The batters’ decision-making and execution were found wanting as they went down quickly on the final day in Kanpur

Mohammad Isam01-Oct-2024Mominul Haque sat with an empty look on his face in the Bangladesh dressing room minutes after his dismissal on the fifth day of the second Kanpur Test. Such empty looks have been a common sight among the visitors during this Test series where Bangladesh have been comprehensively out-thought by India.Mominul had employed the sweep productively in the first innings on his way to an unbeaten 107. But in the second dig, Rohit Sharma moved KL Rahul to leg-slip as an aggressive move. Within three balls, the fielding change paid off for India and the sweep brought about Mominul’s fall.India have almost been unbeatable at home for the last 12 years. But that hasn’t allowed complacency to seep into their system. Instead, they have looked like a team that plans meticulously, and more importantly, executes those plans with precision. How Bangladesh responded to their approach was, however, disappointing.Related

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Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe didn’t see anything wrong in Mominul playing the sweep shot, but said that his side’s decision-making and execution were found wanting on the fifth day in Kanpur.”We didn’t talk about survival [on the fifth day],” Hathurusinghe said after Bangladesh went down seven wickets. “We thought of playing according to the conditions and strength of the individuals. If you defend and get caught at bat-pad, it is the same when getting out sweeping on a wicket like this. If the batsman thinks his best form of defence or getting off strike, is a sweep shot rather than the defensive shot, that’s his option.”Execution probably let us down in this [second] innings. If you look at Mominul yesterday, he swept really well. I am sure they are disappointed at some of the dismissals and the decision-making. What stands out for me is that we lost a wicket when there’s been a bowling change. We didn’t give ourselves enough time to get used to the new bowler.”Mominul walking into India’s trap was typical of Bangladesh’s batters during this Test series. They have generally fallen in three scenarios. India’s well-planned traps were one thing, but the Bangladesh batters also hastily attacked a bowler early in his spell, and there were instances of losing concentration after seeing off a mini battle. There were examples of all three during the fifth day in Kanpur.

“We don’t have much time to make drastic changes. We have to improve our execution and decision-making.”Chandika Hathurusinghe on the changes needed before the series against South Africa

Of the three times Mushfiqur fell to Jasprit Bumrah in the Test series, his dismissal in the first innings in Kanpur was a well-thought-out plan. He packed the slip cordon which prevented Mushfiqur from playing at away-going deliveries. Bumrah then slipped a length ball that decked in, which Mushfiqur left like he was leaving the other deliveries.It wasn’t just Mushfiqur among the experienced lot to fall for such plans. Litton Das giving Rohit a catch at mid-off in the first innings was India trying to make him do something out of the ordinary. Litton could have seen off Mohammed Siraj’s spell, but instead charged the bowler, and although Rohit took a great catch, the shot was a result of a set plan. Shakib Al Hasan miscuing a heave against R Ashwin on the fourth day, the ball after hitting him for a four over extra cover, was another example.Shakib charged out of the crease again, which Ashwin definitely saw coming, so he bowled it slightly quicker but with a bit of dip on the ball and the allrounder fell into the trap.Bangladesh’s batters were also guilty of haste. Perhaps they didn’t want the Indian bowlers to execute their plans, but their choice of shot was confusing. On the fifth day in Kanpur, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto missed a reverse-sweep off the first ball he faced from Ravindra Jadeja. The shot felt unnecessary at the time and sparked a collapse after a 55-run stand for the fourth wicket.Hathurusinghe, however, said the reverse sweep was always on given how much the batters practice it, especially when they see it as an option on a spinning pitch. “[Playing the reverse sweep] is an individual and team plan as well. We are playing on a spinning wicket,” he said. “If the defence is getting challenged, it is a strategy to play the reverse sweep if you have practiced hard on the shot.”Falling just after seeing off a good spell or after batting well for a short period also brought about plenty of headaches in both Tests. Bangladesh’s last wicket in Kanpur was of Mushfiqur trying to slog Bumrah off the last ball before lunch.Ravindra Jadeja broke through with Najmul Hossain Shanto’s wicket•AFP/Getty ImagesShadman Islam had earlier fallen just after getting to his half-century with Sunil Gavaskar on air pointing out that the opener played a shot of a batter who got relaxed after reaching a milestone. He remarked that Shadman might not have played the shot, having shown control against deliveries outside the off stump all morning, if he hadn’t reached his fifty.Hathurusinghe agreed that the top-order had to make better decisions in the upcoming Test series against South Africa at home. “We don’t have much time to make drastic changes, ” he said. “We have to improve our execution and decision-making. We will be playing on different surfaces back home. We have to take it into account, and the opposition bowlers.”A cluster of wickets falling after a bit of a recovery isn’t just the top order’s problem. The middle order suffered from it, too. Litton and Shakib played needless shots after getting Bangladesh out of trouble with a decent partnership in the first innings in Chennai. Litton was caught in the deep while Shakib miscued a reverse sweep. In the second innings, Zakir Hasan and Shadman saw off a testing period in the second innings, before falling to tame dismissals.Bangladesh’s lack of fight in the two Tests was disappointing. They lost in three-and-a-half days in Chennai, while lasing technically just under two days in Kanpur. They had arrived in India on the back of a historic 2-0 win against Pakistan.This 2-0 defeat against India doesn’t necessarily cancel out their good showing in Pakistan, but it rams home the point that Bangladesh are a side still short of competing against top sides consistently. They weren’t expected to win 2-0 in Pakistan but they applied themselves in the best possible way. They, however, couldn’t withstand India’s heightened challenge, and now have to go back to the drawing board before the home series against South Africa later this month.

