Nauman, who became only the second person ever from interior Sindh to play a Test, didn’t hit his stride till 2018

Umar Farooq04-Feb-2021Where is he from?Nauman Ali was born in Khipro, a small city in a subdivision of the Sanghar district in interior Sindh, connected to India’s border on the east side in front of the Thar desert. Nauman spent his childhood in Khipro until the age of 14, with no cricket in sight, until his father’s job brought the entire family to Hyderabad, meaning access to decent cricket infrastructure around the Niaz Stadium.Nauman is a Punjabi, with his family having roots from Attock, but he grew up largely in Sindh. He is the only one among his eight brothers to play competitive cricket, as the others never rose from recreational tape-ball cricket. Nauman did his bachelors in commerce from Latifabad and is an alumnus of Fazul-ur-Rehman cricket club in Hyderabad.Related

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His uncle Rizwan Ahmed, who played an ODI for Pakistan in 2008 against Zimbabwe, was a crucial figure in convincing Nauman to take up cricket seriously. Nauman started off as a fast bowler, but because of the dry conditions in the city, he was converted into a left-arm spinner, giving him a better chance to impose himself.Rizwan helped Nauman rebuild his action, while his elder brother Faisal Ali (now based in Scotland) and regional coach Iqbal Imam assisted him to spin the ball. Imam in particular was an influential figure for most local cricketers; for five decades until 2019, there were around 16 districts feeding directly into the national circuit. Is Nauman the first ever cricketer from interior Sindh to play a Test? Excluding the metropolitan city of Karachi, Nauman is only the second player from the remaining provinces of Sindh to have represented Pakistan in red-ball cricket. Sindh has 95 cities with a total population of 47.89 million, with Karachi alone covering 20 million. Unsurprisingly, Karachi, with bigger and better cricket infrastructure, has taken up most of the sporting opportunities.Interior Sindh, meanwhile, has been ravaged by poverty and lack of basic necessities. Sport, including cricket, is generally not a priority in the rural area of the province.Nauman grew up playing on dry and grubby open fields in his native town, with no clear pathway to the national circuit till he moved to Hyderabad, the second largest city in Sindh with a population of over six million.Nauman Ali began his career as a fast bowler before being converted into a left-arm spinner•Associated PressHow did he finally make it into the national circuit?Once Nauman’s family migrated to Hyderabad, his uncle Rizwan’s success story sucked him fully into cricket. Rizwan, who is based in Pennsylvania now, played 18 years of domestic cricket until 2016 as an allrounder, scoring 9634 runs and taking 189 wickets (including 7225 first-class runs at 35.94 and 135 wickets). Rizwan got the opportunity to represent Pakistan in 2008 when Shahid Afridi was rested for the final ODI against Zimbabwe, with the team having already secured the series with a 4-0 lead. However, he only bowled four wicketless overs and didn’t bat.Rizwan never played for Pakistan again, but his brief international stint made enough waves back home in Hyderabad, where the locals celebrated him. Before Rizwan, Faisal Athar was the only other local player to feature for Pakistan, playing an ODI against New Zealand in 2003. Like Rizwan, Athar too never got into the national side again.Still, their respective international appearances turned them into local heroes, and they both became mentors for the small cricketing community in the town that revolves around the Niaz Stadium with Fazur ur Rehman cricket club as its home team.In 70 years of cricket, so far only five players from Sindh (excluding Karachi) have represented Pakistan: Faisal Athar, Rizwan Ahmed, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hasnain and Nauman. Before Nauman, opener Sharjeel Khan represented the country in one Test, 25 ODIs and 15 T20Is before losing his place in the side in 2017 for his role in spot-fixing.Nauman has picked up 55% of his first-class wickets since 2018•Associated PressNauman only came under the spotlight in 2018, where he has been since 2007?Nauman began his career in 2004 at the Under-19 level, playing inter-district matches for Hyderabad. Over the next three years, he would play more than 150 games at both inter-district as well as inter-region level. In 2005, Nauman was picked by United Bank Limited under the captaincy of Azhar Mehmood, to play in the PCB Patrons’ Trophy. He stayed with the team for four straight seasons until 2008, but couldn’t help them qualify for first-class cricket.Nauman had also spent more than five seasons playing league cricket in the UK, including four consecutive seasons in the JCT 6000 Bradford Cricket League. He was then signed by Khan Research Laboratory after Saeed Ajmal had left them for ZTBL in 2009. Nauman spent 10 seasons with KRL, playing 47 games and picking up 145 wickets at 21.66, including 43 scalps in 2018 alone.In 2004, he started playing inter-district under19 for Hyderabad, and spent the next three years playing inter-district to inter region level, amassing over 150 games. He was picked by United Bank Limited under Azhar Mehmood captaincy to play PCB Patrons’ Trophy (grade 2) in 2005 and stayed with them for four seasons until 2008, but this side couldn’t qualify for first-class cricket. He had also spent more than five seasons playing league cricket in UK with four consecutive season in JCT 6000 Bradford Cricket League. He was signed by Khan Research Laboratory after Saeed Ajmal left them for ZTBL in 2009. He played 10 straight seasons thereafter for KRL, picking up 145 wickets at 21.66 (43 in 2018 alone).Nauman Ali receives his Test cap from Yasir Shah•PCBWhy did he play just 47 games across 10 seasons? During his time at KRL between 2009 and 2018, the team had a specialist fast-bowling unit including Sadaf Hussain (221 wickets at 18.92), Yasir Ali (182 at 21.86), Yasir Arafat (167 at 17.20), Mohammad Abbas (132 at 14.61) and Rahat Ali (between: 2009-2015: 125 at 20.71).With such a strong bowling line up, Nauman did not have too many opportunities to make the XI and missed out playing full seasons until 2018-19, when he played eight games to pick up 43 wickets at 14.20.Nauman was only picked for Pakistan at the age of 34 after spending 14 years playing first class cricket. Since 2018, he has taken 158 wickets at 21.48, which constitute 55.5% of his entire first-class haul.He has been in the system since 2007 and in the first 11 years of his career, managed to take only 134 wickets, mainly due to the lack of opportunities and being on the bench for more than half a season. But when he eventually had his chance, he made the most out of it. Last year alone, Nauman picked up six five-fors and three 10-wicket hauls to become an inevitable selection for Pakistan.The Pakistan fielders are jubilant after Nauman Ali snares one•Associated PressHow did he do that?There are two factors – tweaking the technical side of his game, and the nature of the pitches he played on. In the last three years, Nauman played 17 games out of 28 on Karachi pitches, where he took 104 wickets. He also revamped his bowling technique with the kookaburra ball, which doesn’t have the sharp and uplifted seam to help spinners. But Nadeem Khan, a veteran of 534 first-class wickets, talked him through not to rely too much on the surface, but to go with the spin by revolving the ball in the air at the point of release. Nauman had till then been bowling with pace, nipping the ball by hitting the seam with no control on his field placement.His stint with Multan Sultans in 2018, with Nadeem around as manager of the franchise, helped Nauman to rework on his bowling by pulling the pace behind the ball and using the air instead. This fundamentally changed his technique and made him more effective with the ball than he was in the first 11 years of his career.Could this mean Pakistan may omit him for away tours? This remains to be seen. Nauman’s recent wickets have been taken while playing in relatively drier conditions: UBL Complex Karachi (58 at 18.15), NBP Sports Complex Karachi (31 at 20.06), National Stadium Karachi (30 at 30.86). But at the same time, he has taken the most number of wickets – 61 at 22.32 – playing at his home ground at KRL in Rawalpindi, a green top venue.Pakistan have adapted a policy of horses for courses, with spinners taking a lead role on home soil. Outside Pakistan, it’s too early to guarantee a place for him in the playing XI, but he is likely to make the larger squad. Yasir Shah, with his international experience, is still the lead spinner, but Nauman is here to stay as a wicket-taking prospect, at least in England. His fitness, according to him, has kept him active and that is the element he would like to contain to stay in the mix for longer.

