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Imposing Hampshire target overhauled with two balls to spare in outground thriller

David Hopps15-Jun-2021Middlesex 217 for 7 (Cracknell 77, Simpson 62) beat Hampshire 215 for 6 (Short 48, McManus 47, Weatherley 41) by three wickets with two balls to spareMiddlesex pulled off their second highest T20 chase – by three wickets with two balls to spare – in a memorable match at Radlett which saw the next generation take charge of a county going through a difficult transition, and leave another ailing T20 side, Hampshire, fearing that they don’t seem to be in much of a transition at all.Radlett is about as far away from the ECB’s vision of T20 cricket as it is possible to be. The dream is maximum revenue from large stadia, a football-style atmosphere and a sense of theatre that delights a TV audience. Start an overly loud, alcohol-fuelled chant at Radlett and you may be blackballed from the golf club or become the subject of gossip in the Ladies Circle.It would be interesting to know what Middlesex and England’s limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan, who makes no pretence that he shares the ECB’s modernising vision, privately thinks of it when he decamps from Lord’s. Last night, as a setting sun cast a gentle amber light over a fine victory, he might even have been getting to like it.What a game Radlett staged. Professional cricket in England obviously can’t financially survive on small club grounds, but is also about highly entertaining nights like this, fought out before people who care deeply, and even more wonderfully so when two players at the start of their careers come to the fore in such a fashion. Blake Cullen is not about to get a headline for his intelligent and aggressive 1 for 29 in four overs; Joe Cracknell can be assured of plaudits for a brilliant 77 from 42 balls which saw Middlesex home. Both give Middlesex faith that their player development is reaping dividends.Hampshire’s first 200-plus total for three years was eminently chaseable in perfect batting conditions. But patently not by Middlesex, most of their supporters would have suggested. At 30 for 3, with Morgan trudging off, having reached at a very wide one to hole out at deep backward point, a philosophical kind of pessimism had taken hold.But Cracknell, whose threat was illustrated by a 22-ball 50 against Kent, and John Simpson rallied with a stand of 122 from 59 balls. Cracknell possesses a natural belligerence and his youthful optimism began the surge – his innings full of commanding pulls and slog sweeps; Simpson then took over with successive sixes against Liam Dawson’s left-arm spin, never as stylish, but possessing the experience to know what he can get away with.Simpson was stumped at the second attempt, off the leg spin of Mason Crane for 62 from 30 balls. Cracknell, seeking an off-side boundary, where he had rarely ventured, also fell to Crane for 77 from 42. He had been selected ahead of Max Holden which, with due respect to Holden, was a bit of a no-brainer in this format.Crane had carried some threat, as illustrated by his 3 for 35 in three overs. Dawson’s full allocation had gone for 54 and his return to the England T20 squad looked even more like a selection of habit. But Hampshire’s skipper, James Vince, opted logically enough to give the final over to the seam of Brad Wheal with ten needed and Chris Green hammered a successive four and six over deep midwicket to give Middlesex the game.Radlett is an idyllic county ground: a good batting surface, a ground lined by trees and hedges, and a convivial crowd adopting a Country Show attitude to any minor privations in the marquees and the portable toilets. They were allowed not far short of 1,000 spectators which is roughly the same as some of the smaller county grounds, which have stands and things. All to do with pinch points apparently.Hampshire’s 215 for 6 was their first 200-plus score for three years, but it was far from impregnable. Their record since then is as bad as any county in the country and conditions – excellent pitch, fast outfield, short boundaries – was considerably bowler-friendly. They were also without Chris Wood which meant that Kyle Abbott played his first T20 match since turning out in the Lanka Premier League in December.They were on the verge of a colossal Powerplay with 68 garnered from the first five overs and Vince and D’Arcy Short in a blissful world where they could do much as they pleased. With Middlesex lacking five pace bowlers because of injury or (in the case of Tom Helm) recovery from Covid-19, a colossal score looked on the cards.Then came Cullen. Three off the first over; Vince’s head-high hook falling to deep backward square in his next. In his final over, he twice troubled Hampshire’s ex-Middlesex man, James Fuller, twice for pace, the first of them gloved to third man.Cullen, a former England U19, has played for Middlesex since the U10s, and both player and club are beginning to reap the reward of years of endeavour. Pacey, with a strong action, he can reputedly swing the ball in four-day cricket, but here, he adapted intelligently and hit the pitch. The assessment of Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, that he “bowls like a grown man” could not have been more apparent.Green’s night did not begin well. He averages below seven runs an over in a career spanning more than 70 matches, making him beloved of T20 aficionados, and he was also on the back of a five-for against Kent, with four wickets taken in the final over. He was Middlesex’s most expensive bowler, leaking 55 from four overs as his method of pushing it fast and wide across the right-hander brought no dividends.If Middlesex prospered by slog sweeps, Hampshire perished by them, courtesy of the leg spin of Nathan Sowter. Short and Joe Weatherley, the latter after 41 from 22, both fell in such a fashion.Middlesex missed chances in the field, and a succession of shots escaped clawing fingers. The most damaging, in more than one sense, was Sowter’s drop of Dawson, running in from deep backward square, his right ankle sprained in the process. But not damaged enough for him to play a part in Middlesex’s uplifting victory.

