England coach Chris Silverwood believes star all-rounder Ben Stokes will make for a great leader when he replaces Joe Root as captain for the first Test against the West Indies starting on 8 July.
England's World Cup hero Ben Stokes was on Tuesday named captain for the opening Test against West Indies in place of Root, who has taken leave to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.
Having never led a side in first-class cricket, star all-rounder Stokes will be captaining the national team for the first time in his career when England and West Indies lock horns in the opening Test of the three-match series at the Ageas Bowl.
"I think he will do a great job. He is a talisman, isn't he? He leads from the front anyway. He is conscious of the people around him as well so I think he will do a great job in Joe Root's absence," Silverwood was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
"We know he has got an aggressive nature but equally there is a good cricket brain in there as well. I think he will be quite vocal about what moves he is making out there.
"I'm looking forward to working with him from a coaching point of view. I will extend him the same courtesies I do Rooty. He will have a lot of say in what is going on and he will play a big part in giving his opinions across selection as well," he said.
Silverwood also revealed that Jos Buttler will be Stokes deputy in the opening Test.
The English coach is not reading much into Stokes' lack of leadership experience.
"He's been Rooty's right-hand man for a while now. I know Rooty does turn to him a lot. He's been involved in a lot of talks we have behind the scenes," Silverwood added.
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Discarded Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal on Tuesday defended the erratic behaviour of his younger brother, Umar Akmal, saying the country's cricket establishment has failed to handle the talented batsman.
Umar is presently serving a three-year ban for not reporting spot-fixing approaches but has appealed against the decision with an independent tribunal of the Pakistan Cricket Board. The date of the hearing is yet to be finalised.
"Off the field activities are nothing new in Pakistan cricket. Team management and captain should know how to deal with such players. Look at the way Inzi bhai (Inzamam-ul-Haq) handled Shoaib (Akhtar), (Mohammad) Asif and Shahid (Afridi). If the same was done with Umar Akmal, things would have turned out differently," he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan website.
Kamran also voiced his unhappiness at being kept out of the national team despite good performances in domestic cricket.
"I have been performing in domestic cricket and PSL (Pakistan Super League) during the last five years but despite that I have not been given a chance to play for Pakistan," he said.
"In the recent past, a couple of coaches did not like me which is why I remained on the sidelines.
"It's unfair to keep me out of the Test and T20I side, especially, because I can play solely as a batsman. If Matthew Wade can make a comeback with an average of 18-20, why not me who averages nearly 60," he added.
Kamran last played for Pakistan in 2017 in the West Indies despite having a successful career in the national team during a career spanning 53 Tests, 157 ODIs and 58 T20s.
Kamran also advised the national selectors to pick players on the basis of performances in domestic cricket rather than just the PSL, while also drawing parallels with Indian Premier League (IPL).
"Players are selected on performance in PSL, while those who have been doing well in domestic cricket are ignored. That's not how you make good teams," he said.
"If India started doing this, they would have the entire team selected from IPL.
"Tournaments like IPL and PSL are good for exposure and confidence but the performances that count come from four-day cricket," he concluded.
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Middle-order batsman Nkrumah Bonner, on his first Test tour with the West Indies, feels playing the ball late will be the key to success in the three-Test series in England starting next week.
The middle-order batsman from Jamaica was speaking on Monday after the opening day of the four-day warm-up match was abandoned due to wet weather.
Bonner, 31, believes the preparations have been going very well since the squad arrived in Manchester three weeks ago.
After the end of the warm-up fixture they will travel to Southampton for the first Test at the Ageas Bowl, starting 8 July.
"I played two T20s back in 2011 and 2012, so I have a little bit of a feel for what it's like at the international level. My first T20 was here in England at the Oval, back when Daren Sammy was captain, so that's a while ago, bit I know the English conditions and I know to be successful here you have to adapt quickly," he told westindiescricket.com.
"One of the keys to batting is that you have to play the ball late, it different to what you get back home in the Caribbean."
Bonner acknowledged that the team's batting will be under scrutiny when the West Indies defend the Wisden Trophy in the three Tests, but is confident they will be able to put up good scores, as they did when they won on home turf last year.
"There is great camaraderie in the camp. There is great unity and we know the goal ahead of us is to win back the Wisden Trophy.
"Well, over the past year the batting has been struggling, the bowling has been holding up its end of it, I think with the batting if we can score the runs and put it on the board that would give us the best chance of coming out successful on this tour," he added.
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A few fresh suggestions made to make women's cricket more popular and help it grow has started a new debate. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine, during an ICC webinar, had suggested that the size of the ball should be reduced to "help the game flourish". India's batting star Jemimah Rodrigues suggested shortening the length of the pitch to promote the game.
Devine had said, "I am a probably bigger fan of smaller ball but keeping the pitch as same size. Bowlers are going to bowl quicker, spinners will be able to turn the ball more and hopefully the ball should fly further."
India pacer Shikha Pandey, in a series of tweets, showed her disagreement with the new suggestions, calling most of the them as 'superfluous'. While Pandey agreed with reducing the size of the ball, she said it should be done keeping in mind the weight remains the same. She, however, completely rubbished the idea of decreasing the length of the pitch.
As per ICC rules, in women's cricket "the ball, when new, shall weigh not less than 4.94 ounces/140 g, nor more than 5.31 ounces/151 g, and shall measure not less than 8.25 in/21.0 cm, nor more than 8.88 in/22.5 cm in circumference". Whereas in men's cricket, the weight of the ball is between 155.9 to 163 g and measurement is 22.4-22.9 cm. The pitch size is 22 yards/20.12 m in length and 10 ft/3.05 m in width, in both men's and women's games.
Pandey wrote, "Growth can also be achieved by marketing the sport well. We don't have to tinker with rules or the very fabric of the game to attract an audience."
India's leading wicket-taker Jhulan Goswami has backed Shikha's opinion, saying that there is no need to bring such changes when women's cricket is already seeing a rise in popularity as well as improvement in players' skills.
Speaking to Firstpost about the suggestions made by Devine and Rodrigues, Goswami said, "Shikha Pandey has already tweeted and I appreciate her thought. I truly agree with her. Let pitches (sizes) remain the same. (As far as) ball size in women's cricket (is concerned), we already use smaller ball than what is used in men's cricket."
Goswami added that women's cricket's popularity is already on the rise and it is reflected in the head counts at mega events such as the World Cup.
"You don't require so much changes to glamourise women's cricket. In 2017 World Cup final, you saw a full house. Highest viewership in television. In 2020, last T20 World Cup, more than 80,000 spectators came to watch the match. What is the need of changing anything?"
She also said that, with time women's cricket has become a better sport to watch. The cricketers have improved by leaps and bounds and one sees a good throw from the boundary lines, a flying six every now and then a gutsy effort in the field to catch the ball.
"The girls are improving in every skill, be it fielding or power hitting. They are hitting sixes and boundaries more often, throwing from the boundary line has improved and so has running between the wickets. I don't think so you need to change a lot of things."
However, Goswami does feel that it is good to see so much talk around women's cricket, which was missing a few years back. She said that it reflects on how things are changing, which is a good sign.
"I am glad that people are thinking of women's cricket. Earlier, these talks were not around us. Now, people are at least talking about it. Good sign that people are putting an effort, putting out an thought around women's cricket. I am happy people are taking care of women's cricket in that way," said Goswami, who is the leading wicket-taker in ODIs.
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India skipper Virat Kohli, in a recent post on social media, recalled the first time he led the team in a Test series, describing it as a “very special and important Test”.
It was the 2014 Test in Adelaide between Australia and India and the then-India captain MS Dhoni had been rested for the first match as he was recuperating from an injury.
In a lengthy post, Kohli shared his experience of leading the side.
"Throwback to this very special and important test in our journey as the test team that we are today. Adelaide 2014 was a game filled with emotion on both sides and an amazing one for people to watch too,” Kohli wrote.
(2/2)..anything is possible if we put our mind to it because we committed to doing something which seemed very difficult to begin with but almost pulled it off. All of us committed to it. This will always remain a very important milestone in our journey as a test side. 🇮🇳💙
He said although the team did not cross the line being so close, it taught them that anything is possible if they put their mind to it. “We committed to doing something which seemed very difficult to begin with but almost pulled it off," he wrote.
Kohli further went on to add that the entire team was committed to it, stating, "This will always remain a very important milestone in our journey as a test side."
The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide saw India lose by 48 runs despite Kohli's impressive knock of 141 runs in the second innings.
According to DNA, following the match, Kohli during a press conference had said that he cannot comment on his performance but he was really proud of the boys. He said that the players of his team took the game till the last day and last hour.
