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Pacer asks cricket authorities to counterbalance prohibition of saliva for ball shining by another measure

Daniel Brettig26-May-2020Cricket runs the risk producing “boring” contests, losing followers of the game and reducing the number of young aspirants to bowl fast if a better balance isn’t struck between bat and ball. These are Mitchell Starc’s views in reaction to the interim ruling offered by the ICC to ban saliva from shining the ball in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.Having bent his back on a succession of unhelpful pitches in home Test matches over the past few summers, Starc argued similarly to his colleagues Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. He thinks the ICC’s prohibition of saliva, but not sweat, from being used to shine the ball out of health concerns needed to be counterbalanced by another measure.While the ICC’s cricket committee has suggested more sporting pitches could be a solution currently, Starc was understandably wary about the prospect of administrators and ground staff acquiescing to this instruction, and instead pushed for a temporary allowance for an artificial substance with which to polish the ball. This concept, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, was discussed by the ICC committee before being ruled out on the basis that it took the game too far from its existing laws.ALSO READ: Social distancing, ‘safe’ ball management among ICC’s dos and don’ts“I understand that completely and hear what they’re saying in terms of a foreign substance, but whether that can be controlled by the umpires in terms of they have a portion of the wax and you can only use a small amount, I don’t know, but there needs to be a maintaining of the even contest,” Starc said. “I understand what they’re saying with foreign substances and that it’s black and white in terms of that, but it’s an unusual time for the world and if they’re going to remove saliva shining for a portion of time they need to think of something else for that portion of time as well.Getty Images

“Whether it be the wickets being not as flat or at least considering this shining wax to a degree, there needs to be some thought on that I think. I guess you use both those things [saliva and sweat] to shine the ball. I’ve probably been a bit more on the sweat side, just trying to not get my hands in my mouth too much, but yeah, I agree completely with what Pat commented on last week – that contest with bat and ball, we don’t want to lose that or get further away from that even contest, so there needs to be something in place to either keep that ball swinging.”They’ve mentioned that it’s only going to be there for a period of time and then once the world gets back to a relatively normal situation then saliva can come back into shining the ball. But if it’s going to be a window of time there, maybe then instruct people to leave more grass on the wickets to have that contest or if they’re going to take away a portion of maintaining the ball, there needs to be that even contest between bat and ball, otherwise people are going to stop watching, and kids aren’t going to want to be bowlers.”Administrators have long supported the concept of more lively pitches for bowlers, but far too often the practical outcome has been the preparation of surfaces devised to see a Test last for five days, typically producing a very attritional brand of cricket. Starc was clearly casting his mind back to India’s previous tour of Australia in 2018-19, where after two evenly-fought matches on fair pitches in Adelaide and Perth, Virat Kohli’s team ground the Australians into the beige turf of the MCG and SCG to close out the series.”I think as we saw in Australia the last couple of years, there’s some pretty flat wickets, and if that ball’s going straight, it’s a pretty boring contest,” Starc said. “I think Kookaburra have been developing a shining wax or something of the sort, so whether there’s consideration of that, there needs to be some [thought to] maintaining that even contest. Generally the spinners reckon that the wickets that seam a bit also spin, so maybe if you bring the bowlers back into the game, you’ll tick all the boxes.”

His 115 off only 109 deliveries was key to overhauling a target of 255 with four wickets and 32 balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2019Paras Khadka struck both his and Nepal’s maiden ODI century as he led the team to a memorable four-wicket victory over UAE in Dubai. His 115 off only 109 deliveries was key to overhauling a target of 255 with four wickets and 32 balls to spare.Nepal were actually struggling in the chase at one point. From 81 for 1 in the 15th over, they slipped to 129 for 4 in the 26th as spinners Imran Haider and Ashfaq Ahmed took control in the middle overs. The series was tied at 1-1. The game was starting to drift away. A big innings was needed and as is often the case, the captain stood up.Khadka batted through to the 39th over, acting as both the sticky-tape that held his team together, and also a source of rapid runs. He struck 15 fours and a six, ensuring that Nepal were never too far behind the asking rate. He finally fell with only 40 runs needed, which proved an easy ask for Sompal Kami and Aarif Sheikh as they raced to the target.The fireworks at the end were in stark contrast to the start of the game, when UAE’s openers were dismissed for ducks even though they faced a combined 28 deliveries. Kami removed Ashfaq and KC Karan took out Chirag Suri as the score stuttered to 2 for 2 in the sixth over. It took some insane hitting by the middle order to get to a decent total, with Shaiman Anwar coming in at No. 6 and hammering 87 off 70 balls and Mohammad Boota scoring his maiden ODI fifty and a blistering one at that – 59 off only 31 balls. UAE were 47 for 5 in the 21st over but somehow they managed to get to 254 and would have had high hopes of defending it. But Khadka just wouldn’t give in.

