Hello Sports lovers,
November 2025 will keep a special place in the hearts of Indian cricket fans since it marked Indian women's team's first ICC title win when they emerged victorious in the final of the ODI World cup earlier this month. Though the month started on a great note for Indian cricket fans the conclusion of the month wasn't that great since the men in blue got whitewashed in yet another home test series. Series loss against WTC champions South Africa was their second home series loss after a pathetic performance against the kiwis last year which they lost 3-0. Such poor performances by a team which used to be a dominant force at home for decades is a real eye opener and deserve thorough introspection.
Performance of men in blue in test cricket has been a concern for a while now. In recent past they have won series only against low ranked teams like West Indies & Bangladesh. Change in leadership, lack of clarity in team selection, way of approaching test cricket, lack of role clarity seem to be some of the factors for the fall if not all. Back to back retirements of veterans doesn't seem to help their cause either. Hopefully corrective measures will be taken keeping Indian cricket's betterment in mind.
Let's not get so overwhelmed by the men's performance that we forget the extraordinary achievement of the women's team. After years of hard work finally the women in blue could cross the line. Despite not so impressive performances in the league phase Harmanpreet led team delivered back to back punches in semis & final to lift that elusive trophy. That innings by Jemimah against Australia in the semi final was a pure gem & will be remembered for years. Icing on the cake was this much awaited victory came in front of home crowd. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a great journey ahead.
In terms of other cricketing news much awaited cricketing rivalry between arch rivals Australia & England renewed during the Ashes which started in an emphatic manner when the Aussies thrashed the English team within two days. With four more tests to go England will definitely try to deliver a counter punch to change their dismal test record down under since 2011. New Zealand had a great start to their home summer by winning the white ball series against a struggling West Indies and now gearing up for their first assignment of the current WTC cycle against the same opponent. Asian neighbors Sri Lanka & Pakistan locked horns in an ODI series followed by a T20I tri series also involving Zimbabwe. Pakistan had a great run in the white ball series first against the Proteas & then against Sri Lanka. This month's Sports Talk Of The Month features three outstanding individual brilliances which resulted in excellent outcomes for their respective teams.
Taking The Opposition Head On
First individual is a southpaw who has been a prolific performer for a while now specially in big stages. Hundred in WTC 2023 final followed by 2023 ODI World cup final & now a game changing blockbuster Ashes hundred. No prize for guessing who the cricketer is. Travis Head has been a pillar of Australian batting for a while now. His knack of taking the attack to the opposition from the word go & making statement hundreds on big stages makes him one of the fearsome batters of the modern day cricket. Irrespective of the format he continues his attacking style of cricket whether he is playing as an opener in white ball cricket or as a middle order batter in red ball cricket. His recent hundred came in test cricket batting as an opener though.
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| Travis Head in action Image credit: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
The innings becomes even more significant considering the match situation. First game of the much awaited home Ashes for the Aussies and they came with all guns blazing on the very first day of the series courtesy a devastating spell of fast bowing by pace maestro Mitchell Starc. But the home team let go the upper hand taken early in the match by some poor batting in the first innings. Chasing a 200+ target in the fourth innings on a pitch that seemed to be playing all sort of tricks with the batters looked like a daunting task for the home team specially after their shocking batting performance in the first innings. But their vice captain had other plans.
It was a pure example of grabbing an opportunity & utilize it completely. Khawaja's inability to open due to an unfortunate back spasm opened the door for a makeshift opener for the final innings of the match. It was Head who put his hands up & took the responsibility. What followed that decision is history now. It was definitely a brave call by the team management to send Head to open the innings. His innings of 123 which shattered Ashes records not only ensured a comfortable victory for his team but left a lasting impression on the opponents for the rest of the series for sure. His match winning ton can very well be the catalyst that the home team needed at the start of a big series like this.
As per his standards he was definitely short of runs in recent past across formats. But a stage like this can definitely fire up any cricketer. Travis grabbed the opportunity with both hands & owned that stage in style. His performance will surely be an inspiration for the rest of the batters of his team as well who struggled in the first innings. It was an incredible display of stroke making that left the opposition team shell-shocked. For the English team it's definitely not the end of the road after one such loss. But they need to bounce back quickly by making course correction specially if they want to find an answer to the Headache created by Travis.
