Throwback to the times of peak Gayle and Russell helps LSG bring the thrill to beat the mid-season lull

Shashank Kishore29-Apr-2023He’s got long locks, big biceps, tattooed forearms and a stance that tells the bowler he means business. If not for the bandana beneath the helmet and perhaps his height, Kyle Mayers is every bit Chris Gayle in disguise.But it isn’t just the looks where he matches Gayle. He’s got a similar game: where brute force marries impeccable timing. The result: 100-metre sixes for fun, flat-batted hits that have bowlers and umpires ducking for cover and those in the crowd making a beeline for helmets as much as they need clean toilets and drinking water.It’s fun and it’s exhilarating if you’re anyone but the bowler. This is exactly what a new franchise like Lucknow Super Giants, trying to win over the fan base, has been yearning for. How long can you convince the fans strike rates don’t matter when you see batters right royally Rinku Singh-ing balls in their sleep at the Chinnaswamy or Ahmedabad.Conservatism is not a part of Mayers’ game. He’s a throwback to Gayle of the 2012 vintage. Someone who can take on the best with an air of nonchalance, verbal volleys and chatter be dammed. It is a simple game based on the old funda of see ball, hit ball. Forget footwork, forget feet to the pitch, forget getting behind the line.Related

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Mayers is a baseballer in a cricketer’s disguise. He stands tall, stays besides the line, uses room and swing cleanly if full. He muscle pulls or whips if it’s into the body. Or if they bowl wide, uses his reach to carve the ball. And he does all of this with ridiculous ease, by simply reacting to the ball.It didn’t matter for once on Friday that it was Kagiso Rabada steaming in and effortlessly cranking up 145khph, or that Arshdeep Singh was swinging the ball bananas, his confidence sky high from having delivered a blockbuster a couple of nights earlier against Mumbai Indians, where he had flattened stumps for fun with his yorkers.Watching Mayers and Nicholas Pooran bludgeon the bowling in the powerplay and death overs felt like watch two tigers let out of a cage, after enduring tough surfaces back home in Lucknow, where the ball stops, turns, are two-paced to the point where teams have huffed and puffed to force the pace.Mayers set the tempo right at the outset, throwing his hands at anything wide and in his hitting arc as Arshdeep was blasted for four fours in his first over. It wasn’t just muscle, there was aesthetics too when he belted the ball down the ground ferociously to beat mid-off twice – high elbow, feet to the pitch and all that.And once the opening salvo was out of the way, Mayers decided this was his night. He was now an unstoppable force an over into the innings, and young debutant Gurnoor Brar bore the brunt of his fury.

“Conservatism is not a part of Mayers’ game. He’s a throwback to Gayle of the 2012 vintage. Someone who can take on the best with an air of nonchalance, verbal volleys and chatter be dammed”

With pace disappearing, Shikhar Dhawan quickly turned to spin, but the effect was the same. Mayers was in such a zone that he was hitting the same short ball to different parts, almost as if to suggest because he was bored hitting over long-on, he’d blast one over deep midwicket.It meant a 20-ball half-century, his second this season inside the powerplay. All other batters combined had those many inside the first six this season. It was an emphatic message to the Super Giants. If you’re keeping someone of Quinton de Kock’s calibre out, he better be special. Mayers proved he was indeed special.That assault wasn’t the only one that dented the Kings. There was another man batting with the hurt of having performed poorly and let go by the very franchise he was now playing against. His talent had never been in doubt, but the version of Pooran who rocked up for Kings misfired more often than he fired, batting with the apprehensions of someone who was neither guaranteed security nor knew his role well. And while it’s entirely possible both of these weren’t the case, Pooran gave away confusing vibes.He had a miserable final year for the Kings in 2021, making 85 runs at 7.72 across the season, and was released ahead of the mega auction. And so, this was perhaps another chance to send a quiet message that he was alive and kicking.Nicholas Pooran looked a completely different batter to the one that turned up in Punjab Kings colours two years ago•BCCIHe’d hardly had chances to bat in the top order, and so he’s never going to be able to gun for the orange cap. Pooran can’t be judged by looking at his runs tally for consistency, because it’s a high-risk game. Or so you think, until you realise the poise, balance and clean ball-striking without really meaning to belt the ball gob smacks you.He didn’t need sighters. He came in and immediately offset Liam Livingstone by slapping three boundaries. Fast hands, quick feet – this was instinct-driven batting right out of the top drawer.The third of the lot was the most special for the amount of power he managed to generate on a low full toss and the oodles of wrist he had to use to pick the ball into the gap knowing there was sweeper cover after he’d hit the ball in the same direction the previous two deliveries too. Yet, that sweeper couldn’t do much to prevent a third four.Part of his knock, even at the death, involved tactful strike rotation to bring back Marcus Stoinis on strike and enjoy some fun from the best seat in the house. But when he was on strike, this was Pooran’s day and he wasn’t going to let go of a chance to finish an innings the way Mayers had started.It was a proper throwback to the old Caribbean flavour. Of the times when Gayle set up an innings and Andre Russell, elsewhere, finished them off cooly. This was Mayers and Pooran delivering the same effect, but for the same team, with unbridled joy. This was as expressive as “express myself” can get. It certainly helped the Super Giants bring the thrill to beat the mid-season lull.

