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Scotland came close to making history, but the power and depth in Australia’s batting ultimately proved to be too much

Andrew McGlashan16-Jun-20244:16

Finch on Australia’s six drops: They were uncharacteristically sloppy

Scotland could almost touch a history-making moment. Australia’s asking rate was approaching 13 going into the final seven overs of their chase in what, until then, had been an underwhelming performance. But Marcus Stoinis, with help from Travis Head and later Tim David, shattered their dreams and in turn left England breathing a sigh of relief in Antigua, the result securing their Super Eight berth in the T20 World Cup 2024.Stoinis, who mixed deftness and power in another impressive performance in what is becoming an outstanding tournament for him, put it back in Australia’s favour with a 25-ball half-century while Head turned on the afterburners after compiling a somewhat sedate 45-ball fifty with three sixes off consecutive legitimate deliveries.Although both departed, Australia entered the last over needing just five but there was one final twist. With three needed off four balls, David was dropped at deep midwicket by Chris Sole and with that went Scotland’s last hope. The next ball was sent into the stands.For three-quarters of the contest, Scotland had been outstanding. Their platform was laid by a blistering display from Brandon McMullen on one of the better batting surfaces of the tournament so far. Australia, who shelled six chances in a poor fielding display, clawed it back in the second 10 overs but in their powerplay were held to 36 for 2 by some excellent bowling. However, ultimately the depth and power of their batting order was too much leaving a host of emotions across two islands.

Deftness and power from Stoinis

Australia could not get up or ahead of the asking rate through the first half of the innings. When Glenn Maxwell, who had struck one six over long-on, was defeated by a wonderful delivery from Mark Watt, which pitched on off stump and straightened, Scotland were buoyant and there was a sense that Australia could pay for being off the pace.However, Stoinis got away from his first ball with the help of a misfield, square cutting one of Watt’s 24-yard deliveries. So often known for sheer brute force, he then deftly reverse-swept Michael Leask from the first delivery of the next over and looked on his game. Still, the requirement had become a demanding 87 off 39 balls when Stoinis took down Leask with a reverse-hit six over point then another down the ground.When Head slammed three sixes off Safyaan Sharif the tide had firmly turned; at one stage a series of 12 legitimate deliveries brought 46 runs. Sharif did strike back to have Head taken at long-off, but Australia had given themselves breathing room.Brandon McMullen struck six sixes in his knock•ICC/Getty Images

Scotland’s Bazball

Having been put in, it took Scotland a couple of overs to size up conditions and midway through the third they were still to reach double figures. That changed when McMullen lofted Nathan Ellis stylishly over long off. Even better was to follow as he used his feet against Mitchell Starc and flayed him into the stands over cover.When Adam Zampa was introduced he showed excellent footwork to send him for six, then drive through the off side against a shorter delivery, with another brace of sixes coming off Ashton Agar in the eighth over as he brought up a 26-ball fifty.At the other end, George Munsey had laboured somewhat to 4 off 10 balls but then followed the lead of McMullen by taking on Glenn Maxwell’s over inside the powerplay with 14 off the last three balls. He swept Maxwell for another six before dragging a wider delivery into the hands of deep midwicket next ball. From 92 for 1 after 8.5 overs, Scotland will look back with some regret that the remaining 11.1 overs only brought 88 runs. A large amount of the credit for that has to go to a pair of skillful death overs from Ellis who continued to impress.

