All posts by h716a5.icu

Andrew Strauss’s axing of England’s veteran pairing is a message to the entire Test set-up

Andrew Miller08-Feb-2022And there we were all thinking, the response to another Ashes train-wreck had been just a little bit … meh.At no stage of the winter just gone had there been any sense that an alternative narrative was there to be grasped; from the moment that Rory Burns’ stumps were splattered at Brisbane, there was not even a fleeting flicker of hope that England had any residual control over their destiny.And so, after just another bog-standard beating in Australia, out the ECB had trotted with a seemingly bog-standard response: the sacking of a coach who had been thrown in over his head, and the execution of the executive who had set him up for that failure. A cigar-chewing assistant then made it a trio of sacrifices in as many days – and that, quite conceivably, could have been that. A sufficiency of blood-letting to meet the needs of the news cycle, then swiftly onwards to the next big date in England’s never-relenting diary.It turns out that Andrew Strauss had alternative plans, and not for the first time in his iron-fisted role as England’s maker-of-stuff-to-happen. “Red-ball reset”, you say? Coming right up – here comes the only man at the ECB with the spine to stand up his platitudes, and this time he’s delivered with the most extraordinary bonfire of vanities this side of the central contracts era.It’s hard to recall a more ruthless cull of England’s red-ball ranks since the turn of the millennium. The fall-out from the 2013-14 Ashes was every bit as gory, of course, though less startling, given that the dismantling of a great England team had already taken place on the field, rather than in the selection committee. Aside from the thorny issue of Kevin Pietersen, there wasn’t much left to be decided where the likes of Jonathan Trott and Graeme Swann were concerned, let alone Scott Borthwick and Boyd Rankin.This time, however, you’d arguably have to rewind to Graham Gooch’s legendary tour of the Caribbean in 1989-90 for a comparable headline shock – the binning-off of two all-time England legends (for James Anderson and Stuart Broad now, read David Gower and Ian Botham then), and the investment in a gang of impressionable rookies, charged with nothing more complicated than looking to the example of their captain for clues as to how to seed their own revivals.Related

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“[The players] have the best possible example right there with them in the dressing room in Joe Root, in terms of what world-class performance looks like,” Strauss said at Lord’s last week, in perhaps the first real attempt to frame Root’s otherwise questionable leadership credentials in unequivocally positive terms. “That has to be their ambition, to reach that level of performance.”Strauss has previous in this regard of course – specifically where the two most totemic men in his sights are concerned. Back in the spring of 2015, in his first incarnation as director of cricket, Strauss followed up his dismissal of Peter Moores as head coach by backing the incumbent captain, Eoin Morgan, and sanctioning an ODI squad to face New Zealand that had neither Anderson nor Broad in its ranks … nor Gary Ballance, Ravi Bopara and Ian Bell, to name the other men who never played in coloured clothes again after that winter’s abject World Cup showing.It just so happens that the white-ball squad never looked back after that – and that’s a precedent that won’t have been lost on Strauss either, as he banks on a similar shock to the red-ball system providing equally tangible short-term gains.When asked last week about the message that Silverwood’s sacking would send, Strauss had hinted that he was only just getting started on the unleashing of ructions within the squad. Throughout the Ashes, England’s previous management had been broadly protective of their team’s on-field failings, citing bubble fatigue and rain-wrecked build-ups, rather than address the huge technical shortcomings that had allowed Australia to run riot in the key moments, and prevent their opponents from reaching 300 in any one of their ten innings of the series.Stuart Broad and James Anderson discuss bowling plans•Getty Images”You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see performances have been poor for the last 12 months,” Strauss said. “Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves. The players have to … get better. International cricket is a tough old gig and you have to have resilience, toughness, you have to want it.”And so, the question has been posed to every man in the squad – directly through the ditching of eight men who featured in the Ashes, and indirectly through the retention of a select few whose places will now be challenged by the likes of Alex Lees and Saqib Mahmood. Do you want it? Genuinely?On the face of it, Strauss appears to have asked the right question of the wrong two people. Of all the myriad failures during the Ashes, the contributions of two veteran seamers who averaged 23 and 26 respectively would appear to be low on the list. And yet, there was a sense in the course of the Ashes – most particularly after the Adelaide defeat, when Root complained publicly about the defensive lengths that his senior pairing had bowled, but again at Sydney, when Broad’s refreshing but condemnatory monologue laid the squad’s failings straight back at the door of the batters – that the captain’s view of the campaign didn’t entirely chime with the views of his key lieutenants.Either way, the irony of the situation will not be lost on Anderson and Broad, for their pre-eminence as a pairing has scarcely been challenged for 14 mighty years – ever since the famous moment at Wellington in 2008, when the same question was posed to their own new-ball forebears, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard.It’s already been made clear by the ECB that this does not need to be the end of the line for either man. Indeed, history shows that that moment of baton-passing at the Basin Reserve was not the final sign-off for Harmison – he flitted about the margins for another 18 months before bowing out in glory with England’s Ashes recapture at The Oval. Hoggard, however, never played again, despite having seemed the only seamer still at the races on that Ashes whitewash the previous winter. The end for elite sportsmen, just like politicians, tends to be swift, surprising and distinctly unglamorous compared to the status they had previously taken for granted.So, here we go then, with the question that may come to define the summer of 2022, and by proxy, England’s fortunes therein. Do England’s most garlanded fast bowlers genuinely retain the hunger to redouble their efforts in the early weeks of the English season, and rip back that shirt that has been so unjustly swiped from them? Or is this a cunning display of bluff-calling from Strauss – a team-mate who went through his own moment of reckoning on that quietly seminal New Zealand tour, and a captain who knows better than anyone what this pairing’s pomp was truly like, as they led the push to England’s No.1 Test ranking way back in 2011.The easy option would be to retire and soak up the plaudits for two of cricket’s most remarkable careers, but that of course is precisely the point. If anyone is expecting to be able to take the easy option for England, at this abject juncture of their Test-match story, then there’s no point in coming on board.

