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Traditionally, spinners love the SG ball, but R Ashwin admitted that the quality of the SG in recent times has left him preferring the Kookaburra

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Bangalore14-Nov-20152:13

‘Balls are going out of shape’ – Ashwin

Spectators at Test matches in India have seen more of the fourth umpire than most crowds around the world. In recent times, this match official has had to sprint onto the ground frequently, carrying a box of cricket balls.On the first day of the Bangalore Test, CK Nandan brought this box onto the field three times: twice during South Africa’s innings, which lasted 59 overs, and once during India’s 22-over response, when the umpires decided the match ball had gone sufficiently out of shape to call for a replacement.Over the last two or three years, this has been a common occurrence in Test and first-class cricket in India. The SG Test ball has not been holding up as well as it used to.Traditionally, spinners love the SG. It is reputed to boast a prouder seam than the Kookaburra – which is used in the rest of the cricket world apart from England and more recently West Indies – and stay harder for longer. It was a notable moment, therefore, when R Ashwin admitted that the quality of the SG ball in recent times has left him preferring the Kookaburra. Apart from going out of shape, he also felt the seam wasn’t as prominent as before, giving him less of a chance to swerve his seam-up arm ball through the air.”I don’t want to pick on a brand and get into trouble, but I think the same ball that I bowled with, in first-class cricket, five-six years ago, it’s not the same,” he said. “There’s definitely a lot of balls that are going out of shape. The arm ball… especially for a spinner, when you’re trying to bowl an arm ball, the seam is not sitting high at all. So at this point of time, I seem to be enjoying the Kookaburra a lot more.”In recent years, the BCCI has used the Kookaburra in the Duleep Trophy, to help domestic cricketers acclimatise to the ball and prepare for future challenges overseas rather than because of issues with the SG’s longevity. A plan was mooted as far back as 2006 to use the Kookaburra rather than or in alternation with the SG in home Tests, but it did not come to fruition due to various issues including the significantly greater cost of the Kookaburra. The growing incidence of the SG going out of shape, however, might bring the topic back onto the discussion table.

Umar Farooq29-Apr-2013Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, middle-order batsman Umar Akmal and fast bowler Sohail Tanvir have been left out of the ODI squad for the Champions Trophy in England this June. Fast bowlers Ehsan Adil and Asad Ali, and batsman Umar Amin, were selected, after they had been omitted from the tour of South Africa.Pakistan’s selectors met in Lahore on Monday to trim the 29 probables – Umar Gul was unavailable because of injury – down to 15 for the Champions Trophy, as well as the ODIs in Ireland and Scotland. The announcement of a Pakistan squad is usually made before 7pm (PKT) but the selection committee did not emerge until at 10.45pm after getting the approval Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.”Afridi had been selected as a bowling allrounder but he was not up to the mark and couldn’t score at crucial occasions so we had to left him out,” chief selector Iqbal Qasim said. “His career is not finished, if he performs at domestic level, he can stage a comeback. He is an asset to Pakistan, and as long as a player is performing he keeps on playing, if he doesn’t perform he goes out of the team.”Afridi had been dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the ODI series in India in December 2012, but was chosen for the trip to South Africa because of his skill as a legspinner. He failed to take a wicket in 37 overs, though, and scored 126 runs in four innings with a high score of 88. Since the start of 2012, Afridi’s taken only 15 wickets in 21 ODIs, and five of those came in one game against Afghanistan. His batting average during this period is 19.”Had he scored at the domestic level he could have earned the place,” Qasim said. “It’s always difficult to drop such a senior player but ultimately selectors have to take a decision for the sake of the team.”Pakistan have named five specialist fast bowlers, two full-time spinners while Mohamamd Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Amin fill the allrounder roles. Besides Afridi, Pakistan had already left out Younis Khan from the initial squad, but Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick, has been retained despite a poor showing in South Africa.Amin, a left-hander who also bowls right-arm medium pace, played four Tests and three ODIs in 2010 while Asad was selected for the India ODI series but did not it into the playing eleven.”We have picked the squad from the best available resources after consulting the captain and the input from the coach,” Qasim said. “There obviously were arguments but when the team is made, it’s made with consensus.”Pakistan are in group B for the early stage of the tournament which includes the enticing prospect of a clash against India, plus matches against West Indies and South Africa. “Pakistan indeed has a tough pool but our team is good and has the ability to do well,” Qasim said. “Pakistan always has a good record in the international events and I am hopeful that the players will play at their potential to produce good results.”The PCB also named Trent Woodhill, a former assistant coach of New Zealand, as their batting coach for three weeks during the tournament in England.The squad will now train in Abbotabad from May 3 to 9 before departing for Scotland.Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal, Misbah ul Haq (capt), Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Wahab Riaz, Umar Amin, Abdur Rehman, Ehsan Adil

