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The left-arm quick will miss the start of the tournament due to quarantine requirements

Tristan Lavalette02-Dec-2021Tymal Mills, who starred for England in the recent T20 World Cup before succumbing to injury, has committed to Perth Scorchers for the upcoming BBL, in a late signing coup for last season’s runner-up.Mills, the left-arm quick, replaces compatriot Brydon Carse, who was ruled out of the tournament following a knee injury sustained last month less than 24 hours after the quick signed with Scorchers. Mills adds serious punch to the Scorchers’ fast bowling stocks headed by stalwarts Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye.He helps offset the expected lengthy absence of in-form Jhye Richardson, who is likely to be tied up with Ashes duties. Mills arrives in Sydney on Monday after playing in the Abu Dhabi T10, meaning he will miss the Scorchers’ opening two matches due to quarantine rules.Related

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“When they got in touch, I was extremely keen,” Mills said. “They’re a great franchise with some great players. It’s exciting to get the opportunity to play in big competitions.”Mills, who has battled a back condition throughout his career, was a key part of England’s strong start to the T20 World Cup with figures of 2 for 17 against West Indies and 3 for 27 against Bangladesh. His pace, left-arm angle and ability to bowl through the middle and at the death helped him balance England’s attack until Mills’ campaign cruelly ended when he suffered a right thigh strain against Sri Lanka.It was a similar injury to the one he sustained in 2018, which also ruled him out of the rest of that English season. Mills finished the T20 World Cup with seven wickets at 15.42 in his four matches, at an economy-rate of 8.00, and his absence was particularly felt in the semi-final against New Zealand, where England were unable to contain the rampaging batters at the death.Tymal Mills had a big impact for England before injury•Getty Images

Scorchers also announced the signings of emerging players Nick Hobson and Cooper Connolly, while quick David Moody – the nephew of ex-Australia player and renowned coach Tom Moody – has been confirmed as Richardson’s replacement.Left-handed batter Hobson played for Scorchers in BBL08 and gave his selection chances a timely boost with a sparkling 90 from 59 balls during the team’s practice match at the WACA on Wednesday.Scorchers start their season against Brisbane Heat on December 8 at Optus Stadium, where they currently only have two fixtures confirmed due to Western Australia’s strict border controls.

Steven Davies struck 82 to lead his side away from trouble, after which the Surrey batsman reiterated his desire to retake the gloves

Tim Wigmore at Kia Oval19-Jun-2016
ScorecardSteven Davies struck a valuable 82•Getty Images

