We billed this series as the “Final Before the (WTC) Final” and after overseas victories for both India (vs Australia) and England (Vs Sri Lanka), the series had hype for the right reasons.
Instead this series will be remembered for exactly the wrong reasons—Discussions about the pitches in Chennai & Pink Ball Test, rotation policy & England’s treatment of Moeen Ali, and hasty umpiring decisions (along with Kohli’s priceless reactions).
There were some good days for cricket as well with Ishant Sharma’s 100 Tests & 300 wickets, Joe Root’s 218, Anderson’s dream over, Foakes’ & Pant’s wicket-keeping, R Ashwin’s 100 & 9-fer, Ashwin’s 32 & Axar’s 27 wickets, Sundar’s 85* & 96*, Rohit Sharma’s masterclass, and Pant’s reverse sweep (to Anderson) in a brilliant 100.
Read till the end for my picks for the best moments,emerging players, controversies, and much more! COMMENT BELOW ON YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS.
*Note: Underlined & Bolded links are videos. Underlined without bold are links to other articles.
Results – England Vs India
The reason why I did not enjoy this series as much was due to the lack of competitiveness. 227 runs, 317 runs, 10 wickets, and an innings victory was in complete contrast to the edge-of-the-seat stuff (last session draws/chases) in the Australia series.
India Ravichandran Ashwin – 189 runs (best of 106, average 31.50, 1 – 100)
Most Runs
Joe Root – 368 runs (best of 218, average 46.00, 100s/50s – 1/0)
Rohit Sharma – 345 runs (best of 161, average 57.50, 100s/50s -1/1
Most Wickets
Jack Leach – 18 wickets (best innings – 4/54, best match – 6/178, 28.72 average, strike rate 53.6)
R Ashwin – 32 wickets (best innings – 6/61, best match – 9/207, 14.71 average, 35.2 SR, 3 5-fers
India Vs England 2021 Test Series Stats
The Highlights
England
1. We Miss The Non-Converting Joe Root
At the beginning of 2021, Joe Root’s stats read 17-100s, 49-50s. After the Sri Lanka & India tours, his stats read 20-100s, 49-50s. His last 6 Test matches show:
228 & 1 (run-out), 186 & 11, 218 & 40
6 & 33, 17 & 19, 5 & 30
Notice something? He converted 3 daddy hundreds, and then followed it up with 3 middling Test matches (mainly due to the intelligent bowling of Axar and Siraj). Now, we should not be too harsh on Root. The law of averages surely catches up, he had additional stress of captaincy, and he even bowled his heart out including a 5/8.
Still, the Joe Root who scored consistent 60s & 70s might have been more than handy on this low scoring tour. The 50th 50 would be cherry on top of his personally successful season.
2. Batting Wins Matches
Catches win matches? Sure. Need to take 20 wickets to secure a Test victory? Maybe.
How about batting with scores of 178, 134 & 164, 112 & 81, and 205 & 135? Definitely Not. This is called batting yourself out of a Test series. Let us dig a bit deeper:
Pope 153 runs at 19.12 (best of 34), Sibley 134 at 16.75 (best of 87) – 4 Tests each
Burns 58 runs at 14.50 (best of 33), Bairstow 28 at 7.00 (best of 7, 3 ducks), Crawley 67 at 16.75 (best of 53) – 2 Tests each
For international level cricket, if your Top 5 comprises of these players, barely-in-form Root-Stokes, and Buttler/Foakes, then this is just not going to cut it.
Maybe a certain Joe Denly might have been able to weather the storm better. If not the centuries, at least the Denturies would have come.
3. Anderson, Foakes & Lawrence The Bright Stars
Let us take out the stats for the moment, and look at the bright side.
Winning a Test match is not easy. Winning away even harder. Hence, the 227 run victory in Chennai should be regarded as a huge accomplishment, regardless of the 3-1 margin. (The issue was not the score line. Rather, it was the way they lost the final 3 Test matches).
Jimmy Anderson’s 6/40 in Galle & 3/17 in Chennai should rest the ‘Clouderson’ and ‘poor away record’ claims. That 3/17 included one of the best overs of reverse swing you will ever see. A well set Shubman Gill was bowled through the gate, Rahane survived an umpires call appeal, and then carbon copy bowled. Does not get any better than that.
On the turning pitches, Ben Foakes’ keeping was absolutely magnificent. His split-second stumping of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant in the 2nd innings of the 2nd Test were quite something. (His batting showed signs of defiance, but could not reach his heights of his debut). Finally with 73 on debut and 46 & 50 in the final Test, Dan Lawrence showed some signs of steel.
