World Test Championship Final Review – Welcome to my 150th article! New Zealand lift the World Test Championship trophy via Jamieson, Conway, Williamson-Taylor show.
After two long, pandemic induced years, the inaugural World Test Championship has finally come to an end. The Kiwis are the world champions, and they thoroughly deserved it.
Traditional English rain, Dinesh Karthik’s meteorology/commentating debut, gritty Test match batting, tall and lanky fast bowlers, de Grandhomme’s hair, a reserve sixth day coming into play, BJ Watling’s retirement, a bit of Ashwin—we saw it all.
The run-rate might have been slow, but the tussle between the top two Test teams was intense. Bowlers bowling consistently in the channel & fighting it out. Great exhibition of Test cricket, ebb and flow throughout.
Here is the World Test Championship Final Review—Match summary, review of India and New Zealand’s key performers, a THANK YOU to our audience, WTC Prediction Results, 3-match Final Debate, Stats, and WTC XI!
Before we dive into “What Went Wrong For India” or “How did NZ Win,” let us discuss what made this Test match riveting. Amidst the rain when nobody expected a result, the fast bowlers from both team delivered.
Commentators had analyzed why Shami had been ‘unlucky’ in the last tour of England. Bowled beautifully but without any returns. Not anymore. In one of his later spells in the first innings, he changed the game. The BJ Watling bowled was the ball of the match. Ishant Sharma was at his consistent best. The way he bowled maidens after maidens to Devon Conway, which prompted an uncharacteristic loose shot, was brilliant. Even though Bumrah was not at his best, his final day spell almost brought India back if not for the Pujara drop.
R Ashwin will definitely go down as an all-time best. He has rediscovered himself of late, ending up as the highest wicket-taker in the WTC. Performed across all conditions, saved a Test match in Sydney, scored a century anplug 9 wickets in his home, Chennai, and kept India in the game in the 4th innings (10-5-17-2).
New Zealand – An All-Time Attack
What are the best all-time attacks? Think West Indies’ 1980s generation, Australia’s 2000s attack, Steyn-Morkel-Rabada-Philander for that one series, Anderson-Broad, and India now getting there.
Southee-Boult-Wagner-Jamiesonsurely rank among the top. Southee’s ball to dismiss Rohit Sharma was an epic change-up in his 4-fer. Boult chipped in with Pujara, Jadeja, Rahane, & Pant’s wickets. Wagner’s intensity was breathtaking and his setup of Rahane & Jadeja was magnificent. Jamieson took the wickets but his economy rate is what suffocated India. An economy of 1.40 after 22 overs in the 1st innings and 1.25 after 25 overs in the second took the steam out of the Indian batting. Add Colin de Grandhomme in these conditions, there was no respite on offer.
India
1. Rohit Sharma As an Overseas Test Opener: Great or Just OK?
Rohit Sharma was criticized for his Southee leave in the 2nd innings that had him LBW, just a few overs before close on the penultimate day.
Sharma has come into his own as a Test opener in the last couple of years. With 2679 runs in 39 Tests with 7-100s, 12-50s, and a best of 212, this looks like pretty decent career after a bumpy start.
The criticism comes from the lack of hundreds in recent overseas Tests.
Overall Record (last year): 44.83 average, 161 Vs England
Overseas Innings (last year): 26 (77) & 52 (98), 44 (74) & 7 (21), and 34 (68) & 30 (81) in the WTC Final
I think he did his job pretty well. Think Aakash Chopra 2003 or Joe Denly 2019rather than Sehwag-esque performance. Rohit tired the bowlers and took the shine off the new ball but has not been hitting those daddy hundreds fans at home have become accustomed to. Just the batters after him did not follow suit and NZ have four world-class bowlers to rotate through.
Shubman Gill has always looked calm, composed, and classy on the crease in his little career, but only 3 fifties in 15 innings with the best of 91 shows that Indian openers have a conversion problem.
2. The Pujara-Rahane Conundrum
Pujara
What can India do about Pujara & Rahane? Pujara’s 8 (54) & 15 (80) in the final does not inspire much confidence. His last three centuries came on that 2018 Australia tour. In this WTC cycle, he has hit nine fifties, played those against the pressure innings, taken some blows, and became a perfect foil to Pant in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but nothing in between.
Rahane
Rahane top-scored for India in the first-innings with a good-looking 49 (117) & briefly revived India with 15 (40). The concerning matter is his dismissals. First innings, Wagner had employed his troops into position. Short ball barrage was about to begin. First ball, Rahane top edges but safe. India 182-5. Next, another short ball, a lose pull, straight to the fielder. Rahane trapped. India collapse. 217-all out.
Second innings – same story. From 72-4 to 109. Good looking shots. Mini-revival after Pujara-Kohli were dismissed and Pant was dropped by Southee. Then out of the blue, he gets caught behind on the leg-side by Trent Boult. Just manages to get out in different ways.
Apart from his glorious overseas hundreds (& 96) or the twin tons in Delhi, there is not much to show. With KL Rahul, Hanuma Vihari, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Mayank Agarwal in line, questions will be asked of the vice-captain.
Meanwhile Kohli’s hunt for his elusive 71st ton continues. His 44 was actually a good innings, but he did not convert either. When none of your middle order goes big, you are not going to win a Test, especially a final.
India 5/182 to 10/217 & 5/142 to 10/170. Ten wickets combined within 63 runs. New Zealand 5-162 to 10-249. 87 runs via Jamieson, Southee, & Boult.
That was the difference.
India has become a world-beater team with fast bowlers galore & growing depth over the past couple of years, but they have yet to counter the Sam Currans or Kyle Jamiesons.
New Zealand
1. Conway & Jamieson: Cricket Is A Piece of Cake
International cricket is a piece of cake for Devon Conway & Kyle Jamieson, isn’t it?
Conway
In the context of tough low-scoring match, a 70-run opening partnership between Latham and Conway was crucial. Conway’s 54 (153) was the highest score of New Zealand’s first innings. His mode of dismissal would concern him, but otherwise, pretty good start this.
3 Tests, 379 runs, 63.16 average, 1-100, 2-50s, best of 200 (at Lord’s debut)
3 ODIs, 225 runs, 75.00 average, 1-100, 1-50, best of 126
14 T20Is, 473 runs, 59.12 average, 4-50s, best of 99*
Jamieson
What about Jamieson, the man of the hour? He was literally head and shoulders above everyone. Rohit, Kohli, Pant among his first-inning wickets, 30-run 7th wicket partnership with a 21 (16), and finally breaking the game with Pujara-Kohli wickets on the final morning.
2. When The Time Comes, Kane Williamson & Ross Taylor Deliver
Kane Williamson & Ross Taylor are the two senior pros of the New Zealand batting lineup. Taylor has been there for 15 years, through unfortunate run-outs, tied finals, DRS decisions, captaincy controversies. In ICC knockouts, both have scored a few 30s and 40s, but never a match-changing innings.
