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He has overtaken the likes of Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya as the next 50-over World Cup approaches

Shashank Kishore26-Jul-20222:17

Is Axar more than just Jadeja’s understudy in ODIs now?

Had Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja been available, and India been at full strength, there would have been no space for Axar Patel in the XI for the ODI series in the Caribbean, his first in nearly five years.But, to deal with the changed times in international cricket, India have moved towards a model of keeping a large pool of 40-45 players, who are match-ready at all times. The challenge has been to identify back-ups for each role, but the task of finding a No. 2 for Jadeja has been made that much easier by Axar.With India’s backs to the wall in the second ODI on Sunday, Axar delivered a fine exhibition of range-hitting, tactical smarts and calmness – all at once. The end result: an unbeaten 35-ball 64, including a last-over six, MS Dhoni style, to seal a win that looked distant when he walked out to bat with India needing 107 off 68 balls.Related

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Axar has done it in the IPL. Rohit Sharma, who couldn’t contain his excitement at Sunday’s result, would know. In Delhi Capitals’ opening game this year, Axar had walked in to bat when they needed 74 off 40, with only four wickets remaining. He waltzed an unbeaten 17-ball 38 to take them home against Mumbai Indians.It was a game where he also outsmarted Daniel Sams, known for his back-of-the-hand slower one, and yorker king Jasprit Bumrah in the death overs. During the knock, he showed his batting wasn’t only based on premeditation, but one aided by a strong base, decisive feet movement, improved technique, and game smarts, too.These weren’t the only ones in recent times that he has done it with the bat. Nearly two years ago, Axar made a mockery of Dhoni’s gut feel when he launched into Jadeja to hit him for three sixes in the final over to seal a win for Capitals over Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah.Then, in a Test against New Zealand last December in Mumbai, Axar constructed a 128-ball 52 in the first innings. There, he hit Ajaz Patel repeatedly with and against the turn with ease by using his long reach to get to the pitch and then uncorking his wrists to pick gaps on either side. In the second innings of the same Test, he brought out the basher in him to make 41 not out off 26 balls with India looking for a declaration.Axar Patel is fast becoming a key component of any team he’s part of•Associated PressOn the basis of what he did on Sunday, it would be hard to believe this was his first ODI half-century in 22 innings. Axar’s clean hitting down the ground, effortlessly peppering the arc between deep midwicket and long-off, stood out.”Hundred-odd is chased in the last ten overs in the IPL. So I went in with the intent that we could do it here as well, and not let it get to us that we have to get so many runs still,” Axar told the BCCI website when discussing the chase. “Our thinking was that we would take at least one chance every over.”This “thinking” like a batter has come about recently. Priyank Panchal, Axar’s captain at Gujarat, has seen visible changes in Axar’s thought process over the past four years, and believes the confidence of having done it a few times is finally unlocking the batter in Axar. His county stint with Durham in 2019, where Axar had to learn to add more strings to his bow, also played a part.”When your role is that of a bowling allrounder, there is a tendency to focus on one discipline more than the other, and that was what was happening with Axar,” Panchal told ESPNcricinfo. “The moment he started putting a price on his wicket, he finally began to realise what he was missing out on. His technique started to get tighter, he started thinking like a batter, he would analyse deeply about where he was going wrong, and work towards getting better.”And then once he started becoming more confident in his set-up, he started working on his power game. He was always powerful, but when he combined his smarts with his improved power game, you could see the balance shift. At Gujarat, he has consistently won matches at No. 5. It was always a question of self-belief. He’d often joke, ‘I’ll win this game for you’ and when he actually started doing it, he began to realise his potential more.”Axar Patel is now in contention to be a strike force in India’s ODI spin arsenal alongwith Yuzvendra Chahal•AFP/Getty ImagesThat is making Axar a key component of any team he is a part of – Gujarat, Capitals, now India. This is because his bowling stocks have also been on the rise for a while now, as he has moved on from being the one-dimensional darts bowler who looked to only restrict.A clever use of the crease, variations in pace, developing a loop and deceiving batters in the air have all given his bowling a new dimension. His roaring start to Test cricket – 39 wickets in six games – is proof of that, even though it would be fair to argue that sterner tests may only come when he plays on less favourable surfaces.And Axar 2.0 has given India options. At the start of the year, Washington Sundar was firmly in India’s white-ball plans. An organised batting technique and the ability to bowl thrifty offspin made him jump the queue Axar had once been a part of. Then there was Krunal Pandya, who broke through on the back of delivering consistently for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.From being a quiet understudy who would get games only when Jadeja was injured or rested, Axar is now a contender to be a strike force in India’s ODI spin arsenal alongwith Yuzvendra Chahal. With next year’s 50-overs World Cup at home, this heated race for the spin-allrounder’s spot can’t be a bad thing for Indian cricket.

