All posts by h716a5.icu

Opening batter asked herself: “Am I ready for this?”

Firdose Moonda03-Apr-2024The first thought Laura Wolvaardt had when the national captaincy was offered to her was doubt.”Am I ready for this? Do I know enough about my own game to be telling other people what to do?”, she told ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast.At the time, Wolvaardt had played 80 ODIs – and filled in as skipper in two of them in India in 2021 – and 167 T20Is. Though only 24 years old, her international career was into its seventh year and she was among South Africa’s top five leading run-scorers in both white-ball formats. So why the hesitation?”I was being thrown in the deep end and having to learn bowling plans whereas before I was just a batter and could focus on myself,” she said.Laura Wolvaardt has taken a step up from being a leading batter•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesAs a student of the game, Wolvaardt could have given herself a little more credit. Since taking over, Wolvaardt has led South Africa to seven wins in 12 ODIs, including series wins over Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh and a first-ever victory over Australia. They sit second on the women’s championship, and are in a strong position to secure automatic qualification for the 2025 World Cup. Their shorter format form has not been quite as strong and they’ve only won four out of 10 T20Is (with two lost to rain) but that also includes a historic win over Australia.More importantly, the early evidence of her tenure suggests that not only has she got the hang of managing a team in the field but she’s seen the effects it could have on her own game as well. “I’ve been thinking about the game in different ways, thinking about conditions, thinking about opposition. In the long run it will help my batting. It has made me focus a bit less on myself and results,” she said.Any concerns she had about whether dividing her attention would subtract her value to the team was dismissed when she scored an unbeaten 124 as South Africa chased 254 to complete a series win over New Zealand. Since then, she scored a second match-winning century against Bangladesh and two fifties as captain.In T20s, Wolvaardt has scored 474 runs from 12 T20Is at an average of 59.23 – a massive improvement on her overall average of 30.89 – and a strike rate of 125.06. That includes her first T20I century, recorded just last week against Sri Lanka.The number that will catch everyone’s eyes there is the strike rate, which has picked up from 113.72 and her confidence in clearing the boundary has increased as she’s put more work into developing the skill to do so consistently.”I had to hit the gym a bit and build a bit of a strength base,” she said. “I was a bit skinny and lanky when I first started. And then, it was just figuring out how power hitting worked for me.”When I first started, I lost all my shapes when I tried to hit too hard and to do it like other power hitters do it. I still need to keep shapes and hit good cricket shots and maybe change my timing or do it a bit earlier. It’s not always easy to do. I still try and whack it way too hard and lose all my shapes.”

Records tumbled as Sri Lanka and South Africa played out 127 scoreless balls between them

Sampath Bandarupalli03-Jun-202477 – Sri Lanka’s total against South Africa in their Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 clash in New York is their lowest in men’s T20Is. Their previous lowest was 82 all out against India in 2016 in Vishakhapatnam.It is also the lowest total by any team against South Africa in men’s T20Is. The previous lowest was Afghanistan’s 80 all out during the 2010 T20 World Cup.7 – Runs conceded by Anrich Nortje on Monday, the fewest by a bowler completing their four-over quota in the Men’s T20 World Cup. The previous fewest was eight runs, by three bowlers – Ajantha Mendis (vs Zimbabwe in 2012), Mahmudullah (vs Afghanistan in 2014) and Wanindu Hasaranga (vs UAE in 2022).Related

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Nortje also conceded the fewest runs by a South Africa bowler in their four overs in a men’s T20I.3 – Hauls of four or more wickets for Nortje in T20 World Cups, the joint-most by any bowler at the tournament, alongside Saeed Ajmal and Shakib Al Hasan.4 for 7 – Nortje’s figures are the best for South Africa at the Men’s T20 World Cup, bettering his own record of 4 for 10 against Bangladesh in 2022.Nortje’s figures are also the best by any bowler against Sri Lanka in the men’s T20 World Cup and the third-best in all men’s T20Is against them.Most dots in a men’s T20 WC match•ESPNcricinfo Ltd20 – Dot balls bowled by Ottniel Baartman, the joint-most by a bowler in a Men’s T20 World Cup game. Kemar Roach bowled 20 dot balls against Ireland in 2010, while Ajantha Mendis did the same during his six-wicket haul against Zimbabwe in 2012. Baartman’s 20 dots are also the most for South Africa in a men’s T20I.1 – Nortje and Baartman became the first pair to concede less than ten runs apiece in an innings at the Men’s T20 World Cup (while bowling their full quota of four overs).Only twice before have a pair of bowlers from Full Member teams done this in men’s T20Is – Chris Mpofu and Ray Price for Zimbabwe against Canada in 2008, and Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra for New Zealand against Bangladesh in 2021.11 – T20 World Cup matches played by Nortje, taking at least one in each. It is now the longest wicket-taking spree for any bowler in the Men’s T20 World Cup. Nortje bettered Ashish Nehra, who has taken at least one wicket in all ten T20 World Cup matches.4.42 – The scoring rate in this South Africa vs Sri Lanka match was the lowest for a Men’s T20 World Cup game (min: 150 balls). None of the previous 252 T20 World Cup matches lasting 25-plus overs finished with a run rate below five an over.127 – Dot balls played out on Monday were the most for a Men’s T20 World Cup match. The previous highest was 123 dots in the 2007 game between South Africa and India, and by Oman and Namibia during last night’s tie.Sri Lanka’s batters played out 72 of the 127 dots, the joint-most by a team in a Men’s T20 World Cup game, alongside Afghanistan against England in 2012.

