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And whose record of most World Cup centuries did Rohit Sharma beat?

Steven Lynch24-Oct-2023Was David Warner’s 163 against Pakistan the highest score for Australia in a World Cup? asked Zack Kellogg from Australia

David Warner’s rampaging 163 against Pakistan in the group game in Bengaluru last week puts him third on the Australian list – but since he occupies the top two places as well, he is their men’s record-holder!Warner clattered 178 against Afghanistan in Perth in 2015, and 166 against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge in 2019. The next-highest for Australia as I write is Matthew Hayden’s 158 against West Indies in Antigua in 2007.There is a higher score for Australia in the women’s World Cup, though. Belinda Clark hit 229 not out against Denmark in Mumbai in December 1997. Alyssa Healy hammered 170 in the final against England in Christchurch in April 2022.Who scored the first century in a World Cup, and who took the first five-for? asked Ken Wallace from Australia

You probably didn’t mean this, but since the first women’s World Cup predated the men’s by two years – it was held in England in 1973 – the first World Cup century was actually scored by England’s Lynne Thomas, against an International XI in Hove. Thomas was eventually run out for 134 after an opening stand of 246 with Enid Bakewell, who finished with 101 not out. Bakewell made another century later in that inaugural competition, as did Rachael Heyhoe Flint. The first five-for was by the Australian seamer Tina Macpherson, who had figures of 12-7-14-5 as Young England were skittled for 57 in Bournemouth, a few hours before New Zealand slow left-armer Glenys Page took 6 for 20 against Trinidad & Tobago in St Albans.Turning to the men, identifying the first century isn’t quite as straightforward as it might sound. The first men’s World Cup began with four matches on the same day – June 7, 1975 – all starting at 11am. Dennis Amiss scored 137 for England against India at Lord’s in one of the opening games, while New Zealand’s Glenn Turner tucked in for an unbeaten 171 against East Africa at Edgbaston in another. They still stopped for lunch in ODIs in those days, and when the players trooped off at 1pm Amiss had 98 (after 35 overs of the eventual 60) and Turner 82 (after 40). We don’t have precise ball-by-ball details, but Amiss got to three figures first – just. He reached 100 in the 37th over, and was out in the 51st.The first men’s five-wicket haul is easier to pin down: also on that opening day in 1975, Dennis Lillee took 5 for 34 for Australia against Pakistan in their group game at Headingley. The only other five-fors in that tournament were by Lillee’s team-mate Gary Gilmour, who collected 6 for 14 as England were bundled out for 93 in the semi-final at Headingley, and 5 for 48 in the final against West Indies at Lord’s.Sachin Tendulkar has six centuries from 44 World Cup innings•Getty ImagesIt’s David Warner’s 37th birthday this week. Was he the oldest man to score a century in a World Cup match? asked Tess McKenzie from Australia

Warner is due to turn 37 on Friday (October 27), and a week before that hit 163 against Pakistan in Bengaluru.Six men older than Warner have scored centuries in the World Cup. Leading the way is Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was 38 years 148 days old when he made 104 against Scotland in Hobart in March 2015. Sunil Gavaskar was 35 days younger when he scored 103 not out – his only ODI century – for India against New Zealand in Nagpur in October 1987.Sachin Tendulkar (2011) and the distinguished Sri Lankan trio of Sanath Jayasuriya (in 2007), Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara (both 2015) were all 37 when they made their last World Cup hundreds.New Zealand’s Barb Bevege was 39 when she scored 101 against the International XI in Auckland during the 1982 women’s World Cup, while England’s Jan Brittin was 38 when she made 138 against Pakistan in Vijayawada during the 1997 tournament. For the women’s World Cup list, click here.Is it right that Rohit Sharma now has the most World Cup centuries? Whose record did he beat? asked Matthew Mitchell from New Zealand

It is right, yes. Rohit Sharma’s 84-ball 131 against Afghanistan in Delhi was his seventh century in World Cup matches, which included one in 2015 and a record five in England in 2019.The previous record of six was held by Sachin Tendulkar; next with five come Ricky Ponting and David Warner of Australia and Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka. Rohit’s seventh century came in his 19th World Cup innings: Tendulkar finished with six from 44.Six Multan players scored centuries in a first-class innings the other day. Was this a record? asked Zahoor Afzal Khan from Pakistan

The match you’re talking about was in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s domestic first-class competition, in Lahore last week. After their side was put in, six Multan batters scored between 101 and 118. Captain Zain Abbas (118) and wicketkeeper Haseebullah Khan (101) started with an opening stand of 204, then Sharoon Siraj made 114 and Mohammad Basit Ali 105, before Saim Ayyaz (117) and Ali Usman (105 not out) put on 186 for the seventh wicket. Zahid Mahmood, the legspinner who played two Tests against England last December, might be irritated at bagging a duck on a pretty friendly pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium: after Multan declared at 718 for 8, Lahore Blues made 578 for 6 before a draw was agreed. Imran Butt scored 255 and his fellow opener Hashim Ibraheem 120 for them.There had been only one previous first-class innings that contained six individual centuries. In a Ranji Trophy semi-final in Indore in 1945-46, Holkar ran up the little matter of 912 for 8 declared: their six centurions included the 50-year-old CK Nayudu, whose first-class career still had 17 years to run.There have been four cases of five centuries in an innings, one just a couple of weeks before on the same ground in Lahore, when Karachi Whites reached 784 for 5 against Lahore Whites, with Sarfaraz Ahmed making 200 not out. The others were by New South Wales (918) against South Australia in Sydney in 1900-01, and two in Tests, by Australia (758 for 8 declared) against West Indies in Kingston in 1955, and Pakistan (546 for 3 declared) against Bangladesh in Multan in 2001-02.And there’s an update to last week’s question about players who have bagged a golden duck but took a wicket with their first delivery in the same World Cup match, from the Melbourne statistician Charles Davis

