It was just the third time in T20Is that two batters batting at No. 6 or below have scored half-centuries in the same innings

S Sudarshanan01-Feb-20251:19

Manjrekar spots an evolution in Dube’s power game

India are middle-overs bludgeoners in T20 cricket. Since the start of 2024, no Full-Member side has scored at a faster rate (9.41 per over) or hit more fours (182) and sixes (141) than they have in overs 7 to 16. Yet England were able to stifle them in that phase using Adil Rashid in Rajkot to keep the series alive; India could score only 57 for 2.India needed a fix in Pune, and in Shivam Dube they had one. Over the last couple of years, few batters have taken down spin like Dube has. Among those who have hit at least 40 sixes against spin in all T20s since the start of IPL 2023, only four batters have cleared the park more frequently: Dube’s balls per six ratio is 7.23. He returned to the national side only recently after recovering from a back injury that had sidelined him since India’s T20 World Cup win.This T20I team, under head coach Gautam Gambhir, is big on left-right combinations, as assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on match eve. But on Friday they ditched that tactic. Once Sanju Samson fell, Tilak Varma came and perished. Once Abhishek Sharma fell, India sent in Dube even though Rinku Singh was the other batter in the middle. Tactically, you could see why – the legspinner Rashid was just brought on and had struck with his second ball.The move almost cost India as Dube failed to pick a wrong’un and edged one to slip where Jos Buttler couldn’t hold on. Two balls later England and Buttler knew how big a missed chance that was as Dube deposited Rashid into the deep midwicket stands. In his first T20I after six months, he attacked England’s premier – and only – spinner to take 25 off 11; the other India batters could score only 10 off the remaining 13 Rashid deliveries.Dube was not as free-flowing against fast bowling, particularly the short and short-of-good-length deliveries, but did enough to not stall the scoring. He was softened up by Jofra Archer early with a 146.8kph bouncer. He quickly put that behind him to slash Brydon Carse past point and put away a couple of full tosses by the quicks. And then on the penultimate ball of the innings, he copped a blow to his helmet from a Jamie Overton bumper and suffered a concussion. But he had done his job – a 34-ball 53 that helped India post 181.Hardik Pandya notched up a vital half-century for India•BCCI

****

Even after Suryakumar Yadav became the third wicket to fall in two overs, there was no sign of Hardik Pandya. He was one of three right-handers in India’s top eight on Friday. He walked in during the 11th over with India’s score at 79 for 5 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, the same venue where his 2023 ODI World Cup campaign ended due to injury.Hardik took his time even as Dube raced away. With five overs remaining, he was on 14 off 17. He channelled his inner MS Dhoni to take minimal risks while keeping the scoreboard ticking, even if that meant defending the last couple of balls of Rashid’s spell. That speaks volumes of Hardik’s self-confidence for the back-end of the innings because he was going against the high-intent template this Indian team now follows. He knew he could catch up.Related

• Suryakumar's India look to land one final blow on England

• Hardik, Dube, spinners hand India series win

• Buttler: Rana for Dube 'not a like-for-like' concussion sub

It was like Hardik timed his assault perfectly. He sashayed down to Saqib Mahmood, who had begun his night with a triple-wicket maiden, to hit him over long-off before flat-batting one over deep midwicket for another maximum. He then went 6, 4 against Archer by lofting one over long-off and splitting long-off and deep cover. He also managed to put a high full toss from Overton away over short third before getting under a full ball and sending it soaring over the sight screen.In his T20 career, Hardik has feasted on fast bowling and has demolished short and short-of-length balls. The hit-the-deck bowlers England had proved perfect fodder as he romped to a 27-ball half-century. In the three overs leading up to his dismissal, India managed to score 53. “Job done, boy!” Gambhir seemed to say as Hardik walked back.

****

At 12 for 3 and 57 for 4, India’s T20I teams before 2024 would have chosen a more conservative path. Dube and Hardik’s assault allowed India to take 82 in the middle overs and push England back. Dube took down spin, Hardik took down pace, and together they added 87 off just 45 balls, their second-highest sixth-wicket partnership in T20Is. It was also just the third time in T20Is that two batters scored fifties while batting at No. 6 or lower. It left England needing their best chase against India. They fell short by 15.”We lost three wickets in the powerplay, credit to Hardik, the way he showed his experience tonight with bat in hand,” India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said. “To get us to a score of 180 with Shivam as well, that partnership was crucial. It is also nice for him to get into the runs. He’s been hitting the ball well in the nets, he has been training hard. As coaching and management staff, we simply know it is just a matter of time. In a crucial game for us tonight to step up – he’s one of the senior players – it is great to see.”

