Alex Hales’ fine form continued but the Strikers were well on course for victory when the game changed with a run out

The Report by Daniel Brettig01-Feb-2020The Sydney Thunder would not have qualified for any Big Bash League finals series before this one. Having benefited from the addition of a fifth team, they are now a game from playing off for the trophy against the Sydney Sixers after edging past the Adelaide Strikers in a nervy-wracked affair at Adelaide Oval.All three BBL finals so far have been won by the team batting first, and once again the pressure of the situation got to the Strikers just as they appeared set to run down the Thunder’s 7 for 151. From 3 for 115 needing 37 from 31 balls, the Strikers lost 6 for 24 to ultimately fall nine runs short of winning through to face the Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Thursday night.Chris Morris celebrates the wicket of Matt Short•Getty Images

The tale of the game was ultimately told in how the Thunder captain Callum Ferguson was able to rely upon three outstanding spells from Jono Cook, Daniel Sams and Chris Morris, whereas the Strikers’ otherwise excellent bowling display had been let down by Billy Stanlake and Wes Agar leaking 75 off seven overs between them.Hales feasts on short stuffHeavy rain in Adelaide had provoked doubt over whether the match would begin on time or even be completed at all, but the skies cleared and the ground drained with more than enough time to spare. The weather left in its wake a fresher pitch than usual for an Adelaide Oval T20 match, convincing the Strikers captain Travis Head to send the Thunder in, having batted fist whenever possible in earlier home matches.The strategy for the Strikers, then, would have appeared obvious, in terms of bowling a little fuller than usual to seek movement and outside edges. However, Stanlake and Agar appeared not to have got the memo, dropping down obligingly short for Usman Khawaja briefly and then Alex Hales at length to use their power off the back foot. Siddle and Michael Neser were far more intelligent in their approaches, often beating the bat whenever they bowled a driveable length, meaning the Thunder scorecard soon developed a lopsided appearance.Strikers keep Thunder middle order quietSo while Hales scored freely, others struggled, though Ferguson was very unfortunate to be fired out lbw to Siddle by the umpire Paul Wilson – the ball looked to be comfortably clearing the stumps as the batsman tried to pull it. Hales’ innings was ended when he misread a Rashid Khan leg break as a wrong’un and edged it tamely to point, and the sight of Arjun Nair walking out to bat at No. 5 did not say much for the Thunder’s batting depth.Consequently, the innings gradually decelerated, as 2 for 89 after 11 overs deteriorated to 7 for 151 after 20. While Stanlake and Agar went for 75 between them from seven overs the e other Strikers bowlers cost just 76 from the remaining 13, and only Morris could pass 20 from among the Thunder’s middle-order players.Hosts’ chase begins uncertainlyThere was some excellent bowling upfront by the Thunder to give themselves a chance of defending their mediocre tally. Sams flummoxed Phil Salt with a slower ball to draw a catch to mid-on, Jake Weatherald was hurried out by an excellent bouncer from Chris Tremain, and Head, after looking composed and proactive, contrived to drag Cook’s wrist spin onto the stumps to have the Strikers uncertainly placed at 3 for 65 in the 10th over.But the depth of the Strikers’ batting line-up was underlined by the fact they had Jon Wells – the leading middle-order batsman in the tournament – coming in at No. 5 whereas the Thunder had needed to send in Nair. What followed was a 50-run stand in 35 balls between Wells and Alex Carey, as the target was quickly whittled down through deft placement and strategically timed boundaries. It was a surprise, in fact, when Carey was run out by a direct hit from Ferguson, leaving Wells with the primary responsibility.Thunder squeak home at the lastHe could only watch at the non-striker’s end as Rashid slogged Cook into the outfield to leave him with another fine set of figures, and Matt Short was then pinned lbw by a Morris delivery that was swift and straight. Wells and Neser then allowed the equation to drift out to 34 required from the final three overs, before they sized up Tremain. Neser’s obvious intention to walk towards the off side had Tremain bowling wide, and four times in the 18th over he pitched on our outside the tram lines to hand the Strikers a run.Two more boundaries meant the over cost 16 all up, and though Neser and Siddle departed in the penultimate over, Wells was left on strike needing 13 from the 20th. Given his tournament, Wells could reasonably have been expected to do the trick, but he edged an eminently cuttable Morris delivery first ball to depart, and more or less decide the game. The Thunder had, remarkably, required the bottom Melbourne Renegades to beat the Brisbane Heat to reach the finals at all, and now they are a game from a competition decider against their crosstown rivals.

