The Sunrisers slump: Freak injuries, out-of-form stars and a nightmare two weeks

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Ten days ago, they were flying with five consecutive wins. What has gone wrong since then?

Shashank Kishore08-May-20224:40

What’s going wrong for Sunrisers?

How the tide turns. Ten days ago, Sunrisers Hyderabad were amid a purple patch. Five back-to-back wins after two big opening losses had not just revived their campaign, but gave them the thrust to make the playoffs.For a side smarting from the debacle of 2021, this was the impetus they needed. That they were able to put themselves in such a position even without Kane Williamson coming to the party was an encouraging sign. His strike rate (96.13) among batters to have faced at least 150 balls this season is the worst.For Sunrisers to have rebounded the way they did without their captain’s contributions made one imagine the kind of force they would be when he hit form. Teams were beginning to get wary of them.Almost everything was in sync. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s control upfront: check. T Natarajan’s death bowling: check. Marco Jansen’s bounce and hustle: check. Umran Malik’s thunderbolts: check. Rahul Tripathi’s cameos: check. From slow starters, they’d become pace setters.Their early-season troubles seemed to have dissipated. They were cruising to such an extent that their seat belts had loosened.And then, without any warning signs, they endured a sudden drop. The ones that send you shuddering. The same bowlers who had been a menacing force were suddenly leaking runs.In their first seven games, Sunrisers went at an economy of 7.99 and averaged 19.80. Over the last four games, they’ve gone at an economy of 10, while averaging 61.54. This drastic drop in numbers has also come about due to their bowling combinations going haywire.Natarajan’s familiar injury woes have resurfaced. There has been no official confirmation, but the word is the troubled knee is giving him headaches. The same knee that forced him out of action for a nearly a year, having him rehabilitate for six months. The timing hasn’t been kind either.Natarajan is fourth on the list of wicket-takers as on Sunday. His 17 wickets in nine games have come at an average of 17.82 and an economy of 8.65. If you can pick the kind of wickets he has, captains aren’t worried about the high economy, and Natarajan was giving them key wickets.Then came Washington’s injury, something that has riddled him for over a year now. His career was meant to take off post the heroics of Australia last year, much like Natarajan’s. Instead, he has spent more time looking at X-rays and rehabilitation reports. Hamstrings, knee, ankle, finger, webbing – he has endured pain through all.Early in the season, he split a webbing that forced him out of action for 10 days. He returned and got hit in the same region, resulting in him missing the last two games. In the game against Chennai Super Kings on May 1, he didn’t bowl a single over.Washington Sundar has had an unfortunate time with injuries this season•BCCI”It’s very unfortunate that he had a knock on the same hand where he split his webbing,” Moody said after the Super Kings game. “It had healed completely but he re-injured that area. It’s not injured to the point that he needs it re-stitched. But unfortunately, it wasn’t in a state where he could bowl. It really did have an impact on for us in that early phase of bowling, given he has such a critical bowler for us.”With Washington out, in came Shreyas Gopal, only to be left out one game after getting tonked for four sixes in a single over. On Sunday, they went back to J Suchith’s left-arm spin. From the outside, it appears as if they’re trying everything they can, but things aren’t working.Then there’s the case of Jansen. Moody likes the bounce and pace he brings to the fore, but on docile surfaces, he has struggled with his lengths, allowing batters to hit him through the line without any fuss. Against the Super Kings, his four wicketless overs went for 38. A game earlier, against Gujarat Titans, he was walloped for the most expensive figures this season: 4-0-63-0, the same game where Malik picked up a five-for in a losing cause.3:38

Vettori: Malik must research batters like they might research him

Jansen’s dip in form forced them to look at Sean Abbott, but he went for 47 in his lone outing. Kartik Tyagi, who impressed two seasons ago for Rajasthan Royals with raw pace, has lacked consistency, and Malik himself has been carted for plenty even as pundits continue to gush about his raw pace – for good reason too, he clocked the fastest ball of IPL 2022. Bhuvneshwar’s excellence hasn’t been able to mask such gaping holes in the bowling.It’s no coincidence that they’ve conceded scores of 207, 202 and 199 coming into Sunday’s game. Royal Challengers Bangalore, who slumped to 68 all out the last time these two sides met, paid them back in kind this time, walloping 192 against a sloppy Sunrisers unit that dropped three catches, including one of Dinesh Karthik, who smashed an eight-ball 30.Add to it the memories of David Warner’s bruising, Glenn Maxwell’s reverse slaps, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s artistry and Devon Conway’s industry – the last couple of weeks have been the stuff nightmares are made of for the Sunrisers. Four losses in row after that inspired mid-season run leaves them in do-or-die territory.That their slump has come about because of cracks in their stronger suit will disappoint them even more. Do they have it in them to fuel another late dash to the playoffs?

The complicated case of Temba Bavuma, and non-performing captains

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

How important are captains in cricket? But also, what happens when a World-Cup endangering slump in form meets complex socio-political nuances?

Sidharth Monga28-Oct-202213:35

How do teams deal with underperforming captains?

The weight on Temba Bavuma’s shoulder is unlike what any other player carries in this tournament. And it’s built up to such levels thanks to a perfect storm of cricket’s archaic power structures and the complex socio-political realities of South Africa.We will get to the scope of captaincy in due course, but first, its roots, which can be traced back to when the amateurs – often batters of varying skill levels – would almost always lead the professionals. The upper classes used this construct to maintain their superiority over the rest, who dared to ask for money for their time. The horror. How could such people be entrusted with the spirit of the game?Related

  • 'I respect what he has been through' – Elgar backs under-fire Bavuma to bounce back

  • Williamson says it's time to reflect as New Zealand confront 'changing landscape'

  • Tom Moody: Temba Bavuma the 'elephant in the room' for South Africa

  • Stability or strike rate? Williamson finds himself in the middle of this dilemma

  • Red-hot David Miller passes Test-like challenge thrown at him by India

Times have changed: while captains are still the face of their team and in many teams still get a suite while others board in standard rooms, the primacy of a captain is now questioned more often than it used to be. Especially when the said captain is not pulling their weight with their cricketing skill. There will never be another Mike Brearley.However, do you aggressively challenge the originally upper-class English construct of the supreme captain when, for a change, the person probably benefitting from it is the first Black African man to lead South Africa in international cricket?Let’s get one thing clear first. Bavuma did not get the captaincy because he is a Black man. In fact he took a thorny crown when leadership in the sinking ship of South African cricket was scarce. He shepherded the team with firmness and with grace when Quinton de Kock refused to take the knee at the last Men’s T20 World Cup. He then welcomed de Kock back into the fold. He was an accomplished leader at domestic levels. As for his current competitors for a spot in the XI, Rilee Rossouw had gone Kolpak back then, and Reeza Hendricks was yet to have his best year in T20 cricket.Bavuma may not have got the captaincy because of his race, but race becomes an important consideration when deciding his future as a T20 player and captain. Admittedly, Bavuma is not the only T20I captain struggling at the moment, but Aaron Finch definitely and Kane Williamson arguably have better T20 pedigree and can be backed to bounce back. Bavuma’s T20I strike rate is 115, and he is keeping out another player of colour in Hendricks, who is having a cracker of a year in T20s with an average of 42 and a strike rate of 144.

Bavuma may not have got the captaincy because of his race, but race becomes an important consideration when deciding his future as a T20 player and captain

