Not everything came off for England in Brisbane but Joe Root was a captain with a bag full of ideas

George Dobell24-Nov-2017He always said he’d do things his way and, at the Gabba, Joe Root has shown us how.With his softly-spoken manner and boyish features – that wispy beard must have taken longer to develop than High Speed 2 – there might be a temptation to underestimate the steel of Root.But beneath that gentle exterior there is a leader emerging who is prepared to defy convention and think originally. He has helped developed an environment, too, where this team is relaxed yet focused; a stark contrast to the nervousness of 2013-14. He has started this tour – as a leader at least – very well.Root’s influence was most obvious at the start of the Australia innings. Within moments, he had pushed a sweeper out on to the point boundary to frustrate David Warner.Negative? Who cares. Warner could have the odd single but the boundaries he loves were denied him. Before long his frustration showed and he snatched at a short-arm pull. Dawid Malan, cunningly placed at a shortish mid-wicket, took the catch. It was the third time Warner had been dismissed playing the shot in the last couple of Ashes series, though the first time England had set such a field for it. A result of smart planning and disciplined bowling.By then, Root had already introduced Moeen Ali into the attack. Appreciating that Usman Khawaja has a grim record against spin, Moeen came on in just the ninth over and in place of James Anderson. Within a couple of overs, Moeen had his man: Khawaja playing for turn that never came.Some of these plans were devised in a meeting between Root and the team’s interim bowling coach, Shane Bond. Using data provided by ECB analysts, they identified where each Australian batsman scored their runs, where they struggled and devised a plan. This was then passed on to the bowlers at a meeting a few days before the Test.How England’s seamers bowled on the second day•ESPNcricinfo LtdThere’s an irony here. Not so long ago an England coach was hounded in the belief – the largely mistaken belief – that he was too reliant on data. Not for the first time, we were reminded of the virtues of such homework.Not everything England have tried in Brisbane has worked. Despite all their hours of toil with the bat, England were unable to capitalise on the foundation of 246 for 4 in their first innings. The fragility of their tail – it has a hint of diplodocus about it – and the admirable persistence of the Australian attack meant they were held to a total that was probably at least 50 short of minimum par on a sluggish, out-of-character Gabba surface.The loss of three wickets for four runs, and 6 for 56, was an infuriating echo of a recurring failing. Trevor Bayliss talked, ahead of the series, of the need for the batsmen to “score 160s not 60s” yet here they lost four between the scores of 38 and 83.But that doesn’t mean the tactic was wrong. By forcing Australia’s bowlers into a fourth session, England gave themselves every chance to exploit an attack containing just three seamers. And, by the time Malan top-edged a hook to end his excellent fifth-wicket stand with Moeen Ali, it looked as if they were nearly there. The pace of the seamers had dropped just a touch and, had they been able to bat for another 30 minutes or so, Steve Smith might have started to struggle for options. That Australia stayed in the game speaks volumes for the persistence – and fitness – of Pat Cummins, in particular, and the effectiveness of the spinner, Nathan Lyon.

Root knows he doesn’t have the bowlers to blast Australia out or batsmen to counterattack

It was similar when Smith batted. With the score on 4 for 76, there might have been a temptation to attack Smith in conventional fashion. Instead, Moeen bowled to Smith with four men on the boundary – testing his patience, prodding at his ego – while James Anderson bowled at him with a leg slip, one conventional slip, two men out for the hook and a short mid-wicket. Smith went, at times, more than an hour without a boundary, but he responded with a wonderfully patient, responsible innings that has kept his side in the match.”He is an outstanding player,” Anderson said afterwards. “His record speaks for itself. None of our plans have worked for him so far but we have loads.”Maybe, had an edge from Shaun Marsh on 9 gone to hand – Alastair Cook appeared just a little slow to get down to a desperately tough chance – England may have made further inroads. As it was, Stuart Broad bowled with two short mid-offs, a short cover and two short mid-ons, but the batsmen held firm.If England had an express fast bowler or a spinner like Shane Warne, they would no doubt have attacked in a more conventional fashion. If the conditions had offered more in the air or off the seam, we might have seen three slips and a gully.But you have to play the hand you’re dealt, not the hand you wish you had been dealt. And Root knows he doesn’t have the bowlers to blast Australia out or batsmen to counterattack. Not on this surface, anyway. England have played intelligent, mature cricket and, after two days of this match, there’s nothing between the sides.England captains of the recent past have not been like this. Both Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss were quite formulaic though, in Strauss’ case, he had the players to justify it. You could, however, predict the bowling changes and fielding positions with remarkable accuracy.Root doesn’t have the option of Graeme Swann at his best. He knows, too, that his senior seamers are just a little slower and his batsmen lack the genius of Kevin Pietersen or the efficiency of early-days Jonathan Trott. So he has to work that bit harder to earn wickets, that bit harder to forge a team spirit. He doesn’t have a handful of aces but the early signs are he is playing what he has with some skill. The dressing room will have taken great confidence from the fact that the three “unknowns” in the top five all passed 50.Joe Root celebrates the dismissal of David Warner•Getty ImagesThis style isn’t entirely typical of ‘new England’. Under Bayliss, in particular, there has been a tendency for England to play cricket which has sometimes been more aggressive than smart. But both he and Root have learned that sometimes you have to dare to be dull, dare to incur the wrath of a home media who criticised England for playing “boring” cricket on day one, dare to play unfashionable cricket.There are a couple of concerns. The first is that, even on this sluggish surface, England lost four wickets to the short delivery, albeit two of them tailenders. The Australian bowlers will have taken note.The other concern is that it feels as if England are fighting with every fibre of their beings at every moment of this game. That, of course, is not a bad thing in itself. But the fear is that, should they relent for even moment, Australia will take advantage.Overall, though, the first couple of days of this game have provided a reminder that you don’t need a stream of boundaries to provide entertainment. This has been a gripping, absorbing encounter. Anyone who has found it boring should probably reflect that Test cricket isn’t their sport. This could develop into a classic.

From being a 17-year-old who joined the navy, Fakhar Zaman had to travel thousands of miles – both literally and figuratively – before breaking a new record for Pakistan

