All posts by h716a5.icu

Perhaps the true miracle of Crawley is that he’s willing to keep driving into the abyss

Andrew Miller01-Jun-2023Bazball, Schmazball, call it what you will. England’s new team philosophy is based on the premise that, contrary to everything you have ever been brought up to believe, Test cricket really doesn’t matter. Instead of allowing its infinite possibilities to overwhelm you, your truest route to success is to channel that inner child that grew up thumping tennis balls in the back garden, and treat it all as one big jape.Which is all well and good, but how does such a fascinating thought-experiment survive contact with a contest that even the opposition has intimated is a bit of a waste of their time? Does that double-dose of nihilism end up cooking those newly liberated minds, as if they were Timothy Leary’s psychedelic disciples of the 1960s, many of whom soon discovered that their LSD-fuelled quest for true meaning merely hastened their recognition of the dark futility of existence?Too heavy (man…) for the first day of an Ashes summer? Probably. But as Ireland rest their weary limbs after an opening day that lived down to several of their most deep-seated fears, there may be one or two players in that away dressing room who are already thinking that Test cricket is not the drug for them. “It was not our best day,” as Heinrich Malan, Ireland’s understated coach, put it. “We didn’t necessarily cover ourselves in glory.”There’ll be no such unpleasant flashbacks for England’s Ashes-bound entertainers, however. For within their ranks there was, is, and seemingly always will be, an antidote to the dangers of over-think.Zak Crawley doesn’t care what you think. He doesn’t care about the match situation. He doesn’t care for the suspicion – right from his second-ball spank through the covers – that this particular contest might be a little too easy, even for a man whose Test average of 27.60 gives off an implication of vulnerability.Crawley frees his arms to try and access the off side•PA Photos/Getty ImagesInstead, he simply bats like a boy thumping balls in his back garden. Specifically, a boy who’s been brought up on bucket-loads of driveable half-volleys on a personal bowling machine, which is more or less the life story of an undeniably well-heeled alumnus of Tonbridge School, whose old flat in Canterbury quite literally backs onto Kent’s St Lawrence Ground itself.As he once told The Times, the inspiration for that particular career move came from reading about Johan Cruyff living on site at Ajax. “Practice is so easy,” he said. “You just walk down, whereas others have to drive in or get a lift.”Related

