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‘I think in the past we have let ourselves down in having a foundation. It’s just a matter for us to take a few balls at first and get ourselves set’

Aishwarya Kumar in Port-of-Spain10-Aug-2019In the rained-out first ODI in Guyana, Chris Gayle played the slowest innings [when he has faced at least 25 balls] of his career, scoring 4 off 31 balls.This was perhaps an extreme case of it, but West Indies captain Jason Holder has said his batsmen would be looking to start their innings cautiously through the ODI series.”I think in the past we have let ourselves down in having a foundation,” Holder said on the eve of the second ODI in Trinidad. “It’s just a matter for us to take a few balls at first and get ourselves set and then we take it as the innings goes on.”The second ODI on Sunday – if he features – will be Gayle’s 300th – he will be the first West Indian cricketer to reach the landmark. “Three hundred games is a lot of games,” Holder said. “Some of us in the dressing room can’t even imagine that. We just hope he can get us off to a really good start tomorrow.”West Indies had a chance to look at the pitch at Queen’s Park Oval before rain forced the covers to come on, and Holder hoped for good batting conditions.”It’s normally pretty humid,” he said. “The wicket is a decent one, hopefully the rain stays away and it doesn’t get too soggy. The pitch normally is a very good pitch here. The conditions should be really good tomorrow. We’ve got to see how the pitch plays, but ideally in one-day cricket, 300 runs is the benchmark. We’ll see how it all plays out tomorrow.”While Gayle endured a struggle in Guyana, his opening partner Evin Lewis showed encouraging signs of a return to form, scoring an unbeaten 40 off 36 balls before showers forced the players off the field.”Definitely happy to see Evin get some time in the middle,” Holder said. “He didn’t get the runs he was looking for in the T20 format but it’s good to see him get into form in Guyana and hopefully he can transfer that performance here as well.”India’s batting line-up is among the best in the world, but Holder was confident West Indies had the bowling to challenge it. “We got to put pressure [on the batsmen] and try to get as deep into their batting line-up [as possible],” he said. “The wickets nowadays are very good for batting. It tends to play a little bit more in the batsmen’s favour, [but] we’ve been doing a really good job, especially in the World Cup I thought our bowlers did a great job, and [we’ll look to] just continue from there and just try to be consistent.”

Shakib Al Hasan credits Afghanistan for the way “they kept us under pressure and under their nose” in the Chattogram Test

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2019Rashid Khan, not yet 21 and in his first Test as captain, spun Afghanistan to a memorable win, by 224 runs in Chattogram, and picked up the Man-of-the-Match award too, for his 11 wickets and half-century in the first innings. It was a time to celebrate, but also bid farewell to Mohammad Nabi from Test cricket, a job Rashid did in style by dedicating his match award to “the legend”.”He has totally helped me a lot and other spinners a lot as well, since I’ve been in the side, and still he is with us in the ODIs and T20s, but in the longer format that experience was always great,” Rashid said. “I wish him all the best and thanks for all your service for the country. I want to dedicate this Man of the Match to Nabi.”While Nabi played his part with the ball in the Test, the performance from seniors and newcomers alike was heartening for Afghanistan, who have now won two of their three Test matches since becoming a Test-playing country. Asghar Afghan, the former captain, hit twin half-centuries, while Ibrahim Zadran, on debut, scored 21 and 87, and Qais Ahmed and Zahir Khan, both debutant spinners, held their own.”Thanks to the almighty Allah for this performance, under my captaincy we won this game against a big side like Bangladesh. We are new in this format, so the credit goes to the coaching staff [and] the players the way they prepared for this game,” Rashid gushed. “Before coming here, we had a camp in Abu Dhabi, that was one of the hottest games I have ever had. After playing in 46-47 [degrees], when you come in this weather, it is very easy for you.”The plan which was given to the players, each and every one – batting, bowling, fielding – everyone just tried and applied himself. The only thing from my side was to keep going out, keep enjoying yourself, enjoy your batting, enjoy your bowling. Much credit goes to everyone in the batting, and the bowlers, the way we did the job. Especially the youngsters Qais and Zahir, and Yamin [Ahmadzai, the quick bowler], the way he bowled in the first innings. So it was a great team effort and we are really pleased with that.”Rashid credited the Afghanistan Cricket Board for putting in place a four-day system at home, which, he said, has helped the youngsters deal with the demands of the longest format well.”The youngsters who are coming, they are applying themselves really quickly. They are learning from their mistakes. Especially now, we have a good four-day structure back home, we play ten to 12 four-day matches. That is helping the youngsters get used to the longer format and not just the T20s or ODIs,” he said. “Everyone was focusing on his job and trying to give 100%. We are really famous with the shorter format but the challenge was for us, especially with the batsmen, to stay on the wicket and spend as much time as possible. They have done a terrific job.”While Rashid was celebrating, Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh Test and T20I captain, wore a desolate look, after overseeing a below-par performance. They were behind the eight-ball for the longest part but, thanks to the weather, had a good shot at saving the Test on the last day, with four wickets in hand and a minimum of 18.3 overs to bat out, light permitting. They lasted just 15.1.”I think it’s a combination of both – application of our batsmen, and at the same time I think Afghanistan bowled really well, so the credit goes to them for the way they played throughout this Test match,” Shakib said, trying to explain the result. “So we need to do a lot of hard work to become a very good, consistent team. But credit goes to Afghanistan for the way they kept us under pressure and under their nose.”Asked if the build-up was wrong, or that Bangladesh’s lack of Test matches in recent times was a factor, Shakib disagreed: “Well, after playing for 20 years, we can’t say it’s a build-up or something like that. It might be [that] these guys are not playing Test match for a while. It has been a while since we played our last Test match (in March in New Zealand), so that might be the reason.”[But we should] just forget this match as soon as possible and we need to look forward to the T20 series, because Afghanistan is a very good T20 side, and we have to play our best cricket if we want to do well in that tournament. [The T20] World Cup [is] coming up next year and we need to focus on our T20 at this moment.”

