Babar, who hasn’t accepted the offer yet, has asked the PCB to be appointed captain across all three formats if he is to consider a return

Danyal Rasool29-Mar-2024Shaheen Shah Afridi’s one-series stint as Pakistan T20I captain is set to come to an end, with Babar Azam offered the white-ball captaincy once more. The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met Babar earlier this week to make the offer.Babar, for his part, has not yet accepted the offer. The decision to strip him of the armband in all three formats following Pakistan’s poor 2023 ODI World Cup campaign rankled him, and he has asked the PCB to be appointed captain across all three formats if he is to consider a return. While no ODI captain was ever officially appointed when Babar reluctantly stepped down, Shan Masood is the current Test captain, having led the side in a three-match series in Australia.Related

PCB chief hints Pakistan could get a new T20I captain

The writing was on the wall for Afridi since Naqvi refused to back him at a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, saying at the time a final decision would be made after Pakistan’s training camp with the military ended. But it appears there has been a rapid loss of faith in Afridi’s leadership abilities when he led Pakistan in one series and his PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars. Pakistan lost the T20I series against New Zealand 4-1, and Qalandars won just one game out of ten and finished bottom of the PSL table.However, Afridi will feel hard done by, given Naqvi’s comments that Pakistan wanted a long-term captain they could back, rather than knee-jerk appointments after a handful of games, given that is effectively precisely what has happened to him. Part of the appeal of appointing Afridi, still only 23, as captain was he could learn on the job and continue in the role for an extended period of time, and he was considered the favourite to take on the ODI leadership as well.And while Babar’s demand to be anointed Test captain is not understood to be a deal-breaker for the former captain, it does place significant pressure on Masood’s position as red-ball skipper. He, too, has led the side for just one series, with Pakistan losing all three games in Australia. However, a more aggressive approach as captain was widely seen as a contributing factor to Pakistan running the hosts close in two of the three Tests despite injuries rendering the bowling attack weakened.Shan Masood has led Pakistan in only one Test series, in Australia in December-January•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesThe flip-flopping surrounding the captaincy question strikes at the heart of the PCB’s state of proceedings over the past 18 months. They have been through multiple chief selectors, as well as selection committees with varying degrees of power, since the start of 2023. Zaka Ashraf’s decision to sack Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn, and twist Babar’s arm into resigning just before a key tour of Australia was the highest profile one, but in truth, the chaos has been bubbling for longer than that.The current selection committee’s arrangement is also fairly distinct. There are four selectors – Wahab Riaz, Asad Shafiq, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Yousuf – with no chief selector. They will be joined by the Pakistan captain and coach – both yet to be appointed – and a data analyst. Selection decisions will be made by vote, with 4-3 majorities carrying the day.As things stand, Pakistan have been through negotiations with several candidates for the role of head coach without being able to reach a deal. Shane Watson, Mike Hesson and Adam Voges are among those who eventually turned them down, while initially promising discussions with Luke Ronchi have also meted away. The PCB is currently understood to be in talks with Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten, with no sign of a breakthrough yet.Pakistan’s next series, which Babar is expected to lead his side out for once more, comes against New Zealand in April, with the two sides playing five T20Is.

Wrexham CEO Michael Williamson is burning the midnight oil Down Under as the Red Dragons are working aggressively behind the scenes to build a super-squad ahead of plying their trade in the Championship. Currently on tour in Oceania, the Welsh side have already made headlines with their pre-season outings, but the more significant action may be happening off the pitch, particularly in hotel rooms, meeting rooms and late-night phone calls.

• Wrexham having pre-season in New Zealand
• Red Dragons putting together formidable squad
• Could break transfer record for Liberato Cacace

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Williamson has admitted the tour is far from a relaxing retreat. Instead, he has been spending his nights buried in calls, emails and negotiations as the club pushes ahead with vital squad-building efforts. Tucked away far in the Southern hemisphere, he’s handling communications across multiple time zones, from the UK to the United States, an unenviable challenge to say the least.

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• WHAT WILLIAMSON SAID

  Speaking to , Williamson offered insight into the high demands of building a Championship-worthy side while halfway around the world.