The ask for both teams will depend on how New Zealand fare in their series against Pakistan too

S Rajesh15-Dec-2020Even as a standalone contest, Australia vs India is a marquee series with a lot riding on it, but with the World Test Championship final looming in June, there is plenty at stake for both teams in terms of the larger picture as well. New Zealand’s 2-0 series win against West Indies lifts them to third in the Championship table, and if they repeat that scoreline against Pakistan later this season, both Australia and India will have some work to do to stay above them on the table. Here is a look at what this series, and India’s home series against England, mean for their qualification prospects.India
India have two series left in the current cycle, against Australia and England. Both are four-Test series, which means the points allocation for both series are the same: 30 points for a win, 10 for a draw.If New Zealand get full points from their series against Pakistan, their tally will go up to 420, and their points percentage to 70. That means 70% is the target that India need to go past, to stay ahead of New Zealand.For that to happen, India need at least 150 points, out of the 240 that are on offer from these two series. That can happen in two ways: if India win five matches, or if they win four (120) and draw three (30).ESPNcricinfo LtdGiven India’s outstanding home record, they will have a fair chance of getting full points against England; that will mean they will need at least one win, or three draws, in the four Tests in Australia to reach that target of 150 points.If, for instance, India lose to Australia by a 1-2 margin, they will need 110 points from the series against England. Given that a win will fetch 30 points and a draw 10, the only way they can reach 110 is if they win all four.Australia
Australia are currently on 296, and need to go beyond 420 to have a 70-plus points percentage, if the series against South Africa happens. If that series is cancelled, their target will be to exceed 336. Given that the South Africa series is expected to be a three-Test one, there will be 40 points on offer for a win, and 13 for a draw.ESPNcricinfo LtdDespite the myriad injury worries, Australia are still on a pretty firm wicket, thanks to the points tally they have already built up. If the series against India ends 2-2, Australia will be on 356 points, and a percentage of 74.17. From there, even a 1-0 series against South Africa will push them to 422 points, and just beyond New Zealand’s reach. If they lose 1-2 to India, Australia will need a 2-0 series verdict against South Africa to stay above 70%.

Rahane visualised dominating Mitchell Johnson at the MCG in 2014, but will those visions be as clear and unambiguous this Christmas?