England captain warns not to expect too much too soon from spearhead after incisive maiden Test series

Alan Gardner at The Oval15-Sep-2019Joe Root has admitted he is still learning how best to handle Jofra Archer and cautioned against expecting too much of England’s newest fast-bowling talent, after a debut series in which Archer collected 22 wickets from four Tests while showcasing both searing pace and impressive control.Archer helped set up victory at The Oval with a first-innings 6 for 62, as England came from behind to secure a rare drawn Ashes series. Although he finished wicketless in the second innings, his high-intensity duel with Australia centurion Matthew Wade, who was peppered with short balls during a spell in which Archer’s pace topped 95mph, was an arresting spectacle that helped lift the crowd as England pursued a breakthrough on the fourth evening.His rise to becoming an integral part of England’s planning has been almost as rapid as his bowling. Having delivered the Super Over that led to England claiming their maiden World Cup at Lord’s in mid-July, Archer went on to make a memorable Test debut on the same ground, landing a concussive blow on Australia’s leading batsman, Steven Smith, before claiming six-wicket hauls in each of England’s victories.There have already been concerns about his workload, however. He bowled 44 overs in his first Test outing and sent down 156 across the series – behind only Pat Cummins, Stuart Broad (who both played a Test more) and Josh Hazlewood, among pace bowlers.”He’s come in and been fantastic,” Root said. “Four Test matches, two six-fors. He has a way of having a huge impact on the game, you saw his spell here, it just changed the whole atmosphere of the ground, was incredible really. For someone right at the beginning of his career to have such a gift is entertaining, it’s great to be able to captain that and I’m very much looking forward to the rest of his journey.”When I faced him in the nets against the red ball, it was clear he was going to be something special. [But] we’ve got to be careful of expecting too much of him. He’s a young guy at the start of his career, playing in three formats, and he’s still learning. I’m still learning how to get the best out of him as captain.”But one thing you can expect is he’s going to entertain and make things happen. At times he’s not going to bowl at 90mph, but he’ll go at two-and-a-half an over and create chances. I think making sure we don’t expect him to average 12 is something really important, while also knowing he’s got that ability to turn a game.”ALSO READ: ‘Jofra thought he could rip my head off’ – Matthew WadeArcher’s stamina has been as notable as his speeds – his contest with Wade, which often saw Archer end his followthrough a few yards from the batsman, lasted for eight adrenalin-fuelled overs after tea – but Trevor Bayliss, England’s outgoing head coach, suggested it would be wise to allow him to deliver “thunderbolts” more sparingly as his career develops.”I think maybe in Test cricket, I know Joe had relied on him to go with some longer spells this series, but I think looking forward it might be a case that he comes in a little bit shorter spells,” he said. “Four or five overs. Come on, bowl a few thunderbolts, and have a rest and then come back on a little bit later.”Winning the final Test saw Root avoid a second consecutive series defeat against Australia as captain, and allowed him to look forward with a greater degree of confidence than had seemed likely after last week’s loss at Old Trafford, which extinguished English hopes of reclaiming the urn.”It looks a hell of a lot better than 3-1, that’s for sure,” he said of scoreline. “I think it’s probably a fair result over the whole series. People might disagree with that, but you look at Lord’s and things could have been very different after that game. You can look at ifs and buts – if Jimmy [Anderson] was still playing things might have been slightly different.”We didn’t do enough to win it back but we’ve certainly put in a performance this week, which meant a huge amount. To level this series I think it was really important for us as a side, and we’ll take a lot from it moving into the winter.”Root laughingly described Smith as “a pain”, after his series tally of 774 runs proved the difference between the sides, and also took some satisfaction in his final dismissal (though it would be hard to call England’s tactic of positioning a leg slip a success). “It was nice to see a plan come together finally, even though it was what we started with at Edgbaston right at the start of things. Finally one went to hand.”He added that a demanding summer, in which England had narrowly failed to win back the Ashes alongside lifting a first World Cup, should be viewed as “a huge success” for the English game and an opportunity to nurture interest in the years to come.”That World Cup was incredible, for it to finish how it did and across the board there were some fantastic contests. To be backed up by such an evenly matched Ashes series, again we were blessed with brilliant support throughout but the cricket itself was gripping – quite hard to be involved in at times, especially when you were on the wrong end of it. But what a summer of cricket it’s been, I think a huge success for English cricket and we’ve got a great opportunity now to spring the game forward in this country.”

