All posts by h716a5.icu

All the key stats from a low-scoring thriller in New York

Sampath Bandarupalli09-Jun-20241:56

Rapid Fire Review: Is it curtains for Pakistan’s WC campaign?

119 – The score India defended successfully against Pakistan on Sunday. It is the joint-lowest total any team has successfully defended at the Men’s T20 World Cup in a 20-over game. Sri Lanka also successfully defended 119 against New Zealand in the 2014 edition.1 – The target of 120 is also the lowest India have successfully defended in a full 20-over game in men’s T20Is. The previous lowest was 139 against Zimbabwe in 2016 in Harare.The 120 total is also the second-lowest target Pakistan lost chasing in the format, behind the 119 against Zimbabwe in 2021.

Ten T20I defeats in a row couldn’t sway resilient team from sticking to their guns in emphatic win

Shashank Kishore04-Oct-2024Sophie Devine had to scream her lungs out to get Maddy Green’s attention at long-off. She was unhappy with Green’s positioning and implored her to move a few yards to her right. The move was partly instinctive as much it was down to an understanding of Smriti Mandhana’s strengths, having played with her in the Women’s Premier League.Four balls into Eden Carson’s second over, the ploy was rewarded when Mandhana tempted fate and holed out to long-off. And just like that, Mandhana’s plans of playing a shot she scores a lot of runs off, especially early on against spin, were nipped in the bud.Devine revealed the plan for Mandhana was one among many that New Zealand put together for this World Cup opener, and while the results had been slow to come to fruition over the course of the previous year, what had remained was their steadfast belief in their methods.”Look, to be honest, we’ve been planning for this game for about, I don’t know, probably close to a year,” Devine said. “We’ve been really focused on this one game for a long time now, and the level of detail that we’ve gone into, in terms of match-ups, field settings, obviously it helps having played a little bit in the WPL.”It’s all well and good to have plans. If the bowlers can’t execute it, it doesn’t mean anything. But I thought the bowlers were outstanding. We were really clear around what plans we wanted to use and how we wanted to use them, and for them to execute and to pick up wickets regularly is something that I was really proud of. It’s a pretty cool feeling to have plans executed, and to be rewarded for it.”One of those plans that Devine touched upon, it seemed, was bowling a heavy ball. On a Dubai surface where the dew didn’t come on as anticipated, the ball was gripping more than a hint. And Lea Tahuhu showed the value of hitting hard lengths. The wickets of Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma were reward for that unwavering discipline.Tahuhu’s natural swing, courtesy of her slingy action, tends to take the ball away. While she isn’t the tallest bowler in the game, she has worked previously with Jacob Oram, the former New Zealand allrounder turned bowling coach, on a slower bouncer to complement her hard lengths.Friday’s plan was confirmation of the extent to which the players have bought into the team’s methods, without being swayed by the uncertainty that a series of insipid results, including 10 successive T20I losses, can bring.”I think a word that got used today when we were presenting our jerseys was ‘resilient’ and, when I think of resilient people, I think of Leah,” Devine said. “She’s obviously been in and out of the side, she’s battled through injuries, she’s obviously got a young family now, and [she showed] her ability to just keep bouncing back and then to perform in pressure situations like she did today.Related