"The performances of individuals are different, I would have been happy if my hundreds had come in a winning cause," he added.
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ECB announced that all 20 players and 11 management personnel in the Pakistan touring party have tested negative for coronavirus after arriving in England.
Confined within the four walls of his home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, India all-rounder Krunal Pandya on Tuesday resumed outdoor training after more than three months.
The Baroda cricketer, elder brother of Hardik Pandya, has represented India in 18 T20 Internationals to date.
"Began my day with a run out on the field.. feels good to be back out there again," tweeted the elder among the Pandya brothers and also posted a picture of his workout.
Began my day with a run out on the field.. feels good to be back out there again 💪 pic.twitter.com/JsWZRJIms7
Like all cricketers, Krunal had been confined to his house in Vadodara since 25 March, when the centre enforced a nationwide lockdown to curb the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
India pacer Shardul Thakur had become the first BCCI accredited player to resume training last month when he bowled in the nets at Boisar in Palghar district of Maharashtra.
Recently, India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara too had begun batting in the nets in his native Rajkot.
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Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia called for a gradual end to Chinese sponsorship in the Indian Premier League amid escalating tensions between the two countries owing to the violent clash in eastern Ladakh earlier this month.
The 2019 World Cup cricket final between New Zealand and England is remembered for many reasons. It was not only a nail-biting match, but the way its result was decided, it divided the cricketing world into two.
The final between the two sides went down to a Super Over after scores were levelled. As fate would have it, even the Super Over was tied and England were declared champions on basis of boundary count in the match. While some thought the game should have ended as a tie, others felt England won as per the rules of the game.
Playing first in the Super Over, England gave New Zealand a target of 16 runs. Recalling the match, the Black Caps captain Kane Williamson explained why they chose Martin Guptill and Jimmy Neesham to face the Super Over in the final.
New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Speaking with Ravichandran Ashwin on the spinner's YouTube show titled DRS with Ash, Williamson said Neesham was in the good form in the tournament and Guptill has the ability to hit ball out of the ground. The team relied on Guptill despite him not being in good form in the World Cup.
“I had a very brief discussion with the coach Gary Stead, I had a few guys in my mind who could go out to bat as we were going to bat second in the Super Over. The decision to send out batsmen was dependent on how much we were chasing and who the bowler is probably going to be,” the captain said.
He added that other reason why the two batsmen were selected was that they were both quick between the wickets.
From England, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler faced the super over. Stokes had also played a memorable innings of 84 not out in the final.
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Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch on Tuesday highlighted Cameron Green, Josh Philippe, and Jhye Richardson as potential talents who are on the radar for the 2023 World Cup.
Nitin Menon says the biggest challenge in prevailing circumstances is to ensure that the players, knowingly or unknowingly, don't apply saliva on the ball.
Nitin Menon, the youngest member in the ICC elite panel of umpires, considers the Ashes series as the ultimate challenge but he says the biggest challenge in prevailing circumstances is to ensure that the players, knowingly or unknowingly, don't apply saliva on the ball.
Menon, 36, quit his playing career when he was 22 and shifted to his family profession of umpiring.
Nitin Menon was on Monday inducted into ICC elite panel of umpires. Sportzpics
The "practical" move culminated in Menon making his international debut three years ago and his entry into the 12-member panel on Monday is the icing on the cake.
Having become part of the elite club in unprecedented times of COVID-19, Menon doesn't know what his next assignment will be but is fully aware that enforcing ICC's latest guidelines will be a big challenge.
"The main challenge will be of ball management, more so in Tests. Initially, we will give friendly warning to the players before applying the law, like we do it when someone is running dangerously on the pitch.
"The players are most likely to apply saliva by mistake than deliberately. So, we will act accordingly. More details on playing conditions will come after the series in England (starting next month), then we will know more on how to go about recent changes made in the game," said the Indore-based umpire.
When things are back to normal, Menon hopes to be part of the iconic Ashes between England and Australia.
"My dream series will be Ashes without a doubt. That is the only series I watch on TV. The atmosphere, the way the series is fought is something I want be involve in. Whether in England or Australia I would love to be part of it. And, umpiring in the World Cup, be it T20 or ODI."
The ICC recently also decided that only local umpires will be used due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The way the visiting team, West Indies, quarantined itself in England for two weeks before getting down to training, umpires will be required to do the same. Menon thinks that could take a mental toll on the umpires.
"Mentally, it will be challenging, because we will have to quarantine ourselves. I am told the umpires for the England-West Indies are in their hotel for the last 10 days.
"So, staying indoors for that long will be a challenge because normally we get to go out and relax after a long day in the field. We will be away from family also," he said.
Besides ensuring that players don't use saliva, umpires will have to monitor that they adhere to social distancing and that their hands are sanitised regularly after they come in contact with the ball.
Umpires, who too will need to follow the guidelines on social distancing, no longer have to take care of players' personal items on the field.
"Wearing gloves could be an individual choice for umpires but we have decided that we will keep santisers in our pockets. After the fall of a wicket and drinks break, we have to hold the ball, so just to be safe.
"And by chance if a players put saliva on the ball, we will have to immediately sanitise it. That will be the job of the fourth umpire. He will come to the middle with wipes and sanitise the ball. But we need to follow that protocol only if we see the saliva being applied only then."
The drastic changes made in the game could also impact over-rate but Menon said it is too early to judge that.
"We are waiting for the feedback of the umpires who will officiate in the England's home series against West Indies and Pakistan. Whatever protocols the ICC sets, we will follow that."
Menon has already officiated in 43 international matches including three Tests. Though, he will be doing the games in India in the short-term, Menon said he will feel less pressure.
"If you are a home umpire, there is additional pressure to get the decisions right. Now I am in the elite panel, that pressure will not be there. Obviously, being in the elite panel has its own challenges and you have to keep performing to remain there after the annual review."
India have not been able to produce world-class umpires regularly but Menon sees the situation getting better.
"There is a culture shift happening in Indian umpiring. The umpires that are coming up in domestic cricket are in their early 40s. It is a flourishing profession and great platform for someone like me who wanted to play for the country but can can still represent it as an umpire.
"If we can develop our mentality that it is not just about umpiring in the elite panel, it is about match management, communication skills and body language, you will see more of us there. We are almost there.
"And players will test us for sure but if you feel the decision that you have taken is right, then you have to stand up to the the players. They will respect that even if you are a Virat Kohli or Steve Smith," concluded Menon.
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Mumbai: The weight of expectations in a cricket-mad country like India is huge but Virat Kohli has done an exceptional job leading the side, says Australia's limited overs skipper Aaron Finch.
Finch said all players are expected to endure some bad time but players like Kohli, Steve Smith, Ricky Ponting and batting great Sachin Tendulkar are exceptions.
"Every player, regardless of who it is, has a bad series. But very very rarely do you see Kohli, (Steve) Smith, even going back (Ricky) Ponting, Sachin (Tendulkar), these guys they don't have two bad series in a row," Finch said on the Sony Ten Pit Stop show.
"The pressure of playing for India is one but also leading India is another and the way he (Kohli) has done it, so consistently for a long time.
"And taking over from (MS) Dhoni , the leadership, that is huge. The expectations were high and he kept delivering and I think that that is the most impressive thing," he added.
Finch was impressed with Kohli's consistency as a batsman too.
"What has been so impressive for so long is just his consistency across three formats. To be the best player of all-time in ODI cricket is one thing but then to also be in Test cricket and T20 cricket as a rounded player that is remarkable,"he said.
The ICC has banned use of saliva to shine the ball and Finch said the players will have to get used to it.
"I haven't spoken to anyone in England or the West Indies camp on how that's (saliva ban) going to go. But that is something that the players have to adapt to over the next couple of months (or) however long that it lasts. Finding different ways to shine the ball, because I think naturally, just out of instinct or habit, you lick the fingers and you rub the ball.
"So I am sure there will be some inadvertent mistakes. Everyone has to be really flexible and accommodating and understand that things are going to be different to what they were four months ago," added the 33-year-old batsman.
After the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic, Test cricket will resume on July 8 when England take on the West Indies in a three match series.
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New Delhi: Stylish India batsman Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest ever ODI openers, considering his ability to score daddy hundreds, says former captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Out of his 29 ODI centuries, 11 times Rohit has scored in excess of 140, including three double hundreds.
Srikkanth, who himself was an explosive opener during his playing days, said Rohit will be in the top-3 or top-5 in the list of all time greatest openers.
"I would rate him as one of the greatest all-time one-day openers in world cricket. What's the greatest quality in Rohit Sharma is that he goes for these big hundreds and double hundreds, that is something amazing," Srikkanth said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.
