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ESPNcricinfo picks out the main names to follow during the first edition of the Women’s Super League which begins this weekend

Melinda Farrell29-Jul-2016Lancashire ThunderWest Indies won the Women’s WT20 in April and two of Lancashire’s signings were instrumental to their success. Deandra Dottin’s power hitting makes her one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world. She has a 38-ball T20 century to her name – it was the first T20 century by a woman – and she is also a handy bowler, taking nine wickets at 13.55 during West Indies’ WWT20 campaign. It was rising star Hayley Matthews, however, who stole the show in the final at Eden Gardens. The 18-year-old showed poise and power in making 66 off 45 deliveries as the West Indies defeated three-time champions, Australia. Her innings included six boundaries and three sixes. Lancashire won’t be lacking in batting firepower. Loughborough LightingEllyse Perry is arguably the biggest star in the women’s game, and with good reason. The 25-year-old is already a veteran, with nine years of international cricket under her belt. She was Player-of-the-Series when Australia regained the Ashes in England last summer after making more runs and taking more wickets than any other player. While initially seen more of a bowling allrounder, her batting has been a revelation in recent years. The Lightning also have solid all-round support from the experienced New Zealander Sophie Devine and England’s Georgia Elwiss will step in as captain for the absent Sarah Taylor. Southern VipersIt will be fascinating to see how Vipers captain, Charlotte Edwards, fares in the tournament. Suddenly stripped of the England captaincy at the start of the summer, Edwards has 95 T20I’s under her belt and has the chance to prove she’s not done yet. She has a couple of formidable New Zealand weapons in her armoury, in Suzie Bates and Sara McGlashan. Bates was recently named the Wisden Women’s Cricketer of the Year after an outstanding 2015 as New Zealand captain. The veteran McGlashan was a standout in the WBBL, her explosive batting a key to the Sydney Sixers making the final. Surrey StarsSurrey have one of the most promising line ups in the competition, despite the late withdrawal of Australian captain, Meg Lanning. Tammy Beaumont comes into the tournament in the form of her life, having scored back-to-back centuries opening for England against Pakistan – including a magnificent unbeaten 168 – and following up with two half-centuries in the T20Is. She’s joined by England’s best allrounder, Nat Sciver, who belted 80 runs of 33 deliveries in the second ODI against Pakistan, the fastest half-century in ODIs. Add fiery South African allrounder, Marizanne Kapp, and one of Australia’s best bowlers, Rene Farrell, to the mix and the Stars look like a very difficult team to beat. Western StormTwo international captains with different styles join forces at the Western Storm with England skipper, Heather Knight, taking the reins and having her West Indies counterpart, Stafanie Taylor, on board. Taylor was outstanding in leading her side to their WWT20 title; she was the highest run-scorer, made a vital 59 in the final and was deservedly named Player of the Tournament. She also took eight wickets in that tournament, giving Knight some terrific options in the bowling: England opener Anya Shrubsole will also give the attack venom, with her inswingers among the best in the women’s game. Yorkshire DiamondsKatherine Brunt, Shrubsole’s opening bowling partner for England, is as Yorkshire as they come and it was no surprise to see her name on the Diamonds’ squad list. One of the most entertaining and competitive players in the world, Brunt wears her heart on her sleeve and bats with a ferocity that matches her bowling. Lauren Winfield is another who has blossomed for England under Mark Robinson’s new regime; the Diamond’s captain made two half-centuries in the T20I series and a century in the ODI series against Pakistan. If she needs any advice, she has Alex Blackwell on hand. The Australian vice-captain led the Sydney Thunder to victory in the WBBL and is one of the canniest tacticians in international cricket.

While Arsenal’s pursuit of the Premier League is currently rather uncertain, one thing is for certain; the Gunners must strengthen their squad this January.

If Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury wasn’t enough, then more dropped points against Brighton and Ethan Nwaneri’s muscular problem that will keep him out for ‘a few weeks’ should be.

That said, supporters will have to remain patient as the winter window is a notoriously difficult one to do business in.

Clubs don’t want to lose their star players due to the limited amount of time they have to replace them and as a result, it’s likely you have to pay way over the odds if you want your man and they aren’t available.

Despite that, not bringing in any new players would be inexcusable given Arsenal are six points behind league leaders Liverpool having played one more game.

Arsenal's January transfer window plans

We are now a week into the January window and haven’t seen much activity on Arsenal’s end.

A potential move for Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha has been touted but the latest on that is the Brazilian could be set to put pen to paper on a new deal at Molineux.

Arsenal may have to get creative therefore and reports suggest they have had a bid rejected for Botafogo striker Igor Jesus.

So, who else have they been linked with? Well, they could prise away Jude Bellingham’s brother, Jobe Bellingham.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

That’s according to Football Transfers who report this week that ‘Arsenal have set their sights’ on the 19-year-old

The club’s scouts are monitoring his progress closely and it’s thought that Bellingham is now a ‘top priority for manager Mikel Arteta’.

According to talkSPORT, the midfielder is expected to cost around £20m. Any move could well see a repeat of a deal to bring Aaron Ramsey to the Emirates Stadium back in 2008.

How Jobe Bellingham compares to Aaron Ramsey

In the summer of 2008, a young Welshman was capturing the imagination of plenty in English football.

Ramsey was making waves with Cardiff City in the Championship and it wasn’t long before Manchester United came calling. Infamously they even announced they had agreed a deal on their official club website.

