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Match delayed by rain

NZ

211/5 (46.1/50 ov)

INDIA

County DIV 1

Live

HANTS

539 & 171/8d

WARKS

307 & 233/7 (79 ov, target 404)

Live

YORKS

208 & 211

ESSEX

328 & 34/1 (11.4 ov, target 92)

Live
SOMST

326 & 169

NOTTS

241 & 36/3 (16 ov, target 255)

Live

SURR

271 & 94/1 (36.2 ov)

KENT

369

County DIV 2

Live

DURHM

117 & 435/6 (122.1 ov)

LEICS

212

Tea

MIDDX

172 & 244

GLOUC

201 & 35/3 (10.4 ov, target 216)

Live

NTHNT

442 & 96/3 (33 ov)

LANCS

315

Tea

DERBS

108 & 377

WORCS

113 & 65/5 (35 ov, target 373)

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World Cup 2019

More ESPN

Edition IN

Read Columns, Articles, Quotes authored by Cricket Experts

732d

Live Report - India v New Zealand

8h

Karthik Krishnaswamy and Varun Shetty

Can Taylor, Guptill and Latham put behind their modest World Cup so far?

1d

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Manchester

Tactics Board: Where the India v New Zealand semi-final could be won and lost

22h

Srinath Sripath and Gaurav Sundararaman

It's been the World Cup of the yorker, and we love it

7h

Andrew Fidel Fernando

ICC World Cup 2019: Fixtures, results and coverage

12h

ESPNcricinfo staf

'Mentally and physically I'm right where I wanted to be' - Jason Roy

2d

George Dobell
Australia a great team, 'but we're a diferent sort of animal' - Liam Plunkett

1h

George Dobell at Edgbaston

'England have the chance to inspire a new generation' - Joe Root

22h

George Dobell at Edgbaston

Handscomb will treat semi-final as 'any game'

11h

Andrew McGlashan

England not scared of chasing - Bayliss

20h

George Dobell

Langer aims to nullify Bairstow-Roy threat

14h

Melinda Farrell

Do right-left pairs at the crease work? It's complicated

7d

Jarrod Kimber

Why the bat-ball balance now is probably the best it has been in ODI history

8d

Kartikeya Date

Beefy's day, Imran's day, New Day

9d

Sidharth Monga

Indian cricket's age-fraud problem

10d

Shashank Kishore

Why aren't there more true allrounders like Shakib in ODIs?

12d

Jarrod Kimber

How extreme pace is making a mark at this World Cup

13d

Sidharth Monga

West Indies gambled on Russell's knees and it hasn't worked

15d

Jarrod Kimber

'The 2015 World Cup semi-final made me realise that sport can change a nation'

15d

Interview by Alagappan Muthu and Deivarayan Muthu

Pakistan's think tanks are to blame for the Shoaib Malik problem

17d

Osman Samiuddin

Fernando's World Cup diary: Fifty shades of grey

10d

'Once you realise you'll survive without the game, you'll enjoy it for what it is'

18d

Sidharth Monga and Mohammad Isam

Pooran, Thomas and Allen handed first West Indies contracts

13h

ESPNcricinfo staf
Pakistan captaincy decision in PCB's hands - Sarfaraz Ahmed

2d

Danyal Rasool

You can try, but you can never out-Pakistan Pakistan

4d

Jarrod Kimber at Lord's

Mark Adair, Craig Young in Ireland squad for Lord's Test

1d

ESPNcricinfo staf

Shakib's masterplan: Allrounder's stellar showing was no fluke

2d

Mohammad Isam

Ellyse Perry bags seven wickets as Australia take 6-0 lead in Women's Ashes

2d

The Report by Valkerie Baynes

Move aside Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma is the true Universe Boss

3d

Nagraj Gollapudi in Leeds

What's Angelo Mathews' worth? He will remind you

4d

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Headingley

'Time was always against us' - Gibson on South Africa's World Cup

2d

Liam Brickhill

Du Plessis hints at staying until T20 World Cup

4d

George Dobell at Old Traford

It's not about the numbers, it's about the person you are - Duminy

3d

Sidharth Monga at Old Traford

Lyon begins the mind games - World Cup England's to lose

2d

Sidharth Monga at Old Traford

Khawaja, Stoinis injury doubts for semi-final; Wade, Mitchell Marsh called as cover

