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Australia coach wants all Test series to have a minimum of three games to “show the importance of Test cricket to every nation”

Andrew McGlashan02-Aug-2023Australia coach Andrew McDonald has called for all Test series to be a minimum of three matches in order to show a commitment to the format.His comments came in the aftermath of the gripping 2-2 Ashes draw, which saw Australia retain the urn but England bounce back from defeats in the opening two matches.McDonald is not a fan of the two-match series, which is the minimum requirement for those played under the World Test Championship, and is usually the maximum length for a series outside of those involving at least one of Australia, England and India.Related

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Ashes series remain over five matches while the Border-Gavaskar contest will expand to that number when India tour Australia in 2024-25, and McDonald would like to see an additional game added to other series too.”I’d encourage that the minimum number of Tests against a nation should be three,” he said. “I think two-Test-match series should be put on the back burner and that would show the importance of Test cricket to every nation if it was a minimum of three Test matches.”Australia’s next home season will feature a three-match series against Pakistan and two matches against West Indies before a tour of New Zealand that also features two Tests.McDonald was also asked about the potential for Ashes series to be played over six Tests, as they have been at previous times in history, given that Australia and England had both played that number of games over the last two months, with respective matches against India and Ireland.He quipped at whether England had been asked their views, referencing their stances on various issues about how the game might be played, but acknowledged scheduling would be a challenge.”Did you ask that question to England, because they’re usually the ones that are I suppose forecasting what the rules should be going forward in the laws of the game,” he said. “I think a six-Test-match series, now that we’ve had a drawn series, it’s like the two-Test series against certain nations when it ends up one-all you walk away from that thinking ‘geez, what about another one’.”I don’t know where it fits, though. I think that’s probably a question for [ICC’s] Geoff Allardice and Wasim Khan.”1:43

McGlashan: Bazball puts oppositions under such pressure

When pushed to reflect on the drawn Ashes and the gripping nature of the series, McDonald acknowledged it had been fantastic viewing even though Australia had been unable to turn their 2-0 lead into a first series win in England since 2001.”There was two contrasting styles coming in and it just shows you that you don’t have to play one way in Test-match cricket. And I think that was captivating for most people on the outside,” he said. “Even if it was 3-1 and we’d won that, or it was 3-1 to England, the whole way that both teams went about it – Pat [Cummins] leading our side, Ben [Stokes] leading England, the way the teams prepared and went about their work – [they] had some key decision to make in selection, it all meshed into this weird and wonderful series. It was fascinating.”The series was played to full houses throughout and though those crowds were, as would be expected, massively in favour of England, McDonald understood that the support for Test cricket could only be a good thing.”You love seeing people line up the gates, and you get to the ground in the morning and there’s just a murmur, there’s a buzz,” he said. “And they’re keen to go and watch a Test match. To me, that’s really important for the landscape of Test-match cricket.”It was exciting, and there were a lot of English supporters who said well done and congratulations, so I think it captivated a nation. I think it captivated our nation as well, and I think that’s a real positive thing for Test cricket.”

Her captaincy appointment had been expected and was ratified on Friday, with Tahlia McGrath named vice-captain

