India’s lab built genius

The best cricket stories of the week, 7th to 13th December 2024

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India’s lab built genius

Cricbuzz’s Deepu Narayanan looks at the numbers that make Jasprit Bumrah such a special bowler, especially when it comes to experimenting with his lengths.

“Then there is Jasprit Bumrah, who nearly has all the attributes resembling that of a bowler made in a lab. And then some more. He can swing it in the air, as well as get it to nip off the track. He possesses a mean bouncer and a deadly yorker. And a mischievous slower ball when you expect it the least. If he doesn't get you with the new ball, rest assured he will with the old.”

• Wisden’s Rahul Iyer looks at the mechanics that underpin an exciting young bowler; “150 kmph thunderbolts at 18 years old – How does Kwena Maphaka generate such high speeds?”

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“Fatigue”

Lines On The Grass’ Sarthak Dev writes about cricket’s unique problem with mental health.

“Cricket’s nomadic nature - boarding flights every other day and living on hotel tea bags and room service-food - leaves an unseen toll on every player. At an earlier time, players were known to suffer from homesickness during tours that lasted months. Later, the fatigue came from constant travel and play, from a body that rarely got the chance to rest and recover, and a mind that spent long stretches away from the comfort of its favourite things.”

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Heading to the top

Good Areas’ Jarrod Kimber & Shayan Ahmad Khan break down the numbers underpinning Travis Head’s rise from stuttering batter to the world’s best all-format hitter.

“Since 2022, Head has the second-best true strike rate in ODIs, only behind Rohit Sharma. But he also has the second-best true average after Shubman Gill. So only Gill is better than Head at not being dismissed, and Head also matches Rohit’s ramped-up strike rate.”

• Cricket Australia’s Louis Cameron details how Marnus Labuschagne bounced back from an abysmal Perth Test; “Inside the mind of Marnus: What changed in 10 days of tinkering”

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The best of the rest

• Enthucutlet’s Sharda Ugra remembers when cricketers’ diets were about eating as much as possible; “FOODIES ON THE FIELD”

• Indian Express’ Devendra Pandey talks to Venkatesh Iyer about becoming KKR’s biggest IPL purchase; “Once IPL begins, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Rs 20 lakh or Rs 20 crore player, you have to win”

• The Telegraph’s Scyld Berry talks to Lou Vincent, the Kiwi international that was banned for life for match-fixing; “Public shame of match-fixing turned my family against me”

• The Guardian’s James Borrowdale talks to the small but passionate set of fans that follow New Zealand’s domestic red ball circuit; “Long, unhurried days with a cooler: the cricket fans sticking with New Zealand’s forgotten format”

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The best videos and podcasts

• The Analyst Inside have a new, special four-part series on the brutal 1974/75 Ashes, with the first pod up now. [Apple Podcasts]

• Caribbean Cricket Podcast’s Machel St Patrick Hewitt asks if Guyana and Barbados still care about cricket.

• Never On The Backfoot’s Neha Shetty talks to mental strength coach Tribenee Bhattacharyya to understand what the role entails in cricket. [Apple Podcasts]

• The Welsh Museum of Cricket Podcast talks to Jo Pockett of the ECB, and Ahmed Khan and Adnan Haddidi of Llandaff Cricket Club about the Taste of Cricket cookbook, to understand how the English establishment is trying to make cricket a more inclusive sport for minorities in the country via out-of-the-box thinking. [Apple Podcasts]

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