Anil Kumble, Mushtaq Ahmed, Alana King and Piyush Chawla talk about what it was like to watch that magic ball

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2023June 4 marks the 30th anniversary of a delivery that changed the game. At Old Trafford, Shane Warne sent down his first ball in Ashes cricket. From over the wicket, it curved out of his hand, drifted outside leg stump, pitched and turned sharply past the bat of a startled Mike Gatting to take off stump. A new chapter in Ashes – and cricket – history was written that day. We spoke to a selection of legspinners from across generations about the impact of that delivery.Can you recall when you first saw the delivery from Warne to Gatting?Anil Kumble, former India bowler and captain I saw it later. I was possibly playing somewhere – I don’t remember. That was the first time he was playing in England, and bowling at Mike Gatting, who was, by far one of the better players of spin in that English side. And ripping that from outside leg stump, drifting and taking the off stump was a perfect delivery for any legspinner – or any spinner for that matter. I think it not only had an impact on that particular game but also on the minds of English batters from there on when it came to facing Shane Warne.Alana King, Australia bowler I first watched it at a very young age when I was getting involved in cricket, and legspin especially. Looking up to Warnie when I was a kid, I just got told by many people at my junior cricket club and everyone involved in cricket in my life, “You’ve got to watch this ball.” Ever since, it just keeps popping up.Related

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Mushtaq Ahmed, former Pakistan bowler: A month before this Test, Australia were playing Somerset and Ian Healy brought Warne to me after the game. We had a chat for about an hour and a half, discussing how to read the English pitches, how to work around rain, gripping the ball…He was a great bowler, no doubt. When I saw that delivery, it felt amazing, because it’s a dream ball. I was busy with Somerset and watched the ball in the highlights later in the day.2:25

