All posts by h716a5.icu

A broken bat, a crazy run out, and a multiple Grand Slam winner. What else makes the list?

Andrew McGlashan24-Oct-2024Meg Lanning (and Ash Barty) on opening dayIt all began at Junction Oval on December 5, 2015. Melbourne Stars faced Brisbane Heat in back-to-back games on the same day in front of a crowd of 1500. Some players watched on sat in camping chairs. A number of names that remain stars of Australian cricket were on show: Beth Mooney opened alongside Grace Harris for Heat, who had Jess Jonassen at No. 3, while Meg Lanning made 165 off 114 balls across the two matches as Stars came out winners in both. However, in the middle-order for Heat, there is another name which stood out: Ash Barty. Now a retired multiple Grand Slam winner, at the time Barty was also out of tennis, having stepped away in 2014 aged 18 to play cricket. On the opening day of WBBL, she impressed with 39 off 27 balls in the first match before falling to Nat Sciver-Brunt. “It truly was an amazing period of my life,” she said in 2019. “I met an amazing group of people who couldn’t care less whether I could hit a tennis ball or not. They accepted me, and they got to know Ash Barty.” That opening innings would prove to be the high point for Barty who made 68 runs in nine matches – her major sporting success was yet to come.The first centuryThis won’t be the only time Grace Harris is mentioned in this piece. In the eighth match of the inaugural season, a few months after her international debut, she struck the competition’s first century with 103 off 55 balls against Sydney Sixers at Aquinas College in Perth. She went from her fifty to her hundred in just 22 deliveries. “I was just after ice cream,” Harris joked after the innings. “When I hit the century, Mooney came down the wicket and it didn’t really click to begin with, and then she said that I had made it because everyone was standing up, and I just said, ‘Ice cream! Ice cream!'” To cap off her day, Harris claimed 4 for 15 from two overs. She remains the only player to have scored a century and taken four wickets in a WBBL match.Harmanpreet’s landmark signingIt is well-known that India’s premier male cricketers do not appear in T20 leagues outside of the IPL, but that’s not the case in the women’s game – the upcoming season will see a record number of India names in the WBBL. In mid-2016, Harmanpreet Kaur became the first India player to join the league when she signed for Sydney Thunder. “Being the first player from my country to sign a contract for a BBL club is one of my best moments,” she said at the time. During her first season, she made 310 runs in 13 innings which included a 26-ball 56 against Heat. In the 2021 season, she was Player of the Tournament.Harmanpreet Kaur was the first Indian player to join an overseas league•Getty ImagesPushing the boundariesHere comes Grace again. By 2018, Sophie Devine (48) and Ash Gardner (47) had both gone under the 50-ball mark with centuries. Against Stars at the Gabba, Harris raised the bar further with a blistering 42-ball display which included 13 fours and six sixes. Remarkably, this came in a chase of just 133 as she made 73% of the total herself with Mooney watching on from the other end. With one run needed, Harris was on 95 and set off for the winning run but was sent back by Mooney. Three balls later, she launched Alana King down the ground for six to become the first player with multiple WBBL tons. “I’d told her that we weren’t running again and she finally got there in the end,” Mooney said.Devine’s doubleAs mentioned above, Devine had already left a mark on the WBBL but against Stars at Adelaide Oval, she produced what remains a one-off all-round starrer in the competition’s history: the only time a player has scored a half-century and taken a five-wicket haul. She had been within touching distance of matching Harris with two WBBL hundreds when she fell for 95 with an over to go, but that was only half the job done. With ball in hand, she removed four of Stars’ top six and