Back in the spring, if you asked Major League Baseball fans who would win the American League's Rookie of the Year award, most would've tabbed an Athletic—shortstop Jacob Wilson.

Over the course of recent months, Wilson has remained potent. However, he has been dramatically overshadowed by a teammate.

First baseman Nick Kurtz was already gaining ground on Wilson in the AL race when he became the first rookie ever to bash four home runs in one game on July 25. In the span of one 15–3 win over the Astros, he raised his average 17 points, on-base percentage 14 points, and slugging percentage an astonishing 64 points.

The most famous Kurtz in popular culture was a madman feared by all. Fortunately for the sports world, this Kurtz is using his awe-inspiring ability for good. Welcome to this week's edition of MLB Rookie Watch.

American League1. Nick Kurtz, first baseman, Athletics

If Kurtz and Marlon Brando's character can be said to have anything in common, it is their shared devotion to power. How many home runs has the first baseman hit since the most recent publication of this column? "Just" the four—and yet Kurtz is still pacing for over a 162-game span. It's enough to make fans forget the 22-year-old is also hitting .304 as one of the 10 youngest players in the American League.

2. Noah Cameron, pitcher, Kansas City Royals

The lefty jumps up to the No. 2 spot after a mixed bag in his last two starts. He dominated the Guardians in five shutout innings on July 27, but gave up four earned runs in a loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday. The Royals, having lost ace Kris Bubic for the season, will almost certainly continue to ask Cameron to carry their flagging playoff hopes. If he's up for the task, he towers over every other AL rookie pitcher and could win significant award support.

3. Jacob Wilson, shortstop, Athletics

On Tuesday, the Athletics put Wilson on the injured list as he deals with the effects of a left forearm fracture. That absence, combined with Kurtz's dominance, has ground the shortstop's once-thriving Rookie of the Year campaign to a screeching halt. He's played just three games since the last column, going 1-for-11 against the Rangers and Astros. Still, despite nearly a month of injury (he was hit in the hand with a pitch on July 8), his .312/.354/.439 slash line demands respect.

Honorable Mention

Roman Anthony, outfielder, Red Sox; Carlos Narvaez, catcher, Red Sox

National League1. Caleb Durbin, third baseman, Milwaukee Brewers

Contact has been the order of the day for Durbin over the past two weeks as his Brewers have adjusted to their new lives as NL pennant contenders. He's slashed .300/.353/.333 to raise his average seven points while his on-base and slugging numbers hold steady. With 2.4 bWAR (most in the NL among rookies) and a 1.5 WPA (tied for best with Colorado Rockies pitcher Seth Halvorsen), he's impacting winning in a way his peers are not. Durbin raised minor alarm by starting two straight games on the bench this weekend, but delivered two hits in relief of fellow rookie Anthony Seigler Sunday.

2. Drake Baldwin, catcher, Atlanta Braves

Braves catcher Sean Murphy is the only 30-year-old to get regular run in this column as a frustratingly competent roadblock to the Age of Baldwin. Both catchers have largely underwhelmed over the last two weeks—Baldwin slightly less so (.235/.297/.324 against Murphy's .160/.333/.280). In the period between the submission and publication of the last Rookie Watch, Baldwin (hilariously) managed to drive in six runs in a 3-for-5 outing against the Giants. Objects in Durbin's rearview mirror are closer than they appear.

3. Heriberto Hernandez, left fielder, Miami Marlins

Here comes another obscure Marlin to replace Cardinals catcher Yohel Pozo, who bows out after a .130/.167/.217 dud over the past two weeks. The May 30 (!) debutant has played just 40 games, but owns a .291/.352/.473 slash line with five home runs and 18 RBIs. FanGraphs in particular loves the Dominican Republic native, as his .357 wOBA and 128 wRC+ attest. If you don't like the second- or third-place rookie in a given week of this year's NL race, don't worry; there'll be another one along shortly.

Honorable Mention

Isaac Collins, left fielder, Brewers; Jack Dreyer, pitcher, Dodgers; Agustin Ramirez, catcher, Marlins

Bulk of funds to go directly to cricket-related activities with board saying game would not be compromised

Danyal Rasool26-Jun-2020The PCB will reduce its budget by 10% for the next year in response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The board announced a PKR 7.76 billion (approx USD 46.2 million) budget for the coming financial year after its 58th Board of Governors meeting – and the first held via video conference. The 10% reduction was a result of “the PCB’s austerity, robust financial management and belt-tightening exercise”, because of the pandemic, although the board insisted the budgetary reduction did not reduce or compromise any cricket activities from the year past.Pakistan’s schedule was not as badly hit as some other countries because of the virus, though they were ultimately unable to go ahead with the final knockout rounds of the PSL as well as a Test against Bangladesh. However, they will be among the first teams back in action when they play England later this summer. Here are the key numbers from the budget for 2020-21.71.2% – The portion of the entire budget that will go directly to cricket-related activities, with the PCB saying “cricket remains unaffected and the PCB continues to invest into the future”. That figure comes to about USD 32.9 million.19.3% – The portion from the USD 32.9 million above (approx USD 6.35 million) that the PCB will spend on international cricket events – the home and away commitments Pakistan has – as well as the set of central contracts for national players.19.7% – Nearly a fifth of the 32.9 million allocation (approx USD 6.48 million) will go to the hosting of the PSL next year, even as the PCB acknowledged that shortfalls in revenue were all but certain and the fate of several international series hung in the balance. Peshawar has been added as a fifth PSL venue for the 2021 season, joining Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Multan, which jointly hosted the 2020 edition.Rs 800 million – The amount by which the PCB has had to cut infrastructure expenditure. The current PCB administration made no secret of their intentions to invest heavily in infrastructure development, and while they did allocate PKR 1.2 billion (approx USD 7.15 million), that is down from PKR 2 billion the previous year. That 40% reduction is the largest cut implemented in any area across the entire budget. “This will be an important investment as we have submitted an expression of interest for some ICC Events in the 2023-31 cycle and quality cricket infrastructure will be one of the key factors that will determine if we are successful in earning hosting rights of any of the events,” the board chairman Ehsan Mani said.25.2% – The percentage of the USD 32.9 million (approx USD 8.29 million) set aside for domestic cricket (this includes the newly-formed High Performance Centre’s costs) as well as an enhanced pay structure for players.5.5% – The amount of the USD 32.9 million (approx USD 1.81 million) that will be spent on women’s cricket.