Andrew McGlashan08-Dec-2023Alyssa Healy wants to create a “new legacy” for Australia’s all-conquering women’s cricket team after officially replacing Meg Lanning as captain across all three formats.Wicketkeeper-batter Healy filled in for Lanning as captain for extended spells over the past two years, including this year’s Ashes. Now the 33-year-old, who had always been expected to earn the elevation, will step into the role full-time after Lanning’s shock international retirement last month.Allrounder Tahlia McGrath, who recently led Adelaide Strikers to back-to-back WBBL titles, has been named vice-captain.Healy, a matchwinner across her 255-game career, will lead Australia’s attempts to keep international cricket’s chasing pack at bay which will include defending the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next September.”For me to be able to present to the powers that be about who I am and what I can bring as a leader and what I can hopefully help this side do in the next couple of big years with a couple of World Cups on the horizon was a really great experience for me,” Healy said. “And [it] probably just ratified things in my own head about, ‘Yep, this is exactly what I want to do’. And I want to help create a new legacy for this Australian team.”The legacy that Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes had for a really long period of time and the success they had was outstanding, and I was a part of that, which is really cool. But it feels like we’re a little bit new. We’re a new side, we’ve got talent coming through. We’ve got older players coming in and out and it was sort of an opportunity to reset and refresh.”Healy’s reign will begin in earnest later this month after she declared herself a near-certain starter for the Test against India at the famous Wankhede Stadium on December 21. She missed the entire WBBL after badly hurting her finger while trying to break up a fight between her two dogs but has returned to training.Seeing the opportunity that lay ahead for her when Lanning retired helped clarify Healy’s career-goals, in terms of both building more success for this team and ensuring a successful future.”I’ve always been a little bit wishy-washy, and you guys in the media can probably attest to that,” she said. “I always play games about how long I’m going to play for, but in my own mind it sort of gave me an opportunity [to say] that, ‘Yep, this is what I want to achieve and this is where I’d like to take the group for a certain amount of time’. And I think we can achieve great things in that time, but more so set it up for the next 10 years to be really successful.”Alyssa Healy can now start to rubberstamp her imprint on the team•Getty Images

Healy admitted the last 12 months had brought a degree of uncertainty with her filling in on a temporary basis for Lanning. Australia’s white-ball form has slipped this year with ODI and T20I series defeats against England while they also gave up a T20I to West Indies when Hayley Matthews played a spectacular innings at North Sydney Oval.”I think both Tahlia and I have probably felt like we’ve been warming the seat and I think that’s probably been really tricky for [coach] Shelley Nitschke as well who’s new into the role,” Healy said. “We were all just a little bit unsure about what was going happen and obviously we wanted Meg to come back and we wanted her to lead the side.”But it was filling in while we could and also probably living series to series which we identified that’s not probably doing us any favours. We actually need to look long term and work towards World Cups and work towards big series and tournaments.”She added that Lanning’s ability to carry the team “on her shoulders” is something she would aspire to do even if it meant slightly adjusting her mindset as a player.”That probably hasn’t always been the way that I’ve played my cricket and it’s probably not been the way that I’ve led either,” she said. “But if I can find some sort of middle ground in that regard and go, ‘You know what, it’s my time to go out there and win the game or play the innings or take the catch that wins it’, then I’m going to do that as a leader and hopefully show the others that we can do it.”The decision to appoint Healy and McGrath was ratified at a Cricket Australia board meeting on Friday.”Alyssa is an outstanding player and leader who has earned enormous respect both on and off the field,” CA general manager of high-performance and national teams Ben Oliver said.”Alyssa brings a wealth of experience to the role, and we have great confidence in her ability to successfully lead the Australian women’s team in tandem with Tahlia as vice-captain.”We are extremely fortunate to have a talented and experienced group of players who will provide great support to Alyssa and Tahlia as the team evolves and seeks to build on its outstanding performances.”McGrath, who looms as the heir apparent, relished the opportunity to support Healy.”Alyssa and I have played together for a long time, we know our respective leadership styles well and I look forward to helping her lead our group as we embark on a busy but exciting international schedule,” she said.

He will join the team during their ten-day preparatory camp in St Kitts and Nevis

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2024The Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed former West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo as their bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup, to be held in the Caribbean and the USA. Afghanistan have already arrived in St Kitts and Nevis and are expected to begin a ten-day preparatory camp, during which Bravo will join the team.Bravo, part of the two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies side, called time on his international career after the 2021 T20 World Cup but continues to play in T20 leagues around the world. Earlier this year, he featured in the ILT20, where he played for the eventual champions MI Emirates. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 625 scalps in 573 games.Apart from his playing experience, Bravo is also the bowling coach of five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, a position he took over after retiring from the IPL in December 2022.Afghanistan play their first warm-up game against Oman on May 29 followed by the second one on May 31 against Scotland. At the World Cup, Afghanistan are placed in Group C alongside West Indies, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda. They start their campaign against Uganda on June 5 in Providence.Kieron Pollard, another former West Indies player, will be at the England camp having been appointed their assistant coach for the tournament.

