All posts by n8rngtd.top

By almost any measure, England’s new star batter is in the process of breaking the mould

Vithushan Ehantharajah23-Feb-2023Ben Stokes had only just taken the Test sixes record when he suggested to previous holder Brendon McCullum that Harry Brook would take it off him soon enough. There was a whiff of jealousy in Joe Root’s admiration of the “extraordinary” way Brook was “almost bullying Test attacks”. In the space of 24 hours in Mount Maunganui, two modern-day Test greats were fawning over a youngling destined for their stock and status.Earlier this winter, seemingly a lifetime ago in the Pakistan T20I series in September and October, Mark Wood said he saw a bit of AB de Villiers in Brook. Go back further, to a transformational 2022 Test summer, and somehow Stokes was managing to big Brook up when actively choosing not to select him. He netted so well that he almost broke the captain’s vow to trust a batting line up that had won five out of six Tests.English cricket has never been comfortable with hype. And we’re not talking about the kind that Stokes and Root encountered at the beginning of their careers, micro-doses of praise as they found their feet among vaunted team-mates. This has been real, high-grade, NBA hype, like you get when a newbie becomes the fulcrum for a franchise in their rookie year. Other nations would trade their mothers to draft him.The “this kid, geez” sigh that comes with every shot Brook makes. The quiet disbelief that comes through watching someone so early in their journey look so comfortable. The reaction he evokes in the stands and on the grass banks: keeping their attention, sending them wild while remaining calm, like a DJ transitioning to a banger, and then the palpable dismay when he eventually goes. Even the similarities to Kevin Pietersen have been so prominent that you wonder what the man himself thinks of this. Pietersen was a unique brilliance. And yet this kid struts, picks lengths and hits bombs with ease that no-one one has any qualms making that comparison. No-one has dared make it before, but it seems fair game right now because Brook is worthy.He is already the kind of player that makes a Test match better with his presence. Even just typing that sentence about someone five matches into their career, who only turned 24 on Wednesday feels reckless. Which is exactly the kind of hype we’re talking about.Harry Brook drives through the covers during England’s warm-up match•Getty ImagesExcept this hype has undergone metamorphosis in the last couple of months. It’s well beyond the stage of being this nebulous concept, and now feels as though we’re contravening some duty-of-care protocol to promise so much on his behalf. Brook is already delivering more than anticipated.”I think he will go on to be a global superstar,” Stokes said after the victory at Mount Maunganui, in which Brook’s 89 and 54 were instrumental to England’s batting tempo, and earned him a third consecutive player-of-the-match award. The England captain is usually the one asking the media to keep the pressure off. Evidently, he is of a mind that this is all simply fact at this point.”You generally see if a player has got what it takes, but you never know if they’re going to be successful,” Root said. “It’s then when you throw them into the unknown – can they handle the pressure and all the external stuff? It’s been such a joy to see him come in and play how he plays.”That’s now six scores of fifty or more in Brook’s first eight innings: a grand total of 623 runs at an average of 77.87. Only five players have more runs from as many knocks, which is remarkable in its own right, and all the more so considering the nature of Brook’s play ultimately comes with a compromise: that he may leave runs out in the middle by taking more risks for the good of the team.That he already has three centuries, brought up in six innings with only one man (Mohammad Azharuddin) reaching that tally in fewer, shows he is striking an incredible balance. But it’s worth noting it is a balance never been seen before.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var a in e.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();

Strong returns for Victoria and Melbourne Renegades has him in national discussions while he has also taken on state captaincy

Tristan Lavalette21-Feb-2023Victoria’s interim captain Will Sutherland has found inspiration in different places, helping unlock his emerging allround skills during a standout domestic season.As a hard-hitting batter and probing seamer, the 23-year-old Sutherland unsurprisingly has long revered former Australia star allrounder Shane Watson who has become an important influence.”He’s someone I want to be like. I’ve taken a lot out of his book,” Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo, referencing Watson’s new book .”I’ve spoken to him on the phone and we’ve talked not only about how to develop as an allrounder, but the mental side of the game too.”Sutherland, who had a strike-rate of 150 in this season’s BBL, has also been keenly watching Australia’s rejuvenated arch-rival England and admits to being an unabashed admirer of ‘Bazball’.Related

• Back stress fracture confirmed for Will Sutherland

• Victoria move closer to Sheffield Shield final with dominant win inside three days

• Murphy and Sutherland spearhead disrupted Victoria to victory

• Australia's T20I future: who has stood out from the BBL?

