It might not always make sense but special players deserve more chances than others get

Aakash Chopra29-Oct-20201:52

Will Rahul’s IPL form help him in Tests?

KL Rahul being picked for India’s Test team for the tour to Australia has produced mixed reactions. Some are of the opinion that picking him devalues the first-class structure because the selection seems to be a reward for his white-ball performances. A few, like me, believe it was only a matter of time before he got a call up for the longer format again. In fact, the absence of Rohit Sharma on the tour to New Zealand early in the year could have been an ideal comeback series for Rahul.Rahul’s Test career stats read: 36 Tests, 2006 runs at 34.5, with five centuries. While these aren’t great numbers, they aren’t abysmal either. The fact that four of those Test centuries have come when he batted as an opener away from home perhaps adds a little more weight to the numbers.The other side of the story is equally compelling: the fact that he lost his place in Tests after a series of low scores; that there were clear patterns developing in his modes of dismissal that only accentuated his problems.Initially he nicked a lot of deliveries outside off – a common problem when the head isn’t on top of off stump, and one that is highlighted more when it happens to an opener. When Rahul tried to correct that, he started going far too across in an attempt to play outside the line of the ball, and ended up getting trapped in front of the stumps. It was obvious that he was trying extremely hard to address the issues, but sometimes the harder you try to get out of a quagmire, the deeper you sink.ALSO READ: Is KL Rahul’s problem technical or mental? (2018)Sachin Tendulkar wrote in his book that a batsman is at his best when his mind is at the opposite end – for that’s where what you have to counter comes from. There’s truth in that: when you focus on your head, feet and hands while standing in your stance, you are guaranteed to be late on the ball. Rahul, like a lot of batsmen going through poor form, was mentally stuck at his end. Lack of runs meant that he was dropped from the Test side, and what started as a very promising Test career, with a hundred in only his second Test, in Australia, threatened to be over well before time.When he wasn’t appearing for India in white flannels, Rahul kept scoring runs elsewhere. He started out as middle-order batsman in T20 cricket but found his real mojo in the format as an opener. He has become the first Indian to score 500-plus runs in three consecutive IPL seasons. He took over keeping duties in limited-overs internationals to fill in for Rishabh Pant, and adapted to the new role of finishing the innings. In fact, he has been India’s standout batsman in white-ball cricket over the last couple of years – both for consistency and impact. But is that enough for a call-up to the Test team?Let me share a story from my life here. The Indian selectors picked 24 probables for India’s tour to Australia in 2007. Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir and I were on that list. Virender Sehwag had had a very ordinary 2006 as a Test player, and two poor years as an ODI player, and he had been dropped for both formats. He went back to playing for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy to regain form and stake a claim again. Unfortunately, the runs didn’t come in first-class cricket too – his scores in the games running up to selection for the Australia series were 16, 0, 9, 32 and 9. He was so woefully out of form that he told the national selector who had come to watch one of our games to pick Gambhir and me, and to not pick him because he was out of form. That’s what you expect from Sehwag – honesty.Then Gambhir got injured and was ruled out of the tour. There were only two openers left on the list, Jaffer and I. My selection was almost guaranteed, but in the end the selectors in consultation with the captain, Anil Kumble, went for Sehwag.The selection didn’t make cricketing sense because Sehwag hadn’t earned his place back. I was the guy who paid the price for the gamble that the team took. As often happens with players of Sehwag’s calibre, he went on to score a hundred, in Adelaide, and did not look back since. He scored his second 300 in Tests a couple of months after.KL Rahul is the kind of player whose Test match technique is intact even when he is scoring at top speed in T20•Getty ImagesI can be forgiven for holding a grudge over something that didn’t seem fair at that point in time. But was there merit in the selectors picking Sehwag without domestic runs or form behind him? History would suggest that the gamble was worth taking, for Sehwag went on to achieve things that I probably would not have done despite my best efforts. Sehwag was a special player and perhaps deserved special treatment.Before going back to Rahul, let’s look at the other possible contenders for the opening spot in Tests now. Also, please bear in mind that these are extraordinary times and a lot of cricketers haven’t played any competitive cricket for eight months or more. The series against South Africa at home last year seemed like a good time for both Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran to be given an opportunity to open in Tests, but the selectors chose Rohit Sharma instead. And as they say, the rest is history. Sharma piled up the runs and closed the window of opportunity for the domestic performers. Since then, Panchal’s numbers have declined. Abhinav Mukund was the most prolific opener in the last domestic season, with Easwaran second on the list. Considering that both haven’t played a first-class game for a while, what were the realistic chances either would be picked for the tour to Australia? In the ideal world, Sharma, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw would be the first-choice openers and Shubman Gill would have been in the squad as back-up. With Sharma’s injury and the lack of clarity about how well or not he is recovering, the selectors had to pick another opener in the side. If it was only about IPL numbers, they would have toyed with the idea of reinstating Shikhar Dhawan too.I must say here that the comparison with Sehwag was just to draw a parallel, but Rahul too is the kind of player who demands a bit more investment. His technical game is intact even when he is scoring at a rate of knots in the shortest format. His game has no obvious flaws that might make him susceptible to the trials of Test match cricket. Whether he will make it big in Test cricket or not, we will find out in good time, but there is merit in getting him back in whites. Players with his quality of skills and talent will get more opportunities than the rest, and while it might seem unfair at the time, like it felt to me in 2007, it might be the right decision for Indian cricket.What if the team management dropped Sharma after he had middling returns in the middle order, ending his Test career without allowing him a shot as an opener? What if Sehwag’s return had been delayed till he got runs on the first-class circuit back in 2007? What if Virat Kohli had been asked to go back to play first-class cricket to regain form after the tour to England in 2014?While I completely feel for the guys, like me back then, who are at the wrong end of these selections, I can now also understand why some players deserve and get an extra chance or two. Rahul has been given another shot at the longest format. Let’s hope he seizes it with both hands.

