There is no doubt about Mushfiqur Rahim’s importance to Bangladesh as a batsman, but concerns over his wicketkeeping and tactics resurfaced in Hyderabad

Mohammad Isam in Hyderabad11-Feb-2017In the 118th over of India’s innings, Wriddhiman Saha ventured a long way out of his crease to blast Taijul Islam but missed the ball. Mushfiqur Rahim completed the stumping, so Saha’s confident nod after the stumps were broken looked rather out of place. Moments later, it was revealed that the Bangladesh captain had missed the stumps on his first two attempts, and by the time he had removed the bails, Saha was safe.India were 466 for 4, with Saha on 4, at the time. The ball had just started to turn, and for the first time since the first hour of the Test, Bangladesh had begun to exercise some control on the run rate. After his reprieve, Saha went on to score his second Test century and India batted another 48.5 overs and added 221 runs.There is no doubt that Mushfiqur is integral to Bangladesh’s plans as a batsman. He has the proven quality of a dependable middle-order player, one who takes great care to get his team into strong positions and is their go-to man when the side is in trouble. The first two days of the Hyderabad Test, though, have put his decline as a wicketkeeper and captain in the spotlight.On the first morning of the Test, an edge from Cheteshwar Pujara off seamer Kamrul Islam Rabbi fell short of Soumya Sarkar at first slip. It was Mushfiqur’s catch because the ball was never going to carry to slip. Elite wicketkeepers convert these half chances. Then came the fluffed stumping, which could become a pivotal moment for the Bangladesh captain.There were more examples of Mushfiqur’s recent struggles behind the stumps in the ODI series against Afghanistan last September. He missed catches at different stages of the three games and a stumping, which hurt Bangladesh in a two-wicket defeat in the second ODI.Mushfiqur’s main skill has always been his batting, the reason he was picked ahead of Khaled Mashud for the 2007 World Cup. Bangladesh wanted a batsman who could keep, and to this day Mushfiqur has fit the mould.On the recent tour of New Zealand, he underlined his importance in that role. Until Mushfiqur was hit by a Neil Wagner bouncer in Wellington, New Zealand could not get the upper hand in the Test. Mushfiqur’s 159 in the first innings was a superb display of controlled aggression, and his 80-minute second innings, with a finger injury, was an example of pure grit. He had also repeatedly taken blows to his body.Grit alone isn’t enough for a captain, though. The ability to size up a match situation, balancing control and aggression, knowing what the bowlers are capable of and then getting it out of them, are all essential requisites in a leader.The first time India got away from Bangladesh after the early fall of KL Rahul was in the sixth and seventh overs of Kamrul’s first spell, when the bowler’s intensity was clearly down. Kamrul is no stranger to bowling long first-class spells, but to ask him to bowl a seventh over after a flaccid sixth showed rigidness.Against Virat Kohli, Mushfiqur persisted with aggressive fields when his bowlers were not reciprocating with controlled bowling. There were boundaries for the taking either side of the wicket. A captain at times is as good or bad as his bowlers, but Mushfiqur’s optimism was not in sync with his team’s abilities. When the grind was needed, Bangladesh were being generous with the field placements.Mushfiqur has also displayed the other extreme as captain. In the home series against Pakistan, for instance, Bangladesh played the first Test with the more defensive Shuvagata Hom instead of legspinner Jubair Hossain. In the Mirpur Test, on a pitch with some grass, Bangladesh picked only two frontline quicks in Mohammad Shahid and Shahadat Hossain. Shahid ended up bowling 41 overs after Shahadat was injured in the first over of the game.A year earlier, Mushfiqur had kept his main bowler Shakib Al Hasan out of the attack despite Sri Lanka slipping to 67 for 8 in the first ODI. By the time Shakib was brought back, Sri Lanka were 143 for 8. The theory was to not give the left-hand batsman Thisara Perera, who made 80 not out, a left-arm spinner’s angle – it is not always a sound plan and has cost Bangladesh in the past. Offspinners were bowled to Perera and he went after them easily. Catches also went down in that game as luck deserted an inflexible captain.In the light of such decisions, and Mushfiqur’s tendency not to adapt mid-session, look at events in the Test Bangladesh won against England more closely. In Mirpur, on the instructions of coach Chandika Hathurusingha, Bangladesh were led by Tamim Iqbal in the session in which they sealed their seminal Test win.Mushfiqur and Hathurusingha later explained that the senior players had been told to step up, but it was evident that Tamim and Shakib were calling the shots at a crucial time in the match. The directions came because Hathurusingha had been disappointed with Bangladesh’s approach in the previous session.To look at specific instances and results alone can be a bit harsh on Mushfiqur. There is a reason why, before MS Dhoni, no wicketkeeper had captained in more than 18 Tests. Mushfiqur is No. 2 on that list with 25 matches. If anything, Mushfiqur’s burden is bigger than Dhoni’s was: as a batsman he is more integral to Bangladesh than Dhoni was to India, and he has had to lead a less seasoned side.Bangladesh are a team looking to take that next step in Test cricket, after having become competitive in limited-overs cricket. They need Mushfiqur the batsman, but perhaps it is time for fresher ideas from a captain. Being relieved of captaincy could rejuvenate his wicketkeeping too. With a series against Sri Lanka next month, it may be the right time to discuss Mushfiqur’s workload in the Test team.

