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This is far from a golden era of slip catching, but there are still some players who make a habit of taking stunners in the cordon

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2021Steven Smith

There are few better sights in cricket than a packed slip cordon – well, maybe it’s just me. But does this feel like a golden era of slip catching? I’m not going to delve into the percentage of dropped catches right here, but the gut feeling is no. A recent social media poll by our digital gurus posed the question of the dream cordon: Darren Gough’s was Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff. It’s an all-timer, for sure.The best of the current players? I’ve gone for Smith, who snaffles them pretty safely, and sometimes spectacularly, either against the quicks or the spinners (when he isn’t standing too deep and getting Shane Warne riled up). One of the more recent ones to stick in the memory is a full-stretch dive to remove Kane Williamson – should there be extra marks for the quality of the batter? – in Perth two seasons ago. Williamson edged Mitchell Starc in a day-night Test with the lights taking hold, and Smith was horizontal at second slip when he took it almost behind him. Would he make an all-time cordon? I might check the replies to that social post.#OhmyBroad: Ben Stokes’ grab at Trent Bridge in 2015, is an unforgettable Ashes moment•Getty ImagesBen Stokes

There’s probably a distinction to be made between great slip catchers and takers of great slip catches. Some of those vying for the all-time cordon pouched almost everything that came their way with soft-handed surety, but may have been less likely to fling themselves bodily for the one-percenters. And if there are fewer in the never-drop-a-chance category these days, perhaps it’s because the modern cricketer is more likely to get close to ones that would have zipped straight through in the past.Related

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Anyway, while Stokes does put down more than the odd one, there’s no doubting his ability to pluck ’em from thin air – and it’s spectacular snags that do it for me. Exhibit A is, of course, the Aussie-scuppering, #OhMyBroad-inspiring, claw-assisted snatch of Adam Voges’ outside edge from fifth slip at Trent Bridge in 2015 – aerial, horizontal, behind him. But we’ve subsequently discovered this is just what Stokes does. See four grabs in a day in Cape Town (three of them full length, one an absolute screamer), or a regulation flying one-hander to dismiss Jasprit Bumrah in Chennai that he barely celebrates.My other candidate was Faf du Plessis, who might edge Stokes on reliability and could also pull off a worldie but was deemed ineligible having retired from Tests.Big ticket: Rakheem Cornwall can make the long journey down to take some outstanding low catches•AFP/Getty ImagesRahkeem Cornwall

It’s obviously no hindrance to be a natural athlete, but you don’t have to be one to be a good slip fielder. Think Mark Taylor.Several large men have fielded there – Warwick Armstrong and Inzamam-ul-Haq, to name two – so it’s perfectly natural for Rahkeem Cornwall to do so, blessed as he is with bucket hands and the meditative temperament of one who will always let the ball come to him rather than go snatching at it. It’s no surprise when he pulls off nonchalant catches like this one, when Rory Burns top-edged a full-blooded square cut his way at Old Trafford, but his unlikely party trick is the low catch, by his bootlaces – surely the most difficult feat for a man of his size to pull off. Have a look at this effort to send back Rashid Khan in Lucknow (at the 17-second mark here), or the famous low tumble to his right to end Mehidy Hasan’s resistance and complete West Indies’ 2-0 Test series triumph in Bangladesh. Is Cornwall the best slip catcher in world cricket? Who knows? Is he the most fun to watch? Most definitely.Ajinkya Rahane makes the tough catches look simple because of his soft hands•AFPAjinkya Rahane

I wonder if there’s a happy coincidence between being a good slip fielder and wearing either a cool floppy hat or a worn-out cap that has absorbed buckets of sweat over the years. Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh come to mind in the 1990s. In the 2000s, it’s hard to look beyond Mahela Jayawardene and Rahul Dravid.My pick from the current era is Ajinkya Rahane. Hat aside, I’ve picked Rahane because when he stands at slip to the spinner, he makes difficult catches look easy. Look at the ones he took to dismiss Steven Smith in the 2017 Dharamsala Test or Adelaide 2020. Whether Rahane is dealing with the turn of the subcontinent that needs him to stay low or the bounce of Australia and England, which calls for positioning further back, his anticipation, the ability to stay light on his feet to allow him to move either way, and his sound judgment of where he should stand means he takes most chances.

