Rohit checks most boxes on T20I comeback, but not the big one

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The India captain did not get the chance to show whether he could adapt his explosive ODI form in the shortest format

Hemant Brar12-Jan-20242:58

Takeaways – Dube makes a splash, India go bold with their balance

On his return to India’s T20I side, Rohit Sharma ticked most boxes, but through no fault of his own not the one that mattered most.For their last series before the 2024 T20 World Cup in June, India had selected Rohit and Virat Kohli for the first time since the semi-final loss to England at the 2022 T20 World Cup. Kohli was unavailable for Thursday’s match for personal reasons, so all the attention was on Rohit as he led the team against Afghanistan on a freezing evening in Mohali.Rohit’s first curveball was when Yashasvi Jaiswal had to miss the game with a sore right groin, a day after head coach Rahul Dravid had said the two were India’s first-choice openers. They had to change but they had a more than handy replacement in local boy Shubman Gill.Related

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The first box Rohit ticked was the toss. Before this game, the chasing team had won 26 out of 40 T20s in Mohali since the start of 2022. Given the numbers and the risk of dew in the second innings Rohit had no hesitation in bowling first, and also ended India’s losing streak with the coin, which had extended to 11 matches across formats.”There is a lot to gain from these three games,” Rohit said at the toss. “We haven’t really had too much T20 cricket leading up to the World Cup. We have got the IPL but an international game is an international game.”I wasn’t part of the [T20I] side for the entire last year, so I had a chat with Rahul about what we have been doing, which players we are looking at and for what positions. It is important for me to buy into that thinking and understand what we need to do as a group. We look forward to doing everything possible for that while keeping in mind that winning is the most important thing.”That serious answer was followed by a typical quirky moment. When Murali Kartik asked Rohit about his playing XI, he said: “I will tell you the guys who are missing out: Sanju, Avesh, Yashasvi, and then… one more… Avesh… Sanju… I told you before the toss.””Kuldeep, I think,” Kartik replied.”No, Kuldeep is playing. Oh, yes, Kuldeep,” Rohit said with a laugh.Rohit Sharma was annoyed at being run-out•BCCIIndia went in with only two frontline seamers – Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar – and three spinners – Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar. Allrounder Shivam Dube was their sixth bowling option, while Washington’s selection ensured the batting did not plummet after No. 7. This could be a template they adopt during the World Cup as well.The harsh weather in Mohali made fielding difficult. A cold wave had gripped the city, forcing the Met department to issue red alert, and the government to shut schools for a week. At the start of Afghanistan’s innings, the temperature was 9°C.After the match, Rohit said he had not played in colder conditions. In the ninth over, when he caught Ibrahim Zadran at short extra cover, he could not feel his fingers. As the batter was walking off, a member of India’s support staff ran in with a hot water bag for Rohit to warm his hands with.Three overs later, Azmatullah Omarzai tried to hit one uppishly. Rohit leapt with his right arm at full extension but the ball burst through his fingers. He grimaced, hurt by the missed opportunity and stung by the ball in equal measure perhaps.India, however, were largely in control and Rohit was smiling soon. Towards the end of Afghanistan’s innings, when Mukesh Kumar bowled a no-ball – a second bouncer in an over – he playfully slapped the bowler on the back of the head. For the 19th over, Rohit brought on Washington. Despite the spinner conceding 13, and Arshdeep 15 in the 20th, India restricted Afghanistan to a below-par 158; the average first-innings total in Mohali in six T20Is before this match was 183.”We want to try our bowlers in different situations of the game,” Rohit said after the match. “Like you saw, Washy bowled the 19th over today. We want to challenge the bowlers in the areas they are not used to.”Another box Rohit ticked on his return as T20I captain was the over rate. To regulate the pace of play, the ICC is trialing a new rule: a five-run penalty to be imposed if the bowling team fails three times to start the new over within 60 seconds of the previous one being completed. When India started their 20th over, they were two overs faster than the required rate.All good so far. But what India actually wanted to see was whether Rohit could carry his explosive form in ODIs to T20 cricket. At the 2023 ODI World Cup, he had given India blazing starts, scoring at a strike rate of 135.01 in the powerplay. Could he adapt further and go a gear higher, as the shortest format demands?Rohit Sharma won a toss for India after 11 losses with the coin•BCCIOn Thursday, Rohit tamely pushed the first ball of the chase on the off side. On the next delivery, he jumped out of his crease, drilled Fazalhaq Farooqi to the right of mid-off, and took off for a quick single. Gill, however, was ball-watching and by the time he realised what was happening, Rohit was halfway down the pitch. In the meantime, Ibrahim made a diving stop and, after a fumble, threw the ball to the wicketkeeper with both batters at the non-striker’s end. Gill chose not to sacrifice his wicket and Rohit had to walk back for a second-ball duck.The run had been Rohit’s call as he was heading towards the danger end. And given he had placed the ball to the right of the fielder, the single was on. In fact, by the time Ibrahim picked up the ball, Rohit had completed the run.It’s not common for Rohit to show anger on the field. Earlier in the day, he had barely reacted when Bishnoi had fumbled a potential run-out chance and Dube had dropped a catch. But now he lost his cool and gave Gill a piece of his mind.After a few overs, the replay of the run-out was shown once again. By now, Rohit’s temper had cooled and he was seen smiling in the dressing room. “These things happen,” he said afterwards. “When it happens, you feel a little frustrated. Obviously, you want to be out there, score runs for the team. But everything will not go your way, you have to understand that.”I wanted Gill to carry on. He played a very good, little innings there [23 off 12]; unfortunately, he got out in the end. But we won the game, which was more important.”There are two more matches in this series. After that, Rohit should have at least 14 games in the IPL as well, but an international match is an international match, as he himself said at the toss, and he missed the first of three remaining opportunities before the T20 World Cup.

