Tag Futebol

David Warner can take a lesson from Michael Slater as he aims to find the balance between aggression and care at the top of the order

Daniel Brettig in Hobart13-Dec-2012In October 1996, Mark Taylor and Michael Slater walked to the middle of the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi for the second innings of a one-off Test match against India. They faced a deficit of 179. Within minutes, Slater was making his way back to the ground’s then rickety pavilion, having swung at a ball he could barely reach from the modest medium fast of David Johnson and been acrobatically held at slip by Mohammad Azharuddin.That heedless stroke hastened the tourists’ heavy defeat, cost Slater his Test place – he would not return until 1998 – and remains one of the great cautionary tales for imprudent opening batsmen. At the time, Slater was averaging 48 in Tests, and was only three matches removed from his highest score, 219 against Sri Lanka in Perth. Whether the “lesson” of his dumping was ever truly learned remains a matter for debate, and there was to be collateral damage. Without his regular opening partner, Taylor would slide into the slump that very nearly cost him the captaincy.Australia’s captain Michael Clarke had Slater’s poster on his wall back then, and his admiration for the former opening batsman’s derring-do shone through again in his defence of David Warner. In Perth against South Africa, Warner was out to a stroke almost as inappropriate to the match scenario as Slater, an angled bat swish at Dale Steyn’s first ball of the second morning the catalyst for Australia’s tumble from a strong first-day position to a fourth-day defeat. While Slater paid dearly for his error, Clarke has avoided criticising Warner for his indiscretion, reasoning that hesitance is an even greater enemy of the left-hander than impulsiveness.”The one thing we need to understand with Davey is the same ball he got out on in Perth, we’re all standing and clapping in Adelaide when it went over cover or went over slips for four,” Clarke said. “That’s the way he plays. The only thing I continue to say to Davey is make sure you’ve got that good intent, and by that good intent I mean more in his mind than the actual shot. Because when Davey’s intent’s right, his defence is better, his attacking shots are better. He plays his best when he’s looking to score runs, there’s no doubt about it.”Yes we all have to work on shot selection at certain times in your innings, but I think Davey for the start of his Test career, three hundreds he’s scored now, he’s doing pretty well. Like all of us, we’d love to be more consistent and score runs every time we walk out to bat. Sometimes he doesn’t look great when he gets out, but the other side is he’s got that x-factor. He can take a game away from any team in the first session of a Test match really. Not too many players in the world have that talent. At the moment I’m really happy with how he’s going, he was disappointed with the way he got out. But more than ‘don’t play the shot’, it’s about working in the nets to execute that shot better.”Warner’s development has become all the more critical now that Ricky Ponting has exited Australia’s dressing room. He is an aggressor on the field and a livewire off it, striving to be liked by team-mates even as his motor-mouth and customary brio have preceded him. In the middle, Warner is known to be a far more nervous character than he lets on, muttering incessantly about his technique and the opposition in between deliveries. He seems at his surest when in the act of hitting the ball, something he does with startling power, if imperfect judgement.When Clarke was presented with the view that no batsman can be at liberty to play the same strokes on the pacy WACA ground as he had been on the more docile Adelaide surface, he cited a meritorious century against New Zealand at Bellerive a year ago to outline the balance of aggression and thoughtfulness he expected from Warner’s batting.”That’s what you learn as a young player don’t you,” Clarke said. “The conditions in Perth are different to Adelaide, and what we’re going to see here. I think one of Davey’s greatest innings was the hundred we saw here in really tough batting conditions, but he still had that great intent. On a wicket that was doing a lot he was looking to score runs, but his shot selection was spot on and perfect that innings. In a perfect world you’d love to bottle that and say play like that every time, but there’s got to be a bit of give and take with Davey.”So long as Clarke is captain and selector, there is likely to be more give than take for Warner, as his destructive potential and natural spark are highly valued. But he would not want to charge too hard, too early at the likes of Nuwan Kulasekara in this series, lest he find himself emulating Slater’s harsh lesson.

