His being dropped may not be the worst thing, but it does dent his halo, bringing him down to the ranks of the merely very good

Osman Samiuddin14-Oct-2024As first tasks go, telling Babar Azam that he was about to be dropped must have been some introduction to selection for Azhar Ali. Welcome to the committee. Before you settle in, here’s the mess you’ve inherited. Mind cleaning it up, pronto?Thankfully Azhar is used to this kind of stuff given his introduction to international cricket was the soap operatic mess of the 2010 tour of England, and that at one down, it was pretty much his entire JD. He’s a good, empathetic man, who probably would have wanted the responsibility of telling Babar he was going to be dropped. It can’t have been an easy call, and made no lighter by the almost ironic twist that it was under Babar’s captaincy that Azhar’s Test career ended, sooner, perhaps, than Azhar would’ve liked.These days, of course, teams tiptoe around the idea that anyone is being dropped. “Rested” as the PCB said diplomatically in their press release. A later communication said that Babar had been “spared from the team”, which, given recent results and mood, well, you can picture Freud slipping can’t you?Related

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Whatever the semantics, it is a big call. A bigly call, even. So big it’s difficult to recall a bigger one in recent Pakistan history (maybe Inzi after the 2003 World Cup). Big players have been banned, punished, forced to retire, yes, but dropped for as mundane a reason as form? And make no mistake, they don’t come bigger than Babar, Pakistan’s best batter, in the conversation to be their greatest ever, their unquestioned all-format captain until not long ago, and – because these things matter – the biggest draw in Pakistan cricket. That he was helped on to that last pedestal by the very board that is now nudging him off it is by the by, of course. The simultaneous absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the second Test amplifies the sense of a culling of stars, but fast bowlers, Pakistan have always thought, are expendable. The epicentre is Babar.So yes, a big call. Was it one Pakistan had to make? Is this really the call that turns their fortunes around?At one level, this is a proper Statement Axing. There’s a(nother) new selection committee in town. Pakistan have suffered another record-breaking, earth-shattering loss. Drastic change feels necessary. Scapegoats must be found, and the captain can’t be sacked one Test into the series. So sack the former captain. Even by the PCB’s standards, this selection committee is an eclectic mix of the outré and strait-laced sensibility – Aaqib Javed and Aleem Dar with Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali – but it’s telling they were unanimous in their view on Babar. The captain and coach weren’t involved in the decision, and given their pleas for continuity, it’s logical to assume they are not entirely pleased with the call.

There is a tangible sense that a break really might do Babar good, that what he needs most is to decompress. The last couple of years have been especially taxing and toxic

It is possible, though, to see a level where it does make sense. That isn’t concerned so much with the batting and the returns, because those can be argued either way. Yes, the numbers aren’t great. Yes, he’s getting dismissed early and he’s getting dismissed when he’s set. Yes, he’s getting beaten on the outside edge and the inside. Yes, he’s falling to pace and spin.No, his form doesn’t feel terminally bad. Two years without a half-century sounds like a long stretch, time-wise, but no, nine Tests without one doesn’t sound so long Tests-wise. That is part of the problem. Pakistan just don’t play that many Tests and those they do come with great irregularity. These nearly two years, for example, include a stretch of no Tests for six months, then nearly five months without one, then almost eight months without one again. How do you get out of a rut and into a run in this stop-start schedule? Ollie Pope not scoring runs in a few Tests, for instance, is less complicated, given there’s almost always another Test right around the corner for him to right things. And if Pope has issues, he knows he has Marcus Trescothick, England’s batting coach since 2021, to turn to. Babar? Speed dates spend more time getting to know each other than Babar has had with some coaches lately. So given his track record and the general acknowledgment that he remains Pakistan’s best batter, retaining him for the remaining two Tests against England would have been far from a terrible call.Instead, more than the runs or the form is this tangible sense that a break really might do him good, that what he needs most is to decompress. The last couple of years have been especially taxing and toxic. Stripped of the captaincy, given parts of it back, then having to let go again; poor results cascading in tune with administrative clownery; becoming the eye of every storm, whether it is the culture wars over his intent in T20s and ODIs, the obsessive, magnified dissection of his lack of Test runs, the dismissals of his insipid captaincy, or the growing talk of team factions and disunity. Against this, a break should be considered a period of convalescence.At the very least, it is a moment to pause and breathe and take in the giddying journey of his last few years. Hardly had he established himself as a Test batter in early 2019 than he was rising to all-format captain in 2020 and to global superstardom shortly thereafter. The relentless playing schedule, the burgeoning celebrity and its distorting effects since, have likely sheened onto this period a sense of unreality. It’s worth trying to unwrap that. Maybe even for him to tend to his primary occupation, by working on his batting with someone and rediscovering what made him so good.Since the start of January 2023, Babar has averaged 20, as against 49 before•AFP/Getty ImagesRisk is inherent, of course, in that genuine resets in the Pakistani context are rare, and in an environment as corrosive as the prevailing one… well, there’s as much chance he comes back broken as he does having not taken a meaningful break, and as captain. There’s a reason why so many Pakistani cricketers never willingly take a break, because they know well the vagaries of Pakistan selection.Which is why there is an overriding sense of sadness about all this. Babar wasn’t supposed to be just another talented Pakistani cricketer. It really did feel like he was the real deal, the batter who, one day, we would look back on as the undisputed greatest in Pakistan’s history, who rode out pace and bounce in Australia and South Africa, who coped expertly with seam and swing in England and New Zealand, who plundered at home and on the subcontinent, and who maybe even won a world title along the way.He may still get there eventually, but that road is a crooked one now. He’s been tarred with a little mortality, suddenly pervious to the tremors and jitters of ordinary cricketers. In the long term, and for a life away from the game, it is probably no bad thing. Call it a life lesson. In the short term, that’s hardly consolation.

