Jasprit Bumrah – the Reality Era superstar

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Bumrah chooses to stay “stable,” and when he doesn’t have the results to show for his work, he doesn’t get too down on himself

Sidharth Monga12-Jul-20224:32

Is Jasprit Bumrah the best all-format bowler in the world?

A lot of fast bowlers build themselves a character. Curtly Ambrose never did interviews while he played, almost becoming this mythical, impenetrable figure immune to human failings. Mohammad Asif almost always sounded contemptuous of batters in his interviews, once famously ruing that AB de Villiers got out too early, thus denying him the joy of a full set up and the payoff. Most often, they are the rockstars of cricket: eccentric, individualistic and definitely not pop. They make you believe nothing is beyond them.After a point, fast bowling becomes a way of living. They don’t stop being a fast bowler after six hours of play. Like the old-time professional wrestlers who never broke kayfabe. No wonder a lot of fast bowlers like pro wrestling. Big Boss Man, this big monster heel in kayfabe, once smashed the door of his car’s boot on his hand in the presence of fans. He showed no pain. When Jake “The Snake” Roberts was a kid, his father Grizzly Smith used to tell him how he was planning to take the family out of town because his wrestling adversaries were coming after him. Then of course the Internet broke down the fourth wall to usher in the Reality Era where wrestlers hardly stay in character outside the shows.Related

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Bumrah takes career-best 6 for 19 as India skittle England

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Stats – Bumrah reaches new high as England sink to new lows

If he ever were to be a pro wrestler, Jasprit Bumrah would belong to the Reality Era. When he does well – sorry, when the result on the day is good, as Bumrah would, and others should, describe it – and when the accolades are flowing, Bumrah doesn’t add to any myth-building. Instead, he chooses to stay real – stable, in his words. When Bumrah doesn’t have the results to show for his work, he doesn’t get too down on himself.Only last Monday and Tuesday, Bumrah was part of an attack that failed to defend 377 in the fourth innings of a Test. They didn’t even come close to threatening England. He himself went at 4.35 runs an over. A week later, against the same batters, Bumrah has six wickets in a little over seven overs in an ODI. Of course, Bumrah bowled beautifully at The Oval, swinging the ball mesmerizingly and also getting seam movement from the pitch, but what he tried wasn’t much different to what he does on his worst days.”This is the beauty of cricket, isn’t it?” Bumrah said when asked how he reconciles with such wildly swinging fortunes when it comes to the results. “One day you will see everything is going in your favour. Another day you can try whatever you want, but it doesn’t work for you. That is exactly why you need to keep a stable head.”Every day is a new day. There will be days when you will get the edge first ball, there will be days you will bowl similarly all day but not get a single edge. You don’t want to get desperate in these scenarios. That is why I rate stability a lot. Because at the end of the day there is very little in your hand. Once a bowler has let the ball go, there is nothing in his control.”Sometimes you will bowl well, get the edge, but the catch will be dropped. Sometimes the ball will pass over the stumps. Sometimes a full toss will get you a wicket. That doesn’t mean you bowl more full tosses. So I only try to prepare what I can. And not think of what is not in my hand. After that whatever is the result, I accept and move on.”Jasprit Bumrah picked up career-best figures of 6 for 19•Associated PressThen it is probably not a good idea to ask Bumrah if this was as well as he has bowled. “I don’t look at end results and judge my bowling,” Bumrah said. “There have been instances when I have bowled so much better than this and not gotten wickets. But I always looked at following the same routine. Yes, today was a day where the white ball swung and there was some seam movement. So yeah, I wanted to exploit that.”When we started the innings, we saw there was some seam and swing. So [Mohammed] Shami and I had a conversation and decided we should bowl a little fuller and try and bowl the Test-match length. It was a good day that we got the wickets. And there was some help in the beginning, and the wicket was also on the softer side.”

“Today was a good day. It will bring a lot of praise. But neither do I get too happy with praise nor do I get too down with criticism.”Jasprit Bumrah

Fast bowling is a tough job but it is also an optimist’s job. You are, after all, cheating your body into performing acts it was not built to do. Accordingly, many fast bowlers internalise that they are the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Bumrah? He doesn’t even take it seriously when a respected pundit such as Nasser Hussain calls him the best bowler across formats today.”I don’t focus on these things,” Bumrah said. “Today was a good day. It will bring a lot of praise. But neither do I get too happy with praise nor do I get too down with criticism. I don’t look at it this way: I am here, I am very good in all formats. I enjoy every format. I try to do what I can. I respect what people say but I don’t take it seriously. Very grateful for the applause you get but I always try to keep a stable head. That’s how I will always be.”This is how cricket is, and will be. Most cricketers and fans don’t like talking about luck and conditions because of the popular perception that luck or reliance on conditions is the opposite of skill. It couldn’t be farther from the truth.This has been a weird year in England in which the Dukes Test balls have moved less and gone soft sooner than usual, but the white Kookaburra has been swinging more than it does and for longer. On top of that Bumrah got a green pitch on a muggy afternoon. That he said made his job easier: he just had to bowl line and length and let the ball do the rest as opposed to making things happen on flat ODI decks. The edges came readily, none fell short, and half chances stuck.This is a real description of the events at The Oval. And also, by extension, at Edgbaston. This is Bumrah’s description. A Reality Era description.

Babar Azam repays Pindi debt with a masterpiece

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The Pakistan captain made up for not scoring a ton against Australia in March, and gave his fans what they came for

Danyal Rasool03-Dec-2022It’s a curious thing, a third-wicket partnership for Pakistan, and it was no different on an otherwise sleepy Saturday morning in Pindi. The stadium hums with activity, the seats begin to fill up. Gazes move from smartphones to the action on the field, even if the thrum of excitement has little to do with any of the characters in the middle. The amplified interest isn’t down to Azhar Ali, brilliant as his career has been, or Imam-ul-Haq, despite his third consecutive hundred at this ground. It certainly can’t be explained by England’s bowling attack, which had comprised Jack Leach, Will Jacks and Joe Root for the entirety of the morning.Instead, the crowd is transfixed by the prospect of a man who hasn’t even left the pavilion. The cheers when Imam gets out might seem harsh on a player who’s scored 121, but despite his famous love-hate relationship with Pakistan’s fanbase, it isn’t personal this time.Related

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Late wickets give England an opening after Babar leads big Pakistan show with the bat

Joe Root, Abdullah Shafique promise to 'fight it out' as slow-burn Test reaches end-game