completed her haul by claiming Nicola Hancock. semi-final run outIt is one of the iconic moments in WBBL history. It had already been a dramatic day with the first semi-final decided by a stunning boundary catch from Haidee Birkett. But the extraordinary three-player run out to force a Super Over in the second match was at another level. With three needed off the last ball, Sophie Molineux, who had batted throughout Melbourne Renegades’ chase, sliced over point and the ball appeared destined for the rope. “She’s got a four,” screamed commentator Jason Richardson. Then came a desperate dive from Erin Burns that flicked the ball back to Sarah Aley, who in turn hurled the return to Alyssa Healy. But the run-out chance was at the bowler’s end. Healy collected and in one motion spun around with a gloveless right hand and threw down the stumps. “In terms of a team play, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more special one in the context of the match and what effect it had on the game,” Ellyse Perry said. Burns added: “It was one of those moments where everything just seemed to fit perfectly. To tap it back but then Sarah to come around and the perfect throw into Midge and then to spin around no look at the stumps and throw down the other end is pretty awesome.”Ellyse Perry celebrates Sophie Molineux’s extraordinary run-out•Getty ImagesMooney, the back-to-back finals heroMooney is the WBBL’s leading run-scorer heading into the tenth season. Before her move to Perth Scorchers, she was central in Heat’s consecutive titles in the 2018-19 and 2019-2020 seasons. In the first of those, a week after the epic semi-final mentioned above, in a season where runs had not flowed to her usual standards, she defied a sweltering Sydney day while overcome effects of the flu with 65 off 46 balls to put Heat on course against Sixers. “I plonked myself in the ice bath and was a bit nervous towards the end, I couldn’t really watch,” Mooney said. The following season she was at it again, anchoring a bigger chase against Adelaide Strikers with 56 off 45 balls.Thunder win in the bubbleSomehow, the 2020 WBBL season was completed despite Covid. Played entirely in Sydney, it was not an edition remembered too fondly by a number of players with all the squads housed in a hotel bubble at the Olympic Park amid tight restrictions. But, as with much in that Australian season, it was a remarkable show of adaptability and resilience. It also concluded with a memorable result in the final where Thunder, who had produced a stunning turnaround in the semi-final against Heat, toppled Stars – one of the standout teams of the competition – by seven wickets having restricted them to just 86. Shabnim Ismail, who claimed the key wicket of Lanning, and Sammy-Jo Johnson combined to take 4 for 23 from eight overs.Broken bat? No worries for Grace Harris•Getty ImagesGarth’s powerplay masterclassAgainst Thunder in 2021, pace bowler Kim Garth produced one of the more remarkable performances seen in T20s. In the powerplay, she produced figures of 3-3-0-3 to put Stars on course to defend a low total. Garth removed Tahlia Wilson and Phoebe Litchfield in her first over, and then produced another maiden over to Smriti Mandhana. At the start of her third, she had Corinne Hall taken at slip before closing the spell with five more dots. By the time she returned for the 20th over, Stars had breathing space with 25 to defend.Harris’ broken bat”Stuff it, I’ll still hit it.” It has gone down as an immortal phrase from Grace Harris. Preparing to face up to Piepa Clearly, Harris noticed her bat handle was broken. But instead of waiting for a new one, she just got on with it. Harris launched the ball over long-on for a 72-metre six, the handle snapping away from the blade in the process to produce an iconic image that went viral. It was part of another astonishing WBBL display from Harris, who piled up a tournament-high 136 off 59 deliveries with a record 11 sixes. “When you get in the zone, you just get in the zone,” she said modestly.