A captain’s performance from Shoaib Malik, with bat and ball, helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) beat Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to take the Faysal Bank Division One title at the Gaddafi Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2012
ScorecardA captain’s performance from Shoaib Malik, with bat and ball, helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) beat Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to take the Faysal Bank Division One title at the Gaddafi Stadium. This is PIA’s second triumph of the season, after claiming the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One.HBL, despite fielding a side with a host of players with international experience, failed to chase down 238. An opening partnership of 59 between Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat was the only resistance, before HBL lost three wickets for eight runs to slide to 79 for 4. The 17-year-old left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq kept the batsmen at bay with his pace, taking 3 for 23.The captain Hasan Raza anchored a couple of steady partnerships with Humayun Farhat (worth 37) and Kamran Hussain (worth 39) but it was not enough as Kamran Sajid ripped through the tail to bowl out HBL for 201.Earlier, PIA rode on Malik’s unbeaten 80. Faraz Ali and Sajid got off to a solid start but a top-order collapse followed as three wickets fell for five runs. Malik and Faisal Iqbal shared a 106-run stand for the fifth wicket to steady the innings.PIA was set for a bigger target but Danish Kaneria sent the middle order and tail skittling with 7 for 39, as Malik watched from the other end. Malik had his moments with the ball too, taking 2 for 33 to record a sound all-round performance.

Canada won only their second World Cup match in four tournaments, beating Kenya in a low-profile, low-scoring scrap, and walked away from the Feroz Shah Kotlawith with bragging rights

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran07-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jimmy Hansra slammed two sixes and seven fours in his 70•Getty Images

Canada won only their second World Cup match in four tournaments, beating Kenya in a low-profile, low-scoring scrap, and walked away from the Feroz Shah Kotla with bragging rights. Jimmy Hansra and Ashish Bagai put on 132 – Canada’s fifth highest one-day partnership – to steer the chase on a slow subcontinent surface, in the fourth successive match in which a tough track was served up in a World Cup widely expected to be a runfest.Quick bowler Henry Osinde was Canada’s hero in the afternoon, as he ripped through the top order to leave Kenya gasping at 57 for 5 after 15 overs. Kenya, though, just about achieved their captain Jimmy Kamande’s goal of playing out 50 overs; gutsy half-centuries from Tanmay Mishra and Thomas Odoyo acting as the bedrock of what was their best batting performance of the tournament.Osinde was getting the ball to swerve a touch at the start, and that provided him with a wicket off the second delivery of the match, when Maurice Ouma was drawn towards the ball and edged it to slip as he belatedly tried to leave. Seren Waters, the promising opener, was next to go, playing down the wrong line to be bowled for 2. David Obuya became Osinde’s third victim, nicking to the keeper as Kenya slid to 21 for 3.There was more trouble for Kenya when a horrible swipe ended Collins Obuya’s promising innings, and their most experienced player Steve Tikolo was adjudged lbw though replays suggested there was an inside-edge. Mishra and Kamande then put on the first of two reviving half-century stands. Just as the partnership started to gather momentum, legspinner Balaji Rao struck, getting Kamande caught behind for 22.Mishra continued to grind it out, holding the innings together with a carefully constructed knock – 33 of his 51 runs were singles. His second significant stand was with Thomas Odoyo, who was far more aggressive, launching the ball through the off side or down the ground when it was pitched up.