Kumble, Mushtaq and Chawla on the magic ball

Piyush Chawla, India bowler I was 14-15 years old and I’d heard so much about that particular delivery, so I went on YouTube to see it. As a legspinner it was a dream ball, the way it drifted in the air, pitched on leg stump and then hit off stump, and Mike Gatting, one of the better players of spin bowling, he also had no clue about it. So that was something really amazing to watch. It is very difficult to get those kind of revs on the ball, like he got. His ball used to pitch somewhere around sixth, seventh stump on the leg side; mine is around fifth stump. Both our bowling actions were different, so it was very difficult to copy him.What made the delivery so special?Mushtaq As a legspinner, I’ve never seen anyone else do it. The beauty of the ball is that it fully drifted in the air, like a fast bowler bowling an inswinger. Mike’s head was following the line and the moment he committed himself to play it, the ball pitched sharply. I don’t think anyone other than Warne could do it.Chawla When the legspinner pitches on or outside leg stump, the ball generally drifts in onto the legs of the batter and then it spins away. But that ball drifted a long way, pitched almost on sixth or seventh stump outside the leg stump and from there, spinning such a long way before hitting the top of off – you can say it was something like a miracle. The most important thing for any spinner is to get dip, drift and revs. We all knew Warnie had strong wrists and broad shoulders, and because of that he got such a good revs. The other important aspect of spin bowling is the hip drive: his hip drive was so high, it was almost over the stumps, which is very rare to find. The combination of all those things and the effort he put into the ball allowed him to get that kind drift, dip and spin.King When you watch that delivery, and obviously being a legspinner, you see how many revolutions Warnie put on the ball, the drift he got – it just makes it so much more special. That’s the dream of a leggie. You’ve put that many revs on the ball, got that nice drift, pitched outside leg stump and hit the top of off stump. That was incredible. Every legspinner dreams of that and it was just as perfect, perfect a legbreak as has ever been bowled.Anil Kumble on Warne: “The amazing thing about Warne was how he bowled batters around the legs. Yes, people have misjudged sweep shots, but here was someone who could literally go behind your back and get you out”•Aijaz Rahi/Associated PressKumble I think because it was his first [Ashes] ball, it was by an Aussie against an Englishman, and it was the Ashes, it was really special. He spun the ball a big mile and he gave it a massive rip.Does it stand the test of time 30 years later?Chawla Hundred per cent. It is a beautiful sight to see the ball pitching on leg stump and squaring up the batter – it is a drama ball for a legspinner.King Absolutely, hands down. Don’t think anyone comes close to bowling something like that. He was a once-in-a-generation player for that reason, the amount of spin that he got. That was early on in his Test career too, so what he went on to do – over 700 Test wickets – it all started with that ball. Think that delivery will always be the pinnacle of legspin.Kumble That ball is one which certainly stood out. There have been many similar bowled dismissals since then, but, yeah, an important Ashes series, first ball by an Aussie spinner playing in his first game in England.Mushtaq Ahmed: “Warne was a bowler who never relied on pitches. He used his skills to take wickets and that is why we used to call him Sher Khan”•Richard Heathcote/Getty ImagesMushtaq It will always be an unplayable one. There was a delivery Adil Rashid bowled in an ODI to Virat Kohli in England, and Yasir Shah bowled one to Kusal Mendis – these are balls us legspinners dream of. I used to bowl my googly way outside off, making the batsman leave it, and it suddenly comes in between the legs to dismantle the stumps. That can’t be matched. Shane’s ball will be enjoyable to watch even 60 years later.How important an influence was that delivery on the rise of legspin?Kumble We all sort of looked up to someone like Warnie. I had various conversations with him and Muthiah Muralidaran in that era, and we had conversations with Mushtaq Ahmed as well. India has always had a focus on spin right from the golden era, before I played. But I don’t think teams like Australia or England have had that kind of spin dominance, and Warne brought that about. He had a major influence, and for me as a fellow legspinner, it was a learning as well. I watched Warnie bowl whenever I had the opportunity.Mushtaq That ball changed the way people thought about legspinners in Tests and one-day cricket. Teams started looking for legspinners. When I was coaching in England, we used to talk about getting a legspinner from grassroots or county, that even a half-good legspinner had a chance.King Don’t think it was just legspin, it was spin bowling in general. Everyone wanted to become Warnie, or pick up some form of spin because of how much fun it was. When you can do stuff like that, be so crafty with the ball – he made it fun again. Legspin was kind of losing its value in the game and all of a sudden Warnie comes into the game and you were like, “Yeah, I want to be like him, that looks fun” and it’s exactly the reason I picked up the art of legspin. And I think lots of leggies around the world have drawn inspiration from him.A mic-ed-up Warne bowled Brendon McCullum in a 2011-12 BBL game after setting up the dismissal on commentary•Chris Hyde/Getty ImagesChawla Legspin is one of the most difficult arts in cricket. Getting that rhythm right daily, bowling at the same spot. The way Shane Warne used to bowl, it was magical. Every legspinner wanted to be like him. But Warnie was really special: the kind of art he had in his hands, I don’t think many bowlers are gifted with that.Is there another Warne moment or delivery that stands out for you?King There was a Big Bash game, he was playing for [Melbourne] Stars and bowling to Brendon McCullum, and he was mic-ed up. McCullum was sweeping him quite a bit and [Warne] literally said it live on TV, “I’m going to bowl it a bit quicker, a bit flatter, and I want him to play the same shot and hopefully get a wicket.” And believe it or not, he talked through how he got the wicket, and that’s just an incredible mindset. He just knew the game so well. That sticks in my mind because he knew exactly what the batter was doing and wanting to do.Chawla Andrew Strauss at Edgbaston in 2005. The ball pitched in the rough and Strauss tried to get his pad in the way but it went through and hit the wicket. People say if you bowl in the rough, it will spin, but getting that kind of spin even from the rough is very difficult. I must have watched that ball around 100 times. The most important thing for a legspinner is the pace, because if you don’t have that pace behind that ball, it’s very difficult to beat the batter – then he can adjust. Here, Strauss was trying to put his pad in the way to defend, but he had no clue how it spun. It was no fault of Strauss. That ball was so special that I think anyone would have got out on that particular delivery.Mushtaq I know of big-name batsmen who used to say that they knew his delivery was drifting and knew that they wanted to block it, but he still got their wicket. The ball to Andrew Strauss at Edgbaston in 2005 spun from miles to get his leg stump, but that one used the rough to gain spin. The ball he bowled to Gatting was special because the pitch was flat. When you don’t get support from the pitch, and need to use your natural variation and power to make it drift – that makes it special.Andrew Strauss had no answer for Warne’s ripper at Edgbaston•Hamish Blair/Getty ImagesKumble I am sure there have been many memorable deliveries, and he bamboozled many batsmen in taking 700-plus wickets. The amazing thing about Shane Warne was how he bowled batters around the legs. I don’t think we had seen that happen often. Yes, people have misjudged sweep shots, but here was someone who could literally go behind your back and get you out. That, to me, was the true sort of image of someone like Shane Warne.As a legspinner, is there a better feeling than sending down the perfect legbreak?Mushtaq There is no bigger joy for a legspinner than when the ball is turning hugely and you beat the batsman over and over. Pitching the ball on the fifth or sixth stump and the batsman thinks it’s going away, but it comes in and cuts through your pads to dismantle the stumps – that gives you immense satisfaction. Warne was a bowler who never relied on pitches. He used his skills to take wickets and that is why we used to call him Sher Khan.King It’s all about rhythm. You want to be as smooth as possible in every delivery. When you release the ball, you know it’s got so many revs on it and everything is smooth. When I release a good legbreak, I’m like, I’m in with a chance here. Natural variation can happen, but I know when I’m bowling at my best, everything is smooth, it’s not forced.Chawla No. Because it doesn’t come that easy. Legspin is an attacking option. The joy of getting a wicket by defeating the batter with drift, dip, guile is something else.

Women’s Ashes heads for Lord’s on Saturday, with debt of gratitude to pioneering generation