A distracted and angry team played without passion or practice, in a tournament that is off the radar for Australia’s sporting public

Jarrod Kimber at Edgbaston10-Jun-2017In the gloom of Edgbaston, with England nearly home, the rain about to come, and their million-dollar bowler clutching his hamstring, Glenn Maxwell dropped a catch that he misread so badly it almost hit him. Even when it didn’t rain on Australia’s chances, their cricket was underwhelming.Australia have played only one completed match – and even that was incomplete. They were poor in their first match, and much better in the second. By the end of those two washouts, their tally of two points was exactly what they deserved. If you include their two warm-ups, they’d played in four games in England, and finished just this one.Essentially Australia’s only game of this entire tournament was a knockout game against the only unbeaten team, the favourites, the home team, and they came into it with no proper preparation. Most casual Australian cricket fans don’t even know what the Champions Trophy is, what it means, or how often Australia has won it. Plus, it’s footy season, and this is hardly the Ashes. Besides, the Australian players haven’t had to face anything as hostile on the field as they have from their own board. But even though Cricket Australia’s executives might have played even more reckless shots than their top order, this Australian team never looked right from the moment it took the field in this tournament.The problem started at No.4. Moises Henriques has never made more than 18 in an ODI. His top score for Australia is 81 not out in Tests. He averages 31 in List A cricket. He made two List A fifties in his first nine seasons of cricket. He’s only ever made limited-overs hundreds in domestic cricket. He’s 30. Ten Australian players have scored over 4000 runs in ODI cricket batting at No.4: Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn, Allan Border, Michael Bevan, Mike Hussey, Steve Waugh and Greg Chappell.Henriques has good recent form in the IPL, Big Bash and one-day cup, but at No. 4, in an ICC tournament, it was two or three places too high.It is not Henriques’ fault he is batting at 4: he is there because of a hole in the centre of this team. Australia are a batsman short and a bowler short. And to elongate the batting and rush through the fifth bowler’s overs quicker, Henriques has been brought in to fill this gap. The middle overs in this tournament are when bowling sides try and take wickets – England smashed through theirs with wrist spin and pace to make sure Australia had nothing left with which to strike at the death. But in the 13th to 15th of a must-win game, Australia was bowling Moises Henriques and Travis Head when they needed wickets with no catchers, no hope of a plan other than ‘”let’s hope Ben Stokes does something idiotic”.Would Australia have won the game with Marcus Stoinis instead of Henriques, or even Chris Lynn for Henriques, with Head and Maxwell combining for ten overs? Probably not, because even though the chemistry was wrong, the performances weren’t much better. Pat Cummins has taken two wickets in 25 overs in this tournament, and served up 144 runs – 52 of which came in his first five overs against New Zealand. Today, Stokes took him for 43 runs from 28 balls.Steven Smith was an angry man for much of a sorry Australia performance•Getty ImagesDavid Warner came into this tournament having made a staggering 23.5% of Australia’s runs since the last World Cup: here he failed in two of the three games. Steven Smith makes 16.5% of Australia’s runs; he failed in two out of three as well. Starc looked underdone in the first match, bowled beautifully in the washout against Bangladesh, and clutched his hamstring for much of this game.Australia’s game-plan relies on one of their top three batting big, to make up for their shallowness below them. Instead they lost regular wickets, and then 5 for 15 once the tail was exposed. Australia’s game-plan relies on their fast bowlers taking regular wickets. Instead they started brilliantly but couldn’t keep striking. And that was the ballgame.You could extrapolate this one game and talk about the Ashes, and a psychological dominance that England might feel they now have over Australia, but you probably shouldn’t. The Australians might be embarrassed that a team lost to England with six or seven potential Test players, but you know, they played a better-prepared team with better form in a must-win game, and they lost. Their ODI team might need a stronger allrounder, but other than that, it’s hard to answer any big questions from two washouts and a loss.Plus there are bigger questions in Australia that need to be answered right now, what’s Schapelle Corby up to, who’s winning in the footy and what is the best kind of fusion to win with on a reality TV cooking show?At 35 for 3, Hazlewood raps Stokes on the pad, the Australians are screaming, and one ball later they are coming off. Smith looks frustrated, but he has all day. He was angry when Henriques got out, he was angry when he got out, and he was angry when his team fielded poorly. The only time he wasn’t angry was when the rain came for the last time, then it was relief.Australia, caught rain, bowled England, 0.

