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Match-winning or not, a hundred or not, seven Tests and ten ODIs later, spread across four months, which innings would you pick as the best of the summer?

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2015TestsAlastair Cook’s 162 in the opening Test of the summer scripted a turnaround for his team in the match•Getty ImagesJoe Root’s 98 v New Zealand, 1st Test, Lord’s
New Zealand demolished England’s top order on the first day of the summer to leave them reeling at 30 for 4. That, however, did not bother Joe Root. Even though he fell two short of a hundred, his 98 was enough to lead a middle-order revival and spur England to a fighting 389.Alastair Cook’s 162 v New Zealand, 1st Test, Lord’s
With England trailing by 134 runs in the first innings, Alastair Cook turned things around with his 162 to set New Zealand a daunting target of 345, which was enough to start the season on a winning note.Ben Stokes’ 101 v New Zealand, 1st Test, Lord’s
New Zealand took a hefty first-innings lead and Alastair Cook replies with a hundred. Then Ben Stokes came out at No. 6 to counter-attack with an 85-ball hundred, the second-fastest in Tests by an England batsman, before he took three wickets as the home pacers dismissed New Zealand for 220.BJ Watling’s 120 v England, 2nd Test, Headingley
Both teams produced the same score in the first innings – 350. The match was in balance with New Zealand on 141 for 4 before BJ Watling’s hundred, despite a knee injury that didn’t allow him to keep wickets, ensured New Zealand levelled the series to maintain their two-year unbeaten run in Test series.Joe Root’s 134 v Australia, 1st Test, Cardiff
England were in a bit of bother at 43 for 3 with Adam Lyth, Cook and Ian Bell back in the pavilion. Joe Root put the pressure back on Australia with his seventh Test hundred to lay the platform for a total of 430.Steven Smith’s 215 v England, 2nd Test, Lord’s
Steven Smith’s maiden double-hundred helped Australia amass 566 for 8 declared, which included a 284-run stand with Chris Rogers, who made 173. It set up a thumping 405-run win, helping Australia level the series 1-1.ODIsJoe Root scored two defining hundreds against New Zealand•Getty ImagesJos Buttler’s 129 v New Zealand, 1st ODI, Edgbaston
It is the ‘New England’ everyone was talking about as they raced to 408 in 50 overs, mainly on the back of Jos Buttler’s 129 off 77 balls, an innings that featured 13 fours and five sixes. His hundred came off just 66 balls.Joe Root’s 104 v New Zealand, 1st ODI, Edgbaston
The path for Buttler’s hundred was carved by Joe Root at No. 3, after England lost their openers to a menacing Trent Boult. A magnificent hundred from Root, off 71 balls, gave his side a new dimension with the bat in ODIs, as it helped them score 400 for the first time.Ross Taylor’s 119* v England, 2nd ODI, The Oval
After being hammered in the first ODI, New Zealand bounced back in the second, led by Taylor’s unbeaten century. The famous Taylor slog-sweep was on show as he muscled New Zealand to 398, a total they just about managed to defend.Eoin Morgan’s 113 v New Zealand, 4th ODI, Trent Bridge
An inexperienced England bowling attack could not stop New Zealand from posting a massive 349 before Eoin Morgan’s quickfire hundred – 113 off 82 – led them home with as many as six overs to spare. He had four scores of 50-plus in the series, the first by any England captain.Joe Root’s 106* v New Zealand, 4th ODI, Trent Bridge
That successful and record chase of 350 was possible also because of Joe Root’s unbeaten 106 off 97, an innings of finesse under pressure to lead England to their fourth consecutive score of 300-plus.Matthew Wade 71* v England, 1st ODI, Southampton
In the 37th over, Wade made a bad call that resulted in Shane Watson’s run-out and left Australia at 193 for 6. Wade made up for the error, though, as he pummelled an unbeaten 71 off 50 to lift Australia beyond 300 and also make his case for being the long-term successor to Brad Haddin.Eoin Morgan’s 92 v Australia, 4th ODI, Headingley
England had never chased a target of 300 or more against Australia, but a composed run-a-ball 92 from their captain anchored their innings. He couldn’t guide his team to the finish thanks to a screamer from Glenn Maxwell, but the lower middle-order managed to complete the chase.

Sri Lanka’s marks out of ten, for the Test series against England

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Headingley25-Jun-2014

9

Angelo Mathews (306 runs at 76.50, 4 wickets at 24.75)
Angelo Mathews’ 160 at Headingley was the stuff of legend•AFPA fighting hundred and a stony rearguard at Lord’s, then the innings of his career at Headingley His 160 is the stuff of legend – the kind of knock that transformed Sri Lanka’s position in the game and lurched them towards their first series win against a top-eight team outside Asia, since 1995. Two other Sri Lanka batsmen have made great hundreds in England – Sidath Wettimuny in 1984 and Mahela Jayawardene in 2006 – but if this series win can kickstart a Sri Lanka resurgence in Tests, Mathews’ innings may be seen as the best of the lot. His bowling was useful as well, and though his captaincy is still a work in progress, there were signs of improvement, particularly at Headingley.