Ayub took a career-best 5 for 24 and then scored 33 to help Panthers chase down 138

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2024Mohammad Hasnain and Saim Ayub put in strong performances to take Panthers into the final of the Champions Cup with a seven-wicket win over Markhors. It was also the first win for the chasing team in the tournament.Batting first after winning the toss, Markhors had a poor start as Ali Raza dismissed Haseebullah Khan in the second over of the game. The real damage, though, was done by Hasnain, who sent back Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan to leave Markhors on 25 for 4 in the seventh over.Salman Agha and Iftikhar Ahmed staged a mini-recovery, adding 77 for the fifth wicket but once Iftikhar was run out, Markhors collapsed again, to be all out for 137 in 36 overs. Their unlikely tormentor was Ayub, who picked up 5 for 24 with his part-time legbreaks. It was the first time he took more than two wickets in any form of senior cricket.Panthers lost Azan Awais early in the chase but Ayub kept them on track with 33 off 36 balls. And even though Ayub and Umar Siddiq fell in quick succession, Usman Khan smashed 54 not out off just 26 balls to take the side home in the 24th over.Markhors will now face the winner of the first eliminator, between Stallions and Lions, on Friday.

Baroda felt Hardik’s absence while Naman Dhir continued to impress in the fifth round of SMAT 2024

Shashank Kishore02-Dec-2024

Saurashtra stay alive after blockbuster show

Saurashtra smashed 266 for 6, the second-highest total in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history, en route to a 78-run win over Group B table-toppers Baroda. Their fourth win in five games vaulted Saurashtra to second place on the points table, with the top three, Baroda, Saurashtra and Gujarat, all separated only by net run rate.A Baroda attack sans the rested Hardik Pandya, the leading six-hitter in the tournament at this stage, came under fire from Harvik Desai, the wicketkeeper, who set the tone early on, with a 39-ball 76. There were handy contributions from opener Tarang Goel (15-ball 40) and Jay Gohil, who smashed an 18-ball 53 at No. 6.Baroda’s chase was dented early as they were reduced to 29 for 3 inside the powerplay. They managed to limit the damage to their net run rate by finishing with 188 for 8, thereby remaining table-toppers.Related

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Karnataka knock Tamil Nadu out

Karnataka quick Vasuki Koushik made use of the early morning moisture in Indore to rip past Tamil Nadu in a sensational new-ball burst that fetched him three wickets in his first two overs. Tamil Nadu, who were reduced to 7 for 4 by then, were bowled out for 90, with Karnataka, fuelled by Manish Pandey’s 42, chasing down the runs in just 11.3 overs.Given how close the table is stacked, with all of Gujarat, Saurashtra and Baroda ahead of them, this was a virtual knockout. The result meant Tamil Nadu will be eliminated from the group stages of a tournament they have dominated in the recent past (they won back-to-back in 2020-21 and 2021-22).

Dhir, Ramandeep keep Punjab alive

Punjab continue to live on the edge. After clinching a Super Over win two nights ago against Mizoram, they beat Hyderabad by seven runs to keep their slim knockouts hopes alive. Their win on Sunday was fuelled by Naman Dhir, highly rated by Mumbai Indians, and Ramandeep Singh, who was retained by Kolkata Knight Riders before the recent auction.Having scored 196 for 6, thanks in part to Anmolpreet Singh’s 60 and Ramandeep’s unbeaten 11-ball 39, Punjab managed to bundle out Hyderabad for 189, with Dhir picking up his first five-for in T20s. Tilak Varma, the Hyderabad captain, managed just a run-a-ball 9.File photo: Ramandeep Singh’s cameo helped Punjab put up a winning score against Hyderabad•Associated Press

This was a clear case of the scorecard not revealing how one-sided the game threatened to be when Hyderabad were 141 for 8 in 17 overs. Then Chama Milind, the left-arm seamer, unleashed a barrage of sixes in his 22-ball 55 to take the game closer before Arshdeep Singh dealt the final blow to seal victory.

