A new “Ninety-90 Bash” league has been sanctioned in the UAE.
PSL finished its post-COVID leg of the tournament, and the IPL will soon have its post-COVID leg in the UAE ending just a few days before the T20 World Cup begins. The BCCI has even proposed a 10-team IPL or two IPLs in a year from next year.
Where does this stop? T10 & T20 leagues are popping left and right. Tournaments beginning, stopping, and resuming whenever they feel like. What is the result? Debatable rotation policies, career-threatening injuries, early retirements, and players choosing leagues over international cricket.
Champions League T20 (CLT20) was an intriguing experiment held between 2009-2014 that unearthed stars like Kieron Pollard. Modeled on European football, what could possibly go wrong when the best T20 teams in the world competed together?
Yet, even with such good intentions, the tournament failed—Cluttered international calendar, revenue shortfall, growing success of the IPL, and the initial failure of other leagues were prominent factors.
The strength of the IPL contract meant that if a player represented multiple teams that qualified, they would be obligated to play for their IPL team.
By 2013-14, it was evident that the Indian Premier League was miles ahead. In 2013 (MI vs RR) & 2014 (CSK vs KKR) editions, both finalists were IPL teams. In 2014, 3 out of the 4 semifinalists were IPL teams (KXIP). The domestic teams from Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and South Africa failed to get this far after a decent show between 2009-2012.
CLT20 catered towards the IPL, and that is why it failed.
Why is the Revival of the Champions League Needed?
Seven years later, it is time to rethink the T20 calendar. The Big Bash is now a decade old. CPL & BPL are 8 years strong. PSL is 5 years old, and even Sri Lanka, South Africa, and England have formed stable leagues.
Half a decade ago, there were just a few T20 specialists—Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge, AB De Villiers, Yusuf Pathan, and the World Cup winning West Indies generation. Now we have T20 specialists everywhere like Babar Azam, Tom Banton, Finn Allen, Dawid Malan, Tim Seifert, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, James Vince, Alex Hales, Paul Stirling, David Wiese, Rovman Powell—talented players that do not make the XI or even squads of the IPL teams.
Last year, Trinbago Knight Riders were undefeated to their CPL title –12 consecutive wins. Imagine a TKR versus Mumbai Indians Champions League battle? Will be a cracker of the contest if it is a fair contest—Which team does Trinbago’s captain Pollard play for?
How Can The International and T20 Calendar Coexist?
Here are some possible solutions:
If the player is contracted by a national team, they should be obligated to represent their domestic T20 league in case of a conflict. Hence, Pollard would play for TKR instead of MI.
For a nationally contracted player, maximum of 3 leagues per year should be enforced. This would keep conflicts to a minimum.
Boards should accept responsibility and postpone the league till next year’s window in case the league is suspended.
This would lead to an interesting mix of international players in the leagues. Since NZ/Australia do not play much between June-October, players might choose IPL-the Hundred/CPL-BBL, while English players might choose PSL-IPL-The Hundred.
The Ideal Cricket Calendar
ICC has announced its tournament calendar for the next eight years. Each year, either a T20 WC, ODI WC, World Test Championship Final, or Champions Trophy will occur. A couple of months should be sidelined as the pinnacle of the international calendar.
Here is how the T20 calendar stands so far:
Country
Tournament
Months
Years
Bangladesh
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)
January – February
2012-
Pakistan
Pakistan Super League (PSL)
February – March
2016-
India
Indian Premier League (IPL)
March – May
2008-
Canada
Global T20 Canada (GT20)
June – July
2018-
England
T20 Vitality Blast
July – September
2003-
England
The Hundred
July – August
2021-
West Indies
Caribbean Premier League (CPL)
August – September
2013-
Afghanistan
Shpageeza Cricket League/ Afghanistan Premier League (APL)
September – October
2013- 2018-
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
T10 League
November – December
2017 –
Sri Lanka
Lanka Premier League (LPL)
November – December
2020-
South Africa
Mzansi Super League (MSL)
November – December
2018-
New Zealand
Super Smash
December – January
2005-
Australia
Big Bash League (BBL)
December – February
2011 –
If the Champions League needs to be revived, September-October is an ideal month subject to the dates of world tournaments that year.
The debate between T20 leagues and international cricket is over. The leagues are here to stay, so why not coexist in a peaceful manner? At the moment, everything is disorganized, so why not organize it for the greater good of cricket.
Champions League History (2009-2014)
Year
Host
# of Teams (# of Nations)
Winners
Runners-Up
Teams
2009
India
12 (7)
New South Wales (AUS)
Trinidad and Tobago (WI)
New South Wales, Victorian Bushrangers (AUS) Sussex Sharks, Somerset Sabres (ENG) Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils (IND) Otago Volts (NZ) Cape Cobras, Diamond Eagles (SA) Trinidad and Tobago (WI) Wayamba (SL)
2010
South Africa
10 (6)
Chennai Super Kings (IND)
Warriors (SA)
Victorian Bushrangers, Southern Redbacks (AUS) Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore (IND) Central Districts Stags (NZ) Warriors, Highveld Lions (SA) Wayamba Elevens (SL) Guyana (WI)
2011
India
10 (5)
Mumbai Indians (IND)
Royal Challengers Bangalore (IND)
Southern Redbacks, New South Wales Blues (AUS) Somerset (England) Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians (IND) Warriors, Cape Cobras (SA) Trinidad and Tobago (WI)
World Test Championship Final Review – Welcome to my 150th article! New Zealand lift the World Test Championship trophy via Jamieson, Conway, Williamson-Taylor show.
After two long, pandemic induced years, the inaugural World Test Championship has finally come to an end. The Kiwis are the world champions, and they thoroughly deserved it.
Traditional English rain, Dinesh Karthik’s meteorology/commentating debut, gritty Test match batting, tall and lanky fast bowlers, de Grandhomme’s hair, a reserve sixth day coming into play, BJ Watling’s retirement, a bit of Ashwin—we saw it all.
The run-rate might have been slow, but the tussle between the top two Test teams was intense. Bowlers bowling consistently in the channel & fighting it out. Great exhibition of Test cricket, ebb and flow throughout.
Here is the World Test Championship Final Review—Match summary, review of India and New Zealand’s key performers, a THANK YOU to our audience, WTC Prediction Results, 3-match Final Debate, Stats, and WTC XI!
Before we dive into “What Went Wrong For India” or “How did NZ Win,” let us discuss what made this Test match riveting. Amidst the rain when nobody expected a result, the fast bowlers from both team delivered.
Commentators had analyzed why Shami had been ‘unlucky’ in the last tour of England. Bowled beautifully but without any returns. Not anymore. In one of his later spells in the first innings, he changed the game. The BJ Watling bowled was the ball of the match. Ishant Sharma was at his consistent best. The way he bowled maidens after maidens to Devon Conway, which prompted an uncharacteristic loose shot, was brilliant. Even though Bumrah was not at his best, his final day spell almost brought India back if not for the Pujara drop.
R Ashwin will definitely go down as an all-time best. He has rediscovered himself of late, ending up as the highest wicket-taker in the WTC. Performed across all conditions, saved a Test match in Sydney, scored a century anplug 9 wickets in his home, Chennai, and kept India in the game in the 4th innings (10-5-17-2).
New Zealand – An All-Time Attack
What are the best all-time attacks? Think West Indies’ 1980s generation, Australia’s 2000s attack, Steyn-Morkel-Rabada-Philander for that one series, Anderson-Broad, and India now getting there.
Southee-Boult-Wagner-Jamiesonsurely rank among the top. Southee’s ball to dismiss Rohit Sharma was an epic change-up in his 4-fer. Boult chipped in with Pujara, Jadeja, Rahane, & Pant’s wickets. Wagner’s intensity was breathtaking and his setup of Rahane & Jadeja was magnificent. Jamieson took the wickets but his economy rate is what suffocated India. An economy of 1.40 after 22 overs in the 1st innings and 1.25 after 25 overs in the second took the steam out of the Indian batting. Add Colin de Grandhomme in these conditions, there was no respite on offer.
India
1. Rohit Sharma As an Overseas Test Opener: Great or Just OK?
Rohit Sharma was criticized for his Southee leave in the 2nd innings that had him LBW, just a few overs before close on the penultimate day.
Sharma has come into his own as a Test opener in the last couple of years. With 2679 runs in 39 Tests with 7-100s, 12-50s, and a best of 212, this looks like pretty decent career after a bumpy start.
The criticism comes from the lack of hundreds in recent overseas Tests.
Overall Record (last year): 44.83 average, 161 Vs England
Overseas Innings (last year): 26 (77) & 52 (98), 44 (74) & 7 (21), and 34 (68) & 30 (81) in the WTC Final
I think he did his job pretty well. Think Aakash Chopra 2003 or Joe Denly 2019rather than Sehwag-esque performance. Rohit tired the bowlers and took the shine off the new ball but has not been hitting those daddy hundreds fans at home have become accustomed to. Just the batters after him did not follow suit and NZ have four world-class bowlers to rotate through.
Shubman Gill has always looked calm, composed, and classy on the crease in his little career, but only 3 fifties in 15 innings with the best of 91 shows that Indian openers have a conversion problem.
2. The Pujara-Rahane Conundrum
Pujara
What can India do about Pujara & Rahane? Pujara’s 8 (54) & 15 (80) in the final does not inspire much confidence. His last three centuries came on that 2018 Australia tour. In this WTC cycle, he has hit nine fifties, played those against the pressure innings, taken some blows, and became a perfect foil to Pant in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but nothing in between.
Rahane
Rahane top-scored for India in the first-innings with a good-looking 49 (117) & briefly revived India with 15 (40). The concerning matter is his dismissals. First innings, Wagner had employed his troops into position. Short ball barrage was about to begin. First ball, Rahane top edges but safe. India 182-5. Next, another short ball, a lose pull, straight to the fielder. Rahane trapped. India collapse. 217-all out.
Second innings – same story. From 72-4 to 109. Good looking shots. Mini-revival after Pujara-Kohli were dismissed and Pant was dropped by Southee. Then out of the blue, he gets caught behind on the leg-side by Trent Boult. Just manages to get out in different ways.
Apart from his glorious overseas hundreds (& 96) or the twin tons in Delhi, there is not much to show. With KL Rahul, Hanuma Vihari, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Mayank Agarwal in line, questions will be asked of the vice-captain.
Meanwhile Kohli’s hunt for his elusive 71st ton continues. His 44 was actually a good innings, but he did not convert either. When none of your middle order goes big, you are not going to win a Test, especially a final.
