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The Haddin XII and the Hick XII have been selected for Australia’s internal warm-up match at Southampton

Daniel Brettig19-Jul-2019Former captain Steven Smith and Ashes tour aspirant Matthew Wade will be pitted against Australia’s leading bowlers including Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the internal trial at Southampton that will determine the final shape of the touring party.Teams coached by Brad Haddin and Graeme Hick were named on Friday evening, with Usman Khawaja the only name missing out of the 25-man pre-Ashes squad as he continues his recovery from a hamstring strain suffered during the World Cup.Travis Head will lead the Haddin XII, which features Starc, Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle and David Warner. Test captain Tim Paine will meanwhile have Smith, Wade, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson and Cameron Bancroft, another batsman fighting for one of the last remaining spots in the tour proper.Cummins, who in addition to Head served as Paine’s deputy in the latter part of the Australian summer, said the duel with Smith would help get his competitive juices flowing ahead of the Ashes.”I think it’ll definitely get the adrenaline up like in a Test match,” Cummins said. “It doesn’t happen too often – you’ll see our egos be put to the test, we’ll be going at each other I think. Maybe [played Smith before] in a T20, but not that I can remember.”I think personally from my point of view it’s about trying to get myself 100 percent ready for a Test match. I haven’t played a first-class game in a few months so it’s going to be trying to bowl long spells, get the ball swinging, try and think of ways to get batsmen out. These guys are really good players just like the English Test side. There’s no really obvious flaw so you’ve got to try to work a batsman out. It’s going to be a good hit-out, everyone is in good form.”The concept has arisen out of long-held dissatisfaction with the level of preparation provided by domestic and invitational teams fielded by host nations in recent years, whether it be Kent and Essex in 2015 in England, or the teams presented in Sri Lanka the following year. Pat Howard, the former Cricket Australia executive in charge of team performance, inked the fixture into Ashes plans well before he was shown the door in the wake of a scathing culture review last year.”I think it’s been in the planning for a couple of years, I think the lessons learned from the last couple of series was exactly that,” Cummins said. “We want a really good hit-out in conditions we can control, people jostling for spots.”The best thing is guys who are fighting for spots are in good form, so it’s not a pre-season warm-up game that might meander or you kind of look after people’s injuries in this game, it’s going to be flat out and good fun I think, especially coming off a good game last week against the Lions, this is going to be another tune-up game that’s going to get us right and ready.”Perhaps the only area of concern for the fixture is the danger of injury as players on both sides stretch themselves. Shaun Marsh was unable to be considered due to a broken arm sustained in a competitive net session prior to the final World Cup round robin game against South Africa in Manchester.Haddin XII: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Travis Head (capt), Marnus Labuschagne, Will Pucovski, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Josh Hazlewood, Jon HollandHick XII: Joe Burns, Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (capt), Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Chris Tremain, Nathan Lyon

Hosts win by five wickets on back of Godleman’s unbeaten on 70 and Watt’s 4-19 at Chesterfield