As Pakistan’s No. 4 steps out of the shadows and into gentle early December sunshine, the chants of “Babar!” reveal what the people have come here for. The Test itself is positively meandering towards meaninglessness, but Babar Azam’s purposeful strides to the middle have whipped the crowd into a frenzy.With seven Test hundreds in four different countries, few crowds could reasonably claim Babar wasn’t worth the price of admission alone, but those who showed up here against Australia in March may feel Babar owed them one. On a wicket as turgid as this one, he was the only member of Pakistan’s top four to miss out on a big score in the match, run out going after an unnecessary single the only time he batted. He might have had two prior centuries here, but for now, Babar has scores to settle, and scores to make.All of a sudden, there’s a spring in England’s step, perhaps as much down to the infectious enthusiasm of the crowd as the sudden fall of two wickets. Ollie Robinson is warming up, ready to bowl his first spell of the day. Root is shining the ball on Leach’s glistening scalp. Babar has just clipped him past mid-on for a boundary, and the crowd is baying for more. Azhar has just played out a maiden over against Jacks at the other end; some things don’t change, after all.When the Barmy Army basked in the entertainment of the first four sessions of this game, and England revelled into the brave new era Brendon McCullum was leading this Test side into, concerns about the pitch were pushed to the back of the mind. Not because they didn’t know this was a “terrible wicket”, as the characteristically forthright Nasser Hussain put it on commentary, but because if you don’t enjoy 657 runs in 101 overs, why are you even here? In the same vein, every Pakistan fan clustered around this intimate little cricket ground is well aware they’re watching a contest severely devalued by the strip laid out. But in the moment, watching Babar bat, they refuse to let their experience be sullied.Babar Azam celebrates his eighth Test hundred•AFP/Getty ImagesBabar survives the early salvos and makes inroads of his own. He’s sped along to 28 off 36 by the time lunch is called, looking as supremely untroubled as you’d expect from a batter of his character on a pitch that lacks any.England call upon James Anderson. The Pakistan captain was eight years old when Anderson made his Test debut, 11 when he last played in Pakistan. Yet somehow, this grandfather clock of English cricket finds himself in a position where Babar could be his first Test wicket in the country. It is the marquee match-up this series, so try stopping Rawalpindi from enjoying it, duff pitch or not.It’s an absorbing cat-and-mouse battle – Anderson might be getting no assistance from the conditions, but Babar knows better than to get carried away. Sixteen of Anderson’s 18 balls to him probe off or middle stump, and produce just three runs for the Pakistan captain. Off the two deliveries the old grandmaster strays down leg, Babar milks him for six runs, including a boundary through midwicket. England’s relatively more benign spin bowling – at least in the middle session – is dispatched with more fluency, their collective 93 balls to Babar conceding 92 runs. It included a majestic drive down the ground to bring up his half-century, but he still has promises to keep.It’s a procession, a cakewalk, an inevitability, and yet when the strike turns over to Babar, Pindi is entranced once more. Babar is suddenly on 96, having just slapped one off Ben Stokes in front of square. Pakistan are closing in on 400, still dangerously far away from England’s 657, but when Babar bats those hard numbers don’t quite seem to matter as much.It’s short and wide, and Babar swings his arms, all nonchalance and elegance. The contact is true, and the ball pings of the bat, racing through a vacant cover region. Babar lets his arms swing by his side, allowing himself a moment of personal reflection before raising them to acknowledge the rapturous applause thundering around the stadium. As he prostrates, Rawalpindi’s on its feet. The debt he accrued in March has been repaid.He ensures Pakistan avoid the follow-on he finally succumbs, a loose shot off Jacks’ first ball of the evening flying straight to point. Suddenly, Pindi falls silent, and as the next two wickets fall in quick succession, it becomes apparent how vulnerable Pakistan’s position actually is and the extent to which Babar’s presence seemed to inoculate his side from the hazards. He may have appeased the fans for one more day, but he still has miles to go before he sleeps.

Takeaways: Are Pakistan dark horses for the 2023 World Test Championship?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Also, is it sustainable for them to approach all series like they did against South Africa?

Danyal Rasool08-Feb-2021After Pakistan wrapped up a famous win in Rawalpindi to seal just their second series victory against South Africa, ESPNcricinfo looks at what lessons can be learned from an absorbing couple of Tests in Pakistan.Related

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  • Rizwan learns from Shafiq to make Pakistan No. 6 spot his own

  • Hasan Ali resurfaces with threatening zeal from slump and life in the sidelines

