For three decades one man was an unmissable presence at England-Australia series, as player and then commentator. No longer

Andrew McGlashan13-Jun-2023Whatever happens during the men’s Ashes series it will be notable for a significant absence. For the first time in 30 years Shane Warne will not be involved either on or off the field, although his legacy will never be far away.Roughly half of those years were spent with ball in hand, mesmerising and tormenting a generation of England batters. That period was bookended by two of his most famous moments: the delivery to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford in 1993 that saw the legend born, then the one he spun between Andrew Strauss’ bat and pad for his 700th in front of his home crowd at the MCG, not long after conjuring the miracle in Adelaide.He bowed out of Test cricket a few days later, in Sydney – the ground where his career had begun with 1 for 150 against India. That 2007 SCG match was a relatively quiet game with the ball for Warne (two wickets) although he did briefly threaten to go out with a century before being stumped for 71. A Test hundred was one of the few things to elude Warne, although only by one run and a missed no-ball.Related

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The on-field career brought to a close (although there was still the occasional story about him being lured out of retirement for another Ashes tilt), Warne became a presence in commentary boxes on both sides of the world, even if his appearance during the 2009 series in England was delayed a Test by a poker tournament in Las Vegas – which was entirely fitting of the man. Last year, shortly after his death, the Sky Sports commentary studio at Lord’s was named in his honour. Warne had a brilliant cricket mind and he did some of his best work with Sky, where they managed to balance mateship, banter and tactical analysis.During the 2013 Ashes they filmed one of their masterclass series with Warne in the indoor nets in Durham, where he bowled to Strauss and Nasser Hussain under the expert anchoring of Ian Ward. The segment remains available online and makes for viewing that is as compelling now on Warne’s brilliance as a bowler as it was then. Occasionally he would be over the top, but when Warne talked – or demonstrated – legspin, there was nothing better.Did I entertain you? Warne bows out of Test cricket in Sydney, 2007•Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesOf course, that all came from what he had achieved on the field. To suggest Warne’s career was just about the Ashes would be grossly incorrect, but the rivalry played an integral part and was often where he produced his best, beginning with a single delivery forever etched in the game’s history.”Thirty years on, Warne is gone, but his signature feat and its impact abide,” Gideon Haigh wrote in this year’s . “One of the most remarkable features of the Ball of the Century is that nobody had imagined such a notion until it happened. We were seven years from the new millennium before it was proposed that a single delivery could stand out from everything before it. Baseball had its Shot Heard Round the World, football its Hand of God. But cricket had never so isolated, analysed, celebrated or fetishised a single moment.”After that unforgettable Ashes start, he would finish with 195 wickets at 23.25 in 36 Tests against England, comfortably the most in the rivalry (the fact that Glenn McGrath is third on that list is a reminder of Australia’s dominance in that era). There would have been potentially another six Tests to add if not for injury in 1998-99, where he only played in Sydney, and then 2002-03, where he missed the final two.

Cummins confirmed Hazlewood will be fit for the first Ashes Test, which leaves Australia with a difficult decision to make over the next few days

Andrew McGlashan11-Jun-20231:54

What makes Boland so lethal?

There is surely nothing more Scott Boland can do to become one of the first-choice names in Australia’s attack.So far throughout his stellar eight-match career, which has brought 33 wickets at 14.57, Boland’s opportunities have all come because of the absence of others. However, in the aftermath of securing the World Test Championship final at The Oval, captain Pat Cummins said that Josh Hazlewood, who was ruled out of facing India but said to be “very close” to playing, would be available to face England on Friday.While Cummins was speaking, Hazlewood was completing an eight-over workout on The Oval outfield where minutes before Nathan Lyon had secured Australia the mace.”Josh is in a really good position, so he will be available for selection next week,” Cummins said. “I think he’s had two spells out there today and feeling great, so he’s got quite a bit of work behind him and his body is feeling good.”Moments earlier, in the afterglow of victory during the presentation ceremony, Cummins had called Boland his “favourite” player although such a criteria probably does not carry much weight in selection.Related

