While there were not many surprises in the two extreme categories, Grade A and Grade B threw in some major news to munch on

Ravindra Jadeja

Axar Patel

Shikhar Dhawan

Ajinkya Rahane

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

India

BCCI Contracts: Fall for Rahane and Bhuvi, but what's up with Dhawan?

We explore one player for every side whose absence can collapse the balance of the playing XI

Rashid Khan

Arshdeep Singh

Deepak Chahar

Rahul Tripathi

Krunal Pandya

Sunil Narine

Dinesh Karthik

Suryakumar Yadav

Shimron Hetmyer

Indian Premier League, 2023

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Lucknow Super Giants

Delhi Capitals

Punjab Kings

Gujarat Titans

Mumbai Indians

Kolkata Knight Riders

Chennai Super Kings

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Rajasthan Royals

IPL 2023: The Irreplaceables ft. Surya, Rashid, Axar, DK

The defending champions have enough firepower in the middle-order to hide their top-order flaws

Hardik Pandya

Shubman Gill

Kane Williamson

Mohammad Shami

Rahul Tewatia

David Miller

Wriddhiman Saha

Alzarri Joseph

IPL 2023 Preview: Attack on Hardik Pandya's Titan(s) at your own peril

An emphasis on specialists helped them reach the finals last time. Can they get two times lucky?

Jos Buttler

Yuzvendra Chahal

Jason Holder

Sanju Samson

Ravichandran Ashwin

Trent Boult

Riyan Parag

IPL 2023 Preview: Can RR do an RRR?

IPL 2023 - Sandeep Sharma joins Rajasthan Royals

The ICC, by the looks of it, may not take any immediate steps to curb the restriction posed by the Taliban on women's cricketers in Afghanistan

Naveen-ul-Haq

Mohammad Nabi

Afghanistan and Pakistan tour of UAE, 3 T20I Series, 2023

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Afghanistan’s historic victory shouldn’t hide the dark side of their governance

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have appealed against the International Cricket Council (ICC), after they deemed the Rawalpindi Test between England and Pakistan as &lsquo;flat&rsquo; and awarded it a demerit point.&nbsp;Andy Pycroft, who was the match referee during that clash called that the conditions in play was &lsquo;flat&rsquo; and insisted that there was no assistance to any type of bowlers.&nbsp;&quot;It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler. That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match,&rdquo; Pycroft had said.Rawalpindi was already awarded a demerit point earlier last year, for dishing a similar pitch in the clash against Australia. PCB&rsquo;s new administration spearheaded by Najam Sethi, have appealed against the decision.&nbsp;Ironically, that Rawalpindi pitch went on to produce one of the best Tests from 2022, with Ben Stokes-led England side winning a nail-biter. En-route to not just winning the Test, England smashed multiple records, including scoring a record-breaking 506 runs on day one, as the Test eventually went on to become the third-highest runs in a Test match, and the highest in 80 years.&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Match referee Andy Pycroft deemed that the pitch that was dished out was ‘flat’