The first real signs of professionalism are starting to seep into the women’s cricket structure in the country

S Sudarshanan02-Mar-2023It was unusually usual.England’s Alice Capsey, Australia’s Laura Harris and USA’s Tara Norris were swarmed by journalists on the sidelines of a Delhi Capitals event in Mumbai ahead of the inaugural Women’s Premier League. A large number of media people gathering around players is not unusual in Indian cricket. But it is for women’s cricket.This could be the ‘new normal’ for most of the 87 players that are part of five teams in the WPL for a large part of March. That the nuts and bolts of the tournament have been put together inside the best part of one and a half months is atypical for one with the magnitude of the WPL. The auction for media rights was held in mid-January which was then followed by bidding for teams at the end of the month. The player auction was then held in mid-February, barely a fortnight after the five franchises were confirmed.Related

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Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians were among the first teams to already have a scouting network in place. RCB zeroed in on Ben Sawyer as head coach, who in director of cricket Mike Hesson’s words, has been “bandied around by a number of people, a number of different countries as an expert in the field of women’s cricket.” Sawyer was assistant coach of Australia when they won the Women’s World Cup last year and was head coach when he guided New Zealand to a bronze-medal finish at the Commonwealth Games. Former England captain Charlotte Edwards, another successful coach in women’s game, was locked in by Mumbai.The inaugural WPL will start just six days after the end of the T20 World Cup. That isn’t give a whole lot of time for the players to settle into brand new teams and figure out how they work together. Heck, some of them have only just arrived into the country.Australia’s title-winning captain Meg Lanning landed in Mumbai on Thursday morning, only hours before the start of the event in which she was named Capitals’ captain. Their key allrounder, South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp, touched down only later in the day.”That’s the biggest challenge,” Lanning said. “We have got players from all over India and all around the world coming together in a very short space of time. I think the key is getting to know each other away from cricket – we spend a bit of time at training but also the time at the hotel and events like this – what they like doing what they don’t like doing. Once you get that right, the on-field stuff takes care of itself.”Delhi Capitals players Aparna Mondal, Alice Capsey, Meg Lanning, Jemimah Rodrigues and Arundhati Reddy•AFP via Getty ImagesUnderstandably team-bonding activities have been at the forefront of most sides. Mumbai shared how their players indulged in playing UNO while Gujarat Giants created reels using popular songs.”This is the beauty – you have very less time and you have to be on the spot,” Mumbai captain Harmanpreet said. “Everyone has been playing cricket for so many years. The only thing [different] is that we are going to play with different players. Sport is something which gives you so much confidence when you are friendly with your team-mates. Knowing each other gives you a lot of confidence on the field. Team activity is helping us a lot to know each other.”The WPL teams began their training camps with largely the Indian domestic players and the overseas ones that were not part of the T20 World Cup. While Mumbai, Capitals, Giants and UP Warriorz used various grounds around Mumbai, Royal Challengers worked out on their home turf at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru before landing in Mumbai on Wednesday. Mumbai even held a couple of intra-squad matches over the week, giving them a better idea about the abilities of the players at their disposal.Edwards leans on batting coach Devika Palshikar and mentor and bowling coach Jhulan Goswami for their inputs on local players as well as helping her communicate better with the Indian players. Jonathan Batty, Capitals’ head coach, has assistant coach Hemalata Kala and fielding coach Biju George who know the Indians in the set-up well.”I have embraced the challenge of coming over here and not knowing a lot of people but getting to know the players has been truly wonderful,” Edwards said. “Jhulan and Devika have been instrumental in helping me with India domestic players and they have a lot of knowledge of those players. I’ve been very impressed by the young talent we have got in Mumbai. If I can get the best of the young players in this squad, it’ll make Harman’s job a lot easier.”Familiarity between players and coaches can make things a tad easier. In the Women’s Big Bash League last year, Batty coached Melbourne Stars for whom both Jemimah Rodrigues and Alice Capsey played. All three are part of the Capitals now. Batty also led the Oval Invincibles that had Kapp in it to back-to-back titles in the women’s Hundred.Mumbai Indians Women’s head coach Charlotte Edwards interacts with players during a practice session•Mumbai IndiansSawyer has coached Sydney Sixers, for whom Ellyse Perry and Erin Burns play. All of them are part of Royal Challengers now. Sawyer is also the head coach of New Zealand, who are led by Sophie Devine, also of RCB. It is the first time Rachael Haynes is coaching a side, but she has her former Australia team-mates Beth Mooney (as captain), Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Annabel Sutherland in the Giants squad to work with. Jon Lewis at Warriorz will have a couple of familiar faces in Lauren Bell and Sophie Ecclestone.”I think it’s just about owning your area of expertise,” Sawyer said about coming together as a group in a time crunch. “They’re all experts in their area. As a head coach, it’s my responsibility to bring all that together, but I really want them to stand up and enter and own their own area.”I was a teacher before I was a coach. And it’s really that learning aspect, that’s really important. Whatever happens within the competition, these girls [should] get something out of working with us. And if they can do that at every franchise they go to or every competition they’re ever involved in, then they’re going to come back to RCB next season as even better cricketers and that’s what we always want.”These are perhaps the first real signs of professionalism starting to seep into the women’s cricket structure in India. Without such a robust competition, India have been able to be among top contenders in global tournaments. The WPL could probably empower them to finally win that elusive World Cup.

