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He might not have ended with fantastic numbers, but du Plessis has been one of South Africa’s most respected and charismatic players

Firdose Moonda17-Feb-2021Related

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110* vs Australia: Adelaide, November 2012
After traveling as a reserve member of the squad to England earlier that year, du Plessis’ Test debut came with South Africa trying to defend the Test mace in Australia. After a drawn first Test in Brisbane, the hosts had the advantage on the final day in Adelaide, with South Africa 77 for 4 overnight while chasing 430 to win. du Plessis was not out on 19 at that stage.He had given a solid account of himself with 78 in the first innings, despite almost being timed out because his boot slipped off his foot on the way down; but no one would have anticipated what came next. In an epic vigil, du Plessis faced 376 balls, spent close to eight hours at the crease, withstood jibes from David Warner and Ricky Ponting, a tireless effort from Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon, three reviews and a dropped catch on 94 to bring up his first Test century and force an unlikely draw. South Africa went on to win the series in the third Test in Perth, with du Plessis scoring a second half-century.Faf du Plessis put on 205 with AB de Villiers in an exciting draw against India in 2013•Getty Images134 vs India: Johannesburg, December 2013
Although an established member of the team by this point, du Plessis had not crossed fifty in eight innings before this one. India set South Africa 458, and although they were chugging along nicely at 138 for 2 at the end of the fourth day, victory was far enough for it to not be on South Africa’s minds.du Plessis had been promoted to No. 4 – ostensibly as a nightwatchman – and bedded in. He shared a 54-run stand with Jacques Kallis and then a 205-run partnership with his school friend AB de Villiers in which they complemented each other perfectly. de Villiers was the aggressor, if only mildly so, while du Plessis the defender, who faced 309 balls in six hours and 35 minutes in the middle. By the time he was run out, South Africa were just 16 away from victory. They didn’t chase the win but opted for the tail to block out a draw, only to go on and win the series in the following match in Durban.112* vs New Zealand: Centurion, August 2016
It had been almost two years since du Plessis scored a hundred, and he had even been dropped in that time. But not only was he soon recalled, but also installed as temporary Test captain as South Africa sought to emerge from the ashes of the 2015 World Cup. The first match against a feisty New Zealand side had been drawn because of a damp outfield in Durban, and South Africa were desperate to make a statement in the second at SuperSport Park.Their top order fired, with fifty-plus scores for Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, but only du Plessis got to a century. He scored slowly, as was his wont at the time, as it was an innings in which he never looked entirely comfortable. Yet, this was an innings of grit and nerve, of edges and near misses, and of figuring things out again. But it still showed that he belonged as a leader because of the way he lapped up the extra responsibility. South Africa thus declared on 481 for 8, and went on to win the series.Faf du Plessis hit a hundred in South Africa’s first pink-ball Test in 2016•Cricket Australia/Getty Images118* vs Australia: Adelaide, November 2016
Lightning only strikes once, they say. Except if you are du Plessis. Still in stand-in captaincy capacity, he took South Africa to Australia, where they were unflustered at losing Dale Steyn to a broken shoulder in Perth and took the lead before wrapping up the series win thanks to a potent bowling performance in Hobart. By the time the tour got to Adelaide, scene of du Plessis’ dream debut from South Africa’s previous tour, it was all fun and games. Sort of.du Plessis had only scored 76 runs in three innings on the tour until then but, more importantly, had been caught with a mint in his mouth in the second Test. This was not the first time though that he was accused of ball-tampering. In 2013, he was found rubbing the ball against the zip of his pants in the UAE, leading to zips being removed from the kit and a 100% fine of his match fee. He insisted the Australia incident was different, though the ICC disagreed as du Plessis had to forego his payment again but was not banned from the series finale, which was also South Africa’s first day-night Test.Amid boos and under lights, and against a seaming and swinging ball, he scored a century to take his team from 44 for 3 to over 250. du Plessis called it his “best” knock and admitted he had never been more motivated to show what he was made of after having his integrity questioned. But, after all that drama, South Africa still lost the match.120 vs Australia: Johannesburg, March 2018
The final frontier was hosting Australia. Though South Africa had won three successive series in Australia since readmission, they had not been able to do the same at home and du Plessis made it his mission to change that. By this stage, he was permanent captain and had made the side truly his own. When the series started with an altercation between Warner and de Kock, it was du Plessis who emerged from the change room to break it up, though only with a towel around his waist. He defended de Kock and criticised Australia’s on-field comments even as South Africa lost the first match in Durban.Things could easily have unravelled for them, but du Plessis kept his team together – and even regularly planted kisses on his fast bowlers’ foreheads as they performed beyond expectation – as they went on to win in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The latter game came after senior Australia players were found to have hatched a plan to use sandpaper on the ball to aid reverse swing. Mid-Test, Australia lost captain Steven Smith, vice-captain Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft, as South Africa went to Johannesburg knowing they could not lose the series.A broken Australia were 267 runs behind at the Wanderers, but du Plessis chose not to enforce the follow-on and instead to pile on more misery. South Africa added another 344, with 120 of them belonging to du Plessis, before finishing Australia off for 112 to win the series 3-1. This was an innings where du Plessis took the opportunity to rub salt in the opposition’s wounds, all while offering Australia sympathy for the struggles they were going through.199 vs Sri Lanka: Centurion, December 2020
Things went downhill for du Plessis after that summer as he led South Africa through series losses against Sri Lanka – both home and away – as well as a chastening tour of India in 2019. He returned home to administrative turmoil, racial controversy and a series loss to England that summer, following which he stood down as the Test captain. And though he stayed on as a player, he remained one under pressure. Between February 2019 and December 2020, du Plessis averaged 29 from nine Tests. The question was whether he still had it.In the Boxing Day Test, albeit against a Sri Lankan attack that was down to one frontline bowler for parts of the innings, du Plessis scored a daddy hundred which should have been a double. He batted with the carefreeness of a man unburdened and sauntered his way to 199 before picking out a fielder in search of a glory shot. The milestone aside, that innings was proof of the value he could continue to add as a senior batsman in a struggling side. But he only played five more innings, the last of them on South Africa’s first tour to Pakistan in 14 years, before calling time on a career that may not be remembered in numbers but for its nuances.du Plessis, whether a captain or not, was a man for a crisis. At a time when South African cricket went through so much, they could not have asked for a cooler head or a more caring character.