"In a one-day match, you will go 150, 180, 200, just imagine where you are going to take the team to, that's the greatness about Rohit," said the 60-year-old Srikkanth, who played 43 Tests and 146 ODIs between 1981 and 1992.
The 30-year-old Rohit has so far played in 224 ODIs, scoring 9115 runs at an average of 49.27 with 29 hundreds and 43 fifties. His highest score is 264, which is a world record.
He has also played in 32 Tests, scoring 2141 runs.
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Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz have tested negative for coronavirus in the latest round of testing.
Islamabad: Six Pakistan cricketers are eligible to join the team in England after their second COVID-19 test came out negative after first testing positive, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Tuesday.
Opening batsman Fakhar Zaman, allrounder Mohammad Hafeez, leg spinner Shadab Khan, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and fast bowlers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Hasnain were tested negative for COVID-19 for the second time in three days.
The PCB said that all the six players were re-tested on Monday, following a first negative test last Friday. The cricket board will now make arrangements to fly out these six cricketers to England and the PCB said players' "departure details will be shared in due course."
Pakistan's 20-member squad left for England on Sunday to play three Test matches and three Twenty20s in August and September. The team is in Worcestershire where it will complete a 14-day isolation period on 13 July.
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Led by Quinton de Kock, South Africa's 44 cricketers, who are part of a men's high performance squad, have returned to training amid the COVID-19 pandemic after getting approval from the country's sports ministry.
Cricketing activities in South Africa have been suspended since 15 March, when the domestic one-day event was in progression.
Around the same time, the men's national team was touring India for a three-match ODI series, which had to be postponed after the rained off opener due to the pandemic.
South Africa has reported more than 1,38,000 COVID-19 cases with over 2,400 deaths.
According to Cricket South Africa, the players will train in small monitored groups with identified coaches from their nearest franchise teams.
The sessions will be in accordance with the guidelines set out by the CSA COVID-19 steering committee and approved by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
"We engaged with the NICD who were comfortable with our protocols and responses to their queries for further details in some respects," CSA Chief Medical Officer, Shuaib Manjra said.
"Our prevention programme, besides the regular testing of players and support staff, is predicated on personal hygiene measures and creating a sanitised ecosystem.
"COVID-19 compliance managers at each venue have assumed responsibility to ensure all the elements of the protocol are implemented," he added.
Plans for the commencement of training for the women's High Performance training squad are still being deliberated upon.
The training sessions will be closed to the media until CSA makes provision for a media opportunity. This includes photographers.
Training Squad:
Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Junior Dala, Theunis de Bruyn, Rassie van der Dussen, Shaun von Berg, Dwaine Pretorius, Henrich Klaasen, Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Wiaan Mulder, Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Sarel Erwee, Khaya Zondo, Daryn Dupavillon, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Keagan Petersen, Imran Tahir, Lutho Sipamla, Edward Moore, Anrich Nortje, Sisanda Magala, Glenton Stuurman, Jon-Jon Smuts, Rudi Second, Pite van Biljon, Raynaard van Tonder, Gerald Coetzee, Pieter Malan, Zubayr Hamza, Janneman Malan, Faf du Plessis, Tony de Zorzi, Beuran Hendricks, Nandre Burger, George Linde and Kyle Verreynne.
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Citing "concern for the health and safety of players, match officials, and volunteers", Cricket Australia announced the three-match series would not go ahead.
Ben Stokes could find himself leading out the team for next week's first Test at Southampton -- or later in the three-match series -- should Joe Root be absent attending the birth of his second child.
The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday reported that Victoria Police in Australia has named Ravinder Dandiwal as the "central figure" in the tennis match-fixing scandal.
Dean Jones, who is often seen sharing commentary box with Scott Styris, trolled the New Zealander after the ICC shared interesting trivia about him with the fans.
London: Former England all-rounder Ian Botham has claimed that he got infected by the dreaded coronavirus early this year but mistook it for "a bad case of flu".
The contagious disease has infected over 10 million people worldwide, killing more than 500,000.
"I think the thing to remember is that six months ago no-one even knew what this was, hadn't heard of it," Botham told Good Morning Britain.
"I've actually had it. I had it at the end of December, beginning of January, and I thought I had a bad case of flu. It's amazing how long it has been around, we don't know all the details. It was very much a sort of in the dark, let''s see what happens."
Botham urged the people to show a bit of patience as he hoped things will improve in a couple of weeks.
"I think people have been responding extremely well. I hope they show a bit more patience over the next couple of weeks or so, so we can get to a situation where everybody can move around," he said.
While the three-Test series beginning 8 July between England and the West Indies will mark the resumption of international cricket following the coronavirus-enforced break, club cricket is still on hold.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had last Tuesday called the cricket ball ''a natural vector of disease'' and his decision to uphold the ban on recreational cricket was slammed by former cricketers, including former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Botham has little doubt that the sport will begin soon as cricket is a such a game in which social distancing is possible.
"I think cricket will be back very shortly. Cricket can be played. There's no real physical contact there, you can keep your social distancing quite easily," said the 64-year-old.
Botham, who is the chairman at Durham, said deliberations are on and a decision will come soon.
"I believe there is a couple of meetings coming up where the decisions will be made. From my point of view, speaking to the boys at Durham, they are back in training, they are very, very keen to get out there and play, as any young sportsman," he said.
"There is talk about whether it is white ball or red ball cricket – it should be both, all aspects of the game should come back.
"There's a lot of guys out there, we have guys at Durham, who are in the last year of their contract, young players, and if they don't get a chance to show what they've got out there in the middle, some of these contracts won't be renewed."
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Former India pacer Irfan Pathan reckons that the reason behind Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma's extremely successful opening partnership is their ability to play to each other's strengths.
The destructive Indian opening pairing of Rohit and Dhawan has ruled world cricket in limited-overs since they started batting together in 2013.
"We know Shikhar plays very freely. He gives time to Rohit Sharma. We all know how Rohit Sharma is able to change gears very quickly, but he takes time early on," Pathan said on Star Sports' 'Cricket Connected'.
Pathan said both the players are aware of the each other's game and abilities and that makes a huge difference.
"In cricket you need someone at the other end to understand your strengths and weakness. Shikhar understands when Rohit Sharma needs time, for at least the few overs to get himself going," he added.
"So, he used to take the charge and I think that's what makes him successful. And as soon as the spinners came and Rohit Sharma got settled, he took all the pressure away from Shikhar Dhawan, so that's why the whole camaraderie really, really went on well for Team India for so many years," Pathan said.
Rohit and Dhawan have shared 16 century stands between and are joint second with Australia's Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden in the list of most hundred-run partnerships. The leaders are Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (21).
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Well-known club cricketer and former Delhi U-23 support staff Sanjay Dobal passed away on Monday morning after failing to recover from COVID-19 infection, a source close to the family said.
Dobal was 53 years old and is survived by his wife and two sons - elder Siddhant, who plays first-class cricket for Rajasthan and younger Ekansh, who made his debut for Delhi U-23 side.
"Dobal showed symptoms and was first admitted to a medical facility in Bahadurgarh, a week back. He had tested positive for COVID-19. However his condition deteriorated and was shifted to a Dwarka hospital with better facilities. He was given plasma but treatment didn't work," a DDCA official in the know of things told PTI.
He was a great man with big heart and always smiling.. RIP brother sanjay 🙏🙏 https://t.co/BX6lsfRjS2
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) June 29, 2020
A familiar figure at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Dobal was popular among the well-known Delhi cricketers like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mithun Manhas. He also played for the famous Sonnet Club and was coached by Tarak Sinha.
In fact, Gambhir and Manhas had appealed through twitter for plasma donors and Aam Aadmi Party MLA Dilip Pandey had arranged for donor.
While he didn't play in the Ranji Trophy, he was associated with coaching junior cricketers after his playing days with formidable office-side Air India was over.
He has also been the local manager for India versus England women's Test at Jamia in the last decade.
Former acting BCCI president CK Khanna, Delhi stalwarts Madan Lal and Manhas offered their condolences.
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India's Nitin Menon was on Monday included in the International Cricket Council's Elite Panel of Umpires for the upcoming 2020-21 season, replacing England's Nigel Llong.
The 36-year-old, who has officiated in three Tests, 24 ODIs and 16 T20Is, is only the third from India to make it to the prestigious panel after former captain Srinivas Venkatraghavan and Sundaram Ravi, who got the axe last year.
A selection panel comprising ICC General Manager (Cricket) Geoff Allardice (Chairman), former player and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, and match referees Ranjan Madugalle and David Boon, picked Menon, who was earlier part of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Umpires.
