The zip is back for Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain as cricket returns to Bangladesh

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Five takeaways from the intra-squad practice matches and the one-day BCB President’s Cup

Mohammad Isam25-Oct-2020Cricket at last, but…
On the day Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka was postponed for a second time, BCB president Nazmul Hassan announced that Bangladesh’s preliminary touring party would play intra-squad matches instead. The board quickly organised a one-day tournament, later naming it the BCB President’s Cup, which officially became the start of the 2020-21 domestic season.To make up the numbers in the three line-ups, the selectors called up 22 more players. The board also put together an attractive package for the best performers, spending over $43,000 as prize money for the seven matches.All good there, but only 46 players actually got a chance to play the tournament, and that’s only a fraction of the total number of professional cricketers in the country. There remains uncertainty about the remaining part of the 2019-20 Dhaka Premier League, but with the announcement of another T20 tournament next month, competitive cricket is slowly making its return.Pacers’ improved fitness
The extra zip in the bowling of Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain, the latter adjudged best bowler of the President’s Cup, was noticeable throughout the one-day matches. They bowled at their usual pace but looked more disciplined all along, which was a missing ingredient in their make-up in the past. Hossain, who finished with 12 wickets at an average of 10.33, also had a 4.02 economy rate, while Ahmed managed to pick up seven wickets at 26.28, and he was also impressive in the early and late spells in the two two-day intra-squad matches.It was a refreshing change after the rough couple of years the two have had, and it was down to the extra work they put in on their fitness during the pandemic.It wasn’t just Ahmed and Hossain, but also the likes of Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Ebadot Hossain and Abu Jayed, who looked fitter and bowled more accurately than often in the past. Among the younger lot, Shoriful Islam and Sumon Khan also impressed with their pace, swing, and yes, fitness.Sumon Khan’s five-wicket haul helped Mahmudullah XI bowl out Najmul XI for 173 in the BCB President’s Cup final•Raton Gomes/BCBUnder-19 champions get a taste of the higher level
Eight members of Bangladesh’s Under-19 World Cup-winning squad, including captain Akbar Ali, were distributed in the three President’s Cup teams. Mahmudul Hasan Joy spent more than two hours for a half-century and the patience was good to see, as he supported Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah in two partnerships. Shoriful, the only fast bowler chosen from the age-group set-up, took a four-wicket haul in one of his three appearances, and generally impressed everyone with his spirit.The likes of Islam and Ali, however, come with the heavy “very talented” tags, and as Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo pointed out last week, it is going to be crucial that patience is shown with these young achievers.A few new contenders
The selectors picked an array of players to diversify the bowling attacks of the three one-day sides, in particular. The fast bowlers did well, including Khan, who took a five-wicket haul in the final. And Nayeem Hasan was the only spinner who stood out in the two-day matches and the one-day competition with his accuracy and spin.Among the three legspinners, only Rishad Hossain bowled enough to catch the eye, while Irfan Sukkur, the left-hand wicketkeeper-batsman, struck two half-centuries. Some of these players will remain in the selectors’ log if they continue to do well in the T20 tournament in November.Domingo’s note of caution
But as coach Domingo pointed out, these matches were mere practice matches, and he warned against putting too much emphasis on these performances. Part of Domingo’s statement was partly a counter towards the criticism of the batsmen, but he was mostly correct in his assessment.The cricketers had come back from a long break, and it was an unusual time for a group of batsmen who do better when playing international cricket regularly. That said, there were good signs, especially in the performance of the fast bowlers, and in how some of the younger cricketers did well despite the brief period of training before the tournament.

'Carnage… unbelievable… wait, what happened?'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

India bundled out for their lowest Test score and of course that got social media talking on a Saturday morning

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2020

India’s previous lowest Test total was 42.

Cummins reached 150 Test wickets, and Hazlewood 200. The duo were just too good on the day.

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With it being a day-night Test in Adelaide, at least the nightmare wasn’t too early for India supporters.

Some still missed it, and were left in amazement.

How does that work?

Australia dismantled India’s hopes of going 1-0 up in no time.

Can India bounce back from his defeat?

For Najmul Hossain Shanto, it's time to make the question marks go away

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The century in the Pallekele Test could become a turning point in the career of the talented No. 3 batter

Mohammad Isam14-May-2021With a picture-perfect cover drive, Najmul Hossain Shanto reaches his maiden Test century. It’s the Pallekele Test against Sri Lanka. He looks quite relieved, his partner – Mominul Haque, the Bangladesh captain – wears a broad smile and has a chat with Shanto. Then Shanto takes off his helmet and bows towards the Bangladesh dressing room. Players and support staff applaud. The bow, it turns out, was not just a random gesture. It had a deeper meaning, especially for Shanto, who then went on to score 163.”It was meant for everyone in the dressing room – the senior players, the coaching staff and the captain –  they all supported me in the last 18 months,” Shanto told . “I didn’t have the best of times in my last four or five innings, but they all kept supporting me. Everyone tried to give me confidence.”The home series against West Indies in February this year, which Bangladesh lost 2-0, hadn’t gone well for Shanto, as his scores read 25, 0, 4 and 11. A young batter who has shown potential, Shanto wasn’t scoring runs, and the team needed results. He was, therefore, half-expecting to be dropped for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka.Related

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  • Najmul Hossain Shanto: 'I believed in myself to score big runs'