Turnaround complete as wooden spoonists from 2023 and 2024 rise up to topple double champions

Firdose Moonda08-Feb-2025Mumbai Indians Cape Town said that things had changed from the first two seasons of the SA20, but now we know by how much. After finishing at the bottom of the points table in seasons one and two, MICT are season three’s champions, and the first team other than beaten opposition Sunrisers Eastern Cape to win the title.Theirs was a campaign of near-total dominance, with seven group stage wins out of 10, qualification to the final at the first attempt in the play-offs and key performances from big players throughout. However, what stood out was the extent to which their South African players took centre stage. They often only fielded two internationals in captain Rashid Khan and Trent Boult, while in the final they had five players who play their domestic cricket for the provincial side based at the Wanderers, the Lions. The advantage of that hyper-local knowledge, especially in a final, is obvious, particularly when it comes to batting.Run-scoring has been difficult throughout this competition and though MICT was the one side we knew could bat, now we know how deep. Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton proved themselves to be the premier opening partnership of the competition, while MICT’s Nos 1-3 contributed more than 1000 runs across their eight matches. However, on this rare occasion, despite another half-century stand to launch the innings, their efforts were eclipsed by Nos.4-7. Between them, Connor Esterhuizen, George Linde, Dewald Brevis and Delano Potgieter scored 110 runs, their best combined return for those positions this season. Ryan Rickelton gave MI Cape Town another rapid start•SA20And so to Brevis, whose potential from the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, where he finished as the leading run-scorer, is being fulfilled. He came in after 11 overs – having being held back so that MICT could stick to their left-hand, right-hand obsession – with the innings needing some impetus. MICT were 93 for 4 and the most consistent batters had all been dismissed. Richard Gleeson bowled the 12th over and conceded only four runs and then the first four balls of Liam Dawson’s final over brought only four singles. Something had to happen.So off the next ball, Brevis cleared his front foot, got under the length and slammed Dawson over long-on for six. The ball after that, he made room and hit him over long-off for six more. And the next ball he faced, from Andile Simelane, he smoked over long-on again for a third successive six. Just like that, MICT were 121 for 5 in the 14th over and 180 was in their sights.If Brevis had kept going to the end, they might have even had eyes on 200. His fourth and final six was off Craig Overton and was an absolute spekkie, as they say. Brevis picked the slower ball early, took the bottom hand off the bat and managed to launch Overton over square leg with a shot that was all power and placement. It was also his 25th six of the tournament, the most by an individual batter at this year’s SA20 and the third-most in any edition of the tournament. This season, Brevis’s balls per boundary of 3.75 was only bettered by his team-mate Rickelton. Indeed, his coming-of-age is also best expressed in the numbers and they show that he has never had a better tournament average or strike-rate, and has only once scored more runs.All of that is the cricket speaking but, on the boundary and beyond it, we’ve also seen a different side to Brevis. It’s in this tournament that he showed off his incredible catching skills, parrying the ball back into the field of play to dismiss Faf du Plessis in a league game at the Wanderers, and having safe hands everywhere else around the country. Also in this tournament, he seems to have shed the “Baby AB” tag that he so revelled in as a younger man and found his own voice, speaking with clarity and assurance whenever he has been interviewed. Brevis might remind himself, and many of us, of his hero AB de Villiers but he is learning to be his own man, which is one of the things that those close to him felt was necessary for him to make the step up.Related

MICT into SA20 final as controversial no-ball call hurts Royals

'Funny how the world works' – Life comes full circle for Wanderers' own Devon Conway

Joe Root: 'T20 is about problem-solving, just on a much quicker scale than I've mostly been doing'

Sunrisers keep three-peat dream alive as Marco Jansen makes the difference again

Red-ball specialist Bedingham 'still trying to learn' his trade in T20s

Now, he has also done something that sets him apart from de Villiers, by both being part of a team that has won a franchise T20 tournament and playing a key role in it. Overall, Brevis finished as the sixth-highest run-scorer of this SA20 with a better strike-rate than anyone else in the top 10. While MICT’s win will be remembered for the big names: van der Dussen and Rickelton’s opening stands, Boult’s squeeze when it mattered most (he conceded only nine runs in four overs and became the second-most economical bowler in a tournament final) and Rashid Khan’s leadership, it should also be about the development of Brevis’s game.MICT put an emphasis on the scaffolding of their structure, surrounding Rashid with experienced local players who could help the only foreign captain in the tournament navigate South African challenges, and on their squad reserves. They were able to empty their bench in their last league game, for example, because they’d already qualified for the final and in so doing gave someone like Esterhuizen an experience he could draw on when he was asked to come into the XI for the final. That’s one instance of MICT working on longer-term plans, but there have been others.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Rickelton spoke about an MI-specific camp that was held in the UK in 2023, where everyone involved in the franchise was present. “I had a full MI group of coaches that sat me down and said, ‘this is how we want you to play, and this is the plan. I never really had a plan on T20 cricket until that camp,” he said. “It definitely laid the platform for where I sit right now.”The end result is plain. Whereas from season one onwards, we all knew how well-resourced MICT would be, as they signed some of the biggest names in the game from Jofra Archer and Kieron Pollard to Rashid and Ben Stokes, now we know what those less-heralded components can do too.

They go into the 2025 season with a huge disadvantage: Alyssa Healy is out injured. To plug the gap, Chamari Athapaththu will need to blaze away, and Sophie Ecclestone extend her stellar 2024

Ashish Pant12-Feb-20251:02

Despite losing Healy, UPW still ‘a very decent team’

Where UP Warriorz finished in WPL 2024

Fourth. One place worse than what they managed in 2023. They were inconsistent all season, managing just three wins in eight matches and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

What’s new in WPL 2025?

For starters, a new captain. Deepti Sharma will lead Warriorz in WPL 2025 after Alyssa Healy pulled out due to a stress injury in her right foot. Deepti has been with Warriorz side since the first season and was their shining light with ball and bat in 2024.Warriorz have opted to bring in West Indies middle-order batter and quick bowler Chinelle Henry as a replacement for Healy.Related

• Chinelle Henry replaces injured Alyssa Healy at UP Warriorz

Warriorz went into the auction with the second-highest purse of INR 3.9 crore and three slots to fill. They ended up using only INR 50 lakh of that amount which they used to buy Alana King, Arushi Goel and Kranti Goud. It is likely that all three might not get into the first XI right away.

