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In case you were among the many left confused, we try to explain the umpires’ decision here

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Oct-2020On Tuesday evening, the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Rashid Khan was both hit-wicket and caught off the same ball against the Chennai Super Kings. It couldn’t be both, of course. And the incident, a rare one, triggered the question: was Khan out hit-wicket or caught?After verifying with the concerned officials, ESPNcricnfo’s scorers recorded it as ‘Rashid Khan hit wicket b [Shardul] Thakur’. But many readers were left wondering why. Let’s explain…The incident took place on the last ball of the penultimate over of the match, delivered by Thakur. Sunrisers were in a desperate position, needing 22 runs from the final seven deliveries, with Khan on strike. Responding to the wide yorker, Khan quickly moved to his right, went down on his right knee, and hit the ball with power to long-on, where Deepak Chahar completed an easy catch. However, Khan, who had gone deep in his crease to play the shot, had pegged back the off stump and disturbed the off bail with his right heel while playing the shot.The result: Khan became the second batsman in IPL 2020 to be out hit-wicket after the Mumbai Indians’ Hardik Pandya.According to MCC’s Laws of Cricket, ‘caught’ takes precedence over any other form of dismissal except ‘bowled’. Law 33.1 states: “If […] the striker is not out Bowled, then he/she is out Caught, even though a decision against either batsman for another method of dismissal would be justified.”So why was Khan not declared out caught? Simple: the square-leg umpire, Anil Chaudhary, had declared him out hit-wicket as soon as he hit the stumps. Automatically, at that point, the ball became dead. According to Law 20.1.1.3, the ball is “deemed to be dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal.”A simpler interpretation is found in , which states that if more than one dismissal is “theoretically” possible “but an umpire gives a decision on one of those methods before the other is completed, it is the first decision that counts”.Coincidentally, the book cites an example matching the Khan dismissal. “A batsman may stand on his/her stumps while playing a pull shot into the air. If the batsman is out Hit wicket while the ball is in the air, the umpire should wait to see if the catch is taken, and if it is, he/she should give the batsman out Caught – should the catch not be taken, the umpire can then give the batsman out Hit Wicket. However, if the umpire does not wait, and instead gives the batsman out before the catch is taken, then the dismissal is Hit wicket.”So now you know.

Lots of people seem to think he should, but they’re wrong to mix success in international cricket with success in league T20

Aakash Chopra26-Nov-2020Rohit Sharma is the most successful IPL captain in history, with five trophies to his name. Anyone who follows his captaincy closely – outsiders like me and players who play under him – vouches that he is tactically astute and that there are few who read the game better than he does. He remains calm under pressure, marshals his troops with a sense of control, and makes the most radical changes to the flow of the game without making them look radical at all.Captaincy consists of two equally important parts: one, the ability to read the game so that you are at least a couple of overs ahead of it (in white-ball cricket), and two, acknowledging your instincts and sticking with them when you’re convinced. A good captain has no ego and is happy to take his leadership group on board for a lot of the decision-making but has the confidence to overrule them if he thinks otherwise.Sharma ticks all these boxes, and while the Mumbai Indians’ success is a lot about their auction strategy and talent-scouting, it is equally about his leadership both on and off the field.ALSO READ: ‘India’s loss if Rohit Sharma isn’t made white-ball captain’ – Gautam GambhirIf he is such a successful IPL captain, wouldn’t it be natural to make him the captain of the Indian T20I team too? If players get picked for India in the shortest format on the basis of their performances in the IPL, why should it be different for the captain?Just that it isn’t the same thing – ever. And to be fair, it shouldn’t be either, unless there’s a captain who’s failing with his playing skills in the format while leading the Indian T20I team.After Mumbai’s fifth IPL title, there was a clamour among some former cricketers to replace Virat Kohli with Sharma as captain in the shortest format. Their argument is that Kohli’s record as a captain leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore is quite poor and that that should be enough to make the change for India too.Sharma has won five titles and has won 60% of all his games as captain of the Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, Kohli’s team has never won the IPL; and RCB have won just about 47% of their matches under his captaincy. The argument against Kohli is that since Sharma not only wins more games but also knows how to win knockout matches, he should be leading India into the next T20 World Cup.Let’s look more closely at Kohli’s returns as captain and then at the merits of possibly making a change.Kohli as an India captain in ODIs has won 72% of his games; in T20Is this figure is about 65%. If we were to further narrow it down in the shortest format, his win percentage goes up to 75% since the start of 2019 – 12 wins from 16 games.To put things a little more in perspective, MS Dhoni is arguably India’s most successful limited-overs captain, with a T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup and a Champions Trophy title to his name – the only captain in the world to have all three. Dhoni’s win percentage in T20Is and ODIs is about 60%. When you set Kohli’s returns as an India captain alongside Dhoni’s performance, you can’t possibly punch holes in it.