He has tweaked his role according to his team’s needs, even at 38, even at the fag end of a successful career

Abhimanyu Bose30-Apr-20232:43

How Faf du Plessis has reinvented his T20 game

When you have over 250 internationals under your belt and are close to the end of a successful career at the age of 38, you would be forgiven for going about your business with the tools and skills you are comfortable with. After all, if your game has served you well for so long, why change it now when you have little left to prove?But for Faf du Plessis, it’s never too late to learn, improve and adapt, and in the last few years, he has added a new gear to his game: improved hitting against spin.Just past the halfway stage in IPL 2023, du Plessis leads the run chart with 422 runs. He has got these runs at a strike rate of 167.46, the fastest among the top ten in the list so far.Related

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A major factor in his performance this year has been his marked improvement against spin, which has been an issue for him for long in T20 cricket.In T20s between 2017 and 2021, du Plessis scored 1032 runs against spin at a strike rate of 115.80. From the start of 2022, he has scored 900 runs against spin with his strike rate shooting up to 138.42.In this season, du Plessis has scored the fastest against spin among all other seasons where he has faced at least 100 deliveries. And the increase in strike rate is a significant one.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”The beauty of Faf is that, even though he’s 38, he’s developing his game all the time,” Mike Hesson, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo recently. “We had a couple of discussions last year around playing spin – especially in the powerplay – and playing left-arm seam. Those were two areas of his game that we’d sat down, discussed and were like, ‘hey, we’ve noticed these; if you can add to your game in these areas…'”How are you going to do it is probably the more important thing. It’s not like you can just flick a switch and say, ‘now I’m going to whack spin’. It’s very much a tactical shift, and a lot of technical work is involved. He took that as a challenge. He went away and we saw major gains in the Caribbean [Premier] League, where he started to take on spin and the left-arm seamers. Those were probably two parts of his game where opposition would potentially try and attack, so once he filled that gap, he’s a pretty tough man to bowl to.”The change isn’t just due to an improvement against any one type of spin. He has fared better against all kinds of spin over the last two years, barring left-arm spin, where he has gotten out thrice in 11 deliveries since the start of 2022.For most of his boundaries, du Plessis has stayed leg side of the ball, sometimes backing away far enough to expose all his stumps. This has allowed him to make room, free his arms and muscle the ball to all parts of the ground in front of square.Even with his trigger movement towards leg, if a spinner has tried taking the ball away from him, he has been quick enough to reach out and still get the ball away, like he did when he cut a very wide Rahul Chahar delivery for four during the match against Punjab Kings. Or, more impressively, when he was backing away to Lucknow Super Giants’ Ravi Bishnoi but adjusted to stretch and slap him for six over cover.But the trigger movement is not a constant. He has also been happy to stay still, like he did in the delivery after that six off Bishnoi, when he pummelled a long hop outside off over cow corner and watched the ball fly 115 metres.What has seemed to be constant is that he does not skip out of the crease and is happy to hang back and wait for the delivery to come to him. Even the movement to leg is lateral.”It’s more around where he sets up and the positions he wants to get himself into to access different parts of the park,” Hesson said. “It’s more about alignment and set-up, really, so he can access all parts of the park and use his strengths. After that, it’s just a mindset shift.”His strike rate against spinning deliveries he has been in control of this season is a whopping 176.3, by far his best in any season in the IPL so far. His best year before this in that regard was in 2019, when he scored at 139.4 off spinners when he was in control.Faf du Plessis watches the ball sail away for six•AFP/Getty ImagesThis suggests that earlier, when he was at Chennai Super Kings especially, his role was to take on pace and against spinners, hand the strike over to his team-mates who are more proficient at that game. But after his move to RCB, his role needed tweaking.His opening partner Virat Kohli’s slowdown against spin, especially after the powerplay, has been well documented. Kohli, in IPL 2023, has struck at 113.76 against spin.But du Plessis’ increased aggression against spin is not just an effort to make up for a slowdown at the other end, or limited to when he to be the aggressor.In IPL 2023, du Plessis has been part of the five highest partnerships so far, all more than 100 runs. Two of those have been with Kohli, while three were with Glenn Maxwell, who is RCB’s middle-order enforcer against spin.But his strike rate against spin while batting with Maxwell (144.4) barely drops as compared to when he bats with Kohli (146.3). He attacks 35.8% of the balls he faces against spinners while batting with Kohli and 33.3% of them when he has Maxwell for company at the crease.This new version of du Plessis has no doubt played a big role in RCB going from being the second-slowest scorers in the middle overs in 2021 (run rate of 7.14) to the third-quickest in 2023 (run rate of 9).RCB’s decision to sign du Plessis before last year’s mega-auction and then appoint him captain was a calculated gamble, one rooted in the hope that he still had the commitment and drive to evolve, even in his late 30s. Based on this season’s evidence, it is a gamble that appears to be paying off – particularly if he can drag them into the playoffs for the fourth year running.

Brave’s local core have stepped up after big-name departures – but can they finally win the trophy?