At the same time, having given so much to England, it is understandable he has chosen to sacrifice himself in less painful ways

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Aug-2022Ben Stokes isn’t one for soundbites. But on the eve of his sixth Test as the full-time men’s captain, one which England need to win to square the series with South Africa, he leant on what is becoming a familiar crutch.”I would never ask my team to do something I wouldn’t”.It is an admirable stance for a skipper to take, and perhaps Stokes is in the unique position as an allrounder where he can act it out. The short-ball tactic England employ – with mixed results – is basically all on him, as it was in the previous regime under Joe Root.With age, the effects of these bumper spells, the extra effort, and the multiplying force put through that front leg wear a little heavier, particularly on his left knee. However, such is his belligerence that even concern from good friend and former England cricketer Steve Harmison was dismissed as unnecessary. “It is something I can manage.”Related

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Interestingly, discussions on how he bowls himself and the associated risks did not elicit the familiar nugget. It was his batting: particularly the almost cavalier approach to the craft he has adopted under Brendon McCullum. There are shades of the Kiwi’s familiar two-step down the ground routine in among some outrageous shots that, so far, have reaped 259 runs at an average of 37 in this summer’s home Tests.It is not bad, but certainly short of his capabilities. There was a period from the start of 2019 to the end of 2020 when it seemed we were entering a new era of Stokes, the batter: he averaged 50 across 18 Tests, with four hundreds among them. At times, he looked the most technically accomplished in the line-up, which is saying something, given he sits next to Root.And yet at the same time, to focus on numbers and aesthetics is to miss the point. Stokes’ method, however madcap, is his way of embodying the extreme of how he wants the batting line-up to operate.Ben Stokes’ belligerence has had mixed results, but created a noteworthy turnaround and comeback wins•Stu Forster/Getty Images”I know when I play well it’s very good for the team,” he answered when asked if, perhaps, there is a regression to the norm. “Me being the leader, I would never ask my team to do something I wouldn’t, but there’s a bigger picture to that if that makes sense.”I’m sure there will come a time when it does have to mellow down a little bit but at this time right now, I feel I’ve got a big responsibility to be that person hitting the message home and almost people watching going like ‘he’s able to go out and do that in a difficult situation’.”If you will allow for some extrapolation with wildly different sample sizes, Stokes’ mantra is clear to see. Overall, he attacks deliveries twice as often as he did across the three home summers between 2019 and 2021. The biggest expansion is the approach to full deliveries, going after them 42.42% of the time compared to 11.54% in the above period.Similarly, he is striking length balls more than twice as often. It is no surprise his strike rate of 78.72 is comfortably his highest in an English season.After a trio of scores – 54, 46 and 75 not out – in his first four knocks of the summer, there have been plenty of starts that in the old days of a few months ago would have been filed under “thrown away”. Their purposes, however, were not for nothing, either shocking bowlers and the field for the benefit of the guy at the other end, or coming in next.Even the twin 20s in the innings defeat at Lord’s had a little more to them: the first innings a necessary counter, the second a hit-out as the last viable option for victory before being caught at midwicket trying to strike Kagiso Rabada for a six, thus becoming the ninth wicket to fall.”It’s about the language we speak as well in the group to set the tone of what we’re about,” Stokes on England’s approach•Getty ImagesMaybe because cricket is like this, but it is hard not to wince at the thought of Stokes wanting to be the canary down the mine, given he strikes gold so often. At the same time, having given so much of himself to England over the years and still only coming away with sub-par results – one win in 17, anyone? – perhaps it is understandable that he has chosen to sacrifice himself in other, slightly less painful ways.And it is certainly working to a point, with four wins and an overall run rate of 4.50 which is the highest of any team to play five or more games in a season.Ahead of the second Test against South Africa, nursing a 0-1 scoreline, Stokes took the opportunity to talk the talk once more, fully aware he will walk it from 11am on Thursday, and hopefully get others to follow as resolutely as they had before.”It’s about the language we speak as well in the group to set the tone of what we’re about, because when you are up against the wall – as we were in the first innings – it’s a lot easier to take a step back and go into your shell a bit more,” he said.”That’s something we don’t want to creep into this team at the moment. That game in particular we all hold our hands up and know we didn’t perform to where we wanted to, and there will be occasions when similar situations happen. But if they go out there with the confidence of having the backing of the dressing room is very powerful I feel.”Indeed, this match feels like more of an acid test than last week. Then it was about seeing how much of the ethos sustained after a long break. Now it will be about how much those players still believe after a first defeat.As for Stokes? Well, he might find himself in an interesting conundrum. Because as much as he still wants to lead the way, doing so here, with the series on the line, might require a more selfish approach.

