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WA captain ‘shed a few tears’ after winning the Sheffield Shield for the first time in his 21-year career

Alex Malcolm04-Apr-2022The tears said it all. Shaun Marsh has had countless triumphs over a 21-year professional career. He’s made 13 international centuries for Australia, won Ashes series, Border-Gavaskar trophies, been the leading runscorer in an IPL, won multiple BBL and Australia domestic 50-over titles.But raising the Sheffield Shield aloft as Western Australia captain, something his father Geoff Marsh had done, something no WA captain had done in 23 years, could be his greatest achievement as a cricketer.”It’s pretty emotional to be honest,” Marsh said. “I’ve shed a few tears.”It’s definitely up there. Dad always spoke about his Shield wins as being the highlight of his career and this feeling that I’ve got inside my body now it’s definitely up there and I’m just so happy for the playing group.”Related

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• Western Australia break 23-year Sheffield Shield drought as final ends in a draw

It might be the perfect way to finish for Marsh. He began his Shield career as a 17-year-old with Western Australia in 2001, three years before his current team-mate Teague Wyllie was even born. But the 38-year-old, who has a year to run on his state contract with WA and has signed a two-year contract extension with Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, has not decided on his future just yet.”I’m not too sure,” Marsh said. “I’m not going to worry about it for a few days. I’m really going to enjoy this moment and enjoy it with the boys. We’ve really earned this moment. It’s been a few years in the making this and I’ll sit down with [coach Adam Voges] at some stage and we’ll see what next year looks like but at the moment I’m not even going to think about it. I’m going to celebrate with the boys and really cherish this moment.”WA were made to earn the title by an unrelenting Victoria outfit. They narrowly claimed the bonus point lead in the first innings thanks a superb 141 from Cameron Bancroft. Victoria coach Chris Rogers said it was the best he had ever seen Bancroft bat.Shaun Marsh lifts the Sheffield Shield•Getty Images

Then Aaron Hardie and Joel Paris orchestrated a Victoria collapse taking three wickets each after the visitors looked poised to snatch the bonus point lead and give themselves the opportunity to take the title with a drawn game. It gave WA a first-innings lead of 80.But there was one more twist in the tail on day four. Two quick wickets saw WA slump to 5 for 110, with a lead of just 190, and over five sessions left in the match. However, Sam Whiteman and Hardie both made centuries to put the game to bed and ease Marsh’s nerves.”I battled through day four,” Marsh said. “It was probably the best and worst day of my life to be honest. The emotions were going through my body and I couldn’t be more proud of Sammy and Hards in that partnership.”The game was in the balance and the way those two came out and batted it was just incredible and really put us into a commanding position. That partnership [is] up there with the best I’ve seen in 21 years.”Hardie finished with 174 not out, his highest first-class score, while Whiteman made 123 to go with his 85 in the first innings and faced over 500 balls in the match to be named player of the final.It was a special result for Whiteman, who played alongside Marsh, Bancroft and Voges in WA’s only other Shield finals during their 23-year title drought. Both were losing draws against New South Wales in 2013-14 and Victoria in 2014-15.Sam Whiteman and Aaron Hardie both made centuries•Getty Images

“It’s very special,” Whiteman said. “It means a lot to everyone in the group, and it varies from person to person. But you think of Shaun who’s played for 20-odd years. A lot of the group has played for 10 years now and we probably messed up a few chances along the way. You start doubting whether it’s going to come but it feels amazing.”Whiteman’s performance is made all the more extraordinary given he has reinvented himself as an opening batter, after playing as a specialist wicketkeeper in WA’s previous two finals before a finger injury forced him to give away the gloves.”Before the game my wife said to me, who would have thought you know, seven or eight years after your last Shield final that you’d be playing as an opening batter,” Whiteman said. “And yeah, I wouldn’t have guessed it, going from the keeper to opening. It’s special to be part of the team, play my small role, and, yeah, just pumped for WA cricket.”Victoria captain Peter Handscomb was left to ponder several decisions he and his side made throughout the five days including sending WA in after winning the toss and failing to chase the bonus point lead harder in the first innings.”I’m still okay with the toss,” Handscomb said. “I think hindsight is an interesting one. Looking back, we probably could have gone harder at the bonus point and then we get to try and control the game and try and get the draw that way. But at the time, we thought the wicket would deteriorate a little bit more than it did. We thought we’d be able to force a result somehow whether it be a win or a loss.”We didn’t really expect the pitch to kind of play like that. To see no cracks on a WACA wicket day four or five is a little bit interesting.”Handscomb had no qualms with WA batting Victoria out of the game noting his side would have done the same had they been in the same position. As disappointed as he was with the result, he was delighted for Marsh, who he played alongside for several years with Australia.”Bloody happy for Sos,” Handscomb said. “He’s a good mate of mine. It’s good that he’s been able to do that.”