Sri Lanka could only make 8 for 85 in the second T20I and Australia knocked off the runs in under 10 overs

Andrew McGlashan at North Sydney Oval30-Sep-2019Australia women produced a dominant display in the field as Sri Lanka Women were overwhelmed in the second T20I at North Sydney Oval. The captain, Chamari Atapattu, could not match her heroics of the previous night as Sri Lanka managed just 8 for 85 which Australia knocked off with more than 10 overs to spare.On a chilly evening under lights, Sri Lanka were never in the contest after electing to bat. Tayla Vlaeminck struck in a wicket-maiden opening over and Australia cut off Atapattu’s favoured scoring areas more effectively than the previous night when she clubbed 113 off 66 balls. Any hope Sri Lanka had of posting a decent total disappeared when Atapattu was run out by a direct hit from Georgia Wareham in the 10th over.Atapattu managed 12 fours and six sixes herself the day before, but this time the entire Sri Lanka innings featured just nine – with two coming off the final two deliveries – against an Australia outfit that were threatening throughout.Delissa Kimmince (knee) and Ashleigh Gardner (hamstring) were rested and replaced by Nicola Carey and Erin Burns. Vlaeminck, handed the opening over in a change of tactics, was too quick for Yasoda Mendis, who swung widely and lost her off stump and Anushka Sanjeewani was cleaned up by Megan Schutt. The six-over powerplay brought 22 runs and included just three boundaries.There was no let-up outside of the fielding restrictions as Australia’s sharpness in the field stood out, typified by the direct hits by Wareham and Burns. Wareham’s first two overs then cost just two runs, and included the wicket of Harshitha Madavi, after she was the seventh bowler used by Meg Lanning before Carey claimed her first T20I wicket by bowling Nilakshi de Silva.Carey bowled her four overs for just nine runs and contributed one of three maidens in the innings – the most Australia have produced in a T20I. The stranglehold continued almost until the end, but Ama Kanchana managed three boundaries in the last two overs including dispatching the last two balls from Ellyse Perry.Alyssa Healy, playing her 100th T20I, gave the chase a brisk start before falling to an outstanding catch as de Silva ran back from mid-on and held a steepling chance as she dived full length. Australia’s fielding had been top draw, but that pipped everything.Burns was given the chance to bat at No. 3, taking the chance with an unbeaten 30 off 18 balls, and Beth Mooney followed her century in the opening match with a neat 28 as victory came at a canter.

