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RCB won their last league game but did they miss a trick by not bowling Washington in the Powerplay and by giving Umesh more death overs?

Deivarayan Muthu04-May-2019The sample size is fairly small for Rashid Khan – he has played only three seasons in the IPL, but this has been his most underwhelming season yet in terms of wickets. He took 15 wickets in 14 matches this season and only twice he took more than one wicket. Despite that, he maintained an economy rate of 6.46.Shimron Hetmyer gets the better of Rashid Khan•ESPNcricinfo LtdIn isolation, though, Rashid was expensive against Royal Challengers, conceding 44 runs in four overs; it was the second time this season that he conceded more than 40 runs. Shimron Hetmyer was particularly brutal on Rashid, smashing him for 32 off 15 balls. Only Chris Gayle, Manan Vohra and AB de Villiers have hit more runs off Rashid in a T20 game.Mohammad Nabi, Sunrisers’ other spin option, had started the season strongly with the ball, but has tapered off in the end, adding to Sunrisers’ troubles, particularly in the middle overs.Did RCB miss a trick with Washington Sundar?Washington Sundar celebrates a wicket•BCCIOffspinner Washington Sundar burst into the spotlight during Rising Pune Supergiant’s run to the IPL final in 2017, when he had an economy rate of 6.55 in Powerplays – the joint second-best among spinners who had bowled at least 50 balls in that phase. He was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 3.2 crore in the next season, and since the start of IPL 2018, Washington has played 10 matches for Royal Challengers, bowling only 42 balls in the Powerplay, conceding 86 runs off them.The easy-paced hit-through-the-line Chinnaswamy pitch hasn’t been kind to him either, so his captain Virat Kohli has been using him in the middle overs as opposed to the Powerplay, where Washington himself prefers bowling.In his previous match, against Delhi Capitals, Washington was taken for back-to-back boundaries when he took the new ball. But he redeemed himself with his constricting lines and lengths in the middle overs.On Saturday, Washington came on to bowl when Sunrisers Hyderabad were 59 for 1 after seven overs. He struck with his second ball – a non-turning offbreak – to have Martin Guptill chip a catch to midwicket. Three balls later, he got rid of Manish Pandey with a 101kph dart. Washington’s Tamil Nadu team-mate Vijay Shankar then launched him for a brace of leg-side boundaries, but then the spinner went around the wicket, shifted his line wider and had the batsman holing out.Washington had just recovered from an ankle injury ahead of the IPL and didn’t quite pose similar wicket-taking threat in his first two matches this IPL, but have Royal Challengers missed a trick by not giving him more game-time?Umesh at the death again? Are you kidding me?
Worst performers with the ball at the death in IPL 2019•ESPNcricinfo LtdUmesh Yadav’s errant lines and lengths nearly cost Royal Challengers their match against Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru. And unlike last year, he hasn’t been effective in the Powerplay either. He still got a game because Royal Challengers don’t have enough depth in their squad. Still, he could have been managed better.Instead of asking Umesh to bowl the last over, Kohli could have used him much earlier and given Navdeep Saini or Kulwant Khejroliya the responsibility of closing out the innings. They both get the ball to skid off the pitch and hit the bat harder. But, here Umesh went too full against Kane Williamson and with both mid-on and mid-off up, it was right up the Sunrisers captain’s alley.Williamson isn’t a power-hitter, but is a master of chipping or lifting the ball over the infield. He hoisted the first two balls over mid-off for six and four, and then smoked an offcutter over the square-leg boundary. Umesh went for the yorker again, but it came out as a full toss, and there would be just one result: Williamson lofting it for four. All told, Umesh has an economy rate of 14.37 at the death – the worst among bowlers who have bowled at least 50 balls between overs 17 and 20 this season.This wasn’t Royal Challengers’ only questionable bowling tactic on Saturday. Washington had returned 3 for 24 in his three overs, but he didn’t finish his quota. Colin de Grandhomme, who is more a middle-order power-hitter than a reliable seamer, got one over which ended up costing 12 runs.