3d

George Dobell at Old Traford

Afghanistan board orders inquiry into Aftab Alam's 'misbehaviour' during World Cup

3d

Nagraj Gollapudi and Jarrod Kimber

Afghanistan have hit a bump on their happy road

4d

Jarrod Kimber

New Zealand to kick of their Test Championship in Sri Lanka

4d

ESPNcricinfo staf

Afghanistan set up maiden Test face-of with West Indies in India

3d

ESPNcricinfo staf

Bowling and fielding a massive letdown - Mashrafe

4d
Mohammad Isam at Lord's

At Lord's, a sea of green, a celebration of cricket, and a lesson for the future

4d

Melinda Farrell at Lord's

No 'miracle' for Pakistan but Sarfaraz Ahmed happy to go out on a high

4d

Mohammad Isam and Danyal Rasool

Du Plessis admits 'concern' over South Africa player drain as he considers international future

4d

George Dobell

No more World Cups, 'I don't intend to put my body on the line' - Chris Gayle

4d

ESPNcricinfo staf

Bairstow beats a shadow as Dhoni becomes one

4d

ESPNcricinfo staf

Decks cleared for Rahul Dravid to head cricket operations at NCA

5d

Nagraj Gollapudi

Sky Sports will show World Cup final on free-to-air if England qualify

4d

ESPNcricinfo staf

World Cup win can inject fresh (free to) air in English cricket

5d

George Dobell
Peter Handscomb replaces injured Shaun Marsh in Australia's World Cup squad

6d

ESPNcricinfo staf

Alex Carey quietly proves his mettle

5d

Andrew McGlashan

Harmanpreet, Blackwell set to return to Lancashire Thunder

5d

ESPNcricinfo staf

Afghanistan find accidental hero in Ikram Alikhil

5d

Jarrod Kimber at Headingley

Delissa Kimmince, Ellyse Perry star as Australia take control of women's Ashes

5d

The Report by Alan Gardner

Match Day live with Vettori, Agarkar, Kartik and Swann

2h

ESPNcricinfo writers index

13 Dec, 2018

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print

Sambit Bal

Daniel Brettig

Ian Chappell

Aakash Chopra

George Dobell

Andrew Fernando

Nagraj Gollapudi

David Hopps

Mohammad Isam

Jarrod Kimber

Steven Lynch

Sanjay Manjrekar
Andrew Miller

Sidharth Monga

Firdose Moonda

Anantha Narayanan

Mark Nicholas

Scott Oliver

S Rajesh

Osman Samiuddin

Sharda Ugra

Tim Wigmore

Andy Zaltzman

Live Report - India v New Zealand

1:03 PM

Karthik KrishnaswamyVarun Shetty

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The World Cup knockouts are here! First up, India v New Zealand at Old Traford. Get all your live
updates and analyses on ESPNcricinfo's blog (if it doesn't load for you, please refresh your page).

Can Taylor, Guptill and Latham put behind their modest World Cup so far?

Martin Guptill treads on his stumps Getty Images

8 Jul, 2019

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Manchester

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Ross Taylor was the second-best batsman in the world between World Cups 2015 and 2019. Martin
Guptill averaged 50.01 through the same period; Tom Latham a none-too-shabby 37.86. Where have
they been this tournament? Nowhere near their best.

Kane Williamson has, of course, done his best to fill the void, hitting a whopping 30.28% of his team's
runs - a higher proportion than even Rohit Sharma, who has made five centuries. But the extent to which
his senior top-order teammates have underperformed is staggering. None of Taylor, Guptill or Latham
has produced even 60% of the runs they would generally do, through the World Cup. Williamson,
meanwhile, has averaged twice his usual amount, to compensate.

Ahead of a semi-final meeting with arguably the most dynamic bowling attack in the World Cup, these
are the numbers the three misfiring senior batsmen must address immediately.