He says when the second ODI against South Africa was called off, players knew a lockdown was imminent

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2020The cricket world has come to a standstill with all international and domestic fixtures being called off due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) across the globe, but according to India coach Ravi Shastri this break is a “welcome rest” as far as India players are concerned.Talking to Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Rob Key on a Sky Sports podcast, Shastri said it was a good time for the players to re-energise themselves, especially after a long New Zealand tour where India played five T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.”[This rest] cannot be a bad thing because towards the end of the New Zealand tour, you could see some cracks coming up when it came to mental fatigue, physical fitness and injuries,” Shastri said. “The amount of cricket we have played over the last ten months, that was beginning to take its toll. Guys like me, and some other guys from the support staff, we left India on May 23 for the World Cup in England. Since then we have been at home for 10 or 11 days.”There are certain players who played all three formats, so you can imagine the toll it has taken on them, especially being on the field, adjusting from T20s to Test match cricket and all the travel that goes with that because we travelled quite a lot. After England, we went to the West Indies, then played South Africa here [in India]. We had a season of two and a half months here and then again went off to New Zealand. So it has been tough but a welcome rest for players.”India is currently in a 21-day lockdown which started on March 25. As per Shastri, the team anticipated such measures would be taken to enforce social-distancing when South Africa’s tour of India was called off just before the second ODI in Lucknow.”It came as a shock but to be honest, having been on the road during the South Africa series, we guys anticipated it,” he said. “We knew something was on the cards as the disease had just started spreading. When the second ODI was called off, we knew something was gonna happen and a lockdown was imminent.”I think the players knew it was coming, they sensed it in New Zealand. There were apprehensions towards the end of that tour, when flights were coming through Singapore, out of Singapore. By the time we landed [in India], I thought we got out at just the right time. There were only two cases in New Zealand at that time, that has rocketed now to 300. The day we landed, that was the first day they were screening and testing people at the airport. So [we came back] just in the nick of the time.”Shastri agreed that in such a situation, players could play a great role by spreading awareness about this pandemic. “As players, you have a lot of responsibility,” he said. “That’s why the message is very clear that cricket should be last on everyone’s mind now,” he said. “I think the most important thing is safety and not ensuring just your safety but ensuring safety others as well, by creating a kind of awareness that tells people there is something serious around.”Virat has done it, a lot of other players have done it by posting certain messages on social media. So it’s imperative but all the players were very, very calm. They knew that it’s something very serious and there could be a hold up in cricket for some time.”

Joe Root and Jason Holder involved in discussions about rearranging three-Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2020Representatives from England and West Indies, including Test captains Joe Root and Jason Holder, have been involved in “positive ongoing discussions” about rescheduling their forthcoming series, the ECB has said.West Indies were due to arrive in the UK this month ahead of a three-Test tour, but that has now been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The English season is currently on hold, with no cricket planned before July 1 and the ECB working on contingency plans to try and fulfil its international fixtures once lockdown restrictions are lifted.CWI chief executive Johnny Grave has previously outlined how the series could be moved to July. That would have involved a clash with the Hundred, but the ECB has subsequently put back the launch of its new tournament until 2021.ALSO READ: England will tour Sri Lanka in January – SLC chief executiveAny moves to put on Tests behind closed doors will need the approval of the UK government, however. Meetings with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport were held during the week, with the ECB understood to be taking a lead role in assessing the viability of “bio-secure” venues for the resumption of professional sport.On the cricketing side, Root and England’s coach, Chris Silverwood, took part in a video conference with their West Indies counterparts, Holder and Phil Simmons.”Positive ongoing discussions with the ECB and CWI continued on Friday,” an ECB spokesperson said. “Both boards were represented including captains, coaches, administrators and the chief medical officers from the respective boards.”Discussions were wide-ranging including dialogue around revised schedules and COVID-19 medical and biosecurity planning.”Meetings will be ongoing over the next few months to reach an outcome of when international cricket could potentially return. This is a long and detailed process and is very much in the early stages of planning. The guidance from the government will emphasise what we can do.”CWI has also kept the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) in the loop on the England tour. CWI and WIPA had a call on Wednesday and both parties committed to have more discussions on the possibility of the tour going ahead.Speaking in a recent interview with Caribbean TV channel CNC3, Holder said that all sides were involved in a “waiting game” but hopeful of a positive outcome despite ongoing worries about the coronavirus.”We’re still sitting back and waiting. I just think it’s a situation where we’re all monitoring the situation over in England, particularly in Europe as well,” Holder said. “I’ve seen a few things in other sports where they’ve pushed the schedules back and not having fans … but it’s a waiting game. We can only sit tight and hope and pray we resume some type of normalcy in the not-too-distant future.”This thing has been really, really serious, as we all know, and has claimed quite a few lives throughout the world, and that’s the last thing any of us would really want. I think we’ve got to play the safety card first before we can even think about resuming our normal lives.”