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.

Five great ODIs from India’s past tours of Australia

Himanshu Agrawal24-Nov-2020
VB Series 2003-04, BrisbaneIndia came into this game having lost each of their last 11 ODIs against Australia in Australia, a sequence stretching all the way back to December 1991. But the big names in their batting line-up combined to give them a great chance of ending that streak. Sachin Tendulkar struggled with an ankle injury that he picked up early in his innings, but it didn’t affect his fluency during a 110-run partnership with VVS Laxman for the second wicket. Tendulkar’s dismissal brought in Rahul Dravid, who raced to a half-century off 49 balls despite only hitting one four in that time. He eventually contributed 74 to a stand of 133 with Laxman, who provided the finishing touches and ended on 103 not out, setting Australia a target of 304.Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden began the reply in typical fashion, Australia racing to 46 within the sixth over before Gilchrist fell to Irfan Pathan. L Balaji then dismissed Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn cheaply, leaving Australia 94 for 3. Hayden calmed them down in partnership with Andrew Symonds and then Michael Clarke, and they were in the ascendancy when Hayden reached his hundred in the 31st over. They needed exactly 100 off 100 when Pathan dismissed Hayden, and wickets began falling regularly even as Michael Bevan scampered along at one end. For once, he would end up unbeaten in a losing chase, with Balaji picking up his third and fourth wickets in the 49th over to put the equation too far beyond Australia’s reach.VB Series 2003-04, SydneyFour days after that win at the Gabba, India nearly shocked Australia again. They had an under-strength top order with both Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar out injured, but another unbeaten hundred from Laxman, and a brilliant 122-ball 139 from Yuvraj Singh, carried them to 296 for 4, with the pair putting on 213 for the fourth wicket.Gilchrist’s hitting made the target look inadequate, and Australia were 73 for 1 after just 9.2 overs when rain began lashing down. When play resumed, Australia had a revised target of 225 in 34 overs. Gilchrist and Ponting extended their second-wicket stand to 126 and brought the equation down to 75 in 78 balls, when Irfan Pathan turned the match by nabbing Ponting and Martyn off successive deliveries. Gilchrist perished to Murali Kartik in the next over, and then Sourav Ganguly joined the party by dismissing Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan and Michael Clarke, and running out Ian Harvey.Clarke’s dismissal left Australia eight down and needing 15 from 12 balls. It eventually came down to 7 off 3, when Brett Lee cracked Balaji for a big six over wide long-off to shut the door on India.Praveen Kumar and Rohit Sharma celebrate a wicket•AFPCB Series 2007-08, BrisbaneThe journey that would culminate when MS Dhoni lifted the World Cup in 2011 began three years earlier, when he captained a new-look side to a tri-series title in Australia. It was all done without Ganguly and Dravid – who had been dropped – and also the injured Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.India had never beaten Australia in back-to-back ODIs in Australia before this, so when they won the first final in Sydney, history was against them sealing the deal in Brisbane.India chose to bat, and made a sedate start with Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa putting on 94 in 20.5 overs. A run-a-ball 38 from Yuvraj brought urgency through the middle overs, and after Tendulkar fell for 91, Dhoni held the lower order together and hauled India to 258 for 9.Given the strength of Australia’s top order, India would need early wickets to make a match of it, and that’s exactly what Praveen Kumar gave them. Swinging the ball masterfully, he sent back Gilchrist and Ponting in his first two overs, and when he bowled Clarke in his fifth over, Australia were 32 for 3. The game kept seesawing thereafter. Hayden and Symonds put on 89, then both fell in the space of three balls. Then Michael Hussey and James Hopes came together to add 76, before Sreesanth had the former caught behind.That left Australia needing 60 in eight overs, with four wickets in hand. Hopes kept them in it even as wickets kept falling at the other end, and the final over began with Australia needing 13 with two wickets in hand. They couldn’t get Pathan away, though, and he took the last two wickets to seal a nine-run win, leaving Hopes, last out for a valiant 63, disconsolate.CB Series 2011-12, AdelaideFollowing a 4-0 embarrassment in the Tests and a drawn T20I series, India also lost the opening match of the ODI tri-series that followed. They beat Sri Lanka in their next game, before heading to Adelaide Oval for another meeting with the uncompromising Australians.India sent Ponting – who opened the batting, unusually – back early, but a 38 from Clarke set Australia a decent platform which the debutant Peter Forrest and David Hussey capitalised on with half-centuries. A quickfire 39 from Daniel Christian applied the finish, and India were set 270 to win.The chase took off in a hurry with Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir putting on 52 in 9.1 overs. Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma couldn’t build on decent starts, and when Gambhir fell for a gritty 92 in the 35th over, the match hung in the balance, with India four down and needing 92 off 97 balls.The required rate climbed as Dhoni struggled to get going, crawling to 13 off 31 balls. Suresh Raina’s hits kept the equation from becoming too unmanageable, and when he fell for 38 in the 47th over, India needed 31 off 23.It came down to 12 off 4, with Dhoni, batting on 33 off 55 with no boundaries against his name, on strike. Cue one of the most famous hits of Dhoni’s career, launching Clint McKay’s slot ball outside off stump for a 112m six over long-on. The rattled McKay was no-balled for high full-toss next ball, evidence that yet another bowler had blinked first in a high-stakes last-over contest with MS Dhoni.Dean Jones on his way to making 90 in a one-run win over India in the 1992 World Cup•Getty Images1992 World Cup, BrisbaneBoth teams had made jittery starts to the tournament and in a near-must-win match, Australia limped to 31 for 2 in the 11th over, before Dean Jones and David Boon set about rebuilding their innings. They added 71 for the third wicket, with a helmetless Jones showing early intent with a full-blooded six over long-on off Javagal Srinath. Jones enjoyed productive stands with Steve Waugh and Tom Moody as well, before falling 10 short of a hundred in the 48th over.A late collapse from Australia – they lost 4 for 7 in the last three overs – left India needing 238. They lost Kris Srikkanth to a peach from Craig McDermott before rain reduced their target to 236 in 47 overs. Ravi Shastri’s struggle to 25 off 67 balls threatened to suck the momentum out of India’s innings, but they got right back in the game courtesy a fine 93 from Mohammad Azharuddin and quickfire cameos from Kapil Dev and Sanjay Manjrekar.Australia were on top when they ran out Azharuddin and Manjrekar in quick succession, leaving India needing 20 off 12 balls with three wickets in hand. Kiran More and Srinath whittled it down to 13 off 6, and More flicked the first two balls of Moody’s final over to the square-leg boundary to bring it down to 5 off 4. A repeat attempt found More’s middle stump broken, however, and the run-out of Manoj Prabhakar brought it down to 4 off the last ball, with Srinath on strike. He swung Moody high towards long-on, where Waugh, sprinting to his right, put down the catch. With the batsmen attempting a desperate third run to tie the game, Waugh threw to the keeper’s end and found Venkatapathy Raju short of his ground to seal the tightest of Australian wins.

