Here’s a few headlining talking points from the British press.
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1. Kohli + Adelaide = quake England, quake
“Virat Kohli’s Adelaide record could be bad news for England in T20 World Cup semi-final” said the headline in BBC Sports, spotlighting the background that Kohli might have drifted into, given England captain Jos Buttler was asked “how he would stop Suryakumar, not Kohli.”
But the BBC remained suitably wary. “Whether the 34-year-old will enjoy time out of the limelight can be debated. Kohli, though, should not be underestimated,” it wrote. It was Kohli’s record at Adelaide that was the source of this imminent feeling of being thwarted by him.
“But at the Adelaide Oval his record reaches a sphere few can match. It’s the place he describes as feeling “like home,” it continued to brr, quoting his “hundred in each innings – thwarting Australia for more than nine hours across two knocks.”
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India’s Virat Kohli gestures with his bat after scoring 50 runs vs Bangladesh in Adelaide (AP Photo/James Elsby)
The numbers pushed them into a self admitted “unfair comparison” …”but Kohli has more international centuries at the Adelaide Oval than the great Don Bradman, whose statue sits behind one of the stands. Across all formats, Kohli averages 75.58 at the ground, with two one-day international hundreds to add to his three in four Tests. And in two Twenty20 matches he has never been dismissed.”
Note: never. There was the “sublime 90 not out against Australia in 2016 and an unbeaten 64 against Bangladesh in the group stage of this World Cup.
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His nets session too was closely followed. “He took two bats into the nets with him, positioning one carefully to be propped up on the back of the stumps. You could say he was making himself at home. Kohli may not be the only talk in town but he should still be feared.England, beware,” ended the BBC.
2. Atherton hopes Surya “fails occasionally “
India’s Suryakumar Yadav bats during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and the Netherlands in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
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Sky Sports Cricket’s Michael Atherton was first quoted gushing about Suryakumar Yadav. “[Former India head coach Ravi Shastri] told him to ‘land the first punch’ and from his first ball he flipped Archer’s bouncer into the stands for six almost Gordon Greenidge-style over fine leg. He has been pretty much landing punches ever since. He is an incredible player, rightly the No 1-ranked T20 batter. There are more established names in the India team – Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma – but I reckon he is the one England’s bowlers will be thinking about most and how they stop him from scoring,” he was quoted by Sky.
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Atherton noted that Adelaide Oval’s short, square boundaries and “SKY’s great strength is either slicing it behind point or flipping it behind square” would aid him. He was banking on law of averages though to desperately catch up on the Indian sensation.
“But anyone can fail. His numbers are staggering in T20 but at that tempo you are going to fail occasionally. He may just have a bad day.” Ske Sports though ended with an exasperated: “He may, Athers, but he has not had too many bad days of late, with six half-centuries across his last nine T20 international innings.”
3. Nasser Hussain’s SKY homework: “WhatsApp group dried up when asked about his weaknesses”
India’s Suryakumar Yadav gestures after taking a catch to dismiss Bangladesh’s Najmul Shanto during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
When SKY sports asked the pundit Nasser Hussain for his take, he ran them through his snap research. “I asked the CricViz guys to send me the strengths and weaknesses of Suryakumar. Around 15 WhatsApp messages came through on his strengths – playing pace bowling and spin well, hitting square, scooping more than anyone else in the history of the game, his strike-rate – but the group dried up completely when I asked about his weaknesses!”
The only one they dug out had no use for England, apparently. “The only one they had was slow left-arm spin and England don’t have one with Liam Dawson only in the reserves. I would test him with Mark Wood up front,” Hussain was quoted by SKY on Sky.
4. Buttler’s cup of woes at Adelaide & vs Bhuvi (“32 balls, 30 runs, dismissed 5 times, averages 6”)
England’s Ben Stokes and captain Jos Buttler talk during the Match between England and Sri Lanka . (AP)
The Guardian listed out Jos Buttler’s unflattering figures at the Adelaide Oval. “Buttler has played here six times – two Tests, two one-day internationals and twice in the Big Bash League – and lost on every occasion.”
