Some series are more hyped than others. That is the way of life. Amidst the India Vs England ‘marquee’ series, there was a much better spectacle of cricket in the UAE.
This series had everything—an overseas Test victory for Zimbabwe, first Test double century for Afghanistan by Hasmatullah Shahidi, Sean Williams’ 2 tons, follow-on fightback from Williams-Tiripano, Zimbabwe’s Blessing (Muzarabani), Rashid Khan’s toil of the century, and other heroes in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Ryan Burl, Ibrahim Zadran, Amir Hamza, and lot more.
Here is my series review—Results, video highlights stats, major moments, T20I World Cup squad predictions, awards, and much more!
Rahmanullah Gurbaz – 114 runs (best of 87, 154.05 SR)
Ryan Burl – 81 runs (best of 40, 122.72 SR)
Most Wickets
Rashid Khan – 6 wickets (best of 3/28, 7.60 economy)
Blessing Muzarabani – 6 wickets (best of 2/38, 10.25 economy)
Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe 2021 T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
Afghanistan
Rashid Khan only played one Test match. In that one Test, he bowled more than anyone in the entire series. In fact, it was the most overs bowled in the 21st century in a single test. Digest that. He bowled 36.3 overs in the first innings & 62.5 overs in the follow on, taking 11 wickets overall. The fact that he left the PSL, missed the first Test with an injury, and played the rest of the series with full commitment is just something else. Also, he is only 22. Afghanistan needs to find more bowling partners to save Rashid from burnout.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz for me was the find of the series. 87 with 7 sixes in his player of the matchdebut performance. Not a bad start I would say.
With Gurbaz, Mohamamad Nabi, Asghar Afghan, & Najibullah Zadran all playing crucial roles in the T20I series, Karim Janat flew under the radar. Consistent all-round performances with 26 & 2/14, 53 & 1/27, and 21 & 2/34 got him the player of the series award.
A word on Hashmatullah Shahidi & Asghar Afghan. First double hundred by an Afghan batsman, 164 for Asghar, and a 307-run brilliant partnership. Afghanistan is improving, slowly but steadily. Good signs for world cricket.
Zimbabwe
With Brendon Taylor & Craig Ervine missing out due to illness, captain Sean Williams shouldered the responsibility with 105 in the 2-day Test victory & 151* in a follow-on. He was just a class apart. When Taylor & Ervine return, I am hoping for some progress for this Zimbabwean team (and possibly a 2023 WC qualification?)
Blessing Muzarabani was among the wickets in both the Test and ODI series. 4/48 & 2/14 in that first Test followed by 2 wickets each in the last Test and the T20Is. Slightly expensive in the T20Is, but will get better with time.
There was a time after the 2003 World Cup that Zimbabwe’s fast bowling stocks depleted. The bowling unit of Muzarabani, Victor Nyauchi, and Donald Tiripano bundled Afghanistan for 131 & 135 in the UAE. Gives me some hope.
The 187 run-partnership between Williams & Tiripano for the 8th wicket in the follow-on (highest for Zimbabwe at that spot) was very special. At the 20th anniversary of Dravid-Laxman’s partnership at the Eden Gardens, this would have been the perfect tribute. Unfortunately, Tiripano got out for 95 and Afghanistan chased the score with only a brief stutter. Brilliant Test match regardless.
The Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Afghanistan
Zimbabwe
Emerging Player
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Amir Hamza (6/75), Ibrahim Zadran (31 & 76, 72 & 29)
Blessing Muzarabani
Surprise Package
Karim Janat
Ryan Burl
Broken Cricket Dream
Abdul Malik, Munir Ahmad, Abdul Wasi (Debutants)
Brendon Taylor, Craig Ervine (miss out during illness)
Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe 2021 Series Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
T20I World Cup Watch
We are doing a World T20 Watch from now till the T20I world cup next year. Here is our predicted T20 XI line up and a 16-men squad as of now based on this series. Several ifs and buts at this point, but it will get clearer along the journey.
Since the T20 World Cup is scheduled in India, several spin options are considered.
Afghanistan 2021 World T20 Squad – Prediction
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), 2. Usman Ghani, 3. Karim Janat, 4. Najibullah Zadran, 5. Mohammad Nabi, 6. Asghar Afghan*, 7. Rashid Khan, 8. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 9. Amir Hamza/Zahir Khan, 10. Naveen Ul-Haq, 11. Fareed Ahmad
Wildcards: Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Milton Shumba
Where Do They Go From Here?
Zimbabwe is bound to tour Ireland in August for 3 ODIs (after Ireland tour Netherlands in June for 3 ODIs) . Important ODI Super League points up for grabs.
