By Nitesh Mathur, Broken Cricket Dreams, 4/07/2022
Today was such a pleasant day for cricket—The County Championship 2022 began, going back to the two-division structure from the ‘pre-pandemic’ era.
8 concurrent matches (I watched the Essex Vs Kent game), friendly exchanges on social media, centuries for Nick Browne & Sir Alastair Cook (yep still going strong!), Somerset bundled for 180 by Hampshire, and lots of young talent on show!
And when there is a new tournament, there is #BCDPredictions. The County Championship is long! It ends at the end of September. So, here are the predictions of our friends from Twitter and Facebook here so we can compare at the end of the journey, who got most Predictions right!
The categories for the County Championship 2022 Predictions are:
#MostRuns, #MostWickets, #WinnerDiv1, #WinnerDiv2, and #LookingForwardTo.
As a reminder, the two divisions are structured as follows:
Division One
Essex
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Kent
Lancashire
Northamptonshire
Somerset
Surrey
Warwickshire
Yorkshire
Divisiion Two
Derbyshire
Durham
Glamorgan
Leicestershire
Middlesex
Nottinghamshire
Sussex
Worcestershire
*If you have not submitted your predictions, there is still time! You can send the predictions in the form below or tag us in Twitter.
My County Championship 2022 Predictions
Due to my personal affinity for Alastair Cook, I went with Essex for Division I, but will be following several domestic and international stars.
Specifically would love to see openers Rory Burns & Dom Sibley return to top form after an indifferent last year in Test cricket. Sam Curran is returning from injury, stalwarts Jimmy Anderson, Hashim Amla, & Darren Stevens are still around, while South Africans Simon Harmer, George Linde, and Kyle Abbott can wreck mayhem on their day.
For the overseas stars, I am looking forward to out-of-favor Cheteshwar Pujara and Pakistani internationals in Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan. Tom Haines & Josh de Caires are some popular youngsters to watch.
#LookingForwardTo: Robin Smith not being at Headingly
Also before you check out the rest of the predictions, check out BCD’s other social media pages and consider subscribing to our newsletter. It would really help support this website.
“Jordan Cox, Ollie Robinson in batting, Matt Milnes and Harry Podmore in bowling. Young Zimbabwean all rounder Tawanda Muyeye who might play a few games.”
— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) March 25, 2022
The Predictions
First, we look at the predictions from the Subtle Curry Sportsfacebook group. It is an awesome community for any sports fan. Definitely recommend checking their group out.
Today we talk to Vandit, a mathematics graduate student from Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. He attended the Only Test between England & Australia in the Women’s Ashes Test at Manuka Oval in Canberra held between January 27-30, 2022.
What a breathtaking Test match that was. One wicket to go, fielders crowding around the bat, and an anti-climactic full toss. Match Drawn, a befitting result to the great battle between the two teams over four days.
This was Heather Knight’s Test (168* & 48), but there were so many other moments in the game—Haynes 86-Lanning’s 93, plenty of 50s, Katherine Brunt’s 5-fer, the Knight-Ecclestone partnership, Australia’s middle order, declarations, the Sciver-Dunkley assault, Beth Mooney’s catch, and Alana King’s marvelous debut.Relive the last day highlights here.
The Interview
I would like to take a moment to thank Vandit for doing this interview. He has been an ardent follower of the Broken Cricket Dreams Blog from Day 1. Love the interaction, comments, and suggestions! Thank you for all the support 😊
Vandit is a lifelong follower of cricket and holds deep analysis about each and every aspect of the game. His statistical skills are second to none and as some of you may know, so are his prediction skills. Without further ado, here is my dear friend Vandit—Women’s Ashes Test experience, hopes and dreams, discussion on Ganguly-Dhoni-Kohli, and more. Expect a hint of philosophy as well🔥🔥
1. What days of the Women’s Ashes Test did you attend?
Day 2 and Day 4.
2. What was your overall feel & atmosphere of the ground, especially with that ending.
There was good support. The ground wasn’t anywhere near full, but there must have been a couple of thousand people. That’s more than enough to create an atmosphere. The noise and support inside a stadium is something else. If you want to watch every ball and soak in every detail of the match, it’s better to watch on TV because you get all the best camera angles and all kinds of replays. For instance, if you’re watching at the ground from square leg, it’s hard to tell how much the ball is swinging, seaming, or turning.
