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In the unlikely event that Pablo Picasso had been asked to paint a portrait of a batsman, the resulting canvas might have borne some resemblance to the stance of Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford21-May-2017
ScorecardIn the unlikely event that Pablo Picasso had been asked to paint a portrait of a batsman, the resulting canvas might have borne some resemblance to the stance of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Admittedly there would have been a few extra eyes and a couple of disembodied bowlers’ heads wailing in one corner of the work, but the 42-year-old Guyanan’s confection of oblique and acute angles as he waits for the ball to be delivered may have found a resonance with the cussed old Cubist.Yet Chanderpaul is also one of cricket’s master craftsmen and his ability to unfold his square- on stance to play straight-drives or crisp clips through midwicket will be of great value to Lancashire this summer. On the second day of the Roses match he followed his eight-hour 182 against Surrey with a 288-minute exercise in obduracy which added 106 runs to Lancashire’s total and has given his side every chance of avoiding defeat.

‘I never expected this – Brooks’

Jack Brooks said he never expected to be celebrating a first-class century. For it to come in a Roses match made it even more surreal.
“It’s surreal, and it hasn’t really sunk in,” he said. “I never expected to get a hundred in my career, although I did say to the lads the other day that I’ve got one in me, but that was more in jest than anything. I ended up batting at nine in this game, and it’s weird how it’s happened. Cricket can be funny like that.
“I’m pretty elated with how it ended up. I didn’t really overthink it. I wasn’t actually that nervous overnight. I was quite excited. I slept pretty well just because I was knackered.
“I woke up at 5 in the morning busting for a wee because I’d drunk so much. Then I lay there thinking ‘I’m going to be batting in a little while’. I backed my game plan: if it was up, I was going to try and whack it.
“I didn’t need Jack Leaning getting out straightaway. Ben Coad is the most nervous man in the world and was panicking more than anyone. I don’t plan celebrations. They just happen off the cuff really. It was a release of emotion.”

Admittedly those innings were bridged by a month’s layoff with a hamstring strain caused by his exertions at The Oval but Lancashire have signed a cricketer in early middle-age and they will have to cope with that. It is probably a fair trade for a player who has now passed fifty on 213 occasions in first-class cricket.This certainly seemed the case on the third evening of this game when Chanderpaul and the excellent Ryan McLaren were adding 112 runs for the sixth wicket and all but completing a recovery that had seen Lancashire slump to 39 for three in 13 overs. Carefully Chanderpaul unpacked his cover and straight drives and put them to good use in taking three fours off an over from Jack Brooks. He added 67 for the fourth wicket with Dane Vilas and the only surprise was when Ben Coad ended his stand with McLaren by bowling Chanderpaul round his legs a few overs before the close.”I couldn’t believe I missed that ball,” he said, “I was really looking forward to batting on tomorrow. I was looking at the scoreboard to see how many overs were left and trying to see out the evening.” In Chanderpaul’s disbelief can be detected the hunger that drives him on even when he has more than 26,000 first-class runs on his CV.Yet if this great day of Roses cricket was distinguished by one batsman’s 75th first-class century, it was made equally memorable by Jack Brooks’ maiden century, a feat that was achieved by the addition of six singles to his overnight tally. The hundred was made possible by fine batting on Saturday evening but it was completed in company with Ben Coad, whose nerves when accompanying the incurably laid-back Brookes were greater than anyone’s.When he reached his landmark Brooks dropped his bat and bathed in the cheers of the players’ balcony. There was, of course, much badge-kissing and bat-pointing but the applause of the Yorkshire supporters was acknowledged, too. Yet even this seemed just a trifle understated for a player who is wont to celebrate a wicket by haring off towards cover with the demented air of a man who has that moment discovered that someone has smeared heat cream on the inside of his jockstrap and is reacquainting himself with Jerry Lee Lewis’s most famous ditty. Fiery Jack, indeed.Shivnarine Chanderpaul held back the tide once again•Getty Images

