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Andrew McGlashan in Brisbane06-May-2019The Australians, including Steven Smith and David Warner for the first time in more than a year, had to scramble for a one-wicket victory against a New Zealand XI including just five of the World Cup squad after suffering a batting collapse on the first of three practice matches at Allan Border Field.Having earlier restricted the New Zealanders to 215 they stumbled from 2 for 122 to 9 for 205 leaving the final pair of Jason Behrendorff and Adam Zampa to edge them across the line as darkness fell and save the blushes of a middle order that produced some poor shot selection.For all the excitement at the end, the result of this match won’t be hugely significant in the bigger picture but it was the latest milestone in the comeback story of Warner and Smith, pulling on the Australian colours for the first time since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. They are likely to face more hostile crowds over the next few months than the 1000-plus of friendly local support that gathered on a public holiday. “Welcome back, Smithy” came a lone voice as the Australians took the field in the morning and both were greeted by warm applause as they walked to the crease. In England, however, things are expected to be a bit different.One of the more intriguing aspects of the day was a small message in how Warner was used: it doesn’t matter how good your form is, you may have to take on a new position in the team as he was slotted in at No. 3 despite only once in 104 ODI innings having not opened.As it was, Warner arrived at the crease in the first over of the chase when Usman Khawaja was bowled by Matt Henry playing an expansive drive and, after an iffy start where he was dropped at gully before scoring, cantered his way to 39 off 43. Smith, who earlier took a terrific one-handed diving catch that will have given the troublesome elbow a good test, got himself settled before falling for 22 and the innings stuttered.Marcus Stoinis was caught behind from a loose drive, Shaun Marsh slashed to gully and Alex Carey nicked a wild shot to leave it to the bowlers. Nathan Coulter-Nile tried to muscle the Australians over the line but was lbw to Todd Astle with 11 still needed.David Warner takes the field•Getty Images

In the weeks leading up to Warner and Smith returning, Australia strung together eight consecutive ODI wins. One of the key parts of that was the success Khawaja and Aaron Finch had together at the top of the order. What the top order looks like at the World Cup remains one of the questions Australia need to answer. In all likelihood various combinations will be used during the three matches against New Zealand, and the odds still favour Warner opening come the tournament, but the fact he didn’t get first crack was a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.Warner didn’t quite middle everything from the off, perhaps still adjusting to the change in conditions from the IPL to Brisbane. He almost spooned his first ball close to backward point then nearly offered a return catch to Henry, who should have had him in his next over when Daryl Mitchell spilled a chance at gully, but was soon dispatching deliveries to the boundary. He took a particularly liking to anything Doug Bracewell dropped short before trying something a little too inventive off Astle and top edged a reverse sweep.Smith had been given a tough net session by the Australian quicks yesterday but looked reasonably assured in the middle, one straight in particular standing out, until he was caught behind off Henry as Australia’s collapse was set in motion.The player who was a shining light for the men’s team during a difficult home summer, Pat Cummins, had got the day off to a lively start when he struck twice in the opening over to send back George Worker and Henry Nicholls.From there, the New Zealanders recovered impressively through a third-wicket stand of 137 between Will Young and Tom Blundell. Young, recently handed a central contract, is the next in line behind the incumbent batsmen while Blundell earned the final spot in the World Cup squad when he was preferred ahead of Tim Seifert as back-up wicketkeeper.After laying a foundation following the early losses both started to expand their strokeplay; Blundell launched Behrendorff into the grandstand over deep square and Young later peppered the same area. However, when Young clubbed Coulter-Nile to deep midwicket and Blundell fell four overs later and the innings went into a nosedive as the New Zealanders lost 8 for 78.Cummins, Behrendorff and Coulter-Nile each finished with three wickets while Adam Zampa nipped out Mitchell with a stumping. Kane Richardson, who is one of the standby pacemen for the World Cup along with Josh Hazlewood, and would be in line for a call-up if Jhye Richardson doesn’t recover from his dislocated shoulder, went wicketless and will hope for another chance in the next two matches. Australia will hope to bat better.

