He’s a readymade fit for Mitchell Santner’s role and brings leadership experience too

Deivarayan Muthu10-Aug-2021In 2012, allrounder Cole McConchie received his maiden Plunket Shield cap from then Canterbury coach Gary Stead. Nine years later, in the midst of a pandemic, McConchie received the news of his maiden international call-up, for the upcoming tours to Bangladesh and Pakistan, from Stead, who is now New Zealand’s head coach.”I was actually on the golf course and Gary’s number came up and thought it was going to be some good or bad news,” McConchie said. “[It was] a real privilege to get the call from Steady and some really great news for myself and my family.”I gave my wife Sarah a call straightaway, followed by my parents. It was really special getting that phone call; a childhood dream and for that to come true, it was a pretty special moment.”The 29-year old initially started out as an offspinner who could bat a bit, but has expanded his all-round game in recent times. Throw in his reflexes in the field and you get an impressive package, which is why New Zealand are leaning towards him in the absence of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi for the T20Is in Bangladesh and the ODI Super league in Pakistan.In the 2020-21 20-over Super Smash, McConchie emerged as the fifth-highest scorer, with 298 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 120.16, in Canterbury’s run to the final, where they lost to Wellington. McConchie was also thrifty with his offspin; his economy rate of 7.40 was the third best among bowlers who had bowled more than 25 overs in the tournament. Only Otago left-arm wristspinner Michael Rippon and Canterbury team-mate Todd Astle had a better economy rate than McConchie under this condition.Related

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Stead said that McConchie has been drafted in to play the role Santner usually does for New Zealand in T20Is: finish the innings with the bat and provide control with the ball.”It’s exciting for Cole,” Stead said. “When you rule Santner and Sodhi out of the early stages, and Astle not going initially as well, you start looking around for who are the next options on the table. Guys like Cole have been consistent for Canterbury and the thing we liked as well is he’s got some batting depth to him. We certainly look at him for filling a role that’s something similar to Santner’s – in terms of a finishing type role with the bat and being able to bowl at different stages of an innings.”McConchie also brings with him New Zealand A experience and the experience of being Canterbury’s captain. Under his leadership, Canterbury won the Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy titles in the last domestic summer.”It has been really special playing for New Zealand A against quality international sides and guys with a lot of international experience,” McConchie said. “So, when you succeed at that level, it fills you with some optimism that you could succeed at international cricket. So, those have been great opportunities to test your skills at a further level up and [I’m] really grateful for those opportunities.”Yeah, I think I’ve really enjoyed the leadership role and I know certainly from a playing point of view, I feel a bit more ownership in terms of my game and really try to push the team ahead. Always want to lead from the front in that regard.”McConchie also reckoned that bouncing ideas off Canterbury internationals Tom Latham, Matt Henry and Henry Nicholls will hold him in good stead in the lead-up to his potential international debut.”Really fortunate to have grown up with the likes of Tom Latham, Matt Henry and Henry Nicholls – three really good friends of mine – and I think leaning on their international experience, talking to them [about] what it’s like at the next level,” he said. “What you need to do to be successful. Those three have been great sounding boards for myself and they’ve passed on a lot of experience and that has helped my game immensely. “McConchie has never toured Bangladesh before and the hosts are in scorching form, having dispatched Australia 4-1, but this is his chance to showcase his all-round skills at the top level.

