Having fallen off the back of a golf cart, the allrounder returned to action with big hits at the Wankhede nets

Vishal Dikshit06-Nov-2023Glenn Maxwell is standing diagonally behind the Australia team nets. Arms folded, his body straight, the cap worn backwards on the head, dark shades covering the eyes which are presumably fixed on what’s going on in the nets.He has watched Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis smash the ball around. He has seen enough of Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne take throwdowns. And the way he is holding his pose only a few steps away from the nets with a dead-pan straight face, it would seem as if he is barred from batting and has been punished further by watching his team-mates smother the ball in the nets, especially given the amount of runs that could again be on offer at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.Soon comes Maxwell’s turn. Before you can say “Glenn”, he has turned around and padded up with the same rush with which you dress up when you come out of the shower in the winters.The net Maxwell enters is to face four local spinners. There are two right-arm legspinners, one left-arm wristspinner and one left-arm fingerspinner. They all don’t replicate the variety and threat of spin bowling Afghanistan’s spin attack will pose for Maxwell and Australia on Tuesday, but it’s decent preparation they can manage for a game in which they will face at least three spinners, maybe four, all of different kind.Mind you, Maxwell had already batted once in the nets roughly an hour earlier before he padded up again. It’s Maxwell after all, a man not in form but in uber-form this World Cup. And he has been away from action for over a week now because of an off-field concussion. He is itching to get back and dispatch the ball to different parts of the ground. He must still be high on the fastest World Cup hundred he smashed recently and he is also scoring runs quicker than anyone this tournament (minimum 80 balls faced).Related

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Afghanistan have themselves reached dizzying heights this World Cup especially because of their spin attack which is not heavily reliant on one or two individuals, and has collectively taken the second-most wickets as a unit this tournament, only behind table-toppers India.So out comes Maxwell under his helmet. The length ball from the left-arm wristspinner is a bit too full and Maxwell swoops low for a slog-sweep deep into the leg side of the ground from the left-most training pitch on the off side. The legspinner pitches one too short and Maxwell pounces on the pull with such force that by the time he has finished his follow through, his bat is behind him, his body twisted with his stance open, his legs facing deep square leg and his torso is turned towards long leg.Maxwell, we already know, defies the laws of physics while executing his outrageous shots. Have you seen him bat in the last 10 overs this World Cup? His strike rate is a whopping 220.33, and unless you are Aiden Markram or Quinton de Kock, you can’t score quicker than him. Come Tuesday, he could easily face a lot of spin in that phase because Afghanistan are bowling more spin than anyone this World Cup.Maxwell prepares for the next ball. It’s pitched up, doesn’t matter which arm the bowler has released it with, if he was a finger or wristspinner, bowled a wrong’un or stock ball. Maxwell packs so much power into it, before it can turn either way, to flay it down the ground that his body has twisted again because of his quick and whippy swing. The legs are alright this time, but the upper half has bent and run away to the off side, almost perpendicular to the bottom half with his head pointed towards deep point. The bat’s face is towards the leg side. The ball? It had vanished a while ago.Whether the subsequent balls were pitched up or short, outside off or in line with the stumps, Maxwell would only use hard hands combined with his open stance to swing big and dispatch the ball high and far from his net. The lofted drives on the up, the fierce scythe over point, the aerial reverse laps and reverse sweeps, the pull full of disdain, the slog sweep packed with force. There was only one way he was batting, and it seemed like that was the only way he would bat on Tuesday.4:10

How did he do it? Maxwell’s blow-by-blow account of the mayhem

It was only once earlier in the day during his first batting stint that Maxwell had looked a little different. He had warmed up with some defensive strokes and use of soft hands, naturally so because he is coming back from a concussion and missed one game. And it was only once that he was beaten completely, while attempting a reverse sweep against the left-arm fingerspinner, when he missed his swing and lost his off stump.Maxwell won’t worry about that though. One dismissal surrounded by countless lofted strokes doesn’t mean much, that too against a left-arm spinner which Afghanistan don’t have. What Afghanistan do have, though, among their four spinners is an offspinner in Mohammad Nabi, and Maxwell didn’t get to face an offspinner in the nets on Monday. That won’t worry him either because have you seen Maxwell’s match-up against Nabi in ODIs? It’s 42 runs off a mere 20 balls with just one dismissal, studded with four sixes and two fours. The sample size is small but it translates to a boundary every three balls or so.The way the Wankhede has dished out sixes more frequently than any other ground this World Cup (55 in three games) and the way it has been so unfavourable to spinners in recent times, Afghanistan will probably hope that Maxwell ends up bowling more spin than facing it on Tuesday.

ESPNcricinfo picks seven players who could make their IPL debuts this season and have a big impact for their teams

Deivarayan Muthu14-Mar-2024

Rachin Ravindra (Chennai Super Kings)

Rachin Ravindra had piled up as many runs as any New Zealand batter has ever scored in an ODI World Cup, but when Chennai Super Kings signed him for INR 1.8 crore (USD 217,000 approx.) in December last year, he wasn’t a certain starter in their XI or XII (accounting for the Impact Player). His body of work in T20 cricket is fairly limited, but a thumb injury to Devon Conway, who has been sidelined until May, has opened up a spot for Ravindra at the top of the order. Like his New Zealand and Wellington mate Conway, Ravindra isn’t a power-hitter but can be a skillful disruptor at the top along with Ruturaj Gaikwad. The 24-year-old can also bowl quickish left-arm fingerspin, which gives CSK’s bowling attack additional cushion, especially if the pitches in Chennai continue to be spin-friendly.Related

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Sameer Rizvi (Chennai Super Kings)

CSK don’t usually splurge on uncapped players, but 20-year-old Sameer Rizvi’s ability to dominate spin made them bid INR 8.40 crore (USD 1 million approx) for him at the auction. In a Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 game on a slow pitch in Dehradun, Rizvi almost single-handedly powered Uttar Pradesh home with an unbeaten 75 off 46 balls against a strong Tamil Nadu spin attack comprising Varun Chakravarthy, R Sai Kishore and Washington Sundar.Rizvi had first emerged on the scouts’ radar after hitting the most sixes for Kanpur Superstars in the UP T20 league. More recently in February this year, he cracked a triple-century for UP in the Under-23 CK Nayudu Trophy. With CSK missing Ambati Rayudu, and Ajinkya Rahane struggling for form, Rizvi, who has been dubbed as the right-handed Suresh Raina, could make his IPL debut this season.Mumbai Indians’ Gerald Coetzee has got pace and passion•ICC/Getty Images