In the meantime, the Afghanistan trio of Rashid Khan-Mohammad Nabi-Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be headed to Sunrisers Hyderabad camp for the Indian Premier League.
What did you think about the Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe 2021 series? What are your World T20 line ups? COMMENT BELOW, and let us know what you think!
Australia Vs New Zealand 2021 Series Review. This series was competitive with a 3-2 result, although every match was more-or-less one-sided.
Several memorable moments though with the return of Martin Guptill’s sweet timing, Conway’s run of form, Jamieson’s rude awaking after IPL auction glory, Finch & Maxwell’s show, Ashton Agar & Ish Sodhi’s magic, & finally the spin experiment of Chapman-Phillips (wicketkeeper).
Positives for both sides with this series. New Zealand have solidified their batting order, while Australia had the chance to experiment with Big Bash performers since the South Africa-Australia series was controversially cancelled (Hence, no Smith, Warner, Cummins for this series).
Here is my series review—Results, stats, highlights, T20I World Cup squad predictions, awards, and much more!
Martin Guptill – 218 runs (best of 97, 2-50s, 59.12 SR)
Aaron Finch – 197 runs (best of 79*, 2-50s, SR 134.01)
Most Wickets
Ish Sodhi – 13 wickets (best of 4/28, 12.07 average, 8.26 economy)
Ashton Agar – 8 wickets (best of 6/30, 14.62 average, 6.88 economy)
Australia Vs New Zealand 2021 T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
New Zealand
Martin Guptill was on the verge of being dropped. In the first T20I, even Brendon McCullum on commentary suggested this is a huge series for Guptill (only for the commentator’s curse to take place—Guptill dismissed for duck). What followed was a magnificent 97 which made him the leading six hitter in all of T20I cricket. He followed it up with 43 & 71 later in the series. Watch out—this version of Guptill could be even more dangerous.
Devon Conway continues to rise through the ranks. Hit a 99* in the first T20I. An average of 52.28 at 145.23 with 3 50s in his first 11 matches. He is here to stay and may even receive an ODI cap soon.
Ish Sodhi has never completely realized his potential. Even with leg spinners dominating international cricket for the last decade, he was always in and out of the side. A Player of the Series performance & upcoming World T20I in India should guarantee his spot in the XI.
Australia
IPL discard Aaron Finch showed why is the best T20I batsman in the world. After NZ led 2-0 in the 5 match series, knocks of 69, 79*, and 36 displayed his tough character.
Australia have a balanced squad with 2 spinning allrounders, Glenn Maxwell & Ashton Agar. Both came to the party in the 3rd T20I. Maxwell, a revelation in international cricket over the past 12 months, scored an impactful 70 (31), while Agar broke the New Zealand chase with a spell of 6/30.
Josh Philippe was the find of the series for me. Although he had already made a name for himself in the Big Bash, he finally shone at the international level providing quick starts of 45 (34) & 43 (27). Pressure on Matthew Wade when David Warner returns? (although he did score a decent 44 (29)).
The Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Watch Out For
Finn Allen. Just 21 years of age, he averages 48.81 with 183.27 strike rate in domestic T20. With 6 fifties in 13 innings & a best of 92*, there are talks of him being fast-tracked for the Kiwis. With Guptill solidifying his spot & Seifert-Conway-Phillips all but certain, Allen’s prospects may have closed the door for Ross Taylor’s T20I return.
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
T20I World Cup Watch
We are doing a World T20 Watch from now till the T20I world cup next year. Here is our predicted T20 XI line up and a 16-men squad as of now based on this series. Several ifs and buts at this point, but it will get clearer along the journey.
Since the T20 World Cup is scheduled in India, several spin options are considered.
New Zealand 2021 World T20 Squad – Prediction
Finn Allen is slowly rising through the domestic ranks. He was picked as an injury backup for RCB, although he has not made his international debut yet.
Martin Guptill, 2. Tim Seifert (WK), 3. Kane Williamson*, 4. Glenn Phillips, 5. Devon Conway, 6. Jimmy Neesham, 7. Mitchell Santner, 8. Tim Southee, 9. Trent Boult, 10. Lockie Ferguson, 11. Ish Sodhi
Squad: 12. Colin de Grandhomme, 13. Finn Allen/Ross Taylor/Mark Chapman, 14. Kyle Jamieson/Hamish Bennett, 15. Blair Tickner/Jacob Duffy, 156 Doug Bracewell/Scott Kuggeleijn/Adam Milne
*Captain
Australia 2021 World T20 Squad – Prediction
I will put Steve Smith on the bench and start with Philippe. Several options for Australia, but time running out to settle their squad.