Liam Brickhill20-Jul-2018Were it not for one or two twists of fate, Fakhar Zaman might have been watching Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe on television, from the mess deck of one of the nine or so frigates that patrol Pakistan’s 650 mile coastline along the Arabian Sea.But in an enjoyable narrative twist instead, the man who found cricket while serving in the navy has travelled thousands of miles to a tiny landlocked Southern African country – and become the first Pakistani batsman to score a double-hundred in a one-day international. “Today was my day,” Fakhar said after his historic innings.This innings did indeed seem fated, and Fakhar also explained that – ever the navy man – he was only acting under orders from his coach Mickey Arthur. “Mickey told me before the toss that if we win the toss we will bat first and ‘I want you to score a double-hundred'”, Fakhar explained. “So I applied myself today and scored one.””Some coaches like giving their players totals to go for and targets, some people play better under those pressures and some people feel the pressure more than others,” said Pakistan batting coach Grant Flower. “It just depends on your players.” Clearly, Fakhar is comfortable under pressure.Since he got to Zimbabwe three weeks ago, he has scored 708 runs in just nine innings, averaging over 55 in the T20 tri-series and a whopping 430 across the four ODIs played so far, being dismissed just once.His 210 not out on Friday included 29 boundaries – the most in an ODI innings by a Pakistan batsman – and is all the more remarkable considering he hadn’t even faced a ball until the fourth over of the innings. With his 24th and final four, belted to the cover boundary, he reached a summit 200 runs high, writing himself indelibly into the record books and Pakistani cricketing lore.”It’s a great achievement,” said Flower, who is in his fifth year as Pakistan’s batting coach and has overseen Fakhar’s rise from rookie to record breaker. “I’ve done a lot of work with him in the nets, but he’s got a lot of natural talent and he’s worked really hard. Coming from his background, being in the navy and being very raw when he first came into the set-up, his technique has come a long way. But he’s still got a lot of his naturalness, and I think that’s his biggest asset.”Fakhar’s double hundred is, of course, only part of the story, one well worth telling. As a teenager, he moved from his home in Katlang, just north of Mardan, to Karachi and joined the navy at his father’s behest. Young Fakhar wasn’t too taken with the idea, but the move ended up changing his life. When he was sent to PNS Karsaz in Karachi for further training, he met Nazim Khan, coach of the Pakistan Naval Cricket Academy.Highest stands for any wicket•ESPNcricinfo LtdWelcomed into the side, he cracked a hundred in his first game and was also introduced to Azam Khan, a noted Karachi cricket fan. From that came a place in inter-district Under-19 cricket, where his talents continued to bloom. He was allowed to leave his position as a sailor in the navy, and re-join as a professional sportsman, ten years ago.He eventually forced his way into first-class cricket, but it wasn’t until the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in 2016-17 that his form began to be noticed. His performances in the Pakistan Super League led to a call-up to Pakistan’s T20I side, and then on into the one-day side. All along the way, he was aided by a work ethic gained from his navy background, and Flower believes the effects of that background can still be seen today. As a 17-year-old sailor, he’d regularly wake before dawn to go for runs that spanned many miles, before performing his duties in the daytime and playing sport in the evenings.”It definitely comes from the navy,” Flower said. “He is fit, and that definitely helps getting a double-hundred. Even though it’s not that hot right now, you’re doing a lot of shuttles out there and your concentration span has to be at its best.”He showed a lot of mental strength today. He had a couple of shots where he might have given it away, but he had a bit of luck. But a lot of times when you play with confidence and bravery, the luck goes your way.”After motoring past 150, the next milestone for Fakhar was Saeed Anwar’s 194. With a pick-up over the leg side off Donald Tiripano, he moved past the record held by Anwar for 21 years. Comparisons between the two are perhaps inevitable, as both are free-flowing left-handed openers, but their batting is built around vastly different methodologies. Where Anwar was a study of graceful strokeplay through the off side – and often behind point – Fakhar’s bat is more shovel than rapier and he’s more likely to bludgeon his boundaries through wide mid-on.AFPAnd yet, there is more to his singularly unorthodox, homespun batting technique than that, as he showed on Friday morning. The fourth ODI was played on the pitch dead centre in the Queens Sports Club oval, with boundaries equidistant on all sides, and Fakhar pinged all of them. The heave to midwicket was certainly on show, and that’s where he scored the bulk of his runs, but so were swats through cover, wallops through point, sweeps reversed, slogged and lapped off the spinners, and even a sublime glide through the gully off Blessing Muzarabani, which suggested finesse rather than brutality.It’s the sort of technique that relies on close coordination of hand and eye, and one which probably wouldn’t take well to too much tinkering. As such, Flower has sought to enhance Fakhar’s natural talents, rather than change them.”I’ve just done some basic stuff, getting his head to the ball and not playing too much away from his body,” Flower explained. “But at the same time, that’s one of his strengths. So it’s a bit of give and take, you just try and find a balance. He’s coming on in leaps and bounds, as everyone can see. Hopefully he’ll keep his head to the ground and keep training hard. He’s a very good person, so I’m sure that will happen.”Perhaps the only regret from Friday would be that there weren’t more people to see the record-breaking innings. The sun came out and temperatures rose for the first time in the series, but there were less than a thousand people at the ground to watch the game.Not that that will bother Fakhar. Beyond his self-assuredness at the crease, his unorthodoxy, and his uncanny ability to find the boundary, there seems to be a grounded human being equipped with that rare feature in the modern professional cricketer: a sense of humour.When asked whether his stellar batting might be depriving the middle order of time in the middle, he joked: “Well I’ll keep trying to not give them the chance!”His historic double-hundred has gained him entry into an elite club alongside the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill. ‘Fakhar’ means pride in Urdu, and the pride of Katlang became the pride of Pakistan today.

The India captain produced a masterful display with the lower order to haul his team out of trouble and set a high benchmark for the series

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston02-Aug-20181:58

Kohli turns his good days into great days – Bangar

Virat Kohli walked to the middle at Edgbaston to the sound of boos. Quickly he took guard. The bowler was already waiting for him. Anderson. James Anderson.Three slips and gully waited for the edge. Anderson ran in. The first ball was 83.6mph. Kohli left it alone. It would be the first of many that he would leave alone, and many of those not of his own volition. Anderson was that sharp. That hungry. That cunning.For the next two-and-a-half hours the battle between the two men, broken at the beginning by the lunch break, lived up to its billing. If you were to remove the bias towards the player and the country of allegiance, the combat between Anderson and Kohli was one of the best spectacles witnessed in Test cricket.Test cricket has enjoyed many such battles: Flintoff against Ponting, Lee against Pietersen, Steyn against Tendulkar, Akhtar against Hayden, McGrath against all the best batsmen in modern Test cricket. These are all consuming bouts, part Test cricket’s hall of fame. They draw you in ball by ball, over by over, session by session.The crowd becomes a part of the contest, too. There is pin drop silence for a moment. Next moment the batsman edges and the home fans erupt, just like the Edgbaston faithful each time Anderson beat Kohli’s outside edge and inside edge.Those emotions reflected the gripping contest in the middle. And the best part came in the first hour after lunch. Anderson had bowled nine overs pre-lunch. Kohli could barely lay his bat on the ball. But Kohli had a plan. Unlike four summers ago where he was laid bare by Anderson, Kohli this time stood out of the crease.He had used that method successfully on the 2014-15 tour of Australia, but here in England the reasons for standing out of the crease are clearly different. Part of the plan was to negate the swing. With Kohli’s desire to stay aggressive at all times initially you also felt that by standing a bit in front of the crease he could meet the ball early.However, it also made him vulnerable as Kohli found out facing the first ball of the second over he received from Anderson. It was an away swinger. Kohli went for the drive. The outside edge flew to the left of Jos Buttler at gully. Anderson leaped with both hands in the air like a long jumper at the end of his stride. The ball did not quite carry to Buttler, but touched the fingertips of his outstretched left hand.Kohli farmed the strikes with the tail-enders•ESPNcricinfo LtdThen off the second ball of the first over he bowled after lunch Anderson swung it away, once again from the fifth or sixth stump. Kohli went feeling for the ball. The outside edge fell short off Jonny Bairstow behind the stumps. A wave of emotion swelled in the stands. The next ball was a short-of-length delivery, which Kohli played with soft hands off the outer edge off the top shoulder of his bat. The crowd clapped at his quick response.But Anderson would not leave Kohli alone. An old man (in fast bowling terms) he might be – turning 36 three days ago – but like a good fisherman he dangled the bait and stayed calm, waiting for Kohli to bite. Kohli almost did. Anderson kept pitching on the same spot, maintaining the same sixth stump line, allowing no space for Kohli to escape, allowing not even a single freebie.Eventually Kohli fell into the trap. He edged a delivery that once again shaped away. The ball was travelling straight to Dawid Malan at second slip. Anderson was already mid-leap, waiting for Malan to clasp the gift. But he spilled the ball. Anderson bent into two, placing his hands on the two creaking knees, hiding all that pain. The English fans let out a loud grimace. It was the final ball of Anderson’s spell – 15 overs broken only by Adil Rashid’s single over before lunch.Kohli placed his bat leaning on to his left leg and put his gloved hands clasped behind his back. This move he did frequently between balls to calm him down.That one hour after lunch was the most breathtaking one of the day. Kohli was attacked by Anderson and Ben Stokes. It was also the hour when the cloud cover was prevalent. England becomes a difficult place to bat when it’s overcast. Kohli was not ashamed at being beaten, at not being fluent.Remember the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, where the former took heavy, sinking blows to his body before telling the world never ever to call him an underdog? The duel between Kohli and Anderson was similar. The runs were not coming for Kohli. Anderson had once again left him exposed. Yet, remarkably, Kohli did not once show the urge to play aggressively to force Anderson to change the line. Kohli somehow manage to take the ego out of the contest.As India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar said, the beauty about Kohli’s batting is its vividness. The strength that Kohli possesses, Bangar pointed out, is being flexible in his mind. That helps him stay one step ahead of the opponent, allows him to defeat all the plans of the opposition. And then dominate.That is what Kohli did. And not in the company of the specialist batsmen, the last of whom, R Ashwin, departed with India still 122 runs behind. From there on, Kohli scored 92 runs from 116 balls while the three tailenders scored just eight runs from 37 balls. Malan had dropped Kohli, once again in the slips, this time off Stokes, when he chased a fuller length delivery angled wide. But Kohli did not let that hurt his progress.Kohli outscores his 2014 England tour tally in just one innings of 2018 tour•ESPNcricinfo LtdBatting with the tail allowed Kohli to switch on ODI mode, as if he were chasing a target. He knew the gaps, the areas to score, the bowler to attack. By the time Anderson returned for another burst of six overs, Kohli was in a more confident frame of mind. When Anderson pitched short of length, Kohli finally played the cut for the first time in the day and collected two. When Sam Curran bowled full next over, Kohli flicked to the left of the midwicket fielder to earn an easy four. Next delivery, he would hop and steer another boundary, leaving England captain Joe Root anguished.The hundred now felt inevitable – if he didn’t run out of partners. Of the various emotions Kohli put on display as he reached his maiden Test century in England, one was revealing. Kohli pointed his index finger to his head looking towards the dressing room. To keep his head when Anderson had flattened his ego. To keep his head when his partners were finding ways to get out. To keep his head when has just the tail to bat with, in the face of a growing deficit.One question that will be asked would be: who between Kohli and Anderson was the winner? Both. Both men strived. They set up a contest that has already made this Test and possibly the rest of the series engrossing.If this innings were to be a journey in his life, Kohli evolved a little. He became humble. He became a better Test batsman. En route he scored one of the great centuries in Test cricket.In the end, Virat Kohli walked out head high, with Root and his men joining the standing ovation.

