The omission of Najibullah Zadran, their batsman of the tournament, summed up a team that is not giving the best account of themselves

Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Jun-2019Don’t do this, Afghanistan. There is another way.There are alternatives to letting chaos overwhelm you. There are brighter timelines, waiting to be seized, in which dysfunction does not define your World Cup. Your opponents, South Africa, might be battling demons from their past. Elsewhere, the likes of Sri Lanka are groaning under the weight of their galactic-scale ineptitude – their manager having recently complained to the ICC about pitches, the team bus, hotels, training facilities, and probably about the photo on his official accreditaiton making him look chubby when all the other managers look sharp and handsome. But there is no reason to follow these established sides down the moronic paths they have picked out for themselves. You can be better. You should at least try.In this World Cup so far, though, perhaps you have been the most defective outfit, saved only from more intensive media scrutiny by low expectations. Twice in two matches now, oppositions have shellacked Afghanistan with the ball, then punched the lights out with the bat. A trend has developed – a hopeful opening stand ended by a shot of breathtaking daftness, followed by a middle order that falls over like rows of library shelves crashing into each other, before the lower order looks as if it is rolling up its sleeves and readying itself for a fight, before promptly turning heel and fleeing the moment they see the size of the other guy.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – Full highlights
But there can be a universe in which Hazratullah Zazai does not spot a bouncer from the uber-quick Kagiso Rabada, and hole out attempting to clear the one deep fielder on the leg side, at deep square leg. The success percentage of that shot is so poor, it is possibly lower than the number of teams the ICC is planning to admit to their next World Cup. There can be a future match, in which wickets three, four, five, six and seven don’t fall in the space of eight runs, multiple batsmen basically tripping over each other in their race back to the pavilion. Only Rashid Khan, with his 35 off 25, gave the innings some semblance of professionalism.Then there is the selection. Maybe folks who make these decisions feel that normal rules don’t apply to Afghanistan. It’s not hard to see why they might. This team has risen to compete at a 10-team World Cup when 20 years ago, there was really no such thing as Afghan cricket. This is plainly astonishing. That Afghanistan are the only nation at the tournament not to have either borne or applied the yoke of the British empire also makes them exceptional.Afghanistan leave the field after another heavy defeat•Getty Images

But not so exceptional, that, you know, basic logic does not apply. You inexplicably drop your tournament top-scorer – a batsman who hit Afghanistan’s only half-century against Australia, and made the team’s best score in another game – and you should expect to weaken your top order. Najibullah Zadran’s replacement in this match was Asghar Afghan, the jilted captain (its own little controversy). Instead of a batsman who has twice given substance to Afghanistan’s innings this tournament, you had one who hit his fifth ball back to bowler Imran Tahir.Captain Gulbadin Naib’s justification was that Asghar was the senior player, and that he commanded a place in the top order the moment he became fit again. Okay, but Afghanistan had failed to make 200 in two matches on the trot. When you have a buffet of misfiring batsmen to choose from, why drop the guy in form? What next from the shooting-yourself-in-the-foot playbook? Batsmen have to hold the bat with their teeth? Bowlers have to do “the worm” to the bowling crease instead of running up? Fielders have to fill their pants with rocks to weigh themselves down?These are not serious suggestions, by the way, Afghanistan. You don’t have to do any of this.On the field, Afghanistan engaged in yet more shambolism. Asghar failed to account for the spin on a ball coming to him at third man, toppled over like grain silo when he tried to correct his course, and ended up not getting a hand on the ball, which dribbled mockingly past him to the boundary. Rahmat Shah misjudged the trajectory of a ball at midwicket, ran in for a catch that he might not have made with five-metre long hands, and ended up letting the ball skid over the rope. There were more misfields, overthrows, on-field gesticulating, and a general air of despair over the performance.After four matches, Afghanistan are now the only team without a victory. Some of this was expected, but their meekness over the last two games was not. In addition to the losses, there has also been a controversy over Mohammad Shahzad’s exit from the World Cup, and rumours that administrative interference is contributing to all this on-field bungling. Their campaign is teetering, but it doesn’t have to be this way. They don’t have to fall spectacularly to pieces on cricket’s biggest stage, like Sri Lanka in 1999, or India and Pakistan in 2007, or England in 2015, 2007, 2003, 1999 and so on.The established cricket world tends toward farce. The bigger nations are either sacking coaches with every new moon, having their boards strung up in the courts for serious breaches, alienating vast swathes of their own populations by embracing elitism, facing serious credibility problems in the aftermath of cheating scandals, or fighting constantly with their own players. Afghanistan don’t have to follow suit. But right now it seems like they are.