England tour of Pakistan, 2022

PCB appeal against ICC’s decision regarding Rawalpindi Test demerit point

We are once again back at it, the CDC Awards, this time in a category that world cricket isn&rsquo;t ready for. While all of these awards are purely a work of fiction, you will definitely see a lot of familiar names, some even play for the national teams. If it contains your favourite team or player, don&rsquo;t worry, feel blessed.Refresh your memories, we are about to go on a ride, one that will trigger the memory side of your brain. In case you don&rsquo;t figure it out, it only screams SATIRE. So, you can all calm down.Hometrack BullyWinner: PakistanSix Tests, four losses and two draws, Pakistan have truly arrived at the world stage at home in the longest format. There&rsquo;s none better than Pakistan at the moment. Maybe, Bangladesh but they have played only half the games as Pakistan have this year. Australia and England &ndash; who have had their fair share of struggle against spin &ndash; arrived and not just nicked away a win but dominated them.So, for all those reasons, Pakistan, the Hometrack Bully award goes to you.Nail-biting innings of the yearWinner: Thunder&rsquo;s 15 all-out<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1672378414630-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Never in our lifetime did we all expect a professional team, at the highest level to be bowled out for just 15. Never. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/december-16-2022-the-day-cricket-took-a-crazy-turn-1671215594897" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">But 2022 showed</a> that there is always room for a first, and the Thunder&rsquo;s fascinating innings showed that it is now more than a dream. It was a nail-biting innings, so much so that the legends say that the Thunder&rsquo;s batters are still biting em. So, let&rsquo;s get them to collect this award!!Sledge of the yearWinner: KL Rahul<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1672378495003-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Very rare, perhaps this is <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/60122/kl-rahul/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KL Rahul</a>&rsquo;s biggest achievement in the Indian colours. He hasn&rsquo;t won any orange cap, and neither has he won any titles. But this sledge, earlier this year against South Africa, where he uttered the most famous keyword of the year &ldquo;Whole country against eleven guys,&rdquo; will always go down in history. Not just because it was iconic but because it was rare. As rare as some people would love their steakLiving Internet Explorer AwardWinner: Sohail TanveerThis is a very rare segment but trust me, it is perhaps one that you wouldn&rsquo;t have expected to see. We all know about how fast Internet Explorer is. So fast that people have finally figured out that the West Indies have won the inaugural edition of the Cricket World Cup. Pretty fast. Now finally, we have found the human version, or rather the live version because IE is dead!!@@!#?<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1672378702609-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3974/sohail-tanvir/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tanveer&nbsp;</a>commented on a 2018 post from Younis Khan, congratulating him for the birth of his second son. Four full years later. Who said Internet Explorer is dead? Tanveer will now collect this award in 2026, so we will wait till then.&nbsp;The Baz-ball cricketer of the yearWinner: Rishabh PantIt is not satirical but a homage. To the founder of the Baz-ball era even before Baz or ball in England cricket existed, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65756/rishabh-pant/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rishabh Pant</a>. Whenever Pant walks out to bat in the longest format, you almost sense like it is either day four or five of a Test, and he is playing for the result. That&#39;s really how he bats, and it is shocking how Indian cricket has not yet till date adopted the Pant-ball tag?&nbsp;BCCI, do it, do it just before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, let&#39;s get all the charts out - Pant-ball - the way to go.&nbsp;Harvey Specter AwardWinner: India&ldquo;Best closer&rdquo; in the city? Harvey Specter. Best closer in world cricket? India. Not once, not twice, not even three times, India&rsquo;s struggle in the third and fourth innings with the ball has been well-documented. So much so, that South Africa bulldozed their way past the Men in Blue at home 2-1. Yup, the same South Africa, who have failed to post a 200 total in the last few sequences of Test matches.For that, the Harvey Specter award goes to India. Can they close this out, at least?