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The intrigue at what he could do demanded we know more, but delivering the ball was only part of it

Shannon Gill12-Mar-2022Shane Warne was born in 1969, the year the world gathered around televisions to watch the moon land. The year he started primary school colour television came to Australia. These two events coronated television as the dominant cultural force in Australia for the next 30 years. They’re also neat coincidences because this environment shaped, and then showcased, Shane Warne as the customised sporting star made for Australian television.He was a child of television’s golden era, his own populist aesthetic of loud, flashy but still endearing was exactly how television presented in the late 70s, 80s and into the 90s. Happy Days characters, Countdown-era pop, and references to gross out comedy flicks seemed permanently imprinted on his brain, evident through his commentary and social media feeds. And while television informed the kitsch pop culture lens he saw the world through, it was also the medium made for the bowling that would enchant the world.If World Series Cricket was the television revolution that transformed the game, appropriately given it was some of Warne’s first cricket memories, it only reached its full potential as a TV product when Warne arrived.For all the thrill of fast bowling, it’s a skill most appreciated in person, and in retrospect 1980s broadcasts did not offer many layers to the blur of pace.Related

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• Shane Warne gave us so much and he had so much more to give

Warne offered something very different, his simple grip and delivery stride allowed you to watch the ball out of his hand at its slower pace, follow its trajectory and then its bounce and spin. It didn’t matter if you’d played hundreds of games of cricket or were a novice, understanding that Warne had magic was simple because it all played out so clearly in front of you. There’s not been a pace ‘ball of the century’ to rival the Gatting ball, because apart from it being simply astounding, it allows time for the dip, swerve and turn to be savoured by television viewers. It’s a three-part act that no other type of bowling, or bowler, can rival.Within 12 months of Warne’s emergence as a bona fide superstar the then Australian Cricket Board was attempting to extricate itself from the PBL strait jacket and allow itself to sell its television rights for their true worth. Just in the nick of time it now had a beacon that would draw droves to their TV sets, and the board was rewarded handsomely when it sold the rights back to Channel 9 unencumbered.4:34

Mark Nicholas remembers Shane Warne

Warne’s role in that and the future financial riches that would tumble in cricket coffers over the next 25 years cannot be underestimated, because Warne was the most accessible bowler on television we’d seen.He was the magician who didn’t use a handkerchief to hide his tricks, your eyes saw it all unfold. It was why, as many have said this week and for years prior, you could not look away from a Warne bowling spell.While fast bowlers can bang the ball into the pitch in a whir that can over upon over look almost identical to the untrained eye, every Warne ball was an unfolding event. The child of television knew you had to have plot twists to keep people interested, so what would he bowl next? Each over was a new television episode, and for the 90s and first half of the 2000s it was the most popular show on the box.If television innovations like super slo-mo and spin-vision in the mid-90s were not created because of Warne, they were made essential to broadcasts by his presence. Now we could watch in greater definition, slower, the revolutions of the ball visible and the magic closer. The intrigue at what he could do demanded we know more, but delivering the ball was only part of it.Dennis Lillee captured the hearts and minds of Warne’s generation with television close-ups of his theatrical wiping of the brow and appealing. Whether it was deliberate or subconscious, Warne turned the Lillee approach up to ten. If every over was a television episode, the facial reactions and exaggerated body language were just as important as the balls themselves.There was also theatre when Shane Warne bowled•Getty ImagesThe close ups of his oohing and aahing with the blonde hair and earrings completed the package. He to stand out on TV like his idols, sporting and otherwise. It played a part in one of his most infamous scandals, his explanation for taking the diuretic pill that resulted in a 12-month ban was that he wanted to lose weight to “look good on television”.This was all indicative of a man who, while sometimes sensitive to the criticism that came with it, seemed more at home in the TV spotlight than any Australian sports star before or after. It’s why he never left the spotlight.After retiring from international cricket, he came back to the BBL where he was essentially a playing commentator. From there he globetrotted the world as a constant commentary presence on screen. He even had a go at hosting a tonight show, which you suspect is what he would have ultimately loved doing most; Warnie talking about all the things other than cricket that he liked.He completed the television experience by acting as a Shane Warne impersonator in the Australian sitcom , a show that satirised and celebrated the characters’ low-brow suburban tastes, most of which were based on what they saw on television. If that and the jokes about texting weren’t meta enough, Warne was one of those tastes. He was unashamedly a kindred spirit of Kath and Kim.And now amidst a pall of sadness there’s some solace to be found that will become more prescient as the years go on.Less than three months before his passing Warne released a made-for-TV documentary that most significantly revealed to the public the dedication and love in his relationship with his children. The man made for television had unknowingly left us with a perfectly wrapped package of his extraordinary life for the small screen. Like the Gatting ball, we’ll watch this final episode time and time again, just the way he would have liked it.

