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India’s first World Cup-winning captain believes that match situations should dictate who bats at No.4 for the team

Sruthi Ravindranath03-Apr-2019While there have been umpteen suggestions on who should take up India’s No. 4 batting spot at the World Cup, former captain Kapil Dev does not believe the concept of slots applies in modern-day cricket.At the end of nearly every IPL match, a number of names – including the likes of Vijay Shankar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and Sanju Samson – have been suggested by former players for the much-discussed spot, the only one that India are seemingly still unsure about. While India have tested a few names at the position with varied degree of success in the recent past, players like Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer have also admitted that they would fit the bill.So, has Kapil put the debate to rest?”There’s a lot of talk going on about No. 4, but you have to see the situation at that moment,” Kapil said, at an event hosted by Britannia that reunited him with Kris Srikkanth, Syed Kirmani and Roger Binny, members of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad.”I don’t think anybody these days have numbers [fixed positions in the line-up] – need of the hour is more important. You can send MS Dhoni, or anybody. No. 1 to 7 are all good enough to play there. One should not get confused. Play like you want to win the match and don’t go by the number. It should depend on the situation of the match.”Though he has been backed by various pundits, Rishabh Pant might not be a certainty to make the XI, but Srikkanth expected the wicketkeeper-batsman to make the cut, pointing to his match-winning abilities.Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni congratulate each other•AFP

“Rishabh Pant almost won a Test match from a no-win situation in England [The Oval Test, 2018],” Srikkanth pointed out. “You need to give him confidence. In my days, Kapil gave me that freedom. Like that Rishabh Pant should be given the freedom to play; he’s capable of winning at least three matches single-handedly.”Kapil, however, felt upcoming wicketkeeper-batsmen have a lot more to prove that they are dependable, especially considering that Dhoni has set high standards playing that role.”Dhoni has set the standard so high. They [other wicketkeeper-batsmen] have the ability and talent. Only the execution over a period of time is needed and it won’t happen overnight,” Kapil said. “Yes, they’ve done a couple of good performances but the standard is really high in today’s team. They have a long way to go.”While speaking of the importance of allrounders in the Indian team, Kapil also said that Dhoni was on top of his list.”Is a batsman-bowler the only allrounder? You can now say even a wicketkeeper is an allrounder. The meaning of allrounder is changed. It’s not just about a batsman who makes runs and takes wickets,” he argued. “Wicketkeeper should also be on this list. That way, Dhoni comes in very high. If you’re good in two departments – any two departments – everyone will come under that if you include fielding.”Former wicketkeeper Kirmani was also of the same view. “In our era, nobody considered a wicketkeeper an allrounder. Dhoni came and proved it. A wicketkeeper has to be an allrounder and since the advent of ODIs, there was more emphasis on a batsman and a wicketkeeper. Now a wicketkeeper is also an allrounder.”On being asked what the difference was between the 1983 World Cup squad and the current Indian squad, Kapil quipped: “They don’t have us, that’s the difference.”

Australia are currently ranked fifth in Test cricket, tied with fourth-placed New Zealand on 102 rating points

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2018Australia could top the ICC Test rankings at the end of their Test series against India – the current No.1 team – if they manage to attain a 4-0 result. Should they achieve that, India will go down to third, fractionally behind England, who are currently in second place with 108 rating points.Australia are currently ranked fifth, tied on 102 rating points with New Zealand, while India have 116. Australia’s position could change once the ongoing third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand concludes, with a draw or a Pakistan win pushing Australia up to fourth.India have been No.1 in Tests since October 2016, when they got the top spot after a victory against New Zealand at Eden Gardens. The 25 months they have spent as No.1 is India’s longest-ever reign at the top. Drawing a solitary Test in the upcoming series will keep India at No.1.A drawn series will mean India lose two rating points to be on 114, but they’ll remain the top-ranked team. India will remain on 116 rating points if they win the series by a one-Test margin, and increase their tally if they win by more. Sweeping the series 4-0 will mean India rise to 120 rating points, with the possibility that Australia could sink to No.6.