“I didn’t know what consistency was earlier. Now I understand it’s very important,” says Capitals opener after hitting her third fifty of this WPL

Shashank Kishore14-Mar-20241:49

Shafali Verma: ‘If Meg Lanning can still be so consistent, why can’t we?’

There are some shots that get a batter going. It’s like an assurance that bursts to life the moment they execute it. For Shafali Verma, that shot is a bottom-handed shovel down the ground. She clubs the ball with ferocity. It isn’t as much a shot but a switch that flicks her game on and moves it to the next level.It was first on display in the fifth over of the Delhi Capitals chase against Gujarat Giants. The target was a mere 127, and the team had lost two quick wickets. Shafali had a role to play in Meg Lanning’s run out and needed to bat through to see her team home. Here was an opportunity to rediscover her “hitting touch” ahead of the final, after four games of being unable to kick on.Shafali could have had a few sighters if she wished to. But she decided to go after Meghna Singh and walloped a six down the ground. It was hit hard, flat, and with plenty of bottom-hand, laced with an element of wrist. It was magic.Related

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If you have watched Shafali bat for a length of time now, you would have noticed the propensity to move around the crease. This movement isn’t as much to throw the bowler off, as it is to try and manufacture something. Bowlers the world over – especially Katherine Sciver-Brunt – have found workarounds by attacking her body and hitting hard lengths that cramp her.Over time, coaches have worked around limiting these premeditated movements with varying degrees of success. The focus hasn’t been to eliminate her attacking mindset. There have been chats to help her access different areas of the ground to the same ball.At the WPL, with games coming thick and fast, the onus is also on the player to learn on the job. And Shafali appears to have taken those suggestions on board and has based her power game not as much around her movements, but on picking lengths, her bat swing, and the follow through.The method brought her a 37-ball 71 on Wednesday. The movement wasn’t within the crease but outside it. Like when she stepped out to clobber Ash Gardner three balls after she had shovelled Meghna. This one went even further, 91 metres and deep into the stands.

“If you look at my batting closely, I’ve changed a few things. I feel more stable at the crease. You can see I’m more stable. I’m able to hit my shots clearly, I’m able to find gaps”Shafali Verma

In the same over, Shafali went even straighter and cleared the ropes comfortably when mid-on went back. A trigger movement towards off stump to get close to the pitch followed by a free swing of the arms made it possible for her to hit it down the ground.In a small chase, blows like these can quickly increase the pressure on the opponents. It certainly dissipated any relief Giants may have had after dismissing Lanning and Alice Capsey in the space of four deliveries in the fourth over.”If you look at my batting closely, I’ve changed a few things,” Shafali said afterwards. “I feel more stable at the crease. You can see I’m more stable. I’m able to hit my shots clearly, I’m able to find gaps.” Shafali didn’t elaborate on how she has been able to achieve that. But the proof’s right there.What Shafali was willing to give away, though, was the crux of her chats with Lanning. “We share a good bond. She wants to teach me. I used to struggle with consistency, get out in the 20s and 30s. I learnt from her, on days when you’re in good touch, it’s about how long you can play. The bad days teach you to score better [on good days when you’re in]. I’m able to score better, and build my innings better. I talk to her when I need to and she is always happy to help me.”Shafali Verma after her 71: ‘I feel more stable at the crease’•BCCIShafali’s discussions with Lanning have revolved largely around discovering methods that work, fine-tuning things like knowing when to temper down the hitting to try and bat long, and how to maximise your strengths.”I didn’t know what consistency was,” Shafali said. “Now I understand it’s very important. Not just now, even if you go back to 2020, from the time I played the T20 World Cup, I didn’t know what consistency was. As you play, you learn about your shortcomings and what you can do better. Training and playing with big players like Meg has shown [me]. She hit two fifties. She’s so experienced, even now she’s still doing it, so why can’t I achieve it?”There was brute force on display when Shafali became a teenage wonder girl, when she broke through at the Women’s T20 Challenge in 2019. That competition aimed to test the depth of women’s cricket in India. There’s little doubt that the tournament accelerated Shafali’s journey to the India cap.Now, five years on, Shafali is beginning to channel that brute force better and marry it with consistency. She’s still a work in progress, but one can say with certainty her career graph is back on track and on its way up.

