The forgotten 'Australian-Lancastrian' who ranks among the greats

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Ted McDonald gave up his Test career to cut a swathe through county cricket in the 1920s

Paul Edwards16-Jun-2020A month or so ago a greatly respected member of the media was asked by his employers to compile a list of county cricket’s best overseas players. Turning to Lancashire and limited to just four names, he had provisionally decided on Clive Lloyd, Farokh Engineer, Wasim Akram and Ashwell Prince, but then rang a colleague to check on his selections and request any suggested changes. “Well, Ted McDonald’s got to be in there, somewhere,” said his friend. “Who’s that?” was the reply.Outraged astonishment, whether genuine or affected, would not be an appropriate response to such a question. Visual images have long commandeered minds and there will be many true and faithful cricket supporters for whom the history of the game began with Ian Botham or one-day cricket and they will not be certain which came first. Tell such folk that next summer will mark the centenary of the great Australian tour in which McDonald took 150 first-class wickets, 27 of them in the five-Test series, and they will thank the passage of time for explaining their ignorance. Warwick Armstrong might be a new town in the Midlands.But Lancashire followers probably have more reason to reproach themselves for any lack of knowledge. Their county won six Championships in the 20th century and McDonald’s fast bowling played vital roles in four of those triumphs. He took 588 wickets in title-winning summers and his total haul of 1053 wickets puts him eighth on the county’s all-time list. All those above him had far longer careers at Old Trafford than the Tasmanian, who played his first match for Lancashire aged 33 in 1924 and his last, some seven months after his 40th birthday, at Blackpool in 1931.ALSO READ: Odd Men In – Martin DonnellyBefore McDonald began playing full-time county cricket in 1925 there were three lucrative summers with Nelson in the Lancashire League, and even in his early forties, with his fire suddenly burning low, he was engaged as Bacup’s pro for another two seasons. The initial move to England with his young family cost McDonald his Test career but the offer from Nelson – £500 a season plus collections and other benefits – made him the highest-paid cricketer in the world. Given his liking for alcohol and his predilection for placing large wagers on slow horses this was plainly useful. “I’ve always had a weakness for freak bets,” he said.And yet we have still given nothing more than half an answer to that initial question. We know some of the reasons why McDonald was famous but who he was in the sense required by biographers intrigued the game’s historians for nearly a century. Fortunately many of those questions were answered four years ago when Nick Richardson finally published his excellent biography . Richardson’s book has been diligently researched and is profusely illustrated with many photographs of McDonald, either singly or as a member of a team in whose success he had played a major part. And yet in none of those photographs is he smiling.”He was not an extrovert who enjoyed cultivating a public profile,” Richardson writes. “The evidence from those who knew him was that McDonald could be a moody man, who was more often than not taciturn… This personality was initially a fierce contrast to the exuberance and thrill that seemed to emanate for McDonald’s bowling partner, Jack Gregory… McDonald was harder to like and this problem was manifest in the way he bowled: at times, hostile, and at other times apathetic. He was, by cricket’s evolving definition of what a hostile fast bowler should be, neither flamboyant nor inspirational. He might have been part of sporting circles who formed convivial groups, but for McDonald his cricket was very much a private activity.”Except, of course, that the game could never be wholly private for a man whose moves to Nelson and then to Lancashire were predicated on large numbers of people turning up to watch him play. Indeed, part of the deal by which McDonald was made available for the entire Championship season in 1925, rather than just midweek county fixtures, involved Lancashire agreeing to play one match each season at Nelson’s Seedhill ground.In first-class games the duels between McDonald and the great batsmen of his era were always good box-office. In his first full season at Old Trafford his bowling was demolished in front of the home crowd by the 22-year-old Walter Hammond, who made 250 not out and put on 330 with his third-wicket partner, Alf Dipper. As would happen fairly frequently when McDonald was attacked, he took refuge in short-pitched bowling. With most batsmen such a tactic was unnecessary: his pace was enough. But with batsmen of pedigree like Hammond or Frank Woolley, bouncers were employed and Bob Wyatt reckoned McDonald was one of the first to use leg-theory, albeit nothing like as systematically as Harold Larwood eventually did. “My own experience of leg-theory is limited,” Douglas Jardine wrote after the Bodyline tour. “The first time I experienced it, it was bowled – and well bowled – by McDonald, the Australian-Lancastrian.”

As well as being of his time he was far ahead of it in his determination to seek the highest wages he could, even if that meant ending his Test career. His precise place among the best cricketers of his day was determined by the willingness of a Lancashire League to pay him a great deal of money

