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The Thunder will feel very little impact of international duty except for a late start by Sam Billings

Andrew McGlashan09-Dec-2020Captain Callum FergusonCoach Shane BondSquad Sam Billings (Eng), Jonathan Cook, Ben Cutting, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Callum Ferguson, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales (Eng), Baxter Holt, Usman Khawaja, Nathan McAndrew, Adam Milne (NZ), Arjun Nair, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Chris TremainIn Sam Billings, Ben Cutting (Heat), Baxter Holt, Adam Milne
Out Jay Lenton, Gurinder SandhuOverseas player availability Sam Billings (in quarantine until approx. Dec 25), Alex Hales (all tournament), Adam Milne (all tournament)Last season: Challenger finalA promising start to the tournament where they had three wins in five matches – and could well have had four if the match against the Strikers in Canberra had not been abandoned due to the smoke from nearby bushfires – become more of a struggle in mid-season. However, they clinched fifth place in a virtual knockout against the Scorchers then kept themselves alive with victories in the Eliminator against the Hurricanes and the (actual) Knockout final against the Strikers. However, needing one more win to reach the final they fell to the Stars at the MCG.Bubble impactThey are the only team not to have suffered any impact from the various Australia squads (as of now). Usman Khawaja would have been closest to a spot, but he was overlooked for the enlarged Test group. Given that two of their overseas players – Alex Hales and Adam Milne – are not involved with their respective national sides the only early loss they will need to cover is England wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings while he serves his 14-day quarantine after arriving from South Africa.Player to watchOn his day, Adam Milne can be quick. Very quick. But his body has struggled to stand up to the strain. It is almost a decade since he made his international debut (in a T20I against Pakistan) and it has been a stop-start career. When he takes the field for the Thunder, having opted for a BBL deal ahead of New Zealand domestic cricket, it will be his first game since August 2019 when he suffered an ankle stress fracture playing for Kent and hopes of Plunket Shield cricket early in the season were hit by a hamstring injury. His overall T20 numbers – 116 wickets at 22.32 with an economy of 7.65 – are impressive and he will form a lively attack with Daniel Sams, Brendon Doggett and Chris Tremain. He could be an x-factor for the Thunder, if he can stay on the park.Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)No one took more wickets in the last four overs (33) than Sydney Thunder last season. This was mainly due to the bowling of Sams. He finished with 15 wickets in the death (overs 17-20) at an average of 10.33.

Young batters Ashley Chandrasinghe and Campbell Kellaway face a winter of developing their skills

Tristan Lavalette26-Mar-2023On the resumption of the Sheffield Shield season last month, an inexperienced Victoria didn’t set outlandish goals or plot a barnstorming title run.Boasting just one win from their first six matches, Victoria were content with backing youth in a bid to mould together a talented core who could help build a foundation for sustained success.”When we came back after the BBL we spoke about how we’re on a journey. We didn’t talk about playing in the Shield final,” Victoria coach Chris Rogers said.Surprising their own modest expectations, with skipper Peter Handscomb and frontline spinner Todd Murphy on Australia’s Test tour of India, Victoria led by 23-year-old stand-in captain Will Sutherland got on a roll.Related

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• Chandrasinghe bats the day for an unbeaten 46 against disciplined WA

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They won four straight matches to leapfrog into second-place and book a spot in the final against defending champions Western Australia.In a rematch of last year’s decider at the WACA, Victoria had their moments in a see-saw but couldn’t quite get the job done in an eventual nine-wicket defeat.Rather than be battle-scarred, they are hoping to take heed of the adversity experienced amid the cauldron as Victoria aims to chip away at WA’s stranglehold of the domestic competition.”The challenge is to reach the top of the mountain and get past WA. That’s the challenge for everyone,” Rogers said. “With a bit more experience…[we] might have been able to hang in a bit longer. It’s a young group and I think they’ll learn a lot out of it.”As Victoria stared down the barrel heading into day four, Rogers had a frank conversation with 20-year-old batter Campbell Kellaway who had helped spark Victoria’s season turnaround with a half-century against New South Wales in a comeback 69-run victory.His breakout season has him on the radar of the national selectors with Kellaway selected in the Australia A tour of New Zealand next month. But promoted to No.3 in the final, Kellaway was particularly scratchy on a green-tinged surface against WA’s strong attack as he mustered 6 off 23 balls in the first innings before looking somewhat overwhelmed late on day three in a painstaking 7 off 63 balls.”I spent a good 45 minutes with him, talking about these experiences,” Rogers said. “He’s figuring out answers to questions. He tried too hard this game. He was fighting so hard that he wasn’t giving himself a chance to score. He’s going to be a really important player for us for a number of years.”Ashley Chandrasinghe carried his bat for 46 off 280 balls: ‘It’s an extraordinary effort and he’s got attributes to build on’•Getty Images