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“As a captain it’s a real privilege to be able to throw her the ball and know that she’s going to fight tooth and nail to do whatever she can for this team. And people like that are so important in a team environment, because that mongrel spirit is infectious and I thought she’s been great today. Long may it continue.”The brightest example of New Zealand’s spirit is Georgia Plimmer who was backed to open despite a horror run of form all through the summer. She made 26 runs in four innings during a winless England tour and had just one not-so-fluent half-century in the final T20I of an otherwise forgettable Australia tour.A T20I strike-rate that had been just a nudge above 84 revealed more than an inkling of struggle in the Powerplay. It may have been prudent for Devine to move up herself, but the New Zealand captain laid out what she termed a succession plan, for when she and Suzie Bates eventually decide to move on.One of those plans was to back Plimmer to find her feet in the pressure of international cricket. And on Friday, she launched a powerplay salvo that rattled India. In the context of her career and the match, Plimmer’s 23-ball 34 up top was worth so much more, even though there were other batters, such as Devine herself, whose unbeaten 36-ball 57 looks the more significant on the scorecard.”The cricket gods decided to be with us today and sometimes that’s all it is, isn’t it?,” Devine asked. “Sometimes you get a lucky bounce, sometimes you get, you know … a catch goes in the gap. I don’t think it’s through lack of effort, it’s not through lack of trying, it’s not through lack of preparation, I think it’s just sometimes the way cricket is.”So, I’m just really proud of this group to keep sticking at it, to keep believing in themselves. Trust me, we’ve been copping stuff from all over the place about the batting order, and I hope today shows exactly why we’ve been sticking with it for the last 12-18 months, because we believe in this batting order.”We believe in the openers, we believe in Melie [Amelia Kerr], and we believe in myself and the rest of the group. So hopefully that’s brought us a little bit of breathing space, but we know that it’s on us now to make sure that we back it up.”In a way, New Zealand played like a team that wasn’t burdened by the same expectations as India. Neither are they bound by history. Devine admits theirs is a transition that has loomed for longer than expected, which they’re trying to address in the best possible way.All told, New Zealand played like a team that would’ve embraced delight and dejection in equal measure, provided they didn’t deviate from plans that had been in the making for a while. And when the spotlight was on them on a grand stage against a more fancied opponent, they conjured magic to sting their opponents like few defeats in recent memory.

He finishes as one of India’s finest in Test cricket, having built his 13-year career on performances, not promise or popular appeal

Sidharth Monga18-Dec-20240:57

Kumble toasts ‘great champion’ Ashwin: ‘Wanted you to go past 619’

It is rather ironic that a Hindi movie line sums up R Ashwin. We will get to the irony later. The line first.From , the Indian of sorts, the first words of narration, to set up the two lovable rascals: Translated: “In the world that is, there exist two kinds of people: ones who do just one type of work all their life, others who do all types of work in just one life.”Related

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Ashwin is among the second type. He wanted to bat, he wanted to bowl fast, he wanted to captain, he wanted to organise matches. When injury put Ashwin the boy out of commission, he wanted to be involved even if it meant scoring. He wanted to share the ride with you all so he started his YouTube channel even while he played without any commercial arrangement.Most importantly he wanted to do all there was to be done in what was his bread and butter. Most of us Indians don’t experiment lest we end up losing what we have earned through blood, sweat and tears, and luck, in a country as fiercely competitive as India. But Ashwin did everything there was to be done in the department of offspin bowling. Pundits kept telling him he experiments too much. That offspin is about doing the one same thing all your life. That he will lose his stock ball if he keeps, in his own words, “monkeying around”. Then what will he do?Ashwin was incredibly secure and confident in his ability to land the ball where he wanted it to land, and so he pushed the art to its limits with other things. Different run-ups, different load-ups, different seam orientations, different balls altogether, while always landing the ball where he wanted it to.This writer once asked him if he didn’t fear losing the quality offbreak. “Then what will you do?” He said if he did lose it, it would mean it wasn’t his to keep. He never let that fear, that conservative mindset, come in the way of his pursuit for excellence.R Ashwin, owner of 37 Test five-fors and eight Test ten-fors•BCCIThe irony now. A Hindi line to sum him up. When he was still not an offspinner yet, he almost quit cricket because of language barriers at a national Under-17 camp. Back then, at all levels of national cricket, anybody from south India had to learn whatever Hindi they could to survive in the dressing room. It was a shock to Ashwin that nobody could even sense his discomfort.Yet he loved the game and the competition so much that once he was over the initial shock, Ashwin went and enrolled himself in private Hindi classes. After a point, he didn’t see it as a political or a cultural issue. He saw it as a problem, and he had to solve it practically.Ashwin broke his cricket down to solving problems. A batter is a problem, I have to solve it. Do it with 537 Test wickets and 37 five-fors. A batting crisis is a problem, solve it with six hundreds and 14 fifties. Only one of his hundreds was an act of filling his boots. One of the other five came from 156 for 6 in partnership with debutant Rohit Sharma, the man who was clearly struggling to hold back tears when Ashwin announced his international retirement.Being dropped from limited-overs sides without any communication was a problem too, which he tried to solve by adding newer deliveries to his bowling and muscle to his hitting. It has been so long since he made regular appearances in limited-overs internationals that it is easy to forget he was a gun ODI and T20I bowler for six years, frequently bowling in powerplays and bowling Chennai Super Kings to title wins in the IPL.