Finally Channel 4 coverage was a win-win situation for the fans.
India
1. Axar Patel Invokes His Inner Embuldeniya, R Ashwin – The Man of the Hour
Just like Embuldeniya troubled England prior to this tour, Axar was the concern this time around. Straighter one, bounce, turn, guile, he had it all.
The best part is that Axar was not even supposed to play this series if not for Jadeja’s injury. 27 wickets at 10.59 with 4 5-wicket hauls & 1-10 wicket haul (best inning – 6/38, best match 11/70). Even got the opportunity to take a five-wicket haul at his home with some crowd. Stuff of dreams.
R Ashwin has got to be the most intelligent player in international cricket. He has a YouTube channel, reads books in his free time, is an engineer, can mess with the batsmen due to the Mankad-threat, talks to the media about a ‘bad pitch’, walks the talk with a 106 on the Chennai turner, and bamboozles the batsmen with skillful bowling.
The dismissals of Ollie Pope (carrom ball, beats the bat, bowled) in the final Test have to be my moments of this series.
2. The Sharmas Come To The Party
Wonderful achievement by Ishant Sharma for his 100th Test & 300 wickets. Just rewards for a brilliant journey over the last decade. Although this series was spin-dominated, Ishant Sharma 4.0 still has several years to offer to Indian cricket.
Rohit Sharma went very much under the radar this time, but India’s series victory was in jeopardy without his contributions. 161 on a tricky pitch was the turning moment of the series, and he followed it up with patient 26, 66 & 25*, and 49. In these low scoring matches, runs on the board provided the cushion for the spinners to dominate.
3. India’s Big 3 Just Not Good Enough, Depth Covers the Spots
Just like many other well-wishers, I had predicted Virat Kohli to come back in this series with a tough 50 at the start and a a double century by the end. The tough 72 in the 2nd innings at Chennai definitely came, but nowhere near the elusive 71st international century. Here are the stats:
Virat Kohli: 172 runs at 28.66 (best of 72, 2-50s, 2 ducks)
Ajinkya Rahane: 112 runs at 18.66 (best of 67, 1-50, 1 duck)
Cheteshwar Pujara: 133 runs at 22.16 (best of 73, 1-50, 1 duck)
I do not remember so many ducks by these 3. Nor do I remember a series where none fired.
Apart from Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, & R Ashwin all outscored the middle order stalwarts. Since India emerged victorious, the cracks are temporarily filled, but questions should be asked.
After that Melbourne innings, Rahane has not done enough. Pujara is doing fine and crucial to India’s line up, but is not converting to daddy hundreds at the moment.
Given India’s depth, is it time to breed in the next generation? Is it time to rotate home/away batsmen as India rotates fast bowlers/ spinners?
Also Read:
Controversies
Umpires
The umpiring decisions in the 2nd & 3rd Tests caught the attention of the public. It was not necessarily the decisions made, but the manner in which they were decided (Ben Stokes’ catch – on field out, but turned over quickly). A standard procedure & muting the umpires’ conversation may be the way to go forward here.
Pitch
By the end of the series, it was easily recognized that England’s lack of batting application led to their downfall, not the state of the pitches. However, 2-day & 3-day matches do not anybody a favor, either. The pink ball Test is supposed to get more public to watch the game, but most of these matches are ending in 3 or 4 days, which is counterintuitive. The first Test may have been the most balanced pitch, even though it was slow & attritional for the first day and a half.
Rotation Policy
Finally, the rotation policy. England’s rotation policy has possibly extended the careers of Broad & Anderson, given a chance to youngsters fighting for a national spot, and is important in the coronavirus era due to mental health. Rotation is not necessarily a bad thing, but how it was implemented in this series was dodgy.
Archer, Burns, & Stokes were rested for the series in Sri Lanka, while the rest of the squad stayed. However, Buttler left after one Test, Moeen Ali finally playing a Test only to go back home (due to miscommunication), Bairstow played the last two, Woakes left without playing, so on and so forth.
I cannot imagine how much the constant traveling & jet lag, inconsistency in selection & unsettled line-ups, and not having enough practice games might have impacted their minds. I can understand rotation between series, but during a series is a bit much.
And if this rotation was for the preparation for upcoming T20 World Cup & IPL, losing out to the WTC Final spot at home should seriously be questioned.
Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
India made Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel (greatest understudy of all time), and Washington Sundar into world class all-rounders. England took a world class all-rounder in Moeen Ali and practically destroyed a budding career.