ESPNcricinfo runs you through the pros and cons of each of the four frontrunners for the job

Nagraj Gollapudi and Gaurav Sundararaman25-Mar-2021To be a captain at T20 leagues like the IPL is a demanding job, and there are several variables at play. For starters, the player and his skill should fit into the first XI all the time, without affecting team balance. Overseas captains always come with risk of a dip in form – how long a run could you give an out-of-from captain if he is filling one of the key (and limited) overseas slots? The chosen leader also needs to have mass appeal to further enhance the franchise’s brand.So, it will not be an easy choice for the Delhi Capitals, picking a replacement for regular captain Shreyas Iyer, who will sit out IPL 2021 due to an injured left shoulder. Who is the best man to replace Iyer as the Capitals’ stand-in captain? Here’s ESPNcricinfo’s shortlist of frontrunners.R Ashwin

In terms of experience R Ashwin could be seen as a natural and logical choice: the premier offspinner has already performed the role at the Kings XI Punjab (now the Punjab Kings) in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, the Kings finished one win short of a playoffs spot, while in 2019 they lost out due to inferior net run rate.A self-confessed nerd, Ashwin is an animated and passionate player and leader. In the past, he has managed to outsmart oppositions with flexible strategies. Ashwin also shares a good relationship with the Capitals’ head coach Ricky Ponting, and both men are among the best readers of the game.Ashwin will enter the IPL on the back of phenomenal success as an allrounder in Test cricket during India’s tour of Australia, followed by the home series against England. In the last IPL, Ashwin took 13 wickets in 15 matches, finishing as the fifth-highest wicket-taker among spinners and the second-most among fingerspinners. Ashwin’s seven wickets in the Powerplay was the most by a spinner.Rishabh Pant

Under normal circumstances, Pant, who is the Capitals’ vice-captain, would automatically be the frontrunner. He was the first player retained by the franchise ahead of the 2018 auction and will once again be expected to earn that honour before the 2022 mega auction. This is the second time Pant has been in contention for the leadership position, having lost the race to Iyer, who was identified by the franchise as the replacement for Gautam Gambhir who stepped down midway into IPL 2018. At the time the franchise leadership group felt Pant would be better off focusing on his batting and keeping.Those two skillsets still remain Pant’s key responsibilities, but three years later Pant is more experienced and brings with him the confidence of having become successful in international cricket, especially Test cricket. Not only has Pant grown confident as a wicketkeeper – as was revealed in part by his constant chirping behind the stumps during the Test series against Australia and England recently – he is also reading the game better.Pant, who is 23 years old, has long been identified has a long-term prospect by the franchise. The only thing that counts against Pant taking charge here is that he has never led in the IPL. But he has led Delhi in domestic cricket, so if does take charge, Pant has some experience to fall back on.Steven Smith

Steven Smith must be pinching himself. Having been let go by the Rajasthan Royals on the eve of the 2021 auction, Smith was picked by the Capitals, and now he might just find himself captaining an IPL side again.Parth Jindal, co-owner of the Capitals, admitted that the franchise was “shocked” to have got Smith for just INR 2.2 crore (USD 301,000 approx) at the auction. Despite already having half a dozen specialist batsmen, Jindal pointed out that Smith presented the Capitals with options. Could one of them be captaincy? Smith’s record as captain in the IPL is mixed. He led Pune to the finals in 2017, but finished last with the Royals in 2020.However the Capitals needs to first answer this key question: can Smith be expected to fit into their XI across all the matches as a top-order batsman? Last season Smith’s form with the bat was under par despite him playing in various positions. As an overseas captain, if Smith struggles as a batsman, it can have a negative impact on the team. That is one reason franchises have previously replaced overseas captains during a season.Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane was dropped as captain by the Rajasthan Royals to correct a stuttering campaign in 2019. A few months later the Capitals procured Rahane through a trade. According to Jindal, Rahane and Ashwin were the choices of former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who, during his time as the Captials’ mentor, felt the Indian Test vice-captain could be a handy batsmen on the turning pitches at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the franchise’s home base (of course, no franchises will be playing at home this season).Rahane has the experience and the respect of the players, and is an aggressive leader. However can Rahane the batsman be relied upon? Rahane has two IPL centuries, but he has seemingly been struggling to cope with the evolving demands of batting in the top order in T20 cricket, where batsmen need to manoeuvre gears swiftly. Last IPL Rahane managed just 113 runs in eight innnings in his first season for the Capitals. That included two ducks, a highest score of 60 and a strike rate of just over 100.

The pair has aggregated 771 runs in 13 ODIs whenever Bangladesh lost four or more wickets with the score yet to touch three figures