“There’s one other case in a World Cup: Phil DeFreitas did it against New Zealand in Wellington in March 1992. In the opening match of the same World Cup, Australia’s Craig McDermott took a wicket with his first legal ball and was run out for one after facing one delivery, against New Zealand in Auckland. He was not run out first ball though.”Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

They’re 0-1 down and their batting line-up has been ripped of its usual experience

Alagappan Muthu30-Jan-2024Rahul Dravid is at first slip. Waiting.It’s been 27 overs since the last wicket fell. The crowd might have been anxious, except most of them had chosen to skip the Eden Gardens and head over to the university ground in Jadhavpur.Sourav Ganguly was playing a Ranji Trophy game there.West Indies have just gone past 400 with Darren Bravo doing such a fine impression of his idol Brian Lara that at this very minute they were both on the same exact score after 12 games.It’s Kolkata. It’s a follow-on innings. It’s tantalising.Dravid is at slip. No longer waiting. He moves to his right, smoother than any one-liner I could think of to include here, and he takes the catch.Bravo is gone for 136. West Indies collapse. Fun’s over.This is November 2011, the last time India had to indulge in a home Test with neither Virat Kohli nor Ravindra Jadeja. They really are up against it this time.Only two of the top six have even 20 matches’ worth of experience under their belt and they have to go out onto what is likely to be another spin-friendly pitch and find some way to score enough runs that even England are unable to catch up.

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Ben Stokes doesn’t miss a lot of things but he seems to have this time. Shubman Gill is at the crease and there is no short midwicket. Joe Root had to step in and remind his captain that a key part of their plan was missing.Touch players can find it difficult on pitches that aren’t true in terms of pace and bounce. They’ll hit these amazing shots only for the ball to end up in the hands of a fielder, often in an orthodox position. They are easily contained. The events in Hyderabad proved this.Related

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Where someone like KL Rahul, who is meticulous with his footwork – moving forward, back and even sideways – and his wristwork was able to find the gaps and keep the scoreboard ticking, Gill was just plonking his front leg out and then reaching out even further to play with bat in front of pad. That’s a classic sign of a batter defending with hard hands.”He has to maybe play a little softer,” Sanjay Manjrekar said in a new video series on ESPNcricinfo called Zoomed In. “Just get a feel of maybe playing the spinners and when getting onto the front foot, maybe look for ones and twos and of course a back-foot play that he has to incorporate.”Gill had asked to be India’s No. 3, taking over from a man who used to demand bowlers to send down the very best that they had if they wanted to tear him away from the crease, but is yet to display the kind of competence required for the role. Ten of his last 11 innings have tallied less than 35 runs. Former India captain and coach Anil Kumble has questioned the team management over the handling of Gill, telling the host broadcaster that “he has been given the cushion perhaps even a Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t get.”

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Shreyas Iyer gave his wicket away to Jack Leach in India’s chase in Hyderabad•BCCIShreyas Iyer is another long-term investment that is causing India some short-term discomfort. Since the innings that made him – a rough-and-tumble 87 on a Mirpur dustbowl in December 2022 – he averages 14.55 with a highest score of 35. Spin-hitting is his USP and yet when it mattered most – on that last day in Hyderabad – he practically gift-wrapped his wicket to the injured Jack Leach. Tame forward defensives aren’t why he is in this line-up. Had he shown better enterprise, India might have been able to capitalise when the ball got softer and therefore easier to deal with. Instead, he did the one thing a spin-hitter shouldn’t do. He followed the turn and got caught at slip. India would much rather if Iyer gets out the way he did in the first innings, looking to smash the ball for six.

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Rajat Patidar has made a fifty-plus score in first-class cricket roughly once every three innings. He made one in 2022 that helped Madhya Pradesh win their first-ever Ranji Trophy title. He made one earlier this month, against the England Lions which convinced the Indian team that he was the man to step in when Kohli had to step out for personal reasons.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe challenge for all of these run-machines coming up the ranks in domestic cricket isn’t always whether they are capable – because they are – but it is whether they are clear-headed enough in the heat of battle to make decisions that can change the course of a Test match. Even with close to the strongest XI they had, India came undone on Sunday as soon as the loss became a real possibility.The batters were unwilling to take any risks to throw an unfancied England spin attack off their lengths, which allowed them to settle into their work, build consistency and create wicket-taking opportunities. When people who have been with the set-up were unable to rise to the occasion, imagine how hard it will be for someone from the outside? Someone who may never have another chance like this to prove themselves. India, after all, only have room for five – check that, it’s three – batters in their XI because Kohli and Rohit Sharma are already locked in. This is why Sarfaraz Khan – on top of accumulating mountains of runs, including a 160-ball 161 against the Lions last week – needed other things to fall the way they have to finally be called up to the Test side.There should be a picture of Rohit playing the reverse sweep stuck up on the home dressing room in Visakhapatnam. He was the only batter willing to try something different in order to change the tide of a match that was going away from India. His plate has just got even fuller now. Not only does he have to figure out how to stop England from Bazballing, he’ll have to compensate for a team whose heart, liver and kidneys have been ripped out due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control.India’s handling of the talent they have available to them has recently hit the headlines for the wrong reasons but all through this tour both Rohit and Dravid have been vocal in their support for the people they’ve brought on board. They won’t see the fact that they’re going into a match that they almost have to win with a side short on experience as a downside. They can’t. The whole reason they’ve been developing their bench strength is to ensure that even in times of emergency, they have good options to turn to. Patidar, Sarfaraz, Saurabh Kumar and Washington Sundar have all shown what they’re capable of. They just have to do it again with more on the line than they’re perhaps used to.

