Despite being blitzed for the most part of the Test, hosts ended day three in a position to make England worry

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Feb-2023There’s an argument to say Sunday was New Zealand’s best day of the series.Tom Latham and Devon Conway scored fine half-centuries, registering New Zealand’s highest partnership of the series, beating the previous best set a few hours earlier. They frustrated England no end, almost mockingly chipping away at a bumper lead steadily, at odds with the manner it was accrued. Context, though, is important.Latham and Conway’s stand of 149 in 320 balls was coming in a follow-on innings, the first England had imposed on their opponents since August 2020. New Zealand trailed initially by 226, and it was that much because of skipper Tim Southee’s blitz of 73 from 49 deliveries. He forged a partnership of 98 with Tom Blundell, which at the time was the team’s highest of the series.Related

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What frustration England had was relative. An entire day in the field was taxing work, particularly for a three-prong seam attack who were sore after the intensity of last week’s victory in the first Test in Mount Maunganui. For a team that likes to win in a hurry, the 94.2 overs in the dirt on the third day would have grated. Nevertheless, the spinners showed up – Jack Leach with two, Joe Root with one – to do their bit. Leach’s dismissal of Will Young, pitching around middle stump, taking the top of off, showed signs the pitch is taking turn more than it usually does at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.Ultimately, the only reason the game is at this stage going into day four is because of the weather. A scheduled 50 overs have been lost, split evenly across days one and two. The latter might have seen New Zealand’s first innings end earlier and cheaper, the follow-on still instigated to expose cracks in a frail batting line-up from Saturday evening into Sunday morning.Ben Stokes arrived at the ground on Sunday morning with a view to enforcing no matter what, which is what he relayed to his charges before heading out there. Across the corridor of the player’s pavilion, things were far less certain.Tom Latham and Devon Conway put a 149-run stand for the opening wicket•AFP/Getty ImagesFast forward to the end of the day and things are a little clearer. A little more hopeful. England have a second go to come – but the arrears are just 24, Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls set and there is a quiet sense New Zealand could be onto something here.Learning from mistakes has been key. As much as batting coach Luke Ronchi rallied against the idea England’s attacking mantra seeping into the subconscious of their opponents was not the issue with the batting missteps on day two, it was hard not to think otherwise. Latham and Nicholls’ reverse sweeps, Williamson’s uncharacteristic looseness out wide. Issues were trying to be forced when that’s not really the Kiwi way.It was under Brendon McCullum’s leadership, of course, and there’s something neat about him being here for this. You wonder if he is secretly relishing the prospect of a slobberknocker of a finish, as much for another test of the mettle of those now under his care as simply putting on a show.That McCullum is sat in the “other” balcony in “their” stash is something of a sore point for locals. They get it, no doubt, but the transformation of the England team has made them yearn for more excitement from theirs.

“Absolutely. Whether it’s 200, 250 – you just never know. We’ve seen the wicket, it’s still doing enough with the old ball and the new ball, and there’s plenty of turn there.”Latham on whether New Zealand had a chance to force a win

They might still get it in the next couple of days, but it’s worth noting the path to that point began with the kind of grind that led to the 2019 World Test Championship win.”The character of this group, we stand up when things aren’t going so well,” said Latham, who was a surprise runner-up in the leadership race after Williamson stepped down. His role is still as a big personality in the dressing room, not least on ability alone. He became the seventh New Zealand batter to pass 5,000 Test runs, and primarily did that by packing away most of his shots.”We probably didn’t quite do that quick enough the other day,” he said of a lack of leaving in the first innings. In turn, England’s bowlers “came to” the New Zealand batters, trying to target the stumps which allowed enough deliveries to drive or pop into gaps to keep the scoreboard ticking over steadily. Scoring more or less stopped for the second noteworthy partnership between Williamson and Nicholls which was more about the 128 balls than the runs (35) for the fourth wicket.They made it to the new ball, then survived three overs of it. They will rest knowing they have to go again from scratch in the morning, but also aware the overs taken out of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson today will count against them tomorrow. And having seen Stokes bowl two poor overs in which he was warned twice and then no-balled for overdoing bouncers, there is reason to believe they can begin to dictate a little more once the AM movement has subsided.Tom Latham scored 83 off 172 balls his second innings•Getty ImagesEven Latham, a pragmatist at heart, admitted to a degree of excitement heading into Monday. The prospect of a series-squaring result and first win under Southee is not something New Zealand are shying away from.”Absolutely,” was Latham’s immediate response to the prospect becoming only the fourth side to win after following on. “You’ve always got to look at [different] ways to win a Test match. We certainly know there is a lot of work to do before that point.”Whether it’s 200, 250 – you just never know. We’ve seen the wicket, it’s still doing enough with the old ball and the new ball, and there’s plenty of turn there.”Just as the weather delayed the progress of this game, it may also curtail the end, to a point. England fell victim to the unpredictable Wellington rains in 2013, similarly asking New Zealand to bat again in the third innings. But respective desire and need for a result other than a draw could win out.After getting pasted in the first Test and blitzed for the best part of three days here, New Zealand are somehow still in a position to make England worry. Granted there is still a lot to be done, and even then Stokes and McCullum run a worry-free dressing room that will back themselves to knock off any total, no matter how big.But that New Zealand are an outside shot is in its own way something to savour. This two-match series could be set for a thrilling finale and, moreover, a smash-and-grab that could give a much-needed push to a transitional era for the hosts.