Australia’s hat-trick of drops

Australia had an uncharacteristically poor day in the field. None of the chances were simple, but in all they missed six catches – the most in a Men’s T20 World Cup match according to ESPNcricinfo data. At one stage, they put down three in consecutive balls: Zampa palming Matthew Cross’ pull over the fine leg rope, Mitchell Marsh spilling a low one at cover and then Matthew Wade being unable to take a glove down the leg side when Cross swept at Maxwell. Earlier, there had been two put down in Starc’s second over when Marsh couldn’t hold a chance above his head at mid-on and Head grassed a tough one at cover from McMullen.Mitchell Marsh wrings his hand after dropping a tough catch•Getty Images

Agar ends long wait

By the time the game ended, a lot had happened since Agar struck in the opening over of the contest to remove Michael Jones. He was playing his first T20I since the previous World Cup in October 2022 as Australia had one eye on potential match-ups in the Super Eight.”Deep in a tournament, when the same grounds are being used a lot, we’re starting to see some wickets that are starting to show a bit of fatigue in the West Indies,” national selector George Bailey told reporters. “A lot of the guys we’ve got in the group have got a bunch of cricket behind them, either through the IPL most recently or have played quite a bit in this team.”But Ash [Agar], just coming off his injuries and the way we’ve structured up when he has been available, he just hasn’t been able to get much game time, as much as he’d probably like…just getting that opportunity in the middle to be able to put that into place, for Mitch to be able to navigate what it’s like with a number of spinners in the team.”Australia ended up using 12 overs of spin with Agar, Maxwell and Zampa all bowling their full complement. They will be back in St Lucia to face India in their final Super Eight fixture. For a while it appeared Scotland would be joining them but that proved agonisingly out of reach.

The focus is on winning the trophy, but the players haven’t lost sight of the bigger picture

Andrew McGlashan in Sydney06-Mar-2020Sunday at the MCG will not be an ordinary day or an ordinary cricket match. It remains to be seen if the world-record crowd for a women’s sporting event is broken, but the match-up of Australia against India means there’s a great chance of it happening – after more than two years of hype and talk, the most anticipated day in the history of women’s cricket has almost arrived.”Thank goodness it’s here,” Australia captain Meg Lanning said with a smile in the aftermath of the tense rain-affected semi-final against South Africa in Sydney.

No rain threat for World Cup final

After all the rain-related drama of the semi-finals in Sydney, there doesn’t seem to be any such concern for the final at the MCG, with Melbourne forecast to be dry and sunny on Sunday. As the southern hemisphere is now heading into autumn, the evening may get a little chilly but there is very little threat of rain. And, unlike the semi-finals, there is a reserve day for the final on Monday.

For the two teams involved, holding aloft the trophy on Sunday evening will dominate their thoughts over the next many hours, but even those involved in the cut and thrust of elite sport can see the bigger picture to what will take place in Melbourne.”It was about showing there’s a pathway, there’s female role models out there for young girls to look up to, and really creating and inspiring young people to be involved,” Lanning said. “Not just young people in Australia, but around the world, that cricket is a really powerful sport and platform.”I think it’s been a great tournament so far. There’s been amazing games. There’s really great people involved. It seems like it has sort of fallen into place a little bit, and Sunday is going to be massive. We’re really pleased we get the opportunity to be a part of it. So hopefully there is 90,000 people there. Everything’s been done that could possibly be done, and we’re just really pumped we get to be out in the middle and play in front of everyone.” The Australians have seemingly accepted that the sporting cliché of treating a big match as just another game probably needs to go out of the window. “Definitely not,” Megan Schutt said when asked if would be like a normal game. “It is just another cricket match in a way but at the same time this country needs a bit of joy and to want to set a new world record is a cool thing to be a part of. Hopefully we can play our best cricket but if that doesn’t happen so be it.””I’m excited about the opportunity to be part of a pretty life-changing experience for the global game,” Beth Mooney said. “Cricket’s been a part of the Australian public’s life for a very long time and they have a knack of getting behind us, when there is adversity thrown at us and things like that so it’s really exciting to think the MCG could be full of people, some cheering for us, some cheering for India, but also cheering for the game and wanting to be part of something pretty special.”Delissa Kimmince will be the one surviving member of Australia’s 2009 World Cup side, the last time they staged a home women’s tournament, to take the field if she plays on Sunday – after the injury that ended Ellyse Perry’s tournament – and admitted her mind was drawn to the comparisons. She played two matches in the 2009 event, where Australia did not make the final, but this time against South Africa, she bowled her three overs for just 16 runs and claimed the key wicket of Mignon du Preez.”I was only thinking that today, it’s been nearly 12 years since that World Cup. It wasn’t a great one for me, bad memories all round,” she said. “When I look back on my career, I’m very grateful for these moments and what I’ve been able to achieve, the resilience I’ve had to show – I’ve had injuries, I’ve lost contracts – to come back and play a crucial role tonight it makes it all that more worthwhile and enjoyable.Beth Mooney steers into the off side•Getty Images

