A look at the former captain’s plans, instincts, vision, charisma and philosophy

Mohammad Isam10-Mar-2020.Forming a core group
After Bangladesh had slipped in ODIs and T20Is in 2014, the BCB decided to split the captaincy for the first time. Mushfiqur Rahim had the Test job, while Mortaza, who had just recovered from an injury, was given white-ball duties. This was going to be a test case for the BCB, particularly because of Mortaza’s injury history which cut short his two previous captaincy stints.Very early in his third stint, Mortaza wanted to do away with Bangladesh’s culture of relying on individuals and wasn’t afraid of rebuking his team when he saw a lack of seriousness. At the same time, Mortaza slowly began to form a core group of senior cricketers from the 2015 World Cup squad, who would be the pillars around whom his team would be built.ALSO READ: ‘Nobody should forget what Mortaza has done for Bangladesh cricket’He had four senior players in the squad already – Shakib Al Hasan, Iqbal, Rahim and Mahmudullah – but two of them were low on confidence. Mahmudullah’s form had been iffy for the preceding two years, but he found some form when he was asked to bat higher up the order in a couple of matches leading up to the World Cup. Mortaza and coach Chandika Hathurusingha sensed that Mahmudullah could do with a bit of freedom for which he needed to be promoted, as he was a stroke-maker suited to playing on-the-rise shots, particularly on occasions when field restrictions were still in effect. Mahmudullah had a good tournament and his 103 from No. 4 against England in Adelaide helped Bangladesh progress to the knockouts for the first time.Mahmudullah believes that Mortaza’s fight for the cause of every cricketer in his team set him apart from all the other captains.
“You must have seen how we spend time together,” Mahmudullah told ESPNcricinfo. “We have a special bond. He fought for every individual player. I am a big example. I was in deep trouble at one point. He was right next to me. He gave me extraordinary support not only as my captain, but as my brother and friend. I will forever be thankful to him. We spent a lot of time together.”Mortaza also helped Iqbal out of a similar rut during the 2015 World Cup. It was an ordinary campaign for the batsman, who was accused by social media trolls of being in the team due to the influence his uncle Akram Khan – former Bangladesh captain, chief selector and later board director – wielded.Mortaza took Iqbal under his wing and gave him all the confidence he could. The result: Iqbal turned things around quickly, slamming two ODI hundreds and a Test double-hundred against Pakistan soon after the World Cup.Building a team
The encouraging performance from Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed in the 2015 World Cup, and the emergence of Mustafizur Rahman prompted Mortaza to ask the then BCB administration to prepare pace-friendly pitches for the ODIs against India. In the first ODI, he went in with a four-man pace attack.It was a wild idea coming from a Bangladesh captain but Mortaza sensed that the best way to counter India’s batsmen would be pace. His four-card trick reaped instant rewards, with Mustafizur leading the way as Bangladesh won the series 2-1.Iqbal said that Mortaza’s insistence that they could beat India rubbed off on the rest of the group, and the team started to believe.ALSO READ: Who will replace Mortaza as Bangladesh captain?“I think one of his greatest quality was how he kept on saying ‘we can win, we can win’, all the time,” Iqbal told ESPNcricinfo. “When he said we can beat India in the ODI series in 2015, it seemed impossible. They were the No. 1 side in the world [ranked No. 2 in ODIs at the time]. But he kept saying it, and that positivity spread around the team. Slowly we also started to believe that we can win.”Mortaza kept this belief in pace at home for much of his captaincy, but Ahmed’s form quickly declined while Rahman lost confidence in his cutters – his main weapon – after his shoulder surgery in 2016. Mortaza himself took the new ball from time to time when the other pacers struggled for form. But for five years, he fought for his belief in the idea that pace works against certain teams even at home, and tried to instill that in his team.An instinctive captain
His winning mentality spurred many progressive ideas for the Bangladesh team management, and one of them was to establish the need for four frontline bowlers. He was keen to cash in on allrounders like Shakib and Rahim (as keeper-batsman), who provided balance to the side with their dual roles. He often said that replacing Shakib meant bringing in two players, so when Shakib was around, and when Rahim kept wickets, it freed up two places for Mortaza, and more often than not, Mortaza picked bowlers.Mortaza was also an instinctive captain who didn’t shy away from deciding to take himself off in the middle of a spell. He once said: “I don’t wait for two or three overs like many captains. If I see that it isn’t happening for a bowler, I will change him after an over. It doesn’t happen with planning, sometimes you just have to make those changes.”Liton Das walks off after his dismissal•BCBA captain with a vision
Mortaza wanted a long-term vision for his team, so he was constantly looking for missing pieces of the puzzle. One of his biggest challenges was to find a suitable opening partner for Iqbal.
For example, in 2018, he publicly gave Anamul Haque the assurance to make the opening slot his own. Haque ultimately failed to do so, but more recently, Mortaza revealed that Liton Das had told him that he only wanted to play as an opener. Mortaza kept that request in mind, and towards the end of his captaincy tried to help Das settle down as an opener too.Mortaza didn’t shy away from backing erratic players either. He famously backed Hossain when his career was derailed by a criminal charge before the 2015 World Cup. Time after time, Sabbir Rahman failed to maintain discipline but Mortaza’s belief in his hitting abilities hardly wavered. Mortaza also backed players with more limited ability like Arafat Sunny, a domestic veteran who came good for a brief period at the highest level. He was also lucky to find Mohammad Saifuddin towards the latter part of his stint.His X-factor, his charisma
Mortaza’s life story, particularly his comebacks from crippling injuries, have often been enough to inspire team-mates, but on occasion, he has had to dig deep. Shane Jurgensen, the former Bangladesh coach, and Iqbal have described two separate incidents where Mortaza’s mere presence changed the mood of the entire team.Incidentally, both those moments came after a Test series drubbing, heading into an ODI series, and both against West Indies, although six years apart. In 2012, after Bangladesh went down 2-0 to West Indies at home, Mortaza took the entire team from Khulna to his hometown Narail for a day out. Jurgensen claimed that the team got into a different mood after that.A similar thing happened in the West Indies in 2018, after Bangladesh were hammered in the Test series. Mortaza wasn’t supposed to head to the West Indies as he hadn’t fully recovered from an injury. He arrived a couple of days before the first ODI, and Iqbal says that one look at him, and the dressing-room atmosphere changed.”I have played a lot of matches with Mortaza so sometimes it takes a bit of time to realise certain aspects of a particular individual,” Iqbal said. “I understood why this guy is so special during our 2018 West Indies tour. We were really down after the Test series. You can imagine the team atmosphere, but then when Mortaza arrived for the ODI series, the whole mood of the team changed. Something just clicked within the team seeing Mortaza.”On both occasions, Bangladesh went on to win the ODI series.Mortaza Mortaza rings in the changes•BCBHis philosophy, a lasting legacy
Mortaza was once asked whether an upcoming match against South Africa, with the series tied at 1-1, was going to be his greatest challenge.”Every challenge is different but there is no bigger challenge for me than to raise my son and daughter.”It wasn’t a jaw-dropping reply but the coming years would reveal that it summed up the person he was, and the philosophy he often tried inculcate. While Mortaza wanted his team to give their 100%, he never wanted them to lose sight of the fact that there was more to life than just cricket, and their careers. He spent countless hours chatting with many of his team-mates in his room, sipping cups of tea, and sharing stories.Iqbal said that Mortaza brought a very Bangladeshi quality to the team setting. “How he treated every player isn’t something common for professional sports teams. You won’t find it anywhere else in the world. But due to our culture, you needed a captain who would really take care of a player who is in poor form,” he said.Mahmudullah said that Mortaza’s focus on the small contributions really made a big difference within the team environment.”A captain is also a player. A lot of times, you need to perform. Even during his crunch time, he kept building the team. He was always worried about the team. He stood tall,” Mahmudullah said. “He always wanted us to perform for each other, enjoy another’s performance. He never overlooked small achievements and contributions. He always addressed those small things, and praised whoever had done it. I think it was a great quality.”

How a group of friends managed to get tickets for the India-Pakistan clash and then partied in the stands and streets

Sudhindra Prasad05-Apr-2020″Shall we swing by the Chinnaswamy?”This was an oft-used query in my vocabulary while growing up in Bangalore. Once I joined UVCE (University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering) – a convenient five-minute ride away from the KSCA’s M.Chinnaswamy stadium – the ground was just around the proverbial corner. The use of that query during those days could have referred to anything from catching up with an absorbing day of a Test match, a quick visit to watch an hour of Karnataka’s Ranji game, checking out the pre-match practice sessions or attending the book fair at the stadium, which was also an annual ritual for folks like me to simply sit on the empty Eastern stand just to admire our field of dreams.The particular use of that query “Shall I swing by the Chinnaswamy?” on one fine occasion in 1996 rewarded me with an experience of a lifetime.It was a tense evening around 7pm in Basavanagudi, as I finished my study session with friends for upcoming exams and started my motorcycle ride homewards towards North Bangalore.This happened during early 1996 and with the World cup all set to kick off in a few days, the city was gripped with cricket fever. A few days earlier, we had meticulously eye-balled the KSCA advertisement in , which announced the sale of tickets for the second quarter-final match of the Cricket World Cup 1996. Ticket counters were supposed to open at 9am. Along with some friends, we came up with a robust plan to take everyone by surprise by showing up at the counters at 5am! Of course, we expected everyone to show up at 7am. An air-tight plan, if ever there was one. Or so we thought!On my way home, I rode past National College Basavanagudi and in the unlikeliest of places/time of the day, that compelling question sprung up: “shall I swing by the Chinnaswamy?”While the ticketing strategy for the following morning was already set in stone, my sixth sense urged me to run a quick reconnaissance. Although the commute time to home had almost doubled, I willingly took the detour and as I turned left on Queens road, I had to re-visit my lowly standards on “taking everyone by surprise”. There were already long lines of people in front of every ticket counter and this was more than 12 hours before the counters opened for a game that potentially would not even involve India. I panicked at the thought that I might not have the chance to watch another World Cup game at the ground for decades, if at all.I was stuck with my college backpack and had no way to send out an alarm to the rest of the group (I had no pager, wasn’t an amateur radio operator and this happened before mobiles were a thing). Immediately, I rode home as fast as I could and headed straight to my brother’s room with the alarming news. After a bunch of frantic calls to alert all the friends and dinner, which lasted five minutes at most, we were out again, heading to the Chinnaswamy. By the time we got there, just after 9pm, a few of our friends were already in the line and we joined them.As evening turned to night, our group had grown to 30-plus and although, the city traffic trickled down, the whole place around the stadium was abuzz with people. We sat on the pavement in our line on Cubbon road. As the night wore on and got colder, folks within the group ran various errands such as get food from an all-night highway Dhaba, get cups of hot tea along from a local vendor or in my case, I walked along to MG road to get a fresh-off-the-press copy of the newspaper. This long night out was also a good opportunity to catch up with friends. Amidst all the potential match-ups for the A3 Vs B2 encounter on March 9th, the teams discussed were mostly West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Just myself and one more person (don’t recall who anymore) in the group even brought up the potential of an India-Pakistan match.Tickets for the India-Pakistan and India-Australia 1996 World Cup games•Sudhindra PrasadAround sunrise, the crowd was out of control and the single-person lines of the previous night had bloated many times wider. While we were extremely apprehensive about tickets running out before we made it to the counter, we finally did get our tickets by 9.45am and these were the 150 Rs tickets for the newly built Eastern upper galleries. Forget the distant dream of an India-Pakistan line-up. To watch a World Cup quarter-final under the newly installed floodlights in our home ground left us absolutely thrilled! Everything else was a bonus. I distinctly remember a bunch of us standing on the broad road divider on Cubbon road, intensely admiring our tickets, as morning work commuters whizzed past caught up in their honkathons. That would have been quite a selfie/Instagram moment in today’s world.The tournament kicked off a few days later and the Indian team initially appeared to be on cruise control. At the India-Australia game at the Wankhede Stadium, a thrilling chase ensued and the hosts ended up short despite Sanjay Manjrekar fighting hard, like he unsuccessfully did at the Gabba four years earlier. With India slipping up further against the toast of the season, Sri Lanka and South Africa being clinical in their chase against Pakistan, the low probability of an India Pakistan match-up actually turned into reality.The build-up
Suddenly the group of 30-odd friends – called “Park boys” because of the daily meeting point at a park in Rajajinagar – who had the tickets for the quarter-final, felt like lottery winners! An emergency meeting was called. What have we got to support our team, besides loud throats and arms to wave around? Everyone pooled in and decided to get a huge flag for the day. It was a 10-m flag and had to be specially ordered. Box ticked.Indian Jerseys? Oh well, that 90s gripe can be a separate story altogether. As replicas weren’t available back then, each of us picked up a white T-shirt from our respective wardrobes and got the Indian tri-colour printed on them. We were excited to finally sport tri-colour at the cricket, albeit smelling of printing ink.While all of that was happening on the outside, my bedroom was the location of an elaborate activity spread across three-four days. On multiple layers of cardboard, I had laid out a 3x2m white cloth banner and spent days painting a bull’s eye with a red centre. It had “Hit Here” in big letters on the top of the bull’s eye and underneath, I announced “Prize: Audi A4”.Finally, the last bit of the accessory involved music. Back in the 90s with neither the budget nor a pressing need to buy a bugle myself, I was lucky to be able to borrow it from my Physical Education teacher at VVS High School. With all of these boxes ticked, we warmed up for the big day.March 7th, 1996
Two days before the game, the flag was ready. The “Park boys” decided to meet for a flag march. An upcoming thriller and we surely had one of the bigger flags in the ground. We went around the park with our flag, singing songs and chanting. Fun times!March 8th, 1996
The evening before the game, we went to the stadium with a hope of catching up with some players. But the place was packed with fans like us, hoping to get a glimpse of the practice session under lights.The light towers were installed at the Chinnaswamy ahead of the World Cup and the lighting accessories themselves were previously used at the Gabba in Brisbane. Those were times when Indian cricket’s pockets weren’t as deep as they are today. The background details notwithstanding, we stood on Queen’s road admiring our beloved stadium bathed under artificial lights and the roads around it shone as bright as day. The feeling on that evening is hard to put into words, but it suffices to say that we were beaming the whole time with genuine pride!March 9th 1996, Match day
Although the game was set to begin at 2.15pm, my day started very early. The banner was dried and folded, the bugle had long tricolour ribbons attached to it to sling around and all that was left was to apply face paint. Before my mom left early for her work, she had made some 20 rolls with stuffed potatoes and as was standard for all stadium visits, and my dad prepared a huge box full of spiced curd rice before he left for work. Both asked me to enjoy the game and stay out of trouble.Until the crowd trouble happened later during a 1996 ODI game against Australia, one could take along food into the Chinnaswamy stadium without any issues.Instead of jostling for a parking spot with 50,000 others near the stadium, we rode instead to UVCE and decided to leg it from there. As we walked past the Vidhana Soudha, many fans were headed in the other direction after seemingly visiting in the morning to take in the atmosphere around the stadium. A group of fans came over and said “Sir, here please take some banners” handing us some 4/6 placards to signal boundaries. They went on in English asking us “Which country are you from?”With our long hair hanging below our shoulders, beach glasses, ripped jeans, jazzy arm/headbands etc, they thought we were visitors from abroad. My response of “Thanks ” (Thanks mate. We are locals and we will display these placards on your behalf) was met with chuckles.The area around the stadium was clogged, much more than the typical match day in Bangalore. The line for entry into that stand was almost a kilometre long. As is always the case, the line moved slowly, and as the clock hovered around 12:30pm, the crowd started to get apprehensive about missing the start of the game and the line then started to move aggressively forward. After braving the near-stampede like conditions, we finally reached the gate with 45 minutes to go. Security checks were precise and the cops saw my bugle. That got confiscated as they thought that it was a potentially dangerous object for the players. The negotiation didn’t work. Due to the absence of a cloakroom, I wrapped the bugle in my spare T-shirt and hid it in between sacks of cement that lay there (as the construction of the eastern upper stand was completed a few weeks before the game).Pakistan relax during a drinks break•Getty ImagesMy first glimpse of the ground was at 2pm and it sent a chill up my spine. It was my first entry to the new Eastern upper stand, which is the highest in terms of elevation among all the stands, giving a spectacular and almost-bird’s eye view of the action. As I turned to the right, the electronic scoreboard displayed “India won the toss & elected to bat”. I was shocked! How could we even dream of containing an almost ATG batting line up of Sohail-Anwar-Inzamam-Ijaz-Malik-Miandad-Akram and under lights? As the teams were shown on the scoreboard, we noticed that the Sultan of Swing, Wasim Akram, was not playing. A good omen right there!Mahesh and I settled right at the top row of the eastern stands with the Bulls-Eye banner hanging right above the top entrance. The players walked in and we were thrilled to finally see an ODI in coloured clothing in Bangalore. I recall asking, “will we ever again get to see players in blue and green in our stadium again?” That was an obvious reference to the long-standing tension between the two countries.Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Sidhu started off sedately and did not take many risks. Sidhu appeared in good nick and kept the scoreboard ticking over at four-five runs per over. As the score neared 100, Tendulkar played on of Ata-ur-Rehman and this was indeed a huge blow. Manjrekar came in and the game slowed down well to a point that the crowd were chanting “We want sixer” in jest suggesting him to get a move on. Sensing a lull in proceedings, I took the opportunity to run down to try and get my bugle. As I went to retrieve it, a constable loudly commented “Thuthuri” (Kannada for bugle) and asked me to speak with the top cop, who was comfortably seated close by. As a student, I couldn’t afford a huge spike in expenses (if the bugle was lost), when my allowances were mostly being used up for fuel. After some discussion and listening to my honest explanation, he was convinced that my intent was to add to the atmosphere and could also understand my fear of eventually losing the bugle. He allowed me to take the bugle along in the end. I excitedly ran back up the flight of stairs and once I got to my spot, the music began.The mid-innings was steady but unremarkable, as Sidhu fell for 93 and Mohammad Azharuddin and Vinod Kambli scored quick twenties. With 40 overs gone, we hoped for 70-plus runs in the final 10 overs to get a fighting 260, although my estimation of a defendable total for this Pakistani batting line-up was well north of 300. Both Azhar and Kambli did not convert their starts and although Ajay Jadeja had smashed Zimbabwe in the previous game, our hopes on him getting India to a huge total against this world-class attack weren’t high.With three overs to go and with two overs left for Waqar Younis, 260 seemed distant. However, Anil Kumble started the unlikely final assault with two consecutive boundaries. As the six by Jadeja off the final ball of the over landed in the stand below us, there was absolute mayhem in the stands. That six probably needed another 20 meters elevation and distance to have had a chance at winning the Audi A4, which I had generously put on offer! Javagal Srinath, the local boy, came in and started off with a boundary against Aaqib Javed. The estimate of 260 had slowly crept up to an unbelievable 275 in the making.Jadeja had other plans and continued his assault on Waqar in the final over. Over in the stands, the crowd was absolutely delirious. Having seen countless matches before and since in stadiums around the world, the atmosphere on the day was incomparable. Although Jadeja perished attacking, Srinath’s enterprise got India to a mammoth total. Given the score after 40 overs and with Waqar and Aaqib leading the attack, the final score of 287 was far beyond dreams of grandiose proportions in those times.Since Azhar’s dismissal, I had agreed with the anti-jinx measure in the stands that the bugle be blown only when there are more than two runs scored. I almost didn’t stop during the last few overs. A touch out of steam at the halfway stage, but high on adrenaline, we still vociferously celebrated the Indian batting.During the innings break, the floodlights started to take over from the daylight. Ian Chappel’s commentary has been an integral part of growing up for my generation. His “under lights, it’s a magnificent sight” illustration of the Chinnaswamy that evening was an apt one, as I realised having watched countless ball-by-ball reruns of this game. We sat there admiring every tiny detail of the spectacle, including even the shape of the towers.Given the manner in which the Indian innings ended, it felt as though the intimidating crowd belted out , the big hit by Guns N’ Roses, as the Pakistan openers walked into the arena.Anil Kumble appeals unsuccessfully against Aamer Sohail in the quarter-final of the 1996 World Cup•Getty ImagesHowever, Anwar and Sohail soon hushed the packed crowd with their aggressive stand. After about eight overs or so into the chase, I saw a group of UVCE seniors make their way to the exit. When I put my arms up as if to signal “what the heck”, they responded before leaving, “This game is done, we’ll go get a few drinks and cool off.” Famous last words!After ten overs Pakistan had raced to 84 and made the target look much smaller. Then, to borrow tennis parlance, came an unforced error. Anwar succumbed to Srinath while trying to work a ball to the leg side. We were on our feet for the first time in more than 30 desperate minutes of sitting on those steps in the eastern gallery. There was hope in the air and the crowd had gotten chirpy. That man, Sohail, though, was quick to quell the upsurge as he slammed a few more big shots on the way to a fantastic half-century.Eventually Venkatesh Prasad, another local lad, sent Sohail’s off stump cartwheeling and pandemonium ensued in the stands. This match itself is still famous for that Prasad-Sohail incident.Normalcy was restored thereafter, with Prasad accounting for Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul Haq. Malik and Miandad then got together and Miandad, in particular, was struggling to time the ball. Around the 27 or 28th over of the innings, I noticed that required run rate on the electronic scoreboard was incorrect. About three-fourths of the “Park boys” were Engineering students and an incorrect calculation quickly brought up intense discussions. A close analysis was followed by raucous celebrations in our area, much to the bemusement of everyone else in our stand, who were unaware of the reason for a random celebration during a quiet but intense stage of the game! My calculation of the asking rate was lower than the number shown on the scorecard. Upon a review of the differences, it came about that Pakistan had only 49 overs to get to the target! There were no announcements in the stadium to that effect and the scoreboard did not specify it.Kumble finally got rid of Malik and we were absolutely ecstatic. With Miandad still struggling and Wasim Akram not fit, the optimism among the crowd was high. This was only helped along as Rashid Latif and Miandad poked around after Malik’s dismissal. The mood of the crowd unexpectedly turned into panic, as Latif hit the biggest six of the day. As the ball went high into the clear night skies, it seemed like clearing the ground, but eventually hit the edge of the roof right next to the BEML stand and bounced back into the ground. The chase was back on and it seemed that Pakistan had potentially found yet another hero in the making. Javed joined in with a boundary of his own and we were back on our bums and that bugle fell silent. Pakistan were still in with a real chance as it was about 72 to get off eight overs.Despite being hit around by Latif, Venkatapathy Raju held his nerve to gently flight the ball, beat Latif and got Nayan Mongia to whip the bails off in a flash. The intense celebrations resumed.Miandad’s ageing legs then gave way while attempting a risky single. As we awaited the TV umpire’s decision, we could see that Miandad was already halfway down to the Pavilion. He knew the outcome! The “Park boys” were elated to see the signal and so was the entire crowd. The eastern upper stand trembled as the crowd jumped around berserk. Now, this was surely it! The stadium turned deafening as the chants rang out, loud firecrackers went off in random places and the musical instruments, including that VVSHS Bugle, were in full blast.Pakistan just about avoided being bowled out and after the final ball was bowled, the cheers from the crowd swelled to a crescendo. We could see the post-match presentations go on, but could hear none of it. Reluctantly we started to make our way outside the stadium, stopping to hug and dance with various other groups along the stairs. This was simply pure joy. Cubbon road was packed with people and there were some folks with boxes of sweets.After partying in the city centre, we decided to head homewards. While walking along the Raj Bhavan road close to midnight, there was still a steady stream of excited folks on two-wheelers screaming into town for the after-party. A couple of us broke off from the group and headed back to UVCE. Much to our delight, the college canteen was still open amidst their own celebrations. After a long day under the blazing sun, we got some cool drinks to fix our dehydrated bodies and took a crate along to cool off the boys, who walked home as there were not enough tuk-tuks around. We caught up with them at Seshadripuram to deliver the cold drinks. Some of the cola bottles were sprayed around as though it was champagne and why not! It reflected the mood of the hour. I eventually got home after 2am.As requested, my mother had come home early from work and had recorded the entire game on VHS tape. Needless to say, I watched the entire Indian innings, forwarding some parts, and the Pakistan wickets well past 5am on March 10th, before I decided to call it a night. Despite being in the stadium, I properly saw the Sohail-Prasad incident only about eight hours after it happened! Imagine life without internet, on-demand TV, social media etc.The hangover of the game lasted for a long time and I am glad to have asked myself question on that evening in Basavanagudi.

Plus a fourth-innings hundred from Asif Iqbal, and brisk legspin from two charismatic Pakistan allrounders

Osman Samiuddin20-Apr-2020What We’re WatchingWaqar announces himself
Thank you, Kamran Wasti, for WhatsApping me the first link. Kamran is a repository and archive in human form of all things Pakistan cricket, especially from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. He’s the guy to go to for remembering the smallest detail of a match or a player’s career. This video is bits of Waqar Younis in the 1990-91 home series against New Zealand, his official coming out as a phenomenon. With a moustache.Globally, the series is recalled for ball-tampering but Kamran passed on the link with typical myth-busting instructions: “I doubt the new-ball strikes are because of ball-tampering… there is big seam movement because of the hard, pronounced seam… outswing (inswing to left-handed).” There’s pace and bounce too, as well as – already – changes in angle at delivery and action. In short, not just old-ball reverse (though there’s plenty of that too).Pandemonium in Perth
For creepy algorithmic reasons, that link led me to the highlights of an ODI between Pakistan and West Indies in Perth, part of a quadrangular event in 1986-87. It’s creepy because why and how does YouTube know that these exact highlights are the ones I watched the most in the summer of 1987? So much that not only do I remember commentary (“I’m 6’6″, I can’t get any higher,” says Bill Lawry of Courtney Walsh) or Qasim Umar kissing his edge, or Viv’s jive-walk back after a catch, I wore the tape out.It’s a great game, and is a lesser-known entry into the of fame (geddit?). Pakistan struggle to 199, and West Indies coast to 105 for 2 before a comedy run-out, and boom, before you know it, West Indies are letting Shoaib Mohammad and Mudassar Nazar share five wickets and it’s over.The seesawing ’70s at Sabina
A decade before that, the same sides played out a lively, much-remembered but little-seen series. Forty-three minutes’ worth of footage from the last Test in Jamaica has found its way to YouTube, although, going by the difference in broadcast quality of the two games, the gap feels like a century.The series is a poster child for the era: unbuttoned shirts, fast-scoring batsmen (Asif Iqbal brings up his hundred off 119 balls; the lowest innings run rate in this Test was 3.5, the highest 4.27), faster bowlers, and lots of bouncers. As an accompaniment, it’s worth reading Simon Wilde’s , which chronicles these bouncer wars so well.Wasim Raja: he swung in the ’70s•PA PhotosAs a nerdy side note, check out Joel Garner’s slower ball around the 32-minute mark: they existed even back then. The disguise is so bad, it’s clear, even with footage of this quality, that he slows his arm down in release. Otherwise, a very Pakistan chase: losing wickets at critical moments, raising hopes, puncturing it. Consolation: Wasim Raja swag.Dashing legspinning allrounder porn, part 1
As we’re on Raja’s swag, a personal algorithm brings up this from Adelaide, 1981. This is Pakistan’s first ODI win over West Indies, after eight successive losses (many of them close, mind you). This is another bit of : West Indies 85 for 3, with Clive Lloyd going strong on 28 when he sweeps Ijaz Faqih, only for Tahir Naqqash to take an outstanding catch. It’s Faqih’s first ODI wicket and it turns the game.But we’re watching this for Raja’s legspin, and who does it remind you of? The speed, the hustle, the trajectories, the way batsmen can’t figure out something very basic about it, and even glimpses of the action, it’s all quite Shahid Afridi.Stray observation: note the development of Imran Khan’s action as a trilogy, from 1977 through 1981 to 1987.Dashing legspinning allrounder porn, part 2
Which brings us to the great man himself – Afridi, that is, not Imran. This is from his Test debut, when, not for the first time and definitely not the last, he would do exactly what you didn’t think he could do, or was picked for.Afridi was selected as an opener and ended up with a debut five-fer. All five of his wickets are here but, let’s be honest, the second one on loop would suffice. Steve Waugh, second ball, plumb to the faster ball. Legspin? As with everything about Afridi’s cricket, yes, but not as you know it.For more such curated YouTube playlists, click here.

Everything you need to know about international cricket returning for the first time since March 13, 2020.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-20202:08

Cricket in the times of Covid-19

When is international cricket back?
On July 8, when England play West Indies at Southampton in the first of three Tests. The match begins at 11:00 local time (15:30 IST) and will be played in an empty stadium.How have the ECB managed to bring cricket back?
While the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over in the UK, the curve had flattened enough for the government to approve the return of professional sports behind closed doors on May 31. The ECB have created two biosecure venues, one at the Ageas Bowl, in Southampton, the venue of the first Test, the other at Old Trafford, Manchester, where the second and third Tests will be played.What is a biosecure venue?
The Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford both have on-site hotels. So the players, support staff, and all other personnel attending the games will stay within the premises of the venue for the entire duration of the matches. No one will be allowed in or out of the venue during the Tests. The ECB has set up facilities for on-site medical testing and screening as well as designated isolation areas at both venues where any person suspected of being infected can be isolated.Why not have all the Tests at one venue to ensure no travel?
The ECB felt the integrity of the series would be lost should all the games be played in the same conditions, since adapting to different pitches and conditions is an integral part of Test cricket. Also, it was necessary to have two venues so both sides could train separately in the lead-up to the series.How are protocols for testing and other logistics being managed?
The West Indies team were tested in Antigua before departing for Manchester on June 9. They trained in the bio-secure bubble at Old Trafford till July 3, when they travelled to Southampton, where they were tested again. The England team arrived in Southampton on June 23 and, after testing, have been training in isolation there. Both teams have been tested regularly through training and tests will continue through the series.Stu Forster/Getty ImagesWhat happens if a player or official tests positive?
That person would immediately be put in the designated isolation area at the venue, and the on-site Covid-19 medical officer as well as the national health authorities would be informed. If it is a relatively mild case, government guidance will be sought and the person could continue to remain isolated at the venue itself. If it is a severe case, the person will be taken to a designated Covid-19 medical facility for treatment. The match will continue unless the person has had close contact with others or there are others showing symptoms.What was the final decision on shining the ball?
Only sweat can be used to shine the ball. The ICC has banned the use of saliva – considered a potential carrier of the virus -and artificial substances on the ball. The umpires will show initial leniency should they notice a team applying saliva on the ball, after which they will issue two official warnings before docking the team five runs. Should saliva be used, the umpires will clean the ball before play resumes.ALSO READ – ‘Do it your way’ – Joe Root’s message for Ben StokesBut why is sweat allowed when saliva isn’t?
According to the ICC Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), it’s highly unlikely that the virus can be transmitted through sweat, whereas there’s an elevated risk of transmission of the virus through saliva. Therefore, the use of saliva is prohibited but the MAC didn’t see the need to prohibit the use of sweat to shine the ball.Are there any other new playing conditions in place?
Yes. The biggest one is that teams will be allowed three reviews per innings instead of two. Since local umpires will be used instead of neutral ones, the extra review is to eliminate any impression of bias. There will also be Covid substitutes allowed. Should a player develop symptoms, they will be rushed to the isolation zone to be tested, and a like-for-like replacement can be used for the rest of the match by the team affected. Apart from this, social distancing norms will be in effect during the games.How can players maintain social distance during a game?
Players have been instructed not to have contact with their team-mates or opponents during the game, which means no high-fives and hugging during wicket celebrations. The ICC has also focused on the safety of umpires, some of whom may be in a vulnerable age group. The players will not hand their caps, sunglasses etc. to umpires, or have any other contact with them. The players will sanitise their hands regularly using dispensers placed around the ground, and the umpires may choose to wear gloves to handle the ball.As for the actual cricket, are both teams at full strength?
Keemo Paul, Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo all chose not to travel with the West Indies team as they did not want to risk infection or a long separation from their families. Jason Holder will lead the team. For England, Joe Root will miss the first Test to be present at the birth of his second child. Ben Stokes will captain in his stead.How will the lack of crowd affect the players and television viewing experience?
There will be a PA announcer at the ground, as well as the usual big screens and LED boundary boards, but the ECB have confirmed there will not be music played between overs, as had been suggested. Broadcasters may pipe in some low-level crowd noise for their coverage, as has been done in the Premier League since its return.What is next after this series?
The Pakistan squad travelled to England on June 28 and is isolating in Worcester, where it will train for a Test series that begins August 5. The series will be played in the biosecure bubbles at the Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford. Ireland will also tour England, for an ODI series, which will be played between July 30 and August 4. England are expected to have separate squads for the ODI and Test series to allow the short turnover between them.

Entire tournament to be played in Trinidad with hosts Trinbago Knight Riders looking for fourth title

Gaurav Sundararaman17-Aug-20201:24

Will be strange to play without crowds – Ross Taylor

Can TKR bounce back from last season and win their fourth CPL crown?•Getty Images Lopsided Scheduling
The fact that Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks have Indian ownership has forced not just the CPL to conduct matches to suit the Indian viewership, but the schedule also favours those two franchises.The Knight Riders and Zouks play eight and seven day matches, respectively. The lopsided nature of the schedule is evident when you compare that with Guyana Amazon Warriors and Jamaica Tallawahs, who play just one and three day matches, respectively.This could affect teams in multiple ways especially with rain likely to have an impact on the tournament. For teams like Amazon Warriors, who play nine matches under lights, dew is likely to play a major factor. If it remains dry during day matches, then Knight Riders and Zouks can dominate with their spin-laden bowling attacks.Playoffs format tweaked again
The playoffs format this year will comprise just the two semi-finals and the final without any advantage for the team winning the league stage. There will be one less match compared the four games during the play-offs last year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd Spin to win
Queens Park Oval in Port-of-Spain will host ten matches while the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba will stage 23 games. With pitches set to deteriorate rapidly, there is a good chance that spin could play a dominant role. Also, spin has worked well at both the venues: slower bowlers have conceded 6.90 runs per over compared to 8.38 by pace bowlers.Hence there is a good chance that teams such as Barbados Tridents and Knight Riders could field even four spinners in the XI. Get ready to watch some masterclasses by legspinners like Rashid Khan (Tridents), Imran Tahir (Amazon Warriors), Sandeep Lamichhane (Tallawahs) and Zahir Khan (Zouks). No Gayle in CPL 2020
T20′ s leading run-getter and six-hitter will not be part of 2020 season. Having decided to move to the Zouks after a bitter fallout with Tallwahs, Chris Gayle pulled out of the tournament recently, citing family reasons, taking everyone by surprise. As it happens, Gayle is the top scorer in CPL as well, with 2354 runs at an average of 39.23 and a strike rate of 133.44, including four centuries.Needless to say, in a tournament already affected by the pandemic and no crowds expected at least during the league phase, Gayle’s propensity to do the unthinkable could have provided the necessary balm.ALSO READ: Gayle pulls out of CPL 2020Who are the emerging players to watch out for?
The CPL has made it mandatory for each team to give an emerging player a minimum of five games during this season. The rule states that at least one emerging player should make five appearances or multiple players should make five combined appearances. The rule is designed to provide exposure to young, uncapped talent.So, watch out for Jayden Seales (Knight Riders) and Nayeem Young (Tridents) who shot to fame in the Under 19 World Cup earlier this year. Joshua Da Silva from St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, who recently kept wickets as a substitute during the final Test of the England series, is another young player who might have a breakthrough season along with speedster Keon Harding (Tridents).ESPNcricinfo Ltd Tell me about the favourites…

With 2410 T20 caps between them, one can’t really look past Knight Riders, who have won the CPL twice (Trinidad’s one other CPL title was as the Red Steel) and this time will be playing the entire league at home. In terms of experience, if you put together the entire squad of Tridents and Amazon Warriors even then they have fewer matches than Knight Riders whose line-up includes greats like captain Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo. They will be coached by Brendon McCullum, who is the third-highest scorer in T20 cricket.This will be McCullum’s second stint as Knight Riders’ coach in the CPL and he will want to make use of this experience before he heads to the UAE to take charge of the other Knight Riders franchise (KKR) in the IPL.Five-time finalists Warriors will miss their regular captain Shoaib Malik, but they remain firm favourites as well. Chris Green has taken over as captain and will have a point to prove after he had been pulled up for suspect action. He has got his action cleared since, but is yet to test it out in top-flight cricket. Green, who plays for Sydney Thunder in the BBL,was the most economical T20 bowler in 2019 and was even picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the most recent IPL action.As for Tallawahs, they have a power-packed middle order that could spring a surprise. Their gun allrounder Andre Russell will also have a point to prove after having said recently that this could be his last season with the team.

Rahane and company could ride out the tough period with greater assurance in the face of a sub-par total

Daniel Brettig27-Dec-2020For eight pre-lunch overs on the second day, Pat Cummins bowled possibly just about as well as anyone in 143 years of Test cricket ever has.Fast, unimpeachably accurate and on a length that left India’s top order unsure whether to venture forward or sit back, he plucked the wickets of Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara to earn the ovation of the MCG and the deep gratitude of his team.The spell’s analysis reads 8-5-12-2 but even that did scant justice to the exhibition of skill, grit and no little persistence: after having a caught behind appeal and review denied from his first ball and then seeing the captain Tim Paine spill an inside edge off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood, Cummins knew he had to raise his already lofty game.When he bounced and nipped a delivery just enough from the line of off stump to claim Pujara’s outside edge in identical fashion to the crazy second innings of the Adelaide Test, the din from the MCG was far louder than any crowd of 23,841 has a right to deliver.From here, by rights, Australia might have expected to clamber all over India who, after all, were without Virat Kohli and coming off a previous innings of 36. The brilliant, all-New South Wales bowling attack of Cummins, Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon now well established as Australian cricket’s “big four” was undoubtedly confident it could finish things off from 3 for 64.Instead, what transpired over the remainder of day two was a rather sobering reminder for Cummins, Paine and Australia’s coach Justin Langer that their present sequence of consecutive first innings of less than 200 runs was always likely to get punished somewhere along the line.India’s riposte, begun when Hanuma Vihari punched Cummins back down the ground for three runs second ball, was not quite as memorable as the aforementioned spell, but it was something more vital in Test matches: consistent, methodical and based on partnerships around a single, spinal innings from the unflappable Ajinkya Rahane.Langer, one sensed, was aware his men had left the door wide open. At the lunch break, while still ahead by 105 runs, Langer lamented Australia’s’ lack of substantial batting partnerships in the series so far – just two worth 50 or more in three innings.”A bit like the first Test, just our partnerships,” Langer said when asked by Ricky Ponting about what he had been disappointed by. “We’re not going to set up games as well as we could – if you look at our partnerships in the first Test match in the first innings and then yesterday, we have to get a lot better at that.”We had one 50-partnership in the first Test and we had an 86-run partnership yesterday, and you’ve also, when you have an 86-run partnership, you’ve got to turn that into 150, because you’re set and to set up the game. So we weren’t able to do that and to me, partnerships as much as anything.”As if to give Langer examples to write on his whiteboard in the team room, India’s partnerships ticked over accordingly: 61 between Gill and Pujara, 52 between Rahane and Vihari, 57 between Rahane and the effervescent Rishabh Pant, and then a damaging and as yet unbeaten 104 between Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja, either side of a rain break and also the second new ball. So well did they build that, under cloudy skies after tea, India rejoiced in the first wicket-free session of the series.Each union warded off some “tough periods” when one or both ends were taken up with quality spells. But each also received opportunities to score from an Australian attack that, having had absolutely everything fall their way on the third afternoon in Adelaide, now experienced greater adversity. Five catches went down; several edges fell short; another flew at eminently catchable height straight to a first slip position left vacant by Paine. That was in itself an odd decision, given how much life the pitch has offered relative to other MCG surfaces of recent, drop-in vintage.Furthermore, only Cummins could claim to have been right at his peak. Starc was arguably next best, still able to get the ball swinging back into the right-handers when it was 70 or so overs old, but Hazlewood seemed unusually quick to frustration when neat little outside edges could not be found as often as last week. Lyon’s lines appeared unduly straight, perhaps under the influence of Ashwin but also in uncanny mirror to the way he bowled here to India in 2018. Separated by two years, Lyon’s analyses shared only one wicket apiece.Undeniably, though, the greatest factors in the eclipse of Australia’s attack by Rahane and company were those created by the swift demise of the hosts’ top order on Boxing Day. The mere fact that Australia, possessing such an enviable record on home soil over the past 30 years, had not surrendered consecutive first innings for fewer than 200 runs since the dark days of late 1984, spoke volumes for the predicament they had placed themselves in.It followed logically, if painfully, that having pulled a Test match out of a rapidly heating fire in Adelaide, Cummins did his best to repeat the trick at the MCG, only to find that already singed hands could not quite cling on.”That last ball pretty much summed up our day,” Starc said in reference to Travis Head putting down a chance off Rahane seconds before the rain returned. “Not our best day, not our worst, created a fair few chances but couldn’t hang onto them. Going to have to back up tomorrow and take five wickets as quickly as you can. We found once the ball got softer, the wicket’s pretty placid and there’s not too many demons anymore.”

Stats highlights from the Gabba, where India had to field a makeshift team

ESPNcricinfo stats team15-Jan-202120 Number of players used by India in the series – the most any team has used in an away series in the history of Test cricket. The previous most was 18 players used by England in the 2013-14 Ashes in Australia, and by West Indies on a tour to South Africa in 1998-99. The previous highest in a four-Test series was 17 by England in West Indies 1980-81 and by West Indies in England in 2004.2 Number of players from India who played all four Tests of the series – Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. The last time a team had at most two of its players play in every match of a series of three or more matches was in the Wisden Trophy in 1995, when the series saw only two players from England – Mike Atherton and Graham Thorpe – play all the six matches.1933 The last time India fielded a bowling attack that had lesser experience than the one at the Gabba. This doesn’t include players who averaged fewer than 60 balls per match in their first-class career. In India’s second-ever Test, they had only three bowlers – Amar Singh, CK Nayudu and Mohammad Nissar – who averaged at least 60 balls per match in their first-class career. Each of them had played India’s first-ever Test, at Lord’s, bringing up the sum of the experience of India’s bowling to three matches. The Gabba Test has four bowlers who average at least 60 balls per match in their first-class career – Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar. These bowlers together carried an experience of just four matches to the Gabba Test.Players who took the least time from their debut to play in all three formats of international cricket•ESPNcricinfo Ltd44 Days between when T Natarajan made his debut in ODIs and the time he became an all-format player for India with his Test debut at the Gabba – the least gap in terms of days for any India player. He made his ODI debut on December 2 in Canberra, and his ODI debut at the same venue two days later. Before Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the quickest to play in all three formats for India. Bhuvneshwar made his T20I debut against Pakistan in Bengaluru on December 25th, 2012, his ODI debut five days later in Chennai against the same opposition and made his first appearance in Tests at the same venue against Australia on 22nd February, 2013. Among all teams, New Zealand’s Peter Ingram is the quickest player to play in all three formats after making his international debut. Ingram made his debut in all the three formats in a space of 12 days during the Bangladesh tour of New Zealand in 2009-2010.The India bowling attack carried a combined experience of just four Tests to the Gabba Test•Getty Images0 Number of times before this Test that a XI with a combined tally of fewer than 100 wickets played against an opposition with over 1000 wickets between them. The India XI had taken just 13 wickets between them before this Test, whereas the Australia players had taken 1033, bringing the difference in wickets tally up to 1020. The highest such difference, without any qualification, happened in the West Indies tour of Australia in 2005-06 at the Adelaide Oval when Australia’s combined might of 1521 took on West Indies’ combined tally of just 215 wickets. In fact, the India XI’s wicket tally is the lowest since the Lord’s Test in 1946 when the team – thanks to Lala Amarnath’s four wickets and CS Nayudu’s one – had taken only five Test wickets before the match.

All the stats highlights from a dominant performance by India on the second day in Chennai

ESPNcricinfo stats team14-Feb-2021268 – Test wickets for R Ashwin in India; only Anil Kumble, with 350, has more wickets in India. During the course of his 5 for 43 today, Ashwin went past Harbhajan Singh’s home tally of 265. Ashwin averages 22.54 in home Tests, compared to Kumble’s 24.88 and Harbhajan’s 28.76. This was Ashwin’s 23rd five-for at home, which is only two short of Kumble’s record.ESPNcricinfo Ltd200 – Left-hand batsmen that Ashwin has dismissed in Tests. He is the first bowler to reach that mark. Of the 391 Test wickets for Ashwin, 200 are of left-hand batsmen, which is an impressive percentage of 51.2. Next on the list of most left-handers dismissed is Muttiah Muralitharan, but only 23.9% of his victims (191 out of 800) were left-hand batsmen. Ashwin averages 19.55 against left-handers, and 31.24 against right-handers.ESPNcricinfo Ltd134 – England’s total, which is their second-lowest all-out score in India; the lowest is 102, in Mumbai in 1981. In terms of overs faced, the 59.5 they faced here is their fifth-lowest in India. One of the previous four was in their second innings in the first Test of the series, when they were looking out for quick runs and were bowled out for 178 in 46.3 overs.74.6 – The control percentage for England’s batsmen in their first innings; India’s control percentage in their first innings was 82.4%. England’s batsmen played a false shot every 3.9 deliveries, compared to one every 5.7 balls for India’s batsmen. In the 18 overs of India’s second innings, their control percentage dropped to 78.5, which is a false shot every 4.7 balls. A batsman is in control of a delivery when the ball goes where the batsman intended it to. On the other hand, a false shot is marked when a batsman edges, mistimes, or is beaten by a delivery.79.75 – Ben Foakes’ batting average in Asia. In seven innings in the continent, he has scored a century and a half-century, and has only twice been dismissed below 20.0 – Extras conceded by England in India’s first innings. That is the highest total in a Test innings in which no extras have been conceded. The previous highest was 328, though on that instance India’s bowlers bowled 187.5 overs, against Pakistan in 1955, compared to the 95.5 overs bowled by England in the Indian innings.4 – Ducks in India’s first innings, which is only the ninth instance of four or more ducks in an Indian innings at home. The previous such instance was in 2008, against South Africa in Ahmedabad.

It’s Maxwell’s exploits with the white-ball that dominate the narrative, but his first-class record should not be overlooked

Daniel Brettig17-Feb-20212:48

Glenn Maxwell looks back at his first IPL auction experience

Walking onto the MCG for his Sheffield Shield debut a decade ago this week, Glenn Maxwell admits he was momentarily overtaken with worries about whether or not he was good enough to represent Victoria in the competition that had always been the prime pathway to the Australia Test team.At the time, 22-year-old Maxwell was one of the bright young things perceived to be getting opportunities more easily than before as Cricket Australia and the states upped their search for a fresh generation. A few weeks before, Maxwell had set a national record for the fastest-ever 50 in the domestic one-day game, a 19-ball blur against Tasmania that set up his side for a memorable heist at Bellerive Oval.But his returns in the Futures League were more modest, and in many ways Maxwell embodied the type of player perceived to be gaining too much, too soon in the search for youth. Maxwell felt it at the time, and remembers it vividly.”I remember not actually doing a whole lot leading into getting my opportunity. I don’t think I’d made a second XI hundred,” he told ESPNcricinfo from New Zealand this week. “I was a bit nervous coming in whether I’d actually be good enough at that level, but then getting out there I think, my first game at the MCG, it’s exciting, you get to play for your state and make your first-class debut.”Chris Rogers gave me my cap and a lot of his chat was about how ‘people will have their doubts whether this is the right time, but I can tell you from the rest of the group we think you’re ready and we’re backing the fact you’re good enough to play at this level’.Related

• Glenn Maxwell may not need Sheffield Shield cricket for Test recall – Chris Rogers

• Royals land Morris for INR 16.25 crore; RCB spend big on Maxwell and Jamieson

• Finch: New Zealand T20Is a fact-finding mission

• Maxwell aims to 'push my case forward' for Asia Tests in 2022

• Maxwell hopes to join forces with 'idol' de Villiers at RCB

“NSW were a good team, I think they had Scott Coyte, Moises Henriques, Beau Casson, Trent Copeland and Stuart Clark who I didn’t get to face, that would’ve been pretty cool. But I remember going out there and I was facing Trent first ball and hit him for four, and thinking ‘hopefully this is the start of a long Shield career’ and been lucky enough to play 10 years.”Incredibly, 10 years later and the debate about Maxwell has not really moved too far from that initial question. Great limited-overs batsman and matchwinner, a hell of a T20 weapon in Australia and around the world, but as a long-form cricketer? Well, the jury of the Australian selectors is still out, and there is a chance it may never deliver a verdict other than by omission.Right from the start, Maxwell appeared to have been identified primarily as a white-ball player, going to the UAE in 2012 and remaining a part of Australia’s limited-overs squads almost perennially since then. Maxwell can’t put his finger on whether or not this trajectory affected how he developed as a red-ball player.The early days: Glenn Maxwell batting in the Sheffield Shield in 2011•Getty Images”That’s a hard question to answer, but I made a really good start to my Shield career,” he said. “I was able to get a hundred in my second game and had some really good momentum towards the end of the season and then the following year being able to get picked for Australia in white-ball cricket, everything went from there. It was a pretty quick transformation from making your first-class debut to playing for Australia. I hadn’t played a whole lot of one-day cricket for Victoria at that stage either. So it all happened pretty quickly at the start.”Never more quickly than a sunny afternoon at the WACA in Perth where Maxwell took apart West Indies with another rapid-fire 50 when promoted to open for the pursuit of a paltry target, and then found himself the centre of attention for the IPL auction two days later. As if to underline the speed of his rise, Maxwell was none the wiser until he walked off, angry, having made a less edifying duck in the second game of the ODI series.”The auction was on the day of game two of that series and I completely forgot about it, that’s 100% honest, I had no idea,” Maxwell said. “I got a first-ball duck, walked off filthy, angry in the change rooms, and there were a few blokes laughing and giggling in the background and I thought ‘what’s going on here’ and had no idea. So I sat down and Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke grabbed me and took me into the back room and I thought ‘oh they’re going to yell at me for my blow up’ or something like that.

“I know the key for me if I’m not quite feeling my best is to speak up or talk to the right people and actually have the confidence to have those conversations straight away and not have it fester and build into something that can force time away from the game because you’re so flat.”Glenn Maxwell on managing his mental health

“But they go ‘the IPL auction’s on’ and I go ‘okay, didn’t know’, and they said ‘do you want to know what you went for’ and I said ‘yeah, doesn’t bother me, whatever’, and they said ‘oh you went for US$1 million’ and I said an expletive and sort of walked off and just sat there and had no idea how to react, and blokes were laughing in the background.”That was a life-changing amount of money for me and to have the luck to be able to go back there most years and be able to ply my trade has been awesome for my cricket, great to play around the best players in the world and learn off different teams as well.”Maxwell’s opening partner that day in Perth was a young Aaron Finch, who also happened to be captain of Victoria on the day of his Shield debut. The pair have always been close, even living together in Melbourne for a period when both were making their way as young white-ball cricketers for Australia, even as they still aspired to Test matches.”It’s been nice to have someone who’s followed a similar journey and were still going together,” he said of Finch. “I know how happy for me he was when I made my Test debut and vice versa when he made his. But I think we were living together from around 2012, and to be on the same one-day and T20 journey together at that stage and then eventually make our Test debuts was pretty cool. There was a lot of watching cricket in the house and talking tactics and all that sort of thing.”ESPNcricinfo LtdWhile the white-ball highlights are many, whether with Australia, a succession of IPL franchises or the Melbourne Stars in the BBL, Maxwell’s red-ball fortunes can be summarised as a series of brief flirtations with Australia on tours of Asian nations, in between too few Shield appearances for Victoria to change any perceptions about his concentration span, his dealings with fast bowlers, and whether he is a better option than other less obviously talented players.”I’d certainly be open to playing any red-ball if the schedule allows, and I think that’s the main thing at the moment,” Maxwell said. “It’s easy to say ‘yeah, I’ll play all the Shield cricket in the world’, but if I’m playing for Australia in T20 and one-day cricket on tour, it’s just not possible at that time. That’s not to say I’ve given up on my Test dream, I still want to play Test cricket and feel like I’m batting as well as I ever have in my whole career.”It’s probably taken a little bit longer than I would’ve liked as far as working out what I want from my technique and to feel comfortable at the crease, but it’s a nice position. If there was some Shield cricket I’ve no doubt I’d be able to perform and hopefully push my name forward. But with the schedule and the way hubs are and with Covid, it makes it quite difficult at the moment.”Other difficulties have intervened at times, not least in 2016 when he was momentarily left out of the Victorian Shield side after trying to switch states to New South Wales, then publicly criticised and fined by Australia’s team “leadership group” for some honest but not inflammatory comments about finding it “painful” to be batting as low as No. 7 for Victoria.Two years later, with two clear holes opened in the Australian Test line-up by the bans imposed on David Warner and Steven Smith, Maxwell was embroiled in another farrago as he turned down a chance to play county cricket for Lancashire on the premise he would be needed to play for Australia A in India as a trial for that year’s Test tour of the UAE, only to be omitted from the A tour and then left out of the Test team too. The selection chairman Trevor Hohns and coach Justin Langer both professed their ignorance about the “planning email” sent to Maxwell earlier in 2018, before Cricket Australia later conceded its existence.In between times, Maxwell provided the world with one instance to prove he does have what it takes to be a Test batsman, at least on slower surfaces: a superb century in partnership with Smith in Ranchi in 2017, the kind of innings that Australia will be in desperate need of when they begin an intensive series of Test assignments in Asia from early 2022. Trips to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India are planned, totaling eight Test matches in all.Glenn Maxwell has a career-best 278 among his seven first-class centuries•Getty Images”There’s obviously a possibility I could try to find a way over there, we’ve got a bunch of subcontinent white-ball tours where hopefully I can perform well and push my case forward that way as well,” he said. “We know that if you’re batting well in subcontinent conditions, it doesn’t really matter the format, you can still find a way.”I certainly don’t feel like that’s beyond me at the moment. The fact I’m the other side of 30, I’ve got plenty of experience now all round the world and I’ve faced a lot of these bowlers in different competitions, so to have that experience coming into a subcontinent series where there’s going to be men around the bat, plenty of pressure on, I feel I’m well adept to handle that.”The matter of dealing with the short ball is a question Maxwell has faced privately and publicly ever since Langer stated he “needed to work really hard on that area” and that opponents “bring their fast bowlers back on” whenever he walked to the wicket during an underwhelming 2019 World Cup. A more open stance and better focus of both eyes on the ball have helped Maxwell pick it up earlier, leading, he believes, to a less rushed approach.”I’m picking up length far better than I was, I don’t feel like I’m rushed at the crease,” Maxwell said. “I think for a long time there pace probably rushed me, I didn’t feel like it was a short-ball thing, it was probably the added pace of certain bowlers that probably got the better of me.”But it’s more now that I feel like I’m picking up length better and able to deal with high quality fast bowling. Combine that with one of my main strengths in playing spin, and if I can continue to work on the way I play fast bowling out in the middle, hopefully that’s going to put me in good stead in the future.”There has at times been tension between Glenn Maxwell and the selectors•Getty ImagesSomething else Maxwell now has in his favour is a much better sense of his own mental health. A decision to pull out of cricket for a period in 2019-20 was lauded by the likes of Virat Kohli, and has served to aid Maxwell in how he has tackled the continuous cycle of biosecurity bubbles that have emerged as cricket’s response to Covid-19. This has been true as much for Maxwell’s ability to help team-mates as captain of the Melbourne Stars and now a senior member of the Australian white-ball side as it has been for his own wellbeing.”I know the key for me if I’m not quite feeling my best is to speak up or talk to the right people and actually have the confidence to have those conversations straight away and not have it fester and build into something that can force time away from the game because you’re so flat,” he said. “I think the confidence to have those conversations recently has been really good and even more so in quarantine, being able to chat to different staff members straight away if I’m not quite 100%, if I just need a little bit of time.”I hope it’s been good for my group [at Melbourne Stars] that they’ve got someone who will be understanding if something doesn’t feel right, where they don’t feel like they’re having it held against them or going to be used or perceived in the wrong way. I hope that’s the environment I’ve been able to create and not just for my team, hopefully players from all around Australia and the world as well.”All this adds up to a worthwhile re-examination of Maxwell’s capability to add to his seven Tests and one century, part of a mere 67 first-class games since 2011. As ever, this will be as much a matter for the selectors as Maxwell’s own run-making, but he is undoubtedly an older, wiser and more aware figure than the one who sauntered out onto the MCG with Finch and company on that late February morning a decade ago.”100% I’d like to add to both of those numbers,” he said. “It’s not a lot of first-class cricket for someone who’s been playing since 2011 and to have 10 years of cricket and only average six Shield games a year. So it’s been few and far between, but I’d certainly love to get back out there in the whites and try to push my case.”

Plus, the method behind Rashid Khan’s mastery over Ishan Kishan

Hemant Brar17-Apr-2021Are quick singles really worth the risk?
Rohit Sharma vs the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Rishabh Pant vs the Rajasthan Royals. KL Rahul vs the Chennai Super Kings. And now David Warner against the Mumbai Indians.That’s four key batters, coincidentally all of them captains, going for quick singles and getting run out in the process. Except Rahul, the other three were not even close to making their ground. On all four occasions, their side went on to lose the match. It begs the question: are singles really worth risking one’s wicket, when plenty of overs are still left?At the recent MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the former India captain Rahul Dravid, who has also led and coached in the IPL, said: “The day is not far when people are going to turn down a single because the match-up suits them to hit a six in the remaining two or three balls [of the over].”Turning down a quick single that risks a run-out is, you would think, an even easier decision.Why run quick singles at all?•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhy did Mumbai hold Chahar back?
Rahul Chahar picked up 4 for 27 at this very venue in Mumbai’s previous match, turning the game around just when the Kolkata Knight Riders seemed to be cruising to their target of 153. Chahar eventually won the Player of the Match award as Mumbai registered a last-over win.On Saturday, despite Warner and Jonny Bairstow going berserk while chasing a similar target, Chahar didn’t bowl a single ball until the ninth over. This may have been because Chahar has a bad match-up against Warner. Before this match, Warner had ransacked 40 off 22 balls from Chahar without being dismissed. Mumbai didn’t want to take that risk.When Chahar eventually came on, Warner took ten from the six balls he faced from the legspinner before being run out. Against the rest of the Sunrisers batters, Chahar conceded only eight from 18 deliveries while dismissing three of them.Have Rohit Sharma’s middling returns gone under the radar?
He is the most successful IPL captain, having won five titles with the Mumbai Indians, but over the last few years, Sharma the batter has been sub-par.Since the start of the 2017 season, Sharma has batted 57 times in the top four in the IPL and scored 1413 runs at an average of 26.66 and a strike rate of 127.52. Generally, top-order batters with such numbers don’t get a long rope. The only other batter to have played more than 25 innings in the top four in that period with an average below 30 and a strike rate under 130 is Ajinkya Rahane.But apart from his exceptional record as captain, Sharma also benefits from a batting line-up brimming with match-winners. His middling returns, therefore, haven’t necessarily hurt Mumbai, and when the stakes have been high, like in the final of IPL 2020, Sharma has often stepped up.When wrong (‘un) is right•ESPNcricinfo LtdHow Rashid Khan aced his match-up against Ishan Kishan
In IPL 2020, Ishan Kishan had dominated Rashid Khan, smashing 33 runs off 20 balls without a single dismissal. No other batter took more runs off Khan last year. Among those who faced at least ten balls from him, only Shane Watson and Nitish Rana scored at a higher rate.On Saturday, though, Kishan could manage only six runs off 10 balls against Khan. What changed?In 2020, Khan had bowled 11 legbreaks to Kishan, off which the left-hand batter took 23 runs. The remaining nine were googlies; Kishan scored only ten off those. This time Khan bowled almost exclusively googlies against Kishan. Of the ten balls he bowled to Kishan, nine were wrong ‘uns. Only one was a legbreak. Kishan scored only six runs off the googlies, while the legbreak was a dot.In all, Khan bowled 22 googlies in the match (one was a wide), the second-most by a bowler in any IPL game for which ESPNcricinfo has bowling-variations data. Only Ravi Bishnoi has bowled more: 23 (two of them were wides) against the Royal Challengers last year.Khan may have bowled as many googlies as he did because he predominantly bowled to left-handers. He bowled nine googlies in ten balls to Quinton de Kock as well, and those nine balls went for just 10 runs. While Khan failed to pick up any wickets, he was miserly as usual, conceding only 22 from his four overs.