Then again, cricket has always been weird when it comes to dealing with non-performing captains. Once the XV is selected and the reins have been handed over to the captain, it is really up to them to drop themselves. Coaches know better than to be forceful. More so in Bavuma’s case. It is not unimaginable that there will be extra motivation for selectors to stick with him and for him to fight on because there is a stereotype to be beaten that Black Africans are not natural leaders.Not that any leader wants to second-guess themselves. They don’t make it all the way to international cricket by doubting their prowess. You wonder, though, if one or more of Bavuma, Finch and Williamson doesn’t quietly wish that the decision was taken out of his hands. The bigger matches of this T20 World Cup are yet to come, and they don’t want to get stuck in the middle where they can neither hit out nor get out in order for other hitters to maximise their time at the wicket.It can be a lonely place trying to decide whether you should be playing yourself. Bavuma is hopefully keeping good counsel. Dropping yourself can be a sign of weakness, the opposite of elite competitors’ instinct. At the same time, you have to think of the player sitting out and what he can bring to the team.Some say that this pruning of the XV to XI is the most important job of a captain, but the job itself doesn’t come properly described. At modern amateur levels, the captain creates a WhatsApp group, finds fixtures, gets enough players to commit, follows up with them on team dues, and only then thinks of batting orders and bowling changes. They often don’t have to select an XI because frequently only that many turn up even when more have confirmed in.The role definition of the captain at professional levels is less clear. Some teams tend to hand over full control to them – selectors listen to them when picking the XV, they also pick the XI and run the game – while some only give them the control on the field. At the elite level of the modern game though, plans on the field are mostly pre-decided, the longer the format the more the team’s fate depends on the fitness and depth of its bowling attack, players have become more and more responsible for themselves, and coaches and support staff are playing a bigger role in running T20s.Is the impact a captain has on his team overstated in cricket?•Getty ImagesThere remain the hollow parts of the job description such as maintaining good body language, shaping the team in their own image et cetera, but leaving all of it aside, the fact remains we still like the idea of one boss with whom the buck stops. In cricket, this is the captain: they front up when the team loses, and take credit for the wins. It possibly makes sense too, because the coach doesn’t really experience the conditions out in the middle, and that feel for the game is important to make crucial decisions. In it lies the assumption that say a Keshav Maharaj, as vice-captain, cannot make those decisions, but if Maharaj is made the captain, the next person in line can’t make these decisions. And in it lies the assumption that those decisions are more crucial than runs and wickets.It might not be ideal – perhaps it’s too disruptive – to do this in the middle of a big tournament, but this is a conversation cricket needs to have: how important is captaincy? There is no data to measure the impact of captaincy. To attribute a team’s win-loss record to a captain is cricket’s oldest problem: it doesn’t take into account the strength of the team or the opposition, and leaves undue credit and criticism at the captain’s door.If it feels outlandish – if anything feels outlandish – always think, ‘What would Sri Lanka have done?’ They had a leadership group – Sangakkara, Jayawardene, and then Mathews was added into the mix – and who actually captained didn’t matter that much. They once changed captains mid-tournament to avoid an over-rate penalty. They won a T20 World Cup with Lasith Malinga as captain, and he was handed the reins in the first place because the regular captain Dinesh Chandimal was done in by a slow over-rate penalty and then couldn’t regain his place in the side.Now that the ICC has discontinued the old tradition of banning captains because of over rates, here’s another thought: what would that canny Sri Lankan side have done if they had an under-performing captain keeping a better option out of the XI?

Glenn Phillips is Superman once again, this time with bat

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

His hundred – so far above the rest of the batting seen in the game – will go down as one of the finest innings in the format

Andrew McGlashan29-Oct-20221:40

Fleming: Possibly the strongest squad New Zealand have ever had

Glenn Phillips 104. Rest of New Zealand’s batters 53. All of Sri Lanka’s 96. Against Australia, Phillips was Superman in the field, this time he was Superman with the bat.He constructed a remarkable hundred, which was so far above the rest of the batting seen in the game that it has to go down as one of the finest innings in the format. As a comparison, using ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats tool, Virat Kohli’s 82 not out against Pakistan was given a Total Impact* score of 116.09; Rilee Rossouw’s hundred against Bangladesh 134.40 and this innings from Phillips 182.61.How is Total Impact calculated?

Total Impact for a player in a match is a numerical value that is the sum of his Batting and Bowling Impacts. These Impacts are calculated based on the context of a batting/bowling performance.

The context is based on an algorithm that quantifies the pressure on the batter/bowler at every ball of an innings. The factors that go into calculating the pressure index include runs required, overs left, quality of batters at the crease and those to follow, quality of bowlers and number of overs left for each bowler, and pitch/conditions and how easy/tough it is for batters/bowlers.

“I think it’s probably going to be at the top,” Phillips said when asked where the performance sat for him. “I do have one other hundred, and that was pretty special as well, but to be able to do it on a World Cup stage just adds a little bit more juice to it, which is kind of cool. To be able to have a World Cup win in front of a sticky situation is actually the most satisfying part.”He came in at 7 for 2 in the third over and at the end of the powerplay, New Zealand were 25 for 3. There could hardly have been more of a contrast to their game against Australia where Finn Allen and Devon Conway had added 56 in 4.1 overs.This time the openers had been flummoxed by Sri Lanka’s spinners: Allen beaten by a delivery from Maheesh Theekshana that curved back in, then Conway defeated by Dhananjaya de Silva, dismissed by an offspinner for the first time in T20Is. Kane Williamson followed inside the fielding restrictions, edging a drive against Kasun Rajitha, and Sri Lanka were swarming.Then a moment. It felt like it be big when it happened. It proved to be gargantuan. Phillips aimed to loft Wanindu Hasaranga over the off side towards the enticingly short boundary but didn’t middle the shot, and it was heading straight into the hands of Pathum Nissanka. Only it bounced out of his hands. Phillips was on 12.Phillips struck ten fours and four sixes in his 64-ball 104•ICC via Getty Images”I still feel like it was the right choice and the right option,” Phillips said. “I hit it pretty nicely, but unfortunately it just wasn’t wide enough. At the end of the day, luck definitely does play a lot in this game, and today I was on the right end of the luck.”At the end of the ninth over Phillips was 22 off 22 balls. A first six, helped over fine leg, followed before the midway mark but New Zealand had certainly not wrestled back a position of strength.Three overs later, they had only progressed as far as 76 for 3 from 13. Phillips was 41 off 36. He was given another life in the 14th over, albeit a more difficult chance to the captain, Dasun Shanaka, running in from long-off. His fifty came up next ball, from 39 deliveries. The next fifty would take just 22. As he moved through the gears, one shot stood out when he slice-drove Chamika Karunaratne through backward point with such timing and placement that deep third, who was only a few metres from it in the end, was unable to intercept.But beyond the boundaries, it was the running. Leading into the tournament, ESPNcricinfo’s writers were asked to pick out players who did certain disciplines the best. Phillips did not make the running-between-wickets category. It was, to be fair, probably an oversight. His judgement of a run and speed are outstanding.”The way the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled with the back of their hand slow balls, those were a little bit [of variable bounce],” he said. “Some would pop off aggressively, and some would stay quite low, which made things quite tough. Hence the reason the running between the wickets became quite crucial. Whether we mis-hit it or not, we were trying to put the fielders under as much pressure as possible.”Related

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Glenn Phillips outscores Sri Lanka in New Zealand's huge win

Daryl Mitchell, who had played a vital supporting hand, was out for 22 off 24 balls. Jimmy Neesham made 5 off 8. But Phillips was playing a different game by then. When Theekshana came back, he twice moved outside his leg stump to open the off side and flayed him for consecutive sixes. He reached his hundred by pulling the same bowler through square leg. New Zealand made 91 off their last seven overs. This year, Phillips now averages 51.36 in T20Is at a strike rate of 154.37.”That was a very special knock,” Mitchell said. “He has got a lot of talent but to do it on a surface like that was challenging at times. I haven’t seen many better T20 knocks under that sort of pressure.”In New Zealand’s opening game of the tournament against Australia, it was his spectacular diving catch near the boundary that left a lasting impression. This time there was a bit less of him in the field as the effects of the heat and his energy-sapping sprints between the wickets took its toll. When he left the field late in the game, with cramps, he collapsed in a heap behind the boundary boards.”I tried to get out there,” he said. “Unfortunately, the cramp got the better of me today.”It was the only thing that did.

Allan Donald: Bangladesh fast bowlers 'have established the pack mentality'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The bowling coach has overseen a surge in fortunes for Bangladesh’s quicks – “they have given themselves the best possible chance of succeeding”

Mohammad Isam18-Dec-2022During the course of the Chattogram Test, Bangladesh’s fast bowlers reached the mark of 167 wickets for the year, their best collection across formats in a calendar year in over two decades of playing international cricket. Those are good numbers but, more importantly, indicate that Bangladesh, a spin-bowling country for so long, are now also finding match-winners among the quicks. Allan Donald has played a big part in the transformation, and he calls the change “significant”.Donald, who joined Bangladesh in March this year, found a conservative group of boys who were fearful of trying to be aggressive. There was a bit of success in New Zealand before Donald came into the picture, when Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain and Shoriful Islam scripted a famous win in Mount Maunganui. Still, they had to prove it wasn’t a fluke.Related

  • Bangladesh in 2022: big milestones, but miles to go in all formats

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  • 'Be patient, wait for mistakes' – Taskin's mantra for Chattogram

  • Herath: 'We have the ability but we need to be more gritty'

“The growth we have shown in less than one year is so significant,” Donald tells ESPNcricinfo. “It is a great statistic. I always look at strike rates very closely. When I took over as the South Africa fast-bowling coach [in 2011], I was blown out of my boots to see that South Africa was dead last in the powerplay strike rate. They were striking at 52 in ODIs. They were completely conservative. So I had to break the shackles, change perceptions and mindsets.”It was the same here [in Bangladesh]. Conservative, scared of making mistakes. Not being ruthless enough. Just reluctant to try to do something a bit more aggressive. I am hoping to see this group get bigger and grow more. This group is mingling really well. We call it dovetail. If one guy doesn’t succeed, another does the cleaning up. We have established the pack mentality. We all buy into the same mindset. There has to be a leader if we want people to talk about the attack. There needs to be other men to help each other. This attack has dovetailed well.”Bangladesh’s pacers’ strike rate in Test cricket this year is currently their second best since 2013, while they have their biggest annual haul in Test cricket ever and their joint-second highest in T20Is. The numbers in their favourite format, ODIs, might not be as impressive but, all the same, in all three of Bangladesh’s major victories this year, fast bowling has played a vital hand.Ebadot’s six-wicket haul led to the team’s Test win in Mount Maunganui. Taskin won the Player-of-the-Series award in Bangladesh’s ODI series win in South Africa. Ebadot and Mustafizur Rahman bowled key spells during their ODI series win against India at home earlier this month. Khaled Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful provide options, giving the bowling group its depth.Together, they form the most improved aspect of Bangladesh cricket of the last two years.