8

Kumar Sangakkara (342 runs at 85.50)
If ever a Sri Lanka batsman deserves to be called a run machine, it is Sangakkara. In the last few years, his cricket has achieved a clinical excellence that few have managed. He was desperate to have his name on the Lord’s honours board, and was uncompromising with his focus in that innings. He did his part to draw that Test, in the second innings, then hit two fifties to help out at Headingley. Having redressed his poor record in England, he is now undoubtedly on the level of Ponting, Tendulkar, Lara and Kallis. Anyone who argues otherwise is not paying attention.

7

Shaminda Eranga (11 wickets at 32.45)
Had a poor outing at Lord’s, perhaps thanks to three-month gap between competitive matches, but recovered beautifully to bowl Sri Lanka’s spell of the match in the second innings, one that delayed the England declaration and effectively helped save the game. His unerring second-day toil may be overlooked in years to come, but make no mistake – that is where the match turned for Sri Lanka. They need a long-term pace spearhead. Eranga seems to be the man for the job.Mahela Jayawardene (174 runs at 43.50)
His returns here are too modest to improve his overall away record, but his two fifties came in trying times for Sri Lanka, and as ever, his runs are worth more than most. He was tried with the short ball throughout the series, and often, he took the field and the bowling on. Mathews may be captain on paper, but Jayawardene remains the most obvious on-field marshal. He has also completed more Test catches now than all but two other players.

5

Kaushal Silva (146 runs at 36.5)
Twin fifties at Lord’s helped further embed Silva in the side, though more would definitely have been expected at Headingley. He left on length as well as line, and played the tightest of all Sri Lanka batsmen in the series. Importantly, as a short opening batsman, he also proved he can handle the bouncer barrages he will no doubt face at this level, all through his career. Sri Lanka will give him a long stint atop the order.Dimuth Karunaratne (127 runs at 31.75)
It is easy to remark that Karunaratne rarely makes high scores or that he has a strange technique for an opening batsman, but 31.75 is hardly an awful average for a rookie Sri Lanka opening batsman, in early-season England. His technique has some way to go, as does his temperament as he approaches a personal landmark, but given he and Silva have combined to give Sri Lanka better starts than they have had in years, Karunaratne deserves a few more series.Shaminda Eranga looks the man to lead Sri Lanka’s pace attack into the foreseeable future•Getty ImagesRangana Herath (8 wickets at 43.87)
Was less impactful on this tour than expected, despite the moderately helpful conditions at Headingley. He was perhaps unlucky not to take a few more wickets, given he beat the edge regularly. Had his best haul in the second innings at Lord’s and smothered the batsmen under pressure while quicker men attacked at the other end. His 47 at Headingley was one of the best knocks by a Sri Lanka tailender in years.

4

Nuwan Pradeep (6 wickets at 50.83)
His career bowling average of 72.78 continues to provide comic relief, but it is clear he is a much better bowler than that number suggests. Had his best outing on the first day at Lord’s, when he took three wickets, but was guilty of leaking runs at other occasions. Took the crucial wicket of Joe Root on the final day at Headingley, which swung Sri Lanka’s door open just as England’s sixth-wicket pair looked like closing it. His five-ball defiance to seal the draw at Lord’s is already part of cricketing lore.

1

Lahiru Thirimanne (4 runs at 1)
At times on tour, it seemed like Thirimanne would spontaneously combust if James Anderson shot him a sideways glance. He was out twice to Anderson at Lord’s and made a pair at Headingley. Three of the four balls that dismissed him were terrific deliveries, but Thirimanne will know he cannot use that as an excuse for long. Good Test batsmen see out good balls. He will hope to bounce back strongly against South Africa.

One Test

7

Dhammika Prasad (6 wickets at 20.83)
Few would ever have imagined a five-wicket haul from Prasad would seal a famous victory in England, but his fourth-evening spell was pure mayhem. Prasad bowled with the pace and intensity he had been picked for and offered a hit-the-deck option for the attack. He will also have earned a place in the squads for Sri Lanka’s home Tests.

5

Dinesh Chandimal (52 runs at 26, 4 catches)
Kept well until the late stages of the Headingley Test, and had good energy throughout the toilsome second day in the field. His 47 hinted at his ability against fast bowling, on bouncy pitches, but falling to the leg trap on day four was a low point.

4

Prasanna Jayawardene (14 runs at 7, 4 catches)
Had a poor Test behind the stumps at Lord’s, but many keepers do. Was out to a good catch in the first innings and dug in admirably alongside Mathews in the second, broken finger and all.

3

Nuwan Kulasekara (2 wickets at 74)
Threatened at Lord’s with the new ball, but was largely toothless when conditions were flat. Could have supported the wicket-takers at the other end with tighter spells, as well.