Also, is the weather likely to hold up? Here’s everything you need to know about the showpiece event’s final between India and Australia

Abhimanyu Bose05-Jun-2023What is the WTC final? Is it a big deal?
The WTC final is essentially like the World Cup final, but for Test cricket. Since 2002, the ICC has awarded a trophy annually to the team that has topped the rankings, but since 2019, they began the World Test Championship (WTC), which sees nine teams compete in two-year cycles in a league. The top-two teams eventually face off in the final.Who won last time?
The final in 2021 was the first ever, held in Southampton. New Zealand became the inaugural champions after beating India.Related

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How did India and Australia get here this time?
The 2021-23 cycle of the WTC kicked off with India’s tour of England in August 2021. India took a 2-1 lead in the series, but the fifth game was postponed to 2022, and England won that to draw the series 2-2. In between, India won a home series 1-0 against New Zealand and then travelled to South Africa, where they were beaten 2-1. It was also after this series that their Test captaincy was passed on from Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma.India then blanked Sri Lanka 2-0 at home, before that fifth Test against England. Their next Test series saw them go to Bangladesh, where they swept the hosts 2-0. But they were still not sure of qualifying when they faced Australia at home in their final series as part of the WTC cycle. However, a 2-1 series win, coupled with favourable results from Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand sealed second place for them.Australia, meanwhile, had started their WTC campaign with an emphatic 4-0 Ashes win at home. A three-Test tour of Pakistan followed, and after draws in the first two games, Australia won the decider in Lahore. Then in Sri Lanka, Australia took the lead in the series, but the hosts won the second Test as the series finished 1-1.That followed another dominant home summer, which started with a 2-0 sweep of West Indies followed by a 2-0 win against South Africa in a three-Test series. However, Australia still hadn’t secured their position in the WTC final when they went to India, but their solitary win of the tour, which came in Indore, and the draw in Ahmedabad were enough to see them qualify.Pat Cummins is all geared up for the WTC final•ICC via Getty ImagesWhat ball will they play with in the final?
The Dukes ball, which is used primarily in England, Ireland and the West Indies, will be used for the final.What happens if the Test is drawn or tied?
In that scenario, both Australia and India will share the WTC trophy for the 2021-23 cycle.Why are they playing at The Oval and not Lord’s?
The ICC wanted a “clean” venue in terms of sponsorships, and Lord’s has some deals in place which made it untenable for the final. Lord’s was supposed to host the 2019-21 WTC final too, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to be shifted to Southampton, where it was easier to maintain a bio-bubble for the teams.Have they played many Tests at The Oval in June?
None at all. In fact, this will be the first time that The Oval will be hosting a Test in June. The earliest a Test has started there during the English summer is July 8 in 1982, when England drew against India, as Ian Botham scored a double-century.When will the sixth day be used?
The WTC final does have a reserve day scheduled. But it will be used only if there has been play lost due to bad weather across the regular five days, they are unable to make up for it in those five days, and no result has been reached by the end of day five. The 2019-21 WTC final saw the first day completely washed out, and the game eventually went into the reserve day.What’s the weather forecast?
London is expected to stay mostly sunny through the first three days and the fifth day of the WTC final. However, there are spotty showers of rain expected in the afternoon on day four. The reserve day, should it come into play, is also expected to have clear weather.The 2021 WTC final was interrupted by rain, forcing a sixth day into action•ICC/Getty ImagesAre the teams at full strength?
Unfortunately, neither team can claim to be at full strength. Josh Hazlewood, who picked up a side soreness during the IPL, was replaced in Australia’s squad by Michael Neser three days before the big game. Meanwhile, India will be without key players like Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.How have India and Australia prepared for the final?
India trained at Arundel in Sussex for nearly a week, before moving to London for the final few days of preparation. While a majority of their contingent arrived in England in batches after the IPL, Cheteshwar Pujara, who did not get an IPL gig this year, has been playing for Sussex in the County Championship.The Australian team also began preparations as a group after members joined them following the IPL. Some of their players too, like Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Neser, have had red-ball prep by playing county cricket. In fact, Smith and Pujara were team-mates at Sussex this year. Australia trained for three days in Beckenham before moving to London.What are they playing for?
The winners will not only be awarded the Test mace, but will also get a prize of $1.6 million. The runners-up will go home with $800,000.