David Warner, 2. Aaron Finch*, 3. Josh Philippe (WK), 4. Glenn Maxwell, 5. Marcus Stoinis, 6. Ashton Agar, 7. Mitchell Marsh, 8. Pat Cummins, 9. Daniel Sams/Jason Behrendoff/Mitchell Starc, 10. Josh Hazlewood/James Pattinson, 11. Adam Zampa
Squad: 12. Steve Smith, 13. Matthew Wade (WK)/ Alex Carey (WK), 14. Jhye Richardson/Riley Meredith/Sean Abbott, 15. Kane Richardon/Andrew Tye, 16. Cameron Green/Moises Henriques
Wildcards: Marnus Labuschagne, Ben McDermott (WK), D’Arcy Short, Andrew Tye, Tanveer Sangha, Ashton Turner, Nathan Lyon
Where Do They Go From Here?
New Zealand travel to Bangladesh for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs, starting March 19th. Several of the players will stay for IPL 2021. Finally, in July the Test squad will travel to England for 2 Test matches as well as the (not) much awaited WTC final.
Australia meanwhile are done for now till the World T20 later this year (unless fixtures are added). They won the ODI series against India 2-1, but went on to lose the T20I series 1-2, Test series 1-3, & this series 2-3. Also had the controversial South Africa series cancelled. Time for some much needed rest.
What did you think about the Australia Vs New Zealand 2021 series? What are your World T20 line ups? COMMENT BELOW, and let us know what you think!
Image Courtesy: Martin Guptill – YellowMonkey/Blnguyen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This series was dominated by two individuals—Tammy Beaumont and captain Heather Knight. Apart from these two, England also found match winners in Nat Sciver, Freya Davies, Sarah Glenn, and Katherine Brunt.
On the other hand, except for Amelia Kerr & Amy Satterthwaite, New Zealand were not in the fight in their own backyard. There was stand-in captaincy for Sciver, injury to Lea Tahuhu, and even a bit of Billy Bowden as well. Here is a quick review—The stats, highlights, and more! Keep on reading, and let us know your thoughts!
Amy Satterthwaite – 76 runs (best of 49, 122.58 SR)
Most Wickets
Freya Davies – 5 wickets (best of 4/23, 4.71 economy)
Leigh Kasperek – 4 wickets (best of 2/24, 6.61 economy)
England Vs New Zealand Women T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
England
Individual runs do not win you matches, great partnerships do. Tammy Beaumont & Heather Knight were not only consistently among the runs, they stitched the English team together. Beaumont is literally in almost all the match-winning partnerships. Dream tour for her (although struggles for Danni Wyatt continued).
While the experienced top order dominated the ODI leg, the bowlers were the stars in the T20Is. Sarah Glenn’s miserly 2/11 in 4 overs in the first T20I & Freya Davies’ wonderful outing of 4/23 sealed the 2nd T20I. Only 8 T20Is old before the series, Davies was the find of the T20I tour for England.
The experience of Katherine Brunt was on spot in the 3rd T20I. At half way stage, 128 seemed too low to defend but Katherine Brunt’s 2/19, Sophie Ecclestone’s 2/19, & Mady Villiers’ 3/10 bundled New Zealand for just 96.
New Zealand
It was a tough tour for Sophie Devine. After hitting the fastest women T20 century in the domestic Super Smash tournament, much was expected of her as the captain-all rounder. Scores of 16, 6, 15, 2, 8, 0 and only 2 wickets across the 6 matches was way below her usually excellent standards.
Amelia Kerr, the young prodigious (Devine used to babysit her) allrounder continued her dramatic rise in world cricket. Although the stats do not show it all, she was constantly threatening the pair of Beaumont-Knight in the ODIs. Performance of 4/42 & 72* in the 3rd ODI helped seal New Zealand their sole victory in the series.
The women of the hour in the 3rd ODI was Amy Satterthwaite, completing her 7th ODI century with magnificent knock of 119* (128) after the White Ferns were 15-2. Another 49 came in a T20I. The only real resistance from the New Zealand batting came from her. Otherwise, T20I scores of 96, 123, 96 & ODI scores of 178 & 192 are not much to write home about.
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
England
New Zealand
Emerging Player
Freya Davies
Amelia Kerr
Surprise Package
Katherine Brunt
Leigh Kasperek
Broken Cricket Dream
Danni Wyatt
Lea Tahuhu (injured)/Sophie Devine
England Vs New Zealand Women Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
Australia Women will tour New Zealand for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs, starting March 28th. For England, The Women’s Hundredwill finally take stage from 21st July-21st August. This will be a huge game changer for women’s cricket.