All the stats and records from the thrilling contest between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings

Sampath Bandarupalli22-Sep-20214:52

Steyn: The better team lost tonight

4 – Runs defended by Kartik Tyagi in the final over, the joint-lowest by any player in the 20th over of an IPL game. Munaf Patel also defended four runs against Mumbai Indians in 2009, also for Rajasthan Royals.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 – Target runs for Punjab Kings at the start of the 19th over, the least any team has failed to chase in the last two overs of an IPL game. The least runs a team failed to score previously was 13 by Kolkata Knight Riders against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2012.99.70% – Kings’ win probability as per the ESPNcricinfo Forecaster at 18.5 overs, the highest at any point of the chase. However, they scored only two runs in the last seven balls while needing five runs to win. The win probability of the chasing team never dropped under 99% between 17.1 and 19.3 overs.Related

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1 – The one run conceded by Kartik Tyagi in the final over is the joint second-fewest by a bowler in the 20th over of an IPL chase (while bowling all six balls). Irfan Pathan bowled a maiden over against Mumbai Indians in 2008, while Jaydev Unadkat replicated the feat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017, including a hat-trick.4 – Number of century partnerships between Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul for the first wicket in the IPL, all four for Punjab Kings (earlier Kings XI Punjab) and each of them resulting in a defeat. The number of century stands by the pair in defeats is the joint-most for an IPL pair. The former Royal Challengers Bangalore pair of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli also had four century partnerships in losses. These two pairs also jointly hold the record for most century stands in defeats in all T20s.ESPNcricinfo Ltd120 – Partnership runs between Rahul and Agarwal for the first wicket. It is the second-highest opening stand in a defeat in an IPL chase. The highest is 121 between Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, also against Royals.3 – Arshdeep Singh’s five-wicket haul is only the third for Punjab Kings in the IPL. The first was by Dimitri Mascarenhas, who took 5 for 25, against Pune Warriors in 2012, while Ankit Rajpoot bettered it with figures of 5 for 14 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018. Arshdeep’s five-for is also the second in the IPL against Royals, after Anil Kumble’s 5 for 5 in 2009, playing for Royal Challengers.11 – Instances of a team winning after being bowled out in an IPL game. This victory by Royals was their second such win, having won by two runs against Deccan Chargers in 2010 despite having been bowled out for 159. The 185-run total by Royals was the third-highest all-out total in the IPL and the highest by a team batting first.

All the numbers – at once interesting and intriguing – from the T20 World Cup 2021

Sampath Bandarupalli15-Nov-2021Win toss and chase – the formula for success
The teams that won the toss had a win-loss ratio of 2.00, the highest in any edition of the men’s T20 World Cup, as 30 of the 45 matches were won by the sides that won the toss. The previous highest was 1.75 in 2016 – 21 out of 33 completed games.The tournament also favoured the chasing teams – the win-loss ratio was 1.81, the highest in any edition. The previous highest was 1.50 during the 2014 edition hosted by Bangladesh – 21 out of 35.Focus on the top three
The top-three batters did the majority of the scoring. Each of the top-four run-getters in the tournament were openers: Babar Azam, David Warner, Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler. The top-three batters of New Zealand – Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson – all scored over 200 runs. A total of 54.38 % of the runs in the tournament were scored by the players batting in the top three, the highest ever in a men’s T20 World Cup.ESPNcricinfo LtdAustralia’s luck at the toss
Aaron Finch won six tosses in the tournament and Australia won all those matches while chasing. The only time they lost the toss – against England – they lost by eight wickets. Afghanistan won five tosses in their five matches – the only team with a better success rate at the coin toss than Australia in this edition.West Indies – six each in 2012 and 2016 – are the other instances of a team winning six or more coin tosses in an edition of the men’s T20 World Cup. Australia joined West Indies in winning the men’s T20 World Cup despite not defending a total even once. West Indies did not bat first at all during the triumph in 2016. However, in 2012, they won the title despite not winning a match while chasing, replicating what India had done in 2007.

