There are a few likely reasons why – including good old luck

Matt Roller12-Mar-2021Since Dawid Malan’s T20I debut in June 2017, he has been a revelation for England and has surged to the top of the ICC’s individual batting rankings. But in that period, there has been a marked difference between his record in T20Is and in domestic T20s: his average in an England shirt is almost twice as high as in the colours of his various clubs, while his strike rate is significantly higher too. What explains the discrepancy?ESPNcricinfo LtdPitches are better at international level
Groundsmen generally have more time to prepare pitches at international level, and aim to hold marquee fixtures on the best strip they have available to them. As a rule of thumb, that means conditions are better for batsmen. Malan has also played six out of his 19 T20Is in New Zealand, predominantly on grounds with very short boundaries, and has scored 320 of his 855 runs there.Related

Spin questions for England as India try on new big-hitting avatar

Malan dispels doubts to prove himself a T20I force

Malan reaches 915 points, highest ever for T20I batsmen

Why Malan remains on England fringe despite his T20I record

He has said previously that having to adapt to conditions throughout his franchise career has made things seem easier on better batting pitches at international level. “It’s undervalued how important these tournaments actually are to a player’s development: you go to Bangladesh and you could play on a 200 wicket on the Monday and on the Tuesday, it’s a 120 wicket,” he said last summer. “You’re consistently learning how to adapt and read conditions, which I think is one of my strengths in T20 cricket.”Those experiences have proved particularly useful against spin: he has scored marginally quicker against pace than against spin in domestic T20 cricket across the last three and a half years, but on international pitches that have been less conducive to spin, he has scored at a strike rate of 160.66 against spinners compared to 141.44 against seamers.The freedom to go big
Malan bats in the top three, meaning that how he plays is determined in part by the resources his team has available lower down the order: he has freedom to attack earlier in the innings for England, knowing that Eoin Morgan is due in as low as No. 6, than he does when he is part of a franchise team with much less batting depth.ESPNcricinfo LtdEngland have stacked their batting in T20Is over the past four years. Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid came in at Nos. 9-11 in their most recent series in South Africa. The result has been that Malan has had licence to attack, and while he has a penchant for playing himself in, the strength of the batting below him in the order has given him the opportunity to play his more expansive shots at an earlier stage, rather than feeling the need to wait until the final few overs of the innings.The evidence backs that theory up: in T20Is, his strike rate in the six overs after the powerplay (from the start of the seventh to the end of the 12th) in T20Is is 20 runs clear of his strike rate in that phase of the game in domestic T20s.He has worked for it
Malan prides himself on his preparation, and knowing all the relevant information about a team’s bowling attack. Heading into bilateral international series, there is time to prepare to face a particular attack, in the knowledge that personnel are unlikely to change significantly across a handful of games. In franchise and domestic cricket, preparation time between games is often shorter, leaving him less time to mug up on upcoming opposition.”I’m so big on preparation,” he said in a Professional Cricketers’ Association interview in October. “It doesn’t mean that you’re going to perform but it just gives you that extra slight edge to be a bit more consistent than you are when you’re playing county cricket and you play, travel, play, travel without being able to get into any rhythm on off days.”[In franchise T20 cricket] you’re consistently learning how to adapt and read conditions, which I think is one of my strengths”•Getty ImagesHe has also been able to make use of his extensive franchise experience while playing international cricket: last summer, he played with or against most of Pakistan’s bowling attack during his time in the PSL, while during the series in South Africa, he made use of his experience facing Anrich Nortje and George Linde in the Cape Town Blitz nets during the Mzansi Super League.The luck of the draw
Malan is the exception to a T20 rule in that his international record comfortably outstrips his domestic one, which is even more remarkable given he is yet to make an appearance in the domestic league where the standard is highest – the IPL. The natural response is to look for explanations in his method or technique as to why that is but it is possible that Malan has performed at an unsustainably high level for England.”If you were to play 30 games in a row, you’re going to have that slump in form, whereas if you’re missing out every now and again, you probably don’t have that slump in form if you come in at the right times,” Malan has acknowledged. “I’ve been quite lucky with that.”ESPNcricinfo LtdHe has missed out on selection at the right time: he struggled in the MSL, BPL and PSL in the 2018-19 winter, and was a non-playing squad member in England’s series in the Caribbean, while in 2019-20, he played only once in the South Africa T20Is, making a scratchy 11; playing all six of those games while out of form might well have damaged his overall record.”There have been times when I’ve been left out of the team when I’ve probably been batting really badly,” he has said. “As disappointed as you are to miss out, you know you’re probably not playing as well as you could. But the times that I’ve been given opportunities, I’ve actually been hitting the ball well and I’ve been pretty confident.”While his T20I career spans a four-year period, he has still only played 19 matches. He has been excellent throughout – “remarkable, really,” according to Morgan – yet it remains plausible that his international record is something of an outlier. Malan has an unspectacular domestic record in the last three and a half years but a world-class international one; perhaps his true level as a T20 batsman lies somewhere in between the two.

