The legspinner talks about the concerns of losing his rhythm, working on new tricks with Adam Zampa, mentoring younger players, and more

Shashank Kishore02-Oct-2020Yuzvendra Chahal showed off his dance moves on TikTok, tickled many funny bones, and bantered with Rohit Sharma and Virat “” on Instagram during the lockdown. But all along, he was, just like KL Rahul, worried about his “rhythm”. Would he able to land his stock ball properly? Will he be able to deliver those “googles” with pin-point accuracy as he usually does?He resumed training in July with moderate intensity, but it wasn’t until he landed in the UAE – “heaven” in his own words, because of the bigger boundaries – that he actually tried to work on his concerns. Two months on, he’s happy with where his game is at. All the hard work in the nets, he says, is paying off.”During the lockdown, I practised for just ten days and before the first match, I was just worried about my rhythm,” he says, sipping a hot latte in his plush hotel room in Dubai. “For the past six months, I didn’t bowl in the match and I was a little bit nervous before I played the first match.”Compared to the earlier matches, there were 20 to 30% more nerves because I didn’t know how my rhythm will go. When I bowled my first over, then I was like ‘okay, my rhythm is there only where we stopped six months back’. I was worried especially about my googlies, the variations, whether they will be there or not. But I was very happy the way I bowled in the first match and that gave me so much confidence.”In the three weeks leading up to IPL 2020, Chahal was identified to be part of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s leadership group, alongside Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Mike Hesson, the director of cricket, has been particularly impressed with Chahal’s game sense, his ability to read different situations and adapt to different scenarios.

“I was worried especially about my googlies, the variations, whether they will be there or not. But I was very happy the way I bowled in the first match”Chahal on his concerns during the lockdown

He often referred to “big heart” while talking of Chahal, a striking feature of the wiry bowler who has in many ways been programmed to tailor himself to the shorter boundaries at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He tosses the ball up again and again with a “no fear” attitude. After all, he has been conditioned all these years to not worry about being hit for sixes. Wherever else he bowls, it naturally “feels like heaven”.This “flighting the ball” generously allows him to disguise the googly well. Unlike Anil Kumble’s or Rashid Khan’s, his is a lot slower through the air. And when the training resumed, Chahal was only focused on landing them at the same spot he lands his stock ball. In his first game of the season, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he waited until his third over to bowl one.

****

Jonny Bairstow is deceived in the flight as he swipes only to get beaten. Josh Philippe, the rookie Australian wicketkeeper, doesn’t read it off the pitch and misses it altogether. It goes away for four byes. Chahal grimaces before going back to his run-up with a wry smile. He knows he has won that contest but the match is still to be won. The Royal Challengers are on a sticky wicket having started poorly with the ball in defence of 162. Eventually, it’s Chahal only who gets Bairstow by messing with his mind and deceiving him in the air with a superb legbreak. All Bairstow can manage is an ugly hoick against the turn. He misses it completely and is bowled.Now as he gears up to bowl to Vijay Shankar, Kohli has a quick word with him. He lands the ball on the fourth stump. He gets it to dip on Shankar, who lunges forward to play what he believes is a legbreak. This one fizzes back in to beat the inside edge. Gone, first-ball duck. The game has been turned. The Sunrisers are in trouble. Chahal is back in full rhythm. The lengths, the wrong’uns don’t seem to be a worry anymore. His natural instincts have taken over.”When I got Vijay’s wicket, I think that was very important because it’s always a dream for a legspinner to bowl that delivery,” he says with a smile. “That gave me more confidence. Before that, I bowled it two-three times in the nets. I spoke to AB sir and even he told me he is not able to pick my googlies, so he told me ‘please use your googlies, but depending on the situation. Batsmen are not able to read you.'”Vijay Shankar loses his stumps to Yuzvendra Chahal•BCCISo when does he plan what delivery he’s going to bowl? If Chahal is to be believed, his mind is blank until he goes to his run-up, and firms up only as he runs in. Again depending on the match situation. If he’s bowling in the powerplay, he likes to mix them up. In the middle, he gives it good air and loves to bowl his googly, as he did against the Sunrisers, or the Kings XI Punjab when he dismissed Mayank Agarwal with a superb wrong’un. At the death, he likes to fire them wide, bowl sliders or tossed-up deliveries out of the hitting arc. This didn’t work in his final over – the 18th – against Kieron Pollard, though, in the game where the Mumbai Indians nearly chased down 90 in the final five overs. Anyone else would’ve been worried, not Chahal. Because he has the clarity of thought.”I think you should understand the situation very well,” he says, when asked about how he plans to unleash what kind of delivery. “In one over, you may want to flight [the ball] or you may want to go flatter. You should know which weapon [to use], which batsman you want to give singles to and who you want to attack. For me, I have three-four variations so, if you use them well, it becomes difficult for the batsman to judge.”Over the course of his time so far in the UAE, Chahal has made use of every practice session to learn new tricks. The funny man image that he portrays to the outside world is just one part of his persona. Behind all that, there’s a man behind nerdy spectacles who desires to be the best version he can possibly be. He came to the UAE in 2014 as a rookie wanting to prove himself. Six years on, he’s retention material, talked about as part of a core group. These days, he also mentors young players, leads team meetings and is happy to work on his game to get an edge.He’s been talking a lot to Adam Zampa, the Australian legspinner who has somewhat become a limited-overs specialist. “We chat all the time, at training and in the team room,” Chahal says. It was during one such conversation that Zampa asked Chahal if he’d ever considered bowling a quicker googly to the right-handers. It’s a suggestion Chahal took on board and has tried to work it out at the nets, bowling to Kohli and de Villiers.AB de Villiers has a chat with Yuzvendra Chahal•BCCI”We keep talking, not just at nets but also in the team room. We are together, we decided how we can bowl at grounds where one side has shorter boundaries,” Chahal explains. “So it becomes hard bowling stump-to-stump. I’m enjoying talking to him. I’ve learnt a couple of things with him, when we go to the nets, we discuss depending on how the wicket is. I watched him play for the Australian team. I’ve tried to bowl quicker googles in this IPL. It will give lesser chances for batsmen to hit sixes, and it’s easier to get them than out.”While learning and developing his game has been important, Chahal’s personality and easy-going attitude make him the go-to man for the young players in the squad. The Royal Challengers have consciously tried to veer away from their old habits – like having only the select 15 travel to match venue while the rest stay back at the hotel. They have tried to make the younger players open up at team meetings, karaoke nights and even at team dinners. One junior player is paired with a senior – and the two go about working together for the rest of the season. The primary reason is to get players to communicate better, and voice their thoughts without hesitation. This is a role Chahal is particularly enjoying.He has been working with Shahbaz Ahmed, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket but hails from Haryana, Chahal’s home state. Ahmed is a tall left-arm spinner who has gained the reputation of being a consistent bowler in domestic cricket, apart from having the ability to hit big lower down the order. For Chahal, these small steps in mentorship have also helped him evolve as a cricketer and “take his game to the next level”.One of the first lessons from the Chahal’s rule book that he is trying to advocate his younger colleagues is to bowl without worrying about being hit. “You should always back your plans, no matter what,” he says. “Last match I went for some four overs, 45 or 48 something, but I was fine that because if it’s happening once in five-six matches then I’m fine with that. If it’s happening in three games out of six, then I’m doing something wrong. Then I’m not bowling well. I always back my strength and for me, I want to read batsman, what he’s thinking of my bowling. If he hits me for four or a boundary, then I’ll plan according to that.”The lessons, the mateship, the communication and vibe have all left Chahal dreaming of the possibilities of doing something special. “Our aim is to win the trophy and this year we have a more balanced side, especially in the bowling [department],” he says. “We’ve won two matches out of three and we are very positive. This year, not me, everyone’s saying… AB sir, Virat … there is some different feeling. We are getting that feeling after 2016. Something is there this year, one positive energy from all of the group, from the management side and we are very excited. For me, whether I’m playing or not playing, my goal is to win the trophy for RCB.”

