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Indian Express
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘Joe Root could pass Sachin Tendulkar in two and a half years,' says Michael Atherton
While Manchester witnessed Joe Root go past two iconic names in Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis one after the other, the absolute pinnacle is not beyond his reach, as per Michael Atherton. Speaking on Sky Sports, former captain and now pundit journalist Michael Atherton, said, Tendulkar's mark for most Test runs is gettable. That number stands at 15,921. 'Root averages about 85 runs a Test match, so he'd likely need 30 Test matches to get up to Sachin (Tendulkar to claim the Test record),' Atherton was quoted as saying by Sky. Ricky Ponting with 13,378 remains ahead of him as the first Australian wall to breach. But Cook who had gone well past Alastair Cook's 12,472 runs as England's top run getter in Tests also centered past two big names back to back on Friday, to sit at No 3 on therun mountain. He overhauled Rahul Dravid's 13,288 and then after one single was level with Jacques Kallis' 13,289. Two Sri Lankans, Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene and two West Indians, Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are in the Top 10 – at 11,814. Virat Kohli retired with 9230, and Steve Smith is on 10,477. Kane Williamson is on 9276. But Root has aced the Fab Four Test test, and looks most likely to aim at Tendulkar. Atherton reckoned the Tendulkar Everest was reachable, but pointed out how it hinged on slew of things. 'You never know what lies ahead in terms of freak injuries, sport can be a cruel mistress, but given a fair wind he should be up to Tendulkar in around two and a half years,' he told Sky. 'Given how he's playing right now – the best he's ever played – and given there's no diminishing of his love and desire for the game, the numbers will take care of themselves,' Atherton added. Earlier, it was in over 57 when England were 259-2 (Pope 31, Root 30) and trailing by 99 that he reached Dravid guiding Bumrah through deep third for a single. The ball before that, Root had punched Bumrah through the covers for another boundary, as per Sky. Root has 104 scores of 50+, second only to Tendulkar's 119.
7NEWS
15-07-2025
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Devastating loss could mean the curtains are closing on West Indies test cricket
Following the West Indies' uncomfortable defeat on home soil this week many have posed the question; why bother going back? Australia achieved the fastest five-wicket haul in test match history and their first hat-trick since Peter Siddle's iconic birthday special at the Gabba nearly 15 years ago. Meanwhile the West Indies earnt runners-up for the lowest innings total in a test match, 27, being edged out by a New-Zealand team that hadn't yet heard of television. All jokes aside, this third test in Jamaica was about as disastrous a result as the home-side could have hoped for. Not only will some see it as an indictment on the badge they represent, it aims an unmistakable beacon into the growing hole of test cricket. Why play at a top level, in a format that lasts days, being humiliated on the global stage, for significantly less pay? For honour? Pride, spirit or loyalty? For a rare few, maybe, but for many West Indians these reasons aren't enough, and understandably so. An interview with former captain Kraigg Brathwaite revealed that test cricket is struggling in the Caribbean. 'As West Indies, we don't get many Tests matches, that's one [issue],' Brathwaite said. 'Obviously last year we only had six games. I think if we get more, we play more cricket, I think that would help a lot. 'I can't make a decision for the guys,' Braithwaite added, addressing teammates stepping down from test cricket. 'T20 cricket is out there ... so it will always be tough.' If a West Indies cricketer is to prioritise playing test cricket over T20 leagues they will have to get comfortable with taking a significant financial cut. It is understood that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) offers contracts that range from $A150,000 to $A230,000, with an additional $A7,600 per Test match for their players. On paper this may seem reasonable, however, when comparing that to an Australian cricket salary, the rift becomes more obvious. Under Cricket Australia's new deal, centrally-contracted Australian men can expect an average of almost $1 million a year before match payments. A high-profile player like Pat Cummins earns a reported $2 million a year and the ability to earn an additional $1 million from match and tour fees. When Cummins was asked about players stepping down at an international level he said there was no simple fix. 'I'd hope that you field your strongest side whatever country whatever time of year, but it's not the case,' he said. 'So you can't force anyone out on the field, each country is in a different position.' Money is drying up, significant loses are becoming consecutive and players are struggling to secure sponsorship deals; all the signs point to one damming end. The inevitable collapse of the West Indies as we know it The words couldn't leave a more sour taste, whilst these 15 nations may not be the British and Irish Lions, the Caribbean test squad has seen an unprecedented era of dominance. 1980 to 1995 was a period that yielded indomitable records that loom and remain completely unrivalled by any team to this day. The West Indies hold the longest unbeaten run of 29 series spanning over 15 years as well as the record for most consecutive test matches without defeat, 27. To let a team with such history, such status and such potential for the game fade to the backbench is unfortunately, looking like reality. What comes next? The International Cricket Council (ICC) was reported to be in talks with Australia, England and India earlier this year. The discussion saw the likely prospect of splitting test cricket into two tiers being road mapped. The system is designed to 'free' the major nations from playing the less successful countries. Some of these teams are historically crucial pillars of cricket, who are being left out of an already dwindling pool of international competition. According to well-placed anonymous sources obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald, there are currently no tests locked in between Australia and the West Indies in the Caribbean from 2027 onwards. Rather than promoting the sport or considering ways to improve and regulate competition, the ICC may chose to keep their blinders up. Money will always talk louder than finding a viable solution for these passionate nations. Many are afraid that the latest loss from the West Indies will not promote the need to bolster their squad but rather, close the public curtain on their history all together.