They bounced back impressively from the England drubbing, helped by reverting to their initial balance of team

Andrew McGlashan08-Nov-20212:26

Warner: ‘We’re hitting the right momentum at this stage of the tournament’

A week ago, Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign could have come off the rails. Hammered by England, progression was taken out of their hands even with wins in the final two group matches. However, by the time they walked off against West Indies – via a guard of honour for Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle – it would have taken a massive reversal for them not to make it.The England game was a strange one. Not so much from the result itself – England were favourites going in and could have won under a variety of scenarios – but the thinking leading into it which led to Australia changing the balance of the side, from four specialist bowlers, that had won the opening two matches against South Africa and Sri Lanka.Mitchell Marsh was left out in favour of Ashton Agar, the argument being based around the good match-up of left-arm spin to England’s top order, but even if there were some numbers to back it up, it felt like a change for the sake of change. Almost inevitably having left out a batter, Australia were put in on a pitch that offered movement and were 21 for 4. Game over.The good thing for Australia was after that match they had a decent break of four days. It helped take the sting out of the result. The response felt less reactionary. The players got away from the game for a couple of days – a factor not to be underestimated while there is still a level of biosecurity restriction in place – before preparing to take on Bangladesh.Related

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They reverted to the seven-four balance of the side with Marsh returning. It’s tough on Agar who has been excellent over the last two years, but the deeper batting order allows more freedom. Out of their control, but a helpful factor, was they came up against two teams who were eliminated from the competition. It showed in the performances of Bangladesh and West Indies, although the latter needed a strong response when Gayle and Evin Lewis threatened in the powerplay.The four specialist bowlers are Australia’s strength while the trade-off in playing the extra batter should be enough to compensate for a fifth bowler in a combination made up of Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. It didn’t become a factor against Bangladesh (although Maxwell nabbed the handy wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim in his first over) but Marsh, bowling for the first time in the tournament, played a very important role against West Indies as he was able to scuttle through three overs for just 16 runs – a win against West Indies any day. It meant that while the three quicks went for 109 runs in their 12 overs – Mitchell Starc’s figures being dented by his last two deliveries going for sixes – the value of Josh Hazlewood’s four wickets were not lost.Josh Hazlewood has played a key role in Australia’s attack•ICC via GettyAnd then there is Adam Zampa. He has been Australia’s Player of the Tournament so far. Eleven wickets at 9.90 and an economy of 5.73, the joint-leading wicket-taker of the Supers 12s. He may have mopped up a weak middle and lower order against Bangladesh where he bagged a five-wicket haul, but against South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies he has expertly kept a lid on the scoring rate.The way Australia then rattled off the run chase ticked a couple more boxes. David Warner played as well as he has since before the groin injury he suffered last season and Marsh continued his run-glut against West Indies to give an indication he hadn’t been left uncertain by his demotion a few days earlier. The only issue is that the convincing nature of the batting in their last two matches has left the middle order without a hit since the struggles against England. Maxwell’s last two innings read 0*(0). But you can’t have it both ways. Australia had to produce two near-perfect games to make the semi-finals and they achieved that. A misstep and they were likely on a flight home after the group stage and facing a significant fallout.Which brings us to the semi-final against Pakistan. A rematch of the famous game in St Lucia 11 years ago when Mike Hussey did the almost-impossible to secure victory. What is a pass mark for Australia in this tournament? Reaching the knockouts was a bare minimum, albeit they could have been in South Africa’s shoes and going out with four wins, although that benchmark does highlight Australia’s overall lean record in this event. They haven’t made the final since that Hussey-inspired day.It was difficult to judge them leading into the tournament because of the host of absent players, but the dramatic week in Adelaide quarantine where Justin Langer’s position got to the brink left the feeling a lot was on the line in the UAE. A return to that fraught atmosphere has now probably been avoided, but questions around Australia’s T20 cricket will likely persist if this is as far as they go. They saved their tournament in a week. Now the challenge is to make it their best ever.