Gerald Coetzee (Mumbai Indians)

Having been part of Rajasthan Royals in the past as a replacement player, South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee could be among Mumbai’s first-choice overseas players along with Tim David this season. An out-and-out quick, who can touch 150kph, Coetzee announced himself during the 2023 ODI World Cup, with 20 wickets in eight games at a strike rate of 19.05.But Coetzee has more than just raw pace: he’s also got some nifty variations in his repertoire. Just ask Jos Buttler about his legcutter. Coetzee can also give it a good whack down the order, which makes him a particularly explosive package. Joburg Super Kings even tried out Coetzee as a pinch-hitting opening batter in a knockout game during the 2023 SA20. Coetzee, though, missed the entire 2024 SA20 season with injury and will be looking to make a comeback this IPL.

Nuwan Thushara (Mumbai Indians)

Lasith Malinga outsmarting batters with his slingy action has been a familiar sight in the IPL over the years. Now, it’s time for another Sri Lankan slinger to rock it in Mumbai’s blue and gold. Nuwan Thushara, 29, has never been part of the IPL before, but has had stints in the LPL and PSL. He has already eased his way into the Mumbai set-up with a stint at MI Cape Town in the most recent SA20, and will have the original slinger Malinga in his dugout.Thushara also turned heads in international cricket by bagging a hat-trick on his way to a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh in Sylhet earlier this month. That performance reminded Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis of Malinga (who else?). Thushara vs Matheesha Pathirana, another Sri Lanka slinger, could potentially add more spice to the Mumbai-CSK rivalry.

Azmatullah Omarzai (Gujarat Titans)

No Hardik Pandya for Gujarat Titans? Step forward, Azmatullah Omarzai, Afghanistan’s Hardik Pandya. Omarzai, 23, can float in the batting line-up and swing the new ball in the powerplay. Sachin Tendulkar was so impressed with his wrist position and swing bowling during the ODI World Cup that he was reminded of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar. After dismissing David Warner with an inswinger, Omarzai snagged Josh Inglis with an outswinger next ball, but Glenn Maxwell averted the hat-trick and pulled off a miracle for Australia at the Wankhede.Omarzai’s recent form with the bat is also encouraging. He hit a career-best 149 not out in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele and was also among the runs for Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League. He has worked closely with Babar Azam in the BPL and PSL (Peshawar Zalmi).Australia’s Spencer Johnson is in high demand on the T20 circuit•BCCI

Spencer Johnson (Gujarat Titans)

Spencer, who? When he didn’t have a professional contract about two years ago, following a recurrence of an ankle injury, Johnson worked as a landscape gardener. The 28-year-old fast bowler is now among the most sought-after players on the T20 circuit, having had gigs in the Hundred (Oval Invincibles), MLC (Los Angeles Knight Riders), and Surrey Jaguars (Global T20 Canada), in addition to being a strike bowler for Brisbane Heat in the BBL. He capped an extraordinary 2023 with an IPL deal worth INR 10 crore (USD 1,205,000 approx.) with Titans. That’s who.Johnson’s USP is creating un-hittable angles and finding extra bounce with his imposing frame (six feet, four inches) at speeds north of 140kph. Considering the injury to Mohammed Shami and Titans coach Ashish Nehra’s penchant for left-armers, Johnson could be an overseas option for Titans, especially on quicker pitches.

Kumar Kushagra (Delhi Capitals)

A hard-hitting wicketkeeper from Jharkhand, Kumar Kushagra had CSK, Delhi Capitals and Titans locked in a fierce bidding war for him at the auction in December, with Capitals eventually buying him for INR 7.20 crore (USD 867,500 approx). Rishabh Pant has been cleared by the BCCI medical team to start IPL 2024 as a wicketkeeper-batter, but the Capitals’ co-owner Parth Jindal had suggested earlier that Pant would play as a batter for the first half of the season. In that case, 19-year-old Kushagra could slot in as the keeper.Kushagra impressed Sourav Ganguly, Capitals’ director of cricket, at the 50-over Deodhar Trophy last year and later at the trials. Then, in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy, he walloped 67 off 37 balls from No.6 to help Jharkhand overhaul Maharashtra’s 355 in Jaipur. In the lead-up to a potential IPL debut, he also represented India A against the visiting England Lions.

He’s taking over a team that has qualified for two IPL finals and won a title, and needs a big season to push for a place in India’s T20 World Cup XI

Shashank Kishore23-Mar-2024″I don’t know if you’ve looked at the captains photo with the trophy. That’s how different it is.”Shubman Gill summed up in one sentence the different vibe to IPL 2024. He was referring to the changing of the guard among captains. No Dhoni, Rohit or Kohli. Shreyas Iyer is the most experienced leader, while Gill is the newest.The new Gujarat Titans captain has barely any formal leadership experience. He’s led his state side Punjab in just two T20s in 2019-20. That’s two more than his predecessor – and opponent on Sunday, Hardik Pandya – had when he captained Titans to the IPL title in their first season in 2022, and steered them to the final again in 2023. The bar has been set high for Gill.Related

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He also takes over as Titans captain in what is going to be a crucial season for him as a batter. After a sensational performance in IPL 2023 – 890 runs – you’d imagine that Gill is a lock-in for India at the upcoming T20 World Cup. But the competition for place in the top order, and even to be a reserve in a 15-man squad, is tough.The spectacular rise of Yashasvi Jaiswal and the return of Rohit Sharma as captain leaves little room in the top two. Virat Kohli’s comeback to the shortest format means No. 3 could be spoken for too. Suryakumar Yadav, when fully fit, walks in as well.So this is the challenge facing Gill in his first season as Titans captain, just one year after he so successfully transformed himself as a T20 batter. Between 2019 and 2022, Gill had a best strike rate of 132 in an IPL season. He upped that to 157.80 while remaining prolific – three hundreds and nearly a fourth, an unbeaten 94.Gill took giant strides in improving his six-hitting too. Between IPL 2018 and 2022, he had hit only 47 sixes. Last season alone, he hit 33. The question now is whether Gill will continue batting this aggressively and effectively with the added responsibility of captaincy? There are some examples of young Indian batters who haven’t done so.A time for change: the next generation of IPL captains•BCCIRishabh Pant’s strike rate in his first IPL season as captain was 128.52; it was 152.26 in the previous three seasons. Sanju Samson’s strike rate was 147.32 for three seasons leading into his first as captain, when it dropped to 136.72. For KL Rahul, the drop was from 146.60 to 129.45.Hardik Pandya also slowed down as captain. He went from being a finisher for Mumbai Indians with a strike rate of 169 in three seasons before he became the Titans captain, and then scored at 131.26 in his new role as the team’s anchor. It’s probable that Gill isn’t aware of this trend, but he’s shown himself capable of overcoming challenges.As recently as February, his place in the Test side came under scrutiny during the home series against England after a string of low scores. As the criticism of his form and weakness against the incoming delivery grew, Gill displayed resilience in constructing a fighting second-innings hundred in Visakhapatnam. It paved the way for more runs in the next three Tests.IPL 2022 was an incredible season for Gill with the bat. He needs to find a way to match that along with the responsibility of captaincy, for the Titans to go far in the IPL, and to further his prospects of making the cut for the T20 World Cup.