The former Australia captain has revealed that he has been undergoing intense radiotherapy

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2019Former Australia captain-turned-commentator Ian Chappell has revealed he has been undergoing intense radiotherapy after being diagnosed with skin cancer.The 75-year-old Chappell, who played 75 Tests for Australia from 1964 to 1980, said he had completed five weeks of treatment, having cancers removed from his shoulder, neck and underarm. The pathology has come back clear, according to him, and he expects to be fit to commentate during ‘s Ashes coverage in August.”I didn’t tell too many people early on. Mainly because I just wasn’t sure what the radiotherapy would involve and how weary I’d be,” Chappell told .”But as it turned out, it wasn’t so bad. A bit of tiredness at night and a bit of skin irritation, but other than that I’m feeling pretty good. I told family and gradually a couple of my team-mates and I’ve been getting calls from them pretty regularly which is nice.”With the Ashes coming up now, I’ll speak to Nine and just say, ‘look, I’m ready to go if you need me.”Chappell, who made 5345 Test runs at an average of 42.42, also revealed that he enjoyed a family reunion with his brothers Greg and Trevor.”When you hit 70 you feel (vulnerable) anyhow, but I guess I’ve got so used to bloody skin cancers over the years, and the fact that none of them have been melanomas, probably provides a bit of comfort. It may be naivety on my part,” he said. “I’ve had multiple skin cancers cut off, burnt off and every other way you can get rid of them.”When Richie [Benaud] and Tony [Greig] went … again, it was just a reminder that it happens to everybody.”Benaud, who also suffered from skin cancer, died in 2015 after a long battle with the illness, while Greig died in 2012 having battled lung cancer. Both were Chappell’s long-time commentary colleagues.Chappell had reportedly continued to commentate for Macquarie Sports Radio during his radiotherapy, but had stepped back during the World Cup due to late working hours.

Coming in at 41 for 4, left-hander smashes Chris Wood for two final-over sixes to seal consecutive wins for Kent

ECB Reporters Network21-Jul-2019
Alex Blake dragged Kent Spitfires to an incredible two-wicket Vitality Blast victory over Hampshire to replicate his 2015 heroics.Big-hitting Blake powered 57 off 38 balls to maintain the Spitfires’ 100 per cent record in the competition, having come to the crease with his side in dire straits.Four years ago, Blake left the Ageas Bowl open-mouthed as he crashed 71 in 30 balls, having arrived at the crease at 70 for 5 chasing 178.On this occasion, the 30-year-old walked out at 41 for 4, still requiring 105, and took Kent over the line by striking back-to-back sixes from the final Chris Wood over to secure two points from a tight encounter with a ball to spare.”I obviously have good memories here like that game in 2015 and like playing here,” said Blake. “David Griffiths, who was a Kent and Hampshire player, sent me a [photo] of after the 2015 game when we were in the changing room with champagne earlier, and said ‘same again today’ which jogged my memory.”I was struggling against the spin but we were saying out there that if we could set it up towards the end then you never know if you could sneak over the line. You are never out of the game, and I have the confidence that I can clear the ropes.”After Hampshire had scored a par 145 from their overs, Kent lost stand-in captain Daniel Bell-Drummond to the fifth ball of the reply when he chopped Chris Wood behind.Ollie Robinson clubbed Liam Dawson, returning after being unused in England’s World Cup campaign, over the midwicket boundary but only picked out Aneurin Donald when attempting an action replay.The Spitfires were then stunned to 32 for three when overseas star Mohammad Nabi mistimed a pull off Kyle Abbott to Vince at mid-off.Abbott, who only played three times in last season’s Blast, picked up a quick-fire second when Zak Crawley leading edged to mid-on.The slide continued when Sean Dickson was stumped off Mason Crane, although Blake powered the legspinner to two straight sixes to keep the run-rate manageable.At the other end, Dawson pinned Jordan Cox lbw, Abbott bowled Adam Milne, Chris Morris caught and bowled Hardus Vijoen but Blake was still there.And with 16 needed from the last over Hampshire were still favourites.But two twos and a pair of enormous straight sixes sent Blake running around in delight.Earlier, Hampshire elected to bat first in front of the Ageas Bowl’s highest domestic crowd for two years, with around 10,000 packing the ground including thousands of youngsters on All Stars Day.They weren’t treated to an electric start from Rilee Rossouw and Aneurin Donald as the former was dropped at midwicket.Donald did smash Hampshire’s first maximum of the competition, over fine leg, but departed next ball when he skied straight up in the air, before Rossouw nicked off.James Vince proved his hangover had abated a week after the thrilling World Cup final at Lord’s when he drove and then cut his first two deliveries the boundary.The Hampshire skipper then dispatched two sixes off an Imran Qayyum over as he reached 29th T20 fifty in 33 balls.But two balls later he handed Nabi a caught and bowled which the hosts failed to recover from.Fred Klaassen, who dismissed James Fuller and Sam Northeast in consecutive balls, and Viljoen ended with figures of two for 27 and two for 20 respectively as Kent strangled Hampshire – with only 42 runs coming in the last six-and-a-half overs.

“Too many instances where we have gotten starts as individuals but never carried them deep into the innings,” the captain said

Aishwarya Kumar at Providence07-Aug-2019Fresh energy, new ideas, renewed drive – that’s the mantra of the West Indian ODI team as they look forward to life after the World Cup. Their batting performance let them down in that tournament, so the captain Jason Holder said, their immediate focus was on making sure the players convert their starts into big innings.”Too many instances where we have gotten starts as individuals but never carried them deep into the innings, so that’s one area we have pinpointed and once we’ve tackled that we have put ourselves in our very good position,” he said ahead of the first ODI against India in Guyana.The last two series West Indies played against India, they suffered 3-1 losses (2017 in the West Indies and 2018-19 in India) but the team has shown promising performance, drawing the recent series against England in the Caribbean before the World Cup. Their bowling, both in that series and in the World Cup was a major strong suit, Holder said.”For me it’s just a matter of remaining disciplined with the new ball, taking new-ball wickets and focus on their middle order and take the game from there,” he said.It’s been a humid few days in Guyana, with intermittent rain. The humidity will play a role in the ODI, Holder said. The last two games the West Indies played in Guyana have been high-scoring, with the wicket slightly on the slower side, and Holder is positive that will be the case in this series as well.The team will also gain a lot from Chris Gayle’s return. “His presence is always felt whenever he steps onto a cricket field or in the dressing room,” Holder said.Gayle, who had initially announced that he’d retire after the World Cup, decided to come back for what is likely to be one last ODI series in the West Indies. The opener will have another chance to break Brian Lara’s ODI record. He is 10 runs away from the most ODI runs for the West Indies – 10,348.

Gripping duel lights up final afternoon of series, as Hobart team-mates epitomise the intensity of Ashes cricket

Daniel Brettig at The Oval15-Sep-2019At the end of an English summer and an Ashes series that had provided so many passages to remember, Jofra Archer and Matthew Wade squared up for the last of them. Archer was striving for a final burst of wickets to seal the Test, Wade for a century to underline his re-emergence as a batsman of quality after too many years as an indifferent wicketkeeper.Even if the Ashes were already Australia’s and the match was more or less already England’s, 24,000 spectators were transfixed one more time as Archer, for the umpteenth time, backed up his words that the touring coach Justin Langer had “another thing coming” after suggesting that Test cricket would beat the 24-year-old down with its sheer physical brutality.Undoubtedly, Wade had enriched the occasion through his series-long dialogue when in the field, yammering away at whoever would listen and many who would not, at one point talking across Archer about their shared history at the Hobart Hurricanes and how, in the opinion of Travis Head, the fast man would be moving across Bass Strait to the Adelaide Strikers next summer. All this history, plus the sense that this was summer’s final fling, made for a wondrous contest.”We all thought he’d slow down eventually but I can tell you that, through that spell, he certainly didn’t slow down too much, and he kept coming,” Wade said. “I was saying to Patty ‘he’s going again’. Patty was like ‘you’re right, you’ll get through’. I was like ‘yeah, we’ve been saying that for four overs now!’. He just keeps coming and coming. It’s good hard Test cricket, I was feeling comfortable with the way I was playing.”I felt like I could deal with what he was delivering, and he obviously thought he could rip my head off or get me out. It was a good battle, there was a little bit of banter, no words really. Just good, hard Test cricket. That’s what I expected coming into an Ashes series, I’d never played an Ashes series before and the way Jofra has taken to Test cricket – I knew he was obviously a freakish talent – and when he was around the England team I knew he’d be playing this series.”That’s what Test cricket is. Especially Ashes cricket, you’ve got to be ready for the contest. It’s a take-no-prisoners kind of environment when you walk onto the ground and when you walk off the ground, all is forgotten. You move on with your lives, hopefully he comes to Hobart and plays with me again but we’ll wait and see. That’s the way it is.”At the height of the battle, Archer struck Wade a stinging blow on the shoulder, something the Tasmanian did his very best to shrug off. “A little bit of a bruise. I wasn’t showing him too much, I wasn’t letting him know, that would have got him going again. I don’t know how many overs he bowled in a row, it felt like a long, long time so I wasn’t showing him too much pain. I was just trying to get through it.”The spell, all up, lasted for eight overs and ended wicketless. Wade went on to his fourth Test century, going a long way to shoring up his spot for the Gabba Test against Pakistan in November, and demonstrating how he had, at critical times, found ways to survive more effectively than the other left-handers on the tour – none of whom managed to reach three figures. Wade walked towards Australia’s viewing area to toast his century, applauded by none other than Steve Waugh, who had seen off similar bursts by Curtly Ambrose and company decades before.Matthew Wade and Jofra Archer exchange words during their duel•Getty Images

“I think the new ball was obviously quite difficult for our left-handers at the top of the order, with the way Stuart [Broad] was bowling, scrambled seam as well,” Wade said. “To be honest through the middle – facing Stuart and Jofra, I was quite comfortable facing those two through the whole tour. So I can only speak on what I faced. I obviously hit the ball in slightly different areas to the guys at the top of the order. But no doubt, the guys at the top of the order would love to have scored a lot more runs.”Round the wicket was really, really effective to our left-handers at the top of the order, But personally I felt quite comfortable against those two. I bat on an off stump guard, and feel like if they get outside my body I can leave them. If they come straight, I’ve got to hit it, otherwise I’m in trouble. But we’ve got to get better in all departments. Barring Smithy, nobody really lit it up this tour for us.”Whether or not Wade is still playing Test cricket in two years is very much an open question, but he reckoned that Archer would pose a considerable, if somewhat different, challenge on faster and truer Australian pitches. “I think he’ll be a handful on any pitch he plays on. Traditionally Australia is a little bit easier to play the short ball especially, because of the consistency of the bounce,” he said. “You can get under balls, but in this series you saw a lot of guys ducking into balls, myself included.”The pace of the wickets aren’t the same as what we have, and the consistency in Australia. He’ll be hard work, you’ve gotta bowl probably a touch fuller than what you can bowl sometimes over here with the slowness of the pitches and not as much bounce. But he’s going to be a handful on any pitch that he bowls on over the next couple of years, and Australia will be no different. At least with his bouncer you can trust that you can get underneath it which will be nice, instead of copping it on the body.”Reflecting on the series, Wade defended his verbally active ways, and there were certainly few signs of animosity at the end-of-season party, as both teams mixed freely. “That’s the great thing about Ashes cricket and the way this series was played,” Wade said. “There was no abuse throughout this series – it was hard Test cricket. I know there’s been a lot of stuff reported and written, on the ground it’s just been good, hard cricket. I can only speak for myself, and for the whole team in our dressing room. Once you walk off the ground, all is forgotten.ALSO READ: Why Australia deserved to go home with the Ashes“We don’t really need to jump in and talk about in the media. Whatever happens on the ground stays on the ground, that’s just the way Australian cricket teams play. But I can tell you now it’s been a tame series compared to other series I’ve played in.”Tame, though, did not reflect how consuming the atmosphere of an Ashes series can be. Even Wade, who had spoken at length after his Edgbaston century about the perspective he had found since his previous stint in the national team, admitted that it was easy to get caught up.”It’s been difficult at times. I think you get caught up at times in the whirlwind of Test cricket, and this series and everything that’s reported,” he said. “”It can grind on you pretty quick. I’m lucky to have my family over here, two kids keep you away from the game a lot and keep your mind off the game and they don’t care too much what’s going on at the ground.”But it is important to understand that it is only a game and that everyone is doing their best, and when we walk away in 20 years there won’t be too many people talking about us.”But they will talk, for many years, about Archer and Wade at The Oval, just like they will about Smith, Stokes, Broad, Cummins and the bewitching summer of 2019. Rightly so.