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Aug-2023Since the Hundred began in 2021, Southern Brave have been a constant presence in the women’s final. This Sunday, they will be hoping it is third time lucky.A 48-run blowout in 2021 was followed by an equally chastening loss by five wickets with six balls to spare in 2022.Both came at the hands of Oval Invincibles – and specifically, their South African allrounder Marizanne Kapp, who was player of the match on both occasions. This time, however, the defending champions are nowhere to be seen, knocked out in the group stages by – yep, you’ve guessed it – Brave.It was a victory head coach Charlotte Edwards believes was cathartic for a core who had been on the wrong end of an all-too-familiar nemesis. And though they await a new final boss at Lord’s on Sunday after beating Manchester Originals on Wednesday to assume the number one spot outright, they won’t be planning any differently.”We’re not going to do anything differently,” Edwards tells ESPNcricinfo, “and we’re not going to talk about it. Because I don’t think we need to.”The girls know what’s at stake. And if we don’t win, it’s been unbelievable because in a tournament like this, winning as many games as we have… The players play the game, I don’t. I think they deserve to win a trophy, they massively do when you look at our record for the last three years. But that doesn’t mean anything on Finals Day. We just hope we turn up.”Marizanne Kapp has been Southern Brave’s nemesis in Hundred finals•Getty ImagesThat record Edwards speaks of is an impressive 20 wins out of 25. They have only ever lost one group stage game in each of their three campaigns, with 2023’s coming against Welsh Fire in their second match.Despite their undoubted pedigree, Brave came into this season with a degree of trepidation. They were rocked by the March’s draft, losing dynamic England batter Sophia Dunkley to Welsh Fire and Australian legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington to Manchester Originals: 437 runs at 36.51 across 16 innings and last year’s leading wicket-taker with 17, respectively.”We were probably hit quite badly in the draft in terms of some of our main players being taken away,” reflects Edwards. “If you’d have told me straight after the draft that we’d be in the final leading the group, I would have been quite surprised. You never know how a new group are going to knit together, but I’ve just been so impressed by how the players have just stood up into different roles.”Those players are homegrown staples of Edwards’ domestic team, Southern Vipers. Maia Bouchier’s 264 runs – the second-most in the competition – has compensated for Dunkley’s absence, while the unlikely offspin of Georgia Adams has replaced Wellington in the XI and at the top of the Hundred’s wicket-taking charts with 16 dismissals.Maia Bouchier is Brave’s top run-scorer this season•Getty ImagesBouchier’s emergence as a top-order batter has been recognised by England, who will use her as an opener for the upcoming limited-overs matches against Sri Lanka. This Hundred, she boasts a strike rate of 138.21 and has strung together a number of key innings, including a standout unbeaten 63 to chase a target of 105 against London Spirit in an 85-ball affair at Lord’s. Her 47 not out took Brave over the line against Originals.None of this is a coincidence in the eyes of Edwards, who had firm belief in Bouchier’s potential against the new ball: “We had a conversation at the start of the season and I said, ‘look, I think you can open the batting for England.’ So she opened the batting for Vipers at 50-over and T20.”I couldn’t get her in here [for Brave] opening, because Smiriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt have been so good. But I said to her, ‘you’re going to be No. 3 and are going to have a massive platform to show everyone what you can do.'”I genuinely believe at the moment she is the most rounded player in that top order. She can hit straight down the ground; she’s got lots of options; she’s technically very, very good. And there’s no surprise England have said we want to open with her in the series coming up against Sri Lanka.”

“It’s such a massive tournament for women’s cricket. And I think it’s been another brilliant year and it would be a mistake if it was taken away.”Charlotte Edwards on the Hundred’s future

As for Adams, who has also pitched in with 109 runs in the middle order, her bowling has exceeded expectation. “I think quite surprised,” jokes Edwards. “I think what teams have done in the past is probably underestimate her. I don’t think they have now. But she’s been pivotal.”I signed her last year thinking she’d be our sixth bowler. Now she’s a guaranteed new-ball bowler. Her strike rate is brilliant and the economy is great. She’s been unbelievable – and at No. 4 as well, she’s played some crucial knocks.”Remarkably, Brave have only used 12 players so far. They might have only needed 11 had Lauren Bell not been rested for the first two matches to manage her workloads off the back of the Women’s Ashes.18-year-old Mary Taylor filled in more than capably, taking 3 for 18 against Trent Rockets on her Brave debut. At the other end of the career spectrum, Anya Shrubsole, who will retire after Sunday’s final, has been ever-present as captain.Anya Shrubsole will sign off from professional cricket at Lord’s on Sunday•ECB/Getty ImagesMissing Saturday’s Eliminator at the Oval, which will be played out between Northern Superchargers and Welsh Fire, ensures Shrubsole’s continued presence in the XI. “We didn’t want to play the Eliminator for Anya, because we didn’t think two days back-to-back would be good,” explains Edwards. “So she will be raring and ready come Sunday.”Picking from a small pool has been the Edwards way throughout her coaching career. Most recently, in the inaugural Women’s Premier League, she relied on 12 to guide Mumbai Indians to the title.”If you look at a lot of the teams I’ve been involved in, there’s not been much movement. I’ve tried to stick with players. A lot of people were saying about Freya Kemp only scoring a few runs – we all had the belief in her that she was going to go out there and do something magnificent.” It came in that victory against Invincibles, when she hit a vital 41* off 21 balls.”I made a conscious effort this year of actually putting some real youngsters on the sidelines. We’ve got some of the Under-19 World Cup finalists. I wanted to look at the future a little bit. I think the worst thing you can do is have on your bench people who think they should be playing. And I think I’ve had that in previous years. So I’ve tried to blood a new group of players coming through.”Related

