They had a night’s sleep, but Pakistan and New Zealand might well have just carried on unbroken by stumps last night, so similar was the tempo today

The Report by Danyal Rasool25-Nov-2018
They had a night’s sleep, but Pakistan and New Zealand might well have just carried on unbroken by stumps last night, so similar was the tempo today.Haris Sohail and Babar Azam’s 70-over behemoth of a partnership sought to grind New Zealand into the dirt, amassing 186 runs. Both reached Test hundreds, Babar belatedly his maiden one in the format, before a surprise declaration with the score at 418 – the lowest ever for a first innings declaration in the UAE – saw New Zealand have to keep their wits about them. That they did successfully enough, going in at stumps without having lost a wicket but still trailing by almost 400 runs.Curiously, Pakistan didn’t quite pick up the pace even as the pressure lifted. Heaps of credit must go to New Zealand’s bowlers for that, whose large-hearted efforts ensured they were never – not once in 167 overs – simply going through the motions awaiting a declaration. The lines were kept tight, the plans were still being hatched, and attempts to take wickets never wavered even as it seemed the toil of a treacherously unhelpful wicket would finally take its toll.That Pakistan only managed 418 might prove crucial over the next three days; only once before has a team declared at a score under 500 in this country. That was Sri Lanka in 2014, and they ended up losing with mere overs to spare.Pakistan, however, went back to what served them best during the halcyon days of Misbah-ul-Haq. They won the toss, and they set about batting for two days, shutting everything and everyone else out. It was the sort of steel that had been absent from their soft capitulation in Abu Dhabi, and they were eager to wipe it clean from everyone’s memories. Because of that, day two was almost a cut and paste of day one, Babar replacing Azhar Ali in a monstrously energy-sapping partnership with the indefatigable Sohail.Only 67 runs had come off a morning session where Kane Williamson called upon all of his five bowlers – as well as himself – at various times in an attempt to break through with no success. Perhaps surprisingly, Ajaz Patel bowled the first over instead of Trent Boult, but once he was taken out of the attack, he wouldn’t return all session. Boult wasn’t exactly subdued, but never quite possessed the penetrative threat he had carried this time around yesterday. Sodhi continues to struggle with the considerable challenge of bowling a consistent line in Test cricket, and found himself punished whenever he wavered, particularly by Babar in an over that went for 12, accounting for almost a fifth of all the runs this morning.Despite some eyebrows raised at the particularly snail-paced nature of the scoring yesterday, Haris and Babar made it clear they would not be changing their ways. Beginning today at 207, Pakistan were still not out of the woods, and a batting collapse would have seen all the grind of yesterday count for nothing.Haris looked slightly jittery when one run from completing a deserved hundred, charging down the wicket to Sodhi to several balls without ever getting to the pitch. It was only a rushed single that got him there before he was able to revert to type, and once more looking like the player who had bet his life upon his wicket.It wasn’t that Babar went unnoticed, but so effortless was the manner of his first Test century, you forgot this was a player who barely averaged 30 in this format. Batting for the first time since being agonisingly dismissed for 99 against Australia last month, he was determined to set the record straight against their trans-Tasman neighbours. And while Sohail toiled, Babar was, relative to the pace of the game, free-flowing. He, too, stuttered upon reaching his 90s and spent the entirety of the tea break stranded on 99, but there was never any question he would be denied once again. Where much was expected of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq in the most Misbah era, Pakistan will be heartened to see a younger duo stepping up.Sohail’s vigil did end in a lively hour after tea when he was three runs short of 150, Boult finally claiming a wicket he was due about five sessions ago. Babar and Sarfraz Ahmed picked up the pace somewhat, but never to the extent that suggested a declaration tonight was imminent. The pair added 62 runs in 18 overs, and when Babar lofted a long hop from a wicketless Sodhi for six, it looked as if a Pakistan charge was on the cards. They turned out to be the last runs Pakistan would score, however, with the Pakistan captain pulling the plug after 167 to give his bowlers a crack at a tiring New Zealand.Tests like these in this part of the world have a reputation of bursting into life over the latter half. That bodes well for any viewers who sat through the first two days; they might feel they’ve earned a bit of excitement. The challenge for New Zealand will be to gear themselves up mentally to produce the sort of patience and determination Pakistan showed after toiling in the field for nearly two days.Pakistan, meanwhile, have consciously, forcefully and successfully dredged up the formula that Misbah imparted upon them, and as things stand right now, all the equations seem to match.

