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The three-match ODI series in Chattogram promises a fascinating contest but rain could play spoilsport

Mohammad Isam04-Jul-2023Three months before they meet in Dharamshala to begin their respective World Cup campaigns, Bangladesh and Afghanistan meet in an ODI series to test each other. There is little to separate the two sides though their rivalry is not yet recognised as such. They have only been competing for 14 years at the international level, but they sit close together in the rankings, their players know each other from time spent together in T20 leagues, and they don’t like losing to one another.

Afghanistan’s chance to bounce back

The visitors have to overcome the third largest Test defeat (by runs) of all time. Last month, Bangladesh crushed them in the one-off Test, with the game ending by noon on day four. Afghanistan fielded quite an inexperienced outfit for that game and the only players from that deflated Test side to make the ODI squad are captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah.The trio will form the crux of their ODI batting line-up, but they are complemented by the aggressive Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran. Their bowling attack is back to being close to full-strength. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will lead the spin attack with Nabi’s offspin adding crucial support. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai are gaining in experience particularly on sub-continent pitches. and while Usman Ghani didn’t agree with his omission, it seems Afghanistan have a strong white-ball unit in Bangladesh.Related

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Bangladesh look for balance

The home side’s team management have only one question in front of them: whether they want to go with an extra batter or bowler.With Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the line-up, Bangladesh have two extra bowlers already, complementing a pace attack that has looked menacing in white-ball cricket of late. Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain come into this game on the back of four-wicket hauls in the one-off Test, while Hasan Mahmud was Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker during their most recent ODI series, against Ireland in Chelmsford.The batting line-up wears a settled look. Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto have forged a tight top-order. The middle order comprises the experienced Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim and the young gun Towhid Hridoy. Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim are in the batting reserves.

Shakib v Rashid

The battle within the battle will be between Shakib and Rashid. Fans of each team will claim that their allrounder as the best, and there isn’t much of a sample size from which to judge their battle in ODIs; the only thing of note is that each has dismissed the other twice in this format.When expanded to include all three formats, Shakib averages 21.25 and with a strike rate of 79.43 while batting against Rashid. He has got out four times to the legspinner. Conversely, Rashid also hasn’t done well against Shakib: dismissed twice in nine innings, averaging 13.5 while striking at 77.14.Shakib and Rashid have had a tremendous impact on their respective teams. Both missed the one-off Test in Dhaka and their return will inspire their team-mates, and make this series even more worth the watch.Fazalhaq Farooqi was the leading wicket-taker in the last ODI series between the two teams•AFP/Getty Images

The monsoon threat

The forecast for Chattogram promises spells of rain or thunderstorms on every day of this white-ball series. What else can you expect during the monsoon season in Bangladesh? The only other time international cricket was played in Chattogram in July was eight years ago when Bangladesh played a rain-interrupted ODI and Test against South Africa.

Tamim wary of Afghanistan attack

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal said his side was aware of Afghanistan’s all-round bowling strength, and won’t focus on their spin attack only. Farooqi was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series in 2022, ahead of both Rashid and Shakib. Overall, the quicks slightly outbowled the spinners in that series, which was also played wholly in Chattogram.”This ODI series will be as competitive as the last two against them,” Tamim said. “They are a good side, especially in white-ball cricket. They probably have one of the best bowling attacks in the world. I don’t expect anything less than the last series. We have to fight really hard. We can’t expect to walk in and win the game.”It is a good thing that we are playing against them at least four times before the World Cup. They will also understand our strength and weaknesses. I think it’s a good thing for both the teams. Their fast bowlers did well in the last [ODI] series against us compared to their spinners. We cannot focus too much on their spin attack. They have quality fast bowlers as well. They are one of the most quality attacks in the world. We have to be at our very best to overcome them.”Tamim said this series would be crucial to Bangladesh’s momentum ahead of the stern tests that will follow. “We have this series, the Asia Cup and the New Zealand series,” he said. “It will give us the best possible preparations. We have been playing well in ODIs recently. This is a very important series.”Our opponent has a strong bowling unit. If we can do well against them, it is the best possible confidence [we can gain].”

The hosts haven’t always got their picks right, but Ben Stokes’ inspirational leadership continues to make it a competitively fought series

Ian Chappell16-Jul-2023The first three Tests in the Ashes series have been exciting – plenty of scintillating cricket, the odd questionable tactic, and some glaring examples of administrative blundering.The series has provided ample batting highlights, including the stubborn resistance of Usman Khawaja and the skilful placement of Joe Root. There’s been abundant audacity, ranging from the unlikely pairing of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett to the brilliant counterattacking strokeplay of Travis Head and Mitch Marsh. England’s captain, Ben Stokes, oscillates between sedate defence and explosive hitting that sends the ball sailing deep into the crowd.Related

