Fidel Fernando talks Chandimal’s purple patch showcasing his boyish exuberance and newfound doggedness

Andrew Fidel Fernando18-Jul-2022It’s all there, right now. The Dinesh Chandimal that was promised.Not merely the Chandimal of the manic 162*, sweeping and reverse-slapping Sri Lanka out of a third-innings hole, turning an unturnable match against India in 2015. Not just the slow-burn Chandimal – the one who hit 155 off 372 in Abu Dhabi once, or the 132 off 356 in Colombo. Not only the Chandimal of the momentum-shifting fifties in which the onus falls on someone else to finish the job.In the past eight weeks he’s gone big with scores like 206*, 76, 124, 69. At 32 years of age, 10-and-a-half years after he made his Test debut, he has entered maybe his deepest purple stretch. He’s had one 1000-run year, and hit hundreds against every opposition but New Zealand and South Africa. But look at that innings list. He’s never quite strung scores together like this.Watching him right now is high drama, because in his best innings are all his best innings. He is suddenly a mixture of that boyish exuberance that once made Sri Lanka fans giddy, with the added doggedness that comes with having been in some wars (and man, has this guy had some). Exactly a week ago, he was clearing the front leg, throwing every molecule of every cell into a straight slog off Mitchell Starc, launching him over the sightscreen, over the fence, and on to the road, where it briefly spooked some passersby.In that innings he’d struck five sixes, and made 64 utterly glorious runs in the company of Nos. 9, 10, and 11. But the first 70 runs of his 206 had been rough. He’d gritted and chanced his way through it, just intensely attached to the idea of being at the crease. When he’d nicked one on 30, he hung around, nonchalant. Perhaps he thinks he’s not got as much luck in his cricket life as he deserves. There’s a shred of truth there.Related

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But that was last Monday at Galle. Today, there was no struggle. Just a batter playing at near his natural ceiling, which for Chandimal, is higher than most. Defensive as he gets himself into the innings, but not laboriously slow.Inspired by more adventurous team-mates like Dhananjaya de Silva to try a few big shots himself, but secure enough to not go overboard. The slog sweeps got going first – a couple of sixes off Mohammad Nawaz in quick succession. Then, a comfortable accumulation period, as he let Niroshan Dickwella and Ramesh Mendis attack around him.But whatever shot he was playing, whatever mood that struck, Chandimal was on top of it, allied by the kind of form in which there only seems to be a middle of his bat. For someone with this lavish backswing, and the tendency to bash the ball, helmet wobbling like a school cricketer who’s either seen a full toss or a girl he wants to impress, the ball disappearing off his bat until it reappears beyond the boundary is a signal that he’s seeing it like a small planet.Dinesh Chandimal scored at a brisk pace as he guided Sri Lanka to a position of strength•AFP/Getty ImagesIn between the big shots, the deadbatting Chandimal, leaving judiciously, playing late, committing to a line and letting the turning ball spin past his edge. This best version of Chandimal never gets bogged down, though. He sweeps before the bowler can get him in trouble. And because of how well he’s hitting it, he hits it.There’s a lot of fraught history with Chandimal. The captaincies, of the T20 and Test teams, that ended poorly. The strained relationships with some coaches; the over-close relationships with others. And, you sense, a constant need to be liked.But he’s 32 now, and in this team, kind of an elder statesman. He’s never batted better than he is right now. And he has entered the years in which the best become truly exceptional. Whether he uses this season as a springboard to become the batter many thought he would be, who knows? The one thing you will learn from Chandimal’s career is that expectations don’t always pan out.All we know is that right now, he bats as if the best of him has been condensed, the worst of him has been pruned, and that there is no Sri Lanka batter suited to every match situation like he’s suited to it.

The home side were 3-0 winners in 2016 but their bowling attack is more inexperienced and Australia believe they have learnt lessons

Andrew McGlashan and Alex Malcolm27-Jun-20221:29

Nathan Lyon on Sri Lanka Tests: ‘We’re expecting it to spin from ball one’

How much will it reverse?
Reverse swing proved Australia’s key weapon on the docile pitches in Pakistan, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc able to do decisive damage in key moments in Karachi and Lahore to put Australia in the ascendency in both Tests. Starc took 10 wickets in the last Test Australia played in Galle in 2016 and will hope to have similar success if he is cleared to play after a lacerated finger kept him out of the last two T20Is and all five ODIs. Sri Lanka may consider the bold move of playing two quicks themselves in Galle given the success of Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha on the recent tour of Bangladesh where both men did damage with the new and old ball. Fernando was able to ruffle the feathers of the Bangladesh batters with short balls and reverse swing. Australia’s top order are far more accomplished against pace, but Pakistan duo Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi caused trouble for Australia’s batters in brief periods with the reverse swinging ball in Pakistan. Ultimately though, Australia will want it to reverse far more than Sri Lanka will.Related