Sidharth Monga22-Dec-2020Four years ago, speaking about Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid had told The Cricket Monthly that having successfully completed a cycle of touring the world, Rahane must be experiencing the beautiful feeling that he belongs at the top level.”For me after playing a year of international cricket, I knew I could do it,” Dravid said. “I just knew. It took me a year. I played [Curtley] Ambrose. I played [Allan] Donald. I played [Courtney] Walsh. I got a good feeling. I got a one-day hundred. I went on tours. I approached tours differently. I just felt, ‘I actually belong here.’ Then you start thinking differently. ‘Now I want to do more for the team. Now I want to become a match-winner. Now I want to do it when it is tough.'”Sometimes you need a bit of success. Something just clicks. That’s when you know, ‘Boss, I belong here.’ He [Rahane] has developed his attacking game. He now knows it deep down that, ‘Boss, if I work hard, if I practice, I can succeed at this level.’ It is a very good feeling to have. It takes some time to come, but when it comes you know it. You know, ‘Boss, I belong here.'”You wonder, though, if that feeling is permanent or if it can disappear with time.

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In many ways, Rahane the batsman has been the hardest to pin down among the group of batting talent that emerged from India since the retirements of the Sachin Tendulkar batch. Cheteshwar Pujara is the out-and-out defensive bulwark; Virat Kohli the all-round, all-format genius; and Rohit Sharma the limited-overs colossus whom you try to push into Tests every opportunity you get. What is Rahane, though? Difficult to put in a bracket.When he was piling up the runs in domestic cricket, Rahane somehow didn’t get a debut, travelling with the squad on 13 occasions before finally being handed the cap against Australia in Delhi in 2013. Putting a nervous debut behind, Rahane showed he could dominate world-class attacks – be it South Africa at Kingsmead, Australia at the MCG or England at Lord’s. Often run down by domestic bowlers – in casual conversations – as someone who didn’t turn up on the big occasion, Rahane became India’s go-to batsman on a stretch of 11 straight Tests in South Africa, England and Australia.In the first 13 Test series that he played, Rahane averaged under 29.66 in only one. In nine of them, he averaged over 50. This was enough for him to become the second name on Indian team lists – R Ashwin wouldn’t be picked for all away Tests – and thus the vice-captain. Then came a horror home series against Sri Lanka in late 2017 in which he averaged 3.4, which was deemed to be reason enough for India to drop Rahane for the South Africa tour that followed in early 2018, even though Rahane was the rare Indian batsmen who averaged better away than at home and played pace better than spin.All this while his limited-overs cricket confounded. That the selectors made him captain when MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli rested for the short Zimbabwe tour in 2015 showed they had identified a future captain, but then again Dhoni would find – not unfairly – that Rahane was a pretty limited limited-overs batsman: dashing against the new ball but sluggish once the field spread. The next management rated him higher in limited-overs cricket than in Tests, dropping him in the longer format in South Africa but during the ODIs anointing him India’s No. 4 for a World Cup that was less than two years away. A series later, he was back to being the Test specialist with no place in the ODIs.Ajinkya Rahane, who once dominated Dale Steyn in Durban, James Anderson at Lord’s and Mitchell Johnson at the MCG, has been lost somewhere•Getty ImagesEver since then, Rahane has come across as a batsman not at peace with his game. It will be simplistic – and perhaps unfair – to blame one selection call: if you are good enough, you should come back. It is not that Rahane has not come back – and to be fair to them, the team management have shown more faith in him since that South Africa tour – it is just that you don’t feel he is the same batsman. In 23 Tests since then, he has scored only two centuries, averaged under 40 and his strike rate has been 45. Before that, he had nine centuries in 43 Tests, used to average 44 and strike at 53 runs per 100 balls.One of the reasons experts feel Rahane has hit this inertia is that he relies on getting away with a couple of early risks before he settles in. In this phase, he has not had that much luck with these starts or perhaps has lost the attacking instinct a touch – which can be the difference between a four and a nick – or perhaps attacks have figured him out better.It is an observation that has backing in numbers: according to ESPNcricinfo logs of whether a batsman was in control of how he reacted to a delivery, in the last three years, no Indian batsman has hit more not-in-control boundaries in the first 30 balls of an innings than Rahane. And yet, his overall control numbers at the start of an innings are better than even Kohli, but his strike rate lower. It points to a possible pattern of defence, defence, defence and then the need for a four.Even when he gets off to a start nowadays, Rahane doesn’t settle into the efficient pace he used to earlier. He used to average 86 in innings he crossed 20 before that South Africa series in 2018, but since then the number is down to 61 – behind Kohli, Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Rohit.

The issue with Rahane will be the dual responsibility of leading – for more than one Test for the first time in his career – a diminished side that might still be shocked and of turning around a plateauing personal career. And as is usually the case with a stand-in, he will have a less than ideal XI at his disposal.

