The legendary Mumbai mentor who made a mark on the careers of Rohit Sharma, Dravid, Gavaskar and others

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Vasoo Paranjape was a one-man operation of scouting, captaincy and coaching, whose influence spans cricket generations

Sidharth Monga01-Oct-2020That one word is enough to drive up the wall any cricket person not from Mumbai. It is a Hindi/Marathi term for the city’s cussed approach to cricket, especially with a bat in hand. For decades in independent India, Mumbai managed to dominate Indian cricket, both in terms of domestic competition and national representation. As a result, every little thing about Mumbai was glorified, with every second headline on the cricket pages hailing the virtues of cricket.As other states began to enjoy greater access to resources and knowledge, they started to compete in domestic cricket and their players began to represent India. Now everyone from former cricketers to coaches to journalists bemoans the death of this mythical creature, the cricketer.The authors of are due congratulations that they use the word “” only once in a book about someone whose playing career was built on club cricket in Mumbai and 29 first-class games for Mumbai and Baroda. And that use is to say that Rohit Sharma is not your typical Mumbai cricketer.Nor was Vasoo Paranjape, the subject of the book, a typical Mumbai cricket person. He was so far ahead of his time, he was run out backing up on his Harris Shield debut despite warnings from his captain and senior players. He took it on the chin – the price you risk paying when you try to steal an advantage. He was not cussed but aggressive, and by all accounts an attractive cricketer. His outlook was not hyperlocal but global, his views not archaic but modern.Which is why cricketers not only from Mumbai, and not only of a certain vintage or a certain style, have come together to write essays in tribute to a coach, colleague, captain, mentor, father figure and consultant. From Sunil Gavaskar in central Mumbai to Rohit Sharma in the northern suburbs, Rahul Dravid in Karnataka, Yuvraj Singh in Punjab and Ed Smith in Kent, Paranjape touched and enriched a large variety of cricketing lives.In an era of professionalism and the IPL, where scouts and consequent opportunities make sure talent is identified and exposed to high-level coaching, this is an important book. It recognises the time when this one-man operation of scouting, captaincy, coaching and playing helped shape many a career. All the contributors speak highly of Paranjape’s contribution to their careers, of his great cricketing acumen, of his eye for talent, of his sense of humour (part of which gets lost in translation). In response, Paranjape himself writes a brief piece on his memories of each of the players the first time he saw them.Penguin IndiaIt is a format that works for this book – letting great cricketers talk about Paranjape and then Paranjape talking about them – but it can also leave you frustrated at times because cricketers can find it difficult to explain things they understand easily. They can articulate his generosity, but it is difficult to figure out what exactly made Paranjape the cricket figure he was. Why, for instance, in the words of Darshak Mehta, a former Kanga league player and now chairman of the LBW Fund in New South Wales, for 25 years, if there was a rain delay in a Kanga league game, you just sat there playing cards or gossiping or “talking Vasoo”.It is not easy for every cricketer to tell you why. Until you get to the essays from Sharma and Singh. That’s when you realise Paranjape worked subtly. He made technical adjustments without players even realising it. Sharma knows Paranjape is always watching him. Whenever he meets Jatin Paranjape, Vasoo’s son and now a national selector, Sharma asks him, “Anything?” He is looking for any little piece of advice Vasoo might have asked Jatin to relay.There is no substitute for these faceless scouts who nurture cricketers from a beginners level, offering not only cricketing education but also life skills when required, or an invisible helping hand when life is tough. They do it not for recognition or money, but out of love for the game.Paranjape was always there wherever the cricket was, in his floppy hat, smoking a cigarette, watching from the background, rarely imposing himself but fine-tuning the talent he had spotted. The authors of the book – Jatin Paranjape and cricket writer Anand Vasu – have done a similar job. They haven’t imposed themselves on this book but have nurtured and directed it through the voices of the individuals Paranjape most enriched.

Georgia Adams: From a farmer's field to an Edgbaston final in 12 months

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Southern Vipers captain on England radar after leading RHF Trophy run charts

Matt Roller25-Sep-2020In May, eight weeks into the UK’s lockdown, Georgia Adams didn’t expect to play any cricket until 2021. Three months later, she will captain her Southern Vipers team in a televised 50-over final, which she goes into with 420 runs in her last six innings.”It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” she laughs. “I got very pessimistic, which isn’t like me. I was convinced we weren’t going to get any cricket. Even when we got our retainer contracts and go the OK to train, we were still very much unsure what was actually going to go ahead.”Instead, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy has been a major success. All players have been paid to play, fixtures have been held at men’s county grounds, and live streams on YouTube have attracted nearly half a million views. With an average first-innings total of 220 across the season, runs have been easier to come by, with better pitches giving players value for shots.”Last year in a county game, we turned up and were playing in a farmer’s field with no sightscreen,” Adams says. “The jump from that to playing at the Ageas Bowl, Hove, The Oval is amazing for us. You get more reward for playing your shots; you’re not worrying as much that a ball is going to take off and fly over your head.”County cricket has always been a decent standard in terms of the players in it, but on some pitches 120 won you the game. That’s not what anyone wants to watch, and not what anyone wants to play in. It’s been great to see across the board that people have cashed in at these grounds.”Adams herself has been in the form of her life. She is leading the run charts heading into Sunday’s final against Northern Diamonds, and has scored consistently throughout the competition: 37 on the opening day is her lowest score, and only four other players in the tournament have even half as many runs as her 420.In a must-win game against Western Storm, she played the innings of the tournament, hitting 154 not out off 155 balls at the Ageas Bowl. “I was trying to bat and bat and bat,” she explains. “And then after I reached 100, every time I tried to hit the ball it just seemed to ping off the middle. Days like that don’t happen very often.”Her form has not gone unnoticed. Adams has consistently been involved in England development and academy squads, but is yet to make an international debut. She knows Lisa Keightley, the England head coach, from her time in those squads, and was name-checked by Heather Knight in a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo.But as Adams sees it, the major boost to women’s cricket this year is that international selection is no longer the be-all and end-all: she looks certain to be awarded a full-time contract next month, which will ensure she no longer has to work part-time as a coach alongside her playing career.Georgia Adams has captained Southern Vipers into the final•Getty Images”[Playing for] England is something that I’ve always had one eye on,” she says. “It’s always been my dream, my end goal, and if the opportunity does come around, hopefully I’ll be ready to take it.”But it’s such a tough side to get into: you look at the calibre of batters they’ve got in the side, and it’s phenomenal. They’re such a strong unit, and they’re only getting better and better.”In the last year or so, I’ve just thrown myself into enjoying the game and making the most of it. It’s an amazing thing for people to now be able to say: ‘well, I didn’t play for England, but actually I was a professional cricketer’. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever be able to say that, so it’s a dream come true that I can, however clichéd that sounds.”Adams says that batting has not been the only area of improvement for her this season; she says she has “grown as a captain tenfold” thanks to the influence of head coach Charlotte Edwards. She has been impressed by the speed at which young, amateur players have developed their tactical understanding, and is enthusiastic when speaking about their young stars.They include 17-year-old Ella McCaughan, who has opened the batting when Danni Wyatt has been away with England, No. 3 batter and gun fielder Maia Bouchier, and Charlie Dean in the middle order. Their new-ball bowlers in the final will be the tall 19-year-old Lauren Bell – who swung the ball prodigiously on KSL Finals Day last summer – and left-armer Tara Norris.Adams admits that she is not overly concerned by the fact her father, the former England batsman Chris, will be unable to attend on Sunday, with the game played behind closed doors at Edgbaston. “Apparently he’s the worst at watching games ever: he gets so nervous, pacing round, so it’s probably better that he’s at home and not stressing anyone else out,” she explains.And how special would it be to come out on top? “It would mean so much,” she says. “The type of cricket we’ve been playing, we deserve to lift the trophy. We want to inspire girls in our region to play, and lifting the trophy would really tick that box.”

