Belief in the brand remains strong despite ego-bruising defeat to arch-rivals Australia

Vithushan Ehantharajah21-Jun-2023″Losing sucks.” To some England fans, it might be a relief to hear that. A day before this first Test at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes stated it would not be “the end of the world” if the hosts left Edgbaston one-down. This was not “a results-driven team”, even though they had won 11 out of the previous 13. Even an Ashes series would not change any of that.Now trailing Australia 1-0, there remains plenty of truth to that. Four more Tests and enough from this loss, along with what has been banked over the previous 12 months, can be enough to overturn that scoreline.But as the England captain sat in his post-match press conference, physically and emotionally drained by the events of a compelling final day, it was clear this was a tough result to swallow. Even with a Kool-Aid mixer, a two-wicket defeat to your arch-rivals tastes just as bitter. It, as Stokes said, sucks.Related

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“I know everyone who came out and supported us, bought a ticket this week, would have loved to see us win,” Stokes added. “Everyone who was watching on TV would have loved to see us win.”We’re desperately upset for them that they didn’t manage to see England get over the line. If people haven’t been on the edge of their seat for this entire Test match, or any situation the game found itself in particular the last hour, I’m not quite sure what will in cricket.”Dismay at defeat and appreciating the thrill of the spectacle are not mutually exclusive. But the manner in which England contributed to the latter directly influenced the former. This match went back and forth, as all the best Tests do, though until the final stand between Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, Australia only had the initiative when England handed it over. Mostly in instalments.An England side that likes to dangle the carrot ended up presenting the patch. Day one’s declaration on 393 for 8 when a modern great in Joe Root is seeing it big on 118 with a capable Ollie Robinson at the other end. The drops of Alex Carey and missed catch when Usman Khawaja had just four – all through to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow – cost 100 runs across both innings. The missed stumping of Cameron Green when on nought allowed him to reach 38 on day two. The 23 no-balls were slack, with one allowing Khawaja to bolster a century from 112 to 141.Jonny Bairstow misses a stumping off Cameron Green•Getty ImagesWas Bazball the problem? Well, no.”Not putting the result at the top of everything that we think about actually really helps us go out and play free-spirited cricket,” corrected Stokes when asked why this hurt as much as it did.Not since 2015 has England met Australia’s eye line and forced them to blink with defensive fields and a slower pace of play. With talk dominated by how 2005’s meeting on this ground played out with a two-run victory the other way, the temptation with hindsight is to peg this instead as the meeting of that series at Lord’s. An Australian win with plenty of English encouragement.The main takeaways for the time being will be around better execution of the brand. A declaration that may already be consigned to infamy could have been regarded as a tactical masterstroke had the four overs on Friday night reaped any reward. At the time, and definitely so now, it looks like an unnecessary risk.When set on a turgid pitch, Root and Harry Brook were right to attack Lyon in the second innings. But there were better options than charging a delivery that was too short and cross-batting one too full.Bairstow’s run-a-ball 78 in the first innings vindicated the part of his selection that would always be vindicated. Yet he ultimately finished in arrears because of the errors behind the stumps. The calculation of his selection as the keeper-batter ahead of Ben Foakes was sound. Alas, the variables proved too volatile.Moeen Ali’s recall out of retirement was exactly as he and history told you it would be: three pearlers – two accounting for number-three ranked batter Travis Head – amid full tosses, long hops and, at the end of it all, a reopened wound on his right index finger. The low floor of the spinning allrounder is well-known, but his ceiling as a red ball off-spinner is apparently lower than ever.Moeen Ali suffered a blister on the index finger of his right hand•Visionhaus/Getty ImagesPerhaps most galling was limiting Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith to 35 runs across the match and still finishing second. All the plans, all the effort, and intricacies involved in reducing two of the leading Test batters in the world to bit parts, seemingly for nothing. It was a microcosm of the game. England set up the chess board, enacted various openings and took key pieces, only for Australia to beat them with checkers.There have only been three defeats under head coach Brendon McCullum out of 14 Tests, but at this juncture, it’s worth considering the nourishing qualities they’ve had on the victors. A by-product of this sliding-doors cricket has seen England act as matchmaker for others to have their own dates with destiny.South Africa lived it up at Lord’s last summer, replicating the celebrations after their first success there in 1994 by draping their country’s flag over the away dressing room balcony. Blackcaps wicketkeeper Tom Blundell had the honour of organising the now traditional limo for the bowlers up Mount Victoria to watch the sunrise after victory in Wellington. The customary champagne and cigars will have tasted better after a hellacious one-run win.Cummins now ranks this match at number one as his best-ever Test, a week after winning the World Test Championship Final no less. And as his squad lauded it up in the changing rooms as they did in 2019, with the odd player drifting onto the deserted outfield to call loved ones just waking up to the news back home, an already confident touring party will strut into the remainder of the series a little taller.How this all plays out in the court of public opinion will be another matter. A home Ashes audience is as public as you can get, and as much as cricket is glad for the eyes, it is an inconvenience for believers how easily digestible the match-losing moments were.The home dressing room, however, remains a haven of ideology. There were no nerves to speak of in the morning. The rains that delayed the start until 2:15pm allowed England to arrive at the ground at a more leisurely 9:50am. They killed time with card games, crosswords and even the odd nap. No anxiety around the seven wickets required against Australia’s need for 174 more runs. Just anticipation of another great day to come.Well after the 7:20pm finish, as they sat in the dressing room, overhearing Australia’s jubilation, belief in the process is said to remain strong, even if egos and spirits have been bruised. They have the next five days off to compute the loss before reconvening in London for the second Test next week. The message from Stokes was clear – this still works, even in defeat.”The conversation in the dressing room there at the end, even some of our support staff, their kids want England shirts now,” said Stokes. “I had a message from my neighbour saying his son was playing cricket on the weekend and he did what England would do in his situation.”But don’t get me wrong in what I’ve said there. Losing sucks. We always want to win.”Now trailing 1-0, they have to.