Club takes steps to better reflect the community it serves but admits there’s more work to be done

George Dobell29-Apr-2021Almost the first time Shozair Ali bowled with a leather ball was at his Warwickshire trial. He had been spotted playing parks cricket in Birmingham – in Calthorpe Park, actually; just 200 metres or so from Edgbaston – a few weeks earlier. Little more than a year later, he was representing England Under-15 at Lord’s.Things didn’t work out for Shozair. Not how he had originally hoped, anyway. Although he went on to play for England in the 2012 U-19 World Cup in Australia – he opened the bowling with Reece Topley in a couple of games – he suffered a series of injuries that curtailed his progress. After one first-class game, he accepted his future was in coaching.His story is revealing, though. It suggests there is much talent outside the traditional pathways. And it reminds us of the challenge the likes of Shozair face in competing for selection alongside kids who may have benefitted from excellent facilities and coaching throughout their development years.To hear him talk, it’s also clear he would have benefitted from some mentorship within the sport. As he puts it, “I was used to turning up five minutes before the game in trainers and black socks. Coming to Warwickshire was an eye-opener. There are lots of things I wish I’d known earlier.”Related

• Surrey's African-Caribbean Engagement programme launches as charity after funding boost

• South Asian Cricket Association set up to help British Asian players into county cricket

