A relaxed mindset, and the help of senior pros Rohit, Pujara and Ashwin, were keys to India’s come-from-behind victory

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2021Ajinkya Rahane has credited the collective leadership that he shared with vice-captain Rohit Sharma and senior players Cheteshwar Pujara and R Ashwin for India being able to come back from behind in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli and take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-1 series win in Australia. All four players, Rahane says, took greater responsibility upon themselves to instill belief and confidence in an inexperienced India team.Rahane took over the captaincy when Kohli went home on paternity leave following India’s defeat in the first Test in Adelaide, where they were bowled out for 36 in the second innings. Rahane’s first message to the dressing room was clear: the Adelaide defeat was a closed chapter.”I told them that topic should not be discussed at all,” Rahane told , a leading Marathi daily. “The fact that we got all out for 36 is not any mistake. We should just accept it and move on. No point going in depth and thinking about it because the [next Test] match was immediately starting in three days. My only message was: it happened in one hour. They [Australia] played good cricket. Such things happen once in a century. The faster we accept this happened and move on, that is good for us.”Related

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Rahane also told his players that it made no difference to him if people outside were writing India off, and that it shouldn’t bother the other players either, going into the second Test in Melbourne. “It is a good opportunity for us to stay and play as one. Whatever the result, especially after the Melbourne Test or at the end of the Test series, does not matter. Outcome is the last thing. What I wanted was we should come together and play as one, that was my priority.”Sharma, who played the last two Tests, Pujara and Ashwin were Rahane’s three key sounding boards. All four players are close friends on and off the field having begun their international careers at roughly the same time. Their closeness allowed them to talk openly and help each other.Success with the ball helped R Ashwin gain confidence with the bat as well•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

How Rahane gave confidence to Ashwin and PujaraWhile Kohli brings the team together with his intensity and energy, Rahane prefers doing it with a quiet word shared with his team-mates. In the Indians’ first warm-up match against Australia A, Ashwin made 8 and 5. According to Rahane, the bowling allrounder was worried about his batting – he had come into the tour with just two 30-plus scores in his last 19 Test innings.”Our discussion started from the [first] practice match itself,” Rahane said. “Ashwin got out early and was sitting alone. I told Ashwin, please do not take tension about your batting. There are times when you think too much about your batting. His record as a batsman is pretty good. When things are not going well, obviously you start brooding about your batting not going well. I told him, you just focus on your bowling.”With your bowling you can win us matches. He bowled well and I feel that reflected in his batting [later in the series]. My responsibility was to get his focus on his bowling. He bowled well and that confidence showed in his batting.”Rahane said he explained to Ashwin that the more “desperate” he was to do well with the bat, the more disappointed he would get if he failed. “Desperation does not work. I told him to play 40-50 balls while batting without thinking about it. And that is what happened. I did not say much to him. All credit should go to Ashwin. I told him, too: your bowling is going so good and consequently, mentally, you are very relaxed and that is why you are batting well [now]. And where we wanted him, he did perform [with the bat] in Sydney.”Batting with a bad back, Ashwin helped India save the Sydney Test with an unbeaten 39 off 128 balls.Pujara was another key match-winner who received a quiet word of support from Rahane when voices in the media including former players and captains were questioning his scoring rate. Pujara faced 928 balls across the series, wearing Australia’s bowlers down cumulatively, and his final-day half-centuries proved crucial to India saving the Sydney Test and winning in Brisbane.”I told Pujara, you play your game,” Rahane said. “You don’t change your game (at all). Others will play around you.”Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara were two of Ajinkya Rahane’s key sounding boards•AFP via Getty Images