Five defeats in six – and only their second by an innings – tests the patience of Yorkshire’s Festival crowds

Paul Edwards at North Marine Road22-Aug-2018
Before the start of the morning session on the final day of this game a father was walking round the boundary with his son. They were watching the Yorkshire squad warming up.”Dad, why are they playing football?” asked the lad.”Because they can’t play cricket,” came the reply.Yes, they are stern critics in these parts and a defeat such as this does not warrant the taking of prisoners.Worcestershire needed only 61 balls to become just the second side to beat Yorkshire by an innings at Scarborough. Moeen Ali continued to enjoy the turn offered by the North Marine Road pitch and removed David Willey and Matt Fisher with the 21st and 24th balls of the day. Dillon Pennington then trimmed Jack Brooks’ off bail even before the batsman could dole out some of his famous humpty and the game ended when Daryl Mitchell snaffled Josh Poysden at second slip, also off Pennington.The combination was apposite. Mitchell is a talismanic figure at New Road, revered by his team mates, when they are not ribbing him outrageously, and loved by the spectators. Pennington is a young cricketer of immense promise. His duel with Kane Williamson on the third evening is burned beautifully into the memory.Before long other records were tumbling out like surprise Christmas presents from a sack. For example, Yorkshire have now lost five of their last six championship games at Scarborough. On a happier note, Moeen, who bestrode this game with courteous majesty, is only the second Worcestershire cricketer – after Ted Arnold in 1909 – to score a double hundred and take five wickets in an innings. He finished with match figures of 8 for 89 and, rather remarkably, 1312 spectators watched him bowling on this final morning.But professionals are choosy about statistics. What matters to them is the standard of a performance and where it leaves them in a table. So let it be said clearly that Worcestershire’s cricket in this match has been of a very high quality and their superiority cannot be explained by Yorkshire’s inadequacies. Ed Barnard’s bowling on the first day, Mitchell and Fell’s batting later that evening and Josh Tongue’s spell late on the third day all suggested that Ali’s team are far from relegation favourites. This win takes leaves them five points behind Yorkshire and they play Lancashire at Southport next Wednesday. It is game on.As for Yorkshire, they must take some lessons from their opponents. There were times in this game when Willey’s side were abject and his players out of gas. That is to Worcestershire’s credit, of course, but it also something which the coach, Andrew Gale, must address very quickly. It is no good mewling about injuries or absentees. The championship summers are already a distant memory. Division Two beckons if both the batsmen’s techniques and the bowlers’ lines are not tightened up. But in September it often comes down to how much a team wants it.Worcestershire clearly wanted victory very much this week. Their head coach, Kevin Sharp was fairly bursting with pride as he spoke of his delight at returning to the county where he spent 25 years and showing the folk up here how four-day cricket should be played. “We came here to do a job and I’d say we’ve done it very well,” he said. “We’ve looked a very high-class team over these four days.”So they did. The journey home before Saturday’s T20 quarter-final should be a pleasant affair. And though one doubts they knew it, Worcestershire’s cricketers and their supporters were only the latest group of travellers to arrive on this coast hoping to profit from their visit. In the middle-ages Scarborough hosted a 45-day fair at which luxuries such as spices or fur were sought. By the early 18th century the town’s fame as a spa made it a resort of choice for fashionable Londoners and Sheridan set his play here.But rather than follow the intrigues of Lord Foppington and Sir Tunbelly Clumsy, supporters from Bromsgrove or Evesham have been lauding the young buck, Pennington, or the faithful servant, Mitchell. They have watched in delight – maybe a little disbelief – over the last four days and when the game was done they listened to one of the country’s best victory songs belting out from the away dressing room. Then they applauded the song and put the moment away until it is needed on drear January evenings.

The allrounder struck smashed 15 fours and 10 sixes, six of them in one over, in his assault

Arun Venugopal15-Dec-2017When Ravindra Jadeja was left out of the ODI squad earlier this year, he slammed a double-century in his first Ranji Trophy innings of the season. Now, with the Sri Lanka limited-overs series ongoing, Jadeja – who has struck three first-class triple-centuries, the most by an Indian – stuck to the destructive pattern and struck six sixes in an over en route to a blistering century on the opening day of the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) inter-district T20 tournament.Jadeja smashed a 69-ball 154 as Jamnagar brushed aside Amreli by 121 runs in their opening game at the Saurashtra Cricket Association ‘B’ ground in Rajkot. The win gave last year’s semi-finalists Jamnagar four points.Opening the batting with Divyaraj Chauhan, who has turned out for Saurashtra in seven first-class matches, Jadeja was dismissed only in the 19th over. In the 15th over, Jadeja launched a brutal assault against offspinner Nilam Vamja and carted six sixes in a row. Vamja ended up conceding 48 in two overs.By the time Jadeja was run out in the 19th over, he had unleashed mayhem to propel Jamnagar’s total to 239 for 6. He scored 120 off his 154 runs in boundaries – 15 fours and 10 sixes. Jadeja’s efforts were supplemented by another Jadeja – Vishwaraj – who struck 39 off 23 balls.The SCA inter-district T20 tournament features 16 teams divided into four groups. Jamnagar play their next game against Botad on Saturday.

