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With the IPL auction to be pushed back by at least two weeks, the inter-state leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which begins on Sunday, could serve as an IPL shop window for India’s up-and-coming short-format players

Shashank Kishore28-Jan-2017Until two years ago, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy brought the curtain down on the domestic calendar. Players bemoaned the lack of context, considering the tournament was scheduled after the IPL auction. It gave unknown or less-known limited-overs specialists virtually no shop window to display their talents.That could have been the case this time around too – the IPL auction was originally scheduled for February 5, by which time the tournament would have barely completed a week. But due to a lack of clarity over the BCCI’s administrative structure in line with the Lodha Committee’s recommendations, the auction is set to be pushed back by at least two weeks, which is a blessing in disguise for players hoping to impress talent scouts of various IPL franchises.This year, the format has undergone a transformation. The latest edition, which gets underway across six cities – Chennai, Kolkata, Dharamsala, Nadaun, Jaipur and Vadodara – will start on January 29 as an inter-state tournament before becoming an inter-zonal competition along the lines of the old Deodhar Trophy. That means Uttar Pradesh, who beat Baroda in last year’s final, cannot defend their crown this year. To explain in a nutshell, members of the UP squad can at best aim to be picked in Central Zone’s squad in a bid to be a part of the winning team.While the format has undergone a tweak to help selectors streamline talent, the objectives of players aren’t likely to change. History is replete with players who have carved an identity on the back of impressive performances in the tournament – Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya the notable examples. For some such as Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, who are not part of India’s T20 squad, this is an opportunity to remain in the national reckoning.Dhawan, who was recovering from a thumb injury, wasn’t part of the Test squad against England and played the first two ODIs before being dropped for the third and final ODI. Ishant hasn’t played ODIs for a year now, hasn’t played a T20I since October 2013. Then there’s Pawan Negi, whose career has spiralled downward since being picked up for INR 8.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils in last year’s IPL auction. Both Ishant and Negi – who have been released by their respective franchises – will look to make an impression ahead of this year’s auction.For someone like the allrounder Vijay Shankar, who is captaining Tamil Nadu for the first time, it is an opportunity to prove himself as a leader. “Opportunities like the IPL will come on its own if we play these games well,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “There is no pressure. It is a dream for me to lead a team like Tamil Nadu. I just want to enjoy the moment and hope we do well as a team.”Yet, it can be hard to remain insulated from the IPL auction, as Vijay said. “Being part of the IPL is huge. You can see the difference between domestic players who feature in IPL and those who don’t. The whole thing towards the way you approach matches changes, as you learn a lot by even sitting in the dugout. You get to see the situations first-hand and learn from team-mates how they go about it.”Then there’s Cheteshwar Pujara, who hasn’t been part of the IPL for two seasons now. This is an opportunity to show he has a game that has transformed to meet the demands of the shortest format. Pujara, who has spoken of his determination to prove himself as an all-format cricketer, struck a century for Indian Oil in a corporate T20 tournament in Mumbai.”I am looking forward to play in IPL,” Pujara, who scored a hundred and two fifties in the tournament, said. “I have prepared well, especially when it comes to T20, I have more number of shots. I definitely want to make a mark in that particular format. I am very confident that I can play well in other formats of the game. If I play well in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, surely there will be an opportunity.”I just will have to keep playing other formats and keep scoring runs and probably I will have to wait for my opportunity. I am improving, playing more shots and playing with higher strike-rate. So probably the stamp as a Test specialist is just a tag, a perception that will change in time to come.”Rahane, who will turn up for Mumbai, has also struggled to nail down a place in India’s limited-overs sides in recent times. He played just one of the three ODIs against England and was left out of the T20I squad.The tournament will miss a few big names. Suryakumar Yadav, vice-captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, has been left out by Mumbai after an inconsistent season, while Robin Uthappa, the Karnataka opener, will miss out with a back injury. Suresh Raina is unavailable for the first week of the tournament as he will be away on national duty, while a majority of other India internationals in the mix will sit out in order to prepare for the one-off Test against Bangladesh.

Ravindra Jadeja doesn’t have all the tricks in a bowler’s armoury, but he has mastered three facets of spin bowling that make him a weapon in the sub-continent

Aakash Chopra20-Mar-20171:10

‘Jadeja stood out among the bowlers’ – Kohli

There’s a stark difference between wickets taken by a spinner in the first and the second innings, especially on pitches that start reasonably flat on the first day. That’s why Lyon’s effort in Bengaluru could be considered as the finest bowling performance of this series so far. Similarly, Ravindra Jadeja’s six and five-wicket hauls in Bengaluru and Ranchi have raised his stature and increased his credibility. There was a time when his bowling wasn’t as consistent, but these two performances will go a long way to dispel that notion.Ideal PaceMost Indian pitches start fairly slow, and keep getting slower as the match progresses. While there’ll always be footmarks to exploit and the topsoil will get loose, the lack of pace off the surface allows the batsman to adjust and survive. Therefore, it’s critical to keep bowling quicker to compensate for the receding response from the pitch. But how easy is it to do that repeatedly for fairly long spells? After a day’s play against New Zealand in Kanpur, R Ashwin said that even though it’s imperative to bowl quicker, one can bowl only as fast as his optimum pace. If your optimum pace is 85 kmph, you can increase it by a few kmph for a spell or two. When you try to increase it by 10 kmph for a longer duration, you’d compromise on accuracy and end up bowling a lot fuller or a lot shorter. In addition, you’d also get tired too soon.The pace in the air forms the foundation of Jadeja’s success at home. His optimum pace ideal to exploit slow pitches. Jadeja bowls a flatter trajectory and therefore doesn’t deceive the batsman in the air with drift or dip. His deception is off the pitch – some turn, some don’t and his trajectory creates confusion with picking length. That’s why he traps a lot of batsmen on the back foot to the full balls. His pace in the air makes it almost impossible for batsmen to use their feet and the same pace discourages the deployment of the sweep shot, taking away two productive scoring areas.Ravindra Jadeja’s beehive placement to Australia’s batsmen•ESPNcricinfo LtdIdeal LengthAlong with pace, Jadeja’s biggest strength is his accuracy. His pitch map will always reflect a high concentration of deliveries on one spot that forces the batsman to come on to the front foot. While going over the stumps, length becomes very important, for you must ensure that the batsman doesn’t go on to the back foot. The moment he goes over the stumps, the only plausible option to work against him is to use the pads and not offer a shots. Even then, once in a while, you find it tough to negotiate. A lot of non-sub continental batsmen aren’t used to playing spin out of the rough, and try to play him with the bat or make the mistake of not covering the stumps. Steven Smith’s dismissal was an example of error in judgment – he didn’t have a long enough stride – and not covering the stumps.Ravindra Jadeja’s pitch map to Australia’s batsmen in the second innings•ESPNcricinfo LtdNatural VariationJadeja used to have a tendency to bowl from the corner of the crease but has used the crease quite nicely recently. Previously, he played only with the angle bringing the ball in. Now, he’s maintaining straighter lines and therefore, he’s pitching and finishing within the stumps more often. He is also able to turn some and bring some back in without any visible change in his action or wrist position. The balls that turn land partly on the seam and the leather, while the ones that go straight land on the leather. It’s not preposterous to assume that even he, like most spinners, isn’t certain about the ones that will turn.Relentlessly bowling at the same pace accurately is hugely responsible for his success but that’s what goes against him occasionally. Since his plans are so sacrosanct, he doesn’t deviate even when it’s needed. While he’s picking wickets, he isn’t plotting his dismissals by varying the speed, angles and lengths.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq talks about playing alongside Younis Khan: his batting, his practice, his ability to read situations, and more