“I coach mindset. I can be technical if I want to, but at this level, you can have the best plans in the world, but you must have the desire and the mongrel in your belly, you won’t get past anyone. I think slowly but surely we are starting to see this growing in this group. This excites me”Allan Donald

‘The players have bought into the business plan’
Donald gelled with the boys quickly; you can’t tell you are around one of the greats of the game when you see him helping out in almost every aspect of the training and match preparation.In the time the ODI and Test series against India, he requested the BCB to send a group of promising fast bowlers and spinners to Chattogram. He oversaw sessions with them and worked with them in the nets alongside spin-bowling coach Rangana Herath.”I coach mindset. I can be technical if I want to, but at this level, you can have the best plans in the world, but you must have the desire and the mongrel in your belly, you won’t get past anyone,” Donald says. “I think slowly but surely we are starting to see this growing in this group. This excites me.”Donald is most excited at how the senior team’s fast-bowling group agreed to do it his way. On his first tour with Bangladesh, Donald posed an uncomfortable question to the players…”Fortunately, most of the fast-bowling group said that they will give a crack at this plan in all formats: ‘we will change our way we approach things, to give ourselves the best chance of succeeding’,” Donald says. “I asked all the seamers in South Africa: ‘what makes you the most fragile?’ One thing that came out was that, ‘we don’t bowl too many bumpers; we are not aggressive enough, we are very wary of going for runs’. We changed that thought-process completely.”It makes me proud that they all talk the same language. It is across formats. It shows that the players have bought into the business plan. They have given themselves the best possible chance of succeeding.”Allan Donald on Ebadot Hossain: “He has come from nowhere and has taken the international stage by storm”•AFP/Getty Images‘Ebadot loves the stage; I love the salute’
With the plans and the roadmap in place, the fast bowlers had to produce the goods. They formed a WhatsApp group with Donald, where the first message was to make it the tightest fast-bowling group in Bangladesh’s history.The numbers prove that they are on the right path.Two factors have stood out: how others stepped up when one was injured or out of form, and the overall improvement across formats. Taskin has improved as a Test and T20I bowler, while Ebadot’s first foray in white-ball cricket has gone well.”We missed Taskin in the two ODIs against India. Ebadot just jumps in with both feet. We want guys to break the house down at every opportunity,” Donald says. “He has made things happen all the time. He just seems to mow the house down. He loves the stage; I love the salute.”I saw Ebadot’s six-for in New Zealand, and heard his story of winning a fast-bowling prize. I think he has the knack of being a partnership breaker, a possible match-winner. An exciting young tearaway who is passionate about what he does. Ebadot keeps putting his hand up.”He has come from nowhere and has taken the international stage by storm. He listens well. He practices his boots off. I gave him time off [before the first Test against India] to get him off the training paddock. He felt a bit tired after the third ODI so I didn’t want to see him bowl for a couple of days.””Taskin is extremely passionate, a magnificent fast bowler”•AFP/Getty Images‘Taskin is a magnificent fast bowler’
As noted before on ESPNcricinfo, Bangladesh’s most noticeably improved fast bowler is Taskin. The story of his comeback has been inspiring, particularly how he became a fitter and better bowler after shaking off depression during the pandemic. After three years in the wilderness, he came back, and in the second year of Taskin 2.0, he opened up to Donald about his ultimate goal.”Taskin’s words were: ‘I don’t want to be recognised as average, I want to be one of the greats’. He has all the qualities. He leads from the front. Talks really well. He is extremely passionate, a magnificent fast bowler,” Donald says. “He has a natural outswinger, bowls a heavy ball; He gets stuck in the contest. He didn’t hesitate to take over the leadership of the fast bowling group when I asked him for the first time nine months ago. I need people like that.”The most experienced of the group is Mustafizur, but he has also been under pressure the most of late. But he did seem to move his game up a notch during the India series, and Donald said it was down to T20 coach Sridharan Sriram and Shrinivas Chandrasekaran, the performance analyst, working with him.”Sriram and Shrinivas spotted that in his release point of his slower ball, his palm was facing the batter,” Donald says. “It needed to be more side-on so that the palm was facing the off side on his point of release. He bowled a lot of overs to get that ball to come out softer and with a bit more bite. He worked really hard on nailing yorkers.On Mustafizur Rahman: “You write him off at your own peril”•AFP/Getty Images”He is a class act. When we needed a guy to step up against a world-class player in Rohit Sharma, Fizz came to the party and produced a great yorker to win the series for us. I love working with him. Mustafiz has been around the world. You write him off at your own peril. I know how hard he is working right now.”Fast bowling stopped being a topic of discussion in Bangladesh cricket six years ago when the team management decided to prepare raging turners in Dhaka. It made fast bowlers almost redundant – they already bowled very little in domestic cricket.Courtney Walsh, the fast-bowling coach at the time, had to sit through a few Tests with no quick bowling on view. After Walsh, Ottis Gibson had an impact with the players connecting with his methods, but Donald has taken it to the next level.”I have taken out the fear factor of making mistakes,” he says. “I say it almost every day: don’t worry about what I think sitting in the stands. I have been there. I have experienced your heartaches and mistakes. It is absolutely okay to make mistakes, as long as we give it a 100% crack out there. It doesn’t matter if you go for six.”Donald is now hoping to expand the pool, so replacements are around at all times. It won’t be easy, but Bangladesh have moved from nothing to a place where they have six or seven good quicks. The curve is certainly going in the right direction.

Switch Hit podcast: History boys

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Alan, Miller and Vish look back at England’s unprecedented 3-0 whitewash success on their tour of Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2022England handed Pakistan their first-ever home whitewashing in Tests after clinching a 3-0 series scoreline in Karachi. It was another strong all-round performance from the tourists, with Harry Brook and 18-year-old debutant Rehan Ahmed stealing the headlines. On this week’s Switch Hit, Alan Gardner is joined by Andrew Miller and our England man in Pakistan, Vithushan Ehantharajah, to chat teenage legspin, Ben Stokes’ leadership and the challenge ahead (ssshhh! Don’t mention the Ashes).

How Harry Brook aimed big, failed, and took off like a rocket

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

England’s new wunderkind makes batting look like a blast, but it wasn’t always easy for him

Jonathan Doidge29-Mar-2023For young Harry Brook, the last 12 months have been beyond the most wild of dreams. A T20 World Cup winner’s medal; Player of the Series awards for his exploits on England’s Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand; and an IPL deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping US$1.6 million, the third-highest fee paid by an IPL franchise for any England player, after Sam Curran and Ben Stokes.Like so many overnight successes, however, Brook’s route to the top has been far from plain sailing. In 2019, when his audacious bid to fast-track himself into contention as a Test opener failed, he was dropped from the Yorkshire first team and made to fight his way back in by scoring second-team runs.It was a rude awakening. He began that season opening the innings alongside former Test centurion Adam Lyth; he thought it might be a route to the elite arena. Instead, a string of starts ended in him requesting a move down the order.Related

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  • Harry Brook: 'If it's there to drive, drive, and if it's there to cut, cut it'