After coming close to walking away from the sport, Linsey Smith is now an integral part of England’s Women’s World T20 campaign

Raf Nicholson in St Lucia15-Nov-2018When I ask left-arm spinner Linsey Smith what it felt like to make her England debut at a World Cup, as she did against Bangladesh on Monday, the word she uses most often is “surreal”.”I really didn’t think this day was going to come,” she says.Twelve months ago Smith nearly walked away from cricket altogether. At the age of 23, it’s clear she thought her international hopes were behind her; she was also finding it increasingly difficult to juggle her training as an England Academy player with full-time employment.”I’d finished university, I was coaching for Leicestershire and I didn’t really have much else apart from cricket,” she says. “It all got a bit too much for me and I wasn’t enjoying it. I thought ‘I need to make a change’. I took a step back from training for a bit.””The ECB were really good. I spoke to Robbo [coach Mark Robinson] about what we were trying to work towards and what he wanted from me.”I’d planned to go to Australia this winter to play out there, I thought I’d try something new, but after this year’s Super League he said, ‘you’re on the radar. Either stay here and try and get a spot and train with us, or go to Australia’. That was the day after I got the visa as well! I decided to stay and try and get that spot, and thankfully it’s paid off.”Even so, her selection in this tournament was not a certainty, by any stretch of the imagination. So much so that her parents – who were in St Lucia on Monday to see her presented with her England cap – booked to watch the England men’s team play in Sri Lanka. “When I told them I’d been selected they were a bit like, ‘oh! Better cancel that holiday then!’,” Smith laughs.Now here she is in the Caribbean, relishing her new role as an international cricketer. On Monday against Bangladesh she finished with figures of 1 for 17 across four overs, helping England to a seven-wicket victory. The likelihood is that she will be called on frequently to bowl in the Powerplay overs in the remainder of England’s WT20 matches. It’s a role she has performed admirably in the Kia Super League: she sits atop the list of leading English wicket-takers in KSL Powerplay overs.Linsey Smith celebrates her maiden international wicket•Getty Images”For me that’s where I thrive,” she says. “I want to be amongst the tense times and where the pressure’s on. I’ll stand up and take it, stand up and do the best for my team.”Coach Mark Robinson concurs. He describes Smith as “a versatile cricketer that offers something different. She can bowl at what I call the dirty parts of the game, in the Powerplay and the back end of the innings.”Robinson has had his eye on her as an England prospect ever since the inaugural KSL in 2016. That was yet another “sliding doors” moment for Smith, a tournament that she almost didn’t play in after missing out on original selection for the Southern Vipers squad. It was only a head-on collision between two Vipers players during the first match of the tournament that led to Smith’s call-up as an injury replacement.”It was pretty devastating not to get in the team originally,” she recalls. “I was working for Leicestershire at a Loughborough Lightning game, and [Vipers coach] Nick Denning rang me. He said, ‘can you travel up to Lancashire because we need you in the squad?'””It was a pretty crazy way to get into the team. Originally it was just to be in the squad for one game, but then thankfully I did well enough and they thought, ‘let’s keep her on’.”It was in her second match, at the Ageas Bowl, where she suddenly burst onto everyone’s radar. She took 4 for 10, with scalps including Alex Blackwell and Katherine Brunt; the match was broadcast on national radio and the commentators, informed late in the day about her selection, looked on in disbelief at this spinner who had come from nowhere. Afterwards, she remembers Robinson approaching her.”He came over and said, ‘well bowled’. And I was in shock because I didn’t think he’d know who I was!” The rest, as they say, is history.

These 2 have always been with me by my side, when things go well, and when they don’t. To have them here sharing this experience, means the absolute world. pic.twitter.com/a0mGJuz2IE

— Linsey Smith (@LinseySmith95) November 13, 2018

Smith’s route into cricket came courtesy of her dad and brother. “I started playing when I was about 10 years old,” she says. “We moved to Oxfordshire and we joined a local club, Aston Rowant. I thought if my dad and my brother were going to sign up, I might as well do it as well. There wasn’t much of a girls section then so I got stuck in with the boys, which is what I’ve always done really growing up.”Her talent was apparent from an early age: in the 2010 NatWest Under-15s Club Final, aged 14, she took a five-fer, leading Michael Vaughan to tweet: “remember the name: Linsey Smith”.Initially she was a seamer, but she changed to spin five years ago due to an injury niggle. “I’d had some issues with my shins and it got to a point where I was missing quite a lot of cricket,” she says. “So I thought ‘I’ll give spin a go, the run-ups aren’t too long!’ Thankfully spin has done pretty well for me.”Whatever happens for the rest of the tournament, her selection has already brought Smith something which eluded her for a long time: some measure of financial security. Currently the domestic women’s set-up in England, the month-long KSL aside, remains entirely amateur, and Smith has long juggled her cricket commitments with her work as a coach for Leicestershire. It was this overload which almost forced her out of the game prematurely.That is set to change going forward, after Robinson days ago confirmed she would be given a “Rookie” contract to allow her to train full-time over the winter.”I came out of the KSL this year thinking, ‘right, I need to find a job away from cricket,'” she says. “For them to say, ‘you can focus on what you want to do, focus on being a cricketer for England’, it’s such a relief. I feel very lucky and privileged.”

Allrounder thanks team-mates for support during dark times, but throws his sights forward to seismic 2019

George Dobell in Colombo26-Oct-2018Ben Stokes looks nervous in a way he rarely does on a cricket pitch.On the pitch, he’s encouraged to express himself. To throw himself into every situation and shape matches with his will and his skill. To play every shot in his arsenal.But here, in the corner of a coffee shop in the basement of a Colombo hotel, he is on less certain footing. It’s not just that he has always been more comfortable expressing himself though deeds than words. It’s that, for the first time since the conclusion of his trial in Bristol back in August, he is giving a series of media interviews. It is very clear very early – from the moment he answers the first question: “How has the last year been for you?” with “Yeah, it’s been good” – that he is going to play as few strokes as possible.He is limited in what he can say, of course. And the media are limited in what can be asked. The court case is off limits. And so are questions about the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) which follows shortly after this tour, and through which both he and Alex Hales may face further sanctions for the Bristol incident. Which basically leaves us asking: ‘So, the iceberg incident apart, how was that cruise on Titanic?’These things can happen. In an interview towards the end of that grim 2013-14 Ashes tour, Andy Flower was asked how he was getting on with Kevin Pietersen and replied something along the lines of: ‘You’re asking the wrong question. The question should be: Is Joe Root an exceptional young man. And the answer to that question is ‘Yes, Joe Root is an exceptional young man.’ Very often the media and the team are on the same side; sometimes they inhabit a different universe with wildly different agendas.We may well hear a fulsome explanation from Stokes one day for what happened that fateful night in Bristol – complete with an acknowledgement of some errors of judgment and an appreciation of the lessons learned. But it will have to wait until the CDC has reached a verdict. Accepting any fault before then could open himself up to further sanction. This interview has to be understood in that context.But it’s a shame. For it means that Stokes is in danger of looking like a politician trying to avoid a straight question. So instead of illustrating the side of him that signs every autograph and poses for every selfie, instead of the side of him that has made a point of sending encouraging text messages to Reece Topley as he recovers from what may prove career-defining surgery, instead of the side of him that is hugely popular with team-mates and team management and prides himself on his selfless contributions, he appears guarded and cagey and defensive. He’s better than that.The main point he wants to make is that he is looking to the future. And it is true that it could well be the next 12 months – a period that includes a World Cup and an Ashes series – that define how he is remembered.

