While there was little in the way of nailbiters, the Ram Slam T20 Challenge showed how the tournament could do with more established internationals, better domestic performers and smarter scheduling

Firdose Moonda18-Dec-2017It was no premier league and it certainly was not a T20 Global League but the Ram Slam T20 Challenge, which took place with the availability of all national players, was well received by the South African cricket public. Titans, a franchise loaded with internationals, dominated the competition and were the eventual and expected winners. So while there was little in the way of nailbiters, there were some key takeaways, especially if CSA hopes to revive the idea of a league next summer.Internationals make everything OKSouth Africa’s domestic 20-over competition was previously played as a low-profile event, with the national team on duty elsewhere, and only a handful of foreign players and the short-sightedness of that approach has been shown-up now. With internationals available and no other cricket involving South African players simultaneously underway, attention could be solely focused on this event. There was an increase in both television audience and stadium attendances. Matches featuring Titans and Cape Cobras, the franchises loaded with big-name players, were particularly well received, with SuperSport Park reporting a 33% increase in feet through the gate.The message to the suits is obvious: a T20 tournament needs gravitas and it can only get that through the presence of established internationals. Why it has taken CSA this long to realise this undeniable truth is anyone’s guess but now that they have proof, they cannot go back to the dour domestic tournament they once had. If the T20 Global League can’t happen – and there are still so many questions over its financial viability – then CSA will have to look at ways to turn the franchise T20 into something resembling a league. That may mean clearing the calendar, as was forced on them this time, writing it into national players’ contracts – that they need to make themselves available – and launching a marketing campaign. Those are things the organisation needs to start working on now.Mind the gap At the same time, the strong performances by internationals only made the lack of the same by domestic players more glaring. Apart from Sarel Erwee’s century in the opening round, no other player – who has not been involved with the national team – made any significant mark on the tournament. Recently, concerns about the gap between South Africa’s domestic set-up and the international stage have increased and a tournament like this only shows why. There is no one banging down the door, which will cause problems for the national side in future. Solving this problem isn’t easy but the mingling of more internationals in domestic competition could be a start. The average franchise player needs to see how an international prepares and plays so he can emulate that. Time will tell if any of the current crop does.AFPParnell in danger of wasting away? All of the above said, there is one player who floats between the international and domestic scenes and routinely fails to set either alight. While it’s unusual to name individuals in a competition review, Wayne Parnell cannot escape this time. He played just two matches for Cobras, scored 35 runs and conceded 56 for none, before being dropped. Given the uneven distribution of internationals across franchises, CSA made allowances for players to be loaned to other teams in this tournament and Parnell returned home to Warriors for two matches but didn’t fare any better. He scored just five runs in two innings, including 4 in the semi-final, and bowled three overs for 31 runs in the two matches. Parnell’s inconsistency can no longer be brushed off because he offers an “x-factor,” because he doesn’t. Injury and irregular game time may be one reason for his inability to regularly play at his peak and, while there is nothing that can be done about the former, an obvious solution would be for the selectors to demand that Parnell play all 10 domestic one-day cup games before they consider him for the limited-overs’ series against India or any more international caps.Nothing lasts forever…except warm Durban rainA country with one region experiencing its worst drought in more than a century should not complain about rain but while the Western Cape pleads for a few drops, Durban has had the bulk of them and it affected this competition significantly. Four of Dolphins five home games and one of their away fixtures were rained out, which meant they only played five of their 10 league matches. They won only three but the shared points from their washouts meant they qualified to host a home semi-final.As luck would have it, the semi-final was also abandoned due to rain and so, Dolphins advanced to the final. That they were probably not the most deserving opposition for Titans was clear in the manner in which Dolphins were drowned in Centurion. Cobras, who lost out on hosting a knockout game and were then prevented from playing in the semi-final because of rain, were spitting mad but only had themselves to blame for their poor start to the tournament. Short of building a roof over Kingsmead, there’s not much that can be done, but CSA should give serious consideration to scheduling – maybe fewer home matches for Dolphins in November/December and more in February/March once the rains have cleared – and a reserve day for playoffs.Getty ImagesWhere’s the Lions’ roar?The Johannesburg-based franchise was bossing domestic tournaments a couple of seasons ago but has lost its bite. Lions have been ravaged by player losses – Quinton de Kock and Chris Morris left them for Titans, Temba Bavuma for Cobras – and though they continue to produce players of international quality like Dwaine Pretorius and Wiaan Mulder, something seems amiss. Their coach Geoffrey Toyana was in line for the national job but did not get it and was also overlooked for the assistant role in favour of Warriors’ Malibongwe Maketa. Toyana is the kind of person who would be able to contain disappointment from spilling over onto the players but lack of motivation may be affecting everyone. Lions remain home to some of the most exciting players in the set-up but need to start putting results on the board before big questions get asked.What next for Warriors?Last season’s finalists were unable to give their coach, Maketa, a farewell gift after they lost to Titans in the knockout but they made sure they competed, despite fewer resources than other franchises. Warriors have no national players on their books and are still searching for a sponsor and now they will also have to look for a new coach. Maketa will join the national staff this week, leaving Rivash Gobind to mind Warriors before they find a replacement. Russell Domingo is already occupied with the South African A side where he is “very happy” but the franchise would benefit from the experience of a coach like former national assistant Adrian Birrell, who is from the region. There is no word on Warriors’ way forward but they represent an important region of the country – the Eastern-Cape is the heartland of black African cricket – and it is crucial they are managed well.

