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The last time Somerset lost a Championship match at Taunton, the ground rang to raucous Lancastrian celebrations. This time it was deserted as Middlesex unexpectedly escaped the showers to pull off a three-day victory

David Hopps at Taunton17-May-2013
ScorecardTim Murtagh took 10 for 77 in the match•Middlesex CCC

The last time Somerset lost a Championship match at Taunton, the ground – not to mention the town centre hostelries – rang to raucous Lancastrian celebrations as the Red Rose celebrated their first outright title for 77 years. This time the ground was deserted as Middlesex unexpectedly escaped the showers to pull off a three-day victory after 7pm. But empty ground or not, 20 months later, the town might just have played host to another Championship winner.Middlesex went top, ahead of Durham, by virtue of this victory and with a third of the season gone the table is beginning to take an intriguing shape. Nobody looks more serious contenders than Middlesex. Durham are unexpected leaders, Warwickshire’s innings defeat against Yorkshire raised many questions about their ability to defend their title, and Somerset, so often nearly-men, will be grateful just to stabilise their season after this nine-wicket defeat.Dave Nosworthy, Somerset’s director of cricket, is still awaiting his first win after five matches. After eight weeks, he will be wondering whether the job is bigger than he realised. It was never going to be a matter of ticking things along; it was a matter of rebuilding with very few players clamouring for recognition in the 2nd XI.”Middlesex played very well and outplayed us,” he said. “That is two games in a row where we haven’t pitched and we will have to reassess things. Yorkshire was disappointing and now this, but sometimes the biggest punch comes from the back foot and we’ll see what sort of characters we’ve got. The individuals need to pinpoint themselves.”We haven’t played terrible cricket but after five games we should have won two of them and that lingers in the back of the mind.”Middlesex look to be quite a strong outfit. They look a very balanced and a settled side and playing some quality cricket. At the start of the season I don’t think you could say who was going to win the thing – it was an open race – but they have shown some good early form.”Somerset could at least draw heart from the signing of Dean Elgar, who replaces his fellow South African batsman, Alviro Petersen, while he is on Champions Trophy duty. He is expected to make his debut against Yorkshire in their next home Championship fixture at the end of the month. Nosworthy called him a fighter – and he needs others to show similar resolve.The game was all but up for Somerset from the second afternoon when they collapsed to 35 for 5, still 160 behind. Peter Trego and Jos Buttler brought a veneer of respectability with a pair of 80s, Somerset adding another 143 to their overnight 112 for 5 as the clouds began to build.This was not a game when Tim Murtagh could be kept out of the picture for long. He had Trego caught at short midwicket and later he rounded up the Somerset innings by having Steve Kirby lbw to the first over with the second new ball to finish with match figures of 10 for 77 – the third 10-wicket haul of his Championship career.The resistance meant most for Buttler, whose chequered Championship career has been strewn with careless dismissals, but who not for the first time this season showed a growing inclination to play in a more considered fashion and who bedded down dutifully to make 85 in nearly four-and-a-half hours.Perhaps this innings, even in defeat, will one day be seen as a breakthrough in the longer format. He is such an innovative and exciting one-day player that one wonders if he can ever really enjoy playing in such a restrained fashion, but he is beginning to broaden his range.Beneath the helmet one imagined that he might have the baleful expression of a captured antelope pining for the great outdoors. Somerset will hope that his discipline was proof of his gathering maturity because they need all the talent at their disposal to rescue a disappointing start to the season.The longest delay on an afternoon of heavy showers ripped 35 overs from the day. There was a time when it seemed inevitable that Middlesex would be back tomorrow, but the umpires’ determination to stick around proved shrewd. There were a few wet areas in front of the Ondaatje Pavilion and when Trego slipped with 17 runs needed, it was enough for the captain, Marcus Trescothick, to have a word and the umpires to be forced into a confab.The extra half-hour was claimed at 39 for 0 with Middlesex 32 short and a comfortable rate of four an over ahead of them. But there was enough in the pitch for Somerset to take a prize scalp or two and Jamie Overton bowled Chris Rogers in the first over of overtime. Rogers has always been one of the doughtiest batsman on the circuit, but since his selection for Australia’s Ashes tour, his wicket has become a collector’s item; it was another happy moment in Overton’s eye-catching season.