  "I’m aware the impression I’m probably giving is that life on tour is a glamorous affair. But it’s also a very busy one, especially when 12,000 miles from home as we are at the moment," he said.

  "I’ve had many a night working until 2am since we got here. It might be phone calls to agents about players, or maybe the staff back in Wrexham. There are a million different things that need dealing with, especially emails. I’ll find myself getting to sleep at 2.30am and then, thanks to the time difference with the UK and also the U.S., waking up at 7am to see my inbox full once again. But that’s the job. The football world doesn’t stop just because we’re on the other side of the world."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Despite the physical toll, Williamson emphasised that the tour provides a unique opportunity to catch up with the think tank at any given time, which expedites the entire decision-making process.

  "What I do like about being on tour is we’re all in the same place," he said. "If we need, say, a quick 10-minute chat about a potential transfer, then Phil Parkinson is right here so we can sit down and go through things. There have been a few of those meetings with Phil and his staff in the early hours since we flew out."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  One of the key moves being negotiated is the acquisition of Liberato Cacace, a New Zealand international who currently plays for Empoli. The transfer is expected to eclipse the £2 million fee the club paid for striker Sam Smith earlier this year, making it the most expensive in Wrexham’s history.

Multan Sultans, who lost last year’s thrilling final against Lahore Qalandars by one run, opened their campaign with a thumping 55-run victory against allrounder-heavy Karachi Kings at the Multan Cricket Stadium.Sultans’ overseas signings Reeza Hendricks of South Africa and Englishman Dawid Malan struck half-centuries in the home team’s challenging total of 185 for 2 after Kings won the toss and elected to field.Veteran Shoaib Malik struck 53 off 35 balls and Kings captain Shan Masood struggled for his 30 off 31 balls against his former franchise as Sultans restricted their opponents to 130 for 8 in 20 overs.West Indian power-hitter Kieron Pollard (28 not out) was the other batter to reach double-figures in an otherwise lackluster performance by former champions Kings.Hendricks struck an unbeaten 79 off 54 and Malan made a resolute 52 as both set up a strong total with a 121-run second-wicket stand. Malan fell soon after completing his half-century when he holed out in the deep off Daniel Sams’ slower delivery, but Khushdil Shah provided a late flourish with a 13-ball 28 not out.Fast bowler Mohammad Ali (3-23) ran through Karachi’s lower order and David Willey (2-22) chipped in with the wickets of James Vince and Saad Baig off successive deliveries in his second over as Kings’ chase never got going against Sultans’ pace.

Saker was under contract for next season but Renegades are set to search for a new coach after another disappointing BBL season

Alex Malcolm29-Apr-2024

Melbourne Renegades are set to part ways with BBL coach David Saker despite him having a year to run on his contract after another dismal season where they finished seventh.Saker, 57, was contracted to coach the Renegades for the 2024-25 season, which would have been his fourth in charge after taking over in 2021. But following a disappointing season where Renegades finished second last and won just two games, and also axed their captain Nic Maddinson, it is understood Renegades will seek a fresh start yet again with Saker’s tenure set to end early.Renegades have been the poorest performing club in the BBL since Andrew McDonald coached them to their inaugural title in 2018-19. McDonald left the role immediately after claiming that title when he joined the Australian team as an assistant before eventually becoming the national head coach in 2022.Related

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Shaun Marsh announces retirement while still winning games

Michael Klinger took over as Renegades coach for the 2019-20 season but lasted just two summers as Renegades finished bottom of the BBL for two seasons running. Klinger departed to take up an administrative role with Cricket New South Wales.Saker was brought in for 2021-22 but Renegades finished last for a third straight year before bouncing back to finish third in 2022-23, winning seven games and hosting the Knockout where they were beaten by eventual finalists Brisbane Heat.But 2023-24 saw Renegades regress again. They were winless in their first five games and only managed to win two of their last five. They experienced a high turnover of players, with Maddinson axed as captain while Aaron Finch was in and out of the side before eventually calling time on his BBL career. Shaun Marsh also only managed five games due to injury issues before announcing his retirement.Renegades have made some list changes already in the off-season signing Brisbane Heat opener Josh Brown in the hopes he can form a dynamic opening duo with Jake Fraser-McGurk.Renegades are also seeking to appoint a new high performance manager who will oversee the cricket program. Melbourne Stars have advertised for a similar role. Cricket Victoria created the two roles to try and build a better link between the Victoria men’s program and the two Victoria BBL clubs, given they have been run as three separate entities without much connection in recent years.