The West Australian scored a hundred in his second Test coming in as nightwatchman

Daniel Brettig14-Nov-2019Tony Mann, the West Australian wristspin bowler who scored the first Test century by an Australian nightwatchman, has died in Perth at the age of 74 after battling pancreatic cancer.In the midst of a long and successful first-class career for WA during the association’s strongest era, Mann played four Tests in the first season of the World Series Cricket split as Bob Simpson’s team played out a fascinating contest against India.His wristspinners brought early success to the tune of 3 for 12 in his first innings at international level in Brisbane, but it was to be as a nightwatchman where he made a most lasting impact during the second Test at his WACA home ground.ALSO READ: Rocket Mann, by Ashley MallettComing in to bat at No. 3 on the fourth evening after Bishan Bedi had snared John Dyson, Mann got through to stumps, but then carried on all the way through to a fluent 105. He dominated the scoring while he was at the crease and was not dismissed until the hosts were more than halfway to a steep target of 339 for victory, which they ultimately reached with two wickets to spare.Mann found the going harder after that and was dropped after the fourth Test, but his efforts helped ensure Simpson’s side claimed the series 3-2 without being able to call on the host of stars lured away by Kerry Packer. He carried on for WA until 1984, finishing his first-class career with exactly 200 wickets at 34.54, notable for his frequent use of a googly, almost to the point where his leg break became the variation ball.In addition to his wrist spin and lower order batting, Mann was famed for his fielding and in particular a fast, flat and accurate throw. So much so, in fact, that Mann was nicknamed “Rocket” in its honour.”We are deeply saddened to learn of Tony’s passing,” the Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said. “Tony was a strong contributor to the local community in Western Australia and Australian Cricket generally. He was an excellent allrounder – a left-hand bat and legspin bowler – through four Tests and 80 first-class matches.”Many fondly remember him for his feats in the 1977-78 Perth Test against India when he became only the second man to score a century as a nightwatchman. On behalf of the entire Australian cricket family, we send our condolences to Tony’s family.”WACA CEO Christina Matthews said: “Tony was a fantastic servant of the game, from a player to the head of cricket here at the WACA and going on to coach in a number of our programs. He played a big part in the careers of many WA players, including the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Brad Hogg and was never shy to drive everyone to be better.”On behalf of everyone at the WACA and the WA cricket community we send our deepest sympathy to the Mann family.”

India’s captain has echoed Rohit Sharma’s opinion that the wicketkeeper-batsman needs to be ‘left alone’

Deivarayan Muthu in Hyderabad05-Dec-20193:35

We certainly believe in Rishabh Pant’s ability – Virat Kohli

“”India’s captain Virat Kohli has joined white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma in backing wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has come under intense scrutiny over the last few months, both in front of and behind the stumps.On the eve of the T20I series opener against West Indies in Hyderabad, Kohli urged fans not to chant MS Dhoni’s name in the stands and ramp up the pressure on Pant. Dhoni, Pant’s predecessor behind the stumps in the white-ball teams, hasn’t played for India since the ODI World Cup in July, but he hasn’t announced his retirement yet and could still have an outside chance of playing next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.ALSO READ – 15 out of 30: Who will make the cut for India’s T20 World Cup squad?In the ODI series decider against Australia earlier this year at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Pant’s home ground, spectators had chanted “Dhoni! Dhoni! Dhoni!” after a failed review from Pant.Reportedly, the crowd in Rajkot also chanted Dhoni’s name after Pant fluffed a chance to stump Bangladesh’s Liton Das, having gathered the ball marginally in front of the stumps. As a result, the delivery was deemed a no-ball.”We certainly believe in Rishabh’s ability,” Kohli said. “When you say it’s the player’s responsibility to work hard, perform and do all those things, I agree. But I think it’s the collective responsibility of everyone around as well to give that player some space to do so as well. If he misses a chance or something, people can’t shout ‘MS!’ in the stadium. It’s not respectful, if I have to put it that way.”No player would like that to happen. If you’re playing in your own country, you should get support rather than always thinking what mistake is this guy going to make. No one wants to be in that position.”A bat- and gloves-wielding Rishabh Pant wears a grin•BCCI

