Quetta’s total of 98 at actually looked decent after they had been reduced to 21 for 6

The Report by Danyal Rasool07-Mar-2020
Has the PSL really moved back to Pakistan, and is this a T20 league? Today, on a pitch redolent of the most treacherous surfaces in the UAE, Samit Patel, aided by a contingent of Lahore Qalandars spinners who happened to come in handy, blew Quetta Gladiators top order away, reducing them to 21 for 6.The pitch was ragging square, and there was little Quetta could do but cautiously bat out the 20 overs from that point on. They limped to 98, which appeared impressive in the circumstances, but when the second innings rolled around, Quetta’s slower bowlers simply didn’t possess the same bite. A 62-run partnership between Mohammad Hafeez and Ben Dunk put any early fears to rest, and Lahore cantered to a crushing win with 8 wickets and nine overs to spare.Well, where did this surface come from? The last two days have seen Lahore peppered by intermittent rain; it was responsible for the abandoned game between Multan and Karachi last night. And when the fast-improving Shaheen Afridi’s exceptional first over saw Shane Watson depart for a golden duck, it looked as if the strip would favour bowlers who could move the ball at pace far more than the spinners.But that’s where Patel came in. The first ball to Jason Roy looped and beat the outside edge; it was a harbinger for what was to follow. Roy would be removed by an identical delivery that beat him so comprehensively he actually had to check with the keeper to confirm it had dislodged his off bail. It was one of four wickets Patel took, with his figures reading a 4-1-5-4.From thereon, Quetta hunkered down and focused on batting out the overs, Sohail Khan biding his time and cashing in towards the end. When he hit Dilbar Hussain for 18 in the 18th over, it seemed like a match-turning moment. However, there was no one in the Quetta ranks who played the superhuman role Patel had for Lahore, with the early bedlam responsible for consigning them to a fourth successive defeat.Samit Patel stunsThere is no doubt the surface was a dream to play on, but it is notable Patel’s performance so far exceeded those delivered by any of his peers. There wasn’t a delivery that didn’t hit the spot, Patel confident enough to give it plenty of flight, continuously bringing the outside edge of the right-handers in play.That is how Sarfaraz Ahmed fell, nicking off to first slip for 1, but the over that took his spell from magnificent to history-making was yet to come. In his third over, he was a walking highlights reel, the aforementioned Roy dismissal kicking it off. It would get better from there, Azam Khan’s outside edge carrying to Ben Dunk in a near-identical manner to Sarfaraz’s. The final ball, Ben Cutting’s first, was arguably the only loose delivery of the spell, a long hop the Australian looked to dispatch to cow corner. But Patel had the Midas touch going, and Cutting failed to get elevation onto the shot, and pulled it straight down midwicket’s throat.This left Quetta at 21 for 6, and if Patel hadn’t run out of overs, you’d assume they wouldn’t have got close to the 98 they ended up posting.Hafeez and Dunk play their partNever underestimate Lahore’s ability to navigate a pathway to defeat, no matter how impregnable their position. And when Quetta set them 99 to chase, the perception was they had managed a comeback of sorts, and with momentum – and a trio of especially capable spinners in Fawad Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, and Zahid Mahmood – on their side, the chase could become particularly tricky. Aside from a second over in which Fakhar Zaman pillaged 20, that is exactly what it might have turned into. Zaman fell to Nawaz, his fourth dismissal to spin in this season, and two overs later, the captain Sohail Akhtar, who had never quite got going, was beaten in the air and stumped.This was exactly the sort of scrap Quetta wanted, but Hafeez and Dunk would not let that happen. After cautiously getting themselves in for a couple of overs, they turned the chase around with 15 runs off a poor Fawad over. Quetta fell away after that, never quite able to wrest back the control they believed their spinners would grant them, and with the pressure reducing after every boundary, the fight sapped out of the defending champions relatively quickly. It would take just 4.5 overs for the final 60 runs to be scored, and when Hafeez sealed it with a six over cover, it was just an exclamation mark on a convincing – and complete – Lahore performance.Where the teams standFor the first time in PSL history, Quetta have lost four on the bounce, and drop to fifth – outside the cut-off for qualification. The only side below them is the one they beat, Lahore, who now have two wins in six matches.