In Asia, they’re great. In India, sightly less so. Will they bring their best game this time around?

Alan Gardner02-Feb-2021Steve Waugh famously called it the “final frontier”, and you could certainly think of easier assignments. When you are a mid-to-late-30s English fast bowler, four-Test tours of India presumably rank high on your personal list of thankless tasks. Yet, as England’s prologue in Sri Lanka demonstrated, James Anderson and Stuart Broad remain (relatively) old dogs of the highest pedigree, and still capable of new tricks.Broad, in particular, would doubtless point out that he is only 34 and arguably in his prime – 38 Test wickets at 14.76 in 2020 giving him the most-potent calendar year of his career to date. And while it’s probably safe to say this will be Anderson’s fifth and final tour of India, well… just don’t do so within his earshot.The most-prolific pace portmanteau in Test history, Broaderson just keeps coming (even when England have tried to manage the decline) and two spotless individual outings in Galle raised the question of whether Joe Root ought to make room for both in his preferred XI to take on India. Chris Silverwood, the head coach, suggested it was “great just to have the options”, and there are various ways in which England’s allrounder jigsaw could allow for Anderson Broad to be picked.Related

Anderson doesn't expect reverse swing to play a part in day-night Test

What will it be like to take on Kohli and Co on their own patch?

First day, no show – Chennai braces itself for a closed-doors first Test

How often have James Anderson and Stuart Broad combined to bowl out the opposition?

The end of the Anderson overseas debate? It should be

But what are the prospects for success? Can England overcome a perceived weakness in the spin department by placing additional faith in their venerable seam-bowling pair – particularly if Chepauk sports a greenish tinge come match day? Time to boldly go and take a look at the numbers.Green seamers
The first thing to say is that, of the seam-bowling options available to Silverwood and Root, there is a huge gulf in experience between Anderson and Broad and the rest. That is true of most settings but particularly in Asia, where England’s next most-successful fast bowler is allrounder Ben Stokes, followed by another big gap to Mark Wood (who has been rested for the first two Tests). Jofra Archer will likely get his first taste of bowling in the subcontinent, because of the extra pace he can provide, while batting ability adds to the claims of Sam Curran (also rested for the Chennai Tests) and Chris Woakes.ESPNcricinfo LtdSecondly, while Broad has had the edge form-wise since a resurgent 2019 Ashes summer, it is Anderson who stands out for his impeccable record in this part of the world – never mind what the “Clouderson” critics might have you believe. His Galle six-for upped the ante once again, making him the oldest seamer in Test history to claim a five-wicket haul in Asia and adding to a remarkably robust catalogue of work.All-weather Anderson
An average of 29.10 seems steady, and puts him roughly mid-table among quicks to have taken 40 wickets in Asia since 1990. But narrow it down to bowlers from overseas and he’s in good company – not to mention above a host of those with local knowhow, such as Wahab Riaz, Ishant Sharma, Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan. No current seamer can compete with his miserly economy rate of 2.61.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn fact, since the turn of the millennium, only one fast bowler from outside the subcontinent has been more successful than Anderson – and as Andrew Fidel Fernando has previously established on these pages, very few in history can compete with Dale Steyn. Among quicks to have taken 40-plus wickets in that time, only Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock were more economical.ESPNcricinfo LtdDifferent spin
Anderson was, of course, described as “the major difference between the two sides” by MS Dhoni after the 2012-13 Tests – India’s last series defeat on home soil. It is perhaps the level of control he offers that makes Anderson England’s key seamer once again, a decade later. His recent injury record means he will need looking after – and may add weight to the idea that he and Broad should be rotated – but his reliability and enduring fitness levels, as well as the apparent flaws in England’s spin attack, mean he is just as likely to fulfil a holding role as to cut a swathe with the new ball; in the first innings in Galle last month, only Jack Leach delivered more than Anderson’s 29 overs.Looking specifically at his record in India, it is almost more instructive to draw a comparison with visiting spinners: Anderson’s average and economy compare well against the likes of Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori and Muttiah Muralitharan (albeit if he ends up with the same workload as Murali, there’s no doubting he will break).ESPNcricinfo LtdHe may be famed for expertly harnessing the swinging Dukes ball, but Anderson has some of a spinner’s guile, too. His success in 2012-13 included removing Sachin Tendulkar for the eighth and ninth time in Tests (no bowler did so more), and Tendulkar recently revealed his admiration for Anderson’s ability to bowl reverse swing – essentially taking the old ball away from a right-hander despite the wrist position indicating an inswinger. More recently, Anderson spoke of his enjoyment in Galle after removing Niroshan Dickwella with an offcutter that the batsman, on 92, miscued after being suffocated by a tight off-side field.Broad walks the talk
It was Broad, however, who got the nod at the start of England’s six-Test subcontinental odyssey, and figures of 26-14-34-3 on a classic Galle dustbowl suggested he has added a dimension to his game. That haul doubled his career wicket tally in Sri Lanka, from three previous visits, and took his returns in Asia to 44 at 36.31 – though most of his success has come on skiddier surfaces in the UAE. In India, his record to date is not pretty – ten wickets at 53.90 – but late-stage Broad has shown an unstinting appetite for honing his cutting edge.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhether it’s his reinvention as a tormentor of left-handers – just ask David Warner – or working on the legcutter that has become a significant part of his repertoire, Broad is comfortable going back to the drawing board. His ability to transcend the conditions in Galle drew praise from Angelo Mathews, and Broad also went into some of the subtleties of his approach. “I concentrated on making the batsman play as much as possible, and also varying my pace in little ways. Maybe not 6-7mph at times but going up two miles an hour, coming down three or four miles an hour, and that was the plan I stuck to.”Similar plans for Chennai and Ahmedabad are doubtless already in the works. If England are to frustrate India’s strokemakers – players such as Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, who score a high percentage of their runs in boundaries – then it is likely Anderson and/or Broad will have to set the tone. Even so, frontier life may prove inhospitable. In 2016-17, England’s two senior seamers each played three Tests out of five, but could do little to avert a 4-0 defeat.Beating a Sri Lanka team low on confidence is one thing, competing with India on their own terms quite another. You don’t need to have been around the block to know that.

