All posts by n8rngtd.top

England seamer embraces her vulnerabilities and becomes the hero that her team needed

Vithushan Ehantharajah13-Jul-2023There cannot be many more open cricketers than Kate Cross.Part of that is the nature of being a high-profile women’s cricketer. So much of the game’s future is over-reliant on your personality, time and accessibility to cover for decades of under-investment. Media requests are accepted as they come in. Not a selfie or autograph is denied. No stakeholder left behind. Cross is one of the best at it.She co-hosts the No Balls Podcast with good mate and former England cricketer Alex Hartley. In between the insightful cricket chat, they either talk borderline nonsense – as we all do with our best mates – or have deep and productive conversations about mental health, which we probably don’t do enough.Cross has long been open about matters of this nature. She’s never afraid to reopen scars to show us all these anxieties. Only so much of that can be cathartic, but Cross always does so to inform better and show others their struggle is not and should not be alone.In the last few months, she revealed that a tropical virus contracted during a pre-season tour of India in March had left her in doubt for this Ashes series, which could be her last on home soil given she will be 35 in four years, and other younger quicks are already nipping at her heels. But then, on Thursday, in just her second appearance in the multi-format series, she stepped across to the off side to show the world – and most importantly Megan Schutt – her stumps.England needed nine runs to win this first of three ODIs, not just to square series 6-6 but to prevent Australia from retaining the Ashes there and then. Again. Cross had walked in at No.10 with 29 runs remaining, joining her skipper, Heather Knight, who was beginning to wonder if a fifth successive Ashes was slipping away.And as Schutt delivered one of her patented inswingers and Cross stepped across, there was a moment when the 5,731 crowd at Bristol County Ground fell silent. The majority supporting England feared the worst. A moment later, that silence was broken. Even Australian legend Mel Jones on commentary, who has seen more than most, was in awe. “What has just happened?”Well, the scoop shot happened. Away the ball went, over the keeper’s head and, eventually, for four. Cross crashed a drive through the covers two balls later to draw England level with Australia’s 263. Knight had the honour of finishing the match at the start of the next over, cutting the winning boundary through point to take her to a remarkable 75 not out, and immediately flinging her bat away to embrace the player whom she regarded as the hero of the hour.”She loves it, she absolutely loves it!” Alice Capsey said afterwards, buoyed as much by Cross’s outlandish shot selection under pressure as by her own 40 from 34 balls that had jump-started the pursuit of a target of 264. As Hartley put it: “Death, taxes, and Crossy playing the paddle.”Cross herself will be the first to tell you it is her favourite shot, and her team-mates will be queuing a close second to inform you no-one does it better. “She plays it probably the best in the group,” Capsey added. “If you don’t see a ramp, you’re probably asking [Cross] ‘are you okay?'”Heather Knight embraces Kate Cross after the chase•PA Images/GettyTruth be told, Cross was not okay when she walked to the crease, and, typically, had no qualms stating as much. She told BBC Sport her internal dialogue was full of fear of adding to past regrets: “I do not want to lose another Ashes. I have seen us lose too many Ashes.”This had by no means been her best performance. Opening the bowling after being left out of the T20Is, she was struck for two boundaries off her first three deliveries of the match by Alyssa Healy, the second a full toss whipped through midwicket. Though she would snare Healy lbw with the fourth, she went on to have Ellyse Perry dropped on six before dropping a catch of her own to give Beth Mooney a life on 19. Both cashed in with 41 and 81 not out, respectively.Cross’s figures of one for 42 from six overs were comfortably the worst of her team. And she owed thanks to Capsey and Tammy Beaumont for a 74-run stand in 9.1 overs that gave Australia’s quicks – Darcie Brown, Perry, Annabel Sutherland and Tahlia McGrath – even worse economy-rates. But as she walked to the middle, you could understand why Cross was apprehensive. Her upcoming struggle was to be endured publicly.Her captain – her friend – knew what needed to be said. A fundamental tenet of England’s build-up to this series, dialled up to instigate the fightback from 6-0 down, has been to strip this Australian team of their aura. Knight reiterated that: think of Ash Garnder as an off-spinner, Jess Jonassen as merely left-arm orthodox and even Schutt, with all her craft and Australian mongrel, as just another inswinger. No matter who is sending it down, swing if it’s there to be swung at.Having stolen the strike for the 45th over, Cross played out two dots from Jonassen before pouncing on a loose ball to turn it around the corner for four. When Jonassen corrected her line and length with the next delivery, Cross slapped an on-drive for another four. At the time, it seemed like the best shot she’d play.Given the strike a ball into the next over, Cross immediately found a single into the leg side and watched on from the non-striker’s end as Knight dropped to one knee and treated Gardner like just another off-spinner by depositing her over the midwicket fence for six. Two overs later, when Schutt was brought back to do what Schutt does, Knight saw fine leg up in the circle and had an idea. “Paddle’s on.”It was. Out Cross stepped to the off side, up the scoop went over Healy’s head. Cross assumed she was close to being caught by the keeper, and confirmed to the rest of us the contact was not her usual best when she scampered back for the second. Brown had seemingly stopped the ball at the boundary, only to palm it into the advertising sponge. Though Cross would tie the scores two balls later, the audacity of the scoop was a statement in itself that only one team was winning this.Related

• Tahlia McGrath calls for 'fearless' cricket as Australia return to their favoured ODIs

• Sophia Dunkley to open batting as England embrace 'disruptors' role

• Ladies who Switch: Ashes alive with England on a roll

• Heather Knight shines bright to keep England's Ashes hopes alive

• Alyssa Healy admits: 'The Ashes are on the line, proper' after Bristol cliffhanger

She almost finished it herself, thumping a drive down the ground but straight at Schutt, who could only deflect the ball away. No matter – Knight finished the job at the start of the next over. With two matches to play, England’s first women’s Ashes victory in almost a decade is very much back on the agenda.The finish in the third men’s Ashes Test at Headingley and this first ODI here in the women’s has led to familiar soundbites. Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and now Cross have all spoken of the fact that, while they are not used to being there at the end, and would certainly prefer not to be, being out in the middle at least gives you a say. Even if you want no part in a chase, to be at the crease is to be in control, which in a sport open to chaos, is a blessing.It can also be a curse. You are never more exposed than when you’re out there, particularly indulging in your weaker suit. All those hopes on unfamiliar shoulders, all those past failures just a wrong turn in your mind away from consuming you.Cross, however, had left those thoughts on the other side of the boundary, bringing instead the courage to do right by Knight at the other end, her teammates watching on from the dressing room, and her country. She came armed with that familiar strength emanating from vulnerability. And, of course, her scoop shot.That she walked off to all those cheers before indulging in more media, selfies, and autographs – an emergency podcast in the works – carried a unique feeling this time. Given how forthcoming she has been with her darkest moments, it was only right that so many could share in arguably her brightest.

