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France 24
25-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Ponting says 'no reason' why Root cannot top Tendulkar's run record
Root, during a superb innings of exactly 150 in the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, went from fifth to second in the all-time list, overtaking India's Rahul Dravid and South Africa's Jacques Kallis along the way. On another landmark day, the 34-year-old Root then completed his 38th Test hundred to join Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara in fourth place in that line-up. Root then eclipsed former Australia captain Ponting's mark of 13,378 runs when he reached 120 to the audible delight of a packed crowd at Old Trafford who gave him a standing ovation. By the time he was eventually dismissed, Root's tally stood at 13,409 runs, with the ongoing match in Manchester his 157th Test. The retired Tendulkar remains way ahead on 15,921 runs but Ponting believes the fact Root has scored 25 centuries since turning 30 is proof his desire for runs remains undimmed. "Congratulations Joe Root," Ponting told Sky Sports. "A magnificent moment in history. Second on the table. Just the one more to go now. "About two-and-a-half-thousand runs behind, but the way his career's gone over the last four or five years there's absolutely no reason why (he cannot be number one)." 'Hunger and desire' Ponting also hailed Root's "mental capacity", with the 50-year-old adding: "He still has that hunger and desire to continue to find ways to improve and get better. Trust me, that doesn't get easier the older you get." Root's latest century powered England, 2-1 up in the five-match series with India, to 544-7 at stumps on the third day, a first-innings lead of 186. Ollie Pope, who made 71 and helped Root add 144 for the third wicket, was as adamant as Ponting about the former England captain's prospects of breaking Tendulkar's record. "He loves playing for England in Test cricket more than anything so I'm sure if his body allows... he'll obviously be driven to make it to number one," said Pope. England's vice-captain also expects Root to continue his fine form in both next week's series finale at the Oval and the subsequent Ashes campaign in Australia where, in a rare blemish on his record, the Yorkshireman has yet to make a Test century. "It's just a ridiculous number of hundreds (since turning 30) and I'm sure he's hungry to get many more, especially in the next six games," Pope added. Root's largely classical approach to batting has often been different from the all-out aggression synonymous with England in their 'Bazball' era under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. But Pope reckons the way England have performed in the India series is evidence they can vary their game when required. "I think had we not played with our brains as well then we might not be 2-1 up in the series at the minute," he said.
News18
20-07-2025
- Sport
- News18
'Like A Gunshot': Kumar Sangakkara's Stunning Tale About Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Last Updated: Kumar Sangakkara has revealed his first Rajasthan Royals impressions of Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Rajasthan Royals director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara has revealed the fascinating tale of the first time he got to know about Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The Sri Lankan legend said that RR were asked to try Suryavanshi as early as 2023 (when he was 11 and two years before he eventually signed for them), while the first time he saw the Bihar teenager bat was in the RR camp, smashing the likes of Jofra Archer, with bat sounds similar to gunshots. Suryavanshi became the youngest to ever feature in IPL after replacing the injured Sanju Samson in the 11 mid-IPL 2025 season. He went on to score 252 runs in seven innings at a strike-rate of over 200. His exploits included a record-breaking 35-ball century against the Gujarat Titans. 'Suryavanshi has already shown himself to be a very special talent," Sangakkara told Sky Sports. 'In 2023, one of the Rajasthan Royals analysts sent through a text saying there's a very special player we need to watch, get to trials, and look to sign. And the first time I saw him live was after we had signed him, apart from watching some videos of him batting in the nets in Guwahati, batting against Jofra Archer and other seamers that we had. And he made it look very, very easy." 'He had a lot of time, the sound of his bat was like a gunshot every single time he contacted the ball. His bat swing is lovely. It's nice and wide outside the stump and it's very free flowing. He's got a lot of time. His movements are very, very simple and minimal and he's very enthusiastic about developing his shot repertoire and all the shots that you can want in a T20 batter. This is just a start for him to become even better and hopefully very, very special," he added. Suryavanshi has since become a mainstay for the India Under-19 teams, which are currently in England, and is likely to be the same for RR. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Harry Brook's shot selection and decision-making has taken him to world No 1 and there is little point moaning about it if he gets it wrong, writes OLIVER HOLT