Mathews, Mendis, Perera among local talent; Steyn, Russell, Amir lend overseas glamour in five-team T20 tournament

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Nov-2020You’re not dreaming. This is not a fantasy. After years of announcements and cancellations, years in which Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials lumbered into organisational walls and stumbled into logistical potholes, Sri Lanka fans will finally get to watch a homegrown franchise T20 league. The build-up has been chaotic. Players have pulled out late, others have contracted Covid-19, replacements have been hastily found, payments have been demanded, quarantines completed and a flight has even been missed. It’s been an anarchic whirlwind, but in a way, there is no better precursor to cricket in Sri Lanka. It’s less than 48 hours until the first game begins. So here, have a preview.

Colombo Kings

Coach: Herschelle GibbsCaptain: Angelo MathewsHow good are they looking? (With the caveat that as most Sri Lanka players have not had high-level competitive cricket since March, form is going to be almost impossible to judge.)For starters, Colombo Kings have the two biggest names in the tournament, and from the looks of it, were the biggest spenders. Andre Russell’s presence gives the whole league a sheen of desperately needed glamour, while they also have Mathews, who is the most recognisable Sri Lankan player following the exit of Lasith Malinga. But these are not just names. If both Russell and Mathews are available to bowl, the Kings give themselves versatility with the ball, as well as solid firepower through the middle order, which could be the makings of a fine T20 side.There’s also a strong spin department. Afghan legspinner Qais Ahmad, and local spinners Tharindu Kaushal (offspin), Amila Aponso, and Jeffrey Vandersay each have varying strengths. The top order will likely feature Daniel Bell-Drummond, who topped the run-scorers’ list in England’s T20 Blast tournament this year, where Laurie Evans racked up impressive numbers from the middle order.This is not to say there are no serious challenges. Dinesh Chandimal, who will almost certainly keep wickets, hasn’t been a top T20 performer in years, and despite the presence of Isuru Udana and Dushmantha Chameera, the seam-bowling contingent seems a little shaky. But, this is a solid outfit.Notable mishap (LPL should find sponsors for tournament gaffes): Dav Whatmore was originally slated to coach this team. He was then replaced (for reasons not known) by Kabir Ali. Kabir, though, tested positive for Covid-19 in England last week, and couldn’t make the trip across. So Gibbs, who was flying across to Sri Lanka to work as a commentator for the tournament, was nominated as coach, and was informed of this on his arrival.Shahid Afridi will have to undergo a three-day isolated quarantine once he gets to Sri Lanka•Pakistan Super League

Galle Gladiators

Coach: Moin KhanCaptain: Uhh…maybe Bhanuka Rajapaksa for now? But Shahid Afridi when he gets to Sri Lanka…that’s unless he misses another flight.How good are they looking?If Malinga had turned up relatively fit and firing, Gladiators might have reasonably claimed to have the best attack of the tournament. Now, with Malinga having pulled out last moment, Gladiators will hope Mohammad Amir has a great tournament, with Asitha Fernando also likely to be a key fast bowler.On paper, Gladiators have Sri Lanka’s best spinners, with Lakshan Sandakan and Akila Dananjaya both in the squad, but there is a little asterisk here. Dananjaya’s just coming back from a one-year ban, which he copped due to an illegal action. He is understood to have brought his elbow up to code during that layoff, but how effective will the new action be?Batting-wise, Danushka Gunathilaka and Hazratullah Zazai seem an imposing pairing at the top of the order, with Rajapaksa, Shehan Jayasuriya and Ahsan Ali also around. What might worry Gladiators is that they are light on seam-bowling all-round options. The middle order seems shaky as well, unless Afridi has a stellar tournament.Notable mishap: Sarfaraz Ahmed was originally supposed to be the captain of this team, just as he captains the PSL’s Quetta Gladiators – the team owner’s other team. But then he went and got himself picked for Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand. The captaincy subsequently went to Malinga, who clearly took the responsibility quite seriously and waited for the week before the tournament to announce that he wouldn’t be playing. Afridi then inherited this chalice, and promptly missed a flight to Sri Lanka.Niroshan Dickwella goes for a scoop•AFP

