The Cricket.com Weekly - September 11th

We often berate batters who are ‘nervous starters’, the ones who struggle to get off the mark, but only when you start something do you realize how difficult it can be to get going. 

In my (Anirudh Suresh’s) case, I’ve been trying to come up with a ‘cool’ intro for this week’s Newsletter for the past fifteen minutes but it’s been a disaster. All I’ve been doing is simply staring at the screen.

So I’m gonna skip the whole thing and cut straight to the chase. Phew! 

The week gone by — what’s been happening in world cricket?

Quinton de Kock has announced his ODI retirement

Less than two years after announcing his Test retirement, Quinton de Kock, still just 30, has announced that he’ll be retiring from ODI cricket after the 2023 World Cup. There’s been no official word from de Kock as to why he’s taken the decision, but the general consensus is that he’s going to fully delve into the franchise cricket world, starting with the Big Bash League. Remember, last week, de Kock got drafted by the Renegades. 

Regardless of what happens at the 50-over World Cup, de Kock will go down as a through-and-through ODI legend for the Proteas, having struck over 6,000 runs at an average of 44.60 and an astonishing strike rate of 96.04. Only Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla have struck more hundreds than his tally of 17.

Reckon we’re gonna be seeing a lot more retirements in the next 60-90 days.

India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Netherlands have named their provisional World Cup squads

The major talking points?

India 

No Samson, Tilak, Prasidh, Sundar, Ashwin and Chahal. Rahul has jumped into the fifteen straight away despite not having played a single professional match since May. After what Rahul did today against Pakistan, you can totally understand why that's the case.

Australia

No Marnus Labuschagne but…….. (we’ll get to this bit in a while)

South Africa

Keshav Maharaj has recovered from his Achilles injury and is back. But Wayne Parnell has been left out.

New Zealand

Skipper Kanos is BACKK!!! However, Finn Allen has been omitted! 

Netherlands

Roelof van der Merwe is all set to play his FIRST EVER WORLD CUP! 😮  The other big guns (Ackermann, van Meekeren) are back too! 

Coming to the Labuschagne part — he’s forcing his way into the squad

Marnus Labuschagne wasn’t even originally in Australia’s squad for the South Africa ODIs, he was drafted into it as a late replacement for Steve Smith. He was then not in the starting XI of the first ODI, with the Aussies instead preferring to stack the side with all-rounders. 

But, erm, Cameron Green suffered an untimely concussion post which Marnus, the greatest concussion substitute in sports history, did his thing. Yep, an unbeaten, heroic 80* in the first ODI - taking the side to victory from 113/7, chasing 223 - followed by a stunning 99-ball 124 in the second ODI. 

Back-to-back match-winning knocks to help Australia go 2-0 up in the five-match series and now Labs is right in the mix to make it to the World Cup squad, especially due to there being fitness concerns around Smith.

Like I wrote in the aftermath of the first ODI, Marnus Labuschagne, the ultimate opportunist, has done it again!

Remember, all teams have until 28 September to make any changes to the squad, after which any alterations will be subject to approval from ICC.

And oh, unfortunately the ODI series, too, has been as one-sided as the T20Is.

The Saffas managed to get Warner back in form too, in the process. Here’s Aakash talking about why that spells trouble for other sides. In the piece, he also delves into the Kangaroos’ powerplay supremacy! 

How have the Indian players been faring in this week’s County Games?

At the time of writing this, only Cheteshwar Pujara, Jaydev Unadkat and Karun Nair have completed at least one innings (with respect to their primary skill).

Here’s how they’ve fared:

Pujara (Sussex):  26(51) vs Leicestershire 

Unadkat (Sussex): 12.4-3-23-3 vs Leicestershire

Karun Nair (Northants):  78 (177) vs Warwickshire

Yuzvendra Chahal (Kent) and Jayant Yadav (Middlesex) will both bowl later today.

Rain reigns supreme in the Asia Cup!

Welp, I nearly forgot about the Asia Cup. Understandable, though, because it’s been a forgettable tournament thus far minus the Sri Lanka - Afghanistan game (more on this later).

As I write this, India and Pakistan are in the midst of Day 2 of their Super Four clash. Because of two reasons: a) the BCCI were unwilling to play in Hambantota and b) mid-tournament, the organizers came up with a reserve day for two matches (IND-PAK and the final) as they did not want to lose out on precious broadcast money. 

From a sporting POV, it’s unfair and ridiculous but the financial situation of our sport is such that both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh *have* to agree to it in order to secure the bag. Between valuable cash and irrelevant points, it was an easy decision for both SLC and BCB.

Amidst the madness, though, our man Bastab, who is in Sri Lanka currently, managed to churn out the most beautiful of pieces. Rain, Beer, and Banter - How Colombo embraced India-Pakistan bonhomie

Afghanistan do a South Africa 2003

Afghanistan had the opportunity to progress to the Super Fours by knocking out Sri Lanka, but a fatal miscalculation resulted in them botching a golden chance. 

Oh, only if Afghanistan knew :(

So Sri Lanka had scored 291 and the equation for Afghanistan was that they had to get to the target in 37.1 overs. However, that was not the only way for them as they could have qualified beyond 37.1 by hitting a boundary and taking their score beyond 292, in Aditya Tare-esque fashion.