Luckily for those of an Arsenal persuasion, he rejected the Red Devils and ended up signing for the Gunners in a £5m deal.

262 Premier League appearances and two FA Cup final goals later and the midfielder had cemented himself as a firm fan favourite at the Emirates. It’s just a shame the way he left.

Well, as a young star also shining in England’s second tier, a deal to bring Bellingham to north London would certainly evoke memories of Ramsey’s arrival.

They’re not too dissimilar either with the Sunderland ace not too far behind when it comes to goal and assist rate in the EFL during the embryonic stages of his career to date.

Ramsey joined Arsenal as an exciting attacking midfielder and Bellingham is certainly similar in that regard. Described as a “game-breaking midfielder” by data analyst Ben Mattinson, he highlights the teenager’s ‘powerful ball carrying’ and notes that he ‘loves to make runs into the box off the ball and arrive to finish cutbacks.’

That trait was something the Welshman certainly perfected during his time in red and white, notoriously scoring as many as 16 goals in the 2013/14 campaign when Arsenal won the FA Cup.

Bellingham has four league goals and three assists this term so he’s not quite in that ballpark yet but his ability to create magic in the final third is not going unnoticed.

A further look at the stats, however, tells us why we should all be excited about the Englishman’s potential.

Goals

86%

Assists

80%

Progressive carries

52%

Progressive passes

61%

Key passes

75%

Ball recoveries

90%

Aerial duels won

96%

Compared to positionally similar players in the Championship this term, he ranks among the top 9% of players for combined goals and assists while sitting in the best 10% for ball recoveries, rubber-stamping the Ramsey-like qualities at his disposal.

Indeed, the Wales international wasn’t just competent in attacking areas but like Bellingham, he worked hard to win the ball back and made sure he did his job from a defensive standpoint.

The Sunderland sensation is far from the finished article but as project signings go, you’d find few better than the talented teen.

Fabrizio Romano: Arsenal chasing Martinelli upgrade who's a £29m "threat"

The exciting winger would add some much-needed dynamism to Arsenal.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jan 7, 2025

A solid defensive game, rotation of strike and adding boundary options – Aakash Chopra analyses what the Australian opener needs to do to succeed against the offspinner

Aakash Chopra08-Mar-2017Australia’s batting currently stands on two strong pillars – Steven Smith and David Warner. Even though the pitches for the first two Tests were not batting-friendly, Smith has already managed to leave an indelible impression on the series. Warner, on the other hand, has looked good only in parts. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that his opening partner Matt Renshaw is a more valuable wicket if there is a lot in the pitch for the spinners. In these conditions, R Ashwin has had a wood on Warner, who has managed only 116 runs at an average of 23.20 against him and has already been dismissed five times. The stats for this series are even worse – 37 runs for three dismissals. The worrying bit is not Ashwin’s domination over Warner, but the modes of dismissals as there is a clear pattern developing of him getting either bowled or lbw.To harbour thoughts of succeeding against Ashwin on Indian pitches, one needs to have a fairly solid defensive game, a couple of shots to rotate the strike and a couple of go-to shots to collect boundaries. It is worth examining what Ashwin has tried to do and how Warner has responded.Cramp him for roomIf you were to look at the pitch maps and the beehives for Ashwin’s deliveries to Warner in this series, you will find that, barring the first innings in Pune – the only one in the series in which Warner was not dismissed by Ashwin – there was nothing that pitched away from the off stump and offered any width. Since that first innings, Ashwin’s plan against Warner has been quite evident. Whenever he went around the stumps, he pitched it either within the stumps or slightly outside off, but made sure that every ball finished no wider than the fourth stump. The moment he went over the stumps, he pitched everything outside leg. While the lines have changed a little, the length has been consistent – never short enough to allow Warner to play off the back foot.R Ashwin to David Warner in the first innings in Bengaluru•ESPNcricinfoWarner’s short stature does not allow him to go forward enough to smother the spin, and his tendency to play besides the pad brings about his downfall often. That is why, after getting dismissed lbw in Pune, Warner started standing on the off stump to plant his front-foot outside the line of off, which worked to a certain extent. When Ashwin chose to bowl over the stumps, however, into the rough outside Warner’s leg stump in the first innings, the batsman did not have a clue. Ideally, if the ball has pitched outside leg, one should avoid playing any defensive shot off the front-foot, as kicking is the best defensive option. But it was evident that Warner has not been exposed to that line too often, for he kept planting his front-foot outside leg to open up and defend with the bat. It was only a matter of time before he missed the line, which he did and was castled. Warner’s defensive game has been susceptible against the ball turning away from him, and that allowed Ashwin to explore multiple options to dismiss him.R Ashwin to David Warner in the second innings in Bengaluru•ESPNcricinfoRotation of strikeIf you do not have enough faith in your defence, you must have at least a couple of single-taking shots that keep taking you to the other end. Warner has a fairly short front-foot stride, and the tendency to play inside the line to free up the arms (an asset in short-form cricket) does not allow him to reach the pitch of even the fuller deliveries. Ideally, he should be able to push the ball towards mid-off or mid-on/midwicket quite regularly because of the straight lines bowled at him, but since he is rarely on top of the ball, he fails to do that. The other option to rotate strike against Ashwin could be to play a range of sweeps (fine and square), not necessarily for boundaries but for singles. Unfortunately, he does not sweep with a lot of authority either. If you keep facing six balls of every over of Ashwin without complete command over the defensive shots, it is a matter of when, and not if, you will get out.David Warner’s use of the cut and pull shots against spinners in Asia and Australia•ESPNcricinfo LtdBoundary StrokesLast but not the least, to put pressure back on Ashwin, it is imperative to hit boundaries. Smith has a canny plan against Ashwin: he either sweeps or goes down the ground to 70% of the Ashwin deliveries he faces. But that is not the case with Warner. His boundary shots are either cuts or pulls, which work all right on hard and bouncy Australian pitches. But it is not easy to play horizontal bat shots on low and slow Indian pitches. Moreover, Ashwin has rarely bowled short enough for him to exercise these options. The other boundary option for Warner is using the feet to take the aerial route down the ground. But to go aerial, one must stay away from the pitch of the ball, and that is quite an improbable task against a ball turning away from you on a turning pitch. He does like to reverse-sweep and switch-hit, but it will take a lot of courage to use it as a regular scoring option before reaching small personal milestones.If the pitches for the remaining two games behave similarly to the ones in Pune and Bengaluru, it will take some radical changes in Warner’s approach to get the better of his nemesis.