Andrew Strauss dropped three catches and scored just 2 as Michael Lumb’s 162 put Nottinghamshire in charge

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge10-May-2012
ScorecardMichael Lumb made his second century for Nottinghamshire since joining over the winter•Getty Images

When a fellow scores 162 it seems ridiculous to focus on the guy who makes only 2 but, on this occasion, it is unavoidable, given that their fortunes managed to intertwine. Michael Lumb made 162, Andrew Strauss 2.Needless to say, it is a score the England captain hoped he might exceed, especially after what had happened earlier. He owed his side a few runs, having dropped Lumb twice in two balls – on 95 and 99, both times off the medium pace of Neil Dexter – and put down Steven Mullaney, who made 61, on 34.Strauss’s latest brief encounter with county bowlers came at the end of a long day for Middlesex, who had watched Nottinghamshire put their own patchy batting form behind them to total 423, claiming maximum batting points after managing only one in total from their five previous matches.At the heart of this, clearly, was Lumb, who probably had a month’s worth of good fortune in one go after Middlesex revealed ways not to get him out that were not limited to Strauss’s error-prone day at first slip.The only consolation for Strauss, albeit a hollow one, was that he was not the sole guilty party. Taking catches at slip is always relatively difficult; holding steeplers at mid-on is meat and drink, yet Tim Murtagh dropped an absolute sitter there off Ollie Rayner, the tall off-spinner, when Lumb had made 86, just over half his final tally.Murtagh’s mistake, therefore, was the costlier, allowing Lumb the opportunity for another 76 runs. But with 27 added for his Mullaney mishap, when Rayner was again the man inclined to emit a shriek of frustration, Strauss trumped him with 94.He did hold on to a couple, it should be said. But, all in all, Strauss would not, you imagine, have been in the best frame of mind to face Stuart Broad under the Trent Bridge floodlights, without which he probably would not have made it beyond the indoor nets, such was the dark gloom cast by a leaden sky.Strauss has his own personal cloud, in any event. Yet it was not Broad who dealt another blow to his quest for runs, but Harry Gurney, a left-arm seamer he had never before encountered.Gurney, who followed James Taylor in moving from Leicestershire to Nottinghamshire during the winter, was signed primarily with one-day cricket in mind but made a good impression after filling in for Andre Adams against Somerset last month and is keeping the more experienced Luke Fletcher out of the team in this match.Quicker than Strauss might have expected, Gurney troubled the England captain more than Broad had in his opening over and claimed his wicket with the first ball of his second, drawing the left-hander to fence at one outside off stump and give Chris Read a low catch.Strauss will not need reminding that he has only one Test century in his last 50 innings, so often has that statistic been repeated. The other one he will be disappointed with is 57 runs from his four supposedly recuperative innings for Middlesex.Gurney did not add a second wicket but Andre Adams weighed in with two, bringing his tally for the season to 30, and Middlesex have some way to go even to reach the follow-on target of 274.Lumb might also have been stumped, off Rayner on 148, but given that he batted for six and a half hours and hit 23 boundaries, some handsome strokes among them, it would be churlish, really, to suggest he was lucky. This was his second century for Nottinghamshire, whom he joined from Hampshire in the winter, and will confirm his liking for Trent Bridge, which was the backdrop to his career-best 219 in 2009.His partnership with Alex Hales for the second wicket was worth 150 and he helped Riki Wessels put on a further 83 for the third. Lumb and Mullaney then added 95 for the fourth before Murtagh, at mid-off, belatedly put right his earlier mistake.Mullaney enjoyed himself hugely, achieving the not inconsiderable feat of hooking Gareth Berg over the tall Bridgford Road stand for six. His 60 off 95 balls, supplemented by some enthusiastic late-order biffing, notably from Adams, took Nottinghamshire past 400 in the first innings for the first time at Trent Bridge since last July.Steven Finn, the other Middlesex player with England on his mind, ended with four wickets but struggled for line and rhythm and conceded 14 boundaries. Then again, he is only 22 and his days under a cloud can be more readily excused.