Pant added 222 runs with Ravindra Jadeja for the sixth wicket to lift India from 98 for 5

Sampath Bandarupalli01-Jul-2022222 Partnership runs between Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja. It is India’s joint-highest partnership for the sixth or a lower wicket in Tests from a team total of less than 100 runs. Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar added 222 runs for the sixth wicket against South Africa in 1996 from a team score of 58 for 5.1 The 222-run partnership by Pant and Jadeja is India’s joint-highest stand for the sixth or a lower wicket in an away Test. Azharuddin and Tendulkar’s partnership of 222 runs against South Africa also came away from home – in Cape Town.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 Number of pairs in Test cricket with two double century stands for the sixth and lower wickets, including Pant and Jadeja. They added 204 for the seventh wicket against Australia in the 2019 Sydney Test.4 out of five centuries by Pant in Test cricket have come outside Asia. Only two India batters had more Test 100s outside Asia before turning 25 – seven by Sachin Tendulkar and five by Sunil Gavaskar.89 Balls taken by Pant for his hundred. It is the second-fastest century for India in Test cricket in England. The fastest is by Azharuddin, who needed 87 balls for his hundred at the Lord’s in 1990.131.53 Pant’s strike rate during his 111-ball 146. It is the second-fastest century for India in terms of strike rate in Test cricket. Azharuddin had a strike rate of 141.55 during his 77-ball 109 against South Africa in the 1996 Kolkata Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd93 Balls needed for MS Dhoni to bring up his century against Pakistan in 2006 in Faisalabad, the fastest century by an Indian wicketkeeper in Tests, before Pant’s effort in Birmingham. It was the first of the six Test hundreds for Dhoni, the only player with more Test hundreds as an India wicketkeeper than Pant (5).87.5 Pant’s average while batting at No .5 in Test cricket. Across the seven innings Pant has batted at this position, he’s scored 525 runs with a century and four fifties, all at a strike rate of 98.68.161.53 Pant’s batting strike rate in Tests against Jack Leach. He has scored 147 runs off 91 balls against the left-arm spinner, all while being dismissed once. Since the start of 2002, only one batter has had 100-plus runs against a bowler in Tests, at a higher strike rate than Pant – 175.00 by Shahid Afridi against Irfan Pathan (147 off 84 balls).

Glenn Phillips knows he’s got incredible natural ability and works hard to keep his skills razor sharp

Andrew McGlashan07-Nov-2022There are many elements in the coming week that could decide who lifts the T20 World Cup. It may come down to plain luck too. But it could also be a sprinted single. Or an exceptional piece of fielding.There have been plenty of spectacular catches during the tournament (there have also been a few spectacular misses) but high on the list of instant classics was Glenn Phillips’ gravity-defying running dive to dismiss Marcus Stoinis at the SCG in the opening match of the Super 12s.That game set the tone for both teams involved: it put New Zealand on their way to the semi-finals, allowing them the breathing space to soak up a loss to England, and left Australia so far behind that they could not make up the ground.Related

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• Glenn Phillips is Superman once again