Shozair is back at the Edgbaston indoor centre to help run the Ramadan League. The scheme, run by Warwickshire Cricket Board and Chance to Shine Street, sees cricketers between the ages of 16-18 invited to take part in a league on Tuesday and Friday nights during Ramadan. Participation and travel is free – pre-booked taxis are provided – and the six-a-side games take place between 10pm to midnight. The hope is the scheme can be extended to adults when Covid restrictions are lifted.Great, you may be thinking. But what’s the big deal?Well, the issue is Warwickshire has a modest record in terms of inclusivity. While Kabir and Moeen Ali both developed, in part, at the club, both also felt the need to go elsewhere to find opportunity. By the time the 2020 season finished, there was no non-white player or senior coach upon the staff. For a club based in multicultural Birmingham, that feels like a failure to reflect or utilise the community it serves. It’s telling that there are PSL kits visible among those playing in the Ramadan League; there’s no sign of a Warwickshire, Birmingham Bears, Birmingham Phoenix or even England one.Not all the issues are historic, either. Only a few months ago, a young man named Ismail Mohammed (Moeen’s nephew) left Warwickshire’s pathway for Worcestershire’s bemoaning a lack of opportunities in Birmingham. It raised the question whether, 15-years after Moeen made the same journey, anything had changed.But acknowledging a problem is surely the first step of solving it. And Warwickshire do accept they have to do better.”We are acutely aware that there is a lot of work still to be done,” the club’s new chief executive, Stuart Cain, says. “Understanding how we can help the communities we serve in Birmingham and further afield is crucial.”We are making progress. Initiatives such as Chance to Shine Street Cricket and the African Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Programme are helping us break down barriers across the city’s diverse communities and we are continuing to invest more in our community programmes each year.”It is interesting he should mention the ACE programme. Whatever the challenges facing the Asian cricket-playing community in Birmingham, things for the African-Caribbean cricket-playing community are far more bleak. Indeed, calling it a ‘community’ may be misleading. It is almost non-existent. In the last year that Warwickshire were able to conduct trials, around 800 children attended. One of them identified as having African-Caribbean heritage.For this reason, ACE can’t operate in Birmingham as it does in London. When the charity ran open sessions at The Kia Oval, almost 100 people turned up. In Birmingham the expectation is nobody would attend.Handsworth CC, in Birmingham, still has a reputation as a ‘Black’ club. And you can understand why: not so long ago, its status was such that West Indies teams used to visit as part of their England tours.Now 90 percent of the players in the club’s youth teams are of Asian heritage, and 75 percent of the players in the second and third teams are, too. “There are a few Black players in the first team, but they aren’t young,” Eaton Gordon, a stalwart of both the club and the Cricket Board, says. “The enthusiasm of the Asian community is fantastic and welcome. But the situation for African-Caribbean cricket in Birmingham is… well, it’s terrible.”Eaton Gordon: “The situation for African-Caribbean cricket in Birmingham is… well, it’s terrible.”•Sam Bagnall, Warwickshire CCCWe know some of the reasons for this decline. We know about the decline of West Indies cricket; we know about the costs of the disappearance of free-to-air cricket on television. Anecdotal evidence suggests there has been a dilution of interest in the sport as first-generation immigrants become second and third generation. It’s not all anybody’s fault.But it meant that, when ACE held its first events in Birmingham last week, it involved coaches going into primary schools to provide kids with what was often their first experience of cricket. There is a very real concern that we have left this issue too long. The plant may not be ailing; it might be dead.Maybe that is too downbeat. Certainly as you watch the passion and skill of the boys involved in the Ramadan League, it’s hard not to be carried away with their enthusiasm. This isn’t just a photo-shoot, either. Warwickshire now have scouts monitoring the parks leagues, with some of the finals played at Edgbaston, while similar sessions are being carried out for young women in Coventry and Birmingham. Shozair, alongside several pathway coaches, is now available as a mentor for those following in his footsteps. Every member of the 2021 Warwickshire academy is of Asian heritage.And maybe some of the kids involved in the Ramadan League will break through. There’s Manan Janjua, for example, who five-years ago lived in Norway but has hopes of selection for the Warwickshire age-group sides as a leg-spinner alongside his dreams of a career in medicine. There’s Hamza Abbas, a burly all-rounder from Lozells, who has just become involved in the sessions and looks a talented lad.Hamza Abbas bowls as Eaton Gordon, the WCB Community Cricket Development Manager, looks on•Sam Bagnall, Warwickshire CCCAnd there are several others, some of whom have “never left their own postcode before” in the words of one coach, who are enjoying the teamwork and friendly competition and may now feel this club in the middle of the city welcomes and values them. They don’t have to turn professional to have fulfilling cricketing lives. But perhaps, with the advice of Shozair and a sense that the club will do all it can to help, one or two can find a way through. The unifying, healing powers of sport are real.But we do have to be realistic. Thirty percent of people playing recreational cricket in England and Wales identify as South Asian in origin. At professional level, the figure falls to around five percent. Over the last 20 years or so, Warwickshire have reaffirmed their commitment to inclusivity several times. A succession of chief executives have made similar comments to Cain. They’ve all meant it, too.But by running this scheme – and several others besides – Warwickshire are attempting to demonstrate that the game and the club have changed. They are demonstrating they won’t just operate on their own terms and that they will respect the customs and beliefs of the audience with which they want to engage. They’re trying.Is it going to change the world? Not on its own, no. We need a culture change. We need more cricket broadcast free-to-air and an end to the system whereby talented youngsters are charged for their involvement in county pathways. At present, the best players are required to pay something around £300 for the coaching and clothing.But what’s that line about the journey of a thousand miles? Something about it starting with a single step. Warwickshire has a long way to go in this area. But it does feel as if the club is, at last, heading in the right direction.