India
England
Emerging Player
Axar Patel
Dan Lawrence, Rotation Policy
Surprise Package
Lower Middle Order
Dom Bess’s Full Tosses; Joe Root’s 5-fer
Broken Cricket Dream
Shardul Thakur – Did not get a game after a 92 & 4-fer at Gabba Dreams Broken For Fans Wanting Ashwin to become the 4th player to do the double of 100 + 10-fer
Stuart Broad’s Asian Dream, Jonny Bairstow’s Test Career, Moeen Ali
India Vs England 2021 Test Series Awards
Where Do They Go From Here?
A 5 match T20I series & 3-match ODI series to follow, preparing for the upcoming T20I World Cup in India. Then, we will have the IPL, England will play a couple of test matches against the New Zealand at home, and finally India Vs New Zealand for the WTC final.
After England’s victory at Chennai, I declared that this English team could rival the 2010-2012 team due to the good mix of youth, experience, & abroad victories. I guess that was a bit premature.
Was this India Vs England 2021 Test series the ‘greatest story of all time’ like the India Vs Australia? Nope.
Was it as controversial as the South Africa Vs Australia scandalous ball tampering series? Not really.
At best, this was just a Meh kind of series. Had its moments, but did not capture the imagination of the next generation. Sums it up for the World Test Championship.
What did you think of the India Vs England 2021 Test Series? Let us know!
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Author Matshona Dhliwayo once remarked, “Our most beautiful dreams are born from our most unpleasant nightmares.”
Nicholas Pooran is a living embodiment of this statement.
Precocious talent & gifted with immense power. Maturity beyond his years. With a simple, honest, & grateful demeanor. Only that an unpleasant nightmare would change his life forever.
Here is the story of Nicholas Pooran—the next big thing in world cricket. This is a tale of unimaginable pain, hope in the time of uncertainty, & inspiration for all.
Nicholas Pooran announced himself to the cricketing world in the 2014 U-19 Cricket World Cup. Top scored for the West Indies and fourth highest overall in the tournament—303 runs at 60.60 with a strike rate of 99.34 with 1 century and 2 fifties.
Quarter Final time. West Indies Vs Australia. The West Indies are struggling at 7-3. In comes Nicholas Pooran. Nudges it around and brings up a calm fifty from 75 balls. Wickets keep falling at the other end. The Windies are now 85-8.
Then came the onslaught (Watch this). Straight sixes galore. Flicked six. Sixes over cow corner. Breathtaking stuff.
West Indies end with a score of 208. Nicholas Pooran top scores 143 off 160 balls, last man out. Next highest? 20 runs by the #10. The scorecard read: 1, 4, 10, 0, 143, 7, 1, 1, 1, 20, 0*.
With that knock, he came into national spotlight as a future wicketkeeper after Denesh Ramdin. A debut first class & CPL season with Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel would follow. At age 17, he hit 54 (24) including an inside-out six and reverse sweep to Sunil Narine. The 2014 Sunil Narine that is.
But barely into his cricketing career, little did he know that his world was about to turn upside down.
The Accident
On January 6, 2015, news broke through that Pooran had been injured in a horrific car accident. He suffered a ruptured left patellar tendon and fractured right ankle.
Two surgeries, several months on wheelchair, endless therapy & rehab sessions later, Pooran finally started to walk again after six months. A couple of months later, he would start jogging. 18 months from the incident, a CPL game with Barbados Trident.
Two and a half years later—a West Indian jersey.
During these tough times, he found a support system comprising of his parents, Dr. Oba Gulston (physiotherapist in CPL teams), Kelvin Williams (assistant coach in T&T), coach Phil Simmons, and mentor & future captain, Kieron Pollard. Pooran credits Pollard’s constant encouragement, communication, & support that got him through.
It was Pollard’s faith in Pooran & his talent, that he vouched for his selection in the CPL with his team, Barbados Trident. And boy did he repay his faith.
July 17, 2016. St. Lucia Zouks Vs Barbados Tridents.
Pooran outclassed a batting order comprising of Shoaib Malik, the 2016 version of AB De Villiers, and Kieron Pollard. In a 49 run partnership with Pollard, Pollard scored only 6. Dominating comeback performance. Watch his blistering knock of 81 (39). 558 days later, Nicholas Pooran was back.
As he said in his post-match interview, “I am back. I am back stronger.”
After the comeback, the only direction Pooran could go was up. He would make his T20I debut later that year in September 2016. International recognition would come in the 2018 & 2019 T20I series against India.
