All posts by n8rngtd.top

He has captained in only four ODIs so far, and as an automatic pick, his inclusion might affect the balance of the bowling attack

Andrew McGlashan28-Sep-2023A few weeks ago, Pat Cummins was again asked to reflect on the Ashes series in England.”Batters dominated, higher strike rates, more white-ball problems you had to try and solve – felt more like a one-dayer than Test matches at different times,” he said. “Which was great. Really enjoyed it.”Experience in dealing with those “white-ball problems” as England’s Bazball batting line-up hurtled along at 4.74 per over might become relevant in the next month, although the field Cummins had for the first ball at Edgbaston, with three boundary fielders, won’t be allowed against India in Chennai on October 8.Related

• Maxwell a crucial piece to Australia's World Cup jigsaw puzzle

• Cummins targets comeback in India ODIs ahead of World Cup

• Cummins named Australia's ODI captain with a 'wider' leadership group underneath

Not since Kim Hughes captained Australia in the 1979 World Cup, having not led in ODIs before then, have Australia gone into the tournament with a captain as inexperienced in the format as Cummins. After leading in two of the three matches against India this month, he is on a grand total of four outings as ODI captain, alongside four Marsh Cup games for New South Wales in the 2020-21 season.Still, his appointment was not surprising, although it came at a curious juncture, five days before Australia started their defence of the T20 World Cup title last year. The selectors wanted to avoid talk about the role becoming a distraction in the wake of Aaron Finch’s retirement, at a time when David Warner’s leadership ban was also muddying the waters.”I think there has been a lot of speculation and conjecture around the position,” national selector George Bailey said at the time. “We are at the doorstep of a World Cup. I think it’s easier to just announce it and move on from that.”Cummins leads Australia out in his first 50-over match as captain, against England in Adelaide last year•Sarah Reed/Getty ImagesCummins’ first two games in charge came against England in a forgettable series immediately after the T20 World Cup. He sat out the middle contest, in Sydney, where Josh Hazlewood captained. Cummins then missed the series in India in late March due to the death of his mother, and he sat out the recent matches in South Africa with a wrist injury sustained in the Ashes.While some of his absences from the role would not have been planned, there was a certain broad acceptance when he was named captain that he wouldn’t always be there – to the point where the significance of him leading much before the World Cup was downplayed.
“In our one-day team, we do feel like we’ve got some strong leaders, some really experienced members of the team, and some developing leaders,” Bailey said. “So regardless of Pat being there, I think we are moving away from this concept of a captain taking over and their leadership being all-encompassing.”But while not a shock, when Cummins was appointed captain of the ODI side, it was arguably a less natural fit than his Test role.On the one hand there are the usual questions about how well a fast bowler can perform in the leadership role in a format that, if not quite as intricate as T20 or as time-consuming as Tests, involves plenty of moving parts. As in other formats, it’s rare to find a frontline bowler doing the job. Among the few recent examples at the top level are Mashrafe Mortaza, who led Bangladesh in 2019, and Jason Holder, who did so for West Indies in 2015 and 2019.Cummins has managed impressively in the Test role since he took it on ahead of the 2021-22 Ashes, leading Australia to the World Test Championship title, and has yet to lose a match at home. But there were a few cracks appearing by the end of the intense and draining Ashes, particularly when England were rattling along at ODI tempo at Old Trafford.Who sits out? Australia will not find it easy to pick their best fast-bowling attack on the spin-friendly pitches at the World Cup, given there can’t be any debate about Cummins’ place in the side•Paul Kane/Getty ImagesHowever, the way he coped with the hasty promotion to the Test role bodes well, because he had very little captaincy experience at all when that job came. In fact, he had been handed the New South Wales one-day job largely to ensure he had a bit of captaincy under his belt.In this World Cup he will be well supported by senior players in the squad, not least Steven Smith and his stand-in, Mitchell Marsh. “I think that’s one of Pat’s strengths – he leans on other people in the squad and other leaders in our team. He does an incredible job,” Marsh said before heading to South Africa.”There’s no doubt with his role as a bowler, playing every game in every format is near-on impossible, so for him to have guys that he trusts, he leans on… we’ve got a great friendship first and foremost, and a great relationship professionally, so I always know I can lean on him, and vice-versa.”However, there is a balance to strike. Too many voices could well do more harm than good. A few times during the Ashes, the question was asked – admittedly more often from the English side of the fence – about who was really captaining Australia in the field.Team selection is an aspect that is potentially affected by Cummins being captain. There will be times during the World Cup when Australia are likely to field just two frontline quicks – a lot of the pre-tournament planning and tactics have been based on an allrounder-heavy model – while some venues are likely to call for two frontline spinners.It’s hard to see Mitchell Starc being left out of the side if he is fit, and as captain, Cummins needs to be in. But if you had to pick just two white-ball quicks, would one of them be Cummins? While his numbers are very good in ODIs, they don’t leap off the page like his Test returns do. Meanwhile, Hazlewood is currently the No. 1-ranked one-day bowler in the world, but he could become the fall guy.Fill-in guy: there are indications the head of selectors, George Bailey, and the rest of Australia’s think tank are looking at Cummins as a stop-gap ODI captain for the World Cup•Steve Bell/AFP/Getty ImagesThrough the impact of missing tours during Covid, and more recently rotation with a focus on Test cricket, the three had not actually played an ODI together since 2020 until the final match against India in Rajkot.Hazlewood, who missed the 2019 World Cup injured, may have been a touch optimistic when he recently said that he thought Australia would return to the big three quicks in India, although the problems that emerged for Australia in the latter part of the South Africa tour and in India may change things. Also, if Glenn Maxwell is fit and able to take the load of second spinner alongside Adam Zampa, it could boost the prospect of Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc playing together more often. Either way, it’s unusual for a captain to even be in the mix when such team-balance issues are discussed.But regardless of how it plays out over the next few weeks, there is a strong chance this World Cup will mark the end of Cummins’ ODI captaincy. His appointment was made with only this tournament in mind and the signs are the white-ball teams will be put under one captain, most likely Marsh, after this event.However, having held aloft the World Test Championship and retained (if not won) the Ashes, should Cummins be lifting the ODI World Cup trophy in Ahmedabad on November 19, it would make for one of the more successful years by an Australian captain.