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It’s fair to surmise, therefore, that Crawley has long since waltzed past Malcolm Gladwell’s benchmark of 10,000 hours of practice making perfect. And when, in Fionn Hand’s second over of his debut spell, he unfurled his exquisitely honed levers through a brace of off-side boundaries – the first off the front foot, the second pinged off the back – it was plain to see why England’s faith in his methods remains entirely unshakeable.Yet for all the purity of those high notes, there were plenty of duff moments too from a player who, perhaps crucially, doesn’t care where he gets his runs either. Four times in nine balls, he survived an inside-edge, three of which skittered away to the fine-leg rope. A fourth of his 11 boundaries zipped off the outside edge, too, past the cordon to deepen the gloom of the toiling Mark Adair.The upshot was a 39-ball half-century, the sort of tempo that might once have left MCC’s members feeling giddier than their gin, but on this occasion, it wasn’t even the fastest half-century Crawley’s made in his last two Test innings in England. At the Kia Oval last September, he once again rose above the doubters to pass his landmark in a mere 36 balls as South Africa were hustled to defeat in a total of 909 balls, for the shortest completed Test in England since 1912. (This one, incidentally, is 488 and counting …)”Baz just wants batters who have got that X-factor and that sort of innings in them,” Stuart Broad said at the close, “because two or three will come off on a day when you need them. Zak showed that again today. He hit some eye-catching shots, got a brilliant fifty, and got us off to the perfect start.”And by the close, it was three from three that had romped along at that Baz-prescribed tempo, with Ollie Pope easing into his work on 29 from 35 and Ben Duckett alongside him on 60 from 71.Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope walk off at stumps•PA Images/GettyIn more ways than just his superior and undefeated total, Duckett’s was the better and calmer of the two innings – and it was remarkable too for being his very first for England in England, after 26 previous matches across formats, dating back to 2016. While the pair were clattering along to an opening stand of 109 in 99 balls, it was as if they were reliving their perfectly dovetailed alliance on that crazy day in Rawalpindi in December – their very first as a partnership – in which they both made centuries in a first-day total of 506 for 4.Duckett ducked and dived while Crawley stretched and eased, the former using his lack of reach to lever length deliveries on the up through point, or haul the shorter ones in front of midwicket, finding angles that his taller, right-handed, team-mate seldom needs to use. It’s a chalk-and-cheese alliance that has and will mess with more experienced attacks than Ireland, a point which Broad acknowledged with reference to a segment on the Sky Sports broadcast from Mike Atherton.”I love that dynamic with Ducky and Creeps up the top,” he said. “Athers did a piece showing the use of the crease [for bowling angles] and that is really difficult for any bowler to bowl that when the same ball you bowl can go in different areas.”Duckett’s drug of choice, incidentally, would appear to be endorphins – “Benbuzz”, maybe, to use Mike Brearley’s accidental phrase in a recent Guardian interview – given how good he’s been made to feel in every England set-up since his recall in October. For the Test team, he’s now made 568 runs at 63.11, with a strike-rate of 94 and rising, and a clear shot now at a second hundred in his last six Tests. And though his opportunities with the white-ball have been more limited, his peerless prowess on the sweep in Asian conditions surely makes him a World Cup bolter in Matthew Mott’s eyes.He, for one, could not be better placed going into a Bazball Ashes summer. But riding the crest of a wave is the easy part for this team of thrill-seekers. The miracle of Crawley, on the other hand – and something that is perhaps a touch easier to see after this latest romp – is that he’s willing to keep driving into the abyss that the rest of the team are encouraged not to notice, and maybe in the process serve as a bridge to those good times beyond.

They took Bangladesh into the Super Fours with a 194-run stand that showcased their best individual qualities

Mohammad Isam04-Sep-20231:34

Jaffer: Mehidy can be groomed to bat in the top four

With Bangladesh on the brink of elimination at the Asia Cup, there was an onus on their in-form players to step up against Afghanistan. And step up, they did. Najmul Hossain Shanto, the team’s leading run-scorer in all formats this year, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, their transformed allrounder, struck vital centuries. Their 194-run stand made the difference in Bangladesh’s 89-run win in Lahore.Mehidy retiring hurt with a cramped right hand effectively ended their partnership, but when they came together in the 11th over, Bangladesh had lost two quick wickets after making their best start against Afghanistan. Mehidy was one of those who made the good start possible after bring promoted up to open.He is growing into one of the rare international cricketers who can bat anywhere in the order, besides regularly bowling his full quota of overs. Mehidy opened the innings against a bowling attack that Bangladesh consider one of the best in the world. The absence of Tamim Iqbal (back injury) and Litton Das (fever) had already unsettled Bangladesh’s usual opening line-up; and then both openers – Tanzid Hasan, on debut, and Mohammad Naim – failed in the first game against Sri Lanka. Thus, when Mehidy and Naim walked out against Afghanistan, it almost represented a hint of desperation from the Bangladesh dressing room.Related

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Mehidy said that he was informed about the new role on the eve of this game, but that he had also mentally prepared himself.”I am really happy to get my second hundred,” Mehidy said. “I was confident batting in the middle. The team management said that I should play normal cricket. The wicket was excellent. There was a bit of movement in the first few overs. I just tried to handle the situation. We played really well in this match.”Credit goes to the captain and team management [for the opening role]. Last night, they told me to open the innings. I agreed with them. I can play [as opener]. The last Asia Cup, I opened in the final. I was confident. I am always ready for every bowler. Actually, it is a new journey for me.”Mehidy said that although it was a hot day in Lahore, he enjoyed batting on that pitch.”It was too hot today, but conditions in the middle were very good. The wicket was really good. This is my first game in Lahore. I was a bit confused before getting here, but our practice was excellent. I was a bit cautious at the start, but after playing a few balls, Naim and I started well. It gave me confidence.”0:58