Pakistan captain critical of his seamers’ lack of pace after his team were beaten by nine wickets in Cape Town

Danyal Rasool at Newlands06-Jan-2019Sarfraz Ahmed was withering in his assessment of his own fast bowlers in the wake of South Africa’s nine-wicket win that sealed the series here in Cape Town. In the post-match press conference, a visibly irritated Pakistan captain bemoaned the “big difference” between his seamers and South Africa’s, saying the lack of pace with which Pakistan had bowled “won’t get you wickets”.For much of the second day, which saw a 156-run partnership between Faf du Plessis and Temba Bavuma effectively take the game out of the visitors’ reach, Pakistan’s pace had declined. Mohammad Amir’s reduced speed was the most notable, with the left-armer bowling 61% of his deliveries between 120-132 kph, the slowest he has bowled in his career, according to CricViz. Sarfraz said it was not the first time his bowlers had been down on pace in Cape Town, but was at a loss to explain why.”If you talk about our bowling and their bowling, I think there’s a big difference in the two,” he said. “The way our bowlers are bowling is not up to the mark in this Test match. If you see our bowlers, they’re bowling 128-129, and the average speed is 130, while their bowlers are bowling at 145. If you are going to bowl with that lack of pace here you won’t get wickets.”I don’t know what’s going on there. Previously it happened, too, when I came here in 2013, the same problem occurred. At the time we had [Mohammad] Irfan, Umar Gul and Tanvir Ahmed. Their pace was down too. I don’t know what’s happening here in Cape Town.”He made clear he thought South Africa “were fitter than us”, and while he acknowledged the batsmen didn’t put enough runs on the board, he repeatedly criticised the bowling for not keeping his side in the contest, even unfavourably comparing them to Pakistan’s batting.”Credit goes to their bowlers, they bowled really well and did not give us any bad balls,” he said. “If you look at our batsmen, our batsmen played some quality shots. When they batted, they played good shots too, but we gave them so many loose balls.”We are very disappointed, but as a team we are not playing well in Test cricket. We’re playing worse in Tests than all other forms. The way we bowled in Centurion was far better so we were hopeful we would get wickets here. But if we took wickets here in this Test that would have helped because we didn’t have enough runs on the board; we had just over 170 runs [in the first innings]. If we had taken wickets we would have restricted them to 250, 300 or something like that. I think that would have been a different story but we didn’t capitalise in those moments.”Temba Bavuma was felled by a Mohammad Amir delivery•AFP

Sarfraz’s castigation of the bowlers marks a dramatic fall from grace of a pace attack that was thought to be Pakistan’s best hope of keeping this series competitive. Before the series, Sarfraz had talked about the bowling being “our strength”, while South Africa captain Faf du Plessis had praised Pakistan for “having a fantastic group of bowlers”. It was also surprising, in that most observers attributed Pakistan’s lack of fight to the failure of the batsmen to put runs on the board; Pakistan’s second innings was the first time this series they crossed 200 in an innings.It also brings into sharp focus the debate surrounding Pakistan’s decision to go with four specialist bowlers and leave out Faheem Ashraf, who would have bolstered their seam-bowling options without lengthening the tail. However, Mickey Arthur said after the second day he wasn’t yet confident enough in Ashraf’s batting to view him as a legitimate allrounder, leading to the decision to play six specialist batsmen at Newlands.Sarfraz praised the batsmen for the fight they showed on the third day, helping Pakistan avoid an innings defeat, but said if they were to convert combativeness into wins, they needed to get the opposition out twice.”For the third Test match, we need to bat like we batted in the second innings,” he said. “I think we have nothing to lose. If you want to win Test matches, you have to take 20 wickets. If you don’t take 20 wickets, you’re not going to win. All Asian teams who win away, like India did in Johannesburg last year, take 20 wickets.”Sarfraz also said Pakistan’s decision to rejig the batting order, promoting the inform Shan Masood to open while pushing Fakhar Zaman down to No. 6, was an attempt to play to Fakhar’s strengths and shield him from the new ball. While Masood managed to record a half-century in his regular position, Fakhar going down the order didn’t help him discover the form he has searched for all series, scoring just 7 before being dismissed off yet another short ball.”Fakhar likes to play shots. He’s facing problems with the new ball and Shan Masood is playing really well, so that’s why we changed the order to see if Fakhar played better at number six.”

Table-toppers Cape Town Blitz faltered badly on the day it mattered most and were beaten by eight wickets