Misbah-ul-Haq12-May-2017Before I took over the captaincy, whenever Younis and I were together, for Pakistan or anywhere, we used to talk about how, when our time came, what we would do to make things right, what we would do to improve. We were together as newcomers in the Pakistan team for a bit early on and we always knew what things we’d like to change. We talked about, for example, looking after a youngster in the side, to see how he is coping, how he is being treated, how to make him feel more a part of the side, how to look after him, to give him a comfortable environment, how seniors should treat him.We talked about how we would show them how we train, to set a pattern for them. He used to say, when it is our time, we will do things this way, not that way. And then when that time came, in 2010, we tried to go through on those things. We tried to create the environment on and off the field that we spoke about.The captaincy was never an issue between us. It was not something I had ever run after. And I also knew what Younis Khan was like. I knew it didn’t matter that he wasn’t captain because he would still give everything he had for the team. Without any doubt. Whatever help he could give, whatever he could do for players, he would. I’ve always had full support from him. Whenever we have needed an innings from him, whenever we have needed him, he has come good. You have full faith in a guy like that, that he will get us out of trouble.Through all the years that I’ve known him, he has remained, at heart, the same. He was very firm with the principles he based his cricket and life on. Those are unchanged: that he’s always kept his affairs very organised, that he has maintained strict discipline about his career, that he has wanted to come across a certain way on the field, that he will always make newer players comfortable, that he will make greater effort with them. He is still like this. The main pillars and principles on which a man stands, those have always been very, very clear for him.That has been the reason for his success. His disciplines, his routines, on the field, in training, in his personal life – it is what has made him a great batsman. That and his belief – he always believed, in every situation, whatever the circumstances. Can’t make hundreds in the fourth innings? I’ll do it. Can’t chase that much in the fourth innings? I’ll do it. Green pitch? Let me bat on it. That’s where his greatness begins.Then, from what I have seen, the key has been his routines either in practice or matches. He has to go through those every day. He is so structured about everything: he has to play his first 15 balls a certain way, so that is how he will practise it. Then the period to start cashing in, so he will practise that too. He knows his plans inside out – how to face certain bowlers, how many overs are left, what to do in the next ten overs, when the new ball is due, where he should be in terms of personal targets at every stage. It’s like a computer programme. That is why his conversion rate is so high. If your routines are set like that, you end up reducing the pressure.”Can’t chase that much in the fourth innings? I’ll do it. Green pitch? Let me bat on it. That’s where his greatness begins”•AFPHe has played so many great innings in this time. The 171 in Pallekele stands out. It just didn’t look like the score could be chased. We were two down for nothing and he wasn’t scoring. Then he just tweaked his trigger-movement a touch, just for this innings to their medium-pacers, and you saw the result.There’s so many more – the double at The Oval, another in Zimbabwe, when we were in deep trouble. And these were crucial ones, without which we could’ve lost.That is why he was such a great partner for me, as well as such a great partnership batsman generally. He believes in every player’s method and technique. Every player has his own way. To any bowler, I face one way, Younis Khan faces his own way. But he never tried to say to any youngster: you do it this way, you do it that way. He understands that others will tackle a situation differently, so let’s both just do it our own way.And he understood situations beautifully. If he saw one bowler causing problems to his partner, without even saying anything, he would start taking that bowler on, attacking him. When you came in, without him saying so, he would chart out a way to getting runs. So many times his partner would near a milestone and Younis would know instinctively which bowler his partner might be more comfortable against. So he would immediately engineer the situation to benefit the partner – a quick single, a double, whatever it took.We had many big partnerships but one that always stands out for me is one of our first ones, in Kolkata in the 2007-08 series. It was a relatively small partnership (of 49) but there was huge turn and Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble were causing problems. He was playing his own way and I was counterattacking, and though he got out quickly, it was an important one. The 2010 one was one of the best though – the pressure, the scenario of the match. That was the beginning of our contributions.When we would field, he was a great help for the bowlers. In slips he really studied the batsmen, their movements, backlift, bat speed, how the feet were moving, so he would give really good, detailed inputs to the bowlers. In particular, he was great with Yasir Shah and Saeed Ajmal, about their pace and lines.In the dressing room, he didn’t usually talk too much. Neither did he interfere in the broader planning. When he had an idea he would come up, and usually it would not be something that was at odds, or changed the bigger plans. If he knew I was trying something on the field, he would occasionally provide a little bit of his input. That’s how he operates.Read Younis on Misbah here

A player making a comeback could easily have been content with hundred more routine than 190 off 168 balls, but that’s where Shikhar Dhawan did more

Sidharth Monga in Galle26-Jul-20174:35

Agarkar: Dhawan flawless against spin

Test openers share a special bond. They walk out together for one of the most difficult tasks in cricket: negotiate the mischievous new ball, two men against 11. They know each other’s weaknesses and insecurities. They thrive off each other’s strengths. When KL Rahul, a nervous wreck, failed on his debut in Australia, the two other openers in the squad, M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, comforted him.Dhawan may have had mixed feelings then that his comeback into Test cricket would not have been possible without bad fortune for both his brothers in arms: Vijay and Rahul. For if Vijay had recovered well enough after his wrist surgery, or if Rahul had not taken ill, Dhawan would have struggled to find a place in the XI in Galle. Not too long ago, India brought in Dinesh Karthik into the XI ahead of Rishabh Pant because Karthik had been in the squad before him. By that logic, Abhinav Mukund would have made it if only one of the two first-choice openers had been unavailable.Then, some days life just feels beautiful. You find yourself playing Test cricket in Galle, by the sea and the fort; 10 days ago you might have been wondering what to do in rainy Delhi or cold Melbourne. The pitches in Galle can be spiteful, the hosts tend to find their magic here, but you walk out to a benign track. Your captain then wins the toss for the first time in seven attempts. And just in case you have any doubts over whose day it is, they drop you on 31. That play also injures the opposition’s third spinner, reducing them to 10 men.”My plans were to go to Melbourne and spend time with my family, do training and get fit for the one-day series,” Dhawan said of what he was thinking 10 days ago, before he replaced an injured Vijay in the squad. “I was in Hong Kong actually on holiday and from there I flew back to India and joined the team. I think destiny had a different plan for me.”In cricket, especially when batting regularly against the red new ball, you deal with failure more than success. You can’t grudge a player this run of fortune once in a while. And almost everybody gets such a day of fortune over time, but it is more about what you do with this fortune. A player making a comeback into the side could easily have been content with hundred more routine than 190 off 168 balls, but that’s where Dhawan did more.Dhawan made India’s statement boldly and conspicuously in the first exchange. The fourth ball of spin he faced, he was outside his crease, right to the pitch of the ball. Earlier he had driven it against the intended turn, along the ground, and between mid-on and midwicket. He skipped down to the seventh ball of spin he faced, driving Dilruwan Perera between mid-off and extra cover for four. The message was clear: India were looking to smash the spinners’ confidence while the going was good. In his 168-ball stay, he faced 111 balls of spin; he skipped down the pitch to 28 of them – once every four balls – for 36 runs. He was in control for 26 of those forays. He enjoyed the resultant short balls sumptuously.Then there was the sweep, not a favoured weapon of Indian batsmen but used copiously by Dhawan in this innings, on 12 occasions for 31 runs. If you step out and sweep well, you pretty much negate the spinners. Dhawan was quick to acknowledge that he was able to do so because there was little turn on the pitch. Having said that, the fact remains that on the first day of the series, the two specialist Sri Lanka spinners were made to bowl 49 wicketless overs for little under four an over. In a series of three back-to-back Tests, they all count.Dhawan was never once beaten on the outside edge; once the ball hit his outside edge, and once the leading edge. In all, Dhawan was not in control of only nine of the 168 deliveries he faced. The other striking aspect of his innings was the singles he took off good balls, placing them wide of cover. In the first session he went at a strike rate of over 80 despite hitting only eight boundaries.It was only in the second session that he began looking for boundaries actively, delaying the cut here, sweeping fine there. After reaching 112, he never faced two dots in a row. It might seem like mayhem, but apart from the odd hook shot, the only time he went airborne was the shot that got him out, minutes before tea.This innings might not tell you more about the rest of Dhawan’s Test career, but some days are just meant to stand by the sea with arms aloft, helmet in one hand and bat in the other, and to just take it all in: the southern hospitality, the salty breeze, the team’s applause. As Dhawan himself said, he was not the man to overthink and not enjoy the moment. “One thing about me is that I don’t like to be sad all the time. I like to be happy and so I was enjoying myself over there and knew that if things have to come, they will come my way,” Dhawan said of the time he spent playing for Delhi after being dropped.And when they come Dhawan’s way, they do so in style.

