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Brendon McCullum has heaped the ultimate praise on his opposite number Alastair Cook, calling him the best since Bradman

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington13-Mar-2013Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand captain, has heaped the ultimate praise on his opposite number Alastair Cook saying, on current form, he is as good as anyone who has played after Donald Bradman. Cook, who scored his 24th Test hundred in Dunedin, laughed off the shock comparison.The century at University Oval was Cook’s fourth hundred in five overseas Tests during the 2012-13 season, following a monumental series against India. But while his feats have rightly been acknowledged as putting him on the path to being labelled a great, it is rare to be uttered in the same sentence as Bradman who ended his career with the immortal average of 99.94. The next best on the list is Graeme Pollock (60.97), then George Headley (60.83). The highest average for a current player is Kumar Sangakkara’s at 56.54.McCullum, though, did not hold back his praise after being asked a question about how New Zealand planned to quell Cook’s run-scoring feats. “He’s obviously a genius batsman, his record is testament to that,” McCullum said. “Where he is at in his career at the moment, he’s as good as anyone who has played the game, probably barring Bradman.”Cook’s response, after being taken aback by the comparison, was: “It’s very nice of him to say that. I’m not quite sure where he’s got that from.” There was also plenty of mutual respect as Cook acknowledged McCullum’s recent form. The New Zealand captain has scored five half-centuries in seven innings across all formats against England, including 74 off 59 balls in Dunedin. “You could talk about his genius batting. The way he hits the ball sometimes,” Cook said.Cook’s current Test average of 49.60 places him 40th on the averages list, currently sat between Inzamam-ul-Haq and Denis Compton. Current contemporaries above him include AB de Villiers, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Younis Khan, Michael Clarke, Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar. Purely as a comparison, if you take the point from after last year’s World Twenty20 when Test cricket resumed, Cook’s average of 76.44 places him third, behind Cheteshwar Pujara and Clarke among batsmen who have played at least five innings.Cook, though, remains modest about his achievements. “You never quite feel on top of the game,” he said. “What was pleasing for me was, after a few starts in the one-dayers here and in India, but [with] no match-winning score, I managed to get that bigger one in the first Test. I seemed to hit the ball okay.” A modest oulook from a man compared to the immortal Bradman.

Callum Ferguson transcended a career defined by flattering starts by carving out a determined century as South Australia reached 5 for 256 against Queensland on day one of the Sheffield Shield match

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2012
Scorecard
Callum Ferguson crafted perhaps the most measured of his eight first-class centuries•Getty Images

Callum Ferguson transcended a career so far defined by flattering starts by carving out a determined century as South Australia reached 5 for 256 against Queensland on day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Having won the toss and batted on a dry Adelaide surface, the Redbacks needed some kind of foundation to recover from two heavy defeats in their first two Shield fixtures, and Ferguson provided it with arguably the most measured of his eight first-class centuries against a Bulls attack that kept things tight all day.Ben Cutting and the visiting captain James Hopes shared four wickets between them while conceding fewer than three runs an over, while Nathan Hauritz and Cameron Boyce gained sharp turn at times to vindicate the inclusion of two spinners.Coming in at a precarious 2 for 29, Ferguson steadied the innings somewhat with the fit-again Michael Klinger, and added another 57 with the young left-hander Travis Head.The loss of Head and Christian either side of the tea break gave Queensland a glimpse of SA’s tail, but the wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman hung around to add an unbeaten 69 fort he sixth wicket and help Ferguson to his century.

A record crowd at the Gabba for a domestic Twenty20 undoubtedly came to see Shane Warne.