Lewis Gregory claims career-best 11 for 53 as Somerset open up 26-point gap at the top of Division One

ECB Reporters Network13-Jun-2019Kent lost their last eight wickets inside 46 minutes as Specsavers Championship leaders Somerset dodged the showers to clinch a dramatic 10-wicket win on a rain-affected final day in Canterbury, opening up a 26-point gap at the top of the Division One table.The West Country county feared any potential victory dash would be thwarted by yet more rain. Having already lost the first and third days of this match to bad weather, the players could only look on as showers returned to wipe out a further 33 overs of the fourth and final morning.But the clouds finally moved on and the drizzle abated enabling a 1.45pm re-start that inspired Somerset and seamer Lewis Gregory, in particular. Fresh from a first-innings career-best of six for 32, Gregory mopped up 5 for 21 as Kent’s last eight wickets fell for 27 runs in the space of 62 balls.Resuming their second-innings of 24 for 2 from day two of the game – an overall match deficit of six runs – Kent soon found themselves in even deeper in trouble. The hosts were only two runs ahead overall when Harry Podmore, Kent’s nightwatchman, played back and across the line to Jack Brooks and became the 11th leg before victim of the game.Gregory then grabbed centre stage with three more, quickfire wickets to secure only his second 10-wicket match haul in first-class cricket as well as sensational best-ever match figures of 11 for 53.Gregory had Daniel Bell-Drummond, Heino Kuhn and Alex Blake all caught in the slip cordon, while Jamie Overton chipped in by having Sean Dickson caught at slip for a battling top-score of 22.Ollie Robinson and veteran Darren Stevens moved Kent’s score beyond their all-time lowest total against Somerset – 55 scored at Tonbridge in 1926 – before Stevens and Grant Stewart both fell lbw in a double-wicket maiden from Craig Overton.Gregory duly landed the coup de grâce and took deserved possession of the match ball by having Robinson well caught by keeper Steve Davies off a thick inside edge.Kent’s capitulation left Somerset to score 30 for their fifth win of six starts, which openers Azhar Ali and Tom Abell achieved at the canter within 40 balls and without loss of wickets. Somerset banked 19 points while Kent took only three from their fourth defeat of the season.

Australia survived the loss of early wickets and a Trent Boult hat-trick to cruise to an 86-run win at Lord’s

The Report by Alan Gardner29-Jun-2019As it happenedBig-game temperament, they said. On a decent run of form, with players coming back in who will strengthen them further. Know how to win a World Cup (or five). Plenty of observers warned the real Australia would turn up at this tournament, though fewer predicted they would be the first team to secure a semi-final place. But after brushing aside the early pace-setters in this round-robin format, Australia look increasingly – and menacingly – close to their best once again.Watch on Hotstar (India only): Highlights of Alex Carey’s match-turning inningsNew Zealand removed Australia’s openers cheaply, chipped away at the middle order and then finished off the innings with a Trent Boult hat-trick – the first in ODIs at Lord’s. That Australia managed to make as many as 243 for 9 was largely down to a century partnership between Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey, the latter batting more fluently than anyone else on the day. Mitchell Starc then corralled a record third World Cup five-for, as a relentless, ruthless and (admittedly) slightly hotchpotch attack dismantled New Zealand.Alex Carey pulls to the boundary as he takes the fight to New Zealand•Getty Images