Despite short-ball barrage, Australian produces innings that could make the difference

Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2023It’s a good list: 152 vs England in Brisbane; 101 vs England in Hobart, 92 vs South Africa in Brisbane, 163 vs India at The Oval.Those are the matches where Travis Head, since late 2021, has produced a match-defining innings (and there are others in which he has played an important role). By Sunday night, weather permitting, we’ll know if his 77 against England at Headingley stands among them. Should Australia manage to defend 251 and win the Ashes, it may have to top the lot.This time Head was almost last man standing, having watched the middle- and lower-order get dispatched by Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. He was on 34 off 82 – quite an un-Travis Head innings, at least of the last two years – but there was now only one way to go. His next 30 balls brought 43 of the 54 runs added for the final two wickets.With memories of Brisbane and Hobart fresh in the mind, it was the type of performance Ben Stokes had been wary of before the series.”I think Travis Head is someone who, since he came into the team, has really taken his opportunity, and gone: ‘This is how I’m going to play’,” Stokes said in a Sky Sports interview.. “Him being allowed to go out and play the way he has, he’s been so successful. He was so hard to bowl to in Australia when we were there last time because he just threw counterpunches, and those innings he played against us were really hard to bowl to, really hard to set fields to. But we are prepared for that.”Although Head eventually hoicked to deep midwicket to give Stuart Broadhis third wicket of the innings, it felt as though England had overdone the short-ball strategy to him at Headingley. With the ball zipping around in the first innings, they had been quick to set the field back and bang it in, which seemed to remove some of the natural advantages on offer. On that occasion, he was eventually caught poking to slip.Again, on the third evening, even though play was under slate-grey skies with Woakes and Broad making the ball talk, they immediately went short to Head. He may not always look comfortable playing it, but he has a method that works.”I’ve got to score off them, I can’t just sit and cop it because, as we’ve seen, it’s going to be the whole day,” he said. “It’s hard to say ‘get under it’, they’ve proved they won’t change. I’ve played my hand on how I’m going to play it…it felt like today they hedged their bets because they did pitch some up and play with my feet.”Head conceded playing the short ball was the one area of his game he felt was not in top working order when he arrived in England. After the India tour, on pitches a world away from the bounce on offer on this tour, even taking into account some slower surfaces in this Ashes, he took a break and did not pick up a bat for a number of weeks.After Head had made 163 in the World Test Championship final, India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey admitted their quick bowlers had been too slow in taking him on with the short delivery, and he looked uncomfortable when they did later in his century and in the second innings of that game.”It was one part of my game that I felt just hadn’t clicked yet,” he said. “India didn’t come to that tactic till later in my innings. I didn’t play [it] particularly well, which then lends itself to a little bit of talk [and I] find myself in the position I’ve been in.”Related

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In the Ashes, Head has contributed half-centuries in the first two Tests at Lord’s and Edgbaston before falling to offspin both times – swatting Moeen Ali to midwicket and charging Joe Root – then faced the bouncer-barrage in the second innings last week, when he fended to short leg, which has largely been replicated here.”There’s not many periods I think we’ve seen in Test cricket where it’s just been 100 percent short balls,” he said. “I wasn’t surprised with the plan. I prepared and thought it was going to come. Maybe not to the extent that it did, but I felt like, throughout the series, I’ve had moments where I’ve been able to get them off that plan.”Head said that if there was one thing he would leave this tour with, “it might be with a pull shot”, which is a surprising thing for an Australian batter to say given the largely faster, bouncier pitches back home, although Head has played a lot of cricket on slower surfaces in Adelaide.Head is the team’s second-highest run-scorer in the series behind Usman Khawaja, which emphasises the importance of his contributions at a time when Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have provided one major score in 12 innings between them.Australia’s advantage in this series has come down to very small margins and there could yet be another if the bowlers can deliver on day four. They will hope for the cloud cover that greeted England’s attack and not sunshine.”It’s a huge day in the series tomorrow,” Head said. “It would be silly for both camps to not say there’s nerves in the camp. Hopefully we can redeem ourselves from ’19 at this place.”

