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The ECB have appointed John Neal as Head of Coach Development – a new role encompassing coaching strategies from grassroots cricket to the senior England teams

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2017The ECB have appointed John Neal as Head of Coach Development – a new role encompassing coaching strategies from grassroots cricket to the senior England teams.Neal has extensive experience both inside and outside sport as a performance psychologist, and faculty member at Ashridge Executive Education, in a range of roles in cricket, with the Rugby Football Union, and the Premier League.”We see this as a very significant and exciting appointment,” said Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s director, England cricket.”As our Head of Coach Development, John will have the opportunity to create a game-wide strategy to ensure that coaches have impact from the moment someone picks up a bat for the first time right up to the pinnacle in our England teams.”He is a well-known and respected figure in cricket, having worked previously with Middlesex, Somerset, Gloucestershire and as an advisor to the ECB, including in the assessment of our coach development programmes.”But coaching is about people development as much as technical intricacies, and it was John’s breadth of experience in sport and beyond that made him an outstanding candidate for this role.”Neal has been a director of the Sports Business Programme at Ashridge since 2001, and in that role he was director of the RFU’s World Class Coaching Programme from 2002-7, before joining the Welsh Rugby Union as National Performance Coach from 2006-08.He has been director of Sport Northern Ireland’s Elite Coach Programme since 2011, and academic co-director of the Premier League’s Elite Coach Apprentice Scheme since 2015.He has worked with teams at three World Cups across two sports and both genders with West Indies Cricket, England Women’s Rugby, and the WRU.”I’m delighted and very proud to have been appointed into a role where I believe I can make a real difference within a sport which is very close to my heart,” said Neal.”Coaches play a crucial role in the sport and especially ensuring young people love playing cricket and then follow their passion for a lifetime at their local club or through to international level. I am excited to have been given the opportunity to develop our coaches and make an impact on the future of English cricket and its cricketers.”

Delhi Daredevils made five of the top 13 buys of the IPL auction, and three of them were uncapped players. But the franchise defended their strategy by saying that youngsters were more hungry for success