Sampath Bandarupalli29-May-202199 and 74 – Bangladesh’s scores at the fall of the fourth wicket in the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka when Mahmudullah joined Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease. Partnerships of 109 and 87 between them put the hosts in a dominant position on an ever-slowing Dhaka track. The middle-order batters could not deliver for the third time in a row, on Friday, chasing 287.Only three times has the target of 240-plus been chased down at this venue across 20 attempts in the last seven years. However, Rahim and Mahmudullah finished among the top three contributors in the unsuccessful chase, continuing their pattern of holding the fort, and pushing Bangladesh to their maiden series win over Sri Lanka in any format.Rahim-Mahmudullah to the rescueESPNcricinfo LtdThe recent series was an example of what Rahim and Mahmudullah have got used to, as they paired up 13 times in ODI cricket whenever Bangladesh lost four or more wickets with the score yet to touch three figures. They have aggregated 771 runs in such situations, only behind the 915 runs by the Indian pair of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. But the Bangladesh pair has a superior average and the same number of fifty-plus stands despite having made five fewer appearances.The Dhoni-Raina pair is ahead of Rahim-Mahmudullah in the list of most partnership runs for the fifth and lower wicket in ODI history. Across 51 innings, the Bangladesh duo together added 1891 runs at 41.10 per dismissal. All four century stands between them in ODIs have been for the fifth wicket, the joint-second most by any pair in the format. The pressure they often deal with might not be evident from the partnership numbers as the average score at the entry point is only 149.4 and no more than one specialist batter to follow them.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe partnership in the series opener was the third time Rahim and Mahmudullah shared a century stand when Bangladesh were four down under 100. Only two other pairs have had as many century stands in these situations – Angelo Mathews with Lahiru Thirimanne of Sri Lanka and Rahim with Shakib Al Hasan.Rahim’s big impactIn all, Rahim has been part of eight 100-run stands in ODIs whenever his team lost four or more wickets inside 100 runs on the board, behind only Dhoni, who was part of 14 such partnerships. Batting at No. 4 post the 2015 World Cup, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper has aggregated 589 runs in 16 instances whenever Bangladesh lost two wickets inside 25 runs on the board. Rahim has the clear edge ahead in terms of runs in this list but has been a consistent feature at No. 4 only from 2017.ESPNcricinfo LtdDuring this period, he scored 2275 runs in ODIs at No.4, standing only behind New Zealand’s Ross Taylor (2755). Though the average in the mentioned situations reads only 36.8, Rahim got two of his eight ODI centuries, including his career-best 144 against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2018, after Bangladesh lost two wickets in the very first over. No player batting at No.4 scored more in an ODI innings, coming in when the team score is 1 for 2 or worse.The silent warriorMahmudullah often stays under the radar in a line-up comprising Iqbal, Shakib, Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza. The first-ever centurion of Bangladesh in the World Cup has got used to rescuing the team from early collapses, ever since he settled to lower middle-order (in 2017). Since the start of 2017, Mahmudullah has walked out to bat with the team’s total has been 132.8 runs at an average, which drops down to 122.8 runs whenever he turns up at No. 6.Coming to bat with four or more wickets down inside 100, Mahmudullah has scored 553 runs across 14 outings in the past four years, averaging 50.3. He played a cricial role in Bangladesh’s road to the knockouts in the Champions Trophy 2017, when he put up a 224-run stand for the fifth wicket with Shakib. In pursuit of a 266-run target against New Zealand, the chasing team lost four wickets for 33 runs, only to be rescued by the twin tons.ESPNcricinfo LtdOnly one player has scored a century during a successful ODI chase batting at No. 6 or lower, coming in with the team total lower than 33 – Jos Buttler, 110* against Australia in 2018 at Manchester when England were 27 for four. The luxury of Rahim and Mahmudullah in the middle order has made Bangladesh a team to beat in their backyard, as they have the best win record in bilateral ODIs at home since World Cup 2015.

Stunning scooped six announces talent of young batter on Warwickshire rookie contract

George Dobell24-Jul-2021Given Chris Benjamin’s current career trajectory, he’ll be Prime Minister by Thursday.In his media conference after the game, the 22-year-old Benjamin said he had “waited patiently” for this opportunity. “This is something I’ve waited a long time for,” he said. But it seems, from the outside, as if everything has happened in an incredible rush.Benjamin was only signed as a professional player three weeks ago. He’s only played one T20 match – last Sunday – and he only made his List A debut on Thursday. As in, 24 hours before this Hundred match at Edgbaston.But here he is, appearing in a tournament that was billed as ‘the best v the best’ and playing a match-defining hand, at that. His 24 from 15 balls might not, at first glance, look especially impressive. But it came with the match in the balance, in front of the sort of crowd he had never experienced, and he finished it undefeated after producing some strokes that had you jerking forward in your seat. If you could buy shares in cricketers…Let’s talk about those shots first. It was a scoop for six over deep third that first grabbed the attention. It was pretty much a length ball from the seamer Blake Cullen. A generation ago, a player might have tried to run it past the keeper. Or they might have tried to give themselves some room to flog it through the off-side. But it’s hard to hit sixes from either of those options. And the scoop is something of a speciality for Benjamin. He got off the mark with the stroke in a warm-up game a few days ago. Zak Crawley later said it was the one thing the London Spirit side knew about him as a batter: he could scoop.A couple of balls later, Cullen dropped short. As if to try the young pretender with the bouncer. It was a decent one, too. Head height. Sharp. It landed in the third row of the stands at square leg. Benjamin can hook and scoop.The next shot only went for four. But it might have been the best of the lot. Chris Wood is a vastly experienced T20 bowler. And his wide yorker seemed to be directed pretty much perfectly. But somehow Benjamin didn’t just connect, he did so with such power that the ball sped past mid-off. It left Birmingham needing only one more run to draw level with Spirit’s total. Benjamin can scoop and hook and drive.