Plays of the day from the third ODI between England and South Africa

George Dobell at Lord's29-May-2017Ball of the day
There has not been much evidence of swing from the white ball in English domestic cricket this season. But Wayne Parnell proved that, if the conditions are right, movement can still be found by a skilful bowler with a new white ball. He produced a beauty to account for Joe Root: full and swinging in late, it beat Root’s attempted flick to midwicket and trapped him leg before. Perhaps Root might have survived had he played it straighter but it was, by any standards, a fine ball. Eoin Morgan, who received one that demanded a stroke and left him to take the outside edge, was similarly dealt with.Catch of the day
South Africa’s catching has not, by their high standards, been at its best this series. So they will have been delighted by the reliability of the slip cordon here, with several sharp chances taken. Best of them all arguably was Faf du Plessis’ head-high take at second slip to account for Jos Buttler. The batsman, perhaps attempting to hit the ball too hard, managed a thick edge as the ball left him, meaning it flew to du Plessis’ left at great pace. But he clung on and England slipped to 20 for 5.Deja-vu moment of the day
Having seen Alex Hales and Buttler fall in the same manner – attempting lavish drives at deliveries that left them just a touch down the slope – you might have thought that Adil Rashid would take a slightly more cautious approach. But no, Rashid attempted an equally ambitious drive to his first delivery and, once again, was defeated by a fraction of movement and edged to the slip cordon. It left Kagiso Rabada on a hat-trick and England on 20 for 6 – the only time in the history of ODI cricket a side has lost six wickets within the first five overs. With England committed to an aggressive approach, which has served them well in recent times, it was probably the sort of incident that was bound to occur sooner or later. But it was a reminder that, when the ball moves, England remain a little vulnerable.Shot of the day
With both sides making a host of changes ahead of more important battles looming in the near future, Toby Roland-Jones won a maiden international cap for England. He had relatively little opportunity to impress with the ball – by the time he came on, South Africa had this game all but won, though he showed good pace, beat the bat a few times and claimed a memorable maiden wicket in Hashim Amla – but he impressed most with the bat. Scoring an unbeaten 37 – the second-highest of the England innings – he played one shot in particular that hinted at real class with the bat. It was not the pulled six off Chris Morris, impressive though that was, but an on-driven four off the same bowler that would have pleased any of the great batsmen who have played at this ground over the years. It was especially impressive coming from a No. 9 on debut. He was also the first man with a hyphen in his name to make an England debut since Mandy Mitchell-Innes in 1935.Record of the day
When Amla reached 23, he became the fastest man in the history of ODI cricket to achieve 7000 runs in terms of innings played. Amla reached the landmark in his 150th innings, beating the previous record of Virat Kohli, who took 161 innings. AB de Villiers is third in the table, having taken 166 innings. Amla is also the fastest man in ODI history to the landmarks of 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 runs.