Kevin Pietersen is unlikely to spend much time in the Surrey dressing room but faces the prospect of some serious ribbing after falling to a team-mate

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2011Kevin Pietersen is unlikely to spend much time in the Surrey dressing room this summer, but faces the prospect of some serious ribbing after falling to a team-mate who was playing for Cambridge MCCU during his comeback match at Fenner’s. To add further spark to Pietersen’s dismissal the bowler who had him caught at slip, Zafar Ansari, is a left-arm spinner.Ansari, 19, is on the Surrey staff and highly rated by the coaching team but on this occasion was playing against the county for his university team. He had one previous first-class wicket to his name so Pietersen was a notable second scalp when he fell shortly after lunch.Pietersen, who was playing his first match since leaving the World Cup with a hernia in March, came to the crease in the 16th over. Unsurprisingly after a lengthy lay-off his innings had scratchy moments but he also struck two straight sixes until he was well caught by Chris Park.Ansari went on to claim an impressive 5 for 33 before Pietersen, captaining what is effectively a Surrey second XI, declared at 234 for 9.After a second innings in this game Pietersen will have a County Championship match against Essex at Whitgift School next to week to increase his preparation ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the end of the month. If Pietersen feels he needs extra batting, and the ECB release him to play, Surrey have a CB40 match against Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday and another against Hampshire on May 22.

Watch out, Australia have another blond legspinner. While the quick bowlers have been wreaking havoc and creating headlines, Steven Smith has quietly been going about his work

Andrew McGlashan at Beausejour Stadium12-May-2010Watch out, Australia have another blond legspinner. While the quick bowlers have been wreaking havoc and creating headlines, Steven Smith has quietly been going about his work. He hasn’t generated as much conversation as the pacemen, but that’s often because the opposition have been staring at defeat by the time Smith gets the ball.However, he has been incredibly impressive and figures of 3 for 20 against West Indies were due reward for a player who has made rapid strides over the past few months. He has leapfrogged Nathan Hauritz in the Twenty20 team, which is a notable achievement because Hauritz enjoyed a profitable home season.The highlight of Smith’s performance against West Indies was a ripping leg break that drew Kieron Pollard out of his crease and then he silenced the St Lucia crowd when he removed local hero Darren Sammy with a caught and bowled. Again it was a ball with flight and dip that played a key part in the batsman’s error.It reinforces the attacking mindset Australia have brought to this tournament – the legspinner instead of the offspinner. Smith, though, also brings his batting into the equation and has already played a crucial innings in the World Twenty20 with 27 off 18 balls against Bangladesh after Australia had been 65 for 6.In first-class cricket, run-scoring in his stronger suit, with an average of 56.22 from 13 matches coupled with four hundreds and he could well earn a Test place in the top six. Twenty20 is the one format where his bowling has excelled, with 29 wickets at 16.27. He provides further evidence of the success that is on offer for a brave spinner; some days he’ll get neck ache watching the ball disappear into the stands, but rewards can be plentiful.”It’s been pretty exciting coming over here and playing in my first World Cup,” he said. “The wickets here are quite slow and I think my pace of bowling is well suited. It was good to contribute today and take a few wickets to help us to victory. The team has moulded together beautifully but we haven’t come here just to make the semi-finals.”

‘Well, that was dumb’

The excitement of Australia’s win was a bit much for one supporter, whose energetic celebration resulted in a five-metre fall from a stand in St Lucia. Toby Fanning, a 24-year-old from Sydney, suffered a suspected broken nose and concussion following his tumble on to the edge of the boundary.
“Well, that was dumb,” Fanning told AAP. “I’m all right. I’m pretty sore. But that was pretty dumb. I was celebrating the shot and jumping around and lost my bearings and went over the fence.”
He was taken to hospital by ambulance after being treated on the outfield. The fall occurred after his cheering of David Hussey’s lofted boundary over extra cover in the second-last over of the game.