Fiesty fast bowlers, attacking batsmen, agile fielders – all in a happy group – make the West Indies team one of the stronger contenders in the tournament

George Binoy in Townsville16-Aug-2012Ronsford Beaton will be dining at the on Townsville’s trendy Palmer Street tonight. And he’ll be doing so at his coach Roddy Estwick’s expense, after underpinning West Indies’ smashing victory against Zimbabwe, which helped them top Group C at the Under-19 World Cup.Before the start of the match at Endeavour Park, Estwick had wagered Beaton that if he took 3 for 30 in ten overs, dinner would be on him. Beaton did not manage three wickets, but he did better, taking 1 for 9 in a nine-over spell that included four maidens. He was instrumental in keeping Zimbabwe to 148 for 8, a target West Indies chased comfortably.”Unfortunately he [Beaton] didn’t get up to it [3 for 30] but I’m still going to pay up. You’ve got to honour your bets,” says Estwick with a laugh. “He’s going to set me back a couple of hundred dollars. He’s a big eater.”Beaton has been one of the best performers in a group of players who’ve made West Indies a force in this tournament, hitting speeds of around 145 kph. He and three other fast bowlers – Jerome Jones, Kyle Mayers and Justin Greaves – comprise a formidable pace attack; Mayers and Greaves are allrounders too, giving the batting line-up depth. Add to that a top order that includes a Test opener, and an athletic fielding unit, and West Indies are serious contenders to climb through the knock-out stages.Their quicks have run in and attacked the batsmen, keeping India, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe to less than 170. At the start of the tournament, West Indies had a target of keeping the opposition below 230, but after the performance against India, the management lowered that to 200. No one has got close. Their batsmen have played with freedom, too. The chases against Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe were over in the 12th and 36th over. They’ve been encouraged to do so, to play positively.”We want to encourage them to play aggressive cricket, we want them to express themselves,” says Estwick of his players’ approach. “If you get out playing positive, yes you are disappointed, but you then look at the execution, not at the intent. We’re not going to pull them down for being positive. We want people to play with a smile on their face and go out and enjoy it.”When the aggressive approach comes off, Beaton and Co. get on top of batsmen and Sunil Ambris smashes 91 off 43 balls. The side effects are 48 wides and three no balls in three matches, and the poor shots Ambris and John Campbell played so early in their innings against Zimbabwe to leave West Indies 6 for 2. While Estwick said that he wasn’t “100% happy” with the batting so far in the World Cup, and that Campbell was perhaps a little irresponsible as vice-captain for trying to slog his first ball against the spinner, they would examine the thinking behind that approach and the execution of the plan.”You hope that they learn from it, that’s the key thing, and not repeat their mistakes,” Estwick says. “We allow them to reflect on it. There’s no point shouting or bawling because it’s already happened. We’ll have a discussion, see what the mindset was, and see if it boils down to execution.”There’s a premium placed on on-field discipline. For instance, during West Indies’ practice game against Namibia at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Estwick did not want his players dropping their standards of professionalism after scoring more than 300.”They are as professional as they can be. Ever so often they need a reminder that they need to keep their feet on the ground,” Estwick said at the time. “It’s going to be difficult to go at 100% after scoring 327 but what I didn’t want them to do was to be laughing at the batsman or fooling around or lowering their standards. They did that nicely.”

We’re doing everything in our power to keep the young minds from being distracted, from being homesickRoddy Estwick, West Indies Under-19 coach

A significant reason the West Indian players perform on the field is because they are happy off it, a critical factor because they’re teenagers on the other side of the planet, away from home. West Indies were in Australia earlier than most other teams, too, on July 21, and so the management – Estwick, Courtney Walsh and Stuart Williams – has been proactive in keeping the team spirit high. While in Brisbane, they made a trip to the zoo despite a busy schedule; the management cooked the players dinner, and they played cards and dominoes. The process continues in Townsville.”We’re doing everything in our power to keep the young minds from being distracted, from being homesick,” Estwick says. “The manager [Walsh] offered last night that everybody could come to his room and have a five-minute chat on his phone to their families back home. Just to keep them refreshed.”It’s very important that they can speak to their families, or whoever they want to speak to, to give them that word of encouragement, that word of advice, keep the spirits up. We try and monitor the situation, try and make sure they are happy.”The players are. They come from different countries and backgrounds in the Caribbean but Kraigg Brathwaite, the captain, said it was easier for this group to gel because they’d played together at Under-15 level as well. “It certainly is not easy, especially when you are gathering 20 players from the Caribbean, but this time I believe it is better because the majority of the fellas knew one another,” Brathwaite says. “It’s [team spirit] quite strong. We have won all three games so we have that momentum going in. We just have to carry it.”Beaton says it’s a “home away from home” within the team because of the management’s efforts. “We have a good team vibe going on at the moment. So we try to keep that through the tournament. And hopefully we become successful at the end.”West Indies have a three-day break before they play their quarterfinal at Endeavour Park on Monday. Estwick’s said he’d be willing to take everybody out to dinner if New Zealand don’t make more than 148, which is how many Zimbabwe made today. Beaton, for one, is ready to take up that wager.

