The Pakistan side has toured the world more than any other since the pandemic began, hoping for reciprocity – which has not materialised

Osman Samiuddin22-Sep-2021Here is a list. It is of cricketers who have played the most international games away from home in the time of the pandemic.Eight of the top ten are Pakistan players. Pakistan might not be the biggest draw in cricket, though they are enough of one in England to have been invited for bilateral contests in five of the last six years, and enough of one for games with India to regularly feature in ICC press releases about being the most-watched ever.Two of the top three in that list – and arguably all three of Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan – would walk into any national side’s squad. Into any T20 league too, including, if it was allowed, the IPL. Babar and Afridi, especially, are bona fide superstars. They are players you’d pay to watch.Related

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In the 18 months or so since Covid hit in a big way, these three have toured England twice, played a full tour in New Zealand, played a white-ball series in South Africa, Tests and T20Is in Zimbabwe, and then Tests and T20Is in the West Indies. If the world had corners, they would have been to all of them.At a time when, for much of the world, air travel has represented a serious health threat, they have flown on commercial planes, on chartered planes, through large, busy airports. They have then lived through some of the strictest periods of isolation; for ten days in England last year; for 14 days in New Zealand, when the only time they could open their hotel-room doors was to pick up a tray of food; for ten days in England again this summer.The intensity of those periods of isolation has since eased. In each of South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies, for instance, they had to undergo three days of isolation before they could get out. But it adds up quickly, and New Zealand apart – where there were no restrictions once isolation was over – they have had to live in biosecure bubbles of varying stringency over six tours. On some of these tours they have not even been allowed out of their hotels.They have gone through it in silence. Part of it is because Pakistani players don’t talk about mental health, and so, though we know it must have had an impact, we have no idea of the extent of it. Shan Masood did talk a little but he’s an exception. Pakistan’s players have also gone through it all out of compulsion because there is no players’ body to articulate and represent their views, and more importantly, to protect their right to air those views. The PCB agrees to a tour, the players have little choice but to agree, because, to its enduring shame, Pakistan cricket remains an insecure place of employment for a player. Speaking out about bubble fatigue, or voicing concerns about well-being and acting on those concerns means risking a place in the side.ESPNcricinfo LtdQuite a few of them have contracted Covid in this time, yet they have continued, selling their labour here, there and everywhere. They are never paid especially well for it, yet off the back of that very labour other boards have also profited.These players helped save a summer last year in England. They not only did not ditch South Africa when their original tour, in September-October 2020, was postponed because of the pandemic, they made sure to return to fulfil that obligation in six months. And they tacked on an extra T20I, recognising that CSA had been hit by England’s abrupt departure earlier that season.They played Zimbabwe, one of the three most neglected Full Members, in not one but two series. They would have played the other two – Ireland and Afghanistan – as well, had it not been impossible for the ECB to find space in their calendar to allow use of their grounds, or had the Taliban not taken over Afghanistan.In this time, Pakistan have been the most frequent contributors to ensuring that cricket continues around the world. They didn’t do it solely out of the goodness of their hearts, or out of a sense of wider responsibility to the game. They expected reciprocity. They expected that their sacrifices would pave the way for the final step of the return to international cricket to Pakistan: the visit of teams such as England, New Zealand and Australia.Instead, what they have got from the ECB and its players is not just a withdrawal from a tour and an apology, but the middle finger. The fans and the PCB, of course, but most of all, a finger to those at the very front end of this: Babar, Afridi and the players, because it is their mental and physical health that has been at most risk in all those days of travel and competition.For all the days spent in isolation, away from their families, from their homes, for all the admonishment in New Zealand, for all the accommodation made in England this year in the wake of the Covid outbreak within the England camp, a middle finger, right back at them.What they have got is a reminder that the Big Three’s real mistake in 2014 was to put out a position paper and attempt to formalise the new order. All they needed to do was simply start playing as if the new order existed.Pakistan have toured England twice since the pandemic hit, last playing to packed stadiums in July this year•Getty ImagesFor example, let’s be generous and give Cricket Australia’s cancellation of their Test against Afghanistan its moment. But the pandemic has hit their scheduling with a – help me out here – pattern? They have toured England, and not hosted the T20 World Cup but hosted India. They pulled out of a tour to South Africa because they were worried about the health of their players during what was the second wave of the pandemic there, but the day after that decision, were happy to issue NOCs for players to go to the IPL in India (where a second wave was beginning) based on the biosecurity protocols of the previous IPL, held in a different country, during a different phase of the pandemic.England have pulled out of tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan but have squeezed in eight Tests against India this year and are smarting from not playing one more; and are willing to field an under-strength side and risk a player boycott to get to a country that has shut its borders harder than any other save New Zealand for three more Tests this year.Officially, the Big Three was disbanded back in February 2017. Since then, nearly half of all Australia’s international matches have been against England and India; a third of England’s have been against the other two; and 35% of India’s have been against the other two.What Pakistan have got is the irony of a Big Three board cancelling a bilateral series, while still being a Big Three board that wants more bilateral cricket in the next calendar at the expense of an extra ICC event (with the support of the ICC chair, by the way). An extra ICC event that offers a majority of Full Members a more reliable guarantee of revenue than the currently empty promises of bilateral cricket the Big Three make to those teams, because what the Big Three really mean by more bilateral cricket is bilateral cricket among themselves.What Babar, Afridi and Pakistan cricket have got, above all else, is a reminder of how broken international cricket already was before the pandemic broke it further. This is the epiphany that struck Ramiz Raja, the PCB chairman, on Tuesday, when he responded to a question about what the PCB could do next: “Withdrawal doesn’t have an answer, frankly speaking.”Pakistan has no real recourse to recouping the losses incurred by these two withdrawals other than to bear it. They cannot go to the ICC because, hello, there is no such thing really as the ICC, not beyond, as senior Australian journalist Gideon Haigh has often put it, an event-management company. Instead the real governors of the game are the very same ones whose middle finger Pakistan, along with the rest of cricket, are staring at.

