Shaun Udal beams when recollecting how the great Sachin Tendulkar fell into his trap to inspire England to an unlikely Test win in India, memories which brighten his outlook when he is at a low ebb.
Living with Parkinson’s disease, which can leave him in excruciating pain, Udal embraces the chance to think back to March 2006 when a patched-up England beat a vaunted India in a Test on their own soil.
With Andrew Flintoff’s side trailing 1-0 and beset by injuries and illness ahead of the Mumbai decider, Udal vindicated his call-up with figures of four for 14 in the fourth innings just as a draw beckoned.
Key to a 212-run triumph was Udal exploiting some rough outside off-stump to have Tendulkar snaffled at bat-pad on the Little Master’s home ground at the Wankhede Stadium, provoking pin drop silence.
“There was about 40-odd thousand in the crowd when he was batting, when I got him out there was about 10,000 left,” Udal told the PA news agency as he thought back to his fourth and final Test appearance.
“You have a plan for each batsman and mine was to try and get him caught short-leg. I didn’t think it would actually happen and to get him was just surreal.
“I still remember to this day the overriding feeling of ‘wow, that’s Sachin Tendulkar I’ve just got out in a Test match’. I ran out around like a seven-year-old for a couple of minutes celebrating.
“It was very special, it lives long in the memory and I’m happy to have played a significant role on the last day.”
There are parallels between the current set-up led by Ben Stokes heading to India and those that played in the ‘Ring of Fire’ Test, with both captained by maverick all-rounders and largely written off.
England’s spin attack is as raw now as it was then with Monty Panesar in his third Test although he and especially Udal, while unproven at international level, could fall back on their county experience.
The same cannot be said of Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, who have just one Test cap, between them as the supplementary options to first-choice Jack Leach, who has a chequered fitness past.
“The spinners are going to be crucial,” Udal said, suspecting India’s selection of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav is revealing for the series which starts on Thursday.
“It’s a telltale sign of what the pitches are going to be like because India have picked four spinners in a squad of 16, so it’s obviously going to spin square.
“India can be a bit of a graveyard for a spinner, you can sink or swim. My worry is if Jack Leach goes down then we’ll be left with three youngsters as our first-choice spin attack.
“But they’ll be under no pressure from the management and captain. I’ll be intrigued to see how effective ‘Bazball’, or whatever you want to call it, is in India.”
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019, Udal is familiar with misconceptions around the progressive neurological condition so he seeks to raise awareness by highlighting his own experiences.
He has a “lot of balance problems” and his “motor skills are very bad”, while “the cramps and pains” which frequently wake him up in the middle of the night can be debilitating.
“There are bad days and good ones,” he said. “It’s a question of living with it; I can’t do anything else about it, it’s incurable, it will deteriorate and it will get the better of me at some stage.
“But I’m determined to try and delay that for as long as I can.”
Udal’s world was rocked in the period after his diagnosis by the deaths of his mother, brother and close friend Shane Warne, prompting him to reach out to the Professional Cricketers’ Association.
“I truly believe if it wasn’t for them and the help they’ve given, I don’t think I would be here,” Udal says of the support he received from the Professional Cricketers’ Trust, the charitable arm of the PCA.
As well as remembering a career that brought more than 800 first-class wickets for Middlesex, Hampshire and England, Udal tries to stay upbeat and is overjoyed that he is due become a grandfather in April.
“It’s not easy to stay positive then but there’s always someone worse off, you’ve got to remember that,” he added.
Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England
Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.
Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.
“St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.
“The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.
After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.
“I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.
St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.
Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.
“If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.
Despite the uphill battle, Powell cited the Caribbean side’s recent successes over the past 18 months as a reminder of their potential.
“It's a little uncomfortable being 2-0 to be honest; it's a position that we haven't found ourselves in in a long time, but it's an opportunity for us to show what we are made of as a T20 team,” Powell declared.
“England is a team that we have played quite often these days, and we have had good results against them. It's just unfortunate that Barbados wasn't good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia provides a new opportunity for us to come out and play some good cricket,” the Jamaican reasoned.
Finally, Powell reiterated the importance of a victory on Thursday, not only to stay in the series but also to set the stage for an exhilarating weekend of cricket. The final two encounters are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“It's a case of us getting back into the series; we just need a win, and once we get the win tomorrow, we can go from there. The guys are upbeat; even though we are 2-0 down, they are in a good frame of mind and ready to play good cricket,” the captain ended.
Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa
Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.
Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.
Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.
He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.
Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.
South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).
Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.
Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.
Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink
Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.
India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.
Kusal and Avishka centuries take series opener for Sri Lanka
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando guided Sri Lanka to a 45-run victory via the DLS Method in the first match of their ODI series against New Zealand on Wednesday.
On a rain-soaked day, the hosts ended their eight-match losing streak at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with a dominant display from start to finish.
After electing to bat, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Pathum Nissanka (12) was caught by Nathan Smith from Jacob Duffy's delivery in the second over.
However, Kusal would join Avishka at the crease and put the hosts in control, with the pair putting on a 206-run stand.
The duo's contribution formed the bulk of Sri Lanka's 324-5, with Sadeera Samarawickrama (five), Charith Asalanka (40) and Janith Liyanage (12 not out) concluding their innings.
New Zealand started well in their run chase through Will Young (35) and Tim Robinson (35) before the latter was stumped by Mendisb Theekshana in the 13th over.
That kickstarted the tourists' collapse, with the dismissals of Young, Henry Nicholls (six), Mark Chapman (two) and Glenn Phillips (nine) leaving New Zealand 110-5 after 17 overs.
Michael Bracewell's 34 from 32 deliveries steadied the ship somewhat but the damage had been done, with the tourists falling short of their target by 45 runs.
Data Debrief: It's coming home
Sri Lanka have won five of their last six multi-game bilateral men’s ODI series (L1), including each of their last two, and they got off to a perfect start in Dambulla.
The Lions' victory was their first in the format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium since a seven-wicket win against Pakistan back in August 2014.
They were helped by Kusal's knock of 143 from 128 deliveries, which was his fourth ODI century but his first on home soil since 2020.
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