Arun Venugopal06-Feb-20162:39

‘We have had 95% success rate in this auction’ – Daredevils mentor TA Sekhar

One of the biggest talking points of the IPL auction was how Delhi Daredevils spent their money and who they spent it on. They acquired the as yet uncapped Pawan Negi for INR 8.5 crore, the highest billing for an Indian player this year. They paid 40 times Karun Nair’s base price of INR 10 lakh; he too is yet to play international cricket but will earn more than Kevin Pietersen’s INR 3.5 crore this IPL season.Then they went after Carlos Brathwaite, who has played only 2 T20Is for West Indies and 37 T20s overall, to the tune of INR 4.2 crores, and picked up Sanju Samson for the same amount to eventually end up with as many as four wicketkeepers.Overall, Daredevils were responsible for five of the top 13 buys in the auction and are the only team to reach the maximum stipulated squad strength of 27. It could be that a number of these players may not even get a game. But Hemant Dua, the Daredevils CEO, mounted a sturdy defence of what he called a “strategic shift.””We have invested definitely in younger talent. We have bought the bigger names in the past and you know what has happened,” he told ESPNcricinfo.After much deliberation over the last year, Dua said the Daredevils franchise, which has never won the IPL, decided to do away with the star system and put youth first. This shift in thinking has had a lot to do with the success they had with Shreyas Iyer last year.”We have banked on stars in the past and it has not paid off. We banked on a guy like Shreyas Iyer, and he was proving us right by being the emerging player [of the tournament]. Gave us a lot of confidence.”We spent a lot of time analysing various players and scouting. In the past we have done everything and we haven’t gone where we should have.”Dua also said Daredevils weren’t entirely devoid of a core of senior players. “You look at seniors in a different way. We look at them differently,” he said. “I think Quinton de Kock is a senior player. He has done well for South Africa, especially in Indian conditions. JP Duminy, Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami are very senior players. What we have done is we now have performers.”He also justified the price paid for Negi and the other young players as decisions based on their knowledge of local conditions, and also as an investment for the future. “Even the Indian selectors have seen something in Pawan Negi to pick him in the World T20 squad. We were not the only team bidding for him. Obviously we spent what we did also because the other team had bid for him up to a point.”The youngsters we have taken, a lot of them are youngsters with IPL experience like a Samson or a Karun Nair. They know what they have to do. Like a Negi or a Rishabh Pant, they are Delhi boys. [Pawan] Suyal again is a Delhi boy. It gives us a Delhi story. They know and understand the field they play on.”Dua was unconcerned about the possibility that most of these players may be stuck warming the bench, and that with the big auction in 2018 only a handful of them would be retained. “A couple of years is far away. I don’t know what the rules will be. We don’t know what is going to happen,” he said. “I need to perform in the next few years. You think why I have picked a [Mahipal] Lomror or a Khaleel [Ahmed]? The reason is very simple: they will learn from masters like Zaheer Khan.”We might end up retaining guys like them. A Mahipal Lomror knows he will never get to play. They don’t get frustrated at 16 years. People who get frustrated are the 30-40 year olds.”There is a strong imprint of Rajasthan Royals in Daredevils’ choice of players – Samson, Nair and Chris Morris have, in fact, played for Royals in the past. Added to that were rumours of Rahul Dravid being roped in as the team’s mentor, but Dua categorically denied Dravid’s hand in their auction strategy.”If you think there is an RR influence, yes we had hired Zubin Bharucha, who has worked with the Royals in the past,” he said. “So he has brought this influence. But this is a collective influence. There was Sunil Valson, Zubin, [Sridharan] Sriram, [TA] Sekhar and [Pravin] Amre who scouted extensively for talent.”All sorts of speculation has been going on [about the appointment of Dravid as mentor]. But I can tell you that there are three or four coaches we are evaluating and they are all in the mix. We will make a decision by the end of the month.”Dua said he was satisfied with the way the auction had panned out, and was confident that the results would justify their approach. “Simple catch: youngsters are more hungry than older players. In the past, Moneyball has worked for a lot of teams. I am confident it will work for us. Not a single boy we didn’t get except Nathu Singh, for whom we went up to Rs 2 crore.”When we spent Rs 16 crore [on Yuvraj Singh] were we asked why we did it? Now, when I spend Rs 8.5 crore on Negi, again there is the same question. In the past, our thought process has been different. At the end of the day, when the boys do well on the field, people will understand [our decisions]. Everything will fall in place.”

Umar Akmal’s 46 off 36 gave Pakistan the final surge to take them to 135, which their bowlers made look like 185 on a slow, dry and used pitch to give them the Twenty20 series to go with the ODI spoils

The Report by Sidharth Monga28-Jul-2013Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUmar Akmal’s late burst gave Pakistan enough to defend•WICB Media

Umar Akmal’s 46 off 36 gave Pakistan the final surge to take them to 135, which their bowlers made look like 185 on a slow, dry and used pitch to give them the Twenty20 series to go with the ODI spoils. Pakistan threatened to leave Ahmed Shehzad’s platform of 44 off 46 to waste, but Akmal did just enough – with 38 in the last four overs – for the bowlers, who were soon all over the West Indies batting.Sohail Tanvir’s extra bounce accounted for Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels, Mohammad Hafeez got Chris Gayle for the second time in two afternoons, and before you knew West Indies were 17 for 4. A strategic promotion for Sunil Narine injected some life into the chase as he scored 28 off 16, Kieron Pollard gave them late hope with 23 off 10, but they were fighting too much quality.After Charles edged Tanvir to Akmal, Gayle’s horror home season continued as he fell to a leading edge; since his century in the first ODI of the tri-series earlier in the season, Gayle has not crossed 30 in 10 international innings, and has averaged 10.2. Samuels got a bit of a brute that kicked at him just outside off, and took the gove. Lendl Simmons soon played for a Shahid Afridi legbreak, but it didn’t turn and took the middle stumps.As Dwayne Bravo fought hard, Narine swung merrily, and enjoyed some good timing and some good luck. The two added 47 in 5.3 overs, and brought the target down 72 off 39. Pollard took time to get going, and by the time he decided everything needed to go as West Indies needed 62 in four overs. Over the next four balls, he brought out some savage hits against the 34-year-old rookie Zulfiqar Babar, losing two balls and scoring 20 runs. Babar, though, went over the wicket, and managed to get the outer edge, which still carried to deep cover. Immediately, he got rid of Bravo, who also wanted to go over the off side but found long-off.In those two balls, the brief life in the chase had frizzled out. Not even a shambolic no-ball call – for the cutting the side crease – could make any difference. In contrast, Pakistan might not have had any such spells of brilliant hitting, but they stayed around the six-an-over mark before going for the big runs in the end.West Indies seemed to have learned their lesson from having failed to defend 152 in the first game. They didn’t give Pakistan any pace to hit. When the visitors ended the Powerplay at 39 for 1, it was the last time their run rate would reach 6.5 before Akmal’s hitting in the 19th over. They had to fight a controlled West Indies effort throughout.Shehzad, who scored 44 off 46, found little support from the other end. Hafeez, opening in the absence of the dropped Nasir Jamshed, was caught on the late cut again. Umar Amin was done in trying to drive on the up. Haris Sohail swung before he got used to the pace of the pitch. Shahid Afridi hit Narine into the strong wind and in the air. Shehzad perished trying to pull Pollard, who had dug the ball in and provided no pace to go with.At 96 for 5 in the 16th over, it seemed Pakistan would struggle to get to a defendable total, but Akmal kept them in the game. Most of his good work came in the 19th over when Bravo went round the stumps and angled the ball across Akmal with little cover on the cover boundary. He was taken for a four and a six in the 16-run over, but Narine ended his good spell with just six runs in the 20th. As it turned out, Akmal had done enough damage by then.