Andrew Miller07-Jul-2023When England and Australia walk through the Long Room at Lord’s on Saturday for the third T20I of this year’s Women’s Ashes, both sets of players will know they are walking on the shoulders of giants.Long before the current generation was able to embrace full professionalism, and compete in front of 20,000-strong crowds on a regular basis, their forebears were raising their own funds for months-long amateur tours – and paying for their own kit along the way, including their England blazers of course.And no women’s cricketer better epitomises that struggle for recognition than the legendary Enid Bakewell. Fifty years ago this month, her century against Australia secured glory for England in the first Cricket World Cup (men’s or women’s); three years after that, in 1976, she made another matchwinning fifty against the Aussies, as England’s women were, finally, permitted to play on that hallowed turf at Lord’s.And Bakewell will be paying close attention to events at Lord’s on Saturday, as Heather Knight’s team continue their battle to stay in Ashes contention. These days, however, it might be best if they avoid walking literally on her shoulders. At the venerable age of 82, even the most indestructible icon of the women’s game is beginning to feel a bit of wear and tear.”I have to bowl underarm these days, because this bowling arm won’t get it all the way down the pitch,” Bakewell tells ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve had both knees replaced, and I should really be having my shoulder done, but apparently it’s too complicated an option, so they’re advising not to have that done. But I still have a whale of a time.”That much was apparent in the winter just gone, when Bakewell embarked on a playing tour of Australia and New Zealand, where she even picked up a Player-of-the-Match award in East Anglian Veteran Ladies’ opening fixture against Queensland Veterans CC.”That was wonderful,” she says. “We didn’t win a game, because of course we were playing men most of the time, and we had some matches rained off as well. But we made some really good friends.”The Aussies of course, were extremely competitive. The New Zealanders were more friendly in a way, just as competitive really. The biggest problem I had all tour was getting myself out of a Jacuzzi that hadn’t got any handles on it!”If that episode proved to be a brief struggle Down Under, it was nothing compared to Bakewell’s first tour of Australia in 1968-69: to this day perhaps the archetypal example of how much women’s cricketers of her pioneering generation were forced to sacrifice, in order to fulfil their dreams of playing for their country.Enid Bakewell admires the portrait at the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Gate at Lord’s•Getty ImagesAt the age of 28, and already a mother of a young daughter, Bakewell reasoned it was now or never, having already missed the chance to debut against New Zealand in 1966 due to her pregnancy. And sure enough, after a century on her Test debut at Adelaide in December 1968, she confirmed her status as the greatest allrounder of her era, as she became the first cricketer to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets on the same tour.But though that tour made her name and helped to raise the profile of the women’s game, it meant leaving her daughter behind in England for four months – in the capable care of her own father, as it happened, an ex-coalminer from Nottinghamshire with an admirably enlightened attitude to childcare. And, as for the fundraising for such a lengthy trip, that involved all manner of optimistic schemes.”I used to sell potatoes outside the front of my house, and I had to go and get more from the greengrocer when I sold out,” Bakewell says. “We sold books, for about 6d each as it was then. And my dad was on the council and he chatted up some of the local landowners, but I don’t think they actually gave me a donation at all.”I suppose I didn’t really realise how hard it was. But quite honestly, I was so competitive. I came from a mining village, and of course, normally, in Newstead, women didn’t go out to work. They stayed home, looked after the children, did the housework … had to get home to get the men’s tea ready…”And so, within that context, the idea of women trying to play cricket was an absurd proposition: “like a man trying to knit”, as the great Len Hutton once put it. Last month, that infamous quote made it into the long-awaited report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Sport, as part of a scathing critique of English cricket’s ingrained sexism.Lord’s in particular came in for a rough ride from the ICEC, with the commission expressing its “alarm” at the “truly appalling” fact that England’s women had never played a Test match at Lord’s.”The ‘home of cricket’ is still a home principally for men,” the report stated, in one of the most damning lines of its 317 pages.And so, depending on your stance in the debate, it’s either auspicious or awkward timing for Lord’s to be hosting this particular Ashes fixture – the first bilateral women’s T20I in the ground’s history and only the second international in the format there after England’s victory in the World T20 final, way back in 2009.Enid Bakewell rang the five-minute bell during the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge•ECB/Getty ImagesBakewell’s life story, however, is living testimony to the truth that underpins the ICEC’s verdict. Last year, after an at-times interminable debate, MCC finally deigned to erect a tribute to Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Bakewell’s long-time captain and England team-mate. Quite apart from a mighty career in her own right, Heyhoe Flint was the driving force behind the inaugural 1973 World Cup – and had it not been for that event, the men’s event in 1975 surely would not have followed so swiftly afterwards.The final of that event, however, had to be held at Edgbaston, not Lord’s, because MCC would not entertain the notion of hosting women at their venue. It would be another 25 years, in 1998, before the first female members would be permitted to join the club and end almost 200 years of male-only status. Heyhoe Flint was among that initial tranche of new members, but not Bakewell at that stage: “I’d had children, you see, so they got in the way of me playing for England”But eventually, in August 2022, five years after her untimely death on the eve of the 2017 Women’s World Cup, the Heyhoe Flint Gate was unveiled at Lord’s – complete with a plaque and a portrait to commemorate a “Pioneer for Women in Cricket”. Bakewell, sadly, was unable to attend that initial ceremony, but was back at Lord’s in March to see the tribute for herself.”It’s such a wonderful picture of her,” she says. “She used to play the ukulele round here, while handing out leaflets to raise awareness, just to let people know that women did play cricket. We used to go around everywhere, playing against men’s teams. I remember one match where a chap got about 176 against our women’s team, and she came in after she had got out for just a few, and she threw her bat across the room.”I was in the same boat at Trent Bridge, really,” she adds. “It’s taken years for them to put any pictures of women’s cricketers up there, but now they’ve got a bat that I signed and gave to them, and a cap that I brought back all the way from Sri Lanka. If ever someone interviewed me, I knew they wouldn’t know anything about women’s cricket. So I’d just talk and entertain the crowd, and they would laugh their heads off.”Finally, however, the times they are a-changing for the women’s game, and Bakewell could not be more delighted for opportunities that are coming the way of her successors in the game. “It’s amazing, and it’s really wonderful that they are being given so much publicity,” she says.Related