This reverse-scoop that went for six! #TheHundred pic.twitter.com/UWNkyrlc0n

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 24, 2021

Michael Holding, Chris Gayle, Stafanie Taylor among players showcasing the spirit of Jamaican cricket

Varun Shetty20-Aug-2021About 30,000 people are said to have thronged the streets around Boys’ Town, Kingston, when Collie Smith died in a car accident in England in 1959. Smith, 26, had been travelling with close friend Garry Sobers, who would go on to dedicate a chapter to Smith in his book .”In all my innings, and especially in Jamaica where they so loved Collie, I played with him inside me. Trying perhaps to give him the innings that death had denied him. We had some wonderful innings together. They were beginning to call me a great allrounder. Collie was a greater allrounder than I,” Sobers said.Smith played 26 Tests for West Indies between 1955 and 1959, and was believed to be the only batter to score centuries on first appearance (at 21 and 24, respectively) against both Australia and England at the time. His most important achievement, though, was doing it all coming from Boys’ Town, a neighbourhood that has battled a long-standing reputation for violence and corruption. To his people, Smith was an immortal beacon of representation in cricket.That story, and many others, will be now be represented on a new mural at Sabina Park that aims to capture the spirit of Jamaican cricket, as part of a larger art project that aims to turn Kingston into a “destination city”. Nineteen cricketers are featured on the mural: George Headley, Allan Rae, Alf Valentine, Jackie Hendricks, Easton McMorris, Collie Smith, Maurice Foster, Michael Holding, Jimmy Adams, Stafanie Taylor, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Marlon Tucker, Jeff Dujon, Courtney Walsh, Patrick Patterson, Tamar Lambert, Dennal Shim and Nikita Miller.”When the administration that I lead took office in 2016, we decided as a policy position, that we would reposition the city of Kingston in the form of a vision, and that was to transform it into a destination city, a tourism city,” says Mayor Delroy Williams.
“The repositioning means that we have to integrate its history – it has a rich cultural history in the arts, music and literature. We are creating spaces for our residents and our visitors, so that they can interact with our culture and history.”Artists represented each player with a portrait, an action shot and Ghanian Adinkra symbols•Deandra Young SangThe mural at Sabina Park follows a wide-ranging do-over of downtown Kingston, a region that had previously become synonymous with rundown buildings and abandoned businesses. For Rosemarie “Rozi” Chung, director at Studio 174, a non-profit arts academy, who led the project, the brief came directly from the Minister of Culture. It revolved around capturing the spirit of Jamaican cricket, and its significance to the population. The mural has a template – one action photo juxtaposed with one portrait of each player against a blue backdrop that sprawls across the wall; but Chung and her team of young artists – Anthony, Tiana Anglin, Cee Jay Carpio, Yanque Yip, and Jordan Harrison – wanted to go beyond simple portraiture.”Cricket is not just a game. It’s a way of being, and we wanted to create it in such a manner that young people could come on board,” Chung says.”We speak about Jamaican culture, so we went [far] back with the research. It wasn’t just creating imagery, but researching a bit about Sabina and some of the symbols we have on the wall reflect that.”The imagery derives from the Adinkra symbols of Ghana, in a bid to reflect Jamaican culture before slavery, Chung says, and a way to get the education system involved.”The fact is the Adinkra symbols are used all over the world and people don’t even realise it. So we put that in as a way of speaking to you about the character. For instance, Stafanie Taylor, what I created there, along with an artist called Delano Macfarlane – her symbol represents strength, beauty, and humility. That’s an example of what the symbols could mean and refer to – taking you beyond a face. Deeper, to describe the person and how they play.”The symbol used for Chris Gayle is illustrative of that – , the king of the Adinkra symbols, that depicts greatness, charisma, and leadership.But beyond their deeper meanings, the symbols also served as visual elements to anchor the art and connect cricketers of different eras, says Anthony Smith, the artist who painted Collie Smith (symbol: , meaning: Affluence, Abundance, Unity), Holding (also ), Walsh ( – Child of the Heavens) and Marlon Tucker ( – Celebration).The Walk of Fame at Sabina Park by the side of the building commemorates players, officials