He played five games with Sylhet Strikers, but was clearly struggling with fitness issues

Mohammad Isam31-Jan-2024Sylhet Strikers captain Mashrafe Mortaza has taken a break from this season’s BPL to concentrate on his political career. Mashrafe is a member of parliament – he was elected for a second time in the country’s general elections earlier this month. His party, the Awami League, has appointed him as the party’s whip in parliament.”Mashrafe will be available to play for the Strikers further in the season if there is an opportunity in between his political commitments and schedule,” a statement from Strikers said on Wednesday. “Sylhet Strikers franchise has extended gratitude to Mashrafe for his commitment to the team in the tournament so far and looks forward to have him back when he is able.”Although he was clearly struggling with an injury, Mashrafe played Sylhet’s first five matches in the competition, all of which they have lost. It was reported that he couldn’t prepare for the tournament as he would have liked, so he bowled off-spin off a few paces, and batted in different positions in the batting order. It led to a lot of hue and cry, including from former captain Mohammad Ashraful, who said that Mashrafe’s presence in this state was “belittling the BPL”.Sylhet has announced that Mohammad Mithun will be the captain in Mashrafe’s absence. It is an interesting choice as Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has led Bangladesh impressively recently, is also in the team. Sylhet play their next match against Durdanto Dhaka on February 2

Blaze boosted by several valuable contributions, including Kirstie Gordon

ECB Reporters Network01-May-2024Wales international Bethan Gammon’s 39 from No. 7 helped last year’s finalists The Blaze win their first Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match of the season at the fourth attempt as they chased 189 to beat Northern Diamonds by two wickets with two balls remaining at Scarborough.Blaze were boosted by a number of valuable contributions in this thriller, including captain Kirstie Gordon, who claimed two wickets, two catches and added 19 opening the batting.But Gammon’s 52-ball effort was the most important in only her second appearance for the region where she is also the Pathway Talent Manager and has been called upon partly due to injury and unavailability.Despite failing to reach 200, Diamonds would still have been confident at halfway given the Blaze had been bowled out for 135, 126 and 87 in losing their first three matches of 2024. But Scarborough native Leah Dobson’s recovering 54 from 82 for 5 wasn’t enough for the hosts.Related

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No doubt The Blaze had the better of the batting conditions, despite the pitch being used. Morning mist was replaced by afternoon sunshine. Having said that, they played the much better cricket throughout, with Gammon and Ella Claridge – 26 not out – sharing 61 from 105 for 6.Halifax-born Blaze all-rounder Teresa Graves also had a good day back in her birth county. Having struck once with her seamers, she opened the batting and hit 33. Diamonds have now won two and lost two of their first four games.Diamonds elected to bat first, looking down at the pitch rather than up at the sky. But they stumbled badly from 32 without loss, losing four for 22, including star duo Lauren Winfield-Hill and Hollie Armitage for single-figure scores.Left-arm spinner Gordon had a hand in three of the first four wickets. She caught Winfield-Hill running back from mid-off as new-ball seamer Grace Ballinger struck before bowling Armitage with a beauty that pitched on middle and leg and clipped off-stump. She then had Emma Marlow stumped for 29.Dobson curbed her natural attacking instincts during her 85-ball innings to drag the Diamonds up to a defendable target. This was her second regional fifty. She shared 62 for the eighth wicket with in-form allrounder Abi Glen, whose 38 off 31 balls recovered things from 120 for 7 after 36 overs.Six of the seven bowlers employed by skipper Gordon struck on a pitch showing signs of uneven bounce and turn.Seamer Sophie Munro was excellent with 3 for 28 from 8.4 overs – the pick of the figures, while off-spinner Lucy Higham claimed two wickets.Munro bowled Erin Burns, Glen and Jess Woolston, the latter two as part of a late Diamonds collapse of their last three wickets to fall for only 11 runs.Graves and Gordon shared 43 inside 11 overs for the first Blaze wicket to provide a solid foundation for the chase.Spin was always likely to be the biggest weapon for the Diamonds, and the fabulous Katie Levick with 1 for 13 from 10 overs of leg-spin and the wily off-spin of Burns with 3 for 40 gave them hope.Levick made the breakthrough with her second ball when he she had Gordon caught behind down leg before Burns bowled Gordon and had Daisy Mullan caught and bowled off the leading edge as the score fell to 74 for 3 in the 22nd over.And when Phoebe Turner had Marie Kelly caught behind for 20 with 98 on the board, the nerves were jangling for Blaze.Those heightened further when Munro was run out and Nadine de Klerk was caught at short fine-leg off Woolston.But Gammon and Claridge calmly picked off the runs. When Gammon, aged 23, fell caught at cover off Sophia Turner’s seam at 166 for 7 in the 47th over, the hard work had seemingly been done.But Burns struck again, and the target became five off the last over from Sophia Turner with two wickets left. Higham hit the winning run.