  • 'Being negative makes life more difficult' – Shanto

“Self-doubt dents one’s confidence,” he said. “When I wasn’t playing well, hesitation crept in, and at times I was left wondering if I’d be picked in the next match. But everyone kept supporting me, saying that I would keep playing. Things become easier for a player when the captain and coaching staff gives more opportunities. This environment helped me focus on the match.”After being picked in the XI for Pallekele, he to score. Shanto walked out in the second over. Tamim Iqbal had settled in quickly, and that helped, Shanto said. “Tamim was batting quite easily at the other end, that too at a rapid pace. The pressure was off me. So I could bat normally. We were trying to put together a big partnership after the early wicket (of Saif Hassan).”I think what was different about this innings was how I didn’t hurry. My process was in place for some time. I was mentally relaxed. I didn’t put pressure on myself.”He ended the day unbeaten on 126, with Bangladesh at 302 for 2. It’s only after he returned to the hotel that he realised what he had done. “I was focused on just scoring runs during the innings – I didn’t feel anything special when I got the century,” Shanto said. “I spent a little time thinking about the match itself. I was enjoying batting. Only when I returned to my hotel room I started thinking about the innings.”

****

After the hundred, his next three scores in the series were 0, 0 and 26. This inconsistency might make many undermine his progress but there is a reason to believe the glass is half-full, though.His 163, an innings in which he looked every bit a Test No. 3, was a mini victory from a selection point of view – consistency in selection, with the hope that the players would repay their faith.

“I break my innings down into small parts but whenever I get set, I try to make it big. This is how I have played since I was very young, and now I am trying to do the same in international cricket.”Najimul Hossain Shanto

And when a team doesn’t win often – Bangladesh are without a victory in ten matches (across formats) since February this year, with just one drawn match – the team management might not be expected to give a long rope for a player. But they did. Shanto’s century vindicated the patience shown by those who backed him. But when he didn’t score against West Indies, or those two ducks against Sri Lanka, that same support could be seen as a privilege.In Bangladesh, when it comes to backing a player for a long time, the first name that comes to mind is that of Mohammad Ashraful. It was a different time in Bangladesh cricket in 2001 at the start of his career when a debutant centurion just had to be persisted with. Mushfiqur Rahim and Iqbal had ordinary numbers at the start of their careers too, but they had played match-winning knocks in the 2007 World Cup and then announced their arrivals on the international stage.More recently, Soumya Sarkar started brightly with match-winning knocks against Pakistan and South Africa in his first 30 innings, but around that period, he also suffered a dip in form that has never really gone away. Liton Das was dropped after scoring one half-century in his first 15 innings, and it was only his 121 in the Asia Cup final against India three years ago and the unbeaten 94 against West Indies in the 2019 World Cup that brought him back.Like all of them, Shanto started off as a prodigy, having scored heavily in school and age-group cricket in Rajshahi, one of the breeding grounds for talent in Bangladesh. He rose quickly to the Under-19s, and played the 2014 and 2016 World Cups at that level.”I come from a village called Ranhat in Rajshahi where there aren’t many established cricketers. I used to cycle and walk about 20 kilometres to the Clemon Rajshahi Cricket Academy. I came through the district and divisional age-group tournaments, having played the Under-14s, Under-17s and Under-19s. My first brush with pressure was at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. The tournament was held at home. I had the anchor role, so I had to play team-specific knocks. I couldn’t just play like I wanted to. I had to stick to whatever the team needed.”Shanto made 259 runs in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup that put on him the spotlight•ICCIt was that Under-19 World Cup that grabbed the selectors’ attention. Shanto ended with 259 runs at an average of 64.75. He was fast-tracked to the senior level like many before him, and Shanto made his Test debut within 12 months of playing his last Under-19 game.”A player is introduced to fitness and technique, and begins to understand a team’s perspective at the Under-19 level,” he explained. “He can organise himself at this level, but this is the pipeline. It is very different from the senior level. I think what matters more are the high-performance teams, the ‘A’ team, and Under-23s, where a player starts to get prepared for the highest level.”

****

Shanto’s reputation grew, and he was in the fringes of the national team. He made his Test debut too, but that was when Bangladesh were hit by injuries. He was brought back into the side a couple of times in 2018 and 2019 with little by way of returns. After his debut in Christchurch in 20217 against New Zealand, he played just a match the following year, against Zimbabwe. After that, he got an opportunity to play only in February 2020, against Pakistan in an away series.It was only during last year’s Rawalpindi Test that he looked comfortable in his role – driving, cutting and pulling the ball at this level for the first time. But the pandemic disrupted the calendar and he had to wait for a year to get back on the field. The break, though, seemed to have not affected his game. And the Pallekele century in April suggests he could turn the corner soon.”I have always tried to play the long innings,” he said. “I break it down into small parts but whenever I get set, I try to make it big. This is how I have played since I was very young, and now I am trying to do the same in international cricket. I have only had one (century) so far, so I am looking forward to scoring more.”I want to contribute in every win for Bangladesh, going forward. This is my main target. It can be two good catches, it can be a century or it can just be ten runs.”As far as his next target is concerned, Shanto wants to be consistent to be a part of Bangladesh’s future plans.At a time when there are three World Cups in as many years, there is every opportunity for him to establish as a reliable player. He can certainly look at batters like Rahim and Iqbal, who showed early signs of their longevity, for inspiration and also learn from the likes of Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed about not being too complacent.With the selectors showing signs to give him a long rope, it is now about repaying their faith for Shanto, and that bow to the dressing room in Pallekele could be the start of that.

