The chief executive and general manager, cricket, of the ICC talk about the next Future Tours Programme cycle and its many challenges

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin05-Aug-2022The ICC will soon publish the Future Tours Programme (FTP), the game’s new international cricket calendar for 2023-27. The squeeze on that calendar is the greatest it has ever been: more domestic T20 leagues marking out their own bits of territory, an ever-expanding IPL, more ICC events, more bilateral cricket.The ICC’s role in the discussions that led to this calendar is primarily as a facilitator. We sat down with two officials who played a lead role in that regard, the chief executive, Geoff Allardice, and its general manager of cricket, Wasim Khan, and talked about how and why the calendar is the way it is, the impact it has on player workloads, and the first-ever women’s FTP.Is international cricket in clear and present danger from T20 leagues?
Geoff Allardice: No. T20 leagues have been part of the cricket calendar for 15 years now. They have gradually been growing, but the number of countries putting on leagues – there have probably only been one or two new ones since the last FTP cycle [which ended in 2018].Related

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The time set aside has changed a little bit, but the countries who put on those leagues are also committed to international cricket and have reinforced that at ICC meetings.Wasim Khan: Once we do publish the FTP, you will see that there are more matches in the next cycle than in the current cycle. So, though you hear a lot about bilateral cricket being squeezed out, the facts probably don’t back that up. Yes, there’s additional ICC events, but that also helps with the sustainability of the world game, which is critical. Apart from two or three nations who play a lot of lucrative international cricket, there’s others that are striving for that. We just have to find a way of coexisting, and looking at the FTP, I think we’ve found a way for that to happen in the next cycle [2023-27].Is there a contradiction in members trying to have their T20 leagues but also trying to find space for international cricket?
Allardice: Even four years ago, a large number of the countries set aside windows where their national team players could play in their domestic leagues. It’s just a case of fitting in the international fixtures around them. The balance that each country puts into its FTP regarding the number of ODIs, T20Is and Tests they play is very much a country-by-country choice, and it depends on their market and what appeals to their fans and their broadcasters.Geoff Allardice: “The idea of players choosing certain formats over others is not something that’s just started happening”•Patrick Bolger/IDI/Getty ImagesIs it true that Sourav Ganguly, who is the head of the ICC cricket committee and on the ICC board as BCCI president, said at the chief executives’ meeting that there needs to be a review of the volume of cricket being played going forward? Could you talk about those discussions?
Wasim: The conversation really was around whether anything needed to give, and that was a conversation that the members had between themselves, which we tried to facilitate. Sourav had his own views on the amount of cricket being played. But I don’t think anything concrete came out of that. Again, it was just a healthy debate that they all had around.Allardice: And there are some countries that have got busy schedules and they probably use more players than some of the other countries. Any increase in volume is probably [about] some of the lower-ranked Full Members rather than the top teams.The FTP isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach in terms of what formats you play. The only real structure around it is in [terms of] the World Test Championship. We will say: here’s your six series over two years, and they go off and schedule those. Then they can do things outside that in any format. And really, the volume of ODIs and T20Is is something that is very much up to every member as to how the ratio or balance between the formats should be.Was any commitment made towards maybe looking at how better to streamline T20 leagues within international calendar?
Wasim: There was a conversation around looking at the next cycle, post-2027, just to have a bit more discussion about the amount of cricket that is factored into that next cycle. But nothing in terms of where we are now, because the FTP commitments are set in place in many ways in terms of broadcast and commercial deals. And everyone seems comfortable in terms of where they’ve got to in the FTP.Is it correct that in this upcoming FTP there are about 15% more Test matches, 16% more ODIs, and 6% more T20Is than in the last one?
Wasim Khan: I’m not quite sure of the percentages, but there’s certainly more matches being played in the next cycle. There’s more ICC events in the next cycle. With more teams coming into, or taking part in, the World Cups – we have got five new nations playing women’s ODI cricket, which is a huge step forward for us, there’s going to be a 20-team men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, which is going to be massive for the game.Here today, the other side of the world tomorrow: all the world’s an airport for top players these days•Albert Perez/Getty ImagesUnderpinning that, we’re putting a high-performance strategy together that’s going to support development and growth in those countries. Because for us as the ICC, with these new nations that are coming in, making sure they are competitive is really critical. So we are looking at how we can support them, and provide them with some real high-performance resources to help them, so that when they do get on the world stage, they do themselves justice and it’s a good spectacle.Player workload has become a serious topic of discussion. Virat Kohli raised it. Ben Stokes took a break, came back and played, and now has retired from ODIs and called on administrators to take a look at what’s happening. Does it become a concern for the ICC when big players drop out? When somebody like Stokes, Player of the Final in the last World Cup is not at the 2023 World Cup, is it a hit to the ICC’s World Cup as a product?
Allardice: The idea of players choosing certain formats over others is not something that’s just started happening. When I started working in cricket, players were choosing Test cricket over ODI cricket or vice-versa, so that is going to happen.The only other caveat I’ll throw in is, the calendar at the moment is still playing a little bit of catch-up from Covid, in that there are series in the schedule that probably in a new world wouldn’t necessarily all be arranged in the way that they are. And it is because of tours being postponed or rescheduled, and trying to fit them into the period of this FTP or broadcast-rights cycle. There is still some of that going on at the moment and probably will be over the next nine months or so as well.But certainly, the balance of players playing international cricket versus domestic leagues will continue to evolve. I’m hoping that the best players play international cricket as often as they can. Playing international sport is a huge ambition for most players. They want to play in World Cups and ICC events, but if the economics of the domestic leagues change, then there’s going to be a continual juggle of the balance between those two things from an administrative point of view and players’ point of view. It’s a case of finding that balance in how they spend their calendar year, across which international competitions, which series and which leagues they should play.Wasim Khan: club vs country is not a dilemma that affects only cricket•Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty ImagesHow much concern do the members have about the workload of their own players? Is that something that keeps coming up?
Wasim: The workload question – and I’m talking with my old hat [as PCB CEO] on as well – that’s something that you have to manage as a cricket board. You are always trying to strike a balance between the issues that the players’ associations might have and those conversations that take place with the cricket boards, and to try and find a balance.In countries that don’t have a players’ association, that’s really the responsibility of the cricket boards to kind of look at the scheduling and balance it with playing enough cricket so the fans are satisfied and there’s enough commercial income being generated, while also looking at the health and well-being of players. That’s modern sport now, whichever way you look. You take football in England, for example. You are seeing players pulling out of playing for England – [it’s] the club-versus-country issue.In your experience with the PCB and the ICC, do you think members are by and large getting that balance right?
