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Raman, who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs, has had coaching stints at Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders apart from the NCA

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai20-Dec-2018WV Raman has been appointed the India women head coach after a day-long series of interviews conducted by a three-member ad-hoc committee set up by the BCCI for the purpose. Raman was one of three names, along with Gary Kirsten and Venkatesh Prasad, recommended by the committee to the board after interviewing nine applicants on Thursday in Mumbai.Raman, the former Tamil Nadu opening batsman, played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs in an international career stretching from 1988 to 1997. He has since transitioned into an extensive coaching career, which, ESPNcricinfo understands, strengthened his case. He has served as the head coach of state teams Bengal and Tamil Nadu, been assistant coach of Kings XI Punjab (2013) and the batting coach of Kolkata Knight Riders when they won their second IPL title in 2014. Later, he was named the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru in 2015.
What also worked in his favour vis a vis Prasad was the panel preferring a former international batsman to a bowler in the role of head coach. Raman, however, is understood to have suggested that the board consider appointing a bowling coach for the team’s benefit.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kirsten was the most high-profile candidate but his role as coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore will mean a potential conflict of scheduling with the women’s team. The BCCI release confirming Raman’s appointment also mentioned that this could have been a possible conflict-of-interest situation as per the new BCCI constitution.It is also learnt that the panel suggested to the CoA the possibility of having Kalpana Venkatachar, the former India Test batsman and current coach of the Meghalaya women’s team, and the only female candidate to have been interviewed, hired as a deputy.Anshuman Gaekwad, one of the three members on the ad-hoc committee alongside Kapil Dev and Shantha Rangswamy, said the panel had done its “job in the best manner” it could and that the decision would be taken by the board.”[Three names were recommended] for any last-minute changes, who’s available or not,” he said. “The interviews were conducted only for the head coach and not any deputy or assistant role or any other support staff.”ALSO READ: How the Mithali-Powar mudslinging saga unfoldedThe position has been vacant since Ramesh Powar’s term expired on November 30.

ODI, T20I squad selection on Friday

The ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming limited-overs tour of New Zealand are likely to be selected on Friday afternoon in Delhi. ODI captain Mithali Raj is likely to be in attendance, while T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur is expected to join in via Skype, although she is scheduled to play for Sydney Thunder against the Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL starting 8.20am IST. India are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is against New Zealand starting January 24. The three T20Is will be double-headers along with the men’s T20Is in February.

Powar had reapplied for the role after not being handed an extension amid controversial circumstances; he was among the three candidates, including Raman and Manoj Prabhakar, to be interviewed in person at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai but was not among the final three candidates recommended by the ad-hoc committee.Five other applicants from the shortlist, including Kirsten, were interviewed via Skype.While Kirsten has coached the India and South Africa men’s teams before working with Delhi Daredevils and now with RCB, Prasad was the India bowling coach with the victorious India men’s team during the inaugural World T20 in 2007. Prasad then became the coach of the domestic team Uttar Pradesh before taking over as the chairman of India’s junior selection committee, a position he relinquished earlier this year to become the bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab.Raman will now be the fourth coach in 20 months, a timespan that also involved the controversial ousters of two head coaches – former India women captain Purnima Rau in April 2017 and, her replacement, the former Baroda spinner Tushar Arothe in July this year, both of whom had to vacate the position on the demand of seniors players.Before it came to a fractious end, Powar’s tenure saw India clinch limited-overs series victories in Sri Lanka in September, and beat Australia A in an unofficial T20I series in Mumbai where India fielded their regular side. Before the semi-final loss to England – his last match in charge – the team enjoyed an unbeaten run at the World T20, notable for victories over New Zealand and Australia.Powar, the first of the three applicants to have arrived at the headquarters for the interview, had made it to the initial shortlist from a longlist of 28 candidates after the position opened up in the wake of the non-renewal of his contract.Both Powar and Prabhakar are understood to have impressed the panel. Despite his formidable credentials, including coaching India to their first World T20 semi-final in eight years, Powar failed to make the cut largely owing to the controversies that preceded his reapplication.Much of the focus behind selecting the head coach, it is understood, had been on gauging the potential of the candidates at managing the personnel in the team and the sussing out the needs of the support staff.

