Latest news with #Wisden
Economic Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Economic Times
What do rain forecasts say ahead of final day of 4th India-England Manchester Test?
ANI India-England Test match With a defiant skipper Shubman Gill and 'Mr Dependable' KL Rahul standing tall at the crease, a great finish awaits cricket fans during the final day of the fourth Manchester Test against England. With Joe Root and Ben Stokes' massive centuries giving the Three Lions a gigantic 311-run lead over India, which scored 358 in their first innings, the task of achieving a win looks near impossible, with India having scored 174/2, with Gill (78*) and KL (87*) standing strong after the visitors lost two quick wickets for no run. A draw looks extremely possible and will keep the series alive going into The Oval, with a 1-2 scoreline. Perhaps a miracle could occur if India bats aggressively for the first two sessions, secures a lead and gives England something to chase during the final session. Test is a format filled with uncertainties, thrills, ebbs and flows like no other form of cricket. However, rain could play a spoilsport. However, there are different forecasts, and it is only right to have a look at them. As per Accuweather, quoted by Wisden, the chances of rain remain low throughout the day, as low as 7% As per quoted by Wisden, rain is predicted for early hours in the day, during 7 to 8 AM, but the chances go below 5 per cent after that. Finally, as per BBC Weather, the probability of rain stays the highest around noon with 32 per cent. It will remain at 25 per cent throughout the morning. Minimal rainfall is expected in the afternoon hours. While the weather forecast looks extremely promising for the most part, cricket fans would have their fingers crossed that not even a single drop of rain takes place, which could shave off some overs from the match and steal a good finish. Moreover, a considerable amount of rain could make the surface wet and slippery enough to pose a challenge for Indian batters, as the ball could play its trick through a varied bounce and movement. Out of both teams, it would be the Indian fans who would be hoping for no rain. With the remainder of the batting line-up consisting of an injured Rishabh Pant, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar, the road towards overcoming a 311-run lead and taking a big lead later looks extremely difficult for India, which has witnessed its share of batting collapses this series. Fans would be hoping that the sun is out, keeps the pitch decently dry, and makes the ball come nicely on the bat. Earlier in the fourth Day of the Test match, India recovered after initial shocks in their second innings of the fourth Test, but the team is still in deep waters with England scoring a massive 669 in their first innings and getting an overall lead of 311 runs over the visitors, who had made 358 runs in the second centuries from Joe Root and skipper Stokes and some extra runs from tailenders proved to be a serious headache for India. The Indian second innings began on a shocking note with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan going back to the pavilion on a duck. KL Rahul and Captain Shubman Gill steadied India's innings with a patient and stellar stand of 174 finished Day 4 on 174/2 and are now 137 runs behind England. If the Indian team can salvage the match on the fifth and final day on Sunday, it will be an achievement in itself. England went wicketless in the final session as Indian batters added 126 runs to their tally, with KL Rahul 87* and Shubman Gill 78* unbeaten on the crease. India started the third session at 86/2 with Gill, who looked in fine touch, notched up his eighth Test fifty and fourth against England off 77 deliveries.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
What do rain forecasts say ahead of final day of 4th India-England Manchester Test?
With a defiant skipper Shubman Gill and 'Mr Dependable' KL Rahul standing tall at the crease, a great finish awaits cricket fans during the final day of the fourth Manchester Test against England. With Joe Root and Ben Stokes ' massive centuries giving the Three Lions a gigantic 311-run lead over India, which scored 358 in their first innings, the task of achieving a win looks near impossible, with India having scored 174/2, with Gill (78*) and KL (87*) standing strong after the visitors lost two quick wickets for no run. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Healthcare others Data Science Cybersecurity Digital Marketing PGDM MBA Artificial Intelligence Others healthcare Product Management Public Policy Management Project Management MCA Data Science Operations Management Leadership Design Thinking Degree Technology CXO Data Analytics Finance Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis in Healthcare Financial Management & Investing Strategic Management in Healthcare Process Design & Analysis Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Certificate Program in Healthcare Management Starts on Jun 13, 2024 Get Details A draw looks extremely possible and will keep the series alive going into The Oval, with a 1-2 scoreline. Perhaps a miracle could occur if India bats aggressively for the first two sessions, secures a lead and gives England something to chase during the final session. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Libas Purple Days Sale Libas Test is a format filled with uncertainties, thrills, ebbs and flows like no other form of cricket. However, rain could play a spoilsport. However, there are different forecasts, and it is only right to have a look at them. As per Accuweather, quoted by Wisden, the chances of rain remain low throughout the day, as low as 7% Live Events As per quoted by Wisden, rain is predicted for early hours in the day, during 7 to 8 AM, but the chances go below 5 per cent after that. Finally, as per BBC Weather, the probability of rain stays the highest around noon with 32 per cent. It will remain at 25 per cent throughout the morning. Minimal rainfall is expected in the afternoon hours. While the weather forecast looks extremely promising for the most part, cricket fans would have their fingers crossed that not even a single drop of rain takes place, which could shave off some overs from the match and steal a good finish. Moreover, a considerable amount of rain could make the surface wet and slippery enough to pose a challenge for Indian batters, as the ball could play its trick through a varied bounce and movement. Out of both teams, it would be the Indian fans who would be hoping for no rain. With the remainder of the batting line-up consisting of an injured Rishabh Pant , all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar , the road towards overcoming a 311-run lead and taking a big lead later looks extremely difficult for India, which has witnessed its share of batting collapses this series. Fans would be hoping that the sun is out, keeps the pitch decently dry, and makes the ball come nicely on the bat. Earlier in the fourth Day of the Test match, India recovered after initial shocks in their second innings of the fourth Test, but the team is still in deep waters with England scoring a massive 669 in their first innings and getting an overall lead of 311 runs over the visitors, who had made 358 runs in the second innings. Big centuries from Joe Root and skipper Stokes and some extra runs from tailenders proved to be a serious headache for India. The Indian second innings began on a shocking note with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan going back to the pavilion on a duck. KL Rahul and Captain Shubman Gill steadied India's innings with a patient and stellar stand of 174 runs. India finished Day 4 on 174/2 and are now 137 runs behind England. If the Indian team can salvage the match on the fifth and final day on Sunday, it will be an achievement in itself. England went wicketless in the final session as Indian batters added 126 runs to their tally, with KL Rahul 87* and Shubman Gill 78* unbeaten on the crease. India started the third session at 86/2 with Gill, who looked in fine touch, notched up his eighth Test fifty and fourth against England off 77 deliveries.
The Hindu
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
The ICC: A members' club with a very small number of members
Writing in the Wisden, Gideon Haigh characterised the International Cricket Council (ICC) as 'an unloved beast that is ostensibly a global governing body but too often looks like a forum in which the representatives of national monopolies come to split the spoils of cricket's commercial exploitation.' In one of his more mellow moods, an ICC official once said that 'if we sold the television rights to ICC board meetings, we would make a fortune…' Another thought meetings of the ICC Executive Board are almost pointless, since 'Everything has been decided by the time they take place, on the basis who owes a favour to whom.' How did cricket get to where it is today? The glib answer is, the greatness of its players, from W.G. Grace to Virat Kohli, guided by a benevolent international governing body which has had only the game's interests at heart. If only. But while there are numerous biographies of Grace and Kohli, we haven't had someone getting into the nitty gritty of how the ICC ran the sport. Until now that is, when an Australian, Rod Lyall has, after deep research into primary sources published The Club: Empire, Power and the Governance of World Cricket. This is what the ICC has always been, 'a members' club, with a very small number of members', says the author. Today it is seen as merely an events management company, the real power being in the hands of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Changing times From colonial power to money power, from exclusivity to inclusion, from being a Commonwealth preserve to welcoming the wider world, from being seen as the MCC's Foreign Desk to an extension of the ruling BJP, and the possible take-over of the game by corporates, the journey of the ICC has been unique. No single country has the kind of clout India has in cricket in any other sport. Brazil might be football to many, but they don't rule it. The skewed position was built into the ICC from the start. As Lyall writes, the central objective (of the ICC) had been to 'concentrate power in a small number of hands, and to protect the interests of that small group at the expense of anyone else….the administrators had been consistent in their exploitation of race and class to maintain their grasp on power.' The eagerness with which the ICC is wooing the United States is ironical considering they were kept out for not being in the Commonwealth. 'The US might have been invited to join in 1909 but had been kept out by that unfortunate War of Independence back in the 1770s,' comments Lyall drily. The ICC has been chary about dealing with the big issues: corruption, politics, on-field changes, but has defended its turf keenly. By the 1930s, when the original three members had expanded to six with the inclusion of New Zealand, West Indies and India, it proposed that the founding members would have two votes and the newcomers just one each. It was only in 1947 that a First-Class match was defined. ICC meetings were 'the usual mixture of platitudes and procrastinations.' India's attempts to shake the grip on the game and its administration from England and Australia began with the shifting of the World Cup to the subcontinent in 1986-87 after the first three had been held in England. A few years later, the founding members lost the power of veto, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, speeded up the eastward shift. When the ICC shifted its headquarters from London to Dubai, one newspaper headline said simply, 'ICC Moves Closer to Money'. Dalmiya's membership drive not only gave India greater influence thanks to the votes the new countries had, it also hastened the acceptance of cricket into the Olympic fold. India's argument has been, since the time of N. Srinivasan, that when England and Australia were calling the shots, no one else had a say in matters but now it was India's turn. Srinivasan became the ICC's first chairman in 2014, and set about establishing India's suzerainty in the sport. Is the ICC a necessary evil or an unnecessary do-gooder or a mix of the two depending on the situation? The Club gives us the background to decide for ourselves.
