Notts opener believes he’s turned a corner since disappointment of 2021-22 Ashes

Sam Dalling19-Apr-2023Haseeb Hameed is smiling. He does that a lot during a brief, yet enlightening, sit-down in a squash-court-cum-memorabilia-signing room nestled behind Trent Bridge’s Pavilion.Speaking frequently of blessings, of gratitude, and of excitement, Hameed is plainly a man at ease. There is much gesticulation of fingers that unmistakably belong to an opening batter, too. West Bridgford’s bandage suppliers are clearly thriving.You seem happy, Haseeb? Another grin. A pause. There is always one before Hameed responds: a luxury often denied him at the wicket, he takes the time to process his thoughts. “I’m enjoying being here,” he begins. “I feel like I’m a big part of the team, and like we’ve got an exciting squad that can achieve great things.”And we are very lucky. Not only do we have great coaches and great players, but they are great people first and foremost. You’ve got people around you who wish well for you and have got your best interests at heart. Naturally then, being here makes me excited and happy.”Much of Hameed’s happiness can be attributed to his faith, and its interaction with life as an elite athlete. Hameed is – like million of Muslims worldwide, including a large handful of county cricketers – currently observing Ramadan.Taking place during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Muslims believe Ramadan marks the anniversary of God revealing the first verses of the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book. Eid al-Fitr, the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan, falls this Friday. “It’s the most blessed period of nights throughout the year,” Hameed explains. “Especially these last 10 nights, which we are in now. It is special and we try to make the most of it.”It brings us together as a community, and as family and as friends. We have a long night prayer [Tarawih] together at the local Mosque every night. That is unique to Ramadan. It’s a great opportunity for me to connect with people, sharing the same thing, having the same purpose. It’s a pretty special place to be.”And Nottinghamshire’s people-centric approach has ensured sporting demands have dovetailed, rather than conflicted, with Hameed’s spiritual needs. “Mick [Newell], Mooresy [Peter Moores], Mull [Steven Mullaney], everyone really, have been very accepting and supportive of me fulfilling the obligations of Ramadan,” Hameed says.”The level of understanding is rising, which is great. People are becoming more aware of the differing demands players have. They’ve recognised that cricket is a huge part of most of our lives at this level, but we’ve also got other things that are important as well.”All you ask is for people to be receptive and help support that. And I’ve certainly felt that here. They have gone out of their way to support me.”Hameed’s obligations include fasting from sunrise to sunset, which means he must draw external energy under darkness’s cover. He then prays before returning to bed until his cricketing obligations kick in. “Nottinghamshire recognised that the pre-dawn meal is 3.30-4am. If I am playing, or if I’ve got training on, there’s a physical or nutritional need. Nottinghamshire have supported that, making sure I’ve had enough food or drink even at that time.Hameed made a century for England Lions in Abu Dhabi•ECB Images”Last week, at Hampshire – and to be fair the chef at the Hilton was outstanding as well – conversations were had from the club to support that. Straight away when you’ve got that… I feel very lucky and very privileged to have that. And I am very grateful for it.”One option for Ramadan observers is to invoke an exemption and make the days up elsewhere. Hameed has done just that himself in the past, but this season has taken an alternative approach.”I chose to fast on one of the days during pre-season and it felt fine. I love the month itself and what it means to us anyway. Aside from the physical challenges, there is so much gain and benefit we take out of it. For me, it was more tapping into that element of it. And the physical challenges weren’t as great as I’d anticipated. I’ve gone with the flow, taken it on a day-by-day basis and so far, it’s gone alright.”Ramadan though, is about more than just fasting. It is a period of spirituality, of connection. And during lean times, Hameed has done some learning of his own: “That’s what faith is all about,” he tells ESPNcricinfo. “Everyone that knows me will know that I’m very passionate about the game, trying to give absolutely everything that I have.”By no means do we take our jobs and our profession lightly. But faith does put it into perspective. There is more to life. And if anything, it helps your mindset towards the game. You can’t make anything in this life too important. For us the most important thing is faith, that greater purpose, and knowing that everything in this life is temporary. It will come to pass.”And pass, it has.Hameed had a golden first full summer, when, as a baby-faced teenager in 2016, he averaged a shade under 50 en-route to 1119 County Championship runs. His reward was a trio of Tests during the winter tour of India, during which he made a pair of half-centuries. A broken finger, though, curtailed his involvement. Few would have predicted that 1717 days would pass before Hameed next featured.The issue – and for a time it must have felt insurmountable – was that between 2017 and 2020, Hameed made just 1291 County Championship runs. He passed 50 only eight times and made just one century. In 2018, his returns were a meagre 165 runs in 17 innings.

By no means do we take our jobs and our profession lightly. But faith does put it into perspective. There is more to life. And if anything, it helps your mindset towards the game. You can’t make anything in this life too important.