On a first-day pitch, Kuldeep Yadav outfoxed three Australian top-order batsmen with guile and his natural attributes

Aakash Chopra25-Mar-20171:36

Chappell: Kuldeep’s perfect ball was wicket of Handscomb

There are legspinners and there are left-arm wristspinners. While both ply the same craft, albeit with a different arm, they are treated and viewed differently. Familiarity is a highly underrated virtue and a decent left-arm wristspinner spinning a web around batsmen highlights that. The same variations bowled by a legspinner don’t seem to have the same mystery as compared to a left-arm wristspinner. Kuldeep Yadav, the first left-arm wristspinner to play for India in Tests, used his variations to great effect on the first day.At the outset, there are two things that work in his favour – his short stature, which allows him natural dip. Taller bowlers find it difficult to create the parabola loop and therefore, have to work really hard to get the ball to dip on the batsman. Some of Kuldeep’s deliveries land a touch shorter than where the batsman expects them to fall. The other key difference is his unique angle from over the stumps. He forces right-handed batsmen to open their stance – to take care of the blind spot outside the leg stump – and that in turn is testing the batsman’s footwork more. Now, they have to plant the foot a little straighter and play inside the line for deliveries pitching within the stumps, and yet be mindful that they don’t go too straight as some might hold the line and go across with the angle. Also, there’s a demand to have a bigger front-foot stride going across to the ones that pitch a little wider outside off.David WarnerWhile facing Kuldeep, batsmen often misread full balls for short ones, like David Warner. Since the trajectory is quite low, you mistake normal falls for faster and shorter deliveries. He went back to a ball that was too full and too close to cut. My coach Tarak Sinha would tell us to avoid playing an attacking shot when an error – misreading the line or length – is committed. That would add to the first mistake, and batting doesn’t let two errors go unpunished. Kuldeep’s biggest strength on the first day was the cluster he created, which highlighted that he bowled a lot fuller than any other spinner in the series. Bowling it full forced the batsmen to play offensive shots, thereby creating possibilities of committing errors. Also, his length took the flat nature of the pitch out of equation, for he was no longer reliant on a positive response from the pitch to create doubts. Kuldeep has two different legbreak deliveries; the one that dismissed Warner was bowled with the seam going across the pitch.Kuldeep Yadav’s pitch map in the first innings•ESPNcricinfo LtdPeter HandscombThe other variety of Kuldeep’s legspin dismissed Handscomb: this one was bowled with a scrambled seam which caused the ball to spin sharply after pitching. The sequence of deliveries that led to Handscomb’s wicket highlighted Kuldeep’s guile in weaving a trap. He bowled a flatter googly that stayed low. Handscomb went back and missed it by a fair distance. Kuldeep flighted a few deliveries to which Handscomb responded by stepping out and reaching the pitch of the ball, which he successfully managed a few times. Then Kuldeep bowled one wide of the off stump, luring Handscomb into playing an expansive drive. This time the foot was nowhere close to the ball – due to the angle created by bowling over the stumps – and the ball sneaked through. A tactic for Kuldeep could be to start leaving the cover area vacant to invite more such shots.Kuldeep Yadav was the slowest of the Indian spinners•ESPNcricinfo LtdGlenn MaxwellExcept Steven Smith and Matthew Wade, most Australian batsmen failed to read the spin from Kuldeep’s hand. Therefore, they were trying to read it off the pitch, which led to playing more off the back foot, even to deliveries that should’ve been played off the front foot. Maxwell has a tendency to stand on the leg stump and staying besides the ball. This allows him to create extra room, which is an asset in limited-overs cricket, but that works against him in Tests. The ball that dismissed him was bowled from the back of the hand and since Maxwell didn’t have a second line of defense, it crashed into the stumps. It was quite obvious that he didn’t read the spin from the hand and hence ended up playing down the wrong line.Kuldeep’s first bowling performance in Tests was quite impressive, for picking wickets on a first-day pitch is always tough for a spinner. Since his optimum speed is a little slower than both Ashwin and Jadeja, it’ll be interesting to see if and how the slowness of the pitch impacts his bowling in the second innings of this Test.

Opening batsman, offspinner and yoga expert, Jalaj Saxena reveals the intensely driven cricketer behind the self-effacing facade