One significant advantage for Smith has been the top-order destruction dished out by the fast men, which has meant teams have been well behind the rate when Smith has come on to bowl. His challenge will be greater should a team be 60 for 1 after the Powerplays. However, there hasn’t been any element of Michael Clarke hiding his young spinner, who has often bowled his four overs straight through.”Smithy, like a lot of guys in their first World Cup, have been outstanding with their attitude,” Clarke said. “They have taken it upon themselves to be the one to win us the game. Smithy has bowled well throughout the whole tournament and although he got his rewards today his performances have been fantastic all the way. He wants to bowl, it doesn’t matter who’s batting and that’s important at the highest level.”Throughout the tournament, Smith has held his own against teams with impressive records against spin and he will come up against Pakistan for the second time in two weeks in the semi-final on Friday. Rather than being daunted by the prospect, he is relishing another contest.”They’ll be coming pretty hard at me I’d imagine with our three quicks bowling over 150kph – when a spinner comes they’ll attack me as they did in the last game,” he said. “It’s just about me changing my pace and missing the middle of the bat. If I do that I’ll be in with a chance.”And then, of course, there is one enticing prospect looming. If Australia overcome Pakistan and England overcome Sri Lanka there will be an Ashes final. There’s a certain blond legspinner who dominated that rivalry for more than a decade. Are any England batsmen getting twitchy?

Stand-in Superchargers captain Matthew Short expects “a lot of energy” from new head coach

Matt Roller25-Jul-2024Andrew Flintoff is “raring to go” for his first head coach role and will be “at his happiest” when his Northern Superchargers play Trent Rockets on Friday night. That is according to Kyle Hogg, Flintoff’s assistant at the Superchargers and his right-hand man ever since they met as teenagers making their way at Lancashire.”I was around Lancs as a 16-year-old playing in the second team, and he’d have been 19 or 20,” Hogg told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t want to say he took me under his wing – but he probably did, really. He looked after me in the dressing room and we’ve been close friends for about 25 years, which is scary. He’s never changed one bit from the first day I met him to today.”Related

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Hogg, who has worked as a pathway coach at Lancashire and is an assistant coach at the Thunder women’s team, was asked late last year if he would be interested in working with Flintoff in the Hundred. They have recently worked together on the BBC series and Hogg did not need much convincing: “Any time he comes calling, you’ve never turning him down.”Flintoff has been working in England’s white-ball set-up as an assistant coach and has been mentioned as a potential successor to Matthew Mott. But Hogg played those links down, saying: “He’s been in TV for the last 15 years. This is his first time in cricket, so I guess it’s, see how he finds it. What happens in the future, who knows?”But at the moment, he loves being part of cricket again… He went from being a cricketer to, every time you switch a TV on, he was doing something different. But he’s never changed once. He’s got his core group of friends who have always been there, forever. He’s had a tough few years, and it’s great to see him back in a cricket environment.”Matthew Short will deputise as Superchargers captain•PA Images via Getty Images

The Superchargers are light on players, so much so that their strength and conditioning coach took part in Wednesday’s practice match against the South Asian Cricket Academy. Harry Brook and Ben Stokes are with England’s Test squad, Mitchell Santner is at Major League Cricket and Reece Topley will miss at least a week with a finger injury. Matthew Potts will, at least, be made available by England.*Brook is due to captain but Matthew Short, the Australian opener, will deputise for two games after leaving MLC early. “The Superchargers showed some faith in me, retaining me for this year, and I thought, ‘al lright, I’ll commit to these guys 100 percent,” Short told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday, barely 24 hours after flying into the UK from Dallas. “It’s a bloody fun tournament.”Short had sorted his retention for 2024 before Flintoff’s appointment but said he is excited to work with him. “He’s been great: he’s probably even more excited than the players at the moment. He loves to be on this side of the fence here at Headingley. I’m sure everyone is going to get around Freddie and help him out. We love having him around.”At the T20 World Cup, where he was a travelling reserve, Short asked England’s players about Flintoff’s characteristics. “From what I’ve heard, he’s a bit of the modern-day coach now, especially in white-ball cricket. It feels like he’s got a lot of fun and a lot of energy to bring. He’s going to be nice and relaxed, and I’m sure it’s going to be a really nice environment.”Their main discussions so far have been “around the whereabouts of all the players,” Short said, laughing. “How we want to play as a team is pretty hard to work out in a couple of days, so we’re going to have to learn on the go in that regard. The guys have played enough cricket to know what to do and know what they’re doing personally.”Flintoff and Hogg were long-time Lancashire team-mates•Getty Images