The moment when I realized he was the next big thing in world cricket was the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Whenever Pooran came to the crease, I knew something was bound to happen. Some of his knocks included:
34 (19) Vs Pakistan, 40 (36) Vs Australia, 63 (78) Vs West Indies, 118 (103) Vs Sri Lanka, & 58 (43) Vs Afghanistan.
His maiden international century against Sri Lanka was especially something else. In a chase of 339, West Indies struggle at 145-5. He pulls & heaves. Knocks the ball around. Brilliant partnership with Fabian Allen gets them close until Allen’s unfortunate run-out. Yet, until Pooran was at the crease, anything could have happened.
31 needed of 18, and West Indies are still in the game. Only for a hobbling Angelo Mathews to get Pooran off a wide one against all odds. End of the dream.
The West Indies did not make it to the semi-finals, but Pooran established his presence with that knock. The ability to combine composure & power is what makes him extremely dangerous. The sweet sound off his bat is second to none. And the question comes again, why isn’t he selected for Test cricket again?
What Is He Doing Now?
His stocks continued to rise with leagues around the world. Recently, Pooran’s performance in the IPL with the KXIP was outstanding, including the best fielding effort you will ever see. With the bat, 353 runs at 170 was not too bad either.
He is now the vice-captain in the T20I squad (as of the Sri Lanka series. Yes the one in which Kieron Pollard hit 6 sixes).
What Can We Learn From Nicholas Pooran?
Although just 25, we can learn so many from Pooran already. He does not like to dwell on the incident, and instead look on the bright side and stay in the present. Let us do exactly that and see how we can apply the inspirational lessons in our lives. Here is Pooran in his own words.
Pooran In His Own Words: The Life Lessons
“If I can come back from it, anyone can come back from anything.”
When life pushes you down, you always have two options—to view the glass as half empty or half-full. It is a matter of perspective. Optimism and keeping the hope alive will allow you to get through the tough times.
“I believe everything happens for a reason…blessing in disguise.”
Everyone has childhood dreams, whether that is to become a sports player, an artist, a world renowned scientist, but sometimes life works out differently. Instead of dwelling on the disappointments, we should be grateful what we actually have. Be thankful for your family, your health, and the fact you were given the opportunity to explore other ventures & improve upon yourself.
“I really doubted it but never give up on my dreams.”
Even the most positive individual can go in the depths of self-doubt. That is okay, it is just natural. Just keep working on it little by little by little, day by day. Who knows, your dream might come true and if it did not, you know you gave it an honest try. No regrets.
“Every single opportunity you get, you have to grab it.”
Do not wait to change to come. Find opportunities, and if you get a chance, give it your ALL. Put your entire soul & energy into it. Sometimes you will get multiple chances, while other times, you may only get one. Make it count.
Finally Pooran ends it perfectly with, “I appreciate the life that I have and the talent I have. I was blessed.”
Count your blessings. Gratefulness, Endurance, Persistence, Resilience, and Grace—that is what Pooran teaches us.
India Vs South Africa Women 2021 Series Preview—finally some progress in women’s cricket in India.
Earlier, we explored why Nobody Cares About Women’s Cricket. The Indian men have played a 60 day IPL, had a complete tour of Australia, and is now hosting England for a full series. On the other hand, Indian women have played half-a-week long T20 Challenge. That is it. No training either until recently. This will be India’s first assignment since the World T20 Final on March 8th, 2020.
Meanwhile South Africa women are coming on back of a 3-0 ODI & 2-1 T20I victory against Pakistan at home. Here is a preview of the 5 ODI & 3 T20I match tour between India and South Africa. Here is what you should expect, the big surprises in team selection, the squads, and our series prediction.
When and Where?
Here are the dates and the venue for the India Vs South Africa Women series.
Mithali Raj, the highest run scorer in Women’s ODI cricket, is just 85 runs shy of 10,000 international runs across formats (6888 ODI, 2364 T20I, 663 Tests). After 487 days away from national duty, she will back trying to take India to the ODI World Cup next year. At 38, this might be Raj’s final hurrah.
On the other end of the spectrum, watch out for the explosive 17-year-old Shafali Verma in the T20Is. She already has 19 international caps and strikes it at 146.24.
A lot will depend on the India’s experienced middle order. Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, and Sushma Verma (comeback) will need to make sure India bats 50 overs in case of a collapse.
South Africa: Enviable Top-Order With Lee, Wolfvaardt, and Luus
If the top order of Lizelle Lee, Laura Wolfvaardt, and Sune Luus play to their potential, this South African team will be very hard to beat. Luus also has the extra responsibility of the stand-in captain in the absence of injured Dan van Niekerk.