Wasim: Everyone’s trying to find it. Is it perfect? No. But is it something that the cricket boards are conscious about? Absolutely.At the end of the day, you are dealing with human beings, players. You want your best teams out there, but at the same time you want to make sure that you are trying to strike the balance. You are starting to see more countries now putting out two sides. We have seen recently ODI teams and Test teams [of one country] are playing simultaneously and that might be something that happens more and more as everyone tries to find a balance.Allardice: There are only some countries that are going to need to do that. There’s a lot of countries wanting international fixtures. There’s no shortage of demand for international cricket among the members.Like with the FTP for men’s cricket, the first FTP for the women’s game provides a frame, in the form of the Women’s Championship, and leaves the rest up to the individual boards•Mike Owen/Getty ImagesWasim is right in that the management of each player and their workload, what they do for the national team, what they do in domestic leagues, what they do in national domestic cricket, it’s very much an issue for each of the members to juggle themselves. The management of their players, it’s not something that necessarily bounces off to the ICC on any sort of regular basis.When the FTP is announced, each country will have its own message around that, in the way that they have structured it, who their opponents are, what their commercial arrangements might be, what it means for their players. For us to try and answer on behalf of each member and have that answer apply to all members isn’t really realistic; it’s going to be country by country.Has there ever been a thought given about the ICC having conversations with leading international players or captains on cricket issues?
Allardice: A long time ago, 10-15 years ago, there was the odd occasion when there were captains’ meetings around events. But these days getting people in one place at one time is a bit of a challenge. In today’s world, it’s more doable through virtual means, and it’s something we’ve discussed with FICA [the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations]. So if your question is, are we open to it, the answer is yes.Wasim: There’s a number of issues that could be discussed with the captains. There’s a huge amount of discussion at the moment around neutral umpires, for example. As Geoff said, we are always open to looking at that, it’s just making sure we can logistically make that work so that we can get a host of topics on the table – use those opportunities with the brains that are there to say: well, here’s three or four other areas that we’d like to get your feedback on. Because, you know, getting a broad spectrum of feedback from stakeholders to help us, inform us more about the game and therefore make more better decisions, is really, really important.Cricket has got to the point where the icon player of the last World Cup will not be on view in the next tournament, though he will be playing other formats•NurPhoto/Getty ImagesAre we soon going to see the end of the all-format player? And if so, will it hurt the quality of cricket?
Allardice: There’ll still be all-format players. Whether they play every match that their country schedules in those formats is a different question.The FTP comes about from a lot of members working in their self-interest to see what their calendars look like. Does that extract a cost in terms of a loss of collective vision for the game? Is that how cricket is?
Allardice: It is certainly at the moment, yes, in that [it’s] here are the global events, here are the competitions that you have all agreed to participate in, and beyond that, how you promote cricket within your territories is your decision. And that then comes down to management of players, the fan preferences, the broadcaster preferences, the seasons, the venues available, all those types of things. And if ICC was to try and have sort of a top-down calendar approach, it certainly wouldn’t satisfy all the countries because each of them would have their own things that they would prefer to do.Recently Ravi Shastri suggested that bilateral T20 series should be scrapped. Is there discussion about limiting bilateral T20 series to a few matches in the lead-up to a T20 World Cup?
Allardice: As an example, you may find one country decides that it wants to focus on T20 cricket – international and domestic. And if we decided that we are not going to play T20Is, then what’s that country going to do? Their whole strategic focus might be on that format. Another one might say, well, we want our domestic [T20] league to be the focus, and we will play ODIs only. And some other people are saying, we shouldn’t play ODIs, we should wind back ODIs. So that’s why there’s no right answer, there’s no one answer that works for everyone.Wasim: And again, the game is going to continue to evolve. Where the game is and what it might look like in four years’ time after the next cycle, it’s likely to be very, very different.Having captains’ conferences is something the ICC is open to. Wasim Khan: “Use opportunities with the brains that are there to say, well, here’s three or four areas that we’d like to get your feedback on”•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesThe conversation then could be different: Where is the world game now? How are we balancing player welfare with having the right sort of mix of different formats? These are the sorts of conversations from the current cycle that we are already getting, and in four years’ time it’s going to evolve further.The first-ever women’s FTP – that is a fairly big achievement, a big shot in the arm for women’s cricket.
Allardice: The three things we want to do with women’s cricket is: get a calendar where people know what’s coming, and it’s coordinated. Secondly, we cover it, whether it’s streaming, broadcasts, whatever – make it as widely available and valuable as possible. And thirdly, run campaigns around making heroes out of the women players.This Commonwealth Games has been a fantastic opportunity to do that. We had a panel session with seven of the captains [during the ICC conference]. They were very excited about the opportunity, and it is great for us in that women’s cricket is front and centre. Cricket at the Commonwealth Games is the best female players in the world.The structure of the women’s FTP is the Women’s Championship. And then what they do around that is very much the members’ call.Is there more Test cricket in this women’s FTP?
Wasim: Firstly, in the Women’s Championship, it’s four home and four away series over a period of time [2022-25] for each team. Series of three matches each.The Champions Trophy makes a comeback into the FTP from the upcoming cycle•AFP/Getty ImagesAs for Tests, look, there has to be something that drives your game and grows your game. We as the ICC made decisions quite a while ago that to drive the men’s game, the format that we would focus on would be T20 cricket.Now there’s absolutely nothing stopping [women’s] teams if they want to play four- or five-day Test matches. That’s entirely their decision. We have certainly never restricted them and said there to be four- or five-day matches. The countries that wish to do it will do it. I mean, New Zealand made a strategic decision that they wouldn’t play [Tests]. That’s their personal decision.One thing that there was some discussion around is looking at domestic structures. When you leap from one thing to another, you have to show that there’s a foundation that’s going to support that. A lot of countries now turn their attentions to: what does our domestic structure look like if we have ambitions to play the longer format in the future?Allardice: Same answer as with the men’s: how you use the three formats to promote the game in your country or your local audience and with your potential players in the future is up to you. Some countries like multi-format series [Tests, ODIs, T20s, or at least two of those three formats, in one tour]. We don’t tell them that you should do this or that.The only structure we put in place was in the [women’s] ODI game, and that dates back to 2014. And what it’s done is given more countries a consistent volume of cricket, a consistent fixture list that is now the backbone of their FTP.