Tough love, a strong identity and an authentically Pakistani way to play – these are the things on the agenda for Pakistan’s new red-ball coach

Danyal Rasool25-Jul-2024″In Pakistan cricket,” Jason Gillespie, the side’s new Test coach, begins, weighing his words carefully even though what he’s about to say is undeniable, “I know there’s been a lot of change in all facets. Gary [Kirsten, Pakistan’s new white-ball coach] and I both get that. We’ve had some really good conversations and good discussions with the PCB about how we can put structures and systems in place so that while we’re moving in the right direction short term, in the medium and long term, Pakistan cricket is going to be healthier.”Gillespie could scarcely have described the last few years in Pakistan cricket more pithily. Since December 2022, the PCB has had five chairmen. In that period, Saqlain Mushtaq, Grant Bradburn, Mickey Arthur, Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Mahmood all served as either team director or head coach. Batting and bowling coaches came and went, and half a dozen chief selectors picked at least one squad each.The results in Test cricket have taken the sharpest nose dive; since the start of 2022, Pakistan have won just three and lost eight of 15, with all three wins coming against Sri Lanka. They have not won a home Test in more than three years.Related

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“You want to get systems in place,” Gillespie says. “To get the right players, you need the right people around the organisation, and you need the pathway. That’s when you’re moving forward. It’s very easy when you’re coming into jobs; you’ve got a two-year contract or a one-year contract. You make short-term decisions to look after your own back. But that doesn’t help anyone, because if everyone has that approach, nothing long-term gets done.”Pakistan fans might be excused for sighing wearily at this point. That is no fault of Gillespie’s, of course, but various chairmen and coaches have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to make positive changes to the national team and its infrastructure. Under Ehsan Mani, Pakistan adopted a domestic first-class structure that did away with bloated departmental teams; those sides are now back and Mani is long gone. During Mickey Arthur’s first stint as head coach, he and Steve Rixon successfully transformed Pakistan’s fielding and fitness standards, but the days of Pakistan having suddenly emerged as an elite fielding unit now almost seem illusory.

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Gillespie is on his way to the National Stadium, in a bulletproof van flanked by an armed police escort, charging through Karachi’s bustling evening traffic. Pakistan Shaheens are to be put through their paces for four days at a training camp in preparation for their (currently ongoing) tour of Darwin, Australia, where they play a pair of practice games against a Bangladesh A side ahead of the Bangladesh senior squad’s visit to Pakistan for two Test matches in August.Gillespie sat contemplatively in the back of the vehicle. He may not have been surprised at the security; he’d been told by fellow Australians who previously worked in Pakistan cricket that he’d be extremely well looked after.His job here is rather different from the ones he quit a year early to accept: a nine-year stint with Adelaide Strikers in the BBL, and four years with the state team, South Australia. That state’s population is over ten times smaller than the city whose roads he now speeds along, the scale and nature of media attention in a single-sport country like Pakistan rendering the two roles barely comparable.6:12

‘I’d ask the players how they want to be seen in the cricket world’

