India’s captain did not have the best start to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and will be desperate to put his best foot forward in Brisbane

Alagappan Muthu12-Dec-20241:27

Pujara: Rohit should continue to bat at No. 6

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is at a tipping point. Rohit Sharma’s career might be too. He has not had the best start to his tour, which has extended a prolonged form slump. There are other complications as well. He’s 37 and very recently his team exceeded a lot of expectations without having him in it. India’s regular captain is used to leaving a mark on things. But rarely like this.His first coach saw what most are able to see now when he was shadow practicing. Dinesh Lad was running late and like all bored kids who are suddenly given a surplus of time without an authority figure present, Rohit started fooling around with a bat. And that was that. That was enough.Cricket reduces its participants into numbers both big and small. But there are always those that are too big to capture on a scorecard. Upon arrival at Canberra airport, there was a group of fans waiting for him, chanting “Mumbai (king)! Rohit Sharma!” Upon his departures in the Adelaide Test, for single-digit scores, there has been derision and ridicule.Related

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He doesn’t like being called gifted, but he is, and the greatest one he has as a batter is that he almost always looks good. Cold even. Like nothing fazes him. Even things that should. things that should. In India’s first match of the 2019 ODI World Cup, Kagiso Rabada came thundering in to target his ribs and he pulled him to the boundary like other people scratch their noses. Matter-of-factly. It itches, you scratch. Dude bowled short. He smashed.That shot heralded Rohit’s rise to never-before-seen levels. He became the first man to score five hundreds in the ICC’s 50-over showpiece. He didn’t go searching for that. He never goes searching for anything. Even during the worst phases of his career, where he would make mistakes that would strike down an innings in its prime, he was failing because he was doing too much, not because he didn’t know what to do. Now, averaging 11.83 since his last Test century in March 2024, it feels different.”It’s the line, I think the stump line has been troubling him a lot,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on ESPNcricinfo. “He is getting out lbw and bowled [six of his last ten dismissals] which is a bit of a concern for him.”Rohit’s work across Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and now Brisbane suggests he is working on his defence, with which he hasn’t been on good terms recently•Getty ImagesRohit arrived in Australia on the high of becoming a father again. The joy of that occasion might only be matched by the nervousness, the sleeplessness leading up to it. Then he jumped on a flight, flew straight down to Perth, and landed in the middle of the Test match of India’s dreams. Getting over the whiplash of all the emotions that he would have felt alone might have taken him time, forget acclimatising to a place where he averages 27.80 from eight matches. All this is to say the build-up to his return to the side in Adelaide wasn’t completely ideal. Then he had to go out there and face Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland with the pink ball, whose tendency to jag around a fair bit more than the red one might have forced him to give up his normal opener’s position; a tacit admission perhaps that having arrived late, and with his priorities justifiably elsewhere, he wasn’t yet up to the levels he wanted to be. Also, KL Rahul had done really well at the top.Rohit Sharma’s Test numbers since his last ton•ESPNcricinfo LtdMore than two weeks into his tour now, in Brisbane, Rohit looked a little more comfortable with his brief. He batted for almost an hour, where India paid particular attention to balls coming up at them from back of a length, sharpening both their defensive options and their offensive ones. The pitch at the Gabba is expected to provide its usual mix of pace and bounce. The new ball will once again be tricky. Will India stay with Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal or will there be a change?Rohit’s work across Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and now Brisbane suggests he is working on his defence, with which he hasn’t been on good terms recently. The demands placed on a batter, particularly by limited-overs cricket, which has grown quite intolerant of the old ways, reflected in Rohit himself as he turned himself from a slow-burn, daddy-hundred-maker to a flaming-hot powerplay belter, might be playing a part in his deterioration.1:52

How can India bounce back in Brisbane?

He unlearned a method that translated across all formats – being watchful, avoiding risk, gathering information about the pitch, the bowling, the match situation and then going all-out attack. Began practicing the exact opposite of it – being cavalier, diving headlong into risk, making judgment calls about the pitch and going all-out attack to upend the bowling and the match situation. Now he’s stuck trying to find middle ground, and since it’s Rohit, his failures too tend to leave a strong impression. Against New Zealand in October and November, he seemed to believe going hard at the ball, even though he was playing Test cricket, was the best way forward because the pitches didn’t really give him much margin for error. And yet there were players on the visiting side who were able to cope. Will Young and Tom Latham trusted they had what it took to play normally on those square turners.That is the place every batter wants to be at. With faith in their method. And maybe Rohit is starting to get back there. In a 45-minute session on Thursday morning, he left well, his triggers – that tiny bouncing of the knees as he sees the bowler about to deliver, followed by a small back-and-across movement – were well-timed and he was slowly getting in rhythm. At the very least, it was a far cry from the most poignant image he’s left so far on this tour: dragging himself off the field on Saturday night, darkness all around him.

There are ODIs in the lead up to the Champions Trophy, and Tests with WTC points up for grabs. But first, let’s sit through three T20Is

Danyal Rasool09-Dec-2024Few experiences are as universal as the meaningless preamble you have to sit through before the real event begins. It’s unmistakable in the opening ceremony before the start of a T20 league, a blend of unchallenging pop music and the dazzle of fireworks that, while promising to be different, look like just about every fireworks show there has ever been. Perhaps it’s a family member determined to bring you up to speed with the finest details of an increasingly boring event as you curse yourself for asking a question that couldn’t be answered with a simple yes or no. Maybe it’s even this article, which you have probably already scrolled down a few times to work out what the point is.It’s hard to say, really. South Africa play Pakistan in a three-match T20I series starting Tuesday, and it’s impossible to talk about that in any meaningful way. They have just wrapped up an enthralling Test match win against Sri Lanka in Gqeberha to keep a berth in the WTC final on track. There is no T20 World Cup until 2026, and none of the players part of the Test squad will be available for the first T20I, which is in Durban. The squad, captained by Heinrich Klaasen, underwent a training camp in Pretoria before leaving for Durban on Sunday. The team’s attention and the fans’ emotional investment are very much attached to the red-ball side for now; this is just a series they must sit patiently through.Pakistan’s choose-your-own-adventure style white-ball team now finds itself pitched up in South Africa, having played six such games in Australia, and another six in Zimbabwe. If the team management’s views are anything to go by, you can read a lot into the ODI series in Australia that they won, and definitely nothing into the T20I series, which they didn’t. T20Is, as head coach Aqib Javed, who took over partway through the tour of Australia, said, were being treated experimentally for now. So when Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in both ODI and T20I series, and yet dropped a game in each format along the way, no one seems to be any wiser about whether that was a good or bad overall result.Related

