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West Indies have an enormous task ahead against Test cricket’s No. 1 team, but they also have examples of resilience from their recent past to draw from

The Preview by Sidharth Monga11-Oct-20185:14

Walsh: West Indies could play an extra spinner in Warrican

Big Picture

After Edgbaston, there was Headingley. After Abu Dhabi, there was Sharjah. On away tours over the last two years, West Indies have suffered major setbacks, but at least on these two occasions they have shown they can bounce back. While even the most optimistic of the West Indies supporters won’t be expecting such a turnaround, what they will want is a closer contest than the three-day squash in Rajkot. And this West Indies side has shown they are capable of that.The thing about fight is, sometimes you can only fight as much as the opposition allows you to. And at home, India don’t allow you to fight that much. The best Test team in the world is downright dominant at home. If they have one eye on Australia during this series, that is because they can afford to do so.Prithvi Shaw seems to have booked his place as an opener come Adelaide in the first week of December. With his maiden century, Ravindra Jadeja has begun his audition as the allrounder well, should the injured Hardik Pandya not make it to Australia. Now for KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane to score some runs.

Form guide

India WLLWL(most recent first)
West Indies LWWLD1:33

Rahul somebody we want to persist with – India bowling coach

In the spotlight

Ajinkya Rahane went to South Africa late last year without a big score against Sri Lanka at home. The result was his missing the first two Tests as the team management went on current form. Now home conditions are not his favourite, but he needs to score a big one in this Test to carry some current form, and more importantly confidence, to Australia.Without their talisman, their captain, Jason Holder, West Indies were half the team they usually are. There was nobody to peg away outside off for fours when India were getting easy runs. There was nobody to pitch a tent when the India bowlers were running through the wickets. A fit Holder should mean a more competitive West Indies.

Team news

India have named an unchanged twelve, which means there is a good chance Virat Kohli might field an unchanged XI only for the second time in 42 Tests as captain. That also means Mayank Agarwal will not get a go as a Test opener before the Australia tour.India: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Kuldeep Yadav/Shardul ThakurWest Indies will hope the return of Holder and Kemar Roach revitalises them. Sunil Ambris will be under pressure to retain his place after two disappointing dismissals, but they are not carrying any back-up except wicketkeeper-batsman Jahmar Hamilton. Devendra Bishoo failed to create any pressure as a spinner in Rajkot, and there might be temptation to replace him with the more accurate fingerspin of Jomel Warrican.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Sunil Ambris, 5 Shimron Hetmeyer, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Devendra Bishoo/Jomel Warrican, 11 Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and conditions

Expect Rajkot-like conditions in Hyderabad: good for batting to begin with, and turn and uneven bounce from third day onwards. There will be some respite from the 40-degrees heat of Rajkot, with highs of mid-30s expected during the match.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies’ last three Tests in India have lasted a total of nine days and 720.5 overs. All three have been innings defeats.
• In the last Test, India registered their highest total against West Indies and their biggest win against them
• Since 2016, India have scored eight scores of 600 or more, two more than the rest of the world put together

Quotes

“They are going to try and come harder at us because it’s only a two-match series. They don’t have any other options apart from trying to make a comeback. We are aware that they will come hard at us. We simply have to be at the top of our game and, if there is a difficult situation, we just have to play sensible cricket.”
“We’re playing the No. 1 team, India, in their backyard. And history would show we haven’t won a Test match here since 1994, and if you look at the players who came through West Indies cricket – I think Brian Lara and these greats had been playing at that time.”

Dhaka Dynamites fall short by one run to go down for the sixth time in 11 matches this season

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2019How the game played out
The Bangladesh Premier League returned to Dhaka after the Chattogram leg of matches, pitting Comilla Victorians against Dhaka Dynamites in what turned out to be a low-scoring, well-contested affair.Chasing 128 for victory, the Dynamites stuttered at the start, with Mahedi Hasan sending back Upul Tharanga and Shakib Al Hasan as they slipped to 29 for 4.The revival was scripted by the Caribbean trio of Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, who couldn’t quite break free like they can but still scored at a healthy clip. The Victorians, however, kept the wickets coming, and pulled off a narrow win when Russell could only squeeze a Mohammad Saifuddin yorker for four when a six was needed.Earlier, asked to bat first, the Victorians put up only 127, bowled out off the last ball of the innings. Opener Tamim Iqbal was the best of the batsmen on show as he scored 38 from 20 balls, even as wickets fell all around him.Shahid Afridi knocked the ball around for 18 from No. 6 but the Victorians looked set to fold in the vicinity of 100 when Thisara Perera became the eighth man out with 87 on the board. Fortunately for the Victorians, No. 9 Mahedi and No. 10 Wahab Riaz made useful contributions, 20 and 16 respectively, to take them to a competitive score.Rubel Hossain picked up four wickets for the Dynamites, while Narine and Shakib got two apiece.Turning points

