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New Zealand have never won a Test series against South Africa. Can they change that this time?

Firdose Moonda14-Feb-2022Of the Full Member nations New Zealand have played Test cricket against (all except Ireland and Afghanistan), the only one they have not registered a series win over is South Africa. They’ve lost 13 out of 16 series against South Africa including all of the last six and ten out of 11 since South Africa’s readmission in 1991. In 45 Tests dating back to 1932, New Zealand have only beaten South Africa four times, their worst win-loss ratio against any team.We take a look at that quartet of victories and one other time New Zealand came close, as they attempt to breach their final frontier – South Africa – in a two-match Test series starting this week.Cape Town, 1962
New Zealand embarked on this tour with only one Test win to their name – over West Indies in 1956 – and things did not immediately look likely to improve for them. South Africa took the series lead in Durban, thanks to Jackie McGlew’s 127 and Peter Pollock’s nine-for before New Zealand showed the fight and drew the second Test in Johannesburg. Against expectation, they then squared the series with victory in Cape Town.John Reid (92) and Zin Harris (101) put on 93 for the fourth wicket before Harris and Murray Chapple (69) shared 148 for the fifth in New Zealand’s first-innings total of 385. In response, South Africa were shot out for 190, with Frank Cameron (5 for 48) and Jack Alabaster (4 for 61) sharing nine wickets between them. New Zealand were 61 for 4 at one point in their second innings but recovered to declare on 212 for 9 to set South Africa 408 to win. They were 100 for 2 and 201 for 3 as Roy McLean scored 113 but Alabaster claimed another four and South Africa were bowled out for 335, to give New Zealand only their second Test victory and first away from home.John Reid’s 546 runs at an average of 60.66 were instrumental in New Zealand levelling the series in 1961-62•Getty ImagesPort Elizabeth, 1962
South Africa responded to their defeat in Cape Town with an innings-and-51-run win over New Zealand in the fourth Test to put a series win out of their visitor’s reach but New Zealand could still share the spoils, and did.Paul Barton scored the first and only century of his Test career in a line-up where no one else crossed 46 and New Zealand’s first innings ended on 275. But again, they dismissed South Africa for 190 and took an 85-run lead. New Zealand were 50 for 3 at one stage in their second innings but Graham Dowling (78) and Reid’s (69) 125-run fourth-wicket partnership allowed them to post 228 and set South Africa 314 to win. Again, South Africa appeared to be on track at 101 for 1 before Eddie Barlow was bowled by Reid for 59 as South Africa lost 5 for 41 to teeter on 142 for 6. Peter Pollock’s 54 held the lower together but New Zealand kept chipping away and won by 40 runs to level the series 2-2.Reid finished as the leading run scorer of the series with a tally of 546, 120 more than the second-best McGlew. Some have assessed this series as his best, both as a batter and captain.Johannesburg, 1994
It would be more than 30 years before New Zealand had the opportunity to beat South Africa and they did so in the first meeting between the two teams post-isolation.Martin Crowe (83), Ken Rutherford (68) and Shane Thomson (84) scored half-centuries as New Zealand piled on 411 in their first innings before Dion Nash and Richard de Groen reduced South Africa to 73 for 4. Daryll Cullinan’s 58 prevented a complete collapse in the top six and Dave Richardson’s 93 took South Africa over 200 but nowhere close to 400. They were bowled out for 279, 132 behind. In New Zealand’s second innings, Fanie de Villiers took four wickets and Craig Matthews one to leave them 34 for 5 but Adam Parore’s 49 helped New Zealand build a target. Matthews (5 for 42) ran through New Zealand’s lower order and they were all out for 194, having set South Africa 327. Doull (4 for 33) and left-arm spinner Matthew Hart’s career-best 5 for 77 ensured South Africa were bowled out for under 200 as New Zealand earned a comfortable win.Simon Doull was the Player of the Match when New Zealand met South Africa for the first time after 30 years•Stuart Milligan/Getty ImagesBut they could not sustain the momentum from that match and were dismissed for under 200 in both innings in Durban, where South Africa won by eight wickets, and conceded too many runs in South Africa’s first innings in Cape Town and lost the series 2-1.Auckland, 2004
A decade after their Johannesburg joy, New Zealand beat South Africa for the first time at home, when they took the series lead in Auckland after a high-scoring draw in the first Test in Hamilton. After scoring 509 in their first innings of the first Test, New Zealand went many better with 595 in the second match, still their highest against South Africa. That was in response to South Africa’s 296, a total that should have been much higher after Graeme Smith (88) and Herschelle Gibbs (80) put on 177 for the first wicket. South Africa’s ten wickets fell for 119, with Chris Martin taking 6 for 76. He finished the match with 11 for 180, his career-best.Two other New Zealand players also reached their career highs in this match. Scott Styris (170) and Chris Cairns (158) both registered their highest scores as New Zealand took a 299-run lead.Smith was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Martin in the second innings. Gibbs (61), Jacques Rudolph (154) and Jacques Kallis (71) kept New Zealand at bay for a while but South Africa eventually lost 7 for 99 to leave New Zealand needing 51 to win. They got there to take a 1-0 lead but went on to lose the third and final Test in Wellington.Kane Williamson taps the ball to mid-off during his 176•Getty ImagesHamilton, 2017
South Africa inflicted another Wellington heartbreak on New Zealand when they took the series lead after a draw in Dunedin but New Zealand had a golden opportunity to level matters in Hamilton. They had South Africa 5 for 2 in the first innings before Hashim Amla (50), Faf du Plessis (53) and Quinton de Kock (90) built the total to 314. However, none of them could match Kane Williamson’s brilliance as he scored 176. New Zealand’s first innings ended on 489, with a lead of 175.With four sessions left in the game, the smart money would have been on the draw but South Africa were reduced to 80 for 5 in 39 overs on the fourth evening and looked rattled. It rained overnight and for most of the fifth day to deny New Zealand. Of the XI that played for South Africa in that Test, only Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada are part of the current squad. New Zealand have five players from that match in their group this time: Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry and Neil Wagner.

