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Dale Steyn, whose chances of donning the Test whites looked meek after his shoulder injury, did not make a dramatic start on his Test return. But in his third over, he unfurled the magic

Firdose Moonda at Newlands05-Jan-2018It was nearing 11pm on a Sunday night in Perth in November 2016 and Dale Steyn had just returned from an outlying suburb where he was visiting his uncle. His arm was in a sling, his shoulder supported by strapping, but he wore a jersey that hid both from the enthusiastic, autograph-hunting fans, one of whom unknowingly slapped him on the sore spot. Steyn smiled, took a selfie and signed his name. But as soon as the small crowd dissipated, Steyn’s expression changed.He was in obvious pain, physically, from the broken bone in his shoulder and emotionally, with the knowledge that for the third time in a third big series, he had left the squad injured.The previous year had not been easy for Steyn. After a groin injury in India which forced him out of three of the four Tests, he suffered a first shoulder injury against England but then recovered to play against New Zealand at home and to tour Australia. The series was important to him. Steyn had been part of South Africa’s two previous tours to Australia, two victorious tours, and he wanted to be part of a hat-trick of wins.Though Steyn had always been aggressive and tough-talking, there was a different kind of drive for him on that tour. Before the first Test, he had spoken about his own goals in leading the attack and in cutting off the head of the snake – Steven Smith – to be able to raze through Australia. He spoke with passion, like someone who knew he was in the twilight years of his career and wanted to make the most of every minute.And then on the second day of the match, a Friday, the minutes got ripped away from Steyn and he had to face the possibility that the clock had stopped.By Sunday, Steyn knew his injury would keep him out of action for at least six months. He knew he would miss at least eight Tests (the remaining two in Australia, three against Sri Lanka at home and three in New Zealand) and would not play any cricket before the tour to England the following winter. He knew he would not be rushed back into action, especially given his recent injury run. He knew that he was getting older.He admitted all of those things that night, and with each one, the sadness in his eyes grew deeper. He would return to South Africa the following day and he really didn’t know when he would be back.

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Getty ImagesIt was just after 5pm on a Friday afternoon in Cape Town in January 2018 and Dale Steyn was at fine leg. He had already batted and was three minutes away from making the comeback even he was unsure would happen. The crowd cheered for him just for being there.When he fielded the first ball, tucked away by M Vijay, they cheered even louder. They didn’t notice when he started to swing his arms because Vernon Philander was appealing for a caught behind at the same time, but if they did, their voices would have bounced off Table Mountain. Thirteen months ago, Steyn would not have imagined being able to move his shoulder joint so freely.That Philander’s appeal was unsuccessful and sandwiched between two fours was secondary to what was happening on the boundary, where Steyn had begun some small side stretches. He kept doing them from the top of his mark, where he stood for a little longer than usual before bowling his first international delivery since the one that broke his shoulder. He waved his arms to adjust the field a little more, maybe just to remind himself that he could lift them up and turn them over. And then in he ran.Steyn’s first delivery back did not steam in at 150kph, or swing wildly, or take out middle stump but it wobbled outside off from a good length, it forced Vijay to defend. It silenced all the doubt and it shouted about the blind determination of a man who had decided he was not done, even on that day in Perth when it all seemed over.