Andrew Strauss was splendidly to the fore while making an unbeaten 127 for Middlesex at Uxbridge in his last innings before the first Test against South Africa next week.

David Lloyd at Uxbridge13-Jul-2012
ScorecardAndrew Strauss is back in the groove after a month off that included this visit to the tennis at Wimbledon•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss was splendidly to the fore while making an unbeaten 127 for Middlesex at Uxbridge in his last innings before the first Test against South Africa next week.Strauss had scored more than half Middlesex’s runs in their paltry first innings total of 98 before being dismissed by a virtually unplayable delivery from Andre Adams.He was then blameless as Nottinghamshire established what appeared to be a vice-like grip, not responsible for any of the five Middlesex catches that went to ground as they conceded a first-innings lead of 231.But far from deciding he had done enough before leading England in the summer’s showpiece series, Strauss tuned up his game further, batting with great certainty and fluency on a pitch that still had a trick or two in it despite having flattened out considerably compared to the first day.Strauss needed a bit of luck against the new ball – and he must have been perilously close to falling lbw to Harry Gurney’s second delivery. With just a single to his name, the left-hander was neither back nor forward but a long appeal failed to bring the response Nottinghamshire wanted from umpire Jeremy Lloyds.Thereafter, Strauss gave the Nottinghamshire precious little encouragement. Inevitably, he played and missed a few times and edged Adams, on 59, a fraction short of the diving wicketkeeper, Chris Read. Then, moments before tea, he mistimed a pull against Andy Carter that could have gone anywhere but dropped safely in the deep.Those incidents apart, though, Strauss could not have batted much better. His cover drive was working well, as it had been in the first innings, he cut and glanced confidently and, when Samit Patel’s left-arm spin entered the attack, his game went into overdrive.Patel was driven for a soaring six way beyond the marquees at long off, one of several meaty hits that saw him race from 62 to 100 in the space of 24 deliveries. By then, it looked as though nothing could stop Strauss, apart from rain, that is, which duly arrived during the tea interval and ended play two hours early.By then, he had faced 205 balls, struck 13 fours as well as that six against Patel and guided Middlesex from a position of gloom and doom to a fairly rosy 239 for 2 – eight runs ahead and, given a good imagination and a full final day, with all results just about possible.It needed more than Strauss’s first championship century of the season, at the seventh attempt, to revive Middlesex, however. Although Sam Robson, who was dropped in the slips by Adam Voges on seven, made only 26, he helped Strauss to put on 55 for the first wicket and, more important, see off the new ball.But it was the second-wicket stand of 143 between Strauss and acting captain Chris Rogers that really deflated Notts. The pair started steadily, then counter-attacked brilliantly after lunch until Rogers became just a little too confident and went lbw to Gurney, playing across the line. By then, though, Nottinghamshire knew nothing would come easy.”I think we were unlucky with the conditions over the first couple of days,” said Rogers. But he admitted: “We put in two bad days so we needed to change that – and fortunately we did. We let ourselves down in the first innings and we wanted to show each other that we are still a good side and can fight hard.”Rogers responded “I guess not” when asked whether he had ever seen England’s captain in better touch despite taking a month off since the end of the West Indies series.”Straussy was amazing,” he said. “He looks in control, his balance is just about perfect and mentally he is in a very good space. It’s amazing that when you are in good form you can have a break, come back and still play well. Hopefully he can take that into the series against South Africa.”

Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh batsman, will get his first taste of county cricket after signing for Nottinghamshire as a short-term replacement for David Hussey

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2011Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh batsman, will get his first taste of county cricket after signing for Nottinghamshire as a short-term replacement for David Hussey.Hussey has to return to Australia to prepare for the ODI series against Sri Lanka and will play his final Friends Life t20 game for Nottinghamshire against Lancashire on June 26. Tamim will then play six FLt20 fixtures, provided he gets clearance from the Bangladesh Cricket Board.”David Hussey has been excellent for us and he still has a lot to offer to the Australian team,” said Nottinghamshire coach Mick Newell. “His contract with us was always subject to international commitments and I’m pleased that we have been able to secure a quality replacement.”Tamim, 22, has a Test average of 40.13 and scored five fifties in six innings against England including centuries at Lord’s and Old Trafford last summer.”Finding quality overseas players at short notice is always a challenge but we are very pleased to have agreed a deal with a player of Tamim’s quality,” said Newell. “He’s an exciting player who has established himself on the international scene at a young age and he is already assured of a long Test career.”Tamim has made no secret of his desire to play cricket in England and was understandably delighted to be offered the chance. “It has been a dream come true in every sense as I have longed to play county cricket ever since I became a professional cricketer,” he said.”I have enjoyed every moment whenever I have been in the UK in the past and it is a privilege to be part of such a great club like Nottinghamshire, which has an awe-inspiring tradition and character.”I am very excited to take the field and perform and help with Notts’ mission of winning the Friends Life t20. As the second Bangladeshi in county cricket, it is also an honour for me and I hope to live up to the expectations of the club and the fans.”Meanwhile, Adam Voges has been awarded the FLt20 captaincy and will remain with Nottinghamshire at least until the end of the group stage of the competition.

N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, has said a new member would be appointed to the disciplinary committee since Shashank Manohar had recused himself following Lalit Modi’s repeated requests for the same

Cricinfo staff23-Jun-2010N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, has said a new member would be appointed to the disciplinary committee since Shashank Manohar had recused himself following Lalit Modi’s repeated requests for the same. The original panel comprised Chirayu Amin and Arun Jaitley, both members of the IPL governing council, along with Manohar. Incidentally Manohar, in a letter marked to Srinivasan on June 19, stepped down, saying that he would like to give Modi a “fair” trial during the enquiry.In his original reply to the first notice on May 15, Modi had also asked that Srinivasan be recused from the hearings against him but that was not granted. “Since Lalit Modi has also accused Mr Manohar [of being biased], he would be replaced by another member to be decided by the general body,” Srinivasan told PTI.Reacting to Manohar recusing himself, Mehmood Abdi, Modi’s legal counsel called the whole process “an eyewash”. “After having decided that Modi’s replies are not satisfactory, as being reported by a TV channel, Manohar has recused himself,” Abdi said. “And the man who is not part of the disciplinary committee, and whose recusal we had demanded, secretary N Srinvasan, is the man who has referred the matter to the disciplinary committee.”

Spinner claims four of five wickets to fall after becoming Nottinghamshire’s youngest first-class debutant