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Importance of close catching
Australia’s close catching in Pakistan cost them a Test win in Karachi with a countless number of chances going down at slip and around the bat. Steven Smith was a major culprit in the slips after making the odd choice of standing closer and in front of wicketkeeper Alex Carey at first slip for the majority of the tour. Australia have resolved their slip placement in the aftermath of the series, but they also need to improve their close catching off the spinners. They have already been practicing hard during the ODI series with Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne doing extended close catching sessions at training with coach Andrew McDonald hitting catches using an oval-shaped Australian football to produce unpredictable angles. Australia have limited options for short leg and silly mid-off. If Head doesn’t play due to his hamstring injury, David Warner may need to step in. Sri Lanka’s catching is much improved in recent years. Dhananjaya de Silva has been excellent at slip to spin and showed his worth there in the ODI series. Pathum Nissanka will likely be under the lid in close and has also caught well recently. Chances could well come thick and fast if the ball spins square in Galle and the team that catches the best could well trigger a match-defining collapse.Dinesh Chandimal, Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith and Lasith Embuldeniya could all be crucial•AFP/Getty ImagesThe batters who have been there before
Is it better to have scar tissue or none at all? Three of Australia’s top seven have experience in Sri Lanka. Usman Khawaja has played in four Tests across two tours in 2011 and 2016 but has a highest score of 26. Warner made one half-century in three Tests in 2016 but averaged 27.16 while Smith made a century on the 2016 tour and has an extraordinary record in India as well. Mitchell Marsh played three Tests in 2016 but is unlikely to play in this series while Glenn Maxwell, if called upon, has a Test hundred in India but has never played Test cricket in Sri Lanka. It is a new experience for Labuschagne, Head, Carey and Cameron Green. Green and Carey played well in Pakistan but Labuschagne and Head struggled, albeit Labuschagne made 90 on a Rawalpindi highway and he only fell to spin once on the tour. The memories might be better for Sri Lanka with Kusal Mendis, de Silva and Dinesh Chandimal all scoring centuries against Australia in the 2016 series against Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood who played all three Tests while Jon Holland played two. Angelo Mathews, coming off a sensational tour of Bangladesh, had a lean 2016 series but starred in 2011 scoring a century and two fifties against Lyon. Sri Lanka will be hoping for repeat performances from their batters while Australia will hope to learn from the mistakes of the past.Can Embuldeniya match Herath?
Rangana Herath’s were huge shoes to fill in the Sri Lanka side, but Lasith Embuldeniya has done a decent job. On Australia’s visit in 2016, Herath bagged 28 wickets at 12.75 and Sri Lanka will now be hoping that 25-year-old Embuldeniya can go some way towards having the same effect over these two matches in Galle. In five matches at the venue he has 32 wickets at 26.15 so the starting point is promising. That included a 10-wicket haul against England although it came in defeat and perhaps, significantly, the positive approach by Joe Root inparticular was a key factor in tempering the impact of his success. As with all Sri Lanka’s spinners, Embuldeniya is coming off the back of a poor tour of Bangladesh but if there was any ground to revive him it would probably be Galle.Rangana Herath was the difference six years ago•Associated PressLyon or bust?
On the flip side, a lot of the focus will be on Lyon for Australia. He is on his third tour of Sri Lanka with the previous trips having provided contrasting experiences. It would be unfair to suggest that everything rests on his shoulders, but he will surely have to match, or better, what Sri Lanka’s spinners achieve for Australia to prevail. He starts this tour on the back of a series-clinching performance in Pakistan after a run of where Australia had been denied in a collection final-innings scenarios. He won’t be able to it alone, though, and the identity of his support will be fascinating. It would be quite a story if either Holland, who played the last of his four Tests in 2018, or the uncapped Matt Kuhnemann is alongside him while legspinner Mitchell Swepson remains in the frame.