Seamer looks back on the controversy of 2013, and the sequence of events it kicked off

Andrew Miller13-Jun-2023Admittedly, the Ashes rivalry hasn’t offered a lot to write home about from recent tours Down Under, but Australia in England on the other hand… now we are talking. From Edgbaston 2005, to the great escape at Cardiff four years later, all the way through to Ben Stokes’ miracle of Headingley in 2019, there’s scarcely been a summer of recent vintage that has not served up an all-time Anglo-Aussie classic. And ten years have now passed since one of the tastiest tussles of the lot.England’s 14-run win at Trent Bridge in the opening Test of the 2013 series had something for everyone… from Ian Bell’s masterful second-innings century to the bittersweet romance of Ashton Agar’s debut 98, all the way through to James Anderson’s tireless ten-for on a dry and unresponsive deck.But in spite of such rich pickings, the incident that truly endures is – from an Australian perspective – the one that got away. Or, as England’s fans might prefer to see it, the one that Stuart Broad got away with.England had conceded a first-innings deficit of 65, and were struggling second time around too before Broad and Bell came together in a match-turning seventh-wicket stand of 138. Without his doughty 65 from 148 balls that spanned the third afternoon and the fourth morning, there would have been no grandstand fifth-day finish.And yet, as Australians recall all too well, that effort should have ended on 37, when Agar tossed up a wide one, into the rough outside the left-hander’s off stump. Broad shaped to cut, the ball ended up in the hands of Michael Clarke at slip, and that should have been that.Aleem Dar, however, thought otherwise, and as Clarke glowered and gesticulated from behind his sunglasses, Broad donned his finest poker-face and stared down his accusers.”I was thinking, ‘we need more runs here, we’re 230 ahead,'” Broad recalled on the eve of the 2023 campaign. “If I get out, we lose the game. So I’m never just going to walk off and accept a loss. I looked up at Aleem and he said not out.”Moments later, in the Sky Sports commentary box, David Lloyd’s instinctive reaction to the first slo-mo replay rather encapsulated the furore that was about to break out. “Oh my goodness me,” he intoned, as the ball clearly kissed off the edge of the bat, onto the tips of Brad Haddin’s gloves, and away into Clarke’s hands… “speechless!””It was all absolute nonsense, wasn’t it?” Broad said. “It still follows me around. Everyone’s been convinced that I nicked it straight to first slip, which is remarkable really. Because even Brad Haddin said afterwards, ‘did you nick that?’, because it cannoned into his gloves and went to first slip.”Related