India 5/182 to 10/217 & 5/142 to 10/170. Ten wickets combined within 63 runs. New Zealand 5-162 to 10-249. 87 runs via Jamieson, Southee, & Boult.
That was the difference.
India has become a world-beater team with fast bowlers galore & growing depth over the past couple of years, but they have yet to counter the Sam Currans or Kyle Jamiesons.
New Zealand
1. Conway & Jamieson: Cricket Is A Piece of Cake
International cricket is a piece of cake for Devon Conway & Kyle Jamieson, isn’t it?
Conway
In the context of tough low-scoring match, a 70-run opening partnership between Latham and Conway was crucial. Conway’s 54 (153) was the highest score of New Zealand’s first innings. His mode of dismissal would concern him, but otherwise, pretty good start this.
3 Tests, 379 runs, 63.16 average, 1-100, 2-50s, best of 200 (at Lord’s debut)
3 ODIs, 225 runs, 75.00 average, 1-100, 1-50, best of 126
14 T20Is, 473 runs, 59.12 average, 4-50s, best of 99*
Jamieson
What about Jamieson, the man of the hour? He was literally head and shoulders above everyone. Rohit, Kohli, Pant among his first-inning wickets, 30-run 7th wicket partnership with a 21 (16), and finally breaking the game with Pujara-Kohli wickets on the final morning.
2. When The Time Comes, Kane Williamson & Ross Taylor Deliver
Kane Williamson & Ross Taylor are the two senior pros of the New Zealand batting lineup. Taylor has been there for 15 years, through unfortunate run-outs, tied finals, DRS decisions, captaincy controversies. In ICC knockouts, both have scored a few 30s and 40s, but never a match-changing innings.
Cometh the hour, cometh the men.
Williamson’s scratchy 49 (177) exuded his class. Despite not timing the ball and struggling, he stayed in the game and stitched the partnerships that got New Zealand to a respectable total.
In the fourth innings chase, the Kiwis were struggling at 44/2 in 20 overs. R Ashwin at the other end operating with his guile. Anything could have happened. The senior statesmen soaked in the pressure, with dot balls and maiden overs building.
After surviving the rough patch, they rotated the strike. A few overs later, the singles & doubles turned into boundaries. Couple of dropped catches signaled the end. Finally, the moment came with Ross Taylor hitting the winning runs. A fairytale script. What’s more? An iconic picture of brothers-in-arm to cap it off.
3. Catches Win Matches Feat Tom Latham & Henry Nicholls
In the preview, we said to watch out for Tom Latham & Henry Nicholls, the New Zealand of the New Zealand team. Nobody ever talks about them, but they have been consistent performers in the last couple of years. With the bat, except for Latham’s 30, there was not much of note.
It is the fielding where these two came alive. Latham’s three catches and fielding efforts almost saved 35+ runs. Nicholls’ running backwards-diving catch off Pant was the moment of the match for me. India’s hopes ended with that catch.
And what about BJ Watling? Perfection behind the stumps in the first innings (no byes given) and kept wickets through injury in the second. The runs might not have come, but New Zealand’s greatest ever keeper retires on a high.
Little contributions, but in a close low-scoring affair, these moments makes the difference.
The Moment
Ecstasy. Team spirit. Absolute Joy.
Here are some of my takes from the final moment:
Tribute to the Legendary Commentating Crew
From a fan’s point of view, the commentating and analysis put this final on another level. The Sky Sports crew has always been amazing with Nasser Hussain & Michael Atherton, but Ian Bishop, Sunil Gavaskar, Kumar Sangakkara, Isa Guha, Simon Doull, and debutant Dinesh Karthik took it to another level.
Analyzing batting techniques, debating who won each session, and playful sledging at its very best. Mohammad Shami’s “chances created vs wickets” analysis was especially intriguing.
Here is a look from DK, the weatherman, on the first couple of days updating social media with regular Twitter & Instagram updates.
Before I move to the Prediction Results section of the article, a brief thank you to our viewers. We have reached our daddy hundred—the 150 is up!
I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you for the support. The Broken Cricket Dream blog began exactly 11 months ago, when the 1st Test between West Indies & England ended. What a chase that was.
The Broken Dreams
That game reminded me of the love of the sport, what I had been missing in the months right after the coronavirus hit. So the journey began, word by word, paragraph by paragraph, blog post by post. The goal of this platform was to share our own dreams, hopes, and love of the game with each other. We all have dreamt of being a cricketer at some point in time but life does not go to plan. That is okay though, things happen for the better. Here is a list of Broken Dreams by our fellow cricket lovers. For me, writing about cricket itself is a dream come true.
None of this would have been possible without our fans and followers. I thoroughly enjoy the discussions and little debates. Keep them coming. Love the interaction!
Anyway, 150 articles and 158,000 words later, Broken Cricket Dreams is still going strong and will continue to grow. We have now spread to several social media platforms. Feel free to check them out below. COMMENT BELOW of your thoughts on the WTC Final, your Broken Dreams, or any feedback!
If you want some encouragement and life lessons from cricket, check these out:
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World Test Championship Final Review – Prediction Results
The Comments
Andrew Williamson: “Just hoping the winner isn’t going to be Noah and his Ark. If there is enough play, I think New Zealand have the attack to trouble India, on what should be a track with a fair bit in it for the quicks. Kane or Taylor will have to go for NZ to succeed.”
Halsey Nim: “May need a sporting declaration somewhere along the way.”
Jonny: “Pujara vital for India (assume they bat first as NZ best chance is to put them in), Ashwin with important late runs, Boult to shine. Latham grinds out runs, Kane obs, BJ won’t want to fail. Indian wickets spread evenly. Kohli 100 2nd innings. NZ fall just short…”
The criteria is the player has to be the best at that position. Kane Williamson & Labuschagne both were excellent #3s, but I had to pick Labuschagne at the expense of the WTC winning captain. Labuschagne was the best batter in the WTC – most runs (1675), most hundreds (5), and fifties (9).
Jamieson & Labuschagne were the finds of this WTC cycle, so they walk in the XI.
Rohit Sharma just edges out Dean Elgar for the opening spot. I was tempted to go with Elgar since South Africa is a tougher place for openers, but with Karunaratne already at the top, I went with a left-right, defensive-aggressive combination. Both Root & Smith were excellent, but Smith’s iconic 774 runs in the Ashes puts him at the coveted #4 position.
Middle Order
The #5-7 spots were interesting. Ben Stokes’ Headingly show, relentless bowling spells, and 4 tons/6 fifties gives him the all-rounder spot. I initially had Rahane, the fifth highest scorer in the WTC and highest for India but instead, went with both Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Rizwan. Pant has mastered a couple of iconic chases, and Rizwan has been a revelation in the last year with his overseas rearguard innings. Quinton de Kock was also close behind in the keepers race.
Bowlers
Finally, the bowlers were the toughest to pick. My XI coincidentally had good batters as well. Mohammad Shami (40 wickets at 20.47), Josh Hazlewood (47 @ 20.54), Neil Wagner (35 @ 22.97), Jimmy Anderson (39 @ 19.51), Tim Southee (56 @ 20.82), Ishant Sharma (39 @ 17.75) had better averages, Anrich Nortje & Kemar Roach were brilliant throughout. I have not even talked about Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Shaheen Shah Afridi—all wonderful bowlers who had a decent couple of years without lighting the world on fire.
What an era to live in.
World Test Championship Combined XI
Dimuth Karunaratne (C)
Rohit Sharma
Marnus Labuschagne
Steve Smith
Ben Stokes
Rishabh Pant (WK)
Mohammad Rizwan
Ravichandran Ashwin
Kyle Jamieson
Pat Cummins
Stuart Broad
Tim Southee
For more World XIs, check out the articles below!
World Test Championship Statistics
Finally to cap it off, here are the statistics. Ashwin went up to #1, Rahane and Rohit Sharma remained at #5 & #6 respectively. Rahaen, Taylor, Watling, and Pant show up in the catches/dismissals section.
Most Runs
Most Wickets
Most Catches
Most Dismissals
Marnus Labuschagne – 1675
Ravichandran Ashwin – 67
Joe Root – 34
Tim Paine – 65
Joe Root – 1660
Pat Cummins – 70
Steve Smith – 27
Quinton de Kock – 50
Steve Smith – 1341
Stuart Broad – 69
Ben Stokes – 25
Jos Buttler – 50
Ben Stokes – 1334
Tim Southee – 56
Ajinkya Rahane – 23
BJ Watling – 48
Ajinkya Rahane – 1159
Nathan Lyon – 56
Ross Taylor – 21
Rishabh Pant – 41
World Test Championship Final Review – Statistics
Best Scores
Best Bowling Figures
David Warner – 335* (Vs Pakistan – Adelaide)
Lasith Embuldeniya – 7/137 (Vs England – Galle)
Zak Crawley – 267 (Vs Pakistan – Southampton)
Ravichandran Ashwin – 7/145 (Vs South Africa – Visakhapatnam)
“Start by doing what’s necessary. Then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible,” said Francis of Assisi about 800 years ago.
India women did just that, holding England to an improbable draw.
Women’s Tests A Rarity
Due to an increased fan following in women’s cricket since the 2017 ODI World Cup, recent emphasis has been on limited overs cricket, expansion of the game via T20 World Cup, and a potential game changer in Women’s Hundred.
Since resources have been spent in marketing the limited overs game, women’s Test cricket has disappeared in the background.
England play only one Test match every couple of years in the Ashes against Australia. Indian women had it even worse—they were playing their first test after 7 years and only their third in 15 years.
We did not know how it will pan out. Will India struggle with the lack of match practice? Will they remain unbeaten in Tests in England? How would teams cope with a used pitch?
Summary
Electing to bat first, England posted a solid 396/9 declared courtesy their senior players: Beaumont’s 66, captain Heather Knight’s 95, Nat Sciver’s 42, and debutant’s Sophie Dunkley’s 74.
Openers Smriti Mandhana & Shafali Verma would form a record 167-partnership, before India collapsed for 231. England enforced the follow-on with India 165 runs still behind & 135 overs still left in the game.
Rana-Bhatia’s Performance of the Ages
In the second innings, they started by doing the necessary. The top order repeated its fight with contributions from Verma, Raut, and Sharma before they collapsed from 171-2 to 199-7 in 73.3 overs. What’s more, India’s last recognized batter, Harmanpreet Kaur departed. With 50 overs still to go, little did anyone expect that India would survive.
Then they did what was possible. Stitch out partnerships. Play ball-by-ball. Stall the time. An hour later, Shikha Pandey departed after a fighting 18 (50).