All the stats highlights from the drawn women’s Ashes Test

Sampath Bandarupalli30-Jan-202212 – Runs England fell short by to win the women’s Ashes Test in Canberra. These are the fewest runs the chasing team fell short of the target in a draw in women’s Tests. The previous lowest was 25 runs by New Zealand against England in Auckland, 1957 and England against India in Wetherby, 1986.2 – Previous instances of a team losing nine wickets in the fourth innings during a draw in women’s Tests. New Zealand finished on 203 for 9 in a 228-run chase against England in 1957, while England made 182 for 9 during a 303-run chase in 1986.Related

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245 for 9 – England’s second-innings total in Canberra. It is now the highest fourth-innings total in women’s Tests, surpassing their previous record of 229 for 5 against India in Wetherby, 1986.5.1 – England’s run rate during their second innings, the highest in a women’s Test innings of 120-plus balls. The previous highest was 4.96 by Australia against India in 1984, when they scored 139 for 6 in 28 overs. England’s run rate of 5.1 is also the fourth-highest in any women’s Test innings.216 – Runs scored by Heather Knight in this Test, the most match-aggregate for an England player in women’s Tests. Janette Brittin’s 205 runs (146 and 59*) against Australia in Guildford in 1998 was the previous record for England Women.2 – Knight’s 216 runs in Canberra are also the second-highest in a women’s Ashes Test, behind only Karen Rolton’s 218 (209* and 9*) in Leeds, 2001. Knight’s tally is also the fifth-highest in a women’s Test.1 – Knight also became the first captain to aggregate 200-plus runs in a women’s Test match. Rachael Heyhoe-Flint’s 191 runs against Australia (12 and 179) in 1976 were the previous most.48 – Balls Natalie Sciver needed for her fifty to register the second-fastest known half-century in women’s Tests. The fastest was by Sangita Dabir for India (50* off 42 balls) against England in 1995. Dabir’s fifty came in only 40 balls as per the official scoresheet of that game.140.62 – Sophia Dunkley’s batting strike rate during her 32-ball 45, the second-highest in a women’s Test innings of 30-plus runs (where data is available). The highest is 142.42 by Anya Shrubsole, who scored 47 off 33 against India last year. Dunkley is also only the fourth batter to hit multiple sixes in a women’s Test innings (where data is available).

The country has for long had the potential; with the IPL, it has been translated into performance

Ian Chappell07-May-2022Apart from the massive financial boost and enormous increase in fan interest, India’s biggest gain from a highly productive IPL competition has been the huge improvement in playing depth.About 20 years ago, India’s overseas reputation was an improving one, especially under the captaincy reign of a competitive Sourav Ganguly but the pace of that ascent gradually increased when the IPL began 15 seasons back, in 2008. The quietly thoughtful MS Dhoni – who is still exerting an influence – built on Ganguly’s reputation, which was then improved upon by the highly competitive leadership of Virat Kohli.The firmly established IPL is now seen as the most important part of India’s enviable depth in international cricket.Related

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To thoughtful players, as far back as the 1970s, Indian cricket had the potential to be a major power. It was felt even then that if India ever capitalised on its enormous population advantage and decided to select its best teams, eventually size would prevail. That notion crystallised when the IPL gathered worldwide popularity. India’s overseas results initially were creditable, and then – especially in Australia – by the 2020s, they were the most feared team in the Test competition. Not only did India under Kohli, ably assisted by Ajinkya Rahane, win internationally, but in 2021 they also achieved an incredible series victory over Australia that confirmed their player depth. This was an Indian team not only ably led but also displaying ample resolve and being competitively better than the previously almost impregnable Australia in home conditions.India have always had individual stars. In the past there were outstanding batters like Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin. The allrounders were headed by the extremely athletic and successful Kapil Dev, and earlier, Vinoo Mankad, who too held a special place among his peers.Spinners there were plenty but the big three – Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar – headed the list of past greats.However, India, who had produced the odd faster bowler, lacked a pace conglomerate. Then the IPL began to bare its teeth, and now we have the current generation of fast bowlers to round out a versatile attack, which accompanies a strong batting line-up and a decent catching combination.Nowadays India’s enormous depth in pace bowling is the envy of most countries. The development of star quick bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj has been instrumental in India’s improved overseas reputation. There is also a depth below that group, in the successful Ishant Sharma, the underrated Umesh Yadav, and handy back-up in Shardul Thakur.India have evolved from a team that had a reputation where some players treasured the blazer, sweater and cap more than actual selection in the Test side, to one that was extremely difficult to beat under any conditions.In addition to the enormous increase in pace-bowling power, the improved fielding culture – boosted by the international flavour of the IPL – has helped advance India’s reputation. Years ago in a documentary on Indian Test cricket, former captain “Tiger” Pataudi spoke of how “the batsmen used to go into the slips and drop all the catches”. This comment elicited a guffaw from the audience but it was a valid point the influential Pataudi, who was a brilliant cover fielder himself, was making.India’s pace-bowling revolution shows no sign of abating, and the name on IPL watchers’ lips is currently that of the pacy Umran Malik. In the past India has displayed patience in developing its fast-bowling group but the genuine pace of Malik will be hard to ignore.In a world where fast bowling is a valuable commodity, India are now a shining light. However, as England have displayed recently, thoughtful captaincy isn’t easy to uncover, but India seem to be doing a good job in this regard too, thanks again to the extremely competitive IPL.India are currently a dominant international side and if they continue to show the required resolve, will continue to be a leading team. That is an envious position and India can thank the highly successful IPL for much of their lofty reputation.

