A captain who led from the front, an inspirational coach, infrastructural development – the stories behind Himachal’s unlikely Vijay Hazare Trophy win

Hemant Brar06-Jan-2022Moments after clinching the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s premier 50-over title, Himachal Pradesh captain Rishi Dhawan and wicketkeeper-batter Shubham Arora look to collect the stumps as souvenirs. Dhawan is the first to grab one, but as Arora is about to pick one up for himself, Dhawan gestures to him not to take the middle stump.”I thought the middle stump had the camera embedded in it,” Dhawan laughs. “So I told him to take the other one and not the middle stump, as they [the television crew] will take it back. But later I came to know that in domestic cricket there are no stump cams, that’s only in the IPL!”If that counted as a misjudgement, there weren’t many others by Dhawan in Himachal’s historic campaign: he scored 458 runs at an average of 76 and a strike rate of 127, took 17 wickets at an average of 23, finishing second on both the runs and wickets charts.For Himachal it was the first title of any kind in domestic cricket – a huge achievement for a team that made its Ranji Trophy debut in 1985-86 and played in the Plate league as recently as 2011-12. They did it with a home-grown squad drawn from a small player pool. The mountainous state accounts for only 0.5% of India’s population, and unlike the bigger teams with international experience in their ranks, Dhawan is the only cricketer from Himachal Pradesh to have represented India.Related

• Shubham Arora, Rishi Dhawan power Himachal Pradesh to maiden Vijay Hazare title

• Stats – HP's first big title, Dhawan's all-round brilliance

Last season Himachal managed a solitary win from five games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. When asked what changed this time, the first thing Dhawan mentions is coach Anuj Dass joining the side.Dass is a former Himachal cricketer who played a first-class match and two List A games in 1999. From 2006 to 2016 he was involved with the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) as a coach, mainly looking after the age-group teams. He spent the next two years as Tripura’s head coach before the BCCI assigned him to the Arunachal Pradesh Under-23 side. Last year, Arun Dhumal, the HPCA president and BCCI treasurer, asked Dass to return to Himachal. Dass too wanted to give something back to his state. Thus began his “quest for the title”.”He has been my coach since U-15 days,” Dhawan says. “My tuning with him has always been great, so our communication and planning were good, and with me as captain, we could execute whatever we planned.”Not just Dhawan, Dass has coached most of the players in the current Himachal squad during their age-group days, so he knew first-hand what they were capable of.”During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he said that he felt we were underachievers,” says Prashant Chopra, who was one of Himachal’s batting mainstays in the tournament. “He would say that when he was coaching us in U-19 cricket, we used to beat Karnataka, Mumbai. And all these guys, be it Shardul [Thakur] for Mumbai, [Jasprit] Bumrah for Gujarat, Sanju [Samson] for Kerala, used to be in the opposition and we were beating them convincingly. He said, ‘You were beating them at that point of time, what’s happening now? You must have faltered in your mental process. You guys must have been playing safe. You shouldn’t be playing safe. Just go out there and express yourself. You have a lot more ability than you think you have.'”The players were desperate to win a breakthrough title, but the team faltered in the pre-quarterfinals of the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

“I said, ‘If we are thinking of becoming champions, we need to walk like champions, we need to behave like champions. Right now, I don’t think we are'”Prashant Chopra on what he told the under-pressure team ahead of their match against Gujarat

Next came the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Dass and Dhawan chalked out specific roles. Chopra was supposed to anchor the innings. Amit Kumar, who plays spin well, was to keep the scoreboard ticking over in the middle overs. Vinay Galetiya was to keep things in control with the new ball. Dhawan was to take care of the death overs.”We broke down 50 overs into ten, 15, 15 and ten,” Dass says. “Looking at abilities of all the individuals, we made something like a flow chart, saying where we needed to be at the end of every stage. So it was not like, an individual goes in, takes his time to get set and then moves on. You needed to ensure the team met certain parameters. If the surface or conditions are not good, you may come up with less number of runs. But once you are in flow, you can make up those runs.”They lost their first game to Vidarbha by seven wickets. That led to a tweak in their approach. They had been planning for a title win but now they narrowed their focus to winning the next game at hand. That meant monitoring what their opponents were doing, paying more attention to the conditions they were to play in, and devising plans match by match. At times that even meant making changes to winning combinations.Himachal comfortably won their next match, against Jammu and Kashmir, but Chopra felt “the fire in the belly” was still missing. Leading up to the game after that, against Gujarat, there was a team meeting.”I never speak too much in team meetings,” Chopra says. “That day, Anuj sir saw my face and asked if I wanted to say something. I said, ‘I feel we are playing under some kind of pressure. Our shoulders are down, and it’s not only about the other 19 guys, it includes me as well. If we are thinking of becoming champions, we need to walk like champions, we need to behave like champions. Right now, I don’t think we are.'”Prashant Chopra: “We’ve been preparing really well for the last many years, we’ve been performing really well. But it takes a title to actually get you recognised”•HPCAChopra’s words lit a spark. Himachal beat Gujarat by 97 runs and Chopra top-scored with 73. It started his streak of five consecutive 50-plus scores, which included 99 against Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-final. He made 456 runs in the competition at an average 57.00.This was in complete contrast to his performance in the last edition of the tournament, when he managed only 55 runs in five games. How did he turn it around?”Not a lot of people would believe but I was actually seeing the ball really, really well last season, even better than this season,” says Chopra. “In the first game, I got out early. In the second, I was batting well at around 39 and I got out on the pull. Suddenly, you are left with only three games, and you had planned before the season that you would be scoring two hundreds and a fifty and have an average of 50-plus. I started rushing for runs. I was not focusing on the process, I was just focused on ‘I want to get runs, I want to get runs.’ I was still batting well, but I had lost confidence in myself and I was actually feeling very, very low. After the season, I was really depressed when I came back home. I was not able to talk to anyone.”Chopra’s sister helped him get over this phase. She and her husband took him to Goa. It was the first time in 12 years he had gone on a vacation. That helped him take his mind off the game.When Dass joined Himachal at the start of the current season, Chopra had a word with him. They figured out he was focusing more on the result than the process. Once that became clear to Chopra, he found his way back among the runs.The win against Gujarat galvanised the squad. Everyone’s belief in themselves got a boost. They began to back each other more. Those on the bench started putting in more effort at practice. Himachal were to reap the rewards of this soon.