• At 87 for 8, with no frontline batsman having survived long enough to be around with the tail, the Victorians looked down and out. But Mahedi and Riaz first lugged the team past 100 and then added runs that proved crucial in the end.
• With Pollard and Russell in the middle, it could have gone away from the Victorians rather quickly, but they stuck to the task and Saifuddin cashed in, sending Pollard and Nurul Hasan back off consecutive deliveries.
• When the penultimate over of the chase started, the Dynamites needed 20 runs. Second ball, Riaz had Russell holing out to third man, but it was a no-ball. End of story? Not quite, as Riaz came back to concede just eight runs from the over and send back Shuvagata Hom to leave Saifuddin with 11 to defend.

Star of the day
Saifuddin has been among the wickets right through the BPL season, and put in what turned in what proved to be his career-best T20 performance to date – 4 for 22. He struck early, with Rony Talukdar’s wicket, then sent back Pollard and Nurul at a crucial juncture before holding his nerve against Russell to bowl an excellent yorker off the last ball.The big miss
Shakib Al Hasan bowling to Wahab Riaz – the odds would usually be on the former trumping the latter. On the day, though, in the 17th over of the Victorians’ innings, it was Riaz calling the shots. The second ball was smashed down the ground for six, and the fourth ball, tossed up outside off, got the same treatment. That over might have taken the game beyond the Dynamites’ reach.Where the teams stand
The Victorians are right on top of the pile with 16 points from 11 games following their eighth win, while the Dynamites are at the wrong end of the table, third from bottom. At ten points with one match remaining, the Dynamites need a victory over last place Khulna Titans to steal the fourth and final playoff spot from Rajshahi Kings.

The T20 tournament will begin in Dubai on February 17 with the final scheduled to take place in Karachi on March 17

Umar Farooq15-Sep-2018Eight games in the fourth season of the PSL will be held in Pakistan as the PCB released the schedule for the T20 tournament, which will begin on February 14 in Dubai. The final has been given to Karachi for a second year running and it will take place on March 17.The PSL has played a significant role in the return of top-level cricket to Pakistan, alongside sporadic visits from international teams since a short tour in 2015 by Zimbabwe, who became the first side to tour the country since the attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore in 2009. The first PSL game in Pakistan was the 2017 final in Lahore. Three matches of the 2018 season were held in Pakistan – the two Eliminators in Lahore and the final in Karachi.The new chairman of the PCB, Ehsan Mani, met all six PSL franchises for the first time on Saturday for a governing council meeting to discuss the upcoming season. Additionally, the board will invite fresh bids for the tournament sponsor and broadcast rights; the previous set was valid only for three seasons.In a significant development, the PSL franchises will have representatives on the various committees inspecting all the bids that come in. This was not the case when the PCB was led by Najam Sethi and it created tension between the former chairman and the Multan Sultan franchise, who wanted to be part of the process.”PCB’s aim is to ensure transparency and working in partnership with all franchises in order to make PSL a bigger success,” Mani said. “PCB and all PSL franchises are partners in this project and I am confident that we will all work together to bring in good numbers for our next rights cycle. The inclusion of franchises in the decision-making process highlights the need to ensure collective growth of all partners.”Ahead of the PSL draft, all teams can retain a maximum of 10 players, but only two of those can be overseas picks from the platinum category. The exact ratio of local to foreign players in a squad is yet to be finalised.The retention window is expected to close in the second week of October, after which each of the released players go into the draft. Each squad will need to have at least 16 players but can grow upto 20, with these four places reserved for young and emerging talent. Lahore Qalandars will get first pick in the draft since they were the team that finished last in PSL 2018. However, it has been decided that, from the fifth edition of the PSL onwards, the first pick at the draft will be decided at random.Lahore, by the way, are the only one of the six franchises to have submitted a bank guarantee to the PCB. The others are yet to do so despite the board extending the deadline by two weeks.There was the likelihood that PSL matches might be held in as many as four cities in Pakistan, but considering the extensive security arrangements that will be needed, the PCB decided to keep it to Lahore and Karachi. Besides, the other stadiums are not quite ready to host matches, most needing extensive renovations and some like Faisalabad and Rawalpindi are considered too small to host the large crowds. Multan was understood to be a potential host, but logistics proved a problem. There was also talk of taking the cricket to Muzaffarabad stadium in Kashmir, but the PSL governing council ruled that out since the players would have to be taken to and from the ground in helicopters.