"It's a great honour and matter of pride for me to be named in the Elite panel. To be officiating regularly along with the leading umpires and referees of the world is something that I always dreamt of and the feeling has yet to sink in," Menon was quoted as saying in an ICC statement.
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Former Indian team manager Lalchand Rajput has revealed that it was Rahul Dravid who asked Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to skip 2007 T20 World Cup.
Former India skipper MS Dhoni led a young side to the 2007 T20 World Cup win, months after the Indian cricket team suffered a heartbreaking exit from the 50-over World Cup. What made that T20 World Cup win special was the fact that India emerged victorious without the presence of top batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.
At that time, it was thought that the senior players wanted to give youngsters chance to play the T20 World Cup. But, the then team manager Lalchand Rajput toldSportskeeda that the situation was a bit different.
Rajput said that it was Dravid who convinced Tendulkar and Ganguly to not play the 2007 T20 World Cup. Dravid had captained the team in 50-over World Cup.
On being asked whether it was Dravid who asked Ganguly and Tendulkar to step back and give chance to youngsters in the T20 World Cup, Rajput said, "Yes, it is true (Rahul Dravid asking Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to skip 2007 T20 World Cup). Rahul Dravid was the captain in England and some players came directly from England to Johannesburg (for the T20 World Cup) so they said let's give an opportunity to the youngsters."
The former manager added that the seniors must have repented it after the team registered a comprehensive victory and lifted the trophy. He said, "Sachin always kept on telling me that I am playing for so many years and I have still not won the World Cup."
Speaking on Dhoni, Rajput said the skipper was always very calm during the tournament and used to think two steps ahead of the opponent. The former manager even called Dhoni a mixture of Ganguly and Dravid.
The Men in Blue got the better of their arch-rivals Pakistan in the final to win the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. Young players like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Joginder Sharma got the chance to play the tournament because of the absence of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly.
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After testing negative for coronavirus, Alexander Zverev had released a statement vowing to self-isolate, only to be spotted at a busy bar, apparently over the weekend, in footage that went viral.
Cricket great Sachin Tendulkar has many nicknames; Master Blaster, Little Master, God of cricket. And these nicknames are a product of the highly productive cricket career that the batting legend experienced during the 24-year period when he played international cricket before retiring in 2013.
Tendulkar, the name became synonymous with batting records during his career, with the 47-year-old still holding the biggest of them.
With 18,426 runs in ODIs and 15,921 in Tests, Tendulkar is the highest run-getter in both the formats. He also holds the record for most centuries in both the formats with 49 in ODIs and 51 in Tests. He was the first player to breach the 200-run mark in ODIs and also holds the record for playing in most number of ODIs (463) and Test matches (200).
In fact, he is the only cricketer to even breach the 15,000-runs barrier in ODIs. Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara came closest to the milestone with 14,234 runs in 404 matches before hanging up his boots. Virat Kohli with 11,867 runs is well-placed to become the second batsman to do so, or even to take over the record of highest run-scorer in ODIs, but we will talk about it when the time comes.
Today is the day to celebrate Tendulkar becoming the first batsman to score 15,000 runs in 50-over cricket as it was exactly on this day in 2007 when the legend reached the landmark. He brought up the milestone en route to his match-winning innings against South Africa in the second ODI of the Future Cup in Belfast.
Flurry of pull shots, 93 off 106 balls against South Africa in the second ODI at Belfast.
India won the series 2-1.@sachin_rt scored 99 in the first ODI. He scored 7 scores of 90s (6 in ODIs and 1 in Tests) in 2007. pic.twitter.com/8XymD9Mlmh
India had lost the first match of the series and needed a win the second match to stay alive in the contest. Batting first, the Proteas amassed 226/6 with Morne van Wyk slamming 82 and Mark Boucher making 55 not out. In reply, Sourav Ganguly (42) and Tendulkar (93) gave India a flying start with Yuvraj Singh chipping in with a useful 49 not out as the Men in Blue cruised to a six-wicket win. Tendulkar deservedly won the Man of the Match award after India's victory.
India would also later go on to win the series with another six-wicket win in the third and final ODI.
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Kingston: Former Cricket West Indies (CWI) boss Dave Cameron has thrown his hat in the ring to succeed India's Shashank Manohar as the next ICC chairman.
The United States Cricket Hall of Fame recently wrote to Manohar, indicating that they would like to recommend Cameron to the top post of the International Cricket Council.
"I believe we need to find a sustainable financial model where teams can earn through merit," Cameron, who served as CWI president from 2013 to 2019, was quoted as saying by 'Jamaica Gleaner'.
"The big three India, Australia and England have all the events, the audience and the biggest economy, but the smaller nations have to always be coming back to the ICC for financial support, so what we want to happen is not equal share of revenues, but equitable share," said Cameron.
The former CWI president will need two nominations to stay in the fray and it is not clear if he will receive the support from CWI chief Ricky Skerritt, who had replaced him at the helm, and had a public spat with him.
Manohar will relinquish the post when his term ends this year, paving the way for the new chairman to formally take over the position. The ICC's Annual General Meeting is scheduled at the end of July.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Colin Grave is currently the front-runner for the top post and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's name have also been doing the rounds.
Cameron said if he gets to become the ICC chairman, he will like to take the sport to USA.
"The overall cricket structure needs change and needs to be looked at from different lenses. There is tremendous opportunity in the Americas which has huge economies that are untapped, and we need to look at the cricket world from a different set of eyes," said Cameron.
"We are still trying to fit Test cricket, T20, ODIs and world events into the same 12 months with more teams, and I think there is a way to look at that to create more money with fewer events and to allow more players to participate in the global game."
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Stuart Broad has asked England team's sports psychologist to "create a mindset" best suited for playing behind closed doors as international cricket prepares to return with a host of radical changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The upcoming three-match Test series between England and West Indies, starting on 8 July, will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus.
The matches will be held in a bio-secure environment with no spectators.
File image of Stuart Broad. Reuters
"I think the games will feel a bit different with no crowds. International cricket certainly will be more of a mental test to make sure each player is right up for the battle, and I'm very aware of that.
"I've already spoken to our sports psychologist about creating a bit of a mindset around making sure I can get my emotions up to where they need to be for me to be at my best," Broad said in a video conference.
The seasoned fast bower added, "If you put me in an Ashes game or a pre-season friendly, I know which one I'll perform better in. So I've got to make sure my emotions are where they need to be for an international Test match, and that's something I started working on in early June."
Ben Stokes is set to captain England for the first time in the opening Test of the three-match series and Broad feels the all-rounder would have no difficulty stepping in for Joe Root.
According to Broad, Stokes has a "good cricketing brain" and that should help him when he stands in for Root, who is certain to miss the first Test, beginning here from July 8, to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.
"I've no doubt he will be brilliant at captaining England for this one-off Test match -- or two Test matches," Broad said.
"Stokesy just has a really good cricket brain. He's someone who's matured incredibly over the last three or four years. There won't be much pressure as he's not being judged over a long period of time. I have no doubts he will be brilliant."
The 34-year-old, who has so far taken 485 wickets in 138 Tests, doesn't like it when there is no pressure, something cricket will have to bear with for now in the absence of spectators.
"It's a worry for me because I know that I perform at my best as a player under pressure, when the game is at its most exciting and when the game needs changing.
"And I know that there are certain scenarios that bring the worst out of me as a cricketer, and that is when I feel the game is just floating along and there is nothing (riding) on the game."
Broad said he will have to find "little things that give competitive edge".
"It might involve doing even more research into the opposition batsmen's strengths and weaknesses, so I'm focused on getting into a competitive battle with the batsman instead of relying on the crowd.
"We have to make sure we're as engaged as possible," he said.
Broad joked that he might get into a verbal duel with his opponents to charge himself up at the risk of inviting punishment from his father Chris, who is likely to be the match referee in the series.
"Maybe I have to pick more of a battle with the opposition and bring my dad into things a bit more," said Broad.
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Manchester: The Pakistan cricketers and 11 support staff members arrived on a chartered flight from Lahore and will be transported to Worcestershire.
Coming out one by one, wearing masks, the Pakistani players and support staff members were seen maintaining distance.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has made arrangements for their testing before they go on a 14-day isolation period, during which they will be allowed to train.
The side will move to Derbyshire on 13 July to prepare for their three-Test and three T20 international series against the home side in August-September.
Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz have tested negative in their second tests but they would be sent to England only after two of their successive tests return negative.
The six players will undergo a third round of testing at some stage next week.
Players who have again tested positive are Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Kashif Bhatti and Imran Khan, along with masseur Malang Ali.
Fast bowler Musa Khan and wicketkeeper-batsman Rohail Nazir, who were among the reserve players reached here along with the team.
The players who reached here on Sunday are Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, and Yasir Shah.
