Beer is currently off the table. These and other important points, including Bairstow’s narcolepsy and Carey’s war crimes, are up for debate

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Jul-2023In the beginning was the word, and the word was Bazball.Baz and the boys set out, like the fellowship from Rivendell, on an epic quest to save Test cricket from the dark lord Scoringratesoflessthanfouranover.They had incredible adventures, besting all kinds of foes, despatching all manner of bowling to boundaries all across the known world. Though there were setbacks, Baz and the fellas stayed true, for righteous was their cause, and wall-to-wall was the media hype.But then Alex Carey threw down the stumps after Jonny Bairstow left the crease to go talk to his batting partner before the over was called by the umpires, and now Baz won’t even have a beer with the Aussies anymore.Welcome to the Briefing.The case for Alex Carey being charged under the Geneva Convention
– He’s Australian, and they are known cheats, and historically, sheep thieves
– He threw the ball underarm (smoking gun)
– Bairstow tapped his back leg inside the crease to indicate that he believed the ball to be dead, and who is Carey to argue?
– England, the reigning ODI World champions, would never accept victory on a technicality
– Just look at his faceThe case for Jonny Bairstow being a dopey dolt with on-field narcolepsy that he should immediately get looked at, the dope
– He’s English, and they are known to act like the high and mighty moral arbiters of all that is moral, and also of what is arbitrary
– He tapped his back leg in the crease before the umpires called an over. Does he think he’s better than them?
– Carey throwing the ball at the stumps is a normal thing that keepers do, which Bairstow should know, because he tried to get Marnus Labuschagne out the same way earlier in the match
– Carey’s actions abided by the rules of play and did not cross “the line”, which is not just an Australian way of talking about the spirit of cricket wow don’t be dumb
– Just look at his face
Can you find an intellectual position in between these two extremes?
– No, you woke girlygirl. These are the only options.The case for England and Australia not being a laughing stock to the rest of the cricket world
– You all make amazing points and should make them as strongly as possible going forward
– It’s perfectly normal for grown men to have meltdowns of this magnitude in public
– Please keep going
Should we have a massive debate about the spirit of cricket then?
– Absolutely
– The spirit of cricket should be arrack, not rum, whiskey, or other contenders
– Arrack is great with ginger beer or ginger ale, and other soft drinks
– Also just great on ice
– Tends not to give you a hangover
The case for doing the next entry with bulletpoints even though it’s a bit spicy
– It would look out of place in this particular column if not.
– Let’s hope the readers buy the conceit
Was it cool to watch Ollie Robinson verbally go at Usman Khawaja, a brown Muslim man, knowing what we know about what Robinson said in public on social media in the past?
– Robinson has paid his dues
– He took his suspended period to introspect deep inside himself
– Deep inside himself he found stuff that he wants to loudly yell, which in regular society would count as abject abuse but for fast bowlers doesn’t
– He said it to a brown Muslim player
– He also did it to white players, even if not as intensely
– It was incidental that Khawaja is both brown and Muslim
– It is incidental that Robinson said racist stuff in the past, and that as a non-white person, you may never trust his intentions
– Well, Robinson can’t be blamed if Khawaja batted longer than anyone else and caused him more frustration, can he?
– Don’t be stupidNext month on the Briefing:
– “Let’s see you get up after that one, you p***k!” England team found mercilessly bashing the daylights out of a cricket ball in the nets, to “make sure it’s dead”.- The Ashes helpfully produces more dumb controversies right at the time the Briefing needs to be written. (Deadline is 31 July. Please do it again, lads.)- ESPNcricinfo editors heap plaudits on the Briefing for meeting deadlines so consistently and conscientiously.

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.

A raw captain, new coaching staff, an inexperienced attack, a cagey dressing room and the mighty Aussies to deal with – it could have all gone very wrong. But this team didn’t let it and made friends along the way

Danyal Rasool07-Jan-20242:50

Is Aamer Jamal the find of the tour for Pakistan?

