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The time that an ODI affords – as opposed to T20 cricket – allowed the batsman to get into his groove again

Sidharth Monga25-Mar-20217:48

KL Rahul – ‘I didn’t want to sit back and overthink about two or three bad performances’

It is often joked – given how fans pine for players who are not playing – that the quickest way to improve as a cricketer is to spend some time outside the playing XI. However, that only fits for struggling teams. If your team is going through the kind of patch India is, you can be forgotten in no time at all. And then when you come back to play, the pressure can be immense because you know there are so many new players breathing down your neck.KL Rahul is not exactly that story, but the noise around his failures in the T20I series tells you something about the riches of Indian cricket. Not long ago, Rahul was the answer to India’s long-persisting ailments in limited-overs cricket: a middle-order batsman who could score consistent and quick runs. A couple of indifferent matches, an injury during the Tests ruling him out when India could have done with a batsman, and then four failures in the T20Is against England later, he was suddenly the one having his position questioned.Related

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During all this, those fit and outside the squad spent time in the middle in the domestic competitions and scored tons of runs. Nothing encapsulates it better than the ease with which Krunal Pandya batted with Rahul, who scratched only early in the innings, during the match-winning partnership in the Pune ODI. Rahul had played 31 balls in the middle in the last three-and-a-half months, and Pandya had come off a bumper Vijay Hazare season.Once Rahul got through that initial struggle, he matched Pandya stroke for stroke. It was that time in the middle that T20 cricket doesn’t allow you that Rahul was missing. “I didn’t do anything different [during the T20Is against England],” Rahul said. “I wasn’t too stressed. Obviously, as a player, you are disappointed sitting on the bench. The last time I played was three-three-and-a-half months ago. So I was really excited and looking forward to doing well in the T20 series as well. Every cricketer, every player in the team wants to do that. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, and you accept it.”For me the most important thing was, when I sat back and tried to look back and things, I asked myself if I had prepared well and if I was training hard and if there was anything I didn’t do in terms of preparation. When I thought about it, I had done everything right. After that if I don’t score runs, I can accept that. Having said that, it doesn’t mean you don’t feel disappointed. You do feel disappointed because you are representing your country. And you are playing at this level. You want to keep performing and keep winning games for your team.”But you always have to accept that it is not always going to go your way. You have to be patient at times. I have been doing well at whatever roles and responsibilities that have been thrown at me for the last two-two-and-a-half years. When things were going right, I didn’t question my process, I didn’t question my passion or my commitment to the game or how I was preparing. So I didn’t want to sit back and overthink. You need to accept it sometimes. I was doing most things right. Whatever is in my control. Even after that if you don’t score runs, you accept it and move on.”Having spent some time in the middle, KL Rahul found his footwork and range returning•BCCI

The only thing that changed was the length of the innings, which provided him some time for that initial struggle. “The one-day format, playing at No. 5, I could take a little bit more time than I took in T20s,” Rahul said. “In T20s also, I wanted to give myself time but it wasn’t going my way. Having spent a little time in the middle, having hit a couple of good shots from the middle of the bat, footwork going well, your nerves tend to calm down a little bit more. When I walked in, Shikhar [Dhawan] was batting well. We lost a couple of wickets. I knew when Krunal walked in, me having played a little bit more cricket than Krunal, we knew we had to stitch together a partnership. When you stop thinking about your own personal game and there is a team responsibility ahead, you start thinking a little bit clearer. And having spent 20-25 balls in the middle, I started to feel a little bit more confident.”The more time you spend in the middle, the calmer and more confident you start feeling. Getting a few boundaries off the bat, that sort of calms you down and you start focusing on the task ahead. That is the only thing. I don’t know if top of the order or lower makes much of a difference. The only thing is to spend a bit of a time in the middle.”The return to form won’t move Rahul off his toes, though. “When you are part of this Indian team you always know the competition is going to be really really high,” he said. “You can never sit back and be comfortable and feel like you own your position. You’ll always be challenged. That’s the good thing about… that’s how our country is. There is such a lot of talent, and there will be players coming and knocking on the door all the time. As a player in the team you always try to push yourself and keep training harder and keep working on your game and try to get better and better every time. And whenever the opportunity comes, you try to grab it with both hands. Try to keep doing that every series.”

