.Most people entering the stadium had the same answer when asked the player they are most excited to watch at the WPL – Harmanpreet.1:51

Buzz and anticipation abound in Mumbai as the inaugural WPL kickstarts

One superfan, conspicuous by his vintage Mumbai Indians jersey from the 2013 edition of the IPL – the year they won their first title – wanted Harmanpreet & Co to end a strange jinx.”Mumbai Indians are known to lose their first match, it’s actually a pretty good omen for them. But I hope that’s not the case today, I want them to win.”They did win, and in a way fulfilled the many expectations. The Indian captain delivered a memorable knock to start the tournament on a high, smashing a boundary-studded, 22-ball 50 that helped Mumbai cross 200 in the first game.It was the kind of innings that got the home crowd involved from the beginning – the gasps when she smacked the ball, the cheers when she effortlessly found the gaps, the roar for her shots and the acknowledgement after her dismissal, and the constant chants of her name.With the inaugural WPL taking place entirely in just two venues, Mumbai are the only team to have a home crowd at all their matches and to start it with a bang is exactly what the tournament needed.”We keep discussing how we want to enjoy this moment because we waited for this for a long time,” Harmanpreet said about the atmosphere after the match.”Personally, it was very special to me because whenever I played other leagues, [the crowd] went more towards the local players, but today the Punjabi singer came [AP Dhillon] and it felt like home. The Mumbai crowd was special for all of us, it felt like the whole family came together cheering for this big moment.”Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Alyssa Healy pose with the trophy•BCCIThe others played their part too, the opening fireworks by Hayley Matthews, the handy cameo by Amelia Kerr, Pooja Vastrakar and Nat Sciver-Brunt keeping the boundaries coming, the dominant bowling in the powerplay. And the crowd loved every moment.They may have come for the Indian players they know, but as the game progressed, the Mumbai crowd adopted the others also their own. Issy Wong, the fire-cracker fast bowler from England, got her own chant of ‘Wong, Wong, Wong’ as she started a run-up. All of 20 and not as well-known yet in the international circuit as yet, it was her spectacular first-ball six and second-ball wicket of Ashleigh Gardner (on a golden duck) that endeared her to the cricket-lovers watching.Before the match began, the playing XIs of both teams were announced in the stadium with corresponding images on the big screen – a nice touch given how new all this is. One would hope this player introduction with photos continues through the WPL.Not all was perfect, of course. The one-sided second innings saw the crowds thin out midway through the innings and the stands were almost empty by the end. Already, despite the sold-out sign while booking online, the stadium was not completely full and there were some walkouts after the opening ceremony too.But even at the death overs, nearing 11 pm and long after the stadium announcer and music had stopped at the deadline, there was a sizable cheer when Harmanpreet was fielding at long-on boundary. It’s the power of good, old-fashioned cricketing excellence.”It was a different experience and I hope that we continue to get the kind of crowd support we got today,” she said.That may be difficult in the stadium on weekdays and when the home team is not involved, but what her knock has ensured is that WPL has begun well and will be followed.

A look at the Australian batter’s 32nd Test century by the numbers

Sampath Bandarupalli29-Jun-202332 Centuries for Steven Smith in Test cricket are the joint-second most for Australia in the format. Ricky Ponting tops the list with 41 hundreds, while Steve Waugh also has 32 tons.ESPNcricinfo Ltd174 Innings Smith needed to score his 32nd Test century, the fewest among the 12 players with the feat. The previous quickest was Ponting, who scored his 32nd Test ton in the 176th innings he batted.22 Hundreds for Smith in the first innings of Test matches, the most for any batter, surpassing Ponting’s 21 tons. Seven of Smith’s 22 centuries came when the team was put into bat, the joint-most, alongside Jacques Kallis.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 Test hundreds for Smith in England, the second-most by any visiting player in the country, behind only Sir Donald Bradman’s eleven tons. Smith has seven of those eight centuries against England, while another came against India in the WTC final earlier this month.12 Test centuries for Smith against England. Only Bradman (19 against England) and Sunil Gavaskar (13 against West Indies) have more triple-digit scores versus an opponent in Test cricket than Smith.1 Number of players to complete 9000 Test runs in fewer innings than Smith’s 174 innings. Kumar Sangakkara is the fastest to the 9000-run milestone, needing only 172 innings. Smith, however, is the fastest in terms of Tests played to complete 9000 runs, as he needed only 99 matches, while the previous fastest was Brian Lara in 103 games.ESPNcricinfo Ltd12 Smith’s hundreds in the Ashes. Only Bradman’s 19 tons rank higher in the Ashes, while Jack Hobbs also has 12 centuries. Smith is also now the fourth-highest run-getter in the Ashes with 3176 runs.2014 Test runs scored by Smith in England. Only three other visiting players have scored 2000-plus runs in England – Bradman (2674), Allan Border (2082) and Viv Richards (2014).416 Australia’s total in the first-innings is the highest for a visiting team at Lord’s since Australia’s 566 for 8 in the 2015 Ashes. Australia’s run rate of 4.13 is also the highest for any visiting team to make 400-plus in a Test innings at Lord’s.