&nbsp;Road of the YearWinner: Rawalpindi<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1672378575973-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">This award is presented by all the Bengalureans, in unison to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Pakistan this series have produced some great tracks for the top-brass of Formula 1 to consider &ndash; where the pitch has done nothing &ndash; whatsoever. There were some top candidates, but nothing beats Rawalpindi, where everything has been flat. If you had a cricketing career there, it would too be flat.Jhalak Dikhhla JaaWinner: Shreyas Iyer<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1672378608459-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">We love you Riyan Parag but we did consider you for this award. Perhaps, one of the best dancers in the country. But jokes aside, or rather coming to the joke, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63961/shreyas-iyer/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shreyas Iyer</a> is more than worthy of winning the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa award, for his pyrotechnics against the short-ball. He doesn&rsquo;t sway away from them but rather finds a way to make a connection and get out. In fact, some even say that he has shown more footwork trying to avoid the short deliveries than Virender Sehwag has ever tried to hit.Golden Elbow awardWinner: Kane WilliamsonWe thought a lot. A lot. Not really, it was fairly evident. Who has the dodgiest elbow in world cricket? <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4330/kane-williamson/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kane Williamson</a>! Whose elbow has had most teams worrying? Williamson. Whose performance has been impacted by a terrible elbow? Williamson. We call the Kiwi skipper, oh sorry former Test skipper to come on stage. Be careful there Kane, hold it with both hands, otherwise the elbow might take a blow.Et tu, Brute?Winner: Roelof van der Merwe<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 921px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1589120566807650304&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fconsole.incdcdev.com%2Farticles%2Fedit%2Fcdc-awards-a-satirical-segment-that-world-cricket-isnt-ready-for-1672379569001&sessionId=d51b7d40530210da9933b21f4be5b9006bd30ab5&theme=light&widgetsVersion=a3525f077c700%3A1667415560940&width=550px" data-tweet-id="1589120566807650304"></iframe></div>You too, Brutus? South Africans were uttering that in unison when the 37-year-old ran the hard yards back to pluck the ball in thin air. What had he done? <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/5305/roelof-van-der-merwe/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roelof van der Merwe</a> knocked his home country, South Africa, out of the tournament. It was like an RKO, out of no-freakin-where. Van der Merwe would say: And that&rsquo;s how kids, I knocked out South Africa out of the 2022 T20 World Cup.What are you lookin&#39; at WWE? Hire the freaking writer, at least make your shows more interesting, duh!Overrated Cricketer of the yearWinner: Sanju Samson<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1672378783937-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Ask us why? Simple: If <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/61837/sanju-samson/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sanju Samson</a> can&rsquo;t get a place in this Indian setup, then isn&rsquo;t he the most overrated cricketer of the year. This is the same team which gave a T20I return to Umesh Yadav, the same team who believes that Kuldeep Yadav is the second-biggest spinner in the white-ball format. The same team which still has their faith in Shardul Thakur, after he has been shape-shifted to multiple franchises. This was the same team which even included Mohammed Shami in the playing XI for the T20 World Cup. So now tell me, isn&rsquo;t Sanju overrated?Flat wicket awardWinner: GabbaYou have seen a road this year, haven&rsquo;t you? Oh wait, you might have seen multiple but have you ever seen a wicket flatter than the one dished out to South Africa during the first Test at Gabba? Nah, no freaking way. Just 34 wickets inside two days of cricketing action. What a flat wicket.Do we have anyone from Cricket Australia (CA) to pick the award? Ah well, we will keep it in store for you guys. Ypu can collect it later, when all the drama surrounding captaincy is done and dusted.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Please note this is a work of satire and it 100% will contain names of people, places and organisations, including your favourites