That Sana Mir hasn’t been at her best of late is clear, but is there more to her omission than that?

Umar Farooq21-Jan-2020You’d expect Sana Mir to be an automatic choice in most Pakistan women’s squads. But when the 15-member squad for the women’s T20 World Cup was announced on Monday, there was no place in it for the former captain, and chief selector Urooj Mumtaz justified the decision by pointing to the 34-year-old’s loss of form.The numbers: Mir has averaged 27.81 with 22 wickets in 27 T20Is over the last two years. As a straight comparison, fellow spinner Anam Amin has had a much more productive time in this period, averaging 18.04 in 20 T20Is. In the recent domestic T20 Women’s Championship, Anam was the leading wicket-taker with seven strikes at 13.71, while Mir managed four wickets at 30.25. Anam also picked up five wickets at 9.40 against Bangladesh late last year.”Unfortunately, Sana’s present form in T20 cricket hasn’t been great and we have taken into consideration two internationals series and domestic tournaments,” Mumtaz said. “There can be no doubt about her achievements, and the fact that she has been an inspiration in the sport. Her experience is unmatched but now we have an expanding pool of players and we have to pick players who are performing consistently.”We’ve never had such a rich pool, so we have to look towards younger players. The average age of this side is 24, and that’s very exciting. The team has been selected keeping in mind current form and performances along with the conditions in Australia. Women cricketers have limited opportunities as compared to men to exhibit their form and Sana in the last series against Bangladesh hasn’t done a great deal, and later missed the England series. All we had was the domestic tournament in which she almost had an economy of ten in the first two games.”Last year, Mir skipped a chunk of the home series against Bangladesh, instead going to America on a personal visit. She returned to play the second T20I, and conceded 35 runs in four overs, before being left out of the last game. She played two ODIs against Bangladesh in Lahore and then took a surprise break from the all-important series against England in Malaysia, saying that she wanted to “reset her future objectives and targets”.Shortly before the squad was announced on Monday, Mir posted a cryptic tweet: “Don’t blame a clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.” Make of that what you will.It’s true that while Mir’s exclusion might have been a surprise to casual followers of the game, relations between her and the Pakistan management haven’t been especially cordial of late.She was removed from the captaincy in 2017 and the then women’s general manger Shamsa Hashmi had said that she had been trying to control Mir’s “manoeuvring and hegemony by counselling”. Her captaincy was severely criticised by Shamsa, who accused her of taking “shocking on-field decisions”.Then, later, Pakistan’s winless 2017 World Cup campaign ended with head coach Sabih Azhar accusing Mir of adopting a “negative approach” and being “completely self-obsessed”.After this latest development, one wonders whether Mir, now 34, will be able to add to her 106 T20I and 120 ODI appearances.

da apostebet： With Jaka Bijol officially signed and delivered, Leeds United have now reportedly turned their focus towards a second defensive addition in the form of a £38m La Liga ace.

Jaka Bijol completes Leeds move

da bet nacional： It took some time but Bijol is finally a Leeds player. The defender has arrived from Udinese for a reported £15m and becomes the Whites’ second signing of the summer after Lukas Nmecha.

After putting pen to paper to make his move official, Bijol told Leeds’ official media channels: “This is a big day for me, for my family and I’m happy to be here. Maybe the biggest one of my career so far, but I’m ready for it.

“I work for it and that’s why I’m here, because it’s a big challenge for everyone. It’s a big challenge for me, for the club, and we’re getting ready for it together. I think the club and myself are ready for the Premier League.