Bharat, Bhui lead Andhra’s charge

Unbeaten for four games running, Andhra are in with a good shout of making the knockouts. But their task gets tougher from here on as they still have games remaining against Kerala and Mumbai, both of whom are also in knockouts contention, and right behind them in Group E.On Sunday, KS Bharat and Ricky Bhui combined to help Andhra ransack 222 for 8 against Services for a 23-run win. Opening the batting, Bharat scored a 39-ball 63, while Bhui’s 84 came off just 35 balls and contained five sixes. Services made a good fist of the target with captain Mohit Ahlawat smashing 74 off 37. But an impressive 3 for 26 from Cheepurapalli Stephen eventually restricted them to 199.

Pakistan team director was particularly unhappy with Rizwan’s dismissal, saying “there was no conclusive kind of evidence” for the umpire’s initial not-out decision to be changed

Alex Malcolm29-Dec-2023Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez believes “inconsistent umpiring” and the “curse” of the decision review technology cost Pakistan a famous Test victory over Australia at the MCG.Chasing 317 for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan needed 98 runs with five wickets in hand when Mohammad Rizwan was adjudged caught behind off the wristband of his glove via a DRS review from Pat Cummins having initially been given not out on field by umpire Michael Gough.Third umpire Richard Illingworth decided there was conclusive evidence via both Hotspot and Real-Time Snicko that the ball had come off the wristband of the right glove and not off his forearm as Rizwan had protested to the on-field umpires.Related

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That decision sparked a massive collapse as Pakistan lost 5 for 18 to lose the game inside four days and lose the series 2-0 with one Test remaining. Hafeez blamed the umpiring and the use of the DRS technology for the result.”We made some mistakes as a team, we will take that, we will address those things, but at the same time I believe inconsistent umpiring and technology curse [has] really given us the result which should have been different,” Hafeez said in the post-match press conference.”I feel like these are the areas that need to be addressed. I spoke to [Rizwan] and he’s a very honest person. He said he did not even feel that it touched anywhere near the gloves. And what we saw, there should be conclusive evidence to reverse the decision of the umpire. That’s what I know. The umpire gave it not out and there was no conclusive kind of evidence where the decision has to be turned over.”Former ICC umpire Simon Taufel spoke on Channel Seven’s broadcast in Australia in the aftermath of the Rizwan decision and believed that the third umpire had made the right call.”For me, conclusive evidence was the ball on top of that wristband attached to the glove, with the spike [on Snicko],” Taufel said. “Very comfortable from where I’m sitting that Richard Illingworth the third umpire had conclusive evidence to overturn that decision.”Cummins, who claimed the wicket of Rizwan and finished with five wickets in the innings and 10 for the match, also felt the evidence was conclusive.”I thought it was worth review and then [it was] clearly off the gloves strap,” Cummins said.Hafeez was also aggrieved about the umpire’s call aspect of the DRS in reference to the lbws in the game. He did not specifically mention which decisions he was unhappy about but Pakistan were left frustrated on day three when both Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith had survived tight lbw calls via umpire’s call during their match-winning 154-run stand.Marsh shouldered arms to a ball that nipped back from Hasan Ali on 26 and was given not out by Gough who deemed it wasn’t hitting off stump. Pakistan reviewed with ball-tracking showing it was clipping off stump but not enough to overturn the decision. He went on to make 96. Smith was later hit on the pad by Aamer Jamal on 45 and was also given not out by Gough, who deemed it was missing leg. Ball-tracking showed it was clipping leg but it was umpire’s call and the decision remained. Smith only made five more runs.In the fourth innings, Imam-ul-Haq was given out lbw to Cummins by Gough on field. Ball-tracking said it was umpire’s call on hitting the middle and leg bail and Imam remained out.Earlier in the second innings of the match, Shaheen Shah Afridi was given out lbw to Nathan Lyon by Gough and it remained out on umpire’s call.Hafeez felt that the technology was inconsistent and unacceptable.”Technology, I’m in favor of that, but [only] if it’s giving you benefit,” Hafeez said. “But if it’s bringing some doubts and bringing some curse into the game, it should not be accepted by anyone.”Sometimes the technology brings some decisions which obviously, as a human we don’t understand.”The ball hitting the stump is always out. Why is it umpire’s call? I never understand that. So I think there are a lot of areas that need to be addressed for the betterment of cricket in general. I think technology is something that is taking away from the instinct of the game.”Cummins was the victim of a DRS decision himself while batting in the third innings. He was given out caught behind off Jamal by Gough. He reviewed it convinced he had not hit it. There was no evidence on Hotspot of the ball making contact with the bat, but there was a tiny murmur on Snicko as the ball passed the bat and that was enough for the third umpire to uphold Gough’s decision.”I didn’t think I hit it,” Cummins said.”I thought I missed it by a bit. So obviously something showed up on Snicko. Again, one of those ones that can go either way. Kind of got to accept this decision.Cummins believed the technology is as good as it can be and tends to even itself out across the course of a game or a series.”I don’t know what the alternative is,” Cummins said. “I think it’s pretty good. Umpire’s call is obviously 50-50. But I think it does even itself out. I think it’s as good as it can be. So I think it’s good for the game. There’s always going to be moments that you kind of rue or you wish were looked at a little bit differently or maybe technology picked up a little bit differently, but I think it’s pretty good.”The two sides had one umpire’s call each go against them in the first Test in Perth. Hafeez said he would not raise the issue with the umpires or the match referee as he didn’t think it would make a difference despite maintaining his view that it had affected the result.”Personally it won’t bring any difference because at the end of the day we all watch the game and we will notice some of the areas obviously as a cricketer we don’t understand,” Hafeez said. “And we play this game for the fans and the fans will never understand why this technology is inconsistent. And the result of the game basically comes up differently.”