Arun Venugopal02-Feb-2016It isn’t easy to mine information about Jalaj Saxena. When I tell him about my futile attempts at researching his story on the internet, he offers an almost apologetic smile. I ask him half-jokingly if he doesn’t give interviews. “I can’t possibly ask people to interview me, right?” he says, and offers a shy smile. “People who want to interview me, like you in this case, I never say no to.” The shy smile was on display as well when he won the Lala Amarnath award for being the best allrounder in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy. It was recognition for his 583 runs and 17 wickets for Madhya Pradesh in that season.In a way it was a slightly belated reward for his performances in preceding seasons. In 2013-14, he had scored 545 runs and claimed 35 wickets, while in 2012-13 his corresponding numbers were 769 and 10. Jalaj’s performances have retained their gloss this season as well; so far he has scored 530 runs at an average of 44.16, opening the batting, while his offspin has earned him 46 wickets at 20.30, including a 16-wicket haul against Railways to record the second-best figures in Ranji Trophy history.It is this consistency that gives Jalaj the most satisfaction. “I have been quite consistent with both bat and ball over the last three-four years, and I will work even harder to ensure it continues this way,” he says. “Because if you perform well in one season and fail in the next then it means there is something wrong with your game as you aren’t able to perform consistently. It feels good that MP values me as a key player.”While Jalaj’s numbers no doubt make for impressive reading, you get the impression that, at 29, it has taken him a while to reach his current level. After all, for someone who prides himself on being a genuine allrounder, he was regarded as little more than a bits-and-pieces journeyman until recently. There were insinuations in some quarters that Jalaj was picked for the India A tour of West Indies in 2012 because Narendra Hirwani, who also hails from Madhya Pradesh, was part of the then selection committee.Jalaj admits to feeling hurt then but says it only made him decide to work even harder at his game. He feels he justified his selection with a half-century and three wickets in the third unofficial Test followed by a decent showing in the one-day series.”I did feel hurt at one point of time [at not being called a proper allrounder],” Jalaj says. “But then I told myself – not to prove to anyone else, really – that I had to improve my game. I feel really blessed that God has given me two skillsets. Not everybody becomes an allrounder. I make sure I don’t think about bowling while I am batting and vice-versa. As far as blooming late is concerned, there is a time for everything. I believe in destiny.”Jalaj’s quest for improvement gained traction during his IPL stints in recent years with Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers despite the fact that neither team gave him any playing time. Apart from greater attention to physical fitness, a big takeaway for Jalaj was the purposeful preparation that he saw among top international players.”Their work ethics are really strong. Once while batting I was concentrating for every delivery, but I was wondering why I wasn’t getting to the pitch of the ball,” Jalaj says. “Sachin [Tendulkar] sir made a minor change by asking me to spread my feet a little wider and it immediately made a difference.”Generally, at a lower level, you bat and bowl and train once or twice in a week. But the IPL experience taught me the value of training regularly, especially during the off-season, and it is something that I strictly follow now.”Jalaj’s efforts to align his mental energy with the physical have been aided by yoga, the practice of which is a tradition in the Saxena family. “My father learned it from my grandfather and has passed it on to me,” he says. “I also visualise during every single activity, be it breathing or stretching.” He then points to his shoulder. “If you are stretching out this part, then at that point you need to visualise the muscle being stretched.”There are times when you realise that your mind wants to do something but the body doesn’t cooperate. That’s why you see that when a coach instructs something there are some boys who quickly grasp it while others take a lot more time. It’s very important to coordinate your mind and body. Yoga helps me do that.”That he comes from a family that has a sporting background has also helped Jalaj. While his father was a state-level swimmer and has also coached at the National Institute of Sports in the past, his brother, Jatin, is an active cricketer who has represented Madhya Pradesh in all three formats. After their formative years in Bhilai, the Saxena siblings moved to Indore, where Jalaj was coached by the current president of the MPCA, Sanjay Jagdale, at the Cricket Club of Indore. Jalaj continued to idolise Jatin, his senior by four years, and feels Jatin is the better allrounder of the two.”I have learnt a lot from his experiences,” Jalaj says. “Whatever mistakes he made, I watched and learnt from him. I learnt about what could go wrong in a cricketing career and how to make a comeback from him. I am very close to him and discuss a lot of cricket with him.”Jalaj says every action of his is geared towards fulfilling his dream of playing for the country. According to him, one of the bottlenecks in this regard is his reticence. “Because of my shyness, I don’t end up talking to a lot of former players.”But whenever he has managed to seek out former cricketers for advice, he has invariably been the better for it. “Hirwani helped me become a little more side-on in my action, and pivot more. I also worked a lot with Anil Kumble at Mumbai Indians on strengthening my stock delivery. I want to talk as much as I can to senior players.”On the subject of a national call-up, Jalaj says he doesn’t feel hard done at not receiving one. “I think the dream of playing for India motivates me to improve my game,” he says. “If I haven’t got a call yet, then I don’t think I have done so much and yet haven’t been selected. I think I should be doing even better than what I am doing at the moment. I will keep trying till I am good enough. It’s my dream and I will work very hard to achieve that.”He then breaks into a smile and adds for good measure: “I don’t let shyness come in the way of performance on the field.”