Would you drop proven international performers like Jasprit Bumrah or KL Rahul from the Indian T20I team if they had a poor IPL? The answer is an overwhelming no

While some argue that bilateral cricket doesn’t matter, others say Kohli’s numbers are as good as they are only because India is such a strong team that captaincy does not have much impact on their win percentage. To answer both these reservations: since Kohli hasn’t led in an ICC event in T20Is, we ought to look at his records in bilateral series only. And beating both New Zealand and England in their backyards must count for something. Also, the two ICC events in which he has led India, they have got to the final once and to the semi-final the other time. Those aren’t poor results by any stretch of the imagination. As for the second point, if Kohli is a good captain with a good team under him when he leads India, perhaps it’s the team at RCB that needs changing and not the captain.Of course, winning the trophy is all that matters for a team of India’s calibre, but let’s remind ourselves that that is not easy for even the best captains. While Dhoni won the inaugural Word T20, he led in many more World Cups in the format but couldn’t win the trophy again. Is that a slight on his captaincy skills? Not at all, for that is how it is at the highest level.Going back to the argument about Kohli having a good team under him when he leads India, it’s understandable if some of the blame for RCB’s poor results is directed at him, but what does that have to do with his performance as India captain? Given his win percentage of 47, RCB might not want to continue with him as captain, but maybe they will have him stay on as captain anyway.ALSO WATCH: Kohli or Rohit: Chopra and Gambhir on India’s T20I captaincy (Hindi)It’s important that we understand that we aren’t stakeholders in franchise teams, which will always be run the way their bosses want them to be. They have every right to take the direction that suits their cause, and they are not obliged to share the reasons for their decisions with the public at large. If you don’t like their ideas, stop following them. The India team is different, though. We are stakeholders when we follow India.We, the fans of the sport and former cricketers and experts, ought to learn to separate the two – international and franchise cricket. Indian players must be judged on their performances — whether captaincy or otherwise – for India alone. For example, would you drop proven international performers like Jasprit Bumrah or KL Rahul from the Indian T20I team if they had a poor IPL? The answer is an overwhelming no, because they have been outstanding for India in the T20I format, and that will supersede all franchise cricket.Given that the captaincy role went to Kohli when Dhoni moved on, it’s only fair that he get as long a run as his performances as India captain merit; his lack of IPL success must not come in the way of his chances of leading in his maiden ICC T20I event. The fact that when Kohli took over from Dhoni there was no ruckus about the appointment tells you that Sharma wasn’t really in the contest for the job back then.If Kohli goes on to win the next World T20 and more ICC trophies, it is possible that Sharma might never get a crack at the captaincy at the highest level. While that will be unfortunate, it will be a case of him being born in the wrong era. Amol Muzumdar scored tons of runs, and Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar took truckloads of wickets, but all three never got a chance to play for India, unfortunately. And that was because India was blessed with the Fab Four batsmen in Muzumdar’s time and Bishan Singh Bedi and other fine spinners in Goel’s and Shivalkar’s time.As much as it’s about being fair to Kohli (who has won 12 of his last 16 T20Is in charge), it’s equally about being fair to Sharma. If and when the selectors decide to turn towards him to lead India in T20Is, they must give him enough time to build the team he wants to build. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and nor were the Mumbai Indians, and the same will be true for Sharma’s India team.

ESPNcricinfo looks at where these players stand after their contributions in the series wins in Australia and against England at home

Himanshu Agrawal08-Mar-2021Mohammed Siraj4:20

Bell: Siraj could be effective with the Dukes ball in English conditions

Where was he? Part of the Test squad in Australia only because of an injury to Ishant Sharma.Opportunity: Further injury to Mohammed Shami during the Adelaide Test in Australia, which pushed Siraj for a debut in Melbourne.Contribution: With 16 wickets in his first five matches, Siraj has carried his stellar run with the red ball to the highest level against quality oppositions. On debut in Melbourne, he first foxed a set Marnus Labuschagne with the leg-side trap before setting up Cameron Green with outswingers only to pin him in front with one that came in. He carried forward that success into the series decider in Brisbane, where he bagged his maiden five-for and set up a memorable win. In the fourth Test against England in Ahmedabad, Siraj got rid of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow at a crucial stage in the first innings, as India went on to wrap up the series.Chances of playing the WTC final: Only if one out of Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Shami is injured.Axar Patel3:22

What made Axar Patel so effective against England?