Some early stats insights from day one of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba

Gaurav Sundararaman23-Nov-2017 Australia’s length
Australia’s bid to regain the Ashes did not begin as expected. On a track that was a bit slow to start with, the hosts bowled too full: at tea, Australia had bowled 91 balls at a full length and conceded 65 runs at 4.28 runs per over. Of the 72 balls Josh Hazlewood bowled, 24 were full deliveries and yielded 28 runs. Nine of the 13 boundaries scored until tea came off full-length deliveries. Interestingly, on England’s previous Ashes tour in 2013-14, Mitchell Johnson bowled only 13 full-length deliveries in the Gabba Test. Australia would look to bring that length back a little bit and make run-scoring a little harder for England.

Length Pitched 0s 4s Runs Balls Econ Wktlength 156 2 42 181 1.39 1full 68 9 65 91 4.28 1short good length 23 1 13 31 2.51 0short 19 1 5 21 1.42 0yorker 1 0 1 2 3 0 James Vince on the off side
By tea, England’s No. 3 James Vince had scored 72 from 157 balls, and 75% of his runs and eight of the ten boundaries had come on the off side. Australia did not seem to have much of a plan against Vince until minutes before tea, when Nathan Lyon bowled round the wicket to the batsman and created an opportunity that Tim Paine failed to hold on to. Vince brought up his maiden Test fifty at the Gabba – before this innings, he had four scores between 35 and 42 in Tests. However, he was run out for 83 after tea, while attempting an unnecessary single. Mark Stoneman’s form
Mark Stoneman came in to the Test with three fifties and a century in four innings of the three warm-up matches. He continued his good form, scoring his fifth half-century in as many innings on the tour. He played cautiously until lunch, leaving 39% of his deliveries. However, he fell in the last over before tea for 53, bowled by Pat Cummins. Stoneman’s wicket ended his 125-run partnership with Vince, England’s first century stand for the second wicket in 31 innings since Root and Cook added 185 at Manchester against Pakistan in July 2016. This was also the second time that two England batsmen making their Ashes debut in Australia put on a century stand – the previous instance was 114 years ago, in 1903 when Tip Foster and Albert Relf added 115 for the ninth wicket.

A little over 12 months ago, neither man was certain of his place in the Australian Test XI. Now, they have become immensely vital cogs

Daniel Brettig in Durban02-Mar-2018Talking to the camera at the midpoint of 24 Hour Party People, Steve Coogan sets the scene for the reinvention of Factory Records and New Order after the death of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis: “F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. Well, this is Manchester, and we do things differently here. This is the Second Act.”At the end of the 2016 Hobart Test against South Africa, Australia’s fifth consecutive loss, neither Mitchell Marsh nor Nathan Lyon had much reason to believe their international scripts had too much further to run. As a No. 6 batsman, Marsh had been a failure, part of an extended run of middle-order collapses that also swallowed up Adam Voges and Peter Nevill. Lyon, meanwhile, had followed up an underwhelming tour of Sri Lanka with a first-class wickets drought that ultimately lasted all of 110 overs.By the time Australia’s squad reassembled in Adelaide, Marsh was no longer a part of it, and Lyon was reprieved only by the fact the man the selectors wanted, Steve O’Keefe, had suffered a hamstring strain. Lyon came even closer to losing his place for the next Test in Brisbane, where only a last-minute change of heart had him retained in place of a fourth seam bowler in Chadd Sayers.How this pair came to play vital roles, a little more than 12 months on, in what is turning into a domineering display by Australia in spite of a Durban pitch designed to blunt them is a model lesson in reinvention. Over the course of that journey, Marsh and Lyon have emerged not only as greatly improved players but also as leaders on the field, capable of turning a tide, not just being swept along with one. Circumstances helped at times, too.For Marsh, a shoulder injury robbed him of the ability to bowl for some months, taking him out of Australian reckoning and simplifying what he could train for. That clarity was useful as he set about remodelling his game with the help of the former West Australian batsman Scott Meuleman, spending hours working on developing his back foot game, strengthening his defence, and softening his hands to prevent nicks from carrying. During the first bracket of this innings on an overcast day one, Marsh edged more than one delivery along the ground – the sort of luck a good batsman makes for himself.

He was certainly the difference in the two innings. Take his score away there, batting at six … we were about to break through, about to make them sweat a bit and he comes in and basically scores a 100. That’s hugeAB de Villiers on Mitchell Marsh

In addition to the technical, there was also the mental. Very few elite batsmen in the history of the game have managed to make big scores consistently without finding a routine that involves switching on and off between deliveries, typically refocusing at the moment the bowler is at the top of his mark and not a nanosecond before. With help from Western Australia’s coach Justin Langer, Marsh said he had found his ways to do so, and it is certainly working: only twice before he was dropped had Marsh survived more than 100 balls in a Test innings; since his recall he has done so four times out of five.”I’ve worked extremely hard on my defence, keeping the good balls out and at any level of cricket that’s what you have to do,” Marsh said. “And I think that’s given me a lot more confidence now to be a lot more patient and choose the right balls to play shots at. I think that’s really helped me mentally batting wise, so that’s pretty much all I’ve done.”I used to be quite intense at the crease, every ball. And it wears you out when you do that for a long period of time. I probably can’t repeat some of the stuff I think about on the field now when I’m batting in between balls, but I try and keep my mind clear and switch on when the bowler is at the top of his mark and it seems to have helped me.”Batting at the other end, Mitchell Starc took great heart from the transformation, the harnessing of a talent that for a while had seemed capable of wasting away. “Unbelievable, the confidence he’s got now is great for him,” Starc told SEN. “He’s put a lot of big scores on the board in the last six months and it showed across the last two days, he’s got confidence in his defence and he hits the ball harder than anybody in the world, it’s a joy to watch, I’m glad I don’t have to bowl to him because he smacks the ball that hard.”Mitchell Marsh celebrates a vital half-century•AFPWhile Marsh fell four runs short of a third Test hundred in four matches since his return, his innings was utterly pivotal to the day, and continued an Australian theme of middle-order stability and composure since the start of the Ashes. As AB de Villiers so astutely observed: “He was certainly the difference in the two innings. Take his score away there, batting at six … we were about to break through, about to make them sweat a bit and he comes in and basically scores a 100. That’s huge. He’s had a big impact in this game and we’ll have to find a way to keep him quiet for the rest of it.”Things were quiet in the early part of South Africa’s reply, with the exception of Australian players ambushing the stump microphones with a word or three for their sponsors. The ball was not swinging, nor bouncing too much, and both Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram looked comfortable enough under a brightening sky above Kingsmead. In late 2016, Lyon had struggled to have an impact without the help of scoreboard pressure, to the point that South Africa’s middle order had bullied him.But in the intervening months he had worked assiduously with his mentors Darren Berry and John Davison to improve his method on slow surfaces, specifically for the challenge of India and Bangladesh last year, but more broadly to win the confidence of his captain Steven Smith, his coach Darren Lehmann and the rest of the Australian team. Lyon emerged from those sessions a more worldly bowler, and when he proved to himself and others he could adapt successfully in Asia, his confidence grew immeasurably.”His last 12 months have been amazing and what he brings to this team is great,” Marsh said of Lyon, “So the way he bowled today, the way he’s bowled over the last 12 months, you know he’s always going to have an impact on the game. And teams know that now … he’s one of the best spinners in the world right now, so it’s a great weapon for us.”