The No. 3 problem – Bangladesh's never-ending search for an answer

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Soumya Sarkar again pushed up the order in latest of his many roles in the team

Mohammad Isam20-Mar-2021There have been two contrasting views about Soumya Sarkar. Among Bangladesh cricket’s decision-makers, he is believed to be the solution to many of the team’s batting problems. In the first ODI against New Zealand in Dunedin, Sarkar was sent in to bat at No. 3 in place of Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has been recently talked up as the batsman to be given a fair run at this position. Shanto made only 38 runs in Bangladesh’s last ODI series, but today Sarkar lasted just three balls before playing a strange dinky shot to be caught at cover. The other view about Sarkar is that he gets far too many opportunities as he is fitted into every gap that appears in the Bangladesh side. For much of the last 18 months, this group has been mostly correct.After he lost his regular place as an opener around 2018, the team management insisted on having Sarkar as a back-up option. He was flown into the middle of the 2018 Asia Cup campaign as a middle-order batsman. Against Afghanistan during the 2019 Test in Dhaka, Sarkar first opened the innings and then batted at No. 8.A few months later, the Bangladesh team management declared that he was their finisher in T20Is. However, he is yet to play a convincing innings in that position. More recently, his sudden inclusion in the second Test against West Indies sparked a major debate.In Bangladesh’s last international game, the second Test against West Indies last month, Sarkar was suddenly included in the side in place of Shakib Al Hasan even though the regular opener Saif Hassan was in the squad already. He ended up making only 0 and 13.The big – and generic – argument in favour of Sarkar is that he can play pace but it has become a bit hit-or-miss lately. Often the team management has failed to address that Sarkar hasn’t worked out his battles against deliveries outside the off stump.If the plan was to surprise the New Zealand attack, it was with a batsman who hasn’t dominated a pace attack in two years.In this game, Sarkar was walking into a cauldron of swing in the fifth over. Trent Boult had given Tamim Iqbal a memorable working over with unplayable, late-moving outswingers. Iqbal countered with a slashed six and started to look comfortable against Matt Henry at the other end, but Boult lulled him into missing an unsuspecting inswinger. Sarkar lasted all of three balls when he jabbed at one – rather softly – only to be caught at cover.

” Soumya was our sixth bowling option and he was well suited to bat at No. 3 in today’s team. He had played at No. 3 in New Zealand before.”Tamim Iqbal after the first ODI against New Zealand

It was a dismissal reminiscent of how he had missed a Tim Southee inswinger in the third ODI in Dunedin in 2019. On that occasion, Sarkar’s feet were stuck as he tried to waft at the ball that hit the top of off stump. In that game, Bangladesh were reduced to 2 for 3 in the third over, and despite a middle-order revival, went down by 88 runs. This time, they were bowled out for 131 to lose by eight wickets.After the match, Iqbal said that they had to pick Sarkar to be their sixth bowler, and from the XI they chose, only he had the capability to bat at No. 3 as he had done that before in New Zealand.”I know I had said that we are seeing Soumya at No. 7 but if you look at our combination, we didn’t have a sixth bowler,” Iqbal said. “[Mahmudullah] Riyad isn’t bowling because of his back injury. Soumya was our sixth bowling option and he was well suited to bat at No. 3 in today’s team. He had played at No. 3 in New Zealand before.”Soumya Sarkar has failed to make the most of an opportunity at the top of the order•BCBBangladesh’s top three had scored only 65 runs at an average of 7.22 in the ODI series two years ago. Their top order has struggled in New Zealand, averaging between 19 and 32.22 in the three ODI series since 2007. Iqbal has made three fifties in 13 innings while only Imrul Kayes has scored a century. There have also been only four 50-plus stands for the first two wickets.But it is in New Zealand that Bangladesh’s top three should have batted with more discipline. As batsmen used to pitches that offer almost nothing to new-ball bowlers, their real test is on pitches that are often lively – at least in the first hour. New Zealand have also consistently had one of the best bowling attacks in the world in the last two decades, and with Bangladesh’s only foray to that part of the world limited to New Zealand – having hardly ever played in Australia – doing well here should have always been on the top of their agenda.Instead, they have often promoted big-hitters like Aftab Ahmed, Mohammad Ashraful, Sabbir Rahman and Sarkar at No 3. The plan is to blast through the new-ball, but it has almost always failed to give them a good platform.Since early last year, Sarkar has been considered as a big-hitter down the order. He has made a name for himself – even if inconsistently – for his attacking play against fast bowling. One of his most memorable knocks was a 149 against New Zealand in the Hamilton Test during the 2019 tour. But since then, he has had several roles in all three formats, enough to confuse him about his actual job.Ahead of their previous ODI series against West Indies in January, the Bangladesh team management were at pains to explain why they were giving Shakib’s batting spot to Shanto, a left-hander who was yet to transform his great domestic record to the highest level.Shanto, however, has made only 73 runs in five ODIs at No. 3 in the last 12 months. His most recent failures against West Indies – 38 runs in the three ODIs and 40 runs in two Tests – got him dropped for the first game in Dunedin.But Bangladesh have been quite impatient with their No. 3s over the last ten years, with not a single batsman having played more than 23 innings from that position. The biggest example of this impatience was how they ignored Shakib’s tremendous run of form at No. 3 during the 2019 World Cup.Certainly, Shakib’s 606 runs while averaging 86.57 played a major role in Bangladesh winning the three games in the World Cup. It gave their top order not just a settled look, but also consistent aggression with Iqbal and Sarkar often firing alongside Shakib. And in the past decade, overseas ODI series have often hinged a lot on how the top three have batted. When they have done well, it has had a positive effect on the team’s overall performance.The visitors may have to do a rethink about their top three, but how would even going back to Shanto, a young batsman who is yet to play a breakthrough knock, help a team that has already been battered in the first game?