But if you want to feel the atmosphere, nothing beats going to the ground. ‘Fan parks’ or ‘mass viewing areas’ might come close for atmosphere but the ground itself is something else, because there are people shouting suggestions and praise at the players,
‘Keep up the pressure, girls’ or ‘Just a wicket away.’
But there was also appreciation for opposition performances, particularly Heather Knight’s century in the first innings. The massive roars the fall of a wicket in the final session, particularly Darcie Brown’s LBW dismissal of Heather Knight and Beth Mooney’s catch at deep midwicket off Alana King to dismiss Sophia Dunkley stood out.
3. What are you looking forward for in the Women’s World Cup?
A competitive, exciting World Cup hopefully. Australia will probably win. A competitive tournament with India going far would be great for the game at the stage.
4. Thoughts on the Women’s IPL?
Looking forward to a Women’s IPL. There’s more than enough talent for a quality competition, and we’ve seen the Big Bash. And now that it’s in the pipeline, that’s good news for cricket.
5. Any Opinions 4-Day Tests in Women’s Cricket?
I think 4 days is okay to start off, since most first-class games are played over 4 days. They don’t play much domestic red ball cricket anyway, so going from limited overs domestic to 5-day Test is quite a jump. More important thing to be addressed for women in the number of tests.
6. How many other live matches have you attended/any particular memories?
Attended another couple of matches but a long time ago. An India vs Zimbabwe ODI in the VB Series in 2004, when Zimbabwe regularly competed strongly against the top sides stands out, a close finish with India winning by 3 runs.
7. Describe your playing career.
Used to play for school until early high school but stopped. Recently started playing for the university’s club. One of the reasons is that fans should support cricket in any way possible, and getting involved in the game, scoring, umpiring, playing, coaching, anything is good. Definitely encourage people to join their local club. If nothing is available close by, start something or just play with a group for fun, if not competitively.
Photos from the Women’s Ashes Test at the Manuka Oval
Here are some pictures from his stands at the Manuka Oval.
8. Favorite IPL team?
Chennai.
9. What were your major takeaways from the IPL Mega Auction?
I will be following the first round of the Ranji Trophy instead.
10. Broken Cricket Dream?
Not really any particularbroken dream. But most kids who play cricket do dream of playing for the country, but it was far-fetched. If I had played at a higher level, would have liked to bowl medium pace and be a useful batsman at 8.
11. How Has Cricket Helped You?
Cricket is obviously a great way to stay active and do so as a part of a team. In some way it is also a social activity which allows you to interact with others in a way that more individual sports like cycling or running don’t.
12. What Have You Learned From Cricket?
Being a team sport, cricket forces you to contribute as part of a group in different ways.
Of course, while batting, you want to stay out there andscore runs, buteven when you aren’t on strike, you want to run hard for your partner’s runs and be observant about the opposition’s bowling, fielding, and the condition of the wicket. That way, you’re contributing all the time, not just when you’re on strike.
And when you’re bowling, of course you want to keep it tight or take wickets but even when you aren’t, you want to save every run in the field, take a catch or effect a run out and keep the pressure up for the other bowlers.
That way cricket forces you to give your all at all times, not just when your stats are stake.
13. Cricketing Heroes and What You Have Learned from Them?
Sourav Ganguly for his fearless approach and want to take on the opposition in their home conditions; always having the fight even if the odds or history aren’t in your favour.
MS Dhonifor his calmness on the field, never too flusteredbyon-field happenings. This discussion is excellent.
Virat Kohlifor his passion and emotion, especially earlier in his career. A lot of people didn’t like that version of Kohli but just replays of how angry or disappointed he’d be when he used to get out and that’ll tell you how much he wanted to do well.
14. Broken Cricket Dream as a Fan?
I’ve read BCD articles since the beginning and have always enjoyed them. With some articles having a different twist, especially the philosophical considerations, BCD links cricket to life.It can be easy to follow a sport as just a sport and nothing else, and maybe that’s how it’s meant to be, but it’s hard to ignore the parallels between cricket and life, and lessons to be learnt from great cricket performances and great cricketers.
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Women’s cricket has become mainstream over the last decade, especially with the breakthrough 2017 ODI World Cup and the 2020 T20 World Cup final, but how much do we really about it?
The general public can remember who won the 1979 Cricket World Cup, Kapil Dev’s 1983 catch, Wasim Akram’s 1992 swing, South Africa’s collapses, and Australia’s dominance in men’s cricket. Here we will educate ourselves about the Women’s Cricket World Cup—How many World Cups have happened, what happened in each world cup, who is the highest runs scorer, wicket taker, and much more!
By the end of this article, you will know everything from history to prepare yourself for the upcoming 2022 Cricket World cup.
Cricket’s first ODI World Cup was the 1973 Women’s Cricket World Cup, not the 1975 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Denmark played cricket? That’s right. While teams like Ireland and Netherlands made their impact in men’s world cup in the 2000s, teams like Ireland, Denmark, and Netherlands made their Women’s World Cup debut from the 1988 & 1993 world cups onwards.
In the 1973 World Cup, Jamaica & Trinidad and Tobago played as separate nations, not under West Indies.
In the 1973 & 1982 World Cup, an International XI was fielded as one of teams, comprised of players from England, New Zealand, Netherlands, Australia, India, Trinidad, and Jamaica.
Format: Round Robin (3 matches each), 6 matches total
Highest Run-Scorer: Margaret Jennings (127) – Australia
Highest Wicket Taker: Sharyn Hill (7) – Australia
Venue: New Zealand
Fun Fact:Australia won their first cricket world cup….first of their 20 world cups (5 men’s ODI, 1 T20 WC, 3 U-19 WC, 6 women’s ODI WC, 5 T20I WC)…WOW.
3. Hansells Vita Fresh 1982 Women’s Cricket World Cup
Venue: New Zealand
Winner: Australia 🥇
Runners Up: England 🥈
Teams: 5 (Australia, England, New Zealand, India, International XI)
Format: Triple Round Robin + Final (12 matches each), 31 matches total
Highest Run-Scorer: Jan Brittin (391) – England
Highest Wicket Taker: Lyn Fullston (23) – Australia (most in any women’s WC)
Fun Fact:Jackie Lord took 8-2-10-6 against India, women’s cricket best WC bowling figures to date. Electing to bat, NZ were bundled out for 80 in 58.5 overs via Diana Edulji’s 11.5-7-10-3 (60-over match). In reply, Lord helped bundle India for 37 in 35 overes.
Each team played each other THREE TIMES! Can you imagine that in today’s day and age? Also International XI makes a comeback.
Highest Run-Scorer: Debbie Hockley (456) – New Zealand (most in any women’s WC)
Highest Wicket Taker: Katrina Keenan (13) – New Zealand
Fun Fact:Belinda Clark 229* (pushing Australia to 412/7, best WC score ever till date) and Charlotte Edwards’ 173 broke ODI batting world records, Pakistan collapsed for 27/10 (lowest ever WC score), and Jhulan Goswami, on ball duty, was inspired to take up the sport as a child.The beginning of professionalization of women’s cricket (from skirts/culottes to trousers)
Teams: 8 (Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands)
Format: Round Robin + Semi-Finals + Finals, 31 matches total
Player of the Tournament:Lisa Keightley
Highest Run-Scorer: Karen Rolton (393) – Australia
Highest Wicket Taker: Charmaine Mason (17) – Australia
Fun Fact:A classic Australia Vs New Zealand final in New Zealand, who actually won their first (and only) ODI World Cup. The 2015 men’s world cup was actually just a revenge battle.
Teams: 8 (Australia, India, New Zealand, England, West indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ireland)
Format: Round Robin + Semi-Finals + Finals, 31 matches total
Player of the Tournament: Karen Rolton (Australia) (Rolton boasts the best WC average across women’s WC – 74.92)
Highest Run-Scorer: Charlotte Edwards (280)
Highest Wicket Taker: Neetu David (20)
Fun Fact:Featured a star cast—Belinda Clark, Lisa Sthalekar, Karen Rolton, Lisa Keightley, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Charlotte Edwards, Katherine Brunt, Isa Guha, Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Anjum Chopra, Neetu David, Anisa Mohammed—a clash of generations.
Teams: 8 (England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan)
Format: 2 Groups + Super Six + Final, 25 matches total
Player of the Tournament:Suzie Bates (New Zealand)
Highest Run-Scorer: Suzie Bates (407) – New Zealand
Highest Wicket Taker: Megan Schutt (15) – Australia
Fun Fact:India & Pakistan were the two teams that failed to qualify for the Super Sixes, while West Indies qualify for the Finals for the first (and only) time.
IPL is done, international cricket is back, and so is #BCDPredictions! Let us see how good the predictions of our fellow cricket fans on social media is.
We asked our viewers to respond with
#Winner
#Top4
#BestAssociates
#PlayerofWC
#MostRuns
#MostWickets
#BestCatch
#Surprise
#BrokenDream
So what do you say? Will we see any surprises? Are South Africa, Bangladesh, Afghanistan the dark horses for the tournament? How about rising Scotland? Any emerging players? Will we miss Faf, Tahir, Morris, Chahal, Narine, and more?
If you do not have enough information yet to do the predictions, check out these previews below.
#MostRuns: Buttler (may not be an Indian, cannot rule QDK too)
Discussion:
“…With Neesham, Boult, Lockie, Phillips, Kane, Jamieson all playing IPL advantage for them and not Pak…Guptill, Seifert, Kane, Conway, Phillips, Neesham, Santner, Sodhi/Southee, Boult, Ferguson, Kyle.”
“Babar, Rizwan out for less then 20 runs, then Pak may lose 99% if against NZ and India if chasing 170…For India, even after Rahul, Kohli, Pant Surya, Hardik, Jadeja, Shardul are there.”
“I feel having times like SA, Aus, WI, Eng in same group made Group B easy to qualify.”
Rohit-Rahul/Babar-Rizwan most settled opening pair
Cricket’s time has come. What we all feared for has finally happened.
The fifth Test between India and England was cancelled/postponed hours before the toss due to COVID-19. New Zealand similarly pulled out of Pakistan on the basis of security threats. England have followed suit and cancelled their Men’s/Women’s tour of Pakistan in October as well. There has been more cancellation than actual cricket recently.
The international cricket structure is dismantling before our eyes—overkill of cricket, the IPL takeover, an acute mental health crisis, and Pakistan’s abandonment on the world stage.
Since the return from COVID-induced break, scheduling has slowly escalated. Overkill of cricket has reached its boiling point.
Last summer, West Indies, Ireland, and Pakistan toured England in cricket’s return. IPL 2020 in UAE followed soon after. The entire world had eyes on one series or tournament at a time with enough gap in between.
However, post-vaccination, international scheduling has been torturous.
England began its tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year and stayed for the India series. Soon after, IPL 2021’s first iteration took place. Then India went to England for months. England launched the Hundred in the middle of the summer.
When the Hundred ended, the CPL began. Four days after the CPL, the IPL began. The IPL final will be held on October 15th. The much awaited T20 World Cup begins just two days later, on the 17th of October.
But wait, there’s more.
IPL All Year Round?
India begin their home season on November 17th three days after the World T20 Final. And in Jaipur. Given the depth of both India and New Zealand, it is likely they will field a second-string team. Why is there a need for a T20I series less than a week after the T20 World Cup has ended?
Beats me.
IPL 2020 in UAE was a joy to watch. After months, the best players of the world played cricket had gathered together without any interruptions. The balanced pitches in Abu Dhabi & Dubai were conducive to fast bowling while Sharjah provided us the stereotypical high scores.
However, September 2020, March 2021, September 2021, and March 2022…This seems to be developing into an unhealthy pattern. Add to two IPLs a year. a ten-team IPL with a big auction next year. 74 IPL matches will push India’s home series against South Africa into June. Another T20 World Cup is to follow next October.
With Trinbago Knight Riders, Saint Lucia Kings, and Barbados Royals all having IPL stake owners, the IPL takeover of the world is complete.
Mental Health Crisis At An All-Time High
A byproduct of back-to-back cricket, bubble-to-bubble travel, and IPL-to-IPL jam packed into the international calendar is recurring injuries, early retirements, and mental health breaks.
Ben Stokes has been the most prominent casualty to the mental health crisis. Personal tragedy, finger injury, recalled back to captain a COVID hit squad, IPL, The Hundred, Test matches. Stokes is 30, a prime of a sportsperson career. However due to the intense nature of the cricket calendar, he has withdrawn from the India Test series, IPL, World T20, and possibly the Ashes.
England have done their very best to preserve the physical and mental health of players irrespective of the controversial rest/rotation policy. Even with such management and resources, Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, & Mark Wood have been out for extended periods of time, while Banton-Bairstow-Buttler have pulled out of the IPL & other T20 leagues.
The Ashes begins on December 8th, shortly after the T20 World Cup. England’s team selection will give us an idea of how severe the mental crisis is.
Security Threats – Is There Western Bias Against Pakistan?
Pakistan was forced to make UAE their home for a decade after the horrifying 2009 shootings amidst the Sri Lanka series. India-Pakistan relations had already taken a hit a year earlier due to the Mumbai attacks. A year later, the spot-fixing crisis feat Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt further took down Pakistan cricket.
Regardless of the outside noise, Pakistan managed to win a T20 Cricket World Cup, Champions Trophy, and #1 Test rankings in the next decade. The Misbah-Younis era slowly got Pakistan’s reputation back as a respected cricketing nation. The PCB established a decent stable Pakistan Super League despite lack of finances and IPL experience.
With ambassadors like Daren Sammy volunteering to play in Pakistan, ICC sending a World XI team in 2017, PSL hosting playoffs at home, and series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, cricket was finally coming back.
Afghanistan Crisis In Spotlight
However New Zealand’s abandonment has set Pakistan cricket back yet another decade. It has started a domino effect with England pulling out and maybe, Australia next in line. Ramiz Raza, the new PCB chairman, has come out strongly against the “Western bloc.”
Australia have infamously been hesitant to play non-India subcontinental opposition. They have not invited Bangladesh for a Test series for years and are now on verge of cancelling the Afghanistan Test match based on lack of a women’s team (which is a decent point, but there was no opposition when Afghanistan was awarded Test status 4 years ago).
Afghanistan’s internal crisis has cast a shadow on their involvement in the T20 World Cup, and the geopolitical situation has made things worse for Pakistan as well.
Where There Is Money, There Is a Way
There was another security threat again today. This time with respect to the New Zealand women’s teamin England. The team went in lockdown, security was boosted, communication happened, investigation took place, threat was deemed as not credible, and the match is to go ahead as scheduled.
Fans have been citing the devastating 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks in response to Pakistan-New Zealand abandoned series. The Bangladesh team were minutes away from the mosque when the incident took place. The 3rd Test was subsequently cancelled.
However, since it was in New Zealand, future tours were not affected. Pakistan themselves toured in 2020-2021.
Where Does Cricket Go From Here?
These two situations display that there is an implicit bias against Pakistan as opposed to the Big 4—India, Australia, England, New Zealand.
India can get away with a poorly managed COVID-19 situation in the first iteration of IPL 2021 by totally disrupting the international calendar because of their financial monopoly. The IPL/Hundred can cause a Test match cancellation.
England & Australia are free to abandon tours of South Africa due to bio-bubble breaches while touring the other Big 3 countries in worse circumstances. New Zealand escape without security backlash from the rest of the world due to their positive image and non-controversial nature.
If cricket is to sustain itself, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe need due support from the rest.
ICC has put in better plans to raise awareness of cricket worldwide, provide structure for women’s & Associate cricket, and contextualize Test & ODI cricket. However, it first needs to ensure that cricketing culture in once prospering countries does not die away.
If cricket cannot guarantee balance in the post-COVID world—balance of powers, player wellness, security threats, & scheduling, then this is the end of cricket as we know it.
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