Hogg spent 14 seasons playing for Lancashire’s first team and admitted it felt strange to be in the home dressing at Headingley, the home ground of their fierce rivals Yorkshire. “It is probably hard to get your head around it,” he said. “But we’ve come in and felt like this is our home, which is really good. We want this to be our fortress.”[Flintoff] would have played here a lot more than I have over the years. He said even playing for England, sometimes you’d get a bit of grief being a Lancastrian which is part and parcel of it. But as everybody knows with Fred, anything he does, he does it 110%. He’s more excited than probably anybody: he is raring to go.”Cricket is what he loves, that’s the bottom line. He loves the preparation and everything that goes with it, and tomorrow night, when we get going, he’ll be at his happiest… he’ll be the same as he is in all walks of life. He’ll want the lads to give it everything, [just like] how he played his cricket. He’ll be there for all the players, and he’ll want them to enjoy it.”July 26, 1600 GMT – This story was updated to reflect Nicholas Pooran’s arrival in Leeds

Selectors name 16-man group including seven pace options for first two Tests

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Jun-2023England have announced an unchanged squad for the first two men’s Ashes Tests. The 16-man party, which includes Worcestershire seamer Josh Tongue who was drafted in as bowling cover for the one-off Test against Ireland currently taking place at Lord’s, will report to Birmingham ahead of the Edgbaston Test starting on June 16.The announcement comes as no surprise, particularly with James Anderson (groin) and Ollie Robinson (ankle) progressing well in their respective recoveries from injury. The pair have been bowling at Lord’s, where England were pushing for a three-day victory over Ireland having registered a 352-run first-innings leads following a mammoth 524 for 4 declared.Both are likely to return to the XI for the first Test against Australia, along with Mark Wood who missed the Ireland Test to spend time with his second child born last week. Chris Woakes has also been retained, giving Ben Stokes seven pace-bowling options to pick from.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The majority of the group are due to head to Loch Lomond in Scotland next week as part of a team-bonding trip ahead of the five-match series with Australia. A number of players are heading up at the start of the week before a more official gathering at the weekend. While essentially a golf trip, the getaway is geared towards giving the players more time together, building on a successful week reestablishing the connections and frame of mind that has been a huge part of life under Brendon McCullum and Stokes.They will be in situ for the first Test the following Monday, before their first training session at Edgbaston on Tuesday, June 13.England men’s Ashes Test squad: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Usman Khawaja scored another hundred before Pat Cummins made a positive declaration to leave a target of 351

Tristan Lavalette24-Mar-2022Openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique made a confident start in Pakistan’s daunting chase of 351 to leave Australia anxious and the series deciding third Test tantalisingly poised ahead of the final day.The historic three-Test series is headed for a gripping finish after Pakistan reached stumps on day four at 73 for 0 with Imam 42 not out and Shafique unbeaten on 27. They survived 27 overs as Pakistan requires another 278 runs for victory with a minimum of 121 overs to be bowled in the innings.Shafique had a major scare on the second last day when he edged legspinner Marnus Labuschagne only for a wrong footed Steve Smith at first slip to desperately snatch his left hand out in vain. It continued a torrid time for Smith at slip and heightened Australia’s nerves in the series finale after draws in Rawalpindi and Karachi.Captain Pat Cummins had ended Australia’s second innings at 227 for 3 shortly after tea in a bid to ensure plenty of time for his bowlers on a pitch playing tricks but is not a minefield. The declaration dangled a carrot to Pakistan, who defied the odds during their remarkable chase of 506 in Karachi when they finished at 443 for 7 from 171.4 overs.This looms as another formidable challenge on a slow Lahore surface marked by low bounce with reverse swing and occasional sharp turn evident. History is against Pakistan with 208 runs being the highest successful fourth innings chase in Lahore while no team has survived more than 110 overs.But Pakistan made a strong start after surviving a couple of close calls. Nathan Lyon, targeting the rough patches, had a huge shout for lbw turned down against Imam in the eighth over and reviews confirmed there was an inside edge. The offspinner then had Shafique caught behind in the 16th over only for Pakistan to successfully overturn the decision with replays showing the opener had missed a delivery that skidded on.Lyon, who has traditionally struggled bowling Australia to victory on the final day, looms as a key figure particularly with legspinner Mitchell Swepson, in his second Test, looking ineffective so far this match.Australia, however, should remain confident with the knowledge that batting has been harder in this match against the old ball, which Cummins and Mitchell Starc memorably reverse swung in Pakistan’s first innings.Another day, another hundred: Usman Khawaja celebrates again•AFP/Getty Images

