There are numerous scenic venues in world cricket, but if you had to choose the most beautiful cricket stadium from each country, what would they be?
Novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford penned the famous idiom “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
Everyone has their own definition of beauty. How would you define the most beautiful stadium in cricket? Would you choose the one with scenic backgrounds, largest capacity, the environment & fans, or history?
We choose the #1 international stadium from each country and state why we chose it. We will also list the stadiums that narrowly missed out.
And if you were wondering about the largest cricket stadiums in each country, which country has the most stadiums, the oldest venues to have hosted Test cricket, and the list of international stadiums in each country, we got you covered as well.
Earlier this year, the picturesque Gwadar Stadium in Balochistan (Pakistan) was inaugurated and immediately social media went viral. Playing cricket with white clays of Koh-e-Mehdi Hills in the background is just breathtaking.
At about the same time, England toured Sri Lanka for a Test series. The aerial view surrounding the stadium was magnificent.
This got us thinking—Choose the most beautiful stadium from each country but the catch is—the stadium has to have hosted at least one international match in any format. Without further ado, here is our list.
Lots of images head! Make sure to swipe right under each section to get a glimpse of all the stadiums in our shortlist.
*Note: Afghanistan is not considered since it plays its home matches in India. Also, the UAE is considered since international cricket is played there frequently.
List of Most Beautiful Cricket Grounds in the World
1. Melbourne Cricket Groud (MCG), Australia
Location: Jolimont, Melbourne (Victoria), Australia
Capacity: 100,000, Year Established: 1853
Home Teams: Australia, Victoria, Melbourne Stars
Why Is it the Most Beautiful Stadium in Australia? The second largest stadium by capacity now, the MCG has everything. The ideal place for an Ashes Test, a World Cup Final, or a Women’s T20 World Cup Final, the atmosphere at the MCG is electric. Each clap is heard, the Barmy Army is never too far away, and even the batters have to utilize the 90 meter boundaries by running the twos and threes.
Australia’s Top 3
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), New South Wales – The iconic green roof & Sydney’s skyline with the Sydney Opera house in the background seals the deal for me.
The Bradman Oval*, Bowral, New South Wales – Home of Sir Donald Bradman, the ground captures the imagination of any cricket fan. With the Bradman Museum and white fence in the background, what’s not to like? And yes, Bradman’s ashes were sprinkled on the ground as well to add to the history.
*Note, Bradman Oval has hosted a women’s Test (Australia Vs England) along with a few other women’s ODIs. Check out MCG, SCG, and Bradman Oval’s picturesque images below.
Pictured Below (In this order): (1) MCG, (2) SCG, (3) Sydney, (4) Bradman Oval, (5) Sir Donald Bradman
2. Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh
Location: Sylhet, Bangladesh
Capacity: 13,533, Year Established: 2007
Home Teams: Sylhet Division Cricket Team, Sylhet Sixers, Bangladesh
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in Bangladesh: Lush forests in the background to go along with the contrasting red roof—lovely scenery.
Bangladesh’s Top 3:
Sylhet International Cricket Stadium
Sher-e-Bangla Stadium (Mirpur), Dhaka
Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium, Khulna
Pictured Below: Sylhet
3. Lord’s Cricket Ground, England
Location: London, England
Capacity: 30,000, Year Established: 1814
Home Teams: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Middlesex, England
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in England: Home of cricket, the iconic Lord’s pavilion, the balcony, the honors board, J.P. Morgan Media Centre, and the long room. Historic. Aesthetic.
England’s Top 3:
Lord’s
Old Trafford (Manchester) – The shining red pavilion gives Old Trafford its unique look.
Riverside Ground (Chester-le-Street, Durham): Nothing better than a castle in the background.
Consolation: The Oval (Kennington, London) New Road (Worcester), County Ground (Taunton)
Pictured Below (In this order): (1) Lord’s stadium, (2) Lord’s balcony, (3) The Long Room, (4) Old Trafford, (5) Riverside Ground
4. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, India
Location: Dharamsala, India
Capacity: 23,000, Year Established: 2003
Home Teams: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Team, Kings XI Punjab, India
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in India: Backdrop of the snow-capped Himalayan range, it is a wonderful attraction all around. Home to the Dalai Lama, it also has a spiritual overtone to it.
India’s Top 3:
Dharamsala
Eden Gardens (Kolkata) – One of the most animated sporting crowds in the world. The place of the 2001 Test against Australia feat VVS Laxman’s magical 281 and Brathwaite’s carnage in the 2016 T20 World Cup final. Also the venue of the infamous 1996 World Cup semi-final, where the match was abandoned due to the enraged spectators.
Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) – Another one due to the atmosphere. After India’s 2011 World Cup victory, it was an ideal place to party.Just listen to this when Dhoni finished it off in style.
Consolation: Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad), Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium – Dehradun (host for Afghanistan team)
Pictured Below (In this order): (1) Dharamsala, (2) Dehradun, (3) Wankhede, (4) Eden Gardens, (5) Ahmedabad
5. Malahide Cricket Club Ground (The Village), Ireland
Location: Malahide, Ireland
Capacity: 11,500, Year Established: 1861
Home Teams: Ireland Cricket Team
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in Ireland: Hosted Ireland’s only Test at home (along with a few ODIs, and women’s fixtures). The venue gives away a calm aura with trees right behind the sight-screen.
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in New Zealand: New Zealand is the ideal place to watch cricket. You can choose any stadium here, and it will be scenic. Add to that the grass banks and the casual, party-mood culture, and you have a perfect atmosphere for cricket. Mount Maunganui’s aerial view makes it my #1 in New Zealand—The hill, beaches, and a sandbar connecting the mainland to the island.
New Zealand’s Top 3:
Bay Oval
Queenstown Events Centre (Queenstown, Otago) – Queenstown is a resort town, known for its tourism. And why not? The mountain range overseeing the cricket ground is literally called The Remarkables. Lake Wakatipu nearby as well.
Basin Reserve (Wellington)
Consolation: Pukekura Park (New Plymouth, Taranaki), Eden Park (Auckland), Saxton Oval (Nelson), University Oval (Dunedin)
Pictured Below (In this Order): (1) Bay Oval, (2) Mount Maunganui, (3) Tauranga Aerial View, (4) Queenstown, (5) The Basin Reserve
Home Teams: Northern Cricket Team, Islamabad United, Pakistan
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in Pakistan: An aerial view of ‘Pindi’, as it is usually known, will give you a glimpse of the mountain resort town of Murree along with historic neighborhoods and mosques.
Pakistan’s Top 3
Rawalpindi
Bugti Stadium (Quetta)
Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore)
*Bugti Stadium hosted an ODI between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 1996.
Now here is where we diverge a little bit. Apart from Gwadar stadium (at the top of the article), we have also included a couple of pictures of stadiums that have not hosted an international fixture but are just too good to ignore—namely Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium and Chitral Cricket Ground.
Pictured Below (In this Order): (1) Muzaffarabad, (2) Quetta, (3) Rawalpindi, (4) Chitral, (5) Lahore
8. Galle International Stadium, Sri Lanka
Location: Galle, Sri Lanka
Capacity: 35,000, Year Established: 1876
Home Teams: Galle Cricket Club, Sri Lanka
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in Sri Lanka: Galle’s harbor, Indian Ocean, and the Galle Fort to watch cricket from. The England-Sri Lanka series was basically just 3 parts: Joe Root, Lasith Embuldeniya, and multiple aerial views of Galle.
Top 3 in England:
Galle
Dambulla
Kandy
Consolation: Welagedara Stadium (Kurunegala)
*Welagedara Stadium has hosted a couple of women ODIs
Pictured Below (In this Order): (1) Galle by the ocean, (2) Dambulla, (3) Kandy, (4) Kurunegala, (5) spectators from Galle’s hill/fort, (6) English super fan Rob Lewis from Galle stadium who had stayed in Sri Lanka for 10 months after the England-Sri Lanka tour was delayed due to COVID.
Home Teams: Western Province, Cape Town Blitz, South Africa
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in South Africa:
South Africa’s Top 3:
Newlands
Boland Park (Paarl)
New Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg) – AB De Villiers. Pink ODI. 149 (44). The atmosphere. Enough said.
*Also pictured – Ellis Park – hosted Tests between 1948 and 1954, but now only used mainly for Rugby and soccer (2010 FIFA World Cup). Red roof and about 65,000 capacity, it is a South African special.
Pictured Below (In this Order): (1) Newlands, (2) Boland Park, (3) Paarl landscape, (4) Wanderers, (5) Ellis Park
10. Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, West Indies
Location: Gros Islet, St. Lucia
Capacity: 12,400, Year Established: 2002
Home Teams: Windward Islands, St. Lucia Zouks
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in West Indies: Most places in the Caribbean are amazing by default—beaches, hills, and the weather.St. Lucia’s ambience and the effervescent Daren Sammy cheering at almost every game just edges out Arnos Vale and Queen’s Park.
West Indies’ Top 3:
Daren Sammy (formerly Beausejour Cricket Ground)
Arnos Vale Stadium (St. Vincent)
Queen’s Park Oval (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago)
Windsor Park (Dominica)
Pictured Below: Windsor Park
11. Sheikh Zayed Stadium, U.A.E.
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)
Capacity: 20,000, Year Established: 2004
Home Teams: UAE, Afghanistan, Pakistan, PSL/IPL Teams
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in UAE : The roof and the lighting are spectacular in day-night matches.
UAE’s Top 3:
Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi)
DubaiInternational Stadium (Dubai)
SharjahCricket Ground (Sharjah)
Pictured Below (In this Order): (1) Abu Dhabi, (2) Dubai, (3) Sachin Tendulkar & Shane Warne after ‘Desert Storm’ in Sharjah
13. Al-Amerat Cricket Stadium (Oman Cricket Academy Ground), Oman
Location: Muscat, Oman
Capacity: 3,000, Year Established: 1900
Home Teams: Oman
Why Is it the Most Beautiful in Zimbabwe: The Al-Hajar mountains overseeing the stadium are absolutely majestic. The 2021 T20 World Cup brought the beauty of this small cricketing nation to the rest of the world.
Do you have other suggestions for the most beautiful cricket stadiums? THEN COMMENT BELOW AND LET US KNOW!
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Which country has the best cricket stadiums in the world?
New Zealand probably has the best cricket stadiums. Seven of their international stadiums can vouch to be in the most beautiful category. Bay Oval (Mount Maunganui), Queenstown, Basin Reserve (Wellington), Pukekura Park (New Plymouth), Eden Park (Auckland). Saxton Oval (Nelson), and University Oval (Dunedin). Sri Lanka and West Indies are not too far behind in terms of scenic views. Australia (MCG/SCG) and India (Eden Gardens/ Wankhede) have the most grand and fan-fueled stadiums, while England have the most historic and mellow cricket grounds.
Which is the World’s Largest Cricket Stadium by country?
1. Narendra Modi Stadium (132,000) – Ahmedabad, India 2. Melbourne Cricket Ground (100,000) – Melbourne, Australia 3. Eden Park (41,000) – Auckland, New Zealand 4. R. Premadasa Stadium (35,000) – Colombo, Sri Lanka 5. National Stadium (34,000) – Karachi, Pakistan 6. Lord’s (30,000) – London, England 7. Wanderers Stadium (28,000) – Johannesburg, South Africa 8. Kensington Oval (28,000) – Barbados, Bridgetown 9. Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium (25,000) – Dhaka, Bangladesh 10. Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground (20,000) – Kirtipur, Nepal 11. Central Broward Park (20,000) – Ft. Lauderhill, United States 12. Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium (20,000) – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 13. Sophia Gardens (15,000) – Cardiff, Wales (U.K.) 14. Guanggong International Cricket Stadium (12,000) – Guangzhou, China 15. Malahide Cricket Club Ground (11,500) – Dublin, Ireland 16. Harare Sports Club (10,000) – Harare, Zimbabwe 17. Gymkhana Club Ground (7,000) – Nairobi, Kenya 18. Maple Leaf Cricket Club (7,000) – King City, Canada 19. The Grange Club (5,000) – Edinburgh, Scotland
Which cricket ground has the highest capacity?
Here are the top 10 largest cricket stadiums by size:
1. Narendra Modi Stadium (132,000) – Ahmedabad, India 2. Melbourne Cricket Ground (100,000) – Melbourne, Australia 3. Eden Gardens (80,000) – Kolkata, India 4. Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium (65,000) – Raipur, India 5. Perth Optus Stadium (60,000) – Perth, Australia 6. Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (55,000) – Hyderabad, India 7. Greenfield International Stadium (55,000) – Thiruvananthapuram, India 8. Adelaide Oval (54,000) – Adelaide, Australia 9. M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, JSCA International Cricket Stadium, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari 10. Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium (50,000) – Chennai/Ranchi/Lucknow, India 11. Docklands Stadium, Sydney Cricket Ground (48,000) – Melbourne/Sydney, Australia
Which country has the most stadiums?
Here are the number of international cricket stadiums by Test playing country:
India (53) Australia (22) England (21) Pakistan (18) South Africa, West Indies (16) New Zealand (14) Sri Lanka (10) Bangladesh (8) United Arab Emirates (6) Zimbabwe (5) *Note, we only consider countries with Test status
Which Is the Oldest Cricket Stadium in the World?
We will organize this when their first Test match was hosted.
1. Melbourne Cricket Ground – Melbourne, Australia (15 March 1877) 2. The Oval – London, England (6 September 1880) 3. Sydney Cricket Ground – Sydney, Australia (17 February 1882) 4. Old Trafford – Manchester, England (10 July 1884) 5. Lord’s – London, England (21 July 1884) 6. Adelaide Oval – Adelaide, Australia (12 December 1884) 7. St. George’s Park – Port Elizabeth, South Africa (12 March 1889) 8. Newland’s – Cape Town, South Africa (25 March 1889) 9. Old Wanderers – Johannesburg, South Africa (2 March 1896) 10. Trent Bridge – Nottingham, England (1 June 1899)
England, Australia, and South Africa lead the oldest stadiums to host Test cricket, between 1877 and 1899. New Zealand and West Indies would host their first Tests in 1930 with India following suit in 1933. Post-Partition of British India, Bangladesh & Pakistan hosted their fist Tests in 1955. Sri Lanka (1982), Zimbabwe (1992), UAE (2002), and Ireland (2018) would host much later.
Which country has the most beautiful cricket stadiums?
Here are the most beautiful cricket stadiums from each of the Test playing nations.
1. Australia (Melbourne Cricket Ground) 2. Bangladesh (Sylhet International Cricket Stadium) 3. England (Lord’s Cricket Ground) 4. India (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium) 5. Ireland (Malahide Cricket Club Ground) 6. New Zealand (Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui) 7. Pakistan (Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium) 8. Sri Lanka (Galle International Stadium) 9. South Africa (Newlands Cricket Ground) 10. West Indies (Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium) 11. United Arab Emirates (Sheikh Zayed Stadium) 12. Zimbabwe (Harare Sports Club)
Image Courtesy: Getty Images, Sylhet – Facebook by Nahian Chowdhury, Dharamshala – by TheSereneRebel CC 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, Galle – by Sergie Gussev via CC 2.0, Eden Gardens – JokerDurden, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, Wankhede – Anand Desai, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, Bugti Stadium – Facebook, Chitral – Altamish Azhar, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, Rawalpindi – Facebook @mehmoodyousafzaii, Gaddafi Stadium – Younisjunejo, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons, Daren Sammy – Timothy Barton (timtranslates.com), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, Queens Park Oval – Dominic Sayers from London, England, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons, Arnos Vale – AFP PHOTO/Greg WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images), Windsor Park – SDGibbons, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, Narendra Modi Stadium – Gujarat Cricket Association, Dehradun Cricket Stadium – Facebook
Lots of world cricket recently. Cricket here, cricket there, cricket everywhere.
In the last month, New Zealand defeated India to lift the inaugural World Test Championship. South Africa swept the Test series 2-0 and won the T20I series 3-2 against the world champions, West Indies, who themselves blew Australia out of the park in the T20I series.
Ireland emerged victorious in an almost-perfect ODI match against South Africa. Finally, a last-minute England’s second-string squad whitewashed a full-strength Pakistan team 3-0, and a second-string India threatens to be too strong for Sri Lanka on paper.
If you tried predicting all the series above, most likely you would have missed a few. Cricket’s landscape is changing. A vast transformation is taking place.
No single team is unbeatable, and no team can be taken lightly. Case and point— Sri Lanka. Transition phase, lackluster, downfall, where are the glory days gone?—call them anything, but they are the only Asian side to win a Test series in South Africa and that too in 2019.
In the current ODI Super League, Ireland have blown hot and cold. They have defeated current ODI World Cup holders, England and South Africa. Those were no fluke victories either—chasing 329 and putting 291 on the board is no little feat. However, the Irish drew 1-1 against UAE, lost 0-3 against Afghanistan, and surrendered important Super League points to Netherlands in a 1-2 series loss.
Let us dissect this further. This uncertainty is not a recent phenomenon either. Due to the influx of ICC tournaments (almost one every year now), there is a higher probability of multiple teams claiming a world trophy.
Gone are the days of West Indies 1980s (1975/1979 WC winners, 1983 finalist) and Australia 2000s (1996 finalists, 1999/2003/2007 WC winners, 2006/2009 Champions Trophy winners).
South Africa (till 2015) and India been right up there over the last decade without putting their stamp of domination. West Indies have dominated T20Is, England have changed ODI cricket, and New Zealand have been a constant force.
Yet since the 2013 Champions Trophy, a different winner has conquered each ICC Trophy.
2013 Champions Trophy: India
2014 T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka
2015 ODI World Cup: Australia
2016 T20 World Cup: West Indies
2017 Champions Trophy: Pakistan
2019 ODI World Cup: England
2021 World Test Championship: New Zealand
In the next decade, 5 WTC Finals, 6 T20I World Cups, 3 ODI World Cups, and 2 Champions Trophies will provide ample opportunity for new winners.
Sure, with the bench strength that England, India, or New Zealand possess, they will be contenders but not certain winners.
ICC Has Gotten Something Right
Honest confession time. I have been critical of the ICC in the past, but must give it to them. They have a made a few decent decisions recently—pushing for cricket in the Olympics, extending future World Cups to include more Associate nations (14-team ODI WC, 20-team T20I WC), and most importantly, by providing much needed structure.
The first great thing ICC did was granting T20I status to all 104 nations in 2018. It was the right step in “globalizing the game” by ensuring standardization in terms of grounds, umpiring, and code of conduct. T20I World Cups scheduled every two years will ensure vigorous qualification structure.
To provide context in Test cricket, the World Test Championship was installed. It has numerous flaws, but the fact that spectators were critical of the points table, a record number watched the finals, and predictions for the next cycles have already begun show that the ICC have succeeded at some level in contextualizing Test cricket. The fact that Virat Kohli, Tim Paine, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson have been active advocates for the WTC has made it an even better spectacle to view.
The best of these ICC innovations has to be the 13-team ODI Super League that feeds into the new ODI World Cup qualification system. Every ODI series is a 3-match affair, and every team plays 24 matches. This is already a win for the likes of Ireland, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and the Netherlands, getting opportunities to compete against the top teams consistently. By the looks of it, Sri Lanka and even South Africa are in real danger of not making direct qualification for the next World Cup, spicing things up.
These systems are only in their infancy, and by the time the structure is robust, cricket will be at a better place.
Looking Forward to the 2020s
The 2000s was a wonderful era for cricket—a collision of generations. Sri Lanka-Pakistan-India had strong teams, England, New Zealand, & West Indies were competitive enough, while South Africa & Australia were the teams to beat. ODI cricket was at its peak, Test cricket was still prospering, and the Sehwags & Gayles provided us a glimpse into T20 future.
The 2010s saw each team going through massive transition eras. Home advantage in Test cricket killed any semblance of competition. The overkill of T20 cricket questioned cricket’s existence at the core.
Cricket has seen a turning point, especially since 2019. All formats have seen riveting action.
Carlos Brathwaite’s Remember the Namegave T20Is its unique iconic image. T20 cricket is now at its pinnacle with T20 specialists popping in every country and most nations now possessing a stable T20 league.With two consecutive T20 World Cups coming up, each T20I series is closely followed.
Brendon McCullum’s New Zealand and Eoin Morgan’s England changed the way ODI cricket was played. The 2019 World Cup final, Ben Stokes/Steve Smith’s Ashes, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy have created a new generation of cricket fans. A sporting Test cricket pitch can go a long way. Bonners-Myers 4th innings chase, Fawad Alam’s almost match-saving knock, and the World Test Championship final all gave chills.
Changes will continue, one team will no longer dominate, and that is only a good thing. World cricket has survived its chaotic phase and has come out for the better.
England Vs Sri Lanka 2021 Series Review. The #1 ranked team in the ODI Super League against the #11 team—a lopsided predictable series.
As we speak, England’s second string team is dominating Pakistan in an ODI series, but England found young guns in the Sri Lanka series as well. Liam Livingstone & Sam Billings progressed their case in the middle order, Dawid Malan & Eoin Morgan silenced their critics, and Joe Root & Jos Buttler did what they usually do. On the bowling front, Sam Curran, David Willey, Chris Woakes, and Tom Curran came to the party.
For Sri Lanka, the story goes from bad to worse. Apart from Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Dasun Shanaka, there was nothing much of note. Scores of 129, 111, and 91 in the T20Is along with 185, 241, & 166 in the ODIs shows how much ground the Lankans have lost in the last decade.
Add to that, the bio-bubble suspension of Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilika, and Niroshan Dickwella, contract struggles, Thisara Perera’s retirement at 32, Angelo Mathews’ retirement consideration, numerous captaincy changes, and COVID induced India-Sri Lanka series, Sri Lanka have hit absolute rock-bottom.
Chris Woakes: 3-0-14-1 (1st T20I), Rested, 4-0-9-1 (3rd T20I), 10-5-18-4 (1st ODI), Rested, 10-3-28-2. Dream figures. Playing his first T20I since 2015/16 season, you would expect him to get a consistent run. Yet he has only played 3 T20Is, 6 Tests, and 7 ODIs over the last two years. Yes, England do play lots of cricket and have tough competition for spots, but Woakes at 32, is in his prime and is bowling beautifully. Resting him after 3 over spells just does not make sense (unless the England team management are hiding something).
David Willey & Sam Curran were the pick of the bowlers in the ODI series. In the 2nd ODI, they combined for 9 wickets together. Curran’s opening spell – reducing SL to 21/4 within 7 overs was especially spectacular. Willey has had a stop-start career and has always taken his opportunity. It is time he gets a consistent run. Was unlucky to miss out on the 2019 WC spot due to the Jofra Archer’s emergence.
Silencing the critics feat Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, and Tom Curran.
Tom Curran produced a 10-0-35-4 in the final ODI after a couple of expensive years.
One criticism is that since his record-breaking innings against Afghanistan, he hasn’t had much of note. Performance with KKR in the IPL? Not that great either. Meanwhile, Alex Hales is making runs for fun in the various T20 leagues. Dropping Morgan and picking Hales gained some traction in social media recently. Hence match-winning partnership with Joe Root in the 2nd ODI was timely.
Malan, the #1 ranked T20I batter, was under the hammer for below-par performances in slow subcontinent tracks. An exhilarating 76 in the 3rd T20I should solidify his case for the T20I World Cup.
Dushmantha Chameera has been the only positive for Sri Lanka fast bowling over the last year. He was the best bowler for Sri Lanka this tour in 3 out of 5 matches. Bowls with good pace, hits the deck—he has all the elements to be a Sri Lankan great.
Wanindu Hasaranga has been the find for Sri Lanka since the West Indies tour earlier this year. He is currently averaging 15.76 at 6.75 economy and is now unleashing his all-round potential. In this England series, he batted in the middle order with handy knocks of 54, 26, & 20.
Dhananjaya de Silva played a gem of a counterattacking knock in the 2nd ODI, scoring 91 runs. Pure timing and a great catch as well. Unfortunate to miss that century.
We look forward to early T20 World Cup 23-player squad prediction as of this series. Who knows how many changes we will get to see with Sri Lanka.
Jason Roy, 2. Jos Buttler (WK), 3. Dawid Malan, 4. Jonny Bairstow, 5. Eoin Morgan*, 6. Ben Stokes, 7. Sam Curran, 8. Moeen Ali, 9. Jofra Archer, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Mark Wood
Squad: 12. Sam Billings, 13. Liam Livingstone, 14. Tom Curran, 15. Chris Jordan, 16. Saqib Mahmood, 17. James Vince, 18. Tom Banton, 19. Joe Root, 20. Reece Topley, 21. Liam Dawson, 22. Matt Parkinson, 23. Phil Salt
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West Indies Vs South Africa 2021 Series Review – An enthralling encounter to follow from any neutral fans’ perspective.
Once boasting the greatest generations in cricket history, West Indies & South Africa are now mediocre at best. Yet both teams are showing signs of improvement.
Coming back into form, seniors like Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada stood up in this series, Nortje-van Der Dussen continued to chug along smoothly, and Tabraiz Shamsi-George Linde-Keshav Maharaj spun West Indies into trouble. For the West Indies, Kemar Roach, 19-year old debutant Jayden Seales, and Kyle Mayers, the bowler, were the only positives in the Test series but the World Cup winning squad (bar Sunil Narine) regrouped for this T20I series.
South Africa swept the Tests 2-0 along with a thrilling 3-2 T20I series victory over the mighty West Indies. Were the Proteas really as good as the score line suggests? Not really. Were West Indies really that bad? Not at all.
Positives for both teams, but room for improvement for both as well. Detailed analysis ahead.
Here is a summary of the highest scorers and run-getters from both teams in the Tests and T20I series respectively.
South Africa Tour of West Indies – Results Stats, & Highlights
WI-SA Test Series: SA won 2-0
Why was this even a part of the World Test Championship? Yes, the second Test, part of the WTC group stage, was scheduled at the same time as the World Test Championship Final. Explain that.
WTC apart, this was a one-sided series dominated by the fast bowlers. Rabada, Roach, Maharaj, Ngidi, Nortje, Jason Holder, Jayden Seales, and even Kyle Mayers were among the wickets. Except for Quinton de Kock & Rassie van der Dussen (and Dean Elgar/Aiden Markram with 1-50 each), no batter could hold a bat. Scores of 97, 162, 149, 165 (WI) and 322, 298, & 174 (SA) tells you the story.
Quinton de Kock – 237 runs (Best of 141*, 118.50 average, 1-100, 1-50)
Most Wickets
Kemar Roach – 9 wickets (Best inning – 4/52, Best Match – 7/97, 17.88 average)
Kagiso Rabada – 11 wickets (Best inning – 5/11, Best Match – 6/48, 11.45 average)
West Indies Vs South Africa 2021 T20I Series Stats
WI-SA T20I Series: SA won 3-2
160, 166, 166, 167, 168. Consistency of the ages.
Quinton de Kock’s majestic run, Lewis’ power, Anrich Nortje’s 19th over in the 3rd T20I, Russell’s first ball six to Rabada, Fabian Allen destroying Ngidi’s figures, Pollard’s 4 sixes in one over, Gayle taking a quick single/opening the bowling/attempting a somersault, Markram’s shots, and the Shamsi-Linde spinning South Africa to victory—this series had it all.
West Indies Vs South Africa 2021 Test Series Stats
Highlights
West Indies
In the year of the T20 World Cup, Simmons-Gayle-Pollard-Bravo-Russell are back. Although performances were spotty, the team spirit was right up there.
Positives
Fabian Allen & Evin Lewis were the stars for West Indies in the T20I series. 2/18, 34 (12), 14* (9), and 19* (13) were cameos that kept West Indies alive even after the top 6/7 had departed. This is just the youth firepower West Indies needs. Great fielder and spinner as well. Fabian Allen – the complete package.
Evin Lewis’ destructive 71 (35) in the first T20I and Pollard’s 51* (25) showcased the potential for this West Indian line-up. If one player fires, another holds the other end, with a Fabian Allen/Russell-esque finish, then this side can be very dangerous. Otherwise, they can easily fall apart.
Combination of youth and old guard the key to West Indies’ bowling success. Obed McCoy & Jayden Seales were the find for the Windies in this series and with Oshane Thomas, Alzarri Joseph, & Chamar Holder in the ranks, they have a good fast-bowling generation coming up. Hence, it was nice that Dwayne Bravo came back from his retirement to give his best T20I performance (4/19) in the 4th ODI. 37-years, 482 T20s, and 527 T20 wickets young. Marvelous. Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards & even a bit of Russell really puts this West Indian attack back on the map.
Room For Improvement
Pooran’s form a bit of a concern. In the last 10 T20 innings read: 0, 0, 9, 0, 19, 0 (IPL 2021) & 9, 26, 16, 20 (WI vs SA). While double digits is a vast improvement from his IPL form this year, his lack of rotation in the middle and inability to finish games off will trigger a debate on his place in the XI. An in-form Andre Fletcher with the gloves is breathing down his neck.
West Indies utilized these 5 games and experimented with the batting order (although slightly unsuccessfully). At #3-4, West Indies played Gayle-Russell, Gayle-Pooran, Holder-Hetmyer, and Gayle-Hetmyer (twice). It seems that Russell and Pollard are the designated floaters if the top order bat long and Holder-Pooran are in-charge in case of a collapse. Good idea. Needs consistency.
The left-arm spinners stole the show for South Africa. Tabraiz Shamsi is justifiably ICC’s #1 T20I bowler in the world. 1-11, 2-13, 2-13, 1-16, 1-27. An economy of 4 against a lineup of Lewis-Gayle-Pollard-Pooran-Russell is a stuff of dreams. On every occasion that Simmons/Fletcher-Lewis provided West Indies with a blistering start, George Linde and Shamsi stalled their progress. In slow UAE pitches, this duo will be a handful. Keshav Maharaj’s 9 wickets in the Tests, including a 5-36 and a hat-trick (thanks to Muldur’s catch) to wrap up the second Test, was the icing on the cake. Brilliant collective spin performance.
Quinton de Kock & Kagiso Rabada are back at their best. In the 2020-21 season, QDK only scored 74 runs at 12.33 in 6 Test innings and 77 runs in 3 T20I innings. Rabada was finally getting out of form as well—Only 5 Test wickets (4 innings) at 39.40 in 2020-21 and no 5 wicket hauls since 2018. QDK scored 492 runs across the series’ with 1-100 & 4-50s and 18-wicket haul for Rabada, including a Test 5-fer.
Aiden Markam has stepped it up this year. After a wonderful debut year, his form took a nosedive and has been on a roller-coaster ride ever since. Sometimes captain, sometimes not and switched between opening & middle order as well. Since the Pakistan series, he has scores of 51, 54, 63, & 70 in T20Is (out of 7 games played) along with a 60 in Test. Just needs to convert now and make the place his own.
Room For Improvement
Questions on Bavuma-Hendricks: With Faf du Plessis’ imminent return for the T20I World Cup, where the pair of captain Bavuma-Reeza Hendricks fit in the equation is an open question. This was the series to make their mark. Unfortunately the stats do not add up:
Bavuma: 76 runs, 15.20 average, 108.57 SR
Hendricks: 78 runs, 19.50 average, 139.28 SR
The 6th bowler is probably the biggest concern for the Proteas. Apart from Shamsi (4.00 economy), Anrich Nortje (7.00), and Linde (7.81), the bowling, particularly at the death, has been horrendous. With Rabada (9.44), Lungi Ngidi (10.94), and Hendricks-Markram giving away 65 runs in 4 overs, some things need to change.
South Africa’s World Cup hopes lie on Chris Morris & Imran Tahir. If Morris is in, the side will be balanced and will give SA a genuine death bowling option: Rabada-Nortje-Morris-Linde-Shamsi-Tahir, and now we are talking about a world class T20I line-up. Add to the that, a Faf-QDK-Markram-van der Dussen-Miller batting line up, South Africa are dark horses for the T20I WC for sure.
T20I World Cup Squad Predictions
West Indies Squad Predictions
Lendl Simmons, 2. Evin Lewis, 3. Chris Gayle, 4. Shimron Hetmyer, 5. Kieron Pollard*, 6. Nicholas Pooran (WK), 7. Andre Russell, 8. Fabian Allen, 9. Dwayne Bravo, 10. Kevin Sinclair, 11. Obed McCoy
Wildcards: AB De Villiers (WK), Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Junior Dala, Pete van Biljon, 21. Sisanda Magala, 23. Keshav Maharaj
The Awards
West Indies
South Africa
Emerging Player
Obed McCoy
George Linde
Comeback Kid
Fidel Edwards
Quinton de Kock 2.0
Surprise Package
Kyle Mayers, the bowler
Keshav Maharaj’s Hat-trick
Broken Cricket Dream
Home Test Defeat & Pooran’s Form
Bavuma-Hendricks & the 6th Bowler
West Indies Vs South Africa 2021 Awards
Upcoming Fixtures: Where Do They Go From Here?
With the T20 World Cup forthcoming, both teams have invested in the preparation.
Here are the upcoming fixtures:
Australia tour of West Indies – 5 T20Is, 3 ODIs (9 July-24 July)
Pakistan tour of West Indies – 5 T20Is, 2 Tests (27 July-20 August)
South Africa tour of Ireland – 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is (11 July-24 July)
Although South Africa are on a positive slope, they do not have as many practice games to get their perfect XI out before the IPL & T20 WC.
West Indies, on the other hand, lost the series but gained some insight due to experimentation. They still have 10 home T20 games—but this is a double edge sword. They have time to put their perfect group together, but also have more opportunities to expose their weaknesses.
COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS SERIES! Like this content on this West Indies Vs South Africa 2021 Review? SUBSCRIBE HERE to receive updates about new articles right in your inbox! If you are on social media, give us a follow in any of the social media outlets below:
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:
Like this content on this World Test Championship Final Review so far? SUBSCRIBE HERE to receive updates about new articles right in your inbox! If you are on social media, give us a follow in any of the social media outlets below:
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!
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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.
Bangladesh tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka review.
It seemed that instead of a complete tour, Bangladesh played several small series over the last few months. The Tigers played 3-match ODI & T20I series in New Zealand, then a 2-match Test series in Sri Lanka, followed by 3 ODIs at home against the same opposition.
The last couple of months can be summed up with a disappointment for Bangladesh but some positive news at the end for the currently #1 ranked team in the ODI Super League. Good finds by the Kiwis and Lankans as well.
There were numerous moments in this Bangladesh tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka. Here are the major takeaways.
New Zealand
Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, & Daryl Mitchellsolidified their places during this tour
After his Test ton against Pakistan, Mitchell scored 100* (92) in the 3rd ODI, pushing New Zealand to 318/6. Quickfire 34* (16) in the rain-curtailed 2nd T20I as well. It is a shame that he is not a regular due to the rich presence of Colin de Grandhomme & Mitchell Santner.
Devon Conway has now conquered Test cricket with a double century at Lord’s, but before that his debut ODI series against Bangladesh included a fifty and a maiden century—126 in the 3rd ODI. Highest scorer in both the ODI & T20I series and donned the gloves as well.
Glenn Phillips finished the first T20I with a blistering 24* (10) along with a 58* (23) in the 2nd T20I, rescuing NZ from 55-3 in 6.1 overs to 173/5 in 17.5 overs.
New Zealand are now unearthing fast bowlers & youngsters at an alarming rate. Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Blundell & Devon Conway have all performed in the past season, and the Kiwis can now add Finn Allen & Will Young to that list after the T20I series.
Prior to the T20I series, Will Young had a total of 60 runs in 2 Tests & 2 ODIs. He announced himself with 53 (30) with four sixes in the first T20I to cement his place in the T20I squad for the near future.
Finn Allen’s blistering 71* (29) was an innings of a lifetime. 10 fours, 3 sixes, and an 85 run partnership with Martin Guptill in just 5.4 overs. The Kiwis ended with 141/4 in a ten-over game. Bangladesh?—76 all out.
The return of Martin Guptill & Tim Southee
In Williamson’s absence, Latham captained the ODI series while Tim Southee took the T20I reigns. Latham justified his selection with a match winning 110* (108) in a successful 272 run-chase.
With youngsters knocking on the doors, several questions on the seniors. Ross Taylor is already out of the T20I squad with the influx of talent, and Guptill & Southee were under the scanner.
After the successful Australia series, Guptill responded with scores of 38, 20, 26, 35, 21, & 44 in this series. Does not look ultra-impressive but strike rates of 200.00, 83.33, 92.85, 129.62, 116.66, & 231.57 were exactly the kind of starts New Zealand expect from Guptill. Needs to convert soon though.
Southee’s 3/15 in the 3rd T20I removed any hope for Bangladesh’s chase. Ended as the highest wicket-taker in the T20I series and now performing in the England Tests. 2nd wind for the 32 year old?
Anyway, these were just the major moments. Comeback for Adam Milne along with good outings for Jimmy Neesham, Todd Astle (4/13), Ish Sodhi (4/28), Matt Henry (4/27), Lockie Ferguson.
Bangladesh
Batting, Youngsters, & Overseas Victories a Concern For Bangladesh
From March 20th to May 23rd, Bangladesh lost 6 consecutive matches in New Zealand & lost the Test series 0-1 in Sri Lanka. Over the two Tests, Bangladesh were on the field for 4-5 days, which contributed to mental fatigue. These overseas series really hurt Bangladesh’s confidence, and even though they finally won the home ODI series that followed, they did not play well according to captain Tamim Iqbal.
Apart from the 2nd ODI & 2nd T20I against NZ, Bangladesh’s score read 131/10 (41.5), 154/10 in 42.4 (after being 8/102), 6/59 (7.5), & 76/10 (9.3). In the Sri Lanka ODI series, Rahim-Mahmudlluah rescued Bangaldesh from 99/4 (22.6), 74/4 (15.4), and 84/4 in 23.2 (en route 189/10). Top order issues galore.
19,0, 21, 0, 4, 6,0, 0, 25 read Liton Das’ limited overs scores – 4 ducks. Test scores of 50, 8 & 17 not much better. I really hope Liton Das has a Rohit Sharma-esque 2013 resurrection given his immense talent. Six years since his debut, Das averages 20.83 (T20I), 28.78 (ODI), & 28.35 (Tests) in 117 innings. Only 3 centuries and 15 fifties. Cannot depend on Tamim Iqbal forever, especially with Mohammad Naim & Soumya Sarkar blowing hot and cold.