Alex Malcolm20-Dec-2011
ScorecardShane Warne rediscovered his magic, taking 1 for 22 from his fours overs•Getty Images

A record crowd at the Gabba for a domestic T20 undoubtedly came to see Shane Warne. They got their monies-worth as Warne and his team delivered in the most entertaining match of the BBL so far.Melbourne Stars, the side with as much star-power as any in this competition, beat Brisbane Heat by eight runs in a match that featured highlights with bat and ball and a virtuoso performance from Warne in front of 29,241 people.Rob Quiney’s match winning 97 from 60 balls set up an imposing total of 7 for 177 on a pristine Gabba surface, before Clint McKay’s 3 for 22 was statistically the pick of the bowlers in the Stars defensive effort. But in reality, both men were overshadowed by night’s star attraction: Shane Warne.Brisbane were on track at 2 for 70 after seven overs of their run chase. Matthew Hayden clubbed four fours in the second over of the innings from England international Jade Dernbach. Hayden smashed his tenth ball straight to mid off to fall for an entertaining 22 but Brendan McCullum picked up the slack cruising to 26 from 16 balls before Warne entered. McCullum had got off the mark with a six over long on in the first over but he was far more respectful of Warne first up.Two balls at McCullum and four at Peter Forrest in Warne’s first over were all delivered with artistry and precision. He conceded four runs, as well extracting some turn and bounce from a wicket he adores.McCullum attacked Warne in his second over. The New Zealander charged, Warne tossed high and wide, McCullum miscued a spooned drive, high, but safely beyond cover-point. Warne picked him up two balls later, bowling him around his legs as he attempted to sweep.Dan Christian was the only player to get a piece of Warne, clubbing him for six over long on. But Warne’s other 23 balls cost just 16.Outside of Warne and McKay the Stars other three bowlers conceded more than nine-an-over. But they did enough to curtail Brisbane, who simply could not construct a partnership. Their largest was 55 unbroken stand between Michael Neser and Ryan Harris but it came too late as it began in the 15th over with the score at 7 for 114.Earlier the Stars had set-up their total on the back of a 105-run stand between Quiney and David Hussey. Melbourne were 2 for 31 when the pair came together after Nathan Hauritz opened the bowling with great success snaring Matthew Wade and George Bailey early.But Quiney found the pace of the Gabba wicket to his liking as he smashed six sixes and five fours in a 60-ball knock that ended three short of a well-deserved century. Outside of Hauritz, who showed the value of a slow bowler at the Gabba by taking 3 for 18 from four quality overs, Brisbane were exposed for a lack of variety.Quiney’s high grip and Gilchrist-like swinging arc took full toll of all the medium pacers’ length offerings. Hussey was a valuable contributor as well. His 45 from 32 showcased his wonderful skill as a T20 cricketer.Brisbane slumped to their second loss of the tournament, whilst the Stars squared the ledger with a win and a loss.

Fast bowler Kyle Jarvis is close to a national re-call after being included in Zimbabwe XI’s squad for their two-day match against Australia A at Kwekwe

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2011Fast bowler Kyle Jarvis is close to a national recall after being included in Zimbabwe XI’s squad for their two-day match against Australia A at Kwekwe. Jarvis, 22, was fast-tracked into the national side after the appointment of Heath Streak as bowling coach but picked up a stress fracture in his back during the tour of the West Indies in 2009-10.One of the fastest bowlers in the country, Jarvis travelled to England during the Zimbabwean off season after completing his rehabilitation and played club cricket with Burwell before being picked up by Essex’s Second XI. With his inclusion in the team to face the Australians, he is one step closer to adding to his nine internationals for Zimbabwe, but insisted he could only make the national side on merit.”Honestly I am not going to just walk into the national team,” Jarvis told . “I have to first get myself back in the team and I am going to do that by getting a few performances in.”I would like to say I am where I was and I would like to get faster than I was; plans are there to get me quicker over the next few months as well. I am much lighter and stronger than I was before now.”Australia A surged unbeaten to the final of the A Team Tri-Series in Harare, sneaking past South Africa A by two runs on Friday. Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus have since been added to their squad, and after their warm-up match they will face what is effectively a full-strength Zimbabwe in two four-day games, the first of which starts at the Country Club in Harare on July 15.”They [Australians] are class players and I have played against class players before,” Jarvis said. “I just have to worry about what I do at my end [and] not what they are going to do. So as long as I do what I do best then I will be fine. I am definitely excited about what’s coming up.”

