Who knows when his next Test will come, but he will always have today

Andrew McGlashan06-Jan-2022There have been times in the last few days when a roof at the SCG would have been handy. It would have been lifted by the ovation given when Usman Khawaja ran through to bring up his ninth Test century. For obvious reasons there hasn’t been a full house, but for a few moments it sounded like one.It didn’t quite match the Steve Waugh century in the 2002-03 Ashes with the last ball of the day, but it wasn’t too far away, and there was something similar to that occasion when Pat Cummins was cheered for taking a single as Adam Gilchrist had been after previously stealing the strike. There has been a groundswell of goodwill towards Khawaja heading into this match, a return to the side only achieved because of Travis Head’s positive Covid-19 result.On his former home ground, the venue of his Test debut in 2010-11 and his one previous Ashes hundred (brought up on the same day in 2018), Khawaja tucked Jack Leach backward of square in the final over before tea followed by a celebration inspired by LeBron James. There can have been few more popular hundreds made for Australia in recent times.”It was probably the most touching, humbling, amazing feeling out there getting that hundred,” Khawaja said. “The roar that went up, the chanting of Uzzie, stuff you sort of dream of but never expect it to happen. I was excited, so pumped. Hundreds don’t come very often, a lot of hard work goes into them. Got taken away by the moment, I’ve had so much support, the crowd has been excellent. It’s been unbelievable.Related

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“I joke around with the boys about my past and where I’ve come from…but I’m quite serious. I am living the Australian dream. My parents came over here from Pakistan to give my family a better life. I’m representing Australia in our national sport and it’s something that I absolutely love doing. I’ve gone through a lot of hard times, broken down a lot of barriers to get to where I am, and think at some level people can relate to that and I love them for it. The love I got out here today is something special, something I’ll never forget.”In the stands, Khawaja’s wife Rachael celebrated with their baby daughter. “It means so much. I just wanted him to play one more Test at home so she could be there,” she told Fox Cricket. “I just wanted to tick that off the list.”It was his first Test innings since he was dropped midway through the 2019 Ashes when the selectors had to find room for Marnus Labuschagne following his super sub performance for Steven Smith at Lord’s. Australia haven’t played much Test cricket since, but at times it’s been difficult to reconcile him not being in the top order particularly with a home average of over 50. In fact, it was his second hundred in consecutive Test innings in Australia having made a century against Sri Lanka in early 2019.”I’ve put a lot of hard work in behind the scenes that people don’t see,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of support from my family, my parents, in particular my wife Rachael. A lot has gone on in that time; Covid, I’ve had a daughter, Rachael is pregnant with another child so a lot has gone on since I’ve been dropped. Never take anything for granted. I wasn’t really sure if I was going to represent Australia again, let alone score a hundred, so it’s amazing how life can work out both ways.”Usman Khawaja celebrates his comeback hundred•AFP/Getty ImagesAnd yet, this might be a one-off return. Head has been assured of getting his place back in Hobart so Khawaja may need an opening to come elsewhere. His versatility has made him an ideal player to have in the squad in the current climate. With Covid a major issue, that may well happen over the coming months but beyond that it’s tricky to see how the selectors fit him in unless they dispense with Marcus Harris and ask him open. Still, those issues can be for another day.This was a brilliant innings in far from easy conditions. A number of deliveries from England’s quicks popped at him on a surface which looks like it will be very challenging come day four. Speaking during a drinks break, Khawaja said he was happy not to be batting last on it.He had a dose of luck on 28 when he edged Leach and Joe Root spilled the chance at slip as it glanced off Jos Buttler’s gloves. But it was his only misstep and the innings became increasingly fluent, driving Leach through the off side and pulling Mark Wood.It had been slow going during the morning session punctuated by infuriating stoppages for drizzle and he did not add to his overnight boundary count until reverse sweeping Leach in the 59th over. His half-century took 134 balls, but the next fifty came off 67 deliveries.Though it was Leach who created the chance, Khawaja largely toyed with him. It wasn’t brutal in the same way as Labuschagne and David Warner at the Gabba, but deep-set fields allowed the milking of easy singles and he latched onto boundary offerings when available. In total he took 55 runs off the 80 balls he faced from Leach.Khawaja has struck a noticeably relaxed figure in the last couple of seasons. The summer after his Test axing was a poor one, averaging just 19.92, but last year he averaged 59.12 and this season it was 52.88 heading into his comeback. His popular refrain whenever asked about a Test return is that he wasn’t thinking about it, he’d been around the game too long to worry about such things. His leadership has shone through both at state level and with advocacy of important issues. And with bat in hand he has not dimmed.Being dismissed by Stuart Broad for 137 also provided the opportunity for another ovation and the crowd did not let him down as he saluted the stadium. It’s hard to say when Khawaja’s next Test will come but it would be a wonderful story if he played a part in Pakistan in a couple of months’ time. Whatever happens from now, however, he’ll always have today.

Having ridden the roller-coaster of Test cricket for 11 years, he is repaying Australia more than they perhaps deserve

Alex Malcolm06-Mar-2022It was almost written in the stars for Usman Khawaja. Born just a short drive up the road in Islamabad and playing Test cricket in Pakistan for the first time in his 11-year career with Australia, he was one boundary away from a magical, sentimental century.But alas, the reverse sweep, a shot that had yielded two boundaries in his classy 97 and has been a great weapon for him throughout his career, brought about his downfall.”It’s disappointing,” Khawaja said after the third day’s play. “Cricket is a funny game. Three runs – you bat so well for 97 and then you get out. You don’t get a hundred, you come back in the changeroom and it probably feels worse than getting a 20 in some respects. It’s a bizarre feeling. Yeah, I would love to get a hundred out here. Rawalpindi, Islamabad – where I grew up.Related