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2024Rory Burns followed his double-hundred against Lancashire last week with 161 as champions-elect Surrey ended day one of their Vitality County Championship match against Nottinghamshire on 339 for 5.But by the close of proceedings at Trent Bridge, the Surrey skipper found himself pushed out of the spotlight by 16-year-old offspinner Farhan Ahmed, who not only claimed the wicket of Burns and two more Test players in Ben Foakes and Will Jacks, but finished a sensational first day in Championship cricket with figures of 4 for 69 from 28 overs.The younger brother of Leicestershire and England prodigy Rehan Ahmed, at the age of 16 years and 189 days, Farhan is the youngest first-class player in Nottinghamshire’s history. Earlier this month, he set another record on his first-class debut as the youngest player to be selected for England Lions when they faced Sri Lanka at Worcester.Nonetheless, with half-centuries from Jacks and Ryan Patel against a depleted and relegation-threatened Nottinghamshire side, the defending champions and runaway Division One leaders are in a good position as they seek to edge closer to a third consecutive title.Wheir options reduced by injuries, a Test call-up for Olly Stone and, in the case of Dane Paterson, paternity leave, the home side also gave a first-class debut to 23-year-old pace bowler Rob Lord.Farhan, whose selection displaced Cris Tinley as the youngest first-class player in the Nottinghamshire record books 177 years since the latter made his debut at 16 years 288 days in 1847, was trusted to enter the attack as early as the seventh over, by which time it was already clear that it was not a pitch for persevering with seamers, especially with the Kookaburra ball.Farhan Ahmed became Nottinghamshire’s youngest first-class debutant (file photo)•Nottinghamshire CCC

Unfazed by being swept for six and four by Burns, Ahmed was unlucky not to claim the Surrey skipper as his maiden Championship wicket before the visitors reached lunch at 88 for 1, having the left-hander perilously close to being caught at slip on 36 and at midwicket on 41.Lord, who has played national counties cricket for Cheshire and signed a short-term contract with Nottinghamshire last month, took the only wicket to fall in the session as Dom Sibley was caught at second slip, the ball glancing off the opener’s bat as he swayed out of the path of a rising delivery.Burns completed his fifty from 104 balls soon after lunch before surviving a confident appeal for leg before by Farhan on 78. It was not the most fluent innings he has played, his hundred coming up off a streaky inside edge off seamer Lyndon James that ran away for his eighth four, but his stand of 175 for the second wicket with Patel put Surrey in a commanding position on 203 for 2 at tea.Patel had been caught behind for 77, a well-deserved maiden Championship wicket for Farhan, who asked questions of the batters consistently and was rewarded when he straightened one enough from round the wicket to find the edge.Patel was a first victim behind the stumps for Nottinghamshire’s latest overseas recruit, the South African Test wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.There was a heavy workload, too, for left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White and, on only his second first-class appearance, a busy day for Freddie McCann, the 19-year-old top-order batter, who also bowls offspin.Burns clubbed McCann for his third six shortly before reaching 150, prompting Nottinghamshire to take the new ball after 84 overs, although it was only two overs old when they turned again to Farhan, who was lofted down the ground by Burns for his fourth maximum but then dismissed Burns and Ben Foakes with consecutive deliveries.A catch at wide mid-on accounted for Burns as the erstwhile England opener attempted to clear the ropes again before Foakes, capped as recently as March this year, prodded outside off-stump and was caught behind.Jacks survived the hat-trick ball but after hitting Farhan for his third six he was caught on the long-off boundary to give the youngster his fourth scalp.

West Indies batter smacks joint-fastest half-century on ODI debut to help whitewash UAE

Deivarayan Muthu10-Jun-2023Alick Athanaze has admitted to being nervous before making his international debut, but he shook it off quickly and went onto make it a memorable one by slamming the joint-fastest half-century on ODI debut. Athanaze’s 65 off 45 balls, including 51 which came in the powerplay alone, set the tone for West Indies’ successful chase of 185.”I was a bit nervous actually, but the nerves went away when I got my first runs and it was good,” Athanaze told CWI media after West Indies swept UAE 3-0 in Sharjah. “It was a really good experience [on debut]. [I] haven’t batted much in the night, so it was a first for me actually. But normally that’s how I play in the powerplay – I always look to get the team off to a good start.”Athanaze grew up idolising Brian Lara and more recently when he was with West Indies’ Test side in South Africa, he worked with Lara, who was on tour as the team’s performance mentor. Athanaze said that the conversations with Lara have had a positive influence on his batting approach.”For me, it has been really good,” Athanaze said. “Basically, what we spoke about was judging lengths and trying to get ahead of the bowler. It worked really nicely, and I got myself into some good positions and it was really good to bat out there tonight.”Athanaze put left-arm fingerspinner Aayan Afzal Khan out of the attack in the powerplay with a brace of sixes. Then when UAE’s seamers bowled into the Sharjah pitch, Athanaze countered them with a variety of pulls, including the short-arm jab.Related