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And that will not change whatever happens over the next week. Pakistan’s focus, too, is less on this format than any of the others, given they are in the middle of their busiest Test season this century, and official hosts of the Champions Trophy in just over two months. They have brought back some of the big names they rested during the tour of Zimbabwe, with captain Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi all returning. Opening batter Saim Ayub and left-arm wristspinner Sufiyan Muqeem, the brightest spark in Zimbabwe, will be intriguing to watch against stiffer opposition, but really, Pakistan, too, await the Test series to come, or at the very least the ODIs the week after.And the jury’s out on the extent to which South Africa can be called stiffer opposition, anyway. Aside from Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi, it’s not clear any of the other names in that squad would get into a full-strength XI; those are the only five in the squad who played the T20 World Cup final earlier this year.The bilateral white-ball game’s struggle for relevance can also be exemplified by highlighting that if those kinds of fixtures were anything to go by, South Africa have had a horror T20I year. They haven’t won a single bilateral series in the format, whitewashed twice by West Indies, drawing 1-1 against Ireland, and soundly beaten at home by a second-string India side while the high-profile players were in Australia for the Tests. But all of that feels irrelevant to the point of not being worth discussing. Not only have they been unable to field full-strength sides for most of those fixtures, but when they did, they found themselves within a Suryakumar Yadav shoe size of winning the T20 World Cup, and no bilateral series will change that.Heinrich Klaasen will lead South Africa in the T20I series•ICC/Getty ImagesBilateral results are a truer depiction of Pakistan’s standing in the format, largely because the T20 World Cup reflected it, too. They have won two T20I series, but they have come against Ireland and Zimbabwe – and Pakistan dropped a game in each. They kicked off the year with a 4-1 reverse against New Zealand which turned out to be the only series Afridi captained in, before drawing 2-2 at home against the same opposition, when New Zealand’s best players were at the IPL, and being thrashed 2-0 by England in May, and 3-0 to Australia last month. Rounding it all off was an ignominious World Cup exit at the first hurdle, where they lost to India and, famously, to USA.But if one of bilateral series’ biggest woes is a lack of context, there is some to be had from not too long ago. It feels surreal to think of it now, but during the late 2010s when there was half a decade between two T20 World Cups, Pakistan were the best side in the world, and it wasn’t all that close. That could be determined almost entirely through bilateral series, and Pakistan won 11 of them on the spin; they are still the only side to have managed that.It was in early 2019 that run ground to a halt in a classic series in this country, where South Africa eked out a 2-1 result. Pakistan are far from that T20I side, but perhaps the seeds of this managed decline were sown right there.And if they can look back at this series as the point where they reversed that unhappy slide, well, then this is one preamble that might have been worth it after all.

Captain immersed in challenge of firing county to rare heights, with England days long behind him

Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Mar-2025Does Rory Burns feel old? The laugh in response to the question suggests he probably does. Not because he turns 35 in August, but more the fact 2025 will be Burns’ benefit season.At Surrey, the decision to award benefit years to celebrate a player’s service is not taken lightly. Two members independent of the club management must write in to formally request one for a player, before that request is subsequently approved at board and general counsel level. That being said, commemorating an academy product who debuted in 2011 and is currently plotting a fifth County Championship as captain, feels like a no-brainer.”It’s something that I’m delighted to be awarded with,” Burns tells ESPNcricinfo. “I’d say it’s certainly making me level up my admin game, which, if you ask anyone that knows me, is fairly poor what with the dinners, golf days and matches.”Those that watch Burns operate will have a different take on his logistical skills. The batting, for instance, requires a great deal of organisation. The twitch of arms, canting of head and trigger-shift of feet are idiosyncrasies that require order to function effectively, which they did for 1,073 runs at 53.65 last term. It was the eighth time in the last 11 summers the left-handed opener’s first-class haul has breached four figures. And, really, how much of a scatterbrain can someone really be if they have marshalled a hat-trick of successive Division One titles?Indeed, as thoughts turn to going four in a row this summer, the computing wheels of Burns the cricketer are clearly in good order. Certainly, when it comes to history and ambition.”It is as cold now as it was when I lifted that trophy in September,” he recalls. “Big coats and beanies.Burns was a reassuring presence at the top of England’s order for much of his 32-cap tenure•Getty Images”In the immediate moment, with the trophy lift, you take stock of what you achieved and know you’ve done something pretty special,” referencing the fact Surrey became the first team since Yorkshire, 56 years ago, to win three back-to-back.”But then you look at Yorkshire; they won eight out of 10 (through the 1930s and after the Second World War). Or when we went seven in a row (1952-58). I think if you get the chance to go four in four, you want your next piece of history, I suppose.”Pursuit of another Championship – Surrey’s 34th – comes with change in the air at the Kia Oval. Alec Stewart is no longer director of cricket, but remains in a part-time high-performance cricket advisor role. New Zealand’s impressive bowling allrounder Nathan Smith will join the squad from May, while tall quick Matthew Fisher has moved down south from Yorkshire. Yet again, it is hard to look beyond the south London strutters as favourites.That Burns can be so open about chasing history speaks to what many at Surrey have known about him. He was always destined to lead, in part because of a level personality that seems to allow him the knack of compartmentalising his game and responsibilities.A diligent notetaker, he would constantly be scribbling in a pad during his early years, particularly when it came to details on opposition bowlers. When he was appointed Surrey captain at the end of 2017, it happened to coincide with a book he had on the go – “The Obstacle Is The Way” by Ryan Holiday, which Burns describes as “stoic philosophy”.During his time with England, he undertook a sports leadership and directorship course at the University of Liverpool, via a link-up between the Team England Player Partnership and football’s League Managers Association. He passed with distinction.”You have to write an essay on yourself at certain points – of how you see your leadership and what’s important to you. And realistically, the most important thing that comes across about leadership I think I’ve learned is you’ve got to be yourself.”I place an emphasis on the team and basically how I can do my bit – by leading from the front in my way. As an opening batter, I was focussing on that before captaincy, and I’ve tried to keep doing that. Because I suppose in leadership, when you’re looking for the first thing to do, it’s, the easiest thing to do is making sure you get your bit right. Being yourself.”Taking those learnings and applying them to what is to come in 2025 casts minds back to a time when Burns’ priorities were split between club and country. Surrey’s push for greatness runs parallel with a seismic year for England’s Test side, with an India series this summer followed by an Ashes tour. It is a carbon copy of the schedule from 2021 into the start of 2022. Those happened to be Burns’ last engagements as a Test cricketer.Out of context, Burns’ international record is modest; three centuries and 11 fifties across 59 innings, with a 30.32 average. But for most of his 32 caps, the first coming at the start of the 2018 winter in the immediate aftermath of Alastair Cook’s retirement, he was something of a banker. A rare point of a reliability in an inconsistent era.From Burns’ debut to the beginning of Brendon McCullum’s and Ben Stokes’ leadership at the start of the 2022 summer, England won just 17 of 44 Tests played, with 18 defeats. When opening batters were first on the block when things went wrong, Burns carried a degree of stoicism, to the point of being ear-marked as a future England captain.Burns endured a harrowing experience in Australia in 2021-22, and hasn’t featured for England since•Getty ImagesHe would eventually become part of that collateral. As ever, the final throes were the toughest. A dispiriting Ashes for all involved, a 4-0 loss exacerbated by Covid-19, began with Burns bowled leg stump by Mitchell Starc with the first delivery of the series. He was dropped after the first two Tests, then back for the last in Hobart, on hand to see Australia confirm a 4-0 shellacking, before missing out for the pre-Bazball tour of the Caribbean – Joe Root’s last as Test captain.Dropping straight back into the Kia Oval to plot the first of those hat-trick of titles helped ease the angst. Three years on, however, Burns has still not quite come to terms with his England career.”I don’t think I’ve actually fully taken stock of it,” he says. “I was so fortunate to keep jumping back in with Surrey and captaincy, I never had to overthink it. Where it had gone, where it had not gone.”It led me to some technical changes during that period. Thinking about it now, if I was exposed at a younger age to different conditions, some Lions stuff when I was growing up and scoring a lot of runs, would I have changed my technique rather than just churning out a load of runs in county cricket and got in that way? Would that have helped? I think I’m a better batter now than I was when I was playing Test cricket. But I’m going to think that because I’ve made some changes, and I’ve seen that they’ve worked.”The disappointing thing is it ended with just a 30-second phone call telling you that you’re back-up go on the tour to the West Indies instead of taking you. That was probably one thing that hurt the most. It wasn’t the last dropping (in Australia).”Related

