Ahead of board elections, Skerritt on the financial hurdles facing cricket in the Caribbean, being a “player-centric president”, and more

George Dobell26-Mar-2021
How perilous were CWI finances when you took over?
I didn’t even know how perilous they were. And I was on the board. There was a fair amount of delusion about a lot of things at CWI and our policy of being transparent, accountable and open has brought about a wider understanding of the challenges CWI really faced. We have been very open about the real difficulties in taking CWI forward because of the obstacles in place and the battles that went on and on. We’ve tried to bring peace and understanding and partnership to really refocus on, as we call it, cricket first.You said there was “black hole” in the finances. What state are CWI’s finances in now?
The biggest problem we were facing is that all of our future cash was spoken for before we even got it. We were living on borrowed future income. So, we had close to USD 20 million in institutional debt. And we were borrowing to pay back lenders. It was all smoke and mirrors. And that’s understandable on short-term strategies when there are difficult times for cash flow. But it had become endemic.So we’ve been having to tighten belts, focus on cash rather than on profit and loss and get rid of any sort of unnecessary costs. And we’ve cut our debt down by at least a third now after less than two years. And, with some difficulty, we have improved our ability to meet our obligations, we just could not meet most of our obligations [previously].We were borrowing money to pay wages. We did that for the first year that I was in office. Right up until the early summer last year we were literally having to borrow to just pay players and staff.What impact did the pandemic have?
The pandemic made everything more devastating. But it also gave us an opportunity and an excuse to focus on what we really needed to focus on, which was keeping CWI going and getting all stakeholders to understand that it would take sacrifices from all of us, including a 50% pay cut for everybody. We said it would either be that or we would have to lay off a significant number of individuals, which we didn’t want to do. In the first year [of Skerritt’s term], we were just tightening up and reducing staff based on attrition as opposed to cutting too much. We were just trying to keep control. We said we would do more with less.The pandemic forced us to do more with even less. And I think that, in the final analysis, we’re going to come out of the pandemic more informed and better aware of what’s needed going forward.There’s been some criticism from within the Caribbean that you should have placed a higher price on West Indies’ involvement in the series in England in 2020. Some say you should have asked the ECB for several million dollars for agreeing to complete that tour. How do you reflect on that now?
First of all, there’s no higher price than the health and safety of our players. And we did everything to ensure that we had a partnership with the ECB, their medical people and their country’s best medical people working with our medical people and our medical advisors to make sure that we establish a pioneering – and I emphasise it pioneering – bio-safety model, which has become the template for all others that have followed. We are very proud to have been a leader in that.The criticism came from people who were upset that we tried to re-introduce cricket because, for them, no cricket was going to be used as a failure of ours. This was about carrying out our obligations to the ICC Future Tours Programme.Ricky Skerritt, the CWI president, pledged to provide greater accountability when running for office•CWIThose folks wanted me to somehow hold a gun to the head of the ECB and extort money from them because there was this perception that if we didn’t go to England, the ECB would go bankrupt. Therefore, they would be prepared to pay any kind of money.That was ridiculously untrue. There were other teams lined up to go to England and I could bet you that none of them are going to do the distasteful action of seeking to extort money for the trip. It just doesn’t happen in ICC systems. There’s absolutely no record of a visiting team being able to extort money from a host. That’s not how the system works.Just ahead of that Test series in England, some were calling for the dismissal of your head coach. What does that tell us?
It is a very sad reality that across the Caribbean not everybody really, genuinely loves West Indies cricket through thick and thin. Some of the people have given many hours of support for West Indies cricket but, when it comes to certain matters of politics, you almost can’t recognise them.So, Phil Simmons was unjustly released from his job, years ago. And Phil Simmons was allowed to reapply for the same job some years later when I became chairman. And somehow, there are people who feel that Phil Simmons gets preferential treatment. Phil Simmons gets success the old fashioned way. He works for it. He has failures, along with his successes, which he learns from, and what we have tried to do in CWI is to develop a learning environment and Phil Simmons is the right man for that. We went through a process, a very transparent recruitment process, to put him in place. So when there were people calling for his removal, it was not only shocking, it was very distasteful. And very worrying. Because it reminds us how vulnerable West Indies cricket is to those critics only see their own shadows ahead of them.What are the achievements you’re most proud of as president?
Enthusiasm for West Indies cricket regionally and globally. The region and the international environment have begun to look at West Indies as a potential force in world cricket.Is there tangible evidence of that?
Well, I can’t give you the data off the top of my head. But the fan engagement, the social media interactions, the conversations that are taking place in the media and the upsurge in interests. Even in the areas of politics – which I prefer wasn’t the focus – but there is just more dialogue. And the more the dialogue takes place the more constructive it will become.One of the obvious changes is that you seem to have all the players available again.
I would say that is the second biggest achievement: bringing back, confidence, within the system at the player level. Players, generally, don’t trust cricket administrators for all kinds of reasons. History is flooded with confrontation between players and the board. So I certainly can’t tell you that there will be no confrontation in the future.Skerritt: ‘I have no apologies about being a player-centric president. I’ve been accused of being too soft to players’•Philip Spooner/CWIWhat I can tell you is that the partnership that my predecessors had set up with the West Indies Players’ Association was a good partnership that has continued to strengthen. But most importantly, the relations with most of the players including many of whom are not members of WIPA, which was at an all-time low, that has stabilised considerably.We just saw a Super50 tournament where the best players collaborated with us to make themselves available to play whether they were contracted or not. Because the players are beginning to understand that there is goodwill. I have no apologies about being a player-centric president. I’ve been accused of being too soft to players. You let me see a cricket system without players. You could have it without administrators; you cannot have it without players.Ultimately administrators – rightly or wrongly – are probably defined by the results on the pitch. The team has remained a bit inconsistent, hasn’t it?
