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The Dodgers and Blue Jays battled in the most thrilling World Series in recent memory, with the championship ultimately coming down to extra innings in Game 7.

Unfortunately for Toronto, one side winds up the loser, no matter how good the fight is, and the Blue Jays wound up on the wrong side of the budding Los Angeles dynasty.

But Toronto’s season was still something wholly special, and star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. acknowledged as much in a heartfelt note he shared on Instagram alongside some photos of the Jays’ incredible run.

Guerrero put up one of the greatest postseasons we’ve ever seen from the plate, and his bat was nearly enough to bring Toronto the title.

While they came up just short in 2025, Guerrero is signed with the Jays through 2039, and as he said, plans to be with the team for life.

Here’s an idea for the HBO executives looking for a fresh spin for the long-running summer series : Film the New York Giants’ quarterbacks room as they revive their baseball dreams. 

Yes, they’re busy with training camp for the upcoming NFL season. But filming Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston at a local baseball training facility in New Jersey before and after football practice would be TV gold. Countless pep talks and strange workouts leading up to another big-league shot for 30-something quarterbacks who were once MLB draftees. Rookie Jaxson Dart and Tommy DeVito can also be a part of the reality TV show, with both Giants quarterbacks having played baseball before focusing on football.

This TV show pitch basically sells itself, but Giants owner John Mara and GM Joe Schoen probably wouldn’t sign off on it after how poorly it went for them the last time they agreed to have TV cameras at the facility. 

Oh, well. We can at least highlight the baseball background of the Giants’ quarterbacks. 

In honor of Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game (and after I recently wrote about NFL players who could have played in the NBA), here are the five active NFL players who were drafted by MLB teams. We also have five NFL players who could have played baseball professionally in a different life. Or maybe it’s not too late. 

C’mon, TV executives, sign off on the pitch above. ….

Active NFL players drafted by MLB teams

Kyler Murray, Cardinals: Murray is the rare athlete who can say he was a first-round pick in two of the four major men’s professional sports leagues in the United States. A year before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, Murray was selected No. 9 by the Oakland Athletics. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmFw4F0Ajf0

Murray was a standout outfielder at the University of Oklahoma, where he also won the Heisman Trophy for his football exploits. Before his college football success, Murray was set on playing for the A’s, accepting a $4.66 million signing bonus before having to give it back when entering his name in the NFL draft. The 27-year-old is still young enough to attempt the feat of being a two-way star in the NFL and MLB.

Major League Baseball's home-run leader, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, smacked his 43rd homer of the season Friday night in a huge spot.

He stepped up to the plate as the Mariners trailed the Rays 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and two runners on base. Ahead in the count 2-0, he received an 87-mph sweeper low in the zone from newly acquired Rays relief pitcher Griffin Jax. Raleigh sent the pitch 417 feet and over the fence at T-Mobile Park to give the Mariners the late lead.

After the ball hit Raleigh's bat, Jax raised his arm in the air to direct his defense which became a hilarious moment since it flew far over the center-field fence.

In Jax's defense, it wasn't exactly a no-doubt home run and he didn't appear to put his pointer finger in the air, likely because he quickly realized Raleigh just hit a game-changing homer off him. Still, a funny moment nonetheless. After the three-run shot ended up in a 3-2 loss for the Rays, Jax acknowledged he put himself in a bad spot, getting behind on one of baseball's best hitters.

"There’s a reason he’s having a really good year," Jax said of Raleigh postgame via MLB.com's Daniel Kramer. "He’s a really good hitter. I’ve had a couple at-bats against him this year that have gone my way, so he’s seen me now three or four times. When I put myself in a hole 2-0, good hitters do that."

Raleigh's 43rd homer on the year widened his lead on Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber who has hit 41. In the American League, the next closest players to the "Big Dumper" are his new teammate Eugenio Suárez and Yankees star Aaron Judge, who have 37 homers apiece this season.

