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ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2016But it was England who resumed with intent•Getty Images… Alastair Cook quickly bringing up his second fifty of the match•Getty ImagesCook and Joe Root extended their second-wicket stand to 105•Getty Images… with Root cutting loose after his first-innings 254•Getty ImagesHe brought up his fifty from 38 balls, England’s fastest against Pakistan•Getty ImagesBunny: James Anderson removed Shan Masood for the sixth consecutive innings•Getty ImagesAnd Azhar Ali became Anderson’s second as his lean series continued•AFPMohammad Hafeez dug in for Pakistan before lunch•Getty ImagesYounis Khan settled into his role after a skittish start to his innings•Getty ImagesEngland’s challenge got harder when Ben Stokes pulled up in his follow through•Getty ImagesStokes cut a dejected figure as he left the field with a calf injury•Getty ImagesHafeez’s innings ended on 42, via a bat-pad catch off Moeen Ali•Getty ImagesYounis Khan had again spent his innings jumping around the crease to the quicks, but he fell when he picked out long-on against Moeen•Getty ImagesMoeen played his part in the afternoon session after Stokes’ injury•AFPShortly before tea, Misbah-ul-Haq dragged on a full delivery as Chris Woakes again struck in the first over of a spell•AFPAnderson trapped Asad Shafiq lbw in the first over after tea•AFP… then, five balls later, Woakes snared Sarfraz Ahmed•AFPYasir Shah fell lbw to Moeen for 10•AFP… before Root struck with his second ball to remove Wahab Riaz, Pakistan nine down•AFPStuart Broad took the catch to dismiss Mohammad Amir seal victory by 330 runs•Getty ImagesCook led his players off having levelled the series•AFPRoot was named Man of the Match for his 325 runs, not to mention a wicket•Getty Images

A few facts about and thoughts from fast bowler Joe Mennie, who is in with a chance of a debut in the Perth Test at the WACA against South Africa beginning on Thursday

Daniel Brettig01-Nov-20161:48

‘As ready as I’m going to be’ – Mennie

Raised in Newcastle on the New South Wales north coast, Joe Mennie played junior cricket with and against Phillip Hughes of Macksville”I spent a bit of time between Coffs Harbour and Newcastle so I played a bit with him and a bit against him. Playing against him wasn’t fun, he always managed to rattle off a ton, then he came across to South Australia and I spent a couple of years there with him.”He was a batsman before he evolved into a bowler, and still takes pride in his skill with the bat”When I was younger I was more of a batsman and probably developed a bit later than most blokes. About 18 or 19 I got a bit taller, a bit bigger and the ball started coming out a bit quicker and I thought of myself as more of a bowler as my batting skills started to fall away a bit. I do work hard on it, we all have to bat, that’s the way it is, not everyone gets to bowl but we all get to bat. I want to help out as much as possible, lower-order runs are always handy whether for South Australia or Australia, it is always going to help the team.”He was a member of the NSW state squad before being cut and moving to South Australia”I was lucky I had offers from Tasmania and South Australia at that stage so it wasn’t really too bad, blunted the blow a bit, I made the move to SA and happy I did, haven’t looked back. It was tough for me to pack up my stuff and move to a state where I didn’t know anyone as well, but looking back it has helped me. They [NSW] were happy with how I am going but they saw people ahead of me. Heading to SA I wanted to put my best foot forward, so I probably did work a bit harder and did things a bit differently, I didn’t have the support base or comfort zone so it was up to me.”‘About 18 or 19 I got a bit taller, a bit bigger and the ball started coming out a bit quicker and I thought of myself as more of a bowler’ – Joe Mennie•Getty ImagesHis early hero was Brett Lee before he realised he was not cut out to bowl that fast”Brett Lee was always one [of the guys I looked up to], unfortunately I never hit that pace but I could always dream and as a youngster when a Test summer came around running in and watching him bowl quick was great. Recognising I am not going to bowl express pace and rattle a batsman at my pace I need to be accurate and hit an area consistently or I wouldn’t get far. I generally haven’t been a [swing] bowler per se, it is more just hit the seam and get a bit of movement off the deck, older ball reverse swing has probably been my thing, but with the new ball hit the seam.”Alongside Chadd Sayers, Daniel Worrall and Kane Richardson, Mennie has been part of a strong SA attack”We had a good season last year, we get around each other and are great mates on and off the field, that helps. Some days you have a bad day and you have the lads there who can get you back up. We talk about bowling partnerships, if the other bloke is doing well, you just want to dry it up at the other end and help him out as much as you can.”He learned about the step up from first-class to international cricket on the recent ODI tour to South Africa”I always knew it was going to be tough, it was a tough induction. I take out of it that your good balls are still going to go, you can bowl what you bowl but your good balls are going to go for four or six. They are good quality batsman on good pitches, I knew it was going to be tough but not as tough as my induction was.”

Winless on the tour, it took a century from the New Zealand captain to help turn around their fortunes in Delhi

Arun Venugopal21-Oct-20161:46

Agarkar: Once Williamson gets a start, he gets big runs

It’s easy to picture Kane Williamson as a school head boy. Like the best of them, he is extremely talented, has a fine work ethic and seen to be an ‘all-round good bloke.’As with all good head boys, Williamson finds himself at the nervecentre of every activity. Team meeting? Call Williamson. Press conference? Williamson will tackle it.Williamson on…

Winning and getting a hundred
“It’s great that we showed some signs of improvement from the previous game which is always our focus. Although there were a lot of dots which is sort of the nature of the surface there was also boundaries which allowed us to score at a reasonably good rate. So it was nice to get that partnerships saying if we were able to perhaps get a few more in the later overs, we could have gotten an even better score.”
Boult
“Boult was extremely clever the way he tried to swing the ball early and then made the adjustment to come round the wicket just so with the low bounce not to give width. He was extremely accurate and I think a huge part or a huge reason why we got over the line today is his 10 overs.”

There is also the inevitable comparison with his predecessor – Brendon McCullum – to contend with. While McCullum had the class of 2015 rapping to the tune of fearless, attacking cricket, Williamson’s imprint is still work in progress.The class of 2016 does not comprise slackers – most of McCullum’s merry men continue with the good work – but the India tour has proved to be overwhelming for many of them. Martin Guptill has resembled an agonised drifter, while Ross Taylor seems to have gone uncomfortably numb. After the Test series whitewash, the free fall continued in the first ODI in Dharamsala. Who do they call on to arrest it? You hear a chorus, “Captain Kane!”It is not like Williamson has had it all worked out himself. While he has looked good on different occasions during the tour – never mind the bullying by R Ashwin – he had not managed a century. “That is a good place to start,” Mike Hesson, the headmaster, may possibly have told Williamson on the eve of the game. “And, for heaven’s sake, win the toss.” No pressure, Kane.Hours later, Williamson loses another toss. Minutes later, he watches Guptill’s bat stay away from the ball’s path. Seconds later, Williamson walks out. India’s new-ball pair of Umesh Yadav and Hardik Pandya has a skinny leg-side field, and they keep the off side interested by bowling well outside off. Further, the slip goes out to short cover, and a gully is in place to shut down the dab to third man, one of Williamson’s strong scoring zones.Williamson, standing on middle and leg stump, moves closer to the off stump. The counter-strategy is to enable him to connect deliveries outside off better, and also create an angle favourable for leg-side play. And so, Williamson flicks and tucks balls that remotely veer towards middle and leg, while flaunting his cover drive when the bowler overcorrects and goes too wide outside off.MS Dhoni is doing everything to seal the off side, especially in front of square on a dull track, but there is the left-hand solidity of Tom Latham to contend with as well. Like many head boys, Williamson has a geeky, loyal sidekick in Latham, who refused to abandon the crease in Dharamsala even as the rest of his mates loped off.1:46