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As the final weekend approaches on what has been the Hundred’s best season across the men’s and women’s codes, based on attendances, merchandise sales, digital engagement and, crucially, on-field quality, speculation about its future rages on.In Edwards’ opinion – one which carries weight as one of England’s greatest batters, captains and, now, coaches – any changes to the competition, especially getting rid of it outright, would be “a massive mistake”.”If anyone has been to any Southern Brave home games, every game we’ve had 10,000 people there. We’ve got massive support down there, the players love it, I love it. It’s such a massive tournament for women’s cricket. And I think it’s been another brilliant year and it would be a mistake if it was taken away.”The eight regions are driving the women’s and girls’ game now and I think it’s proved in the last three years how much improvement we’ve seen with the youngsters coming through. We were on the verge of beating Australia, which hasn’t happened for a while.”It’s working. We’ve got to stick with it and hopefully everyone will invest in the women’s game, from counties to regions. This is a massive platform for these girls and it prepares them for international cricket I believe.”

As in 2018, Zimbabwe fell short in the last two games of the Qualifier, leaving a boisterous home crowd in shock

Danyal Rasool04-Jul-2023Hours after the first rumblings in Harare that would result in the coup that removed former President Robert Mugabe from power, a former Zimbabwean cricketer was asked whether unrest had also spread to Bulawayo. He laughed, “It takes time for anything that starts off in Harare to reach Bulawayo.” Even as roadblocks cocooned key government buildings in the capital, armoured vehicles swarmed the streets, and soldiers cordoned off the Zimbabwean Parliament, life in Bulawayo carried on as normal, with almost no additional military presence in the country’s second-largest city. Just because something happened in Harare doesn’t mean it’ll also happen in Bulawayo.That may be a cursed inconvenience most of the time, but just four months after that coup, another event took place in Harare that Bulawayo might have been glad it didn’t have to witness. At the Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe needed to beat UAE, the weakest side at the 2018 Men’s World Cup Qualifier, to advance to the 50-over World Cup the following year, which was supposed to be an existential lifeline for cricket in the country. UAE scored 235, and Harare geared up for the party that would surely follow the game. Rain hit, and a controversial DLS application turned a comfortable chase into a stiff challenge. A traumatised crowd watched as Zimbabwe fluffed their lines and tumbled out of the race for the 2019 World Cup.Related