On a day when 16 wickets fell, Leicestershire went in at stumps on 149 for 6 with Eckersley unbeaten with 45

ECB Reporters Network22-Jul-2018
ScorecardLeicestershire’s Ned Eckersley took five catches and top-scored on an attritional but fascinating opening day of Specsavers County Championship cricket against title-chasing Kent in Canterbury.On a day when 16 wickets fell, Leicestershire went in at stumps on 149 for 6 with Eckersley unbeaten with 45 as the Foxes, after skittling Kent for 104, earned a precious 45-run lead to take into day two.Responding to Kent’s quickfire 37.5-over first innings, Leicestershire lost their first wicket to the third ball of their reply when Harry Dearden edged behind off the bowling of Harry Podmore.With 17 on the board Colin Ackermann, seemingly transfixed by a Darren Stevens away-swinger, dutifully followed the line to steer a catch to Zak Crawley at third slip.The experienced duo of Mark Cosgrove and Paul Horton joined forces to add 30 until Horton nibbled at one from Ivan Thomas to be caught behind. Then Cosgrove departed soon after, lbw to a Grant Stewart inducker that may well have missed the left-hander’s leg stump.Leicestershire’s fifth-wicket partners Neil Dexter (41) and Ned Eckersley added 70 either side of tea to bring some normality to the game and take their side into the lead before, Kent served to spin for the first time in the match.However, Joe Denly’s opening over leaked 10 runs and he was immediately replaced by Thomas, who broke the stand and bagged his second scalp of the afternoon with his second ball of a new spell by plucking out Dexter’s off stump with a leg-cutter.Denly was entrusted with the day’s final over and he made an immediate impact by having Raine caught at slip to lift Kentish spirits late in the day.Kent, batting first after an uncontested toss, might have lost opener Sean Dickson in the sixth over but Leicestershire keeper Eckersley downed a tough diving chance off Ben Raine.Nine balls later Eckersley atoned for his blunder by catching a more tricky chance off the same bowler when Daniel Bell-Drummond feathered a late away-swinger for the keeper to dive in front of slip and pouch the chance.Raine’s next delivery, another full away-swinger, squared up Heino Kuhn into a crab-like defensive prod and plucked out off stump and send the South African packing for a golden duck.Denly duly survived the hat-trick but, with only five against his name, the right-hander nibbled an airy drive through to the keeper against Zak Chappell to make it 44 for 3.Raine gave way after a spell of 7-1-20-2 to be replaced at the Nackington Road End by Gavin Griffiths, who soon gave Eckersley his third catch of the opening session. Angling one in from wide of the crease, Griffiths forced Dickson to spar outside off and nick behind.Kent skipper Sam Billings looked solid in reaching double figures but he then failed to smother a Chappell lifter and played the ball onto the base of his off stump.Stevens was given a life on 5 when Eckersley downed another chance diving leg-side off Chappell, but he instantly made amends by pouching a fourth catch when Crawley feathered the very next delivery to send Kent into lunch on 73 for six.The home demise continued after the resumption as the hosts lost their last for wickets for 31 runs and in the space of 8.5 overs. Podmore and Stewart went leg before to consecutive Dexter deliveries, leaving Muhammad Abbas and Raine to polish the job off. Raine finished with three for 39, Chappell three for 14, while Dexter took two for 11.

Marcus Rashford may have fired another shot at Manchester United, with the England international claiming that the "environment" that he now forms part of at Barcelona "pushes us to be the best". That could be considered a nod towards those at Old Trafford not providing players with a platform on which they feel comfortable and capable of unlocking full potential.

• Fresh start: Rashford tumbled out of favour at Man Utd

  Rashford stepped out of the Red Devils’ fabled academy system to become a first-team star while still in his teens. He took in 426 appearances for the Premier League heavyweights, scoring 138 goals.

  A personal-best return of 30 efforts in 2022-23 earned Rashford a lucrative new contract, but said deal is unlikely to be honoured. With form fading from that point, the 28-year-old forward was loaned out to Aston Villa last season. He now finds himself on the books of Barcelona.

  Rashford has rekindled a professional spark alongside Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski at Camp Nou, with six goals and eight assists being recorded through 21 appearances. He is back in favour with Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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• Getty/GOAL
  

  Winning environment: Rashford happy and settled in Catalunya

  A man that relies on confidence in order to deliver on expectations believes that he is now in ideal surroundings when it comes to recapturing consistency and playing with a smile on his face. Some of that love for the game was lost when falling out of favour in Manchester under Ruben Amorim.