Lookout for Trisha Chetty. A veteran of 114 ODIs, the wicketkeeper-batsman is integral to the core of this South African side.
Tazmin Brits is the in-form T20I batsman for South Africa. With scores of 52* & 66, she was the Player of the T20I series against Pakistan.
The Bowling
India: Shikha Pandey’s Omission The Talking Point
In the build up to this series, the omission of India’s pace spearhead, Shikha Pandey, has taken the public by surprise. India’s most successful pace bowler of recent times and 2nd highest wicket taker in India’s last assignment (T20 World Cup) this is a huge call.
In Shikha’s absence, the pace responsibility will lie with the veteran Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, and Arundhati Reddy (T20I only)
I am most excited to watch India’s spin trio—Poonam Yadav, the T20 World Cup star,, Radha Yadav, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad. The youngster, Harleen Deol, impressed in the T20 Challenge with the Trailblazers and might get more opportunities to showcase her talent on the international stage.
South Africa: Ample Fast Bowling Resources, but Spin the Concern
The allrounder, Marizanne Kapp, is the glue that holds South Africa’s together. In the Player of the Match performance in the 2nd ODI against Pakistan, she scored an unbeaten 68 along with 3-44 as the opening pace bowler. Brilliant.
Shabnam Ismail is one of the best fast bowlers on women’s cricket circuit at the moment. South Africa’s highest wicket taker in both ODIs and T20Is, she will be key to South Africa’s success.
Without regular captain and off-spinner van Niekerk, South Africa’s spin bowling department is the concern.
Along with Mandhana, Raj, & Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy caught the public’s eye in the 2017 ODI World Cup as India’s finisher. Yet, an ODI average of 25.9 & T20I average of 18.61 was not justifiable. Hopefully this is just a short term loss of form, and she we come roaring back soon.
Harmanpreet Kaur insisted that Pandey was ‘rested, not dropped‘ in order to experiment with the rest of the squad for upcoming tournaments. I do not buy this statement given a 18-member squad was picked regardless and that India has not played any international cricket for over a year.
South Africa: Masabata Klaas
South Africa are carrying a settled squad, with the exception of Klass. She suffered a last-minute injury in the Pakistan series and has not been picked for this series.
Prediction
Verdict: 3-2 South Africa (ODIs) & 2-1 India (T20Is)
South Africa’s top order and fast bowlers should give them the edge in the ODIs. Expect competitive games with scores around 225-250.
I am going with India 2-1 for the T20I series. The swashbuckling top order of Jemimah, Shafali, and Mandhana may be too much to handle for South Africa. India should look to bat first, put up a decent score, and let the spin trio handle the rest.
Let us know your thoughts on India Vs South Africa Women, and the eventual scorelines.
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My Starting XIs
These are my starting XIs (assuming everyone is available in terms of COVID and injuries).
Here we are with part II in our series, Make Test Cricket Great Again: Problems with Test Cricket.
Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
This is exactly our goal. The long-term ambition of this series of articles is to generate a whole list of problems associated with Test cricket, propose respective solutions(both idealistic & practical), bring other people in during the process, and maybe at the end, gather enough momentum to gain the attention of administrators & the ICC.
Today, we bring in our friends from Twitter who will share their concerns with Test cricket & the World Test Championship.
The more opinions we have, the better. We can only move forward with a rich exchange of ideas between the fans, commentators, local administrators, experts, & former players rather than just the meeting board room of the Big 3.
The Work Done So Far
We did a similar exercise during the early days of the World Test Championship, but we wish to build upon this model. Here are some of our past proposals to improve the WTC.
Problems: Imbalance of the Big 3 (Australia, England, India) and the bias of ‘marquee’ series like the 5-match Ashes.
Solution: Merge the FTP (Future Tour Programme) & the WTC, and create a system where each team plays a 5-4-3 match series or 4-4-4 Test match series during a cycle. “Instead of scrapping the Ashes, we will keep traditional rivalries intact and encourage new ones.” Overall, 24 games against 9 opponents in a 2.5 year WTC cycle.
Problems: (1) Points fluctuate based on number of games in a series (60 points – 2 Tests, 40 – 3 Tests, 24 – 5 Tests), (2) No points accommodated for Home & Away Advantage, and (3) All-Or-Nothing Points System for a 5 day-15 session Test match.
Solution: We combine the ODI Super League system (consistent base point system per series), provide a mechanism for home versus away (away wins & draws worth more), and distribute additional points across sessions to incorporate ebb & flow (2 points – session won, 1 point – even/wash out).