In similar fashion to Kellaway, 21-year-old opener Ashley Chandrasinghe carried his bat in the first innings in a remarkable 280-ball stonewall worth 46 runs.It was a rearguard that polarised the public but made more meritorious with Chandrasinghe, in his Shield debut season, only making the line-up after veteran opener Travis Dean suffered an injury on the day before the match.Chandrasinghe received little support from his more senior players and also copped mocking applause from the typically rowdy WACA faithful. But he remained unruffled to produce an indefatigable batting effort that he can build on in the off-season.”There’s room for improvement in his game,” Rogers said. “He doesn’t want to play that style of cricket, he wants to be scoring runs.”It’s a measure of the man that he can bat a whole day. It’s an extraordinary effort and he’s got attributes to build on. That determination and to never quit is something in-built. I’m so proud of him.”A gallant Victoria remained in the contest largely due to a lionhearted allround performance from Sutherland, who further enhanced his growing reputation with a five-wicket haul and an aggressive 83 in the second innings. But it ultimately wasn’t enough although there is the sense that something is percolating within this emerging team.”It still bloody hurts we lost another final. I don’t want that to be a habit but we’re heading in the right direction,” Rogers said. “To win five games on the bounce is quite exceptional. They’ve played with discipline beyond their years and they had a lot of fun doing it. We are going to get better.”

Pakistan coach stopped short of saying they are an isolated team, but did point out their lack of experience in Indian conditions

Sidharth Monga30-Oct-20233:40

Arthur: ‘Unfair to start a witch-hunt on Babar’

Pakistan’s coach Grant Bradburn stopped short of calling them an isolated team in international cricket, but did point out the lack of experience against big teams and in India as they fight to stay alive and hope for other results to go their way in the World Cup.After winning the first two matches, against Netherlands and Sri Lanka, Pakistan have lost four in a row, including against archrivals India, and stand on the brink of elimination. Not only do they need to keep winning every remaining match but also hope one of the four teams in the lead right now slips down.Bradburn was asked what went wrong with Pakistan after they were once among the favourites, especially till Naseem Shah got injured during the Asia Cup. “Look I’m not sure where you get favourites from because there are 10 teams in this tournament, there’s 150 cricketers who are the best on the planet,” he said. “In terms of the ICC rankings, we know they are skewed because we don’t get to play India, we don’t get to play a lot of the top nations who haven’t been to Pakistan of late.”We were No. 5 in April, we became No. 1 recently before the tournament, and that might be where you term the phrase favourites. But we’re realistic. We have not been the best in the world as yet, so which highlights where we are in this tournament right now. We have no divine right to beat anyone in this tournament. We have to play quality cricket, and we have to put all three departments of our game together.Related

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“We are desperate to bring joy to our nation. We are desperate to make our nation very proud of this cricket team. And we are also realistic in the knowledge that we haven’t put all departments of our game together over the last four games but four losses does not define who we are as players, as coaches or a team, So we’re determined now to focus on what we can control and that is putting our best on the park in these last three games and then leaving that to fate as – to determine the remainder of the tournament for Pakistan.”If you consider India, Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa the “top teams” in ODI cricket – England are defending champions after all – Pakistan have played 19 ODIs against them between the World Cups. Sri Lanka and West Indies have played more than that. New Zealand’s aggregate is lower but they are also one of them. Among teams playing this tournament, only Bangladesh and Netherlands have played less against the “top teams”.Pakistan go into their match against Bangladesh on Tuesday on the back of four losses•ICC via Getty Images