KL Rahul

Sohail Tanvir

Rishabh Pant

Shreyas Iyer

Roelof van der Merwe

India tour of South Africa, 2021/22

Big Bash League, 2022/23

South Africa

Australia

CDC Awards: A satirical segment that world cricket isn’t ready for

On a placid pitch in Rawalpindi, the first 11 sessions went exactly how one would have hoped: Runs, runs and more runs. Things took a turn when <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10130/ben-stokes/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Stokes</a> declared at tea on the fourth day, setting Pakistan 343 to win. It was one of the bravest decisions taken by a captain given that the pitch had not changed much over the course of the match, the outfield was lightening quick and the Pakistan batters, showed their class in the first innings where they scored 579, their highest total at the venue.&nbsp;After scoring 657 in the first innings, England were potentially in a situation where they can actually lose a game. This after they scored at a staggering 6.5 runs per over with four of their top five getting centuries and for a change none of them were named Joe Root. They bettered that in the second innings, scoring at well over seven.&nbsp;When the pitch is as flat as this, there&rsquo;s no point holding back, playing defensively with a mindset to just play out time. It worked in England&rsquo;s favour given that in their new era under <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/1979/brendon-mccullum/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brendon McCullum</a> and Ben Stokes, they tend to go all out for a win, even at the cost of risking a loss.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670316845160-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">In our <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/ben-stokes-men-out-to-expand-baz-ball-beyond-england-1669782606302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pre-match preview</a>, we touched upon the possibility expanding &lsquo;Baz-ball&rsquo; beyond England and in Rawalpindi they showed their strategy was not just restricted to familiar conditions at home but it was ready to spread its wings and do so emphatically.&quot;We&#39;ve played 8-9 matches with myself and Brendon in charge. One thing we try to do is focus on ourselves and not the opposition. We know we&#39;re a very exciting team,&quot; Stokes said after England&rsquo;s 74-run victory.&quot;We wanted to come here to Pakistan and carry on with our mantra of exciting cricket. I&#39;ve got no interest in trying to play for a draw, the dressing room has no interest in playing for a draw. Felt on this kind of wicket, almost had to entice the batsmen to play an attacking shot.&rdquo;The difference in the end proved to be Stokes&rsquo; captaincy &ndash; be it in the bowling changes he made, the fields he set and not letting the shoulders drop at times when it seemed Pakistan would run away with the game &ndash; something that former captains <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/best-bit-of-captaincy-from-stokes-in-englands-greatest-away-win-hussain-1670250647745" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton acknowledged.</a>&ldquo;You think you have seen everything in this game until you see the last five days. There is no reason at all that on that pitch, there should be have been a result apart from one team we forgot, that is Stokes and McCullum. The rate they got their runs, to go out there and get 20 wickets, I think it is the best bit of captaincy I have seen,&rdquo; Hussain told Sky Sports.&ldquo;Every decision that he made today, including keeping the old ball, keeping himself back for the old ball. Getting that ball reverse-swinging, timing of taking the new ball. Every decision was spot on, with his team backing up. The team will run through a brick wall for Stokes. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/64168/ollie-robinson/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ollie Robinson</a> bowling spell like that. Giving Leach the new ball, as he himself said, it is the greatest away win for England,&rdquo; he added.Coming from someone who was the last captain to win a Test in Pakistan 22 years ago under fading lights is something Hussain can surely resonate with.England set the tone with short-ball stuff in the fourth innings to peg Pakistan back initially. They got a couple of wickets, including that of <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/59429/babar-azam/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Babar Azam</a>, with that strategy before stumps on the fourth day and Robinson, who was on song, hit their most senior batter <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/11678/azhar-ali/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Azhar Ali</a> on the arm forcing him to retire hurt.&nbsp;Time after time, Pakistan put the pressure back on England with steady stands. On the final day, Pakistan&rsquo;s intentions were clear: They were happy to play out the quick bowlers, but when the spinners came on, they went after them. What England did well was they picked up an early wicket or two every session to keep Pakistan in check.