Yes, very much so. And let me say, at no time did we predict that within two years, we would see the sustainability in improvement. And I certainly understand that, ultimately, we will be measured by improvement on the field. But remember where we started from: we started from the bottom. In every format. So, what we have to ask ourselves is: how did we get there?Then we have to make sure that we eliminate all of the problems that have caused us to be there. And put in place the measures that will help us to climb the ladder again, including selection of the best available players. But more importantly, helping all of the players to improve so that they go from one tournament to the next as an improved player. We haven’t done a very good job of that in the past.How confident are you that you’re putting the blocks in place to build for the future?
We’ve been putting the human infrastructure and the technical and technological networks in place. In fact, since October last year, there is more collaboration taking place between coaches, all across the region, than ever in our history.We have right now, without being able to host tournaments as we would want, been able to identify 45 U-19 players who are already receiving virtual and actual coaching assistance no matter where they live in the Caribbean. It’s part of our development plan to get that U-19 team ready for the World Cup, which we will be hosting in a year’s time.Look at what we did with the women’s programme. Not only did we put Courtney Walsh in charge of it, but we have significantly improved the quality of the coaching team he has around him. And the very first cricket activity of this year, starting early in January and running for three-and-a-half weeks, was a high performance camp for 26 women of all ages and backgrounds helping to get us started on a new wave of preparation for the next Women’s World Cup.Courtney Walsh has joined the West Indies women’s team support staff•CWIIn terms of the Wehby report, while the aim might be to bring in more independence and expertise, some in the territorial boards will say that you’re minimising their voices. Is it realistic to expect them to vote themselves out of existence?
That’s the million-dollar question. How many of us will be big enough to see that West Indies is cricket is bigger than us individually? It’s the most difficult thing.It’s not difficult for me. I could leave West Indies cricket at any time and still have West Indies cricket completely warm in my embrace. I’d still do whatever I can at any level. But there are some people who are so personal about their particular role and position that anything that threatens that, threatens their support for all things West Indies cricket.All of these people are well-intentioned, ultimately. Cricket volunteers are not always easy to find. Cricket, in the past was run primarily by volunteers. By people who have been doing it for decades. And they get threatened by these folks who come in and don’t even know or understand the history. It becomes a potential conflict every time a new person comes in and tries to assert him or herself.They never seem to want to accept people who didn’t come through the belly of West Indies cricket; the local boards and territorial boards. There are some people who are petrified about the possibility of university professors or engineers and doctors who somehow never played enough cricket or didn’t come through the board system, coming on to the board. That’s why we have independent directors. That’s what it’s about: how do you get a balance between the cricket people and those that know how to take that and make it work for cricket.It would appear the CWI relationship with various stakeholders – CARICOM, for example – has improved. And you were close to becoming vice-chair of the ICC board and are now on the MCC Cricket Committee. What do we read into this?
The vice-chairmanship of ICC is an important role, but it’s primarily a ceremonial role. It’s there as a safety net to cover for chairman. I was asked if I was nominated if I would accept the nomination and I said sure. We need to have democracy in these organisations and people need to believe that there are others who are competing. That’s why I welcome competition in this election. But, the fact that, with very little effort, I was beaten by one vote. It said two things: one that the ICC board is clearly divided, which we were not that surprised at, but it also said that in a short time that I have been on the board, a fair number of people believe that I have potential for helping in the leadership of ICC. I’m very honoured by that perception.Could this improved relationship with the ICC lead to West Indies hosting major ICC events?
Very hopefully. Even though there’s still some division and distrust, Greg [Barclay], the new chairman, has come in with a great sense of expectation and I think that there’s a fair amount of goodwill towards his leadership. Once a little time elapses you will see some good possibilities coming out of Greg’s chairmanship at the ICC.Is that revenue model idea – an idea which your chief executive [Johnny Grave] originally devised – whereby the host nation share perhaps 20% of their revenue from a the relevant broadcast deal with the visitors, is that still alive?
Everything is alive right now. Everything is on the table right now. And what I think is happening already, is the ICC chair is ensuring that inputs like this will be given an opportunity to come through to the board. His style is to ensure that we get a sort of bottom-up input into decision-making, so it’s not just the [ICC] board deciding on everything. He is insisting that the chief executives’ committee be allowed to put their recommendations to the ICC executive. So Johnny’s paper, which was done a few years ago, is being updated as we speak.Is there one message you would like to give to people in the region and in particular, those who will be voting in this election?
We are confident that we have helped cricket West Indies onto the right track. And we need to stay on track. We need to move forward. From time to time, we might have to move sideways. But we don’t want to go backwards. We have to be very careful because of the delicate vulnerability of what we have achieved for just a short while, that it can go off track very easily.