Paul Edwards20-Jul-2019
Yorkshire’s David Willey runs in to bowl to Billy Godleman. The ball is speared down leg side and races away for five wides. On the instant a deep-throated cheer comes up from most of the supporters who ring Queen’s Park. Chesterfield’s festival, once threatened, always cherished, has ended in a five-wicket victory for the home side over one of their traditional rivals.The atmosphere is festal; the air, almost tropical earlier in the day, has freshened towards evening. A jazz band will play in the beer tent later and you can be assured plenty of ale will be supped to celebrate Derbyshire beginning their Vitality Blast campaign with a win. Godleman, whose unbeaten 70 has anchored his side’s innings, is applauded back to the pavilion. Home supporters are grateful their side had five balls to spare. English cricket has had enough of ties.Visiting supporters rightly bemoan the absence of Matthew Fisher who has had to leave the field in the third over of Derbyshire’s innings with a dislocated right shoulder. Fisher’s left-arm pace bowling might have made 164 an even more competitive total. As it is, Yorkshire have had to bowl 11 overs of spin, not necessarily a problem on a used pitch, but a limitation on Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s options. None of which worries the children who are playing games on other used wickets or the supporters enjoying the sun and wondering if Dominic Cork’s arrival as T20 coach will help their side reach their first T20 Finals Day.Yet Cork is not the first man to be interviewed when the players emerge from the pavilion and nor does Godleman win the man of the match award. That honour falls to Mark Watt, a 22-year-old slow left-armer from Edinburgh, whose four wickets for 19 runs ensured Yorkshire’s array of T20 hitters never launched an uninhibited assault on the shorter boundaries around the tree-lined ground.”Meet George Stephenson” suggested one flyer outside the restaurant at Queen’s Park this lunchtime. “Meet a medieval surgeon,” urged another as the custodians of Chesterfield’s museum placed even greater faith in the power of time travel or the credulousness of the town’s tourists. We will never know how many of the five-and-a-half thousand souls who crammed into one of England most famous outgrounds took the tourist board up on their offers. But to judge from the folk queueing up for the post-match signing session quite a few people were interested in meeting Watt.One could see their point. Victories over Yorkshire are treasured occasions in these parts and Watt’s wickets on his Derbyshire debut did more than anything to set up his side’s triumph. Nor were Watt’s victims death-over donations. Brought into the attack in the sixth over from the Pavilion End, he removed Willey, Harry Brook, Gary Ballance and Nicholas Pooran to leave Yorkshire on 77 for 6 after 11.3 overs of their innings.At that point Watt’s accuracy and subtle changes of length and pace looked to have done enough to ensure his team would be chasing a low total. Ballance, bowled when reverse-sweeping, and Pooran, hitting the seventh ball of his Yorkshire career straight to long-off, had given him all the assistance he needed.But the visitors were rescued by Jordan Thompson, whose maiden first-team fifty included five crowd-scattering sixes. Thompson put on 66 in less than seven overs with Jonny Tattersall before he skied Logan van Beek to wicketkeeper Daryn Smit in the penultimate over. Tattersall’s canny 39 off 31 balls and Fisher’s big six in the final over saw Yorkshire to 164, a plainly defendable total on a used pitch. Fisher’s day, however, was about to get very much worse when he dived to prevent a boundary and stood up clutching his shoulder.In time, of course, so did Yorkshire’s, although Dom Bess’s removal of Luis Reece and Wayne Madsen, both leg before wicket, kept the result in doubt. Yet at no point in Derbyshire’s innings did they lose control of their pursuit and scoring eight runs an over is a familiar task for batsmen as experienced as Godleman. Leus du Plooy helped when he got inside the line of Bess’s final over and whacked two sixes to the right of the Norway maple. Du Plooy was caught at short third man off Thompson for 30 but Matthew Critchley maintained the momentum towards what is Derbyshire’s fifth successive T20 win over Yorkshire.And maybe visiting supporters sporting their Leeds and Sheffield United shirts should not have been too surprised. Yorkshire have not won a T20 game at Chesterfield since 2014 and home fans clearly arrived ready to drink deeply whatever the outcome. Even the school bus was a bar. Well, it is the end of term.

Lasith Malinga was as good as he ever was playing the final ODI of a 15-year career

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-20190.5 Malinga to Tamim Iqbal, OUT, welcome to the last chapter! Wow! Malinga has shown up with a classic. Dipping, nasty yorker comes in very very late from a middle stump line. Tamim’s reflexive stride across has him locked, and then it’s too late to take it out. It’s under his bat and it smashes leg stump. Bangladesh’s stand-in captain can barely stand up as this craftsman sneaks it past him2.1 Malinga to Soumya Sarkar, no run, lbw appeal is reviewed. Another big inswinging yorker. Was that going down? Sarkar was rapped on the boot and then pad. Outside the line of leg stump, seemingly. And then on the bat. Not a great review, that is not hitting the stumps2.3 Malinga to Soumya Sarkar, no run, bouncer at the throat, does well to keep the bat down and get out of the wayALSO READ: Stats – Lasith Malinga, a colossus of ODI cricket2.5 Malinga to Mohammad Mithun, no run, outside edge as he squares him up. Length ball shaping away from middle. A nervous prod from the batsman, but he’s played with soft enough hands to be safe in the slip cordon2.6 Malinga to Mohammad Mithun, no run, inside edge onto pad. A low full toss swung away outside off. He looks to defend with a closed faceESPNcricinfo Ltd