We implement our system from above and compare it with the WTC Table (as of August 30, 2020)
The Work Planned Ahead
The issue with my initial set of articles was the underlying assumption that each team will play an equal number of matches against each other. In a post-COVID world, matches are not guaranteed, and it seems certain nations are prioritizing games against higher ranked teams and calling off series against lower-ranked ones.
Hence, we plan to do practical investigations in our future articles:
Revenue each Test playing nation generates: How much money does each cricket board and player earn every Test series per country? Why does New Zealand lose money to host a Test? How does the revenue compare to T20 leagues and the death of the tri-series?
What does it take to host a Test match? We can analyze what goes during the match but what goes behind the scenes? We will research and examine key components: The major players, administrators, ground staff, and more.
Equity vs Equality: Innovations that can help further bridge the gap between the different teams given the current financial status and level of each team.
The Pink Ball Test: Does More Harm Than Good? Day-night Test matches ending in 2-3 days cannot generate more crowd/interest than a balanced Test match held for 5 days during the day. We will analyze the key differences between the red ball & pink ball, practice matches in domestic tournaments, and if this idea is worth sustaining?
Your Opinion Matters: Problems With Test Cricket
In Part I of the series, we asked our friends on Twitter how they would improve Test cricket. Some ideas that I brainstormed to get the conversation started were as follows:
Getting rid of DRS umpires call (on impact)
Improving/ Standardizing pitches (Chennai 2x pitch received way too much backlash)
Promoting more money from T20 leagues to help out domestic cricketers
Having a relegation-promotion system for the WTC
What Do People Think?
Now it is the people’s turn. Here is what they had to say. These are interesting Twitter accounts, blogs, & podcasts in their own right. Feel free to check them out (links next to the name).
“Definitely agree that that there is too much disparity between the big three and every other team. I am also onboard with a ‘division’ system for the WTC.”
Every team should play against each other. That will make the tournament lengthy but it will make it perfect and no teams can be said to have an easier pool or tougher pool. Conduct finals once in 4-5 years. Every Test playing nation should play against each other. It will make the WTC more enthralling contest.
“I just hate the comments that this team got ‘easier’ away tours than others. Or easier home games. WTC is a mighty big championship and in something big like this, you do not want any comments which should call it unfair.”
Conclusion
Brilliant entries from Twitter! Major theme was to create a balance in the number of Test matches played between each country during a particular cycle. Some innovative solutions for the WTC included 2 groups semi-finals format, bonus points against higher ranked teams, & a 3-match final. For Test cricket in general—mandatory neutral umpires, DRS improvement, & updating rain-protocols were some interesting proposals.
Looking Forward
Last time, I started with “I have been meaning to write this article for months now, but for some reason have not been able to.”
I now know why. This is not a one day project. Or a one week project. Or even a one person project. This will take input from several individuals, research & conversations, back & forth exchanges, and a lot of time. But, as they say:
“Rome was not built in day. It was built brick by brick.”
One step at a time.
Make Test Cricket Great Again and Restore the Soul of This Wonderful Sport.
Amidst the India Vs England series, the Pakistan Super League, and IPL Auctions around the corner, this series was not really supposed to be the marquee series. In hindsight, this series will be remembered forever due to the extraordinary feats of Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner.
As Ian Bishop exclaimed, “These men have achieved what many thought was impossible.”
There were other moments as well during the series—Shakib Al Hasan’s much anticipated return, Rovman Powell’s ODI resurgence, Mehidy Hasan Miraz & Mominul’s tons, and finally, the new West Indian ‘engine room’—Jermaine Blackwood, Bonner, Mayers, Joshua Da Silva, and Alzarri Joseph.
*Note: Underlined & Bolded links are videos. Underlined without bold are links to other articles.
The West Indies batting underwhelmed in the ODIs with scorecards that read 5-56 (122 all out), 8-88 (148 all out), 6-117 (177 all out). Questions will be asked for the second string squad & the necessity of mental health breaks during COVID, but the Test series saved those questions for now.
In all the collapses, one batsman stood out—Rovman Powell. 28, 41, & 47 briefly resurrected the West Indies’ innings, but he would want to convert those in the near future.
With not many runs on the board, only Akeal Hosein stood out with a 3-wicket haul.
Tests
Rakheem Cornwall joins the party. Ever since his international selection, questions have always surrounded him – whether it is his fitness or batting ability. 14 wickets in the series and great slip catches will ensure he stays in the squad for a while now.
Time to talk about the debutants—Kyle Mayers & Nkrumah Bonner. The talk of the town. Debuting at the age of 28, his maturity was on-spot with a 40 and a 4th innings 210*. Mind blowing. Successful chase of 396 with a partnership of 216. Although Bonner did not scale the heights of a century, he contributed in both matches with 17 & 86 and 90 & 38.
