All posts by n8rngtd.top

Opinion divided after first two rounds of 2024 County Championship produce glut of runs and only one positive result

Vithushan Ehantharajah and Matt Roller16-Apr-20243:58

Roland-Jones reacts to Kookaburra chaos in County Championship

Sixteen matches played, 27,840 balls bowled, 16,817 runs scored, 378 wickets taken – yet only one outright result. The first two weeks of the Championship season have been a grind. The second round of games was historic: for only the third time when all 18 counties played simultaneously, not a single one registered a win.The first two weeks of April rarely produce gripping cricket in England, but this year has been worse than usual for a number of interdependent reasons: wet weather through the winter creating particularly soft, slow pitches; the trial of a Kookaburra ball instead of the usual Dukes; and the loss of hundreds of overs due to rain.In the first two rounds of the 2023 season, there were 11 positive results in 16 completed matches. But bowlers across the country have struggled to get batters out in the early stage of this season: a wicket fell every 54.9 balls in the first two rounds last year, compared to one every 73.7 balls to date in 2024.Related

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• Team man Cameron Steel now out on his own

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• Sam Cook: The England Test hopeful with a sub-20 bowling average

The difference between the balls is well-established: the Kookaburra is machine-made in Australia, while the Dukes is hand-stitched in the UK. “It doesn’t swing as much as the Dukes,” James Anderson explained on the Tailenders podcast. “There’s a different lacquer that coats it… the Dukes, for some reason, swings more and for longer.”The idea came from Andrew Strauss’ high-performance review, which highlighted the dearth of genuine pace and spin in English domestic cricket. “We aren’t encouraging the development of the ‘extreme’ skills required to succeed in international cricket,” the review said. It proposed a pilot trial to “test the impact on bowlers’ skills development”, and two rounds were played with the Kookaburra last summer.The pilot has not been universally popular. Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, has described the Kookaburra’s implementation as “the worst decision ever”. Alfonso Thomas, the Leicestershire coach, said it has “made average batters look very good”. When Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory was asked for his view, he replied: “Can I swear?”The need to hit the deck hard with the Kookaburra has been offset by the fact that early season English decks are not hard. That also meant short-ball plans — something bowlers turn to when a ball of any shape stops moving through the air — were ineffectual. Some teams were also bemused that no two balls seemed to behave the same.Others saw the merit. Grant Bradburn, Glamorgan’s coach, believes the trial will “help bowlers become better”. Cameron Steel, Surrey’s legspinning allrounder, is the leading wicket-taker in Division One. “Spinners around the country are happy to have had more of a bowl than they probably otherwise would’ve in previous seasons in April,” he said after his second five-wicket haul in as many games.And Sam Cook, the Essex seamer, pressed his England case when forcing the only win of the season so far, taking 10 for 73 at Trent Bridge. Cook has been a consistent wicket-taker for five years but was particularly pleased to prove himself with a Kookaburra. “When it does get a little soft, it’s about using your skills, whether it’s a little bit of wobble-seam or reverse-swing,” he said.Seamers across the country will breathe a sigh of relief when they get the Dukes back in their hands on Friday, which will be used for the foreseeable future. This year’s trial will see two more rounds played with the Kookaburra in late August and early September, at which point pitches should be drier, firmer, and therefore more receptive to the ball.Use of the Kookaburra ball has come in for much scrutiny•Getty ImagesSpeaking on Monday, England men’s managing director Rob Key hailed a “fantastic” first two rounds, not least because it seemingly nullified those seamers who lean heavily on the movement of the Dukes. If it were up to him – rather than the ECB Professional Games’ Committee – the red Kookaburra would be the default county ball.”You see what four-day cricket is meant to be,” Key told the . “I’ve watched quite a bit this week and seen some bloody good cricket. I would use the Kookaburra all the time. English cricket would be much better off for it.”The pitches are slow this time of year but watching medium-pacers is a waste of time. Teams need to find quicker bowlers or ones who will force a wicket. You can’t just keep running up bowling at 75mph. And in terms of those guys who are not express, you really work out who can bowl. Sam Cook, that was seriously impressive what he did.”Why do we think in India their batters come into the Test side averaging 70 [in the Ranji Trophy]? Do you think they’re playing with a little nibbly Dukes ball where it’s doing all sorts? What do we want to be? I want us to be the best team in the world for a generation; this will be one way to do that.”Key’s words might seem harsh, but they tally with his view on county cricket before the success of England men’s teams – particularly overseas, and especially the Ashes in Australia – fell under his brief. As he described in his autobiography, : “County cricket exists only because of the money from Test cricket, the England Test team only because of the Championship conveyor belt. They are the ultimate odd couple: worlds apart, but unable to get divorced because they are so utterly reliant on one another.”Ultimately, the debate over the ball boils down to a fundamental question: what is the purpose of the County Championship? It has two main functions: to help develop English cricketers who go onto play internationally; and as a sporting competition in its own right, which still attracts interest both at home and overseas and which every male professional in the country would love to win.If using the Kookaburra emboldens counties to bowl their spinners and throws up a contender for England selection, like Cook, does that outweigh the drawbacks of a single result in 16 matches (with two complete abandonments) and some dreary cricket played in front of sparse crowds? That is the question that Key and the ECB must weigh up when they decide whether this experiment should continue.