and other legends of Jamaican cricket•Anthony Smith”For those who are not interested in asking the questions, they will see something beautiful, something that not only unites the works across the entire wall, but represents something they themselves can learn,” Anthony says. “It’s not a case where we created these symbols right here on the project. We borrowed them. So what we’re doing is creating some kind of education, so that someone else may use this kind of visual language as a way of spreading the culture.”Discussions on the project began in 2019. The cricket board selected the list of cricketers, and Chung’s team then had to think of the scale of the mural, which she believes it could be among the biggest in Kingston. The involvement of women artists, painting women cricketers in the murals, drew intrigue among young girls as the project went along, say the team members.Representation is at the heart of this project, and one of the major topics the team hopes to create conversation around is racism.”We Jamaicans did, in various forms, oppose the racism in South Africa, and the sport of cricket and our cricket personnel at the time were very vocal against racism in South Africa,” Williams says.The most persistent recent examples of that are the conversations that Michael Holding has been stirring over the last year or so. Holding is one of the cricketers on that wall, and whilst his work on that front isn’t directly reflected here, the municipality hopes that his presence will prompt the public to find out more.”While we didn’t get to speak to the cricketers directly on the topic of racism, we did do a bit of research on what they would have experienced,” says Anglin, the muralist who contributed six cricketers to the wall. “I think that’s why, also, the use of Adinkra symbols would have been important, to show the strength of our culture and our history. And I think that in itself is a silent protest against the whole act and what they would have gone through.”The larger art project in downtown Kingston, with interactive art spaces containing murals of musicians like Desmond Dekker, Millie Small, Jimmy Cliff, and Bunny Wailer, has already shown signs of success – there has been an uptick in business investors downtown, says Williams.Stafanie Taylor is painted with the Dwennimmen symbol, representing strength, beauty and humility•Tiana AnglinIn a cricket-specific context, the ongoing West Indies-Pakistan series should be a start in terms of visibility for this particular project. In the making of the mural, though, there is already a story of one of those legends resonating with the younger people of Jamaica. When the 24-year-old Anthony painted Collie Smith on the wall, he was painting one of his heroes.”He’s my father’s namesake and he also has my surname,” Anthony says. “But not only that, [it’s] what he represented – the community he came from was an area that, at the time, would have been seen as a ‘bad area’. He represented that something bigger can happen, something big, something fantastic to look forward to. And he did it all at a very young age, so he just showed that the youth can stand up to something monumental, and represent the area, and show that something good can come from that space. That’s one thing he did that I found quite heroic.”One thing I realised was that a sense of ownership was created in the people, primarily the passersby. They saw themselves in the work, their behaviour reflected that the work was theirs. It was energising to see that the community is that involved in what is happening in their country.”The immediate next step for the project will be to introduce plaques to provide more information on the cricketers who form a list that spans nearly 80 years of Jamaican cricket. That will form a crucial part in educating younger people in the region, who are likely to know the likes of Gayle, Samuels, and Walsh, but not so much about the rest. Chung hopes this will be the start of a longer project “speaking of other moments of cricket”.”Hopefully with the feedback locally and abroad, we can continue the project. Because there’s so much more to say about cricket, and we are learning at the same time.”The artists will firmly agree that it was a wonderful project and they too needed time to just look at the work. Most of the time, we don’t get to look at the work. We want everyone to come and experience it. It’s a different thing to when you experience it online, because they’re huge, you know? They’re amazing, really amazing,” Chung says.A look at the schedule says that Kingston might have to wait until England’s tour in January next year to become a destination city in the cricketing context. On all other fronts, things seem to be going to plan.