India thumped New Zealand by 186 runs to book a place in the tournament’s semis for the fourth time

Shiva Jayaraman15-Jul-2017186 Runs India won this match by – their biggest win when batting first in the Women’s World Cup. Overall, there have been only three other instances when India have won by a bigger margin when batting first in women’s ODIs. They had beaten Ireland by a 249-run margin in an ODI in May this year, which is their biggest margin of victory.5/15 Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s figures in this match – India’s best in the Women’s World Cup. Ekta Bisht had taken 5 for 18 at the same venue in an earlier match against Pakistan, which was the previous best. Click here for a list of the best match figures in women’s ODIs for India, and here for a list of the best hauls in the Women’s World Cup.7 Fifty-plus scores by Mithali Raj as India’s captain in the World Cup – the most by any captain in the tournament. She went past Suzie Bates’ and Belinda Clark’s tally of six with her 109 in this match. Overall, Raj’s tally of 11 fifty-plus scores in the World Cup is the joint second-highest by any batsman. New Zealand’s Debbie Hockley has made 12 such scores. England’s Charlotte Edwards is the other batsman with 11 such scores.155.55 Veda Krishnamurthy’s strike rate in her 45-ball 70 in this match – the second-highest for an India batsman in an innings of 50 or more runs in women’s ODIs. Rumeli Dhar’s 31-ball 50 against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final in 2008 is the only innings that ranks higher.1086 Runs Raj has made in the Women’s World Cup – the fifth-highest by any batsman. She is only the fifth batsman to make 1000 runs in the Women’s World Cup. Her average of 57.15 among the five to hit 1000-plus runs in the World Cup is the second highest after Belinda Clark, who made 1151 runs at 60.57.2 Hundreds by Raj in the World Cup – the joint-highest by a captain. Suzie Bates and Charlotte Edwards also have hit two hundreds each. Overall, this was Raj’s sixth hundred in ODIs. No other India batsman has made more than two.1 Number of times India had beaten New Zealand from 11 matches before this in the Women’s World Cup. The only previous win had come in the semi-finals of the 2005 World Cup. Overall, New Zealand have a 27-17 win-loss record against India in women’s ODIs.80 New Zealand’s previous lowest all-out total in the Women’s World Cup, which had also come against India, in 1982. New Zealand, however, had won that match.3 Player-of-the-match awards won by Raj as captain in the World Cup – the joint second-highest by any captain. Only Belinda Clark’s tally of four such awards is more than Raj’s. England’s Charlotte Edwards has also won three. Overall, Raj has won five such awards in the tournament, the joint second-highest.3 World Cup semi-finals played by India before this edition. They have made it to this stage every time the Women’s World Cup has had a round of semi-finals. Including this edition, India have made it to the top four in five of the last six World Cups. They had failed to make it to the Super-Six stage in 2013.

Only twice before had two or more bowlers picked up four or more wickets for a side in a Women’s World Cup game

Bharath Seervi02-Jul-20174/0 Dane van Niekerk’s figures – the first instance of a bowler taking four or more wickets without conceding any run across all internationals (men’s and women’s cricket included). Three for none has been achieved twice in women’s ODIs and once in women’s T20Is and only once in men’s internationals. Van Niekerk’s figures are also the best by a captain at a Women’s World Cup.190 Number of deliveries bowled in the game – which makes it the fourth-shortest completed women’s ODI. Pakistan and Australia played out the shortest game – 119 balls were bowled – at the 1997 World Cup in Hyderabad.48 West Indies Women’s total – their second-lowest in women’s ODIs and second-lowest for any team against South Africa. West Indies’ lowest total is 41, against England in 2008.6.2 Overs needed by South Africa Women to complete the chase. That makes it the third-quickest successful chase in women’s ODIs. They won with 262 balls remaining which is the third-largest win in terms of balls remaining in completed women’s ODIs.1997 The last time a total lower than West Indies’ 48 was witnessed in Women’s World Cup cricket. Pakistan slumped to 27 all out, the lowest total in the tournament’s history, against Australia Women. Overall, 48 by West Indies is the sixth-lowest in Women’s World Cup.3 Instances of two bowlers picking up four or more wickets for a side in a Women’s World Cup game. Marizanne Kapp picked up 4 for 14 and van Kiekert took 4 for 0 for South Africa in this game. Incidentally, these two figures are also the best two performances for South Africa Women in World Cup.