For their part, Lancashire players applauded, although it seemed an act of obligation for them, rather as it might be for members of the Women’s Institute on discovering that some brassy woman has won first prize in the annual Plum Jam competition.Three overs later Brooks was strolling off the Old Trafford outfield with an unbeaten 109 against his name and one hopes he will dine out on it. As far as the game went, Yorkshire had added 270 runs for the loss of their seventh and eighth wickets. Brooks, Andy Hodd and Jack Leaning had made it all but certain that Lancashire would need to bat out the best part of two days to save the game. Such tough cricket frequently takes wickets in the early overs of next innings and this happened once more as three batsmen were dismissed in the first hour of Lancashire’s innings.The most noteworthy of the trio, if only because so much is expected of the player, was Haseeb Hameed, who lost his off-stump to Brooks and trooped back to his dressing-room with an eight-ball nought to his name. The delivery which brought about his downfall was slanted in and held its own; the England opener would have played it comfortably had his bat been alongside his pad instead of in front of it. But Hameed is going through the first tough period of his first-class career and how he copes with it will tell us much about him.What he needs is time, yet we live in days of impatience and immoderation. Hameed’s promise in long-form cricket remains enormous, but if sportsmen are not being worshipped as saviours these intemperate times, they are, on occasions, dismissed as root vegetables. It is, one supposes, the price they pay for fame.Yorkshire’s bowlers, meanwhile, celebrated the removal of a batsman who had taken them for two centuries less than a year ago. Adam Lyth, though, was excluded from the celebrations because he had been whacked on the angle by the ball as it ricocheted from the stump and was hopping about like a stork on coals. The slipper’s mood was improved three overs later, though, when he caught Liam Livingstone off Ryan Sidebottom, and still more six overs afterwards when first slip Peter Handscomb pouched Croft’s ugly cut off Tim Bresnan.By then, however, Chanderpaul had begun the latest of countless vigils in defence of his wicket and his side. After 270 minutes he had that century to his name and had joined Brooks in making this golden Sunday precious. One hopes that Edgar Oldroyd is quietly applauding the pair of them.

South Africa will go into the Champions Trophy with confidence partially restored after inflicting a crushing seven-wicket defeat upon England at Lord’s

The Report by George Dobell at Lord's29-May-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMan of the Match Kagiso Rabada tore through England’s top order•Getty Images