India’s record at the Wanderers is an outlier when it comes to away touring

Bharath Seervi25-Jan-2018India’s bowlers prevailed once again at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, managing to get the hosts all out for 194. It’s India’s most successful bowling venue in South Africa and one of the reasons they’re unbeaten in four previous Tests here. India average 28.22 with the ball at the Wanderers – their best at any venue in South Africa.

Best South Africa venues for India bowlers

Venue Bow. Ave Mat Won Lost Draw W/LJohannesburg 28.22 5 1 0 3 -Durban 29.90 5 1 3 1 0.33Cape Town 35.87 5 0 3 2 0.00Port Elizabeth 39.42 2 0 1 1 0.00Centurion 50.54 2 0 2 0 0.00Bloemfontein 56.09 1 0 1 0 0.00In fact, this is the venue where India have recorded their best figures in all away Tests where they played five or more Tests. Next on the list is Eden Park in Auckland, where they average 29.61, followed by Durban. Nagpur is the only venue where India have a better bowling average (28.07) – anywhere in the world – with a qualifier of five Tests played.Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul in the first innings is the fourth such haul by an Indian bowler at Wanderers – the most at any South African venue. Before Bumrah, Anil Kumble in 1992-93, Javagal Srinath in 1996-97 and S Sreesanth in 2006-07 took five-wicket hauls. In the one Test in which Indian bowlers didn’t take a five-for, in 2013-14, there were two four-wicket hauls, taken by Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Since 1992, only at Lord’s and Sabina Park in Kingston have India had more five-wicket hauls away with five each.South Africa batsmen have struggled against Indian bowling at the Wanderes like against no other visitor. Their average runs per wicket at the venue against India is their lowest against all visiting teams. Against the other subcontinent teams, they have averaged the best: 41.37 against Pakistan and 40.60 against Sri Lanka. They have won at least two Tests against all other teams at Wanderers, but not once against India.

Lowest batting average for South Africa at Wanderers

Opposition Bat. Ave Mat Won Lost Draw W/LIndia 28.22 5 0 1 3 0.00Australia 29.04 11 3 6 2 0.50England 33.46 9 3 3 3 1.00New Zealand 35.21 6 3 1 2 3.00West Indies 38.09 2 2 0 0 -Sri Lanka 40.60 2 2 0 0 -Pakistan 41.37 3 2 0 1 -India are yet to face a whitewash in South Africa and that has been solely due to their domination at the Wanderers. Leading by 42 runs with nine wickets in hand after day two and considering their previous results at the venue, India have got the best chance to finish the series on a high after two defeats.

Disturbing behaviour was exhibited by many in cricket in January. Except Pakistan, who were just their usual weird selves