Australia were restricted to 105 for 8 before Botha’s whirlwind knock helped South Africa chase down the target with 11 balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2025A four-wicket haul from Ashleigh van Wyk backed up by a whirlwind 24-ball 37 from opener Jemma Botha helped South Africa outclass Australia in the first semi-final by five wickets and confirm a place in the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup final for the first time.Electing to bat in sunny Kuala Lumpur, Australia were on the back foot immediately, with Ines McKeon trapped lbw first ball to fast bowler Nthabiseng Nini. Grace Lyons, promoted up the order, was then run out backing up too far at the bowler’s end, with captain Lucy Hamilton’s punch ricocheting off Nini’s fingers onto the non-striker’s stumps.Hamilton and Caoimhe Bray were circumspect, with the South Africa bowlers sticking to a wicket-to-wicket line. Australia got their first boundary only midway into the fifth over, though Hamilton quickly added a couple more off Nini.Then Kayla Reyneke, the South Africa captain, struck in her first over, pinning her opposite number in front of the stumps, missing a sweep. Australia went 7.3 overs without a boundary, with South Africa putting on a spin strangle. Eleanor Larosa and Bray added 27 runs for the fourth wicket in 47 balls.Jemma Botha scored 37 off 24 balls•ICC via Getty Images

A stunning return catch from Seshnie Naidu saw the back of Larosa before van Wyk took control, ripping through the Australia lower middle order with four wickets in three overs. Australia needed Ella Briscoe’s unbeaten 17-ball 27 to take them to 105 for 8 on a good batting strip.The chase wasn’t expected to be straightforward for South Africa, against an Australia attack that hadn’t conceded more than 100 even once in the tournament. Botha, though, wasted no time.Batting well down the track to negate any movement, Botha got going with back-to-back fours against Larosa in the first over. Simone Lorens also started with a four but was soon castled by a Chloe Ainsworth in-ducker. But there was no stopping Botha. She smashed five fours and two sixes as South Africa raced to 50 for 2 after six overs.With the foundation set, Reyneke took over and guided her side sedately towards their target. She stitched a 21-run stand with Botha and then a 38-run partnership Karabo Meso as South Africa coasted through the middle overs. Reyneke fell with South Africa three short of the target before Naidu took them home with 11 balls to spare.

Assistant coach says West Indies’ fast-bowling stocks are at their highest since the 1980s