Jaffer: Shanto the reliable batter Bangladesh need at No. 3

Mehidy has picked up a knack of successfully moulding himself into every role that the team management has given him – whether with bat or ball. Like any good opening foil, he allowed Naim to go for his shots before launching into his own boundaries.Later on, Shanto was positive from the start which was possible only because Mehidy was batting positively at the other end. Mehidy isn’t your run-of-the-mill slogger from the lower order. He has shots around the wicket – from a proper cover drive to cheeky ramps to big hits down the ground. He rotates the strike, whether he is opening like he did on Sunday, or when he bats at No. 7 or 8.Shanto, meanwhile, continued to bat serenely. It is hard to imagine that the same batter was in the doldrums for the two years before the T20 World Cup in 2022. That tournament was his turning point as he put together the best BPL season by a Bangladeshi batter soon afterwards. It was followed by plenty of runs – in all formats – against England, Ireland and Afghanistan this year. His ODI average before the T20 World Cup last year was 14.53. Since then, he has averaged three times of that – at 42.86 in 15 innings.Shanto and Mehidy contributing heavily in a critical game is an invaluable addition for a dressing room which gets into a flux sometimes. The Bangladesh team, from time to time, finds itself surrounded by controversies and unnecessary discussions. Talk about the senior players ending their careers soon has been a hot topic off late; the Tamim saga and the Mahmudullah question have overshadowed a lot of other things that had been happening in full view.Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan added 194 for the third wicket against Afghanistan•AFP via Getty ImagesIn that sense, the improvement of players like Shanto, Mehidy and Taskin Ahmed in all formats – and how others like Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain have taken to ODI cricket – is heartening.Against Afghanistan, there was a point in the 34th over during Bangladesh’s innings when Shanto was struggling to get Rashid Khan away. “It is no biggie,” Mehidy kept telling Shanto, who the TV commentator predicted could play a big shot out of frustration. But Shanto didn’t. He held his own, taking just a single after playing four dot balls.The surprising thing was that Shanto and Mehidy were batting together only for the second time in ODIs. The previous occasion was against Sri Lanka last week, when Mehidy ended up getting run-out after a big mix-up. In their Under-19 days, they were joined at the hips: at the time they played their last game together in 2016, Shanto and Mehidy were the fourth-most prolific partnership in Youth ODIs.As Bangladesh expect the next generation of cricketers to become match-winners at the highest level, they also need a group of leaders to guide the future. Shanto and Mehidy have been earmarked for this role for a long time, but they needed big performances in big moments for Bangladesh. These last 12 months have seen them take that next step. This big partnership and their centuries while batting in the top four against Afghanistan could go a long way into establishing their leadership credentials for a not-too-distant future.

It didn’t go on for too long, but had at least one intriguing episode, in Kuala Lumpur back in 1997. Some of the key protagonists recall that game