Up until Pakistan’s response, Australia had dominated day four after taking a first innings lead of 123.Usman Khawaja capped a series for the ages in his country of birth with an unbeaten 104 to notch his 12th Test century and second in the series. The remade opener has now scored fourth tons in nine innings since being recalled in January and has been the dominant batter in this series with 496 runs at 165.33. He was the only Australia batter to score a century in this series, the first between the teams in Pakistan since 1998.Just before tea, in more celebrations for Australia, Smith smoked a boundary to become the quickest to 8000 Test runs in his 151th innings – one faster than Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara.Khawaja was earlier well supported by an aggressive David Warner, as the openers batted almost through the first session albeit aided by a sloppy Pakistan who appeared to be going through the motions.Pakistan finally received a spark just before lunch when Shaheen Shah Afridi unleashed a spectacular delivery to uproot Warner’s off stump in an unplayable ball leaving the opener to shake the bowler’s hand on his way off.Leading by 220 runs at lunch with nine wickets in hand, there was an expectation Australia would put the foot down in a bid to force an early declaration. As has been the case throughout the series, runs were hard to muster against the older ball although Australia didn’t particularly look in any great hurry.With wickets hard to come by for Pakistan, dashing their hopes of a fightback, a stalemate ensued for much of the second session with attention turning to when Cummins would declare.Labuschagne, who had made two ducks twice in his last three innings, avoided a pair and made 36 before holing out attempting to lift the rate. It finished a relatively lean series for the No.1 Test ranked batter Labuschagne, who averaged 34 and remained without a Test century away from Australia.The acceleration was left to Khawaja who memorably reached his ton just before tea to trigger jubilant celebrations.After a disastrous final hour on day three, where they collapsed to lose 7 for 20, Pakistan were relatively toothless with the ball and in the field but there might be one last twist left in this long-awaited series.Aided by a sporting declaration, Imam and Shafique have made the first steps in Pakistan’s bid to conjure their second heroic fourth innings performance in just over a week.

Young batsman describes ‘unbelievable feeling of elation’ as long, lonely nets flash before his eyes

George Dobell21-Aug-2020Zak Crawley experienced “an unbelievable feeling of elation” the moment he reached a maiden Test century on the first day of the final Test against Pakistan.Crawley, the 22-year-old from Kent, has earned a reputation as one of the hardest workers in game. But the moment he reached the milestone, he says his career “flashed before my eyes” and he knew all the hard work was worth it.”I could see the nets,” he said. “I could see all the times I’ve gone to hit balls on my own. You do question yourself when you’re in a run of ducks.”But it all seemed worth it. It was a feeling that it was all worth it.”It’s the best feeling I’ve had on a cricket field. Just how I imagined it. It was an unbelievable feeling of elation out there and it makes you want it more. Hopefully there are a few more to come after this.”Zak Crawley eases into a drive•Getty Images