Squad and likely XI

1 Chamari Athapaththu, 2 Vrinda Dinesh, 3 Kiran Navgire, 4 Grace Harris, 5 Tahlia McGrath, 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Uma Chetry (wk), 8 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Anjali Sarvani/Kranti Goud, 10 Saima Thakor, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad/Gouher SultanaOther players: Shweta Sehrawat, Poonam Khemnar, Arushi Goel, Alana King, Chinelle Henry

Key players: Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Chamari Athapaththu

It is hard to look past Deepti, who is Warriorz’s third-highest run-getter (385 runs in 16 innings) and their second-highest wicket-taker (19 wickets in 17 innings) overall. Deepti has been in terrific form in the last 12 months, averaging close to 50 with the bat and 21.13 with the ball in T20 cricket. She showed her range in WPL 2024, scoring runs at a fair clip and taking wickets like she always does. Now with the added responsibility, Deepti becomes an even more vital cog in the setup.Sophie Ecclestone, WPL’s highest wicket-taker and the highest wicket-taker in T20s over the last 12 months, will also have an important role to play in conditions where pitches are likely to turn.The other key player in the Warriorz line-up is Chamari Athapaththu. She did not always start last season, but now, with Healy not around, she is expected to get an extended run at the top. Don’t discount her offspin as well.

Young one to watch: Kranti Goud

Kranti Goud, the 21-year-old Madhya Pradesh quick, is a player to keep an eye on. She is rapid and gets plenty of movement both off the surface and in the air. She picked up 15 wickets in nine matches at the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy in December last year, which included a 4 for 25 in the final that helped MP to the title. Warriorz do not have a lot of pace in their unit and Goud could help add that extra nip.

UP Warriorz’s league fixtures

Warriorz are the last team to start the season, on the third day against Gujarat Giants in Vadodara. This is the first season they will get to play in their home city of Lucknow. They start the season with two games in Vadodara, before they move to Bengaluru for three games and then to Lucknow for their final three league games.

He will finish as Sri Lanka’s third-highest run-getter, and their fourth-most capped player in Tests

Shubh Agarwal16-Jun-2025Angelo Mathews has called time on his Test career. Sri Lanka’s first Test against Bangladesh, starting in Galle on Tuesday, will be Mathews’ last. Irrespective of his performance in his farewell Test, Mathews will finish as the third-most prolific Sri Lanka batter in Tests, behind Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. No other batter from the island country has accumulated over 8000 runs in the format.Mathews’ tally of 119 Tests will also be the fourth-highest for Sri Lanka, after Jayawardene (149), Sangakkara (134) and Muthiah Muralidaran (132).Most Test runs for Sri Lanka•Getty ImagesReliable away from homeAt present, Mathews has 4323 runs in Sri Lanka, the third-highest for a Sri Lanka batter, and 3844 runs away from home (including neutral venues), also the third-highest from his country – both only behind Sangakkara and Jayawardene.Among batters with over 6000 Test runs for Sri Lanka, Mathews has the third-highest proportion of runs away from home (47.07%), only behind Dinesh Chandimal (52.11%) and Aravinda de Silva (48.28%).Mathews is also among the only three Sri Lanka batters to average over 40 away from home (minimum 1000 runs outside Sri Lanka), and is just behind Sangakkara. Nine of Mathews’ 16 Test centuries came outside Sri Lanka, joint-third-most alongside Aravinda, and only behind Sangakkara (16) and Jayawardene (11).All four of Mathews’ Player-of-the-Series awards came away from home: against Pakistan in the UAE (2013-14), in England (2014), in Zimbabwe (2020), and in Bangladesh (2022). In 2014, Mathews got 306 runs, including two hundreds, in two Tests on the tour of England, where he led Sri Lanka to their first series win in the country (barring the one-off Test win in 1998).Angelo Mathews’ Player-of-the-Series awards in Tests•Getty ImagesLove affair with NZ, Pakistan and BangladeshAmong the eight countries against whom Mathews played at least five Tests, he averaged 50-plus against three: Bangladesh (55.38), New Zealand (51.21) and Pakistan (50.03).In terms of host nations, Mathews averaged 73 in Bangladesh, with two hundreds – including an innings of 199 in 2022. In New Zealand, Mathews averaged 51.38 for his 668 runs, the most runs for a Sri Lanka batter in the country. That included a knock of 120* in Wellington in 2018, as the match resulted in a draw after a marathon partnership of 274 off 655 deliveries between Mathews and Kusal Mendis.Mathews played six Tests against Pakistan in the UAE, where he averaged 73.37, with one hundred and four fifties. In Pakistan, however, he averaged only 21 across two Tests.The Purple PatchMathews averaged 40-plus as a Test batter for five years in a row from 2011-15. However, he was even more productive from 2013-15, when he surpassed Sangakkara (2355 runs) as Sri Lanka’s highest run-scorer by amassing 2378 runs.Mathews averaged 74.6 in 2013, and 77.33 in 2014. After the second Test against Pakistan at home in 2014, he was ranked as the No. 3 Test batter in the world. In 2015, Mathews averaged 42.25 and notched up three tons, as many as he did in the previous two years combined. Mathews also averaged 138.5 in 2020, but played only two Tests that year. His 50-plus average years in 2022 and 2023 included three out of four hundreds against Bangladesh and Ireland.In the three years from 2013-15, Mathews was also the most prolific No. 5 and 6 batter in Tests, scoring 2201 runs at an average of 57.92. Only Misbah-ul-Haq had more 50-plus scores than him (21).In this span, Mathews averaged 121 against South Africa (two Tests), 79.9 against Pakistan (eight Tests), 76.5 against England (two Tests) and 56.5 against India (three Tests).The misfortune in the 90sMathews is the only batter in the world to be dismissed on both 99 and 199 in Tests. He was run-out on 99 in his seventh Test, against India in 2009-10, while trying to come back for a second run to complete what would have been his first Test hundred. Mathews then had to wait for nine more Tests to bring up his first Test century: 105* vs Australia in 2011.Overall, he has so far been dismissed in the 90s five times, the second-most for a Sri Lanka batter, after Jayawardene (six times).Mathews also missed out on what would have been his second double hundred in Tests, when he was out for 199 against Bangladesh in 2022. That made him the second Sri Lanka batter to be out on 199, after Sanath Jayasuriya in 1997. Sangakkara, meanwhile, was left stranded on 199* against Pakistan in Galle in 2012.Steve Waugh has a 99* and 199 to his name.The part-time Test bowlerAn occasional bowler, Mathews picked 33 Test wickets. Younis Khan was his favourite batter to bowl to, as he dismissed him four times while averaging only 24 runs per dismissal. Two of those wickets came in Mathews’ debut Test in 2009.Mathews’ medium-pace seam bowling contributed to Sri Lanka’s win in the Headingley Test in 2014. Before his 160 with the bat in the second innings, Mathews bagged 4 for 44 in the first innings, including the wickets of Gary Ballance and Joe Root.