The ACA president has defended the chairman, praising his role in ensuring domestic competitions were not cut

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2020Shane Watson, the president of the Australian Cricketer’s Association, has labelled suggestions that the position of the union’s chairman, Greg Dyer, is under threat as “absurd reactionary whispers”.In the wake of Kevin Roberts’ sacking as Cricket Australia’s CEO there had been reports that Dyer was under pressure to move aside as CA and ACA attempt to mend their relationship and prevent an all-out pay dispute.Prior to Roberts’ departure, the ACA had reacted strongly to CA’s financial outlook which suggested a 48% reduction in revenue due to Covid-19 despite the increasingly strong prospects of the India tour taking place later this year.ALSO READ: Knowledge, power – inside the fall of Kevin RobertsThose figures are now set to be amended in light of an improving situation and Watson offered a full endorsement of Dyer’s position, highlighting the success in protecting the domestic competitions from cuts, the growth of the women’s game, securing the revenue-sharing model and the gender equity pay model that was brought in during the acrimonious 2017 pay talks.”There were some absurd reactionary whispers this week and picked up in the media that just as CA’s CEO has resigned, so should Greg move on from the ACA. What nonsense,” Watson wrote on the ACA’s website.”Over the last eight years working with him on the ACA Board, I have observed a super impressive guy with an incredible business knowledge and a huge focus on good corporate governance. His perspective is always on point and with the players’ wellbeing and the health of the game of cricket at heart.”So, in an odd week for cricket, perhaps the most bizarre suggestion was that someone so selfless, forward thinking and consistently proven to be correct, time and time again, should consider their position. I look forward to working with him as we look to cricket’s next challenges.”In the article, Watson also focused specifically on the importance of retaining the full senior domestic programmes after they had been threatened with cuts. Dyer had previously come out very strongly in opposition of any such moves, criticising CA for not understanding the value of the competitions, and Watson hoped any notion of cutting back had “gone for good.””For the last five years, the creeping suggestion has been that the Shield and WNCL were ‘cost bases’ to be reduced rather than investments to be nurtured and that money should instead be spent on new or other pathways,” Watson wrote. “To be polite, it is wrong to think that facing a ball machine at 150kph is the same as facing James Pattinson or Tayla Vlaeminck out in the middle.”It was a trend built on the dangerous idea that performance matters less than potential. It is an idea that is hopefully now gone for good.”The ACA also welcomes the reconsideration of CA’s planned cuts to state grants and cricket revenue forecasts. As expressed by the ACA… the cuts and reforecasts were premature. They needed to be rethought and it is good that they are.”

The latest Covid-19 restrictions have the potential to impact the start of the domestic season

Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2020Cricket Victoria are starting to consider the various scenarios that could be required to allow their domestic season to start on schedule if the new Covid-19 lockdown of Melbourne means the teams are unable to play at home.Melbourne and Mitchell Shire – an area north of the city – returned to lockdown at midnight on Wednesday after a spike in Covid numbers which has also led to fresh border restrictions being put in place.It has created major problems for various winter sporting codes who have rushed to try and keep their seasons going by moving teams to inter-state hubs. While cricket still has some time on its side with the season more than two months away the contingency planning is starting with one potential scenario that Victoria could spend the first chunk of the season on the road.While there is currently no schedule for the domestic season, last year the men’s summer began in late September with a period of Marsh One-Day Cup matches before the Sheffield Shield in early October with the rest of the one-day competition played alongside.If the first part of the season followed the same structure as last year it could also include some Women’s National Cricket League matches ahead of the WBBL which, in its first standalone tournament in 2019-2020, took place during October and November. There are two Melbourne-based WBBL teams, the Renegades and the Stars.”I’m just doing some pre-planning as to how it could look if we were forced to quarantine or get an exemption to be able to quarantine in one of the northern states or across the west,” Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria’s general manager of cricket told . “If we had to quarantine and these [Marsh Cup] games are later in September we’d be looking to have to get out of here if we were able to early September, hopefully get exemptions across the other states and play away from home. That’s one the scenarios I’m looking at, hence I’m looking at we could be away for anything up to two months.”Graf does not believe the potential of being in a hub for an extended period of time would present the same challenge for cricketers as it is doing for some other sports. The players are used to travelling for extensive periods, albeit usually spread across a whole season with 35-40 days on the road for the Shield, although the additional bio-security measures would be a challenge.”We’ve spoken to players, it’s not quite the same as for football codes because we are used to travelling and being on the road a long period of time but everyone needs to know that this may be a scenario if we are to kick the season off,” he said. “We’d have to make sure players stay within the compound of hotels, that’s something we’d need to look at because you haven’t got the freedom to go for a run or have a hit of gold so we’d have to look at those issues that footy has confronted. But generally from a travelling point of view it doesn’t really faze a cricket side as much as the football codes.”Graf added that while travel is a “fairly major cost” in normal circumstances he would expect Cricket Australia to help with the additional expense of a hub which would entail the need for a larger squad. “If we were in the situation where we had to go into a hub we’d talk to CA and I’d expect there would be some offset,” he said.For the immediate future, Victoria’s pre-season for both the men’s and women’s squads has not been stopped by the new lockdown with elite sport having an exemption to train with strict bio-security measures in place. Graf revealed up to six Victoria players have been tested for Covid-19 after reporting symptoms but have all come back negative.

Covid-19 causes drastic cuts in pay, contracts only till end of 2020

Peter Della Penna11-Aug-2020Opening batsman Xavier Marshall is the highest profile casualty from USA Cricket’s newly announced list of central contracts, which are only guaranteed through the end of 2020 instead of a 12-month basis as part of a number of severe cost-cutting measures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to multiple sources, the remaining eight players have all been given a flat $1800 a month salary, which is a 60-75% pay cut for most players compared to their original contracts from July 2019.”The USA Cricket Board identified that the restructuring of the contracting model around the men’s national team was an important exercise given the unprecedented events of 2020,” said USA Cricket board chairman Paraag Marathe on Monday in a release announcing the new contract list. “We have not played any international cricket since February and we are currently uncertain as to when our next fixtures will be, whilst at the same time we are forecasting a decline in our current and future year revenues as a result of the pandemic.”USA’s players had been the highest paid in the Associate world in the previous contracts list, with the highest tier contracts being “in excess of USD 90,000” as per a press release from USA cricket, while the lowest were believed to have been in the $60,000 range according to multiple sources. However, USA’s squad struggled at times to justify the pay. Despite being heavily favoured, they lost all four matches to Canada and Bermuda at the ICC Americas Regional T20 Qualifier in August 2019 to fall short of advancing to the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Dubai. Most recently, they were swept in four straight ODIs in February by Nepal and Oman before the pandemic disrupted their fixture list.USA has had a home ODI series against Scotland and UAE postponed from April, while another ODI tri-series tour to Namibia to face the hosts and Papua New Guinea in September has also been postponed. USA’s opening round of qualifying due to take place in Canada this August for the next T20 World Cup has also been shelved after the tournament was pushed back to 2022. The Covid-19 infection rate in the country has also contributed to the postponement of the planned launch of the Minor League Cricket T20 franchise competition this summer, and it is unknown when the national team will be able to resume training activities ahead of their next scheduled series for early 2021 in Oman.Marshall had been one of USA’s key performers at 2019 WCL Division Two in Namibia, scoring a century against Hong Kong in a win that clinched ODI status for USA. But his form was inconsistent upon receiving a central contract. He scored 55 runs in five innings at the ICC Americas Regional T20 Qualifier at Bermuda in August 2019. The last straw was USA’s win-less ODI tour of Kathmandu in February where he scored 54 runs in four innings. In all, he averaged just 17.00 in 13 ODIs for USA.Also cut from the contracts list were Timil Patel and Elmore Hutchinson, USA’s two highest wicket-takers in 50-over cricket. Both have played 68 matches in 50-over cricket for USA since their debuts in 2012 with Timil claiming 81 wickets at 21.96 and Hutchinson 68 at 23.34. However, both have had their spots taken by younger men. Karima Gore, 22, has been the lead spinner ahead of the 36-year-old Patel, while Cameron Stevenson, 27, has replaced Hutchinson, who turned 38 on Tuesday.Jessy Singh and Jaskaran Malhotra were the other two players slashed from the list. Singh has since been drafted by Guyana Amazon Warriors to take part in CPL 2020.Though USA captain Saurabh Netravalkar was announced as a member of the pared down list of contracted players to nine, multiple sources have confirmed he is technically not included among the contracted players being compensated by USA Cricket and ACE. Netravalkar works full-time as a software developer for Oracle in San Francisco, California. His work visa status does not allow him to take official employment with other organisations outside of Oracle.USA central contract list: Aaron Jones, Monank Patel, Steven Taylor, Karima Gore, Akshay Homraj, Nosthush Kenjige, Nisarg Patel and Rusty Theron.