Daniel Vettori calls it “New Zealand cricket’s greatest achievement”, while Shane Bond says “New Zealand have done an India on India”

Raunak Kapoor04-Nov-20247:20

Bond: ‘Sweeping India 3-0 is NZ’s best result ever’

Shane Bond: Delight is the first reaction. New Zealand coming off the back of that series in Sri Lanka where they played pretty well, probably could have won the first Test, but lost the series 2-0. I don’t think anyone, anywhere, especially at home, thought we could win this series, let alone a 3-0 sweep. I gave a little fist pump when Ajaz [Patel] went through the gate to get that last wicket [of Washington Sundar] and I’m absolutely delighted for the players, for Gary [Stead], the head coach.It’s always nice to see history created and for a team like New Zealand to beat India and become the first team to sweep them in a three-match series at home is something pretty remarkable.Related

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Ross Taylor: Like most of the country, I’m just in awe of the team. I think the way they played throughout the whole series… I think we hoped more than thought we were going to win. But a clean sweep – think it still hasn’t quite sunk in among the New Zealand public, probably for the players as well.Cricket is fighting for an audience [in New Zealand]. It’s a rugby nation, now there’s an extra football league in our local competition, so cricket after losing in Sri Lanka, the press after that has changed around completely. I don’t think we’ve had scenes like this since winning the [last] World Test Championship and I think it just tells you how high the New Zealand cricket public holds the Indian cricket team and what it’s like to go and win over there.After winning the first Test [in Bengaluru], it gave the team as well as the public some belief, but I don’t think even in our wildest dreams we imagined a clean sweep and such a convincing performance from Tom [Latham, the captain], Gary and the boys.Daniel Vettori: I think the excitement built from the first Test match. The expectation for any touring team that goes to India on these types of wickets is that it’s going to be incredibly difficult. We understand the challenge and in a lot of ways it’s just how are you going to compete against them. And for New Zealand to then go there, put in such an amazing performance in the first Test… people around New Zealand saw the excitement knowing how hard it is, given the history with two Test match wins in almost 80 years and a lot of trying.You have to go back to the great Sir Richard Hadlee’s era, and he could only get one win. So for this team to come here and get that first one and then to win a series is probably New Zealand cricket’s greatest achievement.8:53

Vettori: ‘New Zealand’s win is great for Test cricket’

How did New Zealand put it all together?