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“I think it would have brought a lot of joy. But at the same time, I think mum, dad, [and] Rachel, my wife, would have loved me being out there. I was having a lot of fun. I was enjoying playing. To put it in perspective, I wasn’t even in an Australian team a few months ago. So I’m very grateful to be here. I’m happy that I contributed to the team.”Therein lies the secret to Khawaja’s renaissance as a Test cricketer.It doesn’t matter that he perhaps picked the wrong length to reverse sweep Nauman Ali, as it wasn’t quite full enough. It doesn’t matter that he was through the shot too soon and it popped up off the glove to short leg. He won’t put the shot away. It has brought him 88 Test runs in his career for just two dismissals, 22 of them coming during his twin centuries on return to the Test arena against England in Sydney earlier this year.It doesn’t matter that Khawaja had some luck. He was dropped by Fawad Alam at gully on 22. He gloved another reverse sweep on 66 but wasn’t held by Mohammad Rizwan, and he edged another between the wicketkeeper and first slip on 73 to eventually pick up four.Fortune favours the brave; and Khawaja is daring to be brave and daring to be himself, something which is paying handsome dividends.Having ridden the roller-coaster of Test cricket for 11 years, having been sent to selection purgatory more times than can be counted, Khawaja is riding a wave of form that is repaying Australia more than they perhaps deserve.There was a freedom and a joy from 35-year-olds Khawaja and David Warner that has not always been in recent years•AFP/Getty ImagesHis 97, luck aside, ensured Australia stayed in the Test match. His positive mindset, his intent to score and his calm demeanour was the driver for a rollicking 156-run opening stand with long-time friend David Warner.They become just the ninth foreign pair to share a 150-run opening stand against Pakistan in either Pakistan or the UAE, and the first Australians since Mark Taylor and Michael Slater in 1994. The pace at which they scored – nearly four runs an over – kept the faint flicker of a result for Australia alive, albeit it might have been snuffed out by bad light cutting off the last session.It was Khawaja who dragged Warner with him. While Warner was a rabbit in the headlights for a period against a barrage of short stuff from Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Khawaja handled them with aplomb, pulling, driving and upper cutting with trademark elegance. He scored 40 of Australia’s first 56 runs, and 62 of the first 100.Khawaja forced Pakistan to turn to their three spinners, as Warner thrived attacking the trio off both the front and the back foot. They batted like they did more than 20 years ago when playing junior cricket in Sydney together.There was a freedom and a joy from the two 35-year-olds that has not always been in their batting in recent years. They even spoke together in the middle about the warm reception they were getting from the Pakistani crowd. That is what Khawaja has brought to Australia’s team since his return. He has been a breath of fresh air, and has dragged players with him in some tremendous partnerships.He shepherded Steven Smith and Cameron Green to century stands in the first and second innings respectively in Sydney when both were battling form, and elicited the best from Warner here in Rawalpindi after his early struggles. Khawaja is playing with the type of mental freedom that few cricketers at Test level have ever enjoyed.

“I’ve been dropped. It doesn’t matter. I just play the way I want to play”Khawaja after he fell reverse sweeping on 97

“I felt really good today,” Khawaja said. “I felt mentally in a really good spot coming into it, I guess. Probably because I’ve been out of the system. I’ve been out of cricket Australia for two years. And now it’s not the be-all and end-all anymore.”I’ve been in and out of the team so much. I’ve been dropped. It doesn’t matter. I just play the way I want to play. I just think of it as if I’m playing club cricket or Shield cricket back home. And that’s how I take it for Australia now.”In the end, it was Warner who perhaps let him down the most. Just as Warner was thriving, having cut Sajid Khan to ribbons off the stumps, he picked the wrong length and was bowled trying to cut something he could have driven.Khawaja was on 80 at the time and looked destined for a massive score. But he faced just 27 of the next 77 deliveries as Marnus Labuschagne took his time to get set.However, he looked to have broken the shackles with a powerful lofted drive down the ground and a slog sweep off Sajid. Perhaps impatience got the better of him as he fell for his third Test score of 97, and his second against Pakistan. But to Khawaja, it doesn’t matter why.”Obviously, I’m a Muslim. I believe in God,” he said. “I trust what happens. Good or bad, you have to take it equally. A lot of good things have happened in my life. Sometimes you want certain things to go a certain way and they don’t happen. I think you just have to accept that and move on, and take the good with the bad. I’m very grateful.”

From appointing a strong captain to picking and nurturing a viable XI, the challenges facing the ECB are many, and it isn’t moving fast enough

Ian Chappell24-Apr-2022Failed England skipper Joe Root endured the unfortunate nickname “Craptain” at his home county Yorkshire. The England hierarchy should have taken more notice of that unedifying sobriquet.Root’s self-inflicted demise preceded the announcement that former Kent and England player Rob Key was taking over as managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board.The two events are linked, as the first announcement at least ensured Key wouldn’t be making a polarising decision as his initial task. However Key’s good fortune doesn’t alter the point that the ECB is not good at moving quickly to reverse an untenable decision. This is not a strong ECB trait; it never has been.Related

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England were going backwards under Root, and one of Key’s first jobs will be to improve that ingrained and negative attitude.The fact that we are still discussing Root’s resignation and his possible successor is proof of the ECB’s sluggishness in rectifying a poor decision. It was obvious early in Root’s reign that the captaincy and he weren’t a match.The choice of players to be a reasonable England captain is very limited and this is also an indictment of the ECB. There should be a few ready replacements available in the first XI.Before the announcement of Key’s appointment, there were a number of suggestions about who could take over if Root was deposed.Stuart Broad is an intelligent, well-spoken player, but he should not be a captaincy consideration. He’s now too old and maintains a conservative streak, especially when it comes to field placings for his own bowling.Jos Buttler is not a Test wicketkeeper; he has no obvious place in the first XI. It’s hard enough to win Tests against a good team when you are playing level at XI-a-side, never mind prevailing when you are asked to perform while short-handed – just ask Mike Brearley.There’s only one viable captaincy option in the best XI and that’s allrounder Ben Stokes. If he seriously isn’t interested in the job, then England are in big trouble.To question Stokes’ viability based purely on the inferior captaincy of previous star allrounders is indefensible. Stokes has the fire in his belly and the positive approach to be successful. However, that alone doesn’t guarantee success.Whoever accepts the appointment, his initial job will be to make a poorly performing England side better. That is a captain’s job – to improve any team’s results.This shouldn’t be hard, as England have some good, underperforming batters. It was also a trend under Root that England suffered great misfortune with their genuinely fast bowlers, especially Jofra Archer.Nonetheless batters Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence possess a lot of skill but need encouragement to display it regularly. The same applies to offspinner Dom Bess, and to have not given an opportunity to the capable legspinner Matt Parkinson is nonsensical.If Stokes does accept the job, he may be the beneficiary of Parkinson’s evolution if he provides a strong voice at the selection table. And while he’s at it, he could overcome the fast-bowling shortage by encouraging Jamie Overton in his endeavours. There’s no doubt Overton has suffered from multiple injuries, but his genuine pace, even at under-age level, has been poorly handled on the county circuit.English cricket has a distorted affection for correct technique. If Stokes is appointed and then can redirect this trait into more positive encouragement of talented players, he will have done his country a huge favour. If chosen, Stokes shouldn’t be awarded a vote at the selection table – it’s not desirable – but if he presents a good argument, that will be sufficient.Key faces many demanding tasks ahead and he’ll need to maintain his “I have a mind of my own” attitude in the face of ECB ineptitude. However his first job – appointing a viable England captain and then supporting him fully – will be a really important task.

