Outrage has dominated both sides of the debate

Firdose Moonda28-Oct-2021It may be tempting to think that Quinton de Kock’s refusal to take a knee ahead of the match against West Indies earlier this week is out and out racism, but ignorance of racial inequalities that have resulted from slavery, colonialism and apartheid might be what caused him to not comply with Cricket South Africa’s directive, and to consequently withdraw himself from the match.That’s not the soft view, nor one that seeks to justify de Kock’s continued inaction over antiracist gestures, but rather one that aims to add nuance to the ever-complex conversation around race and sport, and especially race and sport in South Africa.Outrage has dominated the narrative locally on both sides. On the one hand, there is the argument that the right to freedom of speech and expression, which is enshrined in the South African constitution, must be respected, and that CSA should not have made taking a knee mandatory. On the other is long-brewing dissatisfaction with the national team’s inconsistency over their approach to antiracism, which is now embodied in de Kock’s refusal. And all this is happening while CSA conducts Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) hearings, where some of those who have appeared, including former team manager Mohammed Moosajee and South African Cricketers Association CEO Andrew Breetzke, have called for the national team to have a unified approach to taking a knee.Related

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As a collective, South Africa have swayed between a steadfast approach to doing nothing, as was the case in the lead up to the 3TC event last July, to doing everything, when all players and support staff took a knee. (de Kock missed this last event because of a Covid-19-related issue.)They then planned to do nothing in the series against Sri Lanka, before deciding to raise their fists in the Boxing Day Test. Then there was a three-pronged approach on their tour to West Indies this winter, where some team members, all of colour, as well as Rassie van der Dussen and Kyle Verreynne, took a knee; others – all white, like Test captain Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram, raised a fist; and others, also all white, like Anrich Nortje, stood to attention. de Kock did nothing and has continued to do nothing. One of the issues is that no one yet knows why.de Kock is not against gestures. Historically, he has joined the rest of the team in wearing a black armband to commemorate a death, and the pink shirt at the annual Pink ODI to raise awareness for breast cancer. He has also made individual gestures. On scoring a century in the first Test against West Indies in St Lucia, de Kock displayed a bat sticker in favour of rhino conservation. And he made a finger gesture in support of a friend who had lost a digit. You might argue that de Kock made his own decision in all of these, but it would be interesting to see the reaction if he opted to wear a blue shirt on that all-pink day. The point being that employers often expect certain commitments from their employees. Very seldom do they impose expectations on them.

The gesture is a way to tell South Africans, the majority of whom have suffered under racial segregation, that there is recognition of what they have been through

CSA went as far as imposing expectations only after more than a year of the men’s national team umm-ing, ahh-ing and half-gesturing. In that time, the board has been imploding: it changed from an interim board to a permanent one, and has had to deal with a significant lack of senior staff after suspensions over the last two years. It is plausible that the collective response to antiracism has not been top of mind, and the seriousness of the division in South Africa’s appearance only occurred to them when they saw the opening match of the Super 12s, where Australia took a knee together and their own team presented a mish-mash of posturing.Two images caught fire on social media. One was of members of the team on the sidelines that showed Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada and van der Dussen taking a knee; Dwaine Pretorius, Aiden Markram and David Miller raising a fist; and Anrich Nortje and Heinrich Klaasen standing to attention. The other was of Temba Bavuma taking a knee and de Kock standing with his hands on his hips. CSA board chair Lawson Naidoo confirmed that was the spark that forced CSA to act, but to do so five hours before the next game was risky.Perhaps CSA thought it had called the team’s bluff and the speed of the command would ensure it was obeyed. Then de Kock called the board’s back. When the team arrived at the ground in Dubai, he made himself unavailable without even telling his team-mates why. In so doing, he put his captain and his team-mates in a difficult position.Bavuma said it was the toughest day of his captaincy, as he had to do without de Kock the batter and de Kock the senior player. Reeza Hendricks would have been told at the last moment that he was going to open the batting. Heinrich Klaasen would have been told he would have to take the gloves, after having done so just once in a T20I in the last six months. He went on to drop the first chance he got. Bavuma was run out for 2 after failing to beat Andre Russell’s arm. Had South Africa gone on to lose, doubtless focus would have been on those three players and it’s likely the blame would have been laid on them. Luckily for them, they didn’t.The act of taking a knee has been described as a gesture of antiracism, rather than a gesture in support of Black Lives Matter, and that is another significant point. Although BLM has become synonymous with the fight against racism, the two do not have to be the same thing, especially in a country like South Africa, where the right for racial equality predates the BLM movement. The BLM organisation is seen by some in South Africa (and elsewhere) as a radical political, and even Marxist, movement rather than a civil-rights activist collective that speaks to global issues of exclusion. This is the kind of movement that white South Africa has in the past been afraid of; they have had terms to describe being overrun by the disenfranchised majority as “black danger” () and “red danger” (). And therein may lie part of the explanation for why taking a knee has been difficult for some of South Africa’s white players.Although none of the members of the current side are old enough to have lived through the horrors of apartheid, all of them will have had parents or caregivers who grew up then. van der Dussen was influenced by a father who was part of the African National Congress to take a knee.The array of gestures before the game against Australia that probably drove CSA to mandate the whole team taking the knee•ICC via GettyWhich is where Michael Holding and Carlos Brathwaite and Daren Sammy and Kieron Pollard’s calls for education come in. All of the last three have been part of a West Indian set-up that has been unrelenting in their consistency in taking a knee, and who have spoken at length about the experiences of being black in a world, especially a cricketing world, governed by whiteness.As South Africa readied to collectively take a knee, sans de Kock, on Tuesday, Sammy was on air. “My mother always told me, ‘You’ve got to stand for something or you will fall for anything’,” he said. “It’s good to see players united over something that has affected so many people across the world.”Pommie Mbangwa went further: “Some will say it is being political but I cannot shed my skin. I hope that the discussion at the very least can be about how to be united about something that everybody agreed on. This is also in the hope that there is agreement in that regard.”The pair referenced de Kock’s absence before Sammy expressed his disbelief at those who struggled to support antiracism. “Sometimes I don’t understand why is it so difficult to support this movement if you understand what it stands for. That’s just my opinion because of what my kind have been through. There are a lot of issues affecting the world, but I don’t understand why it’s so difficult.”Brathwaite, speaking on BBC Five Live, understood the significance of South Africa taking a knee together and de Kock not being there. “I’m not an advocate of forcing anyone to do something that they don’t want to do. But I also understand where Cricket South Africa is coming from,” he said. “There are a lot of conversations and a lot of education that still has to happen around why you take the knee, what it signifies, but more importantly, for things to change in society, taking a knee has to be a start and not the be-all and end-all.”Talk to some around de Kock and they will say this is the exact reason he does not want to take a knee: because it achieves nothing. The footballer Wilfried Zaha has argued similar. What that does not acknowledge is the simple fact that human beings can walk and chew at the same time. They can gesture publicly and they can act behind the scenes. The gesture is a way to tell South Africans, the majority of whom have suffered under racial segregation, that there is recognition and understanding of what they have been through. The rest is what shows our education in action.

