Another batting collapse at the MCG was proof that England have chosen the path of least resistance

Andrew Miller26-Dec-2021First the good news. Of all of the 50 ducks that England’s batters have now compiled in 12 months of bottom-feeding batting, their milestone dismissal was quite possibly the least-worst of the lot.For each of his first eight deliveries at the MCG, Haseeb Hameed left the ball with poise and purpose. His feet were as grounded as he had chosen for them not to be during some ridicule-inducing one-legged drills in the nets prior to Christmas, and when Mitchell Starc completed his first over by whistling a brace of heatseekers over the top of his off stump, Hameed’s unruffled raises of the bat spoke of a desire to be durable, to prove that “lessons had been learnt”, as Joe Root had demanded at the end of England’s abject Adelaide display.Related

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But the illusion was not designed to last. It took the returning Pat Cummins all of three balls to find Hameed’s edge with an outstanding seaming delivery that straightened on off stump to find the slenderest of nicks. And from that moment onwards, barely five minutes into England’s final chance to keep the Ashes alive, the sound of Christmas being cancelled filled the UK airwaves. It’s over, folks. Roll out the cold turkey.If you were to quibble (as well you might on another day of festive humbug), you might argue that Hameed’s stodgy footwork had been culpable in his early downfall. But then it’s an open secret that his earnest approach is not ideally suited to the sort of thunderous combat encountered on Australian pitches. At the very least, as he traipsed off for his second 0 in as many innings, Hameed departed with the sense that his temperament remained intact, even as his technique continues to get ripped limb from limb.Zak Crawley, England’s second wicket of the opening half-hour’s play, deserves a similar caveat – if only to acknowledge that his game, like Hameed’s, has been eviscerated in the all-too-recent past. Here, at least, his innings of 12 improved his Test average for 2021 by 0.06 runs – but his year’s grand total of 168 runs at 11.20 in 15 innings remains an equivalently awful return to the 170 first-class runs at 9.44 that Hameed racked up for Lancashire in 2018.Given such weighty recent baggage, it was always wishful to think that either man could be remotely ready to front up on an Ashes tour, of all the destinations. But to pitch both of them into a must-win contest at the grandest colosseum in the game is a damning indictment of England’s selection, England’s resources and, moreover, England’s desperation. Not since a palpably unready Mark Lathwell was burned alive in the spotlight of the 1993 Ashes has English cricket shown such self-immolating disregard for such promising young openers.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd so at 13 for 2, after 7.2 overs of unequal struggle, England found themselves clean out of excuses. Cummins bowled with majesty as he restated his pre-eminence in an attack that fared perfectly well without him in Adelaide, but Mitchell Starc was off-colour in his opening gambit and Scott Boland on debut was enthusiastic without truly threatening. There was still reason to believe that the less callow men in England’s middle order could find the fight that had eluded their new-ball fall-guys, but what transpired was little short of a dereliction.Dawid Malan at least had the excuse of being extracted by Test cricket’s No.1 bowler, even if the timing of his snick to slip – right on the stroke of lunch – was crushing for a team that had fleetingly hoped to deny Australia the outright session honours, for arguably only the fourth time this series.The rest, however, had nothing to fall back on, not even the put-upon Joe Root, whose eighth half-century in as many Tests in Australia ended with the most flaccid stroke of his otherwise hard-bitten campaign – a weak-willed dab outside off stump to Starc, as he found himself once again unable to wean himself off that favourite deflection down through the cordon. It’s a shot that has kept his career tally ticking towards 10,000 runs but it comes with added jeopardy on Australia’s springier surfaces. No matter how many fourth-stump drills he performs in the nets beforehand, there must come a point – as he now braces for a likely 12th defeat in 13 Tests in Australia – that he accepts that the risks of the shot in these conditions, notwithstanding the likelihood of being becalmed without it, have long since outweighed the rewards.Talking of becalmed, that is where Ben Stokes’ game now is, in a campaign in which he is now ticking along at a funereal strike-rate of 29.50, and has yet to reach 100 runs in the course of five innings. Stokes has more excuse than most for taking his time to adjust – he’s still making up for lost time after six months in which he was unable to grip a bat without pain – but he’s now faced more than 50 overs’ worth of balls in the series, so really ought to be starting to make some worthier decisions.Jos Buttler trudges off after his dismissal•Getty ImagesThis innings showed a few abortive attempts at proactivity, as he charged the quicks seemingly at random, and got cramped by the change of length on more than a few occasions. But the floppy uppercut with which he handed Cameron Green his latest prime scalp was unworthy of the man, and the match situation. England have spent long enough in the field this winter to realise that donations are few and far between when Australia’s turn comes to bat. It beggars belief that such senior dressing-room figures are unable to set an example to match their angry rhetoric.It’s debatable, however, whether Jos Buttler still qualifies as a senior Test player after his latest brainfade. Not since David Gower stepped across his stumps at Adelaide in 1990-91 to launch Craig McDermott straight into the most transparent of leg traps has an Ashes dismissal on the stroke of an interval been accompanied by quite so much face-palming.The re-introduction of Nathan Lyon, with minutes to go until tea, was a transparent act of carrot-dangling from Cummins – who sensed Buttler might seek to assert himself against a bowler who had England’s number at Adelaide, but also realised a quick over of spin might burgle him one final over of seam before the clock ticked over. As it turned out, Lyon needed just two balls before Buttler rewarded him with a hapless hoick to the leg-side sweeper – another example of how scrambled his game-brain can get in Test cricket when presented with a choice between sticking and twisting. Buttler chose both and neither. England as a collective chose the path of least resistance, and sure enough, that resistance is all but over.