The key wicket, that of Kane Williamson, was claimed by Starc, whose 5 for 26 saw him overtake his tournament-leading tally of 23 wickets from the 2015 World Cup. New Zealand’s captain had not previously been dismissed by Starc in ODIs – a record which included their group-stage encounter four years ago, when Williamson thundered the final six that sealed a barnstorming one-wicket win in Auckland. At Lord’s, it never got anywhere near so close.Having recovered from 92 for 5, Khawaja anchoring the innings from the fifth over to the 49th – when he became the first part of Boult’s late-swinging yorker tryptich – Australia simply preyed on New Zealand’s insecurities with the bat. Williamson’s 40 included being dropped twice and Ross Taylor was the only other player to get past 20 as the challenge of going at almost five an over on a tacky pitch proved too much.WATCH on Hotstar (US only): Full match highlightsAustralia captain Aaron Finch was able to cycle through as many as four part-time bowlers, including himself, as his three premier quicks plus the orthodox spin of Nathan Lyon kept New Zealand tied down. Never was the sense greater that momentum was with Australia than when Steven Smith was brought on to bowl an over of legspin and promptly claimed his first ODI wicket in five years, as Colin de Grandhomme picked out long-off.Finch, Smith, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell combined for figures of 9-0-43-1 and that in itself provided a measure of Australia’s eventual dominance. None of the big four went at more than 3.60 an over, with Jason Behrendorff backing up his five-star performance against England by removing both New Zealand openers in an opening spell that was extended to nine overs; and Nathan Lyon claimed his maiden World Cup wicket to suggest Australia have found the right balance for the slower surfaces that have predominated in the tournament.New Zealand were left to ponder another stuttering batting display, which leaves them facing a potentially nervous final group game against England next week. The move to bring in Henry Nicholls for Colin Munro at the top of the order brought only limited success – although an opening stand worth 29 was still New Zealand’s third-best of the competition – while despite starting well with the ball, Ish Sodhi’s legspin was underused and Williamson resorted to bowling himself for seven overs during the pivotal stand between Khawaja and Carey.Williamson perhaps reasoned that his offbreaks were more likely to trouble the pair of Australia left-handers – with both Sodhi and Mitchell Santner turning the ball into the batsmen – but it reinforced the nagging sense that New Zealand are overly reliant on their captain.He did eventually remove Carey, caught at cover looking to press the accelerator in the final Powerplay, though by that time Australia had fought their way back into the contest. Khawaja was largely becalmed, scoring only two boundaries in his first 100 balls, but he proved an adept foil for the more dynamic Carey, who continued his excellent form by scoring more than two-thirds of the runs during their 107-run stand.On a day highlighted by several brilliant catches – Martin Guptill’s to dismiss Smith, James Neesham’s off his own bowling to remove Glenn Maxwell, and Smith off Tom Latham all deserved a mention in dispatches – it was a missed chance that may have proved most significant. Khawaja’s second ball, driving at Boult, flew hard and low off the outside edge only for Guptill to shell it going one-handed to his right from second slip.On a roasting day in the capital, Australia had chosen to bat but, for only the second time in the tournament, Finch and David Warner could not provide a significant foundation. Boult rapped Finch on the knee roll and Warner was the first of a brace of short-ball breakthroughs for Lockie Ferguson, with Smith then plucked brilliantly by Guptill after pulling sweetly but within range of short fine leg; but although neither Stoinis nor Maxwell could produce the goods in the middle order – Australia’s one area of minor concern – they nevertheless found a way to get away.The innings juddered to a halt as Boult struck the stumps of Khawaja and Starc, then had Behrendorff lbw to complete the first World Cup hat-trick by a New Zealander. But it was Australia who ended the day emphatically on top.

Senior batsmen Nicole Bolton made herself unavailable for selection while Elyse Villani was left out, as was Sophie Molineux who is recovering from her shoulder injury

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2019Heather Graham and Erin Burns received their maiden international call-ups, with Australia women naming a 14-member squad for the upcoming six-match limited-overs tour of the Caribbean, beginning on September 5.

Australia Women tour of the West Indies

Sept 5 – First ODI, Antigua
Sept 8 – Second ODI, Antigua
Sept 11 – Third ODI, Antigua
Sept 14 – First T20I, Barbados
Sept 16 – Second T20I, Barbados
Sept 18 – Third T20I, Barbados