Glenn Maxwell's masterpiece hatched in Melbourne lockdown

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The allrounder is now very clear on what his role is for Australia after plenty of time chatting with captain Aaron Finch

Daniel Brettig17-Sep-2020Melbourne’s lockdown, in the cause of stemming the Covid-19 pandemic, has taken much away from a previously vibrant city. One thing it has gifted Australian cricket, however, is clarity about the role Glenn Maxwell is playing for the ODI team, a little more than a year after the absence of same contributed to a deeply disappointing World Cup campaign.It has been demonstrated in devastatingly effective fashion for Australia on the road against the world champions, inflicting England’s first ODI series loss at home since 2015. In games one and three in Manchester, Maxwell produced a pair of counter-attacking innings from No. 7 that left Eoin Morgan’s side without a riposte, and at the same time confirmed that yes, Maxwell does have a highly significant and consistent part to play for Australia over the next four years to the 2023 World Cup in India.In partnership with Alex Carey, who also shored up his flagging international fortunes since a productive World Cup, Maxwell unleashed a century of power but also presence of mind, demonstrating a level of peace and self-knowledge that had appeared absent from his game for much of the preceding few years. It was the product of careful consideration with limited-overs captain Aaron Finch.ALSO READ: Bursting of England’s bubble shows how long the road to 2023 will beShorn of scheduled series against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and West Indies, plus the postponement of the T20 World Cup, Australia’s Melbourne-based cricketers have had little else to do other than talk a lot between small-scale net sessions in Cricket Victoria’s Junction Oval base. For Maxwell and Finch, that meant hours to discuss exactly how the leader saw the role of his longtime friend and international team-mate.Shuffled up and down the batting order ad nauseum, dropped and recalled, and also having taken a break for mental health reasons early last season, Maxwell was clearly in need of some simple instruction. As the many conversations rolled on, the desired description emerged – not unlike that traditionally assigned to a wicketkeeper. From No. 7, Maxwell would be able to counterattack when Australia were in a hole, while Finch reserved the right to promote him in the order if those above him were able to set the right launchpad for the final 20 or so overs.”The really good thing is even in the lockdown period I was training with Finchy and we were able to talk about my role and certain things,” Maxwell said. “I just had so much clarity of what he expected of me in that role.”I think I was able to take the game on, with the clarity he gave me before the tournament, and was able to ride on that momentum as well. Just knowing I had the backing of him is awesome. He’s been great for this group over here, he’s kept us all together, all 21 of us in the hub here, and he’s done a great job. Whether in the field or with his batters, he’s been outstanding.”Finch had likewise articulated a specific, consistent role for Maxwell in his comments at the post-series presentation: “Maxi is in the team to do a specific role and that’s be able to take the game away from oppositions when you are having a good day but also be that guy who can counterattack and try and swing momentum. England had all the momentum at 5 for 70-odd and he dragged it back.”That partnership with Alex was fantastic, I’m really proud of both of them, they deserve a lot of success and a lot of credit. Not just for this win but how hard they’ve been working on their game.”What makes him [Maxwell] so damaging is he can play all around the ground, I don’t think there are many bowlers who can trouble him when he’s having one of those days but the way he navigated that innings, took it deeper and deeper, of course you have to take your chances chasing seven an over from a long way out and he did that perfectly. They fed off each other having the left-right hand combination, it was pretty special.”

So even amid the wreckage of Australia’s slide to 73 for 5 early in their innings, Maxwell had a clear head about what he was in the team, and in the middle, to do. It is the sort of mind frame in which he can do great things, whether it is for Australia, the Melbourne Stars or a host of domestic T20 teams overseas. Call it freedom, call it license, call it trust – it makes all the difference.”I was probably thinking we haven’t got much to lose, so I had a bit of freedom to try and take the bowling on and put a bit more pressure on them,” Maxwell said. “I thought if I could make the most of that short boundary as much as I could early on and just back my bat swing, there was a fair bit of a breeze heading that way as well, so I just tried to get it up in the air and was able to get a couple pretty clean early on in the innings and then start to build a partnership with Alex.”Coming it at 5 for 70, it’s probably hit or bust at that stage. I suppose just having heaps of trust in my own technique and trust in my partner at the other end, myself and Alex have had some good partnerships over the last few years, so really enjoyable to be with him at the other end.”Then I knew once I started to get into the innings they’d start to bowl a bit differently to me and I might be able to cash in on some loose balls. Everything pretty much went to plan tonight, the way our partnership built was outstanding. I feel like I’ve always batted better for Australia when we’ve been in a bit of trouble, and to be able to get us through that and get us to a position where we could win the game was really pleasing.”

Maxwell had plenty of time and gratitude for Carey, who in eight ODI innings since the World Cup had cobbled 126 runs at 15.75, causing the likes of Adam Gilchrist to start talking up the prospects of the younger Josh Philippe. Carey had at least managed to make a start during the previous game, albeit amid Australia’s unseemly collapse, and brought a little momentum to the middle to build an Australian ODI record partnership for the sixth wicket.”It ranks pretty highly. I really enjoyed the partnership,” Maxwell said. “Batting with Alex, seeing him get his first ODI hundred is pretty special, knowing how hard he’s worked. To see him get the rewards at the other end was extremely special, and to top off and beat the No. 1 team on their own soil was even more special. They didn’t really give him much to score on to the short boundary, and he had to work a little bit harder for his runs. I just thought the way he got through every challenge he faced, he was able to do it calmly and with great temperament the whole time.”There will still be some fine-tuning for Maxwell and Australia. The most challenging thing for Finch will be to judge when is the best moment to unleash Maxwell amid an innings that is going well. But it is an easier problem to solve in an atmosphere of trust and confidence about Maxwell’s mindset.Australia’s players now fly home, either directly or via the IPL, into a home season of many uncertainties, and with Melbourne still locked down. Plenty of certainty, though, was written all over the face of Maxwell, having finally sorted out exactly what he is in the Australian team to do, and do brilliantly.

The fitting end that Mumbai Indians' brilliance deserved

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Anything less than a win would have been almost unfair to their excellence this season

Sidharth Monga10-Nov-20203:38

What makes the Mumbai Indians franchise so special?