From suffering abuse for a dropped catch to leading the pace attack in Australia, the young fast bowler is alleviating the pain of Jasprit Bumrah’s absence

Sidharth Monga05-Nov-20222:40

Arshdeep: ‘Have been working on a straighter run-up to be more consistent’

So Arshdeep Singh drops a catch. Catches are dropped every day. Twenty-eight have been dropped in the Asia Cup. Six of them are easy. This is easy. Except, it is in a tight finish against Pakistan. There is no guarantee that India win if Arshdeep had caught it. He bowls the last ball. India loseArshdeep is a Sikh, and he ends up being called Khalistani by abusers. Never mind that his father gave 25 years to India’s Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF). If you know anything about the history of Sikhs, demands for Khalistan, and the recent use of the term to other the Sikhs during and after the farmers’ protests in 2020 and 2021, you know how vicious this targeting is.Before you go #notallindians on this, remember that you are not the victim here. A 23-year-old from a minority community who chose not to go to Canada to pursue cricket is. No matter how small the number of abusers, Arshdeep has had sleepless nights because of this. He has wondered if a cricket match against Pakistan is all it takes.Related

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A year ago, another Indian was othered. Mohammed Shami was asked to go to Pakistan because he bowled a loose over after India’s batters had failed.On October 23, 2022, Shami and Arshdeep are back up against the same team. At possibly the largest gathering in cricket: an India-Pakistan World Cup match at the MCG.Arshdeep has the new ball. He has never bowled in a proper match in Australia before. For preparation, he has spent time in Perth and played a couple of warm-up games. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the senior pro, has bowled the first over. Like with most bowlers on quick pitches, Bhuvneshwar has bowled with deep third and deep fine leg. Arshdeep, though, starts with a deep third and deep backward square.We know Babar Azam has been attacked with the short ball by most teams. Arshdeep has the field for it. A short ball is part of the plan, but when it will arrive? Surely not first ball? But what if it does? Arshdeep runs in and bowls the picture-perfect inswinger to trap Babar in front. He is caught on the crease. Not sure whether it is the field or the bounce he has seen in the first over, but if Babar comes forward to this ball, he doesn’t get out. However, he is hanging back.A new batter comes in. Square leg stays back. The short ball, though, doesn’t arrive immediately. Neither to Shan Masood nor Mohammad Rizwan. Not until it does at the end of Arshdeep’s second over. And how it arrives. Perfect height, perfect line. His first bouncer in Australia. Rizwan can neither keep it down nor get all of it because he has to drag it from outside off. Caught by that man there for that ball two overs in the making.