  • Stokes: 'Phenomenal' Brook can enjoy all-format success like Kohli

His coach then, Andrew Gale, was not about to bend over backwards to work the team around Brook, and left him out for a month or so before letting him back into the fold. It was all part of Brook’s education.”I learned a lot from 2019,” he reflects, when we spoke in Leeds this January about his story so far: “I put my hand up to open. Galey wanted me to open as well, and I said I definitely want to do it because there was so much uncertainty around England’s opening batters at the time.”I was only 20. The reality of me actually getting picked for England was very slim but I thought if I scored a few hundreds in the first few games, I might get a chance at Test cricket.”It completely threw me off. I didn’t stay in the moment. I wasn’t thinking about the next game, I was just thinking about if I could play for England. So over the last few years I’ve worked on trying to stay in the moment, concentrate on the next game and prepare for the next game.”Back then, Brook had already made a partial declaration of his abilities with a match-winning maiden first-class hundred in a bizarre championship game in 2018, when Essex bowled a stellar Yorkshire line-up out for just 50 in their first innings, only to go on and lose. That hundred came from No. 3, to where he had been dropped after opening in the first innings.Brook bats in a 2018 county game with Adam Lyth. “To me, he’s playing a different game [than] most people at the moment. Test cricket is not easy and he’s making it look pretty easy,” Lyth says of Brook•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesFirst-class cricketing life didn’t get off to the best of starts for Brook, who learned his game at the Airedale and Wharfedale League club Burley in Wharfedale. He played just the one match in his first season, 2016, in which he was out for a golden duck against Pakistan A. The following year he averaged 13.66 from six innings in red-ball cricket.Even after the 124 at Chelmsford in 2018, he didn’t really kick on. A first-class average of 25 that year, and 21.76 in 2019, was not delivering the substance that his talent, fostered by many hours of childhood throwdowns by his grandfather Tony, had promised.In Brook’s story, 2020 was the lightbulb moment. There was a greater reliability about him as he took the first steps towards consistency in Yorkshire’s Bob Willis Trophy campaign. Despite no three-figure score, he averaged 43.He mentions a T20 innings at Headingley, where both he and Joe Root made half-centuries, as a turning point. “I used to try and power the bowlers and hit it wherever I wanted to and premeditate a lot of things,” he says. “I can remember Rooty coming down to me every over and telling me to watch the ball, to play it on instinct, and we ended up chasing a total down.”The gradient to his upward curve got somewhat steeper in 2021, when he made two hundreds in a season for the first time and finished with 797 runs. In T20s that year, he racked up 695 runs, striking at over 140. That and his 189 runs from five games for Northern Superchargers in the inaugural season of the Hundred piqued the interest of franchises worldwide. Spells in the PSL and the BBL followed, and this year he will no doubt debut in the IPL.Brook acknowledges the applause for his 48-ball hundred, the second-fastest in PSL history, against Islamabad United•PSLMartin Speight, Brook’s coach at his school, Sedbergh, in Cumbria, himself a former county wicketkeeper-batter with Sussex and Durham, thinks the way Brook has overcome several life challenges has stood him in good stead in building towards success at the highest level.He speaks of a conversation with James Bell, the England team psychologist, who called him to talk about Brook. “They’ve been working with the players,” says Speight. “They’ve been writing down lots of things, looking at what has created him [Harry] and two or three other young players, and then almost looking at [making them] futureproof.”They were looking at a mixture of upbringing, young age, love of the game, a family that are obviously cricket-mad – the fact that he could walk out of his Nan’s back door and straight onto the pitch.”As for the challenges, leaving Ilkley Grammar School, in the shadow of Ilkley Moor, was a real eye-opener for the teenager: “Sedbergh was not easy for him,” says Speight. “He wasn’t a natural athlete. Academically he found it hard, and he was forced at school to do his work. He was doing things he didn’t want to do.”He knew that if he wanted to make it, he’d have to stay there and board. He found that hard. He was a very quiet, shy lad when he first started. Although he was clearly a good cricketer, it’s all the challenges he had to face outside cricket as much as anything that have shaped him.”

Speight cites Brook’s failures with Young England as an 18-year-old and his poor second full season in county cricket as reasons for his current success.”He went away after those disappointments and decided he had to work it out. He made the decision to start again himself. I didn’t ring him. He phoned me and asked me to help. He was determined enough to do that and he wanted to succeed.”Although he has worked with the likes of Gale, Paul Grayson, Ottis Gibson and Ali Maiden in his time with Yorkshire, Brook continues to go and see Speight from time to time.”They’ve got a wonderful understanding and a connection, which I think is really healthy,” says Lyth, Brook’s Yorkshire opening partner, “and Speighty probably knows his game as well as Harry does.”Opening the batting has actually probably made him a better player and more equipped for him to go into the middle order.”He trusts his defence a lot more now. He’s got such a solid defence and you need that to play first-class cricket, let alone Test cricket, but then what he also has got is the attacking game and a natural flair, which comes out a hell of a lot when he’s batting.”Nortje who? Brook pulls the South Africa quick bowler during his 80 in his second ODI, in Bloemfontein earlier this year•Marco Longari/AFP/Getty ImagesThe fruits of Brook’s labours during his early years in the first-class game began to ripen in 2022. It now appears to have been foreordained that just when England’s Test fortunes were entrusted to Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, Brook would have jaws dropping with his own exploits.His profile looked ideal for the new style, and he had all the shots of a high-class white-ball game to call upon. He made 967 championship runs at 107.44, hammering three hundreds and six fifties in his 13 innings in Yorkshire’s ill-fated campaign last year.”I think I probably fit the script fairly well,” Brook suggests. “Just the way I play positive cricket, trying to always put the bowler under pressure.”Even so, he was made to wait until his county colleague Jonny Bairstow’s freak golfing injury allowed him a first opportunity.His Test debut, against South Africa, was all about the experience rather than the runs. “I think the goosebump moment was actually walking out to do the national anthem,” he says.”Because the Queen had died, we walked out and I’ve never felt or heard anything so silent. You could hear a pin drop. Then, obviously, as soon as we started the national anthem, it erupted.”Annus horribilis: Brook made a hundred in the 2019 county season but ended up averaging just 22, with 12 scores of under 20 in his 17 innings•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesThat England won inside two days is now part of Bazball folklore. That Brook went on to score four sumptuous centuries in the space of eight Test innings may, in time, become part of his legend.His magnificent Test-best 186 from just 176 balls in the first innings of the Wellington Test this year was followed by his first Test wicket (New Zealand’s greatest Test run-scorer, Kane Williamson), before the cricketing gods reminded him of the Ts and Cs of the sport with a diamond duck – he was run out without facing a ball in the second innings.It’s hard to believe this is a man who averaged just 28 in first-class cricket prior to 2022 and only had an average of 36 runs per innings from 56 first-class matches as recently as when he made his England debut last September.”It’s been a bit of a stellar year,” he says. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to top it, to be honest. The last few months have been like a dream come true. The main thing was to come home with a medal and be a world champion.”Having seen his influential input at international level thus far, few now doubt Brook’s ability, least of all Speight.”Back in school days, he’d come in on a morning, before lessons, and have an hour and 40 or an hour and 50 minutes, every day. He loves the game. He loves batting.With Yorkshire team-mate Joe Root in a Blast game against Worcestershire last year, where they sealed a win with a partnership of 87 off 44 balls•Getty Images”His whole mindset is that if it’s not right, he’ll work and work and work to get his basics right before he goes on and does anything else. When he came to see me [in January] before he went to South Africa, he spent 20 minutes at the start just getting everything right. Then he wanted to work on pulling and whacking over wide mid-on, midwicket, back-of-a-length balls, which we worked on.”Then he went back, had a couple of chats, then he had another 20 minutes going right back to the basics again.”Those basics have changed since Brook began to put his front foot forward in first-class cricket. “When he was at school Harry stood still,” says Speight, who also works with other Yorkshire players.”He didn’t trigger or have a pre-delivery movement. I made sure that his alignment was perfect and he didn’t twist out towards midwicket. We didn’t want his bat coming across the line of the ball. We did that every day for four years.”If you look at his innings at Lord’s in 2017, against the likes of Steven Finn, he was fine [Brook made 38 in Yorkshire’s first innings against Middlesex] but over the next year or so he started coming out of alignment. His hips would open up and his shoulders would open more. A bit like a piece of fusilli pasta. His bat ended up sliding across third, fourth or fifth slip, and anything moving, he ended up nicking it or missing it. Even a straight ball on occasions.”If you’re a fraction early, you’re going to end up nicking it. If you’re a fraction late, it’s going to go through the gate.”In 2018, Brook called Speight for help. Grabs from some of the messages exchanged between the pair provide fascinating insight, both visual and verbal, into those technical changes”He sent me the videos from earlier in the year. We looked at that and decided he’d try using a trigger movement.”Brook’s stance in 2018, at the time of delivery and immediately after it, with his shoulders and hips opening up and bat coming down from slipBrook had already done some research and found a video of AB de Villiers talking about his triggers. He decided he’d take a page out of the AB book.”We started work on that and continued all the way through Covid,” Speight says.
“By putting a trigger in, it loaded his core up ready to move and helped to align his body properly so that his bat could come down in a straight path.”It worked, in part: “Then in Covid year they played four of five games [in the Bob Willis Trophy]. He did well at Durham and got runs against Nottinghamshire but then he didn’t kick on.”He was opening his hips up too much, so we fine-tuned that. Once we sorted that trigger out and got his weight 60-40 to his front foot, we got his head over the top of his body instead of drifting outside off stump. We worked hard on that on an ongoing basis.Brook in 2019 (left) and a year after”He realised that if his head was in the right position and his trigger was right, he shouldn’t miss it, and that’s still the basis of his game.”I watched the dismissal in the first one-day international in South Africa and his toe had gone an inch too far outside off stump. As a result his head got slightly out of line and of course, he played round it rather than hitting through it.”And of his innings in the Wellington Test, Speight says: “All that happened there was that he and Joe [Root, who also got a hundred] worked out that if they stood still where you normally would, one foot either side of the crease, there would be a ball with their name on it.”So Brooky tried to move outside the crease. He was all over the place in terms of his starting point but his movement remained the same from whatever starting position he set himself and he was able to master them.”It gave the New Zealand bowlers little margin for error, because when there was any width through the off side, he was so well balanced, he was able to deal with both back-foot and front-foot shots with equal precision.”Ultimately Brook’s desire and willingness to work hard at his game, and his belief in Speight’s methods and his eye for detail, have brought him rewards.”He’s just got an all-round game for both red and white that is absolutely perfect,” says Lyth, himself a superb exponent at the top of the order in all formats. “I’m sure he’ll be an all-format cricketer for England for a long time. He’s got everything. The only things he can’t do are bowl and play football.”It doesn’t take long for comparisons to surface where players enjoying success are concerned. Both Lyth and Speight separately suggest that Brook is showing a Kevin Pietersen-like aptitude for his batting.”To me, he’s playing a different game [than] most people at the moment. Test cricket is not easy and he’s making it look pretty easy,” Lyth says.He also thinks Brook will face his biggest challenge yet this summer. “Ashes cricket is different, but knowing Harry like I do, he will relish that challenge. He plays pace bowling really well and he plays spin well, so it will come down to him making good decisions for long periods of time.”In Test cricket he’s already done that, so for me it’s just a case of him carrying on playing as he is and he’ll be fine.”Elite sport demands more than just ability and hard work. It also requires a good temperament to ride the inevitable troughs that punctuate the peaks. Speight says Brook is well equipped on that front. “He has an innate self-belief. He doesn’t look nervous when he walks out to bat, does he?Take cover: Brook lashes one square in the Karachi Test, where he made 111 and England won the series 3-0•Matthew Lewis/Getty Images”So whether he is or he isn’t nervous, he trusts himself from ball one. To be successful, you have to have that. It’s what separates the best few players from the rest.”When you look at Kevin Pietersen, how many times did people question his temperament? Yet look at what he produced. Harry will make mistakes, lots of them but if you look at his temperament, he doesn’t seem to have too much trouble getting in. If he gets in, he will score runs just like [Pietersen] did.”In the dressing room, Brook says his former team-mate Gary Ballance was someone he particularly looked up to and who helped him most of all. “I used to spend quite a lot of time with Gaz. We had loads of conversations. Stats don’t lie and his stats are probably some of the best you’ll see in county cricket ever.”Just talking to him about how to score runs, how to convert those twenties and thirties into sixties and seventies and then trying to kick on and get big hundreds – I just picked his brains really, and tried to learn how he scored runs.”Taken across individual scores, Brook’s personal manhattan might have begun as a series of single-storey buildings with an occasional landmark structure popping up, but now the skyscrapers are beginning to cluster.The personal hiatus before his country came calling looks to have been perfect for him. As his game was changing, so too was England’s, and particularly in Test cricket. “They’re making us feel like we can do anything when we go out there,” Brook says. “We’re trying to put the bowlers under pressure but we’re not being reckless. We’re trying to soak up pressure in the pressure situations.”There’ll doubtless be a few of those when Australia come over in the summer and it will be fascinating to see how Brook and England handle them. It’s a pretty safe bet that there are unlikely to be any dull moments.