Davey Johnson, former Major League Baseball player and manager, died on Friday. He was 82.

Johnson played 13 seasons in the majors, spending the majority of his career with the Orioles, where he was a stalwart at second base. He was a part of two World Series championship teams in Baltimore, in 1966 and ‘70, and was named an All Star four times.

After leaving the Orioles, Johnson spent a few seasons with the Braves, hitting alongside Hank Aaron, before stints with the Phillies and Cubs, as well as a brief stay with the Yomiuri Giants of NPB.

Just six years after his playing career, Johnson got his first shot as a manager, taking over the top job for the Mets in 1984. He found notable success in Queens, including a World Series championship in 1986. He also became the first NL manager in history to lead his team to at least 90 wins in his first five seasons at the helm.

After his time with the Mets came to a close, Johnson briefly led the Reds, Orioles and Dodgers before leaving the game in 2000. He would return in 2011 to lead the Nationals.

The Orioles celebrated the life of Johnson with a statement.

Also: what is the highest total on the first day of any Test?

Steven Lynch29-Sep-2020Who scored a hundred in the IPL that included 11 sixes but only one four? asked David Dudgeon from Nigeria
It’s probably not a great surprise to discover that this big-hitting feat belongs to Chris Gayle: his undefeated 104 for the Kings XI Punjab against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali in April 2018 contained 11 sixes and a solitary four.When Andre Russell smashed 88 not out from just 36 balls – a strike rate of 244 – for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Chennai Super Kings in Chennai a few days earlier in 2018, he also hit 11 sixes and just one four. Sanju Samson’s recent blitz for the Rajasthan Royals against the Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah – he smacked 74 from 32 balls – contained nine sixes and one four. For the full list of the most sixes in an IPL innings, click here.Australia scored 482 for 5 on the first day against South Africa at the Adelaide Oval in 2012. Was that the highest total on the first day of any Test? asked Martin Gage from Australia
Australia hurtled to 482 for 5 in 86.5 overs on the first day against South Africa in Adelaide in 2012-13, mainly thanks to Michael Clarke, who was undefeated with 224 at the close; David Warner and Michael Hussey also made centuries.There has been one higher total on the first day of a Test, also by Australia against South Africa: on the opening day of the series in Sydney in 1910-11, they ran up 494 for 6, with opener Warren Bardsley scoring 132 and skipper Clem Hill 191. South Africa bowled 99 overs that day.The most runs on any day of a Test is 588, on the second at Old Trafford in 1936. England moved from 173 for 2 overnight to 571 for 8 declared, then India made 190 without loss before the close of a day on which around 140 overs were bowled.Does Graham Gooch still hold the record for the most runs scored in a single Test? asked Amitayu Sengupta from India
The short answer is yes: Graham Gooch scored 456 runs – 333 and 123 – for England against India at Lord’s in 1990, which remains the most in a single Test. The record he broke was 380, by Greg Chappell, who made 247 not out and 133 for Australia against New Zealand in Wellington in 1973-74.Since Gooch did it, three others have made 400 or more runs in a Test: Mark Taylor (334 not out and 92 for Australia against Pakistan in Peshawar in 1998-99), Kumar Sangakkara (319 and 105 for Sri Lanka v Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2013-14), and, of course, Brian Lara (400 not out for West Indies v England in St John’s in 2003-04.Only Lara (501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994) and Hanif Mohammad (499 for Karachi v Bahawalpur in Karachi in 1958-59) have scored more runs than Gooch in any first-class match. Next comes Don Bradman, who made up for being dismissed for 3 in the first innings by making 452 not out in the second for New South Wales against Queensland in Sydney in 1929-30.Graham Gooch made 333 in the first innings against India at Lord’s in 1990, and followed it up with 123 in the second•Getty ImagesThe Bob Willis Trophy final was a five-day match – when was the last time a non-Test in England lasted five days? asked Kieren Marshall from England
The exciting inaugural (and presumably only) Bob Willis Trophy final, between Essex and Somerset at Lord’s, was the first fixture scheduled for five days in England that wasn’t a Test since the MCC Bicentenary match, also at Lord’s, in 1987. Before that, the five games between England and the Rest of the World in 1970 were all scheduled for five days. They were marketed as Test matches at the time, but were later ruled unofficial.The last county game that reached a fifth day appears to be as long ago as 1834, when Yorkshire defeated Norfolk in Sheffield. I don’t think it was scheduled as a five-day match – back then it looks as if games were usually played to a finish, and this one was badly affected by the weather.I noticed that Kamran Akmal has more stumpings than catches in T20Is. Did any other wicketkeeper manage this? asked Iftikhar Rao from Pakistan
Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal made 60 dismissals in his 58 T20Is – 28 catches and 32 stumpings. Among keepers with more than 12 dismissals, the only other one with more stumpings than catches is Mohammad Shahzad of Afghanistan, with 26 and 28.This discrepancy is much more common in women’s T20Is, where several of the leading performers have more stumpings than catches, including the top two – Alyssa Healy of Australia, and England’s Sarah Taylor, who ended up with 51 stumpings to go with just 23 catches.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