The charismatic former Pakistan captain on wanting to be fast, teaching Wasim and Waqar to bowl, the allrounder wars of the 1980s, ball-tampering, and more

Interview by Sam Collins30-Jul-2010”I’d been determined to be a Test cricketer since I was nine and there was never any chance that I would give up”•PA PhotosWas it inevitable that you would become a cricketer?
My two cousins were Test captains. One, Majid Khan, became Test captain while I was playing. One was an Oxford Blue [Javed Burki] and one a Cambridge Blue [Majid]. If you’re living up to people who have made it big, you face more pressure than ordinary cricketers. Doors open easier but you’re always judged against them. I was always told that I had less talent than them.You made your Test debut in England aged 18. What happened?
I had always had ambitions as a batsman but I was selected as a fast bowler because Pakistan hardly had any. I’d played very few first-class matches, and while in home conditions my slingy action was effective, in England I was totally at sea. I was dropped after that first Test and my team-mates openly told me I’d never get back into the team. But I’d been determined to be a Test cricketer since I was nine and there was never any chance, no matter how many setbacks I faced, that I would give up.What turned you into a quick bowler?
In 1972, Australia came to England. I watched Dennis Lillee bowl and that’s when I decided I wanted to be fast. It was the first time I’d seen a genuine fast bowler. Pakistan didn’t have any, and I just loved it. It appealed to my instincts, my aggressive way of playing. I was a medium-pacer then and Worcester would encourage me to bowl that because I had a natural inswinger. But I was never satisfied, so if I ever got hit, I would try and bowl faster. That’s how I got this aggressive streak, to seek revenge when a batsman tried to dominate, that made me into a fast bowler. I understood the limitations of how I used to bowl, so I completely restructured my bowling action between the ages of 18 and 25. I spent the winter after I finished at Oxford University [1975-76] in Pakistan, and that was really the turning point, because on those wickets you needed to have air speed. My first-class team [Pakistan International Airlines] encouraged me to bowl fast. In a year I’d gained pace and was genuinely fast.You came third behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding at the famous speed test in Perth in 1978…

We were bowling bouncers and Jeff Thomson was bowling full-tosses, so there was a slight distortion, although he was probably still quicker. Out of eight balls I bowled, seven were quicker than Holding. I wasn’t even at my peak – I was quicker in the next two years. In my peak I got nearly 100 wickets in about a year, 40 in a series against India, but I did my shin bone and missed three of my best years as a bowler.What are your memories of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket?

It was the highest standard I’ve played. It was the greatest number of fast bowlers ever concentrated in one place – very high-calibre fast bowling. There were people like Tony Greig, Lawrence Rowe, Roy Fredericks, who were outstanding batsmen, but all three of them sank under the barrage of quick bowlers.Did captaincy improve you as a player?
The more pressure I took, the stronger I got.Teams follow captains they believe in. I used to tell them: “Do not be scared of losing, you’ll never know how to win.” I discovered why I was successful and others who were more talented than me weren’t. My whole policy was aggressive: how am I going to win? Most who captained me used to enter a match thinking we should not lose. The result was that team selection became defensive. It’s a big difference in strategy and attitude. I took this fear of losing away from them and that’s why we used to pull off incredible victories from losing positions. We played superior opposition and did very well. You become fearless and that is a very important component in successful people, organisations, even countries.

“Waqar was a very strong bowler, not as gifted as Wasim but much stronger physically. Mentally Waqar was very tough. Wasim would give up a little bit when things got down; Waqar would keep coming back”

Did you find it difficult being a bowling captain?

Batting captains never had a clue about bowlers. Most captaincy is done on the field. As a bowler I was far better equipped to deal with that than batting captains. The only batting captain I rated was Ian Chappell. He had a very good cricket mind and could deal with bowlers well. Apart from him, very few were good because they didn’t understand bowlers. Because I was a bowling captain, I taught Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis from scratch. They had hardly played any first-class cricket and I would tell them what to do every ball because I had been through the process myself. I would set their fields and I would tell them what to think.What were the raw ingredients that you saw in Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis?