How Jadeja’s season has (not) shaped up with bat, ball and in the field, even as his team’s hopes of defending their title hang by a thread

Sampath Bandarupalli30-Apr-2022Ravindra Jadeja’s Chennai Super Kings kicked off their title defence against Shreyas Iyer’s Kolkata Knight Riders•BCCIMatch 1, vs KKR, March 26
KKR won by six wickets

• In his debut match as captain, Jadeja laboured to an unbeaten 26 off 28 balls (strike rate 92.8). His lone boundary was a six off Andre Russell on the last ball of the innings. His 70-run partnership with MS Dhoni helped Chennai Super Kings to 131 from being five down for 61 in the 11th over. During his stay at the crease, the batters at the other end scored 54 off 46 (strike rate 117.4).
• Though Jadeja could not take a wicket, he conceded only 25 runs in the four overs he bowled.

Lucknow Super Giants’ Evin Lewis and Ayush Badoni sealed Chennai Super Kings’ fate in a high-scorer•BCCIMatch 2, vs Super Giants, March 31
Super Giants won by six wickets

• Scored 17 off nine balls with three fours towards the end of Super Kings’ innings, as they piled up a big total of 210.
• Went wicketless again, and his two overs cost 21 runs as Lucknow Super Giants chased down the target with three balls to spare.

Ravindra Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu combined to send back Punjab Kings’ Liam Livingstone, but he had already done enough damage to Super Kings•BCCIMatch 3, vs Kings, April 3
Kings won by 54 runs

• Got his first wicket of the season when he dismissed Liam Livingstone (via an attempted cut off a faster one that was caught at short-third man), who scored a 32-ball 60 to lead his side to 180.
• Bagged a 3-ball duck, chopping on off Arshdeep Singh in the sixth over, as Super Kings quickly fell out of contention in the chase.