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The Test team have since moved in an altogether different direction. The days of grinding your way into the XI off domestic performances, as Burns had done, are long gone, with McCullum and Stokes, governed by men’s managing director Rob Key, keener on raw talent rather than seasoned pros, and high ceilings over high domestic output.As far as Test cricket is concerned, the success rate of this policy has actually been pretty good, with Burns’ Surrey teammates Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson among the players who have settled into the squad with instant results. But his measured take from his own experiences at the sharp end of the world game is that experience is a vital crutch to lean upon when the going gets tough.”I think when you’re just trying to cherry-pick or find another bolter, it might work and they might have good series. But in the long run, I think the churn of your players in your team will probably become more and more, and it’ll be less settled as it goes on. That’s just my opinion, and the guys in charge are making the decisions that they think are right.”Tom Banton’s a great example. I know it was white-ball, but how he got there (England) was, domestically, doing his thing, improving. Because he’s had that, he’s got more resilience about him and he understands his game that bit more. He also understands the ebbs or flows of when things don’t go right.”In terms of international cricket, it’s pretty tough up there. You need players who have somewhere to go when it doesn’t go right. And for that I think it helps massively to have those experiences first, before you can go and fly at international level.”Burns makes clear he would never say no to a recall, but acknowledges his nuggety, 50-strike-rate ways are not getting a look-in: “The profile of player they’re looking for probably isn’t, well… it isn’t my profile at the minute!”It is not time or distance that underpins Burns’ phlegmatic outlook, rather comfort given the situation he finds himself in at this stage of his career. Purpose and hunger undimmed, another legacy-enhancing summer awaits for Surrey and one of a storied county’s most revered leaders.

From countering Johnson in Melbourne to standing up to Anderson at Edgbaston, Kohli has beaten the odds and attacks around the world

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-20254:15

Kumble: Everyone knew if Kohli goes past 20, it’s going to be a big one

119 vs South Africa: Johannesburg, 2013
In the first Test of a 13-month stretch in which India would play four overseas series, Kohli set the tone with an innings that South Africa’s then bowling coach Allan Donald said “reminded him of Tendulkar”. In seaming conditions against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, Kohli left the ball a lot early on, before opening up and targeting the spinners. It was a smart innings that allowed India to eventually get to a winning position before the match ended in a tense draw.
105* vs New Zealand, Wellington, 2014
It looked like India might get Kolkata-ed. They were well ahead in the Test, but Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling had done a Laxman-Dravid, and on day five, it looked like India might lose. Rather than just bat time, Kohli played sparkling shots all around the wicket, taking the pressure off India and getting them a draw.
141 vs Australia: Adelaide, 2014
In his first Test as captain, though he was just filling in for MS Dhoni at the time, Kohli had already got a century in the first innings. When Australia made an aggressive declaration, leaving India 364 to chase on the final day, Kohli decided that his side was going to play for a win and not a draw, and that he was going to be the one to show them how. Nathan Lyon was turning it big, and there was awkward bounce, but Kohli was sweeping from outside off, cover-driving against the turn, and pulling and cutting Mitchell Johnson. His strike rate was 80.57, and he got India to within 60 runs of a win before holing out at midwicket.
In Melbourne in 2014-15, Virat Kohli created theatre on cricket’s largest stage•Getty Images169 vs Australia: Melbourne 2014
Spectacular, courageous and skilful, this was an innings of both soul and substance. Kohli had already announced himself earlier on the tour with twin hundreds in Adelaide, but with Ajinkya Rahane matching him, he created theatre on cricket’s largest stage by roughing up Johnson (off whom he took 68 from 73 balls), who had terrified England on these pitches the previous season. I was there, and the sensation remains.
235 vs England: Mumbai, 2016
Don’t be fooled by the scorecard; this was a masterclass against spin on a pitch that had turned vicious by day three. Playing five batters, India were six down and 93 runs in arrears when Kohli started amping it up, sweeping out of the rough, driving against the turn and lofting down the ground. When he was done, England were done too.
104* vs Sri Lanka: Kolkata, 2017
India opted for a green track to help them prepare for their upcoming tour of South Africa, and the seamers dominated a rain-affected Kolkata Test that seesawed rivetingly. A Suranga Lakmal-led Sri Lanka attack shot India out for 172 in the first innings, and then had them effectively 159 for 7 halfway through day five. Kohli, who had until then batted with a serenity that transcended the conditions, seized the moment with a flurry of breathtaking on-the-up drives and leg-side whips, and transformed the mood at Eden Gardens. In his time at the crease, Kohli scored 104 off 119 balls, while six wickets fell at the other end for 56 runs. When bad light brought an early end to the Test, it was to the relief of Sri Lanka, who were 75 for 7 in a chase of 231.
Virat Kohli’s 149 at Edgbaston in 2018 was his first Test century in England•Getty Images153 vs South Africa: Centurion, 2018
The next best score from his side was 46, the second innings altogether put on 151, and South Africa completed the series win despite all the anticipation and build-up from India. But for the 379 minutes that Kohli batted, anything seemed possible. Kohli brought India within striking distance of South Africa, but an AB de Villiers masterclass in the second innings denied them.
149 vs England: Edgbaston, 2018
Kohli’s first Test century in England. An innings that showcased his vulnerability at the beginning, followed by his tenacity to stay put, then his free-flowing and glorious strokeplay, and above all, his immense hunger to be one above his opponent. Just before lunch on August 2, 2018, Kohli walked into Edgbaston to vociferous boos from the England crowd after he had given an impolite send-off to Joe Root on the first day of the series. That was immediately followed by one of the most forensic examinations of his batting by England great James Anderson, who bowled 15 overs split by the lunch break to challenge Kohli’s defensive skills and his ego, inducing outside edges frequently, and thus creating one of the most engrossing and intimate battles seen between ball and bat in Test cricket. Of the 43 balls Kohli faced from Anderson that day, he had 41 dots, and scored just six runs.On 21, Kohli had nearly started to walk after poking at an Anderson away-going delivery, but Dawid Malan, at second slip, fluffed it. Anderson sank on his 36-year-old knees in pain and frustration. Kohli restarted, and never stopped. It did not matter to him that all of India’s specialist batters had left him to get India closer to England’s first-innings total of 287. Kohli buried his ego and let his bat talk as he was the last man out, with England’s lead being limited to 13 runs. Upon reaching three figures, Kohli pointed his finger to his head – as if to say how much temperament matters. Kohli would score a half-century in the second innings even as India lost the Test by 31 runs. His efforts were enough for him to uproot Steven Smith, and replace the Australian as the No. 1 Test batter in the ICC rankings, the first for an Indian since Sachin Tendulkar in 2011.
In Adelaide in 2020-21, Virat Kohli gave India a slight upper hand, before 36 all out happened•Getty Images123 vs Australia: Perth, 2018
Uneven bounce. Seam movement. High pace. Turn from the rough. An unrelenting attack. This pitch required the highest quality of batting. The next highest score in the whole match was 70. Fingers were broken, helmets were crashed, and collapses happened, but Kohli seemed like he was batting on a different surface in a different universe. Perhaps his best innings.
74 vs Australia: Adelaide, 2020-21
Before 36 all out, India had had a slight upper hand in the Adelaide Test of December 2020, and quite a bit of that was down to Kohli, who marked his first day-night Test at his favourite venue with an innings of technical virtuosity. On a day one pitch with spongy bounce, he largely shelved the full-blooded drive, and displayed beautiful balance at the crease and judgment around off stump, to construct what was then his second-slowest half-century, coming off 123 balls. The innings, together with gritty contributions from Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane, put India in a seemingly commanding position at 188 for 3, until a mix-up with Rahane cost Kohli his wicket and gave Australia just the opening they needed to bowl India out for 244.