Part of Taylor, Guptill and Latham's relative slumps may perhaps be explained by the tougher pitches
New Zealand have had to play on during the tournament. In their three tight wins against Bangladesh,
South Africa and West Indies, only the match against West Indies saw the teams surpass 250. Ahead of
the semi-final against India, Williamson himself suggested this may have something to do with his
teammates' relatively modest returns.

"What we didn't quite expect coming into the tournament, was the large variety of conditions that we
faced," Williamson said. "That definitely made batting with any rhythm a real challenge for everybody, so
being able to adapt with the bat and just trying to contribute to what would be a competitive total is
certainly what the most important thing is.

"And the guys' mindsets will definitely be that going into tomorrow's match. We'll have to assess
conditions again. But a lot of surfaces in our round-robin play were conducive to only 230 or 240."

Although it is true New Zealand have played on tougher tracks during this tournament, the wickets have
not been so tough as to cause a decline of this magnitude. The mean batting average for the matches
featuring New Zealand between the last two World Cups was 29.96, while the mean batting average in
their matches this tournament is 26.50 - a dip of only 11%. Meanwhile, the combined output of Taylor,
Guptill and Latham at this World Cup has nosedived by over 51%.

Taylor's usual consistency has been missed, of course, but he has at least produced two excellent innings
in the tournament, against Bangladesh and West Indies. The bigger concern, however, has been Martin
Guptill's run of modest form. Following the 73 not out against Sri Lanka in a small chase, in their
tournament opener, Guptill's highest score is his 35 against South Africa - that innings cut short by an
unfortunate hit-wicket dismissal.

If New Zealand are to challenge India, however, it would appear that runs from Guptill are especially
crucial. Although New Zealand have had longer-term issues with their second opener, Guptill's generally
good form in between the last two World Cups has largely allowed New Zealand to build a platform
before the likes of Taylor come in and build happily upon those starts. There is a sense here that Guptill
is the key piece of New Zealand's batting puzzle, and the numbers bear that out. Since the end of the
2015 World Cup, New Zealand make a total of 299 on average, when Guptill makes at least 50. When he
falls for less than 30, the average total plummets to 244.

New Zealand have scraped to the semi-finals - their sixth appearance in the final four in the last eight
World Cups - thanks in part to the rain. Their campaign has been propped up by their captain, some
good performances from Jimmy Neesham, as well as their star bowlers in Trent Boult and Lockie
Ferguson. However, if they are to overcome an outstanding Indian side, it is likely they will need a much
stronger showing from their experienced top-order hands. Runs from Taylor, Latham and Guptill in
particular, may see New Zealand put up the kind of total they have typically made in between the World
Cups, rather than their more modest oferings in England.

Stats inputs from Shiva Jayaraman and Gaurav Sundararaman

Tactics Board: Where the India v New Zealand semi-final could be won and lost

play

India captain says that his side need to believe in themselves against New Zealand regardless of the
outcome of the coin toss (1:11)

10:42 PM

Srinath SripathGaurav Sundararaman

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1975. 1979. 1992. 1999. 2007. 2011. That's almost every other ODI World Cup, all editions in which New
Zealand have made it to the semi-final and exited the tournament. The 2015 edition was their first time
past the last four, and while they were league table-toppers then, they come into this latest one on the
back of three successive losses, pipping Pakistan to fourth place only on superior net run-rate.

India have arguably been the most dominant tournament side of this decade, with two trophies, one
runners-up finish, and semi-final runs in a World Cup and a Champions Trophy.

The two teams did not face each other in the league stage in 2019 thanks to a washout at Trent Bridge,
possibly the point that carried New Zealand to the semis. Trent Boult will argue otherwise, because his
incisive new-ball spell powered New Zealand to a victory against the same Indian side in the warm-up
game ahead of the World Cup.

