UAE go in as tournament favourites, but don’t rule out Canada, Nepal or the hosts Oman

Peter Della Penna17-Feb-2022After rampaging through the Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in 2012 and 2013 as tournament favorites, not to mention ascending to Full Member status in 2017, Ireland arrive to the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier A in Oman in the curious position where – at least on paper – they are not the tournament favorites. Both by ranking and by form, that distinction arguably rests with United Arab Emirates.In the leadup to this eight-team tournament, UAE came out victorious in a four-team quadrangular series held in Oman among a group that also included Oman, Ireland and Nepal. They won two out of three matches, including a 13-run victory over Ireland. It’s a margin that is more flattering to Ireland than the course of play demonstrated, and a result that is not an anomaly. In fact, UAE have won four of their last five T20Is against Ireland, including two of three immediately prior to the T20 World Cup in October.Related

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The sting of being on the outside looking at the main event as it was happening on home soil has given UAE all the motivation they need to reach their first T20 World Cup since 2014. They’re also a long way from where they were 29 months ago on the eve of the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, also played in their backyard, when their squad was decimated by a match-fixing scandal that claimed numerous players including former captain Mohammad Naveed and star batter Shaiman Anwar.It would be hard to find someone who could say with a straight face at the time that It would be one of the best things that ever happened to the UAE cricket system, but a proper cleanout not only left them with players fully committed to the cause, but also unearthed some hidden gems who might not have otherwise gotten opportunities stuck behind the likes of those who were allegedly undermining their own team-mates.At the top of that list is Muhammad Waseem, a dashing opening batter who sunk Ireland last October with an unbeaten century and has shown no signs of slowing down in 2022, having bulldozed his way to 84 off 44 balls in his last innings prior to the start of the qualifier against Oman. But not far behind are 21-year-old legspinner Karthik Meiyappan and 19-year-old wicketkeeper Vriitya Aravind. Both were handed senior team debuts as teenagers in December 2019 in the immediate aftermath of the fixing saga and the wisdom of that is paying off with two years of experience now under their belts. Meiyappan took a four-for in a win over Ireland last October while Aravind struck an audacious half-century in a win over the same side last week. Combined with the experienced trio of captain Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa and Zahoor Khan, it’s no wonder why UAE are entering this event as the highest ranked team in Oman.Ireland have been in a bit of a rut since losing to Namibia in the T20 World Cup last year•Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty ImagesMeanwhile, Ireland appear to be stuck in a prolonged malaise. After being knocked out of the T20 World Cup by Namibia in October, their woes against Associates have not ceased. A visit to Florida in December saw them lose by 26 runs to USA before clawing out a nine-run win to escape with a series draw. Though they then went on to take two of three ODIs from the West Indies in January, their T20I form remains worrisome. After a nine-wicket win over Oman to kick off the T20I quad series, they fell once again to the UAE before scratching their way to 127 all out in a less than convincing 16-run win over Nepal.The recurring theme is that if the top order doesn’t score the bulk of the runs, Ireland are in trouble. Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie and Gareth Delany all pack a serious punch, but the lack of consistency down the order puts extreme pressure on the bowling unit to set up or defend low totals. Craig Young has been in solid form in Oman and will need to keep that up to give Ireland the best chance of beating UAE to finish at the top of their group.In the same half of the draw as Ireland and UAE are underdogs Germany and Bahrain. Germany will lean heavily on the services of Dieter Klein and Michael Richardson, who both bring County cricket experience to the table from Leicestershire and Durham respectively. Bahrain’s fielding may leave a lot to be desired, but they have some heavy hitters in the form of the opening combo of Muhammad Younis and Sarfaraz Ali.The opposite half of the draw is a cricket version of the group of death. Oman, Nepal and Canada are expected to wage an intense battle to claim two semi-final berths on offer. Two years ago, it would have been a foregone conclusion that Oman would take one of the spots, particularly since they are hosting the event. But their opening round stumbles in the T20 World Cup in October exposed what is a rapidly aging squad. But just when alarm bells looked like they were ringing progressively louder after a pair of lopsided defeats to start off the T20I quad series last week, they came back on the final day to spring a shock upset of UAE as 40-year-old left-arm spinner Aamir Kaleem dipped his bowling hand in the fountain of youth to bag 5 for 29.Allround superstar Aqib Ilyas recently announced he will miss six months while getting treatment for a benign tumor, and already his absence has been felt at the top of the batting order. It only adds to the pressure heaped on opener Jatinder Singh to make up for the runs lost from Ilyas. Captain Zeeshan Maqsood has gone from firecracker to accumulator with the bat, but he may need to turn back the clock to reprise the approach from his youth to give the batting unit the extra bit of oomph they’ve been missing. Maqsood is still more than handy leading the spin attack and the pace unit still has sharper teeth than most in the Associate world led by Bilal Khan.Nepal has survived plenty of upheaval in the buildup to the tournament with Gyanendra Malla dumped as captain in favor of Sandeep Lamichhane. But the return of Pubudu Dassanayake as coach may have been just the elixir that was needed to wash away any ill feelings. Vice captain and allrounder Dipendra Singh Airee was in scintillating form in the T20I quad series, but the rest of the batting unit produced tepid displays.Despite being the highest ranked team in their half of the draw, Nepal will also have to deal with the absence of Karan KC, who had traveled to Oman for the tournament but failed a fitness test on the eve of the event and will take no part. His death overs hitting was just as important as his new ball bowling and Nepal showed few signs of adequately replacing either during the quad series.Can Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood roll back the years?•Peter Della PennaCanada may be ranked below both Oman and Nepal on paper, but are in excellent form leading into this tournament. They finished as runner-up to USA in the Americas Regional Qualifier, losing in a Super Over after a bizarre sequence in which USA stole two byes off the final ball of regulation. In past appearances at the global qualifier, Canada have traditionally started off red hot before fitness concerns have caught up to them and affected their performances the longer the group stage has dragged on. No better example of that came in 2019 when they ripped off three straight wins, including one over Ireland, to start off the event before losing three straight to fall short of the knockout stage.Longtime stalwart Nitish Kumar is absent due to work commitments, but his runs are more than made up for by the emergence of the big hitting Rayyan Pathan, captain Navneet Dhaliwal, Ravinderpal Singh and Hamza Tariq. Matthew Spoors, an Australian-based player who qualifies as a dual citizen, is expected to make a big impact on his Canada tournament debut after impressing at the top of the order in warm-up games held in Oman. Former Pakistan Under-19 left-arm quick Kaleem Sana, who was ineligible for the Americas Regional Qualifier in Antigua, has now fully cleared ICC qualification protocols for his adopted country and will provide a significant boost to Canada’s pace attack.Making their ICC Global Qualifier debut, Philippines round out the tournament field. Eight of the 14 players are based in Australia (all of them are dual citizens by virtue of having at least one parent from the Philippines) and have varying degrees of grade cricket experience. The highest echelon player in their ranks is Dan Smith, spent eight years playing for Gordon CC in the Sydney Grade competition and briefly appeared for the New South Wales 2nd XI. If they can win a game, let alone qualify for the semi-finals after entering the event ranked 46th in the world, it would become one of the great underdog success stories in cricket history.