Taylor: After the Sri Lanka series loss just before [the India series]… what I found when I was playing was a New Zealand team that has nothing to lose and everyone writing them off is a dangerous New Zealand team. I think that’s where this team was at the start of the series. Obviously, you come to India after being completely outplayed in Sri Lanka, probably only the players in that dressing room and the support staff gave themselves a chance, and I think anytime you’re giving New Zealand the expectation to do well, that’s when I think we’ve struggled in the past. But a New Zealand team that’s got their backs against the wall is a pretty dangerous side.You need a little bit of luck as well. Bengaluru was a good toss to lose. And then winning the toss in the next two Tests [in Pune and Mumbai] after New Zealand knew they are likely to play on turners after India went down in the first Test was significant.Bond: I think if you look at this New Zealand team, they have a really nice blend of experience and youth. You’ve got players who’ve played in the IPL and in Indian conditions. You got contributions from everybody. Everyone through different Test matches stood up. It was Mitchell Santner in Pune, Ajaz in this one. And you’ve got a team that has had success in the last ten years, so they believe they can win and compete. Obviously that first Test match in Bengaluru, to start the series well was massive, and they’ve sort of just ridden the wave and ridden that experience through the series as well. New Zealand have had a great period over the past ten years, and this is just the perfect way to cap it off.And I think Tom Latham talked about it. They’ve come with a clear game plan. They understood how they wanted to play and how they thought they could win, and they’ve executed it. And for longer periods of time, they’ve been better than India. They’ve sort of done an India on India and they’ve done it over three Tests, which is a hell of an effort.Vettori: Obviously a lot of planning has gone on. I think the hardest thing going to India is the ability to score runs against [Ravindra] Jadeja and [R] Ashwin, and on this tour you had Kuldeep [Yadav] in the first Test and Washington [Sundar] in the last two. So the gameplan to score runs against bowlers like those was impeccable, and allowed New Zealand to put pressure on India, which is so rare.When you go to India, you feel like you’re hanging on for dear life most of the time. But it felt like in all three Tests, New Zealand made the running, and that’s really so unique in that part of the world.I think it was the batting. When you tour India and come up against Ashwin and Jadeja in particular, with their immense home record, the planning goes into firstly negating their wicket-taking ability and then secondly how you’re going to score runs. It just looked like New Zealand had such a good gameplan to be able to take on those two and find ways to score runs and actually put some pressure back on India.3:41

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On the success of Devon Conway, Will Young and Rachin Ravindra with the bat

Vettori: It was so nice for New Zealand to go through Devon’s lean patch and trust him and allow him to keep going, because he’s a quality player and has performed ever since he’s come in to the side, and they backed him and got the reward in this series.Rachin, in a short period of time, has proven how successful he can be in all formats, and in particular in the subcontinent. So to have those two players and a Will Young as well as the others contribute meant that India couldn’t put pressure on the batters and New Zealand were aggressive, they took really good options. [Daryl] Mitchell as well in the last Test. So the batting group came together and stood up and put up six really good performances with the bat and that’s what you have to do against India. It can’t just be a one-off, it has to be consistent.

On doing it without Kane Williamson

Taylor: All the batters contributed at different times. Will Young trusted his defence a bit more than all the other players, and he looked at ease. When you’re coming up against Jadeja and Ashwin, you can sort of put them on a pedestal and try and survive. I think we tried to hit 360, and the way all the batters tried to reverse sweep meant Ashwin and Jadeja weren’t able to settle on a length.When you do let those two bowl over after over on the same spot, you’re going to get a ball with your name on it, but I think Will Young set the tone. A lot has already been said about it but winning 3-0 without our best batter – and Will Young had to step in to fill those big shoes of Kane Williamson, which can be quite intimidating – but he handled it with calmness. It would’ve been easy to give that position to someone else, but for him to win Player of the Series is a fantastic accolade.Bond: We were missing our best player. That’s probably the most remarkable thing, that Kane Williamson wasn’t even there.So I think for a group to go, ‘no one is irreplicable, we can still perform without one of our best players’, and the fact that they managed to play the way they did – especially Will Young who was brilliant – that’s a real credit to the group and to Gary Stead, who has done a great job with the team.1:24

Manjrekar: Have to take your hats off to Ajaz

How did Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel pull it off?

