NEWSLETTER
Follow UsLife is too short to be wasting your Sunday reading recaps, which is precisely why The Cricket.com Weekly has been moved to Mondays, starting today.
Sounds like a pretty cool reason, hah?
But in truth, we realized there’s far too much cricket happening on weekends, meaning by publishing our Newsletter on Saturday morning, we were missing out on covering plenty of action. And that, in a way, defeated the entire purpose of the Newsletter.
So one week after launching ‘Monday Night Live’, here we are: it’s time for the rebranded Cricket.com Weekly ft. Monday.
The week gone by — what’s been happening in world cricket?
First, let us get to what matters, the off-field drama of course…
SRH and RCB will have new head coaches for IPL 2024
The Mike Hesson era is over as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have opted to replace the 48-year-old with a very prominent name on the T20 circuit, Andy Flower. The Zimbabwean, who led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to back-to-back playoff finishes, will now be tasked with doing the toughest job on the planet — winning a title with RCB.
So, was the Hesson era a success or a failure? Here’s Akshay delving into the same.
But while the door has closed for one Kiwi, it has opened for another Kiwi elsewhere (roughly 600 km away) as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have appointed Daniel Vettori as their head coach for the upcoming season. Vettori is SRH’s fourth head coach in as many years (yayyy stability).
A very curious decision indeed, considering Lara & Co. blew about INR 36 crores in the previous auction - buying a whole new batch of players.
Alex Hales has retired from international cricket
James Anderson’s international career has outlived that of yet another ‘youngster’. Oh yes, Alex Hales, who debuted in 2011, has retired from international cricket.
Indian fans can breathe a sigh of relief — 170/0 (lol) — but he’ll still continue to torment bowlers round the globe as the 34-year-old confirmed that he’ll carry on playing franchise cricket.
No Marnus Labuschagne for the ODI World Cup
The BCCI / ICC are yet to finalize the World Cup schedule (properly), but Australia have gone ahead and named an 18-man squad for the Mega Event. The squad does not feature Marnus Labuschagne — who since 2022 has averaged 24.93 and struck at 74.94 — but there are a couple of surprise entrants in all-rounder Aaron Hardie and leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha.
This 18-member squad will be trimmed to 15 for the ODI World Cup.
Side note: Pat Cummins has "an undisplaced fracture of his left radius which requires six weeks rehabilitation", but chief selector George Bailey confirmed that the skipper will be good to go for the India ODIs and the World Cup.
Mitch Marsh has been named Australia’s T20I captain for the South Africa tour
It’s been a wild few weeks for Mitch Marsh, who has gone from being a Test reserve to a Test regular to now the country’s T20I captain (for the time being, at least). But considering the squad he will be leading features big names such as Maxwell, Smith and Stoinis, there’s a good chance Marsh might be leading the Aussies in the Caribbean next year.
Marsh aside, the T20I squad to tour South Africa also features BBL stars like Matt Short, Spencer Johnson and Aaron Hardie.
Australia T20 squad to tour South Africa
Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Manoj Tiwary has retired from all forms of cricket
Moving on from one former KKR player (Hales) to another, Manoj Tiwary, meanwhile, has announced that he’s retiring from all forms of cricket.
Like Stuart Broad, Tiwary is sort of going out on a high, having led Bengal to the final of the Ranji Trophy, having struck a valiant 68 in his final innings as a professional cricketer.
Tamim Iqbal has relinquished ODI captaincy
There’s no end to the Tamim Iqbal saga, it seems, as the 34-year-old has stepped down as captain two months prior to the 50-over World Cup. This bit of news comes weeks after he retired and then made a U-turn and un-retired upon the request of the country’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Tamim, meanwhile, will also not participate in the upcoming Asia Cup due to a back injury. He, in fact, cited dodgy fitness as the primary reason for his resignation. The Tigers will name Tamim’s successor in the next few days.
The Ashes is over, but the controversy is not
It’s been more than a week since The Ashes got over, but the controversial ball change is still making the headlines.
In case you’re someone that’s out of loop, here’s what happened: around the 35 over mark of Australia’s second innings at The Oval, with the visitors coasting at 130/0 chasing 384, the on-field umpires — Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena — replaced the original ball because it went out of shape. That’s fine.