Pakistan will prepare pitches to maximise home advantage It was this second Test in Rawalpindi that was the real giveaway. The Karachi Test produced outrageous turn, but a curator barely has to break sweat to get a Karachi pitch behaving that way. When the action moved to Rawalpindi, Pakistan demonstrated how eager they were to make up for lost time in maximising any edge playing at home can give you.Rawalpindi is a fast bowler’s paradise, and has always been so. The milder climate, the harder surface, the greater moisture in winter has meant quick bowlers have always thrived in a city that produced the likes of Shoaib Akhtar. Pakistan have always prided themselves on the richness of their pace-bowling history, throwing the absence of that tradition in the rest of the subcontinent into sharp relief.This time, Pakistan dispensed with all of that and swallowed their pride. Recognising that South Africa didn’t possess as much quality in the spin department, head coach Misbah-ul-Haq declared that Pakistan were trying to dry out the surface days in advance to get it to crack up earlier. They shelved any thoughts of an extra fast bowler and lined up with two spinners once more. They wanted to win, and everything else was secondary.It might not have panned out quite like that, but this series is an indicator for what New Zealand, Australia and England can expect when they finally rock up here in the next two years. Pakistan are at home, and they want everyone to know it.Fast bowlers remain a factor in Pakistan more than anywhere else in Asia In the battle between the Pindi groundsmen and the surface itself, there was a clear winner. No matter what the groundstaff tried – and it was evident to anyone paying attention they did whatever cutting edge soil science would permit – three of the four five-wicket hauls went to quick bowlers, including a career-best ten-for by Hasan Ali. But for a brief period on the third evening when Pakistan struggled to negotiate George Linde and Keshav Maharaj, fast bowlers continued to carry the greater threat for both sides. And on the final day, by which time, had this pitch been more pliant to the groundstaff’s needs, it would have been a minefield, Shaheen Afridi and Hasan took nine of South Africa’s 10 wickets.This suggests that Pakistan could produce some diverse cricket at home. There are places like Karachi, where having quality spinners is an asset, but those conditions are not replicable everywhere. Once Test cricket branches out past Karachi and Rawalpindi, the varying climates of Lahore, Multan and other potential venues means there may be a variance to conditions in Pakistan to a degree not seen on the subcontinent.That means most visiting sides may feel they have a chance at success here, just as South Africa had their opportunities in both Test matches. Equally, Pakistan’s fast bowlers need not worry about redundancy, and the second Test shows Pakistan will never fully turn its back on their storied fast-bowling stockpile.Despite the series win, Pakistan will be wary that Azhar Ali hasn’t fully emerged from a slump in form•PCBThe way Pakistan won this series is unsustainable The openers can’t buy a run, Azhar Ali hasn’t fully emerged from a slump in form, Babar Azam had his least prolific series in well over a year, and the spin bowlers were largely anonymous for most of this Test – and yet Pakistan still managed a clean sweep.A 2-0 scoreline can gloss over all of that, but Pakistan ignore these concerns at their peril. Faheem Ashraf was the highest scorer for the hosts, but that’s as much an indictment of the rest of the order as it is a tribute to the all-rounder’s utility. Mohammad Rizwan – named Pakistan’s Test cricketer of the year today – is taking on much more responsibility with the bat than an ideal Test side would accord to a No.6 wicketkeeper-batsman. Abid Ali has, ten Test matches in, still scored half his Test runs in his first two, and averages under 17 since and the other opener doesn’t even exist currently.It is encouraging that the lower-middle order contributed, and the tail wagged; Pakistan have recently been accused of carrying three number 11s in their side, so this makes for a welcome change. But it isn’t a replacement strategy for a misfiring top order, and while Azam’s indifferent series was most likely a one-off, the top of the order continues to be a cause for concern.Despite a not-so-stellar series with the bat, Pakistan won’t have too many complaints with Babar Azam’s captaincy•AFP via Getty ImagesBabar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are a better captain/vice-captain combo than many feared Like an umpire, a doctor or a politician, it’s generally when a captain is bad at their job that they tend to be noticed. And perhaps the biggest compliment you could pay Azam this series is that few people cribbed his on-field captaincy. The bowling changes were sharp and proactive, and, bar a little spell on the final morning, the field placements made sense. It is, of course, easier on these grounds that he will have known since childhood, but the hierarchy at the PCB may be relieved Azam isn’t quite as overwhelmed with captaincy as many feared he might be. He doesn’t talk about the game in the most engaging way, but that doesn’t mean he has no ideas worth putting into practice.And alongside him, it pays to have a deputy like Rizwan, whose blossoming confidence in his role is one of the highlights of Pakistan over the last year. Not content with the runs and flawless wicketkeeping, he’s assumed a more vocal leadership role on the field than even Azam himself. Having had the experience of captaincy in New Zealand would not have hurt, despite the result, and now the Azam-Rizwan double act looks promising for Pakistan.Pakistan – dark horses for WTC 2023? On a final, speculative note, the series win might provide a template for how Pakistan approach hosting England, New Zealand and Australia, all of whom are due a visit during the 2023 World Test Championship league cycle. If Pakistan can take advantage as they did of South Africa, they might be able to capitalise on a somewhat easier run when it comes to away series: they travel to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in that league cycle, giving them perhaps the clearest shot at a final berth that a side of their quality will ever have.

Lack of game time a concern for Chennai Super Kings' big guns

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The franchise will be banking on the allrounders and Gaikwad to add urgency to their approach

Deivarayan Muthu04-Apr-20212:47

Gambhir: CSK won’t be able to make the playoffs

Where they finished in 2020

Second from bottom, with six wins in 14 matches at a net run rate of minus 0.455. It was the first time that the Chennai Super Kings didn’t make it to the playoffs in their 11 seasons in the IPL.

Potential XI

1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Moeen Ali/Faf du Plessis, 3 Suresh Raina/Robin Uthappa, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Imran Tahir

Batting

The Super Kings had the second-worst run rate in the powerplay (7.13) as well as in the middle overs (7.37) in the last IPL. They could remedy this go-slow by fitting in their new recruit Moeen Ali at the top. The England allrounder had led the way for Worcestershire Rapids in the powerplay in 2018 and 2019 by regularly and effortlessly hitting over the top. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who finished the 2020 season strongly, with a hat-trick of half-centuries, will likely continue to open.ESPNcricinfo LtdSuresh Raina has returned to the set-up after abruptly pulling out of the last season, but he is past his prime, as is MS Dhoni. Both players – and even Ambati Rayudu – haven’t had much game time since the last IPL. To compound their worries, Ravindra Jadeja, too, hasn’t played competitive cricket since January 2021, having sustained a thumb injury during the Test leg of the Australia tour. The lack of game time for the middle order might prove a thorny issue for the Super Kings again.Faf du Plessis, who carried the Super Kings’ batting and fielding in the UAE, might be relegated to the reserves this season because of the team combination.Related

  • CSK fast bowler Hazlewood withdraws from IPL 2021

  • Boost for CSK as Raina and Jadeja enter team bubble

Bowling

Josh Hazlewood has opted out of the tournament and Lungi Ngidi will only join the squad later after his South Africa commitments, but Dwayne Bravo is fit again, having bowled at the death for West Indies against Sri Lanka at home. Sam Curran, who earned a glowing appraisal from Dhoni in his first season at the Super Kings, and Shardul Thakur, who has been a wicket-glutton in recent times, lend more variety to the seam attack. The presence of a number of Indian batting options this time could allow the team management to seamlessly slot Imran Tahir into the XI.The absence of an offspinner last year left them vulnerable against left-hander-heavy sides, but now they have Ali and K Gowtham to counter them although neither Wankhede nor Chinnaswamy will aid spin. Nevertheless, the attack looks in much healthier shape in comparison to the batting line-up.

Young player(s) to watch out for

. This was coach Stephen Fleming’s quip last year. The Super Kings continue to rely on their over-30s seniors, but if they choose to give Jadeja breaks and manage him more carefully after the recent injury, R Sai Kishore offers them a decent option. The 24-year old is a left-arm version of Washington Sundar who threatens the stumps and hits hard lengths in the powerplay. Sai Kishore had finished the most recent Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament with an economy rate of 4.82 – the second best among bowlers who delivered at least 20 overs. Last season, he had the best economy among bowlers who had sent down at least 20 overs.Then, there’s the 22-year old Harishankar Reddy, the third-youngest member in the squad behind Bhagath Varma and Curran. The Andhra seamer can bowl yorkers from a sling-arm, whippy action and had even knocked over Dhoni during a practice match at Chepauk last month.

