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The Royals youngster Jurel almost won it for them in the end as he went on a boundary-hitting spree with Hetmyer

Alan Gardner05-Apr-20232:35

Moody explains why Ellis is hard to face in T20s

Punjab Kings made it two wins from two – and two defences under lights – as they held off a late-innings rampage from Rajasthan Royals to ensure Guwahati’s IPL debut ended in defeat for the home side. Kings rode on half-centuries from Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan and, although they fell short of passing 200, Nathan Ellis’ four-wicket haul was vital in hobbling Royals in the chase.Dhawan, who became the third batter after David Warner and Virat Kohli to record 50 scores of 50-plus in the IPL, anchored Kings to what was perhaps only a par score at the compact Barsapara Stadium with an unbeaten 86 off 56. Only 45 runs came off the last five overs, with economical spells from Jason Holder and R Ashwin pivotal in preventing the game from running away after Prabhsimran had helped fire Kings to 63 for 0 in the powerplay.Royal then shipped wickets at regular intervals, despite some crisp hitting from Sanju Samson. They seemed out of contention at 129 for 6 at the end of the 16th over, only for Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel, Royals’ Impact Sub, to summon a boundary-hitting spree that reduced the requirement to 16 off the final over, bowled by Sam Curran. But the IPL’s record overseas signing held his nerve at the end of an otherwise indifferent performance to hand Royals a first defeat of the 2023 edition.

Prabhsimran comes out swinging

As he had in Kings’ opening victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, Prabhsimran set the early tempo after his side were inserted. He clubbed his third ball, from Trent Boult, over mid-off and then spanked his first in KM Asif’s second over into the stand at deep backward square leg. In the next from Asif, Prabhsimran helped himself to 18 more – three crashing fours and a six – before hitting Ashwin’s second and third balls for boundaries as well.He was dropped by Devdut Padikkal from the final ball of the powerplay, a sizzling drive bursting through the fielder’s grasp at cover as he threw the hands up, but had already made 44 by that point. A maiden IPL half-century followed in the eighth over, from just 28 balls, and there was time for one more belligerent mow into the sightscreen off Boult before a miscue looking to take Holder over the leg side was athletically taken by Jos Buttler sprinting in from long-off.2:30

Manjrekar impressed with Prabhsimran’s evolution

Dhawan gets it done

Despite playing second fiddle to Prabhsimran during their opening stand, Dhawan went through the gears with aplomb through the second half of the innings. From 30 off 30 with three boundaries, he motored through to a 36-ball fifty – he took particular toll on Yuzvendra Chahal, who was dispatched for 6-1-4-4-2-4 on the way to a head-to-head analysis of 33 from 14 balls against the Kings captain.Dhawan’s charge enabled Kings to ransack 57 runs in a four-over span, having been briefly checked by the dismissal of Prabhsimran and a blow to Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s forearm – sustained at the non-striker’s end off a Dhawan drive – that forced him to retire hurt but, as Rajapaksa confirmed on Twitter later, was not serious*. Chahal removed Jitesh Sharma after a 66-run stand, and Ashwin then pinged the top of Sikandar Raza’s off stump, but Dhawan revved the engine again, an audacious reverse-flick off Jason Holder sailing for six over deep backward point.Asif, who leaked 20 from 11 balls to Dhawan, was ramped for six more in the 19th over and a Dhawan century was not out of the question. But he couldn’t get on strike for the final over, Holder conceding just seven runs to keep Kings below 200.

Arshdeep strikes, Samson counters

With Buttler needing stitches on his fingers after taking a low catch from the last over of the Kings innings, Royals opted to send out Ashwin to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. An action-packed powerplay then began with Jaiswal nonchalantly swatting the first ball of the chase, bowled by Curran, into the crowd at deep square leg.Jaiswal struck Arshdeep’s first delivery to the rope as well, but fell in the same over when he flubbed a drive to cover. Buttler by this point was fit to walk out, and the Ashwin gambit ended in failure when he mistimed a pull to go without scoring in Arshdeep’s second over. Kings had already seen Buttler survive a chance by that point, with Harpreet Brar putting down a running catch in the deep off Curran.3:01

Are Royals wasting Hetmyer down the order?

Samson looked to put the pressure back on straight away, smoking Arshdeep straight back down the ground from his second ball. He took Brar and Ellis for back-to-back fours in consecutive overs as Royals breezed past 50 from 31 balls – but when Buttler diverted a caught-and-bowled chance back to Ellis off his pads, Royals were 57 for 3 and wobbling.