The cricket world reacts to the passing away of Phillip Hughes

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-20142:01

‘A cherished son, brother, friend and team-mate’

No no no no no. RIP Phillip Hughes

— Adam Gilchrist (@gilly381) November 27, 2014

For eternity the spirit of Cap No. 408 #RIPPhilHughes

— Adam Gilchrist (@gilly381) November 27, 2014

63 on a cricket scoreboard should be seen as a very special number …a round of applause will be in order to celebrate Phil Hughes life

— David 'Bumble' Lloyd (@BumbleCricket) November 27, 2014

This is how I will remember you legend! The most infectious smile and best friend anyone could have! Forever with us! pic.twitter.com/ukFwZejzlG

— Aaron Finch (@AaronFinch5) November 27, 2014

Heart broken! A very dark day. You will be missed, Phil Hughes. My prayers and thoughts go out to his family & friends.

— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) November 27, 2014

Just heard the worst news possible..our thoughts & prayers are with Phil, his family & friends. RIP Phil Hughes!!

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) November 27, 2014

Totally saddened by the passing of our cricket brother and friend Phil Hughes. Terrible loss! Deepest condolences 2 his family! #RIPHughes

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) November 27, 2014

Totally , totally sick inside and have no words.thinking and praying for friends and family. #RIPPhilHughes

— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) November 27, 2014

Can't comprehend it. Shaking. Our deepest condolences to Phillip Hughes's family and friends. #RIPPhillipHughes

— Jason Gillespie (@YCCCDizzy) November 27, 2014

Shocked and saddened by the news of Phil Huges. Horrible day for cricket. RIP Phil and may your family gain the strength to cope.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 27, 2014

Rest peacefully our little brother…may God hold you in the palm of his hand forever. Deepest sympathies to the Hughes Family and friends

— Matthew Hayden AM (@HaydosTweets) November 27, 2014

No words can describe the loss Rip pic.twitter.com/3kOm5MkVsc

— Brett Lee (@BrettLee_58) November 27, 2014

Shocked to hear about Phil. Sad day for cricket. Deepest condolences to family, friends and well wishers. RIP #PhilipHughes

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 27, 2014

I've never before felt so keenly the loss of someone I'd never met. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. RIP Phil Hughes.

— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 27, 2014

My heartfelt condolences to the family of Australian cricketer Phil Hughes on the sad demise.

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) November 27, 2014

Really Sad news to hear this morning. RIP philip Hughes. Condolences to his family – you will be missed.

— Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) November 27, 2014

Absolutely shocked to hear the news of Phil Hughes passing away! Thoughts and prays are with his family as well as Sean Abbott!

— Shaun Pollock (@7polly7) November 27, 2014

I love you little brother. I'm so sorry I couldn't help you.

— Daniel Smith (@13DSmith) November 27, 2014

WOW!! You little legend! RIP My deepest sympathies go out to his family and close friends. Sad sad day!!

— Andy Bichel (@BichelAndy) November 27, 2014

Saddest day in cricket fraternity. Rest in peace mate and Sean Abbott stay strong #PhilHughes

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) November 27, 2014

Shocked and saddened. Phil Hughes you will live on in our hearts. RIP worst day in world cricket #peace #PhilHughes

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) November 27, 2014

Couldn't fit it all in mate so here goes #408 #RIPPhillipHughes #loveyamate pic.twitter.com/Eeq1ft4OLp

— Tim Ludeman (@tludey) November 27, 2014

Very sad news to wake up to. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Phil Hughes. #RIPHughesy

— David Miller (@DavidMillerSA12) November 27, 2014

Absolutely shattered. Condolences to Hughes family. What a little legend. R.I.P mate

— Clint Mckay (@clintmckay27) November 27, 2014

He had a tough, uphill fight against him but little Hughy lost the battle. Please have his family and friends in your hearts. #RIPHughesy

— Jason Krejza (@JK404) November 27, 2014

Devastating news, Phillip Hughes #RIP you will be sadly missed by us all, thoughts & prayers go out to the Hughes family.