What followed was a performance of a lifetime, a magnificent rearguard effort between Taniya Bhatia & Sneh Rana—104* (185) partnership. Suddenly, India were doing the impossible.
Rana scored 80* (154) & Bhatia provided ample support with 44* (88) to deny England a routine victory.
Patience, grit, determination on show. Bravo India women!
Debutants Dare to Dream
The experienced duo, Mithali Raj & Harmanpreet Kaur, scored a paltry 18 runs in 4 innings. To achieve the impossible, India’s youngsters were thrown in the deep end, similar to the Border-Gavaskar series in men’s cricket.
Not only did the newer generation star, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana, and Taniya Bhatia were actually making their Test debuts for the India women team. Sophia Dunkley, whose 74* revived England from 251-6 to 396/9 declared, was debuting for England.
Shafali became the youngest women (17 years & 139 days) cricketer and second overall after Sachin Tendulkar to score fifties in both innings—96 & 63.
Promoted from #7 in the 1st innings to #3 in the 2nd, Sharma brought India back in the game with mature knocks of 29* & 54 to go along with 3/65.
Rana’s 4/131 & 80* Bhatia’s 44* saves India.
Vastrakar contributed with 1/53.
Ecclestone Bowls Herself To the Ground
The English bowlers were in the field for two and a half days!
Sophie Ecclestone took the bulk of the responsibilities, bowling 26 overs (out of 81.5) in the first innings and 38 (out of 121 overs) in the second. She ended up figures of 4-88 & 4-118.
Kudos to her for giving it her best shot. Can take some rest now. Already a T20 star, the 22-year old has the potential to be an all-time England great.
Time For 5-Day Tests In Women’s Cricket?
At the end of the 4th day, the captains shook hands with 12 overs to go. India were 179 runs ahead at 344/8.
Imagine a potential day 5—England’s target around 200 runs with 80 overs to go. All 4 results possible. Mouth-watering scenario, isn’t it? Well it isn’t entirely possible when you only have a 4-day Test.
Captain Heather Knight commented that the lack of 5th day “robbed of that finish,” and they would definitely be open for 5-day Tests. Mithali Raj had a more practical suggestion, “It’s a good idea to have a five-day Test but we actually have to start Test matches regularly.”
Why not combine both? Teams that traditionally play consistent Test cricket (Australia & England) should be allowed to experiment with 5-day Tests and pink-ball Tests. On the other hand, teams like India should not be searching for Test match opportunities every seven or eight years. Why not have one mandatory 4-day Test per bilateral series for teams like India, South Africa, and New Zealand? This way, more seasoned cricketers will get Test match experience and cricket boards will get the chance to focus on the marketing aspect of Women’s Test cricket.
Who knows, maybe a Women’s World Test Championship is just what is needed to provide context.
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After two long years of Test cricket & coronavirus interruption, the World Test Championship Final is finally here.
Rising Kiwis are slightly better prepared against world beaters India with a series against England. India has been in England for a few weeks due to quarantine but have only played an internal practice match.
Two of the best teams on show, finally some context for Test cricket, BJ Watling’s retirement, but will rain spoil it all?
The idea of the World Test Championship is not a new one.
World Test Championship was supposed to become a reality in 2009, 2013, & 2017, but each of those iterations were cancelled in favor of much more lucrative, ICC ODI Champions Trophy.
Imagine an Indian team comprising of Sehwag, Sachin, Dravid, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan competing against McCullum’s 2015 team or even better, the golden South African era of Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, AB De Villiers, & Dale Steyn earlier in the decade.
Anyway, World Test Championship finally came into existence in 2019 and began with the England-Australia Ashes series. 58 matches later, India and New Zealand are deservedly in the finals, carrying bench strengths of envy.
25% spectator capacity will be allowed in the stadium.
ICC Changes implemented
The new ICC playing conditions are now in place. Two of the most prominent for this match will be:
The LBW zone for DRS umpire call decisions has been shifted a little bit. It would be interesting to see how many LBW decisions are overturned in this Test match.
A reserve sixth day will be utilized in case all possible overs are not recovered during the five days. Looks highly likely that the sixth day will come into play.
There is a 100% rain forecast for the first four days of the Tests and then down to 80% and 70% for the couple of days after. Well, it is England….
Recent ICC Record
Here is a recent ODI & T20I World Cup history for India and New Zealand. Both teams have underwhelmed over the past decade given their talent. Since 2007, here is how the teams stack up.
India At ICC Events
Champions Trophy – Winner (2013), Runners-Up (2017)
ODI World Cup – Winner (2011), Semi-finals (2015), Semi-finals (2019)
T20I World Cup – Winner (2007), Runners-Up (2014), Semi-finals (2016)
New Zealand At ICC Events
Champions Trophy – Runners-Up (2009)
ODI World Cup – Semi-finals (2007), Semi-finals (2011), Runners-Up (2015), Runners-Up (2019)
T20I World Cup – Semi-finals (2007), Semi-finals (2016)
These records are meaningless because tomorrow is a new day and Test cricket is just another beast.
India began by routing West Indies in the Caribbean, before securing points at home against lackluster South Africa & Bangladesh teams.
Then came the tours Down Under. While Kiwis routed India in swing bowling conditions, India delivered a masterclass of ages in Australia. After 36/9 in Adelaide, Rahane’s century resurrected India in Melbourne. Then, the Pujara-Pant-Vihari-Ashwin show ensured India survived the 3rd Test, and the youngsters Shardul-Sundar-Pant-Siraj broke the Gabba fort to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Finally, the England home series was a completely one-sided event even after Joe Root’s classic gave England a headstart at Chennai. Ashwin’s all-round magic at home & Axar Patel’s memorable debut ensured India ease past England.
World Test Championship Final Preview – India’s Road To Glory
*Signifies away series
New Zealand
New Zealand’s road to glory was much more formulaic.
The Kiwis started with away tours of Sri Lanka & Australia. While they put on a good show in New Zealand, winning one match, they were hammered in Australia (barring Neil Wagner’s intense series).
At home, it was same old. Swinging conditions. Boult, Southee, and debutant of the year, Kyle Jamieson, wrecked havoc against India and West Indies. Only Pakistan provided any semblance of resistance with Fawad Alam’s classic fourth innings ton going in vain with four overs left in the Test match.
World Test Championship Final Preview – New Zealand’s Road To Glory
World Test Championship Final Preview – The Teams
India
Watch out for Ajinkya Rahane. He has a tendency to perform when it matters the most although his lack of consistency is frustrating. Rahane’s leadership & century in Melbourne was the catalyst for India in the memorable Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Since then, his form has gone hiding. England will bring back nice personal memories, and he is probably India’s best batter in swinging conditions. It is high time he shows up.
There were rumors that Mohammad Siraj would play in place of one of Mohammad Shami or Ishant Sharma, but that did not happen. India’s bowling has variety with Bumrah’s accuracy, Ishant’s seam, and Shami’s reverse swing. Looking forward to watch Ishant, who is in his 4th and most rewarding phase of his career. His 7-74 at Lord’s in the last tour was especially spectacular.
Tributes have started flowing in for BJ Watling in his retirement match. This one is my favorite, especially his mom’s statement. Watling has been a symbol of this rising team’s resilience and stability. Always solid behind the stumps, he will go down as Kiwis’s greatest keeper, but what I will miss the most is his rearguard action. NZ’s middle order rarely collapsed, but when it did, Watling was at the rescue. The question is, does he have one fighting innings left in him?
This is a very understated team, but do you know who is the New Zealand in the New Zealand team?Tom Latham & Henry Nicholls. When the Conways, Williamsons, or Taylors make huge scores around them, you can guarantee that Latham-Nicholls will provide ample solid support. Expect one of them to rise to the occasion in the finals.
Watch Out For
Sharma-Shubman Vs Pace brigade of Boult-Southee-Jamieson: This might as well set the tone for this match. A Mumbai Indians mini-match between Boult & Rohit Sharma.
Latham-Conway-Nicholls Vs R Ashwin: Ashwin has been India’s most successful bowler in this WTC cycle and has performed across all conditions (with both bat and ball). Conway is in the form of his life and the Kiwis have 2 other left-hand batters in the Top 5. Expect to see a lot of Ashwin.
The slip catching.England’s dropped catches were on show in the last series and they have been one of the worst slip catching sides in the past two years. So I am glad Ind-NZ are playing this week. Both teams have legendary fast bowlers, so the ball will go to the slips more than usual. Rest assured, the catches will be taken. Rahane, Taylor, Rohit, Kohli, Latham should do the job.
Starting XIs
India
India has revealed its XI ahead of time. Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Mayank Agarwal all played crucial roles in the lead up to the WTC Finals, but unfortunately did not make the final XI. This is also the first time that Jadeja-Ashwin-Sharma-Shami-Bumrah will play together. What a mouth-watering lineup.
Squad: Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj
New Zealand
New Zealand’s lineup selects itself, but the crucial question is the #7-8 spot. Matt Henry, Neil Wagner, & Ajaz Patel performed admirably in the England series and Colin de Grandhomme has been out for a while, so will they go for a four-fast bowler strategy? Ajaz Patel should have done enough in the England series for a spin option in this Southampton pitch.
Tom Latham, Devon Conway, 3. Kane Williamson*, 4. Ross Taylor, 5. Henry Nicholls, 6. BJ Watling (WK), 7. Colin de Grandhomme/Kyle Jamieson/Matt Henry, 8. Tim Southee, 9. Neil Wagner, 10. Trent Boult, 11. Ajaz Patel
Squad: Will Young, Tom Blundell (WK)
Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Doug Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, and Rachin Ravindra failed to make the final cut.
Prediction
I honestly cannot see a way past the weather. Both teams have excellent bowling options, so unless both teams suffer collapses twice, a result would be very hard to attain.
Would love if we get a full game, but for now, going with a Draw.
Verdict: Draw 0-0
If the game does happen, what am I excited for the most? Neil Wagner’s intensity, Colin de Grandhomme’s hairdo, Williamson-Kohli-Southee’s continuing journey from U-19 World Cup, Pujara-Pant combination, Ross Taylor’s wisdom, an emotional sunset to Watling’s wonderful career, and in general, just a hard-fought sporting final.
India
New Zealand
MVP
Ajinkya Rahane
Henry Nicholls
Most Runs
Rohit Sharma
Tom Latham
Most Wickets
Ishant Sharma
Tim Southee
X-Factor
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ajaz Patel
Verdict
Draw
Draw
World Test Championship Final Preview – Prediction
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Also comment below with out thoughts on this Alternative World Test Championship Table!