The Pakistan players stood under the safety of a beach umbrella as they watched the hail pound the practice nets yards away from them. It was a freak weather event on the first day of training for a Pakistan side that had arrived in Canberra the previous morning. For a side that had been given a snowball’s chance in hell of winning a Test series in Australia, hailstones the size of golf balls in the middle of the Australian summer could perhaps be seen as an omen.They were greeted at Pakistan House by the High Commissioner the previous day, and would get an invite to the Australian Prime Minister’s residence the following evening. A familiar sense of calm had descended over Australia’s capital by now, warm summer sunshine melting away any signs of the storm that had put paid to Pakistan’s opening training session. Canberra is, in some ways, very much like Islamabad, a planned city with the functions of government at the heart of its founding.But when Pakistan took on the PM’s XI in a four-day match at the Manuka Oval a few days later, Pakistan realised this city also felt familiar in a manner they didn’t quite appreciate. The surface was flat as a pancake, the ball kept low and the relaid outfield was slow. Twenty-one months earlier, in Islamabad’s twin city Rawalpindi, Pakistan had prepared a strip so flat only 14 wickets fell across five full days, with the mild-mannered Pat Cummins saying then Pakistan had clearly tried to “nullify our pace attack”.Related

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Now, with the shoe on the other foot, Pakistan were not happy. Also, apparently, the visitors hadn’t quite appreciated that this wasn’t just any tour game but a full first-class game, meaning they wouldn’t be able to warm up more than 11 players, soon reduced to ten when Abrar Ahmed complained of a leg injury. Despite sticking around with the team all tour, he would not bowl another competitive ball for its duration. Later that evening, an electrical storm surged through the city, blowing the covers off the surface and forcing the game to be called off a day early.

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At the WACA, Shan Masood and Sarfaraz Ahmed are engaged in discussion ahead of Pakistan’s first training session in Perth. A number of Pakistan players and staff dot the playing surface, the picturesque and sadly now-disused cricket ground for the moment a hive of catching drills, bowling practice and fielding exercises.Looking in at all this action from the stands feels a bit like hitting play on a new season when you didn’t quite finish the last one. There’s a giant of a man with a luxuriant tan and Arnold Schwarzenegger-style biceps with a bat that looks puny in his hand, and you have to reach for binoculars to confirm it’s Adam Hollioake. An offspinner sending down a few inadvertently elicits a pang of nostalgia and is confirmed to be Saeed Ajmal. Simon Helmot is the high-performance coach, and Umar Gul is another one amidst a blur of new faces.Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s new director of cricket, doesn’t seem to encourage too much media interaction•ICC via GettyBut this season’s main character is team director Mohammad Hafeez, who is now declaring himself thoroughly disappointed by the conditions they had to endure in Canberra. Addressing reporters – for some reason, under the glare of the sun rather than indoors – he says he never expected such a slow pitch in Australia; you don’t need to be an expert at subtext reading to know he believes it was gamesmanship from the opposition.Masood walks back to the shade of the sheds – Perth this time of year really is searingly hot – and has a word with the team manager. This pitch, too, is much too slow, and doesn’t bounce too much. It will be nothing like the strip Australia prepare for Pakistan at Perth Stadium across the Matagarup Bridge, he believes. Over the next three weeks, plenty of his instincts will turn out to be correct. Including this one.

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Just because you know something will happen doesn’t mean you can stop it happening, as Pakistan find out at Perth Stadium. Australia have a pace trio whose speeds never seem to drop, whose consistency never seems to waver and whose appetite never seems to be satiated. They also have Nathan Lyon, bearing down on 500 Test wickets. Pakistan have a man doing a pale imitation of the Shaheen Afridi who could threaten 150kph, and two debutants.Shaheen Afridi was not quite his usual lethal self this tour•Getty ImagesOne of them – Khurram Shahzad – has never played outside Pakistan before. Aamer Jamal’s last exposure abroad came in China, where he conceded 23 runs in five balls against Afghanistan to knock Pakistan out of the Asian Games. They also have no specialist spinner because Sajid Khan, coming in for Abrar, hasn’t got over his jet lag or, frankly, his inability to consistently land the ball near enough the right length in international cricket.Anyway, back to the pitch. Pakistan only fully realise how spicy it is by the time the fourth evening rolls around. Perhaps the clue should have been in the fact that Pakistan’s inexperienced medium-pace battery had by then taken 15 Australian wickets – two more than they had managed during Pakistan’s entire Test series in this country in 2019. When the kick truly begins to hit Pakistan, they fold for 89.As if they weren’t hobbled enough already, Pakistan also find a way of shooting themselves in the foot. Mohammad Rizwan averaged over 45 in Australia before this series – albeit over a small sample size. Sarfaraz Ahmed – over a slightly bigger sample – averaged below 30, and barely above 15 if the similarly lively pitches in South Africa are taken into account. Sarfaraz is also older and it seems past his prime, and Rizwan, statistically, is a far superior wicketkeeper.