Leicestershire are poised for victory on the final day against Glamorgan and, if this all-round performance is an indication of how much they have improved, they are unlikely to finish bottom this season

ECB Reporters Network19-Apr-2016
ScorecardBen Raine struck twice during Glamorgan’s collapse•PA Photos

Leicestershire are poised for victory on the final day against Glamorgan and, if this all-round performance is an indication of how much they have improved, they are unlikely to finish bottom this season – a position they have occupied for the last three years.Glamorgan were 172 for 8 in their second innings at the close, including a collapse of 4 for 3, leaving them a slender lead of 93 on a pitch where there is a little uneven bounce, but that should not create any problems for the batsmen.Clint McKay was signed by Leicestershire last year and he rewarded his new employers by taking 58 wickets in first-class cricket. He recently announced his retirement from Australian cricket but will continue on the county scene and his impact has already been felt.He took 6 for 73 in the first innings, captured another two when Glamorgan batted again, and was instrumental in Leicestershire gaining a lead of 79 on first innings. When he came to the crease, his team were 24 runs behind, but when he was out, he had added a further 97 runs with Ben Raine and Jigar Naik, as Leicestershire gained four batting points and an useful lead.The morning session was important for both teams, with Glamorgan hoping to take early wickets and the visitors eager to establish a sizeable lead. Michael Hogan dismissed Wayne White for 58, but McKay began by striking five boundaries in reaching 20 before settling down to play a responsible innings.There was plenty of playing and missing at the five Glamorgan seamers, but the Leicestershire tailenders frustrated the bowlers by playing every ball on its merit. When McKay eventually struck Graham Wagg’s slower ball to cover, he had played a valuable innings which lasted 89 balls with 12 boundaries.McKay then inflicted more damage when Glamorgan batted, taking two wickets with the third and fifth balls of his fourth over as Glamorgan slipped to 16 for 2. James Kettleborough touched a lifting delivery to the wicketkeeper, then Will Bragg dragged one on to his stumps attempting to cut a short ball.When Chris Cooke was out for 8, Glamorgan were still 50 runs behind, but Jacques Rudolph and Aneurin Donald then settled down to add 60 for the fourth wicket until Rudolph became Niall O’Brien’s third catch behind the wicket.Donald scored 57 with seven fours, but it was his mix-up with David Lloyd which resulted in Lloyd being run out and the start of a collapse where Glamorgan lost four quick wickets, with Raine taking two in an over, before Wagg and Hogan nursed them to the close.

South Australia is fighting to make New South Wales bat again after hundreds to Peter Nevill and Nathan Hauritz put the hosts in a commanding position

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2010
ScorecardCallum Ferguson holds the key for South Australia after finishing unbeaten on 55•Getty Images

South Australia is fighting to make New South Wales bat again after hundreds to Peter Nevill and Nathan Hauritz put the hosts in a commanding position. The Blues declared after lunch at 8 for 461 and had the Redbacks 4 for 178 at stumps, still 95 behind with a day to play.Callum Ferguson delivered a timely reminder to the national selectors with 55 not out while Daniel Christian was unbeaten on 43 as the battling visitors finished with a promising stand of 76. South Australia were in trouble after Tom Moffat finished his first game with 0 and 11 after nicking Trent Copeland, while the captain Michael Klinger (9) was caught behind off Stuart Clark. Steven Smith picked up his first wicket when he had Tom Cooper stumped on 41 and also had Aiden Blizzard lbw for 3.It was much easier batting for New South Wales and Nevill, the wicketkeeper, gained his second Shield century. He collected 12 fours and a six and stormed from his half-century to his hundred in 38 balls.Nevill built on the work of Hauritz, who became the highest scoring nightwatchman in the competition. His 146, which ended when he edged Christian, overtook the 134 of Victoria’s Ray Jordon in 1963-64.