“It was a pretty simple decision in the end,” Gillespie says. We meet at the Marriott, where he is staying. He only got back to Karachi from Lahore in the small hours of the morning, after an unscheduled emergency meeting with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi necessitated a last-minute hop over to Lahore. Having taken the flight over from Lahore myself the previous day, I note we could have met in Lahore after all. He appreciates making the effort to conduct the interview in person. “It’s so much better than Zoom,” he says.His family was excited when he was offered the role – his kids were “just in wonder”, he says. His 18-year-old son Jackson, a 6’6″ fast bowler for the South Australia Under-19 side and a “mad cricketer”, thought it was brilliant. There was a more measured conversation with his wife and the rest of his family, who are back in Australia. Though Gillespie won’t be in Pakistan full time, the busy upcoming schedule means he will be away from home for long stretches. But his heart was set on this assignment.”Pakistan is an exciting cricket team and has a passionate fan base,” he says. “And this is an opportunity to be involved in international cricket and work with the best players. Having not been on the international circuit for a while since I finished playing, it’s going to be a new experience and a new challenge, which I’m really excited about.”It wasn’t as straightforward a decision for Pakistan, though. Having agonised and deliberated over coaching appointments, they sounded out Shane Watson and Daren Sammy, among others, before finally agreeing terms with Gillespie and Kirsten. This is the first time Pakistan have trialled split-format coaching.Gillespie has never coached an international side full-time before. He’s from the right country, of course – Pakistan’s predilection for Australians in leadership positions is legendary by now. And he has only ever spent extended periods of time with a side – he has never served as a full-time coach of a team for fewer than two seasons; that appears to have shaped his views on how coaching success is defined.According to Gillespie, while infrastructure and coaching diktats are reversible, identity cannot so easily be dispensed with. He suggests England’s mentality shift in white-ball cricket in 2015, and eventually Test cricket with the arrival of Brendon McCullum, are not as dependent on individual talents, and therefore stand a chance of surviving long after their original architects have moved on. While he might in part have the job because Pakistan long for that fabled Australian winning mentality, he wants to find out how to play a style of cricket that is “authentic to Pakistan”.”I’m happy to admit I don’t have the answer to what that is,” he says. “I just got here. I want to engage the players and the coaches around and get as much information as I can. We see other countries around the world and it’s very clear how they want to go about their play. Whether they’re successful or not, at least you know their identity exists.”If being honest is telling a player something they might not want to hear, well, then I’m willing to do that”•AFP via Getty Images”So that’s what I want us to ask – how do you want to play and how does it fit in with our squad and our team – and go from there. Then, if you have buy-in from all the players and if players and coaches and the PCB are on the same page and moving together as one, surely that will give us more chance of having progression and success.”I want both the Pakistan public and the media to be able to watch us play and go, ‘Yes, this is the style of cricket Pakistan are playing.'”The simple example is England. No one’s left in any doubt how England will play. Everyone’s pretty clear how Australia go about their work. That’s all I’m looking for from our team. I think it’s really important that, as a coach, I don’t just come in and say, ‘This is how we are going to play.’ It’s got to come from the players. My role is to support that and how I can help us go about that in the best and most effective way.”Famously his own man in what was viewed as a fiercely tribal Australian team, Gillespie makes no secret of his wish to prioritise identity and style over context-free win-loss records as a catch-all measure for success.He cultivates a wide range of interests that extend beyond the game of cricket, and – as a practising vegan – could just as easily have a nuanced discussion on the ethics of industrial meat and dairy consumption as on the intricacies of what makes a Dukes cricket ball move sideways. It’s a outlook that has marked the course of his coaching career.Gillespie’s stint with Yorkshire remains his biggest success, when he took over a second-division side and coached them to two successive first-division titles, in 2014 and 2015. He was, at the time, a leading candidate for the England head coach job. But even in times of relative famine, like in his recent stint with South Australia – he termed it his “dream job” – where the side finished in the bottom half during each of his four seasons in charge, he feels comfortable he left the team “in a much better place” than he found it.Gillespie coached Yorkshire to two successive County Championship trophies, and was instrumental in their promotion to Division One•Sarah Ansell/Getty ImagesHe takes particular pride in having helped groom elite players for the Australian national side – Travis Head, Alex Carey and Jake Fraser-McGurk were all nurtured at South Australia and have seen their international fortunes soar over the past four years.”We played some really good cricket [at South Australia],” Gillespie says. “Last year we played ten first-class games and had nine results. More results didn’t go our way [three wins, six losses], but if you actually looked at the games, there were some very close contests. There were games within a couple of wickets or a couple of runs. The numbers could have been the exact opposite; it was just those key moments in games. The positives were that we were playing result [oriented] cricket.”While there was disappointment in one sense, there was a lot of pride because we got opportunities at the highest level for some players. I’m not sure you can judge a domestic coach on just the win-losses.”Gillespie feels confident the PCB chairman and the board share his and Kirsten’s vision for the team, and there are already signs of a shift in tone and substance. When told Shaheen Shah Afridi was slated to play the Global T20 in Canada just days before the two-Test match series in Bangladesh started, his response was suggestive: “Is he? Are you sure about that?”A few days later it was announced the PCB had decided against issuing NOCs to Naseem Shah for the Hundred, and to Shaheen, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the GT20. It is a process he admits needs careful navigation, but Gillespie is crystal clear on the primacy of the international side.”Players are centrally contracted and getting compensated really well. We have the right to be able to say, ‘Look, in this situation, we need you to rest or have some downtime to give your body and mind a break, be ready for the next challenge for Pakistan.’In his time with South Australia, Gillespie oversaw the development of future Australia stalwarts like Travis Head•Cricket Australia/Getty Images”We want players to go and play in these leagues and have these great experiences. But if we believe it’s going to be to the detriment of representing Pakistan in an upcoming series, then we’ll have a discussion and have a decision to make.”These are honest and difficult conversations. Ultimately, we’re tasked with doing what’s right by Pakistan cricket.”In times such as these, when the bond between the national team and its supporters appears to be fraying, the idea that the team needs a hard-nosed strongman to control the players with an iron fist often gains traction in Pakistan. And while Arthur, Pakistan’s longest-serving overseas head coach over the past decade, managed to form a particularly close bond with the core of the side, he also possessed a schoolmasterly streak he could always draw on. It played well in front of the television cameras, which appeared to take an almost prurient interest in his emotions when Pakistan were struggling.Gillespie, though, is far removed from that style of coaching, emphasising the need to build relationships that enable tough, honest conversations. “If being honest is telling a player something they might not want to hear, well, then I’m willing to do that. I want to help them be the best player and person they can be.”Gillespie recalls the days he played against Pakistan, and the sense of joy and fun he felt Pakistan took in their cricket. “I remember this training kit the Pakistan boys had. They had all the logos on, and on the back, it said ‘Proud to be Pakistani’. Do you remember those shirts? That stuck in my head. That was 20 years ago! And for me, that really resonated. I thought, ‘That’s cool.'”That pride is how I felt representing my country, putting on that cap and wearing the shirt with the Australian coat of arms. It meant the world to me. Playing for your country is the best thing in the world – it’s awesome.”It’s an honour and a privilege for me to coach Pakistan, and it’s an honour and a privilege for each and every player to represent Pakistan. That for me, is something that’s always stood out. I know when I played against Pakistan, that came through.”