South Africa and Australia will not play a full tour against each other after next year until at least 2021 because the two boards have clashed over the rights to host the traditional Boxing Day and New Year Tests

Firdose Moonda04-Nov-2010South Africa will not take part in a full Test tour of Australia until at least 2021 because the two boards have clashed over the rights to host the traditional Boxing Day and New Year Tests. Both countries are now guaranteed to host their lucrative home Test matches over the festive period for the next ten seasons.Previously, South Africa played Australia away every four years during December and January. “That was a contract that was drawn up before my time,” Gerald Majola, chief executive of CSA said at the CSA road show at the Wanderers on Thursday. “According to that agreement, we have always toured Australia over the festive season. When the 2012-2020 FTP was being discussed we brought forward a proposal that we would play them once in Australia and once at home. They didn’t accept our proposal.”Majola explained that Australia used the home Tests as tourist draw cards because of the holiday season and he even though he “understood” that reason, he decided CSA would be bullish as well. “We thought if they don’t want to tour here, we will also say we don’t want to tour there during that time so we can host our own Tests.”In 2008, when South Africa last toured Australia, CSA announced that the national team would not tour Down Under over the festive period again because of Australia’s refusal to give up their monopoly on Test matches during that time. South Africa went on to win the three-Test series 2-1.Following a breakdown in discussions over tours over the holiday period, CSA managed to convince the International Cricket Council that, like Australia, it should host Test matches over the festive season every season from 2012 to 2020. In addition, neither South Africa nor Australia will host each other in that time. That means that Australia’s visit to South Africa next year will be their last full tour until at least 2021. They are scheduled to play three Tests and five ODIs in September and October 2011.Majola added, however, that by avoiding each other during the festive season, the two teams would meet more frequently as a consequence. “We will play Australia every year from now until 2020 but not for a full tour,” Majola said. “Once a year we will either play them in Tests or in one-day internationals but not both at the same time.”South Africa are scheduled to host India this season and Sri Lanka in December 2011, with CSA keen to emulate the Australian model of creating tourist activities around the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.
In South Africa, the coastal cities of Durban and Cape Town have most often hosted the two, festive matches but Majola said that at least one of those venues may change.”Durban is still in question,” he said. “We have not had very good crowds there and we’ve tried Port Elizabeth as an alternative. We’ll have to see how Durban responds in the future before we decide what to do. Cape Town always had good crowds, so the New Year’s Test will be held there unless something drastic happens.”

The PCB has issued instructions to its players, stipulating that all their agents will have to be approved by the board, failing which the player will be ineligible for selection

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2010The Pakistan Cricket Board has issued instructions to its players, stipulating that all their agents will have to be approved by the board, failing which the player will be ineligible for selection. The deadline for completing this process is September 30.”No Pakistan cricketer, who is selected for any squad for local and international teams, will be allowed to engage any agent/manager without the prior written approval of the PCB,” the board said in a release. “Failure to comply with these instructions will result in the player being declared ineligible for selection in any of the domestic and international cricketing events under the control of PCB.”According to the board’s instructions, all agents wishing to represent players will have to submit a written application to the PCB furnishing details such as the names of players they want to represent, terms of the contracts and background data. The PCB will then forward the information to the high commissioner of Pakistan in the country to which the agent belongs for verification and approval. In case of Pakistani agents, the country’s law enforcement agency will be responsible for verification.The move comes in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal that broke during the Lord’s Test, after the tabloid released details of a sting operation on Mazhar Majeed, an agent for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. The Pakistan trio were provisionally suspended by the ICC last Thursday and were quizzed by police the next day for their alleged role in bowling deliberate no-balls at Lord’s. The undercover operation by the tabloid apparently revealed that they had done so at the behest of Majeed, who was arrested but released on bail, while the players had their mobile phones confiscated. No charges have been pressed against them yet.Butt, Asif and Amir are set to return to Pakistan, according to Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik. It does not, however, mean that they are cleared from the ongoing criminal investigation: the government of Pakistan, Malik said, will provide a written assurance that the players be made available if needed for further investigations.