Mohammad Isam27-Oct-2023Bangladesh and Netherlands haven’t contested an ODI since their game at the 2011 World Cup. It’s rare for established cricket boards to tour or host non-Full-Member teams in bilateral matches, so history is often forgotten, as is the case with Bangladesh vs Netherlands.All the same, a lot of people in Bangladesh feel that if the national team hadn’t beaten Netherlands in the ICC Trophy second-round game in 1997 in Kuala Kumpur, there might not have been much cricket left in the country.Bangladesh had been hoping to get into big-time cricket from 1979, when they first played in the ICC Trophy, but it was only in 1996 that the BCB started to think about Full-Member status. So, when the two teams met on April 4, 1997, there was a lot at stake. Bangladesh had three points from two games after a washout against Ireland; Netherlands were on more precarious ground with just one point. That made it a virtual knockout, since the winners got into the semi-finals, and closer to World Cup qualification – the 1999 World Cup had spots for three teams from the ICC Trophy.Netherlands had the wood over Bangladesh till that point: they had won their first-round game by five wickets, and had also beaten them in 1990 and 1994.”They were developing as a cricket nation when I first played against them in 1990. We were quite established at that time. We had a good team. They got better in 1994. They looked to be improving fast,” Roland Lefebvre, the Netherlands allrounder of the time, told ESPNcricinfo. “They were playing a lot of cricket back in Bangladesh. There was a lot at stake when we played them in 1994.Roland Lefebvre is now Netherlands’ director of cricket•Israel Cricket/The Israel Cricket Association”Qualification [for the World Cup] was on the line. There was a handful of reporters and radio commentators from Bangladesh. It was quite rare in those days, particularly at Associate level. It was a close game but they lost in 1994. They were out of the semis. Their fans back home were irate. They took cricket very seriously [after that].”Tim de Leede was the Netherlands captain in 1997. He also has vivid memories of the rivalry between the two teams back in the day, but not necessarily happy ones, because Bangladesh had tried to slow the game down since they believed they could go through with one point from the game – incorrectly – and there was rain around.”It was a bit unfair. We didn’t bat very well [bowled out for 171]. We had them 15 for 4. Roland Lefebvre bowled brilliantly [with three early wickets]. Like the whole tournament in Malaysia, the rain came at 3pm – you could set your clock to it,” de Leede told ESPNcricinfo. “Almost every over someone came to change gloves or tie Akram’s [Khan] shoelace. We couldn’t reach the 20 overs for the result [before the rain]. So we had to go in with the wet ball on the wet pitch after the rain.”Akram batted very well [to score 68 not out]. I think there were about 2000 Bangladeshi spectators. I am sure the match referee John Reid was scared of those people. They were angry. We have some mixed memories of the whole tournament and the Bangladesh team. Of course, there’s no hard feelings anymore.”

Mention “Netherlands”, and there’s nostalgia in Bangladesh’s cricket circles – that match was the tipping point for Bangladesh cricket. Netherlands remember that game bitterly, but as de Leede said, it’s water under the bridge now. There’s no rivalry these days

In a 2016 interview with ESPNcricinfo, Akram had admitted to wasting time in that game until they found out that they needed to win to go through to the semi-finals. “The game against Netherlands was played at a ground that was part of a huge park. We saw it was raining in the other ground, so we were trying to slow down the game,” he had said. “The English umpire [I Massey] was getting angry with me, but I had none of it. The rain came after 19.2 overs.”We knew that it would now be one point each. We then got the news that one point won’t do, we had to win. We were in despair that this could be the end of Bangladesh cricket.”Lefebvre was left disappointed as the rain delay, which made it a 33-overs-a-side game, meant that he could not bowl for more than seven overs. Lefebvre had always troubled Bangladesh in the ICC Trophy, but this time Bangladesh had the last laugh.”I strangled them up front, but because of the rain delay and the match getting cut short, I couldn’t bowl more than seven overs. After all the time-wasting, they squeezed home” Lefebvre said. “We missed out on qualification for the 1999 World Cup due to that loss.”I think it was a good rivalry. It was a very important moment for Dutch cricket. We had qualified for the 1996 World Cup. We had a good team. I thought it was strange to play the ICC Trophy in Malaysia at that time of the year. Every day at 3 o’clock, it was going to rain. A lot of results depended on the toss. I thought it was a poor choice to play the tournament in Malaysia. Bangladesh used time-wasting to their benefit.”Except that Bangladesh had to get back and complete the match once the rain relented. And they had to win.Tim de Leede, all these years on, will be keeping an eye on the Bangladesh vs Netherlands game, where his son Bas [in pic] will be in action•ICC via Getty Images”During the 1997 ICC Trophy, our bus to the ground was very cold, so we always took towels to wrap ourselves. The [Bangladeshi] journalists used those towels to dry the ground during that Netherlands game,” Akram recalled. “I just sat in the corner and thought to myself: ‘People are praying for us back home, many of the Bangladeshi expat workers have come from far to watch us in this game, the journalists are drying the ground…'””Aminul Islam Bulbul, who I had known since the 1988 Youth World Cup, told me that after they won in 1997, the government sent them a plane to Malaysia to get them home,” de Leede said. “There were 250,000 people at the airport. We were gutted that we didn’t make the World Cup in England but when I heard that it was such a big thing in Bangladesh, it gave me so much relief. It made the loss easier for me.”On Saturday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Lefebvre will be groundside as the high-performance manager of Netherlands cricket, while de Leede is back home following his son Bas and the rest of the Dutch side.Bangladesh’s survivors from that game include Athar Ali Khan, now a TV commentator who is in Kolkata for the game, and Khaled Mahmud, the current team director.Mention “Netherlands”, and there’s nostalgia in Bangladesh’s cricket circles – that match was the tipping point for Bangladesh cricket. Netherlands remember that game bitterly, but as de Leede said, it’s water under the bridge now. There’s no rivalry these days. Indeed, there isn’t much cricket between them at all nowadays, with their paths having gone in different directions: Bangladesh have been a Full-Member nation for over two decades now, while Netherlands are still in the second tier, flying the flag for Associate cricket at the World Cup.