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New Zealand are back in Sydney for their semi-final against Pakistan, an unlikely match-up until the extraordinary drama of Sunday. It is also the ground where Phillips left his mark with a masterful century against Sri Lanka. But while he is only an occasional bowler, it’s his value as a fielder which makes him worth being classed as an allrounder. He pushes himself to the limits, and sometimes beyond.”There’s certain things where I know if I haven’t got there, it’s okay, because there’s probably not many other people who would have,” Phillips told ESPNcricinfo. “I try to look at it that way for myself to not get too down. The chances are that, if you are getting to balls you aren’t meant to, then you are going to mess up quite a bit. But the odd screamer will come off. If you get it, you pull off something amazing. If you don’t, well you never had the right to be there anyway. So you may as well at least try.”Sometimes my speed gets me in trouble as well. Sometimes I over-run it. I went through a stage when I was younger where guys tried to get me to slow down, but it got to the point where I’d actually fumble just as much or stuff up probably more often than I would, if I was going 100%. I realised if I have the chance to be that little faster, or jump a little higher, it then becomes your responsibility to use it. Because if you don’t, then what’s the point having it?”Glenn Phillips practices fielding like Superman•ICC/Getty ImagesPhillips has always had his natural athleticism, but the enjoyment of fielding goes back to childhood when he and his younger brother Dale would practice with their dad in the nets, rather than just focusing on batting and bowling. He is also quick to acknowledge that others in the team also set high standards. There were some rare blunders against England, with Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell missing catches, but overall, New Zealand are one of the world leaders in the field.”I’ve always loved fielding,” he said. “It wasn’t just because you had to do fielding. It’s because we wanted to do it. Fielding these days can become a third string. If you have the ability to make a difference somehow in the field, it doesn’t necessarily matter if you’ve had a good day with bat or ball because fielding is an attitudinal thing and that’s what we [New Zealand] all try and bring.”From the genetic side of things, it has always been there but without working and keeping it growing, you lose it. So definitely, it’s something that I’ve worked on. I’ve tried to get stronger, tried to get faster, tried to get more agile, to be in positions where I have the right to at least have a go at making a catch that maybe no one else is going to get.”It is equally possible, though, that Phillips plays a decisive hand with the bat against Pakistan as New Zealand seek their first major piece of global limited-overs silverware. His 104 off 64 balls against Sri Lanka lifted them from 15 for 3 and featured superb acceleration, having been 22 off 22 deliveries. Against England at the Gabba Phillips was giving his team a chance of chasing a tough target, having been given a life by Moeen Ali, before falling just short of clearing long-on. It is those sorts of narrow margins involved in the format that Phillips tries to keep in perspective.”[It’s about] trying to find something in a game of such high failure that you can succeed at more often,” he said. “Sometimes it just takes one mis-hit. Say I didn’t mis-hit that [against England], you never know. I’ve done things similar on other occasions and it’s having that experience and banking on myself on being able to do it. It’s a game of small margins so sometimes it’s not going to come off, but if you have the belief that you are the one that can do it at least you have a chance.”Phillips has enjoyed the different challenges created by the various grounds during this tournament. This will be New Zealand’s third match at the SCG and the previous two have provided opposite short and long boundaries.Phillips outscored Sri Lanka all on his own in Sydney•ICC via Getty Images”It’s actually quite cool to try come up with unique ways of getting balls into areas that create high-scoring opportunity for lower risk,” he said. “[Bowlers] will always try to take it away from the small boundary and we will always try to hit it there, so how can my mind games play against their mind games.”It’s about looking at the field and deciding what my high risk, high-value shots are, then I understand I’ve got all my other shots as well which happen naturally as you’ve been trained to do for years on end. You’ve got a split second to react and will get it wrong sometimes, but if the idea in your mind is to be as positive as possible, then I have the chance of going both sides of the field.”Away from matches, Phillips thinks extensively about his batting and the various scenarios being at No. 4 or 5 can provide, but once he gets to the crease – whether it’s setting a target or chasing one – he wants to have as few thoughts as possible in his mind.”I’ve always been a deep-thinker, but in the middle I try to leave all the deep thinking back in the sheds,” he said. “At training I’m thinking about how I can get balls in different areas, and if I’ve trained [that way] then going into the middle, the less thinking that’s possible the clearer I’m going to be to make the right choice to the right ball. For me, when you’ve got a split-second to react, if my mind is filled with anything other than watching the ball then I’ll be in trouble.”

They have also lost the experience of Robin Uthappa in the middle, and Mayank Agarwal could be the answer there

Srinidhi Ramanujam18-Dec-20224:51

How can CSK replace Dwayne Bravo?

Who they’ve got
Super Kings finished ninth in the ten-team tournament in 2022 but – true to reputation – have retained most of their players. Dwayne Bravo is the biggest name they let go of – he will be their bowling coach instead. They have retained their star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja despite rumours suggesting the marriage might be over. MS Dhoni, at 41, still remains captain but they will be keen to identify and groom someone to take over after the 2023 edition.

Follow the 2023 IPL auction LIVE

You can watch the auction live in India on Star Sports, and follow live analysis with Tom Moody, Ian Bishop, Wasim Jaffer and Stuart Binny right here on ESPNcricinfo.