“At the end of the day, I’m just grateful to be here. Sunday will be a great opportunity, I have no doubt they’ll be a lot of nerves, but you just have to go out and enjoy those moments – they only come once in a lifetime.”As captain, part of Lanning’s job would be balancing the need to embrace the occasion while also keeping a focus on what happens in the middle. “It will be different, no doubt about that,” she said. “I’ve been to the MCG when there’s 100,000 fans there, and I’ve been in the stands, and the atmosphere is absolutely incredible, and I’ve sort of had goosebumps watching. To think that we’ll be out in the middle experiencing that, that’s going to be really exciting and such a great thing to be a part of.”Even the captains who had their hopes shattered on Thursday – one by rain and another by defeat – were able to acknowledge the larger impact of the tournament.”For girls, it’s an equal billing to the boys which has been outstanding,” Heather Knight said after England were eliminated following a washout against India. “Obviously today is disappointing but it won’t take too much shine off where the sport has gone. And you see if the money’s put into publicising it and putting it out there, that people do want to come watch it.”South Africa’s Dane van Niekerk said, “I know it’s going to be a cracking final. I wish I could be there in front of 90,000 people. I really hope you get the 90,000 people. Women’s cricket deserves it. It’s been there for a long time. It’s now the time for us, and obviously women’s sport, to rise.”

Siraj won’t return for the last rites in Hyderabad due to quarantine protocols

PTI20-Nov-2020India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who is in Australia with the Indian squads for the upcoming four-Test series, lost his father Mohammed Ghouse on Friday in India. According to a BCCI release, Siraj was offered the option of flying back home but the fast bowler decided to stay with the Indian squad in Australia.Ghouse was 53 and lost the battle to a lung ailment. He was instrumental in Siraj’s growth as a cricketer as he supported his son’s ambitions with his limited resources. The Indian squad, currently in the middle of a 14-day quarantine period, has been training in isolation on the outskirts of Sydney after arriving on November 13 from the UAE after the IPL.Siraj, 26, has played one ODI and three T20Is so far and is part of the Test squad in Australia. He will be the fifth pace-bowling option along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini. Ishant Sharma, currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, is also expected to join the squad ahead of the first Test starting on December 17, once he is declared fit.In a video posted on social media by the BCCI on Tuesday, Siraj and Shami were seen bowling with the pink and red balls to captain Virat Kohli and other batsmen.Siraj recently represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL to take 11 wickets in nine games, including a match-winning 3 for 8 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

With two needed off the final ball, Muzarabani managed to get an inside edge that beat the wicketkeeper for a one-wicket win

Abhimanyu Bose07-Dec-2023Brilliant catches, dramatic shifts in momentum and a lucky inside edge – Zimbabwe’s last-ball win against Ireland had it all in a game that had you on the edge of the seat for the last few overs.Sikandar Raza put on a clinic with both bat and ball to lead Zimbabwe to victory in the first ever international match under lights at the Harare Sports Club and a 1-0 series lead against Ireland.The pace trio of Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and debutant Trevor Gwandu would be hailed as equally important heroes in their dressing room, but not for what they did with the ball.Raza picked up three wickets to restrict Ireland to 147 before navigating the chase with a composed 42-ball 65 with wickets falling at the other end and some heated exchanges from Ireland fielders. He himself fell in the 19th over – thanks to a diving catch from Paul Stirling at cover – with Zimbabwe needing 11 off 9 and all the established batters back in the dugout.The equation went down to nine off the final over, and when Ngarava and Gwandu managed only three runs off the first three balls, Ireland seemed to have edged ahead. But Ngarava found a boundary with a leg-side swipe to make it two needed off two.Sounds simple? Well, not simple enough.The momentum shifted again when Mark Adair ran back from short third to hold on to a blinder, landing on his neck after a full sumersault in the process and walked off. That left Muzarabani on strike, with two runs needed off the last ball. But to Ireland’s dismay, the No. 11 got an inside edge that beat Lorcan Tucker to give Zimbabwe the two runs they needed to seal a dramatic win.