Wasim was the most talented bowler I have seen apart from Holding. A natural. But he needed the art of taking wickets, fitness and advice, which I gave him. Waqar was a very strong bowler, not as gifted as Wasim, but much stronger physically. Mentally, Waqar was very tough. Wasim would give up a little bit when things got down; Waqar would keep coming back. But Wasim was much more talented.How do you compare with the three other great allrounders from the 1970s and 80s: Botham, Hadlee, Kapil Dev?
We were all great competitors. I had my duels with all three. Botham was a better batsman than all of them, Hadlee was a better bowler than the others, and Kapil Dev, at one point, had great batting potential but never developed it. It’s not easy at that level to keep developing both skills.Ian Botham peaked very early. I think he was already on the downer at 26 or 27 because he had become very big. He started off as an allrounder of more promise than all of us because he had a great side-on bowling action and outswing. But by his late 20s his bowling was no longer effective. And batting-wise, the reason I don’t think he fulfilled his potential is his performance against West Indies. I judge batsmen on their performance against the big boys and in critical situations. In that sense, Botham’s performance against West Indies was just appalling – averaging about 14 with the bat and around 40 with the ball [in fact, 21 and 35].Your bowling average was 21 against West Indies, the dominant team of the era. Did you raise your game against them?

The tougher the competition, the better it got out of me. Sometimes I used to lose motivation against the smaller teams. The lure of beating West Indies in the West Indies was the main reason I came out of retirement [in 1988]. We drew 1-1 but with neutral umpires we would have won 2-0 and I would have retired then because it was my ambition to beat the ultimate team in world cricket. I’m the only captain that never lost to West Indies in three series, all drawn.They tested you completely. It demanded the greatest concentration, guts and a proper technique to face them. The batting was great too. Viv Richards was head and shoulders above everyone else. A genius. It was his reflexes, his timing, lightning footwork and his attitude. He was very courageous – a batsman who would take on challenges. His statistical record does not reflect his ability or the number of match-winning innings he played. He used to get bored, whereas other batsmen would bat for their averages.What are your memories of the 1992 World Cup?
Great euphoria. I handpicked that young team and for them to win the World Cup from that impossible situation was a source of such happiness to the Pakistanis. I was so proud of that team. When I retired, I left the best Pakistan team in its history. I was very disappointed that it never achieved its potential. Match-fixing allegations dogged them.”If I ever got hit, I would try and bowl faster”•PA PhotosDo you regret admitting to using a bottle top during the 1981 county season?

I regret that it distorted the whole discussion on ball-tampering; it took it to another level. I was trying to explain that ball-tampering had always been part of cricket. It was only when you crossed a certain limit that it became cheating. He [journalist Ivo Tennant] asked me point blank and I said, “Yes”. I’d played a match at Sussex against Hampshire. It was a dead wicket, petering towards a draw. We had drinks and there was a bottle top. I scratched the ball trying to get resistance on the other side. I said: “That is cheating, you’ve crossed the line.” I was illustrating the point. Then other people jumped in, people trying to settle scores, people taking money from tabloids to say: “I saw Imran ball-tampering”. They were such liars and they made money. In that sense, I regretted it.There must have been times when the pressure got to you, leading Pakistan for 10 years?

Cricket is the only captaincy in sport where you face pressure. In Pakistan the pressure is more than in other places because when the team loses, the captain’s head comes on the chopping block, otherwise the board is removed. There were about 17 changes in the 10-12 years after I left. When I came in, there was a players’ revolt against the captain and I was the compromise. In my 10 years I never had a problem. I had the complete respect of the team.How did cricket prepare you for politics?
Politics is cut-throat. I find myself far better equipped than my colleagues because I learnt to compete and take knocks from sport. There is no better preparation for politics. It is the ultimate in character-building. Being a political leader is like being a cricket captain. You walk out to a stadium full of people, all responsibility on you, and if you can learn to take that responsibility, it equips you to do anything in life.

Blair Tickner, the New Zealand fast bowler, has joined Derbyshire across formats for the first three months of the season.Tickner, 30, has almost 400 career wickets to his name, including 202 in first-class cricket with best figures of 5 for 23 for Central Districts against Canterbury in 2017-18.As a tall fast bowler capable of hitting 90mph, he made his Test debut against England at Mount Maunganui in 2023, where he picked up the wickets of Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Ben Foakes on his way to figures of 3 for 55 in the second innings.He also impressed in the recent Ford Trophy List A competition in New Zealand, where he claimed 17 wickets at an average of 20.64, and will be available to Derbyshire for nine County Championship matches and eight in the Vitality Blast, until the end of his stint on July 4.”I’m really excited to be playing in county cricket for the first time,” Tickner said. “Derbyshire have a great coaching set-up and everyone I have spoken to in New Zealand says what a good club it is.”I’m a competitor, I want to win every game I play and I’m looking forward to linking up with the squad and hopefully getting good results.”Tickner’s signing continues a busy recruitment period for Derbyshire, with Samit Patel, Mohammad Amir and Ross Whiteley also joining the club for the 2024 season.Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said: “Blair brings real pace and international quality to our bowling attack; he’s an experienced bowler across formats and he will be a great asset for us in the first half of the season.”We have a talented core of bowlers and have increased our depth by adding the international experience of Blair and Mohammad Amir, which should help us to take the wickets to win games and push for promotion.”