Some are around the state first-team or BBL systems already and have shown plenty of promise

Andrew McGlashan12-Feb-20241:47

Australia Under 19 captain Hugh Weibgen: ‘We try to emulate the senior team’

Before Sunday, the last player to captain Australia to the Under-19 World Cup was Mitchell Marsh in 2010. He has just won the Allan Border Medal and will highly likely lead the senior team at this year’s T20 World Cup. Josh Hazlewood was Player of the Match in the final, Kane Richardson was also in the side and Adam Zampa part of the squad.Two years later, when they lost to India in the final the team included Travis Head along with Ashton Turner and Cameron Bancroft. From the 2018 side, also beaten by India in the final, Will Sutherland and Xavier Bartlett have recently made international debuts and Nathan McSweeney is highly tipped to follow. From the 2020 group, Todd Murphy, Tanveer Sangha and Jake Fraser-McGurk are already capped by Australia.There have been others, too, who have gained a handful of matches at the top level and many others who have played, and continue to do so, professionally at domestic level. However, it is not a straight line from being an Under-19 international to then forging a full career.Related

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It’s hard to say where all the current Australia U-19 side, victorious over India by 79 runs in Benoni, will be in 10 or 12 years’ time, but there is a feeling it could be something of a golden generation in terms of those who do kick on with their cricket careers.A number are already around the state first-team or BBL systems: Sam Konstas has made his Sheffield Shield debut for New South Wales, Player of the Final Mahli Beardman (who is highly regarded by Marsh) has appeared in one-day cricket for Western Australia, Harry Dixon has a BBL contract with Melbourne Renegades as does exciting quick Callum Vidler with Brisbane Heat and captain Hugh Weibgen holds a rookie Queensland contract.”If they can all keep working hard on their games there’s plenty who can make a career out of the game,” Australia Under-19 coach Anthony Clark told ESPNcricinfo the morning after the final. “Where they go and how far will depend on how hard they work, but the raw ability is certainly there for a lot of them.”My message after the game was obviously congratulations and enjoy the win, but the most important thing for all your guys now is when you go back and the next game you play is as important as this one and you need to keep getting better.”Dixon finished as the team’s leading run-scorer with 309 at 44.14 and believed his time with Renegades played a key role. Though he didn’t play, just being able to practice in that environment was priceless.The fast-bowling cartel – Mahli Beardman, Callum Vidler, Charlie Anderson and Tom Straker•ICC/Getty Images”Think it definitely helped with all the coaches they had around there and all the players, taking stuff from them, the likes of Aaron Finch, just soaking up as much as possible,” he said. “With the training there’s a lot of fielding stuff which is mostly what helped me develop a bit more which I think has helped the team.”However, while some already have their foot in the professional door, for others there are more mundane things awaiting when they get home. Oliver Peake, an injury replacement in the squad who made a vital 46 off 43 balls in the final, will be back at school in a few days.”He’s sucked the marrow out of cricket tournaments over the summer break,” his father, Clinton, told . “But he’ll need to go to school and get ready for assessment tasks and normal world stuff.”But a cricket career looks to be in the offing. “He’s bit of a student of the game, loves batting and is just a really good kid,” Clark said. “As someone so young, the future looks bright for him.”It was Australia’s pace attack that took most of the headlines with Beardman’s 3 for 15 in the final following Tom Straker’s 6 for 24 against Pakistan while Vidler, 14 wickets at 11.71, caught the eye with his pace regularly above 140kph.”With the bowling attack we have it’s pretty much a luxury,” Dixon said. “With all the boys being so good we don’t need to get as many on the board. We backed our bowlers in and they were fantastic throughout the whole tournament so credit to them.”The quicks were supplemented by offspinner Raf MacMillan who took 3 for 43 in the final. “He was really important,” Clark said. “Almost the final cog in the wheel and has gone a bit unheralded just because the other four boys are really exciting to watch…he’s very good at what he does.”You never know when you go into a tournament how it’s going to pan out but though we had most bases covered from a skills point of view across out 15. We had seven really good batters, couple of wicketkeepers, couple of spinners with real talent and the five fast bowlers. But you don’t know how it all gels together until it starts happening but really came together nicely as we went through the tournament.”The time the group spent together over the past year has been cited as a key reason behind their success. “They play hard for each other and really care about each other,” Clark said. “When it’s like that it comes together nicely on the field. Obviously, the talent part is the major ingredient but the other stuff is really helpful, too.”The nature of Under-19 cricket means this team won’t play together again, but the class of 2024 will always be World Cup winners. “It’s a massive achievement,” Dixon said. “Just really nice to make some lifelong friends.”

Walking in at 31 for 3 and battling cramps in sweltering conditions, Suryakumar unveiled a masterclass of selective destruction

Vishal Dikshit07-May-20241:23

Moody: Surya consistently does things very few can

Suryakumar Yadav could well be the most cartoonish character in Indian cricket. He cracks jokes in press conferences, fools around before matches, and is always flashing that beaming smile, and if you trawl through his Instagram stories on a non-match day, you’ll find him watching some classic Hindi comedy in his hotel room.No wonder he makes a joke of bowling attacks around the world and across conditions.What he does and how he does it continue to mystify viewers, and this feeling was heightened on Monday when he scored his sixth T20 century, for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and his second in the IPL. The bewilderment that his batting generates doesn’t come from the numbers, which are hard to match anyway, but from the style of his shot-making, and this was especially true on Monday.Related