They have a woeful record in this competition and a shaky batting order to contend with. But they also have a premier match-winner in Shakib Al Hasan

Mohammad Isam23-Oct-2021Big pictureBangladesh have been trying to nail a T20 World Cup for a long time. As far back as 2012, they decided that playing plenty of T20Is just before the tournament will give them a good chance. But like a student who tries to cram the night before the exam, things never really came together.Their record in T20Is is not very good, and it gets much worse in World Cups. Only one of their seven wins since 2007 has come against a traditional big team. They lost to Hong Kong in the 2014 edition at home, while in 2016, they missed the mother of all open nets against India.Related

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This time too Bangladesh come into the tournament with cracks, despite recently seeing off Australia and New Zealand at home. On tailor-made home pitches that helped the spinners, the visiting batters had very little clue what was happening – but so did the home batters, and it seems that has hurt Bangladesh. Their shock loss to Scotland in the first round showed signs of their batters’ lack of confidence. The top order was gone quickly, before Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan stalled for several overs, trying to rebuild. That didn’t work out and then captain Mahmudullah, the team’s best T20 batter, couldn’t time his big hits.Their subsequent wins over Oman and PNG ensured a spot in the Super 12s, but Bangladesh have to play a lot better and with more consistency in this round if they are to reach the tournament goal they have set for themselves: reach the semi-finals.Recent formBangladesh came into the tournament with three consecutive series wins over Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand. But they lost two out of three warm-up games earlier this month, before crashing against Scotland in the first round. They recovered against Oman and PNG.BattingMushfiqur, Mahmudullah and Shakib remain in charge of Bangladesh’s batting, despite the emergence of several talented batters in recent years. If these three fire together, expect a big score. If they have a combined bad day, the whole team seems to slow down.Mohammad Naim, Liton Das and Afif Hossain have shown signs of standing on their own, but don’t seem to be quite there yet. In Liton’s case, he has been around for six years, but consistency hasn’t been his companion.Nurul Hasan has emerged as a big-hitter down the order, as well as a skillful wicketkeeper. Soumya Sarkar and Shamim Hossain are the back-up batters in the squad.BowlingSpin usually dominates Bangladesh’s bowling plans, particularly with Shakib as the leader of the attack. The left-arm spinner’s varied pace and flight and subtle turn translate into the most bankable four overs. Offspinner Mahedi Hasan has started well in the tournament, and they also have Nasum Ahmed, Player-of-the-Series against New Zealand last month, waiting in the wings.Mustafizur Rahman is their best fast bowler, a proper T20 star who has excelled at the IPL. He has been around a long while, yet he still bamboozles the best of batters. Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin complement him with pace and variations, while the left-arm quick Shoriful Islam is waiting for his first opportunity.Player to watchThere are very few cricketers in the world currently who can bring as much to his side as Shakib Al Hasan does to Bangladesh. He is the team’s best player for sure, but he is also pushing for bigger honours. He had a great 2019 Word Cup – he was one of three batters to tally over 600 runs, to go with 11 wickets – but after that, he had the low of the ICC suspension to contend with.Since his return, he has worked his way back to his best, recently breaking the record for most T20I wickets. In the UAE, Shakib will bat at No. 3, and be expected to bowl in different situations with his new shorter run-up. He bowled superbly at the IPL and has brought his form with the ball over to the T20 World Cup. His batting will be all the more important to Bangladesh in the absence of Tamim Iqbal.Key questionDespite their fine recent form at home and their recovery in the first round in Muscat, question marks still hang over Bangladesh. Both Australia and New Zealand had fielded sides that were missing first-choice players, and the matches were played on Dhaka’s infamous raging turners. All the batters struggled and, as already mentioned, that sort of preparation in the lead-up to the global tournament has shown in Bangladesh’s batting so far. Can their batters break free and reach potential to help them make a mark in the Super 12s?Likely XI1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Having endured a lean patch since her 171* in Derby, the batter returned to form with a 66-ball 63

S Sudarshanan24-Feb-2022When Deepti Sharma was dismissed in the 18th over of the run chase, New Zealand were starting to regain control. The pressure applied by the spin duo of Frances Mackay and Fran Jonas had consumed Deepti – she had faced a combined 23 balls from them and failed to score off 14 of them.From 53 for 1 at the ten-over mark, India had only added 36 more in the next 7.4 overs. In walked the out-of-form Harmanpreet Kaur to join the set Smriti Mandhana. It was a comeback of sorts for Harmanpreet, who had been rested in the previous match.India came to New Zealand having lost just one out of ten ODIs while chasing since the start of 2019. But on this tour, they had lost both their previous matches when they had been set a target.Related