Zafar Gohar, the left-arm spinner who played an ODI in 2015, will join the side from England and will only be involved in pre-match preparations.
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The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.
Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."
The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.
"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality.
"As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for generation to come."
Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.
"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.
"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."
The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.
The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Agaes Bowl in Southampton on 8 July.
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Editor's note: Professional sport is as much a scientific pursuit as it is a recreational wonder. What appears routinely mundane is a result of the hours spent honing the craft and deciphering the body mechanics till it becomes a monotonous muscle memory. In Firstpost Masterclass, our latest weekly series, we look at precisely these aspects that make sport a far more intriguing act than we know.
Indian cricket team is currently blessed with a pool of bowlers capable of wreaking the opposition by sheer pace. The emergence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami and the reinvention of Ishant Sharma have transformed India's fortunes, so much so that the team has come to relish the challenges of pace and bounce in overseas conditions.
Things, however, were not always this hunky-dory. TA Sekar bowled fast in an era when spin ruled the roost in the country and India had just one fast bowler of note in Kapil Dev. Board politics and a subsequent knee injury meant his international career was severely cut short, but he did his bit in grooming the next generation of India's fast bowlers.
With legendary Australian pacer Dennis Lillee, Sekhar created a fast bowling nursery in the shape of MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai that has provided a steady supply of fast men to Indian cricket. The likes of Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, and Irfan Pathan have all benefited from Sekhar's guidance at various stages of their careers, and it won't be an exaggeration to extrapolate that India's current fast-bowling riches have their genesis in Sekhar's vision and scientific approach.
In this edition of Firstpost Masterclass, TA Sekhar dissects the art of fast bowling with his trademark wisdom and earnestness.
Tell us something about your early life? Where did you grow up and how did you develop an interest in fast bowling?
I grew up in T Nagar in Chennai. I joined a club quite early and moved from rubber ball to hard ball cricket there. We used to play tournaments and five-day 'Test matches' that were spread across multiple weekends. There was no formal coaching. Nobody told me what to do or how to grip the ball, how to run in, how to swing the ball. I grew up and had had a big physique. I wanted to ball fast, and I bowled as fast as I could. I made a number of mistakes as I was coming up, but was still lucky enough to play a few games for India.
Were there any fast bowlers you looked up to while growing up?
Those days, there was no television, at least till the time I was in college. Later, Doordarshan came but their camera work was such that you could barely see the bowler. In the 1970s, if you wanted to watch cricket, you went to the ground. In the 1980s, gradually cricket started to appear on television. I remember watching the 1980-81 India's tour of Australia on TV, and the broadcast was quite good since it was their production. Of course, everything changed after India won the World Cup and then the World Championship of Cricket. Still, we never saw much cricket on television; we saw more on the field.
I remember watching the likes of Tiger Pataudi, Chandu Borde, Erapalli Prasanna, S Venkataraghavan, Bishan Singh Bedi in the stadium. Back then, there were no fast bowlers. My friend Vasu Paranjpe used to call them 'ribbon cutters.' Sunil Gavaskar opened the bowling for India in five Test matches I think. Eknath Solkar did it too. So they would 'inaugurate' the match before spinners took over. It was only after the emergence of Kapil Dev that things started to change. He gave us the belief that India can also have a fast bowler. That inspired a lot of people to take up fast bowling.
We had heard of the likes of Amar Singh and Ramakant Desai, but not many had watched them bowl. There was no TV, like I said, and India did not play that often either. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were not playing Tests, and England, West Indies, and Australia would rarely tour India. The only way to get some cricket was through radio commentary. We would hear and imagine that Wes Hall would run from the boundary, Charlie Griffith would run from the boundary and chuck...so that's how we learned our cricket.
After your international career, you moved to MRF Pace Foundation where you worked closely with Australian legend Dennis Lillee. How was the experience of working with him?
It was a dream come true. When I began playing cricket, Lillee was my idol. I used to carry his photograph in my kitbag when I was playing college cricket. I never thought one day I'll work with him. I was coming out of my second knee surgery around September 1987 when this opportunity to team up with Lillee came about, and even though I had a stable job, I never thought twice.
Lillee saw me train at Chepauk and inquired about me. He wanted someone who was still playing first-class cricket as his assistant coach at MRF Pace Foundation.
I joined there in April 1988. I used to run with him, bowl with him and train with him. I followed his tips and started getting good outswingers. Then, in one of the press conferences, he said that I was the best pupil he has and that I still had the potential to play for India. One of the reasons I joined was to prove a point to my detractors and colleagues, and my comeback became very close as well as very far because of internal politics.
When I became the coach, I didn't know anything about fast bowling, but I learned so much from Lillee. He is one fellow who would not keep anything to himself. He allowed me to learn. He took me to Australia and put me in touch with a number of coaches. He made me do the Level 3 coaching in Australia. I became more familiar with the scientific approach to fast bowling so that I could understand the technique.
What was Lillee's coaching methodology like?
A good coach is one who is able to find a fault in technique and is able to offer solutions. He/she need not have played 100 Tests or picked 400 wickets or scored 10,000 runs. Lillee was one who could identify mistakes after watching just two or three balls and give practical solutions. He would show their video recordings to bowlers, tell them where they were going wrong and what they needed to do.
When Javagal Srinath came to the MRF Pace Foundation in the early 1990s, he was predominantly an inswing bowler, but Lillee made him bowl outswingers in one session. Venkatesh Prasad was also predominantly pushing the ball into the right-hander, but Lillee made him learn outswingers in one session. That is the impact he had. There are some coaches who are inspirational. When you watched Lillee, you felt like bowling.
If he had to advocate some changes in a bowler, he would ask the bowler to bowl six balls with his old action, and another six balls with a new action that he'd suggest. He would ask bowlers to just try the change, and if it didn't work, they were allowed to go back to their old methods. In 99 percent of the cases, bowlers would say Lillee's methods were better. Thus, the trainee had a lot of confidence that the coach will not ruin his action. Lillee was an empowering coach, not an authoritative one.
He brought a sprint coach, a dietitian, a trainer, and a yoga specialist. He had drawn a schedule according to which the fast bowlers had to run long distance thrice a week for 35-40 minutes. We used to take different courses: uphill, cross country, stadium. In fast bowling, 70 percent of the efficiency comes through the legs, and he understood that very well.
In his playing days, when he started out, Lillee's action was all over the place due to which he injured his back. People suggested him to go under the knife, but he didn't. He instead went and worked with the Olympics sprint coach who remodelled his run-up. He met biomechanics expert Dr. Frank Pyke who tweaked his action. From a tearaway fast bowler, Lillee became a bowler of more than 100 percent perfection. Even though he lost some speed, he still he was bowling at more than 90 mph. He taught whatever he learned and whatever helped him. He was not pulling something out of some book or a manual.
I was lucky that I worked him with for 20 years. He is an excellent teacher and an excellent human being. He played his cricket his way. Even in benefit games, he would bowl his best because he didn't want anyone to say, 'I hit Dennis Lillee for a six.'
One of his biomechanic experts once said that Dennis Lillee was an animal once he entered the field. Outside the field, he was a thorough gentleman. He had a never-say-die attitude. He would say that when the captain gives you the ball, you should honour his respect and trust the skipper has in you. You should be able to win games for your captain.
Lillee believed that a fast bowler should not rely on the pitch to get wickets. He/she should rely on his skills and pace to induce errors from batsmen. When a bowler starts thinking, 'There's no grass, how will I get a wicket?' he is putting himself back psychologically. That should not be the attitude of a fast bowler.
A lot of people say fast bowlers are born. Do you agree?
I do. Bowlers who bowl over 140 kmph consistently cannot be manufactured. You should have fast-twitch muscles to run fast, and move fast. Your arm rotation should be faster. You should be able to stabilise very well. You should have strength in your legs and core. Your run-up should be very efficient.
Some people claim that they can make a 125 kmph bowler bowl 140 kmph, well, that's not true. A 125 kmph bowler can, however, bowl 130-135 kmph as gradually your action smoothens and your technique strengthens. Kapil Dev is an example. When he came along, he was not very quick, but when his action smoothened, he started bowling fast. He knew when to bowl fast and when to bowl within himself.
There are some bowlers who have natural speed. Take the case of Jasprit Bumrah. He doesn't run very fast, but his arm action is quick. His last 4-5 paces towards the crease make him bowl fast. He has a weird action, but he is born with it and that should not be changed at all. You should work with the natural ability of a bowler and look to finetune. You should also give options to the bowler depending on what suits him. Coaching should be empowering, not authoritative. Empowering coaching allows to build confidence between coach and players. You cannot force a player into doing something.