Current squad: MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Deepak Chahar, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh TheekshanaWhat they have to play with
Super Kings have INR 20.45 crore (USD 2.4 million approx.) to spend at the auction. They have seven slots available, including two for overseas players.What they need

• Two Indian batters, of which one should ideally be a back-up wicketkeeper to Dhoni.
• It won’t be bad for them if they can get hold of a strong overseas quick as well as an Indian quick, because that department looks a little thin despite Mukesh Choudhary’s success last season.
• And while they are at it, why not an Indian wristspinner too?

The likely targets
Sam Curran isn’t new to Super Kings’ set-up, having worn the yellow jersey in 2020 and 2021 for 23 matches. With Dwayne Bravo not around anymore, Curran could be the overseas quick who can bowl at the death and also chip in with the bat lower down the order. He was picked by Super Kings for INR 5.5 crore in 2020.Mayank Agarwal is another obvious target, like Curran. Though primarily a top-order batter, Agarwal dropped to the middle order last year to accommodate better strikers at the top. With Robin Uthappa, one of Super Kings’ main Indian middle-order batters last season, retiring Agarwal could be a great fit.Josh Little made a big impact in the T20 World Cup in Australia this year, picking up 11 wickets in seven matches at a great economy of 7.00 for Ireland. That included a hat-trick [Kane Williamson, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner] against New Zealand.Jaydev Unadkat could be a contender for a team that likes experienced hands, and Unadkat has worked with Dhoni and Stephen Fleming at Rising Pune Supergiants in IPL 2017. He had a memorable season then, claiming 24 wickets in 12 matches.

No one scored a fifty, but a succession of high-voltage cameos led Kings past 200 for the third game in a row

Srinidhi Ramanujam30-Apr-20231:48

Moody: Jitesh a rare batter who can go out there from ball one

On Sunday, Punjab Kings breached the 200 mark for the third match in a row. It’s a rare feat: only one IPL team has done it before them, and it’s instructive that that team, Kolkata Knight Riders, also did it this season. Teams this year have scored big totals more frequently than ever before; with almost a month of the tournament remaining, IPL 2023 has already broken the record for most 200-plus totals in a season.The introduction of the Impact Player rule has had a lot to do with this. Every team bats deeper as a result of it, and it’s allowed every team to bat with a greater degree of freedom.But it’s Kings, perhaps, who have embraced this spirit of adventure more than any other team, and their victory on Sunday exemplified it.Related

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Up against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, they were set a target of 201, and how they got there told a tale. None of Kings’ batters got to fifty; instead their chase comprised several quick cameos that culminated in a last-ball storming of CSK’s fortress. It was the first time an opposition had chased down 200 or more against CSK at Chepauk, and it was the third-biggest chase at the venue overall.Kings’ batters buzzed with intent from start to finish. The chase wasn’t always fluent, but every now and then a big over would come by, keeping them in touch with their asking rate.There were contributions all the way down the order: Shikhar Dhawan, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma all scored between 21 and 42, with four of them striking at 160 or above and the other, Curran, at 145. When Jitesh fell in the penultimate over, Kings needed 15 off eight balls, and Sikandar Raza steered them home in a pulsating finish.Prabhsimran and Jitesh, in particular, exemplify this Kings side, and their innings here continued the good work they’ve done throughout the season. Prabhsimran has 210 runs this season at a strike rate of 153.28, and Jitesh 190 at 162.39. Both average in the 20s, but it’s a trade-off teams will be prepared to make if they have enough batting depth.Liam Livingstone’s urgency is a natural fit in Punjab Kings’ line-up•Associated PressJitesh was off the blocks straightaway, launching Ravindra Jadeja for a massive, second-ball six, and it’s something he does often, finding the boundary as soon as he arrives at the crease.”He [Jitesh] is such an impact player,” Tom Moody, the former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach, said on ESPNcricinfo’s . “He is one of those rare players that seems to go from ball one and get after the bowling. Not many players can do that, they need a handful of balls, say two or three at least to feel the rhythm of the game. He is the player that has the rhythm before he goes out there. A great innings from him, a significant contribution around the success of that victory.”Dhawan is the only Kings player with more than 250 runs this season, but they have five batters who currently average in the 20s while striking at 140 or more.It’s a clear indication of how they approach innings, and it reflects in the fact that they have the joint-second-fewest 50-plus scores of any team this season (7), while putting up the joint-most 190-plus totals (5). And they’ve achieved all this without Jonny Bairstow.Sunday’s victory was a distillation of all that. It was only the second time in all T20s that a team had chased down 200 or more with fewer than five wickets in hand without any of their batters scoring a fifty.Intent right through the innings, and a reliance on a succession of small, impactful innings rather than big scores from one or two players. While there might be a element of Kings wanting to play this way, it’s also true that they might be forced to play this way, given that they have one of the weaker bowling attacks in the IPL. They may have scored three successive 200-plus totals, but they also happened to concede 200-plus totals in each of those games, with Lucknow Super Giants scoring an astonishing 257 earlier in the week.Kings’ bowling weaknesses, in short, force them to aim for well above par when they bat first, and to gun down big targets more often when they chase.Through a combination of design and circumstance, therefore, they’ve constructed a batting unit built around collective intent rather than individual brilliance, and it’s working fairly well for now. In tangible terms, it has brought Kings five wins from nine games, and it’s kept them very much in the running in the playoffs race.