Such was Hameed’s fall from grace, he was released by Lancashire at the end of 2019. That could have been terminal to his career. Hameed needed nurturing, and that is where Nottinghamshire came in. Under Peter Moores the tap of runs was once again opened. It did not always flow freely, but the water pressure was sufficient to earn Hameed a Test recall for the home India series in 2021. He then started that winter’s Ashes but was axed with one match remaining. The old Hameed might have buckled. But instead, 2022 was another Willy Wonka season.Nottinghamshire were promoted. Hameed racked up 1,235 runs with seven fifties and four hundreds. “I had conversations with Rob Key [managing director of the England men’s team] towards the back end of last year, just to see where things were, and where I stood,” Hameed explains. “The messaging was clear from the top as to the style of play that they’re adopting now. Obviously, I felt like my game had evolved and, in many ways, coincided with the change that the Test team has made as well.”I’d made that change a little bit before the team had,” Hameed continues. A bold claim but one borne out in a strike-rate of 62.41 last summer, well up on the 39.01 he achieved in 2016.”That married together well, in the sense that I was going in that direction and so was the Test team. It’s about being able to soak up pressure where necessary and then apply it yourself. You need to be brave enough to back your strengths to do that.”That means room remains for both absorption and counter-attack. Take Nottinghamshire’s shellacking of Somerset last week, a low-scoring game that saw just three half-centuries made.Two came at strike-rates north of 80, while Hameed made a patient 65 from 151 balls. His opening stand with Ben Duckett was worth 125 on the first morning. It took Hameed 29 deliveries to trouble the scorers, and his first boundary only came after he had faced a full six overs.Hameed articulately distinguishes between an innings of necessity, and getting “sucked into a defensive survival mindset,” citing the disastrous 2021-22 Ashes as an example of the latter. “I think that is the wrong one in my opinion. I think that was a big reason why we performed like we did [in Australia].”Pluralisation is by no means Hameed exempting his own part, a part that saw him make just 80 runs in four Tests. “That was a huge learning experience for me as well,” he adds. “Naturally, it was quite a low point. Those low points though, from experience, can be the ones you learn most from.”Hameed is also learning from Duckett, his newly anointed opening partner at Nottinghamshire. “Our paths have crossed beautifully over the course of our cricketing careers,” Hameed says.Hameed and Ben Duckett have formed a strong partnership at Nottinghamshire•Getty ImagesDuckett skippered Hameed at England Under-19 level, was his first partner for the full England side (during a touring game in Chittagong in October 2016) and also played in Hameed’s Test debut the following month.Given what his friend has achieved over the winter – through his return to the Test team after an absence lasting more than six years and an all-but-guaranteed place for the upcoming Ashes – is Duckett a source of inspiration? “What he has done is no surprise to any of us here. We know what he’s capable of. I think he has surprised a few people, though.”It’s amazing how after that Test trip that he had [to India in 2016], people wrote him off against spin. But actually, he is one of the strongest players against spin, not only in the country but in the world.”What he has showed in Pakistan was everything that we’ve known for a number of years. That media narrative has completely changed after one tour. I’m buzzing for him.”Against Somerset, Duckett reverse-swept England spinner Jack Leach’s second ball of the match for six, passing 50 in the process. “He said it was one of the better ones he has ever hit,” says Hameed, half through laughter, half through sheer awe. “If most players pulled that out, you’d be in awe for a period. But with Ducky it’s so normal, it’s so regular, it’s just another one for him. He’s a special talent.”Do Hameed’s hopes of a recall depend on developing similar strokes? “It’s funny because I had a conversation with Ducky yesterday…’fancy teaching me how to switch-hit?’ I have used it on occasions in the past where I’ve felt it necessary. The field and passage of play kind of dictates quite a lot of that. The switch hit is one I need to develop, especially hitting into the stands like he does!”So, are you one to relentlessly hit ball after ball in the nets? The laughter returns. “The lads will say I do. It’s important to make sure it’s purposeful, though. You don’t want to just hit balls for the sake of hitting balls.”I think it’s a mistake you can make as a younger player: you watch these great players hitting a lot of balls, but you don’t connect as much to why they are hitting balls and the purpose behind it. I feel like I’ve tapped into that a little bit more.”Related

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Such a conclusion requires both maturity and mental clarity: “After the Australia tour, I think I was clear in my head as to how I wanted to go forward with my cricket. The biggest change was mindset.”I wanted to try and put pressure on the bowlers and look to score runs first and foremost, and almost acknowledging and accepting that you are going to get out. Every batter does. “That’s why people have averages and the better bowlers that you face, the more need there is to put pressure on them, I feel.”The game rewards that, too. Naturally, it makes the bowlers bowl a bit differently, opening scoring opportunities yourself. All in all, it’s proven to help my game. That’s been my biggest change.”The proof of the pudding came in Hameed’s winter of feasting in Abu Dhabi. Lining up for the Lions against the Test side preparing for their Pakistan tour, he made 145 from just 172 balls.The England attack contained James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Leach, Matt Potts and Jamie Overton. “Straight away, facing that for two weeks, you are going to come back a better player,” he says casually, deliberately avoiding focusing on his personal brilliance.That impressive knock was followed with 81 as Lions captain in Sri Lanka in early 2023. Hameed is close to international cricket again. “For me it’s simple: keep on doing that and hopefully the rest will look after itself.”And with that, Hameed is off. There is a game to be won.