A round-up of the latest Ranji Trophy news ahead of the fourth round of matches

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2017Irfan axed as Baroda captainIrfan Pathan has been stripped of the Baroda captaincy following the team’s lackluster showing in the first two rounds of the Ranji Trophy, from which they have a solitary point. Deepak Hooda, the allrounder, has been promoted to lead Baroda, who are currently languishing at the bottom of Group C.Irfan, who has picked up just two wickets in the tournament so far, has also been dropped from the 15-man squad for their third game, against Tripura. Irfan told media outlets he was unsure of the reasons for his exclusion. “I am as fit as ever and there is no issue with my performances and commitment to serve Team Baroda,” he told . “I felt very proud when I was made the captain and was told that I would be the perfect mentor to the youngsters. I have worked hard with the boys for the last couple of months and they are very happy with whatever we have been doing. I really don’t know what has gone wrong after just two games. Had I been told that my services won’t be required before the domestic season started, I would have happily stepped aside. Although I love Baroda and take a lot of pride in representing the team, I might have gone and played for another team.”Snehal Parikh, the Baroda Cricket Association secretary, said the captaincy switch was a collective decision taken by the selectors. “The selectors have categorically said that this team is only for one game,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “They have dropped around four-five players.”Among those dropped is Pinal Shah, the experienced wicketkeeper. Yusuf Pathan will miss the game due to an illness. Kedar Devdhar has been named vice-captain.Rahane, Shardul boost for MumbaiMumbai will be strengthened by the inclusion of Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur, who were on national duty during the ODI series against New Zealand, for their game against Odisha in Bhubaneshwar. Seamer Tushar Deshpande, who picked up 21 wickets last season, has been added to the 16-member squad in place of Minad Manjrekar.Rahane notched up fifty-plus scores in each of his last four ODI innings against Australia, while Thakur has played A-team cricket over the last month.Rahane’s inclusion will be a boost to the batting department in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who has been called up to the national side for the T20I series against New Zealand. Iyer has been in tremendous form recently, and smashed a 57 and 138 in Mumbai’s last game against Tamil Nadu.Mumbai’s form, however, has been patchy. While they secured the first-innings lead against Madhya Pradesh in the opening game, they dropped points against Tamil Nadu at home. With four points from two games, they are currently fourth in the Group C standings.

Former West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan announced his retirement from all cricket on Thursday at a ceremony at his school, Stella Maris, in Guyana