The former allrounder is in line to be the temporary head coach of Bangladesh alongside being a member of the selection panel and a director of the cricket board

Mohammad Isam27-Nov-2017When BCB president Nazmul Hassan identified Khaled Mahmud as the frontrunner to be the interim head coach of Bangladesh, various potential conflicts came starkly into view.Mahmud is currently a BCB director and if he is ultimately given the temporary job, he will be the first director-cum-coach in world cricket. Even for someone who was an allrounder during his playing career, this dual role will be something.But this is not the first time Mahmud finds himself juggling several roles. He has been Bangladesh’s team manager on a number of occasions since the 2015 World Cup. He has also been head coach of Dhaka Premier League side Abahani Limited for the past three seasons, head coach of the BPL team Dhaka Dynamites since 2016, and a national selector since 2016.Wait. There’s more. Mahmud is the vice-president of players’ association – the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB). Naimur Rahman is president. Both Naimur and Mahmud are also BCB directors which puts them, theoretically, at both ends of the bargaining table for cricketers’ rights.And it does not end there. Mahmud is also head coach of Shinepukur Cricket Club, the Dhaka First Division Cricket League champions who earned promotion to the 2017-18 DPL, and Bangla Trac Cricket Academy. During the BCB directors’ last term, he was chairman of the BCB’s development committee, which meant he headed a department that finds and hones talent from across the country while working for a privately-owned academy that provides talent.All of these roles have made Mahmud arguably the most influential policy-maker in Bangladesh cricket. He has authority over senior team selection while at the same time being in charge of two of the top domestic teams in the country.Last year, when he was appointed to the selection committee, questions were raised that the captain should have been part of it instead of the manager. But BCB chief Hassan explained that it was only because of Mahmud that the team manager was being made a selector, not the other way around.Mahmud has, in the past, understood the problems leading so many roles could cause. In January 2013, he quit the BCB’s ad-hoc committee to join Chittagong Kings’ as coach in the BPL to avoid a conflict of interest.”Without any doubt it was a great honour for me when I was included on the ad-hoc committee,” Mahmud had said at the time. “It would have been nice if I continued, but the reality is different for me.”I have to earn money for my livelihood, so there was no other choice rather than taking the decision to continue as coach of the Chittagong Kings. I talked with [Nazmul Hassan] Papon bhai. Actually it was not possible to continue with both jobs as there was a conflict of interest.”Nine months later, he was elected board director and then took on all of those roles.Mahmud is not alone. The board president Hassan and director Ismail Haider Mallick, who is also the BPL governing council’s secretary, are employees of Beximco Group, which owns the BPL side Dhaka Dynamites and Shinepukur Cricket Club. Khulna Titans is owned by Kazi Inam Ahmed, who is also a current BCB director; the team employs Habibul Bashar as well, who is on the Bangladesh selection panel. Meanwhile, chief selector Minhajul Abedin is working for Chittagong Vikings in this season’s BPL.The BCB has, in practice, allowed for these conflicts of interest. Club officials have always held powerful positions in the cricket board. When re-writing its constitution in 2017, the board had an opportunity to address this issue in a more detailed manner but chose to ignore it completely.Some argue that a lack of quality administrators leaves the BCB with no choice. But the board has also mostly preferred to rely on Dhaka-based officials to run it; if they spread their net wider, they wouldn’t have the problem of quantity. Developing quality is then a matter of time.Perhaps it is time for the BCB to adopt the Cricket Australia (CA) model. CA changed their governance plan in 2012 so that the board is an independent entity containing nine directors. None of them are allowed to be directors or chairmen of their member associations.There are some like Mark Taylor (New South Wales) or Tony Harrison (Tasmania) who used to be, but they had to resign from state posts during an interim process from 2012 to 2014. The only potential conflict now is Taylor being board director and also a Channel Nine commentator.When asked about his dual role, Naimur said that CWAB representation in the board is helpful as it gives the representative a position to talk and work as a partner with the board. The CWAB already has a designated councillorship in the BCB apart from Naimur (a BCB councillor through Manikganj district) or Mahmud (BCB councillor in the cricketers’ quota).