Indians dominated the latest IPL auction, while Mumbai Indians spent contrasting amounts to secure their squad

Sampath Bandarupalli14-Feb-2022Indians get the big bids
The biggest earners at the IPL auction for the 2022 season turned out to be local players, something which is unusual. The three most expensive buys this weekend – Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer – were all Indians.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe only other time that happened was in 2011, when the top seven winning bids were on Indian players only. In fact, until 2021, 13 players had earned INR 10 crore or higher bids, out of which seven were overseas players. The 2022 auction had 11 players touching the 10-crore mark, but only four were foreigners.

Match-ups, quick runners and rain create “unique set of circumstances” in T20 Blast fixture

Matt Roller06-Jun-2022Tactical retirements in T20 cricket are like London buses: you wait forever for one, then several arrive in quick succession. A batter had never retired out in the first 19 seasons of English domestic T20 cricket, but Carlos Brathwaite and Samit Patel both did so in the same rain-reduced Vitality Blast fixture between Birmingham Bears and Nottinghamshire on Sunday.When R Ashwin retired himself out playing for Rajasthan Royals against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022, it quickly became apparent that his decision would be a seismic moment in T20 strategy. Analysts and coaches have long debated the merits and drawbacks of tactical retirements, but a high-profile player making a high-profile call has helped to destigmatise the move.Brathwaite and Patel’s retirements were only the fifth and sixth such dismissals in T20 history, according to ESPNcricinfo’s extensive database, and none of the previous four had happened in the same match. With the game shortened to eight overs a side, wickets were significantly devalued and both teams were willing to adapt accordingly.R Ashwin retired out in the IPL two months ago•BCCIBrathwaite, the Bears’ captain, was working as a pundit on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time:Out show when Ashwin opted to retire and declared his support for the move at the time. “How often have we thought, ‘yeah, he’s batted five balls too much, couldn’t get it away, couldn’t get out, and as a result we’ve lost a bit of momentum’?” he said. “I think it was gutsy from Rajasthan. Moving forward, it’s something we’ll probably see a lot more of… it’s something that will become a part of the game.”On Sunday, Brathwaite was 17 not out off 11 balls – and had hit the final ball of the seventh over for six – when he saw that Calvin Harrison, Notts’ legspinner, had been given the eighth and final over of a shortened game. Harrison’s first over, bowled exclusively to Brathwaite, had cost only six runs and he had beaten him outside off stump three times.Brathwaite was clearly aware of his own struggles against legspin: since the start of 2020, he has faced 98 balls from legspinners in T20 cricket, from which he has scored 67 runs and been dismissed eight times. He walked off and called for Sam Hain – who has averaged 57.50 against legspin with a strike rate of 135.29 in the same period – to replace him.”Carlos isn’t a big sweeper and I think he felt that someone else might have attacked it a bit better,” Peter Moores, Notts’ head coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a pretty selfless decision by a captain because everyone wants to be the man to bang it out the park but he’d faced the over before and found it tough – Calvin bowled a really good over at him – and I think he decided to give someone else a crack at it.”We could have bowled someone else if we wanted to – there’s nothing in place to stop that. It doesn’t happen very often. We know Carlos is a fantastic striker of a cricket ball so it’s quite a big decision but I think most of these decisions people make on instinct, and he clearly felt that he would give somebody else a go.”The final over cost 18 runs, though Hain (batting at No.6) did not face a ball: Chris Benjamin was dismissed off the second ball after hitting the first for four before Alex Davies, in at No. 7, hit a six, two twos and a four to finish on 14 not out off four balls.