The captain looks back on his, and his side’s, recent success and talks about his plans for and expectations from the World Cup

Mohammad Isam13-Sep-2021What will be your biggest challenge going into the T20 World Cup?
I am expecting the pitches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to be a bit more batting-friendly and sporting that the ones we have played on. I think there, the batsmen have to take a bit more responsibility. To that end, there can’t be any fear of failure. We have to set ourselves free. We have to be aggressive in whatever we do.We might need to chase 160-180 regularly against top teams. To beat the best teams, we must think positively and play with freedom – I think that is very important as a batsman in T20s. Sometimes we will get bowled out for 120, but if we don’t have an aggressive approach, we can’t achieve the main goal. There will be a risk factor chasing 170-plus, but if you can get over it and reach the challenge, we can become a good team.You took over the T20I captaincy permanently in late 2019 – do you feel that you are going to the T20 World Cup with a settled team?
The World Cup got postponed because of Covid-19. We were frustrated staying away from cricket for so long. But now we are back on track. We are playing all formats regularly. I think it was very important to play these three series before the World Cup. I must thank the BCB for organising them despite the speculations and restrictions [around hosting matches].It is an encouraging sign that we are heading to the World Cup with a number of wins under our belt. Winning regularly always boosts confidence. Playing well but losing doesn’t quite have the same effect as actually winning.Related

• Shakib: Bangladesh will go to World Cup with winning mentality

• T20 WC: Bangladesh squad along expected lines

• Mirpur pitches could hurt Bangladesh's T20 WC preps

I believe you back a bowler to the point where you tell him that if he gets hit after setting an aggressive field, the runs will be on you, and not him. Tell us about that, the sense of responsibility?
I enjoy being responsible. I like this challenge. I think it brings the best out in me. Sometimes the bowler knows exactly what they are going to bowl. But when they are confused about it, I tell them to leave it to me. “I will set the field; you just bowl,” I say to them. It gives them the confidence to just bowl according to the field, and not worry too much.Even when I am doing this, I do it with the understanding of each bowler’s strengths. Someone like Mustafiz [Mustafizur Rahman] is experienced but Shoriful [Islam] may be thinking about one or two options. You shouldn’t do anything in T20s – whether batting or bowling – with the slightest doubt in mind. So, when a bowler is confused, I feel it is my responsibility to step in, so that he feels comfortable.Most of the time when the camera moves to you in a pressure situation, you don’t have much of an expression. Is that because you try to suppress your emotions or is that natural to you?
I try to be as calm as possible in every situation. I think it helps in better decision-making, especially in pressure situation. I am sure I get emotional. I also get angry. But I try to be calm. As the leader, I can’t be confused, it will affect the other players. There should always be a calm atmosphere in the team.

“When I am batting with Shakib and Mushfiq, they know how I operate, and I know which bowlers they will attack. It comes from playing with each other for a long time. My communication with them is less verbal”

Does having a sense of humour help?
Definitely, for yourself and for the team.What made the most difference in Bangladesh’s T20I series wins against Australia and New Zealand?
Two things stood out for me. There’s healthy competition in the team, and there’s a lot of hunger to win. I think our body language since the Zimbabwe tour, right through the series against Australia and New Zealand, gives that message. I think our desire to improve ourselves and maintain our home dominance has made a huge difference.The Dhaka pitches have thrown up a lot of challenges to batters lately. You seemed to have adapted better than the others against Australia and New Zealand?
It is Allah’s (blessing). Those were difficult conditions for both sets of batsmen. It wasn’t just difficult for our opponents. We saw two bowling-dominated series because of the conditions. I think our batsmen applied themselves slightly better. It was especially difficult to bat against the new ball. Openers and Nos. 3 and 4 struggled on both sides. But as the seam of the ball gets older, it gets easier.It was still challenging, but I thought the softer ball was better to play against. We lost early wickets in some of the matches but we overcame that by following up with good partnerships. I had one with Shakib [Al Hasan] against Australia, another with Mushfiq [Mushfiqur Rahim] against New Zealand. [Nurul Hasan] Sohan and Afif [Hossain] had a match-winning stand against Australia. They should take the credit.How do you rate yourself as a T20 batter now?
I have always given equal importance to all three formats. I previously told you about the training camp in Khulna back in 2016, ahead of that year’s T20 World Cup – it was under [coach Chandika] Hathurusingha. It shifted my training and playing method. It had a positive impact on my batting.At the time I was preparing to bat at No. 6 and 7, after spending time batting at No. 4 and 5. I had to learn how to maximise the 10-15 balls I was going to face at No. 6 or 7. Regardless of batting first or second, the strike rate has to be 150 to 170. I worked with Hathu on shifting from a regular batsman to one who bats in such a role.I still think I can bat at a better strike rate. I want to push it up to 130-135, from the 120 strike rate. I have the scope to improve, which would make me a better batsman.Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim have strung important stands for Bangladesh in the recent past•AFP/Getty ImagesHow important is a captain’s performance in helping the team achieve the right result, in a match or in a series?
It is crucial that the captain leads his side by example. It is important for the captain to set the standard for the team and his team-mates. At the same time, the captain has to appreciate small contributions by everyone, on the field and off it. A captain must acknowledge it so that everyone feels they have the same value as other players.In the third T20I against Australia, you made 52 out of the team’s 127, and later restricted them to 117 for 4. Would you rate that as one of your best outings as captain?
It was probably one of my best games. We faced difficult batting conditions. The situation wasn’t easy when I went out to bat. In the first two games, we bowled more slower balls than the Australian bowlers. We realised that the faster you bowl on this pitch, the better it comes on to the bat.In that game, they bowled two or three deliveries that were fast. The rest were all change-ups. I was targeting something between 130 and 135, which I felt we could defend with our bowling. I give credit to the bowlers for getting us that win. They took an early wicket and although Australia had a big partnership, our guys didn’t give up.In Bangladesh’s context, managing the team off the field is also important.
During the pandemic, we can only be at three or four places together, so we spend most of the time in the dining room or at the gym. We speak to each other. Like, when I am at the gym, I talk to Mustafiz, Taskin [Ahmed] or Shoriful. We discuss about certain points from the game, about bowling in certain situations. All of us give our views, and then we take the appropriate step next time we are in the field, in a pressure situation. I think this is the only positive side to living in a bio-bubble, which is otherwise quite tough.