Dambulla Viikings

(Yes, Viikings with two ‘i’s. It’s the brand name of the business that owns the franchise.)Captain: They promise they will let us know when they decide.Coach: Owais ShahHow good are they looking?There is a decent locally nurtured batting order here. Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga and Oshada Fernando are likely to take up residence in the top four, and will most likely be joined by the biggest foreign name in Viikings’ ranks – Ireland opener Paul Stirling. For middle-order firepower, they’ve got Dasun Shanaka, Angelo Perera (a long-time domestic performer), Ramesh Mendis (a rising star in the domestic scene), and Afghanistan’s Samiullah Shinwari.Lahiru Kumara, who may be the quickest bowler in the tournament, headlines the attack, with Kasun Rajitha, Aftab Alam, and Sudeep Tyagi, the former India pacer who retired from all forms of cricket last week, for company. On the spin front, Samit Patel arrives fresh from a PSL runners-up stint with the Lahore Qalandars, while domestic stalwart left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara is also on board.On the surface, Viikings don’t look the most promising team in the tournament partly because they seem light on superstar talent, and there aren’t a lot of consistent T20 performers here either. But if their local batsmen fire, there is no reason they couldn’t put up a strong campaign.Notable mishap: Initially, when coach Jon Lewis drafted the majority of this team, they were known as the Dambulla Hawks. Then, a couple of weeks later, after Lewis had been jettisoned, they became the Dambulla Lions for a bit. Eventually, the Viikings group (who own a brewery in Goa, plus a bunch of other stuff probably), bought the franchise, and slapped their brand name on the team.Dale Steyn takes a photo with young fans•Getty Images

Kandy Tuskers

Captain: Kusal PereraCoach: Hashan TillakaratneHow good are they looking?Tuskers have perhaps had the rockiest road into the tournament, having hit a serious speed bump last week when Chris Gayle withdrew, citing injuries. It had been hoped that between Gayle and captain Kusal Perera Tuskers could produce some serious top-order ballistics, but they will now have to do with the more staid kinds of innings that Brendan Taylor tends to produce. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Kusal Mendis and Asela Gunaratne are also likely to bat in the top six.The team did get a late boost, when Dale Steyn was announced as a replacement for Sohail Tanvir, but beyond this there’s not a lot of bankable talent, and Steyn will probably miss the first week in any case. It’s been two years since Tuskers’ Indian seamers – Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel – last played a T20 game. Fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep has been known to deliver good death-bowling performances, but the remainder of the prominent local bowlers – Vishwa Fernando, Dilruwan Perera, and Lasith Embuldeniya – have made their names as Test bowlers.Notable mishap: Initially, Tuskers had picked Wahab Riaz and Liam Plunkett to lead their attack, before Wahab got picked for Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand, and Plunkett pulled out citing injury. Then they chose Tanvir to beef up their pace stocks, but Tanvir tested positive for Covid-19 soon after arriving in Sri Lanka, and now has to be sequestered away in a separate hotel until he gets better.Thisara Perera goes on the front foot to drive on the up•Getty Images

Jaffna Stallions

Captain: Thisara PereraCoach: Thilina KandambyHow good are they looking?Jaffna Stallions’ strategy in the draft was obvious: to select a core of dynamic local players, around which to build the franchise. They were so committed to this strategy that two of their three marquee players were locals (Thisara Perera and Wanindu Hasaranga), when most teams opted to pick just one local marquee player. The result is a dangerous outfit. In addition to Hasaranga and Thisara, who can contribute with both bat and ball, Stallions also have Dhananjaya de Silva, and Chaturanga de Silva. Avishka Fernando, the most exciting top-order talent in Sri Lanka, and promising wicketkeeper-batsman Minod Bhanuka are in the squad as well.Kyle Abbott, the former South Africa fast bowler, is the most notable name among the foreign players, with Usman Shinwari – the left-arm quick from Pakistan – and Duanne Olivier – Abbott’s fellow Kolpak-deal maker also around. West Indies’ Johnson Charles will probably open the innings, and Stallions have the experience of Shoaib Malik to call on in the middle order.There are no notable specialist spinners here, though. Stallions are banking on Hasaranga and Dhananjaya de Silva having good tournaments with the ball.Stallions were also the only team to run a training camp for their local players long before the foreigners began showing up. In general, they seem the most organised of the franchises so far.Notable mishap: Stallions have avoided the worst of the upheaval that has characterised the lead-up to the tournament. But they did have one late withdrawal: Ravi Bopara pulled out after the franchise could not agree to providing him his full payment up front.

Bob Willis Trophy and County Championship already in possession, and a new responsibility looming

Alan Gardner30-Mar-2021It is natural for any county cricketer scanning ahead on the fixture list at the start of summer to make note of a Lord’s final – all the more so if you are the captain of the defending Bob Willis Trophy champions. Essex know their way around the business end of the season and will hope to still be in the mix come September 25, though team success could leave Tom Westley juggling more than just matters of form and selection, with his wife, Rosie, due to give birth to their first child the day before.”It’s going to be touch and go,” he admits, though for now Westley is happy to park thoughts of fatherhood and focus on the rather more familiar challenge of leading Essex in their defence of not one, but two first-class titles, given the resumption of the County Championship after it was forced into abeyance by Covid-19 last year.In its absence, Essex lifted the inaugural BWT in late September after a truncated county season, adding to the Championship triumphs of 2017 and 2019, and meaning they will go into this summer’s restructured competition – in which a conference system will eventually lead to the Division One winners taking the pennant before contesting “the Bob” against the team that comes second – as the team to beat twice over.These are “exciting times, new times”, Westley tells ESPNcricinfo. “The first time a county has had to defend two red-ball trophies. But that’s testament to Essex last year, the preparation wasn’t spot on because of what happened with the pandemic. Winning the Bob Willis showed how strong we are, how much depth we have and how resilient we can be in testing times. So we’re going to have to show that again this year defending two trophies, and wanting to compete and win the T20 again, and the 50-over comp. We set out to win every game we play, so I can’t see that changing.”Related