Their technique and temperament kept the visitors at bay on a tricky Wankhede surface

S Sudarshanan22-Dec-20231:26

Ghosh: ‘I didn’t let the pressure of playing my first Test get to me’

Pure vibes.”One, two, three, four, mic testing. One, two, three, four.”Richa Ghosh walked in and settled down in front of the microphone. She blew air into it when asked to give a sound check, eliciting laughter around the room, before speaking into it. The next few minutes were about having fun and reacting to the questions, with some cheekiness in the mix. Like you expect a 20-year-old to be.Pure vibes.Adira, a nine-year-old fan dressed in cricket whites, was merrily waving the India flag from the Garware Pavilion, which is above the Australia dugout. Unlike the opening day, where three stands were open to the public as opposed to just two on Friday, most of the 600 people (approx.) at the Wankhede Stadium were in that section.Related

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The weather was kind. The hazy afternoon did not force you to search for shadows or the back-row seats despite the floodlights being on since the post-lunch session. [oh, there goes a four!], accompanied almost every four. The youngsters in the middle kept them clapping, dancing, and cheering their hearts out.Pure vibes.Jemimah Rodrigues is no stranger to adverse situations, given the rocky phases she has faced in her brief career. She was replacing her best mate, Smriti Mandhana, in the middle. A horrible mix-up with Ghosh had seen Mandhana run-out for 74, but she paused in her walk back towards the dugout, turned towards Ghosh and gestured to her to forget about it, stay in the middle and play her game.And so, Rodrigues and Ghosh, on Test debut, found themselves in the middle with India 147 for 3, still 72 runs behind Australia’s first-innings total of 219, with an hour to go for lunch.Australia’s fast bowlers had struggled to maintain their lines and lengths. Captain Alyssa Healy was forced to turn to her spinners quite often on the day – 71 of the 100 overs of the day were bowled by spin. Rodrigues, fresh of a fifty on Test debut, was confident in getting her stride out – be it for off-drives or to defend the ball. Ghosh managed to pick spin and also adjusted to the variable bounce on offer. They felt that the sweep was the way to go on the surface.Three of the four fours they hit in the period leading up to lunch were via the sweep shot – the conventional and the slog. They ensured that they got the front foot as close to the line of the ball as possible while trying to sweep; unlike Healy, who was beside the line of the ball and was bowled by one that kept low. The method Rodrigues and Ghosh followed allowed them to adjust to any variable bounce, and on the odd occasion they got the top edge on the sweep, it landed in the vacant spot at 45, behind square on the leg side.Richa Ghosh brought out the sweep to good effect•BCCIIn all, Rodrigues played the sweep to 18 balls and Ghosh opted for it eight times in their 113-run partnership off 187 balls. More importantly, they played out a combined six dot balls while attempting that shot, which meant Australia’s spinners couldn’t pin one batter down. “We decided to react to the ball. If we get the ball to sweep, we will sweep, if not we will defend,” Ghosh laughed after explaining the pair’s simple logic.They even kept offspinner Ashleigh Gardner, who finished the day with 4 for 100 in 41 overs, at bay. Gardner was the major threat on a surface which had a tinge of grass but was predominantly bare and dry, often casting doubts in the batters’ minds about their footwork. She got one to keep low and trap Harmanpreet Kaur – who went back – for a two-ball duck after Rodrigues chipped one to cover. She also trapped Yastika Bhatia lbw while sweeping.”Ash [Gardner] is just a real, classical offspinner,” Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke said later. “She gets a lot of revs on the ball. She is just continuously able to put the ball in a good spot and ask questions [of the batters], and with the revolutions she puts on the ball, she extracts whatever she can from the wicket.”India showed there is plenty of runs out there if you can just be patient. At times we were not able to build the pressure, but they also were really patient and played the long game. When we gave them something to hit, they made sure that it went to the boundary. They showed us that they were patient and built some partnerships, which we didn’t do in the first innings.”It was a fair assessment, as Rodrigues and Ghosh managed to hit 16 fours through their stay, each notching up a half-century. The partnership put India in the lead and the mini-wobble later magnified its importance. India lost 4 for 14 but were once again steadied by a patient alliance – an unbroken 102 – between Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar.That Australia managed to squeeze in some quiet phases – like the hour leading up to tea, where they picked up those wickets, or the one after tea where they managed to bowl three successive maidens and give away just 20 in ten overs – did not faze India. Because their young guns created the vibes at the Wankhede, feeding off the few noisy fans in a pocket.Adira goes to the Cross Maidan for cricket coaching and is a massive fan of Mandhana, but that Rodrigues and Ghosh helped India dominate another day of Test cricket at home will take time to sink in for her – and the other fans in the pocket.