Which spinner will partner Jack Leach in India?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Former England spinner Gareth Batty looks at three young contenders: Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir

Matt Roller24-Jan-20243:16

Records to watch out for in the India-England series

“If you see the ball spin in a Test match,” jokes Gareth Batty, “you get everybody in the bloomin’ team, from the physio to the bus driver, in the nets bowling spin, because everyone can do it.”That’s my concern,” he says about England on their tour of India. “They’ll be put under so much pressure, if not internally then externally, because of the expectation of success.”Batty, Surrey’s head coach, is more aware than most of the expectations on English spinners in the subcontinent. Six of the nine Tests he played during his days as an offspinner came in South Asia, the most recent in the third match of the 2016 tour, and he will represent the spinners’ union while commentating for talkSPORT on the 2024 series, which starts in Hyderabad this week.Related

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Batty’s recall in 2016, at the age of 39, aligned with the truism that spinners get better with age. England’s selection for this tour suggests that they believe otherwise: Jack Leach has been their frontline spinner for several years but is supported by three bowlers with a combined age of 63 and a single Test cap between them.”Whoever you speak to, they’ll say spinners need to have some muscle memory so that when they’re under pressure, they can deliver their stock ball and deliver their skill,” Batty says. “History has suggested that you’d be better served with a senior player – but I actually think that’s a little bit old hat, possibly.”I think England have gone, ‘We’re going to test it.’ I know Jeets [Jeetan Patel, England’s spin coach] is big on spinners bowling and getting the opportunity to get that muscle memory, but I do think you can cram as well – like people do for exams. It’s a really interesting litmus test, and it’s a brave one from England’s point of view.”Gareth Batty: “Rehan Ahmed could be that smaller or shorter version of an Anil Kumble, where he can bowl a bit straighter and get loads of bowleds and lbws”•Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty ImagesAmong England’s options is Shoaib Bashir, a 20-year-old offspinner with only ten first-class wickets to his name. Batty knows him better than most: Bashir spent his teenage years playing for Surrey’s academy, but was released at the age of 17. This summer, he played the fifth of his six first-class games, for Somerset against Batty’s side.”Because of how the system works, if they’re no longer at school, they can’t stay on the academy, and at the time, we didn’t have many places on the professional staff,” Batty recalls. “Yousef Majid, the left-arm spinner, was the guy the club went with and around that time, Bashir had a huge growth spurt, which is very difficult for young people.”It can take a while to get that movement pattern comfortable again but he’s obviously gone down to a very, very well-run club in Somerset, and he’s thrived. I’d be surprised if he finds himself playing in India, and everyone has to remember that the amount of cricket he’s played is minimal. But just bowling at England players in the nets and seeing R Ashwin up close, it’ll be a wonderful learning curve.”Bashir was unlikely to feature in the first Test even before a visa hold-up delayed his arrival, but Lancashire’s Tom Hartley is a contender to start alongside Leach. “He is direct, and bowls into the surface,” Batty says. “He’s very different to [Ravindra] Jadeja but very similar to Axar Patel. He’d be a very good opposite number to Axar.”If we’re to have any effect in India, we need Jack Leach to perform as he can do”•Getty Images”He challenges both edges if the pitch is going to spin, and he adds a bit of depth: he balances the team out quite beautifully. He’s a nice bowler and I think he’ll do well. If the pitches spin, he’ll be accurate and bowl into an area which will challenge both edges of the bat. He bowls direct into that middle-stump area.”Batty has been “surprised” to see Hartley left out by Lancashire at times – he has played 16 County Championship matches over the last three seasons – and believes that it is the result of a system that gives teams 16 points for a win and just five for a draw. “People look for a quick fix, and spin is not always that quick fix,” he says. “We’re giving too many points to an out-and-out win when the focus should be to play good cricket and for all disciplines to come into the game.”The favourite to partner Leach is Rehan Ahmed, the teenager who made his Test debut in Karachi 13 months ago. “Traditionally, fingerspin is front and centre in India, because you’re relying on the nature of sticking the ball in the same area over and over again, knowing full well that one ball will have the batter’s name on it,” Batty says.”That is harder [for] wristspinners, but Rehan has obviously got the world at his feet. He’s been given opportunities and he’s taken them, and he bats as well, which lengthens that order. His challenge will be how consistent he can be on turning surfaces in India, where control is probably front and centre, as opposed to the massive sidespin required in other parts of the world.Tom Hartley is a contender for a playing role in India, though he has been sparingly used by Lancashire in the County Championship – an outcome, Batty believes, of the current points system•Surrey CCC/Getty Images”Can he have that consistency? It’s a big ask. But the one thing that’s really positive for him is that he’s got a very good googly, so he’s bringing the tramlines in and he’s bringing the stumps and pads into play. He could be that smaller or shorter version of an Anil Kumble, where he can bowl a bit straighter and get loads of bowleds and lbws.”But it is clear that Leach will be England’s main man, tasked with leading a young spin attack on his return from a back stress fracture. “He’s a purist of the game when it comes to trying to bowl spin,” Batty says. “He’s changed his seam position from three years ago, when we saw him last in India.”He’s able to get that square spin, so he can bring the tramlines into play now as opposed to being on off stump and spinning it to slip. He can get that angle into the surface to spin it away now, which was not an easy thing for him to change: it’s a bit more palm at the batsman, as opposed to the side of the hand with the overspin.”Batty believes that England’s results in the series will correlate with Leach’s efforts. “If we’re to have any effect in India, we need him to perform as he can do,” he says. “He won’t want to be front and centre – he’s not that sort of a guy – but let’s hope his performances are, and let’s champion the fact that he’s becoming a very fine left-arm spinner.”Listen to exclusive & free coverage on talkSPORT2 or via the talkSPORT cricket YouTube channel.

Imagine there was no Kane Williamson. It's not easy, don't try

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Where would we, and specifically New Zealand cricket, be minus his contributions?

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Mar-2024In a parallel universe Kane Williamson never seriously takes up cricket. It is only one of several sports he tries, as is ordinary for a kid growing up in sleepy coastal Tauranga.In this universe, he doesn’t work at his batting long enough to show precocious talent. He and his father, Brett, do not spend countless hours in the nets near his house putting the building blocks of a compact and effortless technique together. He doesn’t glide into age-group teams as the youngest player by several years. Doesn’t find himself in senior sides at the age of 16. Doesn’t have stellar first-class seasons late in his teens. There’s no debut for New Zealand two days after turning 20.Here, the various spots Williamson occupies in first-class sides, and eventually the national team, are taken up by your run-of-the-mill New Zealand domestic performers at the time. We could take names, but if you followed New Zealand through this spell you’d only be too familiar with the type. They can survive some swing and are okay on the front foot for a while.Related