Netherlands and the UAE shared seven points each after the Intercontinental Cup match ended in a draw after no play was possible on the fourth day in a rainy Deventer

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2012
ScorecardNetherlands and the UAE shared seven points each after the Intercontinental Cup match ended in a draw after no play was possible on the fourth day in a rainy Deventer. The result meant that both teams are now placed in the middle of the table with 30 points each. The highlight of the match was debutant Shahbaz Bashir’s century on the third day which helped Netherlands score 308 runs.The two teams will play two ODIs – Rotterdam on July 21 and Deventer on July 23 – but the possibility of rain being a factor remains high after two full days were lost in Deventer.

Locked I, J and K stands will also be thrown open to the public

Varun Shetty02-Feb-2021It’s official now. Crowds up to 50% capacity of the MA Chidambaram Stadium will be allowed for the second India-England Test in Chennai, as reported by ESPNcricnfo on Monday.The BCCI had informally given a nod to TNCA on Monday, and the clearance was then subject to the approval of the Tamil Nadu government, which has been received. The first Test will be played behind closed doors, as originally planned. This was confirmed via a press note from RS Ramaswamy, the TNCA secretary.The move to allow crowds signals a change in course from the BCCI and the TNCA, who had recently informed its members that the MA Chidambaram Stadium would not allow crowds for the two Tests. But the decision comes in the wake of the Indian government revising its guidelines pertaining to spectators at outdoor sports in the country last weekend.”For outdoor sports events spectators will be allowed to full seating capacity,” the Indian ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said in a circular updated on January 29. The circular, titled ‘Standard Operating Procedures for opening up of Stadia for sports events’, revised the ministry’s previous guidelines issued on December 26 which had stated spectators can be allowed at 50% capacity for outdoor sports.In another development, the I, J and K stands, which have been locked to spectators for over nine years due to issues between TNCA and the local municipality, will also be thrown open to the public, with necessary clearances obtained by the TNCA.It is understood that media personnel will be allowed at the stadium starting from the first Test, which is another change in flavour for Indian cricket, whose seven venues in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy had neither spectators, nor media personnel.Tamil Nadu is currently seeing a decline in active Covid-19 cases, and life in Chennai has slowly crawled back towards normalcy in recent months, with movie theatres allowing up to a 50% capacity indoors.

Fast bowler cleared a fitness Test and will be part of the squad for both remaining games

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2021Umesh Yadav has been added to India’s squad for the third and fourth Tests against England after clearing a fitness test. Yadav, who had given the fitness test on Sunday, was formally added to the squad on Monday, two days ahead of the third Test, which will be a pink-ball, day-night affair. Yadav will be available for selection for the match at the new stadium in Motera, which starts from February 24. The fourth and final Test will take place at the same venue from March 4, though that will be a traditional red-ball game.Yadav replaces Shardul Thakur in the Indian squad. Thakur has been released to play in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy – India’s domestic 50-overs competition – where he will turn out for Mumbai.Related

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Yadav was expected to be part of the squad once he had cleared his fitness test, and he joins a fast-bowling group that comprises Ishant Sharma – who will be playing his 100th Test, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.Yadav has played 48 Tests overall, of which 28 have been in India, where he has been particularly effective. Overall, he has 148 wickets at 30.54, but at home, he has 96 wickets at 24.54. He has been particularly devastating at home since 2018, averaging 13.86 with 38 wickets in seven games. His average and strike rate (24.3) in that period are the best in India of any bowler, given a minimum of three Tests played.Given the success Yadav has enjoyed and the likelihood of India bringing in a pacer in place of a spinner due to the match being a pink-ball one, Yadav could return to the playing XI straightaway, marking his first game since picking up a calf injury during the Boxing Day Test against Australia.

Cricket Australia is expected to move to a smaller board featuring some independent directors in October, despite objections from the South Australian Cricket Association