‘There’s a lot of people in this group who I’d say are more than work colleagues: they’re friends. You find out who they are in tough situations and members of this group have been unbelievable’Stokes on his England team-mates

But the past will always be there, too, and there are a few signs that events of the last few months have changed him. He has always worked hard in training but, on this tour, he has thrown himself into every session to the extent that the team management are urging him to work less hard. In this heat, with the demands upon him as an all-rounder and key fielder, the amount he asks of himself may prove unsustainable. Cramp has been a recurring problem.So, is he trying to make amends for the trouble he brought on his team? The media attention; the curfews; the circus that the Ashes tour became? And does he, having faced the possibility that everything could be torn away from him, appreciate playing for England more as a consequence? Is he, perhaps, trying a bit too hard?”I’m not sure it’s trying too hard if you try and give everything every time,” he says.”I have always viewed myself as lucky to be in this situation and playing for England. And you appreciate that a bit more, I guess. But there’s such a big summer coming up now… it’s tough to think about the past when you have such an exciting thing coming up.”I’ve always known how lucky I am to play for England. I’m constantly thinking about how lucky I am to be representing my country. Whether that feeling has grown, I’m not sure, as I’ve always had that awareness.”When you’re in the public eye and you’re a name I guess you are a role model. I’ve always known that and always understood it. That hasn’t changed.”His batting has changed a little, though. While the powerful strokes are still there, they now appear to have been complemented with a patience and discipline that promises to make him a more rounded player. His defiant partnership with Jos Buttler at Trent Bridge springs to mind. Is that relevant to his off-field issues?”I realised it’s easier to adapt to different situations rather than just go out there and say ‘I am going to play the way I am known for’,” he says. “It’s nice knowing I have got that self-control, as well. It’s not how I try to base my game to play like that but it is what the situation called for. I will still be trying to go out there with the mindset of how I normally play.”The way we played in those Tests against India was different. Our middle-order are known for power and counter-attacking. But we managed to adapt to game situations and I think a few of our players found another level to their game. The way we reined ourselves in was good.”The one time he becomes animated in the conversation is when talking about the support he has enjoyed from team-mates in recent months. While he plays it down, the sense is he endured some dark days while his team-mates were away at the Ashes and he was awaiting the jury’s verdict. It’s clear the support he has enjoyed from the dressing room has been unstinting.”You do [feel gratitude],” he says, “There’s a lot of people in this group who I’d say are more than work colleagues: they’re friends. You find out who they are in tough situations and members of this group have been unbelievable.”There are a couple of other interesting moments. He suggests he is unlikely to go to the Big Bash, reasoning that he will benefit from time off between the end of the Sri Lanka tour and start of the Caribbean one – “The last couple of times I’ve done some franchise cricket on the back of a long summer I’ve come back with a few little niggles,” he says – while he also insists that, despite losing the vice-captaincy, he remains “a leader in the group”.But maybe the most revealing moment comes at the end. Asked if he has a message for England supporters, he pauses and stutters: “I’ll try and win as many games as I can”. It’s not especially eloquent and it’s not especially original. But Stokes has always expressed himself best on the pitch and the sense remains he feels as if he owes this team and its supporters some match-winning performances. Motivated as never before, the next 12 months promise much for him and England.

With the return of Steven Smith and David Warner looming, and no mid-season first-class cricket in the offing, both Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh appear to be a long shot for the Ashes

Andrew McGlashan in Sydney03-Jan-2019Midway through the opening day in Sydney, the availability of Australia’s players who were not needed for the final Test was confirmed for the Big Bash League. Aaron Finch will be turning out for Melbourne Renegades on Monday, Mitchell Marsh for Perth Scorchers on Saturday, and Peter Siddle for Adelaide Strikers on Sunday.Siddle has been superfluous to requirements throughout this series – there’s no breaking up the New South Wales attack at the moment, although their returns are becoming a topic of debate – but Finch and Marsh were the two casualties of the Melbourne defeat, which left the Border-Gavaskar trophy in India’s hands. Their Test careers are now hanging by a thread, partly through their own returns but also partly because of the schedule ahead of them.For Marsh, named the joint vice-captain last year, it was one Test back and then dropped. His part with the ball had ticked a box, 26 tight overs to help the frontline pacemen, but two awful shots against Ravindra Jadeja left him with an average of 25.39 from 31 Tests – and 7.50 from his last five – to almost make the selectors’ decision for them.A 31-match Test career is a decent sample size, and it is now fair to ponder whether his chance will come again. His returns with the bat when brought in during the 2017-18 Ashes, and his 96 early in the South Africa series, offered promise of a breakthrough but the drop-off has been dramatic. Australia are not flush with options, as the recall for Marnus Labuschagne has shown, but they could be forced to explore other routes if they want a seam-bowling allrounder in the future.Finch’s tale is a somewhat different, and he feels a bit hard done by. He is a middle-order batsman who was made into an opener on the back of white-ball runs. He started well on the slower, lower pitches in the UAE, but has found life much tougher on home soil against India’s finest-ever pace attack – although it’s worth noting his best performance came on the spiciest pitch of the series, in Perth. There is no disgrace in being undone by this collection of India seamers, but now he finds himself on the outer.Like Marsh, the manner of his dismissals in Melbourne did not look good: clipping a catch to midwicket then a one-day style steer to slip, but he could have been given a chance in the middle order. Peter Handscomb is a highly rated player of spin, yet one match ago he wasn’t deemed worthy of a place in the XI. Handscomb, who smashed some BBL runs after being left out, now has the chance to prove all those plaudits right after India selected Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, but Finch has a right to ponder whether that was his chance.Mitchell Marsh reacts after keeping a yorker out•Getty ImagesHis Victoria and Australia team-mate, Glenn Maxwell, went public with such a thought on Thursday. “I hope that doesn’t finish Finch off as a Test cricketer and hopefully next time he gets an opportunity, he can bat in a position that I think – and a lot of Australia thinks – he’s more accustomed to,” he said.”He was probably a victim of his own success in the UAE. Having batted so well as an opener there, it probably drove the Australia selectors and coaches to put him up there, and I suppose that was fair enough. Hopefully at some stage he gets an opportunity to bat in the middle order and show the class he does have.”Now both Finch and Marsh are sent into that mid-season spiral that is Australian cricket: no first-class cricket to re-state their case. Finch, for certain, will play the ODIs against India later this month, and Marsh may well earn a spot, but it is difficult to see how either can now feature in the Tests against Sri Lanka (although Handscomb’s swift return shows how quickly things can change) and it would suggest they are a long shot for the Ashes.Depending on the dates of the Australia’s away-from-home one-day series against India in February and Pakistan from late March, there could be precious little chance for either to play red-ball cricket before the England series. “Runs are runs,” has been the refrain from those trying to impress the selectors at this time of the year – there is not much more they can say – but not all runs are made equal.Before this Test, Tim Paine spoke of the challenge of balancing the present and future with selections, not least because of the impending return of Steven Smith and David Warner. There is a sense decisions are being made with them in mind already, but it leaves Australia straining for stability. They have a batting line-up for this match that few could have imagined a week ago, let alone a year, and they already have a huge task ahead of them if they are to salvage the series.