“When the bowling unit is helping us win, why is their credit being taken away? I really didn’t appreciate it”

Are biobubbles sustainable in the long run?
Certainly not. Being a family man, I miss my family a lot. I have often toured with my family. There’s little scope of that these days. Everyone misses their family. It is necessary that we appreciate each other’s work and their views. It keeps everyone motivated.How different is it to deal with young players and experienced players?
I don’t see any difference. Everyone is very helpful and cooperative. We appreciate each other. There’s no worry about these things. I think the youngsters are more responsible these days, regarding their fitness, preparation and practice. It is good to see.Shakib and Mushfiqur are involved in this T20 build-up, going into the World Cup. How do they help you?
They are two of the most experienced players in Bangladesh. They are always helping out. For a team to do well, these things are important. For example, [if] I am making a bowling change, Shakib might suggest that I bring him on from the other end. Mushfiq also offers advice. They come up on their own. They feel comfortable doing it. I really appreciate it.When you are in the middle during a chase, how different is it to bat with someone like Shakib and Mushfiq, or a new guy like Afif?
When I am batting with Shakib and Mushfiq, they know how I operate, and I know which bowlers they will attack. It comes from playing with each other for a long time. My communication with them is less verbal. It is more about knowing how each other feel and what we want to do. But when I am batting with Afif, [Mohammad] Naim or Sohan, I might need to talk to them. I may have to remind them when to charge the bowlers in a certain situation. Maybe I will mention to them that we may need to delay our charge, or take risks against a particular bowler.

“Sometimes the bowler knows exactly what they are going to bowl. But when they are confused about it, I tell them to leave it to me. ‘I will set the field; you just bowl,’ I say to them. It gives them the confidence to just bowl according to the field”

There’s been a criticism of the bowlers despite them bowling out Australia and New Zealand for 60, 62 and 93 in the space of five games – that it was because of the pitches and not the bowlers.
I agree that the pitches and conditions were bowling-friendly. It was difficult for the batsmen. But it was difficult for our batsmen, too. It wasn’t as if the pitch became a batting paradise when we went out to bat. When the bowling unit is helping us win, why is their credit being taken away? I really didn’t appreciate it.Our bowlers bowled well, which forced the opposition batsmen into making mistakes. All the bowlers should get credit. They gave a lot of effort to be successful, so the criticism is unwarranted.We have played good cricket to win the last three series. We chased some big scores against Zimbabwe. In the third game, we successfully chased 194 in 19.2 overs. I understand it was against Zimbabwe, but we were playing in their conditions. It is not easy to chase 190-plus in T20s, against any team. That successful 194-run chase was a confidence-booster for the team.