Sri Lanka need to work on their batting in the death overs while Netherlands could do with some fixtures in the subcontinent, and a sponsor or two won’t hurt

Firdose Moonda09-Jul-2023Harare Sports Club was half-full (or half-empty, if you are that way inclined) to bid the ODI World Cup qualifier and the World Cup’s last two participants goodbye. It was a typically clear and sunny Sunday afternoon, a slight chill in the breeze as a reminder that it’s still winter, the sounds of a papare band alternating with the Shona anthems from Castle Corner and a mix of braai smoke and underwhelm in the Harare air.Maybe it would always have ended like this: a match with no context, in a format that is increasingly running out of any, between teams that had already done what they came to do – qualify for the World Cup. At best, this match was an exhibition of the skills that got them there and a (very early) statement of what they will bring to the tournament proper, albeit in very different conditions. In Sri Lanka’s case, it was also an exercise in fulfilling the expectation they had coming into this event with, which West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe had left unchecked. “As a Full Member country, it’s very important to win this series,” Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka’s captain, had stressed before the final.Why? Because as much as Associates see the narrowing gap between themselves and Test-playing nations as a sign of progress, Full Members view that in the opposite way. Just look at West Indies. Twin defeats to Scotland have led to them being knocked out at last year’s T20 World Cup and this year’s World Cup qualifier and the questions that always burbled about their decline are now being bellowed. “WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE FORMER WORLD CHAMPIONS?” That’s not a headline Sri Lanka want to read.Related

• Sri Lanka in ODIs: aye to bowlers and opening batters, nay to everything else

• Theekshana attributes ODI success to variety in bowling

• Jubilant Netherlands secure ODI World Cup ticket

• Bas de Leede shoots his shot to ignite Netherlands party

• How a reenergised Dutch unit made it to the World Cup

“It’s been uncomfortable,” Chris Silverwood, Sri Lanka’s coach, said when asked how it landed at home that the team had not automatically qualified for the World Cup. “It was a responsibility that we took very heavily. We knew we had to come here and perform.”That showed. Sri Lanka dominated the group stage and the Super Six and booked their tickets to India as though they were doing it online, in just a few clicks. They had only two moments of real concern in this tournament: both against Netherlands.At 131 for 7 in the 33rd over in the Super Six game, Sri Lanka looked unlikely to get to 200 but eventually managed 213. And at 190 for 7 in the 39th over in this match, 230 seemed unlikely, but they got to 233.Those scenarios highlighted Sri Lanka’s most glaring weakness: a lack of firepower at the death. Between the 2019 ODI World Cup and the start of this qualifying event, Sri Lanka’s scoring rate in the last ten overs has been 7.38, which put them ninth out of the 12 Full Members, only above Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. In eight matches in Zimbabwe, that dipped to 6.99, only higher than Nepal’s. Going into the World Cup, where every other team has a power-hitter in the lower-middle order and totals just over 200 are unlikely to be enough, that is an area Sri Lanka will have to address, and they know it.
“We’ve managed to build good platforms to go on, and then not quite finished as strongly as we would have liked,” Silverwood said. “That’s an area to try and develop. We are a developing team and that is an area we are trying to improve on.”The real story of their success in Zimbabwe lay in their bowling. Sri Lanka are the only side to dismiss their opposition in every match they played and finished with the best economy rate of all their competitors – 4.74 – and the best average – 17.75. When Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe last week, to confirm their World Cup berth, Maheesh Theekshana credited the variety in their attack for their dominance and with Netherlands reduced to 41 for 5 in the first powerplay in the final, you could see why.

“This is a call-out to anyone who wants to play us. We’d love to have a fixture or two. Our guys have not been to the subcontinent many times before so it would be good to have some fixtures somewhere in the subcontinent as well”Ryan Cook, Netherlands coach

Sri Lanka made 233 look like 400 in the final when Dilshan Madushanka’s inswing almost accounted for Max O’Dowd twice in his first over and he got rid of Vikramjit Singh, Wesley Barresi and Noah Croes in his third, fourth and fifth overs. Wanindu Hasaranga took a wicket with his first ball, a googly, and asked questions with every other delivery he bowled. The pressure so suffocated the Dutch that at the end of ten overs, their best runner, Scott Edwards, was caught short of his ground. And they weren’t even the best performers of the match. That was Theekshana, whose 4 for 31 put him one behind Hasaranga in the tournament overall.For Netherlands, who have improved their game against spin but lost 12 wickets to the Sri Lankan spinners in two games at this event, that is the most urgent area of their game to work on ahead of a World Cup in the subcontinent. The problem? They have no fixtures scheduled for the next 90 days.”This is a call-out to anyone who wants to play us. We’d love to have a fixture or two,” Ryan Cook, their coach, said with a special request about who they would like to play. “Our guys have not been to the subcontinent many times before so it would be good to have some fixtures somewhere in the subcontinent as well.”And his campaigning didn’t stop there. Despite Sunday’s result, the afterglow of qualifying for the World Cup has not dimmed and he is hopeful it will start to catch fire at home.”Hopefully we will be able to pick up a sponsor or two, and bring a bit more revenue into the game,” he said. “The players get paid quite lowly in comparison to other countries so hopefully that will give us a bit more resources to be able to do that. At the moment, we only have a coaching staff with one member full time. It will take a bit of work from our end, and here’s a full invitation to any sponsors out there who feel like being on the front and the side of the shirt in the World Cup.”Netherlands are hopeful of scheduling some ODIs before the World Cup in India•ICC via Getty ImagesThe fixtures and fundraising aside, Cook will also have a selection conundrum on his hands. Netherlands were without seven frontline players at this competition due to other commitments and will have to find a balance between rewarding the players who got them to the World Cup and taking their strongest squad there.”They wanted to be here, and they love playing for the Dutch, and they are very committed but the guys who have done well here will also be expecting to go,” Cook said. “It will be challenging.”As will the hangover in Harare after three weeks of high-octane cricket. Just as the light started to fade, the sprinkler started up and the only evidence of all the action gone past was a gathering of groundstaff, who celebrated the work they have put in. It should not go unnoticed that they have prepared good pitches for ten matches played within 22 days of each other, which is no mean feat. And they don’t stop.The Zim Afro T10 is scheduled to start on July 20 and rumour has it that the floodlights, which were first supposed to go up in 2011, will finally be installed. Happily, they are not the same lights as the ones that have sat at customs for most of the last decade but upgraded versions. When they are finally put in place, it will mean cricket matches in the night for the first time in Zimbabwe. If the last three weeks have shown us anything, it’s that the appetite for the game is massive and the next step must be laser focus on its growth.Across the four venues that have hosted matches at this event, school kids have turned up in numbers and the Cricket4Good clinics have been oversubscribed. A country whose national football federation remains suspended has now embraced cricket as the people’s game. Zimbabwe will not have World Cup berths to show for what took place over the last three weeks, but they have something else which is special: a sport that has captured hearts, minds and imaginations. In years to come, the glass will overflow.