He and the rest of the South Africa line-up will make sure they take the fight to England in the upcoming series

Mark Nicholas26-Nov-2020How many cricketers on this earth are a shoo-in for a World XI in all three formats of the international game? Not many. David Warner and Jasprit Bumrah, perhaps? Maybe not Virat Kohli right now, after an IPL that seemed to have left his T20 game somewhat in limbo. Then again, maybe Kohli is an unwise omission. Babar Azam? Kane Williamson possibly? Ben Stokes surely! And which of Kagiso Rabada, Jofra Archer and Pat Cummins, or all three? Trent Boult? Mitchell Starc? Ah, here’s one. Quinton de Kock. Yes, certain tick – Quinny the Quiet, with his gifts from the gods.You can argue the point, and doubtless will, but I can’t think of a wicketkeeper-batsman who maintains such standards while switching from one format to another. Jos Buttler and Wriddhiman Saha are potential contenders but de Kock has the title. Come to think of it, a single team can be chosen that would perform brilliantly well in all formats – the surest illustration of a game and its players that is moving into a new age. Increasingly, cricket allows for innovation – demands it, even – and the impact on the players has been to unlock their imagination.In the early 1970s the Dutch football team, inspired by Johann Cruyff, was credited with “total football”, a phrase loosely meaning that the 11 players could interchange roles without any obvious effect on their performance. This wasn’t quite true but it gave the magic a little extra myth. Holland lost the 1974 World Cup final to a pragmatic West Germany; of course they did: art undone by architecture.ALSO READ: Five areas of focus for South Africa as international season beginsSir Matt Busby is supposed to have said that George Best was not just the best player at Manchester United but the best player in every position – “but don’t tell Alex Stepney,” added Sir Matt. Stepney was the goalkeeper.Often it seemed that Cruyff and Best hypnotised their opponents, so flat-footed were the responses to their control and use of the ball. Neither saw this high level of skill as an excuse to not do the hard yards; both earned general respect for their all-round contribution to matches played in conditions good and bad. They were glamorous too, and typically surrounded by acolytes and parasites. Best was rather “looser” than Cruyff when it came to lifestyle, but in both cases the admission money was cheap at the price. It wasn’t just the dribbling – it was the dash and the derring-do.Cricket’s litmus test is the three formats and de Kock passes that test. Let’s deal with the keeping first. He catches the ball, which is a good place to start. It’s not an exemplary technique but with the keenest eye and a ball player’s natural hands, he gets the job done. Sometimes he flies like a bird to pluck the ball out of Johannesburg’s thin air, other times he stands on his regular spot, all understated humility, to gather it in like a clergyman accepting Sunday morning’s collection. Up to the stumps, he uses instinct above all else, waiting late to strike early. If the feet go, so too does his head and all is well; if they remain stuck, it’s those hands again, like lightning, to save the day. You wouldn’t swap him for anyone because of the possibilities. MS Dhoni was similar: an unorthodox in the clothes of the conventional.Now, let’s look at some QdK stats. 47 Test matches, strike rate of 71, five hundreds, 21 fifties, average a tad under 40; 121 one-day internationals, strike rate 95, 15 hundreds, 25 fifties, average 44.6; T20 strike rate 138.6, average 33.5. Very good.ALSO READ: Which players would make it to a current World Test XI?And at Adam Gilchrist – 96 Tests, strike rate 82, 17 hundreds, 26 fifties, average 47.6. 287 ODIs, strike rate 97, 16 hundreds, 55 fifties, average 35.8. T20 strike rate 140, average 27. Very good.Amazing really, both of them. Quite similar in their way. Richie Benaud thought Gilchrist the cleanest striker of a cricket ball he had seen, just pipping one Garfield St Aubrun Sobers to that place in the pop charts. Is it an advantage to keep wicket and open the batting, at least on the occasions when that is the sequence? Probably this is because the eyes have done their adjusting. But these occasions only apply for approximately half the number of matches they play. The rest of the time they are in the pack. Fact is, very few wicketkeeper-batsmen swing the bat with fear; it is as if the hard part is with the gauntlets on and the rest is easy.Perhaps the best thing we can say about them both is that, like Cruyff and Best, you make sure you are in your seat when they walk on out there. At the recent IPL, de Kock was quite likely to hit the first ball into the stands. This was never a slog, more a brushstroke with vigour. His cutting of the ball is killer, his shots over wide long-on as powerful as those of the big men, and he is only a slip of a thing but wiry-strong and blessed with timing. Only when he went rogue – ramping and scooping – did he miss. When he kept it straightforward, the sound of ball on bat was very Gilchrist. He’s a thrill a minute is the South Africa captain, with a hint of genius thrown in.

