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Their fifties and Pujara’s vigil helped India trim their deficit to 154 after Australia were dismissed for 326 on the second morning in Perth

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu15-Dec-2018
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane led India’s riposte to Pat Cummins’ tour de force to help the visitors cut their deficit to 154 at stumps on an absorbing second day at the new Perth Stadium. After Australia were dismissed for 326, India lost both M Vijay and KL Rahul to hooping inswingers, but Kohli got cracking with three boundaries off Josh Hazlewood in the 10th over. Enter Cummins and then Nathan Lyon. Their combined genius and relentless accuracy meant Kohli and India had to wait 22 more overs for their next boundary.This was the passage of play that defined the day. Cummins first attacked Kohli’s off stump and then shifted his lines wider to tease the India captain’s outside edge. At the other end, Lyon found sharp turn and bounce to remind India what they were missing: a frontline spinner. A biting offbreak, which Kohli left alone, nearly trimmed the bails while a non-turning ball drew a leading edge to point. In the 10 overs Cummins and Lyon bowled in tandem during the post-lunch session, India managed only 12 runs. Kohli, though, weathered the storm and reached his first fifty of the series, with his first boundary off Cummins this series.He ground out 74 for the third wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara, who also played his part in keeping Australia’s attack at bay till tea. His duel with Lyon in particular was intriguing, again. While Pujara often took trips down the pitch and even hid his bat behind pad, like he had done in Adelaide, the loose ball did not come from Lyon here.Cummins then returned after the break to trouble Pujara with incoming deliveries. One of them skidded off the pitch and pinged the back thigh when he was on 23. The on-field decision was not-out but Tim Paine gambled on a review and lost it because the ball was always bouncing over the stumps.Virat Kohli pulls•Getty Images

After Lyon and Cummins had built up all the pressure, it was Mitchell Starc who made the incision when he snaffled Pujara down the leg side for 24 off 103 balls. It was Starc who had produced the first breakthrough, too, when he blazed through the weak defences of Vijay off what turned out to be the last ball before lunch. Rahul, the other opener, was bowled by a sharp inswinger as well. It was the 11th time that he had been dismissed bowled or lbw in his last 15 Test innings.All of that disappeared into the background when Kohli took centerstage, hitting Hazlewood for four rousing boundaries in a mere nine deliveries, the pick of them being a checked on-drive. After seeing off two immaculate spells from Cummins, he brought up his half-century with an adventurous upper-cut over the slip cordon.Rahane showed greater attacking enterprise and eased the pressure off Kohli in an unbroken 90-run stand. He hooked Starc over backward square leg for four and then ramped him over third man for a six, evoking memories of his more famous battles with Mitchell Johnson in the country. Once the bowlers adjusted their lengths, Rahane unfurled serene front-foot drives to keep India ticking.Lyon and Cummins ended with combined figures of 39-7-74-0. On another day they could have run through the opposition with the irresistible pressure they applied, but on Saturday both Kohli and Rahane were immovable.The day had started more promisingly for Australia with Paine and Cummins taking the hosts past 300 with a nuggety 59-run stand for the seventh wicket. However, they lost their last four wickets for 16 runs to be bowled out about 25 minutes before lunch. Kohli and Rahane then thrilled a crowd of 19,042 and seized the day for India.

Nixon, twice the winning coach with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, enjoyed a long and successful playing career with the club

George Dobell16-Oct-2017Leicestershire have appointed Paul Nixon, their former captain, as the new head coach.Nixon, twice the winning coach with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, enjoyed a long and successful playing career with the club. He played in the County Championship winning sides of 1996 and 1998 and the T20 winning sides of 2004, 2006 and 2011. He made his Leicestershire debut in 1989 and was captain 2007 and 2008.He faces a tough task at Leicestershire, however. The club finished bottom of Division Two in the County Championship without a win with his predecessor, Pierre de Bruyn, sacked after barely a year in the role.”We are delighted that Paul has agreed to rejoin us as our head coach,” Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan said. “Paul is dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable, and has been a huge part of successful changing rooms both as a player and coach.”Paul will get the very best out of the players. He has a positive outlook, a great attitude, and is a winner. All of those attributes make Paul the perfect person to take Leicestershire County Cricket Club forward.””I am immensely proud and honoured to be returning to Leicestershire as head coach,” Nixon said. “The club has always been close to my heart and I have lived in the city of Leicester for 30 years, so I know how much it means to everyone here.”There are a lot of good people at the club. We have a lot of loyal Members, supporters and sponsors, and I want to bring the good times back to Leicestershire.”I enjoyed lots of success as a player with the Foxes. We won the County Championship twice and got to five T20 Finals Days in nine years, winning on the three occasions we got to the Final. I’d like to thank the club for believing in me. I know that I can make a positive impact in my new role and I can’t wait to get started.”