Brook scored a triple-century while Root went past 250 as England declared for 823 in Multan. Here are some key numbers from their innings

Sampath Bandarupalli10-Oct-20240:57

England rewrite the record books in Multan

1 England became the first team to post 800-plus runs in an innings against Pakistan in Tests. The previous highest against Pakistan was 790 for 3 by West Indies in 1958 in Kingston.It is also the highest total by any team in Pakistan, with the previous highest being 765 for 6 by Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009.454 The partnership between Joe Root and Harry Brook is now the highest for England in Test cricket, bettering the 411-run stand between Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against West Indies in 1957, also for the fourth wicket.Related

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It is also the highest partnership in Tests against Pakistan, going past the 446-run stand by Conrad Hunte and Gary Sobers for the second wicket in 1958 in Kingston.3 Number of partnerships in Test cricket, higher than Root and Brook’s 454 in Multan. It is now the highest stand by a visiting pair, surpassing the partnership of 451 runs by Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford against England for the second wicket at The Oval in 1934.1 Root and Brook also put on the highest stand for the fourth or a lower wicket in Tests as the previous highest was 449 between Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh against West Indies in 2015 in Hobart.ESPNcricinfo Ltd3 Instances of two batters scoring 250-plus runs in the same Test innings, including Root and Brook in Multan. Hunte and Sobers for West Indies against Pakistan in 1958 were the first to do so, while Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara replicated the feat against South Africa in 2006.Root and Brook are only the second England pair with double hundreds in the same innings, after Graeme Fowler and Mike Gatting against India in 1985 in Chennai.1 Root and Brook are the first pair from England to share multiple partnerships of 300-plus runs in Test cricket. They put on 302 against New Zealand in Wellington last year, also for the fourth wicket. Only eight pairs before Root and Brook have shared two or more 300-plus run stands in Test cricket.310 Balls needed for Brook to complete his triple-century. It is the second-fastest in Test cricket, behind Virender Sehwag, who took only 278 balls for his triple against South Africa in 2008. The previous fastest for England was by Wally Hammond, off 355 balls, against New Zealand in 1933.Harry Brook became the first England batter in 34 years to score a triple-century•Getty Images823 for 7 England’s total against Pakistan in Multan is the fourth highest by any team in Test cricket. England has accounted for three of the four 800-plus totals, while Sri Lanka’s 952 for 6 against India in 1997 is the highest.6 Number of Pakistan bowlers to have conceded 100-plus runs in England’s first-innings in Multan. Only once before did six bowlers concede 100-plus runs in a Test innings – Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo in 2004.1 Maiden over in England’s innings – by Shaheen Shah Afridi in the fifth over of the innings. England’s innings of 150 overs (900 balls) is the longest, with as few as one maiden in a Test innings. The previous longest was 709 balls by South Africa against England in 1939, where none of the 88.5 eight-ball overs was a maiden.12664 Test runs by Root. He is now the leading run-scorer for England in Test cricket, surpassing Alastair Cook’s tally of 12472. Root is now fifth in the list of highest run-getters in Test cricket.317 Brook’s score against Pakistan in Multan is the fifth-highest for England in Test cricket. Brook is also the first England batter to score a triple hundred since Graham Gooch against India in 1990 at the Lord’s.4 Centuries by Brook in all four Test matches he played in Pakistan. He is the first batter to hundreds in four consecutive Tests on Pakistan soil. Brook is only the fifth batter with hundreds in four consecutive Tests against Pakistan, after Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, David Warner and Kane Williamson.3 Double hundreds in Asia for Root, the most by a visiting batter in Tests. Root’s previous two double tons in Asia have come in Sri Lanka and India in 2021. He is only the third batter with double tons in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, after Sehwag and Jayawardene.

“Opportunity for me to help players reach their true potential and, in doing so, increasing their consistency,” new South Africa women’s coach says

Firdose Moonda03-Dec-2024An increased focus on long-format cricket will help take South African women’s cricket to the next level, according to new head coach Mandla Mashimbyi. Mashimbyi’s tenure officially began on December 1 and will run until April 30, 2027. He will link up with the team ahead of their three-match ODI series against England, which starts on Wednesday, where he expects to be a “little bit of a ghost” as he integrates into his new role.”I will just try to listen and observe a little bit. I don’t want to disrupt much now because they’re already in the series. But obviously, I will say what I feel I need to say for them to make sure that this series goes well because it’s important for us,” Mashimbyi said in Johannesburg before heading to Kimberley, where the team is based. “I’m looking forward to just connecting with all of them and having those one-on-ones with them and making sure that we speak from the same page.”Though Mashimbyi is a seasoned and successful domestic coach, his experience has been with men’s teams so far. Laura Wolvaardt confirmed that she hadn’t “really met him or worked with him” and was not consulted on his appointment, but was “looking forward to someone to come in and hear what new ideas he has”. She may find those particularly interesting ahead of the one-off Test – South Africa’s third in the last two-and-a-half years.Related

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“One of the plans is to play the longer version of cricket at domestic level because it’s easier to adjust from longer version cricket to 50 overs and T20s, not the other way around,” Mashimbyi said when asked about the development of the women’s game at the level below international cricket. “What it brings is a thinking cricketer, a cricketer that’s able to solve problems, a cricketer that’s able to bat for long periods of time and bowl for long periods of time and stay in the field for long periods of time. So, when the time is shortened, you become more effective as well as a player and you think or you feel a lot more efficient.”Exactly when this will be brought into the domestic structure, which has just been professionalised, is unclear but South Africa have time. They are not due to play any more Tests for two years, until the 2026-2027 season, when they will host Australia and India for a Test each. In 2028, they are scheduled to play three Tests: in Australia, England and at home against West Indies. That means South Africa will play six Tests between December 2024 and December 2028, that’s two more than India and one fewer than Australia and England. In the next four years, South Africa will play one more Test than they have in the last 17 years, which included gaps of seven and eight years between matches.”I’m glad that international women’s cricket has got so many more Tests but unfortunately these girls are learning on the job,” Mashimbyi said. “We want a situation where we can expose our players to that type of cricket domestically, and it will also make it easier for them to actually graduate to ODI and T20s.”