Liam Brickhill in Cape Town16-Dec-2018Jozi Stars claimed the inaugural Mzansi Super League title with a barnstorming eight-wicket win over Cape Town Blitz in the grand final at Newlands. Blitz lost their talisman Quinton de Kock early, having chosen to set a total, and never recovered. They limped to 113 for 7 on a slow, slightly two-paced pitch that eased out in baking afternoon sunshine, allowing Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen to steal the show, and seal the title, with an 86-run second wicket stand. Van der Dussen raised his third fifty in a row.Already unsettled by the illness that ruled regular opener Janneman Malan out before the game, Blitz were in big trouble by the second-over dismissal of de Kock, upon whom they have relied so heavily to get this far. De Kock scored 412 runs for Blitz in eight MSL innings, Malan 305 in nine, while no-one else in the squad came close to those numbers. Asif Ali was next best with 150, but 80 of those came in his very first innings of the tournament. Over-reliant on de Kock’s brilliance, Blitz floundered when he failed.After two half-chances in the first over, bowled by Simon Harmer, it was Beuran Hendricks who struck the vital early blow. Two balls after de Kock had slashed him over point for the first boundary of the innings, Hendricks surprised the left-hander with another lifter. De Kock lost his shape and sent a swirling top edge towards midwicket, where Reeza Hendricks sprinted backwards, keeping his eye on the ball plunging towards him out of a brilliant blue sky, and finally dived at full-stretch to hold the catch inches from the turf. While there were a few twists and turns thereafter, that play essentially sealed the game.Dawid Malan struggled to 3 from the first 16 balls he faced before cracking three boundaries in three balls off Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier, and then got out attempting a fourth, chipping a drive to mid-off. His dismissal meant Blitz ended the Powerplay at a paltry 29 for 2.Mohammad Nawaz and Asif Ali came and went quickly, adding just seven runs to the total between them, and halfway through the innings Blitz were going nowhere slowly at 54 for 4. They continued to stumble, Kyle Verreynne mis-reading a slower one from Rabada to be trapped in front of his stumps for 23, and Andile Phehlukwayo needlessly run out chasing a second run as the score dipped to 80 for 6 with just under five overs to go.Rassie van der Dussen and Dane Vilas celebrate their title win•MSL

While Nono Pongolo didn’t feature with the ball today, he pulled off an acrobatic catch at third man to get rid of Blitz captain and their last hope Farhaan Behardien in the 17th over. Pongolo positioned himself to catch an upper cut off Beuran Hendricks, but the momentum carried him over the boundary, where he expertly parried the ball back into play and then leapt back himself to pull off the dismissal.Without a sizeable score to defend, Blitz gambled on their strike bowlers up front. Dale Steyn beat Reeza Hendricks’ outside edge three times in a row in the first over, and then burst one through Ryan Rickelton’s defences to make a mess of the stumps. He was kept on for three overs, with two slips in place, but Reeza Hendricks and van der Dussen were happy to play him out, even conceding a maiden.Once Steyn and Nandre Burger were seen off, the pressure swiftly dissipated. Malusi Siboto leaked 12 runs in his first over, van der Dussen slamming three fours in a row through the off side, while medium pacer Ferisco Adams was carted for 14 by Reeza Hendricks, including a handsome cut over backward point for six.With that, the required rate dipped under a-run-a-ball, and stayed there. Despite their wiles, Phehlukwayo and Nawaz were unable to break through, and Reeza Hendricks raised the fifty stand with a single down the ground in the 10th over.Reeza Hendricks eventually clipped Siboto into the hands of Malan at deep square leg, but van der Dussen took on the returning fast bowlers, pulling Steyn flat and hard for six and drilling Burger over mid-off to motor into the 40s. He raised a perfectly-paced 49-ball fifty with a cut off Adams in the 17th over, and took the equation to 5 required from 19 balls with a second characteristically clean hit through the covers in the same over.Van der Dussen’s crisp hitting has raised his stocks notably through this tournament, but he has also won friends and fans with his self-effacing, team-first approach. Fittingly, he left it to his captain Dane Vilas to hit the winning runs, who clubbed Burger through midwicket to spark hugs, handshakes and a booming fireworks display around the ground.

Saurashtra have the quality to win their semi-final against Karnataka, and, according to their superstar batsman, ‘perhaps even the final’

Saurabh Somani at the Chinnaswamy22-Jan-2019Cheteshwar Pujara averages 68.01 in the Ranji Trophy, but even in a tournament he’s dominated, he has taken his batting a notch higher against Karnataka. In six games against the eight-time champions, he averages 85.44 with two centuries and three fifties, including his first-class highest of 352 in Rajkot.On Thursday, Pujara and Saurashtra will meet Karnataka for the first time since that match in 2013. This time theyy’ll meet in the Ranji semi-finals, at Karnataka’s home ground, another venue that holds fond memories for Pujara. “I made my Test debut at the Chinnaswamy Stadium,” he said on Tuesday. “It is a special ground for me.”Pujara comes into this game on the back of two history-making events – he was Player of the Series in a first-ever Test series win for India in Australia, and part of the batting line-up that gunned down a record 372 against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji quarter-finals.That chase has filled Pujara with confidence with regards to Saurashtra’s chances against Karnataka.”At times, we have been very desperate about winning the Ranji Trophy but this time there’s no pressure,” Pujara said. “I’m going to talk about this to all the players. Even if we lose, the kind of cricket we’ve played this season has been exceptional. The quarter-final victory was very special to me. I’m sure it is special to everyone. To make a comeback like that…”We have a very good chance of winning the semi-final and perhaps even the final. Because it shows that all the players are very determined. Throughout the season, all the players have contributed at some stage. Everyone is in form. If we play to our potential, we have a very good chance of winning this game. But there’s no pressure on any of the players.”Pujara wasn’t too keen to discuss his 2013 triple-hundred.”That’s in the past. We’ve played good cricket against them and won in Rajkot this season. I wasn’t there but the guys have played one game against Karnataka and know what to expect. The good thing is it’s a five-day game and we saw what we can do as a team. We didn’t do well in the first innings against UP but we had enough time to make a comeback. Now we’re a confident unit after chasing 372.”Cheteshwar Pujara plays the pull shot•Getty Images