Debutant has left team management with difficult decisions to make

Sidharth Monga28-Nov-20211:30

Jaffer: Iyer backs his game, whatever the situation

You don’t usually look at the strike-rate of a batter making his Test debut, but when he is the only man since strike-rate records have been maintained to have scored 4000 first-class runs at a strike-rate of over 80 while maintaining an average of over 50, strike-rate is the first thing you talk about.Such a high strike-rate tells you a few things. The obvious one is that Shreyas Iyer is a good batter, a dominating batter, but you also wonder if he has bullied some ordinary bowling or filled up his boots on flat decks. You also wonder if he can play the restrained game when a situation or opposition demands it.That last bit has been answered amply as Iyer has become the first India batter to have scored a century and a half-century on his Test debut. Both the innings came in strife in a line-up that two experienced batters are lacking runs and others lacking experience. Despite all the restraint, he ended up with strike-rates of 61.4 and 52 in a Test that runs have been scored at 43.17. That speaks to the free-flowing nature of his batting.

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Iyer’s limited-overs internationals and IPL career offer more clues. He can bully spin bowling all right, and good spin bowling at that. So those first-class runs are not to be scoffed at. In fact his main role when he was a lock in the T20I side was to be a spin power-hitter. It showed in how he pounced on the spinners the moment Tim Southee went off with injury, forcing Kyle Jamieson to come back for a spell.Iyer has had issues against seam bowling even in ODIs, but he is not the only one. It is not the absence of issues but how you overcome them that makes a batter. That’s a question that will be properly asked of him at a later date in Test cricket, but on his debut, Iyer has done well against a side whose seamers have taken 14 of the 17 Indian wickets.The most impressive part of both of Iyer’s innings has been his awareness of when to attack. Apart from the first aerial shot that he tried, you can’t really say the bowlers forced him to play an attacking shot when he would rather not. That shows the value of first-class experience even though it has been three years since he last played the longer format. It also perhaps shows the lack of accuracy of New Zealand’s spin bowlers, who couldn’t create enough pressure after the seam bowlers had to be taken off.Shreyas Iyer followed up his century with a vital second-innings fifty•BCCI”I have been in these situations before as well,” Iyer told at the end of the day’s play. “Not in the Indian team but during my Ranji days, I remember I used to walk in in similar situations. So my mindset was to just play the session and play as many balls as possible. I wasn’t thinking way ahead, I was just trying to be in the present and play one ball at a time.”Iyer does average better and strikes slower in the third innings in Ranji Trophy, but more often than not the third innings in Ranji Trophy carry much less pressure. In five-day cricket, third innings can make or break Tests. When asked about batting with restraint here, Iyer said: “It was really tough because Rahul sir [Dravid, the India coach] had told me we need to play as much as possible. To stay till the end, only then we can get to a good total. I decided I will play as many balls as possible and see to it that we get to a good total. I felt that 250-odd runs including the lead would be really good. Fortunately, we got more than that.”Related

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When it comes to listening to Dravid, the story is now famous how the first time Dravid saw Iyer was when he hit a six in the last over of a day’s play in a four-day match. Some eyebrows would have been similarly raised when you see Iyer in a Test match giving up all his stumps and late-cutting with and against the turn and well before having seen the team out of danger.Then again, you don’t strike at 82 over 4000 runs without taking a risk or two. Risks are subjective, though, and batting is all about managing risk. Apart from that first miscue, you wouldn’t really say Iyer’s intent involved significant risk. Dravid and Iyer will be talking all about that when they review the Test, but for now Dravid and Virat Kohli have some talking to do: how do you not retain Iyer after this debut, and if you do, who makes way for Kohli?