As the day wore on and the pitch eased up, glimpses of an Azhar seen less frequently during his career emerged

Danyal Rasool23-Aug-2020The rain was torrential; there was no way they’d get the game back on. Water drainage in Lahore is, putting it kindly, not ideal, and the storm drains around Gaddafi Stadium had begun to heave, water spilling over onto the streets. The game between Multan Sultans and Karachi Kings was called off, unseasonal rains having come to Multan’s rescue after an uncharacteristically limp batting performance. There was a crowd at the exits, people hastening to leave. It included Pakistan’s Test captain Azhar Ali, uncomfortably conspicuous in an immaculate grey suit, no longer required for punditry work now the game was done.Security arrangements meant everyone – no exceptions, clearly – would have to walk the kilometre or so from the media box exit to the front gates of the stadium complex. Azhar made his way out, trying his best to avoid stepping into muddy puddles, his shoes clearly not designed for this eventuality. It wasn’t long before the departing crowd picked out they had somewhat special company, and even as the rainwater lapped at their ankles and soaked their feet, they began to throng Azhar, eager for a selfie. The man himself, arguably too polite for his own good, tried his best to oblige as he continued to make his way through the crowd, as the flash lights went off and the drizzle began to intensify. You’d be hard pressed to find Azhar’s counterparts in India, Australia or England pressed into such a situation.ALSO READ: Anderson five-for allows England to enforce the follow-onIt wasn’t pretty, but little about Azhar Ali has been. This was a man who made his international debut in England in 2010 – yep, that tour – and decent enough as that went, there was little that caught the eye. He scored an unbeaten 92 in the only Test Pakistan won that series; the most recent YouTube clip of that innings currently has eight views. His teammate Asad Shafiq – with whom Azhar appears destined to be compared and contrasted – would make his debut a few months on, and with that attractive a cover drive, it was easy to imagine he was the real future star of the middle order. Azhar was there, there to be used by Pakistan, and, at times, there to be taken advantage of.He was appointed ODI captain in after the World Cup in 2015, a format he didn’t even play at the time; he never made the World Cup squad. Following poor results in England and Australia, he was dropped unceremoniously; the news was allegedly leaked before Azhar himself had been informed.The previous year, he had been appointed captain of the Lahore Qalandars franchise in the inaugural season of the PSL as a marquee player, only to be stripped after one season. And when, in 2019, Sarfaraz Ahmed’s loss of form with both gloves and bat became untenable, and there was no other viable candidate, it was perhaps unsurprising the PCB turned back to Azhar Ali.The job may have been a natural one for Azhar had it not come so late. For that young man with the unremarkable technique, and the downright ugliness with which he accumulated his runs, had perhaps turned into the best top order batsman Pakistan have produced since Saeed Anwar retired. His average hovered around the mid 40s, his place in the side was secure, and runs came in huge numbers in both the UAE and abroad; big hundreds in England and Sri Lanka were complemented by double centuries in places as diverse as Dhaka and Melbourne. But now, just when the opportunity for leadership had opened up, there was a sign a rough patch was turning into a malaise.He’d managed just 59 runs in a tour of South Africa where Duanne Olivier tormented him for fun, and it continued on his first tour after assuming the leadership, when he crossed double figures just once in Australia. A soft hundred against Sri Lanka in Karachi had appeased no one, and having served his purpose, calls in Pakistan to do away with him intensified once more.Things are looking up for Azhar Ali•Getty Images