He also admitted that being the batsman the team looked up to brings extra pressure.”Sometimes there is extra pressure. When I was playing the quarter-final I knew there was a lot of responsibility on my shoulders,” Pujara said. “But I also need to understand that I need to be normal to perform well. I just have to focus on the process rather than worrying about the pressure or expectations which are there. I’ve already started my preparation today. I’ll have one more net session tomorrow.”Given this desire to prepare, Pujara came straight to the Chinnaswamy from the airport, not bothering to stop at the team hotel in between. The rest of the Saurashtra team reached Bengaluru on Monday night, and Pujara joined them directly at the nets.”I feel it is important to be part of the Ranji Trophy,” he said. “For me, playing for Saurashtra is an honour. I’ve grown up playing Ranji Trophy cricket. It has helped me immensely when I’ve played international cricket. Being part of the Saurashtra unit is something I’ve always looked forward to. Especially when we are in the knockout stage, I feel if I’m around, if I can share my experience with young players, it can help the team. It’s a bit of a change coming here from Australia and playing with the SG ball… it’s slightly different. But fortunately, I got to play in the quarter-final.”I always respect the Ranji Trophy. It is always special for me. I feel youngsters should look forward to playing this tournament because it prepares you for the longer format. I made my Ranji debut for Saurashtra in 2005. After that, the number of matches I’ve played…it’s taught me many lessons on playing long innings.”Those words were echoed by Mayank Agarwal, who will be on the opposite side after having batted alongside Pujara in Australia. Agarwal has recovered from the thumb soreness that kept him out of Karnataka’s quarter-final against Rajasthan.”It means a lot,” Agarwal said, about playing for Karnataka. “The state has given a lot of opportunities and facilities and as a player. Whatever you do, you have to come back and play for the state. And put in that effort, which you did before you went to play for the country. So nothing changes.”The preparation remains the same. Whether you have played for India or not, you have to go out there and give your best and do the same things right, again and again. Obviously, you will have some confidence under your belt. Also, you have a bit more experience so that is something which you can carry forward.”

The Renegades captain Aaron Finch admitted he was an over away from throwing in the towel before the game suddenly changed

Alex Malcolm in Melbourne17-Feb-2019Melbourne Stars needed 53 runs from 43 deliveries with 10 wickets in hand to win the BBL title.They lost. Would you call that a choke? “Your words not mine,” a shattered Melbourne Stars captain Glenn Maxwell said.Cricketers hate labels, Maxwell especially. But in their deep dark quiet moments they are mostly honest creatures. The Stars should know.So how did it happen?The Stars were 0 for 93 through 12.5 overs chasing 146. Marcus Stoinis was 39 not out from 37 balls and Ben Dunk was 52 from 40 at the other end. Stoinis tried to launch Cameron Boyce down the ground as he had done four overs earlier and was cleaned bowled.Maxwell wondered in the aftermath whether his openers should have been more aggressive earlier.”I think with the way the game was going, the way they were throwing the ball into the ground, getting the ball soft it was going to be harder for a new batter to start,” Maxwell said. “You could sort of feel that on the boundary, we probably needed to kill the game earlier. Go a bit harder at the start while the ball was hard and just get ahead of the rate.”They bowled pretty well and kept us around 7.5 an over and as soon as you lose a wicket that can really sky-rocket. That’s probably the way we would have gone about it bowling. We wouldn’t have been too concerned with a team being none down. Especially as we didn’t really get away at any stage.ALSO READ: Renegade Boyce atones for unceremonious Hurricanes exit“I think those 10 overs, we batted beautifully but I think we probably could have gone a bit harder knowing what we had behind us. You can kill the game in the Powerplay when you’re only chasing 145. None for 36 is great, we had 10 wickets in hand but you probably needed to go a bit harder. That’s all in hindsight. It’s nice to know now. It would have been nice to know before.”Renegades captain Aaron Finch was almost ready to throw in the towel. “I was really close I must admit, it was probably one over away from them really almost breaking our heart I think,” he said.What happened next was astonishing. Finch squeezed the field in hope.”You just put fielders where you think they want to hit it,” Finch said. “Mid-on and mid-off up for quite a bit of that, try to get them to take a risk from a back of a length ball on a low wicket, it was always our plan and they played well for the first 12 overs. You just need one opening on a wicket like this, on a slow pretty low wicket to create some pressure, to create some doubt in their mind.Peter Handscomb was out when he ran down the pitch to Chris Tremain and skied his second ball. The Stars still only needed 52 off 41 balls with nine wickets in hand.”When they set straight fields and bowled back of a length, it’s not as easy to knock it around for singles,” Maxwell said. “It’s hard to score off every ball, when they bowl back of a length, the ball’s keeping low, it’s like hitting a tennis ball, they’ve got cover and midwicket really close, you actually can’t do much as a batter, you’ve got to try and make the pace. Petey Handscomb probably had the right idea, it was just probably a bit early in his innings. They executed really well under pressure.”The Renegades had engineered their attack for this surface and this scenario. Coach Andrew McDonald, his assistants and his analysts had handpicked an attack for this moment.Glenn Maxwell sports a look of disbelief•Getty Images