Dharamsala nearly witnessed a repeat of the finish in Pune only for Kohli to fall short of his hundred with victory assured

Shashank Kishore22-Oct-20231:48

Bond: New Zealand gave up on getting Kohli out

The packed 25,000 crowd at the HPCA Stadium rose to their feet. Chanting his name with the same fervor as all of India did when they used to go “Saaachin! Saachin!” Virat Kohli was one hit away from equalling the record of his idol for most ODI hundreds.Like it was with his 48th hundred in Pune late last week against Bangladesh, the race towards Kohli’s century on Sunday injected excitement to the final stretch of India’s chase. With four overs left, Kohli needed to score 18 out of the 19 remaining runs for victory against New Zealand.It was around this point that he made a real dash, swatting Trent Boult in front of square for six and backing it up with a bullet drive down the ground for four. When Ravindra Jadeja offered a copybook forward defence off the last ball to keep Kohli on strike for the next over, there was wild cheer from a capacity crowd as well as a few chuckles in the team dug out.Related

• Shami shreds safety-first script to present India with another way

• Rohit credits bowlers for fightback against New Zealand

• Live Report – India vs New Zealand

• Shami and Kohli put unbeaten India top of the table

Three nights previously, he walloped a six off Nasum Ahmed to not just get to his hundred but also seal victory over Bangladesh. It seemed as if he was set to do it again but, on 95, with just five needed to cross the target of 274, Kohli dragged a Matt Henry slower ball to Glenn Phillips at deep midwicket.Kohli threw himself back in disbelief at first, before walking off to a rousing reception. No. 49 may have to wait, but it seems inevitable given his recent form. It was an innings that was even more important to the team’s cause given India were thin on batting after No. 7. And when Suryakumar Yadav was run out, a dismissal Kohli appeared to have had a hand in, India still needed 83 off 87 with five wickets remaining.Kohli put together 78 with Ravindra Jadeja to take India to the doorstep of their fifth win, which was sealed with 14 balls to spare. It meant India are the only unbeaten team in the competition as the halfway mark nears.India captain Rohit Sharma was lost for words when asked about Kohli’s imperious run of form. His World Cup tally so far stands at 354 in five innings, with three half-centuries and a hundred.”There’s nothing much to say, honestly. We’ve seen him do this for so many years,” Rohit said. “Such a calm head. He’ll back himself to do the job. Towards the end there was a bit of pressure, we lost a couple of wickets there, but Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja pulled us back.Virat Kohli fell five short of his century and India’s win when he got out•ICC/Getty ImagesRohit’s opposite number, Tom Latham, was equally effusive in his praise “As a captain, you have to be proactive but also work to your plans,” he said at the presentation. “Think about match-ups. Virat has a response to most plans.”Kohli has been in a rich vein of form all tournament. It began with a rearguard along with KL Rahul after India were reduced to 2 for 3 chasing 200 against Australia in their opener. Kohli helped add 164 for the fourth wicket to steady the innings before India sealed a six-wicket win in Chennai.In Delhi against Afghanistan, Kohli batted like he was on a joyride, cashing in on a pulsating 156-run stand between Rohit and Ishan Kishan in their chase of 273. Kohli finished 55 not out to see India home in a pressure-free chase they sealed in 35 overs.In Pune late last week, Kohli touched upon the desperation to do well after raising his hundred with a six to seal victory over Bangladesh. That landmark had elicited some chatter on Kohli and India possibly sacrificing a few decimal points of their net run rate to allow Kohli to get to his landmark.”I wanted to make a big contribution,” Kohli had said after the game. “I have had a few fifties in World Cups, and I have never really converted them, so I just wanted to finish the game off this time around. Yeah, hang on till the end which is what I have done over the years for the team.”On Sunday, he nearly stayed on the course till the end once again. It set the team up for their fifth win, with a semi-final berth slowly creeping up over the horizon.

“Nerves were there to see today, the way they batted” – James Anderson

Vithushan Ehantharajah04-Feb-2024As Rehan Ahmed played the most rogue final set since Bradford Cox banged out for an hour to hit back at a heckler, you were reminded that nothing is beyond this England team.A target of 399 may still well be, of course. A healthy 67 have been knocked off already, eight of them in the last three balls of day three as Rehan scuffed Axar Patel through midwicket, then beyond first slip. If Brendon McCullum’s chat 24 hours earlier was anything to go by, India are at least 201 light.”We got sat down by the coach last night and he said if India get 600 ahead we’re going to try and chase it down,” said James Anderson at stumps. “That is exactly what we’re going to do.”It is a wild kind of optimism. The kind that usually comes in the dead of night, right before you get a hankering for some Cheetos. But it was exactly what kept England going throughout their 74 overs in the field today.Related

• Root expected to bat despite injured finger

• Gill: 'Very important and satisfying to be able to score runs at No. 3'