There were only 15 minutes to go until lunch when it occurred — which, for many miserabilists, compounded Harry Brook's sin. Akash Deep ran in from the Pavilion End and, as he unleashed his delivery, Brook, who had been thrilling the crowd with some extravagant shot-making, dropped to one knee and tried to slog-sweep the ball towards the Mound Stand. He missed it completely and it skipped behind him and over his trailing leg, knocked his middle stump out of the ground and sent his bails somersaulting merrily into the air. Brook's body sagged and it took him a few moments to hoist himself back to his feet. Brook trudged back to the pavilion, pursued by a lava flow of criticism. 'Brook should be fined his match fee for that abomination of a shot,' Nick in Winchester informed one website and he was not alone in his view. 'It was a nothing shot,' former India coach Ravi Shastri said. 'He was only going to get one run even if he connected.' Kumar Sangakkara was no more forgiving. 'It is not even Bazball,' he said. 'It is just arrogance. Way too much risk. There were 15 minutes to go to lunch. This is not smart batting.' And so, with Brook dismissed for 23 and India still bowling with the rage and fury that had gripped them at stumps on the previous evening, England were reduced to 87 for four and the debate about their cricketing philosophy, that always seems to reach its apogee here at Lord's, crackled again. It felt like a significant moment on a pivotal day of cricket in the midst of an enthralling series against India that is finely poised and appeared, before the glories and the dramas of the final session, to be swinging the way of the tourists. In that moment of Brook's fall, it felt as if Bazball was in peril. But then the truth is that the weight of criticism always makes it feel as if Bazball is in peril when any England batsman is dismissed for attempting any shot other than a forward defensive, or a sagacious leave outside off stump. Perhaps the angst was greater now because this was a crucial moment in a crucial Test match against a fine team and because everyone knows Australia are pawing the ground, waiting to have another go at dismantling Ben Stokes' team when they travel Down Under this winter. The criticism of the manner of Brooks' dismissal was also a symptom of a wider unease about England's top order, which is buckling under the pressure of facing this accomplished India bowling attack. Zak Crawley failed again on Sunday. Ollie Pope came up short again, too. Calls for change are growing louder. But the problem with castigating Brook for playing the way he plays is that playing the way he plays took him into this match as the No 1 batsman in the world in the ICC Test rankings, ahead of Joe Root and New Zealand's Kane Williamson. It is Brook's shot selection and decision-making that has made him the player he is and if he sometimes gets it wrong, as he did on Monday, there is little point moaning about it too vociferously. That way, as another generation might have said, you throw the baby out with the bath water. Brook is the kind of batsman that clears bars. You don't want to miss a minute when he is at the crease. He is a thrilling, destructive cricketer who can take the game away from an opponent with a blizzard of attacking shots, and it looked as if he might be about to do that on Sunday. I sat in the Compton Upper to watch his innings and there are few fairer sights in sport than watching Brook cutting loose in the sunshine on a beautiful day at the Home of Cricket. The crowd loved watching him begin his assault. He has been empowered by Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum to play with daring and invention. Sometimes he is so brazen about it, so impudent, it feels as if he is playing to the gallery. And, even at Lord's, there is still a gallery. Those of us in the gallery lapped it up. Brook challenged Rishabh Pant to roll forward and then scooped a ball from Deep over the wicketkeeper to the long-leg boundary for four. High in the Compton Upper, the spectators roared with laughter at the nerve of it. The next ball, Brook did it again. The ball after that, he hit Deep over the mid-off boundary, a massive blow that went for six. When he got to play his next ball, against Nitish Kumar Reddy, he hit that for four, too. Suddenly India, who had England pinned down beforehand, grew wary. Shubman Gill, their captain, made some defensive changes and relaxed the field a little. Brook's counter- attack had worked. No one complained about Bazball in those moments. Nobody regretted the style and aggression that has become the hallmark of this team when they acclaimed Brook's glorious innovation. That is the bargain. When a player such as Brook attacks the way he does, there is going to be risk. Nobody complains about the risk when the shots work and when the statistics tell you he is the best batsman in the world. Risk is only your enemy when you get out. At the risk of enraging purists, the criticism of Brook misses the point of this England team. The point of this team is that it is greater than the sum of its parts. The point is that it entertains. The point is that it is relentlessly resilient. If that means that Brook occasionally gets out to a rash shot, I'll take that bargain every single time if it means that we get days like Sunday, which seemed to exemplify so much that is beautiful and uplifting about the game of cricket and the way this England team play. Sure, they were up against it at times. And yes, they are still fighting for their lives as the Test goes into a fifth day with India reduced to 58 for 4 in their second innings, needing 135 more to win, and with the odds almost even. By the last few overs, the ground was in tumult. Root was stirring up the crowd, Stokes was beating his chest with his hand, the crowd was roaring, Indian wickets were falling and everyone who loves cricket was sitting in the evening sunshine thanking their god that they were here to see it. I will remember that feeling for a while. I will also remember Brook scooping Deep over his head for four in successive balls for a while, too. At the end of a day like Sunday, how he was dismissed does not seem very important.