“Everybody wants to win the World Cup. I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didn’t want to win the World Cup”Mandla Mashimbyi

In his decade as a coach in the men’s game, Mashimbyi was with Titans as they won three first-class titles, and he called it the “foundation” of the game. They also claimed four one-day cups and four T20 trophies, which perhaps speaks to his point about skill-transfer across formats, and is ultimately what his aim with the women’s team will be. After reaching successive T20 World Cup finals and the ODI World Cup semi-finals, there is expectation that the team will go all the way sooner rather than later.Though it is not in Mashimbyi’s KPIs (key-performance indicators), he understands that there will be pressure on him to take the team to a trophy. “As a mandate, I think it’s a no-brainer. Everybody wants to win the World Cup. I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didn’t want to win the World Cup,” he said. “That’s one of the things that made me apply for this job: there’s an opportunity for me to help players reach their true potential and in doing so, increasing their consistency. And once they’re consistent, they’re more confident, and it will make it easier for us to really compete and make sure that we cross that line.”Mandla Mashimbyi has been a coach for a while, but has never worked in women’s cricket before•Cricket South AfricaSouth Africa, along with Australia and England, have already qualified for next year’s ODI World Cup in India and the upcoming ODIs are a chance to measure themselves against former champions. South Africa have already proved to themselves that they can beat England – at the 2023 T20 World Cup semi-final, for example – and even that they can topple Australia, as they did at this year’s World Cup semi-final. But what they haven’t done yet is challenge them consistently. That is partly due to the vastly superior systems in these two countries, which includes professional domestic contracts and franchise T20 leagues.CSA has made a start on the former but what about the latter? With the Women’s Premier League in India moving to a January-February window from 2026, plans for a women’s SA20 have been dealt a blow, as CSA was understood to be eyeing a similar time slot, which is also when the men’s version is played, and now have to think again.”Obviously, the WPL has taken the window, so we’ve had to internally reassess. And once we’ve reached a point where there’s more clarity, we’ll be able to come out to make an announcement,” Enoch Nkwe, director of national teams and high performance, said. “But it is a work in progress. We’re really working hard to make sure that we are in a strong position to announce the launch of SA20 Women soon.”

After their gritty performance in Manchester, here’s looking back at some other recent efforts from India that secured draws from perilous positions

Omkar Mankame and Harigovind S28-Jul-2025Gqeberha 2001-02
Blown away in 62 overs by Shaun Pollock, Nantie Hayward and Makhaya Ntini in the first innings, India began the final day at 28 for 1 in pursuit of 395. On a decent batting strip, Deep Dasgupta (63 off 281 balls) and Rahul Dravid (87 from 241) put up a stoic second-wicket stand that stretched for more than 80 overs. The duo fell in succession, but bad light spared India further trouble. The grit on display, though, was soon overshadowed by the furore around match referee Mike Denness.Nottingham 2002
The prequel to the Manchester escape. India posted 357, England replied with 617, and then India’s top-order crumbled – they were two down within the first two overs. India needed their middle order to deliver, and it did. Dravid (115), Sachin Tendulkar (92), and Sourav Ganguly (99) batted India to safety. But it still took a an unbeaten 19 in 84 minutes from 17-year-old Parthiv Patel to seal the draw.Related

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Kolkata 2002-03
On the fourth morning, West Indies’ 139-run first-innings lead seemed modest on a good pitch – until India, in their second innings, collapsed to 49 for 3 before lunch, and 87 for 4 soon after. In stepped Tendulkar with a masterful 176, balancing caution with command. At the other end was VVS Laxman, back at the scene of his epic 281 from a year ago. He batted through the day for an unbeaten 154 off 396 balls as the game ended in a draw.MS Dhoni’s 76 not out at Lord’s in 2007 took India to safety•Nick Potts/PA Photos/Getty ImagesLord’s 2007
Rain came to India’s rescue as they drew the Test with just one wicket remaining. Last batter S Sreesanth had survived a huge appeal for lbw off Monty Panesar, and MS Dhoni had gone about saving the match in unique style – launching ten boundaries en route to 76 not out – when Steve Bucknor and Simon Taufel agreed it had become too dark thanks to the rain, which arrived five minutes before tea.Napier 2008-09
Asked to follow-on with a 314-run deficit, and with six-and-a-half sessions of play left, India were cornered. But Gautam Gambhir dug in with a marathon 137 off 436 balls across 643 minutes. Dravid and Tendulkar chipped in with solid fifties, while Laxman stood firm with an unbeaten 124. India batted out 180 overs – their longest second-innings batting effort this century.Ahmedabad 2010-11
The Test had drifted for three days and a session, with over 900 runs scored for just 15 wickets. Then Chris Martin sparked a stunning collapse – India slid to 15 for 5, and then 65 for 6. Enter Laxman, India’s crisis man, and Harbhajan Singh, who raced to his maiden Test ton. Their 54-over stand pulled India from the brink and secured a hard-fought draw.An injured R Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari helped India draw in Sydney in 2020-21•AFP via Getty ImagesSydney 2014-15
Three wickets needed for Australia, a wearing SCG pitch, the light fading, and India trying to cling on for a draw – it could have been the 2007-08 finish at the same venue all over again. But Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar held their nerve. India’s chances of saving the Test seemed gone when they lost their sixth wicket with 20 overs to be bowled, but Rahane showed his mettle by soaking up 88 balls for 38 not out.Sydney 2020-21
A bruised and battered India line-up couldn’t run between the wickets for a session. They had a player with a fractured thumb waiting to bat next. They copped one body blow after another. And yet, against all odds, R Ashwin (39* off 128 balls) and Hanuma Vihari (23* from 161) produced one of the most dramatic displays of patient batting to pull off a draw that hardly anyone saw coming.