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Plenty of batters have made starts but failed to convert them into match-winning scores. I was uncertain about Harry Brook’s talent leading into the series but his innings that piloted England to a much-needed victory in the third Test confirmed his outstanding ability.Australia’s bowling has been headed by Pat Cummins, who is a standout performer. Mitchell Starc displayed great attacking skill in a spirited attempt to bring Australia victory, and with it the urn at Headingley. The serious injury to Nathan Lyon at Lord’s has made it obvious how much Australia depended on their consistent offspinner.England rely heavily on the skill of Stuart Broad and his chokehold on David Warner to spearhead their attack. They belatedly introduced the big-hearted Mark Wood into the series and he proved his worth with a high-speed attack at Headingley. Wood’s inclusion highlighted a perennial English failing: selection. Not only did they fail to introduce his threatening pace until the third Test, they’ve chosen a wicketkeeper who is a batter first, in Jonny Bairstow, whose mistakes with the gloves have cost his side dearly. They also chose to offer red-carpet treatment to Moeen Ali, who in his prime was never much of a bowling or batting threat to Australia.England’s fumbling failure to catch securely and save runs on the ground has been one of the main differences between the two teams.

What Alex Carey did was simply smart cricket; there was no deviousness involved and the crowd reaction was despicable, including the ludicrous cries of “cheat”

The captaincy styles of Cummins and Stokes are very different, but they both admirably try to achieve victory from the first delivery. Stokes has done wonders in cajoling England into acknowledging the priority of scoring runs and taking wickets – as it should be.The regular bouncer barrages used by both sides does not amount to a plausible tactic, as it is too demanding on the bowler. The resultant scattered field placings are also a surefire signal to any flint-eyed batter. The most effective weapon of the bouncer is still surprise.There have been a number of controversies, headed by Bairstow’s second-innings dismissal at Lord’s. Bairstow was out and his thoughtlessness was the result of an abject failure to respect his wicket. What Alex Carey did was simply smart cricket; there was no deviousness involved and the crowd reaction was despicable, including ludicrous cries about Carey being a cheat.If Bairstow was trying to highlight the way etiquette has been ignored (a batter should be ready to face up when the bowler is in position to begin his run) his thought process was commendable but his method was totally wrong.Umpires have been lax in not enforcing this unwritten rule when it comes to batters wandering out of their crease, and the administrators are negligent for not backing umpires to the hilt. That has served to further expose the administrators’ inaction. They haven’t had the guts to explain some of the more controversial laws. Consequently the players undeservedly hear despicable chants of “Cheat!” from an ill-informed public.In the case of replays for catches, perhaps the administrators haven’t explained the process because there is overwhelming evidence that using replays doesn’t always provide the truth. This is further evidence of how administrators make mistakes and the players suffer the consequences.Midway through the Lord’s Test, I felt Australia were poised to run away with the Ashes. However, I failed to factor in Stokes’ outstanding inspirational qualities. Australia will still win the Ashes, but it’ll be a hard fight against an England side that continues to compete despite poor selection.

India’s captain and think tank made a strategic decision to go harder earlier and it has been paying off for them

Sidharth Monga17-Oct-2023Nobody mourns the reduction in the amount of ODI cricket between the last World Cup and this one. You can’t blame them. Still, it is a shame that because so little 50-over cricket is played, and even less by the best players, we might sometimes fail to notice transformative pieces of work. Rohit Sharma’s transformation since he became the full-time India ODI captain might just be one of those.In a World Cup, though, everyone notices. After the duck in the first match in difficult conditions against Australia, Rohit has practically ended two matches inside the first powerplay. He scored 76 off 43 in the first ten overs against Afghanistan, and 45 off 30 against Pakistan. As with everything he does, this was not random. Not a case of feeling good about it on the day and swinging for the hills.He has been batting with elevated intent in ODIs for a while now. Since the start of 2022, which is when he assumed the captaincy, 35 batters have scored 300 or more runs within the first powerplay in ODIs. Only two have gone quicker than Rohit’s strike rate of 111. Neither of these two – Travis Head and Phil Salt – has scored nearly as many runs as Rohit, nor is either of them in a leadership role.Related

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Revolutions in cricket are generally planned by captains but enacted by youngsters. The captain – usually a batter – rarely takes on a risky job. In the history of the sport, only two captains have gone delightfully bonkers for a considerable period of time: Brendon McCullum in 2015 and Chris Gayle in 2009.McCullum scored at 163 in the first ten overs through 2015, and Gayle at 117 in 2009. That, though, is their nature. Rohit’s method has been different. The turnaround in his career centred on his becoming obsessed with not getting out in the first 20 balls, and then gradually accelerating before exploding towards the end. He has changed the whole philosophy of his batting. Not only has he changed it, more incredibly, he encountered failure when he started making the change but still kept at it.It all began with T20Is, where India’s approach with the bat was not quite contemporary when he took over. Possibly the new management impressed upon him the need to change. Possibly he wanted the change himself. But he had to earn the right to be able to tell others to put a lower price on their wicket. He couldn’t have done so without lowering the price of his own wicket.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();

The crowd went wild as the fast bowler gave full vent to his emotions during a thrilling burst of reverse-swing

Alagappan Muthu27-Jan-20241:11

Manjrekar: Bumrah the best bowler on view today

Jasprit Bumrah is almost on the floor.He doesn’t always do emotion, furthering speculation that underneath his skin is metal and gears. But there is a pattern to when he erupts.It happened against Pakistan when India went 17 overs without a wicket. He came in and co-opted the laws of nature to encourage a batting collapse.Related

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It happened against Australia when, defending 240, he took out Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith in back-to-back overs.And it happens again in Hyderabad when England are bashing India’s spinners to exclusively one region of the park with reverse sweep after reverse sweep.Any time India are under pressure, he seems to feel it the most, and it unlocks something inside of him. Something dangerous. Something glorious.It begins when he raps Ben Duckett on the pads and both the umpire and his own captain can’t see that an lbw decision is there for the taking. When the HawkEye projection shows the ball hitting the stumps, Bumrah bangs the turf with both his hands.Ben Duckett loses his off stump to a Bumrah special•BCCIIn his mind, England should be two down. So he simply wills it to happen.Four balls after the reprieve – in which interval he was hit for two fours – Bumrah runs in with that strange, stuttering, singular approach to the crease. Even without being as good as he is, that bowling action alone has inspired kids all over the world. There’s one somewhere in Australia who could probably pass for him, which if he keeps it up, increases his chances of being called into the nets once or twice. Because this.But the thing is he is good. Perhaps in contention to be among the very best there ever have been. Because those are the guys that the team turns to when it’s tough out there. Those are the guys that seem to take the pitch out of the equation. Those are the guys that do the things that turn a match on its head. They’re main character to the max.So Bumrah vs Duckett, then. Around the wicket. Bang on a good length. Shiny side on the inside. Seam bolt upright. Reverse swing. Clean bowled.Usually the smiting comes from up above, not from 22 yards away.India, until that time and then after it, struggled for answers as Bazball finally took centre stage. R Ashwin and Axar Patel were prevented from bowling their best deliveries as Duckett kept reverse-sweeping them.In the first innings, England were drowning in good-length balls: India’s spinners bowled 206 of them, off which England scored only 98 runs while losing six wickets. In the first session of day three, they got 50 good-length balls from India’s spinners and swatted them away for 55 runs.In the end, India’s spinners had to keep going away from the ball that was likely to cause the most damage and go fuller to try and sneak under the bat swing or shorter to secure the top edge. When they did that, England could opt for low-risk ways of keeping the score ticking. They had won the tactical battle.Other bowling teams might have to grit their teeth and keep going in the hope that one of those aggressive shots don’t come off. India don’t. They can call up a fast bowler who averages 15.33 (!) in these conditions.Joe Root is on strike. There are 25,570 people around him screaming “Boom! Boom! Bum-rah! Boom! Boom! Bum-rah!” He is rapped on the pads too. It’s reverse swing again. At 140kph. In the opposite direction from before. The umpire raises the finger this time. But the batter refuses to take his leave. He brings in DRS. “Booooooooo!” goes the crowd. The noise is so loud. The air is so thick. This is cricket at its most visceral. This is cricket that you plug straight into the veins.Jasprit Bumrah trapped Joe Root lbw with a reverse inswinger•BCCIThroughout this Test match there has been a group of kids sitting right below the media box and they’re very good at rhymes. Now they take an old favourite and give it a new spin.”Jonny, Jonny””Yes Papa!””Hitting boundaries?””No Papa””Hitting fifty?””No Papa””Getting out?””Hahaha!”Bairstow is perhaps the only England batter who seems to keep Bumrah from imposing his will on the game. He once stops the fast bowler in his tracks, pulling out because he isn’t ready to face just yet. And the stadium just howls. It’s a jungle out there. Teeming, seething, vengeful.Everyone wants a piece of Bumrah. A support-staff member waits for him on the long-leg boundary, towel around his shoulders. Kuldeep Yadav runs over to him with a bottle of water and maybe a word or two from the dressing room. The buggy cam keeps following him. It is as if the entire world has converged around him.That Bumrah spell – 5-0-17-2 – saves India’s spinners (only briefly as it turns out). Because of it, they can target that good-length spot again, which immediately shows wickets are on offer. Ravindra Jadeja hits it twice and one ball turns viciously to beat Bairstow’s outside edge. The next goes straight on through to hit his stumps as he shoulders arms, believing it too will spin.At the end of that hour of play, Bumrah is fully on the floor. Drink in his hand. Smile on his face.India have rarely – maybe never – faced an opposition with this much clarity about how they want to bat in these conditions. It takes a once-in-a-generation bowler to keep this game in the balance.

The latest Stump Mic podcast with Sidharth Monga and Kaustubh Kumar

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2024Between Texas, Florida and New York, how did USA react to the men’s T20 World Cup 2024? What was the vibe like for India vs Pakistan in Nassau County (compared to the MCG)? Who is really the audience for cricket in America?Sidharth Monga, who is traveling to cover the tournament in the US and the West Indies, joins Kaustubh Kumar to answer these questions and more.

A scuffed-up ball and a fired-up fast bowler combined for one of the great passages of reverse

Vithushan Ehantharajah28-Jul-2024It started with a six.Mikyle Louis, just as he had threatened throughout his debut Test series, was batting like a dream. West Indies were three down and only 12 ahead, but Louis was moving the dial in controlled fashion. And when he slog-swept Shoaib Bashir into the RES Wyatt Stand at long-on to bring up his first half-century, he had reason to believe the blow would resonate throughout the innings. In a way, he would have been right.About four hours later, the Botham-Richards Trophy was being polished before being handed to England for the last formalities of the post-series presentations. By then, West Indies were back in their dressing room, still trying to come to terms with being blown out of the water by Mark Wood’s 5 for 40, with assistance from Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson, in what will be remembered as one of the most remarkable spells of reverse-swing bowling of the modern era.The ball, now in Wood’s possession, with which he strung together five wickets across 21 deliveries and then held up to the adoring Birmingham crowd, carries a notable blemish on its rough side. One which it picked up off the back of Louis’ strike. From that point on, as Stokes put it, “It started doing loads.”Related

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“You need to blame Louis for this,” the England captain said to Kavem Hodge out in the middle as the No. 5 sat in the worst seat in the house, unable to avert his eyes for five of the seven wickets to fall in this hellacious spell of reverse.You can convince yourself Stokes was speaking with a bit of empathy until you realise he was the one that instigated all this.Upon realising the ball would start to tail, Stokes decided to have first dibs. An eight-over spell from the Pavilion End – which accounted for Louis, finding the edge with a lack of movement after lavish lead-up deliveries – was a throwback to previous such spells. Before he was captain, Stokes was used as the ideal conduit for reverse swing, with his slight left-lean in his gather and cantered right arm pushing the ball in, encouraging movement through the air before the rough-and-smooth work against one another.That he took just one wicket – Zak Crawley busted his little finger on his right hand dropping a deserved second – means Edgbaston 2024 won’t join the likes of Chattogram 2016 and Cape Town 2020 for memorable dalliances with the untameable craft. But this was another nod to a previously troublesome left knee that has a new lease of life.Reverse swing is a collaborative process. From Atkinson taking up the City End – and snaring Jason Holder, who Crawley had shelled – to the rest of the team ensuring the ball remained in condition. Joe Root has often been the one to buff, but this time it was Harry Brook charged with keeping the shiny side pristine, using the top of his right pocket to polish.The rough side is harder to manage, but every fielder did their bit. Touches on the ball were few and far between, holding the ball across the seam, with the sweatier members avoiding it altogether. Undoubtedly the most important part was recognising the scuffed side was the right kind of scuffed; ideally a fuzz rather than tatters. In a series that has had more ball changes than actual days of cricket (10), they did well to recognise that this defacement of the Dukes was to their benefit.Mark Wood roars after dismissing Kavem Hodge•Getty ImagesAnd yet, while reverse swing is never solely about one man, it certainly felt that way after lunch. “I think that’s one of the best reverse swing performances I’ve seen in a long time,” Stokes beamed of Wood’s six-over spell from lunch, which in isolation carried figures of 5 for 9. What a way to make a killing.Type in “reverse swing dismissals” into Chat GPT and not even AI would be able to conjure the kind of imagery Wood was serving up. Inswinging yorkers (Joshua Da Silva), uprooted stumps (Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales) and the thinking man’s reverse-swing dismissal – the nick (Hodge).Even before Wood made his Test debut in 2015, he was embued with reverse swing lessons from ECB coaches. During his time with the Lions he would hone those skills at Loughborough with balls that were deliberately scratched and loaded, a characteristic achieved by soaking one side in water.It was from these groundings that Wood figured out what works best for him. Slightly lowering his arm, bowling a little fuller than normal but not consistently yorker length, to get that extra zip to attack the pads. All with his use of the crease, which here included going wide to the right-handers to open their stances up a little more, thus further offsetting their front foot.As quickly as the wickets came, England were not all that greedy, which James Anderson preached at lunch. Anderson told the quicks that given the scale of movement out there, pace was not the priority. By focusing on skills, they would be able to gain just as many rewards. During his playing days (which only ended a couple of weeks ago) Anderson’s use of reverse swing centred around patience, with such skill that batters would not realise the ball was “misbehaving” until they were watching their dismissals back in the dressing room.Jayden Seales loses his off stump•ECB via Getty ImagesHe advised them to use the short ball, which Wood did to great effect as the lead-in to the dismissals of Joseph and Seales. And the focus on the right areas ensured West Indies’ scoring – and thus strike rotation – was kept to a minimum. It meant Hodge was caught cold; his looseness on 55 outside off stump was through facing just 18 deliveries in 10.1 overs of the middle session.For all the calculation and cold-hearted cunning, there was raw emotion on show as Wood finally got his flowers – and a player-of-the-match award – for what have been two exceptional Tests. He had just four wickets from three innings to show for it before Sunday, sending down the fastest overs by an Englishman and beating so many edges you wondered if he had taken up breaking mirrors in his spare time.There is also the fact that Wood has, peculiarly, found himself in the crosshairs of some of the West Indies players. A number of them have chirped him when he’s batting – nothing malicious or, well, out of turn considering he has bagged two ducks out of three. But as Kevin Sinclair found out at Trent Bridge, and Seales here after lauding his dismissal of Wood as the nightwatcher in the first innings, there are better targets to rile than someone who cracks bones and dislocates stumps. He was basically laughing at Seales when he sent his off stump so far back that Brook paced out the distance as he returned it.All in all, this has been a tame series. James Anderson’s farewell gave Lord’s a testimonial feel. Trent Bridge was more of a contest until the final half-session, when it was anything but. And what jeopardy there was at the start of day two in this dead rubber had dissipated by third morning.By Sunday afternoon though, the game was at its most febrile. Its most carnal. Its most watchable. For that, we have reverse swing, England and Mark Wood to thank. And, of course, Mikyle Louis.