“We broke down 50 overs into ten, 15, 15 and ten. We made a flow chart, saying where we needed to be at the end of every stage. You needed to ensure the team met certain parameters”Coach Anuj Dass on bringing focus to each player’s role

Their next game was against Andhra. At one stage it looked like Himachal would restrict them to around 300, but in the 48th over Pankaj Jaswal was taken for five sixes and 32 runs. Jaswal, playing his first game of the tournament, finished with figures of 9-0-87-0 and Andhra on 322; Himachal lost by 30 runs.”Pankaj is very emotional about his cricket,” says Chopra. “So everyone was around him after the game, the coach, the support staff, all the players. Sidharth [Sharma], who is also a fast bowler and a competitor [for a place in the XI], was also around Pankaj, saying, ‘No worries, Pankaj. It happens. You are the best, you are a champion bowler.’ That gave Pankaj the confidence, and the way he bowled in the final, I would say, if not for him, Tamil Nadu might have reached somewhere around 340-345.”In the final, Jaswal bowled 2.4 overs at the death, picking up 3 for 15. Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 314 in 49.4 overs.Similarly, when Arpit Guleria, one of Himachal’s first-choice fast bowlers, got injured before the quarter-final, Sidharth Sharma was handed his List A debut. Having put in the hard yards in training, Sharma was match-ready and picked up 2 for 27 from his ten overs against Uttar Pradesh.In March 2021, Dhawan took the BCCI’s Level 2 coaching course, designed for those who have played 75 or more first-class games. He used those learnings to extract the best out of his players.”I learned how to handle a player mentally and physically,” he says. “How to keep everyone motivated, how to communicate with everyone, to keep everyone together, to create an atmosphere where there is no senior-junior divide and players don’t hesitate to talk to each other.”In the semi-final, Himachal sauntered to a 77-run win against Services. It was Dhawan who took the final wicket, one of four for him in the match, steering Himachal into their maiden domestic final in any format.Prashant Chopra: “We had no idea how to celebrate. There were smiles around in the dressing room; there were a few tears as well”•HPCA”Everyone came and hugged me,” Dhawan says. “We all got emotional, especially the senior players. Amit came to me and said, ‘It took us so many years.’ That was an emotional moment for me, I had tears in my eyes.”

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In his playing days, Dass used to dream of practising on turf pitches. Now, with around eight cricket grounds available across Himachal, players no longer have to travel far in search of good facilities.For that, Dass credits the “will and zeal” of administrators, especially Dhumal and his brother Anurag Thakur, who was the HPCA president till 2017. “The major turnaround happened around 2000, when Anurag took over the reins of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association,” he says. “Earlier, we had just two turf wickets, one in Una and one in Mandi. The grounds were also very few. Anurag took initiatives for building grounds and infrastructure. He gave us the vision to build the beautiful stadium we have in Dharamsala. Dreams can be unlimited, you can dream to any extent, but such a stadium was not even in our dreams.”Himachal Pradesh still doesn’t have its own league, nor does it have a club-cricket culture, given the limited number of players in the state. There is an inter-district tournament but, in Chopra’s words, it doesn’t offer enough “variety” and “exposure”.To overcome this hurdle, the HPCA took the initiative in 2011-12 to participate in exchange matches.

“I learned how to handle a player mentally and physically, how to keep everyone motivated, to create an atmosphere where there is no senior-junior divide”Rishi Dhawan on putting his Level 2 coaching course to use

“Now we regularly play practice games with Karnataka, we participate in the tournaments like the KSCA Trophy and JP Atray Trophy,” Chopra says. “Before the T20s [Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy], we went to Bengal and played four-five practice games against them.”Those exchange games mean we constantly get into crunch situations. Earlier, when those situations used to come during a [BCCI] tournament, we had never faced them, so how would you expect us to do well in those situations? Now there might be a situation we get in a game that we have also faced in a practice match. Immediately it clicks in our mind that this was the same scenario in that game and what we did there to win. Or, if we lost, what wrong we did that we should not do.”

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Tamil Nadu are the most decorated side in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with five titles in 20 editions. And just a month before, they had won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. On the surface, Himachal Pradesh’s match-up against them felt like David against Goliath.But Himachal had beaten Tamil Nadu outright the last two times the sides met in the Ranji Trophy. And they were eager to avenge the defeat Tamil Nadu had handed them last season in the quarter-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Dhawan opted to bowl on a gloomy winter morning in Jaipur, expecting his seamers to make use of the moisture in the surface. Himachal struck early, twice, but Tamil Nadu had tricks up their sleeve, promoting lower-order batters R Sai Kishore and M Ashwin to Nos. 3 and 4.”We were not surprised at Sai Kishore’s promotion because if we were batting first, we would have also done something similar,” Dhawan says. “But when Murugan Ashwin came in, I felt they really shielded their main batsmen.”A news piece in Amar Ujala on Himachal Pradesh’s title hopes ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy•Courtesy of Prashant ChopraKishore and Ashwin batted out the difficult phase, allowing Dinesh Karthik and Baba Indrajith to make hay when the sun came out. Karthik scored 116, Indrajith 80, and Tamil Nadu got to 314. “DK [Karthik] played an extraordinary knock, otherwise they wouldn’t have scored this many,” Dhawan says. “But even then they could score only 300 [314]. If we hadn’t restricted them in the first 15-20 overs, this total could have been 350.”And the pitch eased out. “In Jaipur, on an afternoon wicket where the ball is not going to turn, it was a belter of a track,” Chopra says. “We knew their bowling line-up wasn’t that strong. They were mostly dependent on Sandeep Warrier initially, and Washington Sundar or maybe Sai Kishore a bit. So the target was not that big when you have two bowlers you can target.”Arora, who made his List A debut earlier in the season, struck an unbeaten 136. His 148-run fourth-wicket stand with Amit took Himachal closer, before Dhawan’s cameo – 42 not out from 23 balls – ensured that, when bad light forced the umpires to call off the game, Himachal were 299 for 4 in 47.3 overs, 11 ahead of the VJD target.”When Amit and Shubham were batting, we were at par and as they took the innings deep, we were eight to ten runs ahead,” says Dhawan. “Our only aim was we didn’t want to be behind the VJD target because we knew as soon as that would happen, Tamil Nadu would bowl fast bowlers and umpires would call bad light because light wouldn’t have permitted fast bowlers.”After the win, the players and the support staff didn’t know how to treat this imposter. They had never met it before.”We had no idea how to celebrate,” Chopra says. “It was mixed feelings – we were emotional and happy. There were smiles in the dressing room; there were a few tears as well. Even the support staff guys were in tears. They have been with us for ten to 12 years now, be it the trainers or the physio.”At Himachal’s pre-tournament camp in Bilaspur, Chopra was asked by Hindi daily what his dream was. He mentioned two. “One dream is, I want to see Himachal win a domestic title, be it in white-ball cricket or red-ball, and the second dream is to play for the country,” Chopra recalls answering. Through the tournament Chopra carried that newspaper cutting with him.”I don’t think anyone else in the country thought that we could pull this off but all the 26 people involved – 20 players and six support staff – felt we are a team who could win this trophy. We didn’t think about what people thought of us. We’ve been preparing really well for the last many years, we’ve been performing really well. But it takes a title to actually get you recognised.”

