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Supported by Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, Gill shepherded the first successful chase of the tournament this year

Sidharth Monga25-Oct-2018Shubman Gill looks to the heavens after bringing up his century•PTI

Shubman Gill has dazzled in the IPL, but for those of the more conventional disposition, he made a big statement with his first List A hundred in a chase. From 85 for 3, India C mounted the first successful chase of this Deodhar Trophy, sealing their berth in the final against the undefeated India B. All three matches have been played at Feroz Shah Kotla, but this pitch played better than the previous two where the chasing teams managed only 218 and 201. Gill, though, shepherded this chase of 294 with the first hundred of the tournament.Gill was supported by wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. What will impress the three national selectors in attendance is that there was a lot of sensible batting to go with impressive stroke-play. Going by the trend in this tournament, and with Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina both gone, India C seemed out of the contest chasing the biggest total of the tournament.Pretty early on in the chase, Gill settled down to bat through, and Kishan assumed the role of the enforcer. Kishan has shown in the past he can innovate and hit against slower bowlers. He hit international bowlers Mohammed Siraj and R Ashwin for two boundaries in an over. His strike rate was under 100 only against Ashwin and Nitish Rana. In between, Gill tonked Ashwin and Shams Mulani for a six each.International teams might also want to look at the tapes of this chase as a tutorial on how to face Kedar Jadhav, who was making his comeback from his latest hamstring injury. They played the full balls straight – Kishan even drove one back past him for four – and waited for the short ball. Suryakumar was the most severe on Jadhav, hitting a short, low-bouncing ball for an inside-out six over extra cover.By this time, Gill and Suryakumar had sailed through the slightly nervous period after Kishan’s dismissal for a 60-ball 69. Now Gill, too, began to show off, hitting a slower bouncer from Dhawal Kulkarni over wide mid-off. Suryakumar responded with two sixes in empty stands, which slowed down the progress of the match. Suryakumar’s power hitting again was from a chasing template: the top order brings you to the 35th over with the asking rate in control, and then the big hitter kills the contest.Gill brought up his hundred with just 12 runs required, and then finished the game off with a boundary off the last ball of the 47th over.

Karun Nair has been part of India’s Test dressing room before, but a debut seems ever closer with his inclusion as one of only six batsmen in the squad to take on England; he says he is prepared to bat anywhere when his turn comes

Shashank Kishore02-Nov-2016In July, six people drowned and a few others were reported missing when a boat with more than a hundred people on board capsized in a river in Kerala. Karun Nair was on that boat, taking part in a temple festival with his family as thanksgiving for making his India debut. Nair was one of the survivors – he had to swim some distance before being rescued by a group of locals.The incident came in the middle of a mixed few months in Nair’s life. He had just played for India for the first time, during their ODI tour of Zimbabwe, his selection a reward for his consistency both in first-class cricket – he averaged more than 50 after three seasons – and the IPL. He hadn’t really grabbed the chance, scoring only 46 in two innings while opening the batting in fairly low-pressure chases. The lack of form continued through India A’s tour of Australia, but he was back in form at the start of the 2016-17 domestic season, when he was also handed the captaincy of the Karnataka side for the first time.Now, he is part of India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against England. He has been part of the squad before, but this time he is one of only six specialist batsmen included.”I was disappointed with the way my ODI debut series panned out. I don’t think I lived up to the standards I set myself,” Nair tells ESPNcricinfo. “Probably I didn’t grab my chances. But after the tour I decided to put that behind me and look forward to the new season. I didn’t want to sit and keep hoping, but I knew my chances will come sooner than later if I keep scoring runs.”Rohit Sharma’s quadriceps injury means, Nair – who has scores of 74, 54*, 53 and 145 in his first four innings of the new Ranji Trophy season – could get his Test cap in Rajkot on November 9 if India play six specialist batsmen. With Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane entrenched at Nos. 3, 4 and 5, Nair could be in line for the No. 6 slot.”I’m not too fussy about batting positions, honestly,” Nair says. “I’ve been playing up the order in the IPL, so in white-ball cricket, I’ve enjoyed batting up the order. I started off as an opener for my state side in my junior-cricket days and then settled at No. 4. In Zimbabwe, I was asked if I would be ready to open. As a debutant, you can’t have preferences, and it was a challenge I readily accepted.”Having been on the fringes of the Test team, you do think of all this while sitting outside, but eventually it’s about being confident in your abilities and trusting the technique that has got you to this level.”It hasn’t always been the case. A few years ago, Nair was full of self-doubt, which stemmed not from an inability to score runs but an inability to convert starts. Till he was 19, he hadn’t scored a century at any age-group level.”I had a mental block while growing up, but that also made me learn you don’t throw away starts,” Nair says. “Not being able to convert starts made me tougher. I became more attacking. I used to make 60s and 70s and get out. When I started to attack and bat more freely, I realised the 30-40 runs came quite easily. That change in mindset made a big difference. Now, I tend to play to the situation even though I believe I’m an attacking batsman.”The vote of confidence about Nair’s technique came from the India A coach Rahul Dravid, whom he sought out ahead of the home series against South Africa A in September 2015.”Once I got the confidence from him, all my self-doubts vanished,” Nair says. “I was batting within myself initially. I asked him about the areas I needed to work on. It felt reassuring to hear him tell me there was nothing wrong.”Someone like him saying that was of real value, so I’ve never had any batting conversations with him since. He has been very supportive, backed me in pressure situations and given me the opportunity to express myself. At that stage, he had more confidence in me than I did. That sort of gives you a boost from within.”There were signs of Nair having erased that self-doubt when he made a match-saving fourth-innings century in the first unofficial Test. That earned him a maiden call-up to India’s squad, for the third Test in Sri Lanka.Dravid, who has worked closely with Nair while coaching or mentoring India A, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils, picks out his hunger and attitude as qualities that have helped him transition to the next level.”Karun is still a work in progress, but obviously his skills and temperament have got him to this stage,” Dravid says. “He picks lengths early; his instincts as a batsman are solid now.”So where did he see Nair evolve into the batsman he is today?”I think the role change at Delhi Daredevils brought out the best in him,” Dravid says. “At Rajasthan Royals, he was batting behind the main guys like Shane Watson, Steven Smith and Ajinkya Rahane. At Delhi, we gave youngsters responsibility to drive the innings, and let seniors lower down the order handle the slightly challenging situations. He showed his ability to adapt there.”Having been part of the Test squad on two occasions without getting a look-in, Nair says the experience was an eye-opener in terms of what he needed to do to remain in those environs, and he soaked in the feeling of being in the dressing room and chatting with Kohli and the support staff.”It was a great feeling being around legends and future legends,” Nair says. “It felt amazing when they spoke of your domestic performances. That gave me a sense of belonging. Being a part of the dressing room for the first time, I still can’t describe. The Test cap is special and I’ve seen the seniors treasure it. When my chance comes, I’ll be ready.”

A round-up of all the Group A fixtures from the first round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy matches on October 9, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2016Madhya Pradesh secured a bonus-point victory on the back of an innings and 64-run thrashing of Uttar Pradesh in Hyderabad. UP, asked to follow-on after being bowled out for 176, slumped to 225 all out on the final day. Chandrakant Sakhure, the right-arm medium pacer, playing in only his third first-class game, finished with career-best figures of 6 for 40. MP’s 465 in the first innings was built around Harpreet Singh’s unbeaten 216. UP captain Suresh Raina, recovering from fever, didn’t bat in both innings.A double century from Manpreet Juneja helped Gujarat pull off a heist and pocket three points, courtesy a first-innings lead, despite conceding 544 against Baroda in Jaipur. Gujarat began the day needing 267 runs with six wickets in hand, to take a lead. The task appeared tougher when they lost the services of Rujul Bhatt, who retired hurt on 58. But Juneja found able support from Axar Patel, the left-arm-spinning allrounder, who made an unbeaten 109 as Gujarat went past Baroda’s score without losing a wicket on the final day.Railways’ push for an outright win was thwarted by Uday Kaul as Punjab salvaged a point after conceding a first-innings lead at Palam grounds in New Delhi. Set a target of 362, Punjab were 170 for 3 when play ended, with Kaul (61 not out) and Mandeep Singh (41 not out) having forged an unbroken 86-run fourth-wicket stand. Railways, who resumed on 180 for 2, lost five wickets for the addition of 65 runs before the declaration. Shivakant Shukla, who made 128 in the first innings, made 97 in the second dig. Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh had a disappointing outing, making 9 and 17 in his two outings.

After missing most of the 2015-16 season due to injury, Vernon Philander is looking to reinvent himself as a Test allrounder as he seeks to regain his place in the South African team

Firdose Moonda19-May-20163:42

Cullinan: Philander could be an ideal No. 7

Vernon Philander is looking to reinvent himself as a Test allrounder as he seeks to regain his place in the South Africa team. Philander sat out most of the 2015-16 summer after tearing ankle ligaments during the warm-ups before the Bangalore Test in November. The injury kept him out of seven of the eight Tests in the season and all the limited-overs fixtures, and saw him lose ground to a younger crop, including Kagiso Rabada. But Philander is hopeful he can still bring something to the national side.”What I do is unique: I do what I do. When it comes to the batting side of things, that’s a bonus as well,” Philander said at a sponsorship announcement on Wednesday. “We are all different types of bowlers in that set-up. It’s all about combinations at the end of the day. I’ve played a couple of crucial innings towards the back end. Batting at No.8 is just unique. If you have a guy who can bat at 8, that makes a difference. So yes, my all-round ability is something, I would like to see that still being part of the fold. That’s what I bring to the party.”Not only was Philander the fastest South African to 100 Test wickets but he has also scored four fifties in 32 Tests. With South Africa’s Test slide from No.1 to No.6 in the space of five months, it’s easy to see why they might want to recall someone with Philander’s record. However, with Dale Steyn back in the Test frame, Philander will need to replace one of the other pacers, such as Kyle Abbott. South Africa are still searching for an allrounder and they last used Chris Morris in the role but Philander hopes he can claim that spot despite a lack of recent game time.Since his injury, Philander has played only two first-class matches for his franchise but believes he has recovered well enough to be recalled. “The first match was touch-and-go from the mental side of things. The second one was much better,” he said. “I have been working hard in the gym. I am getting tired of the gym actually. The body is feeling good and I am looking forward to the season.”In the two matches, Philander bowled 33 overs and took five wickets at an economy of 2.18, showing signs of his usual miserly self. He also scored 64 runs in three innings. Philander had secured a short county stint, but failed to get a deal and was also not selected for South Africa’s ODI tri-series in the Caribbean next month. Instead, he hopes he will be picked for the A side and then the Test side to play two matches against New Zealand in August.”I know there is an A side tour going to Zimbabwe and I will probably want to play those four-day games before the New Zealand series, if selected. I am probably looking to get ready for that.”

Kieron Pollard believes West Indies could hold the mental edge over Australia ahead of Sunday’s Twenty20 in Hobart despite having been thrashed in the one-day series

Brydon Coverdale20-Feb-2010Kieron Pollard believes West Indies could hold the mental edge over Australia ahead of Sunday’s Twenty20 in Hobart despite having been thrashed in the one-day series. West Indies have beaten Australia in both the Twenty20s the teams have played and Pollard said there was a good chance that winning run could continue with a side boasting several big-hitters.”We are a pretty confident bunch in terms of the Twenty20,” Pollard said. “When you look at it, it has been evolving so fast and the West Indians, we have been performing pretty well in the Twenty20 competition. Having the edge, that little psychological advantage against them could really play in our favour.”It’s hard to imagine any squad feeling that they have the upper hand having just lost ODIs by 113 runs, eight wickets, 50 runs and 125 runs. But the freedom of Twenty20 could allow strikers like Pollard, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith to come in to their own without the pressure of having to bat for 50 overs.Not that Pollard had a poor one-day series – anything but. In the absence of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo, he stepped up to be West Indies’ leading run scorer in the series and was their second-top wicket taker.He registered his highest ODI score and his best innings bowling during the series and his consistency was impressive, with scores of 31, 32, 62 and 45. However, Pollard knew that cashing in on those starts on a couple of occasions might have altered the results and he hopes turning into a matchwinner will be the next step in his development.”Personally I’m happy with the way I performed so far this series,” he said. “The couple of times I’ve played for West Indies before had been pretty disappointing for me so I wanted to go out there and show some consistency in my game. I think it has been good for me.”But what has worked against me is that I’ve got the starts in the games but I haven’t really been able to capitalise. My performances should have been matchwinning for the team to be victorious.”Pollard’s power with the bat and handy medium-pace has made him an attractive Twenty20 option and he was a major part of Trinidad & Tobago’s success in reaching the Champions League final. He was the highest run getter in the Big Bash during his time with South Australia and has an IPL contract with the Mumbai Indians.It’s an impressive resume for a man who is only 22 and yet to play a Test match. But despite his suitability for the short formats, Pollard is focused on winning a place in the West Indies Test team and it’s a goal that might not be far away, given his solid first-class record of 1199 runs at 37.46.”Test cricket is going to remain as the ultimate form, it tests your mental capacity,” he said. “Hopefully one day I get the opportunity to get a maroon hat and go out there and play Test cricket for the West Indies.”

Pakistan seamer takes 4 for 36 after Daniel Lategan’s 78 lays foundation

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay31-Aug-2025Worcestershire powered through to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final with a 131-run (DLS) victory over Somerset at New Road.Put in, the home side totalled a solid 275 for 9 as Daniel Lategan struck his List A-best 78 against a disciplined Somerset attack with Jack Leach’s excellent 10-1-28-2 at its heart. Ben Green took 4 for 52.The target looked around par on a good pitch but Somerset’s top order imploded against Khurram Shahzad (4 for 36). The visitors lurched to 108 for 7 from 23.4 overs before rain arrived with them more than 100 runs behind the DLS score.After the resumption they further crumbled to 141 all out as Worcestershire emphatically secured a place in the final at Trent Bridge on September 20.Somerset chose to bowl but were kept waiting for their first breakthrough as openers Lategan and Brett D’Oliveira (45) added 85 in 15 overs. The bowlers gave little away though and, as risks were taken in search of acceleration, wickets began to fall.D’Oliveira drilled Kasey Aldridge to extra cover. Kashif Ali was caught with the greatest nonchalance by Finley Hill on the midwicket boundary off Green. Jake Libby skied Aldridge to mid off.Nineteen-year-old Lategan posted a polished maiden List A fifty but fell lbw, reverse-sweeping, to Leach as the spinner built pressure which also saw him bowl Rob Jones through a failed sweep. After Ethan Brookes was lbw, sweeping Tom Lammonby, Worcestershire needed some late order contributions. They got them from Henry Cullen (32) and Matthew Waite (24) before Tom Taylor (22 not out) clubbed three sixes to hoist the total to 275.Pakistan international Shahzad then began with two wides, one of which went for four, in his first three balls. From the dubious platform of 0.1-0-6-0, however, he built an opening spell of 7-2-36-4. Lammonby and Lewis Goldsworthy were beaten for pace when trying to pull and sent up catches. Archie Vaughan was brilliantly caught by Ben Allison at mid-wicket. Thomas Rew edged to slip.Worcestershire’s other seamers deepened Somerset’s plight. Waite had Joshua Thomas well caught by Lategan on the long-leg boundary and Allison dismissed Finley Hill, caught at slip, and Green, caught at mid-off.Green fell to the last ball before heavy rain arrived with Somerset in dire straits at 108 for 7. They resumed needing another 165 from 14.2 overs and quickly lost Aldridge, caught behind, and Leach, stumped, off Brookes.Last pair James Rew and Jake Ball needed to find 137 runs from ten overs. They managed five before Rew lifted Brookes to long off to trigger loud and long celebrations from the home fans.

The No. 3 batter struck the fastest PSL 2024 century and deflated Kings in the first innings

Associated Press04-Mar-2024Usman Khan hit the fastest century so far in this season’s Pakistan Super League to lead Multan Sultans into the playoffs with a 20-run win over Karachi Kings on Sunday.The Sultans continued their dominant run, securing its sixth win in seven games. They top the standings with 12 points, while fifth-place Karachi has just two wins from six games.Pakistan-born Usman, who now plays for the United Arab Emirates, smashed 106 not out off 58 balls after reaching his ton in 56 deliveries. Captain Mohammad Rizwan contributed 58 in Multan’s imposing 189 for 3 after choosing to bat first.The Kings never looked a threat before reaching 169 for 7 in 20 overs and losing their third straight home game. Skipper Shan Masood got clean bowled for 36 off 29 balls by the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Usama Mir (2-29). Legspinner Mir stretched his wickets tally to 15. Fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who took 1 for 40, has 14.Usman and Rizwan exploited some wayward Kings bowling, sharing a second-wicket stand of 148 off 93 balls. Rizwan was caught at mid-off soon after completing his half-century before Usman reached his ton with a pulled six against Mir Hamza in the last over.The Kings’ overseas signings Tim Seifert (1) and James Vince (7) fell inside the batting powerplay.Shoaib Malik top-scored for his team with 38 before holing out at long off in the 12th over and the Kings had plenty of soft dismissals in the run-chase.

Joint head coach ‘not currently part of the business’, say club, as Kirtley takes over

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2022James Kirtley says that the turmoil behind the scenes at Sussex is “an obvious distraction” to the players, after it was revealed that Ian Salisbury, his fellow head coach, was “not currently part of the business” following a non-cricketing dispute with one of his players.Salisbury had been in charge of Sussex’s Championship and 50-over team since November 2020, with Kirtley taking over the T20 set-up in the same timeframe following the departure of their predecessor Jason Gillespie.However, with the club currently second-from-bottom in the County Championship and battling to avoid defeat in their final match of the season against Glamorgan, it is understood that Salisbury has been placed on gardening leave, due to his handling of the 21-year-old spinner, Jack Carson.Carson, who debuted as a teenager in the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020, was Sussex’s leading wicket-taker in both that competition and the 2021 County Championship. However, having missed the start of the 2022 season following knee surgery, all three of his appearances in the current campaign have come in the past fortnight, since Salisbury’s departure.That includes the ongoing contest against Glamorgan at Hove, but speaking to the BBC at the close of the second day’s play, Kirtley was coy about the circumstances at the club.”We can’t make any further comment on that. There’s a legal process that has to be followed,” Kirtley said. “But it’s an obvious distraction to the lads.”We talk a lot about distractions,” he added. “This is a time of year when contracts are negotiated, and for this young side, it’s very important they understand that this is part of the game, and their ability to rise above those situations is a real skill.”The prospect of losing Carson – a highly-rated offspinner who was born in Northern Ireland but is England-qualified – comes in the wake of several high-profile departures from Hove in recent seasons, most recently the England duo of Chris Jordan and Phil Salt, but before them the likes of Reece Topley, Luke Wells, Danny Briggs, Laurie Evans, Michael Burgess and Harry Finch.It is a talent drain that has come in for scathing criticism from the former Sussex and England wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, who renewed his attack on the club hierarchy – in particular the CEO Rob Andrew and director of cricket, Keith Greenfield – in a series of tweets on Tuesday evening.”Another one the @SussexCCC Chairman, Board, Cricket committee, CEO and Performance Director will want to disappear very quickly,” Prior wrote. “Not sure that’s happening this time. The circle is closing around these people who have done so much to destroy our club.”

There were plenty of positives for Australia’s bowlers, on a day where they created chances but had little luck

Daniel Brettig02-Aug-2019Every now and then, it can be hard to quantify a day’s cricket. Nine years ago at the Gabba, Brad Haddin and Michael Hussey batted through three full sessions to add 307 together against England, their edges and pads being threatened throughout even as the scorecard continued to chronicle an ostensibly dominant partnership.On the third morning alone, armed with the second new ball, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steve Finn and Graeme Swann drew, according to CricViz, a false shot percentage of 18% without taking a single wicket. Briefly frustrated, Anderson and company were eventually exultant, having persisted with their plans and methods to secure an ultimately yawning 3-1 series margin.Back in the here and now, a ledger reading England 257 for 4, Rory Burns 125 not out, does not exactly suggest day two of this Ashes series was a good one for Australia’s bowlers. Certainly it must be said that there were certain overs and spells from Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon that were not all they could have been, with runs being allowed to leak in places and at times when more pressure might have brought more wickets.But the question that will be asked by many, at the end of the day on which the hosts crept to within 17 runs of a total Australia were gifted by the singular genius of Steven Smith, is whether or not the scoreboard merits a reconsideration of approach or merely a few tweaks at the edges of things. By the same measure as Brisbane 2010, England’s false shot percentage on day two was 22%, enough usually to claim comfortably more than four wickets – certainly there was no panic emanating from the team’s mentor, Steve Waugh.”[It was] just one of those days, wasn’t it?” Waugh said. “I thought they tried really hard, a lot of plays and misses, but it’s not an easy wicket to bat on either, so you’ve got to give the England batsmen credit. They played really well, they took their opportunities, made it hard for us to take wickets, but it just wasn’t our day. [We] beat the bat on a lot of occasions, a couple of half-chances, a run out, maybe a referral we could have got better, so one of those tough days of Test match cricket. The first session tomorrow is what really counts for us.”I thought our boys really toiled well all day and it wasn’t easy. There were moments when we bowled really well and not much seemed to happen, then we played well in the afternoon. I thought Ben Stokes played well at the end of the day, took a bit of the initiative away from us. I really can’t fault our bowlers today or the effort in the field, early in the day Pattinson hitting the stumps, maybe the referral we got wrong, we could have has them three or four down at lunch and it might’ve been a totally different day.”I think our bowlers’ efforts were really good. If they can do the same thing tomorrow, get a couple edges first up, it could be totally different.”There were undoubtedly a few moments in the first session that the Australians will ponder. The first edge of the day, coaxed out of Jason Roy by James Pattinson, flew through fourth slip, a position that was to be taken up after the moment had passed. Nathan Lyon’s early lbw appeal against Burns, found to be pitching in line, hitting in line and squarely striking the stumps according to ball-tracking, was a mistake by both the umpire Joel Wilson and the Australian fielders not deigning to review.Nathan Lyon reacts after a loose delivery•Getty Images

An early wicket there might well have brought a rush of them for Lyon, after the fashion of his dominant series in Australia in 2017-18. Instead he spent the rest of the day either dropping a fraction too short – a possible hangover from the ‘bowl ugly’ mantra he uses in limited-overs cricket, content at times to fire down flat deliveries that only draw a single to the boundary sweeper – or spinning his off breaks past the groping bats of Burns and later Ben Stokes.Similarly, the bizarre spectacle of Pattinson striking the outside of Joe Root’s off stump, creating a noise that brought a caught behind decision then overturned, left plenty of Australians to ruefully ponder the weight of the bails and the depth of their grooves, among other things. Root’s stand with Burns was never fluent, but sapped precious time and energy from the tourists up to the point where a wonderfully sharp return catch from Siddle sent England’s captain back to the dressing room, punching his glove against the guard rail as he did so.Siddle’s day looked decent on paper, conceding just two an over while conceding a mere four boundaries. But he will have been frustrated not to be more impactful on a surface that offered plenty of grass for him to work with the seam of the Dukes ball. And in common with Cummins, he spent long tracts of time operating from around the wicket against Burns and Stokes, seemingly without generating the sorts of chances that Australia’s team analysis has suggested will be the reward for accurate seam bowling from that angle to left-handers.One passage of play, after a ball change had provided additional life and accounted for Joe Denly and Jos Buttler in quick succession, underlined the somewhat questionable nature of this approach. Cummins, steaming in from the pavilion end, beat Burns four times in a single over from over the wicket, as the opener was marooned in the 90s. Next over he defeated Buttler from the same line, but when Stokes came in revered to around the wicket for Burns.The change in angle brought a loose ball Burns was able to glance for four to go from 94 to 98, and provided a discernible relaxation in the pressure previously applied. These moments, allied to the fact that Chris Woakes won lbw verdicts against Travis Head and Matthew Wade from over the wicket on day one, should be cause for some pondering about future lines of attack.Later, as Tim Paine cast around for options to bowl the last few overs before the second new ball, Wade and Head shared three amiable overs for 14 runs. The inclusion of Mitchell Marsh in the squad as a potential fourth seam bowling option will have its own issues in terms of his limitations as a batsman, but on flatter pitches in other venues, the Australians will need to think about their balance. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, of course, will not wish to be running drinks all series either.”It’s always useful when you don’t take too many wickets you’re looking around seeing who can bowl a few overs,” Waugh said. “We had the luxury of four great bowlers and didn’t often need a fifth bowler, but those sort of days where you’re not taking a lot of wickets you can probably do with five or 10 overs from someone. Having said that the bowlers handled the workload pretty well … but ideally it’s nice to have another bowler.”Ultimately, the best measure of this day will arrive in mid-September, when the outcome of this series is known. It may well be that the Australians see it the same way as England did in 2010, or perhaps as the 1989 team of which Waugh was a part saw an England first innings of 430 at Headingley before not topping 400 again for the series – a day when the exception proved the rule. But they have a lot of work ahead of them to do so.

With Darren Lehmann set to speak publicly for the first time since the ball-tampering scandal broke, former Australia captain Allan Border has thrown his support behind the under-fire coach

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2018With Darren Lehmann likely to speak publicly on Wednesday – for the first time since the ball-tampering scandal broke – former Australia captain Allan Border has thrown his support behind the under-fire coach.An investigation led by Cricket Australia’s head of integrity, Iain Roy, had found that Lehmann had been unaware of plans made on the third day of the Cape Town Test to generate reverse swing by tampering with the ball. CA’s chief executive James Sutherland told reporters on Tuesday that only the captain Steven Smith, the vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft, who was eventually caught on camera roughing up the ball with a foreign object, had been involved in the plan and that all of them have been ordered to leave South Africa.”If [the] integrity officer has been through and interviewed people and he’s satisfied that Darren Lehmann didn’t know specifically what was going on at the time, I’m very relaxed,” Border told . “That’s a good news item, isn’t it, not the other way.”We’re talking about one of the good guys in Australian cricket,” he continued. “He’s done a fantastic job with that team and if he wasn’t aware of what was going on, there’s no problem at all.”However, another former Australia captain, Michael Clarke, felt the “full story” was yet to come out, while England’s Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen were not convinced by the CA investigation that cleared Lehmann of wrongdoing.

When the incident occurred at Newlands on Saturday, Lehmann was seen with his walkie-talkie seemingly speaking to 12th man Peter Handscomb soon after footage of Bancroft using yellow sticky tape to scuff up the rough side of the ball – the opposite side that a player usually shines – was shown on TV screens around the ground. Handscomb then went on to the field to have a chat with Bancroft, who later shoved the tape down his trousers, prompting scrutiny from match officials. At the post-day press conference, Smith and Bancroft admitted to ball-tampering, leading to sanctions from the ICC and CA, pressure from the Australian government and widespread public outrage.