Two months on from being in an induced coma, the former Australia batter is focused on “relaxing with the family”

Peter Della Penna11-Jul-2022Easter weekend is known to Christians as the holiest week on the calendar, a time when they celebrate the salvation of Jesus rising from the dead. So there’s a bit of symbolism in the fact that a not too dissimilar miracle unfolded over that holiday weekend this past April with Netherlands coach Ryan Campbell while on a day out with his family in the Cheshire countryside in England.”I’m pretty fit and healthy and active and I didn’t feel anything was going wrong,” Campbell told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview. “Then all of a sudden we were in a playground and for some reason I felt tired and decided to lay down. Then I woke up seven days later.”It’s been more than two months since that weekend in Cheshire, when Campbell was admitted to hospital and put in an induced coma. But the 50-year-old Dutch head coach is almost back to his usual routine. One of the few things he can’t do just yet though is get on an airplane, which means he’ll be watching his players from afar as they compete in Bulawayo this week in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier. However, Campbell is soaking up the simple pleasures in life after his near-death experience.”To just sit outside, relax and have a cold beer and just spend some time with my wife and family, that’s the priority at the moment,” Campbell said. “That’s what I’m going to try and enjoy doing. I’ll get back to work at some point in the not too distant future, but right now it’s just about relaxing and spending time with the family.”The most important thing is my wife and two kids and they’ll always come first, not that they didn’t come first anyway, but I make sure that definitely they’re getting a lot more hugs and kisses at the moment, which is kind of freaking my kids out. But they definitely come first. It does put your life in perspective. I think we’re all guilty of probably work comes first and we put everything else on the backburner but something like this makes you get your priorities right.”So what exactly happened on April 16 in Cheshire? Campbell says his doctors still haven’t quite figured it out. But it wasn’t a heart attack as was initially reported in many places, though he did go into cardiac arrest after his heart stopped beating.”I’m probably like 80% of the world where I didn’t know the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest,” Campbell said. “I think if anyone has heart trouble, they just say, ‘It’s a heart attack.’ But what they said very clearly was, ‘No, it wasn’t a heart attack.’ Because that’s generally caused by blocked arteries and that can cause major damage with a heart attack. But that wasn’t the case for me.”The cardiac arrest was sort of like the wiring got mixed up for a little bit there and pumped a bit out of sync, but my recovery has been so quick and my heart is back to 100% that my cardiologist said, ‘We’re not 100% sure what happened. We’ve got a few ideas but it should never happen again.’ But at the start, everyone was saying heart attack, which is not the case and that’s a good thing.”But the Dutch coach is able to enjoy life among the living again back home in Haarlem thanks to the quick-thinking Beci Bassett. She was enjoying her own family day out with her young daughter at BeWILDerwood on that Saturday when she stopped everything to redefine what it means to be a Good Samaritan by helping to save Campbell’s life in his moment of need.”I think she’s probably mid 40s, wife, mother of a beautiful three-and-a-half-year-old daughter who doesn’t like me very much because actually when I lied down, it was on her foot. So she thinks I’m a bit creepy, which I don’t blame her. But just a wonderful lady. There’s so many things that had gone into it for the stars to align for that day. She happened to change jobs. She wanted a change and that was a month or so before. Because of the change of job, she had to do a first aid course and with this first aid course, she obviously learned CPR.”That was so lucky that she was sitting there and basically a foot away from me. She just showed so much courage, and the responsibility to take charge is why I’m here. Basically, I was dead. And she brought me back. They’re the cold hard facts of life. Without that lady being so proactive and brave, I wouldn’t be here. I was lucky enough to meet her. My wife and I had lunch with her. She’s just a wonderful person and I’ll always be indebted to her.”Bassett’s heroic actions kept Campbell going until park staff at BeWILDerwood were able to coordinate further assistance. He was taken 25 miles away to Royal Stoke University Hospital where he was in a coma for a week. He underwent a series of procedures during that time, including surgery to install a defibrillator into his chest.”That’s just totally an insurance package,” Campbell said. “Like my cardiologist said, my heart is going so well that he didn’t think that I needed it. But to save having any worry ever again, he put it in and now I have this insurance policy that if anything ever happened, I’ve got a backup plan that’ll take over and give me a good old kick.”If Campbell doesn’t remember much about what happened during that time frame, he got a healthy reminder of how much everyone else in his life has remembered the episode when he finally woke up. Besides his wife Leontina’s constant presence, there was also Simon Millington, the former chairman of Hong Kong Cricket and Campbell’s good friend from his days working as the head coach at Kowloon Cricket Club, who had flown out from Las Vegas to England at a moment’s notice to be there for Campbell’s family throughout the ordeal.”At the end of the day, I feel great now and I’m looking forward to getting on”•Peter Della Penna”He just dropped everything basically to fly out from Nevada and give Leontina help,” Campbell said. “He was just amazing for her and obviously I eventually woke up and him being there just kind of made it feel like everything was okay.”Simon and I met in Hong Kong. We just formed a great friendship and have been great friends with his whole family. He’s got two sons that I’m quite close with as well. So we were inseparable in Hong Kong and then his business took him to Nevada and my job took me to the Netherlands. We stay in touch and we caught up in London a few times. We go to the cricket together at Lord’s. He’s just one of those people you want in your life to be honest.”If Millington’s transatlantic journey to be there for Campbell wasn’t enough of a signal to the seriousness of his situation, the deluge of text messages Campbell has had to sift through since waking up has only reinforced the level of concern for him. It has extended well beyond the cricket community and is something that Campbell says he is still trying to process.”Totally humbling is probably the word that I’d use,” Campbell said. “I had so many messages from so many people from so many places around the world. From a cricket fan, to AFL players, to obviously cricketers from around the world, from opposition players, from one of my mates who is a Hong Kong jockey. There’s been so much outpouring of love thrown my way. It’s so humbling and I can’t thank them enough. You hope to be a good person and have mates and stuff, but if something like this happens and you see the outpouring of emotion I guess from a lot of people, it’s been so humbling and I guess all I can say is thank you to everyone.”Campbell’s miraculous adventure wasn’t totally over upon leaving the hospital though. Because he was not allowed to fly or drive, there was still the matter of figuring out how to get from England back home to the Netherlands. Upon being released from the hospital in Stoke, Campbell’s family had to arrange transportation to make the 130-mile journey northeast to Hull. From there, they took an 11-hour overnight ferry to Rotterdam before a friend came to pick them up in his taxi and drive them the final hour back home to Haarlem.”He had read the articles in the Dutch papers and was looking at me strange thinking, ‘Mate, you can’t be sick.’ I’m like, ‘Yep, I don’t know mate.’ So it’s a bit like that at the moment. People just sort of say, ‘You can’t be. It’s not right.’ It just goes to show it doesn’t discriminate. It can be a 50-year-old healthy person and it can be a 55-year-old, overweight and smokes a lot. It doesn’t seem to discriminate.”Within weeks, Campbell said he was back to riding his bike around Haarlem and is doing his best to resume his active lifestyle. However, he has had to take a step back from head coaching duties, with Ryan Cook being appointed to oversee the Dutch squad in the interim, including during the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Always a fun personality around a cricket field, Campbell has managed to keep a sense of humor about everything that happened.”When I was out for seven days, I didn’t see any white lights or pearly gates, so I’ll just stick to my beliefs at the moment,” Campbell said. “At the end of the day, I feel great now and I’m looking forward to getting on.”