On an evening when it really mattered, the 19-year old soaked in the pressure and won it for his team – this time, with the bat

Danyal Rasool08-Sep-20223:21

Is Naseem Shah now second to only Shaheen Afridi for Pakistan?

It’s the 18th over of Pakistan’s first game at the Asia Cup, and Naseem Shah already looks done. He’s bowling to Ravindra Jadeja as India close in on a scrappy win. He’s been thrown the ball because Pakistan need wickets, but his 19-year old legs can barely support his body weight. He slumps to the floor almost every delivery, that expressive face contorting in agony. Oppressively muggy Dubai evenings and bowling at 145kph, evidently, do not go together.He’s helped to his feet, is basically hopping on one leg as he starts his run-up and then, like the flick of a mental switch, he canters in, gathering pace as he approaches the bowling crease once more. There’s no let-up in pace, and yet, the moment the ball leaves his hand, his body remembers what it’s being put through, and the pain overcomes him once more. He goes down again. Then gets up and again. And he does it over and over, showcasing a level of mental resolve that belies his teenage years.

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The occasion is finally here – Pakistan against Afghanistan. A city so full of migrants from both countries each of them has learned to call it their second home of sorts. Significant Indian interest in the game too, lending it an extra edge – a Pakistan win would put the giants of this continent out of the tournament.Related

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Like it or not – and very few do – India, Pakistan and Afghanistan have seen their fates inextricably linked together in the world of geopolitics. That, for one surreal evening in Sharjah, it also holds true as far as cricket goes is an unusual case of sport imitating life. The narrative is delicious enough to be used as a cliché; of sport bringing people together, or, less pleasantly, chest-thumping jingoism depending on how the game goes. Thankfully, at this Asia Cup, there has been almost none of the latter.The hype around the game, though, seems misplaced at half-time. Pakistan keep Afghanistan’s batters in check, the 129 they manage the third-lowest first-innings score all tournament. Naseem allows just 19 runs in his four overs, the most economical bowler among his team-mates.

****

If there’s such a thing as the opposite of a city, that’s what Lower Dir – where Naseem hails from – must be to Dubai or Sharjah. It’s chilly, mountainous, small-time and tribal as opposed to the desert metropolis that is the UAE. It was perhaps understandable the father tried to talk his son out of pursuing a professional cricket career in his early teen years, but telling Naseem not to do something is perhaps the fastest shortcut to making him do it. Even when it comes to a long shot. The boy was willing to take that chance, and the pain of almost certain failure was just the price he might have to pay.The route to the Pakistan national set-up sometimes feels less a pathway and more a maze, but the generational nature of Naseem’s raw pace and brimming potential was blindingly obvious. You didn’t need a pathway to discover him, only a set of eyes. And so, from the day he made his first-class debut, the national side had eyes for him. He picked up a five-for in just his second first-class match. He had not yet turned 16.But the road from there to here in the UAE wasn’t a straight line. There were doubts, setbacks, moments of exaltation, and, of course, a lot of tribulation. There was the loss of his mother on the eve of his debut, when the 16-year old Naseem was on the other side of the world in Australia. Things like this shouldn’t happen, a child far from home playing professional sport in the hour of his greatest grief, but Naseem does it anyway. It isn’t just physical pain barriers he plays through.Naseem Shah is joined by his team-mates in celebrating an epic win•AFP/Getty ImagesNot that there aren’t physical pain barriers to contend with, mind. There was a multiple stress fracture of his back that saw him in the hospital more frequently than on the field. Talk of wrist positions and run-ups quietly – ominously – gave way to chatter about PET scans and period of recuperation. There were issues with his shoulder as recently as this year, so any sense of his presence at the Asia Cup being an inevitability would be misguided.But as twilight gives way to the night, Sharjah, no stranger to cricketing drama, is adamant not to let this occasion become a footnote in history. This game might still be viewed by some as a proxy between India and Pakistan (and haven’t Afghanistan tired of hearing that before?), but Afghanistan have fought for their place in cricket’s biggest continental cup, and they will not let anyone else tell their story. Fazalhaq Farooqi (3-31), Mujeeb Ur Rehman (4-0-12-0), Fareed Ahmed (3-31), Rashid Khan (2-25) and Mohammad Nabi (3-0-22-0) take the attack on, landing blow after blow until a punch-drunk Pakistan just about sink to their knees. Asif Ali, ostensibly their last hope and the second-last wicket, is dispatched – first with a short ball, and then a bit of a sledge and a shove. He doesn’t like it – Pakistan don’t like it, but Afghanistan don’t feel they owe Pakistan any pleasantries.Finally, the boy from Lower Dir comes in. The last obstacle to a famous Afghan win. They’ve come agonisingly close each of the last two times against Pakistan, but this feels different. For Naseem might be a boy wizard with ball in hand, but wielding the blade, he’s a regular old Muggle.Farooqi steams in. An hour earlier, he had dismissed Babar Azam, probably the best batter in the world, for a golden duck. Mohammad Nawaz, Pakistan’s hero against India, and Khushdil Shah, slayer of Hong Kong, had proved no match either. So why would Naseem, with zero career T20I runs and just 63 in all T20 cricket, prove any match?Eleven needed off the last over. Farooqi strides in and misses the yorker. Naseem has a swing, and it connects, heading straight for a pocket of Afghan fans behind the sight screen who find their celebration give way to nervous anxiety. But one is no judge of success, and Naseem must do it all over again.It’s another full toss, and Naseem has another swing. This one isn’t as clean, and for the briefest fraction in time, the ball hovers in the air within reach of long-off, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan’s fates hanging on the path it takes on its descent. But Naseem’s thrown his arms at it, and if those arms can support a 19-year old bowling at 145kph, then there’s strength enough. The ball still teases long-off, but by the time the man puts in a despairing dive, Afghanistan’s fate is sealed.Naseem drops his bat, and, by the look on his face, his guard. Incredulous, he sprints towards the onrushing Pakistan players and staff. With the ball, there might be no end to what he backs himself to do, but with bat in hand, he is subconsciously giving himself the ultimate compliment: even he’s surprised by what he’s done.As the mood in the crowd turns sour and ugly, Afghanistan sink to their knees, their eyes shimmering as they take in the bitterest of defeats. This wasn’t meant to happen, but Naseem has done it anyway.