For a dressing room that had the potential to be combustible after the manner of Babar’s resignation and Masood’s appointment, perhaps keeping such a tight lid on things isn’t the worst idea. And to Hafeez’s credit, it works, for the most part. Very little of note leaks out of the camp all tour.

But Sarfaraz vs Rizwan is a culture war too tedious to relitigate, except to say that it has at times had not much to do with cricket. Masood offered an explanation for why Pakistan were lining up with Sarfaraz, and it seemed to have more to do with rewarding performances in domestic cricket in Pakistan than assessing who had the better shot of performing half a world away. After a match in which Sarfaraz totalled seven runs and missed a stumping, he was gone. Rizwan, who played the final two Tests, ended up as Pakistan’s highest scorer of the whole series.

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Hafeez’s touring side is a tightly run ship. The players and staffs’ interactions with the media are obsessively regulated; beyond the compulsory press conferences, you virtually don’t hear from the players at all. At one point during an extended break between the first and second Tests, Australia wheel out Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc, but no one from Pakistan fronts up at all.Perhaps Hafeez, who owes this surprise stint as team director and head coach more to his outspoken views in the media rather than any management or training qualifications, feels rather differently about the media now he’s back in the other camp. When Pakistan play an unscheduled two-day practice match against a Victorian XI at St Kilda, it is closed off to the media – though whether it was the PCB or Cricket Australia (CA) who wanted it behind closed doors remains disputed. Either way, if you wanted to watch the game, you would need to peer through a fence.Ahead of the series Usman Khawaja had ‘all lives are equal’ written on his shoes, the first of his many attempts to direct attention to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza•Getty ImagesThe general sense of wariness extends to the captains’ pre-series press conferences. The biggest story around the tour at this point surrounds the ICC rebuffing Khawaja’s attempts to raise awareness of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. There is overwhelming public support in Pakistan for Khawaja’s decision and the cause, but Masood is firm when asked about it repeatedly, calling it a matter for CA and the player himself to address. His eyes are fixed firmly on the Benaud-Qadir Trophy gleaming in the sun (why must all Perth press conferences take place under the sun?) a few metres away.Even normal conventions around fronting players up for media post-day are stretched close to breaking point. After the first day of play, Jamal shows up; all series, Pakistan will put forward a player post-day just seven times, with Jamal appearing thrice. On the other three days in Perth, Pakistan wheel through the management staff they have, with Hollioake and Gul making appearances the following two days, and Hafeez showing up after the loss; he will show up after the conclusion of each Test. Australian PM Anthony Albanese, who the visiting Pakistanis met in Canberra and then again before the third Test in Sydney, likely said more off-the-record words to Masood than any journalist on the whole tour.But for a dressing room that had the potential to be combustible after the manner of Babar Azam’s resignation and Masood’s appointment, perhaps keeping such a tight lid on things isn’t the worst idea. And to Hafeez’s credit, it works, for the most part. Very little of note leaks out of the camp all tour, but then some of what does make its way out suggests player morale in a social bubble of this kind might not have been especially high; there is unhappiness about a reported curfew, and a smiling Hafeez confirms one of the more outlandish rumours in a press conference in Melbourne: any players caught napping during work hours will be fined $500.The press room laughs. It’s a little less funny when, 24 hours later, Hafeez, enjoying an airport coffee with his wife, arrives late to the boarding gate and misses his flight to Sydney.

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Australia is almost like Pakistan’s cricketing version of a teenage crush, in front of whom they are so eager to bring their best yet reliably incapable of doing so