Sometimes he flies like a bird to pluck the ball out of Johannesburg’s thin air, other times he stands, all understated humility, to gather it in like a clergyman accepting Sunday morning’s collection

To the captaincy we come: the job in which when you win, you’re supposed to, and when you lose, it’s your fault. Captaincy is a hard-knock life, unless you’re Clive Lloyd with attack or Steve Waugh with other. Will de Kock rise with the responsibility or shrink with the burden? He needs his young players to grow up fast and his support staff to take care of the myriad off-field distractions that plague captains. He is not a waster of words but neither will he mince those words when needs must. Strong tactically, trusted and liked, his time has come in short-form cricket, and if it is his wish, will come soon enough in Test match cricket too. The trick for the selectors is to not paralyse him with promotions.This short series against England brings to end South Africa’s longest period without international cricket since returning from isolation in 1992. There will be rust in the joints and blips in the minds of all except those who were at the IPL. Now, of course, isolation has a new meaning and the coaches will be aware of the need to keep tabs on their number. The bubble is easier for some than others.The pitches at Newlands and in Paarl are likely to be slow, and the skill sets required to take a game by the scruff of the neck all the more demanding because of it. The South African IPL stock – de Kock, Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, and Lungi Ngidi – have all had plenty of time with bat and ball. Their names are a reminder that England will not have it all their own way, so too will the scoreline last February, when some nerve-shredding matches had folk jostling for position in front of TV screens.Mark Nicholas’ current all-format world XI

1. David Warner
2. Quinton de Kock
3. Babar Azam
4. Ben Stokes
5. Kane Williamson
6. Jos Buttler
7. R Ashwin
8. Rashid Khan
9. Jofra Archer
10. Kagiso Rabada
11. Jasprit Bumrah