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Getty ImagesSteyn’s recovery has been long and tortuous for everyone, most of all for himself. After surgery, which included the insertion of a pin, he spent several months out of action completely before beginning very light training. For a man who spends a significant amount of time outdoors – surfing, trail-running and fishing – that time must have been incredibly frustrating, especially when his original timeframe went awry.Having not bowled at all before the mid-year tour to England, Steyn ruled himself out of the trip. He hoped to make a county appearance towards the latter end of the English summer but that also didn’t happen. While trying to get back to bowling, he tore both bicep and his pectoral muscle which slowed down his recovery even more.Steyn was back to bowling by the time the South African summer started but he did not play any first-class cricket. Still, he declared himself ready to go at a pre-season function in Cape Town where he explained how he was pacing himself to be back to full fitness by the time the Global T20 League began in November and so, ruled himself out of the Bangladesh series. That tournament was postponed but Steyn eventually returned in the domestic 20-over competition, in which he played five matches.He knew four-over spells would not be adequate preparation for Tests and so, played for a CSA Invitation side against the touring Zimbabweans. He bowled 12 overs and was included in the squad to play the Boxing Day match but an illness kept him out. Of all things, for a virus to provide another hurdle was particularly unexpected.Because Steyn did not play that match, and given that he hardly had any competitive cricket, the talk before this Test was that he may sit out. In a three-man attack, Ottis Gibson was worried that even the possibility Steyn would break down was not worth the risk.Conditions prompted South Africa to go with four seamers and for Steyn to be included. Finally, his long wait was over.

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Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesSteyn’s first two overs were fairly uneventful and showed only what we remembered of him from 13 months ago. The short ball and the outswinger, the skiddy stop at the end of his followthrough, the steely stare – all those things were there. His pace was in the mid-130s, his rhythm smooth and his delivery fluid. He was back, just like he had never left.But it was the third over, where the magic reappeared. Shikhar Dhawan miscued his pulled off a back-of-a-length ball and top-edged to the sky. Steyn called for it. He steadied himself under the ball and caught it reverse-cup. He did not bring out the chainsaw celebration. He held his arms aloft in celebration and smiled. It was the same smile from that night in Perth, the one that he gave the fans who wanted to be in his aura, who didn’t know what he was going through. It was the smile of satisfaction, of a man who had come to finish the job.He almost had Virat Kohli caught off the next ball off a leading edge, bowled one more over and touched 144kph. None of that really matters. What matters is that Steyn was there. “From a mental point of view, that was a massive four overs that he bowled,” Dale Benkenstein, South Africa’s batting coach said.Benkenstein explained that Steyn’s lengthy absence would have been enough to cause him to lose “a lot of confidence,” and that his late-afternoon appearance here would have boosted it. South Africa will want a lot more from him in the coming days, weeks and months but for now, they will just enjoy having him back.

Mushfiqur Rahim on the perception that Bangladesh only do well at home, his captaincy tenure, and what lies next