Some people say you should be 6'5" to be able to bowl fast. I don't agree. You should have the right attributes. Malcolm Marshall and Dale Steyn were not tall. In modern times, Mohammed Shami is not tall but bowls quick. Sure, height gives you an advantage. You tend to deliver the bowl from a higher point and you could get some extra bounce, but that is not a basic requirement. 5'9"-5'11" is a reasonably good height to be able to bowl fast.
Virat Kohli once said that an angry fast bowler is a captain's delight. Is it good to have an ego as a fast bowler?
When you run in and bowl at over 140 kmph, the body produces a lot of adrenaline. Naturally, he (the bowler) will be pumped up. Sometimes, the batsmen also needle the fast bowlers. Teams like Australia sledge. Previously, we didn't give them back, but now we do. There's no point letting the Aussies and Englishman get on top of you. West Indies were the only team that would not resort to sledging; having four bowlers who bowled at 90 mph was scary enough.
The thing is, if you give back to them, they step back. That is what Virat Kohli is doing. But, in doing so, you should not lose your cool. It happened in the final of the 2003 World Cup, and you see the results. If you feel the opposition is getting on top of you, you should react, but being aggressive just for the heck of it solves no purpose. Then, you lose your cool, you start bowling short, you miss your line and length and the opposition runs away with the game.
Is there a right away to grip a ball? Some people hold it with split fingers while some have both fingers together behind the seam.
To me, grip is an individual thing. There is a basic grip where you hold the ball with your index finger and the second finger on either side of the seam. The thumb position is individual, depending on your comfort. You should not hold the ball too far inside or outside. The grip should be well balanced to allow you to release with some backspin.
There are bowlers who hardly keep a gap between the two fingers, and there are those who keep a bigger gap. There is no specific grip as such. Maybe for inswing and outswing, the shine is kept on the inside and outside respectively and the seam is kept towards the first slip (for an outswinger). There are bowlers who keep the seam straight because they feel the ball will move late. But largely, grip is individual.
What constitutes a good run-up? How important is it?
I feel 70 percent of the efforts and efficiency if a fast bowler is in the run-up, and if you want to bowl even 135 kmph-plus, you should have a very good run-up. Only then will you be able to convert the momentum into energy and generate speed. Run-up differs from technique to technique. If you're a side-on bowler, you start slowly, build up gradually, and reach the optimum speed where you are balanced. Balance is very important in a run-up. That's why long-distance running and sprints are very important for balance. You have to run so that your run-up becomes smooth.
Can you break down a good run-up?
When you run, it is not just your legs, but your hands are also very important. All your momentum, as you run, should go towards the target, which is the batsman. Both your hands should move in that direction, and that motion gives you balance. The pumping of hands gives you vigour to run. The arms should be close to the body on the sides, but there must be some space between the body and arms. When your left leg goes forward, the right hand should go forward.
The next important thing is the load-up. It is something that puts your body in a perfect pre-delivery stride. For many days, everyone advocated that cricket is a side-on game. Even Lillee believed this when he first came to the Pace Foundation in May 1988. In December the same year when he came back, he had a couple of bowlers who were not side-on and their foot was facing down the wicket. From 1983 to 1987, Australia did a research where a group of bowlers, orthopedic surgeons, coaches, and biomechanics experts went around the country. They found out that 40 percent of their Under-19 boys had stress fractures because their backfoot was not parallel to the bowling crease. It was facing the batsmen. But because everybody was told to be side-on, everyone started twisting. As a result of that, there was a twist happening to the spine which is not natural to the human body. Fast bowling as such is not natural to the human body. There are so many awkward movements happening. People should know that twisting is not going to get you in a side-on position.
If you go through the English coaching manual, it talks about winding and unwinding. Those days, you run with shoulders and hips facing the batsman and the bowlers would jump and twist in the air to get side-on. That is how side-on bowling was described in those days. That is what they meant by winding and unwinding. But, it is important to remember that there was not that much cricket back then. As you play, you don't know how much you are twisting in the air. There are chances that you can go past side-on also and your shoulders may face fine-leg.
I'll give an example. Australia's Graham McKenzie was part of the team that toured India in 1969. From here, they went to South Africa where McKenzie, who had bowled very well in India, could pick just one wicket. What happened was that without his knowledge, he was twisting a lot, and then he developed a back problem and lost his outswinger. After that, he was dropped.
That is why I do not advocate jumping just for the heck of it or twisting just for the heck of getting side-on. Your load-up will get you in a good posture whether you are side-on, front-on, or semi-open. That is determined by your backfoot landing. If your backfoot landing is parallel and your front foot is in line with the back foot, your hips and shoulders are facing the leg-side, then you can be side-on. If the backfoot is not parallel and is towards the fine-leg or away from fine leg, then you have to be semi-open. You should not try to manufacture a side-on or a semi-open action. The position of your hips and shoulders should depend on how your backfoot lands naturally. Then you determine whether the bowler is side-on, semi-open, or open-chested.
What exactly do we mean by side-on, semi-open, and open-chested actions and what is the difference between the three techniques?
If you are a right-arm bowler who gets side-on, your torso faces your right side. When you are about to deliver the ball, your left shoulder should face the batsman while the right shoulder should be behind. The right shoulder thus will turn 90 degrees to deliver the ball. That is why I feel that the load-up and arm path are two very important factors. Take the case of a bicycle. When the left paddle goes up, the right goes down. This is to provide balance. Similarly, when your right hand is going up, your left hand should be at your waist level. When the bowling arm is coming down, the non-bowling arm should go up.
So first your right hand goes up and your left hand is at your waist level. When the bowling arm is coming down, the non-bowling arm goes up. By this time you have landed your back foot and your front leg is almost about to land. You position your front arm depending on your technique. If it is side-on, you look over your left elbow and see from your left eye. If you are semi-open, you don't need to see the batsman at all...your hand will cover (the view of) batsman. That obstruction though is only momentary; the moment you start pulling your non-bowling arm, automatically you'll start looking at the batsman.
For front-on, open-chested bowler, your bowling arm goes outside a bit and you'll be able to see (the batsman) from the right eye. These positions, however, are not more than 3-4 inches away from each other.
What is the role of the non-bowling arm in fast bowling?
The non-bowling arm is very, very important. It is the arm that gives you accuracy and speed. Bowling arm does whatever you do with your non-bowling arm. It is like the steering of a car. It gives you control. It should be firm and it should come down hard. That will pull your bowling arm and body through into the delivery.
For spinners, pivot is an important part of the bowling action. Is it the same with fast bowlers?
No. Fast bowlers should have a braced leg. Every time you run in and land on your backfoot and transfer the body weight on to the front foot, a pressure 8-10 times your body weight is exerted on each joint below the waist. Imagine a bowler going through this 60 times (in a 50-over match).
Dennis Lillee always advocated strong legs. He believed bowlers should have strong quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, glutes, back muscles, and core. When a fast bowler runs and lands on the foot, first the ankle stabilises. On top of the ankle, the knee stabilises. On top of the knee, your pelvis stabilises, and on top of it, your big torso stabilises. Then, your hand starts rotating and the ball is released through your fingertips. So, you see, there's a chain reaction happening, and for every action, you need to have proper balance. That is why I always put a lot of emphasis on balance and stability.
How important is the head position?
Your head should be stable. There are some bowlers who, due to their head position, are not able to see the batsmen, which is not good. Your head controls your body. If the head falls away, the body will also fall away. So the head has to be straight, looking through your arms. When you are running, your head should be looking at the batsman. When you load up, you can look at the spot where you want to bowl, but all this while, your head should be still. Head allows your body to run, walk, or stand straight. So it should not be away from the equilibrium of your body.
Does the front toe of the front foot need to point towards the batsman too?
The old English coaching manual says that you should be aiming to face your front leg towards the fine leg. What happens is, in trying to get the landing foot towards the fine leg, people end up going too far across. Instead, if it goes towards the batsman, you'll be able to pivot and get a better follow-through. If your front foot is going towards fine leg, you may get locked and may not get a good follow-through.
Why is it important to have a complete follow-through?
Follow-through acts as a force absorption. As I said, a force of 8-10 times your body weight goes through your joints when you deliver the ball. Stopping immediately after the ball has left you is not possible, so you run a few more steps. Lillee, for example, would be within handshaking distance with the batsmen. Follow-through absorbs the shock of the impact you've created in your delivery stride. It (follow-through) depends on how you use your non-bowling arm and also on the alignment of your feet, hips, and shoulders. Merely getting your arms across is not a follow-through. Lillee's fingers would almost touch the ground in his follow-through. He would lose his fingernails by the end of the season as they would scrape against the ground in his follow through all the time. You must understand that you are putting your bodyweight in the delivery. So if you don't bend, you are just bowling with your arms.