“It’s good to see the way the England team are going about it. It reinforces that people can have that sort of mindset and approach to batting. That’s certainly how I like to go about it,” he said.The tall and powerfully-built Sutherland has been making progress in his bid to become a bonafide allrounder having initially developed quicker with the ball.His pace bowling, where he conjures menacing bounce from his 6 foot 5 (1.96m) frame, has continued to impress with Sutherland the fourth highest wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield with 28 at an average of under 20.But it’s his batting that has significantly improved with Sutherland averaging 31 from his first six Shield matches in a major lift from a lowly 14 in 21 first class matches previously.He’s unleashed into a counter-attacking weapon in Victoria’s middle-order as underlined by a strike-rate of 63 this season. It might not quite be ‘Bazball’ just yet, but Sutherland’s trending in the right direction.”To be a genuine allrounder, I know I need to put a few more runs on the board,” he said. “I want to hold down No. 6 for the Vics. I feel like I’m getting a hang of things with the bat.”Sutherland credits his upswing to a mental shift in the off-season, where he focused on positive reinforcements rather than any technical tweaks.

I loved it [captaincy] and definitely something I want to keep doing. Scott Boland told me to concentrate on nailing my batting and bowling and the rest will fall into place, so I try to lead by example.

“I thought back to how I was feeling during my best innings,” he said. “I came to the conclusion that I was aggressive and imposing. Before I go out to bat, I try to do self-talk that will get me in the mood to channel those feelings from my best innings.”If my mindset is positive, I bat better. I can then rein it in from there and defend better. But I need to have that aggressive focus.”A renewed Sutherland hit his maiden first class century in Victoria’s season opener against South Australia in difficult conditions at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide. He had previously never made a half-century since making his first-class debut in late 2019.”It was a tricky wicket and it showed that I was able to do it at this level. I’ve taken a lot of confidence out of that,” Sutherland said.It led to an eye-catching BBL season, where Sutherland helped lift Melbourne Renegades off the bottom and into the finals series.He moulded into an effective finisher of an innings but pundits, notably a continually exasperated Mark Waugh on the Fox Sports broadcast, repeatedly lamented Sutherland coming in at the death.”I definitely would like to get up higher in the order because it’s easier to get in,” he said. “As a No.7 you get straight into it and it’s more challenging. I was best suited to the role, so the ‘Gades didn’t want to change. Going forward I would like to get up to five or six.”Even though there was a prevailing feeling that he was perhaps underused by Renegades, whose bounce back season ended with a home knockout final defeat to Brisbane Heat, Sutherland nonetheless pushed his case for higher honours.He looms as an intriguing option with the next T20 World Cup less than 18 months away. The national hierarchy are paying attention to Sutherland, who has long been on the radar having been a former Under-19 Australia captain.”George Bailey [Australia’s chief selector] has been in touch with words of encouragement. It’s nice to know they’re watching even though I don’t think of higher honours,” he said.Will Sutherland could soon feature in the Australia set-up•Getty ImagesAs Sutherland’s career prospects continue to rise, his fling with Australian rules football has faded into the background. A highly-rated key forward, Sutherland was deemed a potential top 10 pick in the 2017 AFL draft.Talented teenagers of both sports have traditionally chosen an AFL pathway initially, given its heft in Australia combined with potentially more opportunities at a younger age.Australia Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey is a prime example having unsuccessfully attempted an AFL career through Greater Western Sydney Giants before reverting to cricket.”I loved footy and was incredibly close [to nominating for the AFL draft],” Sutherland said. “I played representative cricket straight through but hadn’t played much footy. It would have been a risk.”Some AFL club officials have cheekily tried to woo him, but seemingly realise it’s in vain.”I