And who was the first bowler to 100 ODI wickets?

Steven Lynch21-Jul-2020After the first match in Southampton, Shai Hope averaged 26.71 in Tests but 52.20 in ODIs – is that the biggest difference for anyone? asked Alexander Appleyard from England

Given a minimum of 20 innings in both formats, the only batsman with a bigger difference than Shai Hope’s 25.49 is the current Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq, who averages 53.84 in ODIs but only 25.52 in Tests, a difference of 28.32. He has had only 21 innings in Tests, though. This pair are both currently ahead of the most celebrated case, Australia’s Michael Bevan, who averaged 53.58 in ODIs but only 29.07 in Tests, a difference of 24.51.If you raise the bar to a minimum of 50 innings in both formats, then Hope is well clear of the next man, New Zealand’s Martin Guptill, who averages 42.50 in ODIs but 29.38 in Tests, a difference of 13.12. The most consistent performer is the West Indian opener Gordon Greenidge, who averaged 45.03 in ODIs and 44.72 in Tests, a difference of just 0.31.The biggest difference the other way is by another Australian, Greg Matthews, who averaged 41.08 in Tests but only 16.72 in ODIs.Sachin Tendulkar’s Test career lasted 24 years – are there any longer ones? asked Ricky Brathwaite from Barbados

The Test career of Sachin Tendulkar started on November 15, 1989, when he was 16, against Pakistan in Karachi – and finished 24 years (and one day) later, with the end of his 200th match, against West Indies in Mumbai in November 2013.Although 200 Tests is a record that might never be beaten, four players have enjoyed longer careers. The West Indian George Headley pipped Tendulkar by nine days, starting in 1930 and finishing in 1954. Three Englishmen head the list: Frank Woolley’s Test career lasted almost 25 years from 1909 to 1934, while Brian Close’s was just short of 27 years, between 1949 and 1976. But the Test career of Wilfred Rhodes lasted a record 30 years and 315 days, from his debut alongside WG Grace at Trent Bridge in June 1899 to his farewell appearance, against West Indies in Kingston in April 1930, when he was, at 52, the oldest man to play in a Test match. How many instances are there of a player scoring a duck and a century in the same Test match? asked John Baumfield from New Zealand

This is a surprisingly common achievement: it has now happened no fewer than 170 times in Test matches. The first to do it was the Australian captain Billy Murdoch, with 0 and 153 not out at The Oval in 1880, in the first Test ever played in England, while the most recent occurrence was by Azhar Ali, with 0 and 119 for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Karachi in December 2019.Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Andrew Strauss did it three times, while 22 men managed it twice: Asif Iqbal, Azhar Ali, Don Bradman, Colin Cowdrey, Martin Crowe, Daryll Cullinan, Mike Gatting, Adam Gilchrist, Desmond Haynes, Imtiaz Ahmed, Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis, Usman Khawaja, Gary Kirsten, Vijay Manjrekar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Viv Richards, Virender Sehwag, Garry Sobers, Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Vaughan and BJ Watling.Seven batsmen have scored a double-century and a duck in the same Test.Wasim Akram was the first to 300, 400 and 500 ODI wickets, taking his 500th in the 2003 World Cup, against Netherlands•Getty ImagesWho was the first bowler to take 100 wickets in ODIs? And 200, etc? asked Kinjan Mehra from India

The first man to take 100 wickets in one-day internationals was the great Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, who got there when he dismissed Grant Paterson of Zimbabwe during a World Cup match at Trent Bridge in 1983. Lillee finished with 103 wickets in ODIs.First to 200 was India’s Kapil Dev, in October 1991, but then Wasim Akram took up the baton for Pakistan. He was the first to 300 (October 1996), 400 (January 2000) and 500 (February 2003). Wasim finished with 502 wickets in ODIs, the record until Muttiah Muralitharan passed it in February 2009: he ended up with 534. Of players who have appeared in the last year, Lasith Malinga and Mashrafe Mortaza lead the way, with 338 and 270 wickets respectively. But both of them seem unlikely to play any further one-day internationals, which means a long gap between Shakib Al Hasan who’s next with 260 wickets and to Tim Southee (190 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja (187).Is it true that the Indian tennis player Sania Mirza is related to several Test players? asked Geoff McCormack from Australia

Sania Mirza, who won six doubles titles at the four Grand Slam events (three in women’s doubles and three in the mixed), has several connections with cricket – and once said, “If I’d been a boy I’d have been a cricketer.”Mirza’s cousin, Nisar Ahmed, is the son of the former Indian offspinner Ghulam Ahmed, who played 22 Tests, mostly in the 1950s, captaining in three. A few years ago, Nisar explained the relationship to the Indian writer Gulu Ezekiel: “Our grandmothers are sisters – Sania’s father’s mother and my mother’s mother.” Ghulam Ahmed was also the uncle of the Pakistan Test captain Asif Iqbal.There’s a third Test captain in the mix: in April 2010, Sania Mirza married Shoaib Malik, who skippered Pakistan in three of his 35 Tests, 41 of his 287 ODIs, and 20 of his 113 T20Is. Their first child, Izhaan Mirza Malik, was born in October 2018.Use our
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A look back at a year like no other – one in which this writer played more games than in any other in decades