At most times, Russell would have backed himself to face the final ball of a close chase, but here he had enough faith in Rinku’s abilities

Sreshth Shah09-May-20232:07

Dasgupta: Russell’s faith in Rinku reflects KKR’s confidence

Andre Russell has done the improbable with the bat for Kolkata Knight Riders for over half a decade. As long as Russell is in the middle, the possibilities are endless. When Russell is gone, so are KKR’s hopes.That’s one of the reasons why, possibly, Russell walks back looking frustrated, angry and disappointed when he gets out during a close finish. But against Punjab Kings on Monday evening, Russell did no such thing despite being run-out on the penultimate ball of the match. He was a picture of calm walking back after scoring 42 in 23 balls, even though KKR were one ball away from potentially being out of the playoffs race.That’s because Rinku Singh was still there, and on strike, for that last ball. Rinku did not disappoint Russell, or KKR, finishing the game with a four. It was a moment that not only displayed Rinku’s growing stature as a finisher but also the passing of the finisher’s baton in KKR.Related

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“In any other game, with any other batter, I’m not sure if I would run [a bye in the penultimate ball],” Russell told reporters after the match. “I’ve never really done those things before. I would back myself to bat the last delivery and get the job done. But when you have a guy like Rinku, who has been so successful in the last couple of overs for us, and when you have such a fearless player who has a shot to counter any delivery, I was definitely confident.”I gave him a hug and said, ‘listen, bring home the bacon for us; at the end of the day, we need you at this point’, and he said, ‘okay, big man, no worries’. Happy days.”Russell and Rinku had just got themselves set when Arshdeep Singh was tasked with bowling two of the last three overs. KKR needed 36 in 18, and even though Arshdeep conceded ten runs in the 18th over, one four from Rinku was a streaky one, and the bowler’s assortment of wide yorkers and short balls made it tough for the two batters to tee off.Then, with 26 needed off 12, all Arshdeep needed was for Sam Curran to leave enough runs for him to defend in the 20th. Russell looked to hurt Curran, and succeeded with six, six, dot, six in the space of four balls. That over went for 20, and the target of six in the last over made KKR overwhelming favourites.”Sam Curran was trying to bowl into my body so that I hit the big side of the boundary, that was their plan,” Russell said. “I hit him for two sixes over the big side but as a bowler, because I think like a bowler too, so I knew he wasn’t going to bowl in that area again. The short ball that he bowled, I missed out on it, but when he bowled the slower cutter into the wicket, I just gave myself that little room and just used my hands to get it over the field.”He didn’t have any third man, it was the short side, and that wasn’t part of their team plan. But when you conquer a team’s bowling plan, then their Plan B is in the batter’s zone most of the time. So T20 is tough and you have to make sure you, as bowlers and batters, stay calm in any situation.”But Arshdeep executed his plan perfectly for the first five balls of the last over.Russell was welcomed with a yorker, followed by a wide yorker that he could only slice behind square. Rinku then found a thigh-high full toss too tough to put away and Russell followed it up with a drive to cover for two. That made the equation two off two, and with Russell on strike, the penultimate delivery was high stakes.Arshdeep bowled a terrific wide yorker that was too good for Russell. He swung at it and missed as the ball bounced to the keeper. But Rinku had sprinted across to the other end to ensure he would face the last ball. Russell, slow to take off, was run-out, leaving KKR still needing two off the final ball.But Rinku on strike. The Eden crowd, which was until then cheering for Russell, started their “Rinku, Rinku, Rinku” chant.Arshdeep went with a leg-side plan for the final ball. The leg side was the shorter side and there was little chance of KKR’s batters making it back for two if the ball went there to a fielder. The bigger off-side region had big pockets for twos, so Arshdeep was not going to go there.Rinku Singh leaps in joy after hitting the winning boundary•BCCIKnowing all that, Rinku moved to the leg side even before Arshdeep delivered the ball. If Arshdeep bowled the ball he wanted to, it would have landed around leg and Rinku had the option of going inside out over cover for two. Instead, Arshdeep missed his length, his attempted leg-stump yorker becoming a thigh-high full toss, and Rinku swivelled a shot off his hips that went for four past fine leg. Like after his celebrations against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Rinku opened his helmet and ran towards the dug-out, with his team-mates mobbing him for his match-winning unbeaten 10-ball 21.”The key to Rinku’s performance is being very calm,” Russell said. “As a batter, you have to have an open mind and be relaxed. You can’t expect just a full-pitched delivery. You have to expect the slower ball, the yorker, the short ball at the head, and Rinku has a shot for every delivery. That’s the key to his success. His technique is very simple… and I’ve been encouraging him whenever I get a chance to talk to him to stay humble.”Because no matter how many people keep shouting ‘Russell, Russell, Russell’, I always just stay humble. Because when you get swell-headed, that’s when you lose it. He’s a great guy, I love him like a brother, and I hope he keeps doing what he’s doing.”