• India to begin next WTC cycle with two-match series in Caribbean

• Athanaze's joint-fastest fifty on debut helps West Indies sweep UAE 3-0

Athanaze was the top run-getter in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, ahead of Shubman Gill, but it has taken him five years to make the step-up to international cricket. Athanaze isn’t part of West Indies’ ODI squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup Qualifier but could get a run in the following home series against India. Spinner Kevin Sinclair, who had been part of the Under-19 and West Indies A set-ups with Athanaze, was impressed with Athanaze’s fearless strokeplay on debut.”For me, I’ve always known Alick since Under-19 [cricket],” Sinclair said. “He’s a good player and a good batsman. To watch himself express himself tonight at a higher level is something really good to see from the sidelines. I always knew he could bat and he did bring form from Bangladesh and he did very well.”Athanaze also spoke of how the new team management, under the leadership of Daren Sammy and Shai Hope, has encouraged the youngsters to play with confidence and freedom.”The team did really, really well,” Athanaze said. “One thing the captain stresses about is always improving and as you saw right throughout the series, we improved – not just on the batting but fielding as well and bowling. As a young player, it’s always good to be in a winning team and it gives you the confidence to go out and express yourself.”Kevin Sinclair brought out his signature celebration during his four-wicket haul•AFP/Getty Images

Sinclair dedicates Player-of-the-Match award to his grandfather

Friday’s match was a special one for Sinclair, too, who marked his international return with figures of 4 for 24. Carlos Brathwaite, who was on TV commentary, noted that Sinclair is now getting his offbreak to grip and turn more than he did in the past. This has in turn made his slider more effective and put him in West Indies or West Indies A contention across formats.”We were in a bit of a bother, so my thing was just to keep it simple and keep it as tight as possible,” Sinclair said. “Hence, getting a breakthrough as well, and that was really good for myself.”Sinclair credited former Guyana allrounder and coach Esuan Crandon for his recent progress. During the Headley-Weekes tri-series, Sinclair also benefitted from working with Nikita Miller.”As I mentioned I couple of weeks ago, Esuan Crandon,” Sinclair said. “The support he has given me and every time I step out [onto the field], I try and do what I can do with the bat, ball and in the field as well.”It’s all about consistency and I just want to take that moving forward and try to be consistent in what I do.”After winning the Player-of-the-Match award, Sinclair dedicated it to his grandfather Carlton, who was employed as a security guard. Carlton has doubled up as Sinclair’s mentor over the years.”Just want to mention that two days ago was my grandfather’s birthday,” Sinclair said. “It was his 75th birthday. He has been behind me since my tender age of seven, so I want to say this performance is for him.”

Thanks to Samson and Buttler, the Royals have been dismantling slow bowlers this season

Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Apr-20222:14

Should Venkatesh Iyer bat lower? Who should be Royals’ death bowlers?

Big picture

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders. Two teams with six points each, two teams looking to bounce back from defeats in their most recent games, and two teams with certain broad similarities this season.Take death bowling, for instance: both teams have struggled at this aspect of the game. They have averaged just one wicket per innings in this phase, and their economy rates are near-identical, with KKR (12.97) faring marginally worse than Royals (12.78).On Monday, these attacks will come up against two of the most formidable death-overs ball-strikers in the competition: Shimron Hetmyer (262.00) has the best strike rate of any batter who has faced at least 20 balls in this phase this season, while Andre Russell (196.55) isn’t too far behind.These two teams also, perhaps, boast the best spin attacks in the competition. Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin have both enjoyed superb starts to the season. Sunil Narine has been at his miserly best – his economy rate of 5.00 is the best of any bowler to have sent down at least five overs this season. But Varun Chakravarthy has been quite a way off, meaning KKR’s middle-overs bowling has lacked its usual air of double-barreled suffocation.KKR will hope Chakravarthy can return to something like his best form on Monday, given that Royals (average of 73.66, scoring rate of 9.20) have collectively been the best batting team against spin this season. Two of the biggest reasons for that are Sanju Samson, who has the best strike rate against spin (223.33) of any batter (min 20 balls) this season, and Jos Buttler, who has also gone at a healthy 152.00 against that style of bowling.Opposition teams are always well-advised to dismiss these two as early as possible; for KKR, it might be doubly important to do so.1:18