Soon-to-be-father sticks to the game that got him noticed to drive England into the ascendancy

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Jul-2024Even before Ben Duckett got his second shot at a Test career on the 2022 tour of Pakistan, the four caps he achieved way back in 2016 were something he was looking forward to telling his grandchildren about.As he awaits the imminent birth of his first child with fiancée, Paige, setting the lineage in motion for those future earwiggers … well, kids, granddad has a few stories to tell. Not just of three centuries – and of a couple of indiscretions that preceded his chance to score them – but of his role in fortifying England’s opening partnership for the first time since 2012. It’s a role he’s performed with the kind of engaging play that, as was the case here on Saturday – and indeed on Thursday – channels an opponent’s energy and fires it straight back at them between the eyes.The 71 runs that West Indies added for their final wicket gave the tourists a not-inconsequential lead of 41, while also prolonging the morning session to further frustrate England. The move to simply not try and get Joshua Da Silva out confused many, who were then irked as No.11 Shamar Joseph started to show his aptitude with the bat. And when Duckett drove into Zak Crawley’s stumps at the non-striker’s end – via the fingertips of Jayden Seales – there was the missing ingredient from the first seven sessions of this second Test. Jeopardy.And then, just like that, it was gone. Ground to a paste and smeared across the Trent Bridge outfield, mainly through cover and backward point. Much like day one, when Crawley fell three balls into England’s opening effort, Duckett – again with the assistance of Ollie Pope – flipped matters with a breezy seventy-odd: another knock that did not trouble the centuries column, but carried as much weight given the circumstances.Then, the left-hander unfurled four consecutive fours against Seales – West Indies’ best last week at Lord’s – propelling England to 50 inside just 4.2 overs to change immediately the mood inside Trent Bridge. This time, the deficit was polished off in 41 deliveries. Duckett assumed a more subdued role with Pope having the honour to tuck into Seales for consecutive boundaries. But he had overtaken Pope by the time he unloaded a hat-trick of sweeps on Kevin Sinclair, which in turn allowed England to bring up their 100 in 18.4 overs. Duckett had 53 of them.Much as had been the case for England, a ball change helped momentarily turn the tide for West Indies. The first 14 deliveries with the replacement accounted for Pope and Duckett, both undone by the sideways movement that the subbed-out Dukes was lacking.Three successive sweeps took Ben Duckett to fifty, and ripped the initiative from West Indies•Getty ImagesOn a true pitch at a boundary-friendly ground, the lead of 99 for the loss of three at that juncture had the game in the balance. But the fact that England had that platform allowed Harry Brook (71 off 78) and Joe Root (37 off 67) to close out the day playing their natural games in the toughest conditions, as the moisture held in the air with the floodlights in use for the final 90 minutes of play.”There are occasions when you’d like to put your feet up for a little bit longer,” Chris Woakes joked when asked what it was like watching a top order perpetually on the charge, unperturbed by the odd casualty.”We’ve committed to that way of playing and, we want to entertain, we want to put the pressure back on the opposition. It’s exciting to watch, but at the same time there are sometimes when you’re like ‘lads can we just bat some overs’ so you can put your feet up! But you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth, the way the guys are playing so far in this game has been incredibly exciting, great to watch and hopefully puts bums on seats.”I also know, while there might also be occasionally chances with the new ball against our opening pair because of the way they play, I also know as a bowler – and an opening bowler – that when you’re put under pressure, it does make it harder to deliver your skill.”It’s worth noting Duckett’s introduction to the team came at a time when the vibes under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes were immaculate. The 2022 summer had hooked everyone in, but the selectors decided Duckett’s flourish was a missing piece. Alex Lees was a surprise casualty as Duckett got the nod for Pakistan. In the 18 Tests since, against six teams spread across three continents, the shorter left-hander is averaging 47 and has struck his 1,504 runs at 88.62.Related

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None of that is put on. It’s not Bazball, counter-attacking or imposing oneself. Simply a bloke who loves going after the ball so much that there were guffaws in the stands when he left his first ball of the innings, from Alzarri Joseph, to nudge his overall leave percentage closer to 2. And, every bit as loud as the cheers that greeted the 11 boundaries that took England away from peril, was the ovation when Duckett walked off with a second tone-shifting innings in three days.That it came at his home ground felt particularly pertinent, given the looming addition to his family speaks of a more grown-up Duckett, without having to shed the impish instincts. A handy sweet spot between maturity and immaturity. Like knowing swearing isn’t big or clever, but still finding it funny.Northamptonshire encouraged the renegade streak, then Nottinghamshire refined it. That included re-shaping his grip after a botched recovery from an operation on the ring finger of his left hand, which resulted in a contorted grip in the 2018 summer, limiting his scoring shots.The issue arose because Duckett returned to action four weeks earlier than he should have done, impatiently trying to state his case for a return to the England team. The recovery took longer than expected, but as he is finding out, good things come to those who wait, even to a man in a hurry. Particularly now he has a few more stories to share with the family. Perhaps even one of a series-clinching Test win in the city they now call home.