Plenty is going well for Pat Cummins’ team, but an ongoing concern nearly came back to bite them against New Zealand

Alex Malcolm31-Oct-20231:53

Moody: ‘Warner bringing a T20 approach to ODIs’

The Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne question

Australia have become the first side in men’s ODI history to post three consecutive totals of 350 or more. It’s hard to believe that there are any weaknesses in the batting armour when such scores are being posted so consistently. But the middle-order has not contributed greatly in those innings and has even been a hindrance at times that has only been rescued by the incredible late-order hitting of Glenn Maxwell, with support from Josh Inglis and Pat Cummins in the last game in particular.Australia slumped from 252 for 0 to 363 for 9 against Pakistan, scoring just 108 in the last 16.1 overs. They fell from 244 for 2 to 290 for 6 against Netherlands before Maxwell unleashed fury with a 40-ball century, and against New Zealand crawled from 200 for 1 in the 24th over to 274 for 5 in the 39th over before Maxwell, Inglis and Cummins clubbed their way to 388. But they also lost 4 for 1 in the last two overs.Related

• Head's successful comeback vindicates Australia's gamble

• Stats: Runs galore, Australia's record victory, and Bas de Leede's unwanted feat

• Smith will do 'what's best for the team' – Cummins

“They’ll be relief from the Australians, no doubt about it. If it [the New Zealand game] had snuck away from them, their batting through the middle of their innings was deplorable,” Ricky Ponting said on the host broadcast.The openers, led by David Warner alongside either Travis Head orMitchell Marsh have been laying superb platforms, but Australia have been unable to maintain the momentum.Marsh looked very uncomfortable starting against spin having been moved to No. 3 against New Zealand following Head’s return and was a big reason for the go-slow. Meanwhile, Smith has voiced his displeasure about batting at No. 4. Labuschagne played well against Netherlands but has not been able to capitalise on starts otherwise in the tournament with an overall strike-rate of 77.30.Unlike the two other form sides in the tournament, India and South Africa, and to a lesser degree New Zealand with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, Australia’s middle order looks like a weak point. Marsh and Smith in particular need to find a way to gel at No. 3 and 4 if the openers have made a big start. Or Australia need to be more flexible with their order, as they were without success against Pakistan, and send out better starters against spin ahead of Marsh to keep the momentum moving through the middle-overs.Marcus Stoinis has only played three games in the tournament due to injuries•AFP/Getty Images

What is the role for Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green?

Australia had long planned to play a bevy of allrounders in their line-up in this World Cup to give them options in this tournament. They had played XIs in the previous 12 months with four allrounders in them, including Marsh, Maxwell, Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis with one of them batting at No. 8 to strengthen the batting and give a multitude of bowling options.In the last game, they picked just Maxwell and Marsh and the latter only bowled two overs for 18. Stoinis’ fitness is a major concern. He’s played just three matches in five weeks and bowled just nine overs in the tournament. He missed the first game against India with a hamstring problem and has missed the last two with a calf niggle.It was telling, too, that Green, who had already been dropped for Stoinis, played against the Netherlands but didn’t bowl and then was squeezed out when Head returned against New Zealand. Australia’s selectors preferred the more in-form specialist batter in Labuschagne to retaining Green as an all-round option, showing faith in their specialist bowlers and Maxwell to do the job, which they were just barely able to do.But if a bowler goes the journey again, like Mitchell Starc did in Dharamsala, it leaves them vulnerable, particularly if they don’t score enough runs. If Stoinis is fully fit, he will likely be named in their first-choice XI as it strengthens the bowling and the death-hitting and potentially means the middle-order is less one-dimensional.However, it means one of Smith or Labuschagne would make way leaving the middle-to-lower order heavily reliant on Maxwell who has been most effective when he is held back for the final 12 overs.Pat Cummins relied on Mitchell Starc to bowl the last over against New Zealand•AFP/Getty Images

Mitchell Starc yet to sparkle

Mitchell Starc is not the same bowler he has been in past editions of the World Cups where his record marks him down as an all-time great. His record 22-game World Cup wicket-taking streak ended against New Zealand when he gave up 89 from nine overs. He found a way to survive the final over with 19 runs to play with but it wasn’t pretty.The Dharamsala surface was not kind to the faster bowlers in general which puts his off-colour performance in context, but his overall tournament has not been great. Australia have been one of the poorest-performing teams in terms of new ball bowling, which is Starc’s specialty.He did have a compromised preparation due to ongoing groin soreness that has lingered since the Ashes and it may explain why he hasn’t been as explosive. But Australia need a bigger contribution from him. They do not have a like-for-like left-arm option in the squad if Starc does need a rest with Sean Abbott the only back-up pace bowling support.

Even in the age of T20 cricket, India’s U-19 captain likes to take his time and take the game deep without worrying much about the strike rate

Raunak Kapoor11-Feb-20240:58

Saharan: Good to have a close semi-final before the final

Sri Ganganagar, the northern-most city in the state of Rajasthan, no more than 225 square km in area and, with a population of around 200,000, is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of the legendary Indian ghazal singer and musician, Jagjit Singh.By Sunday evening, the city might well have given India their sixth Under-19 Men’s World Cup-winning captain.Uday Saharan made the move from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan to play age-group cricket in Punjab when his father Sanjeev, who is also his coach, decided it was time to take cricket seriously.Singh’s music and Saharan’s batting both share an element of timelessness.Related

• Bumrah's tips on yorker have helped a lot, says Naman Tiwari

• India vs Australia in a title clash yet again as U-19 World Cup reaches climax

• Sachin Dhas is playing his father's dream – live in Benoni

• Saharan: 'I knew it was a matter of one partnership'