  Rashford has told of embracing a new culture in Catalunya that sees everybody pulling in the same direction: "I've always been, like many people in the world, an admirer of Spanish football.

  "To play for the biggest club in Spain is a huge honour. I'm looking forward to playing more games here, just doing my best and try to help the team to win. It's a club that demands this. The environment is always pushing us to be the best players we can be so it's perfect to be in a place like this as a player."

  On his bid to silence any doubters, Rashford added – with questions having been asked of his commitment to the cause at Old Trafford: "I don't see anything here as like a pressure. It's just, I'm here to play football. It's been amazing. I feel welcome, I feel at home. I've just been enjoying every step of the way."

• Language barrier: Rashford taking Spanish lessons

  There has been a language barrier for Rashford to break down, but he is taking lessons in a bid to become bilingual – which will help to make communication with club colleagues easier. He said of being embraced by the Barca family: "All my teammates welcomed me well and I also felt very good in the city. It’s the first time I’ve lived away from Manchester, but I’m already starting to feel at home. I want to learn more Spanish and I’m trying."

  Blaugrana boss Hansi Flick has said of helping Rashford to settle in new surroundings, with it important that he feels happy off the field in order for performances to be delivered on it: "I followed him his whole career, I was impressed with his quality, what he’s doing in the box in front of the opponent’s goal. He has shown it in Barcelona. Also for him this change to live in another culture, with fantastic people, nice weather, it’s amazing. We can see now he’s also smiling a lot. If he can enjoy the atmosphere we have it’s also very good."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Permanent transfer: How much it will cost Barcelona to sign Rashford

  Rashford joined Barca on an initial season-long loan. The reigning La Liga champions have the option of making that move permanent in 2026, with a €35 million (£31m/$41m) transfer fee being agreed.

  The 68-cap England international has no intention of returning to the infamous ‘bomb squad’ at Old Trafford and will be doing all he can to convince Barcelona of his worth. There have been plenty of reports to suggest that a purchase clause will be triggered at some stage.

Southampton are now thought to be on the verge of completing another late signing on deadline day, according to an encouraging update from Sky Sports.

Southampton win race for Noel Buck

Saints still just about have time to complete some last-gasp business in the summer transfer window, with New England Revolution teenager Noel Buck one reported target for them before the cutoff on Friday night. The 19-year-old would be considered one for the future for Russell Martin, but also a good squad player who can add depth straight away, in order to give his side the best possible chance of avoiding relegation from the Premier League straight back down to the Championship.

The biggest news for Southampton on deadline day has been the signing of Aaron Ramsdale from Arsenal, however, with the Englishman completing a £25m move to St Mary's Stadium. It has been made clear that he is second-choice to David Raya at the Emirates, so he is no doubt excited to be a regular starter again, while Martin will no doubt be delighted to bring in an established international player.

Saints have also been pushing to complete the signing of Maxwel Cornet from West Ham and now a significant update has emerged regarding the situation.

Southampton on the verge of signing £65k-a-week ace

According to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth Cornet is now set to undergo a medical at Southampton, as he closes in on a loan move to St Mary's: "Maxwel Cornet is understood to be travelling to Southampton for a medical. They are pushing to sign him on a season-long loan from West Ham."

Cornet could be a brilliant temporary signing for Southampton, even though his time as a West Ham player has ultimately been a little underwhelming. Only one goal has come his way in 37 appearances for the Hammers – he has at least registered six assists, though – and he could be jumping at the opportunity to be a more important player for Saints.

Still only 27 years of age, the £65,000-a-week Ivory Coast international has scored six times for his country, while none other than Pep Guardiola once admitted that he was "very impressed" with him as a player, having come up against him for Lyon in a Champions League clash with his Manchester City side.

As mentioned, depth is so important for Southampton, especially as legs and minds tire as the season goes on, and Cornet could add so much quality in wide attacking areas, usually preferring to take up a left-sided role.

All confirmed Premier League done deals: summer transfer window 2024

Find every incoming and outgoing for each 2024/25 Premier League club here.

By
Stephan Georgiou

Sep 18, 2024

That being said, the Ivorian is also adept at playing on the right and in a central attacking berth, while he can even play at left-back too, showing the options he can provide Martin with. It feels like a no-brainer of a signing, and his loan switch could even be made permanent next summer if he shines for Saints.