The problem is that they replaced a very old-ish looking ball with a seemingly brand-new one. The replacement ball started swinging and seaming extravagantly and helped England remove Australia’s top three inside the first half hour on Day 5.
Many furious Australians, Ricky Ponting included, called out the umpires for making a fatal blunder and demanded that an investigation be carried out.
Turns out, Dilip Jajodia, the owner of the Dukes, has himself now allegedly pledged to investigate the controversial ball change.
Right now, there are suggestions that the replacement ball that was picked was from the 2018 batch — which swung considerably more — but that’s only speculation as of now.
It’s official: Pakistan will travel to India for the 50-over World Cup
A long-standing fear has been put to bed as Pakistan have confirmed that they will indeed travel to India for the 50-over World Cup, meaning the show will go on.
In an official statement released on Sunday (August 6), Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Pakistan has consistently maintained that sports should not be mixed with politics. It has, therefore, decided to send its cricket team to India to participate in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Pakistan believes that the state of bilateral relations with India should not stand in the way of fulfilling its international sports-related obligations."
In their statement, Pakistan also managed to take a sly little shot at India.
"Pakistan's decision shows its constructive and responsible approach vis-à-vis India's intransigent attitude, as the latter had refused to send its cricket team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup.”
Oh well….
Inzamam-ul-Haq is Pakistan’s new chief selector
Inzamam is back as Pakistan’s chief selector again as the former skipper has been appointed national men's chief selector. This will be his second stint as chief selector, the first one being a three-year stint between 2016 and 2019.
Inzamam has been appointed by a high-profile Cricket Technical Committee (CTC) which includes himself and former skippers Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammed Hafeez.
Lyon has left Sydney Sixers, and joined Renegades....
We’re all set to see Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa bowl in tandem as the veteran off-spinner has signed a three-year deal with the Renegades.
The news means that Lyon’s nine-year-long association with the Sixers has come to an end. The off-spinner played 34 T20s in Sixers colours, picking 42 wickets at an ER of 7.1.
Now, for all the action on the field
India are at the mercy of West Indies in the shortest format
Hardik Pandya is already creating history as a leader, albeit unwanted history. Indeed, on Sunday, the 29-year-old became the first-ever Indian skipper to lose more than one game in a bilateral T20I series against West Indies.
Much was expected from a youthful, Kohli-less, Rohit-less Indian side led by Pandya, but two games into the five-match series, they find themselves 0-2 down. It’s not a shock by any means, though, considering India have gotten progressively worse as this tour has gone on.
That said, Tilak Varma has been a real silver lining. He dazzled on debut and, on Sunday, became the country’s second-youngest half-centurion in T20Is. As I, Anirudh Suresh, wrote in the aftermath of the first T20I, Tilak has so far lived up to his hype.
If you missed the second T20I and are wondering how India lost the match despite winning the toss, well, Shubh has got you covered.
Read: India's common mistakes and Pooran 2.0
South Zone win the Deodhar Trophy, but Riyan Parag steals the show
It’s official, South Zone have done the domestic double. After beating West Zone in the final of the Duleep Trophy (first-class competition) last month, they’ve now won the Deodhar Trophy (one-day competition) by beating East Zone in the final.
The entire competition took place in the Cricket Association Puducherry (CAP) Siechem Ground in Puducherry, and that’s where the Mayank Agarwal-led South side got the better of Saurabh Tiwary’s East side earlier this week.
But though South triumphed, the entire competition belonged to one man: Riyan Parag.
The 21-year-old finished the competition as the highest run-getter, smashing 354 runs in 5 innings (two tons and a 95) at an astonishing SR of 136.67. To go along with that, he picked 11 wickets at an ER of 4.84 to end the tournament as East Zone’s second-highest wicket-taker.
But Parag didn’t just steal the show with bat and ball. He also stole the show with his words.
Earlier this week, Aakash, who covered the tournament from Puducherry, got an opportunity to talk extensively to Parag and what came out of it was one of the rawest interviews of all time.
Really, it was Parag in his own words, opening up like never before: unplugged and unfiltered.
Read: How Riyan Parag deals with hatred, trolls and criticism
Rohan Kunnummal, Kumar Kushagra, Vidwath Kaverappa and Shams Mulani were also among those who impressed in this year’s Deodhar Trophy.