South Africa will go into the Champions Trophy with confidence partially restored after inflicting a crushing seven-wicket defeat upon England at Lord’s.While England had already secured the three-match series with victory in the first two matches, the emphatic manner in which South Africa wrapped up this win over the pre-tournament bookies’ favourites with 21.1 overs unused will have renewed their belief that, at full strength, they have the team that can win the trophy.The result here was all but assured within the first half hour of the match. Exploiting a hint of assistance from the conditions and more than a hint from the batsmen, they reduced England to 20 for 6 after 30 deliveries. It was the first time in the history of ODI cricket that a side has lost six wickets in the first five overs.While Jonny Bairstow led something of a recovery, England’s final total of 153 was never likely to prove sufficient against the No. 1-ranked ODI side. Hashim Amla made sure of the win with yet another half-century, becoming the quickest man (in terms of innings played) to 7000 ODI runs in history.England’s limited-overs resurgence has been built upon a fearless approach with the bat. And, in conditions offering little assistance to bowlers, it has served them well. Going into this game, they had won their previous eight ODIs and scored more than 300 on all but one of the most recent 11 occasions when they batted first.But in conditions like these – with a slightly green surface, the Lord’s slope and an overcast morning offering just a touch of help to the seamers – that commitment to attack can be exploited. And with Kagiso Rabada maintaining a perfect, probing line and length and gaining just a touch of away movement down the Lord’s slope, England’s apparent compulsion to drive and a failure to adapt to the conditions proved their undoing.Three of England’s top seven, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid, fell as they committed to big drives at deliveries from Rabada. All three were undone by just a touch of movement – there was no faulting the surface – as the ball left them down the slope. The South Africa slip cordon, not at its most reliable in the series so far, made no mistake.Wayne Parnell lost nothing by comparison to Rabada. The left-arm seamer found a couple of beauties to account for Joe Root – playing across a full ball that swung back into him – and Eoin Morgan, with one that demanded a stroke and left the batsman just enough to take a tentatively offered edge. Ironically, it seems that England are at their most fragile in English conditions.At 20 for 6 there seemed a real possibility that England’s record low score in a completed ODI innings – 86 made against Australia in Manchester in 2001 – was in danger.But Bairstow, currently seen as surplus to requirements in England’s strongest ODI side, led a partial recovery in a stand of 62 in 14 overs for the seventh-wicket with David Willey. Bairstow, who slammed a career-best 174 in a List A match at the start of this month, restated his case to the England selectors with a third half-century in his last four ODI innings, uppercutting Morkel for one of his boundaries and cutting several more.But when Willey drove to extra-cover and Bairstow was stumped, skipping down the pitch and being beaten by a delivery from Keshav Maharaj that gripped just a little, it was left to Toby Roland-Jones, on debut, to lift England above 150. His innings included a pulled six off Chris Morris – the only six of the England innings – and a gorgeous on-drive for four off the same bowler. He survived one thumping blow to the helmet – Morris responding to the punishment with a fine bouncer – but it was an assured innings amid the carnage.He was left-stranded when Jake Ball missed an ugly slog-sweep – a nicely disguised slower ball from Maharaj deceiving him – and Steven Finn flicked to midwicket. To the last, England remained committed to attacking. It is entertaining, certainly, but in conditions offering any assistance to bowlers it is not especially bright and perhaps exposes a weakness that other teams in the Champions Trophy might exploit.Perhaps a few days like this are inevitable – and worth withstanding – when teams play like England. But when South Africa suffered a late wobble in their run-chase, losing 3 for 6, it did raise the question as to what might have happened at England adapted their aspirations and managed to set a target of around 240 rather than perishing in pursuit of something in excess of 300.Roland-Jones batted nicely and claimed his maiden international wicket when Amla played on as he attempted a pull. But well though Ball bowled, there was no doubt that England missed the depth their trio of allrounders, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali, offers them. England remain confident that all three will be fit for their opening Champions Trophy match on Thursday, though the possibility remains that Stokes could play as a specialist batsman.South Africa expect both David Miller, who left the pitch with a hamstring strain, and Imran Tahir to be fit for the start of their campaign, too.

Reigning champions Northants Steelbacks ended Birmingham Bears’ 100 per cent start in the NatWestT20Blast with a thrilling five-wicket win at Edgbaston off the last ball of the match

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2017
ScorecardJosh Cobb top-scored as Northamptonshire won off the last ball [file picture]•Getty Images

Reigning champions Northants Steelbacks ended Birmingham Bears’ 100 per cent start in the NatWestT20Blast with a thrilling five-wicket win at Edgbaston off the last ball of the match.Put in, the Bears totalled 156 for 4, considerably fewer than looked likely when they were 103 for 1 after 12 overs. The fall of Ian Bell , who made 50 from 35 balls, sent the innings into decline against an accurate attack led by South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and seamer Richard Gleeson.A further blow befell the Bears when a Gleeson delivery rapped Rikki Clarke on the right thumb, forcing him to retire hurt and leaving him unable to open the bowling.In Clarke’s absence, the Steelbacks charged to 40 from three overs as Adam Rossington’s ferocious 20-ball 34 set them on the way. Josh Cobb then took up the cudgels with a well-judged 48 and Rob Keogh saw them over the line with a boundary off the final ball.Birmingham were given a perky start by openers Bell and Sam Hain who added 55 in 37 balls. Hain struck five fours in a 21-ball 30 but perished to left-arm spinner Graeme White’s first ball, which he reverse-swept to short third man.White had just dropped Bell, a difficult chance at point off Gleeson with the batsman on 20, and was made to regret that as Bell reached 50. But he fell next ball, when he lifted Shamsi to deep mid-wicket, and the Steelbacks slammed on such a brake that the next six overs (13 to 18) brought just 31 runs.Colin de Grandhomme hoisted Shamsi to deep mid-wicket and it became three wickets for three runs in seven balls when William Porterfield sliced White to point.The Bears’ problems increased when Clarke retired hurt and only a belated assault from Aaron Thomason, who hit two sixes in the last over from Rory Kleinveldt, to lift the total over 150.In Clarke’s absence, De Grandhomme opened the bowling and Rossington took to the Kiwi with a vengeance, smashing 24 from his second over.Jeetan Patel gave the Bears hope by removing Ben Duckett, caught at mid-off, and Rossington, lbw, and Alex Wakely chipped Olly Hannon-Dalby to mid-off, but Cobb and Rob Keogh added 43 from 32 balls. Cobb holed out with the job almost done and just five runs were needed from the last over, from Elliott.The Bears fought hard and Steven Crook fell to a fine catch by Porterfield at long on from the second ball and the scores were level with one ball remaining: Elliott to Keogh, and Keogh found the cover boundary.

