ENG vs NZ: A counterattack of highest quality from Jonny Bairstow

The friendship between Jonny Bairstow and Test cricket seemed to be falling apart when England toured India last year. With the bat, he cut a sorry figure, and a few months later at home, against the same opposition, his performance was nothing satisfactory. In Australia, apart from one century, the performance was mediocre while in West Indies, this year, just one hundred and later on, his bat did not bloom flowers. 

Then he traveled to Mumbai straight from Grenada after England finished their dismal Caribbean tour under Joe Root and when he returned home, Bairstow discovered that the whole setup had been changed. 

In between, he maintained his fitness and form in limited-overs form intact because England would be playing a lot of them in the coming days against some of the toughest opponents in the 50- over and Twenty20 format. 

Whether there would be a possibility of missing Test matches remained a moot question - but Bairstow expressed his interest in playing Test cricket. 

In an interview with the reporters, Bairstow said before the start of the Test series against New Zealand, "You know my desire to play for England, my desire to play Test cricket. That hadn't come into my mind. I have never been one for resting when there's opportunities to play for England: it's extremely special." 

In the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, Bairstow has been given the role as a middle-order batter while Ben Foakes is donning the wicketkeeping gloves.  

Foakes has been delivering the goods both with the gloves and bat whereas, Bairstow is yet to shine. 

Before he came out to bat in the fourth innings of the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, his scores read - 1, 16, and 8. 

Surely, it was hard to expect someone to shine under pressure. 

The Bairstow show 

It had been a high-scoring affair at Trent Bridge. 

Both New Zealand and England had posted more than 500 runs in their respective first innings and given the fact that the track was flat; a tame draw was on the cards. 

But the English bowlers started to fetch wickets at regular intervals in the second innings of New Zealand and made the Test a fascinating one. 

New Zealand gave England a target of 299 to chase in a minimum of 72 overs. 

Trent Boult had Zak Crawley out for a duck as England went for lunch at 36 for 1 and by tea, Boult had claimed the most important wicket of an in-form Joe Root, Matt Henry dismissed the centurion in the first innings Ollie Pope cheaply and Tim Southee removed Alex Lees for 44 leaving England at 93 for 4. 

Ben Stokes and Bairstow joined at the crease with the intent to win rather than seeing off the day and hang on for a draw. 

In eight innings since his hundred against the West Indies a couple of months ago, Bairstow had failed to surpass a score of 30 and yet again, he got the opportunity to showcase his abilities as a Test batsman for England. 

After the tea interval, England needed 160 runs to win from 38 overs and for the sane brains, it would have been ideal to occupy the crease and save the Test rather than taking any undue risks. 

By then Bairstow had rediscovered his mojo and unleashed an assault that would remain in the memories of those who watched it for a long time. 

The short-ball tactics of Henry was treated mercilessly as Bairstow raced to his half-century with back-to-back boundaries. Then he lofted Boult for a 6, over long-off. Two more maximums off Henry's next over saw England fetching 43 runs off 3 overs - the tornado had gained its full momentum and Bairstow became unstoppable. 

With Kyle Jamieson unable to bowl due to a breakdown, England cashed in and New Zealand were looking short of ideas against Bairstow's swashbuckling knock. 

Stokes appeared to twist his knee, but still defied the uncomfortable feeling and held one end firm by providing the perfect foil to Bairstow's aggression. 

Runs came thick and fast off the bat of Bairstow and it provided enough comfort for Stokes, who hardly had to run. 

Bairstow creamed Henry for two boundaries and reduced the required run below hundred. Then Southee was crunched through the covers. But before that, he had completed his hundred by taking 3 runs. 

It 77 balls to complete his hundred - the second-fastest by an English batter. 

New Zealand tried the spin bowling of Michael Bracewell, but there was no mercy as he was smoked for sixes and boundaries. 

By the time Bairstow was dismissed by Boult, the match was all but finished for New Zealand. 

Stokes remained unbeaten at the wicket for 75 off 70 balls. his 179-run stand with Bairstow for the fifth-wicket stand off 20.1 over 8.8 runs per over was the third-fastest century in Test cricket in terms of run rate.  

Bairstow stayed at the wicket for 150 minutes. Hit 14fours and 7 sixes. Faced 92 balls for a cracking 136 runs. 

Bairstow averages 40.48 while batting at number 7 whereas when he bats at number 5 and 6, he averages 30.71 and 39.81 respectively. 

The numbers were not backing him when he came out to bat at number 5. 