They haven’t yet fired as a combination, and with the USA leg over and conditions getting better for batting, India may need more from them

Sidharth Monga21-Jun-20241:21

Kumble: India unlikely to change Kohli-Rohit partnership against Bangladesh

At this T20 World Cup 2024, India have made it clear they want to be flexible with their batting order – with one caveat.”Besides the openers, none of the guys’ positions are fixed as such,” Rohit Sharma said ahead of their game against Pakistan in New York. “We want to be very flexible in that and the message has been given to them very clearly about it, that only the openers will stay stagnant unless it’s a Super Over or it’s a five-over game. But otherwise, the openers will stay the same.”Related

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Rohit and Virat Kohli have been India’s constants at the top of the order, and so far they’ve put on stands of 22, 12, 1 and 11. This wasn’t a matter of concern to the team management in the first round, because the openers were getting out early, looking to play aggressively, and those losses weren’t a dampener on the rest of the batting order, with the challenging surfaces of the USA not calling for power-hitting.Now, though, with pitches in the Super Eight stage getting better to bat on, with conditions calling for a little more inventiveness and power, there might be a bit more concern around Rohit and Kohli.India have some breathing space, having opened the Super Eight with a win, but two familiar scenarios played themselves out in that match against Afghanistan. Rohit scored six off nine deliveries from the left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi and got out to him. Since 2022, he has struck at just 120.12 against left-arm pace, a variety of bowling he will likely face in India’s remaining matches. Bangladesh, their next opponents in their Super Eight group, have Mustafizur Rahman, and Australia Mitchell Starc.Then the offspinner Mohammad Nabi rocked up and bowled through the powerplay without conceding a boundary to either Rohit or Kohli, both right-hand batters, conceding nine off 12 balls to the pair. Eventually, it was the left-hand batter at No. 3, Rishabh Pant, who innovated against Nabi and salvaged the powerplay for India.Kohli looked in better touch than Rohit, and batter for longer, but that is not necessarily a good thing in T20s. An opener batting into the ninth over and going at a run a ball on a pitch that isn’t treacherous can be counterproductive. You could even make the argument that an opener getting out for a single-digit score having faced single-digit balls is better than a run-a-ball 24.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have put on 22, 12, 1 and 11 in India’s four matches so far•ICC via Getty ImagesThen, in case you feel out of form, how do you play yourself into form in a tournament with such a short turnaround between matches? Perhaps that’s why both Rohit and Kohli turned up for optional nets in the one-day gap India had between the Afghanistan and Bangladesh matches, this after having travelled from Barbados to Antigua on the evening of the Afghanistan match.Batting coach Vikram Rathour was asked whether he was happy India were winning even without any major contribution from Kohli so far. Rathour said he wasn’t. “I’m not happy. I would love if he gets going and scores more runs,” he said. “But yeah, it is good that when you are challenged at times and you know the guys who are not getting too much of batting in India sometimes, they are the ones who put up scores. Our middle order came to play. So it was good to see.”Bangladesh can test India with left-arm pace and spin so it will be a challenge for the openers again. “They’re a good unit. They have a lot of guys who can [challenge us with] spin bowling and they are good in certain conditions,” Rathour said, but he wasn’t speaking in the context of India’s openers. “And these conditions do suit them a little as a team because the wickets seem to have a bit of help for the spinners and they do have spinners in their team. But again, in this format I think every team is a tough team.”I don’t believe there is any contest in T20 cricket which is an easy contest. It might look like [it] in the end, I mean today [against Afghanistan] we won by almost 50 runs, so it looks easy but I’m sure when the game was on it felt pretty tight.”That last bit tells you a lot about how the contest felt in the first half of India’s innings. Kohli and Rohit are among the greatest batters India has produced. They take pride in continuing to earn their places in the side, and set an example with their work ethic. This is surely not the time to second-guess the combination India have gone with. And they have the batting depth and the bowling attack to make up for any shortcomings at the top of the order.Still, the openers will want to be at their best by the time they face bigger opponents. They don’t want Rohit’s proclamation about their being the only constants turn into famous last words.

He’s been a good stand-in captain but an erratic batter, and he’ll have to course-correct quickly if the side is to do well in Australia next year

Ian Chappell07-Sep-2024Despite playing a meaningful innings against a moderate Sri Lankan attack, Ollie Pope needs more convincing knocks away from his home ground to prove he’s a substantial No. 3 batter.Otherwise Pope is in danger of becoming the polar opposite of Joe Root – a capable captain with a feel for the job but an inconsistent batter.Root on the other hand is a batter – especially in England – who is as consistent as night follows day, but his captaincy attributes were negligible. Root is currently in imperious form, but he’ll be bordering on 35 years of age by the time the next Australian tour takes place in November 2025.While Root has a passable average in Australia there’s the not so minor fact that in 27 innings he is yet to compile a Test century in the country. Those knocks were all played when Root was at the peak of his powers, so this will probably be his last chance to rectify that anomaly.Related

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On Root’s three tours of Australia, England have lost 13 of the 15 Tests played. England’s former skipper is yet to experience the thrill of victory in Australia, and this is another major hurdle. The scars are unhealed.Batting in the middle order, Pope had a poor last tour of Australia and should be considered a potential weakness. It’s not just his renowned skittishness that should interest the Australian pace bowlers, there are also some technical flaws that can be exploited.The Australian pace bowlers will hope to break the risk-taking opening partnership and bring Pope to the crease early. If they then dismiss Pope quickly it means the ever dangerous Root will be batting while the ball still has plenty of shine. That is a dream situation under Australian conditions.If Australia do cause concerns for Pope, and England are forced to omit him, then the crucial No. 3 spot becomes a revolving door. Currently the English squad is limited in players who are qualified to do a sound job at No. 3. Without Pope, England would also be missing a suitable replacement captain if Ben Stokes suffers an injury.That would be a crucial double blow to England.