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“Anya, she’s my heroine,” she adds, referencing Anya Shrubsole, who happens to be listening in as Bakewell holds court at the top of the Lord’s Pavilion.”She was cool, calm and collected when Jenny Gunn dropped that catch against India,” she adds of the moment, in the fraught final stages of the epic 2017 50-over World Cup final, when Gunn at mid-off let one of the simplest catches of her life go down, with India nine-down and ten runs from claiming the title. Undeterred, Shrubsole turned at the top of her mark, charged in once more, and plucked out Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s off stump to seal the title, and her own immortality, with figures of 6 for 46.Bakewell’s own best figures, incidentally, were 7 for 61 – for match figures of 10 for 75 – in the last of her 12 Tests, against West Indies at Edgbaston in 1979. She’s left such analyses long behind her now, but nothing will ever manage to stifle her competitive spirit.These days, Bakewell’s enthusiasm for local politics takes up most of her time (“I’ll be stuffing my election leaflets into envelopes while watching the cricket,” she says) but she’s also now joined her daughter’s eight-a-side over-50s team. “I managed a catch behind the wicket the other day… and I actually managed to sit at the side and not say anything unless I was asked, which was very difficult …”I go to keep-fit on a Monday, and keep-fit on a Tuesday with an actual physio. Then I do yoga on a Wednesday; on Thursday, I usually catch up with my hair and all sorts of things. On Friday, I’ll go walking with a friend. And then my grandson comes home from school.”That is the measure of the bedrock upon which the modern women’s game is founded. It’s little wonder it feels quite so robust at this moment.

After learning some tough lessons in India he enters Perth Scorchers’ title defence as potentially their most important player

Tristan Lavalette09-Dec-2023Having quickly turned his attention to Perth Scorchers’ quest for history, after returning from a whirlwind tour of India, allrounder Aaron Hardie realised a notable difference ahead of his sixth BBL season.”I was telling the coaching staff that this is the first BBL season that I have started fully fit,” Hardie told ESPNcricinfo. “The body’s really good. I’m excited.”A fit and firing Hardie should spook opponents hoping to spoil Scorchers’ bid to become the first team to win a hat-trick of titles. He made last season’s team of the tournament as effectively a specialist batter after a groin niggle restricted his bowling output. He was the BBL’s leading run-scorer with 460 runs at 41.81 and strike-rate of 141.Related

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Hardie, 24, is arguably Scorchers’ most important player. He will again bat at No. 3, but this time around provides a flexible bowling option for skipper Ashton Turner.He is a sharp seam bowler, capable of pushing close to 140kph with swing, and uses his towering 6 foot 4 frame to devastating effect. A physically stronger Hardie has been able to exert himself more this domestic season.Hardie has often opened the bowling for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, where he has taken 11 wickets at 21.45 from four matches.”Because I wasn’t bowling in the middle in the past, I didn’t have time to work on things. The more you bowl, the more you learn things,” he said. “I’m looking forward to being able to bowl my four overs [in the BBL]. We have some amazing new ball bowlers in Dorff [Jason Behrendorff] and Richo [Jhye Richardson], but I can help them out if needed and can do a job in the middle-latter overs. A lot of things will be match-up dependent, but I think my flexibility is a strength.”With a first-class batting average of 43.10 – having cemented No. 5 after starting off at eight – and a bowling average of 27.74, Hardie might just be about the most genuine allrounder imaginable. It’s perhaps unsurprising that he doesn’t favour one skillset over the other.”It’s 50-50,” Hardie said. “I try to keep them as equal as possible. I pride myself in being able to contribute with the bat and ball.”Before this domestic season, Hardie had made more of a name for himself with the bat. He had propelled into the spotlight with a 174 not out in the Shield final against Victoria in 2022 demonstrating a calm temperament to go along with his aggressive instincts.Then came last season’s BBL when he made the No. 3 position his own after replacing an injured Mitchell Marsh having been on the fringes of Scorchers’ team previously. Much like Marsh, his muscular batting can be particularly destructive in the powerplay but he’s not merely crash and bash.

Playing the reverse sweep…never thought I would when I was younger. It’s taken three-four years to get the concept of sweeping, but it feels good to have a few options against high quality spinnersAaron Hardie on his T20 batting development

Hardie can shift gears when needed and developed a knack for chasing having started off in the team well down the order at No. 7. He found himself back then sometimes batting with the nerveless Turner, whose prowess seemingly lies with repeatedly getting his side out of trouble and powering them over the line.”I learned a lot batting with him. He’s the master of chasing because he keeps it simple with his tactics,” Hardie said of Turner. “Having that time in the lower order, I learned the ropes and found myself in those situations where we needed like 20 off 10 [balls].”So even though I now bat high in the order and have time, I know what to do if we’re in a tight chase.”Hardie’s temperament was tested during Australia’s probably already forgotten five-match T20I series with India. The series was widely derided hot on the heels of the World Cup, but it did provide younger players with invaluable experience in different conditions.Aaron Hardie is part of a strong and settled Perth Scorchers squad•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesHardie was thrown around the batting order. He was used as an opener and twice at No. 4, while he was listed at No. 6 in the series-opener but didn’t bat. Hardie made just 30 runs in three innings and struggled against spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel.He was unable to effectively unfurl his sweep shot, a stroke Hardie did not play in his junior career but has worked hard on developing since.”It’s such an important shot. Every team basically has a mystery spinner. Being able to use the shot and change the field to your liking is huge,” Hardie said. “Playing the reverse sweep…never thought I would when I was younger. It’s taken three-four years to get the concept of sweeping, but it feels good to have a few options against high quality spinners.”Hardie was further tested with the ball against an exuberant India batting line-up on small grounds. After being overlooked to bowl in the opening game then dropped from the team, Hardie returned in Guwahati and into a cauldron against India skipper Suryakumar Yadav who unleashed his 360 degree batting.But mustering extra effort, conjuring more bounce from a lifeless pitch, Hardie befuddled Suryakumar and had him caught behind to get a prized first T20I wicket. However, the joy was short-lived when centurion Ruturaj Gaikwad tore into him at the death as Hardie finished with 1 for 64 from four overs in the equal most expensive figures for an Australia bowler in T20Is.Aaron Hardie (centre) bounced back strongly with the ball in the final two T20Is against India•BCCIIt was the type of pummeling that could have left an inexperienced player scarred, but Hardie bounced back and opened the bowling in the final two games. He found swing early before effectively reverting to a hard length to finish with 2 for 41 from seven overs across the games.”It was a huge challenge over there against batters at a certain level in those conditions, but it was pleasing to bounce back and have an impact with the ball,” Hardie said. “I was learning in those conditions, but the key is to put plans in place and to adjust when needed. Sometimes that just meant something simple as a little change in the field.”His unruffled demeanour and resolve in India would have further enhanced his growing standing among the national hierarchy.The selection focus ahead of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan has revolved around Marsh and Cameron Green battling for the allrounder position, but it might not be long before Hardie is putting pressure on his close mates.”It’s been a gradual build for me…I’ve watched the blokes go about their business and we bounce ideas off each other. I grew up playing cricket with Greeny,” said Hardie who is five months older than Green. “There was probably a healthy rivalry between us and pushed us to where we are now.”It is a dream for every cricketer to play for Australia and it’s really exciting that opportunities may come up in the future. But there is plenty of work to be done before that.”Having flown under the radar entering last season, expectations are high for Hardie as Scorchers aim to continue their stranglehold of the BBL.”I think it is really nice we have a lot of the same players, coaches and staff,” he said. “We’re excited for the season and we want to win another title.”