No team before New Zealand has won a Test by over 300 runs after losing the previous Test in the same series by over 300 runs

Sampath Bandarupalli17-Dec-2024423 – New Zealand’s victory margin of 423 runs in Hamilton is their joint-highest by runs in Test cricket. They won by the same margin runs against Sri Lanka in 2018 in Christchurch after setting a target of 660 runs.1 – New Zealand is the first team to win by a margin of over 300 runs after losing the previous Test in the series by over 300 runs – they lost the second Test of the series against England by 323 runs in Wellington.This has never happened before.England beat Australia by 322 runs in the first match of the 1936-37 Ashes before Australia returned the favour with a 365-run win in the third Test.Related

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Twice before has a team won consecutive Tests in a series by over 300 runs.South Africa beat Australia by 307 and 323 runs in consecutive matches in the 1970 home series and did the same in the home series in 2018 with victories by 322 and 492 runs.10 – New Zealand have played ten Tests at Seddon Park since their previous defeat there, in 2012 against South Africa. They have won eight out of these ten, while the other two ended in draws.1 – England is the first team to lose by a margin of 400-plus runs twice in a calendar year – they suffered a 434-run defeat against India in February in Rajkot.Six of the 15 instances of wins by 400-plus runs in Tests have come against England.13 – Men to have scored 40-plus runs and taken three or more wickets in both innings of a Test match, including Mitchell Santner in Hamilton. He is the first player to achieve this feat in men’s Test cricket since Daniel Vettori against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2008.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1925 – Runs by Joe Root in Tests against New Zealand, the most by any batter, surpassing Javed Miandad’s tally of 1919. Root also has the most runs by a batter in Tests against India, with 2846.Root is only the second player to be the leading run-scorer against two different teams. Kumar Sangakkara is the top-scorer in Tests against both Pakistan (2911) and Bangladesh (1816).1006 – Root’s runs in New Zealand in Tests, making him the first visiting player to score over 1000 Test runs in the country. Root also has the most 50-plus scores in New Zealand by a visiting player – he has done it eight times.27 – Test wickets for Santner in 2024, making it the joint-most wickets by a New Zealand spinner in a calendar year since Vettori took 54 in 2008. Vettori also took 27 wickets in Tests in 2009.7 – Hauls of four or more wickets by New Zealand spinners in Tests in 2024. Santner and Ajaz Patel each took three, while Glenn Phillips contributed one. This tally is the second highest for New Zealand’s spinners in a calendar year, behind the nine they recorded in 2008, of which eight were by Vettori.

The likes of Kallis and de Villiers conquered the world in 2012, and all signs suggest the current team, too, is at the very least heading in the right direction

Firdose Moonda30-Nov-20242:56

Takeaways: Coetzee’s injury a real concern for SA

The first job is done. South Africa won the opening match of their four-Test summer in such commanding fashion that it not only suggests some of the ghosts of 2019, when they lost to Sri Lanka at the same venues this series is being played at, are buried; but also that real progression has been made in the last year.Take the simple comparison of their batting numbers. Between the Boxing Day Test of 2019 and the Boxing Day Test of 2023, South Africa played 25 Tests and had eight hundreds between them. Between last year’s Boxing Day Test and the completed Durban Test against Sri Lanka, they have played nine Tests and have nine hundreds in the batting line-up. Eight of those nine hundreds have been scored by different players. A difference as stark as that can be played by a combination of factors, including players gaining experience and confidence and them finding consistency. For Test coach Shukri Conrad the real reason is resilience where runs aren’t coming.”When the conditions are tough, we needed to be better. We can’t just roll over and fold like a pack of cards, like we’ve had the habit of doing,” he said at the post-match press conference. “We saw it in Guyana when it went around around corners there, we were found wanting to a large degree. If it wasn’t for Piedtie (Dane Piedt) and Nandre (Burger’s tenth-wicket partnership of 63) partnership, who knows what that result could have been. For me, the growth is when the conditions are really tough, we’re eliminating whatever potential risks there are and summing up those conditions better and doing the tough graft a lot better.”Related