Also, what is the record for the most men out for 1 in a Test?

Steven Lynch07-Jun-2022How many teams have managed a “team hat-trick”, as England did during one over in the Lord’s Test? asked Robert Horton from England, among others

Stuart Broad’s pivotal over on the third day of the see-saw Test between England and New Zealand at Lord’s at the weekend included the wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson, interrupted by the run-out of Colin de Grandhomme. My first port of call for queries like these is the Melbourne statistician Charles Davis, whose monumental research into past Test matches has uncovered many previously unattainable statistics.He advises me there have been only two previous individual overs in Tests that definitely contained three wickets in three balls including a run-out. The first was in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1888, when England’s George Lohmann took two wickets with successive balls after Harry Trott was run out; 92 years later in 1980, also at Old Trafford, the West Indian fast bowler Joel Garner took two wickets immediately after Alan Knott was run out. There’s a third possibility: at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 1997-98, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena wrapped up the second innings with two wickets either side of a run-out with India’s total stuck on 181. This was definitely in the same over, but the scorebook has disappeared so it’s not certain whether the wickets fell to successive deliveries. If there’s anyone out there with a scoresheet, or video evidence, please let me know!There have also been eight further instances of a team hat-trick split over two different overs, involving two bowlers, including the only known instance of four wickets in four successive balls in a Test – by England against West Indies at Headingley in 1957, when Fred Trueman claimed a wicket with the last ball of an over, then Peter Loader took a hat-trick with the first three deliveries of the next. It should be said that, despite Charles’ remarkable efforts, there are still a number of Tests for which ball-by-ball scores are not available.Was Matt Parkinson the first man to make his Test debut as a concussion substitute? asked Kevin Ryan from England

The Lancashire legspinner Matt Parkinson was called up for his first Test after the unfortunate Jack Leach suffered concussion early on during the opening Test against New Zealand at Lord’s. Unusually, Parkinson’s debut was confirmed while he was tending a barbecue at his home around 200 miles away in Manchester.The only other man to play his first Test as a concussion replacement (the preferred term, as in cricket substitutes cannot bat or bowl, whereas these replacements can) was the Zimbabwean opener Brian Mudzinganyama, who was called up against Sri Lanka in Harare in January 2020 after Kevin Kasuza (another debutant) was hit on the head while fielding.More recently, South Africa’s Khaya Zondo made his Test debut as a Covid replacement after Sarel Erwee tested positive during the match against Bangladesh in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in April.The first Test against New Zealand this year started at Lord’s on June 2. Last year, the same two teams met in the first Test at Lord’s – again starting on June 2. Has this ever happened before in Tests? asked Philip Kelly from England

My first thought was this it would not have happened before – but that’s always dangerous in cricket. And actually there was another instance, way back in the 19th century: Australia took on England in Sydney in a match that started on February 17, 1882, and the two teams met again at the SCG on February 17, 1883. Australia won both.There have been three further instances of teams meeting each other in successive years in Tests that started on the same day, but not at the same ground. West Indies and Pakistan started Tests on March 26 in Port-of-Spain in 1958 and Lahore in 1959; Pakistan and Bangladesh began matches on March 12 in Dhaka in 1999 and Karachi in 2000; and South Africa met Australia in Tests starting on November 9 in Cape Town in 2011 and Brisbane in 2012.England last fielded two Matthews in Tests in 2007, when Matthew Hoggard (left) and Matt Prior (centre) were part of the squad•Getty ImagesA lot of batters were out for 1 in the first Test between England and New Zealand – was it a record? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England

In all, there were five individual scores of 1 in the first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord’s. However, five turned out to be a fair way down the list. There have been three Tests with eight scores of 1: South Africa vs England in Cape Town in 1898-99, India vs West Indies in Ahmedabad in 1983-84, and India vs South Africa in Mohali in 2015-16.The first two of those matches included seven dismissals plus a not-out (the third included three not-outs). There have been five further Tests in which seven men were out for 1.At Lord’s, New Zealand’s Will Young was out for a pair of 1s. This has now happened on 74 occasions in Tests – Jimmy Anderson has done it four times – but only six openers have completed the feat. Three of the others were also New Zealanders: Gordon Leggat (against Pakistan in Dacca in 1955-56), Bruce Murray (vs England in Christchurch in 1970-71) and Jeet Raval (vs Australia in Perth in 2019-20). It was also done by Moeen Ali for England (against Pakistan in Dubai in 2015-16) and India’s Wasim Jaffer (vs West Indies in Kingston in 2006).When did England’s Test side last contain two players called Matthew, as it did at Lord’s? asked Matthew Robertson from England