Proactive captaincy will be hardest to replicate as inexperienced team face up to Pakistan challenge

Matt Roller05-Oct-2024England have only had a fleeting glance at a fully-fit Ben Stokes in the last three years but he has committed his long-term future to them, signing a new central contract which is expected to take in the 2025-26 Ashes tour. Stokes declined to specify the length of his new contract on Saturday, but it is understood to be a two-year deal.Stokes will miss a fourth consecutive Test in Multan, having torn his hamstring in August while playing in the Hundred. The timing was hugely frustrating, coming so soon after he had sorted out his chronic left-knee injury through surgery, to the extent he could bowl 49 overs at full tilt across three matches against West Indies in July.It is now two months since Stokes sustained the injury, but he said he is slightly ahead of schedule and does not believe it is a long-term concern. “Injuries are part of sport,” he said. “I’m 33 now, so I’ve put my body through quite a lot. But I’ve started working incredibly hard over the last two years… it’s not through lack of effort.”The ECB has not announced the latest batch of central contracts, though most of their regular players are already tied to multi-year deals. Stokes was an exception, leaving his options open last year after gambling that his value would rise during the subsequent 12 months. His new deal is thought to see him through until September 2026, taking in next year’s Ashes tour.It is a significant commitment, not least with the backdrop of a lucrative deal to play in the SA20 in January leaving Stokes fully aware of his value on the franchise circuit. But England are just as aware of Stokes’ importance to their Test team, not only as a player but as a leader and figurehead for Brendon McCullum’s regime.Related

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Without a genuine allrounder available, England have stuck with the five-bowler formula they used against Sri Lanka and with Chris Woakes at No. 7. It is Woakes’ first opportunity in two-and-a-half years to address his away Test record – 36 wickets at 51.88 – and throughout his career, he has tended to contribute more in Stokes’ absenceAs much as his batting and bowling, England will miss Stokes’ captaincy in Multan. He was the mastermind of their unexpected series sweep in Pakistan two years ago, not least in Rawalpindi when his early declaration – setting 342 in four sessions – defied conventional wisdom. Ollie Pope’s biggest challenge will be matching Stokes’ proactivity in changing the tempo of matches.Pope kept wicket in the first two Tests of the 2022 series, and is one of six men in England’s XI who was ever-present in that series. Jack Leach is their only bowler to have bowled a red ball in Pakistan before; Gus Atkinson will be playing his first overseas Test, and Brydon Carse is on debut. Pope cannot simply rely on his attack managing itself.”There are no doubts in my mind about the bowlers we have picked,” Stokes said, speaking inside an empty commentary box to avoid the 40-degree heat on the boundary edge. “We know they will be able to withstand it. We know it is going to be tough, but it will be great exposure for the first time for them… It will show them how hard Test cricket can be.”Pope tried to follow Stokes’ lead in setting attacking fields against Sri Lanka, but was too slow to react and adjust at The Oval as the third Test slipped away from England. He seemed to lack Stokes’ ability to grasp opportunities to change the pace or mood of an innings in the field, though will have learned plenty from his first experience of the role.Stokes will be on hand throughout to relay any advice, while James Anderson – who got the ball reversing in Multan two years ago – will arrive on the second day. “He has seen what can work out here,” Stokes said. “I’m sure at some point I will want to say something to him, but I will only do it if I think something is worth saying. I don’t want to say things for the sake of it.”[In 2022], it was about trying to push the game forward because of the conditions we were faced with. We were always trying to do something to force a result, even if it means potentially giving Pakistan a sniff of winning the game… me and Brendon will encourage Ollie to influence the game himself, and make sure that comes across in his captaincy.”Shan Masood’s public desire for surfaces that suit his seamers has piqued the interest of England’s players, and there was a significant grass covering on the Test strip two days out. Pakistan are a better side than recent results suggest, not least when Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are involved, and England will not take them lightly.England’s clean sweep in Pakistan remains their best series result under Stokes and McCullum, and was arguably the regime’s high point, with a 10-8 win-loss record in the past two years. With Stokes unavailable for at least the first Test, a repeat on this tour might trump it.