Three of Woolley’s four Championship centuries off Lancastrian attacks that included McDonald were scored when the Kent batsman was over 40 but McDonald also took his wicket ten times in the dozen games they played against each other. Such statistics are particularly useful because two of those games were the subject of memorable essays by Neville Cardus, a writer for whom statistics were an unseemly invention of dull men on bad days.Cardus was perfectly aware of McDonald’s mercurial temperament. In 1926 he reported on Lancashire’s game at Dover, always one of the writer’s favourite grounds, and saw him take 7 for 81 in the first innings. But when Kent needed 426 on the final day, McDonald refused to bowl fast, instead sending down leg-spinners from round the wicket and mooching around in the field. His captain, Leonard Green, could neither order nor persuade him to do a proper job. Let us allow Duncan Hamilton, author of to take up the story in the tea interval.”Cardus finds McDonald quietly drinking a glass of whisky, which Green has poured for him. He implores McDonald to put some spine into his bowling. He explains that if Kent get the runs, the Lancashire committee will ‘play Hell’ with Green for declaring. McDonald ‘snarls’ at him – Cardus emphasises that word – and then says: ‘Very well.’ “Four of Kent’s remaining five wickets fell to McDonald, who took a hat-trick, as if to show what he could do when he slipped himself. Cardus had thus seen Woolley make a century and McDonald take 12 for 187, all on three perfect June days in Dover. .Two seasons later Woolley made another century against Lancashire but his 151 out of Kent’s first innings 277 at Old Trafford was hardly more than a glorious prelude to McDonald’s career-best figures of 15 for 154. Cardus watched that match, too, and those who criticise his occasional lush lyricism might also consider the strength of the following passage:”Whence does McDonald draw his terrible and strength and velocity? His run to the wicket is so easy, so silent. He does not thunder over the earth like Gregory – like a bull at a gate. No, he runs along a sinister curve, lithe as a panther, his whole body moving like visible, strange music. A more beautiful action than McDonald’s was never seen on a cricket field, or a more inimical. The man’s whole being tells of the sinister, destructive forces of nature – he is a satanic bowler, menacing but princely. Yesterday he was at his best; he like a comet burned, and from his wheeling arm shot pestilence and war. His attack mingled in proportion the strength of the lion and the subtlety of the serpent…Bowling of McDonald’s skill and dreadful beautiful energy ennobles the game; the spark of it belongs to life immortal and it kindles imagination’s fires in all men who look on.”McDonald was 37 yet near the peak of his powers. He took 178 wickets that season as Lancashire completed a hat-trick of titles. It was an astonishing effort from a man who made no noticeable attempt to look after himself in the manner of modern cricketers. Cigarettes, a fish sandwich and perhaps a glass of water or something stronger comprised his lunchtime refuelling. In certain respects he was very much moored in his time: there was never a captain to touch Armstrong and never a batsman to rival Victor Trumper, not even Don Bradman, who MacDonald bowled and beat for pace when Lancashire played the Australians at Aigburth in 1930. “I am now ready to argue his place among the greatest of fast bowlers,” Bradman wrote of his conqueror in , citing the beauty and rhythm of McDonald’s action among his many cricketing virtues.It is a shame that the beauty of McDonald’s bowling is not fully reflected in the few minutes’ film of him that has survived but while we may view Cardus’ assessment as subjective, Bradman’s judgement and those of other opponents are more clear-eyed. And it is certainly doubtful whether any cricketer has had writers searching harder for perfect similes or suitable metaphors. Take, for example, Eric Midwinter’s judgement on McDonald:”His action was effortless and his speed, stiletto-like, liable to test the quickest reflexes, his fame assured from the summer of 1921 when Gregory and he had destroyed England’s batting. His balance was such that his run-up was soundless, and umpires spoke of not sensing his approach… He seemed not to get flustered, inequable or sweaty, and good batsmen tended to lift his pace and exactitude. It was Italianate in form: he could have opened the bowling for the Borgias.”Ted McDonald prepares to deliver the ball•PA PhotosBut perhaps history cannot offer the best comparisons to those seeking to understand Ted McDonald, for as well as being of his time he was far ahead of it in his determination to seek the highest wages he could, even if that meant ending his Test career. His precise place among the best cricketers of his day was determined not by the number of Australian caps he won but by the willingness of a Lancashire League to pull their tripes out to pay him a great deal of money – much of which ended up with the bookies.And that, of course, is another aspect of McDonald’s modernity. While no cricketer from the 1920s would have been more likely to sign up for Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in the 1970s or to seal lucrative deals to play for T20 franchises in the current era, McDonald would also have found his “weakness for freak bets” eagerly explored by today’s tabloids. In his own time the papers actually believed that sportsmen had a private life that was none of the media’s business. We know of McDonald’s gambling problem today partly because of Richardson’s diligence in uncovering his requests for “bale out” monies from clubs. It took a writer of RC Robertson-Glasgow’s skill and subtlety to suggest a problem existed.”He was a handsome fellow with strong and clear-cut features, but saturnine and mahogany-grim; like Carver Doone, he meant to frighten the young men with a look… Perhaps he would have done well to remain in his own Australia, for, over here, he found those who were only too ready to play up to his swashbuckling and devil-may-care nature. He loved to be thought the ‘tough baby’, and fell into ways of life that somehow foreshadowed tragedy.”Yet McDonald’s tragedy occurred not because a bookie hired muscle but because the Ford 8 he was driving collided with another car on the Blackrod bypass early in the morning of July 23, 1937. Although he survived that smash, he was killed shortly afterwards by another car that struck him when he was discussing the accident with the other driver and a policeman. McDonald was 46 and at the time of his death he and his wife, Myrtle, were managing the Raikes Hall hotel in Blackpool, a job he had been given as payment for playing for the local club as an “amateur”. His estate was valued at £300 and collections were organised to help out Myrtle and her two sons. The appropriate tributes were paid, many of the most generous coming from McDonald’s former Australian colleagues.Over 2000 people attended the funeral and a two-minute silence was held during the Test match between England and New Zealand at Manchester. Probably few of those 8000 spectators at Old Trafford knew about the gambling and perhaps not too many recalled the afternoons when “Mac” barely seemed interested in cricket. Far more remembered the silent grace of that 16-yard run-up and balls which shattered the stumps of the world’s greatest batsmen, often before they had played any stroke at all. Odd Men In

Mumbai Indians flex their star power with Suryakumar Yadav and Quinton de Kock's one-two punch

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The duo stood up and made it count on a day when Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya were all quiet

Saurabh Somani12-Oct-20203:58

Manjrekar: Second time this IPL Capitals batted below their potential

When a Mumbai Indians one-two punch is responsible for your defeat, the first two names to come to mind might be Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya. Or Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Or a combination of them.Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav are the kinds who fly under the radar, even though they came into the game against Delhi Capitals having been the batting mainstays in Mumbai’s two previous wins – de Kock made 67 off 39 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, while Yadav reeled off 79* off 47 against the Rajasthan Royals.That’s the kind of star power Mumbai have. It speaks about the depth in the team, that on a day when Rohit, Hardik and Pollard managed just 16 runs off 28 balls and Bumrah went wicketless – albeit in four excellent overs – they still reeled in victory against fellow table-toppers Delhi Capitals without any jangling of nerves. That was because both de Kock and Yadav hit aggressive fifties.Krunal Pandya led the way in bowling, where Mumbai’s precision and skill of execution restricted the opposition to a total that the Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer felt was “10-15 runs below par”.But even if the Capitals had got those extra runs and had 175 to defend instead of the 162 they got, the way de Kock and Yadav were going, it didn’t seem enough. When de Kock was out, at 9.5 overs, ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster had Mumbai’s projected total at 177 (assuming a full 20-over innings). How well Yadav ensured momentum didn’t flag in the middle overs is illustrated by the Forecaster’s projection increasing to 183 when he was out, on the last ball of the 15th over.De Kock and Yadav’s partnership lasted only 4.5 overs, though they thumped 46 runs in that period. What stood out was how well their innings meshed together for Mumbai. The next partnership brought 53 runs in 5.1 overs when Ishan Kishan joined Yadav. Together, de Kock and Yadav had ensured that the ten-over period they controlled brought 99 runs for Mumbai. That allowed them to absorb a sedate start and a somewhat tepid finish, because what came in the middle was robust enough.Both men made 53, de Kock taking 36 balls to Yadav’s 32. If de Kock took the lead in the second-wicket stand with Yadav, hitting 28 off 18, it was Yadav took control in the third-wicket stand with Kishan, stroking 35 off 21.Quinton de Kock stroked his way to a half-century•BCCIThe Capitals had the bowling attack to defend their total, even if it was not as many as they would have liked. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje form possibly the most potent twosome of pacers in IPL 2020. R Ashwin and Axar Patel have been the spinners to bowl most impressively in tandem throughout this tournament. But by the quality of their batting, de Kock and Yadav upset the bowling pattern that has been a staple for the Capitals: Rabada bowling one over up front and Nortje two, then the duo sharing five overs at the death. By the time Yadav was out, five overs were remaining in the innings but Rabada had just one left. Iyer had been forced to go to his strike bowler earlier than he would have liked because of de Kock and Yadav.Their approach against a quality bowling attack differed markedly from the Capitals’ own plan against an equally impressive set of bowlers. Just like Mumbai, the Capitals also had two batsmen making substantial scores in Iyer (42 off 33) and Shikhar Dhawan (69* off 52). But where Iyer and Dhawan were tied down by good bowling, de Kock and Yadav looked to actively disrupt bowling plans and rhythms. Dhawan and Iyer waited for the bad ball to be put away, while de Kock and Yadav manufactured balls that could be hit by moving around in the crease, by employing a wider attacking arc, and by being unafraid to go over the in-field.”When Surya came in, we just naturally assessed what we were dealing with out there. It did help that when he walked in he had intent, and he was off to a flier with boundaries and just rotating strike,” de Kock told . “It kept me a lot more relaxed. We just naturally batted together. I think we dovetailed really well.”Before this game, the match-up between Ashwin and de Kock was even: 43 runs off 32 balls and twice out. In this game, de Kock began by hitting a six and a four in Ashwin’s first over. When Nortje came to bowl his second over, the last in the powerplay, de Kock smacked two audacious sixes into the legside. Yadav used his wrists to whip Ashwin towards deep midwicket, and his reach to sweep Patel effectively. When Rabada was brought back for the 15th over, Yadav went 4,2,6 – hitting to third man, then over mid-off, then all the way over backward square leg.The plan might not have been to specifically target bowlers and areas, but overall, it was clear that these two were not going to let the Capitals’ quartet settle into a rhythm. It was a sound strategy because this tournament has shown that when the Capitals attack is humming nicely, the batsmen can’t do too much. Having a plan is one thing, but de Kock and Yadav also had the skill, boldness and form to execute it. Their combined attack against the Capitals’ best bowlers was decisive in swinging the game Mumbai’s way.”We’ve got really good players in our team,” de Kock would say later. “If it’s not one, it’s the other that’s going to do something for the team.”In a team of superstars, the batting chops of de Kock and Yadav may occasionally go under the radar. But as they’ve shown in the last three games, flying under the radar does not diminish the devastating effect they can have.