All the key stats and numbers from the opening day’s play in Centurion

Sampath Bandarupalli26-Dec-2021122* KL Rahul’s score at stumps on day one, the highest individual score by an Indian opener in Test cricket in South Africa. The only other Test century by an Indian opener in South Africa – 116 by Wasim Jaffer in Cape Town in 2007.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 Test centuries for Rahul outside Asia, the second-most number of hundreds for an Indian opener outside Asia in this format. Only Sunil Gavaskar is ahead of Rahul, who scored 15 centuries. Rahul has scored five of the six Test centuries by Indian openers outside Asia since his debut in 2014-15.3 Visiting openers to score a Test century at Centurion’s SuperSport Park, including Rahul on Sunday. Chris Gayle’s 107 in 2004 and David Warner’s 115 in 2014 are the other Test hundreds by visiting openers here.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 Number of visiting openers to score a century in the first innings of a Test in South Africa since 2010, including Rahul in Centurion. David Warner scored 135 at the Newlands in Cape Town during the 2014 tour.117 Partnership runs between Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. It is the third-highest opening stand for India in Tests in South Africa. They also became the second visiting pair to score a 100-plus run opening partnership in Centurion. The first such pair was also from India – 137 by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in 2010.ESPNcricinfo Ltd242 Balls faced by Rahul and Mayank for the first wicket is the longest opening partnership by a visiting pair in Tests since 2010. The last visiting pair with a longer stand – 263 balls by Phillip Hughes and Simon Katich for Australia in Durban in 2009.0 Previous instances of India beginning a Test series outside Asia with a century opening stand. The 62 by Dattaram Hindlekar and Vijay Merchant at the Lord’s in 1936 was the highest opening stand for India in the 24 previous occasions where they batted first in a series opener outside Asia. Only one visiting pair before Mayank and Rahul added 100-plus runs for the opening wicket in South Africa while batting first in a Test series opener – 120 by Bob Barber and Geoff Boycott in Durban in 1964 (excluding one-off Tests).259 Test wickets between South Africa’s pace attack in this match – Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder. It is the least experienced pace attack that South Africa fielded in a home Test against India in terms of Test wickets since the Johannesburg Test in 1997. South Africa’s pacers in that game – Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Brian McMillan and Lance Klusener collectively picked 247 wickets.

Surrey captain adamant that indignity of Brisbane first-baller is behind him ahead of 2022 summer