England’s two debutants in the first Test at Lord’s were Durham’s Matthew Potts and Lancashire’s Matt Parkinson, as mentioned above. It was the first time England had included two players with the first name Matthew since… March, when Yorkshire’s Matthew Fisher made his debut against West Indies in Bridgetown and lined up alongside Jack Leach, whose first name is Matthew.But that’s cheating a bit: the only time England have fielded two players generally known as Matthew (or Matt) in the same side was in four matches during 2007, when Matthew Hoggard appeared with Matt Prior (they both had the same second name too: James). England’s only previous Matthew was Glamorgan’s Matthew Maynard, who won four caps between 1988 and 1993-94.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Yes, the finisher’s job is that important, and it’s hard to argue with Karthik’s end-overs numbers since early 2019

Sidharth Monga07-Jun-20220:40

Dravid: ‘Karthik has been a point of difference at the back-end’

Dinesh Karthik’s comeback to international cricket is one of the more un-Indian T20 selections. He scored only one half-century in the IPL. With Rishabh Pant in the squad to take the gloves, Karthik becomes a specialist batter who won’t – and shouldn’t – bat in the top order. And, for once, here is a selection where a top-order accumulator in the IPL and/or domestic cricket is not being asked to go and take on a finisher’s role in international cricket.Karthik’s role description says “wicketkeeper-batter”, but he is not competing with Pant or Ishan Kishan. There is a specific role Karthik has in a T20 batting line-up, one that Kolkata Knight Riders learnt about the hard way. Ironically, when he was the captain of Knight Riders in 2020, Karthik tried to bat through innings, possibly to provide Eoin Morgan with his ideal point of entry, but through the season he managed only three innings of any impact: he entered in the 11th, 15th and 18th overs in those three innings.Related

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When IPL 2022 started, the Star Sports broadcast presented a telling stat: in the last three IPLs, Karthik had averaged 18 and struck at 126 when he had come out to bat before the end of the 14th over. In his innings that began in the last six overs, these numbers went up to 37 and 157. At the end of this IPL, ESPNcricinfo’s statsman Shiva Jayaraman expanded the filter to the last eight overs in IPL games and T20Is starting from January 1, 2019, and here are the corresponding numbers: in the last three-and-a-half years, Karthik has started 38 innings after the 12th over, averaging 47 and striking at 174 in them. In the same period, the 28 innings of his that have begun before the end of the 12th over have yielded an average of 19 and a strike rate of 129.An intangible reason behind this is the role clarity that comes with batting when only a certain number of deliveries are left in the innings. A tangible reason is Karthik’s struggles against spin and his preference for pace. In the last three IPLs, Karthik has averaged 37 and struck at 166 against pace while averaging 15 and striking at 111 against spin. And you get to face less spin when you bat only in the death overs.Royal Challengers Bangalore used Karthik almost perfectly in this year’s IPL, but the question is, are India willing to make those allowances to get the best out of Karthik? And the question arises because in the past many an IPL success has gone on to perform a different role for India without similar results.A good series against South Africa could put Dinesh Karthik in the mix for the World Cup•PTI It is as much about the willingness as it is about the resources. RCB had allrounders to promote ahead of Karthik if they lost wickets early, and the presence of Wanindu Hasaranga typically coming in behind him gave him the freedom to bat the way he did. India have the two Patels, Axar and Harshal, who should be prepared to bat three-four overs if needed to allow Karthik to bat at his preferred point of entry.For long India have tried to refashion top-order batters to fit the lower-middle-order and finishing roles. Now, with many a top-order batter resting, is the perfect time to make every allowance for a man used to playing the finishing role for his franchise, because this role is important. It is also important to not look at aggregates, especially when he doesn’t get to bat much, as was the case in his previous stint in T20Is.Just after his Premadasa heroics, Karthik found himself out of the team, and when he came back he got nine innings in 13 matches for a highest of 33 not out and a strike rate of 140. While India did well by not batting him before the death overs, Karthik didn’t get enough balls to bat, partly because India’s top orders tend to bat through and take fewer risks.In his long career with many comebacks, Karthik has played various roles, from Test opener in England and South Africa to a sudden-collapse plug in a World Cup semi-final, but now he promises to start a stint with high levels of role clarity, something he has earned with his performances in the IPL. He has time before this year’s T20 World Cup to take this to the international level too, and there is no reason for India to bat him in any other role now.