On March 15 2009, a ragtag England side, fresh from being bundled out for 51 en route to defeat in the Test series, faced West Indies in a T20 game in Trinidad. That Andrew Strauss led England’s T20 side embodied their frazzled state.Predictably, England were thrashed. Amid the wreckage of an ignominious defeat a little solace came from the bat of Steven Davies: making his international debut aged 22, Davies top scored with a crisp 27.On Friday, Davies turned 30, an age that invites self-reflection among all of us, but especially in those with career as short as that of professional sportsmen. Davies has much to be proud of: over 10,000 first-class runs at a tick above 40 apiece, and each made with an élan rarely spied on the county circuit.And yet all these runs cannot quite detract from the abiding sense of Davies’ career as being a little unfulfilled. In the seven years since his England debut, Davies has added just 12 more international caps, and has yet to play a Test match. “I’m fairly happy with it,” Davies said of his career to date. “I’ve represented England, which was one of my goals as a young boy.”All his batting qualities were in evidence against Nottinghamshire at The Oval. While Surrey slipped to 172 for 6, Davies remained impervious to the sense of crisis mounting over Surrey’s Division One status. As much as any shots that Kumar Sangakkara played during his 29, Davies’s every stroke oozed elegance.Consecutive boundaries off Brett Hutton – one glided through third man, the other caressed to fine leg of his hips – encapsulated Davies’ ability to reach the boundary without any discernible effort. There are few more aesthetic batsmen on the county circuit, and here that elegance was married with grit: Davies played Jake Ball with meticulous care, leaving the ball with great precision. The shame was that Davies played on for 82 in the evening gloom. In his own judgement, it was a microcosm of his wider challenge to capitalise upon his good starts.”It’s just application. It’s turning those 80s, like I got today, into 120 or 130. I once spoke to Rob Key about batting and he said, ‘You can’t score runs every day, but when it is your day, make sure it’s a massive score.’ For me, it’s turning those decent scores into really big ones, and that will take me to the next level.”Davies’ delicate cuts, played so late that the ball already seemed safely nestled inside the wicketkeeper’s gloves, were also infused with a rather elegiac quality. His aptitude in the first-class game befits a stage greater than a dingy day at The Oval, but Davies might never get it.The debate over Jonny Barstow’s readiness as a Test wicketkeeper, for all his gluttonous recent run-scoring, emphasises that England have lacked an established Test keeper since Matt Prior’s form deserted him three years ago.It was once assumed that Davies would replace Prior. But the tragic death of Tom Maynard, a close friend, in 2012 triggered a collapse in his form, and later a battle with depression. After that fateful year Davies’ form has remained good without ever quite being scintillating, but his England ambitions have been undermined by a decision he made early in the summer of 2014, to stop keeping wicket and play as a specialist batsman instead. Surrey were taken aback. Davies has still made easily enough runs to justify his place in the team, but far from enough to suggest to the England selectors he could play international cricket as a specialist batsman.At the start of this season Davies declared his intent to regain the gloves and, in so doing, maximise his England ambitions. But halfway through the summer, Davies has not kept wicket in a single game, in any format. With each match that passes, so his international ambitions subtly recede.To keep for Surrey, Davies needs to usurp Ben Foakes and also Gary Wilson, who has kept ahead of Davies in white-ball cricket. “I’ve got to bide my time,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s just the way it is. I’m in the last year of my contract so we’ll see what happens at the end of the year.”If he did choose to leave, Davies would not be short of suitors – Essex, Nottinghamshire and Somerset are among the counties potentially attracted by his consistent run-scoring – but might need to accept less than his hefty wage at The Oval. Davies could face a conflict between pursuing his England ambitions and safeguarding his financial future.The greatest reason for that is the eminent potential of Foakes. Trevor Bayliss has spoken about Foakes’ potential as a future England keeper. Here there were glimpses of why: consecutive flicks to the leg-side boundary off Harry Gurney brimmed with panache, even if Foakes’ stay at the crease was too fleeting. Despite Arun Harinath’s 73, which became progressively more fluent as it progressed, there was something worryingly familiar about the meekness of Surrey’s top order.”We need to play tougher, smarter cricket,” Davies said. That he did just that, allied to Nottinghamshire’s reliance upon their opener pair of quicks and the counterpunching of Tom Curran, meant that Surrey were able to salvage a position of near-parity by the close. But, once again, both Davies and his club would have hoped for even better.

New limited-overs captain is focused on defining a style of play in his early days