Unpopular opinion: the tightly packed points table and that photo-finish at the end of the league stage, which suggest this was the most closely contested IPL, it was all a lie. This was arguably the most one-sided IPL. No team came close to suggesting they could challenge the Mumbai Indians consistently. They were streets ahead of every other team on most meaningful metrics in the Twenty20 format. For example: they hit 137 sixes in the season, 34 more than the next team and more than twice the side with the fewest.It all started with scouting and player development years ago, but Mumbai remain way ahead of the others in terms of the players they retain, the work they do at the auction, and the transfers bartered in the off season. And yet, T20 is a fickle format. Last year, after losing to Mumbai three matches in a row, the Chennai Super Kings took them to the last ball in the final. That even these players talk of things like the jinx of the even years, tells you how even these elite practitioners bow down to vagaries of the format. Especially in a sport that is so obsessed with finals that it is willing to discount sustained excellence in the league stages, even at a tournament as long as the IPL.ALSO READ: Mumbai Indians the best T20 franchise in the world? Kieron Pollard thinks soAnd so, it was important that Mumbai dominated for one more night at IPL 2020. Anything less would have been almost unfair to their excellence. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say that Mumbai will beat any other side in this tournament seven times out of 10. However, when you have won three in a row against a particular opposition, especially given the fickleness of the format, you can be wary of having one off-night. But Mumbai were very much on at the final. And, as is often the case with them, it began well before the match. Rahul Chahar had been their preferred spinner for more than a year but they were happy to respect form and match-ups. Chahar’s last 10 overs had gone at more than 10 an over, and Jayant Yadav was better suited to bowl to the left-hand batsmen that pepper the Delhi Capitals’ line-up. And Jayant was ready even though this was only his second match of the tournament.As the match started, Trent Boult summed up everything that is right with Mumbai. Boult is not someone whose T20 numbers you look at and say, “Wow, we want him”. Mumbai, though, had a specific role in mind for him. The Capitals, who traded Boult to Mumbai, didn’t even know what they were giving up. Perhaps because they were never in the position to exploit what Mumbai were after. Boult can struggle when you ask him to be a complete T20 bowler, which is what the Capitals wanted from him. Mumbai, on the other hand, said: swing the ball in the powerplay, and the others will take over after that.Mumbai Indians are all smiles after Trent Boult’s early strike in the IPL 2020 final•BCCIBoult repaid the faith with excellent execution of that skill. And it is not just the swing. It is also the scrambled-seam ball that he and his New Zealand team-mate Tim Southee bowl, which almost nips the other way after pitching. With a mix of that, Boult picked up five Capitals wickets in the first overs of this tournament, including Marcus Stoinis first ball in the final. They were all different: swing, set-up and then nip away, then the short ball that nipped in and got big on Stoinis.Arguably Mumbai did make a mistake in the final when they didn’t go after Rishabh Pant as soon as he walked in. When it threatened to get away from them, though, they showed they had that extra layer: to be able to play effective defensive cricket. From 94 for 3 in 12 overs – with the set Pant and Shreyas Iyer’s partnership reading 72 at that stage – the Capitals could manage just 62 in the last eight overs. It was an experienced side showing it knew when to go for the wicket and when to defend, and doing it efficiently.However, it was perhaps the way the chase started that summed up Mumbai’s dominance. Quinton de Kock has been no less a force than Boult, who ended up with the joint-highest powerplay wickets in a single IPL. Most runs in the powerplay, highest strike rate for a regular opener in the powerplay, most sixes in the powerplay… de Kock has done it all and he has done it selflessly. He knew there was no Orange Cap waiting for him given the way he played, but Mumbai are a side that recognise that this – all-out attack – is how you open in T20s. The way he took down Kagiso Rabada, the highest wicket-taker of the tournament, one final time provided the icing on the cake that the season has been for Mumbai.Among the less than handful of batsmen who had a higher strike rate than de Kock in the powerplay this tournament was Suryakumar Yadav. And he underlined Mumbai’s approach. No sighters, no blocking just after a big wicket, he just walked out and smacked a four and a six to tell Stoinis that he might have got a wicket but he had no business bowling in the powerplay. Not to this Mumbai side, at least.There were many talented batsmen in this tournament, from Virat Kohli to Shubhman Gill to Shreyas Iyer, who didn’t, or weren’t able to, bat at the tempo that is needed in T20 cricket. Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan, though, showed one final time the joy of that free-flowing batting in the middle, a hallmark of Mumbai’s cricket.In part, they could do it because behind them were two of the most lethal hitters in cricket, and a dangerous floater. Pollard and the Pandya brothers and their special skills were not quite needed on the night of the final, though.And so Mumbai ended the tournament with just three defeats in regulation time, the joint-lowest in an IPL. They didn’t lose a single game outright when chasing. Yet, so good were they at defending that they forced their final opposition into making the lower-percentage call at the toss.The one-sided result might feel anti-climactic to some, but it was the fitting end that Mumbai’s brilliance deserved. Brilliance can sometimes get boring but in this format – especially when sustained across a tournament – it is something to be cherished.

Gloucestershire, Sussex seek to stop Surrey strutting into a home quarter-final

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Lack of clear favourite in South Group promises intriguing quarter-final race