The Afghanistan wristspinner has lofty goals and at just 26 years old he has time to achieve them

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Feb-20252:13

Rashid Khan: ‘DJ Bravo called me to congratulate on the feat’

In a batter-friendly format you have managed to create this record – that must give you incredible satisfaction?Definitely, it does. Especially when I look at my career, it’s not that long, where I feel like, say I played 15-20 years and this record has been broken and it’s under my name now. It is just nine years. And that’s how long DJ Bravo held that record for (eight years). But it’s a massive, massive achievement for me because if I look back in 2014-15, I never ever thought that I will play T20 Internationals and (franchise) leagues all around the world. I never ever had that in my mind. I’ll only try my best to continue (growing) and make it as bigger as possible.Has DJ messaged or called you?Yes, we spoke. He messaged me as well. He was so happy and said: “(I know) you are the one who (would) break this record. You totally deserve all this.” He’s always been very supportive and we had some great times and in (2024) T20 World Cup as well when he was Afghanistan bowling coach.Your climb to the top has been incredibly quick. At the end of 2016, your second year in competitive cricket, you had 38 wickets when Bravo was the leading wicket-taker in T20s with 367 wickets. By end of 2024 you had 622 wickets, only nine behind Bravo who retired last year. You did not take the staircase, you are on the escalator.I was thinking the same couple of days back. I was just checking my records: how many wickets DJ Bravo had when I debuted and how much I have now. I read that since I debuted, while I got 600-plus wickets, the difference between me and the next best bowler with most wickets in this period was nearly half (229 – South African legspinner Imran Tahir has 403 wickets). Like I said, it’s hard to believe. What makes it more special for me is the record now belongs to someone from Afghanistan.You should read the piece we did after you surpassed Bravo…I would love to. And keep an eye on which records I could break in the future (chuckles).There’s one you are withing touching distance: you are three wickets short of going past Tim Southee to become the highest wicket-taker in T20Is.That I already have in my mind. I tried my best to cross that in the Zimbabwe series recently, but I took only nine wickets. But hopefully in Asia Cup (scheduled later in 2025)Rashid Khan’s phase wise numbers•ESPNcricinfo LtdLast IPL when we met, you mentioned you have reached this far by sticking to that simple mantra – bowling in the right areas. As you evolve you will continue to stick to that?You never let your strength go away from you. That’s my strength and that’s why I’m more effective when I’m bowling there (points to the spot he wants to pitch) and that’s where batsmen struggle as well. As soon I start bowling here and here (away from the spot intended), maybe it becomes more easier for them. It’s more about that length, that line and that’s what makes it very hard (for the batter). Sometimes as a bowler, if you think a lot, like what will happen if I bowl there, then we forget to bowl in the right areas, then we forget what is our strength.

Every ball I’m bowling I want to take wicket, I want to bowl the best ball, I want to put the batter in trouble. As soon as you have that in the mind, wickets will comeRashid Khan about his mindset