DPL: Abahani pip Sheikh Jamal at the final hurdle to lift 21st title

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Gazi Tyres and Partex earned promotion into next season’s DPL competition

Mohammad Isam13-May-2023Key takeawaysAbahani Limited clinched the Dhaka Premier League title for the 21st time and the fourth time since the tournament became a List-A competition. They beat defending champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by four wickets in a last-over finish at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in front of a crowd of at least one-thousand, and a full press box. It concluded Bangladesh’s domestic season with its most successful team returning to win the coveted trophy for the first time since the 2018-19 season.Abahani and Shiekh Jamal Club, coincidentally both from the Dhanmondi neighbourhood, went into this game on 26 points each after Abahani dropped crucial points in the penultimate round against Gazi Group Cricketers. If Abahani had beaten them on May 10, this game would have been just a formality. Abahani didn’t fall at the final hurdle, though, winning the title they first won in the 1974-75 season.Prime Bank Cricket Club took third position after their 73-run win against Gazi Group, while Legends of Rupganj finished the season with a four-wicket defeat against Mohammedan Sporting Club.Best battersAbahani’s Mohammad Naim struck two fifties in the last two matches, including a 145-run opening stand with Anamul Haque in the finale against Sheikh Jamal. Naim (932 runs) and Anamul (834 runs) finished as the top two run-getters in the tournament. Anamul’s three centuries were the most in the competition.Afif Hossain was adjudged player-of-the-match for his unbeaten 60 in the last game. He also finished the competition with a bit of a flourish, much needed for a man vying for a World Cup place. Among the young batters, Naim and Saif Hassan stood out with their runs while Amite Hasan and Tanzid Hasan struck hundreds each.Best bowlersSheikh Jamal’s overseas recruit Parvez Rasool was the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. He took 33 wickets with 17.93 average and two four-wicket hauls. Shinepukur Cricket Club’s left-arm spinner Hasan Murad was the highest wicket-taker among the home bowlers, taking 25 wickets at 18.40 average. His 3.97 runs per over was also remarkable. City Club’s Robiul Haque was the local fast bowler with most wickets, taking 23 wickets.Best matchAbahani beating Sheikh Jamal in the tournament finale stood out. Sheikh Jamal recovered from 16 for 3 in the fifth over, to take 79 runs in the last five overs to take their total to 282 for 7 in 50 overs. Nurul Hasan’s unbeaten 89 powered the Sheikh Jamal total, hitting eight fours and three sixes in his 70-ball stay.Abahani’s openers Naim and Anamul added 145 for the opening stand but the middle-order couldn’t immediately take advantage. But Afif added 68 runs for the fifth wicket with Mosaddek Hossain, before completing the win with a 14-run unbroken seventh-wicket stand with Tanzim Hasan Sakib who hit the winning boundary. Points to ponderApart from the six Super League clubs, Rupganj Tigers, Brothers Union, City Club and Shinepukur remained in the Dhaka Premier League for next season. From the league below, Gazi Tyres Cricket Academy and Partex Sporting Club earned promotion for next season’s DPL. Agrani Bank and Dhaka Leopards go down to the Dhaka First Division Cricket League.Players to watchAfif and Parvez Hossai Emon had a 100-plus strike-rate among batters to score more than 500 runs in this season. Mahmudullah’s pursuit for a World Cup spot got a bit of a boost with six fifties for Mohammedan. Afif too will be in the selectors’ mind. Anamul Haque and Naim have done enough to be considered as backup openers in the ODI setup.Among the younger bowlers, Robiul Haque, Tipu Sultan and Sumon Khan were among the wickets. Mrittunjoy Chowdhury did enough to earn an ODI spot, but Tanzim and Rejaur Rahman will also be in the bowling coach’s mind.