With the glory surrounding Mayers & Bonner, Joshua Da Silva has quietly emerged as a solid middle order option for the West Indies. Scores of 42, 20, 92, & 20 did not light the world on fire, but the partnerships surely did (99, 100, 88, 118).
Alzarri Joseph is turning out to be a gem for the West Indies. After his 86 against New Zealand recently, he came up with a 82 in Bangladesh. Future fast-bowling all rounder?
Bangladesh
ODIs
Tamim Iqbal’s batting has been effective without being flashy, unlike the pre-2015 Iqbal. A senior top-order batsman & now captain, he was responsible with scores of 44, 50, & 64. With 7360 runs in ODI, he is definitely Bangladesh’s all-time best ODI batsman. And he is only 31.
Shakib Al Hasan’s return to cricket after his 1 year ban was seamless. 4/8 in the first ODI, player of the match, and player of the series. Unfortunately, the injury cut his Test series short. Next place? IPL with KKR. What a steal (Although he is skipping the Sri Lanka Test series).
Mehidy Hasan Miraz is the next all-rounder in line after Shakib Al Hasan. Already a star, he regularly contributes with the bat and ball. In the ODI series, he was the highest wicket taker.
Speaking of Mehidy Hasan, Test match batting. 103, 57, & 31 – losing cause but kept his shoulders high.
Liton Das, another budding youngster, has largely underwhelmed in his short career so far. Averages of 28.62, 30.97, & 22.71 in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, does not justify his talent. Pretty 20s and 30s are not going to get you too far in international cricket, but scores of 69, 38, 71, & 22 show growing signs of maturity for Liton Das.
Captain Mominul Haque quelled the voices around him with a second innings 115 in the first Test. 3048 runs at 41.18 with 10 centuries and best of 181 is a decent record, but he needs to play more of these “captain’s innings.”
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Bangladesh
West Indies
Emerging Player
Mehidy Hasan Miraj, the Test batsman
Joshua Da Silva & Ian Bishop’s commentary
Surprise Package
Liton Das
Rakheem Cornwall
Broken Cricket Dream
Shakib Al Hasan (injured)
Jason Holder’s captaincy (Braithwaite permanent?)
West Indies Vs Bangladesh 2021: Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player for the West Indies Vs Bangladesh 2021 series? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please subscribe!
Bangladesh will fly to New Zealand for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. Then they will tour Sri Lanka in April to complete the twice postponed WTC series.
West Indies
West Indies will tour Sri Lanka for a T20I series. Returns for Chris Gayle (who cut his PSL campaign short for international return) and Fidel Edwards (Kolpak deals end with Brexit). Definitely looking like a side who is willing to go for their 3rd World T20 World Cup title.
Gayle even said he will try to play cricket till 45. Wow. GOAT.
Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Series Review—a historical series. South Africa’s first visit to the nation after more than a decade.
The return of Aiden Markram and Hasan Ali, the absence of Mohammad Hafeez, lots of Mohammad Rizwan, and curtains to Faf Du Plessis’ Test career. We look at the highs & lows, broken dreams, emerging players, and World T20I Watch.
Mohammad Rizwan – 197 runs (1 – 100, 1 – 50, best of 104*, average 98.5, 145.92 SR)
David Miller – 116 runs (1 – 50, best of 85*, average 116, 156.75 SR)
Most Wickets
Usman Qadir – 4 wickets (best of 2/21, 6.90 economy)
Tabraiz Shamsi – 6 wickets (best of 4/25, 5.08 economy)
T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
Pakistan
Test
The energizer is back with Pakistan. Hasan Ali’s domestic resurgence has translated directly into international performances. 5/54 & 5/60 match winning 10-fer. Skiddy action, the passion, and the celebration.
In the last 5 first class matches, Fawad Alam has scores of 139 (vs NZ A), 102, 109, 45. Consistency and the 109 at home. Destined.
It is the season of Faheem Ashraf-Mohammad Rizwan partnership. After a streak of match-saving consecutive overseas 50s for Rizwan, he finally converted to a ton with 115* in Rawalpandi. Similarly, following his 91 in New Zealand, Ashraf followed up with 64 and 78* in Pakistan.
T20I
Rizwan strikes again. Followed up his Test century with a 104*, 51, and 42 in the T20Is. Brilliant. Just brilliant. And if you thought that was consistent enough, now has scores of 71 and 41 for Karachi Kings in the PSL.