Brydon Coverdale24-Apr-2012Cricket Australia is expected to move to a smaller board featuring some independent directors in October, despite objections from the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA). A fully independent board is likely to be introduced in 2015, meaning that within three years the state associations will almost certainly have no representation at CA board level.The plan is part of CA’s response to the Crawford-Carter review into the organisation’s governance. A new financial model that would see CA take control of all internationals played in Australia has also been proposed. Board reform was one of the key recommendations from the governance review, which suggested the end to the archaic system in which some states held greater power than others.The two-stage plan, discussed at a CA board meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday, is based around introducing three independent directors to work alongside six state-appointed directors – one from each state – at the annual general meeting in October. In 2015, barring any unforeseen hurdles, the six state-appointed directors would be phased out and all nine board members would be independent of official state affiliation, although there would need to be at least one residing in each state.The existing board structure features 14 directors, all appointed by state boards, with three each from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, two each from Western Australia and Queensland, and one from Tasmania. CA chairman Wally Edwards said South Australia remained reluctant to give up its voice on the board, but approval from five of the six states was enough for the moves to go ahead.”We didn’t get a unanimous position because of this issue of the independent director,” Edwards said. “One state is pretty well locked in on wanting to have their own delegated director for all time. That’s the one sticking point there, from SACA.”SACA are against it, I don’t want to hide that fact. They’re very positive on everything except that the director who would be located in South Australia, they want to be able to appoint him and they want him to be on their board.”In the end, if five out of the six states agree then it moves forward and Cricket Australia’s constitution will be changed to say that directors can’t be a member of their state board… it’s an issue that SACA will have to come to grips with as well.”The move needs to be approved at a special CA meeting in July, and South Australia’s objections would not be enough to prevent it. Should the proposal succeed, a nomination committee consisting of Edwards, two state chairmen and two people who are not part of a board will choose the three independent directors who would take office in October.The new CA chairman would then be elected at the AGM from those three independent directors and the six directors nominated by the state boards. Edwards said he was confident the changes would be approved and would lead to the total overhaul of the board in 2015 – CA says the two-stage process is a legal obligation – despite the failure of several attempts in past years to revolutionise the unwieldy and inequitable board structure.”If this goes through in July, we will have achieved a lot,” Edwards said. “We will still have one more phase to go and we will still have six appointed directors, but we’ll have moved from 14 to nine, all states will be put on an equal footing… there’s been a lot of grumpiness about some states being more equal than others. This first step gets rid of all that.”Edwards also said the states had agreed to a new financial model in which each state association would give up the management of international matches in its territory, and in return would be paid a minimum guarantee grant by CA. Edwards said no state would be worse off under the new plan, which he said would “untangle a lot of the very, very complicated… ways of running our business”.

Ajmal Shahzad, the former England seamer who was released by Yorkshire in controversial circumstances last week, is to join Lancashire on loan until the end of the season.

George Dobell08-May-2012Ajmal Shahzad, the former England seamer who was released by Yorkshire in controversial circumstances last week, has joined Lancashire.Shahzad was made available to other counties after Yorkshire’s chairman Colin Graves accused him of not being a team player. He has moved to Lancashire on a loan deal until the end of the season with a view to agreeing a more permanent contract at a later date.The attraction for Lancashire is obvious. The defending champions have lost three of their first four games and currently find themselves just four points off the bottom of the division one championship table.Shgahzad tweeted: “Great feeling to be back into cricket today! Appreciate Lancashire for having me on a loan agreement till the end of the season.”Lancashire’s cricket director Mike Watkinson said: “With Tom Smith being ruled out for at least a month after tearing a hamstring and Pakistan set to announce this week their squad for a series in Sri Lanka this summer, which could mean us missing out on bringing Junaid back, the availability of a hugely talented and experienced bowler comes at a good time for us.”Although Shahzad’s first-class record is modest – he has a bowling average of 33.80 and an underwhelming economy rate in both limited-overs formats – he has long been seen as a cricketer of rich potential and Lancashire will hope that Peter Moores’ sympathetic man management will coax the best out of him. Shahzad has played one Test, 11 ODIs and three T20Is for England.”We are delighted to bring a bowler of Ajmal’s quality into our squad,” Moores said. “He will join a strong seam attack, giving us the depth needed to compete on all fronts. He is known for his competitive nature, which will fit perfectly into the set-up at Lancashire.”As if the failure to harness Shahzad’s potential was not painful enough, the fact that the player has joined their keenest rivals will sting some at Yorkshire, a deal also brokered by a former Lancashire player, Neil Fairbrother, who is Shahzad’s agent.Eight years ago he became the first Yorkshire-born cricketer of Pakistani background to represent Yorkshire and is the first Yorkshire player to move to Lancashire since David Byas did so in 2002.Shahzad had also interested Sussex, Somerset and Surrey, among others, and his quick tour of England last week to talk to potential suitors emphasised that many counties did not share Yorkshire’s reservations about his talent or commitment.Yorkshire’s relationship with Shahzad deteriorated over time because in his eyes they were insisting that he bowled out of character, insisting on a disciplined – he thought regimented – approach with little forgiveness for experimentation. Moores’ challenge is to integrate a dedicated but strong-willed cricketer with an appetite for innovation into a team pattern.Yorkshire sought to e nsure that Shahzad left on a happy note with the county’s official Twitter feed stating: “Wishing @AJShahzad all best with Lanky! Real shame it didn’t work out at #yccc. Both parties on different cricket pages but a genuine talent. Ajmal had different thoughts on how his cricket should go than club. He wasn’t happy. Threatened positive atmosphere in squad. No one at club is happy that Ajmal has gone and we do genuinely wish him well.”