The left-arm fast bowler talks about moving on from the nightmare over, and what he has learned from Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami and Zaheer Khan

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi and Nikhil Sharma18-Sep-20241:32

A timeline of Yash Dayal’s incredible redemption

When Yash Dayal helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru seal a spot in the 2024 IPL playoffs by defending 17 in the last over against Chennai Super Kings, his performance was widely described as redemption for failing to defend 29 against Rinku Singh and Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023Earlier this year Dayal, 26, impressed the selectors enough with his skills in white-ball and first-class cricket to be given a fast-bowling contract. And this month, he got his maiden Test call-up when he was picked in India’s squad to play the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. Dayal talks here about how he struggled to cope after the KKR match, his thoughts before bowling the final over against CSK, a significant conversation he had with Virat Kohli ahead of the 2024 IPL, and the cricketers who make up his support system.You are one step closer to realising the dream of playing for India. What has it been like since you received the Test call-up?
In 2022 I was named in the Indian squad for the first time – for an ODI series in Bangladesh – but I couldn’t make it due to injury. At the start of the Duleep Trophy [earlier this month], I was aware that there was a spot for a left-arm fast bowler in the Indian Test team. In the first innings, my bowling was normal [1 for 39 for India B against India A], though not to my satisfaction. But the way I bowled in the second innings [3 for 50], I believed I was a strong contender.We comfortably won the match and my performance was very good. I was at the team hotel in Bangalore, watching TV, when I got a message from a friend saying I’d been selected in India’s Test squad. I didn’t believe him, but a little later I saw my name in the Test squad on BCCI’s website.Related