“We’ve got a fantastic bowling attack for this wicket,” Man of the Match Dan Christian said. “We’ve got a couple of good spinners, all of our bowlers take the pace off the ball.”Being a day game the wicket got quite abrasive so the ball got a bit chewed up and it got a pretty soft. So we knew that we were trying to take all the pace off and try and make them hit the ball hard and try and make them hit the ball straight down the ground. It’s quite a big ground here and that was the plan here and we were lucky it worked.”When Maxwell walked out the Stars needed 52 from 39 with eight wickets in hand. In the semi-final against Hobart Hurricanes the Stars needed 49 from 40 balls with six wickets in hand. It was a much slower surface and a slower outfield compared to the belter at Bellerive Oval, but Ben Dunk was 54 not out at the other end.Maxwell faced three dots, got dropped by Cameron White at cover and then nearly holed out to deep point before Dunk found long-on off Boyce’s last ball of his spell. “Once we got Ben Dunk we thought, oh here we go, we might be a chance here,” Christian said.”For Boycey to get the two openers out was outstanding to be able to do that and really create pressure and squeeze and get that run-rate going up was crucial,” Finch said.Panic set in for the Stars. They lost 7 for 19 in 30 balls.”Unfortunately, we just couldn’t have a batter come in and do the job,” Maxwell said. “It seemed like every time we had a person come out and take a risk they got out and as I said that can happen.”Christian has seen almost everything there is to see in T20 cricket but even he couldn’t recall a collapse like that. “Definitely not like that in a final,” he said.Whatever you want to call it, it was scarcely believable.

Victoria’s captain Travis Dean made his first half-century since December as the visitors rumbled over South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-2019Victoria’s captain Travis Dean made his first half-century since December as the visitors rumbled over South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide to enter Thursday’s Sheffield Shield final against New South Wales with plenty of confidence.Needing 167 to win the Victorians were well served by Dean and the prolific Marcus Harris, one of two batsmen alongside Matthew Wade to pass 1000 runs for the Shield season, who added 130 before being separated to essentially put the result beyond doubt.The left-arm spinner Tom Andrews found a way past both Dean and Harris, while Luke Robins managed to zip past Will Pucovski for a duck, but Victoria were soon celebrating their sixth outright victory of the season by seven wickets, also consigning the Redbacks to last place on the table by a considerable margin.

Rob Jones helped Lancashire to a commanding position before James Anderson and Graham Onions struck with the ball