Harmanpreet Kaur made an eventful debut for the Renegades, while Richa Ghosh has impressed for the Hurricanes

Annesha Ghosh21-Oct-2021Harmanpreet KaurA dropped catch of Ruth Johnston that briefly turned into an injury scare while fielding, a wicket of India team-mate Richa Ghosh in her first over, and then the run-out of Naomi Stalenberg with a wrong-handed underarm throw from backward point… a busy first day at Harmanpreet’s second WBBL team ended with her sealing the Melbourne Renegades’ chase of 122 against the Hobart Hurricanes with a four in the final over.Having received a reprieve on 10, when an lbw appeal should have gone medium-pacer Nicola Carey’s way at the start of the 19th over, Harmanpreet carted 14 off her next six balls, including a mighty six off Carey. If her 19-ball 24 in the Renegades’ opening win offered glimpses of Harmanpreet the finisher, whom India have missed in the recent past, her 37-ball 41 in Renegades’ next outing against the Adelaide Strikers anchored a rebuild after they had lost their top three inside the first 10 overs.Jemimah RodriguesOpening alongside Sophie Molineux, Rodrigues top-scored on WBBL debut, against the Hurricanes, marrying timing with placement in her 34-ball 33 while also stitching a vital second-wicket stand of 68 with Courtney Webb. Her commanding use of feet and improved power game, which had been on view through her breakout Hundred campaign and the T20I leg of the multi-format India tour of Australia, were on show in the six-wicket win over the Hurricanes.In the Renegades’ second game, however, she couldn’t get going, hitting just one four in a 17-ball 12 before slog-sweeping legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington straight to mid-on. Ever the livewire in the field, though, Rodrigues put up an impressive exhibition of boundary-riding, diving around to save runs in what would ultimately be an unsuccessful defence of 126 against the Strikers.Shafali VermaFor all the fear the very name of the gum-chewing, big-hitting Shafali evokes even among the most formidable attacks, the teenager has time and again needed hiding in the field. No wonder, then, that social media went into a tizzy when her rocket throw from short midwicket, with just one stump to aim at, caught the Melbourne Stars’ Annabel Sutherland short of her ground at the non-striker’s end in the Sydney Sixers’ curtain-raiser.

Wow! That came out of nowhere

Shafali Verma – with one stump to aim at – with a direct hit to run out Sutherland #WBBL07 pic.twitter.com/5QdyshDi3l

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) October 14, 2021

The rookie pair successfully applied the freeze on Royals during the middle overs

Sidharth Monga30-Apr-20222:11

Vettori: Shokeen’s seam release is as good as you’ll see for an offspinner

Mumbai Indians’ first win, at long last, came through spin against the best players of spin this IPL. Coming into this match, Rajasthan Royals had scored 9.36 runs per over against spin, having lost just seven wickets at an average of 62.85, all comfortably the best numbers among the 10 teams. The total experience put together between Mumbai’s spinners? Ten T20 matches.Hrithik Shokeen, who has learned old-school offspin from the old-school Maninder Singh, has been with the squad but made his T20 debut in the IPL. Left-arm wristspinner Kumar Kartikeya, who had played eight matches for Madhya Pradesh, only came in as a replacement player and impressed enough at the nets to get the IPL debut right away.Related

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In the end, the two were outperformed by their experienced and decorated counterparts, R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, but in denying Royals their point of difference, the high run-rate in the middle overs, Shokeen and Kartikeya did an important job. They were both helped by the surface, but there is more to them than just the performance on the night.Shokeen in particular has had everyone drooling with his dip and drift. Batters have consistently been coming forward to find out the ball has dropped short of their reach. On a night that he got hit for six sixes, Shokeen, playing just his third T20 match, has shown there is a lot to work with.Daniel Vettori, a great fingerspinner himself and also an active T20 coach, feels the same.”His seam release is as good as any you will see from an offspinner,” Vettori said on ESPNcricinfo’s analysis show . “What will come with it is variations and the understanding of bowling to batters, use of the crease, use of round and over, but I think there is a bright future there for him.”It is incredibly hard to get that seam position right. It brings in drift, it brings in a lot more revolutions, it brings in dip. So it challenges all batters not just left-hand batters. He will be the sort of bowler that can match up against right and left-handers as he goes along. Plus the fact that he bats. As always Mumbai Indians scout so well. Looks like they have got another one.”Just like the season that Mumbai are having, Shokeen found himself in the eye of the storm when given the 16th over with Jos Buttler desperate to break free. By the time he tried to start bowling defensively, Shokeen had already conceded three sixes.”It looked like a very capable, inexperienced bowler bowling to one of the best batters in the world,” Vettori said of that over. “So with maturity and experience he will understand that Jos Buttler is going to try to hit the first ball for six and then the second ball and the third ball and the fourth ball and so on and so forth. It looked like he was just looking to bowl that perfect ball to get him out. Whether he needed a little bit of advice, a little bit of help to get him through that over potentially.”Hrithik Shokeen was hit for four sixes in an over by Buttler but came back strongly to dismiss the batter•BCCIWith experience, Shokeen will surely become more aware of the limitations of fingerspinners in the T20 game. From Ashwin later in the night, he might have perhaps seen when to get out of an over and when to look for wickets. When you don’t bowl the carrom ball, your accuracy as a fingerspinner, your great friend in first-class cricket, can become your enemy.Wristspinners enjoy the benefits of imperfection. It is rare for them to perfect that release so it comes out slightly different each time. So apart from the variations, that imperfection creates unpredictability. That is what worked for Kartikeya when he got Sanju Samson out with a long hop the second ball he bowled in the IPL.However, Kartikeya went on to show the various toys he carries in his bag. There was the regulation legbreak, the wrong’un, but also the fingerspun carrom ball and the odd seam-up delivery.”It took about seven balls to work out what he was bowling,” Vettori said. “He was left-arm everything. He started with his legspin, bowled a couple of seam-up balls, then he went to his carrom ball. Overall he used the surface as well as everyone.”The batters kept searching for something, kept searching for a bad ball, and he never really gave it to them. Mitchell struggled against him and even Jos Buttler. Couldn’t get away as much as he tried. That’s credit to his deception – probably the first time every one is seeing him – but also he was just so consistent.”Not every pitch will help him so, not everyday will bring him figures of 4-0-19-1 but it is worth remembering that over a nine-match career now, his T20 economy rate is under six.It was clear even on the auction day that Mumbai were going to struggle this year but it seemed they were willing to risk this season in order to build for the longer term. Their going for Jofra Archer when he was not going to be available this year was a clear example of that. This season might be gone, but signs are, they might have found a good spin-bowling core to compliment Archer and Jasprit Bumrah in the seasons to come.