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2016Former West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday at a ceremony at his school, Stella Maris, in Guyana*. Sarwan’s last international match was an ODI against India at The Oval during the 2013 Champions Trophy. He made 286 international appearances for West Indies in his career.Sarwan, 36, who made his first-class debut for Guyana, against Barbados in the Red Stripe Cup of 1995-96 at the age of 15, played the first of his 87 Tests four years later, in May 2000 against Pakistan in Barbados, and scored 84 and 11*. He struck his maiden Test century in his 28th match, against Bangladesh in Dhaka, and gradually cemented his place at No. 3 in West Indies’ Test line-up.One of his best performances came in May 2003, in a home Test against Australia in Antigua, where he scored a crucial 105 at No. 5 to help West Indies chase down 418, the highest successful fourth-innings chase in Test cricket. He followed that up by scoring 392 runs in a four-Test series in South Africa, although West Indies lost the series 3-0.Fourteen of his 15 Test centuries came at No. 3, including a career-best 291 against England in Barbados in 2009, which equalled Viv Richards’ personal best. His record of 4197 runs from 60 matches is the third highest among West Indies batsmen at No. 3, and he also equalled Richie Richardson for the most centuries by a West Indies batsman at this position – 14. Overall, Sarwan will finish with a Test average of 40.01, having scored 5842 runs in 87 Tests. His last match in the format came in Barbados against India in 2011.Sarwan made his ODI debut on the tour of England in July 2000 and in a career that spanned almost 13 years, he earned a reputation as a finisher. Signs of that ability came early on in his limited-overs career when he struck an unbeaten 83 to seal a last-ball win in Jamshedpur against India in November 2002. He also played an important role in West Indies’ series victories in the Natwest Series in July 2004 and the Champions Trophy later that year.He was the second-highest run-scorer in the 2004 Champions Trophy, with 166 runs in four matches at an average of 83. Sarwan played three World Cups for West Indies – 2003, 2007 and 2011 – scoring 739 runs. However, he lost his place in the ODI side after a home series against India in 2011, despite finishing as the second-highest run-getter with 216 runs in five games, which included three fifties. India had won the series 3-2.Sarwan was recalled in January 2013, after 18 months out of the ODI side, for the limited-overs series in Australia. He scored only 12 in three matches on his return, before striking an unbeaten 120 against Zimbabwe in a home series in February. He was dropped from the ODI side later that year. Sarwan is ranked as the seventh-highest run-getter for West Indies in ODIs, with a tally of 5804 runs from 181 matches at an average of 42.67, including five centuries and 38 fifties. He also played 18 T20Is between 2007 and 2010, scoring 298 runs with two fifties.Sarwan captained West Indies in four Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is. He had been named stand-in captain for a home ODI series against Bangladesh in 2004 but took over as full-time captain when Brian Lara retired in 2007. A series of injuries, however, limited his time as captain and he eventually lost the role to Chris Gayle.Sarwan also faced a few controversies during his international career. In March 2005, Sarwan was one of seven players – the group also included Lara and Gayle – who were dropped from the list of probables for the series against Pakistan and South Africa following a contract conflict between an individual sponsor (Cable and Wireless) and the team sponsor (Digicel), with the WICB insisting that the players could not be considered for selection until their individual sponsorship contracts were examined. Sarwan was later considered for selection after terminating his agreement with Cable and Wireless.In 2007, Sarwan, then captain, criticised former coach Bennett King, calling the latter “one of the worst coaches” he had played under, and alleged that King was abusive to players.Sarwan was also cut from the contract list in 2010, after his fitness was “deemed unsatisfactory”, and he was subsequently dropped from the ODI sides, before being recalled for the 2011 World Cup. He was picked for the home Tests against Pakistan and India after a gap of nearly 18 months, but played only four Tests before being excluded again.Following the contract snub, Sarwan lodged an appeal against the WICB in March 2011, for “unfairly questioning in public his fitness and attitude”. The matter was heard in arbitration and in March 2012, Sarwan was awarded $161,000 in damages.After his international career wound down, Sarwan continued to keep himself busy in the first-class and Twenty20 circuit. Sarwan played in only three List A games after his final international appearance, against India in the 2013 Champions Trophy, all of them for Guyana in the 2013-14 domestic 50-over tournament. He played two seasons of county cricket, however, as part of Leicestershire. While he had decent returns in 2013, scoring 255 runs in five matches at 36.42, his performances fell apart the following season in which 10 innings yielded only 184 runs. That happened to be his last season in first-class cricket.Sarwan was part of the Guyana team that made the finals of the Caribbean T20 in 2012-13 and the Caribbean Premier League in 2013, but had lukewarm returns. Despite batting at Nos. 3 and 4 in the Caribbean T20, he ended the tournament with 61 runs in eight matches. In the CPL, he initially came out at No. 4, he was later pushed down the order and batted mostly at Nos. 6 and 7. He ended the tournament with 80 runs in nine matches at 20. In the latest edition of the tournament, he made only two appearances for the Trinbago Knight Riders and batted once, scoring 9.* 0707 hrs GMT, September 17, 2016. This copy was updated following Sarwan’s formal announcement