The USMNT Transfer Notebook tracks American player movements, with latest developments for those in the U.S. national team pool

The summer transfer window has roughly one month remaining, and the U.S. men's national team will report in roughly five weeks for a pair of international friendlies. Manager Mauricio Pochettino will make some telling choices, and some could be related to where USMNT players land on the club level.

Over the past few weeks, multiple players in the pool have secured big moves, but now things are becoming messy.

Juventus winger Tim Weah reportedly rejected a move to Nottingham Forest and was focused on Marseille, but the are playing hardball with the French club, according to his agent. Similarly, in France, goalkeeper Matt Turner seemingly had a move to Lyon sorted, but now the club is reportedly looking to back out of the deal.

GOAL tracks all of the American player movements in the USMNT Transfer Notebook, a recurring feature covering the latest developments for those in the U.S. national team pool.

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  Juve playing hardball with Weah

  After the fallout of the potential transfer to Forest, Fabrizio Romano reported that Weah and Marseille shared mutual interest, and that the French club was exploring a deal.

  However, a potential move to Ligue 1 hit a snag. Weah's agent, Badou Sambague, claimed that Juventus' sporting department is "creating problems" with any potential transfer, and is holding out for a move to the Premier League – a transfer that they'll "never approve."

  “Juve is a fantastic club,” Sambague told The Athletic. “The sporting department is managed by three persons. Two have class, and another is still searching himself [sic]. We cannot blame him. Two are looking for solutions, and one is creating problems. And we can’t let that go. Tim Weah is always professional, but was left out during the [Club] World Cup. This person botched his [Club] World Cup, tried to force him to go where he wanted. Today, as revenge, he’s demanding a fortune and waiting for a Premier League offer that won’t come and will never be approved by us.

  “These are old-fashioned methods that won’t sit well with me. I’m not used to speaking out, but not doing so today would be accepting the unacceptable and total disrespect. Class can’t be bought for a manager, that’s for sure, but it has always been part of the history of Juventus. One person is undermining that. Let’s see…”

  Meanwhile, Marseille have continued to be active in the window, and have now reportedly added a new winger in Brazilian Igor Paixao. With the clock ticking, is Weah's chance to sign there already over?

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  Turner and Lyon in limbo

  In June, it was reported that Lyon and Forest agreed on a fee for the transfer of Turner ahead of the Gold Cup. However, amid financial woes, Lyon were relegated to Ligue 2 – and then, after a successful appeal, they were reinstated to the French top division and their spot in European football next season was guaranteed.

  Those financial woes remain, however, and now Lyon is reportedly looking to back out of the Turner transfer.

  According to L'Equipe, Lyon is pushing to cancel their proposed $9.42M transfer for Turner. They've got lawyers on the case who are looking to cancel the contract, as the club believe they've overspent on a goalkeeper who may not be their starter.

  All might not be lost, though. Leeds United have signed Lyon starter Lucas Perri as their new goalkeeper, paying a fee of $20.8M, this week. That's more than double the reported fee for Turner, meaning the club may now have funds to pay for his transfer and salary – if they choose to do so. The rollercoaster ride continues.

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  Latest on Reyna to Parma

  The Gio Reyna saga remains stalled, But there is finally some incremental progress.