That young man mistaken by many as a pushover but who had this urge to dominate the best in the world – Dale Steyn in Durban, James Anderson at Lord’s and Johnson at the MCG – has been lost somewhere at a point of his career where you would expect him to come into his own. It is not that Rahane has been a liability, but those VVS Laxman-like classics – doomed as he is to be compared, with Laxman also being the No. 5 – have gone missing. The last of those arguably was the pocketbook version of the epic Dravid-Laxman Eden Gardens stand, which came in Bangalore in a match-winning 118-run association with Pujara to halt what looked like a marauding Australian side, in early 2017.In normal circumstances, this series would have been extremely important for Rahane to keep the question marks away come the home series – against England in February – where his record is not great. It is at this time though that Rahane will captain India for more than one Test for the first time. It cannot be ideal that he comes in with the possible match-turning run-out in Adelaide to his credit, and the most scrutiny over his shot and his defensive technique during the 36 all out in the second innings. And as is usually the case with a stand-in, he will have a less than ideal XI at his disposal in the regulation captain’s absence plus the forced loss of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami to compound his problems.Rahane has captained India twice before in Tests. In the first of those, in a crucial series-decider against Australia in Dharamsala in 2017, he pulled out all the positive moves – from selection to bowling changes to field placements to an attacking innings to kill a potentially tricky chase – so his diminutive demeanour should not be an issue. The issue will be the dual responsibility of leading a diminished side that might still be shocked and of turning around a plateauing personal career.Melbourne around Christmas is not a great time to be visiting: it is a great time of cheer for families, but it remains only within those families. If you don’t have your family there, you want to go out; but there is nobody outside. Streets of the CBD can seem eerie with no people. You know it is a special time for the country, but somehow you are not part of it. It is only the next morning that tens of thousands of cheerful people walk into the MCG.It was here on Christmas day six years ago – when possibly cricketers preparing for the Boxing Day Test are the only ones working – that Rahane visualised himself dominating Johnson. And he duly did that in a brutal assault, even as the bowler got under the skin of Kohli at the other end, drawing three bad shots in a brief spell of play. This visualisation is almost manifestation: “if there are positive things in your mind, they will happen,” Rahane says.But will those visions be as clear and unambiguous this Christmas?

Belated request to stay leaves allrounder in no-win situation, and may hasten end of Test career

George Dobell16-Feb-2021It felt like a farewell. As Moeen Ali thrashed five sixes and three fours in 12 balls of carnage, it felt as if he had decided to go out playing the way he had always wanted to play. To go out swinging, if you like.First, the reality check. Moeen will probably play for England again within a month. Yes, he’s returning to England now, but he will re-join the tour party in time for the T20I leg of the tour which starts on March 12.He could return to Test cricket, too. He’s only 33 and, despite that moderate form with the bat and some inconsistency with the ball, he showed glimpses of the ability that has earned him nearly 200 Test wickets and nearly 3,000 Test runs.But just because he can, doesn’t mean he will. And the fact is, with England likely to play one spinner in home Tests and during the away Ashes, he is giving other candidates – and younger candidates, at that – a chance to establish themselves in his absence. This feels like the end of the road.It’s probably worth reflecting on how we arrived at this point. How a man whose life has been, for the most part, driven by an ambition to play for England, has “chosen” (more on this word later) to go home rather than play Test cricket. It would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago. It is no exaggeration to say his father sometimes went without food to ensure Moeen – and his siblings – had the best chance to fulfil their potential in life. In Moeen’s case that meant playing cricket.And that’s what he did. He used to rush to the park to play cricket the second he was released from school. When the park was locked each night, he and his friends would climb back in and play in the dark. When his mum dragged him home, he’d play in the hall of their house. He was a professional cricketer before he could grow a beard. How could a man so obsessed with the game end up in a situation where he has declined several touring opportunities with England?Maybe we are over-complicating things here.We have to remember this key point: England are trying to fulfil an absurdly heavy schedule during a pandemic. To that end, they have asked their players to spend a long time on the road without the option – usually a part of touring life, these days – of seeing their friends or families. For those all-format players on the tours of Sri Lanka and India, that means the prospect of three months away.Virat Kohli had his stumps disturbed by Moeen Ali on the first day of the second Test•BCCIThe added complication comes when we factor in the IPL. If we do, it leaves those all-format players facing the prospect of up to five months away. And, while that may have been deemed acceptable in an age when cricketers travelled by boat and were not expected to play an active role as parents, it isn’t any more.The ECB, consequently, committed to giving those all-format players a break at some stage of the tour. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, you may recall, were rested from the Sri Lanka leg. Mark Wood and Jonny Bairstow missed the first two Test of this series – both are back in India now – while Jos Buttler played the first Test and was rested for the next three. Moeen was told he would be going home after the first two Tests in India. He spoke about it before the series started.Now, let’s go back to that ‘chosen’ word. It was the word used by Joe Root when he confirmed Moeen was heading home after the second Test. “Moeen has chosen to go home,” he said.It wasn’t the word used to explain Buttler’s or Archer’s absence. It wasn’t the word used to explain the absence of Bairstow or Wood or Stokes, either. Or the word used when Root himself missed the first Test of the 2020 summer to be at the birth of his child. Only Moeen’s.So, why use it with him?Well, it is possible that Root simply expressed himself clumsily. In the aftermath of a chastening defeat, having dealt eloquently with questions about the pitch and England’s problems against spin, he might simply have erred in suggesting that Moeen had simply decided to go home. Who hasn’t done that at some stage? Root has had a magnificent tour; he can be forgiven a misstep.But we should be very clear that it is a misleading word. The fact is – and they do not dispute it – the England management had agreed Moeen’s rotation period ahead of the series. It was their decision.England celebrate after Moeen Ali bowls Virat Kohli•BCCIBut then confidence in Dom Bess wilted. And Moeen enjoyed a return to Test cricket which, while not perfect, provided a reminder of the high ceiling his game has. He would, but for dropped chances, have taken a 10-for, remember. And he has now taken 56 wickets at 25.69 apiece in his last 11 Tests. So, sometime on Monday afternoon, Ed Smith, the national selector asked Moeen stay on the tour.It was an unfair request, really. And a request not made to any of the other rotated players. It forced Moeen into an impossible situation whereby he was made to feel he was either letting down his family or his team. But by then he had made a commitment to that family – a family who have watched on helplessly as he was diagnosed with Covid-19, remember – and they were expecting him home. Was he meant to call and say ‘Sorry, kids: hopefully see you in three months’? In such a light, it wasn’t really a choice at all. He is, by the way, expected to spend little more than a week at home. His flight back to India departs on February 26.You wonder what Bess makes of all this. As if he hasn’t had enough to deal with, he will now go into the second half of the series knowing that he was not just dropped, but that the national selector asked another spinner to stay on tour because confidence in him was so low. It’s not terrific man-management, is it?There will be those, no doubt, who suggest Test cricket should be England’s (and Moeen’s) priority. And there will be those appalled that the IPL is factored into this equation. The fact is, though, these players cannot be expected to ignore the riches on offer in India and besides, with a T20 World Cup to be played in the country later in the year, there are strong cricketing reasons for being involved in the tournament.