The cricket fraternity congratulated R Ashwin on his latest accomplishment

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2024Former team-mates were among those who sent in congratulatory messages as R Ashwin achieved the feat of 500 Test wickets:

Congratulations @ashwinravi99 on reaching the incredible 500 Test wickets mark! Seeing your journey up close has been an absolute privilege. Here's to your continued success!#Ashwin #500wickets pic.twitter.com/GdZEMJuWUb

— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) February 16, 2024

A champion bowler who never stops to learn. Congratulations @ashwinravi99 on this monumental achievement! Wonderful to see another Indian spinner joining the club.#Ashwin #IndvEng

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) February 16, 2024

No. 500 for @ashwinravi99 and so richly deserved. Terrific craftsman and relentless in his pursuit for excellence. Being the second fastest ever to the milestone is a top achievement. Many Congratulations Ash. pic.twitter.com/ycioqWbqoS

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 16, 2024

Congratulation to @ashwinravi99 on achieving the 500 Test wicket milestone. Many more to come pic.twitter.com/XANzv1Lcn7

— Nathan Lyon (@NathLyon421) February 16, 2024

Outstanding achievement by @ashwinravi99 to pick up number 500.
Amazing consistency through the years and almost a given that he will deliver when we need him.
Many congratulations, Ash. pic.twitter.com/kEw5tuKi68

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 16, 2024

500 wickets and still spinning strong! Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on this remarkable milestone @ashwinravi99

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) February 16, 2024

Legendary stuff @ashwinravi99 congratulations #500

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 16, 2024

500 Test wickets for a one-in-a-million bowler!

In AshWIN the SpinNER, there was always a WINNER. 500 wickets is a huge milestone in Test cricket. Congratulations, Champion!#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/Cb48ZJE3XO

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 16, 2024

So happy for @ashwinravi99 on reaching the magnificent milestone. Top fella great pro and a good friend. Well done Ash Bhai. @BCCI

— Niall John O Brien (@niallnobiobrien) February 16, 2024

Nearly 18 sixes per match. One six every 13 balls. The ball has cleared the boundary at an unprecedented rate this season, and the records are tumbling

Sampath Bandarupalli09-May-2024Race to 1000 sixesThe 1000-sixes mark has been breached in the IPL for the third consecutive season. The addition of two new teams in 2022 meant that the count of matches increased to 74 and resulted in 1062 sixes in IPL 2022, bettering the previous highest of 872 in 2018. IPL 2023 then set a new high with 1124 sixes, a mark that is not far from getting surpassed.