haven’t heard from them in the last year or two… probably shows that I’m starting to play better cricket,” Sutherland laughed. “Ultimately it came down to enjoyment and cricket is what I always wanted to do.”His infatuation for cricket is unsurprising with his father James Sutherland taking the reins of Cricket Australia chief executive in 2001 in a post he then held for 17 years.”My dad is the catalyst for my love of cricket. We got to travel the world to watch cricket and I was able to meet my heroes,” he said.The cricket-mad household spawned many intense battles between Sutherland and his younger sister Annabel, the allrounder part of Australia’s team at the Women’s T20 World Cup and who recently got picked up by Gujarat Giants in India’s new Women’s Premier league for AUD$122,000.’I definitely would like to get up higher in the order because it’s easier to get in’•Getty Images”A few bats were thrown at each other when we were young,” Sutherland chuckled. “That’s how we developed our competitive nature and it certainly helped turn her into the player that she is now.”While he eagerly keeps up to date with his sister’s feats in South Africa, Sutherland remains mostly concentrating on helping power Victoria to ultimate success in the Sheffield Shield and the 50-over Marsh Cup.They started a late season push with home victories over Queensland in both formats last week as Sutherland took the captaincy reins of Victoria’s Shield team with regular skipper Peter Handscomb currently on Australia’s tour of India.”I loved it [captaincy] and definitely something I want to keep doing,” he said. “Scott Boland told me to concentrate on nailing my batting and bowling and the rest will fall into place, so I try to lead by example.”Sutherland’s emergence as leader encapsulates Victoria skewing young marked by a raw pace attack boasting exciting quicks Mitchell Perry and Fergus O’Neill.”This will be the team that takes us forward. We’re going to be a formidable force,” he said.Sutherland believes Victoria can claim silverware immediately although a familiar foe likely stands in the way.”The challenge of playing in Perth is in the back of our minds,” said Sutherland about powerhouse Western Australia, who claimed last year’s Shield title after a drawn final against Victoria and currently sit on top of both competitions. “We need to get some revenge because they’ve had the wood on us for some time.”It’s a gruelling stretch ahead and there will likely be no breather for Sutherland after the Australian season as he eyes a county stint amid Ashes fanfare in the UK.”It will be a good time to be there with the Ashes on and I want to keep improving all aspects of my game,” he said. “I’m just really enjoying my cricket at the moment.”

All the numbers from Mumbai Indians’ first win against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL

Sampath Bandarupalli24-May-20231:30

Manjrekar: Bowlers like Madhwal are gold dust

1 – Akash Madhwal became the first bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in a playoff match in the IPL. The previous best bowling figures in the playoffs or knockouts were 4 for 13 by Doug Bollinger for Chennai Super Kings in the 2010 semi-final against Deccan Chargers.101 – Lucknow Super Giants’ total against Mumbai Indians is the third-lowest in the IPL playoffs. The lowest is 82 all out by Deccan Chargers against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the third-place playoff in 2010, while Delhi Daredevils were bundled out for 87 against Rajasthan Royals in the semi-final in 2008.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 – Runs conceded by Madhwal in his five-wicket haul. It is the joint-cheapest five-for in the IPL. Anil Kumble also conceded only five runs during his five-wicket haul against Royals in 2009.5 for 5 – Madhwal’s figures against LSG are the best for an Indian bowler in the IPL, as he equals Kumble’s figures from 2009. Madhwal’s figures are also the joint fourth-best in the IPL.ESPNcricinfo Ltd6 – Bowlers with consecutive hauls of four or more wickets in the IPL, including Madhwal, who took a four-wicket hauls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league match. He is only the second player for Mumbai in the IPL with consecutive four-wicket hauls, after Munaf Patel in 2012.32 – Runs added by LSG for their last seven partnerships, going down from 69 for 2 to 101 all out. It is the joint-fifth worst eight-wicket collapse by any team in the IPL and the worst-ever collapse in a playoff game.