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Broad has had a decade to contemplate the incident, and so it’s perhaps unsurprising that he’s done his research in the interim. By his reckoning, across that year’s home and away Ashes, there were 21 other instances of batters not walking for catches – including, it might be pointed out, Haddin himself, who would eventually be given out on review at the gripping climax to that Trent Bridge Test, when Anderson was shown to have found a thin inside-edge with Australia in touching distance of victory.However, the optics of an edge flying into the hands of first slip – albeit via a double deflection – were always likely to inflame sensibilities. And this was especially so because, as Broad has also posited, the presence of one of two of the so-called press-box “Dukes”, senior sportswriters with an angle to grind, meant the incident was ripe for sensationalism.”If it was just cricket writers in the press box. I don’t think it would have become a story because we’ve all watched a lot of cricket. But it was the weekend before the Premier League started, so it was the sportswriters in – your Ollie Holts, Martin Samuels. They were like, ‘let’s make a big story’. I don’t know if that’s absolute nonsense, but that’s how I’ve dealt with it. That was the reason why it became a talking point.”Broad’s certainly not wrong that the Dukes did go to town on it. “Did Broad injure cricket yesterday?” Samuel asked, rhetorically, in The Daily Mail “Sadly, he did. He didn’t mean to. He was just playing hard, playing to win.”Writing in , meanwhile, under the headline: “What he did wasn’t just disappointing. It was deeply, deeply embarrassing,” Holt said that the incident was reminiscent of “Rivaldo rolling around clutching his face when a ball kicked at him by a Turkey player had hit him on the arm”.”Let’s be honest,” he added. “It was hard to witness what happened without feeling a sense of sadness and contempt.”Broad, however, remains utterly unswayed by such sentiment. “I think I’ve only ever played with one true walker,” he said. “That was Graeme Swann, because he just hit the ball to cover anyway. It’s just not a thing in the modern game. I don’t know anyone that does it. And ultimately, if I had have just wandered off having been given not out, I think I’d have been criticised the other way, because we’ve lost the game.”Stuart Broad stands firmly by his decision not to walk•PRAll of which helped set the parameters for part two of an extraordinary grudge match, in Brisbane four months and three England Test wins later, when Australia’s media took up the cudgels ahead of a series in which Mitchell Johnson and Co. would deliver the ultimate act of vengeance with a 5-0 trouncing.Upon arrival in Australia, Kevin Pietersen had been the initial target of the Aussie media, with the Courier-Mail proclaiming on its front page: “He’s so arrogant not even his own team likes him”. However, when KP responded in a tweet that such attention was good for his ego, the seed of an alternative strategy was germinated, as the newspaper’s editor, Christopher Dore, later told The Guardian.”Stuart Broad earned the role of Ashes villain … by acting with complete contempt for the spirit of the game on that dark day in July,” Dore wrote. “We settled on calling him the ’27-year-old English medium-pace bowler’ in all our reports. We felt this was an even a graver insult than turning him into an asterisk and refusing to publish his image. What fast bowler wouldn’t be furious about being relegated to mediocrity?”It wasn’t just the papers who got stuck in though, as Broad recalled: “Darren Lehmann [Australia’s coach] didn’t help the cause, having eight beers and going on a podcast …”Lehmann, who had taken over from Mickey Arthur just two weeks before that infamous Trent Bridge Test, was cut from a very different cloth to his more schoolmasterly predecessor, and was clearly itching to lay down a marker for his first home campaign, as he addressed the radio station Triple M with a startlingly frank call to arms.”From my point of view, I hope the Australian public give it to him right from the word go, for the whole summer,” he said, to gales of on-air laughter. “I hope he cries and goes home.”Broad said: “A few of the Aussie players came and apologised for their coach, for what he said. But I didn’t cry …” Instead, his response merely added to his legend – and, dare one say it, the grudging respect that he’s long since earned over the course of eight previous Ashes campaigns.After shrugging off the catcalls and banners in the crowd to pick off a first-day five-for at the Gabba, Broad strolled into the press conference with a copy of the Courier-Mail under his arm. Whereupon he was re-christened “The Phantom Menace” for the rest of the Test … at least until Johnson’s fireworks came along to scorch the narrative.”I really enjoyed that Australia tour because it was feisty,” Broad recalled. “It was a bit niggly, I got booed, and all sorts of songs were sung. But that’s quite unique. You don’t boo a player you’re not bothered about, so that’s the way I took it, and that’s the positive I dragged from it.”Overall, however, were he given the chance to relive the events of that first Test of the English summer all over again, how would he play it?”I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Broad said. “Because we won the game by 14 runs, and if I’d have walked off, we’d have lost the game.”Stuart Broad was speaking at the launch of wine merchant Laithwaites’ partnership with England cricket. For exclusive offers on great wines this summer, visit laithwaites.co.uk

England seamer embraces her vulnerabilities and becomes the hero that her team needed