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Heading into the final day against India, Boland, the pick of Australia’s pace attack throughout the Test, did not really need to do any more to advance his claims to be a first-choice place in the attack, but he added to his already substantial body of outstanding work anyway.He brilliantly worked over Virat Kohli outside off stump, making him uncertain about what to play and leave, before drawing him into driving at a very wide delivery. The edge flew quickly to Steven Smith’s right at second slip where he held an excellent catch. Any overnight uncertainty (or hope) evaporated.Two balls later and the game was done and dusted when, from around the wicket, he found the outside edge of Ravindra Jadeja. It was the sixth time in his eight Tests that he had taken multiple wickets in the over, a trait which began with that magical debut spell at the MCG. Only Jadeja himself could match that, having also taken multiple wickets in an over six times in eight Tests over the same period.”I feel like we’re starting to become too used to Scotty Boland just doing that,” Cummins said. “He just keeps finding another level doesn’t he? He’s unbelievable. He is just our best bowler all game. Held it together [and] didn’t go for many runs. Always looked threatening. To get two wickets in a row was just reward for how well he bowled throughout the whole game.”1:40

Test mace in the bag, Ashes up next

While Australia have spoken regularly of likely needing to rotate their quicks throughout the Ashes – and therefore the concept of just one ‘first choice’ attack is probably outdated – it would seem extraordinary if Boland doesn’t line up at Edgbaston barring any injury concerns. So the question becomes fitting him in.The feeling before the final was that if Hazlewood had been fit, or if this had been a one-off game for Australia with no Ashes to follow, he would have played. With 222 wickets at 25.83 and 36 in England at 23.58 it’s hard to say that would have been the wrong call. Earlier this year, when he returned from injury against South Africa in Sydney, he played ahead of Boland and took five wickets in the match.So, after all this, it may not be Boland vs Hazlewood. Which brings the spotlight back onto Mitchell Starc. He was the most expensive of Australia’s quicks at The Oval although showed his value by removing Kohli in the first innings with a vicious lifter and helped clean up the lower order in the second.Interestingly, he was demoted from the new ball in the second innings: on only 12 previous occasions in 148 Test innings had he not shared the opening duties. However, Cummins played down any significance over the move.”I don’t think I’d look too much into that,” he said. “We did that last Ashes series as well. We chop and change the opening bowlers depending on gut feel. The ball moves a little bit differently to a Kookaburra. It might swing a bit more after a few overs rather than the first couple.”I thought Starcy bowled well, particularly today. He did a role for us that we know Starcy can do after 80 Test matches. Again, his runs, we were talking about Mitchell Starc the bowler, but he always contributes with the bat as well. He has got a huge tour ahead of him. The English side sets up slightly different as well, there are a few more left handers. Really happy with where Starcy is.”So, either someone who averages under 15 in Test cricket, someone with more than 300 wickets or someone with more than 200 wickets will not be in the XI on Friday. As captains, coaches and selectors like to say, it’s a good problem to have. But it still makes for one of most fascinating decisions Australia have faced in recent times.

Five things India learned (or didn’t) over the course of their 2-1 series victory against Australia

Karthik Krishnaswamy28-Sep-20234:54

Did India find the answers they were looking for?

That’s it, then. India have played their last set of ODIs in the lead-up to the World Cup, and only a pair of warm-up games remain before they meet Australia in Chennai on October 8. Here are five things they learned (or didn’t) over the course of their 2-1 series victory.

Axar, Ashwin or Washington?

Fourteen of India’s original World Cup 15 will definitely be in the final squad, unless injury strikes at the 11th hour. One spot, though, could still be undecided, with Axar Patel’s quadriceps strain creating room for a possible swap.Axar’s recovery is proceeding smoothly, by all accounts, and he is expected to be fit by the time the World Cup starts. But there’s still a chance that he could miss out, if the performances of R Ashwin and Washington Sundar against Australia have swayed the selectors and the team management into wanting an offspinner in the squad.Related