Coaching staff

Stephen Fleming (head coach), Mike Hussey (batting coach), L Balaji (bowling coach), Eric Simons (bowling consultant), Rajiv Kumar (fielding coach)

Poll

Who are Mohammad Ali and Abrar Ahmed?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The lowdown on Pakistan’s two new faces in Test cricket, who’ve been selected for the home series against England

Umar Farooq22-Nov-2022Pakistan have named Mohammad Ali and Abrar Ahmed in their squad for the home Tests against England. Wondering who they are? Here’s the lowdown.Mohammad Ali
Role: Fast bowler
Age: 30
Abdul Qadir first selected fast bowler Mohammad Ali for the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL) department team in 2018, on strong recommendations from the Sialkot cricket circuit, especially those involved with the Amir Waseem Cricket Academy and the Jaguar Cricket Club. Ali was 26 then, and just getting into competitive cricket, but he had an exceptional impact straightaway, playing the PCB Patron’s Trophy (Grade II) for ZTBL. He was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 41 wickets in six games at 13.05, taking his team to the title and helping the department regain first-class status.This, incidentally, was the same tournament where Naseem Shah kicked off his competitive cricket career; he and Ali played two games together.Friends on the cricketing circuit like to call him Dizzy – because his bowling reminds them of former Australia quick Jason Gillespie. He is sharp, hits the seam accurately, and is a workhorse who can bowl 25 overs a day. He currently represents Central Punjab on the domestic circuit.Abrar Ahmed
Role: Legspinner
Age: 24
Abrar Ahmed is a legbreak bowler on paper, but he can bowl the googly, the carrom ball and work his fingers around the ball to do magic: in essence he’s very much the modern mystery spinner, and if he does play any of the Tests, will be the first of his kind to play for Pakistan.He speaks Pashto but is born and raised in Karachi, his family having moved to the city from the north of the country – specifically a small village called Shinkiari, located on the outskirts of Mansehra near Abbottabad on the Karakoram Highway. He grew up playing tape-ball cricket in Karachi’s Lines Area.His standout ability to spin the ball caught the attention of local coaches. Zone 3 in Karachi is the weakest among all seven cricketing zones in the city, but Abrar’s heroic performance in 2016 – 53 wickets – got them the local title for the first time, and from there he was on his way to bigger things. His bowling evolved at the Rashid Latif Academy, and he thrived with the help of Muhammad Masroor – a renowned coaching name in the city.Abrar Ahmed with his awards at the National Under-19 Cup 2016-17•Masroor AhmedRed ball vs white ball: different routes to the top
Ali has played 22 first-class games picking up 85 wickets in the span of five years, but a big chunk of those wickets came in the last two seasons – 32 in 2021-22 and 24 so far in 2022-23. That might not look like a big haul but Pakistani domestic pitches at that time have been far more conducive for spinners.He also has the ability to bowl long spells; he bowled 206 overs in six games – 24 wickets at 25.54 included – in his debut first-class season, more than 50 more than the next highest from his squad despite some others having played 10 games. In the last two seasons, in 14 first-class games, he has bowled 2572 balls (more than 428 overs). He has 85 first-class wickets to his name overall, of which 27 wickets have come at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, in 11 innings, at an average of 21.92. Multan has brought him 20 wickets at an average of 11.20. Both venues will host England for the Tests.Related

'We are excited about the prospect of playing the WTC final' – Babar Azam

Naseem Shah's latest arrival feels like the real thing

Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali get maiden Pakistan call-ups

Unlike Ali, Abrar made his way into the national reckoning via age-group cricket, having first made his name with the white ball. He first came into the national spotlight playing for PSL side Karachi Kings, as one of their emerging picks in 2017 – he was wicketless in his two games but went away having sent down a memorable, miserly spell to Eoin Morgan – 16 balls, seven dots, one six, 17 runs – in a game in which the former England captain ransacked 80 not out off 57. Then coach Mickey Arthur was very excited by the prospect and both Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were impressed.Abrar stalled by injury
He played one more PSL game after the Morgan clash, then all but disappeared from the cricket scene with a lower-back injury. He returned to regular action only in 2020, playing for Sindh Second XI in the National T20 Second XI Cup, picking up three wickets at a strike rate of 16 with an economy of 6.25. And he did even better with the red ball: in the Quaid-e-Azam Second XI Trophy that year, he finished with 57 wickets at 11.75, the third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament.Those numbers got him promoted to the first XI and, while he has not played most regularly, the wickets have kept coming – 16 in 2020-21, 17 in 2021-22, and 43 in the ongoing season at 21.95.According to coach Masroor, Abrar has been “grossly underrated in red-ball cricket, otherwise with him at peak fitness, he has always been a complete package for all formats of cricket. He doesn’t just bowl for the sake of bowling but he knows the art of taking wickets. He has variety in his bowling, and with the sort of control he has, he can become a mainstream bowler for Pakistan”.

Sam Curran: 'I look back on the 2018 India series thinking, yes I can perform at this level'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The England allrounder talks about facing India again, and what he has learnt during his time with the Chennai Super Kings

Interview by Alan Gardner03-Aug-2021It’s three years since you made your international debut, which was followed by winning Man of the Series for the Tests against India. Is that something you reflect on often?
I do. I’ve always said that summer was pretty amazing. Making my debut against Pakistan at Headingley probably came out of nowhere, but I managed to get through that and get picked for that first game [against India] at Edgbaston. It’s three years, but probably doesn’t feel that long ago. With the Indian side coming over, naturally I’ll have that at the back of my mind. Thinking how that series went gives me great confidence going into Trent Bridge. I haven’t played much Test cricket in the last six months, so it’s exciting for me to hopefully try and replicate 2018. India are a fantastic side, so I’m sure it’s going to be a fantastic series.You had quite an amazing impact – five wickets and a vital half-century at Edgbaston, top scorer at the Ageas Bowl, played a part in all four wins. Everything seemed to click for you.
As a player, you naturally have periods where you’re in form and you’ve got to ride those good waves. I always remember the exciting parts of that series. Luckily for me, it went well with bat and ball and we managed to win 4-1. Looking back on it, it gives you great confidence when you perform against that type of opposition. For me, there’s no better feeling. I always look back on that, thinking, yes, I can perform at this level. Naturally, anything that goes well gives you confidence, so it’s definitely been good and probably helped my game across all formats. It gives you belief that you can perform against high-quality players.Did you actually surprise yourself with how well you performed?
I wouldn’t say surprise yourself – you probably do better than you think [you would]. It probably helped me that I got called up due to Stokesy [Ben Stokes] getting injured [against Pakistan]. When you don’t have to actually think about what’s ahead of you, you go in with an open mind and perform like you’re in a county game. But when I’m in a tough place, I probably look back on series like that and that’s what gives you confidence.Related

  • Forgotten man Sam Curran has 'itchy feet' but is happy to bide his time

  • The timeless human drama of Edgbaston 2018 (2018)

  • The story of Sam Curran's precocious rise (2018)

  • Sam Curran: 'I came back from the IPL a much better player'