4.1 Malinga to Soumya Sarkar, 1 run, inside edge as Sarkar has an ungainly swish at this slower full toss. No clue with that as it floated outside off4.5 Malinga to Mohammad Mithun, 1 run, short of fine leg. Short ball on the chest, hooks aerially to that fielder’s left, but safely enough in the end4.6 Malinga to Soumya Sarkar, no run, just keeps it out! Inswinging yorker at leg stump. Sarkar’s lack of feet movement means he has room to bring the bat down on this. Just in time.6.3 Malinga to Mohammad Mithun, no run, beats the outside edge. Swung away from a length outside off, hanging bat8.1 Malinga to Soumya Sarkar, no run, past the inside edge. Inswinging yorker wide outside off. He looks to open the face and chop this to third man8.3 Malinga to Soumya Sarkar, OUT, see ya! Persistence will do it! He is not hiding his cards tonight. Three yorkers in a row – but what are you going to do about it? Sarkar tries the only plausible method – the good old full face of the bat to try and defend it. But this goes through and hits leg stump anyway, possibly off the inside edge on the way8.4 Malinga to Mahmudullah, no run, past the outside edge. Late outswinger from a length in the corridor, a nervous poke from Mahmudullah8.5 Malinga to Mahmudullah, no run, squared up but just enough bat to survive. Length ball, outswinger from a middle stump line and he pushes with hard hands and no feet8.6 Malinga to Mahmudullah, no run, jammed into the turf as he gets the bottom of the bat on this outswinging yorker outside off. Mendis leaps to catch it on the bounce41.4 Malinga to Mustafizur Rahman, OUT, goes in style! Lasith Malinga seals the win in another chase. Seals it with a dipping slower ball. Mustafizur backs away and manages to connect again, but he’s hit it high and to the right of Thisara at mid-off who does it for everyone in the stadium after some serious balancingIt was always meant to be this way, wasn’t it? Lasith Malinga ended his ODI career with a wicket off his final ball.

Candid allrounder accepts lifestyle fell short of standards during tough year, but is itching to make up lost ground