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Immediately I kept my phones aside to try to process what was happening inside me emotionally.I had become too emotional, because getting a Test call-up is very big. I started recalling my journey across the years. I then called my family: my mother and my sister were equally emotional, tears of joy were rolling down their faces. I spoke to my dad in the evening. It was like a festival at home. A lot of people had gathered and the and [types of drums] were being played. The BCCI fast-bowling contract you got earlier this year – was that the first signal that you were in the India management’s plans?
I was already in the targeted pool after the 2022 IPL. But now, getting a fast-bowling contract given to a select few – I was aware that if I do well in domestic cricket, it could be easy to get the India call-up.At first I wasn’t aware what exactly happens with players in the targeted pool. But soon I understood that everything about my game would be looked after and monitored by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). That includes not just my bowling but my workload, training sessions, how much strain was on my body.A lot has changed in the last two years. When I see senior players from up close, when I talk to them, I notice [that some of them] travel with personal chefs, they measure what they eat, how much rice they consume, how much protein had, things to avoid to enhance their training. When I see them looking that lean, it naturally motivates me.In the 2023 IPL, after that match against KKR, I became slightly weak and my focus wasn’t there. But slowly I started to cope with what had happened. After that I made a set-up so I would not turn back – whether it be in training or my diet, I would be so clear that when I make the comeback, I would leave no stone unturned. I took the decision to focus on the assignments given to me and the targets I need to meet. Because of that I now feel that this call-up has come at the best time.”My basic bowling strength has always been swing. Then I developed speed to go with my swing, which is very difficult for batsmen to confront”•BCCIYour sister, Suchi, is a nutritionist. What role has she played in your career?
[MS Dhoni] hit Lockie [Ferguson] for a four in the 19th over [CSK scored 18 in that over]. At that point there was this anxiety in my head. I hoped CSK would need a lot of runs in the final over. There was this [changes direction]. I have always believed without swing nearly 90% of my bowling strength will be reduced.Dayal on what defending 17 runs in an over against CSK: “[Kohli] told me take my time between deliveries, not to worry about what happened, but that I needed to believe in myself”•BCCIWhile you were at the NCA with other fast bowlers in the targeted pool, Mohammed Shami, your team-mate at Titans was also there for his injury rehab. How has he helped you with your bowling?
I have spent a lot of time with Shami bhai at GT, both on and off the ground. He spoke to me a lot about the importance of backspin on the ball and suggested I work on that. He said the more backspin you have, the faster you will be able to bowl.Then there’s Ashu pa [Titans head coach Ashish Nehra], who has played a big role in my professional career. He has supported me a lot. He is the one who got me into the IPL. In the beginning, I used to face problems bowling in first-class cricket. Ashu pa worked on my [bowling] volume. In the IPL, you have to bowl only four overs, but he would say you cannot prepare for just four. You shouldn’t feel tired by the 24th ball. He would make us prepare in a way that even after bowling the 24th ball, you felt you could bowl another six overs. That helped change my mindset and become better at bowling longer spells.Your 27th birthday will fall in the middle of India’s tour of Australia. You wouldn’t mind celebrating your birthday bowling in a Test in Australia, will you?
If given a chance, it will be like the ultimate dream coming true.Having picked you in the ODI squad in 2022 and now in the Test squad, it looks like the selectors are considering you an all-format bowler.
That does feel really good that the selectors, the BCCI, people at the NCA, show trust in me. Yes, if you are here after performing in the IPL, then it’s obvious that you can do well in white-ball cricket. But now when I was picked for red-ball cricket, I realised they had been observing me for quite some time in domestic cricket.I was first picked for the Bangladesh tour [in 2022]. Since then I’d been wondering if I would ever get another chance [to make it to an India squad]. I have heard from others that it’s a big thing to make a comeback. I get that boost that I have made my comeback to such a big Test team that has all these big names who will play alongside me.

More than anything else, it was a chance for India’s two most celebrated batters – Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma – to do something big. They failed, as did India

Alagappan Muthu30-Dec-20241:17

The big mistakes that cost India the MCG Test

There were already 50,000 people in the morning to watch the final day’s play of the Boxing Day Test.Four results were possible.It was AUD 10 entry for adults and free for kids under 15.One man had come in with a sign saying “Chase master Kohli” and on the back it said “All the way from Canada”.Virat Kohli – the brand, not the person – has long graduated to King Kohli. Chase master was a long time ago. He aced them so often and so easily that the catchphrase was losing meaning. But it might be coming back now. With a different meaning. A less flattering one. Referring to his natural response to seeing balls angled across him.Related

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India needed 340 to win. Ninety-two overs to play. This was a day made for India’s two celebrated senior batters. A day to atone because it was a day with life. By the end of it, they were in a tortured place.”A lot of the things that I am trying to do is not falling in the place that I would want to,” the captain Rohit Sharma said. “But mentally, it is disturbing without a doubt.”Rohit had come through a very disciplined, hour-long examination by the three Australia fast bowlers. Twenty-two for no loss after 15 overs. Seven balls after the drinks break, though, Rohit went for a big shot. A flick across the line and the ball went 180 degrees in the opposite direction into Mitchell Marsh’s hands at gully.”When you come here chasing 340 – we did that last time around, so there’s no way that we were not thinking of the target,” Rohit said. “But to get that target, you need to lay the foundation.”India were 33 for 3 in the 27th over. They had lost three wickets for 11 runs on a pitch where Australia’s Nos. 10 and 11 had put on a fifty partnership. “Wicket was slowing down a fair bit,” Rohit said. So if you wanted to sit in, you could. If you wanted to back your defence, you could.Kohli fell to the sucker ball in the over before lunch.