Paul Edwards at Lord's13-Apr-2019
Saturday morning in London: fat papers thumping on to doormats; the 319 taking its time getting to Sloane Square; Van Goghs at the Tate; Renaissance nudes at the Royal Academy; Soho’s pubs opening early and the regulars meeting for convivial loneliness; pre-season practice for clubs in the Surrey Championship; Luton at Charlton and Wrexham at Barnet; Oxted Villa at Streatham Rovers, Northampton at Harlequins and Essex at Surrey. And Rob Jones at Lord’s, hoping to secure his place in Lancashire’s side. This, too, is cricket in England.Just after 3.30pm Jones reached the century which will help him achieve his goal. He cut Steven Finn to the wide third-man boundary and, just as when he scored his maiden hundred against the same opponents in 2016, he went on a merry jig full of joyful leaps and fist pumps One could understand his euphoria. Jones has had to wait for his opportunities at Lancashire and showers here meant he had to begin his innings on a couple more occasions than he might have expected.None of it seemed to trouble him and neither was he too bothered when rattled on the helmet by James Harris after lunch. He eventually became one of five batsmen dismissed after tea when the admirable Tim Murtagh got a leg-before decision from Billy Taylor, but by the time Harris bowled Graham Onions to end the innings Lancashire had a meaty 162-run advantage on first innings.That lead had not been reduced at all when Nick Gubbins blamelessly nicked James Anderson’s fifth ball of the innings to Glenn Maxwell at second slip. Yet that wicket was followed by such a secure 68-run stand between Sam Robson and Stevie Eskinazi that it seemed Middlesex would be going into the final day with nine wickets in hand. Then Eskinazi played across a straight ball from Onions five minutes before the close and that reverse bruised the home side’s hopes. No doubt someone will say it is going to be a big first hour in the morning. But if the first hour is big, the second will be enormous and the third may well disrupt space-time altogether.Whatever the result, Lancashire had earned their earlier advantage in a flinty manner that bodes well for them this season. The morning session, for example, had been a grim affair: only 13 overs were possible between the showers and the lingering images are of Dane Vilas and Jones defending with the resolution of Protestant pastors before the Inquisition. Both Murtagh and Finn found a righteous length and Jones managed just three runs off 36 balls before the first interruption.Two fours off Harris, the second a sweet thing through mid-off, may have relaxed him a trifle but conditions were no easier for Middlesex. Their players all wore thick sweaters and between balls they stood with their hands dug deep in their armpits. On the scoreboard Haseeb Hameed’s 117 shone out against Last Man, a reminder of Friday afternoon, when the ground was thronged and our talk was filled with marvellous praise.We managed only 33 balls in the afternoon session before the rain returned. There was time for a stroll in St John’s Wood: Panzer’s deli selling kumquats, yellow dates and maracuya; the pavements rinsed as though after pain; the 113 rumbling past Lord’s on its way to Oxford Circus; young-leafed poplars in Cochrane Street; couples dawdling over a late lunch in Fego’s, their gestures suggesting possibilities.The cricket resumed just before 3pm and the rest of the day was played in bright sunlight. As if reassured by the prospect of prolonged time at the crease, the batsmen played with more assurance. Vilas reached his fifty with a tucked single off Toby Roland-Jones and one fancies it will be the first of many he will score this summer. Then Jones twice pulled Harris savagely to the backward square boundary, as if taking revenge for that blow on the helmet. Those fours took him into the nineties and he soon reached his second first-class century. It was a noble effort.Ten minutes before tea, though, Vilas was leg before when attempting to sweep Malan. That ended his 143-run stand with Jones and it was also the prelude to a further tumble on the resumption. In all, Lancashire lost their last six wickets for 53 runs in 16 overs. One of those dismissed was Alex Davies, who was fit enough to bat but not to field after injuring his thumb on the first morningIt is late now. The newspapers have been reduced to their constituent parts and lie around suburban lounges, their crosswords half-completed. From the pubs around Lord’s one hears the clink of glasses and the hum of talk on this cool spring evening. Elsewhere London’s theatres are preparing for their evening performances: . A thousand restaurants have opened their doors. And somewhere in this sleepless metropolis Middlesex and Lancashire’s cricketers are resting before the final act of this contested drama between two teams whose ambitions this summer are unapologetically grand.

KKR have lost five straight matches, while Rajasthan Royals are one loss away from crashing out of the race for the playoffs

The Preview by Vishal Dikshit24-Apr-20197:05

Tait: KKR spinners not doing well is their biggest dilemma

Big picture

Only a few weeks ago, there was a big gap between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals on the points table. While Knight Riders were riding on one big knock after another from Andre Russell, Royals were losing one match after the other. All that has changed. They are now placed alongside each other on the table, with Knight Riders placed sixth and Royals seventh, with eight and six points respectively.

Form guide (last three matches, most recent first)

Knight Riders: Lost to Sunrisers by nine wickets, lost to Royal Challengers by 10 runs, lost to Super Kings by five wickets.
Royals: Lost to Capitals by six wickets, beat Mumbai by five wickets, lost to Kings XI by 12 runs

Knight Riders’ journey has been very disappointing, chiefly because of their initial tempo. They have lost five consecutive matches now – they have failed to take early wickets, they are dropping catches, and they have leaked runs at the worst rate for any team this season (9.10). As for the reliance on Russell, his knocks of 65 off 25 balls, 45 off 21, and 50 not out off 44 have also resulted in losses, and there is a lot of back and forth about his batting position, especially after the loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Knight Riders know they have to get their act together before the qualification train leaves them behind.Time is running out for Royals too, as it’s a must-win for them. To add to that, they have learnt that individual centuries don’t necessarily win you T20s, and their foreign contingent is shrinking rapidly, not to mention Ashton Turner’s three ducks in a row in the IPL (and five in all T20s). Royals were already without Jos Buttler, who left early because of the birth of his child, and will lose Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer too after Thursday. How they will balance the XI for their last three games is another headache, but for now they need to ensure they at least beat Knight Riders with a near full-strength squad.Royals also need to up their batting game in the death overs; they have the third-lowest scoring rate in the period this IPL and need their big hitters to step up.BCCI