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Half a decade on, those haunting scenes snaked their way to Bulawayo. Zimbabwe’s 2023 World Cup qualification was progressing like a dream. They had dispatched Nepal and Netherlands, before upsetting West Indies and mauling USA by a world-record margin. They edged past Oman and they stood on the cusp – needing one win from their last two matches – of a ticket to cricket’s biggest tournament, to be held in the sport’s biggest market.No one dared say it, but this was exactly how Zimbabwe’s last qualification campaign had gone. And so, while Zimbabweans exulted in the triumphs, no one was celebrating just yet. Moments after the win over West Indies, I texted my colleague in Zimbabwe, Firdose Moonda, that I couldn’t wait to see how they would find a way not to qualify even from this position of extreme advantage. I was only half joking then, and it doesn’t seem funny at all now.Zimbabwe beat all their opponents before tumbling in their last two outings•ICC/Getty ImagesThere’s very little as joyful as a younger sibling suddenly afforded a privilege the eldest was denied. And so as Bulawayo geared up for the party Harare never had five years ago, it was determined to exult in its good fortune. The crowds were as packed as they’ve ever been at the Harare Sports Club, and perhaps even more boisterous. There’s nothing quite like playing cricket at a small, packed venue where everyone understands, lives and breathes cricket. In that way, Bulawayo can hold its own against any city in the world.But Scotland are no UAE, and harbour World Cup ambitions of their own. The ICC’s decision, in its infinite wisdom, to keep the World Cup restricted to ten teams for the second successive edition means there’s an invariably macabre air to these Qualifiers, turning them into something like a cricketing Hunger Games with only two survivors left standing and many good candidates slain along the way for no discernible reason. The teams outside the top eight don’t need too much extra motivation to turn up, but as the scraps that fall from the big table shrink further, the fighting becomes ever more frenzied, the consequences of the slightest misstep ever more dire.And boy, have Scotland scrapped. They started the tournament with a barely credible final-ball victory against Ireland. They swept UAE and Oman before giving Sri Lanka a bit of a scare, and following up with a trouncing of West Indies.A Zimbabwe win would have eliminated Scotland, and elimination is an existential crisis. Zimbabwe’s exclusion from the 2019 World Cup saw them enter such financial trouble that they nearly dissolved completely, and were suspended by the ICC the following year.As Zimbabwe won the toss and bowled first, the memories of that hurt and those lost years powered them. They kept Scotland on a leash for 45 of the 50 overs, but the moment they let their discipline waver, they found their noses bloodied. A priceless Michael Leask cameo – 48 off 34 balls – helped Scotland take 55 runs in the last five overs to set Zimbabwe 235 to win. It was the exact score UAE put up five years ago, but no one was spooked just yet.Chris Sole bowled at high pace to have the Zimbabwe top order reeling•ICC/Getty ImagesThis may have been a home crowd, but even they couldn’t will Bulawayo’s weather into submission. There was a nip in the air and overcast skies. Chris Sole couldn’t have asked for better bowling conditions if this match was taking place in his native Aberdeen, and the menace he posed Zimbabwe became clear from ball one. Joylord Gumbie, who’s had such a difficult tournament that name feels increasingly like a misnomer, nicked off to an awayswinger first up, and Scotland pierced Zimbabwe’s skin for the first time.As Sole hits speeds