Impressive bowling in the third ODI and that Zimbabwe also chased down 304 in the first match of the ongoing tour augurs well for the hosts for the only T20 against New Zealand on Sunday

The Preview by Vishal Dikshit08-Aug-2015

Match facts

August 9, 2015
Start time 1300 local (1100 GMT)Regis Chakabva had a poor time behind the stumps in the third ODI and has even run out of big scores•AFP

Big picture

Zimbabwe opted to bowl in the three ODIs against India last month and lost all three matches. However, they opted to bat in the second T20I and their bowlers restricted India to 135, setting up Zimbabwe’s first ever T20 win against the maiden World T20 champions. Graeme Cremer produced a match-turning spell of 4-0-18-3 that day, and in the third ODI against New Zealand on Friday, he finished with 10-0-44-3, albeit in a losing cause. Those numbers, and the fact that Zimbabwe also chased down 304 in the first match of the ongoing tour augurs well for the hosts ahead of the only T20 on Sunday.Opener Chamu Chibhabha will also look to replicate his performance of a quick fifty against India, after his solid but slow 65-ball 32 on Friday. Still, Zimbabwe’s slow batting approach was not to blame for their ODI series loss, as the team simply served their wickets on a platter and squandered a golden chance to register another series win against the World Cup finalists. Zimbabwe may not be too worried about their bowling – Tinashe Panyangara led a disciplined attack after seven of their bowlers failed to pick a single wicket in the 10-wicket mauling in the second ODI.New Zealand have played only one T20 this year and three in the last 12 months, losing two out of those. Out of their last eight matches, going back to March 2014, they have won only three. The uplifting statistic for New Zealand will be that they have never lost to Zimbabwe. Yet. Work remains to be done in their bowling line-up to ensure that record remains intact. They allowed Zimbabwe to chase down 304 in the first ODI, lost steam after early wickets for a Sikandar Raza hundred at No. 7 in the second, and let the hosts cruise to 97 for 0 before Zimbabwe derailed on their own. While the spinners – Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum – lead the wicket charts with five apiece and an economy of just around five, the pacers need to step up for more convincing wins in the absence of Trent Boult and Tim Southee.With two wins from their last four international matches, Zimbabwe’s chances are not as bad as everyone thought they would be.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe WLLLW
New Zealand LWLLW

In the spotlight

The racks of New Zealand’s middle order cupboard seem a bit bare after Ross Taylor was ruled out of the remainder of the tour. His hundred in the first ODI was the only contribution from the middle order as the bulk of the runs have come from Kane Williamson (187), Martin Guptill (169) and Tom Latham (140). No other batsman, who will play tomorrow, has put together 80 runs so far.Wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva got two innings in the ODI series and produced scores of 2 and 3 at Nos. 4 and 7 respectively. He has also dropped catches and missed stumpings. Zimbabwe have fielded three men behind the stumps recently – Richmond Mutumbami, Charles Coventry and Chakabva. A quick start, or even a fifty, could help Chakbava’s place in the squad before Pakistan arrive for three T20s and as many ODIs next month.

Team news

From the ODI squad, Neville Madziva makes way for Taurai Muzarabani, who made his debut against India. And Regis Chakabva, Tinashe Panyangara, Sean Williams and Luke Jongwe continue to be a part of the squad for the T20 even though they weren’t in fray against India. The selectors chose to leave out Charles Coventry, Donald Tiripano and Brian Vitori from the squad of 15 that was picked for the India T20s.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Elton Chigumbura (captain), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Regis Chakabva (wk), 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Tinashe Panyangara, 10 Taurai Muzarabani, 11 John NyumbuNew Zealand may not feel the need to change their winning XI from Friday, especially after Ben Wheeler returned frugal figures of 9-1-34-0 after coming in for Matt Henry.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Colin Munro, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 James Neesham, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Ben Wheeler, 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

The Harare pitch that was used for the first and third ODIs did assist pacers a little bit early on, but those were morning starts. With a 1pm start scheduled for Sunday, batting first may not be as bad an option because the team batting first in the previous two T20s won here and the sun will only help them.