It was time to change the scenario and bring England back on track. 

Bairstow's knock helped England win two consecutive Test matches whereas at one point England had won just one from 17 Test matches. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

ENG vs NZ: Joe Root steers English ship safely to the shore

 

After England's dull tour of the West Indies, Joe Root hardly got any sympathy from the critics and fans. The woeful defeat in Grenada extended England's run without a victory since August last year.

Root's form was never questioned because his bat was still doing the talking, but his tactical acumen and leadership qualities came under the microscope.

Still, Root insisted that he was the best man for the job and that England were not far away from getting things right. These views were reinforced by Paul Collingwood when he said "he couldn't be more positive" about Root.

A period of delusion ended and common sense prevailed as Root resigned from the captaincy and England entered a new era.

After the Ashes nightmare, Root was shaken and when he returned from the Caribbean, he was, probably, a broken fellow who was trying hard to remain positive.

Opportunities came repeatedly - but he never punched the buzzer in time or answered the right questions when it mattered the most.

Joe Root in new era of English Test cricket

Joe Root now features in the English team as the premium batter under the captaincy of his friend and teammate, Ben Stokes, and Brendon McCullum as the head coach.

The new era began against the World Test Champions - New Zealand - at the home of cricket - Lord's, where the comeback kings, James Anderson and Stuart Broad shone with the ball.

Anderson's first over hinted that he was never away. Broad's impactful presence was felt when he triggered a collapse in New Zealand's second innings just as they were taking the game away, courtesy of a stubborn partnership between Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell.

After waiting for 388 deliveries for the fifth wicket to fall, Broad and England picked up three in three for a remarkable team hat-trick. New Zealand collapsed and asked England to chase 277 in the fourth innings.

The constant switching between middle and leg guard by Alex Lees breached his defence. Zak Crawley's nick to the slip, Ollie Pope's unconvincing stay at the crease, and Jonny Bairstow's witless shorter-format drive had put England in a mess, yet again!

Joe Root rescues England yet again

At 69 for 4, England looked towards their most experienced campaigners to fix things. Ben Stokes had joined Joe Root with the intention of arresting a collapse and injecting solidity so that the team didn't lose their way.

Playing your shots is hugely welcome in modern day cricket, whereas leaving the ball, even in a Test match, is regarded as boring. But, as a matter of fact, leaving the ball is equally important to build an innings and Root realizes this fact better than most.

Root's partner Stokes also invested in composure after being saved by the over-stepping of Colin de Grandhomme and saved narrowly by luck while taking a risky single against Will Young's throw.

McCullum's philosophy is to attack and entertain, but with this England team, such a ploy is still risky and the outcome of that philosophy will take time. Thus, resolve was the best option to deny the Champions.

Stokes waited for his time and smashed big hits. At the other end, like a tailor, Root was knitting with a focused mind so that the ultimate product was impactful. His target was the arc between fine and square leg and midwicket.

He simply curbed his intent to drive through the offside. While the Kiwi pacers started to bowl a bit straighter, Root would manouever the ball smoothly in those areas with perfectly timed flicks.

67 runs were fetched from those regions and despite losing Stokes, Root was well set to steer the ship home.

The fourth day witnessed a murky sky and obviously, one would expect the New Zealand swing bowlers to cash in. But Root was on a mission to rediscover his mojo that was lost in Australia as he shuffled down perfectly to flick one for a single off Tim Southee's first ball to gain rhythm.

The runs then started to flow from the bat of Joe Root, who was cautious earlier in his innings. A clip through midwicket against Southee brought Root's ninth Test hundred since 2021 and he became the 14th man in the history of Test cricket to reach the milestone of 10,000 Test runs.

He stitched a 120-run partnership with Ben Foakes, who gave Joe Root enough support as England were greeted with cheers. Root had a torrid time in the last year or so but never lost the smile on his face. Perhaps that was something which has helped him to conquer the adversities.

Note: This article has been published at Sportskeeda on 06/06/2022 ENG vs NZ: Joe Root steers English ship safely to the shore

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Which Shakib Al Hasan will Bangladesh witness now?

On June 2, 2022, the BCB announced the return of Shakib Al Hasan as the captain of Bangladesh's Test team, with Litton Kumar Das as the vice-captain.

A few days ago, Mominul Haque had stepped down as the skipper, following the home series loss to Sri Lanka. He stated that he was resigning from the role of captain to focus on his batting.

This can be understood. Mominul averages just 16.20 with the bat this year and as a skipper, has won just three Tests, losing 12, and drawing two.