Firdose Moonda29-Mar-2021The Temba Bavuma era of white-ball cricket begins later this week, with a series against Pakistan which is intended to kickstart South Africa’s next three World Cup campaigns. Bavuma has been appointed until 2023 and will be in charge for two T20 World Cups and a fifty-over one, and while it is too early to list things like becoming global champions among his aims, Bavuma hopes to use this series to establish a brand of cricket that South Africa can carry through his tenure.”We have the opportunity now, building up to 2023 to the World Cup, to define our style of play and how we want to go about our business,” he said. “If you look at South Africa, we have always been a more than competitive ODI unit, even to the point where the guys have got to positions of No.1. For me, it’s about trying to define a style of play, create something that makes us accountable, and most importantly, to be able to institute that style of play in any conditions or any occasion.”While Bavuma did not specify what this new strategy will entail – team management has spoken about playing ‘smart but aggressive’ in the recent past – he has identified one area that needs improvement. “Mentally, that’s somewhere we probably need to improve a lot more in terms of getting stronger,” he said.South Africa have become known for crumbling under pressure in big moments at major tournaments but since the 2019 World Cup – where they were the first team to bow out – they have also become known for their rapid decline. They currently sit fifth on the ODI rankings and sixth in T20s and have only won one of their last six white-ball series as administrative chaos has bled onto the field and uncertainty has engulfed their approach.As an indication of the level of experimentation South Africa reached, they have handed out six ODI and seven T20 caps since the 2019-20 summer, and are on to their third captain.After Faf du Plessis was replaced by Quinton de Kock in February last year, de Kock has now been succeeded by Bavuma. None of these appointments appear to have been part of a plan. Du Plessis stood down as Test captain following South Africa’s defeat to England last year and was then stripped of the white-ball leadership. De Kock took over, and was also asked to temporarily lead South Africa in Tests which unfairly overburdened him. He was thensidelined from the leadership role in all formats. It is understood that de Kock wanted to continue the white-ball captaincy but after South Africa’s sorry trip to Pakistan earlier this year, they believed wholesale changes were necessary.Now, they face Pakistan again, having had two months of international inaction thanks to Australia’s cancelled Test tour and they seem to have a clean slate. At least, that’s how Bavuma makes it sound. “The mood is optimistic,” he said. Though the challenge is steep.For a start, South Africa will lose a quintet of key players after the second ODI as Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje head to the IPL. Their absence could well be a major disruption to Bavuma’s first series in charge, but he chose not to see it that way. “It’s not as disturbing now that we are aware of the arrangement that is in place,” he said. “For the first two games, we’ve got all our best players. It’s important that we get positive results. That’s not to say we are conceding the result in the third game. We believe we have got worthy enough replacements. I don’t think it’s that disturbing and we respect the relationship between CSA and the BCCI.”When the big five leave, South Africa are likely to award more new caps, and players like slog-overs specialist Sisanda Magala, seamer Lizaad Williams and allrounder Wihan Lubbe are among those in contention.”The guys who are here can take comfort in the fact that the World Cup squads will be coming from this group, so it’s important that guys acknowledge that there is an opportunity and that they know where they can fit in within that squad,” Bavuma said. “My message to the young guys is that the opportunity is there and make sure you keep churning out those performances.”It will help that Magala and Williams will be used to conditions at the Wanderers and SuperSport Park, their domestic home grounds, because it’s rare to play cricket in South Africa in April. Bavuma expects the Highveld to be even more bowler-friendly than usual. From his recollection of a T20 competition played in April 2018, he said: “it seemed to suit seam bowling a bit more, with the ball swinging. But the wickets still become favourable for batting, so even though the challenge will be a bit more with the seam but I think there’s something in there for the batters.”He also sees it as an opportunity for the team to test their adaptability, knowing that surfaces won’t always suit them. “In the long run we want to test ourselves a lot more in unfavourable conditions and see if we can execute our brand of cricket in all conditions,” he said.At this point, South Africa are still in their short run, with just seven fixtures against Pakistan before a two-month winter break. Their real work will start in June, when they hope to tour West Indies in a series that was postponed from last year, before heading to Ireland and possibly Sri Lanka and India before the T20 World Cup. That will be the first true test of Bavuma’s leadership and so for now his task “is to inspire and try and get the guys in spaces where they can perform as well as they can for the team.”

ESPNcricinfo’s wrap of the second day of the Sheffield Shield match between Tasmania and Queensland in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Marnus Labuschagne fell short of a hundred•Getty Images

Allrounder Jack Wildermuth scored his second first-class century as Queensland continued to dominate their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland on the second day in Hobart. At stumps, the Tigers were 0 for 20 in their second innings with openers Alex Doolan on 8 and Jake Hancock on 7, but they trailed by 267 runs after Queensland piled on 437.The morning began with the Bulls on 2 for 131 and Marnus Labuschagne, who already had a half-century, moved along to what looked like becoming his third first-class hundred. However, on 96 he pushed at a shortish delivery outside off stump from James Faulkner and was caught behind.Queensland were 5 for 226, but they had plenty of batting left. Wicketkeeper James Peirson made 42 and Wildermuth registered his first hundred of the Shield season to take his run tally for the campaign past 500. He fell for 110, bowled by Cameron Stevenson, but Ben Cutting smashed a quick 68 off 50 balls to lift Queensland’s total even further.