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Were they on course to botch another chase? Would the batters undo the spinners’ efforts, which had helped restrict New Zealand to a total that looked assailable?On Thursday, Harmanpreet used the sweep to good effect for most part of her innings. Anything remotely in her arc and around middle and leg was swept away towards square leg as she kept the runs flowing, while also not denying Mandhana the strike.She had got out to a full toss off Jonas in the second ODI to give the teenager her first wicket in the format. But come the fifth game, she was cautious to begin with, taking no chances off the first eight balls she faced from the left-arm spinner.At the start of Jonas’ fifth over – the 24th of the chase – Harmanpreet slinked down the track and thumped the ball over deep midwicket. The nifty footwork, hand-eye coordination and the shot had shades of the trademark strokes with which she had lit up Derby during her 171 not out in the Women’s World Cup of 2017. The shot even elicited a bear hug in response from Mandhana.”I think it was important for the whole team, and it was good to see her come back and play the shots she was playing,” Mandhana said after the match. “I was happy to be at the other hand to watch the ball flying off her bat. When she hit that six I felt like hugging her. I felt happy for her.”There was no looking back from thereon for the pair, who found at least one boundary in almost every over from then. Harmanpreet took a special liking to Mackay in the 28th over, hitting her for back-to-back fours after she had been given a life.Smriti Mandhana added 64 for the third wicket with Harmanpreet Kaur•Getty Images”It was important for the partnership to happen before the World Cup,” Mandhana said.She was right. In 27 innings since that 171* against Australia, Harmanpreet had scored 627 runs at an average of 27.26 and a strike rate of 66.91 before Thursday’s knock. Her best score in six knocks since the start of last year’s tour of England last year was 19. She had come under fire from numerous voices, including those of former players.However, in the interim, she had done well for Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL, both with bat and ball. But the performances had dried up at the international level by the time the New Zealand tour began.”My conversation with Harry di was outside of cricket,” Mandhana said when asked about the words she shared with the senior batter. “I believe if someone is not confident or timing the ball, it is better not to talk to them about cricket. We spent time going out, having dinner, having fun. We tried to distract her so that she can start afresh. I have not had any batting conversation before in the middle today.”Harmanpreet finished with 63 off just 66 balls and played a key part in India picking up their first win of the tour.In two of the last three ICC tournaments, Harmanpreet produced at least one big knock for India: her ODI best in 2017, and a maiden T20I century in the T20 World Cup in 2018, when India made the semi-finals.With the upcoming ODI World Cup just around the corner, and to be played in New Zealand, Harmanpreet couldn’t have chosen a better time to get back among the runs.

Unscheduled break puts spotlight on captain’s faltering form in recent months

Matt Roller28-Jan-2022Are we heading into the final stages of Eoin Morgan’s England captaincy?Morgan was so quick to confirm his desire to stay on after the T20 World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand in Abu Dhabi that his future has hardly been raised. “I’m still offering enough to the side,” he said in the post-match presentation; Chris Silverwood, England’s coach, later revealed that Morgan had been making plans for the 2022 tournament on the team bus back to Dubai after that defeat.But Morgan’s absence from the final three games of England’s series in Barbados – he has been ruled out through a minor quad injury – does beg the question. He turns 36 in September, a month before the T20 World Cup in Australia, and Jos Buttler – his heir presumptive – is at a natural inflexion point in his career with his Test future in doubt.Morgan’s batting has reached a point where it is increasingly difficult to justify his place in England’s middle order. Since the start of 2021, he has averaged 16.36 with a strike rate of 108.43 for England. It is still a relatively small sample size, but the evidence at domestic level has been not better: across 28 innings for Middlesex, London Spirit and Kolkata Knight Riders, he has averaged 18.13 with a strike rate of 118.13.Morgan has always been a streaky player. His peaks and troughs have been extreme across a 15-year T20 career, and the volatility of middle-order batting in T20s – particularly since he shuffled down from No. 4 to No. 5 or 6 – has created what Buttler called “a myth” around Morgan’s form. “I think the longer you go without contributing a significant score, the closer you are to actually contributing – and that’s coming from experience,” Morgan said before the World Cup.And it was not long ago that Morgan was in the best hitting form of his career. In 2019 and 2020, he averaged 40.71 with a strike rate of 158.32 in T20 cricket, the third-highest in the world behind Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard among those who batted 40 times or more. At 5.25 crore (£560,000 at the time) he was one of the bargains of the auction for the 2020 IPL.But his recent run has been a tough watch. There have been occasional glimmers of form – five sixes in a Hundred game at The Oval, a cool-headed finish in the IPL and a late swing for victory at Old Trafford – but for the most part it has been a struggle, as highlighted by his only real innings of note for England: 40 off 36 balls on a slow, low Sharjah pitch, playing second fiddle to an extraordinary century from Buttler.His performances in Barbados continued the trend, with 30 runs off 41 balls across his two innings. In the first, he came in at 10 for 3 and missed the first six balls he faced in a maiden from Jason Holder, eventually scoring off his ninth ball thanks to a thick edge. The pitch was tough, but much flatter in the second game, when he picked out long-off for 13 off 12 balls – and then dropped two catches, one of them straightforward, during West Indies’ run chase.Perhaps all he needs is a break. Morgan’s schedule in the last year has been relentless: India tour, IPL (first half), isolation at home, T20 Blast, England’s home summer, yet more isolation, the Hundred, a short break, IPL (second half), World Cup, Abu Dhabi T10. He admitted towards the end of the Hundred that he was exhausted, and opted against playing in the BBL or PSL either side of this tour in favour of time off.Related