The former allrounder also backs Harry Tector to deliver at the big stage

Sreshth Shah15-Oct-20222:07

Kevin O’Brien: ‘Harry Tector’s progress has been super’

Kevin O’Brien’s retirement, earlier this year, meant that Ireland’s biggest World Cup matchwinner – historically at least – will not be with them for the first time since the side played their maiden T20 World Cup game way back in 2009.Those are some big shoes to fill for Ireland at a global event, trying to qualify out of the first round before the big teams await, but O’Brien has earmarked two 22-year-olds to fill that void – Josh Little and Harry Tector. The reason? Just like O’Brien, the duo is not scared by the big stage, they enjoy it instead.Little, the left-arm swing bowler with two younger sisters also playing for Ireland, caught global attention last year with his control, and even made ESPNcricinfo’s ODI team of the year in 2021.During the home season this year which included visits from India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Afghanistan, he sustained the control. But most impressive was his stint with Manchester Originals at the Hundred, where he took important top-order wickets to finish as the competition’s joint fourth-highest wicket-taker, while also adding a mean bouncer to his artillery. Both those qualities could prove deadly in the first round, where Ireland are up against West Indies, Zimbabwe and Scotland.1:21

Kevin O’Brien: ‘The wickets in Australia will suit Andy Balbirnie’s game’

“Josh is the leader of the attack even though he is very young,” O’Brien told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket tournament recently. “He is relatively early in his international career but he has taken the mantle on his shoulders and he is performing well. For Ireland to go deep into the tournament, they need Josh bowling well, Josh taking wickets.”With Josh, he is a wicket-taker. The thing is that Josh likes playing on the big stage, in front of big crowds, that doesn’t faze him. He likes being put under pressure and likes a challenge and rising to the occasion. That is going to stand somebody in good stead at the World Cup when every game can be a pressure game. I expect Josh to go out there and perform well and take wickets.”As for Tector, the middle brother in a trio of siblings who have all represented Ireland across various age groups, the big stage brings the best out of him, according to O’Brien. Usually, a specialist batter at No. 4 or No. 5, Tector stands tall when the quicks run in, and has a compact transition into his shots, be it driving on the up off the front foot or rocking back to pull from inside the crease.His apparent comfort in playing top-class bowling was evident when he scored 64 not out off 33 balls and 39 off 28 against India in the two T20Is over the summer. Even though the ODI format is where Tector has thrived the most – scoring a hat-trick of half-centuries in the West Indies in early 2022 and two centuries in three ODIs against New Zealand during the home summer – O’Brien believes his recent match-time with Barbados Royals at the 6ixty and the CPL will help him transition those skills into the T20 format.Josh Little had an impressive stint at the Hundred•Sportsfile/Getty Images”Harry likes being in the limelight, in the middle,” O’Brien said. “He has got a very calm head on his shoulders. He knows how to time a run-chase well. That’s an important attribute batting at No. 4 in limited-overs cricket. That’s important, to stay with the rate, whatever it is. To be able to stay within touching reach of it. And obviously come home as well.”The one thing Ireland need to improve – if they are to come out of the first round as one of the top two teams in their group, and have a head-turning run in the Super 12s – is to not let the game slip away when they are in strong positions. During the second T20I against India, they nearly chased down 226 only to fall short by four runs. And then against New Zealand, they lost two ODIs they could have won, by one wicket and one run respectively.Related