Stats and trivia

• Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer in T20 internationals, is 38 away from 1000 runs
• No Zimbabwe bowler besides Prosper Utseya (25) has taken more than 20 wickets in T20Is.
• New Zealand’s win-loss ratio of 0.972 in T20Is places them seventh among the top ten teams, behind Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, India, Australia and West Indies

Quotes

“Chakabva is a decent player but it hasn’t clicked. He’s still a good player.”
The boys are stoked. We lost our last Twenty20 match so we’re looking to really put in a good performance and come out with a win. The wicket is likely to be a bit quicker and more bouncy, so we’re going to have to adjust our line and lengths.

Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq put on Pakistan’s biggest partnership in South Africa to even up the match on the first day

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran14-Feb-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsYounis Khan enhanced his reputation for scoring when it matters•Getty Images

Pakistan cricket continues to confound. In the morning, South Africa’s ruthless pack of quick bowlers ran through the opposition top order yet again and all the fears over Pakistan’s brittle batting seemed to have come to pass. Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq, however, showed there was plenty of backbone in the batting by putting on Pakistan’s biggest Test partnership against South Africa to even up the match on the first day in Cape Town.Against the finest attack in the world, Younis enhanced his reputation of scoring runs when his team was in distress. The famous Younis smile was frequently on display, after particularly good deliveries – a Dale Steyn curler which beat him, a Morne Morkel bouncer which struck him on the body – and especially after completing his first Test hundred in a year.Shafiq’s century is likely to rank as the finest innings of his career so far. Initially, he wasn’t in the best touch: there was a leading edge beyond mid-off, and there were several loose drives outside off which didn’t connect, but he grew in confidence once the pitch started to lose its venom. After that he unveiled his strokes, uppercutting Jacques Kallis behind point for four and picking off the usually accurate Vernon Philander for two leg-side boundaries in an over.What really allowed the Pakistan batsmen to break free was the introduction of the weak link in the South Africa attack, Robin Peterson. His job description, especially on day one, is to keep it tight while the quicks get a breather, but he couldn’t quite play that role as he struggled to settle into a consistent line and length. There were far too many short balls early on and the pressure built up by the fast bowlers – who gave away only 14 runs in the first 12 overs after lunch – quickly evaporated as he gave away four boundaries in his first five overs.

Smart stats

• The 219-run stand between Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq is Pakistan’s first double-century partnership against South Africa. Younis features in each of the three top stands for Pakistan against South Africa.

• The partnership is also the second-best for Pakistan’s fifth wicket outside Asia, next only to the 258-run stand between Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saleem Malik in Wellington in 1994.

• Younis’ 111 is his first Test century in 13 innings in South Africa. His previous-highest was 68.

• Shafiq’s unbeaten 111 is his third Test century in 27 innings, and his highest score. It’s also his first hundred outside the subcontinent.

• It’s only the fifth time in Test history that a pair has added more than 200 for the fifth wicket after the team’s been four down for less than 50.