Starc The Tormentor
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| Mitchell Starc Image credit:SirWellsy99, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
If it was Head with the bat, Mitchell Starc was the chief tormentor with the ball in hand. It was his spell in the first innings that laid the cornerstone of this victory. Suffering a big blow by the absence of Cummins & Hazlewood it was Starc who decided to take that additional responsibility of taking his team forward & leading the pace attack like a true leader. He was well supported by miracle man Boland, Green & promising debutant Doggett. It was Starc who drew the first blood by snapping English opener Crawley in the first over and then it was no looking back for the left armer.
Starc has been the leader of the fearsome Aussie pace attack for a while now. In the absence of the other two pacemen from the famous pace trio he made sure that the English batters don't feel the respite. His pace & accuracy coupled with typical fast bowler's aggression proved to be too much for the opponent batters. He was the ideal player of the match award winner after his ten wicket haul in the match. Starc who was recently retired from T20I cricket to prolong his test career looked sharp & focused as ever. His performance reminded of another left armer Mitchell Johnson who kind of demolished the Englishmen in the Ashes of 2013-14. Next game is a pink ball test match which is again the forte of Starc. Kind of performance he has delivered in the first game it won't be a surprise if we see a repeat of the same in Aussies' most preferred venue at Brisbane.
The Captain Stood Firm
The third hero we are going to talk about now is ideally the most underrated yet effective both as a batter & leader. Temba Bavuma is neither one of the most stylish stroke makers in test cricket nor a power hitter in white ball cricket. But he is definitely one of the smartest batters who knows his strengths & limitations and plays the situation rather than the format or bowler. In his short stint as a leader so far he has shown immense maturity & tactical acumen by keeping things simple. He has shown the world that to be a successful captain on the cricket field you not necessarily need to be a record holder or flamboyant in your behaviour. You just need to be a leader who trusts his instincts and more importantly backs his players irrespective of the situation.
He had a big role to play in their recent test series victory against India. Before the series he was in doubt for the participation due to injury concerns. But he got fit in time and took part in one of the unofficial test matches between South Africa A & India A. He didn't play as a captain since his solo motive was to get some game time to get accustomed to the Indian pitches. His selfless effort was rewarded since he scored a much needed half century in that game. Despite coming into the series with limited game time he proved his worth once again as a batter when he scored a fighting half century in the first test match at Kolkata on a pitch which seemed to have all sorts of demons for the batters. Eventually that half century proved to be the only one in that game. On a pitch where even best of the Indian batters struggled the Proteas captain played one of the series defining innings. As far as his captaincy is concerned he was at his tactical best.
Surprisingly he & his team received criticism for getting a place in the WTC final without beating top sides like India or Australia earlier this year. They won the championship by beating Australia in the final. Now Temba & his team answered those criticisms once again with a statement win against India at their own backyard. His approach towards batting or managing his team both remains extremely simple. After their victory in WTC final he mentioned that he & the team management backs characters more rather than stats. That's so true. The team that humiliated giants like India in a home series didn't have a single batter with an average of 40+ in test cricket or with tons of runs or centuries.
Another story is of the hero of the series Simon Harmer. He had played a handful of test matches but his rich domestic experience where he has taken 1000 first class wickets is one of the reasons why he was selected for this series. But a single reason why all of them are part of this team is because they are hungry to win. It's a fairly young team with the likes of Stubbs, de Zorzi, Rickelton, Mulder, Verreynne are at the early stages of their test careers. But it's their combination with senior pros like Bavuma, Rabada, Markram, Maharaj makes this a successful team. They played as a group & won as a group. No dependency on individual brilliances, just pure team effort that is bringing desirable results for this group.
Lot of credit to Bavuma & coach Shukri Conrad for creating an environment where everyone contributes towards team's success. They have always been a dangerous team across formats but their inability to win ICC titles didn't put them in the same bracket as India or Australia. But their recent performances in ICC tournaments indicate that the trend is changing & that's a real positive sign not only for them but for world cricket. When you have a selfless & capable captain like Bavuma results are bound to move in your direction.
In a recent Interview Bavuma mentioned that his name Temba was given by his grandmother which means hope. He is literally creating that hope for a cricket loving nation to stamp their authority as one of the best in the business. With a T20 World cup lined up shortly and a home ODI World cup in 2027 this team is definitely gearing up for greater success. And the presence of a character like Bavuma only brightens those possibilities.
Stay tuned for more at this space.
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