Kohli’s cover drive or Rohit’s pull? We asked Shreyas Iyer to pick just one

In the news

A niggle kept Trent Boult out of Royals’ last match against Gujarat Titans, and while there is no official word on the left-arm quick, he was seen bowling in a team challenge video – bowl the ball through a tire and hit the stumps – put up on the franchise’s official Twitter account. Whether that means he is fit to play against KKR is yet to be seen.Sam Billings missed KKR’s last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad with an illness. He should have recovered by now, but the team management will face a difficult decision over whether to pick him or Aaron Finch, who has only played the one game so far for his new franchise.

Likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 James Neesham/Trent Boult, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Kuldeep Sen.Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Venkatesh Iyer, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Sheldon Jackson (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Aman Khan, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.8:32

IPL so far: Young Indian players >> retained names?

Strategy punt

Ashwin loves bowling to left-hand batters, but this isn’t always the case when he comes up against KKR. Narine (SR 225.71) and Nitish Rana (163.57) are two of the three quickest-scoring left-hand batters against offspin in IPL history and both have superb records against Ashwin.Narine has scored 60 runs off 22 balls (SR 272.72) against him while being dismissed once, while Rana has clattered 74 off 35 (211.42), without being dismissed.Expect KKR to promote Narine if the stage of the game allows it. Royals could also combat these match-ups by giving Ashwin the new ball and getting one or two of his overs out of the way early. This will also allow Ashwin to attack Venkatesh Iyer, who has a far more typical left-hander’s record against him: 14 runs off 15 balls, no dismissals. Ashwin also has a terrific record against Aaron Finch (22 runs conceded in 27 balls, no wickets).

Stats that matter

The Brabourne Stadium has been the quickest-scoring venue of IPL 2022, with seven matches at the ground producing an overall run rate of 9.43.Narine is KKR’s most-capped player. If he is picked on Sunday, he will be playing his 150th match for the team.Chakravarthy boasts a significantly better IPL record in the UAE (average 20.89, economy rate 6.35) than he does in India (37.08, 8.24)Samson is 49 runs away from the 5000 mark in T20 cricket.

Mumbai, four-time winners, have won all their three games against Capitals, who are in their first final

Karthik Krishnaswamy09-Nov-20203:55

Aakash Chopra: Ashwin in the powerplay will be key to Capitals’ success

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You could twist that famous Gary Lineker quote and make it about the IPL. Eight teams play 60 games of 40 overs each and, at the end, the Mumbai Indians win – unless it’s an even-number year.The Mumbai Indians have won every IPL that’s taken place in an odd-number year since 2013, but they have failed to make the final in each in-between season. Until now.It was bound to happen at some point, given the ruthless, relentless T20 machine they have turned themselves into, and IPL 2020 will conclude with the Mumbai Indians looking to win their fifth title, and become the second team – after the Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011 – to win back-to-back titles. They have been the best team in the competition this year by pretty much any metric you can think of, but it’s both the charm and the flaw of a league-cum-playoff competition that the best team won’t necessarily get their hands on the trophy.It’s a year of bubbles, and the Delhi Capitals have floated on one that’s come close to bursting on a few occasions, but they have evaded the jagged outcrops and reached the final for the first time. They might have lost five of their last seven games, and each of their three meetings with the Mumbai Indians, but all they need now is 40 good overs.If you looked at the two line-ups at the start of the season, you wouldn’t have thought one was significantly better than the other. But where most of the Mumbai Indians’ players have been touched by the gods of form, some of the Capitals’ key performers, who have had outstanding seasons in the not-too-distant past, have struggled, and it’s caused their line-up to look unbalanced and disjointed.The Mumbai Indians have the form, and a formidable amount of title-winning experience. Rohit Sharma has won five IPL titles, Kieron Pollard four, Hardik Pandya three, and Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav two each. But the Capitals aren’t short of match-winners, and the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer remain the same players they were at the start of the season even if they have not always looked it. And they will know that past IPL finals have been won by players who have had indifferent seasons.The rest of the tournament is over. Both teams begin anew, knowing they only need 40 good overs. And maybe a Super Over or two.Kagiso Rabada poses after reclaiming the Purple Cap•BCCI

In the news

Trent Boult only bowled two overs during Qualifier 1 against the Capitals, and had to go off with a groin strain. Boult bowled in the nets on the eve of the final, and his captain sounded hopeful about his chances of playing the final. “Trent looks pretty good,” Rohit said. “He’s going to have a session today with all of us and we’ll see how he goes. He pulled up pretty well in the last few days so fingers crossed, hopefully he plays.”