UAE will host Afghanistan for three T20Is in Abu Dhabi starting February 16 as part of the agreement signed by the two cricket boards last November, wherein the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) will be offering the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) logistical and infrastructure support for the next five years, including hosting their “home” matches for the period. As a result, Afghanistan committed to playing UAE in a three-match T20I series annually until the deal expires.”We are honored to be [a] part of this partnership, and are pleased with the results of our recent talks and negotiations with the Emirates Cricket Board,” Naseeb Khan, CEO of the ACB, said. “Playing this T20I series is the first step in our long-term commitment, and we are looking forward to a continued relationship with ECB.”The teams will be meeting across formats for the first time since March 2018. However, this series isn’t a part of the ICC’s FTP during the 2023-27 cycle, where they are slotted to play 21 Tests, 45 ODIs and 57 T20Is. This will also be Afghanistan’s first assignment this year, with another three-match T20I series to be played against Pakistan in March. That series might be held at a neutral venue, with the Afghanistan and Pakistan boards to equally split the revenue.Related

• UAE to host Afghanistan's home games for next five years

• CA withdraws from scheduled ODIs against Afghanistan in March

• Women's cricket in Afghanistan: Lack of progress 'a concern' for ICC

For the UAE series, Afghanistan have selected a preliminary list of 22 players for a preparation camp in the UAE. Rashid Khan will be leading the visitors, who will be departing for the UAE next week for a conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi before the series. The squad will then be trimmed to 17 members.Meanwhile, the contracts of head coach Jonathan Trott, bowling coach Umar Gul and fielding coach Ryan Maron had come up for extension last month. The ACB has been deliberating on the matter – in which time the team had been in the care of assistant coach Raees Ahmadzai – and green-lit Trott and Maron to stay on till the end of the 2023 ODI World Cup*. Gul’s deal has run out.The timing of the UAE series means several Afghanistan players will be missing the first week of the Pakistan Super League, which starts in Multan from February 13.Given the political situation in Afghanistan, it has remained a no-go zone for international teams. The situation escalated with the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, following which several ACB staff fled the country. Thereafter, even getting visas for Afghanistan players to play abroad became a challenge.The ACB subsequently arranged UAE residency visas for about two dozen players and staff, making UAE as their home away from home. In fact, Australia even cancelled a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan scheduled for March after the Taliban banned university education for girls.Afghanistan’s 22-member squad: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Abdul Rahman Rahmani, Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Bilal Sami, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Nangyal Kharoti, Naveen Ul Haq, Nijat Masoud, Noor Ahmad, Rahmat Shah, Sediqullah Atal, Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Zahir Khan*

Eberechi Eze starts for Crystal Palace against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, despite strong interest from Tottenham Hotspur in signing the England international. The attacking midfielder was a doubt to feature amid uncertainty over his future, but the Eagles decided to include him for the clash in west London as negotiations with Spurs continue.

• Palace start Eze despite transfer talks
• Spurs value England midfielder at £55m as interest grows
• Negotiations ongoing between clubs

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Eze has been included in Crystal Palace's starting XI against Chelsea on Sunday. Tottenham remain keen on landing the 27-year-old, with Spurs valuing him at around £55 million ($74.5m). Despite talks, the Eagles want to focus on the game before their Conference League debut next week and are willing to start Eze while he remains on their books.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Tottenham’s interest in Eze has intensified in the last few weeks with their squad needing reinforcements after James Maddison's ACL injury and the departure of Son Heung-min. With Arsenal cooling their interest, Spurs feel more confident about getting a deal done before the deadline at the end of the month. Talks seemed to have reached an advanced stage on Saturday to the point that Eze was set to be dropped from the Palace squad, but further progress wasn't made and he has been reinstated into Oliver Glasner's team at least for the Chelsea clash.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Eze has two years left on his contract and was signed from QPR for a deal worth up to £19.5m. The Championship side from weest London would receive 15% of any profit Crystal Palace make if he is sold to Tottenham. The Lilywhites also have their eyes on Savinho, but negotiations with Manchester City remain complicated.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR EZE?

  The England international will aim to impress against Chelsea while his future remains uncertain. Tottenham are expected to advance talks in the coming days, with a formal offer still to come. Palace will then have to decide whether to cash in or resist Spurs’ pursuit.

Chennai Super Kings were left reeling at the Chepauk Stadium as Punjab Kings made it back-to-back wins with a comfortable seven-wicket victory to retain a slim, outside chance at making the playoffs. They have also become the second team to beat CSK five times in a row, an honour they now share with Mumbai Indians.It was a far cry from PBKS’ jaw-dropping success against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that lifted them out of a three-game losing slump. This time their spinners stole the show, restricting CSK to 162 for 7. After Sam Curran opted to bowl on a sweltering evening in Chennai, Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar choked the life out of the batting, taking two wickets apiece and both going boundaryless for their respective four overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 62 held together a patchy 20 overs.CSK were hampered when Deepak Chahar limped off after bowling the first two deliveries of the chase, leaving them a bowler short. Though Richard Gleeson marked his IPL debut with the dismissal of Prabhsimran Singh, 64 off 37 deliveries between Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Roussouw put them ahead of the rate. Both could and perhaps should have seen their side home. But it was eventually Curran and Shashank Singh who waltzed over the line with 13 deliveries to spare.