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2021EssexLast season: 5th in South Group
Coach: Anthony McGrath
Captain: Simon Harmer
Overseas players: Harmer, James NeeshamChampionship contrast: The leading red-ball side in the country over the last few years, Essex have been inconsistent in T20 – perhaps in part because they rely on a similar group of players having to make the switch between formats. The likes of Alastair Cook and Nick Browne will make way, with Varun Chopra coming in to add power at the top of the order, probably alongside Tom Westley. Jimmy Neesham’s all-round ability should help balance the side, while youngsters like Aron Nijjar and Ben Allison could get opportunities.Key man: Ryan ten Doeschate will turn 41 at the end of the month but he continues to show that age is one of the least-significant numbers for the analysts to crunch. Having helped Essex to lift their maiden T20 title in 2019, he had his best campaign in several years last summer, finishing as Essex’s top-scorer and with a strike rate above his career average. Championship form has been middling but the Blast might help free him up.Ryan ten Doeschate is still flying the 40-plus flag•Getty ImagesOne to watch: The latest young Essex seamer to catch the eye is Jack Plom, a neat-and-tidy right-armer who claimed seven wickets in his five appearances last year, to go with an impressive economy of 7.74. The 21-year-old is a former England Under-19 and comes into the competition in wicket-taking form for Essex in the 2nd XI T20 competition.Verdict: Squeeze into the quarter-finals and, like in 2019, who knows what might happen?Bet365: 12/1GlamorganLast season: 5th in Central Group
Coach: Matt Maynard
Captain: Chris Cooke
Overseas players: Marnus Labuschagne, Colin Ingram, Michael NeserChampionship contrast: Colin Ingram is the key addition, while Prem Sisodiya’s left-arm spin should be effective in the Powerplay again, but the core of players is largely the same. Marnus Labuschagne is expected to play ahead of Michael Neser in the second overseas spot.Key man: Colin Ingram, Glamorgan’s all-time leading run-scorer in T20 cricket, returns to Cardiff after missing last year’s Blast. He was not at his best in the Big Bash and the PSL earlier this year and turns 36 towards the end of the group stage but is undoubtedly the key man in their batting line-up, not least with last year’s leading run-scorer, Andy Balbirnie, not returning.Labuschagne has limited T20 experience•Getty ImagesOne to watch: Marnus Labuschagne’s presence brings intrigue: he has played only 16 T20s in his career with a middling record, though was effective as an anchor and leggie in a handful of games for Brisbane Heat in early 2021. He is available throughout after logistical concerns denied him a spot in Australia’s enlarged white-ball squad to tour the Caribbean and has openly targeted a place in the T20 World Cup squad later this year.Verdict: Plenty of spin options but Cardiff tends to favour seamers, where they are lighter. Quarter-final hopes depend heavily on Ingram, Labuschagne and Chris Cooke’s runs from the middle order. Bet365: 33/1GloucestershireLast season: 1st in Central Group, semi-finalists
Coach: Ian Harvey
Captain: Jack Taylor
Overseas players: Glenn Phillips, Graeme van Buuren, Daniel WorrallChampionship contrast: Jack Taylor and Benny Howell come into the side while Ian Cockbain, Tom Smith and George Scott are all better-suited to the shorter format and Daniel Worrall’s new-ball swing bowling should be effective. After consecutive innings defeats in the Championship, a change in formats comes at the right time.Key man: Gloucestershire were dominant last season before losing an 11-over shoot-out in the semi-finals, and Glenn Phillips could be the missing piece in the jigsaw. An ultra-attacking middle-order batter who has cemented his spot in New Zealand’s T20I side, he has honed his game against spin across four seasons playing for Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL, and is likely to keep wicket with James Bracey on England duty.Dent’s T20 reinvention took everyone by surprise last summer•Getty ImagesOne to watch: Chris Dent had not played a T20 since 2016 and had a dreary record in the format heading into last summer, but teed off at the top of the order, striking at 153.30 and finishing second to Cockbain in Gloucestershire’s run charts. Training using weighted bats with the power-hitting coach Julian Wood appears to have transformed his white-ball game.Verdict: Dark horses no more, after reaching Finals Day for the first time since 2004 last summer. For a squad filled with canny and underestimated T20 operators, anything less than a second visit to Edgbaston in a row would be a failure. Bet365: 16/1HampshireLast season: 6th in South Group
Coach: Adi Birrell
Captain: James Vince
Overseas players: Kyle Abbott, Colin de Grandhomme, D’Arcy ShortChampionship contrast: The core of the team is the same. James Vince is captain in both formats and forms part a strong spine alongside Sam Northeast, Liam Dawson, Lewis McManus and Kyle Abbott, with the likes of James Fuller and Chris Wood adding power and nous. D’Arcy Short was a success at the top of the order for Durham two seasons ago, Colin de Grandhomme can play the finisher’s role and provide useful overs, and Mason Crane’s legspin should be a trump card.James Vince was the second-highest run-scorer in the 2020-21 Big Bash•Getty ImagesKey man: Vince is one of the leading T20 batsmen in the world – over the last two years, only Alex Hales has scored more runs than him in the major domestic leagues, during which time he has twice helped Sydney Sixers to the Big Bash title. A member of the Hampshire golden generation that won the tournament in 2010 and 2012, Vince’s ability to set the tone could be key for the current side.One to watch: Crane was the side’s leading wicket-taker last season and seems forever on the fringes of international selection (when fit). Having spent the winter touring as a reserve with England, the Blast provides an ideal opportunity to press his credentials again after limited opportunities in the early stages of the Championship.Verdict: Serial Finals Day attendees a decade ago, Hampshire only won two games last year. Improving shouldn’t be hard but a return to the glory days seems less straightforward.Bet365: 10/1KentLast season: 3rd in South Group
Coach: Matt Walker
Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas players: Qais Ahmad, Adam Milne, Heino KuhnChampionship contrast: Depleted four-day squad will be bolstered by return of Matt Milnes and Harry Podmore from injury, and Fred Klaassen from international duty. Alex Blake is on a white-ball contract, while Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond will relish a change in formats. Sam Billings’ availability may be limited by England duty. Will there be room for Darren Stevens, whose last T20 game for Kent was in 2017?Denly will be Kent’s most important allrounder•Getty ImagesKey man: Joe Denly missed two Championship games for personal reasons last month but made a fluent 63 in his return last week. He will likely anchor the innings with Daniel Bell-Drummond – who enjoyed a breakthrough T20 season last summer, with 423 runs at a strike rate of 154.94 – given licence to go hard, and in the absence of the retired Imran Qayyum, his legspin will be relied upon in the middle overs and possibly in the Powerplay too.One to watch: Mohammad Amir’s 11th-hour withdrawal means Adam Milne returns for a fourth Blast season as the spearhead of Kent’s attack, and his record for the club – 38 wickets at 19.10, with an economy rate of 7.34 – is testament to his effectiveness in all three phases of an innings, bowling at speeds in excess of 90mph/145kph. His recent form has won him a T20I recall, but careful management will be required, given his injury history.Verdict: Consistently quarter-final contenders and should challenge again despite Qayyum’s retirement leaving a hole to fill. Bet365: 12/1MiddlesexLast season: 4th in South Group
Coach: Stuart Law
Captain: Eoin Morgan
Overseas players: Chris Green, Daryl Mitchell, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Paul StirlingChampionship contrast: A break from four-day cricket is possibly just what Middlesex need, after six defeats in eight in the Championship. Eoin Morgan is available for the start of the competition and there will be a familiar face donning T20 pink again as Paul Stirling returns to his old county for the first five games as an overseas signing. Steven Finn, having played just two Championship fixtures, is likely to deputise as captain when Morgan is with England, and youngsters such as James Cracknell, Luke Hollman and Blake Cullen will come into contention.Key man: Legspinners are high up the list of must-haves in T20, and Middlesex could field two in Hollman – who also offers with the bat – and Nathan Sowter. The latter is Middlesex’s senior spinner in white-ball cricket, and his T20 record is solid; over the last two Blast seasons, Matt Parkinson and Simon Harmer are the only spinners to have had more success.Max Holden acknowledges his maiden T20 hundred•Getty ImagesOne to watch: Max Holden was dropped from the Championship XI after averaging 14.77 from 10 innings, but he seems set to be given a chance to rediscover his spark in the shortest form. Holden scored a maiden T20 hundred from 59 balls at Chelmsford last year and his opening partnership with Stevie Eskinazi could be key.Verdict: A middle-of-the-pack side on paper but Morgan’s presence and some decent overseas signings could lift them into contention. Bet365: 12/1SomersetLast season: 4th in Central Group
Coach: Jason Kerr
Captain: Lewis Gregory
Overseas players: Devon Conway, Marchant de LangeChampionship contrast: Max Waller brings a wealth of experience with his flat legbreaks, but the core of the squad is the same.Key man: Tom Banton was county cricket’s breakthrough white-ball player in 2019 but has struggled over the last year and opened up about the stress of quarantine and long Covid to ESPNcricinfo last month. He should be freed up by the opportunity to target Taunton’s short boundaries, and with Babar Azam not returning (Devon Conway arrives after the World Test Championship final) there is pressure on him to pile on the runs.Tom Banton will be looking to fire back in a Somerset shirt•Getty ImagesOne to watch: Death bowling has been Somerset’s Achilles heel ever since Alfonso Thomas’ retirement so Marchant de Lange, their full-season overseas signing, has a big role to play. He is best used as a middle-overs enforcer, but has some pedigree bowling at the death for Glamorgan, and a career economy rate in the last four overs of 9.41 is serviceable.Verdict: Conway’s arrival should boost their quarter-final prospects. Bet365: 9/1SurreyLast season: 1st in South Group, finalists
Coach: Vikram Solanki
Captain: Jade Dernbach
Overseas players: Hashim AmlaChampionship contrast: Jason Roy, Sam and Tom Curran return from the IPL and will be available for the start of the competition, while Laurie Evans, Will Jacks, Dan Moriarty and Gareth Batty will play greater roles. Reece Topley, Liam Plunkett and Sean Abbott are all injured.Key man: Laurie Evans is among England’s best uncapped white-ball batters and was vital in Surrey’s run to the final last year, averaging 45.37 and striking at 153.16. He was the second-highest run-scorer in the LPL over the winter, with a remarkable strike rate of 182.35 against spin while playing for Colombo Kings. At 33, he should be at his peak.Evans is among England’s best uncapped white-ball players•Getty ImagesOne to watch: Jamie Overton leaked more than 10 runs an over with the ball in his first Blast season for Surrey but was dubbed “our Andre Russell” by Gareth Batty after striking at 194.33 in his five innings as a finisher. Injury crisis among seamers may see him required to bowl more regularly again but his potential with the bat gives them two finishers in him and Jordan Clark.Verdict: Bowling attack is reliant on triple spin threat of Jacks, Moriarty and Batty but the same formula helped them top the group last summer. Should stay in quarter-final race throughout group stage. Bet365: 13/2SussexLast season: 2nd in South Group
Coach: James Kirtley
Captain: Luke Wright
Overseas players: Travis Head, David Wiese, Rashid KhanChampionship contrast: Significant overhaul, with Luke Wright, David Wiese, Ravi Bopara, Chris Jordan, Will Beer and Tymal Mills added to the group and Phil Salt set to return from injury. James Kirtley, the assistant coach in the Championship, takes the reins from Ian Salisbury for the Blast.David Wiese returns for his sixth Blast season•Getty ImagesKey man: David Wiese returns for his sixth Blast season as an overseas player rather than a Kolpak, and has been in the country for a month preparing. He was the picture of consistency last year in a volatile finishing role, averaging 40.14 while striking at 145.59, and forms part of an imposing engine room from Nos. 3-6 alongside Travis Head, Delray Rawlins and Ravi Bopara. Will play less of a role with the ball this year.One to watch: George Garton was rested from the Championship side last week to prepare for the Blast and warmed up with 30 not out off seven balls in a 2nd XI fixture. He had a breakthrough T20 season in 2020, taking 14 wickets spread across the Powerplay and the death overs, and won a game against Middlesex almost single-handedly from No. 8. Sussex also rate him as the club’s best fielder.Verdict: Bowling attack lighter than usual with Jofra Archer injured and limited availability for Rashid Khan and Jordan – but still very much in contention to top the group. Bet365: 10/1