Alan Gardner15-Jun-2020England have felt the heat from West Indies’ resurgent battery of quicks on more than one occasion in recent years, most notably during heavy defeats in Barbados and Antigua 18 months ago. The fires stoked by Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder have drawn comparison with West Indies attacks of old, and the team’s assistant coach, Roddy Estwick agreed that Caribbean fast-bowling stocks were at their highest since the 1980s.Roach, notably, dismantled England with match figures of 8 for 82 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in 2019, having claimed 5 for 17 as the tourists were shot out for 77 the week before in Bridgetown, and has already indicated he is keen to “get stuck into them” again on this tour. While his regular new-ball partner Gabriel is currently working his way back from an ankle injury, young talents Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder – described by coach Phil Simmons as a potential “great of West Indies cricket” – are also in the squad to face England.Gabriel could still come into contention if he can prove his fitness, while alongside him in West Indies’ 11-man back-up group are the likes of Oshane Thomas, Anderson Phillip and Keon Harding. Even without Jofra Archer, who played for West Indies U19s but will line-up for England, such strength in depth suggests the Caribbean is once again “blessed” with pace options.ALSO READ: Simmons: WI will be ready and looking to defend our trophy“The fast bowling is very key to us,” Estwick said. “Shannon, Jason, Alzarri, Kemar. The four big fast bowlers, they’re here but what we’ve [also] got on this tour is a group of youngsters coming through: Chemar Holder, Oshane Thomas, Anderson Phillip. We’re beginning to get blessed with fast bowlers again in the West Indies, so that’s an exciting time for us. So we’re looking forward to this series and looking forward to seeing how the fast bowlers go.”Roach’s importance becomes clear when you look at the performances of West Indies’ quicks since he returned to the Test set-up in 2017, on their last tour of England. In that period, only a handful of fast bowlers have taken their wickets at a better strike rate than Roach’s 45.6. Not far behind are Holder (45.9) and Gabriel (47.6), while England’s most penetrative seamer over the same timeframe is 37-year-old James Anderson, who strikes every 53.4 balls.Estwick has worked regularly with Roach, Gabriel and Holder since he was first appointed bowling coach in 2016, and said that they now had the necessary combination of fitness and experience to challenge batting line-ups around the world.”So there’s six or seven around the age of 20, 22-23, so that’s really exciting. Once we can put programmes in place and get them up to a certain standard and get them fit, we should have that pyramid we’re looking for, and once Shannon and Roachy move on, we’ve got people to fill their boots.”West Indies have been training at Old Trafford since landing in England last week and Estwick suggested the bowlers were currently operating at around 80%, with players on both sides striving to get match fit after a long break due to Covid-19 lockdowns. Gabriel has not played at all since September but Estwick said he had regained some of his confidence after ankle surgery and would be trusted to tell the management if he felt he could make it through a Test match.After memorable encounters in 2017 and 2018-19, this series will mark the third time teams led by Holder and Joe Root have contested the Wisden Trophy. West Indies’ Headingley win three years ago was their first in Tests in England since 2000, and Estwick held out the hope they could go one further over the coming weeks.”We got beaten badly at Edgbaston and regrouped and had a famous win at Headingley. What that tells us is that we can compete,” he said. “If you look over the two series, for me you would say the series is three-all right now. England won two Test matches over here in 2017, and we won one; we won two in the Caribbean, and they won one. So the series for us is all square, so we need now to win this series just to get ahead. We won on home soil, they won on home soil, so it’s all up for grabs. We’ve got to make sure we find the extra motivation, and if we can we can spring a surprise.”

Derbyshire slide from 68 for 0 chasing small target before Sol Budinger mistake leaves scores level

ECB Reporters' Network25-Jun-2021Sol Budinger let the chance of a dramatic victory slip through his hands as Notts Outlaws tied with Derbyshire Falcons in a pulsating Vitality Blast game at Derby.Derbyshire needed five off the last ball from Calvin Harrison which skipper Matt Critchley drove to long-on but Budinger dropped the catch and the ball squirted behind him for four to leave the teams level on 137 for 9.The Falcons were cruising at 68 for 0 but collapsed to 129 for 9 and Harrison’s nerveless last over looked to have won it until Budinger’s fumble.They had restricted Notts to 137 for 9 on a slow pitch with legspinner Mattie McKiernan taking 3 for 9 and Logan van Beek recovering from conceding 21 in his first over to claim 2 for 36.Notts had set off like a train with Joe Clarke taking five fours from van Beek’s opening over but Derbyshire held their nerve. Alex Hales was bowled first ball by Conor McKerr and van Beek returned to have Clarke caught at deep square leg.Ben Duckett mistimed a pull to mid off as the Outlaws ended the Powerplay on 58 for 3 and wickets continued to fall to a combination of good bowling and ill-judged shots.Budinger sliced a pull to point the next ball after he was dropped on the midwicket boundary and Samit Patel was lbw to Critchley. McKiernan struck twice in his first over as Tom Moores pulled to deep midwicket and Harrison was bowled to leave the Outlaws on 86 for 7.Luke Fletcher skied McKiernan to point and although Steven Mullaney pulled van Beek for six, he sliced the next ball to cover.Jake Ball and Matt Carter took 25 from the last three overs but Luis Reece threatened to win it at a canter by racing to 51 off 30 balls. But his dismissal reverse-sweeping Patel was the first of four wickets to fall for seven runs, before Critchley and Fynn Hudson-Prentice took Derbyshire to within 10 runs of victory.Harrison and Fletcher both struck twice to leave Derbyshire needing eight off the last over and the Outlaws appeared to have stolen it until Budinger’s mistake consigned them to a third tie in the North Group.