The defending champions have lost three in a row, leaving their hopes of a three-peat greatly diminished

Firdose Moonda14-Jan-2025As far as title defences go, it’s fair to say Sunrisers Eastern Cape have gotten off to the worst possible start. They’ve slumped to their three biggest defeats in their history – their largest by runs in the tournament opener against MI Cape Town – and their two biggest by balls remaining in their losses to Paarl Royals and Pretoria Capitals, and thoughts of a trophy three-peat have become ever-more distant.It’s still early in SA20 2025 but the initial indications are that a significant part of the problem is in the top order, where Sunrisers have not fired. Across the three matches, their highest score by a top-three batter is Zak Crawley’s 27 against Royals, and collectively, their top three has scored 85 runs at an average of 9.44. In season 1, the top two averaged over 30 and in season 2, 22.67. There is time to build back up to that but they will need to turn things around quickly and that may start with settling on their opening pair.With Dawid Malan not part of the squad this season, Sunrisers started with Jordan Hermann and Crawley but then played against Capitals with Crawley and David Bedingham. Batting coach Russell Domingo explained that Hermann’s omission was to open up a spot for allrounder Patrick Kruger.”It was just to bring in another option. Patrick Kruger was available for the first time because he had been struggling with a cough and he is a starting player for us,” Domingo said. “David Bedingham’s obviously a quality player so we decided to give him an opportunity up the order where he’s probably best suited.”ESPNcricinfo LtdBut Bedingham has been struggling recently. Since his 59 in the Chattogram Test, he has had 12 innings across formats and been out in single figures six times. On five occasions, Bedingham has been caught by the wicketkeeper or in the slips and there may be concerns around how tight he is outside off stump.The reading is not much better for Sunrisers’s key batter Tristan Stubbs. He was their top-scorer last season but is also in a rut. Since his second-innings century in the Durban Test against Sri Lanka, Stubbs has been out in single figures five times in nine innings. His most common mode of dismissal is with deliveries in line with the stumps, when he has been late on shots and either bowled or lbw, which suggests there’s an issue with the timing of his strokes.Through Bedingham, Stubbs and captain Aiden Markram, Sunrisers will expect to score most of their runs, especially as they carry a fairly long tail. Marco Jansen’s form at No.7 is a welcome bonus though his main job is to operate as their strike bowler, another area they seem to be lacking in.Ottneil Baartman, who enjoyed a breakthrough tournament last year, missed out on the first match, returned with figures of 0 for 33 in 2.4 overs in Paarl and then took 1 for 9 at SuperSport Park. In Craig Overton and Richard Gleeson, Sunrisers have the personnel but the attack needs their batters to give them something to work with, which Markram knows. In the post-match presentation, he acknowledged lack of runs as the main concern but cited the quick turnaround between games as being one of the hurdles that can be difficult to overcome. “When you’re trying to look for form, it can be quite tough,” he said.Zak Crawley hasn’t yet fired as Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s opener•SA 20This is already a slightly different line to the one he had voiced two days ago, when Sunrisers lost to Royals. That defeat came two days after they lost to MICT in the tournament opener and Markram was asked how a team can properly address form concerns in a schedule where matches come thick and fast. His answer suggested they just have to roll with the punches.”You almost get used to dealing with things really quickly and then moving on. I don’t think you have much of a choice nowadays with the amount of cricket that we play,” he said then. “Of course, pay attention to areas that need attention but it’s really important to bank that, make notes of it and then to wake up the next day and either do something about it or play another game of cricket. From an emotional side, I think each person is quite different. I generally don’t try to get too high when things are going well and low when things aren’t going well. I try to stay consistent. Obviously, easier said than done.”That day, Markram also said his is an outfit that “are all not really good at losing” and would be able to pick themselves up quickly. Two more days have gone past and they find themselves at an even lower point.”We know we haven’t played well in these last three games and we need to make our own luck,” Domingo said. “We need to do the basics a little bit better which we’re not doing at the moment. Fortunately there’s still seven games to go. We know it’s a long competition. We haven’t started well in this competition in previous editions and managed to find our way and hopefully we can get into that sort of form, and that sort of confidence in the next couple of weeks because we’re running out of time and we need to make a play.”Sunrisers did not win either of their opening matches in season one or two but this is their third successive defeat in SA20 2025. So they’re already further behind than they have been before. That means the need to turn things around is more pressing and their attempt to do that will take place in three days’ time. They travel to Kingsmead for their next match against Durban’s Super Giants on Friday.

Kuldeep, Jadeja, Axar and Varun don’t so much spin a web as represent a 4D threat to India’s opponents

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Mar-20251:31

Kumble: ‘Kuldeep doesn’t look for the surface to help him’

There is no relent. With two you could maybe manage. With three it was already a minefield (ask Bangladesh, or Pakistan). Four? Hah! On this worn square? Yah, good luck.Eke out your little singles here, squeeze out an edged four there, you can hit out and maybe nail one to the boundary, but you know you’ve taken a risk, and how long are you really going to be that brave for? And anyway, there are bowling changes that can be rung, new fields that can be employed, a whole new set of problems for you to solve next over.Two of India’s spinners have stock balls that turn away from the right-hand batter. Two of them are difficult to pick. Two of them can bowl in the powerplay. Two are effective at the death. In each of those four considerations, a different combination is represented.Related