It is clichéd to say that these matches mean a great deal to South African cricket. Chaos reigns within the corridors of power but attention is turning to those who play instead of those who administer, which is a boost for morale in itself. England’s willingness to return so soon after the last visit reflects a world that is joining up the dots. From the tour, South Africa will make something in the region of 70 million rand (approximately US$4.6m), crucial money at a troubled time. This will kick-start the television-rights pathway, allowing CSA to sell its wares far and wide.One thing we know, they all want to watch de Kock bat, and Stokes. They all want to watch Rabada bowl, and Archer. This is a golden age for sport on television simply because there is nowhere else for it to be. An empty ground promises little but realises a great deal. The IPL was proof of that, so too England’s summer series against West Indies and Pakistan. That the game has come together in this way is a thing of beauty in itself. Come Friday evening, 6pm South Africa time, don’t miss the moment when Archer sprints in to de Kock. It’s the knuckle of sport.Oh, and as for that team… in T20 batting order (to be tinkered with for a Test match by swapping de Kock and Williamson): Warner, de Kock, Babar Azam, Stokes, Williamson, Buttler, R Ashwin, Rashid Khan, Archer, Rabada, Bumrah, with Kohli the floater, stirred up and busting to stamp his authority on everyone and everything. And Boult (or Starc) in the party of 13. You could travel the world with that lot and not go far wrong.Mind you, it is a list without Rohit Sharma – such a talent! – and one that sorely misses AB de Villiers, whose retirement from Tests and ODIs still breaks the heart. In him is a bit of both Best and Cruyff, and of course, a signpost to “total cricket”. These may be far from the days of our lives but from sport comes a sense of optimism and the chance to marvel at performances that continue to evolve and entertain. We can be thankful for that, even without de Villiers at Newlands on Friday evening.

Statistical highlights from England’s highest successful ODI chase vs India.

Sampath Bandarupalli26-Mar-20210 Successful chases of 300+ targets by England in ODI cricket against India before the 337-run chase in Pune. England’s previous highest ODI chase against India was 266 during India’s first-ever ODI appearance in 1974.34 Sixes hit by India (14) and England (20) during this match, the third-most in a One-Day International and the second-most in an ODI hosted by India. England alone hit 20 sixes, the joint-most conceded by India in an ODI match. India’s bowlers also conceded 20 sixes against South Africa in 2015.Kuldeep Yadav alone conceded eight sixes. Only two bowlers have conceded more sixes in an ODI match; 11 sixes off Rashid Khan against England at the 2019 World Cup, and nine off Moeen Ali against West Indies in 2019.ESPNcricinfo Ltd10 Sixes hit by Ben Stokes during his 52-ball 99, the third most sixes by an England player in an ODI innings. Eoin Morgan struck a world record of 17 sixes during his 148 against Afghanistan in 2019, while Jos Buttler hit 12 against West Indies in the aforementioned game in 2019. Stokes’ 99 is also the lowest individual score to involve ten-plus sixes in an ODI innings.9.75 Economy rate of India’s spinners in this match, the second-worst for any team’s spin bowlers in an ODI where they bowled at least 15 overs. New Zealand’s spinners conceded 171 runs in 17 overs against England at an economy of 10.05 in 2015 at The Oval.13 Century partnerships between Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy in ODI cricket, the most by an England pair, surpassing the 12 century stands by Eoin Morgan and Joe Root. The Bairstow-Roy pair is also fifth on the list of most century ODI partnerships for the first wicket.ESPNcricinfo Ltd7 England players dismissed for 99 in ODI cricket, including today’s innings from Ben Stokes. The all-rounder is also the first player dismissed on 99 in ODIs against India since Andrew Flintoff in 2004. Stokes’ strike rate of 190.38 is by far the highest among the 49 scores of 99 in ODIs.5 ODIs, out of 26, won by England in India since 2003. Of those, this was only the second that they had won while the series was still on the line, the other instance being their nine-run win during the first game of the five-match series in 2013.Related

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6 Previous instances of a team chasing down a 300-plus target with more than six overs to spare. None of England’s 11 successful chases of 300-plus targets before the Pune win came with more than six overs to spare.4 Century partnerships in the second ODI; two each by India and England. It is only the second match in the history of ODI cricket with four century stands. The other such game was between India and Sri Lanka in 2009 at Rajkot.