Mark Nicholas01-Jan-2021On Sunday, July 19th, on a small ground set deep into the West Sussex countryside, I played a game of cricket. This would not usually be a big deal but the return of the recreational game almost four months after the impact of the pandemic had closed it down was good for the soul.At the end of every over the ball had to be returned to the umpire, its guardian angel from the curse of the coronavirus. After every six overs that ball had to be wiped with antiseptic-soaked cloth, the players had to clean their hands with sanitiser, and none of this could happen between people standing less than two metres apart. There was to be no saliva imparted on the ball (oops) and you still couldn’t pick the seam (shhh). At the tea break there was tea, self-served, with milk and sugar as required but no sandwich or cake. One spectator – and there were a few – had a bag full of cheese rolls, which were handed out like rations, which they were. By the time I caught on, they had gone. After play there were beers kept cold in a large container stacked high with ice. These were also self-served, opened and devoured.This match, between Sir Tim Rice’s Heartaches, of whom I have long been one, and Fernhurst’s splendid Sunday side, was drawn. The locals, with tongues in cheek (sort of) whispered about a one-sided draw, or the moral victory, but us experts (hic!) knew better. A draw is a draw is a draw. Sir Tim declined to play (knee injury and Covid angst) but cheered on his men with vigour, wit and occasional panic. Some of these men moved a little like athletes, but others, well, they were there for the craic, and how!Related

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In pursuit of 189, the Heartaches were breaking hearts at 12 for 4, 20 for 5 and 99 for 9, but, heroically, the last-wicket pair hung on and Tim handed out the beers (oops, no he didn’t) like a manager whose team just nicked the FA Cup from underneath Liverpool’s noses. His daughter Eva, the author and musician, hugged a few of her dad’s lads in joy at the survival (oops, no she didn’t), while the game-saving and unbeaten Alex Rice (nephew of Sir Tim) was pronounced all well and good after a thumping blow to the head from a fielder’s shy at the stumps. We knew all was well with Al around the time he skulled his fifth beer.I had been drafted in last minute by the writer of and lyrics for in the hope of filling the slot he had vacated. My feeling that I could barely fail in that task was initially supported by four wickets and a catch but ultimately mown down by an lbw dismissal third ball. Immediately I signalled for the DRS but Fernhurst had declined to pay for it, grumbling that it should be the responsibility of the governing body not a participant. Thus, I was neither Jesus nor a superstar nor the king but more Zazu, bossing people around to little effect.But I/we had played cricket, and frankly that had not looked likely in the summer of 2020, not likely at all. This was the summer of living dangerously; the year of lockdown and hibernation, bad news and fake news, homeschooling, stock-market trauma, Amazon, Netflix, Zoom calls, podcasts, Deliveroo, and WhatsApp groups full of everything from medical analysis and advice to Donald Trump jokes.

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The year didn’t begin like that. It began with Australia smashing New Zealand’s lofty ambition in Sydney and England doing the same to South Africa in Cape Town. At the SCG, Marnus Labuschagne made 215 and 59. The margin of victory was 279 and the score in the three-match series 3-0. At Newlands, Ben Stokes buccaneered his way through the South African defence line to take England to victory by 189 runs. Later that month England won in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg to take the series 3-1. They had lost the first match, in Centurion, after illness swept through the touring group. Flu? Or…In March, when the world was going into lockdown, none of us could have imagined we’d get to see Test cricket only four months later•Getty ImagesBy mid-February the stories from China were no longer fake. By the ides of March, those of us in a world not in lockdown were in a minority. After the England touring party was recalled from Sri Lanka the penny dropped: English cricket was in for trouble. Sensibly, the focus became the playing of the summer’s international schedule in the hope of securing the revenue that could keep the game at all levels alive. Remarkably this was achieved, in full. If Tom Harrison, the CEO of England’s governing body, is to have anything on his headstone, it must surely be a reference to the miracle of the summer of 2020 and the sense of community that came out of it. Yes, lives, jobs and money were lost as the pandemic hammered away, leaving very few untouched. Incredibly, cricket in the UK – threatened by the possible loss of more than £350 million – survived.West Indies arrived under the thoughtful leadership of Jason Holder and knocked over England in the first Test. The players took a knee in the wake of BLM protests nationwide, while Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent moved all who watched and heard their emotional reflections live on television. For seven weeks the West Indian players were isolated within the grounds of the Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford, and did not grumble. Their spirit will become the stuff of legend. England bounced back to win the series 2-1, and also welcomed Pakistan, Ireland and Australia during weeks and months that seem unreal even now. Those two cricket grounds – equally well appointed in Covid-secure facilities, with hotels on site – shared the staging of the matches and the players reminded the watching world just how much the game of bat and ball meant to us.

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Meantime, Nicholas was wishing he had invested in Zoom. Backache resulted from hours on calls to and from different parts of the world but new ideas captured the imagination and resulted in projects that took on a life of their own. First was 3 Team Cricket – 3TC – the brainchild of a South African friend and an exciting idea for schools and clubs not necessarily lucky enough to have the players and facilities required for the traditional 11-player, two-team formats that presently exist. 3TC is original in that the games are played concurrently not sequentially and therefore ask questions of players and captains that have not been considered before. Why do we need another format? We don’t but cricket is about the contest between bat and ball. Don’t worry about the format, rather find a version that nurtures and inspires. Outside of the subcontinent, the numbers are dwindling for cricket. The search is always on.As a format, 3TC will appeal to organisers who don’t always have the resources to arrange traditional bilateral 11-a-side games•AFP via Getty ImagesSoon after, I was called by Ziyaad Desai, the former Gautenv player, who started the NPL – an IPL-style tournament for club and school cricketers – in South Africa. The NPL has been operational for a decade, with privately owned franchises running eight teams in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Former players such as Gary Kirsten, Vernon Philander and JP Duminy are owners and delight in watching the kids “live the dream”. It’s lights, camera, auction for the senior players and a draft system for the kids – coloured clothes, white balls, live streaming, social media interaction, etc. They love it. The first competition outside South Africa is scheduled to launch in Australia next September with the Brisbane Premier League. The uptake in Queensland has been amazing: already more than 700 cricketers have registered for the auction and draft. Private ownership at club level, and in this format, has the potential to be a game changer for cricket in the community. Ask Ian Healy, who has bought a team and is on the board of the APL (Australian Premier League).A last word on South Africa and specifically the appointments of Graeme Smith and Quinton de Kock in 2020 as director of cricket and captain respectively. Two more different men you could not imagine but both are deeply passionate about the same land; a land that has given us so much amid such rancour. South Africa’s place in the firmament is elemental. We hope for harmony and pray for progress in these complex issues as we urge on the Rabadas, the Markrams and the Maharajs.