After the Rajkot T20I against Bangladesh, Rohit, who led the team in Kohli’s absence, threw his weight behind Pant, saying he must be “allowed to do what he wants to do on the field”. Kohli echoed Rohit’s comments and believed that Pant could translate his success as an attacking force in the IPL to international cricket if he’s given the space to do so.”As Rohit rightly pointed out as well, he needs to be left alone. We know he’s a match-winner and once he comes good you will see a different version of him – which you’ve seen in the IPL already because he’s free, he’s relaxed there,” Kohli said. “He feels that there’s a lot more respect when it comes to his ability and what he can achieve for the team. I think he needs to feel that a bit more around him.”He can’t be isolated to an extent that he gets nervous on the field. If you want him to do well and win matches for the team, all of us collectively need to make him feel like he belongs, and we’re here to do things for him rather than against him.”When asked if India might consider bumping Pant to the top of the order, in the absence of the injured Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli reckoned that the top four pick themselves, with KL Rahul slated to open with Rohit.”Not really, in the Indian team if you look at the top three or four batsmen right now, [they have set positions],” he said. “I mentioned this about [Wriddhiman] Saha as well when I was asked in Kolkata ‘how do you see him playing shorter formats and so on’. And I said, in IPL you have eight teams. And you have a lot more players who can play in lot more positions. You have to figure out who are the best guys to do the job at a particular position.”

With Pope, Crawley, Bess and Sibley, might we have just witnessed a changing of the guard?

George Dobell08-Jan-2020Might we have just witnessed a changing of the guard?In the dying moments of the second Test, England had a slip cordon that included Ollie Pope (aged 22 and playing his fifth Test), Zak Crawley (aged 21 and playing his second), Dom Bess (aged 22 and playing his third) and Dom Sibley (aged 24 and playing his fourth). Sam Curran, aged 21 and playing his 15th Test, wasn’t so far away, either, while Jofra Archer, aged 24 and a veteran of seven Tests, would have been involved had he been fit.Gone, for the moment at least, were Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Jonny Bairstow, while James Anderson has been ruled out of the remainder of the South Africa tour with a rib injury. Aged 37, with the gap between injuries apparently shortening, you wonder how many more Tests he has in him.All of which underlines the impression that this is an England team in transition from one era to another. The Trevor Bayliss team enjoyed some great moments – not least victory in the 2015 Ashes and in South Africa a few months later – but perhaps never quite hit the heights they might have done.ALSO READ: ‘Lost a lot of confidence’ after falling off Test radar – BessNow a new team is emerging. There will be times, no doubt, when they stumble and there will be, no doubt, one or two who do not make the grade. But as Chris Silverwood, who celebrated his first Test win as England coach in Cape Town, made clear: these are the young men around whom the new side will be built.”We had four players aged 22 or under involved in this Test,” Silverwood, said. “And we saw all of them perform at some stage during this Test match.”I think it shows we have a bright future. If we keep building, let the foundations set and keep believing in what we’re doing, hopefully we’ll see these guys continue to be successful and build a team around them.”It was interesting to hear Joe Root, the England captain, acknowledge that county cricket is currently not doing as good a job of preparing players for Test cricket as it once did in the aftermath of the result. As a consequence, he feels that players are obliged to “learn on their feet” when they come into the Test side. And as a result of that, a certain amount of failure is probably inevitable.”County cricket is very different to Test cricket at the moment,” Root said. “So players are having to learn the hard way and at the highest level. They’re having to learn on their feet, but they’re learning quickly.”It was a point echoed by Silverwood. He knows the next couple of years could include some tough moments – the Test tours of India (in 12 months) and Australia (in about 22) look especially daunting – but he knows that, if England are going to get the best out of these players, they are going to require patience. For that reason, he appears committed to providing them with extended opportunities.”You’ve got to give them time,” Silverwood said. “Sometimes you’ve got to allow them to make mistakes and allow them to learn from those mistakes.”We’ve not finished building yet. We’ve still got things to work on. But the way Pope played in the first innings showed a lot of maturity, while the way Sibley built a platform for us in the second innings was very important. He built the platform for the rest of them to play around which was exactly what we needed.”Not everything is going to work straight away. But things are falling into place and hopefully we can keep building on that.”These young players are fortunate to have the opportunity to develop alongside Ben Stokes. It’s not just that any team with Stokes in it has a far greater chance of success; it’s that he provides, at this stage of his career, an excellent example of the hard work and commitment required to maximise their ability.”He is a great asset to have in any team,” Silverwood said. “When it gets tough, he’s the one you want in there. He fights. He doesn’t know how to give up. And he’s an inspiration for everyone around him. His energy gets everyone going.”For any young kid coming in to the team, to see how he does things gives them realisation of what it takes to play international cricket. He puts a huge amount of effort into making sure he’s properly prepared to not only perform but to get the best out of everybody. He’s setting the standard from a fitness point of view. His attitude, time and time again, is superb.”The England squad, most of whom have family or friends with them at present, are taking a few days off in Cape Town and will resume training in Port Elizabeth at the weekend.