COPYRIGHT @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X, 06/18/2021; Email at bcd@brokencricketdreams.com
World Test Championship Records
Are there are records that can be broken in the World Test Championship Final?
Batting
It is really interesting that even though NZ made it to the finals, there is nobody in the top 15 run-scorer. Combination of several players standing up and the fact that NZ did not play as many games. Kane Williamson is at 16th with 817 runs and Tom Latham is 25th with 680 runs.
India, on the other hand, have 5 batters in the Top 15:
Rahane – 1095 (5th)
Rohit Sharma – 1030 (6th)
Kohli – 877 (11th)
Agarwal – 857 (12th)
Pujara – 818 (15th)
Bowling
Ashwin is on #3 with 67 wickets and Southee is New Zealand’s best at #5 with 51 wickets.
Kyle Jamieson – 36 (12th)
Ishant Sharma – 36 (13th)
Mohammad Shami – 36 (14th)
Jasprit Bumrah – 34 (16th)
Trent Boult – 34 (18th)
Neil Wagner – 32 (20th)
Fielding and Dismissals
Both teams are pretty close on this list with BJ Watling – 43 dismissals (4th) and Rishabh Pant – 40 (5th).
In terms of catches, Rahane – 22 catches (4th) and Ross Taylor – 18 (5th) are at the top with Rohit Sharma – 16 (6th) and Virat Kohli – 16 (7th) close behind. New Zealand’s next best is Tom Latham – 14 (12th).
England Vs New Zealand 2021 Test Series Review – Short but good nevertheless.
Devon Conway & Will Young eased into Test cricket, New Zealand tried their options for the World Test Championship Final, and England lost some options as they gear up for the India series & the must awaited Ashes later this season.
Tim Southee – 7 wickets (1 match only) (best innings – 6/43, best match – 7/80, 11.42 average)
England Vs New Zealand 2021 Series Stats
Highlights
England
England’s batting continues to go down hill after the 1st test against India. They have now lost 4 and drawn 1 in the past five Tests (2 at home, 4 away). All the hopes and dreams after away series wins in South Africa and Sri Lanka are crashing down quickly.
The Batting: England’s Batting Averages Just Not Good Enough
One of the highlights of Kimber’s analysis was Rory Burns has been a stable cog in this English lineup despite the poor numbers. He scored a brilliant ton and almost carried the bat in this series, which increased his Test average to 33.23 with 3 hundreds and 9 fifties. Not the best stats after 25 Tests, but the Sibley-Rory partnership has done a decent job in the past couple of years. Well, not quite Strauss-Cook, but the standards have been so low recently that a Burns century should be rightly celebrated.
Zak Crawley’s scores in this series—2 & 2, 0 & 17. Not good enough for a #3 batter at home. I hope England persist with him but he needs to meet them halfway, nothing of note since that 267.
Ollie Pope looks like Ian Bell, bats like Ian Bell, but I hope he starts converting like Ian Bell. Beautiful 20s and 30s can only get you so far—think James Vince (22 & 20*, 19 & 23 this series).
The batting averages of England’s main batters are far from impressive. Joe Root’s overall average is great, but has been struggling at home for quite a while now.
Rory Burns (33.23), Dom Sibley (30.78), Zak Crawley (29.33), Joe Root (48.68), Ollie Pope (31.50), Jos Buttler (34.53), Ben Stokes (37.04).
Commentator Nasser Hussain did not mince any words in the post-series analysis, urging their batters to get back to basics and avoid funny techniques. The current England batters have the mindset that:
“Everyone else that has played the game in the history of the game. Viv Richards you were wrong. Everyone is wrong, we are right.”
Debutants Ollie Robinson & James Bracey had contrasting series. Although Robinson had a brilliant debut, both with the bat and bowl (highest wicket-taker for England in just 1 match), he was suspended from international cricket due to resurfacing controversial tweets. Poor Bracey had a tough debut series – 0, 0 & 8. Broken Dreams for both.
The senior fast bowlers were the only positives of the series. Mark Wood impressed…with the bat. He was among the wickets and consistently bowled his heart out as usual but his 41 & 29 in the 2nd Test showed England that the pitch does not contain any demons.
The old Stuart Broad showed up. In the 2nd Test, it seems that one of those spells was just around the corner. One of the bright lights in the series. Definitely got a couple more years left in him.
Jimmy Anderson was not as sharp this series, with just 3 wickets and averaging 68.66. Surpassed Alastair Cook as the most capped Test player for England-162 Tests. Take a bow.
New Zealand
The Debutants Star
In every series review, I highlight a couple of standout performers of the series. Guess what? In EVERY New Zealand series over the last year, Devon Conway has made the series headlines. T20I debut? Conquered. ODI debut? Check. Test debut at Lord’s? Double century and almost carries the bat. What else is there to say? 76.50 Test average, 75.00 ODI average, 59.12 T20I average. 1-200, 1-100, 4-50s in just 18 innings. Brilliant.
Will Young is continuing his good touch. Scored his maiden T20I fifty against Bangladesh recently and was picked in the 2nd Test after Williamson’s injury on the basis of a couple of centuries in County Cricket. Missed his century by 18 runs, but has finally found his feet in international cricket. He his here to stay.
Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, and Neil Wagner all impressed with whatever chances they got.
Henry picked 3/78 & 3/36 to bag the player of the match in the 2nd Test
Ajaz Patel’s control and guile were impressive with figures of 2/34 & 2/25.
Neil Wagner bowled line and length more than his usual bouncers. Not unplayable but impactful for sure. Should edge Kyle Jamieson/Matt Henry for the WTC Final spot.
Senior Pros Provide Solid Support
Tim Southee is gearing up to the WTC Final with a superb series. After having re-invented himself in T20Is this year, he has found his swing, line, & length again.
Ross Taylor, one of New Zealand’s greatest, justified that tagline with a 80 in the 2nd Test. The beauty of that innings was he was nowhere close to his best. Stuart Broad was beating his edge right and left, but he survived and capitalized later on. In contrast, England’s batting collapsed to 76-7 and none of the batters had the will to fight it out like Taylor did.
Unfortunately for BJ Watling, he suffered a minor back injury on the eve of the 2nd Test and missed out. Hope he is ready for his swansong in the World Test Championship final.
In addition to Rory Burns’ 81 in the 2nd Test, the only criticism for New Zealand I could find would be the lack of conversion for three batters (Conway 80, Young 82, Taylor 80).
Awards
England
New Zealand
Emerging Player
Ollie Robinson
Devon Conway & Will Young
Surprise Package
Mark Wood, the batsman
Matt Henry & Ajaz Patel
Broken Cricket Dream
Ollie Robinson, Zak Crawley
BJ Watling
England Vs New Zealand 2021 Series Awards
Where Do They Go From Here?
New Zealand will be in the World Test Championship Final starting tomorrow.
Apart from the various leagues in the next few months which will keep the New Zealand players busy, the next international fixture is scheduled between 29th January-8th February 2022 for 3 ODIs & a T20I.
Time to reveal the results from my most substantial project of the year—Alternative World Test Championship Points Table. Consider this my thesis as a culmination of work that has taken almost a year to put in place.
On July 29, 2020, my friend and I proposed how To Fix the WTC Points Table? At that point, the idea was to expose the problems of the current WTC system and propose how an alternative points table could be constructed.
Fast forward eleven months — after analyzing each of the 23 WTC series & 58 scorecards inside & out, converting our proposal into a tangible algorithm, and programming it in R language, we have finally put the algorithm in action.
Here is the revelation: Australia should havebeen in that WTC Final later this week against India, and I now have the data to prove it.
*Disclaimer: Don’t get me wrong here. This article is not meant as a commentary on the New Zealand Cricket Team. The Kiwis have done a fantastic job over the past five-six years or so. Rather, this article is meant to expose the flaws in the World Test Championship Points Table and compare how a better-developed points table would have looked like.
Alright here we go. Here is how this article structure is going to work:
First we are going to display our results right away— Original vs Alternative WTC Points Table side by side. Then, we
Review the problems in the original system and restate the key motivations
Lay out the Proposal & Algorithm
Display interesting observations and debunk a myth
Illustrate the power of the alternative point system’s through series analysis— The Ashes, England vs West Indies/Pakistan, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, New Zealand-Pakistan, & West Indies-Sri Lanka
Explain the process of collecting data & issues encountered
Finally go over implications of our proposal.
Notes:
The detailed result (team-by-team & series-by-series data) is displayed in the colorful Appendix Sectionat the bottom of the article for your kind reference.
Here are some abbreviations to keep in mind:
H/A: Home/Away
W/T/L: Won/Tied/Lost
RR: Run-rate
Australia (AUS), Bangladesh (BAN), England (ENG), India (IND), New Zealand (NZ), Pakistan (PAK), South Africa (SA), Sri Lanka (SL), West Indies (WI)
Alternative World Test Championship Points Table
Facts
Before we get into the Points Table, here are the facts of how each team performed. Pay special attention to the home and away.
Team
Matches (Away/Home)
W (Away/Home)
L (Away/Home)
D (Away/Home)
India
17 (8 A, 9 H)
12 (4 A, 8 H)
4 (3 A, 1 H)
1 (1 A, 0 H)
Australia
14 (5 A, 9 H)
8 (2 A, 6 H)
4 (2 A, 2 H)
2 (1 A, 1 H)
New Zealand
11 (5 A, 6 H)
7 (1 A, 6 H)
4 (4 A, 0 H)
0
England
21 (10 A, 11 H)
11 (6 A, 5 H)
7 (4 A, 3 H)
3 (0 A, 3 H)
Pakistan
12 (7 A, 5 H)
4 (0 A, 4 H)
5 (5 A, 0 H)
3 (2 A, 1 H)
Sri Lanka
12 (6 A, 6 H)
2 (0 A, 2 H)
6 (3 A, 3 H)
4 (3 A,1 H)
West Indies
11 (7 A, 4 H) *
3 (3 A, 0 H)
6 (4 A, 2 H)
2 (0 A, 2 H)
South Africa
11 (5 A, 6 H)
3 (0 A, 3 H)
8 (5 A, 3 H)
0
Bangladesh
7 (5 A, 2 H)
0
6 (4 A, 2 H)
1 (1 A, 0 H)
*The analysis is before the ongoing West Indies-South Africa series, which is another pointless concept. Why is a World Test Championship group stage game scheduled the same time as the WTC Final?
Alternative Vs Original WTC Points Table
The next table is listed in order of the Alternative WTC Points Table (With this ranking, India & Australia would have met at the WTC final later this week).
