And how many bowlers have taken hat-tricks as well as been victims of one?

Steven Lynch29-Aug-2023Stuart Broad took a hat-trick in a Test, and was also a victim in one. How many others have been on both sides of a hat-trick? asked Abhishek Chakravorty from India

You’re right that Stuart Broad not only claimed a Test hat-trick – in fact he took two, against India at Trent Bridge in 2011, and Sri Lanka at Headingley in 2014 – but was also part of one, as the last victim of Peter Siddle’s birthday hat-trick in Brisbane in 2010-11.Five other men have featured on both sides of a Test hat-trick: Darren Gough (England), Shane Warne (Australia), Nuwan Zoysa (Sri Lanka), Harbhajan Singh (India) and Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka). For the full list of Test hat-tricks, click here.In men’s ODIs, there are also six: Kapil Dev (India), Mohammad Sami (Pakistan), Brett Lee (Australia), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Rubel Hossain (Bangladesh) and Zimbabwe’s Prosper Utseya, who was actually part of two hat-tricks as well as taking one. For the ODI list, click here.And there are two in men’s T20Is: Khalid Ahmadi of Belgium and Uganda’s Kenneth Waiswa. For that list, click here.There are no instances in women’s Tests or ODIs, but four in T20Is: by Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Megan Schutt (Australia), Fahima Khatun (Bangladesh) and Onnicha Kamchomphu (Thailand). For that list, click here.Does the famous match at the Wanderers when South Africa scored 438 to win still hold the record for the highest aggregate in a one-day international? asked Abdurrahman Bakhsh from South Africa

On that memorable evening in Johannesburg in March 2006, Australia ran up 434 for 4, but South Africa edged past them with 438 for 9. The match aggregate of 872 runs not only remains the ODI record – next comes the 825 of India (414 for 7) vs Sri Lanka (411 for 8) in Rajkot in 2009-10 – but is still the highest in any List A (senior one-day) match. It came under threat at Trent Bridge in 2016, when the Royal London Cup game between Nottinghamshire (445 for 8) and Northamptonshire (425) featured 870 runs. In all, there have now been 11 List A games with 800 or more runs.Seven different St Lucia bowlers took a wicket in an innings in a CPL match earlier this month. Was this a record for any T20 game? asked Sandesh Acharekar from India

Seven St Lucia Kings bowlers took a wicket in their recent Caribbean Premier League match against Barbados Royals in Gros Islet – Matthew Forde grabbed three, and the six other bowlers one apiece (there was also a run-out, from the first ball of the innings). This equalled the record for senior T20 cricket: there have now been no fewer than 25 instances of seven, including five in official internationals. Earlier this year, seven Ireland bowlers took wickets as they upset Bangladesh in Chattogram.Kumar Sangakkara and Brian Lara are among eight batters to have scored a double-hundred and a hundred in the same Test•Getty ImagesDerbyshire’s Luis Reece scored a double-hundred and a century in the same game earlier this season. How often has this happened? asked Michael Edwards from… Derbyshire

Left-hander Luis Reece made 131 and added 201 not out as Derbyshire followed on against Glamorgan in Derby last month.Reece provided the 73rd instance of this double in first-class cricket, but only the second for Derbyshire, after the Australian Chris Rogers against Surrey at The Oval in 2010. The first to do it anywhere was CB Fry, with 125 and 229 for Sussex against Surrey in Hove in 1900 (the only instance before the First World War). Zaheer Abbas achieved the feat four times, all for Gloucestershire, remaining not out in all eight innings.The figure of 73 includes eight occurrences in Tests, the most recent by Marnus Labuschagne for Australia against West Indies in Perth in 2022-23, and also the two instances of a triple and a single century in the same Test – by Graham Gooch for England vs India at Lord’s in 1990, and Kumar Sangakkara for Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2013-14.Also, in the main number are the two cases of two double-centuries in the same first-class match, by Arthur Fagg for Kent against Essex in Colchester in 1938, and Angelo Perera for Nondescripts vs Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo in 2018-19.As the World Athletics Championships are going on at the moment, I wondered if any Test cricketers had ever won medals? asked Andrew Simpson from England