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
400 wickets, 100 Tests, and an inswinger that is a landmark of cricket: Mitchell Starc's transformation from ‘softie' to ‘mongrel'
There is something so devilishly simple about Mitchell Starc's inswinging bazookas with which he dismantled three West Indians in his first over, and two more by his fifteenth delivery, to go past 400 Test wickets in his 100th Test on Monday. It's fast, it curves, and it stings either the pad or the stumps. There is no surprise. No batsman can claim to be caught unaware of what he is going to receive from Starc with the new ball, especially if the conditions are going to abet swing. And yet, many end up being utterly embarrassed, watching the pacer's pockmarked face running past them with a raised arm. 23 batsmen have seen that blurry sight after being dismissed in the first over of a Test match by the Australian. That inswinging Starc delivery is a landmark of modern-day cricket. It would be tempting for some to try adding Shaheen Afridi's version to it, but its lack of consistency reduces it to just a footnote, especially in Test match cricket. He hasn't quite publicly agreed yet, but in the circle of former Australian players, Starc's turnaround apparently came after the stinging criticism from Shane Warne in 2014. 'He is too soft,' Warne had reportedly claimed, and the criticism seemed to be shared by the then-Australian management as Starc was dropped. Australia's bowling coach, then, was Craig McDermott, who would term it as 'presence'. 'It was something we have talked about even before Warnie got stuck into him,' Dermott had said. Around this time, in a hotel in Dubai, former South African pacer Allan Donald called over Starc for a chat. They were both in Bengaluru's IPL team – Donald the coach, Starc the young fast bowler from Australia. Donald wanted to know whether Starc had it in him to take the next step as a fast bowler and become a leader. 'I felt he had it, but wanted to hear from him. I asked him, 'Are you ready to become a leader?' Donald had once recalled that episode while speaking to The Indian Express. Leadership, Donald believes, is what separates the ones who can merely bowl quick and the fastmen who go on to become great bowlers. It's about having control over the art of fast bowling but goes beyond that – 'work ethic, hunger, desire to become great, ruthless, ability and keenness to set an example to other bowlers in the team, and be a mongrel of sorts on field …' Donald listed them out with feverish passion. Donald remembered Starc looking up at him that day to say, 'Yes, I would love to do that'. But being nice came easier to Starc. There is this video of Glen Maxwell interviewing Virat Kohli where the talk swerves to Starc and Kohli pipes up, 'He is such a wonderful human being', and Maxwell chips in with, 'Yeah he is a softie!' Not often do you hear stories of a childhood romance coming to fruition in adulthood. Starc was 9 when he walked into an academy with dreams of becoming a wicketkeeper. His chief competition in that selection camp was Alyssa Healy, before she moved away from the boys' camp. Years later, they would marry, to complete an aww-inducing story, worthy of a rom-com. It was one of the coaches in an under-15 camp who saw him bowl medium pace and told him to forget keeping and use his height and natural action to start bowling fast. The first thing one notices is the rhythmic run-up. With some fast bowlers, one tends to notice the odd things – the bobbing head, flailing arms, the lack of fluidity in the run – with things falling in place only at the last instant at the crease, which sets these oddities right. Not with Starc. Everything seems perfectly synced, and the result seems like an obvious culmination of sorts. Wasim Akram had once talked about how, after watching Starc bowl for the first time, he got so excited that he had a half-hour chat with the Australian, leaving behind one advice in particular: Snap the wrist at release to get more swing. That wrist-snap injected an extra dose of venom into Starc's art. It was to Akram that Donald himself would return when he became Australia's bowling consultant for a brief while. By this time, post the days of the Dubai chat, if anything, the softie had turned cold-blooded. So much so that he had started to throw the balls back at the batsmen and Steve Smith had to once pull him up publicly for his behaviour. Even McDermott wanted his man to hold back a bit. 'I have seen him go the other way now – sometimes he can go a little bit too far. You don't want to get too over-aggressive because you forget what you are trying to do with the ball and what you are trying to do with the batsmen.' During one of his initial chats, Donald, who was talking about the angles of release and how late the ball should start moving in the air to create havoc, realised it was better to tell Starc to observe the master instead. 