Will Young to join Durham for early Championship games

From escaping the 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami to setting sights on England

Bug problem prompts venue switch for Sussex-Lancashire opener

The pandemic is, of course, still an unavoidable fact of life, and Essex were among the last counties to return to training at the end of February, as the club took a cautious approach to the safety of players and staff. Understandably, Westley and his team-mates are “buzzing” just to have the opportunity to get back out on the field.”It’s been quite a challenging winter, I think the final lockdown really did deplete everyone,” he says. “As cricketers we’re just desperate to get back and try to regain some form of normality, but that wasn’t to be at Essex particularly. I think we were the only county that weren’t training at one stage, which was tough.”[But] Essex have traditionally always been good at making the best of a bad situation. We’ve shown that in games where we’ve started poorly and managed to bounce back strong and go on to win. That’s similar to our preparation, it hasn’t always been ideal but we’ve been able to get some top-quality work in with the time available.”This will be Westley’s second season as captain, having succeeded Ryan ten Doeschate last year. Given his impending life event, an eagerness to embrace the role and pour his efforts into helping the team should stand him in good stead when it comes to adding parenthood to his list of responsibilities.”I think the captaincy came at a nice time, because there is an emphasis placed on what I can do, what I can give to other people,” he says. “It’s not all about individual performances, even though I want to score the most runs and score hundreds. There is a more holistic approach to my cricket now, the wellbeing of the other players, the decision-making and inputs from them is massive, and I want them to be as successful as they possibly can.Alastair Cook is one of the elder statesmen on whom Tom Westley can lean as captain•Getty Images”I take a lot of pleasure in the fact it’s not just about myself any more, I have to think about the others. I want to be as good to those younger guys as Tendo was to myself and others during these last three-four years. I’ve been at Essex my whole career and I think we’re a fantastic cricket club. I think we play cricket the right way, I think we have fun, I think we’re entertaining, and there’s a lot of history at our club. It would be amazing to be a part of that and put your own stamp on it, so you can look back and think we were part of something special.”The strength of Essex’s team spirit, built around a strong core of homegrown players supplemented by high-quality additions like ten Doeschate and Simon Harmer, has been a feature of their rise in recent seasons – from Division Two winners in 2016, to sustained red-ball success and a maiden T20 title in 2019.There is, as Westley says, “very big family feel to the club”, with former captains Keith Fletcher, Graham Gooch and Ronnie Irani all still involved at Chelmsford and rooting for further triumphs. The current squad is strong and settled, with nine of the players who contested the Championship decider at Taunton in 2019 likely to be involved against Worcestershire next week, and arguably a match for any in the club’s history – although they are still a few pots shy of the 12 won under Fletcher and then Gooch between 1979 and 1992.”We are quite mindful about wanting to create a bit of a legacy, we want to be part of a very special era – like Essex have had in the past, the Fletcher era, the Gooch era,” Westley says. “It’s common knowledge as an Essex player that you hear about those times, a kind of golden period for the club. I saw Fletch this week and I was quizzing him on how many Championships he’d won, and statistics aren’t his strongest suit – he told me he’d won eight Championships and that’s definitely a lie, because I think Essex have only won about eight in their history.”I said to him, I can’t wait to hopefully win a couple more and win more than yourself Fletch, and he said: ‘Nothing would please me more than for you guys to carry on winning’. You do want to create a bit of a dynasty, your own legacy as a group of players. Because in the first half of my career at Essex we didn’t win anything.”The same can’t be said of recent years. And the Westley era has only just begun.

Also: was Harshal Patel the first to take a five-for against the Mumbai Indians?

Steven Lynch13-Apr-2021Was Fakhar Zaman’s 193 the highest score by a batsman in a losing cause in a one-day international? asked Navjot Bhatia from India

Fakhar Zaman’s remarkable solo innings of 193 against South Africa in Johannesburg last week (the nexthighest was Babar Azam’s 31) just missed out on this distinction. The bespectacled Zimbabwe batsman Charles Coventry clattered 194 not out against Bangladesh in Bulawayo in August 2009, but his side ended up losing by four wickets. In all, there have been 18 innings of 150 or more in a losing cause in ODIs.Zaman’s onslaught did set a different record, though: it was the highest score for the side batting second in an ODI, beating Shane Watson’s 185 not out for Australia against Bangladesh in Mirpur in April 2011.Was Harshal Patel the first player to take a five-for against the Mumbai Indians in the IPL? And who had the previous best figures against them? asked Lakshmi Narayanan from India

The Haryana seamer Harshal Patel’s 5 for 27 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening match of the 2021 IPL, in Chennai last week, did indeed make him the first to take five in an innings against five-time champions the Mumbai Indians. The previous best against them was 4 for 6 by Rohit Sharma – now Mumbai’s captain, but then with the Deccan Chargers – in Centurion in 2009. Eight seasons later, Samuel Badree took 4 for 9 against them for RCB in Bengaluru.Patel’s haul was the 22nd five-for in the IPL: the best figures in the competition remain 6 for 12, by Alzarri Joseph – in his first match – for the Mumbai Indians against the Sunrisers in Hyderabad in April 2019.Darren Stevens scored a century in Kent’s first match of the season, aged 44 – who’s the oldest to score a hundred in the Championship? asked Michael Caldwell from England