At Central Broward Park, the weather is beastly but the cricket is thrilling

Rahul Oak09-Aug-2022The Florida humidity hits you the minute you get off the plane. To someone like myself, who grew up in Mumbai, it brings nostalgia, but that buzz wears off in five minutes, by when I’m already sweating from crevices you aren’t supposed to sweat from – let alone at 9pm. By the time my Uber shows up, not only am I grateful for the concept of air conditioning, I’m also hugely appreciative of cricketers who have to endure the heat while putting on a show for my entertainment.My driver is a second-generation Puerto Rican. “Cricket?” he asks with a mix of curiosity and amusement that is indicative of the general perception of the sport in this country. Let’s just say we have a long way to go before cricket is mentioned in the same breath as even soccer, which, by the way, doesn’t make the top three either.I’m concerned about the weather. One moment it’s balmy and a gentle Florida breeze is blowing and the next, there’s a howling gale and the street is glistening from a persistent rain. But then, just as quickly as the rain arrives, it dissipates and all is well with the world again. I sleep that night feeling optimistic.

****

Waiting in the hotel lobby the next day for a bus to the stadium, I fall into conversation with a group of fellow cricket enthusiasts from various parts of the US, also headed to the game. We reminisce about pre-Covid times and our last live cricket match. Of course, the Gabba comes up. We all hope Virat Kohli finds form soon. The kinship is immediate.We drive away from the coast into the South Florida hinterlands. Central Broward Park, in a quiet suburb of Fort Lauderdale, hosts club cricket most of the year, but it’s certainly not a venue you’d associate with international cricket and bona fide superstars of the sort we are going to watch there.As I walk towards the entrance to the stadium, I spot a smattering of maroon shirts in a sea of blue, roughly equivalent to the relative population of the two regions. The ground is about three-quarters full when I get in. I see a range of India jerseys on show, dating all the way from the 1999 ODI World Cup to the latest edition, with several knockoffs thrown in for good measure.As the players emerge from the pavilion, crowds line up next to the fence, calling out their names and taking pictures. While hero-worship of cricketers in India is not uncommon, the extent of it here highlights the scarcity of cricket in the US, and also makes you realise how hard it must be to be an Indian cricketer. To their credit, even youngsters like Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi are able to deal with the attention with grace and humour.Did we entertain you?•Chandan Khann/AFP/Getty ImagesAfter the toss there is a huge cheer when we find out India will be batting first. From my vantage point, the boundaries look small – about 20 yards in from where they could potentially be. I don’t mind it one bit. Low-scoring thrillers are all well and good, but when I watch a live T20 match for the first time ever, there is a bloodlust in me that can only be satiated by huge sixes.Between the toss and the first ball, as the players warm up, I see a unique drill that probably wasn’t the norm in the pre-T20 era. Shreyas Iyer, one of the substitutes for this match, is standing close to the boundary. Someone is hitting high balls to him from close to the pitch. Iyer tries to keep his balance as he catches them at the edge of the boundary. One time he overbalances but throws the ball back into play before stepping outside the boundary and then casually jumping back in to catch it. Practice makes perfect, as they say.The DJ springs into action, reminding me of the NBA and MLB games I’ve watched in the US. The crowd seems to be having a great time, dancing to a mix of old and new favourites, including bhangra, the latest Bollywood dance numbers, and the good old ” India”, which seems to have become a de facto anthem at Indian sporting events. Watching the cheerleaders dance to these unfamiliar tunes makes me think about how this very American phenomenon has made it to T20Is in the US via the IPL.The crowd goes wild when Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav start the innings off with a flurry of sixes. As good as Rohit’s sixes are, Suryakumar’s innovation is something else.After a middle period that feels a bit slow, even for a T20, the decibel levels reach a crescendo when Axar Patel finishes the innings off with a few lusty blows to cheers of “Bapu” from the predominantly Gujarati-speaking crowd – who are slightly disappointed their favourite sons, Harshal Patel and Hardik Pandya, are not playing this match.After a mad dash for lunch and restrooms, the crowd is stunned into silence by a strong West Indies start – until Avesh Khan snags a couple of wickets. The next bit is classic West Indies T20 batting: several big hits accompanied by a steady stream of wickets, much to the delight of the partisan crowd. That said, I find myself somewhat disappointed when Nicholas Pooran gets out. It’s incredible just how far he’s able to hit the ball for someone his size.Towards the end, the atmosphere turns celebratory as a West Indies win becomes increasingly unlikely. The DJs, who have till now turned the music off before each delivery is bowled, play the IPL bugle even as Arshdeep runs in to bowl his special yorkers at the lower order.Which team are we supporting? Read our shirts•Peter Della PennaOn the way back to the hotel, attention turns to Sunday’s weather and it does not look good. Before coming to Florida, I’d have been satisfied watching one full match, but now I’m starting to get greedy.