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) November 27, 2014

What a great man we lost, what a lovely person he was.U left us too early brother.We r all heartbroken. A dark day in history of Cricket

— Fawad Ahmed (@bachaji23) November 27, 2014

Extremely sad news about the passing of Phil Hughes… RIP Hughesy. Condolences to his family & the people of Australia.

— Alviro Petersen (@AlviroPetersen) November 27, 2014

Totally blown away and deeply saddened to hear of Phil Hughes passing. Thoughts are with his family and team mates. #RIPHughsey

— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanTaylor86) November 27, 2014

Thoughts go out to Phillip Hughes family and the entire cricket community on this sad day. He was an incredible cricketer #Gonetosoon #RIP

— Paul Adams (@PaulAdams39) November 27, 2014

Deepest sympathy's to Philip Hughes' family. I'm in complete shock. @seanabbott77 stay strong, our thoughts are with you too. Total accident

— Dav Whatmore (@dfwhatmore) November 27, 2014

Absolutely gutting to hear the terrible news of Phil Hughes! Feel sick to my stomach! God bless his friends, family and teammates!

— Kevin O'Brien (@KevinOBrien113) November 27, 2014

We lost a little ripper today. Honesty, hard work and humour typified the man, taken away way too soon. Always 63no. pic.twitter.com/2Sgi7cwexC

— Tim Nielsen (@nielsen514) November 27, 2014

Unbelievable to hear about Phil Hughes – condolences to his family. R.I.P bro

— Robin John Peterson (@robbie13flair) November 27, 2014

No way! Can't believe what's just happened. Thoughts and prayers go out to family, friends and team mates of Phil Hughes

— William Porterfield (@purdy34) November 27, 2014

Devastated to hear the news about Philip Hughes.A huge talent and a great Australian lost too soon. We will never forget you #CricketFamily

— Damien Martyn (@dmartyn30) November 27, 2014

Shocked and saddened by the tragic news. Thoughts and prayers with family and friends. Sad day. #RIPPhilHughes

— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) November 27, 2014

Totally shocked to hear the death of Phil. Life is so uncertain. #RIPPhillipHughes

— Lahiru Thirimanna (@thiri66) November 27, 2014

My deepest sympathy and condolences to the Hughes family and all who were close to him. Phil, you will be sadly missed #RestPeacefully

— James Franklin (@jecfranklin) November 27, 2014

Heartfelt condolences to the family of Phil Hughes, a huge loss for the cricketing fraternity..RIP Phil..thoughts go out to sean Abbott!

— Umar55 (@mdk_gul) November 27, 2014

Both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are used to disappointment but a great reward beckons for one of them

Firdose Moonda in Harare28-Apr-2013For Bangladesh, tonight will be like the one before Eid. They know that tomorrow could bring great rewardBut the hours before a day that holds so much promise area always anxious. Sleep is elusive. The butterflies don’t allow it and if they take a small break, there is always the knot in the stomach to consider. Thoughts multiply. ‘What ifs’ sprout from nowhere.What if Zimbabwe’s last six batsmen survive 90 overs? What if Robiul Islam doesn’t get his groove back? What if all the progress made in the last four days unravels?Mushfiqur Rahim, the captain, is unlikely to be the only one saddled with these questions. Everyone from Shane Jurgensen to Jahurul Islam will ponder whether Bangladesh can finish the job and all are likely to find expectation can be a cruel taskmaster.Anticipation is to the teams at the unenviable end of the Test rankings what pressure is to those at the top. It petrifies them. In fear of doing the wrong thing, they cannot do the right thing even when it is obvious. That is how both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe operate. Theirs are contests of missed chances, of drifting passages of play, of waiting for patience to run out, of desperation leading to mistakes and of hoping for a sprinkle of luck.Bangladesh have to bank on much more than that. As they aim for a first Test win in Zimbabwe, they will have to take control of the match.That could be their biggest challenge simply because they’re not used to it. It was evident when they were batting, when it looked as though they would prefer to be bowled out than make the first move by declaring.It transpired that they were just waiting to ensure safety by achieving their goal of a lead of 400 even though history did not require that many runs. Even before considering other precedents at the ground, Zimbabwe’s highest successful chase is a measly 162.Grant Flower on Zimbabwe’s batting