Daniel Brettig at The Oval12-Sep-2019A candid Mitchell Marsh has revealed the extent of his spiral out of the Australian set-up last summer and also his path back to playing the fifth and final Ashes Test, despite what he readily acknowledges is a fractious relationship with many of those who follow the game Down Under.”Yeah, most of Australia hate me,” he said with amusing resignation. “Australians are very passionate, they love their cricket, they want people to do well. There’s no doubt I’ve had a lot of opportunity at Test level and I haven’t quite nailed it, but hopefully they can respect me for the fact I keep coming back and I love playing for Australia, I love the baggy green cap and I’ll keep trying and hopefully I’ll win them over one day.”Named one of two Test team vice-captains ahead of the 2018-19 season, Marsh was initially a central part of plans being drawn up by the Australian coach Justin Langer, but a poor tour of the UAE against Pakistan and then a brief and unproductive stint at home against India left him not only out of the Test side but removed from World Cup calculations and also losing his Cricket Australia contract.Marsh said that personal issues, including the suicide of a close friend late last year, combined with underperformance and fitness issues to leave him a long way from enjoying the game. It took extensive work on his fitness, technical elements of his game and also his mentality with the Western Australia sports psychologist Matt Burgin to put him into the place where he was able to squeeze onto the Ashes tour. At The Oval he was given permission by Langer to attack with the ball, resulting in arguably his finest Test bowling display so far.”I wasn’t making runs – if you bat No. 4 for Australia you need to make runs,” Marsh said. “Last year was a range of stuff, a few things in my personal life. I lost a close friend to suicide at the start of the summer and when things like that happen, I didn’t handle it as well as I could have and that transitioned into my cricket at times as well. I understand everyone goes through tough periods in their life but I certainly didn’t handle it as best I could.”But to have gone through that and got through the summer the way I did and finished with WA, I knew I still had love for the game. It was a tough summer last year. I tried to put it behind me as quickly as possible and here I am. It took me until probably March, the last three Shield games of the year for WA. When you play cricket or you do anything and you want to do well badly and it doesn’t work out, it’s very easy to get down on yourself.”I was certainly at that stage, so I did a lot of work with our sports psych Matt Burgin at WA just about detaching myself from the outcome, working as hard as I can, getting as fit as I can, preparing well and it sort of started from there. I’ve hardly played any cricket since then but that’s what I’ve been doing.”At the same time, Marsh’s physical fitness had measured up poorly against the likes of Ben Stokes, forcing him to make numerous lifestyle and diet changes in order to do better. “As a professional athlete when you have setbacks you always think the worst, you think you might not play again after a summer I had last year,” he said. “There’s been no secret recipe, I’ve just worked my arse off for the last five months hoping to get another opportunity.”I wanted to come here and have a positive influence on this group, i think I’ve done that running the drinks and I just waited for my opportunity. I don’t necessarily eat that bad, I’m just a big eater, so I probably cut down my portion sizes a fair bit. There’s no secret JL’s certainly challenged me from a fitness perspective, he wanted me to get fitter and stronger and over the last six months I’ve put everything I’ve had into it.”I’ve certainly changed my lifestyle a little bit, I’m waking up every day trying to be the best cricketer I can be, and today was good reward for that but it’s one day of a Test match. It wasn’t terrible [but] my body likes to put on weight easily and my mum loves to feed me, so I haven’t had as many roasts at home the last six months, but it hasn’t been that hard. I love playing for Australia, I just love it, and I want to keep doing it, so I’ll keep working my arse off.”Marsh’s contribution at The Oval was very welcome for the Test team at the end of a draining series, and he hoped it would be the start of a far more productive run in the team. “I think in the past my role as a bowler has been to hold an end,” he said. “JL came up to me before the start of play and at lunch time and he just said ‘go for it, attack, bowl the way you want to bowl’, and I was a little bit, not shocked, but it gave me the confidence to go out there and give it everything I had.”Maybe a change of mentality allowed me to bowl a bit more attackingly as a player and it was fun. I want to be the best I can be at both batting and bowling, I don’t really want to pigeonhole one of them. No doubt as an allrounder at times you certainly hit them better than you’re bowling or vice versa but that’s just something that happens in cricket I guess as an allrounder. I want to be the best allrounder I can be in both facets of the game.”

Flower had overseen the England Lions since leaving the head coach job in 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2019Andy Flower has left the ECB after 12 years at the organisation.Flower, who led England to their first men’s ICC tournament win in 2010 and their first away Ashes win since 1986-87 later in that year, was first employed as Peter Moores’ assistant coach in 2007. He became head coach in 2009, and after stepping down following the disastrous 2013-14 Ashes campaign, took up a role as ‘technical director of elite cricket’, giving him responsibility for the England Lions team.An ECB statement said that Flower had left “to pursue other opportunities”, and he said that he would still be based in England.Flower described his time at the ECB as “a real privilege”, and picked out the World T20 win in 2010, the away Ashes win, and victory in the 2012-13 series in India as three highlights.Flower also gave his backing to new England coach Chris Silverwood.”I’m really happy for Chris that he’s getting the chance to lead England and I think he’s going to do a great job,” he said. “I also want to wish Mo Bobat, the new performance director, all the best in his new role.”Flower hinted that he was more likely to return to the game with a coaching role at a T20 franchise than in the international game.”I haven’t had a sustained break for quite a long time,” he said. “I will still be based in England and I will continue to watch English cricket very keenly – it has a very bright future.”Andy Flower had a successful stint as England coach across formats•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Flower’s departure completes a major overhaul in the ECB’s structure since the start of the year.Andrew Strauss stepped down from the team director role due to family reasons, and has become head of the cricket committee, while Ashley Giles has moved into his old role. Trevor Bayliss vacated the head coach role, which was filled by Silverwood, while David Parsons left his performance director role to be replaced by Bobat.Mark Ramprakash left his position as a batting coach, and reports have suggested that Kevin Shine (fast-bowling coach) and Peter Such (spin coach) are expected to leave their roles. Silverwood’s backroom staff has yet to be announced, though it is expected that continuity, rather than upheaval, will be the order of the day.