Let us talk about the ones missing in action (at least offline), shall we? Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfaraz Ahmed. The best Pakistan T20I batsman over the past year, Mohammad Hafeez opted out of the international series due to T10 league & clashes with the quarantine dates for the South Africa series. Yet, he was active on Twitter and had a few exchanges with former captain and current substitute, Sarfaraz. Hopefully, it is just a one-time thing and Pakistan cricket can move on.
It seems that Aiden Markram debuted ages ago. After his brilliant start to Test cricket in 2017, it seemed that Markram was in an eternal downward spiral. Still only 26, this overseas tour of Pakistan may well be a watershed rejuvenation moment for Markram. Long career ahead.
When one door opens, another closes. While Markram excelled, Quinton de Kock had a horrific series with the bat. 4 innings – 46 runs. Now, he is also released as the Test captain and has taken a mental health break from South Africa’s domestic tournament.
Speaking of closed doors, Faf Du Plessis. The sun has finally set on a career marked with tenacity, grit, leadership, and hope. A Test career that started a bit late due to the great South African generation, a debut stonewalling to remember at Adelaide, a few blockathons here and there, a lot of Australia and India, captaincy records, and an iconic 199 to cap it off. Hats off Faf. Be sure to read our tribute to Faf below.
KILLER MILLER IS BACK!!!! Look at some of the hits here. 85* (45) with 7 sixes albeit in a losing cause. Almost half a decade since this type of innings. Good signs for the Proteas looking forward to the T20I World Cup.
Moving to the bowling side, Dwaine Pretorius slowly inking his name in the T20I XI. A 5 wicket haul including a brilliant yorker. Scalps of Babar Azam and in-form Mohammad Rizwan. Not bad.
Tabraiz Shamsi has been the unsung mainstay of South African bowling recently. The fast bowling unit bar Rabada (and now, Nortje) seems to be a revolving door, but the absence of Imran Tahir has not been felt due to Shamsi. Highest wicket taker in the T20I series with a miserly economy.
The Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Pakistan
South Africa
Emerging Player
Hasan Ali 2.0, Fawad Alam 3.0, and Rizwan-Ashraf partnership
Left Arm Spinners
Surprise Package
Usman Qadir
Return of Aiden Markram
Broken Cricket Dream
Mohammad Hafeez-Sarfaraz Ahmed Twitter Exchanges
Test retirement of Faf Du Plessis
Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Review: The Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!\
These two teams will be back in action in April with Pakistan returning the favor with 3 ODIs and 4 T20Is, completing a postponed series from last year.
South Africa are still in a transition zone. The longer they stay here, the worse it gets. It is good to see the younger generation of players stand up, but hope it all meshes by the time the World T20 Cup hits later this year.
Pakistan are one to watch for the T20 World Cup. The PSL is being held at the right time, enough time for young stars to appear and get some international games under their belt.
World T20 Watch
Leading up to the World Cup, we are picking a 15 player squad after each series.
Pakistan
For reference, here was our earlier WT20 watch for Pakistan’s squad in our Pak Vs NZ series review. Some new faces have come into play, while some players have dropped off the list.
Babar Azam (C), 2. Mohammad Rizwan (WK), 3. Haider Ali, 4. Mohammad Hafeez, 5. Shadab Khan, 6.. Imad Wasim, 7. Faheem Ashraf, 8. Hasan Ali, 9. Haris Rauf, 10. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11. Usman Qadir
Squad: 12. Naseem Shah, 13. Mohammad Nawaz/Zafar Gohar/Zahid Mahmood, 14. Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK)/Sharjeel Khan, 15. Iftikhar Ahmed/Shoaib Malik
Other Reserves in Contention: Imam-Ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman (opener), Mohammad Hasnain/Mohammad Musa/Aamer Yamin (fast bowler), Khusdil Shah/Hussain Talat/Asif Ali (lower order finisher)
Wildcard: Sohail Tanvir
Probably curtains for Wahab Riaz & possible Mohammad Amir comeback.
South Africa
Quinton de Kock* (WK), 2. Janneman Malan, 3. Faf du Plessis, 4. Rassie Van der Dussen, 5. Heinrich Klassen (C), 6. David Miller, 7. George Linde, 8. Chris Morris, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Tabraiz Shamsi
Other Reserves In Contention: Lutho Sipamla/Bjorn Fortuin/Junior Dala, Pete van Biljon, Temba Bavuma/ Reeza Hendricks/Aiden Markram
Wildcard: AB De Villiers (WK), Marco Jansen?
What did you think of our Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Review? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below! Also feel free to share/discuss on our Twitter & Facebook pages!