“I can promise that I will give everything, that I will give everything in every training as well to be ready for the first game of the season and then just go from there.”

Bijol may be the second arrival of Leeds’ summer but he looks unlikely to be the last. The 49ers look set to back the Yorkshire club as they prepare for their return to the Premier League, with names such as Oscar Gloukh now threatening the steal the headlines. The talented attacker would instantly be one to watch in England’s top flight, there’s no doubting that.

The Red Bull Salzburg man isn’t the only one on Leeds’ radar, however. Reports are now even suggesting that they’ve turned their attention towards another defensive addition after already welcoming a central defender in the form of Bijol.

Leeds make formal approach to sign Natan

According to Estadio Deportivo, as relayed by Sport Witness, Leeds have now made a formal approach to sign Natan de Souza from Real Betis. The central defender has just made his loan move permanent in Spain but could already be on the move again amid interest from those at Elland Road and Lazio.

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Reports have claimed that Betis have already rejected a proposal worth as much as €27m (£23m) from an unnamed club to sell their defender and instead value Natan at a hefty €45m (£38m) this summer. Whether Leeds are willing to reach that figure will be the big question as their pursuit continues.

League stats 24/25 (via FBref)

Natan

Bijol

Minutes

2,175

2,963

Progressive Passes

52

98

Tackles Won

24

25

Ball Recoveries

75

101

Keeping up with Bijol in a number of areas, albeit whilst failing to outperform the new Leeds star, Natan could yet form an impressive partnership with the former Udinese man at Elland Road.

The 24-year-old won’t come cheap but if Leeds are to stay afloat at the first time of asking back in the Premier League then the 49ers must be prepared to spend big.

The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) remain at loggerheads with the ECB over the men’s T20 Blast’s schedule. The union, which represents all professional players in England and Wales, has reiterated concerns about player welfare after only a small reduction in the number of back-to-back matchdays in the schedule for 2025 unveiled by the ECB on Thursday.The ECB heralded a reduction by “almost a third” in the number of back-to-back fixtures (down from 55 in 2024 to 37 in 2025) in the men’s Blast in a press release on Thursday. Neil Snowball, the ECB’s managing director of competitions and major events, said the reduction showed that they “have listened to the players” after “constructive conversations with the PCA”.But while the PCA are encouraged by the changes, they believe they do not go far enough. “There remains a significant number of fixtures on successive days which suggests little improvement compared to the 2023 schedule,” a spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo. “There is a lot more work needed to meet player welfare needs.”The counties generally prefer to play a majority of their Blast fixtures between Thursday and Sunday, citing a beneficial impact on ticket sales. But players have become increasingly vocal in the last 18 months about the drawbacks of that model, with back-to-back games heightening the risk of injury and diminishing the quality of cricket played.In May, a survey by the PCA revealed a startling 81% of county cricketers had been left fearing for their physical health due to their season-long workloads.The PCA are represented by interim chief executive Daryl Mitchell on the Professional Game Committee, who sign off on the domestic schedule and are involved in discussions around the fixture list ahead of its publication.The ECB’s revamp of domestic women’s cricket for 2025 will see the eight Tier One women’s teams compete in the Women’s T20 Blast and the ten Tier Two teams in a second tier. Every county will host at least one men’s and women’s joint-matchday, with a total of 52 double-headers due to be staged across 20 different venues.Related

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Snowball said that the Blast will be “bigger and better” in 2025, while Beth Barrett-Wild, the director of the women’s professional game, said the joint announcement of fixtures marked “the beginning of a new era” for English cricket: “It’s one of the clearest demonstrations to date of our aligned ‘one game’ approach to the delivery of men’s and women’s domestic cricket moving forwards.”The first women’s Blast Finals Day will take place at The Oval on July 27 while the men’s knockout stages will continue to be staged in September, six weeks after the conclusion of the group stage. England’s best white-ball players will again miss men’s Finals Day, which is set for September 13 and clashes with a T20I series against South Africa.The rest of the men’s county fixtures will be released by the ECB on Tuesday morning, with no change in the volume of County Championship and One-Day Cup matches. Fixtures for the Hundred are likely to be released early next year, with the tournament staged in its usual August window.Key T20 Blast fixtures 2025:May 29 – June 1 – ‘Blast Off’ weekend (opening fixtures)
July 18 – ‘Friday Finale’ (final group-stage matches)
July 26 – Women’s Tier 2 Finals Day (Northampton)
July 27 – Women’s Tier 1 Finals Day (The Oval)
September 3-6 – Men’s Quarter-Finals
September 13 – Men’s Finals Day (Edgbaston)

Well, if Arsenal didn’t already need a new striker, one look at their first six fixtures of the new Premier League season tells you they certainly do.

Andrea Berta has replaced Edu and he’d been completing negotiations on a number of targets but now is the time to strike and ensure the Gunners are ready to hit the ground running once the campaign commences in August.