The M Factor & Absence of Shakib Al Hasan Felt Dearly
Although Shakib Al Hasan returned in the Sri Lanka ODI series, he was sorely missed in the New Zealand leg. In the spin bowling department, there were brief sparks, but not much else, from Nasum Ahmed & name twins—Mahedi Hasan & Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who bowled in tandem. Lacking in control & consistency.
At one point, Sri Lanka used to have the M Factor. In the Sri Lanka ODI series, Bangladesh unleashed the M Factor of their own—Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, & Mustafizur Rahman.
Opening the bowling, Mehidy’s miserly 4/30 & 3/28 were match-winning spells. Bodes well if 2023 World Cup in India has these slow pitches.
Although not back at his best yet, Mustafizur Rahman is slowly getting there (see Jarrod Kimber’s analysis here). His slow off-cutters are back and his 6-1-16-3 in the 2nd ODI was especially good (to go with 9-0-34-3 in first ODI).
Highest run-scorer at #4 since the 2015 World Cup, Mushfiqur Rahim has to be one of the most underrated players of this era. This series showed exactly why with his 84 (87) & 125 (127) sealing the deal for Bangladesh.
Mahmudullah was the only saving grace in NZ with a 76* in the final ODI. Followed it up with 54, 41, 53 in the SL series. Mushfiqur-Mahmudullah emerging as legendary lower order ODI rescue partners.
Still Some Positives For the Tigers
Captains Tamim Iqbal & Mominul Haque provide consistency. Looks like the split captaincy is working. Adding to Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 163, Mominul scored a defiant ton in Sri Lanka, while Tamim has a few 50s (92 & 90 in SL Tests) on these two tours. Only if the team starts winning now…
It looked like Bangladesh had turned a corner in the 2015 World Cup with a pace attack of Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, & Taskin Ahmed. Taskin’s decline was heartbreaking but he is back among the wickets with 8 wickets in the Test series. With decent find in 20-year old Shoriful Islam, a lineup of Mustafizur-Mehidy-Taskin-Saifuddin-Shoriful-Shakib might be exactly what the Tigers need.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka are rocking some young left-arm spinners. Embuldeniya earlier this year and now Praveen Jayawickrama with a 11-wicket haul on debut. This included two 5-fers, 6/92 & 5/86 as Sri Lanka won the Test series.
Karunatarane (244, 118, 66) Thirimanne (58, 140), Dhananjaya de Silva (166, 41), Niroshan Dickwella (31, 77*) had dream batting days that took Sri Lanka to scores of 684/8d, 493/7d, 194/9d. They did not get bowled out even once.
Dusmantha Chameera has one of Sri Lanka’s bright stars amidst their downfall. He improved over the course of thh ODI series with figures of 1/39, 3/44, and a match-winning spell of 9-1-16-5. Winning hand by new-ODI captain Kusal Perera in the final ODI as well – 120 (122).
Here are my early squad predictions for the 23-member T20I World Cup Squad based on the NZ-Ban T20I series. Kane Williamson’s spot in danger?
New Zealand
Martin Guptill, 2. Tim Seifert (WK), 3. Kane Williamson*, 4. Devon Conway, 5. Glenn Phillips, 6. Colin de Grandhomme, 7. Mitchell Santner, 8. Tim Southee, 9. Trent Boult, 10. Lockie Ferguson, 11. Ish Sodhi
Squad: 12. Finn Allen, 13. Will Young, 14. Jimmy Neesham, 15. Daryl Mitchell, 16. Kyle Jamieson, 17. Todd Astle, 18. Hamish Bennett, 19. Blair Tickner, 20. Jacob Duffy, 21. Mark Chapman, 22. Ross Taylor, 23. Doug Bracewell/Scott Kuggeleijn
*captain
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal, 2. Liton Das, 3. Soumya Sarkar, 4. Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Shakib Al Hasan, 6. Mahmudullah, 7. Afif Hossain, 8. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9. Mohammad Saifuddin, 10. Mustafizur Rahman, 11. Taskin Ahmed
Squad: 12. Mohammad Naim, 13. Najmul Hossain Shanto, 14. Mosaddek Hossain, 15. Mahedi Hasan, 16. Nasum Ahmed, 17. Shoriful Islam, 18. Rubel Hossain, 19. Mohammad Mithun, 20. Al-Amin Hossain, 21. Hasan Mahmud, 22. Abu Haider, 23. Sabbir Rahman
Awards
Here are the awards for Bangladesh Tours of New Zealand & Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh
New Zealand
Sri Lanka
Emerging Player
Mahedi Hasan
Finn Allen
Praveen Jayawickrama
Surprise Package
Taskin Ahmed in Sri Lanka
Daryl Mitchell, Will Young
Dimuth Karunaratne
Broken Cricket Dream
Bangladesh cricket on a downfall?
BJ Watling to retire; Ross Taylor’s retirement on the way?
Flat Road Pitches in the first Test
Thisara Perera retires
Series Awards
Where Do They Go From Here?
Although Bangladesh had a tough two months, they are sitting at the top of the ODI Super League Table with 5 wins from 9 matches. New Zealand are on #5 (3/3) and Sri Lanka are struggling at #13 (1/6). Bangladesh have no upcoming series for a while.
New Zealand are currently in England for 2 Tests & World Test Championship final. Apart from the forthcoming T20 leagues, the Kiwis have no assignments till the T20 World Cup in October-November. After the World Cup, New Zealand has a short limited overs tour of Australia in January 2022.
Sri Lanka travel to England for 3 T20Is & 3 ODIs in June followed by a home series against India for 3 ODIs & 3 T20Is in July. Later in February Sri Lanka will follow NZ’s suit and travel to Australia for 5 T20Is.
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