Abhishek Sharma, who drove Sunrisers Hyderabad’s chase with 75 off 50, got a life via a Jadeja drop•BCCIMatch 4, vs Sunrisers, April 9
Sunrisers won by eight wickets

• Hit two fours and a six in his 15-ball 23, giving his team a strong finish – and a total of 154 to defend. Super Kings had added 37 runs in the last three overs against a quality Sunrisers death-bowling line-up.
• Went wicketless for the third time in four games, giving away 21 runs in the three overs bowled.
• Dropped Abhishek Sharma – who was on 63 off 39 at the time – off Dwayne Bravo in the 14th over when Sunrisers needed 48 off 37 balls.

Maheesh Theekshana, who took a four-for to derail Royal Challengers Bangalore’s chase, finally gave Jadeja and his team reasons to smile•BCCIMatch 5, vs RCB, April 12
Super Kings won by 23 runs

• Was out for a first-ball duck, trying to add quick runs at the end after Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube got them past the 200-run mark.
• Took three wickets – including Glenn Maxwell, bowled by an arm ball that rushed him – for 39 runs, as Super Kings tasted success for the first time this season.

David Miller dished out a dose of heartbreak to Jadeja and his team, timing a tricky chase to perfection•BCCIMatch 6, vs Titans, April 17
Titans won by three wickets

• Scored 22 off 12 balls towards the end to lift Super Kings to 169. He struck successive sixes off Lockie Ferguson in the final over of the innings.
• His three overs went for 25 runs and got the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha, caught at deep square leg. Titans were in trouble in the chase, needing 83 off 42, before David Miller and Rashid Khan teed off to take them home.

Ravindra Jadeja had a day to forget against Mumbai Indians, but his team came out on top•BCCIMatch 7, vs Mumbai, April 21
Super Kings won by three wickets

• His four overs cost 30 runs, and he failed to pick up a wicket.
• Dropped two catches, both off Mitchell Santner – Dewald Brevis in the second over, and Hrithik Shokeen in the 12th.
• Scored three runs off eight balls and got out in the 16th over, with his side needing 50 runs off 26 balls. MS Dhoni, with help from Dwaine Pretorius, eventually got the job done.

Dhoni and Jadeja could not get Super Kings over the line in a chase of 188 against Kings•BCCIMatch 8, vs Kings, April 25
Kings won by 11 runs

• Bowled only two overs – for 18 runs – as Kings had two well-set left-handers in Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa batting through the middle overs.
• Finished unbeaten on 21 off 16 balls in the unsuccessful chase. He had scored only seven runs off his first ten balls and was 14 off 14 balls by the end of the 19th over, with the team needing 27 from the last six balls. He hit a six in the 20th over, but by then the equation was out of reach.

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The big dip in Jadeja’s batting form
Overall this season, Jadeja has scored 112 runs, averaging 22.4 at a strike rate of 121.7; in the last two IPL seasons he had scored 459 runs at an average of 57.3 and a strike rate of 157.7.Related

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In the middle overs (7-16), his strike rate this season has fallen to 63.1, from 93.2 in 2020 and 2021.At the death (17-20), too, his strike rate has come down from 204.8, but is still healthy at 172.5.His bowling numbers haven’t changed as much. In the previous two seasons he picked up 19 wickets at 34.9, and an economy rate of 7.7; this season, he has five wickets at 42.6 and an economy rate of 8.1.

Nineteen-year-old fast bowler impressed against Australia with South Africa grooming him for the future

Firdose Moonda11-Aug-2025

Kwena Maphaka impressed with a four-wicket haul in his ninth T20I, against Australia on Sunday•Getty Images

Kwena Maphaka is the youngest player to represent South Africa but that doesn’t mean he has the least to say. Quite the opposite, in fact, which he showed when he also became the youngest bowler from a Full Member country to take a four-wicket haul in a T20I, against Australia in Darwin.Australia were off to a flying start at 71 for 4 in the powerplay when Maphaka was brought on and the left-arm quick responded with the wicket of Mitchell Owen. The danger man, Tim David, had scored 18 off the first seven balls he had faced, including two sixes, and wanted to take Maphaka on. The first ball David faced from Maphaka was short and slow and he pulled it for one. The second was shorter, strayed down leg and was called wide. And the third was better directed, at David’s chest. He could only splice it to point and at the height it came, David thought Maphaka needed to bowl it again.”He went to the umpire and he was asking about it,” Maphaka said the day after the match, which South Africa lost. He also revealed that he was having none of David’s complaints. “I just told him to let the umpires deal with umpiring the game and he must focus on batting.”Related