Talking Points: Why does David Warner have trouble facing Jofra Archer?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Also, why don’t Sunrisers Hyderabad pick Mohammad Nabi?

Alagappan Muthu22-Oct-2020
Why does David Warner have a hard time against Jofra Archer?
It’s the curse of the line bowler. And they are almost always notorious to face.Think of how Josh Hazlewood used to wrap Hashim Amla around his little finger. Seven Tests, seven dismissals, batting average 19. Or Sachin Tendulkar against Glenn McGrath. Nine Tests, six dismissals, batting average 22.These are all-time great batsmen. But to undo them, these bowlers only concentrated on a couple of things. One – hit the deck with the seam upright. Two – target the stumps.This made sure the batsman had to play the ball and if there is even the slightest movement, he is at a disadvantage.ESPNcricinfo LtdThat is what happened with Warner vs Archer. Except Archer was bowling at scary pace. Run that dismissal over and you’ll see the left-hander getting squared up. That’s the movement away from him. You’ll see him poking his hands at the ball. That’s him panicking and forgetting about his basics.Line bowling alone is so hard to face, but at Archer’s pace, it’s nearly impossible.Why do the Sunrisers never play Mohammad Nabi?
The Sunrisers bought Nabi in the 2017 auction. So this is his third year with the side. Guess how many games he’s played for them?It’s just 14 matches; 14 out of a possible 57 matches. The Sunrisers bought a bonafide T20 superstar and have used him for only a 25% of the matches they’ve played since he’s been on their roster.This is partly because they also brought in Jonny Bairstow in 2018 and he became an automatic pick. Warner is their captain. The face of the team. And Rashid Khan is their trump card. That’s three overseas slots done and invariably the fourth one ends up going to someone who can either hit hard (initially Mitchell Marsh this year) or bowl fast (Billy Stanlake earlier).That’s been the IPL way, even though Nabi has torched bowling attacks in the BBL, spun webs around teams in the CPL and been a driving force for the Afghanistan team in all limited-overs cricket.Why did Riyan Parag bat ahead of Rahul Tewatia?
When Jos Buttler fell with 27 balls left in the innings, it seemed like the perfect time for Tewatia to walk out and wreak havoc. But the Royals sent in 18-year-old Parag instead and it slowly became clear why. He was there for the yorkers.T Natarajan has bowled more yorkers than anyone in IPL 2020. The Sunrisers had saved two of his overs for the death.Parag was the Royals’ weapon against that. In the 18th over, after watching Natarajan bowl the perfect yorker to Steven Smith, Parag shifted outside off stump, got into a crouch and took a very low full toss – definitely intended as a yorker – and scooped it over fine leg for four.Then he had the game sense to realise the bowler would go wide of off stump – try to take the batsman’s power game away. But Parag was still able to reach it and he launched a huge six over extra cover.ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster suggested the Royals’ chances of victory increased by 6% in that over.Why didn’t Archer bowl a third over in the powerplay?He was in red hot form – 2-0-5-2 – and those two wickets were Warner and Bairstow, the backbone of the Sunrisers batting. So there was good reason for the Royals to have their speed demon to continue his spell. Another wicket could have helped them break into a middle order that has rarely shown itself to be stable this season.But Archer was taken off and Manish Pandey took control.”The third over for Jofra was on my mind,” Smith said at the presentation. “We discussed it with a couple of guys. In hindsight, yeah, maybe should have bowled a third straight over.”

Bess and Leach have their work cut out for them in India

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

They need control and consistency while bowling long spells

Aakash Chopra01-Feb-2021Pitches in the subcontinent are believed to be tailor-made for spinners, which is why it’s natural for overseas spinners to get excited whenever they travel to this part of the world to play. It presents them a rare opportunity to play the lead role in their bowling attack – as against mostly being defensive or restrictive while playing at home.While this observation might broadly be correct, it rarely plays out so well for overseas spinners while playing India in India. Given the spin-friendly pitches (read, very little assistance for the faster bowlers in terms of bounce and lateral movement off the surface) the workload of visiting spinners increases manifold, but most, including some of the more competent ones, realise that their hard work isn’t always rewarded as much as they might expect. Indian pitches encourage spinners to try and bowl magic wicket-taking balls every time they roll their arm over but most spinners end up being either too expensive or ineffective.The key reasons for this are how slow the surfaces are, and how well Indian batsmen are able to counter spin. The lack of pace off the surface allows the batsmen to play the length, and since the typical Indian batsman grows up on a healthy diet of spin, they are able to strike the right balance between attack and defence.Related