Where was he? Part of the Test squad for the England series but because Ravindra Jadeja was out injured.Opportunity: Made his Test debut in the second Test in Chennai after missing the first match due to a last-minute injury.Contribution: Patel has burst on to the Test scene and achieved immediate success as a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja. He replaced Shahbaz Nadeem from India’s loss in the first Test against England and pocketed 27 wickets in three games at a staggering average of 10.59. His first Test wicket was Root, who top-edged a sweep to short fine leg while trying to play against the turn. Patel even grabbed three consecutive five-fors across the second and the third Tests and added a fourth to the list in the next game, as England struggled to find answers to him. He also contributed with 43 in a crucial century stand with Washington Sundar to extend India’s lead in the last Test.Chance of playing the WTC final: Only if Jadeja is unfit and Hardik Pandya doesn’t bowl, and India want to play five bowlers.Washington Sundar2:59

Manjrekar: Can only marvel at Washington Sundar’s talent

Where was he? Travelled to Australia as a spare bowler due to enlarged squads during Covid-19.Opportunity: R Ashwin was out with an injury in Australia after the third Test, and Kuldeep Yadav’s inclusion would have made the tail longer, which led to Sundar’s Test debut in Brisbane.Contribution: Sundar’s major contributions have come with the bat in his four Tests so far. He has three half-centuries in just six innings, including two match-defining knocks of 62 on debut in Brisbane and 96 not out in Ahmedabad. While the former brought India’s innings back on track in a 123-run stand with Shardul Thakur, the latter ensured India built a solid lead after being in a dicey situation. But that doesn’t take away his efforts with the ball: he removed a stable Steven Smith as his first Test wicket to finish with 3 for 89.Chance of playing the WTC final: Very low unless there are multiple injuries because he is behind Ashwin, Jadeja and Patel in the spinners’ queue.T NatarajanT Natarajan made an impressive Test debut in Brisbane•AFP via Getty ImagesWhere was he? Picked as a net bowler for Australia tour after his success in the IPL.Opportunity: Handed ODI and T20I debuts after Varun Chakravarthy and Navdeep Saini were ruled out with injuries, and Test debut after none of India’s first-choice quartet of Sharma, Bumrah, Shami and Yadav was available.Contribution: Though Natarajan has played just one Test, he delivered instantly in Brisbane by breaking open the match on the first day with the twin wickets of Labuschagne and Matthew Wade who had put on a century partnership. Natarajan brings the left-armer’s angle into play, something India have been missing since Zaheer Khan retired. He also has an accurate yorker, aside from variations of slow cutters and low full tosses dipping onto the batsmen.Chance of playing the WTC final: Almost impossible given India already have a string of pace bowlers who are ahead of him.

Shardul ThakurLike Sundar, Shardul Thakur has proved useful with both bat and ball•AFP via Getty ImagesWhere was he? Much like Sundar and Natarajan, Thakur stayed back as a net bowler for the Tests in Australia.Opportunity: Drafted in for the Brisbane Test as India struggled to put together an XI following a long injury list.Contribution: Thakur answered the call with both bat and ball in what was just his second Test – he had limped off on debut against West Indies in 2018 – as India made history. He struck with his first ball back on the way to three first-innings wickets before contributing with a fighting 67 to limit Australia’s lead. Not just that, when the hosts threatened to post a hefty total in the second innings, Thakur returned figures of 4 for 61 by rocking Australia’s lower-middle order.Chance of playing the WTC final: Like Natarajan, almost impossible.

Hanuma VihariA hamstring injury didn’t stop Vihari from saving a Test for India in Sydney•Getty ImagesWhere was he? Part of the Test squad in Australia, but he has so far played only overseas Tests.Opportunity: Played the first three Tests in Australia before getting ruled out of the fourth due to injury.Contribution: Vihari’s valiant vigil in Sydney in the company of Ashwin went a long way in India securing a draw, and in turn also booking a place in the WTC final. He had tweaked his right hamstring early in India’s second innings and had only Ashwin and the tail for company, as he showed courage to battle against Australia’s bowlers. Vihari’s innings of 93 in North Sound, and 111 and 53 not out in Kingston in 2019 helped India gain an early advantage in the WTC table on the way to a 2-0 sweep of West Indies.Chance of playing the WTC final: Little chance if India stick to playing five bowlers, but may get the nod at No. 6 or 7 if they decide to play an extra batsman.

Karunaratne, Thirimanne will face stiffer challenges, but returns are not to be sniffed at

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Apr-2021Okay, so let’s get the caveats out of the way. Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne have had some flat pitches to bat on recently. In the second innings at North Sound, and in each of the innings they’ve had together in Pallekele, there’s been little bounce, less carry, no turn, no puffs of dust, no shin-high grubbers, barely any seam movement. On top of which, they have not even had the usual uncles yelling insults from the stands while guzzling their seventh beer at 2pm, which should, by rights, be a mandatory feature at every Test in Sri Lanka (could a bio-bubble not have been created for them? Or for the stray dogs that amble in front of the sightscreen, annoying batters? Shame).But this Sri Lanka team being this Sri Lanka team (seventh on the Test rankings, remember), and so prone to tragicomic collapse have they been, that even soft wins are still wins. So what if Bangladesh are missing two of their best bowlers, in Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman? No one can say that this from Sri Lanka is not competence. Not only did Karunaratne and Thirimanne put up 209 for the first wicket – the first opening stand north of 200 for Sri Lanka in almost 10 years – they’ve also become the only Sri Lanka pair ever to produce three consecutive century stands.In an era in which Sri Lanka opening pairs have tended to stumble at the merest hurdle, the bar so low that one guy even had to be suspended in 2018 because he was unable to resist going on an overnight bender in the middle of a Test match, this commitment to bare-minimum adequacy is almost stirring.Related

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That Karunaratne is a serious player who rarely lingers in a lean patch has been observed over a few years, but the true surprise in this partnership has been Thirimanne, who – don’t fall off your chair – now has scores of 70, 76, 55, 39, 58 and 131 not out in his past six innings. For so long he was almost business-like in the manner in which he redirected balls in the channel to a pair of hands in the slips, like a traffic cop dutifully waving cars from a busy intersection into an empty lane. He’s made a few minor technical changes, he says, and suddenly he’s leaving well, covering what modest seam movement he has encountered, leaning into crisp drives, and finding scoring shots in between the boundaries, which had at times also been a challenge for him.When he hit a hundred against England earlier in the year, you wondered if it was just a blip. Now, with 638 runs to his name for the year, at an average of 58, it is a full-blown Thirisurgence/Thirinewal/Thirivitalisation (take your pick). So stark has been the change, that it’s even difficult to work out where exactly Thirimanne has become stronger – his Test innings used to produce so few runs, it was hard to work out which his scoring areas were.”I was just looking at some of the stats on the TV today, and his are great to see,” said batting coach Grant Flower of Thirimanne at the close of day one. “I think it’s just a hunger to score runs. He’s worked hard on his game and taken no short-cuts. He was netting with us during the LPL while everyone else was playing that.”And he’s very fit, and he’s got a very sound mind. On the mental side of things, he’s very good. I think they have all come together. Hopefully he carries on.”That this pair will face far sterner Tests than they have in their last two innings almost goes without saying – the moving ball has been a weakness for both at various stages. Although Karunaratne is frequently an excellent player of spin, Thirimanne is yet to prosper against high-quality spinners on turning tracks. But between the start of 2015 and January this year, Sri Lanka’s opening stands averaged 28.32 – ninth in the world, behind even Zimbabwe’s opening partnerships. Since these two have come together in this stint, they’ve averaged 77.83. For now, competence is enough.

Frustration, deflation for Australia, relief for England as tourists hold out for a draw

Andrew McGlashan09-Jan-2022James Anderson was up against Steven Smith with a Test match on the line. But with a twist. Anderson had the bat in hand and Smith the ball.Smith had just taken his first Test wicket since 2016 when Jack Leach edged to slip meaning England’s last pair needed to survive 12 balls to salvage something from the tour. Stuart Broad did his part by seeing out Nathan Lyon’s last over then Smith, who was bowling because the umpires deemed it too dark for the quicks, had six balls at England’s No. 11.Anderson had been here before, albeit over a much longer period of time. There was the 2009 Ashes when he saved the game alongside Monty Panesar and against Sri Lanka at Headingley in 2014 when he came up an agonising two balls short. He couldn’t have been more surrounded with close fielders as a crowd of 11,660 sounded closer to 30,000.With the final ball blocked and hands shaken there were no wild scenes of celebration. Frustration and a little deflation for Australia, their whitewash dreams ended, and relief for England who up until now had been through a tour to forget.Related

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Anderson and Broad made their way back towards the dressing room. Two giants of English and world cricket who have been through another brutal Ashes experience in Australia. This will be their final tour of the country; for Anderson there will always be 2010-11 but Broad was injured after two matches that year.However, often in England’s struggles since Broad has stood tall and it was the same here, his 35 balls of defiance following a that’ll-show-them five-wicket haul having made his displeasure clear at not playing more. How many more chapters of Ashes history this pair have left remains to be seen, but this was a better moment that had appeared likely.England were much improved in many areas of this game, although Joe Root did wish the top order had got the team to safety in the second innings rather than the tail. Each time calmer waters were approaching, Australia broke through: Zak Crawley was pinned by Cameron Green’s yorker; Root edged the outstanding Scott Boland; Ben Stokes pushed Lyon to slip (Stokes could barely watch the closing moments from the dugout) and Jonny Bairstow’s superb Test was ended with an inside edge to silly point.Before the game Root and stand-in coach Graham Thorpe had called for character and spirit. Stokes with an injured side, Bairstow with a bust thumb and Jos Buttler with a broken finger that has ended his tour typified that. Before the final efforts to block for safety, the stroke play of Bairstow, Stokes and Crawley had shown England the way of putting pressure back on Australia. It came too late for this series, but that should not mean it is disregarded. This was still a full-throttle, high-intensity Test with no quarter given.James Anderson and Stuart Broad embrace after the match•Getty ImagesIt appeared the game had finally been broken open by Pat Cummins’ brilliant 18th over when he beat Buttler with an inswinger – ending a valiant 38-ball stay – then rifled a yorker into Mark Wood’s toe. Wood was in such pain that Bairstow signalled for the review only for the umpire to tell them it had to come from Wood. It was a moot point anyway, he was plumb.It was a breathtaking over on the most challenging day of Cummins’ captaincy career so far. As Justin Langer said two days ago, it won’t always be “butterflies and sunshine.” It was the first time in a Test innings he had claimed two lbws. ESPNcricinfo data said it was only the second time he had taken a wicket with a yorker.Could Cummins and Australia have done more? It was the second time in consecutive SCG Tests that they had been unable to secure victory on the final day. Last season they were denied by India’s bruised and battered middle order and this time it wasn’t vastly different. There were little moments. Three catches went down – Bairstow spilled by Smith at second slip off Starc with 16 overs remaining felt at the end the most crucial. There will be scrutiny, too, of Cummins’s declaration on the fourth evening and whether it was too conservative. It was a little cautious.The pitch did not prove quite as spiteful on the final day as some of the evidence of batters getting whacked on the gloves earlier in the contest may have suggested. Leach, writing himself another little chapter in Ashes folklore, if not on the scale of Headingley, looked largely assured until the late edge off Smith. Mitchell Starc, who has been outstanding this series, was not quite at his best on the final day and Lyon could not quite make one bite and turn enough towards the end as he had done to remove Stokes.Given the way the last two Tests have gone, if light had permitted it would have been no surprise to see Boland had been able to seal victory. He had enjoyed another immense day with the wickets of Haseeb Hameed, Root and Bairstow. His Test bowling average stands at 8.64.After it all, though, the balance of power has not shifted. England could yet be a patched-up side in Hobart depending on how the walking wounded pull up. Australia’s big question is whether they leave out a batter who has just scored two centuries. However, this series needed a better contest. There was only ever going to be one winner on the final day, but for a few hours at least that did not matter. The desire for one side not to lose was just as compelling.

The Australian captain’s show in the Tests in Pakistan puts him alongside pantheon of greats

Osman Samiuddin26-Mar-2022Life is manifestly unfair; we know this. It is unfair in so many trivial ways, not to say anything of the more important ways, and then one day you open your eyes and Pat Cummins is bowling, and life? Jeez there’s no end to its unfairness.We’re living through a great pace age. Cummins bowls alongside Josh Hazlewood, who’s kinda Glenn McGrath, kinda Stuart Clark, better than the latter, forever evoking the former. He also bowls alongside Mitchell Starc, a rangier Mitchell Johnson who comes without the bad and the really bad days.In opposition, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada are magnificent, one like nobody else, the other with the latent electricity of Michael Holding. They are generational talents and will be all-time greats.James Anderson and Stuart Board are greats already and if Jofra Archer ever comes back, he’d be a shoo-in.Beyond them, there are Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Kemar Roach and Shaheen Shah Afridi – quality fast bowlers everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, some going, some coming.Related

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Don’t forget Southee, Boult, Jamieson or Wagner. Everyone does but this roll call comprises two of the top three greatest fast bowlers the country has produced, a rare, unique young talent and then Wagner, a man so permanently pumped he must even sleep aggressively.But all of them, when Cummins bowls like he has just done in Pakistan, or the Ashes before that, or the Border-Gavaskar Trophy before that, or the Trans-Tasman Trophy before that, or the Ashes before that – this could go on – they might look at him and wonder how and why it is that life is this unfair.Pat Cummins extracting reverse swing was a sight to behold•AFP/Getty ImagesBatters, of course, are plenty familiar with the unfairness of Cummins. If you are new to Cummins, like Abdullah Shafique was this series, you become familiar real quick. Shafique is young and assured and has looked very much at home in international cricket. In time, people will look at this series, see that he top-scored for Pakistan, see that Cummins got him only once in six innings and conclude that he won the battle.Except that had Australia’s cordon had a better series, Cummins may have dismissed him three more times and we’d be talking bunnies. The one dismissal also illustrated precisely why Shafique had won nothing – not the battle, not the war. He was well-set on 96 on the final day in Karachi, Cummins came back before lunch and dropped seamlessly into a groove, like a needle on to vinyl. He showed Shafique a slightly wider off-stump line for an over; then, as Shafique waited at the non-striker’s end the next over, showed that he was getting reverse both ways to Babar Azam. When Shafique faced up again he got suckered into driving a ball that was easily wide enough to leave, but one he couldn’t because he was unsure which way the ball would go and by how much.If you’re familiar, you may learn anew. Mohammad Rizwan reckons Hazlewood is the toughest bowler he has faced but after this series, he will re-assess. Because he is rarely looked as worked over as he was by Cummins in the first innings in Karachi. He was in more trouble in the seven balls he faced from Cummins that afternoon than he was through all 44 international matches combined last year; swing, seam, pace, bounce, it was an outrageous little flutter of Cummins’ skills.What it wasn’t, though, was especially different from his usual mode, which is also the most resounding endorsement of his bowling. He doesn’t need to drastically change what he does wherever he goes, even on pitches as unresponsive as these, because what he does is that good. However much Hazlewood evokes him, nothing is more truly McGrathian than this.Cummins – and Australia – found sustained reverse, for the first time since Sandpapergate. In any series with less diplomacy riding on it than this one, how they managed it would have been played up much more than it was. But a wholesome survey of Cummins’ work this series is clear as to the method deployed: park outside off, on a length, or just back of it and stay there. Nearly 60% of the 661 balls he bowled in the series were in this channel, not that different to the 55% from December 2020 to before this series. Maybe the off-stump line was a trifle tighter than it would’ve been on better surfaces. At least that is the inference from the fact that he made Pakistani batters play at more balls than he usually does. On average, they left just under one ball per over, whereas over the last 18 months or so, batters have usually left nearly two balls per each Cummins over.Destroy ’em! Pat Cummins flattening the batters’ stumps was a familiar sight•AFP/Getty ImagesFast bowlers fret and tinker when they travel, as is natural when the two most critical elements to their trade – the ball in their hands and the surface beneath their feet – change depending on where they are. On low, slow surfaces such as those in this series, they often go fuller and straighter, or use more cutters, or any other variations. Apart from bowling in shorter bursts, Cummins didn’t change anything.There’s a danger that all this come across a little, if not dull, then utilitarian; assembly-line bowling where no ball is distinguishable from the other. And it is true that because Cummins’ genius is on such consistent and abundant display, it can sometimes make it appear more matter of fact. But it’s not. You only have to recall the yorker to dismiss Rizwan on the final day in Lahore, or the one to Babar in Karachi that he somehow kept out, or that return catch off Azhar Ali (unfairness manifest because no, human beings, you cannot do that), to know how spectacular Cummins can make cricket look.And remember his pace because cricket is always a better look with real pace. Pace is where the game is at its most physical, its most athletic and dangerous and demanding, in what it asks of the deliverer of pace and the person tasked to keep it out. Cummins is genuinely quick, a man who hovers in the 140s kmph so comfortably you suspect he could go faster, only he is too polite because now that would make batters look really silly. It’s that kind of pace, the kind that works on any pitch. No contemporary combines those traits – the high pace with the extreme accuracy – like Cummins does.Only the very greatest ever have, which is the company he is keeping now – and everywhere you look numbers are putting him inexorably in the all-time category. He is mingling with the finest West Indian fast bowlers in terms of the best performances in Pakistan by any non-Pakistani fast bowler.Give or take a Dale Steyn, this has been one of the finest performances in the continent by a visiting fast bowler.Yes, life is unfair because nobody can be this good and then one day you open your eyes and Pat Cummins is bowling and actually, we’re just lucky to be around.

For one, they understand bowling, which is key for decision-makers on the field

Ian Chappell03-Jul-2022Much recent talk in cricket circles has centred around captaincy and retirement.No one should be shocked by the success of Ben Stokes as captain. He’s an allrounder who understands bowling. On the field his main priority is taking wickets, and despite Joe Root’s dazzling success as a batter, Stokes is the most inspirational England player on the field.The former cricketer and excellent captain Imran Khan declared that a good captain understands bowling. Stokes is such a player, and the team believing in his approach is a huge positive for the England side.When Eoin Morgan announced his retirement from the England limited-overs captaincy, the timing of it reaffirmed former Australia captain Richie Benaud’s thoughts on how to make the decision on when to step down. “You’ll know,” was his typically succinct and wise comment on the touchy subject. The best summary of it came from another former Australia allrounder, Keith Miller, who in reply to a question said, “I wanted to retire while people were asking why did you, rather than them saying why don’t you.”Related

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Despite all the talk of consulting partners, grandmas, and other assorted gurus, retirement should be a selfish decision: it is made to satisfy only one person.When England coach Brendon McCullum discussed Morgan’s retirement with him, he said: “You’ll know. It will be a feeling that just comes and hits you. Just make sure you recognise it when it comes.” Morgan recognised the sign and made the correct decision.Perhaps looking to emulate the success of captains Pat Cummins and Stokes, India appointed fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah as captain for their current Test with England. This is a courageous appointment and speaks volumes for Bumrah’s on-field nous.Like with Stokes, no one should be surprised by Cummins’ success. He leads a varied attack that contains very good bowlers and he utilises them wisely. It also doesn’t hurt that Nathan Lyon is a very experienced and long-time spinner.

If a captain has a competitive team who believe in his methods, a lot of good things happen. The players tend to expect, and consequently produce, a good outcome

Part of Cummins’ success as captain comes from recognising Australia’s ability to handle an opposition assault, and how he maintains his composure. Australia also have enough good batters to mount a challenge, and their superiority helped them demolish a weak Sri Lankan side this week. Handling opposition assaults and not spreading fields senselessly is one sure way to gain an advantage in Test cricket.This is an area where Stokes scored over New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. Fast bowler Trent Boult was the only New Zealander who maintained a semblance of control under assault, especially from the destructive Jonny Bairstow. The fact that Williamson had a very inexperienced spinner in Michael Bracewell didn’t help.If a captain has a competitive team who believe in his methods, a lot of good things happen. The players tend to expect, and consequently produce, a good outcome.One of the main things a player has to deal with in cricket is the strain that develops when the opposition goes on the attack. England have performed brilliantly with the bat in this aspect, and Stokes’ own aggressive batting shouldn’t be underestimated. While he will have to slightly temper that aggression, it has rubbed off on the other players. As the best slip fielder, being in the slips is also Stokes’ best fielding position.England have also started gradually picking their best players for a position, with wicketkeeping being a priority. However, they have to ditch the nonsensical bouncer barrages, and they need a varied bowling attack rather than an all-right-arm-seam squad. They’ll also come to understand that Jack Leach is not the spinner to withstand an onslaught from the better batters.Nevertheless, they have improved immensely under Stokes’ positive guidance. While Root remains a top-class player, his captaincy, although afflicted with bad luck in regard to his faster bowlers, was going downhill fast and the team had lost faith in his tactics.Now it remains to be seen how much Stokes’ imagination and positivity can help England against a tested team. His leadership battle with Bumrah will be a fascinating sidelight to what will be an entertaining game.

Format falling between Test and T20 priorities as defence of title looms in 2023

Vithushan Ehantharajah13-Jul-2022″Sometimes you learn more from losing games,” Moeen Ali said. After a ten-wicket defeat with 188 balls to spare in the first ODI against India, that’s a lot of homework for England to get started on.Tuesday’s evisceration at The Kia Oval was as chastening a defeat as this team has had over the last seven years. The lead actors from the 2019 World Cup win were all on deck, all but skipper Jos Buttler coming and going in an opening capitulation of 26 for five inside eight overs. With that came a reminder that the machine does not move itself.It’s worth saying England could have still ended up in that heap were Eoin Morgan still at the helm. The presence of a new leadership pair in situ, with Buttler flanked by new white-ball coach Matthew Mott, will always get fingers twitching over laptop keys when such a shellacking comes around so early in their collective tenure. But the changes to date have largely been minimal, bordering on aesthetic.Moeen, who was touted as a potential replacement for Morgan, likened Mott to Trevor Bayliss, who oversaw the seismic shift back in 2015. “He [Mott] is very relaxed and he’s good. It doesn’t look like it has affected him in any way.” Beyond the scribbles in his notepad, Mott looked as Bayliss often did during the odd collapse under his tenure: unflustered, literally and figuratively unmoved.It’s also worth noting this was England’s first defeat in nine. The problem, however, is carried in those eight victories.The run began with two easy wins over Sri Lanka at the start of last summer, then three against Pakistan before three more against the Netherlands just last month. Those last two series wins were pulled off with what were ultimately “select” XIs: the former through a Covid outbreak, the latter due to a packed schedule.”It will take a few defeats, which is fine,” Moeen said, of getting England back up to the usual standards, amid the reintroduction of the heavy-hitters who have largely been preoccupied with Test and T20 commitments.”In the past we have won a lot of games, got to a World Cup and lost those crucial games. We have lost a few games at the moment but that is good for us going forward, and closer to a World Cup we will start winning. We want to win now but you don’t want to win all games. Sometimes you learn more from losing games.”Of course, that penultimate statement is a flat-out lie, albeit the kind that makes defeat a little easier to swallow. And yet there is a sound logic that coasting would be counter-productive for an England side who need to remember, along with some fundamentals, what made them such a force in this format.Making heads or tails of English 50-over cricket is one of the more futile endeavours at the moment. The national team have only played 22 ODIs since the end of the 2019 World Cup and even the domestic iteration has broadly been rendered meaningless, which might explain why there is an underlying apathy-based confusion over where this team are at. Therefore, any conclusions drawn from this Jasprit Bumrah-inspired shellacking are loose and will probably be rendered meaningless after Thursday.Related