So when he walked out on Sunday as James Anderson and Stuart Broad prowled, and watched this morning as Asad Shafiq nicked off yet again, there was much that would have weighed on his mind. But he was canny enough to understand this was a pitch to be exploited once the new ball stopped nipping around, and spent the first hour alongside Fawad Alam taking the sting out of it. At lunch, he’d managed 10 off 53; he would have heard the knives sharpening. But he wore the pacers out and negotiated Dom Bess well, even as he watched Fawad Alam give his wicket away cheaply to the offspinner.As the day wore on, and the pitch eased up, glimpses of an Azhar seen less frequently during his career emerged. It was an Azhar who batted with the abandon of knowing he belonged at this level, who, with Pakistan so far behind in the game, needed to worry about nothing but batting long. He even pulled Jofra Archer, bowling at speeds exceeding 90, comfortably into the square leg more than once, and cut him above the slips when he went even shorter. He caressed Broad through cover, and sliced Anderson past point. He punched Bess through the offside to bring up his hundred, a roar as he raced to complete the run the first indication of how much a game that has brought him so much pain still meant to him.It means plenty for Pakistan, too. The last time he scored an away Test hundred, his head coach Misbah-ul-Haq was at the other end. With Shafiq faltering and no certainty around the No. 6 position, Azhar’s lack of form had left a hole where the middle order needed to be, and intensified the burden on Babar. Cricketers with 6000 runs who average over 40 aren’t to be discarded lightly, and for a young Pakistan side, his longevity is an asset worth cherishing more than is perhaps in evidence sometimes.That day, Azhar trudged on grimly through the floodwater. If his patience wore thin, he didn’t let it show, and by the time he got to his car, after what seemed like an age, his shoes and the base of his trousers were caked in mud. He’d found himself in a sticky situation, but found a quietly dignified way to get through it. As you’d expect from him every single time.

“I watched him play for the Sydney Sixers. He takes the new ball on, he is a very talented player”

Shashank Kishore16-Sep-2020Adam Gilchrist believes Josh Philippe is capable of being Australia’s “catalyst for change”. Steven Smith sees “no reason why Philippe can’t play all formats”. Now, the 23-year old Western Australian wicketkeeper has another admirer in AB de Villiers, with whom he’ll share a dressing room at Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020.”We are going to have some world-beaters,” de Villiers told RCB TV. “We will have (Aaron) Finch, Moeen Ali, Adam Zampa and Josh Philippe. I am looking forward to connecting with Josh. I see a lot of similarities between the way he plays when I was younger.”A batsman firmly in the Gilchrist mould, Philippe will be a first-timer at the IPL after he was bought at the December auction. At the time, Mike Hesson, Royal Challengers’ Director of Cricket, admitted to being surprised at having signed him up at base price (US$ 280,000 approx). Philippe himself admitted to being “shocked” that he was picked.Philippe has played just 13 List A games, but has enhanced his reputation following a stellar BBL season, where he helped Sydney Sixers clinch the title. He was the third highest run-getter in the season – his 487 runs in 16 innings at the top of the order came at a strike rate of 130.The icing on the cake was his match-winning 29-ball 52 in a rain-reduced 12-overs shootout in the final against Melbourne Stars. It earned him the Player of the Match award. He finished the season strongly with three half-centuries in his last four outings after a mid-season slump.In all, he hit five half-centuries and de Villiers had a ringside view of one of those knocks, a well-paced unbeaten 43-ball 52 in a fairly regulation chase against Brisbane Heat. “I am excited about Josh,” he said. “I watched him play for the Sydney Sixers. He takes the new ball on, he is a very talented player, I have heard Gilchrist say really some good things about him.”Philippe will be heading into the IPL on the back of a maiden stint with the Australian limited-overs squad in England. His only outings on tour were a bunch of warm-up games in the lead-up to both the T20I and ODI series.In an interview to last week, Philippe said he was most looking forward to learning a few tricks from Virat Kohli and de Villiers. “It’s surreal,” he said of the prospect of playing with two modern-day stars. “AB and Virat are two of the best in the world so it’ll be great to see how they train, play, and go about their business. It’s an amazing opportunity to rub shoulders with those guys and see how the best in the world operate.”