Tim Bresnan has become the third England player in quick succession to insist that he will recover from injury in time for the Ashes series

Alison Mitchell03-Apr-2013Tim Bresnan has become the third England player in quick succession to insist that he will recover from injury in time for the Ashes series. Bresnan’s optimism about his recovery from an elbow operation follows equally upbeat assurances from Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen with the first Test against Australia now less than 100 days away.Bresnan’s second operation on his right elbow caused him to miss the tour to New Zealand, but he is aiming to play in Yorkshire’s friendly against Lancashire, beginning on April 16, and proving his fitness in championship cricket ahead of the first Test of the summer against New Zealand in mid-May.The latest top international to chat at length on Alison’s Tea Break, soon to be published exclusively on ESPNcricinfo, Bresnan admits he knew that his elbow trouble had left him down on pace for much of the previous year but was reluctant to face the consequences of another operation.”I was lacking a little bit of pace for the last year, which was something I didn’t really want to admit to myself,” he said. “One day I’d bowl brisk, and the next day I’d just have nothing. I knew it was the elbow but you’re in that position ‘I’m still doing a job but am I doing it to the best of my ability?’ And the answer to that question was probably ‘no’.”I’m actually excited now about the future, whereas, because I was bowling in a little bit of pain, it’s always in the back of your mind that you’re not giving it the full beans because it might hurt you.”It took a heart to heart with Graham Gooch in India for Bresnan to realise he had to speak up about his elbow pain, in order to avoid his career flatlining.”You just can’t get away with it against India. Here against the West Indies, absolutely fine, because it’s swinging, bit of reverse, maybe a bit of nibble. In India: nothing. There’s no hiding.”I think the time during the first Test when Sehwag just picked me up off a good length and hit me for six, I just went: ‘Wow, I’m not bowling quick enough here’. I think it was Goochie in a way who just said: ‘Look mate, I can tell you’re not right. I don’t know what you’ve been saying to the medical staff but you should be at a place now where you’re approaching your peak but you’ve just levelled off a bit’.”Now that he’s looking to make a comeback in the England side, Bresnan explains what sort of bowler he wants to be, why he can be more than the dependable workhorse in the side, and what it is that is motivating him.”I’ve only got six or seven five-fors. You never put me down for a truck load of wickets but stick me down for three an innings, which in anyone’s money is solid going. But if I want to be remembered as a cricketer, I was erring towards the stage where I was like, I don’t really want it to be that, I want it to be like: ‘He can win you games’.”Bresnan also takes a tongue-in-cheek ‘Yorkshire Test’ to see just how close to his roots he has remained, despite the global jet-setting life of an international cricketer. The results may be a little surprising.

Sussex won a high-scoring game by 19 runs against Essex at Hove to go clear at the top of the Friends Life t20 South Group

24-Jun-2012
ScorecardSussex won a high-scoring game by 19 runs against Essex at Hove to go clear at the top of the Friends Life t20 South Group.Chris Nash made 52 and Joe Gatting 45 not out as Sussex set a daunting total of 209 for 6, the second highest in the competition this season. Some big hitting from Mark Pettini (44) and James Foster (47) kept Essex in contention but they fell short in the end, with Chris Liddle taking 3 for 35.Sussex’s former Essex player Scott Styris took the Man of the Match award after making a quickfire 36 and claiming 2 for 28.Luke Wright and Nash set the tone by smashing 21 runs off the second over from Graham Napier as Sussex raced to 74-0 after the six-over Powerplay. Wright carried on where he left off against Middlesex on Friday night when he made 91 as he hit sixes off David Masters and Napier before slapping a full toss from Ryan ten Doeschate straight to long off for 40 off 21 balls.The departure of Wright did not slow the scoring rate, however, as Nash and Styris continued to take the attack to Essex. Nash made his runs from 41 balls, including two fours and two sixes, before being stumped by a smart piece of work by Foster off a leg-side wide from ten Doeschate.Styris enjoyed himself against his old side as he crashed sixes off ten Doeschate and Reece Topley before being caught in the deep for 36 off 20 balls. Gatting ensured Sussex’s innings did not lose momentum as he hit a career-best score from just 22 balls, including four fours and two sixes, as the Sharks posted their second-highest total ever in the competition.Essex made a slow start in reply but remained in contention thanks to Pettini, who made 44 off 31 balls. The Eagles were well behind the run rate at halfway on 74 for 2 but some powerful hitting from Greg Smith and Foster gave them hope of pulling off a sensational win.Smith hit three sixes in his 26-ball 39 before being bowled by Will Beer while Foster hit four sixes in a row to reduce the deficit to 25 off the final over but Essex’s hopes disappeared when their captain was caught on the boundary with three balls to go.

Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has said the ruthlessness the Test team showed in beating Zimbabwe in three days in Napier was a sign that New Zealand cricket was developing depth

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2012Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has said the ruthlessness the Test team showed in beating Zimbabwe in three days in Napier was a sign that New Zealand cricket was developing depth. Oram has retired from Tests but will join the squad for the three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals. He said it was important New Zealand continued their dominance of Zimbabwe to show they had progressed.”That Test was not only a sign of the changing conditions Zimbabwe will have to deal with, but also New Zealand cricket as a whole creating a little bit of momentum and depth,” Oram told the . “That obviously augurs well not only for this series but for when South Africa tour in the near future.”The best sides I have played against – Australia five or six years ago, India in their own conditions – once they got their tails up they were near-unstoppable. I’m not saying we’re at that level, but we are taking small steps towards that.”Oram has struggled with injuries through his career and, after missing trips to Bangladesh and India in 2010, was not guaranteed of a place in the 2011 World Cup squad. He made a comeback in New Zealand’s 2010-11 home series against Pakistan and went on to play a key role in their World Cup campaign. Oram, 33, said he has stopped letting injuries frustrate him.”I’ve grown out of caring about my injuries. When I was trying to play all three formats it used to get me down, and did get frustrating. But I’m over it now. I try my hardest to get right for cricket and if something happens I don’t lose sleep over it because I know I’ve done all I can to play.”There will be increased competition for the allrounder’s slot in New Zealand’s limited-overs XI with Canterbury’s Andrew Ellis being added to the ODI squad and Auckland’s Colin de Grandhomme making it to the Twenty20 squad. Oram’s numbers in the domestic Twenty20 and List A competition have not been impressive – he averaged just 6.50 with the bat and took five wickets in six games in the HRV Cup and has taken two wickets in four games in the Ford Trophy. He, however, said he was bowling well.”The ball is coming out well, the figures suggest I’m bowling okay, I felt good during the HRV Cup and I’m fine to go.”The first ODI between New Zealand and Zimbabwe is on February 3 in Dunedin.

Wasim Khan also says bilateral India-Pakistan series can’t happen in the foreseeable future

PTI19-Oct-2020The Pakistan Cricket Board wants the ICC to assure visas for its players and officials for the T20 World Cup 2021, scheduled in India for October next year. Wasim Khan, the PCB’s chief executive, said his board expects a response by January 2021 at the latest.Khan also confirmed that there was little likelihood of an India-Pakistan bilateral series taking place in the “foreseeable future”, and neither would any such series be part of the fresh Future Tours Programme (FTP) that starts in 2023.Relations between the two neighbours have been tense, which is why the PCB has sought assurance that the visa process of their players and support staff will be dealt with by the ICC.”This is an ICC matter. We have discussed our concerns,” Khan told . “There is a ‘Host Agreement’ that states very clearly that the host nation (India, in this case) will have to provide visas and accommodation for teams that are due to participate in the T20 World Cup, and Pakistan is one of them,.”We have sought assurances from the ICC that our players will receive visas and ICC is now taking this up with the BCCI because that directive and confirmation will clearly need to come from their government.”Khan also said that if there was a problem with getting visas, then the PCB expected the ICC to take that up directly with the Indian government through the BCCI.”We have asked for a deadline till December-January, which we believe is the right thing,” he said. “We expect a response from the ICC on whether our players and officials will receive visas to participate in the tournament.”If it (visa) isn’t (there), then like any nation would expect, we would also expect ICC to take that up directly with India and the Indian government through the BCCI to resolve this matter.”The participation of Pakistani athletes in global events held in India has historically been a contentious matter. Last year, Pakistan’s shooters could not get visas for a World Cup in Delhi. The fraught relations between the two countries has also made bilateral series almost impossible, a fact that Khan acknowledged.”I think we have to be realistic about India and Pakistan bilateral series,” Khan said. “BCCI needs to get permission before they can play Pakistan in any bilateral series, home, away or even on neutral venues.”I think on both sides, there is plenty of cricket to be played against other countries, but sadly for fans and players in both countries, it does not look like that India and Pakistan will be playing bilateral series in the foreseeable future. So there is no current planning that we can factor into the next FTP (2023-31) unless circumstances and viewpoints of the Indian government change.”