Brathwaite and Kyle Hope’s unbroken 63-run second-wicket stand leave Zimbabwe chasing the game on a 11-wicket day

The Report by Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo22-Oct-2017Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDevendra Bishoo’s fourth five-for gave West Indies a handy lead•WICB Media/Brooks LaTouche Photography Ltd

In a Test match being played in fast-forward mode, 11 wickets fell on the second day at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo as West Indies surged into the ascendancy. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo was the catalyst for the turnaround, scything through Zimbabwe’s top order to finish with 5 for 79.His first ball of the morning was hit for six, but Bishoo soon found his rhythm. In an unbroken 23-over spell on either side of lunch, he undid all of the hard work done by Zimbabwe’s bowlers, with spin, bounce and accuracy. The hosts were bowled out for 159 during the extended post-lunch session, and by the close West Indies had stretched their lead to 148, with Kraigg Brathwaite and Kyle Hope adding an unbeaten 63 for the second wicket.For a while, it appeared that Zimbabwe might continue to chug along gamely despite the early loss of Solomon Mire. But once Bishoo settled, West Indies made regular inroads as Zimbabwe lost 9 for 68 from a comfortable 91 for 1.Hamilton Masakadza, who had muscled Bishoo’s opening delivery over long on for six, could not smother the turn of a fizzing legbreak and feathered an edge through to wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich for 42 – the highest score of Zimbabwe’s innings. Brendan Taylor’s second coming then lasted all of seven deliveries before he reverse swept Bishoo into Jermaine Blackwood’s hands at slip, the fielder having moved in anticipation of the stroke.With his dismissal Zimbabwe slipped to 93 for 3, and Sean Williams endured a working-over against the pace of Shannon Gabriel as the hosts went into the lunch interval without further loss. At that point, the innings – and the match – was still in the balance, but the afternoon belonged entirely to West Indies.Bishoo’s effort was well backed up by the pace attack, who utilized the dryness of the surface to extract significant reverse swing. Kemar Roach had a flat-footed Sean Williams caught behind wafting lazily at one that left him off the track, while Jason Holder, hiding the shiny side of the ball in his hands during his run-up, castled Malcolm Waller with one that hooped in from outside off to beat a loose defensive poke. Between times, Bishoo bowled unchanged and found regular success against an increasingly jittery middle order.Sikandar Raza looked a little ungainly against the quicks, and positively frenetic against spin. He might have been stumped very early on, had the ball not deviated off his elbow and away from Dowrich, but kept using his feet and eventually swiped underneath a flighted delivery to top-edge a catch to Gabriel at long off.That gave Bishoo his third, with Zimbabwe still 96 in arrears. Straight after the afternoon drinks break, he had his fourth, finally getting the better of Craig Ervine with one that went straight on with the arm to beat the left-hander’s sweep and strike him right in front of middle stump. With Bishoo ragging it square from one end and the pace attack reversing the ball from the other end, full capitulation from Zimbabwe seemed only a matter of time.Regis Chakabva flapped a half-hearted cut tamely to backward point to give Bishoo his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket – and his third away from home. When Graeme Cremer inside-edged a drive off Holder Zimbabwe were 147 for 9. The last pair of Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis added just 12 more before Mpofu nicked off to a length delivery from Gabriel.Brathwaite and Powell strode out to open the batting a second time inside two days with the opportunity to bat Zimbabwe out of a match. They weathered steady new-ball spells from Kyle Jarvis and Christopher Mpofu, but when spin was introduced Powell fell almost immediately, playing inside a delivery from Cremer to see his off stump disturbed.West Indies were 25 for 1 then, and with both Cremer and Williams gaining alarming turn and bounce, Zimbabwe were not yet out of the match. Hope was offered an early reprieve when a tough chance went down at short leg, but soon got his feet moving and repeatedly shovelled the spinners into the leg side. Brathwaite, similarly legside in his technique, was also unafraid to loft the ball and cracked Cremer over long on for six early in his innings.Neither he nor Hope gave Zimbabwe much of a sniff thereafter, and though there was still turn on offer in the afternoon it seemed some of the bite had gone out of the track. But there is still an awful lot of time left in a match during which 21 wickets have already fallen – and all but seven of those to spin. With a little more hard work, West Indies are one or two sessions from closing out the first Test.