Lyon is now capable of swarming all over an opponent from the first ball, much as Graeme Swann did for England at his best, and of course Shane Warne did at length for Australia

That was certainly the experience of Elgar and Hashim Amla in Lyon’s first over, when he summed up conditions almost instantly, turning a quicker ball past the left-hander first up, then tossing another delivery higher and straighter to find grip, a leading edge and a sharp return catch. Amla, who had once helped Graeme Smith end the career of another Australian offspinner in Jason Krejza, was trapped on the crease by Lyon’s combination of pace, loop, spin and bounce, squeezing a catch to an exultant Cameron Bancroft.Lyon is now capable of swarming all over an opponent from the first ball, much as Graeme Swann did for England at his best, and of course Shane Warne did at length for Australia. He is also of extreme threat to left-handers, to the extent that their concerns about him can cloud the mind as much as the deliveries themselves can challenge the bat. While de Villiers handled his first three balls from Lyon with an aplomb he would maintain through the afternoon, the arrival of Quinton de Kock offered the Australian another opportunity to spin the web he had cast on England.Not much can illustrate the contrast between 2016 and this week, mentally and technically, quite like this encounter. Back then, de Kock was arguably the player of the series, and his domination of Lyon was central to it all. This time around, it was Lyon full of confidence and poise, while de Kock has been through an extended run of outs. Rather than being able to attack Lyon with his former impunity, de Kock trudged through 16 deliveries with only a single scoring shot to show for it, and finished by going back when he should have come forward to be bowled past a tentative defensive stroke.Australia’s celebrations of the wicket were raucous and rightly so – it was the opening of an end opposite de Villiers that they were seeking, and the remainder of the South African innings went down in a fearful rush to Starc, Josh Hazlewood and reverse swing. While this Test match, like the careers of Marsh and Lyon, has a Second Act ahead of it, the reverberations of this day and its key players will take an almighty effort to overturn.

He has been part of seven of India’s last ten run-outs in Tests, the latest one coming as India’s top order did battle under grey skies at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2018England v India, Lord’s, 2018
Cheteshwar Pujara run out 1
After a washed out first day, India got off to a shaky start on day two of the second Test at Lord’s, losing both their openers to James Anderson under grey London skies. Pujara was never at his fluent best over his 25-ball stay, battling for survival against England’s quicks on a stop-start day. Just before another spell of rain would pause proceedings, Pujara tapped one to point and started running. Kohli initially responded, but, with both men halfway down the length of the pitch, turned back, leaving Pujara stranded. Another Test match, another addition to Pujara’s run-out tally.South Africa v India, Centurion, January 2018
Cheteshwar Pujara run out for 19
Pujara became the first batsman to be run out twice in a Test since December 2000. In a tough chase of 287, he had managed to survive 47 balls and, with three top-order wickets already lost, was crucial to India having any chance of reaching the target. His partner, Parthiv Patel, played the ball to third man, where Lungi Ngidi made a good sliding stop and parried the ball to AB de Villiers. Pujara, inexplicably given the match situation, went for a third run, and despite a dive was found short.ESPNcricinfo LtdSouth Africa v India, Centurion, January 2018
Cheteshwar Pujara run out for 0
Pujara denied himself the chance of batting on a dry pitch that may have suited his game by getting run-out first ball. He defended the ball firmly to mid-on and, perhaps in an attempt to show the “intent” his captain had encouraged from his players, set off for a single that was not there. Ngidi, on debut, picked up the ball and hit the stumps direct, leaving Pujara well out of his crease.Sri Lanka v India, Colombo, August 2017
KL Rahul run out for 57
On the first day of the second Test of India’s 2017 tour of Sri Lanka, India were in a commanding positon at 109 for 1. KL Rahul pushed a Rangana Herath delivery to extra cover and set off for a run. Pujara, at the other end, set off too, but then changed his mind and sent Rahul back, in effect leaving his partner stranded. Rahul could be heard shouting “my call” as he walked back, miffed. Pujara made up for the mix-up by scoring a century.India v Australia, Dharamsala, March 2017
Pujara run out for 0
Pujara ended a prolific series with a duck, and it was poor running that did him in again. With India chasing 106 to win the Test and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he played the fifth ball he faced to point and set off for a quick single. But mid-way, he stuttered, giving Glenn Maxwell just enough time to nail the stumps at the non-strikers’ end. India were left 46 for 2 and under a bit of pressure, but they won by eight wickets in the end.India v New Zealand, Indore, October 2016
M Vijay run out for 19
This time it was M Vijay who was sent back by Pujara after he had set off for a quick single. Vijay had got a leading edge into the cover region and hared out of his crease. He did not seem to see Pujara sending him back and when he eventually did, a sharp pick up and throw from Martin Guptill had dismissed him. India were in a dominant position, though, after getting a 258-run first-innings lead, and Pujara scored a second-innings century to set up a win.West Indies v India at Kingston, July 2016
Pujara run out for 46
After toiling for 159 balls, Pujara missed out on a half-century because of a misjudged single. He tapped a delivery from Jason Holder to square leg and went for the run, but, despite a dive, was found short by Roston Chase’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end. India went on to score 500 in their first innings at a run-rate of less than three an over. After rain washed out the fourth day, the match was drawn. Pujara was dropped for the next Test, with India opting for Rohit Sharma in his place.

What did we learn from the new-look Australian team’s first outing since losing their best players to controversy?