Truth be told, Mikel Arteta and Co couldn’t have been handed a much tougher start with away fixtures at United, Liverpool and Newcastle, while having to play newly-promoted Leeds and title rivals Man City.

So, this squad needs to be ready. It needs extra firepower. But, the age-old question, who will they sign?

The latest on Arsenal's striker hunt

Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko are the two names that feature most prominently on Arsenal’s summer wish list but both deals, at the moment, look complicated.

Gyokeres – the scorer of an enormous 54 goals in 2024/25 – is likely to leave Sporting but Portuguese reports revealed earlier this week that Arsenal have so far yet to meet the Lisbon club’s demands. As a result, they’ve put their pursuit of the Swede on hold.

That means that Sesko has become the number one target again. One report comes from journalist Graeme Bailey who now insists that ‘Sesko is still the furthest along in terms of a deal being done’.

That said, if a deal cannot be agreed, Bailey reveals that ‘it wouldn’t take an awful lot for Arsenal to divert’ their attention elsewhere.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Gyokeres is name-dropped, while Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike are also on the shortlist.

While Arsenal tried and failed to sign Watkins last January, Ekitike isn’t a name we’ve heard mentioned too often in Arsenal circles. Up to now, the race has been between Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

What Ekitike could bring to Arsenal

Arsenal need goals. In 2024/25, no player recorded double figures in the Premier League. Kai Havertz was the top scorer with just 15 – albeit with the caveat that he missed several months through injury – and Mikel Merino ended the campaign as the centre-forward.

To Merino’s credit, he did a fine job, scoring six goals in 12 games. Obviously, that wasn’t enough to help them reach the Champions League final and it served as evidence that the Gunners need a new striker. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, they simply have to sign one.

So, if it’s goals Arsenal require then surely Gyokeres must be the number one option? He scored more than any other player in Europe’s top leagues over the last season and is a rampant finisher. He’s even got experience of English football having played for Brighton and Coventry.

However, there have been doubts, some red flags, so to speak. Had the powerful Swede scored that many goals in a top-five league, you doubt there’d be question marks. However, he did it in the Portuguese top-flight.

We’re not trying to dismiss the quality of the division here but it does pale in comparison to the Premier League or LaLiga for instance.

Then you have the traits Gyokeres could bring. Competent in front of goal, of course, but as data analyst Ben Mattinson outlines, the Swede has a “heavy first touch” and “doesn’t anticipate contact or shield the ball well.”

So, is there a player out there with a better all-around package? In that regard, Ekitike’s your man.

Cast out by PSG despite being heralded as the “next Kylian Mbappe” in some quarters, he departed Paris having played just 33 games, scoring four goals in the French capital.

Luis Enrique and Co are unlikely to lose much sleep given their recent Champions League heroics, but the 22-year-old has become something of a phenomenon in the Bundesliga for Frankfurt.

The Frenchman ended 2024/25 with 22 goals and 12 assists to his name. Not mindblowing numbers, sure, but his electric play is seriously pleasing on the eye.

What should fill Arsenal fans with excitement is regular comparisons to their all-time leading goalscorer. Scout Jacek Kulig has suggested that his most similar player is the great Thierry Henry, while one PSG content creator went as far as to claim he is “the new Henry.” Fine praise indeed.

So, what makes them alike? Well, the goal below tells you all you need to know.

The similarities between Henry and Ekitike here are scary. He’s got the same languid but smooth and powerful running style, brushing defenders aside with ease and then sliding the ball home.

His movement is first class, he’s a phenomenal dribbler and unlike Gyokeres, there’s less chaos to his running style and first touch. Everything feels a bit neater and tidier in that regard.

Let’s throw another bonus in there for you. One of Ekitike’s most similar players in Europe’s top five leagues over the last year, according to FBRef, is Alexander Isak.

Now, we all know how much Arteta rates the Swede and for a fraction of the price, they could sign a player with the potential to be just as good.

Gyokeres might be the best goalscorer on the planet right now but doubts surrounding his playstyle continue to linger. Ekitike is a proper on the last shoulder of the defender striker, someone with pace, power and a Henry-likeness to boot. Arsenal should be all over this move.

He's a lot like Isak: Arsenal in talks to sign amazing upgrade on Sesko

Arsenal are turning their attention to a striker they tried to sign in the winter.

1

By
Matt Dawson

Jun 17, 2025

Sunderland are back in the Premier League and have now engaged in talks over a signing that would send out a signal of intent to their competitors, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Sunderland find out the latest in pursuit of Clement Bischoff

In the modern day, club chiefs speaking out on the availability of a player or their current situation isn’t an uncommon practice at this time of year.

Subsequently, it will come as no surprise to hear that Brondby sporting director Benjamin Schmedes has addressed rumours surrounding Sunderland target Clement Bischoff amid links between both parties.