“We will have a board meeting soon after we receive the report and then we will release it publicly,” CSA acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2021CSA’s Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) report will be delivered to the organisation a week later than scheduled, with the ombudsman, Dumisa Ntsebeza, requesting an extension to the revised November 30 deadline. The report will now be sent to the board on December 6.Pholetsi Moseki, the CSA acting chief executive, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the report would be made public after the board has spent time deliberating on its contents: “We will have a board meeting soon after we receive the report and then we will release it publicly.”The report will contain recommendations made by Ntsebeza on issues relating to discrimination in South African cricket, and is expected to cover issues around the culture in the national teams, selection, match fees, and the grassroots.Related

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CSA is not obligated to implement any of Ntsebeza’s suggestions, but is likely to act on at least some of them.This is the second time the report has been delayed after it was initially expected to be completed by September 30. The deadline had to be extended after several parties that were implicated in the first phase of testimonies between July 5 and August 6 requested for time to compile their replies, which was granted.The second phase of testimonies was held in October and included responses by current head coach Mark Boucher, director of cricket Graeme Smith, and former men’s captain AB de Villiers. All three submitted written affidavits and did not appear before the SJN to give oral evidence, and only Boucher’s statement has been made public so far.Although Ntsebeza had previously indicated that the process could do with more time, it has already run for most of 2021 after the first call for submissions was put out at the end of April. It is believed that CSA had budgeted Rand 5 million (US$ 350,000 approx) for the project but the amount has gone up because of the extensions. The costs have come at a time when CSA is waiting to see if its coffers will be filled by an India tour, scheduled to begin in mid-December but in doubt because of the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant in southern Africa.South Africa’s men’s team is also due to play New Zealand (away) and Bangladesh (at home) this summer, while the women’s team is scheduled to host West Indies before the Women’s World Cup.Last week, CSA confirmed that all national teams would continue to take a knee before each match this season to show solidarity with the fight against racism.

Alex Lees, Michael Jones score half-centuries while Graham Clark hits six sixes in 47 off 52