Interview by Mohammad Isam05-Sep-2018In the last five years, how have you managed to average 50 in Tests abroad?
I don’t think anyone intends to score more runs only at home or only on foreign soil. I want to contribute in every series to the most of my ability. But it is true that I have taken it as a challenge to score abroad. There’s a perception that Bangladeshi players only do well at home. I have tried to improve this in my game, anticipate the difficulty of the conditions and bowling attacks.Tamim [Iqbal], Shakib [Al Hasan], Riyad [Mahmudullah] and myself have often discussed that as a batting group, we should take the lead. I didn’t do well in the West Indies Tests, but in the next opportunity, I hope I do better. In New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, I have tried hard to play to my ability.Which among your three recent hundreds – in Kingstown in 2014, and Wellington and Hyderabad in 2017 – abroad is your favourite?
The Wellington hundred was quite special. I was out with an injury after the first ODI and neither the team nor I had a great record in New Zealand. By Allah’s grace, I played a good innings. Tamim and Mominul should get a lot of the credit because of how they tackled the new ball and got us past the difficult part in those conditions. It became slightly easier for Shakib and I for the rest of the innings.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe Hyderabad century is not too far behind. India is one of the best sides in the world, and they have a superb bowling attack. It was a dream to score a hundred against them, and I was leading in Bangladesh’s first Test on Indian soil. These two, for me, are very special hundreds.There was a big jump in your performance in ODIs in 2014 and 2015, compared to the first seven-odd years of your international career. How did you bring about that shift in your run-scoring and strike rate?
These days even 300 is not safe, particularly on a good wicket. I have realised that under the existing fielding restrictions, it is not impossible to bring more shots into your game. From the 11th to the 40th over, against spin or pace, you have mid-on and mid-off inside the circle. There are boundary options against offspinners and left-arm spinners. I have tried to improve my shots during this period. If you maintain a healthy strike rate, you can score fluently and the bowler is under pressure. The team also benefits if you have a 100-plus strike rate. Other batsmen, who take a bit of time to get settled, get that extra time and can cash in later on.I have tried to develop this aspect [of my game]. It took me a long time to hone. I needed to know my game, particularly in knowing where I can be attacking.I should give some credit to Chandika Hathurusingha, our last coach. I spoke to him freely about this and he backed me. He said that I should play this way with confidence. There used to be a time when I held myself back after we lost early wickets. I would play slowly and then cash in later. But he told me not to think about the scoreboard and back my ability if I thought the wicket was good for strokeplay.I was able to do it in the 2015 World Cup, by Allah’s grace. It gave me a lot of confidence playing in such a big tournament against such bowling attacks. Even matches against Afghanistan and Scotland weren’t easy.ESPNcricinfo LtdYou made a really quick 30 that completely changed the game against West Indies in the first ODI in July this year. Against Sri Lanka last year, you batted out the last hour to ensure Bangladesh’s first Test win there. These are two vastly different situations but you responded perfectly. How much does batting differently under pressure depend on mentality and skills?
It is a combination of both. As a strokeplayer you have to shift according to the situation. It is a mental strength. You itch to play down the wicket, or play a shot against the spin, but you have to curb yourself. It is also a matter of practice. It has a lot to do with batting and mental skills.Fitness also helps me in these situations. If you can finish a lap in 50 seconds instead of 60, that extra motivation in my fitness level translates into similar confidence in the skills part. I always try to prepare well ahead of time, and imagine what I may be facing.Which is harder – playing a quick-fire innings or holding off big shots for a considerable period?
Both are difficult situations, especially for Bangladeshi cricketers. We don’t face these things frequently. Indian players are equipped to win from these situations at least nine out of ten times. We might face these moments once in six months, or even up to a year. It becomes tricky, as a result. When you get over these situations, you get confidence in your ability.What is the source of your motivation to train at the same level, having now played for Bangladesh for 12 years?
I don’t think I have still maximised my ability to provide for Bangladesh. It is the only motivation. It is a luxury to represent your country for 12-13 years. At the end of my career, I want to feel that I have been able to justify the opportunity given to me. This is what keeps me eager. I set small goals, series by series. I try heart and soul. I have tried to maintain my fitness.”When you know that 18-20 crore people pray for you, you don’t need any more motivation”•AFP/Getty ImagesHow important is pride for you, playing for Bangladesh?
It should be the first and final word to represent a country. We make a lot of sacrifices by staying away from our families for months. There’s no greater pride than doing something for your country. When you know that 18-20 crore [180-200 million] people pray for you – a rickshaw-puller may have given up on his day’s earning just watching our match; so it drives me. You don’t need any more motivation. There’s no bigger privilege. A lot of talented cricketers started off with me but Allah gave me the opportunity [to keep going].Your captaincy ended last year. What were the best and worst moments?
I am the sort of person who likes to stay in the background and do my job properly. Doing it well is the most important part. Any player goes through ups and downs, and my captaincy had those too. Last year’s South Africa tour was hard for me as a player and captain. We didn’t do well as a team. We should have done better.But there were good days. We beat Australia and England, we beat Sri Lanka in their backyard. We also won ODI series against New Zealand and West Indies. These make me proud. The captain isn’t the only one with the credit; it takes a team to win anything, so I thank them.How has it been playing with Shakib, Tamim, Mahmudullah and Mashrafe Mortaza, for more than ten years now?
A large credit for my consistency in the last four or five years is due to these four players. Life becomes easier when you are batting with Shakib, Riyad or Tamim. Cricket is not an individual sport. Partnerships are vital, and all of us have had match-winning contributions through big stands. The five of us have tried extremely hard in the last four or five years, and we have found ways to perform at the highest level. It is a privilege to play with such a generation of cricketers. Mashrafe is incomparable; Shakib, Tamim and Riyad are all world-class players.Tamim has said that one of his motivations is to be among the top ten batsmen in the world. What is your motivation for the next five years?
I definitely have similar goals, but my thoughts are always at improving myself from my last series to the next one. My childhood dream was to be a match-winner for Bangladesh, and I still cherish it. I may have failed in some matches but there have been good days. I hope to have more such good days, at least eight or nine times out of ten games.How important is the period leading up to the 2019 World Cup?
A team needs momentum to do well in a big tournament. It cannot just turn up and win it. If we can do well in the Asia Cup and against West Indies and New Zealand, we will have confidence as a team, which is particularly important for a team like ours.Champions Trophy is in the past, and we have a bigger challenge coming up. I think if the entire team can build this momentum leading up to the World Cup, we could have a memorable tournament with great performances.