Pakistan’s attack bowled plenty of dots at the Chinnaswamy, but it was the ones that went for four and six that set the tone

Osman Samiuddin20-Oct-20232:06

Pujara: Babar succumbed to pressure

The first over of the match, bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi, was a good over. It was not the great over that we have come to expect from Afridi but it was a good over. He forced Pakistan to take a slightly ludicrous review off the first ball and tried to push for another very optimistic one off the fourth, but otherwise it went well. He wasn’t straining too hard for that full-length ball that he hasn’t been able to nail right of late. He showed signs he was willing to mix his length and off five balls he conceded just one run.Off one though, the fifth ball of the over, he went a little too full. It shaped in a touch as well. No matter. This is the Chinnaswamy. The boundaries here are served Size Extra Small. The pitch is true. There may only have been four ODIs at the stadium in the last 10 years but we’ve all seen the IPL. We all know the feats of white-ball batting magic that are written here. Also, facing up was Mitch Marsh and there is no cleaner hitter of a cricket ball right now. With minimum fuss, he launched a six straight down the ground.It was a very Mitch Marsh shot. The over read: four dots, one slight error, one maximum. In not quite the way Pakistan would have wanted, the tone was set for most of the rest of this innings.Related

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Hasan Ali bowled eight dot balls in his first two overs. He began his second over from round the wicket though with such a floaty leg-stump half-volley it would’ve been rude had David Warner turned down the invite to scoop it over fine leg for six. He ended the over with a wide length ball that Marsh crunched through point. In between there were three dot balls.Iftikhar Ahmed, called up far earlier than he might have been expecting and turning out to be a far better part-time option than anyone expected, bowled a decent eighth over. Good lengths, nice darts, some dots. Apart from the third ball which was a tiny bit short, a teensy bit wide, and bam, meet Warner’s cut shot. He may be cuddlier now but that cut shot is still mean as hell.Usama Mir came on for the 11th over and bowled a decent one. Mixed the flight, mixed the pace a little, got some turn, bowled three dot balls. He also bowled one that was a tiny bit short, a teensy bit wide and bam, meet the Warner cut. Again. It’s still mean as hell.This pattern would repeat itself time and time again in the first 35 overs of the Australia innings. Lots of dot balls, lots of boundary balls. Instinctively this feels like a very Pakistani malaise, especially of this attack: good enough bowlers to bowl good balls, but not enough of them for long enough. In Bengaluru though, this pattern formed in record-breaking extremis: Australia’s total was the highest made by a team (since we began our ball-by-ball records in 2002) where 50% or more of the balls they faced were dot balls. Pakistan bowled 152 dot balls. But, they also conceded 10 sixes in the first 25 overs, the most they’ve conceded in the first half of an ODI innings. Two games ago, against Sri Lanka, Pakistan bowled 144 dot balls – 47.8% – and still conceded 345.Shaheen Shah Afridi had to shoulder the burden again•ICC via Getty ImagesIt’s difficult to be too harsh on the bowling especially on a ground that is always very harsh on bowlers. Pakistan were playing here for the first time. They had clocked the smaller dimensions in training. They knew it would be tough. Their fast bowlers worked on hitting the right lengths in training, ideally somewhere around back of a good length and at the stumps always.By all accounts those sessions went well, but in the heat of a World Cup game, it didn’t translate. We’re talking a fairly tiny area of this pitch you can hit and not be taken for runs off. And even then the line must be super tight: width is a sin, too straight a folly. In those first 20 overs, where much of the game was shaped, though Pakistan tried they didn’t hit that spot often enough and the margins were cruel. When they hit back of a length (as recorded by our ball-by-ball data), they conceded at a strike rate of 84.61; when they hit length, they went at nearly 140. It’s not a massive difference in terms of feet, but the costs of missing it is significant.”We knew this ground is famous for a boundary festival,” Pakistan’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said later. “Upfront we leaked some soft boundaries – that was one of our key discussion points, to keep hitting the deck and keep the stumps in play. We know in India any bit of width you can throw your hands through the line. That was one area we lacked.”If they hit or forced some good shots, we can live with that. But we couldn’t string enough balls on the stumps, that’s the learning we will take, the improvements we need to make. Those are the small margins. They will hit your good balls for four, but can we eliminate our bad balls and bowl less percentage of bad balls especially upfront?”The one man – well, boy really – who was bringing that control this year, who was hitting the right lengths for the pitches he bowled on more consistently is, of course, not here. A number of sides are dealing with the absence of big names in this tournament, so Pakistan are hardly alone in that misfortune, nor can they afford to dwell on it.But the loss of Naseem Shah, in a side where depth and the readiness of that depth has always felt thin and stretched, hits doubly on days like this. It has put a greater burden on Afridi (who at least confirmed here he can carry it) and asked Hasan and Haris Rauf to bowl outside their comfort zones.”Naseem Shah is a quality bowler and if you look at his stats, the consistency he gave us with the new ball upfront was amazing,” Morkel conceded. “The partnership he formed with Shaheen was fantastic. It’s meant slightly new roles for Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf with the new ball in the powerplay.”If you look at their stats, they are guys used to bowling outside the powerplay. They’re learning, they’re trying their heart out, but Naseem obviously is a big loss.”In the final reckoning, Pakistan’s comeback in the field and then the chase until fairly deep into the game should provide some solace. This was – as Mir dropped an early, crucial, all-time dolly, as Rauf conceded 24 in his first over, as Warner took full toll of the chance, as Marsh celebrated his birthday with a hundred (he hit an Ashes hundred this summer for his brother Shaun’s birthday too) – shaping up to be one of those operatically bad Pakistan days. In the end it was bad in just an underwhelming kind of way.Except a bad day at a World Cup is a bad day no matter the scale and Pakistan cannot afford too many more now.