Melinda Farrell at The Oval14-Jun-20180:56

Don’t win too many ODIs without top five firing – Paine

It started as soon as you stepped out into the sunlight at Vauxhall Station.”Ball-tampering sandpaper, anyone?”At regular intervals on the crowded walk from the station to The Oval, employees of one opportunistic company handed out squares of sandpaper, printed with 4s and 6s. Those arriving from Oval station were offered, courtesy of a tabloid newspaper, small posters showing a crying Steven Smith under the phrase, “We’re only here for the tears.”It was predictable, of course, and undoubtedly raised a few chuckles. Ultimately though, if these were exercises in stirring up the crowd into a prop-waving frenzy, it was a bit of a waste; all such ambush marketing is banned at grounds and, apart from those that were well concealed, were confiscated at the gates.After all the talk of a rowdy Oval crowd ready to get stuck into the Australians, it was rather a jovial atmosphere. There was noticeable jeering and the appearance of a few smuggled squares of the rough yellow stuff when Tim Paine dropped a top edge from Jos Buttler. The chirps were perhaps a little louder and a little more gleeful than they would have been for Sarfraz Ahmed or Quinton de Kock. And towards the end of the match, the odd voice could be heard shouting, “Aussie, aussie, aussie! Cheat, cheat, cheat!” But if that’s the worst Australia have to deal with at the start of their redemption tour, they should probably be grateful.”I’m pretty lucky I’m out in the middle so I don’t really hear anything,” Paine said after the match. “There wasn’t any talk of copping too much stick out there which was nice of the English fans. Maybe if we win a few games they might.”Indeed, on the pitch it was all business. Once the goodwill handshakes were dutifully performed, there was no snarling and no obvious chatter. The only antagonism came from the other side of the world, where Darren Lehmann tweeted his displeasure towards at least one journalist reporting on the marketing material outside the ground. At a time when his former charges are attempting to reforge their reputation and regain respect it was, perhaps, an intemperate move.Not all the sandpaper from outside The Oval was confiscated•Getty ImagesDid we learn much about this transitional Australian team on its first outing? Certainly, their bowling attack is less intimidating without Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. But it would be churlish to judge any attack too harshly when the bowlers are tasked with defending 214 on a pitch where the par score was probably more like 314.Befitting his considerable height and sharp pace, Billy Stanlake provided an awkward challenge – particularly with the new ball – and was rewarded with a brace of wickets. The first came with his second delivery of the match, a 90mph beaut that nipped back in and shaved the inside edge of Jason Roy’s bat before shattering the stumps.Andrew Tye’s variations – Paine said after the match Tye believes he has “22 at last count” – were also rewarded here. His slower delivery was deceptive enough to fox Buttler, who was through his shot too quickly and spooned the ball to mid-on, and will undoubtedly claim more victims.While England made the chase more interesting than it should probably have been with some rash shots, the rest of Australia’s attack did a decent job in such circumstances. Kane Richardson appeared to struggle a little with his rhythm before settling and debutant Michael Neser left little in the tank. Overall it is difficult to surmise too much; this series may be a useful opportunity for Justin Langer to audition extra seamers but it is hard to ignore the assumption that Australia’s big three will automatically return to the one-day side whenever they are fully fit.But in conditions where Australia’s spinners went wicketless, England’s had a field day and this will be of greater long-term concern. As Paine noted, it is difficult for any team to win a match when the top five batsmen fail to score significant runs. When four of those fall to spin, it suggests a collective weakness and it was one well-exploited by Eoin Morgan. He introduced Moeen Ali in the ninth over and soon after drafted Adil Rashid and Joe Root to bowl 18 consecutive overs of spin.”Today it was [a weakness], there’s no doubt about that,” Paine said. “It’s something the whole group’s been working on and it’s something that we speak about a lot, trying to improve going into a World Cup year.”It’s certainly a work in progress, we know we haven’t been fantastic at it but we’re training really hard at it and I think if we can get some set batters in at the start it’ll make a big difference.”This was Australia’s second-lowest total batting first since the 2015 World Cup and the potential return of Smith and David Warner depends on a range of uncertainties, both of form and political factors. And if Langer decides to shuffle the available batsmen, move Aaron Finch down the order, bring in D’Arcy Short, elevate Glenn Maxwell – whose half-century was a welcome and positive sign that a big score may not be far away – or any of the other options available to him, they will still have to deal with England’s spinners in Cardiff and beyond.

West Indies coach Stuart Law believes he was able change his players’ attitude towards fitness

Interview by Varun Shetty25-Oct-2018Stuart Law, who became West Indies’ coach in February 2017, saw them through the World Cup Qualifiers, but he won’t be sticking around for the big tournament itself next year, having taken on a job with Middlesex. Under him, West Indies won six out of 15 Tests, including a famous chase of 322 at Headingley last year, secured series wins over Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, a draw with Sri Lanka, and did well in T20Is too. He talks about working to change West Indies’ cricket culture, the singular talent of Shai Hope, and why Jason Holder still needs to work on his leadership skills.It has been over two years since you took over from Phil Simmons. What was the state of the game in the West Indies then and what was your mandate from the board?
The mandate was pretty clear: to get us moving forward, both on and off the field. You create a professional development system that is going to improve the cricketers at a different rate to what they expected. So first of all, I had to see what was going on. I watched a little bit of domestic cricket and had a pretty quick intro into international cricket against England – which wasn’t easy against their one-day side. The first thing I noticed was that we needed to be fitter and stronger. It wasn’t really a cricket skill issue.We needed to work smarter, not longer. I think sometimes the net session can go on for far too long – you can turn a five-day game into a six-day game by training too long the day before. That was [about] changing the mindset, changing the culture. We had to get the fitness and strength into it but also work ethic that was going to be smarter rather than time-consuming. Slowly but surely over time, it’s developed very well. The boys now know what they’re doing three days out from a game.Was there a particular aspect that struck you as something that needed to be sorted out immediately?
Fitness counts for a lot of things. It counts for decision-making on the ground. If you’re not physically fit, you can make poor decisions in the middle because you can get tired. And that was it.I saw a lot of skill. Still do. Every player that comes in here has got something about him. One thing they need to work on is being able to maintain that skill level under pressure the entirety of the game rather than ten or 12 overs here and there.We’ve got good pace, we’ve got good spin, we’ve got young kids coming in. I’m excited to see them coming in. There’s skill in the Caribbean. Just need to get them fit and strong. If they’re fit and strong, they’re going to maintain that skill a lot longer.

“Marlon Samuels is a very misunderstood bloke. Tough as teak. But he’s got a bit of compassion too”