The fast bowling son of a labourer whose “spark” has been noticed by the likes of Rahul Dravid, Nathu Singh will get his chance on a bigger stage against the touring South Africans in a week’s time

Sidharth Monga in Jaipur23-Oct-2015The day the court appointed an ad hoc committee to run Rajasthan cricket, its convenor, Amrit Mathur, received a call from Rahul Dravid. The gist of the conversation was: “this boy” is good, please keep an eye out for him.After the end of the first match, against Delhi, their coach Vijay Dahiya, who joined only from the second match onwards, called Mathur. He had been told about “this boy” by Gautam Gambhir. The gist of this conversation: “we were talking, Gautam mentioned this boy and said that after a long time he has seen new India material, please make sure he is not ruined by over-bowling.”Chairman of national selectors Sandeep Patil happened to watch this boy. Rajinder Hans, another national selector appointed by the court to make sure the Rajasthan Ranji team was selected fairly, obviously saw this boy. And now, this boy, Nathu Singh, son of a labourer in a wire factory, is going to play for the Board President’s XI against the touring South Africans based on “the spark” Patil and team have seen. He has played only three first-class matches.Sometimes a name can evoke the person. Nathu is almost like you know him. Short, endearing. Not quite the immortal “” from the Hindi movie . His pronunciation is different. It’s Naa-thu. The thu is softer too. Until three years ago he used to bowl with a soft ball in the [neighbourhood]. Then a told him he should try a cricket ball because he was too fast for everybody.The first thing you notice about Nathu is the tattoo on his arm. “Mom dad,” it says. His mother and father gambled it all for him. When he took the advice to actually start playing with the cricket ball, he needed to play at an academy. He went to Surana Academy, where the fees was Rs 10,000 for the year. The father had no savings to spare, but he told Nathu: “Whatever I have I will put in. Let’s see for two months how you go.”

A sign of how sick cricket at grassroots levels is in India is that Nathu couldn’t find a place in the Jaipur district side, and had to play for Sikkar, hardly known for its cricket

Two months later the coaches at the academy and Nathu’s [mother’s brother] suggested he be given time because they saw that “spark”. The academy subsidised the fee looking at his family background, and by the end of that year he was in the Rajasthan Under-19 side. The MRF Pace Academy happened too, where he impressed Glenn McGrath. Boots and spikes? “I used to arrange from the seniors,” Nathu says. “Deepak [Chahar] and Aniket [Choudhury] helped me a lot.” Two years ago, when Nathu drew his first match fee, he gave it all to his parents. He still does.A sign of how sick cricket at grassroots levels is in India is that he couldn’t find a place in the Jaipur district side, and had to go and play for Sikkar, hardly known for its cricket. The rest of the machinery, though, has been remarkable in fast-tracking him into playing against a quality opposition.The word around is that he has pace, but more than pace his speciality is that he bowls quick when he bowls at a length. Every coach has told him that. The explanation is this: when you strive to bowl fast, when the pace is not natural but through extra effort, you tend to drag the ball down. Nathu doesn’t need to. “The coaches have also told me I am god-gifted,” Nathu says. “There is no need to work on me.”Time to watch him then. There is a Munaf Patel-like lumber to his walk and his batting. He is lbw first ball against Maharashtra. He looks a mug. His turn to bowl against Maharashtra comes after the new-ball bowlers, Chahar and Choudhury, have had a go. They are 21 for 1 when Nathu begins to meticulously mark his run-up to begin the ninth over of the innings. Four steps from the crease, toe next to the heel, and he marks a line there. Then a long leap to scratch another mark, audibly enough for those outside the fence. Then he goes to the top of his mark.Nathu walks four steps, then skips – not as extravagantly as Junaid Khan or Mohit Sharma – and then takes 10 brisk but comfortable steps into his delivery stride. The leap is high, the action is easy and smooth, and then he puts a big effort into the ball. There is pace. It repeatedly thuds into the gloves of wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik. He looks front-on – he calls himself an inswing bowler – and it will need closer analysis to see if he looks over his front arm just before letting the ball go. This puts stress on the back, but also puts action on the ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar does that.In a week’s time, Nathu Singh will have the chance to meet his hero, Dale Steyn, who always has time for young fast bowlers•Associated PressAs of now, though, despite being green, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium has not provided any lateral movement to the quicks on either side. Nathu gets late-cut for three consecutive boundaries by Maharashtra captain Rohit Motwani. He is not bowling his speciality: quick length balls. Probably because this is not quite a seaming surface and you have to hit the deck hard. He creates an opportunity with the other batsman Harshad Khadiwale, but sees a catch dropped. That has for long been the fate of the other India player from Rajasthan, Pankaj Singh. Ordinary slip catching has been the bane of Rajasthan quicks.Nathu bowls four wicketless overs before lunch and goes for four fours. He comes back after lunch and bowls a six-over spell that lasts until the afternoon drinks. Easy there, captain. Remember what Dahiya said. But then again, Chahar is off the field with an injury, and Nathu has had his man, Motwani. Motwani tries to back-cut again, but this time Nathu has bowled the quick length ball, which bounces to take the edge.It will be harsh to draw verdicts on his general accuracy or ability to work batsmen out based on just one day’s play, but the spark that everybody has seen is there. There is pace, natural pace, pace even at the end of the day when bowling his 18th over with a 70-over-old ball. Yet another cricketer from India has come up despite, and not because of, the system. The way people have rallied around him is heart-warming. In a week’s time in Mumbai he will meet another good Samaritan, his hero, Dale Steyn, who is never stingy with time or advice for young fast bowlers.The spark has somehow been given the fuel. It is up to him now to burn bright.