Senior batsman Elyse Villani and spin-bowling allrounder Sophie Molineux, who were both part of the victorious Ashes touring party last month, missed out. Molineux, one of the stand-out performers in the one-off Test on the Ashes tour, has a shoulder injury, while Villani’s exclusion comes in the wake of her non-selection through the seven-match multi-format Ashes.Opener Nicole Bolton, who did tour the UK for the Ashes after missing the previous series against New Zealand as part of her five-month break from the game, was unavailable for selection for the West Indies tour that will feature three ODIs and three T20Is.Products of Australia’s robust domestic and pathway set-ups, 23-year-old Graham and 31-year-old Burns were both part of the Australia A squad that toured the UK last month.Batting allrounder Graham was named Domestic Player of the Year in February on the back of an impressive season with Western Australia and Perth Scorchers. In the 50-over Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) last season, Graham scored 294 runs at an average of 49 including one century and three fifties. In the T20 format, too, she made a mark, picking 22 wickets at an average of 16.95 for Scorchers in the WBBL, to jointly top the wicket-takers’ chart with Brisbane Heat’s Delissa Kimmince.Burns, who recently signed up for New South Wales (NSW) Breakers, meanwhile, is a more experienced campaigner. Having played her age-group cricket in her native NSW, she moved to Tasmania and more recently to the Australian Capital Territory in 2018-19, before switching back to NSW, who offered her a contract for the 2019-20 summer.In the WNCL last season, Burns, who bowls offspin, took ten wickets at an average of 19.2 and finished fourth on the wickets tally. As a middle-order batsman, she was a big contributor as Sydney Sixers made the WBBL 2018-19 final, making 250 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 129.53. Burns stood out with her fielding, too, having memorably put in a desperate dive to deny a victory-securing boundary off the final ball in a humdinger of a semi-final.Heather Graham makes a call after hitting into the leg side•Getty Images

Speaking of the uncapped pair’s inclusion, national selector Shawn Flegler said, “Heather was named the Domestic Player of the Year last season and was a member of the National Performance Squad as well as Australia’s ‘A’ tour to England, so we know exactly what she is capable of with both bat and ball. Her skills with the ball will add further depth to the team’s pace bowling stocks while her batting ability could see her play an important role in the middle-order.”Erin has also been a stand-out performer at domestic level and has had to bide her time for a national call-up. A handy middle-order batter, her off-spin will help to fill the void created by the omission of Sophie Molineux.”Flegler stressed that the plan was to try out a pool of uncapped players who could potentially stake a claim for a place in the squad for the home T20 World Cup next year.”These selections reinforce our desire to select players with a view to the T20 World Cup next year, who offer versatility, can play a designated role and offer skills in a number of different facets of the game,” she said. “Elyse unfortunately couldn’t force her way into the playing XI in the recent Ashes series and the selection panel believes the first round of WNCL is an ideal opportunity for her to redefine her batting and present a strong case for selection ahead of a busy summer.”Nicole has made herself unavailable for selection and we are working closely with her and the WACA to provide her the support she needs as she continues to manage her health.”Sophie will also miss the tour to give her the opportunity to focus on her shoulder rehab after a large workload over the last seven weeks. With a big season ahead, including the World Cup, it’s important she gets her body 100 per cent right and this break will hopefully allow her to do that.”Australia squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Rachael Haynes (vice-capt), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Heather Graham, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Australia coach says team won’t be swayed from pre-series plans for how to win in England