By the time the World Athletics Championships began, in 1983, increased professionalism meant it was increasingly difficult for anyone to rise to the top in more than one sport, as had been relatively commonplace in earlier years. But you should never say never: I believe there is one world athletics medallist who also played a cricket Test match. Sunette Viljoen won the silver medal in the women’s javelin in Daegu in 2011, and bronze in Beijing in 2015; in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 she won an Olympic silver medal too. Before her athletics career took over, Viljoen played one Test for South Africa, against India in Paarl in 2001-02. She also played 17 one-day internationals, and featured in the 2000 World Cup. One imagines you wouldn’t have wanted to try a quick single to her in the field.There was another close connection to Test cricket in the most recent world championships. Rai Benjamin won the bronze medal in the men’s 400 metres hurdles, having won silver in the same event in 2019 and 2022; he also won silver (and a gold in the 4x400m relay) at the Tokyo Olympics. He’s the son of the former West Indian fast bowler Winston Benjamin, who played 21 Tests and 85 ODIs between 1986 and 1995.Also in Budapest, Brandon Starc – the brother of Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc – finished eighth in the men’s high jump.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

From a solid position, it suddenly and irretrievably all went downhill, triggered by the dismissal of Babar Azam

Shashank Kishore14-Oct-20231:32

‘Lack of application, mindless batting’, says Urooj Mumtaz

It’s possible Babar Azam has never batted in as humdrum an atmosphere as what existed at the Narendra Modi Stadium while he was around, making India work. When you are box-office royalty, even a simple hand wave can fire the decibel levels. So what are the chances that a pristine cover drive elicits nothing more than pin-drop silence? It just seems wrong, right?When Babar bats, even the most objective person cannot help the odd clap or loud thump. It’s simply a natural reaction to witnessing a thing of beauty. And Babar’s shots are this most times. The kind of shots you pay big money to watch. And people who flocked into Motera on Saturday invested big, of course.Whether it was the time taken to cover train journeys from the far east or down south, or spending a night in pitched tents at designated spots on the outskirts in neighbouring Nadiad. People had traded months of savings and plenty of energy just to be able to witness the occasion.And then they saw Babar bat. There was disdain and dominance in the way he simply met the ball right under his eyes and caressed it with minimal feet. It’s the kind of batsmanship that has wings to transport you into a parallel universe. Like the on-drive he welcomed Shardul Thakur with first ball. Ufff. High elbow, straight bat, an element of wrist, a lovely followthrough. Magic.Babar was simply loading up and the stunned silence in the crowd told you quite clearly that India had a task at hand. But Rohit Sharma and Co weren’t perhaps as stressed as the crowd was; they knew their bowling had all-round awesomeness. And all it took was one awe-inspiring spell to kill off the contest. Even batters as seasoned as Babar and Mohammad Rizwan, coming off a seminal knock in the previous game, weren’t immune to it.Related

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Pakistan’s tactic seemed clear. Build an innings, go deep and then tee off. Babar was largely copybook in his pursuit, Rizwan a bit more enterprising. One of his first acts was one of daredevilry – you simply don’t sweep Ravindra Jadeja against the turn, at least not that early.ESPNcricinfo’s Karthik Krishnaswamy posed this question to Jadeja after the Australia game, asking whether he lines up a batter based on the surface and how he decides the amount of turn he wants to impart to a delivery. Jadeja jokingly dismissed it, not wanting to give away much for the risk of his plans being “printed in English” for the world to read. It’s now a popular Instagram reel beneath which there’s sound logic for anyone wanting to decode it.Rizwan completely shunned the sweep against the turn from deliveries starting on middle from there on. It was a direct acknowledgment of Jadeja’s skills. As Jadeja went about tying knots at one end, Kuldeep Yadav was strengthening this position at the other. Pakistan’s first reaction was to try and keep him out, limiting their range of shots. Kuldeep strung together 17 dots in five overs and even nearly had Babar lbw. The pressure to break free was beginning to show.The stranglehold wasn’t lost on Rohit. He duly went back to Mohammed Siraj in the hope of a wicket in the 28th over and succeeded two overs later when Siraj had Babar. He was no more than a split-second late on a ball he wanted to glide but was defeated by the skid. You wondered if all that risk was worth one run, but then it’s also a shot he profits a lot from.It’s a pressure-relieving shot that Babar plays with great finesse; when he reels off boundaries through them, it seems all too cute and mushy. So far this tournament, Babar hadn’t lasted long enough for teams to apply this kind of squeeze. Now that India had done it, it was the first time he’d been tested in a real sense. And he didn’t quite get his release shot right in the first instance. This then was the inch of an opening that India would go on to open up into an acre.Saud Shakeel could’ve been out second ball had Siraj effected a direct hit at the bowler’s end, but he couldn’t cash in on the luck. If it was skid that did Babar in, decisiveness cost Saud as he played back to one that drifted in. It was a costly mistake against Kuldeep, who is a confidence bowler.1:27

