All the major talking points from the week gone by in the Super Smash

Deivarayan Muthu23-Jan-2019Mitchell out obstructing the fieldIn the fifth over of Northern Knights’ innings against Canterbury Kings, Daryl Mitchell patted a ball from Kyle Jamieson back to him and took a couple of steps out of his crease. The bowler swooped down on the ball in his follow-through and aimed to throw the stumps down, but Mitchell stuck his right leg in the way. Though the ball wasn’t heading towards the stumps, Mitchell was guilty of deliberately coming in the way of the throw.Jamieson gestured that Mitchell knocked the ball away with his leg and launched an appeal for obstructing the field. The on-field umpires Wayne Knights and Ashley Mehrotra got together and referred it to TV umpire Tony Gillies, who ultimately gave Mitchell out.

You don't see this everyday – Mitchell dismissed for obstructing the field. #BKSupersmash #wearecanterbury #cricketnation #KnightsvKings pic.twitter.com/T6IUrLeXvD

— Canterbury Cricket (@CanterburyCrick) January 16, 2019

Four days later, in the final over of Otago’s chase of 185, Auckland Aces’ Mitchell McClenaghan bowled an inch-perfect yorker from round the wicket and Leicestershire’s Ben Raine hastily jabbed his bat down and set off for a single. In the process, he collided with McClenaghan, who recovered and scooped the ball onto the stumps at the striker’s end, where Nathan Smith had reached his crease in time.McClenaghan, though, appealed for obstructing the field but replays indicated that Raine hadn’t changed his line while running. The soft signal was not out, and TV umpire Derek Walker sided with it.Sun stops play in NapierSun squinted into the eyes of the batsmen and forced a 25-minute interruption in the match between Central Districts and Canterbury at McLean Park in Napier. Moments before the players and the officials walked off the field, legspinner Todd Astle had drawn a thick outside edge from Dean Foxcroft, but Tom Latham, the keeper, had dropped it. The action resumed once the sun moved away.The setting sun was at an awkward angle again during the first ODI between India and New Zealand and interrupted the visitors’ chase on Wednesday.ALSO READ: Sun stops play in New Zealand v India ODI

Sun stopped play…love it! #SuperSmash pic.twitter.com/Odjwzgmywp

— Sean Brown (@sean_brown235) January 19, 2019

Astle, Neesham watchHaving been asked to prove their fitness in the Super Smash and audition for the last two ODIs against India, Todd Astle (knee) and James Neesham (hamstring) had low-key returns. Astle began promisingly and created the aforementioned chance, but lost his lines and lengths once Will Young and Tom Bruce began teeing off. Astle wound up leaking 44 runs in his four overs, including 14 in his last.Turning out for Wellington Firebirds against Auckland, Neesham was dismissed for 1 by Colin Munro. He then bowled only two overs, conceding 15 runs.Mitchell McClenaghan sends down a delivery•Getty ImagesMatch of the weekThe clash between Northern Knights and Canterbury Kings at Seddon Park. After being sent in, the Knights posted 154 for 5 in a rain-hit 16-overs-a-side game on the back of opener Nick Kelly’s maiden T20 half-century.Then the Kings lost Tom Latham to Mitchell Santner off the first ball of the chase. The returning Henry Nicholls flickered briefly for 40 off 25 balls before Ish Sodhi reeled him in with a wrong’un. Cam Fletcher and Leo Carter, however, put on a 56-run stand off 40 balls and took the game deep.When the Kings needed 19 off the last two overs it was anybody’s game. But Knights’ overseas recruit Kyle Abbott and Daryl Mitchell sewed up a six-run win (via DLS method) with a variety of cutters and yorkers. The result put the Kings out of contention for the knockouts.Batsman of the weekLatham exploited the short boundaries and the fast McLean Park outfield, cracking his maiden T20 century – and the first in this season’s Super Smash – off 57 balls against Central Districts. He was particularly severe on left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, smashing him for 30 runs from nine balls before holing out off him. However, the rapidly rising asking rate was too much to overcome and Canterbury came up short in a chase of 226.Bowler of the weekMcClenaghan is an excellent bowler in the Powerplay, but he hasn’t been as effective in the end overs. Against Otago, he nailed one yorker after another and defended 16 in the final over against the well-set Raine and Smith. He is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the competition with 11 scalps in five matches at an economy rate of 7.95. Jamieson, who has played two more games, leads the list with 14 wickets.