Even a kid knows you want a turning pitch against England, Pakistan’s captain Misbah-ul-Haq observed, Instead, the pitch only turned on the final day and it was Pakistan who were reduced to panic

Umar Farooq17-Oct-2015In a dramatic turnaround on day five, England almost gave a scare to Pakistan, transforming four dull days into a decisive climax. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain said his side was caught up in “panic” as they lost their last five wickets in five overs but that salvaging a dramatic draw protected their confidence and left them with “no sense of defeat”.”If a situation changes quickly you have to cope with it,” said Misbah. “Credit should be given to the England side in the way they scored almost 600 runs and kept us under pressure. They kept control and later pushed us in a panic situation but it’s quite obvious that when such matches are saved it keeps the confidence alive. Had we lost this, trailing the series by 1-0, then it could have quashed the confidence.”At least we are not down. In Dubai it’s a different pitch, different game and it’s our hunting ground as well. We did make a couple of mistakes that we ought not to repeat. The shot I and Younis played wasn’t needed at that time – we could have easily survived and played through.”For four days the pitch was cursed for its slowness and unresponsiveness. But on day five the twist started when James Anderson removed Shan Masood and Shoaib Malik in the same over, leaving Adil Rashid to take charge later, picking up a five-wicket haul to leave Pakistan with a lead of 98.”It all happens with pressure,” said Misbah. “It was the fifth day with rough patches and obviously we made mistakes with two ugly run outs and bad shots to push us into the situation.”Such mistakes take you nowhere and push you in such situation where you crumble under pressure. We obviously had a plan to play sweeps against the offspinner and I should have struck with the option but I picked the wrong shot. It was a big blunder on the wrong time.As England take the moral victory, it was like deja vu for Pakistan. “This is what Test cricket is all about. We have been in such a situation so many times. I can recall two occasions in Galle – one we won and the other we lost. So we knew how to cope with this situation.”We were looking to take wickets early on with the spinners and later on with the light fading we were looking to go with seamers and the plan worked. We knew the ball wasn’t coming on the bat and with the light staying even until 5.40pm we had to be on toes.”The pitch was expected to turn at least from the day three but it didn’t respond at all until the final day. Misbah once again hit out the surface. “It was a clear message what we wanted. Even a kid knows that when we play against England we always want a turning pitch. I don’t know why the pitch wasn’t made the way it should have been. I am equally surprised as you are about it.”

Batsman, captain, innovator, inventor, mentor, commentator and writer – Martin Crowe was all of that during a career that did not end after he retired from the game