“The rule is there and so I think it’s fair to use it. People make comments about this, that and the other but for me, when Carlos walked off, there’s no problem with that at all.”Peter Moores, Nottinghamshire’s coach

In the run chase, Brathwaite conceded only eight runs from the penultimate over to leave Notts needing 15 off the last, an equation which became six to win off the final ball. Craig Miles bowled a high full toss which Patel plinked into the leg side for only a single and the Bears started to celebrate, only to see that it had been given as a no-ball for height.That left three to win off one with Tom Moores back on strike (no-balls are worth two runs in English domestic cricket rather than the usual one) and Patel, at the non-striker’s end, walked off to be replaced by Harrison, a quicker runner. He charged through for one but Moores could only dig Miles’ yorker out to extra cover, sealing a one-run win for the Bears.”Calvin was still in the dressing room because he wasn’t next in and with six off the last ball there was no relevance,” Peter Moores explained, “but with the no-ball, Alex Hales walked outside on the balcony and looked across at me and Dan [Christian, Notts’ captain] and we shouted up and indicated for Calvin.”Samit realised what was going on and we swapped it around. Calvin’s got a few years on Samit and we know that an extra yard is quite a bit when it comes to a run-out. It seemed to make sense at the time. It’s a quirk in the rules but it made sense at the time.”Patel’s retirement was reminiscent of another incident earlier this year which saw Jordan Silk retire hurt in similar circumstances. Silk had been sent out to target a short leg-side boundary in the final stages of Sydney Sixers’ BBL Challenger final game against Adelaide Strikers having earlier pulled a hamstring in the field.Related

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When he found himself off strike ahead of the final ball with two runs required, he was replaced by a fully-fit batter in Jay Lenton; while Silk was officially retired hurt, due to his injury, the situation was effectively the same as the one at Edgbaston. Incidentally, Christian was in the batting team’s dugout on both occasions.”It’s one of those quirks that really you could only see being used in the shorter formats because otherwise wickets are too valuable,” Moores said. “It’s got to be a unique set of circumstances and a shortened game like that has more chance of throwing it up than a full T20 game. I don’t think we’re going to see lots of it because I don’t think the circumstances are going to happen very often in a way that feels like there’s going to be a competitive advantage.”The rule is there and so I think it’s fair to use it. People make comments about this, that and the other but for me, when Carlos walked off, there’s no problem with that at all. I don’t think it will happen very often. If it’s going to happen, it’ll be in those really short games because otherwise the value of people that are in is too high.”

The New Zealand quick on his road ahead, learning from the likes of Shami and Joseph, bowling to Buttler in the IPL, and more

Interview by Deivarayan Muthu09-Jul-2022You had a bit of a break after winning the IPL and then tuned up at Headingley in the lead-up to the Ireland trip. What’s your rhythm like?
Yeah, Yorkshire got through to the [Vitality T20 Blast] finals. Been watching them and it’s been exciting. A good mate of mine, Finn [Allen] played for them this year and he absolutely loved it. I certainly had a good time there last year and it was nice to get a break from cricket obviously and then get my bowling in and go to see the Black Caps boys at Headingley. But yeah, it [the rhythm] is good. I’ve had a month off without playing cricket, but I’ve been training through and enjoying some time away with my girlfriend, which has been great. But, yeah, definitely back into work mode now and nice to be here in Ireland for the first time before we start on Sunday.The last ODI you played was at the start of the pandemic in Australia in 2020, when you had a Covid-19 scare
It wasn’t really a Covid scare. It was just the process and the protocols… I didn’t have it then, but have got it twice since. Obviously, we haven’t played a lot of one-day cricket [in the recent past], but having said that I played most of the Ford Trophy in New Zealand and yeah, we had a great tournament and got across the line with a win.It was nice to bowl with the new ball there, so I [personally] feel like it hasn’t been too long since I played some one-day cricket. And then I had quite a big stint at the IPL. So, yeah, just feels nice to come after this break and we have a pretty young, exciting squad, with a lot of the Test players going home. And this Ireland team is incredibly strong at home and there’s no doubt that they will be firing on all cylinders.Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips are among those exciting players in your side. Having closely followed their progress, what is your assessment of the two potential ODI debutants?
Those two boys have played all around the world and they have done well. So, I’m sure coming to Ireland – although it’s probably a new place to play – they are pretty settled in their cricket. I guess they’re excited at the opportunity to potentially play some one-day cricket for New Zealand, but looking across the whole squad perhaps, it’s not the exact faces you remember, but as a group, we haven’t played a huge amount of one-day cricket for a couple of years. So it’s quite hard to nail down what the team might be, but it’s a great opportunity for some young batters to put their hands up as we go into more one-day cricket and then the [ODI] World Cup next year that they’ll be aiming for, just as much as me, to try and be part of that squad.Ferguson on missing the T20 World Cup last year: “But such is life, and I have good motivation going forward to keep myself fit”•Getty ImagesCan you recall your way back after sustaining the calf injury in the UAE?
Probably one of the tough injuries, mostly because it was only a small tear that somewhat healed quickly – I played the India series straight after the T20 World Cup. It pretty much put me out for two-three weeks of that. But, such is life, and I have good motivation going forward to keep myself as fit as possible because I obviously want to play as many World Cups as possible.But, at the time it was exciting for the Black Caps to go all the way and have a chance to raise a trophy. It wasn’t our day in the final, but it was nice to be along the journey.As for rehab, to be honest, because it was a small tear, it kind of came back pretty quick and then you have so much experience in Tommy Simsek (physio) and Chris Donaldson (trainer) and they give you a lot of faith in coming back to playing quickly. Of course, they didn’t push me, but, yeah, the rehab process went well and I’m very well looked after by the Black Caps set-up – one of the best in the world for sure. It was nice to come back into the T20I squad for India [tour] and then back home [for domestic cricket] after quite a big stint away.You were bowling rockets during the Ford Trophy. How much will that stint help you get into the groove for the upcoming ODIs?
As much as any. Potentially, my biggest development was probably leadership within that group. Going back and actually having an extended period with the Auckland side. Obviously, you’ve got a lot of young bowlers and young players who are part of that squad and we had a tough Super Smash. But, having said that, I thought the bowling attack was very good throughout the Super Smash. Probably, it was one of those tournaments, where we couldn’t quite get the runs, which happens.But, yeah, I guess the leadership part of the squad and trying to lead from the front actually helped develop my game a lot more because it made me think in depth about my role going forward. So, if anything, I developed my game even more and it gave me an opportunity to reflect on where I was with my T20 cricket and one-day cricket and also to try out some new things. Bowling with the new ball was great fun with Ben Lister who, I think, is knocking on the doors for higher honours the way he’s been bowling; so, yeah, it was a good couple of months [with Auckland]. Obviously, with Covid being what it was last year, I was away from home for about eight months, so was just having some time in my own bed (laughs). It’s always nice to see family and friends and things like that.It was disappointing that there wasn’t much one-day cricket for Black Caps, but such is life, and the benefit of it was more time at home.Related