On the occasion of Afghanistan’s qualification for the T20 World cup semi-final, their captain was the heart and soul of their victory

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jun-20244:14

Rashid: It was hard to stay calm at some points

“I’ve never seen that ever. In any level of cricket.”Ian Smith has developed such a reputation for being on the mic during cricket’s most incredible moments, he should probably publish his commentary schedule so traveling fans can also find themselves witnessing unforgettable sporting history. His is one of those rare voices that reaches into the ether and gathers such perfect descriptions of high cricketing drama that those moments themselves later feel incomplete without. What is England’s 2019 boundary-countback World Cup victory minus Smith’s “by the barest of margins” ringing in your ears?Even he’s at a bit of a loss here, though. But then he’s commentating on Afghanistan. And there’s been a cricket team like this.Right now, we are 19.3 overs into Afghanistan’s innings, and things are going poorly for them against Bangladesh. Rashid Khan had banged a six over backward point previous ball, but still, they are only at 107 for 5 with four balls left. There is history waiting to be grabbed. It doesn’t feel like Afghanistan will quite reach it.Related

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On ball 19.3, Rashid tried to snake-hit a six over the legside, but had only managed a leading edge that went deep into the offside instead. He had turned for a second and come sprinting back to keep the strike. But his partner, Karim Janat, sent him back.So right now, he is mid-pitch, and furious. The ball is only now being gathered, and there are only three deliveries left, and Rashid wants this extra run, and he also wants the strike as he has just smashed a six, and wow why the hell would you turn down this run?Rashid thrashes his bat so angrily that he loses grip and it goes spinning towards Janat, its own little vortex of rage. When Janat returns Rashid’s bat, after Rashid has comfortably regained his ground at the non-striker’s end, he has a sheepish expression. Rashid can’t stand to look at his team-mate.When he gets the strike back later that over, Rashid smokes a six over square leg so perfect it soars over the stand. It is possible no ball has been so cleanly struck all tournament. He finishes with a strike rate no one else in his team has come close to. He stomps off the field, full of intent, and ambition.

****

Fans in Khost celebrate the win against Bangladesh that confirmed Afghanistan’s place in the T20 World Cup semi-finals•AFP via Getty ImagesRashid is an outlier in a cricketing country that itself is an outlier. He is a legspin bowler in a nation which, going from neighbouring Pakistan’s experience at least, you would expect would be known for its fast bowling. When Afghanistan first burst into the global cricket consciousness in the 2015 ODI World Cup, they played to this type – the strapping Shapoor Zadran leading the attack, and Hamid Hassan – Afghan colours worn like warpaint on his cheeks – hurrying the world’s best batters.But if Afghanistan’s cricketing story is one of confounding expectations, and rising spectacularly fast, no one has confounded more, or risen as spectacularly as Rashid. Since making his debut in late 2015, he has been on the frontlines of T20 cricket’s wristspin revolution. He’s grown an entire batting section to his game, like a secondary crop in a spare field, which many other wristspinners, who dominate that one discipline, have not found cause to do.And there can be no resident Afghan quite like him in the world – as prized in Melbourne as Mumbai, as feared in London as Lahore, almost as admired in Cape Town as Kabul. Unusually for legspinners who excel at T20s, Rashid has also rocked Test cricket, taking 34 wickets at an average of 22.35 in the matches he’s played. There is almost no story of Afghan triumph that you can tell to which he has not been central, or at the very least, central-adjacent.2:26

Tamim: This is massive for Afghanistan cricket

As with any Afghan story in the last several decades there are “what ifs” for Rashid, the most obvious of which is “what if he’d just decided to play franchise cricket forever without worrying about national duties”. It’s a good question. It would have freed Rashid up to make more money. Additionally, he would not have to deal with the political realities of Afghan cricket, which have been prescribed by the Taliban since 2021.But he is here instead, in St. Vincent on a rainy night, mid-pitch, screaming at a team-mate, as irate as anyone has been on a cricket field through this World Cup.