Allrounder has been crucial to Pakistan’s progress into the Asia Cup final

Shashank Kishore10-Sep-20223:56

Arthur: ‘Shadab’s become far better and is an all-round package’

Shadab Khan had “complicated things” for himself not long ago. He made this candid revelation after the Super 4 game against India at the Asia Cup. He said he was trying too many things as a bowler. As an art, legspin can be demanding at the best of times. It leaves you with minuscule margins for error. And when you try too many things like Shadab felt he had, results are often likely to be met with inconsistency.This is something Shadab has consciously worked on since the start of 2022. He touched upon doing the simple things right. Like hitting the same spot over and over again and varying his pace and trajectory without losing sight of that spot. When he was convinced the consistency in hitting that was back, he weaved the variations back in, such as the googly and the flipper.It was as if he was reconstructing his bowling; one by one piecing back the jigsaw of skills that brought him tremendous success when he broke through as a teenager six years ago.Related

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To Shadab’s credit, even through all that, he made sure his batting didn’t suffer. It’s actually something he takes great pride in, to the point that, two years ago, when he was pulled up by Mickey Arthur for not doing enough, he bet his coach that he’d score three half-centuries in three Tests and he did just that: 55 against Ireland followed by 52 and 56 against England.Shadab brings great flexibility to Pakistan’s T20 line-up, something they have lacked since moving on from Faheem Ashraf. And he likes being the two-in-one guy. Earlier this year, playing for Islamabad United, Shadab picked up 19 wickets in eight innings. This included two four-wicket hauls and a five-for. He also made 268 runs at a strike rate of 162.42. No one in the PSL had made 250 runs and taken 15 wickets. To have done all this while leading Islamabad suggests that responsibility sits well with him.Shadab Khan’s spell was crucial to Pakistan stopping a rampaging India in the Super 4 game•AFP/Getty ImagesOver the past two weeks, we’ve seen Shadab’s brilliance at different times at the Asia Cup. In the game against India, he was single-handedly responsible stalling an innings that was in overdrive. His spell of 2 for 31 in four overs was the reason India finished on 181 instead of the 200-plus they were on track to get.Shadab’s variations that night extended far beyond just a simple wrong’un. He produced subtle changes in length, pace and use of the crease. He struck off his very first ball when KL Rahul didn’t fully get beneath it. It was a classic Shadab wicket. Tempting the batter into a big shot, only to have him drag one to strategically-placed deep fielders. Later on, with Rishabh Pant trying to play funky shots, he drew a mis-hit that was caught at backward point.Shadab’s contribution didn’t end there. Thanks to a deep understanding of match-ups and data, he played a key role in Mohammad Nawaz being pushed up the order to disturb India’s two legspinners. Of course, the benefit of hindsight allows us to label it a masterstroke, as Nawaz’s 20-ball 42 blindsided India.Against Afghanistan, he responded to conceding an early six by prising out the dangerous Najibullah Zadran. It was a clever piece of work, sneaking in a seam-up delivery that the batter toe-ended to long-on. Then, on a low-scoring bunsen, in a game wasn’t sealed before Naseem Shah’s twin-sixes in the final over, Shadab’s 36 off 26 at No. 5 proved invaluable, especially after the top order faltered.The dramatic nature of the finish meant his knock didn’t get the credit it deserved. It had been an exhibition of total control until he was dismissed trying to be a tad too adventurous against Rashid Khan. A game earlier, against Hong Kong, his 4 for 8 had been a wholesome display of his bag of tricks.As a bowler, Shadab doesn’t get expansive turn and bounce. He gets his edge from imparting sidespin and playing around with trajectories. With the bat, he’s calm and calculative. He plays to his strengths, to his match-ups. All of this is why he’s as X-factor as they come. The old verve that made him a teenage sensation is back. The signs are promising, once again.

In the absence of KL Rahul and Axar Patel, India will be testing out a few of their bench players

Deivarayan Muthu16-Jan-20232:48

Jaffer: I would pick Kuldeep ahead of Chahal on current form

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Will Kishan keep wicket and open the batting?

With Rahul missing the series because of family commitments and Rishabh Pant in recovery after a serious car crash, Ishan Kishan has emerged as the frontrunner to keep wicket in both the ODI and the T20I series against New Zealand. However, it remains to be seen whether he slots right back in as an opener in 50-over cricket.Despite shellacking a 126-ball double-century last month – the fastest ever in ODI cricket – Kishan was benched for the Sri Lanka series, with Shubman Gill getting the nod ahead of him. Gill scored two fifty-plus scores in three innings, and worked his way towards establishing himself as an all-format player for India. However, if India want to fit Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order in place of Rahul, and want Kishan to have another go at the top along with captain Rohit Sharma, then Gill could potentially drop out of the XI.Related

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Kuldeep vs Chahal

With India all but certain to play at least one fingerspin-bowling allrounder, it has always been about Yuzvendra Chahal vs Kuldeep Yadav in this ODI World Cup year. If Chahal still hasn’t recovered sufficiently from the shoulder complaint that put him out of the last two ODIs against Sri Lanka, then Kuldeep might surely start the New Zealand series.However, if Chahal is fit again, India will have to a make a difficult choice between the two wristspinners. Though Chahal has leaked runs in his last few ODI outings, his experience and slow legbreaks are still valuable, particularly at home. Kuldeep has also presented his case, bridging the gap between Chahal and himself by adding more vigour to his action which is enabling him to get a little more drift and a little more turn. He has bagged two Player-of-the-Match awards in his last three international games, which could be hard to ignore.Washington Sundar has worked specifically on power-hitting and expanding his range of strokes•AFP/Getty Images

More game-time for Washington?

