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Apparently 162 games wasn't enough for Rafael Devers this year.

Heading into the final day of Major League Baseball's regular season, the former Red Sox star has already played in 162 games on the season. Boston dealt him to the Giants in mid-June, ending his eight-year tenure with the team. San Francisco and Devers's season hasn't went to plan since the trade as the Giants' season will come to a close Sunday after their game with the Rockies as they try to finish the year an even .500.

Devers hasn't missed a game in a Red Sox or Giants uniform this season. Boston's schedule was one game ahead of San Francisco's when the trade went down, which means he will play in his 163rd game of the year Sunday. He becomes the first MLB player to play in 163 games in a year since 2008, according to NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic.

Justin Morneau played in 163 games for the Twins in '08 due to a tiebreaker against the White Sox to decide the AL Central. When the MLB expanded its postseason in '22, tiebreaker games were removed to resolve ties at the regular season, which made the feat all the more rare.

The big trade paved the way for Devers to play in 163 this year, but it could be a long time before we see anyone accomplish the task again.

The Athletics will complete their first season in their temporary home of Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif., against the Royals on Sunday.

Between their departure from their longtime home in Oakland and the move into their new stadium in Las Vegas expected by 2028, Sacramento is home. It may not feel that way, though, as they became known simply as the "Athletics" this season. The franchise's stopgap home is set to feel a bit more natural next season as they unveiled new alternate uniforms Sunday that proudly read Sacramento across the chest.

The new jerseys will seemingly replace the team's current gold alternates with the "A's" logo on the left chest. According to MLB.com's Martín Gallegos, the A's plan to wear their new Sacramento gold uniforms for every home Saturday game next season.

Just one of two MLB franchises without a City Connect uniform, the new jerseys are a no-brainer to further relate to their new city even if they will only be there for a couple more years. The Athletics' '25 campaign will come to a close Sunday as they finish the regular season near the bottom of the AL West with the Angels. There's plenty to be excited about, though, with strong rookie campaigns from Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson, plus the deadline deal where they acquired top prospect Leo De Vries by sending Mason Miller and JP Sears to the Padres.

After making two consecutive Ranji finals 15 years ago, Bengal have been more in the news for controversies

Shamya Dasgupta12-Feb-2020Bengal last reached the Ranji Trophy final in the 2006-07 season, when they were undone by a Zaheer Khan-inspired Mumbai outfit. That was their second consecutive Ranji final, having lost to Uttar Pradesh the previous season. Since then Bengal have remained on the outside fringes on the Indian first-class circuit despite having won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament once each [East Zone won the latter once too, when the format changed in 2016-17].This Ranji season there is once again a sense of optimism as Bengal remain in contention going into the final round of the league phase. They have been rather impressive in patches, but it won’t surprise anyone, including themselves, if Bengal fail to make the knockouts. Same old story, people will say, and move on.It is a paradox that the state that gave Indian cricket a pioneering administrator in Jagmohan Dalmiya, and a successful international captain in Sourav Ganguly, currently the BCCI president, has struggled and stagnated when it comes to cricket.Since Ganguly retired, only four players from Bengal have played for India: Ashok Dinda and Manoj Tiwary featured briefly in the mid-2010s but couldn’t quite stay the course; Mohammed Shami has become one of the premier all-format bowlers for India while Wriddhiman Saha remains the first-choice wicketkeeper in Test cricket.

“Any major, or even mid-level, cricket team should have at least a few back-ups. In Bengal, that is not the case”Deep Dasgupta

Apart from these four, Bengal’s current captain Abhimanyu Easwaran has been watched closely by the national selectors, but his poor form in the current season – 182 runs at 20.22 in 11 innings before the final round – has put pressure on the 24-year-old who shifted to Kolkata from Dehradun. There is also Ishan Porel, who was part of the 2018 Under-19 World Cup-winning squad and is currently part of the India A outfits.But overall, Bengal have continued to remain outsiders on the Ranji circuit. If it has featured in the headlines, it has been because of controversies.Tiwary, who has been their best batsman this season so far, was removed as captain at the outset. No reasons were given.There was the incident involving Devang Gandhi, former opening batsman and now national selector, being spotted in the Bengal dressing room during a break in play in one of the Ranji games, and being removed, though CAB officials played down the incident.The biggest story, however, involved the removal of Dinda, the team’s senior-most pacer, from the squad altogether after ugly scenes with the bowling coach Ranadeb Bose.But these stories, and this season, aren’t an exception. Even though, after eight rounds of the Ranji Trophy, the team is up at No. 4 in the Elite cross pool [groups A and B combined]. Fair to ask then, what’s so rotten in the state of Bengal?”It’s not one thing,” a senior member of the squad told ESPNcricinfo. “I feel the selection policy is the main problem, selection has not been up to the mark. We have a young captain, but he doesn’t always get the team he wants. The controversy from the start of the season [the captaincy swap], Dinda’s problems, the dressing room atmosphere is not right… if the senior-most bowler and the bowling coach don’t get along, if they don’t see eye-to-eye, eventually it will have an effect.”He revealed that the Dinda incident created factions within the dressing room, even though no one was willing to take responsibility or put things in order.Who is running the ship?Matters of discipline are usually handled with firm hands in the team management, by the captain or the coach. In Bengal’s case, the centre of power is slightly elsewhere – in the hands of the CAB, led by Avishek Dalmiya now, and Ganguly not too long ago.Sourav Ganguly congratulates the new CAB president Avishek Dalmiya and joint-secretary Snehashish Ganguly•PTI Late in the 2018-19 season, as Bengal floundered, former Bengal captain Arun Lal was appointed as mentor, even though former Mumbai captain Sairaj Bahutule was still the head coach. Lal then took over as the coach this season. People in the know say Lal was brought in because of increasing dissent in the ranks following a succession of poor results under Bahutule. “I am someone the players are comfortable with, and the association officials trust,” Lal said, explaining his new appointment.Lal is one of the nicest people you’ll meet, and Bengal cricketers concur. But the players’ vote is split on Lal the coach – “helpful” to one, “bad-tempered” to another. Another player called Lal “a good salesman” tasked with selling a “rubbish product” [Bengal cricket]. Players agreed Lal could be a good motivator but hasn’t really been in touch with modern cricket.