A look at where the IPL 2023 final, between Gujarat Titans and CSK in Ahmedabad, could be won or lost

Sidharth Monga27-May-20231:29

Moody lauds Titans’ relentless bowling attack

The two best teams on the points table, the finalists Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have faced each other twice this IPL. In both matches, Titans won the toss, and CSK put more than 170 on the board, riding on top-scorer Ruturaj Gaikwad. Titans chased down the first one fairly easily, and comprehensively lost the second.Apart from the conditions in Ahmedabad (where Titans won) and Chennai (where CSK won), the big difference in the two matches was the emergence of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana, both of whom didn’t play the first game. Also, Hardik Pandya bowled in the first match, which allowed Titans to play Josh Little instead of Dasun Shanaka as the fourth overseas player, giving them a more complete bowling attack. Hardik bowled in Qualifier 2 and should do it in the final too.CSK have beaten Titans only once in four attempts. It shouldn’t be a big surprise because in Titans, Super Kings come up against the closest version of themselves. It is no secret that Titans’ leaders – Gary Kirsten, Ashish Nehra and Hardik – are admirers of MS Dhoni from the time they were associated with him. The differences between the two sides at this point are that Titans have a more rounded attack while CSK have more batters striking and have more depth in their batting.Related

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The tactics should become sharper after Qualifier 1. Here is how the sides might look to maximise what they have at their disposal.

How to stop Gill?

There is precious little by way of weakness in Shubman Gill’s game, but CSK are good at hammering away at what is relatively less strong in someone’s game. In the previous two matches, CSK got Gill out on the short ball but not before he scored 63 and 42. The shot that Gill was dropped off in the match against Mumbai Indians – slower length ball on the stumps resulting in a chipped drive – is not a one-off. The idea to keep Gill quiet – whether it succeeds or not also depends on conditions – is to move the ball in towards off and middle, sprinkle slower balls on the stumps, and test him out.Deepak Chahar has managed to rein Shubman Gill in•ESPNcricinfo LtdDeepak Chahar will have to set the tone with the new ball. In 2021, Chahar bowled 18 balls to him for 21 runs and two wickets, but Gill right now is a completely different batter to 2021. Yet Chahar has bowled 14 balls to him this year for 17 runs and one wicket. Watch out for a slightly short-of-a-length ball that comes back in.

About phases more than match-ups

With teams this consistent, there are no surprises left at this time of the season. Ravindra Jadeja has enough right-hand batters to bowl to right through the middle. Same with Noor Ahmad, who is a wristspinner so the kind of batter doesn’t matter that much.If required, Rashid Khan and Theekshana will bowl one over each in the powerplay, two in the middle and come back for one at the death. Chahar and Mohammed Shami will work with the new ball, Pathirana and Mohit Sharma in the back half.If the batters can successfully go after Chahar and Jadeja, or Shami and Noor, they could make the opposition captains introduce other bowlers sooner than originally intended.David Miller could be used to disrupt CSK’s spin strangle•BCCI

Win the toss and?

The last time CSK batted second was May 6. Since then they have defended successfully in three matches out of four. Dew at night had a significant impact in the one match they lost. These matches, though, were in Chennai and Delhi. Looking at how Titans went against Mumbai in Qualifier 2 with hardly any dew around, there is a strong case for batting first. In no IPL have teams batting first won more matches (40) or more regularly (54.8% of the time) than this year. Probably due to the Impact Player rule, sides batting first have shed the inhibitions of before, and have constantly gone past the par score.But Titans, who won against Mumbai batting first, wanted to chase on Friday because of the rain around. With very little chance of rain in Ahmedabad on Sunday, there is a small matter of the unpredictable dew, which changes equations drastically. It is a gamble that might well depend on how the outfield is on the eve of the match.

A recap of tactics from previous CSK-Titans game

Watch Shami for one over. If the ball is not moving, go after him. If it is moving, try to deny him a wicket.Jadeja might have got David Miller out in the last match, but it was a turning pitch. Titans still need to make sure he is not allowed to bowl four overs at a go. Hardik doesn’t have a good match-up against Jadeja, so it is better to promote Miller if a wicket falls during Jadeja’s spell. Miller also has 17 runs off ten balls against Theekshana without getting out to him.

He’s cool and his batting is easy on the eye, but he’s also developing a habit of scoring tough, ugly runs

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Jul-2023This being an article about Dhananjaya de Silva, one of Test batting’s foremost stylists, it must necessarily begin with an overwrought appreciation. (I don’t make the cricket-writing rules.)Let’s get the imagery out of the way. His batting brings to mind a cool, sweet drink on a scorching day, a dip in a babbling mountain stream, the sound of birdsong on a still morning, silk moving through air… look, you get it. You’ve probably read it before… batters whose movements at the crease are gloriously economical, whose cover drives reduce old men to tears, and whose lap sweeps fill the hearts of orphans.It helps that in de Silva’s case, he commits to the coolguy aesthetic completely. Long sleeves even in the suffocating Sri Lankan heat, plus the signature popped half-collar. These are reminders that while the rest of us collapse into sweaty puddles, de Silva’s got ice in his veins. When he is fielding, there are the shades. If you’ve watched him once, you could look over any field in the world on which he is playing and instantly pick him out.Related

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If this was all de Silva brought to Sri Lanka cricket, it would have been plenty. Sri Lanka doesn’t swoon over graceful batters in the way, say, England does. The island’s tastes have long run towards the M Sathasivam, Duleep Mendis, Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya types – batters better defined by their audacity. But still, there is a separate bloodline, populated by Roy Dias’ flicks, Sidath Wettimuny’s drives, and Mahela Jayawardene’s late cuts. Y’know. The artists.Artists aren’t all fragile cut-your-own-ear-off types, though. And right now, de Silva is trying to prove it. Increasingly, he is making tough runs.In this match, he arrived at the crease with the score on 54 for 4, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah in glorious rhythm. He edged his first ball into his pad, poked nervily down the ground second ball, and clung white-knuckled (light-brown-knuckled?) to his wicket for the first 24 balls, during which he made eight. An artist forced to descend into the trenches. It doesn’t always look natural.