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Feb-2018The heavy-handed presentation
At the end of the second-best attended Ashes of all time, Cricket Australia rolled out a podium design that justifiably raised a few eyebrows. On one side of the dais was a giant hand overlaid by the Australian flag, holding up four fingers – to signify the four Ashes Tests Australia won. On the other side, overlaid with the English flag, was a closed fist – to signify Ben Stokes.The home-wrecker
Asked who his favourite opponent was, Dale Steyn said on Twitter that it was Kumar Sangakkara, because not only was Sangakkara great to watch but was also “genuinely the BEST guy out there”, adding the hashtag #smallcrushonSanga. Well, Dale, sure you might be tall and fit and a big-shot match-winner of the modern era, but Mahela Jayawardene has stood by Sanga through the crap sweeps and the put-on posh accents and the endless over-appealing, so how bloody dare you, and STAY THE HELL AWAY!The hazard-tamers
The India Test side is often accused of only performing in friendly conditions, but over the recent past a strange new pattern has emerged. In November, Virat Kohli declared the India innings and put his own team in the field after Sri Lanka’s bowlers got ill in the dangerously polluted Delhi air. Now, in South Africa, on a Wanderers pitch that several former players considered unsafe – and on which even South Africa’s best batsmen would have preferred not to play – India battled bravely on to victory, and even chided the opposition for being less keen on the contest than they were. The message to their future opponents is clear: put India on a pitch with a little bit of grass and they may struggle, but put them in conditions potentially injurious to human health – at oxygen-deprived altitude, say, or in the crater of an active volcano – and they will not only dominate the match, their captain will swear copiously at you while they do.What can we say? He’s a man who likes a good beating•BCCIThe sightscreen beating
In quite incredible non-Stokes violence news, Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman was found by the BCB to have assaulted a 12-year-old fan behind the sightscreen of a first-class game, after the 12-year-old had supposedly “made a noise” at Sabbir. In fact, not only had Sabbir repeatedly hit the spectator, an acquaintance of Sabbir had actually assisted in getting the boy inside the playing area. Later, when the match referee questioned Sabbir about the incident, the batsman was also supposedly aggressive towards the official.Although Sabbir had other punishments imposed on him, he was allowed to continue playing for the national team on probation – an outcome that BCB president Nazmul Hassan said constituted a “strong message to all players”. That message, of course, being: “If you want to continue being a Bangladesh cricketer, you are allowed to assault up to one child just outside the boundary of a cricket match, but absolutely, under no circumstances, more than one.”The side-switchers
Congratulations to Sri Lanka, who this month won their first ODI trophy since late 2016, defeating Bangladesh in the tri-nation series final. The impact of new coach Chandika Hathurusingha, whom the board had lured from Bangladesh in November, was writ large upon the campaign, which obviously benefited from Hathurusingha’s knowledge of the Bangladesh team and their conditions. Sri Lanka’s next tour is to the West Indies in June. If SLC had any brains, it would take stock of the factors that led to this win and steal West Indies’ coach from them in the weeks before that series as well.A team that would confound even Nostradamus•AFP / Getty ImagesThe cliche clique
Last June Pakistan won the Champions Trophy, beating arch-rivals India in emphatic fashion. Now they have lost the ODI series 5-0 to New Zealand. Nineteen months ago, Pakistan were the No. 1-ranked Test team in the world. Now their most recent Test result is a 2-0 loss in the UAE to Sri Lanka, and instead of ruling the longest format, Pakistan now are the top-ranked T20 side. Following the relative stability of the Misbah-ul-Haq years, regular service has clearly resumed. For a while Pakistan were – even if only mildly – a quantifiable cricketing force, with strengths and weaknesses that might be logically recognised and assessed. Now, however, they have slipped back into insanity, and the rest of us have no choice but to renew the old cliches, such as: “they are a mercurial side”, “you never know when they will ignite”, and “depends on which Pakistan turn up”.The walker
As we were indisposed for several days after the company end-of-year bash, the Briefing was regrettably out of commission for December. There is, however, one incident from that month that we cannot overlook. Just hours after wrapping up victory in his debut Test match – a game in which he had scored a hundred – wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Blundell was seen walking home from Wellington’s Basin Reserve, still in his New Zealand Test whites, a stump from the match in hand. So low-key is cricket in New Zealand that this is only the third-quaintest thing to happen in the national team this decade, right after the time Kane Williamson brought his ironing to do during the innings break of an ODI, and Chris Martin tutored history while waiting to bat in a Hamilton Test.