Pakistan’s most dominant phase came after tea, when South Africa were waiting for the second new ball. There wasn’t much reverse swing on offer, and South Africa rotated Kallis, Peterson and Dean Elgar to keep their main bowlers fresh. Younis opened out, hitting a couple of straight sixes and Shafiq launched a flighted delivery well over long-on and then crashed one behind backward point as 62 runs came in the final 10 overs with the old ball.Both batsmen reached their century just before the new ball, and Pakistan had moved along to 238 for 4 after 80 overs. Then came a critical phase of play as South Africa’s attack reverted to menacing. Steyn and Philander bowled several unplayable deliveries; Philander had the ball buzzing past the outside edge and Hot Spot saved Younis against Steyn in the first over with the second new ball. It was Hot Spot that provided the evidence to end Younis’ innings two overs before stumps, though, as South Africa reviewed an lbw decision, only to find that Younis had edged the ball through to the keeper.South Africa were just as threatening in the morning. Slicing through the opposition has become so common to them that when Philander took his first wicket of the day, he barely bothered to celebrate, merely completing his follow-through as though the batsman had left the ball alone. Even wicketkeeper AB de Villiers didn’t belt out an appeal or jump for joy after taking a regulation catch, merely tossing the ball aside and jogging up to Philander to congratulate him.Once again, the fast bowlers had the ball hooping around, the purists ooh-ing and aah-ing over the late movement and the batsmen flailing outside off. Midway through the session, Pakistan were down to 33 for 4, and any attempts to forget their record low of 49 all out in Johannesburg were pointless.For the second Test in a row, South Africa captain Graeme Smith took the unconventional decision at the toss. After choosing to bat on a difficult track in Johannesburg, he opted to bowl on a Cape Town surface that was expected to ease out after the first hour. Towards lunch, it did settle down but, as Smith hoped, serious damage had already been done.Philander started the procession with that celebration-free wicket of Nasir Jamshed, who flirted with one outside off without moving his feet. Steyn joined in with his usual away-cutters, one of which Mohammad Hafeez nicked to first slip. Morkel then had Azhar Ali wafting outside off, to give de Villiers another simple catch before he produced another of those patented rearing deliveries that Misbah-ul-Haq could only glove to short leg for a duck.It all seemed one-way traffic, before Younis and Shafiq led the recovery with centuries that gave South Africa’s bowlers increasingly rare sessions of frustration.

Rahul Dravid has denied reports of a rift between the captain MS Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag and said that the team spirit was good in the Indian camp

Sidharth Monga in Perth11-Jan-2012Rahul Dravid turned 39 today. He is a beleaguered batsman of a beleaguered unit. He was the first person to the nets today. About 15 minutes into his throw downs, with no other Indian players around the practice pitches, Dravid was approached by the media manager and asked to address a press conference. Expectedly, press conferences on this tour haven’t been the most pleasant for Indian players. Dravid didn’t seem too pleased with the idea, but he agreed. He’s often had to face the media when the things are not going well.The Dravid of old might have gone through his motions, but the new Dravid joked around and answered questions in good spirit. He made his stance on DRS clear, saying he liked it earlier, but after the technological errors in England he was not a big fan. Without being asked, he laughed off the criticism of the team’s “vacation”, a go-karting session. He also gave the Australian bowlers credit.Dravid said he was thankful India were touring, and weren’t really subjected to the criticism that they should be practising 24/7. “One of the good things about touring abroad, travelling away from home, is that you are in a bit of a cocoon,” he said. “You don’t tend to know what’s happening back home. In a way, that’s good.”I think the spirit in the team has been actually pretty good. It’s been very good. Everyone has been keen. The enthusiasm to practise … just the overall energy around the squad has been really good. Obviously, it’s a disappointment with the results we have had so far. And yeah, we’d like to do better. But, overall, in terms of the spirit, it’s been pretty good.”Dravid was asked if there had been any motivational talks. “It’s not like we sat down and had a big meeting and discussed these things,” he said. “There are lot of conversations that happen in the dressing room, over dinner and when we go go-karting.” At which point everybody laughed. “There are lots of conversations that can happen at times like that. They are very useful. You don’t learn anything through power-point presentations.”When asked if he had ever expected to have a 100% win record in Perth Tests, Dravid said, “We should have quit when we were ahead, right?” Then he showed enough self-deprecation to laugh at his own intensity. “I really enjoyed to come here last time,” he said. “I was really disappointed to play the shot I did on 93. It still gives me nightmares sometimes. It’s always nice to come and play in these conditions. It’s like an Australian team coming and playing on a rank turner in India, and winning a Test match. We would like to do the same thing again.”When the serious question was asked about reports in Australian papers that all was not well between the captain MS Dhoni and vice-captain Virender Sehwag, Dravid answered seriously. “When you are down 2-0, all these things happen,” he said. “Suddenly there’s all sorts of stuff floating around. There is absolutely no truth to any of these things. Like I said, the spirit in the team is pretty good.”Dravid was asked if he had any plans to celebrate his 39th birthday. Nothing, he said. Just practise and sleep. Did the number 39 scare him? “Any number scares you after 30,” he said and laughed. “Actually, 40. I’ll be scared of that number.” And then he went back to practising.