****

I wake up to a pleasant surprise: not only has it not rained all night, like it was supposed to, it may end up not raining at all. It’s more sparse in the lobby than it was the day before. I suspect most folks didn’t expect today’s match to be played and are catching up on their sleep. I remember overhearing some second-generation Indian kids complaining to their parents the day before about how they weren’t quite looking forward to watching . Apparently even watching matches back to back can be tiring, let alone playing them.The upside is that getting into the stadium is a breeze compared to the previous day, but I still can’t say I’m fully prepared for the speakers blaring bhangra at full blast at 9:30am. The crowd lets out a huge cheer when Hardik walks out for the toss. We see Ishan Kishan and Iyer getting drills from batting coach Vikram Rathour, an indication that we may be able to see both players in action.The crowd builds up as Iyer and Deepak Hooda put on a fine partnership. Then there is a bizarre stoppage, for lightning of all things. The announcer proclaims the area to be the “lightning capital of the USA” and it certainly looks like they have protocols in place. The people in the uncovered stands are ordered to go find shady spots to stand in. After a few minutes, play resumes, India chalk up another impressive score, despite West Indies clawing their way back somewhat towards the back end of the innings.When you’re in the “lightning capital of the USA”, you’ve got to expect …•Rahul OakThe match stops being a contest after Axar runs through the top order and Kuldeep Yadav traps Pooran lbw, though Shimron Hetmeyer offers some resistance. Bishnoi and Kuldeep are a treat to watch in tandem, reminding me of the heady days of KulCha.By the time the match is done and dusted, it’s a full-fledged party in the stands. Arshdeep runs over to our section for a few selfies and autographs and a couple of official-looking types make the rounds, thanking us for being a great crowd and inform us that there will be a few matches in Florida during the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is to be hosted in the Caribbean. Dare we hope that over time, there are a few more cricketing outposts across the US? With 4.2 million people of Indian origin (that’s 80% of the population of New Zealand), they are certainly deserved.I exchange numbers with some newly minted friends and leave with my heart full. The last two days have filled a cricket-shaped hole in me, and while I wish the matches were not as one-sided as they turned out to be, I realise that’s just being nitpicky. As I lapse into fitful bouts of sleep on my red-eye flight back to California, I find myself humming ” India”.

The collective strength of the team shone through at Lord’s just as it did in Brisbane a few months ago

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Aug-20216:44

What makes this Indian pace attack so lethal?