Sussex’s 17-year-old legspinner, the first “Blast baby”, is taking it all in his stride

David Hopps23-Aug-2021Is cricket cool? Well, there’s a loaded question if ever there was one. Even its greatest devotees would struggle to contend that it has ever been the height of fashion, not in England at any rate, where periodic attempts to improve its image have failed to shake a resistance movement that imagines it can be a little, shall we say, monotonous.So is cricket cool? Archie Lenham, the first Blast baby, the first county professional born after the birth of T20 in England, has no doubts. “I think it’s really cool,” he said, with the confidence of a 17-year-old who had just spent a week with Southern Brave (inactive maybe but highly instructive) during the climax to the Hundred. For once, he will not be drowned out by cries of derision when he modestly responds: “I think my mates are quite proud of me.”The debate over how the Hundred can co-exist symbiotically with county cricket remains a pressing and complex one, but that’s for others to work out: for the likes of Lenham, cricket feels a little different and with good fortune he has a career ahead of him to lap it up.Related

Wright advocates staging Blast 'in a block' as quarter-finals loom

Wright, Salt assault sets up Sussex before Lenham cleans up

Sussex seal quarter-final spot as Archer makes low-key return

“Before I came into the Hundred I was watching on TV and I thought it was really cool,” he said. “Just the crowds – the last couple of games I have been at the crowds were electric, really loud, really getting behind the sides. I really enjoy white-ball cricket.”Next up is the Vitality Blast quarter-final against Yorkshire on Tuesday night and, as it must be staged on a neutral ground because Headingley is hosting the third Test against India, the atmosphere at Chester-le-Street might be a bit of a come down. Not the message the Blast needs to send as it takes up the mantle. Capacity crowds will follow later in the week.Lenham’s legspin is expected to be central to Sussex’s challenge, something that was inconceivable when this season’s tournament started. Then he burst onto the scene in his second game, against Hampshire at Hove, when he took a wicket with his first ball, held a skier and generally had the time of his life in one of the great stories of the summer. That positive impression remained by the end of the group stages as his bowling stats stacked up alongside such luminaries as Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills and, briefly, the Afghan legbreak bowler, Rashid Khan.Luke Wright, Sussex’s seasoned T20 captain, is just one of several senior players who have wrapped a protective shell around Lenham.”Any time you get to play some youngsters it’s a breath of fresh air and I think it’s just getting the balance right,” Wright said. “We’re lucky that in the T20 side we’ve got a lot of senior guys to help the young guys when they come in. In the four-day team that’s the difficulty, that there’s hardly any senior players there to help them and guide them through.”That’s a challenge in its own right for that team but for ours, obviously Archie has been the standout and has been a great story. More than any skill, for me it’s always the character. For any youngster to be able to come in and play in front of decent-sized crowds and land the ball like he has done, that’s a testament to his character.”

It’s all pretty crazy to be honest. At the beginning of the season playing my first Sussex second team game, then making my full debut. Six weeks later I’m training with Southern Brave in the HundredArchie Lenham