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Arshdeep Singh sealed the game against Bangladesh with crucial yorkers in the final over•Getty Images”That feeling was so good,” Arshdeep says. “So much love.”Love. He got it from his team-mates at the Asia Cup even though you might have seen on TV captain Rohit Sharma not listening to him. Rohit has backed Arshdeep even more after that. He wears his hair in a – more like a bandana – on the field but proudly sports the , the proper turban, when off the field.A lot of love has gone into constructing these overs. In knowing where exactly to pitch the short ball. In looking for the swing for “two-three balls” and trying to hit the pads. “The preparation,” Arshdeep says when asked how he got it so right. “Where the short ball has to be pitched. We planned well. Behind the scenes, the coaching staff told me it bounces more in Australia so you have to bang it in a little fuller. The ball fell right. Luckily it went to hand too. But there was planning behind this. There are big square boundaries so we have to use them.”It’s not all results. He knows on another day it could have been top-edged for a six. “Luckily it went to hand.” However, he does get greedy seeing the tail and stops bowling defensively. He goes for a wicket, bowls length, and Shaheen Shah Afridi hits him for a six. You just cannot lose focus in a T20.

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Arshdeep’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, who has worked with him on getting the run-up straighter so that he is able to swing it in and swing it late, has observed Arshdeep observe things.”He’s the kind of guy who likes to talk a lot and he has a chat with the other senior guys, and I’ve seen him discussing a lot with Bhuvi and Shami because those guys have played out here,” Mhambrey says. “So the kind of learning that he’s taking, he’s trying to implement that in a game. I’ll give that credit to him. Obviously having a chat and understanding what is required, but to be able to go out there and execute it and do it yourself as an individual, skills comes in.”Arshdeep Singh is India’s leading wicket-taker at the World Cup•ICC via Getty ImagesThere is a bit of Jasprit Bumrah in how coaches talk about Arshdeep as a quick learner. He came into this World Cup primarily as a death bowler not even certain of a spot in the starting XI until Bumrah was ruled out with injury. Not without reason. Since the start of 2021, Arshdeep has the fourth-best economy rate at the death in T20s.If you assume half-volleys and full tosses at the death are yorkers gone wrong, Arshdeep has the third-highest efficiency when attempting yorkers. Even when he misses the yorker, his economy rate is the third best for those balls. He nails them from round the wicket too, as he has the second-best yorker efficiency and best economy rate when missing the yorker.India have come here and seen conditions different to the usual Australian summer. The ball has moved, the weather has been cold; Arshdeep has taken the new ball and swung it both ways. Head coach Rahul Dravid is counting his blessings.”If you were to ask me in November [last year] when I first took over and I had a list of bowlers in my mind,” Dravid says. “Sure, Arshdeep was there, but he had had one good IPL. But the way he’s come along after that, he’s come and forced his way into the side and done really well. So that’s a fantastically heartening thing to see.”

“Arshdeep knows T20s is a fickle sport. What happens in the end is less dependent on how you bowl than in any other format of cricket. A secessionist one day, a saviour the next”

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It is wet. Really wet. Shakib Al Hasan is running his hand on the grass and showing the water to the umpires. It is unfair on Bangladesh, you may feel, to start so quickly after the rain break but it is not easy on India either. Even Shakib acknowledges that. India have to field in the wet, grip that bar of soap every time it comes back from the outfield, and they have nine an over to defend against 10 wickets in hand. India’s throwdown specialist is at the boundary with a hard brush to scrub the wet grass and mud off the bowlers’ boots.The Adelaide pitch starts off slow and then skids on beautifully even before the rain arrives. In his first over, Arshdeep is taken for three fours by the marauding Litton Das. After the rain break, Arshdeep is back to bowling at the death: overs 12, 14 and 16. He takes two wickets in the 12th over and keeps bowling to his field after that.Bangladesh need 20 in the final over. Arshdeep bowls a perfect yorker to start. The second ball is short, and launched over the short square boundary. This time Arshdeep is not greedy. This time he is not sure he can keep nailing the yorker with the wet ball. When the heat is on, though, Arshdeep finishes with four yorkers. Some of the support staff are left wondering how they even managed to bowl in such damp conditions.