‘Take responsibility but enjoy it without pressure’As a captain Rahane is yet to lose a Test match. He is a calm character at most times, and during the Australia series he made sure to remind himself to continue enjoying the game when he took over the captaincy, and not let himself get bogged down by the pressure of the responsibility. “I told them we are two or three seniors in the team. That does not mean we have to take the pressure. Let’s enjoy our cricket, enjoy our batting. And then we will take the others along with us. Many times what happens is when you say there is responsibility then you put pressure on yourself. In my mind I knew we had to take the responsibility: but enjoy it while you take it, not with pressure.”That joy and freedom is what Rahane said enabled him to bat himself into a “zone” during his 112 in India’s first innings in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, which allowed the visitors to take vital lead and eventually win the Test. “That innings in Melbourne I was enjoying as a batsman. I was enjoying the pressure situation. I have walked in to bat many times in the past when India were 20 for 3 or 40 for 3, but the situation in Melbourne was totally different. I told myself while batting: ” (go on), you enjoy every ball. Enjoy each situation. Enjoy every run. What has to happen will happen.” Because of that I went into the zone while batting.”According to Rahane, by the time India entered 2021 with the series level, he felt more confident also because he found support from his deputy, Sharma, who had missed the first two Tests while completing rehab on a hamstring injury picked up during the IPL. Having been team-mates since the age-group days in Mumbai cricket, Rahane and Sharma had complete trust in each other. Rahane admitted that Sharma played a big hand in sharing leadership duties. “The big advantage is Rohit’s experience. My job became easier, since if I could not pay attention to every player, I would ask Rohit to deal with that.”Having played together so much cricket, if we felt any of the players in the Indian dressing room was down, we thought how we could make that person stand up and perform. Hence we could easily discuss such things.”‘We talk about cricketing gods – it is there somewhere’Over the course of the series, India lost a number of key players to injury. By the time India landed in Brisbane, their options had dwindled to nearly zero, and they eventually picked a five-man bowling attack whose most experienced member was playing his third Test match. After the series victory, Ravi Shastri, India’s had coach, had praised Rahane for remaining calm while handling such an inexperienced line-up. How did he do it?”I felt that there is an opportunity somewhere in all this,” Rahane said. “As a player we always aspire to play for the country. So I told them that you cannot get any bigger opportunity than this. If we do good here as a team, what will happen in the future we cannot even imagine. All those who got the opportunity, all of them did well. And, importantly, they did well because there was no pressure on them. They could play freely.”As a captain I was feeling bad that some players had missed out [due to injury], but I also thought whoever comes in, it was a big opportunity for them. Whatever the resources were available, how we could give them confidence and make them help the team do well was my main aim. Again, the result was not the motive: win or loss was not in my mind. The only thing in my mind was play good cricket and give them [Australia] a fight on the ground. Because of that only the result has come. There is some supreme power somewhere. We gave respect to cricket. We talk about cricketing gods – it is there somewhere. It was surreal and a fairytale ending.”

Captain takes break after gruelling run of biosecure campaigns in UAE, South Africa and Pakistan

Firdose Moonda15-Feb-2021Quinton de Kock will sit out of South Africa’s domestic T20 competition, which starts on Friday, on medical advice. De Kock has been given a mental health break and will aim to be ready for the Pakistan white-ball series at home in April.”On medical advice, Quinton will be on a break for a few weeks. The South African Cricketers Association and Cricket South Africa (CSA) will continue to support him through this process,” Andrew Breetzke, SACA CEO told ESPNcricinfo.This season has been particularly taxing on de Kock, who took on the responsibility of captaining the Test team in a temporary capacity, along with leading the white-ball sides, being the first-choice wicketkeeper in all formats and among the senior-most batsmen. His form took a significant dip and he only scored 74 runs in six innings as captain, after being moved to the No.5 position in the Test line-up, further adding to his burden.Related

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The effects of living in biosecure bubbles also appear to have taken their toll on de Kock. In January, he described the environment as “unsettling,” and spoke about the scarcity of time at home over the summer.Since September last year, de Kock has been involved in several bubbles, from the IPL to South Africa’s white-ball series against England (which was interrupted by Covid-19 concerns and ended early) to the festive-season Tests against Sri Lanka and the recently completed trip to Pakistan. South Africa were due to go directly from the bubble in Pakistan to a home series against Australia, but the indefinite postponement of that three-Test series means that de Kock will have some time off.On Monday, CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith confirmed that all nationally contracted players will be obliged to play in the domestic T20 competition and the four-day matches which will follow in March. De Kock and Faf du Plessis are the only exceptions. CSA have yet to make a decision about whether the contracted players have to remain at home for the Pakistan series, or will travel to the IPL for the start of the tournament, expected to be in mid-April. The Pakistan series runs from April 2 to 16.