A look at some of the key elements of their performance which came together in Galle

Andrew McGlashan02-Jul-2022Get them quickly
There has been some positive batting, to say the least, in Test cricket over recent weeks. Australia knew they would have to adapt from the style that served them well in Pakistan, where they largely ground out big totals on surfaces that started flat and didn’t really break up. Galle was always likely to be a short Test, so it was a case of getting the runs before the unplayable balls got you. David Warner set the tone on the first evening and though that was followed by a stumble, Australia did not waver. “Failure is absolutely okay, as long as you are failing in a way you are happy to be,” Pat Cummins later said. Usman Khawaja mixed restraint with his full variety of sweeps (although actually finished with one of the more modest strike-rates), defended late and wore a smile whenever he was beaten by a delivery he could do nothing about. The defining stand then came between Cameron Green and Alex Carey, sweeping Sri Lanka’s spinners to distraction, and scored at one-day tempo, which took Australia into the lead while Cummins’ long levers were also useful. As an example of how Australia adapted, since April 2014 when ESPNcricinfo has collected shot data, they scored by far their highest amount of runs (111) from the sweep.Related

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Green’s giant strides
Green won’t have seen anything like this in Perth, or anywhere else in his young career. But you wouldn’t have guessed it by the way he compiled his superb 77. “That was the difference in the end,” Cummins said. From his first delivery, Green was using his feet, getting down to Dhananjaya de Silva to make a delivery into a full toss and bunting it away. It set the tone. His reach often allowed him to get to the ball before it performed its mischievous tricks. The sweep, a shot previously rarely seen by Green in his short Test career, brought him 25 runs – before this innings, eight runs was the most it had accrued him in a single knock. “I think if you go out there just defending, you can get yourself in trouble,” he said at the presentation. “If you’re just looking to score it’s probably going to give yourself the best chance. If you’re going to get out at some point you might as well play some shots.”Swepson’s sliding doors
In a match dedicated to the late Shane Warne, there was a symbolism when Mitchell Swepson got the nod for Australia’s XI after his place was in doubt. That he probably wouldn’t have played if Jon Holland’s spinning finger had been right is a fascinating debate. Was too much emphasis put on the numbers of left-arm finger spinners? It would certainly have been rough for him to miss out on such a surface. Whether Swepson’s match will be looked back on in the way Warne’s matchwinning effort in Colombo in 1992 is recalled remains to be seen, but he certainly had a big part to play in Australia’s victory. His pair of legbreaks in the first innings were superb pieces of bowling and he didn’t flinch as the Sri Lankans tried to pressure him. Perhaps his luck, changed, too. After seeing a number of chances go down in Pakistan, the wicket that put him on a hat-trick came from a juggling catch by Warner at gully.Mitchell Swepson took his chance after a late nod for the XI•Getty ImagesCarey’s growth
Carey would have known he was in for an interesting match when he needed a concussion test in the sixth over after Nathan Lyon’s first delivery spat past the edge into his helmet. His Test debut was a reasonably hurried affair after the sudden departure of Tim Paine shortly before the Ashes. After a solid start at the Gabba he was not entirely convincing with glove or bat, although questions over whether he was the right man were premature. Since then he has been excellent in testing conditions, with Galle being the most extreme yet. His sweepathon wrestled the match into Australia’s favour and he twice held bottom edges off the same stroke. The one he took in the second innings, off Dimuth Karunaratne which began Sri Lanka’s slide, was followed by a piece of analysis from Brad Haddin on the host broadcast which noted how the ball before had bounced significantly, but Carey had held his position the next delivery to be able to take the chance. It is often said wicketkeepers are only noticed when they make mistakes, so performances like this should be applauded.Cummins’ captaincy
It was another good game for the skipper, who did not have to be a bowling captain in the second innings. After the match he referenced the planning that had gone on behind the scenes ahead of the series and in the middle he steered the ship impressively. There were little moments, such as having the deep backward square well in from the rope which Kusal Mendis top-edged to in the second innings, and he also did not over-attack with the field settings for Swepson. Then he threw the ball to Travis Head and watched the part-time offspinner rip a delivery through the gate of Dinesh Chandimal on his way to 4 for 10. Given the conditions it was perhaps not the most out-of-the-box move you’ll see, but a captain can enjoy them when they work out so well.

In a game where 458 runs were scored off 40 overs, for just six wickets, the South Africa spinner’s figures read 4-0-23-2

Karthik Krishnaswamy03-Oct-2022On a night when the rest of South Africa’s attack combined to concede 210 off 96 wicketless balls, and on a pitch where 458 runs came in 40 overs, Keshav Maharaj bowled 24 balls, gave away 23 runs, and took two wickets. On a night full of incredible hitting from both teams, and on a night when South Africa lost, Maharaj’s efforts were never really in the running for the Player-of-the-Match award. It’s the way these things work.Related