The lowdown on the staggering, sometimes barely believable numbers Mumbai have racked up in the Ranji Trophy’s history

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2017Mumbai have few peers around the world when it comes to consistent domination in first-class cricket•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Being excluded from the ODI squad seemed not to bother the Sri Lanka opener, as he scored his seventh Test hundred to give his team control of the innings

Osman Samiuddin in Dubai07-Oct-2017There are two ways to look at the fact that Dimuth Karunaratne was fielding questions about his absence from Sri Lanka’s ODI squad on an evening when his seventh Test hundred put his side in control of a Test match.One is to see it as a bit of a disservice to a near-flawless innings. The other is to acknowledge, happily, that a Karunaratne performance has become such a routine occurrence that we may as well talk about other things now.For the record, Karunaratne did not seem especially bothered by not being part of the white-ball squad. He will, of course, play, he said, if the selectors asked him; he will take things one game at a time, but right now was the time to focus on his Test career. He wanted to get better as a batsman in the longest format, to be more complete. And, if his recent performances are anything to go by, he seems to be enjoying Test cricket more than ever.Why wouldn’t he? Any time you can tell people you’ve scored more Test runs in the year than Steven Smith, Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and David Warner has got to be an enjoyable feeling. Only Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla stand above him.For long parts of it, the century could have been an extension of his first-innings 93 in Abu Dhabi, the innings that did so much to ease Sri Lanka into that Test. He broke through this time, though, and remained unbeaten but the knock, in essence, was a reprise. There was perhaps a sniff of a chance to short leg in the second over of the day but, that apart, this was Karunaratne as conceived: functional, operating inside some kind of undisturbed, airless chamber.That is, however, not to say it was dull, or colourless – not at all. Only that it was so composed and matter-of-fact. Some of his play off Yasir Shah, for example, was imperious, none less than the up-and-over clip over midwicket that brought up his fifty. And he was particularly severe on Mohammad Amir, off whom he hit 10 of his 15 boundaries. Yasir and Amir are Pakistan’s premier bowlers, so the message was clear.And it came in what was, effectively, his first serious game with the pink ball and under lights. “I played a first-class game in Sri Lanka and got a hundred there,” he said. “So I had some confidence going into this game although what I played in Colombo was a day game.”Mostly we played in the day time today and only the last session under lights. The first four hours it was nice and smooth but the last two hours were tough. Under lights it is very, very tough. Amir bowled really well. [Mohammad] Abbas didn’t get much side movement earlier on, but he was tough to face with the second new ball under lights.”It wasn’t easy. We have done the hard work and now we need to cash in in the morning. We were not looking for runs after they took the second new ball. We were just trying to see off the day.”Dimuth Karunaratne and Sadeera Samarawickrama added 68 runs for the second wicket•AFPThough it was his 118-run unbroken partnership with Dinesh Chandimal that really secured the evening for Sri Lanka, the swift 68-run stand with Sadeera Samarawickrama had set the day racing. Samarawickrama, on debut no less, played in some respects the innings of the day – the point at which Sri Lanka looked most ascendant. Over 35 balls, it was played without a care in the world, or an obstacle in the way of him displaying his skills. In a couple of his inside-out drives, there was even a glimpse of – go on, admit it – Mahela Jayawardene.”He was the highest run-getter in first-class cricket last season,” Karunaratne said. “He played well today. I tried to give him confidence and he was very positive. I told him just to play his game. He had no fear and was very comfortable. Once he gets more experienced in this level he will convert them into big ones I am pretty sure.”A little of Karunaratne’s focus and know-how, the ability to navigate a path through a day, one session at a time, will not go amiss. That ability has left the destiny of this series, for now, in Sri Lanka’s hands.”We had a bad series against India,” Karunaratne said. “We want to desperately win this series. We are hungry. We just want to play our best and give our best and win the series. We are taking it one day at a time. On day one, we have done well and hopefully we will do well on day two as well.”