Test captain trained in Multan but Zak Crawley said England “don’t know yet” if he will play

Matt Roller04-Oct-2024Ben Stokes has emerged as a doubt to play in the first Test of England’s tour to Pakistan on Monday, though Zak Crawley has declared himself fit. Stokes batted for around half an hour in the nets and very briefly bowled off a short run-up at a training session in Multan on Friday, but is not certain to be included when England name their side on Saturday.Stokes tore his left hamstring while batting during the Hundred in August, ruling him out of England’s Test series against Sri Lanka. He has been targeting this three-match series in his rehabilitation but told ESPNcricinfo last month: “I’d rather take an extra two weeks than run the risk of potentially doing something worse, and then putting myself out of the game for longer.”If Stokes is ruled out, Ollie Pope will continue to deputise as England’s captain after leading them to a 2-1 win against Sri Lanka. Stokes’s potential absence may also open the door to Chris Woakes, who is in contention to play his first overseas Test in two-and-a-half years and would help to balance the side from No. 7.Related

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Crawley, who will return to the side after missing the Sri Lanka series with a broken finger, said England are well placed to cope in the event that Stokes is unavailable. “We’ve got a really deep squad, with plenty of options with the ball and with the bat as well,” he said. “We feel ready. Whatever team comes out, it will be a nice balance either way.”England are expected to name their XI two days before the first Test, as has become customary for them, and Crawley suggested a late call would be made on Stokes’ inclusion. “He seems to be going well, recovering well from his injury,” he said. “We don’t know just yet. I think he’s got to do a few more tests, but he’s been doing some running and stuff.”Crawley himself has not played competitively since England’s third Test against West Indies in July. He fractured his little finger while dropping a catch in the slips on the third day off Jason Holder and his absence highlighted his importance to the side, with Dan Lawrence failing to pass 35 as a makeshift replacement.England trained for the first time in Multan – the venue for the first two Tests of this three-match series – on Friday, having arrived early on Wednesday morning. They will not play any warm-up matches before the first Test, but Crawley said he felt “brand new” and ready to play, 10 weeks after his most recent innings – though he will not field in the slips.”The finger is all right,” Crawley said. “It’s as good as it could be at this stage. I’ve recovered well from it. It was a nasty break at the time, but I’ve recovered well and I don’t feel it at all while I’m batting. In the field, I haven’t done too much. I’m trying to rest it, but I did a few catches there [in training] and it feels fine.Zak Crawley was back in the nets having recovered from a finger break•Getty Images

“I won’t go at slip, just from advice from the doctor. I feel like I could, but I’m just trying to follow the professional advice. It feels back to normal now, so I’m looking forward to cracking on… I feel brand new. I’m looking forward to getting out there. I’ve certainly missed it, so I can’t wait to get out there again with the boys.”Crawley had his hand heavily strapped at the start of his lay-off, to the extent he was unable to pick up a cricket bat until mid-September. “[The break] showed how much this means to me, to play for England, how much I love playing for England,” he said. “I’ve come back with a new hunger, for sure. I feel like I’ve got a lot of energy.”He has been training at Canterbury with Jeetan Patel, England’s spin-bowling coach, and at a net facility in south London, and followed his net on Thursday with several laps of the ground to help him acclimatise to the stifling 38-degree heat. “We’ve all played in heat like this before, so it’s not a concern,” Crawley insisted.Crawley set the tone for England’s clean sweep on their most recent tour to Pakistan with an 86-ball hundred on the first day of the series in Rawalpindi. “That’s my favourite thing about opening: you get to create the tempo, and set it with your innings,” he said. “I take pride in that knock: [it is] one of my favourite days of my career.”But he suggested that he has become a more adaptable player in the two years since. “You’ve got to read the conditions. That’s something I’ve thought about in the past couple of months, being more adaptable, playing the right shots, still being very aggressive – that’s always going to be me – but just playing the right shots.”