Of particular aggravation to Guardian was a 2015 50 over World Cup game against Bangladesh, which has incredulously been crowned the 2019 World Champion’s “white-ball nadir.” “The side has been transformed since then, with Thursday bringing an opportunity to bury those demons in Buttler’s first tournament as captain,” it wrote.
Buttler was quoted by Guardian as saying: “We’ve actually just been talking about that in the dressing room, a few of us. Any time you go back to certain grounds, there’s some moments, some memories – and not always good ones, unfortunately. It was a real line in the sand, I would say, that moment in English cricket. To now be in a semi-final, and going into tournaments with a level of expectation that we should perform well, is a great place to be as a team.”
The English captain apparently is also some sort of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bunny and the probable first matchup was neatly dissected. “Buttler has faced 32 deliveries from Kumar in T20 internationals, scored 30 runs, got out five times and has an average of six.”
Buttler put up a brave face against this ABC of challenges. “There’s always certain bowlers that you find harder than others, or at certain times in your career you have good times against them and bad times against them. But I certainly don’t fear anyone. I always prepare well and look to play the ball in front of me and not the bowler.”
5. “Used pitch”: England moan
Ground staff remove the covers after rain stopped play during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Foxsports sniffed an advantage of spin for Indian spinners, zooming in on the pitch. “Last year, England and India’s women’s teams controversially played a one-off Test match on a used wicket in Bristol — a decision Isabelle Westbury called a “bloody shambles”. This time, there are concerns that a used wicket will suit India’s spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel over Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali for England,” Fox wrote.
Quoting Daily Mail cricket writer Paul Newman labelling it an “extraordinary” decision to play another high-profile match on a used pitch. “Extraordinary to hear that England’s World Cup semi-final against India at the Adelaide Oval is going to be played on a used pitch,” Newman’s tweet was quoted by Fox. “This is supposed to be a global tournament. Can’t even prepare a fresh one for a big game like this….”
Daniel Brettig of The Age, Fox said, had challenged this argument however, saying, “any perception that the wicket was going to spin more because it’s used is incorrect in the case of Adelaide. Funnily enough, the older or more “used” an Adelaide Oval drop-in pitch is, the less it tends to spin,” Brettig wrote. “The spin on the surface these days actually comes from thatchy live grass coverage rather than much wear and tear. Ask any local player.”
England reportedly learned it will play on a used wicket on Tuesday when it arrived at Adelaide Oval for training, according to Fox, while quoting Ben Stokes who wasn’t carping. “We’ll have to wait and see what the wicket does on Thursday but it will be about assessing and adapting to whatever situation we have in front of us,” Stokes had said.
Fox claimed the ICC had defended the decision, saying that it has no obligation to roll out a fresh wicket. “The ICC does not have a rule about the use of fresh or used pitches for any match,” a spokesperson was quoted by Fox. “Decisions are based on a number of considerations, including the rotation of pitches curated for a tournament and the management of available playing surface. It does not necessarily follow that a new pitch will be better than a used one.”
6. Morgan’s World Cup brimmeth full; “not one bit wanting to play”
The 2019 50 over World champion captain, told the Independent he was impressed with Jos Buttler’s captaincy, after the baton had passed onto him. “Jos has been very authentic at the moment since he’s taken over. He’s been true to himself which I think you have to be as a leader. I think he’s been brilliant. He’s gone with decisions that he feels are right, whether it’s the balance of the side, the make-up of the team, how they want to play, but trying to achieve the same goals,” Morgan was quoted in the Independent.
Morgan was asked if he’d have liked to lead the side. “There’s not one bit of me that wants to play in that game on Thursday or even wants to play on Sunday (in the final at the MCG), not one bit. The game is so hard and the smallest mistake you think is the biggest mistake because it can cost you. I’m very happy this side of the fence,” Morgan told the Independent.