Even before Virat Kohli declared* India’s second innings, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were in for a surprise as they entered the Long Room inside the Lord’s Pavilion at lunch. The entire Indian squad, led by head coach Ravi Shastri, was at the door step, lavishly cheering the pair on.It was a mark of respect from the dressing room to the two tailenders after their unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 89 runs had put India in an unassailable position. That unprecedented gesture played a big role in the two fast bowlers quickly changing and racing back out with even greater vigour to share new ball.Kohli said later that he wanted at least 55 overs to bowl England out. That he believed India could knock a team out on their own turf in front of a partisan crowd was because he had a bowling attack so sharp, so incisive that it has been compared to some of the very best in history.Bumrah, Shami and Ishant Sharma allied with the fast, furious and youthful Mohammed Siraj destroyed every England batter’s confidence with a combination of pace, discipline, accuracy, consistency and clever presence of mind. It was such a compelling display that even the great James Anderson would have quietly appreciated it from his dressing room.The show started with Bumrah’s intimidating first over to Rory Burns. The left-hander left the field rattled. And it ended in the dying light, with just about half hour of play left, with Siraj gleefully dodging all his team-mates to go and pluck the stump he had just knocked back despite all of Anderson’s best efforts.James Anderson is bowled by Mohammed Siraj, and it’s game over•Getty ImagesIndia have now managed two miraculous wins in 2021 – at the Gabba in January and now at Lord’s. The thread that connects both victories is the collective effort by the 11 members in the team. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma put on a century opening stand, Kohli made a scrappy 42, and while England regained the advantage on the second morning with two quick wickets, Jadeja and Rishabh Pant took India to a strong total. By now, the pitch had flat-lined, but India’s fast men bent their backs and brought it back to life to crack open England’s batters, well everyone except Root, to limit their lead.On the penultimate afternoon, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane batted out nearly two sessions to not just keep India afloat, but also resurrect their careers which were in danger after repeated failures. Every time England thought they had a foot in the door, they would be pushed out by more than one Indian hand. And then came ‘Shamrah’, an R Ashwin trademark to describe Shami and Bumrah’s batting brilliance.Kohli agrees that there is a pattern developing where India are now winning not due to the heroics of one player, but all 11. “KL and Rohit, had an outstanding partnership on day one,” the captain told which conducted interviews with several Indian players immediately after the Lord’s win. “The opposition put us [in] and [they thought] we were going to get blown away. Just the character we showed, to get a result in 60 overs on day five when the pitch was not offering anything to the bowlers… all I can say is I am really proud of the team. We have had some amazing overseas wins but this one is right up there just because of the belief and character we showed and that’s been the hallmark of our team.”While he obviously had special praise for Shami and Bumrah’s batting efforts, Kohli never thought they would help secure a lead so big that it just turned the fate of the match. “Unbelievable. We all knew that we are counting on Rishabh to carry through with the tail and get us extra runs. We were thinking, ‘Okay, 200 would be great. 175-180, we’ll take that as well to have a crack at them.’ But 280 is something we could not have imagined.3:29

Laxman: This win on par with the Brisbane win for India

“Just shows that in this game when you walk on to the field you have a chance as an individual. If you have that belief to take that chance special things can happen. Jasprit and Shami were outstanding – what they did shifted the momentum towards us. The opposition was completely out of the game. We knew that they were going to play for survival and if we got the right breakthroughs then it is going to be so tough for them which ended up being the case.”He might polarise opinions, but Kohli the captain, like the batter, has always been clear about his aim: play to win. Now he leads a team in his image, a fact made clear by Shami when he said none of the bowlers wanted to let the opportunity to win a Test match at Lord’s go to waste. “There was no pace, low (bounce). But all of us including Ishant, Bumrah, Siraj and myself bowled really well. Our aim was to attack the stumps at all times and make them play because we had very limited number of overs. The biggest happiness is we now have the series lead. Incredible.”This collective strength is even helping young players to feel like they belong on the biggest stage. Siraj, for example, has now played a role in two historic overseas victories. As a teenager, when he was busy playing tennis-ball cricket in the dusty by-lanes and in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Siraj would dream of playing at Lord’s one day. In his Test at the fabled ground, where many-a-fast bowler has been distracted by the vagaries of the slope, he emerged as India’s highest wicket-taker. “From childhood I used to watch Lord’s, but to play here now and perform and help the country win I cannot express my happiness. I will enjoy this.”Kohli agrees that there is a pattern developing where India are winning not due to the heroics of one player, but all 11•AFP/Getty ImagesKohli has moved into the top echelon of Test captains with with only Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith boasting more Test match wins. But he is still work in progress. It is only recently that he has sought out and allowed the likes of Rahane, Rohit, Bumrah, Ishant and Ashwin to help him with bowling plans. Rohit was a key sounding board for Rahane in Australia, too. His success as opener has played a huge role in India successes and he has also played mentor to young players like Pant and Shubman Gill.”To win a Test match like that you need character and that’s exactly what everyone showed,” Rohit said after the Lord’s win. “Not just one or two guys, but all 11 came together at different stages, put their hand up and took the responsibility. And that’s a great sign.”On Tuesday morning Shastri put a picture of the entire Indian squad along with the support staff bunched together under the visitors’ honours board at Lord’s. There was a palpable sense of joy on each and every face in that photograph because everyone in it had contributed to a miraculous victory. A win for the ages.