In making 116 not out for Kent at Northampton last week, Darren Stevens – who turns 45 on April 30 – became the oldest man to make a hundred in the County Championship since 45-year-old Chris Balderstone, for Leicestershire against Sussex at Grace Road in July 1986. The previous day, Geoff Boycott, who was about a month older than Balderstone, had made his final Championship hundred for Yorkshire.But they are all a fair way behind the oldest County Championship centurion. It’s WG – but probably not the one you immediately think of. WG Grace hit his final first-class hundred (in a non-Championship game for London County vs MCC at Crystal Palace) the day after his 56th birthday in 1904 – but WG “Willie” Quaife was 139 days older when he made 115 for Warwickshire against Derbyshire at Edgbaston in 1928.Forty-four-year-old Darren Stevens made an unbeaten century for Kent, but he’s a long way from being the oldest player to score a hundred in the County Championship•Getty ImagesAccording to his player page, Hansie Cronje also played for Ireland – when was this? asked Zaheer Gill from the United States

The former South African captain Hansie Cronje played three matches for Ireland in 1997, as their permitted overseas player during the Benson and Hedges Cup, an English domestic competition. Cronje scored 94 not out in a victory over Middlesex in Dublin, and added 1 against Somerset in Taunton and 85 against Glamorgan in Cardiff. Cronje was not the only notable overseas player to feature for Ireland: the Waugh twins, Shahid Afridi, Saqlain Mushtaq, Jesse Ryder and Jonty Rhodes are among those who also made a few appearances for them.Who was the first Test player born in Afghanistan? asked Jamal Khan from Kabul

It’s usually said (and shown online) that the mercurial Indian allrounder Salim Durani, who collected 75 wickets and more than 1200 runs in his 29 Tests, was born in Kabul in 1934. But it might not be as simple as that, as Gulu Ezekiel explains in his entertaining new book Myth-Busting: “Salim has stated that he was born ‘under the open skies’ when his mother went into labour and gave birth while they were travelling in a camel caravan from Karachi to Kabul in the region of the Khyber Pass.” So we will probably never know – he might have been born in Afghanistan, if the camels had made it across the border from what was then undivided India. But if they were still the other side of the line, then the first Afghan-born Test cricketers were the XI who took the field for their inaugural match, against India in Bengaluru in June 2018. Ironically, Durani was invited to that match as a guest of honour thanks to the legend of his Kabul birthplace!Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

There’s a fair bit to be learned by looking at these bowlers in terms of the support (or lack of it) at the other end

Kartikeya Date30-Mar-2021Batting partnerships are recorded as a matter of course in cricket scorecards. What about the bowling equivalent?Using ball-by-ball records, which are now available for 887 Test matches, from 1999 to 2021, I have constructed spells records for each bowler, along the lines of batting partnership records. For example, if a bowler bowls a five-over spell starting in over 49 of a Test innings and ending in over 57 (overs 49, 51, 53, 55 and 57), then the overs at the other end during this spell are 50, 52, 54 and 56. The record for each spell includes the runs conceded and wickets taken by the bowler during the spell, and the runs conceded and wickets taken at the other end during the spell.The overall picture presented by the spells record is as one might expect in Test cricket. When wickets fall at one end, they are also likely to fall at the other. The table below shows the overall record of spells organised by the number of wickets that fell at the other end during the spells. All told, three out of four spells are bowled without a single wicket falling at the other end. Only a little over 6% of spells involve at least two wickets falling at the other end. When wickets are falling at the other end, bowlers do better than when they aren’t.Kartikeya DateThe record is sufficiently large now to include the full careers of players like James Anderson, Dale Steyn and R Ashwin (but not those of players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Harbhajan Singh). In the rest of this article, the possibilities of the spells data set are illustrated using the example of Anderson. Ishant Sharma’s record is used as a short second example.Related