He stated: “Clement has one year left on his contract, and that puts us in a situation where we’ve had strong discussions for a long time. But nothing is official yet, so there’s no agreement.

“We’re in dialogue, and we’ll see where it ends. Noah has two years left, so it’s a different case.”

Making strides ahead of their official Premier League return, Clermont Foot midfielder Habib Kieta is also on Sunderland’s radar and QPR, Stoke City and Crystal Palace are also believed to be in the running for his signature.

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Inevitably, beating the drop will be the immediate priority for Sunderland in 2025/26. While Jobe Bellingham’s sale will enable money to be spent, they will need to invest wisely to compete with other financially secure competitors in the grand scheme of things.

Nevertheless, Sunderland hold a pull that is rare for a promoted side due to their rich history in the English top-flight, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see someone like Jordan Henderson return to the North East if a deal were right for all parties.

Letting their presence be known to others, the Black Cats are now reportedly plotting a swoop for an international goalkeeper that would make headlines.

Romano: Sunderland in active talks to sign Marcin Bulka

Taking to social media platform X, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Sunderland are in ‘active talks’ to sign OGC Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka as part of their ambitious project to stay in the Premier League.

Despite being ‘approached’ by several other clubs, the Black Cats are the only side mentioned in the conversation and it remains to be seen whether further developments will occur down the line.

Labelled “superb” by PSG boss Luis Enrique, the Poland international kept eight clean sheets in 40 appearances last term and recorded a save percentage rate of 75.8% in Ligue 1.

Admittedly, Sunderland will need to rely on their goalkeeper next campaign to have a realistic chance of staying in the top-flight, so bringing someone of Bulka’s calibre in would certainly help, even if that puts Anthony Patterson’s future as number one in doubt.

Newcastle United are set to go back in for Yoane Wissa after Brentford agreed a £37 million ($50m) fee to sign Dango Ouattara from Bournemouth. The Cherries forward has given the green light for a switch to the Gtech Community Stadium, with final formalities expected within days. Ouattara’s arrival effectively ends Brentford’s resistance to selling the DR Congo striker.

Newcastle closing in on WissaBrentford to seal £37m Ouattara dealTransfer domino could send Isak to LiverpoolFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to Wissa claims he believed he had a gentleman’s agreement with Brentford to depart this summer after honouring his commitment to the club for the 2024-25 campaign. Instead, negotiations have dragged on, with Wissa training alone at one point and even walking out of Brentford’s pre-season camp in Portugal to force the issue.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Wissa has made no secret of his desire to play Champions League football, and Newcastle are the only club he is waiting for. While Newcastle’s latest approach came close, £30m ($41m) plus £5m in add-ons, it still fell short of Brentford’s £40m ($54m) asking price. However, with the capture of Ouattara, they will be more inclined to cash in on Wissa, who will sit out Sunday's trip to Nottingham Forest.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Wissa deal could spark a transfer chain reaction involving Newcastle’s biggest star, Alexander Isak. The Magpies have been unwilling to sanction his sale without first securing a replacement, and missing out on Benjamin Sesko to Manchester United left them short on options.

Liverpool have been desperate to land Isak, with a £110m ($249m) offer rejected earlier this month. The Sweden striker, however, is said to be pushing for the move and has been training away from the first team. With Wissa’s arrival now imminent, Newcastle’s stance could change rapidly, allowing Isak to complete a blockbuster switch to Anfield before the transfer window closes.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR NEWCASTLE?

Wissa’s proven scoring touch would give Howe another potent weapon in attack, while losing Isak would be a blow softened by his arrival. Nonetheless, Howe will be desperate to have clarity over his squad as quickly as possible as they begin their Premier League campaign against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Rahane misses ton but Mumbai dominate, while Tamil Nadu could get lucky

Shashank Kishore31-Jan-2025Kohli’s short stay
It lasted all of 15 deliveries in which he made six. Virat Kohli was beaten twice outside off, once to a full delivery that left him late and then a length ball that he jabbed and missed.He brought out a delightful straight drive in the next over, but was out off the very next delivery when Himanshu Sangwan, a Railways ticket collector at New Delhi Railway Station during the off-season, sent his off stump cartwheeling. Soon, Sangwan became a reel sensation for a superb nip-backer that sneaked through Kohli’s big gap between bat and pad.A strong crowd of around 15,000 who made a beeline for the exit, missed a quality knock from Ayush Badoni. The captain’s 77-ball 99 helped Delhi open up a 93-run lead against Railways, with three first-innings wickets remaining.Pujara 99, Saurashtra on course
The stars have aligned perfectly for Saurashtra. They needed two outright with bonus points, both games were at home in Rajkot on turners; they beat Delhi last week inside three days with Ravindra Jadeja taking 12 wickets.Related

