A last chance to say goodbye

Everyone loved Ashwin, why he quit so suddenly, & Ricky Ponting's 50th birthday.

This one feels personal.

A last chance to say goodbye

Everyone loved Ashwin, why he quit so suddenly, his cerebral play, his C&B relationship with Rahane, & much more.

• Ravichandran Ashwin called it quits yesterday after a stellar 14-year international career. The tributes, from Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and many more, came rolling in, while Cricket.com’s Gaurav Nandan Tripathi re-lived his career in photos.

• Indian Express’ Venkata Krishna B reports on why Ashwin made the seemingly sudden decision in the middle of a tour, & Cricbuzz’s Vijay Tagore says it wasn’t a surprise internally.

• Cricbuzz’s Bharat Sundaresan praises the ‘cerebral’ Ashwin, & ESPNcricinfo’s Sidharth Monga called him cricket’s greatest problem solver.

• Indian Express’ Sandip G writes that Ashwin often played any role that helped India, & Hindustan Times’ Sanjjeev K Samyal writes about the special caught & bowled connection between Ashwin & India teammate Ajinkya Rahane.

• Wisden’s Naman Agarwal looks at Ashwin’s place in the history of Test all-rounders, ESPNcricinfo’s Sampath Bandarupalli runs through the stats that defined his career, & Omkar Mankame recalls his 11 Player of the Series awards.

• BBC have a fun quiz on Ashwin’s career, if you’re not ready to say goodbye just yet.

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In other news…

Rain plays spoilsport at the Gabba, Shami won’t be rushed, & Flintoff calls up Flintoff.

• Australia and India shared honours at The Gabba, as rain ruined what could’ve been a nail-biting finish. India captain Rohit Sharma said that they won’t call up Mohammad Shami until they are 200% sure of his fitness.

• Andrew Flintoff, coach of the England Lions (a.k.a. the England A team), has called up his 16-year old son Rocky Flintoff. In normal circumstances, it would be easy to call nepotism since he didn’t do too well in his only opportunity on the last tour, but the kid does seem genuinely quite talented. So, only (mildly) uncomfortable to call it nepotism!

Ponting should’ve timed his birthday better

A stunning tribute on Ponting’s 50th birthday, England’s entertaining year, & the Women’s Team of 2024.

• It’s going to get lost in the Ashwin news, but Ponting turns 50 today and Cricket Australia’s Adam Burnett has a lovely remembrance of how a young Punter made his name in cricket.

• BBC’s Stephan Shemilt has a fun review of England’s 2024, from the heist in Hyderabad to the hiding at Hamilton.

• The Guardian’s Raf Nicholson picks her Women’s team of the year, including just one World Cup winner and one Aussie, but an Indian that lost her place by December. Though, I kind of agree with her reasoning on that last one.

• Cricket analyst Dan Weston comes up with a strategy for poorer County teams to challenge Surrey’s dominance.

Okay, so it’s another chance to say goodbye. Sue me.

Ashwin the nerd, catching up with Melie Kerr, & the new SA-W coach on his team.

• Good Areas’ Jarrod Kimber takes a stab at placing Ashwin’s legacy into the context of Indian and global cricket, in the way that only he can.

• She’s in the Game’s Maitlan Brown & Hannah Darlington catch up with Amelie Kerr, the White Ferns star who’s broken into the elite this year. [Apple Podcasts]

• Powerplay’s Firdose Moonda talks to new South Africa Women’s coach Mandla Mashimbyi about his team’s past performances and future plans.

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