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On the batting front, Axar is perhaps India’s best option at the troublesome No. 8 spot. He brings left-handedness to a mostly right-handed line-up, can attack and defend, and is an excellent player of spin, which makes him capable of floating up the order if required.His bowling, though, reduces India’s scope for variety, given that he’s only likely to play if India pick three spinners, and that his style of bowling is similar to Ravindra Jadeja’s. Having two Jadejas isn’t a bad thing against predominantly right-handed line-ups, but India might want an offspinner against top orders stocked with left-handers.And since the Test series against Australia earlier this year, Axar has looked a little off-colour with the ball. He’s at his best when he induces doubt in the batters’ minds by getting the odd ball to turn sharply against his pronounced angle into the right-hander, but that hasn’t been happening for him of late – not even on a square turner in Colombo during the Asia Cup game against Sri Lanka.There’s every chance he could sort out his issues by the time the World Cup starts, but in the interim, India have tried two offspinning-allrounders who have shown how useful they can be. Ashwin played the first two ODIs against Australia, and looked hugely impressive once he got into rhythm, picking up 1 for 11 in his last four overs in Mohali, and three wickets in Indore, including those of Marnus Labuschagne with a cracking reverse carrom ball, and David Warner, who batted right-handed to try and counter his threat.Washington then took Ashwin’s place in Rajkot and conceded just 48 in ten overs on a surface where Australia racked up 352. His bowling had little of Ashwin’s guile and variety, but he showed the virtue of hammering away at a hard-to-get-after length while minimising width. With Shubman Gill rested, Washington also got the chance to open the batting. He only managed 18 off 30 balls, but he may have been rusty, given was batting in a competitive game for the first time since August 20. It’s also unlikely he’ll have to open at any point if he’s picked for the World Cup.R Ashwin was impressive on ODI return•AFP/Getty ImagesWashington shares, in theory, some of Axar’s strengths – including batting left-handed – but his power game lower down the order remains largely untested at international level.Who will India’s 15th player be, then?”I just think we’ll have to wait for an official confirmation or for a decision on that,” head coach Rahul Dravid said after the third ODI against Australia. “The NCA is in touch with the selectors, they’re in touch with Ajit [Agarkar, the chief selector]. I wouldn’t want to make any comments on that, but if there’s any changes, you guys will hear about it officially. As of now there are no changes.”

A sixth bowler is a genuine asset

Washington’s performance in Rajkot also took some of the heat away from a couple of India bowlers who endured off days. Prasidh Krishna went for 45 in five overs and Kuldeep Yadav for 48 in six, but they weren’t forced to bowl their entire quotas because India had six bowlers to play with.This wasn’t the case in the first two ODIs, where India only played five bowlers. This caused them a bit of trouble in Mohali, where Shardul Thakur leaked runs and struggled physically in the heat, but had no option but to bowl his full ten-over quota.Having that sixth bowling option, then, makes a big difference, but it isn’t always easy to fit six bowlers into an XI. The main reason why India only had five bowling options in Mohali and in Indore was that Hardik Pandya was rested for the series. Without his genuine all-round skills at No. 6, India can’t play six bowlers without compromising on batting depth.

Depth is non-negotiable

This was clear in Rajkot, where India’s chase ended as soon as their sixth wicket fell in the 39th over, with Kuldeep walking in at No. 8. The lack of a proper No. 8 may even have influenced how the top order went about the chase. There were mitigating circumstances – batting became more difficult for both teams when the ball became older and softer – but India’s third- and fourth-wicket pairs between them put on 79 in 89 balls, leading to an acute spike in the required rate.The security of reasonable batting ability at No. 8 may have allowed the middle order to bat with a little more freedom on another day.This is why there’s no room for Yuzvendra Chahal in India’s World Cup squad, and why the third spinner’s slot is now a straight fight between Axar, Ashwin and Washington. This is also why Thakur, polarising though he may be, plays so many ODIs.Suryakumar Yadav showed exactly what he’s capable of in the 50-overs format•Getty Images

How can India fit in Suryakumar?

Not every match at the World Cup will be like Indore or Mohali, where the team batting first will score more than 350. Pitches at ICC events tend to be flat, however, so reasonably high-scoring games are likely to be the norm.On such pitches, X-factor players who can score at T20 rates become hugely valuable. Suryakumar Yadav is that player for India, and he showed exactly what he’s capable of in the 50-overs format when he innovated his way to an unbeaten 72 off 37 in Indore. Suryakumar came into this series with an ODI record that didn’t reflect his ability at all, and was consequently under a certain amount of pressure from the media – though not from the team management.Half-centuries in the first two ODIs showed exactly why India had given him so much time and space to get into his groove in the format. They may have also caused a dilemma within the management, of whether to play him in the XI even when all the first-choice players are fit and available.The third ODI may have intensified this dilemma. Most teams would be thrilled to have all three of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in their line-ups, but they are similar players in some ways, and in Rajkot they made, respectively, 56 off 61, 48 off 43 and 26 off 30. Suryakumar only scored 8, but by the time he walked in, the required rate had climbed above 9.It wasn’t too long ago that India were fretting over Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul•Associated Press