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It was far from a flat track at the Wankhede Stadium. Suryakumar had to face a potent pace attack that was loving the movement on offer. And he had not even gotten off the mark when Mumbai slipped to 31 for 3 in the fifth over.That third wicket could have been of Suryakumar off any of the three deliveries before Naman Dhir’s dismissal. The ball was seaming and swinging, and Pat Cummins had his tail up having just dismissed Rohit Sharma. The first ball Suryakumar faced betrayed him like a waiter you think is bringing your plate to your table but turns to another just before reaching you. The second ball also pitched in the channel and straightened to beat the outside edge. The third wasn’t very different and Suryakumar tried to punch it away, but missed again.The straight-bat shots were a feature of Suryakumar Yadav’s century on a challenging Wankhede pitch•Associated PressSometimes it takes just one shot to get you going, even if it’s off the edge. When Suryakumar got on strike in Cummins’ next over, he went for a flick off his pads, but the ball flew almost off the back of his bat for a six over the deep third boundary.And if it’s not one shot that gets you going, it’s one over. Even though the powerplay was done, Suryakumar may have seen Marco Jansen, the least experienced of the SRH quicks, running in, and thought to himself, “this is the over.” There was a wide gap between mid-on and deep midwicket and Suryakumar was happy to clip the ball on his pads to the vacant boundary. When Jansen went full next, he went too full, and with mid-on in the circle, Suryakumar drilled him back along the carpet for another four. What follows a full delivery? Jansen banged one in short next, angling into the stumps, and even before the ball could reach Suryakumar, he had shuffled to off for one of his trademark pick-up shots over fine leg. When he got the strike back for the last ball, Jansen gifted him a dolly on the pads and Suryakumar flicked it for six to make it a 22-run over of which he had smashed 21.Having waltzed from 11 off nine to 32 off 14, Suryakumar was in his zone. When Cummins returned and hammered away in the corridor outside off, Suryakumar unflinchingly and patiently offered the straight bat. He scored only one run off five balls in that 10th over, but it was a mini-victory because SRH were desperate for his wicket.”I feel it was the need of the hour today,” he explained at the presentation. “When I went in to bat, three wickets were down and it had to be someone to play till the end and that’s what I did. I knew as the dew was heavy and as soon as the seam goes off, it will be easy for a batter to play those shots.”The traditional shots are from the Mumbai school of arts,” he said of his straight-bat shots. “I’ve played a lot of first-class cricket for Mumbai and a lot of games at Wankhede. I know when the ball is seaming, what’s the right option at that time, that’s what I tried to do today. When the ball stopped seaming, I played all my shots which I practise in the nets.”‘When the ball stopped seaming, I played all my shots which I practise in the nets’•BCCISoon, though, Suryakumar began to hobble. It could have been cramps, because it was barely below 30 degrees Celsius in Mumbai despite being past 10pm and he was playing his first proper tournament after coming back from groin surgery, which had kept him out of action since December 14, 2023, the day of his last T20 hundred.It’s possible that Suryakumar felt he would have to go off the field soon, and seeing the equation at 69 off 48, and the ball in Jansen’s hand again, he upped the gears once more. Having brought up his fifty off 30 balls, he smacked the left-arm quick for back-to-back fours again, and when Cummins tried to stem the flow of runs by bringing on Shahbaz Ahmed, a left-arm spinner (the one match-up that’s kept him relatively quiet in recent years), Suryakumar dispatched him for boundaries with two good-looking sweeps.”He’s one, by nature, instinctively very aggressive,” Mumbai batting coach Kieron Pollard said at the post-match press conference. “So he wants to take the bowlers on more often than not. At times it’s just a matter of understanding the situation and respecting the new ball when it’s moving around, and the conditions are not suitable for certain kind of shot-making. We have that discipline in order to be there for a period of time and then get into your work.”The ball was sodden with dew now, it was as hard to control as it was to curb Suryakumar. In the 17th over, Cummins tried the slow cutters into the pitch that had worked for him against Rajasthan Royals, but Suryakumar dispatched two of them to the vacant midwicket boundary. When Cummins sent long-on to deep midwicket and banged in another short ball, Suryakumar pummeled it over square leg for six to reach 96.He completed his century with his sixth six in the next over, and that shot also took Mumbai past their target. He took his sweat-soaked helmet off and, as handshakes were exchanged next to the pitch, he went and stood alone at one end of the 22 yards and looked down at the track, as if to say, “you were a little tricky today, but I got you in the end.”

Against a side that boasted of six international players, they not only had all their plans in place but also showed they had the fitness to do it

Vishal Dikshit25-Jan-2025Sweaty palms. Shuffling feet. Restless bodies.That’s what the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) dugout looked like as their batters inched closer to their target of 205 against heavyweights Mumbai on the third day. Even though J&K were 144 for 4 and only 61 runs away, their last three wickets had been thrown away to left-arm spinner Shams Mulani on a pitch that barely had any turn on offer. The plan was, perhaps, to gun down some of those runs to pile some pressure on Mumbai. But when their two set batters stepped out, Shubham Khajuria (45) lost his stumps, and Vivrant Sharma (38) holed out to long-off.It was nerves, both in the middle and in the dugout. The big-hitting Abdul Samad hammered five fours in his 20-ball stay to wipe out 24 more runs, but he was stumped when he danced down and missed. The crowd that had been quiet was brought back to life, and they had another reason to cheer when J&K’s experienced captain Paras Dogra was caught spectacularly by a diving Shardul Thakur.Related