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Try to graphically represent the cricketing skills of Ravindra Jadeja (turns ball away from right-hand batter), Axar Patel (can bowl in powerplay/turns the ball away from right-hand batter), Kuldeep Yadav (difficult to pick/effective at the death), and Varun Chakravarthy (difficult to pick/can bowl in powerplay/effective at the death), try to chart their synergies, permutations, and versatility, and what you end up with is less Venn diagram, more three-dimensional quadruple-helix. Like intertwined DNA strands as imagined by a surrealist (MC Escher more than Picasso).It’s often said of spinners that they string up batting orders in their webs. This is like a web, intersecting with another web, layered on to two more webs.Against New Zealand, Jadeja, the most conventional of India’s spinners, delivered the most conventional overs, almost by rote – a factory worker on a production line. He punched in at the start of the 19th, bowled nine unchanged through the middle period, trapped a batter sweeping, rushed through his deliveries to get India’s over rate up, fired in some rocket throws from the outfield in between that New Zealand’s batters dared not take on, and finished with figures of 1 for 30. In the break room of this factory, beneath rows of framed photographs of Jadeja, the little metal straps read “Employee of the Month”. It was he who hit the winning runs, his presence all the way down at No. 8 empowering the batters above him to play more aggressively right through the tournament.ESPNcricinfo LtdBut others had laid the groundwork for Jadeja’s middle-overs shift. Kuldeep, a bamboozler at the top of the innings, a pragmatist at the tail, had ripped a googly first ball to end Rachin Ravindra’s little rampage. Next over, he beat Kane Williamson in the air, which few spinners can ever claim to have done, and took a simple return catch – the ball also perhaps having stopped on the pitch. In his first seven balls, Kuldeep had removed New Zealand’s semi-final centurions. There is arguably no more definitive phase of the match than this.That India have barely missed Jasprit Bumrah in this tournament at the death is also partly down to Kuldeep. In this match, he bowled four overs between the 39th and 47th of the innings. Those cost him only 15 runs – one boundary conceded across 24 balls.Varun was once an aspiring architect, but now in his own telling, bowls one delivery that “goes left” one that “goes right” and another that “goes straight”. The difficulty for a batter is figuring out which is which. Like a Bangalore tech start-up that has devised a hugely profitable algorithm, Varun guards his USP hawkishly, Rohit Sharma stating at the start of this tournament that he rarely ever bowls his variations to the India batters in the nets (there’s an IPL to think about). In this match, Rohit used him in bursts, three overs in the powerplay, four overs in the middle, three overs in the late middle/early death.A legbreak in the powerplay got Will Young, but the crucial strike was against Glenn Phillips in the 38th over, when Phillips was threatening to give serious energy to New Zealand’s final burst. That googly was 92kph. Phillips rolled the dice on which direction it would turn, and picked wrong. It turned in to him, and took out his stumps.Varun Chakravarthy kept New Zealand guessing with his variations•Associated PressAxar, long-legged, wingspan of an albatross, has sniped around the edges of the other three this tournament, picking up five wickets. Crucially, he has also presented the challenge of extra bounce to batters, given his high release point. He and Jadeja were the co-squeezers, his economy rate of 3.62 in the final substantially better even than his tournament economy rate of 4.35 on a track which, in the first innings, took only mild turn. For Axar alone of the quartet, bowling is increasingly secondary. Against New Zealand, India’s only worthy opposition, he produced a 42 in the group match, and an important 29 off 40 in the final.No portion of India’s campaign has wriggled with as much life as Varun’s nine wickets, from just three matches. Of India’s 47 total Champions Trophy wickets, 26 have belonged to their spinners. In the final, they took five of the seven to go down, and had a combined economy rate of 3.79 across their 38 overs. Their total effect has been extraordinary.There is an obvious comparison to make here, to that legendary 1960s and 1970s quartet of Bishan Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekar and S Venkataraghavan. As with most legends, some of the history is imagined – those four spinners only played a single Test together.These four now have three entries on the ODI ledger, and have written their names across a major tournament, imbuing India’s knockouts performances with dynamism, high skill, consistency, and barely relenting control. Virat Kohli may have led chases, Shreyas Iyer might have brought heft to the middle order, and Rohit’s scintillating start was vital in the title match. But if you’re looking for India’s Champions Trophy engine room, it is their two left-arm spinners, their left-arm wristspinner, and their mystery bowler. Cricket has never seen anything like them.

What the teams in contention need to do to stay alive in the men’s and women’s competitions

Sampath Bandarupalli25-Aug-2025Men’s tournament
Invincibles, favourites to confirm their place in the final, have a chance at a three-peat due to their superior net run rate. Rockets and Superchargers will now hope Invincibles go down against London Spirit on Monday.It will, however, be difficult for both to go past Invincibles on net run rate (NRR) as the current table-toppers are ahead of Rockets by about 180 runs and further 20-odd runs against Superchargers. Rockets have an edge of about 20 runs on NRR over Superchargers, and playing on a later date will help them determine their equation if Spirit can take down Invincibles.Oval Invincibles are currently on top of the men’s Hundred table•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesWomen’s tournamentNorthern Superchargers – Wins 5, Points 20Superchargers are clear of every team barring Brave by at least four points, and their net run rate is second only to Brave, at 1.027. But that doesn’t guarantee them a place in the Eliminator. If they lose their last match against Manchester Originals, they could go down to fourth, behind Spirit and Originals.But their strong net run rate could give them a chance to stay in the tournament, as they will have to lose by at least 58 runs to fall behind Originals (assuming Originals bat first and score 140). Superchargers will be safe if Spirit do not win big enough against Invincibles.If Spirit win by 40 runs after making 140 while batting first, Superchargers can afford to lose by 70 runs (if Originals scored 140) and stay ahead of them on net run rate.Related