'I told him, if there is one bowler you want to watch and learn about all these things, it is Wasim Akram. What a bowler he was – he had everything and more.' Inspired by Akram's videos, and close monitoring from Donald, the ball began to do Starc's bidding; the art of reverse swing no longer felt as uncontrollable as it once did. Donald believes Starc managed to tap into his inner mongrel more productively. 'He bowls a lot more bouncers now than what he did in his initial years. We have talked about it in the past – Get the aggro going, let the batsmen know he can't come forward, and let the menace always be there. 'There aren't many fast bowlers who can bowl yorkers with the new ball as he does. Unlike many, he doesn't hesitate to bowl the new ball really full, more often than not. That's when, combined with the short deliveries, you are going to get the edges and hit the stumps. He can reverse from over and round the stumps. He can hurt you with the new and the bad ball.' Donald then nailed that one Starc trait of 'attitude' that Pat Cummins too recently raved about. 'You can't coach a guy to be a leader if he doesn't want to. There are some who just bowl and go. Starc is one guy who wants it badly. He is like McGrath, Shane Warne and wants to be that person who loves the ball and be a man all the time. You can't coach stuff like that. Starc has it. He is very very special. If I have to describe him in one word – attitude. He is a proper one-hundred-percenter. He would walk through the wall for his team.' From being a 'softie,' he veered to the other extreme of over-boiling, before he course-corrected to become the modern-day poster boy of the heavy-metal classicalism of a left-arm swing bowler.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
A look at some of the lowest totals in Test cricket history
Mitchell Starc took six wickets for nine runs and Scott Boland claimed a hat-trick as Australia dismissed the West Indies for 27 — the second-lowest total ever in test cricket — to win the third test by 176 runs on Monday (July 14, 2025).. The West Indies missed the lowest score in test cricket by one run, due to a misfield. South Africa were dismissed for their lowest totals four times in Test cricket viz. three times against England and one time against Australia. Here are some of the lowest totals in Test cricket 26 New Zealand vs. England, Auckland, 1955 In this Auckland match, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. The Kiwis were bundled out for 200 with Brian Statham (4 for 28) and Bob Appleyard (3 for 38) were the main wicket takers. For New Zealand, John Reid top scored with a brilliant 73. Kiwi bowlers led by Alex Moir (5 for 62) restricted England for 246. England bowlers were on fire in the second innings and dismissed New Zealand for just 26 with Bob Appleyard (4 for 7) and Brian Statham (3 for 9) were the wreckers-in-chief. New Zealand's Bert Sutcliffe was the top scorer with 11 and there were five ducks in the Kiwi second innings. England won by an innings and 20 runs. England bowled 27 overs to dismiss New Zealand for 26. 27 West Indies vs. Australia, Kingston, 2025 In this match, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. With some disciplined bowling from West Indian Shamar Joseph (4 for 33), Justin Greaves (3 for 56) and Jayden Seales (3 for 59), Australia were bundled out for 225 in the first innings. In reply West Indians buckled under pressure with some fiery bowling Scott Boland (3 for 34), Josh Hazlewood (2 for 32) and Pat Cummins (2 for 24) and were dismissed for 143. Leading by 82 runs, Australia was dismissed for just 121 with Alzarri Joseph (5 for 27) and Shamari Joseph (4 for 34) led from the front. Chasing a target of 204, West Indies were in the firing line of Mitchell Starc (6 for 9) and Scott Boland (3 for 2) and were dismissed for just 27 with seven ducks in the innings. Australia won the match by 176 runs. Starc's first 15 balls delivered the fastest five-wicket haul in test history, and his 15th five-wicket innings in tests. Boland took a hat-trick in the Test. Australia needed just 14.3 overs to dismiss West Indies. 30 South Africa vs. England, Gqeberha, 1896 South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first in this match. Led by Bonnor Middleton (5 for 64), they bundled out England for 185. England's bowling unit were on fire on that day and dismissed South Africa for 93 in the first innings. George Lohmann (7 for 38) was the main wicket-taker. Leading by 92 runs, England scored 226 in the second innings. Chasing a target of 319, South Africa were in the firing line of George Lohmann once again. He took (8 for 7) to dismantle South Africa for just 30. In all George Lohmann took 15 for 45 in the match. England won by 288 runs. 30 South Africa vs. England, Birmingham, 1924 South Africa won the toss and opted to field first. England scored a massive 438 led by some brilliant batting from Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe, Frank Woolley and Patsy Hendren. For South Africa George Parker took 6 for 152. South Africa were in all sorts of trouble with brilliant bowling from Arthur Gilligan (6 for 7) and Maurice Tate (4 