Raza steers the chase

Ireland dominated the powerplay with both bat and ball, but Raza was key in bringing Zimbabwe back in the game in both innings.
Defending 147, Ireland started tightly with the ball and Tadiwanashe Marumani was out early, chipping Barry McCarthy to mid-on. Josh Little then had Sean Williams chopping on in next over to put Zimbabwe further under the pump.Raza helped inject some momentum into Zimbabwe’s innings with back-to-back boundaries to end the powerplay. When spin came on, Wessly Madhevere reverse-swept George Dockrell for four but was out after one ball, exposing his stumps and missing his scoop.Raza and Ryan Burl kept Zimbabwe ticking, and the momentum seemed to shift in the 12th over when Raza deposited Gareth Delany over midwicket and Burl powered a drive past long-on in a 13-run over.Josh Little kept Ireland in the game with an economical spell•Sportsfile via Getty Images

But Craig Young threw a spanner in the works with two wickets in two overs. He bounced Burl out, with the batter top-edging a pull shot for Tucker to grab. Young struck again when debutant Brian Bennett ended up hitting aerially towards mid-off and Harry Tector completed a stunning take running to his left and leaping to pluck the ball out one-handed.Raza seized control back, getting to his 12th T20I fifty before stepping it up. After top-edging Adair for four, he hit a six over fine leg off McCarthy to start off a productive 17th over. Clive Madande pulled McCarthy for a six and four to make it a 20-run over to put bring the asking rate down to run-a-ball.At that point, Zimbabwe looked set to see Ireland off without much trouble, but Little castled Madande before Adair dismissed Luke Jongwe and Raza in an excellent penultimate over.

Balbirnie gets Ireland off to a flyer

Andy Balbirnie got Ireland off to a rollicking start, hitting Ngarava for three fours – including two gorgeous cover drives – in the first over.
He then took Muzarabani on, slapping him over point for a four and a six. Stirling then welcomed Gwandu to international cricket by hitting him for three back-to-back fours as Ireland raced to 38 for no loss in three overs.Muzarabani then slowed Ireland’s innings down with some off-pace deliveries. Ngarava reaped the benefit of the pressure created by the quiet over as he returned to trap Stirling in front with a low full toss.

Spin squeeze from Raza and co.

Raza brought himself on immediately after the powerplay and made instant impact by knocking Balbirnie over with a ball that spun in to beat his sweep shot and take his leg stump.Ireland struggled to keep the tempo up against spin as Williams got in the act. He beat the batters with two beauties in his first over – the tenth of the innings – and got in the wickets column in his next as he had Tucker caught at backward point. Raza then picked up his second wicket of the night by bowling Curtis Campher.Only 53 runs came off the eight consecutive overs of spin after the powerplay, and the pressure told as Muzarabani castled Dockrell with a clever offcutter to leave Ireland on 108 for 5 with five overs to go.Raza had his third when he trapped Tector in front with a sidearm delivery that pitched on leg stump, and looked to be sliding down, before straightening to pin him on the front pad. Adair was the next to go, trying to go for a big shot downtown off Ngarava only to pick out long-on.Muzarabani’s slower variations brought him another wicket off the next over with McCarthy offering a simple catch to point. Delany helped Ireland go past 140 with a 20-run final-over, which saw him hit two sixes down the ground – including one that hit the roof.