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London Spirit and Manchester Originals – Wins 4, Points 16Spirit and Originals are tied on 16 points and separated by only about three runs on NRR. If both win their respective last matches, the team with the bigger win will end up in Saturday’s Eliminator.Both could end up facing each other on Saturday if they secure heavy wins and topple Superchargers’ strong NRR. And if both lose, Rockets, currently fifth in the table, will qualify.But if Rockets also lose, then the team that loses narrowly between Spirit and Originals will qualify. Spirit have a cushion of three runs on net run rate over Originals now, but Originals have the advantage of playing later and knowing what to do.Trent Rockets – Wins 3, Points 12Rockets face Birmingham Phoenix on Wednesday, but to stay in the competition, they will need the results of the two preceding matches to go in their favour: Invincibles defeating Spirit on Monday and Superchargers winning against Originals.If they beat Phoenix on Wednesday, they will finish third, surpassing both Spirit and Originals on net run rate. Rockets are behind Spirit by only around 12 runs and approximately nine runs behind Originals.Even if both Spirit and Originals lose narrowly in their respective matches, their net run rate will fall, that Rockets won’t need to stress about their winning margin.

And what’s the latest a batter has come and scored a hundred in an ODI?

Steven Lynch09-Sep-2025England beat South Africa by 342 runs at the Rose Bowl. Was this their biggest win in ODIs? asked Bill Green from England
England ran up 414 for 5 in Southampton last weekend, then bowled South Africa out for 72 to win by 342 runs. It was – by exactly 100 – their biggest win in a one-day international, beating 242 runs against Australia at Trent Bridge in June 2018.More than that, though, it was the largest victory margin in any men’s one-day international, beating 317 runs by India (390 for 5) against Sri Lanka (73) in Thiruvananthapuram in January 2023. There have been three others by more than 300 runs.There have also been exactly 50 ODIs that were won by ten wickets: the quickest of those came when New Zealand overhauled Bangladesh’s 93 in Queenstown in December 2007 in just six overs.There have been bigger victories in women’s ODIs: New Zealand (455 for 5) beat Pakistan (47) by 408 runs in Christchurch in January 1997, and there have been seven further wins by more than 300 runs.In the Duleep Trophy semi-final the other day Central Zone scored 600 without anyone reaching a century. Was this a record? asked Akram Fazal Mirza from India, and others
The highest individual score in Central Zone’s total of 600 against West Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Bengaluru last week was Shubham Sharma’s 96. This was only the fifth time any team had reached 600 in a first-class innings without anyone making a hundred: the highest of all remains Surrey’s 671 for 9 declared against Kent in Beckenham in May 2022, when the highest individual contribution was also 96, by Ollie Pope.Namibia made 609 against Uganda in Windhoek in September 2010, with a highest score of 87 by Ewald Steenkamp, while the Indian record remains 605, by Madhya Pradesh against Haryana in Rajnandgaon in March 1999 (highest score Jai Yadav’s 90). Surrey’s 603 against Gloucestershire in Bristol in July 2005 included a highest individual score of 89, by Azhar Mahmood.Cameron Green came in in the 35th over against South Africa and hit a century. Has anyone entered later in an ODI and reached 100? asked Michael Z from Australia
Australia’s Cameron Green entered after 34.1 overs against South Africa in Mackay last month: he reached his century off 47 balls, and ended up with 118 not out.There have been five known centuries scored in one-day internationals by batters entering even later in the innings (we don’t have ball-by-ball details for all ODIs, but it looks unlikely there are any additions). Top of the list is Green’s frequent team-mate, Glenn Maxwell, who came to the crease after 39 overs against Netherlands in Delhi during the 2023 World Cup, and hit eight sixes in a 40-ball hundred.AB de Villiers came in after 38.3 overs for South Africa against West Indies in Johannesburg in January 2015, but still had time to smash 149, with 16 sixes: he reached 100 from just 31 balls, still the ODI record. United Arab Emirates’ Asif Khan hit 101 not out against Nepal in Kirtipur in March 2023, having entered after 37.3 overs. And England’s Jos Buttler has two such innings, both against Pakistan: in Dubai in November 2015 he entered after 35.3 overs and scored 116 not out, while in Southampton in May 2019 he came in after 35.1 and hit an unbeaten 110.Glenn Maxwell came out to bat in the 40th over against Netherlands in 2023, and reached his hundred off the next 40 balls•AFP/Getty ImagesAndrew Hudson scored 163 on his Test debut against West Indies, but was out for a duck in the second innings. How many other players have done this? asked Greg Nilsen from South Africa
Opener Andrew Hudson did indeed start his Test career with 163, against West Indies in Bridgetown in South Africa’s “comeback” Test in April 1992. He followed that with a duck in the second innings: at the time the only other man to start his Test career with a century and a duck was India’s Gundappa Viswanath, with 0 and 137 against Australia in Kanpur in November 1969.Since Hudson, three others have achieved the feat on debut: Mohammad Wasim made 0 and 109 not out for Pakistan against New Zealand in Lahore in November 1996, Keaton Jennings collected 112 and 0 for England vs India in Mumbai in December 2016, and earlier this year Ismat Alam made 0 and 101 for Afghanistan against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.There’s also been one instance in a women’s Test: in Bloemfontein last December, England’s Maia Bouchier made 126 and 0 against South Africa.Rahul Dravid, by never making 89 in Tests, missed out on scoring the first 14 numbers in the Fibonacci sequence in Tests. Has anyone else managed 13? asked Chris Goddard from England
The first 14 numbers in the Fibonacci sequence – in which the next number is obtained by adding the previous two together – are 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 and 233. You’re right that while Rahul Dravid did score 233 – against Australia in Adelaide in December 2003 – he was never out (or not out) for 89.It appears that no one can beat him, although there are six other batters who have 13 of the 14 numbers (unlike Dravid, they are all lacking 233): Mike Atherton, MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib Al Hasan and Steven Smith (who might yet add the next number in the sequence!)Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