Going into the final against Australia, Saharan has batted for 644 minutes in this tournament, facing 493 balls and scoring 389 runs, the third highest for an India batter in a single edition. Shikhar Dhawan’s 505 in 2004 remains the record. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 88 in the final in 2020 took him to 400. A hundred for Saharan may well put him at the top.But it isn’t as much about his own runs as what, and more importantly how much, has happened for India while Saharan has been at the crease. Nearly 53% of India’s runs have come with Saharan in the middle.He has forged a partnership of more than 50 in every game, including four in excess of 100 and three over 150. His stand of 215 with Sachin Dhas against Nepal is a record for India in the Under-19 World Cup.In India’s two most important games this tournament, against Bangladesh and the semi-final against South Africa, Saharan walked in at 31 for 2 and 8 for 2, respectively. While Adarsh Singh (against Bangladesh) and Dhas (against South Africa) played the match-defining innings, Saharan is what kept the team from falling apart.The earliest any team has been able to dismiss India’s captain is the 37th over of the innings.Saharan is a throwback to the old school of batting. Take your time to get in, eliminate risk almost entirely, and don’t worry about the strike rate. Something he learned and inherited from his father.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”My father told me from the beginning to always take the game deep, as deep as possible,” Saharan told Star Sports ahead of the final. “These days, batters like to play shots and try to finish things off early, but my father’s thought process, which I know is old school, has always been to keep wickets in hand and take the game deep, because if you get to such a situation, then you can chase down anything, given the kind of batters you have today.”Saharan’s style of batting is often one that stirs up the intent debate at the senior level, particularly in white-ball cricket. But in a World Cup where surfaces have generally been challenging for batting, with just three scores in excess of 300 in 40 matches, two of those by India, his methods have worked wonders for his team.”If I’m completely honest, of course I want to go out there and play big shots,” he says. “Play shots in the air, try to hit sixes, because that’s what people like to watch today. But in reality, I want my team to win, I want my country to win, that’s what makes me proud. So if my game needs to be different, where I need to play a secondary role to keep the team in the game, I’m more than happy to.”Saharan’s team values his contributions. While his 81 off 124 winning him the Player-of-the-Match award ahead of Dhas’ 96 off 95 in the semi-final might seem debatable, the emotions of the Indian team right after, roaring and applauding their captain receiving the award, was perhaps an indication they might not have got to the final without him.

“I’ve played a lot of pressure games already… Those games taught me how to react to different situations, how the opposition is likely to react to what has happened, how the bowlers are going to bowl”Uday Saharan

Adarsh, Musheer Khan and Dhas, who had won Player-of-the-Match awards in previous games, have all credited Saharan for his game awareness and communication throughout the partnerships, on what to expect from different bowlers at different phases of the innings, something that even at 19, he feels comes naturally to him.”I’ve played a lot of pressure games already,” Saharan says. “I’m only 19, but from my cricket at the club, district and state level, I’ve played these innings before. Those games taught me how to react to different situations, how the opposition is likely to react to what has happened, how the bowlers are going to bowl. I feel I picked up a lot of knowledge from the cricket I have already played, so I just want to share that with the rest of my team. If my information helps my partner and makes him think about the situation of the game better, then that helps my team.”Ahead of the final, Saharan has become the leading run-scorer in the tournament. He wasn’t on the top at any point before the semi-final. He has also predominantly run his way to the top with just 29 boundaries (27 fours and 2 sixes) in his tally of 389, the least among the top six, which is also a testament to his fitness, inspired by his role model Virat Kohli.”Virat Kohli set the benchmark for fitness in the Indian team,” Saharan says. “That is something I’ve always admired. The benefit of fitness on your game is immense, and that inspired me. Also, the way he aces chases by taking the innings deep, that and his passion is something I try to emulate.”Sachin Dhas and Uday Saharan struck up a record 215-run partnership against Nepal•ICC/Getty ImagesSaharan has already outscored his role model, and any other India Under-19 World Cup captain. But Kohli’s 235 runs in 2008 came at a strike rate of 94.75, which caught the attention of Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the inaugural IPL season and paved the way for Unmukt Chand, Prithvi Shaw and Yash Dhull to follow suit.Saharan may well be different despite the demands of the modern white-ball game. It is unlikely his runs at a strike rate of 78.90 would have impressed the IPL scouts who have been in attendance throughout the World Cup.Saharan is only 19 and may still evolve his game with time. But his ability to withstand pressure and exercise restraint in a tournament where every player grew up in the age of T20 cricket is what has brought India within one game of their sixth title.At a time where conversations linger on about the future of the ODI format, India winning 50-over World Cups, senior or junior, can only help with reviving its popularity.Jagjit Singh was widely credited for the revival and popularity of ghazals, a form of Indian semi-classical singing, by choosing poetry that was relevant to the masses. His work was regarded as genre-defining. Uday Saharan is one innings away from beating Australia, poetically, in an ICC final in the 50-over genre. Nothing is more relevant to India’s masses than World Cup wins.

With Klaasen and Miller set, the equation was seemingly in their favour – only to meet with crushing disappointment once again

Matt Roller29-Jun-2024It was the over that should have decided the final. It was clinical, destructive and dismissive: Heinrich Klaasen picked his moment to hit the 15th over of South Africa’s chase for 24 runs, ruthlessly targeting Axar Patel. It was stunning hitting in any context, let alone on the biggest stage in T20 cricket.Klaasen calculated that this was his chance to grasp a game that was in the balance. He lofted the first ball back over Axar’s head, then had the presence of mind to leave two wides alone. Two enormous sixes followed: the first, measured at 99 metres, hit the roof of the Greenidge and Haynes Stand at midwicket; the second, measured at 103m, landed in the Garfield Sobers Pavilion.After a violent launch over extra cover for four more and another for two, Klaasen had iced the chase: South Africa needed 30 runs off the last 30 balls with six wickets in hand. At first glance, it was the unloseable game: even if they decided to block Jasprit Bumrah’s final two overs out, they would still be favourites with either Klaasen or David Miller at the crease.Related

• T20 World Cup 2024 – a zero for Bumrah, and other curious numbers

• Sometimes sports can be messy and without any explanation

• Rohit Sharma joins Kohli in retiring from T20Is after World Cup triumph

• Rohit: It's not what we did today, it is what we have done for three-four years