Out of contract, in demand? Alastair Cook, Liam Plunkett, Darren Stevens among those on the market

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

A number of players’ futures are unclear and will likely attract interest from other counties

George Dobell22-May-2021Henry Brookes (Warwickshire) Generally considered the most talented bowling prospect produced by Warwickshire since Chris Woakes, Brookes can bowl fast, is decent with the bat and appears to enjoy performing under pressure. Warwickshire will, no doubt, want to keep him. But he is currently unable to win a place in the side and is likely to have admirers elsewhere. Ed Pollock, who currently has the second highest strike rate of any man to have played a minimum of 20 T20s, is also out of contract.Jack Brooks (Somerset) Brooks will be 37 in the first week of June and currently finds himself playing 2nd XI cricket. For a seam bowler, that feels like an uncomfortable place to be. But Brooks underwent operations on both Achilles tendons at the end of last season and, having had a late start to his professional career, feels there is plenty of petrol left in the tank.Michael Burgess (Warwickshire) With no other keeper on the senior staff, Warwickshire have put a lot of faith in Burgess. He is starting to repay it, too, with some good work behind the stumps and an eye-catching century against Worcestershire. But that was his only time he had reached 40 against county opposition in any format of the game since the end of 2019 leading the club to start to consider contingency options.Alastair Cook will likely decide his own future at Essex•Getty ImagesAlastair Cook (Essex) At this stage of his career, Cook is content to play to the end of the season and decide if he wants to continue. It would be a major surprise if he could be lured elsewhere. Much the same could be said about Ryan ten Doeschate, who will be 41 in June and likely to make his own mind up about his future. Both are out of contract, though, so in theory approaches can be made.Stevie Eskinazi (Middlesex) Eskinazi was Middlesex’s captain in 2020 and at the start of 2021. But he hasn’t made a first-class century against county opposition since 2017, and is playing second team cricket at present. He is understood to have been offered a new deal by Middlesex but is currently looking for a loan deal elsewhere. Nick Gubbins, Nathan Sowter, James Harris and Tim Murtagh are also out of contract at the club; all have been offered new deals.Steven Finn (Middlesex) Finances at Middlesex are likely to be strained in the coming months. As if the absence of full houses for the start of the T20 campaign is not serious enough, the club also needs to find the funds to make good pension contributions that were not paid previously due to an administrative error. As a result, there may not be the funds for as many new contracts. Middlesex are understood to have offered Finn and John Simpson new deals but both are likely to have options elsewhere.Richard Gleeson is expected to return in white-ball cricket for Lancashire•Getty ImagesRichard Gleeson (Lancashire) Just a year ago, Gleeson was on the fringes of the England limited-overs team. But, having subsequently suffered a stress fracture, he hasn’t played a first team game for Lancashire since August 2020 (and he has only played one for them since 2019). Now aged 33, he may require a good white-ball season to win another deal.Dan Lawrence (Essex) With the club currently missing a chief executive, issues such as contract renewals appear to have fallen a little behind schedule. As with Cook and ten Doeschate, it would be a surprise if Lawrence could be tempted elsewhere but he is out of contract. The allrounder Paul Walter is also out of contract at the club.Alex Milton (Worcestershire) Capable of playing as a keeper or specialist batter, Milton made an outstanding start to his career at Worcestershire with a century on Championship debut. But he struggled to sustain that level – he has been dismissed for a duck in four of his six most recent first-class innings – and finds his opportunities blocked by the presence of Ben Cox.Tom Moores (Nottinghamshire) An interesting one this: Moores recently won his Nottinghamshire cap and his dad, Peter, is the side’s head coach. So it would be a surprise if he left. He remains out of contract, though, and with his skills – not least his explosive white-ball batting – he is likely to have other offers. Luke Fletcher is also out of contract at Nottinghamshire.Liam Plunkett (Surrey) Now aged 36, Plunkett has struggled with injury in recent months. He could yet play a prominent role in Surrey’s limited-overs season but he is currently without a deal beyond October. Rikki Clarke, who will be 40 in September, is also out of contract at Surrey.Liam Plunkett has made only sporadic appearances for Surrey•Getty ImagesDarren Stevens (Kent) He may be 45, but Stevens is currently Kent’s highest run-scorer and wicket-taker in the 2021 Championship season. And, judging by his innings against Glamorgan, he’s still enjoying playing. Why wouldn’t he carry on?Ross Whiteley (Worcestershire) An explosive batter and bowler capable of providing medium-pace or spin, Whiteley was on the fringes of the England T20 team a couple of years ago. Although he hasn’t played first-class cricket for almost two years, his middle-order hitting may render him an attractive T20 signing. Riki Wessels, now aged 35, is also out of contract.Sam Wisniewski (Yorkshire) A left-arm wristspinner, Wisniewski is only on an academy contract at Yorkshire, but impressed sufficiently in a couple of T20s last summer that Jonty Rhodes signed him to represent Pune Devils in the T10 league. He’s previously been a semi-regular face at England net sessions where he has been used to familiarise batters with the challenges presented by fellow left-arm leggies such as Kuldeep Yadav.

England have looked outgunned and outplayed by India

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

In Bumrah, Rohit and Jadeja, India had players who could do what the hosts could not

George Dobell06-Sep-2021The gas holder still stood one side of the ground and Archbishop Tenison’s School to the other, but something surely had changed.This was the surface on which England’s bowlers had laboured for almost 150 overs in India’s second innings, after all. It was the surface on which James Anderson, one of the most skilful bowlers the country has ever produced, said he had tried everything to gain some movement but to no avail. It was the surface on which Jasprit Bumrah – who came into the game with a career average of 4.81 – had driven Chris Woakes through extra-cover with a confidence that suggested even batters of modest pretensions had nothing to fear on this wicket.But now it looked different. Now, as England lost four wickets for six runs, as four of their middle-order contributed seven between them, as India’s spinner choked the scoring and India’s seamers found late movement, it looked almost unrecognisable. In less than 24 hours, it seemed a pitch transported.That’s nonsense, of course. The truth is, in Bumrah India had a bowler with the pace and skill to extract life from the surface and the ball which was almost completely absent to his England counterparts. His figures of 2-27 do no justice to an outstanding spell of fast bowling which highlighted a key difference between the sides: he was able to hit the pitch harder than anyone in the England side and he was able to gain movement that England could not.But it wasn’t just about Bumrah. In Rohit Sharma, India had the one batter in the match to convert a start into a match-defining score, while in Ravindra Jadeja they had a spinner who could apply pressure and threaten. It is telling that his economy rate was 1.66 per over and his opposite number on the England side, Moeen Ali’s, was 4.54. Ultimately, India were just better than England.Related