That means a Test series will not be possible; BCB to relay the decision to PCB

Mohammad Isam12-Jan-2020The chairman of the PCB is set to meet the BCB President this week as Pakistan attempt to keep the scheduled tour of Bangladesh on track. A press release from the PCB stated that Ehsan Mani would meet with Nazmul Hassan on the sidelines of the ICC’s Governance Review Committee Meeting to try and get a clearer picture of the BCB’s position on the tour. It represents the first official reaction of the PCB to Bangladesh’s announcement yesterday, which effectively appeared to put paid to the prospect of a two-Test match series later this month, as was originally scheduled.Little had changed following a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) meeting on Sunday that was expected to produce a final decision on Bangladesh’s proposed tour of Pakistan. At a media briefing in Dhaka after the meeting, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan said the government had told the board it could go ahead with a tour of Pakistan, but to keep it “short” due to the Iran-US tensions.This essentially means Bangladesh can play a T20I series but not Tests, which was the line that the BCB had taken in December. The BCB will now speak to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about its decision.”We are clear cut, but let’s see how they react,” Hassan said. “As far as security is concerned, T20 is a better option. They should be happy that we still want to go to play T20s. We just wanted rescheduling [of the Tests], not saying we won’t tour. This is the best thing we can offer to Pakistan.”The BCB’s citation of rising tensions “in the Middle East” as a leading cause of it not embarking on a longer tour would appear to rule out hosting the Test series in the UAE – Pakistan’s home for the bulk of their home commitments over the past decade – as well. But the PCB is adamant the series be held within Pakistan, so that may be a moot point anyway. ESPNcricinfo understands any offer that does not include playing the Tests in Pakistan is unlikely to be acceptable to the PCB.The proposed tour features three T20Is in Lahore, on January 23, 25 and 27, followed by two Tests, originally slated for Rawalpindi and Karachi. But then the BCB said it wanted to split the series, playing the T20Is in Pakistan and the Tests at a neutral venue.It is learnt that last week, PCB offered to fly Bangladesh in and out after each Test – land in Karachi, go back to Dhaka, and then return to Rawalpindi directly for the second Test. Following the BCB’s announcement, it would seem this offer has been rejected.Bangladeshi sides have toured Pakistan in the recent past, but the senior men’s team hasn’t done so since playing a five-match ODI series there in 2007-08. Seven years ago, they were close to deciding on a tour to Pakistan, only for the AHM Mustafa Kamal-led BCB to pull out shortly after the decision to tour was taken.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 88 in vain as a collapse of 7 for 21 costs India