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“The break for every player, coach and support staff gets more necessary with all the restrictions around Covid,” he told magazine last month. “If I’ve ever gone through a rough patch and had the chance to take a break from it, I’ve always put the bat down and gone and enjoyed the rest for what it is.” Depending on February’s IPL auction – where he has a base price of Rs. 1.5 crore (£150,000) – he may yet get a longer break than anticipated.As for Morgan’s captaincy? It is impossible to put a value on the intangibles of leadership but there have been the first hints of cracks appearing. Morgan said at the toss in the first T20I that he was hoping to bat first, having chosen to bowl 23 times in a row dating back to September 2016 – a tacit admission that his insistence on chasing had been a factor in England making a par score of 166 for 4 in November’s semi-final defeat when their batting-heavy strategy and the conditions meant they needed more.Their death bowling has been poor for a while. Morgan was widely given credit for his calming influence on Jofra Archer in the Super Over in the 50-over World Cup final in 2019, having learned from Ben Stokes’ nightmare in Kolkata three years earlier; but that same influence could not stop Chris Jordan (twice), Chris Woakes and Saqib Mahmood all conceding 20 or more runs in a single death over during Morgan’s last three T20Is.What would England’s limited-overs set-up look like without Morgan? Phil Salt’s assertive debut half-century on Wednesday, out of position at No. 6, underlined the depth of talent in England’s T20 batting. Buttler is an inexperienced captain, but Morgan’s implementation of a signalling system with Nathan Leamon, the white-ball analyst, has made him replaceable. It is often assumed that Morgan would move to a coaching or mentoring role, but he may prefer to spend his thirties cashing in on the franchise circuit – or spending time out of the game altogether.Morgan’s legacy as England’s greatest-ever white-ball captain is already secure and has been reinforced by the depth of talent coming through the ranks under his watch. With a men’s ICC event scheduled for each of the next 10 years – including the defence of England’s 50-over title in 2023, by which stage he will be 37 – there is no perfect time for Morgan to step down. But it feels increasingly like this winter’s T20 World Cup is his natural endpoint.

On a tough pitch, and having been given a few lives, Mumbai batter sets aside his natural instinct to play the long innings his team needed

Srinidhi Ramanujam14-Jun-2022″Don’t play any shot after getting dropped.”Sometimes, all you need is for someone to tell you what you already know, to refocus on the bigger picture. This is what happened with Yashasvi Jaiswal on Tuesday. A simple message from Mumbai coach Amol Muzumdar helped the opener make the most of the lives he was given on the first day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final when he scored his second straight first-class hundred and propelled his team from 24 for 2 to 260 for 5.”Initially, it was difficult, the ball was moving, and they [Uttar Pradesh] were bowling well,” Jaiswal told ESPNcricinfo after the day’s play. “I needed to respect them, and I just needed to get them tired and play that session when they are bowling well. The whole day, the ball was moving. I had to focus well to leave the balls. I was just trying to build partnerships. It was good. I enjoyed it.”Related

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Playing his third first-class match ever, and second of the season, Jaiswal took Mumbai out of the woods and fell immediately after scoring 100 off 226 balls. But by the time he departed, the score had gone past 200. A late push from Hardik Tamore (unbeaten 51) and Sarfaraz Khan’s quickfire 40 also lifted the team to a respectable total after early jitters.Tight bowling from Uttar Pradesh saw Mumbai post just 58 for 2 in the first session. They lost Prithvi Shaw to the third ball of the innings from Yash Dayal, when he went for an ambitious drive and was caught at point. Soon, No. 3 Armaan Jaffer perished while playing across the line with minimal movement. He was trapped lbw.Uttar Pradesh, despite starting well on a green Just Cricket Academy pitch, couldn’t apply pressure when the sun came out. This was evident with Mumbai adding 92 runs in the next 27 overs after lunch.Apart from the rare rush of blood and a few slices of luck, Jaiswal’s calm head and whirring bat were the highlights of the day which kept Mumbai on course for a competitive total. In a team of Prithvi Shaws and Sarfaraz Khans, he showcased the other side of batting, the art of hanging on and surviving difficult periods. The youngest in the Mumbai camp, he batted for a total of 353 minutes.”I needed to respect them, and I just needed to get them tired”•Special ArrangementThe innings wasn’t without its flaws. Just after lunch, Jaiswal got a reprieve at 33 in Ankit Rajpoot’s second over of the session, when he nicked a ball that was pitched on a fourth-stump line and was caught by the wicketkeeper, or that’s how it looked, initially. The UP players kept belting their appeals but the umpire was unmoved. Replays eventually suggested that Jurel hadn’t gathered the ball cleanly. By then, Suved Parkar (32) and Jaiswal had begun the rebuilding act.He was dropped again, at 37, when he went for an uppish shot and Rinku Singh at gully couldn’t hold on.”I got a really nice message from Amol sir at that moment,” Jaiswal said. “‘For the next 15 mins, I want you to play no shots and if you want, you can take a single and get off strike.’ He said there are two options. ‘Don’t play any shot after getting dropped. Just keep playing. The second is, be at the non-striker’s end for 10-15 mins. Just see through this period’. Because he [Rajpoot] was bowling really well at that moment. I did that and got out of that situation. It was really nice of him to send me that message, and then I applied it and we were in the game.”After the battle with Rajpoot, Jaiswal changed his approach a bit. He took fewer risks. He began playing down the ground more. He hit just two fours in the next hour. He was biding his time. Then, after getting to his fifty, which took 150 balls, he signalled a shift in Mumbai’s intent by rattling off three quick boundaries.Jaiswal continued to target the gaps with eye-catching drives and back foot punches. Overall, he hit 15 boundaries. He also shared three crucial fifty-plus partnerships with Parkar, Sarfaraz and Tamore during the course of his stay.”Focus on what you can control” can be a cliched line coming from a player, but, on Muzumdar’s advice, that’s just what Jaiswal did, and as a result Mumbai came out on top.

He’s lost three Ranji finals, his body aches and he is a sitting minister – but Tiwary has not stopped dreaming of that elusive title yet

Shashank Kishore04-Jun-2022For the past year, Manoj Tiwary, a sitting minister for youth affairs and sports in West Bengal, has visited his constituency in Shibpur, near Howrah, four days a week. The only exceptions have been for a short while in February-March, for the league phase of the Ranji Trophy, and now, for three weeks, ahead of the quarterfinals.Bengal have made the knockouts for the second straight season. In March 2020, they came heartbreakingly close to winning their first title since the 1989-1990 season, when they had beaten a star-studded Delhi. That 1990 season is remembered for Sourav Ganguly’s grand entry in the final, at the expense of his older brother Snehasish, and current coach Arun Lal’s rich run of form.Two years since the Saurashtra heartbreak, Bengal are trying go one step further and make up for what they couldn’t in Rajkot two years ago. It’s this itch of trying to get his hands on silverware that has kept Tiwary going, despite a wonky back, aching knees, and broken cartilages.Playing the politician – Manoj Tiwary on his campaign run•Manoj TiwaryThe 45-minute drive from Tiwary’s residence in upscale DC Dey Road in EM Bypass to his office at the Secretariat building takes him past Eden Gardens. The glass facade outside the iconic venue has a small photo of the Bengal Ranji champions in a small corner. He wants to put the current team’s photo there.Related