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The opposite was evidenced in Durban. In muddy weather, with the ball moving around, South Africa were reduced to 117 for 7 in the 35 over after being put in to bat. They could have been 130 all out, and under serious pressure. Instead, South Africa made 191, thanks to Temba Bavuma’s 70 and small but vital contributions from the lower order, and still had enough time to bowl in helpful conditions.Bavuma’s first-innings score will slip into the footnotes of his career, especially after he went to score a second-innings hundred, but it was the one of the performances that had the biggest say on the final outcome. It was quintessential Bavuma with very few flashy shots (apart from that ramp off Lahiru Kumara which is an image Bavuma should frame) and oodles of patience. It was not recognised as the player of the match performance, and Bavuma did not receive the award at all after Marco Jansen took the best figures by a fast bowler in Durban, but he did put a personal best in number and sentiment. He had not crossed fifty twice in the same match before this one, and he has never had such a decisive say in a crucial win.”I thought this was his best Test match that he’s played, given what’s gone before,” Conrad said. “He’s come off a long layoff, and the way he’s battled through stuff, that really epitomises Temba. He was exceptional in this Test match. That 70 went a long way to give us something respectable to build to. Temba was super special this Test.”But he wasn’t the only one. Conrad lavished praise on the injured Wiaan Mulder for “suggesting that he walk in early because he still wants to contribute” on the second day and showing “mental and physical toughness I want to build this team around.” And he showered Tristan Stubbs with superlatives after his second Test hundred in two matches. “He celebrated his hundred the way he celebrates when any bowler takes a wicket as well,” Conrad said, referring to the signature Stubbs’ leap. “And that makes him so special. He just loves playing cricket. He loves playing for South Africa. He’s the heartbeat of this team.”Shukri Conrad on Tristan Stubbs: “He just loves playing cricket. He loves playing for South Africa”•AFP/Getty ImagesThe words being used to describe this South African team are very different to the vocabulary of eras gone by when being tough was a defining characteristic. Before the Test, Bavuma was asked about being “decent,” and said both the players and the coaching staff see that as a quality they were with pride. Afterwards, Conrad called them “an authentic group,” where “nothing is artificial,” and explained their bond beyond the boundary.”We continually encourage guys to be themselves, both on and off the field,” he said. “Winning obviously helps. Let’s not undervalue that. But they’re just a great bunch of guys that get on with it. Just you do you and be you, and we’ll make this whole thing work.”If that sounds more like relationship advice rather than team building, you may be glad to hear there was only a little more. Conrad described Stubbs as a “guy that you want your daughter to bring home,” but then quickly went back to cricket-speak. The coach is under no illusions that sporting success is not judged on the cute and cuddly, but is cut-throat. “At the end of the day, we get judged on cricket results and performances, not the type of characters we are.””We continually encourage guys to be themselves, both on and off the field,” he said. “Winning obviously helps. Let’s not undervalue that. But they’re just a great bunch of guys that get on with it. Just you do you and be you, and we’ll make this whole thing work.”So far, under Conrad, so good. The understrength team in the New Zealand series aside, South Africa have not lost a series under him and though the sample size is small at just four it is a sign that something is working. South Africa are no longer a team of superstars. Apart from Kagiso Rabada, they don’t have any record holders or names that could appear in all-time XIs, and they don’t seem to mind.When Bavuma name-dropped comparisons between AB de Villiers and Stubbs (“He kind of reminds me a little bit of batting with AB, who was always intense, always reminding you what your plans are, making sure that you’re in tune with what you’re doing”) and Jacques Kallis and Mulder (“I’m not saying he’s Jacques Kallis, but I think he has the characteristics. He’s got the skill to be able to emulate a little bit of what Jacques did.”) it sounded more like he was making the point that eras change and things move on than an attempt to equate some of his younger players with the legends they look up to.That team, the de Villiers-Kallis (and Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel) team became No.1 in the world in 2012. This team is trying to do the same thing. They have to win three more matches, with significant injury concerns in the bowling attack, to give themselves a chance. Whatever happens, one thing is clear: they are moving in the right direction.

With 31 needed off 10 balls, calm Aussie sets up Somerset’s thrilling win over Surrey

Andrew Miller24-Apr-2025Was this proof of concept in a single thrilling tussle? To be at Beckenham on a historic day for women’s county cricket was to be privy to a host of competing, often conflicting, narratives … more of which shortly. However, the day’s events ended up being governed by one over-arching, all-conquering truth.As Gary Lineker didn’t quite say: Women’s cricket is played by 22 players over the course of an afternoon, and in the end, the Australian wins it.Though she’s still only 27, Amanda-Jade Wellington has not played a match for Australia for three years and counting. And yet, when she strode to the middle with two overs of Somerset’s spirited but stiff run-chase remaining, she did so with precisely the conviction that English women’s cricket is deemed to have been lacking throughout a winter of deep and lasting discontent.Which is not to say that it’s her nationality wot won it, but when you face your first ball with 31 runs still needed from 10 deliveries, and duly help yourself to six fours in seven balls to set up a last-ball burglary, it’s hard not to assume that correlation and causation are one and the same.Related