Smith asking Moeen for a favour now is like receiving a late-night text from the ex that broke your heart; if they liked it they should have put a ring on it.

Moeen doesn’t have a full central contract, remember. An IPL gig (he was released by RCB last year but is in the auction at the end of this week) could more than double his annual income. For a man in the home stretch of his career, it is a factor that has to be considered.It’s probably unfortunate that it was Smith who asked Moeen to stay. That relationship hasn’t been especially warm since May 2018 when Smith dropped Moeen from the first Test squad he announced – he didn’t just drop him, he questioned his value overseas and his ability as a first-choice spinner in an unnecessarily punchy series of interviews – and then dropped him again after the first Test of the 2019 Ashes. Moeen had been the top wicket-taker in the world over the previous 12 months, yet was not offered a full central contract a couple of months later. That is the key moment when the relationship started to sour. At the time he most needed support, Moeen was cast adrift.And so we end up here. With a man who has done him no favours asking for a favour. It’s hard to avoid the suspicion that there’s some more less-than-glorious man-management coming home to roost. Smith asking Moeen for a favour now is like receiving a late-night text from the ex that broke your heart; if they liked it they should have put a ring on it.Related

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The problem with the ‘chosen’ word is that it has acted like a dog whistle for the ignorant or those with agendas. It has suggested – perhaps quite innocently – that Moeen has somehow turned his back on the team. It has left Moeen facing accusations – some from people who really should know better – of apathy or weakness or selfishness which few of his team-mates in similar positions have had to endure. It threw him to the wolves, really. It needs to be corrected.There is, perhaps, a deeper irony here. Moeen has been used as the poster boy for inclusivity by the ECB since he made his international debut. But, as we reflect on the wreckage of this situation, we might well question how equitable and inclusive his treatment has been. It’s worth repeating: nobody else was described as choosing to miss part of the tour.And so it feels like an ending.Did Moeen fulfil his talent? A batting average of 28.88 seems criminally low for one so blessed. But 189 Test wickets? At a better strike-rate than Graeme Swann or Jim Laker? That’s an over-achievement, really.There was something about the fragility of his cricket – the sense that you were never more than a waft from disaster – that somehow made every moment more vital and precious. All in all, his career has been like so many of his innings. It left you wanting more. But it was kind of beautiful while it lasted.