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But bouncers with a bit of heat? No thanks, we don’t like that stuff here.Big-turning spin? Uh, sorry, what now?These batters will look good for a 30 here, scratch out a 40 there, get out in single figures too often, and eventually be jettisoned for the next player on a domestic hot streak, who brings roughly the same skill set to the park. We’ll call this genre of batters NotWilliamson.Perhaps the real Williamson is off at university, studying computer science or marketing. He’s not around in Hobart in 2011 to hit an important 34 off 48. On a rampantly grassy track, Ross Taylor needed his partner to take the heat off him while he batted for 169 balls to put together a 56 that was the centrepiece of New Zealand’s second innings.In our universe New Zealand went on to sneak a famous seven-run win, which was the single flowering tree in the otherwise drought-ridden nightmarescape of their Test fortunes at the time. Would NotWilliamson have been capable of that vital cameo late on day two? Not likely.Imagine there’s no debut: what would New Zealand cricket have looked like today without that 20-year-old who made a maiden hundred in his first Test?•Associated PressThat home summer, Williamson is not there to produce his first great act of defiance. South Africa are in the middle of their rampaging away streak – Dale Steyn slinging meteors, early-career Vernon Philander swallowing top orders whole, Morne Morkel raining down skyscraper bounce. New Zealand must bat out more than 80 overs on the final day at the Basin Reserve to avoid a 2-0 series defeat. But NotWilliamson does not have the technique to survive the storm of bouncers, is not wired to let South Africa’s verbal daggers fly harmlessly by, does not have the youthful spunk to blow bubblegum bubbles as he puts away the occasional bad ball, is incapable of hitting a 228-ball, match-saving 102 not out.You see where this is going, right?Later in 2012, New Zealand are in Sri Lanka, having bombed in five Tests on the bounce. Taylor has been told he is being dumped as captain, and sets his will on proving a point. But at the P Sara Oval he doesn’t have Williamson to forge a 262-run stand with – a partnership that would become the foundation of a win that preserves a sliver of his dignity.Between 2013 and the end of 2015, when new captain, Brendon McCullum, and coach, Mike Hesson, set the team off on an inspired new direction, it is beyond them to conjure up a batter who would hit ten Test hundreds and average 61.91 through the period, nor one who personifies their new team ethos before they’d ever conceived of it.Williamson is not so much a “nice guy” as a guy to whom it would not occur to be anything other than he is, which is nice. New Zealand, now desperate to fight perceptions they are prima donnas, want to be restrained in victory and defeat. Williamson doesn’t so much have a poker face so much as a poker personality.There are the more tangible things. The McCullum and Hesson of the parallel universe also don’t have Williamson’s 113 in a Test against India in Auckland (which in our universe New Zealand win by 40 runs). They don’t have the second-innings 161 not out that would set up a 53-run victory in Bridgetown.In Sharjah they don’t have the 192 off 244 that helps set up a victory they may not get to without that contribution. At the Basin Reserve they absolutely would lose to Sri Lanka without Williamson’s game-breaking 242 not out, and at the Gabba later in 2015 they do not have Williamson making 140 and 59 and Australians sitting back and remarking, “Uff, this is a serious player.”Far and away New Zealand’s best batter, Williamson has also been the side’s most successful captain ever•Getty ImagesYou begin to wonder what shape New Zealand’s cricket takes in this alternative reality. You question how high they would really rise through the course of the 2010s.Tim Southee and Trent Boult still swing the new ball deliciously, but without the runs Williamson produces at a rate that far outstrips any New Zealand batter before, how often do they take matches deep? Neil Wagner has become the second-innings sledgehammer that breaks batting orders open as New Zealand pursue wins. Minus Williamson’s runs, how much road does he have on which to make his furious charges?And without the roaring success of McCullum’s proto-Bazball as captain of the New Zealand team, does BazballTM ever seriously see the light of day? McCullum was such an exhilarating presence in the dressing room, his players “willing to run through a wall for him”, as one put it. This is fine, but broken walls don’t tend to help teams win matches. Runs, though…Runs, by the way, that come relentlessly, save for when New Zealand’s Test schedule dries up for months at a time, as it does repeatedly during Williamson’s career. On his own account there are no extended dips in form, no long injury layoffs. There is his 53 and 104 not out after Bangladesh pile on 595 for 8 at the Basin, 89 and 139 to clinch the series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, the match high-score of 89 on a wildly seaming pitch against Jasprit Bumrah and Co, a glorious 132 following-on to set up that incredible one-run win against England, and the small matter of him scoring more than any other batter in the World Test Championship final he led his team to victory in.Cast a close eye over this career and quickly it becomes clear that the leading predictor of New Zealand’s chances of victory in Tests is whether Williamson prospers. It becomes difficult to avoid the conclusion that while McCullum, Taylor, Southee, Boult and Wagner have all played major roles in their team’s transformation into their country’s greatest ever team, it is Williamson who has most bent New Zealand’s arc towards excellence. In wins, he averages 81.61. No other batter has contributed anywhere near as many runs to New Zealand victories, nor done it at close to this average.In fact, only Don Bradman in the history of Test cricket has ever been better in victories. Among his contemporaries (as the subject is Williamson, you could never call them rivals) Steve Smith averages 67.93 in wins, Joe Root is about six runs behind Smith, and Babar Azam and Virat Kohli are lower down still. In temperament Williamson sets himself apart further. Where the others have developed on-field affectations – Smith’s quirks, for example, or Kohli’s intensity – to transport minds and bodily molecules into the reaches of greatness, Williamson tends to bat like it is as plain a thing to him as breathing. A glide back into the crease, a drifting up on to tiptoes, a serene push into space in the covers.Even in the earliest days of his career, he was expected to become his nation’s greatest ever batter. Smith, Root, Kohli and Babar Azam have all had their travails; public interrogations, tears, outbursts, oustings, recriminations. Williamson has floated to 100 Tests as if carried on a breeze.Along the way he has surpassed even those early predictions. He is so peerless as a New Zealand batter, the only conversation now is whether he or Richard Hadlee is their greatest cricketer. Hadlee still wins, perhaps, because he was even more peerless, and excelled in a team less studded with other greats. But the New Zealand of the 1980s also never scaled the peaks New Zealand of the last 12 years have planted their flag upon.Maybe in the parallel universe a 33-year-old Williamson is managing a software- solutions outfit. Or totting up whale numbers in the southern Tasman Sea as a marine biologist. Such is the quiet joy he takes in all the little things – the running off the field to taste a birthday cake spectators have produced for him during a practice match near Colombo, or joking with journalists ahead of a press conference prior to a big game – you suspect he would be as fulfilled in any of those careers as he has been piling up runs.The New Zealand team, though, would not have charted their route to such glory. In fact, it is possible they would have been a shadow.Cricket has been lucky to have him in our reality.