Full-on and full-scale, England vs India was a series so packed with events and excitement that you’ll struggle to remember more than a handful looking back

Osman Samiuddin06-Aug-2025You know what? Let’s go there right away. Of course you want to. You probably already have. It’s an entirely human urge. As good as ’05? Better than ’23 surely? Does it beat any BGT from this century, even the three-match epic that kick-started the modern rivalry? No, spare yourself and don’t go down that rabbit hole. Or down that cloying path of self-congratulation, where we collectively phew and pat ourselves on the back because Test cricket has been saved. Again.Stay in the present. Let this Anderson-Tendulkar series take over your head. Let it swirl through your veins. Let it be the natural dopamine rush you didn’t have to exercise for. Process what you have seen. Digest it. Take your time – no, actually the time to go back and pore over every bit of it, to make sense of how, nearly every day – every , and sometimes every ball – this series dragged you one way, then yanked you the other and finally wrung out every drop of emotion from you like you were some wet tea towel.Did so much really happen in this one series? Could so much really happen in one series? So much that no matter how much you recall, there’ll always be that much you won’t because, the human brain. Shubman Gill really did go for Bradman’s record. As hard as he went for Zak Crawley’s masculinity. Jofra Archer really did return to Test cricket and Jofra Archer really did bowl those two deliveries to Rishabh Pant. England really did chase down their second-highest total ever and it felt a little underwhelming and quite inevitable. England did really want to be humbler and not so nice and also not d***heads, all in the same series.Related

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KL Rahul really did become the Test batter he has for so long promised to be, the absolute picture of old-school judiciousness. Mohammed Siraj, for all the big stuff he did, really did take that catch at Edgbaston, arguably the catch of the series. There really was a brouhaha over handshakes. There was definitely one over the Dukes balls. Personally, this would be incomplete without mention of Washington Sundar and his entirely unexpected gatecrashing of this series. He saved one Test with old-school stonewalling, won the last with new-age freewheeling, and got such wicked, deceptive drift with the ball, it should rightfully be labelled grift: as in, 5.369 degrees of grift on that one to Ben Stokes at Edgbaston. He has some of the gait and bearing of R Ashwin, with less genius to be sure, but also, thankfully, less uncle; the Ashwin you fret your daughter will bring home, not the one you want her to be with.There’s still so much that hasn’t made it here, but will no doubt make your lists. Every moment, for instance, when Stokes was involved, was a moment in which Test cricket was an Extreme Sport, with his body on the line. Or, of his 481 runs, the six that Harry Brook swept while falling over off Siraj at The Oval, which, despite Pant having normalised the shot and Brook’s own electric range, was entirely abnormal nonetheless. Or Joe Root who, like Rahul, hummed along, the James Earl Jones (or Morgan Freeman) voiceover to the series, imparting deep and sensible authority unto a fraying, steaming silliness. And imagine, all these feats of memory and none for the very first wicket India took in this series.That was 46 days ago, occurring both like yesterday as well as a lifetime ago. Which is the thing about five-Test series. In more ways than we might think, they are actually perfect for the modern age. Watching seven hours a day more or less. Five days at a stretch. Over six to eight weeks. There’s a term for this you might be familiar with, which made its way into the dictionary officially a decade ago, when streaming platforms truly began to take over our screens, but describes the preferred, and only, mode of following Test cricket since 1877. That’s right: binge-watching.4:04

How do you move on from such an epic series?

Like any bingeable series, a great Test series also becomes our world for a while. We obsess over its plays and ploys, plots and subplots, heroes and villains and their character arcs. We move to its pace and speak its language and live by its logic. We live by its episodic highs and lows and lulls, its continuity, although we can never really know what comes next. And there can never be spoilers.Simply watching one is never enough. We must obsess over it online, listen to all the podcasts, read all the pieces, snigger our way through TikToks, and yes, exult and outrage and hot-take all over everyone else’s feeds. A long Test series enforces an element that is the opposite of the binge-watch: the stinge-watch, when you hoard episodes and space them out for your viewing convenience. Barely a break to breathe between some Tests, but a week or more to meditate between others, and yet somehow the arrhythmia feels normal.Here we were doubly blessed to have, on the final day of the series, a 56-minute recap of every sensation of the 24 days that preceded it. The two boundaries off the first two balls, one authoritative, one unintended, cutting the target down by a fifth; the wicket off the seventh multiplying it back again by five; a chance missed, another turned into a six, a review upheld, one overturned; the breathless, relentless surge and counter-surge of an entire series. England, now India, England again, India again, compressed into under an hour. A recap, but also it hit you like that tool so beloved of the auteur, the long one-shot take, always fraught, always tense, always building to more fraughtness and tension, and never hiding its fragility, of how easily and suddenly everything could go south.Main men: Washington Sundar finished with seven wickets and 284 vital runs, and Shubman Gill averaged 75-plus in his ten innings•Getty ImagesIt was the perfect tribute to the inseparability of the two sides, a closeness that a couple of comfortable-looking results and a comfortable-looking draw don’t necessarily convey (neither does the generally bat-dominated look of the stats tables). Three of the five Tests, after all, were essentially one-innings shootouts, where often the second innings felt like different Tests altogether from the first. But for a catch here or a drop there, a collapse or a call at the toss, a timely ball change or an untimely run out, or just the simple physics of backspin after a perfect back-foot defensive, but for all of this and so much more, who knows? And yet, who cares, because at the end, at two-all, it landed exactly right.As right as it was that Chris Woakes and his sling were on the field at the end, a reminder of how non-fiction this entertainment was, of the unquestionable, unscripted authenticity of this drama. In this series alone, Pant returned to play with a broken foot, Shoaib Bashir took a match-winning wicket with a broken finger, and Stokes bowled an eight-over spell on the final morning at Old Trafford with a torn shoulder muscle of unpronounceable provenance.All four were game-related injuries that could have happened in a shorter series, but there’s no doubting that a five-Test series takes a toll like little else. This one has been almost uniquely exacting. When the sides came out for the final day on Monday, it was only the third time this century that each Test of a five-match series had gone into the final day. It was uncharted territory for all but Root, England captain during the 2017-18 Ashes, when it last happened.It cost the final Test four of the biggest names in the game in Stokes, Archer, Jasprit Bumrah and Pant. But it says everything about the series that their absence was barely noticed, that without these stars, it produced its best game.