Looking back, and looking ahead, as we get ready for what might be the last edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge

Annesha Ghosh22-May-2022An end, and a beginning
This is likely to be the end of the road for the Women’s T20 Challenge.Don’t reach for the tissues just yet, though. The women’s game might be richer for the discontinuation of the tournament because – ahem! – talks are gaining ground in the BCCI corridors that an inaugural six-team WIPL might be only as far away as March 2023.But don’t get your hopes up too much right away.The good part is that, we understand, the intent within the BCCI to launch a WIPL is more pronounced than ever because of India’s league-stage elimination in the ODI World Cup last month – by far their poorest result in four world tournaments since 2017.

This is, of course, an Women’s T20 Challenge, so we would want our uncapped players to go out there and play something which is very close to international cricket. But two or three matches are really too low [for us] to give opportunities to everyone but we all are really going to try to do that”Smriti Mandhana

But there are far too many considerations to account for before plans can be firmed up. Not least the packed women’s international calendar for 2023, including the inaugural women’s Under-19 World Cup and the senior T20 World Cup in South Africa across January and February.Add to that the question over the availability of overseas players, given the existing leagues already in place – the FairBreak Invitational, The Hundred, CPL, WBBL – in that sequence, starting March – and the men’s IPL window itself, if the WIPL is to kick off in March and be a standalone affair.But that’s a discussion for another time. The eve of the 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge opener should be reserved for everything the tournament has achieved [which, to be fair, isn’t a lot].The bright spots in between the could-have-beens
“We have got a few talents out of this tournament. We got Shafali [Verma]; we saw her in Jaipur and we picked her from there,” underlined Mandhana, captain of defending champions Trailblazers, on Sunday when asked to sum up the import of the tournament. “[And] Richa Ghosh and even Pooja Vastrakar, who have tried to prove themselves through this platform,” Harmanpreet Kaur, who led Supernovas to the title twice in three seasons, added.Related

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That the Women’s T20 Challenge doesn’t boast of a long list of accomplishments is, in part, down to the BCCI’s reluctance to expand the tournament in terms of teams and matches, despite at least one public announcement of plans being drawn up for doing both.It started out as a one-off exhibition game in 2018, and the tournament expanded – as well as limited – to a three-team, four-match competition in the subsequent seasons even though there was room for making it a more meaningful precursor to the WIPL. The ECB’s now-defunct Kia Super League, for instance, fared far better in how it nourished the country’s women’s domestic cricket before the Hundred took the game several notches higher.That aside, in 2020, the tournament’s most recent edition, only Sushree Dibyadarshini and Manali Dakshini got a game apiece with Velocity, among six uncapped Indians across the three squads.With 13 uncapped domestic players selected for the 2022 edition and a Commonwealth Games and the T20 World Cup around the corner, could there be a change of tack from captains Harmanpreet, Mandhana and Deepti Sharma?”This is, of course, an Women’s T20 Challenge, so we would want our uncapped players to go out there and play something which is very close to international cricket,” Mandhana said when asked about giving more exposure to home-grown talent. “But two or three matches, I think, is a really less number of matches to give opportunities to everyone, but we all are really going to try to do that.”The Trailblazers won the last Women’s T20 Challenge in 2020•BCCIDeepti’s chance to shine in the absence of the veterans
Deepti – switching over from Trailblazers – takes over the captaincy reins for Velocity from Mithali Raj, who, like her long-time India team-mate Jhulan Goswami, hasn’t been named in any squad for the first time. The two didn’t play the recent Senior Women’s T20 League either, though Raj was part of champions Railways’ set-up in a mentor role. Goswami didn’t travel with her side, Bengal.Their absence could be the most unambiguous affirmation yet that the end of the playing careers of two of the game’s most celebrated players might be nigh. Despite both remaining tight-lipped about their retirement plans.Also missing will be left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and quick bowler Shikha Pandey. The latter was snubbed for the New Zealand tour and ODI World Cup earlier this year, too, which could be yet another indication of the long-term options the selectors may be looking at.Enter the young uncapped bowlers, inexperienced capped bowlers, and also a somewhat hapless figure in Mansi Joshi. Having been pegged back by a spate of injuries since her international debut in 2016 and missing out on the 2020 edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge owing to a positive Covid-19 test, the 28-year-old Joshi stands a chance to stake a claim for a reintegration into the national side.Picked for the Supernovas, and looking in good rhythm in the nets on Sunday, Joshi has a chance to turn her fortunes around in the next six days.Trailblazers will miss the services of Jhulan Goswami in their title defence•BCCIChange of scene; unchanged issues with scheduling
The Women’s T20 Challenge travelled from the near-empty stands of Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in 2018 to an almost-packed Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur the following year, before finding its way to Sharjah thanks to the pandemic, and then disappearing altogether in 2021. The bandwagon has moved to Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium this time.Besides, the tournament is being ticketed for the first time. Entry to each game is priced at a modest range of INR 100-300. The monetisation of admittance for the games is – one hopes – a sign of the BCCI trying to market the women’s game and possibly testing the waters ahead of the launch of the WIPL.What hasn’t changed, though, is how skewed the tournament has been against one particular team over the past two seasons as far as turnaround time between the first two games goes: as with Velocity in 2020, Supernovas will kick off this season with a night game and play an afternoon match the following day.”We have got four pre-tournament practice sessions this year, on consecutive days, but we’ll have to curtail today’s [Sunday’s] a little bit because we have two back-to-back matches in as many days, and we need to give enough time for recovery,” Harmanpreet said, not really expressing her displeasure, unlike Raj’s more vocal pronouncement in 2020.Time will tell if the inconsistent spacing of matches has a bearing on who takes the silverware on May 28. In the larger scheme of things, similarly, history will decide where to place the Women’s T20 Challenge when the Women’s IPL does become a reality. Whenever that is.

This may have been the innings to win over the remaining doubters

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Jun-20225:32

#PoliteEnquiries: Have England finally solved Bairstow?