Tireless Jadeja's control on lifeless pitch justifies Kohli's faith in team combination

Jasprit Bumrah special gives relentless India 2-1 series lead

Virat Kohli: Among the top three bowling performances I've seen as captain

Joe Root rues England's 'missed opportunities' after Jasprit Bumrah throws fifth day into reverse

There is no disgrace in losing to this India side. Even with Virat Kohli enduring a prolonged run of modest form, even with their long tail, even without R Ashwin, they are a formidable side blessed with the talent and temperament to beat the best. Throughout this series, either with their top-order batting or their seam bowling, they have given England a lesson in playing in their own conditions. While it’s true this series could yet be drawn, it is worth remembering that, but for poor weather in Nottingham, the score line in this series would probably be 3-1 at present. Again, India just look the better side.With that acknowledged, perhaps we have to temper our criticism of England. And maybe they may consider themselves a little unfortunate, too. Perhaps the warmer weather over the last couple of days had helped the playing surface dry out and offer some reverse. Perhaps the footmarks outside the left-hander’s off stump had grown, too.But England had benefited from helpful conditions when they bowled first and reduced India to 127 for 7. You can’t have it both ways. They must know they played a part in their own downfall. They might accept that their catching, so poor for so long, is an accident waiting to happen. They might accept their first innings total of 290 was, perhaps, 100 fewer than they could have scored had they taken a more ruthless approach to their batting. And they might accept that, in losing 10 for 110 in their second innings, they showed a fragility that had become wearingly familiar. Joe Root, who has scored six Test centuries this year, won’t always be able to bail them out. The rest of his team have one between go them.England’s options for Emirates Old Trafford are not plentiful. Anderson, Woakes and Ollie Robinson looked exhausted long before the end of the India second innings and may all be considered high-risk options for Manchester. While Mark Wood will freshen up the seam attack, Saqib Mahmood and Brydon Carse are the latest options to have been struck by injury and Craig Overton sustained a nasty blow on the elbow which must render him a doubt. Two spinners might be one option, but Sam Curran and Gloucestershire’s David Payne could also win call-ups.Dawid Malan after being run-out, as Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant celebrate•AFP/Getty ImagesIt won’t make any difference who England pick if they cannot hold their catches, though. Six chances were squandered in this game, with Rohit reprieved on 6 and 31. It’s hardly surprising England’s seamers look tied: they’re effectively required to claim 25 wickets a game. The ECB scouting network holds vast amount of data, we are told. It seems incredible that an ability to field in the slips doesn’t appear to have been included in such calculations.Equally, Jonny Bairstow has now gone 18 Tests (that’s 34 innings) and almost three years without a century. In that time, he is averaging 21.40 with a top score of 57. This was his sixth duck in that period. It doesn’t say much for the production line of county cricket that he has been able to retain his place.It must also be recognised that England are without Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler – who is expected to return for the final Test having celebrated the arrival of a daughter – all of whom might be considered first-choice picks. But coping with injuries comes with the territory in sport. And maybe Stokes, in particular, has masked England’s deficiencies for too long. Perhaps it will, in the long-run, do them no harm to be exposed.For England are now facing the prospect of losing two Test series in a home summer for the first time since 1986. Given that they recently lost in India and next face the mother of all challenges in Australia and the possibility of four consecutive series defeats is real. The positions of captains and coaches are bound to come under question. But it’s far higher up the food chain, where decisions about scheduling and priorities are made, that questions should really be asked.That’s not the say the management do not have questions to answer. For too long, England have relied on Anderson and Broad to do the bulk of their seam bowling, in the knowledge they will utilise the Dukes ball and the English pitches very well. As a result, there has been little forward planning and almost no acknowledgement of the statistics that suggest that Anderson, in particular, is now struggling to back up performances in the second innings. It sometimes seems that the personalities involved are so powerful, nobody in the team management has the courage to make tough decisions.In the greater scheme of things, there was a fair bit to celebrate from The Kia Oval. We had a sell-out crowd for five days in succession, after all and, on the last day in particular, when tickets were priced at £20, there were many families and children in attendance. Let’s never forget how wonderful it is that, at cricket at least, the supporters of both sides (and it appeared as if there was a pretty even split of India and England supporters) can sit side-by-side for hours without falling out. We have a fantastic sport.But, in retrospect, it seems naive to have thought England could have pulled off a record run-chase against this India side. Akin to thinking Frank Bruno could beat Mike Tyson after he caught him with that left hook. In general, they have looked outgunned and outplayed. They have it all to do to pull-off a series-levelling victory at Emirates Old Trafford.

Oman Cricket chairman: 'No one can tell us we played one World Cup and vanished'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

With the country co-hosting the T20 World Cup, Pankaj Khimji believes the national team will be stronger contenders in their second appearance in the tournament

Interview by Shashank Kishore03-Oct-2021A decade ago Oman didn’t have a single grass cricket field. Today, there are two, next to each other, in Al Amerat, a short drive from the capital, Muscat. These two venues will put Oman on the cricket map when it hosts six matches in the first round of the 2021 T20 World Cup. With the national team participating and looking to qualify for the Super 12s, it’s widely seen as a landmark moment for cricket in the country, as Pankaj Khimji, chairman of Oman Cricket, says.Give us a sense of how big it is for Oman to be hosting a World Cup.
How often does an Associate nation get to host a World Cup?I’m told by Star Sports [the host broadcasters] that this might turn out to be the third-largest televised sporting event of all time, potentially reaching an audience of 3 to 3.5 billion people. Even if Oman gets a billion people watching the first six games, and showcases itself just to the Indian subcontinent, it’s massive. It has never happened before, so we’re over the moon. We have the full blessings and support of every authority in the country, right from the highest body to the local municipal council, saying let’s put Oman on the map.Related

  • The World Cup showed that Associates have not kept up in T20 – because they're playing too few games