In comparison, the original rank is shown in the final column. Rankings for India (most stable team), England/Pakistan (most mediocre), & Bangladesh (worst/did not play as much) are the same, but the rest of the alternative rankings are different compared to the original.
The third and fourth column compares the percentage according to the alternative world test championship points table algorithm versus original WTC percentage. In general, the current WTC inflates how the teams were in real-life. The top teams were really not as good as the numbers suggests and vice-versa with the bottom teams.
We will describe how we got to the “Total Points” and “Points Possible” in the next two sections. (If you are curious about total points for every series per team, feel free to scroll to the Appendix at the bottom of the article).
Team
Total Points
Points Possible
Alternative Percentage
Original Percentage
Original Rank
India
551
846
65.13%
72.2%
1
Australia
414
684
60.52%
69.2%
3
New Zealand
312
546
57.14%
70.0%
2
England
564
1026
53.92%
61.4%
4
Pakistan
280
608
46.05%
43.3%
5
Sri Lanka
242
600
40.03%
27.8%
8
West Indies
217
562
39.74 %
33.3%
6
South Africa
181
530
32.97%
30.0%
7
Bangladesh
72
362
19.34%
4.8%
9
Alternative World Test Championship Points Table
*Sure Australia would have reached t
he WTC Finals if not for the -4 over-rate deduction in Melbourne vs India or if they had not cancelled their South Africa visit, but our Alternative algorithm displays this claim convincingly.
Background
Our Alternative World Test Championship Points Table fixes several of the problems encountered in the current system, a system dominated by the Big 3—India, Australia, & England.
Our proposal would work even better in an ideal balanced world where the problems listed below have been fixed.
Number of points fluctuate depending on # of games per series: A 2-match series is allotted 60 points per game, while 3, 4, and 5 match-series are awarded 40, 30, and 24 points respectively. This is totally absurd.
Number of Tests Played is uneven: In this WTC cycle, England played 21 Tests, while West Indies, South Africa, and New Zealand played 11 each. Marquee series like Ashes, Border-Gavaskar, Basil D’Oliveira Trophy, etc. are 4-5 Tests each while SL & NZ only play 2 Tests regularly.
Currently no distinction is made for Home/Away advantage: West Indies winning in Bangladesh, India winning in Australia, or Australia drawing in England should be worth more than home wins.
All-or-Nothing System:Test matches occur over 5 days or a max-of-15 sessions. One session can have a huge impact on the series. Yet, the points are awarded on an all-or-nothing basis.
Relegation-Promotion Needed:This WTC cycle exposed the gap between the top 4 teams and the rest of the table. The World Test Championship was supposed to provide context for Test cricket, especially for the lower-ranked teams. It has done just the opposite.
Proposal for the Alternative World Test Championship Points Table
The Goal
Our goal was to avoid the two spectrums of Simplicity vs Complexity. While the current WTC Points Table is simple, it does not do a good job at incorporating the numerous factors of a Test match.
On the other hand, we wanted to avoid a complicated system like Duckworth-Lewis-Stern or the ICC’s Rankings systems, that is barely understood even by the experts of the game.
The Proposal
We proposed a two-tiered system that incorporates (1) Session-by-session data and (2) Home/Away advantage. The proposal answered three specific questions:
Question 1:Why does the Losing Team in a 5-day Match Get 0 Points?
A Test match is long. After almost 40 hours of hard-fought battle, there is no way that a Fawad Alam-inspired Pakistan team that comes so close to a 5th day draw should receive 0 points only due to a Mitchell Santner jumping catch?
The beauty of a Test match is in its ebbs and flows, twists & turns.
A Stuart Broad spell, a Vihari-Ashwin blockathon, a Jermaine Blackwood-style counter-attack, or a Stokes-Pant-Myers/Bonner fourth innings special can change a match. There are periods where wickets are falling right and left, bowls just beating the edge. Oohs and ahhs. Later, the story might change with periods of fast run-scoring, counter-attacks, flat pitches, etc.
So how can we incorporate these moments into data?
Resolution 1: Session-by-Session Points
We first award points based on the number of sessions a team wins/ties/loses.
Since each day has 3 sessions, there is a maximum of 15 sessions possible in a Test. Since winning a session is awarded 2 points, the maximum session points possible is 30 (15*2).
Session
Points
Won
2
Tied/Even (or Washed Out/ Bad Light)
1
Lost
0
Session-By-Session Points
Question 2:How Can We Incorporate Home/Away Points?
This was the most popular concern and rightly so. It has always been tougher to win overseas Tests and the last decade has made it even more lopsided. Here is the fix. On top of the session-by-session data we add a:
Resolution 2: Fixed points system for Home and Away matches.
Combining resolution 1 & resolution 2, we get the total points available per Test match in the last column.
Points
Win
Draw
Loss
Maximum Points Possible (Per Match)
Home
16
8
0
46
Away
24
12
0
54
Average
20
10
0
50
Home & Away Points
*If the WTC cycle is scheduled with equal number of home and away games, for this portion we get an average of exactly 20 points for wins & 10 points for a draw. In total (with +30 from session points), it averages out to be 50 points per game.
Question 3:Is There An Equivalent of Net-Run Rate for Test Cricket?
In a Test match, how can we measure the magnitude of victory or defeat?
The ODI Super League at least has the Net Run Rate factor to signify how big a defeat or victory was. There is no such data in the current WTC Points Table. A 1-run victory achieved on the 5th day and an innings victory in a 2-day Test is worth the exact same.
Resolution 3: Bonus — Winning team is rewarded remaining sessions if match finishes early
When a team usually wins by an innings (or more than 100 runs, or with 8-10 wickets in hand for that matter), usually several sessions/days are still left.
Hence, the winning team is awarded the remaining session-by-session points (2* # of remaining sessions). This will incentivize teams on the edge to fight harder and take the game deeper even if they are on the verge of losing. On the other hand, it can convince captains to go for bold declarations in order to win earlier.
The Algorithm
In order to remove any semblance of subjectivity, we created the following algorithm to determine W/T/L for a session.
Here is the specific criteria along with the reasons as to why we added that part.
Sessions
If (0 overs are bowled – washed out session) OR if (RR >= 4 AND wickets >= 4)*
Session is tied and both teams get 1 point each
If (only 1 wicket falls) OR (RR >= 3.5 AND wickets <=3) OR (RR <= 2 AND Wickets <=2)
Batting team wins session and receives 2 points
Reason:If wickets are preserved and run-rates are decent, then the batting team should be rewarded. In some contexts like the first session of a Test match, even if the run-rate is slow, the batting team should be rewarded if only 2 or less wickets fall.
If 4 or more wickets fall OR (RR <= 2) OR (Wickets >= 4 AND RR >= 3.5)
Bowling teams wins session and receives 2 points
Reason: If the bowling team is disciplined and restricts the run-rate to a minimal or if they take more than 4 wickets in certain conditions, they should be rewarded.
Any other case
TiedSession; Both teams get 1 point each
*Special thanks to Vandit for co-creating this algorithm and working through the entire WTC process with me.
The Stokes-Pant-Bonner/Myers Outlier
*One may ask why did we need (RR>= 4 AND wickets >= 4) section? Usually the bowling team should be rewarded when a heap of wickets fall, but this session is what I like to call the Stokes-Pant-Bonner/Myers Outlier.
On paper, 5 wickets in a session would definitely be a bowler’s session, but as a viewer, we know 124 runs at a run-rate of 4.22 due to Stokes’ brilliance should at least be a tied session.
This just one of the few examples which helped us tweak our algorithm to align with real-life events.
Also comment below with out thoughts on this Alternative World Test Championship Table!
COPYRIGHT @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X, 06/14/2021; Email at bcd@brokencricketdreams.com
Observations: Which Team Won the Most Sessions?
Now to the fun part—the analysis. After we applied the above algorithm to all the Test matches, here are some fascinating things we observed.
Observation 1: What Sets India Apart?
If we look at the sessions graph below, not much sets India and Australia apart. In fact, both Australia and India won exactly 74 session each. Sessions tied (IND 59-56 AUS) and sessions lost (IND 48-46 AUS) are pretty close as well.
What put India to another level is an additional108 Bonus Points. Altogether, India won by 54 sessions to spare – that is 18 days of Test cricket! Australia, in comparison, received 46 bonus points (23 sessions to spare).
Our algorithm rewarded India due to the fact that they won their WTC Test matches more convincingly than any other team (Well, it helped that at home, India played Bangladesh, a weak SA team, and an English team that was rolled over in 2-day Tests, but that is another story).
It is interesting that although Australia crushed Pakistan & New Zealand at home and blew India apart with that 36 All-Out, the last three Test matches in the BGT cost them important bonus points.
Observation 2: England Won, Tied, and Lost the Most sessions
England won 84 sessions, tied 102 sessions, and lost 83 sessions—the most for any team is all three categories. England play the most Test matches, which ended up biting them in the backside.
They won three overseas Tests against South Africa and two against an Embuldeniya inspired-Sri Lanka, two of the hardest touring venues in cricket (even though they are both in an extended transition zone). England also lost 7 matches, 3 at home (Australia, West Indies) and four abroad, the final three coming in the India series, where they lost by huge margins.
Tip of the Day: If England keep playing more Test cricket, it will increase their likelihood of losing more games, thereby reducing their chances to go to future WTC finals. Hence, it is in England’s own best interest to vouch for equal number of games (home & away) for every team in a WTC cycle.
Observation 3: The Importance of Draws
One of the stark differences between the original WTC Points Table and our table was Sri Lanka’s ranking. In the original ranking system, SL ranked 8th (27.8%) as opposed to our table, in which SL ranked 6th (40.03%).
Lanka actually drew most Tests than any other team (4), and 3 of them away. An away draw might be regarded higher than certain home wins.
Our Home/Away weightage boosted them right behind Pakistan, who are comparable in the graph below. One thing is clear—there is no way SA should have leapfrogged SL. SA lost more sessions, won/tied way less sessions than Sri Lanka, and their only wins were at home (3 wins compared to SL’s 2). Not even a draw abroad.
Unforeseen Effect of New Algorithm: Our algorithm helped the lower-ranked teams. If the Relegation-Promotion system was put in place, Pakistan (46.05%), Sri Lanka (40.03%), & West Indies (39.74%) would be in a heated battle rather than not having no context for lower-ranked teams. Even Bangladesh, which was at 4.8% in the original WTC Points table is at 19.34%, due to some flat roads in Sri Lanka.