“The selection policy is the main problem, selection has not been up to the mark. We have a young captain, but he doesn’t always get the team he wants”An unnamed team member

Then there is Abhimanyu, who is looked at as an outsider. Some believe he is playing for Bengal only to further his own ambitions of playing for India, even though his father, RP Easwaran, says the big reason for moving his son to Kolkata was the “flexible and open” Bengal cricketing system.”Not a born leader. No gut feeling. No decision-making. He is a puppet [of the selectors],” a team member says. But he also calls Abhimanyu a nice guy, and that burdening him with leadership duties will only hurt everyone in the process.Naresh Ojha, CAB vice-president, disagrees. “He [Abhimanyu] is a calm guy, a composed guy, he’s the right guy for the job. We have chosen him with a long-term view. It’s a matter of time. He is settling in, so give him a little time, and he will do well.”Lal, too, had endorsed Easwaran’s appointment. “He is a terrific batsman, very, very talented, and he has exceptional work ethic. I like him very much. He has been living alone in Kolkata, away from his family, for a while now, but it hasn’t affected his game at all. It’s quite remarkable. I also like that he is very respectful towards his seniors and towards his team-mates.”“We are handing debuts to 30-31-year-old players”In November 2015, former Bengal captain Raju Mukherjee resigned as chief selector of Bengal. “I am extremely disappointed with Raju’s behaviour. I used to respect him a lot but… this was totally uncalled for,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by at the time.Abhimanyu Easwaran has been watched closely by the national selectors, but his poor form in the current season has put him under pressure•Abhimanyu EaswaranThe issue was over identifying a replacement for Saha when the senior man had to leave for India duties. Raju had opted for a young man called Sayan Mukherjee, who was in the squad, but Shreevats Goswami ended up playing the next match, against Haryana, apparently following CAB interference. Raju tells his side of the story: “Sourav and I go back a long way, and we have been very close over the years. But this was not acceptable to me, and if I am not doing the selecting, then I see no reason to continue.”It’s probably not worth going too far back to look at baffling selection calls in Bengal. Dinda, a giant of the domestic circuit even if he could never quite stay at the highest level, played just one game this season, got three wickets in an eight-wicket win, and was then suspended following the altercation with Bose.His replacement was Akash Deep, a 23-year-old from Bihar, has done well, picking up 20 wickets in eight innings. But there have been other questionable selections when it comes to fast bowlers especially. Ayan Bhattacharjee, a 28-year-old who had last played a first-class match in 2016, was picked against Delhi, and bowled just six overs in a rain-hit match where Delhi did face 82 overs. He batted No. 8 and scored a duck. Then we have Nilkantha Das, who was handed a first-class debut at 31. Somewhere along the way, Kazi Saifi got a first-class debut as a batsman too, and scored 27 and 9 in his two innings so far.One disadvantage for Bengal compared to other sides like Vidarbha has been the pool of players graduating from the age group to Under-19 to Under-23 to Ranji ranks successfully. Those keeping a close watch say Bengal’s youngsters have failed to make the cut.Dubious selections, many believe, continue to hurt Bengal cricket. Two recent examples are Pradipta Pramanik and Aamir Gani. Pramanik, a left-arm spinner who is still only 21, hasn’t played first-class cricket this season at all despite a bowling average of 24.56. The same is the case with Banaras-born offspinner Gani, 23. His bowling average of 35.13 isn’t great for a frontline spinner, but he was in the set-up for four seasons before being shunted out.Deep Dasgupta, former India wicketkeeper-batsman and Bengal captain, agrees. “That just about sums it up, doesn’t it? That we are handing debuts to 30-31-year-old players. It’s not their fault, but something’s wrong somewhere that we can’t find a 20-25-year-old when we need one,” he says. “Any major, or even mid-level, cricket team should have at least a few back-ups. In Bengal, that is not the case.”“It’s a vicious loop”Another big factor affecting the grassroots as well as the senior level is the absence of quality coaches. CAB has hired the likes of WV Raman, Paras Mhambrey and Bahutule but insiders believe that has only hurt because there is no home-grown coach, except that the age-group level and in the academies. Despite most ex-Bengal players being coaches, but there is a vacuum of sorts, especially because many of them are not quite modern in their approach: one administrator brings up former Indian opener Pranab Roy, the state Under-16 coach, who is “still teaching kids to bat side-on”.Manoj Tiwary, who has been their best batsman this season so far, was removed as captain at the outset. No reasons were given.•PTI “It’s a vicious loop,” says an insider. “In the second division, outsiders are not allowed. Why not in the first division then? Play only local cricketers, and bring in professionals. If we had brought in, say, a Jalaj Saxena, he could have improved other cricketers. Abhimanyu and Ishan Porel aside, no one is good enough. We had players before who could have played in other states. Now, apart from these two players, no one is good enough.”A solid cricket structure is, Dasgupta believes, the way forward. He feels the problem is in the focus on the Ranji Trophy and the club circuit, and not on the feeder system. “Why can’t there be a full-time director of cricket, and a committee, come out with a proposal, debate… because the feeding system needs an upgrade,” he says. “School, college, university, corporate – we need to focus there. We can’t take away club cricket, but we need to build something around it that is of equal importance.”See, if you don’t focus on the Under-16s and Under-19s, it’s not like it used to be. There are far too many distractions now. If a talented kid from a middle-class family sees that he is not getting the right opportunities and the clubs are influencing the selection, he has other career options. Same with Under-19s, the college kids, the university kids. Of course, this is not just in Bengal, but in Bengal, there isn’t a lot of cricket. We haven’t got a proper second division in place. Kids play 50-100 games a year in Mumbai and Delhi and Bangalore, here we have 20-25 games in a year. In the second division, people who are 30-40 are playing. It should be restricted to youngsters, if we want a proper pipeline in place.”Dasgupta doesn’t quite say it’s a lost cause but agrees that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Bengal, with other parts of the country investing far more in cricket.”If we play 100 games a year, a failure in one game won’t faze me, it won’t put me under pressure. We need to get out of the shell. What happens here is that our boys play just a handful of games, and they need to do well in those,” Dasgupta explains. “We don’t have an office league anymore. Even when it was there, the top guys wouldn’t bother. The local structure, it looks organised from the outside, but it isn’t, it’s ruled by the clubs. When the clubs become powerful, they call the shots, they pull strings.”Dasgupta wants a stronger Under-16 set-up, including a two-day competition, to teach youngsters to “bat for three sessions” or “bowl 20 overs in a day”. He isn’t hopeful of that happening, though.Vision 2020 – what came of it?Incidentally, Bengal was one of the first states to take a forward-looking step when the CAB put in a place an ambitious Vision 2020 plan. It was launched in 2014 and was Ganguly’s brainchild – he was the CAB’s joint-secretary then, with Dalmiya still the boss. The plan was to get the cricketing greats from across the world to nurture young talent. “We want to help players in Bengal. I realise the need of having the expertise to take Bengal players ahead. These youngsters need special guidance and we can’t have better persons than Waqar [Younis] and Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan],” Ganguly had said at its inception.His ambition was to “build a centre of excellence” for Bengal cricket. “We want to be like a Mumbai or Karnataka, who keep producing players. Hopefully, we’ll be able to succeed.” Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite happened.The insider says Muralitharan and Laxman did spend a little time with the players, but for the rest of the time, local coaches were in charge. Ojha counters: “Vision 2020 was to put a system in place, to churn out a good number of players. It has worked, but not as well as we have expected. When an icon speaks, they will listen, they pick up things. It’s a continuous process, and we wait for deliverance. We are providing everything, now we wait for good performances.” It’s been six years.So far, it has been a decent season for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, but players and coaches aren’t banking on any major success, not in a sustained way, for sure. It does seem like the rot runs deep. “Dada [Ganguly] can’t know everything,” a team member says. True. But systems must be put in place – like Dasgupta recommends – to set things right. For the long term. It needs vision. There are people with enough power and influence to do it. But Bengal continues to wait.