Unrestricted movement between overlapping tournaments risks calling integrity into question

Matt Roller13-Feb-2024You are a T20 cricketer, who has spent the last three weeks at a franchise league playing for a team which has performed below expectations. Your final group game is approaching, and only a win will be enough to take you through to next week’s knockout stages – but you have a dilemma.Your agent has been on the phone, and tells you that a team in another league is looking for a replacement for a player who has left on international duty. You are their first choice, but the deal could fall through unless you are available next week. How does that knowledge affect your mentality heading into your must-win group game?Similar scenarios have been cropping up on a daily basis this month: whenever a team was eliminated from the SA20, their overseas stars hopped on flights to Dubai or Dhaka to play in the ILT20 or BPL. More than a dozen players – including Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Jimmy Neesham – have made appearances in more than one league already this month.For the economically rational cricketer, the financial incentives are clear: early elimination from one league is likely to open up an extra week of availability for another, maximising overall earning opportunities. Any situation where it might be in a players’ interests for their team to lose should cause alarm; an official at one franchise describes it as “the sign of a broken sport”.There is no suggestion that any player has deliberately underperformed in one league in order to ensure their availability for another. But, as one agent puts it: “It’s a bizarre thing to have in the back of your mind.” The blame lies not with the players, who are making the most of cricket’s T20 boom, but with the administrators who have let an unregulated market mutate.Sam Curran swapped the SA20 for the ILT20 after MI Cape Town’s early elimination from the SA20•ILT20There are other bewildering scenarios for players who represent affiliates of one Indian franchise yet play in the IPL itself for another. Last month, Nicholas Pooran made his debut for Durban’s Super Giants – the South African offshoot of his IPL team, Lucknow – against MI Cape Town. His stint lasted three matches: nine days later, he played for – and captained – MI Emirates in Dubai.The status quo does not work for fans, regardless of their preferences. Purists lament the demise in bilateral international cricket’s status, but even younger fans who have grown up with leagues are poorly served. Is there any meaningful way in which to follow – let alone support – a franchise whose squad changes every other day, often without any public announcement?The six ILT20 franchises cycled through 129 players – the vast majority of them from overseas – in 30 group games this season. The seven BPL franchises have used 133 between them in the first 28 matches; that number will grow further this week when Keshav Maharaj plays for Fortune Barishal, even while South Africa’s understrength Test side are playing New Zealand.The fundamental issue is that five leagues – the BBL, SA20, ILT20, BPL and PSL – stage at least a portion of their season between late January and late February. The problem has been exacerbated during this cycle by the World Cup, which ran until November 19, but will be again in 2024-25 with the Champions Trophy set to start in early February. Everyone wants a window, but there is not space for all of them.Keshav Maharaj is heading for the BPL, only days after the SA20 final•SA 20There are some attempts to find a resolution. FICA, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, will invite players to a global scheduling symposium in the second half of this year. “Current players’ collective views are critical,” Tom Moffat, FICA’s CEO, told ESPNcricinfo. “They are at the coalface, and should be at the centre of these conversations.”This is ultimately a scheduling issue… the same national governing bodies who control international cricket scheduling also own most of the domestic leagues. As difficult as it is to achieve, if global scheduling was built around clearer scheduling windows for international cricket, and therefore the leagues, it would provide more clarity, enable appropriate balance, and naturally line the leagues up more symmetrically.”Related

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The solution must involve collaboration – exemplified by the Caribbean Premier League’s successful avoidance of a clash with the Hundred in its 2024 window – as well as long-term thinking. It is a curiosity that the windows for leagues are often vague until weeks before they start, and that they are airbrushed out of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) despite dictating so much else.But the men’s international schedule is effectively locked in until March 2027 through the FTP, and cricket’s administrators cannot wait that long to address the perverse incentives that leagues have created. Instead, boards must find collective regulatory solutions to these problems which can then be presented for approval at ICC level. These might include:1. Restructuring of contracts
Most leagues operate with a contracting system which involves players being paid the majority of their salary via a retainer, with match fees and win bonuses representing only a small proportion. Shifting the balance might avoid some situations where players stand to benefit financially from early elimination.2. Mandatory ‘cooling-off periods’
Franchise league contracts and No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) are rewritten to stipulate that players are required to declare their availability for the knockout stages of a tournament when they enter a draft or sign a contract. If they declare themselves available for the knockout stages, they should be rendered unavailable for any other domestic cricket until the day after the final, regardless of their own team’s progress.3. Standardise the Blast’s ‘Bravo Rule’
England’s T20 Blast has long stipulated that, for knockout matches, counties can only field players who have been in the matchday squad for at least one group game, a rule devised in response to Essex signing Dwayne Bravo specifically for Finals Day in 2010. Other boards should follow suit, prompting teams to use the local talent in their squad. Bizarrely, the ECB introduced the same regulation for the second season of the Hundred – then removed it during the third.4. NOC limits for centrally-contracted players
Boards could consider following the Pakistan Cricket Board’s lead and implementing a limit on the number of NOCs they grant their players within a certain window, making extremely short-term stints less appealing to those who intend to spend a significant proportion of the year playing in leagues.The fourth suggestion was advocated by Ricky Ponting last week, but the context of his comments – he was speaking while being unveiled as Washington Freedom’s new coach, in addition to his roles with Delhi Capitals and Hobart Hurricanes – outlines the scale of the challenge. Change will require administrative leadership in a sport where that has been scant.Cricket handed itself over to the free market long ago and its governance now relies on an uneasy truce between self-interested actors. Players – and their agents – have more power than ever before, and want to make hay while the sun shines. Boards want to keep hold of their players, but also to keep them happy. Leagues want to attract fans, but also to turn profit. The only unrepresented interest is that of the sport itself, with no central authority with sufficient power to keep these actors in check.Franchises want to grow their profile, but also to win. Therein lies an important question: how do SA20 team owners feel about the idea that their early elimination might open up an extra week of earning opportunities for their players elsewhere? The irony would be lost on nobody if private investors end up being the parties lobbying for regulation.

With 14 matches of the league stage left, no team has yet been knocked out, though that could change very soon

S Rajesh08-May-2024The top twoKolkata Knight Riders

With 16 points already in their bag and an excellent net run rate of 1.453, Kolkata Knight Riders are almost through to the playoffs. Their worst-case scenario will be if they lose all three remaining games and stay on 16. It’s still possible for three other teams – Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, and one of Lucknow Super Giants or Sunrisers Hyderabad – to make it to 18, in which case KKR will be fighting for the fourth playoffs spot with LSG or SRH. Or, if Delhi Capitals win their last two, there could be a four-way tie on 16 with two spots up for grabs, with Royals and CSK already through. KKR can avoid all the NRR complications if they win another game and move to 18, which will ensure qualification.Rajasthan Royals

Like KKR, Royals too are just one win away from ensuring qualification. If they lose all three remaining games, it could come down to NRR, either for the last spot between two teams, or for two spots among four teams, just as in the case for KKR. Royals have two home games still to come, but those will be in Guwahati, not Jaipur, where they have won four out of five.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe 12-pointersChennai Super Kings

CSK are one of four teams jostling in the mid-table melee with 12 points, but they are the only ones of the four with a positive net run rate, which could be a significant advantage. Three wins will ensure qualification regardless of other results, but if they lose one it could come down to run rates, as six teams can finish on 16 or more points. Fourteen points could be a messy affair, as up to six teams can finish on 14, fighting for two places.Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH’s three remaining games are all at home, and against teams below them on the points table (though in the case of LSG it’s only a run-rate difference). The next match against LSG will be crucial given that both teams are on 12 after 11 games. A win will be a huge boost to their chances, but 14 points won’t give them safety, as there could be as many as six teams finishing on 14.Related

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Lucknow Super Giants

LSG are identically placed with SRH in terms of points and matches remaining, but a significant difference is that they play their last three matches away from home – in Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai. Two of those games are also against teams on the same points tally, which means wins against them will not only boost LSG’s chances, but also diminish the prospects of those teams. However, 16 points still doesn’t guarantee qualification as six teams can get there.Delhi Capitals

Capitals are one of four teams on 12, but have played an extra game. That means they can only get up to 16, while the others on 12 can still aim for 18. If SRH and CSK win their remaining matches, you could have four teams on 18 or more points, shutting Capitals out even if they finish on 16. On the other hand, 14 points might be enough for qualification without even NRR coming into play, if other results go their way.Mumbai Indians aren’t out of contention yet, but they are hanging on by the barest of threads•AFP/Getty ImagesThe eight-pointersRoyal Challengers Bengaluru

Punjab Kings

Mumbai Indians

Gujarat Titans

The last four teams are all bunched together on eight points. Among them Mumbai Indians are the only team to have played 12 games, and are hanging on by the barest of threads, as it’s still possible for seven teams to be tied on 12, fighting for one spot. That thread will snap on Wednesday night if SRH beat LSG, or if their game is washed out and points are shared.For the three other teams, there’s still the possibility of getting to 14 points and qualifying without resorting to NRR.

There was unbridled joy in one camp, gloom in the other. But if South Africa need any inspiration, they need to look no further than India

Sidharth Monga30-Jun-20242:23

Manjrekar: Rohit’s World Cup win a great reward for a champion cricketer

I am supposed to explain this to you?No, I don’t think you want explanations. For a while, nobody does.As I sit in the dugout vacated by the players, some uneaten nuts and unfinished bottles of energy drinks around me, I am thinking of pieces of broken heart that I can’t see. Explanations are the last thing on my mind.I can see India are hoisting Rahul Dravid up and catching him on the way down. Behind the podium, where nobody can see them, Quinton de Kock is down on his knees, playing with a little girl in a South Africa top and a pink tutu. Heinrich Klaasen is with another little girl. Daughters, I think. The partners are milling around. There is an older gentleman in a Klaasen top around. Perhaps his father. One of the partners is running after another kid with a writing tablet that looks like an old-fashioned slate.Related

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South Africa were winning, then came Jasprit Bumrah

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that the families and partners can travel with the players these days. This is not going to be an easy night for South Africa. It is best they are not alone with their thoughts tonight. They had played almost the perfect game, and needed just 30 off 30. And yet, they are left with the ghosts that have haunted their cricket teams for more than 30 years.Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and the others know this feeling all too well. They have led the ODI World Cup league table – a format where you play every team once – twice but have not laid their hands on the trophy. They have been to both the WTC finals but haven’t won despite being the best Test side over the last seven-eight years.They have had sleepless nights following the last ODI World Cup in which they were unbeaten until the final. Rohit has spoken openly about how he struggled coming out of that flux. If South Africa need any inspiration, they need to look no further than Rohit, who has dusted himself off to go through it all over again. Despite the year he has had at the IPL.Rahul Dravid gets a champion’s farewell•Getty ImagesRohit is celebrating with his family, he is fulfilling his commitments as the captain. In between he has found the time to kiss Hardik Pandya on the cheek. After the year they have had. Hardik said two years ago in Australia that he has risen above the results. Then life hit back. Injuries. Ruled out of the World Cup midway. Leading Rohit in the IPL that left a sour taste in the mouth everywhere. He has bowled the slower one to get Klaasen. He has bowled the final over to seal the win.Rohit’s accomplice, Dravid, has forever seemed cursed to not win a trophy. He led India to their first Test win in South Africa, took them to series wins in England and the West Indies after decades, brought about a philosophical shift in the way they approached the game, but he is remembered for his failures. Even as a coach, despite being the master team-builder that he is, Dravid has had no titles to show for. Even at the IPL. Now he is exulting.They didn’t have the perfect team. They have made it perfect. They have picked two left-arm-spin allrounders. Not perfect but they want depth in both batting and bowling. Crucially, they have managed to free Kohli of the in-born notion in champion competitors that they can’t leave the job for someone else. They have managed to convince him T20 is not a sport for the main characters.Kohli has bought into it. He has taken the walk-on part in a war ahead of the lead role in a cage. His innings in the final, we can discuss another day. It is almost identical to what he scored in the 2014 final, which India lost, but that batting depth of India has allowed him to repeat it. Rohit works a lot with analysts but he also believes in runs on the board in finals. So perhaps he has a higher tolerance for Kohli delaying the trigger in the final.Kohli is retiring from T20Is with a Player-of-the-Final trophy. Rohit too. Kohli slips out of the celebrations and pulls out his AirPods. They connect just in time for him to take the call. He is visibly talking to one of his children: he is making faces and gestures you make to babies. He has earned everything a man could wish for, he has carried Dravid’s work forward in Tests to an extent Dravid himself couldn’t, but for 13 years he has not been part of a team that has had a world title.Tabraiz Shamsi lets the emotions sink in•ICC/Getty Images”I believe in destiny,” Rohit says when asked if he had begun to start doubting that good things happen to good people. “This was written. Of course, we didn’t know before the match that this was written, otherwise it would be so easy. That [to keep doing your best not knowing what’s written] is the game.”Now tell me how I am supposed to explain this to you. Those who were there have been reduced to talking about destiny. The closest thing to an explanation is that the scrappy side with more multi-skilled players beat the one with specialists who, barring one or two, are perhaps more suited to the format. The much-ridiculed depth, for which India have tried to accommodate many an allrounder who was not ready, has trumped.South Africa, like the Mumbai Indians of 2013, are bossing the game with six gun batters and five full-time bowlers. Except they are against what looks like a scrappy Mumbai Indians of 2017 with plenty of multi-skilled options. Rohit has led both kinds of teams. His experience tells him to just hang in for longer than many would. In a 17-year career, he has seen T20 matches turn on much less than two Jasprit Bumrah overs.In the end, it has come about in a messy manner. They don’t take the braver option when at crossroads with the bat, which they have done almost all tournament. Kuldeep Yadav has had a tough day. Axar Patel, the unsung hero so far, is taken for 24 in his final over.The ball is reversing, even if slightly; hitting down the ground is easier; and they just move those fielders cutting singles straighter. It still shouldn’t work but it does. Sport is messy. Hardik is bowling only wide outside off, trying to stay away from Klaasen. Not looking for a wicket. On another day, he doesn’t get the edge to finish off the game. Here he does.Rohit ends up prone on the ground, slapping it in pure joy. Sport is a messy thing. It has played with Rohit’s spirit again and again before he can finally say: “This is what I wanted. I wanted to win the cup and say…” He doesn’t say anything. He just salutes a goodbye.It has played with South Africa here, but like Rohit and Kohli and Bumrah and Hardik, they must dust themselves off and give themselves the chance again. In the words of Rohit, that is the game.

There were low expectations heading into the tournament on the back of a 10-game losing streak, but captain Sophie Devine has instilled a belief

Shashank Kishore14-Oct-2024Shortly after Amelia Kerr claimed Sadia Iqbal’s wicket to seal New Zealand’s first T20 World Cup semi-final since 2016, Sophie Devine was pulled into a team huddle. Devine’s first instinct was to wait until the reserves joined in. As the group got together, Devine was overcome with emotions.Tears flowed liberally. Suzie Bates embraced her in a warm hug, Katey Martin, the former wicketkeeper, who was to do a post-match segment on TV, joined in. Leigh Kasperek, who’d been running drinks and can be a claimant for the softest voice in the team, belted out a roar.Related

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Amelia, an icon not just for her all-round exploits but for her openness about mental health battles that have triggered winds of change within the system, had her arms aloft and eyes closed to soak in the moment before sister Jessica gave her a hug.Izzy Gaze, among the youngest in the group and in her first World Cup, was so overjoyed she wasn’t sure whether to run to the dugout first or to meet her family who were in the stands. For fast bowler Lea Tahuhu, it was a call, possibly back home to her partner, former New Zealand batter Amy Satterthwaite, who took a step back post her retirement to be there for their kids, one of them barely four months old.For Eden Carson, the architect of their first win against India that set up their campaign, this was a vindication of her brave call to have put on hold a career in veterinary nursing. Delivering a knockout blow to Pakistan while securing their semi-final, brought her a Player of the Match award medal that she couldn’t take her eyes off.Rosemary Mair didn’t know she’d be on the plane for the World Cup when she was diagnosed with a back injury in March. But all through her time in rehab, Devine kept pepping her up to say the World Cup would be her grand stage for a comeback. Words that initially soothed pain turned prophetic. When Mair knocked over Sidra Amin’s middle stump, the ecstatic yelp told you what it meant.For Georgia Plimmer, it meant so much that the first person she turned to was Devine. Plimmer had averaged 9.11 in her first 18 T20Is and was only marginally better – averaging 13.80 – in her first nine ODIs up until last November. Devine and New Zealand coach Ben Sawyer’s backed her through this.

The belief’s huge at the moment, so we will celebrate tonight and enjoy that and spend some quality time together as a group. But yeah, we know that the job’s only half done nowSophie Devine

When Plimmer hit 139-ball 147 for Wellington against Northern Districts in a domestic game, it was validation of Sawyer and Devine’s early impressions of watching a precociously talented young girl who had potential but not the scores to justify being in the conversation. At the World Cup, Plimmer’s crucial half-century in a match-winning effort against Sri Lanka set their campaign back on track.Plimmer’s recent performances – she hit her maiden T20I fifty on the tour of Australia just before the World Cup – have somewhat justified Devine’s decision to bat lower down, not because she likes it, but because it’s what New Zealand need looking at the future, especially when Devine and Bates retire.It’s these stories, of hope, grit, resolve and an unwavering never-say-die spirit that remained intact all through their 10-match losing streak coming into the tournament, that came together at that huddle which Devine wanted everyone to join in.It was an exhibition of a leadership trait Devine has imbibed on the long road towards building the future, while allowing her younger players an environment to flourish even if results were as abysmal as they were. Those results are now beginning to show.Last year in South Africa, Devine sat through a press conference asking questions about New Zealand’s decline and their inability to cross the group stages. Here in the UAE, the mood at the end of the group stage wasn’t as sombre. There were tears; these were happy tears.Devine was swelled with emotions of a “proud mum”, not necessarily the “cool mum they want me to be,” for defying expectations and trying conditions to make that step up when “no one expected us to be here.”In a way, the journey of 18 months hasn’t just been a journey in team building but one of constant readjustment for Devine. A readjustment of methods, mindsets, mental make-up and also player-management – essentially an “all-in-one” role with support from the team management.Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine toast New Zealand’s semi-final sealing win•ICC/Getty Images”When I stepped into the leadership and captaincy role I thought I could be everything to everyone and it’s just not possible,” she said. “And the great thing is with our leadership group is that we’ve got people that connect stronger with certain people and that’s natural when you’re in groups.”So, for me to be able to lean on those people if I need them to check on someone or to have a conversation, to be able to lean on them if I feel like I’m not the best person to do that. That’s probably been one of my biggest learnings, because I want to fix things and I want to help people and I want to make sure everyone’s okay, but I’m also not that person for everyone.”This is where Devine underlined how important her core group has been, of which Bates and Amelia have been an integral part. “I feel really fortunate that I’ve got that support around me,” she said. “It’s not managing people, it’s just relationships and caring about people.”That’s one of our greatest values in this White Ferns group; we speak a lot about caring for one another as people before cricketers and I hope that you can see that out there with the way that we celebrate one another’s successes.”We genuinely just love each other and love seeing each other succeed which makes it so much sweeter when you get results like you do tonight. The belief’s huge at the moment, so we will celebrate tonight and enjoy that and spend some quality time together as a group. But yeah, we know that the job’s only half done now.”

Big chases bring all the drama and here is a list of five from the IPL that had almost everything

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2025Jonny Bairstow made an unbeaten 108 in a chase of 262•BCCIPunjab Kings 262 for 2
In a season where run-scoring and six-hitting scaled new heights, this clash raised the bar for T20 cricket. The match featured a record 42 sixes and produced the highest successful chase in the format – 262. KKR’s 261 for 6 was powered by a 138-run opening stand between Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, with the middle order adding the finishing touches. In reply, Prabhsimran Singh provided the early thrust before Jonny Bairstow’s fiery hundred and Shashank Singh’s 28-ball 68 sealed the mighty chase with eight balls to spare.ESPNcricinfo LtdSunrisers Hyderabad 247 for 2
It was Abhishek’s night in Hyderabad. A stroke of luck came early when he was caught on 28, but it turned out to be off a no-ball. Most times, when he hit the ball in the air, it either disappeared into the stands or dropped safely in no man’s land. Occasionally, as is the case when playing such high-risk innings, the ball went in the general direction of a fielder but PBKS weren’t able to hold onto their catches. Abhishek dismantled PBKS’ bowling attack with audacious ease. He stormed to his maiden IPL century in just 40 balls and went on record the highest individual score (141 off 55 balls) by an Indian in IPL history. Head played the perfect supporting act, hammering 66 off 37 in a dominant 171-run opening stand.Rahul Tewatia was the centre of attention after his spectacular innings against Kings XI in IPL 2020•BCCIRajasthan Royals< 226 for 6
With Rajasthan Royals (RR) needing 51 off the final three overs, Rahul Tewatia’s 17 off 23 balls was turning into a disastrous promotion to No. 4. But what followed was one of the most dramatic turnarounds in IPL history. Tewatia smashed five sixes off Sheldon Cottrell’s over. He and Jofra Archer added three more sixes, and a four, in the next nine balls. RR chased down 224 – the highest IPL chase at the time – with three balls to spare. Earlier, Sanju Samson’s 85 off 42 had kept them in the hunt against PBKS.Jos Buttler pulled off a great one-man rescue act for Rajasthan Royals last year•BCCIRajasthan Royals 224 for 8
The standout performer of KKR’s title-winning campaign, Sunil Narine, smashed his maiden T20 century to lift his side to 223 for 6 and then struck with the ball too. With 103 to defend off 46 balls and four wickets remaining for RR, KKR were cruising. But Jos Buttler had other plans. With a strapped-up hamstring that kept him out of the previous game, Buttler single-handedly turned the chase on its head – scoring 70 of the remaining runs, retaining strike for the final 18 balls, and completing the win with five sixes and six fours.The Pandya brothers run to congratulate Kieron Pollard on taking Mumbai home in a chase of 219•BCCI/IPLMumbai Indians 219 for 6
This was one of those chases that cemented Kieron Pollard’s status as Mumbai Indians (MI) saviour. Ambati Rayudu’s blazing 72 off 27 balls had powered CSK to 218 for 4. MI came out swinging in the powerplay but stumbled with three quick wickets. MI needed 125 off the last eight overs with Pollard batting on 2 off 4. Then the tide started turning – he hit three sixes off Ravindra Jadeja, followed by a barrage against the quicks. Cameos from the Pandya brothers helped bring it down to 16 off the final over. Pollard kept strike throughout and sealed the win off the last ball with a nervy, match-winning double.