Sam Northeast: 'It feels like England selection has almost been and gone – and that's fine'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Hampshire batsman at peace with podcasting rather than playing during England tours

Matt Roller01-Apr-2021This time last year, the prevailing emotion among county cricketers was boredom. The UK’s first lockdown caused a delay to the season that would last four months and left them unable to train, while the vast majority were furloughed by their clubs, meaning strict regulations regarding official contact with coaches and team-mates.Sam Northeast was no different. Returning from Australia following an England Lions tour, Northeast had hoped to drive Hampshire’s bid for the County Championship title from their middle order, but instead found himself doomscrolling and binge-watching his way through the ennui.A few weeks in, he came up with an idea: alongside a handful of other cricketers, he would start a podcast. He knew that Vithushan Ehantharajah of the used to co-host one alongside the ‘s Will Macpherson, so gave him a call to discuss the logistics.Northeast picks up the story. “I thought I might as well use the time to do something practical, and I’m someone who enjoys listening to podcasts anyway. So I rang Vish up and it all happened from there. There was no chat about actually doing something together as the three of us, but Vish had a discussion with Will and said they’d be quite keen to start something up again.”Twelve months on, there have been 18 full-length episodes of the self-descriptive ‘Two Hacks, One Pro’ with a stellar cast of guests, as well as close-of-play shows throughout England’s Test series in India (Northeast missed the majority of those due to pre-season training). There have been moments of candour, including Northeast’s reaction to missing out on England’s 55-man training squad last May and Darren Stevens’ account of his imbroglio in an anti-corruption trial in Bangladesh, but much of it has been “like you’re in the pub – but someone’s recording it too”, in Northeast’s words.”When you’re playing, you probably can’t go into some things that you think, but that’s why the balance is quite nice with two journalists and then a player who sees things a bit differently,” he says. “Yes, there is a bit of chat about selection or whatever it might be, but we’re generally trying to keep it as light-hearted and fun to listen to as possible.”I think we’ve probably gelled better as it’s gone on. The guests have been really good but when it’s just been the three of us, at times I’ve enjoyed that as much as anything. I thought the one we did with Jimmy Adams, reminiscing on our Kent days, was quite good value – I’ve always enjoyed just talking cricket and listening to different perspectives on the game.”There are a few guys in the Hampshire changing room who don’t like to admit they listen to it, but they’ll slip it in and I’ll think to myself ‘that’s another secret listener’. Mason [Crane] might say ‘oh, good episode’ to Will or Vish – it’s nice to hear that a few people are engaging with it, even though they wouldn’t tell me to my face.”

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The immediate outlook for the podcast is quiet, with Northeast’s Championship season starting away at Leicestershire next week, but he hopes that the untethered daily shows continue through England’s home summer. “That was some good listening during the India series – hearing Will swearing and Vish saying ‘I don’t know what we’ve been talking about’ 20 minutes in. They were good value.”Listeners will forgive Northeast for being distracted by his day job. Entering his fourth season at Hampshire following his controversial move from Kent, he borrows some NFL terminology to describe the squad’s prospects for 2021, a year in which several key players are approaching or at their respective peaks.”It feels like a bit of a ‘win now’ scenario for us. You’ve got guys in the peak of their careers – [Liam] Dawson, me, [James] Vince, Abbo [Kyle Abbott] – among the senior players, and then some young players coming through who have had a really good taste of it now. If that all comes together it could be a really special side.Related