How do you ensure such a direction is taken?
It’s a different system now to what Phil Simmons had. Since I’ve come in, there’s been a change of CEO – Jonny Graves, from England, who I know really well. Jimmy Adams was employed as director of cricket. I believe this is the first time that the West Indies has someone from the West Indies in that role.I worked with those guys to come up with what we’re going to do and then delivered it to the board, which will then filter down into the regional groups. We need to get each region’s headquarters onto one island – all the players there, so they can live there and do gym together, run together, play cricket together. That’s a big move but a brave one. And that’s where we have to get to.The islands need to just make a commitment and do that, and I think that with the likes of Jimmy and Jonny on board, the directors definitely want to make this improvement. That would be the No. 1 priority.Next one would be to have an academy. We had an academy for a while. It was disbanded for whatever reason. We’re in the process of developing one in Antigua, where we’ve seen immediate improvement. A lot of these young fast bowlers coming through, they’ll be able to come in for two-three months at a time, get through an extensive gym programme, which will give them functional strength to bowl fast. People back in the Caribbean say: “Why do we need ’em [academies]? We didn’t back in the day.” I think we need it now because every other nation does. And every other nation has started to catch up and go past us. So I think we need to do the same.You were exposed to long-form cricket for a long time as a player, which is not something the young batsmen in West Indies have currently. From a developmental perspective, do you train these guys on skills? Is that even possible to do at the Test level?
I feel sorry for a lot of them because they’re learning on the road. International cricket is a super tough environment to learn in. If you’re not understanding what goes into playing long-form cricket, it can be bloody tough.I think to play long-form cricket, you need to be able to play on really good surfaces and understand what it takes to bat all day. Also understand what it takes to think a batsman out rather than run in and let go and let the wicket do the job. I think that’s what the Caribbean needs. They need a little bit of love down in the regions to make sure the pitches that they play on are the best they can possibly be. I’ve seen games go two days, one and a half days, which is no good for anyone. You need decent pitches. I’d like to see them more hard, fast and bouncy, so it’ll encourage the fast bowlers. Wherever we go, we play on hard, fast, bouncy wickets. Even in India, the wicket in Hyderabad had good pace and bounce in it.That will improve our longer-form cricket immediately. It’ll also improve our one-day cricket, because batters are not looking for balls that’ll hit them in the head or roll along the ground. Our boys come [overseas] and they see the surfaces in the nets and they are better than the wickets they play out in the middle back home. Everyone sees what other countries get.Has the unavailability of senior batsmen because of contract issues affected batting quality in the team?
It has affected things, yes. It does have a detrimental effect. When you pick a side – talking about these one-dayers – you sit down at a selection table and three or four players pull out for one reason or another, you sort of think, well, okay, what’s going on?Some players have explained to me what’s going on, and some haven’t really explained it. So it’s hard to get that continuity in the team. What we’re doing right now is building up for a World Cup. And if we keep chopping and changing, [it isn’t ideal].Look, players have their reasons and I respect they have their reasons. They’ve got to put food on the table, they’ve got to do it the best way they can. The contracts are there in place and [some of] the players want to commit to the board. Others are more in demand in the rest of the world, and they can command a higher wage. All in all, it’s their decision. There’s nothing else you can do. But it would be great to have full accessibility to these players to use not only their skills but also their experience to help the youngsters get better.Does it affect the team morale when players back out?
These guys are pretty good. They’ve been through a lot at such a young age. And you know that’s our job as the management to make sure they’re given everything we possibly can. And they tell you the reason. They don’t tell you made-up stories.It’s disappointing yes, but it’ll be interesting to see if the couple of debutants in this series – if a bowler comes in and takes two lots of five wickets, a batter comes in and scores a hundred and 80 not out, what everyone is going to start thinking then.Are you more technically inclined, or do you prefer a managerial or mentorship role?
If I wanted to change technique, I would be coaching the Under-12s. By the time you’re 15, 16, it’s very hard to change a technique. You’ve got to give snippets on how to use that technique to score runs and study the batter – how you think the bowler is gonna try and get you out, and then give them options: a) how to negate them, and b) how you’re gonna score your runs.I’m not a technical coach. I can pick the pieces of technique, but if you’re doing that here on the road, you’re basically giving the player no confidence, by saying everything is wrong with your technique and you need to change. I think if you need that sort of technical work, you’re better off doing that in the pre-season.Here I talk about basic things. If they’re falling over or not taking a stride, you can change that on the road. But if it’s a complete set-up, a trigger movement, or a particular shot, very hard to learn it.Jason Holder said you have a close working relationship with Shai Hope. Could you tell us a little about that?
I’ve got a close working relationship with a lot of the boys. Shai, you watch him bat and he scores very pretty runs. And you’ve got another kid, Rovman Powell, who, when I first got here, struggled against the spinning ball, struggled in defence. Now, he’s turned into our most improved white-ball cricketer.I don’t think Shai realises yet how good he can be. He probably says he does, but deep down I don’t think he realises how good he could be. It’s a constant conversation. He always tells me he wants me to be honest. I tell him when he’s had a good day, I tell him when he’s had a bad day. He can trust me. If I need to pass information down the chain to one of the coaches, I won’t mention the specifics that we spoke about or the way it was spoken. He’s a fine young player, a dedicated professional. He’s now got to step up. He’s got to grab the opportunities he’s been given because he’s leaving far too many runs out in the middle.

“We had some success. I wouldn’t rate it a great success. There were plenty of games where we were in control and we lost. Which goes back to fitness”

Like Hope, there are guys like Shane Dowrich, Kraigg Brathwaite and Roston Chase who have done well recently during your time. But Holder has leaped over them all dramatically. Why do you think that is?
Roston Chase has had a good time. Dowrich has worked very hard away from our group, with coaches back in Barbados.The only thing I’ve done for Jason is given him more responsibility. People say he’s still very young, but he’s played a lot of cricket. We can’t just keep saying these guys are still learning. You’ve got to learn but you’ve also got to develop.Jason started swinging the ball massively back in the Caribbean during the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh series. He bowled well in England without getting the rewards. Probably bowled slightly the wrong length, but he quickly worked out that if you’ve got to swing the ball big, you’ve got to pitch it up. As soon as he did that, he got wickets against Bangladesh. He has developed, and it’s not through constant badgering and constant chatting.You give him an idea, he might say one thing, might do another thing. You might not talk to him at all and let him work it out in the field and he’s actually gone and embraced that and started to take more control. His leadership still has some way to go. [He needs to] understand that sometimes you can’t be nice to everybody, and not everyone’s going to like it. As a captain you’ve got to be the big brother, and sometimes a school teacher. And that’s how you’re going to command respect. Whatever you say should happen.Is there anything in particular about Jason that has set him apart?
As a captain he’s responsible for the results in the field along with me. As responsible for preparation off the field as on. If it doesn’t affect you here [points to heart] and mentally, nothing will. You’ve got to have that passion and desire for the team to do well.He’s a driven young man who’s also very thoughtful, which I think is standing him in better stead. He’s also highly skilled. He can bat, he can bowl, and for a big man, he’s got great hands in the field and can move pretty well. So he’s got the skill.Mentally, not a lot affects him. He’s gone through the wringer. He gets abuse daily from the Caribbean saying he’s not good enough, and that just drives him forward. I can relate to that – people telling you you’re not good enough and shouldn’t be playing. To keep making that work for you is a credit to him. Other players take it on board and take it to heart too much. You can’t listen to what we call “the bullshit”. You can only listen to what your team-mates are telling you and what your coaching staff and family are telling you. You’ve got a very young batting line-up, and the World Cup is not too far away. What was the plan leading into that after qualifying?
Seems to be an ever-changing line-up due to personal issues or other issues beyond our control. At the moment that plan has to change every tour because of new personnel. So now it’s all about opportunity. These young kids have been identified, through the T20 tournament and domestic cricket back home, so they’re really green. But I think sometimes the more green you are, the better. You don’t know the unknown. I notice in the press that everyone’s given us absolutely no chance to win a game. That’s incentive for us. We’re supposed to get our backsides handed to us, but it’s great motivation for us to show that we’re not just there to make up the numbers.”I don’t think Shai [Hope] realises yet how good he can be. He probably says he does, but deep down, I don’t think he realises how good he could be”•Getty ImagesIn terms of uncertainty, is that still a cloud that hangs over the likes of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell?
Chris has given us his programme for the next three months. I think he and Russ have been told that it’ll now be down to performance, which is what selection should be based on. You’re talking about two special cricketers there, though. Whether or not they get extra room to move remains to be seen. But for me, you need players with good experience leading into a World Cup, guiding the youngsters how to play.We’re lucky to have Marlon Samuels here. And his job on this tour is to show these kids how to go about a game. He’s rising to the challenge. He’s a very misunderstood bloke. Tough as teak. But he’s got a bit of compassion too. Without those guys, it’s a bit tougher.It must have been particularly difficult for you to step down.
Yeah, it was, mate. The one thing that got me was my family. We’ve just upped sticks from Australia and moved back to the UK. We had to sever ties with Australia completely to move, which is always tough. But I did it for the family, to be close to my wife’s family and for my son to have an opportunity at a cricket college in Leeds, which was probably too good to say no to.I spent the first couple of weeks there when I was settling in with him. Then on the drive down from Leeds to Heathrow, my son called me and said, “Dad, I don’t want you to go.” That was pretty tough to listen to. I was lucky enough that I was good mates with Angus Fraser, who is the director of cricket at Middlesex. He had rung me out of the blue weeks before this, asking if I would consider coaching Middlesex. As they say, the rest is history.I’ve been to a World Cup with Sri Lanka, I know what it’s about. It’d be nice to have on the CV as well, but at times there’s more important things to life than cricket and at this point in time the family comes first. I’ve got to listen to their wishes. I’ve been looking after other people’s young men. Got to start looking after my own.What will you remember as your successes in this job?
The mountains we had to climb, trying to change a culture. To have it told from outside the culture that this needs to change, to get that message across – I think that’s a huge mountain climbed.Our fitness has gone steadily up over the last two years, which is a hard thing to achieve, particularly in a laid-back culture like the Caribbean. But I think the players understand now that if you’re not fit, you’re not going to compete. If you’re not going to compete, the other teams are there to steamroll you. That’s probably a major change that is a success.Playing-wise, we had some success. I wouldn’t rate it a great success. In all formats, there were plenty of games where we were in control and we lost. Which goes back to fitness.There were challenges in all facets of the game, but the No. 1 thing was to make sure we change that culture, and we did that. I think that’s the most successful thing we’ve done.And was there something you wanted to change but couldn’t?
The win-loss ratio! And not through lack of trying or lack of hard work. Look, when you’re used to playing at a certain level, it’s very hard to have that belief that you can go the next step. There are times when we had the foot on the throat and we crushed teams. There were times when we were getting in a good position and we lost games. That’s one thing I wish we would have changed. That’s not a two-year project. That’s a five-six-year project. The boys are well on the way. They understand what they need to do and I think with who’s coming in to help out after I leave, the boys are in very good hands.