The 16-year-old formed a matchwinning stand of 97 with Alex Blackwell against the defending champions

Andrew McGlashan20-Oct-2019Remember the name. Phoebe Litchfield followed her impressive WBBL debut with a matchwinning performance two days later, becoming the youngest player to score a fifty in the WBBL, as the Sydney Thunder bounced back from their opening defeat with a seven-wicket victory against defending champions the Brisbane Heat.It was a case of youth and experience combining for the Thunder as 16-year-old Litchfield again joined forces with Alex Blackwell in a match-defining stand of 97 in 12 overs to follow their 68-run partnership in the defeat to the Sydney Sixers.They had come together with the chase wobbling on 3 for 52 after three wickets had fallen for eight runs. In the early stages of the stand the required rate pushed towards ten an over, but Blackwell kept Litchfield calm and a brace of late cuts broke the shackles.Each time the Heat started to squeeze again Litchfield or Blackwell were able to find a boundary. Litchfield’s half-century came from 47 balls in what became the final over of the match with Blackwell securing victory with a six.Litchfield will be back at school on Monday – and was heading back to Orange, about 250km west of Sydney, with her family straight after the match – following a weekend where she has been put on the global stage.”Alex was just saying keep calm because I was getting a bit nervous and I put us in a bad position but managed to get us out of there,” Litchfield told ESPNcricinfo. “I can’t believe the weekend, I didn’t know I was playing and I’m just really happy to be here.”The Thunder had been poor against the Sixers on opening night, but were far sharper all-round in this display. The Heat again made a positive start in the powerplay but lost their way after Beth Mooney was bowled sweeping at Samantha Bates who later struck twice in the 11th over to claim 3 for 33.Grace Harris launched her first ball for six but was run out after facing her next delivery after trying to run around Hannah Darlington who collected the ball in her follow through. Laura Harris couldn’t produce repeat of her powerful display against the Sixers, picking out mid-on after managing one boundary and it needed Jess Jonassen’s 41 to help the Heat scramble to 150

Earlier, Callum Ferguson and Tom Cooper had helped South Australia put up a competitive score

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2019Victoria slipped to a last-ball one-run defeat against South Australia in Melbourne despite being on top of their 323 chase until the 45th over, with Aaron Finch’s 119. They needed 39 off 31 balls when Finch fell to Adam Zampa before Kane Richardson conceded only 10 runs in his two remaining overs and Cameron Valente defended 11 in the final over. The result had no bearing on next week’s final.Jake Fraser-McGurk scored eight runs off four balls as soon as he got strike in the final over, but with three needed off the final ball, he failed to connect and only managed a leg bye.Victoria’s chase had been set up by Finch’s 21st one-day hundred and Peter Handscomb’s 87 off 75 balls after
Callum Ferguson scored 122 and captain Alex Carey and Tom Cooper struck half-centuries for South Australia.Ferguson has been in stunning form of late – he came into this match on the back of scores of 127 and 91 in the competition – and continued to dominate the Victoria bowling after Carey opted to bat, his 122 coming off 128 balls. Jake Weatherald fell early, and Ferguson lost the company of Harry Nielsen in the 19th over, but added 104 runs with Carey for the third wicket to put SA on the road to a solid score. More than Ferguson, though, it was Cooper’s blitz towards the close – 76 runs came in the last four overs of the SA innings – as his 81 off 46, with five fours and seven sixes, powered them to 4 for 322.In reply, Victoria lost opener Sam Harper in the first over for a duck before Finch led the reply smartly almost till the end, with a 147-run stand for the third wicket with Handscomb. Richardson accounted for Handscomb and Matthew Short chipped in with 35 before Finch was dismissed and the chase went out of their hands.