Alan Gardner is joined by Andrew McGlashan and Vithushan Ehantharajah to discuss Australia retaining the urn at a soggy Old Trafford

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2023Ducks and poncho-sellers were the only winners in Manchester, as rain washed out the final day of the fourth Test and ensured Australia would retain the Ashes. England were in charge but could not get back on the field as their attempt to become only the second team in history to successfully come back from 2-0 down fell flat. In this week’s pod, Alan Gardner, Andrew McGlashan and Vithushan Ehantharajah reflect on an Old Trafford anticlimax, despite the best efforts of Chris Woakes, Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow, and look ahead to what’s left to play for at The Oval.

Tactics board: where the first semi-final between India and New Zealand, in Mumbai, could be won and lost

Sidharth Monga13-Nov-20237:44

Kumble: India batters need to watch out for extra swing if they chase

Don’t lose the match in the first 15 overs

Ideally just win the toss.Even before the Wankhede Stadium revealed its conditions, a Mumbai semi-final against a big-hitting team was the one conceivable banana peel for the dominant Indian side. A six-hitting contest is not what India want to get into. They haven’t drawn a big-hitting side for the semi-final, but the conditions here have emerged as a challenge of another kind for the side that loses the toss.The average score batting first at the Wankhede this World Cup has been 357 for 6 and 188 for 9 when chasing. Those chasing numbers have been bolstered by the once-in-a-lifetime double-century on one leg by Glenn Maxwell. The reason is that the new ball has been swinging and seaming more under the lights, and for longer. The average powerplay score goes from 52 for 1 in the first innings to 42 for 4 in the second. From there on, it has generally kept getting better for the batters in the first innings while only Maxwell has found a way back in the second.Now, miraculous, Maxwell-like freakishness can’t be the strategy going into the match. You have to find a way to limit the target if you lose the toss, and then almost bat like it’s Test cricket for the first 15 overs. What we have seen is that it gets easier to bat in the night but you have to make sure you don’t lose more than two wickets by the time it is night.ESPNcricinfo LtdHawkEye data suggests the swing stops being uncomfortable after about ten overs, but problems with seam movement persist till the 15th over. After about 20 overs, though, batting tends to get easier than in the afternoon.So, if India lose the toss, for example, don’t expect Rohit Sharma to play the way he has been playing this World Cup. Expect the same care from the New Zealand top order if they happen to be chasing.

Put pressure on Jadeja

New Zealand did knock India out of the 2019 World Cup, but they are up against a superior side in superior form this time. India’s bowling attack, now that Mohammed Shami is in it, is drawing comparisons with the best ODI attacks of all time. That, though, is if you are comparing five frontline bowlers with five frontline bowlers.Related

• Williamson: 'When you get to finals, things start again'

• Rahul flicks switch to finally show the World Cup his full range

• When the Chinnaswamy swayed to Kohli's beat

• Never mind the short ball, Shreyas is superb at No. 4

• How Santner slows it up to get the drop on batters

Therein lies New Zealand’s opportunity. To find a way past this formidable attack, they have to take down one bowler. And the only match that Ravindra Jadeja has bowled ten overs in and not taken a wicket this World Cup was against New Zealand. There are three left-hand batters in their top six followed by Mitchell Santner. They will want to do better against Jadeja than the last time when he conceded only 48.India will try to get past the two opening left-hand batters even before Jadeja is introduced. In another time, if Hardik Pandya had been available, they might even have thought of going out of the box and playing R Ashwin, but that seems out of the question now.

Don’t let Ravindra bowl

New Zealand have more bowling options than India but only four specialist ones. A big part of New Zealand’s success has been the success of their part-time spinners Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra in an era when part-time bowlers are going extinct because of one extra fielder inside the circle and two new balls. It is unbelievable that neither of these part-time spinners has gone at even a run a ball.New Zealand will likely try Ravindra more than Phillips because there is no left-hand batter in the top six for India, but expect India to go after them in an attempt to force New Zealand to go back to their main bowlers sooner than they would like. This lack of a fifth specialist bowler will also allow India to sit in on the seamers if they lose the toss.