South Africa’s Test captain has confirmed he will go ahead with his appeal against his ball-tampering charge, even though he risks a match ban if found guilty by the judicial commissioner

Firdose Moonda14-Dec-2016Faf du Plessis has confirmed he will go ahead with his appeal against his ball-tampering charge, even though he risks a match ban if found guilty by the judicial commissioner. Du Plessis, who was fined 100% of his match fee of the Hobart Test last month, was confirmed as South Africa’s permanent Test captain on Tuesday, but told the media his new job will not stand in the way of his attempt to clear his name.”(Withdrawing) it sounds like the logical thing to do but it’s purely from a non-cricket perspective,” he said at Newlands on Wednesday. “I didn’t agree with the way it was handled, how it happened and unfolded and the hearing that took place and how everything works when it comes to those hearings. Even if it meant the decision came out the way that I didn’t want it to, for me its the principle of standing up to something that you don’t agree with and that’s what a captain is all about – making sure you stand your ground and fight for whatever the cause is.”Video footage from the match showed du Plessis shining the ball with saliva that had also come into contact with a mint that was clearly visible in his mouth. It was in violation of Law 42.2 which states that no artificial substance should be used to change the conditions of the ball. The ICC laid charges, as the images appeared after the window for the umpires to report it had passed and du Plessis had pleaded not guilty. He admitted to having the mint in his mouth and even said he was not trying to hide it. He claimed that sugar from sweets was in every players’ mouth and it didn’t amount to contravening the code of conduct.Several current and former players agreed – Australian captain Steve Smith was among them – and CSA called on the ICC to clarify the term “artificial.” Du Plessis was found guilty nonetheless, fined the maximum match fee and earned three demerit points. He immediately announced his decision to appeal, which CSA later supported. They also remained hopeful the ICC would use this as a test case to re-look at the law.However, the chances of that happening seem slim after the MCC Committee meeting in Mumbai during which their head of cricket John Stephenson said du Plessis, “flagrantly contravened the law.” Should Michael Beloff, who is set to hear the appeal, agree with Stephenson, he could choose to sanction du Plessis further and hand him a one-match ban.That would mean du Plessis would have to sit out the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka, due to be his first as permanent Test captain. With AB de Villiers unavailable because of injury, South Africa will be in a tricky position to pick a replacement leader. Beloff could also uphold the verdict as it stands or rescind it altogether, which what du Plessis is aiming for.The three demerit points against him also put him at risk of missing matches because all he needs is one more – and he could that get that for any Level Two offence including dissent – to be forced to sit out a game. Having those demerit points off his record may also be on du Plessis’ mind as he goes into his appeal hearing next Monday – December 19 – a week before the first Sri Lanka Test.

Fast bowler to fly in from Antigua at conclusion of Test series against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2021Alzarri Joseph, the West Indies fast bowler, is to join Worcestershire as their overseas player for the opening weeks of the 2021 season.Joseph, who is currently playing against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Antigua, will fly into the UK from the Caribbean on April 4, and will be available to Worcestershire for their first seven County Championship fixtures.The ongoing Test is Joseph’s 15th, in which he has claimed 34 wickets, in addition to a further 54 in 34 ODIs. He was part of the West Indies squad that toured England during last summer’s bio-secure Test series, claiming three wickets in his two Test appearances at Southampton and Manchester.”I am thrilled to be joining Worcestershire for the early part of the summer,” Joseph said.”When I heard the club was interested in me, I had no hesitation in saying yes. The club has a strong squad with a nice balance of youth and experience, and I’m really looking forward to working with bowling coach Alan Richardson.”I would also like to thank Cricket West Indies for allowing me the opportunity to go and experience county cricket”Joseph, 24, first played for West Indies as a 19-year-old in 2016, having starred at that year’s Under-19 World Cup with 13 wickets in six games.His batting has become an increasingly valuable part of his game, with scores of 86 against New Zealand in Hamilton in December, and 82 versus Bangladesh in Dhaka in February, having been dismissed in single figures in his first 14 Test innings.His most spectacular moment to date, however, came at the IPL in 2019, when he claimed figures of 6 for 12 on debut for Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad – the best performance by a bowler in the competition’s history.”He is a quality performer, and we are delighted to have signed him for the best part of two months,” said Paul Pridgeon, Worcestershire Cricket Steering Group Chairman.”With it looking like Josh Tongue and Pat Brown may not be match fit for the start of the season, Alex Gidman [Head Coach] and Joe Leach [Club Captain] both felt they needed another seamer.”Alzarri is going to be available for seven matches and is an exciting prospect.”