To simplify, Afghanistan needed 3 more to win when Fazalhaq Farooqi (the last batter) walked in but despite it being 37.1 overs already, the Afghans would still have qualified had Farooqi taken a single and Rashid Khan smashed a boundary off one of the next two balls. 

However, unaware of this, Farooqi went 0 0 and W. 

Post match, their head coach Jonathan Trott admitted that he and his players had no idea that they could still qualify beyond 37.1.

Talk about shambles. A repeat of the 2003 South Africa fiasco, two decades on.  

Mitchell Starc is COMING BACK TO THE IPL!

An eight-year hiatus is all set to end as Mitchell Starc has confirmed that he will be throwing his name into the hat for next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. 

The reason, Starc revealed, was that the IPL would prove to be perfect prep for the T20 World Cup in West Indies next year. Starc last played in the IPL in the 2015 season representing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Are we gonna see Starc x RCB again? 👀

Liam Livingstone is sealing his spot in the England starting XI

After two ODIs, the four-match ODI series between England and New Zealand is level at 1-1 but the biggest talking point has been the emergence of Liam Livingstone.

He smoked a 42-ball 50 in the first ODI walking in at 189/4 but on Sunday, played the best knock of his ODI career yet, smashing 95* off 78 walking in under extreme pressure. 

In a reduced 34-over contest, England were teetering at 28/4 at one point but Livingstone stitched a patient 48-run stand with Moeen before taking the innings deep (alongside Sam Curran) and going berserk towards the end. His epic knock (which featured just one six) helped England post 226/7. They eventually ended up winning the game by 79 runs. 

In the first ODI meanwhile, tons from Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell helped the Kiwis chase down 292 comfortably.

The BlackCaps are looking dangerous. Write them off at your own peril.

Mahika Gaur steals the show on ODI debut

Moving from the English Men to the English Women, Mahika Gaur continued her rise by sizzling on her ODI debut. Taking the new ball, Gaur finished with 3/26 and bowled two ABSOLUTE PEARLERS.

Sarah Glenn and Lauren Filer took 3-fers too, and that helped England bowl Sri Lanka out for 106 before chasing it down inside 20 overs.

A much-needed thumping for England, following the shock 2-1 defeat in the T20Is.

South Africa off to winning start in the ODIs against Pakistan

Tons from Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp helped South Africa register their first win of the Pakistan tour, as they won the first ODI by a whopping 127 runs. After losing three early wickets, Luus and Kapp stitched together an epic 183-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Chasing 293, no Pakistan batter passed 50 as Nida Dar’s side were rolled over for 165.

Again, a much-needed victory for South Africa after getting whitewashed in the three-match T20I series.

Barbados Royals Women are the WCPL 2023 champions!

After falling short in the final last year, the Barbados Royals Women have gone one better this time around as they’re the WCPL 2023 champions. They beat Guyana Amazon Warriors Women by 8 runs in a thrilling final.

Skipper Hayley Matthews (82) led from the front to help BRW post 169, before Amanda Jade Wellington’s four-fer helped the Royals register an eight-run victory.

It was heartbreak for young Shreyanka Patil, who ended up on the losing side despite a stunning showing with the ball in the final (4-1-25-1). 

WCPL 2023 nevertheless proved to be a hugely successful tournament for Shreyanka, who ended the competition as the highest wicket-taker (9 wickets). She took 9 wickets at an average of 9.66 and E.R of 5.83. 

A T20I debut for her, at this point, is imminent! 

Freddie Flintoff is back in English colours!

Nearly a year after suffering a serious car crash, Freddie Flintoff is back in the thick of things again: he’s currently a part of England’s backroom staff for the ODIs against New Zealand, albeit in an unofficial capacity. Last week, Flintoff was spotted on screen for the first time since suffering an accident while filming for the BBC show ‘Top Gear’ in December last year, where he suffered multiple injuries.

Go well, Freddie! 

Lucknow Super Giants🤝 Australia

Justin Langer and Sridharan Sriram have been reunited again as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have appointed the 47-year-old as assistant coach for the forthcoming season. The pair previously worked together for the Australian side, an oversaw Ashes triumphs in 2021 and 2019 (drawn) and the successful T20 World Cup campaign two years ago.

It’s a star-studded line-up outside the field for LSG, who have Vijay Dahiya as assistant coach, Morne Morkel as bowling coach, Pravin Tambe as spin-bowling consultant, Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach, Gautam Gambhir as mentor and MSK Prasad as the overall strategic consultant.

What’s happening in CPL 2023?

The biggest development from CPL 2023 is that St Kitts and Nevis Patriots have *finally* won a game of cricket. In their penultimate match of the season on Saturday, they triumphed over the Saint Lucia Kings, to successfully avoid going winless the entire season.

They are, of course, eliminated, while Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors have both already qualified. Saint Lucia, Barbados and Jamaica are still in contention to make it to the playoffs.

Nicholas Pooran struck a superb ton against the Royals but Spiceman Andre Fletcher registered the performance of the week. 

Chasing 150, he struck a stunning 93* to single-handedly give the Patriots their first win of the season; the next-best score for them was 17. Fletcher delivered the victory in style, smashing a six off the penultimate ball of the chase.

On the bowling front, Jason Holder simply cannot stop taking two-fers. The highest wicket-taker of the competition with 14 wickets, Holder has taken five 2-fers in his last six matches. He, Russell and Narine are the only bowlers to have taken over 10 wickets in CPL 2023 thus far.

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