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When his mother used to put him on her bicycle carrier to drop him for cricket practice, the greedy young Arshdeep used to finish his tiffin during that ride. Before he became famous, he used to run in Chandigarh’s parks till he collapsed and would lie down, looking at the stars above. Somewhere between that greedy boy and a star today, Arshdeep knows that T20 is a fickle sport. You can see it in how he talks about what he tried to do and not getting excited or bogged down by what happened. What happens in the end is less dependent on how you bowl than in any other format of cricket. Abused as a secessionist one day, hailed as a saviour the next. In between: a lot of love, learning and labour.

With the knockout stage starting on January 31, we take a look at the qualifiers from Group A and Group B

Shashank Kishore29-Jan-2023BengalTwice this season, against Uttar Pradesh and Baroda, Bengal were on the back foot. But both times, they showed immense self belief to turn things around and win. These two games aside, Bengal flexed their muscles for much of the group stages before being given an eye-opener by Odisha in their final group fixture on an Eden green top, where they missed the services of Anustup Majumdar (thumb injury) and Akash Deep (concussion) and Shahbaz Ahmed (national duty). Bengal want to win for Manoj Tiwary, who is determined to bow out with a Ranji Trophy title. They came close two seasons ago, but were pipped by Saurashtra in the final. Can they emulate Sambaran Banerjee’s class of 1989-90? First-up is Jharkhand, their east-zone rivals.Top performer
Bengal have rewarded performers, irrespective of age. Anustup Majumdar, 38, has been a shining example. He has lived up to his billing as a crisis man and is their second-highest run-getter with 565 runs in 10 innings at 62.77. Purely on impact, his 83 not out in the second-innings of a tough 257 chase in their opening game stands out. Overall, he’s so far hit two hundreds and two fifties. Bengal will be hoping he recovers from a thumb injury ahead of the quarters.Related

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UttarakhandAmid allegations of financial mismanagement by the association, players complaining of lack of facilities and pending payments, and “influential” members interfering in selection, the cricket has continued to thrive in Uttarakhand. In the quarterfinals last season, when they were beaten in a little over two days by Mumbai, who recorded the biggest win in terms of runs in first-class cricket, it threatened to blow their lid off. But a young group has rallied together under a new captain in Jiwanjot Singh to surprise some big teams. Wins over Nagaland and Odisha set them up, before they cracked open the group by rolling over Himachal Pradesh, runners-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, for 49 and winning their third straight game. First-innings honours against UP and Baroda sealed their knockouts berth.Top performer
Mayank Mishra has become one of Uttarakhand’s lynchpins over time. The left-arm spinner leads their wickets tally with 32 scalps in seven matches. In doing so, he’s proved to be equally successful against Elite teams, too. His match haul of ten wickets against Bengal is a case in point. Capable of wheeling away and bowling long spells by holding one end together, Mishra has given the fast bowlers much relief in terms of being able to maintain pressure.Dharmendrasinh Jadeja has picked 29 wickets from seven matches this season•PTI SaurashtraA slow start in the first two games was followed by a historic first-ever win against Mumbai. Then Saurashtra got on a roll to beat Delhi and Hyderabad to steer clear of the logjam. However, going into the knockouts, they’ve been given a reality check following losses to Andhra and Tamil Nadu. As if that wasn’t enough, they will be without their inspirational captain Jaydev Unadkat, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, who led them in the final league fixture, because of national commitments. That said, Saurashtra have shown they aren’t just about their superstars. This has helped them get to two finals in the last three seasons, including a historic first title in 2020. Against Punjab, they will have their task cut out nonetheless.Top performer(s)
If Ravindra doesn’t get you, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja will. The left-arm spinning allrounder has been key to Saurashtra’s success. In the lower middle order, he’s played plucky knocks, like a second-innings 90 on a turner against Mumbai in a match-winning effort. In the same match, he also returned six wickets with the ball in a 51-run win. Overall, he’s their highest wicket-taker with 29 wickets in seven matches. There should also be a special mention for rookie Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, who in his debut season has rocked up and picked up 26 wickets in just five games with his loopy offspin, having been able to capitalise on the rough created from one end by Jadeja.ESPNcricinfo LtdAndhra
In what was billed as a group of death, Andhra were laggards until more than halfway through the season, before they suddenly roared to form in the new year. The turnaround began with a massive win over traditional rivals Hyderabad at home. Yet, when they conceded the lead in the next game against Delhi, they were faced with two must-wins to remain in contention. One of those was away against Saurashtra. Herculean enough but they found heroes in Ashwin Hebbar and Karan Shinde to steer them to a mighty fine win. Then against Assam, Andhra established their dominance early to win with a bonus point. Despite winning four, they needed Mumbai and Maharashtra to take away no more than one point from their final game. As luck would have it, both sides tied for scores with the game ending in a draw. Quirk of fate saw Andhra through.Top performer
No Andhra batter has more than one century, and in all fairness, the surfaces they’ve played on have been challenging. Lalith Mohan, the left-arm spinner, has profited the most and has delivered wholesome returns, like the match haul of 11 for 129 in the must-win game against Saurashtra. He followed that up with a second straight five-for in their final game – also a must-win – against Assam. Mohan has 25 wickets in five matches, second-most for the team behind fast bowler KV Sasikanth’s 26 wickets.