The batsman missed the final two games of the Super Smash because of a hamstring injury

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2021New Zealand opener Martin Guptill will have to prove his fitness in order to be part of the T20I series against Australia, which begins on February 22 in Christchurch. The 34-year-old Guptill, who had missed the final two games of the Super Smash season with a hamstring injury, assembled with the squad in Christchurch on Friday even as Finn Allen continued to be in the 13-man squad a cover for him.Guptill has not enjoyed particularly good form this summer, making just 46 in three T20Is against Pakistan in December before making three single-digit scores in his last four Super Smash innings. Uncapped 21-year-old batsman Allen, meanwhile, was impressive in the Super Smash, where he was the highest scorer overall with 512 runs in 11 innings, including six fifties.”Finn’s been in outstanding form and he’s certainly an exciting talent,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said in a statement. “Martin’s our incumbent opener and our highest T20 International run scorer, so we’re backing him to do the job at the top of the order, but he will need to prove his fitness and it’s good to know we have a ready replacement in Finn on stand-by.”Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman, who were all part of the T20Is against Pakistan, have been backed to continue in the batting line-up after impressing in their international stints. James Neesham, who underwent a finger surgery last month and returned to the Super Smash on February 6 after gaining fitness, is also part of the squad.Larsen said this series would serve as a good rehearsal for the T20 World Cup, scheduled later this year in India. “Australia will provide a really stern test for our guys who I know will relish the chance to test themselves against the number two T20 side in the world. A five-game series also allows us to really nail down our game-plans and the way we want to play as we look ahead to the World Cup later this year.”We’ve got a great rivalry with Australia. With the prospect of full houses up and down the country, I’m sure this series will be the biggest yet.”Squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Martin Guptill (pending fitness test), Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips. Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Finn Allen (stand-by for Guptill).

Rival Anand Sanasie along with Calvin Hope withdrew from the election race

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Apr-2021Ricky Skerritt and his deputy Kishore Shallow are set to be elected for a second term to lead the Cricket West Indies (CWI) board. The development comes after the rival pair of Anand Sanasie and Calvin Hope announced on April 1 that they were withdrawing from the contest, thus paving way for Skerritt and Shallow to be elected “uncontested.” A formal announcement will likely be made on April 11, the date to which the CWI annual general meeting was recently postponed.The CWI board elections were originally meant to take place on March 28, but were deferred owing to “lack of a quorum” after representatives from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) did not show up. Incidentally, Sanasie was the GCB secretary until March 29 before being unseated by a rival faction, lead by Bissoondyal Singh. Hope, meanwhile, is a vice-president at the BCA.Related

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To constitute a quorum, at least nine out of the 12 voters had to be present. Along with the GCB and BCA, there are four more territorial boards – the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB), Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), and the Windwards Islands Cricket Board (WICB) – that constitute the CWI board. Each of these territorial board has to nominate two representatives for the elections.While Sanasie and Hope were nominated by the GCB and BCA, Skerritt and Shallow were nominated by the LICB and the TTCB and got the backing from WICB as well as the JCA. On March 28, both Sanasie and Hope did not participate in the AGM, but the latter did take part in the emergency meeting where the next date for the board meeting was confirmed.”Given the unfortunate circumstances leading up to and recent events in Guyana regarding the Guyana Cricket Board, together with the refusal by the leadership of CWI to uphold the highest standards, long-standing traditions and rules for governing the administration of West indies cricket, we, having distanced ourselves from such action of CWI, have decided to withdraw our respective candidacies,” Hope and Sanasie said in a public statement issued on Thursday.Sanasie also issued a separate statement expanding on why he had “reassessed” his stance before deciding to withdraw. According to Sanasie, the CWI elections were being held “without critical requirements outlined” in the board’s constitution being “complied” with. “This attempt, until it was thwarted at the last minute, remains cause for serious concern by those who have an interest in good governance of CWI.”According to Sanasie, Skerrit had met Guyana sports minister Charles Ramson Jr three times before the CWI and GCB elections. Calling the GCB elections as “dubious”, Sansie pulled up Ramson Jr, saying his “actions” were “unjust, irregular, imprudent and hasty” as well being “partisan and compromised” which resulted in Singh’s administration being elected.Sanasie also pointed out that Skerrit had gained an “advantage”. “Prior to the GCB elections Minister Ramson held Three (3) meetings with the CWI President and a select group of Directors, from which the GCB nominated Directors were excluded despite their objection on the one occasion when they were aware of the meeting. The actions of Minister Ramson, at all material times, were deeply partisan and prejudicial, in favour of those who seek control of the GCB for political and personal purposes, and clearly intended to give my opponent an advantage in the CWI Elections. The Minister’s unpatriotic action supported and enabled my opponent to undermine my candidacy.”Sanasie is yet to send a formal withdrawal letter to the CWI corporate secretary, which he said he would be doing shortly. Hope, though, had confirmed to the CWI he had quit the election race.Sanasie urged Skerritt to have the territorial boards included in executive decisions. “I take this opportunity to extend congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Ricky Skerritt since he will be uncontested. I urge that more deliberate efforts be made to strengthen the finances of CWI and to improve in the areas of prudent fiscal management, accountability and transparency. I also urge that greater respect be accorded to Territorial Boards and that there is considerably more inclusivity in executive decision making and corporate governance.”