Smart Stats

• Canada improved their record against Kenya to five wins from 16 matches. In their first nine meetings, they won just one game and lost eight. Since then, they have won four matches and lost none.

• Canada’s win is only their second in World Cups after their 60-run win over Bangladesh in 2003. They have now won two and lost 14 of the 16 matches they’ve played.

• Kenya were dismissed for the 16th time for a score under 200 in World Cups. In 27 innings, they have scored over 200 on just 10 occasions. This is the first occasion that Kenya have passed 150 in the 2011 World Cup.

• Thomas Odoyo scored his first half-century in World Cups. He has scored 414 runs at an average of 24.35 in World Cup matches. He is Kenya’s second-highest run getter in ODIs behind Steve Tikolo.

• Henry Osinde’s 4 for 26 is his career-best performance in ODIs and the second-best bowling display by a Canada bowler in World Cups behind Austin Codrington’s 5 for 27 in the 2003 World Cup.

• The 19 runs scored by Kenya in the last five overs is the lowest by any team in the batting Powerplay in the World Cup (min 20 balls faced).

• The 132-run partnership between Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra is the highest fourth-wicket stand for Canada in World Cups and the second highest fourth-wicket stand for Canada in ODIs.

The pair added 57 before Mishra perished in the 43rd over; Kenya missing a trick by not choosing the batting Powerplay when the two were together. That meant there was no big flourish at the death, and Kenya were bowled out on the final delivery by an inch-perfect yorker from Harvir Baidwan.The chase began with the promoted Rizwan Cheema giving another short exhibition of his everything-must-go batting philosophy. He survived a first-ball lbw decision, and then whacked two fours and a six before he was bowled attempting yet another agricultural swipe. Kenya kept it tight after that on a pitch where the ball was keeping low, before the game sparked to life.First, Zubin Surkari was run out by a direct hit from Kamande in the 10th over, then Ruvindu Gunasekara crunched a couple of driven boundaries, before he was reprieved by Nehemiah Odhiambo, who shelled a hard caught-and-bowled chance. Gunasekara didn’t build on that, though, as two balls later he was bizarrely stumped, after beginning to take a run when the ball was in the keeper’s gloves. The new batsman Hansra popped a dolly to mid-on off the second ball he faced, but that too was dropped, by Waters. In a match that was littered with poor fielding, this was the poorest miss, and it proved to be a pivotal one. Hansra celebrated the let-off with two boundaries in the over.Things became sedate again after that phase, with Hansra and Bagai mainly taking the singles on a surface which was helping the spinners. Hansra brought out the big hit occasionally but Bagai was very subdued, striking only one boundary in his first 64 deliveries. Kenya started to flag as the partnership blossomed, and though there were some half-chances, Canada picked off the many freebies offered to stay firmly on course for victory.Bagai started to open up as the target neared and though Hansra was dismissed with the win 19 away, Canada got their with plenty to spare to maintain their recent dominance of Kenya.

Match Timeline

Ricky Ponting has backed Nathan Hauritz to deliver on grounds in New Zealand that may not be all that conducive to spin bowling