‘Fantastic effort from our seam bowlers’ – Williamson

The pitch has by now begun misbehaving, and the balls keep low as promised. But Latham is driving and pulling smoothly, as is Williamson, who does so by going down on his knee. At the start of the 13th over, he stays low and bashes Axar Patel through midwicket, and two balls later steps out to loft him over mid-on for six. The next delivery is flat and fast. Williamson lets the ball go past him and taps it on its head past gully. When Wiliamson is not playing these strokes, he is sweeping firmly and wristily. He has scored a half-century, but there is no theatre. The celebrations can wait. New Zealand, though, are breathing more easily at 115 for 1 in 20 overs.That soon changes as Kedar Jadhav dismisses Latham with his Virender Sehwag-esque offbreaks. Jadhav’s larger contribution, however, is drawing Taylor out of the dressing room. For the next 10 overs, Taylor is swiping at everything, but mostly air. Attempted cuts are inside-edged and slower ones are missed. The bowlers are now bowling further away from off stump. When one of Taylor’s desperate swishes lands into the fielder’s hands, New Zealand have scored only 38 runs in the 10.3 overs since Latham’s dismissal.Williamson knows the momentum has been snatched away. The bowling side is on top. He merely looks downwards with one hand on his waist. There is no discernible emotion otherwise. There is Corey Anderson on the comeback trail, and together they attempt to rebuild, brick by brick. As Williamson nears his hundred, the exertions are showing. On a day of unusual injuries – Rohit Sharma later seems to have a bicep cramp – Williamson’s forearms are cramping. Massages are given and fluids are administered, literally, as he is not able to hold the bottle.But, Williamson gets back to work, drives crisply to gather the two runs needed for his century. The bat is held up momentarily and the helmet is off, more as a polite ‘thank you’ than in any sense of accomplishment. Soon, he watches Anderson depart. Not long after, he departs, too, after battling three flanks – India’s tactics, his team-mates’ inadequacies and his own body.New Zealand’s last ten overs are a laborious blur and they only just manage a par score. But, as the night comes to a close, the head boy is making his victory speech. Unlike whatever he has done on the field, it is vanilla and free of passion. The good head boy is glad to keep it this way.

Parthiv Patel returned to India’s Test team with a useful 42 off 85 balls, seeing off the new-ball threat right after he had kept wicket for 94 overs

Alagappan Muthu in Mohali27-Nov-20161:38

Ganguly: Parthiv must use this opportunity

There was the pitter patter of panic-stricken feet as India’s innings began.It was understandable that Parthiv Patel would be a bit eager. But his shot went straight to the fielder at cover. Expecting a run from there betrayed that he was playing Test cricket for the first time in eight years. And so for a few seconds he looked like a wind-up toy; wandering forward and wobbling back.For the rest of the morning, he looked like a man with his captain and coach’s backing along with the confidence of five 50-plus scores in his last six first-class matches.Parthiv’s contribution to India’s total may at first glance seem small – 42 runs off 85 balls, collected in typical fashion through drives both pretty and flash, and cuts and flicks often delicate and precise. There was nothing new to talk about – Gautam Gambhir had provided a talking point with his open stance – and nothing spectacular about Parthiv’s innings to warrant making space in the memory banks. He came, did his job, and might well disappear into the fabric of Indian cricket history. But he would be damned if he went without showing his value as a cricketer.Prior to the start of the Test, KL Rahul, the specialist opener, had injured his left forearm in the nets and the team did not have any back-ups. That may have meant shoving Cheteshwar Pujara up the order – as had happened on a seaming track in Colombo 2015 – but he has been in outstanding form at No. 3. The new man in the XI – Karun Nair – was a debutant and he has played in the middle order all his domestic career. Virat Kohli has never batted at the top before and Ajinkya Rahane might have preferred the comfort of his usual No. 5 position given his lack of runs in this series.That left Parthiv – the second-oldest player in the side – to keep wicket and then promptly come back to face James Anderson and company. He would have practiced for the position of No. 6 or 7 leading up to the match, but with one day’s notice he was asked to do something vastly different. It is because of this willingness to do a tough job that so many teams – six IPL franchises included – like him. Sure, that also indicates how often he hasn’t been retained in the same set up, but there’s always someone willing to make a bid for him.Parthiv Patel did his job of seeing off the new ball•AFPIndia went into Mohali with their sixth set of openers since the tour of Sri Lanka last year. Their bowlers had performed admirably, having lost the toss, to restrict England to 283 on a decent pitch. That was still runs on the board though, with the experts predicting batting to get more difficult with the passing of time. Parthiv, by lasting 26 overs, and playing as he usually does, proved to the rest of his team-mates – all of whom made their debuts after his last Test in August 2008 – that all was well. A man with his technique – impulsive on the drive and iffy on the pull – couldn’t have prospered without making any adjustments if the surface had demons.He got off the mark with a neat clip to the square-leg boundary and extended his innings with a review. Chris Woakes thought he had Parthiv caught down the leg side. Marais Erasmus agreed and raised the finger. Parthiv called for DRS immediately and gestured to his hip as he strode down the pitch. Replays confirmed neither bat nor glove was involved and Kumar Dharmasena, in a simple slip of the tongue, instructed his partner to “stay with your on-field decision.”It appears jokes just follow Parthiv, and if they can’t land him, they go after the next sucker. He couldn’t avoid them forever though. In the 21st over, he lost grip of his bat as he fended at a short ball. Before he could reorient himself, his partner M Vijay had called for a single, and like any number of cartoon characters with their backsides on fire he ran his legs off. Anil Kumble was seen indulging in good-natured laughter. Last November, Parthiv was quite happy to troll himself, tweeting a picture of his food and tagging it “even the dosa is taller than me.” At the PCA stadium, India were taller because of him.

Vijay Shankar has had to deal with several injuries, a surgery and months of recovery, but is fresh and ready to tackle the rest of the season