A well-known quirk of the press conference is that when the England men’s Test side has a bad day, a coach is sent out to take the heat. And for all the eye-rolls at the sheer number of support staff employed by the ECB, well before the red- and white-ball schedules clashed, almost all of them have had screen-time over the last couple of years.Which coach is the easy bit. For example, a tough day in the field means the bowling coach steps up, hence why Jon Lewis was brought out more times in Australia than sun-cream. Thus at 3:02pm on Friday, as England found themselves 55 for six at the end of the 12th over, with New Zealand’s first-innings 329 looking twice as much, thoughts turned to who might be stepping into the “what went wrong today?” chair, given that Marcus Trescothick, the batting coach, is at home in Somerset dealing with Covid-19.By stumps, with England 264 for six, just 65 behind but visibly under New Zealand’s skin as Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Overton wrestled the initiative back in a quite spectacular 37.1-over partnership, perhaps Marilyn Monroe could have subbed in for Tres. Because the sentiment from the home dressing room was clear: if you can’t handle this England team at 55 for six, then you sure as hell don’t deserve them at 264 for six.Related

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To be honest, who among us could handle the manner in which they lost those first six wickets? The first three, while understandable given the excellence of Trent Boult, reopened old wounds of top-order pain in the face of high-quality bowling. Joe Root’s nibbly edge through to Tom Blundell off Tim Southee for just five was a reminder that even the most reliable can let you down. Ben Stokes’ charge-and-plink off Neil Wagner’s second ball, into the hands of Kane Williamson at a withdrawn mid-off was confirmation that every chaotic fling ends in pain, no matter if it lasts a week or just 13 balls.When Ben Foakes’ head fell to the off side to allow Wagner to ping him on the pads, it was only natural to doubt. Even after the previous two Tests, and especially after the last one in Nottingham, doubt is your insurance: as much for your front, to be able to say you knew it might have been a false dawn, as for your sanity. Because, really, how much tradition, conditioned behaviour and professional fear can be contorted in that time? Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it certainly wasn’t finished after three weeks. Then again, Bairstow wasn’t around 2,700 years ago.Jonny Bairstow walks off to applause on 130 not out•AFP/Getty ImagesThe most important aspect of what Brendon McCullum and Stokes are doing with this Test side is that it doesn’t matter if we, the viewer, believe. It’s a bit like WWE wrestling in that way: whether you think it’s real or fake, those out in the middle have to buy into it completely. With back-to-back bombastic centuries, Bairstow has surged into the ring as England’s biggest believer. This one, No.10 of his career, might even be better than the 136 that won the second Test.”Fancy doing another Trent Bridge?” Bairstow joked with Stokes when they arrived together at 21 for four. He kept up his side of the deal, reaching that century in just 95 deliveries with clean strikes that, come to think of it, could not have been more different to what he unfurled in that final session in Nottingham. There were no sixes (yet anyway), yet most of his 21 fours still elicited the same hooting and hollering.The real malice came after he had passed fifty for the 32nd time. Wagner opted to switch from the full length he started with for the bumper routine he has toured the world over. With men out on the leg side, Bairstow bunted the “change-up” fuller delivery back over the left-armer’s head for four to move to 77.By then Overton had grown into the sidekick role that Stokes had played at Trent Bridge, cracking a pull shot off a Wagner bumper in front of square for four to move him to a maiden half-century. Then came a six into the Western Terrace, followed by a drive down the ground, then a slap through cover: 14 runs taken off Wagner’s ninth over, and off he sidled with much to rue. Wagner should have pushed for a review for an early leg-before shout against Overton that would have reduced England to 63 for seven. He also missed a tricky caught-and-bowled that would have sent Bairstow packing on 27. And compounding it all was the fact his famed short-ball trick was not only failing, but being used against him.Jamie Overton is congratulated by Jonny Bairstow after reaching fifty in his debut Test•AFP via Getty ImagesWho knows how this period might have gone if Wagner, now aged 36, had not come into this Test cold? Either way, he found himself in the eye of an 11-over storm, beginning after a maiden in the 26th over, in which 89 runs were scored. The riot continued on, and reached fever pitch when a crisp on-drive took Bairstow to three figures.Of his four hundreds in 2022, this had the best celebration yet. Not one of “told you so”, or adrenalin-junkie rage, but serene satisfaction. An innings of such personality is nothing new, as shown by the fact his name features in England’s record sixth- and seventh-wicket partnerships: the latter from Friday in Leeds, the former way back in 2016 when he and Stokes went wild in Cape Town. There is still a deficit of 65 to be worked at, and three more days for plenty of twists and turns ahead of the conclusion of this series. But day two of this final showdown felt like a first step towards getting the people on-side. Bairstow alluded to as much in his press conference “Our job is to inspire the next generation, our job is to make people want to watch cricket, our job is to put bums on seats here and I think people might have wanted to watch the brand of cricket we are playing.”Monroe, this time, was kept back. But her words in a previous life come to mind: imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. It feels particularly relevant to the Test side. At a different time, it might have been relevant to Bairstow.But having spent so long trying to fit into this format by curbing enthusiasm, readjusting footwork and attuning his hands, all while losing his individuality, he’s never been more himself. And in an imperfect team striving to not be boring, he is at his most exciting while being its perfect fit.

Over rates are a massive problem in the game, even after all these years. And so are issues with the DRS

Ian Chappell17-Jul-2022Australia endured a monumental setback when Sri Lanka won the second Test in Galle this week, but it was the players’ indifference to on-field protocol that causes most concern.The match confirmed Australia still have a problem against good fingerspin bowling. However, they also suffered from the being at the receiving end of the DRS, which bedevils Test teams.While England have recently done much to improve the image of Test batting, the worrisome DRS, and over rates that continue to be glacial, need urgent attention.Related

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A few years ago the DRS was extended to include the full path of the delivery. The ICC indicated around that time that the change was intended to rid the game of the howler and to ensure the correct decision. The DRS rarely achieves those aims.During the Galle Test, Dinesh Chandimal was batting on 30, with Australia having used up all their reviews. The Australians thought Chandimal got an edge to an attempted ramp shot but the not-out decision prevailed and he produced a game-changing 206 not out.Australia definitely misused their reviews on some fifty-fifty decisions. However, it was proved once more that the DRS doesn’t always result in the correct decision, because the fielding side has a finite number of reviews.If the ICC wants to employ the DRS, it should achieve the results for which it was meant. The DRS is technologically flawed and also inadequate because there are lbw and caught decisions that can be complicated.Many countries can’t afford the top technology, so they effectively play under a different set of DRS protocols than those who can pay for the best system. The best DRS technology should be provided to all teams by a cricket body that operates the system, rather than it being left to television.

The often senseless spreading of the field hasn’t helped teams either dismiss batters or improve over rates

The system was introduced to supposedly help umpires rather than protect DRS itself. Currently it achieves the latter aim.Over rates have been declining for decades and yet they are virtually ignored as the focus is on the money-making capabilities of T20. The reason 90 overs in a day were originally recommended is because it’s very much possible for a team to bowl that many in that time.Under Clive Lloyd, West Indies promoted the notion that over rates don’t matter when matches are being won in less than the allotted time. That argument is flawed. The batting team should receive a reasonable number of deliveries in a six-hour day, while front-line bowlers tire at an acceptable rate. These days, overs are rarely completed even with extra time allowed – and those extensions are a blight on the game.Umpires don’t enforce on-field protocol in this regard, probably because they lack the backing of the administrators. This is unfair on patrons, who are short-changed.The administrators could make some compromises and demand that players bowl 90 overs in six hours with no deductions accepted. A captain should be suspended without question if this aim isn’t achieved.There are many areas for compromise. The administrators could abolish advertising on sightboards, the replaying of possible boundaries, reduce the constant ferrying of drinks and gloves, and eradicate needless mid-pitch chats during overs. They could also return to a back foot no-ball rule (without a drag problem), thereby virtually eradicating a boring facet of the game as well as improving over rates.There is no doubt the better bats of the modern day create field-placement headaches for captains. Still, the often senseless spreading of the field hasn’t helped teams either dismiss batters or improve over rates.The balance between bat and ball needs to be constantly monitored but these days it instead appears to be religiously overlooked.The skills of the game are evolving but the laws often don’t keep pace with the need to improve the spectacle. Some senior players have expressed a desire to improve Test cricket’s image but to do so they require a working partnership with the administrators. If that much-needed partnership to improve the game is not forthcoming, it’s time for the senior players to set the ball rolling.