With Ravindra Jadeja still working his way back from injury and Axar also taking a break due to family reasons, offspin-bowling allrounder Washington Sundar could be set for a consistent run in the ODIs and T20Is against New Zealand.Bengal’s left-arm fingerspinner Shahbaz Ahmed has been drafted in as Axar’s like-for-like replacement in the ODI squad, but it is Washington’s offspin that could be matched up with New Zealand’s left-hander heavy line-up that could include all of Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Tom Latham, Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner.Washington has missed at least two World Cups because of injury since his international debut in 2017, and this is now his chance to break the jinx. Since IPL 2022, he has worked specifically on power-hitting and expanding his range of strokes some of which were on display during his cameos in New Zealand late last year.Washington had also dropped down the order for his state team Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy to get accustomed to closing out the innings. Having started his career as a top-order batter, he is on the path towards reinventing himself as a spinner and a finisher.Shardul Thakur was left out for the ODI series against Sri Lanka•AFP via Getty Images

The return of Thakur

After being left out for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Shardul Thakur is back in the mix, with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh dropping out of the squad. With Bhuvneshwar no longer on India’s radar and Deepak Chahar still unfit, Thakur gets another opportunity as a seam bowler who can also offer batting depth. Although Thakur isn’t a genuine swing bowler like Chahar, he can also bowl with the new ball, something he did on the Bangladesh tour.Thakur also has some recent batting form against the New Zealanders on his side. In September against New Zealand A in Chennai, he cracked 51 off 33 balls from No. 8 to help drag India A close to 300.

Malik steps up in Prasidh’s absence

In the early half of 2022, Prasidh Krishna was India’s chief enforcer with his hit-the-deck bustle, but a long injury layoff has set his career back. In the absence of Prasidh, India’s team management has turned to Umran Malik for high pace and bounce in the middle overs. Malik has not gone wicketless in the six completed ODIs he has played so far.When Sri Lanka were making a good fist of a chase of 374 on a flat pitch in Guwahati, it was Malik who provided India with a point of difference by ripping out Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka and Dunith Wellalage with rapid deliveries. Similar bowling performances will keep Malik in India’s World Cup frame, with or without Prasidh.

The top order had the experience to bail out their inexperienced attack, but they instead went down in abject fashion

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Mar-2023Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Dinesh Chandimal have all been on four Test tours to New Zealand (this one included). Kusal Mendis has been there three times. Dhananjaya de Silva twice. By now, they’ve sat through days worth of meetings and analysis on how to bat in New Zealand, pored through many hours of footage of the opposition, discussed leaving on length at length, and – such are this team’s predilections – likely become family friends with Nandos staff across the country.The attack has the excuse of inexperience. They have not toured New Zealand anywhere near as much, have a much more complicated history with injuries, and anyway are treated with borderline disdain at home, where pitches frequently make them comedic props in the spin bowlers’ dramatic production. And while New Zealand have had a difficult World Test Championship cycle, their batting order is studded with an all-time superstar in Kane Williamson, a reliable hand in Tom Latham, and batters who have made very bright starts to what promise to be long careers in Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, and Tom Blundell.Their bowling? Well, you’ve kinda gotta maybe say that they were a more daunting proposition in the bad old days when Trent Boult and Tim Southee curved the ball snarl viciously from either end, before Neil Wagner summoned bouncers from the depths of hell in the peak Wagnerball era.Related

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If one didn’t nick you off swinging it one way, the other would get you lbw swinging it the other. And if you survived all of that, the other guy would jam your fingers against the bat with a ball that rocketed off the pitch, his team-mates gathering around to kindly check on you as you writhed around in pain, knowing your tour was over.It is almost to be expected that Sri Lanka’s attack had as poor a first innings as they did in Wellington. On day one, they were battling a near-gale. On top of which, New Zealand’s best batter was incandescent. And there was also the debutant wicketkeeper, who missed a vital catch (he missed a straightforward one off Henry Nicholls on the first evening).

“Their bowling inexperience had made a victory almost impossible, but on day three, batting incompetence sent Sri Lanka nosediving towards defeat”

But for Sri Lanka’s batters to have as poor a day three as this? Just a single 50-plus partnership, and all out for 164, in testing, but not unplayable batting conditions? Their bowling inexperience had made a victory almost impossible, but on day three, batting incompetence sent Sri Lanka nosediving towards defeat.Across that first innings, Sri Lanka made what might be termed rookie mistakes. Late on day two, Mendis saw a short, wide delivery, and failed to hit it far enough away from Conway, who dived spectacularly to his left to intercept it. Mendis has been at the ground for a number of otherworldly New Zealand catches. When they are feeling themselves, this is what New Zealand do.Then, the next day, Mathews fished at one he shouldn’t have. Chandimal charged offspinner Michael Bracewell and went through with his doomed heave to legside when he might have played defensively when he realised he wasn’t getting to the pitch of the ball. Dhananjaya de Silva ran at Bracewell also, and chipped him softly to the catcher at midwicket – perhaps the softest dismissal of the day. Karunaratne played much better than his team-mates, reaching 50 twice in one day. But then he failed to make a century out of either one, holing out twice in the deep, with no need to fall this way in the second innings.Sri Lanka are now faced with an almost impossible climb. They are 303 runs behind, with eight wickets in hand. New Zealand’s bowlers have bowled almost 110 overs in succession, so there is hope the visitors can subject them to further fatigue, batting a wicketless first session out first thing on Monday, then clawing back the lead in the afternoon. It would not be the first time Mathews and Mendis have put on a big stand at the Basin Reserve.But Sri Lanka once again require a second-innings miracle to make something out of this game. The top order had the experience to bail out their inexperienced attack. Instead, in the first innings, they went down in abject fashion.