“It’s easy to put a gameplan together when you’ve played in one spot for a while. You figure out how to bat when wickets have fallen, and how to bat when a partnership is under way. These are things that naturally enter your body and your head when you play consistently in one spot”Dhananjaya de Silva

But then the game eases, and de Silva feels the flair come back into his fingers, and the bat is a paintbrush again. Pakistan’s quicks went short at him, on a Galle surface that had more bounce than most. De Silva’s pulls and hooks were imperious. To the spinners, he largely stayed at home, late-cutting often, sweeping sometimes. When he slunk down the track to lift Abrar Ahmed high over long-off, the casual ease had returned to his batting.Several overs later, he did the same to Noman Ali. That’s how he got to fifty, off 89th ball faced. Not long after that, a breezy sweep over cow corner, a slicing late cut off Abrar, then a flick through midwicket when the bowler went too full and straight, overcorrecting. These are the tropes. The Dhananjaya de Silva areas.Meanwhile, having quelled high-quality fast bowling on a pitch that has seen some rain, he was in the midst of a vital 129-run stand that revived his team. When Afridi and Naseem came back with reverse swing, he saw those spells out too. When Sadeera Samarawickrama came out for his tenth Test innings, de Silva was constantly in his ear, the pair putting on 57 together. When he got to his tenth century, he was batting in the company of the tail – something he’s become accustomed to.He had to do it ugly at the start, but by the time he got to his century, he was looking like the Dhananjaya de Silva we know•Associated PressIn 24 innings at No. 6, he averages 50.90 – his best in any position, by a distance.”I think the best chance I got was to bat in the same spot – at No. 6,” de Silva said after this innings. He’d been yanked up and down the order in the early part of his career. “I’ve been there for three or four years. It’s easy to put a gameplan together when you’ve played in one spot for a while. You figure out how to bat when wickets have fallen, and how to bat when a partnership is under way. These are things that naturally enter your body and your head when you play consistently in one spot.”On other recent occasions, he’s helped provide substance to what is – let’s be fair – a decidedly non-elite batting order. Some examples of this includes his Wellington 98 in an innings defeat, a 46 and 47 not out in the previous match in Christchurch that helped Sri Lanka stay in the match, and the 109 against Pakistan in Galle last year, when Sri Lanka sought to level the series.And then there are the other things. The catching behind the stumps off the spinners. Today, a sharp diving take, low to his right, sent Abdullah Shafique packing off the bowling of Prabath Jayasuriya. Plus the handy offspin overs, which come with the very occasional breakthrough (he has 34 Test wickets, one more than Angelo Mathews, by the way).For someone who makes the game look so easy, this is no insignificant body of work.

He’s mostly been a support act at Bengal, but performances like these can possibly help him climb the ladder quickly

Shashank Kishore30-Jun-2023The third fast bowler in a three-pronged pace attack is perhaps as important as the first two, but can fly under the radar. Ishan Porel can certainly relate to that, having played the supporting act to Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep at Bengal over the past three seasons.Now, with Mukesh away with the Indian team and Deep elevated to spearhead status, Porel is in line for a significantly bigger role at Bengal. But that’s six months into the future, given the Ranji Trophy doesn’t start until early January.And if you’ve been as injury-prone as Porel has, you start looking at every game as a blessing. On Friday, in the Duleep Trophy, Porel showed all the qualities of a leader of a bowling attack.Related

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His spell an hour into play on the third day of the quarterfinal against Central Zone was among the reasons why East Zone are chasing 300 and not more. That they’re struggling at 69 for 6 is another matter altogether.East needed their bowlers to step up after Central began the day on 64 without loss, ahead by 124. They should have had Himanshu Mantri late on Thursday; Porel had him chop on off a front foot no-ball. And when Central added 60 in the first hour on Friday without losing a wicket, the signs were ominous.Porel wasn’t brought in until after drinks, and he bowled Vivek Singh in his second over. He got a length ball to rear up and Vivek got a thick bottom edge onto the stumps to end a 124-run opening stand.Porel was steaming in, perhaps knowing he was going to be used in short spells. It helped that Abhimanyu Easwaran, who he plays with in first-class cricket, was his captain. He bent his back and hit hard lengths, mixing them up with full ones to challenge the inside and outside edges of both batters. His first spell read 4-3-1-1.With the old ball reversing after lunch, and East having struck two blows quickly, Porel went on a full-blown attack. He had a short midwicket and short square leg in place and had Upendra Yadav playing for survival as he kept attacking the stumps. Then, Porel slipped one outside off. It was one of those rare deliveries that wasn’t in line with the stumps, or so Upendra thought as he half-heartedly nudged forward. The ball cut back in quickly to trap him lbw as he played down the wrong line.Next ball, he instructed cover to move to second slip for the left-handed Saurabh Kumar, inviting the batter to drive. Saurabh pushed outside the line of a delivery that Porel managed to tail back in through some late reverse. The moment he was struck on the pad, he was stone dead. Porel’s spell read 4-1-8-2 and his overall figures were 12-4-15-3.Each of his three spells were just four overs long, but had enough signs of a bowler in full throttle, exhibiting skill and control over his body and mind. He seemed extremely different to the injury-ridden bowler who seemed guarded and circumspect last year.Porel did not play the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy because of chickenpox. When he regained fitness for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was diagnosed with acute pneumonia. He dropped seven kilos in two weeks, and as he recovered from that setback, Porel realised he could barely bowl spells lasting two overs.He needed to do plenty of work to get ready for the Ranji Trophy. But even before bowling a ball, he had to not just regain lost strength but also confidence. In his comeback game, the Ranji opener against Uttar Pradesh, Porel took a match-winning 7 for 105. It was the start of an injury-free period, which didn’t yield extraordinary returns – 27 wickets at an average of 25.40 – but allowed him to regain confidence.With a new World Test Championship cycle beginning, and India beginning a transition phase, the selectors will be keen to identify back-ups for Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. For now, it’s Mukesh and Navdeep Saini. But more performances like the one on Friday, could help Porel stake his claim too.