Pope needs more convincing knocks away from his home ground to prove he’s a substantial No. 3 batter or he is in danger of becoming the polar opposite of Joe Root – a capable captain with a feel for the job but an inconsistent batter

However, Australia’s excellent pace attack is also at a stage where age has a diminishing effect. Only Pat Cummins, who is also a fine captain, will be at the not-so-worrying age of 32. Both Mitchell Starc, who’ll be 35 by the time of the England tour, and Josh Hazlewood, age 34, are at a point where skill declines and injuries have a detrimental effect.Offspinner Nathan Lyon is also in that category, and ageing is more of a concern for bowlers than it is for excellent batters like Root.Meanwhile, Australia received the news they’ve probably been expecting but were dreading: former opener Will Pucovski is most likely going to be missing from their ranks following medical assessment.In form and healthy, Pucovski would be a blessing for Cummins’ team following the retirement of David Warner with his pugnacious skill. Australia now have a season to unearth a suitable replacement for Warner or else they’ll have to continue the unsatisfactory experiment of using Steve Smith as an opener.Unfortunately Pucovski’s technique against short-pitched bowling was laid bare at first-class level. It was absolutely disastrous by 2024, when Tasmanian quick Riley Meredith floored him in a Sheffield Shield match. Pucovski became a concern for any selection panel and by this stage nobody could risk choosing him for Australia.In his current cricketing and mental state it’ll be a blessing if Pucovski is left to continue his rehabilitation in virtual anonymity.In the meantime England is wisely pursuing a policy of choosing players who can have a positive effect under Australian conditions.Whilst this is an admirable policy, England’s bigger priority is for Pope to find consistently good form and cement the crucial No. 3 position. If Pope is still misfiring, then England’s tour in 2025-26 could be another frivolous trip to Australia.

The South Africa batter on finding his touch, dealing with conditions in the UAE, navigating a packed cricket calendar, and more

Ashish Pant26-Sep-2024It has been a strange 2024 for Aiden Markram. As captain, he has been phenomenal. He started the year leading Sunrisers Eastern Cape to their second successive SA20 title and then became the first captain to guide South Africa into the final of a men’s T20 World Cup in June. The T20I series loss against West Indies was little more than a blemish on his record.But his returns with the bat have taken a hit. There was a breathtaking century against India in the second Test in Cape Town in January, but barring that, his only 50-plus score this year across formats is the unbeaten 69 he hit in the third ODI against Afghanistan last week. It was a crucial innings in many ways, helping South Africa avoid a 3-0 clean sweep, but Markram’s form in general has been a concern. This becomes especially true in T20Is, where he last scored a half-century in October 2022.Markram, however, isn’t concerned about his lean patch, insisting he has felt “quite good with bat in hand.”Related

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“I mean, it’s all just cricket, really. You can feel as good as you want and not score runs, and that’s just the nature of the beast, unfortunately,” Markram told reporters in an interaction organised by ahead of the two-match T20I series against Ireland.”Some challenging wickets at the World Cup, but all in all, been feeling quite good with bat in hand. Obviously, was nice to get some runs in the last ODI, but a lot of the time I just measure form as to how much I can contribute to my team winning games and not necessarily the amount of runs that I’m scoring.”So that’s what I’m going to take with me moving forward, and hopefully, I can score some runs so that the team is in a good position and can win games are cricket.”Markram will hope to quickly find his 20-over rhythm, especially after South Africa’s heavy defeats to Afghanistan in the ODIs and the fact that they haven’t brought their strongest set of players on this UAE leg.Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Kagiso Rabada are some of the key names missing from the squad for the Ireland series. Nine of the 15 players in the T20I squad are yet to play more than ten T20 games. Add to that Reeza Hedricks’ lean run and that leaves a South Africa unit devoid of experience and form.Markram, though, feels that the players selected for this tour all have what it takes to succeed at the international level.”There’s a few guys that have put up their hands domestically back at home in the SA20 itself as well,” he said. “You look at a guy like Wiaan Mulder come on. Matthew Breetzke had a really good SA20. And then Nqaba Peter, of course, he’s got that X-factor. He’s still really, really young and really raw, but he has a lot of those attributes that we like as a team.”So there’s a few guys that deserve to be here firstly, and deserve to have that opportunity to grow their games as cricketers and get exposed to international cricket. And hopefully, if they get a fair opportunity and feel really comfortable in the environment, they can start putting in some nice performances for the team.”Markram became the first South Africa captain to lead the team into a World Cup final•Getty ImagesAnother thing that the South Africans have had to contend with on this UAE tour is the conditions. In sweltering heat in Sharjah during the ODI series, they often found themselves under the pump. The conditions are unlikely to change much when it comes to Abu Dhabi, but Markam feels having been in the UAE for a while should hold them in good stead.”From your heat point of view, it’s just as hot here [in Abu Dhabi], if not hotter and slightly more humid [than Sharjah]. So, it’s nice to have been here now for a while and played in an ODI series going into this T20 series. That’s a big positive for us,” he said. “Sharjah obviously spun quite a bit, or at least a fair amount, and the wicket was pretty placid. I think Abu Dhabi, I haven’t played too much cricket here, but I don’t think it’s going to be as bare a wicket as maybe Sharjah was.”If I look at our nets that we had last night, it’s actually a little bit of movement off the wicket, and they left quite a bit more grass on it compared to Sharjah. We’ll have to be sharp. We’ll have another look at it today at training and try get as much info as we can, just from looking at it with the naked eye. But it’ll ultimately come down to us assessing it in the first few balls, first over tomorrow, and coming up with those plans.”The last time South Africa faced Ireland in an international game was back in 2022 and while the Irish spinners might not trouble the South African batters as much as Afghanistan’s did, Markram is not taking them lightly.

“It is quite a busy schedule, but if you’d offered this to us as a kid growing up, we would have given lots for it”Markram on the cricket calendar

“We’ve all seen how good the Irish team has been over the last few years, and how much they’ve progressed as a team” he said. “Naturally, we don’t face them maybe as much as other teams, so it’ll just be trying to get accustomed to that as quick as we can, and trying to get an understanding of their plans as quick as we can, so that we can try to combat it ourselves.”South Africa have a busy schedule in front of them. After the T20I and ODI series against Ireland, they next travel to Bangladesh before going back home for a T20I series against India. Then they host Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home followed by the SA20 before they travel to Pakistan for a tri-nation series, also involving New Zealand.Markram, however, feels that a packed cricket schedule has become the norm and rotating and managing players will be the way forward.”Yeah, there’s lots of cricket. But we’re not the only team that’s playing lots of cricket. All the teams around the world are playing lots of cricket,” he said. “It’s down to the individual to manage their time wisely, look after their body, and give themselves the best chance of being really sharp for each and every series.”It is quite a busy schedule, but if you’d offered this to us as a kid growing up, we would have given lots for it. That’s sort of how we try to see it, and we take each series on as best we can.”

