The Sun’s setting on RCB
SRH break more records, 10-sec ad costs, the '24 Wisden Almanack & remembering Derek Underwood.
The Sun’s setting on RCB
SRH break their own record, Pandya’s IND spot is uncertain, & the trends we seen this season from sloppy fielding to six-hitting regularity.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad beat the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 25 runs. ESPNcricinfo’s Sampath Bandarupalli has the stats on a night when SRH broke their own T20 record from a couple of weeks ago by scoring 287 at Chinnaswamy.
Cricket.com’s Bastab K Parida writes about the delusion that RCB will ever improve, despite the contradiction of their large and loyal fan base.
The India selectors are meeting, and Hardik Pandya’s place in the T20 squad is under the spotlight. Hindustan Times’ Nikhil Narain has a good breakdown of how everything that has gone wrong for Pandya - from ball and bat to the MI captaincy.
ESPNcricinfo’s Shashank Kishore talks to Jake Fraser-McGurk about his rapid rise from the fringes of Aussie domestic cricket to IPL stardom in a year.
ESPNcricinfo’s S Rajesh writes about the multitude of fielding mistakes in the IPL this year, Cricket.com’s Hardik Worah writes about the statistical trends we’ve seen so far, and Cricbuzz’s Kaushik Rangarajan about how the six has taken over the IPL and T20 cricket.
Broadcasters have seen an uptick in the number of advertisers through the first 23 games of 2024 compared to 2023. Meanwhile, Indian Express’ Devendra Pandey reports that the BCCI is cracking down on ex-stars, commentators & teams who are using personally shot footage of matches to drive social media engagement because those rights only belong to broadcasters apparently.
There was a piece yesterday about how TV ad rates are going to be slashed for the T20 World Cup…
…turns out last year’s ODI World Cup was a crazy outlier for major tournaments since Covid. The craziest part? The playoffs and India matches went up to INR 40 Lakh (~$48K) during that tournament!
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!
Williams makes history for Wisden
Wisden’s 2024 Almanac is out, remembering Derek Underwood, & new debutants in line for IND-W.
Wisden’s 2024 Cricket Almanac has been published. You can buy it here. The highlights include; Pat Cummins for Male Player of the Year, Nat Sciver-Brunt for Female Player of the Year, Travis Head for Test Performance of the Year, Hayley Williams for T20 Player of the Year, and a call for four-day Tests.
Asha Sobhana & S Sajana get maiden India call-ups for the Bangladesh series after impressing in the WPL recently.
England’s highest wicket-taking spinner Derek Underwood has passed away. The Guardian’s Vic Marks has the best tribute to a legend of the game.
Dharamshala has laid India’s first hybrid pitch with 5% polymer to maintain the quality of the surface. The pitch was criticised during the recent ODI World Cup, and will host IPL matches on the new surface.
Gloucestershire & Worcestershire may need to move away from their historical stadiums due to a lack of finances and flooding issues respectively.
The Asian Cricket Council will be floating a tender for their tournaments, and will hope for an appreciation in value after Star paid $80 million for the last four editions of the Asia Cup.
Extreme incompetence AND competence breaks records
What it takes to reach 300 in a T20, Bhogle breaks down the BTS of broadcasting, and Rob Key talks England’s ethos.
Jarrod Kimber looks at all the things that have to go right (or wrong, depending on your allegiance) for a team to hit nearly 300 runs in a T20 match.
If you’re interested in that sort of thing (and I am!), Harsha Bhogle talks about the behind the scenes work that goes into broadcasting.
The Analyst Inside’s Simon Hughes & Simon Mann remember Derek Underwood, then talk to ECB Managing Director Rob Key about his vision for the English team. [Apple Podcasts]
Editor’s Note
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