Cricinfo staff02-Mar-2010Ricky Ponting has backed Nathan Hauritz to deliver on grounds in New Zealand that may not be all that conducive to spin bowling. The ODI series gets underway on Wednesday at McLean Park in Napier where square boundaries are particularly short.”Regardless of the size of the grounds, spin bowlers have got a big role to play. You still have to take risks to try hitting spin bowlers for six in the shortened versions of the game,” Ponting was quoted as saying in . ”Nathan’s record against some very good opposition the last few years has been very good in all conditions. I expect him to play another big part in the series.”Hauritz, while hoping to repay his captain’s faith, was more realistic about what to expect in Wednesday’s encounter. ”I’m not going to be bowling 10 overs for 25 runs,” Hauritz said. ”It’s a matter of just accepting it’s going to be pretty tough and whenever I get the opportunity to bowl, just trying to stay on as long as I can.”I’ve watched a lot of footage of [New Zealand captain] Daniel Vettori bowling and change of pace is the key. I’ll try to keep them guessing. If they miss, you hit. That’s about it. The Kiwis all play spin pretty well so a mid-pitch ball is going to go for four or six.”It’s more like damage control. It does look pretty small here and they’re also very fast outfields. ‘Punter’ [Australian captain Ricky Ponting] has been a great advocate of mine. I’m just hoping to keep repaying the faith a little bit longer and try to get out of these games unscathed.”Australia and New Zealand drew the Twenty20 internationals 1-1; the second game, which featured a scintillating century from Brendon McCullum, only the second in the format in international cricket, was decided in the Super Over in which the hosts prevailed. McCullum’s 57-ball 116 included 12 fours and eight sixes; the ramp shot over short fine featured prominently in his innings. Ponting, though, expected McCullum to show more restraint in the 50-over version.”I’d be surprised if he plays the way he did in the T20. He’ll probably feel a bit more responsibility going into a 50-over game,” Ponting said. ”He’s one of their most experienced players and probably their batter in the best form at the moment so I think he’ll put it on himself to bat for longer periods of time. But there has been some conversation around the group about the way we should play if he tries to play that shot again.”Vettori added there had been plenty of hype surrounding the series. ”Playing Australia … this is one of the tournaments that I think the New Zealand public gets up the most for and we’ve performed pretty well in it overall,” he said. “Everyone has experienced how excited everyone is about the series. Three months ago it was all anyone was talking about. It means a lot to us. It’s basically our credibility within world cricket.”

Worcestershire need 71 to make Surrey bat again after being bowled out for 212 in their first innings

ECB Reporters Network25-Jun-2024Worcestershire 212 (Libby 77, J Taylor 3-19, Lawrence 3-49) and 207 for 5 f/o (Kashif 66, Roderick 63, Clark 3-31) trail Surrey 490 by 71 runsLeaders Surrey remain on course to win their fifth Vitality County Championship match of the season despite prolonged resistance from Worcestershire’s Gareth Roderick and Kashif Ali on day three at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Surrey achieved the first objective before lunch in claiming the final three Worcestershire first innings wickets and enforcing the follow on with a lead of 278 despite resistance from top scorer Jake Libby, Ben Allison and Adam Finch.Opener Roderick and Kashif then dug in to add 135 from 34 overs in relatively untroubled fashion for the second wicket. But three wickets then fell in three overs to turn the game firmly back in Surrey’s favour in the final session of the day.Jordan Clark was the chief thorn in Worcestershire’s side with three wickets as they closed still needing 71 to make Surrey bat again.England spin bowling coach, Jeetan Patel, was at New Road and put Shoaib Bashir, on loan to Worcestershire from Somerset, and Dan Lawrence through their paces before the start of play.He saw Lawrence quickly strike for a third time in the innings after only nine runs had been added to the overnight 147 for 7. Allison, having added 54 for the ninth wicket with Libby, pushed forward to the spinner and edged to Surrey captain Rory Burns at slip.Finch provided Libby with staunch support during a stand of 15 overs before the latter’s five hour resistance came to an end. He was on the receiving end of a fine delivery from Gus Atkinson which left him and Foakes gobbled up a fifth catch of the innings.The innings was wrapped up when Shoaib Bashir pulled James Taylor straight to square leg to leave Finch unbeaten on 27 spanning 71 balls. The final three wickets held out for 43 overs – the same as the first seven dismissals.When Worcestershire followed on, Libby did the bulk of the scoring but after making 28 out of 33 he went for an expansive drive and was bowled via an inside edge by Jordan Clark.Roderick cut and cover drove Taylor for four but was fortunate when he mistimed a drive against Clark which flew in the air past the bowler and Lawrence at mid-on.Kashif Ali needed treatment after being struck on the hand by Gus Atkinson and then nicked the same bowler for a fortunate four but he also played some delightful late cuts.Roderick was first to his half century off 114 balls with seven fours and just ahead of Kashif whose fifty was completed off 85 balls.The century partnership was completed off 167 balls but the two batters fell in quick succession. Roderick (63) edged Clark and was caught low down at slip and then Kashif (66) went to pull Atkinson and lobbed up a simple catch to square leg.Rob Jones (0) fell to a diving catch by Foakes off Clark from a delivery that was too full to attempt a cut. Ethan Brookes also nicked through to Foakes when trying to force Abbott off the back foot – his eighth catch of the match.