Vettori: I think there’s trust built up with Mitch over a long period of time. He’s a senior player, he’s a captain, and I suppose at the start of the series he was secondary to Ajaz, who has been incredibly successful in the subcontinent.But the way that he bowled when he got his opportunity… the style, the pace, his ability to read the Indian batters, and then to have a surface that really suits him, just shows when you get on that roll, anything’s possible. Everyone knew Mitch had this sort of performance in him but to do it in India, take 13 wickets [in the Pune Test] and set up a series win, that’s incredible.Ajaz Patel is just completely consistent. His action is repeatable. The balls he bowls are repeatable with a lovely seam position and he gets a lot of revolutions on it. He was able to consistently put these great Indian batters under pressure. I thought New Zealand set some great fields to allow that pressure to maintain, so all these things in combination put together another incredible Wankhede performance from him.

On the contribution of New Zealand’s seamers

Bond: Well, you don’t have to worry about the bowling workload, do you, for starters, when you have seamers bowling six overs between them! But if you look at Matt Henry, his Test record has gone from averaging 50 at one point to now being almost in the 20s. That’s how good he’s become over the last few years.That experience of [Tim] Southee at times when everyone else was going around the park, he controls that run rate. Will O’Rourke is a hugely exciting prospect for New Zealand. New Zealand have obviously got the guys who are now in their early 30s and have been around a long time. But it’s that blend now. [Glenn] Phillips at 27, Ravindra at 24 – he is going to be a quality player – and O’Rourke at 23.1:23

Manjrekar: ‘My respect for Glenn Phillips has grown’

The importance of Glenn Phillips…

Bond: I think New Zealand have come to India this time with part-time spin bowlers. In the past, we’ve had the part-time medium-pace bowlers. And now when you look at someone like Glenn Phillips, who has really worked hard over the last four years to develop his bowling, even Rachin Ravindra… just having those options has allowed New Zealand to have much more depth in the spin-bowling department and that’s led to having depth in their batting, which has really helped them.Vettori: He’s the real complementary piece to it all. A No. 7 batter who is as aggressive as he is but can offer a lot of overs. I’m sure he reflects upon his performances in Bangladesh and that ability to perform in those conditions with bat and ball gave him the confidence to come up against this batting line-up and continue on that form. That allows every other facet of the game to come together. So I think when you look at that team, and what Glenn Phillips was able to contribute, that was a key part of achieving the series victory.

A word on Tom Latham’s captaincy…

Taylor: There’s an attacking nature to Tom. He’s had a lot of captaincy experience. He has captained the New Zealand team in all three formats of the game, so it’s not like it has just come to him overnight. But I think all those games that he has captained over the last three-to-five years came to the fore and he was able to show not only his attacking nature but also his discipline and the way he rotated his bowlers… New Zealand outfielded, outbatted and outbowled India. New Zealand’s tactics were definitely better than India’s.Apart from Kane Williamson and Tim Southee losing the captaincy, it’s the same team that lost to Sri Lanka. So there’s something to be said about that. Latham has a calming influence, the leadership will improve his batting and we saw glimpses of that.Bond: Great start to your captaincy reign! I think you’ve got to pay some credit to Tim Southee, who was magnanimous enough to step down and say, ‘look, it’s someone else’s time’, and Tom would have reaped the rewards of a lot of the work that Tim’s done over the last few years. But I know Latham’s a very good captain, good man, and good leader. I thought the innings he played in the Pune Test was the best innings I’ve seen him play, leading from the front.You can sit there and watch TV as you do and pick holes in some of the decisions and go ‘why is he doing this and that’ but at the end of the day he’s won 3-0 and done a brilliant job.1:28

Manjrekar: ‘Calm, composed Latham typifies the New Zealand trait’

Vettori: Latham’s been one of the leaders of this team for a long, long time, and I wouldn’t underestimate the inputs that Southee had in that group as well. Between them and Gary Stead, they were able to formulate a fantastic plan and implement it. A lot of teams have had great plans going into India, but to implement it for three Tests pretty much every day of the Test series is a credit to all of them.