Head coach advises batsman not to rush his comeback after going through medical report.

PTI01-Nov-2020India’s head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed that Rohit Sharma’s medical report stated “he could be in danger of injuring himself again” and advised the batsman not to rush his comeback.Rohit, who is recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in the ongoing IPL, was left out of the India squad for the upcoming Australia tour on a day when he was seen hitting the nets for Mumbai Indians, sparking speculation on the status of his fitness. Shastri said the call not to include Rohit in the squad was taken by the selectors after going through his medical report.”It’s being handled by the people in charge of the medical part of it. We don’t get involved in that. They have submitted a report to the selectors and they have gone about their business.”I have no say, neither am I a part of the selection. All I know is the medical report which says he could be in danger of injuring himself again if he is not careful,” Shastri told Times Now.The tour of Australia comprises three T20Is, three ODIs and four Tests. The series is scheduled to start on November 27.Shastri further advised Rohit not to make the same mistake he made during his own playing days.”There is nothing more frustrating for a player than getting injured. Sometimes you know, you want to get out of that room of yours and try and see how quickly you can come back,” he said.”And therein lies the grey area. Therein lies the problem where you want to go and play, you want to test yourself. But only you will know at the back of your mind whether you are 100%, whether there is a chance going at it again.” The BCCI is currently monitoring Rohit’s progress and there is a possibility that he may play for Mumbai later in this IPL.”What I fear, I have been through that as a cricketer myself. I finished my career in 1991 when I went back to Australia when I shouldn’t have. If I had taken a break for three or four months, I could’ve played five years longer for India.”So, I speak from experience. It is a similar case. I wanted to go. Doctors told me don’t go. It was greed. I was in tremendous form so there was this eagerness to go back. I hope Rohit’s case is not that serious and the same with Ishant (Sharma).”Ishant, who plays for Delhi Capitals, also got injured during the IPL. Shastri said the Indian team is bound to miss players of Rohit and Ishant’s calibre.”Both Ishant and Rohit will be missed in Australia. Both were missed in New Zealand too. Ishant played a huge role in our win last time (in Australia) and Rohit played a huge role in the home series against South Africa (last year).”Both these players have had a huge role to play for us to be at the top of the WTC standings.”In Rohit’s absence, KL Rahul has been made the vice-captain. Shastri was not surprised with the selectors’ decision.”It is not surprising at all. He captained the side in New Zealand (during the T20I series) when Virat and Rohit were not on the field.”

Pucovski became the first Shield batsman since Dene Hills in 1997-98 to make consecutive double-hundreds

Andrew McGlashan09-Nov-2020Will Pucovski’s “burning competitiveness” has helped him forge back-to-back double-centuries in the Sheffield Shield over the last two weeks, as the calls grow louder for him to be elevated to the Australia Test squad to face India. Pucovski, though, is shutting out talk of international honours just yet.Just nine days ago, he had finished unbeaten on 255 for Victoria against South Australia as part of a tournament-record opening stand of 486 with Marcus Harris. And today, on the second morning against Western Australia, Pucovski became the first Shield batsman since Dene Hills in 1997-98 to make consecutive double-hundreds, thus making it three in a career that is just 22 games old.He admitted there were stages on Monday where he started to feel the effects of hours in the middle but was soon able to refocus, and it wasn’t until facing his 733rd delivery of the season that he was finally dismissed.”You don’t get the chance to make 200 very often. So when you’re in that kind of position, there’s that inner burning competitiveness where you just go, ‘Gee, it would be pretty cool to get two doubles on the trot’,” he said.”You do get that build-up of fatigue over a week or two. There was probably a stage yesterday where I felt myself losing it a bit, but managed to switch back into gear which felt really good. [And so did] just knowing that I can switch back on and get back into that zone.”It’s [about] getting into my batting bubble and routines and for the first time in a couple of weeks, I felt myself just leaving that a little bit. But it was only for a very short period. It’s one of those things where I’ve developed the process now that I know how to get myself back into that space. I’ve been really happy with how I’ve been backing my instinct and just playing off intuition. The more I can do that, more regularly the results will hopefully come.”ALSO READ: Australia Test squad: who has staked their claim for a call-up?Pucovski was only told shortly before Victoria’s first game this season that he would be opening the batting. It wasn’t a position he sought out, but he does not see a vast amount of difference from coming in at first wicket down.”I wouldn’t say I actively wanted to do it, but was happy to do it when the idea was posed to me,” he said. “I wasn’t that fazed to be honest. It’s probably a good thing – you get out there straightaway, so not much time to sit there and watch the game. Just get stuck into it.”Australia’s Test squad will be named after this round of Shield matches – the last to be played in the Adelaide hub – is completed. With Queensland’s Joe Burns also struggling, there is increasing momentum behind Pucovski partnering David Warner at the top. Even ex-players have started lining up to call for his selection, but he is ignoring all the plaudits being sent his way.”To be honest, I’ve deleted every cricket app and most social media off my phone… I haven’t really read anything about it, it’s something that’s completely out of my control so all I can do is present myself every day and hopefully do well.”Even when approaching his latest landmark on Monday morning, his main concern was not getting too carried away, although he did allow himself the acknowledgement of a job well done.”I had a horrendous photo for my hundred yesterday, so I needed to make sure I wasn’t going too nuts to make sure the 200 photo was better,” he said. “It’s probably just that satisfaction that you’ve done a lot of hard work in the off-season on a variety of different things. Doing a two-week quarantine now almost seems worth it, especially if we can get a win.”

The left-arm spinner remains suspended from bowling

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2020The bowling action of Nisarg Patel, the USA allrounder, has once again been deemed to be illegal. Patel, who bowls left-arm spin, had been suspended from bowling since February and has undergone reassessment on his action. Once again, the flex in his action was found to be beyond the permitted 15-degree limit, and so he remains suspended, the ICC said.Patel was reported after USA’s ODI against Oman on February 11 in Kirtipur, Nepal. He bowled seven overs in the game, returning figures of 0 for 37.As per the ICC’s statement, “Patel can apply for a reassessment after modifying his bowling action in accordance with … the regulations.”While he remains suspended from international and domestic cricket organised by the ICC’s recognised National Cricket Federations, the ICC statement said that “with the consent of USA Cricket, Patel may be able to bowl in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of USA Cricket”.

Both sides will be led by captains who are new to the role in Mitchell Santner and Shadab Khan

Danyal Rasool17-Dec-2020

Big Picture

Pakistan haven’t played much cricket in the month since they set off for New Zealand, but that doesn’t mean this tour hasn’t been among the headlines. After three weeks of acrimonious quarantine that included positive Covid test, isolation breaches, threats from New Zealand that Pakistan were on their final warning and counter-threats of Pakistan returning home anyway – the series getting off the ground at all is something of a relief. Which is nice, because in these somewhat cricket-starved times, few boards can bear an expensive cancellation – just ask Cricket South Africa. More importantly, the cricket promises to be really, really good.Of course, Kane Williamson will be missed in the first T20I by New Zealand, still absent following the birth of his first child. In fact, there are several high-profile absentees for the hosts, with Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and the injured Lockie Ferguson all absent from a notably inexperienced 13-man squad. That might allow Pakistan to look upon the game as an opportunity to start the tour well, though the red-hot Glenn Phillips and experienced hands of Martin Guptill and James Neesham ensure the batting line-up is not entirely wet behind the ears.