Before Mominul's resignation, BCB boss Nazmul Hassan had stated clearly to popular newspaper Daily Star that he had no intentions of changing the captain of the Test side.

But the very next day, this resignation put Nazmul Hassan and Co. under a bit of pressure to choose a suitable captain for the tough tour of the West Indies.

Shakib Al Hasan as Test captain has been a topsy-turvy ride

Under Shakib Al Hasan's captaincy, Bangladesh conquered West Indies back in 2009 (against a second-string West Indies team). He would captain the side for six more matches in the first half of 2010 and one more Test in 2011, against Zimbabwe, before falling out of favour with then BCB President Mustafa Kamal.

Shakib led from the front in the West Indies in 2009, earning both the Player-of-the-Match and Player-of-the-Series awards.

He scored 159 runs in the two-Test series at an average of 53.00 and was Bangladesh's second-highest run-scorer in those matches. His haul of 13 wickets at an average of 18.76 from both matches meant Shakib was the equal highest wicket-taker for the series along with West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach.

After winning the Test series 2–0, Bangladesh went on to win the ODI series 3-0. Shakib collected two half-centuries in the ODI series also, averaging 45.00, and was the third-highest run-scorer in the three ODIs. He also took two wickets at an average of 48.00. For his performances in the ODIs, Shakib was named the Man of the Series.

After that, in the home ODI series against Zimbabwe, Shakib finished with 170 runs from five matches at an average of 42.50 – the fifth-highest run-scorer in the series. He grabbed six wickets at an average of 39.66 and was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the series.

In November 2009, Shakib Al Hasan was named The Wisden Cricketer's "Test Player of the Year."

The following year, as England toured Bangladesh, under Shakib's captaincy, the hosts gave the tourists a really tough time. With the ball, Shakib was brilliant as he fetched eight wickets in that two-match Test series.

Had DRS been available back in those days, the results might have been different. He gave up the captaincy in 2010 with the intention of focusing on his own performance.

But a few months later, he would discover himself as the skipper again because Mashrafe Mortaza got injured. This time, under his captaincy, Bangladesh would whitewash a New Zealand side and gun down Zimbabwe.

After a frustrating World Cup at home and a fall-out with Mustafa Kamal, Shakib Al Hasan was removed from the captaincy.

The all-rounder returned to the role after a gap of six years, replacing Mushfiqur Rahim. He continued in that position for two years, gaining victories against West Indies and Zimbabwe at home in 2018 and a defeat against Afghanistan in 2019 at Chattogram.

Then, he had to serve a two-year ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not reporting a bookie's approach the same year. But during the second year, that ban was suspended as Shakib did not commit further offences under the ACU code or the anti-corruption code of any national federation.

 Also, he participated promptly and fully in the anti-corruption education and/or rehabilitation programmes specified by the ICC.

The Australian duo of Steve Smith and David Warner were not brought into leadership roles immediately after their involvement in the 'Sandpaper-gate' incident in 2018.

But Nazmul Hassan decided to invest faith in the player who is well-known for not being that interested in playing the 5-day format and has had several disciplinary issues.

Nazmul Hassan said, while answering a question on Thursday about Shakib's transgressions in the past and whether appointing him as captain is appropriate:

"Whatever options we have in Tests, we felt this was our best option. You will notice something that is different about him [Shakib] compared to others. There was a clear difference between the punishment and the statement which was given to him by the ICC. There is a clear-cut difference and if you see it, you will know."

Shakib fulfilled the conditions given by the ICC and that prompted him to feature in the series against the West Indies in 2021.

Which Shakib Al Hasan will turn up this time?

Despite options like Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, the reappointment of Shakib Al Hasan has made everyone happy because of the fact that he is the best performer in the team. The all-rounder also possesses a very smart cricketing brain. As captain, he is proactive and has the ability to handle pressure on and off the field.

The only problem with Shakib is his whimsical behaviour, because of which the team has lost his services on many occasions in Test cricket.

There have been times when Shakib decided to cut his name off from tough Test tours in South Africa and New Zealand, while others showed better commitment.

As skipper, one thing that Shakib must ensure is - his commitment to the five-day format. If he can do that, one can not only expect stability in the Test unit but better outcomes.

Litton Das would also be able to learn and grow under Shakib's captaincy, but one hopes that Shakib's whims don't expose Litton too early.

Note: This article has been published at Sportskeeda on 03/06/2022 Which Shakib Al Hasan will Bangladesh witness now?

Thank You

Faisal Caesar