  French outlet reports that Borussia Dortmund and Parma have reached a potential agreement over a transfer for the American, with the Bundesliga side increasing their initial offer of €6 million to €8 million as a base number. The report adds that Reyna and Parma have also agreed on personal terms.

  If the two clubs can come to an agreement, Reyna might finally land at a club where he can get regular minutes amid a push for a roster spot with the USMNT next summer.

  New manager Carlos Cuesta is also eager to get the deal over the line, so that Reyna can join the team in the buildup to the start of the Serie A season, which begins in roughly three weeks.

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  TRANSFER TALK

  + Stuttgart are pushing hard to sign Cole Campbell from Borussia Dortmund, according to Sky Sports. Campbell is reportedly eager for the move. Dortmund, though, would prefer a loan, but are open to a move with a sell-on clause or a buyback option.

  + Winger Griffin Yow remains linked to the English Championship. Portsmouth remain interested, while Belgian side Anderlecht and MLS side D.C. United are also reportedly keeping tabs.

  + Winger Josh Sargent reportedly turned down an approach from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. He remains the subject of interest from teams around Europe.

  COMPLETED DEALS

  + Unlike Sargent, Malik Tillman is heading back to the Bundesliga, having completed a $47 million move to Bayer Leverkusen to serve as the club's Florian Wirtz replacement.

  + Patrck Agyemang finalized his big move to Derby County, but will be on the shelf for the first few weeks of his time in England after undergoing hernia surgery.

  + Midfielder Johnny Cardoso has signed a multi-year deal with Atletico Madrid, joining on a permanent transfer from Real Betis.

  + Caleb Wiley has completed a loan move to Watford, as he returns to the club after spending the second half of last season with them in the Championship.

  +  U.S. Youth international Julian Eyestone has signed a new contract with Brentford in the English Premier League and has been promoted to the senior team for the 2025-26 season. He is expected to be a part of the U20 FIFA World Cup this fall with the USYNT.

  +  Forward Damion Downs has completed a $9.5M transfer from FC Koln to Southampton in the English Championship.

  +  Noahkai Banks, the 18-year-old American defender, has signed a contract extension with Bundesliga side Augsburg, keeping him at the club until 2028.

  + Defender George Campbell has joined West Bromwich Albion on a permanent transfer from CF Montreal.

  + San Diego FC has signed U.S. youth international Pedro Soma from Cornella in Spain.