There’s politics, ire and Yorkshire in the July edition of the Briefing

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Aug-2018Just who is eligible for selection in each cricketing nation? So goes the burning question in cricket, after England’s selectors, headed by Ed Smith, called up legspinner Adil Rashid to the England Test squad, just months after Rashid said that his “heart is not there” in red-ball cricket. What does that mean for players like Dinesh Chandimal, whose heart is roughly where it should be, but whose spit (and spirit of cricket) is in places that the ICC finds deplorable, leading to his being suspended for all of July? And why, while England are yanking Test cricketers from the IPL and other limited-overs games, are Sri Lanka suspending more and more of their potential Test cricketers and yet somehow still winning? Confused? So, frankly, is the Briefing, which means we are making fun of everyone. Strap in.The greats of wrath
From the dawn of the universe, since long before Earth’s continents had separated, Yorkshire natives have been complaining about England’s Test selection. Generally they gripe that one of their “ludds” has been unfairly overlooked, but on this occasion Yorkshire is actually aflame because Rashid – one of their own born-and-bred cricketers – has been selected for England despite his refusal to play first-class cricket for the county this year.Rashid, though, has responded to this criticism in truly incendiary fashion, calling negative comments from former England and Yorkshire captain Michael Vaughan “stupid”, and “nonsense”, in addition to profusely slamming his county side for not backing him, thereby proving beyond doubt that he, Rashid, is the most Yorkshire of them all.Long-format deserters?
In bad news for Test cricket – from Bangladesh this time – the BCB president has claimed some of their players, including Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, are reluctant to play the long format. Though, come to think of it, this may not be bad news for everyone. Smith and Co will probably take it to mean that Shakib and Mustafizur are available for England Test selection.Spin-trouble corner
Over the last few years, the world’s Test outfits have split themselves into two groups: teams who can barely play spin, and teams who would rather set themselves on fire. In July, South Africa proved themselves to be in that second group, crashing to 124, 73 and 126 in the same series in which Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne hit 356 runs by himself. The visitors did their very best to not moan about the state of the pitches, but couldn’t quite make it through the whole series. On the penultimate day, opener Dean Elgar suggested that Sri Lanka had stitched them up with a flat surface in the practice match before running through their batsmen on spinning pitches in the Tests.Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo LtdThe Icelandic honeypot
Dreamt up as a cricketing magnet for “mums and kids”, the ECB’s new format, The Hundred, has been in the news this month, with newspapers reporting that the ten-ball over that was originally proposed could be scrapped in favour of 20 five-ball overs, which would make up the 100 deliveries. While the ECB is fretting over these details, however, the Iceland Cricket board announced it would get the jump on England and host their own Hundred match, at which point, presumably, all of Britain’s mothers and children leapt with joy and booked their tickets to Iceland immediately, unable to resist the new format’s charm.The head of state
Congratulations are due to Imran Khan, Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain of 1992, who became the first international cricketer to become his nation’s elected head of government. Somewhere, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka’s recent minister of petroleum development, has become elated watching the Imran news, certain that just like with the World Cup, it will soon be his turn to shine.Lessons on how to suck
While would-be franchises pondered legal action against Cricket South Africa in July over the cancellation of last year’s T20 Global League, Sri Lanka Cricket administrators provided their South African counterparts with a masterclass in failing. The Sri Lankan board cancelled their own Lankan Premier League less than seven weeks from when it was supposed to begin, and had done so little work on the tournament that there were no sponsors, no franchises, or any vested groups of any nature to take umbrage, brilliantly protecting the board from potential lawsuits. This particular cancellation was largely due to the government’s dissolution of the board, which was in turn to the board’s incompetence. In general, this is the third occasion that an announced T20 showcase tournament has failed to materialise in Sri Lanka.Next month on the Briefing– Britain in crisis as mums and kids completely obsessed with the Hundred refuse to return from Iceland.- SLC unveils fresh plans for a grand T20 tournament in June 2019; schedules cancellation of said tournament for May.- As a reward for outstanding recent form, England’s selectors call up footballer Harry Kane into Test squad.

Overcoming a poor start in international cricket and an unimpressive IPL season earlier this year, the fast bowler is churning out one memorable performance after another with the red ball

Varun Shetty in Bengaluru02-Sep-2018Mohammed Siraj makes you wonder if he knows how big a deal it is to take eight wickets in a first-class innings. At the press conference after taking career-best figures of 8 for 59, Siraj strutted in calmly, gave insipid answers to highly technical cricket questions, and reassured the journalists that, really, no extra effort had gone in at all into his recent transformation into a red-ball bowling beast. It’s a word loosely used to describe sportsmen, but Siraj’s streak has been markedly beast-class over the last few weeks. When Australia A’s innings ended with Siraj’s eighth wicket on the first day, the fast bowler from Hyderabad had completed his third five-wicket haul in four innings, and his tally after a below-average IPL season with Royal Challengers Bangalore is now 37 wickets in eight innings.ESPNcricinfo LtdSiraj is seemingly a boisterous personality at other times. Just ask Abhimanyu Easwaran, who got the first dose of Siraj’s fury when he dropped a catch at gully early in the day. Or every single one of his eight victims, all of whom saw Siraj leap up in celebration near the batting crease. The slim crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium will also testify to Siraj’s nature, having struggled all day to get a wave out of Rahul Dravid, but barely having to hiss to get an animated response from Siraj as he led the team off.Still, it is easy to understand why Siraj is calm about what he has done. It’s not the first time he has gone on a manic wicket-taking streak in a very short career. It’s not even the first time this year.During the Vijay Hazare Trophy in February this year, Siraj took three five-wicket hauls in six List A games. His career average in the one-day format is 20.78. Before that, and before his journey into the big leagues with a Sunrisers Hyderabad contract in 2017, Siraj had gone on a rampage to take 41 wickets for Hyderabad in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, second on the charts overall behind Anupam Sanklecha’s tally of 43. As of Sunday evening, Siraj’s first-class bowling average was 18.71.It is justified, then, when Siraj says he is merely “doing what I always do” to explain this burst of form.”I was selected for the Indian team in the T20s. And then I came directly to days cricket. Rahul [Dravid] sir told me to focus on line and length and after that I spoke to Bharat Arun (India’s bowling coach), asking him what I should do as I transitioned directly into red-ball cricket. He told me to focus on the same things I’ve always done and not to try anything new. So I kept at it,” Siraj explained.Siraj has said in the past that his biggest strength is the inswinger to the right-hander, and it was screamingly on display through the day. When the ball had just begun to reverse, Siraj had switched to the end that would bring him eight wickets, and Australia’s batsmen didn’t stand a chance. Impressively, though, Siraj was also managing to swing them the other way, into the left-handers and away from the right-handers. Both Kurtis Patterson and Marnus Labuschagne were out to the same yorker.”I didn’t really learn it from anyone,” Siraj said of his new skill, “just every time I have an issue with my bowling, I call Bharat Arun sir and tell him what’s going on. He takes a look and sends me video analyses to fix whatever is wrong.”Siraj hadn’t played leather-ball cricket until 2015, three years ago, and unlike a lot of bowlers of his generation, is not accustomed to speaking the science of strategy, or about biomechanics when it comes to his craft. As a bowler who thinks in much simpler ways about the game, Siraj can sometimes be frustrating to watch when a plan isn’t working.On many occasions in T20s, Siraj has gone for plenty. In his three T20I games, he has bowled full four-over spells each time, and his economy rate is 12.33. For RCB earlier this year, he conceded 40-plus runs four times in 11 matches. Despite possessing a lethal yorker, Siraj seems to find ways to go for runs.Mohammed Siraj takes off in celebration•BCCIBut Dravid, who has worked with the fast bowler, says Siraj’s maturity means he has been learning and getting better, even if he doesn’t say so.”Maturity is one thing,” Dravid told ESPNcricinfo before the series. “The last three four-day games, in England and here has been terrific. To get 26 [29 at the time] wickets in the last three games is terrific. It’s his maturity that stands out.”He is someone who has played very less first-class matches. He hasn’t been really part of the system as he hasn’t played much junior cricket. He is learning all the time. So even in white-ball cricket, I won’t be too harsh on him too quickly because he hasn’t played that much, may be a little bit of IPL. He had one good season and then he was in and out. It’s been great to give him the chance to perform. He has been bowling in much better areas and he has grown better physically.”Usman Khawaja, who was the only batsman who seemed to keep Siraj at bay during his century, said that the bowler’s bowling form was comparable to a batting innings: “You start scoring and it just keeps rolling. I think it’s the same with his bowling at the moment.”He just bowled really accurately. He looked like he had a simple plan too. He’s got good skills. So obviously he’s high on confidence too, because he’s taken a few wickets over the last few months. He was telling me how he took a lot of wickets in England too. Looks like he’s been bowling pretty well recently.”For now, to prolong the batting analogy, it’s an innings of fluidic efficiency. With an India-West Indies Test series lurking, Siraj will do hard to avoid an injudicious slog.