In Sri Lanka, he is relentlessly looked down by the spinners, banished to some corner of the field. In Christchurch, Suranga Lakmal was a different beast

Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Dec-2018To be Suranga Lakmal on Sri Lankan tracks is to be more or less relentlessly looked down upon by spin bowlers.Spinners to Lakmal: “Yes, we know you’ve played more Tests than most of the remainder of the attack, and of course your seam position is nice and your cutters are cute. But , look. You’re a ‘fast’ bowler. These are dry tracks. We’re all are glad that you ran in so hard and tried your best with the new ball. Oh, you got a little swing also? Really? Aney nice. But you run along now. Off to deep midwicket, . And don’t you worry your seam-bowler’s head – the big boys have got it from here. We’ll call you back if we need you. We’ll call you. We’ll call you.”Spinners amongst themselves: “Poor fellow, no, that Suranga? Must be thinking he will get another bowl in this innings. Anyway, what to do? Seam bowler, no? Not clever like us.”Over the five most recent Tests in Sri Lanka, Lakmal bowled a total of 63.3 overs. That’s roughly six overs per innings. In the vast majority of those occasions, he bowled a new-ball spell, and was virtually never heard from again. Imagine that. Being one of only four frontline bowlers in the XI, and yet, feeling like your main job is to bowl long enough to scratch up the leather on the ball to make it softer for the spinners’ delicate little fingers to comfortably hold. You are basically a utensil. Human sandpaper. Cameron Bancroft might have used Suranga Lakmal in Cape Town, if only he had been able to surreptitiously stash Lakmal away in his undershorts.What is truly remarkable, though, is that for four of those five Tests, Lakmal was himself the official captain, with Dinesh Chandimal either suspended or injured. In two of the eight bowling innings that Lakmal led, he did not bring himself on at all. In another, he bowled himself for a measly two overs.It is almost as if the spinners have taken him captive, and so long has he been under their dominion, that he has developed a warped admiration for his captors. A bowling Stockholm syndrome. “There’s not much point in me bowling myself on pitches like this,” he has said at more than one press conference. “Especially not when we have so many quality spinners around.”But on a Hagley Oval greentop, on Boxing Day, Lakmal broke the spell. He rediscovered self-worth. He puffed his chest out. He took ownership. He played as if his own bowling was much more macho work than a spinner’s could ever be, which it absolutely is. He even did what those self-important Sri Lankan spinners routinely do at home: bowl unchanged from an end through the duration of an entire session.Twelve straight overs of Lakmal just plugging away on that good length, some balls darting this way, others jiving in the opposite direction. Lakmal’s haul, before lunch, was four wickets for 18 from 12 consecutive overs. A full quarter of those overs were wicket maidens. He would later go on to complete a second career five-wicket haul.

In Sri Lanka, Lakmal is basically a utensil. Human sandpaper. Cameron Bancroft might have used Suranga Lakmal in Cape Town, if only he had been able to surreptitiously stash Lakmal away in his undershorts.

“With the start I got, I wanted to bowl even until they were all out,” Lakmal said after play. “I didn’t want to give anyone else the ball when I’m bowling that well. There are times when I almost forcefully kept the ball. And that’s what we talked about before the game – that like we give the spinners a chance in Sri Lanka, they also have to give us a chance in a place like this. If they can do it at home, we have to do the job away. The fast bowlers have to look to get the 10 wickets.”Soon as I got on the field today, I told Chandika Hathurusingha that I’d get five wickets in this match. So glad I was able to get there.”Two of the most devious deliveries in that opening spell got rid of two in-form left-handers: Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls. Latham got an away-seamer that he pushed at, and edged to second slip. Nicholls got one that connived the other way, surging between bat and pad to rattle the top of off stump. For the majority of his career, Lakmal has been a move-it-in-one-direction-only kind of guy, which sort of explains the career average (which is still above 40), and perhaps also the shortage of self-esteem.”Moving it both ways is not something I’ve always been able to do,” he said. “It’s what I’ve been working on in the last four or five months. I can put extra pressure on the batsman now, because he now has to think about two different balls. That really helped me get five wickets.”There will of course be more Tests in Lakmal’s career in which he is surplus to requirement. When the spinners will smile their condescending smiles and banish him to some corner of the field. But right now, at the front end of this long away season for Sri Lanka, Lakmal is experiencing something unfamiliar: the feeling of being desperately needed. On a pitch that suits him completely, he has responded well.If Sri Lanka’s batting collapses as dramatically as it threatened to do against the new ball on the first evening, perhaps Lakmal will be desperately needed again very soon.

ESPNcricinfo looks at how Rangpur Riders, Dhaka Dynamites, Rajshahi Kings and Chittagong Vikings stack up ahead of the new BPL season