Rajasthan’s unbeaten run this tournament owes, in large part, to a collective effort and consistency in implementing their strategies

Siddhartha Talya26-Dec-2010It’s been a dream campaign for Rajasthan, emerging from the Plate League to all but go past the defending champions Mumbai and book their place in a Ranji Trophy semi-final for the first time in 25 years. “It’s a huge thing for Rajasthan, to all those players who’ve been associated with Rajasthan for such a long time,” Aakash Chopra, the former Delhi and now Rajasthan opener, told ESPNcricinfo.A determined batting performance from Rajasthan has given them a big first-innings lead, but did the conditions play any role in the contrasting performances of the two teams? “Not at all,” Chopra said. “It was a good wicket to bat on on day one as well. That’s why Mumbai won the toss and decided to bat. It goes on to show that they also thought the track was dry. There is a grass covering but the grass is basically brown, and it’s there to hold the track more than anything else. So there wasn’t any exaggerated sideways movement or movement in the air. There were no demons in the track. It’s more about the way we have played our cricket and how Mumbai have played their cricket.”The chief architect of Mumbai’s collapse in the first innings was seamer Pankaj Singh, whose six wickets set the game up for Rajasthan. His victims included the Mumbai openers and one of their most successful batsmen this season, Rohit Sharma, each of the three either bowled or lbw.”Pankaj, throughout the season, has been bowling his heart out, running in hard and bowling in the right areas with good pace,” Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the Rajasthan captain and their highest run-getter this season, said. “And he’s never given up and it’s solely his hard work that is helping him.”The approach adopted by the Mumbai batsmen also worsened their prospects, Chopra added. “The Mumbai batsmen were flamboyant, going after the bowling and perhaps played into Pankaj Singh’s hands because he bowled a probing line, asked the right questions and they didn’t apply themselves as well as they would have liked.”They were bowled out for 252, not a par-score for this track. We had thought, considering their depth in the batting line-up, of chasing a score of something like a minimum of 450.”Rajasthan’s unbeaten run this tournament – although a nominal fourth day in the quarter-final still remains – owes, in large part, to a collective effort and consistency in implementing their strategies. “The teamwork has been the highlight,” Kanitkar said. “We’ve really stressed on that in all our meetings and practice sessions. Throughout this season, in each game, we’ve had sets of players step up, which has helped us succeed consistently.”A committed plan to make the most effective use of their bowling resources and extract as much assistance from the tail with the bat made this success possible, Chopra said. “As far as our bowling is concerned, we’ve tried to swing the ball all the way.” And the ploy’s worked, with seamers Pankaj and Deepak Chahar splitting 63 wickets in six games. “That’s where our strength lies. We’ve tried to pitch the ball up, maintained a good aggressive line of attack. We may not have been the most economical side in the competition but we’ve created enough chances. For our batting, we had decided to have a set batsman batting right till the end and in most of the games we had one pure batsman batting with the tail.””It’s just one of those things where we bowled really well, a disciplined line and length and continued to get wickets,” Kanitkar said. “Mumbai have batted well throughout this season, but our discipline paid off.”

The Pakistan wicketkeeper has said he is keen to move on and improve as a wicketkeeper following a tough tour of Australia, where he came under great scrutiny