Non-disclosure agreements lasting for 10 years are preventing progress on the debate over the future direction of domestic T20, according to county officials

George Dobell09-Sep-2016Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) lasting for 10 years are preventing progress on the debate over the future direction of domestic T20, according to county officials.The ECB insisted that the agreements were signed before counties could be shown plans for a new competition. But now the counties – most of which are owned by their members – say they are constitutionally, morally and perhaps fiducially obliged to consult them before coming to any conclusions. Several clubs, who are unwilling to be named for fear of being seen to have broken their NDAs, state they would need to hold Special General Meetings before progressing.While the ECB claims the non-disclosure agreements are due to the “commercial sensitivity” of the discussion, some county executives fear they are an attempt to stifle opposition and present plans for a new tournament as a .It is true that the ECB is anxious to end an argument that has rumbled on for several years, with occasional outbreaks of cricket. The board has told the counties it wants to “reach consensus” on the shape of the proposed new tournament at a meeting on September 14.But some of the counties say that this timeframe does not allow discussion with members, or any other cricket lovers, or further examination of the consequences of their decisions. They point out that, while sponsors, broadcasters (some broadcasters, anyway), players and the counties have been given details of the potential options, spectators have been informed only by media reports. They also point out that many questions about the new competition remains unclear.The last time the ECB conducted a consultation process into domestic T20 – the Populous survey of 2012 – it suggested that spectators preferred a predictable schedule that didn’t demand too much of their time or their money in the space of a few days. It increasingly looks as if the new competition will see games played every day of the week in a July block.At this stage, though, there is no official preferred option. The ECB presented five options to the counties for discussion: these range from the ‘no-change’ option that almost nobody favours, to proposals for a new-team, city-based competition. Increasingly, option four – featuring a city-based competition co-existing with the current NatWest Blast T20 – has emerged as the frontrunner.Packaged as a compromise – or a wolf in sheep’s clothing, depending on your view – it has won over a number of counties (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and, perhaps, Sussex) that might otherwise have resisted a city-based tournament and seems to have an even chance of gaining the two-thirds majority required to see it adopted as the shape of the season from 2018. The ECB is promising the counties a minimum of £1m each if they do so. It is clear that, officially or not, this is its preferred option.There are, though, huge questions to answer before anything can be confirmed. What other cricket will be played in the July window while the city-based competition is on and is it not a concern that the quality of the Championship (or Blast competition) will be diluted? What evidence is there that audiences in England and Wales will warm to new teams? Can the money promised really be considered new if it comes at the expense of a watered down Blast (with fewer ‘name’ players, less interest from broadcasters and sponsors and the sense that it is a lesser competition) and can the money even be guaranteed even if broadcasters subsequently fail to deliver on the estimates that the ECB has received or if they fail to reach their audience target?The ECB hopes to drum up bids from broadcasters to televise a new competition•Getty Images

Furthermore, won’t the gap between the Test-hosting counties and the rest grow if a city-based competition is held only at the bigger grounds and there is no distribution of non-cricket income (bar receipts, for example)? Especially if they are benefitting from the supply of players from smaller counties, without further compensation. Equally, it seems odd that all hosting grounds would be paid a flat fee (far below the amount some sides make for hosting Blast matches) whatever their capacity or hospitality facilities.It is understood that the ECB has also been asked to provide assurances that the ‘independent’ broadcast experts utilised to provide information on the likely value of tournaments do not stand to gain should the city-based tournament win favour. The ECB has a close working history with Sky and appears to have valued the existing competition far below comparable events.Premiership rugby, for example, a sport with similar supporter numbers as county cricket, receives something approaching £40m for its broadcast rights. The ECB currently ascribe a nil value to county cricket and seems to think the Blast is worth as little as £7.5m a year. That’s less than it can expect to earn from gate receipts. A city-based competition, despite lasting less than a month and not being offered exclusively, is said to be worth up to £40m.In the longer-term, the ECB has also been asked whether the international schedule will be cut to make space for the new city-based competition – and to allow England players to take part – and what the cost implications of that might be. Again, if it diminishes the money gained in the next broadcast deal, it would be wrong to view the city-based revenues as new rather than replacement. It seems unlikely that England players will be made available in 2018.But most of all the question remains: why is the ECB not interested in the input of those that, indirectly, pay the wages of the administrators, the media, the players and the broadcasters? One day, and it may not be a distant day, the spectators will tire of the £6 pints, the soggy chips, the slack over rates that short-change them of their £90 Test tickets and spend their money elsewhere. The ECB disrespects them at its peril.