St Lucia Stars are stuck in a rut, while Colin Munro has set the early pace with the bat and David Warner has kept finding bizarre ways to get out

Deivarayan Muthu15-Aug-2018Dre Russ’ perfect captaincy debut
A breathtaking catch to dismiss Chris Lynn. A hat-trick – only the second in the CPL. A 40-ball hundred – the fastest in the CPL. Jamaica Tallawahs’ Andre Russell marked his captaincy debut with perhaps the greatest all-round performance in T20 cricket.ESPNcricinfo LtdRussell’s athletic intervention at extra-cover first snaffled his Kolkata Knight Riders team-mate Lynn for 46. Then, a ball after Trinbago Knight Riders had muscled their way to 216, the highest total in the league, Russell dismissed Brendon McCullum, Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin in a hat-trick.Russell, however, saved his best for the chase. All right, he was dropped off the first ball he faced, but securing a 224-run chase from 41 for 5 with three balls to spare takes some doing. He shellacked 13 sixes, including a monster blow off Sunil Narine that disappeared over the Carib Beer stand and out of the Queen’s Park Oval. That’s how you ace your captaincy debut.No way out for St Lucia Stars?
Is there any bottom to the abyss St Lucia Stars are hurtling into? They are winless in their last 14 matches, a streak stretching back to CPL 2016, and even their ever-smiling former captain Darren Sammy looked despondent after they botched a chase of 142 from 113 for 2 in the 17th over against Guyana Amazon Warriors. In all, St Lucia have lost three matches so far in CPL 2018 and are the only side with a negative net run-rate.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhether it’s the curse of the Zouks, St Lucia’s former moniker, or a lack of confidence, Stars to find a way out of this rut, if they are to salvage this season.Warner, Smith watch
David Warner had found bizarre ways to get out in the Global T20 Canada, and managed only 109 runs in eight innings at an average of 13.62 and strike-rate of 114.73. He fell to another bizarre dismissal against Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence. When Imran Tahir bowled a full-toss on middle stump, Warner shaped to reverse-sweep but instead only gloved the ball towards point. Umpire Nigel Dungid, however, gave him out lbw, despite the tickle and the impact with the gloves appearing outside the line of off stump. The ball might have missed off stump too. In all, the decision left Warner peeved.Steven Smith, on the other hand, had a more encouraging start to CPL 2018, with a match-winning 41 off 37 balls for Barbados Tridents against Guyana. After crawling to 17 off 21 balls, he made 24 off his next 16 balls.Best batsman of the week
TKR’s Colin Munro has set the early pace with back-to-back fifties. We all know of his might against the seamers, but he was also fluent against Imad Wasim’s left-arm drift and Adam Zampa’s legbreaks on Friday. He read a wrong’un from Zampa, forayed down the track, and pinged the sightscreen with a six. He also took Imad for a brace of pulled boundaries in the arc between midwicket and long-on. So far, Munro has hit 164 runs in three innings at a strike-rate of 153.27; Russell is hot on his heels with 124 runs in two innings.Best bowler of the week
After impressing his captain Dwayne Bravo at Winnipeg Hawks in Global T20 Canada, USA quick Ali Khan was called up to replace Ronsford Beaton at TKR, who are also captained by Bravo. He has caught the eye in the CPL as well, with his skiddy pace and dance moves that aren’t too far behind those of Bravo and the franchise’s owner Shahrukh Khan, who was in attendance for TKR’s match against Tallawahs.Ali Khan hit a hard length – neither driveable nor pullable – with the new ball and claimed three wickets in six balls to set up his side nicely against Tallawahs before he dropped Russell first ball and watched him unleash an unrelenting assault.ESPNcricinfo LtdAli Khan, however, put that drop behind him in the next match against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and took three more wickets, including that of Carlos Brathwaite. In addition to being the top wicket-taker with seven scalps, Ali Khan has saved 29.37 runs, the most by a bowler this CPL, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats.