India’s selectors are due to pick the squads for the white-ball tour of Australia on Saturday

Yash Jha03-Oct-2025India’s selection panel, which includes RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha for the first time, is meeting on Saturday to pick the squads for the ODI and T20I tour of Australia beginning on October 19. It is likely to mark the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are retired from T20Is and Tests and haven’t represented India since the Champions Trophy victory in March.The tour begins with three ODIs on October 19, 23 and 25, followed by five T20Is between October 29 and November 8. Here are some of the key questions ahead of the selection.Should the all-format players get a break?After a rare break following the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England, India have a packed calendar, with the Asia Cup followed by the ongoing two-Test series versus West Indies, and the first ODI in Australia scheduled five days after the end of the second Test. Less than a week after the fifth T20I in Australia, India host South Africa for a two-Test series followed by three ODIs and five T20Is.Three players appear to be certainties in all three formats: Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav. Given the workloads, the quick turnarounds between formats, and the fact that the next major ODI tournament is the World Cup in 2027, India might consider resting these players for the ODIs in Australia. If they are picked for the 50-overs games, they could be released midway through the T20I series to prepare for the Tests against South Africa.If Gill were to be rested for the ODIs, Yashasvi Jaiswal – who was withdrawn from the Champions Trophy squad after being named in the provisional squad – should be his replacement. He could also join Abhishek Sharma at the top in the T20Is.Will Jasprit Bumrah get a break?•Associated PressWhile Kuldeep does not have a like-for-like replacement, India might have to reconfigure the spin-heavy squads they picked for the ODI Champions Trophy and the T20 Asia Cup to suit Australian conditions.Who’s in for Hardik Pandya?Hardik Pandya missed the Asia Cup final with a left quadriceps injury and there are doubts over his availability for the tour of Australia too. Nitish Kumar Reddy is an option to join Shivam Dube as the seam-bowling allrounder in the T20I squad.The replacement for Hardik in ODIs is an interesting question: Dube played the last of his four ODIs in Sri Lanka last year, while Reddy is yet to feature in the format. The 2027 ODI World Cup is in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. India will want to explore their options for seam-bowling allrounders as back-up for Hardik, and Australia might be the right place to get started.Who are the specialist quicks?Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are Nos. 1 and 2 in the line behind Bumrah – both were part of India’s squads at the Asia Cup as well as the Champions Trophy. But who is the third specialist fast bowler should Bumrah be rested in either, or both, formats in Australia?Mohammed Siraj could be in line for an ODI comeback, having last played in Sri Lanka over a year ago. Prasidh Krishna is an option too, should India prefer his hit-the-deck style as a middle-overs enforcer. Prasidh – the Purple Cap winner at IPL 2025 – is the likely third seamer in the T20I squad if Bumrah is rested.Will Tilak Varma make it to the ODI squad?•AFP/Getty ImagesSpin allrounders: who and how many?India’s most recent ODI and T20I squads have featured several spin allrounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar were at the Champions Trophy, while Axar played the Asia Cup where Washington, along with Riyan Parag, was a standby.A similar number of spin allrounders is unlikely given the conditions: it’s hard to see India picking both Jadeja and Axar in an ODI in Australia, and the series could be a good opportunity to blood some seam-bowling allrounders instead.Parag featured in both white-ball teams last year, and had scores of 67 and 58 in two List A games for India A against Australia A this week. Tilak Varma – who scored 94 in the second of those matches after his Asia Cup final heroics – could also be a contender for the ODI squad.No Pant – who’s back-up wicketkeeper in the ODI squad?Rishabh Pant is unlikely to make it to the squads for Australia as he is still recovering from the fractured foot he suffered in England. While he hasn’t played a T20I since August 2024, Pant was India’s back-up wicketkeeper to KL Rahul at the Champions Trophy.Sanju Samson’s last ODI was in December 2023 in South Africa, where he batted No. 3 and scored his maiden hundred. Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel are the other wicketkeepers to feature in India’s recent T20I squads, but neither has compelling List A credentials.