ECB Reporters Network06-Apr-2023New coach Ryan Campbell has pledged that his Durham team would adopt a front-foot approach in the LV= Insurance County Championship and there was early evidence of their intent against Sussex. On a placid pitch at the 1st Central County Ground in Hove, they rattled along at five throughout an absorbing day after being put into bat, closing on 352 for 7 from 70 overs.Michael Jones and Alex Lees laid the foundations with 142 for the first wicket when play began at 1.30pm after morning rain. And although Sussex fought back with seven wickets after tea, Durham maintained their aggressive approach, not least when Ollie Robinson, on his debut following his winter move from Kent, and Graham Clark smashed 61 in eight overs for the fifth wicket.How Sussex could have done with their own Ollie Robinson leading the attack. Instead, Sean Hunt and Henry Crocombe, who took 33 wickets between them last season, shared the new ball and neither they nor the other four bowlers new captain Cheteshwar Pujara had employed by the 22nd over could make much headway against Lees and Jones.Lees may realise that his only way back into the England Test team will be through a more aggressive approach and he needed just 55 balls to bring up his half-century with a pull off Crocombe that brought him a ninth boundary. Jones was a bit more cautious, taking 90 balls for his fifty.So it was a surprise when left-armer George Garton, in his first Championship appearance since last May, found a gap between bat and pad to bowl Lees for 79 in the 29th over. There was little respite for the Sussex attack though, as 6ft 7in Championship debutant Ben McKinney shaped up well. The 18-year-old left-hander, who captained England Under-19s during the winter, found the boundary with his first three scoring shots before hoisting Hunt over long-on for six to bring up the 200 in the 40th over.McKinney (35) was foxed by Crocombe’s slower ball, which he drove to mid-off, and Durham lost their third wicket when David Bedingham was beaten by a lovely away-swinger from Australian Nathan McAndrew, who was making his Sussex debut.Jones had provided the ballast in the innings until he mistimed a pull off Crocombe and spliced a catch to Jack Carson, running round from midwicket, having hit 14 fours in a shade under four hours.Sussex tails were up, but Robinson and Clark counter-attacked with some eye-catching blows. Clark got off the mark by hooking Garton for six before depositing him onto the pavilion roof two balls later. Robinson uppercut Crocombe for six in the next over before Clark took two more sixes off Garton in his next over.Garton, still finding his way back with the red ball after two injury-ravaged seasons, was withdrawn and it proved a shrewd move by Pujara. Offspinner Carson did not get a lot of turn, but he did offer control and broke the stand with a low return catch off Robinson’s firmly-struck on drive.No one epitomised Durham’s approach more than Clark, who hit six sixes in his 47 before McAndrew, Sussex’s most effective seamer, returned down the slope and found enough late inswing to pin him lbw and then had Jonathan Bushnell caught on the boundary to claim his third wicket.Even Brydon Carse, who has only hit ten sixes in his first-class career, cleared the ropes before close, one of ten sixes in the innings so far.

Second hundred of Blast for Australian, before Josh Cobb takes 5 for 25 with offbreaks

ECB Reporters Network09-Jun-2022Chris Lynn continued his purple patch with another unbeaten century as Northamptonshire Steelbacks cruised past Worcestershire Rapids by 73 runs to climb to second in the Vitality Blast North Group.The Steelbacks opener struck 113 not out from 57 balls, despite batting with a runner for part of his innings, to equal his highest score in T20 cricket and set up Northamptonshire’s third straight victory. It was a second Blast hundred for Lynn, who averages almost 95 in the tournament so far, and his second-wicket stand of 115 from 62 with skipper Josh Cobb laid the foundations for their side’s winning total of 220 for 3 at Wantage Road.Worcestershire, who have now lost six of their seven matches, never looked like getting close and subsided tamely to 147 all out, with Cobb claiming career-best figures of 5 for 25.Rapids handed a T20 debut to Jacques Banton – younger brother of Tom – and also entrusted the left-arm spinner with the new ball, a move that brought instant rewards as Ben Curran reverse-swept his third delivery into the hands of backward point.Aside from two isolated sixes off Dillon Pennington, Lynn looked relatively sedate at the other end and initially it was Cobb, hitting over the leg-side infield, who brought impetus to the Steelbacks’ innings. But Lynn began to get into his stride after the powerplay, with Pennington taking the brunt of the assault as the Australian dispatched two colossal maximums over midwicket to bring up his half-century from 25 balls.Cobb was just two deliveries slower to that landmark – his second successive 50 – but the captain got no further, drilling Dwayne Bravo to long-off, where Moeen Ali stretched to take the catch above his head.Despite being hampered by a niggle that meant Curran returned to act as his runner, Lynn continued unabated, clattering Ed Barnard for three consecutive sixes and advancing to his hundred. The shrewd Bravo, with figures of 2 for 15, was the only bowler to establish any kind of control as Saif Zaib and Jimmy Neesham, with an unbeaten 24 from 11 balls, steered Northamptonshire beyond 200.The visitors immediately sank into trouble when they replied, with Jake Libby patting the second delivery of the innings straight to square leg before Tom Taylor ripped out Moeen’s middle stump. Taylor had Colin Munro caught behind two balls later to leave Worcestershire teetering at 16 for 3, but Jack Haynes launched a brief bid to rescue the situation single-handedly, with some clean hitting producing a string of boundaries.Once Haynes had holed out to long-off for 33, Rapids continued to crumble, with Cobb’s offbreaks accounting for five wickets, including those of Ben Cox and Banton in successive balls.Barnard prolonged the visitors’ resistance with a defiant 42 from 29 before he was the last man to depart, caught by Freddie Heldreich at backward square with 20 balls unused.