Ashwin was incredibly secure and confident in his ability to land the ball where he wanted it to land, and so he pushed the art [of offspin] to its limits with other things. Different run-ups, different load-ups, different seam orientations, different balls altogether, while always landing the ball where he wanted it to.

Ashwin looked forward to problems so he could solve them. He solved enough problems to end up with 11 Test Player-of-the-Series awards, the joint-highest in world cricket, and 10 match awards, the third-highest for an Indian and joint-highest for an Indian bowler. Quite simply put, he has been India’s greatest match-winner in Tests.Before the World Test Championship pushed teams to seek out extreme home advantage, Ashwin was partly responsible for countries dishing out pitches that would keep spinners out of the game.We appreciate the skill but not quite the discipline, dedication and commitment it takes to not miss a single home Test from your debut till you retire, in a Test career that spanned 13 years. It is all the more remarkable for a modern cricketer because of the amount of cricket they play. To stay fit despite being athletically – well – challenged, to never fall sick during a Test be it at home or away, to manage other more important life events in a way that they don’t clash with Test matches.Also we don’t quite appreciate that Ashwin was not the kind of gifted cricketer or athlete that leaders make understandable allowances for. He can be proud that he played every single international match of his purely on performance and not promise or, later in his career, popular appeal. He was never too big to be dropped, but with his performance and competitive spirit Ashwin made sure he was never so small that he could be ignored.R Ashwin, his wife Prithi Narayanan, and their children•BCCIIt is a cruel irony that the career of India’s greatest match-winner ends with four consecutive losses in Tests (three against New Zealand at home, and the Adelaide Test). For a person as emotional as Ashwin, the timing of his announcement is curious. You would expect him to play a farewell Test and savour the end. Perhaps have his family along – they were not at the Gabba.Then again, the only thing he is more emotional about is his family. Ever since Ravindra Jadeja leapfrogged him as a Test batter, and the conditions in England, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia favoured a fourth fast bowler over a spinner as the No. 8, Ashwin was spending months on the road without getting to actually play.There is no shame in not being a part of the XI but at a certain age and a certain stage of your career, you need enough incentive to be away from family for months on end. At this stage of his career, with limited years of high performance left in his body, Ashwin would much rather be part of a playing XI even if it is at a local club game. That will also let him spend more time with his family.This may sound entitled, but it is not. He genuinely finds more peace in playing a local game than in the money and the high of being part of an international tour without actually playing. He loves cricket for the cricket itself, and not for what else it brings.

He was never too big to be dropped, but with his performance and competitive spirit Ashwin made sure he was never so small that he could be ignored.