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David took those words to heart. He went on to score 83 runs off 52 balls, including 13 off 11 balls from Maphaka but he was the only batter to send the 19-year-old to the boundary. Maphaka’s four overs cost only 20 runs, he was the most economical bowler of the match and David was among the batters he dismissed in a career-best haul. After what he called “a few bad performances in Zimbabwe,” where Maphaka picked up three wickets for 92 runs in 10.5 overs, he showed he belongs at this level.”It feels really good, coming off a few bad performances in Zimbabwe and just building up, playing some more professional and competitive cricket in the past few months, it feels really good to put in a good performance for the team and make history while doing it,” he said.Maphaka opened the bowling in the second match South Africa played in the Zimbabwe tri-series last month and bowled two overs in the powerplay that cost 19 runs. He was used at first change in two matches after that, including the final, and both times also bowled in the powerplay. But against Australia, with Kagiso Rabada back in the South African XI after a rest, Maphaka was only called on after the fielding restrictions were lifted and that seemed to suit him better, though he was cautious not to see it as an attempt to shield him.Kwena Maphaka showed he belongs at this level•Getty Images”It may have been a tactical ploy, but I think it’s also just about giving me a little bit more freedom,” he said. “I’m a guy that likes to take wickets in the middle and I think the team understands that. It was really just a tactical ploy in terms of getting wickets through the middle rather than protecting me as a player.”With Australia going as hard as they could upfront, South Africa needed someone to slow them down. Maphaka and left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy provided that. In the four overs after the powerplay, they gave away only 17 runs and took two wickets between them, which left Australia 88 for 6 at the halfway stage.”When a team is coming out all guns blazing, there’s a few more opportunities to take wickets so it’s about being smart and understanding what you have to do when you’re faced with those situations,” Maphaka said. “Sometimes you go to a yorker, a bumper or a slower ball. It’s all about reading the game and understanding what you need to do at that moment and keeping your plans as simple as possible, really.”

“It’s not about trying to over-complicate things or make it seem like it’s a game of 20,000 deliveries. Just go to your best ball.”Kwena Maphaka

All of those variations were on display as Maphaka was also given the job of bowling the penultimate over, where he took two wickets and mixed up his lengths well. He had David caught off a full delivery and dismissed Adam Zampa with a short ball and backed his skills to limit Australia to 178 at the end.”It’s not about trying to over-complicate things or make it seem like it’s a game of 20,000 deliveries,” he said. “Just go to your best ball at a particular moment in time and back your plans. Belief is a massive part in performance, and I think I might have been a little bit short on belief in Zimbabwe, so that’s probably one of the big takeaways from that series.”Before the Zimbabwe series, Maphaka had played five T20Is, two ODIs and a Test for South Africa, all before he had turned 19. Though his returns had been relatively modest, he would have had no doubt that South Africa see him as a key player in their future. Already, he has learnt how to manage that expectation.”The most important part is just really accepting the fact that you’re going to have bad days, you’re going to have good days, and it’s just sticking to your game plan and sticking to whatever you do best. I’m not going to be the best player in the world overnight, and I understand that,” Maphaka said. “It’s all about growing as a player day by day, and just keeping focused on the grind and what I have to do to make myself better on a daily basis.”He has also learnt not to shy away from speaking about his aims to fulfil every ounce of his potential. “I’ve always been pretty confident and a real competitor,” he said. “I never like losing. I always want to come out on top of the fight. It’s something that’s been instilled in me since I was really young.”Some would say, he still is.

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