Derbyshire’s Alex Thomson continues impressive match to claim maiden ten-wicket haul

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2024Spin continued to dominate proceedings on the second day of the Vitality County Championship match between Glamorgan and Derbyshire in Cardiff.Mason Crane took four wickets on his Glamorgan debut as Derbyshire were bowled out for 198, 39 runs behind on first innings. Wayne Madsen top scored for Derbyshire with 63 but his departure brought about a collapse of five wickets for 33 runs.Alex Thomson was once again the star man with the ball for Derbyshire as he secured his first 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Glamorgan had reached 74 for 4 at the close, a lead of 113 with six second innings wickets in hand.With the pitch offering significant assistance to both seam and spin bowlers the destination of this game will depend on how well Glamorgan bat in the first session of day three.Having resumed on 46 for 1, Derbyshire while placed to get past Glamorgan’s total and they started the day with captain David Lloyd reaching fifty from 65 balls against his former county. He was the first wicket to fall on day two when he was trapped lbw by Crane for 60.Harry Came made a patient 25 from 113 balls but he never really found runs easy to come by on a pitch that is slow enough that batters had to take risks to score quickly. He was dismissed by James Harris for the second of his three wickets in Derbyshire’s innings. Harris conceded runs at less than 1.5 an over, conceding just three boundaries, one of which was an edge past the slips as he finished with figures of 3 for 28.As was the case in Glamorgan’s first innings, it was the spinner who was the most consistent threat with Crane starring with the ball on his Glamorgan debut. Figures 4 for 60 was his best return in first-class cricket since his five-wicket haul against Lancashire for Hampshire in 2021.While Crane was a consistent threat, it was the seamers who took the heart out of the Derbyshire batting line-up with Dan Douthwaite and Mir Hamza picking up wickets.While Madsen was at the crease it felt as is Derbyshire could claim a first-innings lead but when he was well caught in the covers by sub fielder Asa Tribe off Douthwaite it began the collapse that prevented Derbyshire eclipsing Glamorgan’s first innings total.Crane was brought back into the attack after a short break and claimed the last three Derbyshire wickets as scoring became increasingly difficult against the aging Kookaburra ball. When the last Derbyshire wicket fell on the stoke of the tea break Glamorgan had secured a 39-run lead.When their second innings got underway the Glamorgan openers once again found Thomson extremely difficult to face. Having claimed career-best figures of 7 for 65 in the first innings he opened the bowling and had two wickets in two balls. Both Zain-ul-Hassan and Sam Northeast were dismissed lbw, the latter for a golden duck.Thomson claimed his 10th wicket of the match when he bowled Kiran Carlson for 11 before Sam Conners bowled Billy Root for 32 to put this game into the balance heading into the third day.