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Can you elaborate on the leadership role at Auckland?
Look, I have very close ties with the Auckland side. Every time I’m back [from New Zealand duties], I try to play for them, if I can. Even if I’m back for a few days, I can watch or go out there and chat with them. Even in the previous year, when I had a big injury, I was spending a lot of time with the younger bowlers.Certainly, when I was coming up through the ranks, people like Mitch McClenaghan and Michael Bates and Andrew Adams were super helpful for me. It wasn’t always about giving off the perfect advice, it was about just rebounding ideas and giving them someone to talk to about their bowling. It can be a tough job at times, particularly white-ball cricket, but, if anything, I was just trying to talk to the players and make them realise that when things don’t go your way, it’s not always because of how you’re bowling. It’s just the way the game rolls sometimes and the most important thing is, of course, [focusing] on the next ball or the next game and it was just nice to work with the team.Of course, we had great success in the one-dayers and they took that through to the four-day cricket as well and won the Plunket Shield. So, it’s going to be another exciting season for the Auckland team. With a new coach Doug Watson and with Luke Wright around – he’s now here with the Black Caps – we’re going from strength to strength. So, I can say, [it is] worth keeping an eye on some of those players. I think some of them will be playing in Black Caps colours not too far away.Lockie Ferguson has thrived in a leadership role at Auckland•Getty ImagesFormer Auckland coach Heinrich Malan is now in charge of the Ireland side. He’s currently down with Covid-19, but how exciting is the prospect of going against him at some point on this tour?
Yeah, it’s great for him to coach an international side. I’m sure he’s very excited at the prospect, but he will say a few words at the ground. But as I said, it’s going to be an exciting few weeks for us playing against Ireland and they’ve played some amazing cricket up till now, with a reasonably settled team. They have the home-team advantage and I’m sure, they will all be fizzing and ready to go.It is a new beginning of sorts for Adam Milne as well, having recovered from the injury he sustained at the IPL. You’ve played just two white-ball internationals together for New Zealand. Are you looking forward to bowling in tandem with another genuine quick?
Milne has had a tough career with injuries – he’ll explain it better. That’s part of the job and unfortunately, these things happen, but his attitude and the positivity he brings into the team each time is…there’s no better. Everyone knows I’m a huge fan of fast bowling, so getting one of our fastest bowlers in the country back in the mix and jumping onto the field with him is going to be great.I think he did so well at the T20 World Cup [in the UAE]. With my injury, although it’s tough to watch from the sidelines, I was very happy for him for how well he did. It’s exciting for New Zealand cricket that we’ve got the depth for someone like Milne to come back into the squad and he’s absolutely chomping to get out there and perform. I’ve got no doubts he’ll do exactly that.It’s going to be a good few weeks. We’ve got a decent stint now as a squad together for Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands tour. I’m sure you will see some special stuff from him and definitely, yeah, great to have him back in the mix.