We look at the impact he has had, particularly in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s success

ESPNcricinfo stats team05-Sep-2020

Warner is one of the most consistent players in the IPL. In a tournament where many overseas openers with big reputations have failed without making an impression, he has stamped his authority as one of the dominant forces in the league.ESPNcricinfo LtdHe is a unique overseas player in the context of the league in that he has no major weakness. He has an extraordinary record against spin, averaging 62.17 and striking at 141.7. He has scored more than 500 runs in each of the last five seasons he has played and has won the orange cap thrice. Warner also scores at a good pace across all phases of the game and has scores of 30-plus in over 50% of his innings. The Sunrisers Hyderabad are highly dependent on him for good starts. Since 2015, whenever Warner has played, he has scored 31% of the team’s bat-runs and has led them to a title win and a playoff spot in the three seasons he captained.Warner’s impact as measured by Smart Stats
One way to gauge how influential a player has been for his team is to look at how often he has won the Man-of-the-Match award. ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats has its own metric for objectively identifying the player with the highest impact on a match: the Total Impact measure, a numerical value and a sum of the batting and bowling impact of the player in a match, which are calculated by the Smart Stats algorithm.ESPNcricinfo LtdWarner has been the most impactful player once every nine matches he has played in the league. This is the sixth most frequent for any player who has played at least 60 IPL games.One of his most impactful performances in the league was in the 2016 Qualifier game against the Gujarat Lions in New Delhi. Faced with a challenging target of 162, Sunrisers were 66 for 3 at the end of ten overs, with Warner on 43 from 32 balls. Although he was losing partners at the other end, he continued to score runs at a quick pace. With six overs to go, Sunrisers needed 66 more at 11 runs per over and Warner had already scored 63% of the team’s total by then. Warner and Naman Ojha smashed 19 off Dwayne Smith to ease the pressure, but after two tight overs from Dwayne Bravo and Dhawal Kulkarni, Sunrisers needed 24 off the final two. With some quick running and some smart support from Bipul Sharma, Warner managed to get his side over the line with four balls remaining.ESPNcricinfo LtdAccording to the Smart Stats algorithm, Warner’s impact with the bat was more than twice that of the next best batsman in the match, Aaron Finch. This was mainly due to the quality of the runs he made and the situation he was up against.Since Warner is an opener, the chances of him being the top scorer and making a big impact are much greater than for others batting lower down. However there is an instance in which Warner was neither his team’s top scorer nor the Man of the Match but was still the MVP as per Smart Stats – against the Mumbai Indians in 2014 in Hyderabad. Warner came in to bat at No. 4 with the score at 70 for 2 in the tenth over. In tough conditions, he made a 31-ball 55 to help Sunrisers reach a competitive 157. Although SRH ended up losing, Warner’s impact score was 97, more than that of the two half-century makers for Mumbai, Lendl Simmons and Ambati Rayudu.Warner’s consistency in the IPL is also evident through his Total Impact per match score – 45.9, which is only second to Chris Gayle (53) among pure batsmen.

And when was the last time Australia fielded 11 right-handers in a Test?

Steven Lynch03-Nov-2020I’d like to know which Test and ODI sides contained the players with the most such matches to their name, who were still the most inexperienced member of those sides? asked Sunindu Marasinghe from Sri Lanka

I hope I’ve understood this question correctly, and that what we’re looking for is the players with the most caps at the time for a particular XI, but who were the least capped member of that team – the most-experienced least-experienced players, if you like.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team kindly took a few minutes off from IPL duty to help out with this one. In Tests, the answer appears to come from the ICC World XI in the one-off Super Series Test against Australia in Sydney in 2005-06: the man in that team with the fewest caps was England’s Steve Harmison, with 35. That’s obviously an unusual case: the answer for a genuine Test team is a least experienced player who already had 22 caps. This has happened twice – by Patrick Patterson for West Indies against Australia in St John’s, Antigua, in April 1991, and Rohit Sharma for India against Sri Lanka in Delhi in December 2017.In one-day internationals, the least capped member of Pakistan’s XI against New Zealand in Lahore during the 1996 World Cup was wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, who had already played a staggering 74 ODIs. Next comes Darren Lehmann, who was the junior member of the Australian side that won the World Cup final against Pakistan at Lord’s in June 1999, with 52 ODI caps.Australia have had a long line of left-handers – Border, Taylor, Gilchrist, Hayden, Warner… so how long is it since they fielded a team of 11 right-handers in a Test? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England

The answer here is quite a surprise: in over 800 Test matches since 1886, Australia have only once had a team composed entirely of right-handers, against West Indies in Adelaide in 1930-31.The last team from anywhere to field a team composed entirely of right-hand batsmen was India, against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in August 2016. In all there have been 323 instances in all Tests.Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe has remarkably similar batting averages in Test, first-class, ODI and List A cricket. Has there ever been anyone with less variation? asked Rafay Iqbal from England

The Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza does indeed have remarkably similar batting averages: before the current one-day series against Pakistan, he averaged 34.56 in Tests and 34.58 in one-day internationals, and 34.27 in first-class cricket and 34.28 in List A matches.There are a few others whose averages are quite similar: Mahela Jayawardene averaged 49.85 in Tests and 49.69 in first-class, then 33.38 in ODIs and 33.67 in List A. Another Sri Lankan, seamer Suranga Lakmal, has batting averages of 11.61 in Tests and 11.62 in first-class, then 9.38 in ODIs and 9.36 in List A. Close to him is India’s Javagal Srinath: batting averages of 14.21 in Tests and 14.50 in first-class, 10.64 in ODIs and 10.48 in List A. Turning to the bowlers, Australia’s Len Pascoe averaged 26.06 with the ball in Tests and 25.60 in first-class, 20.11 in ODIs and 20.52 in List A.But no one is as closely grouped overall as Raza. Just to complete the set, when we researched the question a few days ago he was 34.5 years old!Chris Gayle cracked 59 sixes in 15 matches for RCB in 2012, and was also the winner of the orange cap that season•AFPWhat’s the record for sixes in an IPL season? asked Balasubramanian Sambasivam from India

The most sixes in one season in the Indian Premier League is 59, almost inevitably by Chris Gayle, for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2012 (he also hit 51 in 2013). Another Jamaican, Andre Russell, ran him close with 52 for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019. It doesn’t look like the record will be threatened in this year’s competition: as I write, the leading six-hitter is Sanju Samson with 26.Was the Walter Lawrence Trophy awarded in 2020? asked Keith Pollock from England

The Walter Lawrence Trophy is awarded to the scorer of the fastest hundred in the English season: it was first presented in 1934 (Frank Woolley was the first winner) and has been a regular feature ever since, although it fell into abeyance after the Second World War, and was not resumed until 1966. Originally given to the scorer of the fastest hundred in first-class cricket, the award was widened in 2008 to include one-day and T20 matches.And the 2020 winner came, unsurprisingly, from a T20 match: for Nottinghamshire against Durham in Chester-le-Street on August 29, Joe Clarke hurtled to three figures in just 44 balls, with eight sixes and seven fours.And there’s an update on last week’s question about horses named after cricketers, from Beville Blackman from Trinidad

“In 1994 Lash Dem Lara, a horse named after new Test record holder Brian Lara, won the Trinidad & Tobago Derby.” And a few people emailed to remind me that the Nottinghamshire and England favourite Derek Randall was nicknamed “Arkle”, after another famous racehorse.Use our
feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

We assess the chances of the teams in Group One in our County Championship preview

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2021

Derbyshire

Matt Critchley consults with captain Billy Godleman•Getty ImagesLast season: 2nd in North Group
Head of cricket: Dave Houghton
Captain: Billy Godleman
Overseas: Billy Stanlake
Ins: Brooke Guest (Lancashire)
Outs: Tony Palladino, Ravi Rampaul (released)
Few clubs embraced the euphoria of last season’s Bob Willis Trophy quite like Derbyshire. The glee of release was two-fold in their case, from the constraints of lockdown on the one hand, but also from their pre-ordained struggle for survival on the other, as they unleashed a hungry crop of youngsters on a host of Test-match grounds in the North Group, and were still in the hunt for a Lord’s final berth ahead of their final-round loss to Lancashire.
The retention of the conference system for 2021 gives Derbyshire another dart at the big time this year – with champions Essex among their rivals in Group One – and if Billy Godleman can coax similarly ambitious displays from his squad, then there’s no reason to think they can’t strike a few similar blows.
Certainly, Dave Houghton has moulded a squad with many of the punch-above-weight attributes of the Zimbabwe team of his playing days. Wayne Madsen, Derbyshire’s captain when they last confounded expectations to earn promotion in 2012, remains a pivotal figure at the age of 37, while the balance that Luis Reece offers while opening the batting and bowling with his left-arm angles is invaluable.
Among the coming men in Derbyshire’s ranks, Leus du Plooy and Fynn Hudson-Prentice both made strides in the BWT, while Matt Critchley’s emergence as a legspinning allrounder did not go unnoticed either. No Derbyshire bowler fared better than his 17 wickets at 26.88.
One to watch: If he can stay fit – and, sadly, it has been a big ‘if’ in recent years – then Billy Stanlake could prove to be one of the signings of the summer. His 6ft 7in cloud-snagging action offers natural attributes that make him a threat in all conditions, and his desire to prove his stamina in red-ball cricket gives an eye-catching focal point to a seam-bowling attack that was arguably Derbyshire’s weak link last summer. Andrew Miller
Bet365: 33-1

Durham

Paul Coughlin is one of a number of Durham returnees•Getty ImagesLast season: 6th in North Group
Director of cricket: Marcus North

Coach: James Franklin
Captain: Scott Borthwick
Overseas players: Will Young (April-May), Cameron Bancroft (May onwards)
Ins: Scott Borthwick (Surrey)
Outs: Scott Steel (Leicestershire), James Weighell (Glamorgan), Sol Bell, Josh Coughlin, Gareth Harte, Nathan Rimmington, Ben Whitehead (all released)
Scott Borthwick’s return north as Durham’s Championship captain will further inspire hopes that Durham are on the up, the after-shocks of their near-bankruptcy in 2016 now departed. The regional loyalties that are at Durham’s heart are also exemplified by the recent return of two bowling allrounders, Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin, but when all is said and done it is cricketing statistics that matter. Departures of two top-order batsmen, Gareth Harte and Scott Steel, have been presented as blows but Harte had a first-class average under 30 and Steel, only 21, had only played two first-class matches. Far more important is that David Bedingham, the former South Africa U-19 batsman, builds on an excellent maiden season in 2020 and that Jack Burnham, Ned Eckersley and Sean Dickson address the poor returns that saw them make only two half-centuries between them last season.
Durham look a seam bowler light so Chris Rushworth, who is 23 wickets shy of becoming Durham’s most prolific first-class bowler, needs Matty Potts to take his T20 form into the four-day stuff. And then there is Borthwick’s unpredictable legspin: as captain, at least he can bring himself on at the right time. Durham’s toughest fixtures are up first – away trips to Nottinghamshire and Essex with the opener at Trent Bridge particularly intriguing.
One to watch: Matty Potts, a Sunderland-born seamer, became the latest homegrown product to catch the attention with a strong Vitality Blast last season and he will now hope to make a more regular impact in the Championship. David Hopps
Bet365: 50-1