Daniel Brettig in Leeds20-Aug-2019Australia’s coach Justin Langer insists his team will refuse to allow themselves to be drawn into a battle of fire-and-brimstone pace for the Ashes in the wake of Jofra Archer’s trail of destruction at Lord’s, forcing Steven Smith out of the Headingley Test with concussion and generally shaking up the touring batsmen in ways they had not fully expected prior to the series.Langer’s words underlined how deeply Australia have committed to a blueprint for winning the urn in England for the first time since 2001, and also suggested that Mitchell Starc’s fiery spell in the nets at Leeds, clean bowling David Warner and then striking Marnus Labuschagne in the helmet grill after the fashion of Archer on the final day at Lord’s, would not push him ahead of James Pattinson in the queue of fast men to refresh the touring attack.At the same time it also offered the possibility of retention for Cameron Bancroft as Warner’s partner, with Labuschagne’s fully fledged inclusion the only change to the batting line-up. “We know what our plans are to beat England. What we’re not going to do is get caught up in an emotional battle of who’s going to bowl the quickest bouncers,” Langer said. “We’re here to win the Test match, not to see how many helmets we can hit. And that’s the truth, we are literally here to win the Test match and we have our plans on how we think we can beat England.ALSO READ: Head brings out the stem guard after blow to Smith“Mike Atherton said a really interesting thing to me the other day: ‘It seems a really different Australian team, in the past you puff your chests out, you grow your beards and you’re all tough and see if you can bowl as fast as you want. This isn’t as macho as before.’ We’re here to win the Test match, not to see how many bruises we can give, that’s not winning Test matches, trust me, you can’t get out with a bruise on your arm.”So we’ll pick the team we think will win it, this is a different ground, we think the wicket will be quite slow, it’s not going to be as fast as some of the other wickets we’ve seen, my understanding of everything we’ve been told about playing here. So I’m sure the bouncer will still be part of every bowler’s armoury, if it helps us get batsmen out then we’ll use it, otherwise we’ll keep sticking to the plan.”One of the hardest things for a touring team to do in an Ashes series is to stay the course of whatever plans had been set, in the face of on-field pressures, internal demons and the unrivalled level of outside “noise” emanating from former players, media and the public. “We keep talking about it … you’ve got to play on skill, not emotion,’ Langer said. “And it’s hard for young players, even senior players.”You can get caught up in the atmosphere, you can get caught up in the contest. But it’s not an ego game – you’ve got to just keep trusting your skill, keep watching the ball like a hawk. I keep saying simplify as much as possible so we’re winning on skill not emotion. But it is a challenge. That’s the challenge of mental toughness, that’s the challenge of concentration, that’s the challenge of what the champion players do over the good players. The only way you get better at it is by being exposed to it and I’m sure we’ll be exposed to it this series.”That being said, Langer did concede that Archer’s pace had made a difference to the series in that it now meant Australia’s batsmen in particular would need to, at times, fall back on the lessons learned from playing many matches against fast bowlers on bouncy pitches back home, as opposed to the seam and swing challenges billed before the series as being the touring team’s biggest obstacle to success.”Our guys play a lot of short-ball cricket in Australia. We tend to play on bouncy wickets. We play on the WACA, we play on the Gabba,” Langer said. “So they’re used to playing off the back foot, and I’m sure they’ll prepare accordingly. England will be the same, I’m sure they’ve got plans how they’ll get our batsmen out, not just knock them out, so they’re working hard on it. We know Jofra’s a very good bowler, we saw what he can do the other day.”We know Stuart Broad’s a brilliant bowler, we know Chris Woakes is really hard work, we’ve seen how Stokes comes in and runs in with that energy and passion every time he plays, so we know we’re up against it, and we’re really going to be ready for that. We have to be, otherwise we won’t win the series. We’re expecting James Anderson to swing the ball, seam the ball and we’re going to have to be really tight in our defence.”He [Archer] certainly brings a different dimension to the game and we saw he bowled quick, but also his economy rate was incredible, I think he went for just over one run an over, that is unbelievable bowling, it’s skilful bowling and he bowled some fast bouncers in between. That’s Test cricket, that’s what we love about it, that’s what gets you, you know you’re awake, you know you’re alive when you’re facing fast bowling. That’s what Test cricket’s all about, it’s bloody brilliant.”The other significant change to the series at Lord’s was the inclusion of Jack Leach as England’s spin bowler, with his resultant combination of economy and wickets allowing Joe Root to turn up the pressure on the Australians to a huge degree. Moeen Ali’s eclipse by Nathan Lyon had given Australia a marked advantage both batting and in the field, but Leach’s Lord’s effort meant that Lyon was outbowled by an England spinner for a rare occasion since the retirement of Graeme Swann.”He gives them another dimension, England, with a specialist bowler,” Langer said of Leach. “I mentioned before the second Test match I thought the Lord’s wicket looked very dry. I think this will be similar actually. With the footmarks that will come at our left-handers they’re going to have to be on top of their game. Again, like facing Jofra’s bouncers, we’re going to have to have a really good plan of how we’re going to face him bowling out of the rough. That’s all part of the test of playing Test match cricket.”

“But then at certain times you have to assess the strength of the opponent and make your strategy accordingly.”