  • 'Be absolutely relentless on length' – Dale Steyn

What was your standout memory of the series?
That Edgbaston Test was my favourite, the way we won that game on the last day, last session, where it could have gone either way. I think we needed four-five wickets. And yeah, the way I batted, the way I bowled. The whole atmosphere at that stadium – it was my first experience of Edgbaston, so great memories.You’ve not played a Test since Sri Lanka in January. What is your ideal preparation like? Do you like to keep it simple, or do analysis on who you’ll be coming up against?
I wouldn’t say I’m a very technical person. I don’t do too much analysis or overthinking. I’m quite an in-the-moment type of person, just reacting to situations. That’s what I feel is best, because if I’m overthinking things, I don’t think that’s a good place to be.Kumar Sangakkara, who was a team-mate of yours at Surrey, said you had very good “situational awareness”. Do you think you have a natural sense for the game?
I always feel I perform my best when I’m in the moment. I’m quite an instinctive player when it comes to deciding things. Don’t really watch too much in terms of analysis, what the bowlers do, what the batters do. I go on my gut feel quite a lot. I think a lot of players do that. There are players who love looking back on things, but I’m pretty easy in terms of moving on. More that I don’t want to overthink my game, because for me personally, that’s not helpful.You started so young – making your debut for Surrey at 17, England at 19 – but you seem to know what works for you.
The next couple of years, I may fall into wanting to do different things, but for now I just love the responsibility of playing for England, trying to perform in front of the amazing support. I never really get too down, because cricket’s a sport where you get so many ups and downs. But the pride of walking out for England in a Test match – there’s no better feeling.”I look up to someone like Stokesy [Ben Stokes, hugging Curran in photo], who scores big runs and takes loads of wickets”•Michael Steele/Getty ImagesYour exploits against India also helped win you an IPL contract when you were picked up by Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 auction. You must look back on it as a life-changing summer?
That’s how it worked out. I played that India series and then went to the IPL, and things progressed quite quickly. I’ve just enjoyed the journey so far. I’ve learned a lot of things. I guess I was pretty new to the scene then, but I feel like now I’ve played quite a bit in all formats, where you learn things, you improve on things, you find out things – certainly different players at the IPL, where you can pick their brains, especially the foreign players and the local Indian players. That’s benefited my game quite a bit.Moving to Chennai Super Kings for 2020, you had an immediate impact – albeit the team didn’t have a great season.
I think it’s a tournament where I got very lucky. I got thrown into it quite young, moved from Kings XI to Chennai, which worked out pretty well in terms of coming to a team where you had Stephen Fleming as coach, MS Dhoni as captain, some big foreign players. It’s just an environment where you eat and sleep cricket. You’re always around the guys and you can ask questions, see how guys train, learn new tricks. It’s an environment where you come across guys you never see in day-to-day life. It’s been fantastic for me. It gives you great confidence when you perform. At the IPL there’s no weak team, so whenever you play, you’re under so much pressure. You just go out there and do what you do and if it goes badly, you learn from it. If it goes well, you take confidence. It’s a great tournament for me. I’ve loved every minute of it.Dhoni called you a “complete cricketer” during that IPL out in the UAE, where you were used in a variety of roles and even opened the batting. That must have felt pretty good?
A player like Dhoni, he’s got such a big presence in the game. He’s achieved so many amazing things. Naturally you get confidence from that. There’s nothing better for me as a younger player to get put in those scenarios. It wasn’t the best season for the team but you learn so much and obviously this season when the IPL was going ahead [in India], we were second on the table. It’s a great franchise and hopefully I can contribute more in the coming years.”At the IPL there’s no weak team, so whenever you play you’re under so much pressure. If it goes badly, you learn from it. If it goes well, you take confidence”•Arjun Singh/BCCIIn Mumbai earlier this year, with Andre Russell on the rampage for Kolkata Knight Riders, you came on and bowled him around his legs as he attempted to leave.
It was just [one of] those moments when you come across players like that, where it’s you or him in the moment. He’s one of the most powerful hitters and you bowl to him: you execute and you get him out. If you don’t, you’re going into the stands. It really tests your game and that’s why I really do feel like I’ve benefited from being around such high-quality players and hopefully I bring that form into playing for England. I’d love to be part of a World Cup, so fingers crossed I can make the squad.Your flexibility is clearly an asset. Is that something you think can help your case with England?
You’ve seen how good the England white-ball sides are. Any time you get picked in the XI, you’re very proud and honoured to be playing, because it’s a phenomenal squad and whoever gets picked, you know you’ve got to keep performing because there’s so much depth. You saw that with the Pakistan series, where guys who hadn’t really been playing put on such a good performance, so it’s a great place to be.Will there be some messages flying around with the CSK guys ahead of the India Tests? Guys like Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur go from being team-mates to the opposition.
There are a couple of guys I got friendly with at the IPL, but come the series, they’ll obviously be enemies. They are really nice guys that I played with at Chennai and there’s a few I look forward to seeing.Going back to into Test cricket – this will actually be the fourth format you’ve played in the last month or so, after playing the opening game of the men’s Hundred, as well as ODIs and T20Is with England. Do you find it hard to make the switch?
I haven’t played a red-ball game for a while, so I feel pretty fresh. Got away from the game for a bit in terms of getting a rest. The basics stay pretty similar. The patience element comes into it a bit more [in Tests], but I don’t change too much. You’ve got to be prepared for bowling a lot more overs, batting a longer period of time. Fielding’s a longer situation. The group had a training day the other day at Loughborough, where we went through some nice bowling spells, getting those overs back in the body.High five: Curran took his first international five-wicket haul, against Sri Lanka at his home ground, The Oval, last month•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesWhat are you aiming to do once you get to the top of your mark in a Test?
I’m pretty open going into the game. Like I said, I don’t analyse too many players. I try and stick to my strengths and go out there with a clear mind. If I do play, it will be pretty stock standard how I go about trying to contribute – take a few wickets, score a few runs. Really excited – five Tests against India in England with the crowds back. I love playing in front of the fans. It gives you that extra adrenaline and rush to keep performing.For all your success with England so far, your first five-for only came last month, in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at The Oval. The way you celebrated suggested it was quite a significant moment for you?
That was really special that day – home ground at The Oval, played there so many years. I think it was just relief. It was my first five-for for England. Such an amazing feeling, one of those moments you cherish. You dream of scoring hundreds, taking five-fors, winning games. To do it on your home ground, with family there, it was very special.You also made 95 not out in an ODI against India in March, nearly getting England over the line chasing 330. Was that just a case of breaking it down ball by ball in your head or feeling it in the moment?
A bit of both. You try and read the situation, and we got very close. But you take confidence from doing well. I’m that type of player. Hopefully, the next couple of weeks and months will be good for myself and the team.You’ve made a couple of 90s in first-class cricket for Surrey as well. Presumably you’re keen to convert one?
Yeah, of course. I don’t think about those things too much. It’s in your head, but I don’t want to look too far ahead. Fingers crossed it comes soon.”I always feel I perform my best when I’m in the moment. I’m quite an instinctive player when it comes to deciding things”•Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty ImagesWhat do you make of the theory that you might one day end up as more of a batting allrounder?
Yeah, I love contributing. I look up to someone like Stokesy, who scores big runs and takes loads of wickets. That’s someone I want to emulate, keep try to improve day by day and keep getting better.Eoin Morgan has said that you and your brother Tom are among the most competitive people he’s ever met. Where does that come from?
We’re a competitive family – three brothers [Ben plays county cricket for Northamptonshire]. My dad played cricket. In the back garden, messing around, you’ve got to be competitive. I love winning, I hate losing. It’s just in our blood. When you’re in a tough situation, I just try to get in the battle. I’m not a bad loser, but I don’t like losing.Did your dad being an cricketer, playing internationally for Zimbabwe as well as having a long career in county cricket, help with your drive to play the game professionally?
I think just being around cricket, my dad coaching, always being on a field messing around on the boundary while teams were playing. We just lived cricket, sleep cricket, a big cricketing family, loved the game. I’m sure he would have loved to be here to see us [playing now].Did you know that no left-armer seamer has ever taken 100 wickets for England? You’re already almost halfway there at the age of 23…
I’m not a massive stats person, but I just want to play as much Test cricket as I can through my career – it’s obviously the pinnacle, so fingers crossed I can become the first.You’re a multi-format player, but is Test cricket still the ultimate?
Absolutely. That’s why I think the next six weeks are really exciting. Sure, it’s going to be a fantastic series and I hope I can be involved in any way, shape or form. Just got to try and get in the side and never lose my spot.Have you heard the phrase, “Sam Curran: makes things happen”? What do you make of it?
I have come across it, yeah. Any player tries to make things happen. I don’t know why I’ve got that tag. I just love trying to impact games, whether that’s with bat, ball or in the field. I’ll keep trying to make it happen.