Added edge to India-Pakistan clash in six-team event; Bangladesh eye pathway to the Caribbean while Sri Lanka eye coup without key players

Annesha Ghosh02-Jun-2018The seventh women’s Asia Cup kicks off in Malaysia on June 3. This will be the third successive edition that will be played in the T20 format. Six teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia – will compete over eight days for the title. The winners will get the perfect leg-up in form and confidence as they build towards Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean in November. Here’s how the teams stack up ahead of the tournament.India v Pakistan: the unfamiliar in a familiar rivalry
June 18. Champions Trophy final. Sarfraz Ahmed’s men topple the favourites in front of a sell-out crowd. Two weeks later, India women comfortably emerged victors in front of a full house Derby at the Women’s World Cup.In the women’s arena, their previous T20I memorably ended in India captain Harmanpreet Kaur spearing a stump back into the hole to celebrate the side’s sixth straight title victory, in Bangkok in 2016. Freshly relieved from T20 captaincy, Mithali Raj drove India’s title-winning 2016 Asia Cup campaign with a chart-topping tally. For runners-up Pakistan, Javeria Khan carried the mantle with an average roughly half of Raj’s 110.In the 18 months since, Raj’s wavering form has coincided with India’s away-from-home triumph against South Africa in January and big-margin defeats in a forgettable T20I tri-series against England and Australia at home in March. Pakistan, meanwhile, recovered from a 4-0 clean-sweep in the T20I series against New Zealand to clinching their maiden double-series win in Sri Lanka in March courtesy a record ODI hundred and a record T20I fifty from Javeria.India’s pursuit of a seventh straight Asia Cup title could be tested by a resurgent Pakistan, under new coach Mark Coles. The return of senior batsman Nain Abidi, who, along with frontline spinner Nida Dar topped the runs and wickets charts respectively in the domestic T20 competition, will boost their line-up. Yet Pakistan will have to contend with Australia-humbling, England-numbing one-woman force: Smriti Mandhana and India’s plethora of left-arm spinners, including Ekta Bisht – the leading wicket-taker at the 2016 edition and the overall experience India’s players may have drawn from the IPL-styled T20 challenge.Annesha Ghosh/ESPNcricinfo LtdBangladesh 2.0?
Their only Asia Cup win came on debut, against Sri Lanka in 2012. They haven’t played a subcontinental side since 2016 and were beaten 5-0 and 3-0 in the ODIs and T20Is away by South Africa. Now, they have a new head coach in India’s Anju Jain. Can the tide turn?They will hope Fargana Hogue (leading run-getter during the South Africa series), medium-pacer Panna Ghosh (involved in two record lower-order partnerships for Bangladesh) and Shamima Sultana (only Bangladesh batsman to score a fifty each in the ODI and T20I series) continue their recent run of form.The bigger picture, of course, remains the World T20 Qualifiers in Netherlands in July. What better way to prepare than a competitive Asia Cup? Meanwhile, Rumana Ahmed will join team-mates Jahanara Alam and Khadija-Tul Kubra in the Women’s Global Development Squad for matches against the Kia Super League sides soon after the Qualifiers.Sri Lanka’s injury woes
In a tournament featuring non-ODI nations Thailand and Malaysia, Sri Lanka would ideally fancy a top-three finish. They have been the runners-up four times in the six editions of the Asia Cup.Despite their two recent consecutive defeats – against West Indies away and against Pakistan at home – Sri Lanka may have still backed themselves to put on a typically strong showing. Now, they have to do it without T20I captain Chamari Atapattu and pace-bowling allrounder Ama Kanchana. Four years after relinquishing the captaincy, Shashikala Siriwardene is back to helm the side. Can she rise to the challenge?BCCIPlayers to watch
Pakistan’s Javeria Rauf returns after a four-year layoff. Her surprise recall is down largely to three half-centuries that made her the second-highest run getter in the four-team domestic T20 competition. Her team, the PCB XI, eventually finished runners-up.Another player on a comeback trail is Bangladesh’s Shamima Sultana. The wicketkeeper marked her international return by scoring a half-century each in the ODI and T20I series in South Africa. Her boundary-hitting aptitude could bolster her team’s chances of pulling off an upset or two in the competition.Expect the teenaged Jemimah Rodrigues and Pooja Vastrakar to inject vigour into India’s ailing T20 health. On the traditionally road-like Kinrara Oval tracks and the shortish boundaries of the Royal Selangor Club, Rodrigues’ resolve at the top of the order would be vital in propping up a red-hot Mandhana during India’s last big T20 assignment before the World T20. Should India lose a wicket early, Vastrakar, who famously hit the nervy winning runs in the one-off IPL exhibition game, could earn a promotion. Can she showcase her natural flamboyance in the Powerplay?