“The batters, they sometimes perform, they sometimes don’t. But, it is much more painful if you don’t get the desired results [as a team]. But why don’t you get the results? It happens when you have the opportunity to grab hold of a game, then you should”Rohit Sharma

Mitchell Starc was the bowler. He wasn’t 100%. “He’s a warrior,” Pat Cummins gushed in the end.But that was a point of vulnerability. Australia batting on day five was partly to get themselves as big a score as possible and partly because their battering ram of a left-arm quick needed to be managed slightly. Cummins was seen putting his arm around Starc as he began a new spell.India did something really cool at the Gabba in 2021. But the coolest thing about it is that it helped them win that series and that was only possible because they were able to come out with a draw in Sydney. They lasted five overs longer (97) than they needed to here (92) even though they had only eight wickets to work with. Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin kept a full-strength Australia attack – that one included their regular allrounder Cameron Green – waiting for basically ever. There were three No. 11s below them: Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. All of them could have put their feet up.There was a time when this team could have done that too. For 32.5 overs, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant showed admirable application. Jaiswal was being stalked by Starc with his smiles and his awayswingers. Eleven times the fast bowler went past his bat. On the fifth, Jaiswal smiled back. He knew he had done what he could do. Play the line of the ball and not follow the movement. That gave him a bit of pride. It took him straight into the contest. Earlier, he was driving away from his body and getting beaten.A record number of people came in to the MCG across the five days to watch a compelling contest•Getty ImagesPant showed such restraint. Of all his innings that have lasted more than 15 balls, only three others have seen him forget about scoring as much as he did today. And those didn’t last beyond 33 balls. This one went up to 104. India were taking time out of the game. They were putting overs into the Australian bowlers’ legs, which, if the series had remained 1-1 and considering the short turnaround to Sydney, would have been a tangential benefit. They were getting closer and closer to safety. They had seven wickets in hand to negotiate the last 38 overs. They failed.”The pain of losing a Test match is more,” Rohit said. “The batters, they sometimes perform, they sometimes don’t. But, it is much more painful if you don’t get the desired results [as a team]. But why don’t you get the results? It happens when you have the opportunity to grab hold of a game, then you should. Be it bowling or batting, batters or bowlers, both have the same role. We had the chance…”Cummins gambled that Pant and Jaiswal, having seen off the main bowlers, might chance their arm against a part-timer. Travis Head came on. Pant took on the long square boundaries at the MCG even though Australia had three men posted there and was caught at deep midwicket. Jaiswal, who ended up as India’s last recognised batter, went for another aggressive shot, trying to pull a slower bouncer from Cummins and gloving behind to the wicketkeeper. Ravindra Jadeja received an unplayable ball. Earlier, KL Rahul had received an unplayable ball. The other batters fell to shots that weren’t really conducive to what they were trying to accomplish – what one injured batter and one injured bowler who could bat accomplished in Sydney.”Today, we had the opportunity to win or draw the game,” Rohit said. “We tried but a lot of the boys about whom you are talking, the ones that have scored runs, could have played longer. But they are new, the more they play, they will learn.Steven Smith gets into position to take the catch to dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy off Nathan Lyon•Getty Images”Sometimes I know you want to do the target, you want to chase the target, you want to be positive and stuff like that. But you’ve got to be realistic as well sometimes. And getting six an over [India needed 228 off 38 overs] on that pitch, it seems a little tough.”Cummins rated this win as his best. Certainly something to rival Edgbaston 2023. Three-hundred-and-fifty-thousand people came through the gates creating a raucous atmosphere. The game ebbed and flowed. Both teams had periods where they were under the pump and fought through it. And really, in the end, it went to the one that made the fewest mistakes. Australia didn’t have any mix-ups running between the wickets. India did and 153 for 2 – a position from which they could at least contest for a first-innings lead – all of a sudden became 159 for 5.Rohit and his men were playing catch-up from that point on and as well as they tried it just wasn’t going to happen. In the end, they were stuck in the dressing room watching their bowlers, who have given everything on this tour, being raked over the coals. Washington Sundar had so many close catchers that Mitchell Marsh who had been asked to join them didn’t know where to go because there was no place. Eventually, Steven Smith moved off to his right basically becoming a second wicketkeeper to facilitate a field that had a silly mid-off, silly point, two gullies, a slip, short leg and leg slip.Bumrah’s wicket – the penultimate one that Australia needed for victory – produced such a visceral roar that the sea gulls sat on top of the MCG roof scattered as a group; fleeing the scene of danger. Eventually they took over the ground. Scores of them were on the outfield as day turned to night. The MCG had turned peaceful. India, though, look a long way from peaceful. They have to digest a loss that needn’t have happened.