The top order had the experience to bail out their inexperienced attack, but they instead went down in abject fashion

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Mar-2023Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Dinesh Chandimal have all been on four Test tours to New Zealand (this one included). Kusal Mendis has been there three times. Dhananjaya de Silva twice. By now, they’ve sat through days worth of meetings and analysis on how to bat in New Zealand, pored through many hours of footage of the opposition, discussed leaving on length at length, and – such are this team’s predilections – likely become family friends with Nandos staff across the country.The attack has the excuse of inexperience. They have not toured New Zealand anywhere near as much, have a much more complicated history with injuries, and anyway are treated with borderline disdain at home, where pitches frequently make them comedic props in the spin bowlers’ dramatic production. And while New Zealand have had a difficult World Test Championship cycle, their batting order is studded with an all-time superstar in Kane Williamson, a reliable hand in Tom Latham, and batters who have made very bright starts to what promise to be long careers in Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, and Tom Blundell.Their bowling? Well, you’ve kinda gotta maybe say that they were a more daunting proposition in the bad old days when Trent Boult and Tim Southee curved the ball snarl viciously from either end, before Neil Wagner summoned bouncers from the depths of hell in the peak Wagnerball era.Related

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If one didn’t nick you off swinging it one way, the other would get you lbw swinging it the other. And if you survived all of that, the other guy would jam your fingers against the bat with a ball that rocketed off the pitch, his team-mates gathering around to kindly check on you as you writhed around in pain, knowing your tour was over.It is almost to be expected that Sri Lanka’s attack had as poor a first innings as they did in Wellington. On day one, they were battling a near-gale. On top of which, New Zealand’s best batter was incandescent. And there was also the debutant wicketkeeper, who missed a vital catch (he missed a straightforward one off Henry Nicholls on the first evening).

“Their bowling inexperience had made a victory almost impossible, but on day three, batting incompetence sent Sri Lanka nosediving towards defeat”

But for Sri Lanka’s batters to have as poor a day three as this? Just a single 50-plus partnership, and all out for 164, in testing, but not unplayable batting conditions? Their bowling inexperience had made a victory almost impossible, but on day three, batting incompetence sent Sri Lanka nosediving towards defeat.Across that first innings, Sri Lanka made what might be termed rookie mistakes. Late on day two, Mendis saw a short, wide delivery, and failed to hit it far enough away from Conway, who dived spectacularly to his left to intercept it. Mendis has been at the ground for a number of otherworldly New Zealand catches. When they are feeling themselves, this is what New Zealand do.Then, the next day, Mathews fished at one he shouldn’t have. Chandimal charged offspinner Michael Bracewell and went through with his doomed heave to legside when he might have played defensively when he realised he wasn’t getting to the pitch of the ball. Dhananjaya de Silva ran at Bracewell also, and chipped him softly to the catcher at midwicket – perhaps the softest dismissal of the day. Karunaratne played much better than his team-mates, reaching 50 twice in one day. But then he failed to make a century out of either one, holing out twice in the deep, with no need to fall this way in the second innings.Sri Lanka are now faced with an almost impossible climb. They are 303 runs behind, with eight wickets in hand. New Zealand’s bowlers have bowled almost 110 overs in succession, so there is hope the visitors can subject them to further fatigue, batting a wicketless first session out first thing on Monday, then clawing back the lead in the afternoon. It would not be the first time Mathews and Mendis have put on a big stand at the Basin Reserve.But Sri Lanka once again require a second-innings miracle to make something out of this game. The top order had the experience to bail out their inexperienced attack. Instead, in the first innings, they went down in abject fashion.