Sri Lanka bowl England out in 34 overs to leave attacking abandon in spotlight

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Sep-2024On a 16-wicket third day, it was the 10 that fell in England’s second innings which put Sri Lanka on track for victory in this third Test.A target of 219 has already had 94 lopped off the top, primarily thanks to Pathum Nissanka’s second breezy half-century of the match, with nine wickets still intact. He, along with Kusal Mendis, did to England what they tried – and failed – to do earlier in the day. While England were skittled for 34 overs, Sri Lanka seized the initiative outright in the first 15 overs of their chase, maximising what looseness there was on offer with the ball, and the lush green of The Kia Oval.”This is how you put England under pressure,” Aaqib Javed, Sri Lanka bowling coach, beamed of the late flurry of runs, before lauding the performance of his attack in snuffing an overly aggressive batting line-up out for 156. It was a valiant effort by all four seamers, but especially from Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando as they bagged six of England’s top seven between them.It was Vishwa’s six-over spell of incisive swing bowling that shoved England in the mire, even if they were already teetering with Ben Duckett and Dan Lawrence falling in cavalier fashion. Having left the field to tend to hamstring stiffness, Vishwa, the 32-year-old left-arm seamer, let loose and trapped both Joe Root and Harry Brook in front across seven deliveries.”He came to the dressing room and went back and gave everything,” Javed said. “He bowled some superb inswingers like Chaminda Vaas. Sometimes people go for safer options. But he went flat out. He gave everything.”Ollie Pope chopped on in Lahiru Kumara’s first over•Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty ImagesThe same could not be said for England’s batters. Their approach to the second innings was odd, as if their lead was a healthy triple figures rather than the 62 that their bowlers managed to salvage early on day three.The last five of Sri Lanka’s first-innings wickets were taken for just 52 – an impressive feat, given that half-centurions Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis started out in the middle. They added only five and 10 to their respective scores.But England’s bowlers had just 34 overs off their feet for the third innings before they were back out there again. It meant Gus Atkinson, who missed the morning session because of a tight quad that required assessment from the medical team, had to re-emerge earlier than expected, sending down four overs lacking his usual bite.”We’re not always going to get it right, and today was one of those days we didn’t get it right,” Paul Collingwood, England’s assistant coach, said. “The guys in the dressing room will hold their hands up and sometimes the opposition find ways of putting us under pressure like we’re trying to do to them. And give them [Sri Lanka] full credit: I thought that they had a fantastic day today.”Related

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There were features of this day – comfortably the worst for profligacy since Brendon McCullum took over as coach – that resembled passages contained within defeats to Australia at Lord’s, and against New Zealand in Wellington in 2023. Both times, England were guilty of over-ambition and lacked nous when the game was theirs to manage.With the series won, and Sri Lanka only showing glimpses of their best throughout the first two Tests, this had a whiff of complacency. England have steamrolled their way to victory five times already this summer. And Sunday’s malaise, coupled with fumbling a first-innings position of 261 for 3, does hint that this group are coasting, albeit with little on the line – something Collingwood strongly denied.”It’s pretty easy to make that excuse and say ‘complacency’ and all that,” he said. “But there’s plenty of fun and desire and we want to make sure that we could have a clean sweep, and the lads are very proud about paying for England. So there’s certainly not felt like there’s been any complacency coming into this match.”As has been the way over the last three days, bad light brought a premature end to proceedings. But it was very much England who were the beneficiaries this time.Bad light brought another early close in south London•Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty ImagesThe last over was bowled by Shoaib Bashir after the umpires informed Ollie Pope that the quicks could no longer operate. After one over from the Vauxhall End – of which the first ball was swept powerfully by Kusal Mendis for four – Pope wisely decided against a part-time spinner at the other end. Off the players went, with England glad for the chance to take the sting out of the game and regroup with the hope the early morning movement which assisted them on Sunday returns on Monday.”We’re going to need a special day tomorrow,” Collingwood said. “There’s enough movement to be able to do it and there’ll be one hell of a Test match to win from this position with the players that we have on the side. It’s an exciting opportunity for them to turn it around this Test match around and go out there and win.”It is not the first time someone from this England camp has greeted a seemingly unsalvageable situation with a smile. But with Atkinson not at 100 per cent, a raw debutant in Josh Hull, not many runs left for Bashir to play with and a captain in Pope who has perhaps been too aggressive with his fields in this match, the usual serving of optimism tastes overcooked.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, managed to stitch together their best day of the tour. And though it has come too late to affect the series result, victory will not be any less sweet for it. For England, defeat would give them cause for reflection at the end of a summer where they have rarely been tested.

While context might be missing in this T20I series – especially for Pakistan, who have a Champions Trophy to worry about – we could be in for some intrigue

Danyal Rasool30-Nov-2024The T20 World Cup is about as far away as it can get. Zimbabwe still have to qualify for it, while ODIs remain Pakistan’s main focus ahead of the Champions Trophy next year, for which they are the official hosts. As such, the ODI series, which they wrapped up 2-1, will carry far greater significance for Pakistan than anything that happens in this T20I series in Bulawayo.Zimbabwe are looking to follow up their T20I dominance in the subregional qualifier with a higher-profile result this time, buoyed by their upset of Pakistan in the first ODI. They did start their five-match T20I series against India with a win earlier this year, and against a similarly experimental Pakistan side, they will fancy their chances of a win or two.Sikandar Raza leads the side in the absence of the experience of Sean Williams and Craig Ervine, while Wessly Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza and Ryan Burl return to the squad after their absence from the 50-over format. While the men’s side took on Pakistan in the ODI series, Madhevere scored a third-innings hundred for Eagles against Rhinos in the Logan Cup. None of the squad has had any T20 exposure since that subregional qualifier, but few will forget what happened in the sides’ most recent – and perhaps most famous – T20I encounter.Pakistan are unsure about their T20I side at present, as indicated by a late announcement on Friday that they were adding three players – Saim Ayub, Aamer Jamal and Abrar Ahmed – from the ODI squad into the T20I series following impressive showings over the past week.Zimbabwe’s batters have had a tough time in T20Is of late•Associated PressAfter Pakistan rested Babar Azam, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi from the tour, white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan is also out for the T20Is, with Salman Agha taking his place as captain. Ayub, who Pakistan initially called into the international set-up owing to his T20 prowess, has gradually become more useful to Pakistan in the longer formats, though his recall – he will start the first game – potentially puts him on the pathway to being Pakistan’s all-format opener.Balance, though, remains an intractable problem for Pakistan. The three-match T20I series against Australia saw them swept aside 3-0, being bowled out in both of the last two matches, after losing nine wickets in a seven-over contest in Brisbane. With Pakistan opting against playing an allrounder in the first game, that issue does persist, with a long tail in a side that features Irfan Khan at No. 7. He has managed just 79 runs across six innings on Pakistan’s tours of Australia and Zimbabwe so far, and Zimbabwe may sense Pakistan’s lower-middle order can be ran through.For Zimbabwe to give themselves the best chance, though, they have significant improvements to make with the bat. They finished with below-par totals in all three ODIs, and the bowlers had to bail them out in the first. No batter has looked in the kind of touch that threatened to control an innings, and wickets in clumps was a regular feature of the ODI series. The bowling they face will be a step-up from anything they have dealt with in the Logan Cup or the regional qualifier last month, and by now, Pakistan understand this is the most obvious vulnerability to exploit.Like the ODI series, though, both sides will ultimately move on from these three games fairly quickly once they are over. But as the Bulawayo crowd demonstrated over the previous three games, Queens Sports Club could be a very enjoyable place to be over the next week or so.