Trevor Hohns has been named as Australia’s interim chairman of selectors, while Greg Chappell will serve on the panel temporarily following Rod Marsh’s departure

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-20163:48

Coverdale: Search for long-term selectors important

Greg Chappell will join Australia’s national selection panel and Trevor Hohns will serve as chairman, after the departure of Rod Marsh from the role on Wednesday. Both appointments have been made on an interim basis only, following an extraordinary meeting of the Cricket Australia board on Wednesday night.Hohns has served on the national selection panel since 2014 in his current tenure, but previously sat on the panel from 1993 to 2006, including 10 years as chairman. Initially, he had continued in his role as Queensland’s state talent manager while also serving on the national panel, but will now relinquish that job to focus full-time on selection duties.Chappell has had two previous stints as a national selector, first from 1984 to 1988, shortly after his retirement as a player, and again from 2010 to 2011, before he took up the role of Cricket Australia’s national talent manager. Chappell will step aside from that position while he serves as an interim national selector.”It is vital that Australian cricket finds the best candidate for this role,” Cricket Australia’s chairman David Peever said. “Trevor is highly experienced as a selector, and will ensure we place our best players on the field this summer while we seek a permanent replacement for Rod.”Greg has been instrumental in restructuring our youth pathway program, driving the National Performance Squad, the introduction of a CA XI squad in the domestic one-day cup and creating clear pathways for talented youth in Australian cricket to aspire to wear the baggy green. His in-depth knowledge of up-and-coming talent in the Australian system will be invaluable.”The board will now begin a search for permanent national selectors, with no deadline having been set. Marsh’s tenure was originally to have ended in June next year.

He trained with the Sunrisers on May 1, the same day he reported a fever

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2021Wriddhiman Saha has tested positive for Covid-19, meaning the Sunrisers Hyderabad became the third franchise to register positive cases at IPL 2021. The team was due to play the Mumbai Indians in Delhi on Tuesday but the IPL has been postponed following the surfacing of Covid-19 cases at least three franchises over the last few days.ESPNcricinfo understands that Saha reported symptoms, including a fever, on May 1, the day before the Sunrisers played against the Rajasthan Royals in Delhi, an afternoon match. Saha had trained with the rest of the Sunrisers squad on the afternoon of May 1. Following that training session, Saha felt he might have got a heat stroke and had even got tested for Covid-19 on the same day. The result of that test was negative, but he still reported a fever.Related

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Saha was isolated immediately by the franchise. He underwent two further tests, on Sunday and Monday. It is understood that he tested positive for Covid-19 in the the third round of testing.Saha had scored eight runs in two games and taken three catches this season before he was excluded from the playing XI.Two players from the Kolkata Knight Riders – spinner Varun Chakravarthy and seam bowler Sandeep Warrier – and two members of the Chennai Super Kings contingent – bowling coach L Balaji and a member of the maintenance staff – had also tested positive over the past two days. Subsequently, yesterday’s game between the Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore was put off, before the announcement of the postponement today.