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670317022362-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Pakistan managed just 13 runs in the first 13 overs of the day on Day Five, all bowled by <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3430/james-anderson/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Anderson</a> and Robinson. Mohammad Rizwan did not get off the mark off his first 23 deliveries. However, after Will Jacks came on, he was keen to stamp his authority. He gave Pakistan some momentum with <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57677/jack-leach/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jack Leach</a> and Jacks bowling, before the pacers returned to turn the screws.***&nbsp;Fast forward to the final session of the match, Pakistan were just 86 runs away from victory, England needed five wickets. It was a game in fine balance, add fading lights, it was a perfect script for a Hollywood story.&nbsp;Moreover, Agha Salman and Azhar Ali too were well set. It was going to be big ask for England, first to break this stand, and then to run through the tail on a flat fifth-day track in potentially 20-odd overs.&nbsp;That&rsquo;s when Robinson decided to unleash his wrath. He struck in twice in his first 13 deliveries after tea and to add cherry on top, it was the two well-set batters. England had <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/69956/naseem-shah/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Naseem Shah</a> and three debutants &ndash; Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Ali and the injured Haris Rauf &ndash; standing in their way.&nbsp;With the ball reversing, Stokes went with Anderson to partner Robinson. Through the match, Stokes was seen keen to have pace at both ends and while the spinners did a fine job, he wanted one side to roughen up quickly so that the pacers could get the ball to reverse. With 80-odd to get and the ball over 80 overs old, this was the perfect time for the pacers to put all their skills into play.&quot;Forget Bazball, Pakistan need a bit of Misbah-ball (Bahball) at the moment!&rdquo; said one comment on social media.And for the next few overs, that seemed to be the way Pakistan were going. There were no demons in the pitch for the bowlers to exploit and the tailenders too seemed to have a solid defense.&nbsp;Stokes had set a leg-side dominant field. With three fielders &ndash; leg slip, short-leg and leg gully all in readiness to grab onto any half chance. The mid-on and mid-off were well just on either side of the pitch closer to the batters. Anything slightly in the air, there was going to be a chance. England realized quickly that there was no point of having too many at traditional slip position given that there was no movement nor carry, and hence focused largely on bowling straight, forcing the batters to make mistakes.There were a few dismissals with batters gloving it to the &lsquo;keeper and with Azhar clipping it to Joe Root at leg-slip, this plan seemed to be the one England were hell bent on going in with for the final stages of the game.With not more than 10-15 minutes left, they had to get the final wicket. Picking up 19 wickets and not finishing the job would have certainly left them deflated. For 52 deliveries, Stokes, Robinson and Leach had a crack at the last batting pair. It seemed as though England would have to settle for a draw despite switching ends extremely quickly.&nbsp;The last pair tried their best to delay proceedings: Mohammad Ali in fact went into the dressing room for a break, there were also instances of Naseem asking for a fresh pair of gloves, just to slow things up and eat away some time.With nothing working for England, Stokes decided to play one of his final cards by taking the new ball. The hope was it would zip through to the wicket faster and might also have a bit of bounce. Eight minutes, one wicket, some time for Pakistani batters to waste, time was ticking like a bomb for Stokes. And then the final card - getting Leach to bowl.&nbsp;The trick worked as one of Leach&rsquo;s deliveries skidded through to trap Naseem Shah in front, bringing an end to his 46-ball resistance.&nbsp;<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670317108907-articleimg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The celebration under fading lights would have certainly rekindled fond memories of England&rsquo;s win in Karachi in 2000 when a jubilant Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe wrapped their hands around each other, in a near pitch dark background to celebrate a famous Test and series win.***The transformation from the Joe Root-Chris Silverwood era to the current one has been an extreme one. With no wins from Root&rsquo;s last 17 Tests as captain to losing just once in eight games under Stokes-McCullum, and winning chasing down mammoth targets and scoring at brisk rates, England&rsquo;s transformation in Tests seems to have taken a corner and there are also talks of how this approach might even change Test cricket as a whole.&nbsp;With Root relieved of his captaincy duties, he too seems to have bought into the whole Baz-ball idea. We&rsquo;ve seen him scoop the fast bowlers, reverse sweep them and also in this Test saw him bat left-handed perhaps for the first time in international cricket. That embodies the fearless approach that the entire team has moved into.&nbsp;England revolutionized white-ball cricket after their exit from the 2015 World Cup and now have both limited-overs World Cup under their belts. Will there also come a time when England are also holding the World Test Championship Trophy (WTC) aloft next year?&nbsp;Nothing else can be a picture of sheer dominance if that were to come to fruition.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Ben Stokes' men went all guns blazing as England registered their first Test win on Pakistan soil in 22 years