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News broke that MCC’s new president was to be Clare Connor, a grand choice indeed. She will be the first woman at the helm of the club and follows the first overseas president, Kumar Sangakkara.Earlier in the year there was a brilliant home run by Australia in the women’s T20 Word Cup. Katy Perry lit up the Melbourne Cricket Ground and its 86,000 spectators with her brand of catchy pop and then the Aussies bundled out the Indians. Job done, trophy won – Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!In March, Australia won a record fifth T20 Women’s World Cup title•Getty Images

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Sunday, August 30th. Another game of cricket. In this one, Jemima Khan’s team took on her brother’s bunch of merry fellows in a thriller that was decided in favour of Imran Khan’s former wife by a boundary off the very last ball of the day. Ben Goldsmith calls his XI the Cupcakes and it was with these sweet things that I undertook my second game in a summer for the first time since 1998. It was a memorable day, not least because Shane Warne turned out for Jemima’s side, bowled five overs of mesmerising wristspin and made 40-odd with the bat. The immense pleasure this gave all those present reflected on Warne’s generosity and sense of fun.This was another day of Covid-regulated cricket but the new rules mattered not a jot. One of Imran’s sons bowled zippy legbreaks, while the other, a speedster, nursed an injury. Spectators applauded decent shots and diving saves and Goldsmith’s two boys bowled with canny precision – and one of them at good pace – if little luck. For the second time in less than six weeks I saw the game’s magical powers at work, and as the deep yellow sun fell over the Cotswolds, stories were told in shadows that became longer by the minute – the shadows and the stories both: “The day I picked Warney’s googly and …” Yeah, right.By now, Stuart Broad had taken his 500th Test wicket, Zak Crawley had made 267 against Pakistan, and in the same match, James Anderson had snared his 600th Test wicket. I was there when the skunk-haired youngster took his first, at Lord’s against Zimbabwe. Quite a bowler that lad. Crawley has come through the Kent ranks, and a fine line of England cricketers the county has given us too. He looks to be the right stuff, naturally gifted and tough of mind and body, which is the rub.

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News that the IPL would take place in the UAE from mid-September through early November had the juices running. It was to be my first – bar a fortnight in South Africa in 2009 – and the fact that it would take place behind closed doors in no way detracted from the sense of excitement.A full season of the IPL was an unexpected bonus this year, but the winners, the Mumbai Indians, were hardly unexpected•Samuel Rajkumar/BCCIBefore then, I had one more game of cricket to play. Ye gods, these things too come in threes!In an annual match for the Wellbeing of Women charity, played on a private ground in Oxfordshire, 11 former international cricketers mixed it with 11 high-flying business folk, who paid for the privilege of sharing the crease with Andrew Strauss, amongst many others. Sir Andrew was in good nick, pulling the odd short ball from Devon Malcolm with the venom he once reserved for Glenn McGrath. Again, there were no spectators but the charity’s events team came up with original ways to make a few bob, and the tills closed a few days later with a staggering £150,000 transferred in the name of Wellbeing. And another thing: we had lunch in twos, at 20 small square tables that were set three metres apart, lining the boundary like sentries to the cause. Picnic baskets and bottles of hand sanitiser were delivered with gloved hands by good-natured charity folk dressed in face masks. There were 22 players and perhaps 20 others each with a role of their own – not least our hosts, Sir Victor and Lady Blank.I landed in Dubai on the 14th of September and immediately embarked on a week of biosecure isolation. The duty manager dropped my bags at the door and took the key with him as he wished me well from the safety of the corridor. I came out twice, for Covid tests, and on the first occasion saw Sunil Gavaskar, masked up and skinny from months of lockdown diet discipline. He predicted that eight weeks of room service would reset the scales. I’ve written about life in the bubble before on these pages. Suffice to say, it went without a hitch to speak of and the camaraderie among the commentators and crew who shared this extraordinary experience will live in the memory.The Mumbai Indians were the best team and duly proved as much. Mostly, the cricket sparkled, never more than over one Sunday when both matches played went to a Super Over – one of them to a double Super Over. Young Indian cricketers impressed with their talent and with performances of real substance. The BCCI pulled off some blinders, not least the dressing of the grounds and the curated ambient sound. It all felt real and much as one pined for the roar of the crowd, the contest between bat and ball held our attention from first to last.From 36 all out to an eight-wicket win – Australia v India contests remain exceedingly watchable•Daniel Pockett/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

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Then to South Africa again and England’s decision to pull out after the three T20s. It is unwise to criticise decisions of such emotion and import but beneath the surface lingered a feeling that whatever the thrill of playing cricket at international level, the thrill of getting out of the bubble and home for Christmas outweighed it. Bubble life is here for a while yet and teams cannot hope to escape the occasional positive Covid test. A common plan in response needs to be agreed, so that nations such as South Africa do not feel used.And finally, to 36 all out and all that. I’ve long thought that a pitch offering a bit to the bowler could result in a really cheap bowl out. Nicking pretty much everything isn’t necessarily a crime, it just happens. Hampshire were once 28 for 9 against Nottinghamshire – Hadlee, Hendrick, Rice and Cooper – but made it to the riches of 42, I think. As I say, we just nicked it and they caught it!India’s response is to be celebrated and they should pin a medal to Ajinkya Rahane’s chest for that innings. It is damn difficult to win in Australia but a group of vibrant Indian cricketers have a chance again. Frankly, if you’d have asked me eight months ago, I wouldn’t have thought they had a chance of even being there.PS: And as for New Zealand’s lofty ambition, guess who’s third in the ICC’s World Test Championship table, only a tad behind India, who are just a tad behind Australia. Them Kiwis.More in our look back at 2020