As Sri Lanka gear up for their 11th Asia Cup final, we look at the five times they won the tournament

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Sep-2023For a side that only seriously became a cricketing force in the mid ’90s, Sri Lanka have overachieved in Asia Cups, now having made it to the 11th final (ODI versions), in 14 attempts, while finishing runners-up in the inaugural edition which was decided on in a round-robin format.They have also won the title five times. ESPNcricinfo looks through Sri Lanka’s winning ODI Asia Cup campaigns.Showdown with a great Pakistan side – 1986South Asian teams refusing to visit their neighbours for cricket tournaments is not a modern phenomenon. Well, not that modern, anyway. This was the second Asia Cup ever played, and India did not send a team to Sri Lanka, largely owing to security concerns, with the Sri Lankan Civil War building up to an especially violent phase. Bangladesh were invited instead, in order to avoid reducing this to a Sri Lanka-Pakistan bilateral.Related

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In the round robin it seemed as if a Pakistan team full of greats – Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Wasim Akram etc. – would ease to the title, having crushed both oppositions. But in the final, seamer Kaushik Amalean, who ended up playing only 10 matches for Sri Lanka, took 4 for 46 as Sri Lanka restricted Pakistan to 191 for 9 off 45 overs.They were only 22 and 20 then, but Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva then put on one of their earliest great partnerships to put Sri Lanka ahead in the chase. They each made fifties, and put on 97 in each other’s company. Qadir took three wickets, but with Duleep Mendis and Roy Dias coming in lower down the order, Sri Lanka cruised to the target with five wickets and 16 balls to spare.A World Cup honeymoon hiding – 19971997 was not a good year for India’s bowlers in matches against Sri Lanka. Particularly not at Khettarama (IYKYK). Sri Lanka properly stormed through this tournament. They eased past Pakistan first up, Marvan Atapattu hitting 80 to begin what would be an excellent tournament for him, in his coming-of-age year in international cricket, before opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya took 4 for 49.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe two would take turns producing match-turning performances, and Sri Lanka breezed into the final, never having been seriously tested, and had one more thumping left in them for the big game. Batting first, India made 239 for 7 at Khettarama. Jayasuriya cracked 63 off 52 as Sri Lanka plundered 43 runs off Venkatesh Prasad’s four overs (he bowled only four). Atapattu made 84 not out, and Arjuna Ranatunga did Arjuna Ranatunga things by which I mean taking the chase gently by the hand and guiding it home, with 62 not out off 66. Sri Lanka won with eight wickets and 79 balls to spare.Strangling India’s fearsome batting order – 2004This was in Sri Lanka’s in-between era. Their spectacular late ’90s team had waned, but Muthiah Muralidaran and Chaminda Vaas had become serious forces, Jayasuriya remained a match-winner, and younger batters were forging new narratives. This was another largely Colombo-based Asia Cup, and home advantage played a significant role too.Having won one match each against the other finalist in the earlier stage of the tournament, Sri Lanka and India came to the final in Colombo pretty evenly matched.India had their all-star batting order, featuring Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and a young Yuvraj Singh. India also had an early version of Zaheer Khan, but it was obvious that Sri Lanka had the better attack: Murali and Vaas complemented by the likes of Nuwan Zoysa and Farveez Maharoof, with the all-round talents of Jayasuriya, Upul Chandana, and Tillakaratne Dilshan also thrown in.Sri Lanka made only 228 for 9, but in their defence put a vaunted opposition in a straitjacket. Vaas and Zoysa set the tone, conceding only 42 from their 15 combined overs, while claiming one early wicket apiece. Then the spinners applied the choke, and Sri Lanka bowled 195 dot balls. India were not bowled out, but lost by 25.Sanath Jayasuriya drives on his way to 125 in the 2008 final•AFPThe Mendis and Sanath Show – 2008India had beaten Sri Lanka in the Super Fours stage. But this was the Mahela Jayawardene captaincy era, and he was a big believer in hiding his mystery spinners. Ajantha Mendis was rested for that Super Fours game. But in the final, in Karachi (where nine of the 12 matches were played), Sri Lanka set India 274 thanks to a vintage Jayasuriya 125 off 114.And then Mendis was set loose.He had Sehwag stumped with his second ball, then bowled Yuvraj two balls later. A straighter one clattered into Suresh Raina’s stumps, a carrom ball trapped Rohit Sharma in front, Irfan Pathan edged the two-finger googly to slip, and then Mendis bowled RP Singh next ball. He took 6 for 13. India were all out for 173.At (almost) the end of another golden run – 2014While Sri Lanka’s late ’90s ODI outfit is rightly mythologised, there is strong evidence that Sri Lanka’s golden white-ball years were actually between 2007 and 2014. This was a confluence of greats. Lasith Malinga was at his peak, which is perhaps the most important component of their greatness. In Nuwan Kulasekara, he had an able accomplice. Malinga was outstanding at the death. Kulasekara would bowl big inswingers with the new ball. Together they would make breakthroughs at either end of the innings.There was also Kumar Sangakkara coming into his greatest years, Jayawardene playing vital innings, and Dilshan was outshining both of them, at times.In this seven-year stretch, Sri Lanka made five World Cup finals (two in ODIs and three in T20s).If the 1997 Asia Cup underscored how special team was, the 2014 Asia Cup presaged their next global triumph. They strode unbeaten through this tournament, not crushing oppositions exactly, but doing enough to overcome them in each match.In the final, against Pakistan, Malinga took 5 for 56 and they restricted Pakistan to 260 for five. Lahiru Thirimanne hit 101 off 108, and Sri Lanka won by five wickets.