Both teams are strong at the top but have a tendency of losing steam towards the end of their innings

Saurabh Somani17-Apr-2021

Big picture

In the blue corner, we have Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and others. In the red, there are KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and friends. The Delhi Capitals’ contest against the Punjab Kings is of the kind where, were it a boxing match, there would be the promise of some heavy-duty action in the first few rounds, with the possibility of a peter-out later on.That’s because of how the two teams are made up. Both rely on their top orders to do the bulk of the work, and if the top order falters, then the batting goes from sizzle to fizzle pretty quickly. There are other points in common too: they are stocked with lots of pace options, and each has won one game and lost one. However, while the Capitals might look back at their defeat against the Rajasthan Royals and think they could have won two in two, the Kings would need to pick themselves up after a rather comprehensive wipe-out against the Chennai Super Kings.Related

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This will be the last outing at the Wankhede Stadium for the two teams in IPL 2021. The tracks there have not lived up to the reputation of being batting beauties in the last couple of matches, but given a flat track, there are bound to be fireworks.What both teams might look for, though, is a bit more batting depth. Each faced a top-order collapse in their last games, which would have made them conscious of how steeply the batting falls off after the top few. While Pant being around allowed the Capitals to at least hit near 150, none of the top five stayed much beyond the powerplay for the Kings, and it needed Shahrukh Khan at No. 6 to drag them just over 100. They both have the personnel in their squads to lengthen the batting, though that would inevitably come at the expense of the bowling, and it’s a balancing call they have to take. The Capitals could drop one of their overseas bowlers to bring back Shimron Hetmyer, while the Kings could do the same to bring in a Fabian Allen or a Moises Henriques.

In the news

Anrich Nortje, bowler of the fastest ball in IPL history, is back in the Capitals’ team bubble after a Covid-19 scare. Nortje had landed in Mumbai on April 6, and had to spend extended time in quarantine after a positive test, but has subsequently tested negative thrice. The Capitals certainly missed Nortje in their loss against the Royals, and he can now resume his partnership with Kagiso Rabada to provide the pace blast they had last year. Nortje’s addition would almost certainly mean a benching for Tom Curran, who hasn’t been able to control the flow of runs effectively.The Capitals have also roped in Shams Mulani as a temporary replacement for Axar Patel, a like-for-like left-arm-spinning allrounder, and brought in Aniruddha Joshi for the injured Shreyas Iyer. It remains to be seen whether either of them can be fitted into the XIs.Nicholas Pooran has had two ducks, but he remains amongst the best hitters in the game•BCCI

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Lalit Yadav, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Anrich NortjePunjab Kings: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Jhye Richardson, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Riley Meredith, 11 Arshdeep Singh

Strategy punt

• The Capitals didn’t use up all of R Ashwin’s four overs in their defeat against the Royals, something that coach Ricky Ponting admitted might have been a mistake. They would not want to repeat that in this game, with Ashwin likely to be particularly valuable in the middle, bowling to Gayle and Pooran, both left-handers. Both big-hitting West Indians have not quite managed to get on top of Ashwin. While the offspinner has a long history of success against Gayle and has even kept him to less than a run-a-ball, he bowled superbly to Pooran in IPL 2020’s opening game too, getting him for a duck.
• With Pooran having fallen twice to short balls in IPL 2021 and yet to score a run, expect Delhi to unleash their considerable pace artillery at him too. For the Kings then, a good start is essential. The Capitals might want to have both Ashwin and a pacer bowling to Pooran, but if Rahul, Agarwal and Gayle can get the team off to a good start, then those plans will come unstuck. And while Pooran may have started off with two ducks, he remains amongst the best hitters of the ball, who can cause mayhem when coming in with a set platform.
  