Batter has shown management he’s more than ready to slot into expansive, free-wheeling England machine

Vithushan Ehantharajah07-Sep-2022″This is the big league now,” chewed Dean Elgar. The South Africa skipper had a wry smile across his face, unwilling to pump up the tyres of England’s newest Test cricketer, but courteous enough to warn him to expect a unique challenge from Thursday onwards. One Elgar will ensure is uncomfortable as possible.Harry Brook will make his debut at the Kia Oval in the third and final Test of this series against the Proteas. A match which carries its own pressure of a decider will also hold great expectation on Test cap No. 707 as a replacement for Jonny Bairstow, who has arguably been the player of this first summer of the Stokes-McCullum era.Brook is averaging 107.44 against the red ball this season from eight Championship matches, and has spent enough time with the squad to show the management he is more than ready to slot into this expansive, free-wheeling machine. “At the start of the summer, when we picked the squads, we wanted to have the top six sorted and then it was ‘who are the next guys in?’,” Stokes said on Wednesday. “And we all thought Harry was definitely going to be the next batter in.”Naturally, the skipper talked up the talented young Yorkshireman, who for the longest time has been spoken of as a future multi-format international and already has four T20I caps to his name. “There’s just things that stand out about certain players, like the time they have at the crease, the shots they play,” Stokes said. “There’s just something that stands out that puts them above other people you see playing.” And, of course, when the prospect of Brook’s debut was put to Elgar, it was only right for him to go the other way.Related

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“There’ s a lot of things that put a stop to you as a player,” Elgar said, with the insight of someone whose entire persona and legend has been quarried from Test cricket. “Whether its crowds, the cameras … Brooky, I’ve played quite a few games against him.”Good player, no doubt. Got a bit of runs against us but again …” he said, referencing Brook’s 140 for England Lions at Canterbury. “We’ve got our fast bowlers who didn’t bowl against him in Kent [Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi] so I am not reading too much into that.”This is Test cricket. It will humble you as a player and a person.”It was fitting that both captains should have their say on Brook on the eve of the final Test of the English summer. Even with so much cricket being played over the last five months, he has perhaps been the most talked-about batter going, as much for his work in the middle as the time away from it – notably the times he had to forgo playing for carrying drinks. Something the man himself says irked him more than anyone else.”Absolutely,” he answered when asked of the frustration at spending the summer in squads for seven Tests, starting with New Zealand and India before finally getting a go in this last one against South Africa. “But that is part of it. It’s not all plain sailing. I probably would have struggled a bit more if it was (biosecure) bubbles and I wasn’t able to get away and play cricket. But I’ve been allowed to go away and have a bat to keep the momentum up, which made it a bit easier.”The occasion of this debut has a degree of fortune to it, albeit rooted in the misfortune of Bairstow breaking his leg at a golf course, who he met with yesterday. Bairstow was in London seeing a specialist ahead of an operation next week.Brook was originally preparing to take part in the first two days of Yorkshire’s Division One match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford before managing director Rob Key sent him a text him soon after those plans were being discussed, telling him to cancel them. Once he heard of Bairstow’s injury, Brook figured his time had come.Stokes’ announcing of the XI on Wednesday was merely public confirmation of the news all expected, albeit only confirmed privately on Tuesday. Brook took the news with something of a shrug, albeit a happy one. “It’s just another game isn’t it?” he said. “I’m just hitting a ball. I’m already living the dream – I’m looking forward to it.”That disposition is one of the reasons why England are very much all in on Brook. He takes plenty in his stride, right down to the fact it was only a few weeks ago he was putting himself forward to open if that’s where the management wanted to try him. Even now, as he prepares to nestle into a preferred position, with three Tests in Pakistan at the end of the year also on offer for a clear run at No. 5, he reiterated that sentiment: “I’m easy. I’ll bat wherever the team needs me. I’ve been trying to be a match winner as long as I’ve been playing so if I can make a match-winning contribution then happy days.”He is not thinking too much beyond this week, though has admitted he is already anticipating his first ball. Given Elgar’s comments, it’ll likely be sharp and directed around his neck from one of the three quicks he didn’t face in Canterbury.Expect something just as aggressive in response. Brook, though still wet behind the ears, fits the mould of this new, aggressive style of English Test cricket. “I’m not just out there to survive,” he confirmed. “I’m there to score.”You could say he has drunk the Kool-Aid. As with most his age, there is an affinity for the white ball which has seen him, among franchise appearances this winter, notch the second-fastest century in the Pakistan Super League. Domestic viewers will also be familiar with this side of his game following his exploits with Yorkshire and Northern Superchargers over the last two summers. But truth be told it is a frame of mind he has always adopted, rooted in his preference when it comes to the longest format. And in many ways, Brook’s presence is another ingredient in what promises to be an engaging climax to the Test summer.”When I was younger I wouldn’t have paid to watch a draw in Test cricket. I’d have definitely preferred to watch a result so it probably fits my cricket a bit more. It’s exciting isn’t it? People are wanting to come and watch England and the way they’ve come about it this year has been really good.”