… and on Gary Stead, the man in the background

Bond: I think he was probably under some pressure. There were enough voices at home calling for his sacking after the men’s T20 World Cup and a tough tour of Sri Lanka. But no one works harder than Gary – I’ve played a lot of cricket with him. He coached me as a boy actually. I played with him and then worked alongside [him] as a coach. He’s a great man, very hard working.In New Zealand, if you win the rugby World Cup, you get knighthoods. Gary’s taken this team to World Cup finals, won a World Test Championship, now this series win, and you still won’t see him front and centre. That’s the sort of guy he is. But I’m delighted for him, he’s a top man and should get the recognition for the work that he’s done.Taylor: Gary Stead and Tom Latham have a good rapport. Gary’s been around a long time. We were outplayed on the last trip [to India in 2021], but he would’ve learnt things about how he would want to go about it again. He is quiet, unassuming. Sits in the background. He would have had a big influence on the way that the team prepared, giving Tom some ideas along the way.And not just Gary, you’ve got a pretty accomplished support staff in Jacob Oram and Luke Ronchi there as well. That would’ve had a big influence.

New Zealand’s greatest feat in men’s cricket?

Taylor: This has to be the greatest New Zealand series win in Test cricket. No one has done it. South Africa have won a two-match series 2-0, but 3-0 in India, I don’t think anyone could see this at the start. So this surpasses the 2-1 Test victory in the ’80s against Australia.It’s also great for the World Test Championship and I’m sure the next team that comes to India will travel there with more confidence now, but I’m also sure India are a proud nation and they’ll be trying their hardest to rectify what went wrong here.Bond: In terms of Test matches, it’s our best result ever. No other team has come and done what New Zealand have. When you talk to all the teams about touring India, it almost seems like mission impossible. Even the great Australian team came there and couldn’t win. So for NZ to have won 3-0, I know they’ve made World Cup finals and would have loved to have won an ODI World Cup, but I think in terms of red-ball cricket, alongside the WTC [title win], this is far and away the best series result ever.4:51

Latham on series win – ‘I’m lost for words’

What does this result mean for New Zealand, and Test cricket in general?

Bond: I think Test cricket needs this. It needs a tight championship. It’s good overall for cricket. The game is still going to be challenged by T20 cricket, but I think New Zealand has been lucky over the last ten years to have made it to World Cup finals in men’s ODI and T20 cricket, the Test championship win, and now this. I think it’s always nice to see a game you love at home prosper. With England coming soon, I know it’s already sold out, people are pumped about cricket. And it’s nice in a country that loves the winter coats predominantly, that people will be talking about cricket, and about this performance, because everyone recognises what an effort this is.Taylor: We’re coming up to a big period in our cricket, to be honest. The England series is going to be massive, players are going to head away after that. But this just reminds us that Test cricket is right up there as the ultimate format. And that’ll show in the crowds for the upcoming series. I think it’s going to be something we haven’t seen in a long period of time in Test cricket and that’s a testament to the team and also a testament to where Test cricket is still held around the world. Hopefully this is a good sign for young players that they still want to play Test cricket in the years to come, but we don’t have the money and resources that some of the other teams do, so we have to skin the cat differently. But results like these put it out to the players that Test cricket is still the ultimate form.Vettori: I think this is an exciting time. What you want to see is every team on a level-playing field. Hardest thing to do in cricket is win Tests away from home, and New Zealand have proved they can do that. It’ll give them confidence wherever they go in the world, so I think it’s great for both Test cricket and the WTC, it keeps it wide open.