Compiled by George Binoy03-Mar-2016Martin David Crowe was born on September 22, 1962 in Henderson, Auckland, to parents Audrey and David Crowe. He had a sister Deb and an older brother Jeff, who played 39 Tests and 75 ODIs for New Zealand. Russell Crowe, the actor, was a younger cousin.In 1968 at the age of around 6, Crowe joined Cornwall Cricket Club in Auckland, the start of a lifelong association. In fact, on February 27, 2015, during his battle with lymphoma, Crowe took part in a match to mark the club’s 60th anniversary. “My dad’s ashes are up there on that bench so I thought it would be nice to bat an over, if I last the over,” Crowe told ONE News ahead of the game “I was going to treat this as my last outing on the old ground.” He made 25 not out off 20 balls in his final innings.Crowe attended Auckland Grammar School as a 13-year old in 1976 and spent five years in the institution. This is what his headmaster Sir John Graham, a former All Black, wrote about him in 1980 (taken from martincrowe.com): “MD Crowe is one of the outstanding young men to have attended Auckland Grammar. He has excelled in every aspect of school life in which he has been involved and no boy in the School’s history has done more for his school’s reputation than Martin Crowe. He is a young man of the highest quality and all-round potential. He is dedicated and determined in all he does, he has the intelligence and the ability to do all things well. His character is strong, dependable and independent. I have the highest regard for him as a young New Zealander.”Crowe was fast tracked in domestic and international cricket. The rapid progress he made, however, wasn’t always beneficial. “From the age of 14 when I was picked for the Auckland under-23 side and then as 12th man for a Shell Trophy final. I was basically given a script that was way beyond my years. Emotionally I was totally unprepared and ever since, I’ve always been playing catch-up with that emotional stability,” Crowe told in 2006. “All I kept feeding was an ego. In terms of my emotional development I was always three years out of my depth and I’ve had issues throughout my career with it.”On January 19, 1980, at the age of 17, Crowe made his first-class debut for Auckland against Canterbury, scoring 51 in the first innings. His domestic career ended in the 1995-96 season and he finished with 19,608 first-class runs at an average of 56 in 247 matches, representing Auckland, Central Districts, Somerset and Wellington. His List A career comprised 261 matches in which he scored 8740 runs at an average of 38.16.The 1992 World Cup was the zenith of Martin Crowe’s career – he led New Zealand to the semi-final and was Player of the Tournament•Getty ImagesCrowe was 19 when he made his ODI debut , against Australia at Eden Park in Auckland, on February 13, 1982. He did not bat in New Zealand’s 46-run victory that day, despite them losing six wickets. Two weeks later, Crowe made his Test debut, at Basin Reserve, where he was run out for 9 in a rain-hit draw against Australia. “When I played for New Zealand when I was 19, against Lillee and Thomson, I rattled off scores of 9, 2, 0 and 9. And then I ran up to the far north of New Zealand to be with my sister. I couldn’t face anyone in public,” Crowe told in 2014. “And then I finally went down to the pub to play a game of pool. At the bar there was this big Maori man, and he said, “Hey, Crowe! I hope you can play pool better than you can play cricket. I was trapped. I couldn’t go anywhere. This was the farthest pub in New Zealand, and in that moment I realised I had to fix this problem of failure.”After seven Tests, in which he scored only 183 runs at 15.25, Crowe made his maiden Test century – a match-saving 100 against England in Wellington. “But Martin, the younger of the Crowe brothers, showed exceptional maturity for a 21-year-old, batting for 276 minutes without making a visible mistake until the stroke that got him out, an edge to slip that gave Gatting his first Test wicket,” reported. “Crowe’s driving, reminiscent of Greg Chappell’s in its rifling precision, accounted for most of his 19 fours.” Crowe went on to make 17 Test hundreds, a New Zealand record that still stands.Between 1984 and 1988, Crowe played county cricket for Somerset, where he replaced Viv Richards. Ian Botham was not happy at losing the West Indian batsman and disparagingly called Crowe “a good club cricketer”. Crowe went on to play 48 matches for Somerset, making 3984 runs at an average of 59.Crowe’s second and third Test hundreds were a brace of 188s in April and November 1985. The second of those came in a famous innings win at the Gabba, where Crowe’s performance complemented Richard Hadlee’s 15 wickets to seal New Zealand’s first Test victory in Australia. “Martin was sublime, really. Watching from the other end I was constantly amazed at the time he had to play his shots,” John Reid, who scored 108 in that innings, told ESPNcricinfo in 2015. “When they pitched the ball up, he drove it well. When they pitched it short he cut, hooked and pulled the ball. He dominated their attack to an extent I could not emulate. I was actually consciously feeding him the strike to ensure that his ability to dominate the attack could be utilised to better the chances of winning.” In contrast, the first of those 188s had been an exercise in patience that helped New Zealand draw a Test in Guyana. Crowe had batted nine and a half hours, longer than any of his previous first-class innings.In 2011, Martin Crowe attempted a comeback to club cricket at the age of 48. It lasted one match•Getty Images”At the age of eight, I said to my dad that I am going to score a century at Lord’s one day,” Crowe told . He made two – the first in July 1986 and the second in 1994.Bruce Reid struck Crowe on the jaw during the Christchurch Test in 1986. Crowe was on 51 when he mistimed the hook and had to leave the field to get ten stitches. He returned with New Zealand 190 for 6 in the first innings, in response to Australia’s 364, and counterattacked to make 137 off 226 balls. “It was a display which drew comparisons with Sutcliffe’s epic innings for New Zealand at Johannesburg in 1953-54,” Wisden reported.Crowe made 1348 first-class runs at an average of 103.69 for Central Districts in the 1986-87 domestic season to help win the Shell Trophy for his team. The 1676 runs Crowe scored that summer remains the New Zealand record for the most runs in a season.In early 1987, Crowe made 119, 104 and 83 in three Tests against attacks comprising Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh and Tony Gray to help New Zealand draw the series against West Indies 1-1. “Sometimes you got too conscious because you tried too hard to deal with the challenge,” Crowe told about what could trip him up in the middle. “And against West Indies you had to accept it was hit or miss. Out of five, you were going to have three failures but if you could have one good innings and a half-good innings, you would average 40 and that would be okay in that era of the ’80s.”Crowe captained New Zealand for the first time in a Test against Pakistan in October 1990. He led his country in 16 Tests – of which New Zealand won two and lost seven – and 44 ODIs (21 wins, 22 defeats). As captain, he averaged 54 with the bat in Tests and 45 in ODIs.Martin Crowe contributed to New Zealand cricket even after he stopped playing, mentoring players such as Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill•Getty ImagesOn February 4, 1991, Crowe made the highest individual Test score for New Zealand – a record that stood for 23 years – but also became the only batsman to be dismissed for 299. He batted 610 minutes in that innings against Sri Lanka, and said after the game: “It’s a bit like climbing Everest and pulling a hamstring in the last stride.” His 467-run partnership with Andrew Jones was also a world record at the time.In February and March 1992, Crowe led New Zealand to the semi-finals of the World Cup, the highlight of his captaincy career. He was Player of the Tournament for being the top-scorer – 456 runs at an average of 114 – and for his innovative captaincy: Crowe used a spinner to open the bowling and restrict batsmen during the fielding restrictions, and also deployed a pinch-hitter to exploit those very restrictions when New Zealand batted. “Marty was a very creative and brilliant thinker, the genesis came from him. Tactically he was light years ahead of anyone else I played under,” former New Zealand bowler Gavin Larsen said in 2014. “He was the boss, he ran the gig. He was like a chess master, the way he moved his players around. He was just clever.” Crowe, however, did not field in the semi-final against Pakistan, and New Zealand failed to defend their total. “With what unfolded, I had made a massive mistake in not taking the field despite a hamstring injury, because I was trying to be fit for the final as opposed to getting the team through to the final,” Crowe said in 2015.His international career ended in India, in November 1995. Crowe’s final innings was 63 off 62 balls in Nagpur, where New Zealand won by 99 runs to draw the ODI series 2-2. Crowe finished with 5444 runs at an average of 45 in 77 Tests, and 4704 runs in 143 ODIs at an average of 38.55.In 1996, Crowe launched his invention, Cricket Max – a shortened form of the game with a funky format and rules. “I invented and designed Cricket Max because I felt it was time to provide to our spectators and TV viewers a game of cricket that was short in duration, very colourful, kept some old traditions and highlighted the best skills in the game,” Crowe said at the time. The format was not played after 2003.Crowe began his broadcast career in 1997, when he joined Sky Television. “Marty embodies the quality that businesses often dislike but desperately need – the desire to change something before it gets stale,” Nate Smith, former Sky TV CEO, said on martincrowe.com. “I saw that way back when he saw the world of cricket needed a shorter formatted game. Did all the ideas tested last? No, but it did move the code forward in its thinking. Marty may not always say what people want to hear, but that is why he would be the perfect choice.”Martin Crowe was inducted into the ICC’s hall of fame during the 2015 World Cup•Getty ImagesCrowe was inducted into the New Zealand sports hall of fame and awarded an MBE for services to cricket in 2001. He had plenty more to give the game. Crowe was a mentor, most notably to New Zealand batsmen Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor. “Martin has been a mentor to me for almost my entire first-class career. In both the good times and the more trying times Martin has always been there for me,” Taylor said in a testimonial on martincrowe.com. “His advice, technical understanding and nous, coupled with his unwavering belief and loyalty in me have made my job as a professional cricketer that much easier. I shall always be grateful to him.”At the age of 48, in May 2011, Crowe said he was returning to club cricket at Cornwall with a view to making a comeback for Auckland, 15 years after he had retired. “Every now and then you find yourself drifting along. I needed to do something to stay at the top of things,” Crowe told ESPNcricinfo.” It’s a little bit of fun but it’s based on the need to get off my butt. When you get to my age, you need to do something. Physically, I am a person who needs more than going to gym. I need to fire myself up. I don’t like swimming, cycling, or lifting weights. I can’t climb, I can’t run; why not bat? It’s a serious goal to get fit but it’s a fun and light-hearted attempt to see if a 48-year old can play and at what level. Unless you try you will never know.” A thigh injury ended his comeback in his first innings.Crowe was diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2012. “In the past, on travels during my cricket career, suffering salmonella and glandular fever has compromised me,” he said at the time. “The result of a weakened immune system over the last two decades is basically why I have become exposed to this sort of disease.” After going into remission for a while, Crowe revealed the cancer had returned in September 2014. “After a brilliant year of self discovery and recovery, I have more work to do. My friend and tough taskmaster Lymphoma is back to teach me,” Crowe said on Twitter. “To say you can’t beat lymphoma is not quite true, many have. Yet follicular lymphoma is incurable, and can be treated and tamed for many long years.”On February 28, 2015, Crowe was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, during the World Cup. His presence at the final at the MCG was his last public appearance.Martin Crowe died on March 3, 2016, at the age of 53. People around the world paid tribute to him.