After years of seeing his name on scorecards, our correspondent watched him in action for the first time, and it was worth the wait

Shashank Kishore28-Jun-2023Going through Ranji Trophy scorecards can be exhausting. Especially if you’ve to look up the performances of players and teams you almost never get to watch. It can become an endless scroll of numbers next to names. This is why selectors and talent scouts often seek out match referees for detailed reviews of certain players on their radar.If you’re from Tripura, a team that has won a grand sum of nine Ranji Trophy games since it came into existence in 1985-86, you can pass under the radar more easily than most. But those who have pored over scorecards involving the team will be familiar with Manisankar Murasingh – Tripura’s highest wicket-taker and run-getter in first-class cricket.Related

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Murasingh, 30, like hundreds of others from the region, grind it out in anonymity, often in sub-par facilities. Adding to their woes is the weather in India’s Northeast, where it can rain non-stop for days together between June and October, a time when players would love to be tuning up for the season. That Murasingh has managed to hold it together for 14 seasons now speaks volumes of his resolve and skill.On Wednesday in Alur, I got to watch Murasingh in action for the first time, after years of seeing his name next to impressive numbers on scorecard after scorecard.Several questions gnaw at you at the top of his mark. How quick is he? What’s his action like? Is he a swing bowler or seam bowler? Is he skiddy? Can he hustle the batters? Over two sessions, blurry ideas formed through the perusal of all those scorecards come into focus, and you begin to see a picture of Murasingh the bowler.Murasingh bowls in the high 130s (kph), or so it seems. He bustles in gun-barrel straight, gets into his delivery stride with a small jump, and transfers his momentum into a smooth release and follow-through. He doesn’t swing the ball big. Or he didn’t, in his 20 overs on Wednesday. Instead, he relies on minute deviation off the deck. This is a skill he has learned over all his years in domestic cricket.Murasingh’s 5 for 42, his 13th five-for in first-class cricket, was one of the highlights of the opening day of the 2023 Duleep Trophy, which ushered in India’s new domestic season. In nondescript Alur, Murasingh quietly delivered as East Zone shot Central Zone out for 182 before they ended the day 32 for 2.In addition to his seam bowling, Murasingh is also an explosive lower-order batter•ESPNcricinfo LtdMurasingh’s wickets came in the classic modes: nicked off, caught and lbw. The one that gave him most satisfaction was his first, of the opener Vivek Singh, beating the batter with seam movement, getting the ball to nip away past his outside edge and hit off stump. It’s a delivery fast bowlers dream of. While whatever he did after that may not have matched the thrill of that wicket, his intensity hardly dropped. After the spell, he spoke of how he has kept himself match-ready through the off-season.”Unlike earlier, where I’d trial with IPL teams and get rejected for some reason after just one or two match simulations, I decided I had to train and play more in the summers,” Murasingh said. “Since 2015-16, I kept getting a few chances, but I didn’t go. After Covid, in 2021, I’ve been playing in the Minor Counties in England. In fact, until June 24, I was playing for Philadelphia Cricket Club in the Northeast Premier League in Durham. Bowling those long spells have been beneficial.”Murasingh doesn’t worry about the opportunities that haven’t come is way. He’s grateful for what he’s had. “Opportunities like these are gold dust for someone from the far east,” he says. “I don’t want to trade this experience for anything. I get that satisfaction from knowing many people from Tripura look up to me for inspiration.”Last September, when Murasingh was named in the India A squad for the one-dayers against New Zealand A at home, he was given a rousing reception by the Tripura chief minister, and hailed as a hero. “It’s very motivating, I look at it as reward for the hard work,” he says. “It’s been tough, but you can’t play for so many years without being dedicated.”Murasingh is a big fan of Yuvraj Singh, one of the reasons why he wanted to become an allrounder. His seam bowling is his biggest asset, but his explosive lower-order game has brought him 3308 first-class runs at an average of 26.67, with four centuries and 14 half-centuries. He has a T20 strike rate of 133.95. Shouldn’t he be a valuable proposition then?”I’ve never understood how all of it works,” he says. “I trialled with Mumbai Indians in 2019. This year, I went to trials organised by Gujarat Titans. It’s hard for me to see what traits they pick. If they gave me match-time, then I’d be in a better position to assess my shortcomings. But I’ve started putting a lot of work in during the off-season. Now, England stints have helped. Otherwise, I just do gym and running in the off-season. Club cricket has now started developing so there are chances to play. So that has made a bit of a difference. Otherwise, I play a bit of football.”Beyond the fun and games, Murasingh’s immediate goal is to bowl East Zone to the title. Then he’s hoping to be picked for the 50-overs Deodhar Trophy. “I’m due to fly back to England in early August to finish my commitments. I have six more games to play. Hopefully I can go there after Deodhar and come back for the [rest] of our domestic season with enough overs.”