They fielded only two Black African players instead of three, and have provided a written explanation to CSA

Firdose Moonda29-Oct-2019Cricket South Africa (CSA) will launch an inquiry into the Cobras’ team selection, which saw them miss their transformation target in the ongoing four-day, first-class fixture against the Warriors at home. The Cobras took to the field with two black African players, Thando Ntini and Tladi Bokako, one short of CSA’s requirement of three black African players. However, they met the overall target for players of colour, with a total of seven.The Cobras confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that they provided a written explanation of their team composition to CSA, which has been received. The franchise opted not to make any comments at this stage. CSA, meanwhile, said it will consider the matter in the coming days.”CSA has noted the submission by Western Cape Cricket (Western Cape Cricket) in lieu of a request for a deviation from the administrative conditions. CSA will launch a further enquiry into this incident and will consider all the related and relevant information in order to arrive at a decision about the strength and the validity of the argument by WCC,” Thamie Mthembu, CSA’s head of communications told ESPNcricinfo.The inquiry is expected to be complete within 14 days. All the other five franchises fielded the required number of black African players.This is the second time Western Province have found themselves in hot water with CSA in as many months. In September, CSA suspended the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) board and placed it under administration citing concerns over financial and governance issues. WPCA has since taken CSA to court, challenging this decision. The matter is ongoing.

The home side have lost Andrew Tye to injury while they face a side coming off an unexpected 3-0 series win in Pakistan

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan26-Oct-2019

Big Picture

Australia’s men begin their international summer with eyes firmly on a year from now: the T20 World Cup on home soil. It is the global prize that has eluded them, in a format they have struggled to grasp. With the next 50-over World Cup four years away and the Test side rebuilding steadily after a difficult year, there is a sense they are now going to give T20 cricket a proper focus.Whether it works remains to be seen, but a home World Cup means there won’t be many unknowns in terms of conditions and there were some promising signs with their last two series being a draw (at home) and a win (away) against India. Where the unknowns remain a year out is in what Australia’s best T20I side looks like. The start of the series against Sri Lanka – which begins a run of six matches in quick succession – is a chance to start answering a few questions.The series marks the home international returns of David Warner and Steven Smith – two players who need to re-establish their roles in the T20I side – and a chance for the frontline pacemen, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, to settle into the team having often missed this format due to rest and rotation.They are facing a Sri Lanka side buoyed by their recent, somewhat unexpected, success in Pakistan with what was billed a shadow team due to a long list of players not touring but ended up with a 3-0 scoreline which has suddenly boosted their options with an eye on next year’s World Cup.Sri Lanka’s struggles in recent years means they have to go through the pre-qualifying phase of the tournament but there is time for them to build a team that should leave them confident of progressing to the main draw. The batting, in Australia in particular, remains a concern and they were rusty against the Prime Minister’s XI, but the bowling attack has enough variation to pose issues for Australia.

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
Australia WWLWL
Sri Lanka WWWWL

In the spotlight

A poor World Cup has left his one-day spot under question again and Test cricket appears to be gone, but Glenn Maxwell remains a lock in the T20I side. His last two innings, against India in February, were 56 and a brilliant unbeaten 113 to take Australia to their 2-0 series victory. His bowling will allow Australia to play one frontline spinner if they want while he remains one of the outstanding fielders in the game.After being a beneficiary of the need for some new batsmen for the tour of Pakistan, Oshada Fernando hit 78 off 48 deliveries on his debut when he came in at 30 for 3 so has set himself a high benchmark. He looked the best of the Sri Lankan batsmen in the warm-up against the PM’s XI – albeit against a less demanding attack than he’ll face in the T20Is – with 38 off 25 balls and his form may be enough to keep an experienced player like Kusal Perera on the sidelines.