Northamptonshire have confirmed that Jack Brooks has been allowed to utilise a get-out clause in his contract to further his international ambitions

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2012Northamptonshire have confirmed that Jack Brooks, the pace bowler, has been allowed to utilise a get-out clause in his contract to further his international ambitions.Brooks, who made a late start to his professional career having come through Minor County cricket, played for England Lions against the West Indians this season on his home ground. In the Championship he took 23 wickets at 35.69 in a campaign disrupted by injury and overall has 118 first-class wickets at 28.95″I’ve taken this decision to leave Northants because I want to compete at the highest level possible,” Brooks said. “The opportunities being offered to me are too good to turn down, and I owe it to myself to explore all avenues as I continue my quest for international honours.””I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Northants and fully appreciate the support I’ve been given by all at the club. Hopefully, I’ll be remembered for my performances and wholehearted approach to the game.”Head coach David Ripley said: “I am saddened by Jack’s departure, we will miss him both on the field and in the dressing room as he is a real character. He is striving for international honours and domestic trophies, which I believe are both achievable here, but I fully understand and respect his decision to leave. We wish Jack all the best in his future.”David Smith, the chief executive, added that this was a situation clubs are becoming used to these days. “Jack leaving us is a reflection of our more mobile cricket society and of more flexible employment laws that allow players to move between county cricket clubs on a more regular basis than in the past.”The club wants to place on record its appreciation of Jack’s service over the past four years and wish him all the very best for the future. Jack has been a very popular member of our dressing room.”

Impact Player rule in focus: Super Giants could start with three overseas players, while Capitals look to plug allrounder’s hole

Hemant Brar31-Mar-20233:15

Moody: ‘Warner is one of those captains who are an over ahead’

Big picture

After an impressive inaugural season where they made it to the playoffs, Lucknow Super Giants will play at their home ground for the first time, with the IPL returning to the tradition home-and-away format.Last year, Super Giants’ middle order looked brittle at times, so at the auction, they bought Nicholas Pooran. How much they value his batting is clear from the price they paid – INR 16 crore (USD 1.95 million approx.) – for him despite already having two wicketkeeping options in KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock in their first-choice XI.Super Giants’ squad is brimming with allrounders, which is a big advantage. However, left-arm quick Mohsin Khan’s shoulder injury, in head coach Andy Flower’s words, is “a blow” for the team. Moreover, Flower is not expecting him to be available at all this season.Related

• Delhi Capitals have firepower despite Pant's absence

• Lucknow Super Giants bank on all-round strength

Delhi Capitals are without their regular captain, Rishabh Pant, this year. But in David Warner, they have a leader who has won the IPL previously, in 2016 with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Marsh’s batting form also bode well for them. In fact, Marsh is expected to bowl as well this season.While Capitals still lack a genuine allrounder, their head coach Ricky Ponting is confident the Impact Player rule will help them plug that hole.

Team news

Super Giants will be without de Kock, who will join the squad on April 3, after South Africa’s ODI series against Netherlands is over.Capitals’ South African players – Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi – will miss Saturday’s match too. Mustafizur Rahman, who was rested for the final T20I against Ireland in Chattogram on Friday, tweeted that he was flying to join the squad on Saturday, when Capitals play the evening game in Lucknow.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Super Giants could start with three overseas players, irrespective of whether they bat first or bowl. If they bat first, their three overseas players could be Kyle Mayers, Pooran and Marcus Stoinis. In the second innings, Mark Wood can come in as an Impact Player for a batter, say Ayush Badoni.Probable bat-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Prerak Mankad, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Ravi BishnoiIf they bowl first, they could start with Mayers, Stoinis and Wood, with Pooran replacing Wood in the chase.Probable bowl-first XI: 1 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Prerak Mankad, 8 Jaydev Unadkat, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Ravi BishnoiRavi Bishnoi has dismissed David Warner three times in three meetings•BCCI

Delhi Capitals
In Pant’s absence, Sarfaraz Khan is likely to keep wicket. He had donned the big gloves in three matches during the latest Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well.If Mustafizur is not available, it weakens Capitals’ death bowling. To counter that, they may beef up their batting by having four overseas batters in their XI. Ishant Sharma could be the Impact Player and replace Shaw when they bowl.Probable bat-first XI: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Sarfaraz Khan (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Aman Khan/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Chetan Sakariya, 11 Khaleel AhmedIf they are bowling first, Ishant starts, with Shaw replacing him in the chase.Probable bowl-first XI: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Sarfaraz Khan (wk), 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Aman Khan/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Chetan Sakariya, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Ishant SharmaBut if Mustafizur is available, Ishant sits out, and Lalit Yadav replaces Powell. In that scenario, Mustafizur could share the Impact Player role with Shaw. That, though, would also mean three left-arm seamers in the side, to go with two left-arm spinners.