Nasir Hossain does not think Hamilton Masakadza can single-handedly win the match for Zimbabwe because of a “difficult pitch” and Grant Flower agrees. Zimbabwe’s batting coach called on the middle-order to better the performance against New Zealand from two years ago and show sufficient fight to seal the series.
“We spoke about that match in the team meeting this morning,” he said. “We see it as a positive thing that happened even though we lost that match. We spoke about following some of the same methods and the same processes but hopefully the guys have got that belief this time. They seem confident and their body language was good.”
While Flower acknowledged the lack of regular Test cricket may count against them, he hopes they can return to the basics and just keep batting. “We are right up against it but if the rest can show the same fight Hamilton did early on and partner him, you never know. There are few clichés about breaking it down into ball-by-ball and over-by-over but that’s really what we want to do. The first hour, it generally does a bit and 263 more runs is a long way off. The more time we can play for, the closer we can get.
“There is pressure. The guys aren’t used to playing a few Tests in a row and there may be some mental fatigue. If you’re not playing a lot of it all the time, these things happen. But there is pressure on Bangladesh too, from the fans, and hopefully we can use that.”

With Zimbabwe’s top-order virtually guaranteeing a passage into their middle, Bangladesh will probably not rue the decision to keep batting. The overs and balls they blocked out dutifully until an hour into the afternoon session will only have cost them time and as it stands, they seem to have enough.Their focus will be on tactics and Mushfiqur will need to be at his most astute. Already he has overseen some real progress, such as on the Sri Lanka tour, and individually he has excelled. With the responsibility of leading, his batting has blossomed: his average in the ten Tests he has captained sits as 44.33, including the country’s only double hundred. He also has a higher average than any other Bangladesh captain.But he has been criticised for some of his management of bowlers, particularly his over-reliance on left-arm spin. Mushfiqur will have to juggle what have proved incisive spells by Shakib Al Hasan with equally promising ones from Sohag Gazi.He will have to hope Robiul gets in enough rest and recovery to bowl better than he did up front today. He will have to remember that he has other seamers as well. Sajidul Islam was woefully underused and bowled only two overs, while Ziaur Rahman has proved that he too can be relied on. He will also have to encourage his fielders to brush up on their catching skills because when (and it is when rather than if) Zimbabwe offer chances, they will have to be at their sharpest to take them.That kind of in-the-moment anxiety is what turns both teams into proverbial deer in the headlights. They are entirely capable of pulling off moments of brilliance but they are also more likely to spill chances they should collect by the bucketful. Only confidence can change that.Sporting clichés tell us that self-belief is only developed through winning, or least giving a reasonable account of oneself. Bangladesh will improve their stocks in that regard enormously if they go on to win.Zimbabwe batsmen also don’t handle pressure well. When they played New Zealand in Bulawayo in late 2011, they put themselves in prime position to chase down to 366 thanks to an aggressive century from Brendan Taylor. From 287 for 4, they crashed to 331 all out.The new ball, and they will have one of those to face tomorrow too, accounted for some of their dismissals but it was anxiety that took the other wickets. Being in the unfamiliar driving seat without much steering know-how meant Zimbabwe stalled. They will not want to repeat that. And neither will Bangladesh.That could make for an intriguing final day in what has been a competitively billed contest, which petered out a little one-sidedly in the first match and for parts of the second. Tonight it hangs in a delicate balance. For both sides, tomorrow holds as much potential as it does disappointment and the worry of which it may bring will hang heavy in both camps. Whoever can shed that fear first will probably win the match.

Forty years ago, Australia’s cricketers undertook back-to-back Test tours, just like now. If it wasn’t for the shabby treatment they received back then, their modern counterparts might not have had it as good as they do