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Ajinkya Rahane rubbed the ball incessantly on his trackpants to try and maintain the shine. Forty-six to go, five wickets in hand. A few heads turned towards each other in the J&K dugout. Should they keep attacking or should they resort to a more cautious approach? Twenty-eight-year-old Abid Mushtaq and 23-year-old Kanhaiya Wadhawan, with an experience of barely 35 first-class games between them, took the more aggressive route.Mushtaq lofted Tanush Kotian for a six, Wadhawan swept Mulani and Kotian for more runs, and when Mushtaq swiped Kotian for a six to the midwicket boundary for the winning runs, the celebrations took off in the dugout. There were hugs and huddles, shrieks and high fives, while Mushtaq and Wadhawa completed the more formal handshakes in the middle with their opponents.These unknown names – except a couple that have featured in the IPL – had taken down the star-studded defending champions in their backyard. They overcame nerves, they read the conditions better, they overcame the gulf between the two teams on paper, and went to the top of the Group A table with a big chance of making the knockouts.It was a lot like how J&K had scripted their first Ranji win against Mumbai, over ten years ago at the Wankhede Stadium, while chasing a 200-plus total in tense moments. A side that comes from a state with troubled political history and violence, and with cricket infrastructure incomparable with what the Mumbai team has, is now among only three teams that have beaten Mumbai twice on their home ground in this format since 2006.Only a couple of players in the current J&K XI know what it’s like to beat Mumbai twice: Khajuriya and fast bowler Umar Nazir Mir. And they both played a starring role in the win on Saturday.Vivrant Sharma scored a steady 38 in the chase for J&K•PTI Khajuriya top-scored in both innings whereas Nazir handed Mumbai the big blows of Rohit Sharma, Rahane and Shivam Dube on the first morning with his movement and bounce. Nazir is the most experienced of J&K’s pace trio, which also has Auqib Nabi and Yudhvir Singh, and he led the attack with his towering frame to pounce on the pace-friendly conditions once Mumbai opted to bat.The Mumbai side had prepared by watching videos of the pace trio. But as it turned out, that wasn’t enough. The three J&K fast bowlers sent down the bulk of the overs – 90.2 out of 107.2 – and took all 19 wickets that fell to the bowlers. They were up against the most accomplished batting line-up in this Ranji round and bossed them like they were the least experienced. They were bowling to the most successful side in domestic history by a distance, but didn’t let it get to them. Did anyone even give them a chance against a side that boasted of six international players? Because J&K had none.If they got instant success in their first spells to reduce Mumbai to 47 for 7 and 101 for 7 across both innings, they showed they had the fitness to bowl long spells of eight or nine overs under the sun beating down when Mumbai’s tail tried to stage a comeback.Their accuracy in sticking to the tight lines and lengths with the new ball was a testimony to the plans they had in place. Their short-ball attack to centurion Thakur was proof that they had a Plan B for when the ball would get older, and conditions better for batting.”I think this season they’ve been doing really well,” Rahane said of J&K’s pace attack after the game on Saturday. “Their fast-bowling unit, we saw their videos [before the game]. I thought their bowling unit has been doing really well by bowling in the right areas. I thought they read the conditions really well at this wicket.”Nabi, who accounted for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer and Dube, and later Thakur on the third morning, is not surprisingly the second-highest wicket-taker of the season so far with 38 wickets while averaging a stunning 12.94 with as many as five five-fors. Yudhvir took home the Player-of-the-Match award with his tally of seven wickets, and has 22 overall this season at 19.68. Nazir has 17 from just three games, and averages a barely believable 13.41.Even without the more accomplished and much quicker Umran Malik, the J&K quicks showed no challenge is impossible and no dream out of reach. Their next stop is Vadodara where they take on an in-form Baroda, and where conditions might favour spinners more. But first, it’s time to relish this rare feat and wipe the sweat off their forehead.

Stats highlights from Punjab Kings’ victory against Chennai Super Kings

Sampath Bandarupalli08-Apr-20252:37

Jaffer: Hope to see Arya in India colours soon

39 – The number of balls Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Priyansh Arya took to score his century against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the second-fastest by an Indian in the IPL behind Yusuf Pathan’s 37-ball hundred against Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2010.4 – Arya’s hundred is also the joint-fourth-fastest in the IPL and the second-fastest for PBKS behind David Miller’s 38-ball century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2013.310.00 – Arya’s strike rate against CSK’s fast bowlers – he scored 62 runs off 20 balls. Only two batters have had a higher strike rate against quicks in an IPL match (minimum of 20 balls) – 348.00 by Suresh Raina vs Kings XI Punjab (now PBKS) in 2014 and 342.85 by Jake Fraser-McGurk vs MI in 2024.Related

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• Fastest hundreds in the IPL – Priyansh Arya enters the top five

• Arya's blazing 103 off 42 balls consigns CSK to fourth successive defeat

136 – Runs that PBKS scored after the fall of their fifth wicket against CSK – the most any team has scored after that point in an IPL innings while batting first. It is also the joint-fourth-highest by any team in an IPL innings.2 – Number of batters before Arya with centuries in a men’s T20 in which none of the others in the top six got to double-digits.Michael Bracewell scored 141* for Wellington batting at No. 3 against Central Districts in 2022 when 5 was the next-highest from among the top six.Saber Zakhil scored 100* from No. 8 for Belgium against Austria in 2021, where all the top seven batters got out for four or fewer.12 – Catches dropped by CSK in IPL 2025, including five against PBKS on Tuesday – the most by any team in this tournament. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and PBKS are joint-second with six.9 – Catches dropped in Mullanpur on Tuesday – five by CSK and four by PBKS, the most in an IPL match, according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball logs, surpassing the eight dropped catches by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens in 2023.