Previous meetings

The Mumbai Indians did the double over the Capitals in the league phase, winning by five wickets in Abu Dhabi courtesy quick fifties from Quinton de Kock and Yadav in a chase of 166, and by a comprehensive nine wickets in Dubai following incisive spells from Boult with the new ball and Bumrah through the middle overs, which kept the Capitals to 110 for 9.It became 3-0 following Qualifier 1, also in Dubai, where they piled on 200 after being sent in, with vital contributions from de Kock, Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Hardik. The Capitals then floundered against Boult and Bumrah once again, slipping to 0 for 3 before a face-saving 65 from Marcus Stoinis narrowed their margin of defeat to 57 runs

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult/James Pattinson, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.Delhi Capitals: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Marcus Stoinis, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Praveen Dubey/Harshal Patel, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Anrich Nortje.Ishan Kishan pounces on a short ball•BCCI

Strategy punt

• With Hardik not bowling at all this season, the Mumbai Indians’ one real weak link has been the lack of a genuine sixth bowling option. This means they haven’t always been able to shield Krunal’s left-arm spin from the opposition’s left-hand batsmen, and the Capitals have a wealth of those to use against Krunal and the legspinner Rahul Chahar. It’s imperative that these left-handers – Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Pant and Axar Patel, who could be used as a pinch-hitter – go hard against Krunal and Chahar, and maximise their returns from their overs.
• To be able to do this, however, the Capitals would need to minimise the damage they suffer in the powerplay. Boult has more powerplay wickets this season than anyone else, and five of his 14 wickets in that phase have come against the Capitals. Bumrah also has two powerplay wickets against the Capitals. It might be worthwhile for them, therefore, to bat slightly within themselves in this phase – unless they are chasing a big target, of course – and go hard against the spinners when they come on.
• There is a case for the Mumbai Indians to bowl their spinners early, to minimise their exposure to the left-handers in the Capitals middle order, and also to target Stoinis, whose IPL record against spin (average 26.08, strike rate 123.71) is significantly worse than his record against pace (32.00, 147.55).
• How the Capitals use R Ashwin could be one of the key tactical questions of the final. Ashwin has excellent IPL numbers against Sharma (79 runs off 95 balls, two dismissals), de Kock (68 off 56, four dismissals) and Kishan (27 off 31, no dismissals), and while Pollard has scored 51 runs off the 34 balls he has faced from the offspinner, he’s also been dismissed four times. The Mumbai Indians, meanwhile, would like to have Yadav at the crease when Ashwin is on. That head-to-head has brought 72 off 51 balls, and no dismissals in eight meetings.

Stats that matter

• Mumbai are the most successful IPL franchise and the Capitals have only just made their first final, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell that from their head-to-head record, which was 12-12 at the start of the season. Mumbai have pulled away since then with three wins on the bounce.
• One finalist has had a 3-0 record against the other in each of the three previous IPL seasons. The Mumbai Indians overcame their losing streak against the Rising Pune Supergiant to win the 2017 final, while the Chennai Super Kings made it 4-0 over the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 and the Mumbai Indians made it 4-0 over the Super Kings last year.
• Kagiso Rabada currently wears the Purple Cap with 29 wickets, but Bumrah is close on his heels with 27.
• If he scores 68, Dhawan will overtake KL Rahul’s tally of 670 runs and end the season with the Orange Cap.
• Four Mumbai Indians batsmen – Kishan (29), Hardik (25), Pollard (22) and de Kock (21) – have hit at least 20 sixes in IPL 2020. No Capitals player has reached that mark, with Stoinis (15) their most frequent boundary-clearer.)
• Stoinis has scored 352 runs and taken 12 wickets this season. He’s one of only 12 allrounders to complete the 350-10 double in an IPL season. Hardik and Andre Russell did it last year, and Sunil Narine in 2018.