Slender prospect of result thwarted by Glamorgan’s go-slow second innings

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2024Leicestershire remain the only side in either division of the Vitality County Championship to neither win a match nor suffer a defeat after their match with Glamorgan at the Uptonsteel County Ground ended in an almost inevitable stalemate, with Glamorgan 157 for four in their second innings, 201 runs in front with Sam Northeast 41 not out.No team has been promoted with fewer than five wins since the two-division system was introduced in 2000, yet after seven of the 14 fixtures in this season’s competition Leicestershire’s unbeaten record has been enough to keep them in third place in the Division Two table, despite a zero in their wins column.The wet spring has led to a scarcity of positive results across the board and rain took its toll on this match, too, particularly on day three, although periods of stultifyingly low scoring on a slow pitch did not help. Five wickets each for Glamorgan’s Timm van der Gugten and Leicestershire’s Scott Currie and a century for Currie’s team-mate Peter Handscomb were the highlights.Glamorgan’s overnight lead of 58 with one wicket down did not look a particularly promising starting point if the match was to end in any result other than a draw and the slow progress of the opening hour did nothing to alter that perception.After a long wait for the day’s first boundary, extended by a 20-minute interruption while a shower passed through, Marnus Labuschagne began to get things moving but a couple of wickets before lunch provided a semblance of encouragement for Leicestershire, whose ambition at this stage was to bowl Glamorgan out and hope there was still time to overhaul whatever lead they had managed to chisel out.Scott Currie, Leicestershire’s stand-out bowler in this match, picked up a wicket that looked a tad fortunate as Eddie Byrom was given out leg before but there was no good fortune about Ben Mike’s dismissal of Labuschagne, however, the right-armer bowling the Australian with his second ball, one that nipped back to pass between bat and pad and hit just below the top of off stump.Two overs after lunch, Mike removed Kiran Carlson too, the batter perhaps still mindful of the painful effects of being struck in the lower abdomen moments before when he went back in his crease to a delivery that also came back, this time hitting middle. At that point, Glamorgan were effectively 135 for four, with 62 overs left in the day.It opened up a small window of opportunity for the home side, although it had to be borne in mind that they were one seamer short with Tom Scriven injured on day one had no front line spinner anyway, and when Chris Cooke and Sam Northeast guided Glamorgan to 132 for four when more rain arrived before just before three o’clock, a lead of 176.Cooke and Northeast extended their partnership to 66 when play resumed after an early tea, at which point more gathering rain clouds and the very rare sighting of Australian opener Marcus Harris bowling in a first-class match signalled the direction in which the contest was drifting.Harris had bowled only 16 overs in his 13-year career and was left on 99 balls delivered in first-class cricket – still looking for his maiden wicket – when the skies opened again.The 31-year-old Western Australian can claim, though, that he always bowls against Glamorgan, having sent down one over against them last year for Gloucestershire, his only other over to date in the County Championship in his only other appearance against the Welsh county.

Senior batter vows to support Markram in the role; wants to make an impact on and off the field with the youngsters in the squad

Firdose Moonda20-Mar-2023David Miller has pledged to throw his support behind South Africa’s new T20I captain Aiden Markram even as he acknowledged he hoped he would be considered for the job.”I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested,” Miller said, ahead of South Africa’s second ODI against West Indies in Potchefstroom. “I’ve really enjoyed the journey I’ve had with the Proteas and the experience that I’ve got. The fact that I am not captain, I am most certainly not bitter or anything towards anyone. I want to put my best foot forward for the team and support Aiden in that role.”Miller has been playing international cricket for 12 years and previously captained South Africa in matches against Pakistan, England and Ireland. He has also led Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Barbados Royals and Paarl Royals in T20 leagues and was considered one of the frontline candidates for the job Temba Bavuma stood down from when he was appointed Test captain.Related

• Aiden Markram ready to fulfil his destiny

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But Markram, a former South African Under-19 captain who won the age-group World Cup, and current captain of the SA20 champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, was preferred. There were no announcements regarding a vice-captain.”He is an extremely great leader and he has got a lot of maturity and a calmness about him,” Miller said of Markram. “And that just moves throughout the change room. It’s a great option and with Rob (Walter) coming in as the new (white-ball) coach, they are going to form a great combination. I am there to support the guys in whatever they need from me.”Crucially, Miller’s experience in the middle-order will come in handy. South Africa were without him for their ODI series opener against West Indies (as he was returning from the PSL) and fell 48 runs short chasing 336 on Saturday. They also had three batting debutants Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs – none of whom were able to stay at the crease long enough to help Bavuma who was playing an incredible innings.Miller is eager to help the new players make better decisions on the field. “It’s great to see the young guys coming in and getting a taste of international cricket,” he said. “It’s really healthy with the standard that we’ve got and it’s a matter of time before all these new guys come in and start performing at their best. I just want to make the impact that I can on and off the field; for the new guys in the squad to feed off my experience and learning. I am always learning myself; learning from them as well. The young guys have some different thought processes when they bat and bowl, so for me it’s just to boost the guys on the field, recognise moments in the game that I have seen more often than they have, keep that communication throughout the game and keep the guys nice and calm.”South Africa can level the series with a win in Potchefstroom on Tuesday they move on to the three T20Is that round out West Indies’ visit.Then, the last and biggest test of the summer looms. South Africa face Netherlands – who booted them out of the T20 World Cup in November – in two must-win World Cup Super League ODIs. As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier in the month. Cricket South Africa have held all their international stars back from the IPL’s opening three days in order to compete in these matches. They will only fly out on the evening of April 2, the day of the last match against Netherlands.That means Miller will miss Gujarat Titans’ opening match against Chennai Super Kings but will arrive in India in time for the second match against Delhi Capitals on April 4 – though his availability is likely to depend on any travel fatigue.”They (Titans) were really upset. It’s always a big thing playing in Ahmedabad. I am a bit disappointed to be missing that but to put on the green and gold has always been a huge privilege and honour and we have got some work to do in those two games against Netherlands so I think having a strong team – the best squad that we can pick – is definitely the way forward. I will be missing one game so whether I’m somewhat disappointed or not, the process has taken place.”Unlike last year, where CSA gave the players the choice of going to the IPL or staying home for Tests against Bangladesh, this year, through the memorandum of understanding with the South African Cricketers’ Association which gives them the right to keep players available for the national team, the board made the decision for them.”We weren’t given an option in any way,” Miller said. “Be that as it may, we’ve got our best squad on the park and we’ve got a lot of work to do in those two games so it will be nice to be able to focus on that.”