Steve Patterson and Duanne Olivier share four wickets as Sussex are pegged back

Alan Gardner23-Apr-2021 Yorkshire 150 and 163 for 5 (Lyth 66, Ballance 36*, Carson 3-35) lead Sussex 221 (Haines 86, Patterson 4-26) by 92 runsYorkshire and Sussex were grappling for the ascendancy as their match threatened to dissolve into a three-day dogfight at Hove. Yorkshire’s lead was approaching three figures, with the reassuringly solid figure of Gary Ballance booking in for an overnight stay, but Jack Carson, Sussex’s 20-year-old offspinner, snapped up three second-innings wickets – including that of England captain Joe Root – to keep tails wagging in the home dressing room.Yorkshire’s fightback began with the ball, Duanne Olivier and Steve Patterson collecting contrasting four-fors as Sussex lost their last seven wicket for 53. Adam Lyth then made his third half-century of the season, to go with two centuries, as Yorkshire overturned a 71-run deficit. But, having carved out a slender advantage through another solid opening stand, a middle-order wobble during the evening session, which included the much-prized wicket of Root, left the game in the balance… and the Ballance.With Sean Hunt unable to bowl after sustaining a side strain, an even greater weight fell on the shoulders of Ollie Robinson, Sussex’s attack leader and a man with the bit between his teeth in pursuit of higher honours. Robinson sent back Lyth during a searching spell but that was his sole success, while George Garton could not find his first-innings spark despite claiming the wicket of Harry Brook.Garton let slip on the first evening that Robinson had gone into this match declaring his intention of bagging Root twice, as a means of pushing his case to win a Test debut this summer. In the end, he only managed to bowl a total of four balls at the England captain, before Carson had an appeal upheld for caught behind – not that Root appeared to agree with Paul Pollard’s decision.Carson wasn’t hanging around, taking off on a dash across the square – “I went for the old Alan Shearer wheel-away, I couldn’t really contain my excitement” – and he celebrated each of his wickets with abandon. “Bowling to someone of that calibre, a little bit of nerves can creep in, but the off stump’s still the off stump, doesn’t matter who it is,” he said. “It’s just about trying to land it in there as much as I can and let the wicket do the rest.”Born in Northern Ireland but on Sussex’s books from the age of 11, Carson has impressed with his flight and control in only his seventh first-class match. Tom Kohler-Cadmore was deceived into walking past one to be stumped and Jonny Tattersall edged to slip late in the day; Carson also saw Lyth dropped at deep square leg off a drag-down. With increasing purchase for spin, his success could point to a pivotal role for Dom Bess in the fourth innings.For the second day running, it seemed as if Lyth would be the story. At the age of 33, the left-hander may be unlikely to add to his seven Test appearances, but in passing 50 for the fifth time in six innings he continued a fine start to the season. He began this round of the Championship as the competition’s leading run-scorer and, although David Bedingham’s double-hundred at Chester-le-Street has relegated him to second spot, he was within sight of 500 for the campaign when Robinson speared one into his front pad.Related

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No one has scored 1000 first-class runs before the end of May since Graeme Hick in 1988 – although Nick Compton came close nine years ago, when rain at Worcester delayed him from reaching four figures until June 1. But with five more rounds of the Championship to be played after this one, and runs flowing around the country, there could be several challengers to join a select group, which includes WG Grace, Wally Hammond, Don Bradman and Glenn Turner, as well as Hick.Although Lyth managed a tally of 108 runs in this match, and Tom Haines held Sussex’s first innings together with 86, wickets have fallen in rat-a-tat salvoes throughout, with pace on offer for the seamers and just a smidge of turn.The day began calmly enough, as Sussex programmed their TomTom to steer them into a first-innings lead. Tom Clark was the more fluent, clipping back-to-back fours off David Willey and swatting away Olivier’s short stuff, while Haines set about grinding towards what would have been a third first-class hundred in seven innings. But, having gone past Yorkshire’s first-innings 150 three down, the contest suddenly came to life during the second hour.First Olivier found some inward movement from round the wicket to pluck Clark’s off stump though the gate. In the subsequent over, from the Sea End, Bess finally gained reward for his early-season toil as the left-handed Haines was bowled attempting to cut a delivery that drifted in and cramped him for room. It was Bess’ first wicket since joining Yorkshire permanently, in his 84th over, and brought a roar of relief – possibly followed by a wince of discomfort, due to a rib problem sustained on the first day.Bess made light of the issue to send down 25 overs, taking 1 for 55 – modest figures but useful enough in the first innings and indicative of the control he gave Yorkshire as they attempted to parlay a way back into the game. They might have been more impressive still, had Ben Brown, the Sussex captain, not taken him for five fours in 17 balls, including a trio of reverse-biffs to the short boundary.Olivier picked up his fourth of the innings when Delray Rawlins spooned a drive into the covers, where Root threw himself for a diving catch, but Sussex rallied through Brown, only to then lose their last four wickets for the addition of nine runs. Patterson, the “Beverley Flyer”, chugged in from the Cromwell Road End and found a troublesome spot on a length to have Brown lbw and Robinson castled first ball, before coming back after lunch to round up the rest for spick-and-span figures of 4 for 26.