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“This desire to win the Ranji Trophy is still burning bright, it’s that strong sense of achievement and purpose that has kept me going” Tiwary tells ESPNcricinfo. “Growing up, I dreamt of leading Bengal to the title. That couldn’t happen. I then wanted to simply be part of a winning team. We came so close in 2020, but there’s still some unfinished business. I hope we can do it this time. That is my biggest motivation at this stage of my career.”Tiwary has been part of three finals now. In the first in 2005-06, he saw Bengal losing because of a 14-run first-innings deficit to Uttar Pradesh. In 2006-07, they suffered stage fright against Mumbai’s might; Tiwary’s two substantial contributions were the only positives for Bengal in a 132-run defeat.In 2019-20, Tiwary battled with an injured finger after copping a blow trying to evade a short ball. Until the eve of the final, he was withering in pain and had to take painkillers to take the field. Pulling out wasn’t an option, and so he took the field against Saurashtra with pain.”I wanted to play, come what may,” he says. “I have had so many injuries in my career over the years that pain had become second nature by then. I knew if I keep thinking of pain even now, I’m not going to do myself or the team any justice. I did whatever it took to be ready. And similarly, over the last two years, I haven’t let injuries and niggles come in the way of my training.”Even for someone as determined as Tiwary, his body gave him signs to slow down. Late in 2020, a knee injury while in the middle of a weight-training session flared up when his cartilage broke into two fragments. “It was a two-inch piece that broke and was floating inside,” he says. “I took injections to manage the pain and play, but it was really painful. While batting, it hampered my feet movement. I just couldn’t move.”Tiwary gave up playing 50-overs cricket that season to keep himself ready for the Ranji Trophy. Once it became evident the first-class season was going to be a non-starter, he started thinking of other avenues. One of them was IPL commentary in Bengali. While he enjoyed the preparation and the “fun of it”, it “wasn’t the same as playing in it.”Tiwary during his regional IPL commentary gig for Star Sports in Bengali•Manoj TiwaryThis was around the time he got a call from Mamata Banerjee, the current chief minister of West Bengal, to contest in the elections. Over the next four months, he poured in hours and hours of campaigning, often starting at 6am and going on well past midnight, only to repeat the same routine for 45 days at a stretch. It all came to fruition when he was elected as a Member of Parliament from Shibpur, the place he grew up near Howrah.Playing active role in politics while also being a cricketer is unheard of. There have been numerous examples of Indian cricketers entering politics post their playing days – Navjot Sidhu, Kirti Azad and Mohammad Azharuddin come to mind immediately. Tiwary felt he could manage his time well, and the pandemic only helped him set routines that have helped.”I still go through all the files, keep track of work that has been initiated in the constituency, and keep monitoring progress through my team of assistants,” he says. “I’m never switched off that way, even if I’m far away, like now in Bengaluru. I’ve set a routine and my team ensures most things are up to speed. They don’t come to me for every little thing. That allows me to also stay focused on cricket.”Amid his training sessions and constituency work, Tiwary ensures the evenings are free to spend time with his young family. While on tour, it’s his chance to catch up with his mates, many of whom look up to him as an elder brother, for advice. Tiwary, on his part, keeps things light.”You don’t want to keep things too process oriented all the time,” he says. “We enjoy a bit of downtime on tour. We enjoy doing things we like, we bond well. The team spirit and atmosphere within the camp is really good. The previous campaign got us all so close together. We’re a young team and as a senior player, it’s my duty to help them and guide them along the way. I know we’re on the right track. Yes, we didn’t win the trophy two years ago, but if we keep doing what we’ve done so far, it’s just a matter of time.”

It came down to decisions and risks, as it often does in T20 cricket – Pakistan’s decisions, none of them wrong, didn’t work out, and Kohli’s risks were rewarded

Sidharth Monga23-Oct-20224:14

How did he do it? Kumble and Fleming explain Kohli’s MCG masterclass

Haris Rauf is at his home: the ‘G, where he has played his home matches in the BBL. He knows the ground better than anyone else on the field. Virat Kohli has ruled Australian grounds, but this is T20, not his best format.All night, Rauf has played like he owns the turf. He has hit a six first ball. He has had the perfect night with the ball – the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. The latter done in by sheer pace. Lovely back-of-the-length or just-forward-of-it bowling. No boundary conceded over the previous 14 balls. Hardik Pandya and Kohli are struggling to get his heavy lengths away. He has brought it to 28 off eight.A lot of batting in death overs is about not missing out on the bad ball. Hitters just practise hitting slot balls for hours because they know bowlers will invariably make an error. There are some geniuses like AB de Villiers who even put good balls away, but Kohli will be the first one to admit he is no de Villiers. He has been waiting for a mistake and picking up ones and twos to just somehow hang in there.Related

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Boundary-hitting to peak fitness: Kumble and Fleming break down Kohli's 'perfect innings'

There comes a time, though, when waiting for the bad ball is no longer an option. At 28 off eight, India have reached that time. Kohli just has to go. And Rauf nails his length again. Short of a length, a sharp grunt that he often lets out when bowling slower balls, above the height of the stumps, just outside off. If you want to nitpick, you might ask why he has bowled the slower one when no batter has been able to get his quick, heavy lengths away. At the moment, Rauf probably feels he is getting predictable and needs a change-up.What happens after the ball pitches is sensational. Kohli is deep in the crease, the weight is back, he has backed away from the stumps a little. A moment before the contact, it looks he is handcuffed and can’t get any power into the shot. But he somehow manages to swing through it and down the ground for a six over the short straight boundary.Hardik, who prides himself on keeping his emotions to himself, is screaming for joy. Ian Smith, doing colour commentary groundside, says, “That shot is nigh-on impossible for a normal human being.” He, Kohli, who knows batting inside-out, is at a loss for words when asked to describe the shot afterwards. He knows all those repetitions in training over all these years have taken over.