Mohammad Isam02-Jan-2019Rangpur RidersPrevious season: Champions (P15, W9, L6)Big pictureRangpur Riders have assembled a team befitting defending champions. Mashrafe Mortaza, the newly elected MP, will have eyes on an unprecedented fifth BPL triumph for himself with Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Alex Hales, Ravi Bopara and Rilee Rossouw part of his batting arsenal.All five can’t be picked on the same day, as the Riders will look for control with the ball, too, as they enter the tournament as favourites. To balance out the batting might, they have Mashrafe, Sheldon Cottrell, Abul Hasan and Shafiul Islam in the pace attack, as well as the left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam and offspinner Sohag Gazi.The Riders have also retained Mohammad Mithun, their best batsman during the league phase last year, apart from signing Nadif Chowdhury, Farhad Reza, Nahidul Islam, Fardeen Hasan, Sean Williams and Mehedi Maruf to ensure that they don’t just rely on the big guns.Key playerIn an already well-crafted team, AB de Villiers’ gigantic presence will only make the Riders a stronger unit. It will be a challenge to negotiate Dhaka’s slow pitches but de Villiers also has form on his side, having made an unbeaten 93 in his last game in the Mzansi Super League.Unknown quantityFardeen Hasan, a graduate from Mashrafe’s cricket academy in Narail, has played five List A matches and one first-class match, and has looked tidy as a left-hand opening batsman.First XI: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Mohammad Mithun (wk), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Ravi Bopara, 6 Nadif Chowdhury, 7 Sohag Gazi, 8 Abul Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Nazmul IslamRangpur Riders squad: Mashrafe Mortaza, Nazmul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Chris Gayle, Alex Hales, AB de Villiers, Shafiul Islam, Sohag Gazi, Farhad Reza, Mehedi Maruf, Ravi Bopara, Rilee Rossouw, Nahidul Islam, Nadif Chowdhury, Abul Hasan, Fardeen Hasan, Benny Howell, Sheldon Cottrell, Sean WilliamsSunil Narine struck a brisk half-century•BCBDhaka DynamitesPrevious season: Runners-up (P14, W8, L5, NR1)Big pictureDhaka Dynamites have four of the best allrounders in T20 today in Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine. That automatically makes them serious title contenders.Outside these four, Dynamites have Hazratullah Zazai, who created mayhem in the Afghanistan Premier League in October, as well as the experienced England batsman Ian Bell and the South African fast bowler Andrew Birch.They have also picked some promising local players in the top-order batsmen Rony Talukdar and Mizanur Rahman, wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan, allrounder Shuvagata Hom, and Rubel Hossain, who remains one of Bangladesh’s best death bowlers .Key playerShakib Al Hasan’s 2017 BPL campaign didn’t end well after Chris Gayle tore into the Dynamites attack in the final. But he’s coming into this tournament on the back of great form with bat and ball for Bangladesh. He will lend balance to the side by batting at No. 4 and being flexible about when he comes on to bowl.Unknown quantityBPL will brace itself for the left-handed Hazratullah Zazai, who shot to fame with six sixes in an over in the APL, while hitting a 12-ball fifty. Zazai also struck a 55-ball 124 earlier in the tournament, and 82 off 55 balls against Ireland in a T20I in August. If he gets going in the BPL, the spectators are in for a treat.First XI: 1 Rony Talukdar, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Hazratullah Zazai, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Shuvagata Hom, 9 Asif Hasan, 10 Qazi Onik, 11 Rubel HossainSquad: Shakib Al Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Rony Talukdar, Shuvagata Hom, Qazi Onik, Mizanur Rahman, Asif Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Naim Sheikh, Mohor Sheikh, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Hazratullah Zazai, Andre Russell, Andrew Birch, Ian BellMehidy Hasan completes the run-out of Kieran Powell•CWIRajshahi KingsPrevious season: Sixth (P12, W4, L8)Big pictureRajshahi Kings have much to improve upon after finishing second from bottom in the 2017-18 BPL. They have rejigged their top order by including Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Hafeez, while Laurie Evans, Christiaan Jonker and Seekkuge Prasanna will add big hits towards the end of the innings.They have also roped in Ryan ten Doeschate for his batting experience, apart from retaining Zakir Hasan and Mominul Haque, who are likely to feature in their top three. The side is likely to be led by the offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has improved significantly for Bangladesh in 2018.Left-arm bowlers Mustafizur Rahman and Isuru Udana make a handy death-overs pair, while Arafat Sunny and legspinner Qais Ahmad will add depth to a bowling attack that also includes Kamrul Islam Rabbi.Key playerSoumya Sarkar has found form in the 2018-19 season, which helped him get back his regular spot in Bangladesh’s ODI team. He will be key to the Kings getting positive starts, something that he missed while playing for Chittagong Vikings last season, making only 169 runs in 11 matches, at a strike rate of under 100.Unknown quantityChristiaan Jonker, who made his South Africa debut in 2018, attracted curiosity after being signed by the Kings from outside the draft. He is a big-hitting middle-order batsman who had good years in 2016 and 2017 but averaged only 12.91 in 13 innings last year.First XI: 1 Soumya Sarkar, 2 Zakir Hasan (wk), 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Laurie Evans, 6 Fazle Mahmud, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 9 Arafat Sunny, 10 Isuru Udana, 11 Mustafizur RahmanSquad: Mominul Haque, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Zakir Hasan, Qais Ahmad, Christiaan Jonker, Soumya Sarkar, Fazle Mahmud, Arafat Sunny, Alauddin Babu, Isuru Udana, Laurie Evans, Marshall Ayub, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Ryan ten Doeschate, Seekkuge Prasanna, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahriar NafeesMushfiqur Rahim clobbers one after dropping on one knee•AFP/Getty ImagesChittagong VikingsPrevious season: Seventh (P12, W3, L8, NR1)Big pictureChittagong Vikings were out of this season’s BPL until very late, and they ended up with a somewhat hurriedly-put-together team. Still, their team management, consisting of Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin and his younger brother and team head coach Nurul Abedin, has so far done a decent job.They have retained last year’s performers Luke Ronchi, Sikandar Raza, Najibullah Zadran and Sunzamul Islam. Right before the draft picks began in November, they signed Mushfiqur Rahim, which strengthened their middle order further.But they have three wicketkeepers – Ronchi, Mushfiqur and Mohammad Shahzad – who could potentially all be part of the same XI. Their other problem is having too many similar players in the lower middle order. Robbie Frylinck, Cameron Delport and Dasun Shanaka are likely to vie for similar positions although they are all impressive options.Mohammad Ashraful and Mosaddek Hossain are also likely to battle for similar spots in the batting order, with Raza a fit at No 5.Key playerLuke Ronchi, who is one of the four retained players from last season, gave the Vikings fast starts last season, making 321 runs at a strike-rate of 169.84. In the 40 T20s since, he has continued to score at a similar strike-rate, while making a century and seven fifties for five different teams.Unknown quantityA corruption-related suspension has kept Mohammad Ashraful from playing competitive T20s since 2013. He has played 23 List A games since returning in 2016, averging 47.63 with a strike rate of 70.86. His five centuries in last year’s Dhaka Premier League turned heads but he hasn’t followed it up too well in the first-class tournaments since.First XI: 1 Luke Ronchi (wk), 2 Mohammad Shahzad, 3 Shadman Islam, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Mosaddek Hossain, 7 Robbie Frylinck, 8 Sunzamul Islam, 9 Nayeem Hasan, 10 Abu Jayed, 11 Khaled AhmedChittagong Vikings squad: Sunzamul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Shahzad, Mosaddek Hossain, Abu Jayed, Khaled Ahmed, Nayeem Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Robiul Haque, Yasir Ali, Nihaduzzaman, Shadman Islam, Sikandar Raza, Luke Ronchi, Robbie Frylinck, Cameron Delport, Dasun Shanaka, Najibullah Zadran

One wanted to do something big, the other had a job to finish – a fortunate few at the ground witnessed a classic contest