Cometh the hour, cometh the men.
Williamson’s scratchy 49 (177) exuded his class. Despite not timing the ball and struggling, he stayed in the game and stitched the partnerships that got New Zealand to a respectable total.
In the fourth innings chase, the Kiwis were struggling at 44/2 in 20 overs. R Ashwin at the other end operating with his guile. Anything could have happened. The senior statesmen soaked in the pressure, with dot balls and maiden overs building.
After surviving the rough patch, they rotated the strike. A few overs later, the singles & doubles turned into boundaries. Couple of dropped catches signaled the end. Finally, the moment came with Ross Taylor hitting the winning runs. A fairytale script. What’s more? An iconic picture of brothers-in-arm to cap it off.
3. Catches Win Matches Feat Tom Latham & Henry Nicholls
In the preview, we said to watch out for Tom Latham & Henry Nicholls, the New Zealand of the New Zealand team. Nobody ever talks about them, but they have been consistent performers in the last couple of years. With the bat, except for Latham’s 30, there was not much of note.
It is the fielding where these two came alive. Latham’s three catches and fielding efforts almost saved 35+ runs. Nicholls’ running backwards-diving catch off Pant was the moment of the match for me. India’s hopes ended with that catch.
And what about BJ Watling? Perfection behind the stumps in the first innings (no byes given) and kept wickets through injury in the second. The runs might not have come, but New Zealand’s greatest ever keeper retires on a high.
Little contributions, but in a close low-scoring affair, these moments makes the difference.
The Moment
Ecstasy. Team spirit. Absolute Joy.
Here are some of my takes from the final moment:
Tribute to the Legendary Commentating Crew
From a fan’s point of view, the commentating and analysis put this final on another level. The Sky Sports crew has always been amazing with Nasser Hussain & Michael Atherton, but Ian Bishop, Sunil Gavaskar, Kumar Sangakkara, Isa Guha, Simon Doull, and debutant Dinesh Karthik took it to another level.
Analyzing batting techniques, debating who won each session, and playful sledging at its very best. Mohammad Shami’s “chances created vs wickets” analysis was especially intriguing.
Here is a look from DK, the weatherman, on the first couple of days updating social media with regular Twitter & Instagram updates.
Before I move to the Prediction Results section of the article, a brief thank you to our viewers. We have reached our daddy hundred—the 150 is up!
I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you for the support. The Broken Cricket Dream blog began exactly 11 months ago, when the 1st Test between West Indies & England ended. What a chase that was.
The Broken Dreams
That game reminded me of the love of the sport, what I had been missing in the months right after the coronavirus hit. So the journey began, word by word, paragraph by paragraph, blog post by post. The goal of this platform was to share our own dreams, hopes, and love of the game with each other. We all have dreamt of being a cricketer at some point in time but life does not go to plan. That is okay though, things happen for the better. Here is a list of Broken Dreams by our fellow cricket lovers. For me, writing about cricket itself is a dream come true.
None of this would have been possible without our fans and followers. I thoroughly enjoy the discussions and little debates. Keep them coming. Love the interaction!
Anyway, 150 articles and 158,000 words later, Broken Cricket Dreams is still going strong and will continue to grow. We have now spread to several social media platforms. Feel free to check them out below. COMMENT BELOW of your thoughts on the WTC Final, your Broken Dreams, or any feedback!
If you want some encouragement and life lessons from cricket, check these out:
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World Test Championship Final Review – Prediction Results
The Comments
Andrew Williamson: “Just hoping the winner isn’t going to be Noah and his Ark. If there is enough play, I think New Zealand have the attack to trouble India, on what should be a track with a fair bit in it for the quicks. Kane or Taylor will have to go for NZ to succeed.”
Halsey Nim: “May need a sporting declaration somewhere along the way.”
Jonny: “Pujara vital for India (assume they bat first as NZ best chance is to put them in), Ashwin with important late runs, Boult to shine. Latham grinds out runs, Kane obs, BJ won’t want to fail. Indian wickets spread evenly. Kohli 100 2nd innings. NZ fall just short…”
The criteria is the player has to be the best at that position. Kane Williamson & Labuschagne both were excellent #3s, but I had to pick Labuschagne at the expense of the WTC winning captain. Labuschagne was the best batter in the WTC – most runs (1675), most hundreds (5), and fifties (9).
Jamieson & Labuschagne were the finds of this WTC cycle, so they walk in the XI.
Rohit Sharma just edges out Dean Elgar for the opening spot. I was tempted to go with Elgar since South Africa is a tougher place for openers, but with Karunaratne already at the top, I went with a left-right, defensive-aggressive combination. Both Root & Smith were excellent, but Smith’s iconic 774 runs in the Ashes puts him at the coveted #4 position.
Middle Order
The #5-7 spots were interesting. Ben Stokes’ Headingly show, relentless bowling spells, and 4 tons/6 fifties gives him the all-rounder spot. I initially had Rahane, the fifth highest scorer in the WTC and highest for India but instead, went with both Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Rizwan. Pant has mastered a couple of iconic chases, and Rizwan has been a revelation in the last year with his overseas rearguard innings. Quinton de Kock was also close behind in the keepers race.
Bowlers
Finally, the bowlers were the toughest to pick. My XI coincidentally had good batters as well. Mohammad Shami (40 wickets at 20.47), Josh Hazlewood (47 @ 20.54), Neil Wagner (35 @ 22.97), Jimmy Anderson (39 @ 19.51), Tim Southee (56 @ 20.82), Ishant Sharma (39 @ 17.75) had better averages, Anrich Nortje & Kemar Roach were brilliant throughout. I have not even talked about Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Shaheen Shah Afridi—all wonderful bowlers who had a decent couple of years without lighting the world on fire.
What an era to live in.
World Test Championship Combined XI
Dimuth Karunaratne (C)
Rohit Sharma
Marnus Labuschagne
Steve Smith
Ben Stokes
Rishabh Pant (WK)
Mohammad Rizwan
Ravichandran Ashwin
Kyle Jamieson
Pat Cummins
Stuart Broad
Tim Southee
For more World XIs, check out the articles below!
World Test Championship Statistics
Finally to cap it off, here are the statistics. Ashwin went up to #1, Rahane and Rohit Sharma remained at #5 & #6 respectively. Rahaen, Taylor, Watling, and Pant show up in the catches/dismissals section.