• Gill puts India ahead but England hopeful of Bazball miracle

• A Gill century that showed his struggle and growth

India arrived with a lead of 171, with all their second-innings wickets in hand. When Ravichandran Ashwin worked a single to the fielder at deep midwicket in the 71st over of the day, India moved to 388 in front. One more than the highest successful chase in this country, achieved by a host team with a fair few hall-of-famers against Kevin Pietersen’s England.Yet, by the time India’s innings ended on 255 and the target was confirmed, the emotion from England was not relief, or joy that their toil was over. Simply satisfaction.It was as they walked off, with 14 overs to bat before close, that Rehan turned to Ben Stokes and asked if he could bat at No. 3. He would probably have been asked to do it anyway, but the enthusiasm was as welcome as ever. After an opening stand had been broken on 50 with the wicket of Ben Duckett, out strode all 19 years of the Original Nighthawk.It would be wrong to look ahead in anticipation of what’s to come and neglect the graft that brought us to this point. Especially as defeat may dull what the bowlers achieved, in both innings.Today, England managed to prise out all 10 Indian wickets for just 227 runs, despite their most experienced spin option, Joe Root, sending down just two overs. He spent the majority of the innings off the field after damaging his right little finger in the eighth over of the day.By then, Anderson had got the show on the road, using the early morning humidity to stitch together a spell of 2 for 6 from four overs. Rohit Sharma’s off stump was taken for a ride, then a wobble seam delivery decked across Yashasvi Jaiswal to leave India 30 for 2.Then came a succession of reprieves for Shubman Gill, all of varying degrees. He was given out lbw to Tom Hartley, which he overturned with a sliver of an inside edge, before earning the benefit of the doubt of umpire’s call on projected impact with the stumps when hit in front by Anderson. Those let-offs – both with just four to his name – were followed by a healthy edge off Hartley, which flew between wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and Root at a wide first slip.As Gill went on to a third Test century, it was not unreasonable to wonder if England would wilt. And even though they were buoyed by Stokes’ sensational catch to remove Shreyas Iyer after a botched heave down the ground Tom Hartley, closely followed by a low inside edge from Rajat Patidar off Rehan, neatly taken low by Foakes, the game was steadily moving out of England’s reach.Gill and Axar’s stand for the fifth wicket lifted the lead beyond 350 and into the realms of “surely not England, not even you.” And yet somehow, they dug deep again.James Anderson goes up in appeal•Getty ImagesIt was specifically the inexperienced spin trio that instigated the necessary cascade of the six remaining wickets, for just 44 runs. Shoaib Bashir set it off, forcing Gill to pop up a catch off inside-edge and pad up to Foakes. India began second-guessing themselves as England’s penchant for the chase came forward from the back of their minds. It allowed Hartley and Rehan back into the match. Not since Children of the Corn have youngsters preyed on such fear in experienced heads.Only three of this India side played in 2022 when England munched a target of 378 inside 76.4 overs to win a one-off Test at Edgbaston. Evidently, the rest know the score. “England are never out of the game,” said Gill, one of the three, who rightly pointed out these conditions are very different. But the stands that followed his departure stood still, notably 26 off 71 between Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah, two batters far more at ease playing their shots, giving an indication that even India were thinking the unthinkable.”I think the nerves were there to see today, the way they batted,” Anderson observed. “I think they didn’t know how many was enough. They were quite cautious, even when they had a big lead.”None of this happens by accident of course. England’s 8 out of 10 successful fourth-innings victories have created waves, and the familiar thread through most of them has been their scrapping in these third innings. To see the new crop carrying on this short-lived legacy was a testament to their all-in approach and the encouragement bestowed upon them.Seconds before Rehan had shunted Ollie Pope from first-drop, he had pocketed Ashwin – the young leggie’s third – in his 42nd over, having never bowled more than 39 in 13 previous first-class matches. Hartley is now only the third English men’s spinner since the First World War to take four or more wickets in an innings in each of their first two Tests. Bashir’s match figures of 4 for 196 from 53 overs – the second most he’s bowled – represents an impressive body of work from a 20-year-old off-spinner just three days into the gig.Despite needing the highest score in the match to win this second Test, and bearing in mind no visiting team has ever reached 300 in a fourth innings here, there remains a bemusing optimism. With 332 still on the table, regardless of how this plays out, it is one that has been earned.

Also, KKR might delay Russell’s arrival as much as possible to see if SRH trust Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to bowl at him deep into the innings

Sidharth Monga20-May-2024Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have had the two quickest-scoring seasons of all time in the IPL. They are unlikely to give up the spots playing the Qualifier 1 in a neutral match in Ahmedabad. Motera has not been among the quickest-scoring grounds this IPL, but it is also a function of the home team choosing to play on specific surfaces. When they have gone for a flat pitch, 200 has been chased down twice, and a 231 posted batting first. In the playoffs, under a BCCI curator, expect a similar high-scoring match. These are some of the tactics which KKR and SRH could employ.Win the toss and bat
Two of the six matches in Ahmedabad have been won by teams batting first. Shubman Gill, the home team captain in Ahmedabad, has been pretty confident that the dew doesn’t play an undue role there. Both the successful defences in Ahmedabad have come in night matches.All these factors are enough to make you toss-agnostic, but one look at SRH’s record this IPL will tell you they will want to bat first. They have won just three matches when chasing: first against Chennai Super Kings when they comfortably chased down 166, one a shellacking under 10 overs when they hunted down 166 against Lucknow Super Giants, and then chasing 215 against Punjab Kings in their last league match. They have been much more comfortable batting first and scoring massively. Their run rate batting first is 1.07 higher than when batting second. KKR are more evenly paced: 10.71 batting first, and 10.30 when chasing.Related

• Abhishek Sharma, a top-order whirlwind India has never seen before

• Andre Russell, the Ultimate Fighter who knows just how good he is

• Batting powerhouses collide as KKR, SRH set their eyes on IPL final spot

While KKR have a perfect record in three chases this IPL, six wins out of nine when defending is no mean feat too. In all likelihood, given their comfort doing either, KKR will like to deny SRH what they want to do.Bowl Bhuvneshwar through powerplay
Sunil Narine has been the most valuable player of the IPL so far, and not just for his batting. Among those who have scored 400 or more runs, only two batters have been quicker than Narine. Although they haven’t quite had a face-off this IPL, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has managed to keep Narine quiet in the powerplay: 31 balls, 34 runs and one dismissal.In the absence of Phil Salt, SRH can go a long way if they can neutralise Narine or at least keep him quiet in the powerplay. Bhuvneshwar will also hope to get through to Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer in the first spell: against Shreyas, he has three wickets in 49 balls for a strike rate of 89, while Venkatesh’s strike rate against him is 88 even though he has never got out to Bhuvneshwar.Vaibhav Arora has become an important part of KKR’s plans•BCCIAs a nice little bonus, Bhuvneshwar’s record against Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the likely replacement for Salt, reads: four balls, zero runs and two wickets. This happened as recently as the two matches against KKR last year.Tackling Head, Abhishek not so straightforward
If it wasn’t for Abhishek Sharma dismantling spinners, it would have been easy to say KKR should open with one of their two in-form spinners: Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. However, Abhishek has been brutal against spin, which means the spinner has to be excellent with his control if he is used against Travis Head.Will Jacks had success against Head by staying away from arc, which also holds for spinners against Abhishek. It helps that both of KKR’s spinners can bowl offbreaks. It is worth giving one end to spin, but the bowler has to be spot on against these two batters.With pace, teams have looked to contain Head and Abhishek by either placing their boundary riders at point and cover, or by placing a deep square cover and a deep midwicket, and attacking the stumps or the armpits. Vaibhav Arora’s natural length does attack the top of stumps with some movement away from left-hand batters, which makes him an important part of KKR’s plans. It is easier to shut off Abhishek with seam: bowl top of off. Head might need more defensive lines outside off.Earlier this season, Heinrich Klaasen took SRH within one hit of winning at Eden Gardens•BCCIRussell for Klaasen
Andre Russell has not bowled in the powerplay this IPL. Heinrich Klaasen, the foundation of the SRH middle order, has been explosive against spin and left-arm pace. So it follows that Russell will be saved for Klaasen. That was perhaps a mistake KKR made in the first match against SRH: Russell and Narine combined bowled just three overs at Klaasen, who went on to score 63 off 29 at Eden Gardens, and take SRH within one hit of winning.Throw Viyaskanth at Russell
Not just Russell the bowler but also Russell the batter has also been key to KKR’s success this season. His strike rate of 185 has given KKR the finishing kick they need. Russell has been in excellent form against all bowling types except legspin: 28 balls, 41 runs and one dismissal. There will be some cat and mouse game here: KKR might delay Russell’s arrival as much as possible to see if SRH can trust Sri Lanka’s youngster Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to bowl at Russell deep into the innings.