  GRADES:GOAL grades every completed deal involving USMNT players

Rajinder Goel, the warhorse who never got the stage he deserved

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Feb-2006

Rajinder Goel took 640 wickets in the Ranji Trophy alone © Courtesy Rajinder Goel
One of Rajinder Goel’s burning desires was to lift the Ranji Trophy for Haryana. For 12 seasons between 1973 and 1985, he toiled hard – first on his own, then with the support of Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma and Sarkar Talwar – but the goal proved elusive.So when in the 1991 Ranji final, Kapil led Haryana to a shock victory over Bombay at the Wankhede Stadium, Goel, then the chairman of the Haryana selection committee, shed tears of joy in his house in the small town of Rohtak in Haryana.When the young Bishan Singh Bedi was making his mark in the mid-1960s, the question that was asked was, “Is he as good as Goel?” It is ironic then that it was Bedi’s presence in the side that prevented Goel from making an international foray. Not that it fazed Goel, whose implacable resolve would keep him strong against all disappointments. By the time he played his last Ranji Trophy game, against Mumbai in 1985, he had taken 640 wickets at 17.14 in 122 games. That included 53 five-fors and at least 10 wickets in a match 17 times, he points out with pride.Goel is possibly the only bowler in history to have played against three father-and-son combinations: the Jaisimhas (ML and Vivek), the Roys (Pankaj and Pranab), and the Amarnaths (Lala and Surinder and Mohinder). He was 30 when he first played for Haryana in 1973. By then he had already played for Patiala and had had a couple of seasons at Southern Punjab before representing Delhi for a decade.It was around then that he began to be disillusioned with the national selectors, who offered him no chance despite his consistent performances. Playing in the unofficial Test against Ceylon in 1964-65 was the closest he had got till then. In 1974-75 came another chance: against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies, when Bedi was dropped for disciplinary reasons. “On the eve of the Test one of the selectors informed me that I was playing,” Goel remembers, “but when the team was announced after dinner, I wasn’t in. I thought, this was the only chance and it has gone.” A brief moment of silence and then he adds, ” (I will just blame my fate).”Despite the disappointments, Goel stayed focused. “After 30 I enjoyed taking wickets more. With every wicket the interest would build up and I would prepare myself to bowl the next ball. I never thought I would break VV Kumar’s record of 417 wickets. Then I reached 500, and then 600. The season I didn’t take close to 40 wickets, I used to feel that I had to work much harder next time,” he says. Fittingly, the last 11 seasons of his career fetched him a remarkable 424 wickets from 78 matches. In 1979, he was one of ‘s Cricketers of the Year.Fitness was a crucial aspect of Goel’s longevity. Even at 43, when he played his last season, his training sessions would involve 3500 skips of a rope and a long run, followed by bowling to at least 10 batsmen in the nets. Thus he nurtured the stamina he needed for his long spells. “I always had the desire to bowl to the first batsman and to continue bowling till the last wicket,” he says.Batsmen dreaded facing Goel on wet and turning tracks because of his flat trajectory which would restrict them from playing their drives. “I have never been able to feel comfortable against his left-hand spinners,” wrote Sunil Gavaskar in Idols. “Although he is not a Test cricketer, to me he is one of the greatest I have played against and it has been a privilege.”Even if with age Goel lost his sharp turn and the nip that nailed many a batsman, his accuracy never failed. “Age cannot be regarded as a constraint”, he says. And he doesn’t buy the argument that prolonging one’s career keeps youngsters out of the team. “Do you want a good performance or do you want to play a youngster just because of his age?” he reasons.Be that as it may, in 1984-85, after having taken 39 wickets in the season, Goel realised it was over for him. “I didn’t want people asking me why I did not make room for someone else if I failed to bag wickets, and that is why I decided to give up even if I was still fit.”Warhorses like Goel don’t come along too often. Shy by nature – many considered his inability to mix socially a deterrent to his career – Goel will never admit that it was utterly frustrating to not play for India. “It was an honour to represent my state,” he says. “It was an honour just to play the game.”

Mark Richardson – a very special batsman © AFP

Mark Richardson’s delayed start to Test cricket hasn’t prevented him from jointly achieving the record of being the fastest player to score 2000 runs for the country

Lynn McConnell07-Jul-2005

Mark Richardson’s delayed start to Test cricket hasn’t prevented him from jointly achieving the record of being the fastest player to score 2000 runs for the country. When he passed 121 en route to 145 at Mohali – his highest score in Test cricket – he equalled Andrew Jones’ feat in scoring his 2000th run in his 44th Test innings.After Jones and Richardson comes the long-standing mark of Bert Sutcliffe, who took 46 innings for his 2000 runs. Both Jones and Richardson were latecomers to international cricket, but for different reasons. Jones, after a solid grounding in New Zealand country cricket, took time to transfer his ability at that level to score sufficiently consistently in the first-class game and warrant selection for internationals.Richardson’s story is now well-known – a player who converted to batting as a consolation for losing his bowling ability. He won selection after an amazing New Zealand A tour of England in 2000 and celebrated his international selection by scoring a triple-century in a first-class match at Kwekwe in Zimbabwe. Richardson was 29 when first selected; Jones was 27.Jones, who is a realistic contender for the No. 3 position in the all-time New Zealand side, retired with 2922 runs at 44.27. Richardson, after today’s innings, has an average of 49.36. Perhaps there is something to be said for never pensioning off older players and considering them belatedly for international duty. They bring to their performance a hunger that makes them very dangerous indeed.Of the pair, Jones had a better conversion rate, scoring seven centuries and 11 half-centuries, while Richardson has now scored three centuries and 16 half-centuries.The other significant achievement of the day – the first three batsmen scoring centuries in the same innings – is a new one, although Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Adam Parore did make hundreds in the summer of 2001-02 at Perth. In this case, the three centuries scored against India rewrote the career highest-scores of each of the batsmen.One of the questions that has been increasingly discussed in New Zealand in recent years, as Stephen Fleming’s men have started to find consistency, is where they rank in comparison to the side regarded as New Zealand’s finest. From the summer of 1979-80, when Geoffrey Howarth took over as captain, New Zealand won 19 Tests in the next decade, with Jeremy Coney, Jeff Crowe and John Wright all having lengthy stints as captain. In that same time, batsmen scored 47 centuries in 66 Tests.Since the summer of 1995-96, when Stephen Fleming became captain of New Zealand, they have won 20 Tests in 67 matches before Mohali, and the batsmen have scored 41 centuries. While the number of centuries may be less, more players went on to higher scores. The highest score posted in the 1980s was 188, twice scored by Martin Crowe, against Australia and the West Indies. But under Fleming, there have been five double-centuries scored. Fleming’s 274 not out earlier in the year was the highest, and Nathan Astle’s 222 was clearly the fastest.But of all the players who have been selected in the modern era, none has shown the dedication to run-scoring that Richardson has exhibited. It is significant and salutary that the only New Zealand players, with a minimum of five Tests, to have better averages are Stewie Dempster (65.73) and Martin Donnelly (52.91). That is why Mark Richardson is such a special player.