Most Runs
Most Wickets
Most Catches
Most Dismissals
Marnus Labuschagne – 1675
Ravichandran Ashwin – 67
Joe Root – 34
Tim Paine – 65
Joe Root – 1660
Pat Cummins – 70
Steve Smith – 27
Quinton de Kock – 50
Steve Smith – 1341
Stuart Broad – 69
Ben Stokes – 25
Jos Buttler – 50
Ben Stokes – 1334
Tim Southee – 56
Ajinkya Rahane – 23
BJ Watling – 48
Ajinkya Rahane – 1159
Nathan Lyon – 56
Ross Taylor – 21
Rishabh Pant – 41
World Test Championship Final Review – Statistics
Best Scores
Best Bowling Figures
David Warner – 335* (Vs Pakistan – Adelaide)
Lasith Embuldeniya – 7/137 (Vs England – Galle)
Zak Crawley – 267 (Vs Pakistan – Southampton)
Ravichandran Ashwin – 7/145 (Vs South Africa – Visakhapatnam)
“Start by doing what’s necessary. Then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible,” said Francis of Assisi about 800 years ago.
India women did just that, holding England to an improbable draw.
Women’s Tests A Rarity
Due to an increased fan following in women’s cricket since the 2017 ODI World Cup, recent emphasis has been on limited overs cricket, expansion of the game via T20 World Cup, and a potential game changer in Women’s Hundred.
Since resources have been spent in marketing the limited overs game, women’s Test cricket has disappeared in the background.
England play only one Test match every couple of years in the Ashes against Australia. Indian women had it even worse—they were playing their first test after 7 years and only their third in 15 years.
We did not know how it will pan out. Will India struggle with the lack of match practice? Will they remain unbeaten in Tests in England? How would teams cope with a used pitch?
Summary
Electing to bat first, England posted a solid 396/9 declared courtesy their senior players: Beaumont’s 66, captain Heather Knight’s 95, Nat Sciver’s 42, and debutant’s Sophie Dunkley’s 74.
Openers Smriti Mandhana & Shafali Verma would form a record 167-partnership, before India collapsed for 231. England enforced the follow-on with India 165 runs still behind & 135 overs still left in the game.
Rana-Bhatia’s Performance of the Ages
In the second innings, they started by doing the necessary. The top order repeated its fight with contributions from Verma, Raut, and Sharma before they collapsed from 171-2 to 199-7 in 73.3 overs. What’s more, India’s last recognized batter, Harmanpreet Kaur departed. With 50 overs still to go, little did anyone expect that India would survive.
Then they did what was possible. Stitch out partnerships. Play ball-by-ball. Stall the time. An hour later, Shikha Pandey departed after a fighting 18 (50).
What followed was a performance of a lifetime, a magnificent rearguard effort between Taniya Bhatia & Sneh Rana—104* (185) partnership. Suddenly, India were doing the impossible.
Rana scored 80* (154) & Bhatia provided ample support with 44* (88) to deny England a routine victory.
Patience, grit, determination on show. Bravo India women!
Debutants Dare to Dream
The experienced duo, Mithali Raj & Harmanpreet Kaur, scored a paltry 18 runs in 4 innings. To achieve the impossible, India’s youngsters were thrown in the deep end, similar to the Border-Gavaskar series in men’s cricket.
Not only did the newer generation star, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana, and Taniya Bhatia were actually making their Test debuts for the India women team. Sophia Dunkley, whose 74* revived England from 251-6 to 396/9 declared, was debuting for England.
Shafali became the youngest women (17 years & 139 days) cricketer and second overall after Sachin Tendulkar to score fifties in both innings—96 & 63.
Promoted from #7 in the 1st innings to #3 in the 2nd, Sharma brought India back in the game with mature knocks of 29* & 54 to go along with 3/65.
Rana’s 4/131 & 80* Bhatia’s 44* saves India.
Vastrakar contributed with 1/53.
Ecclestone Bowls Herself To the Ground
The English bowlers were in the field for two and a half days!
Sophie Ecclestone took the bulk of the responsibilities, bowling 26 overs (out of 81.5) in the first innings and 38 (out of 121 overs) in the second. She ended up figures of 4-88 & 4-118.
Kudos to her for giving it her best shot. Can take some rest now. Already a T20 star, the 22-year old has the potential to be an all-time England great.
Time For 5-Day Tests In Women’s Cricket?
At the end of the 4th day, the captains shook hands with 12 overs to go. India were 179 runs ahead at 344/8.
Imagine a potential day 5—England’s target around 200 runs with 80 overs to go. All 4 results possible. Mouth-watering scenario, isn’t it? Well it isn’t entirely possible when you only have a 4-day Test.
Captain Heather Knight commented that the lack of 5th day “robbed of that finish,” and they would definitely be open for 5-day Tests. Mithali Raj had a more practical suggestion, “It’s a good idea to have a five-day Test but we actually have to start Test matches regularly.”
Why not combine both? Teams that traditionally play consistent Test cricket (Australia & England) should be allowed to experiment with 5-day Tests and pink-ball Tests. On the other hand, teams like India should not be searching for Test match opportunities every seven or eight years. Why not have one mandatory 4-day Test per bilateral series for teams like India, South Africa, and New Zealand? This way, more seasoned cricketers will get Test match experience and cricket boards will get the chance to focus on the marketing aspect of Women’s Test cricket.
Who knows, maybe a Women’s World Test Championship is just what is needed to provide context.
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After two long years of Test cricket & coronavirus interruption, the World Test Championship Final is finally here.
Rising Kiwis are slightly better prepared against world beaters India with a series against England. India has been in England for a few weeks due to quarantine but have only played an internal practice match.
Two of the best teams on show, finally some context for Test cricket, BJ Watling’s retirement, but will rain spoil it all?
The idea of the World Test Championship is not a new one.
World Test Championship was supposed to become a reality in 2009, 2013, & 2017, but each of those iterations were cancelled in favor of much more lucrative, ICC ODI Champions Trophy.
Imagine an Indian team comprising of Sehwag, Sachin, Dravid, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan competing against McCullum’s 2015 team or even better, the golden South African era of Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, AB De Villiers, & Dale Steyn earlier in the decade.
Anyway, World Test Championship finally came into existence in 2019 and began with the England-Australia Ashes series. 58 matches later, India and New Zealand are deservedly in the finals, carrying bench strengths of envy.
25% spectator capacity will be allowed in the stadium.
ICC Changes implemented
The new ICC playing conditions are now in place. Two of the most prominent for this match will be:
The LBW zone for DRS umpire call decisions has been shifted a little bit. It would be interesting to see how many LBW decisions are overturned in this Test match.
A reserve sixth day will be utilized in case all possible overs are not recovered during the five days. Looks highly likely that the sixth day will come into play.
There is a 100% rain forecast for the first four days of the Tests and then down to 80% and 70% for the couple of days after. Well, it is England….
Recent ICC Record
Here is a recent ODI & T20I World Cup history for India and New Zealand. Both teams have underwhelmed over the past decade given their talent. Since 2007, here is how the teams stack up.