All you need to know ahead of the IPL player retention deadline of October 31

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-20243:53

IPL 2025 player retention rules: All the big questions answered

First up, how many players can an IPL franchise retain?
Six players from their 2024 squad, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals – Indian or overseas – and two can be uncapped Indian players. Six players is the highest number of retentions permitted by the IPL ahead of a mega auction, to allow franchises to keep their core intact ahead.What does it cost a team to retain players?
Each team has a purse of INR 120 crore – a 20% increase from last year – with which to build their squad for IPL 2025. For the first player retained, a team will lose INR 18 crore from their purse, INR 14 crore for the second player, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore again for the fourth, and INR 14 crore again for the fifth player retained. For every uncapped Indian player retained, a team will lose INR 4 crore from the purse.So if a team retains five capped internationals, they will lose at least INR 75 crore from their purse of INR 120 crore.Related

• Kohli, Patidar and Dayal to be retained by RCB

• Punjab Kings to retain only two uncapped players

• MI to retain their big four: Rohit, Hardik, Bumrah, Suryakumar

• Samson, Jaiswal, Parag and Sandeep set to be retained by Rajasthan Royals

• Dhoni set to be among CSK's five retained players ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction

Can the INR 75 crore be split among the five retained players as the franchise wishes?
Yes, the IPL has told franchises they can slice the INR 75-crore retention pot as they want if they are retaining five capped players. If the franchise spends more than INR 75 crore to keep five capped players then the higher amount will be deducted from the purse.If a team retains only one capped player, they will lose a minimum of INR 18 crore from their purse. For two capped players they will lose at least INR 32 crore (18+14) or the higher amount actually paid; for three capped players it is at least INR 43 crore (18+14+11); and for four capped players it is at least INR 61 crore (18+14+11+18).However, if a team retains five capped players, the INR 75 crore (18+14+11+18+14) that will be deducted from their purse can be divided among the players in any proportion. So while their first player may be retained at INR 23 crore, they could keep their fifth player at an amount lower than the stipulated deduction of INR 14 crore to stay within the INR 75 crore deduction, as long as the franchise can reach an agreement with the player.So what’s the buzz ahead of the IPL retention deadline?
Well, Sunrisers Hyderabad seem to have stirred the pot with their intention of retaining Heinrich Klaasen for a whopping INR 23 crore. That raises the issue of how a team like Mumbai Indians will slice the pie of INR 75 crore if they want to retain players like Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav. There are questions over whether captains like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will be retained by their teams or want to enter the auction themselves. And whether some teams would prefer to retain just two or three players and use the right-to-match (RTM) option to buy back others at the mega auction.Right-to-match (RTM) … what’s that?
It’s another way for a team to get back their players during the mega auction, instead of retaining them beforehand. A team that retains fewer than six players on October 31 will have some RTM options available to them to buy back players at the mega auction. So if a team retains only three players on Thursday, they will have three RTM options to use at the mega auction. A franchise that retains no players will enter the mega auction with six RTM options. A team that retains six players will have no RTM options at the auction.Also, if a team has retained five capped players, they can use their remaining RTM option to buy back only an uncapped player. And if a team has already retained two uncapped players, they can’t use RTM options on another of their uncapped players at the auction.How does the RTM option work at the auction?
If a player has been bought by another franchise at the mega auction, the franchise that he was part of in IPL 2024 can step in at the end of the bidding process and buy back their player by matching the highest bid.But there’s a twist this time compared to when the RTM rule was last used at a mega auction in 2018. At the 2025 mega auction, if a team wants to buy back a player using the RTM option, the franchise that made the winning bid will be given another opportunity to raise their bid to whatever amount they wish. In that case, the player’s previous team will have to match the increased bid to buy back their player.Let’s take KKR captain Shreyas as a hypothetical example should he enter the auction. If two other teams bid for Shreyas and one of them wins the bid, then KKR can step in and use their RTM option to match the highest bid. But as per the modified RTM rule, franchise that placed the highest bid has the opportunity to raise their bid to any amount, which KKR will then have to match again if they want to buy back Shreyas using the RTM option.What’s this about MS Dhoni being in the uncapped player category this year?
Yes, the IPL has revived a rule it had scrapped in 2021, which allowed capped Indian players who retired or have not played international cricket in the last five years to be categorised as uncapped players. This means Chennai Super Kings can retain Dhoni as an uncapped player at a deduction of INR 4 crore from their purse, unless they pay him more of course.This rule also applies to players like Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra, Vijay Shankar, Mayank Markande, Karn Sharma and Rishi Dhawan among others, should their franchises wish to retain them as uncapped players.Can players refuse to be retained by their IPL team?
Yes, if a player doesn’t want to remain with a franchise, they can refuse a retention offer and enter the mega auction. Also, there are no player trades allowed between the retention deadline of October 31 and the start of 2025 season.When is the IPL 2025 mega auction?<br?There is no confirmed date yet but it likely to be in last week of November. Mega auctions usually take place over two days.

WA keeper-batter is hoping to translate her stunning Australia A form into a big WBBL season

Tristan Lavalette04-Oct-2024A naturally aggressive batter and technician behind the stumps, Maddy Darke has for some time been touted as a potential successor to Australia captain Alyssa Healy.The symbolism was evident five years ago when Darke, only 18 at the time, made her WBBL debut for Sydney Sixers and received her cap from Healy, who she had modelled her attacking batting and glove work on.But it’s been a tough journey living up to those expectations and she moved to Western Australia in 2021 to ignite her career. Darke’s WA coaches have worked hard on building up her confidence and belief that she absolutely belongs at the professional level.Having shown glimpses over the years, Darke, 23, might be putting it all together after scoring eye-catching centuries recently for Australia A in the multi-format series against India A in Queensland.In tough batting conditions against the red ball on the Gold Coast, Darke lifted Australia out of trouble at 94 for 5 in their second innings of the four-day fixture with an unbeaten 105 off 197 balls from No.6.She took heed from the messaging from her WA batting coach Wes Robinson, a concise communicator, who implores her to “keep it really simple and let your technique do the talking”.