Andrew Miller02-Apr-2022You get the impression from talking to Rory Burns that he’s not a big fan of communication. He speaks rather as he bats, with a palpable nervous energy as he weighs up the threat of each incoming question, before an under-stated response that can, with the right timing, be thoroughly emphatic all the same.Since the retirement of Alastair Cook in 2018, no England opener has played more times, scored more runs, nor averaged higher than Burns’ mark of 30.32 over a sustained run in the role. And yet, twice in as many winters, Burns has fronted up for Surrey’s pre-season media day cast in the role of the outsider.In 2021, he had lost his place on a tough tour of India, ground down by the Covid bubble lifestyle after missing the Sri Lanka tour for the birth of his daughter Cora; and now here he is in 2022 as well, back to square one once more after becoming the unwitting poster-boy of another calamitous Ashes campaign.”Did I visualise getting a first baller? No I didn’t,” Burns says, when asked – not for the last time, you suspect – to rewind to that gruesome first morning in Brisbane, as he toppled across his crease to Mitchell Starc’s full-length swinger, and was bowled round his legs by the very first ball of the series.It is already a moment immortalised in Ashes legend – alongside Nasser Hussain’s infamous bowl-first call in 2002-03 and Steve Harmison’s wide four years later. And while Andrew Strauss’s own first-over duck in 2010-11 stands as lasting proof that one early setback need not define a tour, it’s hard to argue that England’s 2021-22 challenge ever recovered its poise from that moment.Only a tenth-wicket stand in Sydney stood between Australia and their third 5-0 whitewash in five home campaigns, and Burns himself certainly didn’t recover. After a top score of 34 in the second innings at Adelaide, he was dropped for the Sydney and Melbourne Tests, before a belated return to the front line after Haseeb Hameed’s own failings had become too pronounced to ignore. Two more insubstantial scores ensued in Hobart – 0 and 26 – and that was it for Burns’ winter, as he was axed for the subsequent tour of the Caribbean with Durham’s Alex Lees handed the role of nuggetty senior pro.Burns was bowled round his legs by the first ball of the 2021-22 Ashes•Getty Images”It’s obviously not my decision,” Burns says. “It’s out of my hands so I had to deal with what I’d been dealt. What can I do now? What Jimmy [Anderson] said resonated with me the other day. I’m still looking to improve, still looking to get better. I think that I can. I’ll go again and try to score runs.”In such sliding-doors circumstances, it’s easy to imagine how Burns could have spent his every waking moment since Brisbane chastising himself for his error, and wishing he could have his time over again. But though he admits the immediate aftermath was tricky – particularly given how his quirky technique lent itself to high-level dissection in the Australian media – he’s adamant that the indignities are behind him and he’s ready to go again.”I’ve kind of put it to bed, to be honest,” he says. “It takes a little bit of time, a little bit of reflection. Taking stock of your thoughts and feelings as it goes along. With Covid and bubbles in recent times it’s been quite intense, and the Ashes was probably the most intense process we’ve been through. It’s quite a big hype train that everyone maybe gets a little too involved in at times. It can be difficult.”But I’ve got a little one at home, I’ve got my wife. They give me perspective,” he adds. “They were with me throughout the Ashes. It was nice to get away at times. I always like getting away from cricket. I had some good time off when I came home, lots of family time. I reassessed my game and tried to work on various things from a technical aspect, just little tweaks I could make to then go again.”However, if Burns’ first-baller was the start (and finish) of the Ashes proper, then a full appraisal of England’s awful tour needs also to take in the hugely restrictive circumstances of their series build-up. As if the strictures of lockdown life weren’t complicated enough, the ceaseless rain in Queensland ensured that the whole team went into that first Test with perhaps the least satisfactory preparation in Ashes history, just one day of middle practice possible in their scheduled warm-up fixture.”The odds weren’t in our favour, were they? It was always going to be an uphill battle with that prep that we did get. The run-in was suboptimal. Getting used to conditions was suboptimal. That led to its starting the series on the back foot.”It led also, Burns admits, to a fatal lack of alignment at the crease for when the big Brisbane moment came. “To be honest, in the limited practices we did have I was feeling pretty good,” he says. “Certainly technically, looking back on it, it probably crept in slightly. Preferably if that had been flagged marginally earlier that could have helped. It wasn’t.Burns was a Championship-winning captain with Surrey in 2018•Getty Images”Like I say, I’ve put it to bed, put some tweaks in. You trust in the people you trust and go again. It was tough, it proved to be tough. But I’ve rationalised it by talking to people I trust, and then getting back on the wagon.”Getting back into the England team, however, might yet prove to be a tougher challenge. Despite the encouragement of Gareth Batty, Surrey’s new head coach, who insists Burns is still the “best opener in the country”, the fall-out of the Ashes loss seems to have focussed as heavily on the dressing-room atmosphere as on the proficiency of those within it.And in that respect, the implication – encouraged by Joe Root’s and Paul Collingwood’s repeated emphasis on the renewed positive energy during the Caribbean tour – is that the mood within the squad has been improved by the removal of certain senior individuals who perhaps did not give back enough when the going got tough in Australia.”I don’t think so. That would be unfair,” Burns insists. “The talk is more on the fresh faces in the squad and they had a chance to put their own stamp on it. It would be unfair to say that.”Nevertheless, were it not for his axing, Burns might otherwise be a strong contender to take over as captain from the beleaguered Root. At the age of 31, he’s the right age for higher honours, and as Surrey’s captain in their Championship-winning season in 2018, he’s one of the very few England players of recent vintage with genuine experience of leadership outside of the international game.”I think I have to get back in the side first,” Burns says. “I’m not sure you pick your captain from outside the best XI in the country. Quite frankly Rooty is the man in position and he’s obviously doing very well with the bat and it hasn’t compromised his ability to bat. So I’ll let you draw on that what you want to draw on. I think you pick your captain from your best XI.”Related