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“Naah, never!” Wellington declared afterwards, when asked if she feared that Somerset’s hopes were already dead and buried, by the time she took strike for that first delivery from Ryana MacDonald-Gay.Wellington’s finesse was remarkable to behold. There was a stillness to her decision-making from first ball to last – an early movement around the crease, but invariably a late decision to engage, as she waited for the ball to arrive then dinked it across a lush and rapid outfield. Four times she stroked MacDonald-Gay through the arc between cover and deep third, with not even a switch to round the wicket disturbing her thought process.Then, after repeating the dose against Alice Davidson-Richards, Wellington changed her tack at the sixth time of asking, walking across to the off-side to flick her sixth consecutive four through fine leg and bring the requirement down to two off two.”I just played my game,” she said. “I know it really well. I saw an opportunity where there was a massive gap. I know I’m not the strongest player, so I’m not going to hit sixes everywhere. I have to find a way to try and manipulate the field, and use the pace on the ball. That’s something I’m known for, and it worked today.”A scrambled leg-bye drew the scores level, but even with her direct role in the contest over, Wellington’s positivity shone through for Fran Wilson’s winning moment.”Naaah, there was no doubt when the field went up,” Wellington said. “I just said to Fran, if it’s a slower ball, go for it, because there’s no-one out there, and if you miss it, we’re running anyway. I back Fran Wilson every day of the week and she got us over the line.”It clearly wasn’t a one-woman show – even if Wellington was also the star turn with the ball, claiming 3 for 42 with her legspin, including two of the three England regulars in a star-studded Surrey top-order, Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Alice Capsey.Amanda-Jade Wellington’s composed innings took Somerset to the brink of victory•Andrew MillerThere was also the small matter of Heather Knight’s return to competition, three months on from another Australia-dominated tussle in the Ashes. “We call her spring chicken … golden arm!” Wellington joked, after Knight picked off Sophia Dunkley with her second ball of the match, then embarked on a tangibly determined knock of 64 from 54 balls to give Somerset’s run-chase the ideal tempo.A comeback hundred wasn’t to be, but as she stamped her mark on an opening partnership of 122 with Emma Corney, Knight’s performance – in only her third domestic List A match since 2021 – underlined the value of England’s senior players being placed front and centre of this rebooted county competition.”It’s very important for the England players to be playing domestic cricket,” Johann Myburgh, Surrey’s head coach, said. “It’s great to see on both sides. Having them around is great for us as a group, but it’s also great for them as cricket players, in terms of having consistency and understanding how they want to play their cricket.”If you came down and watched the game today, you’d have seen a very high standard of cricket,” he added. “The game in the last five years has been evolving and getting better. The professionalisation of the game means players can spend more hours on their craft, they can enhance themselves physically and mentally, and this is just another step in that process.”It is, however, a process that will need some fine-tuning as the season unfolds. For all the fine words about the unification of the men’s and women’s games, there was something jarring about Surrey choosing Kent’s second home, Beckenham, as their venue for this historic relaunch.The logic was sound, so far as it went. For four years, this was the regular base for the now defunct South-East Stars, the regional set-up whose logo remains painted on the wall of the indoor school, so there was at least a degree of continuity for the many players who have transferred their allegiance to the Three Feathers.And yet, amid the bold talk of new men’s and women’s changing-rooms in a soon-to-be-refitted Kia Oval, it was a bit odd, at the very least, not to launch the new era on the same stage that has welcomed the men since 1845. And while the morning rain did little to lure the good folk of Bromley along to witness history, at no stage in the day did the main stand number more than 15 people.The logic for the snub was fair enough, if you’re being generous. Despite its vast proportions, the pressure on The Oval’s playing surfaces is already intense, not least due to the need to use its outer strips for net practice. Plus, there was no expense spared on Surrey’s live stream, a market-leading production in itself, with close to 3000 people tuning into its six-camera production for the finale.Things will be different when the T20 Blast takes centre stage in May, including four double-headers slated for The Oval in June and July. Then again, such exclusionary scheduling is part of the reason why the women’s game is currently playing such urgent catch-up. It’s not a distinction that the other Tier 1 clubs have felt the need to make.Instead, looming over the contest was the livery of Kent – grumpily consigned to Tier 2 of the new competition, from where their remit may well be to keep pumping their best players across the Medway, at least until they are permitted to bid for professional status from 2029 onwards.Surrey made a token effort to counter this anomaly, with two temporary signs and a further drape on the main gate, strategically positioned to blot out some of their rivals’ branding. They couldn’t do much about the vast prancing horse logo on the roof of the indoor school, however, which tends to give the complex the curious vibe of a disused Ferrari factory.Still, Myburgh wasn’t fazed by the circumstances of this launch event – “it’s been an absolute pleasure to be a part of the Surrey family,” he said – while Wellington was also happy enough with her first taste of the county grind.”It’s cold, but it’s a lovely ground,” she said. “It’s very picturesque and very English, and I think it’s very homely. It was great to see a good little crowd coming out and supporting not only Surrey but also Somerset as well, and I was very honoured to be a part of it. To put on a game like that for all the fans and everyone watching on the live stream, I couldn’t be prouder.”

While Afridi made the noise, it was the quiet brilliance of Shafique that sealed Qalandars’ victory

Danyal Rasool23-May-2025″I don’t usually win things, I always win things in my second season,” Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou told the presenter, having re-evaluated and decided his initial brag, largely irrelevant to the immediate conversation, obviously wasn’t sufficient. Yet in the world of sport where results top all else, that clip has now been reimagined – after his side’s unlikely march to the Europa League title – from the vapid boast of a bruised ego into a confident prediction of unparalleled swagger.There is, however, another clip of a brooding man with a dash of arrogance standing in front of a presenter, answers calculatedly curt and dismissive to make the exchange as uncomfortable as possible. Eighteen days earlier, Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi quietly seethed at the post-match presentations, having lost a bruiser of a game to Karachi Kings, one that left them vulnerable to yet another group-stage knockout. Interviewer Zainab Abbas tried to get some value out of the exchange, wondering if pressure had affected the bowlers, only to be dismissed with a shake of the head before the question was even completed. When asked what the bowlers had discussed in the crucial overs towards the end, “not much” is all Afridi offered.”This is not the end of the tournament; we’re still in the tournament,” Afridi said. “We’ll meet them in the semi-final [Eliminator].”