No official BCB word yet on reduction of his ban, but he played a Dhaka Premier Division match on Saturday

Mohammad Isam05-Jun-2021Bangladesh fast bowler Shahadat Hossain, banned in November 2019 for five years for slapping a team-mate during a first-class match, played in a Dhaka Premier Division game on Saturday, despite there being no official statement from the BCB on the reduction of his ban.ESPNcricinfo has learnt Hossain, who bowled two wicketless overs for Partex Sporting Club on his return against Old DOHS Sports Club, will not need to serve any more than the 18 months he has already completed in his five-year ban.Related

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Hossain had appealed to the BCB in February that his ban be reduced, so he can resume his career and take care of the expenses relating to his mother’s cancer treatment. BCB cricket operations chairman Akram Khan had said at the time that he had taken up Hossain’s case with the board higher-ups.”He is in a lot of problem in his family,” Khan told in March. “His mother is diagnosed with cancer. He is not playing cricket now so when he called me, I spoke to a few directors. We have requested the BCB’s disciplinary committee. We are hopeful to get a positive result from them. I have also informed the board president, who is also positive about him. , we hope that he can play in the NCL (National Cricket League).”In November 2019, Hossain had slapped team-mate Arafat Sunny Jr during an NCL match in Khulna, after the latter refused to shine the ball for the fast bowler. After being withdrawn from the match, he was charged with a Level-4 offence, which amounted to a fine of BDT 100,000 (US $1200 approx.) and a five-year ban with two years as suspended sentencing.In March, Hossain had said his primary motivation to return to competitive cricket before the completion of his five-year ban was his mother’s treatment.”I regret my actions. I was wrong, and I will try not to do it again. I won’t have any problem for the rest of my career. My mother is a cancer patient. I want to return to cricket, to help my mother’s treatment,” he had said during a press conference.Hossain didn’t appear in the NCL edition that ran earlier this year for two rounds before being postponed in April owing to a second wave of Covid-19 infections in Bangladesh.Hossain played the last of his 95 international matches in May 2015. He remains Bangladesh’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests among fast bowlers.

Kent go into final day of rain-affected match trailing by 185 runs after hosts close on 259 for 9

ECB Reporters' Network06-Jul-2021A precious unbeaten half century from Lancashire all-rounder Luke Wood set up a potentially match-winning total at Emirates Old Trafford with Kent going into the final day of a rain-affected match trailing by 185 runs after the hosts closed on 259 for 9.Wood batted superbly throughout the majority of a third day which saw 51 overs sent down by an increasingly frustrated bowling attack unable to take advantage of the home side’s precarious position at the start of play.Both teams were forced to make changes following the overnight news that England’s entire ODI squad was to be replaced, Lancashire’s Matt Parkinson and Kent’s Zak Crawley both heading south to Bristol as a result.No play was possible until deep into the afternoon and it was 3pm when Steven Croft and Rob Jones strode out with Lancashire 108 for 5 and clutching a slender lead of 34 runs.Just nine runs had been added when Croft shouldered arms to a lovely nip-backer from Darren Stevens and turned around in shock to see it had clipped his off stump.Related