All the news you missed in June, and some stuff you wished you’d forgotten – it’s all in the Briefing

Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Jul-2018The football World Cup might have the planet giddy at the moment, but these uncouth football folks should honestly start watching their backs. Ever since the ICC announced it would like cricket to be the most popular sport in the world, in 2015, its officials have been working tirelessly. They have done things like confirm the cricket World Cup will be shrunk to ten elite teams, while football has plans to expand to 48 nations. Who wants to give pleb underdogs the chance to upset the natural order of things, or turn no-name players into heroes on the biggest stage the sport has to offer? Officials have also gone out of their way to stop and steel bands playing in venues in Sri Lanka and South Africa, because what kind of moron commoner needs an atmosphere to distract from the high art of a stonewalling batting day? What else is cricket doing on this unstoppable march to global domination? The Briefing takes a look.Cricket’s actual best chance of becoming the world’s favourite game
Is there any way we can get the football World Cup, as well as major events in all other competing sports, to be administered by the ICC?Turning over a new leaf

While diving is the bane of football, cricket has been dealing with its own player-behaviour issues this year, with verbal aggression towards opponents coming under the microscope in the aftermath of Australia’s tour of South Africa. Under new coach Justin Langer, Australia arrived in England vowing to do away with “abusing” the opposition, while sticking instead to mere “banter”. Langer even used the example of the words he exchanges with his daughter while playing the Uno card game, to lay out the boundaries of what was acceptable.Perhaps, thanks to this new Australian philosophy, we will not see the kinds of classic sledges that Ashes series in past decades have been known for.But whatever the case, Langer’s men did emphatically deliver on the promise that there would be a fresh start, in the sense that no Australia side in living memory has been thrashed as extravagantly in England, as this team. They lost the limited-overs encounters 6-0.Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo LtdThe series enliveners
One outfit that did their best to keep cricket in the news in June was Sri Lanka, who upon seeing largely empty stands in their Test series in the Caribbean, took it upon themselves to make the tour interesting. In the second Test, their captain, Dinesh Chandimal, was charged with ball-tampering, to which the defence was that he did not remember exactly which of the objects in his pocket he had put in his mouth before using saliva on the ball. (Maybe what he swallowed was one of those memory-loss drugs.) He was eventually suspended after being found guilty.In the next Test, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 154 in the first innings, conceding a significant first-innings lead. Then their own quicks knocked West Indies over for 93, swinging the match dramatically, like it was under the influence of so much Chandimal saliva.Mr Sharma goes to Washington
The USA is one of the key markets the ICC wishes to crack – a market Rohit Sharma was last month given a chance to impress, when he was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Seattle Mariners baseball game. He could have showed the Americans just how superior cricket was compared to their puny baseball. He could have loaded up, taken aim, and sent a laser beam right into the middle of the catcher’s mitt, from which smoke would immediately pour due to the heat on that ball.But instead Rohit ambled casually up to the mound, and fired in a throw so wayward it sent spectators ducking for cover at a separate baseball game two states over, setting cricket back several decades in North America.1:08