Give Santner the respect he deserves

Santner in the last World Cup semi-final vs India: 10-2-34-2.In the league match vs India in this World Cup: 10-0-37-1.He is a high-quality left-arm spinner, who happens to enjoy a good match-up against India: 15 of his 16 victims in this World Cup have been right-hand batters. He has also conceded 1.25 per over more when bowling to left-hand batters. India don’t have any left-hand batter before No. 7. However, if they can get the better of the fifth bowler, they needn’t try anything extraordinary against Santner. Just avoid giving him wickets.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Rohit threat

Rohit’s explosive starts have started a chain reaction where Virat Kohli is not even put under any pressure. Not that he can’t bat quickly, but if he is not required to, it is very difficult to get Kohli out in the conditions we get in ODIs.Of course, New Zealand would love to bowl in the night and test both of them with the moving ball, but they have to prepare for the afternoon. And if India are batting first, the best way to put Kohli under pressure is to get Rohit out early. Rohit in this form, though, has been butchering the new ball and killing contests in the powerplay itself.If you look at how New Zealand bowled against Rohit in Dharamsala, you will see not a single bouncer tried. If Rohit is batting in T20 mode, it might perhaps not be that bad a shout to bowl in T20 mode.The last time T20 got serious for a considerable period of time was when the two World Cups were played in 2021 and 2022. In that period, the theory going around the world was to bowl short to Rohit – he averaged under 14.75 then against the short ball in all T20 cricket, and 14.33 in T20Is. Rohit loves the pull and the hook, and takes quick runs with it, but it also tends to bring about dismissals.If New Zealand do get Rohit early, they can hope to control the middle overs with left-arm spin against right-hand batters and hard lengths from the quicks.

Australia’s shock loss to West Indies could prove crucial in the WTC with eyes now turning towards their tour of New Zealand

Andrew McGlashan29-Jan-20242:16

What did Australia’s home season tell us?

Josh Hazlewood’s off stump flies out of the ground. He stands almost motionless, as does Steven Smith at the non-striker’s end having carried his bat for 91. Shamar Joseph and his delirious team-mates are somewhere over at deep midwicket. The home season for Australia’s men’s Test team had come to the most extraordinary conclusion – their first home defeat under Pat Cummins and the first to West Indies since 1997.Australia have played some excellent cricket at times this season, finding ways to produce hard-fought wins, but there was also a fallibility that is not often on show on home soil (at least, that is, unless India have been the visitors in recent times). The white ball now takes over for the next three weeks before the Test team comes back together in New Zealand. After a season that produced far more drama than had been expected, here are some key talking points.

Time to worry about the batting?

At various times across the five home Tests, Australia had suffered collapses of 6 for 68, 4 for 16 and 5 for 10 before the match-defining slump of 8 for 94 at the Gabba. On other occasions the top order had been left in uncertain positions against visiting attacks that defied lowly pre-tour billing. There were just two individual hundreds – David Warner at Perth and Travis Head in Adelaide – albeit Mitchell Marsh fell twice in the 90s and Smith was close to a brilliant century in Brisbane.Related

• Cummins reassures Bancroft and Harris over Test futures

• Stats – WI's first Test win in Australia since 1997

• A fairy-tale day in the life of Shamar Joseph

• Cummins: 'As a cricket fan, there's a part of me that was happy to watch'