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But there was some reward at the end of it: he was ESPNcricinfo’s MVP, with his impact rating of 88 putting his performance ahead of blindingly brilliant knocks from David Miller, Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul.This was an important performance in Maharaj’s career. He played his first T20I only in September 2021, nearly five years after making his Test debut, but in just over a year, he’s arguably leapfrogged Tabraiz Shamsi – the No. 2 bowler on the ICC’s T20I rankings – to become South Africa’s first-choice spinner in the shortest format.South Africa have played 12 T20Is this year, and Maharaj has featured in all of them. Shamsi has missed two games, both against India in India – the washout in Bengaluru back in June, and Sunday night’s run-fest in Guwahati.These could have been opposition-specific selections, of course, the left-arm orthodox spinner winning out against the left-arm wristspinner against a top seven featuring six right-hand batters. And on Sunday, India arguably lent Maharaj a bit of a helping hand by sending in Virat Kohli at the fall of the first wicket, when Maharaj still had 1.1 overs remaining. It could have been a chance to promote the left-handed Rishabh Pant, or to push Suryakumar Yadav, their best player of spin, up one place from No. 4 to No. 3.

Suryakumar apart, India’s batters aren’t natural sweepers – Rahul plays the lap-sweep brilliantly, but not so much the square sweep – and Maharaj was giving them a thorough working-over

Suryakumar eventually came in when Maharaj had two balls left to bowl, and immediately showed the difference between him and the rest of India’s top four, picking up six runs off those two balls with a pair of perfectly controlled sweeps. Suryakumar is India’s most frequent user of the sweep, because he can play the shot off a far greater range of lengths than most.KL Rahul had tried sweeping Maharaj earlier in the over, only to be defeated by the perfect T20 length – a touch too short for most batters to sweep safely, but not short enough to cut or pull – and the ball’s low, skiddy trajectory off the pitch.Soon after that wicket, the broadcast cut to a montage of Maharaj’s deliveries to Rahul. All of them were pitched on this awkward length, and Rahul had played all but the last of them – the fatal sweep – off the back foot. Nearly everything was bowled at upwards of 90kph, so there was little scope for the batter to step out of his crease. And there was no real joy to be had off the back foot, with the ball drifting in sharply, and then either skidding on or straightening marginally – in either case finishing within the line of the stumps. There was no room to free the arms, and the natural variation in turn – there wasn’t a great deal of it, but just enough – meant there was too little margin for error to attack with a straight bat. When the batters tried to make room, he followed them, reading their intentions brilliantly.2:13

Ntini: Lengths from South Africa very poor

Maharaj had erred twice with his length in his first over – the sixth of India’s innings – and Rohit Sharma had swept and pulled him for a pair of fours. But he settled quickly into that in-between length thereafter, helped by the field spreading out, and conceded only seven runs off his next ten balls before a frustrated Rohit slog-swept him straight into deep midwicket’s hands.It was Rahul’s turn, after that, to try and break the shackles with a sweep, and lose his wicket in the process. Suryakumar apart, India’s batters aren’t natural sweepers – Rahul plays the lap-sweep brilliantly, but not so much the square sweep – and Maharaj was giving them a thorough working-over.This was the one blemish in India’s otherwise sensational batting display, and a bit of a flashback to last year’s T20 World Cup, where Imad Wasim and Mitchell Santner had tied them down in a similar manner.Like Imad and Santner, Maharaj had preyed on the limitations of India’s top order. But on a pitch that gave him little margin for error, he had to bowl with extraordinary control and guile to pull it off.

The team full of native players is gearing up for one of its most important games – an Asia Cup semi-final against India

Mohammad Isam12-Oct-2022Thailand found out about one of their biggest achievements in cricket while they were at their hotel in Sylhet on Tuesday. Rain had washed out the match between Bangladesh and UAE that day, which meant the hosts and defending champions were knocked out, and Thailand were through to the semi-finals of the Asia Cup for the first time.Harshal Pathak, Thailand’s coach, acknowledged the stroke of luck which took them into the final four, but said his team’s hard work had achieved this massive accomplishment.”I am proud of my team, I am really happy that we qualified for the semi-finals,” Pathak told ESPNcricinfo. “Of course, a little bit of luck was on our side but I think you need to do some work to be lucky. We put in the work.”It is a very big deal for Thailand to reach the semi-finals of such a prestigious tournament. It will inspire our team. Thailand is a country where cricket is just developing. It is still in its infancy. The cricket association will be inspired with the result.”Thailand’s steady rise