in excess of 90mph/145kph, a rarity on the Associate circuit, Zimbabwe’s best had few answers. Craig Ervine’s defence was breached by a worldie of an inswinger from around the wicket. Even Sean Williams, whose form this tournament has placed him among the ranks of the divine, was dragged back down to earth as Sole went over the wicket and knocked back his stumps with one that swung away at pace. The dreaded feeling of looming disappointment was beginning to dawn on Bulawayo. There was only greyness; there were no blue skies around the corner.Zimbabwe did what Zimbabwe have done to their fans for a long time now; they dragged them through the torment of hope before pushing them into the arms of devastation. Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl wrested the momentum back briefly, and a lovely little innings from Wessly Madhevere even gave his side the upper hand. Burl at the other end looked impregnable, and as Zimbabwe got to 165 for 5, it looked like the ghosts of 2018 might finally be exorcised. In Zimbabwe, hope is the last thing you lose, and this crowd found it alive and kicking within them.But Scotland broke that partnership and held their nerve as Zimbabwe lost theirs. The pressure was too suffocating, the stakes too high, and, even for a heroic late surge from Burl, the target just too far away. The dying stages of the match played out like those horror films where you realise the demon you thought you’d killed off is still very much around. Spent, Zimbabwe finally collapsed, consigned to another half decade in ODI wilderness, 2023 simply adding to the heap of cricketing heartaches they have endured.Sean Williams’ form in the World Cup Qualifier placed him among the ranks of the divine•ICC via Getty ImagesZimbabwe cricket is in a significantly better place than it was in 2018. The atmosphere in the dressing room is credited by most players as better than they’ve ever experienced. Since Dave Houghton was appointed coach, both the results and the style of cricket Zimbabwe play have reenergised a country that stood on the brink of ruin just a few years ago. This is a far more recoverable setback than 2018, but you’d struggle to convince anyone of that on the night.The Harare game was clearly on Ervine’s mind at the post-match presentations, but he did have the awareness to put this result in perspective, and distinguish it from what happened against the UAE.”It’s always nice to put those demons from 2018 behind us and had we gotten over the line today, nobody would have been asking about that,” he said. “But unfortunately, we didn’t get over the line. Williams has been fantastic and we can take a lot of positives away. I’m extremely proud of the guys, and for the amount of work and effort. We’re really thankful for the crowd that has come and supported us, especially over the last few weeks. I think we are playing a very exciting brand of cricket and that is the reason the crowd are coming out to support us.”Tendai Chatara, the last man to be cleaned up, was also there in 2018, as were four of his team-mates from Tuesday’s match. Most have been open about how much hurt that day caused, and how it’s lingered for so long. It is a pain they will share with millions of Zimbabweans who experienced both 2018 and 2023. Redemption was illusory, and that cusp was only a precipice.Bulawayans might have prepared for a celebration on Tuesday. Instead, they hold Harare in a collective embrace to share a grief both understand so perfectly well. Suddenly, Harare and Bulawayo do not seem that far apart after all.

The power of South Africa’s lower middle order has allowed de Kock to take his time early on, and the results have been spectacular

Sidharth Monga01-Nov-20232:13

Harmison: Should SA have gone harder with the bat?