As the selectors look to blood younger players and give them a long lead-in to the next Ashes series, there is pressure on James Vince and Mark Stoneman to step up in Sydney

George Dobell in Sydney02-Jan-20181:57

‘Dreamed of playing in Sydney’ – Stoneman

The Ashes may have gone but, for several England players, the Sydney Test could have career-defining implications.The likes of James Vince (199 runs at 28.42 in the series) and Mark Stoneman (208 at 29.71) have had some decent moments in Australia without producing the performance that would have either cemented their place or changed the direction of a match. And with the squad for the series against New Zealand set to be announced on the morning of January 10 (Australia time) both have one last opportunity to impress.Stoneman is by far the more secure batsman. Despite a top score of only 56 after seven Tests, despite having scored only nine more runs than Vince and despite a record strikingly similar to that of Michael Carberry (who was dropped after he averaged 28.10 in Australia in 2013-14), Stoneman has impressed with his attitude and is an almost certain pick for the New Zealand tour. The fact that few other openers are pushing for his spot might well be a factor, too.But Vince needs a performance in Sydney. While he has, at times, looked a high-class player, he is another who has failed to produce the match-defining total. He has only two half-centuries after 11 Tests, and there is a growing sense of impatience over his contributions. He remains likely to make the squad for the New Zealand tour, but two failures here could change that.Counting against Vince, however, is that many of those players the England management like the look of – Joe Clarke, Liam Livingstone and Dan Lawrence – are vying for a middle-order spot. And as the selectors try to bring younger players into the side with a view to providing them a long lead-in to the next Ashes series, the pressure on the likes of Vince will only grow.Gary Ballance is another possible casualty before the squad for the New Zealand series is announced. Ballance has been given almost no chance to impress in Australia – he has scored 51, 1 and 45 not out in his three innings and has not played a first-class game – but may be squeezed out as the selectors look to the future.It is likely that Ben Stokes will be named in the squad. But that does not mean he is likely to make the tour. His name will appear, as it did in the limited-overs squad, as a legal nicety to ensure that the ECB is not seen to be prejudicing the on-going investigation into his actions outside a Bristol nightclub in September. Realistically it seems most unlikely he will make the tour.Toby Roland-Jones, who will go on the Lions’ tour to the Caribbean, is the likely beneficiary. Mark Wood and Craig Overton, who will not be considered for selection in Sydney as he recovers from a cracked rib, also look likely to make the New Zealand tour, with Jake Ball in danger of missing out. Steven Finn, who underwent surgery on his knee having returned home from the Ashes tour after a few days, is not thought to have regained the fitness required for selection.1:25

Starc’s absence showed in Melbourne – Stoneman

The shape of the England team for the Sydney Test is not yet completely clear. While it still appears likely that Mason Crane will make his Test debut, a first look at the pitch has caused some confusion. It is currently greener than expected and offers a decent covering of grass. That grass will be cut back, though, leaving a pitch that will essentially remain good for batting.As a result, the balance of probability suggests that Moeen Ali may retain his place at the expense of Tom Curran – although there are injury doubts over Chris Woakes who was sent for a scan on his left side on Wednesday morning and if he does not get through training on Wednesday, both Curran and Moeen could be included.Omission after one Test would be cruel luck for Curran who let nobody down with his performance on a horribly slow wicket in Melbourne. But the surface did show up his lack of pace and, as England try to juggle their need for some variation in their attack and some depth to their batting, Moeen may retain his place at No. 7 in the hope that his selection as a second spinner will allow him to relax and regain his best form.There were several new faces at England’s training session at the SCG on Tuesday. Three young county legspinners Matt Parkinson (Lancashire; currently playing Grade cricket for Gordon -the club Crane played for last year), Josh Poysden, (Warwickshire) and Matt Critchley (Derbyshire) were among them, while Stuart MacGill, the former Australian legspinner who had worked with Crane last year, watched on and offered advice.The other notable aspects of training were the long stint Joe Root had – he was dropped from the team for the Sydney Test in 2013-14 and is desperate to end this tour on a high – and a slightly jaded look to a couple of seamers. The huge workload they undertook in Melbourne – Anderson alone bowled 59 overs in the Test – may have taken a toll.”It’s been a pretty frustrating tour on a personal level,” Stoneman, who watched the 2006-07 Ashes Test here from the crowd, said on Tuesday. “Everybody knows the key to Test cricket is getting big scores on the board and if you’re only making 30s then you’re giving the opposition a chance to make inroads. If you give the Australian attack a sniff, they come pretty hard and take wickets in bunches.”On the flip side, as we saw from Alastair Cook the other day, if you’re out there for seven or eight hours, the attack will wilt a little bit. Given the nature of having to bowl 25 or 30 overs, big scores can be put on the board and gives you chance of winning games. It’s been frustrating from a personal point of view, but hopefully I can put that right here.”