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Burns’ immediate focus is on the start of Surrey’s season. First up is a trip to Edgbaston on April 7, before back-to-back home games against Hampshire and Somerset – meaning three consecutive fixtures on some of the truer surfaces on the county circuit, and potentially the chance to build up a body of work that gets his name firmly back into the frame before New Zealand’s arrival for the Test summer in June.”I don’t want to give too much away because there are county attacks looming around the corner,” he says. “But I just think, for me, those first 20 balls, [I will] tighten up fractionally. And then, as I’ve proved, once I get into an innings I generally go quite alright. So for me, [I have to] look at my starts, get in and build.”It won’t be the same [as Australia] here in April in the County Championship when things tend to be greener and slower. It’s all about adapting. That’s batting in a nutshell. Wherever you go, whichever attack you face, you have to adapt to what’s in front of you. It will be no different come next week.”Rarely has the county season begun under quite such a level of scrutiny, however, with England’s winless winter highlighting the growing gulf between the standards on England’s domestic circuit and the levels required at the very top. And it wasn’t only Burns who struggled with the step-up in Australia – his Surrey team-mate, Ollie Pope, was similarly exposed, even though his current average at the Kia Oval, 99.94, implies he could not be doing more to meet the standards to which he has been exposed.”I’m not really drawing mine and Ollie’s name into that,” Burns said. “The potential failings of county cricket are quite obvious. [In Test cricket] you face attacks of Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon. You don’t get too many attacks that come at you like that, day in and day out, where half a mistake is exaggerated to a definite mistake. And potentially the system doesn’t fit that with the volume of cricket we now play across four formats. You’re basically struggling to get what you need in six months to produce your best teams for England.”Despite Burns’ gruff insistence that he’s ready to go again, Batty is conscious that his captain is potentially more wounded by his experiences this winter that he is willing to let on.”I don’t worry about him putting the best case across, but I worry about who might select the [England] team,” Batty says. “But that is not our concern. He’s our leader. He is our captain. He has done a wonderful job over a period of time. Now we need to give him a bit back.”He needs us to take care of him for a moment, because it is difficult. It doesn’t matter who you are, when you get left out by England and come back. So we need to make his life easier, show that we’ve got him – because we definitely do – and hopefully create an environment for him and for the rest of the boys where he can thrive, and shoot for the stars.”And for the time being, all Burns can do to rebuild that bruised reputation is to get stuck in with Surrey, and feed off the optimism that tends to accompany the early weeks of a new season.”Look around the dressing room and I feel like I’ve got about 10 years older,” he says. “I probably have because I’ve been around here so long. There are a lot of young guys, a lot of learning there. That is for us as senior players to take on, share the knowledge around the room and pass it on.”

Five times the Chennai Super Kings captain trumped his opponents with out-of-the-box moves