Behardien, Markram and Morris have missed out on selection for the first two ODIs, but could get a look-in towards the end of the five-match series

Liam Brickhill10-Jan-2019Batsman Rassie van der Dussen is in line for his ODI debut and seamer Dane Paterson has been recalled to South Africa’s 14-man squad for the first two ODIs against Pakistan to be played later this month. Van der Dussen scored a match-winning fifty on his T20I debut against Zimbabwe last year, but missed out on selection for South Africa’s limited overs trip to Australia in November, while Paterson has not played for the Proteas in this format since his debut series against Bangladesh in 2017.Hashim Amla, who missed the most recent series in Australia while he was recovering from a finger injury, also returns to the squad but JP Duminy and Lungi Ngidi were not considered as their rehabilitation to full fitness continues.”We need to look at all the options available to us as we get closer to selecting our final squad for this year’s World Cup,” national selector Linda Zondi said. “Rassie and Dane are two players who have been knocking strongly on the door in all formats.”After his bright T20I debut, van der Dussen continued to make headlines during the inaugural Mzansi Super League, during which he topped the run charts with 469 runs at a strike rate of 138.75 and played a vital role in Jozi Stars’ title-winning campaign. Paterson has also been there and thereabouts for a while, having played in the T20Is against Zimbabwe and been included as injury cover in the Test squad against Pakistan.The trialing of van der Dussen and Paterson means that Farhaan Behardien, Aiden Markram and Chris Morris miss out on the opening exchanges against Pakistan, but they could well get a look-in towards the end of the five-match series, when the squad will be revised.”Those players who went to Australia and have not been selected for the first two matches – Farhaan Behardien, Aiden Markram and Chris Morris – are by no means out of the picture and they may well get further opportunities in the second half of the series,” Zondi said.”We are very happy with the way in which our Vision 2019 is taking shape. The series against Pakistan could not have come at a better time as they will provide a very stern test for the Proteas under conditions very similar to what we will experience at the World Cup.”South Africa ODI squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen

The decision to replace Joseph, who suffered a stress fracture in the back late last year, was made after two fitness assessments

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2018Sherman Lewis, the right-arm fast bowler from Windward Islands, has been called up to West Indies’ Test squad for their tour of India in October. Lewis replaces Alzarri Joseph, who has been ruled out as he continues to recover from a stress fracture of the back suffered late last year.Lewis made his first-class debut for Windward Islands in March last year, and made a mark with 30 scalps at 21.66 in the Regional Four Day Tournament. Lewis also toured England with the West Indies A team for matches against India A and England Lions earlier this year. In the first unofficial Test against India at the Kent County Cricket Ground, he took four-wicket hauls in each innings as both teams traded the advantage before West Indies held off India for a draw.The decision to keep Joseph out was made after two fitness assessments, after which the Cricket West Indies medical panel made its recommendation. Joseph’s progress will be monitored at the High Performance Centre at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. He did return to limited-overs cricket in the preceding home series against Bangladesh, and was picked in the squad for the second Test of that series but did not play. He did get in four CPL games, though, after that.West Indies face India in two Tests, the first of which begins on October 4 in Rajkot. They will then play five ODIs, before the tour concludes with three T20 internationals. Members of the squad have already begun preparation for the tour with training sessions at the ICC Academy in Dubai.