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“The big thing that the team probably will take [from the defeats] is the fine margins against the better teams in the world,” O’Brien said. “I think World Cup cricket, tournament cricket, that’s different from playing series all the time. The first group [round] is three games. You win three games and you qualify, so obviously you want to play good attacking, aggressive, fearless cricket. But ultimately you want to win the game.”You have got to adapt to situations that are dealt to you on the current day. If that means you play a bit reservedly or within yourself to be there till the end of the match and win the game, then that’s what you must do. Ultimately that is the challenge for the team – to play according to what the situation dictates.”Ireland, led by Andy Balbirnie, begin their World Cup campaign against Zimbabwe in Hobart on Monday. They stay in the same city for their next two matches, against Scotland (Wednesday) and West Indies (Friday). They had an ordinary warm-up, however, losing to Namibia and having their Sri Lanka fixture washed out.

Murphy shelved the overspin typical of bowling in Australia and consistently bowled around 95kph with high side spin, and had five wickets to show for it

Alex Malcolm10-Feb-20233:09

Chappell: Murphy bowled tidily but Australia need wickets

Eleven months ago, Todd Murphy had played just one first-class match. He was a contracted player with Victoria, having played in an Under-19 World Cup for Australia, but was biding his time in grade cricket for St Kilda.On March 12 last year, he was playing at Russell Lucas Oval in Ringwood, in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs. His two victims that day were Melbourne Stars opener Tom Rogers and USA and Hampshire batter Ian Holland.Eleven months on, in Nagpur, Murphy knocked over KL Rahul, R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujura, Virat Kohli and KS Bharat, in that order, to become the first Australian spinner since Nathan Lyon to take five wickets on Test debut.Related

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“It’s been a pretty special couple of days and to top it off with a five-wicket haul on debut is more than I ever hoped for,” Murphy said after play on the second day of the Test.He did it while outbowling his mentor Lyon, 13 years, 115 Tests and 460 wickets his senior before the game. He did it having nearly not been selected at all for this Test match.It was a remarkable performance from Australia’s newest cricket hero, unassuming, bespectacled, and affectionately nicknamed “Goggles” at St Kilda.He didn’t do it in the same manner as Jason Krejza had in Nagpur 15 years ago. It wasn’t a host of brilliant big ripping offbreaks while conceding 4.90 an over. He did with outstanding control of length and line. He did get a touch fortuitous with his dismissals of Pujara and Kohli with arguably his worst two balls. But they were reward for the pressure he built with his consistency.It was the reason he was finally selected ahead of Ashton Agar. Australia’s selectors had a preference to play a left-arm orthodox in Nagpur as they had chosen in Sydney against South Africa, both to complement Lyon and match up well against India’s right-hand dominant top order. There was a worry that a second right-arm offspinner would be surplus to requirements.Yet, those in Victoria were shouting to anyone who would listen that Murphy had a far superior record to right-handers in first-class cricket. And so it proved. Murphy’s five victims were all right-handers with a combined total of 58 Test centuries.

“Observing everything and competing in the nets and bowling to the Sri Lankans, I took a lot of confidence out of that and reflected and went back, trusted myself a bit more, and thought ‘what I’ve got can be good enough’ and believe in that”Todd Murphy on the Australia A tour of Sri Lanka last year