With some big names missing on both sides, can New Zealand take advantage of India’s relatively inexperienced batting?

Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Nov-20211:13

Wasim Jaffer picks his India XI

Big Picture

They’re the top two teams in the ICC Test rankings. They recently contested the World Test Championship final. One team has won each of their last three meetings, but all three Tests were played in conditions that negated the other team’s biggest point of difference, their spin bowling.India now have the chance to play New Zealand in their own conditions. New Zealand now have the chance to prove they aren’t just WTC champions but also the best all-conditions Test team in the world.

Watch live cricket on ESPN+ in the US

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This should be one of the most eagerly anticipated series of recent times, but just look at who won’t be lining up in Kanpur even though they’re fully fit: Kohli, Rohit, Pant, Bumrah, Shami, Boult, de Grandhomme. It’s the reality of these times. There’s endless, wall-to-wall cricket, most of it within biosecure bubbles, and, at some point, everyone needs a break.It won’t have the star power it might otherwise command, but this still promises to be an enthralling series. After an England tour during which India’s XI mostly had room only for one of them, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be back doing what they do best, and their threat is likely to be magnified by the presence of Axar Patel in a three-man spin attack.The challenge that this India attack – the aforementioned spinners plus their quicks – presents in Indian conditions may well be among the biggest Test cricket has thrown at batters through its history. New Zealand, though, have quality and experience running through their top five, and in Kane Williamson a world-class force whose record in India doesn’t reflect his immense skill against spin.While it isn’t yet clear what shade of subcontinental this Green Park surface will be, it’ll be of a kind that New Zealand haven’t experienced for quite a while. As good as their fast bowlers are, their magnificent recent records have owed quite a bit to the green carpets that have been rolled out for them wherever they’ve gone. Their last nine Tests have all been played either at home or in England, and Kyle Jamieson, who has played all his eight Tests in this period, has a bowling average of – wait for it – 14.17.How well he, Neil Wagner and Tim Southee – who has an outstanding record in Asia but hasn’t played in India since 2012 – adapt to Indian pitches might hold as much of a key to how many WTC points New Zealand take home from this tour as the performance of their spinners. On the latter front New Zealand might be better equipped than at any time since the days of Daniel Vettori, with Ajaz Patel having played significant roles in Test wins in Abu Dhabi (twice) and Colombo, and with Will Somerville having featured alongside him in two of those triumphs.And while India will start as heavy favourites as they always do at home, their batting line-up won’t wear its usual impregnable look, with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant absent; with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane potentially rusty in addition to not having been in the best of form for close to two years; and with one or potentially two debutants set to feature.In this line-up’s inexperience might lie New Zealand’s biggest opportunity.Form guide