Your back is designed to bend forward, sideways, and to an extent, backwards. But the back is not designed to twist. However, there is bound to be some twisting while bowling fast, and that is why injuries occur. That is why fast bowling in inherently unnatural. Having a good technique helps in injury prevention also. Mind you, only prevention. Anybody who bowls 140 kmph or more will have injuries because of the awkwardness of actions. That's why bowlers carry so many niggles or back catches. These things can be resolved within two weeks, but if a bowler has stress fracture, it means something is wrong with his technique, preparation, or fitness. Most of the injuries happen because of a technical flaw, but not many people look into it. In India, people are quite averse to changing their bowling actions. If somebody is having a bad run-up, he is bound to have a bad action.
What is your coaching process like? How do you approach a bowler?
When I coach, I use a software that helps me watch a bowling action in slow motion. I stop the tape two-three steps before the delivery stride and watch frame by frame. I first look at the load up. In the load-up, I look at how the backfoot is landing. Once the arm path goes behind the body, I look at how the front foot is landing. Where are the hips and shoulders between landing of the back foot and front foot, whether are not they are aligned with the foot landing.
I look at whether the non-bowling arm is being used to the best of its ability, and how they follow through. Most coaches look at only the top half of the bowler. They don't look at the bottom half. On that limited basis, they decide if the bowler is side-on. If you look at only the top half of the bowler, due to twisting motion, the top half will always appear side-on even if the feet are front-on.
As a coach, you have to look at the bowler from the front, back, sides, and every other possible angle. Then, you assess if the foot is landing correctly, whether the feet, hips, and shoulders are aligned, where is the front arm going – is it too far away from the face, in front of the face or outside the face depending on the technique.
Coaches will be able to identify the faults only if they analyse minutely. There is always a cause and an effect. Most coaches look at only the effect, but actually you have to look at the cause. You can't keep telling a bowler that you're falling away. As a coach, you should be able to identify the reasons and offer a solution. The thing in India is, if you tell a bowling coach about a technical flaw, they'll say 'no, no, he is bowling well. Do not change the action.' Things are quite different in batting. Batting coaches correct the bat swing, backlift, top hand etc so often.
What is the role of wrists in fast bowling? How important is the wrist position?
Wrist comes into play only in the last few fractions of the second. The wrist should follow the ball to induce backspin. That is what helps generate swing. If you look at Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, or Irfan Pathan, all of them had a very upright seam position. Their straight arm paths ensured they had a very smooth turnover of the arms. That helps you keep the wrists in the right position. A lot of guys cock their wrists and run, but that slows down the arm path.
So, the correct wrist position is always right behind the ball. At the time of release, as your bowling arm goes up in the 12'o clock position, the wrist will go back a little and when it comes down, the fingertips automatically push the ball down. Then, the bowl goes with some backspin. If it hits the seam, it will generate a bit of pace and bounce. If the pitch is green, the pace generation will be more. If the pitch is rough and dry, the bounce generation will be more.
Do the action and wrist position have a role to play in generating swing and seam movement?
To some extent, yes. There are some guys who move the ball despite having weird actions, but ultimately it is your body posture, release, and finish that determine the swing. You should be able to get in a good posture and then make sure the wrist is following the ball as it leaves your hand. The ball has to go with a straight seam for it to swing because of the aerodynamics.
An upright seam creates the turbulence around the ball and depending on the wind conditions, the ball starts moving. A wobbly seam will never swing. Hence, it is very important to have a good wrist position to get the ball to swing. The role of the wrist is all the more important if you want to get reverse swing. For that, the wrist has to be really firm and right behind the ball.
It is the same with seam movement. Swing and seam always go together. When you are trying to get the swing, you release the ball with a straight, upright seam. When the seam hits the pitch, it starts moving either way. That is what is seam movement. Swing is something that happens in the air, seam happens off the pitch, but an upright release of the ball is essential to achieve either or both.
Do you think bowlers, especially in ODIs, rely enough on their stock ball, or are they going the T20 way in 50-over matches?
In ODIs, between 20-40 overs, you are bowling with four fielders outside the circle. So it is very difficult for bowlers. A fast bowler cannot keep three of the four fielders on one side of the wicket. Even a bad shot, or edges, go for boundaries. You have to be unpredictable. If you stick to a line or length for too long, the batsmen will line you up and hit you over the top through the line. With new bats and better protection, and the fact that you can ball just one bouncer an over in T20s and two bouncers an over in ODIs, things are very difficult for bowlers. You take away bouncer restrictions and I'll see how many batsmen are comfortable against pace.
In the 1970s, people bowled four or five bouncers in an over, and the batsmen were always circumspect and wary. They would stay in their crease. Now, you see batsmen moving front or back to change the length of the ball. Basically, the batting dynamics have changed and bowlers have to bring variations to fool the batsmen. Now, they have a wide yorker, slower bouncer, knuckle ball, slower deliveries, back of the hand slower ones, and so on. Cricket is a batsmen-oriented game. You cannot bowl too many bouncers, you cannot bowl beamers, you cannot have too many fielders outside the circle. As a bowler, you have got absolutely nothing other than relying on your variations.
If a bowler returns to the longer format after a T20 series, what are the changes that you'd recommend him/her to make in bowling?
Length changes. T20 length is between 6-8 metres from the stumps, the one-day length is 5-7 metres, and the length for a four-day or a five-day game is between 4-5 metres. When the length changes, the ball swings more in a four-day/five-day game. In a T20, the white ball swings only for 3-4 overs. In longer formats, the ball moves a lot, and then you have the factor of the reverse swing too after 35-40 overs if you are playing in the subcontinent. You can get the ball to reverse in an ODI too, and in T20s, if you are playing on Indian tracks, you can get one or two overs of reverse. You should have all variations.
If you know how to bowl a yorker at over 140kmph, the reverse swing can be very effective. So length is very important. You should be able to bowl different lengths on different tracks and in different formats. Length also changes depending on the batsman. Control over length is mandatory for any bowler, not just pacers. Line changes according to batsmen, but lengths remain the same.
I know it is different for every batsman, but what is the key to setting up a batsman?
Basically, you have to watch the batsman. Nowadays, with all the technology and analysis, you can watch them before actually bowling to them. If I were to bowl against a team, I will first look at the openers. I will look at how the batsman is moving: Whether he is going forward first or has a back and across movement, I will see his grip and judge whether he is a bottom-hand player or a top-hand player, whether he is very strong on the off side or on the legs, whether he is a front foot player or a backfoot player.
I will also look at his dismissals, what type of balls does he gets out to, what is his strike rate in first 10-15 balls, and so on. Video analysts can give you enough data, but if you want to succeed, you have to be a smart cricketer. You have to be one-up on the batsman. You can't be a dumb fellow who doesn't know which ball to bowl next. A captain should not be telling you that.
In T20s, they bowl a yorker and follow up with a bouncer or vice-versa. There are certain patterns that bowlers follow. Some follow up a bouncer with a knuckle ball. When you bowl a bouncer, the batsmen don't come forward on the next ball anticipating a back of length ball. When you deliver a knuckle ball that is on length or back of length, basically hitting length, the batsman goes for his shot, mishits, and gets out. Like that, you have to set up a batsman according to who you are bowling to, wicket, situation, and so on.
A lot of bowling experts say that bowling a yorker is more taxing on the body than bowling a bouncer. Is that true? If yes, why?
What I feel is bowling a bouncer takes at least two or three deliveries' energy. Yorker, I don't think is that taxing. With yorker, you need to be accurate. With a bouncer, you don't need great accuracy. You pitch it in the middle of the wicket and it will go towards the batsman's head, whereas if you miss a yorker, it can go for a six. A lot of times bowlers end up giving full tosses while trying a yorker; it is that tough. That's why Lasith Malinga would practice his yorkers diligently before a match. He would bowl at least 20-30 yorkers at a pair of shoes in nets. A yorker demands more perfection than effort. It is one of the most difficult balls to bowl.
You also have to be mentally strong to attempt it in a limited-overs game. A bouncer is not that tough to execute, but in case of a yorker, your release time has to synchronise with your action. If you are bowling a length ball, your release point is in line with your front toe. If you want to bowl a short ball, it goes beyond the front toe. For a yorker, you have to actually find a perfect release point from where you can hit the perfect yorker length. The release point, for a yorker, has to be behind the front toe, only then the trajectory will hit the yorker length.