Will T20 get to the point where it becomes wearisome?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

It’s not all rosy when it’s raining sixes

Ian Chappell05-May-2024Over the years I’ve learnt that for every upside in an idea – no matter how good – it’s guaranteed there’ll also be a downside.Consequently there’s some disillusionment with the growing amount of six-hitting involved in the T20 game and particularly in the highly successful IPL tournament.Big hitting has dramatically increased. At the present pace IPL 2024 will comfortably set the record for the number of sixes clouted in a match. The big-hitting spree was highlighted by England seamer and Punjab Kings captain Sam Curran, who said after his team’s high scoring victory over Kolkata Knight Riders: “Cricket is turning into baseball isn’t it?”Related

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There are many reasons offered for the massive increase in six-hitting; among them improved bats, short boundaries and evening dew. Curran also highlighted the current players’ training methods, explaining “they can hit balls for a long time” as another reason for the improvement.The current training regime highlights how batting is now more of a power game as distinct from the artistry of the past. While training is an acknowledged part of professional cricket, it’s worth investigating the exponential growth in six-hitting.The IPL tournament plays a particularly important role.The popularity of the IPL is ingrained and as Curran says: “I’m sure everyone wants to keep seeing sixes.”There’s no doubt the younger generation, bred on big hitting and high scoring in T20 cricket, embrace the IPL. Then there’s the older generation, who have grown up with batting artistry and quality bowling spells and are often bewildered by segments of the modern game.Those are facts of life. As the IPL (and other administrations) consider the bottom line critical, then big hitting and thrilling chases, while they continue to draw large crowds, will remain as attractions of the game.

As a young man I enjoyed playing both cricket and baseball. If I’m not going to face many deliveries in a short version of cricket but field a lot, then the game loses a lot of its attraction

Nevertheless a cricket dilemma could occur if the T20 spectacle became wearisome. If an administration decided to further shorten the game this would severely test player loyalty. If players aren’t experiencing much cricket other than being in the field a lot, then a large contract can only conceal so much dissatisfaction. Apart from throwing the ball back, there’s not much fielding involved when it’s raining sixes.The increased growth in shorter forms of the game is allied to the exorbitant cost of running first-class competitions. Strong first-class competitions are crucial to developing Test cricketers and hence the current five-day game favours India, Australia and England but is under immense strain.Then there’s the financial return from the media for a cricket board. The shorter forms of the game bring far greater financial rewards than a first-class competition, so guess which route a board, strapped for cash, is going to take.India, with its huge spending power rules cricket, therefore other countries tend to follow their example. Hence the growth in T20 leagues in other countries mirrors the IPL success.In many ways one of cricket’s perceived blunders is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for administrators. They could never have envisioned the vast power they were conceding but IPL auctions have provided massive financial rewards for players.However, the administrators are now almost assured of player loyalty, as they are not going to revolt against the short length of a game when they are being well rewarded.As a young man I enjoyed playing both cricket and baseball. If I’m not going to face many deliveries in a short version of cricket but field a lot, then the game loses a lot of its attraction. If that were the case I’d prefer to play baseball, where fielding is integral and at least I’d bat a few times. In the short version of cricket I would often feel I hadn’t earned my beer at the end of the game.That is the opinion of someone from the older generation. However that thinking ignores the enormous preference a modern administration places on market trends and financial returns rather than a player’s wishes.

Maxwell's Test dream: 'While there's still a glimmer, I'll keep going for it'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The allrounder has had a storied career, which he has now put into a book, but hopes there’s at least one chapter still to complete

Alex Malcolm25-Oct-2024The tone in Glenn Maxwell’s voice changes when he talks about Test cricket.It’s not what you would expect from the author of some the greatest innings ever played in coloured clothing for Australia. The 201 not out in Mumbai, which he relives in great detail in his soon-to-be-released autobiography , written with Adam Collins. The 40-ball century against Netherlands. The 51-ball 2015 World Cup century against Sri Lanka. The impossible chases of Old Trafford, Bengaluru, Guwahati and Hobart. Maxwell could quite rightly dine out on those stories for the rest of his days.There is a myriad of off-field stories, too, some deeply personal. The broken leg. The golf-cart concussion. Severe mental health challenges. A miscarriage. Maxwell speaks with honesty and vulnerability about all of it and how it has shaped him through his 36 years.Related

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But long after the words have been printed, and the book hits the shelves, Maxwell is hopeful another chapter will be written. He has not given up on his dream of adding to his seven Test matches.That sentence in itself is striking. He hasn’t played Test cricket for seven years. He has not played a first-class game since July 2023 and has played only two in the last five years.He is nowhere near the conversation to play in the upcoming series against India, despite a top-six spot being available. But the carrot of the Sri Lanka tour in January has been dangled in front of him and he is all-in on chasing it after coming within touching distance of a place in the XI on the 2022 tour.”I think if I gave up on that Test dream now, I don’t think I’d be doing justice to that younger Glenn Maxwell who was dying to put on the baggy green when he was a kid,” he tells ESPNcricinfo. “And I think while there’s still a glimmer of hope, I’ll keep going for it.”Maxwell’s Test career is currently a story of what might have been. There is a sense when you speak to him, and when you read his book, that his brief tastes, and the many near-misses on Test selection that he details, have built up just as much scar tissue as the hardware holding his broken ankle together.

“If I gave up on that Test dream now, I don’t think I’d be doing justice to that younger Glenn Maxwell who was dying to put on the baggy green when he was a kid”