Sabina Park collapse symbolises West Indies’ Test malaise, but what is the way ahead?

Andrew McGlashan15-Jul-2025

AFP/Getty Images

There’s never a good time to be bowled out for 27. Monday at Sabina Park felt like a particularly bad one for West Indies.At 11 for 6, New Zealand’s 70-year record of 26 all out was under threat. When Scott Boland took his hat-trick, there was a realistic chance they would at least have someone to share it with. There won’t be many people across the Tasman shouting Sam Konstas a beer after his misfield.Less than 24 hours later, Cricket West Indies has called an emergency summit with invites to a host of former greats for help. But there will be skepticism about whether it will make any difference.Related

• West Indies 'hedging our bets' as fear over two-tier WTC grows

• Clive Lloyd: 'We have to examine all aspects of West Indies cricket'

• CWI calls for emergency meeting with legends after 'deeply hurting' loss

• Stats – WI post second-lowest Test total; Starc takes five in 15 balls

As impressive as Mitchell Starc and Boland were, it was a woeful display. They couldn’t even say it happened in the night session. There had been warning signs in the first two Tests when their second innings fell apart rapidly; their last performance of the series was the sum of all fears. Within six balls, there was the sense it could be a horror show.John Campbell can be excused somewhat as he edged a perfect outswinger from Starc. He had shown some gumption in earlier innings. You also need to have some sympathy for debutant Kevlon Anderson padding up to an inswinger and then reviewing, a clear sign of a frazzled mind. Brandon King, who had performed encouragingly, decided a booming drive was the best option despite having seen Starc curving the ball late.King made West Indies’ one half-century of the series – his 75 was also the highest individual score on either side – but no one else, barring Anderson Phillip who played a single match, averaged over 20. Batting was tough, for sure, and Australia weren’t immune from their own problems, but there were numerous techniques exposed. No doubt the game in West Indies needs help, but it also needs to help itself.Since February 2023, when Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul each score hundreds in a 336-run stand against Zimbabwe, West Indies have had two centuries: Kavem Hodge against England and Justin Greaves against Bangladesh. There have been some fallow periods in West Indies’ batting over the last 25 years – they started the 21st century by making totals of 54, 61 and 82 in 2000 – but this might be the lowest point, and not just statistically.This performance also comes at a time when the future structure of Test cricket is at the forefront of debates. Nothing is yet decided, although some plans may be outlined at the ICC’s annual conference in Singapore this week, and while it can be easy to be drawn into sweeping statements after events such as Sabina Park, the problems facing West Indies in the format are as acute as any of the Full Members.They have managed a couple of landmark victories in recent times – defeating Australia at the Gabba and Pakistan in Multan – but they look like outliers. The win in Brisbane persuaded administrators to add a third Test to this series, which became the Sabina Park day-nighter.Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph troubled Australia all series with the ball•AFP/Getty ImagesThat they competed with Australia for the first two days of each Test is worthy of note, but that was largely down to the fast bowlers. Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph and latterly Alzarri Joseph performed superbly, supported by Greaves’ brisk medium pace, and made life very uncomfortable for the visitors. They are carrying the team but are being asked to perform miracles.It needs to be questioned whether a factor they are taking advantage of – the pitches – has veered too far one way; although, with something of a grimace, Roston Chase said the Jamaica pitch was the best of all three.It’s all well and good playing to your strengths, the bowlers making the most of a ball zipping around, but when your weakness is so weak it makes everything futile. Since the start of 2023, the West Indies, as a venue for Tests, has the lowest collective batting average where more than a single match has been played. West Indies, themselves, average just 18.39 in that period, by far the lowest for a home side.Clearly, the problems in West Indies run deeper than the 22 yards but after the second Test in Grenada, coach Daren Sammy spoke about the surfaces around the Caribbean and how batters even at domestic level are unable to trust their games. Slightly counter to that, Chase said it was hard to judge players properly as each team had a couple of good bowlers.West Indies have away tours of India and New Zealand next where the batters are likely to be severely challenged again. Their other away series in this WTC cycle is in Bangladesh. Back at home they will face Sri Lanka and Pakistan, teams they may believe they can compete with.After the match had raced to its hasty conclusion and the presentations were completed, Starc delayed his return to the Australian celebrations to chat with uncapped West Indies quick Johann Layne who is highly regarded as part of the next generation. Layne appeared to be lapping up all the tips from one of the game’s greats. It can only be hoped that he has a viable Test team to be part of, and a chance to face Australia in the future.