A year ago, he wasn’t in the ODI scheme of things; after 383 runs in India, he might be in the XI in the UK whether Smith and Warner are back or not

Deivarayan Muthu in New Delhi14-Mar-20194:23

Very satisfying from a personal point of view – Khawaja

Not too long ago, there was no room for Usman Khawaja in Australia’s ODI side despite the unavailability of both Steven Smith and David Warner. Now, about two weeks before the bans on Smith and Warner get over, Khawaja has made a strong case for World Cup selection.He is in his best physical shape. He is unflappable against pace and spin alike. He has been scoring runs for fun in India: 50, 38, 104, 91, 100. His tally of 383 runs in five innings at an average of 76.60 is his best-ever in an ODI series.From having zero ODI hundreds prior to this tour to peeling off nearly three in three innings, Khawaja has struck such rich form that Shaun Marsh, Australia’s best ODI batsman in the past year, can’t find a place in the XI.ALSO READ: Stats – Australia script a comeback to rememberIt has been some turnaround for Khawaja, and you knew it meant so much to him when he emotionally celebrated his hundred that set the scene for Australia sewing up their first ODI series win in India in ten years. Khawaja raised his helmet, pumped his fist animatedly, acknowledged the applause from the dressing room and hugged Peter Handscomb, who has also raised his ODI game to a new plane on this tour.The shot that brought up the landmark for Khawaja neatly summed up why he has been so successful this series. When left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav fired his stock ball on off – or just a shade outside – Khawaja leant back, allowed the ball to turn, and deftly guided it through extra-cover with soft hands.

Look, one day at a time. I am not looking too far ahead. No one knows what the next day might bringUSMAN KHAWAJA

He had displayed similar assured technique against legspinner Yasir Shah and offspinners Bilal Asif and Mohammed Hafeez when he had helped Australia pull off a great escape in Dubai last year. He pressed right forward to full, turning balls and smothered them. That threw the bowlers off their lengths and allowed Khawaja to pick off runs off the back foot.In a game where Australia had to bat out 840 balls (140 overs) to save the Test, Khawaja alone played out 302 balls – the most faced by any batsman in the fourth innings in the UAE.He was playing a different format in India, but the UAE lessons proved crucial. Khawaja has also been part of two Australia A tours in India previously – first in 2015 and then more recently in 2018.3:32

Hodge: Australia showed they can do it without Smith and Warner

In the UAE, after bedding in, Khawaja got on top of the spinners with a variety of sweeps and regular advances down the pitch. He has followed a similar template in India and it was on bright display when the series was on the line in Delhi.He stepped out against Kuldeep in his first over, reached the pitch of the ball, extended his hands, and launched him over long-on. He then paddled the first ball he faced from left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja to long leg. Anything that Jadeja tossed outside off was swept or reverse-swept with great authority.Jadeja had bowled Australia captain Aaron Finch with a ripper and dismissed Glenn Maxwell with one that stuck in the pitch. He even troubled Handscomb with his arm ball, but here was Khawaja showing him who was the boss: in all, he took 23 off 22 balls from Jadeja.”Jadeja bowling Finch was a beauty, it gripped and turned,” Khawaja said at the post-match press conference. “It was one of those games, when the spinners come into the game, you have to have enough areas to score. We’ve to respect the good balls too.”Just being in these conditions a lot lately, myself and a lot of us, we’ve played in Dubai, India A series and a lot of the guys played IPL too. I think just being around the conditions helps a lot of the guys, guys that have had success in the past to know what they’re trying to do, just like the Indians have for a long period here. There have been lot of good players of spin here. Pete has batted beautifully, Maxi has always looked like he’s going to get a lot of runs and been free-flowing.”Khawaja’s unlikely bumper run has formed the centerpiece of Australia’s unexpected series win. It was the first time that Australia bounced back from being 2-0 down to clinch a five-match ODI series.”It’s huge. To win a series in India is huge,” Khawaja said. “It’s a tough place to come play cricket against a very good side. They beat us in Australia, so to come back from those first couple of games, the losses, to come back and win three in a row to win the series, it’s a great feeling.”From a personal point of view, it’s huge as well. Man of the Series in a one-day tournament in India. I wasn’t in the ODI side this time last year. So, to be here in India and win the series is massive. It’s always a tough place to play cricket, for any Australian to come over. Then you have the conditions, then you have the crowds, so it’s really satisfying to come back into the one-day side and contribute. Even more so to get that win, to get that series win because it is not easy out here.”When asked if he has done enough to force his way into World Cup contention, Khawaja downplayed his form and shifted his focus to the upcoming five-match ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE, where Australia are likely to come up against similar slow pitches and spin-heavy attacks.”Look, one day at a time. I am not looking too far ahead,” he said. “No one knows what the next day might bring. We’ve got five one-dayers in the UAE. Would love to come out on top and win that series and there’s a long time between now and the World Cup, so for us as a team, we’re just enjoying each other’s company, enjoying the wins with each other and hopefully we can do that in UAE in the next tour.”If Khawaja continues to score runs for fun in the UAE too, he could well make Australia’s first-choice World Cup XI, with or without Smith and Warner.