Jos Buttler’s 89 off 56 in vain but Royals will have a second shot at the title in Qualifier 2

Shashank Kishore24-May-20222:41

Manjrekar: ‘Chahal bowled the tough overs, but Ashwin was slightly disappointing’

A man who wasn’t snapped up until the fag end of an exhaustive two-day auction was front and centre of Gujarat Titans’ dream run into the IPL final, which will be played at their home ground in front of possibly 100,000 fans in Ahmedabad.David Miller, enjoying his best IPL returns since 2013, channeled the spirit of Carlos Brathwaite by going 6, 6, 6 in a sensational final-over take down of Prasidh Krishna as Titans made no fuss in polishing off the 16 runs they needed off the final over. Miller remained unbeaten on 68 off 38, and his partnership of 106 with Hardik Pandya, who made a subdued unbeaten 40, ensured Titans were always ahead of a chase of 189. They eventually got home with three balls to spare and with seven wickets in hand.Buttler starts, Samson sustainsJos Buttler laced three boundaries off Mohammed Shami early on to give Royals the push they needed to overcome the early loss of Yashasvi Jaiswal. Samson then came out and batted like a man possessed, standing upright and striking the ball on the up. Clearing his front leg and swinging through cleanly, he hit three fours and two sixes off his first 10 deliveries. His first non-boundary run came in the seventh over. It told you of his intent to give his team the extra runs they may have needed to deal with the dew that was expected later in the evening. Samson raced to 30 off 13 as Royals made 55 for 1 in the first six overs.The slowdownButtler slowed down, initially because Samson took on the aggressor’s role. Then Rashid Khan, who had a favourable match-up against Englishman – four dismissals, strike rate of 60 – had him all at sea with his bag of ripping googlies and legbreaks. Having bowled three overs on the trot for 12, Rashid paved the way for R Sai Kishore to remove Samson to further dent the Royals. Rashid finished with an economy rate of 3.75, mostly because of his genius, but also because the opposition only had six specialist batters and they couldn’t afford to take too many risks.2:41

Manjrekar sees shade of Dhoni in Buttler’s innings progression

The finishFrom the end of the third over to the start of the 15th, Buttler failed to hit a single boundary. And then they came in torrents. He hit left-arm seamer Yash Dayal for four fours in the 17th. The second of those, with Buttler on 43, would’ve been straight down Hardik’s throat at long-off had he not slipped. Two balls later, he raised a fifty off 42 balls. It wasn’t until the 19th over that he hit his first six, and it was quite a hit as he cleared his front leg and walloped Shami way over long-off. The last five overs went for 64, Buttler alone hitting 52.Titans rocked earlyThe Titans lost powerplay maverick Wriddhiman Saha for a duck when he nicked Trent Boult in the first over, but quickly recovered with Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade’s calculated assault. Gill triggered a surge when he took on R Ashwin in the last over of the powerplay. He began with a six over extra cover, before flicking him for two more boundaries as Titans ended the first six on 64 for 1, their highest powerplay score of the season. Gill looked peerless until his innings ended courtesy a mix-up with Wade as he tried to keep strike. Wade, who initially turned for a second, froze to leave Gill stranded. To make matters worse, Wade also fell two overs later as Titans were 85 for 3 in the 10th over.Miller, Hardik see Titans homeMiller and Hardik took calculated risks and peeled off risk-free runs including a 14-run final over from Ashwin that consigned him to 4-0-40-0, his worst figures this season. Titans needed 50 off the last five, but weren’t allowed to break free as Chahal and Obed McCoy kept things tight. McCoy was especially effective with his bag of slower deliveries, and Chahal varied his pace and lengths to bowl a tight 18th that left Titans needing 23 off 12. Miller’s ability to pick boundaries covered up for Hardik’s struggles on what Samson described as a “sticky wicket”. McCoy’s tight 19th that went for just one four meant Royals had the cushion of 16 in the final over. But Miller had other ideas. He went 6,6,6 to give Titans a ticket to their dream finale.