Surfaces have not been bad there historically. Ironically, they have been since he became chairman

Osman Samiuddin08-Dec-2022Good. Very good. Good. Below average.In order, oldest to latest, those are the ICC ratings for Rawalpindi pitches in the four Tests Pakistan have played there since Test cricket returned to the country in December 2019, excluding the last, against England.That first Test was ruined by rain but the two subsequent ones, against Bangladesh and South Africa, were played on pitches designed to reap results, which they did. They weren’t rank turners or green mambas, though there was enough grass on the surface against Bangladesh for Pakistan to talk publicly about moving on from the UAE spin era. In both games there was movement for the new ball off the surface, there was a period when batters could feel settled, there was bounce, there was purchase for spin, there were runs to be made, and there was reverse swing. In short, the contest between bat and ball was fair and compelling.Related

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The last rating was for the Test against Australia.Between that match and this England Test, Rawalpindi hosted seven Quaid-e-Azam trophy games in which wickets came at a cost of 32.4 and a strike rate of 60.38. Fast bowlers took 142 wickets at 32.6, spinners 66 wickets at 30. In the last of those games, a month ago, Mohammad Abbas took seven wickets for Southern Punjab and the mystery spin of Abrar Ahmed eight wickets for Sindh. In short, the contest between bat and ball in those games was fair and compelling. Then came this England Test, which, like that Australia Test, provided a grossly unfair and off-putting imbalance between bat and ball.That England secured a win on the final day should not mask what an abomination the surface was. It took one of their greatest performances ever to eke out a result, otherwise the pitch was made purely to secure a draw for Pakistan. The two Test surfaces, in other words, have been nothing like those from a couple of years ago or even, more recently, those of this domestic season. Nasser Hussain said the pitch didn’t deserve to have the players it had on it.Ramiz Raja, the PCB chairman, also condemned the surface, calling it “embarrassing”. In various media interactions, Ramiz also said that it would take anywhere from a season to several years to fix pitches; that Pakistan were in the dark ages as far as pitch preparation was concerned.Ordinarily such comments might get a pass. He is the chairman. Foreign media are in town. He is an easy content provider. He is bilingually perfect, because he speaks English but also the language of the media, made up of buzzwords and clichés. The pitch is so awful it needs accountability. This is the ceremonial dance of chairmanship.Except, in Ramiz’s case, those comments cannot pass so easily. As well as being alarmist, the idea that Pakistan cannot produce good pitches is more than a little disingenuous, because as those ICC ratings suggest, Test pitches have been this bad only since Ramiz became chairman. It’s surprising he doesn’t remember Rawalpindi producing good surfaces because he was commentating on those games before he became chairman. In the daily analysis he did for his YouTube channel, he praised the surface for the Test against South Africa, not least on day four when he said the curator had prepared a , or brilliant, surface with something in it for everyone.If such a surface could be produced as recently as February 2021, why should it take years to produce another surface like that – or at least a surface less like the one this England Test was played on? Why should it take so long and be seen as so difficult to produce better surfaces when the evidence of this first-class season in Rawalpindi says that there is not much work to be done?It shouldn’t, is the short answer. The only reason the last two Test surfaces in Rawalpindi have been so poor, so lifeless, is because Pakistan have wanted them that way, not because there is something inherently wrong with them. The problem is not the pitches but the conservative mindset among the leadership of Pakistan cricket.Earlier this year Ramiz all but admitted that the Rawalpindi pitch had been flattened to neutralise Australia’s attack. After the England loss Babar Azam said this was not the pitch Pakistan wanted, even though they had “a lot of input” into what they wanted. They wanted a turner, though the deed of picking just one spinner from a squad of three – and not a spinning allrounder who was Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in their last Test series – rather belies those words.England get an eyeful of the Rawalpindi pitch ahead of the Test•Getty ImagesOrdinarily, most board chairmen would not be as fixated on pitches as Ramiz appears to be. He brought in a curator from Australia for a ten-day stint ahead of the third Test of that series. Nobody is sure what purpose that served. He brought in another Australian curator in July, this time for local curators to pick his brains about pitch preparations. (He has little faith in local curators clearly: in a previous stint as board CEO, he brought in Andy Atkinson to help prepare pitches for a series against India.) He’s been keen on bringing drop-in pitches to Pakistan, though that plan has had to be put on hold because of the expense involved in shipping them in. Now he wants to develop them in Pakistan.The solution is questionable because drop-in pitches are useful usually in multipurpose venues, where cricket shares space with other sports. All of Pakistan’s main cricket stadiums are under the control of the PCB and so will only be used for cricket. It is more questionable because, on the evidence of all Tests played in Pakistan since their return in 2019-20, it could be argued there wasn’t a problem in the first place – until Ramiz took over.Ramiz has already warned that similar surfaces will be seen for the rest of season, another two Tests against England and two when New Zealand visit. At which point, it is worth revisiting the three home series against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa and asking: why?Sure, Multan, where Pakistan and England now play, is a bit of an unknown in that this Test will be the first there since November 2006. Five of the seven first-class games there over the last two seasons have been drawn, though not in homogenous fashion. But Karachi, the venue for the last Test of the England series, has played out two Tests (before the one against Australia, under Ramiz’s tenure) of compelling cricket: it spun more than some could ever remember on the first day of one and had seam movement and invariable enough bounce to keep batters honest on the first day of the other.In one sense, it is understandable that Ramiz is so hung up on pitches. His USP when he became chairman after all was that he was a cricketer and what cricket needed more of was cricketers running it. Indeed, who else run it better? And so, going by that platform, of course he will get in the weeds with pitches.Except, if the state of Pakistan’s Test pitches is anything to go by, the evidence is growing that it’s not being run particularly well.