Alternative World Test Championship Points Table – Session Data
Observation 4: The Moeen Ali Anomaly
Usually the team that wins the Test ends up winning the last session of the game. This was not the case in the 2nd Test of the India-England series.
Lunch at Day 4 – England were 116/7 in 48. 3 overs in a chase of 482 runs. Post-lunch, India would have expected to easily wrap up a 350+ run victory, but Moeen Ali had other plans.
Sent in at #9 (really #9, England team management?), Ali blitzed 43 (18) with 5 sixes and 3 fours. England scored 48 runs for 3 wickets at about 8.7 RR and won that final session, despite losing the Test by 317 runs.
Little did they know this would be their final shining light as they were systematically dismantled by Axar Patel for the final two Tests.
Observation 5: Pakistan Had It Rough
Pakistan played the second-least amount of games at home (5) after the West Indies and had away series in Australia, England, and New Zealand.
That schedule is asking for trouble.
Even though they competed admirably in England & New Zealand, one bad series in Australia ruined their figures. What’s more? Their series in Zimbabwe did not even count.
Still ended up at #5 in both the tables – the best of the 2nd half of the table.
Debunking The Myth
The Myth: NZ Got An Unfair Entry In the WTC Final Due to Home Games
New Zealand has received a lot of criticism that they loaded the points at home and hence jumped through the top.
Actually, England (11), Australia (9), India (9) had more designated home games, while Sri Lanka (6) & South Africa (6) had the same. On the other hand, New Zealand played the same of away games as Australia, South Africa, and Bangladesh had the same number of away games, five each.
Both NZ & SA played the exact same number of games (same home/away as well), and both places are tough touring destinations as well. The fact that NZ took advantage of their conditions speaks to their ability rather than pure luck. Otherwise, SA would have been right there up with NZ instead of languishing at the bottom of the table.
Oh yeah and also New Zealand played both home & away 2-Test series against England during this period, neither of which counted towards the WTC. They won 1-0 both of them each. (Another reason why FTP & the WTC should merge. Every game should count)
Series Illustration
We now illustrate the algorithm by comparing the Actual Series Total against the Alternative BCD (Broken Cricket Dreams) Series Total.
Ashes 2019
Actual Series Total: England56-56 Australia
Alternative BCD Series Total: England113-137 Australia
What do you recall from the 2019 Ashes? Steve Smith’s godly tour, David Warner’s Stuart Broad misery, Stokes’ Headingly conquest, Leach’s glasses, Tim Paine’s review & Nathan Lyon’s missed run-out, Marnus Labuschagne’s concussion-substitute surprise introduction, Jofra Archer’s brilliance?
Ashes of the ages. As close as it gets. At the face of it, 56-56 looks like a decent result but let us dig a little deeper. Australia won 2 away matches, drew 1 match, and barely lost Headingly.
Ask yourself, did Australia deserve to get 0 pointsfor the hard-fought HeadinglyTest? Oh yeah, and if you forgot, England were also bowled out for 67 in the first innings, another example where sessions can change the complexion of a match.
Altogether, 25 sessions were tied, Australia won 25, and England won 17. However, England won with a total of 7 sessions to spare in the series compared to Australia’s 2, which ensured they received more bonus points. Hence, the 137-113 was a better indicator of the competitive Ashes than the 56-56.
England Post-COVID
Actual Series Total:England80-40 West Indies, England66-26 Pakistan
Alternative BCD Series Total: England87-61 West Indies, England75-71 Pakistan
We should all be grateful to England, West Indies, Pakistan, & Ireland to get cricket started again post the initial COVID lockdown.
The matches in these two series were closer than they appear.
Jermaine Blackwood-led successful overseas chase in the first Test, Kemar Roach’s brilliance & #1 Test all-rounder Jason Holder were especially spectacular. Although West Indies fizzled out at the end, they were in the series for the most part. When they were not taking wickets, they kept the opposition’s run-rate down and tied most sessions. WI winning an away Test and being competitive throughout made it a 87-61 series.
Pakistan’s series was statistically even more interesting. In the last two Tests, Pakistan earned two away draws courtesy rain-affected games, so we should analyze the first Test by itself. If you remember, this was Shan Masood’s epic 156, where he almost carried the bat. Although Pakistan collapsed as usual towards the end and lost, the fact that they batted for the first five sessions of the game and won more sessions than England (7-W, 1-T, 4 L) gave them a series total of 75-71.
Super close without actually winning a single game.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Actual Series Total:Australia 40-70 India(36-70 with over-rate deduction)
Alternative BCD Series Total: Australia 91-113 India
Here is a thought experiment—Imagine if Rishabh Pant had gotten out in the last session of Day 5 in the Gabba chase and Tim Paine’s prophecy would have come true. India would have been heartbroken and the current WTC Points Table would have switched to Australia 70-40 India.
A session here or there and Australia, barely scraping by at home, would have received the exact same number of points as opposed to the blood, sweat, & tears via Vihari-Ashwin fightback, Siraj’s leadership, Shardul-Shubman-Sundar-Pant’s youth, & Pujara’s toil.
Our algorithm encodes these little moments in the session-by-session data. India won 14 crucial sessions, Australia won 18, and 17 were tied. Australia benefitted from bonus points after they wrapped India up in one session at Adelaide with 36/9. Just like Australia were in the Ashes, India’s 2 away wins & a draw boosted them up.
You see, there is something for everybody.
(Oh and if you were wanting confirmation, if India had lost Gabba, our algorithm would have awarded Australia 107-89 India, which is still pretty close).
Alternative BCD Series Total: New Zealand 72-20 Pakistan
New Zealand steamrolled almost every opposition at home except for Pakistan.
In the first Test, Pakistan lost with just 4-overs to go. Digest that for a second. There are 450 possible overs to bowl in a Test match. Just 4 overs…
Pakistan stalled for 123.3 overs in the 4th innings due to the heroics of missing-in-action-kid-of-the-decade Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali, and the ever-dependable Mohammad Rizwan. Even in the second Test, Azhar Ali-Abid Ali-Faheem Ashram-Mohammad Rizwan won Pakistan some sessions.
What did Pakistan get for challenging New Zealand in their own backyards? Exactly 0 points.
Neither were Pakistan bad enough to 0 points or New Zealand so brilliant to hoard 120 points all by themselves.
West Indies- Sri Lanka
Actual Series Total:West Indies 40-40 Sri Lanka
Alternative BCD Series Total: West Indies 45-55 Sri Lanka
This was the only instance of every match of the series being drawn. The two-Test series ended with a 0-0 score line. A 40-40 is a fair result, but with two away draws, Sri Lanka nudges slightly above with 55-45 in the alternative world test championship table.
Data Collection Process
Motivation
Initially, we did this the old school way.
For the first 33 Test matches, we literally perused through the commentary and Match Notes section of the scorecard and manually decided which team won each session. Talk about tedious…
This was difficult for two reason: (1) It was hard to keep up after every Test match, and more importantly, (2) it was completely subjective.
In order to standardize the process of determining who won each session and remove any biaswe had after watching the match, I decided to code our algorithm in R and re-do the process from scratch.
How Did We Get Our Data?
Before we could start implementing our proposal, we had to first get the data.
Our main data source was ESPN Cricinfo’s Match Results list for ICC World Test Championship, 2019-2021. As an input, I fed each scorecard individually into the program. The next step was to figure out how to get session-by-session data.
If you scroll to the bottom of the scorecard, there is a Match Notessection, which summarizes important moments at each interval of the match. The idea was to have our program read through these Match Notes and after preprocessing and removing the unnecessary characters, return data at“Lunch, “Tea”, “Innings Break”, and “End of Day.”
The important features to record at every interval were as follows: (1) Team Batting, (2) Runs, (3) Wickets, & (4) Overs. This data was stored in tables so all the data for lunch, tea, innings break, and end of day for all five days (or however long the Test match lasted) could be easily accessed.
Once the data was all nice and clean, things got a bit easier. At this point, we could compute the run-rate in each session and check if there was a switch of innings (all-out or declaration). Using this data, we could allocate points based on the proposal above.
We repeated this process for all the 58 matches and added up the points. Finally due to COVID*, we divided the total number attained by the total possible.
*Due to COVID-19 interruptions equal number of H/A games was not possible, so percentage was used.
Issues Faced
Initially I thought, reading data from a scorecard would be an easy task, right?Wrong. I was surprised by the inconsistency in some of the records.
For example, when a day is rained out, sometimes they will put: “Rain – 0/0, Lunch – 0/0, End of Day – 0/0.” Almost always, in a rained-out game, some of the sessions were missing which made it difficult to automate the program efficiently. Day/Night matches were especially hilarious. Instead of “Tea” & “Dinner”, in some games “Lunch” and Tea” were written. In others, it was a combination of all four!
A more subtle issue was when innings break occurred at the same time as an interval. In some occasions, Innings Break” and corresponding score was avoided, which caused our data table to have some missing values.
Anyway, you get the point. There were several other little issues, but I do not want to sound like a broken record. What this process influenced me to do confirm after every scorecard was read that all the data was stored correctly in the program.
Quality check.
Conclusion
The Alternative World Test Championship Points Table & the original table only had India (1), England (4), & Pakistan (5) in the same positions. Since our algorithm weighted away games more & took sessions in context, the rest of the rankings were different.
Is it the best algorithm? No, but it is definitely better than the current system by a landslide. I will continue to make improvements to this algorithm for the next iteration and apply this alternative system for the next cycle of the WTC.
Making Test cricket more equitable to all the cricket playing nations (and not just the Big 3) is definitely a challenge in the age of T20 leagues, but if huge financial restructure cannot happen, at least a change in the World Test Championship Points Table is a place to start.
In any case, end results are end results. No argument. Journey is the important part. We tend to ignore or forget the little pleasures in life by focusing on the end goal. Enjoy, smile, learn, & support each other.
My best wishes to India and New Zealand for the World Test Championship this week.
Before I end this, here are some thoughts by cricketers & commentators on the WTC Points Table.
What Cricketers & Commentators Say About the WTC Format
“I can’t quite work out how a five-match Ashes series can be worth the same as India playing Bangladesh for two Tests.”
“This difference in value for winning a Test match I thought didn’t take into account the enormity of a contest, the toughness of the contest, and thought if I had to conceive a plan to get to the final of the World Test Championship, I would play 2 Test matches at home on pitches that I like.”
“I think going forward, maybe the WTC could add context this way, two teams playing away from their home and sort of bringing the whole ebbs and flows of the game.”