Former head coach blames “our own system” for disrespecting and discrediting “our own people” and local coaches

Umar Farooq01-Feb-2023Former Pakistan captain and coach Misbah-ul-Haq sees the likely rehiring of Mickey Arthur by the PCB as “a slap on Pakistan cricket”. Arthur is likely to come on board as the Pakistan men’s team director. Misbah blamed former Pakistan players for damaging the credibility of the system and forcing the PCB, led at the moment by Najam Sethi, to look outside the country for top coaching roles.The PCB’s talks with Arthur, who had coached Pakistan from 2016 to 2019, had stalled three weeks ago but have picked up considerable pace again. So much so that the board is believed to be close to agreeing a deal with him as team director and not, as in his previous stint, as head coach.The Pakistan job, should Arthur accept it, will run concurrently to his long-term deal with Derbyshire. Arthur does not want to leave the Derby job and both parties have worked out an agreement and schedule allowing him to fulfill both roles. It will be an unusual arrangement for international cricket, in which Arthur will not be with the Pakistan team on every tour but will have a handpicked group of support staff running operations.Related

• Misbah-ul-Haq set to work with the PCB again

• Pakistan might rest Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to manage workloads

• Yasir Arafat on Mickey Arthur's radar to be Pakistan's new bowling coach

• PCB's talks with Mickey Arthur to coach Pakistan fall through

• Mickey Arthur set to be appointed Pakistan team director

“It’s a slap on our cricket system that we are not able to find a high-profile full-time coach,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a shame that the best ones do not want to come and we insist on having someone who is looking at Pakistan as a second option.”I blame our own system, which is vulnerable enough with so many weak lines for anyone to exploit it. We are to be blamed ourselves that we have disrespected and discredited our own people to make a bad image. The present and former lot don’t respect each other, with media and former players using their own YouTube channels for ratings, damaging the credibility and value of our cricket which, as as result, gives an impression that we are not capable.”The Pakistan cricket fan is always disgruntled; he is picking up things from the media and is under the wrong impression. Players speaking against each other with grudges and talking openly with disdain just devalues our community, and that becomes the common perception. The game is hardly a subject of objective and constructive discussion.”Cricket is the most popular sport in the country but sadly never hits the headlines in the right way. It’s chaos; former cricketers ridiculing their fellow cricketers on national channels with fans getting the wrong sense. There is no empathy, no respect, and no conducive environment in the cricketing quarter of our country.”Mickey Arthur is set to join PCB as team director for the men’s team•AFP