Taskin Ahmed: 'I told myself, whether I break or I die, I will wear the red and green jersey again'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The Bangladesh fast bowler talks about his comeback to the national side, and being in the vanguard of his team’s pace attack

Interview by Mohammad Isam17-Mar-2023Since his comeback in 2021, Taskin Ahmed has gone from cautionary tale to leader of Bangladesh’s fast-bowling attack, having played a part in several of Bangladesh’s most momentous wins, including most recently their 3-0 sweep of England in T20Is at home. In this interview he spoke about his comeback and the improvement that made to his mental health, and how he wants to be among the best fast bowlers in the world.Since your last interview with us, shortly after you played your comeback game for Bangladesh, it has been a remarkable time in your international career.
I have always wanted to be a complete team man since I made a comeback during Covid – as a bowler, batter and fielder. I want to give my best, but of course, it won’t happen all the time. I have a strong belief that if my process is in place, I can take on any opposition. Everything is decided on those 22 yards, regardless of who you are playing against, so whoever the opposition batter, I want to properly execute my strength. When that happens, life won’t be easy for the batter.Related

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  • Bangladesh reaping rewards of Taskin and Litton's changed mindsets in ODIs

  • Bangladesh's fast bowlers: from invisibles to match-winners

Mark Wood said recently that you impressed the England team and that their bowlers picked their lengths from you, and you kept their batters under pressure.
He is no doubt one of the best in the business. I want to be right up there. I appreciate what he said, but what he talked about is essentially my duty.One of your best spells recently came in the T20 World Cup game against India. No wickets, but you stuck to your guns in those four overs.
Wickets aren’t really the measure of good bowling. Sometimes you don’t bowl well but end up with three or four wickets. It is all about execution. End of the day, I have to ask myself if I have given my 110% in the field – how my execution was, what areas I can improve on. These are personal check boxes. When these three fields are ticked, I am not too bothered about wickets. That was a spell that went according to the team’s requirement in those conditions. It is a team game, so if you can execute the team’s plan, you are a good player.

“When your process is in place, your self-belief eclipses any worry you have about the opposition. You know you are honest off the field with your preparations. Homework done, I am well prepared, so why won’t I do well?”

Three years ago, did you think you could become the leader of the Bangladesh bowling attack?
Whoever has the ball in hand is the bowling leader. I am not competing with my team-mates. We are family. If a group of us are improving together, we will become a threat to opponents. We are around 60-70% there. I want to compete with the top fast bowlers in the world. I am preparing myself physically, mentally and skill-wise.All the steps you took three years ago, at the start of the pandemic, have helped, would you say?
When I started [to train] at the start of the pandemic, I wasn’t in the national team. I tried to find what I was lacking. I had below-average fitness. I wasn’t there skill-wise. I wasn’t fielding or batting well. It was hard to comprehend how I was going to play for Bangladesh again. But I had the belief that I could play – I didn’t just think about it, I turned it into action.It was [during] Covid, so it wasn’t possible to take coaching, but [physical trainer] Debu opened up his gym for me. I remember he and I used to be in the gym alone after .After a few months my fitness was developing, but what about my depression, anxiety, negativity? Those weren’t going away. I went to mind-trainer Sabit Raihan. I am still working with him. I am trying to develop my mentality. I am still fearful of being left out of the team, but I am working on how to get rid of the fear of failure. You can never win if you fear losing before the contest even starts.I want to be positive in every aspect of my life. Negative company, negative words, really irritate me. My system has changed, so when someone is being negative, I either change the topic or leave. Working with Sabit and Debu was really enriching. I had phone conversations with [BCB director Khaled Mahmud] Sujon sir and [former bowling coach Mahbub Ali] Zaki sir.I used places like the garage and the staircase of my house for training. I took gym equipment from the BCB. I did bowling drills, wristwork. Those were the small steps. I ran in the sand after early morning prayers. I had insane gym sessions after fasting the whole day [during Ramadan]. The trainer used to push me to the point where I thought I would break, but I didn’t give up. I thought to myself, I am dead inside seeing the team play on TV. I thought this is it – whether I break or I die, whatever happens, I will wear the red and green jersey again. I have come to believe that if someone really wants something from the heart, it can turn into his strength.In July 2021, Taskin and Mahmudullah put together a stand of 191, the second- highest Test partnership for the ninth wicket, in a win against Zimbabwe•Zimbabwe CricketI don’t think logic applies to everything. [They say] you are not supposed to train hard after fasting all day – you are hungry and dehydrated. But it is your desire. You have to get out of your comfort zone. My main target was to get back in the Bangladesh team after proper training. Now the target is to slowly rise in the rankings. When you are below 100, it doesn’t show [on the ICC rankings]. I was out of the top 100 in all formats. Now I am coming into the 50s, and if Allah wants, I will be in the top ten. Or No. 1. It will happen, Inshallah.There are two ways of asking Allah for what you want. Firstly, when you are not prepared for the exam, you can ask Him to save you. The other way is [to say], Allah I have prepared myself really well. You be with me. When your process is in place, your self-belief eclipses any worry you have about the opposition. You know you are honest off the field with your preparations. It is a huge gut feeling for a player. Homework done, I am well prepared, so why won’t I do well?Mental health comes from off-field preparations. Honesty and hard work are my main weapons. If the self-belief is in the right place, my skills will keep improving. Mental health is very important.Commentators and opponents these days talks about how you are a threat. Do you see batters viewing you as a threat?
Out in the field, I back myself fully. When I am executing properly, I see the batter, regardless of how good he is, questioning himself. They will have days when they will play great shots. Some days will be bad. But I try to keep up my end of the bargain, which is executing my skills properly.What do you think are the highlights from these two years since the comeback?
Winning Player-of-the-Match awards in two World Cup games and the Player-of-the-Series award in South Africa.The Test win against New Zealand.My 191-run stand with [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai in Zimbabwe. The close game against India in the T20 World Cup was another highlight.

“Bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood, these guys will become legends by the end of their careers. I want to be regarded how they are regarded”

About that Test win against New Zealand – you seemed to enjoy Ebadot’s wickets in that Mount Maunganui Test.
My comeback raised my love for playing for Bangladesh. Representing the nation is a matter of huge pride. Having team feelings automatically means you enjoy team-mates’ success. His performance is helping the team win.I still remember Ebadot bowling after tea. I was standing at third man, making some calculations looking at the scoreboard. I thought, if we can bowl them out by lunch tomorrow [the fifth day], we can create a chance. If we can’t, then we have to find a way to draw this game. Suddenly he takes three wickets. I was like, what is happening?He took three more the next morning. I took three wickets. We shared nine wickets in the second innings. That’s it. We won. Beating New Zealand in their backyard is a massive achievement.Tell us the story of the five-wicket haul against South Africa.
I got a call from Lucknow Super Giants during that ODI series – I was denied the NOC [for the IPL]. We had Tests against South Africa at the time. Everyone dreams of playing in the IPL. I was a little sad about missing the opportunity. I told myself that I have to keep my focus on playing for the national team.I was overthinking the night before the third ODI, the series-deciding match. I kept thinking, if I play badly in the third game, the public will think that I played badly because of not getting the NOC. If I did well, I would be satisfied that I did well in this situation. On the field, you can pretend that you are confident with body language and reaction. You can pretend your way into genuine confidence. Everyone feels pressure before a big match.On the morning of the match, I was a little upset with a family matter. It happens to everyone on a long tour. Just imagine, I had to say no to the IPL. Then this family thing. The team bus leaves in half an hour. On my way to the ground, I thought I was going to put my emotions aside, bowl with all my heart. Whether I get hit for 80 in ten overs, or take five wickets, I will mean every ball. I did my warm-up, measured my run-up before everyone. Then I bowled the first ball, wide. Second ball, wide. I was questioning myself whether I was overexcited or not. I still told myself that I was going to mean every ball. A little later, it happened. Five wickets. We won. Everything worked out in the end.On being conscientious about his training: “I don’t think logic applies to everything. You are not supposed to train hard after fasting all day, but it is your desire. You have to get out of your comfort zone”•Associated PressYour mind and body won’t be 110% every day. But your desire, whether you are pretending or it’s coming for real, helps a lot. I try to give it my all every day. I am not the best fielder, but I try to take a catch. I try to bowl my best ball. I try to contribute with the bat. I want to have an impact as a team player.Talking about dropped catches, there have been plenty off your bowling. You don’t often react, do you?
A man can react maybe once or twice out of a hundred times ().Nobody drops a catch willingly. It is about luck. [Yasir Ali] Rabbi took a good catch in the slips in the World Cup. [Najmul Hossain] Shanto took two good catches in the slips against England.In a way, it is a positive that you are creating so many chances.
Yes, the main thing is creating the chances. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Some days I will get whacked. It is about consistency. Chances are created due to proper execution, movement and extra bounce. I bowl according to the field.You are rested from time to time, too. You didn’t play the third ODI against England. The team management wants you to be fit for the big games.
It is the body, you know. I want to play every game. I wanted to play the third ODI too but the coach and captain thought there’s a lot of cricket ahead. I played the first two ODIs with a groin niggle and back soreness. Fast bowlers will always have these things. Physios, trainers and coaches try to maintain the workload.There’s no point asking you what your favourite format is.
You are right. I really can’t pick a favourite format. It is slightly difficult to adjust between formats. Lengths vary. You have to go through the delivery variations. If you perform in all three formats, then you have done something. I want to be a player of that class.Who are the world-class bowlers that you aspire to being like?
Legends like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Wasim Akram are my heroes. Bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood, these guys will become legends by the end of their careers. I want to be regarded how they are regarded. There’s no point in working hard if I can’t reach that level. I have to take myself to their level.