Now, the past out of the way, here's a look at the future - where the first semi-final could be won and
lost.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Boult v the Rohit run machine

If you've watched him only at this World Cup, you would be forgiven for thinking Rohit Sharma doesn't
get out unless he decides to (or is done in by a marginal umpiring decision). He's dominated both pace
and spin en route a mammoth 647 runs from eight innings so far, already a contender for the GOAT
World Cup performance by a batsman.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Boult is one of those bowlers who has had Rohit's number. Boult has made good on what used to be
Rohit's Achilles heel in the past, an early tentativeness against inswinging deliveries from left-arm quicks.
Boult is one of the best in the business, and he produced one such peach to Rohit in the warm-up game,
one of the rare occasions Rohit has been late to a shot this tournament. Irrespective of whether India
bat first or chase, in what is expected to be a wet, windy day in Manchester, this could be a game-
changing match-up, whichever way it goes.

Does Lockie hold the key?

Express pace bowlers coming good has been one of the storylines of this World Cup, and Lockie
Ferguson has been up there with 17 wickets at 18.58 so far. He's among the few fast bowlers who can
breach the 145 kph mark regularly, the point where even the best batsmen start getting rattled. Roughly
a fourth of his balls have been in that high-speed zone, and his short deliveries have had the measure of
some of the best already.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India, though, have handled express pace rather well at this World Cup, and in recent times. They took
on Mitchell Starc, didn't give away a wicket to Jofra Archer, and targeted Mark Wood. Likewise, albeit in
diferent conditions in New Zealand, they attacked Ferguson throughout their ODI series win earlier this
year. Express pace remains a rare commodity at the international level, and an in-form Ferguson will be
looking to tip the scales back, especially if Boult can rock India early.

Two wristspinners - worth the risk for India?

Ever since the 2017 Champions Trophy, the point where India decided to invest in wristspin, rare has
been the occasion when one of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has been dropped. While Kuldeep
has had a tough time in the World Cup, he has largely been an economical option through the middle
overs at the very least, picking up key wickets from time to time like he did with that magic ball to Babar
Azam.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Against New Zealand, most particularly against Kane Williamson, the two have been lethal. Williamson
averages an uncharacteristically low 17.75 against Kuldeep and Chahal, having been pinned down by
both two times each. Ravindra Jadeja proved efective on a slowish wicket at Headingley against Sri
Lanka, and ofers batting insurance lower down the order. Will India take the brave call and unleash their
wristspin twins?

Will the Kane train carry New Zealand again?

Williamson is the single biggest reason New Zealand are in the last four - he's made 30% of their runs,
and no side has been as dependent on one batter as they have been on him. Whenever Williamson has
been dismissed for anything below 50, his side has sufered big defeats, against Pakistan, Australia and
England.

Strong bowling attacks have found a way to get the better of him, and luck deserted him when Mark
Wood's "smallest hands" deflected one on to the stumps at the non-striker's end. Tom Latham has
shown signs of returning to form after a horror run, while Ross Taylor is due a big one. Against one of the
better attacks in the game, how Williamson goes and, if he gets out cheaply, whether the rest of that top
order carries them, could be the diference between a second consecutive final appearance and another
semi-final exit for New Zealand.

It's been the World Cup of the yorker, and we love it

In this World Cup, a yorker has claimed a wicket once every 11.2 deliveries, as opposed to once every
26.4 deliveries in the 2015 edition Getty Images

1:20 PM

Andrew Fidel Fernando

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They know it's coming, you know it's coming, the commentators know, as do thousands in the stands. A
deep drumbeat resounds in collective minds, going faster and faster and faster. A bowler on a warpath to
the crease, wind rushing by. A vortex of limbs, a slightly angled arm and a diagonal seam. In response, a
raised bat, late on the shot, despite prior knowledge. It dips. Then it tails.

Bails still in mid-air, bat dropped in despair. An eruption. A firework. A howl of joy.

The yorker.

Is there a greater sight in this sport? In any sport? Zing stumps and bails might be immovable when
wimpy top-of-of-stump deliveries make contact, but there's no way they are not outright exploding in all
their flashing red glory for an on-target yorker.