The Australia paceman has 19 wickets so far, and the New Zealand captain 414 runs – they are the most important cogs in their teams’ wheels

Jarrod Kimber at Lord's28-Jun-2019The last time Australia played New Zealand, Mitchell Starc didn’t take a wicket.This was back in the 2017 Champions Trophy, a game that had New Zealand as arguably the favourites going in – not something that happens for them often, let alone in an ICC event. And they were bossing it when the game was washed out.In that game, Josh Hazlewood took six wickets. Australian fans might remember him as someone who used to play ODIs for his country.The two times they met before in ICC events were both at the 2015 World Cup, and they are very memorable for different reasons. Australia beat Brendon McCullum’s brand wow New Zealand in the final, and New Zealand snuck home in one of the most crazy coco bananas games in World Cup history a month earlier.In those three games, Kane Williamson had a hundred and a 45 that included a six to win the game with one wicket in hand. Starc had a six-wicket haul and the dismissal of McCullum that almost exploded the MCG.These two teams have won a lot at this World Cup: it’s in no small part because of Starc’s 19 wickets and Williamson’s 414 runs. This tournament, Starc is a stop-gap for the Australian bowling attack; if the game is not going well, he finds himself with ball in hand. Williamson has scored more than double what the next highest scorer has for New Zealand, his strike rate of 77 is low, but he has played on some tough wickets and been the only person capable of staying out there.Against New Zealand, Starc has played eight ODIs, averaging 19 with an economy of 4.7. Williamson averages 42 against Australia. The chances of a straight shootout are unlikely, but Williamson will have to overcome a slightly flawed New Zealand batting line-up, and if he gets set, you’d expect him to be facing one (or more) Starc killer mid-innings spells.Kane Williamson won’t blast away, he will try to build a little fort out in the middle•Getty ImagesThere is simply no other way to beat Australia, as India proved. If you give Starc wickets, either at the top like England, or later on like West Indies, he creates havoc, and the game is over. Williamson has to hold him up.If McCullum was New Zealand’s superhero who would run into a burning building to find your cat’s favourite toy, Williamson is the guy who puts in all the smoke alarms, makes sure the house is fire retardant and that everyone knows where to meet in case of emergency. There is no better player to negate Starc than Williamson; he’s one of the few batsmen in this tournament who saw the Ben Stokes yorker and thought, that’s a good ball, before continuing to clean his gear with a toothbrush. Williamson has only been dismissed once off pace in the entire tournament, that’s in 356 balls. In his career, he averages over 50 from seam in ODIs. Starc has only bowled 58 balls to Williamson in ODIs, and he’s never taken his wicket.But Starc has Williamson three times in Tests, where he averages 22 against him. In this tournament, while the world has gone short, Starc has gone full and has 16 of his 19 wickets from length or fuller. Most of his wickets have been out of the Powerplay, where he’s taken set batsmen, often quality players. That description fits Williamson pretty well; he doesn’t blast away; he uses his superior batsmanship to build a little fort out in the middle, and he stays there as support for the other batsmen, or spine for the entire innings.Unless something mad happens, there will be a time when Australia needs Starc – or Pat Cummins – to get a set Williamson.New Zealand are not the favourites this time, they may have a lot of points, but many of their wins have been close ugly games, and their losses similar. Australia just crushed the No. 1 ODI team in the world, dethroning them in the process. They will expect to win, and for Starc to take wickets.