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Wood came in to join Jones and the seventh-wicket pair began a mission to extinguish any hopes Kent might have had of keeping the lead to a manageable margin. By tea the hosts were 155 for 6 and looking secure with a priceless 50 partnership coming up soon after the interval.Jones was three short of his half-century when the impressive James Logan got one to spin sharply and induce an edge to Stevens at slip, ending a stand of 69 runs that had taken the lead to 112.Logan quickly added another when Danny Lamb top-edged to Stevens for 2, but the incoming Tom Hartley, who replaced the England-bound Parkinson, was able to give valuable support to Wood who brought up his half-century from 98 balls as Lancashire’s lead tipped over the 150 mark.Batting with freedom against the spin of Logan, Jack Leaning and Joe Denly, the ninth-wicket pair brought up their 50 partnership with five overs left and had extended the Red Rose’s lead to 174 when Hartley was caught at second slip by Jordan Cox off Matt Quinn for a useful 24.As if to emphasise Lancashire’s dominance, the final over of the day saw man of the moment James Anderson hit two boundaries off Stevens to finish unbeaten on eight with Wood closing on 63 not out.

Health concerns in England camp will have no immediate effect on touring party

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2021The Indian squad on tour in the UK will be receiving their second round of the Covid-19 vaccine on July 7 and 9. While this is in accordance with long-planned BCCI countermeasures to keep their players safe, it assumes greater significance given the developments in the England team.Three of England’s players and four of their support staff tested positive for Covid-19 in Bristol on Tuesday, prompting the entire ODI squad to face Pakistan two days from now to go into isolation. The Indian management are “aware of the situation” but as yet have not been asked to make any changes to their existing security measures.”Obviously, ECB and the local health authorities will provide us with any change in existing health safety protocols and that will be strictly followed,” a senior BCCI official told PTI. “But we haven’t been told anything as of now. The players have not yet been told to cut short their downtime.”Virat Kohli and his men are currently on holiday after playing in the World Test Championship final last month, and are expected to re-assemble in London on July 14. Then they travel to Durham for two weeks of training before a practice match.”Most of the players are in and around London. All this was planned well in advance. All those who have had Covishield as their first jabs in India are now ready to get their second doses,” a senior BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.Should everything go as planned, India’s players may enjoy greater freedoms when it comes to quarantine. The UK government is working towards reducing Covid-19 restrictions and from August 16 – the last day of the second Test – double-vaccinated people may be exempt from self-isolating even if they come in contact with a carrier of the virus.When asked if that would indeed be the case, managing director of England’s men’s teams Ashley Giles said, “I haven’t got that far, but I’m not worried right now.”I think it’s important we work closely with BCCI. We’re all hopeful that as this summer moves forward we will be able to reduce the restrictions around the teams and one of the important things around that is getting everyone double vaccinated then we should be able to enjoy more freedoms.”We’ve got a group of very young, fit people many of whom will be asymptomatic even if they catch this. I think I heard to government talk about treating this as flu eventually and we’re gonna get to that stage. At the moment we’re operating at odds with that, it’s tough to manage but we’re doing the best possible job we can with it.”India play five Tests against England, the first of which kicks off at Trent Bridge on August 4.

West Indies slumped to 27 for 6 as Starc and Hazlewood did the early damage and never recovered enough

Andrew McGlashan20-Jul-2021Mitchell Starc took a five-wicket haul as he and Josh Hazlewood dismantled West Indies in the opening ODI to give Alex Carey, who had earlier played a key hand with the bat, a winning start as Australia’s ODI captain.Carey, standing in for the injured Aaron Finch, had formed the backbone of Australia’s innings with Ashton Turner in a fifth-wicket stand of 104 in 19 overs before Hayden Walsh Jr sparked a late collapse with a career-best five-wicket haul.However, Australia’s 252 – which was adjusted to a target of 257 after three rain interruptions cut the match to 49 overs – quickly looked imposing as Starc and Hazlewood got to work with the new ball to leave West Indies in a heap at 27 for 6. Starc took three wickets in his first spell and then returned to end the aggressive rearguard of Kieron Pollard. Pollard hit a 41-ball fifty, but the West Indies captain had been left with far too much ground to regain.Starc, whose form had improved through the T20I series, removed Evin Lewis first ball with a low return catch from a leading edge and then produced a trademark inswinger to castle Jason Mohammed. Hazlewood then showed off his skills with a superb one-handed catch to his left off his own bowling to snaffle Shimron Hetymer’s leading edge – the pitch, where the ball was going through the top, proved tough to drive on.Mitchell Starc ripped through the West Indies batting line-up•CWI