Essex

Alastair Cook and Tom Westley will be key figures once again•Getty ImagesLast season: 1st in South Group, BWT winners
Coach: Anthony McGrath
Captain: Tom Westley
Overseas: Simon Harmer, Peter Siddle
Ins:
Outs: Rishi Patel (Leicestershire)
Defending County Champions from 2019, Essex also pocketed “the Bob” during last year’s truncated season and will go into the summer as the team to beat in red-ball cricket. The strategy that underpins their success is deceptively simple: a largely homegrown squad, blending youth and experience, spearheaded by one of the most potent attacks on the circuit. Over the last four seasons of Championship and Bob Willis Trophy cricket, no bowlers can touch Simon Harmer (250 wickets) and Jamie Porter (208) at the top of the tree; Sam Cook and Aaron Beard, two 23-year-olds, provide sharp support and the return of Peter Siddle, once his involvement with Tasmania in the Sheffield is concluded, will add further cutting edge.
Stability has also been a key feature of their success. Tom Westley succeeded Ryan ten Doeschate as captain last year, but of the group that won the 2017 Championship, the only significant departures have been Ravi Bopara (now at Sussex) and James Foster (retirement). Alastair Cook continues into the third year of his contract post-England, Dan Lawrence will be looking to burnish his Test credentials after showing glimpses of his ability on the winter tours of Sri Lanka and India, and the familiar outlines of Nick Browne, Westley and ten Doeschate will help fill out the batting order. Worryingly for the rest, their appetite to extend the title-winning dynasty at Chelmsford seems as strong as ever.
One to watch: Feroze Khushi received unwanted attention after having beer poured over him during last year’s Bob Willis Trophy celebrations (Khushi is a Muslim), but the 21-year-old batsman had caught the eye with a couple of attractive innings in victories over Kent and Surrey, and will be looking to force his way into Essex’s settled top order. Alan Gardner
Bet365: 11-2

Nottinghamshire

Blast champions Notts are looking to regain that winning feeling in red-ball cricket•Getty ImagesRelated

• Hanuma Vihari confirmed for Warwickshire stint after Pieter Malan deal hits visa snag

• Borthwick's return as captain marks Durham's levelling up

• Vihari lined up for Warwickshire stint after Malan deal hits visa snag

Last season: 4th in North Group
Director of cricket: Mick Newell
Coach: Peter Moores
Captain: Steven Mullaney
Overseas players: Dane Paterson
Ins: Brett Hutton (Northamptonshire), Lyndon James (academy), Toby Pettman, Dane Schadendorf
Outs: Chris Nash, Jack Blatherwick (Lancashire)
June 23, 2018 is etched into the minds of Nottinghamshire members: the date they last felt the joy of victory in a first-class match. They are winless in 27 fixtures since that victory at Chelmsford, and as a result, any optimism for the 2021 season should be cautious in the extreme. There were glimmers of hope in the BWT last summer, with runs for recent recruits Ben Slater, Haseeb Hameed, Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke – who are likely to form the top four at the start of this season – but they were unfortunate with the weather and lacked a ruthless streak in crunch moments, most notably in the defeat against Derbyshire.
The club have built a deep pool of seamers too, both homegrown and imported. Zak Chappell and Jake Ball were both in the wickets last summer and Stuart Broad is likely to play a handful of early-season fixtures. Dane Paterson – eventually signed as an overseas player after 12 months in limbo – looks like a smart pick-up, while the underrated Brett Hutton has returned from Northants. For all the club’s white-ball success during the Peter Moores era, the first thing to tick off this season will be that elusive four-day victory.
One to watch: Samit Patel has not officially retired from red-ball cricket, but is not expected to feature in the Championship this season unless injury strikes. As a result, there is a vacancy for a left-arm spinner who can hold a bat, and Liam Patterson-White is the ideal candidate to fill it. He will play a holding role in the early rounds, but a pre-season five-for against Warwickshire suggests he will have no trouble running through the tail when required. Matt Roller
Bet365: 8-1

Warwickshire

Olly Stone breaks through for Warwickshire•Getty ImagesLast season: 3rd in Central Group
Director of cricket: Paul Farbrace
Coach: Mark Robinson
Captain: Will Rhodes
Overseas: Pieter Malan
Ins: Danny Briggs (Sussex), Manraj Johal, Jacob Bethell (both academy), Jacob Lintott
Outs: Jeetan Patel, Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose (all retired), Liam Banks (released)
This is the start of a new age at Warwickshire. With a host of familiar faces – Bell, Ambrose, Patel, Jim Troughton and Jonathan Trott among them – having departed in recent years, there is a new look to the playing and coaching staff. So, while some experience has been brought in – Pieter Malan (or Hanuma Vihari) should add some solidity to the batting, Danny Briggs the bowling and Tim Bresnan a bit of both – there is still a green look to the batting, in particular. But Warwickshire, a club whose youth system has underachieved for a long time, feel that in the likes of Dan Mousley, Rob Yates and Matt Lamb they have the nucleus of a team that could build into something pretty exciting.
At full strength, the seam department boasts impressive pace and promise. But Henry Brookes, Ryan Sidebottom and Olly Stone will rarely play together so Briggs, the man charged with replacing Patel, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby will be relied upon to hold things together.
There’s a new head coach in Mark Robinson and a nearly new captain in Will Rhodes, too. So while Warwickshire will hope to improve on some pretty modest Championship form over the last few years – they have only won one Division One or BWT match at Edgbaston since September 2016 – it will probably pay for supporters to retain modest ambitions in the short term. This is a rebuilding process that could take a while.
One to watch: Dayle Hadlee famously once described Ian Bell as “the best 16-year-old I’ve ever seen”. Well, now it’s Bell’s turn. He has described Jacob Bethell as “the best 17-year-old” he has ever seen. A Barbadian, Bethell’s primary skill is his batting but his left-arm spin is highly rated, too. He might have to wait for an opportunity, but he really is an exciting prospect. George Dobell
Bet365: 14-1.