Key numbers from the first day of the opening Test between India and Australia in Nagpur

Sampath Bandarupalli09-Feb-2023177 Australia’s first-innings total in Nagpur. Only twice have Australia folded for a lower first-innings total in Asia after opting to bat – 80 all out against Pakistan in 1956 and 120 all out against Sri Lanka in 2004.2005 The last instance of Australia being bundled out for less than 200 in the first innings of a Test series – 190 all out against England at Lord’s. The last time Australia were bowled out for a total lower than the 177 in the first innings of a Test series was 118 all out in 1997 against England in Birmingham.89 Matches needed by R Ashwin to complete 450 wickets in Test cricket. He is the second-fastest bowler to the milestone, behind Muthiah Muralidaran (80). Ashwin is now only the ninth player to take 450-plus Test wickets and the second Indian after Anil Kumble (619).2 Runs scored between David Warner and Usman Khawaja in Australia’s first innings. This is the joint fewest aggregate by Australian openers in a Test innings against India. The Australia openers collectively scored two runs in their second innings of the Kolkata Test in 1956 and also at the Gabba in 1977.75.56 Control percentage of the Australian batters against Ravindra Jadeja in the first innings in Nagpur. Jadeja, by far, was the toughest bowler to face among India’s five-man attack on Thursday as the visitors had a control percentage higher than 80 against the other four bowlers – Ashwin (83.16), Mohammed Siraj (83.33), Axar Patel (86.67) and Mohammed Shami (90.74).3 Instances of Steven Smith being bowled by Jadeja in Test cricket, the most for Smith against anyone in this format. Smith has been dismissed by Jadeja on five occasions across 13 Test innings.57.54 Percentage of wickets by Ashwin and Jadeja for India in home Tests where they played together. They have collectively picked up 389 out of the 676 wickets by the Indian bowlers in the 37 Test matches. The pair has accounted for 25 five-wickets hauls when they played together at home.

Pakistan fast bowler on recovering from knee injury, captaining Qalandars to two PSL titles and looking ahead to the T20 Blast

Osman Samiuddin25-May-202318:37

Shaheen Shah Afridi: the rise of the falcon

Statsguru tells us Shaheen Shah Afridi has not been around much for Pakistan over the last year. In between two injuries, he has played 16 international matches, less than a third of Pakistan’s total matches since July last year, when a dive on the boundary in Galle led to a ligament injury in his right knee.And yet, it is unarguable that in that time, his stature within Pakistan has grown immeasurably, to the degree that he shares equal billing with Babar Azam as the team’s biggest star. The kerfuffle over the rehabilitation of his injury, in particular his hurried departure – at his own expense – from the UAE to the UK to begin rehab; the comeback and heartbreak of another injury to the same knee at a World Cup final; a high-profile wedding; leading Lahore Qalandars to a second successive PSL title; and constant and inevitable rumours around a leadership tilt with Pakistan.He was always a superstar, but with this very 90s-Pakistan-superstar trajectory, he’s blown up into the stratosphere. The perfect time, then, to land up in England for a stint in the T20 Blast with Nottinghamshire.The knee is “back to 100% now,” he told ESPNcricinfo, even if there were murmurings during Pakistan’s home season around a slight dip in his pace post return. He’s dismissive of that, pointing to a decent haul of wickets since: 19 in the PSL, six in five T20Is against New Zealand, eight in four ODIs against the same team.”Everyone has a view about it [the pace], but I’ve been feeling good. You look at yourself, even if you are bowling 110kmph and taking wickets, you’re feeling good. I took wickets. I gave 100% in the field, that matters more. Speed doesn’t matter as much but if there has been a dip, it will improve with time.Shaheen Shah Afridi injured his knee after he caught Harry Brook in the T20 World Cup 2022 final•PA Photos/Getty Images”[I was injured] two months out before the [T20] World Cup, two-three months after the [T20] World Cup also. So it will of course take time to get back. That match energy or fitness, you only get it from playing matches. Since the PSL I’ve been feeling better, I got better through it and then played internationals for Pakistan as well. With time I’ll improve and the more I play the more I’ll improve.”The moment of the recurrence of that knee injury – which subsequently ruled him out of a big home Test season – will remain one of the great what-ifs of his career. With Pakistan battling hard to defend 138 at the MCG in the T20 World Cup final, Afridi took an athletic catch at long-off in the 13th over to dismiss Harry Brook, but jammed his knee in the process. He went off briefly, returned to roars, ran in to bowl the 16th with England still needing a tricky 41 off 30 and pulled up after one ball. England were wobbling, the surface wasn’t easy and Afridi had grown his way into the tournament. Instead, he went off, Ben Stokes hit a four and six off Iftikhar Ahmed, on to complete the over, and it was over.The year before, Pakistan were looking strong defending in the semi-final against Australia before a Matthew Wade blitz off Afridi – with a dropped catch to boot – turned the game.”Obviously, it’s every player’s dream to win a World Cup for his country and I still remember 2021, how that ended,” he said. “And in this tournament [2022], if I didn’t get injured at such a crucial moment, maybe we could’ve won. Maybe if I had stayed fit and bowled…” he trails off. “Injuries can happen at any time.”How much does he still think about those two games?”If I think too much about them then I won’t be able to move ahead.”