The disparity in the consistency between the two showed up in ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data. Agar, a ten-year veteran of first-class cricket, landed just 50% of his 132 deliveries on a good length in his nervous Test return in Sydney against South Africa and went wicketless as a result. He also bowled two full-tosses and two half-trackers.Murphy, meanwhile, in just his eighth first-class game, landed 63% of his deliveries on a good length and bowled just the one full-toss and one drag down. His 37 full-length deliveries cost only 23 runs and resulted in a wicket.Lyon only landed 59% on a good length and erred full 43 times, which cost 38 runs. He only picked up the one wicket for the day with Suryakumar Yadav playing a very loose drive to a ball that could have easily been defended. But Lyon did have Ravindra Jadeja dropped at slip by Steven Smith in the final over of the day.It was remarkable how well Murphy adapted to the conditions when compared with Lyon. Murphy’s long-time bowling coach Craig Howard had noted his ability to adapt his bowling to the conditions that were presented.”Howie for me he’s been someone that I’ve always been able to go to and I’ve been able to trust and he knows me as good as anyone and knows what works for me,” Murphy said. “We’ve had a lot of really good conversations over the years about what works in what conditions and we had a good chat the other day about over here and just trusting the skill set that I’ve got.”Batters’ errors contributed to some of Todd Murphy’s wickets, but his lengths contributed to the mistakes•Getty ImagesNagpur’s pitch required faster speeds and a lot of side spin, as Jadeja had shown on day one. It was exactly what Murphy delivered on day two. There are shades of Graeme Swann in his action and there were shades of Swann 2012 in his bowling as he shelved the overspin that is required in Australia – the overspin that has made Lyon so successful in the toughest of offspinning climes at home – and consistently bowled up towards 95kph with high side spin.It is a skill he had honed under Howard at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane on the purpose-made India-style red-clay pitches over many winters. It was one of the laments of the Australian squad that they were not able to train on those pitches prior to this tour for reasons that are not entirely clear and were instead forced to practice on scarified pitches at North Sydney Oval that were not quite the same.His ability to implement it his first Test was quite remarkable. But he credited his Australia A tour to Sri Lanka last year with helping him believe he could produce it at the highest level. “Having a little bit of success over there probably gave me the confidence I needed going back to Australia that I could mix it with first-class cricketers.””Being around some of the guys who had played Test cricket, observing everything and competing in the nets and bowling to the Sri Lankans, I took a lot of confidence out of that and reflected and went back, trusted myself a bit more, and thought ‘what I’ve got can be good enough’ and believe in that.”Murphy operated almost exclusively around the wicket to India’s right-hand batters, rarely pitching outside the line of the stumps and threatening both edges. His length was so good that even Rohit Sharma in the midst of a sublime match-defining century struggled to get down the track to him and never played back to him. Murphy simply asked the batters to defend a good length. It yielded two of his five wickets with Ashwin and Bharat both pinned lbw trying to defend on the front foot.1:11

O’Keefe: Todd Murphy will be a superstar

His other three were helped by batter errors. Rahul chipped a drive back to him on the opening night, while Pujara played a rare sweep to a ball way outside leg and picked out short fine. Kohli was caught down the leg side playing well wide of his body with Alex Carey taking an outstanding juggling catch unsighted as part of an excellent day behind the stumps.But while the batters’ errors contributed, Murphy’s lengths contributed to the mistakes as all three were stuck playing from the crease.Murphy also benefitted from the tireless work of Scott Boland. The inexperienced Victorians were undeniably Australia’s best two bowlers on a tough day in the field. Yet, inexplicably, they only bowled in partnership for one spell of eight overs in the first session. From overs 38 to 45 they bowled eight overs, three maidens, and combined for 2 for 18 with Murphy removing Ashwin and Pujara, after Rohit and Ashwin had taken 40 runs off the first 13 overs of the morning against Lyon and Pat Cummins.Boland had figures of 9-4-7-0 after his brilliant six-over burst. But he would only bowl eight more overs through the day, which included having Jadeja dropped at slip, a really tough chance low to Smith’s right, and Axar Patel nicking him just short of second.Murphy, too, could have had Jadeja twice. With India on 224 for 5, he hit Jadeja on the front pad as the left-hander stretched out to defend. The lbw appeal was turned down and the review came up umpire’s call on impact. It was going on to hit the middle of middle. Then, with Jadeja on 60, late in the day, he conjured a thick edge as Jadeja tried to cut the wrong length, but it was too thick for Carey to grasp and it rebounded off his gloves over Smith at slip.Australia have found a diamond in the rough in Nagpur in Murphy, and possibly the spin-bowling heir to Lyon. But on his first two days in Test cricket, he looked more like the master than the apprentice.