Not in the thick of the wickets, he is finding success as a key cog in England’s white-ball machine

Vithushan Ehantharajah10-Nov-20221:01

Buttler: ‘Rashid may not have picked up the wickets, but he’s been bowling really well’

“Well done, boss.”If you reside in the United Kingdom, you will appreciate the currency we place in that last four-letter word.It might come from a mate, a colleague, the person behind the bar at your local who’s always pleased to see you or a stranger in the street after you’ve done them a good turn. To be called “boss” is far greater than any knighthood: a moniker bestowed upon you by the people rather than the palace for services to immediate convenience or excellence. On this occasion, it was for both.Adil Rashid was the grateful recipient of the honour handed to him by Eoin Morgan. England’s former limited-overs captain has regularly thrown the phrase in Rashid’s direction, and for good reason. The legspinner was a key cog in his white-ball machine and even here, with a microphone in hand as a pundit for this T20 World Cup semi-final at the Adelaide Oval, he couldn’t help but dish it out again. Deservedly so.Related

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Rashid bowled his four overs in the semi-final victory over India for just 20 runs, one of them coming in the powerplay. The killer, however, was his last. Two balls in, flight, dip, and prodigious spin away just outside off stump cast the ball into the night sky for Phil Salt to pocket at deep point. Suryakumar Yadav, the walking highlight reel of this tournament, felled for just 14 from 10. It was the first time India’s projected total dipped below 150 on ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster. Though Hardik Pandya picked up the mantle of destroyer later in the innings with 63 off 33 that took India to 168, the fact that it was munched with four overs to spare by openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales showed how vital it was to limit SKY.It’s funny to think this was only Rashid’s second wicket of the tournament. The previous one was to dismiss Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka in England’s final match of the Super 12s – another must-win game and another must-have wicket given that the batter led the line with 67 and victory was only achieved with two balls to spare. Has Rashid’s lack of dismissals come as a surprise? Maybe, but he is still doing it when it matters most. No bunnies, just prime cuts – including a fine catch at short third to see off Virat Kohli.He might have had Glenn Phillips, too, had bestie Moeen Ali not shelled the simplest catch before Phillips went on to hit him for two sixes. Alas, it’s a cruel form of a cruel sport, though Rashid hasn’t been bothered by what’s lacking in the wicket column.”For myself, I look to create chances and if wickets come, good,” he mused after the match. “If they don’t come, I’m containing and other people will get wickets.” That’s certainly how things have played out, so far. No one else in this attack has bowled their full allocation across the five games so far, and Rashid’s economy rate of 6.25 is the lowest of the regulars (Moeen’s is 4.5 but from just two overs).

“He may not have picked up the wickets that he usually does and certainly, from the outside, some people have said he wasn’t bowling as well. But from within the group, if you come and face him in the nets, he’s been bowling well and tonight he was exceptional.”Jos Buttler

The reservations around Rashid heading into the tournament were well-sourced. His annual T20I average is currently at 35.86, the highest of the eight years since he became a white-ball mainstay in 2015. The link between those figures and a chronic right shoulder issue was clear, and the way the injury inhibited his snap was seen in the way he seemed that little bit easier to sweep. And yet, within the smaller boundaries of the Adelaide Oval, he conceded just one four following a boundary-less display against Sri Lanka. South Australia has quietly been a happy hunting ground for Rashid, with 18 wickets at 13 in all T20s spread across 10 matches for both the state in the precursor to the Big Bash League, then Adelaide Strikers and now this one-off for his country.He hasn’t been doing much different. “Maybe it is a bit a little fuller, maybe it’s a bit slower,” was his review of the performance just gone. Which, all told, is pretty neat given those are two characteristics previously used as criticisms of Rashid, particularly in Test cricket.Aged 34, in his 17th year as an active cricketer, two things can be true: Rashid is both closer to the end than the start and still one of England’s most important cricketers. Along with the nous accrued by all that experience has been a level of comfort in himself and his craft.Adil Rashid bowled a killer final over where he spun out Suryakumar Yadav•Getty ImagesIt has been notable how in Moeen and Buttler he has trusted allies who, for example, can shift Rashid’s field without needing to check with him. There is a familiarity bred from trust, reinforced by a refreshing lack of ego from the bowler. Both were stood closest to the action on Thursday – Moeen at first slip – when Rashid was going about his business and the communication back and forth was evident throughout. There was a fear that trust in Rashid as a difference-maker might have left the set-up with Morgan’s departure. That evidently has not been the case.”He’s been brilliant for a long, long period of time,” beamed Buttler. “I’ve kept wicket to him a lot and I have a great seat to watch him go about his business. He bowls with so much variation and has as much variety as anyone, really. I think he’s been bowling really well, actually. He may not have picked up the wickets that he usually does and certainly, from the outside, some people have said he wasn’t bowling as well. But from within the group, if you come and face him in the nets, he’s been bowling well and tonight he was exceptional. Wicketkeeper-bowler, we have a good relationship.”It’s also worth noting that some within English cricket thought Rashid’s performances at this tournament would suffer with the impending Cricket Discipline Commission investigation into racism at his county, Yorkshire. Rashid is regarded as a key witness in proceedings having corroborated Azeem Rafiq’s claim that former England captain Michael Vaughan said there are “too many of you lot” ahead of a county T20 match in 2009, allegations Vaughan has denied. Whether those reservations were held in bad faith or not, they have proved unfounded at best.Having taken 11 wickets in the 2019 50-over success, Rashid is occupying a different role but offering just as much in England’s quest for a second global T20 trophy against Pakistan on Sunday and the honour of holding both international white-ball trophies concurrently.A two-time champion? Sounds good, boss.