“Me and Lala were practising shots, about how to hit in the final overs, working on my bat swing a little. Nobody has the kind of experience he has in T20s, and working with him was really good.”Shaheen Shah Afridi on practising six-hitting with Shahid Afridi

His memories of the last two PSLs are much happier. Lahore Qalandars could not have fallen lower by the time he took over as captain, but two titles in successive years has been a genuinely remarkable turnaround. He’s visibly grown into the role, slipping from a slightly nervous presence in need of advice to a commandeering leader, supremely confident in his own decisions. His performances have not really been impacted; if anything, captaincy has brought out something else in him, amply evident in his all-round impact in this year’s final.”Captaincy is totally different to bowling,” he said. “You have to keep the entire team on the same page with that. With bowling, you only think about what you are doing with the ball, how to bowl to the captain’s plans.”With captaincy, you’re thinking about your bowling but also about every member of the team, what mood they’re in, how they’re feeling. That is a totally different job. But I’ve enjoyed it lots.”I think the line between the two [captaincy and bowling] is quite clear. If you are the captain, you know when you need to bring a certain bowler on and at what moment, whether it is a pressure moment. As a captain there’s always the option that I can bring myself on at that tough moment. If I don’t lead from the front at that time then obviously the team can start thinking negatively that the captain is hiding himself.”What captaincy has also done is bring out his batting, at least in the shortest format where Notts might benefit. Previously seen as useful enough to not be easily dismissed, Afridi has developed into a floating, and fierce, clean hitter of sixes. As well as the wickets in the last PSL, he ended up with the ninth-highest strike rate – 168.35 – among batters with more than 100 runs. That included the 15-ball 44 in the final against Multan Sultans.Afridi: ‘You look at yourself, even if you are bowling 110kmph and taking wickets, you’re feeling good’•AFP/Getty Images”I always liked batting, right from my Under-16 days,” he said. “When I got injured, I started working on my batting a lot more because I wasn’t bowling. When I came to England for my rehab, I worked hard on my batting then.”I’ve always actually gone into bat with the same plan but because I’m hitting more sixes these days it looks like my batting has improved.”The increase in sixes has no doubt come from the work he’s done on his batting with his father-in-law, a man familiar with the sometimes brutal art of hitting maximums: Shahid Afridi.”Yeah there’s been an impact from that. Me and Lala [Shahid] were practising shots, about how to hit in the final overs, working on my bat swing a little. Nobody has the kind of experience he has in T20s, and working with him was really good. I’ve learnt a lot.”My priority is still to be the bowler. If that doesn’t click on a day then of course, I want to contribute with the bat and if not with the bat, then in the field.”He has fond memories of his only previous game at Trent Bridge, his new home, a Player-of-the-Match performance in a blockbuster win against England. With a gig in The Hundred later, he has a long summer planned in England.”History tells you runs are scored here but I think if you bowl in the right areas, you still get wickets here. It’s a new county for me, I’m enjoying it already and I hope I’ll have some good cricket to show for it.”

Victoria opener looms as a key man in the final but says there’s no added Ashes pressure given he joins Gloucestershire in a fortnight

Alex Malcolm22-Mar-2023Victoria opener Marcus Harris has a staggering record in Sheffield Shield finals. In four appearances, he has scored three centuries and an 81, and has two Player-of-the-Final awards.But his success has come on the back of a valuable lesson he learned in his first one, playing for Western Australia in March 2014.”It didn’t start well,” Harris told ESPNcricinfo with typical candour. “As a WA group at that time, we hadn’t been anywhere near a Shield final. We built it up to be a really big thing and I remember we ended up losing the toss and bowling for a day-and-a-half. And then I remember I was batting No. 3 and, by the end of the first over, I was in and out of my pads and back in my shorts.”Related