Is Rishabh Pant the GWOAT?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Longevity will determine where he sits vis a vis Gilchrist and the rest, but there’s no doubt he’s already in the debate

Sidharth Monga23-Dec-2022Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni’s true successor as wicketkeeper-batter for India, went past a Dhoni record in Mirpur. Dhoni was out five times in the 90s, the most by a wicketkeeper in Tests until Pant went past him on Friday.Some might call it unfortunate, but add his five hundreds, and Pant has now made 11 scores of 90 or more in just 55 Test innings, an astonishing rate of once every five attempts.Related

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Pant is already India’s best wicketkeeper-batter by a distance, having scored Test hundreds in England, Australia and South Africa. On form he is the best batter in the current Indian side. By extension, leaving romanticism and the virtues of pure wicketkeeping skills aside, he is already India’s greatest wicketkeeper. And he isn’t a shabby keeper either.But the Pant comparisons can no longer be restricted to just India players.Not before long, Pant will be discussed among the greatest wicketkeepers ever, and will likely surpass them, but it is not too early to try and place him in the pantheon. In terms of sheer runs, Pant is now the 30th-highest run-getter among wicketkeepers with 2262 at an average of 44.35. His longevity will be tested, but among those who have kept long enough to score 2000 runs, Pant’s average is behind only AB de Villiers, Andy Flower and Adam Gilchrist.Pant is not like a lot of other keepers, though. This is not to suggest Gilchrist would have done any less batting higher in the order, but he mostly batted at No. 7 and didn’t perform a specialist batter’s duties. Among keepers who have batted in the top six, Pant is already the ninth-highest run-getter, averaging 49.67 for his 1540 runs there. De Villiers, Dhoni, Flower, Gilchrist and Les Ames average higher than him in these positions, but this is elite company.Pant hardly gets to score declaration runs. He is playing in a bowling era where you hardly get flat pitches outside Pakistan, and the attacks are fitter and deeper than ever before. He is also part of a batting line-up in transition, and has batted alongside veterans going through their worst patches. He often finds himself in crisis situations where there are no tired bowlers to take advantage of. Because he bats in the top six, these aren’t usually nothing-to-lose situations either.People talk lightly about certain batters’ presence. For proper presence, look no further than the field settings when Pant comes out to bat even when India are struggling. At 48 for 3 and 72 for 3 in the two Tests in this series, Pant has walked out with long-on and deep midwicket in place. On both occasions, Taijul Islam had been bowling beautifully, getting the ball to dip, not letting batters go on the back foot, but not letting them play attacking drives either. This had allowed him to be in a position to benefit if the pitch did something.Pant, though, completely changes the game. To be fair, the in-out fields were an attacking ploy for him when he came into the side back in 2018. It worked for a while with Moeen Ali getting him caught in the deep. Now Pant just picks up the singles and manipulates the field in other areas. Once he is on, those fielders cease to matter. His power-hitting has come a long way too: even if he gets too close to the ball, he can impart enough power to hit flat sixes. Among wicketkeepers, only Dhoni and Gilchrist have hit more sixes than Pant.With Pant, you can sometimes get a loose waft if the right kind of seamer angles, seams or swings the ball across him, but that is hardly unusual. Every batter will have some weakness, but batting is all about what you do around that weakness. The fields set for Pant tell you that the pitching zone for what qualifies as a good ball is smaller for him. And when you have to aim at a smaller target, you miss more often. He can cut and drive just as well as he can slog and reverse-ramp James Anderson. Okay that reverse-ramp might not be as high-percentage as the other shots, but you get the drift.Any wicketkeeper will tell you what a physically taxing job it is; how far Pant moves up among the handful of all-time greats will come down to his longevity, but it is sure he is already one of them.

Mitchell Starc's searing best gives Australia the edge

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Delivery to Pope proves that, in this format, Starc is the best in the world at what he does

Matt Roller01-Jul-2023Mitchell Starc is probably not the best bowler in the world, but he might be the bowler who bowls the best balls. And on Saturday afternoon, a couple of minutes after five o’clock, Ollie Pope faced one of Starc’s best.It was the ball that left-arm fast bowlers dream about: fast, full, angling across, swinging back in, bursting through the gap between bat and pad. On a day where England’s bowlers hardly bowled a ball that would have hit the stumps between them, Starc ripped Pope’s middle stump out of the ground.Starc stuck his right arm out with his first finger raised and let out a scream so loud that every muscle in his neck was visible, popping out from under his skin. He wore an expression of genuine anger, giving Cameron Green a high-ten hard enough to sting his hands. It was close to perfection.Related