In 24 hours, there was a glorious little glimmer from both the A team as well as the seniors of what they could yet become

Danyal Rasool24-Jul-2023That was a good 24 hours for Pakistan cricket. Try and say those words out loud, to a friend, at a dinner party, even to yourself in an empty room. Notice the inflection in your voice as you reach the end of that sentence? It’s surprisingly difficult to voice that sentiment without the muscle memory in your vocal chords preparing for the caveat which always qualifies such a sentence, an unfortunate extended phenotype spawned by painstaking years of real-world experience.”That was a good day, but what is it the English are saying about our suspiciously sudden reverse swing? That was a good day, but why do I suddenly have to pay attention to the Supreme Court and someone called Justice Qayyum? That was a good day but heavens, why can’t we find the wicket-keeper in his hotel room? That was a good day, but oh my, weren’t those two no-balls really rather huge?”Calm your vocal chords, though, and say it again like you mean it, because days like these are what supporters suffer with their team for. Not for year-end financial reports, and certainly not for long-term plans. Have a look at what’s going on at the PCB and see if you feel optimistic about any plan that’ll survive beyond the next political or administrative upheaval. A moribund patient doesn’t eat cabbages and lettuce and wait for the six-pack that’ll come a year later. They take the sugar hit when it presents itself, and in the last 24 hours, Pakistan got theirs.Related

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Few beyond the tragics in Pakistan will pretend they were paying much attention to the Emerging Men’s Asia Cup until they checked the score halfway through the Pakistan innings on Sunday, and saw the dominance they were exercising over the Indian bowlers in Colombo. Having been turned over comprehensively by that same side earlier in the week, there was little interest and fewer expectations. But as the Ashes in Manchester reached its sodden, wet denouement, Pakistan’s young team were on fire putting India’s bowlers to the sword before running through their batters, a 128-run win seeing them gallop away with the trophy.Yes, Pakistan had sent a much more seasoned side to the tournament than India, but when you want that dopamine hit, you ignore that downer of a friend pointing this out. The senior Pakistan team, also in Colombo on the eve of the second Test against Sri Lanka, appeared to have no such analytical qualms as they revelled in the A side’s glory. Despite an early start on Monday, they were up well past their bedtimes to serenade Mohammad Haris and his team as he walked in with the trophy, Shaheen embracing him in a bear hug.There’s never a bad time for cake in Pakistan cricket, and one was magically conjured up, a rather modest looking chocolate fudge pie. What mattered more, though, was the message scribbled on the icing, one directed as much at the senior team as their recently triumphant junior counterparts. “The Pakistan Way,” it simply said, a catch-all term the coaching and management staff hope will translate into a brand of cricket that entertains as well as exceeds.A former Pakistan player who made his debut in the 90s spoke of the stark divide that existed between the younger and more experienced players, and the terrifying authority they exercised over already intimidated newcomers. On his debut, he sat down in one of the comfy chairs in the pavilion a senior player had marked as his own. When the player noticed what this young upstart had the audacity to do, he barked at him “Who do you think you are?” in front of the whole team, before turfing him out of the chair.No such divide existed here as Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and the Pakistan side sat down on the marble steps of the Cinnamon Grand with the A side, laughing, joking, feeding each other cake. As you looked from emerging player to senior player, it became impossible to tell which was which. No one was more equal than the other.