Fast bowler shows a hint of the talents that have brought him to England recognition, but he’ll need more in the coming days

George Dobell03-May-2019It was the second spell that impressed. The first – four overs for 21 runs – was respectable enough. But Jofra Archer needs more than respectable: he is not, currently, in England’s 15-man World Cup squad. And he has only five more ODIs after this to persuade the selectors he should be.But that second spell offered hints of weapons that England do not currently have. It offered a sharp (86mph), well-directed bouncer that had George Dockrell jerking his head out of harm’s way. It offered a sharp (90.3mph), well-directed yorker to end the dangerous innings of Mark Adair. And it offered a well-disguised slower ball – every bit of 23mph slower than the deliveries that proceeded it – that rendered the quicker balls (he twice produced deliveries of 91.1mph in that second spell) all the more dangerous. With memories of England’s recent travails in the Caribbean fresh in the mind – all those times they had no answer to Chris Gayle’s power – it was, in many ways, a persuasive performance.Jofra Archer tries his new ODI cap out for size•Getty ImagesThe harsh truth of selection, however, is that it is not enough just to impress: Archer has to impress more than his rivals for the role. And while he claimed one wicket – albeit an eye-catching one – and showed some of the pace and incision that renders him such a seductive contender, his rivals ground out worthy performances that reiterated the view there is not an obvious vacancy in the squad.In a BBC interview just before the toss, Archer admitted that nerves had limited his sleep and accepted that he felt as if he were on “trial”. That is hardly surprising: not since Kevin Pietersen or, maybe, even Graeme Hick has an England debut been more anticipated. The changes to the qualification period required to represent England – from seven to three years – were made, many think, just to accommodate Archer (it hardly matters whether they were or not; it’s perception that counts in such circumstances) while some of the recent comments of his new team-mates did not suggest his arrival was universally popular.Take the words of David Willey, his opening partner here, who suggested in the Caribbean that he had doubts over the wisdom of unsettling England’s unit on the eve of a tournament for which they have been building for four years. “Whether someone should just walk in at the drop of a hat because they’re available, whether that’s the right thing, I don’t know,” Willey said. None of that, or the furore that greeted Chris Woakes’ slightly clumsy but more than slightly twisted “immoral” phrase, can have helped Archer. If there has been any upside to the Alex Hales debacle of recent days, it is that Archer has had a little respite from the spotlight.But it would hardly be surprising if that opening spell bore the sign of nerves. And any hopes he had of settling into it were dashed when Paul Stirling laced his first delivery – an entirely respectable ball that was nowhere near a half-volley – through the covers for four. Three more boundaries followed in that spell, though all were more due to Stirling’s ability than any failure on Archer’s behalf. He beat the bat a couple of times, but there were no yorkers, no bouncers, no slower balls and noticeably less movement than Willey managed. His most impressive moment in the opening hour of the game was a diving catch at mid-on to achieve the breakthrough. If he had any doubts about the standard of international cricket, they had been banished.Jofra Archer claims