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“Last year was such a weird year and you never really got going – it feels like it didn’t really happen in some ways. We finished third two years ago in Division One so we should be there or thereabouts. The different format means you’re going to have to start really well – you have to hit the ground running but we have good enough players that we can make a real run at it.”Hampshire’s pre-season preparation has hardly been ideal: their friendly against Northamptonshire was rain-affected, and Northeast seems sceptical about the value of a week spent practising T20 skills in the build-up to the Championship campaign, to the extent that he admits feeling “slightly undercooked” heading into their final warm-up match against Sussex. Keith Barker and Aneurin Donald are both injury doubts for the season opener, but Mohammad Abbas has flown in from Pakistan and forms half of a mouth-watering (and conjugatory – Ed) new-ball partnership with Abbott.Elsewhere, the club are hoping to improve their dismal recent record in the T20 Blast – no county has won fewer games since 2016 – and will look to extend their proud recent record of 50-over success, albeit with at least four first-team players guaranteed to miss the Royal London Cup due to their involvement in the Hundred.Northeast struggled for rhythm during the 2020 season•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesAs for Northeast, it is hardly a surprise that he plays down any question of an England call-up. He has been mentioned in dispatches for a decade as an international-in-waiting, but at 31, he is in danger of taking James Hildreth’s crown as the best uncapped England batsman of his generation. Lions recognition has arrived over the last couple of years, but 181 runs in seven Bob Willis Trophy innings last summer means selection does not seem like a pressing issue to him.”It doesn’t feel like there is anything weighing down on me – not that anything was, but I guess I’ve always felt in the past like I was pushing for something,” he reflects. “It doesn’t feel like that’s there anymore. Previously there’s always been one eye on something else. With England squads, sometimes you look at them and think ‘maybe I could slot in here’ but that hasn’t crossed my mind.”It’s purely about getting back out there, scoring runs, and doing it for myself, to be honest. I take some pride in my own performance and in winning games for Hampshire. When I was growing up, that [England] was a really big motivating factor and I felt like I was a long way away from it. You’re always striving, but for whatever reason, it feels like that’s almost been and gone – and that’s fine. If it does happen, brilliant, but the big driver for me is putting in performances for myself and for the club.”And if the call came through for the Ashes this winter? “The pod is the most important thing,” he laughs. “I’ll have to tell Ed Smith that as long as I can do the pods during the Ashes series then we can work it in. Just thinking about playing in the Ashes and then Will and Vish swearing every two minutes about my shot after I’ve snicked off… their debrief of me would be the worst bit.”

The Lahiru Thirimanne everyone had hoped for

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

It is still too soon to say whether this is a true breakthrough, but Sri Lanka will grab it with both hands

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Mar-2021Earnest, hardworking, measured, organised. Whatever you have thought of Lahiru Thirimanne through the course of an international career that now spans 192 appearances, and stretches over a decade, those virtues have always defined him. Where his once partner-in-crime Dinesh Chandimal has undergone a transformation, going from savage to staid, Thirimanne has been in this one mode. The grim expression. That dour defence. Reserved.When he went through long, low spells (and some of these spells have been looong and looow), you wondered how someone of such obvious ability and intelligence could be failing to string sort of decent career together. Because Thirimanne has never seemed the type to squander his gifts, there was more sympathy than frustration through many of these periods. A good score is around the corner. He’ll get there. Yes, he nicked off again, but did you see those drives? The guy’s got it. Don’t worry about him. He’ll get it right.These are also the reasons he kept getting picked by just about every selection committee Sri Lanka has had over the past decade – each fresh set of decision makers deciding that the previous lot had mismanaged him, confident that under their care, Thirimanne would finally prosper. He brought other benefits. Thirimanne caught well close in, has uniformly been described as a positive (if retiring) force within the dressing room, and uncomplainingly batted wherever the team asked him to. Aside from this whole having to score runs thing, he was kind of the perfect player.Now, aged 32, eight years after he announced himself in Tests with a 91 at the SCG, there are signs, however mild, that Thirimanne’s long latent phase is coming to an end. It could still go either way, and this being an exceedingly fragile career, it is wise to remain wary. Still, these are his last five scores: 111, 43, 13, 70 and 76 – an aggregate of 313, average 62.60. Not mindblowing. Only a little better than good. But in this Sri Lanka team? In a side that plummets into a collapse almost by habit? Yeah, they’ll take that. They’ll take it all week.

Roach hopes to keep target to 250

On the pitch:

It’s a bit flatter than usual, and maybe a little easier for the batsmen. It takes a little more consistency and skill to outfox the batsmen.

On a potential WI run chase:

The guys have been putting a lot of work in in the nets. There’s a lot of confidence in the dressing room as well. It’s good to see the guys get a decent score in the first innings. In the second innings, the way the pitch is playing, they’ll be ready to chase what is needed.

On a good total to chase:

250 at most. I think 250 batting last on this pitch is about par. And I think we’ve got the guys to do that.

In this Test, he has been that long yearned-for Thirimanne, the guy who will resist the big flashy drives against the moving ball early on, who will bed in and see out the tough spells, who will put away the bad balls but only the bad balls, who will dance around the flashier batsmen, always ceding the floor, but sticking around longer than anyone else. The top-order engine room, essentially. Honest, doughty, reliable. The batsman he was destined to be.The 70 in the first innings was especially impressive for having come in the most difficult conditions this pitch has so far had to offer, while his team nosedived around him. In that knock, he left the moving ball better than his team-mates, he locked away the big shots, and he ground out a half-century almost by pure willpower, never looking pretty or talented, and yet producing runs without which Sri Lanka would be lost. Maybe it’s worth mentioning that in that innings, he only played that bent-kneed cover drive – the one shot of his that makes fans swoon – twice, and never hard enough to collect a boundary. (Cover drives, more than any other shot, have a way of inviting comparisons, and this one happened to bring Kumar Sangakkara to mind. It seems almost cruel now.)Still, however well he had batted in that first innings, he had run out Oshada Fernando during it, but given he has been in a redemptive mood over the past few innings, he redeemed himself – if only partially – on this front too. Their stand of 162 winched Sri Lanka out of a dire first-innings deficit, and into respectability. By day’s end there might even have been hope they’d set West Indies a challenging fourth-innings target.Related

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Through the course of this partnership, Thirimanne melded comfortably into the background, defending securely, leaving well again, while Oshada took the risks (Oshada was dropped once at leg slip, and edged another ball past the cordon). He ventured only four boundaries through a 201-ball stay, and it took a genuinely stunning delivery from West Indies’ best bowler – Kemar Roach – to remove him. There’s no one who could look at this innings and seriously feel Thirimanne underperformed; this was Thirimanne batting at the higher reaches of his ability, in a poor match situation, in still difficult conditions.Whether he will eventually justify the mountains of faith so many placed in him remains to be seen, but for now, for this Test, maybe this is enough: Lahiru Thirimanne was resolute in defence, judicious in his strokeplay, and helped blunt the opposition attack. Lahiru Thirimanne came good.