I have seen so many bowlers, especially at the death, bowling the length ball and they are still hard to hit. I will give you an example of Mohammed Shami – he is bowling length balls at the death and still it’s hard for the batters to go after him because he is pitching on the right line and right length. [Jasprit] Bumrah is the same. He bowls the best yorkers, but at the same time also bowls the length ball which is equally hard to hit. Because he is pitching where he wants it and where he thinks it is hard for the batter to hit. For me it’s the same: it’s just the length and line and as long as I stick to that I don’t think I should change much. Yes, I can think about varying the pace and the grips, but not about change my line and length.Do you still use the bottle tops to sharpen your accuracy and consistency?Yes, sometimes when I face bit of a challenge, when I’m not hitting the right areas consistently, I bring them (bottle tops) and that really helps me. But nowadays when you are playing too much (T20) cricket and back-to-back games, it becomes harder to keep doing that all the time. But yes, in a longer format I still keep train (with bottle tops) like in ODI and Test cricket and it comes handy.I recently played a Test against Zimbabwe. The earlier part of my first spell was harder for me, around the first five overs. But as soon I got used to the rhythm, I pitched the ball in the right areas and I just enjoyed and I just wanted to bowl and bowl. I bowled 55 overs, but I still felt like I hadn’t bowled much. I should have bowled more than that. So that’s how I enjoy my bowling and that’s how I am focussing on hitting the right areas consistently, by challenging myself: can I hit that area now? Can I hit that area with this ball, with a leggie, with the straighter one?Batters have charged you and then played safe. As you have evolved, is your basic aim still taking wickets or you want to ensure you attack by being defensive?Taking wickets is thinking about how it’s going to happen. You can take a wicket on a full toss or on a back-of-length ball as well. But what you have in the mind is important, about how I’m going to get the wicket and that mentality you must have: if I’m bowling the wrong ‘un, because I want to hit him on the pad. Why I’m bowling legspin? Because I want to beat him, I want to get him caught behind, I want him caught in the slip. You need to have that wicket-taking mindset every ball unless you are bowling in death when you are bowling wide yorkers, wide slower ones, when you just need to try and deliver a dot ball. But your mentality should be taking wickets each and every ball. And that’s something which I mostly have in my mind: every ball I’m bowling I want to take wicket, I want to bowl the best ball, I want to put the batter in trouble. As soon as you have that in the mind, wickets will come, dot balls will come and good spells will come.Rashid Khan says making the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup in 2024 is one of the biggest moments of his life•ICC/Getty ImagesPersonally, can you talk about few top spells from your T20 career?I will name three. One was against Bangladesh in the last T20 World Cup where I got four wickets (4 for 23) where we were defending 115. That was a very crucial spell for me. Yes, I got four wickets against New Zealand (4 for 17) as well in the same World Cup, but that was different game and this was different game. Against Bangladesh, I’m defending only 115, which was a tough situation hence I felt that’s why this is a little bit higher. Another is against KKR in IPL 2018 in Qualifier 2 (3 for 19) which totally changed the game. The other I got 6 for 17 for Adelaide Strikers in BBL because bowling in Australia is something harder.Rashid Khan: If I look back in 2014-15, I never ever thought that I will play T20 Internationals•ACBAfghanistan reaching the semi-finals in the 2024 T20 World Cup – was the biggest moment of your T20 career so far?It is 100% one of the biggest moments of my career, in my life, to get to the semi-finals. And I still feel and I still think about that match. How we were (so) near to the final, we could have played the final. I still feel so bad whenever I remember that day that I thought if it was a better wicket, both teams could have done much, much better and it would’ve been one of the best games for us as a team. You know that ground (in Tarouba), we came two, three times for practice and we cancelled the practice because of the wickets.Currently 410 of your overall T20 wickets have come in leagues. You are leading MICT. You also play for two other MI franchises – in ILT20 and MLC. MI now also have acquired another franchise, Oval Invincibles, in the Hundred. From a player’s viewpoint, do you reckon it might be beneficial to you to stick to one franchise across leagues?Yes. It’s something which makes it so easy for you. You already know the set-up, the management, the environment, you feel like you know history of the franchise, how good it is and their mindset on cricket. I feel like that in future you just stick at one place. And that’s something for me personally, it’s quite important. I’m happy to be representing them (MI) all over: New York, here, Emirates. It plays a good role where it doesn’t allow you that okay, if I go a new set-up, how it’s going to be, how I’m going to adjust. But with this set-up, it becomes easier for you that you can adjust yourself quickly and you start focusing and start performing from the day one.This SA20, Paarl Royals became the first team to bowl 20 overs of spin. Do you reckon teams will bowl more spin as T20 evolves?Well, it depends on conditions as well. To be honest, I don’t think so (bowling spin for 20 overs). I still feel in the last few overs, you can still manage to hit one or two boundaries off the spinner in an over unless it’s a very, very, very slow wicket and/or a turning wicket. I feel you still need those skills of fast bowlers to bowl at death, those skills of fast bowlers to bowl with the new ball, swing the ball both ways, I will love to see the ball reverse, I still love to see fast bowlers bowling slower ones, wide yorkers. That is the beauty of this game, of the short format, and it shouldn’t go away. It shouldn’t be taken away where people think about, okay, let’s just go with (only) spinners and it’s easy. No, I don’t think so. It’s going to affect the game and the beauty of the game may just go away.You are 26 and already you are inching towards 700 wickets. If you keep your fitness, guess 1000 wickets is a milestone you might want to work towards?That’s the target (breaching the 1000-wicket barrier). It’s going to be massive to get 1000 wickets. Yeah, if I’m fit and I’m doing well, that’s something which will be a biggest achievement to take: 1000 wickets in T20s. And I can only just think about it, how good it would be and how it will be to have those four digits of wickets. That’s something which is going to be unbelievable. But yes, hopefully, hopefully I’m fit. I feel like if I (continue to) play the cricket I’ve been playing next three-and a-half-to-four years, I feel like I can get there.