Scoreline reads 2-0 to Australia – they are worthy of that – but the margins have been so tight

Andrew McGlashan07-Jul-20231:14

Ehantharajah: Moeen Ali’s vital wickets keep England alive

You reckon you know who is on top at any particular stage of this series? Sorry, think again. Yes, the overall scoreline reads 2-0 to Australia, and they are worthy of that, but the margins have been so tight.There have been many days of the 12 played out so far that encapsulate that, but none more so than the second at Headingley. At lunch it felt as though Australia, led by Pat Cummins’ bowling, had put together the session that would clinch the Ashes. By tea they had let it slip, conceding 95 in 10 overs to another Ben Stokes onslaught and losing David Warner. Midway through the final session their lead was approaching 100 with nine wickets in hand. Fifteen balls later Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith were dismissed by Moeen Ali.”I’m sure the fans are loving it but I wouldn’t mind a stress-free day or two,” Cummins told . “It’s all set up for another wonderful match.”The ledger was even when play resumed, but Cummins’ early removal of Joe Root tilted things considerably towards Australia. It was the 10th time Root had fallen to the Australia captain, and there were a number of fantastic deliveries among them. This time it was reasonably conventional, a back-of-a-length ball outside off which Root fenced to first slip.Related

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Jonny Bairstow wafted at Mitchell Starc and Cummins lured Moeen into hooking to deep square leg, the ball after he almost fell in the same manner. When Chris Woakes perished to Starc’s short ball, England lunched on 142 for 7, still 121 behind. The session run rate had been 3.19 – their slowest in a session where they have faced more than 20 in this series. Had Bazball finally been broken?But then, totally in keeping with this ridiculous series, Mark Wood launched the first ball of the afternoon over deep midwicket. He only lasted seven more balls but departed with 24 to his name. Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson hung around long enough to allow Stokes to produce some more Headingley magic as he battled further injuries and, at times, could barely move. There were some questionable Australia tactics – an insistence to use the short ball and asking Todd Murphy to operate to Stokes against an inviting boundary, although he did claim the final wicket.In the blink of an eye, a lead that could have been around 80-100 was whittled down to 26. Cummins had the strange looking figures of 18-1-91-6. It was comfortably his highest economy rate where he’s bowled more than eight overs in an innings, but also the fourth six-wicket haul, and best Ashes figures, of his career.”Think when Ben Stokes is there you are never in total control,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald admitted. “We feel on the back of the toss… as though we are in a pretty strong position. Could it have been better? No doubt it could have been, and full credit to Ben once again. His ability to work his way when batting with the tail is probably second to none over a period of time.”Then Warner fell to Broad for the 17th time, edging to Zak Crawley at second slip for the second time in the game. Warner has probably done enough to get the retirement he has spoken about in Sydney next January, but he hasn’t been able to shake off his nemesis.But wait, what was this? A period of calm as Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja added 57 in 23 overs for the second wicket. England were a bowler down, although Robinson was on the field after his back spasms, and Australia were in no mood to rush, as has been their plan all series.Would they be able to grind England down on a warm afternoon? Nope. And just to add to the drama, it was a player whose Test career was over three weeks ago who made the vital breakthroughs. But, hold on, there was a bit before that. Labuschagne was dropped down the leg side by Bairstow when he pulled at Wood. It has been a torrid series behind the stumps for Bairstow.However, the next ball Labuschagne faced, he slog-swept Moeen to deep midwicket. Labuschagne is notorious for being slow to the leave the crease and this time he almost needed to be carried off as he tried to comprehend what he had done. He has rarely looked at his best in this series – having begun by nicking Broad’s ‘new’ outswinger, he has looked unsettled and jittery – and it’s now two half-centuries in his last 21 Test innings. It also showed the value of raw pace at the other end as Wood ripped in but also conceded very few runs.Moeen Ali picked off Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith•Getty ImagesMoeen wasn’t done there. In his next over, he enticed Smith to flick to short midwicket to earn his 200th Test wicket, one of the softer dismissals in Smith’s 100 Tests. Moeen later admitted he felt he had been gifted a pair of wickets. His Test career was meant to be done, but now he had two of the world’s finest to his name. There was some feistiness to follow the wicket as Bairstow offered a few words at Smith, appearing to say “see ya, Smudge”. It was tense out there.”I didn’t notice that he snapped back around,” McDonald said. “In terms of the shot, it’s been a high pressurised series and there’s been errors on both batting departments. That’s going to happen, the games have ebbed and flowed and it’s stayed in the balance. Whenever it’s high pressure there’s always going to be errors.”Khawaja, as so often, offered a model of calm in a series where he is playing a leading role. But he couldn’t see out the day, edging the deserving Woakes to Bairstow. Australia were guided through to stumps by Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh, the pair who rescued them yesterday. Yes, this game has only been going two days.They closed with a lead of 142 and six wickets in hand. Who were the favourites? We’ll get back to you.