And who is the oldest player to play the tournament?

Steven Lynch10-Jun-2025Virat Kohli has played in every season of the IPL. How many others have done this? And did any of them play for just one team, as he has? asked Himanshu Patel from India
You’re right that Virat Kohli has appeared in every edition of the Indian Premier League since the first one back in 2008. Three others have done this, but none of them have played for the same team throughout.The long-serving trio are MS Dhoni, who usually played for Chennai Super Kings but represented Rising Pune Supergiants when CSK were suspended (2016-17), Rohit Sharma (Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians) and Manish Pandey, who has actually turned out for seven different teams.At The Oval last week Gudakesh Motie faced a hat-trick ball and hit it for six. How often has this happened? asked Katherine Miller from England
In the one-day international at The Oval last week, Adil Rashid dismissed the West Indian pair of Justin Greaves and Roston Chase with successive balls in the 22nd over – but the hat-trick ball was a short one and the new batter Gudakesh Motie smashed it over midwicket for six.We don’t have ball-by-ball data for a lot of matches, so it’s quite hard to work out how often this has happened. I’m pretty sure there have been no instances in Test matches, but there is at least one more in an ODI, and another in a T20I. At Edgbaston in 2015, Grant Elliott of New Zealand dismissed England’s Chris Jordan and Adil Rashid with successive balls in the 50th over, whereupon Liam Plunkett came in and hit the next delivery for six (he added another six from the next legal ball, after a wide).New Zealand were also involved when, in a match in Kolkata during the 2016 T20 World Cup, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh took two wickets in two balls, again in the final over. The last delivery of the innings was the hat-trick ball – and Mitchell McClenaghan clouted it over the long-on boundary for six.Who’s the oldest player to appear in the IPL? And which IPL cricketer has the earliest date of birth? asked Abhik Ghoshal from Canada
The oldest man to appear in the IPL is the Australian left-arm wristspinner Brad Hogg, who was 45 years 92 days old when he played his final game, for Kolkata Knight Riders against Gujarat Lions at Eden Gardens in 2016. Next comes legspinner Pravin Tambe, who was 44 years 219 days old in May 2016, while up to third this year went MS Dhoni, at 43 years 322 days. Muthiah Muralidaran and Imran Tahir both played in the IPL when they were 42.Just two men who were born in the 1960s played in the IPL: Sanath Jayasuriya, who was born on June 30, 1969, and Shane Warne (September 13, 1969). Then come two other distinguished Australians in Darren Lehmann (born February 5, 1970) and Glenn McGrath (February 9, 1970), before the Indian allrounder Sunil Joshi (June 6, 1970).Brad Hogg was 45 and 92 days old when he played his final IPL game•BCCIEngland won in Cardiff last week after both openers were out for ducks. How often has this happened, and was 312 the record score afterwards ? asked Keith Durbridge from England
England made 312 for 7 to beat West Indies in Cardiff last week despite both openers – Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett – falling for 0. This was the 51st instance of both openers making ducks in an ODI, but the recovery from such a disastrous start has been bettered only by New Zealand, who made 339 for 5 to beat England in Dunedin in 2018 after Martin Guptill and Colin Munro fell for 0: Ross Taylor hammered 181 not out.Next comes Nepal’s 310 for 8 against Oman in Kirtipur in April 2023, and New Zealand’s 291 for 8 against West Indies at Old Trafford during the 2019 World Cup. In that one, both Guptill and Munro were out first ball, but New Zealand ended up winning by five runs.Where does Joe Root’s 166 last week stand on England’s ODI list? And has anyone made their highest score in ODIs later than their 179th match, as Root did? asked Chris Goddard from England
That superb innings of 166 not out by Joe Root against West Indies in Cardiff last week was England’s fifth-highest individual score in ODIs, a list headed by Ben Stokes’ 182 against New Zealand at The Oval in 2023.You’re right that Root’s 166 came in his 179th ODI, but a surprising number have made their highest score at a later stage – 34 men in all. They include Sachin Tendulkar, who made his career-best 200 not out (the first ODI double-century) in his 442nd match, against South Africa in Gwalior in February 2010. A quartet of distinguished Sri Lankans come next: Kumar Sangakkara made his highest ODI score of 169 in his 350th match, Mahela Jayawardene 144 in his 343rd, Muthiah Muralidaran 33 not out in his 321st, and Tillakaratne Dilshan 161 not out in his 310th. Virender Sehwag (219 in his 240th ODI) and Chris Gayle (215 in his 266th) are the other double-centurions on this list.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