Brydon Coverdale08-Nov-2011On New Year’s Eve, 1969, an Australian squad led by Bill Lawry flew out of India after a five-Test series. They had triumphed 3-1 in difficult conditions and had been away from home for two and a half months, but instead of flying back to Australia for a well-deserved break from the rigours of international cricket, they set off for South Africa and another four-Test series. In all, they were on tour for more than five months.Fast forward 41 years and Michael Clarke’s men are in South Africa, ready for the second leg of another back-to-back Test tour.How things have changed. The Australians of 2011 played three Tests in three weeks in Sri Lanka, before some of the squad members spent a few precious days at home between series. Now they are ready for an absurdly short two-Test series in South Africa. The presence of three formats also extended the layoff for some.There was no such luxury in 1969-70. On the contrary, by proposing an extra Test at the end of the South African series and refusing to pay the Australian players what they requested for the additional work, the Australian board unknowingly laid the foundations for the World Series Cricket revolution later that decade.By the time a fifth Test was suggested, Australia had lost 4-0 to an outstanding South Africa side, having failed to carry their form from India. Barry Richards averaged 72 as an opener, Graeme Pollock was at his best, and no Australian scored a century.”It wasn’t so much the different conditions, it was that Graham McKenzie and the fast bowlers had had a heavy workload over all those months,” Lawry said, recalling the tour in the lead-up to this week’s first Test in Cape Town. “It was a big ask. They wouldn’t do it today. They play two Test matches and come home today. It was a very heavy workload, but that’s no excuse – we were beaten by a better side.”They were the only four Test matches Barry Richards ever played, and he’s probably one of the best opening batsmen of all time. Graeme Pollock was at his peak. Then there was Eddie Barlow and all these other players; Mike Procter was at his peak. And they were just a very well-balanced side. They got us on the rebound a bit but we never really looked like beating them.”If we’d gone there fresh from Australia, we probably would’ve still got beaten – perhaps not the same result, but we would have been beaten. You’ve just got to give full credit to South Africa.”But the Australians didn’t go to South Africa fresh. Their tour of India, though successful on the field, was extremely testing off it. The players were unhappy with the accommodation, which the offspinner Ashley Mallett later described as “more hovels than hotels”. He wrote that on a late-night visit to their hotel kitchen in Guwahati, the players “were greeted by a sea of cockroaches swarming over the wet floor and several cats dancing on the salads in the fridge”.In the book , Ian Chappell recounted that the day before flying to South Africa, the players stayed at the luxurious Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay, “but it was only for one night, and that only increased our anger because we knew that there were good hotels in India, but our board wouldn’t book us in at them”.

“South Africa were leading 4-0, and we said we’d play but we wanted more money. The board said, no you won’t. It was typical of the board, unfortunately”Lawry on why the proposed fifth Test in Johannesburg was cancelled

“It should never have happened,” Lawry said. “The tour we went on and the accommodation and the food – but that’s history. We could make all the excuses in the world, but you can’t take it away from South Africa, they were just too good. I played in three series against South Africa, in ’64, ’67 and ’70, and we never beat them once. Over that period of time they were as good as any side in the world.”All the same, the discontent towards the board encouraged the players to stand up for themselves when a fifth Test in Johannesburg was proposed. The board offered each player an extra $200 for their trouble. At a team meeting, Chappell, the vice-captain, encouraged his team-mates to show the board they wouldn’t be pushed around. The players told the board they would play for $500 extra per man.”It was a grab for money,” Lawry said. “South Africa were leading 4-0. The board said, no you won’t. It was typical of the board, unfortunately. We would probably have been beaten 5-0 but we were prepared to play if they were prepared to pay us a reasonable amount of money, which we weren’t getting at the time.”The board refused, the fifth Test was not played, and when Lawry submitted a scathing captain’s report to the board on his return to Australia, his cards were marked. The men in suits who ran Australian cricket were not amused.”I never had a direct meeting with the board or board members. The only meeting we had was in Victoria, when the Victorian players asked for a meeting with the Victorian board members, which we got. We told them what the situation was. The answer was very simple. They said, ‘If you don’t play for us, who do you play for?’ We walked out and that was the end of discussion. That was their attitude. In 1976-77 they paid the price.”Unfortunately for Lawry, he paid the price much sooner, when he was stripped of the captaincy before the final Test of the 1970-71 Ashes.”I knew I’d have a black mark, but sooner or later you have to make a stand,” Lawry said. “You might not win, but you have to make the stand.”Future generations of Australian cricketers, Clarke’s squad included, should be thankful that he did.

There is only one thing more complex than the laws of cricket, and that is the relationships between the various nations who take part in the sport.