The England batter had the stellar ability to make games change course, and that made him worth more than his numbers

Jarrod Kimber18-May-2025In December 2013, when covering a Test at the WACA, journalists started putting their laptops in the fridge as they overheated. It was hot every day of this Test, with 37°C the maximum temperature. The sort of heat that melts your soul after a day or two.Some batters say that it gets harder to think in hot conditions. They resort to trying to get as many runs as they can before fatigue gets them out. This was one of those days. England were well behind in the Test, needing to score 504 to win. At the crease was Kevin Pietersen.The chances of winning were low. The heat had split the WACA pitch like a fault line, with cracks everywhere. Australia had Mitchell Johnson in peak form, and burly chested fast bowler Ryan Harris, who was almost as good. They were both too fast, too much. With a big total to chase, the wicket and the heat, nothing was on England’s side. But they did still have Pietersen, the player who changed things with his strokeplay. His strike rate at the end of his career was 62, which was nowhere near some of the quickest players. But when he went hard, it was violent. “Kevin Pietersen, he’s the best player I’ve ever seen play for England,” says David “Bumble” Lloyd.At The Oval in 2005, Pietersen was yet to make a Test hundred. He was facing Brett Lee and Shaun Tait – two of the fastest bowlers, then and now. As well as Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne – two of the best bowlers, then and now.Pietersen slog-swept Warne like he was a part-timer in a village team. The champion legspinner took 40 wickets in that series. Pietersen brought his hundred up from 124 balls, though for a period Warne bowled defensively around the wicket into the footmarks just to slow him down.But it was the attack on Brett Lee that was the most exhilarating. After 60 balls, Pietersen was on 35, and most of those were boundaries from attacking Warne. Lee decided to bounce Pietersen.It started with a bruise, clocked at 93.7mph. All Pietersen could do was glove it and almost fall over into his stumps. Straight after that, Lee went all in on the short ball. Pietersen went on the hook.The second ball of this plan was hooked for six. Lee’s speed was 91mph. It cleared fine leg by some distance. Pietersen was not a great hooker; like many other tall batters, he didn’t face as many short balls growing up as others. He often made the decision late, and it was more of a panicked swipe. He also often tried to play it off the front foot, which he was even worse at. He averaged far less on the pull and hook than the top six batters of his era.After a watchful start against Brett Lee at The Oval in 2005, Pietersen laid into him, hitting three sixes and five fours•Hamish Blair/Getty ImagesPietersen used this shot differently compared to other players. He was daring quicks to keep bowling it to him. Lee did. Looking back, it felt like this contest went on forever. Lee kept getting faster and shorter, and Pietersen swung more and more frantically. Lee was forced to give up the plan.No one who saw that innings live has ever forgotten it.Pietersen was no one’s idea of a perfect batter. His technique involved hitting balls on the up, dragging deliveries from outside off to leg, and hitting the ball in the air. Playing across the line might have been why he struggled in the second innings of matches, averaging only 38, as the ball kept lower. Overall, the risks he took stopped him from averaging 50 in what was a great era to bat.He is not an automatic selection for the top 50 Test batters of all time, but his ability to turn a match in an innings was like few others in history. It means his average of 47 is more significant than others.About eight years after 2005, Pietersen is facing fast bowling from Australians again – this time on a faster wicket, at the WACA. But he is also going up against a new Australian spinner, Nathan Lyon, bowling with the breeze.Australia have attacking fielders and boundary riders, an in-out field. Many batters would simply rotate the strike, punish any bad deliveries and keep their wicket intact. Lyon is the bowler to milk, to stay in against, to save your real energy for Johnson’s thunderbolts or Harris’ Mack Truck-like force. However, it is hot, and the Australian quicks are all rotating through their second spells. To give them more time to rest, Lyon’s offspin is floating on the breeze.Pietersen starts to attack him almost immediately, smashing one back, which is stopped. Next, he comes down the wicket and drop-kicks a shot over mid- on. He gets three. The next over, there are two more boundaries: one from a fine sweep and another from a cover drive against the spin. Lyon stays on, and Pietersen wants to emphasise that he should not. So he runs down and smashes the ball over the long-on fielder into the crowd. It is audacious, wild, and exactly how Pietersen thinks.He was averaging more than 50 against Lyon then. He has the match-up, has put him in the crowd, and scores off him with ease. One more blow will change Australia’s rest strategy.BloomsburyPietersen runs down the wicket at Lyon one more time and goes for glory. But something doesn’t work; his head isn’t perfect, the ball doesn’t come from the middle, it hangs in the famous Fremantle Doctor and the catch is taken by Harris, one of the quick bowlers he is trying to tire, at long-on.Though we were almost a decade into Pietersen’s career at this point, and he’d taken that sort of risk so many times, he was still taken to task for it.People saw it as arrogance, a lack of patience, or just plain stupidity. But there was solid thinking to how he played. If he did knock Lyon out of the attack, Johnson would probably have to come back too early. Getting him tired was the key to making runs against Australia if you’d managed to survive Harris and the new ball.Johnson and Harris were the threats. You could try handling them for hours and do that over time, or you could speed up the process by making the player who rests them unbowlable.Pietersen often chose the faster, more dramatic option. And when it worked, England won the 2005 Ashes due to his 158 at the Oval. When it didn’t, Australia won the 2013-14 Ashes at the WACA. In terms of game theory, Pietersen was risk and reward. He was hailed as a hero when it worked and abused as a pariah when it didn’t.The Art of Batting: the Craft of Cricket’s Greatest Run Scorers

Jasprit Bumrah hadn’t conceded 20 or more runs in an over since 2020 before Josh Inglis tore into him in Ahmedabad on Sunday night

Sampath Bandarupalli02-Jun-20252:30

Why didn’t Hardik and Santner complete their quota of overs?