India At ICC Events
Champions Trophy – Winner (2013), Runners-Up (2017)
ODI World Cup – Winner (2011), Semi-finals (2015), Semi-finals (2019)
T20I World Cup – Winner (2007), Runners-Up (2014), Semi-finals (2016)
New Zealand At ICC Events
Champions Trophy – Runners-Up (2009)
ODI World Cup – Semi-finals (2007), Semi-finals (2011), Runners-Up (2015), Runners-Up (2019)
T20I World Cup – Semi-finals (2007), Semi-finals (2016)
These records are meaningless because tomorrow is a new day and Test cricket is just another beast.
India began by routing West Indies in the Caribbean, before securing points at home against lackluster South Africa & Bangladesh teams.
Then came the tours Down Under. While Kiwis routed India in swing bowling conditions, India delivered a masterclass of ages in Australia. After 36/9 in Adelaide, Rahane’s century resurrected India in Melbourne. Then, the Pujara-Pant-Vihari-Ashwin show ensured India survived the 3rd Test, and the youngsters Shardul-Sundar-Pant-Siraj broke the Gabba fort to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Finally, the England home series was a completely one-sided event even after Joe Root’s classic gave England a headstart at Chennai. Ashwin’s all-round magic at home & Axar Patel’s memorable debut ensured India ease past England.
World Test Championship Final Preview – India’s Road To Glory
*Signifies away series
New Zealand
New Zealand’s road to glory was much more formulaic.
The Kiwis started with away tours of Sri Lanka & Australia. While they put on a good show in New Zealand, winning one match, they were hammered in Australia (barring Neil Wagner’s intense series).
At home, it was same old. Swinging conditions. Boult, Southee, and debutant of the year, Kyle Jamieson, wrecked havoc against India and West Indies. Only Pakistan provided any semblance of resistance with Fawad Alam’s classic fourth innings ton going in vain with four overs left in the Test match.
World Test Championship Final Preview – New Zealand’s Road To Glory
World Test Championship Final Preview – The Teams
India
Watch out for Ajinkya Rahane. He has a tendency to perform when it matters the most although his lack of consistency is frustrating. Rahane’s leadership & century in Melbourne was the catalyst for India in the memorable Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Since then, his form has gone hiding. England will bring back nice personal memories, and he is probably India’s best batter in swinging conditions. It is high time he shows up.
There were rumors that Mohammad Siraj would play in place of one of Mohammad Shami or Ishant Sharma, but that did not happen. India’s bowling has variety with Bumrah’s accuracy, Ishant’s seam, and Shami’s reverse swing. Looking forward to watch Ishant, who is in his 4th and most rewarding phase of his career. His 7-74 at Lord’s in the last tour was especially spectacular.
Tributes have started flowing in for BJ Watling in his retirement match. This one is my favorite, especially his mom’s statement. Watling has been a symbol of this rising team’s resilience and stability. Always solid behind the stumps, he will go down as Kiwis’s greatest keeper, but what I will miss the most is his rearguard action. NZ’s middle order rarely collapsed, but when it did, Watling was at the rescue. The question is, does he have one fighting innings left in him?
This is a very understated team, but do you know who is the New Zealand in the New Zealand team?Tom Latham & Henry Nicholls. When the Conways, Williamsons, or Taylors make huge scores around them, you can guarantee that Latham-Nicholls will provide ample solid support. Expect one of them to rise to the occasion in the finals.
Watch Out For
Sharma-Shubman Vs Pace brigade of Boult-Southee-Jamieson: This might as well set the tone for this match. A Mumbai Indians mini-match between Boult & Rohit Sharma.
Latham-Conway-Nicholls Vs R Ashwin: Ashwin has been India’s most successful bowler in this WTC cycle and has performed across all conditions (with both bat and ball). Conway is in the form of his life and the Kiwis have 2 other left-hand batters in the Top 5. Expect to see a lot of Ashwin.
The slip catching.England’s dropped catches were on show in the last series and they have been one of the worst slip catching sides in the past two years. So I am glad Ind-NZ are playing this week. Both teams have legendary fast bowlers, so the ball will go to the slips more than usual. Rest assured, the catches will be taken. Rahane, Taylor, Rohit, Kohli, Latham should do the job.
Starting XIs
India
India has revealed its XI ahead of time. Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Mayank Agarwal all played crucial roles in the lead up to the WTC Finals, but unfortunately did not make the final XI. This is also the first time that Jadeja-Ashwin-Sharma-Shami-Bumrah will play together. What a mouth-watering lineup.
Squad: Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj
New Zealand
New Zealand’s lineup selects itself, but the crucial question is the #7-8 spot. Matt Henry, Neil Wagner, & Ajaz Patel performed admirably in the England series and Colin de Grandhomme has been out for a while, so will they go for a four-fast bowler strategy? Ajaz Patel should have done enough in the England series for a spin option in this Southampton pitch.
Tom Latham, Devon Conway, 3. Kane Williamson*, 4. Ross Taylor, 5. Henry Nicholls, 6. BJ Watling (WK), 7. Colin de Grandhomme/Kyle Jamieson/Matt Henry, 8. Tim Southee, 9. Neil Wagner, 10. Trent Boult, 11. Ajaz Patel
Squad: Will Young, Tom Blundell (WK)
Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Doug Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, and Rachin Ravindra failed to make the final cut.
Prediction
I honestly cannot see a way past the weather. Both teams have excellent bowling options, so unless both teams suffer collapses twice, a result would be very hard to attain.
Would love if we get a full game, but for now, going with a Draw.
Verdict: Draw 0-0
If the game does happen, what am I excited for the most? Neil Wagner’s intensity, Colin de Grandhomme’s hairdo, Williamson-Kohli-Southee’s continuing journey from U-19 World Cup, Pujara-Pant combination, Ross Taylor’s wisdom, an emotional sunset to Watling’s wonderful career, and in general, just a hard-fought sporting final.
India
New Zealand
MVP
Ajinkya Rahane
Henry Nicholls
Most Runs
Rohit Sharma
Tom Latham
Most Wickets
Ishant Sharma
Tim Southee
X-Factor
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ajaz Patel
Verdict
Draw
Draw
World Test Championship Final Preview – Prediction
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Also comment below with out thoughts on this Alternative World Test Championship Table!
COPYRIGHT @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X, 06/18/2021; Email at bcd@brokencricketdreams.com
World Test Championship Records
Are there are records that can be broken in the World Test Championship Final?
Batting
It is really interesting that even though NZ made it to the finals, there is nobody in the top 15 run-scorer. Combination of several players standing up and the fact that NZ did not play as many games. Kane Williamson is at 16th with 817 runs and Tom Latham is 25th with 680 runs.
India, on the other hand, have 5 batters in the Top 15:
Rahane – 1095 (5th)
Rohit Sharma – 1030 (6th)
Kohli – 877 (11th)
Agarwal – 857 (12th)
Pujara – 818 (15th)
Bowling
Ashwin is on #3 with 67 wickets and Southee is New Zealand’s best at #5 with 51 wickets.