A team of delivery drivers, businessmen, a student, and fathers who haven’t met their newborn children prepare to play mighty India

Shashank Kishore30-Aug-2022Hong Kong have been on the road so much of late that Babar Hayat, Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza have all become fathers while away, and have only seen their newborns over video calls.Over the last three months, they’ve stopped in Namibia, Uganda and Jersey [for ICC events], South Africa and England [preparatory tours], Zimbabwe [for the T20 World Cup qualifiers], Oman [for the Asia Cup qualifiers], and now in the UAE for the Asia Cup, where they will play India and Pakistan in the group stage of the competition. The players are aware that there’s no real path to financial gain or a big-time future in the game here, but are a determined and committed lot nevertheless.While players from the more established countries can afford to take time off, the Hong Kong players would rather not; they live for this.On Wednesday, Hong Kong will play India. They haven’t played India or Pakistan in four years, and have no idea when they will face them again. When they last played India, at the 2018 Asia Cup, Hong Kong gave their superstar opponents a mighty scare. Wednesday presents them with a chance for an encore, or better.They are a motivated bunch of cricketers, but one of Trent Johnston’s challenges as head coach has been to ensure they don’t burn out after three months of non-stop cricket, coming as it has on the back of the Covid-19 lull.

“A majority of our squad have to earn a living outside of what they get from Cricket Hong Kong, who have been very supportive despite no cricket for more than two years. But we only have a certain amount of time with the players and have to maximise that”Trent Johnston, Hong Kong coach

“There were probably six lockdowns. We didn’t have training for over a year. The boys were doing their strength and conditioning sessions over Zoom, from their homes, car park and local parks,” Johnston, the former Ireland captain, told ESPNcricinfo. “The commitment they’ve shown has been phenomenal. They never questioned anything or complained but have just got on with it.”I’m pleased for the whole group that we put in three good games [against Singapore, Kuwait and UAE at the Asia Cup qualifiers] in Oman and now have an opportunity to play India and Pakistan.”Losing cricket time, as a result of the pandemic, was especially tough for the players who continue to try and find a balance between pursuing their passion and doing their regular salary-earning work.”Three or four players do private coaching, either at a cricket club or one-on-one coaching,” Johnston said. “A high percentage of the boys are delivery drivers with Food Panda or Deliveroo. Kinchit Shah, the vice-captain, is in the jewellery trade. Scott McKechnie has his own business that offers him a slight flexibility to come on out as long as he has internet. Young Ayush [Shukla], our opening bowler, is in university. A couple of guys are doing administration.”So all of them have sacrificed a lot over the past three months to come over and play cricket. I can’t thank their families enough. The wives and girlfriends, kids that are waiting for their dad to come back. Not one guy in the team has told me they have to go home. Their partners have been phenomenal and kept the house moving, I thank them a hell of a lot.”Remember Trent Johnston? He was Ireland’s captain when they beat Pakistan to reach the Super Eights in the 2007 ODI World Cup•Getty ImagesAll of it has been a challenge; off the field of play, expanding their pool of players, especially. Bringing players to a certain level of proficiency and then losing them to education or a full-time profession has been, perhaps, the biggest obstacle.Take some of the players that were around during the Asia Cup four years ago.Christopher Carter, the wicketkeeper-batter, left to attend flight school in Australia and is currently a pilot with Cathay Pacific.Jamie Atkinson, a former captain, is a PE teacher at a private school.Anshy Rath, their captain in that tournament, has moved to India, hoping to establish a career in the domestic set-up and the IPL as a local player with the use of his Indian passport.Mark Chapman, whose parents lived and worked in Hong Kong, grew up playing amid the high-rises. His father, Peter, a New Zealander, was the crown prosecutor for the Hong Kong government; his mother, Anne, a Chinese woman, worked in the lucrative finance sector. Chapman came through the age-group system in Hong Kong and made the national team before leaving for college in Auckland. The access to a first-class system, the best facilities and better pay, made his decision easy. He has played for both Hong Kong and New Zealand internationally, and is now with the New Zealand A squad in India.

“For me, as coach, working with players on an area of their game and then being able to see them execute them in games under pressure, that is what I get a buzz out of”Trent Johnston