The desperation to compete in Australia is palpable. This country is almost like Pakistan’s cricketing version of a teenage crush, in front of whom they are so eager to bring their best yet reliably incapable of doing so. And for all the humour you can poke at Pakistan’s ever-extending losing streak here, this Pakistan side is no joke, and despite the wholesome interactions with the hosts they clearly appear to enjoy, they are here undoubtedly to try and win.It’s raining on Christmas Day, and so training is moved indoors. This is handy for Pakistan, because when the Australians bring out their families – as is tradition here – it makes Pakistan’s amicable gesture of presents for the children look even sweeter and more intimate. The overhead conditions will continue to smile upon Pakistan all Test, reliably offering them the best of both bowling and batting conditions. The bowlers are on top of Australia all of day one, but the hosts scratch around and find a way to survive.Pakistan’s generosity extends to the field, where they put down Australian chances several times across both innings, somehow finding a way to squander the advantage gained by having Australia 16 for 4 in the second innings. In a contest where Pakistan continue to dream each day of a festive miracle, Australia keep jolting them awake, even if, in the process, they are given scares of their own.Hafeez, smarting after the loss, does his best Jose Mourinho impression, deflecting attention onto himself by blaming “the curse of technology” while saying the better team had lost. Pakistani cricket fans have the reputation of being conspiracy-loving, but they had the good sense to tune this out; heartbreak and lingering resentment is, after all, an unhealthy mix. When Masood was asked about Hafeez’s comments in Sydney, he, too, would give them short shrift.Pakistan had way more spills in the field this series than they would have liked•AFP/Getty Images

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Shan Masood has been impressing people on this tour and it’s not the usual compliments about his communication skills and tact. He’s simply having a good tour as captain and, going into Sydney, is Pakistan’s leading run-scorer, with a higher strike rate than any player from either side all series. Managing a depleted bowling lineup like Pakistan’s is no mean feat, especially when Afridi is rested for the final Test. The seam combination had been used judiciously enough to control run-scoring in Melbourne, with Agha Salman’s spin handy at tying up an end. Time and again, Pakistan set up with unconventional fields and bespoke bowling plans.Some of them come off and others don’t, but the captaincy itself is an active rather than passive act all tour. At the SCG, Steven Smith is lured right into an off-side trap to trigger a mini-collapse in Australia’s first innings, which ends with Jamal heroics and a 14-run lead for Pakistan, their first in Australia in 13 years. Sajid doesn’t have the best first innings in Sydney, but Masood turns to him for the first over of the second innings, which he ends by ensnaring Khawaja. The choice not to use Jamal until the game’s effectively over is rather less scrutable, but for a man whose first three Tests in charge provide the baptism of fire this tour brings, there is a clear foundation to build on.As much as they wanted to win, there was warmth on display from Pakistan this tour•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaAnd for a dressing room that was allegedly unhappy with some of the goings on, the players stood up for each other time and again. Abdullah Shafique was rallied around after his miserable time in the field, as was Saim Ayub after similar experiences in the third Test. There was no dropping of the heads during those long sessions when it all looks hopeless, or any public remonstrations between bowler and fielder when catches are put down and misfields happen. If this is down to Masood’s ethos as captain, it bodes well, and if it is not, then he has the good fortune of leading a group which, despite certain frustrations and differences, has a streak of professionalism coursing through.The players realise they are fortunate to be doing what they do, but don’t forget to have fun doing it. Hasan Ali is the expected leader in that regard, notably making sure Bay 13 crowd at the MCG is in lockstep with his dance moves. Babar and Agha enjoy a hand game known as as they field in the slips before the duo race across at the change of ends alongside Rizwan, holding hands. Slipper Agha also sees the funnier side of going, as he called it, “for a pee break” and knowing he was in trouble when a catch at first slip is put down in that very over. And, across the series, Pakistan’s boundary riders are more than happy to oblige spectators asking for autographs, running back and forth with smiles on their faces while delighting at the smiles they in turn put on the faces of the children whose day they made.

Get your body moving with Hasan Ali! #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/8Y0ltpInXx

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2023

We’ve narrowed it down to 10… which one gets your vote?

S Sudarshanan08-Apr-2024

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

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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.

O’Rourke’s match haul of 9 for 93 is the best for a New Zealand bowler on Test debut

Sampath Bandarupalli16-Feb-20241 – It’s New Zealand’s first series win against South Africa in men’s Test cricket, ending a near 92-year wait. With this, each of the first eight teams to play men’s Tests have won at least one series against the other teams.18 – Men’s Test series played by New Zealand against South Africa. It’s the second-longest any team has had to wait for a series win against an opposition. New Zealand hold the unwanted record, too, having taken 21 series to end the drought against England.5 – Hundreds by Kane Williamson in the fourth innings in Test cricket, the joint-highest for any batter, alongside Younis Khan. Four of those five Williamson hundreds have come in successful chases, equalling the record held by Graeme Smith.172 – Innings batted by Williamson for his 32nd century in Test cricket, a record. Steven Smith was the previous fastest in terms of innings – getting there in 174 innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 – Consecutive fifty-plus scores in Tests that Williamson has converted into centuries. The last time he failed to do so was in the WTC final against India in 2021, where he finished on 52 not out. Only one other batter has a streak longer than him – Don Bradman, with 12.5 – Williamson has scored a hundred in each of his last five Tests at home, including two in the previous match in Mount Maunganui. Only Bradman (1937-1946) and Smith (2014-2015) had hundreds in five consecutive Test matches at home before him.9 for 93 – Will O’Rourke’s match haul in Hamilton is the best for a New Zealand bowler on Test debut. Mark Craig’s 8 for 188 against West Indies in 2014 was the previous best for them.13 – New Zealand haven’t lost 13 consecutive home series since their last series defeat in March 2017 against South Africa. They won ten of the 13 series played in this period, with three ending on level terms.