A statistical review of recent India-Pakistan clashes

Mathew Varghese02-Jul-2007India and Pakistan play a one-off ODI at Glasgow on Tuesday. The two teams last met in a two-match series in 2006 at Abu Dhabi, with both teams winning a match apiece.Since 2003, the teams have played 23 ODI matches, with both sides claiming almost an equal share. However, the overall record favours Pakistan, having emerged victorious in 64 of the 108 encounters between the two teams, with four matches ending in no-results.

India will go into this match with one advantage, having beaten South Africa at Belfast to win the Future Cup series. Pakistan lack match practice, their game against Scotland on Sunday was washed out.For the Indians, the highest run-getters in the Future Cup were Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. But captain Rahul Dravid leads the run-chart for India against Pakistan since 2003. A good sign is that four of the Indian batsmen in the current line-up average over 40 in recent encounters against Pakistan, with three besides Dravid having a strike-rate of over 90. India’s vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a phenomenal record, averaging over 60 and scoring at more than a run-a-ball.

The Indian batsmen would also take heart from the fact that the Pakistan squad doesn’t feature Naved ul-Hasan, the most successful Pakistan bowler against India since 2003. In 15 matches against India, Naved ul-Hasan has taken 31 wickets at an average of 23.67. Although his economy rate of 5.70 might look expensive, he has picked up a wicket every 25 balls against India.The rest of the bowling comes a cropper against India, with speedster Shoaib Akhtar topping the averages at 31.31.

The seamers not mentioned in the above list – Mohammad Asif, Iftikhar Anjum and Umar Gul – fare no better, with their 6, 3 and 1 wickets against India costing 44.83, 65.66 and 126 respectively.Although Sourav Ganguly has not enjoyed great batting form against Pakistan of late (he averages only 22 in the 14 matches since 2003), he does possess the best bowling average for this Indian squad (minimum 10 wickets). The other bowler who’s done well against Pakistan is left-armer RP Singh, who has taken 8 wickets in his three matches against the side in 2006.In fact, bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad could pass on a bit of advice to his likely opening bowlers Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan, who have little to boast of. Prasad, along with Ganguly, Tendulkar and Arshad Ayub, are the only Indian bowlers to have picked five-fors against Pakistan.

Pakistan’s new captain Shoaib Malik will be hoping to lead from the front with the bat. Malik is the only batsman apart from his counterpart Dravid to register more than 1000 runs in India-Pakistan matches since 2003, and also averages over 45. Another batsman who averages over 45 is his deputy Salman Butt. The stylish left-hand batsman has scored three match-winning centuries against India.

Interestingly, both captain and deputy also pair well against India, having been involved in three century partnerships. The only other pair to do so is that of Inzamam ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf. Butt and Malik also average over 70 in partnerships against India, the highest for any Pakistan pair having played alongside each other in more than five innings.

For India, captain Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif are the only players to be involved in three partnerships of hundred or more against Pakistan. Although Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have amassed over 1000 runs in tandem against Pakistan, no current pair figures in the best five partnership averages.