Other teams have bigger headaches

For all the microscopic focus on their weaknesses, India have almost every base covered for a World Cup in Indian conditions. Do they wish that at least one of their main fast bowlers could bat a bit? Or that one of their gun top-order batters was left-handed? Yes, and yes, but these are minor issues compared to those most teams are struggling with.Fitness is the big one. It wasn’t too long ago that India were fretting over three key players in Iyer, Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah. All three are fit and firing now. Other than Rishabh Pant, India won’t be missing any high-profile players at the World Cup.Not every team has been as fortunate. Pakistan won’t have Naseem Shah. South Africa won’t have Anrich Nortje. Sri Lanka will be without Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera. Australia are likely to be without Travis Head for at least the initial stages. Persistent injuries have ended Tamim Iqbal’s shot at this World Cup. Kane Williamson, who is coming back after rupturing his ACL, will come into the tournament with little or no match practice. The list goes on.India have been – so far – fortunate with injuries. They’ll hope their luck holds over the next few weeks.

Australia allrounder spent sleepless night thinking about fifth-day bowling plans

Valkerie Baynes26-Jun-2023Taking eight wickets in an innings and 12 in a match is, quite literally, what dreams are made of for Ashleigh Gardner.A largely sleepless night spent visualising how she was going to get England’s remaining five batters out paid dividends for Australia’s premier offspinning allrounder as her side went four points up in the Women’s Ashes with an 89-run victory in the Test at Trent Bridge, attended by 23,207 people over the course of five days.The momentum of the match had swayed this way and that throughout but Gardner produced two key spells that ultimately sealed victory for the Australians.Her three wickets for nine runs in the space of 17 balls on the penultimate evening removed the threat posed by Tammy Beaumont – in fine touch having made a double-century in England’s first innings – calm captain Heather Knight and the big-game performer Nat Sciver-Brunt and left her with 3 for 33 at the close.Related

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Having taken 4 for 99 to be the pick of Australia’s bowlers first time out, that was already a huge contribution to the team and one that meant England went into the final morning still needing 152 runs with five wickets in hand.But she didn’t stop there, picking up all five of those remaining wickets to deliver victory and claim the best match figures for an Australian woman in Tests and the second-best in women’s Test history.”I was awake at 3am this morning and I was actually thinking about bowling, which is a bit tragic, but I was wide awake literally thinking about how I was going to get the batters out,” Gardner said. “I’ve never done that before, so maybe that helped and hopefully I can do that a bit more.”On a wicket like the one that we just played on, it was deteriorating and we spoke as a whole bowling unit just to keep the stumps in play because we knew that there was going to be some variations whether the ball bounced or whether the ball stayed really low, or it turned and I think I got all of them.”Some balls stayed really low and then some almost didn’t turn they almost went the other way. So to keep the stumps in play to keep all modes of dismissal in was super important for us. We bowled really well in partnerships, which is what we speak about, especially in Test match cricket.”There’s so many ebbs and flows and if you can at least build a partnership with both bat and ball, it puts you in pretty good stead because as soon as batters feel a little bit of pressure or maiden overs or they’re not scoring, that kind of brings wickets as well.”On the final morning, Gardner had nightwatcher Kate Cross caught behind by Alyssa Healy, who chimed in again with the pivotal stumping of Amy Jones, which left England with just one recognised batter, Danni Wyatt, at the crease and turned the tide definitively. She trapped Sophie Ecclestone lbw and then homed in on Lauren Filer’s off stump before rapping Wyatt on the pad for 54.”That’s pretty special,” Gardner said. “If you asked at the start of the day if I was going to end up with figures like that, I would have dreamt of it. But I guess for me it’s those types of performances that I dream of doing for the team and putting my team in winning positions, ultimately to win games.”To take eight wickets in an innings is something that I’ve never done before and to do it on international stage is certainly pretty special. I think six is the most and I was pretty chuffed with that. So to take eight and then 12 for the game, it’s something that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life and certainly for the rest of my career and something that I can be really proud of in English conditions.Gardner broke through on the fifth morning with the wicket of Kate Cross•Getty Images”But more importantly, to have five days in a Test match to actually get that result… I was really happy to come here today and try and put a good performance in for my team.”Gardner hadn’t had the most ideal preparation, suffering a blow to the end of her bowling finger while practising her slips fielding during Australia’s three-day warm-up match, which “annoyed the ligaments”.But it was years of honing her craft, to make her bowling as destructive as her batting, that set up this performance. Gardner sent down 45.2 overs in all, still fewer than Sophie Ecclestone, England’s left-arm spinner, in claiming just one of her two five-wicket hauls for the match during Australia’s first innings. But Gardner’s fourth-innings 8 for 66 proved the difference.”It was about trusting what I’d already done,” Gardner said. “I wasn’t going to lose a skill overnight and it was just being able to trust that and know my good stuff was good enough.”Then, coming into this Test match knowing that I could have played a really big role, bowled a lot of overs, we saw how many overs Sophie Ecclestone was bowling so we knew that spin was going to be effective throughout.”We came in with three spinners so I knew that I wanted to keep bowling overs and for Midge [Healy] to keep putting me back on was to bowl consistently and I was lucky enough to come away with a few wickets and bowl plenty of overs.”Healy hoped that this performance would prove to be a landmark in the 26-year-old Gardner’s career.”There’s a big group of us that are over 30 now… and I’m not retiring anyone in the room and I’m not retiring myself either, but if you look at our squad, this is a large group of us there,” Healy said.”Then there’s a group in that middle period that have sort of just found their feet in the international game and I think Ash is one of those key personnel that’s still got another 10 years-plus in the game and is confident enough in her ability and her skills to be able to go out there and compete time after time.”She’s going to be a real leader in this group for a long period of time so I hope that today gives her that confidence. I’m sure it will, but I’m sure it showed everybody just the type of player that she is and hopefully she believes that herself.”