There are six Indians in the XI, reflecting their dominance in the tournament, but who else made the cut?

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2023
He started the tournament slowly, bowled by Haris Rauf for 10 in India’s opening game, but had just one poor outing after that – 19 against Sri Lanka. Outside of that, his scores read 67*, 58, 121 and 27*. That century in a losing cause against Bangladesh was his fourth in ODIs this year. Gill ended comfortably at the head of the scorers’ chart. His strokemaking was gorgeous as usual, and he often ensured he batted deep.Related

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Rohit Sharma (capt)

Not a huge tournament by Rohit’s standards, but he strung together three consecutive half-centuries: 74* vs Nepal, 56 vs Pakistan, and 53 vs Sri Lanka. Marking a departure from India’s strategy in the last World Cup, Rohit also showed more intent in the early overs, and helped get India away quickly. Having led India to the title, he’s the obvious choice for captain.Kusal Mendis displayed uncharacteristic consistency during the Asia Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Kusal Mendis

Mendis was only behind Gill in the scorers’ chart, and – importantly – showed the consistency he has often lacked. He scored three half-centuries in the Asia Cup, all from No. 3, and two of them were big ones: 92 vs Afghanistan and 91 vs Pakistan – the game they won off the last ball to get into the final. He was Sri Lanka’s designated keeper too, and finished with nine dismissals.

KL Rahul (wk)

Mendis can keep too, but we’ll go with Rahul for his better dismissals-per-match record at the Asia Cup. He didn’t do badly with the bat either. Drafted into the India XI just a little while before the toss in the Super Four game against Pakistan after Shreyas Iyer had to opt out with back spasms, Rahul hit 111 not out in 106 balls and put together an unbroken 233-run stand with Virat Kohli for the third wicket.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Charith Asalanka

Asalanka is Sri Lanka’s one-of-a-kind rescue package, and never was that quality more evident than when he took Sri Lanka home in a chaotic last-ball finish against Pakistan, which secured Sri Lanka’s passage to the final. He starts quickly, is an effortless rotater of the strike, and consistently contributes – all good qualities for a batter still in the early phase of his international career. Though rarely called upon to bowl, he also took four wickets on a big-turning surface, against India.

Shakib Al Hasan

It wasn’t a particularly great tournament for Bangladesh, but they had their moments, such as the first-round game against Afghanistan. Shakib, captaining a side without some key players, led from the front in their other win at the Asia Cup – against India. Shakib was the star of the show, even if debutant Tanzim Hasan cornered a plenty of deserved attention. Shakib first scored 80 in 85 balls and then bowled out Suryakumar Yadav.Hardik Pandya played his part whenever he was called upon to do so•Associated Press

Hardik Pandya

Hardik bowling regularly is what Indian cricket fans have been waiting for, and he is putting in the overs now, in time for the ODI World Cup. At the Asia Cup, he performed the role of the third seamer superbly, and his six wickets came in just 20.2 overs of bowling, including the last three Sri Lankan wickets in the final. He played his part with the bat too, especially in the first-round game against Pakistan, when Ishan Kishan and he revived India from a precarious 66 for 4 to take them to 266. Hardik ended with 87 in 90 balls.

Dunith Wellalage

Looking back, Wellalage might well have been the biggest story to emerge from the tournament. A 20-year-old (okay, almost 21) whose bowling is threatening on turning decks, whose batting is fearless, and whose fielding is excellent, shapes as an asset heading into the World Cup, even after the return of Wanindu Hasaranga to the Sri Lanka side. He linked up with Maheesh Theekshana to give Sri Lanka’s innings the finishing kick against Afghanistan, picked up wickets each time he bowled bar in the final when he just got two overs, and put in one of the best all-round performances of the tournament when he ran through India’s top order to return 5 for 40 and followed it up with a solid 46-ball 42 not out.Shaheen Afridi picked up at least a wicket in every match•AFP/Getty Images

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Another bowler who picked up at least a wicket each time he bowled, but Afridi has made a name for that, hasn’t he? His best – don’t forget he is still kind of coming back from a long injury layoff – was easily that first-round game against India, when he did exactly what he is a champion at, blasting out the top order. On that occasion, he had Rohit in the fifth over and Kohli in the seventh, and came back later to remove Hardik and Ravindra Jadeja for 4 for 35.

Kuldeep Yadav

Back-to-back returns of 5 for 25 (vs Pakistan) and 4 for 43 (vs Sri Lanka) made Kuldeep irresistible for the specialist spinner role. He has a straighter run up now, with improved pace, and greater accuracy, and he picked up the Player of the Tournament trophy with these new adjustments. Along with Wellalage, Kuldeep was the standout spinner in the tournament. His economy was especially impressive.