Worcestershire

Jake Libby enjoyed a prolific Bob Willis Trophy•Getty ImagesLast season: 2nd in Central Group
Coach: Alex Gidman
Captain: Joe Leach
Overseas: Alzarri Joseph
Ins: Alzarri Joseph, Gareth Roderick (Gloucestershire)
Outs: Wayne Parnell (Northants), George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire), Ben Twohig, Olly Westbury (both released)
Worcestershire go into the Championship season with a bit to prove. Although they had a decent BWT, they finished ninth in Division Two in 2019. Even without Josh Tongue and Pat Brown, who are unlikely to feature before May as they come back from injury, they look to have an impressive seam attack with Alzarri Joseph, available for the first seven Championship games, adding pace with the ball and the prospect of lower-order runs. Adam Finch, who impressed on loan at Surrey, should challenge some more established seamers for a place, too.
The spin bowling is less strong. With Keshav Maharaj having pulled out of a deal and Moeen Ali’s availability severely limited, Brett D’Oliveira will be required to provide the spin option and avoid over-rate fines. The club may well recruit an overseas spinner later in the campaign.
Gareth Roderick, who is expected to bat at No. 3, should add some solidity to a batting line-up that was noticeably improved by the recruitment of Jake Libby last year. The likes of Jack Haynes and Rikki Wessels, in the last year of his contract, may be fighting it out for the final batting spot, though the number of bowling allrounders – Leach, Joseph and Ed Barnard among them – should provide lower-order runs.
While qualifying for Division One will, no doubt, be the aim, reaching Division Two would probably represent a season of progress.
One to watch: Kane Williamson and Morne Morkel were among those impressed by Dillon Pennington’s first season in 2018. And while a foot injury appeared to rob him of his outswing and slow his progress the following year, he has looked back to his best in pre-season. Strong, sharp and blessed with an ability to move the ball away from the right-hander, he has the potential to enjoy a long career. GD
Bet365: 12-1

A look at where the RCB captain stands among the league’s finest

Sampath Bandarupalli20-Sep-2021200 The game against the Kolkata Knight Riders is Virat Kohli’s 200th match in the Indian Premier League. He is set to be the fifth player to complete 200 games in the league. Kohli made his debut on the opening night of the IPL in 2008, also against the Knight Riders.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 Kohli will be the first player to feature in 200 matches for a single franchise in the IPL, having represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore throughout his career. MS Dhoni’s 182 matches for the Chennai Super Kings are the second-most IPL appearances for a single team.133 out of Kohli’s 200 matches have been as captain. He made his captaincy debut in 2011 and became RCB’s full-time captain from the start of 2013. Only Dhoni, with 196 games, has played more IPL games as captain than Kohli.ESPNcricinfo Ltd129 Consecutive appearances by Kohli in the IPL for RCB, between 2008 and 2016. He has missed only four matches for them so far – once in 2008 and three games at the start of the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury.6076 Ahead of his 200th game, Kohli stands as the top run-getter in the IPL and is the only player to reach the 6000-run mark. He also has the most runs as a captain in the IPL, with 4674 runs across 132 matches.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 Hundreds for Kohli in the IPL, only behind Chris Gayle’s tally of six hundreds. All five of Kohli’s centuries in the IPL have come while leading RCB; no other captain has more than one century in the league’s history. Other than Kohli, only six tons have been recorded by captains so far in the IPL.38 Fifty-plus scores for Kohli as captain in the IPL, including 33 fifties, the most by anyone. Overall, Kohli has 45 fifty-plus scores in the league, only behind David Warner (54) and Shikhar Dhawan (46).973 Runs by Kohli in 2016, the most by any player in a single edition of the IPL. That was also the highest aggregate by any player in a T20 series or tournament. Kohli’s 11 fifty-plus scores during IPL 2016, including four hundreds, were also the most for a player in a T20 tournament.21 out of 34 century partnerships for RCB in the IPL involve Kohli. The only player to be part of more century partnerships in the IPL than Kohli is David Warner, with 24 such stands.

Quick didn’t give up hope of a recall but had “stopped thinking about it” after years out of the side

Matt Roller24-Oct-2021Tymal Mills announced himself as a fast bowler on the rise in 2016 when he rearranged Chris Gayle’s stumps with a 150kph yorker in a T20 Blast match at Hove. Five years later, his dismissal of the same man confirmed his return to the big stage after a long struggle with injuries.Mills earned an England recall thanks to a series of standout performances in the Blast and the Hundred this summer, and was picked for his first T20 international since 2017 on Saturday night in Dubai. Entrusted with the sixth over, he dismissed Gayle with the final ball of the Powerplay, rushing him with an 140kph short ball and inducing a spliced pull which saw Dawid Malan take a superbly-judged catch backpedalling from the edge of the ring at midwicket.It was a moment of symmetry for Mills, and reward for his dedication to getting himself in good enough physical condition to play a major role in this tournament. He has suffered badly with injuries since his breakthrough five years ago, spending three months in a back brace last winter following a stress fracture, but was fit enough to play 19 games between the Blast and the Hundred this summer and bowled with good pace on his return.”A lot of hard work has gone in to get myself into a position to put my hat in the ring,” Mills told Sky Sports. “I had a really good summer back home and to get out here, back among the lads, really enjoy training and get selected for the first game, I was really pleased. I didn’t give up hope [of an England recall] but I probably stopped thinking about it, to be honest.”He [Gayle] is one of the biggest names around. Their batting line-up is fierce, isn’t it, Polly [Kieron Pollard] and [Andre] Russell coming in at No. 7 and 8. We knew that we had to stay on it. I want to play every game. I don’t want to be sitting out. I’ve been backing up training sessions back home in the summer and since I’ve been out here I’ve been recovering well. The schedule isn’t too brutal in this competition, so I’m good to go.”

“I didn’t give up hope [of an England recall] but I probably stopped thinking about it, to be honest.”Tymal Mills