Kasun Rajitha, a 22-year-old seamer from Badureliya Sports Club, has been picked in both the four-day and one-day squads for Sri Lanka A’s tour of New Zealand in October

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Aug-2015Kasun Rajitha, a 22-year-old seamer from Badureliya Sports Club, has been picked in both the four-day and one-day squads for Sri Lanka A’s tour of New Zealand in October. Rajitha has played only seven first-class matches, and has taken just six wickets at an average of 81.83 in the Premier League Tournament. However, match figures of 7 for 106 in the recent tour match against the Indians have helped earn him a place in both squads.Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay and opening batsman Dhananjaya de Silva, who debuted in the recent T20 series against Pakistan, also find places in both squads. Seamer Lahiru Gamage, wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, and middle-order batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage, who have all played for Sri Lanka in the past, also feature in both squads. Batsman Ashan Priyanjan has been named captain of both teams.Vishwa Fernando, the 23-year-old left-arm seamer who is in the Sri Lanka squad for the ongoing Test series against India, has been named in the four-day squad only. Chamara Kapugedara, meanwhile, is in the squad for the one-dayers.Left-arm chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan, who has been among the top five wicket-takers in to successive domestic seasons, and had also been in a Sri Lanka ODI squad last year, does not find a place in either squad.Sri Lanka A play four unofficial ODIs and two unofficial Tests against New Zealand A. Their tour begins in Lincoln on October 1, with two warm-up encounters against New Zealand Cricket’s winter training squad.Sri Lanka A unofficial Test squad: Ashan Priyanjan (capt.), Dananjaya De Silva, Udara Jayasundara, Minod Bhanuka, Niroshan Dickwella, Roshen Silva, Asela Gunaratne, Angelo Jayasinghe, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Nisala Tharaka, Lahiru Gamage, Jeffrey Vandersay, Amila Aponso, Kithuruwan VithanageSri Lanka A unofficial ODI squad: Ashan Priyanjan (capt.), Dananjaya De Silva, Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Shehan Jayasuriya, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Niroshan Dickwella, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedara, Lahiru Madushanka, Chaturanga De Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lahiru Gamage, Kasun Rajitha, Binura Fernando, Nisala Tharaka

Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland has said there was no evidence specifically linking cricket to an Australian Crime Commission report that has found widespread drug use in Australian professional sport

Brydon Coverdale07-Feb-2013Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland has said there was no evidence linking cricket to an Australian Crime Commission report that has found widespread drug use in Australian professional sport as well as links to organised crime and possible match-fixing.However, the disturbing findings of the report have prompted Cricket Australia to consider its integrity processes, and in a statement the organisation said it would “immediately implement a review of our own integrity systems, controls and processes to ensure that Australian cricket is fully equipped to deal with the heightened integrity risks that have come to light this week”.Sutherland and other chief executives of major sports were part of an hour-long press conference on Thursday in Canberra, where some of the findings of the Australian Crime Commission’s year-long investigation were revealed. The ACC report suggested there was widespread use of banned substances including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs in Australian sport.”The findings are shocking and they’ll disgust Australian sports fans,” Australia’s justice minister Jason Clare said. “The findings indicate that drugs are being facilitated by sports scientists, coaches, support staff as well as doctors and pharmacists, and in some cases sports scientists and others orchestrating the doping of entire teams. In some cases players [are] being administered with drugs that have not yet been approved for human use.”The investigation has also found that organised crime is used in the distribution of these drugs. This is particularly serious. Links between organised crime and players exposes players to the risk of being co-opted for match-fixing and this investigation has identified one possible example of that, and that is currently under investigation … It’s cheating but it’s worse than that. It’s cheating with the help of criminals.”The Australian Crime Commission said the sporting bodies affected had been briefed on the investigation’s findings. While the specific sports in which widespread drug use was found were not revealed to the public, Sutherland said there had been no suggestion cricket was directly affected.”There’s no specific evidence that has been passed through to us but all this report does for us is heighten our concerns about risk and gives us a mandate to take our own action independently, but also collectively with other sports, the government and other agencies,” Sutherland said.When asked about match-fixing and the integrity of cricket, especially the Big Bash League, Sutherland said: “We’re as confident as we can be in that regard. We have our own integrity unit that has surveillance activities over all of the Big Bash League matches. That’s networked through to the ICC, who has its own anti-corruption unit and we work very closely with them, with information not just about the Australian betting market but the global betting market.”Of course this report heightens our awareness of risk and we will only be taking a step up, in terms of the support around our integrity unit, to protect the Big Bash and all other cricket matches played in Australia.”The release of the report came in the same week that the AFL found itself embroiled in a drug scandal centred on the Essendon club and its use of supplements given to players. Fast bowler Peter Siddle, when asked about what supplements Australian cricketers were given, said only basic items like multi-vitamins were used and none were injected.”It’s just all the general multi-vitamins and general stuff for health and well-being,” Siddle said. “Ours is pretty simple. Some blokes take them, some blokes don’t. It’s pretty standard stuff.”Australia’s captain Michael Clarke said the integrity of the game was paramount for he and his team.”[Integrity] is our priority and I think cricket does that generally,” Clarke said. “I think through the ICC and Cricket Australia they try and hold it in such a high regard that if you do anything that jeopardises that there will be consequences. We’re very lucky in our sport.”I’ve never been approached by anybody anywhere in the world playing in any country. Maybe they know me too well. The most important thing for the current Australian team is we continue to respect this great game and the integrity of it.”