The former England wicketkeeper was in charge of Worcestershire for 11 years and oversaw their promotion into Division One of the County Championship recently

Mohammad Isam and George Dobell05-Jun-2018Former England wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes is set to become the Bangladesh head coach for all three formats later this week. His appointment will end the BCB’s search for a new coach that has lasted eight months following Chandika Hathurusingha’s resignation last October.ESPNcricinfo has learned that since the other candidates have not been called up for a face-to-face interview, Rhodes is BCB’s No. 1 choice. It is also understood that Rhodes is Gary Kirsten’s recommendation. Kirsten was recently appointed BCB’s short-term consultant to find coaches. The BCB is also in talks with Lance Klusener as a batting consultant.Rhodes, who will turn 54 next week, played 11 Tests and nine ODIs and is now known for his talent-spotting skills. He
had been in charge of Worcestershire since 2006, having played for them from 1985 to 2004. But he was sacked last year by the county and relieved of his duties as head coach of the England Under-19 squad just before the World Cup, after it emerged that he had failed to report the arrest of a young allrounder – Alex Hepburn – in a timely fashion.He also oversaw the promotion of Worcestershire into Division One of the County Championship at the end of the 2017 season and had been recently made an England scout. His work with Worcestershire involved promoting a young and homegrown squad.”I can confirm I’ve had talks with Bangladesh,” Rhodes told ESPNcricinfo. “And I can confirm I’m interested in what I think is a really prestigious role. But nothing is confirmed at this stage and nobody should jump the gun and presume it is.”
BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that Rhodes’ experience, especially in English conditions, gave him a distinct advantage over the other shortlisted coaches. With the World Cup in England under a year away, the BCB had been seeking someone with that specific background, which is why they had initially almost confirmed Paul Farbrace. Rhodes was also part of the England coaching staff during their Test series in Bangladesh in 2016.”Steve Rhodes is in our shortlist as a head coach,” Chowdhury said. “We are hoping that he will meet us in Dhaka in a couple of days. We shared our tentative candidates list with Gary Kirsten so this is a joint effort. The list is made up of his recommendations and our list, which is why Rhodes is coming this week.”We had initially approached big names and experienced coaches but they couldn’t come because of various reasons. Among the currently available coaches, Rhodes is the most experienced. Also, the 2019 World Cup will be held in England which is another reason that we are looking at him.”Chowdhury further said that Rhodes will be making a presentation about his plans with the Bangladesh cricket team, similar to Richard Pybus and Phil Simmons’ interviews in December.”We have already communicated with him that we would like to know what plans he has for the Bangladesh team for the 2019 World Cup and 2020 World T20,” Chowdhury said. “Generally, when someone is appearing for an interview here, it is assumed that we have had some basic discussions with him.”Without naming Rhodes, Chowdhury said that the new coach will be joining the Bangladesh set-up during the training camp for the West Indies tour later this month. “During the break between the Afghanistan and West Indies series, we would expect the new coach to join the training camp ahead of the West Indies tour.”The BCB’s search for the new head coach began in November last year when they first approached Tom Moody, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Andy Flower and Justin Langer but all five turned the offer down. Then they interviewed Pybus and Simmons but the BCB didn’t contact them back and both were soon appointed by Cricket West Indies and the Afghanistan Cricket Board respectively.Then the BCB nearly confirmed Geoff Marsh and Farbrace before asking Kirsten to help them find a new coach in a tough market where T20 franchise assignments are turning out to be more attractive.