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This week, they didn’t need Ravindra’s bowling because the other Jadeja (Dharmendrasinh), was among the wickets (four of them) as Assam were made to follow-on. That Saurashtra were in a position to enforce the follow-on was because of a solid batting performance in the first innings.Their 474 was set up by Cheteshwar Pujara, who was out for 99 early on day two having added four to his overnight score. Assam’s only source of resistance was Riyan Parag, who top-scored with 51 on his return to top-flight cricket from a shoulder injury.Kuldeep made to toil
Returning to competitive cricket after three months following a surgery for sports hernia, Kuldeep Yadav sent down 31 overs to pick up three wickets, but Uttar Pradesh were sent on a leather hunt. Double tons from Harsh Gawli and Shubham Sharma helped Madhya Pradesh post an imposting 670 for 7 declared. From a qualification standpoint, this game doesn’t hold much significance since with both teams are out of the knockouts race.Rahane 96 in mammoth Mumbai total
Ajinkya Rahane’s quest to convert his maiden first-class fifty this Ranji season into a century met disappointment as he was out for 96 against Meghalaya, but Mumbai opened up a 585-run lead.Meghalaya were 27 for 2 at stumps, giving Mumbai a sight of seven full points that will take them to 29 points and help them seal a quarter-final berth. Coming into the final round, they needed a favour from Jammu & Kashmir, and they’ve helped them along the way by pocketing not just a first-innings lead against Baroda but also opening up the possibility of an outright win.Jalaj continues to shine
Earlier this season, Jalaj Saxena – the Kerala allrounder – completed the double of 6000 first-class runs and 400 wickets. In the final round of matches, he picked up a five-for in each innings, both on Friday, as Kerala trounced Bihar by an innings to secure a quarter-final berth.Jalaj took his wickets tally in the tournament to 421, the seventh-best. This was the 10th time he picked up 10 wickets or more in a first-class game. Bihar lasted a combined 64.2 overs across both innings in which they made make 64 and 118 in response to Kerala’s 351 fuelled by Salman Nizar’s 150.TN stutter but knockouts chances burn bright
They need 97 and have only five wickets in hand against Jharkhand, but a scenario has emerged wherein Tamil Nadu can qualify for the knockouts despite a defeat. That’s because Chandigarh – who won three successive games outright in the first half – have now conceded the first-innings lead to Chhattisgarh in a game they needed to win with a bonus point. Tamil Nadu’s hopes of pulling off the chase are pinned on Vijay Shankar, who is unbeaten on 33.

Smith insisted he had not requested a move back down the order but rather just told Andrew McDonald his preference

Alex Malcolm21-Oct-20241:36

What’s the logic of moving Smith back down the order?

Steven Smith has said Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne “hated” him opening the batting in the Test team, and believes it was a key driver behind his return to No. 4, but has insisted he did not request the move and would have continued to open if asked to.Australia’s chair selectors George Bailey confirmed last week that Smith would not be opening against India saying Smith “had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position” and that captain Pat Cummins and Andrew McDonald had made the decision.McDonald stated on ABC Radio at the weekend that he and Cummins were the key decision-makers in the move, playing down Smith’s influence.Related