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So how should Dom Bess and Jack Leach bowl against the Indians? In my opinion, that’s where the series will be decided – how the English spinners bowl to the Indian batsmen. If they complement their fast-bowling attack, England will compete, but if they fall apart, like many other spinners in the past, India will bulldoze their way to another Test series victory at home.While Bess and Leach found success in the recently concluded series in Sri Lanka, it’s probably safe to say they will be countering a more organised and competent attack from the Indian batsmen.Let’s start with Bess, a right-arm offspinner who bowls a little flat in the air and prefers to bowl the line outside off. His game plan is to go roundarm every now and then to bowl the arm ball that slides, instead of turning, after pitching. Inducing the outside edge is his key wicket-taking tactic and that seems to work fine in England, where the pitches aren’t spin-friendly, by and large. The fact that he rarely bows long spells, and that batsmen tend to go on the offensive the moment they see a spinner in those conditions, make the away-going delivery potent there.But that’s not a tactic that works as well in India because of the slow pitches. The arm ball doesn’t skid as much after pitching, and Indian batsmen typically use those deliveries to open up the off-side field for scoring. The one thing that you simply must not do as a spinner in India is allow the batsman to score on both sides of the pitch. When that starts to happen, it’s almost impossible to seize control back, which in turn will mean Joe Root will need to ask the fast bowlers to bowl a lot more than they should in these conditions.The pace at which Bess bowls is ideal for Indian surfaces, but he doesn’t have the kind of control that, say, Graeme Swann used to have, and that’s why it might be better for him to be more pragmatic about the role he is likely to play and reconsider his line of attack. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to bowl everything within the stumps and have an in-out field throughout. Going by how he bowled in Sri Lanka, there will be a few loose balls on offer, and if all those deliveries are dispatched for boundaries, the Indian batsmen will run away with the game quickly.On the other hand, Leach’s stock ball pitches and finishes within the stumps. He tends to go to the edge of the crease often to create the angle that makes batsmen play against the spin, but trust the Indian batsmen to not be fooled by that tactic too much. The key to his effectiveness will be consistency of length, for anything too full or marginally short will be taken for runs. Indian batsmen are quick to convert a slightly short-of-length delivery into a ball that can be cut or pulled – that will be Leach’s biggest challenge to counter.While the Indian batsmen will be quick to use their feet to come down the track and also to go deep in the crease, most, barring the likes of Rohit Sharma, are unlikely to sweep a left-arm spinner. So that’s the length Leach must bowl steadily for long durations to stay in the contest. And it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to bowl over the stumps and into the rough with a packed leg-side field later in the games.The English spinners have their job cut out, for it’s not easy to make changes to basic skill sets and tactics for an extended period, especially when you don’t see tangible returns in the form of wickets – and it’s more or less certain that Indian wickets aren’t going to fall in heaps to the spin of Bess and Leach.

KL Rahul ploughing a lone furrow for Punjab Kings

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

His steady strike rate has been a constant talking point since last IPL, whether he fails or he scores

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Apr-20213:11

Manjrekar lauds ‘superb’ innings from Rahul

You have to feel for KL Rahul. That man is not just the captain of the Punjab Kings, but has been their best batter since he joined the franchise in 2018, which prompted him to take charge as captain at the start of 2020 IPL.In the last four seasons, including the ongoing IPL, no batter has scored as many runs in the IPL as Rahul, who won the orange cap in the 2020 edition. But it is him who still gets hauled up for not striking the right tempo while opening for them. His steady strike rate has been a constant talking point since last IPL, whether he fails or he scores.Despite the debate Rahul has carried on doing what he does best: shut his ears to the outside noise and continue scoring. He continues playing to the situation. On Friday evening in Ahmedabad, the Kings started to ride the wave confidently with Chris Gayle in the mood to attack his former franchise, the Royals Challengers Bangalore.Related

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Gayle’s strike rate in the first 10 balls in the Kings’ first six matches this season was 86. His highest was 12 runs in the first 10 balls in those matches. On Friday, Gayle stuck at 280, blasting 28 runs in his first 10 balls including five fours in an over against New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson. Rahul helped Gayle build the momentum as the Kings were sailing smooth at 91 for 1 at the halfway stage; 200 was in sights.Just then Gayle got sucked into a short-pitched delivery and faltered. He cursed himself on his way out. He would be seen sitting by the side of the Kings’ dugout, staring coldly in the distance, hurt that he could not impose himself the way he wanted to. In a matter of minutes, he would be joined by Nicholas Pooran, who, too, walked back shaking his head after a three-ball duck, the fourth time he had failed to open his account this IPL. Deepak Hooda and Shahrukh Khan promised a lot but once again were overwhelmed by the situation.Once again Rahul was on his own. The Kings were 132 for 5 with three overs remaining. The last boundary had been hit in the 12th over. That was not Rahul’s concern. He had seen his team nearly sink on many such situations in the past only for him to emerge as the life guard and take them to the shores.He urged his young partner Harpreet Brar, who was playing his first match of the season, to stay put. Brar obeyed his captain’s orders. A partnership blossomed quickly as Brar triggered a late assault with some fluent hits against Harshal Patel, the best bowler so far this tournament, who was then toyed by Rahul as he walked across his stumps to power a 22-run final over.ESPNcricinfo LtdIt was in the third straight match against the Royal Challengers that Rahul walked back undefeated, amassing 284 runs and having batted all 20 overs on these three occasions. Ever since he joined the Kings in 2018, no other batter in the IPL has scored a higher percentage of his team’s runs (scored off the bat) than Rahul’s 29.2%. On that list, Rahul is followed by stalwarts such as AB de Villiers and two-time orange cap winner David Warner. In this period Rahul has played 28.2% of the balls the Kings have faced, including in this season.Last year Rahul faced criticism for being selfish from pundits who urged him to be selfless, keeping in mind the firepower his team possessed in the middle order in the form of Pooran and Glenn Maxwell. While Maxwell couldn’t fire, Pooran was inconsistent. The Punjab side had started the season badly, but bounced back before marginally losing the playoffs race. The one constant, though, was that Rahul kept scoring.This season again Rahul remains Kings’ best batter with 331 runs at an average of 66.20 and strike rate of 136.21. The remaining specialist batters meanwhile have scored 476 runs at an average of 19.83 and a strike rate of 128.64. Nonetheless, Rahul’s strike rate remains a talking point.At the start of this IPL, Wasim Jaffer, the assistant coach of the Kings, said that a new and aggressive Rahul would be seen in action. Twice this season, against the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Sunrisers Hyderabad, when Rahul attempted to attack straightaway and failed, the Kings struggled to get 120 and lost both matches. Rahul might wonder to himself then: damned if I score and damned if I don’t.There is a reason Rahul bats the way he does. You cannot blame for him for not trusting his other batters. Rahul understands if he does not drop the anchor, his team could very easily lose the situation. Agarwal, Gayle and Pooran would need to play according to the situation.Rahul cannot be ploughing a lone furrow for the Kings.

Same family, same team: meet Kathryn and Sarah Bryce of Scotland

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The sisters hit the headlines last domestic season in England. Now they’re looking forward to bigger things with their home country’s side