Only 36 overs possible on opening day as other games enjoy best of summer conditions

ECB Reporters Network11-Jun-2023Only 36 overs were possible on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship game between Gloucestershire and Leicestershire at Bristol.While there was plenty of action at other venues around the country, heavily overcast skies greeted the players when they arrived at the Seat Unique Stadium and there was always the threat of a downpour until a curtailed final session.Rain caused two long stoppages after Gloucestershire had won the toss and elected to bat. By the close of a frustrating day, they had posted 108 for 3, Ollie Price unbeaten on 26.Openers Chris Dent and Ben Charlesworth failed to cash in on positive starts as Chris Wright, Tom Scriven and Callum Parkinson picked up wickets late on.What little play was possible before lunch saw 11.2 overs bowled and the home side progress with few alarms to 38 without loss.
Dent took a heavy toll on Leicestershire’s teenaged left-arm seamer Josh Hull, who was withdrawn from the attack having bowled the opening two overs from the Pavilion End at a cost of 22 runs. Five times Dent rocked onto the back foot to dispatch short-of-a-length deliveries from Hull through the off side for boundaries.Wright bowled a much tighter line and length from the Ashley Down Road End, but lacked penetration on a typically docile Bristol pitch.Scriven was introduced for the fifth over of the game. He also made the batters work for their runs, but Charlesworth, who has been in good form in the Championship and Vitality Blast, confidently helped Dent launch the Gloucestershire innings.At 36 for no wicket, Leicestershire introduced spin in the shape of left-armer Parkinson, but he had sent down only two deliveries for two runs when rain forced the first stoppage at 12.45pm.Lunch was taken at the normal time and after two inspections umpires Paul Baldwin and Graham Lloyd decided play could restart at 2.45pm.
With his score on 25, Dent edged Wright just short of Colin Ackermann at second slip. It was the nearest Leicestershire had come to a wicket and seven had been added to the total when the rain returned with Gloucestershire 45 without loss off 14.4 overs.Tea was taken at 3.10pm. Light rain persisted and by the time the covers were removed for a further inspection, the umpires ordered a 5.15pm resumption with 21.2 overs to be bowled.They were delivered in the brightest conditions of the day. Charlesworth brought up the fifty with a four through the leg side off Hull before Wright made a much-needed breakthrough. A ball that nipped back off the seam trapped Dent, on 29, in front of his stumps without getting forward and earned a merited lbw verdict with the total on 55.Parkinson turned one past the outside edge of Ollie Price’s bat before Leicestershire struck again, Charlesworth carelessly offering a catch to Hull at square leg, playing a ball from Scriven off his hip, and departing for 21.Leicestershire could reflect that, Hull’s early profligacy with the new ball apart, they had given little away. It was 83 for 3 when left-hander Miles Hammond fell for a duck, driving loosely at a wide ball from Parkinson that turned and hit his off stump.With the light closing in, Leicestershire opted for spin at both ends, Rehan Ahmed sending down some leg-breaks from the Ashley Down Road End, in tandem with Parkinson.