Ben Stokes

James Anderson

Ollie Robinson

Azhar Ali

Agha Salman

Babar Azam

Jack Leach

England

England remain true to their word to pull off an extraordinary win in Rawalpindi

After a shambolic home display in the three-match Test series against Australia, Pakistan had a challenge in the form of the rampant English side. Before the start of the series, everything was pointing towards a slow and turning track, that would be tailor-made for some spin bowling.&nbsp;But what transpired in Rawalpindi was something that neither <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/59429/babar-azam/recent" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Babar Azam</a> nor the fans expected &ndash; with a placid track &ndash; that proved to be a batting paradise, which was well exploited by England. In the aftermath of the 74-run loss, Babar pointed out that the team was looking for a track that had some turn for the spinners whilst revealing that his input was taken before preparation.&nbsp;&quot;Yes my input was there in the preparation of the pitch and we made it clear what we wanted but we didn&#39;t get that because of the weather or whatever reason. But we wanted a track with some turn for the spinners,&quot; Babar told during the post match conference on Monday.On England&rsquo;s batting approach, Babar opined that he was aware of the threat but reckoned that poor bowling display from his bowlers let them down.&nbsp;&quot;We were expecting they would continue to play like that against us. I think it becomes difficult for a captain when your bowlers are not hitting the right areas and runs are being scored both sides of the wicket. But full credit to them the way they batted in both innings,&quot; he said.Babar yet again reaffirmed that it is very tough to make a comeback after such a daunting batting display. He also added that in the second innings, the batters put on a bad display.&nbsp;&quot;It is never easy to comeback after the opposition scores 500 on the first day but I thought we batted well and came close to their total but in the second innings our batters didn&#39;t live up to the responsibility,&quot; he said.&quot;I thought we were very much in the match till after lunch today to win the match unfortunately we lost back to back wickets and that didn&rsquo;t help. But Anderson and Robinson bowled outstandingly well.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Babar also spoke about how his inputs were taken prior to the preparation of the pitch

We wanted a track with some turn for spinners: Babar

Days like these are rare in international cricket. But if any format brings such rarity so often, it is Test cricket and perhaps why it is heralded as the toughest format of the game. Despite all of that, what <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10130/ben-stokes/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Stokes</a>, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/1979/brendon-mccullum/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brendon McCullum</a> and England did over the last five days in Rawalpindi is beyond explanation.&nbsp;If T20 cricket was a concoction of the game, Stokes&rsquo; Three Lions played an ever flowing attacking brand of cricket against the red-ball, that has never been seen. Across both the innings, England batters never batted with a run-rate of less than 6. Forget that, what Stokes did over the last five days as a skipper was as close to perfection.&nbsp;Talking to Sky Sports post the clash, former England skipper, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/94972/nasser-hussain/recent" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nasser Hussain</a> was clear that this was the best bit of captaincy that he has ever seen in his lifetime. On the clash, Hussain insisted that there was no way there should have been a result.&nbsp;<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lmAdvKfRtBA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>&ldquo;You think you have seen everything in this game until you see the last five days. There is no reason at all that on that pitch, there should be have been a result apart from one team we forgot, that is Stokes and McCullum. The rate they got their runs, to go out there and get 20 wickets, I think it is the best bit of captaincy I have seen,&rdquo; Hussain told Sky Sports.&nbsp;&ldquo;Rarely do you get five days where you get every decision spot on. The way he sends his batter, to go out there and score at 6.7 RPO, to get you ahead in the game and put you in front. Then you time your declaration spot on. There were stages when people were like, really Ben Stokes, did you get the declaration, spot on?&rdquo;Hussain called the Rawalpindi win as the &ldquo;greatest away win&rdquo; for England, and pointed out at the various decision that Stokes took which turned the game in the visitors&rsquo; favour on a pitch that was quite placid.&nbsp;&ldquo;Every decision that he made today, including keeping the old ball, keeping himself back for the old ball. Getting that ball reverse-swinging, timing of taking the new ball. Every decision was spot on, with his team backing up. The team will run through a brick wall for Stokes. Ollie Robinson bowling spell like that. Giving Leach the new ball, as he himself said, it is the greatest away win for England.&rdquo;&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t remember during my playing days, growing up or commentating, a better performance. A performance where you have to get everything right, where you have to walk the talk. I would call it one of their greatest away victories.&rdquo;The 54-year-old, born in Chennai, also spoke about how it is days like these that bring a lot of eyes to the game. In addition, Nasser also credited the way Harry Brook batted, where he broke several records during his stay in the first innings.&nbsp;&ldquo;Last couple of days, what McCullum and Stokes are doing has brought a lot of eyes to the game. It may lead to other people carrying the legacy on. Someone like Harry Brook and the way he has been batting, is absolutely vital. A Test match win in conditions like this, means so much. An 18-year-old, a 40-year-old in the aisle will remember this, days like these&rdquo;.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Nasser Hussain also spoke highly on Stokes’ captaincy in the Rawalpindi win