He hasn’t reinvented the wheel just yet, but the last thing you can accuse Shan Masood of is sleepwalking through the role

Danyal Rasool02-Jan-2024They might have got there in their own colourful way, but perhaps serendipity has got Pakistan to the right place after all. Pakistan’s appointment of Shan Masood as Test captain wasn’t so much a carefully managed transition of an experienced player into a position of responsibility as it was throwing names at a wall and hoping one would stick.But that kind of al fresco decision making at least meant the appointment wasn’t the wrong way around, as most captaincy appointments are in cricket now. Many captains are often criticised for captaincy by autopilot, but the same charge could be levelled at the appointments themselves. Pakistan, for one, didn’t appoint Babar Azam as skipper, not because there was a long and promising history of strategic nous, but because he was comfortably the side’s best batter across formats, and didn’t need to worry about his spot in the side for the foreseeable future. Shan wasn’t appointed for the guarantee he had locked down a place in the team, but in spite of the fact that he never has.Related

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There can be plenty of cynicism around every aspect of Masood’s involvement in any aspect of Pakistan cricket, but perhaps only because that’s the easiest thing to do. The PCB didn’t manage Babar’s departure from the captaincy with great decorum – not that anyone expected them to – but in naming his successor, the thinking was fairly simple: appoint a captain who can be a good captain. And sometimes, that kind of simplicity is the highest form of sophistication.Masood wasn’t reinventing the wheel with the approach he brought to the role, but the last thing you could accuse him of is sleepwalking through the role. He had barely landed in Perth before he began to speak of the approach Pakistan needed to adopt to take on Australia, and, despite his soft-spoken, non-confrontational demeanour, he has been demanding it of his team all series. When Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq adopted the antithesis of that approach to score 74 runs in 36.2 overs, Shan charged down the wicket off the second ball he faced, tonking Nathan Lyon over long-on for four. It felt as much a message to his own side as it did to Australia.It is an approach that risks looking silly – as it has perhaps done with some of Masood’s dismissals, but as he said on the eve of the third Test, there is a risk-reward calculation that supersedes specific optics. Two expansive drives off fast bowlers in Perth to get out looked technically deficient, and dancing down the track to Lyon only to hole out in Melbourne appeared irresponsible.But across the two Tests, no other Pakistan player has two half-centuries, none of his team-mates have scored more runs and Mitchell Marsh aside, no player across both units can boast a higher strike rate. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-tracking numbers, only Travis Head – who has faced around half as many balls as Masood – has managed to exceed the Pakistan captain’s attacking shot percentage of 22.39% across the series. And his defensive shot percentage is significantly lower than everyone else’s at 30.85%; for all of Head’s belligerence, he defends over 37% of balls he faces.Masood’s Pakistan have made a point out of not hanging anyone to dry•Getty ImagesIt is something he has spoken of so frequently even if he was bashful about coming off as repetitive.”I’ll sound like a broken record but there are some things you have to do in Test cricket,” he said. “The first thing is to take 20 wickets; we had that box ticked [in Melbourne]. The second is the scoring rate. If you score at the significantly lower rate than your opposition like happened in Perth, where there was a difference of two runs an over at least, then you’ll be way behind in the game. We batted 100 overs and they batted 110. That’s not much of a difference but the scoring rate set us back quite a bit. Our target is to hopefully bat at a quicker rate and obviously bat a decent amount of overs too.”His cynics will argue about how likely it is that Pakistan bat the same number of overs if they’re scoring at higher run rates, and point to the irrefutable fact that he, like every Pakistan captain before him in 24 