By learning to relax and trust his skills, he is giving himself the best chance to succeed

Greg Chappell11-Jun-2025Cricket coaching manuals are replete with diagrams of the perfect cover drive, blueprints for the ideal bowling action, and meticulous plans for fitness regimens. Hours upon hours are dedicated to honing the physical mechanics of the game – the footwork, the grip, the follow-through. This focus on the tangible, the repeatable, the physical, forms the bedrock of traditional cricketing wisdom. Yet, what if this singular emphasis, while necessary, inadvertently delays the realisation of a player’s true potential?What if, like in life itself, the secret to unlocking peak performance lies not just in the sweat and toil, but in aligning with a deeper rhythm, a universal energy that governs success and ease?The prevailing narrative in sport, and often in life, is one of relentless effort. Work harder, train longer, push through the pain.Steven Smith, for much of his illustrious career, seemed to embody this ethos. His legendary net sessions, his almost obsessive dedication to practice, spoke of a man who believed that mastery was solely forged in the fires of personal exertion.The mantra was clear: work hard and improvement must follow. And undeniably, it worked for him, yielding vast success built on a seemingly inexhaustible work ethic.But perhaps, even in those years of tireless physical application, there was an unseen force at play. Perhaps, without consciously articulating it, Smith was subconsciously attuned to a different frequency, connected to the universe in ways that transcended the physical grind. His admission of being awake at night during Test matches, mentally rehearsing his innings, wasn’t just strategising; it was a form of deep internal alignment. These sessions, almost exclusively mental, were his way of getting in tune with the universal energy, visualising not just the shots but the flow state, the ease, the rhythm.Related

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There has been a subtly shifting approach in Smith that is potentially revolutionary. It hints at a maturity that understands the limitations of purely physical effort as one ages, and the growing importance of the mental landscape.His conscious decision to relax more, to spend less time in the nets, to allow his mind to wander free is not a sign of diminished ambition but a recognition that preserving mental energy and finding a state of ease is paramount for sustained performance at the highest level. He feels he needs to be in the “best space you can be in the middle to bat for long periods” and hitting less in the nets before a series helps keep his mental side as focused as possible when he’s batting in a match. This isn’t laziness; it’s wisdom.This shift challenges the very foundations of traditional coaching. It suggests that while technical proficiency is non-negotiable up to a point, there comes a time in a cricketer’s journey when further physical repetition yields diminishing returns. At this juncture, the focus must pivot.The most significant gains are to be made not in adding more hours in the nets but in cultivating the inner game, in learning to work with the universe, not against it.I recall a telling moment late in Ricky Ponting’s career, during an optional training day before an Ashes Test. He hadn’t been in form and came to the ground seeking a breakthrough. The longer he batted, the more frustrated he became, his rhythm eluding him. He was trying hard to force it back. When I asked him what he was trying to achieve, he spoke of being “all out of sorts” and needing to “find some rhythm”. I suggested that his lack of flow stemmed more from his mental state than his physical, and that perhaps a round of golf, clearing his mind, might be more beneficial than continuing to mentally beat himself up in the nets. He politely disagreed, which spoke of the ingrained belief that more physical effort is always the answer.

When you approach the crease, or any challenge in life, with ease, with a sense of quiet joy, you are more likely to be in flow, working in harmony with that universal energy. This isn’t just the simpler way to live; it might also be the simplest way to bat

Yet it’s fascinating to remember that when Ricky was in the absolute prime of his career, he was known for not spending excessive time in the nets. He would often walk out once he felt he was hitting the ball as he liked, a quiet confidence in his preparation, a trust in his ability to find that rhythm when it mattered. He wasn’t trying to force it; he was allowing it to be.This brings us to a crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of both batting and life: trust. Trust in your preparation, trust in your instincts, and trust in the unfolding of events. When you try too hard, you introduce tension, doubt and resistance.You are, in effect, swimming against the current of the universe. But when you approach the crease, or any challenge in life, with ease, with a sense of quiet joy, you are more likely to be in flow, working in harmony with that universal energy. It feels simpler, more natural, less of a struggle. This isn’t just the simpler way to live; it might also be the simplest way to bat.Smith’s recent revelations could serve as a powerful lesson. His conscious effort to manage his mental energy, to step back from the relentless physical grind, underscores the growing importance of the inner game as a player matures. It’s a message that should resonate with cricketers and coaches at all levels. While the physical fundamentals remain essential, true mastery, sustained success, and the ability to perform under pressure may ultimately hinge on the capacity to align with the universe, to find that state of flow, and to trust in the process.I sincerely wish Smith huge success in the upcoming challenges – the World Test Championship final, the tour of the West Indies, and the Ashes. His performance will, of course, be a result of his immense skill and preparation. But perhaps, just perhaps, the greatest legacy he leaves behind won’t be a particular technique or a batting record but the subtle yet profound message embedded in his current approach: that in the relentless pursuit of excellence, cultivating a mind that is fit, healthy, uncluttered, and attuned to the rhythm of the universe may be the most revolutionary stroke of all.

Pakistan hardly put on a clinic against Bangladesh, but the universe, it seems, can’t prevent the contest this competition has been destined for

Danyal Rasool26-Sep-20252:24

Aaron: Pakistan found right ‘mixture of calm and emotion’

Shaheen Shah Afridi is apparently a low-value wicket. So low-value, in fact, that Pakistan didn’t even use him with the bat against India last Sunday, which is objectively a high-value match. So low-value that even Bangladesh – impeccable in the field until then – appeared to momentarily forget it was still a wicket worth taking, and put down two fairly straightforward chances Afridi offered up. He had said on Tuesday after Pakistan’s victory over Sri Lanka he was willing to “give his life” for Pakistan, but no one seemed to take him seriously.But there hadn’t been much value from the batters Pakistan do set store by either. Within the first ten balls of the innings, Sahibzada Farhan had sliced Taskin to the backward-point fielder, and Saim Ayub had got his fourth Asia Cup duck after a heady two-game streak of getting off the mark.At this point, Hasan Ali had sprinted up to the middle – not, mercifully, to bat, though with Pakistan sticking and twisting with their order all tournament, you never could be too certain. He gave Fakhar Zaman a drink, and a message, as if Pakistan’s Plan B specifically covered being 5 for 2 inside ten deliveries.Related

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It’s unclear what Hasan said, though it didn’t seem to have helped Fakhar’s game much. He would spent his brief, tortured stay at the crease trying to charge Bangladesh’s quicks, his wild hacks connecting only with the desert air. By the time Rishad Hossain came to bowl after the powerplay, the 35-year-old was like the old family faithful that had fought to the very end, and had earned the right to give up. A weary slog off his 20th ball found long-off; his 100th T20I innings would also be his slowest in games where he had faced at least that many balls. The end of the powerplay had seen 24 dot balls, by that stage the highest for any side all tournament.When the innings’ halfway stage arrived, a bedraggled Pakistan had limped to 46 for 4, half of what they managed against India in their last game at this venue, and for the loss of three further wickets. Four days on from the perfect start to the one game Pakistan want to win most, the worst of Pakistan reared its head in the game they had viewed as a stepping stone to one last crack at beating India.