Matt Milnes leads Kent attack as 170th Canterbury Festival gets underway

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2022Northamptonshire 303 (Gay 112, Rickelton 55) vs KentNorthamptonshire were all out for 303 against Kent, after a fluctuating first day in the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury.Emilio Gay hit 112 after the visitors lost Ricardo Vasconcelos to the first ball of the day and Ryan Rickelton was the next highest scorer with 55, but having reached 205 for two, they lost their next eight wickets for 98 runs.Matt Milnes had Kent’s best bowling figures with three for 47, while Joe Denly took two for 31 and Matt Quinn two for 51.The 170th Canterbury Festival began with the temperature already over 25 degrees in the shade and in the day’s least surprising development, Northamptonshire chose to bat after winning the toss.The pitch, however, didn’t look benign early on. Vasconcelos went for a platinum duck when he was caught behind off Quinn and Rickelton and Gay then endured a torrid hour, during which they struggled to score at over two an over. Both survived, however, and as the session ground on, the runs came more freely, leaving the visitors on 95 for one at lunch.An elegant cover drive off Milnes took Rickelton to 50 just after the restart, but he then edged the same bowler behind.It was otherwise a session of few chances. Luke Procter was dropped at leg slip when on 12 off Linde and Gay reached his century with a glanced two off George Linde, but he fell in the penultimate over before tea. Kent skipper Sam Billings threw the ball to occasional red-ball spinner Denly and his second ball was pulled to Linde at midwicket, leaving Northants on 206 for three at the interval.Denly struck again soon after the resumption, getting Procter caught and bowled for 33 and Jack Leaning then bowled Rob Keogh for six.The new ball accounted for Josh Cobb who went for nine. He tried to cut Milnes and was caught by Ben Compton at point.Milnes then splayed Jimmy Neesham’s off and middle stumps, bowling him for 33, before Quinn bowled Lewis McManus for four.Ben Sanderson made 23 from 18 balls before he edged Grant Stewart and fell to a juggling catch by Billings and George Linde wrapped up the innings by bowling Simon Kerrigan for seven with the final ball of the day, leaving Jack White unbeaten on six.