West Indies will look to him to anchor their batting against India’s spin challenge on his first tour of the country

Deivarayan Muthu01-Oct-2025Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s square-on stance, crouch at the crease, trigger movement, and his propensity to often mark his guard with the bail all indicate that he is cut from the same cloth as his father, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. And much like Shiv, Tagenarine can soak up balls and wear bowling attacks down.Since his debut in December 2022, Tagenarine has faced 1433 balls, scoring 560 runs in 19 innings at an average of 35. Among West Indies batters, only Kraigg Brathwaite has faced more balls (2376) albeit in twice as many innings (39) during this period. After West Indies dropped Brathwaite for the upcoming two-match Test series in India, Daren Sammy expects Chanderpaul to step into Brathwaite’s shoes. Following West Indies’ first training session in Ahmedabad, Sammy even likened Chanderpaul’s ability to get stuck in to his father’s and Rahul Dravid’s.Chanderpaul is coming off a stint with his father, but in T20 cricket in the USA, where Shiv was the coach of Orlando Galaxy in Minor League Cricket and Tagenarine was captain of the team. He’s cagey when asked about Shiv’s impact on his batting, but he hopes that their training sessions will help him acclimatise to the conditions in India.”About the [Indian] conditions, it’s a bit similar to some pitches back home,” he says. “But just trying and getting some training sessions in and trying to adapt as much as possible…Related

• Between formats and futures: Shubman Gill's most unprecedented test yet

• Gill: India won't be 'looking for any easy options' against West Indies

• West Indies face mission impossible amid future of Test cricket debate

• Sammy confident pace attack will help West Indies pull a New Zealand on India

• The weight of the maroon cap: West Indies face test of identity in India

“Some of the areas where I played in the US are a bit cooler, but some places are hot as well. Especially in Florida, it could get hot sometimes. It’s just about getting your rest in the evening. Try to get as much sleep and rest and get accustomed to that time change. It’s a different quality of bowling [in India]. For sure, you need to stay sharp and make the most out of the practice sessions to get ready for the game.”Having shaken off the jet lag, Chanderpaul is ready for the red-ball grind and is hopeful of fulfilling coach Sammy’s expectations on his first tour of India.”I’m not much of a flashy player,” Chanderpaul says. “So I just try to take my time and accumulate my runs with the odd boundary here and there. I think [batting time] goes with my [natural] game. But I also spend time batting balls at the nets and hope to replicate it [in a match].”Under Brian Lara’s mentorship, Chanderpaul scored an unbeaten 207 – his first Test hundred – against Zimbabwe in 2023•CWI MediaHis old-school batting owes also to his training sessions with his paternal grandfather and first coach, Khemraj, who too put Shiv through his paces when he was growing up in the village of Unity in Guyana.”Yeah, well, obviously when I was little, my dad would be on tour playing and then he lived in the US too. I grew up in Guyana,” Chanderpaul says. “In the afternoon after school, my granddad would throw balls at me when I was small. And then as I got bigger, he’d take me to the cricket club after school. So, yeah, I grew up practising with my granddad ever since.”I don’t think I was trained on the same cement strip that my father trained on () but granddad would always throw balls at me and he always wanted to hit the ball [along] the ground. So I guess that sort of shaped me into the player I’m today.”During his short career Chanderpaul has also had the opportunity to work with Brian Lara after receiving his maiden Test cap from him in Australia in 2022. Under Lara’s mentorship in 2023, in his third Test, Chanderpaul scored his maiden double-century, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.”He always tries and gives you ideas about bowlers you can score off and who you need to be defensive against and that sort of stuff,” Chanderpaul says of Lara. “So, [the conversations with him were] about picking your match-ups.”India, though, will not offer West Indies much breathing room. In the two Tests that Chanderpaul played against India in the Caribbean in 2023, he fell three times to the spin of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin’s dismissal of Chanderpaul in the first Test, in Roseau, was a flashback to his magic ball to Alastair Cook in the Edgbaston Test of 2018. While Ashwin has retired, Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will pose a threat to Chanderpaul’s defensive technique in the Test series.West Indies dropped former captain Brathwaite and called Chanderpaul up for the India Tests in the hope of him helping see off their spin threat•Cricket Australia/Getty Images”India has a great bowling line-up,” he says. “So you can’t take them for granted. You’ve got to go out there and give them the respect and try and score when you can. In the first Test [in Roseau], I didn’t get too many runs. [In the] second Test, I batted some balls. Kind of threw it away in the first innings. But playing Ashwin and Jadeja… I can take some confidence from the second Test and do the right things going into this Test series.”Chanderpaul also had encouraging numbers on his first and only first-class tour of the subcontinent so far: in 2023 he scored 275 runs in five innings for West Indies A against Bangladesh A in Sylhet, including three half-centuries. Only Joshua Da Silva made more runs (300) than him during that unofficial three-match Test series in Bangladesh. “I had runs against two left-arm spinners and a few offspinners as well,” Chanderpaul says. “It was a fairly good tour for me. I had a few [good] scores. Hopefully I can try and get some runs in the series ahead.”What cues does he look for while facing spin? “You’ve got to try and pick the ball up from the hand, of course,” he says. “Then see what type of delivery and, yeah, where it fits and that sort of stuff. So you know, just try and get in the right positions early and see where you can turn it over and get off strike or pick up a boundary. I have the sweep but you’ve got to play what you see on the day.”It can be fiendishly difficult to pick left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep out of his hand, and Washington, who is now India’s frontline offspinner after Ashwin’s departure, can threaten both edges with turn and drift. West Indies’ presence in future World Test Championships (WTC) is looking uncertain, but there’s a sliver of hope that Chanderpaul’s staying power can make India’s attack dig deep and carry West Indies’ batting, like his father did back in the day.Despite the stint in Minor League T20s in the USA, Chanderpaul is yet to play top-flight T20 cricket, like his predecessor Brathwaite. Is featuring in the CPL somewhere in the back of his mind?”Who knows?” he laughs. “You’ve got to deal with what’s ahead of you right now.” And right now, that’s his first Test series in India.