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Smith wanted it on the record that he had not explicitly requested to move back to No. 4 but had rather been asked by McDonald what his preferred batting spot was. He also added that Khawaja and Labuschagne had both expressed their discontent at him opening.”I got asked where I’d prefer to bat, and I said four. I didn’t ask [to move] though,” Smith said. “I also said I’m happy batting wherever. I’m not really too fussed. I got asked where my preference would be, and I said four. I saw a few things last week saying that I’ve requested to bat at four. That wasn’t the case. I said I’m happy to bat wherever you’d like me to bat but, yeah, four would be my ideal position.”Asked what had changed since earlier this year, he said: “Obviously there’s a spot there now with Greeny [Cameron Green] out. And I think just conversations we had after New Zealand with particularly Marnus and Uzzie, they hated me up top, to be honest. They wanted me behind them.”They just like the…they call it security behind them, in a way. They were pretty strong on me not batting there. So that was a big part of it. And then obviously, I’ve got a decent record at four.”It was good fun having a crack at something new, batting up top. I still feel like I could do a job there for sure. It was a pretty small sample size. But I’ve done pretty well at four for a number of years now. I feel like it’s probably where I can have my best input for this team at the moment.”Smith was set to move regardless of Green’s injury as the conversations had taken place prior to the limited-overs tour of England.He was asked whether he felt like he could have continued in the role longer term given his average of 28.50 in the four Tests in the job was not that bad as no opener averaged more than 32 across those four Tests.In his own style: Steven Smith leaves the ball alone•Getty Images”Honestly, I’m not that fussed,” Smith said. “I said it when I took that job, I’m not really fussed where I bat. The conversations I had with the other guys, they didn’t like it at all. They wanted some security, I suppose, behind them, where I’ve done really well for a number of years, and I can understand that as well. So it is what it is and I’m not going to be opening this summer. That’s it.”Smith made 3 off 29 balls for New South Wales against Victoria in his first red-ball innings since the New Zealand Test series in March and his first Sheffield Shield match since 2021.On a day when 15 wickets fell at the MCG in difficult batting conditions, Smith was upbeat about the innings despite being caught down the leg side off Fergus O’Neill.”I actually felt pretty good out there, to be honest, for the three that I scored strangely enough,” Smith said. “I felt like I was moving well. I was leaving well, and got a little bit unlucky with the one that sort of took off a little bit down the leg side. And that can happen. But I actually felt like I was getting in nice positions. My bat path was good and felt pretty good. So happy with that.”Meanwhile, Smith has been impressed with his limited time watching 19-year-old Sam Konstas who was lbw after 10 balls on the second day at the MCG”He got a bit unlucky there I reckon,” Smith said. “It looked like it might have been just darting down leg a little bit. I haven’t seen a lot of him. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of him out here in the middle for sure. But from what I have seen in the nets, he’s got a lot of time.Steven Smith threw in Nic Maddinson’s name as a potential opening option•Getty Images”He’s very organised. He plays fast bowling and spin well from what I’ve seen in the brief couple of times I’ve seen him bat, it’s looked really good. He’s a bright prospect. We’ve got to remember he’s only 19 as well so you he’s got plenty of time. But what I’ve seen so far, it looks promising”He’s got all the makings to definitely be a really good Test player. That’s for sure. Whether it’s now or in the future, time will tell.”Smith also threw Nic Maddinson’s name in the mix as a possible candidate to open the batting for Australia against India given he is a similar type of player to David Warner.”There’s a few really good candidates, guys that have, done really well the last few years,” Smith said. “[Cameron] Bancroft and the usual suspects that have been talked about. Maddo I think is also another really good candidate. He’s had a good couple of years. If you’re looking for someone similar to a Davey replacement, he gets after the ball and can score really quickly.”So he’s someone who probably hasn’t been spoken about a great deal from all you guys in the last little bit, but I think he’s someone that could definitely play test cricket and have a similar impact to what Davey sort of had at the top, the way he plays. So plenty of options. We’ll wait and see.”

There was no last-minute panic, no agonising self-destruction, just a straightforward win playing better cricket

Danyal Rasool25-Oct-2021I looked up in disbelief, mortified by how unfair things seemed. Six-year-old me had just been told, in fairly unequivocal terms, that no, I couldn’t be allowed to stay up well past midnight to watch the game right through to the end. It was much too late. That might sound fair enough, but it was June 8, 1999. Pakistan were playing India, and well, Pakistan were going to beat them.Or so I thought when I went to bed that night at the halfway stage, spending the night dreaming of a routine Pakistan win. India had set Pakistan 228; below par, one felt, even in 1999. Besides, aside from an inexplicable loss to Bangladesh in a dead rubber a couple of games before, Pakistan had sailed into the Super Sixes in red-hot form, beating West Indies, New Zealand and Australia in a World Cup classic.Related

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India, meanwhile, had begun the campaign with losses to South Africa and Zimbabwe, and only sneaked into the Super Sixes. Four days earlier, Australia had thumped them by 77 runs. It didn’t feel like they had the runs, or indeed the bowlers, to seriously challenge Pakistan – not to my six-year old self anyway.I checked the score first thing next morning. Apparently, Venkatesh Prasad had done again what I’d been told he’d done three years earlier in a World Cup quarter-final between the sides. Pakistan, who would finish top of the Super Six table, had been hammered by the side that would end up bottom; it was the only match India won against a Super Six side. My introductory experience of Pakistan vs India was perhaps the first time it really began to feel like a jinx.