Ben Stokes has suggested associating women’s sides with that of the men in franchise leagues, especially in the IPL

Alan Gardner09-Apr-2021Heather Knight has echoed recent comments from Ben Stokes and Smriti Mandhana, calling for the formation of a women’s IPL, saying it “would be amazing for the women’s game”.Knight lifted the WBBL title with the Sydney Thunder in November and was twice a Kia Super League winner before the English T20 league was scrapped to make way for the Hundred. She agreed that an IPL equivalent would be timely, and praised Stokes for speaking out in support of women’s cricket.”It was awesome to see Stokesy talk about the women’s IPL,” she said. “The more allies we have in women’s cricket, it really helps to change perceptions. It’s great from Ben to say that and I totally agree, I think it would be amazing for the women’s game to have an IPL.”You’ve seen it in Australia with the Big Bash, and hopefully here with the Hundred having men’s and women’s competitions alongside each other, it’s a really positive thing for the women’s game and really helps to progress things. It was really nice to see Ben make those comments.”Speculation about whether the BCCI could launch a women’s T20 league has circulated for some time, following the success of similar competitions in Australia and England. Speaking earlier this week ahead of the start of the men’s IPL, Stokes, an overseas player for the Rajasthan Royals, said he was very hopeful of fully fledged women’s franchises being established, too.”Yes, I think the women’s game, especially over the last four to five years, has gone from strength to strength and it’s great how it is filtering into the men’s game in terms of [parallel] competitions and things like that,” he said on Red Bull’s Decoding Athletes podcast. “I’m very hopeful there’ll be a women’s franchise side associated with every men’s franchise side so we’re able to grow the women’s game even bigger. What better place to do it than out here in India?”Related

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• The time is right for a women's IPL (but does the BCCI agree?)

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• Women's T20 Challenge 2020 logs 'record-breaking viewership'

Since 2018, the BCCI has staged the Women’s T20 Challenge to run alongside the men’s IPL playoffs. Initially featuring two teams, it was expanded to three – Trailblazers, Supernovas and Velocity – in 2019 and 2020; last year, the plan was to add a fourth team, but the idea was scrapped as the BCCI decided to stick to the old format as the men’s and women’s events moved to the UAE because of the Covid-19 situation in India.The Challenge event is due to be held again this year, with the possible addition of that fourth team, but no dates have been confirmed and its viability could yet be affected by the rising number of infections in India.Mandhana, captain of the the Trailblazers, was also speaking on the Decoding Athletes podcast alongside Stokes and India men’s batter KL Rahul, and said it was “the right time to start” a women’s IPL in order to help the sport’s growth.””If you’re a young girl and you see people like you playing cricket at the highest level, that’s going to encourage you”•Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images

“I think the kind of performance last three-four years… IPL is all about youngsters and if you look at the current Indian team, the average age is around 23-24,” she said. “That shows that there are a lot of youngsters coming in so IPL is definitely going to boost women’s cricket and give the confidence in youngsters which we’ve seen in men’s cricket.”People who are making their debut are playing 145-150kph [bowling] like it’s a [regular] day at office, and you can’t feel that they’re nervous on their debut. So the IPL has had a huge impact in that and I feel the IPL will help women’s cricket as well. It’s the right time to start because if we really want to grow women’s cricket, especially in India, it’s the right time to start the women’s IPL.”Although the Kia Super League is now defunct, with a regional T20 tournament being put into place this year, the ECB has pushed to give the women’s Hundred a greater degree of parity with the men’s competition. The opening night of its new format will see the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals women’s teams go head-to-head in a standalone fixture at The Oval, with all of the other games played as double-headers on the same grounds.”When you switch on the Hundred as a young girl. you’re going to see men’s cricket and women’s cricket put on the same pedestal, the same branding, matches at the same venue, etc. I think that’s great and really important to do that, to change perceptions of getting people involved in cricket,” Knight said. “If you’re a young girl and you see people like you playing cricket at the highest level, that’s going to encourage you that it’s a sport for you.”Little things like playing the first-ever game of the Hundred as a women’s game is a really big step. It’s going to be a huge summer and hopefully the competition goes really well.”