****

If you want to know the story of Afghan cricket in the last 10 years, look at Rashid Khan’s statistics. If you want to know the story of this match against Bangladesh, look at his returns. With the bat he hit 19 not out off 10, with three sixes. With the ball, 4 for 23 off four overs. As if to underline his centrality to Afghanistan’s success, Rashid took out the entire middle of the Bangladesh innings, batters four, five, six and seven all dismissed by him.They were classic Rashid wickets. Soumya Sarkar played around a fast one that Rashid turned more than the batter expected, Towhid Hridoy tried to hit against the wind and the turn and was predictably caught at deep midwicket, Mahmudullah gave a thin under-edge to the wicketkeeper (another fast one), and next ball, Rashid bowls Rishad Hossain with a quick googly. There are few bowlers who read the shots batters are looking to play against them better than Rashid. In this Super Eight stage, no bowler has taken more than his eight wickets.Rashid Khan accounted for Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the Bangladesh batting order•Associated PressBut this is only when he is himself bowling. Because even if you had never followed Rashid’s career, even if you didn’t know that he is one of the most naturally-gifted cricketers of his generation, even if you hadn’t clocked the bleak political reality that this team might not be allowed to play if they hadn’t captured their nation’s attention by being so good, you could still turn up to Kingstown on this rainy night, watch ten minutes of the action, and figure who was at the heart of this team’s success.Rashid is sometimes fielding at the straight boundary, because that’s where the Afghanistan dugout is and he wants to hear what the coach has to say, but he’s charging into the infield any time there’s an lbw shout. When there’s a misfield or a dropped catch – he’s on the scene chiding those players too. Yes, the ground is slippery. Yes, the ball is wet. But the captain has 4 for 23 bowling wristspin. What’s your excuse? He is at times outraged, often intense, frequently animated, almost always in his team-mates’ faces.Late in the match, sometime between the many rain breaks, Smith says of this match: “Whoever has written this script, they have done a fantastic job”.He’s right. It is as absorbing a cricket story as you could encounter. Jonathan Trott, the English coach of the Afghanistan team is barking orders from the dugout. Dwayne Bravo, the Trinidadian fast-bowling coach is prowling the edge of the field. Gulbadin Naib, whose hamstring had apparently exploded in agony as Trott asked for the game to be slowed down, and just-as-suddenly come right, is ranging the infield.Afghanistan are throwing everything at this match. But no one is throwing more at it than their captain, who knows that although he himself is franchise T20 royalty, his national team will always have to fight for every scrap they get. He knows that he and his team-mates will never play an international at home, and that there will forever be battles to fight that most international cricketers on the planet could never even conceive of.1:18

Tamim: Rashid’s mentality as strong as his skills

When he watches that last wicket go down, Rashid sinks into the wet turf and says a prayer. Naveen-ul-Haq, who has just got two wickets in two balls, is racing towards the dugout, most of his team-mates in pursuit. Bravo has erupted into exultation. So has Trott.And whoever you are in the world, whatever has driven you to follow this sport, you can find a kindred spirit in this euphoric melee.You might relate best to Trott, once a pretty dour England player (let’s be honest), now head coach of Afghanistan, who can’t help but be caught up in the moment. You could love Bravo, one of the greatest to ever play this format, erupting outside the boundary he’d been nervously pacing for hours. You could find yourself enraptured in Mohammad Nabi’s exultations – he’s been part of every Afghanistan team you can remember, but is only now about to play the biggest game of his life. You could be Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the highest run-getter of this tournament, and Afghanistan’s top-scorer of the evening, weeping helplessly in the dressing room. You could even be Gulbadin Naib, the fall-guy who doesn’t mind looking foolish to wangle an advantage for his team.Rashid, though, is alone, somewhere near the straight boundary, still on his knees.The first teammate to rush to him and envelope him in an almighty bear-hug is Janat, whom Rashid had thrown a bat at two hours earlier. Who else could have known so viscerally how much Rashid wanted this?But Janat is not the only one who understands that none of this is possible without the man he has wrapped in his arms. He is not the only one who knows how much of this improbable run to the semi-finals rested on Rashid. Or how heroically Rashid has shouldered an entire phase of Afghanistan’s cricket.