It is understood a formal letter from the government is expected on Friday

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Aug-2020The Indian government is set to give the BCCI permission to move the 2020 IPL to the UAE. ESPNcricinfo understands that different wings of the government, including Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs, have given the nod for the tournament to be shifted outside India as the country is coping with a high surge of Covid-19 cases that have crossed the 2-million mark.Although both BCCI and IPL have not made a comment yet, it is understood a formal letter from the government is expected to be sent on Friday.ALSO READ: Rigorous testing, restricted movement, one team per hotel, in IPL SOPsOn Wednesday, the IPL conducted a meeting with the franchises to seek their views on the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) along with questions, including the travel arrangements for players and support staff, the necessary testing protocols and the quarantine process before and after the teams land in the UAE.Breach the bubble and face the penaltyThe IPL made it absolutely clear to franchises that any stake holder – be it a team member or owner – breaching the biosecure bubble would be penalised as per the tournament’s code of conduct although it did not exactly specify the penalty itself.”Breach of any Bio-Secure Environment protocols by players and team support staff will be punishable under the IPL Code of Conduct Rules,” the IPL said in the draft SOP document spanning 16 pages, titled “Overview of Health & Safety Protocols during IPL 2020 Season”.According to the protocols, team members can leave the bubble only “under exceptional circumstances, e.g. hospital visits for scans,” but with “prior” permission from the IPL Medical Manager, a new position created due to the pandemic. “In such cases, special arrangements will be made to ensure minimal contact with other personnel outside the Bio-Secure Environment,” the document said.Franchises to appoint a team doctorEvery franchise would need to appoint a team doctor, who would be responsible for implementing all medical guidelines. The IPL has also recommended the franchises get the “medical and travel history” of every team member since March 1, information it has said should be obtained two weeks before flying out to the UAE. “This will be done via an online questionnaire along with a daily temperature logging and symptom checker going live 2 weeks before the team’s assembly,” it said in the SOP document.The IPL has also proposed teams should only depart for the UAE from August 20 with minimum squads and ideally on charter flights. Another thing that will be compulsory for team members is wearing a “triple layered mask” in public places.The IPL has already put up a rigorous testing process in place with mandatory multiple tests before they start training. This would also include having a six-day quarantine period upon landing in the UAE. In addition to the test upon landing at the airport in the UAE, all team members would undergo three further tests – on days one, three and six after arriving. Only once the results of all tests come out negative can team members meet within the bubble, but would need to wear masks while following social-distancing norms.Enter ShycocanAll eight teams would also need to stay separately. “Team members must be allotted rooms in a separate wing of the hotel that has a separate centralised air conditioning (AC) unit than the rest of the hotel,” the IPL said.Teams meetings, the IPL has said, should be conducted in open spaces as far as possible. Considering spectators would not be allowed for the matches, the IPL has said teams should not be confined in the designated dressing rooms and can spread across “vacant areas” in the ground.To mitigate the risk of Covid-19 at the venue, the IPL has recommended the use of Scalene Hypercharge Corona Canon (Shycocan), “a device that has the ability to neutralise 99.9% of the coronavirus that might be floating in the air in closed spaces.”On match days, team members would need to have their temperature checked, and during and after the game team members have been discouraged to engage in celebrations involving any body contact including “handshakes.”Owners/families to undergo seven-day quarantine if protocol breachedAs far as team owners and families of team members are concerned, the IPL has said the medical guidelines would apply to them, too, including the testing and social-distancing protocols. Owners and family members who are not part of the team bubble would not be allowed on the team bus to the ground.Owners and families who will be inside the team bubble from the beginning are also “not permitted” to meet people outside the bubble. Failing to follow the protocol would mean a week-long quarantine. They will also have to “return two negative PCR tests on Day 6 and Day 7, to be allowed to re-enter the Bio-Secure Environment.”

South Africa’s limited-overs captain says he “would have loved to have AB de Villiers”

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-20200:45

De Kock: We were pushing for AB de Villiers for the T20 World Cup

South Africa T20I captain Quinton de Kock has confirmed that AB de Villiers was in line to make a potential international comeback through this year’s T20 World Cup, which was officially postponed to 2021 earlier this week. de Kock’s admission is in line with discussions in December last year, when then-captain Faf du Plessis and newly-appointed head coach Mark Boucher had said conversations had been ongoing to try and bring de Villiers back into South Africa’s T20I squad.”He was definitely in line. If fit, I would have loved to have AB de Villiers,” de Kock said on the Cricket Connected show on Star Sports. “I think any team would have loved to have AB de Villiers in their team. While we were pushing for him, now we will have to see when the T20 World Cup is going to happen now.”On his part, de Villiers himself had shown a keenness to return and “throw his hat in the ring” for the T20 World Cup without any expectations when he was at the Big Bash League earlier this year.”There’s a lot that needs to happen before that becomes reality, I would love to,” de Villers told reporters after making his BBL debut for Brisbane Heat in January. “I’ve been talking to Bouch, Graeme Smith and Faf back home. We are all keen to make it happen, it’s a long way away still and plenty can happen – there’s the IPL coming, I’ve still got to be in form at that time. I’m thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping everything will work out.ALSO READ: Can Dhoni, Gayle and Malinga go on till the 2021 T20 World Cup?It was the first definitive statement from the batsman, who retired from international cricket in May 2018 and has since been the subject of regular speculation for a comeback, particularly around last year’s ODI World Cup when a last-minute offer to return was turned down by South Africa management.de Villiers has since been vocal about the comfort around the discussions at present, given the sweeping changes in Cricket South Africa which is now run by many of his former team-mates. He captained the winning side in CSA’s experimental 3TC format last week, which was his first match on record since January at the BBL. With the T20 World Cup now scheduled for late 2021, the pathway for a return might have become decidedly longer.

Kent squeeze past Surrey despite Ben Foakes’ battling half-century

ECB Reporters Network25-Aug-2020Darren Stevens celebrated being offered another year’s contract by Kent at the age of 44 by taking 4 for 41 to spearhead a thrilling 17-run victory against Surrey at The Oval and keep his county’s Bob Willis Trophy South Group qualification hopes alive.Surrey, needing 192 to win from 62 overs after bowling Kent out for a second innings 127, were themselves bowled out for 174 deep into the final session of a memorable contest.Matt Milnes was Kent’s other bowling hero, taking 4 for 57 – including the dramatic final wicket – and also producing superb deliveries to bowl both Sam Curran and Rikki Clarke either side of tea.Stevens had taken three wickets in nine balls in his opening spell to leave Surrey reeling at 20 for 4 but Ben Foakes’ excellent 57 had left Kent wondering if they could close out the victory despite taking regular wickets at the other end.Indeed, the last hour had just started, with 15 more overs remaining, when Milnes clipped the top of Matt Dunn’s off stump to bowl him for a brave 12 and give himself final figures of 4 for 57.Dunn had been left to make 28 runs for victory with only No. 11 Amar Virdi for company after Harry Podmore had rather fortuitously ended a second superb innings in the match by Foakes, having him well held by diving keeper Ollie Robinson from a legside ball after he had added another composed and high-class effort to his first-innings 118.Milnes’ other scalp had been that of Adam Finch, leg-before for 6 with 56 still required. There may not have been any spectators watching, but there was no shortage of tension, particularly when Foakes and Dunn were adding a calm 28 in 10 overs for the ninth wicket, as Kent fretted.Kent’s 22 points, and second win in four matches, puts them just six points behind south group leaders Essex with just the September 6 round games to go.Podmore picked up Mark Stoneman’s wicket in his own new ball burst during Surrey’s calamitous start to their chase, but Foakes and Laurie Evans then boosted Surrey’s hopes with a fifth-wicket stand of 57, until the irrepressible Stevens returned to the attack to take a smart catch off his own bowling with his third ball back to send Evans packing for a fine 53-ball 42.And Milnes made Kent heavy favourites, going into the last session, by nipping one back between left-hander Curran’s bat and front pad to bowl the England all-rounder for 14 and, in the second over after the interval, also defeating Clarke’s attempted drive.The evergreen Stevens has now bagged 20 wickets at 19 runs apiece in Kent’s first four BWT fixtures. But it is his record in the past decade that is most remarkable, especially when remembering that the veteran allrounder has also hit more than 7,500 first-class runs since 2010, including 16 centuries and 39 other scores above 50.Since turning 40 in April 2016, Stevens has now picked up an astonishing 213 wickets in county red-ball competition at 20.39 with his wily medium pace. Since the age of 35, moreover, that wicket tally is 438 at 22.50. Before moving to Kent in 2005, at the age of 28, he had hardly bowled in eight previous seasons with Leicestershire; in his first six seasons for Kent, he only took 87 Championship wickets as he slowly developed his bowling until becoming a recognised frontline operator.Here, he began by removing Scott Borthwick and Jamie Smith with his fifth and sixth deliveries to leave Surrey 6 for 2 at the end of the second over. Borthwick chipped to short midwicket off a leading edge, where Daniel Bell-Drummond took a fine diving catch, and Smith edged a forward push to Jack Leaning at second slip.There was no hat-trick but, with the first ball of his third over, Stevens won a leg-before decision to send back Will Jacks for 6 and – by then – Podmore had also had Surrey’s acting captain Mark Stoneman caught at first slip for 10.Jordan Cox, the catcher, threw the ball high into the air and let out a roar of celebration because, from the fourth ball of Surrey’s second innings, Cox had dropped Stoneman on 2 off a similar ball from Podmore that lifted and left the former England opener.No play had been possible before lunch, due to heavy overnight and morning rain, but hard work by the Oval groundstaff meant that a start could be made at 1.10pm with Kent resuming on 118 for 9 in their second innings.Last pair Nathan Gilchrist and Hamidullah Qadri added a further nine runs in four overs before Curran had Gilchrist caught at first slip by Clarke for 13 to finish with 4 for 39. Clarke, whose brilliant five-wicket spell had sliced through Kent’s second innings on day three, finished with 5 for 20.

First home ODI series defeat since 2015 reveals areas for improvement in World Cup cycle

George Dobell16-Sep-2020If part of the art of success in limited-overs cricket is peaking at the right time, England haven’t timed their dip in results too badly.There’s never a good time to lose to Australia, of course. Particularly given that the result was 5-0 to England the last time they visited. But this is still the early stages of the new four-year cycle towards the next World Cup. If ever there was a time to experiment and learn, it is now. Come the start of that tournament, in October 2023, the details of this series – fascinating though they are – will not be most people’s first frame of reference.On that basis alone, it may well prove unwise to read too much into this defeat. This is the first bilateral ODI series England have lost since January 2017 in India, after all. The first they have lost in England since 2015, when Australia were, again, the victors. Their long-term record remains excellent. And, in the end, they lost this match by a whisker to what Eoin Morgan admitted, quite accurately, looked “a better side”.In many ways, England will take a lot of heart from this series. For if there’s one quality that shone out it was their resilience. In all three of these ODIs – and in the first T20I against the same opposition – there were moments when it appeared as if they were going to be on the wrong end of a drubbing. To have won two of those matches and gone close in the two others demonstrates a certain amount of self-confidence and fight.”The positive is we can win when we don’t play our best games,” Morgan said afterwards. “We’ve seen the guys show belief and fight. Australia have out-played us but sometimes when you do that [win easily] you take things for granted. But these contests have been so tight we’ve learned a huge amount.”It’s worth remembering, too, what Morgan said ahead of the series. He said he welcomed the prospect of playing on lower, slower surfaces which provided assistance to spin as they considered both an area of weakness and a likely scenario ahead of the tournament in India.In that case, he will have learned plenty. And in some respects, it is that England have a long way to go before they can be considered favourites to retain their title. For, if they’re really honest, they will accept they were flattered a bit by the margin of defeat in the first game, escaped from jail in the second and saw a couple of familiar failings come back to haunt them in the third.”We’ve learned quite a lot about the group playing on slower wickets,” Morgan continued. “Having an opportunity to play on them for three games in a row is a rare one for us. It hasn’t gone our way, but certainly we have addressed an area of our game that is our weakest. We now have time to take it and work on it.”The thing they must improve most, in all formats, is their fielding. Whether in T20Is, Tests or ODIs, too many chances are going down to sustain serious hopes of winning the biggest tournaments. Morgan suggested his side missed the intensity created by a live audience, which is, no doubt, a factor. But it was telling that Australia seemed to manage far better.Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey hold the Royal London One Day Series trophy•Getty Images

Two chances went down in this game. The first, Jofra Archer seeing a drive from Marcus Stoinis burst through his hands at mid-off, did not prove costly. But the second, Jos Buttler failing to cling on to a sharp but, by these standards, pretty much regulation chance offered by Glenn Maxwell off Adil Rashid when he had 44, was arguably the turning point of the game.The England management maintain they are working hard on the team’s fielding and no doubt that’s the case. But whatever they’re doing isn’t working. It’s an area that requires a rethink.Might that include Buttler behind the stumps? Probably not. He’s clearly an outstanding batsman in this format – despite a series average of 4.00 – and has performed decently with the gloves in the white-ball game. You only have to think back World Cup final to know that.But he is not convincing standing up to the spinners. Not in any format. And with the World Cup set to be played in India, it is an area that will require attention.There may be a vacancy in the spin-bowling department, too. The decision to leave out Moeen Ali on these surfaces was revealing. In normal circumstances, you might have thought England would even have considered playing a third spinner on such pitches but, with confidence in Moeen waning, they elected to pick only Rashid.ALSO READ: Maxwell, Carey centuries seal thrilling series win for AustraliaIt was understandable, too. Since the start of July 2018, Moeen is averaging 16.20 with the bat in 27 ODIs and has taken just 13 wickets at a cost of 86 apiece. His economy rate in that period – 5.75 – isn’t too bad but, by comparison, Adil Rashid’s is 5.71 (and his average 32.85) in the same period, Nathan Lyon’s is 5.01, while Mitchell Santner and Ravi Jadeja both concede 4.88 an over. Yes, Joe Root deputised nicely at Emirates Old Trafford. But at a World Cup in India, England may want to consider him a third spinner at best.Liam Plunkett has been missed, too. He would, if fit, have been awkward to face on these surfaces, in particular, and at this stage England look no closer to replacing his middle over wickets. It wasn’t necessarily wrong to move on from him – he is 35 now and unlikely to remain a viable selection by the time this World Cup cycle comes to a conclusion – but it was a reminder of how much he offered and the need to replace him. In general, this series was probably a useful wake-up call. England do not have a great recent record of resetting after achieving their targets. Consider the fate of the Test side which, having reached No. 1 in the rankings in 2011, was defeated by Pakistan, South Africa (at home), Australia and Sri Lanka (at home) over the next few years.Equally, when they travelled to Australia in 2006-07, they remained wedded to the team who had claimed the historic Ashes victory in 2005. Instead of refreshing it with younger player, they relied upon a team that was, in several cases, well past its best. So, coming up against a strong, motivated Australia team here may have been just the reminder of the levels required to maintain success at this level. Defeat will sting.There’s a bigger issue here, of course. The fact that we were able to see a result at all – the fact we’ve been treated to some terrifically entertaining cricket over these last two-and-a-half months – must be considered a great success. Bearing in mind the position we were in a few months ago, the achieving of playing the entire men’s international schedule is remarkable. It will help keep the professional game’s head just above the water.There are many to credit for this achievement with Steve Elworthy, the man who also ran the World Cup, a primary candidate. But England also owe plenty to West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia who have, in some cases, sent teams from regions where Covid-19 appeared to be less of a threat in order to help the ECB survive. This spirit must be remembered when future decisions about the game’s global finances are made.The coming weeks will see debates about the need to cut the pay of England’s top players. And, in the circumstances, it’s probably only right they share the pain. But it must also be remembered that some of them have spent 90 days, with very brief breaks here and there, in a hugely limiting bio-bubble.They decided long ago not to make any public complaint about this but to have been separated from their families, to have been unable to leave the ground, to have been stuck in the increasingly claustrophobic environment is some way more demanding that they have let on. Whatever the result of this ODI series, they – and all the other teams who visited this summer – deserve a lot of credit for that.

Club mulling visit to Lahore to prepare for 2021 season after revelations England may travel to the country

George Dobell21-Oct-2020Pakistan’s reputation as open for business looks set to take another step forward with news that at least a couple of England’s first-class counties are considering the country as an option for their pre-season tours.Days after ESPNcricinfo revealed that England are considering a short tour to the country in January, it has emerged that Warwickshire are considering visiting Lahore as part of their preparations for the 2021 domestic season.ALSO READ: ECB confirms plans to undertake first tour of Pakistan in more than 15 yearsESPNcricinfo understands the club have held talks with Pakistan CEO, Wasim Khan, with a view to sending the entire first team squad to the country in March. Wasim, a former Warwickshire player, is believed to have guaranteed good quality training facilities and opposition.If the tour goes ahead, it seems likely the side will be based at Aitchison College. Two senior Warwickshire players, Will Rhodes, the club captain, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, went on the MCC’s tour to Pakistan in February, which was also based at Aitchison College. Both enjoyed the experience and have given positive reports about the facilities on offer.A final decision will not be made until the club are satisfied that the tour is safe in terms of both security and Covid-19. Finances could also be an issue, with the club also understood to be considering La Manga, in Spain, as a pre-season option.Either way, the fact that Pakistan is being considered for such visits is a sure sign of progress. England have not visited the country since late 2005 due to security concerns.