Melbourne 1981? Adelaide 1992? Adelaide 2003? Sydney 2008? Our panelists dive in

23-Dec-2020Siddhartha Vaidyanathan, writer: I guess this Rabbit Hole is going to be exclusively about Vinoo Mankad running out Bill Brown.Andrew McGlashan, ESPNcricinfo deputy editor: We don’t use that m-word word anymore, Sid. As our style guide now says, it’s Vinoo “Run-Out-Backing-Up”. Anyway, just confirming the parameters for this again – we’re just talking Tests Australia, right?Vaidyanathan: Ya.McGlashan: Bit coincidental, really, yesterday Eric Freeman, the former Australia seamer, passed away. His debut was the 1968 Test v India at the Gabba, which can probably be considered the first “tight” Test between the teams in Australia? India had a shot of chasing down 395.Vaidyanathan: That was also the last time a day Test was played in January at the Gabba. Which will be the case again this time around.Sambit Bal, ESPNcricinfo editor: I think there is something truly special about watching cricket in Australia for an Indian fan. The whole experience is a wonderful ritual. It’s winter in India, so you wake up at five, put the telly on mute, stay curled up in your bed and watch cricket under truly bright skies…McGlashan: You fancy doing the report for the series then, Sambit?Bal: I am now too old and a cynic.Vaidyanathan: “There is something ethereal about cricket at dawn; staying up late is a lesser magic. Indians turn to cricket from England and South Africa after lunch, from the West Indies before dinner. New Zealand is so far ahead that it is still our night. We only rise to cricket from Australia.” Who else but Rahul Bhattacharya.Kim Hughes bowled by Bishan Bedi, Sydney, 1977-78•Alan Gilbert Purcell/Fairfax Media/Getty ImagesMcGlashan: As an England fan growing up, you’d then turn on the radio/TV and hear: “Australia 0 for 145…”Bal: My own affair started in 1977. No TV, but a small transistor radio stuck to my ear under the blanket.Vaidyanathan: I never experienced cricket from Australia on the radio. That must have been truly magic.McGlashan: “Truly magical” is probably stretching it for [Phil] DeFreitas and [Martin] McCague with the new ball in 1994. Anyway, this isn’t an Ashes chat. Sorry, back to Australia v India. Those two games in 1977 were pretty special.Bal: Yes. And it didn’t matter to me then it was the Australia B team led by the 40-plus Bobby Simpson.Vaidyanathan: The thing about radio is that irrespective of the quality of the play, it widens the imagination.Bal: The series was truly enthralling – 3-2 to Australia, but India came back from 0-2 to make it 2-2.McGlashan: Sunny’s [Gavaskar] Gabba hundred was outstanding.Vaidyanathan: There have been some lovely YouTube clips uploaded from that 1977-78 series recently. That includes this absolutely magical phase of play in Sydney when Kim Hughes goes after Bishan Bedi. Hughes smashes Bedi to the top deck of the members stand. Down the ground, gets the full toss, extravagant flourish. With the wind. Ball is gone. Then down the ground again, smashed past the bowler for four. Burning the grass. Next ball, on off, rips through after pitching, Hughes tries to cut, but the ball is at the stumps. Bowled. A cracker of a comeback.Kapil Dev took 5 for 28 to dismiss Australia for 83 in India’s win in the 1980-81 Melbourne Test•Getty ImagesBal: There was Gavaskar scoring lots of runs, centuries from [Mohinder] Amarnath and [Gundappa] Viswanath, but as a ten-year-old, I felt truly terrified, on behalf of the Indian batsmen, of Jeff Thomson.Vaidyanathan: Thomson must have been terrifying to play. That action is like the lovechild of Lasith Malinga and Paul Adams.Bal: I actually thought I saw a few Indian batsmen back away to short leg when facing him.McGlashan: Decent game to end this series as well – 48 runs short of chasing 493. They were 415 for 6 at one stage. Did it ever feel like India could get them?Bal: Oddly my most vivid memory of an Aussie batsman is of Tony Mann, who came in as nightwatchman in the Perth Test and scored a hundred in the chase.McGlashan: What a great part of Test cricket nightwatchman heroics are.Vaidyanathan: What strikes me from that series is how confidently teams tried to chase 300-plus scores those days. Sunny was part of so many big chases. These days, 300 is almost surely a winning score.Bal: Yes, the fourth-innings chase wasn’t that daunting then. Test batsmen knew how to grind through. They built their technique for wearing pitches.McGlashan: Back in your day, eh Sambit?Greg Chappell made 204 in an innings victory in Sydney, 1980-81•Robert Pearce/Fairfax Media/Getty ImagesVaidyanathan: Test batsmen knew how to play time. Like, imagine starting out a chase of 341 and being so comfortable at 147 for 2.Bal: Maybe we should fast-forward to this century so you young lads can participate properly.McGlashan: It’s okay, the kids like hearing from the wise old man about history.If we go onto the next tour, India defended 143 at the MCG.Vaidyanathan: One thing I want to bring up, though. Watching those videos from back then, the grounds were so big and the bats so thin that batsmen actually ended up running a lot. All-run fours, so many threes. And you had fielders running so much. Then you see Virat Kohli in the last series and the ball is at the fence in like two seconds.McGlashan: Catches running behind sightscreens at times as well!Bal: All-run fours were pretty common. And I swear, I have seen (or heard about) some fives too, at Adelaide.Vaidyanathan: Yes. People getting run out going for five. That’s ridiculous.McGlashan: I believe they want to bring the five back as a new BBL rule next season. Along with a 7 and a 12.Vaidyanathan: Abolish boundaries. Let batsmen run them all.Bal: And bring back the old bats.Related

A lifetime in a day

'If the batsman doesn't think they can score off the front foot, you're bowling too short'

How Mitchell Starc went from 'f*** you' to 'I can't hear you'