his maiden ODI wicket•Getty ImagesThis was not, perhaps, the easiest environment in which to make his debut. After all the glamour and noise of the IPL, Archer changed for this game in a prefabricated unit (there are few permanent features at this ground), bowled in front of what might generously be described as half-full stands and in conditions in which a polar bear would not go out without a muffler. He is not the first cricketer who has been asked to adapt to a 20-degree temperature change in a week – Joe Denly had a similar acclimatisation to make after his own stint in the IPL – but it is worth bearing in mind that he was undergoing this ‘trial’ in somewhat unfamiliar conditions. The surface – slow and low, as it was – probably negated his talents while playing to a couple of his colleagues’ stronger points. On the quicker, harder surfaces anticipated in the World Cup, that will not be the case.So, can we presume Archer is now certain to be in that World Cup squad? Well, no. It’s not that simple. Tom Curran and Liam Plunkett, his most likely contenders for that middle-overs bowling spot, claimed seven wickets between them here and each conceded fewer boundaries than Archer. Their skills may be less eye-catching, but they have credit in the bank and more experience in the format. They’re not going down without a fight. The selectors have a tough decision to make.They don’t, thankfully, have to make it just yet. But with Woakes, Mark Wood, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali all certain to return to the side in the coming days, the opportunities to impress for some of these players could be limited. Archer, in particular, may have to be judged on a tiny sample size.You might be wondering why it is only Plunkett and Curran who are looking over their shoulders at Archer at this stage. Well, Wood and Woakes appear certain, if fit, to win selection. Willey also seems likely to gain inclusion on the basis of the variety – his left-arm angle – he offers and the fact that he gains some movement with the new ball. With many World Cup games starting at 10.30am – when the conditions may aid his style of bowling – and with Wood and Woakes requiring management to survive the schedule, Willey provides an obvious new-ball alternative. He is a much-improved death bowler, too.ALSO READ: Hockey player to death bowler: Meet Ireland’s debutant, Josh LittleDenly’s place in the World Cup squad also appears safe. Which is remarkable, really, given that this was his first ODI for a decade. And while his maiden ODI wicket – achieved with a stumping off a filthy leg-side wide – was more testament to smart keeping than good bowling, the team management have decided he is the utility player, who can bat and field in any position and fill in for one of the spinners if they suffer a short-term injury, and plug any holes that may appear over the course of the tournament.Which leaves Archer vying for that last seam-bowling spot with Curran and Plunkett. And while the figures of both were decent, there were moments – such as when Adair heaved Curran for two sixes in an over or when the variation between Plunkett’s slower ball and stock delivery seemed negligible – when you couldn’t help but wonder if England weren’t already really quite well-served by fast-medium seamers and that Archer’s skill might prove a valuable point of difference.It was an impressive second spell. But whether such fleeting evidence is enough to win selection remains to be seen.”If today goes well, there will be a tomorrow,” Archer had said enigmatically before the toss. The selectors really do face a tough decision.