The former Australia captain gives his view on how the game should acknowledge Black Lives Matter

Daniel Brettig16-Nov-2020You come to this issue from talking a lot to Michael Holding about it in particular?I was very impressed with both Michael and Ebony [Rainford-Brent]. I thought it was really very powerful and stuff that needed to be said. I found it also educational – you figured there has probably been a fair bit of discrimination going on, but when you hear it first-hand and exactly how bad it is, it really hits home. I regularly speak to Mikey about things. Previously it was more to do with what was going on in America, he’d send me little clips or notes about events. So he sends me a lot, but more to do with America than with cricket.So how would you address the question of taking the knee, both personally but also as a captain leading a discussion?My personal view is that if I was playing now, I would be doing something, whether it is taking a knee or not, I’d be letting it be known that things need to improve. As a captain I think it’s very much an individual thing and I’d call the team together and say ‘okay, what do you guys want to do’ and if it was all ‘we’ll take a knee’ then fine, we’re all taking a knee. But if it was some do want to and some don’t, I’d be saying, ‘well alright, you do what you feel you have to do and it’s an individual decision, but you won’t cop any flak for that decision’.If I was taking that route, before I made it public, I would be dealing with the Board and saying ‘look, this is the situation, some players are going to take a knee and others aren’t, and I don’t want anybody to be punished for taking a knee – if that’s going to happen then there’ll be a problem’. I think that’s really important, because you don’t want guys suddenly disappearing out of the team because they’re taking a stand.Sounds like what we have seen in the WBBL, with some players and clubs taking the knee but others choosing not to?Exactly. That’s the first thing you do, sit down and talk about it. But I think in any situation where you’re taking a stand, I think it’s got to be an individual thing, and I don’t think anybody should be forced to do something against their will.How much do you think it is incumbent upon cricketers to have a decent level of understanding of events going on around the world, whether it is to do with racism or other matters?Certainly in the past I would say it was easier to make a stand or express an opinion once you’d retired, rather than while you were still playing, and I think the prevailing attitude was that if I’m going to do something, I’ll do it after I’ve retired. That being said, apart from Apartheid, there weren’t too many issues of that nature. In early 1971 at Newlands in a first-class game, both sides walked off the field after one ball of the match to protest the South African government’s stance, and that included guys like Barry Richards, Clive Rice, Graeme and Peter Pollock, Mike Procter and Denis Lindsay. That was a brave thing to do, but the prevailing attitude was ‘let’s not get political while we’re playing’. I think in these circumstances it is probably easier to make your feelings known as a player, because it’s happening worldwide in so many different areas of life.Both teams take a knee before the first ball is bowled•Getty Images

How would you respond to concerns about how the Australian men’s team might be received if some took the knee and some did not?You discover in life that the people who like you, it basically doesn’t matter what you do, they’ll still like you. And the people who don’t like you, same thing. So for people taking a knee they’ll get criticised and you’ve just got to forget about it. Whatever you do, you’ll get some critics, of the people who take a knee and of the people who don’t take a knee. But I’m with Mikey on the fact that it’s something that needs to be ongoing. It’s no good just doing it that Test series in England against the West Indies, and then it’s forgotten. It’s got to be an ongoing thing, because it’s an ongoing problem.What is your view on how far away Australian cricket is from reflecting the diversity of Australia?I think Cricket Australia has done more in recent times to try to address that problem. It’s only in very recent times that much has been done to try to attract Aboriginals to the game. I don’t think Australia took that opportunity until recently, but there have since been genuine attempts to improve that situation. It’s a very diverse country and there’s no doubt that cricket doesn’t reflect that diversity yet. Whether it will one day, it will have to, otherwise the game will be dying. If you’re going to totally rely on the Anglo heritage you’re going to be in trouble down the track.I think that’s really the first step. The kids going to the cricket have got to look out on the field and see diversity on the field. Thanks to the BBL and the WBBL they are seeing more, because overseas players are coming in. But I think that’s an important part of the process…if they go to the cricket and they don’t see anyone they can relate to out on the field, they’re going to think ‘well, this game’s not for us’.Lastly, what’s your perspective on how, as national men’s captains, Aaron Finch and Tim Paine, should discuss the issue with the team?The best way to go about it would be to have a players’ association level discussion. So you’re talking about all players, male and female, discuss it there. You’re probably going to come to the same conclusions about it needing to be an individual choice, but I think by doing that and letting it be known that the thing is being discussed by all players, that’s taking a bit of the onus off the captains. So I think that would ease the situation a bit if it’s made public that ‘this is a broad discussion we’ve had as players, male and female and this is the conclusion we’ve come to’. I think by doing it that way, one you make it clear to the public that it’s not the captains just saying ‘this is how it’s going to be done’, and also it’s sending a message to CA that ‘we’ve given this a lot of thought and this is the solution we’ve come up with ourselves’.