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu09-Feb-2020
Yashasvi Jaiswal once again showed why he’s one to watch out for in the future, cracking 88 off 121 balls. But, his dismissal set in motion an Indian collapse of seven wickets for the addition of just 21 runs in 7.4 overs for India to stop well short of where they would have wanted to be. In pursuit of 178, Bangladesh suffered a similar collapse, losing six wickets for 52, as both the sides seemed to be passing the trophy to each other. Till Akbar Ali, the Bangladesh captain, produced a rearguard to remember, taking Bangladesh across the line in a nervy finish, made more dramatic because of the weather.Dropped catches, fumbles, overthrows, over-the-top appeals, and some verbal jousting added to the drama of the 2020 Under-19 World Cup final. Heck, rain made an appearance as well, leaving the sides scrambling for DLS calculations. After the weather cleared, the target was adjusted to 170, and Bangladesh needed seven off 30 balls with three wickets in hand.Ali and No.9 Rakibul Hasan rose above all the chaos upon resumption and coolly led Bangladesh to their first-ever ICC title at any level. It was Hasan who struck the winning runs, when he stepped out and launched the Under-19 Asia Cup hero Atharva Ankolekar over midwicket. The celebrations that followed were as crazy as the game itself.Such a finish did not seem as likely when Bangladesh were well in front at 50 for 0 in the ninth over. Legspinner Ravi Bishnoi then let rip one wrong’un after another to send Bangladesh into a tailspin.Parvez Hossain Emon, who had retired hurt on 25 in the 13th over, made a heroic return, much like how an injured Tamim Iqbal had done during the Asia Cup in 2018, and made a vital 47 off 79 balls to bring the target within Bangladesh’s reach.Emon, who struggled to run between the wickets, popped in pills and laced left-arm seamer Akash Singh for a brace of cover-driven fours to ease the nerves in the Bangladesh camp.Captain Priyam Garg then punted on Jaiswal’s part-time legspin, and he delivered by having Emon scooping a catch to short cover. This meant Bangladesh needed 35 off 108 balls (the equation was revised after the rain).Ali, though, didn’t budge. He went 16 balls without scoring when he was on 32. But, he absorbed all the pressure, ran hard between the wickets and finished it off sensibly.Shoriful Islam had also played a starring role in Bangladesh’s historic win. He bowled rip-roaring spells with both the new ball and the old one. He was electric in the field – and off his own bowling, too. Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Avishek Das, too, bowled intense spells as India’s batting line-up wilted in the face of relentless bowling.The tigers were roaring at Potchefstroom•ICC via Getty

After Bangladesh had beefed up their pace attack and opted to bowl, Islam set the scene, threatening both the inside and outside edges of Jaiswal. He backed that up by throwing death stares at the in-form Indian opener. Divyaansh Saxena, the other opener, was also skittish against the moving ball and tigerish fielding from Bangladesh gave India no respite. It was Das who made the first incision when he had Saxena carving a catch to backward point for a painstaking 2 off 17.After seeing Saxena toss his wicket away, Jaiswal watched No. 3 Tilak Varma cop a fierce throw on the unprotected part of the knee and collapse onto the ground. Varma, though, shook the blow off and shored up India’s innings with a 94-run stand for the second wicket.Bangladesh’s seamers continued to zip the ball around and Islam even had Jaiswal ducking and weaving, but the 18-year-old Indian opener showed great composure and overcame that tetchy start. By the end of the tenth over, India were 23 for 1, with Jaiswal on 14 off 35 balls.The introduction of the slower bowlers afforded Jaiswal more breathing space. In all, Jaiswal scored 33 off 35 balls from Hasan and Shamim Hossain, reaching his fifth fifty-plus score in six games this tournament. Jaiswal raised the tempo after reaching the landmark, but Varma fell 12 shy of the mark when he scythed Sakib to Islam at deep backward point.Suddenly, India’s largely untested middle order was up against a fired-up attack that was made to look even more potent by their fielders.Islam, who already has the experience of eight first-class games and 12 T20s, showed off his range in the 40th over. He nailed an off-stump yorker, which was kept out by Jaiswal. Islam then unfurled a legcutter, but floated it down the leg side, with Jaiswal swatting it away to the fine-leg boundary. Islam then ramped up his pace to 130kph, hit a hard length and had Jaiswal flapping a catch to short midwicket.After Jaiswal’s dismissal, India panicked so much that at one point Dhruv Jurel and Atharva Ankolekar were running towards the non-striker’s end. Eventually, it was Jurel, who was run out for 22 off 38 balls.Having got rid of Jaiswal and Siddhesh Veer off successive balls, Islam was on a hat-trick, but it was averted. Islam, though, wasn’t done yet. He swooped in from his followthrough and ran out Bishnoi with a nifty under-arm throw and then fittingly closed out India’s innings when he completed a sprawling catch at deep third man.Hours later, he would he celebrating wildly with his team-mates under firework-filled Potchefstroom skies.