Mohammed Siraj

Matheesha Pathirana would have been in this XI for his chart-topping 11 wickets, but for perhaps the most exciting spell of fast bowling in the tournament, in the final, where Siraj blew Sri Lanka away with his 6 for 21: it included four wickets in an over and five in ten balls. He is a wicket-taker, and with conditions helping his swing, he was pretty much unplayable on Sunday afternoon. And an opening combination with Afridi does make the mouth water, doesn’t it?

Back in South Africa, and arguably batting the best he has ever done, Kohli is still making adjustments to his game

Sidharth Monga04-Jan-20241:26

Manjrekar: Respect for ‘great man’ Kohli has grown immensely

Long after the dust is settled on his career and we are done celebrating his hundreds and his theatrics, we will someday sit and talk about Virat Kohli’s mini classics against great attacks in dodgy conditions.There is the 81 in the third innings in Vizag where he whipped proper shooters for fours through midwicket. The 45 against New Zealand on an Eden Gardens track with turn, seam and uneven bounce all available was especially pristine. Who can forget the flawless 74 before the 36 all out in Adelaide? That there are so many will reinforce the difficult conditions and attacks Kohli has faced throughout his career and yet maintained an average around 50 while being an absolute king in another format and an equivocal great in the third.Since Kohli’s debut, among the 18 batters who have scored 500 or more runs in Tests in South Africa, the toughest place to bat in this era, only three average more than Kohli’s 51.7: David Warner, AB de Villiers and Ben Stokes. One of them is an all-time great, although the other two are not nearly as versatile as Kohli. In matches that Kohli has played in South Africa, a more accurate gauge for the conditions he has played in, no batter has been nearly as successful as him.Related

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South Africa will always hold an emotional place in Kohli’s heart. This is where, in India’s first Test after Sachin Tendulkar, he batted at No. 4 and nearly scored twin centuries in Johannesburg in 2013-14, never to leave that spot, or the one in Indian hearts, again. This is where, on his next trip in 2017-18, the first big test of his ambition, he led a beleaguered side with a century and a half-century, and registered that one Test win that they needed to believe in themselves and start a magical cycle of away tours.South Africa it was where Kohli captained in his last Test, sledging, well, the broadcasters. South Africa took it his all, gave him a lot of it back, but eventually broke his heart.And yet, two years later, Kohli is back in South Africa, arguably batting the best he has ever done. Not only is he emotionally fresh once again, but he is also still working on his game. On this trip, he has batted differently to the previous South Africa tours. The stance is narrower, he is not itching to get on the off stump and outside, and he is not walking at the bowlers. He is less likely to play at balls that should be left alone.Also, he has taken away from the bowler that back-of-a-length ball that he was forced to play at without any rewards because he had committed too far forward. Now he is square-cutting them gloriously, a shot he had sacrificed in order to cut down the movement but one he has reintroduced at such a late stage in his career.Back in 2013, Virat Kohli nearly scored two centuries in Johannesburg•Associated PressIn a series that is a nightmare for the batters, Kohli is the only one who has got starts in all of his three innings. His lowest score has been 38. Nobody can approach perfection in these conditions, but Kohli has looked comfortable every time he has batted. It has never been more apparent than during his 46 on the first day in Cape Town on a day when 23 wickets fell. Of the 27 individual innings that started on the day, only four went past 20, and none past Kohli’s 46.This innings had all the certainty needed to succeed in these conditions: either don’t push at balls outside the line of your head or go hard if you do. He will be disappointed that when India’s collapse of 6 for 0 started – just when he had become a little loose to try to score more quickly – he edged one and was caught.Yet Kohli won’t let the dismissal bog him down. Something has been unlocked in him in the past year and a half. He is at peace with what happens. He appreciates the vagaries of the game and life perhaps more than he previously did. Apart from still looking for any small improvement he can make in his game, Kohli carries with him the confidence of having scored runs in his best format – the ODIs. During his worst period in international cricket, when Kohli went three years without a century, he played hardly any ODI cricket: nine in 2020, and three in 2021.Day two of the Cape Town Test could be Kohli’s last day of Test cricket in South Africa. India don’t go there again in this FTP, which ends in 2027, by which time he will be 39. As a team man, Kohli will hope he is not even needed to bat, and that India go on to draw the series without incident. With three second-innings wickets down, South Africa still need 36 runs to make India bat again. On a Test pitch unlike any seen in South Africa, it’s hard to predict which way the Test goes.However, even a small or a middling chase can prove to be tricky on this devilish pitch. There could yet be another Kohli mini classic in store for South Africa, who, in turn, will hope to break his heart again.

When the Australia captain picked a third straight five-for, a quick end to Pakistan’s innings was on the cards, but No. 9 Jamal had other ideas

Andrew McGlashan03-Jan-20242:50

Is Aamer Jamal the find of the tour for Pakistan?