“I think the hard thing with Test cricket is, when I grew up, that’s all I wanted to do,” Maxwell says. “I definitely got my chance at Test level a bit prematurely. It all happened really fast when I got my chance to debut. It was just a whirlwind. I had no idea what I was doing. I probably hadn’t had the experience at first-class level that I would have liked.”And then when I came back in 2017, I felt like I was a ready-made first-class cricketer and was really at peace with my game and where I was at. A lot of these things in Test cricket are timing. Adam Voges is probably the perfect example. He came in and he averaged 60-odd [61.87] in his Test career. He got his opportunity when he was at the top of this game.”I suppose the thing I’m proud about in my Test career – I was able to sort of fight back at different times, get back in squads and be really resilient that way.”Voges’ story is a source of inspiration for Maxwell. Voges made his Test debut at 35 and played 20 Test matches, scoring five centuries, including two doubles. However, he got his opportunity in 2015 after scoring 1358 runs at 104.46 in the 2014-15 Sheffield Shield season. Only three batters have ever had a better Shield year and scored more than his six centuries in a single season.Maxwell has only made seven first-class centuries in his 69-game career, including his lone Test century in Ranchi. The lack of hundreds has been used against him from a Test selection standpoint. It is a notion that irks him. He detailed a frustrating exchange with selector Trevor Hohns in 2017-18, when he backed up his March Test century in India with scores of 60, 64, 45 not out, 278 against an international-standard New South Wales attack, and 96 across four consecutive Shield games while batting at No.3 for Victoria.Maxwell brings up his Test century in Ranchi in 2017•Associated PressMaxwell queried Hohns on why he wasn’t considered to play in the Ashes.”The answer was blunt: not enough tons,” Maxwell writes. “It’s the only time I’ve come close to losing it in a situation like that.”Maxwell no longer has to worry about such sentiments among the current Australian selection panel. They have said publicly that Shield cricket bears no relevance to Test conditions in Sri Lanka. They have also said that Australia’s ODI and T20I specialists, who miss a lot of first-class cricket due to white-ball duties, should not have their lack of Shield cricket held against them.It is the type of bespoke management that Maxwell appreciates and has led him to making a quiet return to red-ball cricket via Victoria’s second XI, where he scored 14 and 10, before hopefully making his Shield return after the two white-ball series against Pakistan. The leg injury remains a big part of his careful management.Maxwell enjoyed the red-ball return without the pressure of needing to perform and believes he can get up to speed quickly to the rhythm of red-ball batting if he’s selected on the tour of Sri Lanka.

“I might sort of have this persona on-field where it all looks confident, everything looks all sweet, but it’s not always like that behind the scenes”

“The interesting thing about last week, even just playing the second XI game, was having a few technical changes and working through them, having a few different sets of eyes looking at your batting, and just trying to work your way through that has been really enjoyable,” he says.”I remember in 2022 [in Sri Lanka] the first couple of net sessions that I had working through all those cracks, and working through your different techniques of facing spin that’s exploding, was so enjoyable. And it doesn’t take long when you’re really experienced in those conditions to work out a way to play over there.”It’s probably what makes Cameron Green’s success over there so extraordinary, the fact that it’s the first time he’s played Test cricket over there in those conditions, and he was so successful and strong-minded in the way he was going to go about it. It takes a strong mind to have success over there. I’d just love to be over there.”Maxwell’s mental-health journey is fascinatingly recounted in the book. He is very open about the challenges he has faced throughout his career.”I hope people can get a better idea of the different anxiety I’ve probably had,” he says. “I might sort of have this persona on-field where it all looks confident, everything looks all sweet, but it’s not always like that behind the scenes. There’s so much that sort of goes into it, and there’s a lot of conversations, a lot of thoughts that are going on. And it’s not always as smooth as it seems.”1:43

Where does Glenn Maxwell rank in T20 cricket?

One of his darkest periods was between 2018 and 2020, which coincided with Justin Langer’s tenure as coach. Maxwell is not shy in outlining his turbulent relationship with Langer back then, detailing his personal perspective of a series of incidents, including his omission from the 2018 Test tour of the UAE, the 2019 World Cup, where he was subjected to a bouncer barrage in the nets that he felt was coach-directed, and a fiery exchange in early 2020 when Maxwell said the coach accused him of faking an elbow injury to miss a tour.But Maxwell sees a clear delineation between their relationship as player and coach and their friendship away from the game, which included a lot of golf and some great conversations about life.”We’re still on great terms,” Maxwell says. “We had a really good friendship, and I suppose his coaching tenure at the back end, I probably didn’t get out of him exactly what I probably needed at that time.”The other roundabout relationship he writes about is with Steven Smith. He reveals that the pair did not see eye to eye when Smith was the national captain. But Maxwell also notes he was partly to blame.”I’ve learned the amount that you invest in relationships is the amount you get back,” he says. “And I think potentially, looking back on early relationships, they might have been a lot of one way. I reckon I expected a lot of things to go my way, without actually investing back in.

“Maxwell queried [selector Trevor] Hohns on why he wasn’t considered to play in the Ashes. “The answer was blunt: not enough tons,” Maxwell writes. “It’s the only time I’ve come close to losing it in a situation like that”

“Steve is probably the one who we’ve come… probably not full circle, it’s never like we weren’t friends, it was we weren’t as close as we are now. Now we’re messaging most days, we play golf together, we enjoy each other’s company, and we spend a lot of time talking about not just cricket stuff, but off-field, real things as well.”Maxwell is as comfortable as he has ever been with his place in the world as a husband, a father and a cricketer. He is adamant his story is not completely told, and has no plans to retire anytime soon. He feels he is in the perfect head space to handle a Test match recall. But he knows there are no guarantees, and he says it won’t define his career.”I’m at peace with pretty much everything,” he says. “So it sort of makes it a little bit easier to go out there and not get too wrapped up in the moment, not to put too much pressure on myself to do certain things, and hopefully that just is able to bring out the best in me.”Whatever happens at the back end of this summer, whether I get picked or not, I won’t judge that as a tick or cross on my career. It’s just going to be another thing. As I said, I’d love to be over there, and if I do get the opportunity, I won’t be putting too much pressure on myself.”

Pant and Bumrah hold the key to India's fortunes in Australia

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

They are India’s most vital players and if they’re on form, it’s a big battle won

Ian Chappell22-Sep-2024India have the ideal build up to their tour of Australia with two Tests against Bangladesh, then a more demanding three-game series with New Zealand.Apart from winning both series, India’s priority will be to get as many players as possible into form without suffering major injuries. However, the most pressing matters are to achieve those aims with Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.Pant’s ability to bounce back onto the Test scene is quite remarkable given his horrific car accident. He is a crucial wicketkeeper-batter in the Indian line-up and he’d give the team a major boost if he’s at the peak of his powers for the Australian tour.Related

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As an in-form batter, Pant is vital, which he displayed on the 2020-21 Australian tour with crucial innings in both the SCG and Gabba Tests. His ability to score quickly utilising his innovative aggression is an important part of India’s strategy.His wicketkeeping is also vital – if Pant can perform at his best, he’s the ideal keeper for Australian conditions. If he’s able to continue with his agile performance standing back, that is what is required in Australia. You need a keeper who capably covers a lot of territory to both sides of the wicket. Any keeper who fulfils those requirements not only improves the team’s fielding but also allows the slip fielders to spread wider to cover extra territory.Pant’s keeping standing up to the stumps drastically improved before his serious injury, following an ultimatum from coach Ravi Shastri. The fact that Pant progressed from being a dubious keeper against spinners to a very good gloveman standing up to the stumps, admirably displayed his willingness to work hard.Pant’s improvement sums up the thoughts of that excellent Australian gloveman Rod Marsh: “If you’re the incumbent,” he said, “and you don’t improve, then you’re not thinking correctly.” Marsh rightly concluded that if you were keeping and practising most days of the week, then you should become a better keeper.