Telegraph
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Scyld Berry
Scyld Berry has been covering cricket for half a century since he began on The Observer in 1976. He has edited Wisden for four years and won the SJA Cricket Journalist of the Year award. He recently became the second person to cover 500 Tests after the late Richie Benaud.
NDTV
19-07-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
"We Will Take It Away": Owners of 'Irritating' Dukes Ball, At The Centre Of Controversy In India vs England Series, Gives In
Some changes might be loading after huge complaints against the Dukes ball. Following frustration of players over Dukes ball going out of shape and softer way too quickly in the first three Tests of India, England series, owner of the brand, Dilip Jajodia, has said that he could make the ball with a "really, really hard at the centre", but it would "break bats and fingers". Players from both the sides have expressed their frustration with the ball going too soft and out of shape quickly during the series. The ball, known for producing some unbelievable movement and lasting long, has now been changed many times during these three Tests and has been smashed really hard for very long times by batters across both teams on pitches that have been batting-friendly for the most part. "We will take it away, inspect and then start talking to the tanner, talking about all of the raw materials - everything," Dilip Jajodia, owner of British Cricket Balls Ltd, who make the Dukes, told BBC Sport. "Everything we do will be reviewed and then if we think some changes need to be made or tightened up, we will." In Test cricket a new ball is given after 80 overs into an innings but in the England series, the ball, as old as ten overs, has been changed due to its shape. "The fundamental thing about cricket balls is that the raw materials are raw materials," Jajodia said as quoted by Wisden. "They are natural, right? It is cow hide, it is cork, it is rubber, it is wool, winding thread, all that stuff. It's a completely natural, almost alive product." While Dukes has said that every ball is made to the highest standard, they have less control over the material. In 2022, during COVID-19, an issue with leather production and it being treated with wrong chemicals and wrong amount of time, owing to the pandemic, led to a batch of poor quality Dukes balls. Dukes have stayed committed to reviewing everything finely, from materials to production. This issue of ball change has slowed down the pace of the game. The ball can be made harder, Jajodia says. "I can put a rock in there, a really, really hard centre, and that will solve the problem. But you won't have a good game of cricket. That would break bats and break fingers". Just a couple of overs into the second day of play on Friday at Lord's, India complained about the Dukes ball, which was around 10 overs old. The umpire tried to put the ball through the hoop, but it did not go through. India captain Shubman Gill was seen having an animated chat with the umpire, possibly expressing his discontent with the replacement ball. Even in the drinks break, Gill appeared to be livid during his conversation with the umpire. Speaking after the second day of play in the third Lord's Test, England batter Joe Root called for implementation of a rule where the fielding team can be given a number of times which they can ask for ball's condition to be checked by umpires. "I personally think that if you want to keep getting the ball changed then each team gets three challenges every 80 overs and that's it," said Root as quoted by Wisden. "But the rings have to be the right size, not too big. That would be a nice way of compromising and saying it is not all on the manufacturer. Sometimes these things happen, but you cannot just keep asking and wasting time and slowing the game down at the same time," he added. The persistent issue with the ball continued when, 48 deliveries later, the ball required changing yet again. Even before the third contest, the ball-change trend was evident during the first two Tests. The Dukes' balls continued to be at the centre of attention yet again on day three. The process to identify the replacement began moments after the drinks break ended in the first session. Former England cricketer Ian Ward gave his take on the "ridiculous" ball change which caused an unprecedented delay in the first session of Day 3. Ward fumed at the umpire's decision not to change the ball during the drinks break, but after it, which led to a seven-plus minute break."They have decided to change the ball again, it's quite frankly ridiculous because if they've decided to change the ball, why was that not decided at the start of the drinks break?" Ward said on Sky Sports. "We waited for the entirety of the drinks break; they should be playing again now, and now the umpires have decided to change it and go through the procedure," he added. Former England pacer Stuart Broad believes that the constant change of the ball due to the loss of shape indicates that the Dukes "have a problem". "The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper. Barely noticed. We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue, & being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. Feels like it's been 5 years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it. A ball should last 80 overs. Not 10," Broad wrote on X. Ahead of the third Test at Lord's, Indian vice-captain Rishabh Pant had said about the ball going out of shape being "not good for cricket". "I feel the gauge should be the same (to determine if the ball has gone out of shape, irrespective of the ball brand), but if it is a little smaller, it will be better. Definitely, I feel it is a big problem because the ball is getting out of shape. But at the same time, it is not up to us. Because visually, when you see the ball, you can see it's de-shaped." "The ball is getting de-shaped too much. That has never happened like this. It is definitely irritating for the players because every ball plays in a different way. Because when it becomes softer, sometimes it does not do too much. But as soon as ball is changed, it starts to do enough. So as a batsman, you have to keep adjusting to it...I feel it is not good for cricket eventually," he added. According to ESPNCricinfo, England skipper Ben Stokes had said whenever we have touring teams visiting, there is an issue with the balls going soft and completely out of shape. "I do not even think the rings that we use are Dukes rings. It is not ideal. But you have to deal with it," he said.