James Anderson – ageless, and a champion in home conditions

Ishant Sharma – from unlucky workhorse to master quick

Unlike limited-overs cricket, which is a contest of efficiency, Test cricket is a game of control. The absence of a predetermined limit on the length of an innings over which the ten available wickets are to be taken means that batsmen seek to accumulate runs as safely as possible. Bowlers are the masters of the contest. If a bowler does not bowl a bad ball, and bowls according to the set field, the batsman is unlikely to score freely. Test cricket is a contest of control because it is the bowler’s accuracy that shapes possibilities.Consider the spells record for Anderson. This is presented as a rolling record of 150 chronologically consecutive spells. The first graph below gives a comparison of Anderson’s bowling average over each 150-spell period compared to the bowling average achieved at the other end during these 150 spells. The labels on the horizontal axis give the end dates of each of the 150-spell periods.Kartikeya DateThe record suggests that Anderson’s career can be organised into four periods. In his early years, he was not the best bowler in the England side. His wickets were initially more expensive than those taken at the other end, and this meant that he did not hold a regular spot in England’s XI.He returned in 2006 and won his spot in the strong English attack that would win the Ashes in Australia in 2010-11, and win in India in 2012-13, reaching the top of the world rankings.A third phase of his career – perhaps the finest – began after Graeme Swann retired and that world No. 1 team broke up. Anderson carried the English attack, along with the mercurial Stuart Broad. His wickets came cheap and when he was bowling, England were at their attacking best. The support at the other end was sporadic, though, and this meant that other than in England, the team’s results were poor. They were hammered in Australia in 2013-14 and 2017-18 and in India in 2016-17.A fourth phase appears to have commenced in about the second half of 2018. The English attack has greater depth now, especially on the fast-bowling side of things, and support for Anderson has improved.A similar comparison of economy rates is given below. The economy rate in a Test match is an important aspect of control. This record adds texture to the four phases above, especially after the first phase, when Anderson was evidently either not sufficiently accurate or bowled the attacking length too often and went for runs.Kartikeya DateIn the second phase of his career, bowling in a strong all-round bowling attack that had both significant seam-bowling depth and quality spinners in Swann and Monty Panesar, Anderson could afford to be extremely attacking. He conceded about three runs per over. When that team broke up, the record suggests that Anderson changed his approach and decided to become more defensive and restrictive. In the fourth (and currently ongoing) phase of his great career, Anderson has mastered this restrictive style. He concedes less than 2.5 runs per over, while England concede runs at three an over at the other end.Anderson’s career trajectory is illustrated well by his record on his four Ashes tours so far. On his first, in 2006-07, he conceded 4.4 runs per over and took only five wickets at 82.6 apiece. On his second tour, in 2010-11, he conceded 2.9 runs per over and took 24 wickets at 26 apiece without taking a single five-wicket haul. This last suggests (much as it does with Pat Cummins’ 29 wickets in the 2019 Ashes in England without a single five-wicket haul), that Anderson bowled in a strong all-round attack. In 2013-14, he conceded 3.2 runs per over and took 14 wickets at 43.9 apiece. This was the tour on which England’s world No. 1 team broke apart. In 2017-18, Anderson conceded 2.1 runs per over, and took 17 wickets at 28.This restrictiveness alongside slightly lesser wicket-taking potency has become a feature of his bowling, especially away from home in this latest phase of his career. In Australia, India, West Indies and Sri Lanka – where the conditions are not traditionally conducive to Anderson’s brand of medium-fast seam and swing bowling – his last 14 Tests have brought him 42 wickets at 23.7 apiece. That’s only three wickets per Test, so while the wickets have been cheap, he has not been a significant wicket-taking threat. But he has been extremely difficult to score off – 2.16 runs per over. That kind of control is a captain’s dream.The spells record provides further insight into these four phases of Anderson’s career. The table below shows these four roughly defined phases as more or less equal numbers of matches, deliveries and wickets. The spells in each phase are classified into two groups. The first includes all spells by Anderson where no wickets fell from the other end. The second includes all spells by Anderson where at least one wicket fell from the other end.Kartikeya DateAs one would expect, Anderson has typically had better returns when wickets have been falling at the other end (the 2016-21 period is marginally an exception). This is, as the first table in this article shows, generally true for the average bowler in Test cricket. One can imagine why this is – the fact that wickets are falling from the other end suggests that the conditions are probably more bowler-friendly, or that the lower order is in, or both.Apart from that second phase, Anderson has bowled about two-thirds of his spells when no wickets have fallen at the other end. His returns from these spells show just how far he has come as a Test match bowler. He began as a highly gifted seam and swing bowler with a natural outswinger and a superb, simple, repeatable cartwheel action. When there was little help from the wicket (as evident from the fact that no wickets were falling at the other end), he was unable to exert control in that first phase. In the second phase of his career, Anderson benefited greatly from bowling in a strong attack. It is the only phase in which the majority of his wickets came in spells where at least one wicket also fell at the other end.Today, Anderson is a true maestro. He is able to control the scoring regardless of the conditions, and regardless of what’s happening at the other end. In part, this could be because opponents have decided to see him off. But it is far more likely that opponents would concede wickets to Anderson if they tried to take liberties against him. In other words, it is far more likely that batsmen are compelled to see him off.Reviewing Ishant Sharma’s career in this way offers revealing insights. If we organise his 101 Tests into three roughly equal phases, then his slump in the middle phase is one of more intriguing such troughs in modern Test history. If he had that type of slump after 30-odd Tests today, he would almost certainly lose his spot in the Test team, given the fast-bowling options available to India today. The third phase shows the colossal extent to which his returns have improved.Kartikeya DateWhy might this be? In part, this is probably because the Indian attack Sharma bowls in today is better than it used to be. In part, this is probably also because there are probably fewer featherbeds today than there used to be.The BCCI publishes scorecards on its website, and wherever available, they publish ball-tracking data under the Hawk-Eye tab. A review of this data (which is not available for Sharma’s full career, but is available for about 7800 deliveries of it, since 2011) shows that in the period until 2016, his average length was 7.4m from the batsman’s stumps. Since 2016, his average length is 7m. The same record, which is also not exhaustive for Anderson, shows Anderson’s average length (over roughly 13,800 deliveries for which the record is available) during this period to be 7.1m. Bowling a fuller length on average seems to mean that Sharma can attack the stumps more often than he used to, and is consequently more lethal.Like Anderson, Sharma is able to make his own weather in the Test match arena. His record is not a barometer for how helpful the conditions might be. He commands the batsman’s attention, and as is the case with Anderson, even that is often not enough for the batsman to survive.The spells data set produces a picture of the Test match game from the bowler’s point of view. This view is much neglected in the game, and the spells dataset should become a regular feature of the scorecard, in the same way that batting partnerships are. It provides a texture in the landscape of the Test match game that is otherwise difficult to observe.

These are the players that took the side to No. 1 in 2020 but the balance of the XI remains uncertain

Alex Malcolm19-Aug-2021Winning form is good form, and Australia has no form to speak of ahead of the T20 World Cup.However, the return of their best and most experienced players for the tournament has given the team hierarchy some confidence within the four walls of hotel quarantine, despite the noise outside surrounding tension between the coach Justin Langer and the players.The presence of David Warner, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Kane Richardson gives the squad a familiar feel to the one that won nine of 11 matches and four consecutive series in 2019-20, just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Australia were ranked No.1 in the ICC T20I rankings in May 2020 for the first time in history. Since then they have lost five consecutive T20I series and won just six of 21 matches, a record that has heaped enormous pressure on the coach.But Warner and Cummins haven’t played a T20I since September 2020, missing four of those series. Smith has been absent for the last 15 matches, while Maxwell, Stoinis and Richardson have missed the last 10. Aaron Finch played with an injury in the Caribbean against West Indies and missed the entire Bangladesh series.The recent results raise a broader question about Australian cricket that runs beyond the current coach. It shows Australia’s lack of T20 depth compared to India and England’s almost unlimited supply of high-quality T20 players and puts the BBL firmly into focus in terms of the league’s inability to produce readymade international players with the gap between T20I and BBL cricket seemingly as wide as ever.Related