CSK squeezed by spin at home

To say CSK were stuck midway through their innings would be an understatement. After Ajinkya Rahane finished the powerplay with three successive fours off Sam Curran, the hosts went without a boundary off the bat for all of 55 deliveries – the longest stretch this season, beating Gujarat Titan’s 38 against Delhi Capitals.Full credit should go to the dual spin threat of Brar and Rahul. The left-arm spinner and legspinner, respectively, combined for seven overs on the trot from the sixth to bring the hosts to a standstill. They prised out three wickets to destroy any momentum CSK had after their highest opening stand of the campaign (64). Two of them – Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja – were left-hand batters, as CSK tried to frontload their batting card with left-hand batters to counter the direction of turn of both spinners. Match-ups be damned, it simply did not work.Brar bowled his four overs – 2 for 17 – on the bounce; wicket-to-wicket, giving the odd one the chance to turn, but largely giving batters nothing to work with. Just as it looked like he would be the main man of the double act, Rahul returned in the 19th and went for just three (more on that later), taking out the leg stump of Moeen Ali – another legbreak – along the way to finish with 2 for 16 himself.

Dhoni finally dismissed…But PBKS had him pegged

OK, he was run-out chasing a second run off the final delivery. But the point still stands – MS Dhoni is yet to be dismissed by a bowler at the 2024 IPL. That’s not to say PBKS did not have the measure of him.Bowling spinners at the death can be risky business. Teams are increasingly doing it, but not often as late as the 19th over, or with a wristspinner with the relative lack of experience of Rahul compared to the likes of Rashid Khan or Yuzvendra Chahal.But Dhoni has not been the most fluent of batters against spin for some time now, and CSK make sure he comes late enough not to have to deal with the turning ball. Out of the 37 balls he had faced this season before Wednesday, only three were from spinners.It was a percentage move by PBKS to bowl Rahul in the penultimate over of the innings with Dhoni on strike. Chahar did his job by keeping the ball away from Dhoni’s hitting arc, towards the leg side. Three out of four balls were sent down outside the off stump. The only time Chahar fired one down the leg was when Dhoni tried to create something by moving towards off, and that one missed leg stump by a whisker.

Home comforts for Gaikwad

Who knows how badly things would have gone for CSK were it not for their captain. Gaikwad’s fifth 50-plus score of the season was the only score of note and clarity. It also continued his remarkable scoring streak at Chepauk, which now sees him boast 396 runs at this venue, leading the way for a CSK batter at home in an IPL season. The previous best was Devon Conway’s 390 in 2023, and Gaikwad has one more knock at home in the regular season to add some gloss to that accolade.The first 30 of his 62 came in the opening stand with Rahane, but its demise elicited a mini-collapse to 70 for 3. Gaikwad’s last 17 runs came off just nine deliveries, which included bringing up a 44-ball half-century with the first six of the innings, closely followed by a second.With the bowling stocks looking a little light with Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande missing through injury and illness, and Mustafizur Rahman now returning to Bangladesh, Gaikward and the CSK management have much to consider. Thankfully, the captain’s form is not a problem, though he’d almost certainly give up his newly-acquired orange cap if it meant winning a toss.

Impact dud

A scuffed boundary beyond the gloves of Jitesh Sharma was met with a look of relief by Sameer Rizvi. Not only was it his first boundary – off his 22nd delivery – but it ended the drought off the bat. A new, unwanted record.Now 21 off 22, Rizvi, who was substituted in to replace Rahane, decided to puff his chest out. Kagiso Rabada’s extra pace, he thought, would allow him to guide more deliberately behind square. Across he stepped, bat face offered fully to ramp the ball into the beyond. Contact with the ball was crisp, probably the cleanest he had managed on the night. Sadly, Harshal Patel’s hustle from deep third was rewarded with a catch. The impact substitute has come under scrutiny, posited as a factor for the leap in scoring this season. Here was an example of how it can go wrong.