When Sachin cracked the Perth Test

Vaidyanathan: So anyway, we have skipped ML Jaisimha travelling from Hyderabad to Chennai to Singapore to Sydney to Brisbane in 1967-68, reaching the hotel at night, sharing drinks with skipper [Mansur Ali Khan] Pataudi and playing a Brisbane Test starting the next day, scoring 74 and 101.But there is no way we can skip Melbourne 1981. That Test had so much drama. Gavaskar nearly forfeited the game with his tantrum.McGlashan: So, Sambit, did you watch Kapil Dev’s spell live?Bal: No. Radio again. More than Kapil, when Karsan Ghavri bowled Greg Chappell around the legs, that felt like a series win by itself.Vaidyanathan: “Where were you when Karsan Ghavri bowled Greg Chappell around his legs?”Bal: You have to understand how Indian fans felt about their pace bowlers those days, leaving Kapil Dev aside. We used to joke about how the batsman had to take a walk around the stumps and rehearse a stroke before the ball arrived.Vaidyanathan: And Kapil Dev had started out in 1978, so he was hardly a veteran. Greg Chappell must have been in a Steve Smith zone in that series. He was terrifyingly good in Australia. Apparently Sunny told Ghavri to bounce Chappell first ball and it just hit a crack and shot through low.McGlashan: Almost identical averages home and away for Greg Chappell. Just reinforces what a player he was.Vaidyanathan: Ya, but he didn’t play much in the subcontinent. So there is that asterisk.Karsan Ghavri bowled Greg Chappell for a first-ball duck in Melbourne, 1980-81•Getty ImagesBal: So to hear – never mind that that ball was a long hop and it squatted – that Ghavri had bowled Chappell was almost incredible. You draw up a mental image of some kind of an unplayable ball.Vaidyanathan: To be fair, it was unplayable – a shooter on leg stump. Steve Smith may miss it. But was that ball more incredible than Ajit Agarkar’s six-for?Bal: Agarkar’s six-for I watched live.Vaidyanathan: I guess Agarkar’s six-for was thanks to some sloppy batting as well, though he was accurate, of course.Bal: There were some good balls too. Justin Langer was pinned on the back foot. That was the plan against him.McGlashan: Clearly we could do an entire chat about Adelaide 2003-04. One of the more epic Tests.Bal: The 1991-92 series was interesting. India lost 4-0, but with some luck, it could have been 3-2. In Sydney, Australia held on with Allan Border, like he had done in 1986, clinging on with the tail.Vaidyanathan: In 1992, India collapsed too often. Bruce Reid finished them off in one session. Mike Whitney in another. Merv Hughes triggered some collapses. The batting was too frail.Bal: Yes, they were often 90 for 5.Ajit Agarkar’s 6 for 41 is the fourth-best innings performance by an Indian bowler in Australia•Tony Lewis/Getty ImagesVaidyanathan: Sachin Tendulkar stood out because the rest were so clueless. At Perth, nobody else could handle the bounce.McGlashan: Guess we can skip India’s 1999-2000 tour of Australia (all due respect to VVS Laxman’s Sydney hundred), but what about the 1992 Adelaide Test – Mohammad Azharuddin’s century?Vaidyanathan: Azhar was at his best when there was little to lose. He used to smash hundreds for fun when hope was dimming.McGlashan: Adelaide does produce some terrific Test matches. Don’t think the pitch there has really been flat for Tests for a while, although the pink ball helps that. As in, it’s flat if you bowled badly but not if you bowl well.Vaidyanathan: Speaking of Adelaide Tests, you need to talk about Sandeep Patil’s hundred. The YouTube clip has such crisp hitting.Bal: That was some innings. Indian fans were not quite used to someone taking fast bowling on like that.Vaidyanathan: Ya, Dennis Lillee and Len Pascoe were quick.Bal: Just like with Laxman in 1999, Patil got hit on the head early in the innings and it perhaps awoke his senses. And just like Laxman, Patil hit through the line on the up – something you can only do in Australia.McGlashan: We’ve skipped over the one game I wanted to mention. The result wasn’t close but the finish was: SCG 2008.In Sydney in 1991-92, an 18-year-old Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest batsman to score a Test hundred in Australia. India drew that Test but lost the series 4-0•Steven Siewert/Fairfax Media/Getty ImagesVaidyanathan: It was actually a terrific Test. Sad that nobody spoke about the cricket at the end of it.McGlashan: Yes, indeed. Turned into a diplomatic incident.Vaidyanathan: Laxman played one of his finest innings. Certainly the best I saw of him live. The thing about that Test was – Australia had won so easily in Melbourne by suffocating India’s strokemakers. And then the Sydney Test began with Rahul Dravid struggling for form. Like, epic struggling. In comes VVS and touch, touch, touch. Just took the breath away. Finally, you have a series that two teams are competing for, but the umpiring blunders make all the news. Also, side note: Mark Benson made more errors than Steve Bucknor in that Test.Bal: There was the Tendulkar hundred too.Vaidyanathan: Yes, splendid hundred. He came to the press conference with his bat in hand like he didn’t want to get away from it.Bal: And a big partnership with Harbhajan Singh.Vaidyanathan: That partnership was the problem, because of what was said during it! Which, of course, became the story of the tour. But from a purely cricketing angle, that was a pulsating Test.Bal: A thrilling last day. And for all the bad umpiring – two catches picked up from the ground, Dravid given caught behind off the pad – India still should have batted through.McGlashan: The India-Australia relationship is a world away these days.Vaidyanathan: The really epic India-Australia Tests have almost all been in India. If we were to pick the top ten India-Australia Tests, a majority will have been played in India.VVS Laxman scored a majestic 167 as an opener in Sydney in 1999-00 but the innings came in a series whitewash•Hamish Blair/Getty ImagesMcGlashan: For sure, there have been some wonderful games there, but we’d have been here all day!Vaidyanathan: The tied Test in 1986, Kolkata 2001, Chennai 2001, Chennai 2004, Dharamsala 2017, etc. India in Australia – there are lots of one-sided games, but also some crackers amongst them. And India in Australia has produced some great individual performances that Indians remember fondly.McGlashan: Worth looping back to the most recent tour and that Adelaide game where 250-300 was a par score. Makes for a great Test match.Vaidyanathan: That was a brilliant Test. India’s bowlers were very good in the final innings to wrap it up. Ishant Sharma bowled a brute of a bouncer to Travis Head. And Jasprit Bumrah was razor sharp.Cheteshwar Pujara’s hundred was so valuable there. India were struggling when he walked in.Bal: It was Pujara’s Test.Vaidyanathan: I would rate that as one of his best hundreds. He scored big in Melbourne, but Adelaide was really challenging conditions. By conditions, I mean the match situation and the pitch. Melbourne was dead.McGlashan: I just remember how animated Kohli was (because, of course, he never shows his emotions) when Australia’s ninth wicket fell in the chase. He was sensing it getting a bit tight. It is funny looking at that Australia batting order now, though. Pujara set up that series. Without that innings, Australia may have won.The New Year’s Test in Sydney in 2008 was a closely fought contest, but today it’s remembered mostly for the ugliness between the players, and the umpiring errors•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesBal: It wasn’t quite the Adelaide pitch we were used to.Vaidyanathan: Let’s all agree that Adelaide has grown up.Bal: India played some poor strokes in the first session, but there was life.Vaidyanathan: Pujara drove Nathan Lyon to distraction. He is so good against spin, but to see him change his game was a sight. He would never play Lyon like that in India. He would use his feet and pad more. Here, he stayed back longer.Bal: He has always been a batsman who could use the depth of the crease, but here he could trust the bounce.McGlashan: I know this is a chat about great Tests, but that Bumrah slower ball to Shaun Marsh could be a whole rabbit hole on its own.Vaidyanathan: It was the last ball before lunch and apparently Rohit Sharma told him to try it since nothing was happening. They could have won the series 4-0 had they batted better in Perth. Sydney, of course, they would probably have won if not for the weather.McGlashan: Indeed, but just shows how vital those 30 runs in Adelaide were! Never quite felt like Australia would chase them, but it got interesting.In 2018-19, Cheteshwar Pujara set up India’s first series win in Australia with hundreds in Adelaide and Melbourne•Getty ImagesVaidyanathan: Josh Hazelwood and Lyon did try. But 30 runs in a last-wicket stand is a big deal.McGlashan: It was getting into Lee-Kasprowicz Edgbaston 2005 areas. Unless you have Ben Stokes and Jack Leach.Vaidyanathan: Not Kusal Perera-Vishwa Fernando area? You forget your Sri Lankan epics.McGlashan: Sorry, Stokes-Leach is always my first point of reference. Blame the Big Three. Reckon we can start wrapping this up now? It is Test preview day down here.Vaidyanathan: Are you talking to yourself?McGlashan: Probably. Let’s hope there’s a Test match (or two) from this series that can join the ones mentioned above.