We look back at six crunch encounters between India and England on the biggest stage

Andrew MillerUpdated on 25-Jun-2024From Sunil Gavaskar’s go-slow at Lord’s in the very first World Cup fixture in 1975, to Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes off Stuart Broad at Durban in 2007, and their famous tie in 2011, England and India have faced one another in several memorable matches on the biggest one-day stages. Only on a handful of occasions, however, has either team’s tournament fate rested on the result. Here, ESPNcricinfo revisits their six make-or-break encounters down the years. World Cup semi-final, 1983 – India won by six wickets

If, by common consent, India’s World Cup final victory against West Indies was the result that changed the course of cricket’s history, then their semi-final scuttling of the hosts England at Old Trafford was perhaps the first inkling that something significant was afoot. On a slow, low surface with plenty in common with the subcontinent, India’s unassuming array of canny medium-pacers made their hosts toil for runs – a mere 213 of them across 60 painstakingly strung-out overs. England remained confident that a potent attack led by Botham, Willis and Dilley could yet carry the day, but Mohinder Amarnath and Yashpal Sharma anchored the chase before Sandeep Patil romped to victory with a freewheeling half-century. Kapil Dev had already played the tournament’s most evocative innings to rescue India from ignominy against Zimbabwe in Tunbridge Wells, but that match had been missed due to strike action from the BBC’s camera crews. The semi-final and final, by contrast, were beamed in full fidelity to an Indian nation that watched as one – the first pan-national sporting event, following the popularisation of colour TV for the 1982 Asian Games. For England, it was the moment that the World Cup cut its apron strings. The mother country had hosted the first three tournaments since 1975, but India’s triumph emboldened their bid for the 1987 event, and the seeds of the modern game had been sown.Sandeep Patil fired India to victory in the 1983 semi-final against England•Adrian Murrell/Getty ImagesWorld Cup semi-final, 1987 – England won by 35 runs

England versus India at the Wankhede Stadium, with a place in the World Cup final in Calcutta at stake. The only way such a prospect could possibly have been any more tantalising for the hosts was if Pakistan could also have made it through their own semi-final, against Australia in Lahore. History chose the less romantic pay-off, however, and it was the Aussies who eventually bested England for the first of their six titles … with a little bit of help from Mike Gatting’s ill-timed reverse sweep along the way. But there had been no complaints about such cross-batted antics while Graham Gooch was sweeping all before him in Bombay three days earlier. England batters have not traditionally been renowned for their playing of spin, but Gooch had learnt his trade on uncovered county tracks in the 1970s, and trusted his technique to carry the day against India’s left-arm spinners Maninder Singh and Ravi Shastri. He was aided by some less-than-proactive captaincy from Kapil, who persisted with a more classical ring of fielders in the covers for the ball turning away from the right-hander, but Gooch kept hitting the many gaps on the leg side instead. He had one key let-off, when Kris Srikkanth at backward square spilled a top-edge off Shastri, but his 115 from 136 balls proved more than enough, as India struggled to 219 all out in reply, with only Mohammad Azharuddin’s 64 from 74 providing any lasting resistance.World Cup Group A, 1999 – India won by 63 runs
In England’s catalogue of World Cup horrors, the slow, agonising unravelling of their home campaign in 1999 offered a particularly comprehensive brand of humiliation. Every incremental detail of a chaotic month – on the field and off – came to a head in a grim and protracted denouement against India at Edgbaston, where, over the course of two rain-interrupted days, a mounting sense of unease gave way to an unconditional surrender. Going into the contest, England knew they were cutting things fine after a crushing loss to South Africa, but with three wins in the bank to India’s two, they were theoretically better placed to seal the third qualification spot … especially with the mighty South Africans expected to do a number on Zimbabwe, the other team still in the running. India, however, knew from their own three-run loss to Zimbabwe that a team powered by the Flower brothers, Heath Streak and Neil Johnson would be no pushovers, and when their seamers cashed in on a lunchtime downpour at Chelmsford to defend 234 with ease, the jeopardy at Edgbaston went off the scale. Chasing an eerily similar 233 for victory, the same band of drizzle reached Birmingham in the 19th over of England’s chase. Moments later, Nasser Hussain fell for 33, and nine balls after that, play was suspended for the day. England went to bed dripping with angst at 73 for 3, and when Graham Thorpe – their best remaining hope – fell victim to a leg-sided lbw from Javagal Srinath, their fatalism took hold. Another Srinath yorker to Alan Mullally sealed the match and India’s progression to the Super Sixes, as a pitch invasion from a largely Indo-centric second-day crowd confirmed that the carnival of cricket would carry on just fine, even though the hosts had quit the party early.India prevailed in the 2013 Champions Trophy final•Philip BrownChampions Trophy final, 2013 – India won by five runs
Another result that changed the course of history, although not immediately, and perhaps not as obviously as had been the case with India’s previous title-fight in England 30 years earlier. It’s easily forgotten now, given the ignominy to come at the 2015 World Cup, but right up until the moment that their tactics were shown to be obsolete, Alastair Cook’s one-day team seemed to be a match for any team in the right conditions. With a Test-match-themed attack, led by James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and with calm, accumulative batting from Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, they offered up Mourinho-style anti-cricket, not least in their semi-final against South Africa, when they throttled the contest inside the first 20 overs before knocking off their chase at a rate of 4.5 an over. But then, after winning the toss in the final and choosing to go down the same route at an overcast Edgbaston, the heavens opened and the tone of the contest was transformed. When play finally got underway more than five hours later, it was as a 20-over match, and while England had their chances, India’s IPL savvy meant they were better prepped for the crunchy closing stages. Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara had the chase in hand with 20 needed from 16, but when Ishant Sharma bagged both in the space of two balls, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shut down the final overs to deliver MS Dhoni his clean sweep of ICC one-day titles. For England, the wait for their first 50-over success went on, but had they got over the line for this mini-World Cup, it’s hard to imagine how they could ever have evolved in time for the main event in 2019.Chris Woakes helped to hold off MS Dhoni in 2019•Getty ImagesWorld Cup group stage, 2019 – England won by 31 runs
Sure enough, by the spring of 2019, Morgan’s men seemed to be the finished article going into their home World Cup. The team had shed the reticence that had held England back at every tournament since their near-miss in 1992, and in the preceding months, they had set about embracing the pressure of being favourites. Their name was on the trophy, if only they could keep playing with the positivity of the previous four years. But then, after an early setback against Pakistan ramped up the jitters a touch, back-to-back defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia had left England’s semi-final prospects hanging by a thread. With Virat Kohli’s India unbeaten at the top of the standings, and itching to deliver the knockout blow at a packed and rapt Edgbaston, Jonny Bairstow then let rip in a sponsor’s event, telling the assembled journalists that the media was “waiting for England to fail”. It required a crisis meeting to get their minds back on track. David Young, the team psychologist, encouraged the team to address their vulnerabilities and embrace the fact they were no longer feeling bulletproof. And in keeping with his fiery character, no one took the message more to heart than Bairstow, whose 111 from 109 balls underpinned a cathartic innings of 337 for 7 – not riches by England’s pre-World Cup standards, but a score on the board nonetheless. Still the jitters remained as India took the game on through Rohit Sharma’s century and a belligerent 66 from Kohli, but with 10 an over needed in the final 11, and seven wickets in hand, Rishabh Pant fell to a flying catch from Chris Woakes on the midwicket boundary, and a magnificent contest tilted inexorably in England’s favour. They still needed to beat New Zealand to ensure their place in the last four, but that part of the bargain was now back to being a formality – for their group-stage encounter, at least…Jos Buttler and Alex Hales soak in their unbroken 170-run stand•Getty ImagesT20 World Cup semi-final 2022 – England won by ten wickets