Not long ago, Malan’s place in England’s ODI side looked under threat. Not for the first time, he changed the script with big runs

Matt Roller10-Oct-20235:43

What England did right, what Bangladesh did wrong

Dawid Malan nudged Shakib Al Hasan into the covers, wiped the sweat from his brow and acknowledged the ovation for his first World Cup hundred, with the snow-capped Himalayas providing a postcard backdrop.Jos Buttler had asked his batters to go harder after their nine-wicket loss to New Zealand; Malan responded with 140 off 107 balls, his fastest ODI innings and his highest score.Malan’s innings in Ahmedabad was a false start to his first 50-over World Cup: he was worked over by Matt Henry, battling through a maiden before edging behind for 14 off 24 balls. It extended an underwhelming record at ICC events: across two T20 World Cups, his top score was 41 and his strike rate just 104.24.Related

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But below the mountains of Dharamsala, he was imperious, and thrived on the bounce and carry of a fresh pitch. He survived an early review when replays confirmed Mustafizur Rahman’s bouncer hit him on his shoulder, not his bat; he responded by threading him through extra cover, then slog-swept him for a towering six over backward square-leg.Malan showed his power early on, pulling Mustafizur into the tenth row of seats over midwicket, and then his touch through the middle overs. He seemed to find gaps at ease, as evidenced when reverse-sweeping Shakib for four and deftly steering Shoriful Islam past wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, while his strike rates against seam (129.54) and spin (131.74) were almost identical.”I’m over the moon,” Malan said. “To be able to score a hundred and say that I’ve scored a hundred in a World Cup for England is fantastic. And to win the game is great – though, ultimately, if we don’t get to the business end [of the tournament], it means nothing. Hopefully I can continue contributing and help winning games.”Even when Malan was in the form of his life in T20Is, England did not see him as part of their long-term plans for this World Cup. “Will a 36- or 37-year-old be able to fulfil the high-intensity standard of a World Cup? That is the question for myself and Dawid,” Eoin Morgan said back in 2020, immediately after Malan had reached No. 1 in the ICC’s T20I rankings.