Next stop New Zealand, and Australia are well placed after a season of overcoming challenges

Andrew McGlashan08-Feb-2022It started in Mackay and ended in Melbourne. The summer of cricket for Australia’s women’s team brought just one defeat in 14 matches – a loss which halted a world-record winning run in ODIs – and was capped off by the first undefeated Ashes series of the multi-format era. There have been numerous injury challenges to confront along the way, some tricky match situations to overcome not to mention the Covid-19 protocols. As they prepare to head across the Tasman for the ODI World Cup, the one missing piece of silverware from their cabinet after the semi-final exit in 2017, here’s a look back some of the talking points from the 2021-22 home season.Mind the gap
There remains daylight between Australia and the next-best. And it’s because of the depth available. It had often been spoken about but this season it has been on show. At various times they have had injuries to Rachael Haynes, Beth Mooney, Sophie Molineux, Jess Jonassen, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck as well as the absence of Megan Schutt. Three of them – Wareham (ACL), Molineux (foot) and Vlaeminck (foot) – are absent from the World Cup squad while Hannah Darlington has also withdrawn for mental health reasons. There is a chance that the double loss of Wareham and Molineux could be felt at crunch moments in the World Cup, but Alana King has slotted into international cricket impressively while Ashleigh Gardner’s offspin was barely needed in the ODIs against England. Annabel Sutherland, player of the match in the last Ashes one-dayer, is far from a certain starter at the World Cup. A look at the Australia A team that went unbeaten against England A is reminder of those who can’t get in the main squad.Related

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They can be beaten, but opportunities must be taken
However, they are human. In a number of matches against India and England they were pushed. India could have won the ODI series but were beaten in the second game by Mooney’s brilliance and a damp ball. They held their nerve in the next match to inflict Australia’s first one-day defeat since 2017. They also dominated the pink-ball Test and should have lost the corresponding fixture against England. And that’s the crux. Opposition sides cannot afford to let any chance to beat Australia slip away. Heather Knight may forever rue her team not being table to get 45 off 10 overs with seven wickets in hand. In the ODI a few days later Australia were 152 for 7 before finding a way to 205 which proved enough to defend. There will be times during the World Cup when an opposition team will be on top. But are they good enough to make it count?Ellyse Perry finished the Ashes strongly•Getty ImagesThe summer of McGrath
Tahlia McGrath was not an incumbent in any of the formats at the start of the summer. She finished it with two player of the series awards. It spoke volumes of her development as a cricketer and of the professional system now in place in Australia which allowed a player who had a previous taste at the top level to go away and return better. Her 74 in the second ODI against India – just her sixth innings in the format – was as crucial as Mooney’s hundred. She has yet to earn an average in T20Is with scores of 42 not out, 44 not out against India and a magnificent 91 not out against England. It was that latter performance that she earmarked as her standout moment of the summer, which came alongside three wickets, on her home ground in Adelaide. There was a maiden Test fifty for good measure. “I’ve just got a real confidence, a plan about my game at the moment and just simplify everything,” she said. “I try to take the scoreboard out of it, take the situation out of it and just back my game and my strengths with bat and ball.The Ellyse Perry debate
There was a fascinating narrative during the Ashes where Ellyse Perry, the greatest allrounder the game has seen, was dropped from Australia’s T20I side. It was another marker in how the sport is developing in Australia with talk of more role-specific selection in the format. There was never any risk to her positions in the other formats, but it was still noteworthy that she finished the ODI series producing some of her best cricket since before the serious hamstring injury she suffered at 2020 T20 World Cup. Her bowling looked back to somewhere near its best and with the bat she was in her element marshalling a couple of small chases. It will be interesting to watch her bat in a situation with run-rate pressure but she looks ready to have a big say in New Zealand.

As the 20th season of English domestic T20 gets underway, we assess the runners and riders in the South Group