The inaugural season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League that will be held for two weeks in August-September will consist of 27 matches played across three venues – Chennai, Tirunelveli and Natham

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2016The bidding for eight franchises in the inaugural Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has fetched a total of INR 33 crore, with Thoothukudi Sports & Entertainments Private Limited making the highest bid of INR 5.21 crore for the ownership rights of the Thoothukudi team. According to Tamil Nadu Cricket Association secretary KS Viswanathan, all the franchises will have ownership rights “in perpetuity”.”The whole idea is to give an opportunity for players in Tamil Nadu to showcase themselves so that they have better prospects in the bigger tournaments that are being played today,” TNCA president N Srinivasan said at a press conference in Chennai on Thursday.

‘No loss of reputation for cricket in Chennai’

N Srinivasan is optimistic of the MA Chidambaram Stadium receiving the necessary clearances from the municipal authorities after Chennai was allotted a Test between India and England later this year. “I don’t think there is a problem to hold a Test match here. I believe things will be resolved in due course, hopefully,” he said.
Srinivasan also said there was no loss of reputation for cricket in Chennai, and was confident about the smooth return of Chennai Super Kings into the IPL fold in 2018. In 2015, Super Kings were suspended for two years, along with Rajasthan Royals, for corruption in the IPL.
“After one more season, CSK will come in without any external intervention,” Srinivasan said. “I don’t want to go into it in detail.”

The league will consist of 27 matches, including two semi-finals and a final, that will be held from the end of August to the second week of September. Chennai, Tirunelveli and Natham have been shortlisted as venues. The eight teams have been split into two groups of four, with each team scheduled to play a minimum of six matches.A player draft will be held in July, with each team having the right to retain players up to three years. “We are not going to have an auction,” Srinivasan said. “Whoever has bid the highest will get the first pick of players listed and it will keep repeating from one to eight [players] and again starting from one. We are going to suggest a modest salary cap, around Rs 60 lakh and see how it develops.”While the tournament features players registered with the TNCA, Srinivasan was hopeful of the BCCI allowing players from other states to take part in the event. “There will be a dialogue with the board, and we are hopeful they will agree to allow players from other states to be included in the player pool,” he said. “We have a very strong, robust competitive First-Division league, which has for many years players from other states playing here regularly as registered players. They are eligible to play.”He was also optimistic about the participation of big-ticket players from Tamil Nadu like R Ashwin and M Vijay, despite India having a packed season. However, that will depend on India’s domestic calendar as BCCI has indicated the possibility of the country’s top players playing in the Duleep Trophy, which will be used to trial the pink ball.In other developments, Star India has been roped in as the broadcast partner, and will provide commentary in English and Tamil. Ravi Sawani, the former BCCI-ACSU chief, will be the TNPL’s anti-corruption unit chief.FranchisesThoothukudi – Thoothukudi Sports & Entertainments Pvt Ltd, INR 5.21 crSouth Chennai – Metronation Chennai Television Pvt Ltd, 5.13 crCoimbatore – Lyca Productions Pvt Ltd, 5.01 crMadurai – Kothari (Madras) International Limited, 4.001 crKancheepuram – Ruby Builders & Promoters, 3.69 crThiruvallur – VB Cricket Academy, 3.48 crDindigul – Take Solutions, 3.42 crKaraikudi – Chettinad Apparels Pvt Ltd, 3.3 cr

Pakistan’s focus now on the Tests, says the pacer, with the series being a key one for his side in the new World Test Championship cycle