“The expat community – you have kids who come through the pathways and then go off to school somewhere else. Carter and Jamie are available to play for us, but it’s limited. A majority of our squad have to earn a living outside of what they get from Cricket Hong Kong,” Johnston explained. “Cricket Hong Kong have been very supportive despite no cricket for more than two years. But we only have a certain amount of time with the players and have to maximise that.”They also have a living to make because Hong Kong is probably the second dearest city in the world [the dearest, for expats, according to an ECA International study]. Many of them are trying to send money back home to Pakistan. I try and get the maximum out of what I can, and they get the maximum out of what they need to do to support their families.”When the national team isn’t on tour, Johnston, who is now a Hong Kong resident too, charts their progress route. “We have the Under-16s and Under-19s that form our pathway programmes,” Johnston said. “We now have an Under-18 team heading to Oman for the Asia Cup qualifiers at the end of the month. We have quite a bit of infrastructure and participation from the cubs.”There are now five or six Chinese teams that play in various leagues. Our Premier League is now a five-team structure [as compared to three earlier], which is probably right. From the player pool point of view, you’re looking at choosing from 20 players tops if everyone is available, [accounting for] guys working and those sorts of things.”We don’t have a lot of players to choose from, but that has its advantages and disadvantages. If you’ve got guys unavailable or injured, you go to the next tier and bring on a guy who may be young and not ready but have to play them. It also gives you narrow focus, and you can concentrate on them, It is what it is, we can’t create players or bring players in. We just work with what we’ve got.Anshy Rath in action – when Hong Kong gave India an almighty scare•Getty Images”We’ve got two spinners, Ehsan Khan and Yamin, in their mid-30s, we have two fast bowlers, 19 and 22, and an experienced batting line-up. They [at the board] are working in operations and high performance, trying to enhance those structures. The women’s side of things is very good, consists mainly of local players and a mix of expats. The pathways from women’s point of view is up and running, so there are a lot of positives at the moment, and the next two games are only going to add to that.”At the Asia Cup, Johnston is realistic about Hong Kong’s chances and will measure progress through his own prism.”For me, as coach, working with players on an area of their game and then being able to see them execute them in games under pressure, that is what I get a buzz out of,” he said. “The last three games in Oman, we got most enjoyment out of it.”We missed out in the T20 World Cup qualifiers 2019 in UAE despite having Oman on the racks. Last week [at the qualifiers], against UAE, we were ruthless enough to get the win. To see the smile on their faces after the UAE game, you probably don’t see scenes like that unless you win a World Cup.”It means a lot to the guys, given the sacrifice they’ve put in. Now to be able to play India and Pakistan, they deserve to be here. We’re not just going to turn up and be the whipping boys. We’re going to try and cause an upset or two while we’re here.”

There are 60 spots for Indians at the auction, and the franchises will be on the lookout for useful players beyond the well-known names

S Sudarshanan11-Feb-2023Shradda Pokharkar (Maharashtra)Set 20 – uncapped fast bowlers. Base price: INR 10 lakh
A left-arm Indian fast bowler whose calling card is consistency could be a steal at such a low base price. Playing for Maharashtra, Pokharkar has picked up 14 wickets in T20s and nine wickets in the 50-over matches in the ongoing domestic season. Her economy rate in T20s in the season was 5.68, and given her tall frame, she could be a handful on true surfaces at Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in the WPL. She is so good that she got a call-up as a net bowler with the senior team during the home series against Australia last year.Titas Sadhu was India’s second-most economical bowler at the U-19 World Cup•ICC/Getty ImagesTitas Sadhu (Bengal)Set 9 – emerging players. Base price: INR 10 lakh
She is only 18 but has been one of the fast bowlers to watch in the Indian circuit for a couple of years now. Sadhu made her one-day debut for Bengal in the 2020-21 season and then played T20s for them in 2021-22 and 2022-23. She was India’s spearhead in their successful Under-19 World Cup campaign and is known for giving her team early control with the ball. Sadhu picked up six wickets in the competition and was India’s second-most economical bowler with 4.27. What’s more, she is a handy bat.Jasia Akhter (Rajasthan)Set 17 – uncapped batters. Base price: INR 20 lakh
Talk about making a big noise at the perfect time. Akhter scored 273 runs, the second-most, in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy at a strike rate of 138.57, the best among those with over 150 runs in the competition. That got her into the Central Zone side for the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal T20s, where she scored 202 runs – the third most – at a strike rate of 121.68, the best among the top five. She was then selected in the four-team Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, where her 114 runs came at a strike rate of 132.55. Akhter, the 34-year-old top-order batter, was also the leading run-getter in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy with 501 runs at a strike rate of 112.58, captaining Rajasthan to a semi-final finish.Shreyanka Patil has quickly risen up the ranks in the Karnataka circles•Shreyanka PatilShreyanka Patil (Karnataka)Set 19 – uncapped allrounders. Base price: INR 10 lakh
Patil is an offspinner, who has deceived many a batter with her flight, dip and turn to rise up the ranks in Karnataka. Her seven wickets in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy came at a strike rate of 15.71. Playing for South Zone after that, she picked up eight wickets in the zonals, which were the joint third-most. Her haul of 20 wickets in Karnataka’s runners-up finish in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy was the joint second-highest. Patil was also at the exhibition games against the Zimbabwe women’s side in July last year and had the opponents in a fix with her tricks.Shweta Sehrawat was the leading run-scorer in the Women’s Under-19 World Cup•ICC via GettyShweta Sehrawat (Delhi)Set 9 – emerging players. Base price: INR 10 lakh
While all eyes were on Shafali Verma at the Under-19 World Cup, Sehrawat quietly settled in before eventually stealing the limelight from her senior colleague. She’s a versatile batter and is an excellent player through the off side, and finished atop the run chart in the tournament in South Africa. Expect her to be on the franchises’ radar as they look for reliable, attacking batters.Hurley Gala (Mumbai)Set 10 – emerging players. Base price: INR 10 lakh
A seam-bowling allrounder who can tonk the ball? Yes, please! Gala was touted to be one of the key lower-middle-order players for India at the Under-19 World Cup, but a thumb injury ruled her out. Gala, just 16, scored 122 runs in the Women’s Under-19 T20 Trophy at a strike rate of 143.52 to go with her seven wickets. She will likely be on the radar of most sides, not least of Mumbai Indians, who have organised numerous school-level tournaments, some of which Gala has participated in.