“It was never easy to just beat us in a Test, and we proved that again” – Rabada on the series-squaring win

Firdose Moonda01-Mar-2022They are a long way from the team that went nine years unbeaten on the road between 2006 and 2015, but South Africa’s victory in the second Test in Christchurch served up a reminder of their ability away from home. Not only did they beat New Zealand, the defending Test world champions, but they also did it at a venue they had never played at before this tour, and where conditions are considered to be heavily stacked in favour of the home side.Related

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New Zealand had only lost one out of ten Test matches at Hagley Oval before this Test, and of their eight wins, three had come by an innings. On a seamer-friendly surface, they are known to bowl the opposition out cheaply and then bat as though they are operating on a completely different pitch. The first Test was a case in point.Despite all of that, Dean Elgar went against the grain by choosing to bat first and including Keshav Maharaj, the only specialist spinner in the XI, in anticipation of pitch deterioration. History suggested Elgar was making a mistake, but the last five days proved him right.And Kagiso Rabada explained the decision was made on evidence, not the ground’s reputation.”This wicket was a lot drier [than in the first Test], from looking at it with the naked eye and had a lot less grass on it,” he said after South Africa squared the series. “When you walked on it, the spikes almost sunk in. That tells you it’s going to be a bit slow. We knew when the Test moved forward, it would get drier and the footmarks would be created for Keshav to exploit. That was the thinking. In the end, it was the right decision.”

“If you have a look at previous teams, the word that always fits us best is resilience. It was never easy to just beat us in a Test, and we proved that again”Kagiso Rabada

South Africa scored their first total of over 300 batting first since April 2018, and after that, Maharaj took four wickets – including three in the second innings – to justify all of Elgar’s decisions and underline South Africa’s capacity to come back after a heavy defeat in the first Test. After that defeat, no one – not coach Mark Boucher or Elgar himself or any of the players who were put up for the media – could explain why the team was so low on energy, and neither did they make it a priority to find out.”There was no use harping on about how badly we played,” Rabada said. “As much as we needed to recognise the faults we made, we still needed to put game plans in place to make sure we adapt as quickly as possible. It was about understanding where we went wrong and coming up with game plans and tactics, and also mentally coming back and winning the second test. It was about waking up and rocking up, and executing game plans.”One of the main things South Africa needed was a better start with the bat, and a 111-run opening stand between Elgar and Sarel Erwee in the first innings gave them that. They also needed players to score centuries, and Erwee and Kyle Verreynne ticked that box too. Their batting showed depth and fortitude, which allowed the bowling attack to operate with a degree of freedom and natural aggression.Put together, it was among the most complete performances South Africa have delivered in recent times, not least because it came on the back of their second-biggest defeat ever.South Africa needed big innings, and Sarel Erwee (as well as Kyle Verreynne) did it for them•AFP via Getty Images”If you have a look at previous teams, the word that always fits us best is resilience,” he said. “It was never easy to just beat us in a Test, and we proved that again.”Ultimately, New Zealand were also unable to beat South Africa because of the momentum Rabada himself seized with a 34-ball 47 with the bat as well as two wickets in his opening spell in the second innings, which set the visitors up for a series-equalling win. Together with Marco Jansen, Rabada is the joint-leading wicket-taker in Tests this year so far, but he cautioned against over-hyping his current form.”It’s very seldom that you feel at your best,” he said. “It’s all about adapting and trusting your strengths, and trying to do all you can. You try and create your own luck with hard work and tactical thinking, and let the rest just happen. It’s about trying to stick to the process and keep refining.”That is what South Africa as a unit have been saying for more than two years, as they have rebuilt, stumbled and rebuilt again under Boucher. Their record is not what it used to be, but there are “good signs for the future,” as Rabada put it.And good signs from the past too. Since March 2017, New Zealand have lost only three out of 23 Tests at home, two of those to South Africa. Since the start of 2021, only Pakistan (five) and India (four) have won more Tests away from home than South Africa, with both teams having played more Tests in the same period.In an era where winning on the road is becoming increasingly difficult, South Africa are showing that they are among the teams that can do it, still, which only bodes well for their next overseas assignment – in England this winter.

They were rarely challenged by a woeful England side, but a number of new and younger players stood tall

Andrew McGlashan17-Jan-2022Warner’s opening partnerMarcus Harris was the player given the chance at the start of the series but he did not complete the five Tests, although that was as much to do with Usman Khawaja’s stunning return as his own failures. Harris did not grasp the opportunity with both hands, but his 76 in Melbourne was vital and in what was a tough series for openers – the lowest overall average for an Ashes in Australia since 1887-88 – he did not look out of place. Whether Khawaja, who had the misfortune of being asked to open in spicy Hobart conditions, will stay alongside David Warner remains to be seen. It might be the only spot available to him. Warner himself faded as the series went on, rounded off by his second pair in the Ashes in what may yet have been a final duel with Stuart Broad, but his two 90s in Brisbane and Adelaide, while owing something to luck, were agenda-setting. It’s largely up to him if he wants to make the 2023 Ashes.Related