Misbah’s comments on Arthur come with their own context, of course. Misbah was part of the committee that recommended the discontinuation of Arthur’s tenure after the 2019 World Cup. And he then replaced Arthur in the head coach position, with unprecedented influence by also becoming – uniquely – the chief selector. Misbah then resigned with a year left in the role, in September 2021.There has always been plenty of debate in Pakistan about foreign and local coaches, and Misbah said that the handling of each individual has been inconsistent by the PCB administration, with local coaches facing more scrutiny.”PCB is always ready to back foreign coaches but never supports the local ones,” Misbah said. “They are fond of having overseas coaches because they think locals can easily be politicised and are incapable. But do we know it’s the PCB bureaucracy who politicised the structure? They throw the local ones under the bus when they come under pressure and there has never been accountability of this bureaucracy in PCB. It’s the mismanagement and the consistent changes at the helm that is a problem and we are never able to find one solid line for our cricket.”Now there is a common narrative that Pakistan cricket does not even have a single capable guy and they are forced to look outside. Successful teams like India have completely shifted to homegrown coaches but sadly the policies here are so inconsistent and vague that we are never able to reach a consensus on what we want to do. We have some very good people in our system who can contribute well like Haji (Mohammad Akram), Aaqib Javed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis, etc. but their reputation has been tarnished so badly and people think they are not right for the job.”During Ehsan Mani’s tenure, the PCB tried to rope in younger former cricketers but several former players were reluctant to join because of the board’s inherent instability and internal working culture. Wasim Akram is a prime example, having always distanced himself from taking up a PCB job and has preferred to work on a short-term role away from public scrutiny. Inzamam joined as chief selector and decided not to take a long-term role either, after completing his original tenure.Under Mani, the PCB had formed a blueprint for developing home-grown coaches and revamped the National Cricket Academy by turning it into a high performance centre for player and coach development, and recruited a large number of coaches in the system. But Ramiz Raja, after becoming PCB chairman, brought in overseas coaches at the grassroots and domestic level and reset the entire structure.

Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni will both be keen to get two shots at a place in the IPL final

Alagappan Muthu03-Oct-20216:11

Polite Enquiries: Will Dhoni retain himself for CSK next year?

Big picture

There isn’t a great deal of jeopardy in the contest. Both Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals have qualified for the playoffs but there is the small matter of confirming a place in the top two, which offers an extra shot at a place in the IPL final.A scrappy victory over the defending champions, led by their former captain, may well be just the kind of tonic the Capitals need as they move into the final stretch of the IPL. Mumbai Indians were in full-on fightback mode on Saturday but Shreyas Iyer weathered the blows like a grizzled old pro who knew just when to go for the KO. This team already has a great pair of openers and a phenomenal bowling attack. Now they’ve found their middle-order marshal.

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Super Kings also learned a valuable lesson, albeit in a loss to Rajasthan Royals. After going down in that high-scoring game, they will be better informed about what to do and what not to when batters come at them as hard as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube did.

In the news

Marcus Stoinis has spent three games on the sidelines as a result of injury. It is as yet unclear if he has recovered well enough to take part in tomorrow’s match.1:52

Has R Ashwin underperformed this IPL?

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Josh Hazlewood/Sam CurranDelhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk) 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Avesh Khan

Strategy punt

• Prithvi Shaw is a destructive batter, when the ball comes down perfectly straight. Bowlers capable of moving the new ball have troubled him in the past. So he might want to be off strike when Deepak Chahar has the ball. The head-to-head reads 55 runs off 50 balls and five dismissals.
• South Africa may not want him in their T20 side anymore but Faf du Plessis is among the first names down on the Super Kings team sheet. He sets the tone for their entire innings, so taking him out assumes top priority. Enter R Ashwin (45 runs off 45 balls, three dismissals) and Kagiso Rabada (31 off 28, three dismissals). Capitals will do well to open the bowling with this pair.

Stats that matter

• Super Kings have been the best six-hitting team in the IPL. They have cleared the ropes 96 times with Ruturaj Gaikwad topping the list of players (20) with the most maximums this season.
• Shikhar Dhawan appeared invulnerable in the India leg of the tournament, averaging 54 and striking at 134. But after four matches in the UAE, those figures have gone down to 20.5 and 114.
• The Delhi franchise is one shy of 100 wins in the IPL.