At the start of the 1972 Ashes tour I suggested we might keep Dennis Lillee in cotton wool. He told me: “Like a batsman, I need to be in form. When I take a five-wicket haul, you can talk about putting me in cotton wool”

While the batting needs to be at its best, the other crucial factor will be the Indian pace bowling. The presence of a keeper-batter in the middle order and allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin give India the luxury of selecting five bowlers for each Test.That makes the choice of fast bowlers paramount. The good form and fitness of both Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj – the two most successful pace bowlers on the last Australian tour – is essential. Of those two, Bumrah is the attack leader.A critical part of India’s build-up to the Australian tour will be ensuring Bumrah is in form but remains fit to play the bulk of the five Tests. The difficulty of balancing this task was summed up perfectly by Australian pace hero Dennis Lillee on the 1972 tour of the UK. At the start of the long tour I suggested we might keep Lillee in cotton wool. He told me in very strong terms: “Like a batsman, I need to be in form. When I take a five-wicket haul, you can talk about putting me in cotton wool.”It was a lesson I learned from the big-hearted fast bowler and never forgot.It would be ideal if the mercurial Mohammed Shami is fit for Australia but the presence of a good left-arm paceman would also improve India’s variety in attack.The spin bowling is in good hands with Jadeja and Ashwin. Nevertheless I wouldn’t discount the importance of Kuldeep Yadav on some Australian surfaces.Of the young batters Yashasvi Jaiswal looks very talented but he needs to show good form in Australia. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should act as guiding lights for the younger batters on tour.The batting needs to be good in Australia as India showed with their series wins on the last two visits. Batting aside, it will help India’s chances enormously if both Pant and Bumrah are performing at their best in Australia.

Saini: 'Pace is my identity, I don't want to sacrifice any bit of it'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

After a series of injuries, the Delhi fast bowler is keen to “know where I stand” in the Ranji Trophy

Himanshu Agrawal17-Oct-2024Bowling fast has come naturally to Navdeep Saini. He grew up playing tennis-ball cricket, which demanded accuracy. That, in turn, made him bowl full and fast, and develop quick arm speed.Saini first made a name for himself when he rattled Bengal in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy in 2017-18, consistently touching 140kph as a 25-year-old. Seven years on, he is an India international, although matches at the highest level have been few and far between. While Saini can still continually bowl at 135kph, multiple injuries have hampered his progress.”If someone is a fast bowler, he has to put in a lot more effort to bowl at that pace,” Saini told ESPNcricinfo ahead of Ranji Trophy 2024-25. “Thus, a fast bowler has a lot more chances of getting injured, as compared to someone who bowls at 120 or 125 [kph].”Related

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Saini, with 34, was Delhi’s highest wicket-taker in their run to the Ranji final in 2017-18. He was named in India’s squad in June 2018. While the debut didn’t come, he did make the standby list for the ODI World Cup in 2019.It was a year of promise and the surge began with his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, for whom he picked up 11 wickets in 13 games. In August, Saini impressed on his India debut in a T20I against West Indies.”Virat [Kohli] was India’s captain at the time, and having played for RCB under him, whenever there was pressure, I used to talk to him and he used to calm me down,” Saini said of his early days with India.By February 2020, Saini had shaken West Indies in a series decider on ODI debut, shown his full repertoire – from 150kph to accurate change-ups – against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.”Virat Kohli used to calm me down when there was pressure” – Navdeep Saini•BCCIBut the highs, as they often are, were often followed by the lows. In a four-month period from September 2020, Saini had a miserable IPL, where he also split his webbing. On India’s tour of Australia, he leaked 153 runs in 17 overs across the first two ODIs, and struck only once. In Sydney, in the third Test, Saini made his debut; but in in Brisbane, he walked off with a groin strain. But despite those setbacks, Saini never thought of sacrificing his pace.”Bowling fast helps you create more opportunities to get a wicket,” he said. “That makes you put in a lot more effort on your body. That, in turn, makes you injury prone. So you never know how or when you can get injured while trying to bowl at such high pace.”You only try your best to focus on your fitness, and it is difficult to point out any one reason why someone gets injured more than others.”Since Brisbane, Saini has played for India only twice – an ODI and a T20I each in July 2021. That T20I appearance, against Sri Lanka, happened only because multiple first-choice starters were ruled out due to Covid-19, with Saini batting as high as No. 7, and not getting to bowl.”You never know how or when you can get injured while trying to bowl at such high pace”•Getty ImagesSaini remained within touching distance of the national set-up in early and mid-2022. That was a time when there was intense competition for places with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and bowling allrounder Shardul Thakur all ahead of him in the pecking order. But he never gave up – both hope and pace. He went to play county cricket for Kent, bustling in, extracting good bounce, and pocketed a five-for on Championship debut.”That was all according to the preparation. I put in the same effort day after day while practicing, and then follow the same process in the match,” Saini said. “I can’t reduce my pace, which is my strength. I don’t want to sacrifice any bit of it; pace, after all, is my identity. I have always played cricket the same way, and intend to continue playing like that.”But doesn’t that make him more susceptible to injury?”No, sir. All I know is that I need to take proper care of everything. Sometimes you must sacrifice something to gain something else. The competition is so tight these days that I will never want to reduce my pace, something which is unique to me. It is [up to] my quality if I can continuously bowl at that pace for four or five days in a row.”