Matt Roller28-May-2021It was difficult to know what to expect from the Bryce sisters heading into last summer’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the 50-over competition salvaged from the Covid-wrecked first season of England’s revamped domestic set-up.Seam-bowling allrounder Kathryn (then 22) and wicketkeeper-batter Sarah (then 20) had long been marked out as players with significant potential, but their experience at the top level of the domestic game was limited: Kathryn had played in a single season of the Kia Super League, while Sarah had been too young to make it that far.Their performances for the Lightning exceeded expectations: Sarah was the second-highest run scorer in the competition, with four fifties and an unbeaten hundred from her six innings, while Kathryn was second on the wickets chart with 14 at 15.42. It was enough to ensure they were offered full-time contracts in early December, which means both are able to call themselves professionals while still studying at Loughborough University – Kathryn finishes her sports-science degree next month; Sarah’s maths degree runs until next summer.”You have to pinch yourself a bit,” Kathryn says. “Mum is still asking when I’m going to get myself a job and I’m like, ‘I have one!’ We’re lucky that we’re at the back end of uni and haven’t had to find a career and decide whether to come out of it to pursue cricket. [Professionalism] has come at the perfect time. When I came to uni, the only real opportunity to make a living from playing cricket was playing for England or Australia. I thought I’d have to have something alongside it.””When you look ahead to leaving uni, you’re usually looking for a graduate job and I have no idea what I’d want to do with my life,” Sarah says. “The fact I’m able to go down the cricket route for a wee while and see where that goes is an incredible opportunity.”Rob Taylor – who worked with the Bryces for a number of years through the MCCU system – the UK’s university cricket centres – at Loughborough University, first as assistant coach and then head coach, was appointed as the Lightning’s coach ahead of last summer. He was soon in awe of the sisters’ ability to step up.”I don’t mean to put women’s county cricket down at all, but Sarah had never been tested against the best players in every game within the regional set-up,” he says. “She’d played a lot of international cricket for Scotland at the Associate level, and a bit in ICC development teams, but that was her first competition at that standard. She looked so comfortable at that level, and was able to perform on a consistent basis.Kathryn Bryce took 14 wickets from six games for the Lightning in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020•Getty Images”For Kathryn, the standout was the Diamonds game at Durham. She took a five-for and was 71 not out but ended up on the losing side – there aren’t many games where you do that and don’t come out on top. They had a really strong side with [Katherine] Brunt, [Nat] Sciver, Lauren Winfield-Hill and several others with international experience. For her to stand up like she did showed how good a player she is.”That game epitomised Kathryn as a player: an anchoring No. 3 at domestic level who can manipulate the field and score heavily down the ground after getting set, and a new-ball bowler with the ability to swing the ball prodigiously into the right-handers. She is a swing bowler rather than an out-and-out quick – to the extent that Sarah stands up to the stumps while keeping to her, but manages to get the ball tailing late.Sarah, meanwhile, is slightly taller and particularly strong playing cut shots, though she uses her feet to hit spinners through mid-on and mid-off too. While Taylor jokes that she would be well served by “having another word or two with the batters from behind the stumps”, her ability with the gloves was demonstrated by four stumpings in Scotland’s T20I against Ireland this week – the second consecutive T20I in which she had achieved the feat.The sisters’ cricket journey has all the typical elements: a cricket-mad family, an enthusiasm for all sports from a young age, improvements from playing with and against one another in the garden, and falling into a structured set-up at George Watson’s College (a private school in Edinburgh) and Watsonian CC. All are familiar markers for future success. Regular unstructured play is known to provide benefits, and the kind of engagement the Bryces had with multiple sports can lay the foundation for the development of skills that are transferable across disciplines.”We played pretty much every sport growing up, throwing every sort of ball around in the garden,” Kathryn explains. “Our parents encouraged us just to do everything: a lot of hockey and tennis, and then we had a girls’ cricket team at school. We went to a club and I was playing for the girls’ 1st XI, basically as a fielder but having a great time. Sarah was there watching and stood on the side and then joined in.””I always went along, whether that was with Dad to pick her up or just joining in on the sidelines, and then started joining actual sessions,” Sarah says. “We were still playing hockey until very recently as well – it wasn’t ever a focus on cricket as such, just loving sport. Cricket happened to be one that we really enjoyed. Heading to uni, I didn’t think professional cricket was really an option, but I wanted to take it as far as I could, and I knew that Loughborough was the place to be.Sarah Bryce, who has made four stumpings in two games in a row, is Scotland vice-captain; her sister is captain•James Chance/Getty ImagesKathryn started playing women’s county cricket in 2011; Sarah four years later. In 2018 both played in the ICC’s women’s global development squad, alongside the top players in Associate cricket. That year, they travelled to the Women’s Big Bash for placements with the Hobart Hurricanes (Sarah) and the Melbourne Stars (Kathryn) while performing consistently at international level. Kathryn’s record earned her the ICC’s women’s Associate player of the decade award at the end of 2020.Their Scottish accents serve as a reminder that three years ago they would not have had this opportunity. Kirstie Gordon, their compatriot and university peer, was forced to make a choice in 2018 between continuing her international career with Scotland and fulfilling the domestic contract she had been offered to play for the Lightning in the Kia Super League by declaring her intention to play for England.She chose the latter, and while it led to a call-up for the 2018 World T20, it is nearly two years since her last appearance and she is in danger of losing her England central contract. After Gordon’s experience, the ECB changed the regulations ahead of the 2019 KSL to allow Scotland players to appear without having to register as overseas players. As a result, the Bryces can juggle their commitments with Scotland, where they are captain and vice-captain, with Lightning duty.”We’re really fortunate that she went through it first, to be honest,” Kathryn says. “She had a really difficult time figuring it out and it was a difficult situation for both the ECB and Cricket Scotland. It’s obviously unfortunate for her that she went through it, but it meant those opportunities opened up [after the rule change] and they were happy to have us.”Professional domestic contracts also mean that the need for changing allegiance and declaring for England is less urgent. In previous years, Gordon, Leigh Kasparek (also Scotland) and Kim Garth (Ireland) understandably chose contract security with England, New Zealand and Australia respectively rather than playing for their respective Associate sides, but now the option to keep playing for Scotland is attractive.That said, the Bryces were part of an England academy side that played two pre-season T20s last month. They make it clear that it would be an agonising decision if they were asked to be part of the national set-up. Both pause in the hope that the other will answer first when I wonder how they would reply to a phone call from Lisa Keightley, the England coach.”There would be a lot of conversations to be had with a lot of people – and a lot of stress, not knowing what to do,” Sarah says. “Like with Kirstie, it’s such a tough decision,” Kathryn says. “As long as you stand by the decision you make, hopefully people will support it.” In the immediate term they are targeting qualification for either a 20-over or 50-over World Cup for Scotland, as well as next summer’s Commonwealth Games.The Bryces have mostly played on the same side for much of their careers. “I’m not sure what Mum will be like,” Kathryn says about them facing off in opposing teams in the Hundred game on August 8•Cricket Scotland”Cricket Scotland have made a real commitment to women’s cricket with Mark Coles coming in as their first full-time head coach,” Taylor, who played for Scotland’s men in the 2015 World Cup, says. “I would love them to get Scotland to a World Cup: that’d be a massive achievement, and a massive thing for the game in Scotland, and I know how much is riding on a World Cup-qualifying year like this one.”If the ECB came knocking, it would be such a tough decision but we’d support them either way. It’d be their personal choice, but I’d have no worries about them stepping up and being able to perform at that level and in that side.”Expectations are high this summer too. “We’ve talked about having personal-best seasons, and last year was a really good benchmark,” Taylor says. “Sarah has a tough challenge to beat the volume of runs she scored last year but I think she has every chance. With the level of player that they are, you’re not expecting huge gains because they’re so good already. If we can have a bit more support from the players around them, it makes us a really strong team.”There will also be the rarity of a fixture where they play on opposing teams, after spending so much of their careers on the same side. Kathryn was signed by the Trent Rockets for the Hundred, while Lydia Greenway recruited Sarah when she was due to coach the Oval Invincibles: August 8 has been in the family planner since the moment the fixtures were released.”We’ve played each other a couple of times in county stuff, but only once or twice,” Kathryn laughs. “It’s very strange, and I’m not sure what Mum will be like. The Hundred is a great opportunity for us to learn from the overseas players, which should rub off and make us better players too.”Even with Tammy Beaumont available for much more of the season, the Bryces will be key to the Lightning’s hopes. “Kathryn got some starts last year batting at No. 3. It’s a case of converting those into big scores, and Sarah would have liked to have turned a couple more of her fifties into hundreds,” Taylor says.”They show their leadership through their actions and quiet conversations, rather than gee-ing people up with big, loud voices. They’re very much their own people but naturally have each other’s back: they’ll never be too far from each other, but they’re two different individuals.”