Coaches, professionals and stars of the Plate Group teams reflect on the season gone by

Hemant Brar18-Feb-2019
Click for: 1. Uttarakhand | 2. Bihar | 3. Puducherry | 4. Meghalaya | 5. Sikkim | 6. Manipur | 7. Nagaland | 8. Arunachal Pradesh | 9. Mizoram
“A proud season”
Team: Uttarakhand
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 6, Lost 0, Drawn/NR 2Highlight of the season: There is a fair bit of uncertainty vis-à-vis the cricket administration in the state with four groups vying for control. For 2018-19, the BCCI ran the affairs with Ratnakar Shetty heading operations. That allowed the latent talent to blossom, and after losing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy opener against Bihar, Uttarakhand went on a winning spree. They were only stopped by eventual Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha in the quarter-finals, though not before putting on a commendable show. Next year, Uttarakhand will face teams of a much higher calibre, where their ability will be tested more.Insider account: Bhaskar Pillai, coachBig lesson learnt: When I took over, my biggest worry was the guys had played only T20 cricket. So I wasn’t really sure how they would shift gears in the four-day format. But as the tournament progressed, there were people who showed signs of staying at the wicket. They proved to be good learners, they wanted to prove themselves because it had been a long wait. That’s why I am very happy, very satisfied, and moving forward there is a lot to gain in the coming seasons.ALSO READ: Uttarakhand’s rise from Big-Bang chaos to the Ranji quarter-finalsReason for confidence: I wasn’t very sure if we were cut out for the main league but the way the guys shaped up against Vidarbha in the quarter-final and showed no signs of nervousness gave me confidence. Most of the other quarter-finals didn’t even last five days, we stood for five days. The way we batted on the first day against [Rajneesh] Gurbani and Umesh [Yadav], to recover from 20 [44] for 3 to 140 [184] for 3. Had we not lost three early wickets or had we won the toss and bowled first, maybe we could have had an outside chance. Or maybe if we were playing some other opponent, Kerala or some other team, maybe the result could have been different.Change for next season: I think one area we struggled in was the spin department. Our main force was our pacers. So there was a lot of load on them and by the time we reached the knockouts, they were a little jaded, a little tired. I think if we can have two good spinners in our team, that would do the trick.”Did well, can do better”
Team: Bihar
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 6, Lost 1, Drawn/NR 1Highlight of the season: The highlights of their season were topping the Plate Group in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and making the quarterfinals, and Ashutosh Aman’s record haul of wickets in the Ranji Trophy. Bihar will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with higher-ranked teams in the one-day format now, but even in the Ranji Trophy, they have made a case to be the second best team in the Plate Group, and will eye qualification once again next season.Insider account: Subroto Banerjee, coachBig lesson learnt: How to approach a game, how to stay in a positive state of mind to get the desired results, and how to execute your plans. These are the things the team has learnt this year. Technically also, I have sharpened the batsmen and the bowlers and they have shown significant improvement.ALSO READ: Ashutosh Aman flights his way back from the Air Force to the Ranji Trophy record booksReason for confidence: The result was the biggest positive. We came No. 2. If the match against Puducherry hadn’t been washed out, who knows, we would have been at the top of the table. The thing is you have to give them some time. We were playing after 18 years. So you cannot go and straightaway smash the tournament. I know there is a huge difference in playing against Meghalaya and playing against Karnataka. But in India culture, cricket is inherited. So I am sure the boys will adapt quickly.Change for next season: I haven’t thought about the next season yet. Overall, we have to lift our standards and we have to match up to higher levels. We have a long way to go but this team will shape up properly in another three-four years.”Satisfying”
Team: Puducherry
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 4, Lost 0, Drawn/NR 4Highlight of the season: They lost a bunch of players at the start of the season, a blow that would cripple any team, but more so a new team just coming together. However, Puducherry showed great spirit and resilience to overcome that hurdle and finish third in their group in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Ranji Trophy. For a while in the Ranji Trophy, they looked like they would top their group, but rain robbed them of that opportunity in two crucial matches – against Uttarakhand and Bihar. They could be an even more formidable unit the next season if the players that were suspended make their way back to the team.Insider account: Pankaj Singh, fast bowlerBig lesson learnt: Doing well as a unit. Seven-eight players were not able to play the whole season and despite that, we gelled as a team. I think as a cricketer, and as a human also, we should be always ready because unexpected things can happen in cricket and life. To stay together and fight the situation, I think the team did that.ALSO READ: Puducherry – from legal battles to last-minute flightsReason for confidence: Although the team was playing for the first time, many players are playing some kind of cricket in other states, or leagues or even club matches, and they are very eager to do well. They had been waiting for a long time for their chance. They played and performed and proved that they are good at this level, they can play first-class cricket and perform. And the professionals they picked – Abhishek Nayar, Paras Dogra, me – and the team they prepared and the coaching staff of Aavishkar Salvi, [Dishant] Yagnik and others, I think it was quite like you are playing in the elite group.Change for next season: After the first match, eight to nine players were changed and we had to start with new players. Hopefully that won’t happen next year.Milind Kumar plays the ball square•Milind Kumar”A learning experience”
Team: Meghalaya
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 4, Lost 2, Drawn/NR 2Highlight of the season: Their most significant moment of the league phase might have come when they piled on 826 for 7 declared against Sikkim – the highest score of the Ranji Trophy this season with Puneet Bisht registering the only triple-century of the season as well. Meghalaya’s bowlers showed promise, and the professionals led the way while batting. They might not be up to challenging for the top spot in the Plate Group yet, but they can lay claim to being the foremost among the northeastern states that debuted in the Ranji Trophy.Insider account: Puneet Bisht, wicketkeeper-batsmanBig lesson learnt: The experience of playing with the red ball. In domestic cricket in India, red-ball cricket is the most important. So the players are very keen to learn how to bat against the red ball, how to bat session by session.ALSO READ: An adventure-sports freak for captain, a traffic cop for a fast bowlerReason for confidence: That we finished fourth, and above us were only Uttarakhand, Bihar and Puducherry. The players are very keen to play the Ranji Trophy, they want to play for the next ten years. They want to work hard. Some of the players want to play off-season cricket in Delhi because in the northeast there are not many local tournaments.Another positive is our opener Raj Biswa, who scored more than 500 runs [546]. That’s a really good achievement for someone playing his first season. Our bowlers did very well. Aditya Singhania, the left-arm spinner, took almost 30 [24] wickets. So the boys are really keen to improve.Change for next season: Ground fielding is an important tool. And fitness is very important. Some guys broke down after two-three games because they are not used to such workloads. So I would like to see our guys putting extra effort in fielding and fitness from the off-season itself.”Challenging”
Team: Sikkim