Deivarayan Muthu26-Mar-2022Related

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Pinning down Pollard
Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2010 finalMumbai Indians were 136 for 6, needing 33 from two overs, with the title on the line. Kieron Pollard had just clattered Doug Bollinger for 4, 6, 4, 6 in a 22-run over, which titled the title fight Mumbai’s way. Until Dhoni intervened, having Matthew Hayden at an unorthodox straight mid-off position, in addition to having a more conventional long-off.Dhoni’s plan was to have Albie Morkel bowl yorkers at Pollard and turn his strength of hitting down the ground into a weakness. Morkel’s first ball to Pollard was thwacked past him for four. He nailed the yorker second ball, which squeezed underneath Pollard’s bat. After a dot and the run-out of Ambati Rayudu, Morkel went full once again, and Pollard could only skew a low catch to Hayden at straight mid-off. The Super Kings pressed on to win their maiden IPL title.IPL 2010 – Chennai Super Kings’ first title in the tournament•Indian Premier LeagueAt the post-match presentation, Dhoni reasoned that it was worth whisking short fine-leg to straight mid-off, given Pollard’s propensity to hit in the ‘V’. He also revealed that he had deployed a similar field against Hayden himself at a practice match in the lead-up to IPL 2008.”If you see the big-hitters of the world or powerful hitters, they don’t sweep or reverse-sweep. So I said, ‘okay what’s the point of a short fine-leg’,” Dhoni told the host broadcaster after the game. “Pollard will anyway look to hit down the ground and Morkel will look to bowl yorkers outside off. If he miscues one, he may not get the elevation. I’ve tried it once with Matthew Hayden, though. It worked at the practice game we had right at the start of the tournament. No rocket science.”Many other IPL captains subsequently took a leaf out of Dhoni’s playbook, having a fielder straight to counter the likes of Pollard. M Vijay, for example, when he was captaining the Punjab franchise in 2016, stationed himself at ultra-straight mid-off against James Faulkner.Chaos theory
Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2018Super Kings slipped to 27 for 3 within five overs in pursuit of 154 on a spicy pitch in Pune. Fast bowler Ankit Rajpoot was on a hat-trick, having taken out Faf du Plessis and Sam Billings. Dhoni unleashed his chaos theory – promoting Harbhajan and Deepak Chahar ahead of himself, DJ Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja.Chahar. Chaos!•BCCIWhile Harbhajan saw off the new ball and contributed 19 off 22 balls, Chahar made a more decisive 39 off 20 balls at a strike rate of 195. Dhoni and Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming had originally identified Chahar as a batting allrounder at Rising Pune Supergiant/s, but injury delayed his initiation into the IPL. Dhoni and Fleming reunited with Chahar at Super Kings, where he became their go-to bowler in the powerplay. In that game against Kings XI Punjab, he repaid the team management’s faith with the bat too, helping them seal the chase.”Sending in Bhajji [Harbhajan] and Chahar creates a bit of chaos,” Dhoni told the host broadcaster. “The bowlers all of a sudden bowl yorkers, offcutters, and bouncers. When [top-order] batsmen are batting, they stick to a good line and length, but against Bhajji and Chahar, they lose their line and lengths instead of sticking to the plan. Plus Bhajji and Chahar could come in handy during the playoffs.”Straightjacketing Sachin