Sep 2018 – Made their T20I debut

Sep 2018 – Won their first T20I against a Full Member

Feb 2020 – Made their first T20 World Cup appearance

May 2022 – Earned ODI status

Oct 2022 – Defeated Pakistan in a T20I

Oct 2022 – Qualified for Asia Cup semi-finals

Thailand won three of their six league games. They beat Malaysia and UAE, but it was the victory against Pakistan that made all the difference. Now, they face India for a spot in the final. The gulf between the sides was highlighted in their league game, when India routed Thailand for 37, but Pathak is hopeful of an improved performance on Thursday.”We didn’t play to our potential in the last game against India. We want to correct it quickly. We have to keep high intensity against this wonderful Indian team. The only way to go against them is to play an aggressive brand of cricket. Whether you are successful or not is a different thing.”Thailand showed that aggression against Pakistan with Natthakan Chantham, their top-scorer in this tournament and this year, hitting a fifty. Captain Naruemol Chaiwai and Nannapat Koncharoenkai have also played important roles with the bat, while 18-year old left-arm spinner Thipatcha Putthawong has taken eight wickets.Aminul Islam, the ICC development manager for Asia, has had Thailand in his portfolio for many years. The former Bangladesh captain praised the country’s vision of developing native Thai players in their quest to become a cricketing nation.Related

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“The Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) have always tried to establish indigenous players from the very beginning,” Islam said. “They lost many matches in the early days but they stuck to this policy. I praise them for such a bold decision during the early 2000s. Other nations wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.”The CEO, Mohideen Kader, and his son Shan Kader found players from rural regions like the Laos border or Chiang Mai. It was long-term hard work by the CAT. I must give credit to ACC, ICC Asia and some individuals like [Syed] Ashraful bhai, Roger Binny, Venkatapathy Raju and Venkatesh Prasad. I used to be their development officer many years ago.”They all helped established a foreign sport in Thailand,” Islam said. “These individuals got the locals involved and made them dream of a bigger stage. It was a collective effort of many people, and the focus towards indigenous players.”India’s Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues interacted with Thailand players after their league game•Asian Cricket CouncilPathak, who has coached the Thailand women’s team since November 2018, said the challenges of developing this team were quite basic, but the CAT had often the squad to India for better preparation ahead of major tournaments.”There’s a big difference between coaching Thailand and India,” Pathak, who had worked with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur between 2016 and 2018, said. “When you are born in a country where cricket is big, you pick it up naturally by watching it. But in Thailand, it is difficult for the players to do that because they can’t watch a lot of cricket being played. That’s why CAT sends teams to India for high-performance training whenever possible.”The players understand what they need to do, but they are not able to see it quickly. When I was explaining to the batting line-up about playing the short-arm jab, they knew what I was talking about but only when they came to India (for training) and trained with first-class and U-19 players, they saw people do it. That’s when they got to do it.Islam, who travels around Asia to check on the progress of cricket teams at all levels, said he is most proud of two teams from the region. “I always give example of two cricket teams who progressed through sheer performance – the Afghanistan men’s team and the Thailand women’s team. They have reached the world stage through only performance, nothing else. It is a huge achievement, and it will help other countries wanting to develop their indigenous population in cricket.”

She has done everything she could – including investing in a cricket academy, for herself and for others – to make it at the highest level

Shashank Kishore11-Feb-2023Devika Vaidya is 25, and has already seen three World Cups come and go without getting a chance to play a part.In 2017, she had to miss out because of an injury. In 2018, she flew 40 hours to arrive in the Caribbean jet-lagged on the morning of the semi-final, only for India to be ousted a few hours later. In 2020, she hadn’t played enough cricket, first because of malaria and then a shoulder injury, to merit selection.When she finally got the call for the ongoing T20 World Cup, Vaidya’s first thought was, “hopefully there’s no bad news around the corner”. Realisation that she was finally going to play in her first World Cup hit her only upon landing in Cape Town in late January.Related

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“It’s amazing to finally be able to dream of playing in one,” she tells ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a dream I had ever since 2003, when I used to imitate Brett Lee’s bowling. I also used to stand in front of a mirror and imagine I was the Australia captain and do post-match interviews, with my father asking me questions.”How does it feel to now answer real questions, in a real interview? “Oh, amazing,” she replies. “Maybe that’s why they say, ‘chase your dreams, they do come true’. I’m experiencing it now. There’s no bigger dream than being able to play in a World Cup. Winning it will be something else.”This second coming has taken a while. Prior to earning a recall for the T20Is against Australia at home late last year, Vaidya, a batting allrounder, had featured in just one T20I, way back in 2014 as a 17-year-old. But consistent performances in domestic cricket, mostly for Maharashtra, have kept her in the fray.