'We've got the pedigree to win even if we haven't played too many Tests'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

WV Raman, Hemlata Kala and Nooshin Al Khadeer look ahead to India Women’s return to Test cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2021On the significance of two Tests in a year and the maiden pink ball Test
Raman: “The point is also about trying to sustain it. How many boards can sustain it is my question,” he told . “Maybe the top three-four can because it does take a lot of money as well, let’s not forget the commercial side of it. Even if three-four boards are interested in making the girls pay Test cricket, it’s fine, and we must try and give them back.Related

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“What it does is that it gives them the opportunities to play the hardest format of the game and once they start doing well, they will be hailed even more than they are today. Performing in multi-day games is considered the hallmark of a great player, and that’s how you really gauge players in men’s cricket today. If they play regularly, that also gives them opportunities and tests them in every respect. The other thing is it also helps them become better in terms of match fitness because playing hard cricket for four or five days is going to be tough if you’re not used to it. Once they start getting used to it, I’m sure they will also start enjoying it.”Al Khadeer: “The pink-ball Test will be a bit of a novelty because it’s a shot into the unknown for the Indian team, but traditionally India Women have done well when there’s been zero expectation. I remember, we went on that tour to England in 2006 and beat them in our first-ever T20I. We also won a Test on the same tour when no one expected us to. I’m not implying there aren’t any expectations, but we’ve got the pedigree to win even if we haven’t played too many Tests.”It’s exciting news for cricket fans and I can’t be happier for the women’s team. Playing a Test is the pinnacle of the sport and that is where your resolve, temperament and skills get tested. So, no better way to get tested than playing England and Australia in the space of a few months.”Kala: “It will encourage better and more professional approach in players across age-groups, and I think the multi-day format in our domestic cricket will also make a comeback over time. If Tests are to become a permanent fixture in India Women’s calendar, the best way to scout and nurture talent would be through the multi-day domestic completion. So, the BCCI reintroducing the Test format for India could have a positive impact on our days’ cricket in the domestic set-up.”How should the Test squad prepare for the pink ball Test?
Raman: “Getting a practice game now looks a bit impractical because there’s a lot of restrictions and you may not have perhaps a good side to form from the local talent available. It’s not just about playing a practice game, it’s also about being a reasonably good quality side. So, the best option would be to try and play as much as you can with the pink ball, try and practice with it, try and see what the bowlers need to do, get used to it in whatever number of days they have available. It’s the same for the batters as well, they’ve got to ensure that they get over whatever apprehensions and anxieties that they may have with the pink ball.”It shouldn’t matter because they should try and tell themselves that it’s a case of just playing a sphere with a piece of willow, that’s the best way to get into a game. And even if things go unexpectedly badly, they shouldn’t be too disappointed because the important leg of the tour is the one-day series, and they enjoy playing the T20 format, and this is a situation where they’re playing a Test match after nearly seven years, so it’s not easy. We’ve seen that the best of sides can be a little bit rough getting into a Test game after a long break. A long break can even be three-four months, so seven years is a long time. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”‘Now that Test cricket has been reintroduced, we will see specialists in the longest format also coming up’ – Hemlata Kala•Getty ImagesKala: “I’m certain the BCCI will do its best to give the players opportunities to get some preparatory experience with the pink ball before the Australia tour. The dynamics of playing with the pink ball are, no doubt, quite different to playing with the red or the white ball. A good way [to prepare for the day-night Test] would be to host intra-squad matches in India for the core pool of say, 30-35 players who might make the final squad. Once our players return from The Hundred, they could link up with the rest of the squad for the Australia tour in India and play a few warm-ups among them under lights with the pink ball. That way, it might be even easy to pick the best squad for the Test.”Al Khadeer: “As a batting group, we’re technically sound to counter the pink ball and its movement. We’ve got quality batters in Mithali [Raj], Punam [Raut], Harmanpreet [Kaur], Deepti [Sharma] and Smriti [Mandhana]. With the ball, there’s the experience of Jhulan [Goswami] to bank on. Rajeshwari Gayakwad is an excellent spinner and we’ve seen over the years how spin increasingly has played a big part. So, it’ll be a challenge for the Australians too against our attack. I think there’s a good balance.”Also, a lot of the core group are slowly adjusting to playing around the world. With the likes of Jemimah [Rodrigues], Radha [Yadav], Shafali [Verma], Harman, Smriti playing in overseas leagues, the experience they’ll carry will be invaluable. If they’re able to pass that on to the youngsters, it’ll be massively beneficial. They’ll also have an opportunity to understand their opponents when playing in the same team, so all these are great signs.”Does the revival of Tests bring more opportunities to fringe players?
Kala: “If you look at our ODI and T20I teams, we already have some players, like Mithali and Jhulan, who are already one-format specialists. Now that Test cricket has been reintroduced, we will see specialists in the longest format also coming up. Players on the fringes might also get a chance because everyone has different strengths and talents and those who may not have been deemed best choices for the limited-overs formats could stand a chance to get maiden call-ups or make international comebacks.”Al Khadeer: “Developing players for Tests, preparing them temperamentally, would mean we’re also able to produce players for the 50-overs format. From the time BCCI took over women’s cricket, we’ve largely been inclined towards the limited-overs formats because that is the direction the ICC believed in as far as promoting women’s cricket goes. Now, the addition of Tests is a welcome step and I hope we’re able to bring back the three-day format in the domestic calendar.”How will Tests inspire young girls to take up the sport?
Al Khadeer: “Just imagine watching Jhulan Goswami bowl in a Test at Perth or Shikha Pandey in England, how many youngsters may want to take up fast bowling. Imagine them watching a three-pronged attack or four-pronged attack set up batters by hooping the ball around. That’d inspire a change over time at the grassroots and motivate youngsters to take up the skill more.”