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, IPL 2010 finalStopping Sachin. Not everyone could do it. Dhoni knew how•Indian Premier LeagueLet us revisit that game. Bollinger had struck early to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan, but Sachin Tendulkar stabilised Mumbai’s chase of 169, with the crowd behind him. Dhoni brought Shadab Jakati into the attack in the tenth over to give him a crack at Tendulkar. Jakati had apparently troubled Tendulkar when he was once a net bowler with the India side, so Dhoni was hoping for some control from the left-arm fingerspinner.The left-handed Abhishek Nayar, though, briefly foiled Dhoni’s plan, carting Jakati for back-to-back sixes in a 14-run over. Jakati then switched ends and eventually made the incision by hiding one away from Tendulkar’s swinging arc and having him chipping a catch to long-off.Two years later, in the 2012 Eliminator against Mumbai in Bengaluru, Dhoni tossed the new ball to Jakati, who kept Tendulkar to a run-a-ball 11. Something had to give and that something was Tendulkar running himself out. Super Kings went on to win that knockout game as well.Holding back Harbhajan
Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2018 Qualifier 1Super Kings had picked Harbhajan in 2018 to exploit the spin-friendly Chepauk track, but after just one game there, they had to shift base to Pune because of protests surrounding the Cauvery river water issue. Harbhajan did a good job for Super Kings in Pune, too, but in the qualifier against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium, where Harbhajan had bowled across phases for Mumbai Indians, Dhoni didn’t use his offspin at all. Jadeja was in fine rhythm, giving up just 13 runs in his four overs for the wicket of Manish Pandey, so Dhoni didn’t need him on the day.Harbhajan Singh, not a car Dhoni needed to drive all the time•BCCI”You know, I have a lot of cars and bikes in my garage. And, I don’t ride all at a time,” Dhoni quipped. “When you have six to seven bowlers in your side, you want to see the conditions. You want to see who is batting and what is needed at that point of time.”Then, in the final against Sunrisers, Dhoni dropped Harbhajan altogether, fielding legspinner Karn Sharma, who brought with him the reputation of being a serial title-winner in the IPL and in domestic cricket. Karn came away with the prized scalp of Kane Williamson, drawing him out of the crease and having the Sunrisers captain stumped for 47 off 36 balls.Besting Chris Gayle
Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2011 finalChris Gayle could have taken the 2011 final away from Super Kings; he was out for a three-ball duck•AFPAfter opting to bat, Super Kings racked up 205 for 5 on the back of an M Vijay special. A red-hot Chris Gayle, though, was standing between Super Kings and back-to-back IPL titles. Gayle was the leading run-getter during that IPL and single-handedly transformed Royal Challengers’ fortunes in the tournament. Dhoni matched up R Ashwin’s offspin with the left-handed Gayle at a time when match-ups were not even a thing. After setting up Gayle with two offbreaks, Ashwin darted one into the batter and had him nicking off for a three-ball duck. Game over!”I rely a lot on the bounce, therefore a good wicketkeeper is extremely crucial,” Ashwin told the . “With Dhoni, the caught-behinds and stumpings have gone up many notches in my bowling. He understands the trajectory, the variation, and the bounce that I get.”