The ODI World Cup (which was to be held during this time in New Zealand this year) is postponed to February of 2022.
Where do New Zealand cricket go from here? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Series Review—a historical series. South Africa’s first visit to the nation after more than a decade.
The return of Aiden Markram and Hasan Ali, the absence of Mohammad Hafeez, lots of Mohammad Rizwan, and curtains to Faf Du Plessis’ Test career. We look at the highs & lows, broken dreams, emerging players, and World T20I Watch.
Mohammad Rizwan – 197 runs (1 – 100, 1 – 50, best of 104*, average 98.5, 145.92 SR)
David Miller – 116 runs (1 – 50, best of 85*, average 116, 156.75 SR)
Most Wickets
Usman Qadir – 4 wickets (best of 2/21, 6.90 economy)
Tabraiz Shamsi – 6 wickets (best of 4/25, 5.08 economy)
T20I Series Stats
The Highlights
Pakistan
Test
The energizer is back with Pakistan. Hasan Ali’s domestic resurgence has translated directly into international performances. 5/54 & 5/60 match winning 10-fer. Skiddy action, the passion, and the celebration.
In the last 5 first class matches, Fawad Alam has scores of 139 (vs NZ A), 102, 109, 45. Consistency and the 109 at home. Destined.
It is the season of Faheem Ashraf-Mohammad Rizwan partnership. After a streak of match-saving consecutive overseas 50s for Rizwan, he finally converted to a ton with 115* in Rawalpandi. Similarly, following his 91 in New Zealand, Ashraf followed up with 64 and 78* in Pakistan.
T20I
Rizwan strikes again. Followed up his Test century with a 104*, 51, and 42 in the T20Is. Brilliant. Just brilliant. And if you thought that was consistent enough, now has scores of 71 and 41 for Karachi Kings in the PSL.
Let us talk about the ones missing in action (at least offline), shall we? Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfaraz Ahmed. The best Pakistan T20I batsman over the past year, Mohammad Hafeez opted out of the international series due to T10 league & clashes with the quarantine dates for the South Africa series. Yet, he was active on Twitter and had a few exchanges with former captain and current substitute, Sarfaraz. Hopefully, it is just a one-time thing and Pakistan cricket can move on.
It seems that Aiden Markram debuted ages ago. After his brilliant start to Test cricket in 2017, it seemed that Markram was in an eternal downward spiral. Still only 26, this overseas tour of Pakistan may well be a watershed rejuvenation moment for Markram. Long career ahead.
When one door opens, another closes. While Markram excelled, Quinton de Kock had a horrific series with the bat. 4 innings – 46 runs. Now, he is also released as the Test captain and has taken a mental health break from South Africa’s domestic tournament.
Speaking of closed doors, Faf Du Plessis. The sun has finally set on a career marked with tenacity, grit, leadership, and hope. A Test career that started a bit late due to the great South African generation, a debut stonewalling to remember at Adelaide, a few blockathons here and there, a lot of Australia and India, captaincy records, and an iconic 199 to cap it off. Hats off Faf. Be sure to read our tribute to Faf below.
KILLER MILLER IS BACK!!!! Look at some of the hits here. 85* (45) with 7 sixes albeit in a losing cause. Almost half a decade since this type of innings. Good signs for the Proteas looking forward to the T20I World Cup.
Moving to the bowling side, Dwaine Pretorius slowly inking his name in the T20I XI. A 5 wicket haul including a brilliant yorker. Scalps of Babar Azam and in-form Mohammad Rizwan. Not bad.
Tabraiz Shamsi has been the unsung mainstay of South African bowling recently. The fast bowling unit bar Rabada (and now, Nortje) seems to be a revolving door, but the absence of Imran Tahir has not been felt due to Shamsi. Highest wicket taker in the T20I series with a miserly economy.
The Awards
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Pakistan
South Africa
Emerging Player
Hasan Ali 2.0, Fawad Alam 3.0, and Rizwan-Ashraf partnership
Left Arm Spinners
Surprise Package
Usman Qadir
Return of Aiden Markram
Broken Cricket Dream
Mohammad Hafeez-Sarfaraz Ahmed Twitter Exchanges
Test retirement of Faf Du Plessis
Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Review: The Awards
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!\
These two teams will be back in action in April with Pakistan returning the favor with 3 ODIs and 4 T20Is, completing a postponed series from last year.
South Africa are still in a transition zone. The longer they stay here, the worse it gets. It is good to see the younger generation of players stand up, but hope it all meshes by the time the World T20 Cup hits later this year.
Pakistan are one to watch for the T20 World Cup. The PSL is being held at the right time, enough time for young stars to appear and get some international games under their belt.