India Gazette
13-07-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
"I think umpires need to come down strongly on players": Nasser Hussain on slow over rate in Lord's Test
London [UK], July 13 (ANI): Former England skipper Nasser Hussain criticised the slow over rate in the third Test between India and England at the Home of Cricket, Lord's, and highlighted the issue of time-wasting. He believed umpires should be stricter to speed up the game while maintaining its quality and excitement. Nasser Hussain said on air, as quoted by Sky Sports, 'They are supposed to bowl those overs by 6 p.m., but we are giving them an extra half an hour and they are still not getting through them. You can still have the pace and interesting cricket we are having, and still come down tough on time wasting. Some of the delays this week, and in general, are diabolical, and I think umpires need to come down strongly on players.' Former England legend Stuart Broad, on the slow over rate, said umpires want strong relationships with the players, so there is no conversation about it. 'For the players, I don't think it is a conversation. For umpires, I don't think it is a conversation; they want strong relationships with the players. The ICC are not pushing the umpires to force it either - but it is a problem for broadcasters - seeing how slow the game is frustrates us, and it is a problem for the fans. The fans are missing out on overs,' Broad said. 'To put a specific moment on that: if I had bought a day-one ticket for Pound 150 and watched my favourite batter Joe Root bat all day and then missed out on that hundred moment, I am slightly annoyed by that. I wanted to clap him, give him appreciation. You want to see the action, and fans in the stadium are missing out on pretty cool moments,' he added. Former Sri Lanka skipper and veteran batter Kumar Sangakkara also reflected on the slow rate and believed cricket has been highly entertaining due to the quality of competition. He prioritised quality over the number of overs played, criticising time-wasting. 'I stand firmly in the camp that the cricket has been more entertaining than it has ever been because I like best vs best contests. That is why people pay the money to come and watch. I don't watch Test cricket, thinking it has got to be 90 overs, or it is less of a product. Why do you need sub-standard bowlers to make up overs just because you are running out of time? I have one qualification in that it is ugly when people just meander around. That is a problem, but I am definitely quality over quantity,' Kumar Sangakkara said. Over the course of three days, 32 overs have been lost due to various reasons. England bowling coach Tim Southee defended the slow-over rate and said, 'It's never ideal, I don't think, but it's obviously been hot, so there's probably been more drinks than usual. There have been a number of stoppages with the ball also, and DRS takes its time. But yeah, to lose that much, it's probably at the extreme level.' (ANI)
France 24
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Tendulkar says 'life has come full circle' with Lord's portrait
Tendulkar is one of the greatest batsmen cricket has known, scoring 34,357 runs in Test matches, one-day internationals and one T20 for India in an international career that spanned 24 years from 1989 to 2013. That total is over 6,000 more runs than the next highest of 28,016 compiled by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara. "I remember standing near the pavilion, soaking in the history and dreaming quietly," Tendulkar said of his first visit to Lord's in 1988 as a teenager in a post on X. "Today, to have my portrait unveiled at this very place is a feeling that's hard to put into words. Life has truly come full circle. I'm grateful, and filled with wonderful memories." The portrait, by Stuart Pearson Wright, is painted from a photograph taken by the artist in Tendulkar's home in Mumbai 18 years ago and was unveiled before the first day of the third Test between England and India. It is the fifth portrait of an Indian player in the collections of Marylebone Cricket Club, the owners of Lord's.