This is far from a golden era of slip catching, but there are still some players who make a habit of taking stunners in the cordon

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2021Steven Smith

There are few better sights in cricket than a packed slip cordon – well, maybe it’s just me. But does this feel like a golden era of slip catching? I’m not going to delve into the percentage of dropped catches right here, but the gut feeling is no. A recent social media poll by our digital gurus posed the question of the dream cordon: Darren Gough’s was Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff. It’s an all-timer, for sure.The best of the current players? I’ve gone for Smith, who snaffles them pretty safely, and sometimes spectacularly, either against the quicks or the spinners (when he isn’t standing too deep and getting Shane Warne riled up). One of the more recent ones to stick in the memory is a full-stretch dive to remove Kane Williamson – should there be extra marks for the quality of the batter? – in Perth two seasons ago. Williamson edged Mitchell Starc in a day-night Test with the lights taking hold, and Smith was horizontal at second slip when he took it almost behind him. Would he make an all-time cordon? I might check the replies to that social post.#OhmyBroad: Ben Stokes’ grab at Trent Bridge in 2015, is an unforgettable Ashes moment•Getty ImagesBen Stokes

There’s probably a distinction to be made between great slip catchers and takers of great slip catches. Some of those vying for the all-time cordon pouched almost everything that came their way with soft-handed surety, but may have been less likely to fling themselves bodily for the one-percenters. And if there are fewer in the never-drop-a-chance category these days, perhaps it’s because the modern cricketer is more likely to get close to ones that would have zipped straight through in the past.Related

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Who has the best cover drive in the game today?

Anyway, while Stokes does put down more than the odd one, there’s no doubting his ability to pluck ’em from thin air – and it’s spectacular snags that do it for me. Exhibit A is, of course, the Aussie-scuppering, #OhMyBroad-inspiring, claw-assisted snatch of Adam Voges’ outside edge from fifth slip at Trent Bridge in 2015 – aerial, horizontal, behind him. But we’ve subsequently discovered this is just what Stokes does. See four grabs in a day in Cape Town (three of them full length, one an absolute screamer), or a regulation flying one-hander to dismiss Jasprit Bumrah in Chennai that he barely celebrates.My other candidate was Faf du Plessis, who might edge Stokes on reliability and could also pull off a worldie but was deemed ineligible having retired from Tests.Big ticket: Rakheem Cornwall can make the long journey down to take some outstanding low catches•AFP/Getty ImagesRahkeem Cornwall

It’s obviously no hindrance to be a natural athlete, but you don’t have to be one to be a good slip fielder. Think Mark Taylor.Several large men have fielded there – Warwick Armstrong and Inzamam-ul-Haq, to name two – so it’s perfectly natural for Rahkeem Cornwall to do so, blessed as he is with bucket hands and the meditative temperament of one who will always let the ball come to him rather than go snatching at it. It’s no surprise when he pulls off nonchalant catches like this one, when Rory Burns top-edged a full-blooded square cut his way at Old Trafford, but his unlikely party trick is the low catch, by his bootlaces – surely the most difficult feat for a man of his size to pull off. Have a look at this effort to send back Rashid Khan in Lucknow (at the 17-second mark here), or the famous low tumble to his right to end Mehidy Hasan’s resistance and complete West Indies’ 2-0 Test series triumph in Bangladesh. Is Cornwall the best slip catcher in world cricket? Who knows? Is he the most fun to watch? Most definitely.Ajinkya Rahane makes the tough catches look simple because of his soft hands•AFPAjinkya Rahane

I wonder if there’s a happy coincidence between being a good slip fielder and wearing either a cool floppy hat or a worn-out cap that has absorbed buckets of sweat over the years. Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh come to mind in the 1990s. In the 2000s, it’s hard to look beyond Mahela Jayawardene and Rahul Dravid.My pick from the current era is Ajinkya Rahane. Hat aside, I’ve picked Rahane because when he stands at slip to the spinner, he makes difficult catches look easy. Look at the ones he took to dismiss Steven Smith in the 2017 Dharamsala Test or Adelaide 2020. Whether Rahane is dealing with the turn of the subcontinent that needs him to stay low or the bounce of Australia and England, which calls for positioning further back, his anticipation, the ability to stay light on his feet to allow him to move either way, and his sound judgment of where he should stand means he takes most chances.