In the news

Stokes has been far from impressive this season, but Buttler is Royals’ second-highest scorer so far and Archer is their second-highest wicket-taker as well as their most economical bowler among those who have bowled more than five overs. Royals’ best hope will be if Stokes and Archer fire together before they are forced to change the combination.For Knight Riders, Joe Denly, a part of England’s World Cup squad, has flown back home early. He even played a one-day match after reaching England, scoring a half-century for Kent on Tuesday.

Previous meeting

These two teams met just over two weeks ago in Jaipur, and Knight Riders thrashed Royals – without Russell having to bat. Hosts this time, Knight Riders will draw confidence from that match as they look to notch up the wins again.

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Shubman Gill, 6 Dinesh Karthik (capt & wk), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Harry Gurney, 11 Prasidh KrishnaRajasthan Royals: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Ashton Turner, 6 Stuart Binny, 7 Riyan Parag, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Dhawal KulkarniBCCI

Strategy Punt

• Royals could think of getting Ish Sodhi back in the XI. In all T20s, he has conceded only 30 runs off 29 balls against Lynn, and 17 off 23 against Karthik (including a dismissal).
• Make Sunil Narine open the bowling, not just the batting. He has dismissed Rahane thrice in 52 balls in T20s, while conceding only 69 runs.
• Despite being an occasional wristspinner himself, Steven Smith doesn’t have a great record against the breed in the IPL since 2015. He has managed only 214 runs against them off 191 balls, and been dismissed four times.
• Royals should look to bowl Archer to Shubman Gill as soon as the batsman comes out to bat. Four of Gill’s five dismissals this season have come against fast bowlers and he has scored only 74 runs off 73 balls against them, with a dot-ball percentage of 37.

Stats that matter

• The last time Royals beat Knight Riders was way back in 2015. Of course, Royals didn’t play in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but they have lost their last four clashes against Knight Riders. Worse, they have won only one of their eight matches in Kolkata in all these years of the IPL.
• Karthik’s average of 16.70 is his second-worst in any IPL season and his worst since IPL 2016. It’s a steep fall after averaging nearly 50 in 2018.
• Rahane is 87 runs away from the 5000 mark in T20s and Stokes needs two sixes to reach 100 in the format.
• Gurney needs one more wicket and Sodhi needs three more to reach 150 in T20s.
• Steven Smith needs two more runs to get to 2000 in the IPL.
• Knight Riders’ next win will be their 100th in T20s.
• Knight Riders and Royals have leaked runs at the same rate during the middle phase (overs seven to 15) this IPL: 8.8.

Steve Patterson’s men grateful for the late return of rain as their lacklustre efforts go unpunished