“If I could one day play for Australia, I’d absolutely love the chance. For me, not knowing when that opportunity would arise, it’s just about improving my wicketkeeping and batting while also trying to be a better teammate. Hopefully that takes care of things.”Maddy Darke

She batted superbly with the lower order, running hard between the wickets to frustrate India A. Darke unleashed several attractive strokes through the covers, but it was mostly a gritty innings that proved the difference in Australia’s eventual 45-run victory.”I was really pleased because four-day cricket is a real test of your mental capacity as well as your physical skill-set,” Darke told ESPNcricinfo. “Being able to grind through a few sessions with the tail is something that I’m not really accustomed to.”I’m really, really pleased with how the whole series went and to get as many runs as I did,” she added, having also scored 106 in the second one-dayer.Darke, nicknamed ‘Bondi’ due to her affinity with the famous Sydney beach, has not carried her momentum into the start of the domestic season having scored just 49 runs from three innings to start the Women’s National Cricket League.Self-doubt could once again creep in, but working closely with Robinson and WA coach Becky Grundy has helped her feel more at ease.”She [Grundy] tells me to just trust that my game is more than good enough to do well at any level,” Darke said. “I think that is something that I really try to keep in mind because she wouldn’t be telling me that if she didn’t actually believe in me.”I’m trusting my strengths and recognising when I’m doing things really well to keep trying to do them and not get distracted or caught up in what other players are doing.”To see a bit more evidence of that on the field with runs in the India series, really, really helps build my confidence.”Darke has also been working hard with the gloves as shown in her solid efforts behind the stumps against India A, where she admitted to feeling “exhausted” by the end of the four-day game. While adept at keeping to pace and spin, she’s more comfortable being up to the stumps.”It’s actually been a bit of a focus to make sure I’m not neglecting keeping back and working on being in really good positions to move laterally and dive,” Darke said.Maddy Darke drives through the offside•Getty ImagesShe’s learned “different techniques” from veteran Beth Mooney and England wicketkeeper Amy Jones, her Perth Scorchers teammates, while WA wicketkeeping coach Damon Rowan regularly puts her through the same drills as men’s counterparts Josh Inglis and Baxter Holt.Darke was left almost awestruck the first time she trained alongside Inglis, who has become Australia’s No.1 wicketkeeper in white-ball cricket. “He’s amazing, so quick, so powerful,” she gushed to Rowan at the time.Darke closely studied Inglis’ technique up at the stumps. “He moved so late, but he’s so quick to the ball. I was actually taken aback,” she recalled. “He’s so explosive and powerful. That’s what I want to get to, but I’ll have to chip away at that over the years.”He has played all over the world, so it’s a great opportunity to build my knowledge and learn from him.”It’s been a slow start to the domestic season for Darke and WA, who are winless after their opening three WNCL matches. But if Darke can rediscover her Australia A form, as a potential WBBL breakout looms, then talk of being Healy’s heir apparent will go into overdrive.”I’ve definitely got my eye on that spot whenever it would become available. If I could one day play for Australia, I’d absolutely love the chance,” she said.”For me, not knowing when that opportunity would arise, it’s just about improving my wicketkeeping and batting while also trying to be a better teammate. Hopefully that takes care of things.”

The middle Curran brother talks about comparisons with Tom and Sam and representing the country where their father was born

Firdose Moonda20-May-2025″If they weren’t my brothers, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Ben Curran says. He’s only half-right.Perhaps if it wasn’t for Sam and Tom, who have made headlines for the last decade, ESPNcricinfo would not have requested to interview Ben ahead of Zimbabwe’s first Test in England in 22 years. But that’s not the only reason. Ben is playing for Zimbabwe, the country of his father Kevin’s birth, against England, the country of his and Sam’s birth and the place where his family have significant sporting connections.Kevin, who played 11 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1987, acquired English residency and played county cricket for Northamptonshire for eight years between 1991 and 1999. All three of his sons were born in that time: Tom in Cape Town, while Kevin was playing for Boland, and Ben and Sam in Northampton. By the year 2000, the family were all back in Zimbabwe, on the family farm halfway between Harare and Mutare, where Kevin began his coaching career. Initially, he was an assistant national coach, then had a stint in Namibia and at an academy before being given the main national job.Related

• England find value in mismatch to get the gang back together in style

• Duckett, Crawley, Pope tons seal England's day of dominance

• Pressure on Pope and Crawley with Bethell in line for role against India

• Zimbabwe come in from the cold after 22-year hiatus

• From poverty to plenty: 2025 is a bumper Test year for Zimbabwe like none before

The brothers were 9, 8 and 6 respectively when Kevin was put in charge of Zimbabwe as head coach, in 2004. It was a time of intense upheaval in the country, both politically and in sporting terms. That same year, the Currans’ farm was among those repossessed as part of Robert Mugabe’s land reform program and 13 of Zimbabwe’s white players staged a walkout over Heath Streak’s sacking as captain and a broader protest over quotas. The Currans survived both events, moved home and Kevin continued coaching, even when Zimbabwe took a self-imposed exile from Tests in 2006.Tom, Ben and Sam were too young to remember any of that in great detail but Ben knows that they were “always around cricket” and encouraged to enjoy it. “Whenever I see friends of my dad, they all tell me they remember me when I was knee-high. We were always there. He just wanted us to enjoy sport and if we wanted to work hard and practice a lot, he was there. He never said, ‘This is what you have to do’, it was up to us to decide if we wanted to go further.All three brothers were lured away from Zimbabwe by a scholarship from Wellington School in Surrey, where they stayed even after Kevin passed away unexpectedly in 2012. He never saw his sons play professionally but their mother, Sarah, has been a constant presence. Three years after Kevin’s death, Sam became the second-youngest player to represent Surrey in first-class cricket. Tom was already a regular in the team but Ben had to wait a little longer.”I didn’t have the immediate success my brothers did,” he says. “It took me until I was a couple of years out of school to get myself the opportunity to play on a professional level but everyone’s got their own path. It doesn’t really happen that quickly for a lot of people. If I take myself out of it, I know that if they weren’t my brothers, we wouldn’t be having the same conversation. There’s no timeline on anything and especially not in professional sport. Not everyone, not just in my family, but in general, has quick success. It just took me a little longer.”And unlike his brothers, Ben didn’t have his success at Surrey either but there was a synchronicity with where he ended up. At the age of 22, he was signed by Northants, the same team his father had played for. That had the potential to heighten the pressure on him even more but he didn’t let it. “As a professional, I distanced myself from the talk,” he says. “It was a lot easier to try and just focus on performing myself.”