Crawley, who had only three first-class centuries heading into this game, admitted he experienced some nervous moments as the milestone approached; not least when the tea interval was taken when he had 97.”I was really nervous,” he said. “It was good I didn’t see tea coming because I might have tried to play a big shot. I wouldn’t have chosen to be on 97 at tea.”As it was, he brought up his hundred in the first over after the break with a punch through the covers off Mohammad Abbas.”I was on 99 with one ball of the over left and I didn’t want to have to wait an over on 99,” he said. “So I was determined to play a shot to that ball.”To find the gap and to run two and come back knowing I had my first Test hundred… I was trying to stay calm but inside I was absolutely buzzing.”Early in Crawley’s career, he realised he had improvement to make against spin bowling, so he paid for himself to travel to Mumbai where he took part in a training camp. At other times, he has travelled to Perth to work with renowned batting coach, ‘Noddy’ Holder and spent a couple of winters playing Grade cricket.”I try to go over to Perth every year,” he said, “I’ve been four or five times. I’ve enjoyed working with Noddy. He’s a brilliant coach and I love the way he talks about the game.”I do as much work as I can with Rob Key over the summer. I try to see him once a month to stay in check. He has a great cricket brain.”I did go out to India, but most of the lads have done that. I’m no different. There’s been a lot of hard work, but I wouldn’t swap it for anything, I’ve enjoyed it. It feels worth it now.”

Kings XI have a proud home record to look up to, Knight Riders have momentum from a resounding win

The Preview by Shashank Kishore02-May-20198:50

Kartik: Kings XI need to maximise Powerplays better

Big picture

As Manish Pandey hoisted Hardik Pandya into the stands to force a Super Over, R Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik, good friends and Tamil Nadu team-mates, could’ve been forgiven for looking at the fixtures and the points table frantically. A win for Sunrisers Hyderabad would’ve meant Friday’s game in Mohali would have been a knockout. Mumbai Indians’ win now leaves both sides with a chance even if they lose on Friday, but that will mean the stars have to align, a route they’d not want to take after having endured a roller coaster of a season.Kings XI Punjab’s season thus far bears an eerie resemblance to their 2018 campaign – well-placed halfway through, before a loss from a winning position causing an implosion. Now, the push has come to shove and there is no way out. It’s the survival of the fittest.Change has been the only constant for Kings XI; they have changed their playing XI in each of the 12 matches. The only solace they can fall back on is their proud home record: four wins in five games so far. The big square boundaries have given the two Ashwins plenty to bowl with even if the surfaces have not often aided much turn. However, they will know all too well that no boundary is big enough for Andre Russell, most certainly not if he continues to bat at No. 3 and stays till the death overs.Kolkata Knight Riders snapped a six-match losing streak and the win at Eden Gardens three nights ago may have come as a balm amid hints of friction in the camp. Nothing can cover up the cracks like a win, and the journey to Mohali and the two off days they have could not have come at a better time.Finally, they’ve managed to address issues that seemed apparent to everyone but themselves: the batting line-up conundrum. Shubman Gill opened and justified the change with a sparkling 76. His strike rate of 158 is the third-best for any opener who has scored 100 runs this season. Meanwhile, Russell showed how he can adapt to situations by batting his way in before the end-overs onslaught.Kings XI’s focus will be on the team combination. Do they trust Mujeeb Ur Rahman again and bring him in against a power-packed side, knowing his confidence may be down after conceding 66 in his four overs against Sunrisers or play an extra seamer in Ankit Rajpoot? Do they look to drop the under-firing David Miller and strengthen their bowling stocks further? One way of doing that could be including Karun Nair and playing Sam Curran to balance out the overseas personnel. It’s anybody’s guess how they’ll go.

In the news

Moises Henriques could’ve offered them the batting muscle along with a few overs, but he hasn’t yet recovered fully from the ankle injury. Kings XI also won’t have the services of Varun Chakravarthy, who has left the squad following a shoulder injury. They’ve tried out all other players in the squad barring Darshan Nalkande and Agnivesh Ayachi. Knight Riders have an entire squad to choose from.Kings XI will need to find a way to stop the Russell madness•BCCI

Previous meeting

Russell walloped five sixes and three fours in a 17-ball 48 to give Knight Riders 218 for 4. Kings XI Punjab challenged the chase at different stages but didn’t have enough firepower to cross the line. David Miller’s 59 not out merely reduced the margin of defeat.