Paul Edwards13-Jun-2019
“When an hour is all thou hast, make much of that hour.” The phrase might be found on an old sampler reminding folk of the virtues of the Protestant work ethic yet it carried topical power on the final morning of this wet game at Guildford. For against the background clatter of staff gracelessly stacking chairs long before this match ended, Surrey’s Morne Morkel took three wickets in 12 balls, thereby establishing a dominance that would reach its climax when Yorkshire were bowled out for 148 just before tea.Steve Patterson’s batsmen thus spent the truncated last session of this suddenly dramatic game ensuring cock-up did not become total calamity. They achieved that goal although it was fitting that the weather came to their aid. Bad light trimmed four overs from the 38 Yorkshire might have faced but the openers, Adam Lyth and Will Fraine, had negotiated their way to 30 without loss when the draw was agreed amid gloom and approaching showers. All the same, a contest which had hitherto been notable mainly for its appalling weather had suddenly acquired much greater interest and that was a fitting reward for the tough souls who had braved both wind and rain on this last day.”Vigilance is the watchword of the righteous.” That saying, too, might once have been embroidered and framed in God-fearing households yet it has carried a powerful admonition for Yorkshire this week, quite regardless of their beliefs. To borrow a more modern idiom, they have not always been at it during this game. They didn’t expect to play on the second day and had to be roused from their hotel by coaches who were astonished to see Surrey warming up and groundsmen preparing the pitch. Then on this final morning, with nothing but bonus points seemingly at stake, they batted as if shocked into timidity by the intensity of Ben Foakes’ attack.But any tendency to pile blame on Yorkshire’s batsmen for their side’s collapse should be balanced by recognition of the excellence of Surrey’s bowling. That quality was apparent when Morkel dug in the first ball of the morning with perfect accuracy and a disconcerted Gary Ballance could only fend a catch to Dean Elgar in the gully. We little knew it but the tone of the day had been set. Next over Morkel pitched the ball up and had both Fraine and Jack Leaning caught behind by Foakes, who dived in front of first slip to make the second snare.After bowling only four overs Morkel was replaced by Jordan Clark who took his first wicket for his new county when Jonny Tattersall’s thoroughly irresponsible slash edged the ball high to Rikki Clarke at first slip. Next ball the same combination did for a rather less culpable Dom Bess and one’s thoughts went back to the July morning last summer when Clark, then wearing Lancashire’s colours, dismissed Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Johnny Bairstow with successive balls. There was no repeat of that famous hat-trick this damp morning in Guildford but the sense of panic among the batting side was similar.There was a rain break but it did not douse Surrey’s fire. Immediately the players returned Tom Kohler-Cadmore was caught down the leg side off Clarke for 14 and made his way off the field rubbing his hip. Three wickets had fallen for no runs and there was really no telling which way this game would go.As it turned out, an utterly unpredictable morning was followed by the most of predictable of early afternoons in a week which has taught us all to value the high days of summer. The rain set in and prevented any resumption until 2.30pm. But still the pattern of the cricket did not change. Despite Jordan Thompson’s late aggression – the debutant included a huge six off Clarke in his 34 – the 55 runs added by his side’s last three wickets could not prevent the follow on being enforced. After taking four wickets in the innings, Morkel took an excellent catch over his head at long leg to remove Thompson off Matt Dunn. Surrey’s cricketers then beetled off to have tea and prepare to bowl again. Yorkshire had lost all their wickets for 97 runs, the last nine of them in 26 overs.But the excitement was over. Lyth and Fraine batted with immense care in the final session of this game and spectators were left to wonder what might have happened had not 56.3 overs been lost on this last day. Surrey now have a free week but can be emboldened by their cricket at Guildford. Yorkshire, for their part, were probably grateful they could skedaddle home with five points for the draw. Not so far away, Somerset were the big winners from this rain-wrecked four days. Even in mid-June neutrals may be tantalised by the thought that this may finally be the Wyverns’ year.

South Africa captain says his team won’t invoke the ball-tampering scandal to gain psychological advantage

George Dobell at Old Trafford05-Jul-2019Faf du Plessis believes Australia “have learned” from the ball-tampering scandal and that David Warner and Steven Smith will be remembered for far more than that incident.South Africa and Australia meet on Saturday for the first time since Smith and Warner returned to the international game following their suspension for their part in the episode at Newlands in 2018.But du Plessis, the South Africa captain, insists his team will not be bringing up the incident on the pitch and reckons “the Australia culture” now “looks likes it is really good.””I think their records and their performances will speak much louder than a one-off incident,” du Plessis said. “I don’t think the game will remember them for that.”Any player as good as them that is taken away from playing at the highest stage will come back extremely motivated. And I think you can see that the two of them are and they are doing well and scoring runs. They are extremely hungry to perform at international cricket again.”The fact that Australia’s been boosted by the two guys coming back into their batting line-up has made them a pretty complete team. There’s not many holes in their team now and they’ve played some really good cricket at this World Cup.David Warner and Steven Smith, back in Australian colours•IDI via Getty Images

“They are probably better – I won’t say people – but if you look at them now you can see as a team, the Australian culture looks like it’s really good. So they have learnt from that and they have made themselves stronger for it.”I think that’s a good sign for anyone. All of us make mistakes. It is about how you learn and how you move forward.”South Africa and Australia have played each other since the Cape Town incident. But du Plessis says there was no attempt from his team to try to utilise the episode to try and unsettle their opponents, while Australia were also happy to “get on and play the game.””There was certainly no talk about the past or bringing up comments,” du Plessis said. “As I said back then, and I will say it now, I believe as a team we are a pretty low-key team when it comes to verbals.”We just try and get on and play the game and certainly the last few games playing against Australia that is exactly the same, the same from them.”When the World Cup schedule was announced, there was a thought that this game – the final group match – might prove pivotal in deciding which sides qualified for the semi-finals. As things have transpired, however, Australia are certain to qualify and South Africa are certain to go home. But du Plessis feels that such is the natural rivalry between the nations that both sides “give it everything.””For me playing against Australia has always been a great battle because you face a team that’s always very competitive. That is what I love about playing against Australia.”They are a very, very confident team probably right now and we are probably just are a little bit off where we need to be. But, in saying that, once we cross that rope, playing against Australia is certainly my favourite team to play against.”It’s a great competition between two fierce nations. So, yes, they are looking pretty where they are sitting in terms of the World Cup, but we are still going to make sure we give it everything.”