• Magic moments – Bumrah, Klaasen and SKY go flash, bam, alakazam

By now, you know what happened next. Forty-five minutes later, South Africa’s players sat disconsolately on the Kensington Oval outfield, waiting for their runners-up medals. Few words passed their lips. Those final 30 balls brought just 22 runs, four wickets and a single boundary, via Kagiso Rabada’s outside edge. There is no weight heavier than the burden of history.It is never quite as simple as a choke: one team being close to victory does not strip all agency away from the other. India’s bowlers were sensational at the death, none more so than Bumrah. South Africa were rendered shotless by his skill, his final two overs costing only six runs; it left Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya just enough to defend off the other three.But it is impossible to understand the last five overs of this final without acknowledging South Africa’s legacy. This was the first time they had reached this stage of a men’s World Cup in either format, a fact which owed to their repeated failures to win close knockout games – seven times exiting at the semi-final stage. How could it not have weighed on their players’ minds?This team thought it was different, finally overcoming the hurdle of a semi-final and winning countless close games along the way. One problem lingered: in choosing to play five specialist bowlers, South Africa were always vulnerable once they lost a fifth wicket. Against West Indies last week, they scrambled home regardless; in the final, their lack of batting depth proved costly.When Klaasen and Miller played out the 16th over, Bumrah’s third, South Africa needed 26 off the final four: it was a situation loaded in their favour. Time moves quickly in T20 finals and India realised they needed to win it back somehow. It was the mischievous Rishabh Pant who discovered a way to do so: he went down and called on India’s physio for treatment.

“It’s not the first game of cricket that’s been lost with a team needing 30 off 30. India are allowed to bowl well, they’re allowed to field well, they’re allowed to go from that position to a position of strength”Aiden Markram

This allowed Rohit Sharma the chance to rally his players. “The message was very loud and clear to everyone that until the last ball of the game is bowled, the game is not over,” he said. “My job as a captain is to make everyone believe that… Whether we were ahead in the game or behind, we wanted to keep fighting because moments like this will never come again.”It was only a short break, lasting barely three minutes, between the end of the 16th and the start of the 17th over. But it was long enough for the rhythm of the game to change: when Hardik sprayed the first ball of his over full and wide outside off, Klaasen could not quite reach it, and edged a catch through to Pant.This was the moment that the game changed for good, bringing Marco Jansen in at No. 7. It is a trade-off that South Africa have long accepted: rather than relying on part-timers in their top six, they have picked five specialist bowlers in their T20 team and backed their batters to get the job done more often than not.Jansen is not an overpromoted tailender but has been batting one spot too high. Suddenly, everything was on Miller; after he and Jansen exchanged four singles off Hardik’s over, the equation was 22 off 18. He seemed caught in two minds: should he take the responsibility of seeing off Bumrah himself, or get down the other end?The result was the worst of both worlds: two dots, a single which exposed Jansen, an unplayable ball which moved in late to hit leg stump, a firm block by Keshav Maharaj and then a single which kept Miller off strike for the start of the 19th. “Things happened very quickly,” Aiden Markram reflected. “They bowled really well at the back end.”Heinrich Klaasen left the job unfinished•AFP/Getty ImagesBy the time Miller got back on strike after Maharaj blocked, missed and finally connected at the start of the 19th, the equation was 19 off nine balls and India were favourites. He hauled Arshdeep away for two and inside-edged a yorker into the leg side to give Maharaj a free hit, but Arshdeep nailed his yorker to leave 16 required off the last.”A run a ball can go to 10 an over in the space of one over,” Markram said. “Your gameplan as a batter changes. You’re potentially thinking of keeping the ball on the ground, running hard until the job’s done. And then the bowler bowls a good over, and next thing you’d be searching for boundaries and everything changes quickly like that.”By the start of the last over, the plan was simple: swing, and swing hard. Finally, Miller got the ball he was after, a wide full toss from Hardik which he swung down the ground. It hung in the air, swirling towards the press box in the cross-breeze, as Suryakumar Yadav charged after it. He caught it, flicked it back up to himself as he ran over the boundary, and caught it again.Markram “couldn’t watch” as the TV umpire checked to see if he had stepped on the rope. “They were obviously pretty convinced that it was out, and that’s why it was a quick replay,” he said. Rabada edged his first ball for four but the game was up: South Africa only managed one more run off the bat, falling seven short of India’s total.”It’s not the first game of cricket that’s been lost with a team needing 30 off 30,” Markram said. “It’s more that India are allowed to bowl well, they’re allowed to field well, they’re allowed to go from that position to a position of strength. It happens often in this game.” He described the defeat as “gut-wrenching”, saying: “It stings a bit – but it’s good for it to sting.”The manner of this defeat will take some getting over. “When you get really close like that, especially the nature of how the game went, it obviously adds to the emotions,” Markram said.Ahead of the medal presentation, Miller spent 10 minutes by himself in the middle on his haunches; several players were in tears after this brush with immortality.For some, this was their final chance to write a new chapter in South African cricket’s World Cup story: Quinton de Kock’s reaction after his dismissal suggested that this was his final international appearance. Others will be wearing the same scars again in two years’ time, hoping that the ending will finally be different to this one.

New Zealand have reached the T20 World Cup semis as underdogs, and emotions are already running high for two of the team’s most celebrated players

Valkerie Baynes16-Oct-2024Sophie Devine struggled to keep it together.The emotions had already spilled over after reaching the T20 World Cup semi-finals as probably the biggest underdogs until West Indies did it 24 hours later. Now her focus turned to sharing that moment with fellow White Ferns stalwart Suzie Bates and it was almost too much.”Jeez, you’re going to make me cry again, get the tissues ready,” Devine said before taking a long pause and a deep breath to ensure she could get the rest of her words out.”Sometimes I forget how lucky I’ve been to play with Suze. I forget how lucky I am that not everyone gets to play with Suzie Bates and that’s not just what she does on the field, it’s what she does off the park.”You talk to any cricketer that’s had the joy of playing alongside her, playing against her, and they’ll say that she’s one of the greatest humans ever. For us to be here in this tournament, it might be our last, who knows?”But to be able to have a little moment there and just connect with one another, it is really special because we’ve been through a lot together. We’ve grown up together. She’s probably grown up a bit more than me, but she’s just such a special human, not only to me, but to New Zealand cricket and to world cricket.”She’ll go down as one of the absolute legends of the women’s game and to think that I’ve been so lucky to spend my whole career playing alongside her… she’s taught me so much, not only as a leader but just as a person and to always want to be better for yourself and for the group.”Related

• 'We are breaking barriers every day' – Bates proud to fly the flag against ageism

• Eden Carson – NZ's reel sensation who clicked at the biggest stage

• West Indies knock England out, join South Africa in semi-finals

• Time for India to reboot after group-stage exit from Women's T20 World Cup?