Team news

Andrew Tye was ruled out of the series due to a suspected elbow ligament injury, sustained when throwing during the team’s main training session on Friday afternoon. The injury more or less guarantees a spot for Kane Richardson alongside Starc and Cummins, while Ashton Turner is expected to play in the middle order even though he is still somewhat restricted in his throwing and is still unable to bowl as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Captain Aaron Finch looks fit to play following a side strain.Australia (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Ashton Turner, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Kane RichardsonLasith Malinga will come in to lead the side after missing the warm-up match against the PM’s XI in Canberra on Thursday night. Given the limited preparation time in Australia, they may give the top order that played the warm-up the first chance. Isuru Udana, the left-arm seamer and hard-hitting batsman, is likely bolster the lower order.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Kusal Mendis, 3 Bhanuka Rajapakse, 4 Oshada Fernando, 5 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Lasith Malinga (capt), 11 Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch and conditions

Adelaide Oval’s drop-in surface looked a pleasant straw colour for batting after the ground staff had both a hot spell, and also periods of cooler weather and rain to contend with in the lead up to their first fixture of the Australian season. The weather forecast is for temperate conditions with a top of around 19C.

Stats and Trivia

• Malinga took 5 for 6 – including four wickets in four balls – in his last T20I against New Zealand
• Sri Lanka have an impressive T20I record in Australia with five wins from six matches. In 2017 they secured a 2-1 series win against a hotchpotch Australia team due to a Test series taking place in India, although five of that Australia squad are in this current set-up (six if you include the injured Tye).
• Starc has played just one T20I in the last three years – that was against India last November when he was a late addition to the squad.

Quotes

“I’m all good, ready to go. I felt really good batting in particular. I was a bit worried about throwing yesterday, it wasn’t the most comfortable thing over the last few days in Perth, but getting here and batting yesterday and today, throwing a fair bit gave me a lot of confidence. The last three days it’s been really good, I’ve got full movement, full training today and pretty heavy batting session yesterday, not a lot of throwing, but I feel confident to go.”
“We’re expecting good cricket, because these days they play Big Bash also, so they’re a tough team. They’re in touch, they know the conditions, but still we want to do our best here. I’ve got a good young side and we had a winning note in the last tournament and we have good confidence. But we don’t have much experience in these conditions, so mental preparation is very important I think.”
Lasith Malinga

Pakistan just managed to take the Test into the final session on the fourth day

The Report by Danyal Rasool02-Dec-2019There was resistance, as there had been before, but it came when the game was so far beyond saving it seemed futile. Pakistan went right through to the final session before Australia finally wore them down and succumbed to another convincing innings defeat. A few positives aside, this really has been a bleak series for the visitors.Nathan Lyon enjoyed a bit of personal glory, completing his first five-wicket haul against Pakistan. It will do his confidence much good, given the offspinner’s rather ordinary numbers against this particular opposition, and in a contest where every one of Australia’s bowlers enjoyed great success, they couldn’t have hoped for a better launch pad to the three-match series against New Zealand later this month.Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq began the day simply hoping to take the Test as deep as was possible, and the early signs weren’t terrible. In the day time the pitch flattened out and once the batsmen got themselves in the runs even began to flow. Once again, however, it highlighted the struggles of Pakistan in the evening session, which had yesterday seen three of their top-order batsmen off before the innings properly got going. It was a similar pattern as the first innings, where the night session saw Pakistan lose more than half their side before the Yasir Shah and Babar Azam rearguard.Masood, in particular, combined patience with belligerence early on, consecutive boundaries off Micthell Starc demonstrating the intent he harboured. He used his feet against Lyon to deposit him over long-on, trying to work himself back to form after at testing series. Shafiq looked almost completely untroubled, and in those moments, there might even have been hope Pakistan would make Australia bat once more. When the partnership moved past hundred and both men brought up their half-centuries radio commentary in Pakistan even mooted the possibility of a final day smash and grab.Nathan Lyon roars an appeal•AFP