Umar Farooq05-Sep-2019There is a perception around Misbah-ul-Haq that he is a bit defensive. The man has hit the second-fastest hundred in Test history and led Pakistan’s team to No. 1 in the longest format and yet he was typecast as tuk-tuk. That nickname hasn’t had much occasion to pop up in the last few years but now, in his first press conference since being appointed Pakistan’s new head coach and chief selector, the issue cropped up again as people wondered about the nature of a team under his charge.For his part, Misbah wants his players to play attractive cricket. “I have been saying this forever that there is some confusion in the way we are thinking about being defensive and aggressive,” he said. “I always believed that your strategy is based on the resources you’ve got. Ideally, you obviously try and wish to have resources that you can just dominate and knock out the opposition.”Being a coach, I will try to build a team that plays aggressively and wins easily. But then at certain times you have to assess the strength of the opponent and make your strategy accordingly.”For example, recently during World Cup England was considered un-matchable with players are playing the pure form of modern cricket. But at the same time New Zealand were the other way around playing with conservative approach from 80s. Despite their batsmen not clicking, they formed a strategy according to their resources and they were in the final with England playing the next level of cricket. So it shows that you have to work around your resources and plan accordingly. My priority as coach to have a team that plays an attacking cricket and dominate and that’s the way forward but at certain times you have to re-look your strategy.”Misbah has been given a three-year contract by the PCB, his dual role giving him great power, but also great responsibility.”Everyone asks questions about accountability. Now Misbah will be accountable for selection as well as performance,” Wasim Khan, the CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said. “The concept of head coach-cum-chief selector is innovative. After being introduced to our system, it has also put more responsibility on Misbah’s shoulders as he will now be solely responsible and accountable for the team’s performances. Furthermore, as the new domestic system has also been implemented, head coaches of the provincial teams will give feedback to Misbah about the talent in our domestic cricket.”Misbah was quick to play down the influence he might have as Pakistan’s coach, reiterating that the captain will remain in charge.”You don’t always get what you want then it affects you mentally and tactically you don’t have the resource and it affects the performance,” he said as he tried to explain why he took on both roles.”There has been a practice that final authority on picking the playing XI is with the captain and it will remain the same. The captain who is operating in the field needs to have full confidence in the team. Before reaching a final decision, there will be huge debate and discussion and sometime regardless of the depth in understanding there might be a difference of opinion in 15 or 16 picks or XI but at the end you either get convinced or make other convince and move on.”Along with Misbah, Pakistan have brought on another senior figure to help lead them forward. Waqar Younis was tempted to re-join the Pakistan coaching staff, as bowling coach, even though his last stint with the team ended quite bitterly.”He was a wonderful bowler and we won’t get any better option than him to be our bowling coach,” Misbah said. “In Pakistan, Wasim [Akram] and Waqar are the top most guys [to talk to about bowling] and everyone comes after [them], so I have no doubt about any problem. We have a very good working relationship and we both knows our limits.”We have worked a lot together in Pakistan team and in PSL and we know each other very well. Professionalism is there, he will never interfere in my domain and I won’t interfere in his. He is also very much clear that direction comes from head coach and bowlers will be working with him. He has some plans and we know what to do when bowlers are not delivering and how to drive them to deliver.”

Shehzad and Umar have a mercurial past with Pakistan, for various reasons, and the revival of their careers has drawn surprise