Can he reunite Raj and Harmanpreet, the two limited-overs captains, who are at loggerheads? Can he juggle multiple roles in the absence of a bowling coach?

Annesha Ghosh21-Dec-2018Unite and rulePut yourself in Raman’s shoes. You apply for a vacancy that, until a month ago, didn’t exist. Then you compete with some of the most high-profile names to have ever applied for coaching women’s team in the world. And, after a selection process replete with controversy, you are deemed the best candidate owing to your vast coaching experience and your credentials as a former batsman.So far so good? Well, how’s this for the fun part: the team you’ll be taking over has two limited-overs captains, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur, at loggerheads. Raj, the ODI captain and the most celebrated face of Indian women’s cricket, said she has “nothing against” her T20I counterpart, also the ODI vice-captain and among the most sought-after names in various T20 leagues across the world. But in reality, that does little to lighten the baggage of discomfort that has existed between the two for the longest time.Their stand on the ousted coach – Powar – is as divergent as their temperaments and playing styles. And the vice-captain of the T20I side, Smriti Mandhana, who is next in line to succeed both Raj and Harmanpreet, backed her T20I captain in the hope of finding an “amicable” solution to the ugly mudslinging.In less than a month, India leave for their limited-overs tour of New Zealand, their first international assignment since the World T20 that left the team split. A home series against England is scheduled after their return. Raman’s role will, therefore, entail far more than just being a coach. The side’s dynamics require him to be an astute reader of temperaments, a personnel manager, a leader who can cultivate a culture where there is no sense of entitlement and the skills-sets of established names and rookies are subject to the same the standards of scrutiny.Capitalising on playIn his three-month tenure, Powar proved to be very much his own man: he tried to break the hierarchy among the players, hoping to centralise the power so the focus could solely be on leading India women to their first world title. He backed the players – both young and experienced – to play a “fearless” brand of cricket on the Sri Lanka tour. The result? They won both limited-overs series, with many young players, in particular, standing out.His vision heading into the World T20, too, was clear: this Indian side, he said, was “about dominance rather than just competing”. It translated into India piling on the highest total in the tournament’s history, the young Deepti Sharma emerging as a frontline wicket-taking option in the Powerplay, and Harmanpreet matching her epochal hitting with consistency.India head coach Ramesh Powar and fielding coach Biju George have a chat•Annesha GhoshA seven-match winning streak preluded India’s semi-final qualification, including topping the group stage on the back of beating heavyweights New Zealand and Australia. And much of it was down to Powar’s blueprint that was based on aggression and intent. As Raman tries to suss out the needs of this team, his task may get a touch easier initially, for he will be inheriting an Indian side that is familiar with Powar’s credo of delivering results.On talking termsOff the field, Raman may stand to benefit from the brand of professionalism Powar injected; the T20I captain, vice-captain and even the support staff, were not immune to his demand for greater efficiency and discipline. But given it backfired in one big regard, if Raman is to adopt one learning from his predecessor, and of those that coached the side just before Powar – Tushar Arothe and Purnima Rau – it is the mastery of communicating decisions to his players. That’s the one key factor that will decide the length of his stint with a team that now finds itself deeply entrenched in the off-field politics of Indian cricket.Two-in-two and combination conundrumsOne of India’s two ODI mainstays, Jhulan Goswami, is no longer part of the T20I set-up; the other, Raj, said last month that “now the team is settling”, it could have been the last World T20 for her. However, Raj has been named in the T20I squad for the New Zealand tour. With 15 months until the next world tournament – the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia – where does the ODI captain figure in the coach and the T20I captain’s scheme of things?In addition, who will partner Mandhana at the top in T20Is? Will the new think-tank persist with wicketkeeper-batsman Taniya Bhatia, who had a lean run as an opener in the World T20, or will Jemimah Rodrigues, a proven punt at first drop, be reunited with Mandhana? How accommodating will Raj be to playing in the middle order in the T20I side?With direct qualification for the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand at stake, how can the young quicks Mansi Joshi, Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy feed off the experienced Goswami? These questions aside, as far as dispute-resolution goes, perhaps Raman’s plans for the future – both tactical and managerial – may also need a look back on a not-so-distant past, when Goswami played mediator between two high-profile warring figures in the side.Juggling multiple hatsThe team has not yet been equipped with a bowling coach, despite senior players demanding one since April, when Arothe was in charge. Raman himself, it is learnt, suggested during Thursday’s interview the BCCI consider hiring one. But until that materialises, much of India’s fortunes in the next two bilateral series will depend on how he bolsters the confidence of the bowling unit, especially its spine – the spinners.