****

Babar Azam and Naseem Shah celebrate the fall of Angelo Mathews•AFP/Getty ImagesMorning in Colombo, and now it is the senior side’s turn. Babar loses the toss – some things never change, after all – and Sri Lanka insert themselves in on a flat, demon-free wicket. But it doesn’t matter how flat a wicket is if you’re going to take on a fielding side that has metamorphosised, almost overnight, into a world-class outfit.The openers take on Shan Masood with a quick single. Unwise, because Masood can do a bit of everything. He bats, he sometimes bowls, he often comes out for quality interviews. And he really, really fields well. He picks the ball up, and, in the same motion, knocks down the stumps with a direct hit. It’s almost as supple and languid as his cover drive, and here, it’s equally effective.Naseem Shah takes over. Naseem is young enough to be part of the A side that just won that trophy yesterday; he is two years younger, in fact, than the average age of that squad. He’s now up against Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne, two of the best players of a generation that blossomed while Naseem was trying to convince his parents to let him pursue cricket. But he’s well on top of Mathews, who keeps getting beaten by one that seams and nips away. He’s lucky enough to miss it twice, but the third time’s a charm for the Pakistan bowler. Weren’t there supposed to be no demons in this pitch?He can soon discuss that point with Karunaratne in the dressing room, because Naseem has sent perhaps the world’s best opener packing, too. He’s thrown one up fuller, lighting Karunaratne’s eyes up. This’ll be an easy put-away, as the Sri Lankan opener has made a career out of surviving good deliveries to put ones like these away. He leans into an expansive drive, but there’s that’s seam movement again. A feather of an inside edge, a collision of leather and timber, the jiggle of a pair of disturbed bails. Pakistan are flying.Sri Lanka mount a hopelessly late attempt to cage that bird, to dull the excitement with a gritty fifth-wicket partnership, just like they did in Galle. It works, to a point, and Pakistan’s edge is being dulled, the game neutralised. Only until Naseem returns, and this time with a different strategy. He might have swing and seam, but he also possesses bounce and pace. A short delivery rears up slightly, and Dinesh Chandimal, out of patience, hands Imam-ul-Haq a straightforward catch.Pakistan A players celebrate after winning the Emerging Cup•SLCIt might as well be seen as an act of surrender for what follows. Pakistan are sharing the joy around, and they let Abrar Ahmed take over now. The wickets that fall aren’t spectacular in the same way Naseem’s are, but there is a clinical efficiency about Pakistan wrapping up the lower order, a frustrating Achilles heel in the past.Babar, often accused of captaincy by autopilot, has taken control, manipulating both the field and the bowling changes with impressive, calculating guile. Dhananjaya de Silva picks out a man stationed exactly for the pull shot that sees him hole out to Saud Shakeel. Prabath Jayasuriya takes on Masood again; he presumably missed the early part of the innings. And to round off, Ramesh Mendis holes out to Shakeel in a similar way to de Silva.There’s still a session to go, and Pakistan aren’t done keeping their foot on the pedal. They shake off an early Imam dismissal. Abdullah Shafique and Masood, starved for runs, go about accumulating them at breathtaking speed, hitting the seamers out of the attack before clobbering Mendis and Jayasuriya over the top. Masood was particularly aggrieved last week when on the harsh end of a Hawk Eye call he thought should have gone the other way. Today, he’s caught dead in front, but the umpire can’t see it, and Sri Lanka somehow fail to review.Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. It’s a backhanded compliment that’s hung around Masood for much of his career, but today, he shows he can be both. It is him, in particular, who gives the spinners no hiding place, plundering them for 30 runs off 28 balls as Pakistan bring up a 103-ball hundred, the fastest first-innings hundred for them since records began. Masood, turns out, can do more than just a bit of batting. His half-century, a first in 17 innings, comes in just 44 balls. Shafique, too, combines luck and quality, surviving a dropped catch and an lbw shout as he brings up his first half-century in 12 innings.There is nothing that isn’t working for Pakistan, and by the time the sun sets, they’re within touching distance of Sri Lanka’s score. They will move into the lead early tomorrow, and, on the evidence of this, gallop over the hills and far out of sight.That, at least, is what The Pakistan Way would have you believe. No one quite knows what it is, and it’s a term that may always lack a clear definition. But over the past 24 hours, there was a glorious little glimmer of what it might yet become

They have certainly staked their claim through numbers to be one of the very best fielded by any team at the ODI World Cup

Shiva Jayaraman07-Nov-2023India owe their aura of invincibility in this World Cup to their bowlers. In a series where 350 has been breached 11 times, they are one of the only two teams to not conceded a 300-plus total. India have bowled out teams under 200 in five out of eight matches. Two of those totals have been under 100. Sure, their batters have done their bit by averaging six runs higher than any other side, but then it’s been a World Cup true to its times and the sport itself: odds stacked more in favour of the batter than the bowler. And India’s bowlers have put in performances that beat those odds like few before them.Ahead of the field
In a World Cup where bowlers have taken a wicket every 34.39 runs on an average and conceded runs at 5.73 an over, India bowlers have averaged 19.02 at an economy of 4.40. That’s how far ahead of the field India have been with the ball. The second-best bowling team in terms of average in this World Cup have been South Africa. Their bowlers have taken 72 wickets at an average of 26.01. India’s 75 wickets have come cheaper by almost 7 runs a pop. Among teams that have taken at least 50 wickets in any of the previous 12 World Cups, no team has outperformed the second-best side in a series by such a big margin. Australia’s bowling attack in 2003 was the previous best in these terms. Their bowlers took 96 wickets at an average of 18.33 in that series, at 5.23 runs a wicket lower than India’s, who took 82 wickets at 23.56.