England’s bid to become the first men’s team to hold the 50- and 20-over World Cups simultaneously went into overdrive on an extraordinary night in Adelaide. A tactically masterful bowling display, led by Adil Rashid’s four overs for 20 and backed up by Chris Jordan’s unrepentant diet of yorkers, gave way to a gallivanting run-chase from Jos Buttler and the rehabilitated Alex Hales, who between them swept past India’s target of 169 with scarcely a chance offered, and with a massive 24 balls left unused. For India, the inquest would be long and loud. Was the BCCI to blame, for denying its players the local knowledge that England’s had clearly gleaned from their enthusiastic patronage of the Big Bash? Was their batting approach obsolete? The notion of building slowly and cutting loose in the final ten overs (as Hardik Pandya, to be fair, did with reasonable success) had been banished from England’s lexicon ever since their own crushing loss at the Adelaide Oval, against Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup. Or were India’s bowlers to blame, as Rohit Sharma intimated afterwards? Did they strain too full in search of magic balls, even though – as England had already demonstrated – the tackiness of the surface meant rewards were on offer for a more patient set-up? One thing’s for sure, Rohit himself took personal responsibility for the loss as he set about embracing risk from the get-go to instigate India’s reboot. Whatever happens in the Guyana rematch, he’s unlikely to churn out another 28-ball 27.June 26, 2024 – This article was updated ahead of the T20 World Cup semi-final in Guyana

History will remember that they fell short by five runs in the semi-final but it was much, much more than that

Firdose Moonda24-Feb-20232:45

Baynes: Australia’s death bowling the difference

India arrived in South Africa with what seemed like a date with destiny. On the eve of the long-awaited WPL, with more money and interest in the women’s game in their country than ever before, they were expected to break Australia’s hegemony on the title and announce themselves as a new global powerhouse.History will remember that they fell short by five runs, but it was much, much more than that. From the start of the tournament, they were under unexpected pressure but every time they were knocked down, they found a way to come back. Until today.Their captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s best effort in the tournament was not enough to take India to a second successive T20 World Cup final as she journeyed on a winding path to an ultimately heartbreaking defeat.
India land in South Africa to play a tri-series against the World Cup hosts and West Indies in preparation for the global tournament. Harmanpreet misses the first match with an injury, then struggles with a shoulder problem and picks up an illness too.Related

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Her team-mate Jemimah Rodrigues expressed her concern: “Harry , from the time she has come here, she has been falling sick. She has injuries. I have hardly seen her bat in the nets because something or the other was happening to her. Imagine the kind of thing she was going through, mentally.”Despite that, Harmanpreet played every match in the group stage of the World Cup. She didn’t score a lot of runs. She only crossed 20 once in four visits to the crease, but there was a sense she was saving her best for when it mattered most: the knockouts.
Harmanpreet develops a fever.”I had to visit the hospital [on Wednesday],” she would reveal later. “We had some paracetamol there because at that time, my body temperature was going up and down. But I think it happens sometimes when the weather changes; in South Africa, sometimes it is very hot and sometimes it is very cold.”Harmanpreet Kaur’s bat got stuck in the pitch, leading to her run-out•ICC/Getty Images
No one in the Indian team knows if their captain is well enough to lead them.”Honestly, until the team meeting, we didn’t even know whether she would play because she just kept it to herself,” Rodrigues said. “I had just stepped out of my room and I saw her carrying her own kit bag and I was like, ‘Yes, this is it.’An hour before play, Harmanpreet called her team into a huddle.”She said to us, ‘I am very proud of this team and I am very proud to lead this team’,” Rodrigues said.
Rodrigues and Harmanpreet put on a 69-run stand for the fourth wicket and scored at a rate of more than ten runs an over. India were ahead of Australia in the chase but then Rodrigues was caught behind attempting to ramp Darcie Brown, and Harmanpreet’s bat got stuck in the ground as she tried to slide it into the crease while trying to complete a second run. After their captain’s run-out, India’s chase started falling apart.”A little bit here or there and the ball would have been over the keeper’s head. The shot was still on and the intent was there,” Rodrigues said of her dismissal. “And Harman was very unfortunate. It was not in our control.”As Harmanpreet walked off, she flung her bat on to the turf.

Later, in the mixed zone, Rodrigues is asked what she wants to do as soon as she gets back to her hotel. “I just want to cry,” she says

“It was a disappointment because the way I was batting, maybe that was the only way I could have got out. Otherwise, the way I was hitting the ball, I knew how to take this chase till the end,” Harmanpreet said. “From the Australian team’s body language, it looked like they had given up. But the moment I got out, the momentum shifted from India to Australia, I personally felt it was a turning point.”But India needed only 40 runs off 32 balls after Harmanpreet’s dismissal and there was a sense they could have got there.”To come out there and the way Harry played, it speaks so much about her mental strength and determination,” Rodrigues said. “She’s very passionate about the sport, very passionate about this team and very passionate about winning.”India spent the rest of the innings on the edge of their seats as they watched Deepti Sharma take them as close as she could but the evening ended in tears. At the post-match presentation, Harmanpreet wore sunglasses to hide hers. Later, in the mixed zone, Rodrigues was asked what she wanted to do as soon as she got back to her hotel. “I just want to cry,” she said.She was asked more questions, some about the WPL, others about whether this defeat brought back bad memories that she had hoped to shelve away. Eventually, a wearing Rodrigues told reporters it was “too soon for me to process everything” and she was “not in the headspace right now”, but that “every loss hurts”. For her, and every member of the squad.”In the change room now, everyone’s disappointed. Nobody’s even talking to each other. But at the same time, this is like a learning experience.”Harmanpreet Kaur, Yastika Bhatia and Shafali Verma are dejected after the loss•ICC/Getty ImagesIn the moments after one of their most painful setbacks, the last thing India wanted was to talk about it publicly, but such is the life of a professional sportsperson. Their every moment must be analysed and dissected – India’s fielding is one of the areas that will come under the microscope most starkly – and everything explained even if the players can’t quite come up with the explanations themselves.”I don’t know what to say,” Rodrigues said. “It’s important after such losses to give people space. That is most important. We feel for each other. Today also it was like we will go and give our life out there – that’s the kind of bond we have. But it’s also good to respect each other. I’m sure everyone’s going to vent when they go back to their room but for now, they are just trying to be strong for each other.”By the time you read this, India might have come to terms with their defeat. Harmanpreet may have done what she said she would in the press conference: “accept whatever happened”. She may even have moved past the point of puzzlement she found herself in after the game. “I don’t understand how this is going on,” she said. “I think we played good cricket. That’s all I can say.”But there is a silver lining. “This team shows a lot of promise,” Rodrigues said. “If you go see it, our average age is around 22 to 24. Imagine two years down the line, and this will be the team that will be dominating the world.”India leave this World Cup wounded but with a young squad and a shiny, new franchise league at their doorstep, they have the ingredients to go all the way next time, and many times after that.