With Bangladesh likely to qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup, the qualifying tournament might need to be played elsewhere – ZC hopes it can convince the ICC to stage it in Zimbabwe

Firdose Moonda07-Aug-2017Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is hopeful it can host the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, and will look to convince the ICC chairman Shashank Manohar that it can do so when he visits the country on Tuesday.Manohar will spend five days in Zimbabwe on a trip that includes meetings with government officials such as the country’s vice-president and sports minister, and with ZC hierarchy. His visit will conclude with a trip to Victoria Falls, where plans to build a cricket ground could resume, after initial efforts – which were due to start in 2011 – were delayed.Manohar’s visit is a boost to a country that has been on the fringes of global cricket for the last 15 years, largely due to political unrest and economic meltdown. Though they have remained an ICC Full Member during that period, Zimbabwe went on a self-imposed exile from Test cricket between 2005 and 2011 and have been a rare sight on the international stage since then. Since their comeback six years ago, Zimbabwe have hosted 12 Tests, 63 ODIs and 18 T20Is and have only been on four away tours.Most recently, they visited Sri Lanka, where they won the ODI series and competed convincingly in the only Test. Under coach Heath Streak and managing director Faisal Hasnain, Zimbabwe are starting to create a more sustainable structure and regular playing opportunities. They spent the winter touring Scotland and the Netherlands before the full series in Sri Lanka; they are due to host West Indies in October this year and are in talks to play Afghanistan at the end of the year as they build up to the World Cup qualifiers in 2018, which will decide which two teams join the top eight at the 2019 tournament.The qualifiers were due to be held in Bangladesh, but since they are likely to qualify automatically – they are now ranked 7th – it will need to be moved. Zimbabwe, the UAE, and Scotland and Ireland (joint hosts) are vying for hosting rights.Zimbabwe has a few things in its favour, most notably the weather. The qualifier is scheduled for June-July 2018, when, even though it will be winter in Zimbabwe, conditions are dry and pleasant.A potential concern is whether the country has the facilities to host a multi-team tournament. Zimbabwe largely play their home international cricket at two venues – Harare Sports Club and Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo – but there is talk of adding an academy ground as an additional option.