Likely XIs

Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 David Miller, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 R Ashwin (capt), 8 M Ashwin, 9 Ankit Rajpoot, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed Shami Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Andre Russell, 4 Robin Uthappa, 5 Dinesh Karthik (capt, wk), 6 Nitish Rana, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Harry Gurney, 10 Sandeep Warrier, 11 Prasidh Krishna

Strategy punt

• Russell can seamlessly switch to six-hitting at the death – he has the second-best strike rate (249) and has scored the most runs (351) in overs 16 to 20. How do Kings XI prevent him from getting there? Perhaps their captain Ashwin, who likes to bowl with the new ball, may want to hold himself back a bit as Russell’s strike rate against the carrom ball is a modest 97.1 across 35 balls.
• Kings XI have to not just win but try and improve their net run-rate too. Gayle will be aware of this. So how do they keep him quiet? Maybe Knight Riders could unleash his West Indies mate Sunil Narine upfront? Gayle’s strike rate against offspin this season is a low 73.1 across 26 deliveries, with a dot-ball percentage of 50.
• Now that Gill has shown promise at the top of the order, Knight Riders may want to resist the temptation to open with Narine. Two of Gill’s three half-centuries this season have come while opening. He also strikes better (158) here than anywhere else in the order, and manages a boundary every 4.7 deliveries; the corresponding numbers at No. 3 and No. 5 stand at 15 and 13.5 respectively.

Stats that matter

• Russell is 58 away from 5000 T20 runs. If he gets there, he would have done so in exactly 300 T20s.
• Knight Riders’ pace bowlers have taken the fewest number of wickets in the competition (22). They are also the second-most expensive pace-bowling unit (economy of 9.5), behind only to Kings XI (9.6).
• Kings XI’s win percentage is a lowly 16.7 when Gayle scores less than 30.

The Australia opener is not only keen on taking up captaincy at every opportunity, but has also flagged the possibility of a career in politics once he retires

Daniel Brettig in Durban27-Feb-2018Not only is David Warner intent on captaining Australia at every opportunity, the opening batsman has also flagged the possibility of a career in politics once he retires.Warner has been known to interact a little more often with political leaders than most members of the Australian side, famously fronting then Prime Minister Tony Abbott to commit federal government funding for the redevelopment of Heffron Park, near his childhood home in public housing in Matraville.Now, following his influential public role in the 2017 pay dispute between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association, Warner has said he is interested in looking towards making a difference in politics following his playing days.”After cricket, I wouldn’t mind doing something,” Warner told . “One thing that has been embedded in me since a young age is that I grew up in a housing commission. As a kid, I had to do everything at home with my brother just because my parents worked all the time. So whether it was dishes, ironing – all the normal things you do at home. Once I was able to go and work, I went and worked because we needed that money coming in to pay the bills. Me and my brother both paid a bit of rent when we were younger and I just liked looking out for anyone who was close to me.”During the dispute, it was a tough situation, you had your employers who were going up against our union and the players. So, I thought I needed to have a stance somewhere because at the end of the day, I want to play cricket for my country but for us to get a result or something in the middle – a happy medium – we had to fight for that. I am a believer in what I believe in. So, that was our belief, to get what we wanted. I sit back now and go, ‘I probably regret how the situation was played out in the media.’ And we do as players.”But, if you believe in something you are going to have to fight for it and I wasn’t going to stand down because we needed someone out there to speak about it. You can sit back and do what you like but you don’t get anywhere unless someone speaks up and does something.”Warner’s brand of cricketing leadership was on display during the recent T20 triangular series won by Australia over New Zealand and England. He said that his desire to lead the national team wherever possible would fuel him to take part in every T20 series when the full-time captain, Steven Smith, is rested.”I just like having responsibility and if there is anything that I can do to help anyone, whether it is here at the cricket or even if it is down at the beach or something,” Warner said. “If it is something that I can help with and someone needs help, then it is something I’ll be hand up for. That’s just the person that I am. And obviously standing in for Steve there are big shoes to fill. He needs his rest.”Playing all three forms for Steve is like playing six or seven different forms with having the responsibility of being captain of all three forms. So, he definitely needs his break from time to time and I am obviously going to put my hand up as a senior player to do that role.”I feel it is important we do have a senior player playing in all three formats, or one of us staying back and playing the T20 format, because you need to keep your core team values and how we are as an Australian unit. You need to have that experience there too for the guys who are coming through.”