Eye on the Ashes (hopefully): who could push their Test claims in the Sheffield Shield?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

There isn’t much domestic cricket locked in yet, but should Covid-19 allow here’s some names with plenty to play for

Andrew McGlashan23-Sep-2021The Australia domestic season remains very piecemeal at the moment with only a handful of games confirmed and two states – Victoria and New South Wales – still unsure when they will start due to Covid-19 border closures.However, following the opening Marsh Cup game on Wednesday the Sheffield Shield will begin in Adelaide on Friday so, in the spirit of positivity and in the hope that there will be plenty more cricket in the next few months, it’s a chance to assess which players could have the chance to make a case for the Test side. There’s at least one batting spot up for grabs and maybe two, plus the likelihood that extra quicks are needed.Some who could be in the frame but are part of the T20 World Cup squad will have very little, or no, opportunity to play first-class cricket before the Test group is selected. Mitchell Marsh has opted to stay focused on white-ball cricket rather than play South Australia this week, although team-mate Josh Inglis will feature while Mitchell Swepson (Queensland) is expected to play Tasmania.While it seems doubtful players will get as much Shield cricket as had been hoped for before the Test season – which now seems unlikely to feature Afghanistan in Hobart – here are some names who will be up for discussion.Travis Head (South Australia)
Despite losing his Test place against India last season, and then his Cricket Australia contract, he is probably the favourite for the No. 5 spot. Having been named in the squad for the postponed tour of South Africa, he finished last season very strongly in domestic cricket where he made 893 runs in the Sheffield Shield although did not have such a good time in county cricket for Sussex where he failed to make a fifty in six Championship matches.Usman Khawaja (Queensland)
There is potentially a vacancy at the top of the order (more on that in the names to follow) and it could be that the experience of Khawaja, who averages 96.80 in five Tests opening the batting, again attracts the interest of the selectors. A strong school of thought remains that given this isn’t the strongest era of Australian batting that he should have already returned since his omission during the 2019 Ashes. He recently attempted to put to bed any talk of a rift with coach Justin Langer.Related

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Marcus Harris (Victoria)
The incumbent Test opener (if you can remember all the way back to January) is actually Harris after he replaced the injured Will Pucovski for the final match against India in Brisbane. With 10 months between Tests it remains to be seen how much that counts for, but Harris did himself no harm with a productive county season for Leicestershire with three centuries in eight matches. However, as with all players from Victoria and New South Wales it remains uncertain when he’ll actually get the chance to bat.Will Pucovski (Victoria)
He marked his Test debut against India with a half-century at the SCG before damaging his shoulder in the field. It led to him needing reconstructive surgery and though he is currently able to bat without issue his fielding is likely to be impacted for most of the season which could make it difficult to select him in the Test side.Alex Carey (South Australia)
Tim Paine is confident of being fit for the Ashes but as with any major surgery there is the risk of complications. Inglis’ development perhaps makes the wicketkeeping succession a little less clear cut but Carey likely remains the frontrunner (he averages 51.66 in first-class cricket over the last two seasons) and having been left out of T20 World Cup squad could get a run of matches depending of what the schedule looks like beyond the opening round. Looked in great touch in the first Marsh Cup game.Alex Carey has an impressive first-class record•Getty ImagesSean Abbott (New South Wales)
Abbott’s plans for the off-season didn’t work out when he suffered an injury in his first match with Surrey and was soon a plane back home which also meant he wasn’t an option to bolster Australia’s depleted limited-overs squads. He is fit to start the season (whenever that is for New South Wales) and last summer was part of the Test bubble, although he may struggle to push ahead of the other pace-bowling options barring a spate of injuries.Michael Neser (Queensland)
There isn’t much more Neser can do to push his claims for a Test cap – it is now just a question of whether he is next in line should the Big Three be broken up. With a degree of hindsight he should have come in to freshen up the attack for the final Test against India last season and with an acknowledgement that rotation will need to be part of this summer that elusive cap could be his.Jhye Richardson (Western Australia)
Richardson made a promising start to his Test career with six wickets in two matches against Sri Lanka (and averages 23.74 in his first-class career) but through a combination of injury and limited-overs selection has not played a first-class match since November 2019. Having slipped out of Australia’s T20 plans he now has a chance to refocus on his red-ball game to keep himself in the frame as an Ashes reserve.James Pattinson (Victoria)
He was part of the Test bubble last season before an unfortunate injury at home sidelined him. At peak form, he remains one of the best fast bowlers in Australia and will certainly come into mix should his body hold up and Covid-19 allows him enough opportunity to impress. He recently told that this could be his last chance. “This year is a big one for me, if I can crack in and try and get an opportunity at Test level. Then if not, then I probably wouldn’t mind just looking to try and enjoy my cricket somewhere towards the back-end of my career.”

Usman Khawaja: 'There's only three spots in the top order. If you don't fit in them, it can be pretty tough'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Ahead of his first PSL, the Australia batter spoke about thriving in chaos, playing on gut feel, and trying to find a spot in the Australia T20 World Cup squad

Interview by Danyal Rasool14-Jun-2021We tend to think of a group of players like Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali as typical Islamabad United players, but you’re one of just a couple in the squad actually born in Islamabad.
That’s the second time someone said that to me. I actually didn’t know that. I assumed there’d be a few players from Islamabad. Yeah, it’s weird. The guy from Australia is the one who actually was born in Islamabad and is playing for Islamabad. It’s nice to have that little lineage, like back in the BBL with Sydney Thunder. I grew up in Western Sydney, so I still have that connection. It’s nice to have that connection here, too.It’s been a chaotic few days with plenty of uncertainty. Have you at times thought, “What have I got myself into?”
No. I’m probably the best person to be in this situation. I’m not structured at all! I could go with the flow as well as any of them. Even when we’re on world tours and people ask me, “When’s the next game”, I’ll be like, “I don’t know!” All I know is we have three training days and then we have a game. I’m not looking that far ahead. I’ve been more of a short-term “what am I doing to get to this next point” [person]. And I take it from there.Related

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I think anyone who’s played cricket with me or knows me knows that I don’t get too flustered by these sorts of things. At the end of the day, we’re in a beautiful hotel. We’ve had some really good food. All the facilities are here. For me, it’s just about trying to get this tournament underway. And then hopefully we can get moving from there.You’ve played a lot of cricket in hot places in your career, particularly with Queensland and New South Wales. But is there anything that compares to what the players are up against in Abu Dhabi over the next fortnight? How prepared do you feel for it?
Honestly, I haven’t been out yet. I’ve just been in my balcony and it’s pretty hot there, especially when the sun’s on you. I played in some hot environments before – probably the UAE was one of the hottest ones. But I’ve played in Bangladesh, in Chittagong [Chattogram] or Colombo. Very hot and humid. You play in these environments a lot when you play cricket. One of the hottest days was during the IPL in Vizag [Visakhapatnam]. We were down there around May and it was the most ridiculous heat I ever played in. We didn’t even warm up.