They now have a batting group that promises both depth and versatility, which will worry other teams

Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Apr-20233:01

Moody: Tewatia’s role has changed because of Impact Player rule

Gujarat Titans had a problem last season. It didn’t hurt them, because they went and won the IPL, but that didn’t mean the problem didn’t exist. In most of their games, they picked five genuine bowlers plus Hardik Pandya, but that forced them to compromise on their batting depth. It didn’t hurt them, because David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan batted out of their skins, but it’s rare for Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to fire so consistently and in unison over the course of a season.When IPL 2023 dawned, Titans found themselves free of the need for this compromise, thanks to the introduction of the Impact Player. They could now stack their bowling their batting in every game.But just as teams can struggle to get to grips with a problem, they can sometimes struggle to get to grips with its solution.Over their first six games of this season, Titans’ batting suffered from a bit of a 2022 hangover. Out of necessity, their top order had batted with a degree of conservatism last season. The necessity was gone now, but the conservatism remained.Before Tuesday’s game against Mumbai Indians, Titans had the third-worst scoring rate (7.61) of all teams in the middle overs (7th to 16th) this season, while maintaining the best average (35.15) through that phase.If those numbers didn’t make it clear enough that their batters needed to take more chances through the middle overs, consider this: before Tuesday, Tewatia had faced only 19 balls in six games without being dismissed. Titans were wasting a key resource.ESPNcricinfo analyst Tom Moody brought up the Tewatia issue during Tuesday’s game, on the show .”To be honest with you, I think [Tewatia’s] role has changed slightly because of this Impact Player,” Moody said. “He’s gone one further down the rung on the batting order because everyone has that extra player now, so he’s probably thinking also, ‘I wish I had a few more overs to get out there and do my thing, because I’m feeling good about my game’, but he’s not getting the opportunity.”For all that, Titans had won four of their six games, and their two defeats had come about because of improbable late hitting from Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. They could easily have looked at their middle-overs issue through an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ lens.But they didn’t. They responded to the defeat against Royals by leaving out Sai Sudharsan, a top-order anchor who had made two impressive half-centuries at the start of the season, and making room in their middle order for both Vijay Shankar and Abhinav Manohar – both more natural six-hitters than Sudharsan – rather than just one of them.The change didn’t bring immediate results in a low-scoring game against Lucknow Super Giants, but it paid off on Tuesday, when Titans made their biggest total of the season (207 for 6) on their way to a thumping 55-run win.Rahul Tewatia swept his first ball for a six•BCCIIt wasn’t the perfect batting display, but the imperfections were, in a way, a true reflection of Titans’ changed approach.Their batters made a clear effort to go after Mumbai’s spinners through the middle overs, for instance, but this intent only seemed to backfire initially, as Hardik, Shubman Gill and Vijay picked out deep fielders while trying to hit sixes. By the time they had bowled six of their eight overs in the game, Piyush Chawla and Kumar Kartikeya had combined figures of 6-0-46-3.But Titans didn’t stop looking for the big hits against the spinners. Miller hit Kartikeya for a straight six in the 14th over, and Abhinav stepped out to launch Chawla for another in the 15th. The Abhinav six was particularly noteworthy, because it came in an over where he’d already drilled Chawla for a pair of fours through the covers off wide half-volleys – those boundaries didn’t temper Abhinav’s desire to keep going after the legspinner.Interviewed by the broadcaster between innings, Abhinav said Titans’ batters had gone out with a clear message.”There was an effort to actually get more runs in the middle overs,” he said. “In our batsmen’s meeting, Hardik made it very clear that if we go after their main bowler, which was Piyush Chawla, then we can get more runs on the board and the rest of the bowlers will be under pressure. So that’s what we tried to do and it worked.”It worked – almost too well, because Tewatia came out, once again, with barely any time left in the innings. But he proceeded to do what he does so well in these situations, facing just five balls and hitting three of them for six, including an audacious shuffle-sweep off Riley Meredith off the first ball he faced.Tewatia would probably prefer to come in with a little more time left in the innings, but for now he’s making an impact no matter how late he enters.”He’s good enough to do it, and there’s not many people that are good enough to go from ball one,” Moody said. “He’s good enough to do it, which is a unique skill.”With Hardik, Abhinav, Vijay, Miller, Tewatia and Rashid lined up from Nos. 3 to 8, Titans should theoretically be able to bat with none of them needing to hold themselves back unless absolutely necessary. Sudharsan could still play a role too, particularly as an Impact Player in chases of small-to-middling targets.It’s a batting group that promises both depth and versatility, which will worry other teams. For their first season-and-a-half in the IPL, Titans were mostly a gun bowling team that did just enough with the bat. At the halfway point of this season, they seem to be taking the next step towards becoming that elusive entity: an all-round T20-winning machine.