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.”

The oppression of women in the country has raised tough questions for ICC

Sidharth Monga20-Jun-2024If you go to some of the T20 World Cup 2024 venues early on a match day or a day earlier, before everything gets drowned out in the crowd, you can hear this message in the rehearsals. I have not paid attention to the accompanying video but the audio is clear: a voiceover from a girl saying on the field, we are all the same; that the field should be a safe place for girls because cricket empowers girls.The ICC has partnered with UNICEF to help empower girls through cricket. It spends a lot of money on women’s cricket, which remains a long-term investment rather than an immediate return on the business bottom line. In a lovely video on the UNICEF website, among girls from different backgrounds playing cricket, one with a headscarf in Afghan national colours (not the Taliban ones) is unmissable.That’s where the ICC must be finding itself in a helpless state. The Afghanistan men’s team is an unqualified success story, not just of their own human spirit but the support they have received through ICC’s developmental programmes and the will to expand the sport. That their progress into the Super Eight this World Cup is being seen as a mild surprise and not a big upset is testament to how far they have come.Related

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Not that Afghanistan was a beacon of female power before, but ever since the Taliban takeover three years ago, the country has been bleaker than ever for its women. Forget having a women’s cricket team or infrastructure, Afghanistan is denying basic human rights like access to education and healthcare to the women.Allowing men’s cricket is a classic oppressors’ ploy: deny them to such an extent that they be thankful for one small piece of joy, not a right but a benevolence that can be snatched away any time, so you better behave. The ICC has probably thought about it a million times: does it want to ban Afghanistan for not following its charter and take away from the country that one small relief? Penalise the men who have fought unimaginable odds to make it this far? That is probably why the action has not been swift and unequivocal as it was with the government interference in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.That the Taliban even allows cricket is not because someone there appreciates the legbreak bowled with a wrong’un release, but because the sport is popular among Pakhtun men, a source of their power. To the Taliban, cricket is just a pawn in the public image game. Letting them play is nothing short of sportwashing, not so much in the eyes of the world as inside Afghanistan.Afghanistan’s cricketers are national heroes•ICC/Getty ImagesIt also says that the Taliban cares about how it is perceived, if only a little bit. That it is cynical to think cricket embargos won’t make any difference. They may not succeed in forcing the Taliban to let women play or go to university but it will not be nothing. That if cricket turns its back on the Afghanistan men’s team, it is not penalising Rashid Khan but the Taliban. He and his team-mates are a significant collateral damage but not as big as the one being caused to half of their population.Many a potential South African great was denied an international cricket career not because they were individually deemed to be racist but because Apartheid was evil. Most of them continued to play county cricket. Now whether cricket played a significant role in the fall of Apartheid is debatable, but it is undeniable that it played a part in piling on the pressure on the government.Now South Africa is a country that can enforce transformation targets on its sports teams, once upon a time the bastion of the powerful white minority. Not that it doesn’t create tensions of its own. CSA now games the system by playing more players of colour in series of less significance so as to maintain the average requirement. In this World Cup, they have only one black African player in their squad. They are still contenders but not quite the South Africa we have come to know. The rainbow is a little less colourful.Those who want to see sport free of politics will not be happy to know that even a response to this Afghanistan situation can merely be political. Even if the ICC does decide to give up the soft diplomacy it is undertaking right now, which has its merits, and decides to take firmer action, it might not get full support of its own members because Afghanistan is now a vote on the table.These are uncomfortable thoughts at the start of the Super Eight of ICC’s latest attempt at globalising the sport, but we can’t look away; we mustn’t look away. If anything, as consumers of the sport, we can inform the direction the governing bodies take.