This weekend's series between the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees contains one irresistible narrative.

On one side of the Yankee Stadium diamond: Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, the National League leader in bWAR. On the other side: Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, the American League leader in the same category.

It didn't take long for the two players to lock horns. With New York leading 3–0 in the top of the fourth inning, Crow-Armstrong launched a deep fly to right field that looked like a surefire short-porch home run. Nope—Judge timed his jump just right and snared the ball in front of a giant F.W. Webb Company banner.

The catch prevented what would've been Crow-Armstrong's 26th home run—a number 16 higher than his modest 2024 total of 10.

He may be the breakout star of the year, but make no mistake—the Big Apple is the domain of Judge, on both the offensive and defensive end.

Liverpool made some eye-catching signings during the summer window and could now be set to enact a surprise double deal involving Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga and Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni.

After a frustrating period of matches, Arne Slot led his side to only their second win in their last eight fixtures against Aston Villa last weekend, offering something to build on ahead of the festive period.

Mohamed Salah’s 250th Premier League goal came as a landmark milestone, and his teammates stepped up after a dip in form, leaving them seven points off Arsenal in the Premier League title race as they gun for more silverware.

Admittedly, the visitors still produced moments of panic within the Liverpool backline. By no means were the Reds perfect last weekend, but three points are the only thing that matters after a dismal run of results that have caused them to drift from top spot.

Club legend Steven Gerrard spoke out in defence of Slot amid recent criticism involving the Dutchman, telling TNT Sports that ‘keyboard warriors’ won’t detract from the fine job he has done at Anfield.

He said: “It’s a great win; he deserves a lot of credit for that. But they come thick and fast, in two days’ time, the pressure will build again as he’ll be expected to beat Real Madrid.

“Compared to when we played there are a lot more people with microphones and cameras in front of their face, there are a lot more keyboard warriors and a lot of unnecessary noise. But it is football in the modern age, you have to take the rough with the smooth, that is life.”

Reds supporters will be fully behind their manager after the return he produced last term, and he could now be set to conclude a couple of lucrative deals to vastly improve his side.

Liverpool willing to bid for Eduardo Camavinga and Alessandro Bastoni

According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are plotting an ambitious double swoop for Eduardo Camavinga and Alessandro Bastoni that could cost within the region of £122 million to complete.

Real Madrid won’t make it easy for Camavinga to leave the building, albeit the Reds’ desire to acquire him is there and they hope that their project could be enough to entice him to England.

In the case of Bastoni, he is viewed as a natural successor to Virgil Van Dijk, something that supporters could get on board with due to his left-sided nature, tenacity and willingness to contribute in all thirds.

The Italy star has registered a goal and three assists in 12 matches this season. On the other hand, Camavinga has notched a solitary strike in nine appearances, featuring either as a central midfielder, in a holding role, and even on the right flank.

Liverpool could earn £132 million to fund Camavinga and Bastoni deals

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha is also named as a target, though his situation is not as advanced. Either way, expect some notable future transfer dealings at Anfield.

England’s range of standout players, and speed of turnaround from white-ball, augur well for Australia mission