New year, same Pat Cummins. When Australia’s captain removed Hasan Ali to complete his third consecutive five-wicket haul, it looked like being a job well done for the home side on the opening day in Sydney. They had, through Cummins of course, halted Pakistan’s jaunty recovery between Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman, and needed just one wicket to finish things off.However, that wicket took a long time to come. One-hundred-and-thirty-three balls to be precise as Aamer Jamal stood in their way on the ground where, in 2016-17, he sat in the stands watching Pakistan while living and working near Sydney, plying his trade in grade cricket as he looked for a way to develop and prove himself.By the time he lofted Nathan Lyon to long-on, he and Mir Hamza had added 86 runs for the final wicket. Jamal farmed the strike, took on the short ball and attacked Lyon at nearly a run-a-ball to lift Pakistan’s total to 313. It wasn’t quite unimaginable riches, but a far sight better than it appeared at 47 for 4 and 96 for 5. The odds on Marnus Labuschagne having a bowl earlier in the day had looked slim. Jamal, who had gone for an extra net session at the lunch break, walked back to an ovation from the SCG crowd and the admiration of his team-mates.Related

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“It was very emotional,” he said. “But you have to control your emotions and feelings. I can’t be happier than this. When I was first named in the Test squad, I had said that whether I score a single run or ten runs, it should contribute to the Pakistan team’s success. And I’m just glad that that has happened today.”Cricket is my passion. When passion becomes your profession you start enjoying it. You don’t get stressed by it. You want to live in the moment, whether I’m batting or bowling. I have struggled a lot. I’ve got nothing easily or quickly. I never gave up. Now every stage means a lot to me. It means the world to me.”Australia may well bat far past Pakistan’s total, but for the fifth day in a row in the Test series, the visitors have ensured there is a contest. When both Pakistan openers, Abdullah Shafique and debutant Saim Ayub departed for ducks in the first two overs and Babar Azam was again worked over by Cummins, that had looked unlikely.The Australia captain is about as close as you can get to the perfect fast bowler. On , Michael Vaughan made a big call about where Cummins would eventually sit among Australian cricketers, when asked who he would pick between him and Dennis Lillee.”I saw a bit of DK on screen but I think Pat Cummins in time, don’t think he’s ever going to surpass Sir Don [Bradman], [but] I think Cummins is going to end up being Australia’s greatest cricketer after Sir Don,” Vaughan said.Four days after completing his ten-wicket haul in Melbourne, Cummins was quickly into his work when he unfurled a wicked inswinger to pin Babar lbw after the former Pakistan captain had hinted at a return to form with a handful of exquisite drives. But he has attracted some terrific deliveries in this series, and today was another.Aamer Jamal celebrates his maiden Test fifty•Getty ImagesThen there was a working over for Saud Shakeel, whose first experience of the pace and bounce in Australia has been a difficult one, and after a blow on the shoulder, he edged from around the wicket. It looked like Pakistan could be rolled, particularly when captain Shan Masood prodded Mitchell Marsh to slip shortly after a no-ball reprieve off the same dismissal.Rizwan and Salman forged a fightback with the sort of positive batting that would have delighted Masood. So who returned to the attack to break the stand? Of course, it was Cummins. As he did often at the MCG. A short ball to Rizwan, the type that had previously been hooked into the stands, was top-edged to fine leg. Cummins celebrated with arms aloft.With the final-wicket stand growing, Cummins brought himself back again but this time his Midas touch wasn’t there. In a three-over spell with a softening old ball, No. 11 Hamza managed to see out 12 of his 18 deliveries. With Jamal moving into the 80s by taking consecutive boundaries off Lyon, thoughts of an extraordinary century loomed into view.That was not to be, but even the timing of Jamal’s dismissal brought an element of the dramatic to the end of the day. It left time for one over at Australia. Lyon sprinted off and was seen padded up. Was there going to be an opening nightwatcher? Then, for certainly the penultimate, and maybe the last time, David Warner and Usman Khawaja strode out together. They hugged before crossing the rope. Pakistan formed a guard of honour.There was no Shaheen Shah Afridi to take the first over, and it turned out to not even be a fast bowler. Offspinner Sajid Khan marked out his run. Warner carved the first ball away through the off side. Four deliveries later he defends and the ball bounces agonisingly over the stumps. “Heart-in-mouth stuff there, that last over,” Ricky Ponting said.So the stage was set. Warner will walk out again on Thursday morning. Given his storied career, it would be no surprise if he puts on a show. But Pakistan will have their own ideas about that, and if the last few days of the series are any guide, they will not allow him to have it his own way.