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On that occasion, Cameron Bancroft and Harris fell for golden ducks in the first two balls of the innings to Josh Hazlewood as WA never got close to beating New South Wales in a rain-affected draw.Harris’ personal redemption was swift. WA were again on the wrong side of a draw against Victoria 12 months later, but Harris was Player of the Match in Hobart making 81 and an unbeaten 153-ball 158 amid a tough week for his family.”My Nanna passed away the week before the Shield final, so I was really spurred on to do well that week,” Harris said. “I think it sort of took my mind off the game being so big. I had to deal with Nanna passing away and the funeral and I probably had one of my best games ever in a Shield final.”Since leaving WA to join Victoria in 2016, he has been part of two winning Sheffield Shield teams. He scored 120 and 21 in a draw against South Australia in 2017 in Alice Springs to secure Victoria a third straight title. But arguably his best performance came in Victoria’s 2019 triumph, when he made a sparkling 141 on a difficult pitch at Junction Oval against a high-class NSW attack in a game where only two other players passed 50 and the next highest score was 75.”I just think I’ve always enjoyed playing in finals, even in club cricket for Scarborough and junior finals,” Harris said. “I’ve always done okay. I just think I enjoy the big moment and I don’t put too much pressure on myself. I try and enjoy the game but it’s one of those things where I feel like it just gets me up and about.”The 2019 final had extra significance and added pressure. It was played with an Ashes tour looming in a summer where Harris was the incumbent Test opener, having earned his baggy green that season while also becoming the last batter to pass 1000 runs in a Shield campaign. While he was the Test incumbent and delivered in that Shield final, he was under pressure to keep his Test place in England with the looming returns of David Warner and Bancroft from their post-Newlands bans.There are direct parallels to this week’s Shield final. Then, like now, Harris enters the decider in Perth against WA as a key man to watch with a World Test Championship final in England and an away Ashes looming. Harris, 30, is not an incumbent Test batter but he is firmly in the frame for England having been part of Australia’s Test squad for five home Tests during the summer without playing. He did not travel to India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as Australia’s selectors opted for a horse-for-course approach with Travis Head promoted to open when Warner got injured in Delhi. But during regular conversations with Australia chairman of selectors George Bailey and coach Andrew McDonald, it has been made clear to Harris that he remains on their radar to play in England because of his experience there.

“I feel confident in my body of work that I’ve had for six or seven years now and I feel like if I’m called upon that I’m ready to go and I can perform at the level I know I can. And if that stuff doesn’t happen, so be it”Marcus Harris on his English experience

Unlike 2019, where Warner and Bancroft loomed large on Harris’ incumbency, it is Warner’s place that is under the microscope, with Harris and Bancroft at the top of the list of candidates putting pressure on him. Bancroft, who will feature for WA in this week’s final, has put his name back in the frame after scoring six Shield centuries across 23 innings in the last 12 months, including 141 against Victoria in last year’s Shield final at the WACA and four more this season.Four years older and wiser, having just got married to his partner Cat on Sunday, Harris understands that this week is not the be-all and end-all for his Ashes hopes given he is set to play for Gloucestershire in the opening round of the county championship in just over a fortnight.”I think the key is just keeping focused on what I’m doing rather than what everyone else is doing,” Harris said. “There’s always chat especially around an Ashes series. It’s the biggest series we play in. There’s always going to be chat and speculation around who’s doing what and who’s going where. I think what I have in my favour and what I have confidence-wise is that this will be my third season in England in a row now.”I’m probably not putting too much pressure on myself all the time to have to perform. I obviously want to perform every game I play in but I understand that I’m playing 12 months a year now. It’s not like if I miss out this week in the Shield game I’m not going to be able to play cricket again until October. I know I’ve got another game in a week-and-a-half’s time in England. I’m in a fortunate position where I can play all the time. And I feel like the game is in a good place now where I understand my game. I can constantly tweak and not feel like I’m hindering my game. I think that just comes with age.”If there are questions about Warner’s place for the Ashes following his disastrous 2019 series, there will inevitably be questions of Harris in the same breath given he also averaged less than 10 in the six innings he played and was similarly tortured by Stuart Broad from around the wicket.But Harris has more first-class centuries in England than any other Australian Ashes candidate currently outside the Test XI, having scored three in each of his last two seasons for Leicestershire (2021) and Gloucestershire (2022).”I’ve enjoyed the challenge of England, rocking up to a different ground every week and having to problem solve a different way to try and make runs and I think that’s helped me as a player,” Harris said. “I feel confident in my body of work that I’ve had for six or seven years now and I feel like if I’m called upon that I’m ready to go and I can perform at the level I know I can. And if that stuff doesn’t happen so be it. I know I’ve still got a season with Gloucester to play and I’ll be back home for Victoria.”That’s where his attention is this week, trying to win another Shield title for Victoria at his old stomping ground. Harris showcased his WACA experience on a difficult pitch last week, making 84 and 29 as the visitors beat the reigning champions to qualify for this week’s final. Harris missed last year’s decider because he was on tour in Pakistan. But he brings valuable WACA intel for a young Victorian line-up determined to cause an upset.”I think the tough thing for younger blokes coming to Perth, it gets spoken about so much in the meetings and before the game and sometimes you can almost psych yourself out before you actually get out there,” Harris said. “I think it’s been good for us to be able to have the game here last week before the final.”At the WACA, JL [Justin Langer] always used to speak about giving yourself 30 balls to get yourself in, just because it was so different to what we play on [elsewhere] and then go from there. But give yourself a chance early and then assess it as you go on.”