“You can see once the pace cranks up people do strange things,” Chris Silverwood, England’s coach, said. “Pace does that to people, and to have someone with that ability, and from a left-arm angle as well, in the squad is a real asset to us. He’s a great asset to have in our bowling attack.”It was a year ago that Eoin Morgan was asked by Mills over dinner whether his name came up in selection meetings – coincidentally in Dubai, where they were filming for the ‘Ultimate Kricket Challenge’. Morgan said that it did, and gave enough encouragement for Mills to hatch a route back into the side for himself.”I’m delighted for Big T,” Morgan said. “He’s had an incredibly unfortunate journey throughout his career right from the start up until now. He’s as good as I’ve seen him – both fit and bowling fit – and his fielding has also drastically improved which is a huge contribution. I’m absolutely delighted that not only was he back on the field for us but also contributing in the manner that we’ve seen in the past in a Sussex shirt.”England’s use of Mills and his method were both notable. In what could be a theme throughout the tournament, Mills and England’s other seamers, Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan, aimed to hit ‘hard’ or ‘heavy’ lengths rather than looking for early swing and exploited West Indies’ relative weakness against back-of-a-length bowling. Mills was also used as an enforcer through the middle of the innings, removing Nicholas Pooran with a rare full, pace-on ball which he edged behind – though he expects to be saved until the death for most of the World Cup.Tymal Mills’ pace and left-arm angle are both attractive assets•Getty Images”If this game had gone traditionally – to the full 20 – my overs would have been left to the death,” he said. “It was a luxury of taking wickets and Morgs then used me earlier, otherwise, I would have been saved until the death. Our next game is in Abu Dhabi and we play in Sharjah as well so we’re going to have to be adaptable, but smashing away, back of a length is going to be key.”You don’t want to be too full and you don’t want to be too floaty. We played against New Zealand a couple of days ago and we spoke about: ‘if you’re going to miss [your length], miss shorter’ on these wickets. As long as you’re banging it in with some conviction, you want to be missing on the shorter side, we think.”England were without Mark Wood, the one bowler in their squad quicker than Mills, on Saturday night due to a niggle to his left ankle which he picked up in the warm-up win against New Zealand. He has had an injection but is expected to be fit for Wednesday’s game against Bangladesh, with Silverwood admitting that the attack’s success created a selection headache.”It’s nothing drastic, nothing that we’re overly worried about, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing him soon,” Silverwood said. “[Mills and Wood playing together] is an exciting prospect, isn’t it? You’ve got two people who can hit that sort of pace at a regular interval, but again it will come down to what we feel will best suit the conditions that we’re playing under, and where the best match-ups lie for the team we’re playing against.”

Cameron Green and Marnus Labuschagne among those who could be important come 2023

Andrew McGlashan22-Feb-2022It’s a good quiz question to name the XI that made up Australia’s most recent men’s ODI team. If you want to cheat, here’s the scorecard from the match in Barbados last July.The three games against West Indies on that tour were Australia’s only matches in the format in 2021. They have played just three series since the pandemic began (winning them all).A series against New Zealand earlier this month was postponed due to quarantine requirements but Australia will finally return to the format in late March against Pakistan. Although there is a T20 World Cup title defence to plot for in just seven months, planning for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India – which has been pushed back to October amid the Covid schedule crunch – is very much in the minds of the selectors.”When you say 2023 World Cup, it feels like it’s a long way away but I think it’s about 30 games which isn’t many,” national selector George Bailey said.As in the West Indies, Australia will not have a full-strength side available. Pat Cummins and David Warner have been rested along with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who were both in the Caribbean, while Glenn Maxwell is unavailable due to his wedding. However, Steven Smith is set to play his first ODIs since facing India in late 2020 when he smashed back-to-back hundreds.But with an eye on 2023, of most significance is getting games and experience into players who are still trying to forge ODI careers, returning to the fold or in some cases have yet to start but could play a role in India.There are four who stand out: Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Josh Inglis.Green cemented his Test position during the Ashes with a series where his bowling thrived and his batting came good at the end after some technical work. To date he has just one ODI under his belt and his overall List A numbers (batting average 31.31 and bowling average 56.40) are underwhelming compared to his first-class figures although there is little doubt he can flourish as his 144 off 101 balls against South Australia last season showed.With Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis playing similar roles to Green when it comes to 50-over cricket there could be a squeeze for allrounder positions but he is likely to get opportunity to state his case.”We love Greeny’s skillset, think it will fit really well into one-day cricket,” Bailey said. “He hasn’t played a great deal of one-day cricket, but we think if we can start to expose him with both skillsets – bat and ball – then he could be really important for us come 2023.”Labuschange has had a bit more of a chance in the format since his debut in early 2020 with 13 matches under his belt, a century against South Africa and an average of 39.41. Perhaps the only question to answer before the ODI World Cup is whether there is room for both him and Smith in the middle order although they combined impressively against India, at the SCG, in 2020 with a partnership of 136 in 16 overs.Cameron Green, Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne will all hope to be part of the 2023 World Cup•Getty ImagesIn the absence of Warner against Pakistan he could be an option to open the batting with the development of his legspin also being closely watched for the added value it can bring.”Marn is a fantastic player of spin, again he hasn’t played a great deal of ODI cricket so what we have seen we really like,” Bailey said. “He also has the added skill of continuing to work on his legspin and that’s something we are keen to explore over the next little while, continuing to build that depth of all-round ability.”Head, who often batted in one-day style during the Ashes, could almost be a like-for-like replacement for Warner. Although he hasn’t featured in ODIs since 2018, he has a superb List A record that includes two double centuries, an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 99.60 (Warner’s is 97.15). The ODI century he made in 2017 came opening the batting alongside Warner when the pair thrashed a stand of 284 in 41 overs against Pakistan.”I won’t jump out of my place on the selection and try to predict the batting order, but a number of players have that skillset,” Bailey said. “Our focus for these one-day games and for the foreseeable future is continuing to develop and give opportunity to those guys who we think might have supplementary skills in terms of bowling some overs or being particularly handy in the field.”Steven Smith has only played three ODIs since March 2020 but crunched two hundreds in those matches•Getty ImagesBailey had particularly big plaudits for Inglis after his impressive debut T20I series against Sri Lanka where he showed his versatility which could also be used in the one-day side. He is an option as wicketkeeper although is unlikely to unseat Alex Carey whose ODI returns have been very solid.”The highlights for me were how quickly he settled into playing his own game,” Bailey said. “Think that speaks volumes for a group when a player can come in and feel comfortable to express themselves and play the array of shots he’s got. In many ways it felt like we had the flexibility of two Glenn Maxwells through the middle. I loved the fact he was able to adapt the role a different times, batting at No. 3 then slipping down to No. 5…which is a great skillset at that level.”There is, potentially, another question to ponder ahead of 2023: will captain Aaron Finch make it to the tournament? His form, albeit in T20s, is again under the spotlight – his last three ODI knocks, a long time ago now in late 2020, were 114, 60 and 75 against India – and both he and Warner have earmarked the 50-over World Cup as their swansong.He will undergo further rehab in his troublesome knee ahead of the Pakistan tour which he carried through the T20 World Cup and has continued to be hampered by.”I don’t,” Bailey said when he was asked if he any doubts about Finch leading the team in both this year’s T20 World Cup and the ODI version. “But I’m not being silly here, I’m sure Finchy would have liked a few more runs in the series just gone but also putting into context he’s still battling that knee injury a little bit. I’m really excited at the fact that Finchy will get some one-day cricket in the near future and just that ability to spend some longer time at the crease will really benefit him.”One-day cricket has felt like the forgotten format for a little while amid the pandemic, a T20 focus and the Ashes. Australia now need to put the building blocks in place for India.