“I’m now working on improving my power game. You need that in T20 cricket. I’m a touch player, but you also need to keep adding more strings to your bow. I have done a lot of fitness work to complement my skill work. Hopefully that will show”

Between then and now, she has seen both success and failure on the cricket field, coped with the loss of her mother, has contemplated moving away from the game, invested in a business – a cricket academy in Pune’s Sahakar Nagar – and has now overcome form and fitness concerns to make a comeback.”After I lost my mother in 2019, cricket had become a chore,” she remembers. “It got to a point where I didn’t derive joy out of it. Mentally, it was weighing me down. It was then that I decided to confront my situation, face my fears.”I spoke to a psychologist, underwent therapy. It took me a long time to come out of my shell. I wasn’t the same person that I was earlier. Speaking out, having an outlet to express myself has helped my mindset considerably. I am a lot better off for it now.”As she charted her journey back after the Covid-19 hiatus, Vaidya started to think about playing at the highest level again. “I wanted to get something out of every practice session,” she says. “I decided, if I didn’t have access to other facilities, maybe it’s time to invest in my own. That’s how my friend [Tejal Hasabnis, Maharashtra women’s player] and I started Leo Cricket Club.”I thought I should be in a position to train and play as per my requirement. While that was the initial idea, it also gave me an opportunity to explore the business side of things. We brought in a partner, leased a ground, invested in a bowling machine, built a turf pitch and began on a small scale.

“There’s no bigger joy than when a parent comes up and tells you ‘my daughter learnt to play a cover drive’. It’s given me confidence too”On running her own cricket academy

“We charged a fee from our trainees, but obviously in return we ensured they grew as players. More importantly, for young girls it was an avenue to begin their cricket journey, something I didn’t have when I started since girls playing cricket wasn’t a thing.”So apart from helping my cricket, I’ve also learnt the art of people management, managing finances, running a ship. Even when I’m on tours, I’m on calls with our trainees. There’s no bigger joy than when a parent comes up and tells you ‘my daughter learnt to play a cover drive’ or ‘my son did this’. It’s given me confidence too.”Vaidya thinks about cricket. She analyses her strengths and has worked considerably on improving on her weaknesses.”Like I’m now working on my improving my power game,” she says. “You need that in T20 cricket. I’m a touch player, but you also need to keep adding more strings to your bow. I have done a lot of fitness work to complement my skill work. Hopefully that will show.”Recently, Vaidya sought out Alana King during Australia’s tour of India. She spent time discussing legspin, the importance of varying pace and angles. As things stand, Vaidya is the only legspinner in India’s World Cup squad. It’s an art she began taking seriously after watching videos of Shane Warne.”I am a rhythm bowler,” she says. “I’m working on some variations. But I have understood this much: you can’t compromise on your stock ball in trying to add variations. That’s what Alana King told me as well. I discussed with her about her mindset, and how she assesses conditions, varies speed, lines up batters.Devika Vaidya says she has been working on her power game•Getty Images”She spoke to me on bowling on different pitches, how to get extra bounce, the importance of making use of top spin. As a bowler, I have all the variations, but I also have to focus on my stock ball. That has to be your best ball. You can vary the flight or speed through the air, but your stock ball has to remain the same. You can’t be predictable, you will be found out. We discussed so many aspects. Imagine doing this daily at the WPL, it’s exciting to just think of it.”It’s also exciting to think back to 2012, when Vaidya got to meet Anil Kumble while on a trip to Bengaluru, a meeting facilitated by a family friend.”That’s among the most memorable interactions I’ve had,” she says. “It was so nice of him to chat with someone who wasn’t even a state regular. I showed him videos of my bowling. He suggested a few technical aspects, like what I could change in my bowling and how with strength many of those aspects will get covered. The one thing he said is, ‘bowling smarts is something no one can teach you – it should come on your own’.”Has she had a chance to meet Kumble since?”No, but hopefully soon.”Bowling Meg Lanning in a World Cup game wouldn’t be a bad way of attracting his attention, right?”Oh that will be a dream,” she says. “Just like winning a World Cup is a dream.”