If there had been a home series immediately after this tour, Ashwin perhaps would have stayed on. Some might question his leaving in the middle of a series, but if he is not going to play in the rest of the series, could you question wanting to spend Christmas and New Year’s with his family, something he has missed out on for years? Moreover, retirement is an extremely personal matter. You are saying farewell to something that has given your life purpose for about 35 years of your existence; nobody on the outside has the right to tell you when to do it.If anything, the timing – in the middle of a series level at 1-1 – brings into focus the harsh reality of Indian cricket: barring a handful, even the greatest have been treated as disposable objects. It should be incumbent on the leadership of the team to know what players at this stage of their career are thinking. These are not easy conversations to have, but they are better had than not.Let not his last four Tests override a great career. The man himself has walked away without rancour and as unobtrusively as one can without going full MS Dhoni, who also retired from Tests after the third Test of an Australia tour.R Ashwin at the nets on the eve of what would be his final Test match – not afraid to try things out till the end•Getty ImagesVery few get to end their career on a perfect note. Who wouldn’t have liked to witness Ashwin walk off with a win in a match that he had announced beforehand would be his last?It might not have been perfect but Ashwin’s last outing was still plenty excellent. On a pitch so hostile to spin bowling that Nathan Lyon bowled only one over across both innings, Ashwin bowled with Australia in the ascendance and looking to dominate, and it was a spell full of class. Even on that pitch, he never let batters get away from him, nearly getting Travis Head but for a dropped half chance and dismissing Mitchell Marsh. He and Jasprit Bumrah were the only ones to go at under three an over in the match. Who knew it would be a final reminder why Ashwin would always be India’s first-choice spinner when conditions were not spin-friendly.Ashwin won’t cry it’s over. He will cry that it happened, but tears of rejoicing. He will likely say that if he hasn’t had the perfect ending, it was not his to have.

England batter believes striving to be the very best will help her keep improving

Valkerie Baynes11-Jul-2025Alice Capsey’s development as an international cricketer mirrors the evolution of her England team as a work in progress.Capsey burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old with a Player-of-the-Match-winning 59 for Oval Invincibles in just her second appearance in the Women’s Hundred. Another half-century in just her third T20I innings before her 18th birthday fuelled the excitement around her talent.Almost three years on, much has changed for Capsey and England, particularly over the past 12 months.Related

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“For me it’s been a year of a lot of learning,” Capsey said. “Last year, I’ll be the first one to say it, I didn’t perform how I would have liked. Getting dropped from that T20 squad in South Africa was the best thing for me. To reflect, to take that step back and go, ‘okay, well, I know I want to be in that T20 team, what do I need to do to get there?'”Capsey became a casualty of England’s failed T20 World Cup campaign when she was dropped for the tour of South Africa in December. Having held her place in the ODI squad for that trip, she was ultimately called up as injury cover for the T20s but didn’t play a game.After England’s dire showing at the Women’s Ashes in January – where Capsey played one T20I, scoring 6 and taking 1 for 25 with her offbreaks, and three ODIs yielding 18 runs and three wickets – she returned to Australia as part of the England A tour. There, she was England A’s second-highest run-scorer across formats with 207 runs at 41.41, including a hundred and a half-century in the four-day match.”A lot of work went on during the winter and, along with a lot of communication with the ECB, decided to play in that A-series and that was probably one of the best things for me, to still be playing highly competitive games but it also not be in the complete spotlight of an international game of cricket,” Capsey said.

“It is difficult at some points. Every time you go onto the cricket pitch, for the last three or four years, there’s always been eyes on. But at the same time, that’s an amazing place to be”Alice Capsey