  • Well-prepped Oman primed to usher in new era against first-timers PNG

  • T20 World Cup to have fans at 70% capacity across venues

  • Maqsood to lead Oman at T20 World Cup, uncapped Dhamba, Ayan make the cut

  • Men's T20 World Cup 2021 – what the squads look like

What is the mood among the cricket fraternity in Oman about the team’s participation?
Two things. One, Oman is going to be seen by a global audience. Few people remember we made history by beating Ireland at the T20 World Cup last time [in 2016 in India]. Now we’re probably one of the only Asian Associates to qualify for the second round of a T20 World Cup. It’s no fluke.Two, we’ve defined our purpose. We are here among the top 20 in the world in white-ball cricket. No one can tell us we made it to one World Cup and vanished. We’re hoping to qualify for the Super 12s. The team is focused on that. If we do that, we will automatically qualify for next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia too. So the motivation is high. Suddenly a whole new band of football-loving people are saying we’ve done an amazing thing by bringing a World Cup to Oman.How have you managed to prepare the team in these Covid times, where match time has been elusive?
We’re all amateur cricketers in Oman. We play weekend cricket. Our domestic season comprises weekend tournaments from September to April. All our boys have come back from hibernation five, six weeks ago. In this time, the trainers have got them back into shape, getting them to lose the kilos they’ve put on. That said, the team is in super shape.We played a very good T20 series against Mumbai, beating them 2-1. After the series, at a dinner, Amol Muzumdar [the Mumbai coach] told me, “You guys managed to ignite the kind of fire [within the Mumbai team] even I couldn’t.” The T20 series loss spurred Mumbai to beat us convincingly in the one-dayers, but then we couldn’t have got better practice than playing a quality side like Mumbai. When you train against a tougher opponent, you learn. Weaker opponents just help you to loosen up. A side with an average age of 22-23 against ours, whose average is 33-34. It was literally like a young team against a veteran’s team. The preparation has been excellent.The Mumbai team that toured Oman for three T20Is and three ODIs in September•Oman CricketTell us about your director of cricket, Duleep Mendis, and his influence over the team.
He’s been with us for ten years now. I don’t think he thought he’d hang around for this long. At Oman Cricket, we count our blessings to have him shaping our team. Since qualifying for the 2016 T20 World Cup, we’ve moved somewhere from being ranked 40th to about 14th or 15th in white-ball cricket. What more can we ask for? He has built it step by step.The World Cricket League (WCL) is a measure of our qualifying pathway to the 2023 ODI World Cup, and after a third of the matches, we’re on top of the standings. The only thing I tell my colleagues is, let’s not interfere with the cricket, let’s leave that to Duleep. We’re just administrators. So as long as you draw the line and let him get on with the cricket, it’ll be terrific. Cricket isn’t a judgmental sport like football, where you sack the manager if you lose five in a row. Losses are part and parcel of the progression. Fortunately, we’ve won more than we’ve lost [in the last five years].Is there a feeder system in place for talent?
We have a wonderful school system here, and currently four players have come through to the national team from the Under-13s to 16s, 19s, to the main side. The Indian and Pakistani school system is very strong here, and we’re trying to strengthen it further. We have a mix of home-grown players and expats. A lot more players who haven’t had the opportunity to flourish back in their country may now consider Oman as a place to pursue their interest.We rolled out our grassroots development programme in January 2020 [before Covid hit]. We adopted ten government schools, where our coaches teach boys and girls aged as young as eight-nine the basics of the game and then see if they can take it to the next level. We get them over to our main ground and allow them to train at the indoor centre, try to inculcate the fun factor. They don’t get to watch much cricket at times, so we try to ensure they play as much as possible. We have a strong residential block around our main venue in Al Amerat, and we’ve thrown it open to the residents to come over and have their evening walks, use our lawns to exercise. We’re doing what we can to see if in another ten to 15 years we can have 50% of Omanis constituting the national team.Oman’s players, most of whom have day jobs, have only recently returned to training ahead of their series against Mumbai and the World Cup•Oman CricketHow long before you think cricket goes fully professional in Oman?
We’d rather be realistic and keep it as a semi-professional structure. All our players have nine-to-five jobs. They still find it difficult to get leave for camps and big tournaments. Some players are on a semi-hybrid contract, where they’re employed by an organisation but paid for by Oman Cricket [when they’re absent from work]. We’d honestly much rather be rookies pulling the carpet out from under some of the higher-ranked teams rather than regularly beating the smaller teams. You can’t hope to go fully professional when you have a team largely comprising expats. That doesn’t sound right.A tournament of this magnitude calls for massive infrastructure upgrades. How have you gone about it?
Our ground [at Al Amerat] was like a glorified English countryside venue. We had a clubhouse on one side, which is one-third the size of the CCI [Cricket Club of India, in Mumbai] club house. The rest of it was full of neem and gulmohar trees, and benches of the kind you see in parks across London, where two or three people sit on each bench and enjoy a game of weekend cricket. But as World Cup hosts, we had to change that, so we first chalked out how many people we want to allow. With Covid protocols coming in, we said 3000 could be manageable. So from 200-300 we’d host on park benches, we’re now ready to host 3000.We’ve put up 30 air-conditioned corporate boxes and a media centre at a vantage location above the sightscreen. One commentary box isn’t enough because we now have commentary in multiple languages, so we had to develop a huge area for that. I can’t say we have the Lord’s media box, but we’ve got a nice little set-up. Then we were told 1000 lux [for floodlights] is a thing of the past. If you want to televise an event on 4K HD imagery, you need a minimum of 3500 lux. Then we were told you don’t use metal halide lamps anymore, we need LED lamps that you can switch on and off with a flick of a finger. So we got that done up.One by one, everything is now in place. It’s just six games, but it’s the World Cup. So these are exciting times.

Michael Leask: Resilience is something 'every individual in Scotland cricket has'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The Scotland allrounder on winning his 100th cap, and working for a building supplies company during lockdown

Shashank Kishore18-Oct-2021When the Covid-19 pandemic brought cricket to a worldwide halt, players from Associate nations, who were already faced with a shrinking calendar, were affected more gravely than most. With Scotland not playing a game between December 2019 and May 2021, the allrounder Michael Leask had to find a way to sustain himself – not just financially, but also mentally and emotionally.Where Chris Greaves, Scotland’s match-winner in their T20 World Cup opener against Bangladesh, worked as a delivery executive for Amazon, Leask found work at a building supplies company.”It’s something [resilience] that every individual in Scotland cricket has,” Leask said at a press conference on Monday. “Like how Chris has done delivery driving, I also worked, quite a few other guys do part-time work outside of cricket. It takes your mind away from cricket.”At times during lockdown it wasn’t easy for anyone, and Chris had to find another job to help him at the time. He’s now reaping the rewards from that, I think that time actually helped him take his mind away from cricket at the time. Now he has full focus on his cricket and he’s delivering for Scotland which is absolutely amazing to see.”I worked at a building supplies company, I also did some delivery driving at the time, to be able to do a little bit extra, not just sit at home and let time pass away. I always had something going on during the time, it was good taking your mind away from cricket during the tough time.”Leask is not new to bouncing back from adversity. In 2017, he had seriously stepping away from the game after Somerset ended his county contract. A chat with Scotland’s then coach Grant Bradburn changed his mind, and his career began to flourish.Kyle Coetzer won his 200th Scotland cap on the day Leask won his 100th•Getty ImagesHe played a key role in Scotland beating a Full Member team, contributing an unbeaten 38-ball 59 to set up victory over Zimbabwe in an ODI in Edinburgh in June 2017. The following year, Leask was part of the history-making Scotland team that defeated England for the first time in an ODI.On Sunday, Leask won his 100th cap for Scotland (this includes matches outside official ODIs and T20Is), a landmark that showed just how far he had come since grabbing the cricket world’s attention with a 16-ball 42 against England in his third ODI, back in May 2014. Sunday’s game was also the 200th in Scotland colours for their captain Kyle Coetzer, with whom Leask has had a long association.”I’m absolutely honoured to have represented Scotland for 100 caps, always been a dream getting the first cap, I never thought this day would even come,” he said. “To make it alongside Kyle making his 200th [is amazing]. I played alongside the guy since I was 4-5, we played for the same club. I idolise the guy, he’s an incredible guy who epitomises what it means to be Scottish. If you watched him on the park he plays with pride and passion, it just flows through the team. It’s amazing to see what he has done for Scottish sport.”Sunday’s win over Bangladesh was sweet in many ways for Scotland. First, they were up against a side that had recently beaten Australia and New Zealand at home. Then, having been put in, they were tottering at 53 for 6. To emerge from that to not just post a competitive total but also tie down an accomplished batting line-up spoke volumes about the preparation Scotland put in before the tournament.Unusually, Scotland also got through a packed fixture schedule before the tournament began. Shortly after a home T20I series against Zimbabwe, Scotland arrived in Oman late last month for a series of WCL League 2 fixtures as well as T20Is against Papua New Guinea and Namibia, and the warm-up games for the T20 World Cup.”We were here three weeks ago playing back-to-back 50-over games, so that has stood us in really good stead to be fitter, stronger and ready for this T20 World Cup, even though it’s a lot faster and more energetic,” Leask said, when asked about adapting to the heat of Oman. “We’ve had two 50-over games on the bounce which are very energy-sapping, so we’re actually ready to go. The boys are fit and ready to go.”‘We know bubbles can be difficult, and we’re trying to get away from using that word and be good around the way we handle ourselves as a group’ – Michael Leask•Peter Della PennaFor the moment, Scotland’s mantra is to take this T20 World Cup a game at a time, even if the tantalising prospect of the Super 12s is within their sights. Leask and his team-mates are fully aware that Papua New Guinea, their opponents on Tuesday, could do to them what they did to Bangladesh.”We’re trying to keep our feet on the ground and not look too far ahead,” he said. “If it [qualifying for the Super 12s] does happen, we believe it will, great. No team can be underestimated in T20 cricket, the beauty is, on any day someone can get big runs, take five wickets, do anything. Every member of this squad believes they can do it, that’s what stands us in good stead now.”They pose challenges very different to Bangladesh, but I think now we’re looking to take it game by game, day by day, stay in the moment, and try and get into the nuts and bolts of what we want to go in the next game before taking on Oman.”In a hectic tournament where teams can potentially be shown the exit door within 48 hours of taking the field for the first time, Scotland have tried to keep themselves away from external pressures. Spending time together has been the motto of their time in Oman so far, bubble or no bubble. Leask, for one, is missing being home watching his daughter take her first steps, but he’s happy to be where he is, on the world stage.”We obviously want to spend as much time together as a group. We know bubbles can be difficult, and we’re trying to get away from using that word and be good around the way we handle ourselves as a group,” he says. The morale is absolutely amazing, the way people are handling themselves, constructing themselves at training has been second to none.””You can almost take it for granted at times but having international cricket again has been great. We got a taste of cricket once again after a long break when we took on Holland [in May]. The squad found it exciting, it gave us a new lease of life. It almost makes you appreciate how lucky you are to one in the position you’re in. We’re on a roll, so we’re taking it day by day. We are really grateful to be in the position we’re in at the moment.”