Bangladesh will be looking to bounce back in the two T20Is in Sylhet after Afghanistan came up trumps in the ODI series

Mohammad Isam13-Jul-2023Bangladesh and Afghanistan will play their last T20I series before entering an ODI extravaganza for the next few months. Both teams have the Asia Cup and World Cup in mind but these two matches in Sylhet could pose an interesting challenge for the two sides. The home side is itching to bounce back after going down in the ODIs earlier in the week, but Afghanistan are an even stronger force in T20Is and have the wood over Bangladesh in the format.The home advantageBangladesh have had a great year so far in T20Is – winning five out of six games – so beating Afghanistan will be the icing on the cake. They won both series they have played this year, against England and Ireland, further improving their already strong home performance in T20Is, taking their win percentage up to 61.9% at home in the last three years.They have adopted a new and bolder approach with big hitting throughout the batting order, which they have shortened to include extra bowlers. Mehidy Hasan Miraz bats at No. 7, which allows for him and Shakib Al Hasan to be the spinners, followed by a four-man pace attack. This year is so far Bangladesh’s best in terms of team bowling average and strike rate.Related

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Afif, Ebadot back in Bangladesh's T20I squad for Afghanistan series

Rashid, Shahzad back in Afghanistan squad for Bangladesh T20Is

Afghanistan have the firepowerA quick look at the Afghanistan squad makes it clear that they have loaded their side with big hitters. Mohammad Shahzad is back in national colours after almost two years, Hazratullah Zazai also returns after missing the T20Is against Pakistan, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz is in fine form after his 145 against Bangladesh in the second ODI last week.Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a crucial 145 in the second ODI against Bangladesh•AFP/Getty ImagesThey also have youngsters Sediqullah Atal, a left-hand batter who made his T20I debut recently against Pakistan, and Ibrahim Zadran in their batting stocks. Najibullah Zadran will be the finisher alongside allrounders Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat and Azmatullah Omarzai. Captain Rashid Khan has young Noor Ahmad and the now-experienced Mujeeb Ur Rahman for company in the spin department.Fazalhaq Farooqi will lead the pace attack alongside fellow left-arm quick Fareed Ahmad and Wafadar Momand, the only uncapped player in the squad. Nijat Masood, who took a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh on Test debut last month, was called up to replace Naveen-ul-Haq.Litton Das, Rony Talukdar vs Afghanistan’s new-ball attackBangladesh’s run rate of 6.03 in the powerplay overall against Afghanistan needs to meet their powerplay run rate of 9.36 from 2023. Litton Das and Rony Talukdar have been all the rage in the Bangladesh T20I side, leading their bold approach. They have already amassed 328 runs in six innings together, just 68 short of eclipsing Bangladesh’s best-ever opening pair. Their brave approach will be facing a strong Afghanistan spin attack, particularly Mujeeb who troubled the Bangladesh openers during the ODI series.A T20I supply line for ODIs?Since both teams have two major ODI tournaments from September, much of their focus will be on giving game time to key players who will feature in those competitions. At the same time, they will also be on the lookout for any new and emerging talent. Two T20Is can’t tell a lot but if a player makes a case for himself, doing well in these matches could help their causes.Bangladesh will get another look at batters Talukdar and Shamim Hossain, and spinners Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain. It will also be another chance for Afif Hossain, who had a miserable ODI series, to get some runs under his belt.Afghanistan can look at several players including batters Hazratullah, Sediqullah and Shahzad, while fast bowlers Fareed, Janat and Nijat could get a look in. The prodigious Noor Ahmad can be a handy option in the subcontinent so a call-up in Sylhet may help him.Rain a big threat in big-scoring SylhetJuly is peak monsoon in Sylhet. It also means peak offseason for cricket in the region. The first T20Is to be held in Sylhet for five years therefore have the risk of both matches getting interrupted by rain. T20Is, however, last roughly three hours and coupled with the ground’s strong drainage facilities, they could sneak in the cricket. The scoring rate is quite high for night T20s in recent years in Sylhet, with BPL teams scoring at an average of 182 runs an innings since 2020.

The attention on Rahul Dravid the coach has reached parody levels, but on the field not much changed, which means India hold a dominant position again

Sidharth Monga25-Nov-20213:03

Jaffer: Shreyas Iyer has taken ‘opportunity with both hands’ after ‘hard grind in first-class cricket’

With Virat Kohli resting post T20 World Cup, the marketing of Indian cricket for the casual fan has centred on #newera in reference to the new coach Rahul Dravid, which is a disfavour to the cricket and also to Dravid himself, who is the last person to crave attention. No press conference, no spot interview, no special programming has gone without trying to look for the Dravid impact in even the most trivial things.