Hasan Ali not selected in any squad while Hussain Talat drops out of T20Is

Danyal Rasool23-Oct-2025Babar Azam has returned to the Pakistan T20I squad for the first time in nearly a year. He was named in a 15-member squad for the upcoming series against South Africa, as well as the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe which follows. Mohammad Rizwan, who was removed from the captaincy in ODI cricket, keeps his place in the 50-over squad, while wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan and offspinner Usman Tariq come into the T20 side.Babar has not played any T20 cricket since the end of the PSL, after which he was not part of any squad for the shortest format. At the time, Pakistan’s white-ball coach Mike Hesson said he would need to “improve a few things” to earn his way back into the side, with the Big Bash League in December believed to be the tournament Pakistan would use to assess his improvement. It is not yet clear what led to him being fast-tracked back in, but his inclusion means he is, once more, an all-format player for Pakistan.Related

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Fast bowler Naseem Shah keeps his place in the ODI squad, and returns to the T20 side. He recently excelled in the CPL with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, where Tariq’s performance with champions Trinbago Knight Riders has also been rewarded. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Hasan Ali, who was part of the T20 Asia Cup squad, is not part of any of the white-ball teams, while Hussain Talat drops out of the T20 side.Shaheen Afridi will captain Pakistan’s ODI side for the first time against South Africa in November during a three-match series. Before that, Pakistan play three T20s against them. It is followed by the tri-series from November 17 to 29.Pakistan ODI squad
Shahen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali AghaT20I squad
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq

Stats highlights from the Group A match between Australia and Sri Lanka in Sydney

Shiva Jayaraman08-Mar-20153:26

Insights: Best World Cup for No. 5 batsmen

51 Balls taken by Glenn Maxwell for his hundred – the second-fastest in World Cups after Kevin O’Brien’s 50-ball hundred against England in 2011. Maxwell took one ball less than AB de Villiers, who hit a 52-ball hundred against West Indies earlier in this World Cup. This is the fastest ODI hundred by an Australia batsman beating James Faulkner’s 57-ball century against India in 2013.2 Number of hundreds by Australia’s No. 5 in World Cups before Maxwell’s. Brad Hodge was the last one to hit a century at that position for Australia, against Netherlands in 2007. The first such hundred was the famous Steve Waugh century against South Africa in 1999.5 Centuries by No. 5 batsmen in this World Cup – the most, by far in any World Cup. Along with Maxwell , there have been centuries by David Miller, Mahela Jayawardene, AB de Villiers and Brendan Taylor batting at No. 5. The 1996 World Cup saw two such hundreds – by Vinod Kambli and Chris Harris. The other World Cups have had only one such hundred each at most.195.12 Strike rate of the partnership between Maxwell and Shane Watson – the second highest in a century partnership by an Australian pair in ODIs. Mitchell Marsh and Maxwell had added 109 runs at a strike rate of 201.85 against Zimbabwe last year, which is the highest. Overall, this is the third-highest strike rate in a stand of 150 or more in ODIs. De Villiers and Hashim Amla had added 192 runs at a strike rate of 286.56 against West Indies in this World Cup which is the highest.1 Batsmen to complete 14000 ODI runs before Kumar Sangakkara; Sangakkara has taken 378 innings to Sachin Tendulkar’s 350 to pass the landmark. Like Sangakkar, Tendulkar had also passed the milestone with a century, against Pakistan in 2006.0 Number of batsmen to have scored three consecutive centuries in a World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara is the first batsman to do so. Only three other batsmen have scored three hundreds in a World Cup before him – Mark Waugh in 1996, Sourav Ganguly in 2003 and Matthew Hayden in 2007. Overall, six other batsmen have hit three consecutive centuries in ODIs.24 Runs plundered off Mitchell Johnson’s third over by Tillakaratne Dilshan. This was just two runs short of the most conceded by an Australia bowler in an ODI. Three Australian bowlers – Simon Davis, Craig McDermott and Xavier Doherty have each conceded 26 runs off one over.0 Number of hundreds Sangakkara had in his first-25 innings in the World Cup. He had scored 778 runs at an average of 40.94 with six fifties. His last-eight World Cup innings have produced four centuries and one fifty and he has scored 585 runs at 97.50.160 Runs added by Maxwell and Watson – the second-highest fifth-wicket partnership in World Cups. The highest had also come in this World Cup – an unbeaten 256-run stand between JP Duminy and Miller against Zimbabwe. This was also Australia’s third-highest fifth-wicket partnership in ODIs.92.30 Maxwell’s strike rate against Lasith Malinga, who took 2 for 59 from his 10 overs. Malinga bowled 13 deliveries to Maxwell and conceded only 12 runs, while the other Sri Lanka bowlers collectively conceded 90 off 40 balls. While Maxwell hit only one four off Malinga, the other bowlers were hit for nine fours and four sixes in 40 balls.