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Head start (and finish)If you had been asked to pick a Player of the Series before a ball was bowled, it’s fair to say Travis Head’s name would not have been high up the list. It was a close call whether he or Khawaja would take the No. 5 position. However, he produced what should be a breakout performance, a fulfillment of talent and stroke play that many have recognised before but have waited to come to fruition. A thrilling century-in-a-session at the Gabba ensured there was no way back for England and, having missed the SCG Test due to Covid, he outdid himself in Hobart having walked in at 12 for 3 with the ball moving everywhere. His batting will often be a high wire act, and a few questions remain against the short ball, but he can be a gamechanger.Cameron Green found his batting form late in the series•CA/Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesGreen giantThe allrounder position was never a question of personnel coming into the series, but it was always going to be fascinating to watch Cameron Green’s development. And what a statement he made. Firstly it was with the ball as he claimed key wickets – including Joe Root twice in the first two Tests – with his bowling returning to something close to what it was before his back injuries. Then confidence was restored with the bat through hard work in the nets after England’s quicks had challenged his off-stump defence. He broke free in the second innings in Sydney and then played his best Test innings to date to turn the opening day in Hobart around. He was the first Australian player to score more than 200 runs and take at least 10 wickets in a men’s Ashes since Shane Warne in 2005 and before that it was Steve Waugh in 1986. There will inevitably be bumps along the road but the cricketing world is at Green’s feet.Carey for keeps?Elevated into the side only a week before the series after Tim Paine’s resignation and decision to step away from the game, the final day in Hobart was a timely confidence boost for Alex Carey. He rode his luck to make useful runs then grabbed a couple of superb catches – the one off Chris Woakes was a blinder – diving to his right where he had missed a few in earlier matches. It was not a debut series that said, without doubt, that he is the long-term option but it would be a huge surprise if he did not keep his place for the Pakistan tour. Carey is also admired for the leadership qualities and calmness he brings to the side.Scott Boland: the story of the series•Getty ImagesBeyond the big threeA lot of the pre-series talk had been about how Australia would use their quick bowlers. Through injury and Covid they were forced to delve into their much-vaunted depth and it stood up spectacularly. The story of the series was the performance of Scott Boland who took himself from a fringe candidate to someone who is difficult to leave out. Josh Hazlewood’s absence after Brisbane with a side strain was barely noticed while Pat Cummins’ late withdrawal in Adelaide due to being a close contact was handled with ease. Jhye Richardson came in and took a five-wicket haul, then did not play again in the series as he picked up a niggle and Boland stormed into the side. Mitchell Starc was the only frontline quick on either side to play all five Tests and was outstanding in the first three matches. Meanwhile, Cummins finished as the top wicket-taker to lead from the front in every sense.Captain CumminsAnd on that final point, it is a credit to Cummins (although also a reflection on the feeble opposition provided by England) how seamless the transition to his leadership has been. The new structure with Steven Smith worked well and was immediately called into action in Adelaide. If Cummins did make any missteps they came in Sydney and were fairly minor in the grander scheme of things. The fact England were blown away for under 200 in six of their 10 innings (and under 150 three times) meant there weren’t many long days in the field and those will come at some point. However, with a five-strong attack at his disposal there will always be a fresh bowler to call on. As Australia finally return to Test cricket overseas after more than two years, how he and his team evolve will be worth watching.

Failure to seize on big moments in England suggests Kane Williamson and company have lost their spark