The two teams will meet for the first time in Tests since infamous 2018 series. Here are the talking points ahead of the series opener

Andrew McGlashan15-Dec-20220:57

South Africa looking to grow Jansen’s all-round ability

Top order vs Top orderOn paper, this doesn’t look like a contest. The biggest question for South Africa is whether they can put enough runs on the board when their captain Dean Elgar has the best record among the batters with an average of 38.83. On the tour of England earlier this year, there was one half-century – from Sarel Erwee – in three matches. It’s a long way off the South African sides that have previously come to Australia and won. Compared to Australia, where two of the top five average over sixty and the others well over 40, there is a huge discrepancy. A glimmer for the visitors is that David Warner has had a lean couple of years in Test cricket and Cameron Green has had very little batting this season and that is showing when he does get to the crease.Don’t forget the spinnersA lot of the talk, and excitement, is around what the two pace attacks in this series could offer. But don’t ignore the role the spinners could play. Nathan Lyon was Australia’s leading wicket-taker against West Indies with 12 at 21.16 including the match-winning haul in Perth and his 450th Test wicket in Adelaide. He is both a priceless attacking and defensive option for the captain.However, Keshav Maharaj’s figures stack up favourably against Lyon aside from the sheer volume of wickets with 154 at 30.61 in 45 Tests. His debut came on the previous tour in 2016-17 where he claimed 3 for 56 in the first innings at Perth (including a controversial lbw against Steven Smith) then churned through 40 overs in the second when South Africa had lost Dale Steyn from the attack. Offspinner Simon Harmer is also in the squad and has an outstanding first-class record (since 2016: 570 wickets at 21.84) although was underwhelming when he faced England at Old Trafford in August.Related

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Bowling depthThree Tests in three weeks will be a big ask for the quicks. Australia have already had to delve into their reserves, having lost Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in Adelaide. Hazlewood will miss the opening Brisbane Test as well and would appear touch-and-go for the second Test in Melbourne. However, they are not looking for back-up. Scott Boland picked up where he left off in the Ashes with a triple-wicket maiden against West Indies and Michael Neser will be unfortunate to lose his spot with Cummins returning.South Africa’s big four is very enticing – Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen – but it may be that all four don’t always play together. Beyond that, things are a little more uncertain although Gerald Coetzee claimed a hat-trick in the warm-up match against the CA XI. Lizaad Williams, a late replacement for the injured Glenton Stuurman, is the other quick in the squad.South Africa’s pace attack is undoubtedly their strength, but they will need to be careful in Australian conditions•ICC via GettyHow do South Africa balance their side?Linked to the above is the question of how South Africa pick their best attack. Unlike Australia, who have Green at No. 6, there is not a fully-fledged allrounder available. “We have gone with six [batters] and five [bowlers] before,” bowling coach Charl Langeveldt said. “It is a big decision, but first, we will have to see the conditions at the Gabba and how much grass they leave on it. It is a hard one. You are always looking for an extra batter.”Runs on the board are also important. At the moment, we don’t have that batter who can bowl us a few overs, whereas Australia have Green and that makes a difference.”Jansen has shown some batting ability – interim coach said Malibongwe Maketa said “he has the ability to do something special with the bat” but remained a work in progress – and may have to take the No. 7 spot below wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne but that feels a spot too high, as it would for Maharaj. One option would be to go without Maharaj and play just the four frontline quicks with a bit of Elgar’s left-arm offerings in support, but there is risk attached to that. South Africa are probably going to have to be brave in their selection.

“At the moment, we don’t have that batter who can bowl us a few overs, whereas Australia have Green and that makes a difference.”SA bowling coach Charl Langeveldt

Falling into the trapSouth Africa’s pace attack is undoubtedly their strength, but they will need to be careful not to make the same mistake as many visiting attacks do in Australia, particularly at a venue such as the Gabba, where they bowl too short with the new ball. It is worth going a touch fuller and risk being driven, to bring in a greater chance of finding the outside edge. One of the hallmarks of Australia’s batting against West Indies, especially by Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne, was how they left the ball on the length.”We’ve been quite clear in terms of lengths we want to hit, if you look at the Wanderers it offers the same, more or less, where you can get carried away with the sexy bounce and be ineffective. So we’ve been working hard on making sure we hit the fuller length and making the batter play,” Maketa said.