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‘Australia have sat back, waited for England and pushed them over’

For all the fight shown by Ben Stokes and Will Jacks with the bat, there was an indignity to England coming out to bowl on day four. Somehow, an innings defeat at the Gabba might have been less embarrassing.The sun was setting, the floodlights in play. By virtue of the longest partnership by either side across the first two Tests, Stokes and Jacks had managed the situation in front of them, meaning that witching hour was England’s to exploit. Just as Australia had done on Saturday.They gave it a go, to be fair. Jofra Archer bowled like the wind. Gus Atkinson found his snap off the pitch. And Australia blazed to their target of 65.Related

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“Bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champion,” was Steven Smith’s retort to Jofra Archer looking to start something. It was a sentiment many shared. Why bring this energy now? Where was this when it mattered? Smith may as well have been talking to England as a group. A pulled six off Archer and another off Atkinson sealed the match.Stokes looked bereft in his press conference. And why wouldn’t he be? Sunday brought us up to six days cricket in this Ashes series. Barely a week and yet a three-and-a-half-year project to make dreams for a lifetime is already being pulled apart before we have even got to the third Test. This was his Everest and they are somehow still at base camp tending to the frozen.It is true that England series in Australia have often gone this way, but this one was supposed to be different. The score at present is 15-0 to the hosts since England’s last successful venture in 2010-11, and somehow these two defeats carry the weight of the previous 13. Because it was from those that Bazball’s free spirit was forged. And it is here, under the Australian sun, that it is being broken down and held up to the baying masses.But the sweating, shame-ridden harshness of cricket in these parts cannot be blamed. England are solely at fault for their own catastrophe.Ben Stokes leads his beaten team from the field•Getty ImagesAt Brisbane, a first-innings collapse of 6 for 88 was followed by one of 5 for 38 two days later, sandwiching a truly woeful bowling performance. If the first Test in Perth could be chalked off as simply a team losing their footing in a downhill sprint race with Australia, this was England choosing to sprint again while the hosts decided to take the winding roads of sensible batting and straightforward bowling plans that were available to both sides.They will wonder how so little cricket can carry so many regrets.They flunked the opener against a Pat Cummins- and Josh Hazlewood-less Australia, and have now done the same in the second with Nathan Lyon thrown out of the mix.Even Australia’s bankers in the schedule had their edge blunted. The Perth Test was a month earlier than usual, taking place in a more amenable climate and at the Optus Stadium, rather than the furnace of the WACA ground, and the English skeletons that lie within, which sat dormant across the way. Likewise for Brisbane, which saw Australia roll their most-statistically dominant venue and format into one while dialling down the heat, given the day-night timings. Worse still, England won both tosses.It is also worth considering the waste. A chastening experience during the 2021-22 tour, blighted by Covid, triggered a more holistic approach: investment in people and roles within the team that now seem so blurry. Perhaps worst of all, Joe Root’s first hundred in Australia reduced to a footnote in the rot.

“Stokes has long taken it upon himself to set fields, believing bowlers should just concentrate on bowling. The result of that is when the team are under pressure in the field, they cannot think off the cuff”