‘Relaxing’ in white-ball cricket will help Holder’s Test form, says returning West Indies coach

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2019Returning West Indies coach Phil Simmons has backed his two captains’ ability to get the most of their players, and suggested that Jason Holder will benefit from the decision to hand the white-ball reins to Kieron Pollard.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Simmons said that Pollard – who was appointed captain of the limited-overs teams in September despite not having played an ODI since 2016 – is capable of “leading from the front” with the bat.”It showed in the T20Is with India,” Simmons said. “He took the reins and led in those. That’s what I expect from him: that responsibility of being captain is going to make him want to always be on top of the runs and leading from the front. He is that kind of a leader – even though he asks you to do something, it is not something he wouldn’t do or he wouldn’t want to do.”Pollard was the leading run-scorer in that series with scores of 58, 8* and 49, and Simmons said that he expected that form to continue.”I expect a lot of runs to come from him. Hopefully he doesn’t get to bat where he’s batting much because the top order should be performing now – they have been around for a while in both those two forms.”And Simmons pointed to Pollard’s career as evidence that he stands up whenever he is under pressure.Phil Simmons and Jason Holder won the CPL together with Barbados Tridents•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

“A lot of people write him off,” Simmons said. “The pressure always makes him stand up. If you look at his career, every time he’s under pressure he stands up and he shows ‘look, I’ve had a blip, but I’m back’.”His experience in general, and not just the knowledge, but also his ability to involve all the players and his ability to give players challenges but at the same time be on their side – that natural leadership is there. It is something that he will bring a lot to the team.”Pollard takes over as ODI captain after a difficult World Cup, in which Holder’s side won just two matches and finished ninth in the ten-team round-robin group stage. That disappointment led Cricket West Indies to set up a task force to revamp their selection process, which recommended replacing Holder as captain, but Simmons thinks that “relaxing a little bit more” in white-ball cricket will allow him to maintain his impressive Test match form.”It might be [beneficial] but that is something that he has got to answer that question,” he said. “He’s the No. 1 Test allrounder in the world, so he has shown that he has learned a lot in that format, and he is going to continue to lead this team.”Holder was first appointed captain of the Test side back in 2015 at the age of 23, and Simmons said that his experience in the role meant he could now afford to demand performances of his players.Kieron Pollard muscles a slog-sweep•AFP

“With the experience he has now, he should be putting more pressure on a lot of the players to perform. So his role slightly changes, and he gets to relax in the other two formats because sometimes you could see that mind thinking on the field, and then when it comes to batting, the pressure is on.”Now with him relaxing a little bit more in the other two formats, maybe you’ll see a lot more coming from him in the Test matches.”Pollard’s first assignment as permanent skipper is a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in India, followed by three T20Is. Holder will then lead the side in a one-off Test against the same opposition in Lucknow, before they play another white-ball series against India, which comprises three T20Is and three ODIs.

Desai, who has coaching experience of over 12 years, has joined the team on a two-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2019West Indies have appointed Monty Desai as the batting coach of the senior men’s team on a two-year contract.Desai, who has held coaching roles with Afghanistan, Nepal, Indian regional teams and IPL teams Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Lions in a career of over 12 years, most recently worked with batsmen from the UAE and Canada.”I am very excited to join a team with such a rich history in the world cricket arena, one that I myself grew up admiring,” Desai said in a Cricket West Indies media statement. “I am very much looking forward to being part of a journey where I can help to create a winning work environment, learn and embrace a new culture, and build a ‘happy dressing room’ tradition alongside other excellent leaders.”I am eager to join forces with head coach Phil Simmons and director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, and our captains, such that I may contribute in every possible way to the success of our team.”Monty Desai at the Wankhede Stadium•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Desai joined head coach Simmons’ set-up, which includes bowling coach Roddy Estwick and fielding coach Rayon Griffith, ahead of the limited-overs series against India, which starts on December 6 in Hyderabad.”I have worked with Monty before and he is an excellent coach,” Simmons said. “He has proven he has the ability to get players to improve on their talent and also to perform better in matches. He has vast knowledge of the game and it is good he is starting here with us in India. I look forward to seeing him work with our batsmen in all formats as we look to get better in all areas.”Desai is the second Indian on the West Indies coaching staff after AR Srikkanth, who has been hired as the team analyst on a two-year deal. Srikkanth is one of the most senior analysts in T20 cricket, having been part of Kolkata Knight Riders for over a decade. He has also been part of teams in the CPL and BPL and is familiar with senior West Indian players who have featured in the IPL and the CPL, where he is the analyst with Trinbago Knight Riders.