****

On Thursday, David Warner won the toss, and decided to bat first. He’d be facing Afridi first ball. Moments after the Qalandars captain had concluded that testy interview in the wake of defeat, the Kings captain had twisted the knife into his back further. He called Afridi’s belief the Gaddafi pitch would spin “baffling” and had followed it up by smashing orthodox spinner Asif Afridi for 20 in his first over in the powerplay. The message in the mind games was pretty obvious. .David Warner made 75, winning the battle with Shaheen Shah Afridi after soaking in the initial blows•PCBAfridi doesn’t forget slights easily, and this one is likely to have stuck. He started out with a slip and appeared to leave Warner unsure about his footwork for each of the first three deliveries before the Australian worked him away and got himself off strike. Afridi stared him down the length of the pitch as he took that single. Afridi had produced the first jab, and Warner swerved out of the way.But sporting narratives rarely produce the neat arc that is too often retrospectively moulded around them. The next ball, Afridi lost control of the movement as it sneaked past the keeper for five wides. Tim Seifert followed it up by smashing two errant deliveries for fours. At the start of his next over, Warner lofted him for four before clipping him over midwicket for six. So much for that first jab.Afridi had taken Warner’s advice. He didn’t once turn to spin in the powerplay, but Warner was controlling the game all the same. Zaman Khan bowled a tidy first over, but as he attempted to close the powerplay out, Warner unleashed, plundering him for 20. When Afridi returned later on after Haris Rauf had staunched the bleeding somewhat, Warner would treat him as his release valve once more. Since that promising first over, the Qalandars captain bowled nine deliveries to his Kings counterpart; they produced 23 runs. By the time Afridi was done, Kings had taken 47 runs off him; just twice in 81 PSL innings has he allowed more runs off his bowling.

****

Abdullah Shafique is much harder to centre in any narrative than his Qalandars captain. Two years earlier, he had played a title-winning knock in a humdinger of a PSL final, scoring 65 off 40 as Qalandars became the only team to retain the PSL trophy, winning by one run. It is easy to forget, though, because Afridi had come in and smashed an unbeaten 44 off 15, taken four wickets in the second innings, and walked away with the Player-of-the-Match award.As Abdullah Shafique ashowed, his classically elegant technique does not smother his shotmaking•PCBToday, as the home team pursued the 191 they needed to stay alive, Shafique recessed into the background. Fakhar Zaman, the ultimate big-match player, had begun beating the path to victory he finds so often in big games. While Shafique took his time to start, Fakhar was finishing off the powerplay with a 16-run takedown of Kings’ quick Fawad Ali. While he had raced to 47 off 27, Shafique nudged his first eight balls around, and had five runs to show for it.But then again, where he’s batting is in itself indicative of his comfort with letting his team-mates bask in the spotlight. Usually an opener, he bats three for Qalandars, allowing the rookie Mohammad Naeem to take his preferred place atop the order. “When you play at No. 3, it is a different phase of the innings, and batting there has helped me understand and learn how to play there,” Shafique said. “I believe it’ll help me in my normal game as well.”Just then, Fawad had returned to the attack, and drawn a miscue out of Fakhar, one Mohammad Nabi clung to at mid-off. Qalandars were behind the asking rate and their talisman was gone; Shafique’s obvious talent and quality has not yet translated into the aura Fakhar has earned, and Kings had edged ahead.Related

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But, as Shafique pointed out, his classically elegant technique does not smother his shotmaking. “The way the modern game is, you have to adapt with it. It’s not a change in training, but a change in mindset. If your mindset is positive and you show intent, you will look to score runs and opportunities will present themselves.”There was little doubting Shafique’s mindset. He found a boundary or six off every bowler he faced; Nabi, the most economical bowler in the league, was slapped for a pair of sixes as he conceded 37 wicketless runs in his quota. Hasan Ali was lofted over long-on, Abbas Afridi languidly flicked above fine leg, and then pulled over square. When he finally did fall, he had smashed 65 in 35, and what remained for Qalandars was academic.As he sat down for the post-match press conference, the Player-of-the-Match trophy – on this day unquestionably his, was plopped down on the table. He asked for it to be removed from the view of the camera, easing it far out of his line of sight. “I want to play an important part in my team winning the match. You don’t get that satisfaction even if you perform if the team doesn’t perform.”Perhaps it is players like him that allowed Afridi to be so certain that day Kings had put Qalandars on the brink. It may still not have been the Qalandars captain’s finest moment, but with talent of Shafique’s ilk to rely upon, it is difficult to begrudge Afridi his over-confidence, and the basking in glory that will, at some point, have to be shared with Shafique more evenly.