Adelaide Strikers will back their impressive bowling attack to make their mark again

AAP26-Nov-2021Perth Scorchers import Sophie Devine is ready to carry Beth Mooney off the ground if her fellow star opener can put in one more heroic display in Saturday’s WBBL final against the Adelaide Strikers.Devine and Mooney have formed the best opening partnership in the WBBL, with the duo both named in the team of the season.National team mainstay Mooney has plundered a league-leading 528 runs at an average of 52.80 and a strike rate of 132 for the Scorchers this season, while New Zealander Devine has scored 407 runs at an average of 33.92.The duo loom as key figures against a powerful Strikers’ bowling attack that has strangled the Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades in back-to-back elimination final wins.Related

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A top of 36 degrees is forecast for Perth on Saturday, but Devine is confident Mooney will be able to handle both the heat and the Strikers’ attack.”She’s an absolute machine,” Devine said. “It probably doesn’t look like it at times in the past. I think I was watching replays of her in the Heat colours – she was crawling pretty much in between overs.”But she’s an absolute champion. She’s done this time and time again – not just in Australian colours, but for the Scorchers and for the Heat as well. I’ve got no doubt about her preparation. She’s the ultimate professional, she knows what she needs to do.”Fingers crossed she has a big one out there. If I have to carry her off, so be it, I’ll take that.”Strikers captain Tahlia McGrath was straight to the point when asked about the key to beating the Scorchers.”For us it’s about breaking the partnership of Soph and Moons really early. That’s going to be a crucial decider in the game,” she said.While the Scorchers earned direct passage into the final after finishing on top of the table, the fourth-placed Strikers had to win two elimination games in the space of two days to get there.Adelaide thrashed the Heat on Wednesday and destroyed the Renegades on Thursday before making the flight to Perth on Friday. McGrath is adamant her team won’t enter the decider weary.”Everyone was full of energy at the airport this morning,” McGrath said. “There’s a lot of belief, there’s a lot of fight in the group. It’s a dream group to captain when everyone knows their role and performs. We’ve definitely got one more left in us.”The Scorchers are hopeful of attracting a crowd in excess of 42,000 for the match at Optus Stadium.

Lindsay Tuckett, the former South Africa fast bowler who was the world’s oldest surviving Test cricketer, has died aged 97 in Bloemfontein

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2016Lindsay Tuckett, the former South Africa fast bowler who was the world’s oldest surviving Test cricketer, has died aged 97 in Bloemfontein. Tuckett played nine Tests for South Africa between June 1947 and March 1949.Tuckett made his first-class debut for Orange Free State in March 1935, shortly after his 16th birthday. When cricket resumed after the Second World War, Tuckett became one of South Africa’s leading bowlers and was picked for the tour of England in 1947, where he made his debut in the first Test at Trent Bridge.Tuckett began his Test career with a five-for, but was hampered by a groin injury on the tour and finished with 15 wickets in five matches at an average of 44.26. His next international appearance came during England’s [Marylebone Cricket Club] tour of South Africa in 1948-49. Tuckett bowled the last over of the dramatic Durban Test, which ended with a two-wicket victory for England, secured off the final ball. Tuckett’s returns in the series were four wickets for 316 runs, and he played his last Test match in that series. His tally of 19 international wickets included two five-fors.Tuckett took 225 wickets from 61 matches in a first-class between 1934-35 and 1954-55. This included a haul of 32 wickets in the 1951-52 season at an average of 17.59.Tuckett’s father was former South Africa Test cricketer Len, and his uncle, medium-pacer Joe Cox, was also a former Test cricketer.Former South Africa allrounder John Watkins is now the oldest living Test cricketer in the world, aged 93.

South African-born allrounder was isolated 30 overs into one-dayer in Chattogram

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2021Ruhan Pretorius has revealed he was in “a bit of a weird space” after his positive Covid test result led Ireland Wolves’ first one-day game in Bangladesh to be abandoned after 30 overs, only for him to discover a day later that the result was a false positive.Pretorius, 30, was born and raised in South Africa but has played club cricket in Ireland since 2015, and after relocating permanently, he will qualify for international selection through residency in 2022.Related