He does not believe the India attack will be able to replicate the short-pitched approach of Neil Wagner last summer

Daniel Brettig24-Nov-20202:12

Smith: Stepped away from my natural game during the IPL

No matter how many “controllables” Cricket Australia have tried to control in the lead-up to a Covid-affected summer, how many biosecurity protocols, meetings with government or compromises with broadcasters, there will always be imponderables of sport that dictate how the season plays out.To the evident delight of Australia’s cricketers and coaches returned from the IPL and currently quarantining in Sydney ahead of the ODI, T20I and Test series against India, perhaps the most important of them all clicked into place over the weekend: hold the front page, because Steven Smith has figured out how to hold his bat again.That he has been able to return to the simplicity of long training sessions in between quiet hotel contemplations already looks to have been a blessing. Away from the relative cacophony of the IPL in the UAE, where he was captain of an unsuccessful Rajasthan Royals campaign, Smith has been able to find the clarity of mind and body he needs to hit a million-odd balls and, in his words, “find my hands”.”I was pretty disappointed actually with my batting throughout the IPL,” Smith said. “I never really got into a good rhythm, but I think the last few days actually I’ve found something. People close to me that know me well, I’ve found my hands the last few days, which I’m extremely excited about.ALSO READ: David Warner says Australia ‘trying not to engage’ in verbal volleys“It’s taken me probably about three and half or fourth months to do it, but found them now, which is pleasing and I actually look forward to going back to the nets again this afternoon to have another hit and just reinforce it and get started again in a few days’ time. Theoretically it is a simple thing, but it’s just getting that feel and the look of the bat behind my toe the right way and the way my hands come up on the bat.”It’s hard to explain but it just hasn’t quite been right until probably two days ago, I found a little something and everything just clicked in. I had a big smile on my face after training the other day, because I walked past [Australia’s senior assistant and also Rajasthan head coach] Andrew McDonald I think it was and said ‘I found ’em again’, I was really excited.”All the way through his career, including Newlands and after, Smith has always retained an almost childlike love of batting and at the same time a sense of mystery to it: Smith knows how good he is but there are times when even he doesn’t know exactly how to find his best, other than to face countless throwdowns and hope that the old rhythm comes back. He is known for a recurring nightmare where he is timed out because he can’t find his bat, and has often spoken about the need to find his hands and all else that flows from that.Steven Smith glances fine•Getty Images

The weeks prior to the 2017-18 Ashes series were another such time. “The first Shield game or two I remember I was struggling with it…I remember I found it in the game against Western Australia at Hurstville Oval, something sort of clicked halfway through that innings I reckon, and then I was good to go,” Smith said.”It’s taken me a lot longer than usual, I don’t know why, whether it was a big [break], I pretty much didn’t bat for about four months during the start of Covid-19, maybe a bit longer, but I’m glad I’ve been able to find something the last few days.”The training time in Sydney has been valuable too for Smith to reflect on how his IPL approach will need to be massaged into something more rounded for the ODI and T20I series that prelude the Tests. “I think for me in white-ball cricket, it’s about playing my game in the way that I do it,” he said. “I think in IPL I got a bit caught up with trying to be a bit too powerful and that’s not quite my game I don’t think.”You know there are those players around the world who can hit sixes at will. I’m probably not one of those. For me it’s about hitting proper cricket shots and hitting the gaps and manipulating the field as much as I can. I probably went away from that a bit throughout the IPL. I know that’s the best way that I play. So keeping my thoughts clear and hitting the ball in my areas where I want to hit them. I still think there’s a need for a player like that in the short form of the game that’s for sure.Smith’s excitement inevitably features at least some element of making up for the summer he lost in 2018-19, when he could do nothing more than watch as the Australian batting order was unable to compile the sorts of tallies required to pressure India often enough. Certainly the Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney Tests look as though they could easily have come to different conclusions with the addition of Smith’s presence at No. 4 for the hosts.”I don’t know if it makes me hungrier. I’m always pretty hungry to go out there and perform well,” Smith said. “I guess it was tough having to watch from the sidelines, particularly with the team not doing as well as they would have liked. And losing that series was difficult to watch knowing that I felt like I could go out and have an impact if I was playing. That was hard but certainly looking forward to this series. Two of the top teams going at it, two quality pace line-ups, two quality batting line-ups, and I think it makes for an interesting and exciting summer.”