Nasser Hussain

Brendon McCullum

Best bit of captaincy from Stokes in England’s greatest away win: Hussain

England have been playing Test for a long time, several legends, including Nasser Hussain, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Alastair Cook have come and gone but this new-age England team is a different gravy. Throughout the last few months, several pundits, including Nasser have openly applauded the fearless approach shown by this Three Lions setup, under the tutelage of <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/1979/brendon-mccullum/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brendon McCullum</a>.&nbsp;But most of that was at home. Pakistan really was the first Test for this fearless approach and it is safe to say that England have nailed this test too with some perfection. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10130/ben-stokes/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Stokes</a> as a captain has led the side with aplomb. With just a lead of 342 runs, Stokes took the bold decision of declaring, setting up a proper contest with all three results on the table.&nbsp;&ldquo;We wanted to come here to Pakistan and carry on with our mantra of exciting cricket. I&#39;ve got no interest in trying to play for a draw, the dressing room has no interest in playing for a draw. Felt on this kind of wicket, almost had to entice the batsmen to play an attacking shot,&rdquo; Stokes said in the aftermath of the win in Rawalpindi.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/stats-england-shatter-multiple-test-records-on-day-1-at-rawalpindi-1669902287552" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Also Read: England shatter multiple Test records on Day 1 at Rawalpindi</a>Stokes also talked about some of the brave decisions that the management took ahead of the Test, including handing the gloves to Ollie Pope, with Will Jacks making his Test debut alongside <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63940/liam-livingstone/articles" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Liam Livingstone</a>. The decision paid off, with all three of them making an impact. Jacks, in particular starred with the ball, with six wickets in the first innings.&nbsp;&ldquo;Some of the things we can&#39;t plan for is what happened to the squad before the Test. Seems a long time ago when we were running around to find players for the Test. Will Jacks getting the message three minutes before toss, and Pope getting the gloves,&rdquo; he added.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670242695918-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">England broke several records after the end of day one&rsquo;s play here in Rawalpindi, with five of the batters crossing the three-figure mark, on what was a historic day for Test cricket. Stokes admitted that it was the batting surface that really allowed them to play such an ultra-aggressive brand of cricket.&nbsp;&ldquo;We&#39;ve played 8-9 matches with myself and Brendon in charge. One thing we try to do is focus on ourselves and not the opposition. We know we&#39;re a very exciting team. Was a great batting surface, so it was an opportunity for our batting group. Having the lads truck in like they did today was amazing. Really special group of players,&rdquo; he insisted.However, it wasn&rsquo;t all. Despite declaring pretty early, there were still a good chance of the match ending in a draw. With only 10 minutes left in the game, Stokes wasn&rsquo;t hesitant to throw the ball to his premier spinner, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57677/jack-leach/recent" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jack Leach</a>, who trapped the determined Naseem Shah in front of the stumps. Stokes called it as &ldquo;one of England&rsquo;s greatest away wins&rdquo;.&nbsp;&ldquo;Today we were fortunate to get the ball reverse-swinging. James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were fantastic today. We won probably about 8 minutes before we would&#39;ve come off. This is probably up there as one of England&#39;s greatest away wins.&rdquo;Babar admits Pakistan were not up to the markWhilst England played a threatening brand of cricket, Pakistan were mere spectators at their own home, with the way they batted in the first innings. After the show from the top three, none of the middle-order batters, threatened to take the game away from the visitors. Babar Azam, in the post-match presentation admitted that the hosts were not up to the mark.&nbsp;&ldquo;We were not upto the mark. Had a golden chance in the second innings, but session by session we lost wickets. Our bowling group is young. Unfortunately Haris injured himself in the first innings. All credit to the bowlers who bowled well and tried without Haris. We try to stick to our plans.&rdquo;Babar agreed that England&rsquo;s blitzkrieg kind of approach with the bat, where they scored at nearly 7 RPO throughout the match, put them under immense pressure. Having said that, Babar reckoned there were plenty of positives for them to take away form the game. &nbsp;&ldquo;Difficult when opponent goes at 7 an over. We had an opportunity in the second innings. But we didn&#39;t get partnerships in the end. Lot of positives. Our batting performed very well. Bowling also very well.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Stokes also opened up on the new approach of the Three Lions