With India still searching for a fix in the ODI middle order ahead of next year’s World Cup, a good performance in the T20Is against South Africa could set the batsman on the road to a long-term comeback

Sidharth Monga17-Feb-2018India’s ODI series win in South Africa has been comprehensive, but there is still – as it should be if you are looking for perfection – cause for concern. Now that they have got wristspinners picking up wickets in the middle overs, India’s only remaining bugbear is their batting from Nos 4 to 7.Despite good starts, in the three matches that India batted first, they scored 133, 116 and 103 in their last 20 overs. Even when making allowances for the slower pitches in this series, this is not good enough, especially keeping in mind India’s middle and lower middle order have been known to struggle in the recent past. Ajinkya Rahane, the new No. 4, might have done enough to continue in that role for another series at least. It is too close to the World Cup to replace MS Dhoni. Hardik Pandya will be important as he gets closer to becoming a 10-overs bowler. That leaves one missing link: a batsman who can go big from ball one or rebuild an innings if required, is flexible with where he bats, and can provide a few overs as back-up for Pandya. A little big-match experience wouldn’t hurt either.That that spot is still not nailed down makes this upcoming T20I series important. Coming back in this series is a man who can hit big, who has experience, with an average close to 60 from two World Cups, is a good fielder, and a canny offspinner. He also brings some right-left balance to the batting line-up.Suresh Raina last played for India more than a year ago: all of three T20Is in 2017. His last ODI for India was part of a poor home series against South Africa in 2015, the World Cup year. Since then, Raina has been more out than in India’s limited-overs sides. One of the reasons has been his failing the yo-yo test, which he seems to have cleared now. He recently told TV channel that he was dropped despite good performances. He also went through a period of innuendo around his commitment and work ethic when he missed Ranji Trophy matches because his father and daughter were unwell at the same time.Because India are still not set with their middle order, Raina must not give up on a proper comeback. A good T20I series in South Africa can guarantee him a slot in the triangular T20I series in Sri Lanka. If he does well there and in the IPL, there is a real chance for him to travel to England a year before the World Cup. The team management has shown it is flexible by going back to Rahane at No. 4 after having earlier said they were looking at him as an opener alone.Raina comes with form. He was the sixth-highest run-getter in India’s domestic Twenty20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. His strike rate nudged 150. He scored an unbeaten century in the Super League part of the tournament, followed by fifties on the next two days.In the IPL, too, Raina will be in a familiar role: focussing on his batting as Dhoni captains a familiar side, Chennai Super Kings. If he has to impress the India team management, though, he will have to begin doing it now. For, while there is hope for a big comeback, it is just a glimmer. He doesn’t have too much time either, as India have only two ODI series left outside Asia – in England later this year and in New Zealand early next year – before the World Cup.The only thing is, as every player will tell you, it is more difficult to make a comeback than a debut in Indian cricket. The landscape has changed since Raina last played. While ODI cricket – all limited-overs cricket in fact – has become flatter and easier for the top order facing the new ball, all middle orders are under pressure. If Raina has to come back, he will have to do so the hard way.