Shami feels I should keep hitting the 6-8 metre length; that will prevent me from leaking runs, and all but assure me of wickets. I always follow Shami Saini on the help he’s received from Shami

It turned out that five-for in England was only a brief reprieve. Ahead of the Duleep Trophy and a one-day series against New Zealand A in 2022-23, Saini suffered a groin injury. In yet another comeback, he toured Bangladesh two months later with India A. An opportunity for the senior side was around the corner with both Bumrah and Shami missing. But ahead of the second Test, Saini had an abdominal muscle strain. This is why over the last six to 12 months, Saini has put in a lot of effort to remain injury free.”I have paid more attention to my diet, rest and recovery,” he said. “I have tried to sleep on time, and maintained a particular time for practice to ensure I tick all boxes. I have been to the NCA for a camp. The physios and trainers there are really good: they set up a programme, and that helped me understand quite a lot. They provide you with a plan regarding your training regime. There are also the little things like having a good warm-up.”It was on a trip to the NCA that Saini was able to spend some time with Shami, whom he admires a lot. Saini remains keen to improve his bowling, and doesn’t let any chance to speak to Shami pass by.”Shami has always advised me not to bowl too full,” Saini said. “He keeps telling me that I’m a hit-the-deck bowler, and that the ball moves [sideways] after I pitch it. He feels I should keep hitting the 6-8 metre length; that will prevent me from leaking runs, and all but assure me of wickets. I always follow Shami .”Like Shami said, Saini’s first wicket of the 2024-25 domestic season came with a ball which seamed in. Playing for India B against India A in the Duleep Trophy, Saini went on the fuller side of a length around sixth stump. Shubman Gill shouldered arms, but the ball seamed back in sharply to hit the middle of off stump at 140kph.Saini has been working on his fitness and believes he is on the right track•PTI Initially, Saini wasn’t even named in any of the four Duleep Trophy teams, but replaced Siraj when the latter fell ill ahead of the first round. Saini has “no idea” why he wasn’t picked in the first instance despite “so many boys” getting selected. Eventually, out of “God’s (kindness)”, Saini was not only selected but he also played all three games for India B. He ended the Duleep Trophy with 14 wickets at 25.42, taking back valuable experience ahead of the more straining assignments like the Ranji Trophy.”I played a red-ball match after seven to eight months,” he said. “And since it was a four-day match, I also got to know about my fitness – like how much work I have done on myself, and where I stand.”Saini’s pace hovered around 135kph against India A, with two catches dropped off his bowling. He’s happy with his performance in the season-opening Duleep Trophy, and also about how he has shaped up this year.”There is a certain confidence that [makes me think] yes, I am on the right track, and that I should continue to follow the same process,” he said.When you look at Saini’s numbers across formats, there is hardly anything to choose from – his averages in first-class cricket, List A and T20s are 28.97, 30.46 and 30.80, respectively. But he considers the longest format his strength, and hopes a notable domestic season can take him to Australia.For now, though, the goal is to remain fit and firing, and, no matter the injuries in an up-and-down career so far, never give up on pace. After all, Saini believes competition among fast bowlers in India is at its fiercest now.”It has never been like this before,” he said. “But I know how I have played cricket till date, and the things I have done from the beginning. And I will remain stuck to it.”

Stats – Verreynne emulates de Villiers; Rickelton follows Amla

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Stats highlights from Newlands, where South Africa posted their fourth-highest total in Tests

Shubh Agarwal04-Jan-2025615 – South Africa amassed their fourth-highest total at Newlands, Cape Town in the second Test against Pakistan, also their fourth 600-plus total at this venue. They fell only five runs short of 620 for 7d when they punished the Pakistan bowlers in the New Year Test in 2003. Their other two top scores are 627 for 7 against England in 2016 and 651 against Australia in 2009.259 – Ryan Rickelton was the nucleus around whom the hosts made the most of the batting-friendly conditions. Scoring his second Test ton, Rickelton broke a number of records during his 259 off 343 balls. He became the first South African batter to score a double-hundred since Hashim Amla’s 201, also in Cape Town, in 2016. Among openers, he is the first South African since Graeme Smith who scored a match-winning 234 against Pakistan in Dubai in 2013. His 259 is also the second-highest individual score at this venue, only behind Stephen Fleming’s 262 in 2006.235 – Rickelton added 235 runs for the fourth wicket with Temba Bavuma, who contributed 106 to South Africa’s mammoth total. It is the highest fourth-wicket stand for South Africa against Pakistan, surpassing the previous record set by Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers – 179 in Abu Dhabi 2010. Overall, it is the fourth-highest partnership for South Africa against Pakistan.Related

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3 – Kyle Verreynne was the third centurion of the innings, scoring 100 off 147 deliveries including five sixes. It has been a productive season for Verreynne. He had only one hundred in 18 Tests at the start of the season and now he has added three more to his tally in six Tests, with hundreds against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He has leveled Denis Lindsay (1966/67) and AB de Villiers (2012/13 and 2013/14) for the most Test hundreds by a South African wicketkeeper in a season.4 – Pakistan’s sorry bowling card had Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad, Aamer Jamal and Salman Agha going for more than 100 runs. Meanwhile, Mohammad Abbas finished with 3 for 94. This is the second time in three months that four or more Pakistan bowlers have conceded more than 100 runs in an innings. In the first Test against England in Multan, six Pakistan bowlers went for over a 100 runs as England eased to 823/7d.33.76 – Pakistan now average 33.76 with the ball in this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, the worst among all teams. On the contrary, South Africa average the best at 23.23 runs per wicket. It is also a function of the kind of pitches these teams have played on – Pakistan mostly on flatter tracks at home and South Africa on spicy pitches. But adding to their woes, Pakistan also have a poor record in Cape Town. In the 21st century, they now average 43.3 in Cape Town, the poorest among all venues in South Africa.6 – On a positive note, Mohammad Rizwan took six catches in the innings, leveling Rashid Latif (against Zimbabwe in 1998) and Adnan Akmal (against New Zealand in 2011) for most catches for a Pakistani wicketkeeper in an innings. The record belongs to Wasim Bari with seven catches against New Zealand in 1979.