When he knew it was all over, Tony Montana pulled out the machine gun and said the legendary line, “Say hello to my little friend.”It is almost impossible to imagine Quinton de Kock getting so expressive, but in his last World Cup, right at the end of an international career in which he has perhaps felt trapped like Montana at times, he has brought out his own, actual little friend: a desire and a method to bat long.Not that he didn’t always have it. When de Kock first announced himself with three centuries in a week against India late in 2013, back when he was almost the Simba the senior players loved to hold aloft, he was – despite his methods and scoring areas – an old-fashioned ODI opener, who would start off watchfully and look to play deep into the innings.Related

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In the middle chunk of his ODI career, though, de Kock became more of an enforcer and less of a long-innings player. From 2018 to 2022, he didn’t have a single year with more than one ODI century, but his strike-rate over that period (98.78) was higher than it had been before (94.62).And then came 2023. South Africa have developed a strategy where they want to give their power-hitting lower middle order not much more than 20 overs to cause havoc in. It has allowed de Kock to perhaps go back to his original style. When batting first this year, he has struck at just 4.61 an over in the first powerplay, having gone at 6.09 and 5.44 in the same phase in 2021 and 2022.Quinton de Kock is all smiles after bringing up his fourth hundred of this World Cup•Associated PressThe desire to bat longer is clear, and the method is to somehow get past the early movement. Thanks to South Africa’s consistently firing lower middle order, de Kock knows it is okay to start off slowly. So slow that South Africa have gone even slower than Pakistan in the first powerplay in this World Cup.There is good reason for South Africa’s leadership to be fine with de Kock starting off slowly. In 32 innings in Asia, de Kock has gone past 50 on 10 occasions; eight of them have been centuries. In innings where de Kock has gone past 30, he has achieved better control figures in Asia than in any other continent. It clearly suggests an expertise in these conditions. His IPL experience no doubt helps.Even without these figures, if you went just by feel, you can well imagine what nightmare it would be for bowlers if de Kock decides to, and finds a way to, bat deep. For he is not the kind of batter whom fields can restrict. As the numbers suggest, he has a grip on the conditions in Asia. He will always catch up.A good example was this slow start in Pune against New Zealand. He was on 13 off 25 after 10 overs. His reaction was not to do anything dramatic. He sweated on his favourite pick-up pull against Tim Southee. That shot is a hard-length neutraliser like no other. Now de Kock is no surprise package, and Southee is a wily bowler. He kept denying de Kock the shot, mostly by going wide and across him. De Kock waited for just the right ball, and when he got the right line, out it came, at the start of the 16th over.Quinton de Kock waited patiently until he got a chance to play his favourite pick-up pull•ICC/Getty ImagesWith that shot came the fluency although there was never perhaps a time when either he or Rassie van der Dussen got entirely comfortable on what looked like a slightly tricky surface to begin with.There was gradual acceleration until the 30th over, after which he began to manufacture shots, moving inside the line and targeting the long-leg area. It was consistent with how he has gone through this World Cup: watchful at the start, pick up in the middle overs, and then start hitting after the 30th. If it comes off, we are in for Montana-like fireworks; if it doesn’t, South Africa don’t lose out on much because the batters coming in are better off using those deliveries.The result of this change in approach for de Kock is that this was his fourth hundred already in this World Cup with at least three – and possibly four – innings to go. There is a joy to watching him wind down his ODI career with the freedom to bat the way he did when he started out.At 152 innings right now, it is all too brief a career, but this little friend of de Kock has helped him take his frequency of hitting hundreds to bang between the gold standards of ODI batting in his era. Virat Kohli scores one every six innings, approximately, and Rohit Sharma once every eight digs; de Kock is slightly slower than a century every seven innings. It will take a brave person to bet against him improving that rate.

The sixes rained and Phil Salt reigned, but England still lost 3-2 in their Caribbean T20I encounter. Alan, Miller and Matt got together for the series debrief

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2023England finished their tour of the West Indies on a bum note as they lost the T20I series decider in Trinidad by four wickets, having already been beaten on the ODI leg. In the final pod of the year, Alan Gardner was joined by Andrew Miller and Matt Roller to sift through the pointers ahead of the 2024 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA. Topics up for discussion include Phil Salt’s evolution as an T20I opener, the continued rise of Rehan Ahmed and whether West Indies can be contenders on their own patch in six months’ time. Merry Christmas!