Firdose Moonda17-Dec-20242:03

Heather Knight: SA Test win builds confidence for Ashes

No trees were ripped up but some seeds were planted, as England won their first Test in a decade before looking ahead to the women’s Ashes.Let’s be honest: while they’d never use the words warm-up, this multi-format series in South Africa was part of the preparation for next month’s Ashes, a series which England have not won for 10 years. Incidentally, that’s the same amount of time England had gone without a Test win until a memorable afternoon in Bloemfontein. So apart from cleaning up with series victories in the T20I and ODI contests (which included five out of six wins for England), the Test triumph tastes a little sweeter, because it shows England what they are capable of.”We take great confidence from it,” Knight said at the post-match press conference. “Whenever we play Test cricket, because we play it so scarcely, we’re always learning about how to go about the different tactics; the different periods of the game that you have to manage and how that varies as conditions change. We take a huge amount of learnings from it.”It was a brilliant Test match – the ebbs and flows. There were times where we had to really hang in there and control the rate and obviously jump in when we were in with a sniff. We take a huge amount from it.”England’s Ashes assignment will conclude with a pink-ball Test at the MCG, and Knight may only have been polite when she said it will be, “slightly different” to the Tests they’ve had so far. The teams will have four days between the end of the ODI series on January 25 and the start of the Test on January 30 and, if anything, Knight believes they can learn from the quick turnaround they had in South Africa.Lauren Bell was named player of the match for her eight wickets•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesThere were three days between the end of the ODI series on December 11 and the start of this Test, with travel further cramping their training in between. “The fact that we were able to play like we did with only two days’ preparation should be a thing of confidence for us because obviously that Test match in Australia is going to be exactly the same,” Knight said “That mentality to be able to flip between is a really hard thing to do, so getting more experience of doing that as players will hopefully stand us in good stead.”But Knight and her team will have learned about more than just time between games over the past few days – there’s also time in game, and that is undoubtedly where England were superior. There were two passages of play where England completely took the game away from South Africa: in the second session on day one when they scored 189 runs in 33 overs, at a rate of 5.7, and the third session on day two, when England took 7 for 56 to send South Africa freewheeling from 225 for 3 to 281 all out, to take a 114-run first-innings lead.In the first of those, Maia Bouchier, on debut, and Nat Sciver-Brunt both scored centuries, which underlines how inexperience and experience combined for England.”A couple of days out, Maia was a bit unsure about how she wanted to go about it, purely because of the unknown of not playing any multi-day cricket ever in her life really,” Knight said. “So for her to go out and do that and show the clarity of decision-making, the simpleness that she did, and to bat for long and really make hay in that middle session was a great period for us.Related

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“We were able to capitalise on some poor bowling and to really put the runs on the board and score at a good rate, and that allowed us to control the rest of the game. So kudos to her (Bouchier) and obviously Nat, who goes under the radar sometimes because you expect her to score runs, but a remarkable innings again from her.”In the second innings, another debutant Ryana MacDonald-Gay made important breakthroughs with the old ball which allowed Laurens Bell and Filer to use inswing and pace with the second new ball to unsettle the South African middle- and lower-order.These performances showed Knight the full range of their fast-bowling potential. “They both bring something different, the two Laurens,” she said. “Filer just seems to make things happen, which is amazing. But there’s a real temptation sometimes to want to bowl her longer because you always feel like she’s going to take a wicket when she’s on, but I think she’s at her best when she’s fresh and she bowls sharp spells.”Lauren Bell at the other end was outstanding, the way she was able to control things. It’s a really prime example of the work that she’s done to become a better cricketer and have different skills in her toolbox, and use those skills in different conditions when she needs them. And Ryana as well, special mention for her on debut. She was outstanding. I’m really impressed by her temperament and her character. It’s an exciting place to be, having lots of bowlers, particularly quicks, at our disposal with Australia to come.”Having the players is one thing, but having different ones perform all through a game is another, and Knight was among them. Her second-innings 90 prolonged the South African fielding effort and played its part in fatiguing them, as they were asked to score the highest fourth-innings total in women’s Test history.She knows she did her bit. “I loved contributing today,” she said. “I felt like there were still runs out there and I felt I really needed to stretch the lead a little bit and be in a position where we could dictate and control and attack at the right times, and have enough runs on the board to do that.Maia Bouchier and Nat Sciver-Brunt put on 174 for the third wicket in England’s first innings•ECB/Getty Images”Any time after you’ve fielded for a long time, going back mentally and physically is a really tough thing to do and even harder when you don’t do it very often. That’s why I wanted to score big today, to try and really push that lead up quite high, put a little bit more time into their legs, a little bit more mental fatigue, and also give our bowlers a little bit more of a rest,”In the end, England didn’t need the runs or the time. They finished off South Africa in less than 20 overs and bowled them out for their lowest Test score.”Obviously it happened quite quickly,” Knight said. “We got a bit lucky with a few things and our bowlers were hitting really hard. Once we picked up a few, we felt like we could really capitalise and jump in, and really attack and put them under the pump. It’s a really hard thing to do as a batter when you’re coming in under that sort of pressure.”South Africa know that and have to deal with the fall-out from a massive Test defeat, but it won’t be too harsh. They won’t have another red-ball game in 2025 and new coach Mandla Mashimbyi, contracted until 2027, has time to build his team. So far, he is saying all the right things, especially about the way it ended. “We competed nicely. If I had to take away this last session, the girls actually fought all the way. Maybe our breaking point was just a little bit earlier than the England breaking point. And that’s something that we’re going to have to work on because it’s a mental thing,” he said. “I can promise you now, what we’ve seen here today will never happen again.”But no trees will be ripped up, only seeds planted for a future in which South Africa will play six Tests in the next four years, two against England. Until they meet again…