Matt Roller27-Jun-2022At Lord’s, New Zealand had England 69 for 4 in pursuit of 277; in Nottingham, they made 553 after being asked to bat first; in Leeds, they had England 55 for 6, still 274 behind their first-innings total. On each occasion, the game has drifted away from them, ending in England knocking off 270+ targets with at least five wickets in hand.It has been a gruelling tour, one marred by a Covid-19 outbreak and injuries to key players in Kyle Jamieson and Colin de Grandhomme, which has taken their run without a series win beyond a year. Since last year’s World Test Championship final, they have won two of their last nine Tests and slipped to fourth in the ICC’s rankings.The biggest question for that champion team was how to replace the retiring Ross Taylor and BJ Watling, but their effective replacements – Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell respectively – have been New Zealand’s best two players in this series, putting on four hundred partnerships and thriving against the old ball.NZC have spent years making succession plans, investing heavily in the A-team programme and looking to widen the pool of players available to them. But there has been an ingrained conservatism in their selection: Rachin Ravindra, the talented 22-year-old batter who bowls solid left-arm spin, scored 217 for Durham two weeks ago but New Zealand handed a debut to the 31-year-old Michael Bracewell instead, who averaged 24 with the bat and went at 5.97 an over with the ball.And there has been an unmistakable sense of drift among the more established players. The inaugural WTC gave New Zealand’s fixture list context, something to aim towards and aspire to be, but on this tour they have seemed directionless, losing all of the series’ key moments. None of the top five in the Headingley Test averaged more than 25.16 on the tour while Trent Boult was the only bowler to come out of the series with his reputation enhanced.For Kane Williamson, their captain, it has been another difficult tour: he made his Test comeback after missing the entire home summer with an elbow injury but missed the second Test with Covid-19 and picked a bizarre team in the third, with Bracewell, a bits-and-pieces allrounder, playing as the frontline spinner ahead of Ajaz Patel on a pitch where Jack Leach bowled more than 70 overs and took 10 wickets.Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell were New Zealand’s best performers on tour•Getty ImagesPerhaps it was Neil Wagner who personified the tour. New Zealand supporters were crying out for his inclusion in the first two Tests but he was noticeably down on pace in Leeds and on the final morning, he was the bowler of last resort, brought on when England needed 10 to win with seven wickets in hand. He finished with match analysis of 20-3-108-2; at 36, it may be time to move on.”Professional sport is very competitive: you win and you lose,” Williamson said. “For us, it is frustrating that we haven’t quite had some of the results go our way but… we [need to] still understand that we’re not that far away. If we look at each match closely, there were moments – and large moments – throughout it where we were right in the match or even ahead of the game.”To win those moments and take the game further into stronger winning positions is something we want to be doing and something we were doing really well a year ago. The margins are small so it’s [about] not overreacting, making sure that we’re aware of those things and keep looking to move forward as a side.”But that move forward will not be immediate. “There’s a long gap before the next one [Test series] and it will be quite different conditions as well,” Williamson said. They are due to tour Pakistan at the end of the year while their fixture list for the 2022-23 home summer is due to be announced on Tuesday. ESPNcricinfo understands that they will play England in February, then Sri Lanka straight after.The nature of their schedule, with sporadic short series across widely different conditions, means it is hard to assess performance: Will Young has played every Test in the last 12 months but has batted only 16 times across three different countries and against four different opponents.Williamson’s own future as captain is unclear. He insisted that he intends to carry on in the role: “I certainly love this group and love being a leader within the environment,” he said. “It’s been an interesting period of time, getting back to fitness and things, but it’s great to be out here, playing along these guys and against a strong England team. Certainly the appetite is still there.”But his elbow has been a constant, nagging issue over the last 18 months and with a young family and six years of service in the bank, this feels like the perfect time to hand over to Tom Latham and focus on his batting. His legacy as a great New Zealand captain is already secure: continuing in the role might feel like the safe option but if anything, it is the riskier one.

Unrelenting and immoveable, Pakistan’s anchorman gives his team just enough to win

Matt Roller28-Sep-2022The moths are the first thing you notice when night falls at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.They stick to every surface, refusing to budge no matter how hard you try. Fast, sudden movements can throw them off briefly but they are soon back as they once were: stubborn, persistent, unyielding. And the evening sky turned to dusk and the moths grew in number, Mohammad Rizwan walked out to bat.Since he shuffled up the order to open the batting in T20 internationals, nearly two years ago, Rizwan has become the antidote to the long-held reputation of Pakistan sides. They are mercurial. They are unpredictable. You never know which Pakistan will turn up on the night.Well, you always know which Mohammad Rizwan will turn up on the night. Nobody can match his average in this format of the game, which stands at 53.76, and in the last month he has taken his relentless consistency to new heights. Since the start of the Asia Cup, he has batted 11 times, scored seven half-centuries and averaged 56.22.On Wednesday night in Lahore, he batted for exactly 100 minutes, swatting the moths away while driving Pakistan to a total they could – and did – defend. He batted through to the 18th over, grinding out 63 off 46 on a slow pitch with variable bounce; none of his team-mates managed more than 15.Rizwan had just faced his eighth ball when he scampered through towards the bowler’s end for a single. Dawid Malan scampered in from backward point and hurled the ball towards the stumps, but as Rizwan dipped his head for the finish line, Malan’s throw struck him clean in the back. He shrugged it off, but it was serious enough to keep him off the field throughout England’s chase.Related