The young South African beanpole looks forward to his first IPL season

Saurabh Somani23-Mar-2021The nets at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg adjoin the Bullring. You walk through the stands and onto an elevated patch where there is room for several batsmen to have a hit, and plenty of space to give the ball a good whack. In early 2018, Virat Kohli batted there ahead of the Johannesburg Test. He was still stewing over India’s series loss and coming off a combative press conference in Centurion, where he had made a sublime 153, the innings of the series.In the Wanderers nets, appearing to be in a worked up state, which he usually can turn into a zen-like focus, Kohli is beaten three times in a row outside off stump.The bowler is not Indian, he’s not even a regular net bowler. He’s Marco Jansen, all of 17 years old. And if it looks like he’s in two places at once, it’s because his twin brother Duan is there too. Both bowling left-arm pace, both nearer seven feet than six, the brothers will end the nets session by taking a photo with Kohli, which they will go on to enlarge and hang up in a flat they’ll share.Three years since drawing a “Well bowled” from Kohli, Marco might find himself bowling to the man again, this time in the most elite league in the world, when IPL 2021 comes around.Marco was bought at his base price, Rs 20 lakh (close to US$28,000) by the Mumbai Indians, and Zaheer Khan, the director of cricket operations for the franchise, said after the auction that they were expecting a bidding war for the bowler. Team owner Akash Ambani said Mumbai had been “tracking Marco for the last two years”. When the most complete franchise in T20, with a record of identifying potential early, shows interest in you, people sit up and take notice.Duan (left) and Marco with Virat Kohli in Johannesburg, 2018•Koos Jansen”I actually can’t believe it, if you think of it like that,” Marco says. “To be honest, three years ago my brother and I were talking about playing for the varsity first team and never even thought about IPL. So to be where I am today, I’m very blessed and honoured. It’s really a privilege.”I’m 6ft 8in. At the start of this year, I went for testing in Pretoria and they had a speed gun there. I think my average speed was about 137-138kph. My top speed was 141.2 or 141.3.”I just have to get in a jump, because I’m quite thin for my height, so I must get a little bit stronger. The goal is to try and get 140-plus as my average speed. That must be the main reason why they [Mumbai Indians] looked at me. And that I can also middle it a little bit [with the bat] as well. I’m not going to say anything more on that (chuckles), but yeah, I can hit the ball.”The Jansens’ father, Koos, a former rugby union player for Free State Cheetahs, says he knew he had something special on his hands during an Under-9s school match.”Marco opened the batting. It was small boys, so they were playing only 20 overs each, and he scored 164 not out,” Koos remembers. “And Duan came in at No. 4 and scored over 80. I realised that for a little boy of nine years old to concentrate for 20 overs and score 164, he’s got to have a special talent; both of them. So I explored that.”We usually went to the nets. I trained them there, bowled to them, taught them some techniques. They were talented, I saw that, and I knew that they are going to be all right in the cricket scenery.”Marco is a little bit taller than Duan but also 15 minutes younger, which gives Duan certain older-sibling rights, like getting to keep that photo of them with Kohli when Marco moved to Port Elizabeth to play domestic cricket for the Warriors.Marco on meeting Rahul Dravid: “He was very humble and it’s something that I looked up to. It taught me to stay humble and not think I’m the best in the world”•Koos Jansen”He’s definitely motivated to get to the stage where I am,” Marco says of his brother. “And he’s just as good as well. We’re basically the same player. He can also hit a long ball, and he actually bowled quicker than me in high school. And we’re more or less the same pace now as well. It’s just literally, I’ve got more opportunities at the right time.”Koos, who has taken an active hand in furthering his sons’ cricketing careers, understands that only one might make it big in South Africa. “Because they are exactly the same type of bowlers and batsmen, there’s only place for one in our set-up.”So Duan is taking the longer route to get to his dreams, but he’s still playing very much, playing franchise cricket over here. I spoke to Duan [after the IPL auction] and he’s over the moon. They’re always supportive of each other. There’s no jealousy between them. They are very competitive, but they are very happy when one of them does well.”They sometimes share in the punishment too. Once, on a rugby field when they were in school, Marco faced the referee’s wrath for a tackle done wrong. He got sent off. “Then Duan took the ball because it was a penalty for us and the referee asked him why he was still on the field because he had just sent him off!”That net session in 2018 wasn’t the first time Marco was bowling to Indian batsmen with international experience. In 2017, during an India A tour of South Africa, the twins bowled to Manish Pandey, Karun Nair and Abhinav Mukund, as well as future internationals Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. Watching from the sidelines was Rahul Dravid, then the India A coach.”He was very humble and it’s something that I looked up to,” Marco says of meeting Dravid. “I’m a player who always gets on top of everybody, or of a player who thinks he’s very good. It taught me to stay humble and not think I’m the best in the world, or I’m better than the game or something.”In six T20 innings so far, batting in the lower order, Marco has scored 71 runs at a strike rate of 124.56•Koos JansenLikewise, the IPL will not be Marco’s first trip to the subcontinent. He was part of a 2019 South Africa A tour to India, and was called up as back-up for South Africa’s Test squad in Pakistan earlier this year.At the IPL, he will get to share a dressing room with Trent Boult, a natural idol for a left-arm quick bowler.”Firstly, I just want to get to know them as people and from there on, try and tap into their cricket brains as much as possible, especially with Trent, [Jasprit] Bumrah, all those guys. Try and ask them as many questions as possible and just enjoy the experience. It’s not every day that a youngster who is 20 years old gets picked in the IPL, so I just want to go there with an open mind and enjoy every moment.”And what’s the first thing he’ll ask Boult once he has got to know him well enough?”The best fishing spots,” Marco says, laughing. Perhaps also a tip or two on getting batsmen to fish outside off? “Oh that too, of course.”

And who has gone scoreless in the most successive Test innings?

Steven Lynch21-Dec-2021Maybe it’s the inbuilt pessimism of an England fan, but our batters seem notorious for failing to add substantially to an overnight score: Joe Root and Dawid Malan kept up the tradition in Brisbane. Who are the best and worst “resumers” in Tests? asked Jez Bebbington from England

This is a difficult one to pin down but, looking at recognised batters who were not out overnight on 30 or more occasions in Tests, the worst two resumers do appear to be England players. Nasser Hussain averaged only 26.47 in 42 attempts after being not out overnight, with his frequent team-mate Mark Butcher not far ahead with 26.93 (31 innings). Next come Arjuna Ranatunga (28.63), Ajinkya Rahane (29.73 as I write) and Ashwell Prince (31.72).The best Test resumer is Garry Sobers, who was not out overnight on 41 occasions, and averaged 83 next day. Then come Michael Clarke (73.25), Len Hutton (73.17), Kumar Sangakkara (73.13) and the inevitable Don Bradman (71.46)Rory Burns was dismissed by the first ball of the series at the Gabba. Has this happened before in the Ashes? asked Michael Williams from England

When Rory Burns was bowled by Mitchell Starc in Brisbane, he became only the second man to be dismissed by the first ball of an Ashes series, after England’s Stan Worthington – he was caught behind off Ernie McCormick, also at the Gabba, in 1936-37.There are nine other instances in men’s Tests of a batter falling to the first ball of a new series, including another one earlier in 2021 – Afghanistan’s Abdul Malik, making his Test debut, was bowled by Blessing Muzarabani of Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi in March. This fate befell the unfortunate Bangladesh opener Hannan Sarkar twice, in successive series against West Indies. He fell first ball to Pedro Collins both times, in Dhaka in December 2002, and in St Lucia in May 2004. Collins also dismissed Hannan with the first ball of the second Test in that 2004 series, in Jamaica. For the full list of those dismissed by the first ball of the match (any Test, not just the first), click here.Thanks to Covid, Australia have had three different captains in their last three Tests. Was this a first? asked Michael Mueller from Australia