The wicketkeeper-batsman had played for the Sixers in the inaugural BBL before moving to Melbourne Renegades for five seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2017Wicketkeeper Peter Nevill will return to the Sydney Sixers for the 2017-18 Big Bash League after five seasons with the Melbourne Renegades. Nevill had been part of the Sixers side that won the inaugural BBL in 2011-12, and will return to the franchise on a multi-year deal.Nevill’s New South Wales team-mate, fast bowler Sean Abbott, has also committed to the Sixers.”It was a great opportunity to be back playing with people that I’ve played with extensively at NSW,” Nevill told “One of my fondest cricket memories was winning the BBL 01 title with the Sixers and I’d love to win another one with the same guys. My best mates play for NSW and the Sixers so the ability to play all season with through, through state and then BBL cricket was a real attraction.”The Sixers have a great environment, given the nucleus is similar to NSW, and I love the culture. Another factor was being able to spend the festive period at home in Sydney.”Nevill played 27 matches for the Renegades over five seasons, scoring 186 runs at an average of 13.28 and a strike rate of 97. Last season, he suffered a fractured jaw after a freak accident during a BBL game against the Adelaide Strikers, where he was struck in the face by Brad Hodge’s bat.In the 2016-17 domestic season, Nevill ended up as one of the top-scorers for NSW in the Sheffield Shield, with 625 runs in nine matches, including three hundreds and a fifty.Nevill has not played for Australia since the Hobart Test against South Africa last year. The innings-and-80-run defeat in that match – which was the side’s fifth consecutive Test loss – forced the Australian selectors to revamp the side and Nevill lost his place to Matthew Wade.

Former India captain concedes players are invariably “more powerful” than coaches in the modern-day game

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2017The manner of Anil Kumble’s exit as India coach and how the entire captain-coach saga played out in public view was both “unfortunate” and unfair to the former India captain, according to his former colleague Rahul Dravid. He also conceded that players were invariably more powerful than coaches, and any power-struggle inevitably resulted in the favour of the players.Kumble stepped down immediately after the Champions Trophy in June after his partnership with Kohli became “untenable.” Ahead of that tournament, reports of Kohli telling BCCI about players being uncomfortable with Kumble’s “overbearing” ways surfaced.”At the end of the day, I don’t know the specifics of that particular issue, but it shouldn’t have got played out in the way that it did,” Dravid said at the Bangalore Literature Festival. “I think the whole thing got played out in the media which is very, very unfortunate for Anil and not fair on him at all.”So, what’s the reality of it and what happens behind closed doors is not something I’m privy to, so I can’t comment directly. But it was definitely an unfortunate episode, especially to someone like Anil who has been an absolute legend of the game, someone who has done more to win Test matches for India than anybody I know. And he had a successful year as coach as well. But the fact is that it should never have played out the way that it did, publicly.”That the coaching job came with an inherent risk of a sack wasn’t lost on Dravid. “See, coaches get sacked. The first thing you know when you stop playing and become a coach is that some day you are going to get sacked,” he said. “That’s the reality.”As an India A and Under-19 coach, I know that someday I’m going to get the boot. Some football managers get sacked after two games, so that’s the reality. Players are more powerful than coaches. We know that because we were more powerful than coaches when we played.”When there was a suggestion that players had become too powerful, Dravid said players had little say in their journey to superstardom. “A lot of cricketers come from humble, middle-class backgrounds. At the core of all this, if you remove the hype and hoopla, they are just normal guys who grew up and became heroes,” he said. “They became heroes thanks to people like you [anchors, journalists], television asking for interviews, writing books about them. It’s the game that has made them heroes.”I read that the players have become too big, but who has made them too big? It’s very easy to say that, and also a lot of other people have become rich by players becoming rich. It’s reality now. It’s the fact of the matter. At the end of the day, cricketers are simple people. But everything gets blown out of proportion for them. So they have to deal with things a certain way.”

Ben Stokes has been withdrawn from England’s Ashes squad, pending further investigation into his alleged street brawl in Bristol last month. Steven Finn has been drafted into the squad in his place