And which bowler has sent down the most deliveries in a single day of a Test?

Steven Lynch14-Mar-2023Usman Khawaja has now scored Test hundreds in India, Pakistan and the UAE. How many have done this? asked Xavier Murray from Australia
Usman Khawaja’s 180 against India in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad meant he became the ninth member of a select band with Test centuries in India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Khawaja had scored 141 against Pakistan in Dubai in 2018-19, and last March made 160 in Karachi followed by 104 not out in Lahore. He’s also hit nine Test hundreds in Australia, and one in New Zealand.The only other Australian to score Test centuries in India, Pakistan and the UAE is Steve Waugh. This treble has also been achieved by Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Kane Williamson of New Zealand, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, plus three Pakistanis in Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan. The others all completed a nap hand in Asia with centuries in Sri Lanka, apart from Waugh and Shahid Afridi (and Khawaja so far).I know that Sonny Ramadhin holds the record for the most overs in a Test innings. But who bowled the most in a single day of a Test? asked Utsav Sengupta from India
The most balls sent down by a bowler on a single day of a Test is 360 – 45 eight-ball overs – by the South African offspinner Athol Rowan, on the third day against England in Port Elizabeth in 1948-49. The same day, slow left-armer Tufty Mann delivered 328 balls (41 overs) as South Africa got through 104 eight-ball overs in the day (the equivalent of 138.4 of six balls). “Rowan and Mann virtually carried the whole of the South African attack today, and both bowled remarkably well,” reported the Times.Eight years later in Cape Town, another South African spinner, Hugh Tayfield, sent down 328 deliveries (41 eight-ball overs) during an unchanged spell on the first day of the second Test against England. The most in the current century is Muthiah Muralidaran’s 282 balls (47 overs) on the third day of Sri Lanka’s Test against Zimbabwe in Galle in 2001-02.The West Indian spinner Sonny Ramadhin toiled through 98 overs in England’s second innings at Edgbaston in 1957, his marathon effort being spread over three days. For the list of the most deliveries in a Test innings, click here.Which player has been the last man out in a Test defeat the most times? And how about being the not-out batter in defeats? asked Arjun Gupta from the United States
Jimmy Anderson is top of both these lists – not surprisingly, perhaps, given that his current haul of 179 Test caps is exceeded only by Sachin Tendulkar’s 200. Anderson has been the last man out at the end of 20 different Test defeats, and the non-striker for 17 more.New Zealand’s tailender extraordinaire Chris Martin was the last man out to round off 13 Test defeats, as was Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralidaran; so far, Nathan Lyon has been the last man out 11 times, which puts him level with Courtney Walsh. Another West Indian, Shannon Gabriel, has been at the other end for ten Test defeats; Murali is next with nine, ahead of Walsh and Danish Kaneria with eight.Mujeeb Ur Rahman made his first-class debut in Afghanistan’s inaugural Test, against India•BCCIHas anyone bowled their four overs in a T20I and not conceded any runs? asked Michael Banks from England
There has been one instance of this in an official T20I, by Canada’s slow left-armer Saad Bin Zafar, who finished with figures of 4-4-0-2 against Panama (who were all out for 37) in a World Cup Americas Region qualifying match in Coolidge (Antigua) in November 2021.There’s one other instance in all senior T20 matches, and it happened just six days before Zafar’s spell: playing for Vidarbha against Manipur in Mangalagiri, in India’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Akshay Karnewar also had figures of 4-4-0-2.The most economical spell in a T20I for a Test-playing team is Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 4-1-4-5 for India against Afghanistan in Dubai in September 2022.The West Indian fast bowler Jayden Seales had played only one first-class match before his Test debut. Is this a record? asked Mark McDonald from Trinidad
When he made his Test debut against South Africa in St Lucia in June 2021, the 19-year-old Jayden Seales had played only one previous first-class match, for West Indies A in New Zealand late the previous year. He was the fifth West Indian whose second first-class match was a Test, following George Gladstone and Clarence Passailaigue (both in 1929-30), Charlie Griffith (1959-60) and Fidel Edwards (2003). Seven other West Indians played only two first-class games before their first Test, including Garry Sobers (1953-54).Seales shares the West Indian record, but overall 34 men have made their first-class debut in a Test match, 28 of them in the 19th century. The most recent addition to this list came in June 2018, when spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman made his first-class debut in Afghanistan’s inaugural Test, against India in Bengaluru. Mujeeb has now played over 250 senior white-ball games – but that remains his only first-class match.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