Crushing loss in Hamilton cannot dent celebration of series win, ahead of blockbuster 2025

Vithushan Ehantharajah18-Dec-2024Two blokes walk into a pub in Hamilton.One is wearing Ben Stokes’ batting gloves, having donned them for the 10-minute scooter ride from Seddon Park, where he had obtained them from England’s Test captain. The other is wearing Brydon Carse’s Test jumper – a surprisingly good fit considering he was giving up about a foot in height to the Durham seamer.Punters revelling in freshly-acquired souvenirs felt like an sound allegory for the journey this England team has embarked upon in 2024. Their joint-busiest year of Test cricket has provided room for a regeneration. Of the 24 players have been used, seven had the honour of wearing that kit for the very first time.Each has seized their chance in different ways across a variety of roles. Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Carse have made themselves immediate first-teamers. Jacob Bethell’s assuredness over the last month has brought on a pleasing headache. Shoaib Bashir, for all his pluck, remains a work in progress.The new year offers more bucketlist moments for a new-look team, with India at home and Australia away. For those at the opposite end of the spectrum, 2025 promises to be a legacy year. Defining for the project Stokes and Brendon McCullum have embarked upon together. Legend-lifting for Joe Root. Status-deciding for Harry Brook. “Get a ticket early,” urged McCullum, as much to supporters as the cricketers desperate to be in the mix for those blockbuster events.Shoaib Bashir benefitted from Stokes’ empathetic captaincy in India, but that trait was misplaced in Pakistan•Joe Allison/Getty ImagesGetting excited about all that can wait. On Tuesday, much like those two punters, England were celebrating. It did not take them long to shed the frustration of a 423-run defeat in the third Test. Coolers of drinks made their way onto the field not long after the broadcast cameras were switched off. A first series win in New Zealand since 2008 was toasted, before morphing into a celebration of Tim Southee’s retirement. Both teams mingled late into the day, before everyone piled into the home dressing room. Games were played – namely “Zimmy Zimmy”, a staple of university students, essentially ‘pass the parcel’ based on rhythm and numbers – before goodbyes were said.Such geniality between these two teams is nothing new, of course. Nor is an England team’s affinity with the gorgeous vistas and range of outdoor activities (not just golf) this country provides. But while the extra-curricular parts of 2023’s New Zealand tour felt like a bit of a lads holiday – camaraderie high on the agenda ahead of that summer’s Ashes – this was more of a spa retreat.A Queenstown base to start, the odd course along the way, and encouraging players to take the scenic route from Wellington to Hamilton to enjoy the best of what the North Island has to offer after establishing an unassailable 2-0 lead in Wellington. England achieved the primary objective of this trip, but they also ticked off a secondary: de-stressing from a wearying 12 months.The 4-1 loss in India at the start of the year crushed a few older souls, the 2-1 loss to Pakistan on the other side of the home summer tested newer spirits. It was during the former that Stokes realised the team needed more dynamism. And as much as that would come from a refresh, his return as a functional allrounder would be integral to that.Fast forward to Pakistan and Stokes’ obsession to get back to the “old him” had reached untenable levels. By his own admission, he had “ruined” himself by ramping up his own training levels after a left hamstring tear in August had wiped out the hard work of the previous six months.Brydon Carse has inked himself into England’s first XI after some thrilling displays as the third seamer•Getty ImagesHe was tetchy, off the pace as captain and, worst of all, had lost the empathetic perspective that had been a vital crutch for his leadership. A trait all the more important given the number of players new to the environment.Stokes has been able to rediscover his emotional equilibrium on this trip. He came out to Christchurch ahead of time to surprise his family, many of whom, including his mother Deb, were in attendance at Hagley Oval for pretty much every ball of the first Test. Time with loved ones has perhaps brought a reminder for perspective. Reflections of his captaincy came in the weeks following the Pakistan series, and subtle changes have been made. Even with the recurrence of his hamstring injury, the 33-year-old seems to be in a much healthier place.Perhaps the most interesting strand of 2024 to tug at is the other side of the personnel transition. Punting on young “unproven” talents is the easy bit. The hard part has been moving on the established ones.James Anderson was the highest profile example of this. A necessary parting of ways, conducted via an uneasy hotel meeting, meant that Stokes, McCullum and managing director Rob Key came with a good deal of heat from all corners (including the man himself, of course). The silver lining for Anderson is, much like Southee this week, he got closure. The others have not been quite so lucky.Related