World T20 Watch
Leading up to the World Cup, we are picking a 15 player squad after each series.
Pakistan
For reference, here was our earlier WT20 watch for Pakistan’s squad in our Pak Vs NZ series review. Some new faces have come into play, while some players have dropped off the list.
Babar Azam (C), 2. Mohammad Rizwan (WK), 3. Haider Ali, 4. Mohammad Hafeez, 5. Shadab Khan, 6.. Imad Wasim, 7. Faheem Ashraf, 8. Hasan Ali, 9. Haris Rauf, 10. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11. Usman Qadir
Squad: 12. Naseem Shah, 13. Mohammad Nawaz/Zafar Gohar/Zahid Mahmood, 14. Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK)/Sharjeel Khan, 15. Iftikhar Ahmed/Shoaib Malik
Other Reserves in Contention: Imam-Ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman (opener), Mohammad Hasnain/Mohammad Musa/Aamer Yamin (fast bowler), Khusdil Shah/Hussain Talat/Asif Ali (lower order finisher)
Wildcard: Sohail Tanvir
Probably curtains for Wahab Riaz & possible Mohammad Amir comeback.
South Africa
Quinton de Kock* (WK), 2. Janneman Malan, 3. Faf du Plessis, 4. Rassie Van der Dussen, 5. Heinrich Klassen (C), 6. David Miller, 7. George Linde, 8. Chris Morris, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Tabraiz Shamsi
Other Reserves In Contention: Lutho Sipamla/Bjorn Fortuin/Junior Dala, Pete van Biljon, Temba Bavuma/ Reeza Hendricks/Aiden Markram
Wildcard: AB De Villiers (WK), Marco Jansen?
What did you think of our Pakistan Vs South Africa 2021 Review? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below! Also feel free to share/discuss on our Twitter & Facebook pages!
Ireland Vs Afghanistan 2021 Series Review in the UAE.
Ireland’s ODIs against the UAE were enthralling, except 2 ODIs were postponed due to COVID. Then, Afghanistan swept the crucial 3 match ODI series against Ireland. However, the series was closer than the 3-0 score line suggests. The series had various moments: Paul Stirling’s 3 centuries across the 2 series, Curtis Campher’s golden run, Gurbaz’s dream debut, Rashid Khan’s magical deliveries, reliable Rahmat Shah, and Asghar Afghan finishing things off in style.
Keep on reading for our analysis, emerging players, surprise packages, broken cricket dreams, and much more.
Paul Stirling is having a stellar season. An aggressive batsman at the start of his career, he has truly transformed into Ireland’s top order main stay. Most ODI runs (576) since April 2020, 4 centuries, average of 82.28, 96 strike rate, and with age on his side (30), Ireland cricket is still in good hands. It’s a shame he did not make it to the final round of IPL 2021 auctions…
Curtis Campher, the South African expatriate, has been a revelation since his debut against England. Player of the Series in the UAE Series—this 21 year old is the next big thing of Irish cricket.
Kevin O’Brien, the hero of Bangalore and Ireland’s Test debut, is approaching the end of his career at the age of 36. With scores of 23, 2, 1, 0 & only 2 wickets, he really needs a second wind to justify his place against the incoming generation of Irish talent.
Afghanistan
Although star Rashid Khan won the man of the match in the final game of the series, Afghanistan’s series win was an all-round effort. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Asghar Afghan, and Rahmat Shah contributed with the bat, while Naveen-Ul-Haq & Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman were effective with the ball.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz had a stellar debut – 127 runs with 9 blistering sixes. What Campher is to Ireland, Gurbaz is to Afghanistan. At the age of 19, he has a long career ahead of him.
Mohammad Nabi is currently going through the Kevin O’Brien crisis. Nabi, the stalwart of Afghanistan cricket, who has been a part of their rise since Division V cricket, needs to reinvent himself. 35 runs (2 innings) and 2 wickets (3 innings) may not be enough for the spinning all-round spot.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE probably got the worst of the COVID postponement. Since the UAE are in World Cricket League 2, they have to rank in the top 3 for the 2023 World Cup Qualification. They are currently at 5th and after winning the 1st ODI, at home they would have fancied their chances.
An impressive maiden centuryby Rizwan along with a wonderful partnership with Usman ensured UAE ‘upset’ Ireland in the first ODI.