You don’t schedule a game in Delhi immediately after Diwali. Clearly, the BCCI didn’t get the memo

Sidharth Monga in New Delhi01-Nov-2019So you think you are smart? You think it’s a no-brainer. Delhi gets one international fixture in two years, and the one thing you want to do is not make it the first international match in India after Diwali. You think it is elementary.For those uninitiated, the weeks after Diwali – because of the pollution from the fireworks and crop-stubble burning in the neighbouring states of land-locked Delhi – are a health emergency. The summary of the health advisory given out is: do not indulge in strenuous athletic activity lest it causes irreversible damage to lungs.A Test was interrupted two years ago with players getting sick on the field and throwing up. The annual Delhi half-marathon had been moved to before Diwali. Many a former cricketer – and others who can afford to – has moved out of the city for a healthier life. From the moment they have landed, the Bangladesh players have complained of burning eyes and sore throats.Surely by now you want to ring up the BCCI, and talk to them really slow so that they can understand. Maybe use visual medium and illustrations, you know, just in case they don’t really get it.You want to tell them that November 3 is literally the first Sunday after Diwali, that there was one month before November and there will be three months after December in which to play cricket in Delhi, that it is easy to avoid such a grave risk to the health of such promising young men and the many kids who will think it is okay to go out and play.At the least, you want the boards to give players an option to not travel to Delhi, just like players are given when touring countries that are considered terror threats. Of course you will try to show off your intelligence by countering BCCI’s arguments of rotation policy with common-sense solutions based on the lessons learnt from the Test two years ago. You want to drop fancy terms such as “duty of care”.If you think Indian cricket is daft enough to not know something so obvious, dear reader, the joke is on you. Of course they know it is tough to play in such conditions. But they also know that Indian cricketers are better used to such bad air than any other cricketing nation.Even Bangladesh, the most polluted cricketing country outside India and Pakistan, is not used to such levels of pollution. They just walked in from an AQI of 107 in Dhaka – yes I know, dear reader, you have ridiculed Dhaka’s pollution in the past – to 477 in Delhi.BCCIThese readings – at 2pm two days before the match – are a jump from merely “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “hazardous”. Can you imagine the advantage that can be gained by sticking visitors into this hellhole knowing that you already have an experience of it?India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour scoffed at a journalist who asked about any precautions the side might be taking. “You are asking the wrong person,” Rathour said. “I have played in north Indian winters all my life.”That’s it. This must be strategic. This must be India going full elite-era Australia; to the sledging and ugly send-offs, we add this welcome to opponents. You’re smart. I don’t need to tell you what happens if Australia start a series in, say, Adelaide and not the Gabba and don’t do well. Big, bad, moustachioed fast bowlers tell the suited sellouts at CA to go back to the Gabba as the first Test. Set the tone at the hot, humid, bouncy, quick, seaming Gabba, where their batsmen are better acclimatised to the humidity.Imagine if India had a venue where they could have a series-starter to demoralise the opposition. To literally choke them. Of course Bangladesh are doing it to themselves what with strikes and unreported bookie approaches, but just like the day-night Test, this is the perfect opposition to try it out against. Imagine if Bangladesh are struggling, how will those sides used to breathing clean air cope? Roll out the Killer Kotla already as India’s response to the Gabbatoir.Yes it is a small sacrifice in that even the Indian players’ health is at risk, but the fruits will be reaped later in the series. No player shall be given the option to pull out. Training sessions shall carry on out in the open even though there are many matches when training is skipped in perfect conditions. No mask shall be worn. Our strength lies in the perception of our strength. . To hell with the duty of care. . We can play in any air. We will take air out of the equation.Australia’s captain Steve Waugh once upon a time sought to get the better of the opposition through mental disintegration. India shall, through series openers scheduled in Delhi’s toxic air, introduce pulmonary disintegration to the game. If you feel uncomfortable, dear reader, you are just jealous of India and Indian cricket.

Robin Smith is best remembered for his strokeplay against the fearsome West Indian fast bowlers. In his new book he writes among other things about how he learnt to face short bowling