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He was not picked for the first-class game against a Bangladesh Emerging Team, meaning that the first 50-over game was his first appearance for an Irish representative team. He had taken one wicket in his first four-over spell as a first-change bowler, but was told to leave the field after 30 overs, with the match abandoned soon after.”It’s been the most bizarre few days, to be honest,” Pretorius said in an interview with Cricket Ireland. “We started the first game all testing negative for Covid – we had to be negative in order to get on the field according to the protocols. Then halfway through the first innings I was pulled off the field and the game was stopped. To then be told I was potentially Covid-positive was a shock.”I was isolated immediately from the team and was told to wear an orange suit – kind of like a sweat suit, but this one was for isolation. I then was taken in an ambulance to the team hotel, where I was immediately sent to the isolation room and spent the evening there.”To be fair, the team management were brilliant in managing the whole situation. I underwent two tests – an emergency test and another along with the rest of the team. Luckily both came back negative, and the medical staff advised that the original test was a false positive, so I was able to resume the tour.”I was in a bit of a weird space after trying to get used to being in isolation, and thinking worst case that I might be there for 14 days if I was positive. To deal with it mentally was challenging – I was preparing myself for the worst. However, after getting the two negative results, I just tried to re-focus and get back in my normal routine.”Pretorius returned to the side to top-score with 90, opening the batting, and then took 1 for 40 in his nine overs as the Wolves fell to a four-wicket loss with two balls to spare. The series continues with the third 50-over fixture on Tuesday.

The biggest loss by runs in PSL history also eliminated the Quetta Gladiators from the playoffs race

Debayan Sen16-Jun-2021A fluent half-century from Shan Masood, who hit 73, and a fantastic bowling and fielding display spearheaded by Imran Tahir, who grabbed 3 for 7, took the Multan Sultans to a thumping 110-run victory, knocking the Quetta Gladiators out of contention for the PSL playoffs. This is also the biggest margin of victory by runs in the league’s history; in fact, the Sultans overwrote the previous record by 39 runs.Put into bat by Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Sultans’ innings owed their early impetus to Masood, as he helped bring up 50 off six overs. There weren’t a lot of dot balls, with Mohammad Rizwan happy to work the ball around, as Masood found the boundaries with ridiculous ease. Standing tall, he peppered the arc between midwicket and covers at will, with the pick of the shots a firm on drive to a length ball from Usman Shinwari. Masood looked even more dangerous after the powerplay, smacking Mohammad Nawaz for six over midwicket before going straight down the ground for another maximum off the very next ball, en route to 50 off 26 deliveries.An all-too-brief fightback by the Gladiators
The introduction of Khurram Shahzad brought the Gladiators some hope, with Rizwan chopping him on to his off stump to start the ninth over, thus ending a 72-run association for the first wicket. Zahir Khan gave his team another lift by getting Sohaib Maqsood to miss one that turned into him to tickle the top of off, leaving the Sultans at 88 for 2 at the halfway mark.Johnson Charles started briskly, using the pace of Shinwari to guide him past third man for four early on, and this gave some breathing space to a tiring Masood. However, before holing out to long-on in the 14th over delivered by Hassan Khan, Masood would repeat the loft over long-off and smash over midwicket for six on the way to posting his highest PSL score in the process.The Sultans were left with an opening to surge on to a massive score, but Rilee Rossouw then skipped down the wicket to Hassan and top-edged an intended lofted drive towards square leg, where Usman Khan came running in from the deep to take a diving catch. Zahir then spun a web around Khushdil Shah, zipping googlies and conventional legspinners across him, while also inducing an edge for a sharp chance that Ahmed failed to latch on to in a 16th over that fetched the Sultans just one run off the bat.The final push and a sign of things to come
The Sultans ended up pillaging 49 off the last four overs, which really should have been contained had Hassan held on to a Charles flick off Shahzad that went through his fingers and hit the midwicket boundary skirting on the full when he was on 23. Charles eventually fell to Shahzad for 47, but by then having clubbed Mohammad Hasnain for four down the ground and whipping him over midwicket for six. Post that, some hefty blows from Khushdil Shah saw the Sultans through to 183.Ahmed had inserted the opposition hoping for some dew, but there didn’t appear any when the Gladiators began their chase. Jake Weatherald struck some meaty blows early on, picking up two slower balls from Sohail Tanvir, depositing the first over wide long-on before swinging the next down to fine leg for four. He welcomed Imran Khan with a gorgeous lofted extra cover drive for six, but at 27 without loss one ball into the fourth over, that was about as good as the evening could get for the Gladiators.Crash! Boom! Bang!
Imran got a sharp length ball to take Weatherald’s edge through to Rizwan, and two balls later, Cameron Delport skipped down the wicket and popped a slower ball to mid-off. Usman was run-out in comic fashion, having overrun a quick single after Ahmed tapped a ball to point, and thus not responding to his captain’s call for an overthrow in good time. At the end of the powerplay, the Gladiators were going at a run a ball, but had consumed 21 dot deliveries and three precious wickets in the process.Azam Khan then fell to a lazy waft off Blessing Muzarabani to leave the Gladiators at 46 for 4. They then lost four more wickets for just 13 runs, with Rizwan afforded the luxury of bringing on Tahir after nine overs. His first ball produced the wicket of Nawaz, who had batted competently for 10, run-out through a Tahir deflection at the non-striker’s end. Tahir then mesmerised the lower order, pinging Shinwari and Shahzad leg before after having induced a false shot from Hassan.Fittingly, the last wicket fell to Shahnawaz Dhani, who joined Wahab Riaz at the top of the wickets tally with 14. While the Gladiators are on their way out, Wednesday’s result might also have severely dented the hopes of the Karachi Kings following the significant boost to the Sultans’ net run rate.