India WLWDL (last five Tests, most recent first)

New Zealand WWDWWTim Southee has a fantastic record in Asia•PA Photos/Getty Images

In the spotlight

The last time New Zealand made a full tour of India, Ajinkya Rahane scored a career-best 188 in the third Test and lifted his average to 51.37 after 29 matches. Now, after 78 Tests, that number has dropped below 40, and a number of young, hungry middle-order batters are breathing down his neck. Against that backdrop, and as the stand-in captain and experienced pillar in a largely inexperienced top six, this could be a very important Test in his career.Ajaz Patel comes into this series with 13 wickets at 29.61 against Pakistan in the UAE, and nine wickets at 26.88 in Sri Lanka. Those are excellent numbers, but bowling in India, as even Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralidaran discovered, isn’t the same as it is in the rest of Asia. It’s the biggest test for a visiting spinner, but if he can bowl a lot of overs and bowl them with control, the rest of the New Zealand attack will have an axis to bowl around.

Team news

Rahane has confirmed Shreyas Iyer will make his debut on Thursday. He hasn’t ruled out playing another debutant in Suryakumar Yadav as well, though, with India not yet revealing if they will play five specialist batters – as they have done in most of their recent home Tests – or six. They may have a difficult decision to make on which seamer to leave out, with a third being unlikely at a venue not reputed to offer too much pace or carry.India (probable): 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Axar Patel/Suryakumar Yadav, 10 and 11 two out of Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma.Related

• KL Rahul's injury shifts focus on to Pujara and Rahane

• Suryakumar replaces injured Rahul in India squad

• Shreyas Iyer to make Test debut in Kanpur vs New Zealand

• NZ's selection question: who will open alongside Latham?

• How do NZ's spinners stack up for the India challenge?

The big question for New Zealand is the composition of their attack – two spinners or three, and if two, which two; and if only two seamers, which one to leave out. Will Young seems likely to take the opening slot vacated by Devon Conway’s injury, with Tom Blundell taking the keeping gloves in the first Test of the post-BJ Watling era.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner/Kyle Jamieson, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Will Somerville, 11 Ajaz Patel.

Pitch and conditions

Ashwin and Jadeja shared 16 wickets between them the last time India met New Zealand in a Test match in Kanpur. In his pre-match press conference, Rahane didn’t go into a whole lot of detail about what he expected from this Green Park pitch, but he made it clear that India, like every other team in the WTC, would look to “make the most of home advantage”. It would be no surprise, therefore, if both teams picked three spinners.

Stats and trivia

• This will be New Zealand’s fourth Test match in Kanpur, making Green Park their most visited Test venue in India. They have played five Tests each in Mumbai and Hyderabad and four in Chennai, but those games have been divided among multiple grounds.
• New Zealand have won just two of their 34 Tests in India so far: in Nagpur in 1969-70 and in Mumbai in 1988-89.
• R Ashwin needs five wickets to go past Harbhajan Singh’s tally of 417 and become India’s most prolific offspinner in Test cricket.
• Umesh Yadav is four wickets short of becoming the fifth Indian fast bowler after Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma to pick up 100 wickets in home Tests.
• If Kyle Jamieson plays and picks up four wickets, he will become the joint second-quickest to 50 Test wickets among bowlers to have made their debuts in this millennium. Vernon Philander got there in seven Tests, while R Ashwin and Yasir Shah took nine Tests each to reach the landmark.

Quotes

“When we play on spin-friendly wickets, it is a challenge even for Indian batsmen. But as batsmen once you are in you have to make it count. It is a challenge and we accept that. We are not bothered about our runs, but as a team we want to win each and every game.”
“I’ve got Wags (Neil Wagner) and Timmy (Tim Southee) here, so that’ll be good to bounce ideas of them, to get their expertise on how to bowl here. It’s certainly going to be a different challenge to what we get back home but really looking forward to it.”