Stats that matter

• Since the start of 2021, Rahul’s powerplay strike rate in the IPL is just 109.73. He picks up as the innings progresses, scoring at 149.09 in the middle phase and 207.14 at the death.
• In the same time period, Rahul hasn’t been able to score freely against left-arm fingerspinners: a strike rate of 111.46 even though he has a healthy average of 35.00. Capitals can use Axar Patel to tie him down. Against Axar, Rahul has managed only 22 runs off 34 balls while getting out twice.
• In contrast, Pooran has smashed Axar for 30 runs off nine balls without any dismissals. Pooran can be equally destructive against pace as well. In fact, he is one of only three batters in IPL history with 200-plus runs at a strike rate of above 150 against both pace and spin. Andre Russell and Virender Sehwag are the other two.
• In T20 cricket, Ravi Bishnoi has dismissed Warner three times in six balls. He has had the better of Powell too: four dismissals in 34 balls for 28 runs.

Pitch and conditions

Lucknow has hosted six T20Is to date – teams batting first have won five of those. The only time a chasing team won, Hardik Pandya called the pitch “a shocker”. In that game, New Zealand scored 99 for 8 batting first, and India chased it down on the penultimate ball of the match. During the 2022-23 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Lucknow had hosted 14 games. Teams struggled to post big totals then as well.

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

• KL Rahul looking forward to Riley Meredith's 'proper pace' in IPL 2021

• Virat Kohli, Vikram Rathour back KL Rahul as India T20I opener

• On show in Pune: England and India's differing methods of ODI batting

• Why India's recent debutants might make other sides envious

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.”

Alzarri Joseph and Sunil Ambris also on the comeback trail, following injuries, for the two-Test series against India in October

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2018Jomel Warrican, the left-arm spinner, returned to the West Indies Test squad for their two-match series against India in October. Warrican played the last of his four Tests in January 2016, but was handed a red-ball contract by Cricket West Indies in January this year, indicating that he remained very much part of their plans.Warrican has spent the last two months with the West Indies A team, playing England Lions and India A in England. While his numbers from those games are not particularly striking, he did cause the touring Sri Lankans issues in May, claiming 4 for 81 in a warm-up game in Tarouba. In India, he will offer West Indies a second-specialist spin option behind legspinner Devendra Bishoo.Alzarri Joseph, the 21-year old fast bowler, is also set to return to Test cricket after more than a year. Joseph broke into the West Indies side as a 19-year-old in 2016 and has since played six Tests, the last of which was last August in England. Joseph is returning from a stress fracture in his back, which he picked up in New Zealand in December. He returned to limited-overs cricket in the preceding series at home, against Bangladesh, and was picked in the squad for the second Test of that series. He, however, did not play, making this his first chance at long-form cricket since the injury.Batsman Sunil Ambris is also back for his first Test of the year, having missed out recently due to injury, according to West Indies’ chairman of selectors Courtney Brown. It is not clear what the injury was. Ambris had fractured his left forearm during the series against New Zealand last December – his debut series, where he was hit-wicket twice in two games – but it was believed that he had recovered from that injury ahead of West Indies’ home-summer series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Jahmar Hamilton, the uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman, also made the 15. Hamilton was picked for the home Tests against Sri Lanka but didn’t get a game. In India, he will provide back-up with the gloves to Shane Dowrich.

West Indies Test squad

Jason Holder (capt), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican

Batsman Devon Smith, who made a return this season against Sri Lanka after three years out of the team, and fast bowler Miguel Cummins are the only two to miss out from the squad that played the Bangladesh series.Browne said: “The panel congratulates Jason Holder and his team on the excellent performance against Bangladesh. As the team embarks on a tough tour of India, the successes against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh should hold them in good stead. The panel welcomes back Sunil Ambris, who missed the last couple of series due to injury, along with Jomel Warrican, who adds a second spin-bowling option to the attack.”While West Indies are coming off a convincing 2-0 series win against Bangladesh and a drawn series against Sri Lanka, they have struggled significantly against their upcoming opponents. Their last Test win against India came in Kingston in 2002, while their last Test success in India was a 243-run win in Mohali in 1994.The two Tests in India will be followed by five ODIs and three T20Is.

Tim Paine and Pat Cummins showed fight with the bat, and Cummins was a constant threat with the ball, too, but South Africa remained firmly in control of the match, and almost certain to complete a historic home series win against Australia

The Report by Brydon Coverdale01-Apr-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:53