“Over the past three or four years, other than domestic games where you’re still that international, you need to stand up, I probably haven’t played in any games where I can just go out and bat and work on a few different things.”Capsey played just one match for Delhi Capitals during this year’s WPL but said training with the franchise in Indian conditions “was a really great experience” and she saw the benefits of facing bowlers in the nets for hours on end there when she returned for the start of the domestic season.By that time, Charlotte Edwards had replaced Jon Lewis as England Women’s head coach and mandated that all centrally contracted players be available for the first seven rounds of the one-day cup. Capsey scored 317 runs across seven innings at 45.28 with a highest score of 125 and two fifties.During Edwards’ first international series in charge, England swept both white-ball legs of West Indies’ visit but they have been comprehensively outplayed by India in three of their four T20Is so far with one to play before a three-match ODI series.Capsey was only required to bat once in the T20s against West Indies (she scored 4). She scored 60 runs and took four wickets across the three ODIs, where the first two matches were dominated by England’s openers, Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones.Against India, she is averaging 7.50 from four innings with a highest sore of 18 batting at No. 3 having played at No. 6 in the first two games.”Deep down I know how much I’ve still got to learn, I’m nowhere near where I want to be,” Capsey said. “I want to be the best batter in the world, no doubt about it. Every player who plays international cricket will want to strive to be the best.Alice Capsey scored 317 runs from seven innings in the One-day Cup•Getty Images for Surrey CCC”If you don’t have a goal to strive for, it makes putting in the work a little bit harder. Whether it’s realistic or unrealistic, at this point it probably doesn’t really matter because if you’re striving to get better, more often than not, you’re going to get better.”With the 50-over World Cup in India just two-and-a-half months away, England have plenty of work to do. The fielding woes which let them down when West Indies knocked them out in the group stage of the T20 World Cup appeared to be improving earlier in the summer but have let them down again against India.They have one match to put that right, on Saturday at Edgbaston with India having already clinched the series, before starting afresh in the ODIs, where captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is expected to return from injury.”Our fielding has been a big talking point and we haven’t been good enough over the last 12 months and we haven’t been good enough again this series,” Capsey said. “But we are working so hard on it and no one means to drop a catch, no one means to miss a run out.”There’s no hiding away from the fact that it’s been a really tough 12 months for us and our fielding hasn’t been up to standard. We all know that. Stats don’t lie. We’ve dropped a lot of catches in really pivotal points in important games.”England are still learning how to perform on the biggest stages, but Capsey has no qualms about having grown up in the spotlight.”That’s just what I’ve known,” she said. “It’s not like I can compare. It is difficult at some points. Every time you go onto the cricket pitch, for the last three or four years, there’s always been eyes on. But at the same time, that’s an amazing place to be.””For me, it is about, being a young player, how do I manage myself through that? And how do I continue to improve? How do I continue to manage that noise? That’s half of the battle with not just being an international cricketer, but you speak to any international athlete, I think that is half the battle. It’s something that I’m learning.”If the spotlight isn’t already burning brightly on England, it will amp up in October when they face South Africa in their World Cup opener and, come this time next year at a home T20 World Cup, it will be positively blazing. They’d best get used to the heat now, and play like they don’t know any different.

All the key numbers as a masterclass performance from Root enabled the home side to haul in a 300-plus target

Sampath Bandarupalli02-Jun-20257082 Runs scored by Joe Root in his ODI career. He is the first batter to aggregate 7000-plus runs for England in the format. Root became their leading run-scorer on Sunday, surpassing Eoin Morgan’s tally of 6957 runs.166* Root’s score in the chase on Sunday is his highest in the format. It is the second-highest score for England in an ODI chase, behind Jason Roy’s 180 against Australia in 2018.Root’s 166* is overall the fifth-highest individual score for England in men’s ODIs and their highest against West Indies.ESPNcricinfo Ltd6 Number of hundreds by Root in the 300-plus target chases in ODIs, the second-most by any batter, behind Virat Kohli’s nine. Four of those six tons by Root came in successful chases.9 Total hundreds for Root in ODIs in England, the most by any batter, going past Marcus Trescothick, who had eight.5 Centuries for Root in ODIs against West Indies, the joint second-most by any batter, behind Kohli’s nine hundreds. Root also went past 1000 runs against West Indies in ODIs on Sunday, the first batter with the milestone for England.15 Number of successful 300-plus chases for England in ODIs, the second-most by any team, going ahead of Australia (14) and only behind India (19).143 Partnership between Root and Will Jacks, the second-highest for the sixth wicket for England in ODIs, behind the 150 by Michael Vaughan and Geraint Jones against Zimbabwe in 2004.176 Runs that England needed in the second ODI after the fall of their fifth wicket. These are the most target runs that England have successfully chased in a men’s ODI after losing their fifth wicket. The previous highest was 167 runs against Pakistan in Birmingham in 2021, where they chased down 332 from 165 for 5.3 Hundreds for Keacy Carty in his last four ODI innings. Only Desmond Haynes (in 1984), Phil Simmons (in 1992) and Chris Gayle (in 2002 and 2008) had scored three centuries in the space of four ODI innings for West Indies before him.269 Total runs scored by Carty and Root while batting at No. 3 in Cardiff, the fourth-highest aggregate by the No. 3s in a men’s ODI. The highest is 339 by Ricky Ponting (164) and Herschelle Gibbs (175) at Johannesburg in 2006.