****

It is said in football that the most dangerous situation is a two-goal lead, even though every side wants to get themselves in that position. That is perhaps because momentum, or the perception of it, feels like it plays an outsized role in a sporting contest, like a tug of war contest where the exact position of each line doesn’t matter so much as the direction of travel.With Pakistan 51 for 5 after 11 overs, Bangladesh are ascendant; that wouldn’t have changed even if Nurul Hasan’s little goose-step to the left had been timed well enough to allow the ball to stick in his hand. But it doesn’t. Three balls later, another primitive smear from Afridi flies up into the Ring of Fire lights. Mahedi Hasan puts it down again. Within a couple of overs, Afridi has connected with two balls that are sent sailing out of Dubai. That two-goal lead doesn’t seem quite as secure anymore.1:49

Wahab: Additional pressure on India in the final

“We’ve won a lot of games in the last few months where we were far from owning the whole 40 overs,” coach Mike Hesson said after the game. “We had to fight back. But what I can say about this team is they are incredibly proud to represent Pakistan. Every single one had belief we could fight our way out of it. That’s what you want in a team representing your country. We’re incredibly proud of the way we fought. We don’t want to be 4 for 33 all the time, I assure you that. But the fact we can win games from that position shows the character in the group.”That belief may also have to do with Pakistan’s addiction to these situations. Hesson would say after the game that Bangladesh had prevented Pakistan from playing the perfect match, but Pakistan’s ultimate yearning has always been for chaotic glory, not structured success. High on their own supply of fateful triumphs past, Pakistan strut their way around the remainder of the innings in a manner that belies the position they are in, or the circuitous route they took to get here. This is merely the latest turn for Pakistan in a tournament that has taken on a sense of inevitable destiny for them.That is a force much too powerful for Bangladesh to resist, who will wistfully look back at the last three quarters of the game, and how they allowed themselves to be background characters in Pakistan’s madcap adventure. Hesson’s tactic of eschewing specialist fast bowling to squeeze every last bit of batting into Pakistan’s side always felt like a tactic in search of a situation, but as Pakistan closed out their innings, you imagined this was the kind of game he kept envisioning: nos. 6-9 score a combined 89 in 60 balls, the final nine overs producing 84, the second-highest in the Super Fours so far.Bangladesh supporters outnumber Pakistan’s by at least three to one, so the noise in the stands is a verdict of Bangladesh’s position in the game. As the scorching heat of Dubai relents, more seats are gobbled up. But the voices seem to go even quieter.3:15

Why do Bangladesh struggle in pressure situations?

The four sixes Bangladesh hit in the powerplay belie the leaden timidity they display for much of it. When the fielding restrictions are lifted, they have already outdone Pakistan’s tournament-high dot-ball count; they have played 25. The required rate is soon climbing, and the moment has overtaken them. While Pakistan can grow into these situations, Bangladesh have historically shrunk from them. It is the perfect cocktail to turn them into fodder for Pakistan’s juggernaut.There is no sense, even in that passage of dominance, that Pakistan are putting on any kind of clinic. Even with victory virtually guaranteed, there are moments of comic Pakistan frenzy. Haris Rauf over-exerts himself in the 18th over, falling to his knees in the delivery stride. He will not get up for six minutes as he receives extended treatment. But when he does, he’ll send the bails flying twice in the next three balls.With Bangladesh down to their last pair, Pakistan let them get uncomfortably close, dropping a catch before conceding 21 in ten balls. It leaves the chase a mathematical possibility right down to the last two deliveries. But the universe, it seems, simply cannot hold back the contest this competition was probably created to deliver as frequently as possible.An India vs Pakistan final may have been divinely ordained, but it needed Pakistan at its flawed, human best to take the tournament to that point. There may have been plenty lost in Pakistan cricket over the years, but as the small pocket of supporters who stayed back to dance to “Dil Dil Pakistan” on a muggy Dubai night reminded you, it is still anything but low-value.

Having last played in India in 2015, he has returned with much more knowledge and skill, and it was on display on the second day of the Kolkata Test

Firdose Moonda15-Nov-20252:21

What did Simon Harmer do right?

Pretend you’re reading just this after both teams had batted once in the Eden Gardens Test. Pretend it’s the point at which South Africa have limited India’s lead to just 30 runs and the match is still evenly poised and bubbling with promise. Pretend that the most important talking point is how a South African attack did what South African attacks are known for and brought their side back into the game, this time without Kagiso Rabada, this time thanks to Simon Harmer.The offspinner made the most important incisions on the day when he removed Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja, all of whom threatened to bat South Africa out of the game, and finished with 4 for 30. He extracted more turn than anyone else in the match so far – including the Indian spinners – with an average of 4.3 degrees, and quickly assessed the right lines, length and pace to bowl for maximum efficacy.Harmer’s game plan developed in the solitary over he bowled on the first evening when he started off bowling quite full to Washington, then pulled back the length a touch, drew Washington forward and nearly took the edge. The ball spun away sharply and didn’t find Washington’s bat but Harmer knew he could use that to his advantage on day two.Related