And have any of their first victims averaged more than Steve Smith?

Steven Lynch23-Jan-2024Shamar Joseph’s first two Test wickets were Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who both average over 50. How rare is this sort of start? asked Brian Williams from Australia
The exciting young West Indian Shamar Joseph turns out to be the 11th bowler whose first two Test wickets were a batter with an average of 50 or above (given a qualification of at least 4000 runs at the time). His victims in Adelaide last week were Steve Smith, who ended the match averaging 57.80, and Marnus Labuschagne (52.03). The last bowler to achieve this was another West Indian, Shermon Lewis, against India in Rajkot in 2018-19. He dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli – but India still ran up 649, and Lewis won only one more cap.Pride of place has to go to the old England captain Norman Yardley, whose first two Test wickets were both none other than Don Bradman, who was averaging over 100 at the time. This was during the second and third matches of the 1946-47 Ashes series in Australia, which were Yardley’s fourth and fifth Tests (he didn’t take a wicket in the first three). Again, it didn’t lead to much joy: Bradman had made 234 and 79, and Australia went on to win the series 3-0.Three others dismissed a high-averaging opponent twice to start their careers. Neil Johnson began by removing Sachin Tendulkar in both innings as Zimbabwe pulled off a surprise win over India in Harare in 1998-99. Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews dismissed Younis Khan twice in Galle in 2009 . And Moeen Ali marked his debut for England, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in 2014, by having Kumar Sangakkara caught behind, and got him again in the next Test at Headingley.Three men started their Test bowling careers by dismissing the prolific Indians Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid: the Sri Lankan pair of Dhammika Prasad (in Colombo in 2008, when his third wicket was Tendulkar) and Suraj Randiv (also in Colombo, but in 2010), and Australia’s Jason Krejza during his debut 8 for 215 in Nagpur in 2008-09.Jonathan Agnew, now a distinguished broadcaster, made a fine start to what was a brief Test career by dismissing the West Indians Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards at The Oval in 1984. And in India’s series in Australia in 2003-04, Irfan Pathan started with the wickets of Matthew Hayden in Adelaide and Steve Waugh in Sydney.Shamar Joseph took a wicket with his first ball in Tests. How many people have done this, and has anyone started with a batter with better numbers than Steve Smith? asked Joey Dimattina from Australia
Following a breezy 36 from No. 11 in his maiden innings in Adelaide last week, the new West Indian find Shamar Joseph then became the 23rd bowler to take a wicket with his first ball in a Test match.His first victim was Steve Smith, who had scored 9526 runs at an average of 58.08 at the time. That’s the highest average of any of the victims – Kumar Sangakkara had 8438 runs at 56.25 when he fell to Nathan Lyon’s first ball in Test cricket, in Galle in 2011. But one man had more runs than Smith: Alastair Cook had amassed 9840 (at an average of 46.85) when he fell to Hardus Viljoen’s opening delivery in his only Test for South Africa, in Johannesburg in 2015-16.I noticed that Mayank Agarwal has scored four Test centuries, all of them in India. Is there anyone whose career included more hundreds, all of them at home? asked V Mohan from India
India’s Mayank Agarwal is one of five men who have scored four Test centuries, all of them coming in home games: the others are Joe Hardstaff junior (England), Guy Whittall (Zimbabwe), and the Sri Lankans Roshan Mahanama and Arjuna Ranatunga. Agarwal’s haul includes two double-centuries; Hardstaff, Mahanama and Whittall all made one.But there are two men who made five Test hundreds, all of them on home soil. The first was the old England player Stanley Jackson. His five included two in the 1905 Ashes series, in which he captained England, won all five tosses, was the leading scorer on either side, and also took 13 wickets. All of Jackson’s 20 Tests came in England, as his Wisden obituary noted: “Unfortunately he could not go on any tour to Australia owing to business reasons, and the presence of Lord Hawke in command of Yorkshire until 1910 prevented him from ever being the county captain, though he was occasionally in charge of the side.”The second batter with five Test centuries all on home soil is Chandu Borde, whose five all came in India between 1958-59 and 1966-67. He did play several Tests abroad, and reached 93 against West Indies in Kingston in 1961-62.Neil Harvey (centre), who turned 95 last year, is still the youngest Australian to score a Test century, at 19 years of age in 1948•Getty ImagesNeil Harvey is the oldest living Australian Test player. Is he still the youngest Australian to score a Test hundred? asked Ian Hugo from France
You’re correct that Neil Harvey is the second-oldest surviving Test player as I write – he turned 95 last October. He’s currently one of 21 Test players who are still alive in their nineties. The only one older than Harvey is the South African Ron Draper, who turned 97 just before Christmas: he played two Tests – against an Australian side including Harvey – in 1949-50.And Harvey is still the youngest Australian to score a Test century – he was 19 years 122 days old when he made 153 against India in Melbourne in 1947-48. That broke the previous national record by a month: Archie Jackson was aged 19 years 152 days when he made 164 on debut against England in Adelaide in 1928-29. The only other teenager to score a Test century for Australia is Doug Walters, who was aged 19 years 357 days when he hit 155 against England in Brisbane in 1965-66.Who has scored the most runs without ever making a fifty in Test matches and one-day internationals? asked Sean Fanning from Australia
The leader on the Test list at the moment is Australia’s Nathan Lyon, who has scored 1427 runs in 126 Tests so far with a highest of 47, against South Africa in Cape Town in 2017-18. In second place is another current player, the West Indian Kemar Roach, with 1165 runs and a highest of 41.It’s not impossible that both Lyon and Roach might yet post a half-century, in which case the record would revert to Pakistan’s Waqar Younis (1010 runs, highest score 45), the only other man into four figures in Tests without a fifty.The record in ODIs is held by India’s Harbhajan Singh, whose 1237 runs included a highest score of 49. Zimbabwe’s Paul Strang made 1090 runs in ODIs with a highest of 47. And Waqar Younis is lurking in third place on this list too, with 969 runs and a highest of just 37.Just to complete the set, the the T20I record is currently held by the New Zealander Jimmy Neesham, whose 900 runs include a highest of 48 not out.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