Karthik Krishnaswamy29-Jan-2019The best bouncers marry pace and venom with pinpoint accuracy. This wasn’t that kind of bouncer. This one was fuelled by rage, frustration, wounded pride; anyone who’s played cricket understands those feelings. Whether it’s at a dusty municipal playground or the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the angry fast bowler is not to be messed with.There was something almost heroic about the waywardness of this bouncer. It soared way above Cheteshwar Pujara’s head, and he didn’t need to duck or sway; he just hunched his shoulders in a perfunctory manner. Behind him, S Sharath was off his feet, right arm at full stretch, and the ball just eluded his glove and ran away for five wides.You could almost see Vinay Kumar’s nostrils flare as he walked back to his mark.Vinay had been visibly tetchy right through this fifth morning of the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Karnataka and Saurashtra. Not too long before this delivery, he had got one to keep low and crash into Sheldon Jackson’s middle stump. He had celebrated that wicket with a rat-a-tat burst of claps, presumably aimed at the Saurashtra dressing room, presumably mocking the visiting team’s practice of synchronised clapping to gee their bowlers up.ALSO READ: Pujara ‘wants it more than any of us’ – UnadkatIt was petty, but magnificently so.The root of Vinay’s indignation was a contentious umpiring decision the previous day, off his bowling, when Pujara was on 34. Saurashtra were only just beginning to recover after being reduced to 23 for 3 in their chase of 279. Pujara’s wicket was wicket, and all of Karnataka believed he had edged Vinay to the keeper. Umpire Saiyed Khaled, however, didn’t think so.Like the vast majority of batsmen, Pujara stood his ground. The stump mic picked up a noise as ball passed bat, but it wasn’t possible to say conclusively, from watching replays, that he had definitely nicked it. There had been another let-off in the first innings, and on that occasion, it had been pretty clear he had gloved the ball.It was his last spell of the season, and Vinay had a lot to fight for•Getty ImagesDay four was a Sunday, and an unusually large crowd, by domestic-cricket standards, had turned up to support Karnataka. They had turned on Pujara, booing him, chanting “cheater, cheater” when he walked off the field at the session breaks and at stumps.Pujara and Jackson had gone on to stretch their fourth-wicket stand to 214. When Vinay bowled that misdirected bouncer, Pujara was batting on 119, and those five wides left Saurashtra needing just 18 with six wickets in hand and almost all of day five left to play.Winning was out of question for Karnataka, but Vinay still had something left to fight for: Pujara’s wicket, and a final release for his pent-up emotions.A couple of overs before the bouncer, Vinay had come close to getting his man.First Pujara felt for one in the fifth-stump channel, but with soft hands, and the edge rolled away between gully and a diving second slip. Then came a nip-backer, with extra bounce, beating the inside edge of Pujara’s defensive bat. Vinay probably knew Pujara hadn’t edged it, but he appealed anyway, long and hard and loud, perhaps in the righteous belief that the umpires owed him one. The next ball was a legcutter, gripping the pitch and going past the outside edge as Pujara prodded uncertainly, dying a little as it reached the keeper. Another appeal.ALSO READ: Lack of DRS in focus as Pujara rides his luck in Ranji semi-finalThis was the kind of bowling that had made Vinay a bona fide legend in domestic cricket. It had been the driving force behind Karnataka’s back-to-back domestic trebles (Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Irani Cup) in 2013-14 and 2014-15.This season had not been quite so rewarding, bringing him only 14 wickets in seven games and an average in the 30s. He was 34 now, and no longer captain. This spell was his last of the season, and he was straining every sinew.There was more ferocity at the other end, from the younger, quicker Ronit More. He left the left-handed Arpit Vasavada on his backside with one bouncer, and then – with only five runs left to get – got him out fending another to short leg. Karnataka weren’t going away with a whimper.Through it all, Pujara was simply being Pujara, defending with the deadest bat in world cricket, ignoring balls outside off stump, ignoring the bouncers, frustrating the bowlers when they wanted to keep him on strike by manipulating the angle of his bat face and picking up singles to the right of mid-on, flicking off his legs with that elaborate twirl of his wrists, rising up on his toes to slap the short ones through cover point.One such slap brought Saurashtra’s runs required down from 11 to seven, in what turned out to be Vinay’s seventh and last over of the morning. A volley of synchronised claps rang out from Saurashtra’s dressing room.This day had begun with Saurashtra needing 55 with seven wickets in hand, but at no point had Karnataka let their intensity drop. This wasn’t Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon at the MCG, but Pujara wasn’t allowed to relax. This was the Ranji Trophy, and it meant something to everyone at the ground, and the memory of Saiyed Khaled’s not-out call lent yet more edge to proceedings.Saurashtra will face defending champions Vidarbha in the final•Ekana Cricket Media/ Randhir DevIn a recent chat with ESPNcricinfo, Rahul Dravid had spoken of the need for India players to set an example when they play domestic cricket. “Nothing disappoints me more than when a state coach comes to me and says so-and-so does not play our Ranji matches with seriousness; and he as a senior guy is not setting the right example.”Dravid had spoken glowingly of Pujara in this regard.”He comes from Australia and plays for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy. For me that is terrific. I know that Pujara is not just going to be playing, he is going to be playing the match properly. That is very important.”All this is true, but perhaps it isn’t as much driven by a sense of duty as people think.For one, it’s more natural for Pujara to identify with the Saurashtra team than it is, perhaps, for other big-name players to identify with their state teams. Pujara has played 61 first-class games for Saurashtra, nearly as many after his Test debut (29) as before (32). He’s made more first-class hundreds for Saurashtra (20) than he has Test hundreds (18). It’s unusual for an India player of his era to play so much domestic cricket, and that’s because he doesn’t play ODIs or T20Is.If Pujara remains as much a Saurashtra player as he is an India player, it’s simply because he plays for them so often. He’s been part of some of their biggest highs, and he’s also experienced their heartbreaks. When they played the Ranji final for the first time [since they started to play as Saurashtra, in 1950-51], he missed it sitting on India’s ODI bench. In their second final, he put Siddhesh Lad down at slip on 24 , when Mumbai were eight down and the match was in the balance. Lad went on to make 88 in a Mumbai innings win.And even if playing for Saurashtra wasn’t such a big deal for him, it really doesn’t matter who he’s playing or where when he’s at the crease. When Pujara is in Rajkot and can’t find decent net bowlers, he practises against anyone who will care to bowl to him, even 12-year-old boys, and he will play them as earnestly as he does Test bowlers, going through all his routines, down to the pre-ball stare at the back of his bat. Why wouldn’t he be the same when he’s facing Vinay Kumar?When Pujara bats, words like “focus” and “concentration” lose their air of hard, taxing labour. When he’s in form, he doesn’t just focus, he becomes engrossed, in an almost childlike way, in the act of watching the ball and playing it. It’s utterly out of character for a batsman like that to walk before he’s given out, and forego the opportunity to keep batting.The image of Pujara painted by most commentators and cricket writers, however, is of a good, dutiful man who plays cricket “the right way”, whatever that is. It’s a lazily drawn but widely held image. The real Pujara came into conflict with this imagined Pujara when he stood his ground and waited for Saiyed Khaled to make his decision. Khaled remained unmoved, and chants of “cheater, cheater” rained down from the stands.Pujara simply got on with his innings. He gripped his handle tight, held his bat up, and looked at the back of it. He crouched into his stance, ready for the next ball.

Former South Africa fast bowler Andre Nel reflects on his wild-child days, the country’s Kolpak record, and his life now as the Essex assistant coach

Interview by Alan Gardner11-Apr-2019The one-time wild man of South African fast bowling, Andre Nel is more of a gentle giant as a coach. He talked to us about Kolpaks, career highlights, and the whereabouts of “Gunther”.You enjoyed a couple of spells as a player at Essex in the 2000s, and now find yourself back as assistant coach. How did that come about?
I went for an interview and it went really well, and when I got the job I was really excited to come back. I always enjoyed playing here and the people make you feel really welcome; it’s a really family-orientated club. I thought it was a really good opportunity to come and help Essex, to help “Mags” [Essex head coach Anthony McGrath] and get Essex to win another championship.Tell us about your route into coaching after retirement.
I was head coach at [South African provincial team] Easterns, and assistant coach and bowling coach at the national academy. I also did a bit of helping guys individually, and then this opportunity came along. I’m passionate about being a bowling coach. This is a good opportunity for me to hopefully help some young bowlers to be really good and play for England.What about your ambitions – presumably you would love to work with South Africa at some stage?
It would be great to get involved at the highest level. You start as a player and you want to play at the highest level. Of course there’s a lot of stepping stones, you’ve still got to learn lots – but if the opportunity comes up to coach South Africa or any country, as a bowling coach, it would be a great privilege. You never know, but we’ll see where the challenge takes me.ALSO READ: The ex-wild man of the East RandSouth Africa has a great record of exporting players and coaches to other countries. Why do you think that is?
I think there’s a lot of talent. It’s a difficult country sometimes to live in, but I think there’s a lot of talent. If unfortunately you can’t play or coach at the highest level, you have to consider opportunities [elsewhere] to improve your skill and helping other countries to do well. If those opportunities come up, you have to accept them to advance your career.The current situation in England, with the Kolpak ruling, is a particularly sensitive one; Duanne Olivier recently became the 43rd South African to put his international career on hold in order to join a county. You played as a Kolpak signing yourself, for Surrey. How do you see things now?
It’s a difficult one. A lot of people always ask about the Kolpak issue. I think you have to weigh up the opportunity of playing for your country – that’s why Duanne Olivier’s decision was quite surprising, because he had actually just got into the side, doing really well, and had the chance for a really good career. So it was a strange decision, but he has his reasons for it and no one can really judge him. Hopefully he goes and does well for his county.It is a worrying factor for South Africa that so many players want to leave and play elsewhere, but I think there’s ways and means that South Africa can possibly give guys better opportunities to play provincial cricket or franchise cricket. But they can’t be upset with guys taking the chance to play at the higher level.

“Guys are finding ways and means to play at the highest level. If that’s signing Kolpak, they can’t be judged”