Khaya Zondo ends eight-year wait for a double-century

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Dolphins batter still confident of making the step up to international level after a stunning start to the season

Firdose Moonda01-Nov-2021It was third time lucky for Khaya Zondo, who “missed” two previous opportunities to score a first-class double-hundred but celebrated 203* for the Dolphins against Western Province in the season-opening round of red-ball cricket.Zondo’s previous best of 175 came eight summers ago against Griqualand-West. Since then, he notched 157 in the 2016-17 season and four other centuries, all under 150. So this double-ton was a long time coming.”I missed out on a few opportunities in the past but this time the chance was there and I was able to take it,” Zondo told ESPNcrininfo. “It’s one of my goals for the season achieved.”His runs could not beat the rain, which ultimately resulted in a draw for the Dolphins, though they were in the perfect position to close the match out on the final afternoon. Western Province trailed by 34 runs with just three wickets in hand after three days so the Dolphins only had the mopping up to do on the fourth but persistent, unseasonal showers in Cape Town meant only 4.4 overs were possible.Instead, the story was Zondo, who has been in the headlines because of testimony given at the Social Justice and Nation-Building Hearings (SJN), where several witnesses have said that not picking him for South Africa’s fifth ODI against India on the 2015 tour was a mistake. Zondo himself spoke about the mental health impact the incident had on him and now plays with a slightly different technique and a much-matured mindset.”I was 25 then and I am 31 now, so I’ve gained six years experience and in that time, you go through so many situations,” he said. “One thing I have looked at technically is keeping my head in a very solid position. And mentally, I just want to make the most of every opportunity. In each game, I want to make sure I grow. Every ball I face is an opportunity to learn. I also want to be present for every moment because you don’t want to miss a moment. Someone told me, you only have to concentrate for half-a-second at a time and all those small moments make up the day.”Zondo’s innings was made up of 54,600 half-seconds, as he spent 455 minutes at the crease crafting his double-hundred. The bulk of it was scored on the second day, which he went into on 29 not out. A further 174 runs came in 68.4 overs, most of them against the second new-ball. “They had eight overs with the old ball on the second morning. Jason (Smith) and I thought that if we could get through that then by the time the new ball comes, and if we’d added about 40 or 50 runs, we’d have equipped ourselves to deal with it and wouldn’t be in such a vulnerable position,” Zondo said. “When the new ball came, we found we could play freely. We also didn’t have to overhit it to get to the boundary.”He struck 26 fours and two sixes in his innings and no-one, not even Wayne Parnell, was spared. Zondo hasn’t come up against Parnell for almost as many years – eight – as his last attempt to reach a double ton and recognised him as the main weapon in Western Province’s attack. “I haven’t faced Wayne Parnell for quite a long time. He was definitely their toughest bowler and bowled especially well on the first evening,” Zondo said. Parnell, who has returned from a Kolpak deal, finished with figures of 1 for 100.Zondo celebrated his double-hundred by taking a knee, a gesture that has been much-talked about in South African cricket, especially over the last week. “I thought it was nice to take a stance against discrimination and because I am a sportsperson, it’s mostly a stance against discrimination in sports,” he said. “I wanted to show support for my fellow athletes and people around the world. I feel like it’s something that we in South Africa can work on and I felt it was the right thing to do.”With Zondo’s non-selection at national level the subject of scrutiny at the same time he’s back among the runs again, does he still harbour ambitions of a South Africa call-up? Of course he does. “I’d like to think the door is open to me and that if I am performing, they would select me,” he said. “At the time, being left out hit me hard but I am still here, still playing and trying to improve.”

In other results:

Division One:

  • Duanne Olivier, Lutho Sipamla and Malusi Siboto took 17 wickets between them as the Lions opened their campaign with an innings and 72-run victory over North West. The Lions bowled North West out for 159, then took a 249-run lead, thanks largely to Ryan Rickleton’s 159 before dismissing North West for 177 to win inside three days.
  • Marco Jansen starred in a thriller between the Titans and the Warriors at SuperSport Park, which the Warriors won by 1 wicket. In a see-saw match which started with the Titans shot out for 134, the Warriors took a 124-run first-innings lead before being set 236 to win. They were 180 for 7 at one point before half-centuries from Lesibe Ngoepe and Jansen, batting at No.7 and 8 respectively, put them on the brink of victory. The tail completed the job.
  • Pite van Biljon’s 137 was met by Janneman Malan’s double and Ferisco Adams’ 127 in a high-scoring draw between the Knights and Boland. After the first day was washed out, Hardus Viljoen took 4 for 62 as the Knights were bowled out for 320. Boland took the lead and declared on 520 for 9 and had the Knights 143 for 2 when play was stopped.

Division Two

  • Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland bowled Easterns out for under 225 in each of their innings to earn an innings and 109-run win. Luke Schlemmer’s 153 and Andile Mokgakane’s 98 allowed KZN-Inland to declare their first innings closed on 440 for 6. They bowled Easterns out for 107, asked them to follow-on and then dismissed them for 224 to ensure that even a full day lost to rain could not stop them closing out the game. Keith Dudgeon took 7 for 57 in the match.
  • Border did their best to make a game out of it but did not have enough time to beat Limpopo, who needed 353 runs and had nine wickets in hand when stumps were drawn. Marco Marais’ 146 took Border to 392 in their first innings before Thomas Kaber took 6 for 75 as Limpopo were bowled out for 192. Border declared on 190 for 3 in their second innings, setting Limpopo 391 to win. Limpopo were 377 for 8, 14 runs adrift of the target, at stumps.
Game
Register
Service
Bonus