ALSO WATCH: Michael Hussey shows how to tackle yorkers

In a way, light-up woodwork does not seem like celebration enough. There should be a thunderous
yorker klaxon, a blast of technicolour confetti, and lightning in the skies whenever a bowler sends bails
flying with this ball. Teams should have specific celebrations for yorker wickets. Tens of thousands of
paying spectators should be simultaneously launched from spring-loaded seats, ten metres into the air,
for the benefit of the television audience.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Nothing has defined the 2019 World Cup like the yorker. Not even, hard as it tried, bad weather.
Everywhere you looked, almost every team had an outstanding purveyor of this stuf. Mitchell Starc
phased one through alternate dimensions and right into poor Ben Stokes' unsuspecting of stump in a
particularly high-profile entry into the great halls of yorkerdom. Lockie Ferguson roughed Faf du Plessis
up with a bouncer at the throat before rattling his of stump - the old-school, sepia-tinted, one-two
combo. Trent Boult, conjurer of swing, took an entire hat-trick worth of yorkers (one was technically a
very low full-toss, but let's please not nitpick). Dawlat Zadran, Jason Holder, Stokes himself, Mohammed
Saifuddin and even Bhuvneshwar Kumar all reaped wickets from the delivery, before Shaheen Afridi, the
freshest fast-bowling phenomenon from Pakistan, the spiritual home of the yorker, did right by the
tournament, and the craft, by signing of with a pair of imperious yorker wickets of his own.

But of course, it was someone else who delivered the most consequential deliveries of the World Cup. It
was the prevailing granddaddy of the yorker who defibrillated this tournament, bringing it to gasping life
when it seemed set on a long, lifeless trudge to the semi-finals, and what did he do it with but, of course,
the yorker.

Oferings from the younger, faster bowlers might have been flashier, but Lasith Malinga's are the yorkers
you want to grow old with. They are still quick enough when required, deliciously slow when you need
them to be, dipping deviously, and reverse-swinging not from side to side but right into the ground, such
is the force generated by his singular action. Out of bowlers who have taken wickets from bona-fide
yorkers - ones that pitch exactly in the blockhole, and not a few inches further up or down - no one has
more dismissals this tournament than Malinga's five.

ALSO READ: Mitchell Starc: chained to his yorker and liberated by it

This is a sublime resurgence, because thanks to T20 cricket, the yorker was very recently deemed to be
going out of vogue. It is too high-risk a delivery, analysts said, because if a bowler even slightly under-
pitches, a batsman merely sits deep in his crease and clobbers what is now a half-volley way down the
ground. Other batsmen have learned to drill it through the of side. Yet more - the audacious ones - have
begun to scoop it over their shoulders, to the fine-leg boundary.

In the 2015 World Cup, yorkers were hit for almost a run a ball, and yielded a wicket only once in every
26.4 deliveries, but this time they have been vastly more profitable for bowlers. The batting strike rate
against the delivery at this World Cup has been 34% lower than it had been four years ago, and the
yorker has brought a wicket at an astounding rate of once every 11.2 deliveries.

Malinga's yorkers have claimed the wickets of Steven Smith, Quinton de Kock, Jos Buttler, Dawlat Zadran
and Hamid Hassan this World Cup Getty Images
All this with the finest yorker bowler in existence yet to bowl a truly memorable one. Jasprit Bumrah has
been slinging them down with the accuracy of some overpowered video-game freak, furious pace and
all, but has only removed two batsmen with it. Perhaps batsmen are more wary against him. More likely,
they have been lucky. Or is Bumrah saving his yorker wickets for the knockouts?

Whether this yorker wave is sustainable remains to be seen. Once data has been accrued across
franchise T20 tournaments for another year or so, we'll know whether this World Cup has been a
dazzling blip or the start of a long-term renaissance. What we know for sure, is that we have been in the
midst of outstanding yorker bowlers, some of whose teams are still alive in this tournament. Starc is
there, as are Boult and Ferguson, while Bumrah also lurks. It would only be right if Jofra Archer delivered
a stupendous one of his own.

Bouncers are a spectacle too, but they risk bodily harm, and so you often sympathise with the assailed.
Yorkers, more than any other fast-bowling delivery, bestow a sense of professional incompetence upon
the defeated batsman. It's rebellious fun, because in an era of outsize ODI averages, an expanding
repertoire of shots, and bats bigger than batting brains, batsmen are basically the Man.

Do you want to be on the side of the Man? No? To hell with those jerks. You've got to love a yorker.