years, has overseen a series defeat in Australia. But being cynical about Masood is somewhat easier than winning Test matches in Australia. Few will disagree that Pakistan pushed Australia closer than most expected in Melbourne, and while that in itself may not guarantee this strategy’s long-term effectiveness, there is a serious attempt at problem-solving not always evident with Pakistan.It has also been evident in the way Pakistan’s fielding positions keep twitching and tinkering. Short legs have come in and gone out depending on the batter and the tone Pakistan have looked to set in the field. Marnus Labuschagne was most notably done in by squeezing him down the legside moments after Masood went to have a word with Shaheen Shah Afridi; Pakistan put in a leg slip and Afridi sent one down legside that he nicked off to the keeper. Against Marsh, Pakistan tried to smother him by bringing short midwicket up and bowling straighter. In Perth, when Australia threatened to get away on the first day, Pakistan put fielders in catching positions behind the stumps and bowled short, getting three cheap wickets towards the end of the day.Masood may not be the guy to read out the riot act in the dressing room, but ten years on and off with the national side, as well as many across the red-ball and franchise circuit, has exposed him to various ideas and multiple leaders.Masood fidgeting, tinkering and thinking, in pursuit of a solution he will eventually stumble upon•Getty Images”In 10 years, you play under a lot of captains and you learn a lot from different individuals,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from the captains I’ve played under, be them international, domestic, County or PSL. When you meet different characters, your horizons expand. But you need to bring your own individuality to the role as well.”The circumstances that he took over in meant this could have been one of those Pakistan tours where the dressing room becomes a toxic environment, and the fighting spirit disappears completely. But even with a severely depleted bowling line-up against what he called “the best Test side in the world”, there is little doubt that Pakistan are scrapping for every possible advantage, even if they come up short.Masood’s Pakistan have made a point out of not hanging anyone to dry. There was a protective wall around Abdullah Shafique after a Test where his spilled chances likely cost Pakistan a win. On the eve of the second Test, when Pakistan announced Sarfaraz Ahmed had been dropped for Mohammad Rizwan and he was asked about it, Masood began his response with a lengthy riposte defending Sarfaraz’s inclusion in the first place.

“There are ups and downs but you be there for people. It’s easy to reward a good player or praise them, but how you look after someone who’s not playing well or having a rough time is something that’s at the forefront of my mind as a captain”Masood on the importance of a unified front

It’s a philosophy he appears to have sworn by. “I believe as a captain, you need to stand up for your players, and for their wellbeing,” he said. “Sometimes you need to leave cricketing performance to the side. You need to care for and understand your players. Off and on the field.”Sometimes you have to take such decisions because you can only play 11 players and have 18 in a squad. If you don’t understand your players well you can end up making mistakes. My first thought is not to do anyone injustice. There are ups and downs but you be there for people. It’s easy to reward a good player or praise them, but how you look after someone who’s not playing well or having a rough time is something that’s at the forefront of my mind as a captain. It’s impossible to be everyone’s favourite; there will be people who won’t be happy with you, but you do whatever you can for someone.”Masood will never have the mass support his predecessor Babar enjoys, or the lengthy, unencumbered run Misbah-ul-Haq got with his Test side. It is hard to say where Pakistan, and Masood, will be by the time Pakistan play their next Test series, which could potentially be another 10 months away.But until then, he’s doing with the armband what he’s always done with bat in hand: fidgeting, tinkering and thinking, in pursuit of a solution he will eventually stumble upon. And if this doesn’t work, he’ll always have one more thing he can try. He always does.