Sam Hain packs away risk-averse persona in hope of encouraging England gamble

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Birmingham batter has increased his strike rate and his average while batting in one of the toughest spots in the team

Cameron Ponsonby24-Jun-2021In one of the more inspirational songs of the 20th century, Bananarama and The Fun Boy Three posited that it wasn’t in fact what you did that mattered, but the way that you did it.Sam Hain knows this feeling all too well. Weight of runs has never been an issue for Hain, but the rate at which they have been scored has. A strike rate in the low 120s saw him go undrafted for the Hundred in successive years and left a man who many believe to be the best uncapped white-ball player in the country “soul-searching” as to what to do next.Related

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All Rhodes lead to quarter-finals as Bears' perfect start continues

'Being unpredictable is a big thing in T20' – Jake Lintott

The answer was simple in its conclusion if complex in its process: just go out there and whack it.The results are clear to see in the numbers. In the last three editions of the Blast, Hain’s strike rate has risen from 118.60 in 2019, to 139.21 in 2020 and now 147.42 in 2021. Similarly, his average has gone from 41.72 to 56.80 to 71.50. He’s scoring more runs, faster. Bananarama would approve.But surely just deciding to whack it can’t bring about change like this? It certainly feels like it shouldn’t. However, that’s to underestimate the power of will required to leave behind a mindset that has taken you to within touching distance of the pinnacle of your profession and adopt a new one entirely.Hain describes himself as quite a risk-averse person. As a cricketer, it’s a personality trait that has seen him become the Bears’ go-to man for years. Know your strengths as much as your weaknesses, win the ball in front of you, put the game on your back and carry the team home. However, Hundred franchises and England didn’t need responsibility, they needed runs, quickly.Over time and through conversations with the Warwickshire coaching staff, Hain began to reassess his interpretation of risk.”You’ve got to flip it on its head,” he says. “What makes me, me, is that I play the game of percentages. So what I’ve been trying to do is take the riskier options earlier and know that if it doesn’t work and I do get out, I’m only going to learn from that and that’s how I’m going to get better.”As a risk-averse person, Hain realised that the greatest risk confronting him was to not take any at all. Staying in his shell risked a potential England career, whereas coming out of it merely risked his wicket.As a motto for life, it’s poignant if cliched. However, in cricketing terms, it’s not a strategy that would work for everyone; Hain is already very good at cricket and his new mindset has only served to unleash his ability.”Technically, there’s honestly not much I’ve changed,” he says. “I feel like I’ve got most of the shots and I’m pretty 360 [degrees]. I truly believe I can play all around the ground and it was just the confidence to do so that was lacking.”Another thing of note with Hain’s success is the position in which he’s been scoring his runs: No. 4. Four is the worst place to bat in T20 cricket. Hain himself admitted to some hesitancy when he was first given the role last season saying, “it’s quite a tricky position”. If you come in during the Powerplay it means you’ve lost two early wickets, whereas if you come in just after the Powerplay you’re likely facing the opposition’s best spinner. Any later than that and you’re expected to tee off from ball one. It requires immense versatility and a player’s strike rate often suffers as a result, a metric that matters more for Hain than most.However, it is working with the Bears. And given the success he has found in the role, Hain insists that he “definitely wouldn’t change at the moment”, and that he doesn’t crave a return to the top of the order for Birmingham any time soon. Although he does say it in the same way you tell your girlfriend’s family that you’re happy with any takeaway when in reality you want the duck pancakes and to open the batting.In two years, Hain’s T20 game has transitioned from being the thorn in his career to bringing him into strong contention as one of the Hundred’s wildcard picks for this summer’s tournament. And whilst it remains to be seen if it’s enough to force his way into England’s white-ball teams, he remains, as ever, the Bears go-to man. Still getting the job done, just that bit more quickly.

What the upcoming tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan mean for New Zealand

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

None of the players on tour to Bangladesh will play the T20 World Cup, so what lies ahead for them?

Deivarayan Muthu30-Aug-20211:32

Ben Sears: Will be awesome to make my debut in Bangladesh

Kane Williamson and co. will be in the UAE and Oman for the second chunk of IPL 2021. Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, and Colin Munro – who believes his days with New Zealand are over – are at the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) while Lockie Ferguson is recovering from Covid-19, as is Finn Allen. Head coach Gary Stead has taken a break before the T20 World Cup, with Wellington’s Glenn Pocknall standing in for him.Related

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  • Ben Sears, the latest New Zealander in the fast lane