Still, it’s a low return on home soil. In a home season of at least five Tests, not since 1996-97 have they scored as few centuries. Head became just the third Australian to bag a king pair in Test cricket – and collected another first-baller in Melbourne – to counter the superb Adelaide century. There is a belief, backed up by numbers, that batting has become tougher in Australia in recent seasons although conditions have not been unplayable.”First and foremost you don’t want to put yourselves in those [difficult] positions, no doubt about that,” head coach Andrew McDonald said. “Think the context around that is the wickets have been a little tricky. No doubt, we want to get better at that as well. Some batters that will sit in the rooms, looking back on the summer and a few missed opportunities. Was it decision making? Was it good bowling? These guys have an appetite to improve the whole time.”Travis Head was one of only two Australians to score a Test ton this home season, and only the third from his side to bag a king pair•Associated PressMarnus Labuschagne made just 19 runs in four innings against West Indies, having ended the Pakistan series suggesting he was finding his best form again. He fell hooking in Adelaide and was then challenged outside off stump in Brisbane. Overall, a Test average which stood at 63.43 is now at 50.82.”I think the positive within that [is that] the law of averages suggests that he’s due for a couple of bumper Test matches and series,” McDonald said. “So we’ve got full trust and faith in the way that he goes about his preparation, the way he goes about his innings.”He’s been undone by certain plans at times, so there’s no doubt that we will get into that he does get busy and get back to work. We’ve got full confidence in his ability to rebound. He’s a quality player. There’s no doubt that you’re going to go through some lulls of form if you want to call it that.”

Cameron Green’s next stage

Nathan Lyon did little to dampen the expectations around Cameron Green. “I actually enjoy seeing him bat at No. 4 and I feel like he could be the next Jacques Kallis of international cricket at number four,” he said after the third day at the Gabba.Much of the focus was on Smith’s move up the order, but with an eye on the longer-term future of Australia’s top order Green’s return at No. 4 was equally significant. It has always been viewed as his natural home, although it was largely thought it would come with Smith’s retirement. The desire to get Green back in the side was central to the debate around replacing Warner.There were promising signs in the second innings at the Gabba before he played on against Shamar Joseph’s extra bounce to begin Australia’s collapse. It followed his work with the ball on the oppressively hot third day, with McDonald and Cummins singling him out as the pick of the attack. “Felt like it could have been anything,” McDonald said of his return of 1 for 37, during which he was particularly impressive round the wicket to the left-handers.”Think if you’ve watched his innings at international and Shield level, he can start slow, there’s no doubt about that, and it’s something he’s working on,” McDonald added on Green’s batting. “Takes him a while to get his movements in sync at times. That’s no different to any other batter, but once he’s up and going it’s a pretty good sign.”

A new pecking order

Among the debates around the post-Warner future has been the referencing to Australia’s best six batters and the hierarchy that now follows. Matt Renshaw is inked in as the seventh having been preferred in the squad to face West Indies ahead of Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft. He is now in pole position to replace Usman Khawaja when that moment arrives, although it could still be a few years away.It has left Harris and Bancroft in limbo, particularly the latter after his success at Sheffield Shield level. Cummins contacted the pair directly to reassure them that they had a Test future. But it also felt significant that chief selector George Bailey name-checked Aaron Hardie and Nathan McSweeney as players they were impressed by. After the way the West Indies series finished, there will be some added scrutiny on the incumbents, but this new order will be given a chance to settle.”We’re not in the in the mood to change the batting order. We feel like as a collective that that unit will be able to have success over multiple Test matches,” McDonald said. “I suppose if you look at the irony of it all, the question marks were on Steve Smith and Cameron Green and they were our two best-performed batters [on Sunday]. But we see our batting as a collective. There’s going to be people that fail within that at times, there’s going to be people that succeed. It’s all hands on deck, but we feel as though that order with the way it is, they complement each other.”

The big four have touched greatness

Each of Australia’s four frontline bowlers enjoyed a landmark this season: Lyon’s 500th, Cummins and Hazlewood reaching 250 Test wickets and Mitchell Starc going past 350 to close in on Dennis Lillee. They are a great bowling attack and, at times, had to paper over some cracks in the batting. But there remains the lingering question about when those in reserve will get their opportunity. It’s not beyond the realms that this quartet complete seven Tests in a row by playing the two games in New Zealand.Each of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood has played all the Tests for Australia this home season•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesScott Boland averages 12.21 in home Tests although struggled more during the Ashes in England. The selectors know what they will get from him if and when they need to call him back. In terms of the future, it’s Lance Morris who many are waiting with bated breath to see unleashed in Test cricket. He will feature in the ODIs against West Indies but the selectors are happy to wait for a spot to naturally open up in Test cricket.”Think the bowling unit getting five Test matches in, getting through and they’ve all pulled up well again, that’s an incredible success for the same attack to play throughout the summer,” McDonald said. “That bodes well for New Zealand.”