• Hope, grit, resolve: emotions overflow amid New Zealand's revival

Bates made her debut in an ODI against India in 2006 aged 19, just a few months before a 17-year-old Devine made her first appearance for the White Ferns on their tour of Australia. Devine also made her T20I debut on that trip while Bates had to wait until the following year.Back then, Bates was still maintaining a elite-level basketball career, representing New Zealand at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before switching her focus to cricket.She has now played 169 T20Is and 163 ODIs with more than 10,000 runs and 136 wickets across the two formats, while Devine has 7,233 runs and 208 wickets from a career punctuated by a brief mental health break in 2021.New Zealand hadn’t reached the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup in eight years so, with both approaching the end of their careers, this meant a lot.”She was a bit emotional, Soph,” Bates told ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. “It just makes all those hard times when perhaps you’ve doubted yourself, you’ve doubted where the group’s heading and as leaders you’re trying to rack your brain about how to move forward, there’s some good times but there’s some dark times as well when you don’t quite achieve what you want to achieve.”Moments out there when you take that final wicket and realise we’ve made it to the semi-final for the first time in eight years, it makes all those tough times worth it.”Devine had said before the tournament that it would be her last assignment as T20I captain. She will continue to lead the side in ODIs but wanted to clear a path for the next generation.”Her leadership this tournament after announcing she was going to step down has just been absolutely brilliant,” Bates said. “She wears her heart on her sleeve and I know as a leader she takes the losses pretty hard so to be able to get that one for her in her last tour as captain, everyone was a bit emotional and she’s been such a great leader of this squad so it’s nice for her to have this feeling.”It wasn’t the first time Devine had been reduced to tears at a T20 World Cup but, unlike in South Africa 20 months ago, she was happy. Back then, the White Ferns’ campaign was in tatters following heavy back-to-back defeats at the hands of Australia and South Africa and the road ahead looked so very long.Even earlier this year, Devine had spoken of a lack of depth coming through the New Zealand system because of a small population, competing sports and a need to bridge the gap between elite and development pathways.Things didn’t look to be improving immediately before the World Cup either as New Zealand entered the tournament having lost 10 T20Is in a row to England and Australia. They even lost a warm-up game against England two days beforehand.But a comprehensive win over South Africa in another warm-up just before that, followed by their upset of India in their opening World Cup game gave the White Ferns confidence.Devine performed well in both those victories, but throughout the tournament she has been impressed by youngsters like spinners Eden Carson and Fran Jonas and 20-year-old wicketkeeper Isabella Gaze.On the bench for New Zealand’s final group game against Pakistan, whom they thrashed by 54 runs to seal their place in the last four, were young seamer Molly Penfold, and experienced bowlers Jess Kerr, Hannah Rowe and Leigh Kasperek, which Devine saw as a promising sign for the future, which had looked bleak not so long ago.”Well, one thing’s still the same, I seem to be crying,” Devine said. “It’s really important that we reflect on where we’ve come from in terms of that South Africa World Cup. We learnt a lot about ourselves not only from that World Cup but the following 12-18 months.”It’s going to take time to build depth, especially in a country as small as New Zealand, it’s not going to happen overnight. It’s really positive signs, but we know that this is just part of the journey. We’re moving in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go.”Sophie Devine on her relationship with Suzie Bates: “We genuinely just love each other and love seeing each other succeed”•Getty ImagesWhile a T20 captain won’t be chosen until next year, a logical choice could be Amelia Kerr. She has acted as stand-in captain before and is often seen talking tactics and moving fielders with Devine and Bates, representing the blend of experience and youth between the squad’s newcomers and the old heads.At just 24, Kerr has played 83 T20Is and 74 ODIs and has been a fixture on the global franchise circuit. Heading into the semi-finals, she is the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 10 at an average of 7.20 and economy rate of 4.90.”That was probably one of my earliest learnings when I stepped into the leadership and captaincy role, I thought I could be everything to everyone and it’s just not possible,” Devine said.”I want to fix things and I want to help people and I want to make sure everyone’s okay, but I’m also not that person for everyone. So, to be able to call on the likes of Suzie and Melie as well, I feel really fortunate that I’ve got that support around me.”It’s taught me a lot around leadership. It’s not managing people, it’s just relationships and caring about people. That’s one of our greatest values in this White Ferns group, is we speak a lot about caring for one another as people before cricketers.”I hope that you can see that out there with the way that we celebrate one another’s successes. We genuinely just love each other and love seeing each other succeed.”

Fit, adaptable and supremely confident, England’s Test team continue to walk the talk

Matt Roller11-Oct-20241:26

Miller: England have found perfect tempo to be ruthless

It was a collapse that could only be explained by its context. Pakistan lost this Test on the fourth evening when they slipped first to 41 for 4 then 59 for 5 and 82 for 6 in the third innings. Impressive as England’s bowlers were across the match, these were unexpectedly easy wickets to come by on a blameless pitch.But Pakistan’s batters were beaten by the time they had even reached the crease, run down by the dual burdens of their recent struggles and 150 overs being run ragged in the field. Saim Ayub spooning Brydon Carse’s first ball to mid-off was the worst of a series of grim dismissals, which were the culmination of mental and physical exhaustion.It is one thing to spend around 150 overs in the field, as both sides did in their first bowling innings. It is another for them to be spread across three days, and to spend them chasing after the ball as the opposition score at more than five runs per over: England scored 478 non-boundary runs in their first innings, compared to Pakistan’s 276.Related