Playing his first professional red-ball match for nearly a year, Bancroft batted throughout the day but Western Australia slipped from a strong position

Alex Malcolm23-Feb-2019Cameron Bancroft made a statement with a patient unbeaten 73 to hold Western Australia’s first innings together against New South Wales on a rain-shortened day at Bankstown Oval in Sydney.In his first first-class match since infamous Cape Town Test, Bancroft faced 235 balls and struck just four boundaries and a six to hold the Blues at bay after WA slipped from 0 for 119 to 5 for 183 at stumps.Following a delayed start to the day which saw 13 overs lost, WA made an excellent start with Bancroft and Sam Whiteman putting on 119 for the first wicket.They were the sixth opening combination WA have tried in seven matches this season and the sixth and seventh openers used, but the first to put together a century stand. Whiteman, opening for just the fifth time in 77 first-class innings, compiled a well-made 66 before being trapped lbw by Harry Conway.Then the collapse took place on the back of a patient build-up of pressure from New South Wales bowlers. Josh Inglis, promoted to No. 3, was bowled through the gate by Sean Abbott for 2 then stand-in captain Hilton Cartwright was out top-edging a reverse sweep off Steve O’Keefe for 9.Will Bosisto was given out lbw to Trent Copeland not offering a stroke while Josh Philippe was caught behind just four overs later.Bancroft watched it all unfold from the non-striker’s end and survived alongside debutant Bradley Hope.

India will risk playing Rohit Sharma only if he is 100% ready, while West Indies could look at bringing in Odean Smith for Devon Thomas

Sidharth Monga05-Aug-20223:29

Takeaways from 3rd T20I: Hardik is India’s best option against left-hand batters

Big picture

It has been 12 years since cricket officially and formally made it to the USA, with a weekend of two T20Is between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. For various reasons, though, Florida hasn’t yet emerged as the cricket destination the administrators would have expected it to. This weekend’s two matches between West Indies and India will make it only 12 matches played between Full Members there.Related

• Dinesh Karthik: Playing in different conditions valuable for World Cup prep

• Obed McCoy ready to break his World Cup curse

• T20s the mother of Ashwin's reinvention

However, if the two teams can put on the kind of entertainment they did six years ago – when 245 batting first played 244 in the chase – it will go some way towards establishing Florida as a cricketing outpost. These two are the ideal teams to draw crowds in, what with the high number of immigrants from their parts of the world in America’s Sunshine State.For the two teams, these matches could well be the last look they get before they name their squads for the T20 World Cup in Australia. So it will be a good test for Arshdeep Singh and R Ashwin, on a small ground, to stake their claims for the back-up spots.West Indies know their best combination less well. The wizards of T20 cricket have to play the qualifiers at the World Cup. Who knows if Andre Russell will be fit and if Sunil Narine will be picked. For various reasons, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen and Evin Lewis are also missing the games against India. With the series on the line, this is a good opportunity for the fringe players to push into the squad.

Form guide

West Indies LWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
India WLWLWNicholas Pooran has struggled to get going, especially in the third T20I against Hardik Pandya and R Ashwin•Associated Press

Players to watch

Deepak Hooda has not set a foot wrong this year, but he still can’t force his way into the first-choice XI for India when everybody is available. However, he still has time to force his way into the squad, and into the XI should one of the batters struggle in the World Cup.Nicholas Pooran, the most established T20 batter in the West Indies line-up, struggled to score at a-run-a-ball against the cutters of Hardik Pandya and the offspin of Ashwin in the third T20I. He will have to face more of it if there is any grip in the pitch, and he will have to find a way.

Team news

A lot of focus will be on Rohit Sharma’s fitness after he retired hurt with back spasms in the third T20I. He has missed more matches than he has played since assuming full-time captaincy, and India will not want to risk a serious injury so close to the World Cup. He will play only if fully confident of his fitness. On the bowling front, India could go full-strength by picking Harshal Patel over Avesh Khan, who has not had the best of series.India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Suryakumar Yadav, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Arshdeep SinghA bowling allrounder in Dominic Drakes instead of a batting allrounder in Odean Smith is the composition West Indies are likely to stick with. They could, however, bring in Smith for wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, with Pooran donning the big gloves.West Indies 1 Kyle Mayers, 2 Brandon King, 3 Nicholas Pooran (capt), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Devon Thomas (wk), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Akeal Hosein, 9 Dominic Drakes, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Obed McCoyDeepak Hooda hasn’t got many chances with the bat in this series, and will be keen to get a good hit•Associated Press

Pitch and conditions

The pitch can be an unknown at venues not used to hosting international cricket regularly, but the boundaries are small and there should be good value for shots. There is no big threat to the matches except for the odd passing shower.