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Ireland
United Arab Emirates
Afghanistan
Emerging Player
Curtis Campher
Chundangapoyil Rizwan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Surprise Package
Simi Singh
Muhammad Usman
Naveen-Ul-Haq
Broken Cricket Dream
Kevin O’Brien
Postponement of ODIs
Mohammad Nabi
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
Unlike the World Test Championship, the ODI Super League is still a fairly sensible idea. Ireland has already played as many games as England and Australia so far, while Afghanistan rank 4th. With the top 8 automatically qualifying (including India), Ireland are currently at 7th and need to be careful from here on now. Points against UAE and Afghanistan was their best bet. Of course, the sample size is small so far with Sri Lanka, South Africa, Netherlands, and New Zealand yet to play a game in the Super League.
Ireland are scheduled to play South Africa, Netherlands, and Zimbabwe this year, while Afghanistan are bound to play Sri Lanka and Pakistan (according to pre-COVID FTP, so this is bound to change).
A lot more cricket still to come, and we hope that Ireland finally starts reaping its rewards from the 2007 generation, while Afghanistan breaks into the big leagues.
Where do Ireland cricket go from here? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
Sri Lanka Vs South Africa—With the Pakistan-New Zealand series and Border-Gavaskar Trophy underway, this series almost went under the radar. However, the importance of this series cannot be understated, especially after the abandonment of the England-South Africa ODI series.
Although short in nature, the series had its moments—Sri Lanka’s positive start, Faf Du Plessis’ 199, Elgar’s heroics, Temba’s hilarious/unfortunate walk, the Lankan injuries, and Nortje’s coming of age.
Here are my picks for the best moments, emerging players, and much more! COMMENT BELOW ON YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS.
Sri Lanka began the series with a complete team effort consisting of Chandimal’s 85, Dhananjaya de Silva’s 79, Dickwella’s 49, Shanaka’s 66* to get to 396, their highest ever in South Africa. In response, South Africa’s mammoth 621 was too much to save a match. Not even Kusal Perera could save the match with a 64, as he did with the best Test innings of all time in 2019.
31.1, 2.1, 28.5, 21.1, 6.5 read Sri Lanka’s bowling card in the first Test, with injured bowlers. Even captain Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis had to contribute 13.5 overs.
Injuries were unfortunately the theme for Sri Lanka this tour. With 5 forced changes including Chandimal & Dhananjay de Silva (and Angelo Mathews injured pre-series), Perera’s 1st innings 60 and Karunaratne’s 103 were the only bright spots in the 2nd Test.
Honestly speaking, 0 tour matches, COVID uncertainty, and focus on Lanka Premier League was way too much for Sri Lanka’s longer format dreams.
Faf Du Plessis has been through a lot in the last few years. Waited 7 years for a debut, heartbreak in the 2015 WC Semi-Final, led South Africa admirably, with everything collapsing in the 2019 World Cup. He has stayed and become the beacon of leadership, helping the Proteas transition to the next generation. His 199 in the 1st Test—so close, yet so far. In context though, a very important statement. Another couple of years for Faf?
Dean Elgar had a brilliant series with a 95 & 127 in the 2 Tests. One of the best openers in tough conditions, his reputation continues to rise.
SA began this series with an appalling statistic – first time in a few decades that all batsman averaged below 40. Yep, you read that correctly. All, even Faf, Elgar, and captain Quinton de Kock were on the wrong side of 40. With welcome performances from Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rassie Van der Dussen, and even Keshav Maharaj, the batting looks decent for the near future. Still need to guide against collapses.
In the absence of Rabada, Nortje rose to the occasion as the leader of the attack with a blistering 6-56. The supporting cast of Sipamla, Ngidi, and Wiaan Muldur chipped in with 10, 9, and 7 wickets respectively. Not quite Steyn-Morkel-Philander-Rabada, but these four displayed some potential for the future.
Quinton de Kock (In a series where each player had a breakthrough performance, QDK was underpar)
Injuries Galore
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
Where Do They Go From Here?
England left South Africa early due to COVID concerns. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka arrived in South Africa for a Test series tour. While the SL-SA series was going on, England already reached Sri Lanka to quarantine. So England’s been in Sri Lanka before the home team, while Sri Lanka are completing the series in South Africa.
Interesting how life works.
In the next couple of weeks, England-Sri Lanka are due for a 2-match Test series, while South Africa travel to Pakistan after a decade for a historic tour. In terms of the World Test Championship, England are ranked 4th (with tours of Sri Lanka & India coming up), SA a distant 5th, and SL down at 7th. Although the WTC provides context for the teams that are still in contention, it is the opposite for teams that suffer early losses. Widens the gap for the lower teams. Things to think about for the WTC.
Finally, Brexit is complete, Kolpak deals out of the window, & Kyle Abbott back with the Titans. If talent stream does not go to other places like the USA, South Africa might be stepping in the right direction.
Anyway, where do you think Sri Lanka and South African cricket go from here? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below! Also feel free to share/discuss on our Twitter & Facebook pages!
