The commentary is awful and the fielding is terrible but T20 franchise cricket positively writhes with energy – the counties cannot ignore the heat and lightBen Stokes held his nerve pretty well for the first half of the opening over of his Indian Premier League career in Pune on Thursday afternoon. Gliding up to the wicket in aubergine pyjamas, pumped and sweating, endorsing at least seven high-end products and services simultaneously, the most expensive overseas import in the history of domestic cricket fizzed down a couple of tight, straight dot balls and a single to the Mumbai Indians openers Jos Buttler and Parthiv Patel.His fourth ball was pitched up. Buttler stood still and clubbed it hard and flat over long-off...
A life-changing back injury, an in-demand angle of delivery and an impressive contacts book have paved the way to riches for the bright EnglishmanThe 21st-century cricketer is so much better at “taking the positives” out of a seemingly bleak situation than predecessors were. This week for Tymal Mills, currently in Dubai playing for the Quetta Gladiators alongside Kevin Pietersen in the Pakistan Super League against players such as Chris Gayle and Kumar Sangakkara, every cloud really does seem to have a silver lining.Two years ago Mills was diagnosed with a congenital back condition: his spinal cord and his vertebrae are too close together, meaning the former can become seriously aggravated. The experts decided that bowling fast over long periods of...
A bowler who honed his craft with a tennis ball and has played only four T20 games for his state side offers the latest example of the IPL’s capacity for fairytalesThe village of Chinnappampatti, 20 miles from Salem, 200 miles from Chennai, is so small that it does not even seem to show up on most maps. It has five bus stops, three temples, two schools and, as of this week, one hero. His name is Thangarasu Natarajan, though most who know him call him “Nattu”. He is 25, a left-arm fast bowler who has taken exactly four wickets in Twenty20 matches for his state side, Tamil Nadu. And on Monday morning he was bought for $445,000 by Kings XI...
After Tymal Mills went for £1.4m in the latest Indian Premier League auction, what price would Ian Botham or Denis Compton in their pomp have reached?On Tuesday night every cricketer who has played for England has been invited to a dinner at Lord’s by the bountiful Andrew Strauss. It is an excellent idea, eagerly anticipated, and hopefully there will not be too many long speeches because when old cricketers get together there is much to discuss around the table. Firstly, of course, the past, or some legendary version of it, must be revisited and then the vagaries of the present have to be set to rights. Related: Ben Stokes and Tymal Mills attract millions at IPL auction – as it...
Tours begin to resemble auditions as several of England’s limited overs tourists have already expressed interest in being offered for sale in February’s IPL auctionDaniel Vettori was driving his car when he found out the results of the first IPL auction, in 2008. Vettori was 29 and in his pomp, a senior cricketer long-established on the New Zealand board’s highest pay grade. Related: Eoin Morgan laments England’s failure to execute plans in India victory Continue reading...