for 12) and were dismissed for 30 in the first innings. None of the South African batsmen reached double figures in the first innings. Following on, South Africa batted well in the second innings. Riding on the century from Bob Catterall (120), South Africa were dismissed for 390. Once again it was Arthur Gilligan (5 for 83) and Maurice Tate (4 for 103) were the main wicket takers. England won the match by an innings and 18 runs. 35 South Africa vs. England, Cape Town, 1899 England won the toss and elected to bat first and immediately were in for some excellent bowling from South Africa. South Africans Jimmy Sinclair (6 for 26) and Bonnor Middleton (4 for 18) led from the front and dismissed England for 92 runs. Despite century from Jimmy Sinclair (106), South Africa were dismissed for 177 taking a lead of 85. In the second innings, England scored 330 runs with century from Johnny Tyldesley (112). Chasing a target of 245, South Africa were once again in spot bother with some exceptional bowling from Schofield Haigh (6 for 11) and Albert Trott (4 for 19) and dismissed for a meek 35. Thus England won the match by 210 runs. 36 South Africa vs. Australia, Melbourne, 1932 Winning the toss and electing to bat first, South Africa was in the firing line of some brilliant bowling from Bert Ironmonger (5 for 6) and Laurie Nash (4 for 18) and were all out for 36 in the first innings. In reply, Australia was also in spot of bother being dismissed for 153 with some excellent bowling from Sandy Bell (3 for 52), Neville Quinn (3 for 29) and Quintin McMillan (3 for 29). Leading by 117 runs, Australian bowlers once again rose to the occasion and dismissed South Africa for just 45 with Bert Ironmonger taking 6 for 18. Australia won the match by 72 runs. 36 Australia vs. England, Birmingham, 1902 It was a three-day Test match in 1902. The match started on May 29 and ended on May 31. England won the toss and elected to bat first. Riding on 138 for Johnny Tyldesley, England scored 376 for 9 declared. England's Wilfred Rhodes (7 for 17) and George Hirst (3 for 15), rattled the Australian innings and they were dismissed for just 36. Following on, Australia saved the test match by scoring 46 for 2 in 28 overs and saved the Test match. The match ended in a draw. 36 India vs. Australia, Adelaide, 2020 India won the toss and elected to bat first. Riding on Virat Kohli (74), Cheteshwar Pujara (43), and Ajinkya Rahane (42), India scored 244 in the first innings. Mitchell Starc took (4 for 53) and Pat Cummins (3 for 48). The Indian bowlers led by Ravichandran Ashwin (4 for 55), Umesh Yadav (3 for 40) and Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 52) restricted Australia for 191. Taking a lead of 53 runs, Indians gained upper hand but the Australian bowlers were in a different mindset. Led by some fiery spell from Josh Hazlewood (5 for 8) and Pat Cummins (4 for 21), Indians were bundled out for just 36. None of the batsmen reached double figures. Chasing a target of 90 was a cakewalk for the Australians and they finished it style winning the Test by 8 wickets. (with inputs from AP)
India Today
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
When Sunil Gavaskar turned a new chapter
(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated January 15, 1971)Sunil Gavaskar, who made a spectacular entry into the arena of Test Cricket, has made his debut as an "author" with the same flourish. In the first instance, he took the world of cricket by storm and earned the admiration of all lovers of the game. I wish one could say the same thing about his maiden venture as an shy and modest 21-year-old Bombay university cricketer won the hearts of the West Indians and his own countrymen, not only by his prodigious feats with the bat, but his innate sense of sportsmanship and all that it implies. We see a different Gavaskar in the author of Sunny Days, which is his pity of it all is that Gavaskar himself recognizes that it is "always hazardous for an active cricketer to venture into the realm of authorship". And yet, he has not only chosen to open his mouth, but has put his foot into it!In the early chapters of the book one meets the Gavaskar, as before fame overtook him after his historic deeds in the West Indies in 1971. He takes his remarkable successes with the bat as a schoolboy and university cricketer in his stride, without being spoilt by his outstanding performances. He accepts his failure to get into the Bombay Ranji Trophy team with a sense of fatalism, but there is no bitterness to unsettle his poise. There is, in his mental approach to his uneven cricketing career, a balance that one would hardly expect from a young player anxious to make the fortune finally smiles upon him and he is selected for the West Indies tour, his first thought is for his friend, Saeed Ahmed Hattea, who is left out. On his way to the Caribbean, he is the young cricketer, as yet unspoilt by success, finding everything and everybody wonderful - a kind word for "friend" and "foe" alike, and the capacity to see the funny side of his phenomenal