Vithushan Ehantharajah13-Jul-2023There cannot be many more open cricketers than Kate Cross.Part of that is the nature of being a high-profile women’s cricketer. So much of the game’s future is over-reliant on your personality, time and accessibility to cover for decades of under-investment. Media requests are accepted as they come in. Not a selfie or autograph is denied. No stakeholder left behind. Cross is one of the best at it.She co-hosts the No Balls Podcast with good mate and former England cricketer Alex Hartley. In between the insightful cricket chat, they either talk borderline nonsense – as we all do with our best mates – or have deep and productive conversations about mental health, which we probably don’t do enough.Cross has long been open about matters of this nature. She’s never afraid to reopen scars to show us all these anxieties. Only so much of that can be cathartic, but Cross always does so to inform better and show others their struggle is not and should not be alone.In the last few months, she revealed that a tropical virus contracted during a pre-season tour of India in March had left her in doubt for this Ashes series, which could be her last on home soil given she will be 35 in four years, and other younger quicks are already nipping at her heels. But then, on Thursday, in just her second appearance in the multi-format series, she stepped across to the off side to show the world – and most importantly Megan Schutt – her stumps.England needed nine runs to win this first of three ODIs, not just to square series 6-6 but to prevent Australia from retaining the Ashes there and then. Again. Cross had walked in at No.10 with 29 runs remaining, joining her skipper, Heather Knight, who was beginning to wonder if a fifth successive Ashes was slipping away.And as Schutt delivered one of her patented inswingers and Cross stepped across, there was a moment when the 5,731 crowd at Bristol County Ground fell silent. The majority supporting England feared the worst. A moment later, that silence was broken. Even Australian legend Mel Jones on commentary, who has seen more than most, was in awe. “What has just happened?”Well, the scoop shot happened. Away the ball went, over the keeper’s head and, eventually, for four. Cross crashed a drive through the covers two balls later to draw England level with Australia’s 263. Knight had the honour of finishing the match at the start of the next over, cutting the winning boundary through point to take her to a remarkable 75 not out, and immediately flinging her bat away to embrace the player whom she regarded as the hero of the hour.”She loves it, she absolutely loves it!” Alice Capsey said afterwards, buoyed as much by Cross’s outlandish shot selection under pressure as by her own 40 from 34 balls that had jump-started the pursuit of a target of 264. As Hartley put it: “Death, taxes, and Crossy playing the paddle.”Cross herself will be the first to tell you it is her favourite shot, and her team-mates will be queuing a close second to inform you no-one does it better. “She plays it probably the best in the group,” Capsey added. “If you don’t see a ramp, you’re probably asking [Cross] ‘are you okay?'”Heather Knight embraces Kate Cross after the chase•PA Images/GettyTruth be told, Cross was not okay when she walked to the crease, and, typically, had no qualms stating as much. She told BBC Sport her internal dialogue was full of fear of adding to past regrets: “I do not want to lose another Ashes. I have seen us lose too many Ashes.”This had by no means been her best performance. Opening the bowling after being left out of the T20Is, she was struck for two boundaries off her first three deliveries of the match by Alyssa Healy, the second a full toss whipped through midwicket. Though she would snare Healy lbw with the fourth, she went on to have Ellyse Perry dropped on six before dropping a catch of her own to give Beth Mooney a life on 19. Both cashed in with 41 and 81 not out, respectively.Cross’s figures of one for 42 from six overs were comfortably the worst of her team. And she owed thanks to Capsey and Tammy Beaumont for a 74-run stand in 9.1 overs that gave Australia’s quicks – Darcie Brown, Perry, Annabel Sutherland and Tahlia McGrath – even worse economy-rates. But as she walked to the middle, you could understand why Cross was apprehensive. Her upcoming struggle was to be endured publicly.Her captain – her friend – knew what needed to be said. A fundamental tenet of England’s build-up to this series, dialled up to instigate the fightback from 6-0 down, has been to strip this Australian team of their aura. Knight reiterated that: think of Ash Garnder as an off-spinner, Jess Jonassen as merely left-arm orthodox and even Schutt, with all her craft and Australian mongrel, as just another inswinger. No matter who is sending it down, swing if it’s there to be swung at.Having stolen the strike for the 45th over, Cross played out two dots from Jonassen before pouncing on a loose ball to turn it around the corner for four. When Jonassen corrected her line and length with the next delivery, Cross slapped an on-drive for another four. At the time, it seemed like the best shot she’d play.Given the strike a ball into the next over, Cross immediately found a single into the leg side and watched on from the non-striker’s end as Knight dropped to one knee and treated Gardner like just another off-spinner by depositing her over the midwicket fence for six. Two overs later, when Schutt was brought back to do what Schutt does, Knight saw fine leg up in the circle and had an idea. “Paddle’s on.”It was. Out Cross stepped to the off side, up the scoop went over Healy’s head. Cross assumed she was close to being caught by the keeper, and confirmed to the rest of us the contact was not her usual best when she scampered back for the second. Brown had seemingly stopped the ball at the boundary, only to palm it into the advertising sponge. Though Cross would tie the scores two balls later, the audacity of the scoop was a statement in itself that only one team was winning this.Related

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She almost finished it herself, thumping a drive down the ground but straight at Schutt, who could only deflect the ball away. No matter – Knight finished the job at the start of the next over. With two matches to play, England’s first women’s Ashes victory in almost a decade is very much back on the agenda.The finish in the third men’s Ashes Test at Headingley and this first ODI here in the women’s has led to familiar soundbites. Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and now Cross have all spoken of the fact that, while they are not used to being there at the end, and would certainly prefer not to be, being out in the middle at least gives you a say. Even if you want no part in a chase, to be at the crease is to be in control, which in a sport open to chaos, is a blessing.It can also be a curse. You are never more exposed than when you’re out there, particularly indulging in your weaker suit. All those hopes on unfamiliar shoulders, all those past failures just a wrong turn in your mind away from consuming you.Cross, however, had left those thoughts on the other side of the boundary, bringing instead the courage to do right by Knight at the other end, her teammates watching on from the dressing room, and her country. She came armed with that familiar strength emanating from vulnerability. And, of course, her scoop shot.That she walked off to all those cheers before indulging in more media, selfies, and autographs – an emergency podcast in the works – carried a unique feeling this time. Given how forthcoming she has been with her darkest moments, it was only right that so many could share in arguably her brightest.

Also, where can you follow the games live, and whom are the big new international signings?