Nicholas Pooran became Starc’s third wicket when an lbw decision was upheld with the ball trimming leg stump and Hazlewood kept pace with his new-ball partner as Darren Bravo drove carelessly to point, when some circumspection was needed, and then Jason Holder hooked to long leg.At six down inside eight overs, the match was heading for a very swift finish but Pollard counterattacked against Adam Zampa, with Alzarri Joseph providing solid support in a seventh-wicket stand. Mitchell Marsh broke through when he knocked back Joseph’s off stump before Starc returned to add the finishing touches with his eighth five-wicket bag.For only the third time since 1980-81, Australia handed out three ODI debuts in the same game with Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott and Wes Agar given their caps. For South Australia quick Agar – his brother Ashton handed him his cap – it was a first international appearance. Agar ended up delivering six tight overs after the early damage inflicted by Starc and Hazlewood.Philippe and McDermott were paired at the top of the order – the last time Australia had two new openers in the same ODI was also the last time they fielded three debutants, against Sri Lanka in 2012-13 – and they made a strong start led by Philippe who dominated the scoring. Philippe twice cleared the ropes in the first ten overs, the first a pull off the slightly wayward Sheldon Cottrell and then a clean strike down the ground off Mohammed, before undoing his good work when he chopped on trying to give himself room against Akeal Hosein.The in-form Marsh set off in positive fashion before glancing a catch down the leg side that wasn’t given on field but was overturned by DRS – Marsh knew his fate and was walking off when the review was called.Hayden Walsh Jr had career-best returns of 5 for 39•CWI

On a surface where the ball was occasionally going through the top from the quicks and offering some turn for the spinners, timing wasn’t always easy and Australia’s innings became harder work against good spells from Hosein, who bowled his ten overs straight through, and Joseph. Moises Henriques’ difficult 24-ball stay ended with a top-edged a sweep to short fine-leg and when McDermott – who had only faced 48 balls in 25 overs – nicked the deserving Joseph to slip, Australia were 114 for 4.By then Carey had already opened his boundary account with a slog-swept six off Hosein and after a second rain break, he took consecutive boundaries from Mohammed’s part-time offspin.Turner was given a life on 12 when he pulled Cottrell towards long leg but Mohammed could not hold a low chance as he ran in off the boundary. That was in an eight-over period where Australia did not find the boundary against some tight bowling from Walsh Jr and Joseph.Carey began to kick things on when he brought up his fifty with a flat six over long-off, which was followed next ball by a scooped four off Holder. Turner then started to find his range with back-to-back sixes off Holder – the first a strong blow over wide long-on followed by a top edge over the keeper – before another rain interruption.Walsh Jr had been held back until the 29th over by Pollard but then conceded barely three an over for the majority of his spell. In his eighth over, Carey missed a sweep to lose his leg stump and Turner top-edged to deep square one short of his fifty, which was followed by Starc and Matthew Wade picking out fielders deep on the leg side in a five-wicket haul that took 16 balls to complete. But in the end, though, Australia had more than enough.

England’s top-order issues could pave way for the returns of James Vince and Dawid Malan

Andrew Miller17-Aug-20214:59

Harmison: England made the mistake of bowling too short at tailenders and not having a set plan

Chris Silverwood, England’s head coach, has admitted that Mark Wood may end up joining a list of absentees including Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes for next week’s third Test against India, after bowling through the pain of an injured shoulder during England’s disastrous final-day capitulation at Lord’s.Wood, who landed heavily on his right shoulder while fielding on the fourth evening of the second Test, was still able to touch speeds of 94mph during a hostile but ineffective spell on the final morning. However, the effort caused him clear pain – not least when he jarred the same shoulder after tumbling in his followthrough – and Silverwood said he would be closely monitored by the England medical team ahead of the third Test, which gets underway at Headingley on August 25.”The medics are working on him, we’ll find out more in the next couple of days,” Silverwood said on the morning after England’s 151-run loss. “We will make a decision, along with him and our medics, closer to the time. But if he’s not right, he’s not right. I certainly won’t push him into playing if he tells me he’s not right. I will look after him.”The prospect of England losing yet another of their point-of-difference bowlers is a daunting one, given how shell-shocked the team was by the events of the fifth day at Lord’s. A winning position was ripped away by an unbeaten ninth-wicket stand of 89 between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, before the same pairing led the line in blasting England out for 120 in just 51.5 overs across the final two sessions.While Wood’s effort in the course of India’s decisive partnership could not be faulted, the tactics most certainly could – with Root accepting responsibility at the end of the match for what was interpreted as an over-emotional attempt to get back at Bumrah in particular, after his short-pitched assault on England’s No.11 James Anderson in the final moments of the third day’s play.”I saw Joe took that on himself in the interview afterwards, but it’s a collective and I’m part of that as well,” Silverwood said. “Emotions ran high, there’s no doubt about it. They obviously targeted Jimmy in that first innings, so we went back hard at them as well. We tried to go toe-to-toe with them, but what we could have done better is shift from that tactic back to Plan A, and hitting the top of off.Mark Wood did some damage to his shoulder while diving to field a ball•Getty Images