Ben Stokes insists his team-mates will be able to pull him up on bowling too much

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Jun-20251:00

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The first day of a five-Test series feels a little early for self-flagellation. But there was Ben Stokes, pushing the limits of traditional frustration with a repenting evening spell.The re-constructed knee, the recently re-weaved hamstring, pushed to the brink of their warranties, producing an average speed of 83mph across this spell, albeit with impressive comfort. Or rather, as comfortable as you can be bending your back on a flat deck as the sun beams 30-degree-Celsius rays upon you.The seven-over spell veered close to “long” territory, with six in a row after the tea break. Stokes insists, now that he is back to active duty as a full allrounder, his team-mates will be able to pull him up on bowling too much. But Ben, who might tap you on your flogged shoulder to take the whip out of your hand?Related

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Yashasvi Jaiswal and an exceptional understanding of how to score runs

Jaiswal, Gill tons begin India's new Test era in style

It all made sense, by the way. Stokes was the best bowler on show, 2 for 43 from 13 encouragingly smooth overs, so why wouldn’t he keep doing it? The dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal – angled into off stump and then seaming to beat the edge of a bat that had already carved 101 – showcasing the skill still in those fingers. And the late-repenting justified by a day of utter domination from India’s top-order, finishing on 359 for 3 that began with Stokes putting them in.You didn’t need the score at stumps to have witnessed the two gorgeous centuries from Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, or seen England’s largely fortuitous initial double-strike, to have reservations over the decision. Much like Nasser Hussain’s infamous dud call in Brisbane back in 2002, the buck stops with Stokes.The explanation from the England camp was a peculiar one even after all that. The colour of the pitch on Thursday suggested to them that there was a touch of moisture that would remain by the morning. But with bright blue, cloudless skies and with the temperature already uncomfortably high at 10am, with a distinct mug in the air?1:45

Manjrekar: Rahul, Jaiswal made England bowling look ‘insipid’

Were they influenced by history? The last six teams to win at Headingley had done so bowling first. But dig a little deeper into the last three and you’ll find overcast skies and a spongy deck for England’s innings battering of India in 2021, clouds and showers forecast for the 2023 Ashes Test, and a weary New Zealand opting to bat first on their way to a hat-trick of fourth-innings Bazball maulings.Perhaps this was more about the team’s own nature? Since the start of the Stokes-Brendon McCullum era (2022 summer), England have now won ten tosses at home and batted first just once. It became a joke in the midst of this run that Stokes should respond to correct calls of the coin with “we’ll have a chase”. Oh boy, will you.There was willingness from England’s bowlers throughout. But they were not quite right. They started well to find what movement they could without being great, but it was often from too wide. And then when they opted for off stump, they were too short. Of the five venues that will host matches in this series, this is the one where you need to be the fullest – just under six metres, the other four venues are over – to hit the top of the stumps.1:25

Manjrekar: ‘Gill tackled the grey areas of his batting’

An inexperienced attack could not quite nail their cues. And though Brydon Carse made a decent fist of what was not just his first home Test but only the 15th time in first-class cricket in England that he has started with the new ball. Alas, his penchant for overstepping was costly, with Jaiswal on 45 when England lost out on reviewing a “not out” lbw appeal that would have come back in their favour. Josh Tongue found his extra pace and bounce used against him, particularly by Gill – 34 off 31 against the Nottinghamshire quick – who relished the cat-and-mouse of England’s desperate short-ball ploy.Most humbling for England would have been the way Headingly quietened throughout the day, but for the regular applause of various Indian milestones and irregular cheers for rare English breakthroughs. This isn’t just England’s house, but Stokes’ temple. And six years after his joy-giving miracle that is commemorated in various art forms outside this ground, his and his team’s hardships were unfolding in front of an increasingly disinterested and thinning congregation.Of the many factors that motivate Stokes, digging his team out of trouble and making amends for his own errors elicit the strongest responses on the field. Even if we are still early in this Test, and even earlier in this series, we know there will be more flagellation to come.Having got England into this position with his call, he’ll do his best to get them out of it with his actions. The problem is there is already plenty to do in this innings alone, and most of it will have to be done by Stokes.

On Monday, Test cricket threw Indian fans into a situation they had no idea how to live through. Who knows when, or if, we will ever experience something like this again

Karthik Krishnaswamy06-Aug-20255:30

Gill on Oval Test win: ‘Such moments make you feel that the journey is worth it’

Sometimes, Test cricket throws even its most seasoned watchers into situations they have no idea how to live through. On Monday afternoon IST, when a desperately backtracking, desperately diving Akash Deep tips Gus Atkinson’s slog off Mohammed Siraj over the boundary cushions at wide long-on, he also tips all of India’s millions of fans into unknown territory.None of us, not even the oldest among us, has lived through anything like this.England, with their last pair at the crease, need 11 to win. Two hits will do it.India have never won a Test match by a margin smaller than 13 runs. They have won once by one wicket, but they have never lost by that margin. They have been involved in a tied Test and a draw with one wicket remaining and scores level, but they batted last both times. Three last-wicket pairs have saved Tests against them, but on none of those occasions had an India defeat been possible.Related

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• The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