India have a long history of playing ODI cricket around their method of taking games deep, but batters were out going for big shots against Australia

Deivarayan Muthu23-Mar-20235:46

Rohit: Surya really unfortunate, we wanted to give him the last 15-20 overs

Virat Kohli has just brought up a typically risk-free half-century. A massive roar reverberates around Chennai’s newly-renovated MA Chidambaram Stadium. There are no signs of dew and the ball is gripping and turning sharply for Australia’s slower bowlers, but a Kohli century seems almost inevitable. At the other end, Hardik Pandya has run away to 28 off 20 balls. India are 185 for 4 in 35 overs, chasing 270, with batting all the way down to Ravindra Jadeja at No.8.Kohli then collapses his back knee and atypically hits the ball in the air, despite not reaching the pitch of an Ashton Agar delivery that breaks away from him. He looks to take on deep cover, but ends up plopping the ball much straighter to long-off for 54 off 72 balls. Kohli usually takes these chases deep and kills them off, but this time he has veered from his approach and holed out. David Warner pumps his fist after taking the catch and Australia captain Steven Smith pulls his collar up; Chepauk is hushed.The pitch plays more tricks. A skidder from Agar keeps low and storms through the defences of Suryakumar Yadav, who bags his third straight golden duck in the series. Hardik, too, holes out while trying to hit a six, leaving the door ajar for Australia. The visitors capitalise and consign India to their third bilateral ODI series defeat since 2015.Related

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Hardik and Adam Zampa have some history: six years ago, Hardik had said he could hit a six off Zampa anytime he wanted to. But Zampa is at the peak of his powers now. Since the end of the 2019 ODI World Cup, no spinner from a Full Member nation has more wickets than his 66, and only Alzarri Joseph (69) has more wickets during this period. In Chennai, both Zampa and Agar were getting some balls to spin viciously from the line of the stumps.KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja all fell trying to hit Adam Zampa for a six•Getty ImagesWith the asking rate hovering around eight and with Jadeja at the other end, Hardik could have seen out Zampa’s last two overs and targeted the medium-pace of Marcus Stoinis, who ended up bowling the 48th and 50th overs. With Mitchell Marsh playing as a specialist batter this series, Australia did not have a sixth-bowling option. However, despite the presence of a straight long-on, wide long-on and deep midwicket, Hardik throws his hands into a low-percentage slog against a Zampa legbreak and slices a catch to extra-cover. KL Rahul and Jadeja are also dismissed trying to hit Zampa for a six.India captain Rohit Sharma wasn’t too critical of India’s uncharacteristic batting approach, but he called for greater application on tricky tracks like the one at Chepauk.”No, I don’t think it was too many runs,” Rohit told at the post-match presentation. “The wicket was a little challenging towards the second half, but I didn’t think we batted well. The moment we thought we had a partnership, we lost a wicket. So, yeah when you want to win games like this, partnerships are crucial and it’s something that we failed to do today.”A bit of both [the nature of the wicket and manner of dismissals] actually disappointed me. You’re born and brought up playing on these kinds of wickets, so sometimes it will be challenging, but it’s important to apply yourself and try and give yourself a chance. We were not chasing 300, we were chasing 270. After the start we got, it was important for one batter to carry [on] as long as possible and take the game deep. But, again, having said that, we know these things can happen and all of us were trying our best to go out and achieve that, but it just didn’t happen.”At the press conference, Rohit said the team management would not judge the batters based on the batting malfunction on Wednesday. “If you look at the last few overs, it was probably a run-a-ball or probably more than that,” Rohit said. “So someone has to take a chance. We didn’t want to wait till the end for the last couple of overs. We’ve always spoken of playing a little fearlessly and if someone feels like they can take the bowlers on, we’ve given them complete freedom to go and do that. And while doing that, there’s a big possibility that they might not be able to achieve what they want to achieve, which is fair. Which is fine by us.”You will learn from that and we will definitely not judge [players] based on a couple of poor shots. All these guys have a lot of potential and they can play shots whenever they want and we want to encourage them to go out and do that quite often.”India have a history of winning ODIs with their tried-and tested method of taking games deep, and perhaps the batting failure in Chennai was just an anomaly.