Umar Farooq in Lahore06-Oct-2019Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has come out in support of returning batsmen Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal after their loss to Sri Lanka in the first T20I.Shehzad and Umar have had a rocky past with the national team, for various reasons, and the revival of their careers in Lahore at the expense of Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail drew surprise in some corners.Umar last played a T20I three years ago, while Shehzad featured in T20Is last year before he was banned for a positive dope test. Both of them made their debuts ten years ago, and though they have made several comebacks, it seemed Pakistan had closed the door on them after they were dropped by not just one head coach but two – Waqar Younis and Mickey Arthur.On Saturday, in the T20I against Sri Lanka, Shehzad had a couple of close calls before he was bowled for 4 off nine balls. Umar bagged a golden duck, his ninth – the most by a Pakistan cricketer.ALSO READ: Should Pakistan worry about Sarfaraz Ahmed’s form?“If you talk about previous two [domestic] seasons, they were performers and they were again performers in the PSL,” Sarfaraz said after Pakistan’s 64-run defeat. “We are trying our fullest to give a complete chance to those who are brought back. There is nothing to worry. Both are experienced players and once they settle in, they will perform. So [I give] my full backing for them as a captain.”Fakhar and Haris both have been part of the team for some time now. When we brought back Ahmed and Umar, we intended to make them play in their own positions. Had we played Fakhar, then Ahmed would have been made to play at one down. Me and Misbah[-ul-Haq, the coach] decided to try Ahmed as an opener. With our eyes on the [T20] World Cup, if Ahmed is able to settle himself at this [opening] number, we can never find a better player than him.”Similar with Umar Akmal. We wanted to play him in his number and hence had to drop Haris, who we have seen and have no doubt about his ability. We played six new players in the side without thinking about winning or losing. We wanted to play them and give them confidence because for any player, making a comeback isn’t really easy. You do come with performance in domestic but at the international level you take a few innings to get going.”In 2018, Pakistan had won 17 of the 19 T20Is they played, including two massive winning streaks – nine matches between July and November and eight matches between January and July. The ICC rates them as the No. 1 side in the shortest format but they haven’t quite shown it in 2019 with four losses in five games, including the latest to a second-string Sri Lankan side.”No team in T20 format is considered weak and we knew that on the day their team is strong and they have potential,” Sarfaraz said. “They played better than us. They should be given credit. But I still back my team. It was a bad day for us and we didn’t play good cricket. We will come back and it’s going to be more exciting for the spectators as they will get to see more tough cricket.”Plus it isn’t really easy to win all games but we did win 11 [nine] games in a row. This is a different time. Some players are making a comeback and it is tough. And there are few who are in the team but trying to get settled. We have all players who are match winners and on their day they can win the game for the team single-handedly.”

The strike and its aftermath. Here’s how things have unfolded

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2019October 24News – BCB-striking players’ meeting: Nazmul Hassan’s aggression leaves cricketers ‘rattled’
Opinion – Mohammad Isam: How Shakib stepped up to fill a Mashrafe-sized hole
October 23News – We call off the strike and will return to playing’ – Shakib Al Hasan
News – Strike moves towards resolution, Mashrafe could mediateOctober 22News – BCB chief lashes out at players’ strike, but says board is ‘open for talks’October 22News – FICA head Tony Irish criticises Bangladesh players association for inactionOctober 22Analysis – A Bangladesh press conference two decades in the makingOctober 22News – ‘They’ll come’ – Sourav Ganguly confident Bangladesh tour of India will go aheadOctober 22News – BCB calls emergency meeting of directors; Mashrafe Mortaza backs playersOctober 21News – Better contracts, no discrimination, open transfers: Bangladesh players’ demandsOctober 21News – Bangladesh players go on strike, India tour under threatOctober 21News – Top Bangladesh players likely to go on strike amid growing discontent with cricket board

No recall for Moeen Ali, whose international break has been extended with a view to returning for Sri Lanka tour

George Dobell07-Dec-2019James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood have all been included in a 17-man squad for England’s Test tour of South Africa.Anderson and Wood missed the New Zealand tour due to injury, while Bairstow was dropped to allow him time to work on his red-ball game. All three are already in South Africa as part of a training squad.While Wood is not currently deemed fit for selection, the England management hope he will recover sufficiently to play some part in the series. He was player of the match in the only Test he played in 2019, England’s victory in St Lucia.Also read: England keep ‘watching brief’ as chaos mounts in South AfricaBut there is no recall for Moeen Ali. Moeen, who requested an extended break from the Test team after struggling during the English summer, has held discussions with the England management in recent days with the conclusion that he should be given a little longer away from the international game. He is expected to return to the Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, where England may well field three spinners.Moeen’s absence allows Matt Parkinson, who went on the New Zealand tour but did not break into the Test team, another opportunity. Zak Crawley, who made his Test debut in the Hamilton Test, also retains his place as a reserve batsman. That means there is no place for Dawid Malan.The return of Anderson and Wood means no place for Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood. He is the one man from the Test squad in New Zealand to
miss out. “With James Anderson and Mark Wood returning to the squad, Saqib Mahmood is the unfortunate player to miss out,” said National Selector Ed
Smith.”It is not predicted that Mark Wood will be available for selection for the earliest matches. However, he will travel with the team and continue his rehab work with the medical staff on tour. There is no exact date given for his return, but the medical team is working towards him becoming fully available for selection during the tour.”With that in mind, and given the extended period that James and Mark have had on the sidelines due to injury, it was sensible to have a 17-man squad.”Moeen Ali, who asked to take a break from Test cricket last summer, remains unavailable for Test selection.”Jonny Bairstow returns to the England squad after missing out on the New Zealand tour. Jonny, Mark and James are already in South Africa on
a training camp ahead of the Test tour.”The four-match Test series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship and will be the first time in the competition that England have played away from home. The first Test begins on Boxing Day at Centurion.

