Cricket has entered its data era
The best cricket stories of the week, 22nd to 28th March 2025
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Cricket has entered its data era
News18’s Rudransh Khurana reports on the IPL's data revolution, and what it means for coaches and captains that traditionally ran the show.
“Rather than stating ‘Travis Head has a 120 strike-rate against bouncers,’ a good analyst highlights when he struggles—such as against 140 kph bouncers in the powerplay because he doesn’t like to play the pull-shot early on—so the captain can act accordingly.”
Cricbuzz’s Kaushik Rangarajan takes a more eye-test/reporter’s view on the subject, as he writes about the changes in IPL captaincy; “The (C) change”
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It only seems like my shots are wild!
Three Slips and a Gully’s Divyansh Peswani creates a new metric to determine which IPL batters have the most control when playing aggressive shots.
“It is also now becoming increasingly important that batters who have their games primarily revolve around quick-striking abilities be a lot more self-aware of the conditions around them and their own limitations…This was something very evident in the likes of AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and to some extent David Warner. All great hitters of the ball but all very aware of where a game stands and what their own weaknesses are vis-a-vis what’s to come next.”
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Last chance to get your South Australia insults in
Sydney Morning Herald’s Daniel Brettig has a good feature on South Australia’s 29-year drought in the Sheffield Shield (which does look like it will end today).
“On one occasion last season, [Jason Gillespie, former SA coach] contacted a coach to say that a couple of that club’s players would be rested ahead of the next Shield game. In response, Gillespie says he copped a volley of abuse, being called a “corrupt c---”, among other things.
“They’re dripping in self-interest,” Gillespie says. “It’s all about their own club, and that was my frustration. There’s a lot of very good people in SA, but there’s people who put their own clubs before the SA state team.
“They claim they’re South Australian cricket fans, but they’re not. They only care about their own club. They don’t care about the betterment of SA cricket.”
Daniel Brettig also has a good report on the blowup of the week; “Bleed for the Bulls: What really happened behind the Khawaja blow-up”
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The best of the rest
Cricbuzz’s Kaushik Rangarajan writes about the surprisingly enduring rivalry that has defined the IPL; “CSK vs RCB: When a fixture became a feeling”
ESPNcricinfo’s Andrew Miller writes about the implosion of England Women’s leadership group; “Knight's inglorious exit exposes limits of England women's evolution”
Manners on Cricket’s Neil Manthorp reports on the extraordinary work Gary Kirsten’s ‘academy’ is doing in South African townships; “How to Find Talent - and Develop Skills”
The World Cricketers’ Association released proposals on how cricket should be run, which have gained some support from the media [FULL REPORT]; “Protecting History, Embracing Change: A Unified, Cohered Global Future”
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The best videos and podcasts
The PCCI Podcast hosts journalists Sharda Ugra & Swaroop Swaminathan to discuss the finances of Indian cricket, including the low salaries of domestic cricketers, the plan for Women’s cricket, & the arrival of Saudi money. [Apple Podcasts]
Times of India’s K Shriniwas Rao talks to Sanjog Gupta, CEO of Sports on JioStar, about the Indian market for cricket, the growth of the IPL, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy - all from a broadcaster standpoint. It’s a fascinating, and much ignored, look at the finances of cricket.
Cricket by JB’s Praatibh Surana & Aswin Anil talk to Jemimah Rodrigues about the WPL, her career trajectory, & her performances with India.
A Load of BS on Sport’s Daniel Ross & Dan Biggar catch up with Jimmy Anderson about how he was able to play at the top for 20 years, and the mental health challenges (and solutions) he came up with. [Apple Podcasts]
6ixandout has a mini-doc on Bangladesh’s abysmal 2024, and what it signals about the wider Test ecosystem.