Head coach also confirmed that Ishan Kishan had asked for a break for this series and Shreyas Iyer was dropped, not rested

Hemant Brar10-Jan-20244:59

Dravid not concerned with lack of T20Is ahead of World Cup

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are India’s first-choice openers for now, head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed ahead of the first T20I against Afghanistan in Mohali. With Virat Kohli not available for Thursday’s game, Shubman Gill, the third opener in the squad, could slot in at No. 3.”As of now, we will be certainly opening with Rohit and Jaiswal,” Dravid said. “But when you have a squad, you have to have that flexibility to do whatever is required if that is in the best interest of the team, and gives us the best chance to succeed. So nothing is closed. But certainly, we’re really happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us, and he gives us a left-right combination as well at the top.”Jaiswal came into the side on the back of an excellent IPL 2023, where he was the fifth-highest run-getter, with a tally of 625 runs. What separated him from other Indian openers was his whopping strike rate of 163.61.Related

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More importantly, he has been able to replicate those numbers at international level. Since making his T20I debut, against West Indies in August 2023, Jaiswal has 430 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 159.25. And across T20s since the start of 2023, his powerplay strike rate is 163.69. For comparison, Gill’s powerplay strike rate in the same period is 138.44.Kishan ‘not available’; Iyer droppedDravid also clarified that Ishan Kishan had asked for a break during this series, and that Shreyas Iyer was dropped. After the squad was announced, there was speculation over whether Iyer had been rested or dropped. Earlier this week, he was named in Mumbai’s squad for their second Ranji Trophy game, against Andhra from January 12. Dravid clarified there was no disciplinary reason behind Iyer’s exclusion.”Ishan Kishan was not available for selection,” he said. “Ishan requested for a break [while] in South Africa – which we which we agreed to, which we supported, [and] which we recognised – and he has not yet made himself available for selection. I’m sure when he is ready, he will play domestic cricket and make himself available for selection.”And certainly in Shreyas Iyer’s case, there was absolutely no disciplinary reason for his non-inclusion. There were a lot of batsmen in the team, and Shreyas Iyer missed out. He didn’t play the T20s in South Africa as well, if you notice, and it’s unfortunate. He is a fine player, but there are a lot of batsmen, and it is not easy to fit everyone in the squad and the playing XI. There are absolutely no disciplinary reasons, and that was not discussed at all – at least in my discussions with the selectors when they were having these deliberations and discussions.”For this series, Afghanistan are without Rashid Khan, who is recovering from his back surgery. But they still have a strong spin attack comprising Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Qais Ahmed, Noor Ahmed and Sharafuddin Ashraf, and Dravid looked forward to the challenge India’s batters faced.”We know they have got some really good spinners,” Dravid said. “So it will be a good challenge for our batsmen. We have discussed about it as well – how to play and dominate their spinners. So it will be a good challenge, and we are looking forward to it.”

Arsenal have been told they are "not the top club in London" and rivals Chelsea and Tottenham are "laughing" at them over their lack of silverware.

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Arsenal "not London's top club"Being "laughed" at by Spurs & ChelseaArteta criticised over lack of trophiesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Former Arsenal and Chelsea defender William Gallas has scoffed at the notion that the Gunners are London's top club at present following their superior Premier League finishes to their local rivals. The Frenchman also criticised manager Mikel Arteta for failing to deliver the club silverware for five years and claimed that Chelsea and Spurs will be much happier with their respective Conference League and Europa League triumphs in 2025.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT GALLAS SAID

He told Prime Casino: "Excuse me?! The top club in London? I’m sorry, but Arsenal have not been the top club in London over the last few years. What have Arsenal won in the last few years? Absolutely nothing. How many trophies have they lifted? Zero. You can’t claim that Arsenal are the top club in London. OK, they’ve finished second three seasons in a row, but that means nothing. They haven’t won a thing! If Arsenal fans think they’re the top club in London, honestly, they’re being laughed at. Chelsea fans are laughing at you. Tottenham fans are laughing at you.

"Do you know why? Because both of those clubs have won trophies and Arsenal have won absolutely nothing. Arsenal finished second. End of discussion. There are no prizes for second. OK, they’ve finished above Chelsea and Tottenham, but those clubs got their hands on silver; they lifted trophies. The Conference League, people will say it was a small competition and that Chelsea should have won it, but by doing that they became the first club in the world to win every single major European trophy. Arsenal fans would be dreaming to be able to say something like that, but they have nothing. Tottenham, they had a horrible season in the Premier League, but it didn’t matter because they won the Europa League and qualified for the Champions League.

"Did Arsenal win a European trophy last season? The Arsenal fans may not like me for saying it, they may criticise me again blah, blah blah, but let me tell you one thing: the only thing that matters to a professional footballer is what trophies you win. It’s as simple as that. If you asked the Arsenal players, would you have liked to have swapped with Tottenham or Chelsea this season, they would be diplomatic and say no, but trust me, those players will be jealous that they haven’t experienced the feeling of winning silverware. The Arsenal fans may not like me for it, but the simple truth is that you’re not the top club in London. Top clubs win titles. You can only claim to be the top club when you lift a trophy."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

While Arsenal have been closer to winning the Premier League than Chelsea and Tottenham in recent seasons, they have not won a trophy since 2020. If the Gunners continue to fall short when it comes to lifting silverware, manager Arteta could be under pressure to keep his job.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

Arsenal will hope to start their pre-season campaign on a bright note when they take on AC Milan, Newcastle United, and Tottenham in late July. Arteta's team then begin their Premier League campaign away at Manchester United on August 17.