Lancashire’s head coach Peter Moores has signed a two-year extension to his contract following the county’s first outright championship title for 77 years. His contract will now run until 2014.

David Hopps13-Jan-2012Lancashire’s head coach Peter Moores has signed a two-year extension to his contract following the county’s first outright championship title for 77 years. His contract will now run until 2014.Moores’ rehabilitation has been swift since he was sacked as England coach three years ago, following a rift with the then-captain, Kevin Pietersen, who also lost his job as a result.He guided an unfashionable Lancashire side to the title when many judges had regarded them as relegation probables, repeating the success he had enjoyed at county level with Sussex before taking up the England role.Moores said: “I am really pleased to commit to Lancashire. I have enjoyed my time immensely.”

Keith Andrew, who died on December 27 aged 81, kept wicket twice for England in a career which spanned 14 seasons between 1953 and 1966

Martin Williamson10-Jan-2011Keith Andrew, who died on December 27 aged 81, kept wicket twice for England in a career which spanned 14 seasons between 1953 and 1966.Both his appearances were marked by England slumping to heavy defeats. His debut came at Brisbane in 1954-55 when Godfrey Evans, whose presence was the largely the reason Andrew played so little, was incapacitated. It was an ordeal by fire as Australia ran up over 600 and England wilted, losing the Test by an innings. His second appearance was nine years later, against West Indies, and again he kept during a 500+ innings, conceding three byes.With other wicketkeeper-batsmen, especially John Murray, to the fore, Andrew’s relative inability with the bat counted heavily against him in the minds of the selectors. Always tidy, if not spectacular, behind the stumps, he also captained Northamptonshire for five years with success, steering them to eighth, seventh, third, second and fifth places in the Championship. In 1965 he kept seven matches (900+ runs and 2132 runs) without conceding a bye.In 390 first-class matches Andrew scored 4230 runs at 13.38 as well as taking 723 catches and making 181 stumpings.He was made an honorary member of the MCC after retirement, and for a period was NCA director of coaching.

Essex have appointed Chris Silverwood, the former England paceman, as bowling coach following the recent departure of Graeme Welch

Cricinfo staff23-Feb-2010Essex have appointed Chris Silverwood, the former England paceman, as bowling coach following the recent departure of Graeme Welch.Silverwood is currently in Zimbabwe with the Mashonaland Eagles where he is player-coach and applied for the vacant role of England bowling coach but he will now join Essex. Paul Grayson, the Essex coach, is thrilled to have such strong candidate.”Chris will be joining us as bowling coach from March 1 when the players report back for full pre-season training,” he said. “He will also travel with us to Barbados where he will be able to work really close with the bowlers as we prepare for the start of the season.””We were obviously keen to replace Graeme [Welch] as quickly as possible. Chris is a highly respected person having played plenty of first-class cricket and of course he has represented England. He is desperately keen to make an impact and is the perfect bowling coach for the club as he ticks all of the boxes”.Silverwood played six Tests for England between 1996 and 2002 and took 577 first-class wickets at 27.41 over a career stretching back to 1993.