Andrew Miller06-Oct-20171:23

Stokes set to miss Ashes as Finn gets the call

Ben Stokes has been withdrawn from England’s Ashes squad, pending further investigation into his alleged street brawl in Bristol last month, with Steven Finn stepping into the squad for the full five-Test series.Stokes has, however, retained his place on England’s list of centrally contracted players for 2017-18, and could yet be recalled to the party if no further police action is taken. Alex Hales – who is also currently unavailable for selection in the wake of the events on September 25 – also keeps hold of his white-ball contract.In a raft of announcements from the ECB, it was also confirmed that three other players who had been out drinking with Stokes and Hales on the night in question – namely Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball and Liam Plunkett – have accepted a formal written warning and a fine for unprofessional conduct.All three players have paid an undisclosed sum to to the Professional Cricketers’ Association Benevolent Fund and the Hornsby Professional Cricketers’ Fund. The ECB added that the internal investigation into that matter had been closed and that it will make no further comment.The measures against Stokes and Hales, who were the only two England cricketers still present at the time of the alleged incident outside Mbargo nightclub, were last week referred to the Cricket Discipline Commission, headed by Tim O’Gorman, who will independently review any breach by the pair of the ECB’s directives and regulations.In a statement, Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, said that Stokes’ retention on an ECB central contract should be taken as a sign that the board were not prejudging the police investigation, but rather were seeking a measure of clarity for the whole squad ahead of what is guaranteed to be their highest-profile series in recent memory.”With the Ashes just around the corner, it’s important to give the players, the coaching staff and supporters some clarity around a complex situation,” Strauss said.”This decision will help us in the weeks ahead and give every player and the whole England set-up the best chance to focus on the challenge ahead in Australia.””We have spoken to Ben and assured him that our decision in no way prejudges the outcome of the ongoing Police investigation or Cricket Discipline Commission process, as can be seen by the award of Central Contracts.”Finn, who was overlooked in the original tour party in spite of a late burst of form for Middlesex in the County Championship, now steps in for what will be his third consecutive Ashes tour. In 2010-11 he claimed 14 wickets in the first three Tests, more than any other England bowler at the time, but four years later he was rendered “unselectable” after suffering a meltdown in his bowling action.”Steven is a high-quality cricketer, with considerable experience of both international cricket and Australian conditions,” said Strauss. “The selectors believe he will add to the range of options and the squad will be further supported by the arrival of the Lions in Australia in November.”The decision to replace Stokes, who would have been England’s designated No. 6, with an extra fast bowler instead of reinforcing the batting is an indication of how England plan to fill such a huge hole in their first-choice XI.The three other allrounders in the middle-order – Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and the wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow – can be expected at this stage to move up a place in the order, to allow England to retain a four-man pace attack.With James Anderson and Stuart Broad also sure to feature in the first Test at Brisbane on November 23, Finn will now be competing with Craig Overton and Jake Ball for the remaining place in the team. Ben Foakes, the reserve wicketkeeper, could also come into consideration if Bairstow – one of England’s most in-form players – is chosen as a specialist batsman.

Anmolpreet Singh’s career-best 267 helped set up a declaration on 653 for 9 for Punjab, while Himachal wipe out their 213-run deficit against Bengal

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2017Punjab were on course for their second win of the season after Anmolpreet Singh’s career-best 267 and Gurkeerat Singh’s 111 helped set up a declaration on 653 for 9 in Raipur. Having a deficit of 415 to wipe out to avoid an innings defeat, Chhattisgarh were tottering at 128 for 4 in the second innings at stumps on day three, with Sandeep Sharma and Barinder Sran, the new ball pair, picking two wickets. Punjab, currently placed third in Group D, are primed for full points.Anmolpreet, resuming on 171, added 96. Along the way, he found support from the last five batsmen, who put together 150 to help Punjab swell their lead. Of these, No. 9 batsmanVinay Choudhary contributed 49 while Sran, the last man, blasted three sixes and a four in his unbeaten 14-ball 27. Prateek Sinha, Sumit Ruikar and Shourabh Karwar picked up three wickets each for Chhattisgarh.Chhattisgarh, faced with the realistic option of batting for a draw to garner one point, slipped to 92 for 4, before an unbroken 79-run stand between half-centurion Ashutosh Singh and Siddharth Chandrakar frustrated Punjab towards close of play.Half-centuries from openers Priyanshu Khanduri and Prashant Chopra helped Himachal wipe out their 213-run deficit against Bengal after being made to follow-on and nudge ahead by two, with eight second-innings wickets still intact, after three days of play in Kolkata. A draw here could mean both sides would be tied on points in the top half of the standings.Himachal wobbled briefly when Chopra and Sumeet Verma, the captain, fell within the space of four overs. But they were driven forward by Nikhil Gangta, who is coming off two centuries in his previous two matches. Gangta was unbeaten on 43 alongside rookie Khanduri, who was 67 not out. Earlier in the day, Himachal, resuming on 163 for 5, were bowled out for 206 with Ashok Dinda finishing with 5 for 61.Offspinner Akshay Wakhare’s 5 for 87 dismissed Services for 317 and handed Vidarbha a 68-run first-innings lead in Nagpur . The hosts then extended it to 179 by stumps on the third day.Resuming on 141 for 4, Services lost Rahul Singh (63) early in the day. Vikas Yadav and wicketkeeper-batsman Nakul Verma then propped their side up with a 108-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Muzzaffaruddin Khalid contributed 21 to push the score beyond 300. Umesh Yadav and Karn Sharma assisted Wakhare by bagging two wickets each.Vidarbha then lost Wasim Jaffer for 25 in their second dig, but captain Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy put on 67 for the second wicket to steady the side. Fazal fell for 46 just before stumps, but Ramaswamy and nightwatchman Karn Sharma saw off the day without any further damage.