The Sri Lanka opener looks back on some of the most memorable moments in his career and ahead to his team’s future in Test cricket

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Feb-2025Dimuth Karunaratne looks back on his career as he prepares to play his 100th and final Test.You made your debut in Galle as well. What are your memories of that match?
I was shocked when I heard I was coming into the national squad. But what everyone said was that staying in the team is much harder than getting into the team. I went to the middle with so many expectations, and I got out for a duck first innings. I thought I’d lost all the hard work I ever did in just a moment. I was only there as an injury replacement, so I thought I’d never play for Sri Lanka again.I was moping around the dressing room, when Angelo Mathews came and spoke to me, and told me he’d got a duck in his first innings as well. Other seniors – Mahela Jayawardena, Marvan Atapattu and others – came and encouraged me. So, I played with a lot of determination in the second innings and managed to get 60 not out. But more than the actual cricket in that match, what I actually remember so clearly is all the advice I got in that dressing room. I was really broken after that innings. I wouldn’t have come this far without those players helping me pick myself up.Related

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There were some seriously great batters in the Sri Lanka team in your first few years. What was that like?
The club I played for was what was really important. When I started, SSC had Thilan Samaraweera, Mahela, Thilina Kandamby, Tharanga Paranavitana, Kaushal Silva, Jeevan Mendis – a lot of the Sri Lanka team was playing at that club. So, because I’d been around them and developed with them, there wasn’t a huge change for me when I got into the Test squad. They were also around to help me with raising my standards.I think the best thing about that time was the environment. There were some great cricketers I hadn’t shared a dressing room as well – Kumar Sangakkara, Rangana Herath, Prasanna Jayawardene. What I learned from being in that environment – about how to prepare mentally, especially – has been more valuable to me than skills. I think that positive dressing room environments are vital, which is why I focused on that when I was captain. For a player like me to get to 100 Tests, I needed to share a dressing room with those players.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhat were the biggest mistakes you made early on?
Probably the biggest one was I would get quick starts and throw it away. I was really attacking back then and would get to 20 or 30 pretty quickly, in just a few overs. But I didn’t convert a lot of those. I hadn’t hit a hundred in my first 15 Tests, I think. I was making 30s, 40s, and 60s kinds of scores.Sanath Jayasuriya was the selector at the time, and he pulled me up. I played a series in England where I was giving decent starts but not converting it, and he dropped me. He said as long as I’m not converting my starts to hundreds, he wouldn’t consider me for selection. I thought at the time that when Sanga, Mahela, and others were around, my 30s or 40s are good enough. I didn’t realise how much I needed to convert those scores until I got dropped. I think my average also sits where it does because I didn’t make those good scores in my first 15 Tests.When did you start feeling like you belonged at this level?
Probably around 2017. While Sanga and Mahela were around, they didn’t let us feel a lot of pressure and responsibility. I changed my game a lot after they retired, and I started to score some consistent runs. That’s when I sort of realised how much more the team could be getting from me. I learned how to handle pressure better at the top level, and think I had a consistent run until 2023. I think right through those years I played with a lot of confidence.You’ve played in an era that’s especially tough on openers. What are your reflections on that?
Yeah, I do think I’ve played in a difficult era. The number of flat pitches I’ve batted on are very few – maybe five or six surfaces in the hundred? A lot of the conditions I’ve played on are bowling friendly, and on top of that you have to face the toughest bowling with the new ball when you open. But I think I eventually learned to adapt to that challenge – a lot of that was knowing which were the tough periods that you needed to see out, which changes from place to place. You learn a lot playing Test cricket.Dimuth Karunaratne continued to be a solid presence at the top for Sri Lanka•SLCHow hard is it for an opener to get to 100 Tests?
Openers do the dirtiest job in cricket. You’re facing fresh bowlers, on fresh pitches, and are playing the new ball sometimes after you’ve been fielding for a day or two. It’s a huge challenge. One thing I learned later was how to go on to bigger scores after you’ve survived the toughest part. Scoring that first 50 as an opener is hugely difficult compared to scoring 50 at No. 4 or 5. So it’s a huge miss if you fail to convert those tough starts – why let other batters score those runs, when you could be scoring them yourself?You’ve scored a lot of runs against spin, including against top attacks. But you barely play the sweep. How did that come about?
I learned that in 2017 in a series against India. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were bowling, and it was incredibly difficult to face them. Once they start bowling together there’s not a loose ball to be found anywhere. They tend to start bowling very early in the innings as well, so there’s just no chance to score. I learned a lot of patience in that series. I’d bat out their first spells, second spells, third spells, and eventually the loose balls started to come. In that series, I had a small, simple gameplan – I’m only playing these three shots, nothing else. It worked nicely. Ashwin couldn’t get me out lbw, or caught behind. And eventually, I could go into my scoring shots. I scored a lot of runs that series (285 in six innings).I kept applying that method to other bowlers, and it just kept working. I’d be patient early in their spells, and later find them much easier to negotiate. I didn’t ever really need to play a sweep shot and take a calculated risk when I batted like that. But I did play the reverse – which I could play much better than the sweep. That helped build run-scoring options on the off side because a lot of teams would have a packed leg side for me.