  Stats that matter

  • In five IPL games at the Wankhede, Pant has averaged 63.66 at a strike rate of 192.92. Even including games other than the IPL, Pant has enjoyed himself at this venue, averaging 41.83 at a strike rate of 180.57 in nine matches.
  • Since January 2018, only one batter has scored more than 2000 runs in the IPL: Rahul. He’s done it at an average of 54.54, while the strike rate has veered sharply between extremes in past seasons. It remains to be seen which version of Rahul turns up. While the aggressive version worked wonders in the win against the Royals, the collapse against the Super Kings might make him change tack.

A hundred caps, check, but don’t rule out a hundred more

George Dobell03-Feb-20213:59

The key stops in Joe Root’s journey from 1 to 100

This was one half-century he was always going to convert.From the moment Joe Root toddled out to bat in Nagpur – really, did old-school Yorkshiremen like Brian Close or Ray Illingworth, look as young as Root did that day even in their pre-natal scans? – it looked likely he would spend a decade and more in the side. A hundred caps: check. Don’t rule out a hundred more.Yes, there have been a few stumbles on the way. And yes, there are one or two hurdles – notably runs in Australia – yet to clear. But, even now, he averages more than any of England’s other top-10 Test run-scorers. By the time this year is over, still aged 30, he will have scored more than any other than Sir Alastair Cook.Is he as good as Virat, Kane and co? Right now, you would probably have to say no, though the story isn’t over. But even if he isn’t, a player can be brilliant without being as good as that trio. You don’t judge Sachin a failure because he’s not Bradman, do you?It’s interesting, though, that those who claim James Anderson’s record is flattered by playing half his career in English conditions, rarely acknowledge the reverse influence on Root’s figures. He actually averages more away from home than Virat or Kane. If he had their home surfaces to enjoy… As ever, you have to be careful with stats.If you need any further evidence of how tough batting in England has become, consider this: when was, Root apart, the last time England gave a debut to a specialist batsman who went on to enjoy a Test career of unquestionable success? The answer is Jonathan Trott, probably, in 2009. If you want to go back to the last England-born batsman, it is probably Alastair Cook, in 2006, and before that Ian Bell in 2004. Whichever way you look at it, Root is a giant among contemporary English batsmen.But now, as he reflects on joining an elite club – he will be the 15th England player to win a hundred Test caps; none have a higher batting average, only three have more wickets – it is more the future than the past which occupies his mind.”It’s eluded [the century] me a few times with the bat so I’m really proud to be on the eve of playing a hundred Tests,” Root says. “It feels great to join that club. There are some fantastic players – people I’ve looked up to for many years – among them. For a young kid from Sheffield… from being seven or eight years old, dreaming of playing for England, to be sat here now… I’m sure he would be extremely proud.”I hope it’s not near the end. I still feel like there’s a lot left in me. There’s certainly a burning desire to keep going and play as long as I can. I’m really excited about the coming year.”It says much about Root’s general attitude that he believes the key to his future is adopting a more selfish attitude with the bat. There have, he concedes, been moments in the past where his attention was not fully focused on his primary role as a batsman. Now, he says, he has understood the need to put himself first at times.”That [selfish] mind-set certainly helped me in the last two games in Sri Lanka,” Root admitted. “In the nicest way possible, I’ve tried to be a bit more selfish with my batting, knowing if I bat for a long period of time I make big runs and it’s obviously going to benefit the team.”It’s sounds simple. You might ask why has it taken you 99 games to figure it out. But I’m just desperate for us to do well collectively and that’s naturally how I’ve always tried to think about the game. At times I do think about too many things and try and overthink certain periods of play.”Root admits he’s become more selfish with the bat•SLC