The England and GT batter’s power game stems from his supreme game awareness

Alagappan Muthu19-Apr-202510:24

Boucher: Buttler’s takedown of Starc sealed it for GT

A very important thing happened in the third over of the Gujarat Titans (GT) innings in IPL 2025 on Saturday. Jos Buttler missed the scoop.There is inherent risk in this shot. Its success depends on taking the number one rule of bating and throwing it out the window, because to pull it off, you need to give up the stumps and use less than the full face of the blade.Yet, the scoop is Buttler’s go-to shot. When he got hit in the gut by Mitchell Starc, and lay flat on the ground, winded, he already knew what he was going to do next ball. He kicked himself off-balance with his back leg so that he would be position to scoop.Related

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And when he plays it, he means for the ball to hit bat. He is never looking for power. Having opened himself up to trouble – giving up his stumps, giving up his balance – all he wants from this point on is to bring the odds back in his favour. That’s why he only ever focuses on making contact.The other thing he makes sure to do is stay on his feet. The scoop requires premeditation. The bowler almost always knows what you’re trying to do before he has to release the ball, so he can adjust his length. Buttler has thought of all this. In a masterclass for six years ago, he said, “That’s the other reason I quite like doing it in this way. You dug one in there and because I’m still upright, I can manage to [motions the ball hitting his bat and going over his shoulder] almost help it away. So, I feel like here I’ve got a chance with the varying different deliveries.”When Buttler began playing his cricket, the people who were accessing the area behind the wicket often did so by going down on their knees – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Brendon McCullum, AB de Villiers. These are all great players and all of them had great success playing this shot. Buttler could easily have adopted the same methods, but he didn’t. He was clever enough to spot a flaw and then come up with a solution for it.

“Buttler’s scoop sets him apart, and not just as a 360-degree batter but as a critical thinker, a problem solver, a smarty pants”

Buttler’s scoop sets him apart, and not just as a 360-degree batter but as a critical thinker. A problem solver. A smarty pants. Here, when he missed his signature shot, he understood that the Ahmedabad pitch didn’t have enough pace. That was crucial information. It helped him focus his strength – which wasn’t in ample supply given he had fielded for 20 overs in 40-degree heat. He cramped up the tenth ball he faced. Still sent it for six, though. Buttler was the fourth-oldest player on the park on Saturday. The oldest had to leave the field for dehydration.”It kind of takes you by surprise actually, how much fluids you need or how draining it is,” Buttler said. “I certainly felt that batting. But it’s obviously part of the game. You’ve got to be fit and to be able to perform under pressure and in the heat.”ESPNcricinfo LtdFor the better part of four hours, Buttler was exposed to the kind of weather that makes it impossible to think about anything else. And yet that’s what he did. Think. He made 97 off 54 deliveries as GT chased 200-plus for the first time in the IPL. He found ways to combat spin – saw off Kuldeep Yadav (12 off 12, with one four) but pounced on Vipraj Nigam (29 off 14, with one four and three sixes). And he dismantled Starc.The DC fast bowler trusts his yorker. It pushed a game his team should have lost into a Super Over and he won it for them. So, he went for them again, except Buttler is built different. He understands the value of ball hitting bat.Starc was coming around the wicket. Four of his five deep fielders were on the leg side. Buttler knew all he had to do was pierce the ring on the off side. He didn’t need power for that. He didn’t need any of his tricks. He just had to plant an open face down on the ball and let Starc’s own pace work against him.The second ball of the 15th over – which went for 20 runs – was the epitome of Boss Buttler. He isn’t about aesthetics or technique or right or wrong. He just does whatever necessary to find a gap.