‘Lack of application, mindless batting’, says Urooj Mumtaz

When he’s in rhythm, there’s an unmistakable confidence to his wrong ‘uns. Some wristspinners use it as a stock ball, Kuldeep doesn’t, but cleverly varies his line of attack. Iftikhar Ahmed expected the ball to spin in, and because it started from outside leg, he backed himself to go through with the slog sweep even though he didn’t get to the pitch of it. This one went the other way and snuck through to crash into the stumps. At that point, Pakistan had lost 3 for 11 in 3.3 overs.This is Kuldeep 2.0, but even in his previous avatar, he’d been gobbling up Pakistan’s batters with his thrift and guile. Remember that ball to Babar from the 2019 World Cup? The ball that had Shane Warne guffawing in awe?Okay, why go that far? Let’s look back just six weeks prior, to Colombo, where he bamboozled Pakistan with a five-for at the Asia Cup. So, there’s a history of struggle against Kuldeep. Here, in a World Cup game, a combination of mental cobwebs from the past and a bowler at his peak contributed to the collapse. It’s the kind of scenario that leave captains wanting to attack from both ends and Rohit certainly wasn’t in the mood to let it slip.With Jasprit Bumrah back on, the alarm bells began to ring. Pakistan don’t play India a lot, and there’s only so much you can analyse. All told, Bumrah can bowl deliveries that can be hard to analyse. Sure, he does wicked angles, bowls mean bouncers, floors batters with pinpoint yorkers. But how can data and match-ups prepare you for his most underrated delivery – or is it underrated anymore? An offcutter that landed on a perfect length deviated just about enough to beat Rizwan’s push. To outdo a batter with Rizwan’s form, after he was well set, told you of Bumrah’s clutch mentality. And yet it wasn’t even his best ball.

‘All told, 8 for 36 in 80 balls and little over an hour – it’s what nightmares are made of’

That was reserved for Shadab Khan, who was befuddled by late seam movement that squared him up and kissed the top of off. They’re deliveries you dream of as a fast bowler. This was no dream though; it was unfolding in reality. Pakistan’s innings had just gone from being one full of hope half an hour earlier to a collapse of epic proportions. The heart of their innings had just been ripped out in broad daylight.And just like that, the soft underbelly of their middle order, which had been papered over by individual brilliance on other nights, stood exposed. Rizwan had done the papering over three nights ago. Tonight’s collapse left you wondering what would’ve been had Rizwan retired out with cramps back then. But now they were back to square one. Big top, weak middle.For much of their innings, Pakistan had been walking a tightrope anyway, and that one passage of play from Kuldeep and Bumrah was the nightmare from hell that had the potential to undo everything they’d built up so far at this World Cup. Two wins, including a record chase, the emergence of young stars in Saud and Shafique, the return to form of Babar, and the Rizwan magic. All told, 8 for 36 in 80 balls in little over an hour – it’s what nightmares are made of.It all suddenly felt a little foggy for Pakistan. And the humdrum quiet was gone from the Motera.

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 may or may not make the squad to the USA and the Caribbean, but have done enough to get on the selectors’ radar