204 – The target that Punjab Kings (PBKS) chased down on Sunday, is the highest by any team in the IPL playoffs (or knockouts). The previous highest was 200 by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Kings XI Punjab (now PBKS) in the 2014 final.1 – PBKS became the first team to successfully chase down a 200-plus target against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL. The previous highest was 196 by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2020.MI won all the previous 18 instances where they set a 200-plus target in the IPL, and the record was 19-0 in all T20s. Before Sunday’s defeat, they were the only team in the IPL not to lose while defending a 200-plus target.ESPNcricinfo Ltd87* – Shreyas Iyer’s score on Sunday is the second-highest by a captain in the IPL playoffs behind David Warner’s 93* against Gujarat Lions in 2016.8 – Number of successful 200-plus target chases for PBKS in the IPL. No other team in T20 history has successfully chased down 200-plus targets more than five times.Australia, India and South Africa in international cricket, and MI (all IPL), RCB (three in IPL, two in CLT20) and Quetta Gladiators (PSL) all have five successful chases of 200-plus targets.9-2 – MI’s win-loss record while defending a total in the IPL playoffs (or knockouts). Sunday’s defeat was their second in 11 matches while batting first, following the seven-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Eliminator in 2014.8 – 200-plus totals for PBKS in IPL 2025, the joint-highest for any team in a men’s T20 tournament, alongside Gujarat Titans (GT), who also had eight in this year’s IPL.3 – Number of teams that Iyer has led into the finals in the IPL – Delhi Capitals (2020), Kolkata Knight Riders (2024) and PBKS (2025). No other captain has led more than one team to the IPL finals.2:31

‘Such a big over’ – Aaron on Inglis taking 20 off Bumrah in the fifth

1271 – Sixes hit in IPL 2025 so far, the most in an edition, surpassing 1260 sixes in 2024. PBKS batters hit 159 of those 1271, only behind 178 by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and 165 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2024.717 – Runs scored by Suryakumar Yadav in IPL 2025, the highest for any player while batting at No. 3 or lower in a men’s T20 tournament. He bettered the mark of AB de Villiers, who scored 687 runs in IPL 2016.242* – Runs scored by Iyer without being dismissed across the three IPL matches in Ahmedabad. He had unbeaten fifties in all three games, all coming at a strike rate of over 200.20 – Runs that Josh Inglis scored off Jasprit Bumrah in the fifth over on Sunday. Only two other batters have scored as many in an over off Bumrah in the IPL – 26 by Pat Cummins in 2020 and 20 by Dwayne Bravo in 2018.

The word was infamously uttered by England captain Tony Greig in 1976, and it’s made a reappearance nearly 50 years later

Martin Williamson25-Nov-2025Barely a sporting contest passes without someone making a cocky boast in the build-up. People are used to it – almost expect it – but in 1976 England captain Tony Greig overstepped the line on the eve of England’s series against West Indies. He made a comment that galivanised not only the opposition but also the tens of thousands of their supporters who flocked to grounds to see his words rammed back down his throat.West Indies arrived in May 1976 after a humiliating 5-1 drubbing in Australia the previous winter. They had beaten India in between, but that had been a struggle, and Clive Lloyd, their captain, hatched a plan based on all-out pace. He possessed a crop of outstanding – and fast – bowlers, and in the early tour matches they destroyed everything put in front of themAs the first Test loomed, Greig was interviewed for the BBC’s Sportsnight programme. Irked by a stream of newspaper articles highlighting the strength of West Indies, Greig let rip. “I’m not really sure they’re as good as everyone thinks,” he said. “These guys, if they get on top they are magnificent cricketers. But if they’re down, they grovel, and I intend, with the help of Closey [Brian Close] and a few others, to make them grovel.”The remark was highly inflammatory for a number of reasons, the main one being that Greig’s words, coming from a white South African, were seized on for racist overtones. “The word ‘grovel’ is one guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of any black man,” Lloyd said. “The fact they were used by a white South African made it even worse. We were angry and West Indians everywhere were angry. We resolved to show him and everyone else that the days for grovelling were over.”Most of the West Indies team felt Greig’s words were deliberate and not an off-the-cuff quip. “Everyone was stunned,” recalled Viv Richards, on his first tour of England. “This was the greatest motivating speech the England captain could have given to any West Indian team.”Behind the scenes, the England players were equally livid. Pat Pocock, the Surrey spinner who played twice in the series, said his immediate reaction was: “You prat …what have you done? You don’t do that sort of thing, winding them up for no reason.” Mike Brearley, who made his debut in the first Test, said that the words “carried an especially tasteless and derogatory overtone”.While the British media initially treated the comments as pre-series bravado, it was soon clear that they had not gone down at all well with the Caribbean population. Greig apologised, even appearing on a black London radio station to try to diffuse the situation. “I’m a press-man’s dream,” he admitted, “if you talk to me long enough I will say something controversial. I am bound to offend someone and get myself into deep water. ‘Grovel’ was simply an instance of that.”Close – aged 45 but recalled for the series – said that what irked some of the England side was not the remark, but that having made it Greig didn’t back his words with actions. “Everyone knew what he meant,” Close reflected. “If you get on top of West Indies the odds are that you stay on top. But the astonishing thing was that Tony, having made his point, made no attempt to drive it home once he got on the field.”After draws at Trent Bridge and Lord’s, West Indies took control of the series as England wilted in the heat – 1976 was one of the hottest and driest summers of the century – and were blown away by West Indies’ battery of fast bowlers. At Old Trafford and Headingley, England lost heavily, and Greig was subjected to increasing barracking, mostly good-humoured, from the large Caribbean contingents in the crowds.At that time The Oval, the scene of the final Test, was more Kensington than Kennington for West Indies matches, with the large Caribbean population of south London making the game a virtual home-from-home for the tourists. To the accompaniment of bugles, horns, cans and calypso singing, the crowd partied as West Indies flayed England for two days.By the time Greig came out to bat on Saturday evening England had mounted a recovery, but after cracking two stinging cover-drives off Michael Holding, he was bowled off his pads. As he left the field several hundred spectators, mainly young and West Indian, ran onto to the pitch and headed for the departing Greig, jostling and mocking him, and play was suspended in what Wisden described as a “disgraceful scene”.On the Monday, West Indies, who led on the first innings by 252 runs, did not enforce the follow-on, preferring to let Roy Fredericks and Gordon Greenidge cut loose in an unbeaten first-wicket stand of 182 in 32 overs. As the noise from the spectators increased in the afternoon heat, Greig slowly walked towards the open stands on the Harleyford Road side of the ground and sunk to his knees, grovelling to the crowd. They roared their delight. Greig, always the showman, had made his peace. “I realise that I made a mistake in using that word at the start of the series and they haven’t let me forget it,” he told the press that night.But it was too late for England, who were blown away by Holding the following morning, his 6 for 57 in the second innings giving him 14 wickets in the match.Within nine months Greig had thrown in his lot with Kerry Packer and had been stripped of the England captaincy – his international career ended at the end of the following summer. He went on to become a leading commentator, although he continued to court controversy. In 1990-91, while covering the England tour of the Caribbean, he was criticised for blurting out “Goodnight Charlie” when West Indian batsmen were dismissed.”Anyone who wants to suggest it was my South African background that was behind my comment and put any racist tone to this thing just doesn’t know me,” Greig said three decades later. “None of the West Indies players ever confronted me about my comments at the start of the series – they were just faster and nastier whenever I came to the crease.”Bibliography