But hope to Pakistan is like locusts to agricultural farmers; they never comfortable allowing it to proliferate. The extermination began when Masood danced down to Lyon and, failing to get to the pitch of the delivery, spooned the simplest chance to mid-off. Shafiq, meanwhile, has mastered the art of scoring pretty but ultimately meaningless runs; he’s made a successful career out of it. He ensured there would be no departure from that script, and for good measure even ensured he’d get out in the most Shafiq way possible, flicking a catch to leg slip off Lyon. That fielder had been exclusively placed for that shot and one who was rather hard to miss.But even so, Australia had themselves done little to suggest they could blow the side away, given the two wickets had almost been gifted to them. So when Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed began to scramble together another partnership and the lead whittled down to double figures, Australia might have pondered having a target to chase. However, talk of that was still much too premature, especially as Lyon continued to plug away, bowling better than he’s ever done against Pakistan. When some extra bounce rapped Ahmed on the gloves and Marnus Labuschagne – finally – held on to one at short leg, the Australian kitman could have probably put his feet up.The finish, there onwards, was at least entertainingly Pakistani. Yasir was trapped in front, so plumb that even if they were playing with just middle stump, it still wouldn’t be worth a review. Yasir, however, had a century under his belt and felt it was worth reviewing, if only to spend a few extra moments out in the middle. Later, when Rizwan tried to farm the strike and ensure they got through to the dinner break without any further damage, Shaheen Afridi decided to lash out at Lyon, skying the ball instead and giving the offspinner his five-fer.The best bit of comedy was still to follow. Muhammad Musa drove one to mid-on and, for some reason, Mohammad Abbas believed it to be a cue for a single. By the time he would realise it was anything but, Pat Cummins was already taking aim. And just like Pat Cummins so often does, he hit the stumps.In Pakistan, however, the joke is unlikely to be much appreciated. While Australia steel themselves for a series against New Zealand likely to test them more than this one has, Pakistan will have to regroup quickly ahead of a two-match home series against Sri Lanka. What might have otherwise been a celebration of cricket coming home has become very serious business.

His action was reported during his stint at Middlesex in the Vitality Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2019Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan and Middlesex allrounder, has been suspended from bowling in all ECB competitions after a bowling-action assessment found his action to be illegal.Umpires reported Hafeez’s action after a Vitality Blast match between Somerset and Middlesex in Taunton on August 30, following which he underwent independent assessment at Loughborough University.The game against Somerset was the penultimate match of Middlesex’s T20 season, in which Hafeez played four matches, scoring 115 runs at a strike rate of 112.74, and taking two wickets while conceding 8.64 runs per over. Hafeez had signed on as a mid-season replacement for AB de Villiers.Hafeez contested the findings of the assessment, which held that his elbow extension for his offbreak exceeded the 15-degree tolerance limit for bowling actions. A bowling review group, which heard his appeal at Lord’s on Tuesday, suspended him from bowling in ECB competitions, and advised him to correct his action. Once he has done this, Hafeez may request a re-assessment to be allowed to bowl again.”I have received the ECB Bowling Review Group report on my bowling action,” Hafeez said in a statement. “Despite identifying procedural testing flaws, which have been accepted by the review committee, as well as realising the findings will potentially affect my reputation as a world-proven all-rounder, I accept the Bowling Review Group findings.”As per ECB regulations, I am ready to appear for an independent analysis at an ICC-accredited centre, so that I become eligible to play in ECB-organised events.”Hafeez’s action has come under scrutiny throughout his career. His first brush with the elbow microscope came all the way back in 2005, and he has been reported, suspended and cleared multiple times since then, going through various tweaks each time to get his action to conform to the 15-degree limit.He was most recently cleared to bowl in international cricket in May 2018, after which he questioned the ICC’s process for identifying and scrutinising suspect actions. No action was taken against him after he appeared before a PCB disciplinary committee and clarified his comments.Between then and this latest development, Hafeez’s action had steered clear of match officials’ attention, but it did make the news when the New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor appeared to question its legality during an ODI in Abu Dhabi in November 2018.