With a blazing half-century in Ahmedabad, he shows Kings had picked the right man at the auction

Ashish Pant05-Apr-20242:50

‘Kudos to Shashank Singh for hanging in there all these years’

When Shashank Singh walked out to bat in his ninth IPL innings, Punjab Kings were 70 for 4 in the ninth over of their chase of 200 against Gujarat Titans. The required rate had rocketed to 11.47 and, according to the ESPNcricinfo forecaster, their win probability had plummeted to 4.77%.So, he had no option but to go for it. He had to take down the likes of Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mohit Sharma. He had to believe he was the “best in the world”. He did and by the end of it all, his unbeaten 29-ball 61 took Kings to an unlikely three-wicket win in Ahmedabad.Related

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• Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma make Punjab kings of Gujarat

Shashank will undoubtedly grab the headlines after handing Kings their second win of the season and their first on the road. But approximately three-and-a-half months ago, he had become the talking point for a different reason altogether. A reason beyond his control.On December 19, 2023, Punjab Kings successfully bid for a “Shashank Singh” during the accelerated round at the auction. Hammer down, bid sealed. Minutes later the team owners seemed to suggest to the auctioneer Mallika Sagar that this wasn’t the player they were looking for. But Sagar had moved to the next player by then, so the bid stayed.Kings later put down the confusion to a case of mistaken identity clarifying that the onboarded player was always on their targeted list. Shashank also put a statement on his social media account saying, “It’s All Cool … Thank you for trusting on me!!!!” But the “accidental signing” memes had already made their way to the internet.

It’s All Cool … Thank you for Trusting on me!!!! https://t.co/Gs9hOnRspa

— shashank singh (@shashank2191) December 20, 2023

Also, KKR might delay Russell’s arrival as much as possible to see if SRH trust Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to bowl at him deep into the innings

Sidharth Monga20-May-2024Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have had the two quickest-scoring seasons of all time in the IPL. They are unlikely to give up the spots playing the Qualifier 1 in a neutral match in Ahmedabad. Motera has not been among the quickest-scoring grounds this IPL, but it is also a function of the home team choosing to play on specific surfaces. When they have gone for a flat pitch, 200 has been chased down twice, and a 231 posted batting first. In the playoffs, under a BCCI curator, expect a similar high-scoring match. These are some of the tactics which KKR and SRH could employ.Win the toss and bat
Two of the six matches in Ahmedabad have been won by teams batting first. Shubman Gill, the home team captain in Ahmedabad, has been pretty confident that the dew doesn’t play an undue role there. Both the successful defences in Ahmedabad have come in night matches.All these factors are enough to make you toss-agnostic, but one look at SRH’s record this IPL will tell you they will want to bat first. They have won just three matches when chasing: first against Chennai Super Kings when they comfortably chased down 166, one a shellacking under 10 overs when they hunted down 166 against Lucknow Super Giants, and then chasing 215 against Punjab Kings in their last league match. They have been much more comfortable batting first and scoring massively. Their run rate batting first is 1.07 higher than when batting second. KKR are more evenly paced: 10.71 batting first, and 10.30 when chasing.Related