Kyle Jamieson – 36 (12th)
Ishant Sharma – 36 (13th)
Mohammad Shami – 36 (14th)
Jasprit Bumrah – 34 (16th)
Trent Boult – 34 (18th)
Neil Wagner – 32 (20th)
Fielding and Dismissals
Both teams are pretty close on this list with BJ Watling – 43 dismissals (4th) and Rishabh Pant – 40 (5th).
In terms of catches, Rahane – 22 catches (4th) and Ross Taylor – 18 (5th) are at the top with Rohit Sharma – 16 (6th) and Virat Kohli – 16 (7th) close behind. New Zealand’s next best is Tom Latham – 14 (12th).
New Zealand Vs England 2021 Test Series Preview—an understated rivalry.
“Bowled ’em! Got him 3rd ball.”
“England have won the world cup by the barest of margins. By the barest of all margins.”
Scars from Starc’s dismissal of Brendon McCullum in the 2015 World Cup Final & Martin Guptill’s run-out in that Super Over still run deep. The Black Caps have lost the last two ODI World Cup finals, a Champions Trophy final (2009), and four semi-finals (2 T20I, 2 ODI) all within the last fifteen years.
Although South Africa are known as the perennial chokers, and India are the new holders of the tag after an underachieving decade, New Zealand are not that far behind. They have one more shot with a final at Lord’s with the World Test Championship against India. The real question is, are Kiwis prepared for glory?
Before we get ahead of ourselves, New Zealand have important couple of test matches against England as prep.
I do not know about you, but I am very excited about this series. Since the abandonment of the IPL, there has been barely any international cricket.
This is not part of the World Test Championship (WTC) or the Future Tours Programme (FTC). This series has no-context on paper, but numerous interesting little stories running in the background nevertheless.
New Zealand – Conway’s Debut & Watling’s Retirement Talk of the Town
Devon Conway has to have one of the greatest cricketing stories in recent memory. Not able to get into the secondary club teams in South Africa 5 years ago, he is now about to get a Test debut at Lord’s. Sold everything in South Africa, churned a mountain runs in New Zealand’s first class system, and has been rewarded accordingly. The result?
14 T20Is, 4-50s, best of 99*, 59.12 average, 151.11 SR
3 ODIs, 1-100, 1-50, best of 126, 75.00 average, 88.23 SR
Tough luck for Tom Blundell (2-100s & 2-50s in just 16 innings) & Will Young (couple of county tons coming into the series)
BJ Watling, one of the greatest wicketkeepers of recent times & definitely for New Zealand, has decided to hang up his boots. Brilliant behind the stumps, and known for his ‘rescue acts.’ A daddy hundred or two from tough situations in the next three Tests will go a long way.
New Zealand has a wealth of allrounders. Daryl Mitchell’s last outing in international cricket has been a positive one – 100* (ODI) & 102* (Tests). Expect him to slot in the XI even though Colin de Grandhomme is back in the squad (with a great hairdo as well I shall add) & Mitchell Santner is always a valuable asset.
Although New Zealand now have a well balanced squad and great depth, the big guns will still need to fire—Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Tom Latham, captain Kane Williamson, & veteran Ross Taylor.
Come for the @VitalityBlast action, stay for the Colin de Grandhomme throwback! 👏👨🦱
England – What do England have to Gain from this Series?
With Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, the Currans, Chris Woakes, & Jofra Archer (elbow surgery) out due to IPL quarantine, the entire lower-middle order will be missing in action. This will provide the England management to test their depth. Debuts for keeper James Bracey & fast bowler Ollie Robinson on the cards, with the likes of Olly Stone, Craig Overton, and comeback kid, Haseeb Hameed, on the sidelines.
Jimmy Anderson is poised to play his 161st Test match, joint-highest for England along with Sir Alastair Cook. Eight wickets away from a monumental 1000 first class wickets, 5 wickets away from Anil Kumble‘s 619, and 94 wickets to Shane Warne, it might well be a season of records for Anderson.
Joe Root has had a stellar Test year with 794 runs & 3 tons, including a couple of daddy hundreds in Sri Lanka & India. Can he back it up with a home season of the ages?
Burns-Sibley-Crawley against New Zealand’s swing bowlers—The opening combination was under a bit of fire in Asia, but it will not get any easier against Southee-Henry-Jamieson-de Grandhomme-Mitchell-Wagner.
Partial crowds (around 25%) are back at Lord’s. Good news for cricket fans, and hope things remain safe for time to come.
Prediction
Verdict: New Zealand win 1-0
England
New Zealand
Player of the Series/MVP
Zak Crawley
Henry Nicholls
Most Runs
Zak Crawley
Ross Taylor
Most Wickets
Stuart Broad
Tim Southee
Emerging Player
Ollie Robinson
Will Young
Surprise Package
James Bracey (WK)
Daryl Mitchell/ Colin de Grandhomme
New Zealand Vs England 2021 Test Series Predictions
Kiwis have an upper hand, but do not count England out. Both teams are filled with great fast bowling talent, but New Zealand’s all-round & batting has the edge.
I am going with New Zealand 1-0. A closely fought first game, with New Zealand narrowly winning & holding England to at least a draw in the second match.
What about you? Let us know in the comments below!
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These are my starting XI for the first Test (assuming everyone is available in terms of COVID and injuries).
New Zealand
Tom Latham, 2. Tom Blundell, 3. Kane Williamson*, 4. Ross Taylor, 5. Henry Nicholls, 6. BJ Watling*, 7. Daryl Mitchell, 8. Kyle Jamieson, 9. Tim Southee, 10. Matt Henry, 11. Neil Wagner
England
Rory Burns, 2. Dom Sibley, 3. Zak Crawley, 4. Joe Root*, 5. Ollie Pope, 6. Dan Lawrence, 7. James Bracey (WK), 8. Ollie Robinson, 9. Stuart Broad, 10. Jack Leach, 11. James Anderson
*captain
The Squads
These are the other options in the squads.
New Zealand:(All-Rounders) 12. Colin de Grandhomme, 13 Mitchell Santner, (Batters) 14. Will Young, 15. Devon Conway (WK), 16. Rachin Ravindra, (Fast Bowlers) 17. Matt Henry, 18. Doug Bracewell, 19. Jacob Duffy, (Spinners), 20. Ajaz Patel
*Trent Boult will be available for the World Test Championship final, but is resting for the England series.
England:(Fast Bowlers) 12. Mark Wood, 13. Olly Stone, 14. Craig Overton, (Batters) 15. Haseeb Hameed, 16. Sam Billings (WK), (Withdrawn) Ben Foakes (WK)
March 8th, 2020 with 86,174 spectators. The crescendo beginning in the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup peaked on that day in the World T20 final between Australia and India. However, progress has stalled due to the COVID-19 break. The post-pandemic stats below show how the counterparts stacked between March 2020 & January 2021:
Maximum possible days of international cricket scheduled (5 days maximum per tests)
Men: 128 days
Women: 16 days (including 5 Austria-Germany T20Is)
Total Matches Played (international + T20 Leagues)
Men: 540
Women: 144
(Check out Who Cares About Women’s Cricket, where we displayed detailed list of post-COVID statistics, thoughts about women’s cricket & WIPL)
Miscommunication at its finest
Women’s cricket resumed in September 2020 as West Indies toured England. Later in the year, New Zealand played against Australia & England, and Pakistan visited South Africa. It took Indian women an entire year before playing against South Africa in March 2021. Proteas won the series comfortably 4-1 (ODIs) & 2-1 (T20I).
Although lack of match practice, domestic tournaments, & national camps was the reason for India’s defeat, highly regarded coach WV Raman was the casualty, alleging a “smear campaign” against him. Replacement Ramesh Powar, who famously had a fallout with Mithali Raj in 2018, was picked as the head coach again.
Stark Payment Gap
Although women cricketers have seen a marked increase in revenue since 2017, it is nearly not enough (with New Zealand, England, India, & Australia expanding central contracts).
BCCI’s latest contracts caused uproar. The highest paid men’s bracket is worth fourteen times as much as the highest paid women’s bracket.
Grade A+, consisting of Kohli, Sharma, and Bumrah earn about 7 crores (INR) or about $964,000 (USD). Grade A earn 5 crores ($689,000), B with 3 crores ($413,000), & C, consisting of the likes of Kuldeep & Gill, earn around 1 crore ($138,000).
Their counterparts—Mandhana, Kaur, & Poonam (Grade A) earn 50 lakhs INR ($68,000), while stalwarts like Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami (Grade B) plummet down to 30 lakhs ($41,000). This is comparable to the current standard around the world, but things do need to change.
What’s worse? World T20 finalist prize money worth $500,000 has not been paid yet, 14 months later. It took Isabelle Westbury’s Telegraph article & subsequent social media outrage to get BCCI to act, finally paying the dues.
The most profitable cricket board needs to allocate resources properly. The least they can do is avoid media stunts and focus on tangible progressive changes.
Hope In Times of Uncertainty
There is still hope, however.
Indian women will play two Test matches (last Test in 2014) this year, one each against England & Australia. The Test in Australia will be a day-night affair, which adds another layer of excitement.
Ireland & Scotland women are also back in action right now with a T20 series. New Zealand’s England tour in September is the only other scheduled series prior to the ODI World Cup (March 2022).
The Hundred Is the Savior
The Hundred in July this year promises to be a game-changer for women’s cricket.
All men & women’s game will be held on the same day on the same ground, will be televised (including free-to-air games), and prize money will be shared evenly between the winners of the men’s & women’s tournaments. It has the potentialize to revolutionize the women’s game and become a template for other T20 leagues to follow.
Even Indian players have been given the green signal to participate in the Women’s Hundred & the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
When Will the Attitudes Change Towards Women’s Cricket?
Australia, England, New Zealand are prime examples of how to recruit the future of women’s cricket, with efforts visible in the WBBL & New Zealand’s Super Smash tournaments.
Yet, there is still a long way to go. Each national board should prioritize women’s cricket, invest accordingly in the infrastructure, and work together with other nations to uplift standards.
IPL 2021 prediction results were quite unusual this time around.
The usual contenders for the Orange and Purple caps –David Warner, Quinton de Kock, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, & Kagiso Rabada all had sub-par seasons. Even recent IPL specialists like Ishan Kishan & Suryakumar Yadav had seasons to forget. Nicholas Pooran probably had the worst of the lot.
The Year of the Surprise Package
This was the year of the ‘Surprise Package’—the rise of Avesh Khan & Chetan Sakariya, Moeen Ali 2.0, Harshal Patel’s dream season, the return of Glenn Maxwell, consistency in Sanju Samson & Prithvi Shaw, and even a 37-run over from the man who can do it all—Ravindra Jadeja.
Of course there are some things that never change. AB De Villiers & the Gayle Storm struck a couple of match-winning knocks without much match practice.
Finally, if we would have done a ‘Catch of the Season’ award, surely Ravi Bishnoi would have received it for his 2 classical running/diving catches.
IPL 2021 Prediction
Before the IPL began, we asked our Twitter followers to predict the IPL result and award winners with #BCDPredictions. Here were the categories:
#Champions
#Top4
#MVP
#OrangeCap
#PurpleCap
#FairPlay
#EmergingPlayer
#SurprisePackage
#BrokenDream
The Actual Results
Since half the games were not completed, we will consider multiple winners for each category if there were close contenders. (If we do not consider close calls, there actually very few correct answers).
Interestingly, there were zero predictions for Shikhar Dhawan & Harshal Patel, the orange & purple cap winners respectively.
So here is how things stacked at the halfway stage.
Note*: DC and PBKS played 8 games each, while other teams played only 7.
Champions
Delhi Capitals (12 points, 8 games) Chennai Super Kings (10 points, 7 games)
The moment of truth….Drumroll please….WE HAVE A TIE!
1st 🥇: Aviral Rai, James McCagrey, and Vandit (5/12)(Vandit was also the winner of the IPL 2020 Predictions)
2nd🥈:Sourabh Sanyal, Sourabh Negi, Scripturient, The Hundred Report, Xan, Priyam Desai, Kanishk, Rohan Gulavani, and Arnab Bhattacharrya (4/12)
3rd 🥉: Shivam & Harrison (3/5)
Honorable Mention:Jonny – “Hope it stays COVID safe most of all #IPL.”
The Anti Award goes to…Jimmy Ciego! His top 4 were RR (5), PBKS (6), KKR (7), and SRH (8) with Nicholas Pooran as the most valuable player. Oops… 😅 No worries. My predictions were a close second there.
Sometimes, predictions go your way, and sometimes they do not. The important thing is to have fun and get a chance to interact with other cricket fans.
In all seriousness though, my thoughts and prayers with everyone going through the pandemic around the world, especially in India. Take care and stay safe.
Thank you all for participating in the IPL 2021 Prediction 😊 Until next time…
Comment below your favorite memories from this IPL, share with your friends, and subscribe below to receive email alerts when new articles come out!
IPL 2021 has unfortunately been suspended ‘indefinitely’. Seemed inevitable—here are five takeaways from this tournament.
1. India’s Problem of Plenty At the Top for India, Questions Elsewhere
Virat Kohli announced during the India-England series that he & Rohit Sharma would open for the T20I World Cup. Ishan Kishan & Suryakumar Yadav also had stunning debuts, but IPL 2021 has changed the narrative.
Dhawan, Shaw, & KL Rahul are back in the reckoning with dominating performances while Agarwal signed off with a blazing 99*. Forms of Rohit-Kohli, Gill, Kishan, and SKY on the other hand? Concerning.