Political uncertainty forced the relocation, with the ODIs expected to start at 4pm

Umar Farooq30-May-2022Pakistan have relocated their home series against West Indies from Rawalpindi to Multan. The decision has been taken in light of political uncertainty in Islamabad – the country’s capital, adjacent to Rawalpindi. The fixtures and schedule, however, remain unchanged, with the three ODIs, which are a part of the Cricket World Cup Super League to be played on June 8, 10 and 12.The games were originally slated for Rawalpindi, but the PCB had kept Multan as a back-up option, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan potentially planning protest rallies in the capital over the coming days. The original protest rally took place on May 25, but there remains a significant possibility of further such rallies over the coming days.Multan remained the only viable option, with Lahore and Karachi’s pitches being relaid, and the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar undergoing renovation work.Multan is situated in southern Punjab, and among the hottest cities in the country, with temperatures in the high 40s expected on matchdays. Pakistan has never hosted elite cricket at this time of year due to the summer heat, with nearly all high-level competitions including domestic season played during the winter and spring months between September and April.During the summer months, the PCB has mostly held its training camps in northern side of the country mostly in Abbottabad, which is located in the hilly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and experiences relatively milder weather. Last year, the PCB had made an attempt to host women cricketers camp in Multan but had to call off the camp due to extreme heat.The games will start at 4pm in the afternoon to mitigate the weather conditions. Pakistan will carry out their training camp in Lahore from June 1-4, before the squad moves to Multan on June 5. West Indies will arrive in Islamabad as planned on June 6 and will travel to Multan on a charter flight. The ODIs have been carried over from the series scheduled last December, when only the three T20Is took place, a Covid outbreak in the West Indies camp forcing the postponement of the ODIs. There will be no biosecure bubble for the series.

Australia’s impatience to find the rare, effective allrounder in recent years hasn’t resulted in much gain

Jacob Astill, Sydney08-Apr-2013The allrounder is cricket’s rarest of commodities, for he is a player good enough to hold his place in the side as a batsman or bowler alone. His skills are made valuable because he does , meaning the side he’s playing for can bolster its weakest suit with an extra player if needed. It’s little wonder, then, that international sides all around the world will bend over backwards to try and accommodate a world-class allrounder in their XI. In recent times, however, a disturbing trend has emerged in Australian cricket. Players are being picked not on their skills as allrounders, but simply because they allrounders. Now when this leaks through to the Test team, it becomes more detrimental to the side than helpful, because players are being picked without any experience and temperament, or runs and wickets behind them.The Australian allrounder obsession is a quite recent development. The country’s Test history has been accentuated by performances from some of the greatest all-round cricketers the world has seen. Names like Keith Miller, Jack Gregory, Monty Noble, Richie Benaud, and Alan Davidson spring to mind. These players were picked because of their all-round skills of course, but first and foremost because they could hold their place in the side as a batsman or bowler alone. Benaud and Davidson, two of the iconic cricketers of the 1960s, were in the side because they were among the best bowlers in the world, with the fact that they could score valuable middle-order runs a bonus rather than a necessity to their selection. Perhaps only Keith Miller of the aforementioned list can be classed as a proper allrounder, and is quite rightly mentioned in the same breath as Garry Sobers, Imran Khan, and Ian Botham.But for the modern Australian side, there is a direct link with the performances of one Andrew Flintoff during the 2005 Ashes series. Flintoff was one of the deciding factors in the series. Not only did he deliver with important wickets and runs, he won England decisive moments over those five Tests, allowing them to knock off one of the most indestructible teams ever to have taken the field. Since then, Australian selectors have been searching high and low for the next Flintoff, investing in the careers of players who are not necessarily within the best eleven cricketers in the country. Let’s call this the ‘Flintoff Effect’.Australia have been searching for a magical allrounder since Andrew Flintoff’s exploits in the 2005 Ashes•Getty ImagesThe two most recent examples of this are the debuts handed out to Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell on Australia’s disastrous tour of India. The point isn’t that these players played, but that from the start of their careers they were earmarked as game-changing allrounders. Maxwell, to date, has only played a handful of first-class matches (none on spinning wickets like in India), while Henriques has been in the New South Wales’ state team for seven years, and has only scored a single first-class century, that too in the recently concluded Sheffield Shield season. Quite simply, Henriques and Maxwell were taken to India on the basis of reputation or talent, rather than for being proven allrounders in the prime of their career who had spent a couple of seasons dominating the Australian domestic scene. And this was at the expense of a specialist batsman, which meant Matthew Wade or Brad Haddin had to bat at No. 6, thereby causing the batting line-up to be fragile. If not for useful contributions from lower-order batsmen like Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc throughout the series, the outcome could have been even more embarrassing.Henriques and Maxwell are the most recent in a long line of so-called allrounders that have played Tests for Australia since the Flintoff Effect took hold. Victoria’s captain Cameron White toured India last time as a leg-spinning allrounder, despite rarely having enough faith in himself to bowl in state cricket, while Andrew McDonald and John Hastings got debuts because their skills with the bat supplemented their honest (at best) medium-pacers. And Mitchell Johnson? Surely the only reason he is still hovering around the Australian side is because he scored a Test century once, since he’s definitely not counted among the best dozen quicks in Australia, let alone the best four.But the biggest beneficiary from the Flintoff Effect has to be Shane Watson. Watson was earmarked from a young age as being a world-class allrounder to take the Aussie side to the next level. He debuted against Pakistan in 2005, with modest results, and proceeded to spend the next few years injured. But it was his comeback against, incidentally, the English in the 2009 Ashes series that saw the Flintoff Effect at work: during this series, Watson was picked for the third Test at Edgbaston as an opening batsman, despite having very little experience as anything other than a middle-order bat in first-class cricket. Watson was added because he was deemed too valuable to leave out of the side, but the selectors couldn’t justify shuffling a settled middle-order to accommodate him. So Phillip Hughes’ fragile confidence was sacrificed.Watson performed honestly throughout this series, and has since become a mainstay of the Australian side. However, four years down the track, Watson, who now plays as a specialist batsman, has only scored two Test hundreds, and averages in the early 30s since his last ton back in 2010.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line