Asked if that, coupled with Pakistan’s players not playing the IPL, makes them feel isolated, Bradburn answered in the negative, but also did point out the lack of experience in these conditions. “No, we don’t feel isolated or intimidated by that,” Bradburn said. “Mickey [Arthur] and I, when we took over this team in April, six months ago, we recognised that the team was playing a gear or two below where we wanted the team to be playing in terms of the brand, because we know the brand of cricket that is winning against quality teams is a more dynamic brand than perhaps, we were playing. So, we set a new course in April this year.”So, it hasn’t been a big lead-in to this major tournament for us. Ideally preparation for a tournament like this starts four years ago. We started six months ago and changed direction in the way that we want to play the game of cricket , especially the one-day brand. We’ve shown some positive signs of that over the last six months, and as I’ve mentioned, during this tournament, we’re very proud of some of the performances that we’ve put on the park.”It’s taking a little bit longer than we were hoping, but we want to play a dynamic brand that matches the challenge of the conditions we’re playing in. So, this tournament is foreign condition for us. None of our players have played here before. Every venue is a new one, including this one. So, we’ve done our homework meticulously on our opposition, on our venues that we’re playing at, and we’re prepared very, very well for each and every encounter. But the reality is that each and every venue is a new one for us and we don’t feel disadvantaged at all in terms of the knowledge, the quality, the skill, the backing that we have for this team of cricketers.”We’ve been consistent with our selection; we’ve backed our players and we still back our players to perform and show the brand of cricket that we want to play that matches the task at hand and also, we’re the best in the world. And we’ve acknowledged over the past period of time that we’re not at that level that we want to be, but we’re certainly pushing hard to improve our brand of cricket because we know that the skills are within our players.”Pakistan’s fast bowlers haven’t found a lot of swing in the World Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan’s strength has historically been – and presently is – fast bowling but, as mentioned here, fast bowlers with prior IPL experience have done much better in this tournament. Bradburn did speak of the challenges his fast bowlers faced in the absence of swing.”Look, we haven’t got on a roll in this tournament, and we understand that it’s fine lines here in Indian conditions,” Bradburn said. “And particularly, I would say, with our bowlers, we’re renowned for having a fantastic group of fast bowlers, both here and at home. We have a great resource of fast-bowling talent in Pakistan. We do rely on swing, but we haven’t experienced too much swing here. The balls are different. The conditions are different, and certainly the ball tends to wear a lot quicker here.”So, you know, we’re learning that on the fly as well so therefore our lines have been different that we’ve been bowling and we haven’t put enough balls in good areas really to create the pressure that we want and to take the wickets.”Lucknow, Delhi and Dharamsala have been the venues that have helped seam bowlers in this tournament, but Pakistan don’t have a single match there. The first match played in Kolkata, where Netherlands upset Bangladesh, will be cause for optimism as the Netherlands bowlers drew disconcerting bounce from the surface.Bradburn said the mood within the camp was great and there were no tensions among the players as reported. “The environment is great. There’s never any issue in terms of the environment. We have a wonderful group of players who are very determined to bring joy to their nation, play a quality, exciting brand of cricket for our fans and to make our country and our families proud of the performances that we put on the park. This is a very tight group and feel free to wander down towards the dressing room and watch the training today you will see a very good vibe.”

Bumrah had a significant say with three wickets although it was Australia who edged the honours with their top four all passing fifty

Andrew McGlashan26-Dec-20241:51

Manjrekar explains how Konstas took down Bumrah

Sam Konstas, the 19-year-old making his Test debut, lit up the MCG with an audacious display of strokeplay against Jasprit Bumrah which in the process riled Virat Kohli on a compelling Boxing Day at the MCG. The world’s best fast bowler still had a significant say with three wickets although it was Australia who edged the honours with their top four all passing fifty.By stumps, Steven Smith was the key figure in how much further Australia’s first innings would be able to extend as he eyed his second hundred in three innings after Bumrah had sparked a middle-order wobble. Yet it was the opening passage of the Test that could well go down as defining.Within an hour of his first Test innings Konstas, who became his country’s fourth-youngest men’s player, was the most talked-about figure in the game having brazenly taken 32 off two overs from Bumrah. While he was stopped on 60 off 65 balls, he had already written himself a chapter among the most remarkable debuts and more than repaid the selectors’ desire to provide something different at the top of the order after Nathan McSweeney’s struggles.Related