While India has plenty of options at the top, lower order looks unstable. Pandyas are horridly out of touch, Tewatia was a one-season wonder, and Karthik’s form is hot and cold. On the bowling front, Natarajan is injured, Varun and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have fitness issues, Kuldeep-Chahal are in the worst phases of their careers, and Sundar-Ashwin failed to make a mark. Only positives were the Chahar cousins, Harshal Patel, & Jadeja. Good finds in Sakariya & Avesh as well.
2. England Burnt Out, Hope for South Africa, Doubts for West Indies
England arrived in India with the goal of experiencing conditions that will help them lift the World T20 trophy. Fast forward two months, Stokes-Archer are injured & Morgan’s magic is missing—both as captain and with the bat. Apart from century in the final game, Buttler flattered to deceive, Currans were inconsistent, Woakes-Malan barely played, & Roy-Livingstone-Billings did not even get a chance. Only Moeen Ali & Bairstow had positive seasons.
With a busy home Test summer around the corner, England need to manage their players carefully. A case of severe burnout.
South Africans, on the other hand, endured a resurgent campaign. Genius of AB De Villiers aside, forms of du Plessis, Morris, Miller, and even 42-year-old Tahir provides South Africa much needed hope. With Janneman Malan & Nortje in brilliant touch during the Pakistan series, the Proteas have a decent core of youth & experience.
Ngidi, Rabada, and QDK were not in top gear, but we all know what damage they can do.
Finally, West Indians witnessed high highs and low lows. Pollard played his best IPL innings, Hetmyer & Russell displayed their finishing potential, and Gayle produced a couple of match-winning performances as well. Yet much-hyped Pooran had one of the all-time worst IPL seasons—4 ducks & an average of 4.66. Not much of note from Allen, Holder, & Narine either.
3. Loyalty Is Temporary, Class Is Permanent
David Warner might only be considered a great modern-day Australian opener, but he is an absolute legend in the Indian Premier League.
Most fifties (50), third on list of centuries (4), and fifth highest run-scorer (5447), best for any foreign player. More importantly, he led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their only title in 2016 along with four qualifiers.
It took just 6 games, couple of unfortunate run-outs, a 110 strike-rate, and miscommunication with management to axe him. Expect Warner to don a jersey of another team next IPL.
Loyalty is fickle.
4. World T20 In Danger?
Unlike the successfully hosted IPL 2020, the way this edition ended was bit of a shame. IPL 2021 was supposed to be testing grounds to see if India can host the World T20 later this year. India failed.
UAE is the top contender to host the tournament, but multiple issues still to think about. IPL 2020 was in a strict bio-bubble with 8 teams involved. The World Cup will host 16 teams, and each team is allowed an extended squad of 23 players.
Man proposes COVID disposes.
5. Humanity Prevails
Jason Behrendorff had to be the most unfortunate cricketing story of IPL 2021.
Not picked in initial auction, called as a replacement for CSK, quarantined, and when he finally became eligible to play, the IPL was called off.
What’s worse? Australian government is not accepting their citizens (even jail threat), so the Australian contingent from the IPL must fly to Sri Lanka & Maldives until the travel ban ends.
Regardless, kudos to Behrendorff & earlier to Cummins for contributing to the COVID-19 emergency in India that set off a series of players donating to the cause.
Our thoughts and prayers with India and others suffering from the global pandemic.
Cricket in Olympics has long been a hot topic among the cricketing fraternity and has re-emerged in the latest round of ICC meetings.
One particular revelation from this meeting reminded me of a scene from Madagascar 2. It goes like this.
“Attention. This is the ICC speaking. We have good news and bad news. The good news is we have made a landing in the Olympics. The bad news is—it is T10 cricket.”
So is there any merit in this idea or just totally absurd? We will talk about the history of cricket in the Olympics, the pros and cons, and whether I think it should be accepted or not.
Here is a bit of trivia for you—did you know the 1900 Paris Olympics included cricket?
1900 Olympics
Although cricket was initially scheduled in the inaugural modern 1896 Olympics, it was cancelled due to lack of interest. For the 1900 edition, Netherlands and Belgium pulled out after showing interest, while Great Britain & France sent club teams for the 2-day match.
Eventually Great Britain won by 158 runs with only five minutes remaining on day two. It would take 98 years for cricket to feature in another such tournament.
1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games: 16 teams, 4 groups, and 50-overs format. The tournament saw teams like Jamaica & Barbados compete independently along with Malaysia, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Eventually South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand won the gold, silver, and bronze respectively. Yes, South Africa actually won something.
Guangzhou2010 & Incheon 2014 Asian Games: Men/Women competitions in T20 format. India declined to send teams, while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, & even Japan won medals across the two tournaments. Apart from hosts China & South Korea, teams like Maldives, Nepal, and Hong Kong participated.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
Women’s Cricket will benefit from expansion to newer teams. One of the stories of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup was Thailand’s qualification. Imagine how other smaller countries could similarly rise from the Olympics.
Cricket has the potential to go from a ‘niche sport,’ only played in a fraction of the former British commonwealth to a much broader world audience due to television & media promotions
Due to a shorter window, the format would have to be a knock-out tournament, which would give more chances to multiple teams rather than the 10-team two month long slug fest known as the World Cup.
T10 takes about 2 hours to complete, which is a plus for short-spanned 21st century spectators.
Cons:
T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, World Test Championship, & Olympics, not to mention T20 leagues. Too many tournaments will create dilution & overkill of cricket, which could have an adverse effect on the sport.
T10 in the Olympics would imply making it the fourth official international format. With T20I & Test cricket doing well, this would be curtains for the struggling 50-over ODI format.
Opposition to Cricket in Olympics
Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics has historically been opposed by teams like England & India. England declined to send a team for the 1998 Commonwealth due to scheduling conflicts with County cricket.
Similar concerns drive the opposition to T20 cricket in the Olympics. Such a tournament would imply having qualification tournaments, which would hamper the T20 calendar and decrease value of the T20 World Cup, which leads to possibly decreasing revenues.
The Verdict: Yay or Nay?
T10 cricket is not the ideal format.
Some people say it is a shortened version of T20. Wrong. It is just an expanded Super Over. Cricket is a game of skills and talent, but T10 may just be a fluke, and nobody is interested in that. No place for bowlers and not great advertisement for cricket.
However, the game has evolved. There was even a time when colored clothing, day-night cricket, DRS, and T20 cricket had doubters.
So, should cricket be tried in the Olympics? Well, why not? It never hurts to try.
Of course, technicalities about the format and qualification process can be decided later.
So, When Can We See Cricket in Olympics?
Cricket will be played in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Only women’s edition will take place—T20, 8 teams, round-robin tournament, and a qualifier for a Caribbean nation. Finally, USA Cricket’s long-term goal has been to host the 2028 LA Olympics, although 2032 Brisbane Olympics is probably a better bet.