WATCH – Rohit Sharma at a baseball game

Steven Smith’s rough day
Spare a thought for Steven Smith, who according to a news story originating in Australia, cut a “sad and lonely” figure in New York, on a day in which he visited global superstar Hugh Jackman to talk about charity, supposedly looked at property in swanky neighbourhoods, and in the evening, visited a bar for a few quiet beers. Going by the tone of this coverage, Smith then presumably retired to his hotel room to weep loudly about the state of his life, while a homeless person played violin outside his window.MC Shastreezy
From the mouth that brought us “tracer bullet”, “what the doctor ordered”, as well as “flashing and flashing hard”, a new cricketing witticism comes. Maybe it was hearing the word “yo” so many times in the dressing room that inspired India coach Ravi Shastri to try his hand at a little rap, when he announced at a press conference about India’s yo-yo tests, that “If you pass, you play / If you fail, you sail.” Now, to the layman, this doesn’t seem to make sense – isn’t sailing generally thought of as a pleasant, even pleasurable activity? But Shastri isn’t speaking to the layman. If you don’t get it, it’s because you are too stupid. The word “sail” obviously harks back to the time in which India players had to travel by boat to England, and Shastri is making the point that if you fail a yo-yo Test, you are clearly obsolete. Give the man his Nobel.Fawad Alam Sadness Corner
He scored tons of domestic runs, like he does every year. He was overlooked again for Pakistan’s Test team, like he is every year. This time went to England to try and bat away the pain at club level, which is clearly beneath a man of his talents. Then, Fawad is done the ultimate cricketing indignity – he gets out in the lamest way possible when he is timed out for failing to show at the batting crease within three minutes of his Clitheroe CC team-mate’s dismissal. Worse, he angrily throws his bat in the dressing room and “accidentally” breaks a window (no cricketer in history, from Matt Prior to Ricky Ponting to Shakib Al Hasan, has broken dressing-room glass), and gets a load of negative media coverage.Next month on The Briefing– A week after suggesting having a quiet beer was an unsuitable solo activity, Australia media outlet does follow-up story on Steve Smith. Headline: “Disgraced cricket cheat forlornly poops all alone in Toronto toilet.”- Fawad Alam’s taxi falls into lake on way to match; Fawad kicked out of Clitheroe CC side for turning up late.- Dinesh Chandimal kicks himself for not having thought to tell the match referee that what he swallowed in the tampering clip was actually truth serum.

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ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2018

Umesh Yadav became only the third fast bowler for India to take a ten-wicket haul at home

Bharath Seervi14-Oct-201810 – Number of consecutive Test series wins at home by India with this 2-0 victory over West Indies, including the two one-off Test series against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It is the joint-longest streak for any team at home. Australia had two such streaks ending in 2000 and 2008. No other team has more than eight home series victories in a row.23-1 – India’s win-loss record in home Tests since the start of 2013, easily the most dominating record for any team at home. They played 29 Tests, winning 23 of them, losing one and drawing five. No other team has fewer home defeats than India in this period. Australia are the next with a 20-2 win-loss record from 27 Tests.

Most consecutive Test series wins at home

Team	Consecutive series wins	From	To
Australia	10	November 1994	November 2000
Australia	10	July 2004	November 2008
India	10*	February 2013	–
West Indies	8	March 1976	February 1986
England	7	May 2009	May 2012
South Africa	7	March 1998	November 2001

3 – Number of consecutive home Tests won by India within three days of play. They won in just two days against Afghanistan in June and in three days in both the matches of this series. India had won four successive home Tests inside three days between 2013 and 2015, which is the record.7 – Number of successive series wins for India against West Indies. India have won all the seven series played between the two teams since the 2002-03 home series. In 21 Tests in these seven series, they haven’t lost a single Test. In seven series prior to that, India had not won a single series against West Indies. In fact, in 16 series before the current seven-series streak, India had won only two series.20.37 – West Indies’ average runs per wicket in this series – the fifth-worst for any visiting team in a series of two or more Tests in India. In the 2013-14 series, West Indies’ average was 19.27 which is second on the list. South Africa’s average runs per wicket of 14.78 in the 2015-16 Freedom Trophy is the worst. Three of the five worst averages for visiting teams in India have come in the last five years.57.42 – Average runs per wicket for India in this series, which is their fifth-best in any home series of two or more matches. It was also the highest such average for India in any Test series against West Indies beating 50.30 in the 1978-79 home series. In comparison to their counterparts, India’s batsmen averaged 37 runs more every wicket.