Arun Venugopal24-Feb-2017If you were to graphically illustrate Vijay Shankar’s career over the last seven months, it would take the form of an N – a sharp surge followed by a steep fall before another surge. Between the two ebbs that saw him go from being in top form – a breakout Ranji Trophy season in 2014-15 was followed by solid performances for India A – to being regarded as one of the country’s leading all-rounders and Tamil Nadu’s limited-overs captain, he went through what he called the most difficult phase of his life.A knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear and a grade-four patella injury rendered him unfit for India A’s tour of Australia in August last year and kept him out of the game for nearly three and a half months. During that period, he watched Hardik Pandya, who replaced him in the India A squad, resurrect his career in Australia and find a place in India’s ODI and Test squads. What hurt Vijay most was that for close to two months, all he could do was watch.It hadn’t been a straightforward decision to get operated upon in the first place. Vijay’s left knee had troubled him for a while, but he got through the IPL with cortisone injections in the hope of playing a few games. But, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s successful march to the title meant there weren’t too many changes to the first XI, and consequently Vijay had to play a part as a substitute fielder. After being picked for the India A team, Vijay thought he could play through pain but discovered it was harder than he had imagined.”Right after the IPL, we played a lot of cricket in Chennai. The effect of the cortisone wore off – once it goes away, you start feeling the pain,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “That was when we had a week-long training camp in Bangalore ahead of the A tour. I found that I couldn’t do anything. I went for another MRI and they said I have to go for a surgery so that I would be better at least during the middle of the Ranji Trophy.”It was very disappointing, but I would have found it difficult to give my best on the tour. Obviously if I am playing with pain, it will be at the back of my mind and affect my game. I spoke to a few people – my parents, physios and [India A coach] Rahul Dravid – and was really confused whether to take another injection and go and play in Australia, or get the surgery done as early as possible. It was a difficult call, but everyone suggested that I go for a surgery which was a long-term relief.”Vijay underwent surgery on July 18 and after a month’s rest, reported to the NCA in Bangalore for rehabilitation. With so much cricketing action around him, he felt miserable he wasn’t part of it. It was Rajinikanth, the trainer at NCA, who helped him lighten up.”The two months that I was at the NCA was the most difficult thing,” Vijay said. “It was very difficult for me to watch a cricket match on TV, especially as there was a persistent feeling of missing something. But cricket was everywhere: there was some Test match in the morning, the Duleep Trophy and the Tamil Nadu Premier League – I missed the whole tournament for Lyca Kovai Kings – in the evening. So anytime you change the channel, you would end up watching cricket.”What I missed more at the time was the experience of playing in Australia. But, being with Rajinikanth helped take my mind off from all these things. Whenever he would see me get a little uncomfortable watching cricket, he would say: “Kavala padadha da thambi. Namma nalla train panni we will get better (don’t worry, brother. We will train hard and get better) and immediately take me out to take my mind off cricket. In fact, I have spent a lot of time with physios and trainers over the last few months. I have been lucky to have trainers Rajamani, Rajinikanth and Ramji Srinivasan and physios Kannan and Thulasi; they have given me so much time.”Vijay Shankar only played a part as a substitute fielder in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s successful 2016 IPL campaign•BCCIVijay admitted he had let negative thoughts creep into his mind in the past and he didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes. His only recourse, therefore, was to train hard. The desire to return to the Tamil Nadu fold for the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season drove him to push the limits. He would even go to Chennai during the weekends and spend time with his personal coach S Balaji and the Lyca Kovai Kings franchise. “During the 2014-15 season when TN reached the Ranji final, I had a fractured finger and other problems after the first few games,” he said. “Despite having a decent first-class average, I was still in and out of the side. So, obviously there was the fear that if I didn’t score in a game I wouldn’t play the next game and so I was restricting myself and not playing my natural game.”I then decided that I should not think about what would happen if I didn’t perform. The only way to get out of the negativity is to train hard. When you are tired after training, you don’t have any energy to think; you just want to sleep.”Vijay could only pack in only ten batting sessions before the start of the Ranji Trophy. He missed the first three games, but was ready for the Madhya Pradesh game, where he scored a run-a-ball 41. But, his misfortune with injuries continued as he hurt his knee while fielding against Baroda. He missed the next game, but returned to play the remaining games to finish with 312 runs from seven innings, including a century and a fifty, at an average of 52. Vijay also smashed an unbeaten 103 off 81 balls against Bangladesh in a tour game.Such exertions came with a price as Vijay had to live with a few niggles. While he couldn’t bend his leg on the morning of the Punjab match, he retired hurt during his innings against Gujarat before returning to complete his hundred. “They say it is quite normal to get niggles after surgery,” he said. “No matter how much I strengthen the surrounding muscles around the knee, if I am going to play a four-day match after a long time there would obviously be some impact. I needed to do some glute-activation work and pressure-release work to ensure there was no stiffness. I had to keep working on strengthening surrounding muscles and getting it better.”The upshot of the rehabilitation process was that Vijay developed a greater understanding of his body. “In the past, whenever I had a niggle, I would ignore it and let it heal on its own. Now, I tell the physio that I am facing some difficulty,” he said. “In the past, I would train full throttle. Now, after the surgery, I have realised that it is important to give my body sufficient rest.”It is understood that the selectors rate Vijay as one of the top four or five all-rounders in the country. They also expect him to bowl a lot more. Vijay finished with seven wickets in the Ranji Trophy, including an impressive spell of 4-59 against Mumbai in the semi-finals.”Obviously if I start bowling more, I will get better. To bowl more, I must be effective whenever I get to bowl – it doesn’t matter if it is the 40th or the 100th over,” he said. “I should start bowling more not just in the Ranji Trophy, but also in the TNCA league. Obviously this year has been a little difficult with the injuries; I have lost my run-up and my stride has become longer. I am working on those aspects. From that perspective, I am happy I did well in the semi-finals.”His hundred against the touring Bangladesh side earned him the praise of MSK Prasad, the chairman of the selection committee, but Vijay didn’t want to get carried away. “During the Bangladesh game, I went in to bat at No.8. I never thought I will get to bat because I was slotted in at No.8 and other batsmen were already scoring big runs. But I got a chance and made use of it.”The good thing about me over the last few days is I am not putting any pressure on myself. I don’t wait for someone to appreciate me for what I am doing. I don’t know how I have got this habit, but I try to play one match and give it my best – it doesn’t matter which level of cricket I am playing in. It gives me satisfaction that I am not thinking about others, not competing with others. I am just trying to do well and get better as a cricketer everyday.”Having led Tamil Nadu to four wins in five games in the inter-state T20 tournament, Vijay said he enjoyed the challenges of captaincy and was looking forward to finishing games for the team. “Only when you start winning finals will people realise that players from Tamil Nadu are doing well,” he said. “In the last two years, I played for India A because I did well in the knockouts. Only when we get into the knockouts do people start watching. That’s how we get better as a team and better as individuals.”

From planning to protest against the IPL to becoming fans of the league

Rahul Misra23-Apr-2017In the middle of the previous decade, cricket fans in India were introduced to a new spectacle. The BCCI, in all its wisdom, paraded its top brass on television and proposed the Indian Premier League. Supposedly perfect for an evening out with friends and family, the matches would finish in three hours. You know, like baseball.I still remember the disgust with which my circle of friends discussed the new competition. Our beloved game was being demolished, sold to the television gods for prime-time revenues. What about the battle between bat and ball, we asked, our collective voices high-pitched with indignation. What about the delicious build-up to the final hour? Imagine our horror when we realised that the game blessed by WG Grace and Ranjitsinhji would now have cheerleaders.We couldn’t have been more annoyed if our quiet neighbourhood pub was being replaced by a screeching karaoke bar. Or if our favourite local fish-and-curry restaurant was demolished for a fast-food joint. Might as well tear up Eden Gardens and put a shopping mall on the pitch.We felt we were being betrayed. After a few beers, we even drew up plans to raise banners of protest outside the BCCI office. But then we were a bunch of couch commentators. Talkers, not doers. By the next morning, our indignation had given way to a headache and a hangover, but our decision to boycott stood firm. Or so we thought.One of the chaps in our group was more of a football fan. Every set of friends has at least one of them. He couldn’t stand Test cricket, thought draws after five days were a colossal waste of time, and believed David Beckham was a greater sportsman than Sachin Tendulkar. Always the odd one out, he couldn’t understand why we were so fussed. From his point of view, cricket was finally becoming a tad interesting.He was the one who secretly got us tickets. After raining our anger down at him, the rest of us looked at each other and shrugged. It was a Mumbai Indians match. Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in the same team, opening the batting together. We couldn’t really resist that, could we?So when the day of the match arrived, all of us grudgingly headed to the stadium, promising ourselves we wouldn’t enjoy it. It probably took about five overs for our resolve to fly out of the stadium like those huge sixes that the batsmen unleashed. By the end, we were dancing the in the aisles while the cheerleaders twirled their pom-poms.Ten years have passed since then. I no longer live in India and that circle of friends has spread to different parts of the world. Last month, I saw a tweet from that football-loving friend praising Cheteshwar Pujara’s 525-ball vigil against Australia. I buzzed him and imagine my surprise when he said it was the best match he had ever seen!If it wasn’t for the initial taste of the IPL, perhaps he would never have gotten converted. T20 is cricket’s teaser, that free cocktail that gets people in the door and encourages them to hang around for the seven-course dinner. They come in for the sixes and stay for the maiden overs.As for me and the rest of my friends, we have enthusiastically supported our chosen teams for the past decade. Let’s just say that while we enjoy our quiet beers, that doesn’t mean we can’t sing a mean rendition of “We are the Champions” on karaoke.Want to be featured on Inbox? Send your articles to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

Heather Knight, Jenny Gunn, Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Fran Wilson, and coach Mark Robinson tell the story of England’s World Cup journey

Interviews by Jarrod Kimber24-Jul-2017Jenny Gunn: I’m really glad you brought this back up. Robinson: There were certain things that were blatantly obvious. We had players that weren’t fit enough. The girls had come back from the Big Bash; only two of them had come back in the right state, the rest of them had come back and let themselves down. It was just certain things that were fundamentally wrong, and they could be easily dealt with. It was a case of what we needed to be doing.Gunn: I think that’s what we’ve really done over the last year and a half. We knew back then that this is what we needed to work on: we needed to work on our fitness, we needed to be more attacking, and I think we’ve really shown that this tournament.Gunn: It’s always hard. She’s been my captain for what – the last ten years? Played in the same team when I was 13, so it always comes as a bit of a shock.

“We’ve fought like hell this tournament. It’s been a theme of the tournament – us fighting hard and holding our nerve”Heather Knight

Fran Wilson: It was quite a turbulent time because Charlotte’s always been a part of the England team, as long as I can remember. It was quite a big shock and probably affected the girls a little bit. But I think in the long run, what Mark Robinson has done has been really good for the team. That’s just testament to Robbo and the kind of faith he’s shown in all of us.Tammy Beaumont: It was a tough month or so. Charlotte has been probably quite a big influence on the first half of my career. She’s also a good friend. She can look back at her career knowing that she did a great job for England and left us in a good place.Robinson: I just knew it was right. When it’s that simple in your mind – and it wasn’t against Charlotte, because Charlotte was still a very good player, but the team had to go in a different direction and we had to put things differently in place, and I think it was something like 18 months before the next competition – this one. It was too long to wait and get through to before you start making changes. It was about looking big picture really, and luckily Clare Connor backed the decision.Beaumont: I think he’s just been really honest. It was pretty obvious what was wrong in the World T20 semi-final in India. It was one of those where you know we may have been blinded for a few years and it took something like that.Natalie Sciver: He’s the starting point. He’s had coaches come in and help along the way. In our team, we’ve created an open and honest environment where we can all give each other feedback, take feedback, but not let it affect you – take it on the chin and let each other thrive in the environment. It’s a really special kind of culture that we’ve created and I think it really shows on the pitch when we’re all smiling and looking like we’re having fun. It’s not forced. Looking like we’re having fun and just being happy out there representing your country with your best friends.Gunn: I think it’s helped [to have a coach] coming from men’s cricket, really. He’s got us all fitter, anyway. He’s brought in the support staff which has been brilliant, really. We’ve got Ian Salisbury for the spinners, Tom Smith for allrounders, Ali Maiden batting.Getty Images/ICCRobinson: Mistakes are okay. You will make mistakes, you will get out; it’s what kind of mistakes you’ll make. I would rather you make a positive mistake, rather you make a mistake by being on the front foot than going into your shell and doing things for the sake of it.Wilson: He’s very honest with us – if we need something, some feedback which isn’t something we necessarily want to hear, but in the long run is going to help our game, that is something for me the biggest thing the coach has done for me. Growing up I didn’t want to be told what to do because I thought I was right, but the environment he’s created is this open and honest environment where everyone’s opinion counts and everyone helps each other. When someone else scores runs, you feel like you’ve helped them get there because you’ve been giving them feedback and helping them with their game. I think that’s the biggest thing with our environment.Beaumont: When Robbo came in, I saw it as a second chance. It made it very simple for me. If you have any doubt over what shot to play, don’t. He’d tell me off for poking around.Wilson: As the home team, you are under more pressure. Just a few things didn’t go our way and we came out on the wrong side.Beaumont: This tournament has been built up for four years, and for us as, a home nation hosting it, it really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s one of those things that can happen. In a way, we hadn’t actually played any international cricket for over six months before that, so we probably hadn’t tested ourselves in that way – obviously we played warm-up games against India and West Indies in favourable conditions for us, when they’d just got off the plane, so you take the results with a pinch of salt. It is different when you step out at Derby and have that pressure of a World Cup game, and I think it was a good reminder to us that we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing and get better with every game.Gunn: Towards the back end we had to score at what – eight or nine an over? So we were going to take some silly runs and we were going to get run out.

“I couldn’t play tennis because I kept hitting the ball too far. I wanted to hit it hard but it just wouldn’t stay in the court. Luckily, here I’m allowed to do that”Nat Sciver

Robinson: I always felt that we’d get better as the competition went on. Anya hadn’t played since November, she was down on overs, down on confidence. [Katherine] Brunty had picked up an injury in the Big Bash – she was down on overs, down on confidence. Heather Knight had just had this foot injury, no cricket, bit anxious herself. We missed [Lauren] Winfield. Sarah [Taylor], everybody was hoping and praying that she was going to be okay. There was a lot of hopes and not a lot of guarantees.Wilson on her run-out: I thought I was in. I thought I was miles in, to be honest. I was gutted to get out in that way. Looking back now on that game, I think every cloud has a silver lining. It was the best thing that happened. It really gave us a bit of a kick, put us under a bit of pressure.Robinson: We took the game deep, and on another day we could’ve pinched it. We wouldn’t have deserved it, but we could have pinched it, and that’s what we always talk about – taking games deep, staying in games as long as you can to keep them alive. We actually took confidence from that and then we played Pakistan and Sri Lanka and got some momentum and were off running.Sciver: I think also we didn’t do the good things for long enough. We had all the plans, knew what we wanted to do, but just didn’t quite execute. The first game of the tournament and it was bigged up a lot. Obviously there were a few nerves around and there still are – we’re just better at controlling it now.Heather Knight: () I’m going to embarrass her now – I think it was the best innings I’ve seen Nat play. I think she hit the ball brilliantly from ball one, as she often does, and she is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the world.Gunn: She hits balls so hard. She hits like a man. I feel for people who have to field against her, but it’s just so nice to do it on a big stage. How she scored two hundreds in the tournament – it just shows that she’s a world-class batter, and she’s up there with some of the best players I’ve ever played with.Getty ImagesWilson: I guess it’s not really a surprise for people like us because we see it in training. We see Nat smash sixes every day in training.Beaumont: She’s incredible, the way that she can strike the ball. Nat is superhuman, I think.Sciver: When I was younger, I played a lot of tennis and hockey and things like that, so I had the hand-eye coordination. I couldn’t play tennis because I kept hitting the ball too far. I wanted to hit it hard but it just wouldn’t stay in the court. Luckily, here I’m allowed to do that.Sciver: She’s got her own little mannerisms. She likes to do a lot of gardening. When she and Lauren Winfield bat together, they kind of do it together.Beaumont: Heather’s nicknamed us Twinfield. That’s quite cute. Lauren and I go back a long time. We used to open the batting together at university and we’re really good friends off the pitch as well.Robinson: I couldn’t understand why Lauren Winfield wasn’t scoring any runs, and I couldn’t understand why Tammy Beaumont wasn’t in the squad or in the team. The first thing was to try and negotiate her into the reckoning. She’d had a lot of baggage within the group and with those who had written her off.

“She will never lay down, she will win. It’s a great thing to have someone like that in your team”Fran Wilson on Alex Hartley

Beaumont: I’ve had a pretty good 12 months coming in, had a bit of a breakthrough against Pakistan last summer. It’s been nice, this tournament, to test myself against the better bowling attacks in the world, and that is something I’ve been working towards for a long time. I think for me it’s all about getting the team off to a good startRobsinon: She managed to get into the T20 team in India by default really, because Charlotte was ill for a game. She came in and she got fifty and got herself in. She’d had a good T20 campaign, so when we came out of that – as we do with all the players – we sit down and identify what they need to do. We wanted Tammy to tighten up off stump. Management of off stump, as you’re opening the batting, is the obvious thing to do. Then all we did was back her and give her the freedom to play as we have all the players.Beaumont: I almost went away and said, “Right, I want to be the world’s best opening batter.” I’m still not there yet – I’ve still got a long way to go – but I’m working towards that.Robinson: She’s an emotional girl, and she’ll always ride that rollercoaster of emotions. She’s ever so talented and it was pretty obvious.Beaumont: I personally would happily get a duck if we win. Kind of.Guardian Beaumont: I lived with the girl for a couple of years and she’s a massive fighter. She’s so determined, so that almost comes out in her bowling.Getty Images Gunn: She’s picked up wickets regularly, and big wickets as well which no one’s complaining about. She’s just willing to learn and she wants to do so much for the team. Ian Salisbury has really helped her understand her bowling a bit more. She’s doing really well.Wilson: She’s just a very very gritty player. Batting and fielding hasn’t always come naturally to her, and with her bowling, she was dropped out of the academy squad when she was 14. Ever since then she just trains so hard and she’s just so resilient and gritty. When you’re facing her that just comes out. She will never lay down, she will win. It’s a great thing to have someone like that in your team. Beaumont: When she sets her mind to something, she’ll go out and get it. She had to overcome a lot of things to get into the squad in the first place, so it was kind of an uphill struggle for her to get into the squad. Robinson: She doesn’t go away, and she keeps getting people out. You can’t ignore that. I’d been watching her. Jonathan Finch, who’s our performance director, he’d just been to Sri Lanka and he kept talking about Alex. None of the batters played her well, she attacked both edges, and she kept getting people out. You can’t ignore that. She’s a bit different and she’s a bit quirky but she’s ever so resilient as well. Everyone told her what she can’t do and that she’s not good enough, and she’s not gone away. I like players like that. You watch her in her performances – it was about giving her opportunities. Beaumont: She’s kind of unfazed by anything and she’s not necessarily from the biggest cricket background. At Surrey Stars last year, she met Alec Stewart. She went, “Sorry, who are you?” I was like, “Alex, that’s the captain of England, wicketkeeper, opening bat. Just shut up.” Nothing fazes her. It doesn’t matter if she’s bowling at Meg Lanning or a No. 11. She knows exactly her job, to nail the stumps, always keep hitting the stumps and she’s worked incredibly hard over the last 12 months to hone her bowling.Hartley on bowling to Lanning: It’s just another batter to me when I’m bowling. We’re all in it, we’re all capable of getting her out. If I think about it too much, I get too nervous. Before I bowled that ball, I was like “Quicker ball, slower ball, quicker ball, slower ball?” I was like, “Slower ball.” And it worked! I’m new on the scene, so I had to keep chill.

“Mental health is new to a lot of people but helping and supporting Yards [Michael Yardy] helped me as a human being, and it helped me be able to manage cricketers. The same with Sarah”Mark Robinson

Robinson: The difference with Sarah from the Yards situation was it was a lot more integrated. The ECB have more experience now, so we’ve had a lot more openness and access about what is happening through Sarah that allows it to be a lot easier.Wilson: I think it just gives you a bit of a reality check because it puts everything into perspective, because your health is more important than anything, and Sarah’s life is more important than anything that happens on the pitch. I think that gave us as a squad a bit of perspective and also made us more open with maybe being a bit nervous or worried. It is a high-pressure environment, and Sarah being so open about what she went through helped.Robinson: Mental health is new to a lot of people but helping and supporting Yards helped me as a human being, it helped me as a dad, helped me as a husband, and it helped me be able to manage cricketers. The same with Sarah, to share the experiences with what’s happening with Sarah to the group – we do a lot of not trying to normalise emotion. Everybody’s going to be nervous as hell, you’re going to feel your heart going, and it’s okay. It’s absolutely normal to do it.Gunn: We went to Abu Dhabi as a training side and she scored runs out there. It was like she’d never been away. We know how good she can play, and yes, she’s had a year off but once she picked up a bat – it was like “Okay, Sarah’s back.”Robinson: You’re going to fail as well as succeed. Anxiety from Sarah – she’s obviously got it to an extreme, but we all get anxious at times. She helps players deal with it by saying some of the distractions that she uses.Getty ImagesBeaumont: Anytime Sarah’s got a smile on her face it’s great to see, and when she’s scoring runs in an England shirt that’s even better.Gunn: I think a few people would’ve thought: shit. If I can say that. Wilson: This team – it doesn’t feel like we ever panic. That shows on the pitch, with the way that we’ve got over the line in a few games. Even when Katherine and Jenny went in, we all knew how capable they are.Gunn: Our batters are normally too good, so I don’t normally get a go. It was nice to bat with Katherine. I haven’t batted with her for ages – it’s still like old times. She still tells me what to do all the time! But we got a decent score on the board.Yes, we had to kind of rebuild. We were both kind of new to the crease, so it’s always trying to figure out where our scoring options are to certain bowlers. It was a really good track that day, so I think that helped, but we knew that we probably had to target a few more towards the end – like [Kristen] Beam’s bowling.I think as well, on any day, Katherine – if she hits it well, she can clear any boundary. I don’t think she likes it when people hit sixes bigger than her. It was really nice to get up to a score where we thought it was a bit more above par, because it was a good track and with that team they can obviously chase 260.Wilson: For me, watching, I was a bit nervous in general, but in the back of my mind I always knew that they could do it.

“It’s more when I have a drink I don’t shut up. So I get called Verbal Valerie, because I don’t shut up. Val just comes out. The other day when we were batting against Australia – they just said, ‘Oh, Val’s out!'”Jenny Gunn

Sciver: I always find it harder to watch a batting innings when you’re not out there, so you can’t control it yourself. I was a bit nervous but I was just excited for them to show what they could do because I know that Katherine and Jenny can both score runs and also clear the ropes.Gunn: I think we can actually bat down the lower order. In the past our batters have performed so we haven’t had to score runs really, but we do bat right down the order. I think you just kind of bat time, and we had a lot of time to bat for a change, whereas normally we get five balls and it’s like, swing and hope for the best. It was nice to have some time, and I know Katherine’s game really well. We bat together quite a lot. We run well and actually managed to get it up there, where we could actually have some fun and actually try and hit some boundaries.Wilson: Off the pitch, Jen is like the caring mum of the group, and then when I went out there, she was very relaxed, just really stern. I was like, “Woah, she’s like flipped!” She actually has this alter ego called Val.Sciver: She’s verbal, Val, but she can also be the confident, outrageous alter ego of Jenny Gunn. We like to have Val on the pitch with us.Gunn: It’s more when I have a drink I don’t shut up. So I get called Verbal Valerie, because I don’t shut up. Val just comes out. The other day when we were batting against Australia – they just said, “Oh, Val’s out!” I think it was more when I hit a one-handed six – it wasn’t a one-handed six, but when it came off the bat, they were like, “Oh that’s so arrogant, that’s Val!” I was like, “It’s not Val – I just literally wasn’t there so my hand just came off!” It’s just the girls having a bit of fun, saying “Val’s out!” all the time.Getty ImagesShrubsole: I gave myself quite a long walk by staying in the dressing room as opposed to sitting down on the bench.Gunn: Anya – we call her Hoof, because she sometimes walks like a show pony with her feet. She strode out to the wicket and I was like “Yes, this is Hoof.” She was proper serious and I was like “We’ve got this.” First of all I told her she might get an offcutter, but she didn’t listen to a word I said.Shrubsole: She’s been telling everyone I didn’t listen to her, but I 100% did! She said that she’d been walking at [Shabnim] Ismail, so I was like “Oh, that sounds like a great idea.”Beaumont: We always joke – one of our old assistant coaches, Jack Birkenshaw, he used to say, “One day Anya can bat like Donald Bradman, another day she can bat like Donald Duck.” Over the last year or so she bats more like Don Bradman.Shrubsole: I was just thinking to get some bat on it and to try get Jen back on strike. I thought I’d try and walk outside the line of the ball, so at least if it hit me on the pad, I wasn’t going to be out and just get Jen back on strike.Beaumont: I felt a little sorry for little Alex Hartley. She was stood trembling in the corner next to us. When I looked over and it was two to win off three balls, I was like, “Alex, are you really going to keep that thigh pad on?” She had so much protection. She was like “Why, I can’t take it off!””Well you’ll run faster!”So we end up having a debate with the No. 11 over whether you should take your thigh pad off because she’ll run faster.

“She was stood trembling in the corner next to us. When I looked over and it was two to win off three balls, I was like, ‘Alex, are you really going to keep that thigh pad on?’Tammy Beaumont to Alex Hartley in the semi-final

“Well, what if I get hit on my leg?””Well, it really won’t matter because you can’t be out and you’ll run faster and we’ll win.”Gunn: Anya just charged and smashed it through the covers.Sciver: Anya Shrubsole crunched it through the covers for four, which we’d all been trying to do for the whole innings. She just nailed it first ball, so it was just meant to be.Gunn: She jumped at me. It was nice that Anya hit the winning runs. To be fair, if anyone hit the winning runs that day I didn’t care, it was just nice to get over the line. Shrubsole: I was just lucky that the ball was in the right place and stole a little bit of the glory from all the girls who’d done the hard work before.Shrubsole: My dad is this new-media superstar. It was an amazing photo, to be here watching him play when I was ten, and then to be back here 16 years later. If someone had told me I’d be back in a World Cup final and winning a World Cup final I’d have laughed them away.Knight: I know Ian Shrubsole, Anya’s dad. He’s a very proud parent, and Anya massively looks up to him.I remember coming here as a kid for my first training session and being in awe of the ground and the history of the place, so to come here today and win the World Cup final in front of a full house, is something I never thought I could do.Getty ImagesKnight: It did feel like it was slipping away, but we’ve fought like hell this tournament. It’s been a theme of the tournament – us fighting hard and holding our nerve.Shrubsole: Heather said she was about to take me off.Knight: We had the experience of getting over the line in tight games against Australia and South Africa in the semi, so if we got the chance, we thought we’d take it.Knight: It felt like she dropped the World Cup, to be honest. It was a hard one to deal with. I thought we’d won it, and then that drop went down.

Pressure from commercial sponsors may finally end the dispute between Cricket Australia and the players over the pay model

Daniel Brettig10-Jul-2017A recurring sight and sound of the Australian winter is that of top cricketers doing their best to act like they’re playing at the height of summer. That’s because July and August are when advertising and promotion for the following season are shot, whether it is Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell for KFC, Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon for Toyota, or all of the above for Nine’s summer of cricket.The Australian cricket pay war, however, means none of those shoots are currently happening at a chilly North Sydney Oval, an overcast Allan Border Field, or between showers at the SCG. Nor are any of the deals that usually result in said advertising being struck, at least not within the bounds preferred by Cricket Australia (CA) and its extensive list of protected sponsors (meaning that no player can sign to other sponsors in the same space – such as Toyota precluding Audi, or KFC ruling out McDonalds).In fact the only person to announce putting pen to paper in any way, since CA announced a downgraded alcohol partnership with Lion Nathan back in March, is Mitchell Starc. As of last week he is now on contract to an Audi dealership in western Sydney, in clear defiance of CA’s concurrent deal with Toyota. Depending on how talks between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) progress, it is almost certain that Starc will not be the last player to sign up for a similar kind of deal.Via correspondence to players on the eve of the previous MoU’s expiry on June 30, the team performance manager Pat Howard warned players against such deals. Starc’s actions demonstrated that the players were not fussed by the warnings, and that CA is rapidly losing control of a commercial space it had previously managed comfortably between players, sponsors and its annual grant – in lieu of the players’ intellectual property (IP) – to the ACA.

As recently as last week it is believed that CA was still searching for companies to take up advertising space in the ODI and T20 formats

Among the many reasons CA used to justify its attempt to break up the fixed percentage revenue model was uncertainty about the future commercial landscape. On the face of it, this was true – Commonwealth Bank have downgraded their sponsorship, Carlton and United Breweries ended theirs, and the Nine, Ten and Star (overseas rights) networks all have deals up for renewal next year.But in pushing the dispute beyond the expiry of the previous agreement without any sign of a resolution, and in turn leaving more than 230 players out of contract – including Smith, Warner, Starc and other marketable names – CA has invited a commercial maelstrom that has created far greater uncertainty than that which existed at the start of MoU negotiations last November. The pressure on CA’s leadership – the chairman David Peever, the chief executive James Sutherland and the lead MoU negotiator Kevin Roberts – is now mounting from all sides.Among the most pressing right now is that of major team sponsorships, after CommBank elected to get out of its Test team and series rights to concentrate on the women’s game, and CUB opted out of sponsoring the ODI team and the series it plays in. It has already been reported that the booming financial services firm Magellan is on the cusp of signing on for Test rights, but for many weeks now it has remained on the verge without actually signing.One of the reasons for this seeming hold-up is quite simple, and directly related to the pay dispute. As an ASX-listed company, Magellan must disclose all such activity to its shareholders and the market in general. By announcing the deal in the middle of the dispute, without any certainty about access to Australia’s top players or when they will next be playing, Magellan stands to put itself at risk of stalling a share price that has jumped from A$2.15 at the end of the 2012 financial year to A$27.07 as of Friday last week.At least in the case of Magellan, it appears CA will be able to announce the new partnership whenever a new MoU is struck. However, there is less assurance around deals for the limited-overs team. As recently as last week it is believed that CA was still searching for companies to take up advertising space in the ODI and T20 formats, and finding it decidedly difficult to find takers at a time when the governing body’s usually secure place as a home for advertisers, broadcasters and fans is being eroded.Set up in May this year by the ACA, the Cricketers’ Brand will be responsible for players’ commercial deals with sponsors and also access to them for broadcasters and other media•Getty ImagesAll the while, existing sponsors have been left wondering what is next, and how valid their contracts can be in the current climate. Commercial partners were sent correspondence by CA on June 29 – one day before the MoU expired – in which they were told that they still had IP rights access to players still contracted, and that it would also be possible to use IP for uncontracted players provided it was used to promote the game. The problem? Not one Australian player remains contracted, while only CA could use player IP to promote the game. In other words, commercial partners were left high and dry, without the ability to use any Australian player IP. Which, in short, leaves a long queue for using the likes of Ashton Agar, Travis Head and Moises Henriques: none likely to be taking the field for the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in November. “I’m sure,” one industry figure said, “that’s not what Optus signed up for.”Not helping is the spectre – however remote – of that very match and the four Ashes Tests to follow it being affected by the dispute. No single story has infuriated CA more than last Friday’s revelation that England do not plan to fly down under for their women’s and men’s tours in the event of an extended dispute, on the basis that the players would not be afforded reasonable preparation if there were no professional cricketers to play warm-up matches against.Whether or not the ECB’s message was motivated by the chance to lob a grenade into the opposing camp is a matter for conjecture, but what is not in doubt is CA’s private anger that another cricket board would say anything to destabilise the expectations of fans planning to travel. The fallout from the ECB’s admission was felt on Monday when the Barmy Army’s co-founder Dave Peacock told the that any such prospect could send the longtime fan group bankrupt.”[The Ashes] is on the bucket list of so many sports fans who’ve shelled out between £15,000 [A$25,000] and £20,000 for the 51 days,” Peacock said. “It’s a huge investment and now there’s an element of concern over whether an agreement will be found. There are 30,000-plus fans travelling to Australia this year, and they’ve already booked their flights, hotels, tickets and tours. We could go bust if this isn’t sorted out.”

By announcing the deal in the middle of the dispute, Magellan stands to put itself at risk of stalling a share price that has jumped from A$2.15 at the end of the 2012 financial year to A$27.07 as of Friday last week

Whenever and in whatever way it is sorted, the MoU is likely to have one major change regarding the commercial side of the game – namely the previous state of detente around player IP that had CA get generous rights to the players in exchange for its annual grant to fund the ACA. Much as previous iterations of the CA board have strained to break the perceived shackles of the fixed revenue percentage model, so too have players, managers and the ACA grumbled every now and then about protected sponsors and CA windfalls from the use of IP.There was nothing more commercially contentious in CA’s original MoU submission to the ACA last December than the following words: “Given that CA is an employer of the players and the ACA is the collective bargaining agent for the players, we question the appropriateness of CA directly funding the ACA.” It was a warning followed up later in negotiations by the strong assertion that the board would no longer fund the players’ association, meaning the withdrawal of annual payments amounting to around $4.5 million paid directly by CA to the ACA over the past five years. Another payment to factor into commercial rights is the A$3.6 million paid by CA into a marketing pool for all centrally contracted players, in return for their use as wearers of branded uniforms, the reason spectators and television viewers see signage at grounds, and the faces and names of advertising and promotional material and appearances.But in seeking to remove the ACA’s annual grant, CA has opened up a debate in which the association and also the agents of individual players believe more can be done; they believe that CA’s list of protected sponsors – nine for the men, all sponsors for the women – is too lengthy, and that greater freedom of sponsorship and movement would allow the players to earn more while also funding the operational costs of the ACA.”The ACA have set up the Cricketers’ Brand, which means they could exploit the players’ rights, sell them to CA for a net A$10 million dollars, the ACA could run itself and the players would get more than A$3.6 million,” a player manager said. “Whatever happens going forward, the MoU gets signed and players are again housed under that deal, but CA shouldn’t have the right to have nine protected sponsors, they should have three or four paying enough to get that right. The rest shouldn’t be protected and the ACA should, in conjunction with the agents, exploit the images in other ways, to pay their own way and pay the players more.”The uncertainty in commercial circles created by Australia’s pay dispute has led to growing pressure on the CA leadership, including CEO James Sutherland•ICCIn the meantime, more players will join Starc in signing individual contracts with all manner of sponsors, while the aforementioned Cricketers’ Brand will chase opportunities to seal more collective deals – as evidenced by the fact the ACA’s commercial manager Tim Cruickshank is reportedly set to fly to India this week to test the marketplace. Even when an MoU is signed, the convention in the past has been for existing deals to be honoured for their full term but not renewed, for instance when Adidas and then Asics requested, as part of apparel deals, that all players wore their brand of whites, rather than the assortment, usually aligned with bat sponsors, used previously. A mess of different deals signed in the midst of the pay war would serve only to drive down the value of protected sponsorships with CA.Which ties in with one of the more telling stories about how complex relationships between CA and commercial partners can be – one that suggests it is this money, rather than the cut the players are seeking, that will force an end to the dispute. The story of Warner’s attempt to punch Joe Root in a Birmingham bar in 2013 is well-documented; less so the commercial chaos it caused behind the scenes. The very day an angry Sutherland spoke in Brisbane about Warner’s transgression, and its attendant narratives of alcohol and late nights out, a Victoria Bitter promotion was scheduled to take place on a barge in front of London’s Tower Bridge. At a cost of about A$80,000, it would serve also to help CA sell tickets for the home Ashes series that was to follow.The promotional event did not end up going ahead on its original date and, given the particular nature of the issue, would not have been a surprise had it been cancelled altogether. But it did take place about a week later – with Warner absent – CA’s marketing and commercial arm having gone through hoops to ensure it did go ahead. How much Warner’s hefty punishment – and the decision to then terminate the contract of the coach Mickey Arthur – was about brand protection is a question only Sutherland can answer. This time, of course, the entire Australian team is currently unavailable to the game’s increasingly jumpy sponsors, and may not be again until those adverts actually need to be shot under sunny skies.

A lesser player than Steven Smith could have been distracted when he walked to the crease but currently he is on a level matched by few others

Daniel Brettig in Perth15-Dec-2017In the three years that Steven Smith has been leading his country in Test matches, he has already dealt with plenty of extraordinary circumstances. His very first day was a sapping one against India in Brisbane, there were the five defeats in a row to Sri Lanka and South Africa, an epic duel with Virat Kohli’s India earlier this year, and a topsy-turvy day-night Ashes match in Adelaide.Yet he cannot have experienced anything quite like the storm that enveloped the WACA Ground on day one, as stories of spot-fixing allegations swirled around the venue, the country and the world. Credible or not, they moved the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to address the team after play, a highly unusual event within a match. Sutherland’s message, fuelled by 17 years’ experience as the Australian game’s chief custodian, was both universal and personal”They certainly understand that we’re very strong, we all take a zero tolerance approach to corruption in the game, but also the integrity of the game and the contest and the fans’ confidence in the game,” Sutherland told ABC Radio. “But also I wanted to make the point to the players that I understand any such allegation also undermines or takes question as to their own personal integrity, and they know and understand how important it is to the game but also to their own personal integrity.”As captain of Australia and perhaps the world’s best batsman right now, Smith symbolises all that should be clean and above board about the international game. He has been receiving briefings and education about the dangers of corruption since his teenage years, is one of the very best paid players in the world, and carries a keen sense of preserving the game’s overall health – writing recently that he does not want to be part of the generation that sees Test cricket “go down the plughole” and wants players to do all they can to ensure its short, medium and long-term health.”Whatever the game demands,” Smith said recently when asked what players needed to do to that end. “We now see day-night Test cricket that’s come in and been a big success. The grounds have been packed, the TV ratings have been exceptional and it’s a fabulous concept. Whatever the next demand is, whether it’s four-day Tests or whatever, we have to just get on with it and ensure that we’re doing everything we can to keep Test cricket alive.”Most fundamental of all to the game’s demands is to play it with integrity, that word Sutherland was so apt to repeat. As a captain and a batsman, Smith has never carried even the faintest whiff of questions about his standing in that regard, so it was somewhat jarring to hear him asked about it all at the toss of the coin. “Obviously there’s no tolerance and no place for that in our game,” he had said. “As far as I know there’s nothing that has been going on or anything like that, and it’s just about focusing on this Test match at this stage and hopefully getting the result we want.”This was the backdrop against which Smith went out to bat on the second afternoon, facing a significant deficit after the Australians failed to hold their catches, bowled with rather too much variety and also burned both their DRS referrals with hasty appeals for lbw on a ground where so many deliveries bounce over the top. In other words, it had not to that point been the best of games for Smith, and a team selection placing Mitchell Marsh at No. 6 heightened the pressure for him to make spinal runs.Steven Smith is a blur as he runs between the wickets•Getty ImagesGiven all the aforementioned distractions and questions, Smith showed an almost otherworldly level of command and control from the moment he arrived at the crease. Making the most of a rock-hard pitch and billiard table outfield, he scored freely and defended stoutly despite clear English plans that were more or less adhered to by disciplined bowling, targeting the stumps with a straight field and a modicum of leg side protection.James Anderson spoke earlier this series about needing to ignore Smith’s idiosyncratic pre-delivery movements in order to bowl the consistent lines required to test him. But so sure and certain was his rhythm this day, Smith recalled the assertions of a forebear in Ricky Ponting, where he would visualise an A4 sized piece of paper on a good length and line and reason that anything short of it was to be pulled or forced and anything full of it would be driven back down the ground. England’s margin for error to Smith currently appears even smaller.This is not to say that conditions were unchallenging. Craig Overton in particular delivered some stern stuff to defeat David Warner with bounce and then Cameron Bancroft with precision. Last ball before tea he found a lifter that climbed so steeply on Smith as to ricochet off his gloves and into his chin, causing Smith to reel away in shock and pain before walking off a little the worse for wear. Yet in terms of distractions, this was as momentary as the Sutherland address about avoiding corruption in the game.As if to underline the fact, Smith next faced a short ball from Stuart Broad early in the evening session, and swivelled to hook it commandingly into the crowd. If the ball’s flight over the head of Moeen Ali at fine leg suggested a hint of top edge, the HotSpot replay provided a useful indicator that like so many other shots Smith played, this too had struck right in the middle of the bat. Broad’s reaction was the same as that made famous by Nottingham 2015, this time for vastly different reasons.But a still more striking example of Smith’s staggering combination of eye and hands was to come in the same Broad spell. He had already sent one straight, full offering screeching through midwicket, before two balls later shaping to pull a delivery that landed on the far side of Ponting’s A4 sheet of paper. Instead of bouncing, the ball skidded through, yet an unperturbed Smith simply adjusted with a jabbing effort that once more hit right in the middle of the bat. Nothing, it seemed, could get to him.Nothing, that is, except Marais Erasmus’ lbw verdict to dismiss Usman Khawaja. If there is one flaw Smith has acknowledged more often than any other it is control of body language, and his unhappy reaction led to a long chat with Erasmus about it. As one of the most amiable match officials on the beat, Erasmus did not take undue offence, but appeared keen to remind Smith that he is out there to bat, rather than umpire – as much as DRS has blurred that line.At length, Smith did return to the serenity of his batting “bubble”, so pronounced as to have him on the cusp of reaching 1000 runs for the calendar year for the fourth time in a row. Among others to play Test cricket in contemporary times only Matthew Hayden has achieved that feat, putting Smith in truly rare company. Khawaja, who by contrast had plenty of difficulties with the tightness of the bowling and the variation in the pitch, was suitably awed.”It’s nice to watch, I’ve got the best seat in the house,” Khawaja said. “He batted beautifully today. He sometimes seems to make not so easy conditions or any conditions seem really easy. More impressive about the way Smudge bats is the margin for error when you bowl to him is so little, as the English found out today. It looked like he hit a lot of balls that should have been dot balls for four. The WACA’s a beautiful place when you’re going and he was in fine form today.”Given his recent pre-eminence, it was perhaps not so surprising that Smith would make runs in Perth. But given the welter of distractions and pressures around him entering this match and this innings, not to mention those unknown or unspoken beyond the dressing room, the most incredible thing about it was how free and clear his mind appeared to be. That suggests a level of resilience and toughness beyond the reach of all but the very highest rank of cricketers.