Sreshth Shah15-Aug-2023The biggest party in cricket is back?

Yes, there’s more for fans of West Indies cricket to look forward to on the back of their T20I series win against India. The CPL starts on Wednesday, August 16, with defending champions Jamaica Tallawahs taking on hosts St Lucia Kings in Gros Islet.After 30 league games, the top four – out of six teams – will qualify for the playoffs and the final is scheduled for September 24 in Providence, Guyana.How many countries will the CPL visit this time?

The CPL 2023 season will be played in five countries: St Lucia, St Kitts, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. Each country will get six league games across four match days. Guyana will additionally host the playoff leg.That sounds… tiring.

Well, yes and no.Games are spaced out – with only four match days every week. At each location, there will be two weekday games, followed by a break, and then four double-header games on Saturday and Sunday.After that, there’s a break again before cricket resumes the following week in a new country following the same pattern. In all, there are only 24 match days even though the tournament lasts 39 days.Related

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But… Tallawahs don’t have a home game.

Yes, the CPL is not going to Jamaica, but neither did it last season, and Tallawahs won the title anyway. So home advantage has never mattered too much in the CPL.Tallawahs are a strong side with Brandon King, Imad Wasim, Fabian Allen and Alex Hales in their squad. What they seemingly lack is a high-quality wristspinner.Who are the other strong sides?

Guyana Amazon Warriors have been historically strong. They have five runner-up trophies and have reached the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. That side – with Shimron Hetmyer, Azam Khan, Romario Shepherd and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, among others – is consistently dangerous.With Dwayne Bravo joining forces once again with good friend Kieron Pollard, four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders will also be quite keen on making strong return after finishing last in 2022.Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard will reunite at Trinbago Knight Riders•WICB Media/Brooks LaTouche Photography LtdAny funky rules in CPL 2023?

Nothing too out-of-the-box, just a simple red card! According to new playing conditions, if the fielding side is operating too slowly, there might be a situation where the umpire asks one fielder to exit the field in the 20th over.This could be a big gamechanger for batting sides, but it’s the most extreme step in a series of new rules written up to combat a slow pace of play. Even batting sides can be hit with a five-run penalty if they are wasting time.Who are the overseas players to watch out for?

Among new entrants into the CPL, Ambati Rayudu, the recently retired India international, has signed up with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams joins St Lucia Kings while Pakistan’s Mohammad Haris will represent Amazon Warriors.The spin duo of Qais Ahmad and Maheesh Theekshana give Barbados Royals an edge in that department. The star South African batter Dewald Brevis is with the Patriots, while Faf du Plessis and Sikandar Raza bring experience to Kings. Head over to oursquads page for the full line-ups.How can fans outside the Caribbean catch the action?

Every match of CPL 2023 will have live ball-by-ball commentary on ESPNcricinfo. Fans in India can watch on FanCode. USA and UK viewers can watch on Willow TV and BT Sport respectively. Fox Sports is broadcasting in Australia, Sky Sports NZ in New Zealand and SportsMax TV across the Caribbean. Fans in Pakistan can watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.Exciting… can’t wait for it to all kick off!

If you’re from Asia, you might have to rethink that unless you plan to be up on the wee hours. Most games are scheduled for 7pm local which is 4.30am in India and 4am in Pakistan. You’ll have better chances catching games live on double-header days, when the first game is at 10am local time – that is, 7.30pm in India and 7pm in Pakistan.

With the ODI World Cup looming, our correspondents weigh in on the big questions facing the teams during the Asia Cup

25-Aug-20232:11

Rohit on Chahal’s exclusion: ‘Wanted someone who can bat at eight or nine’

Wanted: bowlers who can batIndia are taking 17 players to the Asia Cup – so they are yet to finalise their World Cup 15 – but if the recovery of key personnel has gone well, their squad is now close to full strength. With Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja playing together, India no longer need a batter who can bowl, but their most severe headache is that none of their four first-choice bowlers can hit sixes.India’s four best specialist bowlers are Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, with Mohammed Shami as back-up, which severely limits the risks that the top seven can take. This issue has necessitated the inclusion of Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel, one of whom will most likely play as the No. 8 depending on conditions and opposition.Still, in a big match in the Asia Cup, India must try to see how the batters react to playing with four No. 11s, who in turn become a potent threat with the ball.Related