One of the teams will travel back to Pakistan to play New Zealand in the second semi-final

Danyal Rasool01-Mar-2025The scheduling of the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in two different countries has meant both teams that have qualified from Group B – Australia and South Africa* – will travel to the UAE this weekend.An ICC official said the decision had been taken to allow the side that plays the semi-final in Dubai on March 4 the maximum time to prepare for that contest. However, it does guarantee one side will find themselves in the sub-optimal position of leaving Pakistan for Dubai, only to have to return to Pakistan soon after. While the Lahore semi-final is one day later on March 5, the way in which this tournament has been scheduled means that one team will travel and train at a venue they do not need to be at for a day.Australia shifted to Dubai on Saturday, having qualified after their game against Afghanistan was abandoned in Lahore on Friday. South Africa, who sealed qualification on Saturday evening with a thumping win over England, will depart Karachi for Dubai at noon on Sunday.The actual match-ups and venues of the two semi-finals will only be confirmed after India and New Zealand play the final group game of this tournament on Sunday. India will play in Dubai regardless of their group position, which means the two teams of group B will find out where they play their semi-final only after India have played New Zealand.Related

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Such a scenario was all but inevitable given the necessity of India playing their games outside Pakistan, despite the country officially being the sole host of the tournament. The PCB spent several months trying to get India to visit Pakistan, at one stage proposing hosting all their games in Lahore. However, the BCCI said the Indian government did not grant the team permission to play cricket in Lahore. There is significant political tension between the two countries.The uncertainty concerning venues will extend right to the final as well. If India win their semi-final, the final will take place in Dubai. However, should they lose the semi-final, it will take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.*

Says he relies on his hands for placement and gives himself “a few options for different lengths”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-20234:00

Harmison on Maxwell’s 201*: ‘It has to be the greatest innings in ODI cricket’

One of the reasons why Glenn Maxwell’s hardly-believable double-century against Afghanistan in Mumbai is being billed as the greatest ODI knock of all time is because of how he was suffering from back spasms and severe cramps in the lower half of his body, and he still managed to hit a total of 21 fours and 10 sixes to lead Australia to victory, mainly by using his arms and upper-body strength.Maxwell attributed that ability to a pre-match batting drill he used to practice around eight-nine years ago in the BBL, to hit some big boundaries.”One of the things I used to work on before every BBL game – going back about eight or nine years – was foot drills where the first 12 balls I’d face I’d stay dead still but try and hit them as far as I could,” he told the . “Whatever the length, I basically had to hold my top body for as long as I could to get the right trajectory to feel like I hit a six. Working on that upper-body movement without using your legs is actually a good way of finding out where your ideal heave point is. Going back to that [innings against Afghanistan], I obviously had to tinker a little bit with actual bowlers not just bowling half-volleys outside off stump but bowling different areas. Jut relying on stuff I had worked on in early years and try to adapt as quickly as I could.”Related

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When asked what helped him prepare for such unorthodox shots, Maxwell said: “I think it has a lot to do with the positions I get myself in on a golf course where I’m stuck behind a tree and I’ve to throw my wrists around or flick it around. It’s little things like that. I feel like it allows you to be inventive and tests the boundaries.”Maxwell also revealed on the podcast that the worst cramps in his body were in his calf muscle, and that at one point the middle toe on his right foot “starting to bend back” and combined with the back spasms, his “body was starting to shut down”.When he fell to the ground at one point and lay flat because of cramps just after completing a single, he was attended to by the team physio who said that going off the field would be worse because Maxwell’s body would cool down and coming back down the long staircase from the dressing room at the Wankhede Stadium would become very tough. The physio then advised Maxwell to slow things down since the batter also “couldn’t control my breathing,” and told him to hydrate himself more and bat on.Not only against Afghanistan, but during his record-breaking 40-ball century against Netherlands, and further back in the past in white-ball cricket, one of Maxwell’s trademark ability is to find the gaps in all corners of the ground, irrespective of the line and length of the ball, and the bowlers.”Once I get in, I feel like I can set myself early enough in my mind and have a good idea of where I’m trying to hit it,” Maxwell explained. “I feel like my hands can get me out of trouble if the ball is not quite in that areas and do I give myself a few options for different lengths.”