The first day of the fourth England vs India Test was a good one for quick bowlers, as 13 wickets went down

Sampath Bandarupalli02-Sep-202131 – Shardul Thakur completed his half-century in only 31 balls, the second-fastest recorded half-century in Test cricket for India. The fastest is by Kapil Dev off 30 deliveries against Pakistan in Karachi in 1982. In terms of strike rate, Thakur’s 36-ball 57 is the second-quickest fifty-plus score in Tests for India, behind Kapil’s 55-ball 89, also against England at Lord’s in 1982.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – Thakur’s is also the fastest-recorded half-century in Test matches in England. The previous fastest was by Ian Botham, in 32 balls against New Zealand in 1986, also at The Oval. It is also the third-fastest recorded fifty in Tests against England, behind Foffie Williams’ 28-ball fifty in 1948 and Tim Southee’s 29-ball effort in 2008.23.33 – Ajinkya Rahane’s batting average in Test cricket against England. It is the second-poorest average among players to bat in the top six for 20 or more Tests against a single opponent. Alec Bannerman had scored 1108 runs at an average of only 23.08 against England in 50 innings spread across 28 Tests between 1879 and 1893.11 – James Anderson has now sent back Cheteshwar Pujara on 11 occasions in Test cricket – his best against a batter in Tests, joint with Peter Siddle. Nine of those 11 dismissals have come in England, the joint-highest for any bowler at home against a batter in the last 20 years – Stuart Broad had the better of Michael Clarke on nine instances in home Tests, while Ben Stokes has fallen nine times off R Ashwin in India.7 – Ducks for Jasprit Bumrah is Test cricket in 2021, the joint-highest by an Indian in Tests in a calendar year. Bishan Singh Bedi also had seven ducks in 1974, all across ten innings. The only player to bag more ducks in a calendar year is Mervyn Dillion, ten in 2002.13 – Wickets to fall on the first day of the fourth Test, the most on the opening day of a Test match held at The Oval since 1983.

His collapsed back leg while defending on the front foot has often helped him, but it has also caused his downfall often in recent times

Shiva Jayaraman26-Dec-2021Cheteshwar Pujara’s lean run in Tests continued with his second duck in his last three innings. It’s been a while since Pujara has scored a hundred in Tests, but his form has dipped sharply in the recent past with his average falling below 45 – for the first time since 2012 – in the last couple of innings.While there could be other technical and psychological factors affecting Pujara’s batting at present, the persistent issue of his backward leg collapsing while going on to his front foot hasn’t gone away. His first innings dismissal on the first day in Centurion to Lungi Ngidi caught by backward short leg was perhaps the latest example of that.Pujara’s collapsed back leg while defending on the front foot has often helped him keep his hands low on pitches that don’t offer much bounce, but it has also caused his downfall much too often in the recent past. The flip side of a collapsed leg is that he doesn’t get as close to the pitch of the ball as possible, which leaves both edges of his bat vulnerable as it happend in this innings. Footwork data recorded by ESPNcricinfo shows that front-foot defence has indeed been an issue for Pujara: since the beginning of 2018, Pujara has been out defending on the front foot in 29 out of 65 Test innings. No batter in this period has been out defending on the front foot more often. Pujara gets dismissed every 40.3 balls playing the front-foot defence on an average, which is the seventh-lowest among 64 batters to have defended on the front foot at least 300 times in Tests since 2018.