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“From that first over last night over against Washington, it was quite evident that the ball was going to turn and you want to be testing batters on the front foot,” Harmer said at the post-day press conference. “If you allow them time to go back, it allows them to adjust and play the turn off the wicket. So you try to test batters on the front foot and test their front foot defence, which allows the ball to spin past the bat and brings in both edges. Then you also try and get one not to turn to bring in lbw, but overall, it was pretty evident that you needed to be fuller rather than shorter on that wicket.”Fuller but not entirely full. Harmer bowled 47 of his 92 balls on that length and was especially effective against left-hand batters. He only conceded nine runs off the 38 length deliveries he bowled to left-handers. He was also accurate with his line – 39% of his deliveries were sent down in line with the stumps, leaving batters little room to do anything but defend.That’s ultimately how he got Washington, an hour into the second day’s play. Harmer first went very full and then more on a good length, Washington stepped forward to defend and the ball took the edge as it turned away. He similarly challenged Rishabh Pant. Jurel also went forward and popped a return catch to Harmer and with Jadeja, it was the arm ball that skidded on.”It’s also about having the subtle variations of balls that don’t turn,” he said. “Sometimes you get onto turning wickets, you’re just trying to turn it more and more and more and the skill lies in bowling a ball that doesn’t turn on a wicket that is turning. Obviously, I’ve got a lot more experience since the last time I was here.”Simon Harmer rattled India•Getty ImagesIf there is a secret to Harmer’s success, it’s that he has returned to India a decade after first playing in the country, armed with much more knowledge and skill, and his bowling demonstrates his full evolution.Harmer’s international career can be divided into three parts: his emergence in 2015, his needs-must recall in 2022 during the late Covid-19 pandemic period when several frontliners were at the IPL, and his proper comeback now.In 2015, Harmer was a spinner who had been highly successful on the South African domestic circuit, but because it was not a place known to produce great spinners, he did not come into the national set-up with the reputation of a match-winner. He played one Test at home before tours to the subcontinent and he felt the weight of expectation to perform. “I was quite new to Test cricket. Ravi Ashwin was bowling like a jet and it was the expectation that I needed to do the same, so I was dealing with that and putting myself under even more pressure,” Harmer said.South Africa lost that series 3-0 (and would have lost 4-0 if not for rain in Bengaluru) and Harmer was one of the casualties of the tour that went as badly as it could. Looking back, he can acknowledge his own shortcomings. “When I got dropped from the national side in 2015 was when I realised that I wasn’t good enough,” he said.So he worked on it. “I came back to India in 2016 to work with Umesh Patwal in Mumbai and I discovered a lot about spin bowling that I didn’t know. That was probably the point of my career that gave me the ammunition to get better and develop and become a decent spinner.”That was only the start. In 2017, Harmer signed a Kolpak deal, which began a nine-season-and-counting stint at Essex, where he took his game to the next level. In those nine years, he has not once been outside the country championship’s top ten wicket-takers (he was also the leading bowler in 2019, 2020, and 2022) and the consistency of his returns shows a commitment to continual upskilling. “In the UK, bowling on flat wickets or when there are footmarks and nothing outside of those footmarks, you need to find a way to get the ball to spin quickly,” he explained. “It’s a skill that I’ve developed there by being able to bowl it a little bit flatter, not always just relying on the loop. Sometimes on slow wickets, it’s too slow and batters can play off the back foot. So it’s about understanding my game more and finding ways to be better.”Harmer picked up the key wicket of Washington Sundar•BCCIWhen the Kolpak system ended after the UK’s exit from the European Union, Harmer was available for South Africa, but Keshav Mahraraj was established as their No. 1. Harmer has understood that he will likely only be called on when South Africa need additional spin resources. And then, he can bring the wealth of experience he has gained on the county circuit to the national side.”I’m a lot more confident in my ability. I don’t have as many doubts as I did back then and I was fighting for a place in the team,” he said. “Now I feel like I have the skill set to compete. Whether or not it goes my way is sometimes the luck of the draw, but as long as I can look back and say that I put a good amount of balls in the right area, then I can be happy with that.”If the day had ended there, Harmer could have left the ground entirely satisfied with his work and where he had put South Africa. From a first innings blowout, they were in a position where they could put themselves in the driving seat but to think they did that, we’d have to pretend.South Africa finished effectively 63 for 7, with Harmer next in to bat. He will have to do the same job he did with the ball, and drag South Africa into the contest to give them, and mostly himself, a chance to bowl India out cheaply. He knows it won’t be easy.”In an ideal situation, you’ve got 300 on the board, and you can set attacking fields but it becomes quite intricate when you’ve only got 150 on the board, and you need to take wickets but you also can’t leak runs,” he said. “It’s quite evident that the pitch is going to do enough. It’s just about not getting carried away and making sure that you’re putting as many balls in the right areas as you possibly can. We all know that we need to be at our best but we have the belief that we can still pull ourselves back into this game.”Or, at least, they can pretend to.

Jadeja’s game has turned him into a globally respected cricketer who remains somewhat under-analysed, and whose nuts and bolts remain somewhat underappreciated

Karthik Krishnaswamy09-Oct-20255:13

Jadeja on vice-captaincy, batting higher and playing without Ashwin

Sometimes, great bowlers bowl balls of high quality at such frequency that the viewer doesn’t quite realise how good they are. Take the ball Ravindra Jadeja bowled to dismiss Brandon King on day three of the Ahmedabad Test between India and West Indies. The trajectory drew the batter forward, and the length didn’t let him get near the pitch of the ball.Having put King in that position, the ball could have had him in trouble no matter what it did next. On this occasion, it turned sharply to find the outside edge of the sticker on King’s hesitantly prodding SS bat.It may have looked, to the viewer, like this ball hung momentarily above King’s eyeline – and it did – but it still left Jadeja’s hand at 91kph. Generations of visiting left-arm orthodox spinners have watched Jadeja bowl ball after ball on Indian pitches with this combination of pace, trajectory and fizzing revolutions, and watched him do this with a run-up and delivery style that looks utterly natural, and utterly effortless. They’ve all tried to match him, and most have only discovered how difficult it is to do what he does.Ask Jomel Warrican. He has a terrific record in every other Asian country. In nine Test matches in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he has 52 wickets at an average of 19.92, with two five-wicket hauls. West Indies have won three of those nine Tests.Related