Ellis mops up

Ellis only played twice for Kings in 2022 but has made himself a first-choice overseas pick in the 12 months since, keeping Kagiso Rabada out of the XI. He added Samson to his bag just past the midway point of the innings and was on a hat-trick when he had Riyan Parag, the local boy whose volley of boundaries brought the crowd back to life, taken at long-off a few overs later. Hetmyer survived but Padikkal was bowled neck and crop for a limp 21 off 26 to finish the over. Ellis’ fourth went for 16 but figures of 4 for 30 were the difference in what became a tight chase.

Impact player: Dhruv Jurel and Rishi Dhawan

Kings looked like becoming the second team, after Royal Challengers Bangalore, not to introduce an impact sub; they eventually brought on Rishi Dhawan for Prabhsimran after 15 overs of their defence, but he was not used with the ball as his opposite number threatened to have a match-turning impact. Jurel had initially trotted on at the end of the 16th over in Kings innings, after Chahal had bowled his allocation. Batting at No. 8, the 22-year-old showed both power and a cool temperament to thump 32 from 15 in only his fourth T20 innings, as Royals’ seventh-wicket pair took the game to the wire.*

“He is a superstar and is going to do big things to franchise cricket and Indian cricket”

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-20231:24

Manjrekar: Gill a once-in-a-generation player

Hardik Pandya hailed Shubman Gill’s century to put Gujarat Titans in the final of IPL 2023 as “one of the finest” knocks he has ever seen in a T20 game.Gill’s 129 off 60 balls helped Titans to their second successive IPL final and knocked Mumbai Indians out in the second Qualifier in Ahmedabad.When asked about the biggest change in Gill from last year, Hardik, his captain, said, “The clarity this year he has. The confidence which he is carrying is amazing. The innings which I saw today was one of the finest innings I have seen in a T20 game.”Gill made the highest individual score in the IPL playoffs – after being dropped on 30 in the powerplay. He struck seven fours and ten sixes during his stay and powered Titans to 233 for 3, which proved 62 too many for Mumbai.”At no point of time he looked rushed, at no point he looked like he was not in control,” Hardik said. “It looked as if someone was throwing down the balls and he was just hitting. He is a superstar and is going to do big things to franchise cricket and Indian cricket.”Related

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Tilak Varma led Mumbai’s attack with the bat early, hitting five fours and three sixes in his 14-ball 43 before Surykumar Yadav struck a quickfire half-century. Rashid Khan struck the telling blow by dismissing the free-flowing Varma and returned two wickets for Titans.”When things are not going the way I like,” Hardik said, “he [Rashid] is someone who comes and changes momentum and makes sure we keep getting wickets. That’s the beauty. We have spoken enough about Rashid but sometimes I am short of words for what he does.”Titans will now take on Chennai Super Kings for the title in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Hardik credited his team-mates for taking ownership while also acknowledging the effort they put in every day.”My job is simple in the team – I make sure that the boys are in the right frame of mind and it starts from me. If I lead with example in my energy, it feeds off to the boys and that is something I look forward. Every individual takes ownership.”A lot of hardwork has gone behind it. Irrelevant of the result, if we put our 100% and try our level best, the knockouts are fun it can go here or there.”

Saini, Swepson also sign contracts as County Championship returns

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2023Dan Moriarty has joined Yorkshire on loan for four County Championship games, after struggling for opportunities at Surrey.Moriarty, 24, is one of the most promising young spinners in English cricket but has found himself playing second-team cricket this summer. Surrey have relied heavily on their seamers in the Championship and have picked allrounder Will Jacks and Cameron Steel ahead of their specialists.Yorkshire have brought Moriarty in for their next four Championship fixtures, including Sunday’s home game against Gloucestershire, and their managing director Darren Gough said he was “a brilliant addition”.Gough added: “With Yorkshire’s focus shortly turning to Championship cricket again, alongside the busy Blast schedule, it was important to add another addition to our bowling resources.”Related

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It remains to be seen if he will play straightaway, though Yorkshire’s main spinner, Dom Bess, has struggled this season, taking 12 wickets at 51.33 in five appearances.Moriarty has only played two Championship games in the last 18 months, but Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said he could still play a role in the title run-in later this season.”This is a really good opportunity for Dan to play a number of first-class games over the next month or so,” Stewart said. “Hopefully he’ll put in some really good performances which will prepare him well should he get selected in the Championship run-in during September.”Elsewhere, Glamorgan have brought in Mitchell Swepson, the Australian legspinner, as overseas cover for his Queensland team-mate Michael Neser, who is with Australia’s Ashes squad. He is set to make his debut against Sussex on Sunday.Worcestershire also announced an overseas signing on Friday morning, but their four-match arrangement with Navdeep Saini will be limited by his inclusion in India’s Test squad to play West Indies next month. He is expected to play against Derbyshire on Sunday before leaving for the Caribbean.

CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan reflects on a successful season and clarifies he wasn’t ‘pacifying’ Jadeja in viral video

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-20237:55

‘Satisfaction of seeing home-grown boy win CSK the title made Dhoni emotional’

MS Dhoni didn’t consider missing a single IPL game this season, even though it meant playing with a heavily strapped left knee in a cast. The former India captain, who led Chennai Super Kings to a fifth IPL crown, has since undergone surgery in Mumbai earlier this month and is “comfortable, happy and recovering.””We never asked him things like ‘do you want to play or do you want to sit out.’ If he can’t, he would’ve told us straightaway,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told ESPNcricinfo Tamil. “We knew it was a struggle for him to play, but his commitment to the team, his leadership and how the team benefits everyone knows. From that perspective, you have to appreciate him.”Till the final, he never complained about his knee to anybody. Though everyone knew, and you would’ve seen him struggling while running, he never complained even once. After the final, he said, ‘okay, I’ll have a surgery.’ He’s finished his surgery, he’s quite happy, he’s recovering.”Related

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At the post-final presentation, Dhoni agreed retiring after winning the title would be the “best time”, but has vowed to return for “at least” one more season if his body allows. This will be a “gift” to his fans even if it means putting in “tough” yards for another nine months. That stance remains intact, with Dhoni set to begin his rehab soon after three weeks of post-surgery rest.”Actually, he told us immediately after the final is over he’ll fly to Mumbai, have surgery and go back to Ranchi for rehab,” Viswanathan said. “In Mumbai, after Ruturaj’s wedding [on June 4], I visited him. It was a courtesy call. He’s quite comfortable. He said he’ll rest for three weeks and then start his rehab. And like he said, he’s not going to play until January-February. We don’t need to remind him about all that.2:14

Kasi Viswanathan: ‘No issues with Jadeja at CSK’

“He knows what to do, how to go about it, so we aren’t going to ask him ‘what are you going to do, how’ etc. He will inform us on his own. Whatever he’s doing, he’ll call first and inform only Mr N Srinivasan, not anyone else. Factually, he’ll be straightforward with him. From him, we’ll get the information that this is what he’s doing. It’s been this way since 2008. That’s how it will continue.”Viswanathan also brushed aside the chatter of any friction between Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni. Last year, there were murmurs that all was not well between the two after Jadeja was removed as captain mid-season. Rumuors intensified when Jadeja left the camp with an injury.This season, Jadeja is also believed to have been irked by chants of “we want Dhoni!” every time he walked in to bat. Then there were visuals of Jadeja and Dhoni in an animated chat after CSK’s clash in Delhi, where Jadeja finished with figures of 0 for 50 off four overs. Soon after, Viswanathan himself was seen having a long discussion with Jadeja. Then there were some cryptic tweets on “karma” and some straightforward ones, like appreciation from sponsors but not fans.”As far as Jadeja is concerned, he bowled superbly,” Viswanathan said. “While batting, our line-up of Ruturaj, Conway, Moeen, Rahane, with the results, whenever he [Jadeja] went in to bat, he had 5-10 balls left. In such situations, it can or can’t click sometimes. But the thing is he also knew Dhoni was to come in next, and he himself would get just 2-3 balls sometimes. In such situations whenever he went in, the crowd used to welcome Dhoni. In a way, he may have felt hurt. Any player for that matter may have had that pressure. But he didn’t complain about it even though he put out a tweet.Kasi Viswanathan dismissed reports of a rift between Dhoni and Jadeja•BCCI

“It’s all part and parcel of the game. After the last game, people saw videos online and assumed I’m pacifying Jadeja, but it wasn’t like that. I was talking to him about the match, what he did. We didn’t have any other discussion. Everyone knows in a team environment, what happens in the dressing room, no one is privy to it outside. We don’t have any problem. He always had high respect for Dhoni. After the final also, he said, ‘I dedicate this knock to Dhoni.’ That is the kind of respect he has for MS.”What were Dhoni’s first words to him after the final was won?”He said, ‘look, the fifth title has been delivered.’ It’s a big relief,” Viswanathan said. “He praised Jadeja for the effort and confidence he showed. It [Ahmedabad] was like a home ground for him [Jadeja]. It was very satisfying. Everyone knows how Dhoni has brought up Jadeja from 2012 at CSK. He has the satisfaction of seeing a home-grown boy deliver the title for CSK.”