White-WAshes demands inquest as England are exposed

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Australia’s ruthless performances across formats expose gulf between teams, despite England’s pre-series optimism

Valkerie Baynes01-Feb-2025England’s post-Ashes review has begun, even before any formal announcements, with captain Heather Knight and Jon Lewis, the head coach, forced to consider their positions in light of an unprecedented 16-0 defeat.While Lewis has been forthright, insisting he is the right person to take the team forward in the immediate aftermath of England’s innings defeat in the Test to conclude a terrible tour, Knight was not about to make an “emotional” call on her future just yet.Any decisions may be taken out of their hands with Clare Connor, the ECB’s deputy chief executive, due to address a media conference over the weekend.It is hard to see what more Knight could have done, other than scream – as she often looked like she wanted to do – every time an England fielder shelled a regulation catch during the series.And there’s no guarantee that would have helped any more than the high-level training she and Lewis say England have displayed outside of matches.Poor shot selection was another weak point for England throughout and, while she was culpable herself, Knight was her side’s leading run-scorer with 229 runs across all three formats, behind only Australian Beth Mooney’s 409 overall.”I’m probably going to sit on the fence again and say it’s a time to probably not think about it,” Knight said after being asked, not for the first time on the tour, whether she was thinking about her position.”Things are pretty raw and have obviously happened pretty quickly. I think the coming weeks is a time for everyone to reflect on what we could have done better, how we’re going to improve as a side. That’s not an emotional decision that’s going to be made now, it’s in the coming weeks.”Related

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If England are to move on from Knight after nine years at the helm, they must consider who they have to replace her and whether they are a better option.Nat Sciver-Brunt said last week she would “love to lead the girls… whenever that time is” when asked if she’d like to be England captain one day.It was the sort of response Sciver-Brunt was obliged to give, to avoid headlines screaming that she was out to take Knight’s job or that she didn’t have any desire to lead her country, rather than an outright expression of her willingness to take the role now.Sciver-Brunt is part of England’s four-pronged leadership group, which also includes Amy Jones and Sophie Ecclestone, and she has stood in as skipper before, including partway through England’s T20 World Cup exit in October after Knight injured herself while batting against West Indies.A chaotic fielding performance ensued and Lewis came onto the field during a drinks break, his efforts to help lift the team going in vain as West Indies won by six wickets and ended England’s campaign in the group stages.Sciver-Brunt cannot be blamed for England’s fielding woes in that instance, any more than Knight can be held responsible for the lack of improvement in that area since.When Amy Jones stood in as captain during India’s 2022 tour of England, she said the on-field leadership role was “definitely not something that comes naturally to me”. That was two and a half years ago and being part of a wider leadership group may have built Jones’s confidence in that area.Ecclestone’s penchant for wearing her heart on her sleeve – which is very unlike Knight, Sciver-Brunt and Jones – while shouldering the responsibility of leading England’s spin attack might count against her. That is unless England opt for a real shake-up of the role.Even then, Ecclestone’s apparent refusal to do a post-match interview with former team-mate turned broadcaster Alex Hartley, who had earlier questioned the fitness of some members of the England team, became the flashpoint of the tour and is the sort of controversy the ECB would want to avoid.The absence of a clear-cut successor combined with Knight’s relatively strong individual performances and limited responsibility for England’s failings make a case for her staying on as captain. Whoever leads the side going forward, they need a thick skin. Just ask her.”There’s always highs and lows, and that’s the joy of the job,” she said. “Sometimes it tests you, tests your character, tests the good times and the bad times, and you have to take them on the chin, the bad times, to enjoy the good times.Heather Knight has much to consider after England’s 16-0 drubbing in Australia•Getty Images”It’s always a tough place to come and tour as a cricketer and particularly as a leader. We haven’t played well enough, and you’re going to feel that as a leader and feel that on your shoulders. I’m certainly frustrated with how the team has gone. We haven’t shown our best cricket and we’re all obviously very frustrated with that and pretty gutted.”Lewis, too, is under scrutiny. Since taking over in late 2022, he has overseen the highs of England’s home Ashes series, where Australia narrowly retained the trophy, and the lows of the T20 World Cup and this series.After England lost the third T20I of this Ashes by a massive 72 runs – they also lost the first by 57 runs – Lewis denied that the eight-points-all draw in 2023 had given his side too much confidence.Instead, he said, it was a case of England being unable to execute in the crucial moments of this series and adapt in the face of a relentless Australian side at home.No one in a position to effect change has offered a solution to that in all the early picking over England’s defeat, and there were worrying signs even before that.Lewis expressed concern ahead of the series about the hectic schedule – which was the same for both sides.He also suggested that a Bondi Beach packed on a Sunday morning with swimmers and touch rugby players gave Australia an inherent advantage in terms of athleticism and talent pool (there was no pun intended, despite how bizarre the notion was).Young, inexperienced players learning their craft on the international stage has been mentioned more than once as another explanation for England’s struggles.It was all sounding like excuses.Meanwhile, Australia were the team with real problems in terms of injuries to key players and yet they took it all in their stride to grind their opposition into the dirt.The hosts were without injured captain Alyssa Healy and key allrounder Ash Gardner for the T20 leg of the series, with Mooney standing in as wicketkeeper and vice-captain Tahlia McGrath stepping up to the senior role.Healy’s availability for the Test was uncertain right up until match eve, causing uncertainty over the batting order for a time.Australia’s dominance of the Women’s Ashes was absolute•AFP/Getty ImagesAustralia wiped the T20Is 3-0 and scored 440 in the Test, including centuries for Mooney and Annabel Sutherland for a 270-run lead on first innings. They did so with Ellyse Perry coming in at No.10 after injuring her hip in the field on the first day.After the Test, Healy announced that she faced a period on the sidelines to resolve her foot stress injury and said she was “going to have a look at a couple of things and how I can be better, maybe a bit more disciplined in some areas”.Healy’s assertion that she could do more, even when injured, epitomised Australia’s constant desire to be better even when they are on top.England’s somewhat improved performance in the field on the third afternoon of the Test and the resilience of tailenders Lauren Filer and Lauren Bell in delaying the inevitable amid a nine-wicket innings from Australia spinners Alana King and Gardner can’t paper over the chasm between these sides.Connor herself, may come in for some tough questioning.She announced a sweeping restructure of domestic women’s cricket in the wake of England’s 12-4 home Ashes defeat in 2019, a process that is ongoing with the alignment of women’s teams to county sides starting this spring. Yet the gulf between England and Australia that was supposed to be closed by those changes is now as stark as ever.The ECB has repeatedly talked up their investment in and professionalisation of women’s cricket, which stands to benefit further from the sale of the Hundred franchises. But if the structural changes already underway need more time to come to fruition, then the ECB must manage expectations.The MCG hosting an aggregate crowd of 35,365 over the three days of a dead-rubber, surpassing the record attendance for a women’s Test set at Trent Bridge in 2023 by the end of the second day, further rammed home the strength of the game in Australia.After their weakest performance in the multi-format era of the Women’s Ashes, it is now incumbent upon England to stage a remarkable recovery.

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