Afia Prottasha and Shorna Akter offer signs that things are changing back home

S Sudarshanan14-Jan-2023Rhys McKenna, Australia’s captain and fast-bowling allrounder, had speared one full and outside off. Shorna Akter got on the front foot, extended her arms and just nonchalantly whipped it over deep midwicket for six. A couple of balls later, she deflected a full one on her pads to the fine leg ropes and just like that, Bangladesh completed a remarkable upset over Australia to kickstart their Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup campaign.This is unlike a lot of the Bangladesh women’s sides of the past. Power-hitting and all-round contribution were key words as they went about preparing for this tournament under head coach Dipu Roy Chowdhury. But that’s only the half of it. They are also picking squads in such a way that about 60% of them remain eligible to play the next World Cup too. This is how they are trying to build a women’s cricket system with a continuous supply of talent and experience. This is how they have already unearthed multi-faceted strokemakers like Afia Prottasha, Dilara Akter, Shorna Akter and Disha Biswas.Prottasha, in particular, was refreshing to watch at the top of the order. So what if five of the Australians, including McKenna, had the experience of playing in a top-flight competition like the Women’s Big Bash League? Prottasha cleared her front leg and deposited McKenna over the long-on fence to get off the mark. She then chipped Milly Illingworth – who bowls just like former Australia men’s fast bowler Shaun Tait – over mid-on for a one-bounce four.Prottasha’s 22-ball 24 featured two fours and two sixes – the second off legspinner Amy Smith – and had put Bangladesh on course in their 131-run chase.”She is our pinch-hitter and we prepared her like that,” Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo.Afia Prottasha winds up to go big•Getty ImagesUnlike Prottasha, Shorna’s game is not reliant on power but in finding gaps and keeping the score ticking. But with Bangladesh on the doorstep, staring victory in the face, she decided to have a bit of fun and produced perhaps the shot of the match. That six over deep midwicket off McKenna. To think, she did all that while feeling less than 100%”She had fever and still she played,” Chowdhury said, “In fact, after the match also she was exhausted. She has a bright future, is a class player and definitely will be in the Bangladesh national team in the near future because her batting is fluent and very fearless. She’s been playing in Jamalpur near Mymensingh. She’s very devoted and very nice girl. She wants to do something for Bangladesh”The Under-19 team prepared for this World Cup meticulously, with support from the Bangladesh Cricket Board. They played regular practice matches with the Under-15, Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 boys and as a result, on game day, even the might of Australia didn’t really faze them.”We have been planning [for this competition] for a long time,” Chowdhury, who has worked with men’s players like Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain and Najmul Hossain Shanto among others at the Under-15 level, said.”The good thing about this age group is that they listen to what you tell them. Since the last year, we have been telling them to improve in certain aspects and they are good learners. I don’t treat myself as the head coach but I treat them as family. We gift them from our pockets if they have done something good.”Most players don’t come from affluent backgrounds. We help them dream being the life-changers for their family, and the country.”Biswas, the captain, hails from Magura, the same district as her idol Shakib Al Hasan. Her dream is to win this competition like the Under-19 boys did in 2020.”We are not over the moon that we won the game,” Biswas said after the match, “but we are looking for day-to-day improvement. The turning point was Dola [Dilara] playing a wonderful innings. The other batters provided great support… Shorna, Prottasha and Sumaiya did well.”Those following Bangladesh’s senior women’s side would know about the glaring power-hitting void in the set-up. On a memorable day in Benoni, Biswas and her young troops have offered hope that things are changing.

The pitches there are more sporting than the slow, low ones in Dhaka, and could assist their World Cup prep

Mohammad Isam25-Mar-2023With the ODI World Cup set to be played in India later this year, Bangladesh have moved away from the slow, low pitches in Dhaka to the more sporting ones in Sylhet and Chattogram to prepare for the tournament. After completing the 2-0 ODI series win against Ireland in Sylhet, the first white-ball matches in the city in three years, the T20I series will be played in Chattogram, where Bangladesh have already played an ODI and T20I against England earlier this month.Sylhet and Chattogram are known for offering the best batting conditions in a country which has the lowest scoring rate in T20Is in the last four years. The ODI scoring rate in Bangladesh during the same period is also in the bottom half among countries that have hosted at least 40 innings.This is largely down to the pitches at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, which aren’t usually friendly for batting or pace bowling. The BCB treats this venue as their fortress and only spinners have thrived here, particularly in the last seven years.The pitches in Chattogram, though, have provided relief to the batters and aided strokeplay. As for Sylhet, it has offered pace and bounce, assisting both the fast bowlers and batters. In fact, the Bangladesh team got almost everything they wanted from the Sylhet conditions over the past week.Their 349 for 6 and 338 for 8 in the first two ODIs are now their highest totals in the format. Bangladesh put up such big totals, despite the ball moving and bouncing considerably during the first powerplay in both games. After seeing off the early movement and bounce, the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy cashed in with quickfire knocks and big partnerships.Related