She began with spin, then made her way up the batting order, and of late has shown she has what it takes to be a leader too. Mumbai will be hoping to harness all that talent at the business end of the WPL

S Sudarshanan14-Mar-2024How much talent is enough talent?Amelia Kerr started her international career primarily as a bowler who could bat. That was partly because getting a spot as a specialist batter in the New Zealand side was tough with the likes of Suzie Bates, Rachel Priest, Amy Satterthwaite, Sophie Devine and Co around. But over the years, she has carved a place in that line-up and is now a regular No. 3. Then, she went a step further.This season Kerr captained Wellington Blaze for the entire season for the first time and led them to their second Super Smash title in three years, all while batting at No. 3. She finished the competition as the leading run-scorer (437 runs) as well as the leading wicket-taker (20 wickets) and thus, came into the WPL 2024 in excellent form. It was a season that culminated in Kerr winning the Debbie Hockley Medal for the Cricketer of the Year at the New Zealand Cricket Awards for the second time in a row, apart from sweeping the ODI, T20I and the Super Smash player of the year awards too.When she was crowned the Player of the Match in Mumbai Indians’ successful chase against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru, it was Kerr’s eighth such award in ten T20 matches. She has been a consistent presence in the middle order for Mumbai, so much so that she was their leading run-scorer until Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 95-run blitz against Gujarat Giants. What has stood out is her remarkable composure and her ability to be unfazed by pressure.Related

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“Amelia would love to bat higher in that competition [the WPL]. She is a bit of a victim of her own talent,” Lance Dry, Wellington Blaze head coach, says. “She can still generate a good strike rate at No. 5 and is scoring at 136 [133] at present, which is really good in the women’s game.”If you can come in and still maintain that momentum with the field spread, and she does it in quite a low risk way. She has a good understanding of her scoring abilities and can score 360 degrees and can score all around the field, which makes it harder to bowl to her. She is now developing a good understanding of her strengths and knows how to expose them.”Amelia Kerr showed her all-round brilliance against Gujarat Giants•BCCIAgainst RCB, Kerr batted at No. 4 with Harmanpreet missing, and walked in in the 132-run chase in the eighth over. She finished 40 not out off just 24 balls to take Mumbai home. Then against UP Warriorz in Delhi, her 23-ball 39 – where she picked the gaps well to find boundaries – was instrumental in Mumbai getting to 160. Even in the opening match of the season, she kept Mumbai on par with the asking rate in a tricky chase. Having batted in tense situations in a low-scoring Super Smash season only helped Kerr.”For us, she took responsibility and would see the game through to the end in terms of her batting. We probably chased 60% of our games – and of those, the ones we won she was not out in all of them. Which talks of her ability to pace the chase well but also to understand her responsibility as our best batter. She embraces that responsibility [rather] than shying away from it.”Ivan Tissera, Kerr’s childhood coach, concurs. Kerr always wanted to be a batter but Tissera, who has worked with her since she was 11, made her understand the importance of having a second facet because it was “difficult [to break through] if someone wants to bat [in the top-order] – the White Ferns [New Zealand Women] were top-heavy at that time”. Kerr then made her debut as a bowling allrounder before moving up the order.”She knows her strengths – I am not saying she can’t clear the boundary. She is not a six-hitting batter but knows when to hit,” Tissera says. “She can keep up the tempo and has got the ability to work the ball in any area. She can hit 360 – that’s her main strength. She is smart and can read what the bowler is going to do. That keeps her ahead of the game all the time.”Amelia Kerr will be key for MI with Delhi increasingly aiding spin•BCCIKerr’s leadership skills also came in for a lot of praise from Dry.”Her biggest impact in the Super Smash was through her captaincy. She really showed all the qualities we know she has. It was her first full season in terms of captaining at the T20 level. She enhanced her brand in that she’s got another string to her bow. She is very easy to talk cricket with; she has a very good understanding of cricket. We were a spin-heavy side, which takes a bit of juggling and understanding on how to use 12-16 overs of spin.”Kerr suffered from burnout from the relentless schedule after the Covid-19-enforced break, and took a mental-health break in 2021. Tissera feels that came at the right time and taught her that “you cannot do it all. Rest is really important and that you might have to skip certain leagues. She played 18 months without a break and that got to her. But she came out of that really well.”For the second straight WPL, Mumbai face the challenge of an Eliminator. The venue in Delhi has increasingly started to aid spin, and Kerr – who has seven wickets so far – will be key for the defending champions. They will be hoping to see her talent – as spinner, batter, leader – shine through the pressure once again.

He suffered a tragic accident at the age of eight, but found the strength to not give up his dream

Ashish Pant09-Mar-20247:01

Amir Lone’s inspiring journey: How he became the J&K para-cricket captain

A video of a para-cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir recently went viral. In it, he is wearing the India jersey with Sachin Tendulkar’s name on the back. He has no arms but still displays some innovative shots by gripping the bat under his chin and between his neck and shoulders. He also bowls by holding the ball between his big toe and the second toe.The cricketer is Amir Hussain Lone, the 34-year-old captain of J&K’s para-cricket team. Tendulkar saw the video and replied saying that he would love to meet Lone. A month later, Tendulkar kept his promise while on holiday in Kashmir with his family.”It was such an overwhelming feeling that someone of the stature of Sachin sir came to meet me,” Lone tells ESPNcricinfo. “Even talking about it, my happiness knows no bounds. The way he welcomed me, I don’t have words to express my joy. I spoke to him for around one hour. We spoke about cricket, my journey, where all I have played matches. I then showed him my technique, the straight drive, cover drive. [They say that if you love someone, then you can wait an eternity for the person.]In the video posted on Tendulkar’s social media handles, he gifts Lone an autographed bat with the message: “To Amir, the real hero, keep inspiring.”