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Over the next two decades, these games – nine of them, to be precise – took on a bizarre, amnesic shade, each World Cup contest hyped and promoted as if the previous one had never happened. It was a marketer’s dream; in Pakistan, the fans were sold hope -which they bought by the crate load. In India, it was another chance to have that sweetest kind of fun – the kind that came at Pakistan’s expense. Tickets sold out in minutes, were scalped and rebought at obscene prices. The day arrived, people tuned in by the hundreds of millions, or even a billion, depending on which ratings metric you chose to believe. India cruised to victory, the cycle continued.The T20 World Cup in 2007 saw this curiously one-sided streak extend to a second format, with a group stage win in a bowl-out – which now feels like one of those science experiments too ludicrous to be allowed to happen – followed by a five-run victory in a gloriously agonising final. Misbah-ul-Haq had looked like he was making amends for the group stage with a heroic one-man counterattack but would end up giving India one of its most iconic moments of sporting triumphalism, and provide the origin myth for the advent of the IPL.It seems a long time ago, and not just because it was 2008, that Sohail Tanvir pulled one through midwicket to win his side the IPL final. At the time, this inclusive, nascent competition promised to usher in a fresh era in Indo-Pak relations. Hindsight would tell you that’s as good as it got for Pakistanis at the IPL. Or, indeed, for Rajastan Royals.Relations soured, and Pakistan found their players locked out of the IPL. The cricketing gulf between the two countries widened, both in terms of administrative power and on-field performance. By now, an Indian win over Pakistan didn’t feel like a jinx so much as it did the right cricketing result.Misery for Misbah: India win the 2007 World T20•Saeed Khan/AFPEven if the pain had been numbed by repeated exposure to it, a bruising semi-final defeat at India’s hands in Mohali stood out. It had its classic Pakistani cast of characters – Wahab Riaz playing the bowling wizard with a five wicket-haul, the highlight of which involved Player of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh being yorked for a golden duck. There was the scapegoat – poor Misbah again for supposedly batting too cautiously in the chase. There were the fielders happily putting down anything Sachin Tendulkar hit right at them. There was the conspiracy theory of Tendulkar’s non-lbw, a rabbithole best avoided here.And above all, of course, there was a Pakistani defeat and an Indian victory that saw MS Dhoni – who might have looked perfectly at home in a Pakistan side of the ’80s – lead his side to a World Cup trophy. Five further World Cup games yielded five heavy Pakistani defeats, with a famously bizarre victory in the 2017 Champions Trophy final the only balm for Pakistan’s psychological wounds.It was that context in which Babar Azam and Virat Kohli’s sides stood side by side for the anthems in Dubai on Sunday. Even when Pakistan won what looked a vital toss and began brilliantly, India’s dominance over this fixture meant it was difficult to really feel comfortable from a Pakistan perspective. Sure, the exhilaration of Shaheen Afridi’s first over was considerable, but that’s more of a universal experience, like a Jasprit Bumrah yorker or a one-legged Rohit Sharma pull. Sure, 151 in Dubai was perhaps a below-par total, but so was 227 in Manchester 22 years ago, remember?I interviewed Babar last month. It was a cordial enough chat, but there was one occasion where he’d allowed irritation to flicker on his face. I’d just asked him if opening alongside Mohammad Rizwan was indeed the most progressive thing Pakistan could do.”Yes, absolutely,” he said, irritated by the audacity of the query. “Look at how well that’s gone, at our performances in the past year, at the records he has broken. The year’s not done yet and he has already scored the most-ever T20I runs in a calendar year. What more do you need, really?”

Two men who weren’t born the first time India beat Pakistan in a World Cup match had helped Pakistan remove a stone from their shoe that had been chafing away for 29 years

If it was any other opposition, or any other tournament, you’d have known six overs into the chase that Babar and Rizwan had an unassailable, vice-like grip on this contest. The target didn’t require explosive hitting, the ball was coming onto the bat nicely, and there were no hiccups at the start. These two are the most prolific T20 opening pair since the start of the year by some distance; in April, they’d put on 197 in under 18 overs at Centurion to help chase down 205. They were in that sort of mood. But India were the opposition, so you couldn’t quite see it just yet.But the runs kept getting knocked off. Bumrah was negotiated with maturity; the whole chase in general was being pursued with a sort of cold ruthlessness completely alien to Pakistan and their supporters. Even as the asking rate was dragged down over by over, it felt as if the game was in a holding pattern; what really mattered was what happened once a wicket fell. Following the game on your smartphone was a different experience altogether, WhatsApp groups abuzz with nightmarish worst case scenarios from Pakistan fans looking to inoculate themselves from the pain when (or was it “if”?) their side found a way to muck up this chase.That, mercifully for Pakistan fans, was a sporting experience they didn’t have to endure. In the 18th over, the excitement levels rising to a crescendo, Rizwan walloped Mohammad Shami for six over fine leg. Four balls later, Babar whipped one through the leg side, called his partner over for two, and that was that. Two men who weren’t born the first time India beat Pakistan in a World Cup match – all the way back in 1992 – had helped Pakistan cricket remove a stone from their shoe that had been chafing away at them for 29 years. There is much that divides Pakistan, but for a few days, the country can bask in a therapeutic moment of harmony, fleeting and illusory as it might be.So how, then, did it feel? Well, somewhat numbing for how it happened. There was no last-minute panic, no agonising self-destruction, no letting the pressure of a nation weigh them down. There was no salvaging of national pride, no one-upmanship in a bitter rivalry. Pakistan had just beaten India in a cricket match in the only way it was possible to do so – by playing better cricket on the day.”What more,” as Babar might put it, “do you need, really?”