“I definitely have an eye on the ODI World Cup. I’m playing in the 50-over side at the minute and I want to get myself into the T20 side. I actually played more T20 cricket in the UK. I definitely want to cement myself in all three sides”

Over the next four years, Ben played semi-regularly but did not have any breakout success. He averaged 25.82, never scored a hundred and, understandably, was never part of the national team conversation. Although eligible to play for England, without the numbers to back it up, he never seriously entertained the thought. “When I was playing county cricket, I was just trying to focus on performing there. I didn’t really think too far ahead about what may or may not come.”Then, in 2022, he lost his contract and decided to return home and try again. “It was a conscious decision I made to go back and I obviously had ambitions to represent Zimbabwe,” he says, aware of the challenges that would face him.”The pitches are a lot slower and with the Kookaburra ball, there’s not as much lateral movement, so it’s about getting used to that, so they might have ring fields instead of more fielders behind the bat and a lot of more dismissals might be in front of the bat. It was about realising that there might not be as many scoring options, but you’ve got to find a way.”In what may be as much of an indicator of the difference in standards between England and Zimbabwe as of Curran feeling more comfortable in a familiar environment, in his first season, he averaged 41.77 in Zimbabwe’s first-class competition and finished eighth on the run-charts. In his second summer, he was up to seventh and by the end of his third, Curran was the second-highest run-scorer in the Logan Cup, averaging 75.30, with three hundreds from seven matches.It was during the last of those that he was also selected for Zimbabwe and made his international debut at Harare Sports Club, in an ODI against Afghanistan last December. A Test appearance soon followed, in the Boxing Day match in Bulawayo. Now Ben is all but a regular and sees himself that way. “It feels like I’ve been playing for a lot longer than just [since] December,” he says.Curran scored a half-century on Test debut•Zimbabwe CricketIt helps that he has performed relatively well. In his first Test innings, Ben scored 68 and in his sixth ODI, he raised his bat in celebration of a century to a jubilant crowd, who showed him the appreciation every international dreams of.”What I have been trying to do is just stay really present and take it all in,” he says. “I remember when I was on about 90-odd and we were in a good position in the game and I looked at the grandstand and everyone was singing and cheering. That was a standout moment, and made me appreciate where I am and what I’m actually doing.”Zimbabwe won the match against Ireland by nine wickets and Ben was there at the end to seal a series victory that could become the building block for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which they are co-hosting. Zimbabwe have not played at a 50-over World Cup since 2015 – and have been through two heartbreaking qualifying campaigns which saw them miss out – and see 2027 as an opportunity to underline their importance among the game’s top nations. That includes being able to have some of the formats best players and Ben hopes to be among those, at least for Zimbabwe.”I definitely have an eye on the ODI World Cup. I’m playing in the 50-over side at the minute and I want to get myself into the T20 side. I actually played more T20 cricket in the UK. I definitely want to cement myself in all three sides.”He played 23 T20s for Northants and scored three fifties with a strike rate of 126.84 but has only played 12 in Zimbabwe, and none for the national side. Whether that changes as they look towards the T20 World Cup Qualifiers remains to be seen. For now, their focus is on Tests and they are due to play 11 this year – as many as Australia and more than anyone else – in the hope of forcing their case for a World Test Championship spot.A match against England, given its profile, puts the conversation centre stage and gives the players a brighter spotlight than usual. For Ben, it’s about that and much more. There’s a touch of sibling rivalry even though neither Tom nor Sam are playing. He expects both to be around the match and hopefully cheering for him. He also expects the comparisons to keep being made but is confident he is carving his own path in his own way. “I’m enjoying my cricket,” he says. “The environment, where the guys and the team are in a good place and really wanting to take Zimbabwe cricket forward. I feel as though the timing is right for me.”

The Lahore Qalandars batter played for the franchise as an emerging player, but his registration appears to have contravened the PSL’s own rules

Danyal Rasool10-Jun-2025What is the emerging category?Since the start of the PSL in 2016, the league developed a category to propel talented young players into the spotlight. Each side was required to field at least one in every game; current rules stipulate each franchise must have at least two in their squad.What classifies a player as an emerging cricketer?This is somewhat loosely defined, and, as a result, poorly understood; more than one franchise ESPNcricinfo spoke to said they were unclear on the eligibility. Basically, players need to be under 23, and should not have played in the Pakistan national team. More recently, the PCB made an exception for players discovered under their talent hunt programmes, such as the Lahore Qalandars Player Development Programme, which, in certain cases, permits players over the age of 23 to be registered as emerging players.Mohammad Naeem raised three half-centuries during the season•PCBDid those exceptions apply to Naeem?That’s what everyone believed. Naeem was Qalandars’ emerging player in the line-up for all but one game. Qalandars have said they picked Naeem through their player development programme, and invested in him over the years. Since he was registered under the talent hunt discovery programme, he was exempt from the age requirement. Naeem is 26.However, according to the players draft guide from 2017 – the most recent edition that is publicly available – any player to have played competitive domestic cricket becomes ineligible to be registered as an emerging player. At the time, the rules excluded anyone who played Under-19 cricket, too, which Naeem did in 2017. His profile on the PCB’s official website lists him as having played for the FATA Region U-19s.In 2023, before making his PSL debut, he also played senior competitive domestic cricket with regional side FATA.How was he registered as an emerging player, then?This is at the heart of the controversy. When ESPNcricinfo reached out to the PSL, they sent a document insisting Naeem was correctly registered as an emerging player. It said that Qalandars “nominated and protected Mohammad Naeem prior to his debut in competitive domestic cricket in December 2023”. It went on to say that the rules allowed for him to be “protected until the next draft cycle” and that no other franchises raised any concerns at the time.Related

• Afridi, Farhan, Raza headline PSL 2025 team of the tournament

• There's a value to making Shaheen Shah Afridi feel loved

• Perera, Raza star in record chase to take Qalandars to PSL title

The rules mentioned by the PSL’s statement to ESPNcricinfo do not appear in any official document publicly available that concerns the rules governing emerging players. ESPNcricinfo could not find any official update to the draft guide in 2017, which is notable since the PSL’s statement referenced rules governing talent hunt discovery programmes over the past five years.A copy of the playing conditions from 2023 on the PCB’s website does not detail what constitutes an emerging player, and does not mention the talent hunt discovery programme.What do the other franchises think?Multiple franchises that ESPNcricinfo reached out to said they were not aware of this stipulation. Nearly all believed that Naeem’s inclusion under the emerging rules – as they understood them – was a mistake. Karachi Kings nominated and protected fast bowler Fasih Ali, and were under the impression he would lose his emerging status if he went on to play competitive domestic cricket over the next years, as Naeem did.The PSL’s statement mentioned three times that none of the franchises objected at the time of Naeem’s registration. Every franchise ESPNcricinfo spoke to accepted this, though more than one pointed out the obligation upon the PSL to enforce its own rules did not hinge on objections from the franchises.Did Naeem’s performances significantly help Qalandars?Demonstrably so. Naeem was the eighth-highest run-scorer of the tournament with 314 runs including three half-centuries. None of the seven who scored more matched his strike rate of 162.69.What happens now?Well, nothing. Other franchises told ESPNcricinfo they wished to put this behind them and move on, but hoped that the rules would be more clearly spelled out in future. There is no indication of any wrongdoing by Qalandars, given the PSL accepted the franchise’s registration of Naeem as an emerging player. Naeem will no longer be able to be registered as an emerging player in the PSL’s next edition.