Buttler in possession of gloves having scored 152 in previous Test innings but with Ben Foakes a formidable understudy

Alan Gardner09-Jan-2021In sport, as in life, we often talk about the “sliding doors moment”, as if such interventions create completely new timelines for the protagonists to inhabit. But outside of a movie script, the threads are often a lot more tangled. “What if Jonny Bairstow hadn’t hurt his ankle playing football in Sri Lanka, allowing Ben Foakes to win Man of the Match on debut and keep the gloves for the rest of his career all of five Tests before Bairstow returned, only to be dropped at the end of the summer for Jos Buttler…?”And here we are, back in Sri Lanka two-and-a-bit years on. Bairstow is champing at the bit for a Test recall, though this time as a batsman only. Foakes hasn’t played since the tour of West Indies in early 2019, despite being regarded by some as the best wicketkeeper in the world. And Buttler is in possession of the gloves, fresh from a summer that seemed to encapsulate all of the main arguments for and against his position in the Test side.Joe Root has already indicated that Buttler, who scored a career-best 152 in his last Test innings, is the default pick to keep in Galle next week – so maybe there’s no debate to be had. But with the selectors set to give Buttler time off during the India tour that follows, and Foakes primed for another rare opportunity, it’s worth having our arguments rehearsed.

Woakes out of isolation

England saw rain wipe out the second day of their scheduled intra-squad practice in Hambantota, and instead brought forward the drive to Galle, where the first Test begins on Thursday.

The squad was joined by Chris Woakes, who had been in isolation since Moeen Ali’s positive Covid-19 test after they were deemed close contacts. Woakes will take part in England’s next training session on Monday, while Ali, who has been moved separately to a different Galle hotel, is expected to return on Wednesday – subject to testing.

Since retaking gloves in New Zealand last winter, Buttler has scored 574 runs at 33.76. That mirrors almost exactly his overall Test average of 33.90 – a number which breaks down to 35.68 when playing as a specialist batsman, and 32.35 as keeper. So far so underwhelming, perhaps, at least for a player as exceedingly talented as Buttler, arguably England’s greatest one-day batsman of all. But what about the other side of the game? The skill which you don’t want to be noticed for.According to ESPNcricinfo’s data, in 11 Tests Buttler has taken 37 catches and been responsible for five drops. But while his catching success has been up at 94.6% off pace bowling, he has just two catches to go with three drops off spin. Dom Bess, England’s first-choice spinner over the last 12 months, will doubtless remember one of those misses: Shan Masood put down on 45 during his 156 at Old Trafford (Buttler also missed a stumping chance off Bess a few overs later).Related