Look, yorker is not really a type of delivery, it is a length. And, it is a length that batsmen create. Look at MS Dhoni. If you bowl him a yorker on the stumps, he will hit it for a six, but if you bowl him a wide yorker, he won't be able to put it away, because his hitting arc is between mid-on and mid-wicket. Glenn McGrath was the first to find it out in 2008. With all the video technology available now, it has become easier for bowlers, but unless you practice enough, you won't be able to hit the right yorker.
Wasim Akram said in an interview that a fast bowler must have Plans A, B, and C when he stands at the top of his run-up in a T20 match. Isn't it an information overload for a bowler?
No, I don't think so, not if you practice enough in the nets. You should definitely have a Plan A and Plan B, if not Plan C. You cannot go with just one plan, and if that plan fails, you are clueless. When you practice, you simulate match conditions. You go and challenge the batsman. You tell him that you're bowling the top six overs and this is your field. Then, you decide whether you want to attack the batsman's strengths or you want to go after his weaknesses. There are some aggressive bowlers who go for batsman's strengths. It is all psychological. When a batsman knows that he has got out in a certain fashion before and you are trying to set up the same field, you are sending a psychological statement that says, 'I am trying to get you out.' That is where good, aggressive bowlers strike.
These days, there's the perception that while bowlers are bowling quick, the intimidation factor is not there. Batsmen line them up and hit them out of the ground, something you never saw with the legendary West Indian pace attacks. Why do you think that has happened?
Batting application has changed. These days, even if a fast bowler takes the top edge, it carries over the wicketkeeper for a six. Imagine Bumrah bowls a brilliant yorker, and the inner edge goes for a four. Then he tries a bouncer, and the top edge goes for a six. So 10 runs off first two balls, and he will end up giving 45 runs in three overs. Naturally, he'll go defensive, because he doesn't want to lose the match. Mishits also have value today.
Remember that IPL match where AB deVilliers went after Dale Steyn and won the game for RCB? So many innovations have come in batting. Batsmen nowadays start moving in the crease. The bowler thinks whether to bowl towards the batsman or away from him. If you have a plan to bowl away from someone like De Villiers, he will still get inside the line of the ball and hit you over fine leg. I remember an IPL game where he swept and reverse swept Irfan Pathan as if he was batting with a paintbrush. Now if you are a smart bowler, and if you have some luck, you'll come trumps. In AB's case, he will make you bowl to his strengths, but if you change your plan, you are stuck. That ability, to stick to your plan, is something that a bowler must possess. The captain should also back the bowler. They must understand that nobody bowls to give runs.
You talked about intimidation. Look, West Indian pace-bowling stock has gone down. Hardly anyone is bowling 145kmph-plus, maybe with the new ball, yes, but then it comes down to 135-137 kmph. Kemar Roach is quick, but he bowls all over the place. Oshane Thomas plays largely white-ball cricket. I don't think anyone bowls really quick in West Indies because their fast bowling stock is gone. In Australia, they still have fast bowlers. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are quick. Josh Hazlewood bowls around 140 kmph, but beyond that, even they don't have anyone. The thing is, you cannot have every bowler bowling 140-plus all the time.
You spoke about the importance of having good leg muscles. How is bowling fitness different from gym fitness?
As I said, 70 percent of your bowling efficiency comes through running. In gym, you hardly run. Just jogging or sprinting will not take you very far. In bowling, you have to start slowly, build gradually, load-up...it is a co-ordinated effort. Unless you practice, co-ordination won't be perfect, and even a slight lapse will undo whatever good technique you may have.
If you are coming out of an injury and you want to play a T20 game, you should be able to bowl 6-7 overs on the trot. Only then, you can be deemed fit enough to bowl four overs in the match. You cannot bowl just 12 balls and say you're fit. If you're playing an ODI, you should be able to bowl 7-8 overs unchanged, because you will bowl 4-5 overs on the trot in a match. If you're playing a Test match, you should be able to bowl 10-11 overs in one go in each session. Once you have bowled enough overs, you get the right co-ordination in the body. That can come only by bowling, not in the gym. Match fitness is thus quite different from regular or gym fitness. You should be able to bowl, field, and come back to bowl across different spells.
If you have a strong shoulder that you've built in the gym but you haven't bowled enough, there's no way you can bowl quick. Had that been the case, weightlifters will be the fastest bowlers in the world. Working out in the gym obviously has its advantages. You need inner strength. The workload puts a lot of pressure on the joints and they need muscle support to minimise injury. But that doesn't guarantee pace. You need power to run. You need strength in your legs, core, and shoulders, only then can you bowl quick. Ajit Agarkar is a fine example. He had a very smooth run-up, perhaps the smoothest I have seen. He had a very good arm action too. He was a bit round-arm, but the action was still very good. He didn't complicate things a lot.
Given the busy international schedule, how important is an off-season for fast bowlers? What should you do when not playing cricket?
With the amount of cricket being played these days, there's hardly an off-season, more so if you play domestic as well as international cricket. If you've had a very long season, let's say you have played cricket for eight months, you should definitely take a break of 3-4 months if you are a fast bowler. It is important because if the fatigue sets in, it won't allow you to give your 100 percent on the field.
You need to go away from cricket and relax completely. You can eat well and put on some weight. You should sleep well, relax completely, and go out of the game. Maybe a bit of jogging to keep the leg muscles going, and then slowly come back into fitness training. You should start working hard one or one-and-a-half months before the season, and that will last throughout the season. If a fast bowler is 100 percent fresh, he gives 120 percent; if he is 90 percent, he gives only 70 percent.
You have coached and mentored many fast bowlers who have gone on to play for India. Why is it that bowlers such as Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan were quick to begin with, but dropped their pace soon after. How do you explain that?
Who was India's coach at that time? That's my answer. Look, people wanted our bowlers to model themselves on Glenn McGrath, but they failed to realise that McGrath could bowl 130 kmph in Australia, 135 in England, and 127-132 in India. He could change his speed according to conditions.
Munaf, when he came, he bowled 147 kmph to Steve Waugh at the MRF Pace Foundation. Waugh came to me and asked, 'From which tree have you plucked him? He is making me hop every ball.' England batsmen had no clue when he made his debut in Chandigarh. After that, people advised him to bowl within himself. Obviously, he had to oblige, otherwise, he would be out of the team. Then he had a few injuries too, and he decided to bowl 130-135kmph.
In Irfan's case, his technique went for a toss, that's why he lost his pace. He made his debut in 2004, and in 2006, he lost his way a bit. His technique went wrong. After that, he came to the Pace Foundation and remodelled his action and he was fine. Later, when he came back for the T20 World Cup in 2007, he was a different bowler.
Would you say this is the golden generation of fast bowlers in India? I don't think we ever had a bunch of genuinely quick and skilful fast bowlers ever.
Yes, you are right. Earlier, it used to be said that captains make spinners in India. We had the example of the famous spin quartet. Sunil Gavaskar or Eknath Solkar or Abid Ali would open the bowling with Bishan Singh Bedi. Now, we have a good group of fast bowlers, and no wonder the captain backs them. Mohammed Shami bowls so well with the red ball. People are still struggling to decipher Bumrah. Batsmen look to play him out and take chances against other bowlers, which helps them.
Previously, India did not have a fast-bowling role model until Kapil Dev came along. After Kapil, we had so many fast bowlers. Now, India pick four fast bowlers when they go on a tour from a pool of six-eight pacers. Naturally, more fast bowlers will come when you have role models.
You have had a long career as a player and as a coach. Who are some of the fast bowlers who you would call the most complete fast bowlers you have seen?
Dennis Lillee and Andy Roberts. Their Test records were unbelievable. Lillee had 355 wickets from 70 Tests, and 70 percent of those were top-order batsmen. He also played about 20 World Series matches and picked over 100 wickets. The cream of world cricket played the World Series, so taking 100-plus wickets there meant something. Roberts, when he played in India, irrespective of the pitches, picked 30-35 wickets. In the 1974-75 series, he bowled a spell in the post-lunch session in Chennai, and we couldn't see the ball. He never complained of the dead wickets. He just bowled quick and made the batsmen run away. These are two bowlers that were the most complete ones, according to me.
Later, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis came along. Richard Hadlee was another one. He bowled in all three Tests in the 1989 series in India, and was the highest wicket-taker on turning tracks. He made the ball talk. All of them were quick through the air and bowled 140 kmph plus. The difference between 135 kmph and 140 kmph is that of just five kmph, but it makes a lot of difference.
Anything you'd like to tell the upcoming fast bowlers?
Train well and run well. You should look at your technique. You should not copy someone else's action. Your foundation should be strong. Speed is something that you can increase if you have fast-twitch muscle fibres, so don't get too obsessed with it. You should be able to move the ball at pace. Swing, along with speed, is dangerous than speed alone.