• Pakistan, a graveyard for Test bowlers – in numbers

• Abrar in hospital after falling ill during Multan Test

• Stats – Rare England innings win in Asia, Pakistan losing streak continues

• Leach four-for consigns Pakistan to historic innings defeat

• England further expose Pakistan's mental and tactical fragility

Joe Root and Harry Brook’s partnership ground them down, a 454-run epic spread across 86.3 overs. Brook’s gear change after lunch on the fourth day – he hit 99 off 65 balls in the second session – compounded Pakistan’s weariness, and left them floundering in the mid-afternoon heat. “It had a massive effect, which is what Test cricket is about,” Chris Woakes said.”Here in the subcontinent, you can have three supposedly dull days and then the game can happen quickly. That was always the plan: once we were able to get ahead and run them ragged in the field, it was always going to be hard for them, even on that surface. We know how much it takes out of you.”Root and Zak Crawley’s partnership across the final 18.4 overs of the second day was a vital phase in the match – not least after Aamer Jamal’s spectacular catch to dismiss Ollie Pope. It enabled Brook to start his innings fresh on the third day, and gave Ben Duckett’s thumb time to heal before he came out to bat at No. 4.”The way that Ducky and Creeps [Crawley] go about their business has such a good impact on the changing room,” Brook said. “Watching them go out there and put immense amounts of pressure on their two best bowlers in Shaheen [Afridi] and Naseem [Shah]… it gives you comfort going out there, thinking that the pitch is probably better than what it is.”Touring the subcontinent as an England cricketer in 2024 is completely unrecognisable to what it once was: the team are travelling with their own chef, and are staying on a luxury hotel with a neighbouring golf course. There is still a mental adjustment to make from playing in front of full houses back home to the banks of empty seats this week, which England made impressively quickly.Harry Brook and Joe Root laid the platform for England’s innings win•Getty ImagesThis win was testament to their players’ fitness, and their ability to adjust from the start after coming from a wet, cold autumn back home to the stifling heat of Multan. England insisted in the build-up that three tough training sessions would be enough for them to acclimatise and so it proved, as they coped far better than Pakistan with the oppressive conditions.Brook worked tirelessly on his fitness in the early months of this year, when he missed England’s tour to India and the IPL to be with his grandmother on her deathbed. By his own admission, this was not an innings he could have played without that dedication: “If I hadn’t done that, I’d have probably got to 150 and just slogged one up in the air.”None of England’s seamers had played a Test match in Pakistan before but Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse comprehensively outbowled Afridi and Naseem. Carse was particularly compelling on debut, bowling at high pace and finding some reverse-swing: England have moved on from James Anderson and Stuart Broad with impressive speed.The Test match run has lost its value almost as quickly as the rupee in Pakistan, but even in the context of a high-scoring match on a lifeless surface, England’s total of 823 for 7 declared was remarkable. There were seven sessions between them losing Pope to his second ball in response to Pakistan’s 556 and their winning moment on the final morning.But just as Pakistan’s third-innings failure carried an air of inevitability after their recent results, England’s players were not intimidated by a big score. This was the third time since Brendon McCullum took over as coach two-and-a-half years ago that they had conceded more than 500 in an innings: they have now won all three.”You take confidence from those previous performances, when you’re that far behind in the game,” Pope said. “We try not to think about the end result too much during the game, especially if we’re behind… That’s allowed us to go and put together these performances and good wins in situations where potentially, in the past, we wouldn’t have got over the line.”England’s series results under McCullum have been a mixed bag: they have beaten teams they would expect to, drawn with Australia, and lost heavily in India earlier this year. But it is their style and approach that has made them such a compelling team to watch: asked if this was his favourite Test win, Pope claimed it was “definitely top three” – and then named three others.Along with their victories in Rawalpindi two years ago and in Hyderabad in January, England have won three Tests in Asia that few other sides could hope to. McCullum has dismissed the idea that Bazball has been “refined” in any way beyond personnel but this was a reminder of its central tenet: that athletes perform at their best when imbued with immense self-belief.It is not totally foolproof, and there are times when England’s tactical approach has overstretched. But they have now won 20 of their last 30 Tests – and there remains an intoxicating sense that the best is yet to come.

Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland have no pathway to break into the league of nine teams and play few Tests. What does their future in Test cricket look like?

Ekanth03-Feb-2025The sky was blue, Afghanistan were in whites, ready to re-acquaint themselves with the red ball. They were back in Greater Noida, their old home outside Delhi, for their first Test against New Zealand. New Zealand would likely have been excited by a new opponent, but they were probably looking at the game more as prep for their forthcoming Tests in Sri Lanka and India.On the surface, there were uncontrollable reasons – mainly rain – for the Test being abandoned without even the toss having taken place. Still, the first two days being washed out due to the after effects of rain outside the hours of play was hard to explain.Gary Stead and Jonathan Trott, New Zealand’s and Afghanistan’s respective coaches, expressed their disappointment and acknowledged the compromises involved in the organisation of the Test. And so a rare opportunity for Afghanistan to play a Test match went almost literally down the drain.

****

When the ICC first approved the idea of a World Test Championship in 2010, Zimbabwe were supposed to be among the ten participating teams in the league when it kicked off three years later. However, it was postponed and only actually approved in 2017.Related

• From poverty to plenty: 2025 is a bumper Test year for Zimbabwe like none before

• Slushy patches, wet weather prevent Test from starting in Greater Noida

• Ireland government approves permanent cricket stadium in Dublin

• Women's cricket in Afghanistan: Lack of progress 'a concern' for ICC

• Full members to play more international cricket in ICC's new FTP cycle

When the WTC was finally launched in 2019, only nine Full Members were included. Zimbabwe, as well as the latest Full Members, Afghanistan and Ireland (who were awarded that status in 2017) missed out. No specific reasons were given for their exclusion, but it was thought to be because both the latter two members were newly inducted and Zimbabwe had lost their way because of the political interference in their cricket in the 2000s.Those three teams (with the major ones) got spots in the ODI Super League, which did provide regular opportunities to lower-ranked sides, and an Associate team, to play against Full Members. But that league was discontinued after the 2023 ODI World Cup, with just one cycle completed. The Intercontinental Cup, once a steady source of red-ball exposure for Associate teams between 2004 and 2017, had also been scrapped by then.Three cycles into the WTC, there still is no pathway for a new team to enter the championship. There is no system of promotion and relegation, or any other meritocratic provision to challenge the positions of the existing teams.”For you to be a Full Member, you need to play all three formats. That’s an eligibility criteria,” Tavengwa Mukuhlani, Zimbabwe Cricket’s chair, says, “So every member must have an equal and fair opportunity to play the three formats, without discrimination. The current set-up defeats the purpose of being a Test-playing Full Member.”