Comparison of India and West Indies in the series

Team	Ave runs per wicket	Ave of pacers	Ave of spinners
India	57.42	16.23	21.84
West Indies	20.37	38.00	80.12

3 – Number of India fast bowlers to take a ten-wicket haul in home Tests. Umesh Yadav, with figures of 10 for 133, became the first India pacer since Javagal Srinath against Pakistan in Kolkata in 1999, to take a ten-for. Kapil Dev is the only one to have taken two such hauls, in the early 1980s. Umesh is also the first fast bowler since Dale Steyn in Nagpur in 2010 to take a ten-for in India.Umesh Yadav became only the third India fast bowler to take 10 wickets in a home Test•ESPNcricinfo Ltd29.9 – Umesh’s bowling strike rate in Tests this year, which is the best for any India bowler in a calendar year taking 15 or more wickets. He has picked up 18 wickets in four Tests this year. He also had a strike rate of 36.1 in 2011, which is the next-best among India fast bowlers in a year.6 – Instances of teams managing a ten-wicket victory after gaining a smaller lead than India’s lead of 56 in this Test. The smallest lead after which a team went on to win by ten wickets is 26, on two occasions: Sri Lanka versus New Zealand in Galle in 2012 and Australia against England in Brisbane in the Ashes 2017. For India, the previous smallest lead to result in ten-wicket victory was also in Hyderabad: a lead of 104 runs, against New Zealand in 1988.

He’s often asked more questions about his father, the former All Black John Mitchell, than about himself, but that is all set to change for New Zealand’s newbie allrounder

Deivarayan Muthu05-Feb-2019Ever wondered how cool it would be to rub shoulders with the All Blacks as well as the Black Caps? Ask New Zealand newbie Daryl Mitchell, the son of former All Black John Mitchell, who later coached the rugby side as well. On his first day of training with the New Zealand cricket team Daryl gushed: “It’s pretty cool; something you dream of as a little kid. It’s like a kid opening up your package on Christmas and getting into it. Stoked.”Watch India v NZ live

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It must have been equally cool getting to watch the All Blacks train with his father while growing up. Mitchell senior is now with England as their defensive coach, and his son was up early in Hamilton on Sunday to watch England topple pre-tournament favourites Ireland in the Six Nations Championship. Now, with Kane Williamson hinting that New Zealand will use the three-match T20I series against India to test their bench strength, Daryl, who had a stellar season in the Super Smash T20 tournament, is on the brink of an international debut.”I woke up and watched England get up for the win,” Daryl says. “Dad was pretty happy with that performance I’d say. I messaged him, he’s excited for me to get this opportunity, and I’m happy for him. Hopefully, they win the Six Nations and put a smile on his face. “So who is Daryl supporting at the Rugby World Cup – England or the All Blacks?”That’s a tough one. If England make the final against the All Blacks, but the All Blacks beat them, maybe. Let’s go with that.”After breaking into New Zealand’s squad, Daryl has had to deal with more questions about his high-profile father than about himself. While he concedes that spending time with the All Blacks has helped him become the professional he is now, he downplays the spotlight on him and his father.”He’s always just been my dad, he’s gone to work just like every other dad does,” Daryl says.”It just happened that he went to rugby training instead of to an office or something.”It was cool growing up, I got to watch the All Blacks and the Chiefs train and be around professional sport which probably helped me create who I am and how I go about things today. At the end of the day he’s just my dad and he’s still a pain in the ass sometimes and it’s pretty normal for me anyway.”Daryl Mitchell makes a valiant attempt to stop a boundary•BCCIIn addition to being well-equipped to deal with pressure, Daryl can bank on his excellent form, especially with the bat, in the Super Smash. In the absence of several New Zealand players and allrounder Anton Devcich, who is playing for the Sydney Thunder across the Tasman Sea, Daryl led the way for table-toppers Northern Knights. He is currently the second-highest run-getter in the competition with 318 runs in nine innings at a strike-rate of 140.08. But the most telling stat is that nobody has struck more sixes this season than his 19.Daryl is among the cleanest strikers in New Zealand domestic cricket and is particularly strong hitting in the V. He also has an Australian connection, having honed his skills at Scarborough Cricket Club in Western Australia. When he was 14, Daryl moved to Perth for about six years as his father secured a deal with Western Force.He then returned to Hamilton and made his debut for Northern Districts in 2011-12. Having started his career as batsman, he has developed into an allrounder who can pitch in with handy medium-pace. In this season’s Super Smash, after Chris Jordan joined Devcich at the Thunder, Daryl was the Knights’ go-to death bowler alongside their South African recruit Kyle Abbott. He impressed with his wide yorkers and cutters, and reckons he’s ready to do the job for New Zealand as well.”My role doesn’t change a lot with what I’m doing with ND at the moment,” Mitchell says. “I’m happy to do a job with the ball if Kane needs me. Obviously, batting is my main priority. If Kane throws me the ball, I’ll do whatever job that needs to be done.”Daryl’s also a fantastic fielder to boot. Remember his tag-team effort at the edge of the boundary with Tim Southee to dismiss Asif Raza in the Champions League T20 in 2014? It even made ESPN’s Sportcenter’s top 10 plays of the day.When Mitchell Santner was playing county cricket in 2016, he joked to Daryl, his Northern Districts team-mate, that his captain at Worcestershire, the English Daryl Mitchell, was the better Daryl Mitchell. He might revise that opinion, though, when the other one makes his international debut.