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Are Pakistan undercooked?Simply put, Pakistan are short on game time. They have arguably never gone into an ODI World Cup as undercooked as they are right now. Since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Pakistan have played just 28 ODIs, a little more than the 25 they played between the 1979 and 1983 World Cups. The quality of opposition they have faced was also not great. Six of Pakistan’s ODIs were against teams who failed to qualify for the tournament in India, with a further three against Netherlands.By the time the Asia Cup begins, they will have played another three matches against Afghanistan, but so far their only ODI cricket this year has been eight matches against New Zealand, who were significantly depleted for the last five of those games. While Pakistan have beaten most teams with relative ease, winning 19 of those 28 matches, their ability to step up against higher-quality oppositions will be scrutinised.Pakistan haven’t played many ODIs against high-quality teams since the previous World Cup•AFP/Getty ImagesCan Afghanistan convert potential into progress?Afghanistan have the quality to challenge every team in this Asia Cup, but is it accompanied by a resolute mentality? Despite the turmoil in the country over the past couple of years, Afghanistan’s cricket team has seen steady, incremental improvement, and they appear to come into each series and tournament stronger than the last.They have globetrotting T20 stars Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, as well as the steadying influences of Mohammad Nabi and Hashmatullah Shahidi that should serve them well in 50-overs cricket. But defeats in several previous Asia Cup campaigns – especially against Pakistan in 2022 when they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory – are bound to leave scars. A T20I series win over Pakistan in March – even though it was against a second-string side – should help, and three ODIs against the same opposition in the week before the tournament begins will offer match practice. How they perform there and whether they can put together an Asia Cup run that truly reflects the progress they have made should be a point of intrigue leading into the ODI World Cup.Should Bangladesh play seven batters or eight? With two allrounders in their XI in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh have the option of playing an extra specialist batter or bowler. Former captain Tamim Iqbal believes the extra bowler gives their attack security, but an eighth batter could mean precious extra runs.Bangladesh have lately tended to play the extra batter, and it brought them stunning results when Mehidy made match-winning contributions from No. 8 – 38* and 100* – in successive ODIs against India last December. The same combination, however, featured in series defeats to England and Afghanistan, so there is still scepticism over whether the extra batter is the right way to go.One school of thought is that playing one fewer specialist batter will place more responsibility on the top seven and more trust in Mehidy’s improved batting. It’s still not clear which way Bangladesh will go at the World Cup, and results during the Asia Cup may well dictate their choice.Afghanistan have been impressive in bilateral series, but are yet to produce a stirring performance in a global tournament•AFP/Getty ImagesCan Sri Lanka’s batters pull their weight?Twice this year, across two continents, Sri Lanka have been all out for less than 80 in ODIs. They have passed 300 four times, but one of those occasions was after India had amassed 373 for 7 on the same Guwahati pitch.At the World Cup Qualifier, facing – on average – significantly worse opposition than they are expected to come across at the Asia Cup and the World Cup, they were restricted to 245 all out by Scotland, then 213 all out and 233 all out by Netherlands. Sure, Sri Lanka went on to defend all those scores. But that was only because their varied attack bailed the batting out.Perhaps there is an argument that in the 21st century, at least, Sri Lanka have relied more on their bowling to get them deep into major tournaments than their batting. Their run to five global tournament finals between 2007 and 2014 was driven largely by the likes of Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muthiah Muralidaran, Ajantha Mendis and, later, Rangana Herath.But their batting lacks top-order dynamism, has little heft through the middle (save for Charith Asalanka at No. 5, perhaps), and when Dasun Shanaka fails, as he often has in the last few months, they cannot finish strong.Against batting orders such as India’s, Pakistan’s, and Bangladesh’s, good bowling may not be able to perform major rescue operations.

New Zealand have had several injury setbacks during their World Cup campaign, but their stand-in captain has ensured they have four wins in four games