“I don’t mind the aggressive approach,” he added. “One thing we have to become good at is removing lower-order batsmen. But equally I’d like to give some credit to the Indian batsmen as well. I thought they handled the situation really well. They navigated their way through it and put their team in a really strong position. They have to take some credit but equally we have to look at our tactics.”However, Silverwood had nothing but praise for the manner in which Wood himself had interpreted those tactics, especially given that his fierce extraction of India’s top three earlier in the innings – including Rohit Sharma on the hook and Cheteshwar Pujara with a lifter late on the fourth evening – had been instrumental in setting up England’s victory chance.”What he did for the team, and the effort to bowl at 90mph with a sore shoulder, it just shows how much he cares about the team and how much he cares about playing for England, and how passionate he is,” Silverwood said.”It was a superb effort. I’m very proud of him for what he did there. He’ll be trying his best to get ready for Leeds, and I will give him every chance to be fit, but at the same time, it is massively important that we look after Woody. He is a prized asset. We have found ourselves in the position, when you lose Archer and [Olly] Stone, we have got one guy left that can bowl that fast.”Silverwood also warned that there was little prospect of seeing the return of Stokes next week at Headingley, the venue where he etched his name into Ashes folklore in 2019 with his epic match-winning century. Stokes withdrew his availability before the start of the India series due to burn-out, allied to the complications caused by a badly broken finger, and despite the apparent desperation of England’s series situation, Silverwood said there would be no SOS from the England camp.Chris Sliverwood will not be pushing Ben Stokes to come out of his self-imposed break•Getty Images

“There’s still no time limit on it, to be honest,” he said. “The important thing is that Ben is okay, his family are okay, and that he comes back strong, and when he when re-enters the frame, he’s ready in his mindset to come back to perform for England, like we know he can.”I’m certainly not pushing him for an answer. I don’t think that would be the right thing to do. There’s people around him, supporting him, and when he’s ready to come back in, obviously we’ll welcome him back with open arms.”But until then he’ll get all the support he needs. There’s no pushing from my point of view, I don’t think you can push these issues. I’ll wait.”Woakes also remains a doubt for Headingley after sustaining a foot injury prior to the series, with Silverwood admitting he “didn’t have an answer” about his prospects of a return. England’s problems, however, extend far beyond their fast-bowling stocks, given that their top three of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Haseeb Hameed each made ducks at Lord’s, with only Burns contributing a score of any note with his first-innings 49.The current lack of red-ball cricket in the county schedule is an added complication, and Silverwood admitted that England’s selectors would “have to think of everything” when they meet on Tuesday evening to decide on the squad for Headingley – including a prospective break for Sibley, and recalls for two men whose last extended runs in the side came on the 2017-18 Ashes tour, James Vince and Dawid Malan.6:25

Harmison: England openers have reached an all-time low

“I’ve got to keep my eyes and ears open, and my mind open to all suggestions, and it’s certainly something that we’ll be talking about this evening in selection, when we all get together,” Silverwood said. “It’s not like I’m not in touch with these guys.I’ve seen them over the various formats and my relationship with these guys is very good. I’m quite close to them so I wouldn’t say you can’t do it.”I don’t think there is any ideal process out there. We have to make the best of what we’ve got,” he added. “It’s difficult to bring people in from, say, the Hundred or the Royal London Cup. To throw them into Test cricket, we’ve seen that the pressure is huge in this series. It’s being played with a lot of passion, which is great to see, but it is a difficult transition.”You’ve got to do what’s best for the team, ultimately, and find the best way of progressing England to a place where big first-innings runs – and second-innings runs – come in on a consistent basis.”For the time being, however, Silverwood urged his players to use their week off wisely before reconvening at Headingley with fresh minds, safe in the knowledge that they have battled back from 1-0 deficits before, both in the 2019 Ashes, and in their 3-1 victory in South Africa the following winter.”We’ve got a little bit space now, so they can go home, spend a bit of time with their families, calm down a little bit, and clear their minds and come back fresh.”It’s not a position that we’re not used to. We’ve been in this position before, so I’ve made sure that we remember those feelings, remember those times, and how we did it. They’ve got the belief that they can do it, because they have done it before.”