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Jonny Bairstow was parked after notching 100 caps at Dharamsala in February. The 2022 Bazball poster boy will enter the new year as a dead weight on the central contract list until October, without any clarity on whether his international future is actually over. Similarly, Ben Foakes sat out the last six months of his deal as Smith came in to offer the best parts of both keeper-batters.Ollie Robinson, once regarded as a vital cog in the Anderson-Broad succession plan, has also not been seen since that tour, He is unlikely to feature again under the current regime, as much through losing the trust of McCullum and Stokes as the emergence of Atkinson.Even serial reserve batter Dan Lawrence seems to have run his race after underperforming as a fill-in opener in the Sri Lanka series when Zak Crawley broke his finger. It was a thankless task in an unfamiliar role – both of which Bethell has excelled in the last month.Ollie Pope finishes 2024 with his place in jeopardy despite launching it with a hall-of-fame innings in Hyderabad•Getty ImagesIndeed Bethell has now brought a further awkward conversation around Ollie Pope. A man who started the year with a star-turn in the heist of Hyderabad now finds himself at a peculiar juncture in his international career.England’s vice-captain is a team man in a team of team men. His initial play for the No.3 spot was a way of getting into the XI, but as his stint has gone on, there has been a growing sense his presence in the role has been for the benefit of others. It allows Root to remain at four, and Brook at five. Just as importantly, Pope’s average remains above 40 in that position.But Pope’s selflessness is also why he now finds himself in a conundrum. There was no surprise when he took the hit of moving down the order to No.6 for this series, so that he could keep following the injury to Jordan Cox. Stokes in particular lauded him for doing what was best for the team. But the vacancy allowed Bethell to state an all-too-attractive case.It is a case that does not have to be answered for a good few months, given England’s next Test is not until May. But it is remarkable to think a player who began 2024 with a hall-of-fame innings and went on to captain four Tests in the middle is now ending it with such uncertainty.Alas, that is international sport. And the growing pains of a revamp are these necessary evils – tough decisions that, in the case of Pope, might seem contrary to the team’s promoted values of backing players unequivocally, ridding them of fear and rewarding their loyalty.Therein lies the main takeaway from this year. The results read nine wins and eight defeats, but majority of the year post-India has been about revitalization and amending the broad brushstrokes of the first two years.Stokes and the England team might not like the word “ruthless”, but there is no better word to describe the mentality they will need to adopt as 2024 comes to a close. With India and Australia on the horizon, 2025 will be about winning at all costs.

With three teams already through, the final spot will go to one of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants

S Rajesh18-May-20252:40

What could DC have done differently?

Mumbai Indians

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DC’s loss to GT means there will be plenty riding on their next game, against MI on Wednesday. A win for MI will almost certainly ensure qualification, as DC can then only finish on a maximum on 15 points. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) can still get to 16 if they win their three remaining games, but their net run-rate (-0.469) is so far behind MI’s that it is near-impossible for them to catch up: even if they win their matches by a combined margin of 300 runs and MI beat DC by just one run, MI will still need to lose their last match, against PBKS, by about 70 runs for their NRR to slip below that of LSG’s (assuming first-innings scores of 200). Plainly put, MI can consider themselves through to the playoffs if they beat DC.If they lose, though, qualification will be out of their hands as DC can then beat PBKS and reach 17 points and clinch the fourth spot. If DC lose to PBKS then MI can still qualify with 16 points if they beat PBKS.If MI lose both matches, they will be out.

Delhi Capitals

As explained above, LSG’s run rate is so poor – and MI’s so good – that they can’t win that battle. Hence, LSG will have to not only win their three remaining games but also hope that both MI and DC stay below 16. That’s asking for a lot, especially from a team that is struggling for form, having lost three in a row and four of their last five matches.If one of their matches is washed out and they finish on 15, their only chance will be if MI lose both and DC finish on 15. Even then, any NRR battle is highly unlikely to go in their favour.

She speaks on a variety of topics and, of course, that delivery to Sophia Dunkley at the MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2025Alana King set the Women’s Ashes alight with her consistent bowling. She shares her thoughts on her T20 resurgence, making a WPL debut and ball of the century, while another Australia star, Beth Mooney, talks about the growth of the game ahead of International Women’s Day.