FAQs
Why is there no cricket in Olympics?
Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics has historically been opposed by teams like England & India. England declined to send a team for the 1998 Commonwealth due to scheduling conflicts with County cricket. Similar concerns drive the opposition to T20 cricket in the Olympics. Such a tournament would imply having qualification tournaments, which would hamper the T20 calendar and decrease value of the T20 World Cup, which leads to possibly decreasing revenues.
What is the history of cricket in Olympics and other international events?
Although cricket was initially scheduled in the inaugural modern 1896 Olympics, it was cancelled due to lack of interest. For the 1900 edition, Netherlands and Belgium pulled out after showing interest, while Great Britain & France sent club teams for the 2-day match. Eventually Great Britain won by 158 runs with only five minutes remaining on day two. It would take 98 years for cricket to feature in another such tournament.
1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games: 16 teams, 4 groups, and 50-overs format. The tournament saw teams like Jamaica & Barbados compete independently along with Malaysia, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Eventually South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand won the gold, silver, and bronze respectively. Yes, South Africa actually won something. Guangzhou2010 & Incheon 2014 Asian Games: Men/Women competitions in T20 format. India declined to send teams, while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, & even Japan won medals across the two tournaments. Apart from hosts China & South Korea, teams like Maldives, Nepal, and Hong Kong participated.
When Can We See Cricket in Olympics?
Cricket will be played in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Only women’s edition will take place—T20, 8 teams, round-robin tournament, and a qualifier for a Caribbean nation. Finally, USA Cricket’s long-term goal has been to host the 2028 LA Olympics, although 2032 Brisbane Olympics is probably a better bet.
Other Innovations in Cricket
Image Courtesy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
From the young Ravindra Jadeja in 2008 & Manish Pandey in 2009 to the inspirational stories of Natarajan & Chakravarthy last year, the IPL has a habit of thrusting new faces into limelight. In 2020, uncapped players like Ravi Bishnoi, Abdul Samad, and Devdutt Padikkal had breakout seasons. Here are some of exciting candidates for 2021:
Finn Allen signed as a replacement for Josh Philippe and announced himself to the international stage with a whirlwind 71(29) against Bangladesh. Will he get a match though in the star-studded RCB line-up?
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy graduates Mohammad Azharuddeen (WK/batsman), Shahrukh Khan (finisher), and R Sai Kishore (spinner) would be quite handy if they carried their devastating forms earlier this year.
Surprise Packages Paul Valthaty & Rahul Tewatia became household names after bizarre IPL seasons. Would love to watch a Chetan Sakariya, Lukman Meriwala, or someone we have not heard much about (yet) rising to the occasion.
2. Can the Discards Find Their Way Back to the Pack?
Due to COVID-19, ICC events have allowed up to 23-player squads. For India, this has provided the window for discarded players like Prithvi Shaw, Dinesh Karthik, & Sanju Samson to squeeze into the T20 World Cup squad in October later this year.
Since the World Cup is scheduled to be held in India, it is also a golden opportunity for players from other countries like Liam Livingstone, the Currans, & Dawid Malan (England), Allen & Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand), & Riley Meredith & Jhye Richardson (Australia) to impress their selectors.
Eoin Morgan has made it clear he wants England to hold both the World Cup trophies. He has even gone as far as suggesting that rivals Rajasthan Royals will open with Buttler-Stokes combination (to help England prepare for the World Cup).
3. This is it, isn’t it?
Christopher Henry Gayle is 41 and has recently stated his desire to win a third T20I World Cup and even play for 5 more years. Imran Tahir at 42 and Harbhajan Singh at 40 are still spinning oppositions.
It is unlikely any of them will play all the 14 games, but their experience will be crucial in pressure situations.
We should just sit back and enjoy because this might be the final chance we get to watch players like MS Dhoni on the field. With IPL 2022 having a large auction, this year is definitely the end of an era.
4. Can Cricket Get Any Longer? Rule Changes For IPL 2021
The limited overs series between India and England have caused direct rule changes to this IPL. Some of those T20I games took up 5 hours and Suryakumar Yadav’s soft-signal caused uproar. Last year, the double super overs went well into the next day. For IPL 2021,
Teams have been accommodated 90 minutes per innings including the Strategic Time Outs. Penalties have been raised for violation.
No soft-signal for catches and obstruction of field appeals.
Time capped for multiple Super Overs. If time elapses, the game will be declared a tie (one point each).
5. The World Must Come Together as One
Before we can enjoy the spectacle, the real question is will we even have a complete IPL due to the pandemic?
The PSL showcased brilliant display of cricket…for two weeks before the insecurity of the bio-bubble packed up the tournament.
Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood & Philippe have already withdrawn days from the IPL, and the likes of Axar Patel & Padikkal have tested positive for coronavirus. Cases are rising in India, and several travel concerns still remain.
With mental health, bio-bubble fatigue, and financial security all at stake, only time will decide the fate of this tournament. Let’s just hope that this virus is defeated, the spirit of the IPL remains alive, and the surprises keep on coming.
If you have not yet read our IPL Previews, here is a list of all of them! Check them out and share ahead:
One of the most consistent franchises in recent IPL history, expect no different this year around.
Except they have more options, fitter players, and a schedule that suits their style of play. Add the intelligent buy of Kedar Jadhav, and all pieces are slowly falling into place. Here is my SRH preview.
All-Rounders: Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Jagadeesha Suchith
Spinners: Shahbaz Nadeem
Fast Medium: T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma
Overseas: David Warner*, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, Jason Roy, Kane Williamson
Withdrawn Mitchell Marsh
Predicted SRH XI
David Warner (C),2. Wriddhiman Saha (WK), 3. Manish Pandey, 4. Kane Williamson/Jonny Bairstow, 5. Vijay Shankar/Kedar Jadhav, 6. Priyam Garg/Abdul Samad, 7. Rashid Khan, 8. Jason Holder/Mohammad Nabi/ Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10. T Natarajan, 11. Sandeep Sharma
Watch Out For
Horses-for-courses strategy.
Given their first 5 games are at Chennai (and 7 more at Delhi/Kolkata), expect SRH to deploy their spin regime. They have the Afghan trio Rashid Khan-Mohammad Nabi-Mujeeb Ur Rahman along with Shahbaz Nadeem & part-timers Abhishek Sharma/Kedar Jadhav.
The other option is to go top heavy with Warner-Roy-Williamson-Bairstow. Droolworthy batting order.
If the pitch demands pace, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Thampi, & Kaul will be key with all-rounders in Jason Holder & Vijay Shankar readily available.
Where Can Things Go Wrong For the Sunrisers?
With multiple options, come multiple warnings. Do not give enough chances or confidence to the players and instability can creep in. With staff of VVS Laxman, Muralitharan and co, this should not be the case.