“I’ve wanted to be part of this team for so long and it’s been impossible to break into because the players have been so good. So to get your opportunity and then take it, and to enjoy it as long as it lasts is all that I try to do”Dawid Malan

When Malan strained his groin during last year’s T20 World Cup, ruling him out of the semi-final and final, it looked like a prescient comment. But resilience and persistence are among Malan’s best traits: he has forced his way into their starting XI through sheer weight of runs, and at 36, became the oldest man to score a hundred for England at a World Cup.Last summer, Malan was one of three centurions as England racked up a world-record total of 498 in Amstelveen, but found himself left out of the subsequent home series against India and South Africa as their Test players returned. Malan sought feedback from Rob Key and Matthew Mott, who explained that England saw him primarily as a No. 3.”I said, ‘Look, you’re missing out to Joe Root – who is a pretty good player’,” Mott explained last year. “I loved his response. He said, ‘I do have another gear, but I’ve always been typecast in that role. And I said, ‘Well, if you’ve got it, show us. I don’t want to put any restraints on you because you can definitely evolve as a player’.”Immediately after last year’s T20 World Cup, Malan hit 134 against Australia in the first match of a low-key series, securing his spot on their subsequent tours to South Africa and Bangladesh. He scored hundreds on both, hitting 118 in Kimberley and 114 not out in Mirpur – an innings that demonstrated his ability to adapt to slow subcontinent pitches.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe day after he was named in England’s World Cup squad, Malan was dropped by Trent Rockets in the Hundred after four low scores and looked scratchy in a T20I series against New Zealand. With Harry Brook looming in the wings, Malan’s place appeared to be under threat – then, he rattled off scores of 54, 96 and 124 in the ODI series that followed.His second child was born the day after the first game of that series, and he admitted that it had contributed to a stressful period for him. But if Malan feels the criticism and scrutiny he has attracted through his international career has been unwarranted, then he has also used it to his advantage: “I’m desperate to prove my point and prove people wrong,” he said.There was some irony that Malan was able to celebrate his maiden World Cup century by embracing Root, who made a fluent 82: only recently considered too pedestrian to bat together, their second-wicket partnership was worth 151 in 117 balls. And after reaching his milestone, Malan crashed four successive boundaries off Mehidy Hasan Miraz.”There’s been a lot of strange narratives around over the last couple of years,” Malan said. “The majority of my cricket for England has been T20 cricket. I’ve always said I can play it like a T20 game if you want me to: just ask me to do it. Rooty is a fantastic player. He will always try to find ways to score and put players under pressure, and when I get in, I try and do that as well.”In Ben Stokes’ absence, Malan’s ability to bat through to the 38th over was important tactically, too. Bangladesh’s gameplan would have been to dismiss him early and give Shakib’s left-arm spin a run at the five right-handers in England’s top six. Instead, by the time Malan was out, Shakib had bowled his full allocation.There was some irony that Dawid Malan was able to celebrate his maiden World Cup century by embracing Joe Root•Getty ImagesWhile his ODI career started late, Malan is now a vastly experienced player. Having made his England debut at 29, he has played over 100 internationals across formats, and nearly 500 domestic games around the world to boot. In List A cricket, he has made 171 appearances in total, the sixth-most of anyone in England’s squad.Quietly, Malan’s success has been a boon to the status of bilateral cricket. Malan has only once had a central contract but, while others have prioritised franchise leagues, he has consistently made himself available for every England tour. He is a useful example for boards to point to: the best way to prove your worth is still through international runs and wickets.”I’m just hungry: hungry to play and do well, hungry to score runs and win games of cricket,” Malan said. “I’ve wanted to be part of this team for so long and it’s been impossible to break into because the players have been so good. So to get your opportunity and then take it, and to enjoy it as long as it lasts is all that I try to do.”Malan now has six ODI hundreds in 23 innings and an average of 63.15, the third-best in the format’s 52-year history. He has long held that 50-over cricket is the format that suits his game best; in Dharamsala, he proved his point.

England arrived at Lord’s as underdogs and left as favourites

Matt Roller29-Jun-2023England arrived at Lord’s as outsiders on Thursday morning, and left the ground 10 hours later as favourites. Not bad, for a team derided in several quarters as “brainless” and forced to defend their approach on a day where they gained a foothold in an Ashes series that had threatened to slip away from them.After 61 overs, England are 278 for 4 against a team whose spinner looks highly unlikely to bowl again in this match and are only 138 runs behind on first innings. Yet the focus has fallen squarely on a passage in which they lost three wickets for 34 runs, largely ignoring the 244 for 1 they added either side.Jonathan Agnew, the BBC’s cricket correspondent, interviewed Ben Duckett moments after stumps were drawn. “What about the general mood in the dressing room [about the fact] that three frontline batsmen get out in that fashion with such a clear plan, and with the spinner off the field injured?” he asked.Duckett was bemused. “I’m not sure how to answer that,” he said. “I’m surprised about the question. We’ve played positive cricket for the past 12 months and we’re certainly not going to change. We’re very happy with the position we’re in. If we can eke closer to them and even get a lead, I think we’re on top in this game.”The exchange laid bare the extent of the transformation in England’s attitude towards risk. Once, there was a right way to play, an unwritten moral code which dictated that the superior way to get out is while defending; now, there is no stigma involved in attacking, no tacit understanding that certain shots are off limits.Related