Nafees Iqbal and Nazmul Islam have also recovered, three weeks after testing positive for the virus

Mohammad Isam14-Jul-2020Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza confirmed on Tuesday that he is Covid-19 negative. His wife Sumona Haque, however, continues to test positive.Mortaza, who is also a Member of Parliament representing the ruling Awami League party, was diagnosed with the virus three weeks ago, on June 20.”I heard the results of the test this evening, which is negative,” Mortaza wrote on his Facebook page. “I am thankful to everyone who prayed for me, was beside us and showed concern during this time. But my wife is still Covid-19 positive after two weeks of being diagnosed. She is doing well. Keep her in your prayers.”I got treatment at home. To those who are affected, stay positive. Keep faith in Allah and abide by the rules. Together we will keep fighting the virus.”Nafees Iqbal and Nazmul Islam, who also tested positive three weeks ago, have also recovered after undergoing treatment at home.

The allrounder battled a form slump and injury which almost led him to walking away from the game but has now completed a notable comeback

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-20192:03

Blundell picked because of his superior keeping – Stead

New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham came to the brink of retiring 18 months ago amid a battle with form and injury that had seen him fall out of love with cricket.Neesham spoke about his challenging time as he soaked up the “surreal” experience of securing a spot in the 15-man World Cup squad as his career came full circle in a four-year period. He narrowly missed the cut for the home World Cup in 2015, an experience he described as “gut-wrenching”, when Grant Elliott was preferred at the last minute. Neesham found himself in the stands at Eden Park as Elliott struck that iconic six against South Africa to secure a spot in the final.Neesham was part of the one-day side over the next two seasons but was dropped after the 2017 Champions Trophy. He was determined to get his place back but it became overwhelming, and coupled with injury his form faded, so he called Heath Mills, the CEO of the New Zealand Players Association, to tell him he wanted to quit having reached the point where he would open his curtains and hope it was raining.”It came as close as it could get,” Neesham said. “I actually called Heath Mills and told him I was going to retire so I owe a lot to him to convince me to take a little break and come back three or four weeks later. From there, being able to make progress steadily, come back with Wellington and make this team it’s all been a pretty surreal ride.ALSO READ: Bowling teams out at World Cup will be ‘critical’ – Gary Stead“Waking up in the morning, opening the shades and hoping it was raining is not the ideal way to start a day of cricket and I’d basically got to the point where I needed to have a full overhaul in the way I was approaching the game.””I put way too much pressure on myself. When I got dropped the start of last season I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed and wanted to dominate domestic cricket, once that starts going in a downward spiral and you aren’t scoring runs, taking wickets you put more pressure on yourself and it got to the point where it had to break. Luckily I took the advance, took a short break rather than a long break, and since then it’s been on the up and up.”Mills told Neesham not to pick up a bat for a few weeks then see how he felt and he also sought the help of a psychologist. He made a comeback for Otago at the end of the 2017-18 season although wasn’t sure his heart was in it, results were promising and then an off-season move to Wellington helped rekindle his passion for the game. It was in the Ford Trophy one-day tournament where he really shone, scoring 503 runs at an average of 62.87 with a strike rate of 110.79, which earned him an international recall to face Sri Lanka.”I saw a psychologist who was really helpful, starting at the bottom and working up to where all these frustrations were coming from,” he said. “I’m not much of communicator at the best of time, just being able to talk through some of the struggles I was having off the field – it only took four or five sessions to really see some progress.”I’d given it a good crack trying to get enjoyment from succeeding but once I paid less attention to the runs and wickets, less attention to hitting balls for two hours the day before a game, and just going out and enjoying it that was when the results started to come. It couldn’t have gone better, to be honest.”It’s a long road back from 18 months or so ago but once I got back into the fold with Wellington and was back scoring runs, taking wickets I always knew that in New Zealand you are never too far away if you put in a good couple of months but still to get the call was pretty surreal.”