Danyal Rasool20-Mar-2024Haider AliThere is no evidence that Haider Ali has changed, but he merely served a reminder of what he is like at his best, a seductively clean ball-striker. Having seemingly regressed after a string of low scores over the past couple of years, he was left unpicked at the draft before Islamabad United plumped for him as a late replacement. And two nerveless, unbeaten innings in virtual knockouts for United conjured flashbacks of the kind of player Pakistan thought they were getting with Haider.Earlier in Haider’s career, Pakistan tried to use him up the order, but with a paucity of lower-order hitters at United, he was deployed there, and that now offers possibilities for Pakistan. Competition for places is much less fierce in those lower-middle-order positions, and the upcoming T20Is against New Zealand will be the perfect time for a trial.There’s no reason 23-year-old Haider cannot improve, but if Pakistan think he has turned a corner, they may be disappointed. He failed to reach double-figures in 12 of his last 19 innings, so a clarity of thought around the purpose of Haider will be essential. In him, a side acquires an occasional big-hitter, not a guaranteed run-scorer.Imad Wasim might not be done with international cricket yet•PCBImad WasimImad Wasim last played for Pakistan over a year ago, and has officially retired from international cricket, but it’s difficult to ignore him. A player who effortlessly polarises opinion, Imad’s consistently effective all-round showings this tournament were a throwback to a time when he opened the bowling for a side that won 11 T20I series in a row. Injuries, and a perceived lack of commitment to fitness, have seen his international career fade, but with the bulk of this year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, the case for one last dance with the international side has only become stronger.His economy rate of 6.60 was matchless – no bowler (minimum 25 overs) came within almost a full run of it – and his ability to nibble away at opposition top orders without being a run-leaker is far too alluring a combination to ignore. Add to that his record in the CPL, where his 61 wickets have come at under 19, and an economy rate second only to Sunil Narine’s in the history of that competition, and he begins to look like a shoo-in.And that’s without talking about his batting. While not a power-hitter by any stretch of the imagination, Imad’s contributions lower down the order kept Islamabad alive through the group stages, and his presence at the death in the final held the tail together.An unretirement then?The mystery with Mehran Mumtaz is how exactly he gets the ball to grip and turn while bowling at near 100kph•PCBMehran MumtazThere are mystery spinners who appear gimmicky, and mystery spinners who offer a function. The mystery with Mehran Mumtaz is how exactly he gets the ball to grip and turn while bowling at near 100kph. Mumtaz, the 20-year-old left-arm bowler, didn’t play much of the PSL, but in the five games he did, he was both captivating and effective. He took five wickets, but it was the economy rate that stood out – 6.63, a smidge over Imad’s.Five games might not be a significant sample size, but if there are questions over Imad’s longevity and fitness, there should be no similar concerns for Mumtaz. He bowls the bulk of his balls in powerplays, and provided significant breakthroughs in all but one game, counting Reeza Hendricks, Shadab Khan and Saud Shakeel among his victims. He remains an unknown quantity to most in Pakistan, but Pakistan have 12 games before the T20I World Cup, and an ideal opportunity to test him.Abrar Ahmed isn’t a red-ball specialist, and proved that again at the PSL this year•Getty ImagesAbrar AhmedThis, perhaps, is the safer and more likely play for Pakistan’s selectors. Abrar Ahmed broke through at the PSL with Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi before injuries wiped years off his career. But when he re-emerged, Pakistan, for some reason, viewed him as a red-ball specialist, handing him his international debut against England in Multan. He made an instant impression, taking five wickets before lunch and since, the six matches he’s played have all come in the Test format.He was viewed as Pakistan’s frontline spinner for the tour of Australia before a pinched nerve in his right leg ruled him out, but at the PSL this year, he demonstrated his T20 nous has not quite deserted him. He was the third-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, taking a wicket every 15 deliveries at an economy rate superior to Usama Mir’s or Mohammad Ali’s, the only bowlers more prolific. He was an invaluable part of the Quetta Gladiators side, bowling his full quota in all ten games. If he can remain injury free over the upcoming swing leading to the World Cup, expect to see him in a green shirt with white ball in hand at some point. Perhaps even in the Caribbean.At the PSL, only Babar Azam scored more runs than Usman Khan, and the latter played four fewer games•PCB/PSLUsman KhanYeah, yeah, we know this is a bit of a cheat. He’s not even a Pakistan player, having changed his affiliation to the UAE in 2022. That he’s good enough isn’t a doubt at the moment – at the PSL, only Babar Azam scored more runs and Usman played four fewer games, scoring two of the PSL’s four hundreds at an average in excess of 107 and a strike rate exceeding 164.But he’s still got 14 months left to qualify for the UAE, and though he was lukewarm about his ambitions to play for Pakistan, there is little doubt Pakistan wouldn’t want to let a player like him slip away quite so easily. It all comes too quickly for this year’s World Cup, but Usman in a Pakistan shirt? Don’t rule it out just yet.

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.”