Cricinfo staff06-Feb-2010Kamran Akmal, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, has said he is keen to move on and improve as a wicketkeeper following a tough tour of Australia, where he came under great scrutiny. He said it was normal for all players to go through a bad patch once in a while and that the important thing was to learn from each experience.The nadir for Akmal was the second Test at the SCG, dropping Michael Hussey three times off Danish Kaneria on the third day after missing a run-out chance. He also dropped Peter Siddle off Mohammad Sami on the fourth morning. Hussey went on to score an unbeaten 134 and helped stretched Australia’s lead from 80 – at the end of the third day – to 175. Pakistan were the favourites to win on the fourth day but folded for 139 and lost the match by 36 runs and with it the series. Sarfraz Ahmed replaced him for the third Test.”Even the greatest players who have played the game have gone through rough patches in their career. Even the likes of Ricky Ponting have gone through slumps in their form,” Akmal told “The most important thing for me to concentrate on is how I bounce back from this. The Sydney Test match was a horrible experience. There is no point in making excuses over events in Sydney.”All I can do is to work hard on my cricket, learn from the events of Sydney and take on board the advice from colleagues and friends.”Akmal said advice from former wicketkeepers like Ian Healy and Wasim Bari has been forthcoming. He said his Australian counterpart Brad Haddin also spent time with him in Hobart, the venue of the third Test of that series.”Ian Healy has been very helpful to me and given me some excellent technical advice and tips,” Akmal said. “You can’t ignore advice from a wicketkeeper of such experience and pedigree. Brad [Haddin] chatted with me in Hobart about some technical issues and told me to keep my chin up. I’m so appreciative of the advice and time that both Healy and Haddin gave me and I’ll always be grateful to them.”He was also contacted by Bari, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, who is now an official with the Pakistan Cricket Board. “Wasim Bari phoned me up after the Sydney Test match and we had a good chat. Wasim encouraged me and also told me to keep my spirits up. He is a very experienced wicketkeeper and his advice was also much appreciated.”Pakistan endured a miserable tour, losing all three Tests, five ODIs and the Twenty20. Akmal said that despite the series of defeats, the whole team had learnt plenty by just observing the professional work ethic of their opponents.”It’s tough, cricket in Australia, it’s hard work and you are thoroughly tested in every aspect of your game. The preparation of the Australians and their attention to detail is something that we can all learn from. There are so many things we can take from this tour and use to improve our cricket.”

Gloucestershire seamer Josh Shaw joins exodus after agreeing Somerset switch

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2025Northamptonshire have re-signed Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Australian seamer Harry Conway as overseas players for next season.Conway, who took 20 wickets in four Championship appearances earlier this year, will return for the start of the 2026 campaign. The 33-year-old is expected to be available for the first block of seven games in April and May.Chahal, meanwhile, has agreed to return for a third consecutive summer at Northants, joining for the second half of the season to play in the County Championship and Metro Bank One-Day Cup. Overall, he has taken 44 first-class wickets and seven in List A for the club.”Yuzi is a magnificent asset to this squad,” Northamptonshire’s head coach, Darren Lehmann, said. “His record across his career speaks for itself and he brings so much class and experience to the group. I loved working with him this year and am excited to go again in 2026.””For young spinners in the group like Nirvan Ramesh and Stuart van der Merwe, having Yuzi around to guide them will be a huge plus for their game.”On Conway, Lehmann added: “Harry is an excellent addition for 2026. His form last year was fantastic, and I am excited to work with him for a longer period. His ability to take wickets on all surfaces and presence around the team makes him an invaluable player.”Northants have also signed batter Louis Kimber on a two-year deal from Leicestershire. Largely known as a white-ball hitter and occasional offspinner, Kimber made headlines in 2023 after scoring 243 off 127 balls in the County Championship at Hove.”Louis brings with him a huge amount of knowledge and experience around county cricket as well as boosting our batting firepower,” Lehmann said. “He will no doubt attract people to Wantage Road with his explosive batting and I can’t wait to start working with him.”

Josh Shaw joins Somerset

Josh Shaw spent six years at Gloucestershire•Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Gloucestershire have seen another member of their seam-bowling group depart, after Josh Shaw signed for Somerset earlier this week.Shaw, 29, had been under contract at Bristol since 2019, having previously played on loan from Yorkshire. He follows Ajeet Singh Dale (Lancashire), Zaman Akhter (Essex), Archie Bailey (Durham), Tom Price and Dom Goodman (both Sussex) in leaving over the close season.”We have seen first-hand how impactful Josh can be,” Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said. “He has the ability to swing and seam the ball, and he is an excellent addition to our bowling unit.”We are fully aware of Josh’s strong character traits and his willingness to be the best version of himself, which will add real value to the dressing room as well as on the pitch. These attributes will be vital for us as we continue to compete across all competitions.”