Move towards abolishing pay gap between genders was recommended by ICEC report

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2023England’s women cricketers are to receive equal match fees to their male counterparts, beginning with Friday’s first T20I against Sri Lanka, following an explosion of interest in the format this summer, including record-breaking crowds of 110,000 over the course of seven Ashes matches in June and July.The increase, which was recommended as an immediate step for the ECB to take by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report earlier this summer, follows similar improvements to the funding pot for players in the Women’s Hundred and the regional domestic system.The ICEC report, which found that the average England Women’s salary was 20.6% of their male equivalents (the ECB considers this figure closer to 30%), also set targets for equalising pay at domestic level by 2029 and for internationals by 2030.Heather Knight, England Women’s captain, said the first steps were important in making cricket an “increasingly attractive” career option for girls and young women getting into the game.”It’s really important that we continue to drive the women’s game forward and it’s fantastic to see equal match fees for England Women and England Men,” she said. “The direction of travel for the women’s game has always been the most important thing, creating a sustainable product that people want to watch and play, and I’m sure this will make cricket an increasingly attractive sport to girls and young women as we continue to grow the game.”I would also like to thank the PCA and England Women’s Player Partnership for their support in representing the players and the growth of the professional game.”The multi-format Ashes series saw new attendance records for women’s matches set consecutively at Edgbaston, the Kia Oval and Lord’s, the first ever sold-out women’s ODI series and an overall increase in tickets sales of more than 200% from 2019.Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive officer, said: “This summer’s thrilling Metro Bank Women’s Ashes series demonstrated how women’s cricket is continuing to grow at pace in this country, with record attendances and TV viewing. Growing the women’s and girls’ game is a key priority for us, and in recent years we have considerably increased investment both in building a domestic women’s structure to produce the players of the future, and in increasing player rewards.”In the years ahead, we will continue to invest ahead of revenues. We are currently considering all the recommendations made by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, but equalising match fees is one immediate step we are pleased to make now. We all want cricket to be the team sport of choice for female athletes, and with the investments we are making – and increasingly lucrative opportunities around the world – we are seeing cricketers become some of the highest earning female athletes in UK team sports. However, we know there is still much further to go as we ultimately strive for equality across the game.”As we continue to grow women’s cricket, we will continue to focus on making considered investments that stretch far and wide across the women’s cricket structures, delivering a thriving, profitable and future-proofed game.”Knight agreed with that sentiment, adding that the objective now was to ensure that girls get an equal opportunity to make a career in cricket, by hitting those targets for equal pay throughout the sport’s pathways as set out in the ICEC report.”The priority is making women’s cricket sustainable, and making sure the pathway is there,” Knight added. “Quite often you get girls of similar ages that, when they come to make their international debut, they’ve played hardly any games compared to the guys. We want to make sure that girls are getting as much opportunity to play cricket and develop their skills in the domestic game as they do in the men’s.”We’re starting to see players that are a lot more ready to play international cricket because they’ve been professional cricketers for a few years and played in high-standard competitions,” she added. “So continuing to grow that is important, although obviously there’s not an infinite pot of money. But this is another unbelievable step forward. And we’re hoping those steps continue to be in a forward direction.”

The allrounder notched up career-bests with both bat and ball as Australia suffered a third straight 100-plus run loss

Firdose Moonda17-Sep-2023Marco Jansen blasted 47 off 23 balls and took his first ODI five-wicket haul to notch up career bests with both bat and ball on a Super Sunday for South Africa. They completed a come-from-behind win in the ODI series against Australia minutes after the Springboks notched up a second Rugby World Cup victory to mark the start of the summer season with success.After starting the series with two losses and down 2-0 in the five-game series, South Africa surged back to win the next three ODIs and take a morale-boosting series win to the World Cup. Their victories were all built on strong performances from the batting line-up, which provided the attack with sufficient runs to defend. The same formula worked at a packed Wanderers, where South Africa accumulated well on a tricky pitch and then Jansen used the short ball to get rid of Australia’s entire top five.Jansen’s perfect day began when he got to the crease after Aiden Markram and David Miller’s 109-run fifth-wicket partnership, which laid the foundation for South Africa to finish strongly. Although Markram and Miller found it difficult to get the fluency going despite what their half-centuries suggest, Jansen showed his intent straightaway when he flicked Tim David off his pads for four. He scored 18 runs off the first 13 balls he faced and looked the most comfortable of the South African batters at the crease before he mis-hit Cameron Green to long-on. David dropped what should have been a simple catch and Jansen made the most of his let off.He went on to hit Sean Abbott over extra cover for four and top-edged him over deep square for six. When Australia opted to bring David back in the 46th over, Jansen’s eyes lit up and he took 15 runs off the first four balls. By then, he had been joined by Andile Phehlukwayo, who drove Green through Inglis’ hands at deep cover, and underlined South Africa’s aggressive approach at the end.Jansen toe-ended Green to Abbott to fall short of a first half-century in the format but Phehlukwayo took over. He slashed Abbott over long-off for six and Michael Neser for back-to-back-to-back big hits on the leg side and finished with four through the covers. South Africa scored 34 runs in the last two overs to take their total over 300.Aiden Markram and David Miller put on 109 off 107 balls•AFP/Getty Images