successes in the West Indies left him unaffected, except that he was happy that he didn't "disappoint" the members of the Cricket Control Board's Selection Committee, which had placed confidence in him, and the vast legion of cricket lovers at metamorphosis of Gavaskar begins, if one may see, when he is selected to tour England in the summer of 1971, soon after the team's triumphant return from the West Indies. A typical example of his penchant for unnecessary, often foolish, criticism of men and things is his comment about Lord's, which has always been regarded as the "Mecca of Cricket".advertisementHe says, "Quite frankly, I don't understand why cricketers are overawed by Lord's. The members are the stuffiest know-alls you can come across, and the ground is most uninspiring. It slopes from one end to the other. I shuddered to think of it as the Headquarters of Cricket!"In every sport, the decisions of the umpire or referee are not always palatable to the players concerned; but, very few sportsmen dispute the decisions, and more especially, come out with open criticism of the men assigned the difficult and unenviable task of supervising when he found the going difficult in England, particularly after his spectacular showing in the West Indies, started cribbing about umpiring decisions. He is particularly critical of England's umpire David Constant, about whom he says, "Umpire Constant was 'constant' in his support for England that year."The English Press has also come in for rough treatment at his hands, perhaps with some justification. However, the somewhat biased comments on the "London-based Indian journalists" during the unfortunate tour of 1974, are quite unnecessary. Even allowing for the fact that the Indian team had taken terrible punishment in the Tests, despite Gavaskar scoring a century in the Old Trafford match, it is difficult to understand why a cricketer of the stature of Gavaskar should have indulged in harsh criticism of anyone who dared to find fault with the is when Gavaskar talks about his visit to New Zealand and the West Indies early this year that he pulls no punches in giving expression to his views about people. For instance, he found the umpiring in New Zealand "was so partial that we thought we must have really played well to win the first Test".He adds, "but for the umpiring decisions we would have won the first Test by an innings. Also, we were denied victory in the second Test because of the bias shown by the umpires for the home team." Gavaskar's views on the New Zealand Press are equally things were really bad on the New Zealand tour, which was made miserable because of the terribly cold weather. But, I wonder whether it is, at all, advisable for one actually in the game to indulge in this kind of criticism, and create enemies all over. What is particularly regrettable is that, in this present trend of umpire-baiting, Gavaskar's complaints may not find ready most unfortunate part of Gavaskar's anxiety to find fault with all manner of things, is the criticism levelled against the spectators who came to watch the Test at Kingston (Jamaica). The provocation for this was the "way they shrieked and howled every time Holding bowled" Gavaskar makes this astounding statement: "All this proved beyond a shadow of doubt that these people still belonged to the jungles and forests, instead of a civilized country." Apart from being in bad taste, such sentiments cannot create friendliness among peoples, and cannot possibly be forgiven in a Gavaskar has, with considerable justification, pointed out the peculiar behaviour of the then Cricket Control Board's President, K. M. Rungta, who asked for Gavaskar's explanation for his slow batting in the first World Cup match against unkindest cut of all was the accusation that Gavaskar's batting "had a demoralizing effect on the younger players, and was also against the country's interest," as alleged by Manager G.S. Ramchand. One can sympathize with Gavaskar for the patiently foolish action of the Board President. The revelation also goes to show the hazards that Indian sportsmen face and the indignities to which they are subjected by over-zealous pointed out the more undesirable aspects of Sunny Days, let me say that the book is a commendable effort on the part of one who has no pretensions to being a "writer". Gavaskar's story is told in simple language, and is a sincere and honest effort to record his personal experiences as a cricketer and as a man. It is a reflection of the inherent honesty, however misguided at times, of Sunil is a book which everyone who loves the game will enjoy reading. The Publishers, who have "fathered" more books on Cricket in India than any other film, have reason to be proud of their "catch". The printing and get-up of the book are of good standard, and the large number of illustrations printed on art paper are an added attraction. Sunny Days is a book which will be read, whatever one may think about the tendency of Gavaskar to hit everyone and everything for a six, with to India Today Magazine- Ends
