Hardik’s horror show in Hyderabad
SRH & MI play out a record-breaking match, a bespoke data-centric approach to waist-high no balls, & the IPL is guilty of not paying players on time.
Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 277, but only beat the Mumbai Indians by 31 runs, in aa game which saw innumerable records fall. ESPNcricinfo’s Sampath Bandarupalli has all the best numbers from the game.
Cricket.com’s Hardik Worah writes about the mistakes MI captain Hardik Pandya made in the first innings that allowed SRH to get to their record total. Revsportz’s Shamik Chakraborty asks if these run-fests are that entertaining considering it just amounts to the batters bullying the bowlers in real time.
The IPL & Hawk-Eye have teamed up to end the debate around waist-high no balls, using height data from each individual players to custom check the deliveries.
Economic Times’ Javed Farooqui reports that JioCinema has seen 200 million streamers for just the first six IPL matches.
The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has set up a new ‘Leagues Hub’ for T20 players to get more information on each individual new cricket league popping up. Here’s an interesting fact - 1 in 4 players say that they see delayed payments from T20 franchises, including from the IPL. On the women’s side, there are no issues - apart from the WPL.
I don’t normally create graphs that focus on a single match, but I had to honour the insanity of yesterday’s SRH-MI game…
…3 different players threatened to break the the IPL half-century record for Hyderabad, and Pat Cummins still managed an economy rate of 8.75 in a game where the average over went for 13+ runs! I honestly think Cummins’ bowling was more impressive than anything else in this game.
By the way, I’ve set up a Twitter and Instagram account under @BestCricStories where I post all these graphs & images, and would appreciate the support if you like them!
County cricket has an inequality issue
County cricket is copying the worst traits of international cricket, Dean Elgar steps into Alastair Cook’s shoes, & Stoinis misses out on a AUS contract.
County cricket kicks off next week, and The Guardian’s Ben Bloom writes about the rising issue of revenue inequality, with reigning champions Surrey making 10x of a county like Worcestershire.
ESPNcricinfo’s Andrew Miller & Matt Roller recap the stories behind the most shocking county transfers this season, while Miller also talks to Dean Elgar about his recent international retirement and replacing Alastair Cook at Essex.
Laura Wolvaardt scored her first international century as South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 79 runs. Cricket Australia’s Laura Jolly writes about why the Australia Women’s team are taking their ongoing tour of Bangladesh so seriously, despite easily defeating the hosts in every match so far.
Cricket Australia have announced their central contracts for the year, with a couple of young quicks getting new deals and Marcus Stoinis the biggest absentee. Stoinis still has a shot at the T20 World Cup this year.
The Emirates Cricket Board are making a fuss about Usman Khan playing for Pakistan, and have announced an investigation into him for breach of contract.
An unbelievably good set of videos today
Three fantastic videos today including Ashwin talking to Gilchrist & Vaughn, a mini-doc on RCB’s WPL victory, & TGC grilling an AUS board member about politics and cricket.
The Club Prairie Fire guest list continues to constitute a who’s who of cricketing legends, as Ravichandran Ashwin talks to Adam Gilchrist & Michael Vaughn about the IPL, his international career, India v Australia & England, and how Ashwin looked up to Vaughn growing up!
RCB have put out a mini-documentary on their WPL victory earlier this month. It’s a must watch if you’re an RCB fan.
The Grade Cricketer’s Sam Perry & Ian Higgins have a fantastic conversation with Cricket Australia board member Mike Baird on everything from politics in cricket, the Anglosphere’s reaction to India taking over cricket, and why everyone is chasing the American market.
Editor’s Note
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