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Captain Tamim Iqbal has said that Bangladesh were willing to risk giving a bit of familiarity to the Ireland bowlers in return for the opportunity to keep playing on sporting pitches. He also said that they are trying to stick to this plan, with preparation for the ODI World Cup in India being their top priority.”I said during the England series that we will play on these wickets in the near future,” Tamim said. “That one ODI in Chattogram was a step. There was a good amount of live grass on this wicket. Normally we don’t play a lot on grassy wickets. But since there’s a World Cup and series in other conditions later this year, we decided to play on this type of wicket. Bear in mind that it also becomes an even contest at home on these wickets. The opposition’s pace attack is familiar with such conditions. But we took on the challenge, and the players reacted exceptionally well.”Bangladesh’s fast bowlers have also impressed on these pitches. They picked up 16 of the 20 wickets that fell in the two completed matches. Their average of 10.93 is their best as a collective in home conditions.Allan Donald, Bangladesh’s fast-bowling coach, was particularly delighted with the pitches in Sylhet and said it even reminded him of the ones in South Africa.”The curator here has produced a belter of a wicket,” he said. “It is a wicket that has more pace and bounce. Good consistent carry. It brings the quicks right in it. Batters have been piling on the runs as well. The pitches here are a great preparation for [three ODIs against Ireland in] Chelmsford in May.”There we will get the same type of wickets where the ball will come on. It won’t spin much. It is awesome preparation for the next series where there’s points at stake. For me it is almost like a South African type of surface, where it comes on. It slides on even better at night when there’s dew around. It quickens up. It allows for good strokeplay. If you get in here, you have to fill your boots”Allan Donald backs the Bangladesh players to develop their games in Sylhet•AFP/Getty ImagesDonald also explained further as to why Bangladesh need to play more regularly in Sylhet. He reckoned that the pitches in India may not offer a lot of help to the spinners, something he experienced during the last 50-over World Cup in the country in 2011. Donald was New Zealand’s fast-bowling coach at the time.”I have been to the 2011 World Cup in India,” Donald said. “I can tell you not many wickets in the World Cup spun. So we need to play on wickets like [Sylhet], so that you don’t have to change the mindset and mentality. The wickets [in India] will be like here. They are all very good pitches made for high scores.”From here to Chelmsford to [the home series against] Afghanistan and New Zealand, and then the Asia Cup. The wickets in Pakistan will be absolutely gun, so we know our approach. It is going to be fine margins in the World Cup”Playing on turners in Dhaka will not be ideal preparation for the World Cup in India. It wasn’t in 2021 when they beat Australia and New Zealand at home, 4-1 and 3-2, but went to the T20 World Cup that followed and lost all the Super 12s matches in the UAE.Bangladesh’s obsession with the Shere Bangla National Stadium is not new. It has always come at a price. Bangladesh’s struggles with the bat since 2016, at home and abroad, has a lot to do with the volume of cricket they play in Dhaka. It not only hosts most of Bangladesh’s home international matches, but also most of the BPL matches.A move from Dhaka to Sylhet and Chattogram makes sense, at least for 2023. Bangladesh will host Ireland for the one-off Test in Dhaka, but later in the year and before the World Cup in October, they will also host Afghanistan (in June and July) and New Zealand (in September).Most of these are white-ball fixtures, so Sylhet and Chattogram will be in the mix once again. The two grounds are relatively unused at other times, while the Shere Bangla National Stadium hosts plenty of domestic one-day matches. Playing on overused pitches isn’t advisable, especially in the lead-up to a World Cup, so Bangladesh need to make smart choices.

With the Impact Player rule and flat pitches at the start of the season, batters are attacking more than ever, and it’s showing in the numbers

Matt Roller10-Apr-2023IPL 2023 has been a run-fest so far. At this early stage, one-fifth of the way through the league phase, this season is on track to be the highest scoring in IPL history: teams have scored at 8.86 runs per over, compared to a previous high of 8.64 an over in 2018.The average first-innings score is 181, and eight of the first 14 games have had first-innings totals of 190 or more. Seven of the eight scores of 190-plus have been defended, with Kolkata Knight Riders’ heist against Gujarat Titans the only exception. No team has come close to defending a total below 190.Impact Player’s impactThe high-intent approach that most batters have used is reflected by a steep increase in attacking-shot percentage. It is impossible to know for sure why batters are attacking more, but one obvious change this season has been the addition of the Impact Player rule, which has generally seen teams bat one position deeper than they did in previous years.”Most teams will probably [continue to] use it the way that every team has been using it,” Mark Boucher, the Mumbai Indians coach, said. “When you bat first, you want to try and squeeze in an extra batter, and if you bowl first, you want to get that extra bowler in.” During their defeat to Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, Mumbai fielded seven frontline batters.Early-season trendsA note of caution on this year’s run-glut: it is not uncommon for teams to score quickly at the start of any given IPL season before scoring rates decline as the tournament wears on. Perhaps this is due to the fact that pitches tend to be fresh at the start of a season, whereas some teams opt to play on used, worn surfaces as the league phase draws to a close.When compared to the first 14 matches of recent seasons, 2023 has clearly still been a high-scoring year, second only to the start of the 2018 season. But do not be surprised if scores tail off somewhat in the coming weeks, or if spin plays a greater role in determining the outcome of games.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();