Waqar Younis on , on the various issues facing Pakistan cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2016It’s hard for Pakistan to replace cricketers at the national level these days, because there are few top-class replacements coming through from domestic cricket – one of the fallouts of Pakistan’s international isolation, says Waqar Younis.4:37

‘We have forgotten first-class cricket’ – Waqar

‘Passion for cricket needs to be looked after’Cricket brings the nation together, but the lack of cricket in Pakistan means people will move away from the game if their passion is not nurtured.1:02

‘Passion for cricket needs to be looked after’ – Waqar

‘Was more upset with Butt than Amir’Waqar on how he, as Pakistan coach, reacted to the news of the spot-fixing in 2010, in what was a “sickening” time for all involved.4:39

‘Was more upset with Butt than Amir’ – Waqar

‘In our days there was no analytical information’Data analysis is now a part of Pakistan cricket, but one must be careful to not over-coach naturally skilled players, says Waqar Younis.1:36

‘In our days there was no analytical information’ – Waqar

The NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire ended in farcical circumstances as bad light at New Road – a ground with no floodlights – forced an early end to proceedings

Freddie Wilde14-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Vince notched a maiden T20 hundred to help his Hampshire side to Finals Day•Getty Images

The NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire ended in farcical circumstances as bad light at New Road – a ground with no floodlights – forced an early end to proceedings. Hampshire progressed to Finals Day on Duckworth Lewis Stern having bowled just 8.1 overs in Worcestershire’s run chase.James Vince had earlier struck an almost faultless hundred to take Hampshire to an imposing 196 for 4. Although Worcestershire were facing a spiralling required run rate when play was halted, there is no doubt they would have wanted a full 20 overs to make a proper case for their first Finals Day appearance.Following a day of rain and heavy cloud in Worcester, the light was troubling the Hampshire fielders for a few minutes before the teams were eventually led off. The decision was made when Chris Wood protested to the umpires that he was struggling to see the ball after he dropped a catch on the square-leg boundary that burst through his hands and left him with a bloodied, possibly broken, nose.According to the tournament rules floodlights are not mandatory for hosting evening T20 matches, with three other counties, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire and Somerset, also not possessing them. Those four counties without floodlights schedule their evening matches to begin one hour earlier, at 5.30pm, but following a gloomy day in Worcester the light closed in quickly and play was suspended at 7.33pm. “We thought it was just too dangerous out there at the end,” umpire Rob Bailey told Sky Sports.Shortly after the match was stopped boos rang around New Road when it was announced on the PA system that Hampshire would win on DLS if no more play was possible. For almost three quarters of an hour the umpires, players and fans waited to see if the light would improve but at 8.16pm the decision was made and the sun quite literally set on Worcestershire’s T20 season.Questions were already being asked as to why what was essentially a day-night match was scheduled at a ground with no floodlights, or why the match could not have been played as a day game. The fixtures were restricted to an extent, with Kent forced to play their home quarter-final on Saturday, despite having floodlights, due to the Women’s Ashes Test finishing in Canterbury on Friday. However, there are no county fixtures scheduled for Sunday and the match could possibly have been played then.The ECB will be frustrated this incident has occurred, a day after reports suggested it is increasingly reluctant to usher in a city-based T20 league. Images of Worcester fans resorting to shining their phone torches in the direction of the pitch are hardly the image the governing body will have had in mind when triumphing the success of this season’s T20 Blast.The win, albeit in controversial circumstances, took Hampshire into their sixth consecutive Finals Day. In the 13th season of T20, they are forging a legacy of their own. Birmingham may have a more impressive recent record but Hampshire can surely lay claim to being the most consistent, if not the best, T20 side the English game has produced.Although the win may taste slightly sour, Hampshire could argue they were on course for victory. Indeed, even in a curtailed match, the result was one that Hampshire, and especially Vince, deserved.Vince’s hundred, his first in the T20 format, came off just 60 balls and was a wonderful display of batsmanship. Helped along by a typically energetic opening partnership with Michael Carberry, and later a busy Adam Wheater, Vince displayed an impressive range of strokes, scoring all around the wicket against some highly regarded T20 bowlers. The number of shots evidently at his disposal didn’t appear to clutter his mind as he took apart Worcestershire’s attack with surgical precision. Vince has now scored 641 runs this season, putting him second overall.It was clear from the start that Hampshire planned to go fast and hard at the ball straight away and Vince, with his quick hands, had slashed four fours and a six by the end of the Powerplay. Worcestershire managed to keep him restrained through the early middle overs, as he lost his opening partner, but Vince cut loose once again in the final quarter of the innings, forcing four consecutive double-digit overs as Hampshire pushed on towards 200. He may have scored at a strike rate of 164 but there was nothing ungainly about Vince’s strokeplay – it was accelerated classical batting.It was innings that embodied Hampshire’s T20 complexion: not quite scintillating but certainly not boring either. But while Vince lit up the first half of the evening, the lights were about to go out on Worcestershire.