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Those trying to bring Dravid down have been complaining about no experimentation in the T20 XI without paying any mind to the fact that the series was still alive. They’ve been questioning why the team isn’t batting first to get better at setting totals, even though as ODI captain he made them bat second to get better at chasing. There’s even some mumbling over how often the cameras pan to him. On the charitable side of things, his humility has come up, as has his invitation to legends of the game to hand out caps to debutants. His offspin in the nets has been played on loop.It is fitting then that on the first day of Test cricket with Dravid as coach, we learnt nothing new about Test cricket. On his first day of Test cricket in Asia, Kyle Jamieson showed he is a phenomenal Test bowler, which we knew. Tim Southee surprised nobody with his wily use of angles and various kinds of grips. Shreyas Iyer demonstrated the well-known depth of batting talent in India. Ravindra Jadeja showed why he has been the most important member of this Test side since his comeback as an allrounder.Related

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Most importantly, the first day reiterated that you need deep attacks to compete away from home. There’s probably no bigger challenge for a Test team today than to travel to India and lose the toss. The last time India lost a home Test after winning the toss was nine years ago. Of 18 such matches since that defeat to England, two have been drawn because of weather and only one of the 16 wins has been by a margin of under 100 runs.Jamieson and Southee made the most of the situation after being asked to bowl on a slow and low Kanpur pitch. Jamieson in particular displayed his immaculate understanding of Test cricket and the skill to back it up. He was quick to find the fullest length to bring the batters forward without letting them drive. Remember that is not how he operates in helpful conditions where he comes behind Southee and Trent Boult and bowls dry lengths before going for the fuller ball that draws the edge.Kyle Jamieson celebrates the dismissal of Shubman Gill•BCCIJamieson bowled enough good balls to benefit from the old adage “it takes one ball to get them out”. It really was that in the case of Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane. Gill curtailed his movement across from England to stay beside the line of the ball and score freely, which he did, but he fell to perhaps the first ball that reversed, and it did reverse remarkably early. On another day, the first ball that misbehaves like this is not on target, and you get the chance to tighten your game. On this day, Gill’s stumps went for a walk.The same happened with Rahane, who everybody knows doesn’t have the runs: an average of 25 in his last 15 Tests. You can’t discard the cold evidence, but he has batted better than the numbers suggest.A big indicator of where Rahane’s game is at is how eager he is to hit an early boundary. He is a flashy starter: in the three years leading to the Australia tour no India batter had scored more streaky boundaries in the first 30 balls of an innings than Rahane even though he had quite a low strike rate over that period. Since Australia, Rahane has been more assured before he really struggled in the second half of the England tour. In Kanpur, he looked calm, middled most of the balls he played, had a control percentage close to 90, but got out to one that stayed low from the exact length that he had cut away for four previously.On Rahane’s day this bottom edge goes for four. It’s happened before. It was Jamieson’s day.Southee doesn’t have the disconcerting pace or bounce but he does have a lovely outswinger. Early in the piece he bowled scrambled-seam deliveries to look for the lbw, and then when it began to reverse he went wide on the crease, flipped the shiny side outside, made Pujara play the angle and then took the edge with away swing.Ajinkya Rahane middled a few and then got out to one that kept low•BCCIAt the other end, though, New Zealand would have seen worrying signs with balls keeping low and the odd one turning from the straight. And yet this was only the second time since 2001 that spinners bowled 50 overs in a day in India without a wicket. It raised the same old question that is asked of visiting sides: should you just pick your best bowler instead of two spinners?New Zealand’s selection shouldn’t be faulted in hindsight. Had they got to bat first their spinners would have got more helpful conditions. And even if they had gone with just the one, that one would have been Ajaz Patel, who had an ordinary day, struggling to put together a string of good balls, going for 78 in 21 overs, that too after he bowled his last few overs well outside leg to Iyer.Iyer was never meant to play in this series. A closer contender to the first XI was sent to South Africa on the A tour, and he was just a back-up. That he could slot in to cover for KL Rahul’s injury and score an efficient unbeaten 75 on debut from a tricky situation shows you how good India’s reserves are. In doing so he preyed on the lack of depth in New Zealand’s attack.The moment they were forced to bowl two spinners in tandem, thanks to a niggle to Southee, Iyer pounced. Jadeja once again underlined Hanuma Vihari’s misfortune: India have a specialist bowler good enough to bat at No. 6.Batting will not ease out the way it did for Iyer and Jadeja – who were no doubt good enough to capitalise on it – because India have just the bowling attack for these conditions. It will take a huge effort from New Zealand and the weather to not add to the list of comfortable wins for India when they win the toss at home. As for #newera, give them some time before making judgements. They are not here to make statements for the sake of making statements.