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We sometimes put too much stock into decision-making in cricket, because we don’t fully understand the skill, competitiveness and fitness from the outside. We make decisions all the time in our lives, but we rarely reach the level of expertise international cricketers reach. It is easier to talk about decisions.In T20 cricket, though, decisions have a much bigger bearing than in the longer formats. In Tests and ODIs, most of the on-field captaincy is auto-pilot execution of pre-decided plans. In T20s, one over is 5% of an innings. And, unlike batters, bowlers can’t opt out mid-over unless incapacitated. When you bowl, it can be make or break.Haris Rauf had been outstanding for 3.4 overs, till Virat Kohli cut loose•Getty ImagesIn the 12th over of the chase, India force Babar Azam to make that decision. It is a layered phase of play. Spinners are not Kohli’s favourite kind of bowlers. Both Pakistan’s spinners take the ball away from the right-hand batters. The bowlers have been given a great start of 31 for 3 in the powerplay.India send in left-hand Axar Patel just to discourage the use of those two spinners through the middle overs. Pakistan are prepared to bowl the part-time offspin of Iftikhar Ahmed – who has scored a superb fifty earlier in the day – to him, but then the first over of spin goes to legspinner Shadab Khan. And Axar is run out first ball. India have no more left-hand batters. Iftikhar doesn’t bowl – he doesn’t need to.India’s loss of four wickets, and Kohli’s less-than-ideal match-up against Pakistan’s main spinners means they bowl the next five overs for just 23 runs even though the conditions are offering spinners nothing. India used only four overs of spin when they bowled.Kohli and Hardik have left the risk-taking to the last possible moment. If they let Mohammad Nawaz bowl his third over without damage, they can’t cause any jeopardy in the mind of Babar, who will have six overs of pace left for the last six. Hardik takes risks, Kohli takes risks, they take 20 runs, and now Pakistan are in a similar position as their first match against India at the recent Asia Cup.There, they needed to make a game out of nothing, so they had to hold Nawaz back. Here, India have shown they can take down Nawaz and end the game right there. This is also similar to when Pakistan batted: they took down Axar in his only over, but India had Hardik’s four overs to fall back on. They didn’t need to bring back Axar. Pakistan must bring back Nawaz. At some point. How long can they delay it?Babar takes the route most captains do. He trusts his fast bowlers. He trusts them to either get a wicket or make the equation for the last over close to impossible. You don’t want to look silly with an over from your best bowler left if the game ends in the 19th over.

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Nawaz was Pakistan’s hero in their last match – and second at the Asia Cup – against India. That was with the bat, but still, he was. He is a clever bowler. Ultimate utility player. He has bowled final overs before. Almost always because he has been attacked early on. Outside these two internationals against India, Nawaz has closed things out four times in official T20 cricket, winning twice, defending six and ten.Mohammad Nawaz tried to become a medium pacer for one over, but fell at the last step•Getty ImagesYou have got to feel for Nawaz. Nobody wants to be that guy whose over has to be snuck in. India have decided he is that guy. In two matches out of the last three against Pakistan, they have put all their chips on him.Fielding at deep square leg, Nawaz has started loosening up two balls into the 19th over. There are no mixed messages. Pakistan trust Nawaz. Nawaz trusts Nawaz. And it looks like Rauf is going to give him plenty to defend. The batters just don’t seem to have the time to hit him into gaps, forget a six.Then again, Kohli does a Kohli and brings it down to 16 off the last over. With short straight boundaries, against spin, you have to back the batting side. Nawaz goes funky, asks Mohammad Rizwan to stand back and bowls a bit of medium pace. Three balls in, having conceded three runs and having taken Hardik’s wicket, Nawaz is close to redemption. Then he bowls a no-ball. He follows up with a wide and then bowls Kohli with the legitimate free-hit but it goes for three byes. Then he comes back with the wicket of Dinesh Karthik. Then R Ashwin sees one swinging in, and stays outside its line to collect the wide.It changes nothing about Nawaz. He remains an important player for Pakistan. He just doesn’t have the cushion of a seam-bowling allrounder that, say, Axar has. He has tried to become one for one over, but has fallen at the last step.

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Kohli has had three years that have tested his faith in all that he knows about batting. And he has trusted his game, his eyes, his fitness, his preparation, despite the lack of big runs. In T20 cricket, he has been convinced by the team management to let go of some of the caution. He has taken time to buy into it, but has done so even at a low ebb in his career.5:51

Rohit Sharma on Virat Kohli’s 82*: ‘One of India’s best knocks’

This phase has only reinforced his game, his competitiveness, his will to be part of a winning team. When the runs didn’t come despite all that, Kohli knew they were not meant to be. Batters have to be philosophical about it beyond a point, but how he managed to be so for so long only he knows. To the team management’s credit, they knew they would need Kohli in Australia and backed him unequivocally.That shot to the fifth ball of the 19th over is why Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid backed Kohli. The way he has managed to just keep the game alive for so long is why they backed Kohli. By the end of it, Hardik is cramping. He says he has never run so many twos.At 28 off eight, Hardik says India need the next two balls to go for sixes. One just won’t do. Kohli, 62 off 48, having been 15 off 24 at one point, then elevates what is already a classic match to legendary status with two sixes.Does Rauf wonder now what if he hadn’t bowled the slower ball? What were the deliberations inside his head before he went ahead with the slower ball?To Kohli, what happened seems inevitable. He just backed his instincts and swung at two balls he had to hit for sixes.”With shots like that you understand things were just meant to be,” he tells Star Sports later. “They are freak shots that just happen. You can’t give in.”