Danyal Rasool04-Aug-2021An early 1-0 lead that’s consolidated by not much happening for the rest of the contest sounds like something out of Jose Mourinho’s playbook, but if ever a cricketing equivalent were to have such a result, you’d put good money on Misbah-ul-Haq being the mastermind. There weren’t too many tactics involved in that scoreline, though, with uncooperative weather ensuring a T20I in Guyana was all the cricket that could be played, and once Pakistan edged West Indies in it, there was little West Indies could do to prevent a Pakistan series win.But while the weather might be the enduring narrative from what should have been a five-match series (even before the weather played foul, Covid-19 cut into the schedule), Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali insisted a series win at the home of the defending T20 world champions meant a lot to his side. “Winning away to a side with such firepower that they can hurt you anytime is great. A win is a win and we’re very happy with the series victory in the West Indies,” he said. “We’re all disappointed because we wanted to play. Even when it was raining we were all raring to go. But the weather is not in our control. Of course, the disappointment is we couldn’t prepare properly away to a champion side.”We had to learn some lessons from the England series, and we’re working on our bowling in the middle and the death. I really like our bowling unit right now, and also my personal form. As a bowling unit, we trust each other and our coaches trust us too. Of course, we have to improve, but we have a month or two to hone our skills ahead of the T20 World Cup.”There’s another assignment, though, before the focus shifts completely to the shortest format. A two-match Test series against West Indies starting next week, to kick off the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for both sides. Unlike the last cycle, which somewhat passed Pakistan by, the fixtures and scheduling have fallen in a way that represents a real chance for Babar Azam’s side to claim a spot in the final come 2023. The upcoming two-match series presents arguably Pakistan’s most challenging away fixtures in this cycle, with the other away series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.That, of course, makes performing in this Test series that much more important, and Ali said the series was his side’s primary focus for the moment.”We’re looking forward to the Tests; we have a few days to get used to the red ball. I’ll try to capitalise on my form and the rhythm I’ve got going for now,” Ali said. “Our team is very balanced. We have plenty of spinners with Yasir [Shah] coming back, and in dry conditions like these that’s very useful.”Then we also have [pace options in] Shaheen [Afridi], Naseem [Shah], [Mohammad] Abbas and myself. We’ve won the last two Test series [against West Indies] and we’re looking to continue that and get the WTC off in victorious fashion.”Facing up to the usual, mandatory question on Pakistan being drawn in the same group as India in the T20 World Cup group, Ali was clear that it was not something the team was dwelling on. “We’re not looking forward to the India match right now at all, to be honest with you,” he said. “That’s still very far away. My focus is just on these two Tests right now.”

The pitches in the Ashes have made life tricky for batters and there could be a benefit of that

Andrew McGlashan07-Feb-2022Alyssa Healy believes an Ashes series where runs have been hard to come by has set her up well for the ODI World Cup in New Zealand.Healy has not been at her free-flowing best against England with the multi-format series including a pair in the Test match before a brace of hard-fought contributions in the first two ODIs.It is those two performances that have left her confident that her game is in a good place for next month’s World Cup with Australia set to fly to New Zealand two days after the Ashes finishes to undertake their ten-day quarantine.”Probably the best thing that could have happened is these two wickets being a little bit tricky,” Healy said. “The English bowlers are really skillful, they are using the seam really nicely, and not one batter has really flourished in this ODI part of the series. Moons [Beth Mooney] played a beautiful knock but it took her a long while to get going and knowing that making those tough runs early has been the best thing for me.Related

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“Means my shape is good, I’m getting in good positions to keep the really good balls out, and the last two dismissals think I’ve found ways to get myself out which is weird tick of the box if that makes any sense.”Australia toured New Zealand last year and played three ODIs in early April which is the time of the year the World Cup will conclude. Healy made 65, 44 and 46 in those three matches.”Feel like with the conditions [against England] not being perfect for batting it’s been a great test of exactly where things are at and I’m really excited as to how things are tracking,” she said. “Once we get over to New Zealand, if the wickets are similar I know I’m in a good position to dig in but if they are flat I know I’m in a great place to hit the ball like I normally do.”With one game to go of Australia’s home international summer, Healy’s top score is 77 which she made in the first ODI against India in late September. India’s seamers performed really well in that multi-format series while England’s have also caused plenty of challenges during the Ashes with Healy feeling the bowlers have held sway all season.”The wickets here have been really conducive to seam bowling all summer,” she said. “Hasn’t felt like we’ve had a real flat track. From that point of view, I feel like our group and me, in particular, is really well prepared for whatever the wickets might throw at us [at the World Cup].”Healy is also confident that the World Cup will see the best of Ellyse Perry who played the central role in the Ashes-winning victory in Melbourne with three wickets and a well-constructed 40 when most other batters struggled. Perry was left out of the T20Is at the start of the Ashes but remains a formidable ODI and Test cricketer.”That six she hit over mid-off was a shot I’ve never really seen Pez hit before with that shape and flair,” Healy said. “That’s really exciting signs for us leading into a big world tournament that she’s hitting her straps at the right time and probably a bit of concern for other sides around the world.”