The technical flaws of their top order were in evidence in Perth. It’s not too late for them to do something about them

Greg Chappell24-Nov-2025The England dressing room on the final day of last week’s Perth Test must have resembled a building struck by a sudden, shattering explosion. One moment there was light, order, and a firm structure; the next, a deafening, visceral shock wave.It was more than a defeat; it was a systemic failure that felt like the lights had been plucked out. The silence that follows such a blast is rarely peaceful. It is instantly replaced by the sounds of the resulting chaos: the alarms begin to blare, smoke and dust swirl in a disorienting, suffocating cloud, and the structure groans under considerable damage.As the initial shock recedes, the occupants – Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum, and the rest of the squad – begin to grasp the new reality. They are hurt, disoriented, and the damage is real. But before they can even assess the situation fully, the cacophony begins. From the outside, the public, the pundits, and the media – the bystanders – start shouting. A wall of competing, frantic advice on which direction to run: Tear it all up! Sack the lot! Go back to old methods!Related

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But the leaders inside know that external noise is based on limited information and frustration. They look out of the windows and see the true dimensions of the crisis: on one side, a metaphorical wall of water threatens to drown the established culture; on the other, a fire of fundamental change risks burning down the positive gains of the last three years. And the structure, while damaged, is not a complete write-off.Panic is not the answer. Cold, calm discussion must take place, grounded in the unvarnished truth of the situation. McCullum and Stokes hold the leadership keys because they alone know the full extent of the structural damage, the vulnerabilities, and crucially, which areas of the edifice remain sound. They know that listening to the shouting outside will only lead them down a blind alley, or worse, cause them to add insult to injury by making the wrong decision.Their knowledge, the one unshakeable fact, is that, provided they do not succumb to panic, a perfectly safe escape from the situation still exists. It requires a balanced response, built not on fear but on a clear-eyed assessment of the facts.The biggest mistake England could make now is to discard the foundational game plan that has been built over the past three years. The key is to assess where the approach, sound in principle, went awry in execution against a ruthless Australian unit.For all the talk of a humbling loss, the truth is that England had many positives from the match and were, arguably, in a winning position more than once. Australia won because they were superior in three critical areas and had a more robust plan for the specific conditions in Perth: they had the best bowler in Mitchell Starc, the best batter in Travis Head, and the more tactically acute captain in Steven Smith.The most critical tactical error was the length they bowled in both innings. It is a mistake many touring teams have fallen for at the WACA and now at the new Optus Stadium. England’s bowlers, perhaps seduced by the bounce, bowled too short too often.