“Ideally, in the long run, if they want to persist with the Test Championship, a best-of-three final will be ideal. As a culmination of two-and-a-half years of cricket around the globe.”
So what did you think about this article and the Alternative World Test Championship Points Table? COMMENT BELOW with your opinions! Would love to engage!
Appendix
The team-by-team and series-by-series (at the very bottom) tables are presented below.
Alternative World Test Championship Points Table Team-By Team Data
*symbolizes Away series. An away series has a maximum possible of 54 points, while a Home series has a maximum of 46 points.
List of Teams
India
India
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs WI*
48
27
14
89
2
108
Vs SA
48
51
20
119
3
138
Vs Ban
32
26
28
86
2
92
Vs NZ*
0
16
0
16
2
108
Vs Aus*
60
45
8
113
4
216
Vs Eng
48
42
38
128
4
184
236
207
108
551
17
846
(551/846)*100 = 65.13%
Sessions: 74-59-48 (W-T-L)
Australia
Australia
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs Eng*
60
75
2
137
5
270
Vs Pak
32
28
12
72
2
92
Vs NZ
48
48
18
114
3
138
Vs Ind
24
53
14
91
4
184
164
204
46
414
14
684
(414/684) * 100 = 60.53%
Sessions: 74-56-46 (W-T-L)
New Zealand
New Zealand
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs SL*
0
56
2
108
Vs Aus*
0
24
3
162
Vs Ind
24
76
2
92
Vs WI
20
84
2
92
Vs Pak
6
72
2
92
50
312
11
546
(312/546)*100 = 57.14%
Sessions: 53-36-39 (W-T-L)
England
England
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs Aus
40
59
14
113
5
230
Vs SA*
72
57
10
139
4
216
Vs WI
32
51
4
87
3
138
Vs Pak
32
37
6
75
3
138
Vs SL*
48
28
10
86
2
108
Vs Ind*
24
38
2
64
4
216
248
270
46
564
21
1046
(54/1046)* 100 = 53.92%
Sessions: 84-102-83 (W-T-L)
Pakistan
Pakistan
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs Aus*
0
20
0
20
2
108
Vs SL
24
29
4
57
2
92
Vs Ban
16
15
10
41
1
46
Vs Eng*
24
47
0
71
3
162
Vs NZ*
0
20
0
20
2
108
Vs SA
32
29
10
71
2
92
96
160
24
280
12
378
(280/378) *100 = 46.05%
Sessions: 56-48-52 (W-T-L)
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs NZ
16
22
6
44
2
92
Vs Pak*
12
27
0
39
2
108
Vs SA*
0
21
0
21
2
108
Vs Eng
0
22
0
22
2
92
Vs WI*
24
31
0
55
2
108
Vs Ban
24
33
4
61
2
92
76
156
10
242
12
325
(242/600)*100 = 40.33%
Sessions: 48-60-49 (W-L-T)
West Indies
West Indies
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs Ind
0
19
0
19
2
92
Vs Eng*
24
37
0
61
3
162
Vs NZ*
0
8
0
8
2
108
Vs Ban*
48
30
6
84
2
108
Vs SL
16
29
0
45
2
92
88
123
6
217
11
562
(217/562)*100 = 39.74%
Sessions: 29-65-50 (W-T-L)
South Africa
South Africa
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs Ind*
0
19
0
19
3
162
Vs Eng
16
45
8
69
4
184
Vs SL
32
17
22
71
2
92
Vs Pak*
0
21
0
21
2
108
48
102
30
180
11
546
(180/546) = 32.97%
Sessions: 36-30-64 (W-L-T)
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Home/Away
Session
Bonus
Total
Matches
Total Possible
Vs Ind*
0
6
0
6
2
108
Vs Pak*
0
5
0
5
1
54
Vs WI
0
24
0
24
2
92
Vs SL*
12
23
0
35
2
108
12
58
0
70
7
270
(70/270)*100 = 19.34%
Sessions: 14-30-37 (W-L-T)
AlternativeWorld Test Championship Points Table Series-By-Series Comparison
Series (H Vs A)
Matches in Series
Result
Alternative Series Total
Original Series Total
England Vs Australia (The Ashes)
5
2-2
137-113
56-56
Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand
2
1-1
44-56
60-60
West Indies Vs India
2
0-2
19-89
0-120
India Vs South Africa (Freedom Trophy)
3
3-0
119-19
120-0
India Vs Bangladesh (Ganguly-Durjoy Trophy)
2
2-0
86-8
120-0
Australia Vs Pakistan
2
2-0
72-20
120-0
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka
2
1-0
57-39
80-20
Australia Vs New Zealand (Trans-Tasman Trophy)
3
3-0
114-24
120-0
South Africa Vs England (Basil D’Oliveira)
4
1-3
70-139
24-90 (*SA -6 for over-rate penalty in the 4th Test)
Pakistan Vs Bangladesh
1
1-0
41-5
60-0
New Zealand Vs India
2
2-0
76-16
120-0
England Vs West Indies (Wisden Trophy)
3
2-1
87-61
80-40
England Vs Pakistan
3
1-0
75-71
66-26
New Zealand Vs West Indies
2
2-0
84-8
120-0
Australia Vs India (Border-Gavaskar Trophy)
4
1-2
113-91
36-70 (*Aus -4 for over-rate penalty in the 2nd Test)
New Zealand Vs Pakistan
2
2-0
72-20
120-0
South Africa VS Sri Lanka
2
2-0
71-21
120-0
Sri Lanka Vs England
2
0-2
22-86
0-120
Pakistan Vs South Africa
2
2-0
71-21
120-0
Bangladesh Vs West Indies
2
0-2
24-84
0-120
India Vs England (Anthony de Mello Trophy)
4
1-3
128-64
90-30
West Indies Vs Sri Lanka (Sobbers-Tissera Trophy)
2
0-0
55-45
40-40
Sri Lanka Vs Bangladesh
2
1-0
61-35
80-20
*Note, we have not yet added the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy (West Indies Vs South Africa) since that is ongoing during the WTC Final.
Cricket used to be referred as a “Gentleman’s Game.” It now seems like an oxymoron.
Just look at the events from the last couple of weeks. Contrasting actions from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) & Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) shed light into a changing world and the role sports & media play in the larger scheme of things.
Why Shakib, Why?
A video went viral last week where Shakib Al Hasan broke the stumps twice in the same Dhaka Premier League (DPL) match. Have a look below. It is pretty disheartening.
What was the result of his actions? Three match ban and monetary fine. That’s all.
This is a proper recording of Bangladesh national cricketer #ShakibAlHasan's antics on the pitch. He has since apologized for his behavior. But the question is: Will the Bangladesh Cricket Board let him go with just an apology?pic.twitter.com/IqkfOFzQQ3
Shakib Al Hasan is one of my all-time favorite players. He might go down as the best all-rounder cricket has ever seen. Definitely Bangladesh’s all-time best.
This does not however, or at least should not, excuse him from such unruly behavior.
Mohammad Isam beautifully outlines the growing influence of Shakib’s indiscipline and his utter disregard for the “game, his colleagues, or the officials.” Since Shakib is an integral part of the Bangladesh national team, his previous bans have been reduced to accommodate him.
History of Indiscipline in Recent Bangladesh Cricket
What’s worse? It is not the first time, and most likely will not be his last.
Shakib’s first public outburst came way back in 2010, abusing a spectator who was blocking the sightscreen. A few more instances of trouble occurred in 2011, but he was not reprimanded. The first action taken against him was in 2014, when he was banned for 3 matches for displaying an inappropriate gesture on live television. A six month ban ( eventually reduced to three months) followed in 2014 due to internal disputes with coach Hathurusingha and his threats to quit international cricket. Finally, the most serious suspension was a year-long hiatus imposed by the ICC in 2019 for Shakib not reporting a bookie approach.
Just a few weeks ago, Mushfiqur Rahim, who himself has some history of anger & premature celebrations, displayed his rage on the field to his own teammate.
Nidahas Trophy was especially infamous for such antics. Snake-dance celebration, Shakib calling players back in the middle of a game, and Mahmudullah’s display of anger prior to his last ball six.
Although these senior players have to take responsibility, there is a larger picture at play here. Isam portrays that the entire Bangladesh system is to blame—biased umpiring, poor administration & leadership, local club bias/corruption, points manipulation, etc.
Poor environment breeds poor behavior. As simple as that.
Ollie Robinson: The Other Side of the Coin
England’s hands-on policy to deal with disciplinary issues lies on the other end of the spectrum.
27-year old Ollie Robinson had a magnificent debut in the first Test against England, taking 4/75 & 3/26 to go along with a solid 42. During the Test, his racist and sexist tweets reemerged from 2012. These comments are completely inexcusable, even if it was an 18-year-old tweeting it who did not have a professional contract back then.
He announces a short break from cricket to be with his family due to social media pressure.
Dom Bess deactivates his Twitter account as a precautionary measure
McCullum-Morgan-Buttler’s old tweets mocking English of other fans & players are bashed by twitterati.
England promises swift action, zero-tolerance policy, series of workshops, & self-education. Commentators like Nasser Hussain, captain Joe Root, and Jimmy Anderson have all pitched in to further the conversation on inclusiveness and focus on “improving [themselves] as people.” Even Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a say—claiming Robinson’s punishment was too severe.
In order to help make the society more inclusive & tolerant, actions need to be taken, but how far is too far?
Alex Hales & Joe Clarke
England is not the embodiment of gentleman’s game either. Far from it. Just like Bangladesh, this is not the first in England’s cricket either.
This was just a recent list of incidents. I am sure there are several more and numerous unreported cases.
Fine Line Between Cancel Culture And Laissez-Faire?
Hales, one of the catalysts of England’s rise to the top in limited overs cricket, has yet to make a comeback despite completing rehabilitation and performing in T20 leagues. Similarly, Joe Clarke has been performing consistently in T20 Blasts circuits, but it is unlikely he will ever be selected on the international arena.
On the other hand, punishments for Shakib and co vary are not harsh at all. Yes, racism and anger against an umpire are two different things, but there needs to be a standardized guidance from ICC.
This gets me to my final point—where do you draw the fine line?
Cancel and woke culture, accentuated by the age of social media, has been a major factor in all this. If nobody found out about the Robinson’s tweets, would he have been reprimanded? Resurfacing social posts and twitter policing, courtesy random people sitting behind screen’s and criticizing the world, can have a major impact on someone else’s career & life. Social media is good to awaken certain conversations, but whether it should be utilized for hasty actions is another question.
The BCB has employed a more laissez-faire approach while ECB’s handling is much more extreme, influenced by cancel culture. In reality, disciplinary guidelines should be somewhere in the middle.