He was always an excellent new-ball bowler, but Matt Henry has evolved into a fine death-overs bowler now, and being the leader of the attack has freed him up

Deivarayan Muthu07-Mar-2025Between the otherworldly swing of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, Matt Henry’s own swing and seam had often gone underappreciated. In New Zealand’s first ICC competition without Boult or Southee since 2010, Henry has finally emerged from the shadows of those two greats, topping the Champions Trophy wickets chart with ten strikes in four innings at an average of 16.70 and economy rate of 5.32.Much like Boult and Southee, Henry is known to the wider world as a new-ball phenom. When he was a late addition to New Zealand’s squad for the 2015 ODI World Cup, he reminded Martin Crowe of a young Richard Hadlee. Ten years on, Henry isn’t just about swing or seam anymore. He has evolved into a complete fast bowler, who can be just as potent with the old ball.Matt Henry with the old ball? Stop kidding me!Related

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No, really. Since 2023, Henry is the joint-highest wicket-taker, alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi, in the last ten overs in ODI cricket, with 25 strikes in 20 innings (Shaheen has the benefit of bowling in 22 innings) at an economy rate of 6.79. And nobody has a better bowling average than Henry’s 12.36 for a minimum of 200 balls between overs 40 and 50 since 2023.His corresponding numbers in the death between his ODI debut at the start of 2014 and end of 2022 were poor: 23 wickets in 41 innings at an average of 26.86 and economy rate of 8.56.Henry’s outrageous improvement with the old ball has transformed him into an all-purpose, all-format bowler. Since 2023, he is also the highest wicket-taker in international cricket across formats with 136 strikes in 66 innings. Ravindra Jadeja (125), Jasprit Bumrah (124), Afridi (124) and Mitchell Starc (117) all slot in behind Henry on this list.The IPL, the Hundred and the MLC all wanted Henry. You can’t just sit idle with your skills these days. Unless you keep upgrading them, cricket will leave you behind.Henry refused to be left behind. A career-threatening back injury had already left him far behind during his early years. He then spent a number of years watching Boult and Southee, and then Kyle Jamieson, surge ahead of him.ESPNcricinfo LtdIt was the 2023 T20 Blast that unlocked the old-ball skills of Henry. While he continued to attack and hunt for wickets with the new ball, he developed defensive skills with the older, softer one, hiding it away from the hitting arcs of batters with slower balls and cross-seamers. He came away with 31 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 13.25 and economy rate of 7.85 on surfaces that were largely flat and favoured hitting through the line.Henry’s title-winning run at Somerset in the T20 Blast gave him the belief that he could succeed with the old ball as well. Henry doesn’t have a magic slower one, like the knuckle ball or the back-of-the-hand variation, yet, but he can get his offcutter to react differently on different pitches.Look at this dismissal from the 2023 ODI World Cup. Mushfiqur Rahim collapses to the floor like a house of cards. The slower ball hits the Chennai pitch and skids under his bat – as opposed to bouncing higher – and knocks out his off stump.Henry can also get his offcutter to rise at the rib cage or even higher. He drew a mis-hit from Hardik Pandya with that slower bouncer in Dubai last Sunday on his way to a five-wicket haul. His change-ups, bowled without any discernible change in his action, were particularly vital to New Zealand limiting India to 249 for 9.

“He’s always had the reputation of being an outstanding new-ball bowler, but you see the development in his game is using that slower bouncer and different fields, etc at the back end. He’s a much more rounded bowler and that’s why he’s having success across formats”Shane Bond on Matt Henry

Shane Bond is so impressed with Henry’s versatility that he rates him as one of New Zealand’s best ODI bowlers. “When you look at New Zealand’s great one-day bowlers, you think of Trent Boult… but Matt Henry has been his partner-in-crime for a long time. If you line up their records, it will be pretty similar,” Bond said on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day show. “He’s got an exceptional one-day record, and he just continues to be a world-class bowler now. He does it on the big occasions.”He showed that he’s really developed his skills at the back-end of the innings. He’s always had the reputation of being an outstanding new-ball bowler, but you see the development in his game is using that slower bouncer and different fields, etc at the back end. He’s a much more rounded bowler and that’s why he’s having success across formats.”Two of New Zealand’s frontline quicks, who usually operate with the old ball, Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, were sidelined from the Champions Trophy even before the start of the tournament. All of Will O’Rourke, Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy had never played in an ICC tournament before this Champions Trophy, but despite various setbacks, Henry has made Black Caps’ seam attack work across four venues in two countries.ESPNcricinfo LtdHe won’t agree that he’s the leader of this attack, but he certainly has all the attributes of one: he fronts up to bowl across phases, produces significant breakthroughs and is often spotted at mid-on or mid-off, passing inputs to the rookie bowlers and putting his arm around them, like a protective older brother embracing his younger one, when they get hit.All of New Zealand perhaps went down with Henry when he landed awkwardly on his shoulder to grab the catch of Heinrich Klaasen at long-on in the semi-final against South Africa. Henry then picked himself and New Zealand up, returning to bowl two boundary-less overs at the death to go with the wicket of Kagiso Rabada with a grippy offcutter from over the wicket. New Zealand are hoping that he will be fit for the final.India, of course, will be more familiar with new-ball Henry. He blitzed through their line-ups in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final in Manchester and more recently in the Bengaluru Test last year with his mastery of the upright as well as the wobble seam. He even tricked Shubman Gill into playing across the line with an inducker when New Zealand met India in Dubai.Henry makes things happen with the new ball. Now, he can make things happen with the old ball too. Bet against Henry 2.0 at your own peril.