Also: what’s the lowest individual score never made in each format of international cricket?

Steven Lynch02-Nov-2021Who are the oldest and youngest players in the current T20 World Cup – and who are the record-holders overall? asked Keith Robinson from England

The youngest man in the current T20 World Cup is the exciting Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was 19 years 331 days old in their match against Scotland in Sharjah. The oldest is Chris Gayle, who’s about a month past his 42nd birthday.The youngest player in any edition of this tournament to date was Mohammad Amir, who was aged 17 years 55 days when he faced England at The Oval in June 2009. Rashid Khan was about four months older when he played for Afghanistan against Scotland in Nagpur in March 2016. The oldest was Ryan Campbell, who was 44 when he played for Hong Kong in the 2016 edition. The oldest for a Test-playing nation was Brad Hogg, who was 43 when he appeared for Australia in March 2014.Five Dutch players were out first ball in their T20 World Cup match against Ireland. Was this a record? asked Sandeep Sachdeva from India

The short answer is yes: Netherlands’ five golden ducks – by Ben Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards, Roelof van der Merwe and Brandon Glover – against Ireland in Abu Dhabi recently was a new record for T20Is. There had been three previous instances of four, by West Indies against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2013-14 (this included a run-out), New Zealand vs Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2019 (when Lasith Malinga took four wickets in four balls), and Estonia against Cyprus in Episkopi in July 2021.The record for one-day internationals is four first-ball dismissals in an innings, which has happened three times – by Sri Lanka against Pakistan in Jamshedpur in 1998-99 (one a run-out), Pakistan vs England at The Oval in 2003 (three inflicted by Jimmy Anderson), and Scotland against New Zealand in Dunedin during the 2015 World Cup.The record for a Test innings, as far as can be established (data is incomplete), is also four, by South Africa against England at The Oval in 2017, two of them coming during Moeen Ali’s match-ending hat-trick.What’s the lowest individual score never made in each format of international cricket? asked Cal Bypost via Facebook