“The more Test matches that Afghanistan play, the better, the more first-class cricket they play, the better they’ll be”Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan coach

Since the start of 2018, the year Afghanistan and Ireland played their first Tests, the three non-WTC teams have played 28 Tests collectively. That’s an average of under four Tests between the three of them per year.Last year, which offered the three sides six Tests between them was kind to them. Ireland won both their matches and hosted one for the first time in six years – although that needs to be weighed against the cost of giving up the chance to host the Australia men’s side for the first time. The Boxing Day Test, Zimbabwe hope, could grow into a tradition. Afghanistan played three Tests in three different countries.Trott hopes that the Test team can follow in the footsteps of their high-achieving white-ball team which beat England, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan in the last ODI World Cup and made the T20 World Cup semi-final last year. But that seems a lofty ambition.The abundant talent they are blessed with has helped Afghanistan progress farther and faster than their non-WTC counterparts. However, they are more affected by the proliferation of franchise leagues, where their players are in demand. Rashid Khan, for instance, Afghanistan’s captain and go-to match-winner, is a mainstay across multiple T20 leagues.Afghanistan are scheduled to play 21 Tests between 2023 and 2027, Zimbabwe 20 and Ireland 12 apiece under the ICC’s men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). However, Afghanistan have played only five so far (New Zealand Test included) about halfway into that four-year period.The cost of one lost Test is magnified when you factor in other changes to their calendar. Afghanistan were set to play two Tests against Bangladesh in June 2023 but only played one, due to scheduling issues. They then had a multi-format series against Zimbabwe in July 2023, where too a Test was dropped (scheduling issues again). Their multi-format series against Bangladesh in 2024 was initially postponed and then turned into a three-match ODI series.Andy Balbirnie of Ireland: “A lot of the top nations are picking [players] on first-class records, whereas we can’t do that”•Michael Steele/Getty Images”It’s the FTP,” Trott says. “You deal with it as and when it happens, and when Test matches come up and first-class cricket comes up, you want players to perform.”Trott says Afghanistan’s high-performance centre looks after player development across age groups and formats in the country, and that the team has access to very good facilities in the UAE. However, only regular participation in first-class cricket and Test wins against the top teams can make for a pathway into the WTC, he says.”It’s just that white-ball cricket is more what they’re used to, and they’ve played a lot more of it. And that’s the only reason why I think the more Test matches that Afghanistan play, the better, the more first-class cricket they play, the better they’ll be.”While Afghanistan have had the Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, a multi-day competition running since 2011, which gained first-class status in 2017, the number of teams participating in it has come down from six to four. To its credit, the competition survived Covid.But the ability to fine-tune players for Test cricket – on demand – is still not within their grasp, as perhaps reflected in their loss to Ireland in Abu Dhabi in a close Test in March 2024. “We could’ve easily won that one if we’d played a little bit better,” Trott says.Ireland registered their first home Test win when they beat Zimbabwe in July, in another seesawing Test.

“The current set-up defeats the purpose of being a Test-playing Full Member”Tavengwa Mukuhlani, Zimbabwe Cricket chair

“The more that we play international cricket,” Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s CEO, says, “the more the players get used to the rhythms of international cricket. The wins show that our players are learning very quickly, and our players are very talented, and I think you ask any player, they love playing Test cricket.”Not that he thinks putting a large amount of Test cricket into the crowded international calendar is the best thing to do. “I think we would prefer to potentially increase it gradually, over a period of time. I don’t subscribe to the theory that more content automatically makes for a better FTP.”The Emerald Challenge match was Ireland’s only domestic first-class game in 2024, and that was washed out. For the Test they played against Afghanistan, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie says they spent about a week or so in Dubai just practising with the red ball to get used to it.Having to rely on instinct for selection is also a problem, because of the lack of data. “We’ve had selection meetings that have been based on how the person has performed in the nets, in the build-up to a Test match,” Balbirnie says. “We can’t go on anything else. A lot of the top nations are picking [players] on first-class records, whereas we just don’t do that. We can’t do that.”Do we have a hunch? Is someone looking like they could do something in Test cricket? So we have some very interesting selection meetings where a lot of names are thrown around.”Be that as it may, Balbirnie and many of his team-mates have demonstrated that regular exposure to the longer format can lead to a sustainable career. “My international game was developed by playing nations like Scotland, Netherlands, Oman, Namibia, all these teams [in the Intercontinental Cup],” he says. “And there was nothing between the teams, it was always close cricket. And then, from nowhere, [Ireland] got out of it into the next level, for whatever reason – I don’t know if it was [because of] a good salesperson in the meetings, a good CEO, someone who could sell us as a team.Players train at Afghanistan’s high-performance centre in Kabul. The team also has access to top-of-the-line facilities in the UAE, but lack of actual Test match play hobbles their development•Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty Images”Obviously we’ve put in good performances, but it didn’t seem that fair that we just went up above and left everyone low below us, because even now, when we play Scotland and Netherlands, there’s not a lot between the teams. There are bowlers in the Netherlands team, the Scotland team, that are as great as these [Ireland] guys. If you put them on the Test stage, you’ll see good cricket.”I feel like there’s a place in Test cricket for Associate Nations. I can’t see it happening before I finish playing, but hopefully in time, as the game develops, that will be the only way it can go.””Six-seven years, eight years” is how long Trott hopes it will take for Afghanistan to become part of the WTC. “Look at Bangladesh and their development.”Bangladesh, who played their first Test in 2000, had to wait 34 Tests over 17 series for their first Test-match win (against Zimbabwe). Despite having taken large strides, they are in the bottom triad of the WTC club a quarter of a century into their life as a Test side. Glacial progress in Test cricket isn’t a new or unique problem.”A lot of the Afghan players played probably 30 first-class games” Trott says, “and [about] ten of those have been Test matches. So, experience-wise, they don’t play enough four-day cricket. That’s where you’ll learn, out in the middle.”