While the hosts look their most settled heading into the tournament, England, South Africa and Bangladesh will be in pursuit

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-20253:00

Is this India’s best chance to win a World Cup?

IndiaThis is the most settled Indian team to head into an ODI Women’s World Cup. That was only highlighted when they ran Australia, the reigning world champions, close in the ODI series decider in Delhi on Saturday.Pratika Rawal has added stability to the opening partnership, even if her scoring rate is under the spotlight. Harleen Deol has been given a long-enough run at No. 3 with Jemimah Rodrigues settling in a now-familiar spot at No. 5.Their talisman and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is among the runs and captain Harmanpreet Kaur is in good form, too. The bowling group of Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Radha Yadav, N Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy and Kranti Goud have got games together under their belt.One of their concerns, apart from blowing hot and cold with their fielding and catching, would be how Amanjot Kaur returns from injury. She was sidelined during India’s successful tour to England in July and missed the three-ODI series against Australia at home. Her seam-bowling ability, combined with her batting, fit just right for India, especially in situations like the third match against Australia.Renuka Singh Thakur’s showing through the series after returning from a stress injury will help India breathe easy. She highlighted her importance to the bowling attack, especially with the new ball.Whisper it, but this could be India’s best chance of winning their first senior women’s World Cup.SquadHarmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, N Shree Charani, Sneh Rana, Uma ChetryKey playerSmriti Mandhana has been in fine form•Getty ImagesNumbers alone can make a case for Smriti Mandhana being one of the key players for India at the World Cup: 2100 runs with eight centuries at an average of 58.33 and a strike rate of 99.15 since the 2022 edition. No other batter has more than 1800 in this period. Statistics aside, Mandhana has effortlessly slid into the role of the aggressor in her opening pairing with Rawal, with Shafali Verma not part of the ODI setup. The clarity in her shot selection has helped in this regard and twin hundreds in the last series before the World Cup only show her hunger.Predicted finishAt least runners-up. England1:07

‘England have incredible talent in the squad’

New coach, new captain, this tournament poses the first big-stage test of England since the dire T20 World Cup and Ashes campaigns that prompted these changes. That said, there have only been a couple of tweaks to the make-up of the squad, making it incumbent on head coach Charlotte Edwards and skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt to extract the best from the enviable talent at their disposal and succeed where no one has since their 2017 triumph.Eight of the XI who finished runners-up to Australia in 2022 remain, while continued investment and growth in the women’s game in England has increased their depth since. But it’s early days yet – the new regime only began in April – and a clean sweep of both home white-ball series with West Indies, who failed to qualify for this World Cup, was tempered by series defeats to India in both formats.The success of a reprised opening partnership between Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones against West Indies was more measured against India and England have recalled the vastly experienced Danni Wyatt-Hodge to bolster the middle order. After those series, Edwards said “getting to the final would be a real success for us” and, at this stage, that rings true.Seamer Lauren Bell was the leading wicket-taker in the women’s Hundred and spearheads a seam attack without the retired Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole and the overlooked Kate Cross. England will rely on a four-pronged spin department of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean, Linsey Smith and Sarah Glenn.SquadNat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wk), Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-HodgeKey playerNat Sciver-Brunt has been England’s spiritual leader at the World Cup, scoring two centuries in 2017 followed by a fifty in the final and twin unbeaten hundreds in losing causes against Australia, including the title decider, in 2022. Now she is their official leader too, captaining the side for the first time at a global tournament. Against India, during their recent ODI series, she was the leading run-scorer with 160, averaging 53.33. She bowled for the first time in six months during a warm-up with New Zealand just ten days out from the start of the event, putting her return as an allrounder on track, albeit on a tight schedule.Predicted finishSemi-final. Having had just 14 matches – only six of them ODIs – under the new leadership, reaching the knockouts would be a big achievement at this stage. South Africa4:28