“It’s weird – the guy from Australia is the one who actually was born in Islamabad and is playing for Islamabad”

You’ve faced some scrutiny in Australia when it comes to fitness. Do you feel you’re under pressure to prove any sort of point playing in this heat?
I haven’t had those issues over the last couple of years. I’ve kept myself pretty fit. As relaxed as I am, there’s one thing that I’m very serious about, and that’s what I eat and when I eat. It’s very hard right now because we’re getting this wonderful food with huge serving sizes. You get croissants and all these things that get put in front of you, and it’s such a shame because I can’t eat any of it.I’ve been very disciplined. I dispelled those issues because I knew the older I got, the more I’d need to be fit moving forward. It helps the mind, helps the body and then hopefully helps you perform consistently over a long period of time.How much value do you place on T20 cricket at this stage in your career? From the outside it feels like, aside from a really strong spell towards the end of 2015 and through 2016, this isn’t the format you’re most famous for.
I’ve played T20 cricket for Australia, played in the World Cup – I was the highest scorer for Australia in the last T20 World Cup. We haven’t got the opportunity to play a lot of T20 cricket outside of Australia because of our domestic schedule, and I still want to play for Australia. So it’s a balancing act. I could have easily given away playing for Queensland or Australia and then going to the T20 circuit. But I chose not to.I could have put my name up early for the PSL, but I never had the opportunity, and if it wasn’t for Covid postponing the tournament, I wouldn’t have this opportunity now either, because the PSL would have happened while we were still playing Shield cricket. It’s the balancing act which makes it hard at the moment. In a few years’ time, if I feel like I can transition away from that and just concentrate wholly on T20, I will.Khawaja scored two hundreds in the 2015-16 season of the BBL, giving Sydney Thunder the title win•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaDo you reckon you’re still in with a shot at playing the T20 World Cup?
Look, it’s hard this year, but sport can change very quickly. I just love playing cricket. That was the reason why I’m in the PSL now. I want to play in Pakistan. It’s not going to happen [in the PSL] this time, which is unfortunate. Hopefully [I can do that] in the coming years, because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.You had a purple patch in T20 in the BBL in 2015-16, with your side, Sydney Thunder, winning the title. You were Player of the Match in the final. What do you put that phenomenal run down to, and what can you do to try and emulate that?
No one really knows. Sometimes you just score a lot of runs. I worked really hard. In the three years before that, I was one of the leading performers for Thunder moving up to that year, but because Thunder didn’t do as well on the field as a team, my performance probably got swept under the carpet a little bit. We were probably the worst team in the competition for a long time. And then when we started winning games, I was still contributing, and that’s when people start to notice you.It’s just one of those things with T20 – if you can get on a roll sometime, you can keep going with that roll. It’s a game that involves a bit of luck, you need to take some risks, and then it’s your execution. You need all those three things to happen.I went to an IPL where Virat Kohli scored four hundreds and that’s absolutely amazing. And then you see tournaments where he struggled a little bit just because it’s a hard place when you’re not doing as well. It’s very hit and miss, T20 cricket.

“Trust me, if you’re not running twos hard in Australia, you’ll get found out very quickly. You won’t play international cricket”

In Pakistan, Islamabad United is known for advocating a certain approach to T20 cricket that relies more heavily on data than instinct or gut feel. Which side of that debate are you on?
I’ve already got some of that data. One of the managers sent me data about myself, which I always look at, but it’s funny to get the data straightaway. I think there’s always a balance: you need to look at the data, but at the same time, if you are not doing your skills, if you’re not executing what you’re trying to do, then that’s a problem. If I’m a batsman, I need to know what the bowlers are trying to do and try to combat that. If you’re not focusing on simple things, the game can get away from you very quickly.I’m a very gut-feel kind of player – I like to keep things simple and not cloud my mind too much. But I think it’s only because I’ve played so much cricket now and I’ve experienced so many things that a lot of the tactical things happen naturally for me. Being the captain for a few years, you learn the intricacies of the game and how it ebbs and flows. In T20 there are times when you need to attack and [times when you need to] defend and you need to understand which those times are. If you wait till too late, you can lose the game in those one or two overs.I do go by gut feel. I think there are some people that require a lot of data and some people that don’t. I’m probably on the lesser side, but there’s no right and wrong in this.So you’re going to disregard the manager’s data sheets then?
I read it, I always read it! I don’t mind data because I’ve come from a science and mathematics background. But I also know that there’s a place for both data and instinct. For me to execute my game, I know I need to keep things simple. So whatever data I look at, when it’s game time, that data normally just gets put to the side a little bit and I just focus on the competition.Historically, Islamabad have chosen foreign batters to open and occupy four of the top five batting spots. Do you have a firm idea of your role in the side?
Not yet, but I will. I’ll talk to Johan [Botha, Islamabad head coach] about it. I’m sure he’ll have a plan and I’ll make it work. Obviously powerplay is where I’ve started for most of my career. It will be somewhere around there. I’ll do whatever the team needs me to do.”I find I enjoy batting in the subcontinent with a white ball much more, just because you can caress balls for four”•Getty ImagesHow is T20 cricket in the subcontinent different to Australia?
Playing in the subcontinent, especially as a top-order batsman or even as a batsman in general, I feel like there are a lot more boundary options because the grounds are usually smaller. The fields are rock hard. In Australia, there are big boundaries, soft outfields. The twos are massive in Australia. A lot of teams that win games rely on hitting twos. Obviously, boundaries and sixes are important. I quite like batting in these conditions. It’s a little bit different; Abu Dhabi’s a bit more Australia-like than Dubai and Sharjah.You’ve said before that you’re not the most enthusiastic runner between the wickets.
I’m enthusiastic running between wickets. When I was younger, I might have been a bit slower. I run twos as hard as anyone. Trust me, if you’re not running twos hard in Australia, you’ll get found out very quickly. You won’t play international cricket. So that’s not the case at all.But I’ve always been a strokemaker in general. I’ve always preferred boundaries and sixes just because they’re more fun – I’ve always enjoyed that part of it. But as you grow up, you develop and begin to realise how important the other bits are.I find I enjoy batting in the subcontinent with a white ball much more, just because you can caress balls for four. I can beat cover and midwicket by two metres and it’s a four, whereas in Australia a lot of those times it’s just two because the grounds are so big. So I find there’s more value, even if the wickets are slower.You haven’t been in contention for Australia quite as much as perhaps you’d like. Why do you think that is?
That’s a good question. I don’t really know. It’s one of those things where I got dropped from the red-ball and white-ball sides around the same time.

“Around the time Pakistan played Australia in the ’99 World Cup final, my parents were Pakistan fans. Adam Gilchrist was the one who turned me over”

In any good cricketing country, there’s only 11 spots in the team at once and I bat in the top order, where there’s only three spots. If you don’t fit in them, it can be pretty tough. Sometimes if players who are doing well are in front of you, you can score as many runs as you want, but you won’t get in the side.How’s your relationship with the selectors?
I have good relations with the main selector in Australia, Trevor Hohns, who lives in the same city as me. And Justin Langer [Australia’s coach] and I get along with quite well. We don’t always talk about selection, but I keep in touch with JL just because we get along. And then, at the end of the day, it’s just about scoring runs and hopefully doing it at the right time when the opportunity presents.When you play for Australia against Pakistan, do your parents still support Pakistan?
No, of course, their son’s playing for Australia! I’ll be honest – my parents were diehard Pakistani fans and they lived there for 35-40 years. And even when I first moved to Australia, I pretty much supported Pakistan because I’d just moved to Australia and didn’t feel the connection.Around the time Pakistan played Australia in the 1999 World Cup final, my parents were Pakistan fans, but that’s around when I started to change. I was probably ten years old then and Adam Gilchrist was the one who turned me over. I loved him – left-handed player, entertaining. And he’s such a nice guy now that I know him, one of the best blokes you’ll ever meet. I started feeling more Australian than Pakistani. But my parents had lived there for a long time, and so did my brothers. But now I’ve started playing for Australia, I’ve switched them all over.

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