Fast bowler stars with bravado allround display to put England in unassailable position

George Dobell at the Wanderers25-Jan-2020Mark Wood admits he took a gamble on his fitness to make himself available for the fourth Test at the Wanderers, but is delighted that he did so after starring with bat and ball to put England on course for a memorable 3-1 series win.Wood, who admitted to “soreness” after an energetic display in England’s innings win at Port Elizabeth last week, seemed set to be rested from this game until Jofra Archer pulled out through injury shortly before the toss.And ever since that moment, Wood has been England’s most eye-catching performer (with ball, and less expectedly, bat) to underline both his effectiveness and his fitness. The highlight, in his day-job at least, was a delivery of 94.4mph that claimed the wicket of Pieter Malan, although his personal pick was a cover-driven six during his thrillingly free-wheeling tenth-wicket stand with Stuart Broad that left him “buzzing”.But as well as expressing delight in helping England gain the upper hand in the game, Wood was also thrilled that he had proved he could play back-to-back Tests. For Wood’s career has been blighted by injury and the last time he attempted to play two Tests so close together, against South Africa in 2017, he struggled horribly.”I’ve been through periods when I shouldn’t have played when I did,” said Wood. “At least two Test matches – the Lord’s Ashes Test of 2015 and the Trent Bridge South Africa Test of 2017 – hurt my career and probably took me backwards.””Probably until the morning of this game I wasn’t in the team,” said Wood. “I put a lot of effort into the last game and I was a bit sore after it. I hadn’t played for six or seven months before it. I was just stiff and sore everywhere.”But on the morning of the game I spoke to the captain and the coach and said ‘if you want me, I’m ready to go’. I couldn’t guarantee to them I could bowl 90mph in my fourth or fifth spells but I felt good in the warm-ups and I told Chris Silverwood: ‘I’m not quite sure how it’s going to go, but I’m ready to charge in for you one more time.'”I’m glad I made that decision as it’s gone well.”ALSO READ: Dobell: Time to end the Buttler Test experimentIndeed it has. As well as three of the first six wickets, Wood struck a belligerent and unbeaten 35 to extend England’s innings to 400. It’s the first time since March 2013 that England have made successive scores of 400 in Test cricket, while his 82-run 10th-wicket stand with Broad, who thrashed an equally entertaining 43, was the highest for the wicket ever made in a Test on the ground. Incredible as it sounds, Wood has now hit as many sixes in his Test career – 10 – as David Gower did in the whole of his.Afterwards, Wood credited his wife, Sarah, and his dad, Derek, for the help they had given him with his batting.”I did a lot of work in the Newcastle indoor centre, behind the scenes there on the bowling machine,” Wood said. “Sometimes with my Dad, sometimes with my wife feeding me the balls on the machine.”I knew we were coming here and it was a bit bouncy, so I was working on how I thought they’d attack me, either at the stumps or at my head. My wife hit me [with the ball] a couple of times. She has been laughing, telling me to get in line.”Dad as well is particularly spicy but Silverwood is the worst because he laughs when he hits you. You think the coach would be more supportive but he just laughs. He’s still got a fast bowler in him I think.”I was buzzing with the six I hit over cover-point. Externally you have to act all professional and that, but internally I was like ‘what a shot that was’. I was trying not to look too buzzing.”But it’s the bowling that really marks Wood out as a valuable player for England. And while, in those previous back-to-back Tests his figures have been pretty ugly – he finished with 1 for 131 in the match at Lord’s and 0 for 129 at Trent Bridge – here he has already claimed 3 for 21. Not for the first time, the thought occurred that his statistics should be judged differently since he lengthened his run-up at the end of 2018. Since then, his 12 Test wickets have cost 14.75 apiece.”Since I changed my run-up things seem to click a little easier,” he said. “I’m not forcing it as much and I feel I have better rhythm. Plus, having an iconic stadium and quick pitch gives you extra incentive to impress.”According to CricViz, only Steve Harmison – like Wood, a product of Ashington and Durham – has bowled a quicker wicket-taking delivery for England since speedguns were introduced in Test cricket: a 97mph delivery to dismiss Glenn McGrath at Perth in 2006.”I don’t know if the ball to Malan was the best ball I’ve bowled,” said Wood. “My first-ever wicket – well, it wasn’t technically a wicket – was Martin Guptill at Lord’s. It was a very similar ball but it turned out my foot was just over the line and it was a no-ball. I was pretty close this time but I just got a tiny bit of foot behind it.”Winning this series would mean a hell of a lot to me. I want to affect games of cricket for England. It was nice to get some runs and get some catches in the last game, but I know my main suit is my bowling. To be able to win a series away from home against a quality opposition would be especially pleasing for me after coming through some hard times.”