He surpassed Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting during his knock against India in the fourth Test

Sampath Bandarupalli25-Jul-202513,409 Runs scored by Joe Root in Test cricket. Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) has scored more in this format. Root moved up three places during his century against India in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. He surpassed Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Ricky Ponting (13,378).ESPNcricinfo Ltd38 Hundreds for Root in Test cricket. Only three batters – Tendulkar (51), Kallis (45) and Ponting (41) – have more in Test cricket, while Kumar Sangakkara also has 38.Root now has 104 fifty-plus scores in Tests, surpassing Ponting and Kallis’ tally of 103. Again, only Tendulkar, with 119, have more.12 Test hundreds for Root against India, the most by any batter, going ahead of Steven Smith’s 11. Only Don Bradman (19 against England) and Sunil Gavaskar (13 against West Indies) have more Test hundreds against a particular opponent.Nine of Root’s 12 hundreds against India have come in England, the most by any batter against an opponent at home, going past Bradman’s eight against England.23 Test hundreds for Root in England, the joint-most for any batter in a country. Ponting in Australia, Kallis in South Africa and Mahela Jayawardene in Sri Lanka also have 23 each.Root has scored 7195 runs in Tests in England, the third-most by any batter in a country, behind only Ponting (7578 in Australia) and Tendulkar (7216 in India).ESPNcricinfo Ltd1128 Test runs scored by Root at Old Trafford. He is the first batter to aggregate 1000 Test runs at this venue. Old Trafford is the second venue where Root has scored 1000-plus Test runs; he has 2166 at Lord’s.588 Runs Root scored in Tests against Ravindra Jadeja so far, across 37 innings for nine dismissals. These are the most runs any batter scored in Test cricket against a bowler. He went past Steven Smith, who has 577 runs against Stuart Broad across 49 innings and was dismissed 11 times.

Performances in the tri-series featuring Pakistan and Afghanistan saw them squander advantageous positions in about every game

Danyal Rasool06-Sep-2025United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to play their second Asia Cup which begins later this month. ESPNcricinfo takes a look at how the home team shapes up ahead of the tournament.

How did they make it?

UAE qualified for the Asia Cup by winning the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2024. The tournament in Oman featured ten sides, with the top three guaranteed qualification for the eight-team Asia Cup. After finishing second in their group, UAE defeated Nepal in the semi-finals, before going on to beat Oman – the side they lost to in the group – in the final.

Recent results

UAE’s recent results show quite a gap between their floor and ceiling. Since May 2025, and before the recent tri-series with Afghanistan and Pakistan, they had won six out of nine. That included a come-from-behind series win over Bangladesh. It was followed by an inconsistent tournament in Uganda, where they won three of their five games, but were ultimately pipped to first place by the hosts. The tri-series has seen them squander advantageous positions in just about every game, demonstrating flashes of quality even against the more decorated sides, without quite the experience to sustain it over 40 overs.

Who are their key players?

As with most sides on the fringes of the elite, match outcomes depend heavily on individual stars having good games. Sides like the UAE do not quite have quality running through each position in the way the more established teams do. The first name on the team sheet is their talismanic captain and opener Muhammad Waseem, whose explosiveness up top is instrumental to useful starts with the bat. He strikes at over 155 in 2025, and has proved a focal point of quality for the Asia Cup hosts.Left-arm spinner Haider Ali could be key if the tracks in UAE are slow and low•Emirates Cricket BoardThe only batter in the side with a more explosive record is Asif Khan, more specialised at finishing the innings off with his big hitting straight down the ground. On lower, slower tracks like the kind the UAE is likely to throw up for the tournament, left-arm spinner Haider Ali has the record to instil optimism. He was the leading wicket-taker in that tournament in Uganda, and the pick of the bowlers in the team’s second fixture against Pakistan in the tri-series.

Who do they play at the Asia Cup?

UAE have been placed alongside defending champions India, Pakistan and Oman in Group A. They take on India to start off in Dubai, before a fixture against Oman in Abu Dhabi, and then one versus Pakistan in Dubai two days later. They will need to finish in the top two to make it to the Super Four.

How have they fared in the Asia Cup before?The UAE has only ever played one T20 Asia Cup in the past – in 2016 in Bangladesh. That year, the qualifying stage was melded in with the tournament proper, and the UAE eased through that first stage with wins over Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman. In the second stage, they finished bottom, losing all four games.