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He offered a chance off his 12th ball, put down by Alex Hales at mid-on, and immediately made it clear that he had no intentions of letting England off the hook, swinging his next ball away for the game’s first six over square leg. After 10 overs, he had only faced 23 balls as his partners got in and got out; Pakistan were 66 for 3 and going nowhere.Wickets continued to fall. Immediately after the drinks break, he skipped down the pitch to loft Adil Rashid straight back over his head for six but Malan held onto a sharp chance to dismiss Iftikhar Ahmed. Mark Wood then rearranged Asif Ali’s stumps with a searing yorker, and Mohammad Nawaz ran himself out spectacularly.Rizwan was undeterred, running England ragged. He faced only eight dots across his innings, working the gaps and ensuring Pakistan reached something approaching a par score. It was a mark of his quality that he was the only player to cope with Wood’s raw pace, scoring 14 of the 20 runs that Wood conceded including a vicious swivel-pull for six.There is a sense with Rizwan that whatever he does will never be enough and clearly, there have been occasions when he has chewed up balls without kicking on. Perhaps he could go harder against legspin; perhaps he could kick on sooner when the field spreads after the powerplay.But he does not play as he does, taking the innings deep and churning out runs game after game just for the sake of it. At full strength, Pakistan have one of the world’s best bowling attacks, which means that with the bat, reaching par is often enough. It is a tried and tested method which has won them many more games than it has lost.Rizwan’s slow-burning consistency can lower Pakistan’s ceiling, but it invariably raises the floor: consecutive innings of 88 off 67 and 63 off 46 have helped them scrape together enough runs to seal three and six-run victories. In a series where England’s own top order have struggled for runs – with Alex Hales’ matchwinning 53 in the first game being their only half-century in 10 attempts – he has been unabating.England’s batting approach – a deep line-up, which allows ultra-aggression throughout – is often held up as the gold standard, a futuristic style which will become the norm as T20 cricket evolves. So it was telling that their captain, Moeen Ali, suggested his side could learn plenty from Rizwan’s innings.”He’s a brilliant player and he’s hard to stop,” Moeen said. “He’s busy and he hits boundaries in awkward positions. He saw the situation and adapted to the wicket today. He’s been free-flowing a lot of the time and today it still felt like he was doing the same. He took risks when he needed to but played properly when he needed to as well.”Rizwan’s tally of 315 runs in five innings is the highest-ever in a bilateral T20I series. “I think we can learn a lot from the way he played today,” Moeen added. “He’s a fantastic player. We’ve obviously found him quite difficult to bowl to in this series so far.”The T20 World Cup is edging ever closer and conditions in Lahore were miles away from those Pakistan will encounter in Australia, a country where Rizwan has made only 45 runs in three T20I innings. It will be a big test for him to adjust to the extra pace and bounce that is associated with Australian pitches.But whether he wins them a trophy or not, it feels inevitable that Rizwan, Pakistan’s own moth, will continue to churn out half-centuries like his life depends on it. In a format that is meant to be fickle, volatile and fleeting, Rizwan’s runs have become reassuringly predictable.

On a green surface, Southee backed his openers to grind it out – there are few better than Conway and Latham for that job anyway

Danyal Rasool02-Jan-2023The first Test hadn’t yet finished when talk of the strip this Test would be played on began. Interim chief selector Shahid Afridi promised a “green” pitch, and on the eve of the second Test, pictures on the PCB’s social media account showed enough grass to barely distinguish it from the outfield. On the morning of the game, Shakil Shaikh, a member of the PCB’s (not very) new-look management committee, declared that the pitch problem had been resolved “in a wink” on a “new, lively surface”.When Tim Southee walked out to the middle for the toss, he paid no attention to any of this. Not just because he probably doesn’t hang on to every word Afridi says, and he certainly doesn’t follow Shaikh on Twitter. But he couldn’t ignore the look of the pitch itself, which, while not quite as emerald green as pictures from the previous day suggested, had a distinct greenish hue that hadn’t been in evidence on any surface used for international games all season. He batted.