England Vs South Africa was one of the three series that began on November 27 along with the New Zealand-West Indies and the India-Australia.
With the Proteas coming off a stellar IPL season and England a force to reckon in today’s day and age, this was the series I was most excited about. Heck, I even predicted a resurgent South Africa to sweep the series 3-0! 3-0 did happen but in England’s favor, but the abandonment of the ODI series put a sour taste on this tour.
Here are my picks for the best moments, controversial moments, emerging players, World T20 Predicted XIs, and much more! COMMENT BELOW ON YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS.
Although South Africa were swept apart in the T20I series, they still had some positives. After scoring their highest scores 192, I expected South Africa to take some form in the ODI series.
What actually happened? First ODI postponed hours before the toss due to COVID breaches and similar result in the 2nd attempt. The tour was abandoned and the England players were sent home.
Bummer.
The Highlights
England
Player of the series? Dawid Malan. Highest runs scorer? Dawid Malan. 2 Player of the Match awards in a 3 game series? Dawid Malan. Need to say more? Definitely cemented his place for the T20I World Cup. Why doesn’t Malan have an IPL contract yet?
Chris Jordan coming from an underwhelming IPL claimed some personal records – 50th T20I match & highest wicket-taker for England, going past Stuart Broad. Specialist death bowler for sure.
While Jonny Bairstow played a match-winning-come-from-behind knock of 86* in the middle order & Jos Buttler made a mark as an opener with an unbeaten 67, Jason Roy picked up only 30 runs combined. Food for thought with the likes of Tom Banton waiting?
I think it is an interesting experiment as long as it does not influence DRS calls or causes delay in proceedings. Comment below and let us know your thoughts!
George Linde was the positive of the series for South Africa. Miserly bowling figures of 2-20 (4 overs), 0-27 (4overs), & 0-26 (4 overs) along with efficient lower order hitting with 12*(6) & 29 (20).
Faf Du Plessis is not going anywhere and the du Plessis-van der Dussen middle order partnership is starting to take shape. Partnership of 127* (66) in the 3rd T20I took South Africa from a precarious position to a healthy total. The top 2 highest scorers for the Proteas in the series.
Maybe England’s batting is too good, but still in the past 12 months, South Africa barely defended 177 (won by 1 run), failed to defend scores of 222, 179, and 191, and gave away 204 runs in the first innings (lost by 2 runs). South Africa has some soul searching to do in the bowling front – an area they are usually good at.
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
South Africa
England
Emerging Player
George Linde
Dressing Room Coded Signals
Surprise Package
George Linde
Jonny Bairstow (in the middle order)
Broken Cricket Dream
3rd Seamer: B. Hendricks (0-56 in 4 overs), Ngidi (2-51 in 4 overs), Sipamla (0-45 in 2.4 overs)
Jason Roy
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please share and subscribe below!
Where Do They Go From Here?
A lot of Sri Lanka in the near future.
Sri Lanka are on schedule to tour South Africa for a 2-match Test series. At this point all reports are showing good signs in terms of the tour being played. After this series, England tour Sri Lanka for a two match Test series. After Pakistan return from New Zealand, South Africa will tour Pakistan in a historic move for 2 Tests and 3 T20Is.
South African cricket has endured a lot in the past year – mixed Black Lives Matter messages, constant changing of administration, COVID breaches, and much more (kudos to England for getting cricket back together and hosting West Indies, Ireland, Pakistan and Australia earlier). The abandonment of the ODI series (technically just postponed) puts a light onto future hosting in South Africa as well as the loss of finances.
Where do South Africa cricket go from here? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
World T20 Watch:
We are doing a World T20 Watch from now till the T20I world cup next year. Here is our predicted T20 XI line up and 15-man squad as of now based on this series. Several ifs and buts at this point, but it will get clearer along the journey.
South Africa still need some tweaking, while England look all set to claim their 2nd limited overs World Cup trophy.
England
Tom Banton, 2. Jos Buttler (WK), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan*, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Squad: Sam Billings, Tom Curran/Saqib Mahmood/Reece Topley, Jason Roy/Moeen Ali, Joe Root/Joe Denly/Other
*Captain
South Africa
Temba Bavuma did not have a great series, so I am putting Janneman Malan ahead in the XI. Bavuma should still get a few more chances before a final decision is made on his T20I career.
Quinton de Kock* (WK), 2. Janneman Malan, 3. Faf du Plessis, 4. Rassie Van der Dussen, 5. Heinrich Klassen, 6. David Miller, 7. George Linde, 8. Andile Phelukwayo, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Tabraiz Shamsi
India Vs Australia – a friendly evenly contested series.