In your case, you had represented South Africa for several years, playing more than 100 times, before going down that road.
It’s just my nature, I always wanted to play for my country. It was an honour and privilege to represent my country in a World Cup, and take so many wickets. I’m still proud of being an ex-South Africa player, I always will be, it’ll never go away. Yes, I did sign Kolpak and play for different counties, but I always gave everything I could. That’s the way people remember me. Yes, I was aggressive, yes, I did do strange things on the field, but I did everything I could to play the best I could. No one could ever doubt that.There has been quite a drain in recent years – Olivier, Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott, Simon Harmer at Essex. Not just former internationals but players still being considered for selection. Is that a worry for the South African game?
It’s a tricky one. I don’t want to comment on the reasons why it’s happening; I try and stay away from that. We know it’s a quota issue and that’s part of our country, and people have to accept it. But then people must also understand guys will look for opportunities somewhere else – that’s just the nature of the beast in South Africa. Guys are finding ways and means to play at the highest level. If that’s signing Kolpak, guys can’t be judged.Do people back home understand the quota rules and the importance of transformation?
It’s part of our country, that’s never going to change. If you’re fit enough, strong enough and you’ve done everything you can to be the best and you don’t get picked, at least you can walk away with dignity. That’s all you can try and do. Thankfully there are opportunities, in different counties. You can try and grab it and make the best of it.Luckily South Africa’s production line of talent, particularly when it comes to pace bowlers, seems in good order, with players like Anrich Nortje and Lutho Sipamla making their debuts in recent weeks.
It is exciting to see there’s always guys coming through. At some stage that is going to get less, and then they have to start rebuilding again. The big thing is now a lot of guys in the South Africa side at the moment are at the stage where their careers could be coming to an end – guys like Faf du Plessis, Dale Steyn. I think there’s going to be a big exodus after the World Cup. Then we’ll have to give these youngsters a chance and see if they can swim. Hopefully they can. There’ll always be some decent players – we just have to make sure we nurture them and look after them, make sure they’re equipped and mentally prepared for the big challenges international cricket brings.Ahoy there, Gunther! Nel’s alter ego puts in an appearance•AFPSo you see a transition period for South Africa coming up?
In my gut I feel it could be. There’s some really good players around but sometimes people forget the mental application you have to have when you step up to play international cricket. There’s more pressures. I think that’s where South Africa are sometimes poor – we don’t equip guys enough mentally with being ready for those big challenges. Boys jump from nothing to that big stage, and it is sometimes a big adjustment. But I think we’ll be fine – we’ve got really good players, and I think South Africa will be all right after some of the guys retire.You’ve mentioned your passion for bowling, and as a player you were known for getting very animated on the field, driven by your wild-man alter ego “Gunther”. What is he up to these days?
No, no, after I retired, he’s gone. It was actually quite a nice thing, one of the fun things in the South African side they came up with. The press did the work for me, saying “Gunther’s coming out.” I just had to concentrate on bowling. I’ve done a lot of Ironmen [long-distance triathlons] – five full ones and eight half Ironmen. So when I start suffering, I think Gunther comes out and shouts at me, to push through the pain. I’ve never really been an aggressive guy. Only when I played for my country, I got excited. It was my job and that was the best me, the best player.A full Ironman sounds pretty demanding – how did you get into that?
I got dared in 2013 to do my first Ironman for charity, for the Ironman 4 the Kidz foundation. I’ll never forget, all my best mates, when I said I’m considering doing an Ironman, they all started laughing at me. I’m not really built for triathlon – I’m a big man. And they laughed at me, so I said, “I’ll show you guys.” I always want to prove a point, it’s just my nature. I committed to it, trained my bum off, did my first one in 2013, and the bug’s bitten.I became an ambassador for the foundation, so I do a few events, speaking. It’s a really good charity to be involved with. I’m hoping to do some races in Europe; I’ve got to wait for my bike to get here, but I’m starting to train again. It gives me a bit more purpose. I love the coaching, but it’s nice to challenge myself physically and mentally.ALSO READ: Meet Gunther, the mountain boyHow long does one take? Sounds like more hard work than a day in the field.
The pros do it in eight and a half hours, so they’re quite quick. My best time is 14 hours 15 minutes, but you’ve got about 17 hours to finish it. So I’m not a world beater, but at the end of the day, as long as I can do it and I can raise as much money for my foundation – the nice thing is, I’m out there for so long, they get quite good mileage out of me! It’s a good platform for the charity. I’m not there to win the race, just to compete. It’s a personal challenge. I’m a decent swimmer, I’m a decent cyclist. Running, I’ll always battle. The moment you come into a space when you know how much pain your body has taken and how much you can still do, that’s half the battle won. Now I’m starting to enjoy it. It keeps me sane. If I’m bored, I’ll go and train instead of getting into trouble.

“I think there’s going to be a big exodus after the World Cup, then we’ll have to give these youngsters a chance and see if they can swim”

Speaking of which, you were famous for getting into disciplinary scrapes on and off the field. Have you mellowed with age?
I’m a quiet guy now. I know how important it is to build good relationships with players. With all my stupid experiences that I have had, I can recognise those situations and advise the younger kids that possibly this is the way it could go. I want to make a big difference off the field because of all the stupid things I have done. I can hopefully assist guys not to do the same things.What is it that leads young players into trouble?
The lifestyle – you have loads of money, can do what you want. You almost think you’re better than most people, and it takes you time to realise it’s not the be-all and end-all. If you can teach guys early that you’re not better than anyone else, you’re exactly the same and [your playing career] can be taken away quite quickly from you, then you can make a big difference to a youngster’s life. It’s a nice thing, being an ex-player and bumping my head a lot, knowing you can recognise those situations, you see it straight away and hopefully you can guide them. You might not do it with everybody, but if I can save two guys and lose one, I’m winning.You took more than 100 wickets for South Africa in both Test and ODI cricket. Looking back now, what are your favourite memories?
I always remember the parts I played with the bat, strangely enough! I’ll never forget, we played a one-day match in Durban against New Zealand. I think we needed eight runs [11] in the last over and somehow I got us past the line, batting No. 10 with Mark Boucher. That was probably one of my most memorable things, and of course the ten wickets in the Test match in the West Indies, winning us the match. The five-for against England at Centurion, just coming back after doing a stupid thing again. There are small things that stand out. I’m really happy with how my career went. Yes, you always have the stupidness – I don’t think if I were to act like that now, I would play a lot of Test matches.Nel celebrates with Mark Boucher after clinching a last ball victory against New Zealand in 2007•Getty ImagesAt least you could blame Gunther when it came to pulling faces, etc. Is there no room for that sort of eccentricity nowadays?
The rules have changed a lot. I think it’s sort of taken characters out of the game and sometimes that’s what people want, they want characters. With the rule changes, you get a lot of stereotyped people, guys just going through the motions. Yes, there’s a lot more people watching, it’s a lot more marketable for kids, but it’s also nice to have characters and people love a bit of that – you see Andrew Flintoff, what he’s done away from cricket as well as being an amazing character on the field. I think that’s the bit you’re starting to lose nowadays.Were you one for sledging?
I think I did everything possible to intimidate batters. It probably never worked, but when I bowled I was aggressive and said a few words and got myself worked up. I knew that was the frame of mind I had to be in to perform my best. I didn’t have the best action, I had decent skill, but I knew if I was in the right frame of mind, I’m ten times a more effective and dangerous bowler. I tried to make sure I got myself into that frame of mind. Sometimes I looked stupid, but I wanted to be the best for my team.Some of the antics might have distracted people from your ability. You had an excellent record of dismissing Brian Lara, for instance.
I was fortunate. Very proud of that. If I’m correct, I took him out nine times [eight] in 11 innings, or close to that. I had a really good record against him. Sometimes the conditions helped, and I also got him out a lot of times on 99 or 100. He was pretty cool about it. At the World Cup in 2007, he signed a shirt for me, “To Nelly: give me a break.” That’s one of my most favourite things. There’s ten times better bowlers than me who also had really good records against him, but to know that I got some of the best batters out more often than not, I’m very proud of that.Do you still have the shirt?
It’s in my bar in Pretoria. There’s a shirt of Glenn McGrath also, saying “I love your passion.” Those small things mean the world to me.

“I knew if I was in the right frame of mind, I’m ten times a more effective and dangerous bowler. Sometimes I looked stupid, but I wanted to be the best for my team”

Before we let you go, what are your predictions for the World Cup?
It’s going to be difficult. It depends on the conditions. A lot of teams are in contention. I think if guys figure out the conditions quite quickly, bowl the right lengths, and then have a bit of luck – you need a bit of luck in a World Cup. The ball might not swing as much. We’ve been training with the white Kookaburra and it doesn’t swing as much – that was very surprising to me. If the ball isn’t swinging, what to do?I hope South Africa win it, I know it’s probably biased, it would be nice to get the choker’s tag off our backs eventually…Do you think that label is justified?
It is what it is, and people always try and throw it in to make us feel bad about ourselves. I think it’s just one of those things. We accept it and get on with it. We haven’t played really good cricket in a World Cup consistently, and that’s where we let ourselves down. We always have a really bad game at a crucial stage of the tournament – in 2007 we had to beat England in Barbados to get through to the playoffs. In the World Cup in New Zealand also we played poorly and just snuck through again. If we can play consistent cricket and our big players stand up… but we mustn’t depend heavily on our big players, all the small parts have to contribute to the system to make you win a World Cup.My small tip is India and England – they’re the two favourites. Home conditions [for England] and India are a really good, balanced side, they could be really dangerous. And also funnily enough, the Pakistanis always go well in England, they always find a way to do well – they could be an outsider. You can’t ever write the Australians off. They always seem to peak at the right times at the World Cup. So it’ll be interesting to see, but I’ll probably go with India, England… and hopefully South Africa!