Never before, in short, have India’s players been on the field, together, in this situation: one wicket away from victory, and a hit or two away from defeat. Never have we, their fans, watched them deal with this and attempted to deal with it ourselves.What previous experience would we even compare with this? Brisbane 2021 felt like a fairytale all the way through that final day, but through its last ten minutes or so, we were almost certain we were winning. We had begun to pinch ourselves long before the winning hit trickled over the rope. It was magic, but not of this kind.The closest we have come to this could-go-either-way feeling was, perhaps, Mohali 2010. India were chasing then, and were a wicket away from defeat. Our hopes rested on a man with a crocked back, magic wrists, and a team-mate doing his running. It was glorious, but did it feel like this? Was this much at stake? As the first of two Tests rather than the fifth of five, did it feel this… gladiatorial?We have tasted agony and ecstasy many times before, then, but neither of the kind that is imminent. Which one will it be, and what will it feel like? And until it happens, what are we to do with ourselves?We have experienced, in the last half-century, the thrill of nine previous Tests ending with margins of ten runs or fewer, and ten with one-wicket margins. On 18 of those 19 occasions, that thrill was undiluted, or unenriched, by partisanship. Cricket won no matter who won, and we won too. India weren’t in the picture. We may have celebrated with Geraint Jones or fumed at Billy Bowden when Edgbaston 2005 reached its climax, but that is preference, a pseudo-partisanship sullied by rationality, and not the raw, pulsing ache of the real thing.3:04

Bangar hails ‘Herculean effort’ from Siraj

This, now, is the real thing. It matters like hell who wins. It matters so much that we even feel, to some degree, how much it must matter to those out in the middle.How much it must matter to them.To Akash Deep, whose futile attempt to catch Atkinson is the latest in a series of fielding mishaps that add a tinge of both tragedy and farce to his fate of being the non-bowling member of India’s three-man strike force on this final day, spent after sending down 20 overs, fuelled by painkilling injections.To Prasidh Krishna, taker of eight wickets in the match, four in each innings, in danger of being judged not by that fact but by his last ball: a pretty good ball in most contexts, but here, too close to the batter, with too spread-out a field, allowing Atkinson to clip away the single that keeps him on strike.To Atkinson, on strike again, aware that he will have to do it off his bat and his alone, with even the act of running reducing his partner to debilitating pain.To Chris Woakes, the non-striker, for whom a dislocated shoulder is merely a problem to be solved. This right-handed man who bowls, throws and bats right-handed has decided, having explored every option in the nets, to face up left-handed should he need to – a gloriously absurd misnomer with his left hand and arm out of commission and hidden away in his jumper.To Siraj, who put the word ‘Believe’ on his phone wallpaper this morning, upon whose intensity and venom the exertions of bowling 30 overs in an innings about to enter its 86th have had no effect.This isn’t just one contest of ball and bat in lives defined by ball and bat. This is, while they live it, life itself.It does odd things to the watcher. Involuntary drummings and entwinings of fingers unused to separation from mobile devices. Restless bladders. Constricted throats. A pressure in the cheeks. A prickling in the tear ducts.1:15

Monga: India’s series was all about Mohammed Siraj

For the India fan, all this comes with context. A series of Homeric drama that is about to be lost or drawn, a scoreline that is about to become 1-3 or 2-2, to follow a shattering, unprecedented 0-3 at home against New Zealand and a what-might-have-been 1-3 in Australia. A coach, a captain, former coaches, former captains, retirements. A great fast bowler who is playing this series but not this match, a fine fast bowler who is turning into a folk hero, accustomed to heartbreak but never losing belief, always certain of his power to bend the script to his will.He hurries through the crease now, for the 181st time in this innings, the 279th time in this Test match, and the 1122nd time in this series, wides and no-balls included.Cross-seam, 143kph, into the base of off stump. A bowler, a batter, a set of stumps. A swipe, a shattering. Cricket stripped to its element. Breathtaking, literally. Exhalations all around the ground, all over the world, all in sync. Realisation before thought.The Oval 2025. We have never experienced anything like it before, and who knows when, or if, we ever will again.

Only 69 runs required for victory but history dictates South Africans will remain nervous to the last

Andrew Miller13-Jun-20253:39

Steyn: SA on the brink of a ‘fantastic achievement’

No team in world cricket, and arguably the whole of sport, has a more brutal relationship with the finishing line than South Africa.It’s cruel, but essential, to state this up front, much as Shukri Conrad, their impressively phlegmatic head coach, did when – with their place in the World Test Championship final up for grabs – they slipped to 19 for 3, chasing 148, against Pakistan in December.”Do you want to be remembered as chokers?” was the gist of Conrad’s message, as the cricket world – more engaged with this contest than could ever have been possible without the WTC’s over-arching narrative – began to snipe from the shadows in the prescribed manner.The players duly got their act together and hauled themselves over the line by two wickets, in what Conrad later coined “Camel classic”, in reference to the nerve-settling smoke break he’d had with a handful of his players.Related