Here is Hardik Worah talking about the youngsters who impressed in the Deodhar Trophy
In a separate, holistic piece, Aakash covered the 2023 edition of the Deodhar Trophy in detail, delving into different aspects.
Read: What did Deodhar Trophy teach Indian cricket?
The Hundred (Women): Smriti Mandhana has been killing it, Jemi & Harman off to slow start
With two fifties in three matches, Smriti Mandhana (144 runs) is currently, by some distance, the highest run-getter in the ongoing edition of The Hundred. Her season is off to a dream start.
However, the same cannot be said for both Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur.
While Harmanpreet has begun her campaign with a 17-ball 22 vs The Brave, Jemimah has endured a pair of failures in her first two matches, 16 (10) vs Birmingham Phoenix and 6 (7) vs The Brave. Can’t really fault her for the second failure though, for she was bowled by an absolute pearler of a delivery from Anya Shrubsole.
The competition is still in its nascent stages but Tammy Beaumont’s Welsh Fire have pulled themselves clear of the rest of the pack, topping the table after 3 games.
Unfortunately, the weather has not been kind: there have been four washouts already, with Manchester Originals (P2 NR 2) and London Spirit (P2 NR 2) bearing the brunt.
The Hundred (Men): Shaheen the standout so far
With 5 wickets in 3 matches, Shaheen Afridi has made the headlines in week one of The Hundred and remarkably, he’s taken four of those wickets in the very first over. Twice, in fact, he’s struck in his very first ball of the game.
Jos Buttler is, as things stand, the highest run-getter, and he was at his very best two days ago against London Spirit, against whom he smashed a 36-ball 62. Buttler, however, is not the batter that has so far posted the highest individual score. That’s been done by Australia’s Matthew Short (73), who earlier today earned his maiden international call-up.
But the best knock of this edition so far has arguably come from the bat of Chris Jordan. With Southern Brave on the ropes at 76/8 against Welsh Fire, Jordan, batting at No.8, smashed a stunning 32-ball 70* that consisted of seven sixes. The contribution ultimately proved to be game-changing, with Brave posting a close 2-run victory.
There have also been a couple of other notable highlights, with Harry Brook smashing a 27-ball 63* and the contest between Welsh Fire and Oval Invincibles ending as a tie.
The weather has affected the men’s competition too, with as many as three games in week one getting abandoned.
Royal London Cup: Shaw’s stint off to a bizarre start, Pujara still smashing tons
Prithvi Shaw’s Northamptonshire career got off to the most bizarre start imaginable as the opener was dismissed ‘hit wicket’ on debut. With chaos ensuing at the other end, Shaw raced to a run-a-ball 34 but ended up hitting the stumps with his bat while trying to sway out of a bouncer bowled by Paul van Meekeren.
The opener then backed up the 34 on debut with a 26 (17) against Sussex. He chopped one on to the stumps after getting off to a good start.
Unlike Shaw, it was smooth sailing for Pujara, who smashed his 12th ton for Sussex (all formats) against, wait for it, Prithvi Shaw’s Northamptonshire. It was some knock from Pujara as no one else in the Sussex XI passed 25.
Lanka Premier League (LPL): Babar tons up after slow start; Wanindu on 🔥🔥🔥
Despite averaging over 35, it was initially a slight struggle on the strike rate front for Babar Azam, who has managed to go only at 127.38 for Colombo Strikers across his first three games. But the Pakistan skipper came into his own in Strikers' fourth encounter against Galle Titans, smashing a stunning 59-ball 104. In a chase of 189, Babar accounted for 55% of the team's runs.
With the knock, Babar also became only the second man in history to post 10 or more T20 tons.
Babar aside, the standouts with the bat so far this season have been Tim Seifert, Towhid Hridoy and Dananjaya de Silva, all of whom have amassed 100+ runs at an average over 40 and SR over 135.
Matheesha Pathirana (7 wickets) is the current highest wicket-taker but the performance of the first week belongs to Wanindu Hasaranga, who against Jaffna Kings took 4-0-9-3 with the ball before following it up with 52* off 22 balls with the bat, playing at No.3.
But what if we tell you that the real star of LPL 2023 so far has not been a cricketer?
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