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But there was a quiet sense at The Oval that the muscle memory of England’s four-year body of work from 2015 might not be as reliable as first hoped. Given how many different ways England’s ideal starting XI are pulled across formats, perhaps that’s no surprise. However, it was interesting that Moeen was thinking out loud when asked to give his assessment on how Tuesday felt like an anomaly. A hallmark of the 50-over World Champions was a knack of making passable scores even after false starts. They only managed 110 this time around.”It is difficult,” he reflected. “We have played a lot more shots and sometimes it was a case of ‘do we keep going?’ But here we were 20 [26] for five and that has not happened a lot. Normally when we haven’t played well, we have been 70 for five and you can counter. But the ball was newer, they were bowling well. We knew we had to counter but it was difficult.”Moeen went on to explain adjustment to different formats isn’t specifically the issue, rather the relentless flow of matches. ” Even if they were all T20s it would have been difficult and the travelling in between. It would be difficult for most teams.”It does put the onus strongly on the next month to re-attune to the longer white-ball code. There are five games over the next 11 days, then nothing until three ODIs in March 2023 against Bangladesh. Naturally, T20 steals the focus ahead of the World Cup in Australia this October.The insistence from Moeen that things will be “fine” by the time England defend their title in 15 months time was characteristically chill of the man. And though it is too early to panic, it’s not too early to worry.

His current rough patch has lasted a lot longer than anyone might have imagined

Aakash Chopra23-Aug-2022″Form is temporary, class is permanent. And Kohli is class.””He isn’t out of form. Just short of runs.””It’s not that he isn’t scoring runs, it’s just that the century hasn’t come. Anyway, it is just round the corner. This series. This tournament. This match.”The chatter started as the wait became longer for the elusive 71st international hundred, but now it has reached a point where the conversation is no longer just about the next century anymore.Related

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There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind about Virat Kohli’s class and his skills, and even if he doesn’t score another run in international cricket from here on, he will still be regarded as one of the greatest to have played the game. A man who did superhuman things and mastered all three formats like almost no others.Still, there’s also no hiding from the fact that the bat that worked like a magic wand isn’t obeying his commands anymore. There are more misses than hits. The aura of invincibility has faded and his presence doesn’t instil the same fear in bowlers’ minds as it used to earlier.But let’s be honest: this has happened to everyone who has played the game before him. That is why you are always remembered for how you lived and not for how you died.Okay, I shall now leave the metaphors behind and focus on the issue at hand.Kohli hasn’t scored enough runs lately. It has been a rough patch that has lasted a lot longer than any of us thought it might – Kohli included, perhaps. There are dozens of theories floating around about what might have gone wrong and how and when this dreadful spell might end. I am guilty of indulging in a couple of them, which I shall elaborate on later in this article.When a player goes through a rough patch, the conversation has only two places to go – is it a technical problem or a mental one? In my limited experience, both are intertwined; often one leads to the other and nobody can determine what came first, chicken or egg.Here’s a cycle of events: a slight technical glitch creeps into your game unknowingly but you ignore its presence because you’re able to handle it for a while with a superior (read, positive) mindset. Until it becomes too much to handle and you lose your rhythm, which results in the mindset not being the same anymore. You then start introspecting and doubt becomes a constant companion. Such a chain might start with a cocky mindset that allows a mistake to creep in in the first place too. Anyway, you get the drift.