Second ODI shifted to Thursday before series concludes on Sunday in Jamaica

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2022West Indies and Ireland have agreed to reschedule the remaining two fixtures of their three-match ODI series, after a Covid-19 outbreak contributed to the second match being postponed. As a result, the one-off T20I scheduled for Sunday has been cancelled.The second ODI will now be played at Sabina Park on Thursday, with the series concluding on Sunday. West Indies won the opening game by 24 runs, with all three fixtures forming part of the ICC’s World Cup Super League.With three further members of Ireland’s touring party in Jamaica testing positive on Monday, Cricket West Indies and Cricket Ireland had agreed to push back Tuesday’s second ODI. Ireland were already without Simi Singh and Ben White, before Andy Balbirnie, the captain, Lorcan Tucker and David Ripley, the interim head coach, returned positive results.Related

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Ireland’s playing resources were further depleted by concerns over the concussion Andy McBrine suffered in the first ODI, and a foot injury sustained by Mark Adair.The teams were due to play a T20I fixture following the ODI series but that has been scrapped “to allow for this revised schedule and to avoid impact on the West Indies team’s travel plans and subsequent fixtures”, said a joint statement from the two boards. West Indies are due to play England in a five-match T20I series in Barbados, starting on January 22.Ireland’s tour of the USA and the Caribbean has been severely disrupted by Covid-19 infections. The ODI series against USA was cancelled after a number of positive tests among support staff and family members, before Paul Stirling and Shane Getkate were forced to isolate in Florida while the rest of the team travelled on to Jamaica.Both players have now rejoined the squad after testing negative, with Stirling named as stand-in captain in Balbirne’s absence.

Both players described as “conscious and stable” by CWI

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2021The second women’s T20I between West Indies and Pakistan in Antigua was delayed after two of the home side’s players collapsed on the field, in separate incidents. Chinelle Henry and Chedean Nation were taken to hospital, where they were “conscious and stable”, according to a CWI spokesperson.Both the incidents took place during Pakistan’s chase, which was also beset by weather interruptions.”Chinelle Henry and Chedean Nation were taken to hospital for medical attention,” CWI said in a statement. “Both Henry and Nation are conscious and stable at hospital and are being assessed.”West Indies Women brought on two substitutes and the game continued, with the home side eventually declared winners by seven runs on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern after another interruption.”It isn’t very easy in those conditions and situations. I’m just happy that the team was able to go over the line for those two ladies who weren’t with us, and we’re just waiting on all the information that we can get,” Courtney Walsh, the West Indies head coach, said. “They have our full support and we’ll be riding with them as well.”Javeria Khan, the Pakistan captain, wished the pair a quick recovery.”The thoughts and prayers of the whole Pakistan team are with Chinelle Henry and Chedean Nation,” she said in a statement. “We wish them a quick recovery and are hopeful that we will play against them in our next match on Sunday.”Such incidents are tragic and can shake whole dressing rooms. Hats off to the West Indies that they turned up and completed the match despite the grave incident.”

He played an important hand in the second ODI to help build on Steven Smith’s barnstorming hundred

Daniel Brettig30-Nov-20202:46

Moody: Hazlewood, Zampa difference between two attacks

Coming from Test cricket’s first ever concussion substitute, it was perhaps not a surprise to hear Marnus Labuschagne quickly putting up his hand to offer to open in place of the injured David Warner for the third and final ODI against India in Canberra on Wednesday.That said, Labuschagne’s eagerness to slip up to the top of the order from the No. 4 spot he is quickly making his own for Australia in the 50-over game reflected the burgeoning confidence of a home side that have clattered India for scores of 374 and 389 in the opening two games, a product of sound top order platforms to allow Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell to launch themselves from with something approaching abandon.On Sunday they were aided significantly by Labuschagne’s “read the game” innings of 70, in which he afforded Smith and Maxwell plenty of the strike but also delivered a powerful blow or two of his own as Virat Kohli’s tourists lurched to a series defeat in the space of their opening two games of the Australian summer. In that context, it was understandable for any member of the Australian top six to want to move higher up the order, not just for runs now, but also to set down a marker ahead of the Test series.ALSO WATCH: Full match highlights (Indian subcontinent only)“Certainly if I got asked to open the batting absolutely it’s an opportunity that I would enjoy doing. We’ll wait and see how our team shapes up for the next game and see the balance of the side, but yeah I would love doing it,” Labuschagne said. “My role at No.4 is just to read the situation of the game and play my role accordingly.”We had Steve in so when I came to the crease it was just about building a partnership and a bit of momentum with him, and taking a back seat for the start of my innings. When he was dismissed then me and Maxy could play a bit more expansively. It was really nice to be able to do the job at the back of the innings, which is something that I haven’t had too many opportunities at. But I definitely think it’s very important that I read the game and understand the situation of the game and play accordingly.Marnus Labuschagne paddles Jasprit Bumrah•Getty Images