4s 6s Dismissal Runs Balls SRLasith Malinga 1 0 0 12 13 92.30v other SL bowlers 9 4 1 90 40 225.0022 Balls taken by Dinesh Chandimal to hit his fifty in this match – Sri Lanka’s second fastest in ODIs. Sanath Jayasuriya’s 17-ball fifty against Pakistan in 1996 is their fastest. The fastest Chandimal had completed his fifty before this match in international cricket was off 40 balls, against Pakistan in a T20 international.1 Number of times a team had scored 300 chasing in a losing cause in the World Cup before Sri Lanka in this match. Zimbabwe had scored 326 all out against Ireland just two matches earlier.376 Total conceded by Sri Lanka in this match – the highest conceded by them in World Cups, beating the 373 for 6 scored by India in Taunton in 1999. This was also the third-highest total scored against Sri Lanka in ODIs. This was also Australia’s fourth-highest total in ODIs, but only their third highest in World Cups.* An erroneous stat on Mitchell Starc’s economy was removed from the piece

At the helm of young teams, the contrasting leadership styles of Virat Kohli and Angelo Mathews could present a fascinating subtext to an important series in Sri Lanka

Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Aug-2015Virat Kohli, 26, strides purposefully to the crease, reputation always preceding him, collar often popped, a sharp tongue cocked, ready to return fire. Angelo Mathews, 28, ambles to the middle, impervious and imperturbable, lost somewhere in his own universe.Both are gifted batsmen, leading young teams into an important series. That is about where the similarities end.If he was a general in your army, Kohli would be the man to lead the charge on an enemy position. His blood runs hottest in attack. He has sometimes been accused of being too aggressive, but to Kohli’s ears, this is probably a compliment. He isn’t blind to the merits of defence. More likely he feels it is beneath him. He bats out of his crease on the quickest pitches in the world, against the fastest bowlers. Balls other batsmen only dare prod at, Kohli sends scorching through midwicket, wrists whipping like a sail that has caught the wind.But there is a dark side to this outlook. When Kohli keeps a full cordon in for Indian quicks after the sheen has come off the ball, you wonder if he is deluded. Some decisions are best made with a level head and a sense of detachment, but Kohli’s emotions are never far from the surface. Even publicly, he has admitted he would prefer to be less expressive.As far as poker faces go, Mathews’ is among the stoniest around. On the surface he is dull. But still waters run deep, they say, and at 28, he has already produced some of Sri Lanka’s greatest innings. He is the general you want in charge of the fortress, because when his team is outgunned, when they are tumbling into crisis, that’s when he goads the best from himself. Kohli has a famously poor record in England. Mathews has a Lord’s ton and a monumental 160 at Headingley – an innings that seems to grow in stature with each passing England Test.Mathews’ shortcomings are peculiar for someone in his 20s, though unsurprising, given the man. “Angelo has ice in his veins,” his team-mates say, but when opposition batsmen are stealing the match away and he stands inert at slip or cover, you want to prod him with a stick to see if he hasn’t frozen through. When he attacks, he attacks conventionally. He uses words like “positive” and “aggressive” whenever a microphone is set in front of him, but in reality his style seems a departure from a Sri Lankan tradition that has pioneered strategy and embraced adventure.Angelo Mathews’ leadership style has often been criticised for not being aggressive enough but as a player, his best performances so far have come in challenging situations•AFPOf the two, Mathews has the better batting average of 51.67, and is arguably the superior Test batsman, to say nothing of his expanding wit with the ball. Since the beginning of 2013, only Kumar Sangakkara has a better Test average than Mathews’ 67.59. Sangakkara would be the first to concede that his runs have come easier. When Mathews bats with an often-clueless tail, they come to sudden life. He has subdued many fires, and ignited a few as well.Kohli is fresh at India’s helm, but appears to be the more dynamic leader. Under him, there is strong, vibrant direction to India’s transition. “We want to play aggressive cricket, and we don’t mind losing that way,” is the cry from his camp. Backed by full-throated advocates like Ravi Shastri, Kohli has so far lived true to his words, even if his team has died by the sword more often than they have thrived, for now. Kohli has arrived on the island intent on playing five frontline bowlers. Talk of dumping a batsman from the top seven perhaps won’t even feature in the team meetings Mathews leads.The path ahead teems with unique challenges for each man. Mathews is expected to fashion a world-beating team out of players graduating from one of the weakest domestic leagues in cricket. Kohli is funded by the wealthiest cricket body that has ever existed, but will barely draw a breath that is not endlessly pored over and dissected. Mathews’ loved ones are of virtually no interest to the Sri Lankan public, for example. With any luck, they will never become scapegoats for his failures.They now embark on a series that will be closely followed in Sri Lanka. Local fans have lowered expectations after a poor 2015 so far, but India is the team they would really like their side to beat. Kohli and his men, meanwhile, have that embarrassing recent away record to amend.Both teams will try new things. Unknowns will search for stardom. Old hands will aim to make graceful exits. And the clash of contrary captains will play out, perhaps in the background, but always with the capacity to define the tour.