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In India, however, Warrican has taken four wickets in three Tests – including one against Afghanistan – at 67.25. While those numbers might have looked better had he had the chance of bowling on the dustbowls India have prepared in many of their series in recent years, all his Tests against India in India have come on true, traditional Indian pitches.On pitches like that, you need Jadeja’s combination of pace, revolutions, trajectory and accuracy to make an impact on batters.Throughout India’s innings in Ahmedabad, Warrican struggled to achieve the full combination. He naturally bowls at a slower pace than Jadeja, typically in the 77-81kph range, and like so many visiting spinners before him, he tried to bowl quicker: this was how he began his first spell. But his lengths suffered, and his fields, even at the start of his spell, suggested he was aware this might happen, with deep point back on the boundary for damage control on the occasions when he dropped short.Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his sixth Test century•Associated PressWhen he came back for his later spells, Warrican mostly bowled at his natural pace, and his lengths immediately improved. But the slower pace gave India’s batters time either to go deep in their crease or step out to get to the pitch of the ball, so the better lengths did not trouble them unduly.And to one of India’s batters, the lengths simply didn’t seem to matter. That batter, of course, was Jadeja, who stepped out gleefully to Warrican and launched him for five big sixes, hitting cleanly and with the turn, on his way to a breezy, unbeaten 104.Given how dominant India were, Warrican didn’t do all that badly: 29 overs at an economy rate of 3.51, and the wicket of KL Rahul achieved via a clever change of pace and line. India’s other batters scored 55 off 105 balls off Warrican. Jadeja knocked him around for 47 off 69.Put yourself in Warrican’s shoes. You’re a left-arm spinner who’s trying extremely hard to do what Jadeja does with the ball. You do an honest job, within your limitations. Then Jadeja himself comes along, bat in hand, and makes you look utterly ineffectual.ESPNcricinfo LtdQuite naturally, Jadeja ended the Ahmedabad Test with the Player-of-the-Match award. It was his 11th in Test cricket; since his debut, only Joe Root, Steven Smith (both 13) and Ben Stokes (12) have won more. If that’s elite company, how about this three-man club he’s 10 runs away from joining? Or this one-man club that’s also, quite possibly, within his reach? Jadeja and Kapil Dev. We are going to hear a lot of conversations involving both those names.That’s the level of cricketer Jadeja is, while being a batter and bowler of deceptively simple processes that are all about repeatability and percentages. The high level at which he executes these processes, ball after ball, isn’t immediately apparent to the viewer, and the subtleties of his craft, such as his clever use of the bowling crease to vary his angles, only really come alive from watching him over long periods. He doesn’t make any special effort to illuminate his methods to his fans, and he routinely tells mediapersons at press conferences – often framing this in humour – that he doesn’t want to give away his secrets.All this has turned him into a globally respected cricketer whose game remains somewhat under-analysed, and whose nuts and bolts remain somewhat underappreciated. So go watch that ball to King again, and give it the reverence it deserves. Go back and watch all those other seemingly routine dismissals of all those batters from all those teams over all those years, and marvel. You’ll miss the inevitability of Jadeja’s excellence when it’s no longer running live on your screen.

The New Zealand quick chats about what inspired her to take up fast bowling, the tools of her trade, and its pitfalls

Sruthi Ravindranath22-Oct-2025Rosemary Mair always wanted to bowl fast. Watching Shane Bond tear through batting line-ups on TV as a kid, she was hooked by his raw pace and built her action in his image – high-arm, strong follow-through, with a fierce desire to attack the stumps.The inswinger became Mair’s signature. It’s been her go-to since the moment she decided fast bowling was her calling, and it’s served her well in clutch situations.In New Zealand’s 2024 T20 World Cup opener against India, Mair swung one in from outside off to trap Harmanpreet Kaur in front, one of four wickets that night. At this ODI World Cup, she opened her tournament tally by knocking off Bangladesh opener Sharmin Akter’s bails with one that nipped back in.Related

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“So when I’m bowling my best, I’m bowling fast and attacking the stumps, and then any movement off the wicket is a bonus,” Mair tells ESPNcricinfo.”The nipbacker off the seam is definitely my stock ball, but I’ve also been working on a bit of an outswinger to try and beat both sides of the bat, so yeah, obviously the inswinger is my danger ball, but it’s just [about] keeping the batters guessing as well. For myself, it’s always just how many times can I hit the top of the stumps and be really boring.”Mair has a clever change of pace too. It came in handy in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, as she removed the dangerous Nadine de Klerk with a slower ball wide outside off en route to figures of 3 for 25 and a title win.”The slower balls are more about when I bowl them rather than the actual skill [itself],” she says. “I think so far in this tournament, we haven’t had a lot of the death phase, so haven’t had to bowl too many slower balls. But it’s definitely in my armoury if needed.”Another set of stumps is rearranged by Mair’s trademark nip-backer•ICC/Getty ImagesLike many New Zealand players, Mair’s sporting life began with football and squash. Cricket came into the mix when she was seven, courtesy of three older brothers. She started out at Taradale Cricket Club, playing in boys’ teams until she was 13.”The boys started growing a bit faster… and the bowlers got a bit too quick,” she says. “When I kind of got to high school, it was when I started to focus on my cricket a lot. Having three older brothers, I just kind of went to the cricket nets and grew up playing boys cricket and then, it was just a natural progression in my family.”I think growing up playing with the boys, it made me competitive. I guess I had to better my game to be able to stay and keep up with the boys.”That competitive edge fast-tracked her rise. After debuting for Central Districts in 2014-15 and impressing over the years with her consistency, she earned her New Zealand call-up in 2019 following an impressive tour-game performance against India. A T20 World Cup debut came in 2020.But her career since has been stop-start, plagued by injuries. A shin injury ruled her out of a key England tour in 2021. She missed the 2023 T20 World Cup but forced her way back with strong Women’s Super Smash performances. Then came a back injury in early 2024 but she made it back just in time for the T20 World Cup that year. A side strain at the start of this World Cup kept her out of crucial matches against Australia and South Africa.But Mair knows that injuries come with the territory for a fast bowler. “I think for me especially, I’m not gifted physically with height or a fast bowler’s build, so it’s just keeping on top of things in the gym and especially when it’s so hot here, things like recovery and hydration.”Our head coach Ben Sawyer is also the fast-bowling coach, so during a tournament like this, it’s not [about] big technical changes [to keep injury away], it’s just maintaining your key points and making sure your technique is repeatable and not prone to injury.”Mair on Lea Tahuhu: ‘I think she really understands the players, she understands the pressure, so I’ve really been leaning on her this World Cup’•ICC/Getty ImagesThe best thing about New Zealand’s pace unit, for Mair, is the variety within it. And she leans heavily on one experienced head.”Lea Tahuhu has been a real idol for me,” Mair says. “She’s obviously played at a lot of World Cups and she’s one of the leading wicket-takers of all time in World Cups, so I think she really understands the players, she understands the pressure, so I’ve really been leaning on her this World Cup. But as a pace unit, we’ve learned a lot from each other during this World Cup.”Beyond India, and this ODI World Cup, Mair has her sights set on the next T20 World Cup in England in 2026, particularly because she believes the conditions will help her kind of bowling.”The last few World Cups have been in the subcontinent, so a bit of a different game plan for the seniors, but I’m really looking forward to England, the T20 World Cup next year. I think it’ll be a really high-scoring, powerful, fast kind of game, so I think as a fast bowler, I’m really excited to have a bit more pace and bounce.”Mair has also picked up new ideas from time spent in the WBBL, and from overseas players she’s shared dressing rooms with. “In New Zealand, you often work with the same coaches for a long time. So getting different perspectives on field settings or game plans has been a real eye-opener.”Back home, she’s seen the domestic game grow rapidly. “When I started at 15, the standard wasn’t great. But over the last ten years, especially the last three or four, the investment from New Zealand Cricket has been amazing. Playing on TV now, for young girls to see that, it’s just huge.”While her current focus in on her growth in the two white-ball formats, she hopes to play Test cricket someday; New Zealand haven’t played that format since 2004.”I’m a bit of a nuffy,” Mair says. “I love Test cricket. It would be amazing to play one day.”