England’s top-order batters effectively move from one static stance to a new static position, with the front foot often finishing in front of middle stump. From this position, foot movement is severely restricted

Starc’s success was a masterclass in challenging the English batters’ tendency to drive on the up – a high-risk option in these conditions. By pitching the ball up, he forced them to commit to the drive or play a half-shot of the sort Zak Crawley played in the second innings, making them vulnerable to both the edge and any attempted drive.It is worth noting that Jofra Archer bowled the most consistent and challenging fuller length of the English attack in the first innings, troubling every Australian batter. Stokes’ own excellent figures, which came off a mixture of short and full deliveries, may have inadvertently clouded the collective judgement.This confusion proved fatal when Head strode out in the second innings. His intent to attack was obvious, yet England fell for the oldest trap in the book, dropping short and wide. By taking the full ball and the accompanying threats of bowled and lbw out of the equation, England effectively aided and abetted his brutal cause. What they desperately needed to do was pitch it up and force him to play the more difficult straighter shots down the ground.The task does not get easier. Brisbane, the venue for the next Test, will be different from Perth but equally difficult. The pink ball will swing and seam, and once again, the full ball will be the challenge.England must prepare for the home attack – Starc, Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett – to pitch it up relentlessly. The English bowlers must reciprocate. This is no time for tentative half-measures; the mantra for the bowling unit must be: if in doubt, pitch it up.A more worrying structural weakness lies in England’s top-order batting unit, which seems to have adopted a singular, uniform initial movement that will not serve them well against the swinging pink ball.Too many of the top-order batters make a definite, two-part movement: a substantial step back and across with the back foot, followed by the planting of the front foot. They move effectively from one static stance to a new static position, with the front foot often finishing in front of middle stump. From this position, foot movement is severely restricted. They become rooted, relying solely on their hands and arms to search for the ball. This is fraught with danger, particularly against a full, straight delivery, where they are forced to play around the front leg to access the ball.The response must start with technical adjustments from the key batters.Harry Brook seems to have introduced unnecessary complexity to his methods•Getty ImagesHarry Brook is a case study in unneeded complexity. His earlier, highly successful, method was simple, involving minimal movement, allowing him to use the bowlers’ angle against them. His current movement pattern has stripped him of scoring options, forcing him into riskier shots. He needs to go back to the tape, re-evaluate, and simplify.Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope both showed periods of resilience in Perth, offering a foundation upon which to build. They proved that the aggressive method can work, provided the footwork is precise and the shot selection is judicious.Pope has a similar problem to Root and Brook in that his initial movements leave his front leg exposed to full, straight deliveries. The commentators talked about his head falling over to the off regularly but they couldn’t explain why. These early movements cause him to take the leg to the line of the straighter deliveries, meaning that his head has to be to the off side of the ball. He needs to fix the leg issue before the head position will be addressed.Crawley is the batter who will have the most soul-searching to do. His “stand and deliver” driving method, while apparently aesthetically pleasing, will be no more successful in Brisbane than it was in Perth. He will not be able to change a lifetime’s habit in 12 days, so he has to be very disciplined with his selections, only driving at half-volleys and full tosses at the Gabba. Unless he can introduce genuine defence and leave the ball with confidence, his pain will only increase.The itinerary in the lead-up to the Brisbane Test must be strictly managed. The batters intended for the Brisbane XI must play the pink-ball game in Canberra to gain much-needed centre-wicket practice against the moving ball. At the same time, England’s entire bowling unit must dedicate practice time to relentlessly hitting a fuller length and forcing the Australian batters to drive.The analogy remains the ultimate instruction. The alarm bells are deafening. The outside noise is a constant, tempting distraction. But panic will lead to catastrophic decisions. Stokes and McCullum must maintain their equilibrium, trust the intelligence gathered in Perth – the positives, the evidence of clear errors – and formulate a balanced response. Going into their collective shell is not the answer; neither is continuing the helter-skelter approach mindlessly. Discipline and judicious decision-making are required to get back into this contest.The structure is sound enough to escape. But England must not listen to the shouts; they must learn the lessons. Only then can they hope to get back on the course, lest the race be over before the end of the first straight.

One of Vitor Matos’ first transfer targets at Swansea City has now confirmed that he’s received contact from the Jacks ahead of a potential January move.