Three cycles into the WTC, there still is no pathway for a new team to enter the championship. There is no system of promotion and relegation to challenge the positions of the existing teams

An additional wrinkle for Afghanistan is the issue of women’s participation – the lack of which, thanks to Taliban rule, has been a point of contention over the last few years, leading to the team’s status as a Full Member being questioned (the ICC constitution requires all Full Members to have a women’s team). It is why the Australia men’s team currently do not play bilateral cricket against Afghanistan. There is no long-term resolution in sight. So far the ICC board has resisted taking away Afghanistan’s Test status, arguing that the ACB is bound to follow the Taliban’s edicts, regressive as they may be.Zimbabwe for their part have a talent-drain issue, as well as the lingering spectre of corruption and political interference. Mukuhlani says he recognises the importance of structures and transparency in the running of the board, which received an unqualified or clean audit opinion for their financial statements in 2023. He also knows the importance of maintaining a solid first-class structure.”Our Logan Cup, which we run with five sides, is improving every season and is bringing in foreign players,” he said. “But the biggest challenge, one which we have experienced in the past too, is that all our good players we have an opportunity [to bring into the Zimbabwe national set-up] will end up in England [mainly but also other foreign countries].”Tom Curran (England), Gary Ballance (who played for England and then returned to represent Zimbabwe), and Colin de Grandhomme (New Zealand) are examples, among others. While Mukuhlani appreciates that players are free to migrate, he says it can’t be at the expense of Zimbabwe’s development programme.”I think if a player has played for a nation in Under-19s, particularly if they’ve played in a World Cup team, [and] if they are to switch citizenship, the receiving board must pay us for development. It can’t be for free.”While Ireland are trying to create systems for cricket in the country, they are far from being immune to existential threats. They offer players casual and retainer contracts to build their talent pool but are arguably better off having players play county cricket or franchise leagues as part of their development.Warren Deutrom of Cricket Ireland says the World Test Championship needs to evolve into a format based on divisions or conferences – which will not happen without a lot of political will from those involved•Sportsfile via Getty ImagesFor Ireland, playing a Test at home is more expensive than doing so at a neutral venue, because real estate is expensive in the country. In recent days it has been driven home just how resource-intensive building a stadium can be. Given they took big strides in the 2010s in ODIs, they are perhaps the team hit hardest by the previous two ODI World Cups being reduced to ten teams.What does their ideal future in Tests look like?”Ultimately, I believe all international cricket should be played with context,” Deutrom says. “That being the World Test Championship. When that needs to happen, how the World Test Championship needs to evolve, whether it’s divisions, whether it’s conferences [splitting the 12 teams into two equally weighted groups], I don’t know.”Deutrom points out that these potential configurations pose their own tough questions. “Is there going to be a conference in which you’re not going to have icon series taking place? Can you envisage any environment where England, India or Australia won’t be playing each other in Test cricket? So it’s very difficult to understand or to see how it could happen without very, very significant political will.”A recent newspaper column by Ravi Shastri advocating a two-tier Test system has reignited discourse around the topic, but political will is lacking, as seen in the remarks of the exiting ICC chair, Greg Barclay, who stepped down after four years in charge late last year.”Why are Ireland playing Test cricket?” he said to the Telegraph during a conversation where he suggested structural changes to cricket in lower-ranked countries and regions.

Ultimately, a quarter of the Full Members do not know what they need to do to be part of the whole

So should Ireland and similarly placed teams just focus on white-ball cricket and international tournaments instead?”We became a Test member seven years ago,” Deutrom, who spoke for this article before Barclay’made his comments, says. “Just because we’re not in the World Test Championship, it doesn’t mean that we’re not playing the format or improving at the format, winning at the format. I don’t see a need for us to have to relinquish it.”There’s no burning platform that says, ‘Well, unless Cricket Ireland makes a decision tomorrow about what the next ten years of Test cricket looks like, we should give it up.'”Yes, we’re not in the World Test Championship. And yes, we’re not playing ten Test matches a year, but so what? I can’t see that us not doing that is somehow negatively impacting the world game, negatively impact[ing] our players, [or] is somehow diminishing the credibility of world cricket. So I don’t understand why, just because we don’t have a definitive road map, based on our current requirements, whether it be in terms of money or permanent infrastructure, we have to make a definitive decision. We don’t.”Most Full Members find the current system the most effective. And so, Test cricket’s context-free era – albeit not as context-free as in the past – continues to linger. Ultimately, a quarter of the Full Members do not know what they need to do to be part of the whole. There are no definitive answers. Not yet.

It’s quite a radical upgrade for the team’s players, who haven’t ever had this much opportunity thrown at them before

Firdose Moonda17-May-2025In 2025, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan will play five Tests each; Bangladesh six; West Indies seven; South Africa eight; India and England ten each; and Australia 11. Only one other team will play as many matches as the last of those: Zimbabwe.Despite not being part of the World Test Championship, Zimbabwe have actively sought out Test fixtures, which they see as their responsibility as an ICC Full Member, even if they have no one holding them to that. “I believe that every Full Member must play all three formats. It’s part of our eligibility criteria,” Tavengwa Mukhulani, Zimbabwe Cricket chairman says. “We are a country that has played over 100 Tests [123 to date] so we are a Test nation.”This staunch commitment has recently been boosted a notch. Since making their Test comeback in 2011, Zimbabwe have played 40 matches in 14 years: an average of just under three Tests a year. In some years, like 2015 and 2019, they did not play any. Before this year, the most Tests they had played in a calendar year since the comeback was six in 2013.Related

• Zimbabwe cricket boss Mukuhlani elected Africa Cricket Association chair

• RCB bring in Muzarabani as Ngidi's temporary replacement

• Zimbabwe seal Sylhet thriller to complete first away Test win since 2021

• Zimbabwe to receive touring fee from ECB for 2025 visit

• What does Test cricket mean to the Test teams outside the World Test Championship?

Zimbabwe have already played two home Tests this year, and are due to host six more. They’ve also played two away, and have another such scheduled in England this month, which is historically significant. It is the first time Zimbabwe will play there since 2004, and the first time they will play against England in any format, since 2007.That statistic alone says how starved Zimbabwe are of cricket against the top nations. They haven’t played a Test against Australia since 2003, against India since 2005, and against neighbours South Africa since 2017. Mukuhlani calls it an “informal segregation”, one that “should have no place in sport” because of how it entrenches inequalities.He wants to see an equal spread of fixtures, in which all Full Member teams play each other. “Every one of the 12 Full Members must be given an opportunity to play against each other in all the three formats. If you look at football, which has grown phenomenally globally, Brazil plays Honduras, England plays Malta. This story that there are those who are playing on one side of the aisle and those playing on [the other] has no place in sport,” he says. “We need a bare minimum home-and-away schedule and over and above that, countries can then organise their bilaterals [as] suits their commercial needs.”Mukuhlani is also against a two-tier Test system because he thinks it will leave the smaller nations even further behind. “If you’ve got a two-tier system, the question is, what do you want to achieve? Do you want to formalise segregation?