The third Test in Melbourne continued despite cases in the wider England squad

AAP27-Dec-2021The New South Wales Government has declared they will do all they can to ensure the SCG’s Ashes Test goes ahead, guaranteeing players won’t be sidelined for a week as close contacts.Cricket Australia were able to breathe a sigh of relief on Tuesday, when all players from Australia and England returned negative PCR tests to COVID-19.That has at least in the short-term put pay to fears of a large outbreak in the England camp, after four non-playing members of their touring party tested positive to the virus.But bigger questions still await Cricket Australia. There had been fears that NSW’s close contact rules would force players into a week of isolation if they were near an infected person in a state that is averaging more than 6000 cases a day.That, in effect, had the potential to immediately kill off the Test if several players were close contacts and asked to isolate for a week under previous rules.However NSW Health’s claims on Tuesday mean that players would be treated the same as they were in Melbourne, and able to play on if they were close contacts.Likewise, NSW health minister Brad Hazzard promised that the Test would be able to go on with minimal issues if a player or further support staff contracted the virus.”The SCG Test is sacred, an important date at the start of the third year of our life with Covid-19,” Hazzard said. “I want to assure the cricket loving public, under our rules any players with exposure to a known case of Covid-19 would be asked to test and isolate only until a negative result was received.”If there are any cases within the teams, their support staff, or families, we will work with the people involved to ensure they are safe, and there is as little disruption to others as possible.”Cricket Australia are also confident they will be able to work with the Tasmanian government to ensure the fifth Test in Hobart goes ahead.Tasmania has had minimal cases of the virus and the threat of players and broadcasters becoming close contacts in Sydney could be an issue.However Tasmania’s willingness to host their first Ashes Test is key, after the state government helped fund a big-money bid to secure the match.Meanwhile the incubation period of Covid-19 means officials still have a nervous wait ahead in coming days to ensure the virus doesn’t spread further in England’s camp.No players had reported any symptoms before their PCR tests on Monday night, and play was able to start uninterrupted on day three in Melbourne.”Players from the Australian and England teams all had PCR Covid-19 Tests after play yesterday and all results have come back negative,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.”The families of both sets of players also had PCR tests yesterday and all returned a negative test. The England team’s support staff and their family members who tested positive after PCR tests yesterday are in isolation.”Australia have so far managed to get almost all matches played on home soil since the start of Covid-19 through its protocols.Only one Test has been postponed – against Afghanistan last summer. A one-day series against New Zealand was also called off when the pandemic first surfaced mid-series.Otherwise the BBL, WBBL and women’s internationals have got through unscathed, with crowds able to attend all major events bar the first closed-door sports event in Australia with an ODI against New Zealand in March 2020.”We’ve seen through the last 18 months [we can get games on],” CA boss Nick Hockley said. “I have to say I am so proud of the work of everybody involved, in particular thank the players but also the governments and health departments across the country. We’re having to learn to live with this.”