Wright also signed at 16, for Leicestershire. His county debut came in 2003, the inaugural season of T20 in England, but many players were reluctant to take it too seriously and it was approached in a hit-and-miss fashion. It was a different world.”There wasn’t really an academy at Leicester so I was on the playing staff. I certainly wasn’t playing T20 in front of big crowds. But I see a lot of traits in terms of absolutely loving it and throwing himself in at the deep end – that was something that I wanted at that time.”I don’t think you see the negatives at that age where you worry about failing or anything, you just see the positives of playing. You have no worries and no fear whatsoever. You can give him the ball against the best players and he’s still excited. He obviously got a go in the Hundred with the Brave and then got a winners’ medal so he’s not had the worst year, so hopefully he can go even better and win the Blast as well.”Lenham’s level-headed and equable nature is striking considering the demands placed upon him. It was only a few hours before the Hundred final when he agreed to a video chat – he had just finished a bowler’s meeting – and he undertook it with a relaxed and generous air that did him great credit.He has been fortunate to have been surrounded by good advice since birth, whether it is his from his father, Neil, grandfather, Les, both former Sussex players, or his mother, Petch. Both his parents coach cricket at his school, Bede’s School in Hailsham, set in 140 glorious acres of the Sussex Downs. Then Sussex’s spin bowling coach, Ian Salisbury, who also coaches the 1st XI in the Championship and 50-over competitions, is a former England leggie. There are far too many to mention. Everywhere, support when it is needed.”I don’t feel the pressure too much,” he said. “My first Sussex game I was really nervous, walking out to look at the pitch before the game and obviously they all saw me not talking very much and came over and helped me out a lot. CJ [Chris Jordan] just tells me, ‘just try to get a wicket, I don’t mind if you get hit, we back you,’ so it takes a lot off my shoulders.Lenham has enjoyed a remarkable debut summer•Getty Images”Ian Salisbury is a brilliant legspin coach so that experience is really useful for me. He is really good with tactics – field settings and where to bowl to different batsmen, when I should use my variations and so on.”And, most recently, a week with Brave and a chance for their coach, Mahela Jayawardene, a consummate player of spin bowling, to offer his own input. At barely 17, such experiences are invaluable – and Lenham knows it.”He has been helping me with trying to find new variations and change my pace, maybe a slower ball from back of the crease, so that batsmen don’t get used to me. I bowl it pretty quickly. In England quite a lot of the pitches we play on don’t turn big so if you bowl too quickly people can line you up a little bit. Just do things that play in the batsmen’s heads so they don’t get used to you.”It’s all pretty crazy to be honest. At the beginning of the season playing my first Sussex second team game, then making my full debut I was thinking this is really cool. Then six weeks later I’m training with Southern Brave in the Hundred in their squad for the final. Now a Blast quarter-final against Yorkshire. I would never have dreamed about it at the start of the season.”Whether he even sneaks in a Championship debut might be influenced by whether Sussex reach Finals Day in the Blast, although there is an end-of-season match against Derbyshire at Hove, a game of no great consequence, which might offer an opportunity, and which will not risk affecting his white-ball rhythm.Then it is back to Bede’s for the start of his final year – and BTECs in Double Sport and Business. Mostly course work – except he has been doing it for real – with a single exam that might put the cricket on the back burner for a couple of months (hours?) early next season.”Luckily, Bede’s have been really good to me so they have given me extensions on work.”Archie Lenham says “luckily” a lot, and you sense that he appreciates how lucky he is. He has gone a long way to showing this summer how deserving he is.

They might not make it to the knockouts, but this generation of Namibia cricketers can certainly leave behind a legacy to be proud of

Peter Della Penna23-Oct-2021Big pictureIf making their first appearance in a T20 World Cup wasn’t enough of an achievement, Namibia have gone not just one but two better: a first victory over a Test-playing nation, and qualification to the Super 12s. At this stage, Namibia are playing with house money.Nobody will expect them to win three games to be in with a shot at qualifying for the semi-finals, at least not with group matches against Afghanistan, New Zealand, India and Pakistan, not to mention Scotland, the fellow Associates. Not having that burden of expectation just might give them the license to throw their chips on the table and let it ride.Players such as Gerhard Erasmus and Stephan Baard, both of whom have served as captains for Namibia at the Under-19 and senior levels, have been quoted in interviews saying how they were inspired as young boys growing up in Namibia by the deeds of Namibia’s 2003 50-over World Cup squad. It didn’t matter that they lost every game. What mattered was that they took the field to stand shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe, against the likes of Andy Flower, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.Related

Albie Morkel: 'Cricket was a dying sport in Namibia, but people have started watching again'