“On the field, you can pretend that you are confident with body language and reaction. You can pretend your way into genuine confidence. Everyone feels pressure before a big match”

How have fast bowling coaches like Ottis Gibson and Allan Donald influenced you during your comeback years?
They have definitely been influential. They both had roles to play. Our local bowling coaches are good too. I speak a lot to Sujon sir about my bowling. Ottis Gibson helped me in certain areas. Allan Donald is a well-known coach. He talks to us. But at this level, you have to know what you must do yourself. A coach helps you fine-tune, but you have to do the rest of the work.Chandika Hathurusingha is back as our coach. He thinks differently than the other coaches. I like his style of coaching. His game awareness is going to help our players. The team management, in general, is really helpful towards me. They want me to keep doing well.Your comeback story in a way is a catalyst for the improvement of fast bowlers, and specifically why Bangladesh is now relying more on fast bowling. There was a time when they didn’t even pick a single fast bowler in a home Test. Now fast bowlers are match-winners. In this pack of fast bowlers, how do you see yourself?
It is a matter of pride. I want to carry it for a long time. I want to set the trend of fast bowling. How to come back and maintain it. I have more responsibility now. I have been able to inspire people, so I want to finish my career in a way that everyone remembers me. I hope I can help build a proper fast bowling culture. I want more fast bowlers to come through. Fast bowlers have to be built from the Under-15s. I had to reach this stage after a lot of ups and downs.We have the Bangladesh Tigers programme now. There will be fast-bowling camps in the future. Things will get easier. I did it on my own during the Covid pandemic. But now if someone wants to start from a young age, the path will be smooth. I want a fast bowler to know about proper discipline. He should be aware of his diet and training pattern. He must be aware of his own body, how it behaves in different situations. He will get help from the coaches, so when he can build all this into his system, he will be a better player.I want to take myself to a different level as a fast bowler, to give more to my country. I want to be more skillful and fit. I want to finish my career as a legendary player.

At 18, Noor Ahmad is living his cricket dream

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The left-arm wristspinner grew up idolising Rashid Khan. Now the two are team-mates and Noor is forever in Rashid’s ear

Nagraj Gollapudi02-May-2023Noor Ahmad chuckles nervously. The 18-year-old Afghanistan left-arm-wristspinner who plays for Gujarat Titans in the IPL is worried about his English-speaking ability as we sit down for a chat. He is learning the language on the fly, on the road, as he travels the world playing in T20 franchise leagues in both hemispheres.Noor went to sleep around 6am the day we met. He did not forget to say his prayers before shutting down, he says, and now he says a quick prayer before our interview begins too.About a minute into the conversation, any concerns he might have had about his English melt away as he settles fluently into talking cricket. His eyes twinkle and his face, which has hints of a beard, lights up with big smiles.Related

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The previous evening, playing a home game in Ahmedabad, Noor, along with his mentor and senior Afghanistan and Titans team-mate Rashid Khan, threw a wrench into Mumbai Indians’ plans soon after the powerplay. As they chased a steep 208 to win, Mumbai only managed 29 runs for the loss of opener and captain Rohit Sharma in the first six, and were 58 for 3 at the halfway stage.In the next over Noor took the wickets of Mumbai’s Aussie-made weapons of mass destruction, Cameron Green and Tim David, sending the home crowd into raptures. Mumbai’s last hope lay in Suryakumar Yadav.Though Suryakumar took 15 runs off the 12th over, from Rashid, off the second ball he faced from Noor in the 13th, he attempted to push at one that was turning in, having pitched on good length, and popped a return catch.”That was like a dream wicket,” Noor says. “I wanted to take that kind of batsman’s wicket. I decided to pitch back of length because he is very good at sweeping and slogging.”2:05

Noor Ahmad: ‘My brother broke a door when I took my first IPL wicket!’

Noor managed to take the low catch before, full of excitement, trying to throw the ball up to celebrate, losing hold of it, and catching it more securely.In addition to the three Mumbai wickets, Noor’s tally for the season so far is: Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals), Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya (Lucknow Super Giants), and Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rinku Singh (Kolkata Knight Riders). Having made his debut as an impact player, Noor is now part of Titans’ first XI.

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It was in 2018 that the first turning point of Noor’s career arrived. He participated in an open selection trial in Kabul, organised by the Afghanistan cricket Board to pick grassroots U-19 talent. Former Afghanistan batter Raees Ahmadzai, who headed the board’s Under-19 wing and was a coach-cum-selector, realised Noor was a bowler with the X-factor he was looking for. “I wanted to have a left-arm wristspinner who could offer a different bowling style and different variation,” Ahmadzai says. “The way he bowled, the way he showed confidence in what he did, he impressed me.”About 125 youngsters attended the trial. That group was culled to 75, then 40, and finally a squad of 15 was shortlisted, based on cricketing and physical skillsets. Noor made the cut.In 2019, when he was 14, he threw his name into the hat for the IPL auction the first time. He went unsold that year and again the following year, but he did not stop serving notice of his talent.”I know IPL is a very big stage in cricket. The more I enjoy, the more I will succeed”•Associated PressAt the Under-19 50-over Asia Cup that year, he starred in a thriller against India, who escaped with a narrow win. Defending 125, Noor finished with 4 for 30 in his ten overs – among his victims were India captain Dhruv Jurel (now with Royals) who was trapped lbw, and Tilak Verma (now Mumbai Indians), bowled.Ahmadzai, who was Afghanistan’s head coach for the tournament, speaks of his Indian counterpart, Rahul Dravid, being impressed by Noor at the time. That same year, Noor made his first-class debut.Two years later, early in January of 2021, the day he turned 16, Noor played his second game in his debut BBL season, representing Melbourne Renegades. He had never bowled on such a big stage, against some of most destructive batters around, including Liam Livingstone. Renegades lost that game to Perth Scorchers, but Noor made his birthday special, taking Livingstone’s wicket, stumped. “It was a googly and he didn’t pick it. I bowled a little away from his [batting arc]. There was some bounce in the wicket and that helped me,” he remembers.At the mega auction ahead of the 2022 IPL, Titans picked Noor up for his base price, Rs 30 lakhs ($40,000 approximately). It was a memorable day for the teenager, who had grown up watching the IPL, to be faced with the potential of bowling alongside his idol, Rashid.Noor didn’t play last year, and got his first IPL match, against Royals, a couple of weeks ago, when he was brought in as impact player with six overs to go. Royals needed 77 from 36 deliveries. Sanju Samson smacked the fourth ball of the over, a googly wide outside off stump, for a six. The next ball, a legbreak well outside leg stump, was happily dismissed for an easy four past short fine leg.Noor jumps into captain Hardik Pandya’s arms after taking the wicket of Sanju Samson in his debut IPL game•BCCI”I was sure he will try to hit a six again,” Noor says. “So I thought, if I try bowling a little bit away, there’s a chance he might mistime. And that’s exactly what happened.”There was pressure in the first match, but I just wanted to enjoy it because it was a totally new experience for me. I know IPL is a very big stage in cricket. The more I enjoy, the more I will succeed. I want to bowl to the top players and have got some of them out. I am just enjoying bowling to these guys.”If Noor was nervous and excited on his IPL debut, his family was no less so, back in Afghanistan. “The amazing thing was in the first match when I got the Samson wicket, one of my brothers got up and punched a door and broke it,” Noor says, laughing. “The whole door!” I asked him why. He said, ‘I was not having control over my emotions.'”Noor is the youngest of eight children – four boys and four girls. The family live in Lakhan district in Khost in south-eastern Afghanistan. Noor was good at studies growing up, and his father, Mohammad Amir, wanted him to stick with them rather than take a punt on cricket.”I had topped grade ten in school, and that’s when I started professional cricket. [Dad] said I was in a good position at the school and he was afraid I would not reach a high level in cricket.”Pressure to think twice before embarking on a cricket career came from outside the family too. “Sometimes the school teachers, including the principal, came and spoke to my father and told him, ‘He is a good kid in school, he is talented, so please don’t let him play cricket. Bring him to school.'” It is a common predicament for every talented Afghan athlete, Ahmadzai says.Big match, big wicket: Noor celebrates getting Liam Livingstone in the BBL on his 16th birthday•Cricket Australia via Getty ImagesIf Noor has one person to thank for playing a key role in convincing his father to allow him to play cricket, it is his brother Mohammad. “He was trying to convince my dad all the time and he supported me in playing cricket.”These days the family enjoys watching Noor every IPL game. His father, Noor says, is “very happy”. “After the match when we talk, they tell me they don’t have any words to describe their emotion.”