Vitor Matos instantly pinpoints "clear" Swansea problem

It wasn’t the start that Matos had been dreaming of on Tuesday evening, as Derby County battled to defeat a struggling Swansea, who now sit just two points clear of the Championship’s dropzone.

The former Liverpool coach would have been well aware that it’s not a quick fix in Wales, however, and has already pinpointed one “clear” issue that the Jacks had against Derby.

It’s clear that the young manager learned a thing or two from Jurgen Klopp during his time at Anfield, given his counter-pressing approach, but whether he can instill that approach into his side by this weekend remains to be seen.

Swansea square off against West Bromwich Albion knowing that defeat could leave them in the relegation zone by the end of the weekend.

It’s a squad in desperate need of reinforcements and Matos can’t afford any passengers in his pressing system – making the January window crucial.

It’s then that the new manager could welcome his first signing in Wales after Finland’s Leo Walta revealed contact from Swansea ahead of the winter window.

Leo Walta "ready" for big move after Swansea contact

Following initial reports that Kim Hellberg wanted to bring him to Wales before the manager chose Middlesbrough in controversial fashion, Swansea have kept their interest in Walta alive.

The Sirius midfielder could yet become Matos’ first signing after revealing that he’s already had contact from Swansea. Speaking to reporters, the 22-year-old said: “Yes. Yes, I have heard (from them). That they like me as a player and are interested.

“It’s quite early, we’re still in November. I’m going through different options, and we also have to talk to Sirius about the winter. I’m ready for a good league and to take a place straight away. I am a pretty good player, in my opinion, and I want to take a big step and see how far I can go.”

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Still just 22 years old, Walta is undoubtedly one to watch, especially amid Swansea’s interest. The midfielder scored 17 goals and provided three assists in Sweden last season and could quickly become an impressive signing in Wales.

Already a Finland international, Walta is certainly ready to take the next step in his club career. Whether that results in a first signing for Matos remains to be seen, however.

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Dropped in West Indies, Australia’s long-time No. 3 has switched his focus on what he can do to be playing the Ashes

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Super-sub Labuschagne produced direct hit run-out

Marnus Labuschagne is feeling primed to start his push for a Test recall in time for the Ashes amid the ongoing debate about how Australia’s top three will shape up come Perth in late November.Labuschagne was dropped from the Test side for the first time since 2019 at the start of the recent series in West Indies having averaged 27.82 with one century over the previous two years.There had been some consideration given to him leaving that tour early in order to play either county cricket or for Australia A, but he ended up staying throughout, training extensively with the coaching staff, something he has continued since getting home to Brisbane.Related

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“This [being left out] has given me an opportunity to reflect and not having the pressure of the media saying, ‘Marnus has got to go’,” Labuschagne told in his first interview since losing his spot.”I mean that’s part of the game. There is a tipping point but it’s something I thrive on… proving the doubters wrong and being able to find a way. Missing those West Indies Tests gave me the chance to back and think, ‘This is where I want to be and this is how I’m going to get there’.”After the West Indies Tests, head coach Andrew McDonald said Labuschagne’s absence from the side “wasn’t going to be a huge gap.” He could make a return to Australia colours in the ODI series against South Africa later this month having been retained in that squad then will have three Sheffield Shield matches for Queensland before the Ashes side is named in mid-November.Should he make a compelling case for a recall, there remains the question of where he would return in the order with Cameron Green finishing strongly at No. 3 against West Indies in tough batting conditions although there is a scenario where Green drops back down the order should he be available to bowl.Labuschagne’s last Test before his omission saw him pushed up to open in the World Test Championship final against South Africa where he made 17 and 22 and he would gladly take on the role again should that provide his route back.”I would be happy to do that – I would love to,” he said. “If opener is where I need to bat to be playing in the Test team, that’s fine. If you had asked me where I prefer to bat obviously I have batted at three my whole career, but at this stage you don’t get a choice.”I opened in the World Test Championship final and felt I batted quite well. I got in but did not go on with it.”