Najmul Hossain Shanto joined an exclusive list for Bangladesh with his twin tons in Mirpur

Sampath Bandarupalli17-Jun-2023546 Bangladesh’s win margin by runs in Mirpur is the third biggest in the history of Test cricket. England defeated Australia by 675 runs in 1928 at the Gabba, the biggest win by runs in Tests. England were on the receiving end six years later, losing to Australia by 562 runs at The Oval.661 Bangladesh’s second-innings lead against Afghanistan. Only seven times did any team have a higher lead at the end of their second innings in a Test match. It is also the highest second-innings lead for any team in a five-day Test, bettering New Zealand’s 659-run lead against Sri Lanka in the 2018 Christchurch Test.14 Wickets for Bangladesh pacers in Mirpur are the most for them in a Test match, surpassing the 13 scalps shared against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui at the start of 2022. The Bangladesh quick bowlers claimed eight wickets in Afghanistan’s first innings, the most by them in a Test innings at home.Related

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2 Batters with centuries in both innings of a Test match for Bangladesh, including Najmul Hossain Shanto in Mirpur. Mominul Haque was the first batter from Bangladesh with twin hundreds in a Test match, a feat he achieved against Sri Lanka in 2018 in Chattogram. Shanto’s 270 runs against Afghanistan are also the second-most runs in a Test match for Bangladesh, behind Mominul’s 281 against Sri Lanka.82.82 Shanto’s batting strike rate in this match is the fourth-highest for any batter when scoring hundreds in both innings of a Test match (where balls-faced data is available). The highest is 90.90 for David Warner during his 135 and 145 against South Africa in the 2014 Cape Town Test.261 Runs aggregated by Afghanistan in this Test are the lowest for any team in a match against Bangladesh while being bowled out twice. The previous lowest was 354 runs by West Indies in 2018, also in Mirpur. Afghanistan’s 261 runs are also the third lowest for a team in a Test match in Bangladesh.151 Test wickets for Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He is only the third bowler to complete the milestone for Bangladesh, after Shakib Al Hasan (233) and Taijul Islam (177).

The USA and MI New York spinner believes there’s no substitute for hard work where he comes from

Peter Della Penna17-Jul-2023In the summer of 2016, a 25-year-old hospital equipment diagnostics technician showed up to an open tryout at a typically unkempt cricket outfield with an artificial jute matting wicket in the Bronx, New York. He was hoping somebody would notice him and give him a shot to go a little further on the pathway to play for the USA national team.That goal was itself only a way of going from one amateur pursuit to another, since USACA was a year into their suspension and a year away from expulsion by the ICC, while the rest of the USA ecosystem was in limbo and the thought of a professional career was a mirage in the desert of the American cricket landscape.Left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige might as well have been Moses on that day at Van Cortlandt Park, a stranger in a strange land. VCP is a place where cricket has been played for more than 100 years – mostly anonymously – at the Parade Ground between 244th and 252nd Streets just off the Henry Hudson Parkway. Though he was born in Alabama and was a US citizen, Kenjige had spent almost his entire life living in Karnataka and had only come back to the USA late in 2015, initially to Virginia before quickly moving north to New York City, and taking up a job inspecting hospital MRI and X-Ray machines. Barring the friends he quickly made after joining Columbia Cricket Club, nobody knew who he was, let alone how to pronounce his name.Related

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Fast forward seven years, and Kenjige is taking the new ball in Grand Prairie Stadium for MI New York. With his third delivery of the night, he beats Martin Guptill’s attempted sweep and lets out an excited and knowing plead for lbw before umpire Billy Taylor obliges with a finger raise. It’s validation for all of the hard work that Kenjige has put in to get to this moment, going from an amateur club cricketer in New York to a centrally contracted player with the USA national team, and now also representing a professional T20 franchise tied to New York and the IPL.”It’s been unreal,” Kenjige said in the post-match press conference after MI New York’s 105-run demolition of LA Knight Riders, a match in which he finished with figures of 2 for 7 in three overs and also took two catches in the field. “To just get the tournament started, I know we were all eagerly looking forward to it for the last one or two years and to have such good teams and such good management teams which are running the teams, it just feels unreal. To have such good cricketers from all around the world playing right here in Dallas, this is all what we wanted from the USA cricketing point of view. So I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”It means a lot. I think there’s a lot of responsibility on the local guys as well. Local and the other USA cricketers who are playing this tournament because a lot of kids look up to us and they see us practice. They look at us going through the fitness regimes and they want to play for the country and obviously for them to see us playing alongside the superstars of the game, it just motivates them even more. So I think it’s a big responsibility for us to do the right things all the time, even when nobody’s looking.”