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Like other Afghans, Noor too started out playing tape-ball cricket. That was where he learned the basics of spin bowling. “It was the start of my legspin bowling,” he says. “And by the end I was bowling the ball that goes away,”Noor’s teenage years coincided with the arrival of Rashid onto the global stage. As Rashid mystified batters in T20 leagues around the world, youngsters like Noor watched and grew enamoured of his magic. Though he is a left-arm wristspinner himself, Noor realised he could pick things from Rashid’s bowling to incorporate into his own. “I saw him and wanted to bowl like him.”The legbreak, googly, and a slider that is more of a quick legspinner, are the variations Noor currently uses. The mystery comes from the different grips he uses to deliver them at varying speeds. He has a brisk approach to the crease and a whippy action. His bowling speed is one of his strong points. At the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, where Afghanistan finished fourth, Ahmadzai was head coach and remembers keeping to Noor in training. “He was very quick, like a medium-pacer – he was bowling at 115-120 kph. I felt like that. I knew this guy would not be easy to hit, especially if he doesn’t bowl short or give any width to play the cut or pull. If he bowled in the right areas, it wouldn’t it be easy to hit him.”Noor thinks his pace helps in that it leaves batters short of reaction time. “The batsman won’t have so much time to play the ball. Pace and a bit of turn is a good combination,” he says.Noor bowls in the 2020 U-19 World Cup, in a game against South Africa•Louis Botha/Getty ImagesHe looks to pick up cues from batters to help with his bowling plans. “My aim is, I should be able or at least try to read the batsman’s mind – what is the situation, what the team needs, what the batsman will do. It is all about me staying confident.”If there is one person who is as happy about Noor’s success as his family, it is Rashid. Speaking to the broadcaster after the win against Mumbai, Rashid was effusive about Noor’s performance. “That little kid, he just wants to learn,” he said. And he’s working so hard. Last year he was working, bowling lots in the nets, and kept asking questions.”Even when I was having gym, he was coming to the gym and saying, ‘Let’s just bowl here in the gym.’ At 1am, 2am, he was coming when I was in the gym during Ramzan, and he was bowling with me in the gym. That much he wanted to get better, that much he wanted to perform.”He has got the opportunity now and he has been delivering. I am so, so happy he has been delivering. It’s great news for GT as well as for Afghanistan cricket.”It was Rashid who handed Noor his first IPL cap. Noor looks back at the conversation then. “He [Rashid] said, ‘Finally you get a chance to play at this kind of big level, which is every player’s dream. It is your hard work and your determination which gives you this place.'”With a laugh, Noor confirms what Rashid says about him picking his senior team-mate’s brains about bowling whenever he wants to. “It is true – even when we are eating food together, I am asking questions to him. I always ask questions whenever I am with him. He is like Google for me!Celebrating a wicket with Rashid. “I always ask questions whenever I am with him. He is like Google for me,” Noor says of his team-mate and idol•Associated Press”I have learned so much from Rashid, both on the field as well as off the field, about life. One of the most important is to have the belief in yourself anytime and face the challenge coming in front of you – never give up.”Noor says he now understands that he needs to use a lot of his body to drive the pace and he is learning the nuances of that by talking to more experienced spinners as he plies his trade in the T20 leagues.He has played just the one ODI, against Sri Lanka on the tour there late last year, but Ahmadazai believes it will not surprise him if Noor is picked for the ODI World Cup later this year in India.He has also shown batting smarts in pressure situations. “He is a brave person,” says Ahmadzai. “I remember the way he played against Naseem Shah and other fast bowlers in the Under-19 Asia Cup on a green top in Sri Lanka. He made 17 crucial runs and we won that match.”Noor thinks his IPL experience will strengthen his case for inclusion in Afghanistan’s squad for the World Cup. “It’s always been my dream to play for my country. Win matches for my country. So I am really looking forward if I get a chance. Inshallah.”The IPL started three years after Noor was born. He came to grow fond of Royal Challengers Bangalore over the seasons. His two favourite players were AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, before Rashid came along. These days, he is playing alongside his idol and bowling against the likes of Kohli. What will he like to take back from his maiden IPL season?”I want to see myself become better and have some star players’ wickets,” he says.Star players like Kohli? “Of course, I want,” Noor says.I wish Noor the best for his future. “And best of luck to my future English,” he says with a laugh.

It's time for Shakib vs Rashid as Afghanistan return to full strength

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The three-match ODI series in Chattogram promises a fascinating contest but rain could play spoilsport

Mohammad Isam04-Jul-2023Three months before they meet in Dharamshala to begin their respective World Cup campaigns, Bangladesh and Afghanistan meet in an ODI series to test each other. There is little to separate the two sides though their rivalry is not yet recognised as such. They have only been competing for 14 years at the international level, but they sit close together in the rankings, their players know each other from time spent together in T20 leagues, and they don’t like losing to one another.Afghanistan’s chance to bounce back
The visitors have to overcome the third largest Test defeat (by runs) of all time. Last month, Bangladesh crushed them in the one-off Test, with the game ending by noon on day four. Afghanistan fielded quite an inexperienced outfit for that game and the only players from that deflated Test side to make the ODI squad are captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah.The trio will form the crux of their ODI batting line-up, but they are complemented by the aggressive Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran. Their bowling attack is back to being close to full-strength. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will lead the spin attack with Nabi’s offspin adding crucial support. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai are gaining in experience particularly on sub-continent pitches. and while Usman Ghani didn’t agree with his omission, it seems Afghanistan have a strong white-ball unit in Bangladesh.Related

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Bangladesh look for balance
The home side’s team management have only one question in front of them: whether they want to go with an extra batter or bowler.With Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the line-up, Bangladesh have two extra bowlers already, complementing a pace attack that has looked menacing in white-ball cricket of late. Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain come into this game on the back of four-wicket hauls in the one-off Test, while Hasan Mahmud was Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker during their most recent ODI series, against Ireland in Chelmsford.The batting line-up wears a settled look. Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto have forged a tight top-order. The middle order comprises the experienced Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim and the young gun Towhid Hridoy. Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim are in the batting reserves.Shakib v Rashid
The battle within the battle will be between Shakib and Rashid. Fans of each team will claim that their allrounder as the best, and there isn’t much of a sample size from which to judge their battle in ODIs; the only thing of note is that each has dismissed the other twice in this format.When expanded to include all three formats, Shakib averages 21.25 and with a strike rate of 79.43 while batting against Rashid. He has got out four times to the legspinner. Conversely, Rashid also hasn’t done well against Shakib: dismissed twice in nine innings, averaging 13.5 while striking at 77.14.Shakib and Rashid have had a tremendous impact on their respective teams. Both missed the one-off Test in Dhaka and their return will inspire their team-mates, and make this series even more worth the watch.Fazalhaq Farooqi was the leading wicket-taker in the last ODI series between the two teams•AFP/Getty ImagesThe monsoon threat
The forecast for Chattogram promises spells of rain or thunderstorms on every day of this white-ball series. What else can you expect during the monsoon season in Bangladesh? The only other time international cricket was played in Chattogram in July was eight years ago when Bangladesh played a rain-interrupted ODI and Test against South Africa.Tamim wary of Afghanistan attack
Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal said his side was aware of Afghanistan’s all-round bowling strength, and won’t focus on their spin attack only. Farooqi was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series in 2022, ahead of both Rashid and Shakib. Overall, the quicks slightly outbowled the spinners in that series, which was also played wholly in Chattogram.”This ODI series will be as competitive as the last two against them,” Tamim said. “They are a good side, especially in white-ball cricket. They probably have one of the best bowling attacks in the world. I don’t expect anything less than the last series. We have to fight really hard. We can’t expect to walk in and win the game.”It is a good thing that we are playing against them at least four times before the World Cup. They will also understand our strength and weaknesses. I think it’s a good thing for both the teams. Their fast bowlers did well in the last [ODI] series against us compared to their spinners. We cannot focus too much on their spin attack. They have quality fast bowlers as well. They are one of the most quality attacks in the world. We have to be at our very best to overcome them.”Tamim said this series would be crucial to Bangladesh’s momentum ahead of the stern tests that will follow. “We have this series, the Asia Cup and the New Zealand series,” he said. “It will give us the best possible preparations. We have been playing well in ODIs recently. This is a very important series.”Our opponent has a strong bowling unit. If we can do well against them, it is the best possible confidence [we can gain].”

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