Andrew Miller13-Nov-2008
Kevin Pietersen: A wanted commodity © Getty Images
There is only one thing more complex than the laws of cricket, and that is the relationships between the various nations who take part in the sport. The oldest and most fabled rivalry may be the Ashes, but England and Australia’s matey rapport is a cosy drink in the pub compared to some of the clashes of culture that crop up on the itinerary.One of the biggest, however, also happens to be one of the most sullen and brooding. When England and India face each other on the cricket field, there are few of the histrionics that have coloured England’s clashes with Pakistan down the years, or India’s recent confrontations with Australia, or above all, their uniquely passionate relationship with Pakistan.In fact, for large swathes of the game’s existence, there has hardly been a rivalry at all. When India first toured England in 1932, they were captained by a Maharajah whose tally of Rolls Royces was greater than the number of runs he managed in the whole tour (two), and in 1952, two years before Pakistan marked their first tour with an unbelievable victory at The Oval, India were reduced to 0 for 4 by Fred Trueman at Leeds – the worst start to a match in Test history.Of course it hasn’t always been that one-sided. The majesty and quality of India’s batsmen – from Sunil Gavaskar via Mohammad Azharuddin to Sachin Tendulkar – have habitually charmed their English audiences, and when unleashed in their own conditions, secured totals so formidable that England have not emerged victorious from the subcontinent since 1984-85. But, true to form, that statistic has regularly been disguised by gripes about the pitches, the umpires, the weather, and any other excuse that could fit the occasion.Yes, it wouldn’t be unfair to suggest that, for years, England’s attitude to the jewel of their Empire has been patronising at best, and something more sinister at worst. But, with the exception of a heady period in the 1970s when India’s spin bowlers were the envy of the world, they have seemed quite content with their role as genial also-rans. In sport, as in life, the sheer size and potential of the country was at odds with its standing in the world.Until now, that is.Now, all of a sudden, the giant is awakening, and England are beginning to wish that they could roll back the decades and correct all the slights (perceived or otherwise) that were allowed to accumulate over the years. The game that started as an English pastime and continued sedately in that vein for more than 100 years has, in the past decade, exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry, based around the Asian market. India was once the servant, but now, unequivocally, it is the Empire-builder.The action that takes place on the pitch in the coming weeks is only the visible manifestation of a power struggle that runs right to cricket’s core. At stake are the values that England carried throughout the years it enjoyed hegemony in the game, and cherish to this day – in particular the future of Test cricket, the stately five-day version of the game, whose existence is being squeezed by the market forces that have driven India to the financial heights, and which (understandably) put a higher price on speed and spontaneity than grit and determination.The itinerary for the tour reflects the changing priorities. When England toured India in 1981-82, there were six Test matches (all of them stultifyingly dull, as it happens, even to the purist!). Now there are only two, and instead the bulk of the action revolves around a seven-match one-day series. Three years ago, in the corresponding campaign, England treated the trip with borderline contempt, and were lucky to emerge with a 5-1 scoreline.Now, however, they are likely to be rather more switched on. Watching their every move will be the movers and shakers of the Indian Premier League, the domestic tournament that sprung into existence last April, and is the most dramatic demonstration of India’s new-found might. Key England players such as Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff could earn seven-figure contracts if they took up the offers that have come their way, while the marketable stars of the future, especially Stuart Broad, are also very much on the wish-list.It is a prospect that fills England’s administrators with dread, because (save for the largesse bestowed by the Texan billionaire, Allen Stanford) they have no fiscal might with which to retaliate. They can only hope that the pride and heritage that comes from playing for one’s country is sufficient to keep the new world order at bay. But even that might not be enough if India moves on from flexing its muscles, and goes in for the knockout blow.

Lauren Bell and Heather Knight have both withdrawn from the upcoming season of WPL

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2024 • Updated on 27-Jan-2024UP Warriorz have brought in Chamari Athapaththu as replacement for Lauren Bell, who has withdrawn from the upcoming edition of the Women’s Premier league (WPL). England captain Heather Knight has also pulled out of the upcoming WPL season, with Royal Challengers Bangalore bringing in South Africa allrounder Nadine de Klerk as her replacement.*England’s women are facing a choice between club and country. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Bell informed the Warriorz set-up recently that she wanted to focus on preparing for the New Zealand series, which begins on March 19 in Dunedin, just two days after the WPL final in Delhi. There is no update yet on the rest of Warriroz’s England contingent, including head coach Jon Lewis (who is also head coach of England Women), Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt, on whether they would finish their WPL engagements before heading to New Zealand.The ECB said in a statement: “When schedules were released, it became clear to be available and prepare optimally for the first game of England’s tour to New Zealand would mean missing the end of the WPL campaign and Knight has decided to prioritise participating in the full international tour whilst allowing the franchise to find a replacement for the whole competition.””I look forward to giving my best to the team and working closely with head coach Jon Lewis and skipper Alyssa Healy and help my team lift the coveted title,” Athapaththu said. “The WPL is a very dynamic tournament, and the UP Warriorz is a strong squad.”