The Cricket Australia chief executive has given Australia’s short-ball barrage the green light and says it is up to the umpires to intervene if they think play is becoming too dangerous

Daniel Brettig23-Dec-20171:32

‘Targeting tail-end a genuine tactical ploy’ – Bird

James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, has given the Test team’s fast bowlers the green light to carry on their concerted short-pitched attack on England’s tail, leaving it up to the game’s neutral umpires to intervene if they think play is becoming too dangerous relative to the skill of the batsman on strike.As one of the game’s most senior administrators, Sutherland signs off on any changes to Test-match playing conditions through his role on the ICC chief executives committee, while Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann also sits on the cricket committee where the laws and conditions under which the game is played are frequently discussed.Though the former England captain Mike Atherton has suggested that the umpires should be more proactive in ensuring that less capable batsmen were not unduly exposed to excessive short-pitched bowling, Sutherland said he saw no problem with pace bowlers searching for weaknesses in the techniques of all batsmen, via short balls or other means, as part of the balance between bat and ball.”I don’t think there’s anything new about fast bowlers attacking tail enders where they show an area of vulnerability. I think that’s all part of the game,” Sutherland said at a CA family day outside the MCG. “What’s also part of the game and the playing regulation and the laws and what have you, that’s up to the umpires to do. I certainly don’t have any problem with fast bowlers attacking batsmen and trying to get them out.”Following the death of Phillip Hughes, after he was struck freakishly on the side of the neck by a bouncer in 2014, Sutherland helped set the terms of reference for CA’s own review, and also attended the New South Wales Coronial Inquest at which it was determined there had been “no malicious intent” in the use of short balls to Hughes on the day he was struck. Before that inquest handed down its findings, Sutherland had spoken of the need to balance the fabric of the game, including the use of bouncers, with safety concerns.”You’ll see in the brief terms of reference we gave David Curtain that we needed to draw a line about the laws of the game and to have some perspective around that,” Sutherland said in May 2016. “You can make the game of cricket a lot safer by playing with a tennis ball, but that’s not how Test cricket has been played and it would obviously be a very different game.”We’re not wanting to go there, but we do need to find the right balance in the circumstances to not compromise the way the game’s played and not compromise the way in which the players are best equipped to show their skills.”Pat Cummins, who has bowled much of the short stuff delivered by Australia’s fast men at the England bowlers, pointed out that it was well known in international cricket that bowlers on all sides are going to “cop it” from their opposite numbers and it was a case of learning to deal with the angle of attack being chosen.”I think they’re all pretty competent batters,” Cummins said. “Stuart Broad’s got a Test match hundred and Anderson’s got an 80-odd so Starcy [Mitchell Starc], Hazlewood, Birdy [Jackson Bird] and I, we know we’re going to cop it as well so we spend lots of time in the nets working on it, working with the coaches and talking to other players about how to best defend it. I think I’ve copped about 50 so far this series so we get back as much as we dish out.”You’re always concerned when someone gets hit in the head, but once you find out they’re ok I think it’s part of cricket, hopefully it will always stay part of cricket. It’s one of the thrills of bowling fast, trying to unsettle the batsman when the pitch might not have sideways movement or swing, so hopefully it stays around our game.”For us, Plan A is always how can we get the batsmen out and at the moment for a few of their guys we think that’s our best chance of getting them out for the least amount of runs. Until that changes our plans will play pretty solid.”James Anderson has spoken of the experience of being struck on the helmet by Cummins in the closing stages of the Perth Test, and also countered that he did not think the difference in pace between the two teams had been as large a factor in the series as many have observed. Instead, he felt the Australians had benefited from some poor England shot selection.”I don’t know if you’ve ever been messing around with mates and someone slaps you on your ear, it’s kind of a real shock,” Anderson told the BBC. “You’re obviously not expecting to get hit on the head but you’ve got that split second where you know it’s going to hit you. It’s not ideal. It’s happened to me a few times in my career. We’re very fortunate in this day and age that the helmets are such high quality. I turned my head and just braced for impact … I had a bit of a sore jaw for a couple of days.””It’s not necessarily the pace but where the ball is and the plans they’ve had have worked well. Even me as a No.11, you get used to that pace. I honestly don’t think the pace has actually caused us any issues. If you look at our dismissals, we sometimes haven’t necessarily got out to the good balls.”