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Bumrah still pocketed key top-order scalps of Usman Khawaja, the prolific Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh although it did little to downplay talk India are over-reliant on him. The latter two came as Australia lost 3 for 9 in the final session with Akash Deep then claiming a much-deserved wicket with the second new ball when he removed Alex Carey to end the fourth significant partnership of the innings.Khawaja, Smith and Marnus Labuschagne all brought up half-centuries at more sedate tempos than Konstas. It was the first time since Rawalpindi in 2022 that Australia’s top four had all reached fifty in the same innings. Khawaja and Labuschagne will have been left wondering what could have been but Smith played a vital role in keeping Australia ahead.Sam Konstas celebrates his fifty•Getty Images

But it was all about how the day started. Konstas’ first over in Test cricket was against Bumrah and consisted of four plays and misses. Off his eighth delivery he worked a brace into the leg side to a loud ovation and two deliveries later signaled his intent with an attempt to reverse scoop Bumrah which brought a combination of cheers and gasps.He missed another an over later and with Mohammed Siraj also troubling Khawaja, Australia were 12 without loss after six overs when Konstas unleashed a passage of play that will never be forgotten. Off Bumrah’s fourth over he scooped to fine leg, reverse scooped for six over deep third and was an inch away from repeating it three balls later.He had dispatched the world’s leading bowler for 14 but wasn’t done there. In Bumrah’s sixth over he took him for 18, this time by peppering the boundary with drives including lofting a slower ball over wide long-on. By this point, he had been shoulder-checked by Kohli between overs with Khawaja trying to act as peacemaker with all eyes on how the match referee would adjudicate the confrontation.Not long after, a quickly run two brought up his fifty from 52 balls and he grabbed the Australian emblem on his shirt while pointing to the name on the back. What were you doing as a 19-year-old on Boxing Day? The mind started to wander towards something even more spectacular, but Ravindra Jadeja trapped Konstas lbw in a manner many a more experienced batter has been removed.The tempo then reverted to something more traditional: the stand of 89 between Konstas and Khawaja took 116 balls, the next of 65 between Khawaja and Labuschagne required 150. The afternoon session started with four consecutive maidens from Bumrah and Akash, the latter again bowling without luck. Both batters had edges fall short of slip and another from Khawaja which bisected the cordon took him to just his second fifty of the year.Jasprit Bumrah removed Travis Head for a duck•Getty Images

India were largely keeping the scoreboard under control but were not overly threatening, only for Khawaja to toe-end a pull against the first ball of Bumrah’s third spell to midwicket which left the bowler a little embarrassed to celebrate.Labuschagne was still not quite at his fluent best, but was looking as good as he had all series with some delicate glides to third off Jadeja and the types of drives to suggest better days lie ahead for Australia’s No. 3. There was a shift in gears after tea with Labuschagne and Smith adding 41 in the first six overs of the final session against the older ball, although there remained enough assistance from the surface to challenge the batters as another luckless spell from Akash showed.However, the door was opened for India by offspinner Washington Sundar, who had been brought into the side in place of Shubman Gill, when Labuschagne picked out mid-off with a skimming drive the ball after a drinks break. Labuschagne threw his head back as Kohli took the catch, knowing the chance of a first Test century since last July had gone begging.Rohit Sharma sensed a moment and immediately brought back Bumrah and against his third delivery Travis Head shouldered arms to one that clipped his off stump. A batter who has caused India nightmares with his attacking strokeplay departed not offering a shot. In Bumrah’s next over Mitchell Marsh, having slotted away one thumping cover drive, edged an expansive pull to continue what has been a lean series after the summer of his life in 2023-24.As the ground rose for the hats-off commemoration of Shane Warne at 3.50pm (to match Warne’s Test cap number), Smith had slotted consecutive boundaries off Jadeja when Australia looked to be taking control but now his presence was vital in ensuring the innings didn’t lose its way. He and Carey added 53 before Akash produced a terrific delivery from round the wicket. Smith remained firm and walked off to warm applause from those who remained of an 87,242 crowd but it was nothing compared to the ovations earlier in the day.