Before Steven Smith took over for the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, following Pat Cummins in Brisbane and Tim Paine in the previous Test against India, there had been only three occasions when Australia had needed three different captains in successive Tests. Warren Bardsley and Herbie Collins skippered in the last two matches of the 1926 Ashes series, and Jack Ryder in the first one of 1928-29. Lindsay Hassett bowed out after captaining in the final Test of the 1953 Ashes, and Ian Johnson took over for 1954-55, but he was injured in the first Test and temporarily replaced by Arthur Morris for the next. In 1956-57, Ray Lindwall and Johnson captained in the last two Tests in India, but Ian Craig was in charge for the first Test of the following season, in South Africa.However, that’s not the Australian record. During the 1880s, they had two overlapping sequences of four Tests in which they had different captains. The first four matches of the home series against England in 1884-85 were overseen by Billy Murdoch, Tom Horan, Hugh Massie and Jack Blackham. Horan returned for the fifth Test, but the captain in Australia’s next match, in England in 1886, was “Tup” Scott, making another four in a row (Massie/Blackham/Horan/Scott). By some interpretations, this run could also be said to include four instances of three different captains in successive matches.Ebadot Hussain has gone scoreless in 80% of his Test innings so far•BCCIEbadot Hossain of Bangladesh has had eight successive Test innings without scoring – is this a record? asked Gordon Wilson via Facebook

The Bangladesh seamer Ebadot Hossain has failed to score in his most recent eight Test innings, although he was only dismissed in three of them. It puts him level at the moment with the West Indian spinner Dinanath Ramnarine, who finished his career with eight scoreless innings, six of them ducks (including the last four). But two men have had nine in a row: Chris Martin of New Zealand, between November 2000 and March 2004, and the Sri Lankan paceman Lahiru Kumara in 2018 and 2019.Ebadot has actually managed only four runs in 15 Test innings, in 12 of which he did not score. His percentage of 80% scoreless innings is the most in Tests for anyone who batted at least ten times; India’s Ashish Nehra comes next with 16 scoreless innings out of 25.In one-day internationals, Terry Alderman had a run of eight successive scoreless innings, putting him clear of Jasprit Bumrah, Blessing Muzarabani and Shapoor Zadran with six.Pat Cummins took a five-for on his captaincy debut – how many people have done this in Tests? asked Joe Matthews from Australia

With his 5 for 38 against England in Brisbane in the first innings of the opening Ashes Test, Pat Cummins became only the 14th man to take five or more wickets in an innings in his first Test as captain. The only other Australian was George Giffen, with 6 for 155 against England in Melbourne in 1894-95.The best innings figures on captaincy debut are 7 for 52, by Imran Khan for Pakistan against England at Edgbaston in 1982 (Cummins is ninth). The best match figures are 13 for 135 by another Pakistani, Waqar Younis, who took 7 for 91 and 6 for 44 for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in Karachi in 1993-94. Cummins’s 7 for 89 is the best for someone making his captaincy debut in an Ashes match, beating Richie Benaud’s 7 for 112 (3 for 46 and 4 for 66) at the Gabba in 1958-59.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

How a little-known volleyball player rocked up and shocked New Zealand

Mohammad Isam04-Jan-2022In the middle of Ebadot Hossain’s second spell on the fourth day, captain Mominul Haque’s unmistakable shriek could be heard on TV. It prompted a number of Bangladesh fielders to make some , encouraging Ebadot to bowl another over. Someone asked him to keep his pace up.Shortly afterwards, Ebadot, the fast bowler whose average lingered in the 80s before the Mount Maunganui Test, delivered three massive blows for Bangladesh. And in doing so, he breathed fire into a Test that was meandering. On the horizon now is rare overseas success; Bangladesh can dare to dream of a Test win, an away win, their first-ever in New Zealand.For that, they still have to pick up five wickets and knock off a target they are set. But regardless of what happens on the final day, Ebadot, the volleyball player who is still employed by Bangladesh Air Force, has announced himself on the world stage.