A year after a pulsating finish at the Asia Cup, the same protagonists delivered another blockbuster climax

Danyal Rasool25-Aug-2023It’s often said that all current mainstream cinema is the same superhero storyline with a superficially rehashed script. If cricket classifies as theatre, the second Afghanistan-Pakistan ODI stretched that concept to an almost parodic degree.Hostility between the sides had nearly spilled over into physical aggression during their dramatic T20 fixture at last year’s Asia Cup, before Naseem Shah pulled off a victory a scriptwriter would have dismissed as too corny. With one wicket remaining and 11 still needed, Pakistan’s golden boy swung hard twice against Fazalhaq Farooqi, and struck gold both times. Throwing down his gloves and helmet, he set off on an in-your-face victory lap as exhilarating as it was provocative.Related

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In the time since, Naseem has made little effort and shown little desire to get himself out of the way of Afghanistan’s firing line. Earlier this month at the Lankan Premier League, he directed an especially boisterous send-off the way of Rahmanullah Gurbaz; any half-decent Pashtun lipreader would have told you what he said wasn’t family-friendly.On Tuesday, after Afghanistan were bowled out for 59 – the lowest total anyone has scored against Pakistan in an ODI – Naseem was interviewed by the PCB’s in-house media unit. His team-mate Mohammad Haris was the interviewer, with Naseem flanked by Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi. It was supposed to be gentle, wholesome content. Until that game, Naseem had scored just three ODI runs; on the day, he’d managed an unbeaten 18. When asked what he put his improved batting down to, Naseem went for a mischievous jab. “The Afghan bowlers,” he couldn’t resist saying, before breaking into peals of laughter.In the year since the Asia Cup drama, Afghanistan had landed a blow of their own, beating Pakistan 2-1 in a T20I series in March. Gulbadin Naib at the time remarked that his side had specifically targeted Naseem. But Naseem is a unique phenomenon, a boy who still possesses the charmed optimism of youth as well as a man with the grit and raw ability to bring those dreams to fruition.Last year’s Asia Cup was the setting for the first iteration of Naseem vs Farooqi•AFP/Getty ImagesAnd as this year’s sequel plays out, Naseem is the first to realise he’s seen this movie before.Afghanistan have worked themselves into a position of dominance, but if you know your Afghanistan-Pakistan history, that really doesn’t mean much until the final ball is bowled. Shadab Khan may bleed Islamabad United red but he knows when to shelve blanket all-out attack in favour of taking the game deep. The conditions are slow, and Afghanistan take pace off the ball. So instead of galloping, Shadab inches.”When you’re a senior player, you go through these stages again and again,” he says. “Sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed. I try to be as calm as possible. Their team has world-class spinners so I wanted to see their overs off and accelerate against their fast bowlers. The boundaries are long so there are easy twos, so when Shaheen and Naseem came our plans were to go for twos.”Shadab wants to run at every possible opportunity, and he doesn’t care who knows. And with fate conspiring to have Farooqi bowling the final over of a humdinger to Naseem once again, Afghanistan know. There’s a team huddle before the start of an over Shadab desperately wants to be on strike for, and he sneaks out furtively with Farooqi enters his delivery stride, which begins well behind the wicket.Farooqi has his eyes on Shadab, and has no qualms about whipping off the bails. There’s little love lost between the two sides; Afghanistan don’t need to think twice about effecting that dismissal, and Shadab doesn’t even look back to know there will be no reprieve. When Naseem’s penultimate partner Asif Ali was dismissed in the Asia Cup, the contretemps that followed nearly overshadowed the game. There’s no such drama here.Naseem followed his career-best 18* in the first ODI with a provocative line about Afghanistan’s bowling•AFP/Getty ImagesThis should, really, be a no-contest between a young man who has trained to bowl fast all his life against an even younger man whose approach to batting constitutes little more than casual fun. The numbers would write off last year as an aberration, and the odds would favour a reversion to the mean.But there’s a certain state of mind a few sportspersons are able to call up, when the mere desire to win allows them to see a way against bookmakers’ odds or conventional wisdom. Ben Stokes famously possesses it, but at least he knows how to bat. Naseem? He just doesn’t want to lose, especially not against Afghanistan, and especially not against Fazalhaq Farooqi.A remarkable inside out-drive brings him four first ball after Shadab’s exit. As Afghan nerves fray, confusion on the boundary allows Pakistan a third run that brings him back on strike for the denouement, with three needed off two balls. Naseem has a slog that reminds everyone he’s really not a batter, but no legendary sporting tale develops without fortune. There’s an outside edge, a desperate look back. The man at short third has no chance, and from there, it’s clear green grass all the way to the rope.Naseem reprises the frenzied tossing of the helmet and gloves, but this time he doesn’t get far before his team-mates are all over him. It’s almost like they expect him, the youngest man in the side, to lead them out of trouble each time. The context of the win from last year, the acrimony that followed, and the spice that tinges each encounter between these sides only makes this win sweeter.The targeting of Naseem will invariably become even more laser-focused. And Naseem will simply spread his chest out and walk towards it every time. Perhaps there is a reason, after all, that superhero films continue to be box-office.