‘South Africa have depth, but could feel Ismail’s absence’

The curse has been broken. South Africa earned a world title when their men’s team lifted the World Test Championship (WTC) mace in June and so, finally, they will enter a tournament without the pressure of ending a drought. Now, they can just play.South Africa go into the tournament after a period of inconsistent form over the last year, in which time they have also been under a new coach, but are quietly confident of what they’ve built. This will be Mandla Mashimbyi’s first major event as he hopes to make his mark at the highest level. The bulk of his squad are experienced at global competitions and were at the core of South Africa’s success in reaching the final of the last two T20 World Cups.In Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa have a captain who leads by example and holds the batting line-up together. They are stacked with allrounders in Marizanne Kapp, Annerie Dercksen, Sune Luus, Nadine de Klerk and have several spin options led by left-armer Nonkululekho Mlaba. What’s missing is a pace bowler in the mould of Shabim Ismail, who was at the last ODI World Cup. In her absence, South Africa will rely on the swing of Kapp and the accuracy of Ayabonga Khaka and Masabata Klaas. Even though Tumi Sekhukhune offers some pace, they may find themselves lacking a genuine strike bowler. Squad Laura Wolvaardt, Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloé Tryon Key player As big scores and power-hitting become commonplace in the women’s game, Tazmin Brits could take centre stage with her brand of aggressive batting. Brits is in the form of her life and has scored four of her six ODI hundreds in 2025, including a career-best 171*. She’s also done all that quickly and has maintained a strike rate of 94.14 this year. While she has always been strong on the drive, she has also developed strong sweeps and slog-sweeps and can prove difficult to stop in the powerplay. Her style perfectly complements her opening partner and captain Wolvaardt and the value she adds in the field means if she has a good World Cup, South Africa could too. Predicted finishSemi-final. BangladeshNigar Sultana’s triple role of batter, wicketkeeper and captain does seem too much at times•ICC/Getty ImagesBangladesh have plans to win at least two matches in the World Cup. But to do that, they have to rely on a number of training camps at home, rather than any international cricket for the five months leading up to the tournament. It is being recognised as a massive factor before Bangladesh embark on their second 50-over World Cup campaign.Instead, Bangladesh played several matches against Bangladesh’s Under-15s, though they didn’t have a great time, winning just one game against the boys’ side.Bangladesh could take inspiration from their qualification tournament, where they made it through by 0.003, the squeakiest of margins. Sharmin Akhter and captain Nigar Sultana were the second and third-highest run-scorers in the qualifiers, while legspinner Rabeya Khan took eight wickets. They will, however, be without Jannatul Ferdus, the offspinner who was their highest wicket-taker in qualifying.SquadNigar Sultana (capt), Nahida Akter, Fargana Hoque, Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Sobhana Mostary, Ritu Moni, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Fariha Trisna, Sanjida Akter, Nishita Akter, Sumaiya AkterKey playerNigar Sultana’s triple role of batter, wicketkeeper and captain does seem too much at times but she has performed admirably in all three capacities. Nigar will have to put on all three caps at the World Cup too, as she looks to bring out the best in a squad that hasn’t seen top-class action in months. Articulate on and off the field, Nigar is an inspirational figure in Bangladesh and is regarded as one of the best captains in the country’s history.Predicted finishEighth.

Working on perfecting both fingerspin and wristspin, and training for allrounder status, he hopes to make himself indispensable to West Indies cricket

Deivarayan Muthu26-Oct-2025West Indies’ Gudakesh Motie isn’t your average spinner. The 30-year-old, whose primary skill is left-arm fingerspin, can also bowl wristspin with that arm, turning the ball away from left-handers, denying them a favourable match-up. Clips of him bowling left-arm wristspin to left-handers in Guyana’s Global Super League earlier this year went viral.T20 continues to move forward at warp speed, and Motie is expanding his skills and range to keep up. Besides being the second highest wicket-taker in the CPL since his debut in September 2021, behind only Imran Tahir, his captain at Guyana Amazon Warriors, Motie was recently picked by Paarl Royals in the SA20, and is also part of Quetta Qavalry in the Abu Dhabi T20 league. He has previously had stints in the PSL (Multan Sultans) and UAE’s ILT20 (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) as well.”[Left-arm wristspin] is something I’ve been working on for quite a long time now,” Motie said on the sidelines of a spin-centric camp at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai earlier this month, ahead of West Indies’ tour of Bangladesh. “I think I’m not perfect with it yet and I still have a lot of work to do. That’s something I want to go in the nets and work on, so that I can get it and use it whenever I’m under pressure or bowling to a left-hander.”Related