Abhishek Sharma, a top-order whirlwind India has never seen before

Andre Russell, the Ultimate Fighter who knows just how good he is

Batting powerhouses collide as KKR, SRH set their eyes on IPL final spot

While KKR have a perfect record in three chases this IPL, six wins out of nine when defending is no mean feat too. In all likelihood, given their comfort doing either, KKR will like to deny SRH what they want to do.Bowl Bhuvneshwar through powerplay
Sunil Narine has been the most valuable player of the IPL so far, and not just for his batting. Among those who have scored 400 or more runs, only two batters have been quicker than Narine. Although they haven’t quite had a face-off this IPL, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has managed to keep Narine quiet in the powerplay: 31 balls, 34 runs and one dismissal.In the absence of Phil Salt, SRH can go a long way if they can neutralise Narine or at least keep him quiet in the powerplay. Bhuvneshwar will also hope to get through to Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer in the first spell: against Shreyas, he has three wickets in 49 balls for a strike rate of 89, while Venkatesh’s strike rate against him is 88 even though he has never got out to Bhuvneshwar.Vaibhav Arora has become an important part of KKR’s plans•BCCIAs a nice little bonus, Bhuvneshwar’s record against Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the likely replacement for Salt, reads: four balls, zero runs and two wickets. This happened as recently as the two matches against KKR last year.Tackling Head, Abhishek not so straightforward
If it wasn’t for Abhishek Sharma dismantling spinners, it would have been easy to say KKR should open with one of their two in-form spinners: Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. However, Abhishek has been brutal against spin, which means the spinner has to be excellent with his control if he is used against Travis Head.Will Jacks had success against Head by staying away from arc, which also holds for spinners against Abhishek. It helps that both of KKR’s spinners can bowl offbreaks. It is worth giving one end to spin, but the bowler has to be spot on against these two batters.With pace, teams have looked to contain Head and Abhishek by either placing their boundary riders at point and cover, or by placing a deep square cover and a deep midwicket, and attacking the stumps or the armpits. Vaibhav Arora’s natural length does attack the top of stumps with some movement away from left-hand batters, which makes him an important part of KKR’s plans. It is easier to shut off Abhishek with seam: bowl top of off. Head might need more defensive lines outside off.Earlier this season, Heinrich Klaasen took SRH within one hit of winning at Eden Gardens•BCCIRussell for Klaasen
Andre Russell has not bowled in the powerplay this IPL. Heinrich Klaasen, the foundation of the SRH middle order, has been explosive against spin and left-arm pace. So it follows that Russell will be saved for Klaasen. That was perhaps a mistake KKR made in the first match against SRH: Russell and Narine combined bowled just three overs at Klaasen, who went on to score 63 off 29 at Eden Gardens, and take SRH within one hit of winning.Throw Viyaskanth at Russell
Not just Russell the bowler but also Russell the batter has also been key to KKR’s success this season. His strike rate of 185 has given KKR the finishing kick they need. Russell has been in excellent form against all bowling types except legspin: 28 balls, 41 runs and one dismissal. There will be some cat and mouse game here: KKR might delay Russell’s arrival as much as possible to see if SRH can trust Sri Lanka’s youngster Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to bowl at Russell deep into the innings.

Ghosh and Harmanpreet also combined to rewrite a number of Women’s Asia Cup records

Sampath Bandarupalli21-Jul-2024201 for 5 – India’s total against UAE on Sunday is the highest for any team in the women’s T20 Asia Cup, surpassing India’s 181 for 4 against Malaysia in the previous edition in 2022. India have six of the top-seven totals in the history of the competition.1 – India’s 201 for 5 is their first 200-plus total in women’s T20Is. Their previous highest total in the format was 198 for 4 against England at the 2018 triangular series at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium.220.68 – Ghosh’s strike rate during her unbeaten 29-ball 64 is the highest for India in a 50-plus score in women’s T20Is. The previous highest was 204 by Smriti Mandhana when she scored an unbeaten 25-ball 51 against Sri Lanka in the 2022 Asia Cup final.26 – Number of balls Ghosh took to complete her fifty. It is now the second-fastest in the women’s T20 Asia Cup, behind the 25-ball effort of Mandhana against Sri Lanka in 2022. Ghosh’s 26-ball fifty is also the joint-fifth fastest for India in the format.3415 – Runs Harmanpreet now has in T20Is. She is now the second-highest run-getter in women’s T20Is, going ahead of Meg Lanning (3405), with only Suzie Bates (4348) ahead of her.ESPNcricinfo Ltd64* – Ghosh’s score against UAE is now the highest by a wicketkeeper for India in women’s T20Is. Sulakshana Naik’s 59 against Sri Lanka in 2010 is the only other half-century by an Indian wicketkeeper in women’s T20Is.75 – Partnership runs between Ghosh and Harmanpreet for the fifth wicket. It is the highest partnership for the fifth (or lower) wicket at the women’s T20 Asia Cup.It is also India’s second-highest fifth-wicket stand in women’s T20Is, behind the 77 between Mithali Raj and Anuja Patil against Sri Lanka in 2016.1 – Harmanpreet’s 66 is the highest individual score for a captain at the women’s T20 Asia Cup, surpassing Bismah Maroof’s 62 against Malaysia in 2018.Ghosh’s 64* is also the highest by a wicketkeeper in the women’s T20 Asia Cup. Nigar Sultana’s 53 against Malaysia in 2022 was the previous highest.