Rahul Dravid believes that batsmen in T20 cricket benefit from having the opportunities and freedom to experiment with new shots and try out various things

Gaurav Kalra14-Jul-20163:31

Dravid: Bat-ball balance a major challenge in T20s

Rahul Dravid believes batsmen in T20 cricket have benefitted from having the “freedom to develop” and the willingness of team managements be “more accepting of failure” than in any other format.Speaking on the second episode of to be aired on Friday night on SONY ESPN, the former India captain said batsmen feel increasingly secure about playing risky shots such as reverse sweeps and paddle sweeps because a dismissal caused by such shot selection isn’t frowned upon. He also highlighted how this freedom to “practice and experiment” with shots has made batsmen get much better at executing them in match situations.”We are more accepting of failure, I think, in T20 cricket than we are in any other form of the game,” Dravid said. “When a batsman takes risks and plays a paddle sweep or a reverse sweep or all the kinds of shots that they play, you’re more likely to view it with a certain degree of acceptance than you would, say, in a Test match or in one-day cricket. This has given batsmen freedom to try and experiment with these things more and they’re getting better and better at it.”Citing the example of AB de Villiers, who has been part of all the nine IPL seasons so far, Dravid said that while he was a batsman of “rare gifts”, de Villiers too had gained from the freedom to experiment.”He’s also had so many opportunities to fail, to learn from them and to keep refining his batting technique for T20,” Dravid said. “Apart from the IPL, he gets other opportunities to practice and experiment with that, and if you keep trying something and you keep failing and learning from it, you are going to get better at it, and that’s what happened with batting techniques. People have been allowed to take a few more risks. They keep doing that over and over again and they get better and better at it.”Dravid, who has been involved with the IPL as player, captain and team mentor over the last nine years, believes that while skill sets have improved dramatically over this time, the batsmen are “slightly ahead” of bowlers on the curve. Though he insists the bowlers are “catching up”, they are restricted by the amount of time they can spend on honing their skills in practice as compared to batsmen.”I think the very nature of bowling is such that you are limited physically in the amount you can do,” he said. “It’s not that you can go on. You hear a batsman batting for an hour, two hours. They can set up bowling machines to mimic certain kinds of balls and they can go on practising. You can’t obviously go on bowling for two hours, two-and-a-half hours, three hours every day because you’re going to get injured or you’re going to break down at some time. So, the opportunities for bowlers to work on their skills is limited physically, by the physical demands and the nature of the job that they are doing. Whereas batsmen, I think, have a little bit of a leeway because they are able to push themselves physically and practice a lot more.”Having observed the strides made by batsmen, in particular power hitters, Dravid also had a word of caution for the administrators as T20 cricket continues to grow. In his view, it is crucial to maintain the “balance between bat and ball” to ensure that the format isn’t reduced to a big-hitting contest.”I see that as one of the major challenges of T20 cricket,” he said. “What we don’t want is every score to become a 200, 200-plus score, where it’s always about power-hitting skills. We want to bring the skills of cricket. We want them on show even in a T20 game. We want somebody to, even if it’s for two overs, you want somebody to negotiate a difficult spell, you want to see someone’s ability against the turning ball and how he negotiates that and how he’s still able to score at seven-eight runs an over against a good spinner on a track that assists the spinner as well. So, I think we need that balance. I think otherwise you just might put up bowling machines and see who hits it further.”Watch with Rahul Dravid at 9.30 pm (IST) on July 15 (Friday) on SONY ESPN