She began her career being mentored by Salma Khatun. Ten years later, she is the one helping the young Bangladesh players find their way

S Sudarshanan06-Oct-2025Nahida Akter vividly remembers the first time she met Salma Khatun. She was just 15 and her hands were trembling.Salma blazed a trail for Bangladesh in women’s cricket. She was their first captain in international cricket, and at the time of her last T20I in July 2023, their most capped player in the format. Now, she is Bangladesh’s first woman selector.”When I broke into the national team, I played under Salma Khatun, a legend of Bangladesh cricket,” Nahida tells ESPNcricinfo in Guwahati. “Watching her up close only deepened my love for the game. The growth of Bangladesh women’s cricket owes a lot to her, and I feel fortunate to have started my journey under her leadership.”The way she guided me is beyond words. My mother, father and brother were at home, but on the field, Salma looked after me like family. She made sure I stayed on the right path, and even today, if I make a mistake, she corrects me and helps me learn from it.”Nahida happens to be the one performing those roles now. Two days out from their second match of the Women’s World Cup, against England, she was the one guiding fellow left-arm spinner Sanjida Akter Meghla through her routines, and talking to legspinners Shorna Akter and Rabeya Khan about bowling grips and the right areas to target. It’s been a great 10 years.Nahida has grown to become Bangladesh’s leading wicket-taker across formats and is the vice-captain of the team now.

I’m the team’s lead spinner, and I have to make a bigger impact. It’s a challenge, but not a burden

She was born in Kishoreganj, a city about 100 kilometres away from Dhaka. But with her father working as a government officer, she has always lived in the capital. Until about 2012, Nahida knew little about cricket. She saw boys in her neighbourhood play but wouldn’t join them. Not until she started watching Bangladesh men’s internationals on the telly with her brother.After being rejected once, Nahida finally cleared the entrance exam to join Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (Bangladesh Institute of Sports Education, BKSP) in 2013, a residential academy where around 25 different sports are taught. That is where she played cricket with a leather ball for the first time.”Initially, I loved batting. But my coaches Mehdi Hasan and Dolly Dey saw something different in me,” Nahida says. “They thought I could become a good bowler. At that point, I couldn’t even rotate my arm properly to bowl. Back home, most of the cricket we played was soft-ball, short-format games where you didn’t have to bowl with a full action. My coaches literally held my arm and taught me how to bowl. They worked tirelessly to make me a proper bowler.”Nahida Akter: I want people to say Bangladesh reached this stage because of their bowlers•CWIWhile she was part of the BKSP squad that had seniors like Sharmin Akhter and Fargana Hoque, Nahida had to wait for her time. In the second year, she got her chance and showed her mettle with five wickets in her first match against Abahani. She finished with 18 wickets in that season and that resulted in a call-up to the national camp. But Nahida couldn’t attend. She had to sit her board exams.Related

• Spin-heavy Bangladesh eye first win against New Zealand in ODIs

• Powerplay podcast – Bangladesh let England off the hook

• Spin-heavy Bangladesh look to challenge England in rare meeting

• Marufa Akter swings her way straight into World Cup lore

• Bowlers, Haider propel Bangladesh to second win at World Cup

“At that point, I honestly didn’t know if I’d ever get another chance [to play],” she says. “To return to that level, I knew I’d have to perform again. That phase taught me the value of comebacks and the importance of mental strength. I realised that in sport, the only way back is through performance. I returned to BKSP, worked harder, performed better, and got called back to camp. This time, I was ready and in 2015, I finally earned my place in the Bangladesh national team.”Given Nahida’s quick rise, her initial years in international cricket were not just about performance but also about learning. Salma aside, she observed how allrounder Rumana Ahmed trained and played.”Watching players like Salma taught me how to raise my own game and become useful to the team. I was especially inspired by how calm she and Rumana remained, even when the team had conceded a lot of runs. That composure strengthened my own mindset.”Cricket is a game where one good ball can change everything. You have six balls in an over, if a few don’t go well, there’s no point over-thinking. Focus on bowling that one good delivery. That’s something I learned from them.”Nahida looked up to a couple of other left-arm spinners as well – Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath: “Shakib ‘s bowling is outstanding but I admire his mindset and aggression. I study Herath to improve my craft.”Nahida Akter credits Salma Khatun (in pic) for shaping her as a cricketer•Getty ImagesWhat is the secret behind her jersey number 32, then?”I’ve always admired Glenn Maxwell,” Nahida laughs. “That’s why both my jersey and locket carry the number 32. His fielding is world-class, and watching him play gives me energy. I could have chosen 75, but that’s Shakib ‘s number. Out of respect, I didn’t take it. No one can take his place. He is one of our legends in Bangladesh cricket.”Despite having a storied career, Salma played only one ODI World Cup – in 2022 when Bangladesh were first-timers. At just 25, Nahida is already into her second. She is also among the select few in the current squad that can draw from the experience of bowling in India. She has played three T20Is in the country. Only legspinner Fahima Khatun, among the bowlers, has played an ODI here.”From the senior players, I learned how to adapt to situations, how to change plans according to conditions, which delivery to bowl when, and how to plan against a batter,” Nahida says. “Most of these lessons came directly from Salma . This is my second World Cup, and my mindset is clear – I’m the team’s lead spinner, and I have to make a bigger impact. It’s a challenge, but not a burden. I want people to say Bangladesh reached this stage because of their bowlers.”Nahida has risen through various setbacks. Her family was ridiculed for letting a girl play cricket. She herself was subject to many taunts even in the secure colony they lived during her father’s employment in the government. But now that she is one of the flag-bearers of Bangladesh’s women’s cricket, the journey feels worth it.”If my brother Nazim Ahmed hadn’t been by my side, I don’t think I’d be where I am today. From developing my game to strengthening my mindset, his influence has been immeasurable. My mental resilience and hunger to learn, they all come from him.”