Veteran allrounder doesn’t yet know if Royal London Cup final will be his last professional game

Valkerie Baynes16-Sep-2022″It hurts,” says Darren Stevens a month after Kent, the county he has called home for 17 years, announced they would not be offering a new contract – one which would have seen him play to the age of 47 and beyond.It’s present tense, but this time – having lived on year-by-year deals with the club for several years, memorably forcing their hand at the end of the 2019 season – he has accepted the decision.”I don’t want to fight any more,” Stevens told ESPNcricinfo. “I feel like for the last five years I’ve been fighting for a contact where in three of those five years I’ve got Player of the Year, so I don’t know how that actually works.Related

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“It was gut-wrenching and really disappointing and it still hurts because I feel like I still have a lot to give for Kent cricket, on and off the pitch. But unfortunately the decision’s been made by the hierarchy.”I’d like to think I’ve still got the fight in me to churn out a couple of hundreds and a couple of five-fors but unfortunately I’ve not been picked in the four-day stuff. That’s disappointing as well, so I can’t really put a fight up. So yeah, it hurts. It hurts.”Stevens’ last chance to give for Kent will be in Saturday’s Royal London Cup final against Lancashire at Trent Bridge. It comes after he helped propel his side into the knockout stages with a 41-ball 49 in a two-wicket victory the last time the two sides met, which was also Stevens’ final appearance at Canterbury.He smashed 41 off just 24 balls and conceded only 37 runs from his 10 overs as Kent eased past his former club, Leicestershire, in the play-off. Then his 84 from 65 balls broke Hampshire hearts in the semi-final after Kent had wobbled to 20 for 2 inside six overs and 68 for 3 inside 15 chasing 311.He admits it will be strange walking out with the team knowing that it’s probably the last time with Kent but not knowing whether it will be for the last time ever. Stevens has only played five of Kent’s 12 Championship games so far this year and, with just two fixtures remaining, he has low expectations of being picked again.”It will be emotional,” Stevens said. “We’ve had too much thinking time this week. I’ve been talking about it a lot and I’ve been thinking about it more than I would do.

“They don’t think you can be a player in a changing room and then go straight into coaching in a changing room [but] the group of lads that we’ve got at Kent, I feel like I’m like a mentor to them anyway”

“I’ll be a bit nervous but when you get across the rope, you’re back on your job and I’ll have a clear mind on what I’m doing, batting or bowling. It’s hard to explain. It might be my last game for Kent, it might my last professional game.”Somebody asked me a while ago about walking out at Kent in a four-day game for the last time. Well, I think I’ve already done that.”But it was like, ‘say it was the last game of the season, what would that be like?’ And I said, ‘you can’t ask me that question because I can’t answer it.’ I don’t want it to stop but it might be taken out of my hands.”Having railed against retirement, saying he still adores playing, Stevens is determined to seek a fresh deal at another club. He has held talks with two counties he doesn’t wish to name at this stage about a player-coach role.It’s the sort of job he wanted at Kent, where he has settled with his wife and two young sons after moving from Leicestershire in 2005. He spent this season building his coaching experience as a bowling coach for South East Stars and working with a school in Canterbury, but the club were not prepared to offer him such a position.”They don’t think you can be a player in a changing room and then go straight into coaching in a changing room,” Stevens said. “I’ll look at it differently, because it’s from a selfish point of view… the group of lads that we’ve got at Kent at the moment, I feel like I’m like a mentor to them anyway, not only a team-mate and a good friend.”You naturally just do it, I feel like I naturally just help. A lot of the lads at the moment, they talk to me a lot about their batting and some of them about their bowling. That’s where I want to go.Stevens will bow out with Kent at the end of the season•Getty Images”I’d love to stay at Kent but obviously they’ve made it very clear that they’d like me to go away and then maybe one day I’ll come back. We’ll see what happens.”Stevens said he had found it particularly hard seeing Kent struggle in the Championship – they are third from bottom in Division One and face a three-way battle with Somerset and Warwickshire to avoid being relegated alongside last-placed Gloucestershire.Stevens hasn’t played a four-day game since mid-May. He scored 148 runs at 24.66 during his limited appearances in the Championship and took four wickets at an average of 92.75.”They gave me the one-day stuff, I’ve done okay in the one-day game,” Stevens said. “Looking at that semi-final knock, that was probably as good as I’ve played for a long time.”Unfortunately they’ve taken it of my hands so I can’t perform in four-day cricket because they’ve not given me an opportunity. But the other thing with that is we’re losing games.”For the last 17 years for Kent, when we’ve been in trouble it’s been my job to try and get us out of trouble and when I’m sitting there watching us lose games it really hurts. But there’s nothing I can do bar support he lads as I always do. But it hurts when I see my team losing.”Should his team find themselves in trouble against Lancashire on Saturday, all Kent eyes will be on Stevens to do his job one more time.

You go, girls – and hurry up with those international retirements

Alan Gardner16-Feb-2023Hey laydeeeeez. It’s finally time, in the words of the Beastie Boys, to get funky. The people have spoken – or at least 50% of them have – and after a mere few years of respectfully listening to [] their demands, the BCCI has played its benevolent hand and created a Women’s IPL. Female cricketers of the world, rejoice, because the men in suits have decided you’re worth it.The Light Roller has always been a champion of the women’s game – we were fans of Rachael Heyhoe Flintoff before most people had even heard of her – and we’re delighted that the chicks have got what they wanted: money.Sorry, make that equality. But listen, the cash is decent: according to Jay Shah, the WPL is already the “second-highest valued” league in world cricket. And who among us would argue that showering one small area of the sport with bank notes could ever be anything other than beneficial?Related

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Anyway, before the wokerati accuse us of peddling paternalistic claptrap, here are a few tips from the top, gleaned from our years of dedicated men’s IPL watching.Club vs country
The WPL is only three weeks long, but these are now the most important three weeks of your life. Do you want to risk missing out with an injury sustained while playing a bilateral series in Sri Lanka in November, just because your country’s selectors want you to? No. Best bring those international retirement plans forward.Franchise life
You’re going to be based throughout the tournament in Mumbai, one of the greatest cities in the world. So what should you do when not on team duty? That’s right, sit in your room and play Xbox. If you need anything from outside – coffee, newspaper, replacement batteries for the halo light used on your Twitch stream – then make sure to send the social-media intern.Fan following
Now that the auction has been concluded, you’ve doubtless felt the love in your mentions. Welcome to the world of #OneFamily #PlayBold #CapitalsUniverse. Your new supporters will cheer for you, pray for you, get tattoos of you… and also send you dog’s abuse on Twitter if you ever have an off day.Brand awareness
You are an empowered girl boss inspiring the next generation of sportswomen, you are a super she-ro who can take down the patriarchy in between net sessions… But you are also a walking billboard whose raison d’etre is to sell more bags of cement. Remember who’s paying the bills, sister.Food and drink
Don’t worry about having to eat curry all of the time, Indian hotels can provide the finest in global cuisine. Just keep an eye on your portion control, because the camera adds several pounds and those uniforms can be a little unflattering.Good luck, and hopefully you won’t get asked if you’re a cheerleader!