“To have such good cricketers from all around the world playing right here in Dallas, this is all what we wanted from the USA cricketing point of view”Kenjige says the MLC still feels ‘unreal’

That last line sums up the majority of Kenjige’s cricket journey, literally and figuratively. The 32-year-old is the epitome for what it takes to make it grafting away in the USA cricket scene. After Kenjige had been identified as a genuine prospect at the 2016 VCP open tryout in New York, he took a five-wicket haul at a USA intra-squad trial two months later in Florida and the USA men’s selection panel, at the time headed by former West Indies international Ricardo Powell, gave him a heads up that they were interested, but that he was currently ineligible to play for USA until he met some additional requirements.Though he was a US citizen, the ICC eligibility rules at the time in 2016 stated that someone who had not been living in the USA for at least four years must demonstrate a commitment to the local community, which could be done through completing 100 days of coaching in the country. According to the ICC definition, 100 days equaled eight hours. So Kenjige would work a normal 9-5 pm shift going around hospitals in New York City inspecting x-ray machines, then drive to an indoor facility and do four hours of coaching on every weeknight from 6 to 10 pm.On weekends, he would come to the same facility from 10 am until 6 pm to do more coaching with academy players. Before long the owners of the facility gave him his own key so that he could lock up the place after taking a few more hours to spot bowl in the nets on his own after everyone else had left. By February 2017, he had completed his 100 days of coaching and was deemed eligible to represent USA. He took another five-wicket haul at another USA national team intra-squad scrimmage in March 2017 in Houston, and was immediately picked to play for USA on a World Cricket League tour of Uganda.Kenjige has been a fixture in the USA setup since 2017•Peter Della PennaHe’s been a fixture in the USA setup ever since, and has since migrated from New York to Dallas, leaving the world of hospital equipment inspecting behind in favor of a place where the weather and facilities are more conducive to year-round cricket playing and training. He is an active coach and mentor with the MLC-affiliated Mustangs Academy. But getting a chance to perform on the T20 franchise stage and running with it now puts Kenjige onto a different level.”Nosh doing so well, it makes me so happy,” LA Knight Riders bowler Ali Khan, Kenjige’s USA team-mate, said. Ali himself has gone through a similar journey to Kenjige, starting off life in the USA as a mobile phone salesman while playing for USA in his free time as an unpaid amateur before finally striking it big in the summer of 2018. “He’s been working hard, a really hard-working guy, and a lot of other players who are also working hard. They’re just waiting for the opportunity and the opportunity is here now and it’s up to them now to avail it with both hands and I’m sure the world will see a lot of talent coming up now.”Just one innings or one spell can change your life because all these players are here. Just like I played with [Dwayne] Bravo in a local tournament and I did well and he picked me in other leagues. Then that changed my life. So just one opportunity, one good performance can change your life.”Kenjige was USA’s leading wicket-taker at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe•ICC/Getty ImagesKenjige was USA’s leading wicket-taker at the recent ICC World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, one of the few bright spots on a team that finished winless and in last place. Though he has been in every 50-over squad for USA since his maiden call-up in 2017, he has not played in T20 cricket for USA since September 2018 at the ICC Americas Subregional T20 Qualifier in North Carolina. He was USA’s leading wicket-taker in that event, with 12 wickets in six matches before being mysteriously left out of USA’s squad for the ICC Americas T20 Regional Final in Bermuda in 2019, and has yet to make his official T20I debut for USA.However, MI New York scouted him and rated him highly enough before the MLC Draft in March that they invested a fourth round draft pick in him at the $40,000 slot level. Mahela Jayawardene singled Kenjige out for special praise stating that, “We honestly thought that Nosh would probably go in round two or three” and that, “as soon as we had the opportunity, we grabbed him. He’s one of the best left-arm spinners going around the US. He knows these conditions better than anyone else and he’s a two or three phase bowler. He bowls in the powerplay, which is a massive thing for us, being a left-arm spinner, and a good character as well. He’s not afraid of a challenge.”Whether or not having a stellar debut for MI New York on his resume will get him back into USA’s 2024 T20 World Cup squad plans remains to be seen. For now, Kenjige is focused on continuing to do well with MI New York and will let the chips fall where they may when it comes to a possible recall in USA’s T20 side.”It’s just about what I can do with the bat and the ball and the field,” Kenjige said. “Apart from that in terms of words or sentences, it’s not gonna go a long way. So I think it’s best to just leave the performances on the field and I know at some point I will get an opportunity and I just need to be ready for it.”