****

Ebadot hit the top of Will Young’s stumps in the fourth over of his second spell. Young had hardly taken a misstep in his 69, his second half-century of the Test, until then. He’d added 73 along with Ross Taylor for the third wicket. But the delivery asked a vital question: whether to play forward or back. Young went back trying to pull the not-so-short ball, but missed.Next ball, Ebadot slung one into Henry Nicholls’ pads. The umpire turned down the appeal, and replays showed that it would have gone over the top of the stumps. Bangladesh were out of reviews anyways, partly thanks to Ebadot’s over-enthusiasm.But Ebadot did the next best thing. Off the very next ball, he got an inswinger to burst through Nicholls who tried to present the full face of the bat, but left a bit of gap somewhere. His colleagues were ecstatic at that point, running towards him.Absolutely on fire, a sight to behold, Ebadot ran into a shaky Tom Blundell in his next over, beating him once before trapping him lbw. Ebadot’s pace got the better of the New Zealand wicketkeeper, whose review also returned unfavourably.Much of Bangladesh have very little idea about Ebadot except for his salute after taking a wicket. Three wickets for no run in the space of seven balls against the world champions was certainly a great introduction. The incredible spell is likely to grow in stature should Bangladesh script history.Ebadot celebrates the wicket of Will Young•Getty Images”We haven’t done well in the past in New Zealand, but this team wants to do well here this time,” Ebadot said. “We want to do better abroad, and there’s no better place to start than here in New Zealand.”We [the pacers] get a bit more support in the first two hours in away conditions. We are still learning how to bowl in home and away conditions. We are trying to reverse the ball when it gets old. We want to improve the pace bowling department by trying to bowl better in different conditions and with the new and old ball.”Ebadat made his presence felt with both the semi-new and the old ball. Coming in as second change, he had also bowled a superb first spell, 9-2-23-1, in which he removed Devon Conway, the left-hander who scored 122 in the first innings.He had also convinced captain Mominul into taking two pretty poor reviews, both of which were struck down. Taskin Ahmed too was excited at the other end, taking a review for a potential lbw decision when Taylor had middled the ball.Taylor as always going to be the big wicket. He’s still out there, having survived a dropped chance on 17 and then a run out on 29. Ebadot played a role in that mix-up, when he intercepted Shadman Islam’s throw from gully, only to see his relay throw towards the stumps go awry.Up until this point, Ebadot’s day was going like the rest of his 11-Test career. He averaged 81.54 before this game. It had taken him all of two years to take ten wickets. Those who noticed him, started to feel that Ebadot wasn’t made for Test cricket. Bangladesh’s stock of fast bowling is on the rise in the last few years, so he may have perhaps been replaced soon.A senior player is often by his side, at mid-on and mid-off, offering advice. It is believed that he needs help with field placings and lengths. But his biggest asset – his pace – has always interested fast bowling coaches from Courtney Walsh to Charl Langeveldt to Ottis Gibson.Litton Das, his senior colleague believes everyone needs to have patience with Ebadot, and that he hasn’t played long enough to be judged. “I didn’t start well in my international career,” he said. “None of us in the current setup are doing that well too.”So you have to give the players enough chance. We also have to consider that Bangladesh play Tests infrequently, so he doesn’t get to play regularly. Fast bowlers don’t have everything under their control.”Sure, he has a high bowling average but he showed his ability today. I am hopeful that he will keep proving himself in the future too. This is only his 11th Test. A cricketer needs 15-17 Tests to understand the game. We should give him a bit of time.”Ebadot’s pace is a major asset for Bangladesh. He has misfired for three years now, but the selectors, team management and the coaching staff have kept faith in him. Definitely, they see something in him that the rest have missed. Sometimes these tough decisions bring the most wholesome, albeit unexpected, results. Ebadot couldn’t have struck at a better time for Bangladesh, and for those who backed him.

Numbers since 2019 show that he has found the job of opening a lot trickier in the IPL than that for his country

Gaurav Sundararaman and Shiva Jayaraman12-Apr-2022Among 15 batters to have batted at least 30 times in the top three since the 2019 IPL, only two average less than 30. And among those 15 batters, five strike at less than 130 runs per 100 balls. But only one falls in both categories: Rohit Sharma.Rohit has been way below par in the last few seasons in the IPL. The last time he averaged 30-plus in an IPL season was in 2016. Since then, Rohit has averaged below 30 – in the high twenties – every year. His strike rates in these five seasons have been ordinary too: he has struck at 130-plus only in one of them – in 2018. From the 2019 season, when he began opening for Mumbai Indians regularly, Rohit has averaged 27.9 and struck at 127.7. However, these numbers are not indicative of what he is capable of.In T20Is since April 2019, Rohit has made 982 runs at an average of 32.73 and strike rate of 144. And he has scored these runs mostly as an opener for India, the same position where he bats for Mumbai in the IPL. In fact, Rohit is currently the second-most prolific opener in T20Is after Martin Guptill. His 25 fifty-plus scores are the highest in the format for any opener; four of those have been hundreds, and no batter has score more hundreds in T20Is. So clearly, opening is something Rohit is used to.Related

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Even so, Rohit has found the same job a lot trickier in the IPL. It could be because he feels the need to take on the role of an anchor with Mumbai. After all, he is the captain and a seasoned player of the franchise. Rohit could well have been talking about himself when he said “we want batters to bat deep” after the loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore.India’s batting line-up doesn’t demand that role from him. There has been Virat Kohli to play the anchor. There has been KL Rahul too at times. Rohit is free to play his natural game with India. But perhaps he is not so with Mumbai. Or is he?Unlike Punjab Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai have had the luxury of having a strong middle order in the previous seasons. While the likes of Rahul, David Warner and Kane Williamson had to take on the responsibility of playing deep into the innings, Rohit has actually had the opportunity to play freely.Consider these numbers. Since the 2019 IPL, with Rohit in the middle, his partners have averaged 50.3 runs per dismissal across innings. Now, that is a privilege no other top-order batter has enjoyed in this period: among the 25 batters with at least 20 innings in the top three, none has had their partners average higher than Rohit’s.Rahul, who is often criticised for playing too slowly and costing his team in the end, has seen his partners getting dismissed every 31.4 runs on an average. Williamson has seen a dismissal every 28.8 runs from his partners. Thus, there is clearly a reason for these batters to drop anchor.