Stats and trivia

• The last time West Indies beat India in any series was at the same ground in 2016 when they won the two-T20I series 1-0 with one match washed out.
• Take out the series in Sri Lanka when India’s third-string side was further weakened by a Covid-19 outbreak, and the last time India lost a bilateral T20I series was way back in early 2019 against Australia.

On Wednesday evening, David Warner issued a lengthy statement about his leadership ban review and said he was withdrawing from the process

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2022My family is more important to me than cricket.Over the course of the past nearly five years since the events that occurred during the Third Test in Cape Town, even with all the humiliation and attacks that they have had to endure, I have enjoyed the unwavering support and love of my wife Candice and my three daughters, Ivy Mae, Indi Rae, and Isla Rose. They are my world.Since that Test and even though my ban from leadership roles may never be lifted, I have taken it upon myself to reform, to rehabilitate and to transform my approach to the game.I have served and been subject to a crushing, unprecedented, penalty that has horribly impacted me and my family for the past nearly five years without the prospect of any relief until now.On 21 November 2022, the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel (the Code of Conduct) was amended to permit players to apply for a modification to Long-Term Sanctions.With the announcement of the amendment to the Code of Conduct, I held the hope and was encouraged, that I would be given a proper opportunity to demonstrate to the Review Panel that I have demonstrated my deep regret and remorse; and that my rehabilitation and transformation are profound.With the encouragement of administrators and colleagues and in accordance with the rules under the Code of Conduct, on 25 November 2022 I submitted an application to Cricket Australia for a modification to my life-time ban from leadership positions in cricket. I did so in good faith on the understanding that regular established procedures under the Code of Conduct would be followed.I hoped I would be given the opportunity, under the established practice and procedure of the Code of Conduct that is reflected in the amendments, to demonstrate that I have satisfied the necessary requirements for a modification to my ban and that I might be permitted to see out the balance of my career without the yoke hanging around my neck and further anguish for my family.However, despite my opposition and that of Cricket Australia, on Tuesday last week Counsel Assisting the Review Panel and the Review Panel took it upon themselves to concoct an irregular procedure (overturning presumptions and previous practice) for the determination of my application and establish a novel approach that would negatively impact the health and welfare of my family and the interests of the Australian cricket team.In his submissions, Counsel Assisting made offensive and unhelpful comments about me that had absolutely no substantive purpose under the Code of Conduct.Regrettably, the Review Panel acted contrary to the submissions of Cricket Australia and my lawyer and appeared to adopt virtually entirely the position of Counsel Assisting.In effect, Counsel Assisting, and, it appears, to some extent the Review Panel, want to conduct a public trial of me and what occurred during the Third Test at Newlands. They want to conduct a public spectacle to, in the Panel’s words, have a “cleansing”. I am not prepared for my family to be the washing machine for cricket’s dirty laundry.The Rules of the Code of Conduct in relation to applications such as mine are clear. Article 10.7 states that the hearing is not an appeal of the original decision or a new review of the offence.Counsel Assisting the Review Panel appeared to be determined to revisit the events of March 2018 and the Review Panel appears determined to expose me and my family to further humiliation and harm by conducting a media circus.I note that the engagement of Counsel Assisting was terminated. Nonetheless, following the curiously irregular position adopted by the Review Panel, and in the interests of my family and Australian cricket, last Thursday I submitted a request for the Review Panel to revisit their procedural decision and at least apply a protocol that is consistent with established practice and procedure under the Code of Conduct. That request had the support of Cricket Australia.Having had nearly a week to consider that proposal, today the Review Panel has decided to ignore the request in any meaningful way and has provided a dismissive rejection of the substantive matters. It appears that the Panel has given no more than passing consideration to issues of player welfare and the interests of Australian cricket and is instead determined to conduct a public lynching.Regrettably, I have no practical alternative at this point in time but to withdraw my application. I am not prepared to subject my family or my teammates to further trauma and disruption by accepting a departure from the way in which my application should be dealt with pursuant to the Code of Conduct.Some things are more important than cricket.

Rashid Khan endured a difficult captaincy debut, getting out for a first-ball duck and conceding 68 in nine overs as Scotland chased down 256 with 16 balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2018IDI/Getty Images

It only took one match to affirm the wide-open nature of the World Cup Qualifier. In a spectacular opening-day heist, Scotland downed Afghanistan by seven wickets, with Calum MacLeod scoring his sixth ODI hundred and subjecting Rashid Khan, the world’s No. 1 ODI bowler, to one of his worst days as an international cricketer.Chasing 256, Scotland got there with 16 balls to spare, with MacLeod scoring an unbeaten 157 off 146 balls. He scored 108 off 118 against Afghanistan’s other bowlers, and 49 off 31 against Rashid’s legspin, off which he hit eight of his 24 boundaries. Rashid finished with figures of 1 for 68 in nine overs – this was the first time he had ended up with an economy rate of above 7 in his 38-match ODI career. He also scored a first-ball duck. All this happened on a day when, at 19 years and 165 days, he became the youngest man to captain an ODI side.MacLeod came in with Scotland 16 for 1; they lost their other opener two overs later to slip to 21 for 2. Both wickets had fallen to the mystery spin of Mujeeb Ur Rahman. It was here that Richie Berrington joined MacLeod. The two proceeded to add 208 in 223 balls, with MacLeod by far the dominant partner, Berrington scoring 67 off 95 balls before falling lbw to Rashid in the 43rd over of Scotland’s innings. By then, they only needed 27 off 44 balls, a task MacLeod and George Munsey completed with ease.Sent in to bat, Afghanistan made a plodding start, losing three wickets – two to Berrington’s medium-pace – while only scoring 49 in their first 15 overs. Berrington picked up his third wicket in the 19th over, getting Mohammad Shahzad out for an uncharacteristic 30 off 54 balls, leaving Afghanistan 71 for 4.Afghanistan needed to stop losing wickets, but they also needed some urgency. Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran achieved both, putting on 149 for the fifth wicket in 136 balls. At the end of the 41st over, Afghanistan were 219 for 4, and a total in the 280-300 range seemed within reach. But both set batsmen fell off successive balls, Najibullah for 67 off 69 balls and then Nabi – run out – for 92 off 82.The back-to-back wickets were a body blow to Afghanistan’s innings, their lower order collapsing in a heap to Safyaan Sharif and Brad Wheal. In all, the last six wickets fell while adding only 35 runs in 51 balls, leaving Scotland a far smaller target than they might have envisioned chasing at one point.

Batting feat follows five-wicket haul for 18-year-old allrounder

ECB Reporters Network29-Sep-2022Rehan Ahmed scored a superb maiden century to save Leicestershire from defeat in the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Derbyshire at Derby.The England Under-19 allrounder decorated the last day of the season at the Incora County Ground with a breathtaking 122 off 113 balls to provide a memorable finale to a miserable season for Division Two’s bottom club.It was also a record-breaking performance as he became the first Leicestershire player to score his first hundred and take his maiden five-wicket haul in the same match. The 18-year-old was well supported by Lewis Hill who scored 60 off 157 balls and shared a fourth wicket stand of 163 in 35 overs with Ahmed.Harry Swindells, with 48, and Tom Scriven, (30), added a further 70 and although Sam Conners celebrated his county cap by taking his 50th Championship wicket for the summer, Leicestershire were 86 ahead at 405 for 7 when rain consigned the game to a draw with 20 overs remaining.Derbyshire probably sensed the chance of an early finish when Ben Aitchison struck in the fourth over of the morning. Sam Evans had driven the fast bowler square to the boundary but the next ball drew him into playing and Wayne Madsen held a low catch at second slip.Leicestershire’s top order had collapsed in the first innings but Ahmed joined Hill to provide another impressive demonstration of his talent.After a frenetic start, Ahmed settled in to bat with controlled aggression, playing shots all around the wicket to reach a brilliant hundred. An upper-cut for six off Aitchison was one of the memorable shots in a maiden fifty which came off 60 balls and he needed only 39 more to reach three figures.There were no signs of nerves as he waltzed down the pitch after lunch to deposit Leus du Plooy’s left-arm spin over the long-off boundary and he dished out the same treatment to off-spinner Alex Thomson. Another six off Thomson took him to 99 and the next ball he drove through the covers for his 12th four to reach three figures in only his third first-class match.Ahmed is now in the distinguished company of former England allrounder Phillip DeFreitas who was the last Leicestershire player to score a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same game, in 2003 against Sussex at Grace Road.It was the first time it has been done in a first-class game between the two counties at Derby since Derbyshire’s Garnet Lee made an unbeaten 107 and took 5 for 31 in 1928.Ahmed drove Thomson for a fifth six but in the next over he skied a slog-sweep at du Plooy and Luis Reece ran in to take the catch at mid-on.Hill had played a valuable supporting role but he fell to the second new ball when he tried to cut Aitchison and was caught at first slip.Conners beat the bat numerous times before he struck twice in consecutive overs, having Scriven caught behind pulling before Swindells dabbed the fast bowler into the gloves of Brooke Guest. But the light was fading before rain swept in just after 4.30pm with Derbyshire finishing fifth in Division Two while Leicestershire end the season without a Championship victory.

The correlation between intent and wickets is low in T20 cricket. It’s more about stifling batman and forcing them into low-percentage shots. Bhuvneshwar Kumar knows that; it is what he did in Jo’burg

Sidharth Monga in Johannesburg19-Feb-2018Of all the formats of cricket, wickets in Twenty20 have the least correlation with a bowler’s intent to pick up those wickets; they usually come through containment, and, at times, through funny shots. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is now the first Indian to have a five-for in each format, but he knows better than to look at just the wickets. It is the economy rate of a run a ball that matters more – this in turn brings wickets, sometimes for other bowlers but, like on Sunday evening, for Bhuvneshwar himself.Bhuvneshwar is more satisfied that he bowled in a way that suffocated the batsmen enough to play those low-percentage shots – in the case of Chris Morris, first ball of his innings – and brought him three wickets in an over, leaving him on the verge of a hat-trick.”Taking wickets means a lot when you play for your country,” Bhuvneshwar Kumar said. “Doesn’t matter if you take five wickets or how many as long as you’re winning matches for your country. That’s what matters, and taking five-fors in every format feels good. I want to keep doing it as long as possible.”Bhuvneshwar’s experience as compared to South Africa’s fast bowlers shone through. Even as South Africa continued to try to bounce India out, Bhuvneshwar kept bowling short of a length, stump to stump, and mixed it up with knuckle balls. “The important thing is how you mix up your deliveries according to the wicket,” Bhuvneshwar said. “For instance, today we bowled a lot of slower balls. It was a part of our strategy on this wicket, to do away with pace and make it difficult for the batsmen to score. Apart from line and length, it’s important to understand how you want to mix your deliveries. Today it was about bowling slower, not giving the batsmen the pace to work with.”Reeza Hendricks, who scored 70 off 50 balls, spoke about how difficult it was to score off Bhuvneshwar. “He was just consistent in his areas, which was pretty much giving us nothing to score off,” Hnedricks said. “So we had to be happy with ones and twos at that time.”Bhuvneshwar conceded just two boundaries, easily the best effort over four overs in the match on a small outfield and a flat pitch. The key was to quickly judge what lengths were to be bowled and how much pace variation was required in those conditions. Just like India’s batsmen, Bhuvneshwar is somebody who doesn’t go in with pre-conceived plans, and has the ability to adjust to the pitch’s response to his bowling.”Today, for instance, while we were batting, we had a certain idea of the kind of wicket we would be bowling on,” Bhuvneshwar said in response to a query on whether the India’s bowlers decide what plans they should use even when they are batting. “But the whole picture begins to emerge only after you’ve bowled. Because it depends on the bowlers. Look at their bowlers, they’re of a different height, have different skill sets, and the pitch responds differently to them. So you get an idea, but, as I said, the whole thing emerges only after you’ve bowled a few balls. For instance, if I’ve bowled the first over, I can communicate with the rest of the bowlers what’s happening on the wicket, like that…”So how long does it take for Bhuvneshwar to suss the conditions out? “Depends. Sometimes it takes just one ball. Sometimes you get hammered for four overs and still don’t know what the ideal length and pace for that pitch was.”