The 50-over World Cup winner leaves opponents in awe of his strokeplay during blistering innings

Hemant Brar23-Nov-20231:53

Inglis on his century – ‘Nice to get the monkey off the back’

Josh Inglis has left everyone in awe.Mukesh Kumar is scratching his head. Axar Patel and Rinku Singh have wry smiles on their faces. Suryakumar Yadav, India’s stand-in captain, cannot help applauding.In the tenth over during the first T20I in Visakhapatnam, Mukesh marginally missed his length with the yorker. Inglis took it on the full, used his wrists to open the face of the bat beyond 90°, and hit it into the turf. The ball flew off the surface, beating the backward point to his left and leaving the deep third with no chance of stopping it.No one in world cricket plays such shots better, or more regularly, than Suryakumar. In fact, he has even hit sixes off those deliveries over that region. Still, he was seen shadow-practising what Inglis had just done. There couldn’t have been a bigger compliment.Inglis is no stranger to inventive strokeplay. On his T20I debut against Sri Lanka last year, facing just his fourth ball, he reverse-swept Wanindu Hasaranga through point for four. On Thursday, however, he opened his account with a textbook cover-drive off the first ball he faced, from Ravi Bishnoi.Related

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Australia had lost Matthew Short from the previous ball. But on a small ground and a belter of a pitch, they knew they had to attack all the way through. Inglis was up to the task. The only time he looked a bit handcuffed was when Axar cramped him with the arm-ball. But after three dots, Axar pitched one short and wide, and Inglis duly dispatched it to the boundary.From there on, it was a complete domination. In the eighth over of the innings, Inglis hit Prasidh Krishna for three fours and a six in one over as the fast bowler struggled with his line and length. Till then, that six – clearing the deep-backward point fielder via a back-foot punch – was the shot of the match. But the night was still young. A couple of overs later, Inglis bettered it, at least in the eyes of his opponents, with the aforementioned four off Mukesh.He reserved the severest punishment for Bishnoi, off whom he scored 49 from just 15 balls. Six of his eight sixes came against the legspinner, three in one over. It was not that Inglis was targeting a particular area. He scored all around the wicket – 54 runs came on the off-side and 56 on the leg – which meant India couldn’t restrict him by packing one side and bowling there.Having brought up his fifty off 29 balls, Inglis needed only 18 more to get to his hundred. It was the joint-fastest T20I hundred by an Australia batter, equalling Aaron Finch’s 47-ball effort against England in 2013. En route to the milestone, he reverse-scooped a full delivery from Arshdeep Singh over short third for four, once again impressing Suryakumar.Despite Steven Smith scoring only 52 off 41, Inglis’ 110 off 50 balls powered Australia to 208 for 3. Eventually, it didn’t prove to be enough as India chased it down with one ball to spare. But Inglis has seen far bigger ups and downs in life.Josh Inglis shows his inventive side•BCCIThere was a time when he wasn’t able to convert his starts in first-class cricket. After 34 matches, he averaged 28.15 with nine fifties and no hundred. He overcame that by working with a sports psychologist and spending more time with his batting coach. In the next 18 games, he has scored at 44.27 and notched up four hundreds.During that time, he and Alex Carey were contesting for a place in the 2021-22 Ashes squad after Tim Paine stepped away from the game for a mental-health break. The selectors went with Carey. The following year, Inglis was picked as Matthew Wade’s back-up for the 2022 T20 World Cup, but a freak golf injury ruled him out of the tournament.But things have been looking up in 2023. During the recently concluded ODI World Cup, he replaced Carey as the first-choice 50-over keeper, and scored 58 off 59 against Sri Lanka in his second game. In his next six innings, he could manage only 96 runs at an average of 16.00 but had the team management’s backing all the way through to the title.Inglis has also replaced Wade in the T20I side, or at least that is what it now looks like. When Australia played a three-match T20I series in South Africa earlier this year, Inglis played all the games with Wade warming the bench.Even though Wade is the captain, and the first-choice keeper, for this five-match T20I series, he isn’t sure if he will be the first-choice keeper for next year’s T20 World Cup. And Inglis’ innings hasn’t made things any easier. But Wade was full of praise for the “terrific knock”.”I was just speaking to him and asking if he wants to go back down the order,” Wade said after the game. “But I don’t think we are seeing that for a while . To come out at No. 3 and play shots from ball one… he was the class better on the night.”

After a poor run in 2023, the KKR allrounder is destroying bowlers once again in T20 cricket

Hemant Brar28-Mar-20241:31

Moody: Russell looks to be back at his best

Andre Russell is batting like no batter ever has in T20 cricket.Among those with 250 or more death-over runs in a year, Russell’s strike rate of 287.50 (276 runs) in 2024 is by far the highest. Heinrich Klaasen, who seems to be batting on a different plane now, is a distant second at 261.68.During this phase, Russell averages about two sixes per over, and he’s in it for more than just a good time. Once in, Russell sees it through: he’s batted in 11 innings at the death this year and got out only three times.We’re only three months into 2024 and Russell has 474 T20 runs at an average of 67.71 and strike rate of 226.79, which is a phenomenal improvement from last year. In 2023, Russell’s 522 runs came at an average of 26.10 and his strike rate of 155.82 was his lowest in a year since 2011 (min. two innings).Russell said that a small change he made to his technique had resulted in a big impact to his game.”I have made a few [technical] changes,” he said on the eve of Kolkata Knight Riders’ game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. “I was batting in the nets in Abu Dhabi and Sunil [Narine] mentioned something to me as he was watching my technique. And I realised I was moving too much [forward].”So I worked on my stride towards the delivery. Now having a short stride is working for me. When I look at most big-hitters, they don’t really have a big stride. So that’s one thing I have done and now I have a bit more time to play the ball. I think that is the one little tweak that I have done. I am trying to move as late as possible. I have good hand speed, so I try to depend on that and just use hand-eye coordination.”!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();