Motie takes 13 to spin West Indies to 1-0 series win against Zimbabwe

West Indies find success via Hosein and Motie's complementary strengths

Motie's four-for puts Amazon Warriors in third successive CPL final

Whether he’s bowling to a left- or right-hander, Motie sees himself as a strike bowler in T20. The numbers back him up as well. In his four years in the format, he has taken 118 wickets in 104 innings at a strike rate of 17.7, which is better than fellow West Indians Sunil Narine (23.1) and Akeal Hosein (20.60) and comparable with elite T20 spinners like Noor Ahmad (17.3) and Rashid Khan (17.0) during this period.”Well, whenever I’m bowling to a left-hander or anyone, I just look to get them out as quickly as possible, because I see myself as a wicket-taker,” Motie said. “And if they’re coming at me, I just find ways to get them off strike.”At Amazon Warriors in the CPL and the Global Super League, Motie has had veteran Tahir as a sounding board. “Imran is always there to pass on his knowledge to me, so I try to use him as best as possible,” he said. “Whenever we are training, I look at him, look at what he’s doing differently and ask him a lot of questions.”Hometown hero: Motie has won the CPL and the Global Super League with Guyana Amazon Warriors•Randy Brooks/CPL T20/Getty ImagesMotie is now one of the faces of Amazon Warriors along with Tahir and is a crowd favourite in Providence. As a homegrown player, Motie relishes the crowd support and hopes to make the country proud.”Well, it’s a very proud moment for me. The people in Guyana really love me,” Motie said. “So every opportunity I get, I just want to go out and do it for my family and my country.”It all began at the Albion cricket club in Guyana. “I started to practice [at the club] when I was six years old,” Motie recalled. “I was very young and from there, I was really committed to whatever I wanted. I know cricket was the only thing for me at that age, going forward. And then, I went on to play for Guyana at the youth level at age ten. And going on from there, I went on to play for the same team, played all ages and made my first-class debut in 2015. I took it forward from there.He had two senior international pros to learn from. “I had Veerasammy Permaul and Devendra Bishoo there with me. They are a very big help to me in my career so far because I learned most of my bowling from those two guys. They were playing for West Indies at the time I was playing youth cricket [for Guyana]. So whatever they know, they’re always passing it on to me and we always work together.”Motie left England captain Ben Stokes dumbfounded with a delivery that exploded out of the footmarks and blew away his middle stump•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesMotie also draws inspiration from other giants of spin. “Coming through, there were players like [Daniel] Vettori and [Ravindra] Jadeja. I’ve picked up a lot of things from Vettori – the way he uses the crease and the pace with which he bowls.”Like Vettori did back in the day, Motie also brings the traditional skills of a left-arm fingerspinner. He can give the ball a rip and toss it up liberally, daring batters to go after him. When Ben Stokes tried to whip him hard into the leg side in the Lord’s Test last year, Motie got one to fizz out of the footmarks and knock out middle stump. That ball elicited a nod of acknowledgement from Stokes at the time.”I was just trying to hit my length there and there was a rough outside there,” Motie said. “But, fortunately, it spun and went through and hit the stump, which I was very happy with. It was a big wicket for me.”Motie was rested for the recent two-match Test series in India, but remains a crucial part of West Indies’ plans for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. He is yet to play international cricket in India – he has played a handful of games in Sri Lanka – but he seems to have a fair understanding of what to do in these conditions, thanks to his camp with Keacy Carty, Sherfane Rutherford, Amir Jangoo, Ackeem Auguste, and CWI talent manager Jamal Smith at the Super Kings academy earlier this month.Motie hopes that the experience of bowling for the first time on black- and red-soil pitches in Chennai at the CSK camp will prove valuable in next year’s T20 World Cup•Super Kings Academy”It was a very good opportunity to come to Chennai because you’re bowling on different pitches,” Motie said. “It’s black and red soils, which I haven’t bowled on before. I think it’s a great opportunity for me to gain that experience, going to play a series in Bangladesh and then the World Cup here.”Motie also has ambitions of being an allrounder. He showed his batting potential in his ODI half-centuries against England in 2025 and against Sri Lanka in 2024. Occasionally, Amazon Warriors have also used him as a pinch-hitter in the CPL.”Definitely, that [batting] is something I’ve been working on for quite some time now,” Motie said. “I want to turn into a general allrounder. I don’t want to just be a bowler; I want to contribute with the bat too. I’ve been putting in a lot of work and I came here and put a lot of work into it. So, hopefully, whenever I get the opportunity, I can do it.”West Indies are in the middle of a big block of cricket: their ongoing white-ball tour of Bangladesh will be followed by an all-format tour of New Zealand, with the T20 World Cup being the marquee ICC event in 2026. Motie’s form and multi-dimensional skills could be central to their chances, especially in the white-ball game, during this busy period for them.

Stats highlights from Mushfiqur’s Test career as he is set to become the first Bangladesh player to feature in 100 Tests

Shubh Agarwal18-Nov-2025Mushfiqur Rahim will become the first Bangladesh player to feature in 100 Tests when he takes the field in the second Test against Ireland in Mirpur. One of Bangladesh’s longest-serving cricketers, Mushfiqur made his Test debut in 2005, making him the youngest debutant at Lord’s – a record that still stands.Now, gearing up for his 100th Test, Mushfiqur is among the only three cricketers to have a 20-year-long Test career after making their debut in the 2000s, alongside James Anderson and Brendan Taylor.Taking on multiple roles in his marathon career, Mushfiqur captained 34 Tests and kept wickets in 55 of them but he would be mostly remembered as a run-aggregator, being the only Bangladesh batter to score over 6000 Test runs. Among the 18 Bangladesh batters to have scored over 1000 Test runs, Mushfiqur’s average of 38.02 is only second to Tamim Iqbal (38.89). His tally of 12 Test hundreds is also the second best for Bangladesh.