More ‘A’ tours of Australia needed for players to be in better position to counter the conditions, Pakistan captain says

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide02-Dec-2019Babar Azam’s graduation to the top rank of Test batsmen, via a superb century in Brisbane and an equally stirring 97 at Adelaide Oval, which earned him a standing ovation, was a rare ray of light for Pakistan through the murk of a 2-0 series thrashing at the hands of an opposition more battle-hardened than them.Pakistan’s captain Azhar Ali spoke happily of Babar’s displays, which began with a century against Australia A in the pink-ball warm-up match in Perth, as of the kind that would allow the 25-year-old to head home believing he was ready to be more consistently dominant at the Test level. Australia has, in the past, provided formative moments for the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis, the anvil on which their games have been shaped and perfected before later feats elsewhere.”He’s been tremendous in white-ball cricket and in the recent past, he’s been gradually building up his Test stats as well,” Azhar said of Babar. “But this series definitely will be the breakthrough he wanted. We were all hopeful that he’ll do it. He’s a good enough player. We all know that. But sometimes if you score in tough conditions against tough bowling attacks, it gives you the extra boost and the belief that you can make even better strides in Test cricket.”That’s been a big positive now for us that Babar has stamped himself a Test player. He’s been fantastic throughout the year and he’s been lovely to watch and hopefully he can continue this form in the Tests that are coming.”Similarly, Mohammad Rizwan vindicated the decision to move to him as first-choice wicketkeeper by offering plenty with the bat, gloves and with his voice in the field, even if Pakistan’s bowlers and fielders were unable to maintain the pressure they needed to.”He’s been performing in first-class cricket for a few years now. And then he had a fantastic couple of ‘A’ tours in Dubai. And then he played against Australia in one-day cricket and scored centuries there as well,” Azhar pointed out. “He’s been waiting and obviously Sarfaraz [Ahmed] is another one who’d been performing really well for Pakistan. We have a very healthy competition.”Rizwan waited for his chance and then grabbed it with both hands. The way he batted at Gabba and the way he kept wickets in both games has been fantastic. His energy is always good for the team, whenever we were down in the field, he kept us up. That’s fantastic for any team. He’s a team man.”Babar Azam shows his frustration after falling in the second innings•AFP

Those efforts were, of course, overshadowed by a yawning gap between the teams, reflected in the results, something Azhar said was because of the weaknesses in his bowling attack and also the need to play more ‘A’ series in these parts of the world.”It has been a disappointing series. We didn’t live up the expectations that were based around this young team,” he said. “This was the best possible team we could have picked, especially with regards to the bowling options. But you also have to see that in Australia you need a certain kind of pace attack. And in our domestic cricket, we don’t have those kind of pacers. The moment you have to bowl with a Kookaburra, you need an extra element of pace.”But we felt that these guys were in the best shape to deal with the conditions here, and that’ll be the case in the future. We shouldn’t get too disappointed about this and keep in mind that young bowlers like these will only play more cricket and get better. We need to show some patience.”I think, most importantly, ‘A’ team tours and Under-19 tours are very important. Players who come here more often and play in these conditons will benefit from that. Last time and this time, we came here a couple of weeks before the Tests. It gives you a better idea and preparation. You have to consider that always. There won’t be any condition like this in Pakistan. The surfaces are different. It’s the same when Pakistan go to Dubai or Pakistan. They’ve played on hard surfaces and need to adapt to the slower wickets there.”But Australia has the best batting conditions in the world. There’s even bounce, the cracks don’t open too early in the game. If you get used to bounce and pace, you can see players from Pakistan can score runs. Last time we scored big runs, Asad [Shafiq] and I scored a lot. But to win Test matches we need to take 20 wickets and we need to work out how to do that. And also to score big in the first innings. Get ahead of the game here is very important.”