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Like a lot of 90s’ kids in India, Lone loved cricket and Tendulkar. Born in Waghama, a village in the Bijbehara tehsil in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, Lone spent his early years trying to become a cricketer like his idol.His life, however, took a sudden and unfortunate turn. In 1997, when Lone was eight years old, he was playing in his father’s sawmill, where he got sucked into the machine and lost both his arms.”,” he says. [Everyone has dreams, and my dream was to become a cricketer like Tendulkar, but after the accident that dream was totally shattered.]It took Lone a long time to come to terms with his new reality. He didn’t know how to face the future. A cricketer was the only thing he wanted to become, and eventually he began to find a way.”I did not give up,” he says. “I wanted to go forward in life and I worked hard, day in and day out, to become a cricketer like Sachin.”But how can you play cricket without arms? Lone didn’t know where to begin, and his initial motivation was fuelled by the taunts he received from his neighbours. His family stood by him but the others around him viewed him as a freak.”The people I used to play with before my accident turned their faces to the other side,” Lone says. “They did not want to play with me, did not want to take me in their team. Whenever I went to any coach, he just used to say that ‘you don’t have arms, you can’t play cricket, you can’t do it’.”But I made myself strong so that I did not have to depend on anyone. By god’s grace, today I do not have any problems, but I will never forget how all those people used to treat me.”Lone recalls an incident, when he went to his neighbour’s house to watch an India-Pakistan match as he did not have a television at home. Tendulkar was batting and whenever he hit a four, Lone would shout in delight. His presence, however, made his neighbours uncomfortable and he was asked to leave.”I didn’t quite understand what happened, why did they drive me out of their house? That’s when I decided to develop my cricket.”Amir Hussain Lone in Bengaluru with his family•Gujarat GiantsLone taught himself to hold a bat by placing it between his neck and shoulder. He learned to grip the cricket ball between his big toe and second toe. He practiced catching and fielding with his legs.His drive, however, went beyond cricket. He wanted to become self-dependent. He taught himself to eat, use the mobile phone, and most things a fully-abled person can do, with the use of his legs.”I worked day and night. And slowly I developed my skills to the extent that I started playing with fully-abled people,” Lone says. “Most of the matches that I was playing were with normal people. I used to face fast bowlers and that too with a leather ball. I did not play with a tennis ball. I also bowl with a leather ball by holding it in my right leg. I have no problems at the moment, but to reach there, I really struggled.”It was when Lone attended Degree College Bijbehera in 2013 that his career as a para-cricketer took off. One of the coaches was amazed by his skills and advised him to register for a para-cricket camp being held in the state.”When I enrolled in college, I saw a few players practicing with the coach. One of them asked me if I wanted to play, and I immediately said yes,” Lone says. “I just played defensive shots. I didn’t try to hit fours, didn’t try to go for the big hits and batted for around 30 minutes.”The coach really appreciated my batting skills. He said that he bowled every kind of delivery, offspin, legspin, fast. He informed me of a para camp. When the camp began, I was selected in one of the teams and we played some matches. I remained not out in those games and was immediately named J&K para team captain. I played my first national game in Delhi the same month.”Lone remembers his first game fondly. The opposition was dumbstruck by someone with no arms playing cricket. He scored 25 runs and took a wicket, but what happened after that is something Lone says he will never forget.”Probably my best moment on the field was after my batting, players from the opposition team lifted me on their shoulders and shouted ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ slogans. This was an extremely proud moment for me.”Amir Hussain Lone watches the Gujarat Giants-Delhi Capitals match in Bengaluru•Gujarat GiantsSince then, Lone has played a number of para-cricket games, both in India and overseas. He’s won accolades and met several established cricketers, but when talking about Tendulkar, there is a glint in his eye. He recalls the night before the meeting, his nervousness still palpable.”I got a call the evening before and it was from Sachin sir’s team. The person at the other end just said ” [Can you spare us an hour tomorrow?]”I can’t explain the happiness I felt after hearing this,” Lone says, smiling ear to ear. “My joy knew no bounds. I tried having dinner at 8pm, couldn’t finish it. I just couldn’t sleep that night. I don’t remember the number of times that I woke up. I kept looking at the time. [This is such a long night.] I just wanted the night to end.”And as soon as I entered Sachin sir’s hotel room, he hugged me. Even now, when I recall my meeting, I can’t quite believe that happened.”Lone was recently in Bengaluru with his wife and son on an invitation from WPL franchise Gujarat Giants. It was his first visit to the city and he fell in love with the food and, of course, the weather. He also met the Giants players and visited the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to watch the match between Giants and Delhi Capitals.Lone’s story is a shining example of overcoming adversity, and he is philosophical about looking too far ahead. ” [No one has seen tomorrow, no one knows what’s in store tomorrow]. I have many dreams but firmly believe that only when god decides, those dreams will get fulfilled.”