Batsman committed to KKR contract, and T20 World Cup ambitions, despite Test talk from Vaughan

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2020Tom Banton says he has ambitions to play Test cricket, but is not about to be swayed by Michael Vaughan’s assertion that he needs to ditch his Indian Premier League contract to take part in the County Championship with Somerset.Speaking on the eve of England’s first warm-up match on the white-ball leg of their tour of South Africa, Banton, 21, admitted he is still getting his head round a “whirlwind” 12 months, which included a starring role in the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s, an explosive introduction to the Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat, and a maiden England T20 call-up for the recent tour of New Zealand.And now, with a number of England’s World Cup-winning batsmen resting for the ODIs in South Africa, Banton is in line to make his international debut in the 50-over format too. In the short term, his likely berth will be at No,3, with England’s established pair of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy set to resume their alliance at the top of the order.While Banton’s outstanding talent was already well known on the county circuit, his profile was sent soaring over the course of this winter – most particularly at the BBL, where his haul of three fifties in seven matches included a stunning innings of 56 from 19 balls against Sydney Thunder, featuring five sixes in a row and seven in total.That innings, and similarly hard-hitting knocks against Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers, confirmed the impression that Kolkata Knight Riders had picked up a bargain in signing Banton for just over £100,000 at the IPL auction in December. He is set to link up at the franchise with the England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, where the influence of head coach Brendon McCullum will no doubt help to hone his game in the shortest format.All of which means that, regardless of Vaughan’s belief that Banton is ready to challenge for a Test berth (despite averaging 27.12 in 12 first-class matches for Somerset), his short-term career trajectory could not be clearer.ALSO READ: ‘Kookaburra would bring different skill-set to IPL’ – MahmoodAsked whether he would be honouring his KKR contract, Banton said: “Yes, 100 percent. When I was growing up, IPL was definitely something I thought I’d love to do, and play for England and definitely in Test cricket as well. But we’ll just have to wait and see.””I just think this last year has been a whirlwind,” he added. “I was in Perth last year playing first grade for South Perth and I think I averaged 10 across all cricket. I wasn’t really sure if I was enjoying it that much, which was a bit of a shame.”I’d open and seem to get out in the first two overs, and then not do a lot for about a month or so. But definitely I’d like to play Test cricket. I’ll just take it day by day and see how it goes.”And yet, despite his success, Banton was candid about the state of his game after linking up with the England squad in Paarl, and said that he would be seeking the advice of England’s Test captain Joe Root, ahead of their practice matches against a South Africa Invitation XI on Friday and South Africa A on Saturday.”I think the last few months, I’ve kind of lost, not the basics of cricket, but just there that net session didn’t feel like how I’d have liked it to have done. After this, I’m going to hit with Rooty.”I just feel I’m not coming forward as much as I’d like to, but I guess there’s always areas you can improve on. I just want to keep enjoying my cricket, I love playing it and a bad net session isn’t going to change a career.”With back-to-back T20 World Cups looming in Australia this winter and India in 2021-22, Banton’s inclusion in the 50-over squad is a reflection of how that format is now being used to test up-and-coming prospects. For the moment, he will be on the outside looking in when the three-match T20I series begins next month, with the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler returning to the front line in his place.However, he is still firmly focussed on pressing his T20I claims, having had a taste of the format with three matches and a top score of 31 from 20 balls in New Zealand in November.”I’m yet to get a score with an England badge on, which is pretty disappointing,” he said. “I’ve only played three games, I know, but it’s something to do.”Maybe one of those 30s could have gone on to be a 60 and it would have been completely different, but I’m not going to change the way I’ve played.”The white-ball team seems so strong at the moment but I’d love to go,” he added. “You’ve just got to keep performing, haven’t you? We’ve got the summer coming up and an IPL so I think some strong performances there are going to help.”