David Tossell (Know The Score, 2007)
I Don’t Bruise Easily Brian Close (MacDonald & Jane’s, 1978)

My Story Tony Greig and Alan Lee (Stanley Paul, 1980)

Peshawar Zalmi, meanwhile, have an impressive-looking top order, but are short of fast-bowling pedigree

Danyal Rasool09-Apr-2025

Karachi Kings

Karachi Kings are in the kind of rut Lahore Qalandars found themselves in during the PSL’s early years. Three successive finishes outside the playoffs have seen their squad go through a bit of an overhaul. Shan Masood has been replaced as captain by David Warner, arguably the marquee signing of the league this year. Kane Williamson, Aamer Jamal and Adam Milne also come in, during a season in which home advantage will be limited; just five games take place at the National Stadium in Karachi across the league.Best result: Champions [2020]2024 finish: FifthStrengths:

• There’s greater variety in Kings’ fast-bowling attack than there was last season, with the extra pace of Milne and the acquisition of the regularly prolific Abbas Afridi.
• The batting line-up boasts experienced international star names, with Tim Seifert’s recent form against Pakistan’s bowling attack a potential point of difference.

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Weaknesses:

• Kings have a number of players with a large variance between their ceiling and floor. Warner, Khushdil Shah, Hasan Ali, James Vince and Jamal are more explosive than they are consistent, meaning short-term form could decide the Kings’ fate.
• The spin department looks light, with 40-year-old Mohammad Nabi and 36-year-old Zahid Mahmood the only established options.

Peshawar Zalmi

Peshawar Zalmi were among the standout teams in the early years of the competition, winning the title in 2017. Under Daren Sammy’s leadership, this was the side that came to be associated most with the light-hearted joy of the PSL in its honeymoon years, and was instrumental in the return of the league to Pakistan itself. They continue to boast Pakistan’s biggest stars; Babar Azam is the captain, but their explosiveness has been replaced by a middling consistency. Every team has won the PSL since Zalmi last won one, but they remain the only side never to miss out on the playoffs.Babar Azam and Saim Ayub are part of Peshawar Zalmi’s enviable top order•Pakistan Super LeagueBest result: Champions (2017)2024 finish: Second (Lost Eliminator 2)Strengths:

• The top-order batting combination is among the most desirable, featuring in Babar a reliable anchor alongside high-quality power hitters.
• Zalmi boast two local players who come into the tournament in hot form: Saim Ayub, returning from injury, and Sufiyaan Muqeem.

Weaknesses:

• Corbin Bosch’s withdrawal leaves Zalmi short of allrounder options, with Hussain Talat and Maaz Sadaaqat the only available options.
• Aside from Mohammad Ali, Zalmi’s fast-bowling options have little to no PSL pedigree.

Lahore Qalandars

No franchise embraces Pakistan’s all-or-nothing philosophy quite like Lahore Qalandars. Qalandars have the largest fanbase and the most enigmatic journey of all sides. They were the laughing stock in the first four years, finishing bottom each time despite stuffing their side with superstars ranging from Chris Gayle to Brendon McCullum. But the pendulum swung violently the other way; they remain the only side to have defended a PSL title, going back to back under Shaheen Afridi before finishing outside the playoff positions once more in 2024. The core of the squad remains unchanged but that doesn’t make anticipating what they do any easier.Can Shaheen Afridi lead Lahore Qalandars back to glory?•AFP/Getty ImagesBest result: Champions (2022, 2023)2024 finish: SixthStrengths:

• A fast-bowling trio of Shaheen, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan is about as impressive as any PSL side can muster without using up an overseas slot.
• Qalandars were often top heavy in the past, but the presence of Daryl Mitchell, Sikandar Raza, Sam Billings and David Wiese gives them plenty of post-powerplay firepower.

Weaknesses:

• Form and fitness remain concerns for Qalandars’ star players. Abdullah Shafique and Shaheen are in a bit of a rut, while Fakhar Zaman and Zaman Khan have been plagued by recent fitness issues.
• Qalandars haven’t come close to properly replacing Rashid Khan, with Sikandar Raza as close as it comes to a recognised specialist spinner in their squad.