In their last nine Test series in South Africa, England, New Zealand or Australia, India’s opening partnership has averaged 21, and lasted only 6.3 overs per stand

S Rajesh24-Dec-20184:05

Manjrekar: Hanuma Vihari should play up the order

India’s last century stand for the first wicket in a Test match in South Africa, England, New Zealand or Australia (SENA, in short) came in Centurion eight years ago, in 2010, when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir put on 137 in India’s second innings.Since that series in South Africa, India’s opening pairs have come out to bat 62 times in a Test innings in these four countries, and have passed 50 only seven times, with a highest of 63. Their average partnership during this period: 21.03; the average balls they have survived per partnership: 39 (6.3 overs). In nine series in these countries, only once have they lasted more than 50 balls per partnership, on average, and only once was their average stand more than 30.

Series Inns Runs Ave 50+ stands BpDin SA, 2013-14 4 89 22.25 0 52.75in Aus, 2014-15 8 248 31.00 2 49.13in Eng, 2014 10 219 21.90 0 43.60in Eng, 2018 10 237 23.70 3 40.10in SA, 2018-19 6 109 18.16 0 38.00in Aus, 2018-19 4 72 18.00 1 36.00in Eng, 2011 8 156 19.50 1 34.88in Aus, 2011-12 8 125 15.62 0 30.88in NZ, 2013-14 4 49 12.25 0 22.75Whichever way you look at it, these are damning numbers. During the same period, the opening pairs haven’t had too many problems in Asia, averaging 48.27, with eight century partnerships in 75 attempts. Clearly, the challenge of facing up to the new ball in difficult conditions is one that India’s openers have consistently failed to tackle in the last seven-and-a-half years. Their average of 21.03 in these countries is lower than it is for all wickets, except the last two.