What comes next?

The Test series against New Zealand begins in Wellington on February 29. It will be Australia’s first Test trip across the Tasman since 2016 and contests between the two always come with an edge (even if the head-to-head is heavily in Australia’s favour), but they now take on added significance. If New Zealand beat an understrength South Africa 2-0 – and recent days have told us not assume anything – then the series could be key to the World Test Championship standings. Australia would not have factored dropping points at home this summer.”We’ve dropped one [match] at home which means we probably need to make one up overseas,” McDonald said. “That’s the wonderful part about the World Test Championship.”Following the New Zealand series, there is a long break in Australia’s Test schedule until next November and the arrival of India. There is a lot to play out before then, but it is shaping as another epic tussle. The last few days at the Gabba has given it a lot to live up to.

New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi highlights how Williamson adapts his game as per opposition and conditions

Alex Malcolm06-Mar-2024Luke Ronchi remembers vividly the first time he realised Kane Williamson was truly special. The former Australia and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter, now batting coach of the country of his birth, had played with a generation of Australian greats, including Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Simon Katich.But he had heard nothing like what he did from Williamson after his 140 at the Gabba in 2015 against Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.”He was talking about the technique he was starting with in his innings, and what it was,” Ronchi told ESPNcricinfo. “He said he had worked out how they were trying to get him out by bowling across him and trying to get him to nick off. He said, ‘I had to change my grip on the bat and my bat swing, [and] the motion I was making. I just had to make it a little bit different and do it this way’.”I was like, ‘Mate, that’s just freaky. How do you have the ability to go and change technique mid-innings?’ And he was just like, ‘That’s what I needed to do’. He was just so calm and clear about it. A lot of guys have their technique, and it is what it is. But sometimes, conditions, bowlers and whatever it is – they just can’t change what’s in front of them. When you can see the greats of the game just adapting on the fly, I think that’s what sets those greats apart from other great players.”Williamson is preparing to bring up yet another century at the Hagley Oval. This one will be his 100th Test.He is preparing in the same way he has for his previous 99 – methodically and calmly. He’s still striving for perfection after all these years of near-perfect batting. Although he now knows after 99 Tests of trying that perfection is impossible, so he is simply trying to be better than he was the day before.”When you’re younger, you’re looking for something that’s perfect,” Williamson said two days out from the milestone match. “And after trying really hard to define something, you realise that you’ve probably searched in all corners and it doesn’t really exist.”As a player, it’s trying to get some clarity on your strengths and your weaknesses, and while putting time and effort into improving those, also accepting that things won’t be perfect and it’s about how can we be effective. I think trying to help the team move forward is a really motivating factor for me. The art of batting, I’m still learning. Every day you have different conditions; you have different opposition.”Kane Williamson on his Test debut in 2010: “It was Tendulkar and Laxman and Dravid, and it was like, ‘How am I here?'”•AFPWilliamson has every right to rest on his laurels. Coming into the series against Australia, he had scored seven Test centuries in 13 innings – including three in four against South Africa. But Williamson is still searching to get better, as Ronchi highlighted how Williamson has adapted to the different pitches during New Zealand’s home season this year.”We played at Hamilton against South Africa, and the wicket was playing a certain way, and then we come to the Basin Reserve against Australia on a wicket that’s bouncing back of a length, [and] it’s turning from full [length] for [Nathan] Lyon, and he’s like, ‘What do I need to do here?'” Ronchi said.”‘What are my hands doing? What’s my body and my head doing? How do I make it work so that I know I can face any ball I need to?’ Then it’s like, ‘I need throws here. I need the flicker here. I need pace on the ball here’. And then he just gets into a zone. He gets into a place… when you see it, you’re like, okay, he’s ready to bat and bat and bat. If it’s at training, I know we’re in for a long haul. But if it’s in a game, he’s zoned in and he’s going to do something special against anyone.”While Williamson drives forward in pursuit of becoming a better player, the milestone has caused him to look back momentarily at how far he has come from the first time he walked to the crease in a Test match back in Ahmedabad in 2010.”I remember walking out and looking around the field and seeing all my heroes,” Williamson said. “I used to love playing backyard cricket as a youngster, and all those guys were in that team that I would try and select. It was Tendulkar and Laxman and Dravid, and it was kind of like, ‘How am I here? I’d better start watching the ball and try and compete’.”The Test Championship final [against India in 2021] is something that stands out for a number of different reasons” – Kane Williamson•Alex Davidson/Getty Images”It was quite surreal. I remember being quite eager to try and get into the opposition’s dressing room and chat to some of those guys if I could. Then a few grey hairs later and [after] a number of different experiences over that time, there’s not been many days – probably any – where I haven’t tried to improve and get better as a player.”It’s never a perfect journey. You go through so much. The format of Test cricket in particular really takes you through that. The learning – physically, [and] mentally – the reflection, [and] the memories of almost every Test that when you sit down and dissect it, there’s so much that you do recall.”The Test Championship final [against India in 2021] is something that stands out for a number of different reasons. But it’s a journey, and the highlights aren’t there without the other. They’re all experiences that you value and learn from. To perhaps reflect on hundred of those, it’s something I never could have imagined.”