At the moment the lowest individual score never recorded in a men’s Test match is 229, followed by 252 and 265. The first score of 238 came earlier this year, by Kane Williamson for New Zealand against Pakistan in Christchurch.In one-day internationals it’s 155 (which is odd since there have been five 154s and six 156s), and 112 in T20Is. No one has yet been out for 93 in T20Is, but Hamilton Masakadza hit 93 not out for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh in Khulna in 2015-16.In women’s Tests the lowest score not yet recorded is 91, in ODIs 126, and in T20Is 85.R Ashwin held the record for the most wickets after 39 Tests•AFP / Getty ImagesI know that Ravichandran Ashwin used to hold the record for most wickets at a certain stage of his Test career – does he still? asked R Narendran from India

The Indian spinner R Ashwin held the record for the most wickets after 39 matches (220; Yasir Shah had the most after 38, with 209) and held the mark until his 65th Test, by which time he had 342 wickets. But although Ashwin took eight in his 66th match, he was joined by Muthiah Muralidaran with 350 after 66. Murali took 11 more in his next Test, and retained the record from then until the end of his career (800 wickets in 133 matches). Other bowlers have played more Tests, but have not approached his wicket haul.I noticed that Brendon McCullum scored two double-centuries in New Zealand’s two Tests against India in 2013-14. Has anyone ever scored three double-hundreds in a series? asked Kerry Watson from New Zealand

Brendon McCullum hit 224 for New Zealand against India in Auckland in February 2014, then 302 – NZ’s first Test triple – in Wellington the following week. This was the 16th instance of a batter scoring two double-centuries in a Test series; Virat Kohli joined the club for India against Sri Lanka in 2017-18. Apart from McCullum, only Wally Hammond (for England vs New Zealand in 1932-33) and Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka vs Pakistan in 2008-09) did it in a two-match series.As so often, though, one man stands alone when you consider this sort of record. Don Bradman hit three double-centuries in the Ashes in England in 1930, when he racked up 974 runs in all, still the record for any Test series. Bradman hit 254 at Lord’s, in what he always claimed was his best Test innings, 334 at Headingley, and 232 in the fifth Test at The Oval. Bradman also hit two double-centuries in three further series – against England in 1934 and 1936-37, and South Africa in 1931-32. For the overall list, click here.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

The departing hero provided a throwback to his heyday when he hoicked Logan van Beek for six

Himanshu Agrawal04-Apr-2022Standing a step back to get deep in the crease? Yup. A slight shuffle across off stump? Done. Front leg out of the way? Correct. Back leg nearly or fully bent? Right. Bat swing like a broom? Sure. A swipe across the line for six over wide long-on? Why not? Ross Taylor did all of this in a flash when he deposited Logan van Beek over the ropes in his farewell international innings.Turning the clock back, the 38-year-old expertly swung at the ball like he did in his prime, the neat execution an outcome of free bat-swing and a fearless mindset to accumulate quick runs for his side. The shot was a throwback to the days when he swept and swiped spin and pace alike, in the arc between deep midwicket and long-on, at will.The moment the ball landed beyond the fence, there was hope something bigger was to come. The noise that the crowd produced in that spilt second – the screeching, the whistling, and the cheering – was never heard in two-and-a-half hours of play until then. In all, the New Zealand batters hit 23 fours and ten sixes on Monday, but none of them invited a remotely close reaction.Related

• Stead non-committal on Williamson-Latham split captaincy

• Report: Young, Guptill, Henry give Taylor perfect farewell

Earlier in the day, it seemed as if Taylor would never walk out to bat. His team-mates Martin Guptill and Will Young had put on 203 for the second wicket, and they looked good to pile on more runs and misery on Netherlands. However, in the 39th over, the stand ended when Guptill gloved a catch behind and ceded the stage to Taylor. Perhaps, no New Zealand supporter had ever wanted a wicket to fall so desperately.And when Taylor finally walked out to bat, it was as if the whole of Hamilton stood still; or at least Seddon Park did. The entire crowd stood on its feet and welcomed their departing hero. Taylor’s team-mates in the dressing room gave him a standing ovation, and Guptill, the man dismissed, chose to stand across the rope just in front of the fence while banging his helmet with his glove to allow Taylor his moment, much like Henry Nicholls had done when Taylor was dismissed in his final Test against Bangladesh in January.That afternoon, Nicholls, who was the next man in, opted to wait in the dressing room to let Taylor walk back and absorb the applause of the Christchurch crowd.And as every deserving legend, Taylor was welcomed by the opposition for his final international match by a guard of honour.

Of course he does! @RossLTaylor takes the catch that completes his final match for the BLACKCAPS! #NZvNED pic.twitter.com/eL1Xf9c7aC

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) April 4, 2022