In the absence of a number of seniors, this is essentially a New Zealand A side, which includes some of the best performers from the Super Smash, going on twin tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan. None of the players from the Bangladesh touring party will feature in the upcoming T20 World Cup, so what do these winter tours mean to them? It will be a chance for them to press for higher honours later this year and add to New Zealand’s already enviable depth.New Zealand’s prep
They will first run into an upbeat Bangladesh team, fresh off dispatching Australia 4-1 at the spin-friendly Shere Bangla National stadium. The conditions would be similarly difficult for an inexperienced New Zealand side but, for starters, they’re certainly better prepared than the contingent that toured the country last time in 2013-14, when they were blanked 3-0 in the ODIs and managed to win the one-off T20I in the white-ball leg.Back then, New Zealand went into the third ODI in Fatullah without ever playing or training at the venue. “This is the first time in international cricket where I will turn up at the ground on the day of the match,” Ross Taylor had said. “Jacob Oram played a club game there a couple of weeks ago. He said it’s low and slow, they got 180-odd, the second team got out cheaply. We expect the bounce to deteriorate as the day goes on, but the opposite can happen too.”It was the opposite that happened, with Bangladesh shocking New Zealand by hunting down 307. New Zealand have become masters at reading – and preparing for – foreign conditions since then. Most recently they simulated the swinging conditions at home and trained with the Dukes ball before the England tour and the World Test Championship final.Ahead of this trip to Bangladesh, New Zealand simulated spin-friendly conditions during their winter camps in Mount Maunganui and Lincoln. They are also scheduled to have at least five outdoor training sessions before the series opener on September 1, but nevertheless, going toe-to-toe with a near-full-strength Bangladesh team in their backyard is a different challenge altogether.Uncapped trio in focus
The spotlight will be on the uncapped trio of Rachin Ravindra, Cole McConchie, and Ben Sears. Ravindra, who is tipped to be the future of New Zealand batting, will return to the scene of his first Under-19 World Cup, having already been a member of the WTC-winning squad earlier this year. Ravindra, however, hasn’t played a white-ball game since he dislocated his right shoulder while turning out for Wellington Firebirds against the Canterbury Kings in the Super Smash in January.Sears, Ravindra’s Firebirds team-mate, can set the speed gun on fire and his low-arm action might not be easy to pick in the early exchanges. Canterbury captain McConchie, meanwhile, is a power-hitting middle-order batter who can also bowl handy offspin. He has been lined up to play the role that Mitchell Santner does for New Zealand.Rachin Ravindra could be in line for a debut•Munir Uz Zaman/AFPAs senior Wellington fast bowler Hamish Bennett pointed out, strong performances in Bangladesh could potentially put these players in the World Cup mix, if New Zealand have some fitness concerns in the lead-up to the tournament. If Sears razes Bangladesh with his raw pace on his first tour, he might be a wildcard pick for the T20 World Cup. Sears himself reckons he’s the “15th bowler in the country” picked for this tour because “everyone is out”, but who knows?”It sucks missing out on the World Cup team and there’s lots of guys, I’m sure every first-class cricketer in New Zealand would have wanted to make that squad,” Bennett said. “But you’ve just got to go out and show your skills in the subcontinent. If there is an injury or something does happen then hopefully your name is at the top of the list that gets the phone call. That’s all you can do.”What’s in it for Latham, Nicholls, de Grandhomme?
Stand-in captain Tom Latham and batter Henry Nicholls haven’t played a T20I since 2017 and 2019 respectively, but their ODI-style of batting and ability to throw spinners off with the sweep is perhaps better suited to the middle overs in Bangladesh, where Australia particularly struggled. Ravindra said as much after New Zealand’s training session on Saturday.”Yes, definitely [we need to have the mental shift],” Ravindra said. “Understanding that maybe getting six an over is a good result here whereas in New Zealand facing a spinner if you are taking eight-ten runs then that is a good result. Now, I understand our expectation for scoring runs, especially through the middle of the innings needs to be down a bit and if we look their series against the Aussies, the par-score was around 130, so, I guess we should bring our expectations down, and understand maybe, if they bowl, a couple of dots, then it’s okay as long as you are in the middle, you can make it up.”As for Colin de Grandhomme, who has slipped down the pecking order in limited-overs cricket after missing the entire home summer with injury, this is another opportunity to re-establish himself. He was left out of New Zealand’s T20 World Cup squad, with Daryl Mitchell winning the second seam-bowling allrounder’s spot behind Jimmy Neesham.New Zealand have won of their last eight white-ball internationals against Bangladesh in Bangladesh, and are without a slew of first-choice players this time, but they can still spring a surprise.

'Boundary count: NZ 19. Eng 18'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The reactions on Twitter after New Zealand upstaged England in the T20 World Cup semi-final

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2021With 57 required off four overs, it looked like New Zealand’s streak of not winning a men’s T20 World Cup semi-final would continue. But Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham came up with the runs when it mattered, making it a third consecutive major final for the team.

What a win @BLACKCAPS. Well batted @dazmitchell47 and @JimmyNeesh

— Ross Taylor (@RossLTaylor) November 10, 2021

Congratulations New Zealand!! Fantastic game of cricket, NZ never gave-up and waited for big overs in the end, very well executed.

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) November 10, 2021

Best game of the World Cup. Wow Daryll Mitchell. Jimmy Neesham the gamechanger. New Zealand simply sensational. Congratulations on reaching the finals NZ #ENGvsNZ

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) November 10, 2021

What a brilliant game of cricket. #NewZealand once again winning hearts along with winning the game.

Great knock by Mitchell
who was well supported by Conway & Neesham.