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 4, Lost 3, Drawn/NR 1Highlight of the season: Milind Kumar put Sikkim on the radar almost single-handedly. He scored 1331 runs, and threatened VVS Laxman’s season record of 1415 for a while. But more than the volume of runs were the situations in which Milind got them: 261 to take Sikkim from 15 for 5 to 372 and an innings win in the first game. In the very next match, 224 to take the team from 30 for 4 to 374. For good measure, he even picked up 22 wickets in eight matches (he had 11 wickets in 29 matches for Delhi before this). He was the main reason Sikkim went from being punching bags in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to being competitive – even forcing teams to alter their strategies to be more ‘Milind-proof’ with their scores.Insider account: Milind Kumar, middle-order batsman [highest scorer in the tournament with 1331 runs]Big lesson learnt: The biggest learning was how to play according to the match situation. The same players I played with in the first match had evolved a lot by the time the tournament ended. Earlier, the batsmen didn’t have the temperament to stay at the wicket, they used to lose hope. But, as the tournament progressed, they learnt how you respond in different situations. The batsman started scoring runs, started to defend better, learnt how to see off the new ball and also had big partnerships with me.ALSO READ: From being sidelined in Delhi to 1000 in the Ranji TrophyReason for confidence: Most of the guys were playing after a gap of 3-4 years but it was an achievement to win four out of eight games. We have done so well with only a couple of months in our hands, that means we can do even better. If the players get regular practice, regular matches, they are capable of doing well. The guys are working really hard and if you give them some time, they will definitely do well.Change for next season: Batting and bowling are the main skills, those you have to anyway improve upon. But fielding is totally in our hands. If we can improve our fielding, we can change the game.”Tough, but a good experience”
Team: Manipur
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 3, Lost 5, Drawn/NR 0Highlight of the season: Their finest moment, perhaps, came in a defeat, against Bihar. Bowled out for 156, they kept Bihar to 257 and then mounted a strong second-innings resistance. It was going well at 184 for 2, but a collapse meant they set Bihar only 138 to win. They continued to fight, but Bihar squeezed out a three-wicket win. While the bowlers did well on the whole, the batting was thin after the top order. Yashpal Singh was a rock at the top, and the late entry of Mayank Raghav gave hope, but Manipur will need more of the middle-order to contribute runs next season.Insider account: Yashpal Singh, middle-order batsmanBig lesson learnt: Our batting was really poor. So our coach and I worked with the boys. They were trying but it wasn’t happening. Everybody has learnt by watching on TV. So it’s also not fair to expect a lot from them. So we expected that much only so that they also don’t feel the pressure.ALSO READ: Go pro – the template for success in Ranji Trophy’s Plate GroupReason for confidence: Our bowlers did really well. And that helped us in motivating our batsmen also, by saying if the bowlers can do it, why can’t the batsmen? And a couple of guys stepped up as well. All these things take a bit of time but the good thing is that the team spirit was really good, the attitude was good. And I am sure things will improve in the coming seasons.Change for next season: If the BCCI can provide the grounds to the teams that don’t have any right now, that would be really great. The ground we have for our camps is in a bad condition. Rainy season is also a bit longer here, that also hampers.Ashutosh Aman picked up 68 wickets in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy•Ashutosh Aman”Nothing like playing for your own state”
Team: Nagaland
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 2, Lost 4, Drawn/NR 2Highlight of the season: Given the relative quality of the batsmen and the often-iffy pitches, the bowlers had a better time than the batsmen, but Nagaland suffered from not having a strike bowler. Abrar Kazi’s all-round show was immense, with 34 wickets and 814 runs, but that he was the highest wicket-taker and run-getter spoke of inadequate support. Captain Rongsen Jonathan ensured the season ended with something to cheer for, getting centuries in successive matches against Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and Puducherry.Insider account: Rongsen Jonathan, middle-order batsmanBig lesson learnt: The players had never experienced Ranji Trophy, they had never played four-day games. But now they know exactly how it is. I personally did very well and was happy to guide others. In fact, after this season, we are looking for an academy where we can have a proper camp for two-three months and I can guide them further.Reason for confidence: We are starting various inter-district tournaments, we are starting a coaching academy for all the state players, we are going to have talent hunts in the state. Since the Ranji Trophy is here, everyone is very interested. People are coming out wanting to play. That’s a very good sign. So next season we should have a very good team.Change for next season: Right now we have very few youngsters. I would like to see more and more youngsters coming up because they will be the future of the team.”A dream come true”
Team: Arunachal Pradesh
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 0, Lost 7, Drawn/NR 1Highlight of the season: Arunachal Pradesh had opted for only two professionals, but neither of Kshitiz Sharma and Samarth Seth could deliver in the manner the other professionals did for their teams. That not a single batsman crossed 500 runs in the season and no bowler took more than 25 wickets either underscored Arunachal’s struggles. Deendayal Upadhyay, their highest-wicket taker with 23 strikes at 16.82, played only four games.Insider account: Sandeep Kumar Thakur, medium-pacerBig lesson learnt: We got to know the value of fitness. I personally had put on a lot of weight, but our trainer and physio are very friendly and motivating. The physio used to tell how to prevent injuries, how to overcome injuries. We also realised that we needed to work on our fielding. Whatever the mistakes we made this season, we have to work on that.Reason for confidence: When we look at the professional players and see them scoring runs, it gives us the confidence that we can also do it. This time we didn’t get enough time to prepare, it all happened so quickly. Now there is one year’s time and we are geared up to improve.Change for next season: This was our first season, so our association also didn’t have much of an idea. The professional players came and performed. If there are more professionals in the next season, the team would be more balanced.”A learning curve”
Team: Mizoram
Overview in numbers: Played 8, Won 0, Lost 7, Drawn/NR 1Highlight of the season: Mizoram ended below Arunachal on the points table – the only match the two teams didn’t lose was when they played each other – but they might feel disappointed about it. Mizoram would have banked heavily on Taruwar Kohli to deliver, and he did produce 826 runs, but apart from fellow professional Akhil Rajput, not an established name in domestic cricket by any means, Kohli had limited support – no other batsman crossed even 150 runs for the season. The bowling was barely adequate, but it paled in front of the batting woes, and Mizoram will have to fix that aspect with some haste.Insider account: Taruwar Kohli, top-order batsmanBig lesson learnt: The experience of playing against the likes of Pankaj Singh. For young fast bowlers to watch him bowl, I think that was a great experience. The same goes for the batsmen, to watch the professionals bat, score hundreds. I think it was a very good learning experience for a youngster to understand how to score a hundred, how to build an innings. I think the guys learned these things really well.Reason for confidence: Most of the players are very disciplined, they are very focused. That’s why they had so much improvement. They normally used to play T20s. They have now learnt that it’s important to play the longer version as well. And back in Mizoram, they have immediately introduced a tournament of two-day matches. The guys have started to play a lot more cricket now. In past, they used to play for only two-to-three months. They have started to take cricket as a career. So the trend is slowly changing.Change for next season: I think the thinking in the first season was to have some experience, have a feel of it. The professionals or the support staff were not pushing them so hard, because we all knew it was the first season and it was not going to be that easy. But the boys need to pull their socks up in the coming season. We are trying to change that thinking now, okay you have got the experience of playing now at this level. Now it’s taking up to the next level, becoming a good competitive side and our vision should be to qualify, not just participate. The players should be aiming to play for India and as a team, we should be aiming to qualify.