“I do think I’ve played in a difficult era. The number of flat pitches I’ve batted on are very few.”Dimuth Karunaratne on the challenges of being a Test opener

You once told me you had Dean Elgar’s ESPNcricinfo profile bookmarked, because he was a more established player at the time, and you wanted to catch up with his numbers. What other players have you targeted?
There are so many openers I’ve looked at, even former players. Graeme Smith, Alastair Cook who scored so many runs in England, which for me is the hardest place to bat. I wanted to know how he did it. But this was a habit that I picked up in the SSC dressing room. We used to look at each other’s stats and hundreds, and try to catch each other up. Tharanga Paranavitana was chasing Thilan Samaraweera, and then Kaushal Silva would be catching up. I just kept doing it. After Elgar retired, I looked a lot at the way Usman Khawaja was batting. There haven’t been that many openers consistently playing for longer periods, but I wanted to know how I compared to the best.But I’ve talked to these guys too, after a series, over a beer, with Elgar, Rohit Sharma, and others, and shared all that knowledge as well. How do they play when they go overseas? What’s my gameplan when I play in Sri Lanka? Sharing those stories, and statistics are a big part of cricket for me. When you’re old, you can still go on your profile and see what you achieved. It’s something that always drove me to improve my game and play longer.You’ve said in the past that Kusal Perera’s 153* is your favourite innings ever. But what about your own innings – any favourites?
There are two – my maiden hundred against New Zealand. It was the first match I was playing after getting back into the team, and there was so much pressure. I’d got out for a duck, and to hit a hundred in the second innings required a lot of thinking. That was a really tough hundred for me, against a great New Zealand attack.Then there’s my hundred at the SSC, against Jadeja and Ashwin. That was a pitch that took extreme turn. If I want to go and watch some of my past innings, those are the innings I go back to.Dimuth Karunaratne stood up to R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on a Colombo turner in 2017•Associated PressWhat about your hundred in Bengaluru? You got a standing ovation from the crowd and it was a pink-ball Test…
I’d put that third (laughs). There was a really tough period where we had to bat a few overs against the new ball under lights, and the end of one day, I remember telling Kusal Mendis that if I survived that period, I’d somehow get a hundred the next day. (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Mohammed) Shami with the pink ball were incredibly hard to see through that night. But then things got into a flow, and I could score runs. Probably my best innings as captain.All three of those came in losses…
(Laughs) Yes, that’s pretty sad. All of those were second-innings hundreds, and maybe that was the problem. If I’d hit them in the first innings, maybe we could have won those Tests.As soon as you got the Test captaincy, you won a series in South Africa in 2019. Was that the high point?
It’s the biggest highlight. Captaincy was never something I’d chased. I’d earlier been offered the vice-captaincy, and I’d turned it down. I was afraid of those big responsibilities because I thought it would affect my game. But then when they dropped Chandi (Dinesh Chandimal) from the team, the selectors called me and said they needed an experienced player to lead the team. I thought about it, and in the games I’d captained at lower levels, my batting had been good. So, I took the job.We had a pretty young team, and I just made sure that the environment was good. I didn’t try to change many things. I backed players and tried to make them comfort. In return I got a lot from my players. We didn’t think we could win a single Test there, but then we won the first one. And in the end, we whitewashed them 2-0. It’s one of my favourite chapters of my career.Under Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka toppled South Africa 2-0 in South Africa•AFPIs there a record you feel you missed out on, in your career?
Scoring 10,000 runs is something that I had had in mind for a long time. Between 2017, 2018, and 2019, when I was scoring a lot of runs, I thought I had a chance of getting there. But then we lost about a year and a half to Covid-19, and then Sri Lanka started to play fewer Tests after the World Test Championship (WTC) started. I felt then that it would be hard to get to 10,000 runs. You’d have to play 120-130 Tests. That’s something I am quite sad about – I was quite focused on that. After Sanga and Mahela, and I thought Angie would get there too – I’d have been the fourth Sri Lankan. To do it as an opener would have been really special.I also thought at times that I should finish with 20-25 hundreds. But with the conditions that we’ve had, you have to take a lot of risks to score runs, especially in Sri Lanka. I’ve also got 10 or 11 eighties and nineties, and regret not converting those as well.I also never got to play that World Test Championship final. We were close to getting there in the last two cycles. I’ve never been to a final even with the one-day team, so never got to experience that feeling. But what to do?

“I didn’t try to change many things. I backed players and tried to make them comfortable”Dimuth Karunaratne on his captaincy

There aren’t a lot of Tests coming up for Sri Lanka. What do think about Sri Lanka’s Test future?
I saw an article that said that from 2027, World Test Championship series will be three Tests minimum. If that happened, and we played four series a year, we’d get 12 Tests. Our past players have given us an incredible Test legacy, but if you look around at the landscape now, it’s always players from the same teams that are achieving those numbers – Australia, India, and Engand. They’re the ones who are breaking the records. I’d love to see Sri Lanka’s players get enough Tests to hit those big numbers too. Hopefully it gets better after 2027.Do you think you might be the last Sri Lanka cricketer to 100 Tests?
I’ve even said this, especially to guys like Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis who aren’t that far: “If things keep going like this, no one will be able to play 100.” Hopefully Sri Lanka Cricket can organise more bilateral series to try and push it.A lot of cricketers now are focusing on white ball cricket and leagues. I’m trying to push them towards Tests.To play 100 Tests, you have to play probably 60 to 70 at a stretch without getting injured very often or without getting dropped. But if your team only plays 60 or 70 Tests in a decade, getting to a 100 Tests would take a huge amount of time. If you have 12 Tests a year, you can get to a 100.As mostly a Test specialist in this era, you would have seen a lot of players make it big in the leagues without having to put in the kind of work that Test cricket requires. How have you felt about that?
I think that’s down to players’ luck and timing. The kinds of facilities and pay we get now, the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga, or Sidath Wettimuny, didn’t get. So, you’ve got to thank the past cricketers, for giving us that platform.I know white-ball cricket and league cricket have gone very far, but in my own heart I’m happy I’ve got to a 100 Tests over chasing millions in the leagues. When people reminisce about cricket, they think about Tests. We’re still talking about Don Bradman’s record, how many double-centuries he’s scored, in how many innings. Whatever happens to me from here, there might be a list that goes up on a Test broadcast, and my son or my grandchildren will see that. I’ve got that record for life, and beyond. That’s worth a lot to me.