Australia are relying on him to be their second spinner in the World Cup

Deivarayan Muthu07-Oct-2023The Chepauk pitch for Australia’s World Cup opener against India is set to be a black-soil one, which generally offers more purchase to spinners than the red-soil variant. It is in anticipation of such conditions that India have made room for R Ashwin’s return and he may very well be part of the XI on Sunday as part of a three-man spin attack alongside Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.Australia, however, have gone down a different route. They were forced to look beyond Ashton Agar when it was revealed that he had suffered a calf injury but instead of picking another spinner in his place, they chose Marnus Labuschagne, and are at this World Cup with only one specialist slow bowler – Adam Zampa. They will also have to do without Travis Head’s offbreaks for at least the first half of the tournament too.Australia’s answer to these concerns starts with the letter G and ends with the letters lenn Maxwell. Their management has already backed him and on the eve of their opening game of the campaign against one of the tournament favourites, their captain Pat Cummins gave his own seal of approval as well.”Yeah, I think so,” Cummins said when asked if Maxwell is capable of bowling eight to ten overs every game. “You know, again, it’s good that we’ve got plenty of bowling. But yeah, we’ve seen Max – he’s a frontline spin bowler. In the 2015 World Cup, he was the sole spinner in basically every single match I think – other than one – so really happy with how he’s going. I thought he bowed really well in that third ODI against India [just before the World Cup]. So yeah, we’ve got 20 overs of spin out there if we need it.Related

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“He is always working on some things, even if it’s not variations. It’s [about] different fields, different ways you bowl – and yeah, I think with age and experience as well, you just get a bit more clever and you need that as a spin bowler. So he’s got an amazing knack of – if he misses out with the bat – with the ball, and vice versa. He’s always in the game. So yeah, no doubt expecting a big tournament from Maxi.”In the warm-up game against Pakistan earlier this week, Cummins had matched Maxwell’s offspin with the left-hander Fakhar Zaman in the powerplay. Maxwell responded by striking in his first over, having Fakhar skewing a catch to cover-point. With India likely to have an extra left-hander at the top in the form of Ishan Kishan in the place of an ill Shubman Gill, Cummins could once again turn to Maxwell’s offbreaks for early breakthroughs.Maxwell’s dynamic batting also lends greater depth to Australia’s line-up, though Marcus Stoinis remains a doubtful starter for Sunday’s fixture. Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s six-hitting machine, has also resumed bowling in the lead-up to the World Cup. Then there’s also Cameron Green, who will compete with Stoinis for a spot in the XI. Cummins was pleased with the flexibility offered by his allrounders.Adam Zampa had a gash on his face during training, but Pat Cummins said it was “all good”•AFP/Getty Images

“I guess the luxury about the allrounders is they do make the side as the top-seven batters,” he said. “You know, they genuinely pick themselves from their batting, and their bowling is kind of a bonus. So, yeah, we’re lucky that we’re going to have seven or eight bowlers to choose from. But no doubt you’ll see more from the specialist overs, and the allrounders will chip in when they need to.”Zampa’s ten overs will be especially key for Australia right through this World Cup. He has grown into an extremely versatile one-day bowler. In fact, he is the most prolific ODI spinner among Full-Member nations since the end of the last World Cup, with 77 strikes in 37 games at an economy rate of 5.29.Zampa has already left his mark on India too. He and Agar had spun Australia to a bilateral series victory right here in Chennai earlier this year. Can he do it once again, along with Maxwell, this time when the stakes are higher, and with the odds that are stacked against Australia even higher?Yes, if the swimming pool gods have any sway. Alex Carey walked straight into one in Karachi and for a little while he was unstoppable. (Test average from 10 innings pre-dip: 20, Test average from nine innings post-dip 71). Now it looks like its Zampa’s turn, because when asked in the press conference about the gash on his lead spinner’s face, Cummins said, “yeah, he swam into the pool wall apparently. He said he had his eyes closed and thought he was swimming in a straight line and swam into the step in the pool. Yeah, no, he’s all good. He’s just a little bit sore.”

“Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, adaptability and he’s shown all of that,” coach says before Kohli’s 500th international game

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-20234:32

Dravid on Kohli: Great to see him put effort and work hard when nobody’s watching

The year 2023 may hold a lot of importance for Virat Kohli. It will mark 15 years of international cricket for him next month. There’s an ODI World Cup coming up which will provide Kohli a rare second chance to lift the trophy at home. It will bring up his 500th international appearance when Kohli takes the field on Thursday in the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad. Even though he doesn’t seem to be part of India’s T20I plans going ahead, he continues to be the driving force of the 50-overs and the Test teams.Asked where he saw Kohli in the overall scheme of things currently, coach Rahul Dravid was nothing but complimentary of his senior batter’s work ethic and drive even after 110 Tests and 15 years of international cricket.”He’s a real inspiration to so many players within this team without a doubt, to so many boys and girls in India,” Dravid said. “His numbers and stats speak for itself, his performances – it’s all there in the book. But I think for me what’s great to see first hand is the effort and work he puts behind the scenes when no one’s watching. That’s reflecting in the fact that he’s going to be playing 500 games.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“He’s still very strong, very fit, the energy and enthusiasm despite playing 500 games and being around here for 12-13 years now, it’s truly fantastic. That’s not come easy, that’s come because of a lot of hard work behind the scenes, lot of sacrifices that he has made through his career and he’s willing to continue to make. That’s something that is great for a coach, you can see a lot of young players will look to that and be inspired by that.”You don’t have to say anything, just by the way you conduct yourself, the way you carry yourself, the way you go about practice and about your fitness, it’s an inspiration to a lot of players coming through the system. Hopefully they follow that and they are inspired like Virat to play so many games. Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, adaptability and he’s shown all of that. Long may it continue.”Related

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Dravid first played with Kohli in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. Then they became ODI colleagues a year later. On the tour of the Caribbean in 2011, they became Test colleagues when Kohli had a tough initiation into the longest format. The game where Kohli brought up his maiden Test century – in Adelaide in January 2012 – incidentally, would be Dravid’s last.”It’s nice to see Virat’s journey,” Dravid said. “When I was playing, he was a youngster coming through. And then I was not involved in the team as such, I watched it from the outside with a lot of admiration for what he’s done and what he’s continued to achieve.”And now to get to know him a bit over the last 18 months [since taking over as coach], interact with him, get to know him personally as well, it’s been good fun. I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve learnt a lot from him. So in a lot of ways, I’ve really enjoyed it and hope he has as well.”

English batter gets INR 2.8 crore deal with Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al Hasan already ruled out for the franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2023Kolkata Knight Riders have signed up England batter Jason Roy as a replacement player with two of their big names Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al Hasan already out of the tournament. Knight Riders signed Roy for INR 2.8 crore (USD 341,000 approx.); his base price listed at the pre-season auction was INR 1.5 crore (USD 183,000 approx.).Most English players are only permitted to sign replacement deals at the IPL before a cut-off date of March 1, in order to help their counties plan for the early months of the County Championship season. However, players with ECB central contracts or incremental deals are eligible to be signed after that date. Roy lost his central contract in October, but still has an incremental deal.Roy last played the IPL in 2021, having opted out last year – after being bought by Gujarat Titans in the auction – while taking an indefinite break from cricket. In 2021 he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and scored 150 runs from five games, averaging 30 and striking at 123.96.In 2020 too he had opted out of the IPL because of personal reasons, when he was with Delhi Capitals.Knight Riders have played just one game so far, which they lost to Punjab Kings by seven runs (DLS method) in Mohali. They play their second game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday at their home ground Eden Gardens.They have lost Iyer to a lower-back injury for which he needs surgery, and Shakib has opted out of the season for personal reasons.