A coalition of the tragics and the curious revel in the shape-shifting narrative arc of Test cricket

Danyal Rasool16-Mar-2022The fourth day is over, the bails taken off. The players and umpires head in. It’s been a one-sided Test in the extreme so far, but the first incipient signs that there might be more to this game have by now cropped up.Australia have set Pakistan 506 to win; so many it’s daft to even frame the contest in those terms. Australia have essentially given themselves two days to win their first-ever Test in Karachi. Given it took just 53 overs to get Pakistan out the first time around, the number of overs remaining, too, feels academic. But by the end of that fourth day, which began with the expectation that there would be no fifth, there are murmurs of life from a moribund Pakistan.Babar Azam has a hundred, and Abdullah Shafique, Pakistan’s new golden boy, is unflappable after surviving an early drop in the slips. The new ball has been seen off, but more importantly, so has the old, reversing ball. Pakistan have 192. They’re still 314 runs away. Daft as it might be to frame it this way, in Pakistan, that’s precisely what they do.Related

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The most delicious aspect of this anachronistic cricket format now takes over: the overnight anticipation. The fans spill out of the National Stadium, the mood uplifted, the irrational hope reinvigorated. They could draw the game, a barely creditable prospect a few hours ago, but could they even win it? Doing so would upset received wisdom about Test cricket, pitch science and the record books. So of course, Pakistan’s supporters go to bed thinking of little else.The sun rises over the port city once more, as unrelenting as it has been over the past four days. It is this unseasonal heat that made many, including Babar and Pat Cummins, suspect the pitch would long have broken up and the cracks split open. With seven of 23 wickets falling to specialist spinners, it hasn’t happened just yet. But as the sun bakes the square, there’s time still. Lots of it.The security checks on arrival at the stadium are thorough but by now a well-oiled machine; they take relatively less time. A man at the entrance asks with a wry smile, “So, what’s going to happen today?” It’s classic cricket small talk. He knows the answer is worthless, and yet there’s comfort in trusting it. You can only shrug; there is no answer.There’s a madness to the belief that Pakistan can go at nearly four runs an over in the fourth innings for 90 overs. Babar and Shafique appear to recognise that, scoring just six runs in the first five overs. And yet, the people working at the game – the press pack, the commentators, the presenters, many of whom have spent decades watching this sport without ever seeing anything like it – have the idea stuck firmly in their minds.

A man at the entrance asks with a wry smile, “So, what’s going to happen today?” It’s classic cricket small talk. He knows the answer is worthless, and yet there’s comfort in trusting it. You can only shrug; there is no answer

It’s what brings the fans out to the stadium, a coalition of the tragics and the curious slowly filling up the Hanif Mohammad and Fazal Mahmood Enclosures. The Majid Khan Enclosure at square leg teems with a large group of schoolchildren. It’s a brave decision from the school; they probably prioritise character-building.Mitchell Swepson, Australia’s debutant, bowls a couple of full-tosses that Babar puts away. They’re not characteristic of Pakistan’s shifting intentions, only indicative of the kind of day Swepson will have. They’ll be the first two of 14 full-tosses, which will go for 26 runs. They would be put away in the backyard, in school or club cricket, so might as well put them away here.There’s a serenity to that first session, it feels like the eye of the storm. As Babar and Shafique bat on, the subject of the target begins to be broached. It’s done tentatively initially, as you wonder whether the person next to you will engage with the idea or lose a little respect for you.When Shafique falls, shortly before lunch, playing perhaps his first loose shot since day 1 at Rawalpindi, it’s like an alarm clock going off, interrupting a pleasant dream. Reality begins to force its way into the spectators’ minds, like that party guest whose unwelcome, uninvited presence has killed the mood. Just 62 runs are scored in a 28-over first session. Austerity has properly kicked in.Pakistan braces for Australia’s onslaught. Too many of the scars inflicted on Pakistan cricket’s soul have come at Australian hands, and the most recent one hasn’t even healed yet. Here Australia are picking away at it once more. Mitchell Starc and Cummins have been tighter than a taxman’s purse all innings, and they move in for the kill against Fawad Alam, at sea against such high pace. He doesn’t last long, and Babar unites with Mohammad Rizwan once more. They were accused of being a touch defensive in the T20 World Cup semi-final; it is that very trait they will need to exhibit for much of the day now.The Australian players applaud as Babar Azam walks back after scoring 196•AFP/Getty ImagesSurvival is all they can aspire to through the middle session, but post-tea, Australia begin to tire and the wickets aren’t coming. They should, in all honesty, but the visitors have suddenly forgotten to catch a ball. Babar is dropped twice in two balls; Rizwan survives a close lbw shout. The prize dangles down once more, just out of reach. Pakistan need 196 for victory, 36 overs to do it in. It’s as ludicrous an idea as it ever was, but the energy of the whirring brains in the stands doing run-rate and feasibility calculations could have powered the floodlights for a day-night Test.You can’t accuse the batters of leading the supporters on; they may be crowd-pleasers, but they’re professional cricketers above all, and understand the line between positivity and foolhardiness. Babar punches Swepson away for four to move to 195; the crowd mistakes it for a gear-change. He is only putting a bad ball away.And then it happens. Babar bat-pads one to short leg four shy of 200, and before the applause has properly died down, Faheem Ashraf edges to Steven Smith at slip. The final attitude adjustment has happened; what was always impossible has finally been revealed as such. Pakistan are now content to exult in the smaller pleasures: Nauman Ali’s solid forward defence, Rizwan reaching his Test hundred an over before stumps. And, yes, a draw.It’s record-setting in its own right; not since the Timeless Test of 1939 has a side survived as many overs to save a game as Pakistan just did. The fans press up close against the raised barricades, yelling themselves hoarse as Rizwan and Babar embrace joyfully in front of them. They filter out into the twilight. They haven’t quite got the win, but the scenic route to the draw has left them sated.The man at the exit is different, but the wry smile is the same. “What happened today, huh?”What could you say that the cricket hasn’t already said? So you just shrug. There is, after all, no answer.