Cheteshwar Pujara had been rock solid, but India were in trouble. And then he showcased a rarely-seen side of his game and batted outstandingly with the tail

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Aegas Bowl31-Aug-2018This is the innings Cheteshwar Pujara believed he could play. An innings of courage, calm, and calculated assault.There are many yardsticks to measure how important Pujara’s unbeaten 132 is in the context of the series. First, without Pujara’s runs, India’s resolve would have been flattened. Their series would have been over, and all the motivation after the Trent Bridge victory might have evaporated. Secondly, and more importantly, he is the only top-order batsman in both teams to hit a half-century in this Test so far.When Pujara walked out to bat on the second morning, his first thought might have been about his previous visit to this venue. In a county championship match in June, he made 0 and 32, with Dale Steyn having sent his off-stump flying in the first innings. Today though, there was no vulnerability in Pujara’s mind and defence.India were in danger of losing the initiative after KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan fell, having started confidently. Pujara scored his first run off his 12th delivery – quick by his standards. He is generally happy not to be rushed. His first boundary, a crisp off drive against Sam Curran, came after 36 deliveries.In contrast, Virat Kohli punched his second ball – from Stuart Broad – for four. In the hour before lunch there urgency in India’s batting, an intent to score. Even Pujara was looking for runs. He upper cut Broad for four, and Kohli applauded. When Anderson bowled a loose ball, Pujara did not let it go – he rocked back to unleash a fierce square cut. The pair ran hard, urging each other. India went to lunch on 100 for 2. The partnership was already worth 50 runs, with Pujara matching Kohli’s 25 runs.While an aggressive Kohli is to be expected, England faced a new entity in Pujara. He forced England’s bowlers to think hard. Initially, Curran felt he could bend one from over the wicket into Pujara. But Pujara was waiting, eyes wide open, bat steady, soft hands. He dead-batted Curran many a time.Failing to find movement into Pujara, Curran opted to bowl from around the stumps. This was a minor victory for Pujara, making the bowler change his plan. He also knew Curran would aim to angle the ball in from wide of the crease. That meant he would also bowl fuller. If Curran erred, Pujara could take advantage. A slow over-pitched delivery arrived soon, and Pujara lunged to hit a fluent cover drive that took him two short of his second 50-plus score of the series.1:15

Great mix of caution and aggression in Pujara’s innings – Bangar

There was a minor lapse in focus as soon as he reached his half-century. Facing Ben Stokes’ first ball of the day – fuller length and moving away from off-stump – Pujara got lucky as the outside edge was not taken by the wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.Pujara also faced the challenge of playing Moeen Ali from the rough. This was the first time in the series that batsmen were threatened by spin. It needed a different mindset.Pujara had faced a probing over, a maiden, from Moeen before lunch. The first few deliveries were played from the crease, with short leg coming into play. Pujara understood that the best way to negate the rough was to use his feet. For the rest of the day, he hopped out of the crease on several occasions to dab the ball or loft it over the infield.Pujara’s biggest challenge arrived immediately after lunch. Kohli departed with the deficit just over 100. There were about 50 overs left in the day. England found a second wind, and India’s middle and lower-order batsmen lost their heads. From 161 for 3, India collapsed to 195 for 8.Joe Root spread the field and asked his bowlers to aim for Pujara’s head. Fine leg, long leg, deep square leg were in place. Pujara lined up to play the hook a couple of times, but resisted the urge – consciously one time, beaten by pace and bounce another. The one time he actually attempted the hook, against Stokes who was bowling from around the stumps, the ball smashed into his helmet. There was minor bump on his right temple. Pujara was on 57. Anderson hit the back of his helmet as well, on 78, but Pujara’s focus was not dented.Pujara got up, thanks in no small measure to his two crutches, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Pujara had valuable partnerships of 32 and 46 with them, and helped India take a lead that had looked impossible at tea.It is easy to be desperate in a scenario when you have only the tail for support. But Pujara wasn’t. He helped India regain their footing, then draw level with England, and eventually take a lead. England bowled 143 balls at the last two wickets, and Pujara faced 92 of those, scoring 54 runs. Not only did he shepherd the tail safely, he also helped India surge.When Pujara jumped out for the umpteenth time to loft Moeen back over his head to get to his century, he ran hard, thinking three runs were on offer. Bumrah sent him back, but two runs were enough to get to the hundred. Pujara removed his helmet and raised both hands to celebrate his 15 Test century, his first outside Asia since the 153 in Johannesburg in 2013.By the time India’s innings ended, Pujara had turned a dire situation into one of hope in the dressing room. Levelling this series was still a realistic possibility. Pujara performed the role Kohli had at Edgbaston in the India’s first innings of this series. Both were heroic knocks, but Pujara went one step ahead of Kohli – he helped India take a small, but vital, lead.Gratitude also was not forgotten. On his way up to the dressing room, as the crowd gave him a standing ovation, Pujara stopped to thank one man in particular. A man who would be proud of Pujara’s focus, courage and presence of mind. The man was Sanjay Bangar, India’s batting coach who has spent hours working in the nets with Pujara.The most striking aspect of Pujara’s innings was that – after a typically watchful start – he looked to score at all times. It did not matter whether it was the early spells from Anderson, Broad and Curran, or the cunning of Moeen. Discipline and bloody-mindedness have always been Pujara’s friends. Today he combined those with guts and the intent to score, and the result was glorious.After 355 minutes of toil and satisfaction, Pujara returned undefeated, having played a great innings.