George Dobell offers an apt solution—Amnesty. Instead of digging up old tweets and punishing retroactively, why not accept the mistake, “outline modern-day expectations and penalties, and provide a fresh start”?
One thing is for certain — cricket is no longer a gentleman’s game. Culture and societies are evolving and cricket should follow suit, albeit in a careful manner.
COPYRIGHT @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X, 06/16/2021; Email at bcd@brokencricketdreams.com
It is a huge year for India Women—Test cricket makes a comeback after seven years, last playing against South Africa in 2014. India is scheduled for one Test against England as well as two Tests in Australia later this year, including a Day-Night Test.
Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, and Poonam Yadav return from that game 7 years ago.
England, on the other hand, have played multiple Ashes series with one Test match each (2013, 2013-14, 2015, 2017-18, 2019). Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont, Heather Knight, Georgia Elwiss, Natalie Sciver, Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, and Sophie Ecclestone return from their last Test.
While the Test match is in the forefront now, do not forget the limited overs. The build up to the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup is about to begin.
The used pitch has been under the scanner, especially with captain Heather Knight’s disappointment palpable on not been provided a fresh pitch. This women’s Test match was not given enough attention, with a Gloucestershire vs Sussex T20 Blast game held last week.
Meanwhile, both the India men’s & women’s arrived together on June 3rd in Southampton and had been in quarantine since.
Test captain Mithali Raj has put her support behind multi-format series for women’s cricket like the Ashes, with a points system distributed across the three formats. India’s vice-captain Kaur is in a positive mindset with regards to this Test match despite lack of match practice, especially after receiving some words of advice with a conversation with Ajinkya Rahane.
Return for coach Ramesh Powar in this series as well.
Head-To-Head, Previous Matches, & Records
India have won their past three encounters (England 2006, England 2014, South Africa 2014) and they have a golden opportunity in this series. If they win this Test match, they will break the record for most consecutive Test wins in women’s cricket.
Long-term records do not mean much, but England has only won against India (1995) in 13 meetings. On the other hand, India have won two, both in England.
In fact, India in Tests are unbeaten in England —2 wins, 6 draws.
My Starting XIs
England Women
Lauren Winfield-Hill, 2. Tammy Beaumont, 3. Heather Knight*, 4. Georgia Elwiss, 5. Natalie Sciver, 6. Amy Jones (WK), 7. Fran Wilson, 8. Kate Cross, 9. Anya Shrubsole, 10. Katherine Brunt, 11. Sophie Ecclestone
Shikha Pandey’s omission in the South Africa series caught the public by surprise as she has been one of India’s most dependable bowlers in recent times. Expect the fast bowling trio – Pandey, experienced Jhulan Goswami, and Arundhati Reddy to make the ball talk during the Test series.
Mithali Raj debuted more than 22 years and has played a total of just 10 Test matches. She holds a stellar record in the limited opportunities—best of 214, 1-100, 4 50s, average of 51.00. Highest ODI run-scorer in women’s cricket, watch out for Raj in the ODI series in her final season as the 2022 World Cup will be her swansong.
The Young Brigade—Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Radha Yadav, Pooja Vastrakar, and Simran Bahadur—have immense potential. Although Shafali Verma is in the Test squad, it is unlikely she will get a break at the top with Mandhana-Raut-Jemimah-Mithali-Priya in front. A certainty in the T20Is, the explosive opener should receive her ODI debut in this series.
England Women
Tammy Beaumont was on another planet during the New Zealand series, with 231 runs in the ODIs (best of 88*) & 102 runs in the T20Is. 4 fifties in 6 innings. A class apart. She would be itching to convert to triple figures, and this Test match would be an ideal opportunity if she continues her form.
Lookout for the Shrubsole-Brunt combination. Katherine Brunt’s experience came to the fore with a player of the match performance in the 3rd T20I against NZ, England’s last match before this series. Anya Shrubsole’s name was etched in legends with an iconic performance in the close 2017 ODI World Cup final, coincidentally against India.
Knight-Sciver are key to this English middle order. Although they only have 7 and 5 Test caps to their names respectively, they are the senior pros in this lineup, having represented England in over 150 games each across formats. Knight has a Test century (157), while Sciver’s best is 88. Across formats, Knight has 3 centuries and 27 fifties, while Nat Sciver has 3 hundreds and 24 fifties to go along with her 118 wickets.
Prediction
Home side England have the upper-hand in the Tests, although India will fight it out. The limited overs series should be much more competitive. I am especially excited for the ODI series—repeat of the 2017 ODI World Cup finals (also held in the same country).
Predictions
Test: England 1-0
ODI: India 2-1
T20I: England 2-1
The Hunch
My gut feeling says that Punam Raut is going to be the key player in this tour. She had an outstanding series against South Africa, providing India the little bit of stability during the series.
Her stats in that series speak for herself: 1-100, 2-50s, 263 runs, and a tremendous average of 87.66.
Hoping her form continues.
England Women
India Women
Player of the Series/MVP
Natalie Sciver
Punam Raut
Most Runs
Tammy Beaumont
Punam Raut
Most Wickets
Katherine Brunt
Shikha Pandey
Emerging Player
Sophie Dunkley
Harleen Deol
Surprise Package
Amy Jones
Arundhati Reddy
What are your predictions about the England Women Vs India Women 2021 series? Let us know in the COMMENTS section below!
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After two years of cricket and 58 Test matches, the much awaited World Test Championship Final is finally here.
During the WTC, India have been a dominant force, both at home & abroad, as was evident with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. New Zealand have been miles ahead at home but not much to show in the away leg. So, who will it be?
Who, What, When, Where?
India Vs New Zealand
World Test Championship (WTC) Final
June 18th-22nd
The Rose Bowl, Southampton
A reserve day is available in case all the overs are not recovered during the five days. If there is a tie or a draw, the World Test Championship trophy will be shared.
New Zealand have already been in England for a 2-Test series, which has helped them acclimatize to the conditions and rest/rotate some of their players. India have not had much practice but have been in England to serve quarantine time.
A good pitch can make an immense difference in the viewing of a Test match.
The first Test between England & New Zealand ended in a boring draw. It was an atypical England pitch—slightly flat and not much swing on offer either. Even a player of Jimmy Anderson’s caliber failed to generate much out of it.
The only reason there was any hope of a result was due to New Zealand’s bold declaration early on day 5. The second Test ongoing right now, is not much different either.
I really hope a sporting pitch, fitting of a final, is provided by the ICC.
Will The Teams Go For the Jugular?
New Zealand in the final of a world trophy in England.
It will be interesting how teams go about since trophy could be shared, unlike the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final.
Imagine this scenario—Day 5 last session, 100 runs needed with 4 wickets to go in 20 overs – will the chasing team go for it while risking a loss? Will the bowling team keep an aggressive field or keep the field back to reduce the run rate?
If the match does go late into Day 5, it could be an enthralling event, but just 1-match final is not ideal. Ravi Shastri provided an apt solution—best of 3-match final series will be fitting for a tournament that takes more than two years.
Siraj, Shami, and Sharma – Who Will Play?
Now for the interesting part—the selection policies. Both teams boast envious bench strengths. India even won in Australia with a so-called second string team.
Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel all have played starring role during the course of the WTC campaign, but will anyone even get into the XI during the final?
Mohammad Siraj debuted in the 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and rumors are he might get a wildcard entry into the XI due to his impressive performances. With Bumrah & Ashwin most likely to play, Siraj, Shami, Sharma, and Umesh will fight it out for the remaining two spots.
New Zealand are spoiled for choices as well.
Devon Conway debuted with a magnificent 200 at Lord’s, youngster Will Young is in the form of his life, and two out of the all-rounders Colin de Grandhomme-Daryl Mitchell-Mitchell Santner should play. The selection on the bowling front is even trickier. Southee-Boult-Wagner-Jamieson select themselves, but Matt Henry had a great outing in the 2nd Test vs England, and they still have Doug Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, & spinner Ajaz Patel in the sidelines.
Both teams have talent, but the team that chooses in-form players and makes better decisions will prevail.
An End of an Era?
BJ Watling announced his retirement prior to the series, and although he played the first Test against England, he was out of the 2nd Test due to a sore back. Hopefully he recovers back in time for his final appearance and has one final gritty knock in him.
We have seen World Cups being a swansong for plenty of players, and the World Test Championship might well be the equivalent for Test specialists.
Both New Zealand & India have been around the ICC trophies over the past decade without actually winning much. While BJ Watling is the only one to formally announce his retirement, Neil Wagner (35), Ross Taylor (37), Ishant Sharma (32), Tim Southee (32), and Ravichandran Ashwin (34) might only have a final shot at a major world trophy.
Anyway, I do not know about you, but I cannot wait for this match to get started. Five days of a good battle between bat & ball by the two of the best sides in the world.
Game on.
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Scotland Women Tour of Ireland 2021 Series Review.
Although Scotland Women started on a bright note, Ireland women came back with 3 wins on a trot. Here is a brief recap and major highlights from this series!
Leah Paul – 9 wickets (Best of 4/16, 4.44 average, 4.44 Economy)
Major Takeaways
This series was a low-scorer with scores of 87-9 vs 76/10, 137/4 vs 76/10, 134/8 vs 93/10, & 99/7 vs 101/4 in the 20-over contest.
Scotland
The trio of Kathryn Bryce (3.3-0-8-2), Katherine Fraser (4-0-15-2), & Katie McGill (4-0-18-3)starred in Scotland’s only win as Ireland failed to chase even 88 runs.
Unfortunately, Kathryn Bryce was the lone fighter in the series with scores of 12 (26), 17 (23), 45* (42) & 22 (21) to go along with 5 wickets.
Ireland
Leah Paul was the standout performer of the series, with figures of 4/16, 2/12, and 3/12. Scotland never got going against the left-arm spinner.
Gaby Lewis was the only Irish player who had a decent outing with the bat. 47 (39) in the 2nd ODI & 49 (40) in the fourth ODI were match winning knocks. Decent support from Laura Delany & Shauna Kavanaugh as well.
Orla Prendergast set the tone for the Irish bowlers in each of the games with a miserly economy rate of 4.15 to go along with six wickets.
Where Do They Go Here From Now?
No international matches scheduled for Scotland or Ireland women in the near future, but exciting times for Women’s Cricket.
India-England Tests will begin on June 16th while the Women’s Hundred will commence on 21st July.
Anyway, what did you think about the Scotland Women Tour of Ireland 2021? COMMENT BELOW and engage in a conversation!