Bairstow’s incident at the ropes reminded me of what happened with Boult in the 2019 finals.

Kudos to ! pic.twitter.com/XYUrJzTpHK

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 10, 2021

Jimmy Neesham , was thinking of quitting the game in 2017 and today playing a match defining innings to help New Zealand qualify for the finals. Never give up is the lesson, Sport is a great teacher #ENGvsNZ https://t.co/z3FIO6IPi2

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) November 10, 2021

Big ups @BLACKCAPS great game

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) November 10, 2021

And people were still keeping track of the boundary count.

Boundary count: NZ 19. Eng 18. #properWin

— Ashoka (@ABVan) November 10, 2021

Outstanding, class What a win @BLACKCAPS congratulations what a team this is @T20WorldCup #Goodboys

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) November 10, 2021

After reaching the 2015 WC final, 2019 WC final and the World Test Championship final which they won, New Zealand reach another World Cup Final. They are not just a likeable team, but absolute champions. Fantastic win today #ENGvsNZ

— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) November 10, 2021

Wowwww…what a win. Of course, Mitchell was there till the end to seal it but the game-changer tonight was Jimmy Neesham. The Jordan over. The momentum shifter. Well done, #NZ #T20WorldCup

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 10, 2021

Will it be a second world title for New Zealand in 2021?

Job finished? I don’t think so. https://t.co/uBCLLUuf6B

— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 10, 2021

How Lucknow Super Giants' trump card Mohsin Khan outfoxed Rishabh Pant

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The 23-year-old left-arm quick bests Capitals’ captain with a clever change in length

Nagraj Gollapudi01-May-20222:13

What’s Mohsin Khan getting right? Ben Cutting explains

In just four deliveries on Sunday, Mohsin Khan created the turning point which paved the way for Lucknow Super Giants disrupting Delhi Capitals’ surge towards their target of 196. In those four deliveries, which unfolded in the 13th over of the Capitals innings, Mohsin bowled with intellect and showed why he has been one of the stories of this IPL.Capitals needed 83 runs from 48 balls when Mohsin returned to the attack. Rishabh Pant was on strike. At the other end was Rovman Powell. Two of the hardest hitters of the ball. Pant had started mercilessly attacking all bowlers: he had raced to a 9-ball 27 to help Capitals recover from 13 for 2 after three overs to 66 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. Powell, too, had started aggressively, scoring an 11-ball 22.When Mohsin was recalled for the one-over second spell, he also had to factor in the shorter boundary, which was to Pant’s off side and the leg side for Powell. Pant had already used the short boundary to cut ruthlessly while Powell has shown this IPL that no boundary is too long for his power-hitting. Mohsin could not afford any margin for error.The four deliveries we are talking about were all to Pant. The first ball was pitched short of length, on the fourth-stump line, which Pant tried to pull but missed. The next ball was on length, slower, but wider of off stump and called wide. Next ball Mohsin once again banged on the hard length, sticking to a similar wide line. It was a dot ball again. Pant was getting impatient. He had been charging at the bowlers but failed to find the boundary, which was the only thing he wanted to deal in, despite the inherent risk involved. His dot-ball percentage increased. Mohsin grasped that quickly. The next delivery, too, was just short of length, on the off stump which Pant picked a single off. Against Powell, Mohsin attempted a short-pitched delivery, but the ball did not rise above the hips, allowing the Capitals’ batter to pull an easy four. Two balls later, Pant was back on strike.Mohsin Khan celebrates the wicket of Shardul Thakur•BCCIExpecting another length ball Pant skipped out of the crease. His intention might have been to slog over the midwicket. Except Mohsin had a totally different plan to the first part of the over. Mohsin pushed the length fuller. And pushed the accelerator to nearly 145kph on that delivery, the last ball of the over. As Pant charged out, the ball seamed in upon pitching and rushed through to break the stumps. An embarrassed Pant jogged past Mohsin, who was on his follow through, back to the Capitals dugout.Pant had played out just two dots in the powerplay. But in the middle overs, where he played 21 balls, he managed to score just 17 runs ,including 11 dots. Mohsin, thus knew, that he had the advantage to impose the pressure on Pant and dry up the runs. One key factor to do was to cut down on the speed, forcing to batter to go hard instead. And if he was successful in doing that, then he could go for the kill. He did that exactly by improvising his lengths and then surprising Pant. Mohsin later revealed that the plan to pitch the ball fuller to Pant was suggested by Super Giants’ captain KL Rahul. Pant was one of the four wickets Mohsin took, but he said the Capitals’ captain was his favorite wicket only because of the “set-up”.This is the second match in a row where Mohsin has picked up the big opposition wicket. If it was Pant on Sunday, Mohsin had outfoxed Liam Livingstone in the previous match against Punjab Kings.Rahul explained why Mohsin is a dangerous bowler. “[I] played him in the nets for the first time a month ago. Didn’t want to face him,” Rahul said during the post-match briefing with the host broadcaster. “Seriously. He was sharp. He is scary at times in nets. It’s not just the pace. He has good brains, has a bit of skill as well. Has a great slower one and knows when to use it. Eager to learn. Eager to play. He has been a confident guy even under pressure. He has bowled some really big overs for us.”By choice and instinct, Mohsin said he is a pure fast bowler. But he is also becoming a good listener.

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