Gerhard Erasmus expects 'nice momentum' to keep Namibia's dream run alive

Namibia live out their desert dream

Wiese passes Sharjah pitch test with flying colours

But whereas the 2003 Namibia squad was made up of players who were doctors and policemen, and held various other nine-to-five jobs, these players are full-time professionals. Securing ODI status in 2019 has opened the door for Erasmus to commit himself full-time to cricket, and delay a career putting his law school degree to use. Cricket Namibia is now reaping the rewards of that extra funding that could be invested in player development.The success against Ireland to vault into the Super 12s has instilled new-found belief into the likes of Erasmus and the rest of his charges. If he was inspired simply by seeing the likes of Rudi van Vuuren and Deon Kotze stand on the field against such illustrious names of the 2000s, one can only imagine what it may do for the next generation in Namibia if Erasmus’s men not only take the field against some of the Full Member heavyweights, but actually trump a team led by Kane Williamson, Mohammad Nabi, Babar Azam or Virat Kohli.Recent formFor anyone sleeping under a rock for the last week, Namibia are riding high after taking two wins out of three in the opening round of the tournament. But that is just a continuation of their outstanding form in 2021. Namibia have won eight of nine T20Is in the calendar year, including three matches earlier in October against UAE, PNG and Scotland, the last of which was a dominant five-wicket win chasing a target of 138 with 14 balls to spare. Even though Scotland won their qualifying group, which included a win over Bangladesh, Namibia are arguably favourites in that Super 12 encounter before they square off against their Full Member slate.Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese have been part of many good things for Namibia of late•ICC via GettyBattingThis is the stronger side of Namibia’s game. One of the fascinating parts of Namibia’s win over Ireland to end the opening round was the on-air television commentary discussion centered on who should be promoted in the order to give the innings a spark after a slow powerplay. The main argument was that JJ Smit should have been sent in to crack a few boundaries and get the innings in gear. He wound up not even being needed after the tremendous partnership between Erasmus and David Wiese took Namibia home. Just as remarkably, Baard – who is their third-highest scorer in T20Is and second-highest in all T20s – was left out of the XI after a string of low scores throughout October. But when in form, Baard can be devastating, as can the versatile Craig Williams, who is one of just two Namibians – along with Louis van der Westhuizen – to have multiple centuries in their T20 career. The point is, this is not just a two-man band with Erasmus and Wiese.BowlingThere isn’t anybody who would be characterized as express on the bowling side, but T20 has brought out their clever bag of tricks. The left-arm trio of Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann and Jan Frylinck can hit their cutters and yorkers when called upon and Wiese’s arrival has added a level of experience to take the pressure off some of the younger men in that group when sticky situational match-ups arise. Though Frylinck’s 3 for 21 was lost in the shuffle of the heroics produced by Wiese and Erasmus in the chase, it was no less pivotal in the win over Ireland. On the spin-bowling side, Bernard Scholtz was the leading spin bowler at the global qualifier two years ago in the UAE and resumed his quietly tidy and efficient spells in the opening round. Against sides packed with left-handers, the option to select Pikky Ya France as an offspinner is also open for Namibia to maintain balance in the side.Player to watchMost people might call on Wiese as Namibia’s trump card, but he himself said upon accepting the Player of the Match award in the win over Ireland that it should have gone to captain Erasmus. Groomed as a future captain from the time he made his senior team debut as a lanky 16-year-old against Ireland in Belfast in the 2011 Intercontinental Cup, Erasmus is the heartbeat of the squad. He bats with intelligence – no better evidence than his constant pursuit of pinching low-risk twos rather than slogging for boundaries on a tricky Sharjah surface against Ireland – but can ramp up the intensity when required as demonstrated by a memorable sequence of four sixes in a row against Singapore during the 2019 global qualifier. He’s their best player of spin, their best all-round fielder, and though he only bowled one over in the opening round, his handy part-time offspin could become an increasingly key factor in the Super 12s.Key questionHow to get the best out of Craig Williams?The 37-year-old stalwart was in red-hot form entering the tournament with four consecutive T20I fifties, and also top-scored with 29 against Sri Lanka. Prior to 2021, he spent his entire T20I career batting in the middle-order, but post-pandemic has shifted between opening and coming in at No. 3. He started off the tournament at No. 3, but due to Baard’s struggles was promoted to open against Ireland and made 15 off 16. If he does end up staying at the top, his success or failure will also depend on the ability of his partner to get Williams on strike. The few times Williams struck boundaries against Ireland, he struggled to stay in rhythm because Zane Green was blocking, leaving and chewing up dot balls at the opposite end. Whoever is batting with Williams needs to focus on singles and get off strike to let the old pro work his magic.Likely XI: 1 Stephan Baard, 2 Zane Green (wk), 3 Craig Williams, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 David Wiese, 6 JJ Smit, 7 Jan Frylinck, 8 Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 9 Pikky Ya France, 10 Ruben Trumpelmann, 11 Bernard Scholtz