“Performances haven’t been there as I would’ve liked, but I’m not too disheartened. I know my ability.”

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Apr-2020Jason Holder has admitted that it was “tough” for him to “transition” back to being a player in the ODI side after Cricket West Indies replaced him with Kieron Pollard as the white-ball captain last September. Although Holder remains the Test captain, his performances in ODI cricket post the 2019 World Cup have weakened, which he said also had to do with him batting lower down the order where he didn’t have enough time to settle before making an impact.”To be quite honest, it has been tough transitioning back just as a player,” Holder told the Cricket Collective podcast on TalkSPORT last week. “In hindsight, it has been tough trying to understand how to get back in as just a player.”CWI had stated that one of the reasons behind Pollard’s appointment as the white-ball captain was to improve West Indies’ performances in limited-overs cricket, especially in ODIs where West Indies had finished ninth in the ten-team World Cup last year. But Holder was caught unawares by the timing of CWI’s decision.Holder was just getting ready to lead the Barbados Tridents in the 2019 CPL when he was told of the news. “Yeah, it was an interesting time for me. I had found out earlier in the tournament that we have moved as one-day international captain. For me, it was just trying to win it [the CPL].”Holder succeded, as the Tridents won the CPL with the captain finishing as the joint-third highest wicket-taker in the tournament.However, Holder was failing to create a similar impact with the ball for West Indies. Since the World Cup, Holder has picked up just seven wickets in ten innings at an average of 69.85 and a strike rate of 75.4. Since Pollard became the captain, Holder has picked up six wickets in eight ODIs at 66.16 with a strike rate of 75. These numbers pale in comparison to his career stats: overall, he has 136 wickets from 111 innings at an average of 36.38 and a strike rate of 39.3.”Performances obviously haven’t been there as I would’ve probably liked, but I’m not too disheartened,” Holder said. “I don’t beat myself up. I don’t get too worried because I know my ability. I know what I can produce. I just know that an innings is around the corner, a bowling effort is around the corner.”Phil Simmons and Jason Holder won the CPL together with Barbados Tridents•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

Holder pointed out that the responsibility of leading West Indies in both Tests and ODIs, playing constant cricket across the three formats and also playing his maiden county season, for Northants, had taken a toll both physically and mentally. Holder had played 62 matches in 2019, the second-most by a West Indies player across all formats including first-class cricket, List-A and T20s.”I felt I needed the break after the India series [in December] particularly, just to refresh,” Holder said. “I had played every single series in the entire year, I played county cricket as well, and my batteries needed a little bit of a recharge. Obviously, I needed some time to go and think about how I wanted to go forward as a player and try to work out again how just to be a player as opposed to being the captain.”A cause for concern for Pollard and West Indies coach Phil Simmons was Holder’s lean form with the bat: he has scored just of 50 runs from six ODI innings after being dropped as captain. Holder has come in at No. 7 in five of those innings in contrast to his last 15 knocks as captain, when he had batted at No. 6 or higher 13 times.Holder admitted he was still adapting to batting in the lower order, which was proving to be a challenge. “Certain situations haven’t really gone my way in terms of having an extended time to bat in one-day cricket, which I feel personally has contributed to me not having that [big] score. I’m a batsman who needs a little bit of a time to get in and then flourish. And I haven’t had many opportunities to get a solid knock. There hasn’t been much Test cricket going on as well too, which helps me a lot in terms of spending time at the crease.”Holder said that he was helping Pollard wherever he could because “for me, the winner has to be the West Indies cricket regardless of who is captaining or who the administrators are.”Holder said he was in “good spirits” and things would once again “fall back” in their place for him soon. “But, again, I’m not too disheartened. I’ve done a lot of thinking, I’ve done a few technical sessions trying to work through a few things that I wanted to correct. I’m in really good spirits. I know the performances will come and I’m just being as patient as I possibly can before that happens.”I don’t think it’s long before you see me getting back to my normal self. I’m very, very confident. I don’t think it’s a question of my ability. I know my ability. It’s just performing and producing. As I said the structure and dynamics have changed and based on how things have gone, it is little to no time going in to bat. So I just have got to find ways to cope and produce in the short stints of batting at the international stage. I will work it out. I am confident it will all fall back into place.”