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2022Essex Last season: 7th in South Group
Coach: Anthony McGrath
Captain: Simon Harmer
Overseas players: Harmer (South Africa), Daniel Sams (Australia)Daniel Sams recovered from a chastening start to the IPL•BCCIKey man: Daniel Sams recovered from an iffy start to his IPL to end up as Mumbai Indians second-highest wicket-taker. But with his Test ambitions seemingly on hold for now, Dan Lawrence could be the player to sprinkle a bit of stardust on Essex’s season (assuming he makes a swift recovery from his hamstring strain).One to watch: There are a clutch of young batters vying for opportunities at Chelmsford, with Michael Pepper due a decent shake in T20. He quietly led Essex’s run-scoring last year, with 260 at a strike rate of 131.31, and warmed up for the Blast by hammering 117 off 41 balls, with 14 fours and eight sixes, against Hampshire 2nd XI last week. Keep an eye out for Will Buttleman, too.Verdict: Having not strengthened significantly, it’s hard to see Essex as much more than an outside bet to reach the quarter-finals. But then many would have said the same in 2019, when the team clicked at the right time under Harmer to lift their first T20 title. bet365: 14/1Glamorgan Last season: 9th in South Group
Director of cricket: Mark Wallace
Coach: Matthew Maynard
Captain: David Lloyd
Overseas players: Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser (both Australia), Colin Ingram (South Africa)Dan Douthwaite’s form was a rare positive for Glamorgan in 2021•Getty ImagesKey man: Dan Douthwaite became Glamorgan’s talisman in 2021, finishing the season as their leading wicket-taker – including several scalps in a new role as a death bowler – and their only frontline batter with a strike rate above 150. He will need the middle order to do a better job of shielding his weakness against spin but is a destructive hitter against seamers and will push for a Hundred wildcard gig after he was surprisingly overlooked in the draft last month.One to watch: Kiran Carlson has shown himself to be a hugely talented attacking player in other formats but has an inexplicably poor T20 record, with a single half-century in 30 career innings and an average of just 16.55. Last year, he was initially used in the middle order then as an opener; neither worked. At 24, the time is right for a breakout season if Glamorgan can find him a clear role.Related

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Verdict: Glamorgan have won eight T20 games in the last three seasons, the fewest of any county by far, and there are few signs that their fortunes will turn in 2022. With Marnus Labuschagne on Australia duty in Sri Lanka for much of the Blast, the onus will be on Colin Ingram and Michael Neser to step up in his absence. bet365: 25/1Gloucestershire Last season: 6th in South Group
Coach: Dale Benkenstein
Captain: Jack Taylor
Overseas players: Naseem Shah (Pakistan), Glenn Phillips (New Zealand), Marcus Harris (Australia)Glenn Phillips returns for a second season•PA Images/GettyKey man: Glenn Phillips starred last year, scoring exactly 500 runs in his 12 innings while striking at 163.39, but did not find enough support and Gloucestershire’s final-round defeat to Somerset saw them miss out on the quarter-finals. He returns for the full season after warming the Sunrisers Hyderabad bench at the IPL and, alongside Ian Cockbain, will be the key to their middle order’s success.One to watch: Naseem Shah has proved his fitness playing for the second XI and should be available to start the season. He is still a raw talent but was Quetta Gladiators’ leading wicket-taker at the PSL earlier this year; with Tom Smith and Benny Howell operating through the middle overs he will bowl at both ends of the innings. Pakistan have resisted the temptation to pick him for their ODI series against West Indies and can instead watch him develop across a full Blast season.Verdict: Gloucestershire ended a three-year streak of knockout qualification when they slipped up in their final group game last year and will be in the quarter-final hunt again. Their attack is set up to thrive on slower pitches but their batting line-up cannot rely so heavily on Phillips if they are to finish in the top four. bet365: 18/1Hampshire Last season: 4th in South Group, semi-finals
Director of cricket: Giles White
Coach: Adi Birrell
Captain: James Vince
Overseas players: Ben McDermott (Australia), Nathan Ellis (Australia)Tom Prest is eyeing a breakout season•ICC via Getty ImagesKey man: A veteran of eight Finals Days, James Vince will likely have a big role to play if Hampshire are going back to Edgbaston once again. Only three players have scored more runs in the history of England’s domestic T20 than Vince – who is still only 31 – and last year he was again a lynchpin atop the order.One to watch: Tom Prest was already making waves down Solent way before he led England to the final of the Under-19 World Cup over the winter. An unbeaten 59 in only his third T20 innings set up victory over Gloucestershire last year and the 19-year-old looks ready to bring out his full repertoire.Verdict: Ben McDermott, who led the 2021-22 Big Bash’s run-scoring with 577 at a strike rate of 153.86, could be one of the more impressive overseas signings while Aneurin Donald’s return from injury and the arrival of Ross Whiteley from Worcestershire adds further power. Throw in a varied bowling attack and they will be hoping for more knockout success on the south coast. bet365: 12/1Kent Last season: Winners
Director of cricket: Paul Downton
Coach: Matt Walker
Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas players: Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan), George Linde (South Africa)Qais Ahmad celebrates•PA Images via Getty ImagesKey man: Captain, talent scout, England man, T20 globetrotter: Sam Billings is many things to Kent cricket, but nothing less than a driving force in the shortest format. Straight back into the thick of it from the IPL, he will relish setting the tempo for Kent’s title defence – as well as sticking it to his occasional critics.One to watch: Normally this section is reserved for young talent – but how can you take your eyes off Darren Stevens? He forced his way back into Kent’s T20 plans after three years on the fringes, and promptly helped them to the title, playing all but one game. Don’t rule out the ever-youthful 46-year-old repeating the trick.Verdict: Stevens and Joe Denly aside, Kent largely bucked the “old blokes win stuff” mantra – meaning a squad powered by the dynamism of Billings, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Jordan Cox and Matt Milnes should produce another energetic campaign. But the fact no county has ever won back-to-back T20 titles could be a worry. bet365: 10/1Middlesex Last season: 8th in South Group
Head of men’s performance: Alan Coleman
Coach: Richard Johnson
Captain: Stephen Eskinazi
Overseas players: Jason Behrendorff (Australia), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Chris Green (Australia)Key man: Stephen Eskinazi has been Middlesex’s best T20 batter over the last couple of seasons, scoring more than 800 runs at a strike rate in the 140s. He has added power to an otherwise classical technique and should be a banker for consistent returns at the top of the order. He also takes over as captain.One to watch: The emergence of Blake Cullen was one of the reasons that Middlesex were happy to let Steven Finn leave for Sussex at the end of last season. A tall, rangy seamer, he took 20 wickets (one more than Finn) in his maiden Blast season as a 19-year-old, earning himself a wildcard pick for the Hundred.Verdict: The club’s marquee signing, Shaheen Shah Afridi, pulled out days before the start of the competition and fear is that with him will go the wind in their sails. Jason Behrendorff is a solid replacement but Eoin Morgan has long struggled to get a tune out of Middlesex in the way he has done with England; he has given up the captaincy and will not play every game. Their unequalled run of 13 seasons without a trip to Finals Day seems unlikely to end this year. bet365: 16/1Somerset Last season: 2nd in South Group, runners-up
Director of cricket: Andy Hurry
Coach: Jason Kerr
Captain: Tom Abell
Overseas players: Rilee Rossouw, Marchant de Lange (both South Africa), Peter Siddle (Australia)Tom Abell is the lynchpin of Somerset’s batting line-up•Getty ImagesKey man: Tom Abell has been club captain since 2017 but is only now taking the T20 reins after replacing Lewis Gregory in the role over the winter. Abell is among the best player of spin in the competition – only Ben Duckett has scored more runs against spin at a faster strike rate than Abell’s 149.59 over the past three seasons – and his background as a youth hockey player is evident in his scoops and deflections against the quicks. With four half-centuries in six innings last season (he missed most of the Blast through injury) he will be the lynchpin of Somerset’s destructive batting line-up.One to watch: A single wicket would take Max Waller clear of Alfonso Thomas as Somerset’s all-time leading T20 wicket-taker this season but he comes into the Blast uncertain of his future. An uncharacteristically poor 2021 saw him left out of the final four games, including the knockout stages and he has not been included in their squad for the opening night against Kent and is in the final year of his white-ball contract at 34; if selected, he has a point to prove.Verdict: Somerset’s talented homegrown batting core will put them in contention for the knockout stages but with Craig Overton – who has made significant improvements as a T20 bowler – missing on England duty their attack looks light. Expect high-scoring games – especially at Taunton, billed by the club as the world’s highest-scoring T20 venue. bet365: 8/1Surrey Last season: 5th in South Group
Director of cricket: Alec Stewart
Coach: Gareth Batty
Captain: Chris Jordan
Overseas players: Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard (both West Indies)Will Jacks and Jason Roy form a destructive opening pair•Getty Images for Surrey CCCKey man: Having pulled out of the IPL and opted to take an “indefinite break” from cricket, Jason Roy looks likely to return in time for the start of Surrey’s Blast campaign. If he is refreshed and ready to contribute in as many as ten group games, his presence will be a significant boost.One to watch: He was compared to Moeen Ali earlier in the season, and it is in the shortest format where Will Jacks comes closest to such premium allrounder status. Surrey’s leading run-scorer last season, with 393 at a strike rate of 170.12, Jacks also plays a vital role balancing the side with his offbreaks and a strong season would propel him towards England contention.Verdict: Surrey were beaten finalists in 2020, under the captaincy of Batty; now in charge as interim head coach, he has an enviable squad with which to try and go one better. As ever, they might suffer from England call-ups, but two top-tier overseas signings in Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine will enhance their status as contenders. bet365: 8/1Sussex Last season: Semi-finalists
Coach: James Kirtley
Captain: Ravi Bopara
Overseas players: Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan), Josh Philippe (Australia), Tim Seifert (NZ), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)Archie Lenham made a name for himself last year•Getty ImagesKey man: Any one of Sussex’s four overseas signings for the competition could turn out to be pivotal, though complications around availability make that hard to predict. Mohammad Rizwan is the ICC’s No. 3-ranked T20 batter, Rashid Khan the No. 5-ranked bowler, although they will only play a maximum of five games together.One to watch: Few outside of Sussex knew anything about Archie Lenham this time last year. But the then 16-year-old – the first player to debut in England’s T20 competition having been born since it started – produced any number of memorable moments to go with raw figures of 11 wickets at 17.63, making him the club’s joint-second most-successful bowler.Verdict: Among the favourites, but there are a number of question marks. Phil Salt and Chris Jordan have gone from the squad that reached Finals Day last year, and several bowlers – Tymal Mills, Finn, George Garton, Ollie Robinson – have either been ill or injured recently. Much may depend on Ravi Bopara juggling the captaincy with his all-round commitments. bet365: 7/1

Is there anything more predictable than a McCullum playlist filled with nothing but power ballads?

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-Jul-2022The night before the fifth Test between England and India at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes watched “Elvis”, the biographical drama about rock n’ roll icon Elvis Presley.You would not describe Stokes or his teammates as cinephiles, though they often take trips to the cinema in Test match weeks to kill time. Picking the film is usually pretty easy, though Stokes’ penchant for a horror flick can polarise.On the odd occasion they have drawn inspiration from the big screen. During the 2019-20 tour of South Africa, they were blown away by Sam Mendes’ “1917”, about the quest of two British soldiers delivering a message to call off a doomed operation. It helped that Mendes, a cricket fan, named three characters after Stokes, Jos Buttler and Alastair Cook.This time, there weren’t too many cricket references – even if director Baz Luhrmann is an Aussie – but there was a particular moment that struck a chord with Stokes.During the 1950s, Elvis held a reputation as a troublemaker for swirling up uncontrollable frenzies at his gigs with his antics on stage. He was even threatened with jail time. One particular scene in the film relays an incident when Elvis is warned not to perform any of his signature hip-thrusting movements. Specifically: don’t even wiggle a finger. Elvis gets on stage, hoards in front of him being held back by security, strikes a pose and says the following: “There’s a lot of people saying a lot of things. But in the end you’ve got to listen to yourself.” He then raises his right hand and wiggles his little finger, before breaking into his usual act. Bedlam ensues.Stokes was so enamoured by this moment, in part because he saw a bit of himself in it. An entertainer who for the longest time had felt bound by cricket’s conservative ways, particularly at Test level. And so on the morning of day one, England got into a huddle and he referenced the scene, along with the little finger wiggle and, having previously urged them to consider themselves as entertainers, implored them to go into this series-saving match with India thinking they were “rockstars”. He then looked over at Joe Root: “What are we, Rooty?””Rockstars!” Replied the former captain. And off they went to win the game, bringing down the house with a record chase of 378 inside 76.4 overs.Stokes went to the finger wiggle on day four when he took the four wickets that ended India’s second innings on 245 with a lead of 377. Root celebrated his hundred on day five with it, too, encouraged by his skipper who looked so chill on the balcony the only way you knew he was in next was because it said so on the scorecard. He also had his pads on, but you just don’t know with this lot anymore. He might have been wearing them for a laugh.”I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rockstar,” admitted Root as he sheepishly explained the celebration. “But for 10 seconds,” he added, “I might have done today. That’s what the little pinky was about.”Hands up – who thought Root, manner born, FEC, high elbow, would ever refer to himself as a rockstar? But here he is, part of the gang, joining in with all the unserious bits around the very serious bits. There in the house party, where they’re all having the best times, even if he’s making sure the empties are going into the recycling on the way.Related

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If there is a warm feeling in English cricket right now, it’s because the heat is emanating from that England dressing room. A room with some big egos are all pulling together. And above all else, seemingly having the most fun. Enough that their captain can go watch a film, quote his favourite bit and get the best batter of his generation to shout about being a rockstar in front of those he was leading with a guard up just a few months ago, then indulge an in-joke to celebrate one of his more remarkable knocks.This success is not solely built on private schools, bowling machines and performance programmes but heart, nu-soul and genuine camaraderie. This isn’t Andy Flower’s grizzled, top-of-the-Test rankings England or Steve Waugh’s Australia – and, heck, it might never be. These are just some dudes being dudes, handing kebabs down a pissed-up human chain at 4am and somehow playing the best, most entertaining long-form cricket this country has seen for generations.It is alright to have watched them over the last month and come away not really knowing what’s going on. This team have gone from one win in 17 to four in a row against two teams that contested last year’s World Test Championship. They have taken down fourth-innings targets of 277, 299, 296 and now an English record 378. Only five times in Test history have a team chased down 290-plus scores at a rate of 4.5 an over – three of them are England in the last month. Seemingly off the back of nothing more than vibes.Even the vibes, though, have been given some thought. For instance, both Stokes and vibesman-in-chief Brendon McCullum knew they wanted to make Test cricket feel a little bit more casual, believing many cricketers, both in and out of the team, have been crushed by the weight of it. They knew they could not brainwash them into believing Test cricket didn’t need to be taken so seriously given how many English kids grow up dreaming to play it. But they could strip away some of the elements to at least make it “smart casual”.Now, nets last for as little or as long as players like. There’s a start time for organisation’s sake given the opposition trains before or after, but otherwise, batters can just bat until they feel good. That extends to match days. While previously the team would aim to travel together to the ground to be on deck between 9am for an 11am start, they just need to be in the dressing room half an hour beforehand if they don’t want to do any warming up (if they have already batted in the match, for instance). A couple of messages did have to go around ahead of this India Test to remind the players of the 10:30am start but, so far this summer, no one has abused the lenient call time.The results, so far, speak well of this approach. In fact, “approach” seems too formal a word. But what you are seeing is players taking that sense of ease out to the middle with them. Zak Crawley and Alex Lees’s century opening stand – now England’s fastest – was testament to that. Two players who in any other iteration of this Test side would be waiting for the axe going out there and swinging it themselves.Ridding the dressing room of the usual anxiety, especially in a chase, has been surprisingly easy. Language has been a big part of that, with Stokes’ positivity on Monday ahead of the fourth innings all about getting the total, none of this “have a look” fluff. As Lees said at the end of day four after his 56, the players joked about Stokes winning the toss at the start of this match and saying “he’ll have a chase”, such has been the straight-talking. Similarly, the revelation Stuart Broad has been primed as a “Nighthawk”, ready to go out and swat boundaries in that very Stuart Broad way if England lost a wicket late on an evening when they were after a score, speaks of trying to break convention and have a laugh while doing so.James Anderson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope with the Pataudi Trophy after England’s win•PA Photos/Getty ImagesAs withdrawn as he might seem from the outside, having given just one written media interview since joining at the end of May, McCullum is an active part of all this. Perhaps the most enjoyable nugget to emerge from the last month is the Kiwi has a big bluetooth speaker he uses to play his favourite music, whether on the team bus or the changing room, where, amazingly, it is on throughout the day. It was on full volume in Edgbaston at around 5pm on Tuesday, as the players and coaching staff supped beers on the balcony and on the outfield, scored by the likes of Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Is there anything more predictable than a McCullum playlist filled with nothing but power ballads?During the Leeds Test, McCullum made a note of sitting in the public bar at the team’s Marriott Hotel rather than the Executive Suite, with its guards, table service and discretion. He’d often sit at one of the bigger tables, which was visible from the street, and chat to coaches or players who wanted his ear, offering wisdom or simply a few jokes, like some everyman King Solomon.So much of what England are doing at the moment can be boiled down to the question, “Why?” Like inquisitive children, that has been their starting point for any conversation, leading to the kind of searching that every now and again elicits a “yeah, good point – why do we do this like that?” On balance, the follow-up answers have improved matters. The best has arguably given us The Nighthawk, the less certain put managing director Rob Key in a bit of a quandary as he continues his search for a role-appropriate outfit because he didn’t see the need to wear a suit.All of this makes this England Test side more relatable and, importantly, accessible. For so long the barriers have been up, the rules draconian and the dress code restricting. Now, this team seem to feel it is their duty to provide something for all-comers. They’ve mentioned a few times that they want to bring more fans to Test cricket, and to be honest it seemed a bit too altruistic. But even the most cynical must be starting to crack. Because it’s working.If you were lucky enough to witness the final day at Edgbaston, Headingley, Trent Bridge or the one that kicked this all off at Lord’s, you’d have done so without paying a penny. Lord’s was a clerical twist, with Root finishing that particular chase inside 20 overs to entitle punters to full refunds. The rest, however, were as part of a buy-in from the respective counties that getting more eyes on the game is what it’s all about.Amid all the beer and skittles, there’s a steel to this team that should not be dismissed. As Stokes said, relaying a line Jack Leach had said to him moments earlier: “A great way to explain is that teams are perhaps better than us, but teams won’t be braver than us.”They have turned a sizeable corner and are full of belief. And perhaps the most compelling aspect is, after years of doubt, they have come to an important realisation: Why can’t Test cricket be fun?

At Central Broward Park, the weather is beastly but the cricket is thrilling

Rahul Oak09-Aug-2022The Florida humidity hits you the minute you get off the plane. To someone like myself, who grew up in Mumbai, it brings nostalgia, but that buzz wears off in five minutes, by when I’m already sweating from crevices you aren’t supposed to sweat from – let alone at 9pm. By the time my Uber shows up, not only am I grateful for the concept of air conditioning, I’m also hugely appreciative of cricketers who have to endure the heat while putting on a show for my entertainment.My driver is a second-generation Puerto Rican. “Cricket?” he asks with a mix of curiosity and amusement that is indicative of the general perception of the sport in this country. Let’s just say we have a long way to go before cricket is mentioned in the same breath as even soccer, which, by the way, doesn’t make the top three either.I’m concerned about the weather. One moment it’s balmy and a gentle Florida breeze is blowing and the next, there’s a howling gale and the street is glistening from a persistent rain. But then, just as quickly as the rain arrives, it dissipates and all is well with the world again. I sleep that night feeling optimistic.

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Waiting in the hotel lobby the next day for a bus to the stadium, I fall into conversation with a group of fellow cricket enthusiasts from various parts of the US, also headed to the game. We reminisce about pre-Covid times and our last live cricket match. Of course, the Gabba comes up. We all hope Virat Kohli finds form soon. The kinship is immediate.We drive away from the coast into the South Florida hinterlands. Central Broward Park, in a quiet suburb of Fort Lauderdale, hosts club cricket most of the year, but it’s certainly not a venue you’d associate with international cricket and bona fide superstars of the sort we are going to watch there.As I walk towards the entrance to the stadium, I spot a smattering of maroon shirts in a sea of blue, roughly equivalent to the relative population of the two regions. The ground is about three-quarters full when I get in. I see a range of India jerseys on show, dating all the way from the 1999 ODI World Cup to the latest edition, with several knockoffs thrown in for good measure.As the players emerge from the pavilion, crowds line up next to the fence, calling out their names and taking pictures. While hero-worship of cricketers in India is not uncommon, the extent of it here highlights the scarcity of cricket in the US, and also makes you realise how hard it must be to be an Indian cricketer. To their credit, even youngsters like Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi are able to deal with the attention with grace and humour.Did we entertain you?•Chandan Khann/AFP/Getty ImagesAfter the toss there is a huge cheer when we find out India will be batting first. From my vantage point, the boundaries look small – about 20 yards in from where they could potentially be. I don’t mind it one bit. Low-scoring thrillers are all well and good, but when I watch a live T20 match for the first time ever, there is a bloodlust in me that can only be satiated by huge sixes.Between the toss and the first ball, as the players warm up, I see a unique drill that probably wasn’t the norm in the pre-T20 era. Shreyas Iyer, one of the substitutes for this match, is standing close to the boundary. Someone is hitting high balls to him from close to the pitch. Iyer tries to keep his balance as he catches them at the edge of the boundary. One time he overbalances but throws the ball back into play before stepping outside the boundary and then casually jumping back in to catch it. Practice makes perfect, as they say.The DJ springs into action, reminding me of the NBA and MLB games I’ve watched in the US. The crowd seems to be having a great time, dancing to a mix of old and new favourites, including bhangra, the latest Bollywood dance numbers, and the good old ” India”, which seems to have become a de facto anthem at Indian sporting events. Watching the cheerleaders dance to these unfamiliar tunes makes me think about how this very American phenomenon has made it to T20Is in the US via the IPL.The crowd goes wild when Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav start the innings off with a flurry of sixes. As good as Rohit’s sixes are, Suryakumar’s innovation is something else.After a middle period that feels a bit slow, even for a T20, the decibel levels reach a crescendo when Axar Patel finishes the innings off with a few lusty blows to cheers of “Bapu” from the predominantly Gujarati-speaking crowd – who are slightly disappointed their favourite sons, Harshal Patel and Hardik Pandya, are not playing this match.After a mad dash for lunch and restrooms, the crowd is stunned into silence by a strong West Indies start – until Avesh Khan snags a couple of wickets. The next bit is classic West Indies T20 batting: several big hits accompanied by a steady stream of wickets, much to the delight of the partisan crowd. That said, I find myself somewhat disappointed when Nicholas Pooran gets out. It’s incredible just how far he’s able to hit the ball for someone his size.Towards the end, the atmosphere turns celebratory as a West Indies win becomes increasingly unlikely. The DJs, who have till now turned the music off before each delivery is bowled, play the IPL bugle even as Arshdeep runs in to bowl his special yorkers at the lower order.Which team are we supporting? Read our shirts•Peter Della PennaOn the way back to the hotel, attention turns to Sunday’s weather and it does not look good. Before coming to Florida, I’d have been satisfied watching one full match, but now I’m starting to get greedy.

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I wake up to a pleasant surprise: not only has it not rained all night, like it was supposed to, it may end up not raining at all. It’s more sparse in the lobby than it was the day before. I suspect most folks didn’t expect today’s match to be played and are catching up on their sleep. I remember overhearing some second-generation Indian kids complaining to their parents the day before about how they weren’t quite looking forward to watching . Apparently even watching matches back to back can be tiring, let alone playing them.The upside is that getting into the stadium is a breeze compared to the previous day, but I still can’t say I’m fully prepared for the speakers blaring bhangra at full blast at 9:30am. The crowd lets out a huge cheer when Hardik walks out for the toss. We see Ishan Kishan and Iyer getting drills from batting coach Vikram Rathour, an indication that we may be able to see both players in action.The crowd builds up as Iyer and Deepak Hooda put on a fine partnership. Then there is a bizarre stoppage, for lightning of all things. The announcer proclaims the area to be the “lightning capital of the USA” and it certainly looks like they have protocols in place. The people in the uncovered stands are ordered to go find shady spots to stand in. After a few minutes, play resumes, India chalk up another impressive score, despite West Indies clawing their way back somewhat towards the back end of the innings.When you’re in the “lightning capital of the USA”, you’ve got to expect …•Rahul OakThe match stops being a contest after Axar runs through the top order and Kuldeep Yadav traps Pooran lbw, though Shimron Hetmeyer offers some resistance. Bishnoi and Kuldeep are a treat to watch in tandem, reminding me of the heady days of KulCha.By the time the match is done and dusted, it’s a full-fledged party in the stands. Arshdeep runs over to our section for a few selfies and autographs and a couple of official-looking types make the rounds, thanking us for being a great crowd and inform us that there will be a few matches in Florida during the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is to be hosted in the Caribbean. Dare we hope that over time, there are a few more cricketing outposts across the US? With 4.2 million people of Indian origin (that’s 80% of the population of New Zealand), they are certainly deserved.I exchange numbers with some newly minted friends and leave with my heart full. The last two days have filled a cricket-shaped hole in me, and while I wish the matches were not as one-sided as they turned out to be, I realise that’s just being nitpicky. As I lapse into fitful bouts of sleep on my red-eye flight back to California, I find myself humming ” India”.