Holly Ferling, a gangling, giggling fast bowler, all of 17, found out she was playing an important World Cup match against the old rivals after the woman she idolizes is ruled out unfit

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai08-Feb-2013A gangling, giggling fast bowler, all of 17, finds out she’s playing an important World Cup match against the old rivals after the woman she idolizes is ruled out unfit. “Instant nerves” result, but in a low-scoring game, she pounds in, a bow holding her flying long hair together, and strikes with her first delivery. She strikes again in the first over of a comeback spell, removing the game’s top-scorer. She ends with 10-0-35-3 in only her second international match. Not exactly a normal Friday for your average teenager.But Australia’s Holly Ferling is no normal teenager. And it is not the first time she’s made an immediate impact after replacing an injured player. She took a hat-trick with her first three balls in men’s grade cricket in her hometown of Kingaroy in Queensland. She was 14 then. She is the first female to be declared the Queensland Junior Cricketer of the Year and has reportedly impressed Jeff Thomson, the former Australia fast bowler. Today, she tested England with the bounce she generated at speeds in the late 110kphs, striking for someone so young.Her obvious talent cannot mask her age, and when she walked into the media room at Brabourne Stadium, she looked every bit the awkward teenager feeling overwhelmed, with spotlights trained on her and people waiting to ask questions. Just like she was able to overcome her nerves on the field, though, she answered without inhibition, flashing the radiant smile of a young girl thrilled beyond measure to have done what she did.With her inspiration Ellyse Perry ruled out with a stomach bug, Ferling found out she was going to play about an hour before the start. “I was like, ‘oh my God, I am playing England’. It was an unreal feeling,” Ferling said. “I was just excited to get another game.”Perry had a few words of advice for Ferling, whose international debut had come only a week ago against Pakistan. “She just wished me luck and told me to hit the deck. My goal was just to come in and bowl fast.”Brought back for her third spell in the 41st over of England’s chase, Ferling felt tense again. “I was so nervous. I was trying to keep things simple which is something I have struggled with in the past, and tried to do too much. Hopefully they’d make the mistakes.” Lydia Greenway, on 49, hit the final ball of that Ferling over to short extra cover.Ferling felt she had come a long way in the past year, with support from Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia. She then forgot the name of the place she trains at. “Centre of Excellence,” the team’s media manager helpfully reminded her.Ferling’s voice was laced with emotion when she revealed what Perry, who has represented Australia in World Cup football as well, meant to her. “I have always looked up to her. To do what she has done at such a young age is an incredible feat and I don’t think it will ever be done again. To play alongside her against Pakistan and then to train alongside her and to be in the team environment with her is just an incredible feeling.”Didn’t she feel she would be inevitably compared with her idol? The 17-year old laughed as she pointed out the differences. “I wear a bow and my hair is curly.”

David Warner may soon captain Australia in Twenty20 internationals but the head coach Mickey Arthur has said he has the potential to lead his country “in any form of the game”

Brydon Coverdale16-Jan-2012David Warner may soon captain Australia in Twenty20 internationals but the head coach Mickey Arthur has said he has the potential to lead his country “in any form of the game”.A poor run of scores in the Big Bash League has the incumbent T20 captain Cameron White looking over his shoulder, and Warner has advanced his leadership credentials greatly by leading the Sydney Thunder. He was also named captain of a Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI for one of India’s pre-series warm-up matches in Canberra, proof that the national selectors are not blind to the possibility.Add to that a barnstorming 180 in Perth to set the course of the third Test and Warner’s stock is rising fast. Arthur, also a selector, said his own perceptions of Warner as a brash T20 merchant had been confounded by working closely with him since his Test debut against New Zealand in Brisbane.”Davey has leadership potential. He has the ability to lead any Australian team in any form of the game at some stage,” Arthur said. “Whether that’s in the next couple of weeks or whether that’s in a year or five years time I’m not sure.”He has a very good cricket brain. He leads a lot by example. He trains the house down. The perceptions that everybody had of David Warner and the reality of David Warner the person are poles apart.”Arthur further believes that Shaun Marsh can arrest his slump in the fourth Test in Adelaide after he saw signs of improvement in Marsh’s batting at the WACA. Arthur also hinted that Shane Watson was more likely to make his comeback from injury in next month’s limited-overs matches rather than in the Adelaide Test, where the offspinner Nathan Lyon might be the only inclusion.While Lyon’s return will force a reshuffle of the fast-bowling line-up, the batting group is unlikely to change, which will give the struggling Marsh and Brad Haddin a chance to regain their form. Marsh has made 0, 3, 0 and 11 in this series and he is the only one of the top six who has not made a significant contribution to Australia’s 3-0 lead.Cricket Australia has also cleared Marsh and Haddin, along with Lyon and Mitchell Starc, to play in the Big Bash League before the Adelaide Test, a sign that they are the few men who need more time in the middle. The rest of the Test players will remain out of the Twenty20 tournament while they prepare for the fourth Test.”The stars have aligned for us in the whole series except in the No.3 position,” Arthur said. “We haven’t got anywhere near selecting the squad that’s going to go down there. If Shaun gets that opportunity, which I’m hoping he does, I’m pretty sure he’ll go out there and perform well.”I saw signs of him coming back. I saw signs of his movement being a lot crisper. His weight transfer was a lot better. He looked really good at a point in this innings [in Perth]. I’m just hoping he gets through it and gets a score, because if he gets a score, Shaun is a player who, once he gets on a roll, is hard to bowl at. Hopefully Adelaide is the catalyst for him.”Marsh has a fine record at Adelaide Oval, where he has made two centuries and two fifties from five first-class matches and averages 64.44. Another big score there would ease the pressure on him after his lean patch, which followed a six-week lay-off due to a serious back injury that he picked up while batting in the Cape Town Test in November.”We just thought he was tentative in the first two Test matches,” Arthur said. “By his own admission he was as well. It’s hard when you’re coming back into the team after an injury, it’s always tough. You need to get going, you start doubting yourself and your ability. You just need a score and he hasn’t got that yet. Hopefully Adelaide is the place and hopefully he takes that into the Twenty20s and one-dayers.”Those shorter-format games, which begin with a T20 against India in Sydney on February 1, could also mark the return of Watson, who has not played a home Test so far this summer due to his injury problems. Watson has been battling hamstring and calf injuries this season, and whenever he returns to the Test side, it will mean a reshuffle for the batting order with David Warner and Ed Cowan having established a promising opening combination.”We’re wanting a fit and firing Shane Watson for the T20s and one-day series and I’m pretty sure we’re going to have that,” Arthur said. “Whether he plays in Adelaide or not, I’m not sure. But I do know that Shane Watson will be around our Twenty20 and one-day side.”I don’t see the need to change too much right now. I think we’ve got some really good momentum. We’ve had a lot of success with this squad.”The one change that does seem certain for the Adelaide Test, which starts on Tuesday next week, is the return of Lyon for one of the fast bowlers. Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus appear to be certain starters, especially with such a long break between matches, while Starc and Ryan Harris are the two men in danger of losing their place.”All indications are in Adelaide you’re going to play a spinner, there’s no doubt about that,” Arthur said. “Mitchell Starc came into the squad this time and he performed really well. It’s part of us broadening the base of our quick bowlers. We’ll have a look at how all the guys pull up.”The early finish to the Perth Test, where Australia regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has given most of the players a chance to fly home before they reconvene in Adelaide.

The Newlands pitch is “more challenging for the batsmen than it is for the fielding team,” Hashim Amla said at the end of the opening day

Firdose Moonda at Newlands02-Jan-2011The Newlands pitch is “more challenging for the batsmen than it is for the fielding team,” Hashim Amla said at the end of the opening day of the deciding Cape Town Test. Amla was pleased that, despite the challenging conditions, South Africa finished at stumps “in a good space, considering we were put in to bat.”With moisture in the air and heavy cloud above, it was considered a good toss to lose, since there was uncertainty over whether the winning captain should exploit conditions by bowling or bat in the knowledge that the weather was expected to clear. “I may have bowled,” Amla said. “The pitch has a lot in it for the bowlers. If you hit a decent length, it has a lot of swing and a lot of nip.”Amla felt the South African batsmen did a good job negotiating their way through the tricky conditions. “The day went quite well for us especially since the track has some juice in it and given the overhead conditions.” Amla also praised the batsmen for not allowing the breaks in play to cause jitters in the line-up, as 112 minutes were lost to rain and bad light. “It is a mental shift to switch on and switch off. Fortunately, it went quite well for us after the break.”After just nine overs, the players marched off the field for light drizzle and bad light. An hour and 15 minutes of play was lost in that delay. At that stage, Amla had scored just one run off 10 balls and South Africa were in a tricky position at 23 for one. The early lunch break allowed for some reflection and in Amla’s case provided an injection of intent for the session that followed. He came out and scored 58 off 70 balls in the post-lunch session, including nine fours and a six. “I had a couple of chocolates, I think it was a sugar rush,” Amla joked.Of course, for the measured man from Durban, it was nothing of the sort and although he had not planned it, he was able to take advantage of some of the bowling he was presented with. “I think I just had a lot of bad balls. There were a few full balls that I got to capitalise on and momentum just went with me for that bit.” Three fours and the solitary six came off the bowling of Sreesanth, whom Amla eventually gave his wicket. While there was nothing of the fiery exchange witnessed between Sreesanth and Graeme Smith, some words in anger were muttered from the Indian bowler. Amla said that had nothing to do with his dismissal. “There weren’t any words exchanged, I didn’t say anything back. I tried to keep it down and I got a top edge.”Sunny skies saw South Africa to the close of play, them having lost just four wickets, and a bright forecast is predicted for tomorrow. Amla didn’t think that would necessarily translate into better batting conditions. “I don’t know if it will be very good for batting since there is a fair covering of grass on the pitch. The ball is 70 overs old and it’s still nipping.”He did think a sustained presence of sunlight may “dry the wicket out” but predicted a “crucial first session” for the hosts. For that reason, Amla could not identify a total that South Africa would be comfortable posting. “Let’s see what the conditions are like. If it’s cloudy it will be a lot tougher, if it’s a sunny day, maybe the wicket might flatten out.”

Plays of the day from the first day of the second Test between India and South Africa in Kolkata

N Hunter14-Feb-2010Petersen pierces the field
Silly point, short cover, and extra cover were in place as Amit Mishra tossed up a legbreak on middle and off stump. Alviro Petersen, a debutant, took on the challenge, strode forward and drove handsomely to the boundary. It was easily the shot of the in morning.Mishra kicks dust
The last ball of the same over was a straighter one that pitched on middle stump, held its line and, as Hawk-Eye indicated, probably would have hit between middle and leg. But when the umpire turned down Mishra’s vociferous appeal, he couldn’t believe it and raised his arms and shrieked. He had bowled 53 overs without a wicket in Nagpur and continued to toil.Laxman drops a sitter
They don’t come much easier. Hashim Amla tried to cut a delivery outside off from Harbhajan Singh but the outside edge travelled straight to VVS Laxman at first slip. He juggled thrice but couldn’t hold on. He made amends, though, by running from first slip towards short third man to catch Jacques Kallis, also off Harbhajan.Spell of the day
4-1-12-0. It was delivered by Ishant Sharma, whose first spell in the afternoon was about half hour before tea. Until then, play had been dominated by Petersen and Amla. Maintaining speeds between 129 and 140 kph, Ishant pitched accurately – short of a length on the off-stump line. Even Amla, who had survived 100 overs in the series till then, was hopping and skipping as he tried to fend off Ishant’s snorters, one of which hit him on the hips. It was a crucial spell because the runs dried up for the first time in the day.Blunder of the day
After Petersen’s departure on the brink of tea, South Africa needed Amla to extend his vigil. He was more aggressive today compared to Nagpur and had stepped out dangerously against Harbhajan but got away. There were a few misses as he tried to upper-cut Ishant during his hot spell as well. But off the fourth ball after tea, an away-going short delivery from Zaheer, Amla went for an unnecessary pull, and the edge travelled into MS Dhoni’s gloves.Harbhajan’s tent
As soon as Harbhajan trapped Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy off consecutive deliveries, Dhoni set a tent-like field to help his spinner take a hat-trick. Men had already been positioned at first slip, silly point and short leg, and joining them now were a leg slip and an additional slip. Memories of 2001 returned as Harbhajan charged in to claim a dramatic hat-trick. Even as Dale Steyn survived the ball, the ring of close fielders jumped up and appealed in unison out of sheer excitement., Harris
India did not forget Paul Harris’ choking lines and lengths in the first Test as well as his quips to mentally disintegrate them. So Zaheer, having just run out AB de Villiers, walked alongside Harris, the new man, as he stepped into the raucous Eden Gardens. Next, Ishant did not waste time in bowling in the channel and repeatedly breathed under Harris’ nose. Smiles and words were exchanged. Harris tried to stay calm, but the pressure was relentless, and he eventually edged a delivery that shaped away a bit. Ishant bowed dramatically with folded hands (traditional Indian greeting ‘namaste’) to see the South African out.

India captain believes the Dukes ball going soft and the pitches being flat are taking away from the fun of Test cricket

Sidharth Monga06-Jul-20256:09

Shubman Gill critical of pitches and ball quality after Edgbaston win

Shubman Gill feels the combination of flat pitches and the quick-to-go-soft Dukes ball is taking away from the essence of Test cricket in England.After India managed to take 20 wickets – 15 of them in bursts with three new balls – to level the series 1-1, he was asked what he thought of these conditions that happen to have coincided with the Bazball era in England.”It gets very difficult for the bowlers,” Gill said. “Even more than the [pitch], the ball is going soft and out of shape very quickly. I don’t know what it is – weather, [pitches] or whatever – but it gets very difficult for the bowlers to get wickets in these conditions. As a team, when you know it is difficult to get wickets and runs are coming easily, a lot of things are out of your control.Related

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“I think there should be a little help at least. If the ball is doing something, you enjoy playing. If you know there is only 20 overs of any help and then you have to spend the rest of the day on the defensive, thinking how to stop runs, then the game loses its essence.”Gill, though, joked that he didn’t mind the relief as a batter after having had a baptism in spicier conditions around the world. In the first Test at Headingley, in pretty much similar conditions, India left runs out in the middle through some casual batting from the lower order. Gill took it upon himself to lead by example after having holed out on 147 in the first innings of the previous Test.”Sometimes, especially when you are the captain, I think you need to lead by example so that whenever there is another player in that situation, you can command to that player,” Gill said after scoring 269 and 161 at Edgbaston. “This is what the team requires right now and you always have to put the team first rather than your personal desires. Or sometimes you want to try some things, but I think if you put the team ahead of you, you will always walk in the right direction or walk on the right path and that’s what I wanted to do in this match.”If a good ball gets me out, it gets me out, but as long as I’m there, I want to play as long as possible.”Having seen the might of India’s batting somewhere near its ruthless best, Gill joked he didn’t expect England to roll out such a flat track again. That was when he was asked whether he missed Kuldeep Yadav’s wristspin during those dreadful middle overs. He said it wasn’t easy for him to leave out a bowler of the quality of Kuldeep, but he felt he needed a bit of the batting depth that Washington Sundar could – and did – provide.Shubman Gill with his Player of the Match medal•Getty Images

India are not used to playing such long Test matches. The tracks at home aid spin, and when India play away, they are handed green seamers. When asked what he had learnt from these rare back-to-back Tests that practically went to the last session, Gill said India were pleased most of the time was spent by them batting.”Definitely helped us in a massive way,” Gill said. “I would say [there are] not many Test matches when we play in India [that] go for five days. But, luckily, most of the days when we are playing here, we are batting and not fielding, so that’s good for us. Even in the first innings, I think we fielded for about 90 overs, which is about a day. So I think that’s good. I think even in the series, in the upcoming matches, if you’re able to score runs consistently and post around 400 or 300 totals, we will always be in the game.”Gill was full of praise for the bowlers that made sure that India didn’t have to field for too long. “They were absolutely magnificent for us,” Gill said of Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj. “[They] took 16-17 [17] wickets [together]. That itself is a big, big achievement coming into this Test match, especially without Jasprit [Bumrah] . There were a lot of questions if we would be able to take those 20 wickets. And the way these two guys delivered was just outstanding. I have no words to describe.”Gill said these were the best players in the country, and he believed that any bowling combination selected from the squad of 16 would be able to take 20 wickets anywhere in the world.

Trio won’t get franchise league NOCs for two years, the board statement said, while also having their national contracts delayed

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Dec-2023The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sanctioned Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq for “prioritizing their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan,” a board statement said on Monday. The board has therefore delayed their 2024 annual central contracts and also announced no NOCs (no-objection certificates) for the trio for the next two years, including the revokement of any NOC they currently possess.According to the ACB statement, the trio recently told the board of their desire to be released from the annual central contracts starting January 1 2024, while also asking for consent to play in franchise tournaments.”The insistence on not signing the central contract for these players was their involvement in commercial leagues, prioritising their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan, which is regarded as a national responsibility,” the board statement added. “By opting for their release, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has decided to take disciplinary measures against these players.”The sanctions come after the board assigned a committee to “thoroughly investigate the matter and develop appropriate recommendations that best serve the ACB’s interests.””The decision by the Afghanistan Cricket Board is made with a focus on national priorities, aligned with the ACB’s core values and principles,” the statement further said. “It highlights the necessity for every player to maintain the ACB’s principles and prioritise the country’s interests above their personal ones.”

Melbourne Renegades will ‘continue to support’ Mujeeb

Mujeeb was recently picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL auction for USD 241,000. He is currently at the BBL in Australia with Melbourne Renegades. Renegades put out a statement saying the franchise had “received no communication” about a change in plans about Mujeeb’s availability, and that the franchise would “continue to support him for the rest of the BBL season”.”The Melbourne Renegades are aware of the matter between Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the Afghanistan Cricket Board,” the statement, put up on the franchise’s website, said. “The club has received no communication that Mujeeb’s availability for the BBL could change from original plans.”Mujeeb remains available for the Melbourne Renegades’ important match against Perth Scorchers at Optus Stadium. Mujeeb is a world-class player and a popular member of the squad, and the club will continue to support him for the rest of the BBL season.”Naveen, who is with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, also retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, recently featured in the Abu Dhabi T10 competition. All three players also featured for Afghanistan in their sixth-place ODI World Cup run.