Deivarayan Muthu20-Oct-2023No Kane Williamson? No problem for New Zealand. Tom Latham has made sure of that.When Williamson hadn’t fully recovered from surgery for the anterior cruciate ligament he ruptured in the IPL this year, Latham led New Zealand to victory in their World Cup opener against England in Ahmedabad. Then, when Williamson fractured his thumb against Bangladesh, Latham once again captained New Zealand to a 149-run win against Afghanistan.Latham insists his leadership style is similar to Williamson’s but there’s a bit of Brendon McCullum about him. He doesn’t let the game drift and isn’t afraid of taking risks. Against England, for instance, he gambled on using Matt Henry in the middle overs rather than holding him back for the death. Henry whipped up a wobble-seam delivery to dismiss Jos Buttler and cracked the game open for New Zealand. Against Afghanistan, Latham similarly brought Trent Boult back in the middle overs and dismissed allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn the 2015 World Cup, McCullum used to try and kill off games in the powerplay by giving extended new-ball spells to Boult and Tim Southee. Now, Latham is trying to kill off games in the middle overs. Wickets lost between overs 31 and 40 significantly diminish a team’s ability to finish strong. That’s why Latham goes to his best options even if it leaves him short-handed later. It’s also why when he batted during this phase against Afghanistan on Wednesday, he prioritised being out there at the death over breaking the shackles. And it worked. New Zealand may have scored only three boundaries between overs 31 and 40 but they quadrupled that count in overs 41-50. Latham, as captain, appears innately tuned to the rhythm of the game.”I don’t think I’m a captain that’s hugely different to how Kane operates,” Latham tells ESPNcricinfo. “For me, it’s always been about the team in terms of trying to ensure we continue doing what we’ve done as a group as best as possible, rather than me coming in and doing something that’s completely different. I think when you’re forced into a situation when you have a couple of injuries, obviously Lockie [Ferguson] going down [with back stiffness against England]… It was tight in terms of how you want to operate, but from that game for me it was about trying to be proactive as best as you can.”I guess it comes across as me making the right decisions, but at the end of the day it’s the bowlers doing the job. They’re the ones taking the wickets, so that in turn makes the captaincy look like it’s a good thing, but I think from our bowlers’ point of view, they’ve been doing a fantastic job, especially in that first game. For me, it’s always been about trying to be proactive, especially in this tournament where conditions are slightly different than what we are used to back home.”Latham was destined to be a leader. At 14, he took on Shane Bond on his Christchurch senior club debut. At 20, he became Canterbury’s youngest captain, and more recently in 2021, he marshalled Canterbury to the one-day Ford Trophy title. But Latham downplays all of that and says he’s still a work in progress as a captain.Related

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“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in this group since 2012, I think, when I made my debut. So, I’m sort of one of the older ones (laughs) in the group or one of the more experienced guys, so you tend to lean on experiences that you’ve had in the past – whether that would be through playing or being a leader, but I guess we’ve been fortunate enough … certainly in my time as a Black Cap, we’ve had some great leaders – the likes of Brendon McCullum, and obviously Kane, who is the captain of this team.”Latham also draws inspiration from former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw. “Being from Canterbury, I’ve been a passionate Crusaders supporter and an All Blacks supporter,” Latham says. “I guess seeing what he did with the All Blacks and also with the Crusaders was pretty inspiring. Probably more so with the player he was but also the leader he was. So, as I said, sometimes it’s not necessarily the on-field stuff, it’s the off-field stuff that’s probably more important in terms of pushing the team in the right direction.”ESPNcricinfo LtdLike his captaincy, Latham’s batting often goes unnoticed. In Tests, he does the difficult job of opening in result-oriented conditions. In ODIs, he has to deal with spinners operating with the softer ball, and his middle-order numbers are among the best in the world. Since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Latham has scored 1345 runs in 36 innings at an average of 43.38 and strike rate of 91.12. Among middle-order batters in this World Cup, only Mushfiqur Rahim, KL Rahul and Charith Asalanka have more runs than Latham during this period.”I guess for me, from a one-day point of view, the challenge batting in the middle order is that the situation is always different,” Latham says. “You could be in at 30 for 3 or you could be in at 200 for 3. So being adaptable is probably the biggest thing that I’ve learnt in this role since batting in the middle order – trying to read every situation as best as possible and understanding who is batting around you.”Again, conditions are going to be different on different surfaces and I guess we’re probably going to see this throughout the World Cup, where pitches might start to deteriorate a bit towards the end of the tournament. Being adaptable for me is the biggest thing and it’s something I pride myself on as best as I can.”Latham admits he isn’t a big power-hitter down the ground. Instead, he tries to attack spinners with a variety of sweeps, including the reverse. Latham minimises the risk of sweeping by getting his front pad out of the way and maintaining a low centre of gravity.”It’s a shot that I don’t necessarily practice a lot,” Latham explains, when asked about how he chooses the sweep. “Some guys can just stand there and whack it back over their [bowlers] heads like that. For me, that’s not necessarily an easy shot. Playing a sweep shot comes a little bit naturally to me. You just see the length or the line and then play accordingly. Again, every bowler is slightly different and there are different challenges with the sweep shot – whether there’s more bounce, quicker or slower.”Latham recalls nailing the sweep against India at the Wankhede in 2017, in what was his first innings from the middle order in India. The shot could serve him well in their World Cup match against India in Dharamsala on Sunday.”I do remember a series over here,” Latham says. “I mean it was the first time that I actually batted in the middle order. When I first started, we played in Mumbai, then to Pune and Kanpur and that time it was a shot that was working really well. I was just able to react to the ball and in these conditions where it’s slightly slower, I tend to use the sweep shot a little bit more. And from a bowler’s point of view, you tend to sweep their best ball and again there have been times where it hasn’t worked so well, but I guess that’s the beauty of batting.”While most of the attention will be on Rohit Sharma when he walks out for the toss with Latham on Sunday, underestimate the New Zealand captain at your own peril.