Atkinson has dulled, the sharp metronome anointed as James Anderson replacement already adding 2.59 on the bowling average of 22.01 he arrived with, with just three wickets in 54 overs. Atkinson’s pull shot straight to Smith at midwicket was a shot to rival Harry Brook’s grim drive to the first ball he faced off Mitchell Starc in the first innings. Unbecoming of a Test vice-captain but worryingly in keeping with his recent work.Jamie Smith’s no-nonsense start to Test cricket has given way to a worrying meekness that speaks to the fact that keeping is taking its toll. Scores of 0 and 4 accompanied a drop off Travis Head that saw him the subject of sarcastic cheers for the vast majority of the 117.3 overs spent behind the stumps in Australia’s first innings. This is as tough as it gets and Smith is shrinking.Stokes has blame to take for this. His insulation of the team for their own good has resulted in group seemingly unable to learn from mistakes and consequence. Worst still is a lack of collective nous.The bowling attack is a particularly interesting case study. Stokes has long taken it upon himself to set fields, believing bowlers should just concentrate on bowling. The result of that is when the team are under pressure in the field, they cannot think off the cuff. And this week, with Mark Wood missing, the most inexperienced bowling attack Stokes has had to work with – Archer, the “veteran”, with 17 caps – were unable to correct themselves, particularly when wasting the first 21 overs of the new ball on day two, with Australia racing to 130 for 1 in response to the 334 that England had clawed for.At the same time, it is maddening at this juncture that the likes of Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope have not lightened Stokes’ load. The pair have 124 caps between them but seemingly none of the experience that is supposed to come with that number.Stokes’ rearguard at the Gabba went in vain•PA Photos/Getty ImagesThen again, that’s not all their fault, nor Stokes’. There are coaches who should know better, who should be improving these players but end up hurting them with their public utterances.On Saturday, for instance, assistant coach Marcus Trescothick (charged with priming the batters) said they had not spoken about the perils of driving on the up after being found out in Perth. It was odd for two reasons.The first being that Stokes, ahead of England’s training session at Allan Border Field last Saturday, revealed the team had reflected behind closed doors about how they let that second day at the Optus Stadium slip from their grasp. And they did, as individuals, discuss the best ways to approach Starc. They even workshopped ideas to combat the pink ball under lights – both as batters and fielders in the lead-up to this Test. Stokes had taken it upon himself to disseminate bowling and batting information around the quirks day-night brings to each pack.The second, and more infuriating, part of Trescothick’s sugarcoated dead-batting was that he was actually trying to shield a group already wallowing in misery. Instead, he perpetuated the notion that they do not care. That they are free of consequence and devoid of true ambition.That was compounded on Sunday by Brendon McCullum’s assertion they trained too hard ahead of this match. A passionate English fanbase – many of whom truly believed in this group and what it was about – have never been more riled, now fully of the mind they are being gaslit.It didn’t have to be like this. But now, this group need to wise up and open their eyes to reality. Their walls are falling around them, and life is coming at them quick.This tour, genuinely the best opportunity since 2010-11 to win an overseas Ashes, and the most optimistic since 2013-14 after retaining the urn months earlier, may be the end of this chapter of English Test cricket.On paper, the remaining three Tests are a shot at redemption. But right now, it looks like it could break Stokes and the players he has taken it upon himself to protect.

Liverpool were left furious after Virgil van Dijk’s first-half header against Manchester City was ruled out for offside, despite Andy Robertson not touching the ball. The Dutchman thought he had equalised from a Mohamed Salah corner, but VAR sided with the on-field officials. And here's why Arne Slot's team did not end up getting a goal that could have had a big impact on the game.

Van Dijk goal ruled off in Man City loss

Liverpool were denied what they believed to be a legitimate equaliser in the first half of their Premier League clash with City at Etihad Stadium. After falling behind to Erling Haaland’s opener, Van Dijk met a corner from Salah and directed a powerful header past Gianluigi Donnarumma, seemingly restoring parity for the visitors. The Liverpool captain sprinted away in celebration, only for the assistant referee’s flag to cut short the jubilation.

Robertson was deemed to be in an offside position during the play, standing just a yard from Donnarumma inside the six-yard box. Although the Scotland international made no contact with the ball and attempted to duck out of its flight path, VAR confirmed that his movement was enough to interfere with the goalkeeper’s ability to play the ball. The Premier League’s Match Centre later clarified that Robertson’s proximity constituted “an obvious action which impacted an opponent’s ability to play the ball,” meaning the goal could not stand.

The decision proved divisive, particularly as Donnarumma appeared unlikely to have reached the header regardless of Robertson’s position. While City took advantage of the reprieve and doubled their lead before the interval, Liverpool’s players were left visibly frustrated — with Arne Slot animatedly remonstrating with the officials on the touchline. It was a key moment in a match where fine margins once again played a decisive role.

AdvertisementFans fume at VAR's offside decision

@TheKopWatch commented on X: "Side netting. GK is getting nowhere near it. Robertson doesn’t block his view of the ball. How on earth is that disallowed?"

@markgoldbridge wrote: "Got to say that is a joke. Keeper is at full stretch and Robertson isn't interfering with play. Another shocker."

@Abdulba71267148 fumed: "Complete robbery."

@JonnyGibson33 explained: "He's miles away from the keeper the ball, literally moving away from the goal and then ducks. Incredible decision."

@holly82649091 claimed: "They want a title race between Arsenal and City."

@mo11salahh took shots at the inconsistency: "Bernardo Silva against Wolves last season. Robertson against city this season. Man City goal given. Liverpool goal NOT given."

Getty Images SportWas Robertson actually in Donnarumma's 'line of sight'?

The controversy stems from Law 11 of the FA’s rules on offside, which outlines that a player can be penalised even without touching the ball if they “make an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball”. In this instance, Robertson’s quick duck to avoid Van Dijk’s header was deemed an “obvious action”. Officials concluded that his proximity to Donnarumma caused hesitation in the goalkeeper’s movement, constituting interference.

The Premier League’s post-match explanation described Robertson as being “in an offside position directly in front of the goalkeeper”. However, replays suggested the full-back was actually slightly to Donnarumma’s left, leading to debate over whether the “line of sight” element of the rule applied. While Robertson’s motion to evade the ball was instinctive, officials interpreted it as influencing Donnarumma’s reaction, and therefore as active involvement in the play.

The controversy reignited broader frustrations over VAR’s inconsistency in judging offside interference. Similar incidents in previous seasons have seen goals allowed when players appeared to obstruct goalkeepers, further blurring the line between passive and active involvement.

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VAR continues to split fans on a weekly basis

The fallout from the disallowed goal is likely to continue, with Liverpool supporters and pundits demanding greater clarity from the Premier League’s officiating body. While the decision may have adhered to the letter of the law, the interpretation will once again draw criticism for its subjectivity — particularly in high-stakes fixtures like this one.

City, meanwhile, took full advantage of Liverpool’s deflation, controlling the tempo in the second half to preserve their lead and maintain their unbeaten home record.