****

New Zealand are second from bottom in this cycle of the World Test Championship and haven’t won a Test since February. They have lost four of their last five matches. There aren’t too many things they have done well in the format since lifting the WTC trophy 18 months ago. But in Devon Conway and Tom Latham, they possess an opening pair that might just go on to become the envy of the world.Related

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• Pakistan claw back after big Conway and Latham stand

Since the start of 2016, no pair averages more for the first wicket than the 67.25 Latham and Conway (minimum 500 runs) have. While this was just their eighth innings together as an opening pair, their credentials in the top order are rock solid. When Conway dropped down to No. 3 in New Zealand’s home season last year, he amassed 388 runs in six innings, including two centuries against Bangladesh and a 92 against South Africa.That was why, on a green surface that retained a fair bit of moisture, Southee showed no hesitation in backing his openers to see the first hour out. There are few better equipped to grind out an opposition bowling attack, their partnership in the first Test a perfect exhibition of their abilities. Pakistan appeared to have bought into the hype around the pitch, dropping a spinner [Nauman Ali] for an extra fast bowler [Naseem Shah], one whose fitness has been questioned of late.Conway and Latham can do the grind, but are also astute enough to know when to choose belligerence. A green surface and three fast bowlers invariably meant Pakistan would go searching for something; 46 of the 115 deliveries bowled by the fast men in the first session were overpitched. And while the swing faded away fairly rapidly, the run-scoring when Pakistan erred did not; balls that were either short and/or wide or too full went for 45 in 53 deliveries.But when Babar Azam turned to Agha Salman as early as in the seventh over, the bowler found the turn too slow, and New Zealand milked the spin at over four runs an over. Conway took a particular liking to Abrar Ahmed, using his feet to hit him down the ground, plundering him for 60 runs in as many balls, with eight fours and a six.”With the nature of the grass on the surface, it had maintained a bit of pace in the wicket,” Conway, who scored 122 to Latham’s 71, said after the day’s play. “When the ball’s harder, it comes off the bat a bit better as well. We were rewarded for good cricket shots that went for boundaries. We managed to get off to a quick start.”Agha Salman got purchase off the surface as the day wore on and picked up three wickets•Associated PressIt might sound simple enough in theory, but none of this is easy. After all, the two became the first New Zealand opening pair to put on consecutive century stands away from home. They are the first visiting openers to register successive century stands in Pakistan; only one other pair had managed two in the same series. That was over 25 years back.The game might have turned in more ways than one in the final session, but Pakistan might find an imposing enough total by the time they get a chance to bat. Salman’s three wickets and the speed at which the ball spun in the final session might have encouraged them, but New Zealand have fielded three spinners, and should have the resources to exploit any such liveliness.”It’s starting to change,” Conway said. “After tea, there was a bit more turn on offer, which is showing the nature of the wicket drying out and assisting the spinners a little bit more. It’s skidding on a little bit more, and there isn’t as much carry as the morning, so it’s interesting to see what the wicket will look like on the last three days”.Some sides might have viewed a toss won on this surface against a three-pronged seam attack as an automatic bowl-first. New Zealand, instead, saw it for the opportunity. They cut Mir Hamza when he strayed wide and drove Naseem while the bounce was true and the trajectory straight. They milked Agha around the square and smashed Abrar around the park. They kept the runs ticking along, and the wickets column dry.For that, you need a quality opening pair, and in Conway and Latham, New Zealand are well sorted.