India revived their 1992 jersey, and the tour started accordingly with twin defeats via the brilliance of Steven Smith. This tour will be remembered for the Australia media’s fascination for ‘King’ Kohli, international fielding of grade-school standards, emergence of Hardik Pandya, the Jadeja-Chahal concussion fiasco, and Wade’s non-review.
Australia, on the other hand, erased the poor IPL 2020 memories. Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell – all came back with a bang. Good performances by youngsters and comeback kids as well.
Here are my picks for the best moments of the series, the emerging players, and where these two teams go from here? COMMENT BELOW ON YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS.
India still have not solved their middle muddle. Shreyas Iyer returned with scores of 2, 38, 19, 12*, and 0 across formats. None of India’s batsman bowl and none of the bowlers bat well. The #4 position and the 6th bowling option is still a major worry.
Chahal leaked 89 & 71 runs and was eventually dropped for the third. Although he was the man of the match in the first T20I, it is still a matter of concern in the flat ODI pitches. Time to bring Kul-Cha back together?
First time since 2008 that Virat Kohli has not registered a century. Came close with a 89 and 63, but 2020 has just been that kind of year.
Shardul Thakur has a knack of taking wickets as we can see from his 3/51 in the 3rd ODI.
T20Is
Although Sanju Samson gave India impetus with innings like 23(14) and 15(9), it was just not enough. With the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav in the background, Samson may not have too long of a rope.
Hardik Pandya dedicated his Player of Series award to T. Natarajan and deservingly so. Although Pandya finished things off, Natarajan’s 3/30, 2/20, and 1/33 were crucial to limit India’s targets.
India have found a balance in the finishing power. If one of the top order batsmen fail to finish the chase, Pandya will. If Pandya fails, Jadeja will.
In 2016, Manish Pandey was among the rising stars scoring an unbeaten century in a 300+ run chase. Forward to 2020. Did not get a game in the ODIs and struggled in his only T20I opportunity – 2 (8).
Australia
ODIs
Steven Smith famously said a month ago that he “found his hand.” He was not joking as he displayed with scores of 105and 104 in just around 62 balls both innings. WOW.
Glenn Maxwell could not hit a fly in IPL 2020. Put the Australia jersey on and boy, was he on fire? The entire 2 months of IPL – 0 sixes. 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is – 16 sixes in total including quickfire 45(19), 63*(29), 59 (38), 54 (36), 22 (13) across formats. Australia have found their finisher.
Although Smith & Maxwell were the catalyst, the solid platform provided by Aaron Finch with 2-100s and 1-50. He is growing in his captaincy role as well.
Does Australia have a Mitchell Starc problem? 1/65, 0/82, & wide balls does not reflect the stature of Starc.
The leggie Mitchell Swepson joins the party. His 1st wicket of the series? None other than Virat Kohli.
Moises Henriques made a comeback with important contributions with both bat and ball. In the 2nd T20I – 3/22 in his 4 overs along with a 30(20) got Australia close to the target.
We like to spice things up with our own awards for the series. Here they are:
Australia
India
Emerging Player
Mitchell Swepson
T Natarajan
Surprise Package
Matthew Wade/ Moises Henriques
Ravindra Jadeja + Hardik Pandya
Broken Cricket Dream
D’Arcy Short
Manish Pandey
Who would have been your Emerging Player? Surprise Player? Broken Cricket Dream? Let us know below WITH COMMENTS! Also please subscribe!
Where Do They Go From Here?
Earlier I had predicted 2-1 India for the ODIs and 2-1 Australia for the T20Is. The results were reversed, but this India Vs Australia series had closed contests regardless. By no means, did these teams perform at their bests. They have a lot to ponder over, especially heading into the Border-Gavaskar Test series and the World T20 next year.
In limited overs, India have to fix their middle over phase – both in batting style and the bowling combinations. For the test series, India have an Ishant Sharma size hole along with concussion/injury issues for Jadeja and Rohit Sharma.
Australia’s injury woes are at another level. First Stoinis and Warner in the limited overs series. Then, the debutant Green and Will Pucovski with concussions during the warm-up games and now even Steven Smith has a soar back. Here is the complete list:
We will do a World T20 Watch from now till the world cup next year. Here is our predicted T20 XI line up as of now based on this series. Several ifs and buts at this point, but it will get clearer along the journey.
India’s limited overs selections need a rethink. ODIs and T20Is are now separate entities and hence, need different criteria. Gone are the days of the three format players barring a couple from each team.
Each position needs a specific role with a like-for-like understudy. Here is my World T20 XI for India as of now:
