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“That call I’ll take once the IPL is over or in-between [the tournament].” says India’s No. 3 in Test cricket

Shashank Kishore20-Feb-2021Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t ruling out the possibility of a short county stint this summer, as preparation for India’s tour of England in August, while also insisting he’s keen to prove himself in the shortest format after finding an IPL team in Chennai Super Kings after a gap of seven years. Pujara was picked up at his base price (INR 50 lakhs) at the IPL auction on Thursday, which means he’ll once again play under his first India captain, MS Dhoni.”First of all, I’m really glad to be part of the IPL. It’s good to be back again and I’d like to thank CSK for picking me,” he said after India’s training session in Ahmedabad on Saturday. “At the same time, with regards to county cricket we still have enough time before we play the England Test series. Once the IPL will be over, there is a window where I can play a few county games. That call I’ll take once the IPL is over or in-between [the tournament].”There will be enough time to play some county games. We also have a couple of practice games [against India A] before the Test series. But yes, it’s good to be back in the IPL. I haven’t spoken to them [CSK management] yet but I always want to play the shorter formats. But for now, my focus once this series is over will be on the IPL and after that, I’ll think about county cricket and the big series against England in August. Hopefully, we will play the World Test Championship final as well. I want to focus now on the next two Tests, both of them are important for us to qualify.”In a way, a return to Ahmedabad is a little like life coming full circle for Pujara. The last time he played here was way back in November 2012, when he was just setting out to make a mark at No. 3 in the post-Dravid era. On a turner, India utilised the toss to their advantage by setting up an imposing first-innings total, with Pujara making 206 not out against an England attack of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Samit Patel.The surroundings and the surface, though, are starkly different this time around. The stadium has now been redeveloped to accommodate 110,000 spectators – although only half of those can be in attendance for the third Test – and the surface they’ll encounter here could be much different to the one from 2012, because they’ll be playing a day-night Test with the pink ball. The pandemic has meant Ahmedabad has only hosted a handful of T20 games – the Syed Mushtaq Ali knockouts – before this big match. Pujara was posed a question on the uncertainty of the challenges of playing on an untested surface, but it’s not something he’s too worried about.”We have three-four days [for the Test] and a lot could change,” Pujara said. “It looks a decent pitch but it’s difficult to predict anything, considering we’re playing with a pink ball. With the red ball, it’d be a different ball game, but with the pink ball, it’s difficult to assess. You expect something, but it could turn out to be something else. I want to just try and keep things simple and not worry too much about the pitch.”‘As a batsman, what is in my control – my practice, preparation, process – it’s been wonderful. I’m confident of getting a big score very soon’ – Cheteshwar Pujara•BCCI

The one thing India do expect is dew, which could potentially mean they’ll play three seamers, even though Pujara steered away from any talks over team combination. “Yes, there maybe dew,” he said. “Looking at the weather, there’s a possibility of dew in the final session. The guys have played a lot of cricket with the white ball here, and the bowlers are used to it. As batters, we’ve played with the pink ball. It could [affect] in the third session, although how much we don’t know yet. We will have a better idea [over the coming days] but we are expecting dew.”Pujara was also reminded about India’s previous pink-ball Test – the infamous 36 all out in Adelaide two months ago. He swatted it away with a chuckle, insisting there’s going to be no baggage from that game, and instead chose to draw positives from how well India batted in the first innings of that Test, where they even claimed a slender lead over Australia.”I’ve played so many Tests but with the pink ball, even I don’t have enough experience,” he said. “I don’t think it matters a lot when you play one-off pink-ball Tests, we will get used to it as we keep playing more. We’ll have to just play normal cricket, have similar game plans like we had in the previous Test match, depending on the pitch. We’ll just stick to that. In Adelaide, the ball was swinging around and we had one bad session of poor batting that led to that disaster, but overall if you look at the first innings, we were in a dominating position.”‘Chennai pitch not dangerous at all’Pujara was asked for his verdict on the Chepauk surface for the second Test, in which England folded cheaply in both innings. India’s spinners ran amok, picking up 17 of the 20 wickets to fall, with none of the visiting batsmen going beyond the 43 Moeen Ali made in the dying moments of the match which India won by 317 runs on the fourth day.”Sometimes, if you’re playing on a turner, you find it difficult, but it wasn’t a dangerous pitch at all,” he said. “When the ball spins, people find it difficult to score runs. When we go overseas, we also play on seaming tracks where games finish in three or four days. We still have to play on pitches with grass and seam movement. When it comes to turning tracks, you can’t define how much it should turn. There’s a thin line, but I don’t think it was a bad pitch. Yes, it always becomes difficult in the second innings, but even when we play in Australia on fourth or fifth-day tracks, balls can hit the cracks and take off. As a team, I don’t think we had an issue, am sure England once they’re used to it and play more matches, they’ll also figure out a way.”It’s not often Pujara goes through an entire press conference without questions about his batting. And while he’s made key contributions right through the summer, the one thing he’s looking to tick off is getting to three-figures, something he last did in Tests in Sydney in January 2019.”I started well, got off to starts but got out unfortunately [in the second Test],” he said. Pujara was out to a pull shot that deflected off short leg to the midwicket fielder in the first innings. In the second, he was run out after his bat got stuck in the turf while trying to get back into the crease.”The way I am batting, although the three-figures haven’t come, I am hoping it wont’ be too far away. As a batsman, what is in my control – my practice, preparation, process – it’s been wonderful. I’m confident of getting a big score very soon.”

Joe Denly’s unbeaten hundred – his first for Middlesex – helped them to three batting points for the first time this season

Alan Gardner at Lord's05-May-2012
Scorecard
Joe Denly, in action here for Kent, made his first century for his new county Middlesex•Getty Images

If Middlesex and Worcestershire find themselves shoulder to shoulder near the bottom of the table in a few months’ time, battling each other to avoid relegation, then Joe Denly’s unbeaten hundred – his first for his new county – could turn out to be the cigarette paper inserted between the two sides. Denly batted with composure and application to add exactly 100 to his overnight score as Middlesex amassed their highest total of the season so far and denied Worcestershire a third bowling bonus point while they were at it.Middlesex claimed two wickets in the gloaming after Chris Rogers’ declaration shortly into the evening session but it was the performance of Denly, recruited from Kent over the winter, that stood out. With a draw the likeliest outcome, his performance, as a barometer of how well Middlesex may fare in Division One, was as valuable as the three batting points it helped to secure.Denly was once groomed as an England opener but lost his way after making a handful of one-day appearances in 2009. Seeking a fresh start, he swapped the tranquillity of Canterbury for the mildly grittier urban milieu of St Johns Wood and this innings suggested he may come again at international level, with England not exactly overrun with options as the top of the order. Having the captain, Andrew Strauss, as a team-mate won’t do his chances any harm, either.”It was nice to spend some time out in the middle and get that first hundred under the belt, my first hundred at Lord’s as well, so I’m delighted,” Denly said. “It’s been a while [since being involved with England]. If I’m scoring runs consistently then hopefully they might take a bit of notice but it’s only one knock so far, I’ve just got to focus on doing it week in week out and scoring big hundreds.”As it is, Middlesex are comfortably ensconced in the middle of the standings, while Worcestershire bob alongside Durham and Lancashire, the champions, near the bottom. The latter two were being talked of in title-challenging terms at the start of the season and both will expect their fortunes to improve but Worcestershire, having lost their opening six games last year, are familiar with the art of escapology.That Middlesex didn’t assert even greater supremacy in this match was largely down to Alan Richardson, once of NW8 himself, who claimed his third five-wicket haul of the season to take his overall tally to 24. The game may not have been the biggest show in town, with the FA Cup final taking place at Wembley just a few miles across north London, but then Richardson has never needed the incentive of the spotlight in order to perform. He was also unsentimental about his wicket-taking return.”I’ve got quite a few old clubs,” he said, with wry a smile. “It’s a fantastic place to come back to, the home of cricket, I had five great years here – whether everyone else thought they were great I don’t know but I certainly enjoyed them. To get five wickets is always nice, whatever ground it is.”I think the wicket has got a little bit in it, if anything we bowled pretty poorly yesterday. We’ve given ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb, I don’t think it’s a 327 for seven wicket. So we’ve put ourselves under a bit of pressure.”Despite more capricious weather in the morning, Denly remained unflappable at the crease. He got forward well and was particularly strong driving down the ground though, like all the batsmen, he had one or two uncomfortable moments against Richardson. After a generally sedate knock, punctuated by occasional boundaries, he moved from 86 to 101 from six balls, timing Richard Jones off his pads before dispatching another on drive down the ground to bring the members to their feet.That milestone seemed a long way off after Richardson had taken two in two balls to leave Middlesex on 172 for 5 but Denly combined with first John Simpson and then Gareth Berg to regain the initiative. Berg scratched around like a cooped up tom cat at the start of his innings, was dropped in the gully and rarely looked secure but grubbed his way to 36 out of a partnership of 88 with Denly, as Middlesex took the opportunity either side of a prolonged break for rain to restore some faith in their batting order.Denly pulled Richardson into the stands to bring up the 300 and the declaration came shortly after, as Middlesex seemingly dithered over whether to pursue a fourth batting point or not. Strauss then dropped Michael Klinger on nought, repaying the favour from yesterday. But as the clouds drew in, Worcestershire’s Australian opener was dismissed and Strauss’ could walk off in a sunnier frame of mind.

Veteran legspinner won’t play for the Renegades after electing to stay on in South Africa

Alex Malcolm28-Dec-2020The Melbourne Renegades have suffered another blow with their premier legspinner Imran Tahir withdrawing from the tournament for personal reasons.Tahir had been in doubt to play in the BBL after his arrival was delayed in December with the Australian government requiring overseas players to do a 14-day quarantine in a hotel room prior to being available to play.Related

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The Renegades had signed a bevy of international spinners including Tahir, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, and Imad Wasim.The Renegades coach Michael Klinger said that while it was disappointing to lose Tahir, it would give an opportunity to Noor Ahmad. “Unfortunately, Imran is not coming for personal reasons,” Klinger said. “He’s a great player so it is a loss. But at the same time we’ve seen Noor Ahmad a couple of games ago, a bowler who people haven’t seen that much, it might actually work in our favour.”He’ll now be able to play a fair chunk of that back end of the season, with Imad Wasim. Nabi has to go home for international duty. It is a loss but at the same time what a huge opportunity for young Noor to come in and have a huge impact on the BBL.”Ahmad, 15, made his BBL debut against the Hobart Hurricanes and took 1 for 27 from four overs and was unfortunate not to claim a second wicket with a very close lbw shout against Colin Ingram turned down.He was left out of the Renegades last match against the Sydney Thunder, where they were beaten by 129 runs to suffer the second-largest defeat in BBL history, just two weeks after suffering the worst one against the Sydney Sixers.Klinger said the mood in the group was still upbeat despite the heavy defeats. “The mood is still pretty good because we know what we’re capable of doing,” he said. “We saw in game one how well we played. We know we’ve got the ability in the group to really come out and perform well.”

AB de Villiers describes in Alison’s Tea Break how he came through what he calls his “breakdown” when he was on the cusp of losing his place in the South Africa side.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2012In 2007, AB de Villiers was told by the then South Africa coach Mickey Arthur that he was in the last chance saloon. A poor run of form had left him with one last chance to save his place in the side and possibly his international career.In the latest edition of Alison’s Tea Break, de Villiers, now South Africa’s one-day captain, Test vice-captain, and one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world, talks in detail about his batting ethos and describes how he came through what he calls his “breakdown” in 2006/7 when he was on the cusp of losing his place in the side.He explains how he forced himself into a positive frame of mind – “brainwashing” himself, as he puts it – before hitting a century against the West Indies and following it up with an unbeaten double hundred against India in Ahmedabad.Five years later he is enjoying a leadership role within the South Africa team; a role which, he believes, is partly responsible for the way he has developed an astonishing repertoire of batting strokes.He talks Alison through his jaw-dropping assault on South Africa team mate Dale Steyn in the IPL earlier this year, and determines that while Test cricket is about playing the ball, T20 is about anticipating. The way de Villiers was able to read the game that night resulted in a blistering 47 off 17 balls, including 23 off one Steyn over, to turn the match for Bangalore Royal Challengers.
Find out in this interview how he feels about having been No. 1 in the Test batting rankings, to what extent he believes talent is innate, and just how he achieves the right frame of mind to take on the world’s best bowlers time and time again.

Admits being in the broadcast commentary box last summer made him eager to spend more time playing

Daniel Brettig16-Nov-2020Australia’s Test captain Tim Paine has given an indicator he may be looking at a longer term in charge of the national team, as his sole deputy Pat Cummins backed away from any suggestions he was ramping up his apprenticeship for a possible succession plan.On the day that South Australia’s developing Covid-19 outbreak underlined how even the best-laid plans are particularly tenuous in 2020, Paine indicated he had no intention of returning to the broadcast commentary box in the short to medium term. He has rejoined the Big Bash League’s playing ranks with the Hobart Hurricanes and stated that he missed the atmosphere of the dressing room when sequestered as part of Seven’s broadcast team after concluding his Test duties last summer.While a place on the Hurricanes’ list does not equate to a continuing Test match tenure, 35-year-old Paine’s revelation that his first taste of life beyond the game only made him more eager to spend more time playing is a strong pointer to the fact that he wishes to hang onto his place as the nation’s No. 1 wicketkeeper and red ball captain beyond the climax of the World Test Championship next year and even the home Ashes series in 2021-22.”I missed white-ball cricket, I enjoyed my commentary but I missed being around the team and around my mates,” Paine said. “For me I can go to commentary in three or four years’ time if need be, but for me at the moment I just want to play as much cricket as I can while I still can and thankfully, I’m fit enough to be still going. I can’t wait to be back in the purple and back around white-ball cricket.”It was probably at the end of last year I had a chat to my manager when the Hurricanes were playing finals and I was there commentating and while I enjoyed the stint and it’s something I’ll probably look to do when I finish, but I miss the competitiveness, I miss being around the team and didn’t enjoy being on the outside of it. I wanted to get back inside the tent.”I think I’ll be available for the back three or four and then the finals, but looking at the line-up it’s going to be difficult for me to get a game with the quality we’ve got on our list.”Cummins, who has been confirmed as the lone vice-captain of both the Test and limited-overs teams and thus lieutenant to Paine and Aaron Finch, said on Monday he was not looking at the role as anything more than a supporting post to the team leaders.Mark Taylor stated that a longer tenure for Paine might make CA look beyond Smith and to a younger generation•Getty Images

“Not really to be honest, maybe once I get into Test camp I’ll get my head around it a bit more, but I still see my job as helping Painey out in that Test side as much as I can. Beyond that, not really,” he said. “Since being vice-captain, of course you think about the game a bit more when you’re out there, when you’re off the field as well, trying to be a bit more aware of what’s going on, sometimes as a bowler it’s easy to go down to fine leg and drift, so just trying to make sure I’m always trying to learn what it takes to be captain in case it ever comes up.”Just about everyone you come across, whether it’s ex-players or some of the really good players you’re lucky enough to play with in IPL have been part of really good sides and have had some leadership roles, so I think everyone has their own style and way they go about it, so it’s great to hear what’s worked for them and it’s all different cultures, different levels of cricket, but I think most of the problems and the opportunities are all the same. Just maybe in a slightly different setting.”I haven’t had too much experience so I could say it’s easy or it’s really hard, but until you actually have a crack at it you might not know. speaking to a few captains around the place or guys who have captained, they’ve found sometimes the longer the format the easier it has been to make those tactical decisions, you don’t feel as rushed, the game doesn’t move as quickly.”Of course something like the Aussie team we’ve probably got six, seven or eight guys who are really good leaders, have captained either Australia or their state, so there’s no shortage of ideas and guys to bounce off.”The former captain Mark Taylor has stated that a longer tenure for Paine may well serve as a catalyst for Cricket Australia to look beyond Steven Smith and to a younger generation, headed by the likes of Cummins, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, for future leadership posts.”If Paine goes a couple more years, that will probably go against Smith,” Taylor told this week. “They’d probably want to go to someone younger, like a Travis Head. But if things don’t go well for Tim, or he decides in the next 12 months or so that he’s had enough, I’d like to think they would certainly consider Smith again.”Either way, Paine also backed up the national team coach Justin Langer’s strong assertion that it will most likely be Joe Burns walking out to open the batting alongside David Warner in the Tests against India, irrespective of the Queenslander’s modest returns during the recently completed bracket of Sheffield Shield games.”I think Burnsy had a really good summer for us last year with David Warner, their partnership and relationship is a really important one for our team, and they got us off to a number of good starts last year,” Paine said. “Burnsy hasn’t been in the form he’d like or scored the runs he’d like, but we know he does a good job, he averages close to 40 in Test cricket for Australia, which is great opening the batting and we expect him to start the summer.”

Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who is now a British citizen, has not been able to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL because he has not yet been given an Indian visa

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2012Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who is now a British citizen, has not been able to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL because he has not yet been given an Indian visa. Mahmood had been bought by Kings XI for $200,000 at the 2012 player auction.The Kings XI management had said Mahmood had taken a short break after playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, but the captain Adam Gilchrist said there had been visa issues. “It’s up to the government. I believe that he has not yet got his visa,” Gilchrist told . “When we picked him at the auction, we were given to believe that he would be available for all the matches. But that has not happened. He is yet to get his visa. He is a class player and we are missing him.”Following the 2012 auction, Kings XI had appeared to be one of the weakest teams, and Mahmood was their highest-profile signing. They struggled in the early part of their campaign, losing two games, and are presently second last in the points table. Kings XI are also without Stuart Broad, who is missing the tournament because of injury.Mahmood is the only player to have represented Pakistan in this season of the IPL. While Pakistan players were part of the inaugural tournament in 2008, they have missed out since then, after cricketing ties between India and Pakistan broke down following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.IPL chairman and BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said earlier this week that the participation of Pakistan cricketers in the tournament was dependent on the resumption of bilateral ties. “No one is against Pakistan or Pakistani players in India, or else we would not have allowed Pakistani commentators or umpires in IPL 5,” he said. “Everything is tied to the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries. Once that happens, I think everything will happen automatically. The IPL functions under the BCCI and when bilateral relations resume between the two boards, the IPL will also not be a problem for Pakistani players.”

Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry missed the third ODI as stand-in captain Haynes and Healy set-up a 232-run victory

Daniel Brettig07-Oct-2020That Australia would conclude a domineering home series against New Zealand with their second highest ever ODI total on home shores, on the way to a record-setting 21st consecutive ODI victory, was startling enough. That they would achieve those feats with a 232-run win, without their captain Meg Lanning as well as their famed allrounder Ellyse Perry in the XI, was downright unnerving for the rest of the world.Lanning’s absence, due to a right hamstring strain sustained during her unbeaten century in the second of three ODIs on Monday, was the talk of Allan Border Field on Wednesday morning, giving New Zealand a chance to pressure a batting order shorn of its most vaunted name. Certainly it was enough to encourage Sophie Devine to send the hosts in upon winning the toss despite a slowing and ageing surface.But the response was that of a team far more enthused than overawed by such challenges. The acting captain Rachael Haynes and Alyssa Healy combined for a commanding opening stand worth 144 in a little more than half the available overs, before Haynes and the middle order accelerated fearfully to take the Australians to 325 – only a gargantuan 397 against Pakistan in the amateur days of 1997 surpassed it among matches at home.ALSO READ: How Australia made it 21 wins in a rowIn the midst of the punishment, including 104 from the final 10 overs as Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney and Lanning’s replacement Tahlia McGrath made merry, there was also room for development: an occasionally halting but equally promising stay at No. 3 from the 18-year-old allrounder Annabel Sutherland, as she added 78 in 87 balls with Haynes. Asked to chase a distant 326, the touring side were in trouble virtually from the start, as Devine was cramped into pulling Megan Schutt into the trap of two midwickets placed for her, departing the scene for a disconsolate first-ball duck. There onwards, the Australian bowlers did not relent, as Jess Jonassen and Georgia Wareham particularly enjoyed the expansive spin occasionally on offer.There had been far more optimism for New Zealand early on, as an overcast morning offered the chance for swing, and the knowledge that Healy and Haynes were to be followed by the callow Sutherland rather than the hamstrung Lanning.ALSO READ: Meg Lanning interview – On leading superstars, legacyBut they were unable to find a way through, allowing Healy and Haynes to punish any errors in line and length, and build with something approaching impunity as both passed 50 and Healy reached the outskirts of a century. Thirteen short of a century, she skied wristspinner Amelia Kerr, clearing the way for Sutherland’s entry.The next period saw New Zealand regain some control of the scoreboard as Sutherland struggled to rotate strike with her correct and upright technique, only for Haynes to intervene with some aggressive blows to get the run rate going again. With time, Sutherland began to join in, but was bowled behind her pads attempting to sweep Kerr just as the final 10 overs began.Haynes’ steadfast display merited a century, but was ended on 96 by a marginal lbw call when she, too, knelt to sweep Kerr. Mooney might also easily have followed lbw, saved only by a little doubt over whether the ball had pitched outside leg stump before looking likely to crash into middle. Kerr’s wristspin skills had again been very evident, but upon the conclusion of her spell, having seen Gardner wretchedly dropped by Natalie Dodd, the Australians freed their arms. Eight sixes for the innings were the joint-most for Australia in a women’s ODI.New Zealand’s pursuit was never more than a cursory one, save for Amy Satterthwaite’s 41. On a slow and spinning surface, against bowling options ideally suited to the conditions, they were completely overwhelmed. The evenness of Australia’s display was underlined by the fact that wickets were shared among every member of the attack, rounding off a massive victory without their two biggest names.Twenty-one ODI wins in a row equalled the record set by the Australian men’s team in the 2000s; seldom if ever were Ricky Ponting’s side quite as dominant as this.

Australia’s visit makes for the perfect dessert after a slap-up cricketing feast

Andrew Miller03-Sep-2020

September is upon us, schools are going back, nights are drawing in, but the cricketing treats just keep on coming in this most delayed gratification of a summer schedule.There was a time, not so long ago, when the prospect of this many white-ball games against Australia this deep into an English season would fill most of the home contingent with dread – the most damning example coming in Australia’s 6-1 filleting of Andrew Strauss’s sated side in 2009, although the same autumnal fate awaited England’s Ashes winners in 2013 and 2015 too.Right now, however, what would any of us rather be tuning into? Having waited so long for this season even to begin, and having doubted for longer still that Australia would actually show up for their share of the action, here we are, with the prospect of six more contests to round off the summer and give the impression, statistically speaking at least, that 2020 was actually a fairly standard season after all – blighted by English rain, obviously, but nothing else untoward, surely?As Mark Wood put it in his typically effusive tones on Wednesday, and Eoin Morgan reiterated on Thursday, there’s something special about an Anglo-Aussie clash, regardless of context. It’s England’s biggest rivalry, and the oldest, and the fact that Australia come in as the No.1-ranked side in T20Is merely adds to the two team’s desires to, on the one hand defend that status, and on the other to knock them down a peg.Australia arrive with a quietly formidable side, powered by a pair of quicks in Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins who would grace any team in the world, backed up by the established twin-spin pairing of Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, and with Aaron Finch and David Warner leading off a batting line-up that will feature the unfettered talents of Glenn Maxwell for the first time in 2020, following his decision to take a break for his mental health last October.England’s T20I squad pose for a socially-distanced team photo•Getty Images

It’s an uncomplicated formula that has reaped rich rewards in the format – they’ve won four series in a row since the start of 2019, and Morgan intimated that Australia would begin this campaign as favourites given that his own side are still rather more pre-occupied with broadening their base than sharpening their first XI. It’s unfortunate on several levels for Australia that this winter’s T20 World Cup has been postponed. Going into that campaign on home soil, in ordinary circumstances, they would surely have been overwhelming favourites.Then again, England have had the better of Australia in white-ball cricket for quite some time now, and while Aussies don’t scare easily, they’ll doubtless have one or two painful memories of their last few clashes in coloured clothing – the World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston, for starters, where England produced their most complete evisceration of a somewhat erratic campaign, and atoned for their group-stage loss at Lord’s. And if that doesn’t spook them, there’s the memories of 481 for 6 and all that from the summer of 2018 – the apogee of England’s 5-0 ODI thrashing with which they confirmed their readiness for the challenges ahead.That said, England are far from the finished article in T20Is. That much is clear from this week alone, after they were outmuscled in the third and final contest by a fervent Pakistan, in the Powerplay with the ball, and in the death overs with the bat, where it is so hard to hit the ground running when wickets start to fall, and equally hard to get the match practice required to be the hero that the team needs as such moments. The timely return to form for Moeen Ali may be a huge boon on that front – the one thing that can be said for his recent abject run of batting form is that he has never died wondering in his brief stays in the middle. Sam Billings can also face an important audition in the coming days, as England are starting to expect a return on the investment that’s been put in him in recent times.Whatever transpires, if the weather stays remotely clear, the next fortnight of action promises a fitting send-off to a summer that has been like no other in living memory – and that more than anything is the message to absorb in the coming days. As recently as July, we were still hoping against hope that something, anything, could be salvaged from the English cricket season. Irrespective of the setbacks along the way, the fare on offer so far has been beyond anyone’s realistic expectations. A visit by Australia makes for the perfect dessert.

England LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia WLWWW

Welcome back to the white-ball world, Jofra Archer. For myriad reasons – injury, rotation and bio-bubbles among them – the hero of England’s World Cup Super Over has not been seen in coloured clothing since that extraordinary climax at Lord’s last July. But here he is, back in the format that – for all his promise across every length of the game – he has truly made his own with his world-beating exploits on the T20 circuit for Sussex, Rajasthan, Hobart, Quetta and wherever else he may have roamed. And you sense that, after cutting a somewhat peripheral figure during an arduous Test leg of the summer, he’ll rather relish getting back to delivering short, sharp shocks of his extraordinarily versatile skills. Raw pace, pinpoint yorkers, unfathomable slower balls. No time like the present to remind everyone why he was the point of difference in that run to glory last year.Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer in the nets with England•Getty Images

And welcome back to England, David Warner, the pantomime villain de nos jours. As if the idea of England and Australia battling it out behind closed doors isn’t strange enough already, imagine how eery the echoing environment of the Ageas Bowl will feel for Warner in particular, without a packed English crowd taunting him about sandpaper or Stuart Broad at every turn. On his last visit to England, he famously signed off with 95 runs at 9.50 in the Ashes, with Broad cramping his style time and time again with seven dismissals from that round-the-wicket line. But let’s not forget he had been a different beast in the preceding World Cup, with three hundreds and 647 at 71.88 in Australia’s run to the semi-finals. Somewhere between those two contrasting memories, he’ll doubtless find equilibrium for the challenge ahead.

Plenty to ponder for England as they rebalance their line-up after the experimental outings against Pakistan. Jos Buttler is back, and in the absence of Jason Roy, he will be partnered at the top of the order by Jonny Bairstow, all of whom were described by Morgan as “three of our greatest white-ball players”. That will leave an interesting decision at No.3, where Dawid Malan is the incumbent, having produced an important half-century in England’s second T20I win over Pakistan, but where Tom Banton might feel he deserves an opportunity, following his full-throttle displays at the top of the order last week. Sam Billings should get another chance to prove his finishing credentials in the middle order, while Sam Curran might get a go to prove his versatility at No.7 after cutting his international teeth in the Test arena. With Archer back in harness, Mark Wood’s absence of subtlety might be vying with Tom Curran’s death-over wiles for the final bowling berth.England (possible): 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Tom Banton / Dawid Malan, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Sam Billings, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood / Tom CurranDespite his burgeoning reputation across formats, Marnus Labuschagne won’t be inked in for a T20I debut just yet, with Steve Smith preferred as the tempo-setter at No.3, and Glenn Maxwell back as the man who makes things happen at No.4, in place of Matthew Wade. Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey look set to be given the mid-innings roles at 5 and 6, while Kane Richardson is the likeliest candidate to complete the five-prong attack that has done as much as any unit to lift Australia to the No.1 ranking.Australia (possible): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Alex Carey, 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Adam Zampa, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Kane Richardson

Australia have been more than happy with the warm-up surfaces for their intra-squad contests at the Ageas Bowl, and Aaron Finch said he was expecting decent scores on a strip with good carry. A bright Friday evening is in prospect in Southampton, which augurs well for another entertaining clash.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won nine of their 16 T20Is against England since their first encounter in 2005, including seven of their ten meetings this decade.
• However, England won their most recent engagement, at Edgbaston in 2018, where they posted 221 for 5, their highest T20I total against Australia.
• Finch needs 11 runs to become the second Australian after Warner to reach 2000 in T20Is.
• Australia have won just one of their 11 scheduled T20Is in England, but it did come at the Ageas Bowl in 2013, where Finch posted a remarkable 156 out of 248 for 6.
• Australia have lost eight of those games with two no-results – a run that includes five successive losses against non-English opposition, at the World T20 in 2009 and the neutral series against Pakistan the following year.

“For the first time this summer we’re seeing a majority of our best team on the park [but] I don’t think we have to go out and pick our best XI every series, because we can’t put all our eggs in one basket. You need 16 or 17 players in the lead-in to World Cup selection that are all vying for a position in the best 15.”
“The England-Australia rivalry is always huge, regardless of who you’re playing in front of or where you’re playing, I think you could play it in the street and it’d still be there. It’s just a great rivalry.”.”

Garton leads recovery from 59 for 5 after taking four wickets to restrict Essex

ECB Reporters Network20-Sep-2020Sussex secured a home Vitality Blast quarter-final against Lancashire when they beat last season’s winners Essex by six wickets with 10 balls to spare.Replying to a modest Essex total of 136 for 9 they recovered from 59 for five to claim a victory inspired by a partnership of 73 in 10 overs between George Garton and Calum MacLeod.Garton hit an unbeaten 34, and earlier claimed figures of 4 for 21 as Essex, apart from Paul Walter, struggled to make progress in the way they wanted. Walter struck 76 with the help of nine fours and three sixes after arriving with his side 18 for 3.Essex got off to a disastrous start; losing two wickets in the opening over from Garton without a run on the board. Cameron Delport was caught behind by Phil Salt while Feroze Kushi was bowled trying to turn the ball to leg.Varun Chopra lightened the Essex gloom by driving Ollie Robinson for six but in the same over was bowled to leave Essex 18 for 3 in the fourth over. Worse was to follow when Mitchell Claydon joined the attack to breach the defences of Michael Pepper four runs later.That left Simon Harmer and Walter attempting to repair the damage but they found it difficult to make progress against bowlers who gave nothing away, so much so that the halfway point of their innings arrived with only 47 on the board.A reverse sweep to the boundary off left-arm spinner Danny Briggs brought up the 50 and in the same over Walter unleashed a superb drive for six.A couple of boundaries by Walter off former Essex paceman Tymal Mills improved fortunes for the home side before the introduction of David Wiese ended the partnership after it had yielded 43. Harmer was the man to depart as he skied a top edge which Salt accepted with ease.Much then depended on Walter if Essex were to post any sort of challenge and he responded by punishing Briggs for six and a four as he moved towards his half-century.He reached it with a leg glance to the fence but immediately afterwards he lost debutant Robin Das who was caught at square leg to provide Garton with success in the 16th over.While Walter continued to impress with two more boundaries he was to lose Jack Plom with the total on 109 as he was bowled by Garton to provide the seamer with his fourth success.Following the departure of Aron Nijjar, a victim of Claydon, Walter’s fine innings came to an end in the final over when he was bowled by Robinson for 76. This effort spanned 44 balls and included nine fours and three sixes.Sussex did not embark upon their target in a blaze of glory. Luke Wright’s stumps were left in disarray by Plom with the total on nine and Delray Rawlins provided Ben Allison with his first wicket at senior level when he was caught by Shane Snater.Snater then joined the attack to have former Essex man Ravi Bopara caught on the square leg boundary by Allison to spark a collapse and leave Sussex nerves jangling.Salt, having struck seven fours and a six in his 22-ball 42 was caught in the deep by Harmer, who then made an impact with his offspin by trapping David Wiese leg before to leave the visitors 59 for 5.The total moved into the 70s in the tenth over to leave MacLeod and Garton to put the innings back on even keel.Both were to collect boundaries at the expense of Harmer before the pair carried the total into three figures in the 15th over.The next landmark was the 50 stand, it arriving in the same number of deliveries and the sixth wicket pair continued to keep pace with the required run rate until MacLeod departed for 40, made from 40 balls, with the score on 132 in the 18th over. He was caught in the deep off Plom.Garton then square cut Delport to the boundary in the next over to carry his score to 34 from 30 deliveries and take Sussex to victory.

All the buzz from the IPL 2020 game between the Delhi Capitals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Dubai

Alagappan Muthu05-Oct-2020