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If that Pakistan run-chase was a moment to savour, it is nothing compared to the euphoria that South Africa now know is within their reach, after a day of batting dominance at Lord’s that might have been beyond their most fevered hopes and desires. And yet, even now, they dare not make eye contact with the prospect, lest the whole edifice comes crashing down.Speaking at the close of play on day three, for instance, Ashwell Prince, South Africa’s batting coach, was asked about the magnitude of Temba Bavuma’s performance – on one leg for most of his unbeaten 65, while carrying one of the most unconscionable burdens in world sport, as he extended his unbroken third-wicket stand with Aiden Markram to 143.Prince started to respond with the sincerity that his captain’s heroics deserved, but checked himself mid-flow: “Maybe I should answer that question after the game.”And so, there can – and will – be no counting of chickens as South Africa’s day of destiny dawns at Lord’s on Saturday. Least of all against an Australia that are not simply the defending WTC champions, but – as their proud record in world finals can attest – as habitually certain of their ability to win from any situation as South Africa tend to be consumed by fatalism.”The messaging has been the same throughout,” Prince said. “Make them believe that they can do it, and then just step out the way and allow them to go and do it.”One of the things we said before the run-chase is: ‘the game will finish when it finishes’,” he said. “Whether that is tomorrow at lunchtime or whatever, the end of the match will take care of itself. For us, the most important thing is to remain in the moment. And from a batting point of view, that means play one ball at a time.”3:33

Prince: This team’s greatest strength is its unity

The calm within South Africa’s dressing room, Prince added, was a testament to Conrad’s unflustered approach to his role.”Shukri must get a lot of credit for that,” he said. “As soon as Aiden and Temba came up the stairs [after the third day], the first thing he said was, ‘guys, do the same as you do every night’. Don’t change a thing. Tomorrow morning, come and do the same warm-ups that you do every day. We obviously understand the magnitude of the situation and what’s at stake, but just stay calm and take it in your stride.”Just stay calm… it’s easier said than done, given what South Africa know of their fractured big-match psyche, but moreover what they know everyone else knows of it.Not that the team will be allowing the thoughts to fly so far ahead of the process, but it’s safe to assume that the ICC is already preparing its big-match montage to accompany South Africa’s winning moment… just as was the case in the last World Cup final to be staged at Lord’s, back in 2019.On that occasion, the tape memorably froze in the split-second before Jos Buttler whipped off the bails for the title-sealing run-out… and the ghosts of England’s many and miserable failures flooded into the picture. But, on this occasion, will it even be possible to exorcise so many all at once?2:56

Hayden lauds Bavuma’s ‘champion effort’

For there’s been a horror story for every format and every generation since South Africa’s readmission, up to and including their agonising loss to India – 30 runs needed from 30 balls – in their first T20 World Cup final appearance in Barbados last year.For the current scenario, however, there’s an even more on-the-nose shortcoming – arguably the founding father of the chokers tag. In Bridgetown once again, in South Africa’s very first Test match back in the fold, Kepler Wessels and Peter Kirsten had carried their side to 122 for 2, chasing 201 for victory, against a West Indies pace attack led by Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.A rest day intervened – and premature celebrations were had. But, upon the resumption, those 79 runs were never remotely challenged, as South Africa’s remaining eight wickets were culled for just 25 runs. Against an attack featuring Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon – and in light of their first-innings collapse of 5 for 12 – history is primed to repeat itself if there’s even the slightest dropping of the guard.”There’s no desire to get ahead of ourselves,” Daniel Vettori, Australia’s assistant coach, said. “I think it’s one wicket, that’s the starting point. I don’t think there’ll be any thinking around how to get eight dismissals. It’ll be simply about getting one and seeing what can happen from there.”Perhaps this fatalism really does all come from the outside now. Prince acknowledged there was a bit of low-key superstition at play while South Africa’s crucial stand was growing – everyone staying seated then rushing to the bathroom at drinks, or when Bavuma’s hamstring required treatment – but overall, he insisted the pursuit of positives was the defining aspect of their day. Even during the frustrating morning session, while Starc and Hazlewood were adding 58 for the tenth wicket.2:23

Day 3 review: Markram’s knock could be career-defining

“I think there were signs, starting yesterday evening, when you’re sitting and watching the game, that all those type of things might be positive for us,” Prince said. “There was a little bit of frustration, obviously, with the ball dropping short of the cordon all the time. But if you reverse that when we bat, it’s a little sign that something might be in our favour. The stats suggest that day three might be the best for batting, and their Nos. 9, 10 and 11 were pretty comfortable against a pretty good bowling attack.”Whether the cricket can now take care of itself, only the fourth day’s events can tell. And yet, South Africa already know they have given a good account of themselves, through the brilliance of Kagiso Rabada’s nine wickets, and the indomitability of their senior batting pair. Regardless of the final act, they have arguably already shown that the ends justify the means, when it comes to their scrutinised route to this showpiece occasion.”There was no talk about proving anybody wrong,” Prince said. “Obviously there was a lot of talk about our route to the final, and who we played against, and people have their opinions about that. I can promise you now, we’d love to play against everybody more often, especially if there’s some big-money series that we can also make some money [from].”But the important thing, from Shukri’s point of view, is to make the players aware of how good they are, and if you take them lightly, you might come short. I’m sure Australia wouldn’t have approached the game in that manner. But perhaps the rest of the world, watching the final or predicting what’s going to happen in the final, might have had that opinion.”

Sidharth Monga, Karthik Krishnaswamy and Dustin Silgardo look back on a riveting Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2025