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And the context made it even better. Starc’s first ball of the over, his third, was angled across Pope, holding its line up the slope to beat his outside edge. It created enough doubt that, facing the next ball, Pope planted his front foot slightly tentatively and played down an off-stump line.He missed the ball by inches, his head falling over to the off side. After it flicked his pad and crashed into his stump, Pope kept falling. He peered around his right hip to see the stump lying on the floor, with a camera cable attached to it. England were 13 for 2, needing another 358 to win.Starc has never been – and will never be – a bowler who exerts control, and Australia have never quite trusted him in England for that reason. Four years ago, he played only one of the five Ashes Tests, with Peter Siddle and James Pattinson among those preferred; in Birmingham last week, Scott Boland got the nod ahead of him.At Lord’s, Starc started the second innings by spraying one so far outside Zak Crawley’s off stump that it was called a wide; three balls later, with Ben Duckett on strike, he so short and wide outside his off stump that the man who prides himself on never leaving the ball had no other choice.Starc’s economy rate across his Test career is 3.33 and in this match, he has gone at 4.74 an over. None of his 27 overs has been a maiden and at times, England have been able to get after him. But his attributes are irresistible: height, bounce, pace, swing, all from a left-arm angle.That cocktail lends itself to chances. At the end of Starc’s first over, he found some extra bounce from a length to take Duckett’s outside edge, Green unable to cling on as he flung himself to his left in the gully; his next ball, the first of his second over, was near identical but this time to the right-handed Crawley, and resulted in a leg-side strangle.Mitchell Starc strangled Zak Crawley down the leg side•Getty ImagesTwo balls later, he pinned Duckett with another beauty, a ball which angled in, swung away and thumped him on the knee roll of his back pad. Given out on field by Chris Gaffaney, Duckett survived on review but only just, ball-tracking predicting it would have missed the top of off stump by a hair’s breadth.Starc was baffled when his catch at deep fine leg off Duckett was given not out by the third umpire in the final stages of the fourth day, captured by TV cameras asking: “What the hell?” The same question must have gone through Pope’s mind two hours previously – and last week, when Pat Cummins uprooted his off stump with a wicked yorker.This was Starc at his best, coming up with a spell where nobody – not him, not his team-mates, and certainly not England’s batters – seemed to know whether he was about to spray one down the leg side or rattle the stumps. Pace – or, as Starc calls it, “airspeed” – creates doubt; doubt causes chaos, and a batter’s demise.Few players convey the sense that this – white clothes, red ball, five days – really is the pinnacle in the way Starc does. The two other truly elite left-arm seamers, Trent Boult and Shaheen Shah Afridi, have not played a Test between them in the past 11 months. In this format, he is the best in the world at what he does.Starc does not play in the IPL, or the Big Bash, or in any franchise leagues. He plays for Australia and can’t get enough of it. “The money’s nice,” he said before this tour, “but I’d love to play 100 Test matches.” Not many cricketers have the financial security to turn down the T20 money, but it is clear just how much this means to Starc.This tour is legacy-defining for Starc. He had already ticked the white-ball World Cups off but since arriving in the UK, he has become a World Test Champion; now, he is bowling magic balls that will likely contribute to Australia taking a 2-0 lead in an away Ashes series. It doesn’t get much better.

Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali dig deep to keep England alive in series

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

England struggle to combat vagaries of Antigua wicket, but battling half-centuries give them something to play with

George Dobell at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium01-Feb-2019It was, for sure, a bruising day for England.By the end of it, five of their batsmen had suffered blows while batting and their chances of clawing their way back into the series had receded sharply. Sides who score 187 in the first innings don’t win many games.But maybe a glance at the scorecard doesn’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t tell us what a par score might have been in this first innings – Kemar Roach reckoned 250 – and it doesn’t reflect how difficult batting was at the start of the day, in particular.First-class cricket tends to be at its most entertaining when ball holds a slight advantage over bat. Nothing is more likely to drive spectators away than games where 600 is followed by 700, and we have seen, in previous Antigua Test matches, several very slow, flat wickets which have encouraged horribly attritional cricket. So we have to be careful when criticising surfaces that try to redress that balance.But you want to retain meritocracy. And here, as some balls leapt from a length, you wondered if that was still the case. Nobody was seriously suggesting the Test be abandoned – it wasn’t anywhere near that bad – but it wasn’t especially safe and it wasn’t especially good. There really wasn’t a great deal Joe Root could have done to avoid the ball that reared and struck him on the gloves on its way to the slip cordon. It’s probably reasonable to expect a bit better than that.Both sides are on the same pitch, though. And while you suspect winning the toss was quite an advantage – the pitch seemed slightly damp on a length at the start – England have to accept it is not so long ago that they won eight tosses in a row. Rough with the smooth, and all that. This was not unfair.And maybe England failed to harness the conditions in quite the same way when they bowled, anyway. Only two deliveries in the first eight overs of West Indies’ reply would have hit the stumps and one of those was a leg-stump half-volley. Clearly that is a very rough guide for measuring the quality of bowling, but it does underline the impression that England failed to make the batsmen play as often as they might. Root confirmed he, too, would have inserted had he won the toss, but would his bowlers have taken advantage?It will be fascinating to see how this pitch plays on day two. One theory is that it will have dried out and eased a little. But the manner in which Stuart Broad gained lift and Sam Curran gained swing suggested there was still plenty of life in the evening session and England felt the extra grass and slight ridge in the surface would prove relevant throughout. West Indies may yet regret not using the heavy roller ahead of their innings: had they done so, the indentations created in the first innings might have been rolled out. As it is, they may now have been baked into the pitch for the rest of the game.But evidence from the England innings suggested the ball became a bit softer – and as a consequence, a bit easier to bat against – after about 40 overs. West Indies’ openers have done a fine job in seeing them to stumps without loss.Moeen Ali dug in for a vital innings•Getty ImagesThat England remain in the game is largely due to counter-attacking half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali. If Bairstow’s was little surprise – he seems to be at his best when doubted or under pressure – Moeen was a most unlikely hero.This was only his second half-century since the start of the Ashes in November 2017, after all. In the 12 Tests – and 24 innings – since, he had averaged just 17.56 and suffered five ducks including a ‘pair’ in Barbados. Since the start of England’s winter tours, the downturn had become even more pronounced: he came into this Test averaging 9.75 from four Tests.And, sure enough, the first few balls of his innings promised little. Clearly wary of the short ball, he was reluctant to get forward. And when the short ball did come, his attempt to hook seemed just a little hurried. His first three balls from Shannon Gabriel, who really has developed into a fine strike bowler, saw him snatch a hook just short of two fielders out for the stroke before being struck on the helmet.But he got back in line every time and he battled through. And when, at last, Roach and Gabriel gave way to Roston Chase and Jason Holder – offering just a little respite – his policy of calculated aggression was perfectly reasonable. Twenty-eight of his runs came against the pair, while he scored just three against Gabriel.Yes, the end looked ugly – he spooned a catch to mid-on – but that variable bounce probably made the stroke look worse than it was. This was a welcome return to form from Moeen and a reminder of his value. He may never be reliable and he may sometimes infuriate, but his seventh-wicket stand of 85 with the admirable Ben Foakes is, at present, the only partnership in the game worth more than 30.Bairstow’s innings felt more secure. He appears to be adapting to the demands on the No. 3 position – notably playing and leaving the moving ball – very well. In particular, he is waiting for the ball to come to him a little more and resisting the urge to push for it. While the percentage of boundaries in his innings was eye-catching – 42 of his first 50 came from such shots – it was his judgement in leaving the ball outside off stump that allowed him to attack anything he felt was over-pitched or short. By the time he made his half-century, he had scored 51 of England’s total of 71 for 4 and he was the only man in the top six to reach 15.You suspect he did not much mind donning the keeping gloves again, either. Foakes sustained a blow to the right hand in the process of being dismissed: an attempted pull resulting only in an awkward deflection off his gloves on to the stumps”I’m chuffed with the way I played,” Bairstow said later. “There’s not a tougher day-one pitch I’ve batted on that springs to mind, though there are different types of tough. But seeing as I’ve only played three Tests batting at No.3, it was an innings that was definitely up there. I was pleased with how my defence is improving. I’ve been working on that.”Several of his colleagues could learn from his approach. While nearly all of them received fine deliveries, nearly all might feel they could have done a little better. Jos Buttler edged a prod, for example, while Rory Burns edged one that bounced a little. Both might have been better served leaving the ball.But these were tough conditions, expertly harnessed by West Indies’ relentless four-man seam attack. While Ben Stokes, too, might reflect he could have left the ball that dismissed him, it was delivered from very wide on the crease, around the wicket from Gabriel. Angled in sharply to the batsman, it drew a stroke before leaving him off the pitch. It was, by any standards, a fine piece of bowling and desperately tough to negate for a batsman.It is for that reason England are, just about, still in this game. If conditions remain the same, they have the opportunity to use them in the same manner on day two. It promises to be a key day in this series.