A look back at some of the uncapped Indian players who performed well in IPL 2013

Rachna Shetty27-May-2013Mohit Sharma
On the list of the most successful bowlers in IPL 2013 during the Powerplay overs, Mohit Sharma is second only to Mitchell Johnson (16), having taken 15 wickets at an economy rate of 6.36. Given their struggle to find consistent Indian pacers, Mohit proved to be a valuable pick for Chennai Super Kings. The Haryana pace bowler finished the tournament with 20 wickets, his quick pace, focused line and length, and deliveries like the back-of-the-hand slower ball, producing consistent breakthroughs at the start of the innings. His best performance came against Delhi Daredevils where he dismissed David Warner, Manprit Juneja and Virender Sehwag. Only once this season did he concede more than 10 runs per over, against Royal Challengers Bangalore in a rain-curtailed, eight-over-a-side match.Stuart Binny
Even as Shane Watson hogged the headlines as one of the best allrounders of the tournament, Stuart Binny went about his season with calm efficiency, pulling Rajasthan Royals out of some tricky chases. His unbeaten 41 against Super Kings, where he partnered Shane Watson at the end, put Royals in the playoffs. In their next match against Mumbai Indians, he turned the floundering innings around with an unbeaten 37, threatening Mumbai after they had reduced Royals to 28 for 4. His effective medium-pace only embellished his value to the team.Karan Sharma
In a line-up comprising Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera and Amit Mishra, young Karan Sharma was the bowler the opposition batsmen were expected to target. The 25-year-old legspinner, however, responded with a mature performance. His performance against Kings XI Punjab early on in the tournament was ample proof of his potential, as he beat the Kings XI batsmen with his spin. He fortified an already strong bowling attack with a decent economy rate and was a good foil to Mishra, the senior legspinner in the side. When given the chance, also contributed with the bat, scoring a stubborn unbeaten 39 when Sunrisers Hyderabad were staring at their first home defeat against Super Kings.Shahbaz Nadeem

One of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable campaign for Delhi Daredevils. Shahbaz Nadeem’s nine wickets in 12 matches defy the skill and heart he showed when bowling for Daredevils. Like Mohit, Nadeem, too, extended his domestic form into the IPL. In the 2012-13 Ranji season, he finished as the most successful spinner and the fourth-highest wicket-taker. The young left-arm spinner showed enough potential to lead a spin attack and was the most economical bowler in an otherwise feeble attack.Sanju Samson
In just his first season of the IPL, 18-year-old Kerala wicketkeeper garnered praise for his calm demeanour. His sure-footed 63 against Royal Challengers set up a close win for Royals and he showed the same quiet confidence against Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI. Against the bigger teams like Super Kings and Mumbai, and in crunch matches, Samson struggled to cope with the pressure. But he is still very young and can only improve, provided, of course, that he stays grounded.Honorable mentions

Hanuma Vihari

Two Man-of-the-Match awards for solid innings against Royal Challengers and Kings XI.Mandeep Singh

Showed promise in a brisk supporting act to David Miller against Pune Warriors.Dishant Yagnik

An audacious shot to mark some unorthodox innings. In the qualifier against Mumbai, he stood back in the crease, behind the stumps and whipped Lasith Malinga for four.Rishi Dhawan

A sharp catch in the field, good fast bowling and a scoop shot for four that took Mumbai closer to the final.Pravin Tambe

The 41-year-old Pravin Tambe was noticed on his debut for being the one of the oldest players in the IPL. On the field, he had a decent run with the ball, too.