Ollie Pope

Will Jacks

Harry Brook

No interest in playing for a draw: Stokes opens up on brave declaration

Pakistan already have begun the series on the backfoot, with the injury to Shaheen Shah Afridi further forcing them to look for options. One of the options was <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/70326/haris-rauf/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Haris Rau</a>f, the 29-year-old speedster, who made his debut in the ongoing first Test against England.&nbsp;However, during the course of the Test, the right-arm speedster injured himself, while stepping on the ball leading to an injury to his right quad. Successively, the 29-year-old has been ruled out of the second Test in Multan against the Three Lions. Various reports suggest that Rauf won&rsquo;t be available for the rest of the series.&nbsp;Pakistan are in a fix, and could call upon the all-rounder Mohammad Wasim Jr, to make his Test debut. If not, the Men in Green could even look at the likes of Hasan Ali and Mohammad Abbas, two veterans to bolster the pace bowling unit. Pakistan&rsquo;s bowling will be under severe criticism, especially with the way leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood performed in the first innings.&nbsp;Questions are already raised over Mahmood&rsquo;s inclusion, with the likes of Yasir Shah not even picked in the squad. Pakistan trail the series 0-1, and are in danger of losing back-to-back series in Multan, where they would now need a miracle.&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

A right quad injury also puts Rauf in doubt for the rest of the series

Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf ruled out of second Test against England

Even before England stepped onto the field on the final day of the first Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, the visiting side were dealt with a severe blow as <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63940/liam-livingstone/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Liam Livingstone</a> was ruled out of the series.&nbsp;One of the two debutants in the first clash, the 29-year-old, has suffered a right knee injury and will fly back to the United Kingdom tomorrow, December 6 to continue his rehabilitation with the Lancashire medical teams and the England Cricket Board medical staff.&nbsp;The right-handed batter was dismissed for nine runs in England&#39;s record-breaking first innings total of 657 runs. While we do not know the extent of the injury, Livingstone seemed to have injured his knee while fielding in the first innings on Day two. The leg spinner did not roll his arm over in the first innings and spent most of the time in the dressing room, when England bowled over 155 overs to dismiss Pakistan for 579 runs.Despite striding out to bat in the second innings, Livingstone was uncomfortable in his eight-ball stay before England declared their innings on 264 runs.&nbsp;With <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/86794/rehan-ahmed/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rehan Ahmed</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/57871/mark-wood/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark Wood</a> in the side, Ben Stokes and the team management are yet to name a replacement for the remaining two Test matches. One of the two bowlers are expected to replace Livingstone in the playing XI for the second Test starting December 9 in Multan.&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

England are yet to decide on a replacement for the all-rounder, who is struggling with a right knee injury

PAK VS ENG,1st Test

Summary

Commentary

Scorecard

Highlights

MatchInfo

Articles

Videos