Robin Smith26-Jul-2019I wasn’t one of the all-time greats, but if people remember me as a good player of raw pace bowling then I’m chuffed with that because it’s something I worked so hard on. I’m very happy if I’m remembered as somebody who stood up against the best and nastiest bowlers around, and who was never intimidated. I still think I got off quite lightly, because West Indies were not at their peak when I played against them, but it was still pretty hot in the kitchen.Despite that heat, I never wore a grille on my helmet. When I started my career there were no grilles, just basic helmets, and I became used to wearing those, though I added side pieces to protect my temple and earlobe. When I tried wearing a grille I felt claustrophobic and maybe a bit complacent as well because of the extra facial protection. Having no grille meant there was an added sense of danger, which added to the appeal – but not necessarily because I was trying to be macho. I loved the challenge, the enormous adrenaline rush, the test of my technique, reflexes and courage. Seriously, the quicker the better. I genuinely believed that if you watched the ball, you wouldn’t get hit, and I never wore a grille because I fancied my reflexes against any pace. I was very conscious I was playing with fire, not to mention my jaw, cheekbone and eye socket, but honestly, it was the most spectacular experience.That tour of the Caribbean in 1989-90 gave me a reputation as somebody who relished facing the quick stuff. Dad even has a cutting from magazine which listed me as the No. 1 player of fast bowling in England’s history. Mind you, I’m aware there’s probably another magazine article that has me very high on the list of England’s worst players of spin!I batted long periods on that West Indies tour and had an amazing time on and off the field. The Caribbean was always my favourite place to tour. I worked hard in the middle and took my punishment. At the close of play I’d run from the ground to the hotel, grab a rum and dry ginger and sit under a palm tree on the beach with Lamby or whoever as the alcohol gently relaxed my body and took the edge off the bruises.Before the West Indies tour I did a bit of technical work with Geoff Boycott, who called and asked if I wanted to travel to Headingley for a few net sessions. It was a great opportunity to work with him and pick his brain, even if it meant a ten-hour round trip each time I went to see him. It wasn’t practical to drive because of the rush-hour traffic, so I’d park my car at Southampton train station and head into London Waterloo. Then I took the underground to King’s Cross and a train up north. Not the easiest journey with an oversized cricket coffin! He got some young Yorkshire bowlers – including Paul Jarvis, who was rapid and had already played a few Tests for England – to bowl at my head from 18 yards. Paul actually apologised at one point. He was worried about hitting me but he said Boycs had given him firm instructions to bowl everything as fast as he could at my head.Curtly Ambrose bowls Robin Smith for 18 in an ODI in St Vincent, 1994-95•PA Photos/Getty ImagesI suggested to Boycs that it wasn’t an entirely fair contest, being peppered indoors under artificial light and on a shortened pitch. ‘Well, you can pack your things and go home,’ he said. ‘Because this is the sort of treatment you’ll be getting for the next three months.’I spoke to Boycs a lot during my career. It’s such a shame he wasn’t asked to be an official batting consultant with England, because when he stops talking about his own achievements he’s an absolute wizard at analysing the game. And he was totally honest. I didn’t always agree with the things he said on air or to my face, but I always respected his opinion.I’d tried to pick his brain a bit earlier in my career. We played Yorkshire in 1985 on a dodgy wicket at Middlesbrough, and Malcolm Marshall was charging in. Boycs, who was 44 years old, got 110 [115]. They had a great big bath tub where both teams piled in at the end of the day’s play. Boycs was in there on his own at one point so I thought it was a great chance to learn from a legend. I asked if I could jump in and he grunted something, which I assumed to be yes. He sat on one side of the bath, I sat on the other and we didn’t say a word to each other. Great chat, Boycs!I’m ashamed to say he got me out once – , by Robin Smith, is published by Yellow Jersey

The match-up for Sunday is an interesting one because it pits the most aggressive batting line-up of the tournament against the best bowling unit

S Rajesh and Srinath Sripath13-Jul-2019Several parallels have been drawn between the 1992 World Cup and the current one, so here is another: these are the only two World Cups in which the team winning the tournament would have lost more than two matches. Pakistan lost to West Indies, India and South Africa on the way to their title in 1992, and whichever team wins on Sunday would have lost three in their journey. England lost to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia, whereas New Zealand were beaten by Pakistan, Australia and England.Pace, swing and guile: New Zealand’s pace attack has stepped up at the World Cup•ESPNcricinfo LtdThe best batting line-up versus the best bowling attackEngland and New Zealand have both stumbled along the way in their campaign, but the match-up for Sunday is an interesting one because it pits the most aggressive batting line-up of the tournament against the best bowling unit. England’s tournament run rate of 6.43 is easily the best – Australia are next with 6.02 – while their average of 43.26 runs per wicket is bettered only by India. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s economy rate of 5.01 and their average of 27.12 are the best in the tournament.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe difference, though, is in the comparison between New Zealand’s batting and England’s bowling. New Zealand’s run rate is ninth among ten teams, and their batting average seventh, while England’s economy rate and bowling average are second only to New Zealand’s. That makes England the firm favourites going into Sunday’s final.Coming to the tactics, here’s where the 2019 World Cup final could be won and lost.How New Zealand neutralise England’s Roy-Bairstow advantageThe biggest difference between the two teams is their opening combinations. The last four times Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow have opened the batting, they’ve put together 128, 160, 123 and 124 (which could perhaps lead to the argument that they are due a failure); New Zealand’s last seven opening stands read 1, 2, 29, 5, 0, 12, 0 – 49 runs at an average of seven.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn the matches where Roy and Bairstow have opened, England have usually bossed the Powerplays, while New Zealand’s batting Powerplay numbers are among the poorest. The bowling numbers, though, are pretty similar.