All three have proven to be more than competent openers, but with only two slots available, who will make way for the T20 World Cup?

Danyal Rasool02-Feb-2022October 24, 2021. (For many, that date already needs no further context to be instantly recognisable.) India had set Pakistan 152 for victory in the sides’ first game of the T20 World Cup. It was a strong recovery from the middle order after Shaheen Shah Afridi had blown the openers away, but nonetheless, a below-par target. Out strode Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, two immoveable forces of nature who have cemented themselves as the first truly undisputed Pakistani opening partnership since Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail broke up.In 17.5 unforgettable overs, they picked apart the Indian bowlers, keeping up the scoring rate without appearing to take any risks. In a performance for the ages, Pakistan cantered to the target, without losing a single wicket. Who in their right mind would ever question these openers? Where were all those baying for Fakhar Zaman to open now?Two weeks and four days later, Pakistan are in the semi-finals, unbeaten and vying against Australia for a spot in the final. Pakistan are batting first this time, and Babar and Rizwan strike up another significant partnership. They produce 71, but this time, the fluency of the India game appears to be missing. The 71 comes in 9.5 overs, and Babar himself holes out to long-on after a scratchy 39 off 34 balls at a strike rate of 114.70. Rizwan, as everyone knows, had found himself in hospital the night before, but soldiers through on a muggy evening to 67 off 52 at a strike rate of 128.84. Fakhar ends up facing just 32 deliveries, finishing unbeaten on 55 to power Pakistan to 176. Strike rate? 171.87.It seems par, perhaps even slightly above, but there’s only so much damage that can be undone in just half a T20 innings. Pakistan appear to be sealing Australia’s fate with regular wickets, but unlike Pakistan, they keep attacking. By the halfway mark, they’ve managed 89 and the platform is set for one famous lower-order partnership to knock Pakistan out. What were Pakistan thinking, coasting along at just over seven in the first ten?The question of how to fit three into two at the top of the T20I order is a thorny one for Pakistan. But as Fakhar’s form with the Lahore Qalandars this season – and Babar’s own struggles with Karachi Kings – attest, it’s one that may acquire greater urgency as they head into this year’s T20 World Cup. For all the records that Babar and Rizwan have broken over the last year, the concerns about the way those partnerships are paced have never really gone away. And while worrying about ironing over what appears a mild crease seems like a luxurious problem, the profligacy of not utilising a bludgeoner like Fakhar doesn’t always appear sustainable.Irresistible as Babar looks creaming drives through tightly packed fields in the powerplay, he lags behind Fakhar in that phase. In all T20s since January 2020, Fakhar scored 7.64 runs per six powerplay balls, nearly a full run per over ahead of Babar’s 6.68. (Rizwan, incidentally, is well ahead of both at 8.44). Limit that to T20Is, and the difference between Fakhar and Babar is starker: Fakhar hits 7.80 runs per powerplay over, with Babar straggling well behind at 6.55. Rizwan is bang in the middle of both at 7.15.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe case for Fakhar opening isn’t just made through the comparison with Babar, but also around the most efficient way to use the left-hander. Fakhar’s strike rate drops to just 123.02 when he bats at number three in T20Is, well below the 136.24 as opener. And while it’s fair to say Fakhar the Lahore Qalandars opener is much more consistent than Fakhar the Pakistan opener (his average with Lahore is nearly 12 runs higher than his T20I average), the strike rates are fairly similar – 139.04 and 136.24 respectively. In all T20s since Jan 2017, for all openers who’ve scored at least 1000 runs, Fakhar has the second highest SR [139.55] for a Pakistani opener – behind only Kamran Akmal.In that case, you’d expect the solution to be fairly straightforward: ditch Babar as opener, and link Rizwan with Fakhar for Pakistan. But you’d be forgiven if bits of your brain feel these numbers don’t quite tell the full story. For one, it’s because some numbers suggest there isn’t a huge difference between Babar and Fakhar as opener at all. Babar’s career strike rate as T20I opener, after all, is 132.61, which is not a world off Fakhar’s 136.24, and he averages almost twice as much.The reliability that Babar’s partnership with Rizwan has provided Pakistan means they can guarantee a solid platform pretty much every game. The costs of breaking that up, and effectively overhauling the innings construction method, should not be taken lightly because, plainly put, Fakhar cannot hope to match the pair’s consistency.Run that India game in your head again. As a Pakistan supporter, would you really want anyone besides Babar and Rizwan opening in that particular chase? Had Pakistan rolled the dice with Fakhar and he’d fallen for under 25 – as he has in 28 of his last 36 T20I knocks – the swing of momentum, coupled with the weight of history, could well have made that a much cagier chase.And it isn’t just below-par totals they’re prolific at chasing. Hark back to the 3rd T20I in Centurion, where South Africa amassed 203. The scoring rate required of Babar and Rizwan was well above their average T20I strike rates, but set a target, both rose to the challenge. Babar smashed 122 off 59, and Rizwan an unbeaten 73 off 47 as Pakistan ran the runs down with two overs to spare. It didn’t seem to matter then that Fakhar needed to face only two balls that innings.ESPNcricinfo LtdBut again, that’s not an excuse to stick with the status quo. Think of the T20I just two days before that Centurion epic, when in Johannesburg, an off-colour Babar limped his way to a run-a-ball 50 as Pakistan crawled to 140, which South Africa chased in 14 overs. Indeed, across the three T20Is that series either side of that hundred, Babar managed just 88 in 87 balls. Cast your mind back to that semi-final against Australia again, where Babar’s strike rate was the lowest for any batter who faced more than ten balls. Reflect on his three innings for Karachi Kings this season, when, batting first, he’s managed a collective 96 runs at a strike rate of just 105.49 with his side failing to put enough runs on the board each time.The common theme across most of those Babar innings is that Pakistan batted first. And while Babar has proved the master of the chase, it’s not at all clear he’s the best judge of a good first-innings total. Since January 2020 in all games for Pakistan or Karachi Kings, Babar’s strike rate batting first is 122.32. In a chase, that jumps to 134.49. The average, too, swells from 36.65 to 63.75.For all the extremities to which sides have gone to wring out every little advantage in a T20 game, none has yet adopted specialist openers depending on whether a total is being set or chased. But the key dynamics of the way Babar and Fakhar’s games work would appear to suggest one obvious solution: move Fakhar up to open when Pakistan bat first while sticking with the present combination in pursuit of a score.