It may be that BCB president overplayed the seriousness about the alleged “Issues” between the two senior players

Mohammad Isam03-Mar-2023When Tamim Iqbal tapped Shakib Al Hasan’s gloves upon his entry, the full-house crowd roared in delight. Bangladesh were 9 for 3 in the second over. Their defense of a proud home record was going up in smoke. This was the 72nd time that Shakib and Tamim were batting together in an international, but the first time since BCB president Nazmul Hassan broke the news last week that the two senior Bangladesh cricketers don’t talk to each other.So obviously the tap of the gloves, or the time Tamim took a catch off Shakib’s bowling in the first ODI, or the times they spoke in the field generally as two team-mates do – they all drew a lot of attention. Some of those moments have become memes already. But they were tepid, not really viral material.Because really this is a bit of a non-issue. It grabbed headlines last week because the BCB president spoke in detail about Shakib and Tamim not talking to each other for a few years. Hassan called the row an open secret, but one that bothered the other players. He said Bangladesh’s dressing room was uncomfortable.Related

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In a very leaky inner circle, these incidents, rumours, half-truths come out quite often. Never, though, has the public heard about a Shakib-Tamim fight, or anything remotely close to it. Their fallout was indeed an open secret to those close to the game, but ESPNcricinfo understands that this has been going on for so long that not many are aware when it even began.Some believe that Tamim and Shakib never really had a flash point; they simply drifted apart. They don’t hang out in the same circles now but there was a time when they were friends. Shakib had written an entire column on Tamim in 2010.Tamim’s measured press conference on the subject drew him a lot of praise. He said that he could have avoided it by saying “no comment” but needed to make things clear to the public and fans. It was a good move, but it led to some very confusing follow-up quotes from the BCB chief Hassan.On February 27, Hassan addressed the issue again, this time saying he only heard about the row in the media, even though until February 25, when he brought up the topic, it was never reported on, not even on social media.”Quite simply, I didn’t see any problem in the dressing room even three years ago… previously, I was always with the team. I have heard about the bad environment in the dressing room from outside. It is mostly heard from the media. The media people say it the most,” Hassan said. “It was all well during the World Cup last year in Australia. What I heard is what Tamim also said. I asked them if there’s a problem, they assured me that it won’t affect the cricket. That’s what I said in the interview. Tamim also said the same thing.”BCB president Nazmul Hassan fronts up to the media•BCBHassan added that the reason he came out with the news was to reduce the players’ discomfort. He wanted to “end this topic” and “bring the attention back to cricket”. Except he also appears to be the one who made it public.”Everyone in the media knew about it,” Hassan said. “So many people asked me about it. I didn’t like this rumour running around. It was making everyone uncomfortable, even for the players.”I started to hear that the dressing room environment isn’t good. I didn’t see a problem during the T20 World Cup. But something must have happened. I used to hear that Shakib and Tamim are close friends.”Something happened between them that the dressing room environment has become uncomfortable. The other players are afraid of talking to each other. They hesitate. They feel that if I talk to Shakib , the other will think I am in his camp. Similarly, they think that if I talk to Tamim, someone will feel bad.”For what it’s worth, both Shakib and Tamim have made it clear their relationship won’t affect the side’s performance. Even Hassan said as much. “I don’t know what the problem is,” Hassan said. “I didn’t ask them what the problem is. They told me that it won’t affect the cricket so half my work is done. They are playing together after a long time. Tamim missed the India series, and wasn’t around for the T20Is as well. I don’t think there will be a problem. They are all professionals and matured. They won’t harm the team.”But on March 2, between the first and second ODI, Shakib had reportedly stood up Hassan when the board chief wanted to meet him. Hassan played down the snub.”There was only one reason why I came here [to the team hotel],” Hassan said. “I could not meet Shakib during my first visit to the team hotel before the first ODI. That’s why I came today at Shakib’s request. Actually, I came here to see everyone and give them courage. I talked with him [Shakib] on the phone. After he learned that I was about to visit [the team hotel], he called me and said that he was elsewhere.”He told me, ‘Come after 9pm.’ And I replied, ‘Look, it’s okay as you are busy. I don’t have much to say [to Shakib and others]. I just dropped by and I will just have a few words with them. I will talk to you over the phone later at night.'”Tamim and Shakib couldn’t quite save Bangladesh in the second game. They added 79 runs for the fourth wicket, but the 327 chase needed them to stay for longer. By losing the second game against England, Bangladesh lost their first ODI series at home in seven years. England are a great white-ball team with plenty of firepower, even in subcontinent conditions. But one wonders whether Bangladesh were better off without the Shakib-Tamim topic being brought up just two days before this big series.