Australia made a good start to the chase and scored 34 after three overs before Jansen was introduced. His second ball was back of a length on the fifth stump and moved back into David Warner, who was cramped for room as he tried to cut it away. He hit the ball to Markram at point, who took a good, low catch to give Jansen his first. Four balls later, he banged one in short which had Josh Inglis in all sorts of trouble. The batter stayed back for the pull but could get a chop back onto his stumps.Jansen and Lungi Ngidi worked well in tandem to put Australia under pressure and only Marsh was able to get them away. When Jansen overstepped and then overpitched, Marsh punished him but the bowler soon adjusted. He pulled the length back and Marsh tried to launch him over mid-wicket but skied it instead. Gerald Coetzee got under the ball but seemed to lose it in the sun to give Marsh a let off on 35. He went on double that score plus one and eventually fell to Jansen in his second spell. Marsh tried to upper cut a short ball but was caught well by a running Ngidi at deep third.In his next over, Jansen had Marnus Labuschagne caught at long leg off a top edge before Alex Carey gloved down the leg side where Quinton de Kock, in his final ODI at home, put in a full-length dive to give Jansen his first five-for.Just as it seemed no other bowler would get in on the action, Keshav Maharaj bowled David and took a good return catch off his own bowling to dismiss Green. Batting collapses have been a familiar problem for Australia in this series and this time they lost 8 for 69 and only had three partnerships that were worth more than 12 runs.Keshav Maharaj finished with career-best ODI figures of 4 for 33•AFP/Getty Images

By contrast, South Africa had seven stands over 20. Although Temba Bavuma was run out for a duck, there were contributions from most of the line-up, despite the tricky conditions and a much better Australian bowling performance than two days ago.The visiting attack focused on good lengths and tight lines. Neser, Abbott, Nathan Ellis and Green conceded at under six runs an over, but it was Adam Zampa who enjoyed the sweetest of redemptions. After equalling the most expensive bowling figures in ODIs – 0 for 113 – at Centurion, he returned to take 3 for 71 in this match, including the big wicket of Heinrich Klaasen, who contributed just 6.There were other finishers on hand, though, and Phehlukwayo’s 19-ball 38 not out and 1 for 44 could prove particularly important as South Africa finalise their World Cup squad. He isn’t in it at the moment but with Sisanda Magala battling a knee injury, could merit a call-up.

He says England can now look to launch another white-ball revolution like after their disappointing 2015 World Cup

Matt Roller05-Nov-2023After England’s team of thirty-somethings were finally eliminated from the World Cup, the oldest man in their squad recognised the finality of this defeat to Australia, their fifth in a row and their sixth in seven games. “Everything good comes to an end,” Moeen Ali said. “Maybe the writing was on the wall, and we just didn’t see it as players.”This dismal title defence will prompt an inevitable overhaul in England’s ODI set-up. The side that lost by 33 runs in Ahmedabad on Saturday contained eight members of their victorious 2019 squad; the exceptions were 36-year-old Dawid Malan, the retiring David Willey and Liam Livingstone, who is averaging 10 in the World Cup.Unlike eight years ago, when England’s group-stage exit at the 2015 World Cup led to a complete revamp of their limited-overs set-up, there is plenty of talent waiting for an opportunity. The issue is that 11 of the 15 players at this tournament are a month into two or three-year contracts, so a complete refresh may not be straightforward.Related

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For once, England’s schedule may work in their favour. They always planned to take a second-string ODI squad for their three-match series against West Indies next month, and then their focus turns to the T20 World Cup next June. They have a nine-month break between ODIs before hosting Australia in late September 2024.But the pressing issues are whether they will give Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott the opportunity to defend the T20 title they won as captain and coach in Australia last year – and if so, how they will freshen up their squad to avoid a repeat of the debacle that has played out in slow motion over the last month in India.Ben Stokes will have knee surgery when he returns home and did not commit to making himself available for the T20 World Cup when asked on Friday. Jonny Bairstow has been short of runs across white-ball cricket over the last three months, while Malan’s T20 numbers have dipped.Moeen, who is on a one-year central contract, plans to speak to England’s coach and captain at the end of this World Cup to discuss his future. He is their vice-captain in white-ball cricket but has only played in four matches at this World Cup, has gone wicketless across 24.2 overs and, even after his fluent 42 against Australia, has only made 83 runs.”I’m obviously going to speak to Jos and Motty and see what they want from me, whether they want me around or whatever,” Moeen said. “I don’t know. If they say, ‘look we’re going to go with younger players and start again’ then I’m more than happy. I get it, I understand… everything good comes to an end at some point.”Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, will return to India this week and join the squad in Kolkata ahead of their final group fixture against Pakistan on Saturday. He will have to make some difficult decisions over players’ futures – and Moeen admitted that, in Key’s position, he would rip things up and start again.Moeen said that he expects the core of the T20 side to remain the same ahead of next year’s World Cup, but said of the ODI set-up: “If I was in charge, I’d play the younger guys. I’d just start again and I’m sure they’re going to do that. It’s common sense, more than anything. You want that fearless approach again, and it’s a great time to start again.”Maybe the writing was on the wall and we just didn’t see it as players because we thought we’d be performing well. But I just think everything good comes to an end at some point. It’s very exciting, because going forward we’ve got some really good players we know will come back into the squad with that fearless [style]. That start we had in 2015 could start again.”Moeen delivered another blunt assessment of England’s performance, saying that they have “been rubbish throughout: batting, bowling and fielding”. But they face two more significant games against Netherlands and Pakistan, needing at least one win and quite possibly two in order to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy.”We’ve got to turn up properly as players,” Moeen said. “They are two massive games coming up. I know how important the Champions Trophy is in terms of experience at a world event because then for the World Cup, you get that experience – especially with, potentially, younger players coming in. It’s very important we make sure we qualify.”

Spinner shows emotions in victory having battled back from serious Achilles rupture

Deivarayan Muthu27-Oct-2023Keshav Maharaj was just having dinner around the time when Pakistan’s concussion substitute Usama Mir pinned Rassie van der Dussen lbw for 21. South Africa were 121 for 3 at that point, needing a further 150 runs off almost 30 overs. Given South Africa’s gun middle-order – Aiden Markram at No.4, Heinrich Klaasen No.5 and David Miller at No.6 – Maharaj might have felt like he could just put his feet up during the chase, having put in a shift with the ball in Chennai’s oppressive heat.But it eventually came down to him scoring the winning runs for South Africa with No.11 Tabraiz Shamsi at the other end, lifting the lid on what had become a cauldron of immense tension at Chepauk. When left-arm fingerspinner Mohammad Nawaz darted one into the thigh from around the wicket, Maharaj coolly shuffled and played a half-pull, half-paddle, directing the ball between midwicket and short fine leg. He also comfortably beat the man on the square-leg boundary.”I think it was a surreal moment,” Maharaj said after South Africa’s one-wicket triumph. “You always dream of winning games for your country, but winning games in a World Cup…it’s very special. Those are the moments that you cherish, building up towards the tournament.”To be honest, there were a lot of thoughts running through my head. I was just watching the ball and fortunate enough I was in a position where I could just score and place it in the gap.”Maharaj wasn’t supposed to be ready for the World Cup in the first place. But he made a remarkable return – a ruptured Achilles tendon usually takes nine months to heal but he was back on the park in less than six – to make it to India. He has roots in the country and now they’ve only grown stronger. On Friday, in front of almost 30,000 spectators in Chennai, he delivered a remarkable . He celebrated it with cathartic chest thumps and roars.”It was one of those moments for me,” Maharaj said. “I knew how big the win is for the team. I think that’s why the emotions were on a high.”Maharaj had got together with Shamsi, with South Africa needing 11 off 27 balls. Haris Rauf had just pulled off a sensational one-handed return catch in his follow-through to dismiss Lungi Ngidi for 4. Shamsi had to see off three legal balls from Rauf and then front up to an over from Mohammad Wasim, who was getting the ball to fizz off the Chepauk deck. But the last-wicket pair knocked off those 11 runs in as many balls to seal the deal.Related

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“Fortunately enough, the batters set a bit of foundation and we didn’t have too much [to score] at the back end, so yes, now and then there was a ball to take a risk,” Maharaj said. “But if you look at the bigger picture, with 40 balls to go…we knew if we batted those 40 balls, we would be able to score. Yeah, I had to fight temptation now and then, but I knew if we could take it deep, we could cross over the line.”Maharaj is a capable batter with two first-class centuries and five Test fifties to his name. But did he trust Ngidi and Shamsi to stick around with him, when the Pakistan quicks were generating some serious reverse-swing?”Yeah, definitely,” Maharaj said. “It’s easy for me to stand here and lie to you guys [laughs]. I genuinely did. Especially Lungi, he showed that he could stick around, especially in the game against Netherlands. We had simple plans and unfortunately, he got out to a really good ball and a good catch. Shammo and I have played a lot of cricket together and he’s pretty much like me when it comes to the hamster running in the head, but I’m really glad that he held his nerve. We just kept it simple. And he said to me he’s seeing it [the ball] big.”Maharaj was also particularly happy with the depth in South Africa’s attack. Prior to the start of the World Cup, Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala were both ruled out with injuries and, during the tournament, they’ve had to deal with niggles to Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, who missed this match after a back spasm. But Gerald Coetzee has emerged from the fringes and has become South Africa’s enforcer in the middle overs. He has taken 10 wickets in five matches between overs 11 and 40 – the most by any fast bowler during this phase in this World Cup. And in Lucknow and Chennai, where the pitches are traditionally slow and low, they’ve paired Shamsi up with Maharaj.”Fortunately enough, we have a lot of depth from a fast bowlers’ perspective,” Maharaj said. “And I’m really pleased to see Gerald come through leaps and bounds. It just shows the quality that we have in our squad and I’m especially really happy for Shammo. He’s done an amazing job. He’s done some really hard yards in the nets and it’s good to see it pay off.”South Africa picked both Maharaj and Shamsi to do the job with the ball at Chepauk. As it turned out, they finished the job with the bat, too, putting South Africa on the top of the standings.

“I don’t think it would be fair when some teams have played a lot of Tests in the last four years and other teams have not played Test cricket in the last 15 years”

S Sudarshanan12-Dec-2023Women’s cricket is growing rapidly in white-ball formats but the equivalent of the World Test Championship is far from reality. Ahead of the one-off Test between India and England, the idea of a WTC for women excited India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, but England opener Tammy Beaumont said the time for it was not quite right yet.The men’s WTC is in its third iteration with nine teams part of it. But the ICC has primarily used T20s as the driving force for the women’s game. Last year, ICC chair Greg Barclay, in an interview with the BBC, said “there is no doubt that white-ball cricket is way of the future” and brushed aside women’s Test cricket “evolving at any particular speed”.Related

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Since 2017, there have been only six women’s Test played – three of which were outside of the Women’s Ashes. India have played two Tests since 2021 while South Africa played one last year.Mandhana, who is India’s most experienced current player with four Tests, expressed delight at the idea of a WTC for women.”I would love to be part of a World Test Championship,” she said ahead of India’s training at DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday. “But that is for the boards and the ICC to decide. Having watched a lot of men’s Test cricket and men’s Test Championships, that would be an exciting thing to be a part of.”But Beaumont, who has played eight Tests, felt different and said there need to be more teams playing women’s red-ball cricket for that to happen.”At the moment it is only three or four nations playing Test match cricket regularly, and potentially only three or four governing bodies who can afford to host women’s Test cricket,” Beaumont, who scored the first double-century in women’s Tests for England earlier this year, said.”It would have to be a very big investment from the ICC that I don’t think they are probably willing to put in to. They’re still trying to develop the T20 game across the globe, the way you’ve seen Thailand and other teams coming into T20 cricket, that should be focus.”Currently, only the women’s Ashes takes place in the form of multi-format series, where a win in Tests is worth four points, and a win in each of the white-ball game is worth two points. A drawn Test gives both the teams two points and an overall series winner is decided after all the matches are completed. This format reduces the possibility of dead-rubbers since each match has points at stake. Beaumont called for more such multi-format bilateral series for teams to adapt to Test cricket.Beaumont wants to see more multi-format series like the women’s Ashes•Getty Images

“I would love to see more nations do the multi-format series like the Ashes – say India come over and we do Test match, ODIs and T20s and an overall winner from that and do the same with South Africa, New Zealand all those and build it from there,” she said.”One day I would like to see a WTC but at the moment, I don’t think it would be fair when, say India, Australia and England have played a lot of Tests in the last four years and other teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand have not played Test cricket in the last 15 years. The imbalance is still there and we need to build it from the ground up a little bit longer and definitely have many Tests.”

Beaumont; We haven’t mastered Tests because of lack of opportunities

Given the rarity of Tests – and the pressure on players to put on a good show in order to get more matches – Beaumont admitted that there are nerves whenever a Test arrives.”As a group of players, you do feel a bit more anxious around a Test match week just because it is a bit novel. The likes of myself, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt we have been playing international cricket for 12-13 years but haven’t played that many Tests. If you think of that in terms of white-ball cricket, that’s your first year. So there’s more nerves because we haven’t mastered it because we haven’t had the opportunity to master it.”You look at someone like Danni Wyatt – she made her debut at Trent Bridge at 32. You are constantly a young player at Test cricket, no matter how old your body feels. In the men’s game, 10 Tests is not even a career; that’s just a start.”

The home crowd going quiet makes you feel alive, says Beaumont

The tickets for the India-England matches are free of cost, and that saw the Wankhede Stadium filled for the last two T20Is over the weekend. While women’s matches in England have a minimum price attached, the BCCI has kept women’s cricket largely free of cost for spectators – be it the WPL or the ongoing series against England. The entry for home T20Is against Australia last year was free for women while men had to purchase an INR 100 ticket. All the matches saw huge turnouts.Beaumont was unfussed on having a price on the ticket and welcomed the idea of more people watching the women in action.”Having the Wankhede pretty much full was an incredible atmosphere,” Beaumont, who was in Mumbai with the white-ball squad even though she was only in the Test squad, said. “If it had to be free tickets for people to come in, I think it was worth it.”From the grapevine you hear, what’s driving the kind of women’s cricket is broadcast deals. The big one for the series is it is on TV in India and England and the broadcast deals are being sold. Tickets sales are only a percentage of that even in England.”For me as a player, having lots of people watching and creating that atmosphere – I say here it’s going to be against us the entire time. But if we have a good session and the crowd goes quiet, I think for me as a player, that’s what makes you feel alive. If that means they are getting free tickets to watch a Test match, I don’t mind that at all. I’d rather that than a pretty empty stadium of 40,000 to be honest.”

Bashir and Hartley both retained in spite of expectation of seam-friendly conditions in Dharamsala

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-20243:07

Harmison: No surprise that Robinson is out

England have opted against reinforcing their seam-bowling contingent for the fifth Test against India in Dharamsala, and have named an XI featuring just one change – Mark Wood for Ollie Robinson – from the side that lost by five wickets in Ranchi last month.The talk in the lead-up to the Test had centred around the likelihood that England would play at least one extra seamer, given the cold conditions anticipated in Dharamsala, and the fact that the surface for this match is the same as was used when all 36 wickets fell to seam in a recent Ranji Trophy match between Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.However, following a final inspection of the wicket, carried out by the management team of Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum, Marcus Trescothick and Jeetan Patel, England have opted to retain the balance that kept them competitive in Ranchi, with Shoaib Bashir’s offspin retained alongside Tom Hartley’s left-arm spin.Related

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That is despite a cut to Bashir’s spinning finger that he sustained in the course of his 70-over workload in the fourth Test, but which England do not believe will hinder him unduly. However, they are a little wary of stomach complaints which meant neither Bashir nor Robinson were present at England’s last training session of the tour.Both woke up on Wednesday morning with “slightly upset stomachs”, and the decision was made to leave them back at the team hotel to prevent the bug spreading to rest of the squad.”You don’t want to put anybody at risk so we’ve decided to keep them away from the team,” Stokes explained. “It’s the sensible thing to do. When you’ve got so many people contained in the same space all the time you want to limit the chance of it spreading. So to keep the two guys who are slightly unwell back at the hotel away from the guys is the sensible thing to do.”Stokes strongly believes Bashir will get over the illness, with no contingency plan set in stone. Fast bowler Gus Atkinson and Dan Lawrence, who bowls part-time off spin, are the other two members of the now 14-man group.”If that’s the case [that Bashir is too ill to play], we’ll have to consider what we think is best. I’ve not thought too far ahead. It’s not a major issue, we just wanted to safeguard against anything spreading to someone else.”Robinson’s omission, a decision made before Wednesday morning, comes after a fallow performance in the fourth Test, in which he suffered a back strain while batting in England’s first innings and was not used at all in India’s successful run-chase. He makes way for Wood, England’s fastest bowler, who was rested in Ranchi after a heavy workload at Rajkot.”It looks like a wicket that could have a bit of pace and carry in it,” said Stokes. “Having a fresh Mark Wood on a wicket that you feel is going to offer some pace – it’s something that’s been consistent whenever we’ve gone with two seamers. Looking at having a bowler like Jimmy but wanting to have some pace and firepower to break the game open. With having two spinners, it allows us to play either conditions at different times throughout the Test.”The absence of a specialist third seamer hints at a return to bowling fitness for England’s captain, Stokes, who has been increasing his workloads in the nets on this tour, having undergone knee surgery over the winter. Stokes, however, dismissed that notion: “Every time we’ve picked the team this tour it hasn’t been with any expectations of me bowling. If I do bowl any overs in this game it will again be a bonus.”England’s attack will once again be led by James Anderson, who will be playing his fourth consecutive match of the tour at the age of 41, and who needs two more wickets to reach 700 in Tests.”It’s phenomenal to think about, especially as a seam bowler,” said Stokes of the milestone. “An amazing career to date, and I can’t see him stopping.”I have played with Jimmy for a long time and I’ve never seen him as physically fit as he looks right now. Being 41, showing that hunger and desire to get better every single day is a testament to his attitude and commitment to the game.”England XI 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Tom Hartley, 9 Mark Wood, 10 James Anderson, 11 Shoaib Bashir