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However, that sliding doors moment came with Buttler in the foothills of his resurgence as a Test batsman – it was his escape-artist 75 from 101 balls in the fourth innings that won England the game. Similarly, although one of his pace-bowling drops was likely pivotal – Jermaine Blackwood put down early on the way to a match-sealing 95 at Southampton – England came back to claim the series against West Indies 2-1, with Buttler producing his first Test fifty for 14 innings.Buttler, to his credit, knows all about the vagaries of form and fortune. He made a golden duck in England’s intra-squad game on Friday, and will have precious little time to get match ready for the challenge of keeping wicket in Sri Lanka, where conditions demand every ounce of concentration behind the stumps. “As an allrounder you want everything firing,” he said before England departed from Hambantota on Saturday. “I know it’s going to be a great challenge for me with the bat and the gloves.”ESPNcricinfo LtdAmidst all the hours of preparation, the squatting and leaping and catching, he will have the memory of that second Test hundred in his back pocket, too. “It’s the start of a new year so it doesn’t count for much, except it gave me a lot of confidence and hopefully I can still ride off the back of that confidence, even though it’s a long time ago. It’s nice to be in the position where I finished the summer strongly.”Two years ago, after Foakes’ debut in Galle, Buttler described it as “a wake-up call [about] the level you need to get to” (as well as scoring a hundred, Foakes took two catches, effected a stumping, and didn’t concede a bye). In his short Test career, Foakes averages 41.50 and has only dropped one catch – an understudy in name only.”He is a fantastic player and was Man of the Series last time in Sri Lanka,” Buttler said. “Someone like Foakesy is a great person to push my game on. I’ve watched him practise and he’s impressive to watch, fantastic to see how good he is. Competition for places is healthy and can drive people on and give people hunger to improve and perform. In all departments on this tour, there is a lot of competition.”Buttler can also look back fondly on England’s 3-0 win in 2018-19, when his 250 runs as a specialist batsman came at an average of 41.66 and, more importantly, a strike rate of 72.04 – the highest on either side. Whether he can give England’s middle order the same attacking intent while balancing the demands of sweat-soaked hours on his haunches will be an intriguing subplot of the tour – though hardly definitive, with Foakes expected to come in against India regardless. Not so much sliding as revolving doors.”I really enjoyed the cricket here last time,” Buttler said. “It was fun. It was quite different for us as an England team, dominated by our spin bowlers and playing spin, a lot of men round the bat. I found that really enjoyable, quite different to what we’re used to. I enjoy playing spin and the challenges it presents, quite different to a lot of the cricket we play. I’m really looking forward to it”Every time you turn up, you have to work out the conditions and how you are going to play against the bowlers you’re up against. It is dangerous, I think, to go in with too many pre-conceived ideas.”Ahead of six Tests on the subcontinent, the same could be said for England’s wicketkeeper debate.

Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Mithun laid the platform an under-pressure Bangladesh needed against a fine bowling attack

Mohammad Isam23-Mar-2021Bangladesh would have left the Hagley Oval on Tuesday wondering what might have happened had they held their catches. Two easy catches were put down, which led to New Zealand gaining momentum and eventually going 2-0 up. That must have been particularly hard for the visitors to digest, given how diligently and effectively they’d gone about their job with the bat across the game’s first half.Bangladesh’s 271 for 6 was an impressive score given how they had batted in the previous match, the nature of the Hagley Oval pitch and the strength of the New Zealand bowling attack. Besides, another batting collapse would have added more sparks to an already toxic atmosphere back home. But captain Tamim Iqbal led by example, Mohammad Mithun chose this game to get back into form and, in contrast to how easily they folded in Dunedin, Bangladesh’s top-order applied themselves diligently in Christchurch.Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar added 81 for the second wicket to recover from the early loss of Liton Das. Three more sizable partnerships followed, particularly the fifth wicket stand between Mahmudullah and Mohammad Mithun that had 63 runs in just 6.5 overs. What also helped Bangladesh was the eight wickets they had in hand in the last 20 overs. Traditionally teams have targeted doubling their total from the 30-over mark: Bangladesh scored 138 in the last 20.In the first 30, there was hardly any risk-taking. Iqbal and Sarkar relied on rotating the strike more than looking for boundaries. Sarkar understandably batted with a lot of restraint after being under pressure following his duck in the first ODI. Meanwhile, every time the side took three or four runs early in the over, Iqbal would offer a pronounced dead bat for the final balls of the over. While this defensive approach might have irked a few, it must also be said it was very responsible of him under the circumstances.After the game, Iqbal said he wanted to be well set before taking any chances against the New Zealand bowlers, who got breakthroughs whenever Bangladesh had a partnership going.
“I was well set at the crease and only took calculated risks after reaching my fifty,” Iqbal said. “We kept losing wickets as soon as we got together a partnership. Mithun played really well against a top bowling attack in difficult conditions. I would take 271 on this pitch because it wasn’t a 300 pitch. We did all we could with the bat.”When Iqbal fell in the 31st over, Mushfiqur Rahim struggled to time the ball during his 34 off 59 balls, but Mahmudullah and Mithun changed gears quickly – just what Bangladesh needed at that point. Mithun batted especially confidently, at times playing shots that had looked beyond him in his stretched-out international career so far. He said later that he had only wanted to react to each ball, rather than premeditate shots.Related

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“I am happy with the way I batted,” Mithun said. “I feel it helped my team. I just tried to stay in the present. I tried to play ball to ball. We all know New Zealand has tough conditions for us. We couldn’t get too bogged down here, which would have made it difficult to score for us. When I came to bat, I tried to play according to the ball and positively.”Iqbal praised Mithun for the innings, highlighting how he has been coming in and out of the squad depending on other players’ availability.”He played an outstanding innings but we are only talking about him because he played well. But the situation he finds himself in, it is never easy even for an established cricketer.”He played a couple of matches against Zimbabwe but then he had to make way for Shakib against West Indies. So it was pleasing to see him do well today, and I hope he can establish himself in the side.”Iqbal curbing his own style is not really a new role for the Bangladesh captain, who has spent the last seven years trying to bat with a touch more restraint. This has been mainly due to Bangladesh not finding a consistent opening partner for Iqbal, particularly after Imrul Kayes lost his regular place in the ODI side.To allow a middle order full of strokemakers like Rahim, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan to play freely, Iqbal has been given the anchor’s role. Whenever he has pulled it off, it has meant batting till the 40th over at least, before unleashing the big-hitting in the last ten overs. Several of his innings in which he has faced more than 100 balls have been in these last six or seven years, often leading to Bangladesh either getting a big score or winning due to the big score.Mithun, for his part, is a vastly experienced domestic batsman. The team management has shown patience with his spot in the middle order, particularly in Shakib’s absence. His – free-flowing – batting today was mostly of a batsman bringing his experience to the fore. It all added up to positive things for Bangladesh, until those dropped catches turned the game.

From his Under-19 days to becoming India’s hero of the 2020-21 season, it’s been quite the journey for Pant

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2021