Partly driven by financial constraints, Kings XI Punjab have embraced an ethos of developing young talent, rather than splurging on superstars

Arun Venugopal14-Apr-2016Kings XI Punjab went into the auction ahead of IPL 2016 with a purse of Rs 23 crore. On their priority list were fast bowlers and a legspinner. By the time they had finished shopping, they had added eight players to their roster – two fast bowlers, three spinners, two batting allrounders and an uncapped Indian batsman – and they still had Rs 12 crore left in the purse. With only 22 players, Kings XI have the joint-smallest squad in the IPL.Much like Rajasthan Royals, King XI have always been known to run a tight ship and are loath to splurge on big stars. That they have only seven overseas players in their squad tells the story. “I am guided by the same principles that you use in selecting a national squad – pick only about 15 or 16 players,” one of the franchise’s officials told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the auction. “In an ideal world – and I understand it’s a long tournament – I want the starting XI to play all the 14 matches. It makes sense to have four [foreign] players and have back-ups if anybody is injured.”Ahead of IPL 2014, Kings XI similarly preferred functionality to reputation while appointing their coaching staff, opting for the then recently-retired Sanjay Bangar, known only for his mentoring skills with the India A and Railways sides, over accomplished names. Under Bangar, the first Indian coach in the IPL, Kings XI made the final. The captain, George Bailey, was thoroughly impressed with Bangar and said, “Everything you see and like about Kings XI starts with Sanjay Bangar. His knowledge of the game is wonderful.”Two seasons on, Bangar has strived to ensure that the team doesn’t deviate from its primary ethos. “Our strategy has always been based around getting good domestic players, catching them young and providing them the platform. You have seen our platform has helped players like Axar Patel, Sandeep Shama, Gurkeerat Singh, Anureet Singh and Rishi Dhawan,” Bangar said. “Players have played here as unknown quantities, and have progressed and gone on to play the next level. That has been the vision of our franchise as well. In that parlance, if you see, we always went for Marcus Stoinis who is one of the emerging allrounders from the Australian cricket circuit.”Bangar admitted that their player-acquisition strategy was dictated by small budgets, and said he didn’t see the need to dismantle the unit despite having won only three games and finished last on the points table last year. “All our strategy is based around a particular budget that the directors give us. From that perspective we have to optimise the selection strategies taking into account the budgetary constraints,” he said.”The players have been included with an eye on the future. We believe in giving continuity. We believe in their strengths, we believe in their ability to bounce back and turn the corner for the team. That is why we opted for continuity in the core group of players that we have in our team.”Bangar also suggested that the team was built bottom up, with the captain, David Miller, being chosen from among the players rather than the other way around. This, however, was not entirely by design, but dictated more by the constraints Kings XI faced. “Number one, there were very few options outside which were available. Most of the captaincy candidates who we were looking for who were coming out from the two teams [Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings] – Ajinkya Rahane or Suresh Raina or Steven Smith – were absorbed by the two new teams.”Taking that into account we wanted to have a captain who has played for the team quite a bit. The association with Kings XI was quite important among the available players, and we needed somebody who is young and who is dynamic, and we chose David.”Bangar was pleased with newly appointed mentor Virender Sehwag’s “hands-on” role in devising strategy and sharing pointers with the team’s youngsters. “He interacts with the boys a lot and the boys are going to benefit immensely from his inputs,” Bangar said. “As far as Sehwag goes, it is a continuation of our association we had with him as opening batsmen. We have opened together for India, in the last two-three years we have been player-coach, now we are coach and mentor on the same side of the management.”He is making some good contributions to the team in relation to the strategy, also most of the things we did at the auction were in consultation with him. He is quite hands-on and is involved in a lot of activities.”The Kings XI experience, Bangar said, had helped immensely in his evolution as coach. He also served as India’s batting coach for a while until his contract came to an end after the World T20. “It has been an enormous experience for me, in terms of running or managing the team in a set up like the IPL, wherein players from various age-groups and various levels of achievement are playing together. How do we integrate them, how do we handle them, how do we create a conducive atmosphere, and then again work with them to ensure that the team achieves the goal it wants. It has been quite a learning experience and I have benefited immensely from it.”