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Speaking of fitness demands in the modern game, the Light Roller was saddened by South Africa’s decision to omit Dane van Niekerk from their T20 World Cup squad due to her inability to run a set distance in an arbitrary time frame. This seems another example of the women getting a raw deal. The sport has barely been professional for ten minutes and already it’s gone all in on body-shaming. If 150 years of men’s cricket has taught us anything, it’s the value of carrying around a bit of extra timber – from WG to Inzy. Surely the ladies deserve a similar “Grace period”? As the famously sturdy doctor didn’t quite say: “They came here to watch me bat and bowl, not you oversee a 2k time trial.”

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“It’s bigger than the Ashes” has been one of the themes of the build-up to the ongoing instalment of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and in at least one sense that is already being borne out. Controversies that have so far exercised the Aussie press include how unplayable the Nagpur pitch was (Rohit Sharma 120, Axar Patel 84, Ravindra Jadeja 70), dirty tricks over practice facilities, the changing tour itinerary, whether Australia’s players are too pally with the Indians, their own team selection, and just what was Jadeja rubbing on his fingers? Credit to the touring hacks, who have displayed all their years of phoney war experience – but it usually takes them until the fourth or fifth Test of an England series to drop their bundle so comprehensively.

“I was trying to follow the way I bat in first-class cricket. I didn’t want to think this is a big Test match”

Mohammad Isam17-Dec-20220:55

Jaffer: Zakir showed great technique and temperament

A century on Test debut against India has capped a remarkable three weeks for Zakir Hasan. He displayed impressive strokeplay and sound temperament as he staved off India’s attack in Chattogram. He manipulated the field well, driving the ball effectively off the front foot while also being steady off the back foot.With his debut hundred, he moved ahead of the other openers in the reckoning. Once Tamim Iqbal returns from injury, the team management will have to choose between Zakir and Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who was the incumbent opener since November last year. Shanto will probably move back to No. 3 in that case. Meanwhile, Shadman Islam and Saif Hassan are now out of favour.Around late November, though, Zakir wasn’t even in the picture, despite being the highest run-getter in this season’s National Cricket League, Bangladesh’s premier first-class competition. Zakir only made it to the Bangladesh A side after Towhid Hridoy’s groin injury ruled him out of the first unofficial Test against India A.Related

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Zakir made a duck in the first innings but with the home side needing to survive the last five sessions of the four-day game, he responded with a ten-hour marathon. His 173, which included 16 fours and three sixes, steered Bangladesh to safety.It was a performance that forced the selectors to take notice of him. He had stood up against Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar and Saurabh Kumar whose left-arm spin was vital to India A dismissing Bangladesh A for 112 in the first innings.”That innings provided me with a lot of confidence,” Zakir said at the end of the fourth day’s play in Chattogram. “I was trying to follow the same process of that innings. It was in the back of the mind that I must stick to the process when playing the innings. A big score leading into a national call-up is certainly a turning point.”Zakir then brought his Bangladesh A form into Test cricket. After having been watchful against seamers Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj on the third evening and fourth morning, he appeared more comfortable against India’s spin trio. He took Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel for three fours each and R Ashwin for five. He also showed he can build partnerships, which allowed Shanto bat fluently at the other end. However, after Shanto got out, he adopted a more conservative approach.Zakir Hasan scored a classy century on debut to drag the Chattogram Test into the fifth day•BCB”I was trying to follow the way I bat in first-class cricket,” Zakir said.” I didn’t want to think this is a big Test match. I tried to be as simple as possible. It was the same when I was in the nineties. I tried to follow the preparation and concentration when I bat in the nineties in first-class cricket. I was trying to follow it every ball.”It felt good reaching the hundred. I didn’t have much expectations. I wanted to bat long, since we are facing two days and a big total.”Zakir said that his vast domestic experience helped him deal with the pressures of Test cricket. Zakir’s first Test was his 70th first-class game – only Mohammad Mithun, Nazimuddin and Ariful Haque have played more first-class games in Bangladesh before playing Test cricket. Zakir isn’t a regular opener, but his experience of facing the new ball regularly at No.3 at Sylhet and South Zone helped him settle at the top.”I have usually batted at No 3 and 4,” Zakir said. “I haven’t opened the batting much. I usually face the new ball in first-class cricket. At times you get to bat after the first ball if you are at No 3, so you have to face the new ball. I was confident.”The Dukes ball swung for almost 80 overs in this season’s conditions. Kookaburra usually swings for less time so I think it was slightly easier for me. I think I held on to my temperament because I played so much first-class cricket. I have a number of big innings in that format. I think I knew my process about scoring runs quite well.”Zakir is only 24, but has already experienced several highs and lows. A strong start to his domestic career propelled him into the Bangladesh T20I side, but after a solitary appearance, he was sent back to the grind. Zakir rebuilt himself in the last two years, however, averaging 54.63 over six tournaments. His conversion rate is particularly impressive: he scored eight centuries and two fifties.Zakir, though, has a quiet presence in Bangladesh cricket. He hails from Sylhet, a region that is no longer known for its batting prowess. Fast bowlers Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed have recently broken into the national side from Sylhet. Zakir’s success, however, is a triumph for domestic cricket. He seized his chance and broke the door down.