The visitors will need their bowlers to step up to stop India’s batsmen from running away with the game once again

The Preview by Sreshth Shah23-Oct-20186:43

Agarkar: Prefer Kuldeep over Jadeja if India pick two spinners

Big Picture

It may be 17 springs ago, but March 31, 2001 seems like yesterday. It was India v Australia in Indore, and Sachin Tendulkar, in his 259th innings, was on the verge of going where no man had ever ventured.With the score at 77 for 1 and Shane Warne bowling his rippers in Indore, Tendulkar nonchalantly caressed a drive to long-off in the 18th over to collect his 10,000th ODI run. The great man had finally broken his generation’s golden number, and with that created a new yardstick in ODI cricket.Virat Kohli has 9,919 runs in 204 innings. He is on the brink of absolutely pulverising Tendulkar’s record of fastest to five digits. He toyed with the West Indies attack in the first ODI, scoring a 107-ball 140 and there’s no reason why he can’t repeat the performance in the second game as well.Devendra Bishoo and, in particular, Ashley Nurse, don’t look like wicket-takers when India are on defence. And when India are on the attack – then well, the economies of 7.2 and 9 in the first ODI paint a fairly accurate picture. Unlike Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav or Ravindra Jadeja, who provide control, guile and dot balls in the middle overs, Bishoo and Nurse were milked for runs quite comfortably.Question marks also hover around West Indies’ batting. Yes, they did score 322 in Guwahati, but their batting performance wasn’t optimal. Kieran Powell has a List-A strike rate of 77 since 2013 and Shai Hope’s career List-A strike-rate is under 70. On flat pitches, those numbers will hurt West Indies’ eventual total, irrespective of the solidity they bring at the top. With Shimron Hetmyer, fresh off a century, and Marlon Samuels possessing the ability to keep the run-rate ticking, they could perhaps look to rejig the batting order in a bid to post totals that would actually make India work harder. They are capable of it – with Rovman Powell and Holder to cap their innings off – but they need their top order to do more.And as for India, they will want a solution, once and for all, to the No. 4 to No. 6 conundrum. Even so, since January 2017, they have still won 50% of all ODIs where none of their top three scored a half-century.

Form guide

India WWTWW (most recent first)
West Indies LLWLL

In the spotlight

India’s pace attack will be what coach Ravi Shastri and Kohli will be looking at. Mohammad Shami went at over 8 per over, while Khaleel Ahmed and Umesh Yadav had economy rates of 6.4. They failed to clean up the tail in Guwahati after their spinners had West Indies eight-down by the 44th over, and allowed Nos. 9 and 10 to add 44 runs. With India set to announce their squad for the final three ODIs after the Visakhapatnam game, this may be the last chance for the pacers to shine.Marlon Samuels loves to play in India. He’s averages 40 in the country and smacked two hundreds the last time he visited in 2014. He’s a big-match player, as two World T20 final Man-of-the-Match awards attest, and with his team trailing 1-0, it is imperative for Samuels to hold fort through the middle overs if West Indies are to level the series.

Team news

India are unlikely to make any changes to their side, barring the possibility of Kuldeep’s return. The left-arm wristspinner, who was rested in Guwahati, dismissed Hetmyer three times in the Test series and may come in for Jadeja.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja/Kuldeep Yadav, 8 Mohammad Shami, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Khaleel AhmedWest Indies have the option of using the pace of Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul or Obed McCoy – the left-arm quick – in lieu of Nurse’s offspin if they wish to reduce the number of overs bowled by the slower bowlers. Or they may choose to bring in left-arm spinner Fabian Allen for variety. Batting wise, it would be cruel to leave out Chandrapaul Hemraj after just one international outing.West Indies (possible): 1 Chandrapaul Hemraj, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmeyer, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse/Fabian Allen 9 Keemo Paul/Oshane Thomas/Alzarri Joseph, 10 Devendra Bishoo, 11 Kemar Roach

Pitch and conditions

Dew could be a factor since Visakhapatnam straddles India’s eastern coast, so bowling first could be the way to go. Especially considering there’s also a forecast of afternoon showers and, perhaps, a thunderstorm to follow. Pitch-wise, like always, Visakhapatnam is expected to be high scoring.

Stats and trivia

• Shikhar Dhawan is 173 runs away from becoming the fastest Indian to 5,000 ODI runs
• In seven ODIs at the ground, the team losing the toss has never won the game
• Rohit Sharma is a solitary shot away from matching Tendulkar’s tally of 195 ODI sixes. Among Indians, only MS Dhoni (217) has more

Quotes