All the records that Afghanistan and Rashid broke against New Zealand in Providence

Sampath Bandarupalli08-Jun-20241 Afghanistan defeated New Zealand for the first time in international cricket. New Zealand had won all four previous meetings – three times at the ODI World Cup (2015, 2019 and 2023) and once in the T20 World Cup (2021).1 New Zealand’s defeat against Afghanistan is their first loss against a team outside the first-eight full-member nations in the men’s World Cup (ODI or T20I). New Zealand played 39 World Cup matches against teams other than the first-eight full-member nations, winning 37, while another game ended in a washout.84 New Zealand’s margin of defeat against Afghanistan is their biggest while chasing at the men’s T20 World Cup. Their previous biggest was 59 runs against Sri Lanka in 2014 while chasing 120.It was the third time Afghanistan won a T20 World Cup game by a margin of 80-plus runs, the most by any team.75 New Zealand’s total at the Providence is their second lowest at the men’s T20 World Cup, behind their 60 all out against Sri Lanka in 2014. It is also the fourth-lowest total by New Zealand in men’s T20Is.New Zealand have been bundled out for under 100 in men’s T20Is on 13 occasions, the second most by any team, behind Rwanda (18).1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran became the first opening pair with successive partnerships of 100-plus runs at the men’s T20 World Cup, as they backed up their 154-run stand against Uganda with a 103-run partnership against New Zealand.Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan (2012-2014) and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (2014) are the other pairs to share century stands in consecutive outings at the men’s T20 World Cup.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 for 17 Rashid Khan’s bowling figures against New Zealand are the best by a captain at the men’s T20 World Cup. He bettered 4 for 20 by Daniel Vettori against India in 2007 and Zeeshan Masood against PNG in 2021.1 Fazalhaq Farooqi is the first player with consecutive four-plus wicket hauls at the T20 World Cup. He followed up his five-wicket haul against Uganda in the first match with a four-wicket against New Zealand.2 Gurbaz is now the first batter to outscore the opposition in a men’s T20 World Cup game, twice. He scored 76 runs in the previous match against Uganda, who dismissed for 56.Gurbaz scoring five more than New Zealand’s 75 all out was the seventh instance of a batter outscoring the opponent in a men’s T20 World Cup match.3 Instances of two bowlers taking four or more wickets in the same innings at the men’s T20 World Cup, including Farooqi and Rashid against New Zealand. The previous two instances came against Scotland – Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi for Pakistan in 2007 and Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid for Afghanistan in 2021.17 Four-plus wicket hauls for Rashid in T20 cricket are the most by any bowler in the format, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan’s 16. Eight of Rashid’s 17 four-plus wicket hauls have come in T20Is, the joint most alongside Shakib.