He has progressed from not being able to get into the Surrey side to Buttler telling him mid-game that he was impossible to bowl to

Cameron Ponsonby20-Dec-2023″It was a confusing morning,” Phil Salt reflected. The mixed emotions evident after a day where he was left on the rack for the IPL, then hours later became the first English player in history to score consecutive T20I hundreds.”That’s all I’ll say on it,” he continued. “I was expecting to be picked up….but it can happen.”Salt is used to being told no. Despite a professional debut at 18, his route to the top is unusual in that it features no pathway cricket. Today it may have been the IPL, but for the duration of his teenage years it was Surrey.Related

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“I couldn’t get in,” he laughed earlier in the tour when recalling the days he spent trying his best to break into one of the nation’s biggest production lines.It’s not that Surrey didn’t know who a teenage Salt was, nor that he was battling to be in the same absurd age-group that contained the likes of Sam Curran, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Pope, Will Jacks, Ryan Patel and Amar Virdi. It was just that Surrey didn’t care. Salt played district cricket, the level below full age-group, and had a vocal advocate in former Surrey spin bowler Keith Medlycott, who was his coach at school, but nevertheless the county were happy to say thanks, but no thanks.And they had good reason to. At 16, he had a season for Guildford Cricket Club where he averaged 11 in the first team. A record that was so good it earnt him four goes in the 2s as well.The die appeared to be cast. Salt was a talented player, who had a future ahead of him ruining people’s Saturdays by slogging a hundred, but little more. Which, to be fair, has turned out to be true. It’s just that rather than ruining the Saturdays of Weybridge and Sutton. It’s West Indies. And then three days later, he ruined their Tuesday as well.”I’ve always been good at hitting the sight screen and going over the leg side,” Salt reminisced about his favourite bits of his second century in three days. “But it’s something Jos [Buttler] said to me today when Jason Holder took the pace off wide and I hit over the off side, he just said ‘teams can’t bowl to you’.”Educated at Reed’s in Surrey, a school whose indoor centre features PitchVision with each net rumoured to replicate a different continent – a fact that provides the excellent scenario where a kid in the 3s might be phenomenal in India but just keeps nicking off in England – there is a case that Salt represents the best and worst of the impact that private schools have on cricket in England.On the one hand, you have a kid who was born in Wales and grew up in Barbados, plucked from obscurity and given a scholarship. A scenario that meant when Surrey weren’t interested, a player with ability, but whose development didn’t match what a professional outfit wanted, was able to continue playing, continue grafting and eventually live out his dream of playing for England. Stop crying in the back. But on the other hand, it is a tale that is only possible for the lucky dip winners. This is not an indictment of Reed’s, nor Medlycott, nor Salt. All of whom were committed to an unlikely dream that has been rewarded. But an acknowledgement of a tale that is only possible through the opportunities private education provides. Of course, whether that is cause for private celebration or public commiseration is down to your own political proclivities.Phil Salt helped England to their highest T20I total•Associated Press”Medders was brilliant,” Salt said of his mentor at Reed’s. “I was at school in Surrey, parents were in Barbados and Medders and his wife MJ really opened their doors to me. It was almost like I was part of the family at times.”I still see him quite a lot and he’s got a wealth of knowledge. If I do well, he’ll be the first message. And if I do badly, he’ll be the first message as well. I’m very lucky to have had him in my corner.”With Surrey not interested, Salt’s attention turned to Sussex who provided the second turning point of his career after the move from Barbados to England. Salt was roughly 17, and despite having never been part of the junior programme just a few miles north on the A3, was a year away from a professional debut thanks to performance manager Keith Greenfield.”Keith was the exact same. I didn’t have a base in the UK but he’d give me digs down in Brighton and throw balls at me hours on end. Both of them were very influential figures in my development.”As of 2021, 61% of England’s Test batters in the past 20 years had received private education, compared to 27% of bowlers and allrounders (batting figures include those who received private scholarships at Sixth Form such as Joe Root). Statistics that are a result of batting’s status as cricket’s nurture to bowling’s nature. Batting can be trained. Hit thousands of balls over and over and you’ll improve. Compare this to the story of Salt’s England team-mate Tymal Mills, who first picked up a cricket ball at 14 and had the physiological ability to immediately be the fastest bowler in his league. In short, the theory goes that great batters are made, but fast bowlers are born.Salt’s work ethic is exemplary. The anecdote of a decade ago was that he was a talented cricketer who came back after a winter spent nothing but netting, and revolutionised his game. Ten years later and his continued technical work led to England’s greatest ever white-ball batter Buttler telling him mid-game that he was impossible to bowl to. The brain is also combined with brawn, with him currently on an extreme diet in a conscious effort to bulk up and clear the ropes.He’s a deserved England player who, for what it’s worth, is also considered to be one of the nicest.Salt was provided an opportunity that few are, which was combined with a desire that few have. The argument is that in a country where cricket considers itself to be a national sport, it is only the latter that should matter.

The statistical highlights from the WPL final between RCB and Delhi Capitals

Sampath Bandarupalli17-Mar-20241-4 – The final was Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first win over Delhi Capitals in the WPL, after losing each of their previous four meetings. Mumbai Indians’ 4-0 record versus Gujarat Giants remains the only unbeaten match-up now.