In the shorter-term, Root provides a strong hint that Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes will return to the team for the first Test in Chennai. And while it seems safe to assume Ollie Pope and Stuart Broad will also return, it is unclear at this stage which of Dom Bess or Moeen Ali is first-choice off-spinner.”Any team would welcome Ben back with both arms as often as possible and we certainly do,” Root says. “Having watched him practice, he looks like his bowling is strong, he is batting very well and very much ready to get going.”I had the displeasure of facing Jofra today and he bowled at the speed of light. He looked in great rhythm.”Despite that, Root is under no illusions about the size of the task ahead of him. Success would, he admits, represent his “greatest achievement”.”As a captain, I think it would be,” he says. “I played a very small part in the amazing 2012 series. That was very special. But I don’t think at the time I appreciated how hard it is to win in these conditions.”Having toured since I have a better understanding of it. It would be a huge achievement for this group of players. But it’s one we certainly have the tools to do. I’m really excited about it. It should be good fun.”We ask a lot of our top sportspeople. Over the years, Root has not only carried his side’s batting, but emerged as a willing spokesperson for the benefits of diversity and importance of protecting players’ mental health. At the same time, he had made a point of decrying homophobic ‘banter’, ensured his side have remained focused and positive during their long periods in the ‘bubble’ and been a willing advertisement for a game that has been hidden behind a paywall for too long.Related

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You can’t really quantify the value of such attributes. But most would agree these things matter. Yes, Root has overseen a succession of away wins that hasn’t been seen since zeppelins were the future of transport. And yes, he requires only one more victory to equal the record for most successes as an England Test captain. But perhaps an equally important contribution is his leadership of the sport through a time of social upheaval. Somewhere along the way, Root has grown into an impressive man.”Understanding that responsibility is really important,” Root says now. “We’re very aware that we’re role models and it is very important we use that in a positive way and try to make cricket as good as it can be while we have the opportunity to have a big effect on it. As players at the top of the game, we have a really good opportunity to make changes for the better.”As a player and captain, in particular, you want to try to lead the way in those opportunities and that image for the sport. You want the next guy to come in and the next generation to be inspired. For the kids to look at the game and think, ‘I want to be a part of that, I want to play cricket because it looks so much fun. It looks a really good sport to be a part of.'”News that Channel 4 will broadcast the series free-to-air in the UK, means there is every chance that a new audience will have an opportunity to watch the sport over the coming weeks. In Root, they will have a fine role model to admire as player and man. Whatever happens – and even the most fervent England supporter would concede their team has an almighty challenge in front of them – there’s a lot to like about him and his team.

Former India captain excited to be part of another dressing room at Kings XI Punjab

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2020Anil Kumble, the former India captain, doesn’t regret walking away as the team’s head coach in 2017, but feels “the end could have been better”. He stepped down immediately after the Champions Trophy in June, where India finished runners-up to Pakistan, after his partnership with captain Virat Kohli became “untenable.”Ahead of that tournament, reports of Kohli telling BCCI about players being uncomfortable with Kumble’s “overbearing” ways surfaced. “The one year I spent with the Indian team (2016 to 2017) was fantastic,” Kumble said in an Instagram Live with former Zimbabwe medium-pacer Mpumelelo Mbangwa. “We did really well in that one-year period.”During his term from June 2016 to 2017, India rose to become the No. 1-ranked Test team, beating West Indies (away), Bangladesh, New Zealand, England and Australia (all at home). In all, India won 12 and lost just one Test during his 17-match run as India coach.”I was really happy that there were some contributions made and there are no regrets. I was happy moving on from there as well. I know the end could have been better but then that’s fine. As a coach, you realise when it’s time to move on; it’s the coach who needs to move on. I was really happy I played a significant role in that one year.”Kumble currently chairs the ICC Cricket Committee, with still a year to go in his nine-year term. On the coaching front, he will be involved with Kings XI Punjab as director of cricket operations.”Kings XI Punjab haven’t been consistent in 12 seasons of the IPL, and it’s a challenge,” Kumble said. “I’m looking forward to being part of a dressing room again. I’m also towards the end of my term in the ICC Cricket Committee. It’s wonderful being part of the ICC, to keep yourself abreast of what is happening and to contribute in your own way is very special.”