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Mitchell Santner will hope for his first complete international as captain after the third T20I against the West Indies was ruined by rain. But it’s the other spinner in the squad, Ish Sodhi, whose contribution may prove of greater consequence. The hosts are fresh off a clutch 2-0 T20I series win against a West Indies side that on paper appears to pack a greater threat than Pakistan, and Sodhi was pivotal to the second win. Varying his flight and pace expertly, he conceded just 26 in his four overs in a game where Southee, Santner and Neesham each went at over 12, and New Zealand themselves managed 238. One such spell in a high-scoring T20I could well turn the game around once more.Perhaps all those absences put together don’t quite make up for the extent to which Pakistan will miss Babar Azam, ruled out of all three T20Is in a huge blow for an already unfancied visiting side. Their squad has its own quota of young players, but doesn’t necessarily correlate with inexperience in their case. Shaheen Afridi is an all-format world-leading bowler despite his tender years, while 22-year old stand-in captain Shadab Khan has morphed into an exciting all-rounder.Mohammad Hasnain and Wahab Riaz should enjoy the pace and bounce Eden Park offers. Mohammad Hafeez appears to have reinvented himself more times than you might care to keep track of, and his form could be a crucial barometer for Pakistan’s showing in the series. And in Haider Ali and Khushdil Shah, Pakistan possess the sort of insouciant power-hitters each elite side needs to have to be competitive at the top in the modern game.

Form guide

New Zealand WWLT(L Super Over) T (L Super Over) (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWL

In the spotlight

After comments by Haider Ali that he’d been told to somewhat rein in his attacking instincts, you can feel sure the closest thing to his counterpart in the New Zealand side, Glenn Phillips, will absolutely not be doing any such thing. Having decimated the West Indies with the fastest T20 hundred by a New Zealand batsman (46 balls), Phillips spoke about the joy of “producing freedom in my performance”. That is the philosophy that has allowed Phillips to emerge as perhaps the most lethal attacker in New Zealand’s batting line-up. Having followed up those exploits with a first-class hundred for the A side, Phillips is not going to have a shortage of confidence.With Babar Azam forced out, Shadab Khan finds himself thrust suddenly under the microscope as his stand-in. Having shaken off a niggle of his own, he will be fit to lead the international side out for the first time in his career. That may bring about its own pressure on a tour where there’s enough of it already, but the 22-year old has led Islamabad United for a couple of years now, and has that experience to draw on. It goes without saying his stint with the ball will be pivotal, but perhaps the more interesting question surrounds what position he may come out to bat after enjoying a power-hitting role in the top four with Islamabad this season. He was immensely successful at it, and should he back himself to reprise that role on Friday, watch out for an absorbing tactical battle.

Team news

With most of New Zealand’s absences in the bowling department, how they line up on that front should be interesting. There could be a debut for 26-year old Otago quick Jacob Duffy, with Scott Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner partnering.New Zealand (possible): 1 Martin Guptill 2 Tim Seifert 3 Devon Conway 4 Glenn Phillips 5 Mark Chapman 6 James Neesham 7 Mitchell Santner (capt) 8 Todd Astle 9 Ish Sodhi 10 Scott Kuggeleijn 11 Blair Tickner/Jacob DuffyPakistan’s biggest decision is the way they go about replacing Azam at the top of the order. Hafeez may be promoted, but with young opener Abdullah Shafique in the squad, Haider and Shafique could make for a fresh pair at the top.Pakistan (possible):: 1 Haider Ali 2 Abdullah Shafique 3Shadab Khan (capt) 4 Mohammad Hafeez 5 Iftikhar Ahmed/Faheem Ashraf 6 Khushdil Shah 7 Mohammad Rizwan 8 Imad Wasim 9 Wahab Riaz 10 Haris Rauf 11 Shaheen Afridi

Pitch and conditions

Eden Park has one of the shortest boundaries in world cricket, as well as one of the flatter surfaces for T20 cricket. Expect a run-fest, with no chance of rain playing spoilsport.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have won on the two most recent occasions these sides have played at Eden Park, with New Zealand’s only win coming 10 years ago in 2010.
• Hafeez needs 41 more runs to overtake Shoaib Malik as the highest run-getter for Pakistan in T20Is.
• Santner and Sodhi have each played the same number of T20Is (47) and taken the same number of wickets (54).