UAE squad

Muhammad Waseem (capt), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh and Saghir Khan

Where once greatness was expected, now only meaningful contributions are required, and Kusal Mendis is playing match-winning innings while also impressing with the gloves

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Sep-20252:22

Maharoof: Mendis a nightmare for spinners once he gets going

“The prince”, “next great Sri Lankan batter”, “boy wonder” are some descriptions that have been assigned to Kusal Mendis. “Spoilt”, “useless”, “soft”, “touchy” are some others. Although at home he is a polarising cricketer, outside Sri Lanka, he is a pretty inoffensive presence – one of those South Asian wicketkeepers who doesn’t feel especially comfortable sledging in English, so there are no viral clips.And yet, few Sri Lankan cricketers have got into as many arguments with fans at the edge of the boundary as Mendis. When Sri Lanka were on one of their huge losing streaks in the late 2010s or early 2020s, Mendis was one of the guys to blame. Not taking sufficient responsibility was one accusation. Caring too much about social-media likes was another. People would say things like this to his face, and Mendis would respond just as quickly.But he is 30 now, and has, in his own way, carved out a place. He was a specialist batter for Sri Lanka when he started out, but had kept wicket at the age-group levels. Long after it became clear he was not about to be the saviour of Sri Lankan batting, choices were reassessed, expectations were toned down, and goals have been reset.Related

• Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka to kick off Super Four stage

• Kusal Mendis, Nuwan Thushara knock Afghanistan out

He is now one of the few players that appears across formats for Sri Lanka. What is key to this deal is that he must keep wicket, and do it well. At international level, Mendis has been crushing it.Even just in this Asia Cup, he’s made his presence felt behind the stumps. Against Hong Kong – the opponents that tested Sri Lanka most in the group stage – he stuck pads out to stop extras, scrambled stumpings off bad ricochets, and took a high catch. The entire vibe of this team is that now, you find ways to make yourself useful. Nine years after he appeared in international cricket, perhaps Mendis has found his pocket.He is, as Afghanistan found out, brutal on errors of length, a master of varieties of the sweep, and an excellent manipulator in the middle overs. If there is a ball that can possibly be hit square of the wicket, Mendis tends to oblige. He also tends to far prefer spin. By necessity, he has now become a white-ball opener. But he’s always looked most comfortable when playing the sweep as often as possible.”We knew today they’d bowl a lot of spin,” Mendis said after the Afghanistan game. “What me and Kusal Perera talked about was to bat normally until the 12th over. But almost automatically, we were able to make eight or nine runs per over. That made things easier for us.”Even when Charith Asalanka came to bat, we were waiting for those seam-bowling overs, so we can score some runs off that.”If there is a ball that can possibly be hit square of the wicket, Kusal Mendis tends to oblige•Associated PressAlthough Asalanka faced zero seam-bowling deliveries through the course of his stay, Mendis’ theory held true – Afghanistan’s seamers are easier to get away with the older ball than their spinners. It was Kamindu Mendis, in the end, who helped Mendis take Fazalhaq Farooqi down. By that stage, there had been 12 successive overs of spin, through which Mendis’ sweeps, cuts, swivel-pulls and nudges had helped Sri Lanka stay in touch with the required rate.Then a 15-run over off Farooqi sealed the result. Mendis hit the winning runs, deservedly, crashing Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman through midwicket.Where once greatness was expected, now only meaningful contributions to the team are required. Mendis has had to reassess his role several times in his career. But he is now Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batter across formats. And he is playing match-winning innings, while also impressing with the gloves.Sometimes all it takes is finding your niche.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar played in the franchise's first series of the season in late March, going 3-for-15 in a four-game sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres.

It was a rough start to the season for the newly acquired outfielder, which was made worse shortly thereafter when he landed an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

Profar returned to the lineup on Wednesday night after completing his three-month long suspension, and made sure to make his debut in front of the home crowd at Truist Field count.

With Atlanta leading the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Profar turned on an 89-mile-per-hour Hunter Strickland changeup and launched a towering solo blast deep into the night.

The no-doubt home run cemented a successful home debut for Profar. The Braves won 8-3, and Profar went 2-for-4 in his return from suspension.

It's been a disappointing season thus far for the Braves, who sit at 39-46 on the year, but the franchise hopes that Profar's return can continue to spark an up-and-down offensive attack in the second half of the season.