Tailormade home conditions and the Impact Player rule could make MishiMania a thing this season

Sidharth Monga07-Apr-2023The start of the IPL usually coincides with the end of the WrestleMania season. This is the time WWE brings out the veterans of pro wrestling, and usually books them in spots where they come out looking good. It just creates a warm, fuzzy feel around the edgier product. And nostalgia never doesn’t sell.In that regard, the IPL is cricket’s WrestleMania. MS Dhoni is the part-timer who has moved in years and on to Hollywood, but has a few big matches left in him. There are enough legends in the back rooms to spark nostalgia. There are Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, and until last year, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard.Still, nothing screams WrestleMania season more than Amit Mishra turning up at 40 – and looking every bit 40 – and ripping big legbreaks and wrong’uns and returning figures of 4-0-23-2 with two overs bowled at the death.Related

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This, though, is cricket. An unscripted sport. Not professional wrestling where the promoters create matches and stipulations where the legends – code for oldies – can hang in with young pro wrestlers. If the legend is struggling, they can call an audible and finish early. Where’s that option in cricket, you are no doubt asking.The IPL in its current form, though, can make it possible. Under the Impact Player regulation, Mishra doesn’t have to be on the field for the length of the match. It creates space for super specialists, who come in, execute their primary skill, and don’t have to bother about fielding and the other skill. Mishra, though, stayed on just long enough to pull off a diving catch. The rest of the greatest hits were with the ball.Also making it possible for Mishra to play is Lucknow Super Giants’ shrewd premiere of the future of home advantage. For their last home match, they had rolled out a quick red-soil pitch against Delhi Capitals, who were still awaiting Anrich Nortje’s arrival. Against a pace-heavy Sunrisers Hyderabad, who let go of Rashid Khan before the 2022 season, Super Giants chose to play on the black soil that famously produced a sub-100 thriller not long ago.Keep an eye out for the pitches Super Giants play their remaining five home games on.2:53

Did SRH make best use of their Impact Player?

We are not complaining. We got to see Mishra playing on the telly for the first time since April 2021. He doesn’t play first-class or List A cricket anymore. He turns up for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to keep himself available for the IPL, but had no takers last year. This pitch and the Impact Player regulation gave him a comeback, and his fifth IPL team. He must have resisted the “legends leagues” money just for this one opportunity.Make no mistake, Mishra is a legend of the IPL. He is its fourth-highest wicket-taker, he has taken three hat-tricks, and has gone at only 7.33 an over. He didn’t walk out to the kind of pop returning wrestling legends get, but he did come out with an experimental look: long hair, thick beard, thicker moustache. You would have been forgiven for thinking: here’s the neighbourhood bully who can’t run around but stands and brutalises bowlers with boundaries.Except that Mishra bowls. And there is nothing brutal about what he does. Introduced in the 13th over, the second ball he bowled – the first to a right-hand batter – spun past Rahul Tripathi. Those supple wrists were imparting the revs just fine. You may as well have had Michael Cole screaming “vintage Amit Mishra” into his microphone.

It will take only a particular set of circumstances for Mishra to keep playing, but if ever there was a time for it to happen, the first year of the Impact Player rule and a team that can produce tailored conditions for its home games is it.

Jokes aside, there was an unscripted contest on. Mishra had to prove he was fit for purpose. Just the greatest hits wouldn’t do. To the left-hand batter, he bowled a restrictive trajectory, and the slider and the wrong’un. He tried to get out of overs with flatter deliveries last ball. And then he also bluffed with a really slow legbreak to end the 17th. He even put in a full-length dive to make up for his slow early movement to take a catch at short third.In the 19th came two wickets, as Mishra beat Washington Sundar off the track and Adil Rashid in the air. There aren’t many warmer and fuzzier feelings in T20 cricket than Mishra slowing it down and bowling orthodox, traditional, hard-spun legbreaks when spinners are losing out on selection because they are too slow in the air. He then went off as soon as he completed his allotment of overs, which might happen earlier in future games now that Mishra has dispelled fears of ring rust.It will take only a particular set of circumstances for Mishra to keep playing, but if ever there was a time for it to happen, the first year of the Impact Player rule and a team that can produce tailored conditions for its home games is it. Could it be? Could it just be MishiMania this year?

Making sense of Tilak Varma’s selection, Yuzvendra Chahal’s non-selection, Rohit Sharma’s explanations, and more

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2023In the latest episode of , Nagraj Gollapudi joins Kaustubh Kumar and Vishal Dikshit to discuss India’s Asia Cup squad. Why was Yuzvendra Chahal left out? How close is Tilak Varma to a World Cup spot? What did Rohit Sharma mean by “flexibility”?Tune in to find out answers to all those questions, and a lot more.