• Warner locked in to open for Australia at T20 World Cup

• Carlos Brathwaite sees opportunity for wider use of some Hundred rules

• After week of stress, Australia might only have papered over the cracks

• Australian players get the go-ahead for IPL 2021 return

• Men's T20 World Cup: India vs Pakistan in Dubai on October 24

Josh Inglis has been jettisoned into the 15-man squad ahead of Alex Carey and Josh Philippe as the back-up wicketkeeper and spare batter, on the back of his stellar middle order form in the BBL and T20 Blast dominance, after the other two failed to take their opportunities. Carey in some ways has been a victim of the team’s success during 2019-20. He played six consecutive games without batting during Australia’s winning run. Then his form dipped as the team’s dipped, Matthew Wade usurped him in the T20I side and now Inglis has taken his spot as the reserve wicketkeeper. Carey has been unable to translate his excellent ODI form, and strong BBL numbers, into T20I success.It is a strong squad, but there are still some tactical hurdles to overcome if this team is to challenge in the UAE, as no Australia men’s side has made a T20 World Cup semi-final since 2012, and each issue feeds into another.Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell are all key to Australia’s chances•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesFive bowlers vs seven battersAustralia have preferred to play five specialist bowlers in their first-choice side, a legacy of Langer’s success with Perth Scorchers where he won three titles. They had great success with this structure in nine games in Australia and South Africa in 2019-20 but the UAE conditions may not be as conducive to that make-up.The debate is nuanced. The difference between the four overs from the fifth specialist bowler and the four overs between Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh and Stoinis must be of greater value than what a seven-player batting line-up can muster versus a six-player line-up. Australia are clearly vulnerable with just six specialist batters. Ashton Agar has been batting far too high at No. 7 and should probably slide to No. 8 at least behind Pat Cummins. National selector George Bailey referenced Cummins’ power-hitting form in the last two editions of the IPL, where he has made his two T20 fifties, when the squad was announced.But even No. 7 for Cummins with Agar or Mitchell Starc at No. 8 is a gamble. The other major issue with six batters is it places even more pressure on the top order and does not allow them to play with as much aggression and freedom in the knowledge there is depth to follow. The structure of Australia’s line-up has a huge flow-on effect to all parts of the team.Collapses, a lack of middle-order specialists and death hittersBalancing batting freedom and responsibility has been one of Australia’s biggest issues even at full strength. Australia have botched chases from winning positions throughout the last 18 months. In Port Elizabeth in 2020 they needed 35 from 28 balls with eight wickets in hand and lost while just six down. In Southampton just six months later they needed 39 off 39 with nine wickets in hand and lost again.Both times Australia had six batters with Agar at No. 7. Warner made half-centuries in both innings but struck at 119 and 123 respectively with the lack of batting depth clearly a factor in the way he approached each innings. Australia’s middle-order problems are also a contributor having been well-known and well-documented, particularly against spin.Maxwell is the only true middle-order specialist in the squad and carries a huge burden. Marsh’s recent form at No. 3 has created more problems than it has solved. He has a far greater overall T20 record at No. 5. Stoinis has developed well in the role at No. 5 and 6 under the tutelage of Ricky Ponting at Delhi Capitals in the IPL, a point noted by Bailey.ESPNcricinfo LtdAustralia have opted not to pick a specialist death-hitter/bowling allrounder in the squad with Dan Christian and Daniel Sams named as reserves. If they play five specialist bowlers then one of Stoinis or Marsh doesn’t play. Their best opening combination is unequivocally Warner and Finch. That means the wicketkeeper, Smith, and Marsh or Stoinis must be flexible to bat anywhere depending on the situation.Bailey confirmed that Wade remains the first-choice wicketkeeper. His strength is his power and explosiveness at the top of the order and his career numbers indicate his highest value is opening. His record in the middle order is relatively mediocre but Australia have been preparing him for a middle-order role as he and Warner are the only left-handers among the specialist batters.If Inglis plays in Wade’s place, Australia have five or six consecutive right handers giving legspinners like Adil Rashid (England) and Hayden Walsh (West Indies) and left-arm orthodox Fabian Allen (West Indies) the chance to wreak havoc as they have done previously. Smith and Inglis are Australia’s best players of spin, but they don’t have the step-hit power that could be important in a tournament in the UAE.Death bowlingCan Kane Richardson get into the starting XI?•Getty ImagesAustralia’s new-ball bowling is their strength with Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood at their disposal. They also have a good spin combination in Agar and Adam Zampa. But they only have one death and variation specialist in Kane Richardson. Variations will be important in this tournament particularly if the surfaces in Abu Dhabi are slow.The issue will be if Australia opt for a four-man attack to bolster the batting, then two of four quicks miss out, or they only play one specialist spinner. In both scenarios the other overs fall to Maxwell, Stoinis and Marsh. However, it will be hard to play just one specialist spinner in the UAE which means if they pick just two quicks, they could be vulnerable at the death as Richardson would likely be the one to miss out.Cummins and Hazlewood aren’t known for their variations although Hazlewood, who has only played 17 T20Is, used the conditions in Bangladesh to work on his cutters and slower balls with good effectiveness. As shown in the 2016 T20 World Cup final with Carlos Brathwaite, and Mumbai’s IPL victory in the UAE last year with Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya, attacks must curtail death hitters to win tournaments. Starc was able to do it against Andre Russell in the recent Caribbean series but his value up front means a juggling act to save enough overs at the death to do it on his own if the attack is four bowlers without Richardson.

England have lost nine of their last 10 Tests in Australia, but with Root in form and a promising pace attack, they will hope to change the narrative

S Rajesh06-Dec-2021Since their 3-1 series triumph in Australia in 2010-11, England have lost nine out of 10 Tests in the country, averaged 25 with the bat, and nearly 46 with the ball. That is the sort of recent history England will be up against over the next few weeks, as they try to regain the Ashes.