Sabbir Rahman’s aggressive style of batting could tip the balance in his favour on what is expected to be a turning pitch in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam07-Feb-2018Sabbir Rahman’s return to the Test squad leaves Bangladesh with a dilemma: will they pick him for the No. 7 position or continue with Mosaddek Hossain? Both are free-flowing batsmen but Sabbir is more aggressive of the two and quick runs could prove valuable on what is expected to be a turning pitch in Mirpur.The previous two Tests in Mirpur had also assisted spin with both matches not going into a fifth day. Sabbir’s style of batting could be more suited to the team, despite his iffy form in the last five months.On his return to international cricket after suffering an eye infection, Mosaddek managed only 16 runs in two innings in Chittagong. He had got out to a poor shot in the first innings, but soaked up 53 balls in the second after a wobble to put the match beyond Sri Lanka’s reach. Mahmudullah, the stand-in captain, said that he was particularly impressed with Mosaddek’s measured innings on the final day in Chittagong.”He started well in the first innings but he had a rush of blood to get out,” Mahmudullah said. “He worked hard in the second innings but since we needed to survive, he curbed his shots. Mid-on and mid-off were up so he had to contain himself. A wicket would have put us under pressure so he did that well during our partnership. I am sure he can perform better.”Shakib Al Hasan’s absence has shaken up the balance of the team, and Bangladesh, perhaps, are now willing to gamble on an aggressive batsman. Sabbir might be out of form, but his ability to take the game away from the opposition is recognised by the team management.At the same time, Mosaddek is also one of the most talented young batsmen in the country, but his relative lack of Test experience – coupled with Sabbir’s shock value – could put him out of the XI in Mirpur.When asked how the team management evaluated a quick-fire fifty to a match-saving innings, Mahmudullah looked back at the home Tests against Australia and called for intent with the bat.”A lot of it depends on the conditions,” Mahmudullah said. “Even when there was a lot of help for spinners in the Dhaka wicket last year, the Australian batsmen played with a lot of intent. They didn’t allow the bowlers to settle down by sweeping at them and going down the wicket. You have to know your strong zones and which bowlers to take on.”While it doesn’t say much, Mahmudullah reveals just about enough on who will be Bangladesh’s No. 7 in Mirpur. Picking Sabbir might be a quick fix for Bangladesh, but it will be hard on Mosaddek, who has long been considered as an exciting talent.