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England lost three wickets to the short ball in that period after tea, all of them playing attacking shots. Ollie Pope toe-ended Cameron Green to deep backward square leg; Duckett hooked Josh Hazlewood to deep fine leg; Joe Root plinked Mitchell Starc to square leg, where Steven Smith dived forward to take an excellent low catch.And it could have been worse. Root had earlier gloved behind to Alex Carey, only to be reprieved when replays confirmed Green had over-stepped, while Harry Brook – perhaps the most frenetic of England’s batters during a chaotic passage – was put down by Marnus Labuschagne at square leg, again taking on the short ball.This was, unquestionably, Australia’s moment. A frontline bowler down on a pitch that Smith described as “pretty flat and benign”, their change in plans – a short-ball barrage with fields set to match – brought them three quick wickets and brought them back into a game that had wriggled out of their control.But to hammer England for getting out playing attacking shots misses the point completely. Their mini-collapse did not exist in a vacuum, but in the context of a day where they had been so dominant that Australia – the recently-crowned World Test Champions, no less – were forced away from their own strengths: “We had to revert to different tactics,” Smith conceded.Ben Duckett cuts through point•PA Images via Getty ImagesEngland did not reach 188 for 1 by ducking, weaving, blocking and leaving, but by playing in the manner that comes naturally to a team filled with batters who have been brought up in the T20 era and who trust their attacking shots more than their defence. “I’m not happy I got out, but I’d rather get out like that,” Duckett said.Duckett rode his luck through his innings, with a handful of miscues that did not go to hand, but an element of risk is built into his game. Across his innings, he only left two balls, neither of which he felt he could have reached, and played 21 pull shots; the 21st got him out, but the first 20 brought him 23 runs.”10 metres either side of him there and I’ve got 100,” he reflected on his dismissal for 98. “I’d only have been disappointed if I’d have gone away from my natural game and it’s a shot that I play and it’s a shot that I’ve scored plenty of runs over my career doing so I’m not happy I got out, but I’d rather get out like that.”In another era, Pope would have walked back through the Long Room fearing a verbal barrage after being caught on the boundary on 42. Not now. “No-one in that dressing room will be disappointed with how he got out,” Duckett said. “Everyone will be a bit gutted that it didn’t go for six.”Popey said, ‘I’m going to get that side of it, and smack it into the stands.’ I said, ‘Go and do it.’ He was so unlucky to get a toe-ender there. If that’s anywhere near the middle, or even a top edge, it’s going miles back for six. It’s the way we play our cricket. If they’re going to have plans like that and we’re going to go into our shells and just get bombed out… that would be going totally against what we do.”Only when Ben Stokes walked out did England’s innings regain a semblance of calm – and even then, Brook did his best to further his commercial relationship with Major League Baseball by slugging another Green short ball for three through mid-off, either side of two more cross-batted swings for four through the leg side.Perhaps England could have batted differently for that half-hour. “Most of the bowlers probably didn’t want to keep charging in and bowling short stuff,” Smith said. “If you get under [duck] a few, it might stop but they kept taking it on.” Perhaps they could have been more ruthless, and reached the close two or three wickets down.But to fixate on three miscues risks missing the bigger picture. On Thursday, England scored at 4.55 runs an over against the best seam attack in the world, forcing their way into the ascendancy barely 24 hours after inserting Australia under heavy cloud cover and taking three wickets for 316.England have won 11 out of 14 Tests by embracing their strengths, dialling up the aggression and taking bowlers on – and they might well win this one, too. 18 months on from the limpest defeat in recent Ashes history, they can be forgiven for briefly leaning too far the other way on a day they dominated.

Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque both made the most of the chances they were given this series, while youngster Amanjot Kaur also joined in on the fun

Sruthi Ravindranath11-Dec-2023It was only a couple of days ago that India captain Harmanpreet Kaur spoke about keeping faith in the new faces in the team. Opportunities will be given, but their selection for next year’s T20 World Cup will also be about the execution, she said.And the new faces – Shreyanka Patil and Saika Ishaque – have made the most of the chances they’ve been given by playing a big part in India’s only win in the series. Youngster Amanjot Kaur joined in on the fun too, by not only bagging two wickets for 25 runs, but also taking the No.1-ranked T20I bowler Sophie Ecclestone on to seal the win for India in the third T20I on Sunday. Add to that her fielding efforts – she took a superb catch in the series – and you have a well-rounded player that India very much need in the format.Related

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“”The word roughly translates to ‘carefree’: that’s how Harmanpreet described Ishaque’s personality, at a press conference a day after the left-arm spinner made her India debut. Harmanpreet also indicated that’s how she was on the field as well, calling her a “character in the team who can bowl in any phase of the innings and get breakthroughs.”On Sunday, Ishaque made an impact as soon as she was handed the ball in the sixth over. After having Alice Capsey caught at extra cover on the very first ball she bowled, she returned in the 12th over and got the prized wicket of Amy Jones, also breaking a crucial stand in the process. She made Jones drag the sweep from outside off to have her caught at deep midwicket. To make things worse for England, Danielle Gibson failed to read Ishaque’s arm ball and was bowled the very next delivery trying to cut through the offside. The bit probably came in when she cheekily smiled whenever she conceded boundaries, probably knowing she’d eventually compensate with wickets. After all, she’d once famously quipped, “” [I’m a bowler. I’m here to take wickets].””Shreyanka was elated after her three wickets in four miserly overs. She capped off a dream year by making an impact in the series against England, following her superb WPL and Women’s CPL stint. She finished the A series between India and England with five wickets in three games and was then handed a debut in the T20Is.She took two big wickets of Heather Knight and Jones in the first game and finished as the Player of the Match in the third one on Sunday. An overall disciplined effort, where she bowled stump-to-stump lines and varied her trajectory, gave her three wickets to go with an economy of just 4.75. Those three wickets came in a span of seven deliveries which left England languishing at 78 for 6.””Amanjot Kaur creamed a couple of fours through covers to help India win•BCCIThat was India’s fielding coach Munish Bali heaping praise on Amanjot. The batting allrounder made her debut earlier this year against South Africa and has played nine T20Is so far, impressing instantly with a 41 not out off 28 in that game.After bagging two wickets to wrap up England’s innings for 126, She made her impact felt at an important point during the match, coming in when India had lost three quick wickets with 11 needing off 12. She broke the pressure with a cover drive and hit two more boundaries off the last two balls of the 19th over to complete the chase in style. Amanjot fits right in to make up for the lack of batting firepower in the lower order, which has been one of the issues for India in T20Is. And the fielding: be it the blinder to dismiss Alice Capsey in the second T20I having come in as a sub, or the neat take at short third to send Bess Heath back in the third, she seems to want to grab every chance she gets to make an impression. A stint in the WPL, where she will also be working closely with captain Harmanpreet and other experienced players, will only help her enhance her skillsets further.Saika Ishaque ran through the England middle order•ECB/Getty ImagesDespite the series loss, a few other positives also emerged for India. After a debacle in the second T20I where misjudgments with the bats cost them, India’s two senior batters Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues stepped up against England’s spinners on a tricky wicket. Mandhana used her feet well against spinners and targeted the quicker bowlers for boundaries and sixes, while Rodrigues used the sweep to good effect in her 33-ball stay. The loss in the second T20I, where they collapsed for 80, was an eye-opener for the side to focus on their game against spin. The game-time was important too for them to get going, Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation.”Wicket was tricky,” Harmanpreet said. “Some balls, especially when offspinners were bowling, were turning and some were going straight. So sometimes you think which ball is going to turn and which is going to be straight. As a batting group, we just wanted to pick the bowlers, which ones we want to take charge. The left-right combination [of Rodrigues and Mandhana] also played a big role for us.”Another big boost has been the return of Renuka Singh, whose crucial wickets in the powerplay has given India a headstart in all three matches so far. India might not have got the result they wanted in the series, but the positives will give them a push forward in their prep for the 2024 T20 World Cup.