West Indies serve reminder of their depth of short-form talent

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Pollard and Simmons have rejuvenated their T20 template in another World Cup year

Matt Roller31-Jan-2022“I said they can’t keep a good man down,
Kieron Pollard lent forward and sang the opening lines of Sizzla’s at the post-match presentation, celebrating a series win that West Indies desperately needed. It felt like the start of a recovery.Only two weeks ago, West Indies’ limited-overs side were at a low ebb. With their disastrous defence of the T20 World Cup they had regained in 2016 fresh in the memory, Pollard stood in front of the cameras after a 2-1 defeat at home to an Ireland side depleted by Covid looking like a man at the end of his tether. “It’s a sad day for us and sad day for West Indies cricket,” he said.On Sunday night, the contrast was stark. West Indies came together to celebrate a dramatic win in the T20I series decider against England, with Pollard leading a lap of honour around the Kensington Oval. Jason Holder, who had iced the win with four wickets in four balls, 24 hours after conceding four consecutive sixes, chatted to Sir Garfield Sobers on the outfield while Pollard addressed those who have criticised him and his team.

“Every single one in that dressing room there, we rallied together throughout everything,” he said, pointing towards the stands with a stump as though speaking at a political rally. “Every time we won a game there was something negative against us but we came out together and we really, really rallied. So well done to every single one inside of there and every one of the supporters who supported us.”Pollard’s falling-out with former CWI regimes – and his desirability on the franchise circuit – meant that he was only a sporadic member of the West Indies set-up for many years, and has been a magnet for criticism from certain parts of the regional media since he became full-time limited-overs captain in 2019.He was furious this week when claims emerged that Odean Smith had been dropped for the third T20I due to a falling-out with the captain – claims which ignored the fact that Rovman Powell, who replaced him, had scored a spectacular hundred – and shot them down after Sunday’s win, saying simply: “Empty vessels make the most noise.”Pollard’s captaincy has been an easy target but Sunday’s decider was a reminder that you do not play 577 matches across a T20 career without learning a thing or two. He went against the grain by choosing to bat when chasing is in vogue, reasoning that runs on the board would put pressure on England’s inexperienced line-up in a must-win situation, and backed himself to overcome an uncharacteristically slow start and provide West Indies with a defendable total.Kieron Pollard laughed off talks of a rift between him and Odean Smith•Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty ImagesIn the chase, Pollard held back his two left-arm spinners to starve Moeen Ali of his favourite match-up and instead tied him down with hard lengths and his own canny cutters. Then, he saw “the opportunity to pounce” as he put it, and the string of right-handers in England’s middle and lower order failed to hit Akeal Hosein and Fabian Allen off their lengths. His gamble on Smith in the 18th over backfired, but Holder held his nerve at the death.Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of this series from Pollard’s perspective was the wide range of contributions made by different players. West Indies had a different top-scorer in each of the five games, and their bowlers kept attacking whenever England tried to put them to the sword: across the series, West Indies took 43 wickets to England’s 23.Players who came in from the sidelines took their chances, encapsulated by Powell’s hundred and Kyle Mayers’ swashbuckling top-order cameos, while those who were disappointed to have missed out on the initial squad for last year’s World Cup – Hosein and Holder – proved their respective points.There was evidence too of West Indies’ evolution with the bat, away from the boom-or-bust approach which was found wanting in the UAE. Across the five games they scored more sixes than England (51 to 45), and much as they struggled against spin – and Adil Rashid in particular – through the middle overs, they were better than England at rotating the strike, facing significantly fewer dot balls (220 to 251). As Pollard and Phil Simmons, the head coach, had desired, they improved upon their biggest weakness without detracting from their great strength.”The guys have worked tirelessly,” Pollard said. “After coming from Jamaica, our heads were down but we had conversations in the dressing room about how we want to play cricket, and guys bounced back pretty well. The guys are putting their heads down, they’re understanding what we want to do, what we want to achieve as a team and you saw the results tonight.”This win should be kept in perspective. West Indies won home series against Sri Lanka and Australia last year before bombing at the World Cup, and England’s squad was at half-strength in the absence of their multi-format players. Their tour to India next month will be a tough challenge. At October’s World Cup in Australia, where bouncy pitches and bigger boundaries are unlikely to suit them, they will need to avoid a slip-up in their first-round group in Hobart just to qualify for the Super 12s.But if the last World Cup felt like the nadir for West Indies’ T20I set-up, this series felt like the start of their comeback – and served a reminder of the depth of short-form talent in the Caribbean. Their side felt unbalanced at times but their surplus of allrounders is a luxury that many sides would covet. With Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell – and who knows, maybe even Sunil Narine – in contention to return at some stage this year, there is reason to believe that West Indies could come again as a major T20 force.”Yes, it’s one series, but we have been on the losing end of a lot of series and a lot of games,” Pollard said. “It was a total team effort. Everyone rallied at some point in time. The guys really, really worked hard and, thank God, we came out victorious.”

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