“Cricket’s a massive confidence game and even though it’s a different format, it still gives you a lot of confidence when you’re scoring runs consistently and the way Steve and Davey are batting currently, I’ve got no doubt they’ll be able to transfer that into the Test summer. But right now there’s still a lot of games to be played before that, we’ve just got to make sure we finish this one-day series well and then straight into the T20s where we start really well.”Labuschagne has batted alongside Smith in a range of contrasting scenarios already, from the tough conditions in the 2019 Ashes to the short-ball attacks from New Zealand last summer. But he had never seen Smith attack quite so brutally as he did in the two SCG innings, where the second of his 62-ball centuries was achieved dispute a bout of morning vertigo that had left him momentarily doubting his ability to take the field.ALSO READ: Steven Smith and Australia turn batting masterclass into Groundhog Day“That was one of the best innings I’ve seen in one-day cricket, not only from Steve but from anyone,” Labuschagne said. “I think the way he batted yesterday was superb. It almost felt like he didn’t give an opportunity, didn’t really take any risk, but he got a hundred off 62 balls.”When someone’s doing that, that’s kind of scary. It was really nice to build that partnership with him, 136, it was just nice to keep ticking it over and we were really busy through that middle part when we came together, then towards the back end Steve really took the game on and that’s how we got 390. They’re two very big scores in the last two games, thanks obviously to Steve.”As for the undoubted contrast between Australia’s largely energetic performances and the struggles of India, Labuschagne acknowledged that playing at home and having a portion of the squad present for the early round of the Sheffield Shield was an advantage.”It definitely helps to have a few games under your belt just to get the pace and the timing of the game from T20s to one-dayers to four-day cricket,” he said. “But a lot of these players we’re talking about, they’ve been doing it for a long time, they’re not new to the changes of format. I’d be surprised if they didn’t shift back into gear very quickly. In say that it’s a slight advantage, four out of our top six have been playing Shield cricket and got that rhythm as a batting group.”

He was part of Pakistan’s historic 1954 tour of England

Umar Farooq30-Jun-2020Khalid Wazir, part of Pakistan’s historic 1954 tour of England, has died. Wazir had been ill for some time and passed away at the of age 84 in Chester on Saturday.A tall and athletic medium-pace bowler and hard-hitting middle-order batsman, Wazir was the 16th Test cricketer for Pakistan and the second-youngest for his country at the time of his debut against England at Lord’s – only Hanif Mohammad was younger on debut until then.Wazir only played two Tests on that tour but it was a monumental one to be part of, because it announced Pakistan’s arrival as a serious cricketing nation. They drew the series against a strong England side 1-1. Wazir was the son of Wazir Ali, who – and his brother Nazir Ali – played Test cricket for India in the 1930s. After the Partition of the country, the Wazir family moved from Jalandhar to Karachi and their standing was such that one of Pakistan’s earliest, most competitive club tournaments – held during the monsoons in Lahore – was called the Wazir Ali League.Wazir was a surprise pick for Pakistan in the touring party to England with only two first-class games under his belt, and neither had he played in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy in 1953-54, the season leading up to the tour.The tour didn’t go well for him. He played the first and third Tests of the four-match series but managed only 14 runs in three innings and didn’t bowl. He ended the tour with 16 first-class games, scoring 253 runs – including one half-century – at 16.86 and taking nine wickets at 62.66.He was summoned to the Pakistan side on their next tour of England, the more disastrous 1962 visit, after a few pacemen broke down with injury. But he never played on the tour and he was already living in England by then and had become a successful club cricketer in the North Staffordshire and District League.